At least, that’s how Eva imagined it. The sad reality was that her hair clung to the sweat on her back in a giant, tangled rat’s nest. It would take a lot of work to get it back to the normal.
Still, Eva couldn’t help but to laugh. She hadn’t run since November and she hadn’t ever run as fast or as long.
And she could go faster. Her brain said that her legs could take it.
Eva wasn’t worried about her legs. She worried about her hips and her spine. They were still regular old human bone.
So she deliberately held back.
It was still faster than normal.
But, speed wasn’t everything. In fact, running seemed natural to her new legs. It was finesse that she had problems with. Walking wasn’t so bad, but she doubted she’d be dancing any time soon.
Of course, Arachne didn’t see it that way. Arachne wanted to start up dance lessons as soon as her legs finished growing back in.
Eva slowed to a stop, using a tree to support her while she caught her breath. Despite her legs not aching in the slightest, she was panting for air. Sweat dripped off of her, out of her thoroughly soaked tee-shirt. Her heart hammered in her chest.
It couldn’t be healthy to keep up such a pace. Her core was still human, after all. Perhaps in a year or two as the treatment took hold more and more.
Arachne followed behind at a languid pace. Her body stayed just inside the bubble of Eva’s vision. She walked along with six of her spider legs due to her humanoid legs not being fully formed. It wasn’t that she couldn’t go faster if she needed to.
But she didn’t.
Clinging to Eva was her thing–physical contact and touching and all the closeness. All of it had vanished. She’d been standoffish as of late.
Eva frowned as the spider-woman slowly approached.
At first, she thought Arachne was upset or even angry about the legs. Her behavior changed the day after Eva got them. Eva dismissed that notion.
Arachne wasn’t upset or angry.
She was worried.
Fidgets, jitters, and general nervousness replaced all the physical affection she once showed. There were marks around her mouth as if she had been biting what passed for her lips.
Even now as she approached, she wrung her claws. Her gaze turned down to the ground and she had an open-mouthed frown on her face.
Six legs carried her forwards, but they slowed down more and more as she got closer and closer.
Arachne was worried and Eva had a feeling she knew what about.
Frankly, it was beginning to grind on Eva’s nerves.
At least the slothful demon had given Eva ample time to catch her breath. “Arachne,” Eva called out as she neared. “Let’s talk.”
There was just a slow nod from Arachne in return.
“What’s on your mind lately?”
Arachne’s sharp teeth clamped down on the hard chitin of her lips. The only real way Eva could tell was the little bit of blood she got on them when she cracked her carapace.
Eva smiled and waited patiently.
After what seemed like an hour, Arachne finally opened her mouth to speak. “I had plans,” she said. “Then the necromancers and your hands. After that, you didn’t let me out of the prison. We only saw each other on weekends,” she trailed off with a frown. “Even after I moved back to the dorm…”
“What plans?”
“I–Our contract ends soon.”
“Three weeks, if I remember right,” Eva said with a smile. Her feeling proved correct. “I don’t know about renewing it. You did bite my hands off, after all.”
“That’s–I–” Arachne glanced up at Eva. Her eight eyes didn’t have the same opening and closing methods that a human had. Even still, Eva was certain that the spider-woman’s eyes widened considerably. “I did what I thought was best. And I–”
“Don’t regret it,” Eva said with a smile. “I know.”
It might have been unnecessarily cruel, but Arachne did bite off her hands. Eva had come to see the usefulness of the claws. That did
That was deserving of at least a little punishment.
“You’re better this way, anyway,” Arachne said with a quick nod. She sat up straighter, as much as she could with only her six legs anyway.
“So you say,” Eva said. “You did give me hands and legs for free, something I understand is quite rare based on my master’s poor luck in finding a replacement arm. I will take that into consideration.”
“Free is definitely rare. Finding arms is not,” Arachne said. The small bit of composure she gained deflated and she returned to nervously flexing her claws. “But, the original plan was for something different once our contract ended.”
Eva blinked her eyes. Or she would have if she had any. “Something different?” She paused for just a second before she said, “oh. You’re wanting a contract that includes a little slice of our mortal realm to merge with your domain?” Eva’s slight smile turned to a frown. “Master wouldn’t be happy with that.”
