~Chapter 2- The Clan Leaders~

Valr watched as the hunting party entered the woods. The Arachna warriors looked exhausted as they carried the body of a beetle through the woods to the carver. They didn't waste time prepping the beetle for the clan.

Gweneva squinted as she looked at the hunting party, "...That doesn't look like the full group that left today."

Among the hunting party was a broad-shouldered man with long brown hair. Powerful, confident. Valr's father, Vos. Among all the Arachna, he stood out greatly. He approached Valr and his wife with an earnest smile.

Vos approached Diva and asked, "How did Focus Training go?"

"Well enough. They'll get the hang of it soon." Diva replied, "...How was the hunt?"

Vos frowned and shook his head, "Something happened."

At the head of the hunting party were two Arachna. One was a hulking Arachna with great arms and black and white accents across his body. He walked using the thin limbs protruding from his back. The other was an Arachna with an athletic build and red and blue accents across his body. They were the leaders of the clan residing in the woods. Their names were Edi and Petri.

Near one of the houses made of compact webbing, Petri spoke to an Arachna woman. At first, she was calm, but as he spoke, the woman broke down into tears. Petri remained calm, but guilt could be seen within him.

Gweneva's eyes widened, and she turned to Vos, "Someone died during the hunt, didn't they?"

Vos simply grimaced.

The Carver prepped the beetle's body, and the rations for the clan were distributed to everyone. They gathered around the pond at the center of their community, many of the Arachna gathering high in the trees over the pond.

Valr eventually received a chunk of meat that was once a piece of that beetle... He knew it didn't taste good, but he'd certainly had worse. In their situation, he couldn't be picky. But before he took a bite, he noticed his parents weren't eating. Several adult Arachna weren't either.

Valr approached his parents, "You two can have this, I don't need it."

Diva promptly shook her head, "We're fine, honey. You need to keep up your strength."

Valr frowned, "Are-are you sure?"

His father nodded, "Go ahead, son."

Valr eyed the piece of meat he held and pensively took a bite from it... just as tough and gamey as he remembered. But he felt worse to see that his parents and so many others weren't eating.

Near the edge of the pond, the clan leader Petri was squatting down. He wasn't eating either. The other clan leader, Edi, approached him with his hulking frame.

"This is your fault, Petri." The deep voice of Edi said.

Petri remained squatted near the water, barely glancing up at Edi, "What do you mean?"

"So many of us wouldn't be hungry if not for you. We wouldn't have lost anyone during the hunt, if not for you!" Edi growled, stirring the attention of much of the clan. He turned to many of the onlookers and spoke, "Petri insisted we try and take down one of the adult beetles, when it would've been simple to take down one of the young ones. If we had done that, one of our own wouldn't have been killed!"

A murmur passed through the clan. Petri stood and calmly replied, "We must think of the future. If our hunting reduces their population, we won't have any food in a generation. If we want our clan to survive for the long term, we need to target them when they are fully grown. If we hunt the young ones, in a few years there won't be any food left."

Edi clicked his pedipalp pincers together fiercely, "You and I are strong enough to handle that. But the rest of the tribe can't handle creatures that powerful. You're putting everyone under unnecessary risk!"

Petri sighed and replied, "We've discussed this! We need to grow stronger as a group. That's why Diva has been training everyone how to use Focus."

Edi chuckled and turned to the series of onlookers now watching their argument, "Don't even get me started on the Ralosians."

Valr's father furrowed his brow and spoke loudly for all to hear, "Do you have something to say, Edi?"

"Oh, many things!" Edi snarled through sharpened eyes, "We're struggling for food, yet we still harbor these outsiders. These Ralosians. When we should be looking after our own!"

Petri stood, "Diva and Vos have done more than enough to contribute. You might not want to admit it, but the two of them may be as powerful as us."

"What about their brat?"

Edi made eye contact with Valr, and the young boy felt his entire body shake under the Arachna's gaze.

Vos stood, his fists clenched, "Watch your mouth, Edi."

"He's a waste of resources. Someone so weak has no place among us. He'll only hold us back!"

Vos stomped forward. Edi shrugged his shoulders, and four insect-like limbs emerged from his back, and the hulking black and white Arachna approached as well. Before they could come to blows, Petri somersaulted over Edi, and Diva flew in front of Vos.

"That's enough, Edi!" Petri shouted, "You and I need to talk. In private."

Edi backed away, "I'm done talking. You're going to lead the clan to their death, Petri."

Edi jumped away to a nearby tree. He flourished his arm, and a web expelled from his hands into the higher forest. He pulled himself along the strand of web and launched himself through the air, into the trees.

On the ground, Vos was fuming. If Valr's mother hadn't intervened, Vos certainly would've challenged him right then and there. The other Arachna were murmuring between each other.