Stopping just as she’d began slithering out of the woods to try and find her way back on track, if she just looked in the direction the carriage was pointing she’d pretty much have to just follow the road. Plus, if she stook to the road, she was likely to calm down a lot easier than if she didn’t, which was a bonus.

A downside came when she heard her carriage driver talking to himself. She had no idea of his age, races could be quite long lived afterall, but she’d always seen him as rather young. Maybe it was just a poor habit of vocalizing his thoughts. She’d used to mutter to herself when examining humans so it was easily possible he was doing the sa-

Peering back through the trees it was clear this was not the same, and the green colour drained from her slimey face. Instantly she shifted behind a tree, her slimy body practically contorting to hide behind it regardless of it’s shape. Shit shit SHIT. An Aigan!? Weren’t they all dead? As a fellow slime she’d heard that subspecies had gone extinct a while back but damn this did not bode well. It had been a long time since she’d even heard of one, and she really hoped they weren’t all they were rumoured to be. She did not want to have to hide from an escort with heightened sences…7 years. 7 years she’d hidden the fact she was a slime and she was not about to let another slime blow it!!!

She hated that she had to do this, but pressing her back up against the tree, she took a deep breath to help herself relax, and as she did, some of the finer facial features she held began to fade into her more slimy form. If someone squinted she might look vaguely like ‘Marceline’ but with her hands melting into a less shapely arm, seeming like fingers on the tips of a malformed limb, her perky body reduced to a vaguely feminine shape, and her face turned to something more akin to a child’s drawing by comparison, she was at least sure she wouldn’t be so easily recognized…

“Forgive me for this…” She muttered to herself, slithering about the tree, she blew her gelatinous form up as big as she could, hoping to scare off her aid as she loomed over him with large arms and a (hopefully) terrifying face, more slime than human now but holding a still humanoid shape as she imposed a more ghoulish sense of proportion to herself.

“BLEGH!” That’s what scary monsters say right? Ugh, she almost wish she was as dumb as the other slimes so she could rely on instinct here.

Aeron

Her expression slowly dropped as the creature didn’t seem impressed. The Aigan must have been in full control, because while her aid had been a servant, he was an upper class servant. Any interaction with a creature like herself right now would have scared him out of his pants and sent him running so she could be on her way. As her arms slowly dropped, she felt cautious, knowing she needed to keep up the charade just incase, but as the other slime creature spoke, she took a cartoonishly angry form once more as she raised a finger to him.

“HEY! Who’s he calling a bra-!” Stopping herself she lowered the arm and glanced off to the side, folding her arms and puffing out her cheeks…least it seemed like her arms were folded. They kinda just went through eachother in this state. “I mean…I-I have no idea who you’re talking about.”

Cheeks still puffed out, really insulted she’d been called a brat after how nice she felt she was to all of her Father’s aids and servants, she glanced back towards the Aigan, glancing him up and down before turning to face him more directly.

“Something like that…I’m a shifter slimed…the intelligent races would call me ‘awakened’…” She stared, almost through the Aigan’s own eyes. “…He’s definitely not getting any of this?”

"Right..." She still wasn't too sure how open she could be. Despite their similar species, Marcie had spent so long away from other slimes that, if anything, she was even more cautious, though she was trained enough in manipulation by now that it didn't show. Her features slowly became more humanoid as she felt she could relax, resembling her usual face more and more with the passing seconds until she was a much more stable balance of her practiced form and slime counterpart.

At the accusation that she absorbed some girl, she was genuinely offended. "What!? No!? I-" Okay what she did was actually pretty horrific in her own right, but she didn't feel guilty, so a small twist on the truth didn't hurt. Crossing her arms with a huff she held her nose up. "She asked me to trade lives with her. We were actually close friends. She went off to be an adventurer, and I replaced her so her father wouldn't know. It's been a rather enjoyable trade if I do say so."

The comment of his lizard form didn't earn much reaction. She'd never seen an Aigan in action before so she just assumed the tail and snout was normal for his species. "Right, well, I'm...Marceline." By now, she'd honestly forgotten what her name used to be...and in a way she'd be offended if anyone called her by it all the same. She offered her hand out for a normal shake, but as their goo melded, she pulled back. "AH!"

Then, it clicked, and while still exceptionally grossed out she was a bit sheepish about what she'd done. "Right...sorry, I er...I havn't been in touch with other slimes for close to 10 years now so er...I'm really just not so used to our customs. I didn't mean to be rude."

"Right, right..." As the hand was offered again, she was a bit nervous to take it, but knowing she might offend otherwise she offered her hand, trying to hide how uncomfortable the odd sensation made her before taking back her hand and trying to turn it to flesh. Nope, wasn't happening, still too much of a spook in her system. She heard the suggestion about going on as they were but Marcie was a bit nervous. If they got anywhere populated then their would be people who could recognize the chariot and associate it with her...

"That sounds fine just..." Reaching into the supplies box at the back, Marceline pulled out a cloak and hood, pulling it around herself well enough that only her slimey green feet were exposed, and hopped up to the front of the chariot with the Aigan. "I should be able to re-form myself by the time we get there, but can never be too careful."

Marceline's eyes drifted as the carriage started to move, constantly adjusting the edges of her hood. She was not at all comfortable in her true form anymore, and the idea of still being like this by the time they reached the more populated areas made it even harder to shift back from how nervous it was making her. She was almost thankful for the distraction of his questions. "Well...I was over 80 when I finally started to realize just how much more intriguing I found the intelligent races over my own slime brethren, but only in my 90s did I actually care to infiltrate them. Over the course of 3 years or so I mostly studied from afar and learned the common languages. I was so fascinated on advancing my shifting powers and my general knowledge it's all become...second nature I guess."

She gave a light shrug. "I'm sorry to dissapoint, but as fascinating as I know I once found intelligent life, I've become so accustomed to it I couldn't tell you what stands out anymore? I am one of them as far as I'm concerned now. If anything I could find it easier to tell you the oddities of slime culture rather than the intricacies of the intelligent species hierachies or social habits...does that make sense?"

One question she could answer- "As far as treating me well...I'm seen solely as the daughter of a powerful family. I'm given the high life as they say."

She supposed she wasn't so good at hiding her expressions when she was a slime. She was a much more fluid entity, and perhaps on some level she felt it was the appropriate way to react. As a noble girl who shouldn't have much interaction with monsters, the idea of shaking hands with a slime, even if they were her own species, was just faintly disgusting, such were the lengths to which she had gone to immerse herself in this long term facade. At the comment of being old, she shot a glare back in the Aigan's direction. "Do you talk to many women?" She simply asked, glaring at him for insinuating she was old by the terms of her race. "Well, as impressive as it may be for an Aigan like you to still exist, I can't say I have much sympathy either. Many of us are cursed by the circumstances of our birth. Some races are small, some are seen as disgusting, other's die young. You make what you can of what you are given."

It was clear she didn't have much genuine empathy. Not anymore at least.

"I am one of them. More so than a slime. I barely even remember the language of my old race, and even then, what would I say to them? I am beyond what they could do, and the intelligent races could always offer more aid...I'd push through something alone before thinking to turn to other slimes."

As they started to get close to their destionation, Marceline lifted a hand out of her cloak, managing to turn it to flesh. She closed her eyes, and soon she was back to her normal state, reaching into the back of the chariot and pulling out her spare clothes, putting them on over her returned state before flicking the robe open and leaning back on her hand. "I am in the company of nobles. Unless you'd like to be their pet I doubt any of them would offer themselves up willingly. They all find themselves too important."