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 Posted: Wed Oct 27, 2021 3:11 pm
There was candy everywhere. Andreiya had been out, in his weird human glamour earlier, passed through a strange area of town earlier, and was given a surplus of it just for existing, apparently.
Which, on one hand, was nice. He liked free things. He liked sweet things. Oh, but he hated them, they were so bad.
He had a few still in his pocket and had been enjoying sampling them when he stepped on something.
Something disgusting. And sticky. Something that grabbed him, tried to suck him into the ground, tried to hold him prisoner there.
He didn’t understand gum but when he finally broke free and saw the pink innards of the creature who had grabbed him, he let out a startled noise and frantically ran back to the base. He had barely made it to the barrier when he began to frantically pull off his boot, as if worried the sticky monster was going to spread now that he wasn’t stepping on it.
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Posted: Wed Oct 27, 2021 3:31 pm
Neryn had been enjoying some of the light and air of Earth - for science - when Andreiya burst through the barrier like he was in danger. Instantly, Neryn was up from their spot on the ground - no they were not 'cloud watching' - blaster at the ready and making their way to him. Neryn kept the blaster primed to fire if necessary, and assessed the situation as they approached.
"Cadet Andreiya? What is your status?" they asked, glancing towards the barrier than the boot he was trying to eject from his foot. "Do you require medical?"
Neryn was nothing if not all business. All the time. It was probably highly unlikely Neryn was never not business and procedure and orders. Someday, they'd probably made a great Commander with their loyality and attention to duty. It also meant that someday they'd have cadets absolutely hating on them for their rigidity and 'no fun' attitude. Thankfully for the future cadets, that was a long ways off.
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Posted: Wed Oct 27, 2021 4:26 pm
“Undetermined!” he answered quickly; he stumbled with his boot and when he pulled it off, toppled to the ground. He fell into a seated position and threw the boot away from him. “Hit it! Something has attached itself to my boot. It grabbed me! It has tried to drag me into the ground at every step!”
The pink gum on the bottom of his boot had collected dirt and gravel and small particles and was a disgusting looking thing. It hadn’t yet hardened and, with the boot on its side, the weight of the debris on the gum seemed to drag it down to the grass.
To Andreiya, it looked like it was moving, trying to escape.
He scooted away from the boot to be out of the line of fire.
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Posted: Wed Oct 27, 2021 5:05 pm
Without even questioning him, Neryn pointed their blaster at the boot and fired at it. Once, twice, three times to make sure it was dead. Whatever it was. It grabbed him into the ground, apparently. Or tried to. Interesting. Neryn approached the boot cautiously, blaster still at the ready, and kicked it over so they could appraise what was on the bottom.
Dirt, gravel, and some pink sort of material that was slowly melting into the grass beneath it. They watched it got a moment, waiting for it get up and try to start moving again. It did not, just sort of streeeeetttccchhhed downwards and rested on the grass.
Neryn stepped up to the boot. They crouched and poked it with the blaster. It still did not move.
"It appears to be dead now. It collected several pieces of rock and at least four leaves, but it has stopped moving," said Neryn to Andreiya before they stood and moved over to him. "You said that it tried to drag you into the ground? How particular. The informational packet did not go over potential pink slimes... I will make a note."
Neryn took out their datapad and made some very scientific notes about sticky pink slime, collected rocks and dirt, tried to take a Cadet into the ground with it. Once complete, Neryn made to check the other boot, just in case. They saw no pink sticky slime on the bottom of that shoe. Good, good.
"Where did you find this slime?" they asked the other cadet, still taking notes.
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Posted: Wed Oct 27, 2021 5:32 pm
Andreiya was holding his breath as he observed the creature, holding his leg close and fumbling for his own blaster. He wasn’t as good at using his as he probably should have been but--thank goodness Neryn was here!
“Please,” he encouraged the report. “I was walking. I stood still for a moment and it latched onto me. When I tried to walk again, it was on me. I have seen pink creatures in the grass before. They wiggle into the dirt and disappear. Is this one of them? I do not like them. Very rude. I was having fun, too,” he said, and looked like he wanted to take his boot back but he just seemed too wary to handle it right now.
Quickly, he corrected, “Fun researching, I mean! I have learned much. Because Earth is so strange and they are also very wasteful. They leave their vegetables out to rot. Is it to threaten enemies? It must be so effective.”
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Posted: Wed Oct 27, 2021 6:25 pm
Neryn scribbled down Andreiya's comments about the creature. It did not seem to be the 'wiggle into the dirt' style type of pink creature, as described. They flicked over to the informational database and searched for pink wiggle creature which came up with... worm. Neryn glanced at the pink slime that had finally let go of the boot and sort of sank into the grass. It still didn't move, or try to disappear into the dirt.
"I believe that is not a worm, the other pink creatures you've seen. It is too fat and not wiggling enough," they said, doing their best to try not to judge Andreiya too much for having fun. He caught himself, anyway, so they let it slide.
(To be fair, and Neryn would never admit it, but learning about Earth was fun.)
"Why do they leave their vegetables to rot? It must be to ward their domiciles from trespassers. It is still such a waste of vegetables however." That was particular, quite honestly.
Earth was so off putting.
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Posted: Sat Oct 30, 2021 9:40 am
"Agreed," Andreiya said quickly, because that was a much better topic to focus on than him indulging. Or having to explain why his pockets were full of candy.
Though they'd cleaned the hill fairly well while they were setting up, he was able to pick up a small stick. He poked at the hardening gum, trying to scrape it off of his boot and expecting that it would attack them with a vengeance any second now.
"I would think there are more effective ways to claim territory that does not involve wasting resources. But none of them seem concerned with running out. This whole planet is so lucky, do they ration anything?" It was rhetorical; he wasn't really bitter but he didn't think they appreciated the luxury. "Have you been in town recently? Everything is colorful. And a little frightening. If their decoration is to ward off trespassers, do you think they have discovered us?"
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Posted: Thu Nov 11, 2021 11:08 pm
"I have not recently. I do not like the human glamours we must wear so much. Plus humans look at me weird and call me she or he at first glance. I know that I present in a more straight body sort of way... but is my hair that confusing to others?" they said, pulling at the curling sections framing their face. They liked their appearance and did not understand why humans put so much emphasis on being one gender or the other. It was all very unnecessary!
Neryn watched him poke the slowly hardening gum, as a second set of eyes to make sure it didn't suddenly explode or become alive again. Seemed dead enough, at least.
"I think perhaps they are warding off each other? I have looked up this tradition called 'Halloween', after Aeleas and I cut pumpkins into pleasing shapes and expressions, and the colorful and frightening decorations are part of the tradition. It appeared to be mostly harmless." The informational packet hadn't gone into a lot of depth on the subject, so the rest they had to find from the Creditable Source Buzzfeed News.
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Posted: Sun Nov 14, 2021 7:12 pm
Andreiya made a slightly displeased little noise as he picked up his boot, apparently satisfied that it was wearable again.
“I dislike it. Their traditions are effective, I feel very unwelcome.” And scared, but he didn’t want to just say that out loud like that.
Some of their decor was tolerable--just colorful and strange. Like humans.
Some were just scary, and maybe he’d already made enough of a fool of himself in front of Neryn for now.
“You look like you, is that not simple? I fail to see how that is complicated. Although, Earth does seem to make everything complicated. Thank you for helping me, Neryn. I think I need to get these cleaned, but I am very appreciative for your assistance. I will return the favor.”
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Posted: Wed Dec 15, 2021 10:44 pm
"I know I am me, but humans want to complicate it..." they said with a rare flare of emotion and a pout. Neryn sighed. It wouldn't do to get upset about that now. They would finish their mission here then leave, and Neryn could go back to not being judged for being themself.
They bowed at Andreiya. "You are very welcome. I will make a log of this for the database, so that others know not to step on them," they replied. "Do let me know if you need assistance again, or require a partner to venture beyond the barrier with."
Then, after making sure the other cadet was indeed settled, Neryn made their way back into their quarters.
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