As we walk through the forest, or well I'm walking while these two are trampling, I make conversation with Gelina.
"So how long have you been in these mountains..?" I call up to her, she's easily four or five times my short size. .
"I would think one such as yourself would already be aware of such matters? Can you not just commune with the forest and ask yourself?" She looks at me with a raised eyebrow. Uh oh, am I giving it away that I wasn't always a tree spirit?!
"Oh well.. Last of my kind... no one to teach me..." I say quickly, looking down. She seems to take my embarrassment as hurt.
"I apologize, Treechild. I thought without speaking." Geline leans down and pats the top of my leaf-covered head. I'm sure it would feel ice if i had a better sensation of touch. Maybe one day I can get real skin! Oh that'd be something...
"I-It's okay miss Geline. C-Can I ask how you evolved into a humanoid shape?" I ask, trying to be as polite as possible.
"Of course you can! I killed many a human and hero." She nods, happy with her answer.
You what.. I can't... Is that really the only way...She can see the lost expression on my face.
"No worries, if you choose you can still kill humans and not become humanoid! I only did it because I've always wanted to wield a sword! Huzzah!"
Geline raises her arm and everything underneath her elbow turns into a sword. I thought she had meant wielding a sword... why couldn't she just turn a part of her slime body into a sword before... probably best not to question her too much. This human killing thing was gonna be a problem, I had seen some nice ones after all. So clearly they weren't all deserving a terrible fate. Surely some we're, but not all!
"W-Why do you hate humans so...miss Geline...?" I ask in a small voice. Her face sets in a hard line. Which is hard to when you're made of viscous slime.
"Long ago, before Abaho was even a kingdom..." She began. Just how old was she?!
"I was but a small slime kaiju. I had only just reached the point in maturity where I could truly crush and topple my enemies!" She seems to be reliving these days rather nostalgically.
"Blobert had only just been born."
"B-Blobert?" I rustle out, holding back a small laugh.
"Yes, Blobert Jr the Third. That's my little brother, you see. He was named after our father, Blobert the Second, and his father, Blobert the First. It's a pretty common slime name, have you never met any others?" She asks genuinely. Meanwhile I have to keep from giggling.
Hehe, Blobert Jr. I look up at the baby kaiju trampling ahead of us with new found affection. Sure he was massive, but he was so round! And his name was Blobert! I was gonna be hard pressed to remember not to let him have his way.
"N-No, you two are the first." I nod, I don't want to admit that they're my first "friends" too. The first people I've really gotten to talk to, even if Geline wanted to destroy human kind and Blobert was a hulking monster. Ugh, this was gonna be difficult.
"Well, in that case I'm glad you met us first, truly the prime examples of what a slime can achieve. Anyhow, long story short, our fellow slimes were killed for their rare ingredient, but I took sweet sweet vengeance!!" Her sword-arm transforms back to normal and she clenches her first, as if she's squashing the humans all over again. I was gonna need to get this girl a hobby. Do they have roller derby here..?
"I-I as well... Am glad I met you.." If I keep up with this stuttering it might set in permanently. But I'm genuinely terrified of Geline. Even if she's being kind now it's clear that could change in an instant if she perceives me as a threat or enemy to her or her brother.
"So Treechild... Now that you know more about me.... I've always wondered... How do you... you know..." Is that a blush? Wait, what sort of question is she asking of me?!
"Yes...?" I ask nervously, glad for my wooden body yet again because I can only imagine the expression I'd be making otherwise.
"How do you... you know... "
"Yes...?"
"Eat?" She blushes profusely. Why is she blushing so much? Maybe slimes were shy about dietary habits... Wait, that made sense. I had seen how Blobert had eaten of course, and it was not pretty, so it made sense to be a sensitive subject, she probably had a similar nature.
"Oh... I don't really eat... I just lay down roots for a few minutes and feel better. I don't need sleep unless my magic power runs out." Why was I telling her all this?! Especially that last part... that could really blow up in my face.
"Oh..." She looks a little disappointed, what could she have possibly been imagining there... Probably better if I didn't know.
"If you're hungry we can stop." I say, hoping to alleviate her distress. Keeping her happy was definitely a top priority.
"No no. I had merely heard tales of human-eating trees!" Of course that's what this crazy slime lady wanted! To think she would have decorum about meals, what an idiot I was.
We continue talking for a while when I realize something. Even throughout all of this conversation, my langue comprehension skill hasn't gone up one bit! I pull up my Stat Menu and sure enough no changes to it. I close it again, and clearly Geline can see the troubled look on my face.
"Is something wrong, Squire Cedar." She had taken to calling me that over the course of our talks. It seems she fancies herself some sort of knight. Never heard of a knight that eats people, though.
"N-No it's just... weird question... what uh language are we speaking?"
"A weird question indeed! Why, we're speaking the Tongue of the Land! Used by monsters, spirits. Some variations of demi-humans, the ones with animal-like features, also use it. Why do you ask?"
Well that made sense... I guess that's why Language Comprehension Skill existed, I already knew this other language. Why couldn't my Stat Screen have been written in that instead?! How was that fair?! I wasn't even a humanoid but my stats were in their language! I wanted to pick the dirt again, but Geline was already looking at me with concern again. Shit, I was letting too much slip around her.
"Like I said... I've had no one to teach me anything..." I say smally, it's the truth but it isn't the full truth. There's a dark look on Geline's face, and I worry for a moment that she's seen right through me. That's it, game over, I'm getting dissolved in one of their stomachs. Maybe they'll let me choose? Blobert probably needs the nutrition more, he's a growing boy after all.. As my thoughts spiral, I feel two arms wrap around me.
"You poor thing, you truly do have no one. It's alright, big sis Geline will protect you." She says, which completely throws me off. Was Geline actually secretly very nurturing? She was taking care of older brother after all... Wait- No! maybe this was it! She's gonna eat me now like this! I half heartedly try to struggle but her grip is tight. Once again, I really wish I could hyperventilate.
"It's okay, I'll teach you about this whole wide world of ours." Geline pats my head. Wait, she really is nice! I feel a little guilty for thinking she would turn on me so fast, but then I remember where we're going and what she plans to do there.
"T-Thank you miss-"
"Big sis!" She scolds me firmly with a smile.
"Y-Yeah sure big sis, uh... do we have to kill... allll the humans...?" I ask, I know i'm still in no position to challenge or stop her as I am, so I'll have to try to change her mind.
"Of course! Once we're done I should be able to ascend to a small level demon lord, and Blobert here will look a little bit more like this form. Might miss his cute chubby cheeks though." She says wistfully, looking up at the kaiju she called little brother.
"O-Oh... See... Uhm..."
"Yes?" She asks, leaning down. She seems to have lost a bit of her haughtiness. Perhaps it was a bit of a shield she's dropped since getting comfortable. She was clearly still a battle junkie so it definitely isn't all for show. I was going to have to be very careful about this. I'll have to appeal to her carefully.
"I-I happen to..." I wring my hands. "Like some... humans... Not all!" I add quickly as she widens her eyes. Right then Blobert chooses to reach down and start patting my head. Probably wanting to imitate his sister from moments before, but now is maybe not the best time.
Her face sets in that familiar hard line from earlier.
Gulp. Am I gonna be kindling?