Teysa

"We have to talk first," say Teysa. The matron bowed her head and withdrew. "Of courssssssse."

Teysa turned to Aliara, and was surprised to see small tears in the half-elf's eyes. She took Li's hands in her own. Aliara took a deep breath, and smiled. "I thought about what you said, Tey. I... want to stay." The words tumbled out of her like rocks down a steep slope, as though she had fired them off before she had time to rethink them. "I want to... be where you are. And you're right. Just because something has always been a certain way doesn't mean it always has to. Besides," she grinned, "I would be lying if I said the prospect of motherhood never appealed to me." She held one of the spiderlings in the crook of her arm as she spoke and stroked it gently. It nuzzled its blunt head into her underarm until she laughed and put it down. "So ok. Sign me up. Spider mother. I can do this. I'm ready." She pantomimed calisthenics, then took up a position like a sprinted on the blocks. Teysa giggled and held out a hand. "No, Li. You need to rest and recover your strength. Let me do this one."

Aliara gave her a quizzical look. "Methinks you have a bit of an ulterior motive. The virginal heroine is enjoying this a bit too much, eh?" Teysa blushed furiously until she noticed how hard Aliara was working to suppress her giggles. Both of them dissolved into laughter, then Teysa called out.

"I'll do it," said Teysa. "I will bear your children, matron." The matron entered the cave, nodded and bowed deeply to her. "I thank hyou, clutchmother." Teysa laid down on her back, legs spread. Aliara kneeled over her. "I'm here, Tey. Hold my hand if you need to." The paladin nodded. She felt her face blanching. What had she volunteered for? Perhaps it was her lack of experience, but the position she found herself in was unfamiliar and uncomfortable. If she had known a man before, would this all be second nature to her?

The ovipositor slid out of the drider's body, inch by inch. Teysa tried to focus on it. It was long and segmented, made of a chitinous plating that glistened wetly with unknowable fluids. As it neared Teysa's waiting slit it pulsed and quivered like a heartbeat. Aliara leaned one arm down and parted Teysa's nether lips with her fingers. "Oooooh, Tey, you're moist already!" she teased. To her surprise, the paladin felt that it was true. Dew was beading her exposed loins and her clit throbbed with desire. She wanted it inside her. Closing her eyes, she tried to conjure up the feeling of fullness from before. Teysa clenched her teeth as she felt the bulbous tip of the ovipositor prod her lips; this time, it slid between them as gently as a lover's kiss.

As the first ring entered her, she felt a wave of pleasure crackle outward from her quim. It was as though the tension she had felt had all released at once. The warmth suffused her entire body. With it came a sense of relaxation and bliss. She moaned involuntarily, causing another chuckle from the half-elf. "Careful there, Tey, don't make a mess!"

Ring after ring of ovipositor slid inside her. Each one set off a new shockwave of pleasure that tingled throughout her body and faded only slowly. To her embarrassment Teysa felt a climax coming on. As the tip of the probing member pushed against her cervix she clenched her eyes shut as fireworks went off inside her head. She felt dizzy, overwhelmed. Her whole body tingled and buzzed. "I felt that one!" called Aliara from somewhere above her. Teysa squeezed her fingers and toes together as tightly as she could as the wave passed through her. Finally the sensations receded, and Teysa gasped in a great double lungful of air. She felt the pressure inside her ease slightly as her womb gave way to the intruder.

Teysa's face felt completely flushed. She panted heavily and wiped a sheen of sweat from her brow. "Oooohhhhhh..." she breathed, her eyelids fluttering like trapped moths. She could feel the tube between her legs twitching and pulsing. The first egg had reached her tight opening and began to squeeze through. Teysa moaned and tried to get control of herself. "Li," she whimpered, "I can feel it. Oh, God, I can feel the egg coming. It's-- I'm going to-- Oh God!" An aftershock rolled over her as the smooth sphere passed between her pussy lips and began traveling up the length of her channel. As it slipped deeper into her she reached down with one hand between her legs. She could feel the ovipositor-- it was warm, with a soft, spongy texture. She held two fingers stiffly together and began to massage her clit. Instantly, some of the terrible compulsion faded, and she exhaled in release. She continued rubbing herself in a circular motion. Her pussy reacted immediately, the heat building and burning until it felt as though her loins were on fire. Clenching her teeth, Teysa bore down, rubbing herself frantically. Dimly she was aware of Aliara collapsing in a fit of uncontrollable giggling, but the half-elf didn't let go. She rubbed the paladin's shoulders gently. "You're doing great, girl. Keep it up." She snorted. "Ha, next time's my turn. You look like you're having fun." She paused a moment. "Will you listen to me? Look like! It's amazing, Tey, to be able to see again. You really have no idea."

Teysa looked down. Already her belly had risen more than eight inches. Already? She had been so absorbed in her pleasure that she hadn't noticed. Above her the drider matron's eye's were screwed shut in concentration. Yet another bulbous egg was sliding down the ovipositor. Teysa relaxed into the sensation. She could feel another orgasm building and she surrendered to the bliss. This one was even bigger than the last, a full-body tingling sensation that grew in strength until the climax hit with the **** of a thunderbolt. She bucked her hips involuntarily and almost came all over again at the feeling of the ovipositor sliding in and out of her slit. Her body seemed preternaturally sensitive, each sensation grabbing her brain with both hands and demanding her full attention.

As she grew more and more full, her stomach began to cramp painfully. She reached out and grabbed Aliara's hand. The half-elf winced as Teysa squeezed, but didn't pull away. She ran a hand through the paladin's hair.
"There, there, love. You're doing great. You're almost there. Shhh, shh, it's ok." She rested a hand on Teysa's cheek. Her skin felt cool and smooth. "I wish I had a wet towel, Tey. Maybe I'll have them bring one next time. You look like you need it."

Finally the last egg slipped into Teysa's womb and anchored alongside the others. She could feel it: a thick, gluey mass inside her. She felt fiercely protective of the bundle of life inside her. Her stomach was massively engorged, the taut skin shiny with sweat. When she shifted back and forth she could feel the eggs moving around inside her. The sensation was slightly nauseating. "Ooouurgghh, I feel so bloated. Is it over?"

The drider withdrew her ovipositor. As it popped out of Teysa's tightly stuffed quim a geyser of the green fluid followed. That abated some of the pressure, but Teysa was uncomfortably aware that she was lying in a sticky pool of the stuff. It wasn't all the drider's goo, either; some of the fluids coating her thighs were definitely hers. Aliara slid her arm under Teysa's shoulders and helped her to a sitting position.
"Slow down there, momma. Take it easy. That was a lot you just took. How are you feeling?"
The drider bowed to them and began to withdraw. Teysa took a deep breath and called after her. "Matron? What now? Am I going back to that cave?"
The matron shook her head. "No. Thissssss den is hyourssss now. When hyour time comessss, I will come for hyou. I will know."

With that she disappeared into the gloom. Teysa sat there for a moment longer, collecting her thoughts. "Help me up, Li. I have to pee like you wouldn't believe."

After cleaning her up, the two made their way back to their hammocks. Teysa's sagged under her weight, but bore her comfortably. "I don't think I'm going to be up to much walking for the next few weeks. Sorry Li, I know you wanted to look around. You can go without me."
"Nah," grinned the half-elf. "Put it on the to-do list. I'm gonna stay here and take care of you."
"Oh no. Nuh-uh. None of that. I don't trust you. You're planning something."
Aliara's face was a mask of wounded innocence. "Who, me? Never. Besides, what are you going to do, run? You've fallen into my clutches, mwahaha." She climbed into Teysa's hammock and laid down next to her. The paladin's eyes grew wide with alarm.
"Li, what are you doing? Get out! You want to break it? There's barely room for me in this thing!"
"Pffft, as if. These things can hold about a billion pounds, it seems. Have you seen one break yet? And they're very stretchy. Like some other things I could name..." she said, her hand creeping up Teysa's thigh.

"Stop it! Not now. I'm tired!" In spite of herself, the paladin couldn't help but smile. Aliara pouted but removed her hand. Seeing her face, Teysa relented. "Later, I promise. I just want to rest now."
"Fine with me, momma. Your tummy is so warm and round. It's like sleeping next to an oven."
"Stop calling me that!"

The two of them drifted off to sleep.

For the next few weeks, they followed a routine. Aliara would wake up first and explore for a while. By the time Teysa stirred she was back. On her trips she fetched some things to make their life more comfortable: more silk robes, including a few maternity-sized ones to accommodate Teysa's increased girth. Some hand-held glow-jars on sticks for exploring. She got a drider to expand the hammock to comfortably fit two. The two of them only occasionally talked about Teysa’s hope to set an example for the warren; Aliara seemed skeptical, but agreed to be Teysa’s eyes and ears while she was laid up.

Each day, after Teysa awoke, they would be fed by one of the driders. The matron rarely came herself, but there were a few regular "spider-cows" as Li called them. The term, as the matron explained patiently after hearing that particular bit of irreverence, was "ambrosia mother." Their breasts brimmed with delicious, milky ambrosia, and they never seemed to run dry. Teysa wondered if they fed the whole warren or just their guests.

Guests?
That was a startling thought. At some point they had stopped being captives. She supposed if she asked to leave they might or might not allow it, but she didn't want to. Not anymore. She had brought this thought up once with Aliara, but the haunted look in the half-elf's eyes had made her drop it quickly. As comfortable as they were, Aliara seemed to be on edge all the time now.

Learning the proper term for "ambrosia mothers" was just one of Aliara's accomplishments. When she was not wandering the warren, she conversed with the driders, learning everything she could of their biology and society. Neither of them could speak or understand the hissing dialect of the spider-women, but if a drider had to make herself understood they had enough magic for the task. The half-elf also proved herself up to the task of caring for Teysa during her "pregnancy." This one was much less onerous than the previous. Not hanging on a cave wall helps, thought Teysa with a wry smile. Once, she tried to broach the topic of the driders' captives with Aliara. "So," she said, propping herself up on one elbow, "have you met any other mothers-to-be recently?"
She had tried to sound as casual as possible, but Aliara looked away, suddenly guarded. "No. I, I couldn't find any more." She shut up quickly. Teysa didn't think Li was lying, not to her, but she sounded as though she had not tried very hard. Teysa tried to clamp down on her frustration. This whole plan had been her idea from the start, and it was unfair to rope Aliara into it. Besides, they had a lot on their minds lately. The spiderlings would come soon, and Teysa fell to planning her nursery: the layout, how she would devote her time to her new children....

When the time came for her delivery, the drider matron appeared, true to her word. She held Teysa's legs open for the labor while Aliara knelt over her, holding her hands and counting off breaths. "One, two. In, out. Come on, Tey, breathe! You can do it! I can see the legs! Push, girl, push!"

Teysa groaned with exertion. "This one's stubborn!" she panted. "Come on, I know it's comfortable in there, but I need you out! You were just borrowing that space and I need it back!" With one last spasm of pain the spiderling popped out of her and rolled end over end across the floor. The matron scooped it up and laid it on Teysa's heaving chest, where it immediately began to suckle from her left teat. The familiar maternal warmth washed over Teysa and she smiled even as she began to push the second spiderling out.

Afterward she lay basking in the warm afterglow, her head in Aliara's lap. She cradled one of the spiderlings in her arms and tickled its legs, marveling at how agile they were, even this soon. "Li, I don’t know if I’m wasting my time here. I don’t know if I’m actually setting an example, or if they’re just marveling that they found an egg-holder they don’t have to tie up. Am I an idiot for staying here? Are we?”
The half-elf shrugged and caressed Teysa’s forehead. "I don’t know, Tey. I mean, you inspire me. Are we free? I don't know. I don't know if we'd be allowed to leave. But when I saw driders on the corridors, they looked almost respectful. Maybe you’re getting through?”

Teysa stroked a spiderling that had crawled onto her belly. It chattered happily and nuzzled between her breasts. “I suppose it isn’t all bad for me, either. Maybe I’m being selfish, but being among my children is nice.”

Over the next week, Teysa regained her strength. Her children were left to scuttle around their room as she strolled through the caves with Aliara. The two practiced calisthenics in the corridors-- Teysa had been off her feet for a while and was eager to be fighting fit once again. Passing driders gave them odd looks but none interrupted them or tried to stop their exercising. At home, she was always finding new improvements she could make. She fussed around the spiderlings, set aside a portion of the cave for them to sleep in and intervened when they clumsily tore each other's webs. She named them after the gemstones that Aliara brought her: Topaz, Opal, Ruby, Quartz. Each one had its own comfortable nook with its namesake stone taking pride of place in the webbing.

A week after the birth Teysa woke up feeling healthier than she had since the fight. She rolled over and smiled at Aliara, who was propped up on one elbow. "You're finally up, sleepy," teased the half elf. "What do you want to do today?"