Tangled Web

I pushed past the shaded edging timber and ducked beneath the wooden deck beams. Down here in the dry dirt, a dense cluster of silk threads was anchored tight between two stone piers. A thick grey spider sat motionless right at its center. I did not veer away. Lowering my snout, I drove my brow horns straight into the taut radial lines. The web stretched with silent, springy stickiness across my scales before tearing free with a faint rustle. The grey spinner scuttled up into the wood grain. I planted all four feet deep into the powdery dust, shook my neck frill clean of the clinging strands, and claimed the dim corridor.