Cryptid Biology 9: Trust

Cryptid Biology 9: Trust

[Dew communicates his feelings... as best as a little imp can.] Below the cut.

Dew isn't sure what's going on anymore.

The ghouls are talking around him, a constant back and forth of sounds he doesn't understand.

Sometimes, one of them will lower themselves to his level, talk at him, and he'll recoil, pressing further into the corner of the plastic tub they've set him down in.

The walls too tall and smooth for his little nails to catch and climb out, so he's stuck.

He'd spent a long while hiding under his sweatshirt, the one he'd been wearing when he turned into... whatever he was now.

Rain had stuffed it in there along with his sweat pants and a couple other soft, familiar smelling things, and that had helped him relax.

At least he's comfortable.

He peers up at the aforementioned ghoul.

He hasn't taken his eyes off of him since they set him down inside the container, he looks at Rain's hand dangling over the lip of it, hanging down low enough so that Dew can scratch the top of his head and along his spine with it if he wants to.

And he does.

Rain wiggles his fingers a bit, helping him reach the itchy spots he can't get with his back feet.

Dew purrs as Rain pets him.

This... this is nice.

Dew could live like this.

His head feels delightfully empty.

If he'd known he could do this, he would have done it ages ago and lived out the rest of his life as a whatever he is.

Simpler than being a human or a ghoul.

Actually, that makes him wonder...

Why hadn't he been able to do this before?

Why now?

Is it because of them?

He looks at the other ghouls, distorted by the cloudy, semi-opaque prison he's in.

He chirps, lightly bumping Rain's hand away, climbing over to his sweatshirt and making one, two, three small circles.

He settles into a little loaf, sighing contentedly, tail tapping against the plastic rhythmically as he lays his head over his small, overlapped paws.

"Dew?"

Dew lifts his head, locking eyes with Aether.

He can understand his name at least.

Dew watches Aether's mouth move, unable to make sense of the noise coming from it.

He lowers his head again.

There's a sigh.

Probably Aether realizing talking to him like this will get him nowhere.

Dew responds to it with a full body shaking yawn.

Being small is... surprisingly exhausting.

He feels the container move, but he's barely aware of it as he tucks into himself, he needs a nap.

When Dew next wakes, he's being held.

He's not really sure who it is that's holding him, but their hands are large, bigger than Rain's, but thinner than Aether's, and a bit too soft to be Swiss'.

He sniffs curiously.

He smells dirt.

Why does he smell dirt??

DID THEY THINK HE DIED AND TRY TO BURY HIM??

Dew's eyes fly open.

Yipping when he notices he's currently being held in the muddy palms of-

"Hey there."

It's Mountain!

Dew doesn't know why, but this... this comes as relief to him.

Better the earth ghoul than an early grave he supposes.

Mountain may be big, but he's a gentle giant, and his hands aren't constricting him like Swiss' had been before.

He keeps an open palm, letting Dew move freely, so long as he doesn't make to jump from his hands.

He's good with animals after all.

Dew wiggles at him, unable to wave.

He tries, but reaching out his front paw sets him off balance, and he almost tumbles out of his hands.

"Yes, yes, hello..." Mountain coos, "...You've had a long... a long life from the sounds of it, but it's been a long day, hasn't it?"

Dew tilts his head at him.

Why can he understand Mountain?

Does he speak... whatever the fuck?

Of course Mountain would.

That's probably why he's here.

"I want you to know, you're safe here." he says, keeping his voice soft and low, "You're safe here."

Dew croaks at him warily.

Safe?

Everything around him feels like a threat right now if Dew's completely honest.

And, and...

He's... He's so small.

How could he possibly feel safe when the world is so big?

Even on the inside, he feels...

He feels like he's still shrinking down.

Getting smaller and smaller.

He kind of hopes whatever little speck of him is leftover when all is said and done just snaps from existence so he doesn't have to think about...

Think about what exactly?

He...

He isn't sure.

What had him so worked up again?

He tries to get his head on straight, but he can't.

He feels like he's outside of his body and... maybe he is?

He worms his way to the edge of Mountain's palm.

"I need you to trust me, and let me change you back."

Change him back?

No!

Dew hisses.

He doesn't want to go back!

"Dew... you can't live like this." Mountain states somberly, "You... you just can't."

He can!

He can make this work!

Somehow...

"...I know you're scared. This has all been very weird, hasn't it?"

Dew croaks, looking down at the floor.

It's... It's a long way down.

It might hurt if he jumps down now.

"If you put your faith in me now, I can promise I'll stand by you, help you tell the others how you feel if it's hard for you to do, but this... Dew, this isn't the answer to your problems." Mountain says, "Shutting out the world won't make you feel better."

"It'll make it worse."

Dew whimpers, forcing his mouth to form the only word he can think to say...

"...sss...S...cc...areddd..."

"Sc... ared."

"Scared."

"Scared."

His little eyes water and he tries to hide his face behind his paws, but he can't.

Small as he is now, Mountain can see all of him.

And when a sudden warm drop of water hits his back.

Dew realizes, he understands.

Because Mountain is crying, too.

Big ol' softie.

Dew shakes off the moisture and chirps at Mountain, nuzzling the pad of his thumb, trying to comfort him.

Dew's in such a weird position, but, but he...

He still can't stand seeing one of his friends upset.

Even on his own behalf.

"Will you trust me?" Mountain asks, and...

And how can Dew say no to those big sad eyes??

He chirps at him.

.

.

.

.

"Maybe we should wait to turn him back."

Dew blinks at Aether.

Having been returned to the kitchen by Mountain, the other ghouls had sat down to discuss the matter of turning him back, and, focusing very, very, very hard, Dew had been able to... ehhh... vaguely understand the mechanics of it, understand them at least.

"Probably a good idea." Swiss says, "If he was just starting his heat for the first time, him turning into an imp for a couple days is probably the safest option, since he won't experience it in that form."

He won't?

Come to think of it, his little... uhh... leaking problem had gone away as soon as he shifted forms.

Good.

Great even.

If he can just do this the next time that ha-

The next time.

This... this could, no, this would happen again.

Dew lets out a miserable little burble and buries his face in his paws.

"Aw, Dew, it's..." Rain cuts himself off again, shaking his head, "...It's not okay, and, we need to talk about it."

Dew grumbles at him.

"Hey, at least he can't deny he's a ghoul anymore." Swiss shrugs, "I get that he's freaked about it, especially after all this time, but living in denial about things... Like, I know he's not happy he doesn't know what's happening, but, like, Dew, man..."

He gets down on Dew's level, "You have to admit, if you were even a little bit more open to the idea... we could have talked to you."

"No, Swiss, we should have talked to him about it regardless." Mountain corrects, "This... this isn't all on him. We assumed a lot, and pushed hard thinking we were right and that Dew was just... being silly! But..."

"I agree." Cirrus interjects, "But Swiss... Swiss isn't wrong either exactly."

"We all failed to communicate properly." she says, "And it forced a reaction, which, while it does prove our theory... it was wrong to back Dew into a corner like this."

The ghouls argue back and forth.

Trying to shift blame.

Dew tries to cover his ears.

It's embarrassing being talked about like this, especially when he can't defend himself.

"Scared."

The room goes quiet.

"Scared."

Aether tries to comfort him, but the shadow of his hand makes Dew flinch.

"Sca...ry."

"Scary."

The only words Dew can seem to utter are ones of fear.

Of distrust.

"Why?" Rain asks, "Why 'scary'?"

Dew... isn't sure why.

He just is.

Something about the ghouls.

No, something about BEING a ghoul is absolutely terrifying to him.

And he can't place why.

"I brought my tablet!" Sunshine calls from the doorway, interrupting the oppressive silence, "Imp paws work on touch screens, right?"

Imp?

Oh.

Oh is that what he is?

"Should work." Cumulus says, taking the tablet and setting it down in front of Dew, "Thanks, Sunny. Okay..."

Dew stares at the screen.

"Just tap the pictures and tell us how you feel, can you do that?"

Of course Dew can do that!

Dew baps the screen with his paw.

"Fuck you."

"SUNNY!"

"Hehe, sorry, sorry, I figured he might want to vent his frustrations a little..."

Dew slaps the screen a few more times over that one before he decides to get serious.

Rain leans over the table, "Okay, Dew... why scary?"

Dew looks at the pictures available to him, swiping at the screen to find the right words.

"No. Choice. Scary."

"It's scary... because you didn't get to decide?" he tries, and Dew bobs his head at him.

"No. Choice. Scary." he looks through the pictures, "Make. Small. Small. No. Like."

"You don't like feeling small?" Swiss questions, "Elaborate?"

"No. Like. Small. Feel. Like. Lie. Lie. Lie."

"Lie?"

Dew stares at the screen.

"Dew?"

"Like. Lie. Life. Lie." he baps the screen one more time before curling into himself again, "Silly."

"You feel... silly... because you didn't know?"

Dew chirps.

"But we all... we all did? Because we thought we knew?"

Chirp.

"And that made you feel... small."

Dew lifts his head, staring up at his friends.

"We made you feel small... so you made yourself small?" Aether asks.

When you put it that way...

Dew bats at the screen.

A steady rhythm of "Fuck you".