The Devlin Family

"I never said date." Her titters only intensify, jiggling her whole body. "Was it a boy?"

"What?"

"It was Luci, admit it. You and Luci snuck out didn't you? You bad boys." She hops once, sending a ripple up from her feet that terminates at the crown of her purple head. "Ohhh. He's gonna get in so much trouble. He he he he! Don't worry, I won't tell." She lowers her voice to a whisper and leans in. "Hey, can I watch next time? I promise to be real quiet."

"Trixie! Lucian!? What in the hell are you talking about?"

"Nothing!" She peeps in a chipper tone. "Hey, want your gift now?"

She looks up at you expectantly with her big bright red eyes. Couldn't she see how wrung out you were?

You rub your tired eyes. "Trixie, I'm exhausted, I'm filthy, and..." As you go to blow her off again you pause. Remembering how she had tried to cheer you up as Kirby, remembering her being there last night to check on you, and most of all remembering the kindness she showed toward your twin, you stop, turn, and wrap your arms around your purple jelly little sister. Her flesh wasn't sticky or tacky or wet. It really did feel like a much firmer form of jello, though with a pleasant warmth of its own. You give her cheek a great big kiss. "You...are a good person Trix. Don't ever change."

She absolutely beams. "Aww, thank you Jake. I think you're pretty cool too."

"You know what? Yeah, I would love to see my present."

"Really?"

"Mm hm." You nod.

"Great!" She takes your arm and tugs on it for you to follow her. "This will be the best gift you ever got, I promise. It's super special."

You cannot help but smile. Trixie certainly looked peculiar but outside of her unusual physical form nothing else had changed. All her life she looked up to you, maybe even idolized you a little. Bron, being so much older, was almost more of an uncle to your bubbly little sister. And it didn't help that he was an asshole. But you, you were her big brother. The guy who looked out for her, the guy she could tell her problems to, the guy who would go "talk" to boys being mean to her. Somehow that felt even more precious now. She was like a member of some superhero squad and you were just a regular human yet in her eyes you were something so much more.

You follow along as she leads the way. "I can't believe Ves showed up last night. That was so cool. The twins finally seeing each other. Isn't she amazing?"

"Uh, yeah."

"And what did you think of the rest of us? Pretty surprising huh? Who was your favorite reveal?"

You roll your eyes, you'd been scared out of your wits yet Trixie seemed to think the whole thing was fun for you. "You Trix, had to be you."

"Awwww!" You notice the jelly at her cheeks deepen in color.

"Are you blushing?"

She giggles. "No!" She clearly was.

Opening her door she swings it wide and your eyes are assaulted by the bright neon and pastel rainbow of colors and patterns of her cheery decor. The walls are plastered with posters of K-pop idols and a host of characters from the many boys love manga she read. Letting go of your hand she runs and launches herself across her bed, she bounces, then balls up and rolls up on the other side. "Come in! Come in!" She waves you in excitedly.

"I'm coming, I'm coming." You enter and swing the door closed behind you then take a seat at the foot of her bed. Running your hands over the pristine bedding you wonder aloud. "Don't you sleep?"

"Nah." She says as she opens a drawer in her vanity. "Slimes don't sleep, don't breath, and all we eat is like nectar and honey and sugar water and stuff."

"Explains your sweet tooth."

"Yep." She pulls an immaculately wrapped little box, the wrapping purple with a bright red bow. Colors that matched her own. Just the way she held it you could tell it was something of great value in her eyes. She couldn't contain her effusive smile as she carries it to you as if it were the crown of the Queen of England. She gently places it in your hands. Sucking on her bottom lip as she often did when she got nervous or excited she twirls her hands together anxiously.

"This must really be something special."

"It is." She nudges you. "Open it." She crawls up beside you and kneels beside you. It reminded you of how she, Lucian, and you used to sit around your mother during bedtime stories. "Open it."

You look at her. Never had you seen your sister so worked up. Whatever was in this box was something precious to her.

"You know...I really am tired. Maybe I can open this after a nap or..."

"JAKE!"

You laugh. "Okay, okay." With great care you pull the fine silken bow loose and let it drape down over your legs. Then you tear through the purple paper to reveal a roughly carved wooden box. The craftsmanship was...not great. You look at Trixie with a kindly smile. "Did you make this?"

She nods. "Uh huh. Back in Grade 10 woodworking class."

"That long ago!?" You say. "And you kept it all this time for me? Oh Trix, I love it."

She shakes her head impatiently. "No, inside silly. That's just the box."

"Oh." You look back down at it. Opening the ill fitting front latch you open the lid. Your sister was literally vibrating with excitement beside you. There inside, nestled in a cushioned bed of glossy pink fabric, is an oblong magenta egg looking thing. A bit bigger than a softball the item glimmered in the light pouring in from the window. Reaching in you take it and pick it up.

"Mmmph." Your sister lets out a little mewl just as you touch it.

"Uh, wow. It's...uh...it's beautiful." You say as you gently squeeze it. It was soft and squooshy like a silicone tit. "What is it?"

Sidling up closer she gloops against your side, her chin resting on your shoulder to look down at it too. "It's me."

"What?"

"It's a piece of me." She says in a soft voice. "I had grandma help me with it. It took lots of magic to make it like that and it hurt so much but we did it. She said I should wait and give it to someone really special. My future husband she said." Her jelly arms ooze around you for a big hug. "But I wanted to give it to you for your big birthday."

"A piece of you? Are you serious?" You didn't even know how to react to that. "And it hurt you? No. You shouldn't have done this. Trixie, this is too much."

"Well it's too late now. You're the first human to touch it, it's bonded to you now."

"Too late? Bonded?"

"Only you can shape it and stuff. To anyone else it's just a bit of squishy goo."

"Shape it?"

"Uh huh!" She nods rapidly. "It has a bit of...errr...smarts to it. It can't think or nothin but if you give it a hint it can figure out what you're doin." She pauses. "Does that make any sense?"

"No." You reply as you tilt it left and right to study it from each side. It did look like Beatrix's body, though a bit firmer and the color was a little off. Like her purple and red had blended into this new color. "Smarts?"

"Yeah." She says. "You can work it like clay. If it can understand the shape you are molding it will pop into form."

"Pop into form? Like if I were to make a hammer..." You start working with the substance and, just as she said, it becomes malleable and shapes to your touch. After a bit of work you form into a rough hammer shape and...pop! Suddenly there is a transparent magenta hammer in your hand. The texture and hardness stiffer than before though not quite to the level of the wood and steel of a real hammer. "Wow! This is unbelievable!"

"Anything you can imagine you can make. I am very adaptable. A bowl, a shoe, a ball." She wiggles. "Even a pocket pussy!" She giggles. "Or a peepee." She squiggles. "Or a boobie." She jiggles. "Or a butt hole." She wriggles. "The best part is that I'll feel everything."

"What!?"

"It's still a part of me. If you make an eye I'll see through it. A mouth and I'll taste through it. A hand and I can feel around and do stuff with it. Whatever." She then adds more seriously. "Just don't be too rough. We slimes aren't as tough as we seem. We're actually quite delicate."

You look at it dumbfounded before throwing your head back in a great laugh. "A pocket pussy! Oh my God, you are the worst! Ha ha ha!" Trixie's humor had always verged on inappropriate, but she was taking it to a new level. "I take it back, you're not a good person! You're nasty! I'm your brother!"

"HA HA HA HA!" She laughs with you and hugs you tighter. "Why not? Come on! I'm not human. Grandma said I can't get preggers or catch human diseases or anything like that. Mouth, boner, titty, have fun with it bro. I know I will!"

"You're serious!? You are so bad!" You spin around and assault your sister with a merciless attack of tickling.

"EEEE! HA HA HA HA!" She squeals and laughs uproariously as she wiggles and wobbles all over the bed before being forced to slide off the side. You hear her land with a splat. Her new gooey form didn't save her from being ticklish you were happy to see.

She peeks back up over the side. "What do you think?"

"It's too much. It's really too much. Trixie..."

"Do you like it?"

"Like it? Trixie, I don't even know what to say. An actual piece of yourself. Nobody's ever given me anything like this. It's too much. This is... It's... I can't..." You are overwhelmed by it. "It's..."

"It's yours." She slides back onto the bed. "I wouldn't want anyone else to have it. I trust you with it Jake."

"Come here you." She crawls up onto your lap and you give her the biggest hug. "I love it. I love you so I love it. I will treasure it forever."

"I love you too Jake." She nuzzles close and you feel her lovely warmth glow warmer. "Happy Birthday."

***

After a good long cuddle you turn the topic to something you knew your sister would balk at.

"Come on. If you hurry you can still get to school on time."

"Ohhh, noooo! Jake." She balls up tighter in your lap and nuzzles into you as if she were trying to find a place to hide. "I'm not going today."

"Yes you are. Your grades are terrible. You can't afford to miss any more school."

"Mmmmm, I don't wanna!" She grows three more arms and latches onto you. "I wanna stay home with you!"

"Quit being childish." You say as you pry her five arms off of you. "You don't want to fail another grade, do you? You don't want Julian graduating before you, do you?" Trixie had never done well academically, thanks to a failed grade 9 year she and her little brother had gone through the rest of their schooling in the same cohort. This year they would both be graduating if Beatrix could just keep her marks up.

"I don't care. I hate school so much." She whines. "And Daddy's loaded! It's not like I need to get a job or anything."

"Come on, why do you hate school? You love people."

"The people are nice but the classes are soooo booooring!" She moans. "The teachers don't have a clue about the real world and they talk like they got allllll the answers. Plus it's just...just...booooring!"

You chuckle. "They're doing their best. We normies only know what we know."

Her flesh hardens and she POPS into the shape of a perfect cube, her angry pouty face on one side of it. "I'm not goin!"

"Trix. Don't be like that." You pull her warm body close, her cube shape immediately begins to soften at the edges. "It's important and it's not too much longer now. Do it for me?"

"Awww." She sighs and grudgingly returns to her human shape. "Fine, on one condition."

"Name it."

She points to her gift, the magenta hammer still held in your hand. "Use it today."

"Use it?"

"You know what I mean." She waggles her eyebrows suggestively. "Please Jake. Be a little naughty with it. It's your toy, play with it."

"Trixie!"

"Pleeease! I promise, I'll go to school and go to every single class." She then slumps her head down on your shoulder. "And you have to drive me."

"That's two conditions."

"Pleeease!"

After that gift how could you refuse? "Okay, get ready and I'll drive you in. You'll have to get a lift home from Lucian."

"Hee hee!"

You notice her body shimmer then the next thing you know you have the Trixie you'd grown up with on your lap. She looked as human as you. Bright hazel eyes, short hair died purple, a tight petite body, and a freckled face as cute as a button. She already had on the white blouse, dark blazer, tartan pattern skirt and high socks of her school uniform.

"I'll meet you at the car." She peeps and goes to leave.

You hold her a second for one last hug. "Hey, thanks again." You turn her gift over in your hand. "This really means the world to me Trix."

She grins. "You're welcome. Glad ya like it." She then smacks your butt. "Come on slow poke, you're going to make me late for school!"

"Yeah, yeah." You gripe as you usher her out of your room and close the door. "Gimme a sec."

You look once more at the hammer and shake your head at it. You tuck it away in your underwear drawer for now but you knew you'd have to find somewhere special to keep it in the future.

With the time ticking, filthy feet and all, you hurriedly throw on some clothes, a baggy pair of sweats and a t shirt, then grab your keys and phone and head to the garage. At the far end, hidden behind your brother's hulking black Ford Raptor, is your Tesla 3. Trixie is already there leaning against it with her backpack on and her eyes glued to her phone as her thumbs flew across the screen at a blur. You notice that she'd already unplugged it for you. Entranced by the conversation on her phone she gets in and buckles up without even a pause to her texting.

Yep, Trixie was still Trixie.

Opening the garage door you wake your car and are soon zipping up the long twisting driveway toward the road. You hadn't wanted an EV but Grace won you over with passion and persistence. Grace, bless her heart, wanted to save the world. Plus her family had built their wealth in tech and Tesla was a major partner of theirs. Dad wouldn't spring for the S so you had settled for a 3. Now that you had it though you kinda loved it. That instant power and quiet ride were easy to get used to.

You drive in silence along the long winding driveway, through the great iron front gates and out onto the main road to town. Normally you might have put on some music but today you just wanted to think about things. After last night you had a lot to think about. Trixie was so engrossed on her phone she didn't even notice your introspection. Briefly you consider telling her about Ves but in the end you decide to wait, at least until after school. Going twenty over the limit, as you often did down this quiet road, you speed toward town to get your sister to school on time. As you had before them both Lucian and Beatrix went to Grimbley Academy, a posh private school with very high standards and exacting expectations. Your father's wealth was the only thing keeping Trixie in there. The last thing you wanted was to have to listen to yet another harsh lecture to your little sister from Dad about the importance of showing up on time.

"Oh my God!" Trixie gasps. "Devin told Brittany that Keshawn likes Fatima but Tima is already with Dylan, and you know how Dylan and Keshawn already hate each other right? Anyway, Brittany said that..."

"Trix." You reach over lower her phone to her lap.

Snapped out of her digital stupor she looks up to see you'd already reached the outskirts of town. She giggles. "Sorry."

"Talk to me Trix." You say. "This might be just another day to you but it's like a whole new world to me. Tell me about...magic, monsters, slimes, anything." You glide through quiet streets of the sleepy little town. "Are you there more slimes? Are you the only one? And how can you look human like that?"

She shows you her phone before putting it away. "I have a magic sigil on the inside of my phone case. Most of us monsters that have close contact with humans have one, usually on something we carry all the time. We can't get too...intimate or anything. There are limits to the illusion. For everything else there are general magics at work that sorta make human eyes just kinda...slide off, like water off a selkie's back." She sighs. "And no, I'm not the only slime. Remember that trip I took last year to learn about culture and stuff?"

"The one to Japan? Yeah, of course."

"That was actually a trip to go see others of... my kind. It was so boring. They live in these dank caves and..." She makes a loud raspberry. "Pppbbbbttt! Jake! I was in Japan! I coulda went to Tokyo or Osaka or a million amazing places but Mom and Dad made me go connect with my ancestors or some crap out in the middle of nowhere. I never want to do that again. They mostly just sit around in big puddles all day long. Except for the airport I hated every minute of it."

"Huh." You ponder. "I guess you're pretty unique, being a slime not from a slime family."

"We're all oddballs that way. An oddball family." She then sits up tall just as you are coming to a stop at the first red light. "Hey! Check it out." She points over into a nearby alleyway. "By the dumpster there. Goblins."

"Goblins!?" You look over to see nothing but an wide empty alley, a few scattered bits of trash blowing about in the wind, and a row of dumpsters used by the businesses they abutted. "I don't see anything."

She titters and leans over toward you. "There, just between."

You look. "No, nothing."

"That's the magic I was telling you about." She takes your chin and points it in the direction she wanted you to look. "Just keep looking."

"Trix, I'm telling you. I can't see anything. I guess my normie eyes..."

"Don't say that." She bristles. "Jake...can you see anything green over there?"

"Green?" You stare intensely and make out a flash of muddy green. "Yeah, of course. I see green." What a weird question. "It's right there."

"Really?" She giggles. "What's green over there? The bins aren't green. The plastic bags and papers aren't green. The buildings aren't green. What could possibly be green? Hmmmm."

"Uhh..." Son of a bitch! She was right. As you start to focus on the details you realize there wasn't a green thing to be seen down that alley. Focusing in on just that color you lean in and really look. It takes a second but you catch movement between the bins then, clear as day, you see a short hunched grotesquely green creature scurry out and begin digging into a discarded fast food bag that lay there. It wore a tattered plastic shopping bag, it's brown stained teeth looked too big for it's wide mouth and its joints were thick and knobby. As you gawk it pauses...before it's gaze snaps up to stare right back at you. It twists its head curiously, it's piss yellow eyes narrowing as it studied you back.

HONK!

You startle as the car behind you lays on the horn. Looking up you realize the light had changed. Still distracted you drive on, the goblin watching closely as you pass by.

"You saw them, didn't you?" Trixie says excitedly.

"Uh...yeah, I saw one. Wow. That was...a real goblin?"

"Yep. Towns and cities have tons of 'em. Nasty little buggers." She makes a yucky face. "You're lucky the magic works on smell too."

"Tons of them? How..."

"I told you, the magic." She settles back into her seat. "Grandma said it's actually not that difficult. People like to see what they want to see. People like to believe what they want to believe. Grandma says that you just make the supernatural slippery to look at and the vast majority of people won't notice a thing. Once you can see clearly you'll see the sigils and runes all over the place. There's one up there." She points at a billboard you are passing by, you look but notice nothing but an ad for a local restaurant. "It's not foolproof by any stretch but it does the trick, and there are other measures in place of course. Our estate doesn't have them obviously. We can just be ourselves there."