Joneh was hungry. The trip to the plateau was very dangerous but that was the only place where he was sure to get a meal. One thing was sure, he wasn’t going to fill his belly worrying about the dangers of the trip. The time was right, the short day had come and gone so he started out. He stayed alert, constantly watching for dangers.

   He rounded an odd shaped boulder and came face to face with his worst fear, a xitu. He backed up fast and dodged into a nearby crevasse just inches ahead of the xitu. Lucky for him, the crevasse was too small for the xitu to squeeze into. It sure was trying though. He inched farther back into the crevasse, looking for another way out. After several twists and a few narrow places he had trouble squeezing through, he got stuck.

   The racket that the xitu was making attracted some romehs. In small numbers and when he wasn’t stuck, they weren’t a problem but unless he got free, they could kill him. The crevasse narrowed more in front of him so he tried backing out. After a lot of struggling, he moved an inch. The romehs were only a few yards away and he was getting tired from his efforts to free himself. Finally, when the romehs were only a few feet away, he popped free. The romehs scattered.

   He couldn’t go forward so he had to go back toward the xitu.. He looked more closely than before at the walls as he retraced his steps. He also kept a close eye on the romehs. It wouldn’t do much good to escape the xitu just to be killed by the romehs. One of them was getting too close for comfort so he killed it. He took a few quick bites and tossed the rest at its approaching brothers and sisters. Cannibals that they were, they started squabbling over the carcass. That bought him a little time.

   He rounded a few more bends and came face to face with the xitu, who was still trying to get into the crevasse. He moved closer to her, looking closely for some way he could get out of this trap he got himself into. Just when he was inches from her claws, he heard the romehs coming toward him. He looked around in a panic. There it was! A vertical crevasse almost at floor level. He scampered over to it. Yes! It was just big enough for him to squeeze through. He crawled through just feet ahead of the advancing romehs. He turned around and killed the first romeh to crawl through the crevasse and left it for the others to fight over.

   He went around a corner and saw daylight. He followed the light and soon found his way out. After twenty three minutes of following a path, he found the trail to the plateau and resumed his interrupted journey. Those few bites of that joneh he killed didn’t do much to assuage his hunger but it did restore his energy levels a bit. Another thirty four minutes and he was at the base of the plateau. He started his climb, watching closely for enemies as he went. A third of the way up, he spotted a xylo watching him. By itself, it was no threat but it could be a scout for deadly enemies.

   He continued climbing, constantly on the lookout for any kind of a threat. In his world, there were many enemies and no friends that he had ever found. Finally, he could see the top of the plateau and a tribe of xylos. They charged and he backed down a bit and dodged to the right and ducked behind an outcropping just barely in time. Most of the xylos charged down the path he had taken up the plateau, leaving only two on guard at the top.

   He went further around the outcropping and took a horizontal trail around the plateau for several hundred yards. He then climbed to the top and carefully peeked over the edge. Seeing no enemies, he made his way towards the food source. Halfway there, he saw a xitu. He froze instantly. Too late, she already saw him.

   She surprised him by not charging instantly. Instead, she just stood there like she wanted him to approach her. For some strange reason, she seemed very attractive to him. He didn’t understand why, but he was very strongly drawn to her. He approached her cautiously, constantly watching for any hostile moves by her. She just kept acting like she liked him. That seemed like very strange behavior to him. As far as that went, his own behavior seemed strange. He should be running for his life instead of approaching her but there he was walking up to her. He reached her and she started nuzzling him in a very friendly fashion. He nuzzled her in return and became more exited. He decided he really liked this strange xitu and she sure seemed to like him too.

   After their amorous romp, which they both enjoyed immensely, they went over to the food source and settled down to eating. Just about the time his belly was getting filled, the food source started moving. They both took off running. He wanted to continue their relationship so he followed her. She must have wanted him too. She slowed her pace enough that he could keep up with her. They reached the edge of the plateau and ran down to the plain below. The path she took wasn’t the one leading to his cave but he followed her anyway. Soon, they reached a cave that smelled like her and ran inside. Then they heard a booming voice making a noise they didn’t understand. <<Darn spiders>> it boomed out. They trembled in her web.