Moth Ch. 033

Submitted to literotica.com by the author.

*

"Are you sure your new friend is fine?" asked his Lei. Even though she hadn't yet seen the spider-woman there was concern in her voice.

"I didn't expect her to be gone this long," said Kokata.

The sun had set and the sky was greying over.

"I can go look for her," offered his Lei.

"No," snarled Kokata, holding a leg out between Lei and the open air next to the ledge. "If she is safe she is safe, if she isn't she is dead."

It wouldn't be safe for his Lei to scout for the termites, she wasn't fast enough, she wasn't good enough at hiding, and she had no plating to offer the termites' arrows. Kokata could have gone himself, but he couldn't leave his Lei's side. Not with possible danger so close.

"We will wait a while longer," snarled Kokata for his insecurity and fear not to show.

---==(o)==---

"Are you all out of screams?" it asked, cutting a fresh line in the girl's skin.

The termite made no sound. Her pretty eyes were vacant as if she weren't there, but Death hadn't touched her yet.

It sighed.

The termite girl had gone numb. That happened sometimes after hours of torture.

It wasn't hungry so it just opened the termite's jugular and let the blood run.

"It's over now," said Death to the girl, his voice as gentle as ever, and softly caressed her cheek.

It turned from them, disinterested in that which was no more. It had enjoyed itself. It always took great pleasure in torturing pretty girls.

The leaves above rustled between it and the black sky. The glimpses of black reminded it of its man.

Black.

It sighed happily.

Night? It was night?

How long had it been playing with the termite girl?

It hadn't meant to be away from its man for this long. It looked down itself. It was as blood-smeared as it had been before he had helped it clean up. He would know that it had played with the termites in spite of his order not to.

It whined with distress. It would have to clean up before returning to its man.

---==(o)==---

Valo paced the branch, shooting glances in all directions. It was his turn to stand guard. Termites weren't likely to attack in the night. Considering the massacre they had endured they weren't likely to return at all. Not without heavy reinforcements. But there was no reason to take chances.

He glanced to his daughter and her spider. His little girl was resting against the spider's body, caressing his legs with her hands.

Valo shook his head.

Back when he had thought that maybe his little girl was still alive, he had grown accustomed to the thought that she might birth abominations for being with a butterfly. But seeing her rest in the arms, or rather legs, of an abomination would take some getting used to.

Great love.

Valo had no choice but to get used to it. The two could not be separated. The old blind seer, the healer Kuruma, had told him what would happen to his daughter if the spider died. Valo would guard him with his life.

Below, the other spider landed on the hive's ledge.

"She's back," called Valo. Relieved by the sight.

Finally they could pick up their long since packed bags and get going.

His daughter and son-in-law rose. Black was the first to reach the ledge and 'his new friend'.

"Dark," snarled Black. "What took you so long. We've been worried."

'Dark' ducked, submissively lowering herself to the ledge. Valo wasn't too fond of this 'new friend'. From what he had overheard his son-in-law telling his daughter, this 'new friend' was the one who had been cutting off termite wings and heads.

During the battle itself, Valo hadn't realised there were two spiders fighting and had thought Black had been the source of the massacre. From what he had overheard, Black, like himself, had spared as many lives as he could. 'Dark' had not.

The submissive spider-woman muttered something, Valo couldn't hear what.

"You're right to be sorry," snarled his son-in-law, at the spider-woman. "We could have left long ago if we didn't have to wait for you."

"Don't scold her like that," said Valo's daughter, who had just landed on the ledge.

Valo didn't like the look on the spider-woman's face as she raised it and stared at his little girl.

His daughter reached out an arm and placed her hand on her lover's neck.

"She saved your life," reminded Valo's daughter and fondled the back of her man's neck.

Valo didn't at all like the grimace that the spider-woman's scarred face was distorting into. His daughter and his son-in-law didn't see it. They only had eyes for each other.

"GET YOUR HANDS OF MY MAN," screamed the spider-woman and charged Valo's daughter.

Valo laid an arrow to his bow and aimed at the three-voiced, screaming, bundle of black spiders and white moth. It was moving too fast, spinning too fast. If he fired he might as easily hit his daughter as any of the spiders.

"Lei," screamed Valo, mixing his voice with theirs.

"He's mine," sounded the mad spider-woman's voice, louder than any others. "He's mine. Mine!"

---==(o)==---

Zoa was weeping but had no time to wipe her tears. When the girl's distant screams had finally ceased, she had dropped her work and gone back to her tightly packed, wounded comrades. But after a while, she had dared to leave the protection of their united blades. The more undergrowth she could burn away, the safer the rest of them would be.

She was the only one who had no injuries, she was the only one who could do it without opening closed wounds.

Zoa lowered her ember and pressed it to the stem of a plant. The fire caught on too well. Instead of felling the plant it set it aflame. Zoa put her emberstick into her termite arms and her wet blanket into her man arms, and carefully studied the fire. She couldn't allow it to run wild or the wounded would die.

With every breath, with every beat of her heart, she was aware that she, separated from her comrades, would be next. As soon as the monster returned it would take her, and she would be the one screaming in the distance.

Zoa wept and with her ember felled another plant while still keeping watch over the burning one. Her instinct was screaming at her to get back behind her comrades' blades.

---==(o)==---

Kokata jumped from branch to branch, chasing the fleeing spider-woman. He would kill her. He would cut her to tiny pieces. While he was still mid-air, the other spider landed on a trunk and skittered around it, out of his sight. Kokata jumped to where he had last seen her, and skittered around the trunk.

She was nowhere to be seen.

Kokata heaved for air, while trying to look everywhere at once.

"Where are you?" he screamed, not expecting an answer.

"Come and get me," yelled the mad woman and laughed as if they were playing a game.

---==(o)==---

"Dear life," whispered Valo, tending to the bloody bundle that was his daughter. "Dear life. Dear life. Please."

"Black," whispered his daughter, her eyes fluttering.

"Black is fine," claimed Valo. "He will be back any moment now. Any moment, you'll see." Valo hoped his words would come true.

His daughter slipped back into unconsciousness. Valo let her. He needed her to be still.

He washed the blood of one cut after the other. Every time revealing an injury far lesser than he had feared.

Valo blessed his son-in-law's swift reflexes. His daughter had lost her wings, but the rest of her would live to tell the tale.

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Posted on literotica.com with permission of author: Nanna Marker; literotica ID ellynei.