Seth could be seen gently placing a small plant pot that could fit his hand. Thally crawled down his arm and then gently connected her roots to the dirt. "Oh, this feels comfortable. You should try it sometime,"
Seth patted her head with his finger, which in turn made her smile a bit. "Well, if you say so, I might try it,"
"Ok this gives us some energy, oh by the way you can heal from injuries as long as you have energy, and you can make your hands transform into roots that you can attack with" She cheerfully said moving around her small pot.
Seth smiled. "You are cute," he said poking her. This time, she didn't smile and directly bit him.
Seth winced but laughed. "Okay, okay, I'll stop poking you. So, I can heal and use root attacks now?"
Thally nodded, her tiny leaves rustling. "Yes, but remember, using these abilities drains your energy. So you'll need to recharge with sunlight or by absorbing nutrients."
Seth looked at his hand thoughtfully, imagining it transforming into roots. "This is going to take some getting used to."
"You'll be fine," Thally said encouragingly. "We'll practice together, and soon it'll feel natural."
She naturally couldn't resist her enthusiasm and pulled her cheeks. "Hey!!, Stop it. This is plant abuse. " She then immediately bit him very hard, her small sharp teeth sinking into his skin.
Seth winced again, pulling his hand back quickly. "Okay, okay, no more poking or cheek pulling. Message received."
Thally crossed her tiny arms and huffed. "Good. Just because I'm small doesn't mean I can't defend myself."
Seth then rolled his eyes. "Well, I was joking about not pulling your cheeks and poking you, but I get it now. I'll be more careful."
He Thally eyed him suspiciously but then smiled. "As long as you understand."
Seth continued playing with Thally for some time until he heard his doorbell ring. he went downstairs and then opened it. "Hey Seth, can I come in?"
She asked with a small awkward smile, she was wearing her casual clothes, a light blue skirt and a blue shirt. "Sure, come in."
After she came in, Seth closed the doors and then turned to look at her. "So why are you here?"
Emily then smiled. "Well, I did not want to go ability training today, so I came here to hide."
She fiddled with her fingers for a bit. "Well, sure, I guess you can stay."
Seth didn't mind her staying, helped her to his room, and then he sat on his bed. "Oh, is that a plant you got recently? Does it look human-like?".
Seth laughed awkwardly and ignored the question. "Yeah, sure, by the way, do you think it's good to skip your father's strict lectures?"
Emily, who was intently looking at the still plant, suddenly went out of her daze. " Wha- uhm yeah, it's fine, it's just that we haven't conversed properly in a long while,"
"Oh well, okay, what do you want to talk about," He said, looking into her eyes.
"Nothing much, just wanted to know how you are doing, I heard you and Jake talk for a bit," She said, her face a little worried.
Seth blinked and then chuckled for a bit. "Well, let's just say I convinced him to stop annoying me. He was very hesitant,"
"Yeah, you should have seen him. He gave him quite the word." Emily and Seth both froze. Emily turned to look at the now-moving plant. She then turned to look at Seth, who was keeping up a passive smile.
"…Did that plant just talk, or am I just hallucinating because I am tired," She said, looking back at Thally and Seth.
"Would believe me if I said it was just a figment of your imagination," Emily squinted at Thally, who was now waving a hand at her. "I don't think my imagination is that vivid," she said slowly.
"Well..you see, That is Thally and she is a parasite that merged with me and now I am half plant…please don't freak out" Eyes widened, and she took a step back, staring at Thally and then at Seth. "Wait, you're half plant now?" she asked, her voice a mix of confusion and amazement.
Seth nodded slowly. "Yeah, it's… a lot to take in. But Thally's been a huge help. It was sort of an accident that this happened, and I'm still getting my head through the whole situation. "
Emily hesitated for a bit. "Can I touch her?".
"Well, sure, just don't do it too much, she bites." Seth laughed for a bit. "I only bite because you tease me too much. It isn't fair," She said, thrashing her arms.
Emily gently patted her head with her finger. "She looks cute, and did you say she was a parasite?"
"Yeah and now we are one I guess, she can enter my body anytime she wants, but I bought the pot so she can have her own space" He explained as he held his hand out, and Thally crawled up to it and attached to his skin seamlessly mending in as if it was a lost limb.
Emily looked fascinated. "That's cool, but you said she is a parasite. Are you sure that's healthy?"
Thally angrily puffed her cheeks. "Hey, I have been the healthiest parasite and plant in the world since a day ago, and if he gets hurt, I get hurt. If he dies, I die. Why would I hurt Seth?"
Emily laughed and felt relieved. "Well Thally I am grateful that Seth met someone like you, I don't have to worry about him getting bullied that easily anymore."
Seth rubbed the back of his head. "I mean, you don't have to worry."
"But I do. We have been friends for years, and I am not going to ignore you silly." She gave him a weak, playful punch, Thally moved towards his shoulder and quietly watched their interactions.
Thally swung her legs and just continued watching. "Yeah, maybe you are right…though I am worried people will find out…especially my parents,"
Emily used both her hands to pull his cheeks. "Don't worry about that, we will just make a story that you're a late bloomer or something like that."
Thally covered her mouth. "Hehe, now look who's getting teased, Plant abusers always face justice," She teased him.
Emily let go of his face and then chuckled, Seth rubbed it as he felt a slight sting from her touch. "Aren't I a plant?"
He immediately asked the parasite on his shoulder. "Hmm~ true, but I am much more delicate," She said with a smirk.
For the rest of the day, Seth, Thally, and Emily talked and enjoyed each other's company. Emily had been bitten five times by Thally. As for Seth…well he has been bitten a lot.
"You hungry?" Set asked Thally, who nodded her head. "I am hungry too, you know," Emilia said with a small smile.
Seth decided to cook some food and get a few grasshoppers he bought for Thally earlier today.
Heading to the kitchen, Seth began preparing a simple meal while Thally waited eagerly, still connected to her pot. Emily followed him, leaning against the counter.
"So, what are you cooking?" Emily asked, watching as Seth started chopping vegetables.
"Just a stir-fry," Seth replied. "Quick and easy. And for Thally…" He pulled out a small container of grasshoppers and set it on the counter.
Thally's eyes lit up. "Yay, dinner!"
Emily looked curiously at the grasshoppers. "She eats those?"
"Yep," Seth said, smiling. "They're her favourite."
Emily laughed. "Well, that's certainly unique."
As Seth continued cooking, Emily helped set the table. Thally, now perched on the counter, watched with interest, occasionally making small comments about Seth's cooking technique.
Once the meal was ready, they all sat down at the table. Seth placed a small dish of grasshoppers in front of Thally, who eagerly began munching on them.
"This is good," Emily said, taking a bite of the stir-fry. "You're a great cook, Seth."
"Thanks," Seth replied, smiling. "I've had a lot of practice."
They ate in comfortable silence for a while, enjoying the meal and each other's company. After dinner, they moved to the living room, where they sat and talked, sharing stories and laughing together.
As the evening wore on, Emily eventually had to leave. "Thanks for letting me hide out here," she said, hugging Seth. "It was fun."
"Anytime," Seth replied, hugging her back. "Take care."
After Emily left, Seth and Thally settled in for the night. Thally returned to her pot, connecting her roots to the soil.
"Goodnight, Thally," Seth said, smiling at her.
"Goodnight, Seth," Thally replied, her leaves rustling gently. "Thanks for the meal,"
With that, Seth fell asleep and awaited for another day at school. The next day, Seth woke up with Thally sitting on his forehead, Her little green figure appeared large in his eyes.
"Good morning?" He said with confusion.
Thally turned around to look at him. "Good morning."
"So what are we doing today? Are you going to school." Thally asked cheerfully.
Seth chuckled and used his finger to tap on Thally's head. "School doesn't start until tomorrow, which is Monday, and it's now been day four of being with you. I want to see our capabilities."
Thally entered Seth and reappeared on his shoulder with an unravelling of roots. "Well, that depends on how our energy cam be sustained. You are half-plant, so it means you need to drink a lot of water and stay in the sun as long as you can."
Seth's lips twitched. Did she want him to get a tan, hearing his thoughts? Thally turned to him, looking at him with squinted eyes, and had a sudden urge to bite him, but she restrained herself. "Your skin won't be affected by the UV rays. Your biology isn't that different from plants now. You have pigments in your cell that absorb sunlight that is found in an organelle called the chloroplasts. You know plant biology from me reading your memories, so I don't really know why you think of such silly things, Seriously, you're smart, but it feels like you act dumb."
Seth's lips twitched. It seemed Thally was angry with him, he coughed slightly and said. "I'm sorry for upsetting you."
Thalky crossed her arms on her chest and turned her head with disapprovingly, Seth scrathed his head and then took out a bug from his container and waved it around her face.
Thally froze when she saw the cricket that was at least the size of half her body and couldn't help but drool, but if she took it, she would unintentionally forgive Seth and she didn't want that...but the temptation was getting stronger the more the cricket was hanged near her face.
She couldn't resist anymore and reluctantly took the cricket from Seth and began crunching on it almost immediately.
Seth chuckled and confidently took the win. "What a cute little parasite."
Thally was upset, and she ignored Seth and continued eating her food. She was almost halfway done.
Seth laughed once more and waited for her to complete her little snack. After she was done, she glared, and Seth before lunging to his face and biting his nose. "Ow,ow,ow?!! Thally stop that. What's your obsession with biting me!!."
After a bit of scuffling, Seth managed to pull Thally away from his nose. There was a red mar there, which he rubbed. "Ok, I'm sorry for real this time."
"You should be." Thally returned to his body and sat back on his shoulder.
Seth sighed and decided not to try to antagonise her. Speaking of training, he should go to Emily's house for a visit, but she might still be training with her dad, so he might as well go to her house in the afternoon and say hello to her, hopefully when her dad isn't around.