Skylar dunked a tentacle into the strange yellowish goop collecting in a small sinkhole. It was cloudy, hot, and very sticky. They grunted, body quivering while they tugged on the tentacle a couple inches into the strange, viscous, liquid. It even stretched as Skylar pulled with all their might.
“Skylar!” Jatydid, had finally realized their child Skylar had wandered off while they were busy studying a patch of Flitterflowers.
“Over here!” Skylar chirped, their tentacle finally coming free with a loud slurp. They rolled backward, sucking their eye and beak into their body to protect them from rocks or thorns they might roll over.
“Really?” Jatydid sighed. They rose up tall on their tentacles, looking down at Skylar as they popped their eye and beak back out. “Careful now.” Skylar had started reabsorbing their tentacle. Jatydid tapped the ground next to the yellowed tentacle. “Don’t absorb that until we get this cleaned up.”
“What is it?” Skylar held it up, squinting at their coated tentacle, which now appeared green.
“The trap of a Mud Ogre.” Jatydid hunched down, elongating their body. “You won’t like the sting if you bring that inside.” Skylar watched their father’s back tentacles sift through the nearby brush. “We are one of the lucky few who aren’t paralyzed immediately.” Jatydid mumbled. “But still,” Jatydid’s body snapped back smaller, bringing several wide azure leaves. “Better safe than sorry.” Skylar assisted in the cleaning of their tentacle.
“Now, what did I tell you when you insisted on coming with me?” Jatydid pinned Skylar against the ground.
“Stay with you.”
“And?”
“Don’t touch anything you don’t know what it does.”
“Good.” Jatydid adjusted their body, shrinking their tentacles so their neck could grow longer. “Now, let’s skedaddle before the Mud Ogre comes to see what its caught.” They skittered through the grass on many tiny little tentacles.
Thinking for a moment, Skylar was able to mimic Jatydid, shrinking their larger tentacles to grow a multitude of little ones, scurrying after their parent on his botanical survey.
Word count: 337
