"do you know why i'm larger than a normal slime?" adrianus murmured, stepping closer to victor. "do you know why i'm more sapient than a normal slime? why i can maintain such a human form? why i can speak like this?"

victor stepped back, even as he knew he was being backed into a corner. "i... i don't," he said quietly.

they were close now, too close, almost touching him. looming over him.

he couldn't back away any further, he was already up against the wall. they inched forward, bit by bit, closing the gap between them at a deliberately slow pace.

"why don't i show you?" they said gently, sounding so soft and calm even as they were threatening him. as if they didn't even mean it as a threat. as if, whatever they were about to do to him, they really thought it was just fine.

there was no use protesting at this point, but he couldn't help it. "i don't need to know," he said quickly. "i don't- please just... don't touch me. i don't know what exactly you're about to do, but... but i don't think it's..."

"just relax, victor..." they said, holding their hand near his nose, still not touching it, but far too close. "can you smell it? my slime has a nice, relaxing scent... just take a deep breath and breathe it in."

it only made him freeze, trying to hold his breath.

"it's alright... it's just a pleasant smell. there's no need to try to resist it. you need to breathe, don't you?"

he eventually had no choice but to give in, taking quick, shallow breaths, as the smell of lavender slipped into his nose. he supposed it matched the light purple color of their body.

"if you breathe like that, it will just make you feel light-headed... you don't want that, do you? just breathe more slowly... unless you need a bit more help relaxing?"

he decided that he would rather listen to them than accept whatever sort of special help they were offering, so he reluctantly slowed down, his breaths deepening just a bit each time.

"that's it... just like that," they cooed. "there you go... isn't that better?"

it was a nice scent, and he did feel less light-headed, but he was a little bit concerned at how quickly he was able to relax, at least on a physical level.

"it is better, isn't it? isn't that better?"

they were speaking to him as if he was a pet. it was entirely possible that that really was how they saw him. that it wasn't meant to embarrass him, but just a genuine and natural way for them to speak to him.

and yet, it was such a strangely soothing tone of voice...

they moved their hand down, away from his nose - though their whole body was so close that he could smell the lavender regardless.

"it will just be so much easier and more pleasant for both of us, if you relax like this..." they murmured.

for a moment, he was a little too relaxed to fully register what they had said. he snapped out of it very quickly when he felt something warm and gooey on his arm.

they had grabbed his wrist.

he tried to pull his arm away, but they just moved closer to him, until their body pushed against him, the slime sticking to him.

"shh," they whispered. "it's alright. it feels nice, doesn't it? it feels nice against your skin..."

he squirmed and writhed uselessly against the slime, against their body.

"you're only getting yourself more stuck..." they said calmly. "i don't want to fully absorb you yet... so just relax, alright? deep breaths... just relax... i know you can relax for me, even if it's hard right now..."

the casual implication that they did want to fully absorb him at some point was concerning, but it was true that struggling wasn't helping him, so he had no choice but to relax and take deep breaths, just as they told him to. once again, he relaxed much more easily than he really should have, but he supposed he was thankful that he was able to stop struggling and making everything worse.

"that's it... very good. when you relax, you can feel how nice it is... how enjoyable and pleasant it can be. it feels good against your skin... you can feel that relaxing lavender soaking into you... can't you?"

it made him twitch, even though he was trying to hold still. he just wasn't prepared for how good it really would feel - that strange, immediate wave of tingly relaxation and pleasure was so foreign to him, it felt sort of invasive. this certainly wasn't something he should enjoy.

"is it a little strange?" they asked gently.

"it's more than a little strange," he said. "it's-"

he was trembling. he couldn't stop it. they were softly and subtly pushing into him, or, pulling him into them, maybe, so he could feel that relaxation slowly creeping along his skin, and there was absolutely nothing he could do about it.

"you don't need to try and fight it," they murmured. "it will feel so much better if you give in and relax... it only feels strange because you're trying so hard to resist something that's irresistible."

"stop talking," he said quickly, his mind in a frenzy, the stimulation becoming overwhelming. "you- when you say that, it's- i can't-"

"you know it will feel better if you give in..." they said slowly. tentacles emerged from their body, approaching his ears. "here, let me just help you..."

he shook his head, doing absolutely anything he could to avoid them, even for just another moment, struggling and squirming again, only struggling harder as he found himself just sinking deeper into the slime. it was impossible to even think.

he shuddered uncontrollably as they touched his ears, rubbing and caressing them with that warm, thick, gooey, relaxing slime. though he continued moving and shaking his head, his movements were becoming slower, with more of a lag, more of a delay. it felt so unbelievably good on his ears. the sound was so tingly.

"that's right... it feels good already, doesn't it? just relax... i'll help you relax more completely... i'll take away all of that fear and panic for you... just hold still... hold still for me, alright? i know you can do that..."

the slimy tentacles were probing now, starting to push inside his ears. he tried to move his arms, to try and grab them and pull them away, but his arms were already stuck inside adrianus' body.

the tentacles continued to slither inside. he was completely helpless. he continued to squirm weakly and pathetically, like an insect caught in a web, unable to hold still even when he knew full well that it was too late to escape, anyway.

"i know, victor... i know," they cooed sympathetically, their voice still surprisingly clear even with his ears being plugged. "you'll relax and accept it soon... it's alright... just a little bit longer, alright? just try to hold as still as you can..."

the tentacles were so deep in his ears already. he did stop moving his head, at a certain point. it felt as if the tentacles were holding it in place. and the inside of his head was delicate. he didn't want to squirm around while they were inside of it, for fear that they might mess something up.

"good, very good, so nice and still for me... that's so much easier, isn't it?"

they were pushing deeper, so impossibly deep, until they reached his brain. his sensitive, delicate, human brain.

they penetrated even that, giving him a strange sensation of fullness, deep inside of his head. as terrifying as it should have been, it was unimaginably pleasurable.

his body was going limp. his breathing was becoming deep and slow. even though all of those tingly feelings inside of him were becoming overwhelmingly intense, he was losing the ability to move, and his body was relaxing and slowing down, rather than becoming more tense and excited.

"there... that's better, isn't it? now you can just relax... now you'll just allow it... you can just enjoy it... this is going to be a very enjoyable experience..."

the tentacles pulled out of his brain, coating the outside of it now, surrounding it completely with that sticky, slimy, gooey feeling.

it did feel nice... he could distantly remember how he squirmed and struggled and attempted to resist a little while ago, but he couldn't summon up the desire to try that now. the awareness that he shouldn't want this was still there... but he felt so completely and utterly helpless and submissive and passive, fully absorbed in a feeling of surrender. he was entirely at their mercy. but that just made sense, really. he was smaller than them, weaker than them, a mere human. of course they treated him like a little animal, like a pet... that's simply what he was, compared to them.

it felt so good to accept that.

their body was enveloping more and more of him, though his head and face were still free. his brain was still surrounded by that thick coat of slime, by those tentacles that seemed to grow as they wrapped around it.

"do you remember what i asked you earlier, victor?"

it was difficult to talk, but he managed to answer. "yes, the... why you're... big, and strong, and smart, and... that..."

"that's right. very good... you're very smart yourself, aren't you?" they cooed. "and that's exactly why... because i absorb people like you... so i can grow... and absorb more and more knowledge and experience. even now... i'm slowly melting away more and more of your brain... so that it can become a part of me... part of the slime... and i'll absorb more and more of your body... to gain strength and nutrients."

he knew, on some level, even in that melty haze, that he should be afraid. but that didn't really matter. there was no use for fear now. he had already given in and surrendered. and it felt so nice. it felt... so amazing...

he could feel his brain melting, being absorbed, being taken from him. he realized the tingling feeling as the slime pressed against his body must have been a kind of digestive process. he was going to melt into them completely. to become one with them.

"you'll still be here," they whispered softly. "you'll be here, inside of me... it isn't really like death... it's alright..."

they must have meant it, because they both knew there was no need for comfort and reassurance anymore. it truly didn't matter how victor felt. and the pleasure was so overwhelming and all-consuming that any residual fear would have already disappeared.

still, the comfort was nice... every bit of praise and reassurance just made him melt that little bit more...

he accepted the embrace of the warm, sticky, gooey slime, giving in completely, every part of him giving in completely. it was so much better this way. it was such a wonderful thing, to be useful to them, to become a part of them, to give them more strength and knowledge. he was sure that, even when he finally melted away into nothing, when he completely disappeared into the slime, he would continue to feel this, somewhere inside of them. that he would forever feel that surrender. that he would feel how he had become a part of them, how they were using him, using his body and mind for themself, and he would feel endless pleasure and satisfaction at that fact.

"it isn't so bad, is it? aren't you glad you could just relax and give in? don't you feel silly for struggling and trying to resist for so long?"

there was not enough of him left to answer. he could only quietly, distantly appreciate how nice their voice was as they said it, and how right the words felt, on a deep, instinctual level.