C Only in Legend (Closed with FolkMaster)

[Poppy]

It wasn't often that Benji was able to go to Brazil. As much as his followers online liked to think he had an excessive amount of money to travel the world and splurge on what he wanted, that was far from the truth. He took out loans to feed his thrill for adventure, and this trip was no different, but the followers on his blog, well-known as just a place on the internet filled with his photography and ramblings about his trips, had been requesting he go back to Brazil. He'd only been there once for the carnival held in Rio de Janeiro and to observe a small tribe further out in the lush jungle of the Amazon, but those had been two of the most fun times he'd had on one of his travels yet. Usually he visited a country, took a few pictures here and a few there, managed to even sell some to recoup some of his money, and then he was back home in Australia for a few months before he was out again. He was hoping that eventually he'd get some travel sponsors so he didn't have to go in debt just to travel, but that seemed like an out of reach dream right now.

He didn't plan to find himself in the middle of a part of the Amazon jungle again during this trip, it sort of just happened. He'd been hoping that maybe he could find this same tribe he'd came across before; Benji didn't think they were violent as they'd never attacked him last time, but he was always on his toes because things could change in the blink of an eye, and he had to be prepared. This time, his map wasn't of much help. He'd balled it up and shoved it into his backpack, opting for using the compass on his phone instead. The time indicated it was still early afternoon, so he had time to find a place... if he didn't get out of here for the night. Albeit he'd rather not. He packed just in case, but the hotel he was staying at back in town was much more comfortable than a half used tent out in the wild.

Benji could recall the tribal peoples telling him about the different creatures out in the jungle. He couldn't speak their language which had been a big shame, but they managed to tell their story through pictures and ceremonies that had been interesting to say in the least. They must've interacted with non-locals before because they didn't seem phased by his being there the previous time. Maybe it had been a stupid idea to head out so deep into the jungle without another person with him, but it was too late to turn back now. In fact, even if he did turn back Benji wasn't so sure he'd know how to get back to the hotel from where he was.

[FolkMaster]

The natives were more than happy to share their stories with visitors. They believed it made Anansi proud. He was popular all across South America, but particular tribes deep enough in the Amazon held closer ties than most. Some claimed to see the great god, but some insisted that none crossed the spider's path without losing their lives. Any story about Anansi was a good story, though. Every single story told was another added to his ever expanding collection. Many believed that if people stopped telling stories, Anansi would take back the sun and the moon, swallowing them deep underground where he dwelled. They didn't share the story with Benji so that he could track down the beast. Most people actually warned him to avoid the creature at all costs, but of course, he couldn't understand their words of caution.

That worked out just fine for the trickster spider, though. His tunnels ran for miles beneath the jungle floor. Anansi heard anything and everything that tread upon the ground. Certain territories he left alone, such as the tribal villages because they left him sacrificial gifts like goats and alcohol. However, poor Benji would soon find himself treading across invisible boundary lines into a domain ruled unapologetically by the beast. The vibrations of Benji's footsteps moved through the roots until catching Anansi's ears. He grinned, recognizing the distinction between human feet and animal. How delightful. He moved through the tunnels, following the vibrations until he was a few yards from the little lost soul. Anansi pushed one of his trapdoors up ever so slightly. His keen eyes peered through the foliage where he spied the young traveler, weighted with a large pack on his back that would make him slow. Seemed yet another pale visitor failed to heed the warnings in stories about him.

[Poppy]

Benji lived in a modern world, one where stories of gods and other deities were nothing more than entertainment. He didn't actually expect to find one of the characters the tribal people had tried to describe to him. Did he take them for granted? Yeah, but what else was he supposed to think? All that stuff was just plain folklore that he'd read about once or twice as a child before the tale was put away and never thought of again. It was like those books you could briefly recall from elementary school or the stories parents read to get their kids to bed, but you couldn't really remember just what they were about, only that the stories had made a big enough impact that they'd embedded a small part of themselves inside your head. If he was going to be honest with himself, Benji wasn't sure what he was doing out here. He did enjoy the scenery of the jungle, it wasn't something he ever got to see back home. He'd seen enough desert and outback plains for one lifetime. The animals here were interesting too, and it was when he heard some kind of monkeys screeching overhead that he finally pulled out his camera and pointed it towards the furry critters.

For a twenty-three year old, he should probably be in college, doing something with his life that might secure a future. Ultimately, though, he preferred getting into debt traveling the world compared to getting into debt taking classes whose logic he might not ever use in his lifetime. Flicking on his camera, Benji turned it towards the monkeys, pausing for a moment as he opted for watching them. He shook his head and soon enough just packed up his camera again; it wasn't that he didn't want to take pictures, but he was more worried about his predicament right now than he was about adding some photographs to his collection. Once he knew where he was then he could bother over that.

Hopping over a fallen tree, Benji took out his phone once more and checked the compass. Okay... so he was heading north. Good? It'd be much better if he knew which way civilization was. He seriously needed to take markers with him next time.

[FolkMaster]

Anansi squinted his eyes at the device Benji pulled from his pack. Was it some type of gun? He aimed it at the monkeys as if it were. Would a bullet come flying out its center cylinder? Anansi half expected to hear the sound of a gunshot as the lens extended, zooming in on the monkeys playing overheard, but then nothing happened. Benji simply put the device away. The spider was no stranger to bullets getting lodged in his hide. He'd never be killed by such a thing, but it was a nuisance. He'd have to get the thing out of Benji's possession as quickly as possible. The trapdoor lowered again and he moved along underground, slowly following the human's path. Anansi couldn't help chuckling quietly. The poor fool had no idea where he was and only managed to get himself lost deeper in the jungle. He had to be careful not to let Benji near the river since the human could follow it back to a number of villages.

A few hours passed and Anansi finally heard what he'd been waiting for. Benji's footsteps sounded slower, heavier, and dragged a little. Good. The human was getting tired. He scuttled ahead towards a trapdoor right in Benji's path. He waited patiently. The footsteps drew closer... passed right overhead... and now! Anansi sprung out from the ground. His ashy grey human torso sat atop a reddish brown spider body with furry black hairs growing in a ridge down his back and his spindly eight legs tipped with black. He hissed, mouth opening wide showing two rows of sharp little fangs. His face was almost human with eyes like two polished black stones, but then four more smaller eyes lined across his brow bone. One hand grabbed Benji's leg while the other grabbed his pack and then jerked him to the ground with barely any effort.

[Poppy]

By the time evening had rolled around, Benji was convinced that he was utterly lost. He had no clue how he'd managed to get himself into such a spot as he was normally more careful about the 'wild' places he trekked through such as this jungle, but now his map nor phone were of any help and he was starting to wonder whether or not he'd be able to even get out of this place alive. He had food and water enough to survive for a few days he thought, so if anything got him it would probably be the creatures that roamed the land - he didn't want to think about that. Benji didn't have particularly good survival skills, he was just your usual artsy traveler, but from the half-assed survival shows he watched from time to time, he knew that if he found water, traveling the length of the body might get him to some kind of civilization, tribe or modern city. He at least hoped that if it were a tribe they wouldn't be... unwelcoming.

Benji had only stopped for a moment to catch his breath, eyeing the sky with a bitter hatred while unwilling to admit his own mistake. He couldn't piece together what happened next, only that there had been something that had grabbed him and pulled him none too gently to the ground. A surprised yelp left Benji's lips and that's when his fight or flight mode kicked in; he didn't take the time to see what he was fighting, too terrified at what had just happened to even think about getting a good look at the beast. Benji flailed wildly instead, trying to reach for the limbs holding him in an attempt to pry them off his body so he could make an escape.

[FolkMaster]

Ohhhh yes! It was always good sport when they fought back! Anansi's laugh sounded like a hissing cackle. He grappled with the human, having far too much fun compared to Benji's utter terror. Some kind of soft, leathery shell slipped off the human's foot in Anansi's hand. He regarded the object, wondering if he could eat it, but then discarded it regardless. He grabbed Benji's ankle instead. Those arms were nuisance, though. When one flailed close enough, he grabbed it too. With one limb in each hand, the spider began dragging its prey down through the trapdoor into a burrow. Benji's screams just fueled his excitement. This one would do nicely!

The patch of earth closed over them, shutting away the night sky or any nocturnal sounds of the jungle. Only Anansi's scuttling legs, Benji's shouting, and his desperate fingers clawing through the dirt made any sounds deep down in the tunnels. The beast dragged the human for a few miles through the darkness. They came out into a larger den of sorts beneath the roots of a very large and very old tree. Strange, bioluminescent fungi grew all along the floor and walls, finally letting the human see his surroundings. After tossing the pale stranger into the dirt, Anasi reached inside the pack for the strange device from earlier today. He pulled out the camera, dropped it on the ground, and then stepped on it with one of his spindly legs. Odd... no bullets inside...

[Poppy]

Benji couldn't be sure what was happening to him and he'd only caught a passing glimpse of the creature latched onto him. A human? Or... no, a bug? Nothing he'd ever seen before. When he was pulled under the earth, the trapdoor closing over him and light seeming to grow further and further away, Benji did what came naturally - he yelled for help. Not that he thought anyone was going to help him. This was straight out of a science fiction book. He closed his eyes tightly as he continued to be dragged across the ground, wincing here and there at the dirt and rocks that scraped his side. When he was finally put down, not being held anymore, he dared to open his eyes even though he didn't want to.

The first thing he saw was Anansi, and his skin crawled. He had to be dreaming, he'd never seen anything like this creature before. Surely he was just hallucinating, and Benji pressed a hand to his head, hoping that when he pulled it away and breathed deeply that all of this could go away. But it didn't.

Benji quickly got to his feet, noticing one shoe missing; he frowned but didn't take his time in moving away from the human-like thing. He only cried out when the beast stepped on his camera. "Are you crazy?! That cost me-" Benji stopped mid-sentence, gathering that this thing might not even understand him. He didn't need to provoke it. Gritting his teeth, Benji edged toward one of the lighted walls, trying to think up a plan to get out of this literal nightmare.

[FolkMaster]

"Aha, so you speak English, do you?" Anansi said in an unidentifiable accent. It almost sounded like every world accent rolling in and out of each other between each syllable. "Pale visitors like you speak such a wide variety of languages: French, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Polish, Russian... It's always a delightful surprise finding out which one it will be this time or that time." He approached Benji again, this time yanking the entire hiking pack off his back. "Funny story," the spider said with a chuckle, "the first few times I saw these, I though you humans started evolving pouches out of your spines. Imagine my surprise when I shed them so easily from your bodies without causing you excruciating pain!" He started rifling through the many pockets looking for new treasures. Humans carried some of the most interesting treasures. "A sun stick!" he exclaimed delightedly and pulled out a flashlight. "These are one of my favorites. I have quite a number of them in my collection, but the tiny sun inside eventually burns out." Despite Anansi's casual effort of having a conversation, he maintained that fanged grin with a slightly maniacal gleam in his eyes.

[Poppy]

Benji was clueless upon what to say when the spider creature actually responded back, and in English no less. The accent of the other sounded peculiar, nothing Benji had ever heard before. His own accent was pretty mellow; this didn't sound like any native tongue roll he'd ever heard before. But there had been others here before too then? Where were they? Gods, this wasn't real. He was just having a bad dream back at the hotel and he'd wake up soon enough and this would all simply be some forewarning for him not to wander out into the Amazon ever again. Especially not alone.

Instinctively, Benji reached out for the pack to try to grab it back but he stopped as he listened to the words of the beast instead. He'd thought a backpack was a pouch? Admittedly it was slightly amusing, but the way it was worded made him a little sick. "I'd appreciate it if you didn't mess up all my stuff," Benji started evenly, hoping to keep the fear out of his voice. "Keep the... the sun stick, I need my food. And water." Benji's eyes narrowed and he took on a more defensive stance. Yes, he'd need those for when he escaped this place and got back to town. And woke up from this, he prayed.

[FolkMaster]

Anansi let out another one of his hissing little cackles. It was always so amusing when humans tried acting like they would get out of here alive. They stood up to him, squaring their feet, holding up their chins, and even some puffing out their chests. He enjoyed the brave ones much more than those who curled up on the ground sobbing wildly. He never kept those ones around for very long. "Snacks?" he chimed curiously. "Oh, I do love your snacks." That was Anansi's cue to go digging through more pockets. He found the canteens of water first and willingly tossed them towards Benji. Black eyes widened when he found the stash of protein bars and trail mix. Anansi discarded the white chocolate and cranberry, the oreo, banana nut bread, and oatmeal raisin walnut bars, but then "You do have it!" he exclaimed and held up a peanut butter flavored bar. "But only one? That's disappointing." He tore open the wrapper with his sharp claws and nibbled on the corner.

"Now, let's have a look at you." Anansi approached Benji again. He was tall standing on his spider legs; easily two feet taller than the human. All six of his black eyes blinked in unison. First, he pushed the young man onto the ground. Next, he pulled the remaining leather shell off his foot and then peeled away the cottony white webs from each foot. Since one hand still held the protein bar, Anansi used his free hand and one front leg to lift and pull at Benji's clothing. "Not too soft... Good meat on your bones... Nice color... No obvious signs of parasites... I nabbed one of you fellows one time and he was littered with ticks. Hardly enough blood left in him to make him a good meal."

[Poppy]

It didn't click right away that this might have been one of the creatures that the tribal people had described in their stories to him. Benji was far too stunned to think of any logical reasoning behind all of this, but maybe there was none. Maybe this beast was real and maybe he wasn't dreaming; this seemed akin to that time Benji swore he saw a giant squid but couldn't be sure if he really had. It was real, it just didn't feel real. As Anansi continued to sift through his backpack, Benji scowled, taking the water that was thrown at him while eyeing the other food that was tossed to the ground warily. That was good food, food that Benji didn't think he could down right now. He felt too nauseous to do much of anything, and honestly he just wanted to sleep for a bit. The day of lost traveling had worn him out, but he couldn't close his eyes with this spider-human thing in his vicinity.

Benji reached out a hand to shove at Anansi when he was pushed back, a halfhearted and weary attempt to get some kind of leverage which clearly didn't work well. The idea of being eaten alive here was one of the more pushing things at the front of his mind right now, and the way this creature took its time in looking him over didn't sit well with him. If he was going to be food, he would much prefer to just get it over with right now instead of being looked at as if he could even be considered a meal. "I wouldn't taste good," Benji insisted, clutching at his shirt tightly. "You can have all my stuff, just show me out-"

[FolkMaster]

"Wouldn't taste good?" Anandi echoed, but then he laughed. He laughed so hard he tossed back his head, long reddish brown hair slipping off his shoulders as he did. "How do you know how you taste?" he questioned. "Ever taken a bite out of yourself? I've eaten plenty of you humans, and each of you is just as delicious as the last. Your blood makes your meat salty and moist, while your bones give you a nice crunch." Anansi emphasized the description by slipping a pair of mandibles out from the skin of his cheeks and snapping them close to Benji's face. "The little ones are only good for a single meal, but someone your size can feed me for a week. Why would I give up a feast like you for a measly pouch full of trinkets?"

[Poppy]

Benji guessed he couldn't argue with that reasoning. He'd never tasted himself before... and he never planned to, and it wasn't as if he'd ever had human before. He wasn't a cannibal. He had to come up with something else that he could offer then, because if he could at least avoid being eaten by this thing, than he might be able to hold out long enough to escape or for someone to find him. Maybe the tribal people? Maybe his own followers would send someone out to look; he couldn't be forgotten about that easily. "That's gross," Benji hissed, turning his head away as Anansi loomed closer to his face. "I can serve a better purpose than uh... than food." Benji curled his fingers into the cloth of his shirt, trying to think up something that sounded better than a nice buffet for a week. "Anything else I can do." Begging now, because he didn't know if anything else would sound genuine. "I promise you I just won't taste good."

[FolkMaster]

"Anything else?" Anansi echoed again. Many victims tried bartering in the past, but he usually ignored all their suggestions. Food was the best purpose they could serve. Sometimes, he used them as bait to lure in a jaguar or black caiman, capturing himself twice the meal. The rainy season was approaching, though, and many tribes left him sacrifices lately, so he wasn't as hungry as he was during those past instances. Speaking of the rainy season, though... It was that time of year he started feeling heavier. Sluggish and weighed down. Usually, he dug a hole in the ground and hoped for the best, but maybe this season could be different. Those black eyes regarded Benji. The human was in good health. Being male or female didn't much matter where the spider was concerned. His methods made anatomy irrelevant. "You're absolutely sure?" Anansi purred, again leaning in close and pressing a hand to Benji's chest, "that you'll do anything to avoid becoming my meal?"

[Poppy]

"As long as it doesn't end in my death..?" The way his words came out made it sound almost like a question. Benji could make a deal with Anansi, sure, but the spider didn't seem like a creature to be trusted. But he didn't have to hold out long enough to avoid death, he just needed to hold out long enough to make a plan of escape and get out of here. He still had his phone on him, and maybe later if he ever got a chance to be by himself he could... do something with it. He knew he wouldn't get any bars however far underground he was, but it was better to try posting something up online now than waiting, because in a day his phone would be totally dead whether he used it or not. He'd just play slave for a bit and see how it went. That's all he could do. The tunnels he'd been dragged through seemed endless. Benji knew he'd never be able to find his way out quickly enough.

"Yes, y-yeah, I'm sure." Benji nodded, squirming a little at the touch. What else he could do to help a spider other than be food he had no clue, but if it got him out of being eaten alive he'd abide by whatever he could. This wasn't a time to be picky. Those terrible survival shows had never taught him how to survive a situation such as this one before, so all he had to go on was his own experiences.

[FolkMaster]

Anansi laughed jovially at the answer that came out like a question. Oh, what fun this one would be. "Very well then, my little pale visitor. I won't eat you. Since you're so eager to be useful, I'll let you play incubator." He scuttled backwards, taking a few more bites from the peanut butter-flavored snack, and then gathered up the ones he discarded beforehand. "You should eat all of these. Right now. Don't worry about it being the last of your food. I'll see to it you get what you need whenever you're hungry. You'll need the energy, though, so eat up." He chomped on the last of his own protein bar for emphasis. This wasn't a game and he'd quickly lose his patience if Benji failed to comply.

The wicked smile never faltered from his lips as he watched Benji consume his remaining food rations. Laying eggs into someone with an empty stomach was ill-advised. The human would grow too weak too quickly and the whole affair would be for naught. When Benji tossed the last empty wrapper aside, Anansi made his move. He pinned all four of the human's limbs to the floor, slid the mandibles out from his cheeks as he leaned down, and then thick silvery webbing starting sliding out of his mouth. It made a sound like wet sand through a sifter. The webbing dried quickly, anchoring Benji's hands and feet to the ground. Even though the human promised to do whatever it took to remain alive, Anansi wanted to ensure he wouldn't fight back once it began.

"Now say aaaah..." he purred. Anansi moved in close until shoving his mandibles into Benji's mouth. As he suspected, the human started shouting and attempted thrashing free. The spider heaved a couple times before fresh webbing started pouring down Benji's throat.

[Poppy]

Benji had to hold back the urge to say something snarky; he was getting food, and the incubator comment didn't make its way to his ears the way Anansi meant it to sound. Was he to watch over eggs or something? Incubate something? He was no chicken but hell, that didn't sound too bad. He was too focused on the food for the next few minutes though, barely able to make out what the spider was saying through his own chewing of the protein bars and other snacks that had been tossed aside not too long before. His heart nearly leaped out of his throat when he was pinned down next, although he was smart and didn't make any move to fight back. He wasn't in any condition to put up a fight right now, and surely even if he did that would just mean his demise as a three course meal for the next few days. It'd be a lie to say he wasn't nervous, though.

The webbing working its way down his throat was what set off his series of shouts of protest. What the hell was this guy doing? His brain too fuddled to think about it, Benji shut his eyes instead, the one thing he always did to try to escape whatever bad transpiring was happening to him. He thought at first that he was definitely going to choke, but that never happened. His body seemed to buzz with an odd feeling, similar to when you had a few drinks that was enough to get you feeling airy, but he certainly didn't feel airy or blissful or any of that. Benji was fairly small for his age, or rather his gender, but then again he wasn't quite fully male to begin with albeit he kept that on the down-low because that was of no one's business but his own.

Benji just needed to come up with a plan soon. There was no way he intended to stay here for long if swallowing webs was what this creature had in mind for him.

[FolkMaster]

The screams made it more fun, but then Benji quickly made the effort to quiet himself. Anansi watched curiously as the young man closed his eyes and tried spiriting himself away somewhere else. If that was how he coped, he'd be spending a lot of time in his imagination. Weaving the web was very delicate work and Anansi took his time. He had to make it just right if he didn't want to jeopardize the safety of his eggs. Nearly three hours passed before he withdrew. Grey fingers touched the bruises at the corners of Benji's mouth where his mandibles applied too much pressure in order to fit. Anansi always admired the bluish-purple color on pale visitors' skin when he squeezed them too hard. Sometimes, if he squeezed hard enough, he made them turn greenish-black.

"You know, I always found this second layer of skin peculiar," the spider hummed as his hands pulled at Benji's shirt. "It varies in texture and color from human to human. Some are smooth, some have a line of strange little round scales in a line down the middle-- except they pop off so easily-- and some even have fabulous patterns. This skin here has less variety," he said and touched the fabric of the pants. Anansi's hand trailed back towards the shirt again, which he lifted and pat the little pot belly where he wove his web. "I thought it was meant to protect your soft, squishy layer of first skin, but it comes off so easily. Why not just evolve a less vulnerable soft skin, I wonder?"

[Poppy]

The hours seemed to drag as Benji was filled with web. He wasn't even aware of where it was going. Why was he being fed a web? Well actually, maybe that wasn't the right term. He wasn't necessarily being fed the sticky string. He felt fuller, but it wasn't a full that you experienced after eating a meal. It was like an odd forced feeling that he couldn't put a finger on. He was surprised that for the duration he was able to breathe, but the sensation of the web crawling down his throat was definitely not comfortable.

Benji was relieved when it was over, and he visibly relaxed under the web restraints still holding him to the floor. The moment the spider started talking again, Benji couldn't help but feel slightly annoyed. After all that and he was just going to carry on with minor conversation? "It's not skin, that's why..." Benji's voice was hoarse, like he'd just gotten over a cold or some sickness. He swallowed thickly, stifling a gag. "They're clothes. Made from wool... Most of the time." Benji's mouth was sore and he wasn't up for conversation but he didn't feel like shutting up and staring either. He grimaced at the touch to his abdomen, puffier than the flat surface it has been not too long ago. "Can you get these off of me now?" he asked hesitantly, flexing his hands against the webs.

[FolkMaster]

"Clothes," the beast repeated, trying the word on his tongue. He was the grand master of all the world's stories, which allowed him to speak every language known to man-- giving him his uniquely mixed accent-- but he didn't necessarily learn the information in the stories. As a result, he often had many questions about these soft, squishy, tasty bipedal creatures.

Anansi hummed. "Not yet." Unpleasant as the web weaving had been, it was not the worst of what was coming. "I must say though, my little pale visitor, that you've been surprisingly cooperative so far. Still think you're dreaming, perhaps?" Clawed hands slipped the tail of the belt from its buckle, opened the button and zipper, and started tugging the fabric down around Benji's knees. "I can't wait to see the look on your face when you realize how very real this all is. Oh!" Anansi chimed when he exposed the human. "Look at you! I know many stories across time and cultures about people like you! How delightful!" Ashy grey fingers caressed the enlarged clitoris that nearly resembled a small penis. Probing even further, he found half-formed testes resting in folds of Benji's labia. "You are quite the little treasure, aren't you?"