Reject Humanity, Return to Monke

My walk alone towards the Arachne village was steeped in silence, my mind going over the conversations I had with the alraune leader.

I was so deep in thought that I hadn\'t noticed a figure stalking from behind, the chittering of numerous insect legs breaking me out of my funk. I quickly turned around and got ready for a battle, only to be met with a very curious arachne, who was quite obviously a little girl.

"Big hairy monster?" The young arachne cocked her head, her ever-curious expression fixed on my perplexed one. As I knelt down, the young arachne did not retreat from my form. Instead, she drew even closer, her curiosity getting the better of her.

She reached out her slim arms and tiny hands towards my log of an arm, her soft, human skin touching my furry and rugged fur.. She leaned in closer as she brought her entire face into my arm, burying her head in the process.

She cuddled up to my arm for a few moments before another arachne, this time a more mature, but still young-looking female, rushed towards me with a terrified expression.

"D-Dungeon Master Jionni! T-terribly sorry about my daughter here. She\'s too c-curious for her own good…!" Her soft, panicked screams reached my ears, and I looked at the young arachne, who was busy sticking her entire body, human and spider, onto my arm like it was a gigantic pillow.

Seeing the comical sight, I let out a chuckle as it progressed into full-blown laughter. This stunned the older arachne, while the young one briefly separated herself from my arm as she looked into my eyes with a confused expression. One glance behind her and she saw the older arachne, the younger arachne immediately shrinking back as she sheepishly looked at the older arachne with a fidgeting gaze.

My laughter died down as I let out a relieved sigh, my conversations with the alraune leader now a long-forgotten memory due to the wholesome experience this young arachne showed me.

I rubbed her raven-black hair, feeling its silky, smooth texture as the young arachne stiffened in place, before she relaxed and indulged in my touch.

If I wasn\'t any better, I would\'ve thought that I was great with kids, starting with the two children from the Shaiydons, to Domino, then Alice, and finally, this little sweety here.

"Ahaha… Forgive me for my sudden bout of laughter. It was just too funny seeing you looking like you were about to have a panic attack, while this little darling," I patted the young arachne even more, making her dose off as she basked in my attention, "Was snuggling up to my arm like a body pillow."

The older arachne looked confused for a moment, before she heaved a sigh of relief, her body relaxing as she realized there was no immediate threat to their lives.

"By the way, I haven\'t gotten your name yet, as well as this little cutey." I patted the young arachne even more, the young arachne now leaning into my touch even more. "Care to enlighten me?"

"Ah! Yes, of course." The older arachne fidgeted in place as she cleared her throat, her legs on her spider-half chittering in place. Whether it was due to nervousness, anxiety, or embarrassment, I have no idea, but I will admit, for a scary looking spider body, it looked kinda cute…

Oh no, something\'s awakening in me…

"Greetings, Dungeon Master Jionni. I am called Qhanti, and my younger sister over there is Qhithish." The older arachne, now named Qhanti, did a curtsey, albeit slightly modified due to her lower half. Qhithish, who was basking in my attention, noticed her older sister bowing to me, and she panicked, before calming down and doing the same right after retreating away from me and standing next to her bowing sister.

"Ah, Qhanti and Qhithish, nice to meet you." I gave them a nod, and they raised their heads, both of them giving me a charming smile. Charming for the older arachne, the younger one was just plain cute, what with their unique, blood-red eyes.

I approached them and put my hand forward. Qhanti, being the older of the two who dabbled in social gestures (I think), realized what I wanted and let her hand grab mine. We both shook it, and retracted our arms back.

Qhithish, who was left out of our impromptu handshake, looked jealous and promptly held her hand out, expecting me to grab it and shake it with her. Beside her, Qhanti looked aghast at the straightforward and innocent young arachne.

In response, I chuckled and also grabbed her tiny and soft hands, giving them a gentle shake and Qhithish gave me a beaming smile.

"So, what were you two doing out here?" I asked, and Qhandi tapped the giant bag that was laying on top of her spider body.

"Just bringing food to our stocks." Qhandi shrugged as she tapped the bag on top of her younger sister\'s spider body, which I hadn\'t noticed before. "Today\'s my turn to be the carrier, and I thought why not bring my younger sister to the town. I didn\'t want her to stay cooped up in our village for the rest of her life while she grew up."

"Hmm, nothing I can argue there." I shook my head as the both arachne sisters looked at each other with smiles plastered on their faces. "Anyway, can you take me to your village? I have some things to discuss with your leader, Aratella."

"Ah, of course. Come, we\'ll take you to our village, right Qhithish?" Qhandi smiled naturally as she looked at her sister, only for her smile to vanish and be replaced by a frown, quickly digressing into horror as she saw her sister doing something horrible.

That thing was climbing on my back with her spider body, which I will admit, creeped me out a bit, but I held on strong. This was just a little girl who is still a little too innocent for the grim world around her.

She then settled upon my back, her spider legs clung to my body like some kind of rib cage as her human body leaned into the back of my head, her giggling echoing in my ears all the while.

Meanwhile, Qhandi was horrified at the scene, her spider and human body quivering in fear at my assumed outburst.

Which did not happen, mind you.

"It\'s alright. I\'m used to dealing with children." One look at Domino, who was overly clingy, proved that. "Anyway, shall we get going? I still have some plans to do once my business with your leader is finished."

Qhandi looked at me with surprise, but she then relaxed as she realized that I wouldn\'t harm her sister. She gave me a sheepish look, her face apologizing for the stunt her sister was pulling, but I didn\'t hold it against her.

In fact, if you discount the spider body, it felt like she was clinging to me like some kind of security blanket.

I shook my head and the three of us went on our merry way towards their village.