Small icicle-like rocks were stuck to Jack's skin like parasites. His captor hadn't said anything else after naming him Bobo Jr, instead she was just staring at him.
One thing he wished she'd do was undue the paralysis. Right now he was a glorified pet rock. He needed stimulation, a book, a show, anything to pass the time because this girl was even more boring than Jeanne in the forest.
He begged the system to read him a book like those audio books. He'd even settle for those ad-filled pod-casts that are too loud.
They've been hiding in this cave for hours. At some point he dozed off from sheer boredom. When he jolted awake it was because the vampire ghost hybrid started to shake him.
"Please don't die Bobo Jr," she whispered.
"I'm not dying," Jack thought but his paralysis made sure he only squeaked.
At that moment, Aria heard a twig snap outside the cave. Her claws extended. She squinted, trying to peer through the darkness that cloaked the forest.
Two deers. Their fur the color of moonlight, and antlers that seemed to reach the sky. Slowly they entered the cave, twisting their necks scouting for predators.
Jack expected her to let out a war cry, to attack. But she didn't move. The hybrid just stood there. Soon after her eyes glowed a hue of white and one of the deers head was snapped. A bone crunching sound was echoing in the cave.
The other deer dashed away. Leaving his friend behind. Aria pounced, drinking from its neck like it was an apple.
Blood was also dripping on him. Deer blood wasn't delicious.
Yet she scooped up some blood with her hand and gave it to Jack.
"Blood slimes need their nutrition."
His slime body started to tremble, which was the only sign of movement he could produce. He was shaking no. To her it was yes.
After practically drowning Jack in disgusting blood, she started to pet him again.
"You're going to grow even bigger than Bobo Sr... He never got the chance to evolve."
Her expression shifted, a memory pulling at her lips, the briefest flicker of sorrow before her features hardened back to their guarded, predatory stillness.
"I'll protect you. Those humans... they won't hurt you. They won't hurt anyone I care for."
Her crimson eyes blazed, a promise etched in fury. The deer's antlers caught the dim light, refracting it into tiny, fleeting rainbows across the cave walls, a beautiful, tragic art.
Jack's throat felt tight. Tears would've formed in his eyes if slimes were capable.
This girl.
He forgave her for paralyzing him and kidnapping him. One horrific thought crawled inside him though.
What if he would lose his loved ones like her. What if he couldn't protect the person he'd fall in love with in the future.
She seemed to mistake his trembling for gratitude or perhaps a simple affirmation of the new bond she'd declared.
[Paralysis has worn off due to blood consumption.]
Testing the new freedom, Jack shifted subtly. A minuscule stretch.
Aria's focus sharpened, her gaze zeroing in on the minute movement.
While streching, he was second-guessing his choice to talk to her, to let her know he wasn't a pet. But he couldn't play dumb forever.
"My name-"
His voice, spooked Aria. She threw him against the rock wall. Somehow he was getting used to being flattened.
"Demon?" she whispered, her claw already poised.
"Not this again. No, I'm not a demon, or a pet. And my name is Jack, not Bobo."
He pushed himself up into a recognizable, non-threatening shape: a vaguely oval blob.
The hybrid didn't retract her claw.
"Slimes can't talk," she said, her crimson eyes narrowed.
"Yeah well, I'm special. One of a kind."
Jack couldn't believe he was saying this with a straight core. "Jack Der Quiver," he added with a smug wiggle.
He heard a chuckle.
"Quiver? The Quiver's died centuries ago," she said matter-of-factly.
She retracted her claws. After all no demon would mention they were a Quiver.
"Wait what?" he asked.
The fact that she knew his last name was bizarre. Maybe Quiver was a popular last name a long time ago. A burning need to know more about his last name grew in him.
Aria shook her head. Not wanting to speak of it.
"There's no point in talking about dead people, Bobo Jr."
"It's Jack," he repeated.
The vampire hybrid had her hand on her chin as she thought about her next moves. Meanwhile Jack had to ask the system.
"Who were the Quivers?" he asked it.
[No record of Quivers in the system. Except for the host.]
"I don't trust you," Aria stated, changing the subject back to him.
"First of all I should be the one to not trust you. You literally paralyzed me and drank disgusting deer blood on top of me," Jack said.
Aria pointed at his core with a single, elegant finger.
"Prove to me you are trustworthy or I'll eat you."
A non-negotiable term. But it wasn't an angry one, more like she was giving him a choice. Rolling up and down in front of her, he thought about what to do.
Noticing one scar on her cheek, he had an idea. His skill heal-mucus was a perfect solution. This might just prove that he isn't her enemy, or some demon or monster.
Unless demons could use heal magic?
He started to cast the spell. His slime started to turn a greenish hue.
"My dad," he started.
Aria's eye twitched at the mention of "dad".
"He told me this one advice. Do anything for the ones you love."
A small bubble of mucus formed on top of him. He was bouncing over to her.
"I feel sorry for you and... I don't want to ever be in the same situation as you."
He hopped onto her knee. "That's why I will help you."
"This is heal-mucus, if I wanted to hurt you I would've stabbed you with a nail I have inside of me right now," Jack said.
Standing on her cheek, making sure she wasn't going to instantly crush him for touching her, he plopped the healing bubble onto her scar.
The mucus seeped into her skin, the scar didn't instantly heal. Yet after a few minutes, the scar seemed to lighten up.
Aria checked herself in a puddle. She tilted her head left and right.
Then her face was still. Emotionless.
"You are a hybrid too? Heal, weapon and blood," she said.
His core stiffened.
But then her emotionless face turned into something akin to a smile, showing her fangs.
"Bobo Jr... no Jack. Will you help me?" Aria asked, her crimson eyes gleaming.
[Quest: Free Aria from the magical collar.]
[Reward: Skill, Ghost Hand.]