A Curious Choice

The stone's angle offers no cover as she lay openly exposed. Her pedipalp mane, disheveled by the soft reverberation of an accidental intruder. Whose mouth will froth? Whose stunned lungs will blanch? Whose limbs will twitch then stiffen? Aculeus poised; quavering telson. What is her decision? Will you writhe in the throes of her opaque venom? Or will she? Author's commentary: Scorpions are intriguing creatures. Urban legend has it that when they are threatened they will do one of two things: sting their perceived aggressor, or sting themselves to death. Thankfully, this is only a myth and my reverent faith in the scorpion remains intact. But still, the idea led me to wonder why, when facing extreme hardship, some people exhibit self-preserving behavior while others opt to self-destruct. It's fascinating to me that the latter could be considered a viable option. Heck, even scorpions know better than that....