Shortstacs in Another World 06

Chapter 6: Sojourning with Slimes

Note: This chapter contains a curious slime girl. It gets weird.

The slime was in trouble. This was a novel experience for the slime, because it didn't even know what the word "trouble" meant, or what any word meant, or what words even were.

For most of its existence, it knew only food and danger. Food was anything it could digest. Danger was anything that caused it harm. Anything else could be ignored. There wasn't much danger where it lived. Fairly often food would drop on it and it would digest the food. Sometimes it could sense the vibrations of a large being near it, but the slime was never harmed.

Sometimes, the food was strange. If the slime could feel, the strange food would have made the slime feel funny.

Later, when it could understand the concept of "change," the slime would learn that this strange food had changed it.

After the strange food, the slime was a bit more aware. It started to sense vibrations coming through the air.

The slime would one day learn these vibrations were called "sounds," and that sensing them was called "hearing."

Now that it could hear, it started to hear all sorts of things. It could hear the large beings nearby. It could hear the sounds they made. They were often around when food fell on the slime. It connected the sounds of the large beings with food falling on it.

The slime would one day learn that this was called "observation."

Then one day, it heard a strange sound. This sound was nice. The way the slime vibrated felt nice. It made the slime want to move around more.

The slime would one day learn this sound is called "music," and moving to it is called "dancing."

One day, one of the beings that was around when food fell on the slime picked up the slime while the slime was dancing to the music. The slime could hear the movement of other beings dancing. The slime didn't know what it meant to like something, but it liked music, and it liked dancing to music.

Then the slime heard another sound. The beings that were nearby when food fell on the slime made sounds like this.

The slime would later learn that these sounds were called "voices."

This voice sounded nice. The slime liked the sound of the voice even more than music. Then the voice started to make music!

The slime would later learn that music made with voices was called "singing."

If the slime knew what it meant to want something, it would know that it wanted to hear this new voice sing even more.

Sometimes the beings would bring it out to hear the music. The slime would dance and so would the beings. The beings would sing. Then the being with the voice the slime liked would sing, and the slime would dance even more.

The slime wanted to make sounds, too. It noticed that sometimes it would make sounds when it trapped air between it and the ground. It shaped itself to bring air inside itself and forced the bubbles out. It made a sound, but not the sound it wanted. The slime wanted a sound that could make music.

It kept trying. Eventually it found a way to shape itself so it could bring air inside and expel it in such a way that it made a sound it could control.

The slime would later learn this was called "whistling."

It practiced until it could control the type of sound the whistling made.

The slime would later learn that it was learning to control the "pitch" of the whistling.

It started to make its own music. The beings handled it more and more. They would sing and make other music, and the slime would whistle and everyone would dance.

The slime could hear the voices of the beings around it. It learned that there were certain sounds that would repeat.

It would later learn that these repeating sounds were called "words."

It listened to these words and learned that there were words spoken around certain beings that would affect that being. It learned that these words were associated those beings.

The slime would later learn that these words were called "names."

The slime learned that it was called "slime." The being with the nice voice was called "Allan." The being that most often picked up the slime and most often gave it food was called "Holmaera." The being that sometimes tossed it in the air was "Clavery." The being that sometimes gave the slime the strange food that changed it was called "Medis."

The slime had developed the ability to "taste" the air. It would later learn that this was called "smelling."

It could smell the beings around it. It could tell which ones were nearby by their smell. It liked the smell of Allan.

Sometimes, there was no one around.

The slime would later learn that these times were called "night."

The slime would later learn that at night it felt "lonely."

One night, when it felt especially lonely, the slime went in search of Allan. It stretched out of its container and squeezed underneath what it would one day learn was called a "door."

It had never been out of its container on its own before. It oozed along the floor, following Allan's scent. It squeezed under another door. It could smell Allan, as well as other beings it regularly smelled and heard. It could hear them, too. They were all making noise.

The slime stayed still. It didn't want to be detected. They were making interesting noises, and interesting smells, too. Allan in particular was making interesting sounds smells.

Eventually they stopped moving and making so much noise. The slime crept towards them. It had to stretch up to reach the top of what it would later learn was a "bed." It slid underneath what it would later learn was called a "blanket."

The slime had found Allan. It oozed towards him. It moved slowly and delicately to not touch the others. The slime could smell the scent of the others in the bed on Allan. They had been touching a lot. The slime wanted to touch Allan, too.

The slime touched Allan. Then it oozed on top of him. It oozed up what it would later learn was called a "leg."

Then Allan moved. He moved a lot. The blanket was thrown off and everyone on the bed made a lot of noise. Someone -- the slime thought it was the being called "Stolna" -- wrenched the slime off of Allan's leg and threw it. The slime impacted against the wall and went almost flat before sliding down to the ground.

The beings were loud and the slime sensed danger in their voices. It slid under the bed.

This is where it was in trouble.

The slime didn't know what to do. It hadn't "known" anything for very long.

If the primitive chemical synapses in the core of a monster made of slime can be said to "think," then the slime had an idea.

Some time ago, the slime became aware of a name that the large beings spoke often. They spoke the name with what the slime would later learn was "reverence." Something about the name resonated with the slime. The name felt like what the slime would later call "peace" and "security."

The slime couldn't speak yet, so in its core, it focused on the name of peace:

'Shorsena.'

The slime heard a new voice. Not from outside, where the large beings were still yelling and now moving the bed, but from inside, somehow.

"Hello," said the voice, "what's this? A slime? How interesting. How did you call for me? I didn't think your souls ever developed long enough to call for gods. Oh my me, I don't think I've ever seen such an old soul in a slime. How long has it been since you divided? A couple decades at least."

The slime didn't understand the voice, but it liked the sound of it. Almost as much as Allan's.

"Looks like you're in trouble and called out for me. Do you desire my help?"

'Shorsena,' the slime "thought" again in its core.

"Hmm," said the voice, "you don't understand me. But you did call for me, so I should try to help you. Since I'm curious how this will turn out, I give you the gift of Comprehension. Now, do you want my help?"

The slime began to think. Real thoughts now. It could now understand. It couldn't respond in words, but could think a feeling. 'Shorsena. Danger. Help.' It didn't think in words, but abstract concepts.

"If I help you, will you serve me?"

'Serve. How?'

"Help my servant, Allan. He's the one who's house you're in."

Allan! That was the being with the nice smell. 'Yes. Serve. Help Allan.'

"I guess that's as close as to a prayer as I can get from you. Let's see what's in your proto-soul. What's this? Are you in love with him? How? Oh, his voice and his smell? Oh that is precious. I can't wait to see how he responds to this. Little slime, I grant you the gift of the Form of a Shortstack. Oh, and the Language of your beloved. This should be fun. Goodbye, little slime. I leave the rest to you."

Light filled the slime's vision, and it realized that it could now see.

No, not "it." This slime somehow knew it was now a "she." And she could see light! That must have meant she had eyes. She opened her eyes for the first time in her life. She raised her hands and felt her face. She had a face! With a nose and mouth! She had hands! She looked at her hands. They were blue! She was blue! She knew what blue meant!

Seeing was strange. She could hear and smell things from all directions, but could only see from one. The only way to see around her seemed to be to turn her head. She realized that through a combination of the gifts of Comprehension and Language, she knew the names of everything she was looking at. She was in a "room," was lying on a "floor," and was lying under a "bed."

The bed was moved off of her. The light was suddenly a lot brighter and she shut her eyes instinctively. That didn't actually do much since her eyelids were made of slime and therefore translucent, but it helped a little. She blinked a few times and her eyes adjusted to the light. She stood up and looked around the room. Her gifts of Comprehension and Language were putting all kinds of words in her mind. The "walls" were "painted" "white," and the "light" came from a "lamp" on a "table." Across from her was a "dresser." Next to the dresser was a "mirror," which "reflected" the room.

She walked over to the mirror to see what she looked like. Like her hands, the rest of her was blue. She now knew what lengths were, and estimated that she was about 20 inches tall. She was still made out of slime, but was a "humanoid" shape. Specifically, what the voice had called a "shortstack." She knew that meant she was squatter than most humans, and curvier. She didn't have actual hair on her head, but darker bits of slime that looked like they dripped down from her scalp. Her sclera were a lighter blue, her irises a deep sapphire, and her pupils black. She looked down at her body. Front and center were her breasts. The slime knew that breasts were for women to feed their babies. The slime wondered if she could produce milk now. She wondered if she could have babies now. Normal slimes reproduce by mitosis, but she was more than a slime now. She hefted the breasts. They overflowed her hands and felt nice to touch. Beneath them were her belly, and then her legs. Comprehension said her thighs were "thick." Above her legs were hips that stuck out wider than her shoulders. Actually, she wasn't sure if she could call them hips, since she didn't have bones. Between her legs was her vulva. She touched it with her new fingers. One of her fingers fit inside. It felt nice, but she decided to explore that later. She turned to the side. On the back of her hips were her buttocks. They stuck out, like her breasts, but on the back side.

Behind her reflection the slime saw a group of people huddled together on the other side of the room.

She froze. The people must have been the larger beings she had felt the danger from. Cautiously, she turned around and looked up at them. They were all bigger than her. They had stopped shouting, but she might still be in danger. There were six of them. She knew what these races were called. One human stood in front of one dwarf, one goblin, one gnome, one halfling, and one ... was that a cat wearing a night dress? The goblin, the shortest of the group, was still a few inches taller than the slime. She was sure they were the beings she could smell and hear before.

The entire group stared at her. No one spoke. The slime identified their expressions as "shocked," and "scared," and "curious." The slime realized that they must have felt those things about her. She didn't know why they were scared, they were so big and she was so small.

If they were scared of her, maybe she shouldn't be scared of them. She had to let them know that she wasn't a bad slime. Fortunately, the slime knew all the words now, and she knew there was a word for this situation.

She inhaled (she could breathe now!) and said "Hello!" She was pleased with herself. She had spoken her first word and hadn't messed it up. She felt her mouth curl into a smile. She was smiling!

Everyone still looked shocked, scared, or curious, though more were shocked now. Maybe she needed to explain herself.

"I'm a slime!" she said. "Well, I'm more than a slime now. I guess I'm a slime-person. I'm also a slime-woman, see?" She hefted her breasts. There were other words for them, but "breasts" was supposed to be the "proper" term.

The human spoke. "Wives," he said, "are there slimes that speak in this world?" The slime woman knew from his beautiful voice that this was Allan. Her Gift of Language said that his posture was "defensive."

The rest of the people looked at each other.

Eventually the cat spoke. "I have never read about one in any of my teacher's books," she said. "But there are unique beings all over. I know this first hand." The slime woman knew from her voice that this was Medis, who sometimes fed the slime strange foods. Like the others with her, she wore a nightdress. She rubbed a belly which slightly tented the folds of the dress.

The dwarf and the goblin also sported such bellies, though theirs were larger.

The slime woman looked at the human. "You're Allan, right?" she asked.

The human looked startled. "You know my name?"

"Yes," she said. "It was spoken around you. I know your voice, too. It's a very nice voice. I like your..." she paused to find words for things in her memories, "music, and your songs, and your singing."

Allan tilted his head to the side, then stepped closer to the slime. He knelt down to get a good look at her. "Are you the dancing slime?" he asked.

The slime woman clapped her hands together in excitement. Well, it was more of a squish. "Yes!" she said, excitedly. "You remember me!"

He looked her up and down. "I knew a kitchen slime that danced to my music and could whistle," he said. "Not a woman made of slime. How did you come to be ... like this?" He gestured at her.

"Oh!" she said, excited to explain. "Well, I was scared under the bed, no wait, I should go back. I was feeling, well I realize now that I was lonely, no wait, you'll want to know why a slime was lonely. Um, I guess it all began when someone dropped strange food on me."

"Strange food?" he asked.

"Yeah," she said, "not the normal food that people drop on me. It was food that made me feel funny. I think it was Medis who did it, because I could ... smell her close by when it fell on me."

The halfling slapped Medis on the arm. "I told you to stop giving the slime your failed experiments!" From her voice, the slime knew she was Holmaera, who usually gave her good food.

"I did!" said Medis, defensively. "Months ago!"

Allan raised a hand. "Hold a moment," he said to the women behind him. He turned back to the slime woman. "Please continue."

"Well, after I digested the strange food, I started become aware. I could ... smell and, um, hear. I could smell you all, and hear your voices. Sometimes I heard music. I didn't know what it was, but I liked it. It made me want to move, to dance. From listening to your voices, I learned that some of you had ... well, now I know they're called names." She pointed to the people she named. "Allan, Holmaera, Medis. Which one is Clavery?" she asked.

The gnome raised her hand. "Me, why?"

"I didn't like how you would toss me in the air," the slime woman said, narrowing her eyes. She was really mastering "facial expressions!"

"Sorry," said the gnome, scratching the back of her head. "You just looked so cute and jiggly."

"Okay," said the slime woman, "I forgive you." She turned to the goblin. "What is your name?"

The goblin, who's gravid belly looked almost as big as the rest of her, gave her a big, toothy grin. "Me is Fern!" she announced. "Allan find me under rock and put babies in me!"

The slime woman nodded. She pointed to the dwarf. "And you?"

"I am Stolna," said the dwarf.

"Stolna," repeated the slime woman. "I think I remember hearing that name." She looked at all of them. "Are all of you Allan's wives?"

Stolna, nodded her head. "We are," she said.

"Wow!" The slime woman said. Then she turned back to Allan. "Oh! My story! So I liked hearing and dancing to your music. It was the first thing I liked in my life. I started to get bored when you weren't around. I got lonely, so I came in search of you. I followed your scent."

"So that's why you were in our bed?" Allan asked.

"Yes," said the slime woman. "I wanted to be near you. Then someone threw me into the wall and everyone started yelling. I got scared and hid under the bed. Then ... I'm not exactly sure what happened next. When I was learning your names, I heard another word: 'Shorsena.' I liked the word, almost as much as your voice and your music. It felt comforting. I don't know what it means, though. Do any of you?"

They all looked at Stolna. The dwarf spoke up. "She is a goddess of love and fertility for the small folk. Allan is her apostle. We all serve her."

The slime woman considered this new information. "Maybe she's the voice I heard," she said.

"Voice?" asked Allan.

"Yes, I heard a new voice," she said. "Very beautiful. I like yours more, though. She made me able to understand her and said she'd help me if I would help her by helping you in your work. I agreed and she gave me this form and the ability to speak. Then she went away and you took the bed off of me. And then I told you my story."

Allan looked thoughtful. All the other people looked shocked.

"May I ask a question?" asked the slime woman.

Allan looked back at her. "Of course," he said.

"Can I be your wife, too?" she asked. "I don't know what your work is, but maybe I can help with it. I mean, I probably don't have to be married to you to help you, but I'd like to be. I really like your songs and your voice and your smell. But maybe I can't. Shorsena led you to your wives, but she led me to you. I don't know if it works both ways."

"Hmm," he said, and stood up. He walked over to a table which was next to where the bed used to be. He opened a wooden box which sat on it. A bright light shone from the box. Allan pulled out a necklace, on the end of which was a shining gem that was the source of the light. His wives gasped.

"I knew Shorsena had a sense of humor," said Clavery.

"It would appear," Allan said, "that the answer is yes. Do you know what this is?"

The slime woman walked over to him. Her feet squished with each step. She reached an arm up, which stretched until it was nearly three feet long. She took the necklace from him and pulled it and its glowing gem down to her face to get a better look.

"It appears to be a God's gem," she said. "Is this Shorsena's?"

"She figured it out faster than I did," said Clavery.

"It is," said Allan.

"So what does it do?" asked the slime woman, handing it back to him.

"It identifies soul mates," said Allan, stooping to take the necklace back. "Shorsena believes that you would be a good wife to me, and I would be a good husband to you."