Ashton raised a brow as he followed a step behind. Beloved followed the song of those fighting for their lives. Songs so immature, coherent thoughts had yet to form.
Beloved's body glowed in the dark, giving off a soft light. They were inside! She felt the mana rich earth between her toes… a cave? Were they underground?
"Who dares?" While the tone was harsh, the male voice was soft.
Beloved peered into the darkness as a figure approached. A giant… frog? The frog stood on his hind legs, a staff in his webbed hand. In an archaic wizards hat and matching robe. "Hello Mister frog! We heard a sad song! Is anything wrong?"
Ashton blinked as he realized who they were visiting, the goddess of earth! Who else would have better trees? Ashton glanced around, light reflecting off silk. Silk that encompassed everything but the ground they stood on.
Haven raised a brow but didn't immediately follow the curious birds. Intruding into another gods domain rarely ended well. Regardless, he would obtain a tree.
Haris eyed the unlikely intruders. He recognized Nix, that meant the female… was the creation. "Why are you here Nix? This is not a place the sun or his ilk should be." If they were anywhere else, Haris would not have bothered with conversation.
Beloved gasped as she looked into the darkness, so many songs, so much pain… all hoping to liv, hoping to see the day! "You two distract them!I will go on! So many have perished, so many are dying, so many little lives, so many still trying." Beloved leapt over the frog as she changed. Flying deeper into the chamber.
Haris whirled around to strike the creation down! Only for Nix to appear right before him. "Willa!" He called out as he waved his staff. Despite having webbed hands, he would not go down without a fight.
"We mean no harm! Only to help, won't you trust us this once? Why not with me you two are kept?" Ashton asked lightly tapping on the archaic wizards staff. Few carried around such unwieldy objects of power. Chanting may be weaker, but so long as one could speak, they could fight.
Ashton wanted to sigh as the cavern shook. The Goddess no doubt making her move.
Leonard hadn't recovered from seeing the elven royalty, what on earth were they facing now? He could see through the giant rift… but only caught glimpses of something large… larger than Caius's fox form when he'd attacked Ashton.
Three giant armored… legs? Thicker than a man's body had pierced the ground. Separating the frog from Ashton. At first Leonard thought there were spikes protruding from the dark armor but they were leg hairs.
Haven darted in, wrapping himself around the moving darkness with a threatening hiss as the earth goddess meant to crush both Beloved and Nix. He grappled with the sharp legs, weaving himself around her joints to keep her still. If Beloved wanted them to distract instead of kill, he would oblige.
Leonard felt every hair on his body rise in alarm… a spider what manner of spider could give a snake god trouble? Their grappling caused the silk threads to entangle both giant bodies.
Haris shot hit tongue out, forcing Nix to retreat. If Nix had meant him harm… he would have died in that exchange. Haris felt more rage seeing his goddess wrapped up than he could remember in his entire life! "Release her Wind God!"
Before the frog mage could finish his cast, Ashton tapped the staff again, then retreated further away. "Beloved they are angry! Beloved they're upset! If you can help, faster is better, to have no regrets!" Neither side was truly fighting, not here in the egg chamber.
Beloved hugged the giant silk sac, crooning a soft song as her body burst into white flame. So many babies! So many lives! How many centuries… how they must long.
Willa saw her egg sac being engulfed in white flame. With a screech that shook the cavern, she dragged herself toward her young!
Haven anchored himself to the walls, causing the earth goddess to halt, or the cavern would collapse.
"Kyaaaaaaaa!" Beloved's alarmed cry caused the two gods to halt. Out of the flames dozens, hundreds, thousands of small creatures started to race out.
Ashton blinked as thousands of spiders started to flood the cavern. His Beloved being carried along as the cavern was overrun.
Haris stared, overwhelming emotions he couldn't even fathom. "Come to father!" he yelled throwing down his staff as he ignored everyone else. He fell to his knees as their babies washed over him like a tide. They were… so small…
Ashton was quickly carried away as the spider babies now covered every available surface. Quickly climbing up the earth goddess's body, over Haven.
Haven blinked uncomprehendingly. They were miniscule, their bodies no bigger than a common housecat… but… they were a goddess's offspring. Before they completely engulfed their intertwined bodies, Willa shrank out of his grasp.
Willa ignored the wind god intruding into her domain, her babies quickly found her. Their delicate bodies seeking warmth, food… She opened the cavern door so they could quickly bask in the sunlight. More importantly, find food.
Beloved's peals of laughter echoed throughout the cavern. "Nix I found babies! Babies of all kinds! Oh we should bless them! See their elements of designs!"
Ashton laid out flat as he was carried along the carpet of spiders slightly bigger than his head. Their sheer numbers were astonishing… Soon the blinding light of midday flooded the cavern. The spiders at some unknown signal started to escape.
"Beloved they are moving, refuse to stay still, blessings might startle, best to move quick!" Ashton called as he was carried out of the cavern to see… a forest of crystal trees.
Beloved hugged one of the spider babies to her chest, this one had the most beautiful sapphire eyes. As far as she could see, most had ruby or ebony eyes. Holding the baby so he wouldn't join the mob, she summoned several rings of white fire.
Ashton watched as the babies became entranced with the white fire, raising their little feet as if to catch a piece for themselves. Ashton quickly absorbed the white flames, before sending a softer flame to each not so small spider.
Willa watched as her babies ate the flames… raw mana. The only one who had a significant reaction… was her sapphire eyed baby in the female's arms. A light breeze reminded her… the wind god was still here.
Ashton saw of the thousands of babies, only one had an affinity for purification mana. He was surprised even a single one took to Beloved's gift. Without preamble, he sent out small silver and red flames. The spiders quickly gathered their spoils before eating like… hungry newborn babies. Only a handful took to his fire. Which made sense, fire… silk? Not the best combination.
Haven kept an eye on the spider as two birds fell onto his face. Without shifting his attention, "Is this why you wanted them distracted?"
Beloved showed off the baby spider, "Aren't they pretty? Aren't they grand? So few take to fire though, makes me kind of sad."
Haven eyed the spider clinging to his female. A male spider. "I do not believe I have ever seen a fire spider before."
Beloved pouted as she petted the baby. "Then what of wind? Will you share your blessing?"
Haven narrowed his eyes, then glanced over the cautious spider goddess. "As you desire."
Ashton grinned, placing both palms on the wind god's face. Thousands of tiny spheres of wind wrapped in silver fire were sent out. He took just enough to give each of the thousands of spiders a mouthful.
As if just remembering the giant upset mother, Beloved slowly turned to face the giant spider slowly emerging from the cavern. The frog came waddling out, his arms full of spiders, one even hanging from his pointy hat.
Beloved pursed her lips, "Uh… hello goddess of earth, our tidings from sun, hope you found some mirth?" Beloved made a pocket just big enough to hold one small spider. She tried not to laugh when the legs tickled her.
Willa stared at the bulging feathers, "That is my baby."
Beloved's eyes filled with tears. "I… will be super good! Will raise him up strong! He is like me, his fire is warm!"
Ashton fell through a rift to land on the earth goddess's leg, "A spider of fire, among so many kin, it could be dangerous, not just for others, also for him." He was quickly overrun with cat sized spiders poking him. Cleary they thought he was food! Several spider legs were poking his soft belly.
Willa was not deterred, "They are mine."
Haris hesitated, in the last hundred thousand years… only two of their offspring had survived to hatch. Neither had survived more than a few decades… Now all their eggs had hatched… lively little spiders already spreading their silk over the valley. If… if one were to hurt the others, even accidentally. His heart would break.
Beloved's pocket of feathers fell away so she could hug the soft spider to her face. Her watery eyes making him a little blurry, "You should like feathers, or birds or of snakes, when my babies are big, sure one's hand you could take?" She really, really liked this little spider.
Willa watched as her son lifted a leg to brush the female's tears away. His babyish skitters so solemn.
Beloved rubbed her face all over the baby's body. "Oh, if you won't like feathers, please at least like song. I will have many babies, you won't have to wait long!"
Ashton was still buried under several spiders poking him. Their innate talents did not seem to favor wind or fire. Less than a fifth had awakened after Haven's blessing.
Haris was startled when Nix's hand shot out from between a small mound of spiders, "Come here children, that is not food." Their babies reluctantly released Nix.
"Ha!" Ashton sat up, thousands of eyes looking at him expectantly… well, "Today is a great day, a day to celebrate, a blessing of earth? For those to unleash the innate?"
Willa wanted to dislodge the bird from her leg… but with the Wind God right here, and the Sun God a mere call away… If a battle broke out how many of her children would perish? They'd kept the eggs, hoping to find a solution… she'd never thought so many would hatch. Especially not all at once.
"You're thinking so hard, you're thinking so fast, we're just passing through, feathers on the breeze, without harm as we land." Ashton promised as he picked up one of the spiders. It's eight legs scrambled for purchase. "They sang of despair, their song was so sad, harder to hear, offer a helping hand."
Willa's eight eyes leapt from Nix, to the wind god, then to the female. Haris looked up at her, not pleadingly, but… his hope was as great as her own. "We… would appreciate any blessings you give."
Haris almost danced with joy, even if their children didn't awaken any talent, the mana they'd received would keep them from starving for half a year. Plenty of time to establish a food chain.
Ashton jumped between the mounds of spiders to land closer to the earth goddess's eyes. "I am just sharing, none for myself, awaken the earth, the talented wealth."
Willa watched as Nix syphoned off some of her mana, then wrapped it in his fire. Again, her children went after the tiny silver flames, eating them without hesitation. Even if they were safe here, the world was not a kind place.
Ashton was knocked off the earth goddess by an exuberant baby. Holding the spider to his chest, they landed on the ground. "This spider of wind, yearning to fly, but perhaps a few more days, before you again try."
Haris leapt, holding more than a dozen of his children, to land beside Nix. "We are grateful for… this. But, you are still intruding upon a goddess's domain. Why are you here Nix?"
Ashton puckered his lips as he released the wriggling baby, "We came for a reason, there was definitely a plan… uh… give me a moment, and I will now ask!" Ashton stepped through a rift. Now on Haven's head.
"Psst, we've woken the earth, her power of quake, but… why are we here? What is our plan big Snake?" Beloved asked still cuddling the obedient spider baby. Oh… she really, really wanted to bring him along! Then! Spiders could learn to fly! She fed him another small flame. Then gave him a feather. He accepted all of her gifts! What a good baby!