The girl disappears quickly behind the thick tree trunk before Barry can catch sight of her but then his voice rings out, soft and impossibly quiet, the most nonthreatening squeak Lup's ever heard in her whole life. So she peeks out, just to get a better glimpse of the boy, her bright eyes going wide at the way he's contracting his body like that.
It's like nothing she's ever seen before. It's kind of awesome.
From where Barry's quivering, all he'd be able to catch sight of is a shift of vivid green against the tree trunk, a pair of bright eyes blinking back at him from Lup's hiding place.]
M-me. [She sounds terrified because she is terrified. Lup's never talked to anyone who wasn't her brother before. She's usually the brave one of the two, but this is so much.]
[Barry still trembles, upsetting the water he's sitting in, sending ripples through it as he waits for his fate to be decided. He could be eaten. He could have to run or roll away, and he's bad at both of those. If whoever's out there laughing at him has malicious intent, Barry won't live to see the sun set.
There's movement in the corner of his blurry vision, and he turns towards it, wide-eyed and quaking. He can only see the shift in color, can't make out any distinguishing features, any teeth or claws that could spell bad news for him. All he can tell is that it's... a girl. A young girl. And she sounds scared.
Barry's still tense, keeping all his jelly close to his little core like a squishy protective barrier, but he's not immediately moving to run away. If it's just a girl...]
Who... Who are you, though? [And then, just to make sure,] Y-You're not-- You're not gonna eat me, are you..?
[But the fear in the girl's voice seems to slide away almost immediately at that response before she's bursting into laughter, the sound high and sweet, ringing out like echos through the sturdy trees surrounding them.]
Why would I even wanna eat a you? I'unno what you even are!
[She shifts again, clearly wanting a better view of Barry, before Lup finally takes a step out from the tree trunk she'd been hiding behind, leaving the young dryad exposed and fully in view of another creature for the first time in her life.
She's humanoid in appearance, but instead of skin, the girl's body is composed entirely of tree bark, all the way from the toes of her bare feet to the tips of her long, pointed ears. Her young age gives her body a slightly more green tint than the dark brown that any adult dryad would have, something she'll grow into in age. Her long hair is a vibrant shade of green that camouflages perfectly against the colors of the forest. It's made up from elegant vines that curl and twist all the way down her back, each vine sprouting new leaves and budding flowers.
The girl stares Barry down with wide eyes, like she's seriously considering bolting, before she's tipping her chin up and smiling across the distance between them.] Hi, my name's Lup. I promise I won't eat you up. You don't look like you'd taste real good anyway.
[For some reason, the way she says that makes him feel almost a little indignant. Yeah, it's nice she doesn't wanna eat him or whatever, but-- but grossarooni? Barry isn't gross-looking, is he..?
He supposes it's infinitely better than being tasty-looking.
The girl comes into view, and while Barry still has to squint to get her in focus, he's struck by how... sweet she looks. She looks like a tree! A little tree, a very young tree, only she's moving on two legs and has two arms and a head with hair and everything. Trees don't have that. She looks almost a little like the fae he sometimes sees around the forest - who like to prank him with glittery showers of light and spook him - or even the weird hairless apes who make cloth houses in the woods and set pieces of dead trees on fire in the nighttime. Except this girl - Lup - is nicer looking. Trees are nice. Trees are his home.
And now, maybe trees can be friends too.] Um... My name's Barry. [He relaxes his body, letting his membrane soften and his shape plump up with more liquid. It's still a little jiggly with residual nerves.] What're you doing here? I um, I-I've never seen anyone like you here before...
[His body seems like it's always in motion, jiggling and liquified, unlike anything Lup's ever seen before. It's just enough to have the young girl stepping forward, shortening the distance between them, her earlier nervousness quickly being replaced by an overwhelming need to investigate. He's just so weird.
Would it be rude to touch him? She'll find out soon enough.]
I've never seen a you either! You're body's so wiggly. How do you do that? [Each step closer brings her own unique features into clearer focus, but the girl's expression is bright in awe. She's looking at Barry like he's truly incredible.] I just wanted t' see who was makin' all that noise an' it was you! Were you playing a game?
H-How? [Barry's dark eyes take in his own form, blue and translucent and jiggling around, protecting the darker nucleus inside him, the little lump of hard blue material that makes him think and move and live. He's held together by a membrane which would be firm but slippery to the touch, making his squishy body yield to pressure, a membrane he can stretch around and contract in ways to shape all his liquid, should he need to.
Which he does then, compressing his skin so he can stand a little taller, making him more of a cylinder than a ball. Lup is so tall, he has to get closer to her to really see her.] I-- I just do it. You can't do it? Doesn't your body get wiggly?
[Of all things, the jelly that comprises his little face gets darker, shinier, as the boy seems to get shy all of a sudden. Some of the liquid starts dripping down his body in thick little globules, like wax down the side of a candle.] N-No, I... I was just... splashin' around... [He sways a little on the spot, swishing some water around with the bottom half of his body.] I like water. I like playin' in it.
[But even that isn't anything close to the almost mesmerizing way Barry's body moves so fluidly before her. The dryad's eyes, big and green, seem to widen even more before she's hopping forward on dainty, silent feet to close the distance between them, giggling while she reaches out a hand to touch the top of the boy's head, gently pressing her palm against his slick membrane.
She makes a face at the foreign feeling of it as her palm slides against him, but just ends up laughing all over again, not daring to pull away even as strange as he feels. He's so different from her and her brother, wet and dripping all weird like, but Lup's far more intrigued than weirded out. She wants to know more.]
Can I play? I'm pretty good with games. I always beat my brother, but then he won't talk to me the rest of the day.
[Lup is right in front of him faster than Barry can react, and all of a sudden he's got big green eyes staring at him and a gentle hand covered in bark stroking his head. The boy makes a little squeaking sound then, getting darker and warmer under her touch, blubbering shyly.
He's never had a non-slime touch him before. It's scary! But her hand is so gentle, touching his slick membrane with curiosity, laughing happily. It kinda feels nice, the little petting touches, her long fingers coming back gooey and blue.]
Y-You have a brother? [That sounds nice, having a brother. Barry's all alone, aside from his mom, but she's so big and old that she mostly just naps while the smaller slime runs off to play and explore by himself.]
Um... Okay. [He jiggles a little under her hand, torn between wanting and not wanting to pull away.] It's not-- um, it's not really a game with any rules... I just splash around. [A tendril starts snaking out of his side, shiny with slime, reaching down to flick some water at the dryad's slender feet.] Like-- Like that.
[Her fingers dance across his head and when Lup pulls back to see the slime coating around her hand, she gasps in delight, immediately falling into giggles. It's so strange, to think that parts of him were so easy to take along with her, but she wiggles her fingers anyway, fascinated by the goo coating her hand. It's such a pretty color against her hands, blue like the sky or the water they're playing in.]
Yeah! Doesn't everyone? [She was born with only a brother, the two hidden away from the rest of the world, so it's difficult to imagine a life where someone doesn't have a sibling with them at all times.] We're twins. We're the same, just not.
[She doesn't even know how else to explain it.
Barry agrees to let her play along, and although he's a little hesitant, the young dryad doesn't pick up on it in the slightest, her attention so much more focused on the soft splash of water that hits her legs. She squeals loudly, laughing echoing through the trees surrounding them, before she's bouncing, splashing her feet with force back into the puddle, spraying the both of them completely. Her wide eyes turn on him, sparkling with delight, brows raised in question.] Like that?
[It's said quietly, almost a little ashamed. The way Lup says that makes it sound like everyone has a brother, and by implication that Barry's weird for not having one. He doesn't even know what a twin is, he's never heard that word before! But it sounds nice. It sounds super nice, having a brother, a twin. Like a friend, but forever.
Even though Lup isn't his twin or forever-friend, she is a friend. He thinks. She seems to like touching him. Honestly, looking at her hand coming back all goopy and blue, Barry thinks he likes her touching him too. It feels nice.
And watching her smile also feels nice. Hearing her laugh in little giggles or loud excited shouts is super nice. It feels nice even when she jumps into the puddle and completely soaks him with water, making him shriek softly with fright and delight all at once.
Is this what having a twin is like? A friend?]
Y-Yeah! Just like that! [He laughs then too, nerves eased by her eagerness to play with him. He doesn't have legs like her, so he can't jump and spray them like she did, but he splashes around as much as he can, giggling at the water dripping down his slimy body, swishing along his bottom, getting the two children all wet as they play.]
[Lup can't even begin to imagine how lonely life would be without her brother. How does this cute slime boy manage to smile and laugh so much without one? She feels like she'd just let her roots dig into the earth and never move again if there was no Taako in her life, maybe she'd grow up tall and become a proper tree, forget that she was ever a dryad in the first place.
But instead of saying all of that, the little plant girl grins, her whole expression brightening up beneath her smile, delight crinkling in the corners of her eyes.] That's okay, Barry! I can't be your sister cuz I already have a brother, but maybe we could be friends and play together a lot? The forest is real fun for playin'!
[To prove her point, she takes another big leap into the water, splashing the both of them up to their heads, the young girl shrieking with laughter when the drops hit the vines that tangle down her back.] We can play water splashin' games an' hide 'n' seek! I bet you'd be real good at hidin'.
[Barry likes the sound of that. Having someone to play with all day in the woods sounds so perfect to the lonely little slime. He hasn't been alive very long, but so much of his time is spent exploring the woods alone and playing by himself, entertaining and educating himself all on his own. Honestly, he hasn't done a bad job of it - he thinks he's pretty smart, for such a young slime - but he longs to make friends. To have someone to talk to, play with, laugh and goof around with.
If this pretty girl wants to play with him every day, Barry would be a very happy little slime.
Lup sprays them both with the puddle water, and Barry laughs so hard he jiggles all over. The water tickles as it runs over his membrane.]
Y-Yeah! Um! Did you know? I can do this!
[With a huge grin on his face, the slime boy flattens his body against the ground, covering most of the puddle with his body, his face poking up from the water. He's sorta like a slippery blue pancake.] I'm real good at hidin'! None of th'monsters in th'forest ever find me like this.
[There's something so sweet about the way Barry giggles, his whole body jiggling with each sweet note. It leaves the little dryad's belly feeling funny, like she's just jumped off of the top branches of a tall tree to the ground.
She can't quite tell why but she recognizes that she likes that sound. And that she wants to get him giggling as much as possible.
But then before she can jump to splash him again, Barry flattens down, all the way to the ground, almost blending in with the puddle completely. Lup takes a small step backwards, just to keep from accidentally stepping on him, before she's laughing all over again, dropping to her knees to give his flattened form an experimental poke.]
How did you do that???!! That's so cool! You'd be like, the ultimate hide 'n' seek champ!
[Barry grins, looking so pleased with himself as Lup gets to her knees and pokes him. It doesn't feel like much. Kinda tickles!]
I just do it! Y'know, just think about it an' do it! I can do all sortsa shapes.
[He does a little wave with his whole flattened body, making the puddle splish and splash around him. Anything to make Lup laugh like that, all trilling and sweet, her leaves and vines crinkling. She's super cute, for some reason.
[Barry manages to somehow wave with his whole squishy body, the puddle disturbed just enough to splash up against the little dryad's legs, the girl shrieking with laughter as she leaps backwards out of the way.]
That's so cool! Lemme try! [And there's absolutely no way this will ever work, but watch this little girl try! She drops down into a kneel, clenches her fists, and thinks so hard, like somehow she'll be able to change the shape of her body just by thinking hard enough. But all she manages to do is fall backwards onto her backside, still as long-legged and lanky as before. Lup gives an exaggerated look at her bark limbs, at her feet, watching her toes wiggle.]
Oh dang, guess it's only you's who can do that, huh?
[She's so preoccupied that Lup nearly misses Barry's question, her long ears perking up long before her chin follows, green eyes going wide.]
What?! You don't even know hide 'n' seek?! Ohmygosh, Barry! You're missing out! Do you wanna play a round with me? I'll go easy on you. Promise.
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no subject
The girl disappears quickly behind the thick tree trunk before Barry can catch sight of her but then his voice rings out, soft and impossibly quiet, the most nonthreatening squeak Lup's ever heard in her whole life. So she peeks out, just to get a better glimpse of the boy, her bright eyes going wide at the way he's contracting his body like that.
It's like nothing she's ever seen before. It's kind of awesome.
From where Barry's quivering, all he'd be able to catch sight of is a shift of vivid green against the tree trunk, a pair of bright eyes blinking back at him from Lup's hiding place.]
M-me. [She sounds terrified because she is terrified. Lup's never talked to anyone who wasn't her brother before. She's usually the brave one of the two, but this is so much.]
I am. I'm the one talkin'.
no subject
There's movement in the corner of his blurry vision, and he turns towards it, wide-eyed and quaking. He can only see the shift in color, can't make out any distinguishing features, any teeth or claws that could spell bad news for him. All he can tell is that it's... a girl. A young girl. And she sounds scared.
Barry's still tense, keeping all his jelly close to his little core like a squishy protective barrier, but he's not immediately moving to run away. If it's just a girl...]
Who... Who are you, though? [And then, just to make sure,] Y-You're not-- You're not gonna eat me, are you..?
no subject
[But the fear in the girl's voice seems to slide away almost immediately at that response before she's bursting into laughter, the sound high and sweet, ringing out like echos through the sturdy trees surrounding them.]
Why would I even wanna eat a you? I'unno what you even are!
[She shifts again, clearly wanting a better view of Barry, before Lup finally takes a step out from the tree trunk she'd been hiding behind, leaving the young dryad exposed and fully in view of another creature for the first time in her life.
She's humanoid in appearance, but instead of skin, the girl's body is composed entirely of tree bark, all the way from the toes of her bare feet to the tips of her long, pointed ears. Her young age gives her body a slightly more green tint than the dark brown that any adult dryad would have, something she'll grow into in age. Her long hair is a vibrant shade of green that camouflages perfectly against the colors of the forest. It's made up from elegant vines that curl and twist all the way down her back, each vine sprouting new leaves and budding flowers.
The girl stares Barry down with wide eyes, like she's seriously considering bolting, before she's tipping her chin up and smiling across the distance between them.] Hi, my name's Lup. I promise I won't eat you up. You don't look like you'd taste real good anyway.
no subject
He supposes it's infinitely better than being tasty-looking.
The girl comes into view, and while Barry still has to squint to get her in focus, he's struck by how... sweet she looks. She looks like a tree! A little tree, a very young tree, only she's moving on two legs and has two arms and a head with hair and everything. Trees don't have that. She looks almost a little like the fae he sometimes sees around the forest - who like to prank him with glittery showers of light and spook him - or even the weird hairless apes who make cloth houses in the woods and set pieces of dead trees on fire in the nighttime. Except this girl - Lup - is nicer looking. Trees are nice. Trees are his home.
And now, maybe trees can be friends too.] Um... My name's Barry. [He relaxes his body, letting his membrane soften and his shape plump up with more liquid. It's still a little jiggly with residual nerves.] What're you doing here? I um, I-I've never seen anyone like you here before...
no subject
Would it be rude to touch him? She'll find out soon enough.]
I've never seen a you either! You're body's so wiggly. How do you do that? [Each step closer brings her own unique features into clearer focus, but the girl's expression is bright in awe. She's looking at Barry like he's truly incredible.] I just wanted t' see who was makin' all that noise an' it was you! Were you playing a game?
no subject
Which he does then, compressing his skin so he can stand a little taller, making him more of a cylinder than a ball. Lup is so tall, he has to get closer to her to really see her.] I-- I just do it. You can't do it? Doesn't your body get wiggly?
[Of all things, the jelly that comprises his little face gets darker, shinier, as the boy seems to get shy all of a sudden. Some of the liquid starts dripping down his body in thick little globules, like wax down the side of a candle.] N-No, I... I was just... splashin' around... [He sways a little on the spot, swishing some water around with the bottom half of his body.] I like water. I like playin' in it.
no subject
[But even that isn't anything close to the almost mesmerizing way Barry's body moves so fluidly before her. The dryad's eyes, big and green, seem to widen even more before she's hopping forward on dainty, silent feet to close the distance between them, giggling while she reaches out a hand to touch the top of the boy's head, gently pressing her palm against his slick membrane.
She makes a face at the foreign feeling of it as her palm slides against him, but just ends up laughing all over again, not daring to pull away even as strange as he feels. He's so different from her and her brother, wet and dripping all weird like, but Lup's far more intrigued than weirded out. She wants to know more.]
Can I play? I'm pretty good with games. I always beat my brother, but then he won't talk to me the rest of the day.
no subject
He's never had a non-slime touch him before. It's scary! But her hand is so gentle, touching his slick membrane with curiosity, laughing happily. It kinda feels nice, the little petting touches, her long fingers coming back gooey and blue.]
Y-You have a brother? [That sounds nice, having a brother. Barry's all alone, aside from his mom, but she's so big and old that she mostly just naps while the smaller slime runs off to play and explore by himself.]
Um... Okay. [He jiggles a little under her hand, torn between wanting and not wanting to pull away.] It's not-- um, it's not really a game with any rules... I just splash around. [A tendril starts snaking out of his side, shiny with slime, reaching down to flick some water at the dryad's slender feet.] Like-- Like that.
no subject
Yeah! Doesn't everyone? [She was born with only a brother, the two hidden away from the rest of the world, so it's difficult to imagine a life where someone doesn't have a sibling with them at all times.] We're twins. We're the same, just not.
[She doesn't even know how else to explain it.
Barry agrees to let her play along, and although he's a little hesitant, the young dryad doesn't pick up on it in the slightest, her attention so much more focused on the soft splash of water that hits her legs. She squeals loudly, laughing echoing through the trees surrounding them, before she's bouncing, splashing her feet with force back into the puddle, spraying the both of them completely. Her wide eyes turn on him, sparkling with delight, brows raised in question.] Like that?
no subject
[It's said quietly, almost a little ashamed. The way Lup says that makes it sound like everyone has a brother, and by implication that Barry's weird for not having one. He doesn't even know what a twin is, he's never heard that word before! But it sounds nice. It sounds super nice, having a brother, a twin. Like a friend, but forever.
Even though Lup isn't his twin or forever-friend, she is a friend. He thinks. She seems to like touching him. Honestly, looking at her hand coming back all goopy and blue, Barry thinks he likes her touching him too. It feels nice.
And watching her smile also feels nice. Hearing her laugh in little giggles or loud excited shouts is super nice. It feels nice even when she jumps into the puddle and completely soaks him with water, making him shriek softly with fright and delight all at once.
Is this what having a twin is like? A friend?]
Y-Yeah! Just like that! [He laughs then too, nerves eased by her eagerness to play with him. He doesn't have legs like her, so he can't jump and spray them like she did, but he splashes around as much as he can, giggling at the water dripping down his slimy body, swishing along his bottom, getting the two children all wet as they play.]
no subject
[Lup can't even begin to imagine how lonely life would be without her brother. How does this cute slime boy manage to smile and laugh so much without one? She feels like she'd just let her roots dig into the earth and never move again if there was no Taako in her life, maybe she'd grow up tall and become a proper tree, forget that she was ever a dryad in the first place.
But instead of saying all of that, the little plant girl grins, her whole expression brightening up beneath her smile, delight crinkling in the corners of her eyes.] That's okay, Barry! I can't be your sister cuz I already have a brother, but maybe we could be friends and play together a lot? The forest is real fun for playin'!
[To prove her point, she takes another big leap into the water, splashing the both of them up to their heads, the young girl shrieking with laughter when the drops hit the vines that tangle down her back.] We can play water splashin' games an' hide 'n' seek! I bet you'd be real good at hidin'.
no subject
If this pretty girl wants to play with him every day, Barry would be a very happy little slime.
Lup sprays them both with the puddle water, and Barry laughs so hard he jiggles all over. The water tickles as it runs over his membrane.]
Y-Yeah! Um! Did you know? I can do this!
[With a huge grin on his face, the slime boy flattens his body against the ground, covering most of the puddle with his body, his face poking up from the water. He's sorta like a slippery blue pancake.] I'm real good at hidin'! None of th'monsters in th'forest ever find me like this.
no subject
She can't quite tell why but she recognizes that she likes that sound. And that she wants to get him giggling as much as possible.
But then before she can jump to splash him again, Barry flattens down, all the way to the ground, almost blending in with the puddle completely. Lup takes a small step backwards, just to keep from accidentally stepping on him, before she's laughing all over again, dropping to her knees to give his flattened form an experimental poke.]
How did you do that???!! That's so cool! You'd be like, the ultimate hide 'n' seek champ!
no subject
I just do it! Y'know, just think about it an' do it! I can do all sortsa shapes.
[He does a little wave with his whole flattened body, making the puddle splish and splash around him. Anything to make Lup laugh like that, all trilling and sweet, her leaves and vines crinkling. She's super cute, for some reason.
Something she says makes him hesitate though.]
Wh-What's hide 'n' seek?
no subject
[Barry manages to somehow wave with his whole squishy body, the puddle disturbed just enough to splash up against the little dryad's legs, the girl shrieking with laughter as she leaps backwards out of the way.]
That's so cool! Lemme try! [And there's absolutely no way this will ever work, but watch this little girl try! She drops down into a kneel, clenches her fists, and thinks so hard, like somehow she'll be able to change the shape of her body just by thinking hard enough. But all she manages to do is fall backwards onto her backside, still as long-legged and lanky as before. Lup gives an exaggerated look at her bark limbs, at her feet, watching her toes wiggle.]
Oh dang, guess it's only you's who can do that, huh?
[She's so preoccupied that Lup nearly misses Barry's question, her long ears perking up long before her chin follows, green eyes going wide.]
What?! You don't even know hide 'n' seek?! Ohmygosh, Barry! You're missing out! Do you wanna play a round with me? I'll go easy on you. Promise.