[SE] twiddling little fingers

El was currently lying on the couch, staring at the ceiling, mildly tipsy at 5 o'clock in the afternoon. The day had passed quite uneventfully, with George being out most of the day and no assignments from the Guild. El was running out of money, so they forced themself not to go shopping when they went out today. All they bought was a bottle of wine, the excellent price of which they couldn't resist.

They were pondering about what to do for dinner when they noticed some movement on the ceiling before them. Their eyes suddenly focused, and it took a few more seconds for them to recognize the next bit of movement across the white ceiling, something skittering. The thing was white, so it blended in well. Its eight legs are what gave it away for what it was: a cloud spider.

[say]"Aw, shit,"[/say] they said to themself now that they had to deal with this chore. From their time in Meadowreach, they had learned that the little buggers had tough-as-iron silk that could seriously damage things if allowed to accumulate. How this one got all the way to Torchline, they couldn't say. But it would have to return to the outdoors if El didn't want another annoying cleaning job on their hands. They sat up from the couch and began to look around the room for something that could reach the ceiling.

George had been out and about most of the day, and when he came home, he'd been expecting to see El hanging out on the couch, not rummaging about the room for - well, he wasn't exactly sure what. For a moment, he paused in the doorway, head cocked to one side as he took in the scene. Then movement caught his eye and he glanced up, sure that he'd seen something move on the ceiling. It took a few moments - whatever it was blended in - but he was able to identify it. A cloud spider.

Well, that wouldn't do. When they were outside, George was content to live and let live, but in his house? No, thank you. With a sigh, George knelt to begin taking off a shoe. [say]"What are you looking for?"[/say] he asked El. A shoe thrown at the spider would likely squish it - or at least make it fall to the floor where it could be disposed of properly. [say]"There's plenty of things around to kill it with."[/say]

El was about to settle on just a gentle sweep with a broom when they heard George come home. They turned around as he started to take off his shoes, mouth open and brows twisted in an offended, shocked type of way.

[say]"I was looking for something to get it down from the ceiling so I could take it outside, not kill it!"[/say] They said this emphatically, gripping the broom in their hands as they waved them around. They were suddenly worried for the spider's safety now that George had entered the room. Sure, it was just a spider, but...El had inherited a healthy dose of superstition from their grandmother. There could be a human soul inside of it, or some kind of spirit that will get released and take revenge if you kill it. Or it could just be a regular old spider. Either way, Eleftheria did not want to take any chances.

El looked positively outraged by his suggestion, drawing a small, tucked away smile to George's face. There were few people he knew who had such strong emotions about spiders - particularly about those who had come seemingly from nowhere to take over everywhere. Indeed, cloud spiders had become commonplace throughout Torchline this season, though nobody really knew why. He heard that it was the same in other regions. All those spiders - where were they coming from?

[say]"They're easier to kill than they are to catch,"[/say] George pointed out, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, watching with amusement. He made no move to hurt or help El's efforts, simply watching the cloud spider scurry about on the ceiling as though it was the most natural thing in the world. In truth, he just wanted to make sure it didn't disappear somewhere nasty, but it also promised to be quite entertaining to watch.