Slime and Dash

Sam smiled nervously at the rocking core, though he didn't know it was a core of course. It was cute, the rocking of the core, but he felt really guilty for this. He was the one who had accidentally put her into this state. He was just trying to help, but...it seems like he did some real damage. The lack of slime was also concerning. He wondered if he accidentally killed her body and that...that would be awful. For now, he would just have to do his best to make it up to her. He had to show her he didn't mean her any harm or anything of the like. He was a hero after all. He had to protect and help anyone, even if that person was a slime person.

Cupping her carefully in his hands, he walked out of the alley. "Hey...not sure if you can hear me, friend, but I'm really sorry about all that. I didn't want to have to use my portals, but there were people inside ya and cars, and the cops were shooting at you. I didn't want you or the people to get hurt, ya know? I just wanted to get you guys out of there." He carefully walked down the street, holding her gently in cupped hands. "But we'll fix ya up somehow! Get ya good as new! I'll make you some food as well, I saw how it made ya grow before, so hopefully you can eat in this form." He bit his lip looking around. Luckily no one was there to see him carrying this thing. They were all distracted by the crime scene. This gave him the perfect cover to get away. "Can't let them see ya and take you away! Who knows what they'd do to ya. But don't worry, I'm gonna keep you safe, at least until your back up and running." He looked down at the core, smiling confidently. "I really can't apologize enough for everything. I feel awful for it. I should've gotten there sooner, at least then I'd be able to help ya from the crowd." He shook his head. "But don't worry...you're safe now." He looked on ahead and continued forward.

After a few streets, most of which he had not run into anyone, he turned the corner down an alleyway and went over to a dumpster. Once there he threw open the lid and looked inside. "Alright, Slime Girl person! I am gonna set ya down for a moment, but I won't leave ya there long." He set her down on a blanket which he had draped over the dumpster earlier that day. He had washed it and left out to dry, thankfully now it was. Once she was snug in the blanket he hopped into the dumpster and went searching through his bags. He took out some canned peaches, some beans, and some soup. He also grabbed two bowls and two plates, as well as a battery powered hotplate. Once he got back to the blanket he would make sure she was still snug there. "What do you say? Some peaches, beans, soup? Nothing too fancy, but I figure it some good light eating. I hope ya don't mind the humble set up. I would offer to bring ya to a place to eat, but I doubt you want the attention drawn to you. I can pick you something up afterwards, if you're still hungry after we finish eating. It's the least I can do for ya!"

He was going to crush her. No, he was going to feed her to a dog. No even worst, He was going to cook her into a soup that would give him more magical stats and spells. Her life was over. She wanted to cry except she could not because she was.... just a rocking core. So she kept rocking hoping he would lose his grip and drop her. But he didn't. He cupped his hands around her as if he was carrying water or a bug. Pori was not a bug! She rocked in protest despite how pointless it was.

Friend? He was a bad human. A bully. Someone who hurts Pori. He had nerve calling Pori friend, but at least he apologized. He was just buttering her up before he threw her in the frying pan. And yes, Pori knows what that is. Then he spoke about people and cars being stuck in her slime. For the first time, Pori stopped protesting. Her mind replayed the events, doubting what the man said but then she remembered the screams and the blaring of a horn. He was right. Pori was not being a good girl at all. He followed up with trying to hide her and keeping her safe. The man was not evil. He was good... no.. he was a hero.

Poring remained motionless inside of his cupped hands, watching as he took great care to keep her out of site. Then he put her in a dumpster and wrapped her in a itchy blanket. She wiggled to break free but it was hopeless with how much energy she had left. She was deadbeat tired and just wanted to sleep. Then he disappear giving her time to doze off hungry. However he came back waking her with his energetic voice. Really it was the mentioning of food that woke her. She worked up enough energy to wiggle in response. Hopefully he would take that as a yes and not a IM ANGRY AND WILL SPLAT YOU kind of wiggle.

Sam chuckled brightly at the wiggling. He did take that as a yes. Or...rather, he had really hoped it was a yes. He was guessing here, there was no real way to tell what the wiggling meant, but it would have to do. He grabbed the can opener and got the can of peaches open. She could eat that while he worked on the beans and soup. He placed the peaches into a bowl and then looked at her, a small look of concern coming to his face.

"How will you...eat this?" He asked blinking at her. He reached down and held her in his palm. "Let's see...I'm guessing this has happened before, so you probably have some way to...eat? Right? I think...I hope." He thought for a few moments, trying to consider what to do. He didn't want to hurt her anymore than he did and he wasn't sure the best way to go about this. He could drop her in the peaches? But that might not go well. He had to do something though.

An idea finally came to him! He lowered his hand to the edge of the bowl and smiled at Pori. "Alright! So! Here's the plan. You can wiggle right? And my hand doesn't really have an friction...so, if you can eat the peaches like this wiggle into them. I guess? If not, I can try mashing them up so they're easier? Or...I can make them into a liquid and you can drink it. Alright. Stay still for mashing, wiggle away from the peaches if you want liquid peach juice, or wiggle into it if you can just eat. Yeah. I think that's a good plan. Wait...hmm..." He thought again for a moment. "I suppose wiggle towards the ground if none of those sound good and then I can go from there. If ya got some other way to talk to me, please let me know. I'm guessing here. After you get the peaches, I'll start making the other food." He smiled politely down at her, eager to hear her reply, though also a bit nervous. He really hoped he didn't cripple her. If he did, he'd have to figure out some way to make her better, and he was terrible at figuring things out. He really hoped this would work.

The peach can was opened and Pori's instincts kicked it. She squirmed in his hand with excitement as the smell of the sweet fruit over her nose... if she had a nose. Her mind slowly degraded as hunger took over but no slime came out. She was baffled as to why her body was not working, forgetting about the earlier event. That did not mean she would not try. She rocked her way over to the peaches. While she could not escape his hand, somehow the peaches grew closer.

As the smell grew stronger so did her hunger. The magic will that blocked her from eating teased her to no end.  With one last push she finally broke free of the magical warm barrier which held her and landed into the bowl of peach. VICTORY at least she would scream if she had her slime. As the sweet fruit rubbed against her core, slime spewed out and filled the bowl. Her slime was back! The slime quickly engulfed the core and crawled out of the bowl. Her slime caused her to grow to the size of a toddler as she reshaped her body to that of a human kid.

Her head simplified most of her facial features had her slime hair was a bob cut with the hair hanging down like droplets of water. She did not have enough dexterity to form small fingers but she managed to capture the overall shape of hands and feet which looked like she was wearing mittens and socks. With her body at an acceptable level, she lunged and tackled Sam.

"Thank You," tears rolled down her eyes, "You saved Pori from... being a monster."
Then she started wailing like a child as she pressed her face into his cheek. Due to her smaller size, her face she squished against his face instead of engulfing it, but it was her best attempt at thanking the man.

"You're Poring's Hero!!!"

Sam let out a breath of relief as he saw the slime return. A smile began to return to his face as the form of Pori returned to her, but as she began to cry and tackle Sam he was nearly knocked off of balance. He managed to catch himself before landing on his ass, but it was an awkward position to say the least. Being hugged by a mass of slime felt...weird? At least to a degree, it felt sort of like...a squishy hug. Either way, he returned it. He wasn't used to being called a hero and to be honest, he didn't really consider himself one. Hearing it did touch him though, and he felt like he could cry at hearing it. Sam managed to hold them back though. Heroes don't cry! Instead, he gave her small squeeze, trying not to submerge his arms in ooze.

He let out a soft chuckle. "Hey there..." He patted her once then let go of her, trying to back away from the hug if she'd let him. "You don't need to thank me. And you don't need to cry either!" He smiled kindly at her. "I knew you weren't a monster and I don't think you would've been one even if I didn't intervene. We all mess up here and there. You were just scared, that's all!" He let out a soft yawn and shook his head. "I really mean it too. You're too interesting to be a monster! Look at you! I've never seen anything like you! It's really coo!" His tone was genuine. He really did seem impressed with her and what she could do and how she looked. He always loved interesting things, odd things, things that were different.

He let out another small laugh. "Now! Are you still hungry? Cause I can make ya some more food if you want. I can also go get something, if you want something specifically!"

When the man hugged Pori, the slime knew she made a friend. Only friends hug each other. However, it was weird because his arms were not as warm when touching her Slime. She made her best attempt to keep his arms out of her body but she could not help that some of the slime dripped over his arm. Then he patted her on the head, which was a good thing. She knew because her mom would do that when she first was learning how to care for her.

"Pori did good, you agree?" She chimed as the man let her go, "Pori did not kill anyone. Pori will be forgiven right?"

The man understood how she felt which would be a first for a human. That's why he was her hero. Also he sad nice things about Pori. She felt embarrass though, unsure how to react. Thinking back to what she seen other people do, she decided to throw her hands over her face to hid it. Though all it did was wash away her face as her hands absorbed into her body.

"Pori is not that interesting... Pori is just a Pori. She is not cool either. Pori thinks her body is pretty warm like. A warm body makes better hugs yes."

Pori combine her body into a blob like form before Snaking around the mans torso and reforming her head and simple arms to hug his neck. When the man offered her more food. She giggled, ready to accept he offer. Why would she not accept food. Food was the best thing ever. Did he not think about it. However she suddenly realized that she was not thinking. She was only acting off her instincts.

She looked around, noticing that this dumpster was very clean. Why was that? Also she did not have her coat so she could not hide herself. If she ate any more, she would grow bigger and then she would be stuck without a disguise. Worst, the humans would surely attack her again. She gave a loud moan as she ready herself to do the unthinkable.

"Pori... thinks it's best she not eat anymore. Instead, Pori wants to know why we are in a dumpster that is not smelly or dirty like a dumpster. Is this really a dumpster or is it a magic dumpster. Are you a magic human. Pori thinks they are called Wizards. Are you a Wizard?"

Sam pulled away and nodded at Pori. "That's right! You did good. It's always good to not hurt people, and better not to kill them." Sam knew this wasn't exactly the case, but...he didn't want to worry her. "I wouldn't say go out on the street just yet, tomorrow you and I will head on down to the station and explain everything! I'll let them know that you're a good girl and won't cause anyone any trouble. They'll listen to me! And if they don't, well, I'll get you to safety. I promise."

At her second comment, Sam's smile eased up a bit and let out a soft snicker. "Well! I think you are! I think just Pori is just amazing! And cool is a phrase people use to signify when something is good and interesting! It can also mean temperature, but it can also mean that. I know it seems a bit confusing, I was confused at first too, but you'll get it!" He patted her on the head again. "You are cool and you are interesting, that's the truth. Don't ever let anyone say any different, because being cool and interesting are good things. For the most part, most of the time." There were plenty of interesting villains...but...well, he'd hope she'd understand before she met anyone like that. He didn't want her to get into any sort of trouble because of he said...

As she moved around Sam watched her, a bit curious of how her form worked. It was liquidy, but it had a solidness to it? It was sorta like jello? It enabled her to do some pretty cool stuff and Sam was really impressed by it. He patted her arm now and chuckled. "No no! This isn't a magic dumpster, I just worked really hard on cleaning it. I use this as a secret base. I can't afford an actual place to stay, so I use dumpsters instead. It keeps me dry from the raid and warm from the cold. I just have to watch out for the trash man. I nearly got carried away by one of their dump trucks once." He chuckled again, this time at the memory. That was a crazy day..."As for me being a wizard...I don't know. I can open portals, but I don't think it is magic. I am not sure if I believe in magic either. I've seen some interesting stuff, but I don't know if you'd call it magic." He shrugged his shoulders, truly unsure of the basis of his ability. "What about you?" He asked, a slight tilt to his head. "What's your story? What exactly are you? I've never seen anything like you." He motioned to some cushions on the other side of the dumpster. "Sit and stay awhile! There's a lot I'd like to know!" He smiled kindly at her, eager to listen to whatever she had to say!

"Explain... everything..." Pori began to retract away from the guy.

All she could imagine is them shooting her and calling her a monster. That's what the police did every time they saw her. Even if the man could get her to safety, it was not an idea she was fond of. In fact she decided she was not going to do it.

She shook her head whining at the idea. Not even his complement of calling Pori interesting and good would loosen her stance on the idea.
"Pori likes being this cool then. Poring is both cool and warm."
The man's lesson pulled her mind away from the scary idea he brought forth and sent her mind through a tangent. She wanted to become more cool, that way people would see her as a good girl. It was like a new path was opened up. This man truly was the hero she needed though not the hero she deserved. Still she would take it, like a pie left out over night on a park bench.

Then the man said the coolest thing ever, according to his definition. He called the dumpster a secret base. This man truly was a superhero. All superheros had secret bases. Pori now knew she was truly blessed. She recombined into a pile, as she mentally lost control of her form from the shock and awe and looked up to him by moving her core closer to the upper edge of her slime pile so that it was visible to the man. She did not even care that he said he was poor because pori did not understand what that meant. All she knew was that shiny metal coins and green paper will faces and numbers on it allowed you to get food.

When he mention not having seen magic, she was baffled. Magic was everywhere, she seen it. She took a more humanoid shape but without forming the details like eyes, hair, ect. Resembling a melting silhouette of a girl, she stick out her arms and formed as clear of a square as she could.
"Magic is everywhere. Haven't you seen those invisible walls that let you watch other people in the food stores. I tried to walk through but the magic barrier stopped me every time. I even see birds hit them. Humans are super crafty with magic. Also, those moving metal objects that keep splatting Pori. All of that is magic you know. Come on Mr. Superhero, everyone knows about the magics!"

She retracted her arms, and then slowly fixed her shape. When the man asked about her origin story, she stopped and melted. Her core retreated deeper into her slime so it could not be seen. She did not like talking about herself but a hero who did so much for her should not be given lies.

"I... I don't know... I know I am not human. When I woke up, I was inside of a magic barrier filled with water. Then a human woman broke it and climbed into her bag when she wasn't looking. I did not understand anything. I could not speak nor did I understand your human talk. However, I was confused, scared, hungry and the only thing around me was her. From there, I hid and watched her until I felt brave enough to interact."

Poring pause as the memories sparked a main inside her core. However she remained strong despite her voice growing more quiet.

"She taught me human speak, and called me a slime monster, or specifically a Poring which was a creature in a game on a box that had moving pictures. I don't remember everything about that since I could not understand human talk at the time, but it was the most common word she said and repeated it until I acknowledged her. I guess that is why Pori call myself Poring... but looking back, it probably was not meant to be used as a name. Kinda like calling naming a human Human, or a dog Dog."

Then she stopped, hoping the man would be satisfied with that short glimpse into her life. There was so much she did not know about herself. However, without being told, she knew mostly what her body was capable of. It was like it was ingrained in her core but that information was still clouding, like there was missing books on her 'How to Slime' guide book.

Sam couldn't help but laugh at her comment about being cool and warm, she was like a kid or at least very innocent. It was cute and very wholesome, he could tell he made the right choice in saving her, that she wasn't a monster at all. Though as she went on about her origins and magic and her creation his smile seemed to dampen a little bit. Partly due to her receding a bit, he could tell that she was not comfortable sharing and he felt bad for asking her to, and also because this was a hard story for him to swallow. He never really believed in magic, he always assumed things could be explained with science or genetics or something like that. He didn't understand genetics or science, but someone else could probably do so. With this however...it was, well, some of the things she was saying...it was strange. Other things were funny, which made Sam smile again, human technology was magic to her. He'd have to explain later.

As she went on to explain her backstory Sam felt a mix of relief that there was someone to take care of her and teach and also feeling a bit sad, she must've been very confused and sad. It was easy to see how someone like Poring could be considered a monster, but she was way too sweet, she was sweeter than some humans that Sam knew. He reached over and patted her on the head again, smiling kindly at her. "Seem like ya had an interesting time here, thank you for sharing with me." He leaned against the back wall of the dumpster and let out a breath. "I know it mustn't be easy to share your life story with someone ya just met, but I appreciate it." He thought for a few moments on her name and shook his head. "Well, you're the first person I've seen made of slime, so I think Poring works, it's a cute name to. I like it! It's-uh...both cool and warm!" He hoped that would mean something to her. She seemed to like that.

He let out a small yawn. It had been a long day and night, between stopping Poring from hurting anyone and catching those criminals earlier he was beat. He blinked at Poring and wondered if she needed sleep. She didn't look tired, at least...he didn't think she did? "Hey, Poring, do you get tired? Or do you sleep? Sorry, I hope I'm not being rude. I just don't know a lot about Slime People." He smiled nervously. He wasn't sure what was appropriate to ask. He had only met a few different people that were...well, different species, things that weren't human. He didn't think any less of them, but he was never sure the right way to address them. "I think I have a few extra pillows and spare blanket if you want it. I'm happy to share with you! I can also make ya breakfast in the morning, or more food now if you want it."

Pori could not help but smile after Sam patted her head. Her head bounced as she nearly forgot to resist enough to keep her head still. Then he did something that would warm her heart. He called her a person. Despite everything she did, he considered her a person and that deserved a hug, a big hug. Before she could queue up the commands in her slime, he said something else nice. Using her own words to accept her name. She could only giggle as she agreed, though that was not entirely true.

"Still... I want another name too... Like... Pori. I wanna be a Pori too. Pori Poring Flan!"
Her upper body ballooned up so she could raise to arm like blobs and cheer on the new name. Then she tackled the man, hugging him and engulfing his leg and torso as she crawled up and rubbed her head on his cheek again.

Then the man asked a very important question. Did Pori sleep. Pori melted off him and reformed into the shape of a thinking girl sitting Native American Style. "Uh... Pori gets tired, but then I eat and everything becomes better. I don't think I ever slept. Wait, I do remember sleeping once. I was listening to a spell being casted by a  mommy human for her tiny crying human. It was super effective and when I woke up I was just a core. It was weird, like having a full belly without eating. Eating is more fun though."

When he offered her his pillow and blanket, she laughed. He was a silly person to suggest a offer.
"I am liquid, so my body would only ruin the blanket and pillow. That's why I wear uhh... wait... WHERES MY COAT!"

"Pori Poring Flan..." He thought on the name for a moment. It had a good ring to it. "I like it!" He declared happily. It suits you well and you seem to like it! Do you want to be called Pori? Miss Poring? Or Miss Flan? Or would you prefer your full name of Pori Poring Flan? I can call ya whatever you want! No problem at all!" He gave her a thumbs up, indicating he was good with whatever. Overall, he was a pretty laid back person when it came to stuff like this. While Sam appreciated and returned the hug, he couldn't help but be a little grossed out by it? It wasn't every day you get covered by slime. A mild concern ran through his head as he thought about the people that were trapped inside her, but he quickly put that aside. He did his best to hide his slight discomfort of the hug away and just smiled at his new cool friend. She was sweet, she meant well, and he wouldn't fault her for that. His smile was soon overcome with another yawn, he couldn't help it. He was getting so very tired. The longer he stayed awake the more he'd feel the effects of his power. It wouldn't be long until he passed out now. He needed make sure she was good first though. He had to take care of her after all.

He thought about what she said about getting tired. It might tricky to get some rest tonight with her here. He didn't want to leave her alone while he slept. That didn't feel right, but at the same time...he wasn't sure if he could pull an all nighter in the state of mind he was. He'd have to think of something. "Are you talking about a lullaby? That's a song people sing to others to help them sleep. It's not magic...rather...it's just soothing? It's relaxing, comforting, it helps people sleep. My mom used to sing to me too and I used to sing to my sister when she was sick and couldn't get to sleep. It helps a lot of people sleep." He smiled at her. "I could sing for you if you wanted, it wouldn't be good, I'm not that great at singing, but I could try if you wanted." He kind of hoped she didn't. He didn't really know any lullabies, and he didn't want to embarrass himself by singing. He really wasn't a good singer.

A brief tinge of panic hit Sam as she brought up her jacket, but it was quickly put aside. He picked up before and carried with him the entire. Before he had hopped through portal he carefully tucked it away into his back pocket and supported it from under his jacket. He reached behind him and pulled out the jacket for her. "You mean this one? You dropped when you were going all big before. I figured you'd want it back so I picked it up for ya. It seemed important." He held it out to her. "Be more careful with it. If I wasn't there you may have lost it for good and that wouldn't be good. Though..." He didn't want to be a constant source of reliability, he knew he couldn't always be there, but...it didn't feel right not saying this, "If you do lose it, come find me and I will help ya get it. I really don't mind. I wouldn't want ya getting sad or anything like that! You, and everyone else, are much better when you're smiling! Remember that! Though, be careful, cause some people can lie about their smiles. Ya gotta learn which ones to trust, okay?" He didn't want her taken advantage of and used for some sinister plot by some evil guy who just smiled at her. She had to be careful. "If you're ever not sure, you can find me for that too! That's what I'm here for! I'm here to help ya!"

Pori tilted her head. The question was a good one. The humans only went by one name so she thought she should too. It was only logical.

"Pori wants to be Pori"

After Sam revealed Pori's coat, the slime swarmed his hands pulling coat from his hand and moved into the jacket as if it was drinking the girl. Then she assume a more human shape to fit the outfit. The boy was blowing a bunch of air out of his mouth after opening it wide enough to eat a orange whole. Was he tired? His speech seemed a little slow. Was he growing weaker? Was he tired? Humans were weird. His suggestion to do magic to put her to sleep on supported Pori's guess.

"Pori is okay. Pori doesnt like magic anyway. I will try to do the sleep."

Pori inched toward a corner of the dumpster and melted into a rain drop like shape while her coat. A few more squishy sound later, Pori pulled all her slime back into her core while the rain coat covered her.