Open Dunnstads Finding Nobody

[Nobody]

Bridia, the City of Winds! Winds kinda implied open plains, and houses spotted over mostly empty plains, and— most importantly —Very. Few. People. …surely? Evidently not.

Maybe the whole ‘City’ part should’ve been a hint, but it was packed! "Uugghhgrlbl…" the slime whined, her throat gargling way more than it should’ve. This odd sound wasn’t necessary to attract a bunch of attention, but it helped grab the eyes of the few on the cobbled streets who weren’t already looking.

"Mommy! Why is that blue lady all icky?"

"Now now, that’s not a very polite thing to say. Though I do hope it’s not contagious…"

Nobody pulled the scarf up over her mouth so no one could see the soul leave her bod— no no, now wasn’t the time to accept ownership over this stupid body! It was a rental, designed by that creepy friend, who was rapidly on his way to becoming a former friend. "Why did I agree to this? This is humiliating!"

Ideally, a private room at some inn would be perfect, but she was flat broke. This meant doing some sort of quick job or quest, which, unfortunately, meant interacting with people. For the time being, however, she needed a moment to herself. There weren’t a whole lot of places to hide, but one stood out…

Under a small stone bridge, overlooked by the tall windmills on one end, and the white-blue building on the other, there was a channel of water, flowing gently. Approaching the edge, Nobody darted under the bridge, then hopped in the water before anyone could follow, letting herself merge with it. She’d hide out here for a bit to recharge her dignity. It was technically possible to see a patch of the water was off-blue, but really, no one ever paid that kind of attention to the water, of all things.

This doesn’t feel nice.
This doesn’t feel nice.
This doesn’t feel nice.
…
Okay, fine, this feels really refreshing.
But you’re not winning me over, ya stupid game!


@Lily

 

[Lily]

Lily didn't even bother with the people-filled streets. That was a death sentence and she was not interested in playing the judge, the jury, and especially not the executioner today. Her looks were a tad more unique than those of most Starcalled, safe for the ones that truly wanted to stand out, which resulted in plenty of eyeballs being glued to her whenever she went to a place primarily populated by Landers. And to top it all off, the Sun was trying to murder her by the method of dehydration and, much much worse, sunburn.

So @Nobody might have been a bit surprised when a corpse suddenly washed down the channel, its lifeless extremities occasionally get caught on a loose stone or brick fallen from the bridge. At least until it drifted near the dissolving blue mass of a person, at which point the body twitched and showed that maybe it was not quite dead yet. Lily was just really good at throwing herself in water and letting it take her to wherever it might have flown.

". . . ."

With a bit of a crack, her head turned as she sat up in the shallow water, colorful eyes locking onto the strange patch of water, slowly narrowing as if she was scrutinizing whatever was going on there. She knew for a fact that she had no used any masteries, so it couldn't have been her doing. And it didn't feel like pollution of any kind. Clearly, there was only one course of action left available to her.

Leaning closer, she would extend her hand... and try to poke the strangely-colored water. Multiple times. From many different angles. Using different amounts of force. Who needed a stick to prod something, demanding that it does something amusing? A finger was more than enough!

 

[Nobody]

While she refused to admit it, Nobody was actually in a state of bliss. The cool water was a sanctuary from the heat and the attention, which were locked in constant battle for the title of Worst Thing Ever. She couldn't stay forever, no-thanks to a rapidly-draining energy bar, but she resolved to fully relax for what time she had, keeping her from noticing the dead body until it suddenly started moving.

"...!?" She would've screamed in shock, if her mouth had been more than a puddle. All the more when the "dead body" started poking her!?

Hey! Knock it off! Go away already!

A tentacle of blue slime suddenly rose up from the water and lightly smacked the girl's hand away, but she just kept poking! It didn't hurt, but neither did it feel good. Rather, it was just an unfamiliar sensation of getting smooshed in ways that shouldn't be physically possible.

After a while, the blob finally reformed, filling the white fabric that'd been underneath. Nobody was dressed head-to-toe in white clothes that left as little skin as feasibly possible showing. Even the sleeves of her coat went over her hands. It would've been excessive coverage, even for the middle of winter, but the hot, sunny day just made it stand out even more.

Despite that, what really grabbed attention was what little of her body was showing: a blue, see-through mass of thick slime that took the term "flowing hair" rather literally.

"W-W-Will you quit that...!" Nobody protested, stumbling over her words a bit as she shrank back. Now that she was standing, she finally got a good look at the attacker. Lily looked innocent enough, but the poking...

Nobody stood there in the water for a bit, hoping the lady would eventually get bored and leave. This really was an amazing hiding spot, and one she'd prefer not to give up...

@Lily

 

[Lily]

Finding something the consistency and presumed amusement value of Slime™, now that was a surprise. And Lily wasn't even a kid that got Slime™ as a toy, ever! Perhaps this was a message from the gods themselves, an open invitation to a moment of second childhood. The joys she had never experienced for realzies, the joys of Slime™! Alas, her newfound toy actually turned out to be oh-so-inconveniently sapient as it shrieked and turned rather humanoid.

Still, what appeared to be standing in front of the water elf... a slime girl, judging by her transparent, and very much empty head. The urge to just stick one's hand out and try to poke through the body was immense, but the girl held herself back. At least for now. Her eyes still sparked with stars of intrigue, however, as her eyes scanned the entirety of the person(?) in front of her, mouth half-open and letting out an amused sigh.

As for the slime's plea - Lily simply shook her head. In fact, she started slowly raising her hands, palms opening and closing in a grabbing motion, taking small steps closer and closer toward this new wonderful discovery. Closer... and c l o s e r-

@Nobody

 

[Nobody]

There was a brief moment where the slimegirl felt a bit of hope. That moment of silence between her and Miss Pokey where she thought she might be in the clear. Unfortunately, that hope didn't last long, once Nobody noticed the bright and inquisitive eyes. It wasn't the "sorry, I'll leave you alone here" face she'd hoped for.

And then there were the hands...

Nope nope nope nope nope!

Nobody thrust her arm forward, batting the grabby hands away with her sleeve. Then again. And again. Eventually, she found herself flapping it about wildly, as if it were a torch being waved to fend off a pack of hungry wolves.

"No," Nobody commanded with the intimidating presence of a baby rabbit. "Shoo," she repeated, to no avail.

After several seconds of this, she finally threw in the towel and conceded the wonderfully cool, secluded hideaway to the colorful, not-so-dead body. Hopping out of the water, Nobody ran off, leaving a subtle water trail on the path behind her...

---

Nobody melted down into a puddle once again, this time in a luxurious fountain seated in front of the mayor's manor. It had taken a while to find that perfect moment, when no one was looking, to run and dive in, but once she'd made it, she blended into the water enough that the occasional passerby would only complain about the need to have it cleaned.

Perhaps this was even better. There was something rather cozy about hiding away and watching people from a comfy hiding spot, and the constant, gentle flow of water felt a bit like a massage. The sounds even reminded her of those "5-hour fantasy village background" compilations: peaceful and serene.

Yeah, I could get used to this...


@Lily

 

[Lily]

Aaah, the new fancy toy would fight back. What a horrible reveal! TerraSphere sure was a world of extremes like many had claimed, death around every corner, and wonderful slime trying to bite back when you poke it. Or at least slap away the hand that wanted to feel it.

The sudden splash and leap out of the creek was quite sudden, making Lily stumble back and fall butt-first into the shallow. But damned she would be if she'd give up after this much. The droplets left behind were practically her spies, whispering sweet secrets of the slime's location.

So as Nobody would enjoy their leisure time, a head full of white hair would suddenly start, slowly, slowly rising from behind the fountain's ornamental edge that had ensured all the water would stay on the inside. And once the pair of curious eyes would reveal itself as well, the girl would pause and lock onto the goopy slime.

Prey located. Oh, but it seemed that they were really enjoying their time in the fountain. Which gave Lily a bit of an idea. The water inside would suddenly start moving, ever so slowly. Like one of those pools with artificial currents, the liquid inside of the stone structure would swirl round and round again, perhaps even like a pleasant cradle of sorts. Though, of course, the current would keep on speeding up and up, until the leisurely ride turned into a theme park ride.

@Nobody

 

[Nobody]

Nobody was truly relaxed. A wonderful, peaceful spot, with the distant sounds of a hustle-and-bustling market. Though for a moment, she could’ve sworn she heard a slide-whistle nearby. Huh. Probably nothing.

…Was this water always flowing in a circle? Eh, surely it was and she only now noticed. It felt nice too. Round… and round.. and round and roundandroundANDROUNDANDROUND!!

Nobody flailed around, desperately trying to figure out which limb stretched out which way. Head on top, shoulders under, arms and legs went somewhere nearby. It took her a while, but finally, she managed to reclaim a vaguely-humanoid shape, at least enough to glare at her oppressor.

"GGHLPMH!!" Oh, that definitely wasn’t the mouth in the right place. She shifted it a bit. "What’s your problem!? You’re gonna make me sick!" Nobody protested, blue in the face.

The sound attracted the attention of a couple onlookers, who glanced their way curiously.

"What are those fine ladies doing splashing about in that fountain? Aren’t they a bit old for that?"

"Oh hush, let them have their fun."

Nobody’s eyes narrowed in irritation. "Sheesh, I’m just trying to relax a bit from all these prying eyes," the slime girl explained.


@Lily

 

[Lily]

The way the water in the fountain was spinning, and the slime girl going round and round with it, it was a bit hard to understand what she was saying. And that was even after the voice became more than just garbled underwater sound. Half the sentence was understandable, half muffled as Nobody happened to spin around to the opposite side of the structure with a decorative pillar in the way. It took Lily a moment to properly piece together what was being said.

Thankfully for the slime girl, the water started spinning much slower afterward. Though the prying eyes from the elf were still there, staring in complete silence. So much silence that even when she used her power to invade Nobody's mind, the words simply materialized in her consciousness, unsaid, as if they were her own thoughts all along.

‎

「 Spinning makes sick? People can't see inside fountain even when spinning. Why slime so strange? 」​

Honestly, the thought transmission pretty much contained the whole reason as to why Lily was doing any and all of this. Or, what her problem was. Nobody was just too interesting for her to leave alone. Especially as a hydromancer, there was no way she could just leave a sentient slime person alone after finding one, especially since she thought that something like this was completely impossible to do.

@Nobody