opheliathedreamer:

OKCryptid // Pt. 2 { Drider } 

After a good hour or so of perusing your matches, you decided to revisit one that had previously caught your eye. His profile was heart-warming, to say the least. In between pictures of sunsets and what you presumed was his family were stills of a nearby daycare and gap-toothed, smiling children. You decided that one photo taken a week before was your favorite. In it, he was using his eight legs to hang upside down on yellow-painted monkey bars. A Gnoll toddler hung from his hands. The picture caught the child mid-squeal, and you couldn’t help but appreciate the way the drider’s four silver eyes twinkled as he smiled.

You’d always loved children. There was just something about their sense of wonder that was delightfully contagious. When having a bad day, all you’d need to do was walk by the local park and see the little ones’ wide eyes and hear their laughter in order to feel the dark clouds over your head dissipate. Your early jobs consisted of babysitting for old neighbors and, since your parents had full-time jobs, you often stayed home to care for your younger siblings. The fact that you found someone who was good with kids was already promising. And a spider, too. Ironic, given the insect’s reputation, but you were living in a world where centaurs and werewolves sat side by side with humans on buses and in restaurants. Stranger things had happened.

You clicked on the chat button, about to send him a message, before you saw that he beat you to the punch.

        Walter: Good afternoon! How are you? I’m Walter. It’s really nice to meet you!

        Walter: I love the pics on your profile! Do you paint?

        Walter: Oh, oops lol you probably already knew my name. Sorry.

You held a knuckle to your lips and stifled a few giggles, partially because a drider had an ordinary name like Walter Reed and partially because he sounded just as exuberant as he looked in the last photo.

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