When I returned to the bedroom after drying my hair, Barbara was already asleep.
Seeing me come out of the bathroom, Azura tried to wake her again. I hurriedly raised a finger to my lips and gestured for her to keep quiet.
She understood and quieted down, even shifting her round body to take up less space so I could sleep between them.
Not wanting to waste her kindness, I gently lifted the covers at the foot of the bed and crawled in from below. Before I could settle into a comfortable position, though, Barbara wrapped her arms and legs around me in her sleep...
Plants like winding around things. Was this that same instinct?
Her little body was warm beneath her pajamas, pressed against me while I was still damp from my shower, making it hot and humid under the covers.
Fortunately, Azura's jelly body had an extremely high specific heat capacity. She was cool and wonderfully comfortable, like a waterbed, and even adjusted her shape to fit snugly against me with ergonomic precision.
Then a tentacle quietly slipped into my ear.
"...Big sister, did you get hurt today?"
She was worried about me. That was why she asked.
"I'm fine."
Azura's soft body enveloped my left hand, cool against my skin. It felt like holding hands, like having our fingers intertwined.
She continued, "I thought of a way... to help you build up your power quickly."
"I'm not going to eat you, you know?"
"That's not what I meant!!"
At my words, she raised her voice in protest, rattling my nonexistent eardrums.
"Barbara told me today that trees, especially ancient trees like her, can send their roots dozens of meters deep into the soil to get more nutrients! You can't tell from the surface, can you?"
That much