Get back in there!

Nghh... So close...

I hopped as fast as my little slime body can take me, back towards the invisible house. The tiny sliver of the gap is closing, and I'm not confident I can fit even if I make it now.

So... tired... I must... MUST... AUGHH!

With the final bit of energy left within me, I propelled myself forward, feeling the ward on the door bifurcating my slime body as it closes. As I tumble forwards, I sensed the familiar texture of wood and slime. I heaved a sigh of relief.

Ha... ha... I think... I... made...

Owww ow ow ow, that stings...

When I come to, I was back at the house, conveniently tucked in and hidden away under the bed. Just barely though, as I can still see the witch busying herself with another summoning. I don't even think that the door opens facing the bed. Also, I don't know why, but I'm feeling particularly sore for an apparently amorphous slime creature.

Ugh... Where the hell is that slime an-

There it is. Wrapped around my core, lies the little slime, seemingly trying and failing to escape its confinement.

Wait, what? I don't remember- Oh...

I must've swallowed the little slime as I barreled through the door. Thankfully I must've been too drained to even notice it pushing my body from the inside, and that would explain why I ended up under the bed instead of out in the open.

I tried to "look" inwards and sure enough, the little one takes up the majority of it. I realized that part of the reason I didn't notice the slime is that it's absolutely tasteless and undetectable to my slime senses, where even a normal mortar tastes like I've eaten shit.

I started reforming myself around it, careful not to actually consume any part. It's not making it easy though, sensing that I've softened up my slime mass and redoubled its efforts to escape. It broke free eventually, though a bit messier than I would've preferred, and bee-lined it towards the dark corner.

It's trembling again. Poor thing, must've thought I came back just to consume it. I extended a tentacle and the slime hops farther away from me.

...Right, the tentacle blade. I am really not helping my case, am I?

I retracted my tentacle and turned around to look for the crevice I saw before. In hindsight, it was pretty lucky of me to find it in the first place, even with the free reign I have of the house last night. Now that the witch is properly busy, I don't think I'll have the luxury to explore other areas again.

After slowly inching my way around looking for said crevice, I found it. Right between the two cabinets near the study table. I extended my tentacle towards the gap. It goes through the ward easily, but it's having a tough time squeezing through the gap. I tried to make it as thin as possible, but I only managed to barely get the blade through the crevice and clear it of obstructions, not to mention the pain to my tentacle. My figurative heart sank as I realized the small tunnel entrance made from the crevice only extends so much. Definitely enough for the little one to pass through, but not me. Not that I can squeeze through the cabinet gap anyway, but now it just feels like pouring salt on the wound.

Dejected, I retracted my tentacle and returned to under the bed while formulating a plan. While the path to the crevice is well out of the way of the witch, it's still quite a distance to travel through, not to mention the off-chance that the witch DOES go to the study table and spots us, in which we are done for. Even then, the ward might still prevent the little slime from escaping even in its weakened state. And the very awful conclusion that the tunnel goes nowhere and its now stuck AND in a dark, tight space. Haaa, what a headache. Should've just left and-

My thoughts were interrupted by the little slime, tucked near one of the bedposts in the corner. It's trying to dip it's slime body into the ward, immediately recoiling backwards from the pain, and then going at it again. Seeing something I did for the better part of yesterday play out before my eyes makes me tear up a little (as well as a slime could anyway). The slime part of me is still understandably concerned for the little one's well-being, while the human part is filled with adoration and pride akin to a father seeing that his child shares the same interest as him.

I just stayed there watching it do its thing, until it finally managed to hold out for a couple of seconds while touching the ward. It bounces giddily in its spot, very satisfied with itself. As it turns around, it only took one hop before it saw me and immediately flipped back, sending its entire body in contact with the ward. It bounced off and landed on its belly, with the top slightly charred.

Am I really that scary? This is the second time now, maybe third. And I'm just standing here.

I extended my tentacle and rested my cool blade onto the charred side. Unless the blade somehow retained the heat from when I pierced through the ward around the crevice, this should be fine. I hope.

Not long after, the slime's natural regeneration kicked in. I retracted my tentacle and moved away towards the edge of the bed. It's still terrified of me, with its body pressed away from me like I have some repulsive force pushing it away. Still, we are pressed for time, and the witch is quickly finishing its preparations for another summoning.

And so, I extended my tentacle once more, and gestured the slime to come towards me, like a mafia boss about to offer something that it can't refuse.

The slime already sees me as terrifying anyway, might as well commit to the bit.

It visibly shakes as I did this, frozen in fear.

Haah, not the result I was hoping for...

I tapped my blade on the floor impatiently. Nothing. I tried to point at the crevice. Still nothing. Only when I took a small hop towards it that it moved.

Should have done that sooner....

When the little one is finally beside me, I pointed again towards the crevice that it should be able to fit in. It bobs up and down slowly, though whether it actually sees what I'm pointing at or only "nodding" out of fear I don't know. I hopped out a few tentative steps, hoping that the slime will follow, and it did. Its tiny hops though, coupled with its general lack of enthusiasm, meant that following takes a significant amount of time.

That's when I saw the witch walk towards the study table. By pure instinct, I swallowed that little slime that made it two hops away from our hiding spot and rolled inwards. My figurative heart is racing. I feel my slime body shaking and wavy. The slime inside me probably sensed this, and has thus began to lash out trying to escape.

We... We were almost done for there... Damn it, I'm not cut out for this!

I slithered back to the edge and watched the witch like a hawk. After some time, she finally went back to summoning again, out of sight.

The summoning has begun. I can feel it. The magic in the air feels charged. Winds coming from nowhere begin swirling around us. This is much more powerful than the summoning for the little one inside me.

The ward around us are shimmering, as if being siphoned by the summoning or something. That... Hahaha... That will be our cue...

The magic begins to concentrate around the summoning table. The ward ripples very faintly. The little slime tears at my insides frantically. I feel my heart, wherever it is, pounding like crazy. I took a deep breath.

Here we go.

I hopped as fast as I possibly can towards the crevice. The little one finally stopped lashing out and instead gripped tightly onto my core, which combined with my hopping rocked my core around wildly. What should've been a straight line turned into a messy zigzag as I hopped forward in accordance to where my core was. All the while, the magic coming from the summoning intensifies.

Finally, we've reached the crevice. I immediately spat the slime back out, in the last minute aiming it slightly away from the ward. It got a little dinged anyways, but seeing it slightly pass through gives me hope that this might work out. The little slime luckily managed to recover and immediately goes inside the crevice.

At least, that was what's supposed to happen. Even with the weakened ward, it's still barely managing to pass through. Little by little, it inches further inside. The light inside the house began to take on a more orange hue. The summoning is about to finish.

Ahh, fuck this!

I pushed my body towards the ward, right beside the little slime. I immediately feel the burning sensation. Maybe it's because of the magic in the air, but the ward seems more charged, more "fiery". Still, I pushed on, enduring the pain.

I turned towards the side, and the little slime is gone. Either vaporized by the ward, or finally pushed on through and escaped. Hopefully the latter.

It's... done...

I sluggishly dislodged myself from the ward and hopped back towards the bed erratically. My vision is blurry, my mind is spinning and every part of my body is prickling me. I was about to reach the bed when a sudden wave of heat and energy washed over me.

Ehh... Isn't the ward to my-

The searing sensation poured from my body all the way towards my core. However, this is different from the ward's "fiery" and hostile sensation. This is somehow energizing. Too much in fact, that I had to adjust my movements last-second so that I don't hit the ceiling as I jumped towards the underside of the bed. Of course, it meant I hit the ward straight-on like a gray, slightly gelatinous bullet and immediately pass out from the pain.

Haa... Haa... Not... Again....

I woke up after what feels like a very good sleep. Even in my fragmented memories, I've never slept that well, and I don't think I'm even required or supposed to sleep with my current form. As my senses gradually return to me, the first thing I notice is the suspiciously slime-shaped dark gray blob, holding a tentacle towards me as if to shake hands. It's shaking, albeit very slightly. I relented and "shook" its "hand" by wrapping my own tentacle (which it shuddered briefly as I pull out a bladed one) around its. Suddenly, a jolt of "electricity" traveled from my tentacle towards my core.

"H-hello?" The slime spoke to me.

"Uhh, hi?" I replied. Both of us frozen in shock.

After a few moments of awkward silence, the slime dislodged itself from me and hopped a few paces back. Afterwards its dark gray gives way to a slight orange, almost magma-like color and texture. A few more paces and it came back and extended its tentacle again and I did the same.

"Greetings, fair maiden! I am Blaze, a gallant magma slime seeking out adventures and smiting evildoers in the name of justice! It is a pleasure to meet you!"