Heh, can't help it, this one's rolling in my head and not leaving me alone. F'Tibb meets a human who actually adores spiders and thinks they're beautiful creatures. The one the size of a person? No problem! But then again, the humans are odd like that.
@internutter/challenge-03465-i177-missed-connection -- DaniAndShali
Body language has some interesting translations. Especially when paired with sound. This Human was screaming, but their body said, The thing I am screaming at has everything I like about it.
Humans. They make a big noise about a lot of things.
Then came the speech, "Oh my sweet Powers, you are gorgeous! Look at you!" Since their tone had ascended by some octaves, F'tibb could guess that this was fortuitous screaming. Nevertheless, ze felt compelled to make hirself small.
The Human responded to that with, "Whoops," and made themself small. They reduced their volume significantly. "Sorry. Didn't mean to startle you. You are the most amazing creature I have seen in my life. Can I pet you?"
This was certainly a refreshing change. "Those are sensory barbels and must be handled with care," ze said via a sign language translator. "If they break, I am impeded until my next moult."
"Oh. Oh yes. I have special gloves. Are those barbels sharp or just fragile?" The fact that they were already putting those gloves on was a sign of something. "Whoops. Should get to the introductions before I get to the petting. Dierd's the name, arachnostudies are my game. He-him, by the way."
"F'tibb, ze-hir," managed F'tibb, still making hirself small. "You are disconcertingly enthusiastic."
"Not a state of welcome you're accustomed to, I get it," Dierd restrained himself admirably. "May I ask rude questions?"
It wasn't exactly the beginning of a beautiful friendship, but it was the start of something.
[Image by Егор Камелев on Unsplash]
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