The Legacy of the Spider Clan [Contract Search]

[Kazu]

Burnt logs, halfway buried in the sand surrounded the young man. Enclosed on all sides by large stone outcropping, the winds of the desert were calmer here. Not as much sand from dust storms could make its way in here, nor did the harsh winds batter and beat against those who stood within. The space was fairly large, about 100 meters across. It was enough space for a village of 30 homes to live together, cultivate food, and general lead a pleasant life. All of that, however, was in the past. Nothing remained of the once proud village but sand and charcoal, a harsh reminder of the young man's past. Takeyashi was a shinobi of the Village Hidden in the Sand, but he hadn't been born there. While he didn't remember any of his time here, this had once been his home. This place was where his parents had lived, and also where they had died. Takeyashi took a deep breath, steadying himself in this place which meant only sorrow and loss to him.

Years ago, when he'd learned the truth about his parents and his heritage, Takeyashi had made his way into the desert to seek out his birthplace. His aunt and his uncle worried, but they knew this was important to the young man. They let him go, assured by the fact that the Diamond Maelstrom had ceased in its constant bombardment. Even with the aid of maps, it took the young man three days to find this place on his own. If anything positive could be said, it was that this village had been very well hidden — without a map, or being very familiar with the area, the young shinobi never would have found this place those four or five years ago. He was not ashamed to admit that, when he'd entered the first time and saw face to face what was left of this hidden treasure, he wept most violently. Tears of sorrow, regret, and anger all flowed out of him that day. He must have spent two full days there, simply imagining what life must have been like for his parents there. He erected two gravestones, one for each of his parents, at the center of the ruined village. And every now and again, when he had time, the young Spiderling would come to visit his parents.

Today was one such day. He was knelt down in front of his parents' graves, made of two large boulders the young man had found scattered around the rock walls that surrounded him. Over the years, he'd engraved their names and added other decorations — smaller rocks arranged around the edges of the bigger boulders, in intricate and beautiful patterns. Today, he'd come with small pieces of quartz that he'd found on his way here as a small offering to his parents. He didn't like bringing flowers, since they always withered too fast. Stones and rocks lasted much longer in this harsh environment. The six-armed young man sat quietly before the graves, his expression sober and mournful. He was dressed in his usual clothing: a dark brown tunic, which was cut off around his shoulders so that there was nothing to hamper the movement of his extra limbs; a light tan length of cloth that he wore around his neck, protecting his skin and being versatile enough to cover his head when out in the blazing heat; a pair of light tan pants that were tied down to his upper calf with drawstring; a dark brown covering over his pants and parting to each side just over his upper right leg, with a golden band around its edges and a small imprint of the symbol of Sunagakure on its left side; a pair of military sandals with an open footing design, secured to his feet with a few straps that allowed his feet to not be completely covered in the desert heat; a belt pouch which stored all sorts of shinobi supplies; a dark brown mottled coat, which was currently unbuttoned and billowing behind him in the heated winds which blew everywhere; finally, a dark brown bow that was fastened to his back outside of his cloak. He carried with him a full waterskin, which held approximately two days worth of water. It was a rather arduous task to make the journey to this location — one would only make the trip if it was important.

As he sat there, contemplating everything, the young man spoke. His voice was steady, but hidden just below his words was a sadness that ran deep. "Hey, Mom. Hey, Dad. I'm sorry I haven't been able to come more often, things have been getting really busy for me. I'm trying to do everything that I can to serve the village — I think I would have made you proud. I'm always trying to do better, so that one day I can make you guys really happy. I can't say it's easy. It's really hard, sometimes, to fit in with people." He paused, his arms shaking a little. He was referring to his extra appendages: the very things that made him unique, also made him an outcast. The young man felt more like a boy right now, scared and needing a loving embrace. "I understand why you two did what you did. Living, even if it's hard, is worth it. I just..." A single tear trickled down his face. "...I just wish I'd had the chance to get to know you better." The young man grew silent, left alone with his thoughts. The silence was therapeutic, almost cathartic. Takeyashi tried to relax, listening to the sound of the wind flowing above the village. He closed his eyes, rested his body, and let himself be consumed by all but the sound of the wind.

[ooc: Using my Discovery of Contract of Your Choice card found here to find the Spider Contract. For the mod that takes up this search, below is a little excerpt of relevant background information to put this topic into context.]

Spoiler

His Auntie began to talk. She explained that she wasn't his mother's sister, but had been a close friend of hers. She told Takeyashi about how his parents had not been shinobi. They were clansmen of a hidden family, known as the Hachiashi. They possessed a unique kekkei genkai, giving them an unusual connection to spiders. They hid from the world because of their abnormal bodies: with six arms each, and the odd abilities to produce webbing out of a special mucus they produced, civilians and other commoners were fearful of them. Dreaded as monsters and demons, the clan was forced into hiding for fear of persecution. Takeyashi's mother and father had both been members of this hidden clan, and his Auntie had become friends with his mother when she accidentally stumbled upon their village. Treated as a member of their own family, Takeyashi's Auntie was the greatest friend his mother had ever had. That was why, when his mother came to her, Takeyashi's Auntie was glad to help. It had turned out that when Takeyashi was conceived, his mother and father grew afraid of the life their child would have. They knew that if they raised him and taught him the arts of their clan, he would never be able to live a life free from persecution. He would be hated, and hunted, just as they were. They wanted a better life for Takeyashi, and asked his Auntie to raise him instead. If he lived his life as a civilian, spared from the shinobi arts that would be his curse, he would grow into a healthy and normal adult. The clan's abilities would only manifest through the training of the chakra coils, and only during the adolescent years of development. After that time had passed, his abilities would remain dormant and inert — he would never have to endure the things they had to.

Of course, his Auntie had agreed. She and her husband took the child in, and raised him with love. However, a few months after Takeyashi's parents had asked his Auntie to take care of him, the hidden village of the Hachiashi Clan was pillaged and looted. Another local village, fearing for their safety, had found the hidden village and attacked them during the night. No one was found alive the next morning, and the bodies of Takeyashi's parents were never found. Grief stricken, Takeyashi's Auntie vowed not to let their baby live through that kind of suffering as well. She would do everything in her power to give him a normal life, free from ridicule and mistrust.

 

[Shieo]

[ Congratulations the Contract Path to Spiders has been found! ]

In the moment, the world felt still. All that existed with the faint casting of a breeze that brushed against your body at all angles. It gave a sensation of weightlessness, a feeling passed over you that enacted the emotion of understanding. While basked in the suns glow and endless source of heat, it nearly formed a picturesque of a passage.
This sensation in-spite his grief carried itself in light. That is of course- Until the wind carried a very faint sound to the East. If immediately drawn to attention, the sound would stifle back into the abyss of the desert. Distance wise, one could gauge about forty feet from your position. Stationed behind one of the many out-crops.

While the sand breezed through the occasional natural opening, from this angle it was apparent specifically to you that an abnormality existed within’ an opening. Threads, glistening ever so faintly in the blended colors of the rocks and horizon of sand from the expanse of the dunes further out. To any other this may seem normal, but the color and strength of it held fast- It was fresh.

It of course was at this moment, you did not feel alone. Although you recognize the threads exist from an arachnid of some description, you felt nothing with your senses- nothing spoke, moved in the distance. Even among the ruined buildings that scatter the area, buried or otherwise still somewhat standing remain stationary, dead and withering to the elements that managed to break through the occasional hole of the natural defenses. The area felt drier than before. Scattered across the stone-work, you notice smaller dig-outs. Judging by the shadows they cast within' most appear to go down quite deep - to the West some sized for smaller critters like rats, others large enough for a boar to shuffle into. Further North other entry-ways appear to be accesses you would see as if doors to a house, which one could wager is exactly their purpose. At the end of it all, the lingering question rested - Where did the sound come from, in this abandoned village- Hidden from the world?

 

[Kazu]

These winds were calming. Eroding away at his emotions as if they were stones being turned into dust, Takeyashi felt at peace with himself. It always hurt to come here, but he never left sad or frustrated. He couldn't stay mad in this sort of place. As the winds blew around him, he reveled in the cold and warm dichotomy of the winds and the sun. He felt like a nexus, a connection point between two realms. Cold and hot. The past and the future. Civilization and barbarism. These thoughts all flowed through his head, until suddenly something cut through his musings like a sharpened knife — there was a sound, out of place and foreign. Takeyashi opened his eyes, tying himself back to the here and now. The sound had come from the east, which was over to his right. It hadn't sounded like any of the fauna that existed around here — the young man had hunted or otherwise had run-ins with every type of creature known to these lands. He'd been coming here regularly for years, and that sound was definitely not one he recognized. The spiderling picked himself up off the ground, bowed once more to his parents' graves, and then excused himself. He'd heard the sound coming from somewhere around the outcropping of the wall, and so he started his search there. His eyes swiveled and swept over the land around him, much like a hawk might when searching for prey, There didn't seem to be anything amiss — he didn't hear the sound again, nor did he notice anything unusual. He was about to turn back around when, out of the corner of his eyes, he saw it.

Spider's thread. He recognized the texture, pattern, and the mucus as similar to his own mucus-based webbing. His abilities were naturally aligned with a spider's, and so recognizing the thread was like looking at his own work. But there was more to this tale: this thread was fresh. After a while, threading usually tends to dry out. He knew this from experience. Judging by this thread's thickness, length, and its composition told even more: this was not normal silk. The creature that made this was no ordinary spider. Furthermore, whatever was in here with him was foreign — silk spinning spiders were uncommon in the desert, especially this far from water. Tarantulas existed here, but they typically don't spin silk out in the open like this. Whatever spun this web was definitely not from around here. Suddenly, Takeyashi realized that he wasn't alone in this deserted village.

What troubled him even more, though, was that something this big should have been noticeable. Looking back around him, he surveyed the land to see if he could spot poorly hidden movement. To his disappointment, and steadily growing alarm, there was not so much as a shifting dune of sand. What he did notice, however, was there were small holes — and some much larger holes — that had been carved into the side of the stone walls. Some of them looked like the size of a rat's nest, whereas others looked large enough for the young man to climb into. It was rather eerie, especially considering that he hadn't noticed these additions to the area until now. A few things were for sure: he was not alone, there may be more than one new creature here, and the creatures were spiders of some sort. But what sort of spider could live this deep in the desert?

Takeyashi couldn't just leave. This place was his birthplace, and his parents' graves. There was no way that he would just roll over and let some invading creatures snatch away this place from him. The young shinobi drew his bow, Bonebreaker, creating a bundle of arrows using his Mokuton Element. The arrows were already laced with toxins — he was preparing for the absolute worst right now. He began to head towards the northern wall, keeping his distance while slowly approaching to try and survey the bores in the wall. Perhaps he would learn something about what exactly was going on?

 

[Shieo]

During his time of preparation. It felt more and more as if he was being watched- although it was difficult if impossible at this point to determine the location of where it was coming from. With everything within’ a relatively similar color palette one could make the assumption whatever it was, blended with the surroundings remarkably well.
Inevitably Takeyashi would make it was towards the door-like incision in the stone-work, during this time he hadn’t encountered any resistance or suggestion of hostilities. Each bore he looked into had a layer of sandy dust collected from neglect and with the only occasional discovery of a bug skittering away into the deep crevices.

Inside the largest crevice, namely the door-like access you caught at the corner of your eye that it appears to wind downwards some ways, one would wager it was that of a spiral stair-case for the closest comparison.
If decided to enter, Takeyashi would feel the light brushing of cobweb to his skin. While nothing moved or seemed alerted, he too felt quite fine. Nothing suggested laced poisons or otherwise.
The descent through the creature or man-made stair-well went down for what felt like ages, it wasn’t lit. No bores otherwise to house torches either. Whatever the access was for it, did not have any implications it was solely for man. The further Takeyashi went, the less it felt like he was being watched and the temperature was steeply dropping. The natural coolness of the stone did wonders for focus and attention, not that it helped greatly with the darkness that affected vision and maintaining some level of sense around him.

Upon reaching the bottom, which despite the dark nature of the surroundings. It was plain to Takeyashi he had entered a chamber that was excessively expansive. Each corner from the rather tight ‘stairwell’ cut off by a ninety-degree angle and drifted into the abyss of darkness. There was enough air down here to be comfortable, and sound travelled with ease. This became apparent with the occasional clicking and tapping, although it did take some time to travel to you- As an immediate location, it felt and sounded distinctly far off.

After gathering your bearings and getting some sense of your surroundings, you’ve discovered that the chamber is significantly vast, but has a lead. Further North from the stairwell, you think. Leads to a chiseled and glass smooth wall of stone, with one entryway. The wall itself extends to the roof of the cave, a quick estimate would produce about fifty-feet high.

If Takeyashi decided to enter, it became quickly known that what was entered seemed to be a maze; with the feeling of being watched and the occasional pitter in the darkness. Each wall was the same as the last, smoothed and suggesting nothing more than it lead to another wall.

Where does it lead?

 

[Kazu]

The string of his bow was taut, pulled all the way back to the young man's cheek in preparation of a surprise attack. There seemed to be many indents in the walls, but none of them seemed to have anything in them. Only the largest one, which had caught his eye before, seemed to hold a secret. As he closed the distance between himself and the massive hole in the wall, his brow furrowed and his eyes narrowed. Suspicion was coursing throughout his body. "Stairs? Those weren't there last time..." Indeed, this seemed to be a new addition to the landscape. He surely would have noticed a doorway the many times he'd visited this village before, right? Uneasy, the young man wasn't sure whether it would be wise to go in. This could be a trap, or an underground den of roaming thieves. Walking in alone could be dangerous. And yet, he felt compelled to enter. It was as if the steps were calling to him, inviting him in. Casting away his doubts, the young man decided that he would enter — if he was walking into a trap, so be it. He'd merely have to fight his way out. Resolving himself to his fate, the young man took his first few steps down into the passageway. He felt the light touch of spider's silk brush past his hand, indicating to him that — despite his prior judgement — this tunnel was old enough to acquire the mark of time passed: cobwebs. Something wasn't truly old if there weren't cobwebs nearby.

As he made his way down the stairs, his suspicions of a newly formed hideout for rogues or bandits was quickly shattered. The light quickly disappeared as he walked farther downwards, and there were no holsters for torches of any kind. This didn't feel human in design. This knowledge didn't change his resolve to continue going, and only served as inspiration for his next action. Drawing chakra into his hand, the young man would create a small lantern out of pure chakra. It didn't give off a lot of light, but it was enough for the young man to see by. He figured it would give away his position to anyone who might be down in the passageways below, but he figured that anything already down there was used to the dark. There wasn't much sense in trying to stay hidden against an enemy with the home field advantage — this way, he would at least be on an even playing field if a brawl were to occur. Having tied the lantern to the cloth around his wait, he continued down the stairway for what seemed like forever. The young man still held onto his bow — while he couldn't draw it fully while walking down the steps, he knew it might be handy to keep it drawn.

Eventually, the young man would reach the bottom of the staircase. The walls extended in either direction, their angles sharp and obviously carved. The lantern's light faded quickly along the walls, but it went far enough for Takeyashi to notice an approaching enemy. His eyes were constantly moving along the edges of the light, watching to see if anything or anyone was going to approach him. He had no idea where he'd dared to venture into, so it was a good idea to remember that whoever or whatever resided in these tunnels had the advantage of knowing this area well. As he observed the walls around him, he tried to make a plan as to where he ought to go first. He wasn't quite sure what his objective down here was, other than to see who had set up shop in his old home, so any sort of lead as to where to go would be enough for him. The one thing that was throwing him off, however, were the noises. The sounds of clicking and tapping, seemingly coming from far off in the distance, were reverberating off of the walls from every which way. Takeyashi wasn't sure what to make of the noises, though he knew that they were something to be greatly aware of. For now, he would push the sounds out of the forefront of his mind and instead turned towards the task at hand: navigating his way through these passages. To his north — or what he thought was north, considering the difficulty of navigating underground — there seemed to be a room with smooth chiselled walls. He figured that would be as good a place as any to start, and so he headed in that direction.

When he passed through the doorway into the next room, his guard immediately went up. What greeted him wasn't a hallway, a mess hall, sleeping quarters, or even a storage room. He was met with a maze, which indicated there was something else going on down here than he'd expected. A maze was a form of a test, which led him to wonder what it was he'd stumbled upon. Tests weren't given for no reason — they were designed to challenge the test-takers, and to see whether certain qualities or knowledge was present in a candidate. He forced his mind back to the present, and not onto musings about the meaning or reasoning behind the challenge in front of him. He could sit there arguing its purpose all day, but in the end it seemed like he'd simply have to solve it in order to progress. Keeping his wits about him, the young spiderling entered the maze with conviction and determination. He would proceed inwards, following the wall to his left wherever it may take him. All mazes, no matter how challenging they were, could be solved by trying every single route possible. Still gripping his bow, and using the faint light of the lantern to navigate, the young man began walking.

 

[Shieo]

Upon entering, you took the immediate left. The wall continued with the ever chiseled perfection, as if it was a cut diamond with its sheer magnificence. That very same wall to your left began to curve inwards, not sharp but noticeably. And with some simple deductions from the opposing walls that you came across, the further you delved into the maze the more it seemed like it was circular and the maze may be one that ends at the center. The light assisted with guiding you to avoid any oddities that lie around; which you came across a handful; be it skeletal creatures of small rodents to larger dead sandwyrms that were lodged in the walls- However, noticeably they left no cracks. As if stored there.

You think an hour- maybe two have passed and the ever closer you seem to be getting. While progress seemed futile for some time at first; the walls enclosed and connected to new sectors at a sooner rate and the walls themselves seemed to get thinner. It was at this time you came to your first dead end- It was strange. During the entire time you traveled through the maze, each turn seemed to be successful- a fluke maybe. But now, you reached your first obstacle. If you turned around you would notice that there was no exit; certain that it is where you came from. The two walls that enclosed you were about fifteen feet apart, however; if Takeyashi spent time examining the wall that he swore he came from; he would notice a familiar golden thread barely lacing in a web around the new found wall- but if he looked around up, down, side to side- There was no spider to be found.

Moments may pass and the tapping sound begun again. It sounded closer- but still a few yards off. Maybe more due to the muffling nature of walls. More unusually, than last time he heard them- Which he would have realized was hours ago. Is it sounded more like a rhythm. As if tapping too something.

But neither here nor there- His main concern seems to be the problem at hand- He had no where to go.

What will you try?

 

[Kazu]

Takeyashi walked into the maze, keeping one hand on the wall to the left, and followed his plan. Stay to the left, and just keep going. He would brute-force his way through this puzzle, even if it meant he'd be down here for a while — Takeyashi may not look it, but his endurance was incredibly high. He could feel that the wall was slowly curving inward, and after another few minutes of walking it dawned on him that this was a circular maze. Pleased with his deductions, the man continued through the maze. Every so often he'd find the remains of long-dead animals, and in rarer cases sandwyrm remains! Takeyashi was quick to notice the fact that they had left no footprints or markings of any kind leading up to their final resting places, which meant that something else had placed them there. "What kind of creature would keep these remains lying around..." None of this was making sense yet, but the young man wouldn't let that stop him. He would simply have to keep going, and hope that somewhere along the way he'd understand why he was doing all of this.

Time seemed to stand still in the cavern, but the young man figured that it must have been a while by now. His legs were beginning to get a bit tired, which meant he must have been down here for at least an hour or two. It also seemed like the further into the maze he went, the more lost he felt. Up until now, he'd made rapid progress through the maze, each turning he made producing another path for him to follow. However, he'd finally run out of luck: he turned left to continue through the maze, but found himself staring down a closed off hallway. It seemed as though he'd finally found a dead end. No big deal, though, right? He could just turn around, and- "What the!?" The young man couldn't help but exclaim out loud, as the path he'd just walked through was no longer there. It was just a wall, as if the path he'd been walking had never been there to begin with. He was absolutely baffled, yet did his best to try and keep a level of composure. He closed his eyes, reciting a little mantra to himself in order to calm his nerves, "Don't analyze, just identify." It was a silly phrase he would always say to himself. It basically meant: it doesn't matter why something works, so long as it does.

Opening his eyes again, Takeyashi felt a lot calmer. With his head back on straight, he set out to uncover the truth of the situation. The first thing to inspect was the newly appeared wall. The young man ran his fingers over the surface, trying to see if it was potentially made of the same material as the other walls. He was really thankful that he tried this first, as his fingertips quickly found a familiar sensation: Golden Spider Mucus. Red flags began to pop up in his mind, instantly understanding a bit more about the situation he was in. "This is a spider's den..." There were two possibilities here: his clan had survived the attack and was now living underground, or he was in a literal spider's den. He sorely hoped that it was the former. He'd yet to see any traces of either humans with spider-like qualities or spiders with Hachiashi-like skills, so he figured that he hadn't run into whoever lived here yet.

Then the sounds came back. That clicking and tapping sound was closer than before, but it was still a considerable distance off. With a new frame of mind, Takeyashi listened carefully to the tapping. His gut told him this wasn't human communication — if it was, there were far better ways of communicating without being overheard. So, this was coming from a spider, huh? As he listened to the tapping more, it began to sound almost like a form of language. Was there a spider, somewhere in this maze, trying to communicate with other spiders by tapping? Suddenly, a eureka moment flashed through the young man's mind: the spiders were communicating in a similar way to Morse Code! An idea was beginning to take shape in Takeyashi's mind, though he wasn't sure if he liked it. What if he tried communicating with them? It would give his position away, but something told the young man they already knew he was here. The sudden appearance of the wall had shattered any pretext that the young man had gone undetected thus far. Figuring it was a better shot than nothing, the young man brought his knuckles up to a wall and began to rasp out a message.

.. / -- . .- -. / -. --- / .... .- .-. -- .-.-.- / .--. .-.. . .- ... . / .- .-.. .-.. --- .-- / -- . / .--. .- ... ... .- --. . / - .... .-. --- ..- --. .... / -.-- --- ..- .-. / -- .- --.. . .-.-.-

He repeated his message, over and over, hoping that whatever else was down here understood him. If the creatures that lived down here weren't actually speaking Morse Code, then all they'd hear is a bunch of noise. If anything, it might be a dinner alarm for them! Takeyashi figured that, either way, something was bound to happen. And when it did, he'd think of something then. So, until then, the young man just kept tapping out his message, and listening for any in response.

[ooc: Morse Code translated is "I mean no harm. Please allow me passage through your maze."]

 

[Akako]

The maze stills and even the barest of breeze is absent as the human taps out in Morse Code. And it takes a tick or two before someone – or something – taps back.

....

H.

.

E.

.-..

L

Could it be? Is a spider actually talking back in code?

Why did it have to be spiders anyway? Why couldn’t it be butterflies? But, one supposes a Hachiashi doesn’t really mind. Though we digress-

... -.. --. ..-. -.. ... .... ... .- -.. --. ..-. -.. .... ..-. ... -.. --. .-- - ..-. ..-. --. - .-- .- - ..-. -.. ... ....

Wait.

What?

The tapping became more erratic and it’d be near impossible to decode it at this speed! Not that there was any need to as it was all gibberish if one were to run it through Morse. Because it hadn’t been code at all. Rather, it was the scuttling of thousands and thousands of tiny feet. Hundreds of tiny spiders, enough to form a great black mass on the wall despite their size, scuttled across. Each were apparently fighting as fast as they could over the wall that had mysteriously appeared from before. And it was their rushed activity that the human had thought some form of communication.

Despite their chaotic mess, the things were moving in an unnaturally straight line as though taking the shortest route to a prearranged meeting. Though they did not make it all the way before they halted and went on a roundabout, creeping towards the Sandworm carcass laid forgotten.

Like nightmare ant workers from hell, they started methodically picking the creature’s remains apart, pushing aside hard skin and scales and opting for the chewy meat inside. They did not consume it, however, instead going to collect it that the smell of rotten Sandworm meat filled the air. The colony of spiders paid the human no mind. All except for one of the tiniest of the lot who stopped in their collection to take a peek at the giant before they were handed a chunk of meat to carry.

---

[legend="[b]Out of Character Notes[/b]"]

• I shall be taking over for Karu from here. I wish the both of us luck! And do have fun.
  
  
  

[/legend]

 

[Kazu]

The first few taps were starting to come back, and Takeyashi couldn't help but hold his breath in anticipation. From the sounds of things, the Morse Code was being received and responded to! This was an incredible discovery! Science would truly never be th- Oh, never mind. It was just luck. The tapping quickly devolved into a mindless jumble, dashing the young man's hopes all at once. However, after giving it a moment more, it became clear that this sound had never been tapping at all — and to make things more interesting, the sound wasn't coming from a far away part of the cave: the tapping was coming from a source much closer to the young man. He hadn't noticed it before, but along the wall there seemed to be a massive migration of spiders. Hundreds of arachnids, no bigger than his fingernail, were all scuttling across the wall in what seemed to be a great hurry. Takeyashi curiously followed their movement with his eyes, tracing their path all the way to the Sandwyrm carcass. He watched as they slowly took it apart, leaving nothing to waste. Takeyashi loved watching the little creatures work, but it didn't change the fact that he still wasn't sure what to do. Sighing, Takeyashi found himself conversing with the little creatures — it wasn't like he had anyone else to talk to down here. "I don't supposed you can help me find my way to the center of this maze?" The spiderling asked his question as a humorous joke for himself, not expecting any sort of answer back. As he quipped with them, the young man pulled a small piece of jerky off from his supplies. Dropping it into the mass of spiders, the young man watched as they most certainly swarmed around the meat. Having had his fun, Takeyashi focused again on trying to find a way out. It was imperative that he get out of this predicament.

He figured that the spiders must have come from somewhere, so he investigated where it was that they had all crawled out from. Maybe if there was a hole, he could find a way out? And if not in the direction the spiders came from, maybe wherever they were going would yield results? Takeyashi checked both options, considering that the room he was in was tiny enough to let him try many things. He would test and weigh his options, assuming he was able to find something noteworthy.

[ooc: Wasn't really sure what else I could have Takeyashi do. Just having him investigate options, so that come next round I can make a proper decision.]

 

[Akako]

It was an absolute party when the jerky was dropped among the mass of arachnids. Those who weren’t picking at the Sandworm carcass anymore started to dance under the rain of beef. Though none have yet to eat any of what they’ve collected. And when tiny spider forelegs had their fill, more of the tiny things gave the human their attention, jumping up and down in a tizzy. Odd behavior perhaps. But the whole situation itself was odd.

Some of them stilled, tilting their head when noise – words – came from the giant. Shrill, chirp like sounds came from the lot when they returned to jumping and scuttling eagerly. Yet it didn’t seem like they understood.

But something else did.

A feminine voice rang out in the air: “Ohohoho, it looks like something has the little ones excited! I wonder what it could be? Have you made a new friend, my dears?” The voice itself was light, airy and pleasing to the ears if it weren’t for the fact that it had a jarring quality to it. It seemed to come from the direction the tiny spiderlings were originally heading towards. Yet, at the same time, it echoed through every corner of the maze. And if the little ones were excited before, they were in an absolute frenzy now.

Takeyashi’s trapped state did not last any longer. “Why don’t you invite them over? It is not supper yet. But we may still a good host, ohoho,” the voice continued as one of the walls broke down, unraveling like cloth.

---

[legend="[b]Out of Character Notes[/b]"]

• It's totally fine. Even the smallest of actions (or even inaction) can make a great change in what's to come. Why, just what you did had a big effect!

[/legend]

 

[Kazu]

Takeyashi was slightly taken aback by how joyously the little spiders celebrated the raining beef. First of all, he'd never heard spiders give off that kind of noise. Little chirping sounds wasn't something you normally heard from spiders, and adding "chirping spiders" to his myriad of memories wasn't very high up on his list of priorities. "Look at how excited you all are...do you not eat regularly enough?" Takeyashi watched as the spiders settled down, contented to simply eating the morsels they'd be given. While their overly energetic behavior had been odd, the young man figured that's just what they normally did — moving on, he was just about ready to continue his hunt for a means to escape. Before he could, however, a light and airy voice began to reverberate through the entire cave system. The young man instantly dropped into a combat stance, on guard for any sudden attacks or changes. He noticed the spiders going absolutely nuts, jumping everywhere in what looked like celebration. Whoever this voice belong to certainly had the admiration of these arachnids. Takeyashi was unsure of how to feel; should he be concerned or relieved? Ought he to speak with the voice that seemed to claim dominion over these halls? He wasn't even sure if the voice belonged to a human.,,

Whether they were human or not, however, didn't change the fact that he was trapped down here. These walls looked rather thick, which made destroying them in order to escape almost impossible. Takeyashi didn't like it, but he may need to talk his way out of this scenario. Unfortunately for the young spiderling, his skills were suited for assassination rather than negotiation. He would just have to hope that he could do alright. "Indeed! I am a friend of theirs, and they are friends of mine." Takeyashi didn't want to piss off whatever was speaking to him. There was a good chance that they were not human, which meant that he was probably at a disadvantage. The young man didn't know why, but almost all non-human creatures seemed to have an irrational hatred of all people. Or at least, that's how it worked in the story books. The human always wound up in a bad situation, and would have to cleverly trick their captors into making a mistake. Takeyashi figured that things would unfold the same way.

When the creature suggested that Takeyashi be invited for dinner, his stomach dropped a little bit. Were they going to eat him? Steeling his nerves, the young man called out in a cheery tone. "That sounds like a wonderful idea! I can bring some more food for my new friends? I'm sure they'd appreciate that..." Takeyashi was hoping that the little spiders understood him, and thus liked him for it. Maybe if they liked him, then whatever it was he was ta;king to wouldn't kill him? Maybe, but also maybe not. Takeyashi would have to find out. The disembodied voice seemed to like the idea of having Takeyashi for dinner (as a guest), and did something crazy to the wall next to him. What once had the consistency and structure of a solid stone wall now fluttered away like a piece of cloth, revealing to the young man a new path forward. It was clearly a path that led towards the voice, but at this point it was probably better than staying in that little room. Takeyashi was careful as he walked down the path — he didn't want to trigger any traps or anything. "Thank you for inviting me into your home. I can't wait to meet you in person..."

 

[Akako]

There were no traps of the sort, if one would discount giant, sticky spider webs that occupied large portions of the walls. Touching even one of them would get one in a gooey, stringy mess and it would be a pain to pull one’s self off of them. They were glaringly obvious enough that only a drunk, a blind, a fool or a running moron would get trapped in them. Worst if one was all of the above, of course.

But navigating the maze as the pathway was, literally, ripped down for him was just as easy as a walk in a park. If said park was filled with spiders, animal carcasses and was made entirely of spider web.

Speaking of which, the tiny little spiders paraded along side him, crawling against the walls in droves with their food in hand. Some empty handed ones would stop and efficiently scavenge whatever they passed by until they held a veritable feast.

This went on a long while as they cut a shortcut through the entire maze until they entered an area that was a bit different from the others. Okay, maybe a lot different from the others. Though it has been straight paths and square rooms so far, this place was round and had... furniture for a lack of better word to call them. There was a table and some chairs though they were made from the same white and web-like substance as the walls were. On the table were some dining ware made of... unknown material.

“A human? Ohohoho, how delightful. It’s been a long while since we’ve had a human in our home,” the voice from before piped up again, still all encompassing in its tone though the source was a bit closer this time.

From a hallway opposite of where Takeyashi would have entered stepped out a white haired girl, all smiles and cheers. Her hair, tied in two pigtails, is the same shade as the wall and furniture and her eyes shone a pretty purple. She seemed normal enough, at the very least, though she was wholly unperturbed as the tiny spiders rushed towards her presenting their haul. “Oh, you did well, little ones! It looks like we’ll have a lovely supper!” she giggled, kneeling beside them with one of the odd looking plates in hand. Eagerly, the little ones deposited their spoils into the container.