Hello, Female

A woman arrives in a strange world populated by attractive shapeshifting men.

As I stumbled through the undergrowth, clad only in an extra large Superman t-shirt and my undies, I began to wonder if I should have put on more before stumbling off to the restroom in the middle of the night. When I’d left my camper, I’d been too sleepy to worry about modesty, and certain that I was close enough to the restroom that I’d see no one on my way there and back.

Now, though, I appeared to have gotten lost. If I couldn’t find my way back to my campsite by morning, and they had to send out the cavalry to find me, I’d be horribly embarrassed to be wandering around pantless.

I looked up at the sky, hoping that it had cleared enough for me to navigate by the stars, but the clouds were still thick above me. With a sigh, I cast around for some sign of the path or another camper. If only I hadn’t taken that shortcut…

There was a noise behind me, a soft growling. All the hair on my arms stood on end. I was in the center of the campground, right? The idea of there being a mountain lion here was absolutely ludicrous. Wasn’t it? Shivering in fear as well as from the chill night air, I turned to look.

At first I wasn’t sure what I was seeing. That… That couldn’t be what it looked like, because what it looked like was a massive scaly head. I crept closer.

The clouds shifted, and, suddenly, I could see what I was looking at in the bright light of the full moon, not the dim lighting of my cell’s flashlight. It was a head. A giant, scaly, dinosaur head at the end of an impossibly long neck. At the other end of the neck was the monster’s massive body, half buried in what looked like a swamp. The growling sound was its breathing as it slept.

I stifled a scream, and, my cell slipping out of my hand, backed away slowly. Then, as the moon disappeared once more, I turned and ran.

As I ran, crashing through the undergrowth like some sort of battering ram, wild thoughts raced through my head. Where was I? Had I somehow fallen though some sort of time portal? Was this some sort of elaborate prank? If this was someone’s idea of a joke, I was so going to-

I impacted against something I couldn’t see, something that clung in sticky strands to my skin and shirt and hair. I fought to get loose, but every move I made seemed to do nothing but wrap the invisible strands tighter around me. Panting, I stopped moving. Ok, I could handle this. I just needed to-

The moon came out once more. I looked up at it, and got my first good look at what I was wrapped in. Glistening and shimmering in the moonlight, the gigantic orb web would have looked quite beautiful if I wasn’t currently stuck to it!

I looked around wildly for some escape, and, instead, got a good look at the spider this web belonged to. It perched in one of the trees the web was attached to, all emerald green and shiny flecks of gold. It was the size of that mountain lion I’d been thinking about earlier. This time, I couldn’t stifle my scream.

The spider descended slowly down the tree to the forest floor. I stared at it, panicking. Obviously I wasn’t in some sort of time warp, because no period of history I knew about had included pony sized spiders. Was I about to get eaten?

Unbidden, nature documentaries I’d watched about spiders started playing in the back of my head. All that stuff about injecting digestive juices and sucking out the gooey bits seemed a lot less cool when I was the bug...

The spider had reached the forest floor. Suddenly, it vanished. In its place was a broad back, muscular arms and legs, long golden hair, and a tight, cute ass. The man the spider had become turned towards me, revealing a handsome face with stunning green eyes the same shade as the spider’s abdomen. He smiled at me, a predatory, assessing sort of smile.

“Hello, female,” he said.

I glanced down at his cock, also revealed by his change. The part of my brain that had noticed how cute his ass was assessed it, noting its size, shape, and uncircumcised state. Ten out of ten. I looked back up at the man’s face, trying to pretend I had not just been ogling his manhood. “Hi.”

His predatory smile widened. “You appear to be stuck in my web.”

I swallowed. “It, umm, appears so. What are you going to do with me?”

Green eyes gleaming, the man spoke. “Well, I was thinking-” He sighed, deflating. “I’ll take you back to your village.” Looking away from me, he added, “Just please stop looking at me like that.”

I blinked. “Looking at you?”

“Yeah. You’re looking at me like I’m about to eat you,” he said, glancing back over at me. “I mean, would being my female really be that bad?” Whatever he saw in my face did not reassure him, and he looked away again. “Nevermind. Just tell me where your village is. I’ll, umm, escort you there.”

I wasn’t sure how to reply. “I’m not from around here.”

He shrugged. “I don’t mind a bit of a walk.”

“That’s not what I-” It was my turn to sigh. “Look, this appears to be a completely different world from the one I was born in. I have no clue where I am. Is it normal here for men to turn into giant spiders?”

He frowned at me. “The spider tribe has always been one of the rarer ones. I’m not surprised you haven’t heard of us. What tribe are you from?”

I blinked at him. “I’m not, umm, from a tribe. I was camping out for a renaissance festival, and I left my camper to go to the restroom, and then I got lost, and then there was this giant dinosaur and I freaked and ran and then I ran into your web and now…” I shrugged as best I could. I was still stuck in his web.

The man sighed. “Ok. So you’re lost, and you’re a bit confused. How about you tell me what beast your village’s males turn into? I can figure out where you’re from based on that.”

“Males where I’m from don’t turn into beasts,” I told him.

He stared at me. “But that’s- That doesn’t make any sense.” He gave me a once over, and seemed to notice my t-shirt for the first time. “What are you wearing? It’s not like any clothing I've ever seen."

I shrugged again. “It’s a t-shirt. I’m not sure what it’s made of, if that’s what you’re wondering. Probably some sort of cotton mix?” \

He frowned. “I’ve never seen such a deep blue before. Do you know what kind of dye was used?”

I shook my head. “No. It’s a superman t-shirt I bought at a comic book store. It’s not anything special where I’m from.”

Looking thoughtful, the spider guy said, “You said you were from a different world… I’m starting to believe it.”

I rolled my eyes. “Nice to see you don’t think I’m crazy.”

The guy shrugged self consciously. “I never thought you were crazy. Just maybe a bit confused from being so frightened.”

He gave my shirt another once over. “Fascinating… Such things are normal where you come from? How are they made?”

I squirmed. “Look, discussing this while all wrapped up in your web is a bit awkward. Would you mind ummm, unsticking me?”

He blinked, as if he’d forgotten I was stuck. “Right.” He looked down at his nudity. “And I should, umm, probably put on some clothing.” He blushed. “I’m sorry.”

He reached into a nearby bush and grabbed a long strip of what looked like animal skin dyed green. The green was roughly the same shade as his spider self. He wrapped it around his hips and flung the end over his shoulder. Unsticking me was simple, at least for him. Just a few well placed tugs, accompanied by apologies when his hand brushed my breasts.

Scooping me up, he told me, “We’ll talk at my home. Don’t worry; it’s really close.”

And it was pretty close. Just five minutes walk took us to a cave. The entrance was surrounded by a sort of net enclosure made of webbing, though this stuff was white, not shimmery clear. He unlatched the gate, swung it open, and then latched it shut.

I noticed he seemed a lot more relaxed now. With a smile, he put me down. “You’ll be safe in here,” he told me. “Nothing can get through my webbing. Not even another member of the spider tribe.” He smiled smugly. “My webbing is stronger because I've got a blue aura. This means I'm not just powerful for a spider. I'm as powerful as any high ranking lion or tiger.”

I blinked. "Blue aura?”

He shrugged. "Every male here has an aura, but normally only other males can see it. Red is the weakest. Orange is more powerful than red, but still very weak. Yellow is slightly more powerful than orange. Green comes next, then blue, then purple. A male with a powerful aura generally has more Talents, more powerful Talents, and a stronger beast."

"What are-" I paused. “Ummm, I just realized. I don’t know your name. And you don’t know mine.”

He smiled. “I’m Artak. And you are…?”

“Selena,” I told him.

“A beautiful name for a beautiful woman,” he purred. His predatory look was back. “It occurs to me. You don’t have any way to go back to your world, do you? And you don’t have anywhere to go in this one.”

I looked down. “You’re right.” I sighed. What was I going to do? Biting my lip, I asked, “I don’t suppose you could help me?” I couldn’t expect him to find me a way home, or look after me for the rest of my life, but maybe he could help me find my feet?

“Let me be frank. You are the most beautiful female I have ever met,” Artak told me. “I want you so badly I can barely think straight. I will take good care of you, don’t worry. I’ll get you nice meat, and fruits, and furs, and I'll trade with the villages for crops. Anything you want. Just, please. Be mine?”

I blushed. “I can’t possibly be… I mean, I’m pretty cute, but you are absolutely gorgeous!”

Artak pursed his lips. “You must be used to a lower standard of male to think I’m gorgeous.” He shrugged. “I’m about average, appearance wise.”

My eyes widened. If he was about average, what would he consider good looking? Were all the males here gorgeous? Or did they have different standards of beauty?

Artak looked at me thoughtfully. “It’s customary for females here to take multiple husbands. If you accept my offer, you don’t have to settle for just me. Also, if you don’t want to accept me, my offer to escort you to a village still stands.” He grimaced. “Trust me, with your looks, you will have no shortage of males offering to take care of you.”

I frowned. What if he was wrong? What if he took me to a village, and they rejected me? I needed more details, though.

“Will, will this be a lifetime thing?” I asked. “Also, will you have other females?”

“It will be for life, unless you get rid of the mating mark,” Artak told me. “And I will be yours, and yours alone.” He smiled. “You don’t have to decide now. Actually, considering how shocked you must be, I wouldn’t want you to decide now. Rest. Spend a few weeks getting to know me. Then make up your mind.”

I nodded. “That makes sense.”

“Are you hungry?” he asked.

I shook my head. “Just tired.”

Artak pointed to the cave. “There’s a nice nest in there. Get some rest.”

I frowned. “Isn’t that your, umm, nest?”

Artak shrugged. “Yeah, but I can sleep elsewhere. Don’t worry about it.”

I yawned. I was too tired to argue. I went into the cave, found the pile of soft grasses and feathers that must have been the nest, pulled the fur beside it over myself, and fell asleep.

*

When I awoke, light was streaming in through the entrance of the cave. I frowned. So it wasn’t a dream. I was in another world, with no clue how I’d gotten there and nowhere to go. Cautiously, I made my way to the entrance of the cave, my scare with the dinosaur still fresh in my mind.

The spider guy- Artak, I remembered- was out there skinning a dead rabbit. He nodded to me. “Good morning.” He frowned down at the rabbit. “I seem to remember females need to eat cooked food.”

I nodded shyly. “You’re right. I, ummm, can’t eat raw meat. But you don’t need to go to any trouble for me. I can cook it.” Probably. I’d cooked stuff over an open fire before, though never a freshly caught raw rabbit.

Then I frowned. “I don’t have anything to light a fire with.”

Artak frowned. “There’s plenty of sticks and kindling.”

I sighed. “My people generally don’t do it that way. We’ve got, ummm…” How to explain? “We’ve got these devices that make small flames. Mostly we use those. Some people use flint and steel.”

Artak blinked. “I don’t know what some of those words are… Steel? Device? Isn’t flint a kind of rock? How would that make flame?”

I sighed. “It would be hard to explain. Can you light the fire?”

He smiled gently. “I would be happy to. I also wouldn’t mind cooking.”

As Artak did something complicated with sticks, he continued talking. “So, what kind of animal did the skin you’re wearing come from? You said something about a cotton?”

I shook my head. “It’s not a skin.” Were they really this primitive? “It’s made of plant fibers that were spun into thread and then knitted together.” I decided not to mention that the spinning and knitting had been done by a machine.

Artak sighed. “More words I don’t know. Could you make something like that? Or would it require stuff that you don’t have, like that ‘device’ thing you were talking about?”

I thought about it. “Making something exactly like this would be too time consuming to be practical without… Without other types of devices. However, I could make something similar.”

Fiber arts were my passion. I could sew, spin, knit, crochet, felt, and do some types of lace making. I had no idea how to do any weaving more complex than in and out, and I wasn’t that good at knitting, but, if I could get the tools I needed, I could, with time, make my own clothing.

“Does the word ‘metal’ mean anything to you?” I asked. If his people didn’t know basic fiber craft, it was unlikely they’d mastered metalwork, but I should probably ask.

He shook his head. “No. Is that something you need for this?”

I shook my head. “Not necessarily. The tools could be made from wood or clay too.” I frowned. “It doesn’t look like you have a kiln.”

He shook his head. “No. I don’t even know what that is.”

So, stone age tech. It was frustrating, but at the same time… While fiber arts were my passion, I also knew a bit about blacksmithing, as well as how to fire clay. Also, I made my living as an electrical engineer. If I could get enough help…

I sighed. Leading these people out of the stone age was probably a pipe dream. No one had any reason to listen to anything I said. Also, it was entirely possible that Artak, who seemed to live out in the woods, wasn’t aware of some of the technology they had in the towns and cities.

Well, if metal and clay were out, that left stone and wood. Since weight was a factor for most fiber crafting tools, wood seemed to be the best option. Unfortunately, carving was a craft I hadn’t dabbled in. “How well can you carve wood?” I bit my lip, frowning. “I mean, if you don’t mind helping me.”

Artak looked at me, amused. “I’m courting you, remember? I’d be willing to do a lot more for you than a bit of carving. First, though…” The sticks sparked, and he grinned as the kindling caught. “I think I should cook you some breakfast.”

As he cooked, I considered what I would need to make clothing from scratch. Firstly, I needed some sort of fiber. I picked up the rabbit skin to examine the fur. It was longer and coarser than rabbit fur back home. More like sheep’s wool. “I can turn this fur into thread or yarn,” I told Artak. “If I had enough of it.” Also… “You can turn into a spider, and you produce silk, right? How much can you make? If I had enough of it, I could make that into clothing.”

Artak shrugged. “I’ve never run out, but I’ve never tried to make clothing out of it, either.” He looked at me with interest. “It’s very strong. If you can turn it into something like what you are wearing, it would probably be excellent armor.”

I nodded. “I can see that.” Would weaving, knitting, or crochet be the best way to create armor? Probably weaving. If I layered it, it could be quite tough. However, weaving required a loom, which was harder to make than a crochet hook or knitting needles. “How about I give that a try after I eat?”

Artak nodded, handing me the skewer with the cooked rabbit meat. “Sounds like a plan.”

Later, Artak the spider held out a thin line of silk to me. I delicately plucked it from his limb and began to wind it onto a smooth stick, trying unsuccessfully not to think about the shapely ass that spider abdomen transformed into. He was courting me… Would he let me touch his ass? Hurriedly, I removed my mind from the gutter.

His spider abdomen was very pretty, too, I noted, though in a very different way. The gold flecks glittered in the light, and the green chitin shimmered with a slight iridescence… Without thinking, I reached out to touch it. When my fingers brushed his chitinous behind, Artak twitched. I jerked my hand away. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have touched without asking.”

Artak twisted, and his large spider eyes assessed me for a moment. Then he thrust his abdomen towards my hands. An invitation? Hesitantly, I caressed the smooth surface. Artak shivered, but did not pull away.

It didn’t take long for me to have a full skein wrapped on the stick. Artak didn’t seem to be anywhere near his limit as far as silk production went, but this would be enough to experiment with. “Thanks,” I told him, gently patting his spider behind. “How do I, like, snip it off or whatever?”

In answer, Artak flicked his spinnerets, and the skein of silk unhooked from them. Then he transformed back. He looked at me shyly. “You… Were touching me.”

I nodded. “Your spider form… It’s beautiful.” I blushed.

He smiled. “Thanks.” He looked away shyly. “Touch me anytime you like. Anywhere you like. Whatever form I’m in.”

I blushed deeper. “Thank you.”

I picked up the crochet hook he’d carved with one hand. With the other, I tied a slip knot. Soon I was rapidly crocheting a chain.

Artak watched in fascination as I worked. “What are you making?”

I joined the ends of the chain. “I was thinking a dress. I shouldn’t have only this t-shirt to wear. Unless you have a preference?”

“A dress seems like a great idea,” Artak said. “I can make you a top and a skirt, too, if you like. I have some leather and furs lying around.”

I grinned. “I would like that. Thanks.”

The two of us worked in companionable silence. I was following a pattern I’d used before. The dress it made was lacy and revealing, a very appropriate use for this shimmering silk. I looked forward to wearing it and possibly turning some heads. If I was really the most beautiful female Artak had ever seen… Could I recruit help to make things using sex appeal? It was worth a try.