Despite the three of them finishing their personal pizzas, the smell still lingered in the van. Skylar ran their tongue across their lips, getting the last of the pizza sauce off them. As the tang of marinara lingered, their tongue explored their mouth.
Thin front teeth, pointed teeth next to those, and then a series of wider, flat teeth everywhere else. The cheeks were soft, flexible, and so was the tongue. Poking, prodding, feeling the ridges at the roof of the mouth before traveling back. Hitting the soft palette was the farthest back Skylar could stretch their tongue.
The weirdest thing about the human mouth was how wet the inside was.
"You okay back there?" John asked after observing the faces Skylar was making while they explored their mouth. Skylar’s lips went from pursed to slanted, to other directions, and their nose scrunched up a lot.
As Skylar opened their mouth to respond two jets of spit came flying out from under their tongue. The water arched a little before falling to the ground. Skylar gasped and clasped their hands over their face. They pressed back into the cloth seat, their wide eyes meeting’s John’s in the rear view mirror.
John chuckled. "Relax, that happens sometimes too."
"But why?" Skylar said, barely opening their mouth.
"Why spit goes flying? I'm-"
"No, why so much liquid in general?" Skylar gestured towards John and Emily. "First I drool, now I shoot it."
"Spit does a couple things " Emily pointed to the collected pizza boxes. "First, it starts the digestion process. It also has antibodies and some immune system cells. So it acts as the first line of defense against pathogens trying to enter through our mouths."
"I know birds and stuff don't usually have moisture in their beaks, but have you never transformed into something with moisture inside their mouth?" John asked.
Skylar pursed their lips. They thought about every transformation they did back home, for a good minute. "I guess creatures on Qwortar have dry mouths."
"Strange." John put the van in drive. “So, I guess it’s time to bring you home.”
Skylar bounced in their seat, little squeaking noises making Emily chuckle as John started the journey home.
Word count: 369
