There was a legend: sleep under a spider’s web and it shall catch the nightmares…
The female withdrew, the need for blood sated, as her delicate wings fluttered. Below her, the rabbit twisted to scratch wildly. The raised skin, a splotch of white, would soon turn angry and the itch would be far worse. It was, however, far from her concern; she needed blood to lay eggs. To go without, would mean extinction. The rabbit had plenty of blood; it would not miss the small amount she’d taken. (Nor would the fox or the bear or the serpent…)
The mosquito buzzed lightly through the air. Dusk was fading into night and she needed to find a safe stagnant pool to lay her eggs. The scent that called her to hunger must go unfound.
It was as she turned away—instincts were not infallible—that she became caught. Legs, wings, and body were caught tight in the sticky web of a spider. She fought, struggled, but only became more bound. And as she lay vulnerable, she felt heat. The web turned red, ran with blood—the air smelled of victims, of those she’d taken from.
Mosquitoes do not have legends but if they had, she would know to be caught in a spider’s web is to be besieged with nightmares. It acts as a dreamcatcher. And as it catches dreams, so it may infect them.
…but be careful, for it that same web touches you, you shall forever be plagued with nightmares.