---

As she was treating others Faenas roused up initially somewhat groggy.

• “Hey, you’re finally awake. how are you feeling?”

Alicia placed her hands on her forehead to check her temperature, white honey tone face of hers had turned carmine.

‘Guess the fever hasn’t gone away yet…’

Visibly dazed and aloof she was staring at Alicia for some time before snapping back and answering.

• “Aei? No… I mean yes! Of course! Don’t worry about me, tend to the others.”
• “Looks like you’re still disoriented, stay put and rest a while.”

‘In the end I had to patch up more than a few of them. Might need to look into more effective treatment options… Spear-guy and the old veil man with strange dialect might be familiar with those. Not like I can just get painkillers and antiseptic from the local pharmacy in the middle of nowhere. If they even have something like that…’

Eventually, everyone that was injured had received some form of treatment, some perhaps more ‘extensive’ than others.

• “What is this?”
• “We quartered up the manticores Captain!”
• “Really? You look like a half emerged butterfly with all that silk wrapping you and you’re still thinking about what you can eat?”
• “It’d be a waste to just leave it here.”

Letting out a yielding sigh:

• “Fine. Help those who can’t walk on their own, everyone else take what you can, we’re going back!”

---

Hearing this the rangers were jubilant, despite confronting with one the most dangerous predators. ⟨ Presence Detection ⟩

From within them one was intently looking at Alicia.

• “Is there something on your mind?”

Believing that to be unnoticed to the former, when she was unexpectedly addressed she nearly shrieked in surprise.

• “No! Nothing!”

‘She is… ah that girl with the sprained leg, what was her name…?’

• “Mirtil isn’t it? Go on don’t be afraid.”

She was fidgeting, twiddling her fingers before making up her mind:

• “C-Can I… ride you…?”

At first Alicia was taken aback but thinking through…

• “On my abdomen… right?”

Responding with a weak nod she seemed to be embarrassed.

‘It’s okay that wasn’t what I thought it to be. They didn’t see me give the antidote to Faenas right?’

• “Sure hop on.”

⟨ Mimicry ⟩ turning back into her spider form, every one of them was staring at Alicia, engrossed in the process of a young girl gaining monstrous features and towering over them all. Looking at her in muted awe. From around the region of the coccyx bulbous abdomen grew; supple and thin legs deformed then split into spindly limbs, spreading wide and engorging in size to support the added weight. And from under her hips, cephalothorax formed with finger-like shorter members: pedipalps; along with large fangs that extended forth. Lastly hair like protrusions grew all over her lower half each of them waving gently, tasting the whiff of air. All of this happening simultaneously, in a short span of time.

Raising each leg one after another, together with her abdomen, tapping to feel the ground beneath, spinnerets moving slightly, it was as if she was refamiliarizing herself with her former body, like stretching from a long nap.

 

• ‘…i am back… good morning…?’

 

• ‘Welcome back Alice. You’re a few hours late, It’s afternoon now.’

 

 

For the majority of rangers it was their first time seeing the process of mimicry. Even after transformation had finished most of them were still stunned motionless. Fastests to recover were those few who saw it before but even they couldn’t pry their eyes off at first as the other time they couldn’t take their time to observe the phenomenon.

‘This is getting awkward…’

• “Alright ladies quit gawking, we don’t have all day and there could still be more around.”

Brought back to life by Faenas’s command they all continued their halted actions. ‘You were with them leering too you know…? I shouldn’t undermine her authority.’ With a little help Mirtil made herself on top of Alicia’s abdomen. With that everyone started to move towards their village…

On their way back Alicia tried to use the time to refamiliarize herself with her new skills but… ‘I know it’s soft or whatever but… could she calm down with… petting my hair on the back there? They’re! Sensitive… It’s like someone is constantly tickling me behind my neck…’ Most of her attention was caught up in trying not to squeal. ‘Why… the hell does it feel so… sensuous… This feels too familiar with the antidote incident…’ So she went on, stifling squeaks borne from stimulation…

---

Once quiet elven settlement was in an uproar, many of their defenders returned riddled with wounds, familiar yet strange outsider’s visit and provisions in the form of what used to be manticores. The commotion was caused by the dispute over the reward for the stranger they just met.

To understand the factors leading to the situation we turn the time back by a few hours…

• “Yes! It worked! I have my legs back!”

After calling Faenas to come to the lake. It was the first time turning into an Elf. Though that distinction didn’t matter much for ecstatic Alicia. Of course not all that glitters is gold… Attaining anthropomorphic form came with it’s own unique troubles. Exemplified by the breeze blowing between her legs, stroking areas that are a bit too personal for her likings.

• “Ah… Ground-floor ventilation is… too excessive. Well that’s something I can fix. I don’t have to reinvent the definition of undergarments trying to make something for my spider form anymore…
  I can’t turn into a male, give me back my masculinity, my height, you damn gods!”

Her threatening prayers reached the ears of none…

• “Elves… their ears are quite sensitive…”

> Notification. Preliminary scans suggest: Energy Conductors for subject ‘Elf’ have converged with their hearing organs through evolution, improving auditory perceptions while causing a concentration of sensitive receptors in Auris Externa resulting in sensitivity to pain and pleasure in the region.

• “Conductor right so they use their magic with their ears?”

> Affirmative.

• “What about the sensitive part does that mean it’s like a human nip- You know what don’t answer that.”

---

Making her way on foot to the lake to meet with her invited guest she faced another problem…

• “Forest floor… too rough for my tender fleshy soles. I need something like footwear… Why didn’t I think of this until now… You idiot, should’ve thought of something beforehand.”

Gravel, pebbles, mud, mushy soil, blades of grass poking, bark covered tree roots with their uneven surface, all of them contributed to Alicia’s annoyance and desperation for anything to protect her feet…

Now turning to the present…

---

• “We can’t give something so… simple for a nobl-... our esteemed guest!”

Aged elven female was trying to persuade Alicia for something more. Though her outward appearance looks like a woman in her middle ages.

• “Listen I don’t think you understand the grave importance of it. I need it for my mental wellbeing. I know you have spares, just give me one pair!”

While Alicia herself was insistent on getting what she wanted.

• “At least allow us to make a new one!”
• “Just tell me what you want, I’ll do it!”
• “I want you to be reasonable and accept normal recompensations!”
• “No can do if that doesn’t include what I want.”

Their unending back and forth conversation continued for nearly half an hour…

• “All of this for some shoes…”

Defeated, Faenas was holding a relatively unused pair of footgear wrapped neatly in cloth.

• “Werdan!¹Means Guard Captain in elvish I made up I guess. We can’t be expected to present something so… crude!”
• “I don’t think you can convince her otherwise though…”
• “SHOES! Is that for me?!”

Her voice tinged in happiness like a parched man finding an oasis in a desert. Alicia was eyeing the bundled footwear with zeal.

• “But…”
• “We’ll just owe her some hospitality later…”

Reluctantly the lady accepted the compromise.

---

As the sun set all who could, gathered in the village center at ground level. Unusual design of the village was the food, weapons and other resources were stored above ground, high up on trees suspended with suspension bridges connecting them to each other and no easy way to get up to them. They themselves reside on the forest floor. Reason being In an event needing evacuation they can leave their residences, take to the trees where they stored objects of importance such as food and weapons and leave immediately abandoning their homes. Inconvenient for normal day to day life but such is the price they pay for the safety of their lives in this treacherous sea of green.

‘They place quite the trust on those branches to hold all of that up… I guess if it couldn’t wouldn’t have placed it there in the first place…’

Everyone was enjoying their meal that featured the manticore flesh.

• “I heard it was gamey but this is nothing like it at all...”
• “So tender!”
• “Seconds please!”

Alicia was also dining, silently approving the flavour of the meat and giving wordless applause to the chef which is when she overheard a disturbing conversation.

• “It's strange, almost like it was soaked in some marinade…”
• “You didn’t?”
• “Not at all I cooked it the way I received it, only seasoned it with some herbs and salt. Think I could’ve served it raw actually.”
• “No way.”
• “It was almost like it was cooked halfway, strange innit?”
• “At least it’s tasty.”

‘Gamey? I heard predators usually had higher muscle mass and tougher meat… this is nothing like that… Something doesn't add up…’

> Note. Injection of venom accompanied by trace injection of digestive fluids rich in digestive enzymes. Incomplete breakdown of tough biomass. Results in softer flesh.

Hearing the announcement Alicia almost gagged in shock. She coughed a few times to clear her throat. Her eyes teared up, everyone else thought it was because of choking and didn’t think much of it… but in actuality…

‘This shouldn’t taste this good for being regurgitated vomit… I thought I was over the days of eating my puke…’

Like pearls shining in the light, a few drops of tears wet the ground. It seems her dilemmas never got solved… A peaceful night filled by joy went by…