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'Splendid. Then let your allegiance be recognized by all Idkin.'

And a harsh, guttural sound rang out in all directions, making Jercash's eyes look around with mild confusion while his smile remained untouched.

Really? They were allies, just like that?

Huh.

The snake-squids slithered closer, but he could already discern a change in their aura. No hostility whatsoever. Not even any tension.

He was about to inquire further when yet another strange thing stole his attention.

Sparking lights manifested around the Yigorosks, particularly at the tips of their tentacles. Then, at each point, air distorted briefly before a bunch of small, pale and fleshy pods blinked into existence. Their tentacles all wrapped around the pods with a relaxed ease, and then more sparking lights appeared beneath the Yigorosks, soon giving way to a bunch of squishy blobs for them all to lie on. Sit on? He couldn't tell.

And the blobs moved but not much. In fact, the squids seemed to have lost considerable mobility all of a sudden.

Then he heard some truly strange noises--like hissing steam and guttural crying--as he watched the fleshy pods being torn open and pressed up against... the Yigorosks' mouths, maybe?

The questions in Jercash's mind were lost as he could only stare with wide-eyes. Perhaps he was misinterpreting their weird body language, but it seemed to him that these guys... had essentially just whipped out a bunch of cold beers and reclining chairs in the middle of his testing ground.

One of the Yigorosks slid slowly over to him, making that same guttural cry that he was hearing all over the place, though this one seemed a bit more muted.

Jercash didn't even know how to start the conversation now, which was certainly a rarity for him.

'May our friendship prove ever fruitful!' said the squid next to him, apparently.

"Uh. Yeah. Hah."

'It is so nice to relax, finally,' said the alien freak. 'We all knew you were a trustworthy ally, but we have procedural standards that must first be adhered to. You know how it is, yes? Uptight worrywarts making sure everyone and everything is exactly perfect before allowing us to let loose.'

"Heh... hah... yeah..." He very much wanted to ask why they seemed so convinced that he was a 'trustworthy ally' already, but his better judgment was keeping his mouth shut. Perhaps he could find some other way to ask, though.

If he could stop being stupefied by the scene in front of him, that was.