#rosameetsgoopy

But here he was, bag hanging from his shoulder, bored expression in place and dressed in something that was not a sheet. Also a bit impatient, next to the standard of bored.

“So you’re really coming with me?”, I was still somewhat suspicious, “Without any of your pets?”

They were in a corner of the room, shapeshifting without realising what it meant. Mindless beings, really. Barely capable of gauging the reactions. But trainable. He had proven that.

Not very nice. But then again, we weren’t known for that.

“… my lack of answer meant that it was obvious, looking at my attire. Not that I was unsure. Go already”, he sounded annoyed.

And I snapped out of looking at the critters: “Oh? Alright then!”

I shrugged and lead the way outside.

“Be careful, though. Goops tried to bite you last time. He might try again. And he’s bigger, now. The little mongrel”, he ate proper chickens, now. Bigger ones. And looked very, very fluffy when done. Felt like it, too.

He fell silent again and looked at me. I looked back at him, unassuming and friendly.

And so he sighed and said, shaking his head: “Rosa… your little hellbeast-knockoff is still far from able to harm me. Maybe one day, but… it’s a little laughable right now”

I laughed: “Don’t tell him that!”

And, with a little grumble, he followed me. On foot. Because I liked walking.

… teleportation couldn’t be all that healthy, really.

 When I opened the door, a little ball of fluff came running up to me. Not making any noises, just ran up and placed his front paws on my belly, hopping a little. A lot like a dog, really.

The usual greeting. Looked really trusting, too. It was adorable. And I knelt down and hugged the little bugger, petting it’s feathers and cooing some nonsense about him being a good boy. He slumped against me, then, always.

“Goops, sweetie? We have a visitor today. Be nice. You know him already, he’s fine. You’ll be nice, right?”, I looked at him and… he had already noticed Frederik.

And now had a few more teeth and mouthes than was… strictly necessary.

Also eyes. I still wasn’t sure about the eyes, especially since he narrowed them.

When Frederik walked in with a smirk, Goopy’s feathers raised. And it started growling. Vibrate-growling, really. The growl made it vibrate. And it was so cute, I just wanted to cuddle him. And so I did, picking him up and holding him in both my arms. The little critter, squeezing him against me.

“It’s just Frederik, Goops. He’s fine. Really”, I said and nosed his head.

It helped. He calmed down a little and only… glowered.

Frederik snorted, then walked further into my home and sat down at the table: “Thanks for the invite and all that, I… would like to feed your little ball of,” now he narrowed his eyes on Goopy (I held him closer, protectively), “… of feathers? Really? Why feathers?!”

I sat dow at the opposite end of the table and held Goopy closer again. He didn’t seem to think kindly of Rik’s tone, judging by its growl.

“Don’t insult him, he’s precious and soft!”, not that it actually was an insult, but it offended Goopy, so…

“… it’s more about you, you are aware that it most likely copies what you show him, right?”, he frowned at me.

“Uh… maybe?”, I hadn’t given it much thought.

“Roro… you know that animals look like they do because it’s practical, right? Because it works for the particular being? There is a reason that dogs don’t have feathers”

“… so? He’s just fine that way!”, if Goops wanted feathers, he can have feathers, “He could have taken fur from the rats!”, I petted my poor assaulted Goopy.

“… how often do you pet rats?”, he said with a flat voice.

“… not? I can’t get attached. They will feel betrayed”, they probably already did…

“And the chickens?”, this resembled more a sigh.

“Well… they hold still better and I carry them here while petting them, why?”, I was confused.

“… so you pet feathers more than fur?”, I asked, looking at me flatly.

“Yes?”, because of the circumstance?

“… and this is why I don’t involve you in my experiments”, he threw his hands up in resignation.

I frowned. But well, he did that sometimes. I kissed Goopy’s head. He hadn’t calmed down that much yet.

 “Anyway. I actually just wanted to feed your goop-critter. And so that’s what I’ll do”, he opened the messenger bag, took out a flat beholder made of glass. Inside, was a red ball. He placed it on the table.

“Be my guest, ‘Goopy’, I think you’ll like it”, he removed the lid out of its ground joint and… suddenly I had no Goops in my hands anymore.

He was in the beholder, lid barely lifter, and looked decidedly less fluffy, too. A little feral, really, eyes looking all over the place.

“Ah, I thought so,” Frederik nodded.

And Goopy fell over with a whine.

I stood: “WHAT did you DO to him?!”

Not sure if I should touch lil’ Goops yet, I just stood and glanced from him to Frederik and back. He didn’t look happy.

At least Frederik had the decency to look apologetic: “I… also guessed this would happen. He… overate himself a little. Nothing too bad, but… he never had such a big meal, so…”

“It was just a ball!”, not even a really big one, just… twice a fist, maybe?

“Ah, but not everything is as it seems. I know he’ll be fine, so don’t worry. Maybe he’ll even grow a lot stronger. Because he needs to, you know? He’s still pretty week, after a year…”

I carefully took him in my hands, his shape wasn’t all too defined, twitched from time to time.

I frowned at Frederik: “Yu shouldn’t do things like this!”

“Mh. Maybe. But you do have a pretty dangerous little friend there, and I have to look out for order, too… so… sorry, Roro”, he stood and turned to the exit. I didn’t stop him.

“Tell me when he feels better. I promise I’ll not give him anything he isn’t perfectly capable of dealing with”, he waved goodbye.

I just frowned at him and put my poor Goopy in his little bed while Frederik closed the door.

Stupid bastard.

If he wouldn’t be down here, then… then…

…

I sighed, following the critter around.

He wasn’t too attentive. As in: He didn’t notice me, walking in a normal fashion among the lazy people in the hell of Sloth. But he paid enough attention not to draw attention to himself.

Which was somewhat impressive, considering his actual thing was pride.

Suppressing its own instincts, it snuck around. The third week in a row.

It apparently became a habit: Waiting until Rosa was gone, then wobbling through the window and getting around to… consume.

Food. Animals. Raw ingredients. Hellbeasts.

The last one was rather odd, really. He really shouldn’t be able to eat quasi-demons.

But here he was, preying on another one.

And, incidentally, it was one not native to this hell. Actually? A more fitting target, the bright feathers indicated pride.

I could even spot two eyes zoning in on the critter.

 With a sigh, I stopped in the crowd and simply reached down to pick it up.

A weird feeling. The critter was thin as a sheet and panicked almost immediately, snapping at my fingers.

… didn’t actually bite or break skin, though.

When I pulled it up in front of my face, it returned to a more animalistic shape.

“You really shouldn’t be out here. I heard Rosa brings a new recipe, and will be home earlier. So shush with you, go back!”, I flung him into the right direction.

And followed him back ‘home’. Silly distressed critter even looked around.

It wasn’t very well oriented.

Probably led by emotions? It’s a little silly.

… he really seemed to have lost all his memories. And dignity.

I was almost sad when I brought them for slaughter, because after they were slaughtered, I petted a now reasonably sized, but strange little Goopy.

Which feels… smooth, but not soft and just… strange.

Since when is something always smooth? Skin usually isn’t.

And the skin tone? It was a purplish black.

The skin itself was… undefined. It looked like it just... was. A little unsettling, really. Even if I did look closely, there was not much definition. No pores, no hair, no nothing. Like a smooth pebble. But movable.

It also had no ears.

And after about three weeks of this, I pinched the skin where his ears should be. And pulled at it. It did extent, too.

“You are so weird”, I pulled the not-ears a little more.

Some eyes opened and blinked at me, bigger than usual. The mouth opened slightly, too. A gaping, black maw opened.

“You don’t even have ears”, I shook my head and let go of the skin, which then turns back to normal.

At least usually.

This time… the skin didn’t. It wobbled. And one tip collapsed, staying in the bent state. He wriggled a little, but generally stayed that way.

“… you… can actually… decide how you shapeshift?”, I kind of assumed Frederic had given him dog DNA or something. Still possible, but…

There was a noise from the little critter.

I interpreted it as a yes.

“Sooo… you could be soft, too?”, he looked at me.

“Come on Goops. Soft. Like the chickens you just ate? Soft and pet-able?”, I pet him a little and made big eyes.

After he narrowed his eyes for a moment, there was a poof noise.

And he had the fluffiest down all over him.

“You ARE just the BEST, Goops!”, and I grabbed and squeezed the featehrey, dog-eared little freak of nature against my cheek.

Definitely better to cuddle.

And he looked happy, too.

 Because yes, I saw them now – felt them, too. Wriggling on my hand, when I picked him up. Tiny many-eyed, many-mawed critter.

He was, in general, well-behaved. And consumed any and all things I dropped on the floor.

Except dirt. He spit the stone I dropped back at me.

Well, I somewhat deserved it, really. I did test him with that.

He forgave me, though.

After a little bit of cupboard-lurking, scuffling sounds could be heard all over the place. An a few hisses… until he showed up on the backrest. Hissed in my ear… and then placed himself on my lap. Like he belonged there.

Snoozing away happily, being pet while I read.

 When I came home a few days later, I found a vial in front of the door. With a note attached to it.

‘Sorry for scaring your little pet’, to which I can only say: Goopy is no pet, Frederik. He simply did not yet recover properly.

But it continued: ‘It’s a present. Wish him good appetite’

It was a liter of liquid. And I frowned at it. I knew the source and it was red.

That didn’t cause much trust. But I brought it in and put it on the table, contemplating if I should risk it.

Soon enough, after I gathered my snacks and gave Goopy his young live rat, I sat down on the sofa and got a lap full of lumpy loaf with eyes, sometimes forming a moth to get a potato chip.

But it did seem interested in the flask, sometimes looking over or physically turning to it.

“You do want it, don’t you?”

It made a tiny noise, then.

“It’s from Frederik. You know? The guy that encased you in glass?”, I grabbed the flask.

Goopy stared at it.

I raised my brows and swerved the bottle: “You sure?”, when his eyes followed, I took that as a yes.

“Alright then, I’ll open t and then we’ll-“

I did open it when I said I would.

And now Goopy was… in the flask.

Like… the red was replaced by black.

Goopy was bigger than that flask. And there had been something in, but… there his eyes were, blinking.

There was a growling sound coming out of it. It sounded happy.

It was the weirdest thing.

And for the rest of the evening… Goopy didn’t get out again. Neither until the next morning.

When I came back from work the next day… the glass was gone.

But there was a being close to the entrance:

It wasn’t a loaf. It was a… being. Still hairless, but vaguely dog-shaped, with a tail. Still without ears, though.

“Goops, is that you?”, I reached out a hand.

A tongue lolled out at the appropriate place for a dog’s mouth.

And leaned into the touch.

“Someone had a growth-spurt over night… you seem quite happy!”

He did.

 “You’re such a gentleman, Riks”, I huffed. And grabbed a mouse to place it on the floor.

It took about two seconds until the mouse found it’s untimely end.

“… this is a shapeshifter”, he says, staring at the few eyes that look angrily at Frederik from under it’s shell.

“Yeah? I told you?”, I nodded.

“You didn’t tell me it was a shapeshifting puddle”, he frowned still frowned at the floor.

“I’m… pretty sure I did?”, because… I was pretty sure I did!

“Then make sure I listen to you!”, he honestly said. I made a bit of a face.

And then more of one, because Goopy crunched.

 And that was the moment where Frederik encased Goopy in a ball of class and let him float in front of his face, looking under him.

“It does have legs. You said it didn’t before?”

I stood up to him: “If you don’t let Goopy out of there this instant, you’ll never get a coffee again!”

He stared at me. While Goopy was not happy at all in his ball. Eyes glued at the surface, flinging itself from one side to the other.

“Spoilsport”, he huffed and made a small hole into the ball, pointing to my side.

Goopy jumped out and into my arms, hissing and curling into my pocket, hissing and glowering and flashing eyes and being generally unfriendly.

I tried to pet and calm it, apologising to Goopy for such a rude guest, I would tell him next time, that no one can imprison him.

And he slowly, but surely calmed. And rolled into my hand. Where I could pet it a little easier.

 “As an apology, you freak of nature”, and Frederik let blood drip from a wide gash on his hand, onto lil’ Goops.

A mouth opened where one had been a second ago. IT took the drops and cleaned its surface, actually producing a tongue to lick itself clean.

Then stood still, I felt a sniff… and then it jumped at Frederik, all teeth showing and making noise.

“Goopy, no!”, I said, because…

Frederik slapped him to the floor, making him in a puddle once again. I knelt down next to it, holding my arms in front of him.

“Frederik!”, I yelled.

“What? It attacked me, it bared it’s teeth at me”, he frowned

“He’s an innocent angel. Well, almost. Leave him be”, he hid behind me, still hissing.

“Hrm. Well. I’ve seen him. I’ll… I’ll see what I can do. I have some ideas. But one thing you should keep in mind, Roro. This thing is far from normal”

I stuck my tongue out at him.

 I at least guessed that was the common nominator?

When I came home and found a walking coconut, I was… a little bit surprised?

I mean, it was still entirely hidden by the shell, but it hopped away under the cupboard.

“You got legs”, I said, staring.

I put a mouse down so he would come out and catch the critter.

Aaand here Goopy came.

Very little noise came from the movement. There had been more of a scraping beforehand, not loud either, but… now it was almost completely silent. And it expanded over the mouse, eyes blinking all the while.

A sickening crunch came from the ball.

“… love the cronch, huh?”, I frowned a little, “We have to work on your table manners, Goops”

He cronched away and then, complacent, laid down a little and let himself be pet.

When I carefully shoved a hand under his little body - a few eyes opened occasionally, checking if everything was alright – it did step on it.

I felt the little legs.

When I turned it around in a second all the eyes were closed, I didn’t get a chance to see it’s legs, since it immediately screeched and turned into a blob and fled under the cupboard, hissing some more. I saw teeth.

“… you feel betrayed, huh?”, I scratched my head, “Yeaaah, sorry ‘bout that. But I gotta see those leggies. I still don’t really know what you aaaare”, I made a face. This was difficult.

The hissing didn’t really stop, though.

 So on my next cocoa-run, I complained to Frederik.

“You still have that newbie? You can’t take care of every stray you find…”, he sighed, but took the beverage and the indulgent pat on the head all the same.

“Ronve, this is not…”, he sighed, long suffering and put upon, “Why do I ever indulge you, mh?”

“Because I make the best pizza?”

He stared at me, then sighed: “By the lords. Sure. Whatever. So, I’ll listen. Tell me about the new fallen one. Tell me so I can tell you one final time that I can’t do anything. Go ahead”

I grinned: “Okay! So! He is a puddle of goop. And eats everything. Like… all things. And he hides under a coconut shell. And now he grows tiny widdle legs and runs around”, there was a slight frown on his face, but he nodded along.

“Oh, and he grows teeth and multiple mouth sometimes and envelops his prey with his whole body and then just crunches them. It sounds really scary. And then He opens all his eyes – sometimes it’s like… eleven. But they get more the more he eats. And he likes bloody things. More living ones, really”, now I frowned for a moment, then: “… and it was really excited about my blood, but then… not anymore. It was weird”

And here his pencil fell out of his hand.

With a bit of an incredulous voice, he said: “It ate your blood?”

I nodded: “I… yes? It suckled on my finger and then didn’t want to anymore. It’s not dangerous or anything, though. He’s really nice! And it’s a he! I think”

Frederik just flapped his hand a little: “Nevermind that, it just fell, it can’t really harm you, but it ate your blood? Like… not just accidentally got a few drops but actively took it?”

“Uh, yeah?”, what about it?

“You… are aware that demon blood is poison, right? Like… a few drops aren’t going to kill you, but it’s… definitely not good for you. And… you notice. Like… no one can simply ignore that. You would at the very least puke from it. If the new one really is just… coconut-sized, this might have killed it”

“Goopy is in danger?!”, this was not good news!

Frederik just rubbed the bridge of his nose, huffing: “… Roro… no. It would have died already, the point is: It ate demon blood and lived. Leviathan did that, but that’s… kind of it?”

“So he’s special after all?”, Frederik would help me?

He stood and stretched, his back cracking terribly, I winced: “You need a massage”

“Nevermind that, let’s go and see your… Goopy”

Crouching in front of the box, I watched as the coconut migrated towards and over it. Then it slowly migrated to the edge of the box – the coconut moved up the side of the box, only darkness and eyes visible under there – and then spit all the sand on the floor.

It stayed up there for a moment longer, then returned to the floor. And growled.

“Well, aren’t you spitting feathers about a few sand-corns. Lil’ Goopy”, I shook my head. And reassembled the dirt again. I wasn’t fond of it either, after all.

When I came back with a living mouse, it was devoured the second it touched the floor of the box.

So, he had deliberately moved slowly, just to prove a growly point.

“I… won’t give you dirt anymore, Goops. Sorry about that, really”, I said and took a little bit of risk by reaching into his home and lifting the shell the tiniest bit. And petting the goopy critter.

 Now, here, I want to point out that it was not completely reckless! Angels are not very tactile. But we are constantly surrounded by HER, so… nothing is actually missing. But the constant presence is gone when one falls. And that leaves a feeling of emptiness. Physical contact is either welcome or completely rejected.

For now, Goopy had leaned towards rejection, but it can change, so this was not a completely hopeless endeavour. I simply want to point out!

That I got bitten by pretty sharp teeth a second later therefore was a very calculated risk. Still. Outch, my fingers. But the teeth did not stay lodged in there. Goopy let go. He let go and licked my fingers clean.

And then it actually leaned into scritches, coming out of t’s shell the tiniest bit. Maybe it was just because it wanted to absorb the blood, but I almost doubted it, it didn’t seem to like my blood (I didn’t know what to think of that, really).

And so, the next hour was spend petting a little ball. An odd little ball that sometimes blinked with too many eyes. And showed teeth in various places. But generally reacted positively to the attention. Good.

After the hour, it showed me teeth. And opened and clothed whatever it was that held those teeth, clicking them together.

“What, you hungry again?”, no reaction… “…food?”

It clinked it’s teeth again. I took that as a yes.

 But as soon as it heard the door close, eleven eyes opened and the critter formed a ball. And then jumped out to glue itself under the cupboard again, hissing.

“I see you… made yourself… an eyeful”, I frowned.

That… for some reason made it calm down.

 Mh. Frederik had consumed his cocoa… and did indeed calm down a little bit, but still was not willing to help me nurture a freshly fallen one. Dismissed me with a sneer and a few experimental seeds. Said the fruits will be tasty.

Alright, then.

I planted them before I sat down next to the cupboard.

“You know… life down here isn’t that bad, really. If you relax a little, it can be nice. You just have to… not hate everything”, I looked to the side, where there was a bit of hissing again.

… he probably was afraid.

 I mean… he got back into the container when I was out. And clutches to the wall right now…

Mh.

I grabbed the container and shoved it under the cupboard - being too lazy to bow down that far had it’s perks! Probably not for the lil’ critter, though.

I watched it examine the container – still one eye trained at me – and then… globbed into the beholder again, pressing itself in a corner.

… it seemed more comfortable in there?

 Good for it! I supposed… it did dial back at the hissing, at least.

The food-experiments had to continue though… so I roasted some meat – it seemed to have a sense of smell, it did make some noises, there.

Still didn’t leave, though.

 When I put the meat into the container, it was immediately consumed.

I… had wanted to try f life food was better, but… like this, the… test was… probably inconclusive.

Because when I put in a life mouse and a piece of meat, it… just went for both. At the same time.

“… you’re not going to make this easy, will you?”

It… happily crunched away.

 …. What is weird is that really nothing was left.

And that the thing apparently really did not poop. At all.

I mean… I never saw it poop in the first too weeks. And now he didn’t either, so… the ultimate recycler.

So I spend the reminder of the day cooking and placing things in the container.

Mice, rats, meat, vegetables, water, sugar, cookies, non-edible plants – live and dead -, and finally I scrubbed my place and threw the dirt in. With some wooden crumbs. And a coconut.

And then… it was bedtime, scrunching noises being my night time music.

 When I woke up in the morning… there was dirt in front of the container… And half a coconut wobbled on the floor inside it. It somehow managed to look smugly disgruntled.

“… good morning to you, too, buddy”, I reached in to pet the coconut.

It made chittering sounds.