"Story 1: A Fruitless Heist"

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"You sure this is the place? " Gaven eyed the large and ominous cave they'd reached after a long journey from thier home city of Negav.

"Yes I am sure this is the place." nodded Faas " I saw a dridder wearing these adornments go inside this place on multiple occasions."

"Can we actually do this guys? I mean, Nekos like myself are a favorable treat." Said Fami, reluctance filling her words.

"Look it's simple, we go in, steal the earrings , flee using Vani's magic, present this large earring to the brotherhood and when they realize it is from a predator, they will let us join them." explained Faas.

"Remember, this teleportation spell takes time, we better do this right" explained Vani. The frail human mage.

"Yes we shall, one brotherhood member said that we can access the cave through crack up there, let's move it" he went to a pile of rocks and started to climb his way up. the others saw him and then followed his lead.

Nevertheless the ascend was tough . The coarse rocks made it even harder for them to climb, especially for Vani who was wearing a maroon robe that hindered her progress. and the glare of the sun in their eyes didn't help the process either. However they pulled it together and climbed to the top. It felt triumphant after the seeing how far the ground was from where they stood.

"Man that was exhausting" said Gaven as he collapsed on the ground.

"Alright people, don't stop now, we're almost there" said Faas.

"Just how much do we need to walk? " asked Fami.

"Not much, the entrance is just ahead" He pointed.

After a brief break, they continued to follow Faas until they've reached a small crack on the wall. It was small from a predator's perspective but it looked like a passage they could use to enter the cave.

"Through here " Faas lit a lantern and went through the crack and they followed him as he did so.

Doubt begun to occupy their thoughts as the crack got tighter and tighter as they went along, they thought it might lead to a dead end or worse, a deep pit that will kill them if they fell in it. Finally they have reached a large and cavernous chamber decorated by spider silk.

"This place is huge" said Vani as she turned her head around, astonished of how big the place was.

"Yeah we could build a whole  town here in here" added Fami as she scanned the place.

"Look there!" Gaven pointed down.

At the bottom of the chamber they saw a giant being, it was a dridder, it had a female human's upper body and a spider's lower body, she had a white skin, red eyes, silky white hair that had two hair buns with pigtails pointing to her back, wore two silver earrings on her pointy ears and a ring on her right hand. She was calmly reading a book near a candle which made for a surprisingly serene scene for such a voracious predator.

"She is our target" said Faas.

"So, you said you have a plan" said Gaven.

"Yes, we shall wait until she is asleep and then snatch the earrings from her"

"Wait, this is your brilliant plan?" asked Gaven.

"Yeah, you make it sound easy" said Fami.

"Hey, we have to do it if we were to be members of the brotherhood, we bring the large earrings to them and then we'll prove that we are indeed skillful thieves" explained Faas.

"You do want join them badly don't you?" said Gaven.

"And who wouldn't? think of all the privileges we'll get when we join them" he explained.

"Oralia! " called a faraway voice that interrupted  their conversation.

"Yes Tasha! " she replied.

"Can you come over here please ? I need your help with those spears"

"Fine sis" with a look of discontent, she  placed the marker on the page she was reading ,closed her book, placed on a rock and left the chamber.

"So what now? Even if we waited for her to fall asleep, we can't simply take those earrings without being caught, we might wake her up" said Gaven.

"We must find a way, we can't stay here until nightfall , it'll be way too dangerous" added Fami.

"I've got an idea" Vani went to the edge of the cliff and pointed at a jug near where Oralia was reading "See that jug over there? that must be where she drinks water from, I can pour my potions in it to make her fall asleep"

"But are you sure you have enough to make someone as big as her sleep" asked Gaven with a look of disbelief.

"You have no idea, one sip of my sleeping potion can make you sleep for the hours, drinking the whole bottle might kill you" she explained.

"Yikes!" commented Faas as these words startled him a bit.

"But, can you drop it all the way from here?" wondered Fami.

"I think I can do it, wait here" without a dab of reluctance, Vani carefully walked along the cave into a protruding rock to be above the cylindrical jug.

She took out a potion from her bag, enchanted it with a spell which made it glow a faint green light and then poured the contents into the jug. She then did the same procedure to three more bottles.

"Well done Vani!" said Faas.

  
"That should make her sleep like a -" At that moment Vani tripped over small rocks she didn't pay attention to. her body leaned forward , lost its balance and thus she fell down from where she stood. She felt air brush every bit of her body rapidly as she saw herself descend into the same jug, she embarked on the same journey her potions did. her journey ended with a splash as her body crashed with the surface and went down few feet below.

"Vani! " shrieked Fami. She sprinted towards the protruding rock as Gaven and Faas did the same, careful not to trip down themselves.

Vani on the other hand struggled to reach the surface. She has accidentally swallowed a good amount of water while she was down and that made her slightly dizzy.

She tried to cast the teleportation spell, but dizziness prevailed over her concentration, her body felt numb, her head ached and her eyes struggled to stay open. Swimming became too much of a burden for her as the potion rapidly took effect.

"Vani hang on! " Fami took out a rope and strapped it on her waist.

"Fami wait" Gaven grabbed her arms and paused without a single movement. They then heard sounds of steps, and the sounds got higher and higher as time went by.
  
"She is coming back!" cried Faas as he ran back to hide in the crack.

"We have to go Fami" said Gaven.

"No! we have to save-" she didn't manage to finish that sentence as Gaven grabbed her from her waist, placed her on his shoulder and sprinted away to their hideout "Hey, let go of me!" she said, but he didn't reply to her.

During that time, Oralia came back to her chamber and grabbed her book again "Tasha needs get her equipment some maintenance" these words were followed by a sigh that conveyed annoyance.

Faas, Gaven and Fami couldn't help but watch the giant dridder read through her book as their friend is trapped inside that jug, unable to get out. Oralia was completely engaged with that book's contents that her red eyes never even looked elsewhere.

"Man I never thought I'd meet a book worm predator" said Faas.

"Yeah, never imagined dridders were the reading type" added Gaven.

"Are your hearts made of stone?!" spat Fami "Vani is stuck inside that jug and all you guys can do is think of is how can a dridder read a book?!"

Then finally Oralia's eyes moved away from the book , but to their dismay her eyes are now fixed at her jug, shortly after her hand reached for it, they were filled with horror as she was going to drink Vani along with the water.

"Vani!" Fami tried to sprint to help her longtime friend  but Gaven grabbed  her from her shoulders.

"Calm down Fami, there is nothing we could do now!" he said.

They saw Oralia pick up the jug and drink, they saw her casually down gallons of water through her throat in mere seconds. then Oralia gave a disturbed look,  coughed twice, touched her chest and gave a quick swallow.

"Was there something in there?" she eyed the jug's contents as she was sure there was something that went down with the water, but she saw nothing abnormal in it . She shrugged nonchalantly ,put down the jug and continued to read.

They were at awe, they've just witnessed their friend  being swallowed alive by a giant predator and they couldn't do anything, they couldn't stop her even if they want to.

"And there she goes" said Faas.

"And there she goes ?!" Fami was infuriated with his cold comment "she was your comrade and this is all you can say?!"

"No heist without expected loses" he explained.

"Expected losses? is that how you view your friends?!" she went to him and assaulted his neck with her hands, she pressed hard on it in hope of choking him , Faas couldn't breathe or talk, the pressure was so hard he felt his head might pop out of his body.

"You don't care about any of us! your selfish deeds brought doom upon her!"Fami persisted on her act like her life depended on it, she was filled with fury that nothing else mattered. However she felt a knock on her head that made her tumble on the floor. She then saw Gaven as he towered above her.

"Are you out of your mind?" he said.

"Out of my mind? he brought us all the way here from home, wanted us to steal the earrings so he could join that brotherhood of his and as a result, Vani died!"

"We're all sad for her death, but there is nothing we can do now"

"You are as cold as him" she unwrapped the rope from her waist and took out her knives "I am going to cut you both" she charged at him but he quickly grabbed her wrists.

"Fami you must understand-"

"No! you are the one who must understand" She tried harder to push her knives towards him and as a result she pushed him to the wall "She was my best friend and she died because we didn't do anything !"

Gaven looked into her eyes and it was devoid of any kind of compassion , she wanted to kill him and Faas more than anything. Slowly the knives forced their way in and they almost reached his chest.

However, before she could stab him, Faas came into view, grabbed her shoulders and forcefully dragged her away from Gaven. His arms pressed on her hard so she won't get away.

She floundered but Faas never lost his grip, he was still a little dizzy after her attempt to chock him however focused on getting her away from Gaven.

"let go of me" she quivered in an attempt to free herself but his grip was too strong for her to prevail.

He continued to drag her away, not sure to where but far enough so she won't hurt Gaven anymore. But he went back too far, way outside the crack and into the open. Then he accidentally stepped into an empty space, he was at the edge of the cliff, her movements made him lose his balance and as a result they fell down.

They fell into a big rock, bounced and then rolled through a series of rocks that scratched their bodies as they drift. Then they reached another edge that they slid through rapidly and then finally fell down to a series of spider silk.

They were trapped, the viscid threads prevented them from moving a muscle, they saw series of rocks that moved along with them rain on their location, but to their fortune , none of these rocks fell on them.

However the coin of fortune has flipped against them as the sounds of falling rocks grabbed the attention of Oralia, she closed her book, placed it on the floor and walked to them.

"Well, well" her head now towered above them  "I never saw snacks coming right into my chamber before, I am pleased you've decided to just give yourselves to me" she gave a wide grin.

"You monster" said Fami "get Vani out now!"

"Vani? Oh you mean she was the... " touch her neck as she realized that what went down with the water was actually a friend of the neko.

"Get her out right now or I'll cut my way inside of you and get her out myself" she tried to move but the silk prevented her from doing anything.

Oralia laughed at the neko's weightless threat and the futile attempt of moving "Shame she had to go like that " she caressed her belly "I would have loved to savor her taste"

"You make me sick... " she muttered.

Oralia didn't reply to her, but instead she picked Fami up and elevated her tiny body to her face " I haven't tasted a neko in a long time and your pink hair make you look even more tasty " Her tongue slowly licked Fami's body from top to bottom.


"Time to go little neko" Oralia opened her mouth wide, Fami got paranoid at the sight of the cavernous mouth, deleterious fangs and welcoming throat.

"Faas! Gaven! Help me! " She cried. And then the mouth completely engulfed her, Fami is now in a place where there is no light and space. Unfortunately for her and her knives were left on the silk so she didn't have any method to attack Oralia. she hit the surface of the mouth hard be there was no response.  

Oralia on the other hand was in heaven, nekos are the tastiest preys in Felarya second to elves, she rarely encounters one and even if she did he sisters usually take it before her and Fami's clean and healthy state made her even tastier.

However the taste made her stomach call for her in the form of a growl. Oralia responded to that call by an audible swallow that pushed the neko down to her gullet.

Faas watch in horror as a bulge formed on Oralia neck and went down her chest. That was Fami inside that bulge, his friend has been ravenously devoured by that giant dridder  and he is soon to follow.

Gaven in the meantime couldn't help but watch his poor friend meet her unfortunate fate. Now not one but two of his friends are inside Oralia's belly.

"That was a fine treat" her fingers drummed her belly in satisfaction. Her sight then switched to Faas who was as still as a rock.

She reached for him, grabbed him and lifted him to her face. Unlike Fami however, he didn't give any resistance to Oralia, he looked pretty content of what is happening to him.

"You don't look very afraid human" She said.

"I.... accept.... my fate" his voice is still slightly hoarse after what Fami did to him.

"A willing prey huh? It's rare to witness such thing, wise choice" She giggled.

Gaven saw Oralia open her mouth and shove Faas into it ,she then slowly got her finger away from her lips and savored Faas ' taste, she didn't look as joyful as she was when she ate Fami but she enjoyed him nonetheless.

she then tilted her head back and  swallowed her prey as Gaven saw a bulge forming on her neck and travel down to her chest.

However she  coughed and tapped her chest, clearly he was stuck in her esophagus. She then took the jug and drank whatever water left in it ,she drank so fast that some amount of water has flown down her skin instead of going inside her maw.

She then placed the jug down, let out a long sigh and rubbed her lips with her arm  "I thought he was all willing. Oh well, back to reading"

She then picked up her book again, went near the candle and continued to calmly breez through the words it contained.

Gaven couldn't believe it, or more accurately didn't want to believe it, three of his friends were eaten by that dridder, but she just continued to read like nothing happened. But yet again, why would she care?

To her it was just an everyday routine, they were no different than any other prey she encountered in her life, it is the equivalent of him if he cared about eating a specific fish among all the fish he ate in his life.


After a while, Oralia yawned and scratched her eyes "Why do I feel dizzy all of a sudden?" she said.

Gaven knew it, the potion finally took effect and made Oralia feel drowsy, however it was far too late, their plan has failed and nothing can change that.

Oralia leaned her upper body on the floor and lazily placed the book in front of her, however she couldn't read anymore, it didn't take long for drowsiness to prevail over her.  she then crossed her arms around her face and closed her eyes. She didn't even bother to close her book.

"Well, no point of being here anymore, damn you Faas what have you done to us" he muttered.

Gaven then tried to open his flashlight, but he forgot to put batteries in it , so it didn't work. He relied on his friends to lit the road for him, a decision he now regretted making, he cannot simply walk blindly into the crack with multiple paths inside because he might go the wrong way and go to where another predator might be waiting.

"Fantastic" he threw the flashlight down. He looked around for a few moments and saw that Fami's flashlight is  down on a rock not too far to away, he could use it to at least get out of this cave.

So he slowly went descended from his location, walked along the rocks, stopped when he reached the location, went down to another set of rocks and then leaned to reach the flashlight but he couldn't grab it, so he leaned as far as he could and then successfully grasped it .

"Gotcha.. whoa !" unfortunately for him, he lost his balance, fell down and rolled all the way to the floor. luckily, he didn't fell on any piece of silk.

"Ouch..." that drop was indeed painful to him, he got up and rubbed his back. He then looked back and he saw that he couldn't climb back up "Damn it !I must find another way".

He looked around but his eyes eventfully stopped  at Oralia, thankfully she was still asleep, the potion seemed to have made her sleep like a rock.

He walked towards her and then stopped in front of her face , she looked so innocent and peaceful , she looked like a little girl who has just reached adulthood, he couldn't possible blame her for his friends, blaming her is like blaming a lioness for hunting a gazelle, it's her nature.

"Well well, we have ourselves a little stalker here" said an effeminate voice, he looked back and saw another dridder, she was larger than Oralia. she had braided white hair and blue eyes.

"Oh crap" he tried to run away but her hand swiftly grasped his body and lifted him from the ground.

"Don't you know that you shouldn't peek on girls while they're asleep? especially when her big sister is around" she sneered and dangled him upside down "But I must ask, why would a human courageously approach a dridder like this? usually they get scared and run away at every opportune moment"

"It's none of your business monster!" he replied.

"Oh, courageous and harsh tongued, but if you were to sneak a peek" she distanced him from her so he could have a better view of her body "Why not look here? my upper half has everything a human being can desire from a woman, plus I am bigger"

"Don't flatter yourself, I was here to take those earrings" he confessed.

She looked at him for a moment and then giggled, she wanted it to be as faint as possible not to awaken Oralia, unaware that she was under the effect of Vani's potion.

"This is original, I've never seen a human steal from a predator before, it is reckless to steal from us, you should have stolen something from those clumsy nagas " she said.

"We've faced dangers more fearful than you dridder!" he replied.

"Really? then face this" she flung him up in the air, he felt the air rapidly brush his body and sensed a slight chilliness as a result, and then he started to descend down. He was filled with dread when he saw he was falling right into Tasha's open mouth.

"Oh shi-" he directly fell into her throat and she immediately swallowed him. she sent a bulge down her neck into her body , she touched her belly as she felt Gaven drop in it.

"Ah that hit the spot, enjoy your stay" she chortled.

Tasha then looked back at Oralia, approached her and then took the book from underneath her arms.

"You still read through father's writings huh? it's sad that you can't remember him, you were too young when he first disappeared" she placed it on her bench and picked up her candle.

However before she could blow the candle. she looked at Oralia one last time and this time she stared at her earrings. she leaned down and caressed Oralia's right earring.

"Even after all these years, you still remind me of her, her earrings on you are just..." she shed a single tear. But then she rubbed her cheek with her arm.

"Going through her stuff today made me think about her a lot, but like what sis says, life is for the living" she blew the on the candle and let her sleep in comfortably in the dark "Sleep well Oralia, I'll tell Alanis you won't be hunting with us tonight".