''Is it okay if I try to touch her?'' Seyraphal asked without looking away, little Usha kept a fixation on her antennas.

''Absolutely. The more people this little one gets to know, the better.'' Inching forward, Seyraphal makes no sudden gesture as she approaches three fingers closer to the hand-sized slime. Like a wary cat, the little girl glares at the approaching scaly digits and scoots away, even letting out an adorable ''grr''.

How a slimy body could produce sounds was a question you decided not to ponder.

''It's okay, little...''
''Usha.'' Perhaps it wasn't wise to give her the same name that came to you instinctively, a name that belonged to another era, another life.
''Usha.'' Hearing Seyraphal say it reinforced your impression. It feels right. This is her, this is Usha.

Eventually, the tip of Seyraphal's finger delicately scratched Usha's scalp, and the tiny one's face changed into a look of naked frustration.
''Pfft!'' You couldn't help the guffaw, earning the attention of this ire momentarily. Usha didn't try to move away from this ministration despite her dislike and, slowly but surely, her expression settled into a calmer neutrality.

''There, there, it's okay.'' Seyraphal crooned, matching her tone with the unusual chime of her antennas. ''Little one is hungry.''

This is going to sound mighty weird for Sey, but I'll need help finding a reliable source of Corruption...

''Usha was entrusted to my care by the demi-goddess I encountered yesterday. She needs to consume a balance of Holy, magic, and Corruption for her well-being.'' Seyraphal flashed you a look of surprise and disbelief. ''I know it sounds unbelievable, but I trust Nyct's judgment. And I think today would be good to feed her Corruption: not only so Usha can understand you can give her food, but Corruption being a physical byproduct of souls is likely more important since she's still so small.''

Usha needs to believe herself human. What better diet than something that can feed her burgeoning soul?

''That's... Younger slimes consume liquids like broth or crushed fruits, so feeding her my Corruption could... It sounds extremely unhealthy.''

''Holy is the force of stasis, healing, and time itself; consuming it sounds even worse.'' You reply calmly. ''And-''

''Ua!'' Having wiggled away from Seyraphal's finger, Usha let out an angry noise whilst inching forward. You place your hands together in a cup and put them in front of her, letting the blue girl crawl on top whilst her stump-for-arms wagged around, begging your attention with constant ''Ua! Ua!''
Huh... her body feels like skin. Warm, alive. A tiny, nail-sized pink core floated inside her chest, and the horns she had grown while observing Seyraphal were also gone.

''Please trust me, Sey.'' You gently hover your hands in front of her. Usha pumped herself up and down with increasing agitation.