A Man and his... Spider...?

Salzem walked through the forest as rain began to fall. It was not exactly heavy rain, but it was heavy enough to cause a thin mist to obscure his vision. Salzem enjoyed a good drizzle and raised his face to the sky, closing his eyes and smiling as the rain tapped his face almost rhythmically. When he had his fill of the cool rain, he continued his walk, hair going from it's swept-to-the-side appearance to a more, hung-over-the-eyes look. He had not come here for mere pleasure in the rain however. He was here to think. To contemplate. Salzem had done this many times, each a different location, each the same purpose. No matter how many times he convinced himself, no matter how much rationalization he did, no matter how much the circumstances favored his choice, Salzem was dubious that what he had decided to do was in his best interest. He walked through the pouring rain, listening to the pitter-patter of the rain on the ground below him as he walked. Was leaving the village right? He, now one of the strongest in konoha (literally and stat wise) ever sense Kasai's mysterious disappearance. Was leaving the village what will make him happy? Will leaving it in the hands of it's genin and a few chuunin? This was like damning the only other family he had ever known to near guaranteed destruction. And now with this Village Destroyer brought to his attention, what should he do...? What the heck should he do!? Should he stay home and wait for it's inevitable passing or should he leave and take the fight to it? And what about That murderer? What should be done about him? Should he forsake his ultimate goal, the one that carried him as far as now in favor for a new one? no.... No..... NO! He would not do that. He would not forsake that. That man must be killed. He had to be killed. Isshin didn't deserve to die. His own stupidity let him die. No. But... he would push it aside for now. Bigger forces are at work than just one man. With the Rise of that new village, (Haven was it?) there would possibly be another grab for power to balance it out amongst the remaining standing villages. That made him question his choices further. What now? With two new superpowers in this world what was he? What was his purpose? He didn't know anymore. He wandered deeper into the forest, a scowl on his face, his eyes glowing in the darkness of the rain, and the light of the moon.  By this time, the wind had begun to pick up, the wind, once a quiet whistle in the night began to be like the howl of a windigo. Salzem flipped his hood over his head and continued his trudge deeper into the ever darker forest. Only as he crossed pair of trees, branches made something resembling a ceiling, did he start to feel uneasy. There was something about this part of the forest, something dark and mysterious that made his stomach turn. He couldn't put his finger on exactly what it was, however. Still, he walked deeper, not noticing the large amount of webbing that covered the tops of the trees. As he walked deeper, his anxiety grew further. What was it...? Then he saw the webs. Between two large oaks was a large collection of webbing, weaved like a tent over a large hole dug into the dirt, more webbing inside. As he crept closer to investigate, he heard a crunching noise under his feet. He looked down and saw the corpse of a large mammal, completely drained of fluids. Salzem looked around quickly for whatever had done this. Over his shoulder? Nothing. Deeper into the forest? Not that he could see. His gaze returned back to the mammal, and he kneeled down to pick it up. As his fingers touched the brittle skin, it fell apart, collapsing into smaller pieces. Now Salzem was truly unnerved. Suddenly, the hairs on the back of his neck stood up on end and a scuttling sound could be heard behind him. A noise that could only belong to a large beast. Salzem turned slowly and, about 4 meters in front of him squatted a giant, lightning blue tarantula, its hair (fur?) dampened by the rain. By huge, It was literally huge! This colossal arachnid squatted at around 2 feet tall, about 4 foot five inches from left leg to right, it's black fangs exposed. All Salzem could do was stare and It stared back, neither making a move on the other. Then, as Salzem opened his mouth to speak, a voice entered his mind. It was not his own. It was that of a woman. It sounded like that of a 30 year old? Perhaps younger.

What are you doing here, in my territory, human? The voice hissed. He must be going insane. Yes, that must be it. Where did that voice come from? Salzem looked around anxiously for where the voice had come from before it spoke again.

The one you seek is in front of you. The voice was less patient than before, a hint of venom in its tone. The young, frightened chuunin's eyes returned slowly to the blue tarantula, It's abdomen raised slightly upwards in an aggressive stance. Did.... did it just..... speak...?

Are you going to state your business in my territory or am I going to eat you now? The voice spoke again. The tarantula's fangs clacked together at a very fast rate. If one listened for a moment, one might recognize that the sound is similar to that of laughter. Deciding to humor the idea that he was in fact, not insane and that there was a giant talking spider standing in front of him, Salzem spoke to it, bowing as low as he dared, his eyes still in contact with that of the spider.

"I-I'm sorry." Salzem began, voice shuddering from the chill of the rain and the fear that there was a spider the size of a large dog talking to him. "I didn't know that this was your territory..." The spider relaxed slightly, legs less tensed, abdomen lowered. It's six small eyes seemed to probe into Salzem's soul. Only when it motioned with one of it's fore-legs, did Salzem raise himself back up to full height. The spider looked at Salzem quizzically, as if looking for an answer only she knew the question to. A long silence dwindled between the two before the voice picked up in his mind again. It occurred to Salzem that he could hear the voice clearly through the rain and wind. That it's pitch never seemed to change or crack or anything. This spider was using some kind of telepathy to get it's words across. Great... more madness to add to this day...

 Bah.... Humans... The Spider sounded disgusted, as if Salzem's very presence caused her to near-retch. Filthy chattering monkeys... For what reason we haven't devoured them yet is beyond me.... Salzem was flabbergasted. From they way she spoke... there were more, perhaps many more of her kind, titanic spiders. This chilled his blood. If there were more like her...

"Um... What may I call you?" Salzem asked, showing respect to the giant, blue Arachnid. She cocked her cephalothorax body to the side, her small eyes seemed to widen in surprise. It seemed to be aware of it's surprise and quickly recovered, scuttling up a tree trunk, now glaring down at the young, terrified chuunin with a look of contempt.

Our language is beyond your petty skills! She boasted. The closest name I can translate is Zeefalvora. You are in the presence of royalty. Wait... What...? Salzem looked at the spider, completely left in the dust. Oh yes, he got her name. Unique, commanded respect. A lot like his own he thought. But... Royalty? This spider's culture had a monarch system...? Salzem's head was spinning.

Well? Zeefalvora asked, gesturing to herself with one of her fore-legs. Give me your name, monkey. Then we can talk as equals. The spider spoke as if it was his superior. Despite Salzem's fear and shock, he had analyzed the colossal arachnid and had come to the conclusion that it was really not that powerful, perhaps weaker than the average academy student. Never the less, Salzem, not wanting to anger a supposed queen of the Spider race, bowed down on one, knee, lowered his head, and spoke.

"I am known as Salzem Alagahara, my queen." Salzem said, shivering as the wind picked up again. Zeefalvora looked unfazed, however, it was seemingly confused at how he had addressed her.

Queen? Do not equate me to your monkey leaders! You will address me as Matriarch Zeefalvora. Salzem nodded quickly, correcting himself

"Matriarch Zeefalthura!" Salzem said quickly, eager to not anger the giant spider. However, as he looked up, the spider was no longer where it squatted. It had disappeared... Salzem looked around, turning in circles.

"What the..." Salzem whispered to himself, shivering in the cold rainy, environment of web. Had it all been some kind of delusion? Some kind of hallucination due to some unnoticed fever? Salzem raised a palm to his forehead, then to his cheeks to check for any abnormal amounts of heat. No, although he may catch one soon if he stayed out in this rain for much longer. However, before he could turn and head home, he felt the legs of Zefalvora pulling on him, the claws upon her feet digging into his shirt and pants. Six of her legs wrapped around his chest and belly, locked in place as they squeezed rather tightly. The other two legs wrapped  over his shoulders, locked in place as the claw on each foot dug into his shirt. Salzem felt a substantial weight shift on his back of a hundred or so pounds, however, due to his massive strength, he was able to withstand the weight shift. He froze, scared for his life as he felt the hot breath of the spider on his neck. He heard the laughter go off in his head but perhaps that chilled his blood further.

AHAHAHAHAHAHA! What's the expression? Did you see your face?! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! He could feel the breathing of the spider increase to a rapid pace before calming down. Salzem felt slightly embarrassed as the spider made fun of him. Fear and embarrassment led to a very uncomfortable brew.

Ah... Don't be alarmed, hairless ape. The spider chuckled in his head. I'm not going to eat you. I wish to see your people's broods. Show me where you.... collect. Now, Off with you!

Salzem began his trek back home, his walk being very ridged and quick. He was scared for his life.

"There is a giant talking spider on my back... There is a giant talking spider on my back..." Salzem mumbled to himself, frightened. He didn't notice this at first, but the spider's breath seemed to have slowed, her body seemed a tad heavier towards the bottom. And to top that all off, she had remained silent the whole time. Salzem shrugged his shoulders lightly. No response. Gradually, with the spider asleep, his gait slowed, his steps being more fluid. Okay... where would he go from here? Would he hide it? He certainly wouldn't kill it. A talking giant spider is something to be marveled. Even just a spider of this size was something to gawk at. Salzem felt the gentle rise and fall of the spider's cephalothorax on his back and suddenly, he didn't feel so afraid of her anymore. In fact, with her hair in the rain, she felt kind of... soft? He even allowed himself a soft, shaky smile.

What.... are you.... smiling about, monkey...? Zeefalvora yawned in his mind. Apparently she had woken up from her nap. Salzem didn't dare turn his head but his smile still stayed.

"Nothing, Matriarch." Salzem said. "We will be there soon."

Fine... just... find us a nice... hole to... sleep in.... Zeefalvora yawned, before her voice trained off.

"Well actually, Matriarch, We humans actually sleep in..." Salzem trailed off as well when he felt the rhythmic slow breathing of the sleeping spider. He rolled his eyes and continued his walk. He wondered what his friends would say when he saw the colossal arachnid with a much bigger ego.

(Exit)
(wc: 2071)

(Claiming 5 stats, Zeefalvora Familiar, 500 ryo as my stats are capped)