[PRP - Kindness] Just Spider Things [Itsy Bitsy/Paladin]

[Ruriska]

The spider was minding its own business, as spiders usually do. It had found a lovely home, stretched its web out during the night and was now sitting proudly in the middle waiting for lunch to drop by.

Unfortunately its choice of locations wasn't quite so ideal for others. The exit of the tunnel slide near the school was not normally recommended by the spider community and for good reason.

But this spider was either braver or stupider than most and so stayed in its web and waited.

( @Nym itsy bitsy will show up next post haha. just had to set the scene! )

[Nym]

In a perfect world he wouldn't have noticed the spider, too wrapped up in his own curiosities and ponderings. After all, spiders had never really been a concern for someone like him -- he didn't spook or fright easily, nor did he concern himself with small buggy creatures. But, Paladin liked being a hero, keen on ensuring others didn't have to face their own fears if he was about. Other foals had begun warning one another of the 'spider tunnel', and word reached Paladin quickly. He stood before the tunnel, a book in each hoof as he stared down the creature, promising a lack of future for the small and defenseless eight-legged friend.

His peers had spoken, and Paladin, regardless if he cared or not, had a mission to accomplish.
@ruri

[Ruriska]

As one hero began the task of protecting his peers, so did another.

With her spider sense tingling and having been nearby dropping off a donation of hand-knitted items for the school children, Itsy Bitsy had arrived just in time. She watched the pink colts progress, the lifting of the books like the executioner's axe, and she moved her slim, long legs as fast as they could (which was rather fast).

Up behind the babby she scurried, her front two arms reaching over his shoulder to halt the books to stop them from slamming together.

"Stop," she said, not intending to scare but the word came out as a low hiss regardless.

And the spider in his web looked on and still didn't move.

@Nym 

[Nym]

Paladin would have absolutely gone ahead with his plan without a second thought. Life would have gone on as normal, with a likelihood of spiders finding their ends by various objects, wielded by Paladin himself. It all would neither have been questioned nor pondered, but she appeared.

He caught the sound before he saw the culprit -- a faint scuttling behind him, quick and direct. Paladin only had enough time to lift his head, canting it back as arms sprawled over his shoulders, ceasing his hooves. He locked eyes with their many, face dull and unexpressive. 'Oh,' he thought as his arms lowered.  And yet, despite her many eyes and long limbs, he didn't feel fear. He liked to say he could feel the intent of others, but he was no more psychic than anyone else.

She just looked... harmless.
At least towards him.

"Why?" He questioned, although his hooves stayed lowered, currently obedient in favor of his curiosity.  "Everyone is afraid," he added, voice low and interested.

@Ruriska

[Ruriska]

It wasn't the reaction she had been expecting. Where was the fear that so often filled the gaze of strangers? It made her pause for a moment, staring back with her many eyes at the colt who looked at her with only bland curiosity.

Slowly she retracted her arms, trusting him not to finish his intended strike, tucked them neatly before her with the others. She also stepped back, hoping his curiosity would draw him to her now instead of the far more delicate spider.

"Why should something die simply because others fear it?" She asked in return, her voice soft and polite now that the fall of the axe had been stayed.

@Nym

[Nym]

Wasn't that what phonies did when afraid? They eliminated the source, digging in their heels and creating societies free from the evils that plagued them. Monsters were hunted, threats were removed, and everyone felt safer in the end. He stared at her, blank and considering, noting her many eyes and extra limbs. Did she deserve to be killed? She was, with the limited knowledge he had as a foal, frightening to others. Not to him, no, but to his peers? Probably. He casted a glance at the spider in the web, tracing it back to her.

If his peers asked him to, would he turn his sights on her, too?

No.

But surely a spider was of less thought than a phony -- right? If he squashed one another would eventually take its place. His face finally shifted, scrunching into a thoughtful and perhaps stressed expression. He hadn't ever considered the morality of killing spiders, evident as he fell into a silence.


"Isn't that normal?" He answered faintly, although he didn't sound too confident. "To feel safe from what frightens us? Isn't that how our stories go?"

Clearly, the spider-like phony had gotten into his head.
@Ruriska

[Ruriska]

Itsy Bitsy couldn't know what was going through his mind but his gaze was especially blank, as if some world view was in the process of shifting. She waited as patiently as any spider did, arms at rest, waiting for him to work through his thoughts.

When he did finally speak, her head tilted curiously. How interesting a response!

"Life is not a story," she said gently. "Fear of something does not necessarily make it bad." This was a good lesson for him to learn now, she thought. Knowledge that the world was not so black and white and you could not judge quite so quickly.

"And why should the spider die? It too has a purpose in this world. A life should not be so easily taken just because it is small."

@Nym

[Nym]

Life is not a story -- he knew that, right? So why did it sound so profound once she said it? He stared at the small spider, hooves slowly setting the book down.

Why was it okay to dismiss the lives of smaller creatures? Because they lacked his intelligence? The spider was harmless, minding its own business with no impact on his life, outside maybe needing a redirection. That'd take, what, a minute tops?

So why had he just thought the answer was murdering it?

Ugh, he hated how this simple action had lead him down a path he hadn't signed up for -- his brain hurt. Out of all the lessons he had in the past this one seemed the most... confound, and Paladin couldn't say he had any retort to prove the phony wrong. Because she wasn't.

"I apologize," he began, although to which multi-legged friend he spoke to was unknown. "But everyone is still afraid -- what can I do to help everyone? Can I move it?"
@Ruriska

[Ruriska]

Her words had reached him. Itsy Bitsy smiled, not fearing that her fangs would bother him now. He seemed like a kid with a big heart and the desire to do good, who had simply needed a nudge back on to the right path.

"You can," she answered. "And so can I. It's what I do. Ideally, I would prefer a world where spiders do not have to be an object of fear when they are simply living their lives but education and understanding takes time. Until then I save as many as I can."

She moved up alongside him to reach out with one spindly leg for the spider. It seemed to come alive then, scurrying in the opposite direction. But she was faster, giving a soft tut of annoyance as she scooped it up lightning fast despite the attempt to escape, tangling it in it'd own web until it hung unharmed in her grasp.

"We've talked about this, Reggie," she muttered under her breath. "This is the sixth time."

Her other spider leg she pressed against her cheek and sighed. "Some spiders don't know what's best for them." Then she offered another smile, raising her captured spider friend up for the colt to see. "If you like, I can teach you the best techniques to use when moving your new many-legged friends."

Her head tilted, gaze thoughtful. "Oh and I accept your apology."

@Nym

[Nym]

He couldn't catch what she muttered to the spider but it definitely felt like she knew of their shenanigan's. He craned closer as she raised the spider, curious and cautious all at once. He was, after all, just about to kill the spider -- he didn't want to frighten it anymore. Did it know his intentions? Could spiders tell?

If it had then it wasn't very good at preserving it's own life, then.

He came closer, hooves extending stiffly. He had never really held an animal, never less a spider. Jaws, his mother's shark, was hardly someone he could just go about picking up, and he didn't have many friends. Still, he was interested.

"Yes, please." His gaze flicked up, meeting the taller phony's many-eyes, nodding faintly to her acceptance.

"Have you considered talking to my classmates? Maybe they'd listen to you."

@Ruriska

[Ruriska]

Itsy Bitsy was surprised when he held out a hoof so readily. She hadn't actually planned on handing him the caught spider but now that he wanted the experience, she carefully transferred the little bundle of web and leggy arachnid onto the offered hoof.

Since the spider couldn't yet go anywhere and was still trying to work itself out of its own web, it sat rather placidly, except for its legs hard at work trying to set itself free. "Now, I don't recommend trying to pick up an unknown spider like this. Hooves aren't very delicate and it's very easy to harm them instead."

She kept her leg raised, ready to snatch Reggie up in case they attempt an escape.

"And that's a wonderful idea! I'll talk to your teacher and see if I can arrange it."

As long as there wasn't anyone with terrible arachnophobia it could be a good experience for the children and would make her worry a little less about the local spider population. Plus she just adored being around children.

"Now when you move a spider, I recommend using something to help. You can trap them in a cup or coax them on to a piece of paper and then walk them to a new home. Remember that they will probably be scared too. You're much bigger than they are and may try to run if you startle them too much - Reggie!"

The spider had freed itself and had attempted to jump off Paladin's hoof using a string of thread.

Itsy Bitsy caught him with a quick swipe and then spun him up again.

"My word! You're just a bundle of trouble today."

@Nym

[Nym]

He couldn't help the pleased feeling that spread through his chest as she approved of his head, careful to bite back the expression. He held the spider tenderly, eyes wider than before as he felt their many limbs shift on-top his hoof. Strange, and slightly unnerving, but it helped remind Paladin that they were an actual living being. Before he had a moment to respond or adjust his holding the spider had attempted to flee into the world beyond, rescued immediately by the other phony. His eyes drew up, flicking from the books and than to the spider-pair.

"What is your name? I am Paladin -- thank you... for stopping me from making a grievous mistake."

@Ruriska   (Do we want to wrap up?)

[Ruriska]

"My name is Itsy Bitsy," she said, her head tilting with her smile. With her free spider leg, she reached out to gently touch Paladin's shoulder. "Thank you for understanding. I can rest easier knowing that next time a spider visits this playground, you can be their hero."

She lifted Reggie a little higher, giving the naughty spider a fond glance. "And now I need to get this one home. Perhaps we shall meet again, Paladin. Good day to you."

With a polite dip of her head, the spider Phony turned and made her exit, far slower than her skittering arrival.

@Nym