It took me a good while to finish the roof. During that time, neither I nor Cellestra seemed to know what to say. I finished the top of what would be our shelter by climbing up a tree, connecting a thick thread to the center of the web, and elevating it slightly by connecting it with the crown of the tree. I then did the same with the other four trees. This way, whenever it rained, it wouldn’t fill the roof with a basin of water.

When I was finished, it was late afternoon, but there were still a few hours of daylight. I was left even more exhausted than before, but was happy with myself for getting at least something done. I would need another day or two, perhaps three, to finish the walls. For now, I wanted to clean myself, go back to my parents, make sure Cellestra got something to eat, and then head to bed.

I climbed down the last tree. The brunette walked up to me as soon as I stood on the ground and took me in for a hug, her eyes closed. I hugged her back and slowly ran a hand through her hair. It always felt nice when someone did that to me, and I thought she wouldn’t mind me doing the same to her.

“How are you feeling?” I asked with a whisper.

“Much better now…” She replied. “I’ve felt this for a while. I guess I finally know what it is.”

“It took me some time as well. None of it made sense at first.”

Cellestra nodded. She ran her hands down my long grimy hair several times as we continued the hug. “I feel so… whole when we do this,” She said softly.

“As do I,” I replied with a smile. “But come, I still need to clean myself.”

I broke the hug, looked at the sky and decided I’d skip my hair for the time being as there was not much time until evening. I figured a good time to do that would be after the dungeon. I was ravenous as it was, and I think it was going to be even worse tomorrow. No way I could focus on calmly getting my hair done when starving.

“Or well,…” I said as I looked at the dirt and dust in my hair all over my body. “Just get rid of the worst, I guess. I’ll get dirty in no time again anyway.” I sighed. “Do you want to get cleaned as well?”

“I’ll,” She said before pausing. “I’ll take care of it later. Thanks for the offer.”

“No problem.”

Cellestra sat down on the webs again while I skittered a bit further into the forest, far enough away to get a bit of privacy, but close enough to spring into action if necessary,

I finally freed myself of the dirty silk wrappings around my chest and summoned some silk in a ball to act as a sponge.

I cleaned my elven half first, quickly and perhaps lazily, before covering my chest again with a fresh set of silk. I then summoned more water to get most of the filth of my hair and then my spider hair. I could have taken my time and enjoyed this, but I was in too much of a hurry and not really in a caring mood at the moment. I just wanted to get this over with.

I couldn’t wait for the day when I could take this as easy as I wanted to.

My cleaning came to an end, and I was left wondering if I should put on more clothes in the future. It wasn’t that I disliked what I had, but Cellestra’s attack had forced me to think about it again.

My skin was as strong as my carapace, but the fragments from her failed spell had gotten themselves lodged in my behind and scraped my elven half. I’d been lucky not to get pierced as she had. What would have happened if that had been the case?

I knew I had a heart in both my spider abdomen and my chest; I’d felt both on several occasions. Finding out what would occur after one of them got impaled was not on my ‘to do’ list, though, I had to admit, I was curious.

I shrugged it off. I’d have a look at it later. My silk was quite strong. Perhaps I could make something that would be versatile, yet sturdy. Perhaps a double-layered shirt or something?

I walked back to Cellestra, who’d been waiting for me to finish, and yawned as I approached.

The brunette chuckled. “Poor Kealyna. Elira’s going to be sad that you won’t have the energy to play with her anymore.“

“Who said I don’t?” I asked with a smug smile. I couldn’t keep it up and it quickly disappeared. “But you’re right. I’ll just wish them a good night and hit the hay… literally.”

Cellestra giggled. “That does sound like a good idea. ”

I took her on my back and looked over my work so far one last time, admiring how good I’d become at this whole spider thing, before setting off.

“You’re a whole lot whiter again,” Cellestra mentioned on the way, referring to my… could it be considered a pelt? “Honestly, it looks good on you.”

“Do you prefer this or the rainbow?” I asked curiously.

“Hmmm, tough question,” The brunette replied before humming more in deep thought. “The rainbow was nice, but you still have that, more or less, right?”

“I guess I do, yes.”

“I think this looks better, and I do think Elira agrees with me from the way she was hypnotized.”

I chuckled. “White does suit me better, no? The only downside is the maintenance it requires to keep it that way.”

“Think that’s an oversight from Elysa?”

“Doubt it. As far as she knows I never concerned myself with things like appearances.”

Cellestra nodded but didn't say a word. Her smile told me more than enough.

We arrived at the residence and I noted that there was nobody left outside. Things quickly changed, however, as I saw a certain small elf’s head behind a window, which then disappeared almost immediately. Within seconds, Elira ran out the door, towards me, with my parents following a bit after.

“Well, someone is excited to see me,” I casually said.

“Not just her,” Cellestra said with a giggle.

My hand moved to an ear to feel it twitching. The purple-eyed elf on my back giggled even louder after my realization.

“Hey there,” I greeted my little sister as she ran up towards me.

“Hi, sis,” She said as she halted just before me and looked at my injured eye. “How are you?”

“I’m okay. I’m just super tired.”

“Can’t play?”

“Elira, what did we tell you?” My mother said sternly as she approached.

“I’m sorry…”

I patted her head. “It’s okay. We will play again soon. There are some things I need to do first.”

Elira nodded as my father stepped forward. He patted her too and told her gently that I needed my rest. She ran her hand over my lower head and appeared saddened, but she understood. My parents had told her a thing or two as far as I could tell. When Elira stepped back, my mother placed her hands on her shoulders.

“Good night,” I told her with a smile. She, and my mother, then wished me the same as Keelarin motioned for me to follow.

I waved as I followed my father to the barn.

“I hope you’ll be able to sleep well,” He said in earnest. “We’ve spread some hay on the floor but it’s not what I’d like to offer.”

“It’s okay,” I said. “I’ll be fine, and Cellestra has those pelts to act as a bit softer surface. I told you about how I can stay half awake and sleep at the same time. The only thing I want right now is some safety so I can sleep properly.”

“I hope this will do,” My father said as he approached the large barn doors with a brass key in his hands. He unlocked a padlock and opened the doors. “I’ll give you the lock so you can lock it from the inside.”

“That would be great.”

After handing me the items, he wished us good night. I waved him off as I closed the doors, leaving the inside of the structure lit only by an oil lamp on a stone tile next to the door. My parents had taken precautions to ensure it wouldn’t start a fire by accident.

For me, it illuminated more than enough to see. Then again, I was able to see much better in the dark than a normal person.

Bales of hay were stacked in the loft, with just one or two on the floor, and jute bags were laid out on top of one another on the sides. Some contained flour, easily recognized from the white powder covering them. Others appeared to be filled with potatoes in the shapes of the objects that poked their sides. A wide variety of farming tools stood against one of the walls as well.

In the middle, on the wooden floor, lay a bed of hay, spread enough to support my entire body. I used the padlock to lock the door, laid the key next to the oil lamp, and collapsed in the straw, dropping my weapon and the bag unceremoniously at the side. Cellestra stepped off my back, put her backpack next to my belongings, took the pelts, and laid them down at my side before she sat down on one, her head resting against my side.

“What a day,” She said softly after sighing. “I’m still sorry for what happened.”

“Don’t be,” I said as I laid myself down on top of my back. “We’re both fine in the end. It’s pointless to go on about it now. We know what happened and we won’t let it happen again.”

Cellestra nodded.

Things then went quiet until she brought up a hand to stroke my side. “How are you feeling?” She asked softly.

My hand wandered off to her head and I ran my fingers through her hair. “If this feels nice to you, then I feel amazing.”

“It does. I’m happy whenever I’m with you, Kealyna.”

“As am I.”