This is an au I've come up with! Check my message board thing for more info on it!

Enjoy!

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You had always had a love for animals. You loved them more then you liked humans.

Pets would love you for who you are, they never judged you, they would never run out on you, they'd never leave you, they'd lick and kiss your face even if you haven't showered in a week!

And when you had gotten a job as a zookeeper you were ecstatic!

However, you didn't think your job would take place in a facility specializing in the strange and unusual.

Not just normal animals no, beast. Beasts of fairy tails and folklore, things that shouldn't even exist. Yet, here they do.

The facility was going to be open to the public one day, but not anytime soon. Many of the creatures lashed out at anyone who dared to step foot in their enclosure.

Security guarded the doors to each enclosure, you had to have a top key card to get into any of the rooms.

You had been working there for less than a week when they decided to let you take a turn at feeding one of the beasts.

Your card hung from a red lanyard around your neck as you nervously fiddled with your hands.

One of your coworkers walked in front of you, leading you down to one of the lower floors.

The lower the beast, the more dangerous it was.

You two along with three guards, walked along the first basement floor. Two of the guards held rifles loaded with sleep darts, while the third carried a crate.

"What specimen am I going to feed today?" You ask, your voice quivering with nerves.

"A Skider. Its a strange hybrid between a skeleton monster crossed with an arachnid. They have the hourglass of a black widow." Your coworker, James replies plainly.

"...And how big is it?" You ask, a chill going down your spine at the mention of anything with eight legs.

"Its on the smaller side.. Just avoid its mouth. A normal Black widow is about the size of a quarter and its bite wouldn't kill you if you went to the hospital. However, this one is three times the size of you. And, with its size, its venom would paralyze your lungs and kill you. If it doesn't eat your first." He smirks.

You shake your head. "That's not reassuring!"

"You'll do fine. We've had this one for a year now, its never shown any signs of aggression. Its a patient one." James stops on front of a heavy metal door with a small glass window.

"And.. What does it eat?" You ask, your arms shaking now that it was only a door separating you and a giant spider.

"Meat mostly, like most of the things in here. But it prefers bitter things, so, we feed it dead tarantulas." He replies with a shrug.

The guard behind you hands you the crate in his arms, its a bit heavy, but you can manage.

"Let us know if you need us miss l/n." The guard softly smiles at you, giving you a pat on the shoulder.

You nod your head and slide your key card into the slot, making the door slowly open for you.

You take a step inside with the crate in your hands. The door slides shut and locks behind you.

The enclosure was oddly a bit chilly. There was no signs of the Skider that you could see.

Dark mud covered the ground, the room had tall ceilings and large pine trees, lavender flowers blossomed around the enclosure.

There were a few old cobwebs blowing in the gentle breeze of the air conditioning.

You gently set the crate down and  decided to make yourself known, as to not frighten the beast.

You tap your fingers on the crate a few times. And that was all it took, you instantly felt a pair of eyes burning holes into your form, but you weren't sure where from.

"....Who dares.." You hear a soft voice mutter.

Your eyes widen at that.. This one could talk. It was rare for any of the creatures in the facility to speak.

"I have come with your meal. I'm.. Y/n, the new zookeeper.. Um, I'm going to open the crate now." You swallowed nervously.

Before you could even set a finger on the crate, you jumped back out of fright as the beast dropped from the ceiling.

Its long slender legs held up his spider like abdomen, one of its many legs were propped up on the crate. Its legs were a sleek black, with vibrant red tips, sharp and ready to slash at any moment.

It towered over you by six feet, each of its legs were as long as your body. It had a small skeleton torso with shiny black bones, while its hands and skull were a pearly white.

On the underside of the the spider backside, you could faintly see the red hourglass like shape.

It had six vibrant glowing purple eyes, the bottom pair were the largest and they were a bit squinted like it was having trouble seeing you clearly. Despite it being not more then two feet away from you.

There was a matching hourglass in the center of the Skider's forehead.

And.. Those teeth didn't go unnoticed. They had a pair of two larger black fangs, while the rest were white and sharp like tiny little blades.

Its eyes stared into yours, the top pairs anyway, the bottom pair of eye lights were a little blurry.

Spiders had poor vision, you only assumed this hybrid had the same problem.

It used one of its legs to pierce the crate in one swing of its leg. It tossed the crate lid aside and looked into the box.

You took a couple steps back ad to not disturb them while they ate.

The spider grabbed a few of the dried tarantulas with its bony hands, claws digging into them and slicing into the abdomens.

"So.. How much are they paying you to watch me eat...?" They ask, lifting a bony brow in annoyance.

"H-huh? Well they just want me to make sure you're eating!" You smile nervously.

"...Then they shouldn't have sent an a little thing like you into my room. Especially when they know I hate being watched." They hiss, their voice having a thick British accent.

"O-oh.. I can turn a-away if you want..?"

"That would be wise." The spider warns, narrowing their eyes at you.

You nod your head and turn away from them to give them their privacy. You tried not to wince at the crunching of the exoskeletons.

You decided to fall into your thoughts. Come to think of it, this monster had an oddly soft voice.

It was quiet and sounded soft and a little feminine. And.. Female black widows are known for their signature hourglass and large size.. But this spider was smaller.. Was that because they were a hybrid?

"Um.. They haven't told me too much about you.. But.. Are you a female?" You ask them, still keeping your back to them.

The crunching stops, and you hear the crate being shoved aside and a few taps of the spider's legs.

"No. I am not." They reply. "I'd prefer if you called me a male, unlike the other simpletons here who assume.." They hiss.

You take that as your cue to turn back to face him. You arms are behind your back as your eyes meet his.

"But.. Your markings?" You point to the hourglass.

He lifts a brow and frowns at your comment. "Tell me, when a male human wears pink, does that automatically make him a female?"

"No..?"

"Then I suggest you do not question me again. I do not need your judgement." He turns away from you and begins to walk away from you, it was oddly fascinating watching each of his eight legs move together

"Wait! Do you have a name? If I'm going to feed you again I'd like to know it!" You call out after him.

The Skider stops for a moment and looks over his shoulder.

"Just call me Fear. I assume you suffer from arachnophobia like everyone else in the world?" He says no more and disappears behind the shrubbery.

You nod your head and pick up the damaged crate, and use your key card once again to leave the room. 

"That went well. I'm surprised, you got it to talk." James says with a lifted brow. "We've had that thing here for a year and its never talked.."

"He." You correct him, taking your leave down the hall with the empty crate.

As nervous ad you were, you were excited to see what your next job was tomorrow.

To be continued~