Juliana quickly had her face right in front of Eva’s. Eva pressed herself back. She felt Arachne’s abdomen pinched between her head and the seat, but the spider could take the meager amount of pressure of Eva’s head. It would also help keep the spider from launching at the blond.
The girl’s eyes didn’t even register Eva’s distress. After staring at Arachne for almost a minute, the blond sat back in her chair. Eva relaxed slightly.
“She’s very pretty,” Juliana said.
Eva rolled her eyes at Arachne repeatedly tapping her right shoulder.
“Smart too.” Her eyes were glued on the tapping leg.
“That’s just… She’s well-trained.” Eva frowned at the single left shoulder tap. “I’m glad no one started screaming, unlike the last time I showed people Rach, but you seem very comfortable.”
Juliana waved a dismissive hand. “My mother is a retired mage-knight who frequently goes on ‘safaris’ with my father around the world. They catalog and frequently return home with various creatures. Safe, dangerous, magical, mundane. It’s all the same to them.” She wiggled a finger across her face. “When I was eight, I woke up with a very poisonous centipede crawling on me. It was probably as big as your spider.”
“That’s…” Eva felt a slight tremor go up her spine.
“You shiver at that while you have a giant spider on your head?”
“I know Rach. I’ve been around her for as long as I can remember.”
The crackle of the overhead speaker stalled their conversation. The pilot said they would be taking off momentarily.
“Rach,” Eva said as she lowered her head and patted the table.
Arachne climbed off and turned to face Eva, cocking her body to one side again.
Eva gestured to the window. “It is quite a view when we take off.”
The spider-demon walked to the edge of the table near the window. She gave a sidelong glance at Juliana before resting her abdomen against the table.
The blond raised an eyebrow in Eva’s direction.
Eva shrugged. “I thought she might want to see. Don’t worry, she’s clean. We took a shower this morning.”
Juliana smiled. Probably the most emotion she Eva had seen so far, discounting the vested interest in Arachne. Eva’s face flushed red, but she couldn’t just say that Arachne took a shower on her own.
As the plane rose in the air, Eva smiled as Arachne actually perked up. She leaned forward, pressing two legs against the glass. Juliana found it very amusing if her smile was anything to go by.
After takeoff, Arachne crawled under Eva’s shirt and latched around her chest; After Jordan’s suspicion, Eva didn’t really want to interact with any flight attendants or students. Juliana did give a quirk of her eyebrow as Arachne slipped out of sight, but she didn’t comment on it.
They passed the time with small talk, mostly about Juliana’s parents. Several stories about her run ins with various creatures. Her mother’s job, mage-knights, were apparently some sort of elite bounty hunters that went after dangerous magical criminals.
That made Eva more than a little nervous.
She felt a bit bad about deflecting most personal questions. There was just so much that she wasn’t sure if it was safe to mention. She mostly stuck with her school life, work at the vet’s office, and a partially made up home life.
Their next stop had them picking up around ten students. They split off, some in the back cabin and some sat in seats near Eva and Juliana. None made an effort to introduce themselves and Eva wasn’t going to get up and wander with Arachne under her shirt, even as hidden as she knew the spider would be.
The moment they were in the air again, lunch was served. Eva was a bit disappointed in the food. While the sandwiches and fruit were good, great even, they were just a bit disappointed compared to the drink from earlier.
Only two students boarded on their last pickup.
Eva kept Arachne under her shirt the rest of the flight. She would occasionally peek down and check on her, but the spider seemed more than content to just nestle between her breasts. Eva had been petting the spider for a time, over her shirt, until she realized how odd that must have looked to others. She definitely caught Juliana’s odd look every once in a while.
The plane touched down in Montana. She decided to leave Arachne beneath her shirt, pulling her out in the much more crowded plane didn’t seem like a good idea. She gathered up her belongings and departed with Juliana.
Jordan’s group joined them outside the gate. Shelby was notably keeping her distance. Her eyes were all but glued to the pet carrier. Eva just smiled and gave her a little wave.
Waiting in the lobby to greet the new students was Zoe Baxter. The gruff voiced man who had been with her in the alley stood just behind her.
“Welcome,” Zoe Baxter said, “to Brakket Magical Academy.”
The Rickenbacker
