#ler!egg

I'm slowly but surely making by way through my backlog of fics I have ready to post. One day I'll post them all lol

Pls enjoy

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The red vines popped up around the Summer Home seemingly within an hour. In the morning, Foolish was walking from his temple to the oasis with Foolish Jr and Finley on his shoulders. After their morning swim and sun drying themselves, Foolish saw it. The red caught on the corner of his eye, just peeking up near the XD statue. Knowing that red too well, Foolish ushered his children inside and went to deal with it.

It was only a few vines, three or four at the most, clumped around the base of the XD statue. Foolish pulled them up immediately and they snapped off, with no fuss. He dug down under the spot they were coming from but found no other vines. To ease his own mind, Foolish convinced himself it was some left over vines that had been pushed up to the surface. He’d cleared them away, and that would be the end of it.

That was, in fact, not the end of it.

A few weeks later Foolish was working on a build far from the Summer Home and he saw the vines in the distance. A lot of them. There was a large clump just in the middle of the spruce forest, and then Foolish could see, in the distance, a clump of red on the horizon of a far off hill.

Foolish did his best not to panic as he gathered up his tools and walked over to the vines. His theory could still be true. These were the last of the vines from that horrid Egg and something - an earthquake maybe - had shifted them up to the surface. These were just remnants of them. There was no way the Egg was back in power.

The clump Foolish came up to in the forest was a lot more than just four vines. A few of them were wrapped around the trees but the main clump of it was sitting in the grass, the red vines entwined and coiled around themselves making it impossible to count how many of them there actually were. It could be many, or just a few long ones wrapped around themselves again and again.

He couldn’t hear any whispering, so Foolish took that as a good sign and got to work. He could cut down the trees later so it would be better to tackle the main clump of it.

Foolish took a careful step in between the vines to try and find the source of them. He could see a few of the vines clumped close together just off centre of the mass. He grabbed his axe in one hand and bent down to reach for them. He couldn’t get a good grip on them, so Foolish moved forward and that’s when he fell.

He fell forward, into the pile of vines and fear kept him still.

It was just a trip. He reasoned to himself. I tripped on one of the vines laying still. It didn’t move because it has no power and it can’t move.

Foolish pushed himself up and felt a vine wrap around his back, looping under his waist and pressing down on him, and Foolish accepted the fact then. The Egg was still alive.

With that new information Foolish changed tactics. Taking it slow was not an option anymore, so he pushed himself up as fast as he could go. The red vines weren’t prepared, not ready to hold him down, so Foolish got himself up onto his knees.

A vine snapped out from the now writhing mass and wrapped around Foolish’s right forearm. Another around his left bicep. The vines pulled, but Foolish could easily pull back. The Egg was alive, but it had next to no power. It wasn’t strong anymore and Foolish could easily win the fight.

As though the Egg realised this, it changed tactics. The vine on his forearm fell but quickly snaked around to join the one on his bicep. The vines all focused their strength to one thought, pulling on Foolish’s arm but the golden shark was barely fazed. He was winning this battle of strength; until the Egg cheated.

“BahAHA! WHahAHAT!”

It came as Foolish pulled himself up. He was halfway to standing, with one foot on the ground and ready to push himself up when another vine had weaved into his armpit and started wiggling it’s tip against his skin.

“Stohop ihIHIT!” Foolish pulled and tried to stop the giggling but it was no use. He was terrible at holding back his laughter, and the vine in his arm traced up and down the hollow shape of his underarm with precision. When it realised it was getting a response, it pressed in with a firmer touch.

Another vine wrapped around his other arm, distracting Foolish from the vines swarming towards his left side. One got a his ribs, tracing up and down the bones. Another weaved around his back, tracing the shape of his spine. With these, and the vine still  constantly wiggling in his armpit, Foolish had no choice but to be pulled down.

At that moment, more than any other, Foolish wished his clothes weren’t so loose and open. He wore no top, other than the thin cape he attached at his shoulders, and that was useless with protecting him. The vines all wiggled in their chosen spots, none of them matching in speed or rhythm so he couldn’t get used to them.

“S-Stohohop! StohOHOhohOP!” Foolish’s laughter ended in a high yelp when he felt one of the vines wrap around his lower ribs, vibrating along them. His legs wobbled, threatening to fall but a fire lit in Foolish, pulling hard enough at the vine wrapped around his arm and actually pulling out of their hold. He heard the vine snap, and felt his arm slack.

The wave of elation rushed over and then quickly out of Foolish as he fell with the momentum of the pull. He hadn’t expected the vine to snap so easily so while he was out of the grasp of one vine he fell back into the mass of vines laying beneath him.

The red vines suddenly came alive. They moved like snakes, weaving under and over Foolish. They wrapped around his waist and limbs, pulling him down while the vines worked back into tickling him. The usual ones returned to his armpits and ribs, but now more came to his stomach, tracing around and tickling over his bellybutton, and a few went to his feet, poking and swiping along his soles.

“NAHAHAHAHAHA! OoohohoHOHOho PriHIHihiME! ST-STOP! PlehEAHAHASE STOHOHOHOP!”

Foolish kicked and pulled but the vines had him held down now, from all limbs. He managed to peek open his eyes, scanning for his axe he dropped and saw it, just in time, to be swallowed by the sea of red and lost into the clump of vines.

The laughter was broken up by a helpless whine as Foolish saw his chance for escape disappear. The vines around his wrists tightened, and pulled his arms up, stretching him out as a vine on each side poked down his ribs.

“St-ohop! Stohohop! Stohohohohop!” Foolish voice squeaked higher and higher the lower the vines poked. The softness of the vines were like feathers but it was firm like fingers, digging in to each rib. Foolish panicked the further the vines went.

The vines spent time on each rib, making sure it was kneaded properly before moving down to the next one. Foolish couldn’t think what would happen when it ran out of ribs, because if the vines started on his sides, he had no chance of escape.

A list of possible escape plans formed in Foolish’s head while he could still think clearly. His axe was gone but he still had his sword in his inventory. If he could just reach it.

The vines around Foolish’s left arm weren’t as firm as the ones on his right. If he was fast enough, he could grab the sword from his inventory and swing down on a few of the vines. He had to hit enough  of them to be able to escape though.

The red tendrils tickled down to the middle of Foolish’s ribs now, spending a little more time on each ones like they were taunting him. Slowly going towards his sensitive sides.

Foolish panicked the vines were getting too close, and not wanting to risk another inch he quickly summoned his sword. The vines responded immediately, half in a panic and tightening their hold on Foolish’s arms and the other half tickled in faster and anywhere they could get. Every single one of his ribs were attacked. The vines tickling at his feet curled around them, using their soft sides to wiggle against his skin while the ends of their tendrils tickled up his calves. The ones to really kick in Foolish’s struggling was the vines wrapped around his waist wiggled and vibrated against his sides.

“FUHUHAHAHAHAH! NAHAAHAHAHAHAHA!

Any amount of composure was lost. Foolish fell on his side, his heels digging into the dirt and kicking up vines. Suddenly realising they had found a good spot, all the vines zeroed in on his sides. They stroked, poked and wiggled along the soft golden sides and Foolish howled.

Electricity surged through Foolish’s limbs, which turned in his favour. With the vines focusing on tickling his sides, his arms were free and his hand with the sword swung out, hitting the main clump of vines on the ground and cutting them.

Few vines went limp, the other tried to get for Foolish’s arms, but escape was in sight and Foolish hacked again and again. A red clump of vines fell away, showing the handle of his axe and he made a grab for it.

Duel wielding his axe and sword, Foolish swung. He swung until he felt the vines along his sides loosen, or stop tickling, then he stood up and kept swinging until the vines were in a thousand pieces.

Foolish stood in the mess of chopped vines, taking in deep gulps of air. His sides tingled and throat felt sore. The clump of vines coming from the ground were hacked into pieces and the ones weaving around the branches were limp and lifeless, some of them falling. Foolish shook off the ghostly tickles and took a moment to take in a deep breath and calm himself.

The forest felt far too quiet and Foolish kicked a few of the vines just to make some noise. He pulled down the vines from the trees, kicked all the vines together in a pile and burned them. He got the few of the smaller pieces he couldn’t get before and burned them too. He tried to dig around under the area to find more of the vines but there were none. Foolish was sure they came from underground but he tried searching for a good few minutes and found nothing.

Foolish had to convince himself that was fine. It had to be remnants of the Egg somehow, but if they weren’t deeply routed into the sever like before then there was nothing Foolish could do. He felt drained and was just thinking how he couldn’t wait to get back home and have a relaxing swim, when the red caught onto the corner of his eye.

Another red mass in the distance. The one he’d seen when he was standing at his build and it was in the horizon. Now, from the spruce forest, Foolish could see it rather close through the trees.

Leave it. Just leave it. It’s not your job. Just pretend you didn’t see it.

But Foolish couldn’t pretend, and he couldn’t leave it. Half way through talking himself out of it, he was already making his way towards the vines.

These vines lay by a pile of rocks out in a rather open area which was rather bold. Usually the Egg had hidden their cluster until they had more control and power, till there was too many to stop. The vines here were casually in a meadow, twisting around some rocks and thankfully not as big as the last cluster.

Foolish believed then this would be easier.

They’ll try tickle you again. He told himself. They’ll get you wrapped up again. But you know that so you’re smarter than that.

He immediately held his axe, ready to make the swing as he approached. Few of the vines were already moving, making slow slithering moves towards him. Foolish saw a good chunk which would kill off most of the vines with one hit and, as quietly as he could, he stepped around the moving vines.

There was a free spot without vines were Foolish could step into and swing down. He readied himself, taking in a breath to prepare to make a quick step in. The axe was halfway lifted and just as Foolish took in deep breath, lifting the axe above his head and rose his foot to step in, he was suddenly grabbed from behind.

A sneaking tendril whipped out and wrapped around Foolish’s waist. It quickly coiled around him three times before pulling him down.

“WHAT?! What thehe f-fffuhuhuhuck!”

The vines wasted no time, immediately massaging and kneading into Foolish’s sides. The axe fell from his grasp as he fell and just as Foolish pulled his head up to look for it, one of the red menaces wrapped around it and threw it far out of reach.

Foolish whined to the loss of his weapon instead of immediately brining out his sword. By the time he remembered his his wrists were wrapped tightly and arms pulled over his head again. He was dragged into the centre of the vines, where they all eagerly sprung to life. His limbs were cocooned and held down tight. His arms stretched up above his head pulling his sides taunt and the vines got to work.

The ones coiled around him shifted lower, still kneading and vibrating their soft fuzzy texture against Foolish’s skin but getting more of his hips with it, and other vines quickly swarmed in, poking, tasering and wiggling up and down the golden shark’s sides. Showing no mercy or hesitation.

The last thought whirling in Foolish’s mind was: They share a hive mind! Before all logical thoughts were pushed out, and his brain was flooded by It tickles! It tickles! It tickle it ticklesittcklesittickles!!!

The electricity coursing through his body was telling Foolish to struggle and fight and run, but the vines holding him down wouldn’t allow it, creating a mixture of panic and survival coursing through every cell in his body but it was fighting against the helpless knowledge that he could not move at all, so all the energy just fizzled and flowed through him making every nerve in his body hypersensitive.

Foolish had never felt this ticklish in his life. The vines must have made him more ticklish, because even the vines just lightly brushing along his sides and the bottom of his ribs were sending extensive shocks through him. He was sure he was babbling something, but even Foolish didn’t know what he was saying. It might have been pleading or just guttural shouts, anything to let out the build up of ticklishness that he couldn’t let out by struggling.

The vines had moved but Foolish could barely feel it. He only knew they had during the moments where he could open his eyes, either shocked open or when he tried to peek at what the vines were doing. They coiled and slowly engulfed Foolish more and more. Burying him under layers of the red tendrils.

A fleeting worry tried to find purchase in Foolish’s mind, but it hardly had time to settle. It felt like his entire body was being rewritten to be tickled, and even if he could have a moment of clarity to think, the vine slowly wrapped around his shoulder and tracing so lightly over his ear was too distracting to form any thought.

The whispering started up. It cut through the scrambled thoughts of Foolish’s mind. He couldn’t hear the words, he couldn’t even know if there were any words, but the whispers were soothing, making his body relax and giving the vines all the more access.

Foolish knew that whispering, though it had nearly been a year since he had heard it. It was the whispering that greeted him after he’d woken from death. It was the sickeningly comforting whispers that made his mind into mush, that made him listen to that Egg. But Foolish had the strength to push out those whispers then; he had no strength now.

Whenever he tried to focus enough on the whispers, the vine would tickle his ear or the ones around his side massaged in, drawing out more howls of laughter. A few of the vines ventured up, poking up and down Foolish’s ribs again. It was maddening trying to arch his back and pull on his arms, but nothing budged. He was trapped as the vines weaved more and more around him.

They were completely encasing him. Hiding him away as the whispers infected his mind.

“N-NOHOHOHOAHAHA! St-StohOHOHOhohop! Plehehehease!”

The vines paid no mind and the whispering increased. Louder and louder until he couldn’t hear his own thoughts. It wasn’t his voice speaking in his mind anymore.

You don’t need to escape. You’re safe here.

“Sh-SHUHUHUHUHUT UHUHUP!” Foolish screamed, but no matter how much he screamed or yelled, it was no use. The whispers in his mind were louder than his own laughter. The vines had completely encased him into a cocoon of red writhing tendrils, blocking out any of the outside world.

The only thing Foolish could see where the vines. He could only hear the whispers. His mind was slowly melting and he was in the middle of a random forest, where chances of being seen were slim.

Foolish was trapped and alone and the whispers were slowly turning from unsettling to honeyed sweet. A deep dreaded feeling of hopelessness overcame Foolish’s limbs, like being slowly lowered into ice water as the whispers became almost deafening.

He was lost.

The only thing to shake Foolish out of his own head was to realise the vines had stopped tickling. Not entirely but the tendrils wrapped around his waist had stopped and slackened completely. Then the ones holding his arms went loose too, and then the red wall in front of him was suddenly broken. A beam of sunlight streaming in as the tip of something sharp broke through the vines.

Half of the vines on Foolish had fallen dead, but the other half still moving were in a mix of trying to keep Foolish in their grasp but also jump out and deal with the intruder. It took longer than Foolish would have liked to admit to realise that there was someone else here. The only thing cementing the fact in his head was the sound of their voice.

“Get away you FUCKS!” The voice hissed. “Foolish! MOVE!”

The small opening in the vines were trying to close up, but the sharp edge that cut them came back again, making a wider slash. When it disappeared again it was replaced by a hand gripping onto the vines and forcing the opening wider. A hand with nails painted black, leading to a  white hoodie sleeve as the hand pushed in more.

The split was open enough to reveal Punz. His blue eyes were wide and wild, one hand holding his axe which was cutting away at any vines that tired to come close to him, the other hand out stretched to Foolish.

Sense and recognition flooded through Foolish’s entire body, shocking his nerves back to reality. His one arm that was freed was being slowly swallowed up by vines again, but Foolish pulled at it, using the vines split attention to break free of their hold and grab Punz’ hand.

Foolish felt himself be pulled up. Either Punz was stronger than Foolish assumed or the vines had turned really weak. His arm still held down gave a little resistance but with the combined pull of Foolish and Punz he was out and pulled from the vines cocoon.

Fresh air filled Foolish’s lungs and the soft grass was grounding beneath him. He was lain on the ground, with pieces of the vines spread out around him. Punz stood over the clump of vines, swinging around his axe at any that went to grab for him.

Foolish was suddenly filled with vigour, and determination for revenge. He had no time to look for his tossed axe and instead brought forward his sword as he stood up, and slashed at the vines around Punz while the blonde mercenary went for the main chuck of vines in the centre.

It took a few hacks, but eventually Punz cut through, and the vines trying to fight fell dead to the ground. Foolish lowered his sword.

Both men stood between the mess of red and mossy grass, panting. They looked over the vines before their eyes caught one another. Foolish felt his cheeks heat and shame shivered through his skin. To be caught by the vines in such a way was embarrassing enough, but having someone see it was another thing.

“You alright?” Punz asked with a last sigh and slump of his shoulders.

“Y-Yes… I’m fine.”

“It didn’t…” Punz left his words fall quiet but gave a gesture up to his own head, tapping the air at the side of his head.

“No! No! It… I mean I heard it but you got it before it could…get me.”

Punz’ shoulders slumped again, but this time in relief. His eyes took a softer look and he lowered his axe. A worrying thought crept up in Foolish’s head.

Was he going to kill me if I was possessed?

“What are you doing out here, in the middle of nowhere?” Punz’ question pulled Foolish from the dark thought.

The golden shark shook himself off before answering, standing up straight even though he felt a pain in his sides. “I was nearby… I-I took care of a few vines just over there,” he gave a lazy gesture in the direction, “I was working on a build and saw them. Saw these ones as well and thought I could handle them but…”

Punz nodded. They both knew what happened then.

“What about you?” Foolish asked. “Why are you here, in the middle of nowhere?”

“Hunting these things.” Punz kicked at some of the vines. “I found a couple of them in my tower. Thought they were dead, somehow left over since I purged them out, but they started moving when I tried to slice them. I didn’t take any chances and just burned them right away. When I realised more had probably popped up, I went around the sever searching for them, burning them before they got a chance to jump me.”

Foolish wanted to smack himself for being so stupid. Of course he could have just burned them right away. His flint and steel were heavy in his pocket, waiting to be used, but he didn’t think. Too caught up in trying to figure out how to avoid being tickled.

“I was coming to burn this one when I saw it move, and heard you laughing.”

Foolish’s face turned a brighter gold with his blush. “Y-Yeah…”

Punz gave a sympathetic look. “Hey about…don’t worry, man. I’ve had my run-ins with those things and I’ve gone through the same.”

That made Foolish feel a little better, though didn’t really help his blush. In the calm of the moment exhaustion came over him as the adrenaline left. His limbs felt heavy, his sides and ribs still tingled from the ghostly vines and his throat hurt from screaming in laughter.

His exhaustion must have shown as Punz said. “You can crash at my tower if you want. It’s close.”

“No…thank you.” Foolish shook his head. “No I just want to get home.”

“I’ll walk you.”

The two quickly collected up all the parts of the vines and set it ablaze, burning it to ash. Punz stayed by Foolish’s side through the walk, striking up conversation which Foolish was thankful for even if he couldn’t offer much conversation back. It was bad enough having to be walked home, like he couldn’t be trusted to make it back safely, but at least it wasn’t a walk in silence.

They came by the desert and eventually came to the edge of Foolish’s summer home where they departed. Punz, awkwardly, tried to offer support. He said if Foolish wanted to talk about what happened, he would listen and Foolish thanked him for the offer he was probably not going to take.

Foolish didn’t bother to check if Punz had actually left, he just went straight into his home. The large pool in the centre of his bedroom glistened with clear blue water and Foolish immediately slipped in, sighing in content relief as he sank underwater.

The tingling on his skin finally subsided and the scratching of his throat eased. The water couldn’t do anything for his memory though and even as he floated by in bliss, every once in a while he’d reach for his side or rub his ribs to chase away the ghostly tickles.

He vowed he’d be more careful if he saw the vines again. He wouldn’t take any chances and he’d burn it outright. But Foolish was reminded that the vines were all connected. They learned from one another and even if Foolish was quick nine out of ten times, it would be that one slip up that would seal his doom.

More Egg vines bby

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Punz woke from his third nap of the day. He awoke with a start, covered in sweat and his eyes darted around the room from corner to corner as he gripped his trident tight in his hand.

No-one was here. He was alone in his tower. His stuff was safe.

Punz relaxed for a second, the grip on his trident loosened only slightly but his eyes remained sharp, looking out for anything out of the ordinary.

Perhaps it was a mistake to make his home a tall tower that could be seen for miles around, but Punz was determined to make a statement. It was tall, imposing and had the look of power. But that also made it an easy target.

There had been a few attempts to steal from Punz but due to his quick reactions, they had so far stopped each of them. But even with Punz’ intimidating prowess there were still those who tried. They got sneakier so Punz had to be more alert. That meant hardly letting his guard down, relaxing less. And almost no sleep.

The bed was hardly ever used. Most times Punz took quick naps next to his storage or asleep by the door. He knew if he lay over a bed exhaustion would pass him out for hours - a day probably - and he’d be robbed blind.

“It would help if I had a safe place to store my stuff.” Punz mumbled his thoughts out loud. He rubbed his eyes of sleep, reddening them further as he leaned back onto the cold blackstone wall.

“Actually…” Punz heard the thought out loud again, thinking it over again. “Maybe… Hey, that’s not a bad idea.”

Punz pulled himself up, groaning at tightness in his joints. He gave himself a stretch out, and giving himself a motivator by promising himself he could sleep once he found a safe place to store his stuff.

The mercenary jumped down to the floor below, tapping at their chin to think if there was any spot in their home to hide their stuff.

“I could put it in a random spot somewhere on the SMP…” Punz tried to think of the layout of the SMP but quickly shook off that idea. There were too many things that could go wrong with that. Someone could follow them when they went to place in more or someone could just randomly come across it. “No. In here is better.”

Punz made his way to the stairs, planning on making something in one of the lower levels but something caught in the corner of his eye and stopped him in his tracks.

It was a deep red colour that caught his eye. Punz first thought it was some bit of cloth, something caught out of one of his many chests, but when Punz looked back and focused, it couldn’t have been a piece of cloth as the red was on the wall. It was sticking out of the wall.

It was a long vine. A very clear red vine growing out of the bricks of Punz’ wall. Punz stared at it for a long while, as though struck by the very sight of it. He quickly shook off that shock and came over, standing in front of the vine.

“What the hell…?” Punz breathed. He touched over the vine before pulling back his hand. It didn’t feel how he thought. Instead of the vegetation of the usual vines this red one felt soft, almost fuzzy.

“It’s that stupid fucking egg!” Punz had no proof of the connection, but it made sense in his head. That Egg was bad news and he wouldn’t be surprised if it could grow tendrils out itself. “What’s it doing here?”

The question wasn’t so important at that moment. Punz was suddenly overcome with a new worry. If the vine had been growing up on one of the higher levels, did that mean more had grown below?

With sudden worry and rage, Punz grabbed the vine and pulled it out of the wall. It snapped easier than Punz thought, and they couldn’t be too sure but they were sure that just before their fingers grabbed on, the vine moved, as though it was trying to save itself.

No, that’s not possible. Punz shook the thought away. “The vines aren’t alive…”

While Punz did have the thought that those vines were from the egg, so they wouldn’t be normal, he was more concerned with how many vines had grown in his tower. While throwing down the vine he had pulled, he went back to the stairs rushing down to assess how many more of the vines had grown.

Punz came down to the ground floor and quickly realised the situation. The entire ground floor of Punz’ tower was blanketed in red vines.

The golden blonde was stuck in unbelievable stunned silence. There was not a clear space left on the floor, all of it was covered in vines. Some of the vines the were stacked and tangled upon one another. As well as the floor, the walls were coated in the tangled tendrils too. They crawled half way up the walls, slipping between the cracks and bumps in the stone. There were a few chests along the wall that were completely covered. Punz saw a few of the vines creeping along one of the chests and he noticed a few of them had managed to force open and slip in.

That snapped Punz out of his stun right away.

“Alright! No! Out!” Punz stomped forward. “Get out!”

None of the floor was free to stand on but Punz didn’t mind or care about that. They jumped down onto the vines, feeling it crunch under their boots and expel a thin red mist. With a quick flourish, Punz pulled out their axe. They assessed the vines along the floor and walls but they couldn’t find a source. If there was a hole or crack the vines crept in through, the red menaces had covered it with their mass. With no clear start to the vines, Punz raised the axe and started swinging.

The first swing on his axe hit into a clump of vines over one of his chests. The vines crumbled, making a sort of hissing as Punz pulled the axe back and some of the vines fell dead to the floor. Thankful the strange vines were seemingly no stronger than regular jungle vines, Punz pulled back and swung again, this time hitting over a few of the vines over the floor.

Punz huffed, pulling back their axe back and taking note of the floor below. Just as Punz moved to step onto the cleared space, the vines around the spot shifted and Punz jumped back.

The vines did move! They all shuffled to quickly fill up the empty space, spreading themselves out and then settling again. They did move! They responded! The reveal should have been more of a shock to Punz but at that moment all he could feel was annoyance. Annoyed the vines weren’t going to make this easy.

“If you fucks can move and understand then you’ve got seconds to get out of my tower!” Punz announced to the room. The vines barely moved other than a shudder, though it was more movement than the mercenary had seen before. As though no longer keeping a secret, the vines felt they had freedom to roam and shift, but they made no moves to retreat. Punz pulled back their axe. “Alright! You were warned!”

He brought down the axe again, cleaving through a clump sat up against the wall. The axe got about half way through, the mass of the vines catching Punz off guard. With a grunt, Punz pulled it back and swung down again. It didn’t go through all the way again, but when Punz tried to pull it back the axe wouldn’t budge.

“What the…” Punz pulled back on handle again but it was stuck, as though attached to the vine itself. “You fucks!”

Punz pulled again, putting in all his strength, but his hand slipped on the handle and he fell back. He braced himself to hit on the hard stone, but his landing was much softer than he thought. Punz quickly got his bearings, looking around to see he was laying in the vines. They had almost made a sort of cradle for him to fall in.

“Get off me!” Punz grunted. He tried to pull himself up, but the vines under him were soft, making him sink down further. He couldn’t get a good push on any of them, and when he did they made him sink down further.

The handle of the axe could just be seen over the edge of one of the vines. Punz tried to pull himself up but when he looked again, the handle was disappearing further and further from sight. Punz tried to focus and he realised it wasn’t his mind playing tricks on him. The axe was covered in vines, and more coating around it as it was pulled further into the wall. “F-Fuck no! No! Enough!”

Punz made a push to move up again when he realised he was pushing against something. In the struggle in trying to get up, Punz didn’t realise a vine had wrapped around his shoulder. When he pushed up the one around his shoulder tightened, and he felt another slowly coiling around his arm.

“Get off!” Punz tore at the vine around his shoulder. The one around his arm tightened as though knowing what was coming but it didn’t save it from being pulled off. He shook himself off and quickly pushed himself up before the vines had a chance to move. As he went to walk forward for his axe though, he stumbled. When he looked back he saw another vine had wrapped around his leg. It had crawled further up than the one on his arm had, the tip of it slipped under his hoodie.

“What the fu-UHAHAHACK!”

The vine under his hoodie slithered to his side. The soft almost fluffy feel to it tickled along his skin, surprising him and making him jump. It was like a fluffy feather brushing against his side. Punz grabbed the vine, pulling it out but it only served to tickle him more as the vine rubbed against his skin. He giggled, hunching over just in time to notice other vines starting to coil round his ankles.

“N-Noho! Get ohoff!”

Punz tried to reach out, grab another vine, but one of the tendrils that was crawling up his leg suddenly snapped up, wrapping around Punz’ wrist and pulling it out of the way.

“W-Whahahat?!”

Another vine shot out. This one was behind him, from the cluster on the ground and grabbed his other wrist, pulling it out to the side.

“W-Wahait!”

As though suddenly realising they wouldn’t be stopped, the vines moved with more confidence, slithering up and slipping under Punz white hoodie as well.

“WAIT! Wahait! J-Juhuhust hohold ohon! NAH! G-Gehehet ohohout ohohof thehehehere!”

The vines fanned out under Punz’ hoodie, none of them going in the same spot. One circled around his tummy, another went along his side and one traced around the edge of his bellybutton.

Punz giggled out, their knees buckling under them as they tried to pull at the vines and shake them off. “S-Stohohop! Fuhuhuhuckihihing-! Nohohohoho!!!” One of the vines curled around their back. It traced slowly up their spine before slipping off, poking at their lower rib.

Punz’ cheeks puffed out as he swallowed back the urge to laugh. The soft tickling along his stomach and sides were a nuisance but he could deal with that feeling with little more than a giggle. If they attacked his ribs he was done for.

The vine curiously poked around his ribs, softly slithering up the bone and tracing along each of the divot. A laugh nearly flew from Punz’ chest, only managing to catch it as he bit his lip. The vine on his ribs paused it’s path, hovering over before moving back down to the bottom rib. Punz was too focused on following the movement of the vine on his ribs he didn’t realise the one slowly slithering up his other side. It positioned perfectly at his rib on the other side and, as though giving a silent signal between them, both of the vines dug in, tickling along Punz’ lower ribs.

“SHIHIHIT! N-Nohohohoho! W-WAHAHAHAIHIHIHIT!!!”

Punz’ legs gave out. They crumbled down, landing on their knees before the vines at their wrists pulled them down further. They were laid over a blanket of vines, giggling and laughing as the vines moved up and down his ribs, poking and kneading into the bones and muscle.

“WAHAIHIT! WAHAIT WAIT!!! STAHAHAHAP!”

With Punz fallen into it’s clutches again, the vines moved quickly. A couple wrapped around his shoulders, weaving around his arms to help hold them up. A few slipped down the collar of his hoodie, flicking and tickling over his neck, slipping down to his chest and to curl into his armpit. As though the vine realised where it was, they started drilling into the hollows.

“N-NOHOHO! G-Gehehet ohohoho-!!”

One of the vines tightened around Punz’ ankle, pulling his leg straight. It poked and wriggled along the back of his knee, drawing out a few giggles before travelling further down. Punz felt it find the edge of his boot. It traced around the edges before finding a lose spot, right where the zipper slightly loosened, and slipped down, slowly inching and crawling towards Punz’ trapped foot.

“N-NO! Nohohoho! W-Wahahaihihit! Pleheheheahahahase! Nohohot ihihin thehehere!”

Punz pulled and twisted but with their ankle caught in the vines and feeling weak already from the tickles, it wasn’t much of a struggle. They wiggled a little and shook their head, their golden blonde hair flailing in front their face.

The pleading did nothing to deter or slow the vines path. The one slithered into his boot was now tracing it’s tip along the sides of Punz’ sole. Punz giggled mostly from the anticipation. He only noticed now the vines had held back on tickling his ribs. They made it slow down to a light tracing and without the distraction of tickling Punz had no choice but to focus on the vine curiously exploring along his foot.

The vine made a slow crawl up the side of Punz’ foot. The point came to his toes, making Punz jump and giggle as the fuzzy coating of the vine curiously explored under them and dragged slowly down his foot.

“N-NOhohoho! Nohohohoho! PleheHEHEAHAHAHAHAHA!!!”

The vine traced down Punz’ foot, swiping over their heel which made Punz scream. The vine clearly picked up on that too as it stopped at their heel, tracing shapes into the skin and scribbling up and down the edge of their foot.

“NOHOHOHOHOHOT THEHEHEHERE! NAHAHAHAHA! P-Plehehehahase! AhahahahanywhEHEHEHERE BUHUHUHUT THEHEHEHEHERE!”

The vines along his ribs started tickling again, kneading into Punz’ bones and wiggling up and down. “NAHAHAHA!!!” Punz pulled and wriggled against the vines holding him. “NOHOHOHO! Nohoho! N-Nohohohot bohohoth ahahat ohohonce yohoh-OHOHOHOU FUHUHUCKS!!!”

To Punz’ surprise the vines did stop their tickling. All of them paused for just a second before suddenly digging back in with new vigour. New vines came in tickling along Punz tummy and up his sides. Some wiggled into his palm and others teased around his ears and neck. All maddeningly tickled but they were softer, nothing compared to the kneading along his worst spots.

“FUHUHUHUHUHUCK!!!” Punz threw his head back, though it landed softly among the vines behind him. “N-NAHAHAHA! I-Ihihihihi’m sohohohohohorry! IHIHIHI’M SOHOHOHORRY!!!”

The vines slowed then. It didn’t stop completely but the tickling eased up to a softer flutter. The touch along his ribs and foot was almost featherlight, while the tickling around his ears and neck were more noticeable.

A small whisper started in the corners of their mind. Punz couldn’t focus on it and every time they did the vine at their ear would tickle up on the top of the shell and they’d giggle, hunching their shoulders to make it stop and then when Punz was distracted they could hear the whispering again.

It was a soft whisper, like spreading a blanket along his mind, tickling his brain and making him soft. The vines around his wrists and wrapped along his arms loosened though Punz had stopped struggling. He fell more into the vines, melting into them. They were no longer trapping him, but comforting him. Punz still wiggled against the tickles against his side, but he wasn’t pulling or struggling to escape.

The tickles weren’t torturous, they were comforting. For the first time in weeks Punz felt soothed, eased from the tension and paranoia he had been carrying around. Why would he try to get away when the vines just wanted to help him relax? A warm fog spread over the mercenary’s mind, clouding all of his thoughts. He didn’t need to think or worry about his stuff being stolen anymore. He just needed to sleep.

Punz could feel himself fall to a deep sleep. His eyelids drooped closed and were hard to open. His limbs were heavy, Punz could hardly move, but that wasn’t a worry. He didn’t need to move. Only sleep.

The last conscious thought did not fade out of Punz’ mind like falling down a calm river as the vines had wanted. Instead it came like a sudden shout, jolting through every nerve in his body and screaming at him.

WAKE UP

Punz flinched, eyes snapping open. The fog cleared out of his mind in an instant and every instinct in Punz was screaming for him to fight back.

The vines tried to tighten around Punz once it realised it lost it’s hold but Punz had already pulled himself up, tearing off the vines around his arms and snapping off the one in his boot. He was back in fighter mode. His eyes scanned around the room, looking over the sea of red vines till he saw the hilt of his axe sticking out of one of the piles.

“There!”

Punz made a jump over to the axe. They managed to get a fair distance and shook off the vines covering them. Some of the vines below them shuffled and moved, trying to hook around any of Punz’ limbs but Punz was quick. They managed to avoid some of the vines but the trouble about being in a room covered with the vines was they had to avoid all of them.

Punz was good, but they couldn’t avoid the inevitable.

One of the vines from the floor snapped up last minute and wrapped around Punz’ chest. Punz tried to slip under it to avoid it, but the vine just caught on, wrapping up their chest and over their shoulder. It tugged, pulling Punz to a stop but with a quick grunt they pushed along. The vine didn’t snap or fall but Punz could move at least, it was slower than they would have liked, and it allowed all the other vines time to latch on and pull.

“N-No…!”

Punz just had to make it to his axe. If he had his axe then he had a chance.

Another vine wrapped around his leg, hooking it under him and tripping Punz over. Another wrapped around his other shoulder, trying to pull him down but Punz managed to get back on his feet, pushing through. More vines lashed out from the folds of themselves, curling and tugging Punz back. Some tried tickling him again, but he was dead focused on the axe in front of him. It was just within reach. Punz reached out, stretching his hand as far as he could. The axe was inches away.

One of the vines curled around his stretched arm, slipping into his sleeves and tickling his armpits again.

“N-Noho!” A bubble of laugh broke out. He just had to grab his axe. He was safe if he grabbed his axe.

The handle just lay out of his grasp. With a determined grunt Punz pushed forward, the handle practically touching his palm, but as a wave of euphoria overcame him and he closed his hand around the handle, it was suddenly snatched away. The vines around the axe suddenly moved, pulling up and out of reach before it was swallowed up by the sea of red tendrils.

A helpless feeling of dread sank in Punz stomach. The vines hadn’t been struggling with him at all, they had been playing with him. They deliberately waited in the last moments to pull his axe away and realising that took the fight right out of the mercenary.

He could feel the vines tug him down, pulling on his shoulders and Punz let himself fall back into the waiting vines. The one that had slipped up his sleeve was joined by others, the vines retaking their position and tickling along Punz’ skin again. A cluster of them attacked at his ribs, but they were softly kneading. All of the tickles returned softly, lulling Punz to relax rather than torturing him to exhaustion.

The whispers came back, brushing along Punz’ mind and spreading a tingling warmth through his bones. Punz was allowed to focus on them this time. The whispering was too soft to make out any words, but Punz felt like he could could feel them. Feel the soft, calm emotion behind them turn to words.

You don’t need that axe anymore. You don’t need to worry or think about protecting your things again.

One vine curled around their stomach, tickling it’s tip gently around Punz’ bellybutton. Their giggles turned into high pitched chirps, muffled into the back of their arm. Their limbs felt like jelly but they were warm, relaxed.

Defenceless

An uncomfortable thought swam around the edges of his mind, intruding on his good mood. The fog of warmth and softness was doing well keeping it out , clouding over his mind to suffocate the thought out. Whenever Punz tried to remember the bad thought he would giggle as one of the vines dug harder into his ribs to tickle his attention away.

You don’t need that thought. You don’t need any thoughts.

A vine slithered into Punz’ pit, wiggling and brushing along the edges before poking into the hollow. Another vine pressed it’s end to the top of Punz’ rib and dragged down, softly running down each ridge of the bone and spilling bubbly giggles out of Punz’ lips.

Whatever intrusive thought that came to Punz was dissolved, floating out and bursting with his giggles. His mind was lost to the warm fog and his body was comfortably cradled in the red vines that shifted under him. The vines in his clothes pulled back, giving him last tickles before fully slithering out. Punz turned over on his front. He was slow and sluggish. The exhaustion of keeping himself awake caught up with him, but rather than worry and set himself a mental clock to wake up, the golden blonde snuggled further into the vines under him and shut his eyes.

Punz didn’t have to worry about people stealing from him. The vines would take care of that. They kept him warm and safe and if anything tried to harm Punz or take his stuff, the vines would protect him.

After finding the clip of Philza calling the vines "warm and tickly", this idea wouldn't leave my head that the vines use tickly persuasion to possess people. After bouncing ideas with Llama, this fic was born.

---

“Skeppy! Keep up!”

“I’m right behind you, Bad!”

The demon and diamond warrior were making there way through the cave system to the Egg, Bad leading in front. While Skeppy was hesitant to go anywhere near that thing, Bad had been excitedly pestering and teasing him that he had a surprise to show. Eventually Skeppy gave in, being too caught up in the demon’s excitement. He set aside his worry and followed his friend.

The lair of the Egg was, as usual, suffocatingly warm. Heat was never usually a bother for Skeppy with his diamond skin. Even when his shell melted away he had built up some resistance to it, but the heat from the Egg was different. Unnatural.

Skeppy tried not to dwell on his thoughts. The Egg was defiantly trouble but he was here for Bad, not that…thing. He felt a small moment of relief when Bad lead him to the main room and he was walking away from the direction of the Egg. He walked to the opposite end of the room, in the furthest corner.

Skeppy could see something there, but he couldn’t quite make it out. From a distance it was just a mass of red but as he got closer, he realised that was exactly what it was.

It was like a clump of red ropes all piled together in the corner. Skeppy could see they were coming out of the surrounding tiles of the wall and floor and realised they were vines. Pale red vines.

“What do you think?!” Bad asked excitedly.

“It’s…what am I even looking at?” Skeppy blinked. He had a lot of ideas for what Bad wanted to show him, but he never thought of this.

“It’s vines, Skeppy!” Bad’s voice sounded the slightest bit hurt that Skeppy didn’t seem to be as excited. He stepped forward to the mass of vines, reaching his hand over a clump of them. “They came from the Egg.”

“The Egg is growing vines?” Skeppy asked. A drop of worry fell in his chest, rippling through him. He felt a little more uneasy. Even more so when he saw one of the vines under Bad’s hand uncoil from it’s mass and slowly move up to touch the grey hand. “Those things move?!”

“They’re alive! Isn’t that amazing?” Bad turned back to his friend, his smile dropping to concern when he saw Skeppy’s uneasy expression. “Oh don’t worry Skeppy, they’re not dangerous.”

Bad pulled away from the vine slowly curling around his wrist. It fell, slowly but with it starting to move some of the other vines did too. Skeppy could see them shifting and rearranging like snakes waking up from their den.

“They’re safe, Skeppy. I promise. Look! Touch them! They feel soft.” Bad extended his hand, a clear invitation for Skeppy and despite the diamond’s hesitance, he reached out.

Skeppy trusted Bad. They might have teased each other a few times but they’d never actually put each other in danger. He didn’t understand Bad’s adoration for that Egg but Bad was his friend and his friend wouldn’t lead him into something he didn’t want. Skeppy repeated these things to himself as he reached his hand out.

Bad gently took Skeppy’s hand, smiling softly in reassurance and let him over to the vines again. The pale red tendrils had mostly uncurled from their lump, stretching out over the stone floor but a few still remained coiled up in the centre. Standing so close to them, Skeppy felt a warmth radiating from the vines. It was nothing like the heat of the lava around them, or the radiation from the actual Egg. The vine’s heat was strangely soothing; like the warmth of a fireplace in a cosy cabin.

Bad repositioned his hand to Skeppy’s wrist, moving his hand out to touch over the vine. Skeppy tensed when he felt it touch onto his skin. It was rare he’d ever let his diamond exterior down but around Bad it became common. He resisted the urge to bring up his diamond shell and his skin finally made contact to the vine.

It…wasn’t bad.

Bad must have felt the tension ease in Skeppy because he smiled. “Feels nice right?”

“It…yeah, actually.” Skeppy agreed. Bad slowly let him go and he didn’t pull back. Instead he pet over the vine.

It didn’t feel like the vines from the jungles or swamps. The red vines had a softer, plusher feel.

“It’s different.” Skeppy’s turned his hand, brushing his knuckles along the plant. “It’s like…felt almost.”

“Yeah! Aren’t they cosy?”

They were cosy. The warmth from them spread over Skeppy’s skin, soothing him and making him relax. He still felt the slightest bit on edge as more of the vines started to move. They were rearranging themselves into some sort of shape and yet despite Skeppy’s unease, he had to fight against his body’s want to just lay down in the vines.

“How long has the Egg been growing these?” Skeppy asked, trying to keep his mind focused. The vine under his hand had started to coil around his wrist. It wasn’t holding him tightly and when Skeppy moved away the vine kept slipping off, but it would worm it’s way back, trying to keep in contact to Skeppy at all times.

“I think about a month ago I noticed them. But then in a few days they were sprouting all around the cave.”

Where they?

Skeppy turned to look around and realised that, yes, the vines were sprouting. The Egg was thankfully in the distance but Skeppy could see the small, almost nest like shape around it’s base. The ceiling and walls were covered in a few stray vines growing, but there was never a clump of them like the ones in front of Skeppy and Bad.

“I think they might start to grow up on the surface.” Bad’s voice pitched with excitement.

“Is that a good thing?” Skeppy gave a look over to Bad. The vine around his wrist tightened a little but not to an uncomfortable level. It was like a reassuring squeeze every once in a while and when Skeppy pulled back the vine uncurled slightly. Never letting him go but giving him space to move.

“Why wouldn’t it be? They’re harmless, and nice!”

Skeppy opened his mouth to respond, but a squeak came out instead. He looked back to the vine on his wrist to see there were two now. The one around his wrist curled into his palm while the other was tracing it’s tip around the sleeve of Skeppy’s hoodie. The one over his hand traced along his palm lines, and brushed under his fingers. Skeppy giggled.

“Aww, they like you.” Bad beamed.

“It’s…i-ihitchy.” Skeppy tried to muffle the giggles threatening to spill from his lips. He tried to step away, realising his legs didn’t have much room to move. Some of the other vines had repositioned themselves around Skeppy and Bad’s legs. They never wrapped around the two but they took up too much space on the floor so they couldn’t move without having to step on the vines. Skeppy was a little bit concerned when the thought of that upset him.

“Aww they really like you!” Bad cooed. His hands squeezed over Skeppy’s shoulders, making Skeppy hunch his shoulders a little and another wave of giggles bubble in his chest. Between the heat from the vines and the comforting weight of Bad’s hands over him, Skeppy started to feel cloudy. The feeling he’d get sometimes just before he fell asleep.

“They’re nihice…” Skeppy pulled on his arm, feeling it move slower than he expected.

“And they’re so comfy too. Look!” Bad’s hand left Skeppy’s shoulder and Skeppy denied he missed the feeling. The vines had moved as if responding to Bad’s words, coiling together to make a small, almost nest-like spot. Bad sat down over the nest, shuffling over to one side and leaning back slightly as the vines close to him shifted to cosy around him. “See? Comfy!”

It did look comfy. It looked so warm and inviting and by the time Skeppy had the thought to join in beside Bad, he was already sat down beside the demon, pulled and led by the vines around his wrists.

Huh. When did they wrap around his other wrist? Oh well. It seemed hardly important when the vines shifted around him, wrapping around his waist and draping over his shoulders like a comforting hug.

“Do you like them, Skeppy?” Bad’s voice pulled him from his trance. Every other sound seemed almost muted. The bubble of the lava, the sound of the rain above. It was all muffled, but Bad’s voice came in so clear.

“They’re…not bad.” Skeppy had to admit. His hand had, absent-mindedly of course, laid over the vine around his stomach and pet over it.

“Right?! They’re like little warm hugs for you!”

Bad almost sounded proud while he was talking about them. A detail Skeppy would normally notice and point out, with either mock or concern, but his mind felt too fuzzy.

The vines were warm and cosy around him. One wrapped around his shoulders, almost offering him to lean his head over them. He didn’t even notice the vines pulling him back a little so he was lounging over them until he noticed Bad was sitting up straighter than him.

Skeppy opened his mouth to say something. What he was going to say he had no idea, and it never really mattered when his words were halted with a small squeak.

The second vine around his wrist had slipped under his sleeve.

“B-Bahad.” Skeppy squeaked again. A smile tugged at his lips as the vine under his sleeve curled around his arm. It traced up on the underside of his forearm, tickling along the bend of his elbow while the vine over his palm had wrapped around and tickled the spot between his fingers. “Bahahahahad!”

“Aw, is it tickling you, Skeppy?”  Bad cooed. “Look how giggly you are!”

“Ihihi’m nohohot!” The point was completely ruined when he giggled out his words. He was too focused on the tickling over his arm and palms that he didn’t notice the vine around his waist had slipped under his hoodie and coiling up his torso. He only noticed when felt-like vines brushed along his sides, snaking around to wriggle along his back.

If Skeppy wasn’t giggling before, he certainly was now. He tried wriggling his sides, throwing off the vines but his wriggling was barely more than light squirming. The warmth of the vines made his body soft and heavy. He was like putty, easily moulded however the vines wanted him. His arms were slowly stretched up, pulled to have his hands by his head and giving the vines more spots to tickle.

“B-Bahahad! Stohop thehem!”

“They’re just playing, Skeppy.” Bad kept his voice soft.

“Thehehehey’re--EEP!!!”

One of the vines stretched up, getting right in his armpit and wriggling it’s stupidly fluffy tendril right into the hollow.

“Thehehehey’re tihihihickling mehehehe!”

“They’re just trying to get to know you better, Skeppy!” Bad defended the vines, though they really didn’t need anyone to speak for them. The tip of a vine traced a lazy circle over Skeppy’s stomach while a few were counting up his ribs and wiggling on the space between the bones.

When had so many of them crawled under his hoodie?

“Bahahad!” Skeppy pleaded between his titters. “Hehehelp!”

“Oh, sure!”

Skeppy could feel the vines shuffle as Bad moved.  Just as Skeppy was trying to wriggle away from the vines curiously joining the other playing in his armpit, he felt a flick over his ear and then his neck. A soft fluttering feeling danced down his neck and tickled over his collarbones. It didn’t have the same feeling as the vines. Not as soft, but definitely still as tickly.

Skeppy giggled, trying to angle his head to see what new tickling menace had came to assist the vines and saw it was a black tail. A very familiar black tail. It traced around his collarbones before fluttering back up his neck.

“Bahahahad!” Skeppy squeaked. His demon friend was grinning down at him. Bad had moved to kneel by Skeppy, somehow moving Skeppy’s head into his lap without his diamond friend even realising. A playful look dancing in his eyes as he flicked his tail over the front of Skeppy’s neck. “Hehehelp mehehe! Nohohot the vihihihines!”

“Oh, I’m sorry Skeppy!” Bad gasped. A completely fake gasp. “I thought you wanted more tickles!”

“Nohoho!”

“You sure?”

Bad moved the point of his tail to trace up the side of Skeppy neck. The ravenette tried to scrunch his neck and dislodge the tail from it’s path, but it flicked up to his jaw and Skeppy was done.

The back of Skeppy’s jaw, just under his ears, were permanently coated in their diamond shell. Even when the rest of his body would relax to skin, the parts at his jaw remained in their shiny coating. It never bothered Skeppy, until he discovered how weirdly sensitive the diamond spot was. Bad could brush his thumb over it, or even breathe on it, and it sent goosebumps all over Skeppy’s skin and shivers up his spin.

Ironic the diamond coating was meant to protect him, and yet he was rendered so helpless with one little trace of a demon’s tail.

The flick over the specific spot on his jaw melted Skeppy into the vine’s hold. Some of them seemed to notice the response, slithering up to join Bad’s tail. They traced around his jaw, flicking over the diamond coating and brushed along under his chin.

Skeppy was done for. He could barely stand his melt spot getting the slightest of touches, but now it was receiving constant attention, turning Skeppy into a puddle and helpless for the other vines tickling over his torso.

One of the vines found his bellybutton, tracing around the edges and Skeppy’s laugh hiccuped into light cackling.

“B-Bahahahad!” He pleaded, shaking his head to try and dislodge the constantly attention.

“Look how red your face is, Skeppy.” Bad cooed, ignoring the pleas. “Aww you’re blushing so much! It’s so cute!”

“S-Stohop teheheasing!”

“Aww, but you love being teased Geppy.” Bad’s voice purred. The demon grinned when the blush over Skeppy’s face deepened red, and his ears turned pink.

“D-Dohohon’t!”

“Don’t what, Geppy?”

“D-Dohon’t cahahall mehe thahat!”

“What? Call you Geppy?” Bad purred again. “But you are a little Giggly Geppy. Oh, have the vines found your worst spot yet?”

“B-Bahahahad! N-Nohohoho!” Skeppy pulled at his arms, but he barely moved. He could barely move his body at all. It was like all his limbs were moving through jelly. Heavy and slow. He could barely shake his head, uselessly attempting to dislodge the vines there as he tried to curl his legs.

“Are you imagining how it would feel? Those curious little vines running and tickling all long the back of your knees?”

“BAHAHAHAD!!!”

The vines moved with a sudden mission. He felt some of the vines under his back move and uncurl. Skeppy could just see two vines at the corner of his vision, yet whenever he tried to focus on it the vines swiped over the diamond spot on his jaw, forcing his head to shake and he lost focus.

The vines wrapped around just above his knee before they coiled around to the backs. The vine under his left knee gave an experimental poke.

Skeppy was given one burst of energy, coursing through his body to let him arch his back, and then all at once the energy flowed out of him again as he felt back into the vine’s tickly clutches. With this new information to use, the vines wrapped around his knees, squeezing over the tops and tracing softly around the back. Even with the protection of his clothes, it still tickled like mad and a stream of giggles flowed out of his mouth.

“O-Ohohohoh gohohohohod! I-Ihihihit tihihihihickles sohohoho muhuhuch!”

“It does…” Bad cooed. His hand stroked over Skeppy’s dark hair. “Don’t worry, Skeppy. They’ll stop soon.”

“Mahahake thehehem stohohop nohohohow!” Skeppy giggled, squealing up to a laugh as the vines in his armpits tickled softer, making the tickling over his knees that much worse.

“Isn’t it warm, though? Like a nice, tickly hug. You love it when I give you those~”

It was warm and it was nice and admitting it to himself was somehow more flustering than admitting it out loud. The warmth of the vines was different from the near suffocating heat of the room. It was cosy and made him sensitive and sleepy. His mind was clouded. He could barely think.

He couldn’t even hear the whispering when it started.

It wasn’t completely obvious at first. It started with just a hushed sound in the back of Skeppy’s mind, hidden by his own laughter. When he realised it was there he tried to focus on it and make out whatever it said. Though whenever he thought he could hear something the vines would poke behind his knee, or swipe over the diamond part of his jaw and he was lost again to the tickling.

It couldn’t be a bad thing, could it? Whatever the whispering was it didn’t sound harmful. It was almost tickly, like a feather brushing along his brain and lighting up his nerves.

It felt good, and warm, and…safe. The vines felt safe.

The vine teasing around his bellybutton dipped in, making Skeppy squeal as the whispering grew louder. He still couldn’t make out what it said. It didn’t even sound like words it was more like it was whispering feelings right into his brain.

Safe… Warm… Loving…

“B-Bahahad!” Skeppy’s giggling became weaker, his words slurring more like he was being lulled to sleep. He tried to hunch his shoulders and rub his ear as though it would rid himself of the whispering tickles.

“What is it Skeppy?” Bad caressed his hand down Skeppy’s cheek.

“Th-Thehere’s…s-sohohomethihihing…” Skeppy’s last unclouded though tried to surface, tried to realise something wasn’t right but it was hard to stay afloat. The vines kept tickling his thoughts away, skittering along the back of his knees and shutting down any resistance.

“Don’t worry Skeppy.” Bad’s voice was nearly a whisper, almost matching the whispering in his head. Was it Bad whispering to him before? “It’s not bad, is it?” He continued. “The tickling vines feel good right?”

“Th-Thehe…hehehe…”

“You love getting tickly cuddles.” Bad cooed. “The vines are just like that, aren’t they? They’re warm and tickly. They want you to feel safe, just like I do. They want to give you attention, like I do.”

Bad scratched over the diamond spot at Skeppy’s jaw, sending soft shocks through his body. Instead of trying to pull away again as he had before, Skeppy leaned into the feeling, brushing his cheek up against Bad’s hand.

“Aww, Skeppy~” Bad giggled.

“F-Fehehehels n-nihihihice…” Skeppy tittered out. “Wahahaharm.”

“You like them!” Bad’s tail wagged with his joy. It had stopped tickling Skeppy when the vines had taken over. “Aw, Skeppy, the vines like you too…”

They did like him, because the vines were safe, warm and loving. They made Skeppy feel safe, warm and loving. The whispering was just reassuring him, reminding him that he was safe and warm.

And loved.

The vines slowly stopped their tickling. Bad watched as they pulled away, uncurling from Skeppy’s arms and stomach. Skeppy let out a few leftover giggles, curling up more into Bad’s lap. The demon cooed, giving a small sympathetic thought as he rubbed over Skeppy’s back and soothed out the ghostly tickles. It wasn’t too long ago that Bad had been at the playful mercy of those vines too.

“Feeling okay?” Bad asked.

Skeppy nodded. His body still felt heavy but he had an easier time moving it now, slowly pushing himself to sit up.

The vines around the two had practically stilled. The ones over Skeppy had completely pulled away, tangling themselves back into the nest.

Skeppy stretched when he sat up, suddenly feeling renewed energy through him like he’d just woken up from a good long sleep.

“Do you want to go get some food?” Bad offered. He had stood up, stretching himself as well and offered a hand for Skeppy. “I think the rain has stopped.”

Skeppy nodded, taking the demon’s hand and letting himself be pulled up. “I’m starving, actually.”

Bad smiled, growing into a grin as he saw the small red outline around Skeppy’s brown eyes.

“What’s got you smiling?” Skeppy asked, raising his eyebrow as he made his way to the exit of the cave. “You’re weird…” He chuckled.

“I’m just happy you had a good time.” Bad shrugged, following Skeppy out the cave.

A part of the demon felt bad for leading Skeppy to the vines but he shook that feeling off. This was good for Skeppy. He’d be safe and protected under the Egg’s influence. This was a good thing. This was the right thing to do.