STORY 33

It was still dark. The soft, pastel glow of dawn was spreading smoothly over the forest, dispelling the faint chill which lingered on from the night. A hint of that glow crept into a burrow nestled between the roots of a thick tree, and Vuni, resting on the earth within, watched the faint light bathe the faces of her loved ones. Beside her, Tiasha lay on her side, facing her, fast asleep. Her long, ginger hair fell atumble over her soft, lovely face; her gentle lips were parted, exhaling a slow, steady breath as she slept. Vuni watched her fondly. She had to resist the impulse to brush her girlfriend's hair gently aside, or kiss those tender, faintly pouting lips. With a smile, she sat up, and looked over at their children.

Nine baby slug girls, so very tiny still, lay curled up snuggling against one another. Eight were asleep, but little Lidi was gazing back at her mother with wide, curious brown eyes. Upon catching her mum's attention, the little girl smiled, and extended her tiny arms towards her. Her heart swelling with warmth, Vuni slithered up to her, and took her in her arms, careful not to wake the others.

“How can you be awake?” she whispered lovingly, and kissed her. “It took you ages to get to sleep.” Lidi burbled, content, and lay back to rest in her mother's arms. Vuni breathed out a quiet, gentle laugh. “That's better. Go back to sleep, my precious one.” She kissed her again, ran her hand through her daughter's thin red hair -its colour so much like Tiasha's-, and set her down among her sisters. “Sleep,” she whispered again. “Mommy'll be back very soon. I love you.”

Lidi smiled, then yawned and, apparently satisfied with that, closed her little eyes once more. Vuni remained by her side several minutes longer, watching her children sleep, a soft smile of adoration floating on her lips, then slithered out of the burrow very quietly - out into the slowly warming air. The soft sunlight fell in patterns between the leaves of the canopy high above. Dew dripped from the leaves of a nearby bush. Beneath Vuni's slug tail, the ground was still a little cold, but it would warm up soon enough. Sniffing the air for any hint of a threat, she slithered forth into the forest, beginning her first hunt of the day.

It was a habit they had that whoever woke up first would fetch breakfast for both of them, unless the children needed tending to right away of course. Tiasha was an earlier waker than Vuni, most of the time, so the latter felt good about bringing her beloved breakfast in bed once in a while. At least, for the time being, she only had to hunt for two. The girls were still too young to eat solid foods, and still lived off their mothers' breastmilk. Once they started growing up, that would be eleven mouths to feed. Several times a day. It was going to be quite a challenge, and she would not be surprised if all the tinies in the area emigrated to safer territories.

Of course, once the children were old enough to eat proper food, they would soon have to be taught to hunt, and eventually to fend for themselves. Slug girls of the small variety, which Vuni and her family belonged to, had to learn to be autonomous at a young age. You never knew when your parents might get eaten while out finding food for you. Felarya was not a kind place; tragedies were all too frequent, and even children needed to be able to survive on their own.

Vuni gave a little sigh, and tried to brush aside those gloomy thoughts. She was not looking forward to the day when her little ones would leave the burrow and venture out into the wider world. She hoped she and Tiasha would still see them as often as possible, but eventually they would have their own lives to lead. If all nine of them survived into adulthood. She felt a clenching of her heart, and her eyes moistened with unwelcome tears. In a world where nobody could ever die of old age -not that she even knew what `ageing' might mean-, population growth was compensated for by the myriad predators who fed on succulent little slug girls. It was the way life was. But it did mean every couple faced an agonising choice when they began thinking about starting a family.

Vuni loved her daughters with all her heart, and did not regret bringing them into this world, but sometimes...

She finally pushed that thought aside, and focused fully on her surroundings. She and Tiasha had left a number of slime trails out the previous evening, and it had not rained during the night, so the powerful, sticky traps should remain unweakened. She slithered between the trees at her slow, steady pace, plucking a grub from a large root and gulping it down whole to stem her growing appetite. It wriggled pleasantly in her stomach, but she was after more tasty food.

After several long minutes of slow progress, slithering further away from home, she came across a lone catboy climbing up the trunk of a large tree. They had caught each other's scent, and knew they were no threat to one another; when they came into view, and she looked up at him, he gave her a polite nod, which she responded to with a quiet smile. While nekos were food to larger slug girls, they were the same size as Vuni herself, and thus much too big to be eaten. She had even spoken to nekos, on rare occasions, and had found some of them to be quite friendly.

They were a strange species, she mused as she slithered past. They had separate genders. From what she understood, nekos could only reproduce if they were of their partner's opposite sex, whereas a slug girl could mate with any partner she liked. A neko had once told a friend of hers that, while nekos could form single-gender couples, they could not actually have children with their loved one in such cases. Which seemed rather sad, really. Perhaps she was lucky being a slug girl. Although sometimes it would be nice to be able to run, fast, as nekos did!

Speaking of which… Her nose caught the scent of what was unmistakably a gigantic slug girl, close by. She stopped, instantly, on high alert. This meant danger. The bigger girl was no doubt looking for breakfast, and `breakfast' could quite easily be Vuni herself. She looked around, trying to stay calm, seeking anywhere she could hide, out of reach. Fortunately, she was downwind from the predator, whose slowly diminishing scent suggested she was moving away. Vuni allowed herself to breathe out a quiet sigh of relief. She remained still for a while longer, just to be safe, then continued on her way, on the lookout for her own breakfast, and Tiasha's.

She found it a few minutes later, guided by the scent but also by small, breathless gasps and cries of pleasure. Nestled in the grasses behind a bush, a young couple of tomthumbs were lost in the grip of passionate lovemaking. Shaking her head in wonder at their lack of caution, she slithered up to them. They neither heard nor smelt her approach. Tomthumbs' sense of smell was notoriously weak, which often made them easier prey to catch than the more sensitive mausus and neeras. The tomthumb woman noticed her only when she loomed over them, and she yelped in fright. Vuni smiled, and spat a thick gob of slime which slammed down upon them, sticking them both to the ground. The man struggled to get off his companion and turn around, but to no avail. Both tinies began yelling with fear, their joyous passion turning to panic. Unconcerned, Vuni picked them up, holding their gooed-up, entwined bodies firm between her fingers.

“You two aren't very smart, you know,” she chided. “But I'm not going to complain about that.” She licked her lips, moistening them. Her tummy rumbled hungrily in anticipation of food. The tomthumb woman gave her a look of speechless fright, and burst into tears. The man held her as best he could, comforting her. He seemed to be trying to turn and face his captor, and possibly to speak, but was clearly impeded by the slime. Vuni held them up and looked at them for just a few seconds.

The woman had dark, sandy blond hair, a slender figure and small but pretty breasts. She was about the same height as her mate, perhaps even a little taller. The man had a reasonably healthy build, maybe just a tad underweight, and surprisingly pale blond hair. The small of his back was marked with a tattoo, too small for her to distinguish in any detail. They were both obviously terrified, struggling pointlessly in her hand, and for a moment she felt a little sorry for them. She was not a cruel predator, and she did not want to keep them lingering in fear. Time to get this over with. She brought them up to her mouth, and sucked them in quickly with a wet, slimy slurp. Closing her lips behind them, she began to savour her first meal of the day. Continuing on her way, she enjoyed their subtle flavour as it flooded her tastebuds, and relished their frantic struggling on her tongue. Sloshing them about inside her mouth, she soaked all the flavour she could out of them, then gulped them down, one after the other. They slid easily into her throat, and she smiled with contentment at the feeling of their lumps being pushed down inside her chest. She felt them arrive in her empty, hungry stomach, where they began their struggles anew. Patting her tummy, breathing out a little sigh of satisfaction, she sought out one of the slime trails she had set the day before.

A warm breeze tickled her bare back, playing ever so softly with her short blond hair. Swirling down from the trees, it rustled through the leaves, and rippled in the grasses of the forest floor. Already, the air was distinctly warmer, dawn's timid sunlight now pouring through the woods in all its splendour. The breeze was picking up, building into a gentle, whooshing wind, and the crisp freshness of the air bore a peculiar scent. She slowed, sniffing, wary at any hint of the unknown, but it did not appear to be the sign of a lurking predator. She convinced herself not to worry about it, and pressed on. Soon enough, it seemed to fade, and the only smells were the comfortingly familiar ones of her home forest.

Her stomach gurgled, noisily beginning to digest the frantically thrashing tomthumbs. It rumbled wetly, groaning and glorping as it set about the task of dissolving her breakfast into useful nutrients. Like that of all slug girls, her digestion was always loud, but the groans of her active belly also told her she was still hungry. Keenly aware of her surroundings, she continued her hunt, enjoying the pleasant warmth of the rising sun on her skin.

By now, no doubt, Tiasha would be awake, and tending to the little ones. A fond smile blossomed on Vuni's lips. Looking after the babies kept them both busy most of each passing day. Tiasha would appreciate a good breakfast to keep her strength up. They were both going to need it.

Picking up on one of her own trails, she followed it patiently. She noted with annoyance a few traces of mausus fur stuck in the slime, a sure sign that some other predator had eaten the prey that she had caught. Judging by the variety of fur colours, there had been at least two tinies here. It was an all too common occurrence, and she tried not to let it irritate her. Her spirits lifted, however, when she spotted something unexpected up ahead. Her favorite food. A slimoid.

She grinned, delighted, and licked her lips once more. It was progressing parallel to her trail, and it did not appear to have noticed her. Its translucent membrane caught the sunlight in a faint shimmer, as it oozed steadily over solid earth. It was not too big - just the right size. She built up a thick gob of saliva in her mouth, slithering after it in happy anticipation. As she approached, her stomach let out a loud rumble, and the slimoid froze. Before it could ooze away, she spat.

Slimoids possessed two abilities which made them a challenging prey to catch. The first was that, like almost every other species, they moved faster than a slug girl when unimpeded. The second was that they could not be stuck in slug girl slime. On the other hand, her saliva, on a slimoid's membrane, was slippery.

Hurrying towards her food as fast as she could slither, Vuni spat several times in rapid succession and with perfect accuracy. Stumbling under the impact, the slimoid slipped and slid, and the slick liquid seeped beneath it, coating the earth in a thin sheen as slippery as ice. It lunged, throwing itself forward, desperately trying to get away. Vuni could almost taste it already. She giggled with excitement, closing in, and lunged in turn to grasp her delicious prey in a constricting embrace.

The slimoid squeaked, and thrashed in her arms. Vuni tightened her grip. “No, don't!” the amorphous being yelped, in a high-pitched, frantic voice. Although its shape was shifting rapidly in an effort to slip free, it had taken on a distinctly humanoid, rather attractive feminine face, with simulated short, aesthetically ruffled hair. Its transparent body also revealed quite clearly the remains of its latest meal: the partially dissolved bones of three tiny skeletons, floating in its gooey internal mass. Its slender arms elongated into whip-like, nimble appendages, and lashed back at the slug girl, trying to push her away. She wrestled with it. Her stomach rumbled, and the slimoid's struggles became more intense as it fought to escape its fate.

Vuni had expected it to try and slide free, so she was somewhat taken by surprise when it extended two more snake-like limbs and latched on to her with all four `arms', pulling closer to her, rather than away. Its membrace pressed against her face, smothering her, and she felt a sudden sucking sensation. To her astonishment, she realised the bold little thing was actually trying to absorb her!

Quelling a brief sense of fear, she kept her calm, and did the most logical thing: she inhaled. The being's malleable body began to enter her mouth, its distinct flavour coating her tastebuds. Eagerly, she began to slurp it up faster. It writhed, fighting with all its strength, but to no avail. It was hers now.

“Stop it!” the slimoid begged. “Please!”

Vuni ignored it. Her mouth was too full to answer, in any case, and she began gulping it down, feeling it flow down her throat as she sucked in more and more of its mass. It tasted exquisite, and she smiled with pleasure as she continued to eat. For a brief while, she considered bringing it back to Tiasha, but slimoids were difficult to carry; it was best to eat them on the spot. Besides, Tiasha preferred the taste of tinies.

Desperate, the slimoid slapped her face hard with its whip-shaped arm. Vuni flinched, and grabbed the flailing limb, squeezing it with her hand. The slimoid produced another, pushing at her face, and Vuni caught that too. She slurped hard, sucking in most of the creature. The slimoid screamed, writhing not just outside her but also in her mouth, all the way down her throat and in her stomach, as most of its body was squeezed down her alimentary canal. Finally, she sucked in the last of it, and licked the slime off her lips before closing them. Grinning, she allowed herself to savour the slimoid's taste, soaking it in, before swallowing the final part of it, and breathing out a sigh of satisfaction. The terrified being slid down her oesophagus, until the whole of it had entered her stomach.

“Mmmm…” Vuni licked her lips again, catching every last taste of her delicious meal, stretched, and patted her full tummy. Like all slug girls, she possessed an expandable stomach, and at this moment it was bulging quite noticably to accommodate her large meal. The slimoid inside her squirmed and struggled, helping her feel even more full. It also made her feel quite cheerful. She wiped her lips with the back of her hand, looked around to make sure no predator was creeping up on her in turn, and stifled a dainty little burp.

Well, that was her breakfast seen to. Now to find Tiasha's. Licking her lips one last time, holding on to the lingering taste of slimoid in her mouth, she slithered on, following her own trail. Her stomach glugged and gurgled, getting to work on her meal. It was never quite so loud, she had noticed, as when she was digesting a slimoid. The tasty creatures dissolved quite quickly, but because they were so filling, they remained a satisfying presence in her tummy as long as any other food. The slimoid's struggles intensified as her belly rumbled and glorped, sloshing it about, but already her thoughts were back on the hunt.

The trail she was following proved disappointing, and with a sigh she veered off to find another. Hunting for food was a time-consuming process, which left her or Tiasha out in the open and exposed to danger far too long every day. For the second time that morning, she found herself wishing she had legs like a neko, or at least the slithering speed of a naga. It took her a long while to find her next prey, and by the time she had completed her morning hunt, the sun had risen quite some distance into the sky. Clutching five wailing tomthumbs and a neera in her hands, she hurried home to her family.

Little by little, the air seemed to cool. As she passed beneath an arcing, thick root, brushing dry soil and fragments of bark from her hair, a coolish breeze played on her bare skin, and that strange, tingling freshness tickled her nostrils. She slowed, wary, her antennae quivering, her senses fully alert. Some of the tinies in her hands seemed to sense it, too, looking around with distinct unease.

“Can you… feel that?” she asked them.

“How about you just let us go?” a young male snapped back, fear in his voice. She glared at him, and looked up at the canopy and clear skies above. Was she imagining it, or was there a faint haze in the air? She frowned, worried. It was never reassuring to be faced with the unknown. Although nothing seemed particularly amiss, her instincts were warning her that this was wrong. As though to confirm it, the sole neera in her left hand wriggled tensely, and whimpered. She cast him a glance, probing his tiny face.

“What is it?” she whispered.

The tiny creature did not answer. The tingling sensation on her skin increased suddenly, and she shivered, looking around in fearful confusion. A brightness permeated the air, turning into a pervasive glow, and a buzzing began to ring in her ears. With a little cry, she raised her prey-filled hands to her ears, closed her eyes tight, and-

The buzzing stopped, and the painful ringing slowly began to fade. Through her clenched eyelids, she saw the brightness diminish. The tinies in her grasp were babbling to each other, a stressed chatter. She opened her eyes, cautious, and found herself gazing once more at trees. But these were no longer the same trees. They were smaller, unfamiliar, their bark a light, brownish orange, some slender and green. Trying not to panic, she turned, assessing her surroundings. A wood stretched out in most directions, teeming with plantlife, pleasant yet alien. To one side, the trees seemed to give way, a short distance away, to some sort of field ; she caught a glimpse of hills on the horizon. It was a warm day still, but the tweeting birdsong that reached her ears was unlike any she had ever heard. She stared, gripped in sudden dread.

“Wh- where are we?” one of the male tomthumbs asked her, timidly. She looked down at him, dazed, and shook her head.

“I… I don't know,” she admitted, in a small voice. “We're…” She trailed off.

As her rational mind struggled to reassert itself against her instinctive fear, she tried her best to understand what had happened. Perhaps it was an illusion. If so, had it been cast against her specifically? That would suggest someone was trying to trap her… which in turn implied that she was being hunted. But why go to so much trouble? She was slow and easy to catch, if someone was hoping to eat her. Or perhaps this was all an accident - a random, freak event which she been caught up in through sheer bad luck? She had heard of people appearing and disappearing in Felarya, reportedly out of thin air. Was that what had happened? Had she, someone, been… displaced?

“We've been moved,” a female tomthumb said, her voice shaking.

“Yes,” Vuni agreed. “Perhaps.” Her antennae quivered, seeking danger, and she sniffed the air. “Keep your voices down.”

“Why?” the woman asked, angrily. “You're going to eat us anyway.”

Vuni scowled, and looked at her. The tiny woman's belligerant attitude was not something she felt like putting up with in these stressful circumstances. She squeezed her hand very slightly, and the tinies in it grimaced. Truth be told, at this particular moment she felt no desire to eat them. She had never intended to in the first place; they were destined to be Tiasha's breakfast, and right now she had no idea how to get to Tiasha. Her heart clenched at the thought. Even had her stomach not been full with the slimoid, she was far too tense and worried to have an appetite. She hesitated.

“Stay here,” she told her girlfriend's food, firmly. Slithering forward a short distance, she turned back and placed the six tinies in her fresh slime trail, where they would be stuck in place. “I'm going to take a look around.”

Ignoring the tinies' protests, she headed for the edge of the wood, which she hoped would give her a view of the kind of land she had found herself in. There was life in the woods, but her delicate antennae could sense no large predators in her immediate vicinity. She did not let her guard down, however. Having lived all her life in Felarya, she simply had no concept of being `safe'.

Crossing even a short distance was time-consuming, and she slowed as she reached the last line of trees, looking out over the gentle slopes of weather-worn hills, stretches of land partitioned in large rectangles of different coloured plants. She had never seen fields of crops before, having no notion of agriculture, and stared at the odd patterns for a while in silence. Equally intriguing were the stone buildings scattered about amidst the fields. None of them were particularly close by, so there was no immediate risk of being seen. Her yellow eyes absorbed the puzzling scenery, while she tried to decide what to make of it. Her stomach shifted with a wet glug, and rumbled, pursuing its task of digestion unconcerned.

After several long minutes of indecisiveness, Vuni turned, and slithered back slowly to where she had first appeared. She was at a loss as to what she should do. She had no idea how to get home, and she knew nothing of this place or its inhabitants; the unknown, itself, was frightening. Already, the thought of being seperated from her family was bringing tears to her eyes. She wiped at them, and sniffled. It was then that she heard the tomthumbs scream.

Startled, she hurried to where she had left them, their loud yells for help spurring her on. She slithered into view, and found them struggling to break free of her slime, while a sleek, furry creature observed them a few metres away, crouching on its four muscular legs. It looked very vaguely feline, although its nose was too long, and it had no visible ears; its brown, homogenous fur was so dark as to be almost black. It was smaller than the slug girl, but its mouth looked large enough to tear a tomthumb to pieces. Its pale grey eyes were small and sunken, nestled back in its skull, staring intently at the small humanoid creatures trapped before it. When Vuni appeared, however, its head snapped up to focus on her.

“Go away!” she shouted at it, advancing and waving her arms. “Go on! Shoo! Nasty thing!”

The creature blinked, then produced a high-pitched hissing sound, before turning and retreating at a fast run. Vuni sighed, and shook her head. Some of the tinies were shivering with relief.

“Thank you!” a male tomthumb gasped. “You came back just in time!”

“Don't thank her!” the woman beside him snapped. “She's the one who left us here, and she's still going to eat us!” She glared at the slug girl with fearful anger.

Vuni winced, and slithered up to them. Truth be told, she felt a little nauseated. Not because of the slimoid, but simply due to stress. A part of her was still dazed, unable to come to terms with what had happened to her. She was battling shock, trying to pull herself together to face whatever perils this place would throw at her.

And face the horrifying prospect that she might never get home.

Altogether, it really did rob her of any appetite. She sighed again and, without a word, reached down to pick up the tomthumb woman. The tiny screeched, struggling between her fingers, as Vuni plucked her gently out of the slime, and set her down on the ground. She repeated the process with the other four tomthumbs and the neera, still in silence. They quieted down as she did so, clearly wondering what she was doing - not quite daring to hope.

“Go on,” she said quietly. “Off you go.”

They looked up at her, a variety of expressions on their tiny faces.

“Go?” the neera repeated at last, after a moment of silence. “Just… go? Go where?”

“Wherever you want.” She shrugged, as a deep sense of despair began to settle over her. “I'm not going to eat you. You're free. Do whatever you want.”

Her girlfriend's erstwhile breakfast looked at one another.

“And that's it?” the angry woman asked, indignant. “You just drop us off here and leave us? We don't even know where the hell we are! There are predators! You got us into this mess-”

Vuni glared at her, pain in her eyes. “Do you want me to keep you for later?” she snapped. “I'm sure I'll get my appetite back at some point. Just go! Before I change my mind.”

The woman opened her mouth, then wisely closed it again. One of the men took her by the arm, and she nodded, following him as they walked away. The tomthumbs stayed together, while the neera darted off by himself, into the underbrush. One of the males stood back a while, looking up at Vuni, and seemed to hesitate. She met his gaze, without speaking.

“Thank you,” he said, simply. It sounded heartfelt. She nodded, waved him away, and watched him run after the others. As they hurried away, she gave a deep sigh. Her gaze travelled round her alien surroundings. The trees, so much smaller than most in Felarya, were less oppressive, and yet their strangeness in itself weighed down on her, a weight of hopelessness crushing her shoulders. For a long while, she stayed right where she was.

There was nowhere to go. No home to return to.

Tears flooded her eyes now, and her little body shivered, wracked with the first, hiccoughing sobs. She brought her hands to her face, and wept, despair and misery streaming out with her tears. She thought of Tiasha, who would wait and wait for her to come home, before realising, with dreadful certainty, that she was not coming back. She thought of her babies, and burst into a fresh, uncontrolable flow of tears, crying her heart out, alone in this strange forest.

“Are you all right?”

She turned, quickly, at the sound of the voice behind her. It was a male voice, young, gentle and concerned, but she tensed in alertness all the same. Her tear-stained, yellow eyes gazed upon a human. He was young, in his mid or late teens, and his pale brown hair was ruffled untidily. His clothes were simple, worn and earth-stained, but otherwise not particularly scruffy. He seemed a healthy youth, and stood there several metres away, looking at her with something resembling awe. Yet although he seemed wary, there was kindness in his brown eyes. She allowed herself to relax, just a little.

She nodded, and wiped her eyes.

“I'll be all right,” she said softly. It did not sound convincing, even to her own ears. The human hesitated, then took several steps forward.

“What… What are you?” he asked, fascinated. He spoke in a whisper, as though talking too loud might cause this strange apparition to vanish again. If only, Vuni thought, her heart sinking. It seemed she was here to stay. The human approached her slowly. He seemed more concerned than afraid, although his slow pace betrayed his hesitation.

“I'm a slug girl,” she told him. “Have you never seen anyone like me before?”

The boy shook his head. “Never. Where do you come from?”

Vuni sighed. “That's complicated.”

“All right.” He slowed, and stopped. “Uhm… well, I'm a human.”

Despite herself, she felt a very faint smile tug at the corners of her lips. “Yes, I know.”

“There are humans where you come from?” He was surprised.

She nodded. After a moment's pause, she added: “My name's Vuni.”

The simple introduction seemed to help him relax, allaying whatever fears he might have had. He grinned, and moved closer. “I'm Bajen. Pleased to meet you, my lady.” After a brief flicker of hesitation, he reached for her hand. She flinched, on instinct, but did not pull away as he lifted it to his face and softly kissed it. She gave him a look of surprise, and he blushed.

“My apologies. I'm merely greeting you in… the way I've been taught. It was meant as a form of respect.”

A little puzzled, Vuni managed another faint smile. “That's all right.” A pause. “I hope you don't mind if I don't kiss your hand, though.”

This time, it was Bajen who looked at her in surprise - then laughed.

“No, that's ok. Uhm…” He looked round briefly. “I hope I'm not bothering you. I… I heard you crying,” he admitted, awkwardly.

She smiled weakly. He seemed nice, as if he genuinely did care. On an impulse, she decided to trust him… for now.

“I'm… a bit lost. And…” She trailed off.

“Oh, I'm sorry.” His voice was warm with sympathy. And still a little awkward, as though he were uncertain how to behave around her. She noticed, too, that he was keeping his gaze on her face, trying very hard not to glance down at her nakedness. “I… Uh…Well, do you need somewhere to stay? You can… you could stay at my parents' place, until you figure out where you're going.”

Once more, she felt a flutter of surprise. Her heart warmed to him then, and she gave a sad but grateful smile.

“Wouldn't your parents mind?”

“Oh… No. No, I don't think so.”

“Then thank you.” She put her hand on his arm, gently, meeting his gaze. “I accept.”

“Great!” He gave a slightly nervous grin… then looked down at her tummy as it gurgled loudly. “Are you hungry?” Her belly still looked very full indeed, enveloping her partially digested slimoid, and whatever was left of those first two tomthumbs. She shook her head.

“I'm just digesting. Our tummies are always loud.”

“Ah. OK. Well…” He looked over his shoulder, and gestured. “If you'd like to come with me, miss… Miss Vuni, it's just… that way.”

“Thank you,” she said again. She saw him watch with unconcealed fascination as she began to slither, and his eyes tracked the ripples of her slug body, the trail of slime she left behind. No, she decided, he was no threat. If she was lucky, perhaps this human would even be able to help, in some way. She looked at him, and waited to catch his attention.

“This place…” She hesitated. She was almost afraid to ask. But if she was ever to get home, she needed to know. She looked into his brown eyes, anxious. “Where am I?”

“This?” He swept his arm round, and she nodded. “Oh, this is Okhlee. It's quite a small village, but-”

“No, I mean… I mean, more generally,” she pressed. “What… Well, what world is this?”

He gazed at her, astonished and fascinated all at once. She could almost see the thoughts turning in his mind, behind those smart, warm eyes. She comes from another world, he was thinking. But while her presence might be a source of excitement to him, she felt only a deep, gnawing anxiety, and waited breathless for his next words.

“Well, this is Feloya,” he said.

And she stared at him, dumbfounded.

[To be continued…]