Varying Perspectives [G/T Oneshots]

35 - WEB

If there was anything you wished you'd remembered about Borrowing, it was that spider webs were much thicker than you thought. You'd always had to brush away stray and weakened cobwebs while you borrowed, and you'd seen the thin and quite beautiful constructions along the walls of the very large house you resided in, but you weren't ready. Not ready for the thickness of each strand and the stickiness, clinging to your skin and clothes and rendering you completely stuck inside the cage of a predator.

You had sworn it was a spider that didn't make webs, only strange burrows. But there you were, trapped and left for the creature to return.

You can still remember the feeling of uselessness, the feeling of knowing that even if you didn't struggle, a web this good had to have an owner, and an owner that would be returning to make you a meal any time soon. It was no good bringing your knife when your wrists were bound completely by the tacky white threads that hung from the ceiling, and when death crept toward you on eight hairy paws.

The spider might've been the biggest you'd ever seen, towering over you by tens of feet, and you shrunk back from the giant creature and closed your eyes, awaiting the sweet sting of pain from a swiftly delivered bite. But you heard something off instead, something that changed the way you viewed the world. Viewed yourself, and borrowers, and the elusive Humans that your parents had warned you about, but you had never seen.

"Hey, are you stuck?"

"Huh?" Your eyes blinked open to stare up at the giant creature, squinting when you realised the rumbling voice was coming from it. A hand capable of swallowing up your own was extended in your direction, a face lowered to your level held many eyes and the palps of a spider, but it was smiling to you. What had been an animal was now revealed to be a half spider, half human, with slicked-back curly hair and a tanned, shirtless chest. He was the thing you'd been borrowing from, the strange wolf spider that left out crumbs of food and not flies, the one who'd made the web you were still trapped in.

"Um, isn't it obvious." He chuckled at that, and his hand retreated. 

"I suppose it is, little one."

He was giant, 3 times your size with about a third of that coming from his furry spider's abdomen, his hands casting cold shadows as they broke apart the webs from your frail form with ease. But the presence of another speaking and living person melted your heart, and you came to trust him quite easily. Borrowing got lonely, you were forced to constantly speak out lists to yourself as you picked out large fragments of nails and cotton, you sang and just made noise while you were alone, and listened to the large sounds of Humans talking. 

But you had been freed, freed by someone who backed off onto his last two pairs of legs and sat before you, watching proudly from on high as if you were his completed project. You still had goosebumps from the leathery touch of skin as well as the fact that you suddenly felt so much warmer where his fingers had touched your skin, but other than that, you were ecstatic.

"There you are. My name's Allesandro, kid. What's yours?"

"I'm (y/n), and thank you, Allesandro. I thought...that you were a real spider going to eat me but, I suppose you're a nice giant."

You couldn't think, couldn't make words into sentences to speak to the grinning spider, and very soon realised that socialising with others wasn't your strong suit. In fact, you hadn't spoken to another living soul in just under half a year. But he didn't seem to mind, ducking down entirely to rest a goatee on the ground before you, two large and a few small eyes analysing your entire form, while a thoughtful grin was plastered over his cheeks.

"Giant? Well, I suppose if that's what you see from your perspective I must be. Never thought I'd find anyone smaller than me." He paused to look back at something down the dark corridor, before you were loomed over again and he began to pad away past his web and into his burrow, pausing to look over his shoulder at you. "Marina should be happy to help you out if you ever need more food. Though I suppose you've been taking mine, Borrower."

"Hey! Don't talk about us like that! I've only been taking what I need like I suppose you have been from that Human who lives here." You growled, only getting the slightest bit nervous when more than two eyes glared a little. But the man only huffed and began to climb the wall with no trouble. 

"I'm not being rude, (y/n). I know what Borrowers do, I know what Borrowers expect giants to do, and I know that you like giants once they're kinder to you." 

"What? Giants, like you? Well, maybe I'd enjoy your company, but not anyone bigger. That's just too much for a Borrower like me, I can get hurt easily." You were left annoyed at the bottom as the spider disappeared off into the darkness, not even sure if he was still interested in this lovely conversation littered with its many voice cracks. But then his almost booming voice came again.

"You don't talk to Humans, do you? And I suppose you borrow from me because it's much easier than bothering Marina. And I think you like fluff too."

You hesitated, realising he seemed to have you all figured out, but after shaking your head and running a hand through your hair, you mustered some sort of argument against the disembodied voice.  

"You don't have me all figured out. And what is fluff? Unless you're talking about cotton wool, I don't enjoy it?"

Alessandro scoffed from up high, before dropping down on a line of silk to land centimetres away from your nose, his long curls pooling near your feet while an upside-down billboard smile was all you could really see. He wasn't too big, he could barely hold one of you without some trouble, but he still had your heart beating erratically.

You pushed away a finger that rubbed your head affectionately, noting the momentary shock that flickered in his eyes, watching in awe as he cut the line, landed behind you with a thud and offered two hands cupped like a platform. 

"Come with me, I'll show you. I read about Borrowers online."

"What line?"

"Hm...seems I'll have to teach you a few things about the internet first."

~~~

Chapter pic uploaded (sorry the quality isn't verygood)! Hope you enjoyed meeting my spider boy. 

~Tsunami