They arrived in Tyere earlier than Mira had said -- mid afternoon -- and before they’d realized they’d reached it. The thick patches of brush and vines grew dense, and the springy grassy ground grew tough and hollow sounding. A wooden walkway seemed to emerge as they continued, and the rotting sides of houses appeared from the overgrowth.
“You said there were spiders here,” Mira whispered, as they came upon a street less completely choked by the vegetation, enough to reveal the fronts of the houses along it.
“There... should be spiders,” Kveta said, trying to recall the campfire rumors.
Mira stopped in front of a door, the wooden frame cracked and almost twisted. “But, no webs,” she said, gesturing around them before trying the doorknob. When the door remained shut, she leveled her sword and pierced the gap between the door and the frame, where the lock held the door in place. She thrust, caving the contraption, leaving it locked but detached from the door, and opening the door. Mira stepped through.
Holding her breath, her rifle tight in her hands, Kveta followed Mira.
It was a mostly empty home, though. A rusted steel bed frame in the bedroom, and a wardrobe near the front door. Kveta wondered why someone would leave the house in such a state, but figured that an invasive infestation might leave survivors a little mentally addled.
“This will do well for tonight,” Mira said.
“It doesn’t seem safe.” Kveta glanced at the half-broken door. “Shouldn’t we...”
“There are enough houses and vines to keep the big beasts away, and we can move that,” she pointed to the wardrobe, “in front of the doorway, once we’re settled for the night.” She started back toward the door, pausing in the center of the opening. “Stay.”
“Stay?” Kveta asked.
“Yes,” Mira said. “If there really are spiders here, you should remain someplace to ensure you see them before they see you. And if you leave, you might not return in time to share in whatever meal I catch.”
Kveta sighed.
Mira smiled and left, leaving the doorway gaping. It framed the growing dark outside.
Kveta sat in the opposite corner, with her rifle across her knees. She kept the doorway in her line of sight. Though she hated admitting it to herself, Mira wasn’t wrong about the dangers posed by leaving. Even if the town were clear of spiders, the beasts that lived further out would be much more threatening. And likely. Perhaps Mira’s Greyfang waited out at the edge of town.
When Mira’s shape re-entered the doorway, Kveta jumped up, rifle pointed. She lowered the barrel upon Mira’s smile. “I can’t look like that much of a brute yet, can I?” She carried a twitching limb over her shoulder, and dropped it on the floor. It had the unmistakably chitinous form of an insect's limb. “Well, it’s not spiders,” Mira said. “Spiders only have eight legs, right?”
Shuddering, Kveta suppressed a gag. When recovering, she saw Mira unbuckling her armor, and she turned away as though Mira were actually disrobing. “Please don’t say anything else about where that came from,” Kveta said.
“We won’t run into any,” Mira said. “They keep near the water, and we are quite a ways from the river.”
Kveta looked back in time to see Mira lifting up the twitching limb for a bite. “Ah, I suppose that’ll be for you then?”
“There’s no ‘kite in this,” Mira said, pausing. She took a bite, then, yanked back her head. A patch of skin stretched and snap in a blue spray, and Kveta turned away again as Mira began to chew. “It’d be safe for you,” Mira said, her mouth full.
“N... no,” Kveta said. She sat, facing the wall. “You could be wrong.”
“Perhaps you’re the better judge then,” Mira said haughtily. “Of what we can and cannot eat, both of us. Where did you get that knowledge?”
“I knew someone,” Kveta said. “They started eating ‘kite with their dinners, hoping it’d give them more strength to carry supplies. When it started to take over, my friends and I paid attention to what made them sick and what didn’t. We learned a lot before he...”
Mira gulped noisily. “I’m sorry, Kveta,” Mira said softly. “Some cannot handle ‘kite in any quantity.”
“Yeah?” Kveta asked. “So then, why did you start taking it? Were you set on hunting beasts from the start?”
“I’m sorry,” Mira said, quieter. “I will tell you some other time.”
“Why not now?” Kveta asked.
“You are bitter,” Mira said. “I have offended you, and you will not listen without prejudice until you have calmed down. I know in survivors there is a tendency to carry these malicious beliefs forward until they have relaxed themselves.”
Kveta got to her feet, hoping as she turned to face Mira, that standing next to a seated Mira might make Mira seem less imposing. After a heartbeat, Mira glanced over her shoulder at Kveta in a bored manner.
Hanging her head, Kveta slunk back to her corner and sat back down. She gnawed at a granola bar while they sat in silence.
“You can take watch first,” Mira said, startling Kveta. “Wake me at midnight, when the danger is greatest, and I will watch through to the morning.”
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