I stared at the spider for a solid minute, in silence. The wind picked up around us, as I tried to comprehend the fact that this girl had just, with no hesitation and apparent glee, consumed the beetle that had bitten me.
That was....ok. Right, remember she wasn't from around here. And clearly she was closer to spider in nature than to human, or elf, or whatever her humanoid half was supposed to be descended from. So, of course she wouldn't necessarily eat the same things that we did...but a beetle? And did she have to look so pleased about it? I wiped my face with one hand and did my best not to think about the apparent meal plan of driders that came flying through portals.
No, instead I rubbed my eyes as I tried to think. Taking her back to Stonevale seemed the safest option, right now. Even if Ezra didn't have the time to help Moffit, at least she would be safe there in town. Hell. Maybe I could have Nan look after the girl. The old woman seemed to care not one single whit about what someone looked like - she literally saw them as all her grandchildren, who, in her own words, 'Needed to stop playing around and actually get together and give her more grandchildren to spoil.' Yes, that was actually a brilliant plan. Tell Nan I found a young woman who needed help and looked a bit different, and show her a drawing of Moffit - and if the woman didn't seem afraid, actually introduce them.
Yes, this seemed like a brilliant plan. And it would put Moffit somewhere safe while she figured out the language, which Nan would probably help her learn. But now, the next major hurdle in my plan on how to help the drider. Namely, the same one that was part of the reason why I was coming up with this plan in the first place. How in the name of the Great Flow was I going to convince the spider-woman to come with me so far? Literally, across an ocean? In a rare occurrence, I wished he had a teleportation stone. All I could do was -
I drew a house in the dirt, with a small stick figure inside. One crimson tendril tapped the tiny stick figure. "Nevin, home." I tapped the crudely drawn hut. Then I tried to draw a spider-Moff next to the little stick figure. "Moffit, home?" Did she understand inquisitive intonation?
