My mother led the way while I explained the ordeal regarding tea that Cellestra and I had gone through. She was smiling warmly by the end of it and then went on to blow the brunette’s mind with how she had at least five different kinds of tea. It was amusing to listen to, and it was a pleasure to see their interactions.

We followed the edge of the field on the other side of where we came from. A huge barn was the first building we walked past with a long, L-shaped house next to it. We went past it to see another long building that seemed to serve as a house, but it was clearly split up into multiple accommodations. This had to be the servant housing that was mentioned earlier.

The buildings themselves seemed to be elevated to such a degree that a two-step stone stair was required to enter them. The front of both the L-shaped house and this one was made up of gravel and had a few simple, wooden chairs and tables. One would have a great view of the nearby fields from here.

This looked like the perfect place to relax at the end of the day.

“Please, take a seat,” My mother said to Cellestra. “I’ll go and make us some tea. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

The brunette nodded and did exactly that as Lilinia nimbly walked up the steps and disappeared inside.

I skittered to the head of the table and laid down my halberd when I realized that my presence hadn’t gone unnoticed. A small, completely black creature peeked around the corner of the building before it prowled towards me. Cellestra didn’t say a word, but I saw her eyes follow the feline creature closely.

I twitched the leg that the cat was eying, causing it to jump back before it continued its prowl. It finally jumped on me when it was close enough and started biting some hairs before realizing they couldn’t be eaten. It backed off a few steps before reapproaching my leg to rub its head against it in apparent affection.

“See?” Cellestra said with a sly smile. “Even the cat thinks you’re a fluffy pillow.”

“Not quite the behavior I was expecting, to be honest,” I replied. “There’s not much left of that fluffiness with all this dirt. I think I’ll clean it before tonight or you’ll get all dirty if you want to use me as a pillow.”

“It’s whatever at this point. We both need a proper bath soon,” Cellestra said, giggling.

“True…”

I watched the cat play with my leg before I pulled it forward, the curious creature eagerly following it. I then leaned to the side to pet it with my hands.

I felt a strange sense of accomplishment when it accepted my affectionate gestures without any problems.

“Strange how your ailment doesn’t seem to afflict this cat. You’ve been around for a bit and the shrine isn’t that far out.”

“You’re right,” Cellestra said, seemingly struck by my words. “I’ve been around long enough for it to have some effect.” She stared in front of her for a few seconds. “Think your magic has anything to do with that?”

“Maybe? I mean, I don’t know if it’s too early to draw that conclusion. It was just something I noticed. Do you think we should stick around here to see what happens?”

The brunette shook her head. “We shouldn’t. There is no point in risking that. If there is any truth to it, we will find out in the forest sooner or later anyway. It’s much safer to do it there.”

I nodded. “That’s true.”

Cellestra stood up and knelt next to me and the black ball of fur. When she extended her hand, the creature didn’t hesitate to rub its head against her too.

“Seems you’ve met Shadow,” My mother’s voice came from the door as soon as it was opened.

“We have,” I said, still petting the cat.

“Surprised the others haven’t shown up. Then again, Shadow is the one I’d expected to show up first. He and Elira are best buddies. I guess you can see why.”

“Because they are both curious about things?” I suggested.

Lilinia nodded as she put down three cups of tea and a bottle of milk on the table.

“You mentioned others?” Cellestra said. “How many cats do you have?”

“Twelve,” My mother replied. I noticed the brunette’s eyes grow wide at the answer. “But there’s a good reason for that too,” She continued. “Helps to keep rodents in check. Not just on the farm here, but in the city as well.”

“Oh. The city? Do explain,” I said as I rose to full height and skittered to the table, Shadow dangling at my side as it had gripped itself around one of my legs. His antics caused a giggle to escape Cellestra’s lips.

“I asked about that myself as I was surprised how many cats there were in the city and I saw no benefit for them there,” Lilinia started explaining. “I was told that there had been a certain disease years ago that killed off a lot of people. There were some smaller settlements that were entirely specialized in farming and had many of these creatures walking in and out. Those were hardly affected. It appeared certain archivists and researchers found that the disease was caused by rats and having cats around helped tremendously.”

“That sounds scary…” Cellestra said softly.

“I haven’t seen the illness myself, but there’s certainly no harm in having some cats around. Can’t think of a better way to keep mice from eating the younger crops,” My mother finished.

“Well, he certainly is cute,” I said, moving my leg back and forth to see that Shadow was actually enjoying it.

I ignored him for the time being as I started sipping the tea.

“I hope Elira will have the same reaction to you,” My mother said warmly.

“How was I, as a child?” I asked, completely catching my mother off guard by the bluntness and randomness of the question. The truth was, I didn’t remember much of back then. Most of my memories of my early life were pushed out, purposely forgotten to ease the pain.

She took a few moments to watch me closely. I was focused on my tea in front of me, not wanting to look her in the eyes. I didn’t want her to see the same pain that the question made surface.

“You were… easy. Too easy some might say. You were happy and playful, but also lonely and quiet, which made it hard to grasp what you were thinking at times.” She paused for a second or two and I waited for her to continue while carefully sipping my tea again. “Your best friend was a stuffed plush dog. Though it was white at first, it turned brown over the years.”

“I don’t…” I swallowed. “I don’t remember any of that,” I said with a certain sadness in my voice.

She placed a hand on one of mine that was resting on the table. “That’s okay. I’ll help you remember, if you want.”

I nodded slowly without speaking.

We drank our tea and I took in the sight of the many tomatoes behind me at the same time. I noticed that Shadow was done playing with my leg. He’d climbed up to where I slept, made himself comfortable in a curl, and started sleeping. I let out a suppressed chuckle at his actions.

“Seems you’re not the only one that thinks your back is most comfortable,” Cellestra said.

My mother looked at us in confusion, prompting me to clarify things.

“It’s how I sleep. I can’t use a normal bed, but I’m extremely flexible. I can lean over all the way back and sleep on myself. I can also sleep with this torso, but keep my spider half awake. It’s quite strange, really.”

“That sounds highly confusing,” She admitted.

I shrugged. “It works. What can I say? It’s been more than useful.”

I chuckled when I saw my mother’s face try to make sense of how that worked. Through her eyes, I could see her thinking hard.

“So, Kealyna?” My mother eventually asked. “Can you see Shadow without turning around?”

I chuckled. “You thought these eyes were for show? Yes, I can see him very clearly, as well as everything else around me. The only blind spot I have is my rear.”

It looked like she was just looking for more unbelievable facts to add to her pile of wonder. I imagined there’s be plenty more to add.

A sudden tickle in my nostrils caught me by surprise. I backed off from the table in the fraction of a second that I had and sneezed, my entire body convulsing, including my legs. An odd feeling from behind lingered when I was about to sneeze a second time. I shook my head, but the threshold for it wasn’t quite reached, allowing me to recover. Shadow had woken up by my involuntary jerks and jumped off my back.

Cellestra was left giggling after she saw I was fine.

“Are you okay?” My mother asked, a smile on her face as well. “That looked terrifying.”

“I’m fine,” I said, rubbing my nose. “Haven’t had that happen before. I wonder if it’s because of Shadow.”

“That’d be unfortunate,” Cellestra said with a sly smile before leaning her head sideways. “By the way, I think you lost something.”

I tried to turn around but I felt a tugging on my spinnerets. Instinctively, I knew what it meant, and I sighed deeply.

“You gotta be kidding me.”