Web of Blessings: Chapter 5

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Summary: Sier is surprised to find an enormous arachne, Vanelope, hiding out in his greenhouse. She intends to raise her clutch of spiderlings inside over the cold winter, but they have to elude detection first.

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Chapter 5

Jennie had found herself tied up between a dangerous arachne femme fatale and a hard place and, despite Sier's reassurances, she was desperately trying to wriggle free, muttering muffled curses as a layer of strong webbing effectively muzzled her. Vanellope lowered herself to the ground, her long spindly legs elegants touching down. 

"Alright, hold still." Vanellope muttered, raising a claw to Jennie's mouth. 

"MMPH!? NNGH MGH!" Jennie grunted indignantly, shaking more aggressively as if to scare Vanellope off; this invited a look of consternation from the spider woman. 

"Seriously? You're barely a whelp. Get over yourself." She scoffed, flexing an index finger. "If I'm not careful, I could nick an artery quite severely...~"

"Y-You don't need to tease her." Sier muttered, glancing for the doors. "We need to go." 

"Oh, fine." Vanellope rolled her eyes, flexing her claws as she dug into the webbing. She had managed to wrap up Jennie in a right hurry in the first place; it didn't take long for her to remove Jennie from her restraints.

"Ah!" Jennie gasped as the covering over her mouth was removed, spitting her lips. "W-what was that stuff!? D-Did it come from your butt!? That's unsanitary!" 

"They're spinnerets, if you wanted to get into it, but..." 

Jennie shot Sier a dirty look, one with what Sier could only describe as "murderous intent". He had more to say, but swallowed it back.

"Y-y'know what, nevermind, not important." Sier rubbed the back of his head. "L-look, let's just... let bygones be bygones?"

"You aren't worried at all for your big sister, aren't you!?" Jennie sputtered. "I came all this way to find you Sier, and you- ACK!" 

Jennie was cut off as she fell to the ground, the last strand of webbing holding her to the ceiling sliced apart by Vanellope. She wiggled her finger as she stepped away.

"All done." Vanellope muttered with a wink. Jennie staggered to her feet, staggering to her feet. 

"H-hey, you could've given me a warning!" Jennie shouted, turning at her. 

"If I gave out warnings all willynilly, I'd be a poor hunter, hm?" Vanellope cocked her head to the side, playing dumb. 

"Girls, girls!" Sier stepped between them. "We shouldn't fight here, okay? It's getting late and-"

"She shouldn't be here at all!" Jennie raised her hands in the air, turning to Sier. "We have to call the police, evict her, do something, she can't-"

"She has nowhere else to go, Jennie!" Sier shouted back. This invited a curious look from Vanellope; she had yet to see Sier raise his voice as he did, and up to this point he had been so meek, so unassuming.

"...Huh?" Jennie blinked. "W-what are you talking about?" 

Sier glanced to Vanellope, and back to Jennie. He took a deep breath. 

"Okay, it's like this..."

Sier took some time to explain everything as he understood it, as Vanellope explained to him. Her desperate situation with the coming winter, how she found the greenhouse, and...

"...Wait, those are your kids!?" Jennie blinked, her face going pale. Her eyes studied the enormous egg sac that Vanellope straddled.

"I only wish to give my children the best chance at life I can offer." Vanellope lowered her head. "I would not prostrate myself to humans otherwise."

"...Prostrate?" Jennie grimaced slightly. "Sier, I dunno about this, I..."

"Listen, we can talk more about this later, but... it's getting late. People'll ask questions if we're late to get back." Sier raised his eyes to look up to Vanellope. "Will you be okay?"

"Heh. No one will see hair nor hide of me." She folded her arms, her claws clicking against her chitinous plating. Her confidence inspired some relief in Sier's demeanour.

"R-right then, I... I'll see you tomorrow?" Sier smiled. "W-we can catch up then and-"

"Under the cover of night, of course." Vanellope winked. Her body raised as she flexed her strong, spindly legs, before skittering up the nearest tree. "Tata for now!~"

Sier cocked his head upwards, watching Vanellope disappear into the canopy, children in tow. He sighed, turning to Jennie.

"Right... sorry you had to see-" 

"Shut up. No talking. We're leaving." Jennie scowled, gripping Sier's wrist with a powerful grip as she stomped towards the front door. 

"W-whoa, Jennie, e-easy-" Sier stammered, pitifully dragged along behind her. He fumbled for his keys as they headed for the front door of the greenhouse, emerging into the brisk night air. 

"Just lock the damn door! Oh my god I can't believe this..." Jennie rubbed her face, turning her back to the door. Sier silently appraised her, before grimacing and quickly locking up the front doors. 

"...It's done. Let's go home." Sier turned to Jennie. He had a feeling he was in for a furious talking to, and Jennie wasted no time in dragging him along the park's walkways. 

...They passed by a bench with an older gentleman, not even stopping to say hello. He leaned forward, watching the pair of them pass on by. He was rather poshly dressed, all the spitting image of a proper butler, the bags under his eyes indicating his experience... and his fatigue.

One of his grey eyebrows perked up curiously, his mouth flattening to rest underneath his healthy, pain-stakingly groomed mustache. 

"...Family drama in the Fleurs' family?" He muttered to himself. "Well... while getting involved in personal matters is... not exactly the sort of business I'd rather get into..." 

He glanced over to the greenhouse with a sigh. 

"...Yes, well. Monsieur Morrison would appreciate an update on the matter. He doesn't much like to be kept waiting." He put additional, sardonic emphasis on the title of that name. 

The man rose from his seat on the bench and made himself scarce; pulling out a notepad, jotting some notes to himself. 

---

As Jennie and Sier made their way back to the suburbs, Jennie's searing rage seemed to ebb away, as if cooled off by the chilly night air. What followed was a rather cold silence that hovered between them; the tension in the air was thick enough to slice with a knife. 

...But then Jennie stopped abruptly, taking a deep breath. She closed her eyes, collecting her thoughts. Now that the two of them were alone, Jennie could speak her mind more... candidly. 

"...What the hell were you thinking, Sier...?" Jennie rubbed her forehead.

"Jennie?" Sier gulped, turning to Jennie. "Wh... what do you mean?" 

"Don't play dumb, Sier. Why didn't you call the police? The national guard?" Jennie turned to him with a stern scowl. "The air force?? I'd be all over that, y'know?"

"W-well, I... didn't get a chance to, for one." Sier grimaced. "You remember how she tied you up?"

"Don't remind me. She's so pushy." Jennie scoffed. 

"W-well, it's more than that, it's... I didn't want to. She seemed in a bad way, and... I-I wanted to help." Sier lowered his eyes. 

"So you just... gave her free rein of the greenhouse. Seriously?" Jennie cocked her head to the side. "You know grandpa's going to completely flip his shit when he finds out about this."

"He's not gonna find out about this." Sier's eyebrows furrowed, a determined look rising to his face. "We... we have to help her."

"...I-it sounded bad, but..." Jennie shook her head. "S-she's dangerous, Sier. You... you're really gonna take that chance with her? She could kill you, without a second thought! It's..."

"What do you want me to do, Jennie? Just let her die? Her kids die??" Sier raised his hand to his chest. 

"What I want is that you talk to your family before making sweeping promises you can't keep! It's not your greenhouse yet!" Jennie blurted out. "It's Grandpa's! It's his decision to make, not yours, and you know how he feels about pests, he'd..."

Silence hung between the two of them. Sier grimaced, his eyes lowering to the cobblestone sidewalk. He made a discontented sound. 

"That... that's cold. I could never do that." Sier shook his head.

"..." Jennie trailed off, looking over him sadly. An empathetic look rose to her face. A slightly sardonic smile rose to her face as she chuckled lowly. 

"You... always took a liking to the small little bug things, didn't you?" She sighed. 

"Well... Vanellope isn't small, a-and her children won't be small, perse, but... they're still alive. I think everyone deserves a chance at living their best life." Sier nodded. 

"Heh. I like that, but..." Jennie was still on the fence about this whole deal. She folded her arms. "Jeez, you think it's gonna be that easy, huh? Keeping a spider monster in check..."

"She... she's not so bad." Sier chuckled. "I showed her around the greenhouse. She was... taken with it. There was a lot she didn't recognize out in the wild. I guess we have a lot of, ah, tropical flora, but..."

"Alright, alright, I get it..." Jennie massaged her head. "I'm not really convinced you're not getting in over your head here. You're still some kid, y'know?"

"I-I'm not a kid." Sier blushed indignantly. "I'm a university student, I... I'm basically an adult." 

"You'll always be my kid brother." Jennie smirked. Her eyes drifted to the side. "It's just... I get worried. I thought you'd be fine poking your nose in all those expensive books, but now you're getting hooked up with, with her and I..."

"It'll be fine, I... I'll figure something out." Sier scratched his neck. "...She's my responsibility, after all." 

"...mm..." Jennie groaned, giving him a decidedly judgmental look. 

"I-I can do it, really! I just... I just need you to give me some time. Please don't tell grandpa, if he found out, I... I think Vanellope would be in real trouble, facing winter all on her own."

"...And we can't have that..." Jennie conceded with a huffy sigh, rolling her eyes. "You got real attached to her in a hurry, huh?"

"...Wh, whaddaya mean?" Sier blushed.

"You two just met and you're willing to put everything on the line to make sure she's safe? That's weird, Sier, risky as all get out, and..."

Jennie paused. She read the expression on Sier's face. 

"...Oh. Ohhhhhhhhhh no."

"What!?" Sier blurted, his cheeks getting redder. 

"...Y'know what. It's none of my business. None of it. Nuh-uh. Nadda." Jennie threw her hands up and paced ahead at an increasingly face pace. 

"W-what does that even mean!?" Sier chased after her. "I-it's not like that at all!"

"I didn't say it was like that!" Jennie hollered. "What's these accusations you're slinging at me!"

"G-get your head out of the gutter!" Sier retorted. "Is this what they teach you out on the airfields??" 

"DONE! I'm done with this conversation!" Jennie quickened her pace, as if trying to get away from Sier. 

"You're making it weird, Jennie!" Sier broke into a run to keep up. 

"It is weird!" Jennie declared once again, trying to stay one step ahead of sier. 

The two Fleurs kids made a beeline for their home, a modest two-story abode. At this hour, the lights were off and the parents were asleep; Jennie was always reliable enough to make sure Sier was getting back on time. As they approached the house, they slowed down their pace, and the kids got a moment to catch their breaths. 

Jennie turned to Sier with a serious look. 

"Alright. I'll keep this spider lady a secret. But she's your problem, okay?" Jennie poked Sier's chest. "You gotta make sure she's fine... and I'm not gonna go makin' up excuses for you to get grandpa off your back."

"Yes. I understand. Thank you so much." Sier bowed in deference to Jennie.

"I'm serious. He's still sharp in his old age. If he thinks anything looks even a bit off, he's gonna be on your ass. You gotta be ready for that, okay?" Jennie patted Sier's shoulder. "And don't get, like, bitten or anything. If you die, I'll kill you."

Jennie's eyes narrowed at Sier. Their eyes met; Sier met her gaze head on, a determined look arising. 

"I'll make sure he doesn't find out. I'll be okay. I promise." Sier smiled. "Don't worry about me."

Sier wasn't sure if he could keep that promise. But he had to give it his best shot. Jennie studied him intently, before her grip relaxed.

"...Alright. I trust you." Jennie went to the front door. "Let's get inside. Tomorrow's another day."

Compared to what came prior, that night at the Fleurs' was decidedly uneventful. Of course, the coming days would prove to be very... exciting. 

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