a spider and her wolf, ii.
Posted: Tue Nov 30, 2021 3:17 pm
17 GLADE 101
“Now, what the hell is that?”
Mother rounded on Mama, legs stamping down as she approached. Her eyes had widened — all eight of them — and her brows had raised the moment she had looked upon the quivering wolf pup in Nnerka’s arms. Though her gaze had initially been on the creature, silencing its whimpers before it could start up again, Mother seemed more pressed with Mama. Nnerka had witnessed the few moments of their disagreements — moments where the little spiders were ushered out of the way. A physical remedy to their often surface level disputes. This, though, felt like something else.
“Now is not the time for us to be picking up strays.” The strain in her voice was evident, hands on her hips as she stood upright. The surprise had left her, going instead to some semblance of composure. “You know this.”
“I don’t think one tiny pup is going to be too much on us.” Mama sounded so sure, so confident. But beneath it was the sort of tone she used to placate Mother once she’d been bested. “It’s a runt, at that.” Her voice dipped lower, she stepped closer. But Nnerka heard it all the same. “It probably won’t last through the season.”
Nnerka gasped, drawing the collective attention of the adults to her as she clutched the little pup closer. She’d caught it, and maybe she had even hurt it with her trap. But she didn’t want to eat it and leaving it out there would have meant certain death. And that would have been a waste. They would scold her for waste, but not for keeping it alive, surely.
“I promise I’ll take care of it! Really good care! The best care!” Her fingers carded through the creature’s matted fur, her eyes wide as she stepped forward, closer to her mothers.
Her Mother sighed, crouching down to look her in the eyes. Her lower set of hands rested on the young spider’s shoulders and the two seemed to consider each other a moment. Her Mother was glorious. An exemplar of everything that Nnerka wanted to be. The smooth bark brown of her skin, darkened further by the sun and laced with scars of her youth. Scars she allowed to be reminders of both triumphs and mistakes. All eight round eyes — the black of them reflecting the little pink streaks of the young spider’s hair — focused on Nnerka as full lips pulled themselves from their prior scowl into a straight line of thought. The smile lines at the side of her mouth creased slightly.
“You takin’ care of this thing yourself?” A heavy weight sat in her tone. Her upper set of arms crossed over her chest, a slight ripple of muscle as the long dark tresses of her hair were pushed out of the way. “You know that means you’ve have to feed it, water it; wash the dirt off it so it don’t track in the den. That thing gotta piss, you’re takin’ it out.”
“I know.” She was just as serious, staring the older spider down.
“If it gets sick or hurt, you don’t come crying to me. You figure that shit out on your own.”
A nod. “I know.”
“You know?” There was the edge of amusement there, hidden behind the sternness of her expression. Nnerka glanced to Mama, who didn’t have a chance to respond before Mother was speaking again. “Don’t look at your Mama; I’m talkin’ to you. You know what it means to do all of that?”
“Y-yes.”
“It’s the same as raising one of you, Nnerka.”
“Yes.”
“A child.”
Mama stepped forward, arms raised. “Hold on a minute, I don’t think it’s the same as —”
“Don’t you correct me; you’re still in hot water.” The barest flash of her mandibles as she turned on Mama was enough that even the pup in Nnerka’s nuzzled closer, seeking refuge in her hold. She held the tiny thing closer.
“Mother, I promise I—”
“Nnerka.” There was less heat to her voice, but enough force behind it that the younger stopped, waited. Her Mother’s eyes searched her face for another moment before she was crouching down again. She took a moment to compose herself, eyes shutting as she took in a breath. Then, the seriousness — not the frustration, but the sternness of a parent — returned. “It will be your responsibility alone.”
She nodded, tentative.
“Like...your child. You have to watch for it. Protect it.” A sigh, a slump of her shoulders. “It’s already been abandoned once. By its mother. You’re its mother now.”
You’re its mother now.
Perhaps her mother had not meant to spark the light that came into Nnerka’s eyes. Maybe it had been meant as a tactic to get her to think otherwise, to let go of the notion of caring for it. But her grip around the creature tightened, tucking its head closer to her chin. A soft whine left it as one hand patted its belly, another patting its back slowly. If she had not been rocking it before, she was now. As if it were a child. A baby; that’s what it was. Left by its birth mother and found by her.
“I can do it.” There was no room for otherwise in her voice, her gaze a challenge. She’d never had a child before — let alone a pet — but this was likely to be no different from seeing any of her many nieces in their nursery. The tiny chittering spiders were babies all the same; just a different shape. This one simply had a tail and only four legs. And only two eyes, but no one could fault him for it. He was still cute. “I know I can.”
She looked to her Mother first, then her Mama. Tried to guage what their expressions meant. Mama’s brow rose, the start of a smile on her lips that she hid with the turn of her face and apparent busying of her hands with something on the table. It looked like a trap from the village. Her Mother simply regarded her with very little change in expression before she threw up her hands.
“Alright.” She said it once, put her hands on his hips before standing upright again. “Alright.”
“Really?” Nnerka’s expression brightened, back legs moving about with her excitement. Pushed her forward to be more level with her Mother, who scoffed and turned her face away.
“Yes. Get it away from me and go clean out that wound ‘fore it really starts to smell. Then that’ll be a whole other thing.” Her Mother grimaced, pushing at Nnerka’s forehead with one hand.
Mama stepped up, scooping both spider and wolf up into her arms. “That is my cue.” She pressed a kiss quickly to Mother’s cheek, receiving a side-eye for her trouble. A look that very evenly said we’ll talk later. But for now, something else had to be taken care of.
Mother rounded on Mama, legs stamping down as she approached. Her eyes had widened — all eight of them — and her brows had raised the moment she had looked upon the quivering wolf pup in Nnerka’s arms. Though her gaze had initially been on the creature, silencing its whimpers before it could start up again, Mother seemed more pressed with Mama. Nnerka had witnessed the few moments of their disagreements — moments where the little spiders were ushered out of the way. A physical remedy to their often surface level disputes. This, though, felt like something else.
“Now is not the time for us to be picking up strays.” The strain in her voice was evident, hands on her hips as she stood upright. The surprise had left her, going instead to some semblance of composure. “You know this.”
“I don’t think one tiny pup is going to be too much on us.” Mama sounded so sure, so confident. But beneath it was the sort of tone she used to placate Mother once she’d been bested. “It’s a runt, at that.” Her voice dipped lower, she stepped closer. But Nnerka heard it all the same. “It probably won’t last through the season.”
Nnerka gasped, drawing the collective attention of the adults to her as she clutched the little pup closer. She’d caught it, and maybe she had even hurt it with her trap. But she didn’t want to eat it and leaving it out there would have meant certain death. And that would have been a waste. They would scold her for waste, but not for keeping it alive, surely.
“I promise I’ll take care of it! Really good care! The best care!” Her fingers carded through the creature’s matted fur, her eyes wide as she stepped forward, closer to her mothers.
Her Mother sighed, crouching down to look her in the eyes. Her lower set of hands rested on the young spider’s shoulders and the two seemed to consider each other a moment. Her Mother was glorious. An exemplar of everything that Nnerka wanted to be. The smooth bark brown of her skin, darkened further by the sun and laced with scars of her youth. Scars she allowed to be reminders of both triumphs and mistakes. All eight round eyes — the black of them reflecting the little pink streaks of the young spider’s hair — focused on Nnerka as full lips pulled themselves from their prior scowl into a straight line of thought. The smile lines at the side of her mouth creased slightly.
“You takin’ care of this thing yourself?” A heavy weight sat in her tone. Her upper set of arms crossed over her chest, a slight ripple of muscle as the long dark tresses of her hair were pushed out of the way. “You know that means you’ve have to feed it, water it; wash the dirt off it so it don’t track in the den. That thing gotta piss, you’re takin’ it out.”
“I know.” She was just as serious, staring the older spider down.
“If it gets sick or hurt, you don’t come crying to me. You figure that shit out on your own.”
A nod. “I know.”
“You know?” There was the edge of amusement there, hidden behind the sternness of her expression. Nnerka glanced to Mama, who didn’t have a chance to respond before Mother was speaking again. “Don’t look at your Mama; I’m talkin’ to you. You know what it means to do all of that?”
“Y-yes.”
“It’s the same as raising one of you, Nnerka.”
“Yes.”
“A child.”
Mama stepped forward, arms raised. “Hold on a minute, I don’t think it’s the same as —”
“Don’t you correct me; you’re still in hot water.” The barest flash of her mandibles as she turned on Mama was enough that even the pup in Nnerka’s nuzzled closer, seeking refuge in her hold. She held the tiny thing closer.
“Mother, I promise I—”
“Nnerka.” There was less heat to her voice, but enough force behind it that the younger stopped, waited. Her Mother’s eyes searched her face for another moment before she was crouching down again. She took a moment to compose herself, eyes shutting as she took in a breath. Then, the seriousness — not the frustration, but the sternness of a parent — returned. “It will be your responsibility alone.”
She nodded, tentative.
“Like...your child. You have to watch for it. Protect it.” A sigh, a slump of her shoulders. “It’s already been abandoned once. By its mother. You’re its mother now.”
You’re its mother now.
Perhaps her mother had not meant to spark the light that came into Nnerka’s eyes. Maybe it had been meant as a tactic to get her to think otherwise, to let go of the notion of caring for it. But her grip around the creature tightened, tucking its head closer to her chin. A soft whine left it as one hand patted its belly, another patting its back slowly. If she had not been rocking it before, she was now. As if it were a child. A baby; that’s what it was. Left by its birth mother and found by her.
“I can do it.” There was no room for otherwise in her voice, her gaze a challenge. She’d never had a child before — let alone a pet — but this was likely to be no different from seeing any of her many nieces in their nursery. The tiny chittering spiders were babies all the same; just a different shape. This one simply had a tail and only four legs. And only two eyes, but no one could fault him for it. He was still cute. “I know I can.”
She looked to her Mother first, then her Mama. Tried to guage what their expressions meant. Mama’s brow rose, the start of a smile on her lips that she hid with the turn of her face and apparent busying of her hands with something on the table. It looked like a trap from the village. Her Mother simply regarded her with very little change in expression before she threw up her hands.
“Alright.” She said it once, put her hands on his hips before standing upright again. “Alright.”
“Really?” Nnerka’s expression brightened, back legs moving about with her excitement. Pushed her forward to be more level with her Mother, who scoffed and turned her face away.
“Yes. Get it away from me and go clean out that wound ‘fore it really starts to smell. Then that’ll be a whole other thing.” Her Mother grimaced, pushing at Nnerka’s forehead with one hand.
Mama stepped up, scooping both spider and wolf up into her arms. “That is my cue.” She pressed a kiss quickly to Mother’s cheek, receiving a side-eye for her trouble. A look that very evenly said we’ll talk later. But for now, something else had to be taken care of.
