Webs of Delight

Ophelia

youngsters should plan ahead

Ophelia had considered the idea of capturing the wily new encantados in the waters of the Grounds if only for the fun of it, but they suspect that part of the appeal is the bloodlust that burns in the back of their throat, and the competitive desire to see if a lial could come out on top in an aquatic fight. Alas, aquariums on wheels aren't easy to create, so Phi had decided to make their work easy for them - in deference to Danta's lovable high-maintenance soul - and had fashioned a glass container with a netted top to capture a void spider instead.

Armed with little more than that since planning isn't exactly Ophelia's forte, the young Ancient trots through the outskirts just past Jack Tar Landing, bright-eyed and bushy sleek-tailed. This area is foreign to them, but there are enough bars and restaurants around that finding the infected variants shouldn't be too difficult. "Does it have to be alive? I'm hungry," they state plainly, with no trace of petulance or pouting. Tilting their head slightly, their eyes go distant and thoughtful. "Do spiders even have much blood? I haven't eaten one before." It's a shame they can't try eating one of these new void ones. Even Phi isn't that adventurous.

otherwise they're good as dead

idealism sits in prison
chivalry fell on his sword

Danta holds a fondness in his heart for his fellow Ancients, but especially those who also defer to his easy-peasy-squeezy-lemons approach to work. And thus, the idea of catching void spiders in a populated part of the Grounds with free access to food and alcohol has been given his stamp of approval and then some; he strolls beside Ophelia with a sprig of peppermint bark between his teeth, though he isn't enjoying it all that much.

"What kind of hungry?" he asks, clearly wondering whether it's a tearing into living flesh sort of problem, or if an apple will do. "And spiders don't have much blood, no. You'd need a handful of them just to take the edge off." Wrinkling his nose, the anecdote is clearly personal, and Danta isn't keen to repeat the experience.

Dantalion

I slithered here from Eden
just to sit outside your door

Ophelia

youngsters should plan ahead

Ophelia tilts their head down toward their stomach as if interrogating it with their stare before primly reporting, "Both. Mostly blood." They haven't had much in recent weeks, and it is beginning to grate. Their hunt with Edmund had only ended in speaking squirrels, and various animals are no longer sating the deeper, lingering craving - merely holding it off a few days at a time.

Ophelia watches Danta out of the side of their eye, wrinkling their nose in clear mirroring of the expression he makes and categorizing it alongside the information - spiders gross. Tilting their head toward one of the small eateries on the strip where a few tables sit empty outside, Ophelia's tail flicks like an irritated cat. "The patio is empty, but looks like there's people inside. Maybe a good place to start?" Phi can't spot any webs from this far, but if there is any sort of infestation, clientele likely wouldn't want to be seated among the infected spiders no matter how beautiful the weather.

otherwise they're good as dead

idealism sits in prison
chivalry fell on his sword

"Well, let's catch a spider quickly, and we can move on to more interesting things," Danta suggests - interesting meaning a bloody hunt with a good meal at the end of it. Flicking his abandoned sprig of peppermint bark over the edge of the docks, Danta orients himself towards the eatery in question and nods; seems easy enough.

Leading the way towards the empty patio, he silently offers out his hands to carry the void-spider-enclosure she has made. "Perhaps we should have made posters, offered a reward or something," he drawls, peering beneath the patio awning and up into the doorway beams for any tell-tale webs.

Dantalion

I slithered here from Eden
just to sit outside your door

Ophelia

youngsters should plan ahead

Ophelia suspects Danta is better at reeling in human targets better than Phi working alone given the broad chasm of charismatic difference between them, so the ghost brightens at the opportunity to leach off the Maverick's skill.

Bemoaning the fact they hadn't done that sooner given the wonderful idea of posters and delegating otherwise mind-numbing tasks, Ophelia hunts in the opposite direction. "Think it's too late to try?" There's an amused lilt to their tone. With people already avoiding the patio it's not like they'd have many takers. Peering around the side of the building, Phi flicks their tail in an ivory flag of attention seeking. "There's some webbing under the gutters back here," they call over their shoulder.

otherwise they're good as dead

idealism sits in prison
chivalry fell on his sword

"It is never too late to try, though at this point it feels like more effort than just getting it done," Danta murmurs. Setting the enclosure down on one of the empty tables, he stretches his arms above his head as an excuse to not actually do any looking - which works, as it happens, because Ophelia summons him only a few moments later.

"Oh?" Smiling, it's with a flick of his own tail that he joins her, peering at the heavily webbed guttering above them. "I wonder if there is a difference between void spider webbing and ordinary spiderwebs." Clearly they're about to find out, because while it doesn't look out of the ordinary, Danta soon grabs a stick and starts to prod at the guttering to see what might pop out.

Dantalion

I slithered here from Eden
just to sit outside your door

Ophelia

youngsters should plan ahead

Ophelia is always content to get their hands dirty, so Danta's lack of help is far from a problem. After a lifetime raised on a farm they could never leave, even hunting spiderwebs under gutters is novel and enchanting. As is Danta's presence, which is why Phi is eternally happy to be at his beck and call for these sorts of pitiful adventures.

Considering their height difference it's helpful that Dantalion is the one to prod a stick into the depths of the webbing, and regardless of whether it's luck or writer laziness, five void spiders come scuttling out across the wooden siding of the eatery. They're of varying sizes, and Ophelia only realizes in that moment that Danta left the vessel on one of the patio tables, and they laugh despite themself.

Snatching up their own stick, they hold it aloft and quickly gather the webbing around the tip of it. Using their new sticky club to try and scare the spiders further along the siding so they don't vanish around the back, Phi gestures with their free hand at Danta. "Go get the thing!" There's no good, fast name for it, but if he hurries maybe they can scare one of the spiders straight in without having to worry about injuring it.

otherwise they're good as dead

idealism sits in prison
chivalry fell on his sword

"Oho," Danta trills at the sight of the spiders as they come swarming out - and of course he drops his stick because fuck those things. Regular spiders might just be unsatisfying, but void spiders will probably give him more than a nasty bite for his trouble. Go get the thing has him tilting his head at Ophelia for more than a second or two, before it dawns on him and he grins to them. "Right, right."

Hurrying to the patio table to grab the enclosure, he makes sure the lid is open enough for them to bully tempt a spider into it. Holding it aloft - and hooray for being tall - he tries to inch around where the void spider is scuttling. "If this thing falls into my shirt, you're going to owe me at least ten favours," he warns.

Dantalion

I slithered here from Eden
just to sit outside your door

Ophelia

youngsters should plan ahead

Ophelia grins after Dantalion's scurrying form, rocking on their heels idly as they keep track of the spiders visually, occasionally thumping their webbed stick against the siding to send one skittering in the other direction. Like herding freaky, infected, eight-legged cats.

Grinning like the devil, Ophelia sidles up alongside Danta to better estimate the best angle to scare the spider as their stick thumps along the wall in encouraging little beats. "Only ten? That's so nice of you!" And, growing bored of the spider skittering back and forth in front of the enclosure's opening, Phi uses the end of their stick to help it inside. It's a bit more of a fling, but there's no lost legs or spider guts, and it sails straight into the enclosure so Phi considers it a win. Though they certainly won't be helping to seal it up.

otherwise they're good as dead

idealism sits in prison
chivalry fell on his sword

"I am a saint, I know," Danta drawls, holding the enclosure aloft and trying to peer around it as best he can in an attempt to keep the spider in sight as Phi tries to spook it into its new home. He doesn't not flinch as they opt to helpfully flick the spider inside, but Danta is lowering the enclosure back down before he can think about it too much.

Scrambling for the lid, the void spider does manage to keep all of its legs as the Maverick fastens it over the top, but only barely. Out of breath and not knowing why, Danta steps back from the glass box with an air of suspicion, eyes narrowed to watch the arachnid angrily scuttle about. "Is that it?" he wonders. "We did it?"

Dantalion

I slithered here from Eden
just to sit outside your door

Ophelia

youngsters should plan ahead

His drawling charm is admittedly diminished by the unexpected squeamishness he exhibits. Charming as well, but in a more endearing way - and something Phi certainly won’t be saying to his face, though their own twists into a cheeky smile. The magnificent Maverick, not so infallible after all.

Taking pity on him, Phi reaches to bring the enclosure into their own hands, smushing their face into the glass fearlessly to peer at their new captive audience. Eight legs skitter and tap against the glass in a scarcely audible but distinctly pissed off tempo. Satisfied, Ophelia pulls away and grins toward Danta. “We did it! Now we just have to keep it alive.” Mildly daunting since Ophelia shouldn’t be in charge of keeping anything else alive, so hopefully they could put their heads together. The ivory spade of their tail flicks at Danta’s hip and they tilt their head toward the entrance of the building. “Think they’ll give us free drinks if we say we fixed their infestation problem?” Their fingers tap against the glass, grin turning mischievous. They’re just as likely to get thrown out for bringing it inside, even captive, but Phi is willing to take that chance. The fact that it’s a lie matters little to them. They need to celebrate!

otherwise they're good as dead

idealism sits in prison
chivalry fell on his sword

"Delightful," Danta mutters at keeping the void spider alive. "It can come back with me to the Last Whisper." Yet another addition to his office back at the Dusklight that he'll resent every day until their quest is complete. He happily surrenders the enclosure to Ophelia for now at least, stretching his arms above his head as if he'd done anything but stand around while they did all the real work.

Still, the idea of free drinks is always a tempting one, and he flashes them a fanged grin and gestures towards the entryway. "My dear, there's only one way to find out," he purrs. And if ridding you of a single void spider doesn't merit free drinks, the Maverick feels as though his position alone might get the job done.

~FIN

Dantalion

I slithered here from Eden
just to sit outside your door