The Spider and the Butterfly

Chapter Eleven

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Fang was the first one to wake up. He looked down at Daisy and gently nuzzled her. "C'mon, Daisy..." he whispered. "We have to get out of here soon."

"Just a few more minutes," Daisy mumbled.

The spider smiled. "Alright, then. But just a few more minutes. Then we have to go."

He looked at the others. Dot and Sage were snoring away, but thankfully, they weren't very loud. Fang looked above them, through the small clearings in the trees. He couldn't tell what time it was from what little patches of sky he could find. It seemed so cloudy and dark. But at least it wasn't raining anymore. That would have made travel very inconvenient.

With a sigh, Fang lifted Daisy up to wake her, then paused. He felt around on her stomach for a bit, confused initially. It was like there were hundreds of little beads inside her. His eyes widened. No, not beads. Eggs. Daisy was producing eggs.

"Aw, Daisy..." Fang smiled. Maybe when she came back next spring, she would have met up with another butterfly and have a bunch of caterpillar children. He thought that was how it worked, anyway. He didn't really know very much about their life cycles.

The thought of a bunch of Daisy's kids flitting around once they themselves were butterflies made the spider smile wider. He'd love each and every one of them. But hopefully, none would have broken wings for Fang to deal with.

Daisy stirred, and Fang set her down. "Hey," the spider greeted her. "Ready yet?" The butterfly nodded. She went over and woke up her friends. Once everyone had stretched and got their bearings, Fang led them through Gossamer Forest as quietly as he could. It had been a long time since he lived here, so he mostly had to rely on his memories of this place for direction.

Everyone had to walk in single file behind the spider, and whenever he came across any sort of cobweb in the path, he'd carry the insects on his back until the coast was clear again. Fang was the only one who could see these webs, being a spider and all. The silk was thin and almost invisible. Not to mention incredibly strong. Some of the strands were as strong as steel cables, so any bug caught in them had absolutely no chance of getting out of them.

Fang normally didn't feel afraid of anything. After all, he had killed a scorpion. And just recently, faced off against an entire hive of angry wasps. But they were things he considered weaker than him. At this moment, he was dealing with another spider. He was evenly matched, if not put at a great disadvantage. This was her territory he was encroaching upon. And she was very venomous and quick.

Maybe he wouldn't have felt as scared if Daisy wasn't here. Whether he liked to admit it or not, he had a deep fondness for the butterfly that grew every day. And feeling all those unfertilized eggs in her abdomen made him even more protective of her. Fang blushed, looking behind him at Daisy. She smiled at him.

"We're almost out," Fang said after some time. "Just a mile or so past the treeline, and we'll be back in Ridpath." He froze. "Get on my back, all of you."