Back to the academy

The summoning ceremony goes on, more and more familiars being called by their respective summoners. A variety of creatures, both magical and not, are called. As far as you can see, however, not a single other slime is summoned and you think that's, at least, something to be proud of. You're different, though some would call it unfortunate rather than different. You, however, are not one of those as you choose to think of it as something unique rather than something bad that you had been the only one to summon a slime.

Your slime seems to agree...or as much as a slime can agree by burbling quietly at your side. Still, as you reach down and pat it on its "head", you feel warmth and happiness again and decide it must feel the same. It is happy to be summoned by you and you are happy (if surprised) to have summoned it. It was not what you expected, but it was your familiar and yours alone and that was reason enough for you to feel glad to have it with you. At least that was how you, the eternal optimist, chose to look at things.

That was why, as you and your classmates were being transported back to the academy by way of long-carriage (a magical means of transportation that is little more than a long horseless carriage powered by the magical energies of the driver), you chose to ignore the mocking and snickering that comes your way as you sit in your seat next to the burbling green slime. It sits in the seat next to you and, in a strangely endearing fashion, nestles up next to you, leaning into your side.

Of course, in doing so, it is soaking through your linen shirt with it's gooey residue, but you choose to take it as a gesture of affection and give the slime a gentle pat as it nestles against you. The slime, after all, doesn't feel that bad against you, after all. In fact, if you thought about it, it felt kind of good. While it was slightly cool against your skin, their was a tingle that was pleasant and the warmth of emotion that you could feel due to your physical contact was pleasurable as well. All in all, you thought you could have done worse than a slime...though others disagreed.

"Oi, Toby!", called out a dwarf named Skulgi from the next seat over, a mocking grin on his bearded face, "What're you gonna name your slimeball? Oozey? Blobert? Or maybe Goo-lia?"

The dwarf's friends laugh at his jokes, but you think he's actually brought up a good point. You are going to have to name your familiar and you hadn't really thought of what to call it before now. You'd had a few names picked out for a salamander or dragon or the like, but nothing for a slime. It was rather poor planning on your part, you thought, and something you'd have to remedy when you got back to the academy. You'd have to study a bit about slimes, now that you had one as your familiar. Luckily, you had just the thing to help you with your study back in your room at school.

Which was why, as soon as you all arrived back at the academy, a structure built directly into the face of a broad, dark mountain with tunnels that led down into the earth rather than up like others, you headed straight back to your dorm room. You were one of the few students who didn't have a roommate (though that was because you hadn't found anybody who would have wanted to be your roommate due to your rather...unpredictable projects) and you thought that was fortunate as it would give you time and opportunity to study about your slime without interruption.

You and your slime, the green blob undulating along the stone floor behind you, reach your room in the dormitory area and you open the door, letting the slime ooze inside first. The room is one you find comfortable enough, with a bed and a desk that were standard in each room and a bunch of other things that weren't standard that you'd dragged in. Mostly half-finished projects, magical devices you'd tinkered with or suits of unfinished armor, along with many plans and blueprints you'd sketched out. And, of course, books. Lots and lots of books. You were always the studious type, trying to make up for your apparent lack of control and talent with large amounts of studying and effort. As such, your room was littered with dozens upon dozens of books about dozens upon dozens of subjects.

It was one of those books you needed now and, as you closed the door behind you, you headed towards one of the piles of books to look through it and try and find it. You paused, though, to glance to the slime that was, at the moment, curiously (or as curiously as a slime could) moving around your room and "looking" at the various items in it. You smiled to the slime and, as you did, you could somehow feel it's attention turn to you.

"Welcome to your new home. Feel free to look around, I guess. Just, um, be careful with some of the stuff. A lot of it isn't finished and is stuff I'm just tinkering with. I don't know if it'll work right or not or how it'll react to a magical creature like you touching them. Okay?", you tell the slime and it...burbles in a way you take to be an affirmative.

You nod and then turn your attention to the pile of books in front of you, digging through it to try and find the book you needed at that moment.