[There's something on your head!]

I become aware of it the moment I leave torpor, some sort of wet object resting between my antennae, and I sprint forward, spinning as I do. The object rolls over my back and falls off as I run, and makes a strange, startled burbling sound.

Running up the wall, I end up on the ceiling and get a good look at what it is, before realizing I don't know what it is.

It's a small, green jelly-looking ball, two blue circles on the side facing away from me, and a thin horizontal line underneath them.

[What is that?]

[I don't know!]

The circles start moving around the main body, and then move straight through itself, ending up aiming in my direction. The line splits into an oval, and the curious bubbly sound happens again.

[...I think it's a slime.]

[What are those?]

[They're gel-based, with minimal intelligence and operating ability. The only reason they survive for so long is because a human normally keeps them for fun. I didn't know they could appear in the wild.]

The thin line on the front of the slime opens again, pulling in air, and then pops into a stiff ball shape, as opposed to the flattened shape it had been using. Using the new form, the slime starts rolling towards me, coming to a stop as it hits the wall.

Rolling over backward, the slime deflates, the circles (eyes?) spinning around its body before coming back into a focus on me.

It burbles again.

[Is that an attack or something?]

[No, I think that's how it makes sound. It just bubbles. What I don't get it is how it's inhaling and exhaling since it doesn't have any lungs. Or organs, for that matter. Actually, how is it even alive?]

It puffs up again and starts rolling around my cave, making a strange whistling sound as it does.

[...It's kind of cute.]

[I didn't know you had the capacity to think something was cute.]

[Well, I do now.]

I slowly walk back down the wall, and the slime rolls straight over to me and deflates.

It looks up inquisitively at me, the disproportionately large eyes blinking slowly.

[Okay, you're right. That is cute.]

[Is it possible to let it stay?]

Joule laughs into my head.

[You want a pet?]

[I thought they were called slimes.]

[No, I mean - keeping an animal is called having a pet.]

[Oh, there's a name for that?]

[Humans came up with it, apparently.]

[Of course, humans did. They name everything they think doesn't already have a name.]

The slime puffs up rapidly and deflates at the same time, the result being that it bounces into the air and lands on my head. As I haven't finished getting to the ground, it falls off again with a bubbly squeal.

[We're keeping it.]

[I don't have a problem with it if you don't. Where's it going to stay?]

[I can always dig another hole for it, like the storage room.]

The slime tries the strange jumping tactic again, with no more success than the previous time.

[It doesn't seem particularly intelligent.]

[Maybe it's a baby slime! Oh, now we have to keep it!]

[That's... what I said to start with.]

[I know, but now I agree with you!]

I jump to the ground and the slime promptly rolls over, performing that same snapping jump motion to land on my head, where it promptly liquefies into a happy puddle. It burbles, clearly satisfied with its superior jumping skills.

[What do we name it?]

[I think we should wait on naming it - after what happened when Noah named you Null, I hesitate to think about what would happen if we named a slime.]

[Do you think Noah would name it?]

[If he names it something bad, I don't know what we would do.]

[I'm sure he wouldn't do a bad job on purpose.]

[Well, I suppose it can wait on a name a little longer.]