"ANATH!" Daggat boomed again. He followed the arrow pointing in her direction. It suddenly moved, pointing upwards. She had climbed a tree. Great.

He found the tree shortly afterward. Glancing up, he couldn't see her. But he knew she was there. She needed time. Eventually, Anath would come down on her own. So, he sat down at the base of the tree and waited. He closed his eyes.

"Um… hi Daggat," Anath said. Her cheeks were flushed with embarrassment and the spider legs had curled in on themselves. She had the look of a pup who knew they had done something wrong.

She had dropped down from the tree she had nested in. She was a noisy climber, but Daggat pretended not to hear her approach.

Daggat opened one eye, then sighed. "Hello, Anath. How's it going?"

"So… don't be mad." She said.

"Look, I'm not mad you ran off. I'm not going to lie, she kind of freaks me-" Then he noticed the changes. "Did… you do something different today?"

"sort of." She gave him a coy smile. She twirled.

It was hard to see under her clothes. But plates of black metal, the same as her spider legs, seemed affixed to her skin. Not everywhere. Her forearms, the back of her hands, plates by the side of her neck, and the hints of a chest plate and the back of the neck. Very similar to the bone plating that Otto had.

It left her mobile but offered good protection. Surely, it could be improved.

She had overcome some personal hurdle, that much was clear. And Daggat desperately didn't want to say the wrong thing and cause her to revert. But, Daggat needed to be sure she wasn't forced to defend herself. The village couldn't afford what hurting Anath would cost them.

"Wow, that's pretty cool! But… Lisa didn't… force you to, um, adapt did she?"

"No no! I chose this. Me." She looked slightly panicked, then smiled.

Daggat nodded. "Oh, good, good. I didn't want to have to-" Then he realized what she really didn't want him mad about. The altar. She only had one biotrait point. Her last level should have been Berserker. He felt his eye twitch but suppressed a sneer.

"Anath." He began. "Could you not wait until we got the altar sorted?" He tried to keep his voice sweet. It came out as menacing.

"Um… I kind of wanted to do it while I… could? Sorry."

"Alright. Alright. That's fine. We'll just get another level. Not like they are getting harder to get or anything."

They had gotten lucky with the monster heads. It was a collection of relatively high-level monsters, plus Otto. He doubted they would find such bounties any time soon.

Anath seemed to shrink back. "Sorry."

Daggat held his hands up in a placating gesture. "No, it's fine. Really. Look, I'm comfortable here. Sit down, I want to chat."

"You're not going to lie to me again are you?"

"Not this time. I promise." Over the months, Daggat had learned that lying to the crew was more hassle than it was worth.

Anath grunted, crossed her arms, and leaned back. Her spider legs gently held her up. He had never seen her do that before. He was kind of jealous.

"Shouldn't we get back to the others?" Anath asked.

"Nah. They went on. We've got all the time in the world." Daggat crossed his arms behind his head. He looked at her. Really looked.

With his new aura sense he could, well, not SEE, but sense a field around her. A faint glow that matched the glow around himself.

Anath shifted uncomfortably. "So…"

"What changed, Anath? Why the… armor?"

"Just… something Lisa said."

"The rabid human? What did she say?" Lisa was tough, but he could find a way to slip her some poison. Easy. Or maybe just tell Zuss.

"Nothing. It's fine, alright? You don't have to worry about it."

Daggat gave her a serious look. "Look, I am just trying to understand. I honestly don't know what you are going through or how to help. I want to help you through… whatever this is. So, all I can do is listen."

"Why? Why do you even care? I'm tougher now. Isn't that enough for you?"

"I don't know why I care. I just do. I stopped worrying about it. Maybe it's because you are part of the crew. Maybe it's because we are both variants. Doesn't matter."

She dropped lower in the spider-leg-chair setup. "Just because we are both variants… that's not the same thing. You've never killed anyone with yours!"

"I have."

"What? How?"

"Look, it's not the same as whatever happened to you. But… when I was a gremlin, I thought I was smarter than everyone else. I was, to be fair. But, still. I was cocky. I thought the four of us could get through anything." Daggat stood and began pacing. "But that cockiness got Zuss hurt. Got my brother… Glut, not Klaw, killed. Right in front of me. My…"

Daggat took a deep breath. He looked up into the sky. It was nearing evening by now. He shouldn't be the one talking Anath through this. Hunter or maybe Elyndris. Not him.

He braced himself and continued. "He was my best friend. My right-hand man. He died because I thought I was too smart to lose."

"I'm sorry that happened. It still isn't the same." Anath also stood up.

"Tell me what happened, then."

"You know about the boys, and what happened with my father." Anath snapped. Her spider legs curled and uncurled themselves menacingly.

"Not that. I know it's not that. There is something else that happened, right? Look, I know we are not close. Hell, you and Klaw are closer than we are. But, I want to understand. Please."

Anath looked as though she was fighting a fight-or-flight reflex. But, Daggat just let her work through it. He truly wanted to understand. Sometimes, he found, it was best to let other people think.

"I don't like thinking about it," Anath said. Her mandibles trembled.

"I'm sorry. But, tell me you don't think it's important to say it. Let me help you face it. It's just us out here. No one else. And I'm just some dumb goblin, so I don't count."

"I… I don't know." Anath dropped to the ground and hugged her knees. She was almost at eye level with Daggat now. "I'm scared." She whispered.

"You could do what I do when I'm scared," Daggat said. He moved across from her.

"What? Talk a lot?"

Daggat laughed. "That too. No. I pretend I'm brave. I remember Glut, and I act how I wish I acted back then."

Anath sniffed. Her aura shivered.

"Okay, I'll tell you. So… I was born as a… monster."

Daggat resisted the urge to clarify that she was ALSO a mortal. Instead, he nodded.

"They named me Anathema. A curse." She continued. "They had to cut my mother open so she wouldn't die. I was kept a secret from the moment I was birthed. Everyone was told I didn't survive the birth."

Daggat nodded again to show he was listening.

"My parents didn't want anyone to know about me. But… my mom tried to raise me normally anyway. They let me play after dark, sometimes. She read to me. Taught me to read and write. Sang me songs. Gave me a doll too. But…" Her voice faded off.

"It's okay, take your time. Just get it out." Daggat had the distinct feeling that he shouldn't be hearing this. That he was intruding in a world he didn't belong to.

Anath wiped her face and continued. "She started to… fade away. Her eyes got more and more distant. Dad drank more. They fought more and more. One day, she came into my room. She… sang to me. Tried to lull me to sleep. Then…"

Anath took a deep breath and started to shake. Tears dripped off her chin.

"Take a break, alright? Don't push yourself too far." Daggat said.

Anath shook her head. "Then she started to cut."

They stood in silence for a short while. Daggat had nothing to say. He tried, but no suitable words would come.

Eventually, Anath continued. "It… hurt. A lot. More than anything. More than the demon or the hunter's poison. She cut and sawed, trying to get rid of the spider. She used a steak knife."

Daggat stared at her wide-eyed. Her legs were intact, so she obviously failed. But, who would do that to their child? That's goblin logic. It simply did not belong in the human world.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

Anath turned around. Her legs straightened upwards, lifting her shirt. "It still hurts, sometimes."

Her spider legs melded into her flesh and attached directly to the spine. Plates of exoskeleton protected her back. But they didn't cover the large, jagged, L-shaped scar. It looked like someone had tried to saw off the section of her back that held the legs.

White fury lit in Daggat. What was the plan with her mandibles? Her eyes?

"I'm… so sorry. That's awful." Daggat hissed in frustration. Problems are so much easier to deal with when you have someone to stab. His own scar flared up sometimes. The pain was more spiritual than physical. What happened to Anath was much worse than a stab through the chest. "What happened next?"

Anath lowered the back of her shirt. "The spider… I lashed out. I cut her. Slashed her chest… and her face and... there was blood. Too much blood."

Daggat couldn't say anything. He wasn't prepared for something like this. Was there anything to say?

"There's a cliff in Wavecrest. A long drop to the ocean below. My dad told everyone she decided to go on a walk near it. Shorty after… the incident." Anath retreated back into her knees. "He told everyone was an 'accident'. He acted like that was what happened, even when we were alone."

They stood in silence for a moment.

Finally, Daggat found something to say. "Anath. That wasn't your fault. You know that, right? You couldn't have been very old."

"There were only two people in the room. But, it wouldn't have happened if I wasn't a… a…" She began to tear up again. "Monster!"

Anath began to sob. This time, she didn't try to hold it in. Daggat stood there awkwardly for a while. Sometimes, people want to be treated like they treat others. Well, what would Anath do in this situation?

He awkwardly wrapped his arms around her in a hug. Anath took a surprised, shuddering breath. Then, she hugged him back. Clutching him tightly like a stuffed animal. Too tightly.

He let her have the moment, then, "Anath… I can't breathe."

"Oh!" She dropped him. "Sorry."

Daggat wiped some snot off of the tatters of his coat. "Umm… better?"

"I think so. Thank you. I'm sorry for being such a mess."

"We're all a bit messy. That's what makes us so fun as a crew." He flashed her a confident smile. "You know we are all monsters, too, right?"

"I know. But, it's different."

"Maybe. Look, I never had a mom. Or a dad. I just have the crew. But, I do have scars. So does Zuss and Klaw. Hell, everyone does. We get it. So, talk to Hunter. He knows a thing or two about losing family." Daggat awkwardly grabbed her shoulders. Was she taller now than she used to be? "Look, it sucks, really sucks, that that happened. But being a monster is part of you. You are wonderful, monster and all. Remember that."

"Okay. I will." She grabbed Daggat into a hug again. "Thank you for listening. Don't get too mad at Lisa. She was doing what you did to Hunter."

Daggat beamed at her. He handled that quite well, he thought. Sincerity can be a tool just as potent as any other.

"I see. No promises if she forgets how to wake up in the morning," he said, pushing her off. "By the way, you really took a risk. I'm kind of impressed."

"What do you mean?"

"The exoskeleton. It should have covered your head. Which means no hair. You got lucky it didn't."

Anath carefully touched her hair, a look of fear, regret, and relief washed over her face. She slowly dropped to the ground.

"I… didn't think about that. That would have been… the worst thing. The worst."

"Nah, you're fine. So, did you spend the skill point?"

Anath shook her head. "I was going to see what you were going to say."

"Hey, thanks. Well. Let's think. We could boost some combat potential, but you have plenty right now. What do you want to do?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, aside from killing things, I mean. What do you like to do?"

"Um… well. I like… um." She stared off into space. "I don't know. All I do is train and fight. I think I might need a hobby."

"Well. We've got a ways ahead of us on the journey. You can pick one up. How about something from survival? Got a lot of forest to get through, and that will let you learn more about it."

They both entered the status void. The assistants went to work, scrolling through her lists of skills.

Her three choices were Enhanced Harvest, Advanced Tracking, and Status: Ecology. Advanced tracking overlayed additional information gleaned from tracking skills, which would make the act significantly easier. Status: Ecology would give her a status screen for the environment she was in, with information filling in as she discovered them. Plants, animals, weather patterns, and other details.

In the end, they settled on Enhanced Harvest. A survival skill that made it easier and faster to harvest meat and organs from fresh kills. It would help out Daggat and Hunter in their interests. Anath has somewhat become their default butcher, so this also helped reinforce her role in the party. Most importantly, it allowed Anath to become better with survival skills.

Afterward, they talked about nothing for some time. The weather, their companions' bad habits, and other nonsense. It felt nice. When the sky turned red, they decided to head back.

Daggat looked forward to the other's reactions to Anath's armor.

Daggat

True Name: Daggat Soul: Monster Genseed: gremlin [ 3 Str, 4 Dex, 3 Con, 2 Int, 3 Wil, 3 Cha; Regenerating Teeth, Rot Resistance; Tiny Size] Genbloom: goblin [ +2 Str, +2 Dex, +2 Con, +1 Int, +1 Wil; Scavenger; Small Size]

Monster Level: 11

Attributes (0/6): Strength: 11 Dexterity: 11 Constitution: 11 Intelligence: 20 Will: 10 Charm: 12

Feats: Encounter: True Angel Ability: Mighty Intellect Act: Fledgling Alchemist Knowledge: System Knowledge Act: Devotion [Layered feats] Act: Usurper Act: Touch of Death Act: Reborn by Fire

Skills(0/4): Alchemy: 1 [Source: Fledgling Alchemist] System Aptitude: 1 [Source: System Knowledge] System Assistant: 2 [Perk: Semi-sentience] Mind Codex: 1 [Synergy: Mental notes + Copy Tome] Party Leader: 1 [Source: Usurper]

Notable Natural Skills: Literacy: Apprentice

Biotraits (1/11): Base size: Small [Source: Goblin] Regenerating Teeth [Source: Gremlin] Enhanced Night Vision [Source: Gremlin] Disease Resistance [Mutations: Rot Resistance; Source: Gremlin] Temperature Resistant Skin [Synergy: Fire Resistant Skin + Cold Resistant Skin] Scavenger [Source: goblin] Death Sight [Source: Touch of Death] Increased Pain Tolerance Fire Core Beguiling Presence [Synergy: Hypnotic Gaze (Dominating Gaze, Mesmerizing Gaze) + Hypervocal Cords (Beguiling Voice)] Aura Sight

Transformations: Drakeheart Form: +2 strength +2 charm Extreme Temperature Resistant Scales [Synergy: Fireproof scales + Temperature resistant Skin] Fire breath

Night Stalker form: +2 strength +2 dexterity Dark vision [Night Vision Enhanced] Deepen Shadow

Regenerator form: Advanced Regeneration

Other: Variant: +10 Intelligence Skill potions used: 1/5

Notable Gear: Strange pure-white sword shard Spear of Bracing 2 Mihr Contracts Strange Ring

Anath

True Name: Anathema Soul: Monster/Mortal Genseed: Human [ 3 Str, 3 Dex, 3 Con, 3 Int, 3 Wil, 3 Cha; Standard Size]

Monster Level: 5 Berserker Level: 6 [+3 Str, Dex Con, -1 Int, Wil, Cha; Berserker's rage, Great Vitality]

Attributes [0/7]: Strength: 12 Dexterity: 11 Constitution: 13 Intelligence: 10 Will: 8 Charm: 7

Feats: Encounter: True Angel Knowledge: System Knowledge Act: Vile Concoction Act: Devotion [layered feats]

Skills(0/9): System Aptitude: 1 [Source: System Knowledge] System Assistant: 1 Skill Boosts: Survival (1) Savage Legs: 1 Berserker's Spirit: 1 [Synergy: Warrior's Spirit (Burst of Strength + Burst of Alacrity + Burst of Vitality) + Berserker's Rage] Purge Poison: 1 Great Vitality: 1 Blood Rhythm: 1

Notable Natural Skills: Survival: Apprentice Savagery: Apprentice

Biotraits [0/5]: Disease Resistance [Mutations: Rot Resistance; Source: Vile Concoction] Extra Limb (Arachnid), x4 [Source: Variant] Venomous Mandibles [Source: Variant] Multi-eye [Mutations: Magnified, Night Vision; Source: Variant] Hardened Chitin Exoskeleton

Transformations: Night Stalker form: +2 strength +2 dexterity Claws Dark Vision

Notable Gear: Blade of the Dessert Flower

Other: Variant: Arachnid Traits

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