Cold, damp and dark. Those were your first thoughts as you stepped into the cave. You had heard a rumor that the allusive Aracnicats favorited this place, and now you could see why. Spiderwebs clung to every stalactite and wall of this cavern and paw prints littered the icy floors, but still, you had yet to see, or even hear, a Aracnicat. That was, until you tripped over a rock that meowed at you in surprise. You landed with a thud, and whatever it was, it looked at you and ran further back into the cave. So they did live here. You quickly got to your feet and brushed off your pants before hurrying after it. But...Where had it gone? The back of this room was pure rock, no more passages or holes to clamber through. So where had the Aracnicat gone-? Reaching your hand out, you felt the wall...it was warm. Of all things, you would have thought that one of the cave walls would have been colder than the air around you.
You pushed against it and slowly, it gave way, rocks shifting in and moving to the side, revealing a hidden door. "Holy shit-" You muttered as you were bathed in the light of hundreds of candles. You stepped through the threshold and there sat the Aracnicat you tripped over. It tilted it's head and meowed at you again before standing and trotting down the hallway, which soon opened up into another large room. Round glass beakers littered the tables and countertops that filled the space. Along the walls were hundreds of small alcoves, each covered in cobwebs, but faintly you could make out the shape of the eight legged felines which called it home. So preoccupied with the felines, you didn't notice the stack of books in front of you until you knocked them all to the ground, gaining hundreds of eyes staring at you long with a startled shout from somewhere in the room.
"Ah!" The startled person stood up from his work with pure terror in his eyes, until he noticed you and took a deep breath.
"Uhm- Hi...? Welcome to Aracnicat cove-? H-How'd you in here-? Who are you-? Why are you in here-?" He stuttered over his words as he took slow steps toward you. His glasses were cracked and webs were tangled in his sliver hair.
"The wall, it moved. [Insert name here]. And I came searching for the Aracnicats-" You replied.
"O-Oh. Well, it seems you've found them! Y-You can leave now- Unless you want to adopt one?
His fear slowly melted away as you nodded. The young man grinned, "Well, my name's Sebastian. And I'm the owner of this place. And it appears you've already met Luca." The cat rubbed up against your legs, leaving it's fur along with some stray webs along your pants. "Like I said, this is Aracnicat Cove, home of the largest colony of Aracnicats. I'm starting to have too many to keep up with. I'm sure at least one of them would be happy to go home with you...It gets pretty lonely when it's just us...Maybe you could even start your own little colony! Now, would you like one from here? Or would you like to go out and find a wild Aracnicat?"
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Line credits: Charlie-MoM on Deviantart