"Eight Legged Pink"
A Piece Of Daria Fanfiction By
Brandon League
(Brnleague@bellsouth.net)

Synopsis-Quinn gets an interesting new pet, much to Daria's surprise.

Legalities-Daria and her pals belong to MTV/Viacom and NOT me. There, you happy? I've said it before and I will say it again. SCREW NOGGIN!
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Daria Morgendorffer stared in slack-jawed disbelief at what was relaxing comfortably in a glass aquarium by her sister Quinn's bed.

Quinn noticed her sister's expression and snorted softly. "God, Daria. You'd think you had never seen a tarantula before."

Daria opened her mouth to reply, and snapped it shut again when the words failed to come.

Her sister. Lover of all things pink and cuddly. The former Vice President of the now-defunct Lawndale High Fashion Club. A girl who had once refused to eat turnip greens because, "green clashes with my outfit," was now the owner of a tarantula.

"Quinn," Daria finally managed. "I, um, thought you hated 'bugs.'"

Quinn thought about this, and answered Daria with a slight smirk on her face. "You know, Daria. Technically, she's an arachnid."

Daria rolled her eyes at her sister. "I know that," she said irritably. "But, I'm surprised you did."

Quinn chuckled. "A lot has changed since you went away to Raft, big sister. But, to answer your question, I was in that new exotic pet store over on Degas Street about a month ago, and I saw Trish for the first time." She indicated the tarantula.

Daria smirked. Naming a tarantula "Trish," now THAT was the Quinn that Daria knew.

Quinn continued undaunted. "At first, I was scared of her. I mean, she was in a glass case and all, but she still made me nervous."

Quinn paused and thought a little, as if trying to figure out how best to phrase a difficult thought. "But, the longer that I watched her in her little case, the fear just went away and I started to feel a little bad for her. I mean, all the other tarantulas had been sold and she was all alone. So, I bought her AND this book."

She opened a nearby drawer and brought out a small paperback book, which she showed to Daria.

"The Beginner's Guide To The Tarantula, by Dr. Herman E. Meslin," read Daria. "Intriguing."

"It really is," said Quinn, ignoring her sister's sarcasm. "It has lots of interesting stuff in it. Like how to tell boy and girl tarantulas apart, and how to mate them, and what to feed them if you frown on using insects as food." She paused. "Trish is quite fond of bologna and lettuce leaves."

Quinn looked lovingly at her tarantula. "She was the best forty dollars I ever spent."

Daria bit her lip and pondered this information as she entertained a new thought. Finally, she couldn't resist the temptation and voiced her thoughts.

"Tell me, Quinn. What do the Fashion Drones have to say about Trish?" Daria asked curiously.

Quinn sighed. "Well, they um, didn't say much of anything really. Stacy, kind of fainted the first time she met her, and Sandi and Tiffany ran from the house screaming."

Daria smirked. "So having a tarantula DOES have some merit after all."

Quinn looked down at Trish, who stared back at her adopted mother with all eight of her eyes gleaming. "I just wish that my friends weren't afraid of you," she whispered. Then, she brightened and turned to Daria. "Want to watch me feed her?"

Daria looked at Quinn for a long moment and smiled. "Sis, there are times when you really amaze me, you know?"

"I try," said Quinn.

The two sisters headed for the kitchen.
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End Notes: I HOPE, most sincerely, that you enjoy this little snippet of Daria fanficdom. I wrote it completely on the spur of the moment as a result of a joint challenge by Wouter Jaegers, Dennis, and Roger E. Moore that was recently (as in right now) a major thread in the FanFiction Forum on "The Paperpusher's Message Board (PPMB)." Feel free to send me your responses, whether they are good, bad, or indifferent. You know the drill. No Death Threats. Ditto for Marriage Proposals. I've only been ending my fics with that for two years. I will insult your intelligence NO further. ENJOY!