Tormented Tarns spiders in your hair, spiders everywhere

@Tatsuya 8/19/2015

 
Pale eyes balefully followed the procession of a slowly growing congregation of clouds clustering overhead. Oblivious to a singular flaxen wolf's quiet resentment, the fluffy masses continued to coalesce into progressively larger sun-shielding groups, casting the world in a dim off-blue-grey light. What a dreary day, Sien lamented. But, she forcefully reminded herself, there is no light without darkness. At least, that's what Niall would've said. Maybe. Probably.
 
Licking her lips anxiously in self-recrimination, she tried again. Perhaps we will be blessed with life-giving rain, she thought deliberately, concentrating, as per the Creator's grace. There. That was better. And sunlight will follow? her traitorous mind couldn't help but selfishly add. As if in response, the clouds slowly thickened over where she'd last seen the sun. She grimaced. Well, she'd tried. Content, if not entirely satisfied, with her morning blessing-prayer, Sien rose to her paws, edging out from beneath her overnight shelter of thick undergrowth.
 
Although she was dimly aware that she was supposed to be trying to 'live freely', whatever that actually meant, she hadn't been able to quell the instinctual need to lie low and exercise excessive amounts of caution these past few days. This new place was...unsettling. The apprehension she felt was less because the territory was unfamiliar to her - that concept was nothing novel - but rather that it was all more muted than it should've been. Fewer wildlife, fewer sounds, fewer everything. The hollow emptiness that lingered tensely was compounded by an unusually crisp freshness to the air and the combination served to make her incredibly uneasy.
 
Nevertheless, as a disciple of the Sunbound Sect, discomfort was no excuse for avoiding new experiences, or so she'd been told. And thus she pressed onward, pausing only when she reached the edge of what appeared to be an irregular grid of small pools, separated by low, narrow ridges that presumably served as pathways. Pathways for spiders, by the looks of it. What a curious setup. After performing a quick survey of the scene, Sien was just about to casually, dismissively continue when she caught herself. Despite having already reflexively catalogued and internalized any information she’d felt was worth remembering during her initial glance-over, she stopped and made sure to take a good long moment to observe, appreciate and pay her due respects to the beauty and majesty of this formation.
 
She made a point of noticing the way the light gleamed off the pools to create mirrors, in spite of the overcast sky.  And the way the impressively varied and numerous spiders clambered over one another. And how they fought and ate one another. She stared at an especially large, leggy spider intently for a few seconds, considering - but an unfamiliar smell chose that moment to make its presence known and she immediately refocused. Pack wolf. Only one, her nose informed her. Perhaps because she’d just been in the middle of concentrating on Sect ideologies, Sien actually managed to maintain her composure for once – merely tensing rather than automatically assuming a defensive fight-or-flight stance. Do you need…? The words came out more forcefully than strictly intended, and she trailed off uncomfortably, leaving the something, or someone, left unspoken.

A combination of curiosity and foreign scents is what draw him to this dreary, dank place. Having passed through here a couple times, he has found little to earn his attention. The tarns were true to its name. Most of it was water littered with strips of stable land crisscrossed throughout. Some of these strips could not handle the weight of a grown wolf. Of course, he found this out the hard way, having tested one such pathway himself...only to watch it crumble away into muck. And he with it! Now mud and algae caked his limbs and lower half as he traversed further inward. Getting dirty, he did not mind. Not so much as the feel of it. It made his fur heavy no matter how many times he tried to shake it out. Moreover, he smelled. Not terribly, but the smell was off-putting to the discriminating nose. And let's not forget the probability of god knows what lurking in those waters. Like carnivorous fish. Those were a thing, right? Well, whether they swam within these waters or not, Tatsuya was none too keen to test out that theory. He came here to get a lay of the land, not to feed any hellish amphibians.
INDENTHe's stuck around this long. All he has found thus far was a shit ton of spiderwebs and various insects. They liked to stay up in the canopy. Mostly insects that could not fly for extended periods of time, he noticed. For all these spiderwebs he kept running into (damn things), there was still an awful lot of insects skittering and buzzing about. Were the arachnids already plump from the smorgasbord? He pondered this as he trekked further in, watching where he stepped.
INDENTMovement – a flurry of many limbs – made him stop and analyze the source. It was a spider. Why am I not surprised. They cast their silk nets everywhere. This one, though – sitting motionlessly in the middle of a tree – had some peculiar colors and patterns. Tatsuya knew next to nothing about spiders, save for one. The brown recluse. This one lacked the subtle colors of it's venomous brethren, flamboyantly garbed. It stared at him with it's many, beady eyes. Raising a lip in disgust, he left it alone. It was not bothering him and – as much as he wanted to smash it just because it looked venomous – he was not willing to risk wading through dark waters just to get to it. Plus, it could easily climb up the tree just to avoid him. He moved on.
INDENTMinutes pass before he spots a shadow across the way. Canine from what he could tell. It was preoccupied with something he could not see. Tatsuya tried to find a path (or set of paths) over to her. Not an overly strenuous task. Approaching her from behind, he slowed his gait as the distance between them lessened. Nobody liked to be sneaked up on, so Tatsuya tried to announce himself. Not needed. The tawny-brown female noticed him, speaking words that sounded strained. Her choice of words were rather odd to boot, leaving conversation open ended and ill at ease. The Gamma was not about to let that color their meeting though.
INDENT“Awfully quick to be asking someone for their needs, miss,” he playfully spoke. She probably should not have left the conversation so open, though she could try to steer it back into an area of interest. “Why? What are you offering?” He adopted a convincing looked of curiosity, like he was perusing her many invisible wares.

”Awfully quick to be asking someone for their needs, miss. Why? What are you offering?”  The dark stranger spoke with obvious amusement – a sentiment Sien did not feel particularly inclined to share. She fought the urge to turn her eyes toward the heavens and ask the Creator for the strength to put up with this…well…unwelcome intruder. Frankly, any number of choicer descriptors had flitted through her mind, but so had Niall’s voice, reminding her, ”Aim to be courteous, Sien”. Tall order, that. Instead of openly expressing distaste at his choice of response, Sien put on her best customer service face, the one that said, “Boy, am I glad to be here right now at this moment talking to you; there is no other thing I’d rather be doing and no other place I’d rather be.” She had a feeling the look was decidedly more strained on her face than it’d ever been on Niall’s, but it was the thought that counted, wasn’t it?
 
Scanning the male with a neutral eye, she took in his bedraggled appearance and sized him up, filing the details away just in case, feeling only a little guilty as she did so. For a few moments, she struggled to come up with a response to his initial inquiry, not in small part because she had to keep discarding the ‘inappropriate’ and ‘out-of-character’ ones that her mind was habitually predisposed to. The silence had nearly stretched itself thin before she finally hit upon something bland and unassuming enough. ”Scenery and spiders.” She said politely, almost genially, with a small nod toward the ponds to make it clear she was not including herself in either category. Her reply left a lot to be desired, but Sien felt entirely justified; it was the stranger's own fault for presenting himself as a such a skeevy character. The implications of what he’d said had not been lost on her, and it was entirely off-putting, not least because she had yet to achieve sexual maturity and he was easily twice her age, if not more, judging by smell and appearance alone. And yet - forgiveness and understanding. She clung to the thought like a lifeline, quietly repeating it like a mantra in her head. Forgiveness and understanding.

Took some liberties in describing her. Tell me if something is not okay. :)

Factitious was her expression, barely containing the hair-trigger response of a nasty temperament. Careful. Your face will stay like like that. It was hilarious to see her so riled. He wasn't trying to upset her, but now that he has...How could he ignore the chance to hound her further into annoyance? Chances like this did not come often. And maybe if he's lucky, he'll spur her into violence. He so did love to bludgeon another. Tatsuya was not above torturing loners, but again, he leaves the ball in her court. Ever the perfect gentleman. Not.
INDENTHe mimicked her impartial gaze; one who surveys the strengths of an ally...or the weaknesses of an enemy. I wonder which you are. She was stout in structure with common features of a female. Her midriff did not taper as much as those with tinier builds. Her limbs were substantial; muscular enough to support her heft. Triangular distaff face with inlaid pale yellow eyes; framed by tufts of honey and ivory. Her pelt was shaggy in texture, resembling swaying fields of golden wheat. Overall, a beauty with uncommon traits.
INDENT“I've seen enough of both to last me two lifetimes,” came his dry retort, motioning down to his gritty lower half. Would it come as a surprise if spiders were nesting in his fur? Or any other insect for that matter? Urge to bathe vigorously rising. “You...smell relatively new.” That she did. Was she an outsider having stumbled upon the Teekon Wilds just as he once had?

nah you're cool

The male assessed her as she had him, and though Sien remained on guard, his aloof analysis did not rankle. Tit for tat, after all. His countenance betrayed nothing save for dispassionate acknowledgement, and she found herself wondering whether she hadn’t perhaps misjudged him after all. But then, Sien had never been the best at interpreting the intricacies of facial expressions or the wily ways of words – those had been Cerise’s specialties. Her own lay grounded in understanding the broader, more physical strokes, like what stance to assume to avoid being knocked down given the particular trajectory of an attack or how many days a prey item would last them for; the bigger picture of the fight, Cerise had once said. There was really no point reminiscing now, but Sien always found herself returning to the familiarity of the past whenever confronted with an uncomfortable present.
 
”I’ve seen enough of both to last me two lifetimes,” he said, sounding unimpressed as he gestured towards his unkempt state. Sien snorted before she could stop herself, and then cleared her throat apologetically. Maybe if you spent more time appreciating it than you did dismissing it, you’d find that it wasn’t even enough for half a lifetime, she thought quietly to herself, remembering more than one occasion when she would’ve been happy to encounter a never-ending field of spiders. "Sorry. Of course.” she said instead. Nevertheless, it wasn’t as if she didn’t understand, she herself still struggled to remember to cherish the entirety of this world every waking hour, no, moment, of her existence in it, and she had a lot of catching up to do besides. Had it been this difficult for Niall? Somehow she doubted it, he’d been so devout… come to think of it, now would be a perfect time to segue into a Sect exposition.
 
Sien glanced briefly skyward at pearly diffusion of light through clouds where the Creator must be. Give me strength…, she urged, before immediately returning her attention to the dark stranger, instinctive caution overriding devotion. ”You…smell relatively new.”  he interrupted. Forgive me, she amended, I can't do it. If she’d been alone, Sien might’ve closed her eyes in prayer. Instead, she merely flicked an ear backwards for a half-second, annoyed at her own weakness, but also – very privately – relieved. She didn’t want the first wolf she ever shared the Sect with apart from Niall to be suspicious Captain Obvious himself, and she doubted he’d properly appreciate its doctrine anyways. Clear yourself of judgment, rang through her mind unbidden. Sien internally winced, but with a conciliatory 'Sorry', opted to push the reminder aside in favor of responding. ”Yes,” she stated simply, confirming his observation, but not the inference attached to it. ”And you smell...established. She continued, returning the favor. After a moment’s hesitation, ”I’m Sien.” she offered, tersely. Another pause. Then, ”You?” It was an apology of sorts, for failing to live up to Sect expectations.

Derision. This in itself raised a brow. She took offense, but was apologetic two times over. Tatsuya critically eyed her in lieu of impassivity now. Hesitancy, second guessing? Their meeting was in its infancy thus he could not pinpoint the origin of her state of mind.
INDENTClueless as to how he offended her, he remained courteous. No sneering, no snorting, no looking up to – why is she doing that? Tatsuya looked up, hoping to see whatever captured her interest. Nothing out of the ordinary. Just leaves, insects, and the sky. Wait a minute. Is she...? No, no. Best not assume, but he had this sneaking suspicion – it buzzed in the back of his head like a fly. Would it be bad to assume she was looking to a higher power? Was religion too taboo a subject to push on to someone he has just met? Should he insinuate that she was the pious sort, she might respond negatively. He refrained from commenting then and there, but the thoughts continued to prosper.
INDENTOr! She saw a bird. Dang! He must have missed it. Over-analyzing simple gestures was his specialty, but to miss scoping out some choice bird booty plumage...Truly disheartening.
INDENTHer comment resonated with him in a bad way. Shit. Is that what I sound like? No wonder she was ruffled. “Tatsuya.” An apology for being an absolute tit. Conversation did not come easy to him, especially when forced. Involuntary amiability shifted to deference. Taking initiative was fun and all, but maybe he should just...be quiet. Let her do the talking. Allow the silence to speak for them. Apprehensively, his tail twitched behind him. As harrowing as it felt, the Gamma let Sien do (or say) as she please. To devolve into persiflage was not on his list of things to do today.

Was it her imagination or did the male look almost abashed? Maybe she really had misjudged him. ”Tatsuya.” He said, and introductions were complete at last. Not much else seemed to be on the table by way of conversation though, if the silence that descended after his response was any indication. It was curious; he seemed restless and yet he was deliberately allowing the conversation to stagnate. Was he hoping she would find the silence untenable and start spilling all her secrets voluntarily? She regarded him shrewdly – but no. While Sien wasn’t much of an expert in reading faces, she could pick up on body language just fine, and his had all the subtleties of submission. He was allowing her the platform? What, did he run out of glaringly obvious observations to comment on? she thought, before she could help herself. Shame burned hot in her veins momentarily, even before whatever part of Niall lived on in her head reminded her, Rather than suspicion, try acceptance, invitation.
 
She shot Tatsuya a vaguely repentant look, feeling almost as if she was corralling herself into some sort of one-sided apology cycle. He’d probably assume she was sorry for allowing the discourse to languish for so long, if he even picked up on it, which wasn’t entirely false but she was certainly less sorry for that than she was for continuously failing to uphold Sect ideals. Terrible, her mind agreed. You should really say something right about now, it continued. But what was there to say? It’s such a lovely day? Not only was that patently untrue – only by non-Sect standards though – but just because Capt– Tatsuya had depleted his stores of bland remarks, it didn’t mean she had to take his place. She might’ve asked him if he had business in these parts, except not only had he already deflected a similar inquiry, but Sien highly doubted that line of questioning was capable of sustaining itself, considering whatever it was clearly wasn’t imperative enough that he couldn’t waste time standing around chatting her up. 
 
What did normal wolves converse about? Not for the first time, she wished Cerise was here to grab the conversation by its throat and steer it somewhere worthwhile. Feeling as if she’d already long exceeded the normal grace period for contributing to conversational continuity, Sien blurted out the first thing that came to mind. ”Ever eaten spiders?” She asked, completely deadpan, and proceeded to quietly die a little inside. ...Nice going, her mind supplied helpfully. Even her own thoughts sounded weary and more than a little appalled.

Any other time, the Gamma would have been glad for the quiet. But then that would kickoff the premise that they were companionable in this wordless moment whereas they were not. They were a far item from familiar as this meeting grew beyond its infantile stages straight into the grave. Tatsuya breathed profoundly, sighing over their moribund conversation. Patience evaporated in the minutes of her continued silence. Sien alone consoled him in speaking up, but the subject was, er...unusual. Her impassive expression really added to The Awkward.
INDENT“No,” he replied with a small, albeit empathetic smile. Letting her take over was a bad idea but he was not going to drag her for the ineptitude. Mentally he was guffawing at her blunder. Who the hell eats spiders?! Gods! She must be out of her mind! Or desperate! Very desperate. Which raised the question: “have you?” Please go into vivid detail! I wanna regale my pack mates back home with your lunacy!

Sien waited for some sort of fallout, whether that manifested itself in an exclamation of disgust or morbid curiosity, but ultimately, she got neither. “No, have you?” He asked, smiling. For some reason his placidity bothered her a lot more than the expected response. He’s being tolerant, as should you, said her inner Niall, but her instincts weren’t so sure. Was he making fun of her? Pitying her? Or something more insidious – faking friendliness so that she might lower her guard and he could go in for the kill? You’re being paranoid, her mind chastised. Or was that Niall? Maybe both. It was getting difficult to tell these days; whether that was a positive change…well, only time would tell. ”Yes,” Sien replied at last, after coming to a decision. Her tail raised halfway and swung slowly, deliberately, back and forth; once, twice, then stilled, holding its position. ”They taste acceptable,” She continued, sensing that the additional information would be well-received. ”Some better, some worse.” She gave a careless half-shrug, then pinned him with knowing look. ”Want to try?” She asked, and tilted her head just-so, gaze sharpening with avid interest. It was a challenge of sorts.

It'd crossed his mind, this spider eating business. Never went through with it though. They were virtually unappetizing. He imagined how it'd feel on his tongue, how it'd slide down his throat...No thanks. And while these beliefs were not real, they were pictorial in mental sensation, taste and sight. Sien's admission had other adverse influences on his body. All of which were unseen, unheard, unsung.
INDENT“They taste acceptable,” she said. Sien equalized that argument with one of doubt. Tatsuya remained unconvinced. His kindhearted smile vanished at her proposition, mouth straightening into a stiff line. Was she serious? Squinting at her in incredulity, Tatsuya grew noiseless. Weighing the pros and cons of eating spiders, he openly contemplated Sien's dare. On one hand, spiders could prove to be an alternate food source. On the other, he might die because he ate a venomous spider. Sien's goading stare earned her a blustery “hmph!” Like hell he was going to back down from a challenge.
INDENTDown he looked, eyes searching the loamy earth. I cannot believe I'm doing this. The thought repeated itself over and over in his head, carrying on like a scratched record. On he hunted, tenaciously probing for the insect in question. Hm. Maybe that one? It was standing on a damp leaf on the ground, it's teeny arms moving in minuscule motions he could not comprehend. It's species was common enough to abate his nerves. No bigger than a wolf's digits, black, compact, fleet of foot. These little guys were everywhere. If they were inedible, Tatsuya was positive he would have perished long ago.
INDENTTatsuya snapped at it thoughtlessly, taking the arachnid and the leaf into his mouth. Great. Now it was bound to taste like crap. Not wanting to appear a nitpick (or a coward) before Sien, he got to work. Chewing noisily and shakily, he ground the leaf and the spider into mush. Then he swallowed. Ew. Shuddering in disgust, he turned to Sien with a overwrought expression. Why did I think this was a good idea? Stupid. Whatever. At least he had accomplished what he set out to do. Rapidly, he fixed Sien with an unapologetic glower. I hate you. And it's your turn.

The smile fell from the wolf’s lips, and his expression tightened into one more akin to a grimace. Whatever friendly light had occupied his eyes before dimmed, replaced by disbelief. Sien observed the transformation with quiet amusement, private satisfaction and a touch of curiosity – if he was faking it, how dedicated was he to his cause? When he realized she wasn’t kidding, an arrogant exhale left his lips. ”Hmph!” She eyed him shrewdly, waiting. The male didn’t disappoint. He cast his gaze upon the ground and moved, hunting erratically and impatiently, if not particularly enthusiastically for a target. A flicker of surprise crossed Sien’s face for a mere fraction of a second, before her features rearranged themselves into an expression of faint approval.
 
For all her passive-aggressive provocation, she hadn’t expected him to rise to the challenge – though whether this proved the authenticity of his cordiality was up for debate. On one hand, true, it did seem like he was only accepting out of some compulsion to protect his pride and likely fragile ego, but on the other, he could just be more invested in the nefarious farce she secretly suspected him of – Creator forgive her – than she initially gave him credit for. Or it could just be that eating spiders wasn’t a particularly difficult or repulsive task; Sien certainly wasn’t bothered by it – but then, she’d been told more than once before that her standards weren’t particularly exacting.
 
Sien watched as Tatsuya, or so he’d introduced himself, passed over several choice spiders and finally settled on a small one, snatching it up, along with the leaf it was on, in one swift motion. He then proceeded to chew and swallow hastily, shuddering dramatically before turning to pin her with an agitated look that soon dissolved into an accusatory one. Your turn, his expression seemed to say. Unfortunately for the male, Sien had no intention of giving him any sort of gratification by accepting his unspoken invitation.”Small… hardly anything.” she noted instead, tone colored faintly by disappointment and even more faintly by contempt.
 
And then, despite her resolve not to personally partake in making a meal of spiders, she made to move and her eyes turned toward the earth, searching. I am grateful for your sacrifice, she intoned piously, as her keen gaze raked over the turf, and for the sacrifices of those that are soon to follow. Spotting her target, a beautifully large garden spider busily spinning its web, Sien stopped and glanced back at Tatsuya. She gestured for him to come, jerking her head slightly to the side in come-hither motion before speaking,  ”This one; bigger’s better.” She smiled neutrally, knowingly. ”Don’t be afraid,” she reassured, after a full minute had passed. The smile gained a mocking edge.

Tatsuya just wanted to escape that whole mess of awkward drudged up between the two of them. It was awful and he did not deserve that kind of grief in his life. Neither did he deserve the nauseous sensation of leafy greens and spider guts on his palate, but that was doltishly self inflicted. All in all, Sien was good at showing just how much he despised his way of thinking. “Hey! Let's eat some spiders to escape this thorny conversation!” “Sounds good to me!” And he went along with it. Perfect. Just peachy.
INDENT“Small...hardly anything.” Her timbre rung disappointment and faint contempt. A bitter pill to swallow. Tatsuya looked her in the eye, visage twisting into one of equal displeasure. I don't see you doing any better sweety. No spider yet graced her tongue. Once she started looking around did the wolverine's catty attitude subside. Yeah, that's what I– Sien grew still, attention ensnared. Tatsuya came closer, convinced she found a bigger, better arachnid to up her game because she was obviously losing. She then revealed that he'll be eating this ugly bastard instead. Commence major side-eye from Tatsuya. Him? Afraid? Psh!
INDENTYeah no. He was definitely intimidated by this thing. It was big, especially it's abdominal area. Long, brown-black legs plucked at silken strands. Presumably to test durability. It's cephalothorax is off white and it's abdomen is clad in identifiable yellow and black markings. Uncanny zigzag web. The Gamma has seen this species before. They were not rare. Not to Teekon or other regions.
INDENTGenerally, he would leave these critters alone. But this – this – was going inside him. He is going to eat it, it will dissolve in his stomach acid, and he will shit it out when the time comes. If I survive.
INDENT“It loo-” He stopped once he saw Sien's derisive grin. “It looks venomous” is what he was going to say. Tatsuya was not above voicing his vexation. Yet Sien – who has still not eaten a spider – had the gall to mock him. Lifting a lip to reveal a single canine, Tatsuya snorted. Passive-aggressive and mockery? One attribute was uncomely, let alone two. It seemed the more time he spent investing his time in this stranger, the more she began to reveal just who she really was.
INDENTThe Gamma was torn between mercy and retribution. Was it a rickety ego that made his blood run hot? This isn't a pissing contest. The Gamma was not always immune to jabs, as Sien would learn. He was a beast of cause and effect. Always has been, always will be. But all this aggression – however justified – was delaying the inevitable.
INDENTWithout so much as a glance at the spider, Tatsuya snapped and swallowed. To his surprise (and rising horror), no spider innards graced his tongue. Confused, he looked down. The spider was gone. Tatsuya searched, frantic. East, west, south – he looked everywhere. It was nowhere to be found. I SWALLOWED IT WHOLE! This was it. This is how he was going to die. He will soon have shuffled off the mortal coil. Kaput. Destroyed. Food for the worms. The wolverine looked down, visibly shaken by his imminent death. Mom, dad. I love you. Brother. You're an ass, but I love you too. Dear Tonravik...

The male eyed her with a not inconsiderable amount of distrust. ”It loo-“ he started, then cut off abruptly. It looks? What does it look like to you?, Sien wondered. She glanced at the spider again and saw nothing noteworthy. It was large, yes, but she hadn’t been lying when she said bigger was better. Yes, she’d taunted him knowing he’d shy away from the size, but the more sizable the spider, the more filling and nutritious it would be. Sien was nothing if not practical, and if these arachnids had to die somewhat needlessly to line their – his – stomach, when there were better options available, then she was going to make sure it counted. It’s a pity, she thought, as Tatsuya sneered and snorted at her, That the lesson will be lost on him.
 
While Sien waited patiently, Tatsuya seemed to deliberate for a moment. Presumably coming to some sort of conclusion, he proceeded to snap blindly at the spider. She lifted a brow, mildly amazed, as he completely missed and the creature scuttled off unscathed, nestling itself into a patch of tall grasses off to Sien’s side. He seemed to have believed he’d snatched it, however, and went through the entire range of swallowing motions, contorting his face into various expressions of distaste, before a look of bewilderment crossed his features and he glanced down, then all around, searching with obvious rising panic.  Incredible, Sien thought, with a touch of disbelief. She couldn’t resist. ”Shouldn’t have done that.” She remarked, visibly amused. ”Will spin web, lay eggs inside,” she added, injecting a note of admonishment into her voice to make the act seem more genuine.
 
But then – Be nice, Niall’s voice reprimanded, even as the last words left her mouth. Sien internally heaved a sigh, resigned. Right, of course, she thought, Taking it too far; forgive me.  Yet, she kept an eager eye on the male, fully intending on making the most of her religious misdemeanor, it having been said and done already, as it were. She waited for a few calculated minutes before dropping the act. ”Kidding,” she amended, mildly apologetic, but clearly entertained by his suffering nonetheless. ”Here,” she indicated, turning to locate the spider once more. She would do him a favor, she decided suddenly, struck by inspiration. Leaning forward, Sien nabbed the spider with a quick snap of her jaws, crushing it decisively. And since he wanted it so much, in apology – She ground her teeth delicately, severing the arachnid into two messy pieces lengthwise even as it continued to writhe desperately.  Then, lowering her head while keeping a wary eye on the male, she dropped one still-twitching half on the ground in front of him, eyeing him expectantly even as she finished off her portion. ”Not bad,” Sien concluded, and after running her tongue across her teeth to catch any stray pieces, she offered him an encouraging half-smile.

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In the seconds of frantic goodbyes (which evolved into incomprehensible gobbledygook) did Sien have the balls to tell him: “Shouldn’t have done that. Will spin web, lay eggs inside.” Here he was already half way through the five stages of grief. Against all odds, Tatsuya went backward instead of forward. Farewell bargaining. Hello anger. You don't fucking say? Like I wanted to eat a spider whole. I didn't even wanna take part in this in the first place! Fuck you. Don't fucking take that tone of voice with me. I am going to die! In no small part thanks to you! How dare – who the fuck chides someone who's close to death?! Huh?! You're heartless! Fuck you!
INDENTHello again bargaining. I used to pray daily to you, okay. Pops told me all about you. Said he was not as religious as he was when he was younger, but he followed no other in times of hardship. He was – maybe still is – a one god kind of guy. He told me about your mortal life, what you went through, all the lives you touched...Bless you. I thank you for your sacrifice. And I apologize for not worshiping you like a I used to. I...A lot of stuff has happened since then. I mean, that doesn't excuse my heresy, but dad did say you are a being of limitless love and patience. So, I call on you now – please, I don't wanna die.
INDENTBefore moving on to depression, Sien – fuck you bitch – decided to speak up. Kidding. She was...kidding. You know, the whole ha ha ha, you fell for it! kind of kidding. Tatsuya wasn't laughing. He was smiling, maniacally, at her fucked up kind of humor. Who does that? Who – what? Just, what the fuck? But seriously, what the ever loving fuck did he do to deserve going through all of that just now? There was nothing funny about traumatizing somebody like that. No. Hell no. It wasn't even remotely fucking funny. But oh! OH! She was apologetic! Tatsuya watched her with the same maniacal smile, intelligibly entertained.
INDENTNo amount of apologies could forgive the suffering she wreaked.
INDENTJust to rub in how badly she Fucked Up, the wolverine ate his half. He chewed. And chewed. And chewed, tasting every single centimeter the arachnid had to offer. By the looks of it, he was neither disgusted or delighted by the taste. Actually, his countenance was one of acerbic scorn. Swallowing, his visage went blank for a few seconds before a crooked grin split across his face. Sien would surely see the remaining spider bits on his teeth. He turned and the expression fell. Joke's on you, asshole. Tatsuya left. Let her sit and think about what she just did; he was done here.

A kaleidoscope of emotions appeared to cascade over Tatsuya’s face – anger, pleading, helplessness – and then he smiled. His grin was a touch too broad, and his eyes were wide, almost manic. She really had taken it too far, apparently. Sien stared at the male warily, in case his sudden insanity chose to take a turn towards violence. But it seemed she needn’t have worried; he merely leaned down and gobbled up the spider, motions jerky and mechanical. An automaton, Sien might’ve thought, had wolves any familiarity with such notions. He then proceeded to chew for what she felt like was an inordinately excessive amount of time, scornful apathy decorating his face all the while.

Sien found herself wondering whether the expression was directed at her, the spider, the situation, or some combination thereof. All of the above? she guessed, feeling another twinge of guilt. Here she was, a disciple of the Sect, casting aspersions on and being continuously catty to a wolf she was most certainly, by any interpretation of Sect teachings, supposed to be understanding and friendly towards. She exhaled slowly through her nose, another, more direct apology readying itself on the tip of her tongue. Before she could voice it, Tatsuya, who had since swallowed and seemingly froze for a second, as if resetting his expression, grinned wildly at her, baring all his teeth like some sort of lupine Cheshire cat, before turning tail and departing.

”Sorry,” she murmured under her breath at his retreating figure, but of course it was too late. ”Sorry you’re so weak,” her mind interjected snidely – but no, she didn’t really mean that. Once the male had all but disappeared into the distance, Sien lowered her head and pinned her ears back, certainly abashed now if she hadn’t been before. She closed her eyes and pictured the Creator’s image, lids flickering as she belatedly sought to pinpoint the actual sun’s presence in the sky sight unseen. I’m the one who’s weak; forgive me. she prayed fervently. Next time; I’ll definitely do better next time, she promised. Repentance complete in a matter of seconds, she immediately straightened and cast a sharp glance around the area, relaxing only after making sure there were no imminent threats that’d been planning on taking advantage of her moment of piety. After a brief bout of consideration as to her next course of action, Sien decided that she’d take a leaf from Tatsuya’s tree and take her leave, now that she had no bothersome interesting company to chain her here entertain. The tarns were beautiful yes, and unique, certainly, but there was still plenty of the Creator's work she'd yet to see. With that thought in mind, she continued on her way.