The sun had gone down further, and more electric streetlights were coming on or turning up in intensity as Jeff and Lucy followed Melody out of Simon's house. It served as a bit of a reminder on just how long and hard it had been for the Champman family to try and get some answers regarding getting help in countering Edward Cupple and the plot that had apparently enslaved one colony member when she left the area where the number of Slug People protected her from his influence through their hive mind. They had escaped their home in the morning and now, at the end of the day they had finally gotten some help.
Jeff was a bit frustrated that events had forced them to split up, and a part of him worried that Simon might put some moves on his mother and other sisters, but given other factors, he had the sense that a lot of that was related to what Simon had explained regarding the behavior of Slug Men. Their rarity among Slug People and the fact that Slug Women were hermaphrodites could make them more aggressive or confrontational with other males, and in Jeff's case more protective of family, given his status as a former human. That made it understandable, though Jeff also had some wonders on the nature of the splitting up of the family. Namely that it looked as though Melody might have some interest in Lucy. Those thoughts and concerns ran through Jeff's mind as he ran the muscles in his tail to slide forward and leaving a slight trail of slime behind him as he moved forward.
His eyes, however looked to Lucy, who he'd noticed occasionally had looked to Melody through the course of the discussion with Simon on Slug Person history and the help that Simon could arrange for them. This reminded him further of some of the protective and possibly territorial things that had been mentioned, but part of him also remembered some of the things Whitney had said as well and how that related to everything, they'd done to fight against the brainwashing that Cupple had sent Megan and Jenny to accomplish. He wanted to protect Lucy, as she was his twin sister, but he couldn't just do something that would come off as opposing her ability to make choices in her life. That had been a big part of her resistance to transforming and even some fear of Grace when she first transformed. It had been part of the force that Megan and Jenny had applied. Jeff recognized that even if he had good intentions, forcing something on Lucy would be wrong.
Melody seemed to sense this, or at least Jeff's protectiveness and hesitation and slid past Jeff and Lucy on her tail and then turned back at her waist to look to them. One eye on Jeff and the other on Lucy.
"I'll let you two talk," Melody spoke as she began to lead them to her home, "if you'll just follow me."
The three then sled forward with Jeff and Lucy falling a bit behind, though staying close enough that Melody wouldn't get too far ahead of them.
"You aren't looking to keep me for a harem, are you?" Lucy asked, "for that was part of why we fled into mom's bedroom last night when mom changed."
"What? No!" Jeff answered, "you're my twin sister... and regardless of whether or not Slug Person magic prevents there from being "genetic" trouble with that... that doesn't sit right with me."
There followed a bit of an awkward silence as they slid forward, and Jeff weighed what to say next. He didn't want to offend Melody, as she and her father had done a lot to help the Chapmans and their desperate situation didn't leave them many options.
"I just want to make sure that nothing is going on that may trick you into something," Jeff tried to explain.
"And you think Melody, or her father are doing that?" Lucy asked half suspiciously of her brother, though she privately had to admit that some of those feelings were there with her as well... though they also battled with the lusts she'd gained and was restraining as a Slug Woman.
"Not directly," Jeff answered, "or not deliberately. I mean... we're both wrestling with all these new instincts and the fact that we've got an evil wizard that wants to enslave us, and we can't legally prove that to get anything done... and well... it's pretty clear that she likes you."
"You say that like it's a bad thing," Lucy answered.
"It isn't," Jeff answered, "and if she's honest in opposing Cupple and letting you make your own choices... I'd have no problem with it. If you want to date her... that's fine, IF that is what YOU want and not simply a result of lust or anything else."
Lucy inwardly smiled at that. She wasn't quite sure on what her own romantic future would be. She'd had dates before, but nothing super serious, often because to many of the men she'd dated saw her chest and went no further than that. The few that ultimately had real potential then either had to move away or had something else come up that made dating hard. Now, as a Slug Woman, Lucy also had some worries that there would be serious opportunities to date. There were stories of humans and Slug People falling in love, which Simon and Melody had seemed to confirm, and if things progressed, Lucy could probably count Zoe and Maize as the next case where such a pairing came about. But those stories were still few and far between.
"Well... I can't say that any of us have many options," Lucy answered, "most people won't suddenly decide to date me now that I'm a Slug Woman... and in some ways... there is something about Melody that is nice..."
"Just make sure you can remember what we're also facing at the moment," Jeff reminded her, "our lives... our freedom... and saving our neighborhood from an evil wizard."
"So... it's more the timing you're concerned about?" Lucy asked to her brother.
"Well... the timing doesn't help," Jeff admitted, "but I am primarily concerned on that nothing is taking your choices away... I mean... YOU are the one that I think is our family's strongest defender in that regard."
"Good to see you care, bro," Lucy said slowly, "but I can still make my own choices."
"That's all I'm trying to protect," Jeff answered.
"If I were worried about something Melody was doing... I'd voice it to you," Lucy answered, "or you'd feel something trying to influence me through the hive mind. You're getting overprotective with someone who's been honest with us in ways that Megan and Jenny weren't."
"Sorry," Jeff said weakly, relaxing the muscles in his eye stalks and letting his eyes then droop down a bit.
"Good," Lucy answered, "now, I trust you can keep yourself under control? Particularly while we're waiting for all the information we need to get help against Cupple can come in?"
"Yeah," Jeff admitted, "I was never out of control... overprotective, maybe, but not out of control."
Lucy only shook her head as they continued to follow Melody on the sidewalk in the Slug Person colony. The joke was corny, and she was sure that Jeff knew it as well, but she also accepted that his heart was in the right place. It was something that assured her ever more that their transformations into Slug People didn't mandate the mindlessness that Megan and Jenny had wanted and what their mother had initially demonstrated. Of course, she really hadn't thought all that much on whether or not she was attracted to or interested in Melody. There was something that she found intriguing and something that was nice, but some of that could just be respect for someone that had given them help. For the moment, as Melody turned onto a path that came onto a more modest home that was closer to the edge of the colony, Lucy decided figuring that out would be something that could wait. A growling from her stomach soon betrayed her hunger, and Jeff's stomach seemed to answer hers as well.
"Well... my place isn't quite as fancy or ornate as my dad's," Melody spoke from the doorway, "but it is home... and from the sound of things, it seems like you haven't eaten in a while."
"We last ate at breakfast," Jeff admitted.
"Then come in," Melody spoke, "I can tell you both more about me and the colony's relationship with the humans in the area. I'm sure it'd help you with what you'll want to do after the present mess with Cupple is resolved."
She then opened the door and ushered Jeff and Lucy in, which they did quite willingly.