It wasn't often Aka laughed at her brother, she loved him and knew him as herself. She would not interfere, but the Grandmothers! They stepped in and when necessary fed you a story whole. Lanalana and her family were quick in their artistry, their work as weavers of nets a skill overlooked by the many. Grandmother Spider dangled from her transparent thread stopping within inches of Skeena's entangled beak.
At such a position, the Raven's eyes crossed. He saw two Grandmothers. "For a time Young Magician, you will need to chew on the stories that come at you from all the hipu'u those knots of potential we have strung from here and there. All those people, all those places, all those tricks and illusions." The spiders spun and attached the young man without stinging, that was not necessary he was not their food.
"In the whole of things, we need you and your story as much as you need the stories clinging to you. What is being asked of you is ... reconsideration." The monologue seemed lengthy, and as such things happen only Skeena heard the words of Grandmother Spider. The Raven's beak was held fast but no silk prevented him from hearing and seeing her. And, his mind processed ...
Lanalana kept on. "The Sisters will rise on the horizon soon. On the bulge of this Green Place. Markers Skeena. From there count a full cycle of moon light."
She means to keep me through Makahiki.
Hearing his thoughts Grandmother Spider offered this, "No. We will not keep you bound the whole time, but, long enough for you to feel the gravity of the situation." Spiders do have a sense of humor, and though you have to be especially keen to the sound of it, spider laughter is infectious.
The rain had stopped. Outside, beads of 'ua ka lani caught in the web left empty. "Up high out there, my web and these that install you against the window slow the descent of rain. Water is meant to flow. Nearer the ground and tucked into the hedges around the Safety Pin Cafe, other Spiders collect raindrops for the day. In summer that clan was essential, like reservoirs on eight legs they slowed evaporation. A very big job!"
Where was she leading me?
"You grow restless from the winding tale, Magician but it makes no never mind. No place to fly. No way yet to move. Timing Skeena." It was the second time Grandmother Spider had addressed him by name. "As in comedy and survival, it's all in the timing. These are the 'ole moon. You have time for reconsideration as is the nature of those moons. When the 'ole is pau, the webs will dissolve on their own. We Grandmothers have a tight network, and long memories. Make the most of the coming new year Raven Child."
Thin sunlight began to escape the ends of the paling clouds. Her story finished, Lanalana moved swiftly through the opened window, her family followed and by the time Dumpling returned with a tray of warm cinnamon toast wrapped in aster colored cloth napkins Ka La the sun was back to his full and present heat.
The door opened in. The spell of the moment shifted.
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