Spy rubbed shampoo into her hair, which she extended long enough to almost totally cover her body, making me wonder exactly what the point was of showering at all – though, I figured some of the water got through anyway. “I hate stutter sleeping!” She blurted, in one of the loudest tones that I’d ever heard her use ever.
Pan, who hadn’t had time to reattach her legs after using her warform, turned, the hover-gems in her thighs humming faintly, making soft crackles and pops whenever water rivuletted over them. “What is stutter sleeping anyway? I've heard Doc tell you to use it before and never got a chance to ask...”
Spy hung her head forward. Then, her shoulder wriggled and one of her component spiders stepped out of her body and onto her shoulder. She didn’t seem all that diminished, but I had been told that there were at least two hundred of those spiders making up her body, plus the mithril they extruded to make up the “memtic polyalloy” that she used for skin.
The spider leaped out and Pan caught it, looking only slightly nervous. See, this was why I think Pan might be braver than me. Yes, she went into fights in a twenty foot tall warform wielding a weapon that could destroy small city blocks, while I went toe-to-toe with fairies using nothing but a beamsword and my speed.
But at least she didn’t freak the hell out when Spy started using her spiders. Meanwhile, I’d flattened myself against the wall of the shower.
The spider’s central eye dimmed, slowly, its silvery legs lying flat against Pan’s palm.
“See?” Spy said. “I’m now one two hundredth of the ways asleep…so, uh, if I spread out, half of my spiders can sleep and half can stay on watch and we can have the whole peremeter patrolled. But…uh…it…kind of doesn’t sleep me enough, but, you know, it’s okay…” She looked down at her hands, wringing them nervously.
“You know, we could always patrol too, right Spy?” Pan asked. "Then you can ALL sleep!"
“Yeah!” I said, forcing my jaw apart. “I mean, without Loco, I have nothing to do at night except think about Loco. Which isn’t nearly as much fun as-“
“Cee, are you about to go off on one of your overly detailed retellings of your sexscapades?” Pan asked.
“…maybe.”
“Please don’t.” Pan said, covering her face with one hand, tossing Spy’s spider back. Spy caught it – caught herself, really – and let the spider reform with her body.