Wilder stared at Squick, her gaze uncomfortable and a little uncertain. Yeah, she wanted to help the little thing but she was still worried that if she ate it it would die. And she didn't want that. And there was another thing that occurred to her. If she fell into one of her trances while it was inside...what would happen? Would it get affected by the magic too? Would it hurt them? Would it hurt her?

She was fairly certain that if she did eat Squick, and it worked the way it said it did, then she would be able to provide for the little thing. It explained it fine and it made sense to her, even if she didn't fully understand how that even worked. But she was still a little worried that she'd hurt the thing somehow. Her brow furrowed with worry. "...are you sure you won't get hurt? I would be very sad if my new friend was hurt!" She tried to show Squick the memories of her strange trances through their mental link but it was very broken and hard to understand, since she didn't have a fully conscious memory to go off of. She simply sent through small broken memories - the world going hazy, a hissing, spitting voice, the whisper of the garbled voice in her head, a headache that descended into darkness. She wanted Squick to at least understand what it was getting into.

@Squick

Squick's little body trembled, and it flinched, crouching down into the moss, afraid of the scary haze of memories and darkness and the frightening voice. It's eyes staredup at Wilder, a couple of them blinking, round and scared. ...I don't know, it thought back, faltering, uncertain, and letting out a small whistling deflating sound as it sank down into a small pile of eyes and wrinkles. But even if I'm hurt in you, I will surely die out here.

It stood a moment later, and waddled towards her. Please, Mr. Wilder. Maybe if things go wrong, we can find me a new host together! It was a little bit afraid, admittedly. But there was really no other choice for it now. It was just a small worm in a big, wide world. It found itself, in that moment, missing Pride. He would have known what to do. He always knew what to do. He had a way of putting little Squick's mind at ease in a way that no-one else could.

---

When I think.

@Wilder

She stared at Squick for a moment, watching it recoil and felt another pang of anxiety. Who knew what was going to happen but if Squick was right, then she didn't want her hesitation to cause it to die. "Okay, as long as you think you can." She was about to open her mouth when Squick's new name for her came. She giggled a little. "Mr. Wilder? So formal! I like Ms. Or just Wilder is fine!"
She then raised herself up, opened her mouth, and licked up the parasite, careful to only dab at Squick so her rough tongue did not hurt it. Even then, it was the gentlest of licks. "I'll try and help but be careful going down!" She filled her mouth with saliva to help it get down her throat and, a moment later, she swallowed, hoping that Squick had an easy transition from the outside world to the inside of her stomach. Not that she even understood how it could survive down there.

@Squick

Despite its initial fear, when Wilder finally gave the parasite what it needed, the little one curled up into a tight ball and went down easily. Wilder's stomach was far less spacious than Pride's, its walls enclosing tightly around it, but it would do. It was warm in here, very different to the cold and dry outside. It squirmed around for a while, getting settled in its new, and humble abode.

Okay, Miss Wilder! I'm at the bottom now. it sent out, pleased and relieved, as it let out a small squelch that would never be heard. A moment later it continued eagerly. You have a very nice belly, Miss Wilder! Will you be eating soon?

---

When I think.

@Wilder

Once Squick went down the connection between the two of them began to weaken. Perhaps because it was weird pointing her thoughts towards her stomach or maybe because she'd been doing it for so long. She managed to catch Squick's last question and she gave a soft purr in confirmation. She didn't really know what to make of Squick's comment about her stomach. She'd never been complimented on it before so she covered her confusion by standing and trotting off into the greenery.

She was getting pretty hungry and it seemed that Squick wanted some food too. She wasn't sure how it was going to work, if she had to eat twice as much or if her usual diet would suffice. She would see. She made her steps quiet and brought herself lower as she stalked through the forest, keeping quiet. She soon learned that hunting here was different then Polaris. She had to be a lot quieter. So she sat still for now and listened.

A moment later she heard a scuffling in the ferns and didn't hesitate. She leaped forward, claws extended, and sunk them into the body of a mouse. There was a small squeal of surprise before a quick nip ended it's life. When she was a new hatched, this loss of life was disturbing to her but now she did it without hesitation. She leaned down and began to eat the mouse with small dainty bites, chewing well before swallowing in case it was too big for Squick to eat. Not that she knew even how Squick ate.

It took her only a minute or two to eat the whole mouse. It wasn't a huge meal, but it was okay for now. She sat back and began to was her paws and whiskers while she waited to see how Squick would react.

@Squick

(rated M for potential grossness)

Squick perked curiously at the odd sound that throbbed in Wilder's chest and quivered throughout its home, but it assumed that to be a yes. As the connection between them broke, Squick happily let it go and began to settle in. Admittedly there wasn't much exploring to be done down here, but that was OK! Wilder's belly was cozy, and humble, and warm. It had everything it needed, and soon it would have food, too!

Finally it had the company of a heartbeat again! Ah! it was so wonderful to be surrounded by the beating of his new host's heart, even though it was very different from Pride's. Whereas his was deep and slow and booming, Miss Wilder's was faster, and although it still boomed, it was higher. It was a more frantic sort of company.

Squick felt Wilder begin to move, and huddled down to ensure that it wouldn't bounce around too much, wondering what sort of food she was going to find. It felt its stomach growl at the thought, and patiently waited.

Luckily it didn't have to wait very long before its patience was rewarded. In the dark it couldn't see what arrived, but the space suddenly grew more cramped and tight, a mushed-up substance forcing its way in. The scent, surrounded it- new and intoxicating and wonderfully overpowering. Squick let out a small squeak of excitement! It had never tasted food like this before.

Thank you, Miss Wilder! it thought out, and then set to work. Wilder's focus on chewing had made the meat just about palatable to the little parasite, although it might need to wait a little longer for the meat to properly tenderise with her digestion. Still, it was able to just about eat its fill, and then settled back to wait for the rest to soften.

---

When I think.

@Wilder

She heard the voice in her head and she smiled and nodded to herself. So she'd done the right thing! To be honest, she didn't really want to know how Squick would manage to eat the chewed up mouse she had just swallowed and, while she wanted to establish another connection between them, she wasn't sure she wanted to know what was going on in her stomach at the moment. Besides, Squick might not want her to watch it eating.

Instead, she did the same that Squick had done. Cast her voice in towards her stomach until she found the little mass of life that was Squick. "You're welcome! Will you eat the whole thing? Do you want me to get more?"

@Squick

Squick thought for a moment as Wilder's voice echoed inside its head, and then reached out to give a reply. The scent of Wilder's last meal was strong, but its flesh not yet soft enough to properly fill Squick's belly. But it was enough for now. All they needed to do was wait; Squick was not a hard creature to please and it didn't need much to live on.

I've eaten enough, Miss Wilder, so only if you're hungry! Thank you very much, Miss Wilder! it sent, mandibles twitching in an invisible display of glee. Oh, how nice all these Hosts were! How wonderful and benevolent and so kind to share their food with little Squick! Although the worm's heart still ached with the loss of Pride, they were happy that they'd met such a wonderful new host. Wilder was almost as kind, although she was far smaller. Speaking of Pride... Oh, he must be so worried about it! After all, it was only a tiny little worm in such a big world.

The worm felt sadness and warmth tugging at it. Oh, and... if you meet Mr. Pride, will you tell him that I am well and good? Happy. And missing him terribly.

---

When I think.

@Wilder

Wilder licked her lips once more as she finished grooming herself. She listened to Squick for a moment before standing up, her whiskers twitching. She was still a little hungry and if Squick was going to eat the whole mouse, she'd have to go catch another for herself. But the scent of mouse was gone now and she honestly wasn't hungry enough to go exploring the trees for another. Besides, she had something else on her mind.

Now that she had Squick, she needed to tell Aure about it. Surely Squick counted as a Greater Gembound so he would probably need to know and possibly tell Squick about the Bonebound. Would Squick then technically be forced to be a member? Since it lived in her stomach? She didn't know and she was sure she could discuss it with the parasite later. For now, she needed to head to Canis.

She started off at a light trot, wanting to go exploring a little more into Eridanus, but she needed to get this done first. She certainly hadn't expected this.

*exit

@Squick

The little worm wasn't too disappointed by his new host's lack of an answer. Squick was used to being so isolated, after all. It could only hope that she'd gotten its message. From within, it settled, listened to her heartbeat with little eyes round and occasionally dined on the slowly-digesting remains of the mouse.

Somewhere along the line felt her begin to move, and the motion was enough to lull them into a peaceful slumber. it stretched out each of its stumpy legs in turn before curling itself up into a tight little ball and going still. In no time at all it was asleep, and dreaming of new hosts and the glorious, but terrifying, world outside.

-exit Squick-

---

When I think.