#G/t hurt/comfort

[astroaro8889]

Tinies in the cold

It’s very cold today, we got the first big snow of the holiday season and that made me want to write a g/t winter related story:

One of my favorite tropes is when a giant finds a tiny, stuck out in the cold. It creates a perfect situation where the tiny is vulnerable and helpless, not because they are weak or incapable, but because they have been trapped out in a world that is huge, hostile, and cruel.

Thanks to square cube law, their small bodies actively struggle to maintain heat, and their body sinks into snowdrift too high for them to climb.

They live in a world so big that they are slowly being drained away by it, as their body heat is taken by the endless expanse of a world too large and uncaring to accommodate them, a world that wants only to dim whatever light and beauty they brought into the world.

Imagine someone in this situation, at the most vulnerable they’ve ever been, as suddenly, a huge shadow passes overhead.

Here is something so much bigger, a terrifying being that seems to belong to the cruel world around it. And as the being picks them up, they know that this is their end, caught between the slow, ebbing death of the snow below, and the threat of an enclosing fist larger than themselves.

But, instead of being crushed instantly, as they thought they would, they find themselves dangling and weightless before being placed in the front of the giants coat, close against their chest.

Now, they are caught between a hand larger than themselves, and a heart that sounds as large as they are thumping against them, each beat breathing both warmth and life back to their body.

The giants pulsing heartbeat is a response to their vulnerability. They saw the tiny helpless, and was filled with an ache in their chest, and an intense desire to shield them from the unfeeling cold of the universe, to take them away from a world that cared not for the precious soul within.

Square cube law is their friend. Their own immense warmth sinks into the tiny, returning strength to their limbs, reviving them back from the brink. By using their strength to shield the tiny, they have helped return to the tiny the strength they possessed before.

The tiny is still somewhat vulnerable, held gently within their fist, but now, via their compassion, they’ve retuned to them the strength they’ve always possessed within them, the strength that allowed them to stand on their own two feet and the strength they’ve honed from surviving in a world made for beings far larger and terrible than they. They took the tinies helplessness and melted it away with the force of their own heart. To the tiny, it appears as if this giant being, against all reason, cared enough to save something as small and inconsequential as them from the unflinching apathy of their own vast world.

But all the giant sees is the return of the light to their eyes, and the returning embers of a soul that, despite the tiny body it inhabits, if loved correctly, has the power to grow into a flame that casts its own light into the universe around it.

This holiday season has the potential to be hard for many people. The world we live in treats people differently, especially when times get hard. In the coming dark times, please be kind and use your light to help others who may be struggling. If we help light enough of each others candles, the entire world will be a bit brighter.

[narrans]

One Shot | Worth the Heartbreak

WARNING:

I usually don’t post stuff that has specific warnings, but I think this one may be warranted. I wrote this from a prompt about loss and death of a dear friend who spent years developing a friendship only to have it taken away. I wrote this to be emotionally wrecking and it is meant to be uncomfortable. More importantly, I wrote this to be real. Life is tough and sometimes really bad things happen that we have to endure.

What matters is the strength and the growth each one of these difficult opportunities provide. Bad things happen – good. We can get stronger from them. Life is a test of endurance, mental fortitude, and indominable spirit. Life is a test of forgiveness and learning to trust and love again. Life is messy and sometimes leaves scars and baggage, but isn’t that proof that you lived?

Leave your baggage behind, put the essentials in a backpack, and travel through life with us. Life is too short to haul a mountain of things behind you.

Hopefully, this will help show how precious life is.

If you are uncomfortable or unsure about what was stated above, I don’t advise you read this.

The prompt is listed below.

Still here with me?

Good.

Let’s go…

~~~~~^*^*^*^*^~~~~~

The rain pounded over the windshield. Lightning illuminated the sky in quick, flickering bursts. It felt like the paparazzi snapping picture after picture.

As much as she loved the rain, she hated the lightning just for that reason; but that was years ago.

Thankfully, she would be away from all that mess. She liked begin away from all of it.

Vanessa spotted her shared home just around the corner and braced herself mentally to get completely and utterly soaked. She pulled into her parking spot and looked up at the house as another bolt of lightning streaked out across the sky.

Two quick breaths. Focus. Imagine the movements.

Trust your body to move.

Vanessa stopped dead as she recalled his mantra to her. Curses she thought as her whole body slipped further down in the driver’s seat. It’s been years and it still gets to me.

Vanessa took a minute to collect herself before charging into the deluge before her. Rain hammered at her shirt and pelted her face. The distance was only about twenty meters or so, which was basically no distance at all, but it still soaked her to her bones.

Thankfully, Vanessa prepared and had her keys ready, so the moment the door was open it was closed again with a solid thud.

The quiet of the house was a welcome one, but unsettling at the same time. Vanessa’s roommate, Jody, was far from quiet. Constant chatterbox. Endless conversant. Unfathomable irrelevant facts.

Jody was noisy.

A quiet house didn’t suit her, so it immediately made Vanessa suspicious that there was no sound. It honestly was a bit welcome. After days of travel, Vanessa was ready to relax.

“Surprise!”

Spoke too soon.

Vanessa hadn’t made it two steps away from the entrance when Jody jumped out from the living room doorway. Her backpack was barely off of her shoulder when Jody rushed over and gave her friend a massive hug, her dark curls bouncing playfully as she pranced over.

“Happy Birthday! I missed you!”

Birthday?

That’s right!

Vanessa’s bewildered look wasn’t cleared away fast enough as Jody pulled away to look at her friend.

“Ness! You forgot it was your birthday?!” Jody scolded. Vanessa looked away scarlet cheeked.

“Well, traveling will do that to you,” she mumbled. “And what is this ‘surprise’ nonsense. Don’t tell me you invited people over for a surprise birthday party.”

“No! Ya’ goof,” Jody chided playfully as she rolled her eyes. “I know you’d hate that. I did get you a gift though. Come on! I want to see your face when you open it!”

As well as being a chatterbox, Jody was actually a very thoughtful gift giver. It came from years of talking and weaseling out every story and secret from her victims.

Everyone, that is, except for Vanessa. While a few drunk evenings allowed Jody some stories, Vanessa kept many things close to her chest. It was only natural for the ultimate gossip girl to gravitate toward Vanessa. Every year since the two had become friends, Jody managed to pull off some really great gifts despite the challenges.

“Jody, you didn’t have to get me anyth-.”

“Shush your face and open!” said Jody gleefully as she guided Vanessa into the living room toward a small box fifteen centimeters in all directions. “No shaking. Fragile. Just tear and relish in the joy. Ah! I’m so excited for you to see!”

Vanessa rolled her eyes and tapped the frilly pink paper. The box sounded hollow, which was concerning for Vanessa.

“Good grief, Jody. Did you give me an empty box to start some scavenger hunt?” moaned Vanessa. What she really wanted was a nap after the jetlag set in on the drive back. Too late. Jody’s camera was already on and recording.

“Nope! It’s in there,” smiled Jody. “Now, come on!”

Her whining tone told Vanessa that Jody was moments away from completely imploding and opening the package herself. Relinquishing control, Vanessa sighed and opened the box. Tearing the paper was a bit of a trick because of the ultra-durable clear tape Jody used. Eventually, the paper pealed away to reveal the top of a cardboard box and the tab to open the box.

“Jody, I swear if this is part of your bottle cap collection, I’m…” Vanessa’s voice trailed off as she pried the top off of the box and looked inside.

She looked back.

A pet.

It was a small humanoid. They had been around for a while. Genetically designed, they were practically identical to humans except for their size.

Immediately, Vanessa’s body started to shake. It began as a tremble and escalated quickly to full blown shakes. Her heart was racing. She couldn’t breathe.

This was the last thing she wanted.

“Surprise! Do you like her? I spent quite a bit of time making sure I found the perfect one for y-… Oh! Ness! Don’t cry! I knew you’d love it; well, her,” squealed Jody.

Vanessa hadn’t even realized tears were pouring down her cheeks. From being shaken earlier to now, it was quickly spiraling Vanessa out of control. Vanessa, now hyperventilating, backed away from the box and curled into a ball on the couch.

Now was when Jody realized her reading of the situation was wrong.

“Ness? Ness, are you alright?” Jody put her phone away and rushed over to her friend’s side, reaching her arms around her to hug her.

“W-w-why… did you get that?” Vanessa choked out as she focused on her breathing to calm herself down.

“That? Oh, her? I… well… I thought you… you’d… you know… that you’d like one. I asked your sister an-.”

Vanessa threw her friend’s arms off of her and she glared at her friend, or so she thought, and snarled, “You did what?!”

Jody was absolutely stunned. Words escaped her. Vanessa had never reared her head at Jody like this. They’d had their disagreements and spats, but nothing that made Vanessa act like this.

“I… uh… I mean… yeah. I messaged her to get some ideas for your birthday. It… was on my Insta. She said she knew your birthday was around the corner and said you used to have a pet that you really liked when you were young. I confirmed it with your parents and th-…”

“You what?!” shrieked Vanessa. As if the couch were charged with a live wire, Vanessa leaped off of the couch and staggered away. “Jody, please tell me you’re joking!”

Jody barely shook her head “no” before Vanessa crumpled onto her knees and covered her face, sobbing uncontrollably. Jody tried again to console her friend, but this time only handed Vanessa some tissues.

“Sweetie, I’m so sorry. I… I’m obviously missing something, but I want you to know I didn’t mean it. I swear. I just wanted to give you something great for your birthday,” urged Jody.

Vanessa, on the other hand, could only see red.

Hurt.

Pain.

Everything she had left behind.

“Jody, why? Why why why why why why why?”

“Why what?” Ness, you’re not making sense. Take a breath. Just… talk to me,” said Jody. Vanessa couldn’t manage any words at this point. Too many feelings and emotions were wracking her body. Memory after memory played in front of her eyes. Emotions she’d forgotten she had threatened to strangle her.

Out of all of her emotions, grief was the one that wrenched at her heart.

She wasn’t sure how or when, but she found herself on the couch balling her eyes out and then, after some unknown span of time, she found her voice again. There was a warm mug of tea in front of her and Jody had wrapped a few thick blankets over her shoulders, taking a seat nearby and waiting for her friend to come back.

Vanessa, eyes puffy and stinging, blinked away the blur as she twisted around on the couch and sat upright. The box was gone and, instead, there was a cage in the corner of the room by the window where Vanessa saw a pair of heterochromia eyes vanish.

Just that motion alone formed a lump in Vanessa’s throat. She had half a mind to retreat to her room and not say anything, but it was seeing Jody’s face and the red rims around her eyes that made her rethink those actions. It wasn’t time to forgive her friend, but an explanation was warranted.

After all, Jody didn’t know everything that happened back then. She didn’t know how it all started.

Vanessa leaned forward and clasped the mug in her hands. The warmth spread through her frigid, calloused fingers. It was soothing and brought some semblance of comfort as she sipped the steaming liquid.

“Hey,” Jody said weakly.

“Hey.” Vanessa’s voice was raw and dry like sandpaper. She took another drink of tea and gestured for her friend to join her closer on the couch. Jody practically vaporized from her spot to sit beside her friend.

“Ness, I just wanted to say that I am so sorry. I thought I was doing something good and thoughtful and…”

“It’s okay,” mumbled Vanessa. In her mind, everything wasn’t okay; however, for Jody’s sake she needed to at least invite a dialogue. “It was… just a lot. I’m drained from travel and then everything hit me all at once.”

Jody nodded and glanced at the cage before looking back to her friend and roommate.

“Do… never mind.”

“What?” asked Vanessa. Jody chewed on her bottom lip before she looked back at her friend as if afraid to ask. Vanessa already knew what her friend wanted. “You want to know why I was upset.”

Her conclusion lingered in the air before Vanessa continued.

“Jody, if I tell you, you have to swear that you will never utter a word of this to anyone. I mean anyone. If I find out you did, I swear I’l-.”

“I swear on all I hold dear I won’t say a word,” promised Jody. The look in her eyes was enough of a promise for her counterpart.

With that, Vanessa took a breath and started to speak. It was strange. Other than her journal, she had never confided this information into another living soul.

~~~^*^*^~~~

It started with a move when she was ten years old. Her gymnastics career was already showing great promise. Many of her instructors said that she should consider going professional and try out for the Olympic teams. These seeds of promise inspired her parents to move across the country and hire some of the most esteemed gymnasts who would be willing to teach her.

The very first day was filled with intense training and countless drills. All around, Vanessa saw other girls who were stronger, faster, and more flexible than her. Every turn produced someone who was far more skilled than she was at performing her routines.

It made her feel alone.

It wasn’t until the very end when her gymnastics instructors wanted to have a meeting with her parents that she noticed the cage at the corner of the room and a pet sitting up against the edge of the bars. Vanessa’s fascination with the small human-like creatures was insatiable and she ended up going over and sticking her fingers against the bars.

The pet was an older male. His silvery brown hair came to his shoulders, and he looked tired but well groomed. His legs were out straight, and his arms were folded across his chest. He was wearing something that resembled athletic wear, which included a shirt and sports shorts that came to his knees.

“Hey there little guy,” she cooed, never having interacted with a pet before. She wiggled her finger, but the pet did nothing to acknowledge her existence. He simply leaned back further against the cage and sighed. “What’s your name?”

Still no response. Vanessa felt a bit off-put by the small creature and looked down to see a sign.

“Norden: The Community Pet. Please do NOT feed, touch, handle, or release the pet without supervision from Dimitri.”

Dimitri was her instructor!

“Norden? Is that your name? Norden?” The pet sighed before opening his eyes and looking at Vanessa. His light blue eyes almost looked gray. They were orbs that contained a wispy sky, and Vanessa was immediately hypnotized by them.

“Do you require something?” he asked bluntly. His voice was deep and he had some kind of accent that made him sound incredibly sophisticated. Awed, Vanessa shook her head and smiled.

“N-no. I just wanted to come over and say hi. I’ve never seen a pet in person before,” Vanessa replied. As a child, the concept of pets was a natural one. Her youth played into her innocents of the reality of the situation. Everyone else was okay with pets, and she naturally adopted the concept.

The pet sighed and shook his head before leaning back against the wall.

“Well, if you don’t have anything to contribute to the conversation, then I’m afraid I must decline engagement,” he said. Vanessa didn’t quite understand what he meant until he said, “So, leave me alone.”

He didn’t raise his voice.

He didn’t say anything overly unkind.

Still, it made Vanessa wilt and shuffle off to retrieve her belongings. It was disheartening. She always liked little critters and the commercials and stores always made pets seem so friendly. She didn’t think they could be so dismissive, and she certainly didn’t think they could be capable of hurting her feelings.

The days turned to weeks which turned into months. She found herself gravitating toward the cage every few days while she stretched just to say “hi” to the little man in the cage. Responding wasn’t Norden’s forte, but he sometimes acknowledged her presence with a grunt or a huff.

Vanessa’s presence wasn’t just being ignored by the pet in the cage. The other girls and a few of the boys had recently taken to making little remarks and comments to Vanessa or around her about her lack of skill. These jabs initially didn’t bother the youngster, seeing that she figured she was just learning and that she would get better with time.

It was the constant comments that, after six months, really started getting to her. Vanessa tried being strong and even brought it up to her instructors and teachers, but none of them were able to really do anything about it. Even when they held a group meeting talking about sportsmanship and keeping belittling to a minimum, the comments didn’t stop and were now said more subtly.

The jabs came from outside and, sadly, from within. Vanessa’s older sister, Caroline, also had choice words for her little sister. Caroline loved tumbling and gymnastics, but a serious injury knocked her out of competitions for the rest of her career. Jealousy fueled her when Vanessa began to shine and when their parents moved them for Vanessa’s gymnast career.

To make matters worse, Vanessa was struggling. In part of her routine, she was having a particularly hard time with part of her maneuver. There was a sequence of extremely advanced moves that Caroline or the other students had never managed to reach, and Vanessa felt the constant rath from her sister and her peers. No matter how she stretched or twisted, her body refused to move the way she wanted it to, and it usually left her flat on her face.

“Enough for now,” said Dimitri as he pointed to the stretch mat by the cage. “Go stretch it out and I’ll be with you in a moment. I have to work with the other students.”

Vanessa tried to hide her disappointment in herself as she stepped to the side. The glances from the others felt like daggers in her back. If ever there was a demise by a thousand cuts, this was it.

She sat down on the ground and began stretching as her body started to tremble. Her eyes began to burn. Nothing felt right. Did she even want to do this anymore? Was she really ready to try out for the bigger teams? What if she got hurt? Everything would be for nothing.

That’s when she heard it.

“Two quick breaths.”

Vanessa thought she’d imagined it, but then she heard it again.

“Come on. Chin up. Two quick breaths.”

Vanessa twisted herself around and looked up and spotted Norden’s face peering down at her through the bars. He was leaned over casually, and his hands were through the bars, neck craned to get a better look at her.

This was the first time he had said anything remotely constructive to her, and she instinctually followed the command.

One breath.

Two breaths.

“Good. Now. Focus,” said Norden. “Imagine the movements. Think about how your body is going to move through them. Align them in your mind. Play them over and over in slow motion. Trust your body to move.”

Stunned didn’t come close to describing her emotional state, but Vanessa suddenly found herself turned to face the pet as he stared down at her and continued to provide instruction. It was all one sided. It was more of a pep talk than instructions but focusing on the pet’s words made Vanessa feel worlds better.

“Think you’ve got it?” asked Norden.

Vanessa nodded. “I… think so.”

“Good. Now, go do it,” stated Norden as he gestured back to the mats.

Vanessa’s heart was racing as she pushed herself up and walked back onto the mats. The others had something to say about her returning before she was called, but Dimitri’s expression was that of someone who was intrigued. He allowed her to perform the maneuver again with the accompanying warning.

“But just once more.”

Vanessa nodded and stood at the edge of the mat.

The pet’s words played over in her head.

Two quick breaths. Focus. Imagine the movements. Trust your body to move.

She took off running and felt something inside her shift. The overthinking that plagued her had vanished. Every move was already planned out, and now she was just executing it. She twisted and spun through the air, sticking the landing and managing every maneuver perfectly.

Everyone’s jaws were on the floor, even Dimitri’s, but Vanessa was simply beaming as she looked over at the cage and saw the subtle salute from the pet. Practice continued as scheduled. The others continued to shoot snide comments at Vanessa, but she didn’t care. Her eyes were fixed onto the cage where the pet currently was stretching.

While the parents had their meetings and the others scurried over to their corner to smack talk behind her back, Vanessa rushed over to the edge of the cage and peered in at Norden.

“Hey,” she said softly, gaining the pet’s attention as he was currently meditating. He sighed and leaned back on his hands while his legs were crossed.

“Yes? Do you require something?”

“No. Just… thank you. You really helped me, Norden. So, thank you,” smiled Vanessa. She pressed her finger against the bars of the cage and continued to smile even as Norden scoffed lightly and went back to his meditating.

Vanessa returned every day before, during, and after practice to talk to Norden from then on. While the pet rarely engaged in conversation, Vanessa finally figured out how she could make him say more than three or four words.

She would ask him what she was doing wrong.

Evidently, Norden had a keen eye and had been watching Vanessa during her routines. He knew the terminology and began instructing Vanessa on how to better tighten or loosen some of her maneuvers to make everything flow easily. The instruction she received from Norden, a pet, allowed her to improve dramatically with every meeting she had with him.

Then, a month after they began their “conversations,” Norden accidentally let it slip that he had felt a bit sorry for her. He evidently had been listening to all of the criticisms the others were giving their newest teammate, and he took offence to it. He especially found it appalling that her sister would take out her personal frustrations on her. Through Vanessa, he was able to enact an odd sense of justice and vengeance on the kids who so frequently tormented him.

“So, you heard all of that, huh?” asked Vanessa. Norden sighed and nodded.

“Much like yourself, so many forget we ‘pets’ can hear and form opinions of our own. These children have no business picking on you when they look like seals being tossed around by an orca. You, on the other hand, have potential. You have heart and spirit, and they all know it. It’s why you’re the focal point of their torment,” explained Norden.

“So… that means we’re kind of in the same boat,” proposed Vanessa. Norden scoffed and shook his head.

“Hardly. You, unlike me, are human. I am a pet, obviously. You have the opportunity to avoid and conquer your adversaries. As a pet, I’m stuck here in this cage completely and utterly alone. I have to forge my own path with no one to assist me,” grumbled Norden. Vanessa grinned seeing this “grumpy old man act.”

Then, it hit her.

“Well, I don’t see you as a pet,” said Vanessa. Norden shook his head again in defeat.

“Not possible. My size alone is something that can’t be ignored or negated,” he stated.

“No, I mean… I’d rather see you as a friend than as a pet.”

These words struck a chord in Norden and, just for a moment, his features softened as he looked at Vanessa.

“Friend?”

“Yeah, someone to talk to and someone to help you when you need it,” said Vanessa. The pet sighed, but his shoulders slumped. He was obviously amused in his defeat.

“That is very thoughtful of you, darling, but I don’t think pets and humans can be friends. It’s in our nature to act in opposition despite our conditioning.”

Norden’s opinion hurt but was put to the test only a week later when Dimitri announced he was moving. Evidently, he had some family issues at home and needed to return as soon as possible. With that being said, he could not take Norden back with him.

Despite the pet being the “community pet,” Norden technically belonged to Dimitri at the end of the day.

Vanessa saw her chance.

She knew she had to act fast.

Before practice could start, Vanessa ran up to Dimitri and pulled him to the side.

“Um… Dimitri? I… um… I wanted to ask you something before you left. Do… you think I could come by and visit you and Norden?” Vanessa wasn’t sure how her instructor would respond, but the guilt pang in his eye told her something was up.

“Alas, no. I would like to visit and make sure to stay up to date with your training, but you won’t be able to visit Norden. He’s not coming with me,” Dimitri replied.

“You’re not… taking him with you?” asked Vanessa. Her heart fluttered and flipped at this news. She was stunned that Dimitri could just leave Norden behind. Was he even going to miss his pet? Did Dimitri even care about Norden? What did Norden want?

“No. Sadly, where I’m going I can’t take him with me,” sighed Dimitri as he gave the cage a passive glance. Vanessa didn’t pick up an abundance of sympathy from her instructor, but she didn’t address it. She had an idea.

“So, what are you going to do with Norden then?” asked Vanessa. Dimitri glanced at the cage and then back to the little girl he had been training for just over a year now.

“Well, I had planned on giving him to a nearby pet shelter. I can’t take him with me, and the facility here only let me keep him because I worked here,” Dimitri replied. The instructor was no fool. He had been watching Vanessa interact with Norden for quite some time now and decided to beat the little girl to the punch. It was the least he could do.

“But, I was going to ask if you wanted to take him before bringing him to the shelter. He’s a bit of a handful, no pun intended. Would you like that?”

“Yes!” Vanessa’s excitement exploded out of her already racing heart as she jumped up and down and cheered. “Thank you! Thank you thank you thank you thank you!” As she hugged her instructor, she could see Norden’s smile as he listened in to the entire conversation.

Explaining to her parents about Norden was another issue altogether, but her family ultimately yielded. The one who was the most upset about it was her older sister, Caroline, who had been asking for a kitten for her birthday. It irked Vanessa that her little sister got a pet before her, and it only compounded once Norden was settled into his new home.

“I know it’s not going to be the same,” said Vanessa as she placed the cage in the shady part of her window as he requested. “But I didn’t want you to be sent away. I’m sorry. I should’ve asked.”

Norden shook his head and smiled as he evaluated the little girl’s room.

“Hardly. I wasn’t looking forward to the shelter either. I… should thank you,” he stated.

“Don’t worry about it. It’s what friends are for. My home is your home,” she smiled. The words took the pet off guard again, but this time he made no snide remarks about how friendship between pets and humans couldn’t exist.

Instead, he stepped to the edge of the cage and continued to evaluate the room.

The little Vanessa beamed and glanced at the cage door. It hadn’t opened since she had known Norden, and finally she had access to opening the gate. The real question was whether or not she had permission.

“Um… do… do you want out? You know, to explore and stuff?” asked Vanessa. Norden’s entire posture went rigid as he whipped around, expression shifting to disbelief.

“Really?”

“Mh-hmm.” Vanessa carefully reached over and unfastened the door, tugging the creaking metal free. To the pet’s surprise, Vanessa actually stepped back away from the edge of the cage and the table he was on top of. She didn’t reach in. She didn’t try to grab him. She made no gesture to even stroke his head as so many others had done in the past. “It’s okay. I’ll stay over here if that makes you feel more comfortable.”

Norden carefully stepped over to the door and, in one quick motion, leapt over the edge and was on the table. His awe at being set free, even temporarily, still seemed hesitant, as if he was bracing himself to be grabbed or pinched by Vanessa. When neither of those things happened, he took to walking around the desk and even climbing part of the cage to see what was further down on the ground.

He eventually returned to his cage, but he was overjoyed when Vanessa said she could leave the cage door open for him so he could get out and stretch his legs and everything.

“You… would really do that?” asked Norden. Vanessa nodded. “Even with the threat I might run away?”

This notion confused Vanessa, but even her youthful mind came up with a satisfactory response.

“Well, I mean you could if you wanted to. I don’t think you know anyone else nearby, so if you wanted to leave you should tell me so I can get you some supplies and stuff. I… wish you’d stay, but I won’t keep you here if you don’t want to me. A friend wouldn’t do that.”

Those words rang true to Norden and, after a beat, it was decided. Though he was resigned he couldn’t change being a pet, he decided that being Vanessa’s pet wasn’t the worst thing in the world.

From then on, the two of them were practically inseparable. Vanessa initially would leave Norden to his own affairs in the morning and afternoon before returning home later after evening practice to do her homework with Norden by her side. Vanessa would talk about how her day went and the different routines she did during practice, but describing it wasn’t enough.

It took only two weeks for Norden to actually suggest that Vanessa bring him with her to school and, subsequently, practice where he could actually assist right then and there.

“I’m doing this for your benefit, Vanessa,” said Norden. “If you don’t require my help or have no need of it, I’m alright with this. Your career is what I’m considering in this offer.”

Vanessa couldn’t contain her unbounding joy as she accepted his offer. She wanted to bring Norden along to class and to practice from the beginning simply because she enjoyed his company so very much, but she didn’t want to pressure Norden into coming with her; especially after some of the stories he told her about what he had experiences as a pet throughout his life.

So, their adventures began.

Every morning, Norden would successfully stow away in Vanessa’s bag in a secure spot that was hidden. It kept him safe and still let him move around freely. She would move off to the side during lunch so she could talk to him before helping him hide once again.

From there, the two of them would go to practice. Everyone knew Norden had been gifted to her, but the instructors were always sure to keep Norden away from the other students while Vanessa was away. He had a place on one of the shelves which had a great overview of the mats and, therefore, Vanessa and her routines.  

There were a few times where there were some close calls. Some of the students tried getting Norden down by luring him down from the shelf and even making a grab for him, but the instructors quickly discouraged that behavior and shooed them away. They advised that Vanessa shouldn’t bring Norden along because he was “distracting,” but Vanessa quickly made the argument that Norden helped her focus on her routine and that she needed him.

A note from a doctor and a chat with her parents later meant Norden was protected as an “emotional support pet.”

“I really disapprove of being labeled as an ��emotional support pet,’ but there is nothing more satisfying than sticking it to those handsy hormonal teenagers,” grinned Norden one evening after practice while Vanessa was stretching. “Don’t forget to breathe deeply as your stretch. Fill your lungs and hold for a moment before releasing.”

“I’m just glad you’re here with me, Norden. I couldn’t do any of this without you and your help,” said Vanessa as she followed the small man’s instructions. She let herself bend and twist as he instructed, tension and parts of her body relaxing as she did so.

“Hardly,” he scoffed as he folded his arms across his chest. “Don’t get it in your head that your abilities are dependent on me. Get it in your head that you need me as some kind of good luck charm, and you’ll have a crutch for the rest of your life.”

“Can do, sir; but I don’t think having you as a crutch would be such a bad thing,” replied Vanessa. The moment she called him “sir” made Norden straighten up ever so slightly. There was a beam of pride and embarrassment in his cheeks only for a moment before he snapped back to his usual stoic self.

This routine continued for years. The stoic nature eventually was chipped away to reveal a thoughtful, caring soul in Norden. The routines increased in difficulty. Tryouts came and went. Competitions consumed every waking moment when Vanessa wasn’t at practice.

At every turn, she made sure Norden was there with her. He never missed a practice and was always there during competition day. His sage advice broke through to her at every turn. The trust she had in him and the trust he had in her was hard fought and well won. Their bond was unbreakable, and everyone knew it.

Then, the day came.

National championship qualifications for the Olympic team.

Vanessa was an absolute mess of emotions and nerves. Jittery didn’t come close to describing her state of being. Every time she tried envisioning her routine, something blocked her mentally. Every stretch formed some kind of imaginary cramp in her arm or her leg.

What made it worse was that Norden was not permitted to go with her.

“Don’t worry, child,” comforted the small man as he reached over and rubbed her shoulder that he was sitting on while she buried her face into her pillows.

“How can I not worry?” said Vanessa through a mouth full of pillow, muffling her voice.

“Darling, you know I can’t hear you when you speak through layers of cloth and feathers and foam,” pointed out Norden. He jostled a bit as Vanessa turned her head to barely glimpse him out of the corner of her eye, but continued her pity party.

“Tomorrow is going to be one of the most important moments in my career and I haven’t been able to do the routine once in forever. What if I mess up? What if I break something? What if all of the other girls are better an-”

“And are better than you? Impossible,” countered Norden as he interrupted her mental spiral. The teen glanced over and caught his eyes. There was something there that felt so present and reassuring that Vanessa felt the worries melting away and salty tears sting her eyes.

“But… what if… I don’t want to do this forever? Gymnastics used to be fun all the time, and now it’s all stress and competitions,” grumbled Vanessa. The nearby clock chirped, signaling the start of a new day as midnight hit. The two of them sat there in silence for a time before the pet spoke up.

“So, what would you do with your time otherwise?” asked Norden.

“I… well… I don’t know. Never mind.”

“No, really. I want to know,” insisted Norden. Something in his voice tugged at Vanessa’s heart. It sent a pang of guilt through her and, for one reason or another, it plucked the answer from her mind and formed itself into words.

“I… I want to be a chef. I want to cook. I think it would be so much fun to open up my own café and have treats and snacks, healthy and not, and do gymnastics coaching part time. I… I don’t know… it just feels like all the fun has been zapped out of it and I’ve really been enjoying putting myself to the test with my different recipes for diets and nutrition and stuff,” mumbled Vanessa. The words spilled out of her like a whisper, each element spoken in a hushed tone like some precious secret.

It made her feel terrible. As much as she wanted this dream of hers to come true, she felt miserable at the same time. She knew that deviating from her path in gymnastics was basically a slap in the face to everyone who had ever helped her.

Her parents who moved them just so Vanessa could have better training.

Her sister who resented her for surpassing her skills.

Her colleagues and fellow students who couldn’t pull off half of the moves she could on a good day.

Dimitri for all of the time he spent coaching her after hours and before school.

Most importantly, Vanessa felt like she was betraying Norden. He had spent countless hours helping her with her routines. He coached her through micro movements and was there when she needed to talk or rant or just be comforted.

Norden was the one she was the most afraid of disappointing and saying all of this out loud hurt her; especially on the eve of a massive competition that would determine whether or not she made it to the Olympic team.

Then, something happened.

Norden scoffed and, to Vanessa’s surprise, leaned over and rubbed her shoulder again.

“Why do you sound so worried, Vanessa?” asked Norden. “Do you think I’ll be upset with you that you want to pursue your dreams? Do you think your family won’t support you?”

Vanessa buried her face into the pillows again, nodding and sniffling pitifully into her pillow. She received another sigh from the small man on her shoulder as he leaned over and tugged at a few strands of her hair to get her attention.

“Darling, I’m going to let you in on a little secret.” The words captured Vanessa’s curiosity, so she glanced over her shoulder to her companion and friend. The awkward crane in her neck prompted Norden to slide off of her shoulder and walk over toward her face so she could better see him.

“Are you listening?” he asked, to which Vanessa nodded. “Good. Remember this. Life is for living. If you are unhappy, then make yourself happy. Why would you endure something you don’t enjoy if you have the option to do something else that you will be successful in?

“You’re human. You’re a fierce, determined young woman and you can do anything you set your mind to, within reason of course. If everyone cares about you the way they profess to, they will support you. They might be upset for the moment, but they’ll see you flying and know your decision was the right one.

“Understand?” stated Norden.

She was absolutely speechless. Vanessa looked into Norden’s eyes and felt the tension tumble off of her shoulders. Relief spread through her body like the warmth of a fire on a cold day, radiating from her heart and spreading through her tingling fingertips.

Suddenly, the jitters were seemingly banished from her body. With adoration in her eyes, she looked back at her friend and sighed. “How do you always know exactly what to say?”

“Who are you talking to?” Vanessa nearly jumped to her feet as her older sister, Caroline, came into her room unannounced. “Ugg… gross… Vanessa, you need to put your pet back in his cage and get some sleep. You have a big day tomorrow and you’d better not mess it up.”

“Or else what? Perhaps if your sister’s well-being is your priority, then perhaps you should reconsider your words.” Vanessa glanced over to see Norden standing as tall as he could glaring at Caroline.

“Excuse me? What did you say you little punk?” spat Caroline.

“I said you should be more considerate of your sister,” stated Norden bluntly. “She’s about to participate in an intense competition determining her gymnastic career, she’s got a lot on her mind, and you coming in here berating her because you are jealous does not make for a flattering image. Now, apologize or leave her be. We’re in the middle of a discussion.”

Caroline seethed and glared at Norden. She even advanced a step forward and hovered over Vanessa and Norden. She looked rather menacing with the light shining behind her and forming a strong silhouette.

“How dare you! You’re nothing but a pet, and a lousy one at that. And if I’m a distraction, then so are you. So, why don’t you crawl back into your cage like a good little pet and…”

“Caroline,” interjected Vanessa as she carefully pushed herself up from her bed to not disturb Norden. “I’m… I mean… I am a bit tired. Thanks for your concern, but I…”

“My concern? You’re pathetic. That thing has more words than you do. Just get some sleep and get a muzzle for that pet of yours.” Caroline huffed and spun on her heel to get out of the room as fast as possible but made a point to slam the door as she left.

The eldest of the two took the tension with her and stomped down the hall to her room, leaving Norden and Vanessa alone once again. Vanessa could have smothered Norden in a hug she was so happy, but she refrained and simply tapped the bed beside him and nudged his leg with her index finger. He turned and smirked ever so slightly, giving him a sassy and mischievous air about him.

“Well, hopefully that put her in her place,” stated Norden. “At least for now. You don’t need unnecessary drama the night before your competition. Now, back to our conversation.

“Vanessa, you need to do what makes you happy. Don’t do it for anyone other than yourself. If you want tomorrow to be your last day competing, then so be it. It means very little, but you have my support for what it’s worth. I wish I could be there to see it, but I know I won’t need to. You will be flawless.”

Vanessa felt her throat tighten. The salty tears began stinging her eyes once again. It was all she wanted to hear.

“Thanks, Norden,” she said once she had a moment to clear her throat. Her emotions subsided, but the desire to dote on her dear friend swelled. Courage built up in her. She swallowed dryly, knowing this would be the first time she would ask Norden if she could do something like this.

She took a breath and decided to take the risk. “Um… Norden?”

“Hmm?” acknowledged the small man. He looked like he was about to retreat to the small shelf Vanessa had right by her bed where he had an entire room set up complete with a small cabin like structure, bed, and lights.

“Could… I give you a hug?” she asked quietly. Her cheeks felt hot from embarrassment. She wanted to retract the statement almost as soon as she said it, but felt her eyes widen and her jaw slacken when he responded.

“Of course,” he said thoughtfully. “Gently, mind you, but I have no qualms with it.”

It made Vanessa’s insides flip nervously, but over the moon at the same time. Vanessa’s hands trembled as she rested her hand palm up on the mattress. She sat up to better keep her balance, and Norden waited patiently for Vanessa to situate herself before stepping confidently onto her hand.

Vanessa had helped Norden around the room by carrying him before, but it was so different because she had never done this before since she and Norden had become friends. It was a trust hard earned, but now was completely unshakable.

She lifted her hand with the small man on it and pressed the edge of her hand to her chest, reaching up and resting her free palm against his back as he stepped forward and reached out his arms as wide as he could. His fingers grasped the fabric by her collar. His body relaxed at Vanessa’s touch.

Neither knew how long they were there, but when Vanessa began to pull her hand away to set Norden back down onto the ground, he gestured for her to bring her face closer. When she did, he unexpectedly did something that made Vanessa’s heart flip.

He kissed her forehead.

It was a tender gesture from a mentor to a student. It held nothing romantic. It held nothing manipulative or malicious.

It was kind.

It was paternal.

It was reassuring.

It was Norden simply being himself and aiding a friend – his only friend.

The two of them drifted off to sleep with ease and, when morning came, Norden did it again, wishing his friend all the luck in the world for the competition to come.

The entire time, Vanessa was a bundle of nerves. From the car ride to warm-ups, Vanessa could hardly sit still. Caroline was going to meet them later since she had an appointment in the morning hours before the competition. Vanessa didn’t mind. She would rather not have her sister there berating her.

It was time. Every moment had been leading up to this, and now she was finally here. Now was her time to shine. Now was her time to go out on the highest note she could.

Because whether or not she made it to the Olympics, Vanessa made her decision to follow her own dreams and passions.

So, as she stood there on the mat ready for her routine, she felt a calm sensation embrace her body. It reminded her of the subtle touch Norden gave her just the night before.

Two quick breaths. Focus. Imagine the movements. Trust your body to move.

And she did.

Vanessa flew through the air and stuck every landing. Every twist of her body was just as she had imagined it. Every flip and turn was precise and flawless.

It was just as Norden had told her.

She wished more than anything he was there to see her as she landed perfectly in front of the judges, but she knew he had already seen her go through each and every motion.

Her parents were beside themselves when she was offered a spot on the team right then and there. Caroline had a smug expression on her face, but Vanessa managed to shrug off the look.

They decided to celebrate and all of them rushed home so Vanessa could change and choose where she wanted to have dinner that night. The cars pulled into the driveway and Vanessa was practically sprinting out of the car before it even stopped to rush inside and tell Norden everything.

“Norden! Norden!” she called as she took the stairs two at a time and burst into her room looking around wildly for her friend. “I did it! It was just like you said. It was fl…”

Vanessa glanced around and saw there was no cage in the corner of her room.

There was no house on the shelf.

There was no sign Norden had ever been there.

Confusion swirled in Vanessa’s mind as she began looking under the bed and other odd places where Norden would never be. The whole time, she was calling out to him.

Nothing.

Then, there was a creak of the door behind her. Vanessa whipped around and saw her sister standing there, looming over her with a smug look on her face. Immediately, Vanessa felt her heart drop into her shoes as she stared at her sister.

“What did you do with him?” asked Vanessa as her insides twisted with unease.

“Well, since you made the team you won’t have hardly any free time left,” stated Caroline. “It isn’t fair to keep around something that you don’t have time for. You’ll need to focus on practice an-”

“Where is he!” roared Vanessa as she leapt to her feet and shoved her sister. Caroline stumbled backward and slammed against the opposite wall. Her eyes were wide with surprise at the rage from her younger sister. Then, that bitter smile tugged back onto her face.

“Gone at this point,” she said. “Vet offices are pretty quick about these things, especially with feral pets.”

Vanessa felt her heart crushing in her chest. A punch in the gut would have been kinder.

She too Norden to a vet office? Gone? Gone! She had him euthanized?!

Vanessa, with a shriek of anguish and fury, galled up her fists and punched Caroline in the nose as hard as she could before flying down the stairs.

Maybe there’s time.

Maybe I can get there before it happens! It can’t have happened yet!

Vanessa stumbled down the last few steps and grabbed her dad, shaking him.

“Dad! We have to go to the vet office. Caroline… Caroline took Norden! She took him there to be euthanized. We have t-.” Vanessa was a blubbering mess, but the look on her parents’ face told her everything.

They were in on it.

Their faces were softened with disappointment and sadness as they tried to bring her in to console her, but Vanessa wouldn’t hear of it.

Without thinking and certainly against the law, she charged out of the house and snagged her sister’s keys off of the kitchen counter. It took a fraction of a moment too late for her parents to realize what Vanessa was doing and when they made it outside to stop her, Vanessa was already driving away.

Vanessa had been studying for her learner’s permit and had been behind the wheel of a car many times to practice parallel parking and basic driving, but it was still against the law for her to drive.

She didn’t care though.

She had a mission to accomplish.

Tears spilled over her cheeks and her whole body was shaking violently. She couldn’t believe what had just happened and that her parents could be so cruel. Her sister, maybe; but them too?

Left turn. Two rights. Red light. Green light.

Vanessa sped as fast as she could and didn’t even bother to turn off the engine as she pulled into the vet’s office. Her body couldn’t move fast enough. Her heart was pounding harder and faster with each passing second.

The door clattered loudly as it slammed against a nearby chair. The vet tech at the front yelped as she looked up wildly at Vanessa.

“Ma’am, is there som-”

“My friend was brought in earlier and is scheduled to be euthanized. Please! Please! Tell me he’s okay. His name is Norden. He’s a little older. He’s about five inches tall. He’s got these piercing b…”

The look on the tech’s face went from startled to concern and then to sympathetic.

The world stopped.

Vanessa felt bile building in the back of her throat. She swallowed dryly as she saw the mortification on the tech’s face.

“I… I’m sorry. They… just took him back… The girl who came in said he was vicious and violent, biting and everything. That’s… that’s against training and protocol so…”

“What room!” shrieked Vanessa. Her legs gave out as she stumbled forward, leaning heavily on the desk.

“Room six. It’s right there.”

Vanessa ran over and threw the door open without a second thought.

As she did, she caught a glimpse of the vet removing a needle from Norden’s arm.

It was already too late.

“No!” Vanessa sobbed as she stumbled over and fell to her knees in front of the table. Her hands were shaking so violently that she couldn’t even bend her fingers. Norden’s little body had been strapped down and his chest was heaving, but his jaw and eyes were set forward; at least until he saw Vanessa.

Through her salty tears, Vanessa could see his lower lip trembling, but he still managed a smile as he looked into her eyes. There was a single tear dripping down his cheek as he looked into her eyes.

Already, his lids were getting heavy.

“Um… sweetie, you can’t be in here,” the vet started to say as the tech rushed in and began explaining the situation. The vet looked absolutely horrified as he glanced from Vanessa to the pet on the table.

“No! No no no no no no… please… you have to fix him. Please,” begged Vanessa. “I’ll do anything, just please… make it stop…”

“I… I can’t. I… I’m sorry. We were told…”

The tech quieted the vet and the two of them exchanged sympathetic glances before ushering themselves out of the room.

“Vanessa? It… it’s okay,” breathed Norden, who sounded like he was already struggling for each breath. His lids lulled again.

“No! No! No!” Vanessa sobbed. She ripped the restraints off of her friend and cradled him in her hand, keeping everything propped up so she could see him. “Please… Norden.”

Norden’s eyes lulled again. His entire body shivered as he bit back a groan of pain. The serum was obviously working quickly on him.

“Did… you…”

Vanessa choked on some mixture of a sob and a laugh. Even now, he wanted to know how her competition went.

“Yes. You were right. It was flawless.” Vanessa couldn’t stop the tears from flowing. Every breath shook her entire body.

“Shhh… it’s okay.”

“It’s not! It’s not okay. This isn’t fair!” Vanessa shuddered and pulled Norden closer. “I love you. We were supposed to have so many adventures. We were supposed to open a café together. I have a name and everything for us!”

“Oh? W-what… is… it?” breathed Norden. His breath was labored. He bit back another groan of pain as his body twitched. Norden was fighting, but it wasn’t going to be long now.

“Norden’s Nips.”

He chuckled and smirked in his classic way.

“I love it.”

The pain was too much. Vanessa felt like her heart was turning inside out. Her lungs felt hollow as did the rest of her body. She wanted to melt into a puddle. Anything would be easier than this.

Anything would be better than good-bye.

“Vanessa… Nessie… Listen to me…” said Norden. His breath came in little panicked whisps. Vanessa looked into his eyes and saw his pupils were starting to dilate.

“I’m here… I’m listening. Norden, please! Don’t go…”

“Please… for me… live. Live for me. Live the way you want. Be happy. Don’t take moments for granted. I… I’m so… happy… to have… known you….”

He winced as, with his hand, he tried to raise his hand in his signature salute. Vanessa choked on another sob as she reached over and helped him raise his arm. A smile of gratitude crossed his face as, with her help, he completed the motion.

He gestured once again for her to come closer and his kissed her once more on her forehead.

She barely caught the words escaping his lips as she pulled him away.

“I love you, Nessie.”

The light in his eyes faded. His pupils dilated. There was a momentary shudder as he smiled and closed his eyes for the last time.

Vanessa collapsed into sobs and slunk to the floor clutching Norden to her chest. She wasn’t sure how long she was there, but she didn’t care. Despair consumed her and it wasn’t until both the police and her family arrived that Vanessa registered anything other than the weight of Norden’s lifeless body in her hands.

Right then and there, she cursed her family.

She denounced them and swore she would never speak to them again. Vanessa declared she would never do gymnastics again and that her passions were elsewhere.

The following days of chaos turned to havoc and loathing for months and years until the day Vanessa turned eighteen and moved out, never to contact her family again.

~~~^*^*^~~~

“Sweetie! I am so so so so sorry. You never said anything about this. So… that’s how you started your business? Or, rather, why?” asked Jody. Vanessa nodded numbly as she looked at her friend.

“Yeah,” she mumbled.

“So, Norden’s Nips was for your pe-… er… friend?”

“Yep.” Vanessa wiped away the tears from her eyes and stared at her friend. “And it’s not something I share. I’ve told maybe one other person about this, and they laughed that I would name a business after a pet. We don’t talk anymore.”

“Yeah, but if I had known I wouldn’t have… oh gosh… I… Ohh…. I’m so mad right now. I’m going to message your sister and give her a piece of my mind!”

Vanessa didn’t have time to stop Jody as she stormed out with her phone. Vanessa knew there was no stopping her friend and, instead, she stayed huddled under her blankets and stared at her now cold drink on the table.

Then, she heard something.

In a sniffly voice, she heard the female pet from the cage say, “I… I’m sorry… but… please… please don’t take me back. I… know I’m not going to be like your friend… but…”

Vanessa sighed and pushed herself up off of the couch and walked over to the cage, kneeling in front of the door to better look at the pet. She was beautiful and obviously had an empathetic soul based on the tears dripping down her own face.

“No, I’m sorry. I… It’s been a while since I’ve faced those feelings. I… well… you don’t have to be scared. Not of me,” said Vanessa.

Immediately, the pet looked up and started breathing quickly, nerves obviously getting the better of her.

“Please, I’ll be the best pet I can. Just…”

“I don’t want a pet,” stated Vanessa. “But I wouldn’t mind a new friend. How about it?”

The look on her face said it all. Things were going to be different around here from now on, but Vanessa didn’t mind. Change was good. And sometimes, someone is worth the heartbreak.

Norden was one of those people.

As was Jody and some of her other friends.

This new friend would certainly make that list as well.

~~~~~^*^*^*^*^~~~~~

Thank you. Apologies…

Cheers and, as always, stay awesome!

~Narrans

@gtzel

[tinyundercover]

the half-pint

Nyx and Perrin are thieves in a fantasy universe. After a mishap, Nyx suffers the consequences of her actions. word count: 2.5k @gtgotcha4gaza prompt for @sizediscount !! the donation period is still open if anyone wants to contribute and receive g/t art or writing <3

Nyx’s jobs were always simple— get in, steal the thing, then get out. 

She had been accepting these jobs for years, and by now she considered herself to be one of the best thieves in the area. Along with her partner, Perrin, there wasn’t a single enchanted object, gold coin, or rare pet that the two of them couldn’t steal with ease. 

However, as she and Perrin peered into the camp of fairies, she immensely regretted accepting this job.

“How are we supposed to get to the flower without being seen?” Nyx muttered, dark eyes narrowed. 

The two of them were hidden behind a bush, crouched on the dead leaves of the forest floor. Beside her, Perrin sent her an amused glance. Brown curly hair rested atop his head, slightly darker than his warm, tan skin. “Who cares if some fairies see us? What are they gonna do, bite our ankles?” 

Nyx frowned, gaze focused ahead. Her black hair was pulled back into dozens of dark braids, snaking down her back. “Fairies can cast spells, genius.”

Perrin’s lips twitched into a smile at her stoic response, glancing back towards the camp. “I know, I’m just joking.”

Earlier in the day, a client had reached out to the Nyx and Perrin, requesting their skills. Their task was to retrieve an incredibly rare flower from the center of the fairies’ camp, buried deep in the woods. 

Nyx prided herself on being stealthy, nothing more than a shadow— yet as she examined the rows of miniature houses ahead, she wondered how she could possibly sneak through this tiny town without her footsteps shaking the buildings.

She felt like a big, awkward giant. Even crouched on the forest floor, hidden behind the bush, she was bigger than any of the little buildings. She could maybe squeeze her hand through a doorway if she tried. The houses were scattered over the ground, assembled from twigs and leaves. Tiny lamplights, glowing with green fairy magic, illuminated the area.

Even though it was well into the night, Nyx could still see the glimmering, colorful wings of the fairies still awake, drifting between the shops and houses, floating mere inches above the ground. Each fairy appeared to be the size of her pinky.

Further into the center of the little camp, about twenty feet away from Nyx and Perrin, a thin plant reached towards the night sky. Several blue flowers sprouted off of it, glowing faintly. All they needed was one of those flowers, and their mission would be complete.

“This sucks,” Nyx grumbled, sitting back. “We’re too big. They’re gonna see us no matter what we do.”

“We’ll just have to be fast, then,” Perrin mused, fingers drumming over the thick material of his pant leg. They both wore dark, earthy colors to blend into the forest around them. “I could run in there and grab a flower in ten seconds.”

“Ten seconds is more than enough time to get cursed by a bunch of fairies, Perrin,” Nyx scolded. He shrugged his large shoulders.

“It was just an idea. What do you suggest?”

Nyx focused on the blue flowers ahead, eyes narrowing. “I have a plan.”

Minutes later, Perrin had disappeared into the tangles of the forest, leaving Nyx alone behind the bush. She waited patiently, barely blinking, the silence of the forest unbearable.

Eventually, she heard a crash from deep in the forest, as well as Perrin’s footsteps dramatically stomping away. To Nyx, it wasn’t incredibly loud, but the tiny fairies mingling around the camp reacted as if they had experienced an earthquake. 

Immediately, voices rose up from the winged people, bright and angry. Perrin continued to make quite a ruckus somewhere in the forest, serving as a distraction, and Nyx leaned forward, focused.

The fairies began to swoop towards the noise, away from Nyx. Careful not to rustle the leaves around her, Nyx pulled herself to her feet, her lean body posed to move quickly.

The fairies seemed even smaller once she stood to her full height. She watched silently, hidden in the shadows of the trees, until the swarm of glowing wings faded into the distance. Once she was certain that the camp was empty, she darted forward into the tiny village.

The houses barely reached her knees. Nyx kept her gaze low as she weaved through the buildings, cautious of where she placed her feet. She didn’t want to knock anything over— her job was to steal a flower, not to leave destruction.

Her heart raced with exhilaration when she finally reached the plant. It twisted towards the sky, swaying slightly, and without any hesitation she whipped her knife out of her sleeve and sliced a flower off at the stem.

The glow of the flower flickered briefly. Dropping it into a small jar she had retrieved from her tunic, she spun on her heels, swiftly moving away.

The hum of fairy wings grew in her ear, and she cursed under her breath. Just as she reached the edge of the camp, a blur of green wings blocked her vision.

Nyx stumbled, pressing all of her weight into the balls of her feet so as to not tumble over and break any of the delicate buildings. She jerked back, focusing on the fairy hovering directly in front of her face, his little arms crossed over his chest.

“Where do you think you’re going?” He barked, his small voice alight with fury.

This fairy must have stayed behind in the camp. For a moment, Nyx was terrified— until she processed just how small this man was. It was very difficult to feel intimidated by someone the size of his finger.

She scowled, darting around him. “Get out of my way, half-pint.” His wings hummed angrily.

Fortunately, he didn’t seem keen to chase after her. He only called out to her, voice dwindling with the distance Nyx rapidly put between them. “How confident,” he remarked. “You’ll regret this.”

When Nyx glanced over his shoulder, he was still hovering at the edge of the camp, the glow of his wings illuminating the trees in a faint green light. She said nothing, lips thinning.

His words rocked around her mind until she met up with Perrin, half a mile from the camp. He clapped her on the shoulder, grinning as she presented the jar— but despite their victory, her stomach still tingled with unease.

—

After the worst sleep of her life, Nyx jolted awake.

Darkness surrounded her, suffocating. She blinked rapidly, reaching around for the edge of her blanket, but she couldn’t figure out where she was.

Last night, after their successful mission, Nyx and Perrin had retreated to the closest inn and passed out on cheap beds. Nyx had been prepared for a restless night on the lumpy bed and stringy blanket, but she hadn’t expected to feel this dizzy upon waking up.

“What the hell…” Nyx muttered, finally finding the edge of the blanket and yanking it down to her chest. The fabric was much thicker than she remembered. She hadn’t realized that the blanket was large enough to cover her entire body… strange.

Her confusion grew as soon as her vision cleared.

The ceiling, dark and wooden, stretched high above her. She blinked several times, brow furrowing. The room hadn’t seemed this big when she had gone to sleep last night.

Something was inexplicably wrong.

Anxiety wormed its way into her chest, she sat up, wrapping her arms around herself. Icy fear struck her like lightning when she registered what she was seeing. 

The bed stretched around her, an impossibly huge expanse of beige cloth comparable to a wheat field. The edge of the mattress dropped away to a wide, empty space, a drop that would surely kill Nyx if she were to tumble off. Beside her, her pillow was a mountain.

“What…” Nyx swallowed, the color draining from her face.

If she didn’t know any better, she would think she was the size of a fairy.

Her stomach twisted into knots, fearful, confused, shocked. Fighting the dizziness clouding her mind, she shoved herself to her feet— and immediately her arms shot out to keep her balance. She let out a panicked shout, heart pounding. The plush mattress was much harder to stand on than she had been expecting.

Something creaked in response to her yell. Nyx snapped her head up to the other bed.

Her heart jumped into her throat. The sun was barely rising in the window, pale light streaming in to illuminate the hill of Perrin’s shoulder. His chest moved with steady breaths, curls buried into a pillow.

“Oh gods,” Nyx mumbled, stomach dropping.

Perrin was already a big guy, shoulders broad and thick— but this was incomprehensible. Even from across the room, his size absolutely overwhelmed her. Usually they were close to the same height, but Nyx was small enough now that he could easily scoop her up in one hand, and the thought made her nauseas. Nyx’s breath hitched in her throat, unable to pull her gaze away from his enormous, sleeping form.

“Oh gods,” Nyx repeated, panic rising.

Her heart jumped as Perrin shifted again, a large hand tightening on his pillow. When his eyes fluttered open, she fought the urge to turn and run.

It’s just Perrin.

You’ve worked with him for a year. 

It’s Perrin. It’s fine.

Nyx swallowed thickly, stepping back, heart thudding nervously. Perrin didn’t notice her. He sat up and stretched, yawning into his hand. 

His movement brought a small gasp from Nyx’s lips. She hadn’t expected him to sit up, especially not so quickly, revealing that he was much bigger than she could have imagined.

Gods. I’m small.

Her chest tightened when his gaze swooped towards her, drawn to her gasp. Panic settled into her stomach as soon as his eyes fixed on her small form, squinting, then widening.

The world seemed to freeze for a moment, as he took in the sight of her tiny, trembling form. 

“…Nyx?” His voice broke, shocked.

Adrenaline gripped her by the wrists. All reasoning left her mind, leaving her only with primal terror— and with no explanation why, she spun around and bolted.

“Wha— Nyx!”

The startled shout only encouraged her to sprint faster, stumbling over the thick blanket. Panic raced in her chest, shrieking in her ears to run.

Perrin’s footsteps behind her were large and fast, shaking the bed below her. She let out a shriek of surprise when two enormous hands slammed onto the bed in front of her, and before she could halt her sprint she collided right into his palms.

“Nyx, Nyx, woah— it’s okay!”

Cold terror shook Nyx to her core. She staggered away from the enormous hands in front of her, each finger large enough to overpower her with ease— a terrifying, sickening thought. She whirled around, wobbling on the plush surface. 

Perrin was kneeling on the floor, broad chest pressed into the side of the bed. His arms stretched forward, hands clasped firmly behind Nyx’s tiny form, trapping her. He was absolutely massive.

No. I’m tiny.

His eyebrows tugged together, a plethora of uneasy emotions crossing his face. Under his enormous, overwhelming gaze, Nyx felt like a mouse. She wanted to sob.

“It’s okay, it’s okay— I promise.” Perrin’s intense gaze focused on her, glancing over her trembling form. “It’s just me, Nyx, I’m not gonna hurt you.”

His comforting words tugged at her heart, and she took several deep breaths, hugging herself. Perrin’s presence surrounded her, enormous and overbearing, and she choked on her breath. “What’s— what’s happening—?”

“Breathe,” Perrin ordered gently, gaze softening. Something enormous and warm pressed into Nyx’s back, and after a nervous flinch she registered that it was his finger. “It’s okay.”

Nyx’s breath shuddered, and she brought her hand to her dark cheek, shakily scraping away the tear that had fallen.

Once Perrin seemed confident that Nyx had relaxed, he carefully unclasped his fingers and pulled his hands towards himself. Nyx let out a shaky breath, stomach twisting.

“Are you okay?” Perrin finally asked, brow knit together in concern.

Nyx swallowed, struggling to meet his enormous gaze. Her voice felt small and weak when she spoke, an uncomfortable feeling. “I… I think so.”

Perrin observed her glancing anxiously around the expansive room, taking in her wobbly, tearful, tiny form. “What happened?”

She blinked in confusion. Reaching back into her memory, she focused on the events of last night. Green wings floated around her mind.

Gods!

“I think… I think a fairy cursed me,” she murmured, heart sinking.

Fairy magic was incredibly difficult to fight. If Nyx wanted to break the curse and grow herself back to her usual height, it would take unfathomable amounts of research and work. The thought that she might be trapped this size for an indefinite amount of time made her feel ill.

“Oh.” Perrin blinked in surprise. “Huh. I guess you were right about how dangerous fairies are.”

“You think?” Nyx muttered, face hot. 

Perrin glanced over her, and Nyx wondered if he was aware of how intimidating he appeared, just by existing. He chewed his lip, lost in thought. “It’s alright,” he finally said. “There’s a library downstairs. I’m sure they have hundreds of books on fairy magic.”

“Right.” Nyx nodded unhappily, her stomach jumping every time Perrin shifted, as if he might snatch her up without warning. “Right, we should… go do some research.”

He nodded. His shoulders straightened up, shooting icy surprise into Nyx’s ribs, but he didn’t seem to notice her startled flinch. With a focused expression, he reached towards her.

Nyx inwardly cursed, jerking back from the massive, approaching fingers. However, instead of trapping her in an overwhelming fist like she had expecting, Perrin only lowered his hand to the bed, palm facing up. His gaze softened.

“Let’s go,” he offered. “I can’t imagine you want to stay that size any longer than you have to.”

She blinked up at him, tense. Her mind raced.

“Yeah,” she slowly agreed, peering down at his palm. “Right.”

His hand was enormous. Thick scars and calluses awaited her, his skin worn and damaged with overuse. She froze, stomach cold.

Her trepidation did not go unnoticed. Perrin leaned closer, eyes gentle. “Do you want to stay here?”

His words suddenly felt insulting. Did she really appear so weak and vulnerable that a simple trip to the library downstairs was too much for her? Her terror slowly melded into embarrassment. She and Perrin had gotten into countless dangerous situations together, all of which she had remained calm and cool and rational. This shouldn’t be any different.

Fueled by spite, she surged forward, stepping firmly onto his hand. 

She wobbled, not expecting the skin of his palm to sink slightly beneath her feet. Fighting the anxiety flickering in her chest, she sat down, settling into the center of his massive palm. Her arms crossed.

“Alright,” she huffed, furious at the situation. Perrin’s lips twitched in amusement. “Let’s go.”

If she was lucky, they’d be able to find a counterspell in the library, and she’d be back to normal in a few hours.

Everything would be fine.

--

I had a great time writing this!! be sure to check out the other writing/art contributions from other volunteers as well!! <3

[beansthough]

New g/t fic Concept:

A borrower grows up and currently lives in a western themed antique shop.

He lost his family at a young age and with what little survival skills he had he learned to survive and has been on his own since.

The only skill he knew for sure was to stay hidden from Beans, because if you got caught then surly you would meet death or worse. His family had made a fine example of that.

But the one constant in this borrowers young life without parents to raise him is the never ending playing of old westerns on the many retro t.v.’s He sees these characters in himself and the many ways the these hero’s survived the Wild West.

His favorite film was about a simple boy named Jessie. Jessie just like the borrower grew up with very little and no family, he lived a very hard life.

But when Jessie was falsely accused of stealing the towns cattle and money, the boy has to go on the run and become the ultimate gunslinger, cattle roper, and hero to prove his innocence and find the real culprit to save the town.

And the borrower swore there was no better film on this earth. Jessie could do anything and be anything. Not to mention Jessie’s actor was in many other western films where he was this unstoppable hero.

So from then on the young Borrower decided he himself would be called Jessie, and he would live up to his name. He dressed like him, talked like him, and tried his best to live like him, while all the while hiding from the many beans who entered the shop.

And so the Cowboy Borrower was born…

—————-

Katie is a young woman who had just recently inherited a small amount of farmers land and the simple cottage that came with it. She’s ready to start her new life with her college friends the town over to help support her.

After living in her new home for about three months she has managed to start to raise chickens, a single dairy cow, of course her trusted barn cat Lucy.

It is after these three months that her college friends invite her on an outing to go antique shopping, and with at a glance at an empty shelf and her friends calling her how could she decline on a fun outing.

The group had just finished walking the square of this small town when a certain antique shop caught the young women’s eye. It was almost completely western themed.

It was no secret that Katie’s house was decorated in almost every fashion imaginable, but she did have a western collection that she would like to grow, and what better place to do that then here?

It was in that shop that she found truly the best find. A whole set of cowboy themed tea cups with a matching picnic blanket and basket, and the best part yet was the adorable tiny cowboy doll inside.

;)

My good people I give to you:

The Antique Cowboy

[glitched-username]

Mystic Training

The autism won and just spent the past couple days powering through writing a 10 page tmnt g/t fanfic like my life depended on it. This is mostly self indulgent because I would've loved to see mystic Raph more in the show and also would've love to see more on how the power works

cw: there's a bit of messing around with mystic Raph's mouth for a couple paragraphs but mostly in the way to how a dentist poke's around someone's mouth

Word count: 4522

-----------

“You did WHAT with your powers?!” Mikey practically pounced on Raph’s shoulders as the four walked back to the lair.

“I know, right?! It was the craziest thing I've ever seen! You should've been there!”

“I would've loved to but Mikey and I were forced to handle that backstabbing, tried-to-steal-my-tech, traitorous, smug -”

“Man! I wish it was me and Raph on the roof, I would kill to see a giant super powered mystic Raph!” Mikey felt Raph stiffen his shoulders.

“Mikey… Leo had to get thrown off the roof for me to catch him like that…” Donnie paused mid rant at Raph's words, trailing a few paces behind.

“Okay, but if you did it once, can't you do it again? Unless there's a sort of quote unquote mystic cool down that prevents you from using that full power, there shouldn't be anyone stopping you now.” That caught the attention of the others as eyes moved from Donnie to Raph expectantly. 

“Huh? I mean, I don't even know HOW I did it, just that I… had to? I don't know, it was mostly just a feeling I guess.” Raph sheepishly grinned, rubbing the back of his head. 

Mikey just dramatically slid off, landing on his feet in a slouch. “Awww man… oh wait! What if I-”

“You're not throwing yourself off a building to see if it works.” Raph grabbed Mikey by the back of his shell and tucked him under his arms to keep from running off.

“Hey! It was a joke! Leo, Donnie tell Raph I was joking!” Mikey playfully squirmed in Raph’s grip as they started moving again.

Leo nudged Mikey’s side as Donnie took the lead up front “I don't know, you sounded pretty serious there~”

“Leo’s correct, and I'm the only one allowed to be funny in this family”

“You betray your own brother?! How could you!” Mikey threw his arms out and slumped forward. 

The four continued to make their way back home, Leo continuing to brag about how not only was he “right about spider lady” but also that he managed to make some killer portals. Donnie was mostly muttering to himself and fidgeting with his gauntlet about manufacturing artificial spider webs. And despite the theatrics of it all, Mikey was content with snuggling up to Raph’s side, more exhausted than anything but not being able to fall asleep.

Raph stayed a bit quieter than usual but he was probably just as drained as the rest.

It wasn't long before they made it back home, each splitting off to their own rooms for the night. Raph dropped a now sleeping Mikey off before all but collapsing out in his own room. Sleep was restless, was in and out, almost nonexistent and contained no dreams but it was something.

--------------------------------

“UP AND AT ‘EM RAPHALA!” 

“WHAT-HUH?!” Raph’s body practically launched itself out of bed and onto the floor before he could even realize he was awake. He pushed himself off the floor, now sitting up, looking at a now very excited Donnie with eye bags stronger than what his mask can cover up. Like he was giddily waiting for someone to ask. “What happened?!”

“Oh, Raph good you're awake! Well we have a BIG day scheduled for YOU mister. I've prepped for you to get 30 minutes to get yourself ready, dressed, eat, shower etcetera and THEN we are gonna be headed to the main atrium where we are gonna do nothing BUT crack this infuriating figurative mystic code of your power!” 

Raph, who was barely paying attention to what Donnie was saying, mostly just falling back asleep now that there's no threat, suddenly shot awake when Donnie said that last bit. “My power? Well, normally you know I'm all down for training, but this early?” 

“Yes, of course this early because we have so many different factors both physical and… eugh… emotional… that could each individually play a part in understanding what you do that activates that, to quote Mikey, giant super powered mystic Raph.” Donnie was now right by Raph grabbing his arm and trying to lead him out the room. “Now come on, you now have 28 minutes to get ready before we start!”

Raph just stood up and pulled his arm back, resulting in Donnie falling to the ground. 

“Relax D, we just got done fighting two boss villains, I think we need a day.” Raph stepped a bit closer, now noticing the dark purple eye bags. “You too, did you spend all last night working on this “schedule” thing?”

“Long exasperated groan, why yes my dearest brother, I did, because apparently I'm more interested in understanding your own powers than you.” Donnie gave a huff, standing indignantly at that last bit. “Like come on, you barely talked about it outside of “I don't know how it works”, I know if any of us developed some crazy power we didn't know how to use or control you would be the FIRST to want them to figure it out.”

“Yeah but that was different, we knew nothing about our powers back then, this is just an added thing to the stuff I do know how to do.”

“And you're telling me you DON’T want to know how to use a power like that, one that has been shown to have incredible strength and durability from what I've heard?”

“Yes because I'm totally fine with what I have now and do NOT need to use that powerup.”

“I don't understand, then you should want to know how it works so you can choose to avoid activating it if you want-”

“-Just… stop, I don't wanna talk about it this early in the morning”

There were several moments of silence and Raph was about to tell Donnie to go to bed again before “Well, alright then, my offer still stands and I will be in the main atrium if you wish to participate.” And with that, Donnie turned on his heels and walked out at a brisk pace

Raph just rubbed his fingers against his temple and flopped back onto his bed. He didn't sleep, staying lost in thought.

An hour later he mustered the strength to pull himself back up, getting his mask, wrappings and reluctantly his tonfas and exited his room.

“You're out of bed late~” Raph looked and to the left of his room was Leo, who’s lax attitude immediately set off Raph’s ‘Leo’s planning something’ alarm.

“Yeah, hardly, the Mad Scientist woke me up an hour ago for some… science thing.” 

“Eh, you know what I mean.” Leo leaned his weight on Raph's shoulder, “Actually, speaking of said ‘Mad Scientist’ and he seemed pre-tty ticked that you were “fine with living in ignorance of your own capabilities'' and is mostly just ranting to himself. Sicced Mikey on him before heading up here to get the nerd to cool off.”

Raph took a deep breath, “I didn't mean to upset him, I just… don't think that this should be the top priority with all the oozquitos free again.” Leo just hummed, cartoonishly nodding his head.

“Yeah of course, and it definitely has nothing to do with how you already know how this new powerup works or anything.” He confidently said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“W-What?! How did you-  mean, I have no idea what you're talking about.” Raph folded his arms, suddenly finding the right side of the lair to be extremely interesting to look at.

“Well, I mean if that little bit of Shakespeare didn't give it away then that whole beef with Donnie definitely did.” Raph slumped at being caught. “I mean, you're telling me that you don't want to know how a power THAT awesome works? Yeah I'm not buying it. You love showing off during training and fights. So spill. Don’t make me drag Mikey over here, we both know it’s impossible to keep secrets from those puppy eyes.” Leo took a step back from Raph, waiting for a response.

“... Promise you won’t tell them?” Raph barely whispered.

“I’m not your parent, not the older brother and most importantly, not a narc, I’m not gonna rat you out. I don’t know, take it as… a blood pact, except replace the “blood” with “falling off one of the biggest buildings in New York”.”

Raph huffed but looked at and away from Leo rapidly, wringing his hands together trying to string together his next sentence. Leo was waiting, now leaned onto the wall.

“I just… don't want to hurt you guys…” The confession finally startled Leo, breaking the chill guy persona.

“Woah woah woah, what are you talking about? Hurt us?” Leo’s eyes widened “Wait, is one of us almost dying, really what causes the powerup?” It was now Raph’s turn to be shocked.

“No! No. it’s, I don't know, it took me so long to figure out how to get used to my own strength, even with the tonfas. I thought it got to where I had total control of my strength and powers.” Raph looked down at his hands, avoiding Leo. “And then that whole thing happened and it felt different than what I'm used to with the tonfas. Like it was my body but also not?” He looked at Leo. “I was going to grab you during the fall but I could barely even feel the wind so I thought that if I grabbed you…I wouldn't be able to tell… and I’d hurt you worse than what the fall would.”

Something dark flashed over Leo’s eyes for the briefest of moments before he quirked a lopsided smile, trying to lighten the mood. “Oh come on, big guy, you know we know you'd never hurt us, at least not in a way that requires the med bay.” He mostly muttered that last part to himself. 

“Yeah, but what about on accident, it's happened before!” 

“Do you know how many times I've accidentally hurt myself on the skate ramp? Way more than the times you've hurt us, and we STILL keep that thing around! And you know what we do to stop getting injured on the skate ramp?” Leo was now back to his smug self, nudging Raph's side with a smirk on his face “Come on, it's one of your top 5 favorite words… starts with a T~”

Raph gave a defeated huff and soft smile “We train… Man, when did you decide to be the mature one?”

“Hey! I’m ALWAYS the mature one! I’m just making sure that our fearless leader doesn’t lose that title over being scared about nothing!” Leo wrapped his arm around Raph's and began to lead him to the atrium, “now let's go tell the Egg Head the good news that we don't need his excel spreadsheet of “reasons for Raph's powerup" !"

--------------------------------

“Tell me EXACTLY how it works! I have the spreadsheet up to compare how correct any of my hypotheses are.”

All four brothers gathered in the atrium, and Raph was struggling to not feel singled out especially when he was in fact singled out. He took a breath.

“I don't know how to really phrase it? I know that I'm able to do it and there's nothing holding me back, but just that there used to be something holding me back? And now that the thing holding me back is gone… I can just… do it now? Sorry, that's just the best way I can phrase it.”

There was a beat of silence before Donnie powered up his gauntlet and frantically began scrolling through it. It took Leo and Mikey a few seconds later to figure it out though.

“Waitwaitwait, was you saving me what got rid of that “thing holding you back”?”

Raph silently nodded. Mikey just threw his arms around Raph the best he could.

“Awww! You hear that? Raph loves us so much he got a new power from it!” Raph just chuckled, wrapping his arms around Mikey. 

“‘Course Raph loves you guys, no matter how much you annoy me…” Raph buried his head into Mikey’s shoulders who in turn gave a few happy chirps.

Leo playfully wrapped an arm around Raph. “Or it happened cause if anyone's gonna be able to take me out it's gonna be one of you, not some freaky goat man.”

Raph looked up a bit at Leo with a warm smile, then back at Mikey. “See what I mean?”

“NO! THAT’S IMPOSSIBLE! CURSE YOU MYSTIC POWERS! I WILL FIGURE YOU OUT AND WHEN I DO, YOU WILL RUE THE DAY YOU DARE-” 

“- Donnie, buddy, we’re having a moment.” Donnie shot his eyes up at Leo’s words and looked towards the other three, staring but mostly used to the “out of context scientific outbursts”. “Awkward cough, right, of course. WELL, the spreadsheet was a total bust so I spent all night working on nothing, and I really need another coffee--even though MIKEY won’t let me have anymore--so how about we move right on to phase 2!” He dramatically held up 2 fingers.

“You need to have something other than caffeine! Also what’s phase 2?”

“Why I'm so glad you asked, dear Angelo!” Donnie pointedly ignored the first part. “Raph, if you would please do the honors and make a full body projection as large as you are able--without damaging the lair or breaking anything please.”

“What? Why can't I, you know, just make one a tiny bit bigger than me?” Raph let go of Mikey and was looking nervous all over again.

“Because, Raphael, it'll be easier and faster in the long run if we start off with an extreme in the opposite direction opposed to starting with the least extreme version so that any sort of differences and general changes to how you and your body interact and interpret the world are easier to notice and document.” There was a moment and then, “Larger body equals more detail and less work later on.” Nods and general agreement. 

“Okay, okay, just… stand back, like a lot, cause I don’t wanna hurt you guys, even by accident… just in case.” As the group of three made their way to a nearby hallway, Raph just sighed and rolled his eyes as Leo gave him the biggest smirk he's seen on the slider’s face. Raph is guaranteed to never hear the end of how “he was right two days in a row! This needs to be a national holiday!”.

Raph moved over to the center of the room and pulled out his tonfas like he normally would. It was unusually silent outside of the frantic typing on Donnie’s gauntlet. Raph was usually so eager to show off how much better he’s gotten with his powers, but this time it felt different. Maybe because it was less of a training session or maybe unsure of the outcome of this experiment. Either way, he took a breath and let the energy spark and flow around him.

The projection grew at a slow but steady pace, tinting the area in a warm red. Donnie was typing notes like his life depended on it, Mikey was looking ahead, almost star-struck and Leo despite the smugness, was keeping an eye on Raph, who was nervous but didn’t look like he was gonna completely freak out.

Occasionally Raph adjusted positions when getting too close to a wall or ramp, finally stopping at around 30ish feet or so when the projection’s shoulders started to get a bit too close to both sides of the room. His brothers noticed the change and took that as an invitation to step back in the room.

Mikey came barreling towards Raph, stopping a few feet away. “Wooahhh! THIS IS SO COOL! Hey, Leo, was he this big when he caught you?” The box turtle was bouncing on his feet, more excited to be seeing the mystic form than hearing an actual answer.

Leo casually strolled up. “He was actually a biiiit bigger, but y’know, this is cool too” Mikey lightly jabbed Leo on his side, who just laughed and moved his eyes from Mikey to Raph “What about you Big and Red? How’s the weather up there? Man, I’ve been holding that one in since last night.” Raph just gave a nervous thumbs up, keeping his arms close to his chest.

Almost hyper aware of how small his brothers were, more than usual, Raph shifted slightly trying to find a good spot to sit down.

“Waiteaitwait! Don't sit yet! I still have to take measurements!” Raph immediately stopped, letting Donnie fly from head to toe, gingerly moving his arms for a measurement of his arm span. 

“Incredible it's perfectly proportioned and scaled to your exact measurements! Down to the tiniest of millimeters! But since I know only I will appreciate the exact measurements, your current height is 33 feet and 5 inches.” 

“Oh! That’s uh-”

“AND YOU CAN SPEAK THROUGH THE PROJECTION?!” Donnie flew up to Mystic Raph’s face and began poking around. “Hm, it's transparent but not with itself.” Donnie touched Mystic Raph’s face and was mostly staring through the projection rather than at it. Raph just let him poke and prod, rambling away, slowly getting used to the sensations. The numb, barely noticeable feelings slowly becoming clearer and with more weight.

“I can see through the face to the rooms and hallways but I can’t see the mask tails. If he were completely transparent (with the red and white outlines) I would be able to see everything…let’s see… hmm… guess there’s only one way to check if it's more mystic nonsense making you speak or some actual biology for once… Raph, open your mouth.” Aaaand any getting used to the new body was immediately brought to a screeching halt.

“WHAT?! I'm not gonna-” but Donnie already propped his tech bo in the projection’s mouth, keeping it jammed open. It felt insanely weird to have the mystic body restrained in some way while Raph’s physical body was just stuck with his mouth open. It felt even weirder when Donnie stuck half of his body inside and started to poke and prod around again, metal arms from his battle shell keeping the scientist in place.

Raph was deathly still, not even moving to grab his very smart but VERY dumb brother. He didn't know whether to feel glad his brother trusted him enough to get away with doing such a stupid action or terrified over the (extremely low) possibility of accidentally biting down. All he could do was give a pleading look down at Mikey and Leo for help. 

The slider took initiative after a bit, laughing as he made his way up to the floor near Raph's face. “Wow D, and here I thought you were the biggest germaphobe in the family~” 

Donnie didn't get out and instead just pointed a metal finger at Leo. “Jokes on you, I've already accounted for that!” The soft shell turned slightly, a mad scientist-like grin across his face. “While observing Mystic Raph’s face I noted that there was no moisture forming on eyes. None of the sheen and shine that comes with tear duct production. Eyes without said tear duct production need constant use of eye drops to remain functional and undamaged, so if the eyes can look and function like normal eyes while producing no moisture then it stands to reason that there is no saliva, blood or any other sticky gross disgustingness, and I was right!” 

Looking quite proud of himself, Donnie moved to stick his head back in when Mikey swung up and landed on Raph’s head, looking down at Donnie a bit sheepishly. 

“Uh, Donnie, maybe you should get out of there? Real Raph hasn't been able to close his mouth and it's probably not the most comfortable feeling.” That seemed to snap Donnie out of his smugness, looking down at Raph and then back at the tech bo.

“Ah, sorry. Let me just…” Donnie carefully pulled out the bo staff, and even though Raph flinched from the sudden shift, Donnie didn't, instead just retracting the spider arms, having the battle shell pull himself out and flying down to Mystic Raph’s middle “It didn't occur to me that you could feel or even have your physical body restrained whenever the mystic body was.”

“It's fine, just don't do it again, or since I know that you're probably gonna do it again anyway, just let me know BEFORE, please?” Raph adjusted his jaw for a moment before looking back down at Donnie who just nodded vigorously, “Guess that's what we're figuring out with this anyway, just how this” he gestured to himself, careful not to jostle Mikey too much, “whole situation works… did you find anything out doing that incredibly stupid thing at least?” 

“Ah yes! It seems that this form does have the same biology as yourself, a working setting of vocal cords being one of them. But a couple things before I go on. One, I grant you permission to sit down now if you wish, and Two,” Donnie’s eyes flickered to both the Mystic Raph’s face and then Real Raph’s “would it be easier if we talked closer to the projection’s head or your own”

“Oh, I mean, I guess I can see out of my real body if I try hard enough but it's easier to see out of the other body’s eyes.” Raph explained while carefully moving to a sitting down position, leaning comfortably on the skate ramp. 

Mikey kept his same spot on Mystic Raph’s head but went to lay down and Leo jumped from the spot near Raph’s head and sat on his shoulder, casually leaning against his neck. He whispered in Raph's ear so the box turtle couldn't hear “Told you that you were freaking out over nothing, you couldn't hurt us even if you wanted to. We honestly cause you more problems like this than you ever could.” Raph didn't give a verbal reply but Leo felt the shoulders stiffen and head gently lean on the slider just the tiniest amount. “Welp! Now that we’re all comfy n’stuff, we give you full permission to rant about the nerd stuff you found out, Don Tron.”

That got Donnie to perk right up and he spent the next half hour gushing about all the details ranging from how “the body less of a suit of armor shaped like Raph and more like an exact mirror image”, to how “since Mystic Raph can feel touch and experience other sensory input then his mystic power must be connected to his nervous system”. In short, this wasn’t a mystic power up of Raph, this was an extension of him, like an arm or a leg. Mystic Raph IS Raph and that thought made something warm and happy bubble in his chest. 

Past that, the other three weren’t thinking too hard about the specifics, but they were comfortable, and despite the early hours, after yesterday, still needed the rest, so they mostly just let Donnie info-dump the whole time (with a few light-hearted jabs thrown in here and there) about any minor or interesting fact the soft shell found out about Raph.

After a bit, Donnie’s pace began to slow and Raph immediately caught on, surprising himself when he offered his hands for the soft shell to land and relax on. Donnie insisted that he was still wide awake but took the offer anyway and promptly passed out a few minutes later. Raph gently moved Donnie towards Leo who removed the battle shell and placed it on the upper floor nearby. The three remaining brothers tried to fight off the lingering exhaustion of last night, “Guess Donnie and me weren't the only one to miss sleep…” but without any craziness to “ooo” and “aaa” at, sleep managed to claim the rest of Raph’s brothers one by one.

The four of them were all contently laying together now, Donnie carefully held close to his plastron, his hands providing the same amount of comfortable pressure as a weighted blanket. Leo squirmed and shifted around a lot but eventually settled for between the back of Raph’s neck and his shell, a spot that Leo’s back will definitely regret later. And Mikey migrated to the crook of Raph’s chin, finding security in the giant snapping turtle resting his head over Mikey as well as the gentle breathing beneath.

Raph on the other hand was more focused on the new, and admittedly amazing sensations that came with this new mystic form. Touch felt different but not in a foreign way anymore. It wasn’t a scary, numb tingle that was with touch but was more like a warm buzz. Almost as if the feeling his body was registering as touch was energy as opposed to wood or metal or brothers. Realizing this made Raph relax even more, a content and gentle rumble emanating from the giant body. He was about to fall asleep when his eyes snapped open. What was he doing, he can’t sleep like this, not with his brothers all over him, what if he rolls over in his sleep, what if he puts too much pressure on Donnie, or leans his head back too much and hurts Leo, or Mikey’s limbs get caught in his plastron, or-

A tiny, gentle hand gave a few pats to Raph’s neck. “It’s okay Raph, you’re not gonna hurt us, you can sleep if you want… unless you got something against afternoon naps…” Mikey turned over a bit and looked up at a slightly panicked Raph, who was trying his best to look back, “How can you say you're scared of your own strength when you’re more gentle now than you’ve ever been…” Recollection of a similar conversation popped into Raph’s head.

“Leo told you, huh?” The tiniest of whispers, barely audible unless you were right in front of Raph’s face, which Mikey thankfully was. The tiny turtle gave a huffed laugh.

“No one can keep secrets from my puppy eyes~” A few more pats to the neck, “but are you really okay with this? I don’t want to think that we forced you into testing this out…” Raph’s eyes widened.

“No, it’s fine, really, those two were right anyway, I needed to get used to it now before I might need to use it later. Just don’t tell them I said that, their egos have already skyrocketed the past couple days…” Raph saw Mikey give a fond smile, his eyes closing again, humming softly as he turned to get comfy again.

“Hmm, think about how cool it’ll be to use this during fights or brother ball or-”

“Heh yeah, okay okay, still gotta get used to this whole thing for now… go get some sleep, you all need it…” Mikey just snuggled up against Raph’s neck. His little brother wanted to fight sleep but was losing that battle.

“You… first…” Raph’s eyes softened as the box turtle fell back asleep. After a few moments of peaceful quiet, he curled up slightly against all his brothers and finally joined the rest, rumbling softly and contently the entire time.

[sprout-gt]

I heard that your ask box was open…

a size shifter whose default is tiny but constantly shifts up to be in regular human society, who also hangs out with a bunch of collage frat bros so he doesn’t know if they’ll accept him if they knew he was tiny. Just the everyday strain of sizing up, trying to make sure his height is consistent but failing a lot, excusing himself just so he can have a small break, and don’t get me started on the hi-jinx that happens when he’s tiny at a frat club and tries to hide or he’s tiny in his apartment and his friends get in somehow and they don’t notice him on the floor. And don’t get me started on when they find out!

This scenario has bounced in my head so much like

this is a really interesting scenario, thanks for submitting it!! (and also, holy shit, the potential?)

i imagine the physical and emotional strain of trying to shift constantly would be pretty taxing, especially if you have to focus on getting your height exactly the same every time. the spike in heartrate every time the topic of height gets brought up, and concentrating hard on not shrinking from the nerves.

the shifter really likes his friends and loves hanging out with them, he just can't predict their reaction. every time he ducks away to shift into a more comfortable height in some tucked away in some secluded corner he can feel the pressure weighing down on him.

the shifter would probably be in a perpetual state of anxiety that any of his friends would call him out on his weird behavior at any time, because he doesn't even know how he would respond.

but i'm imagining when the shoe finally does drop, it's completely unexpected. maybe the shifter is hiding out in an unoccupied room, half his height just to give his mind some rest. and of course this is the one time, the one time, he neglects to check that the door is locked behind him.

one of his closest friends barges in excitedly, clearly looking for him, eyes immedietly locking in on his friend who not three minutes ago was eye level with him. the shifter immedietly snaps up to his reduced height. He's completely panic stricken, mind buzzing with anxiety and at a loss for what to do next.

his friend closes the door quickly behind him, locks it with a soft click, and slides his back against the door till he's sitting, equally unable to think of what to say. now, they both realize, they're at eye level again.

i imagine that the shifter confides in his friend about his size-shiftiness, and feels the weight that has been slowly crescendoing within him finally disperse. they have a really honest conversation, and his friend promises him he won't tell a soul, but he will be there if he needs him.

now, when the shifter is hanging out with his friends, he feels much calmer knowing that when the conversation moves to height, he has someone who will immedietly change the topic. if the friend notices him go a little quiet, clearly focusing on maintaining his height, he'll pull him aside so he can have a little break- while having someone to talk to.

there are a million different directions this can go, what a tasty idea.

[miniscule-meow]

Isabell and the Lads (12)

Writing Masterpost First Part | Last Part | Next Part Word Count: ~2.1k Warnings: Angst, blood mention, injury mention, nightmares, talk of dehumanization

---

Isabell lays down on the tiny couch, letting herself sink into the cushions. Just for a moment, she thinks,, resting her head on the plush pillow and hugging her arms around herself. I can be cozy for a little while. She watches the movie play with bleary eyes, and her blinks begin to grow longer and longer.

She’s not going to fall asleep here.

She couldn’t possibly let herself fall asleep here.

Not in the middle of a gigantic room, displayed in the center of a coffee table with two humans lingering nearby. That’s not going to happen. No chance.

She’s just going to rest her eyes for one second.

---

She floats in an endless expanse of nothing. Well, no, she’s not floating. She’s still solidly grounded, her leg anchors her to this table, taking away all her autonomy, her ability to move, to run, to escape. From her grounded position, the ‘endless expanse of nothing’ extends out all around her. The dark open space seems to stretch on forever. This only punctuates the fact that she is entirely other. Ever since she was caught- rescued? – Ever since she’s been out here in the open, with the humans, fully aware of her, she has been painfully, unavoidably aware that she does not belong in this world. Even with the best intentions at the heart of the humans around her, this world was simply not made for her. At best all she could ever hope to be is insignificant. A mild nuisance for anyone kind enough to pity her, perhaps. Of course, she is already well acquainted with what ‘at worst’ looks like for someone of her kind. It’s cages, it’s dehumanization, it’s the act of endlessly being observed. Placed in a plastic box, on a shelf, to be a curiosity for all those who pass by.

She briefly registers Zeke’s form kneeling over her. She manages to blink up at him with hazy eyes, not entirely convinced that she’s not just dreaming this. He seems to move in slow motion as he reaches forward to drape a blanket over her.

Shards of thoughts float to the forefront of her mind as she shifts to pull the blanket close around her.

Warm.

Soft.

Smells nice.

Her mind dances on the blade’s edge of consciousness. Dipping into the void of sleep, and yet remaining vaguely aware of the waking world around her, that horrible, never-ending openness. The vulnerability of her position never leaves the back of her mind. Somewhere inside her there should be instincts, alarms going off. There should be some semblance of self-preservation to pump her with more adrenaline, to keep her going, to push her just a little further. There should be. But it would seem as though her supply has run dry, and then some. Her body aches, her emotions are sapped, she has to face it, she’s already grasping at straws here. She’s already pushed her body well beyond the point of exhaustion. The consequence of that is that now, her body has relinquished the reigns from the part of her brain that holds her rational thought, the part of her that is responsible for keeping her safe, out of the hands of humans. Instead, the control is finally given over to sleep. Once sleep claims her, it digs its claws in deep.

And it is not kind when it lets her go.

Isabell wakes with a start, some unknowable amount of time later. In that split second before her mind catches up to her, a heavy fear pounces on her.

Where am I?

The room is dark. It’s massive. It’s a space for humans, and she’s in the open.

No, no, no.

As soon as she attempts to move, her whole body is wracked with pain. Her leg throbs, her ribs ache. There’s something tangled around her, ensnaring her.

Stuck. Trapped. Captured.

Despite great protest from every inch of her, she sits up. If she had just one second to breathe and take in her surroundings with a clear mind, she maybe could calm herself down. She could assure herself that she is safe.

But she doesn’t get that luxury. Out of the corner of her eye an impossibly large shadow rises over her. A human. Its eyes glint in the darkness and she knows that it is focused right on her.

She’s hurt, she’s vulnerable, out in the open, and she’s been spotted.  She does the only thing that sounds rational to her, she panics.

Isabell shoots to her feet, whirling around to face her captor. That’s her intention at least, unfortunately, she’s still tangled in the blanket. When she goes to correct herself, she places too much weight on her wounded leg. Her leg is of course tired of being pushed beyond its capabilities. Her leg is of course tired of her increasingly stubborn refusal of rest. So, her leg makes its own executive decision in that moment. It buckles underneath her weight, making her cry out with the shock of pain it delivers. Her leg demands rest and rest it will get. Even now, even one arm’s length away from the giant looming above her.

She crumples to the ground in a tangled heap, betrayed by her own body. The shadowy monstrosity leans forward, closing the distance between them. Leg or no leg, she’s not getting swept up into a massive hand today. She scrambles, kicking herself free from the blanket, and shoving herself backwards. She foolishly attempts to secure her footing once more. The effort is fruitless, and painful. Her leg simply refuses to cooperate.

“Hey,” the giant’s voice rumbling through her does little to calm her nerves.

She continues attempting to abscond. Her mind is focused on creating any kind of distance between herself and the looming creature. So focused in fact that she doesn’t see that she’s running out of table, until she’s already falling. She lets out a sharp yelp as she’s pulled over the edge. The human curses and instantly there’s a cacophony of sound and movement. The human lurches forward, much faster than a being that large should reasonably be able to move. One massive hand slaps down against the face of the table, the other swoops in beneath her. She lands flat against the center of his palm, knocking the wind out of her, but leaving her otherwise unharmed. Suddenly, she feels as if she’s falling in the opposite direction as she’s yanked through the air, entirely out of her control. His warm, leathery fingers curl around her securely. She can’t possibly just sit here and wait for him to squeeze the life out of her, she needs to act, now.

She has no weapon, she can’t escape. She twists in his grasp and sinks her teeth into the nearest digit until a hot metallic taste filters into her mouth.

The giant swears again, jerking his hand away sending her tumbling into his other hand. Before she can even think about defending herself, the human is ready for her. He clamps his massive thumb down across her middle, pinning her back against his fingers. The side of his thumb digs firmly into her bruised ribs. She sucks in a sharp, pained breath. He stands to his full height and strides across the room.

Isabell’s breathing staggers, her mind flooding with all of the gruesome possibilities of what’s yet to come.

“N-no!” She cries out, her voice breaking with panic, “I-I’m sorry. I’ll be good! I’ll be good, I swear!” She doesn’t want to go in a jar, she doesn’t want to be stuffed in the back of a dark closet without food or water or light for days on end. She doesn’t want to be-

A light clicks on, jerking her fully into the reality of the waking world.

“Stop,” Zeke’s voice is firm. He gazes down at her with wild eyes, his hair tousled, one hand clutched close to his chest.

All at once she realizes where she is, and against all odds, part of her stills at this revelation.

Then all at once she realizes what trouble she caused, and she can feel panic and dread welling up inside her chest all over again.

“I- Zeke, I’m –” she begins stammering out an apology.

“No,” his tone is clipped, “stop.”

Oh, he’s mad. He’s got to be. What is he going to do to her? He’s going to retaliate, humans always do. They only have so much patience, and she bit him. She’s displeased him so many times in the last two days or however long it’s Been. He’s got to be at the end of his rope with her.

He sets his hand down on the coffee table. Releasing his thumb from across her midsection, he tilts his hand so she gently slides off.

“Just… breathe,” he says rising and extending a hand to give her a gesture that very clearly says ‘stay there.’ With that, he walks off down the hall.

She blinks, piecing together the whirlwind she just went on, separating fact from fiction.

Isabell pulls herself onto the couch, gathering her discarded blanket. This doesn’t look like it belongs with the sets of doll clothes and furniture. Zeke must have made this, she realizes. He made me a blanket, and I bit him. A weird sense of guilt burns at the edge of her consciousness. She’s felt a lot of things concerning humans, but guilt was never one of those feelings.

Zeke comes back into the room after clattering around in the kitchen for a moment. When he returns he’s carrying a few things, but she can’t get a good look at what he has. He kneels down beside the coffee table.

“Drink this,” he says, setting a tiny cup down. The bright pink vessel is only slightly oversized for her. They must have gotten that today with all of the doll stuff.

She hesitates for a moment, looking at the cup placed in front of her with a dull suspicion.

“It’s just water,” his tone is flat, impatient. Right, of course, nothing gets past him. Great, now she’s bitten him, and she’s subtly accused him of trying to poison her.

“Sorry,” she obediently drinks the water, not wanting to upset him any more than she already has.

“Do you want to splash some water on your face?” He asks, setting down a small dish. As he reaches forward, she catches that his finger has a small Band-Aid on it now. She tears her eyes away from his hand, feeling that weird sensation of guilt again. She nods numbly and scrubs her face with the cool water placed before her.

“Better?” He asks after she’s dried her face off with a scrap of washcloth. She doesn’t trust her voice, so she just nods. “Here. Try to eat something.” The snack Marcus said he was going to make was resting on a plate close by, she didn’t even notice it before. Zeke slides it over to her. There’s a variety of things on the plate, some peanut butter, a cracker broken up into manageable pieces for her, some cheese, and some small bits of fruit. With a trembling hand, she assembles herself a small snack and nibbles on it cautiously.

Seemingly satisfied, Zeke heaves a long sigh, scrubbing a hand over his eyes. He leans his elbow against the table, resting his head on his hand. Her eyes are drawn back to the scattered pictures decorating his arms, his tattoos he called them. Humans are so strange, but she thinks she likes his tattoos. In a strange way, they make him easier to look at. Like, she can focus on this one small part of him, without having to confront the entirety of him.

“I, um, I didn’t know where I was,” she explains sheepishly to the picture of a broken wishbone placed near the middle of his forearm. “I’m, um, I’m fine now,” she adds, adjusting the blanket around her shoulders. This isn’t exactly true, she’s jittery, and she hurts everywhere, but the human doesn’t exactly need to know all that. It’s unclear whether or not he buys it or not, but he nods anyway.

“I’m sorry for startling you so badly,” he says quietly.

“It’s okay. Um, thank you for not letting me fall… I’m… sorry that I bit you.” Silence hangs between them. “A-are you… are you going to put me back, um, back in the box?” She stammers the question out, wincing at how small she sounds.

“No. Isabell, of course not,” he says, his voice softening.

[michealdontleavemeher3]

Small steps of trust (part 2)

Hii! I honestly didn't expect people to want a part two but here we go❤️

Summary: sienna's ankle isn't getting better, all out of options she has to ask the human 'david' for help, she doesn't like it but she doesn't have a choice

Sienna had stayed hidden in her small home within the walls for what felt like an eternity, her world shrinking with each passing day. The pain in her ankle grew sharper, deeper, settling into a constant, agonizing throb that refused to let her forget it was there. She tried to push it out of her mind, telling herself that it would heal on its own, but the truth was becoming impossible to ignore. She needed help.

Her pride and fear rebelled against the thought, but her body betrayed her. She was starving, weak, and exhausted. Each attempt to take even a few steps sent shooting pains up her leg. Her heart raced with dread, but with no other choice left, she finally decided to seek him out. David—the human.

Even as she walked through the walls, her every step was filled with hesitation. She’d never had to trust anyone before, and she didn’t want to start now, especially not with him. She couldn’t shake the memories of what humans had done, couldn’t forget the pain and terror they had brought into her life. But something about David had felt different—his patience, his kindness, his willingness to give her space. It was enough to keep her from running, enough to make her think, just maybe, she could ask him.

Her heart pounded as she slipped through the small opening into the kitchen, her breath shallow and trembling. She could hear him moving around, humming softly to himself, a sound she’d never thought could feel so… gentle. She took a step forward, then another, her hands shaking, her voice caught in her throat.

Finally, she forced herself to speak. “D-David…” she whispered, her voice barely more than a breath.

He turned at once, and she saw his eyes soften with surprise. But he didn’t rush toward her, didn’t make any sudden movements. He simply looked at her with that same calm, steady gaze.

“You’re here.” he said softly, He stayed where he was, his body relaxed, waiting.

Sienna swallowed hard, barely managing to meet his gaze. “I… I need help,” she stammered, the words scraping against the walls she’d built around herself. She had never asked for help before, not like this, and her throat tightened with shame and fear.

David’s expression softened even more, and he nodded gently. “Of course. Whatever you need.”

“My ankle…” she forced the words out, fighting against the urge to shrink back. “It… it hasn’t gotten better.”

Concern flashed in David’s eyes, and he took a careful step forward. “May I look at it?” he asked, his voice gentle, as if he were talking to a frightened animal. “I’ll be careful.”

Sienna’s body went tense. Every muscle screamed at her to pull away, to hide, to protect herself. She could feel the old fears rising up, memories clawing at her—humans with hands that hurt, with eyes that saw her as nothing more than something to be controlled, broken. But David just waited, his face open and kind, his hands relaxed at his sides. She could leave if she wanted to; he wouldn’t stop her. She took a shaky breath, nodding ever so slightly.

David knelt down to her level, moving slowly, as if any sudden motion would send her running. She watched him carefully, her fingers curling tightly into her palms. He reached out a hand, hesitating just before he touched her ankle.

“Just let me know if it hurts, okay?” His voice was soft, steady, soothing.

Sienna nodded again, her heart pounding as his fingers gently pressed around the swollen area. She flinched, her instincts screaming at her to run, but the pain in her ankle held her in place. David’s touch was light, careful, and his eyes remained focused on her, his expression filled with concern, not cruelty.

“It looks like a pretty bad sprain,” he murmured, his tone thoughtful. “You’re going to need to rest it for a while, but I can help make it more comfortable.” He looked up, meeting her gaze with a soft, encouraging smile. “Would that be okay?”

Sienna hesitated, the question almost feeling like a trap. No one had ever asked her permission before, not like this. But something about the way he looked at her, the way he waited for her answer, made her feel a little braver. She gave the tiniest nod, her fingers still trembling.

David moved to the counter and pulled out a small bandage, something she’d seen him use before on his own scrapes. He came back, crouching down beside her with the same gentle patience. “I’m going to wrap it to keep it stable. I’ll be as gentle as I can.”

He began to wrap her ankle, his hands steady and soft. Sienna watched him, her breath coming in shallow, uneven gasps. Every touch, every movement felt like a risk, like a step closer to something she didn’t understand, something that terrified her. But David never looked away, his gaze calm and reassuring, his hands never pressing too hard, always careful, always gentle.

As David gently wrapped her ankle he asked her a surprising question "what's your name" sienna was startled by this question but reluctantly answered "s-sienna" David hums to himself and softly says "that's a very pretty name". After that small conversation they both sat in a comfortable silence, sienna was still a bit stiff and anxious because David was so close to her

David noticed this discomfort and said “You’re doing great,” as he secured the bandage. “It’ll hurt less now, and with a little rest, it should heal soon.”

Sienna felt her chest tighten, her throat closing up as a strange, unfamiliar warmth spread through her. No one had ever treated her like this, like she mattered. Like her pain mattered. She couldn’t find the words to thank him, couldn’t find a way to tell him what this meant. She just nodded, swallowing hard.

David finished and sat back, still keeping his distance, still respecting her boundaries. “If you need anything else, anything at all, you can come to me,” he said softly. “I know you don’t trust me yet… but I’ll be here whenever you’re ready.”

His words hung in the air, filling the silence with a weight that she didn’t quite understand. The kindness in his voice, the gentleness of his actions—it didn’t make sense to her. Humans weren’t supposed to be like this. They weren’t supposed to care.

Sienna looked away, feeling a surge of confusion and vulnerability rise up inside her. She didn’t know what to do with these feelings, didn’t know how to handle the flicker of hope that had begun to spark within her. All she knew was that she wasn’t ready to trust him, not fully. But maybe, just maybe, she could start to believe that he wasn’t like the others.

As she carefully stood, testing her weight on her bandaged ankle, she was surprised to find the pain already a bit more bearable. David watched her, his expression warm and encouraging, his gaze steady as he offered her a small, reassuring smile.

“You’re stronger than you know, Sienna,” he said softly, and the words echoed through her, filling the hollow space left by years of fear and loneliness.

She didn’t answer. She didn’t know how. But for the first time in as long as she could remember, she didn’t feel completely alone. And as she turned to limp back into the safety of her walls, she found herself glancing back at him, just once, holding onto the tiniest sliver of faith that maybe—just maybe—she didn’t have to face everything by herself anymore.

[gtbutterfly]

Quincy and the forest giant

(this was written before I came up with the title)

I'm gonna try coming up with a real name for this story later. Anyways, I hope you enjoy it, criticism is appreciated.

Here's the previous part,

CW: angst, threats, mild squeezing,

--------------------------------------------------------------

It was twenty or thirty minutes later. Ella moved me in front of the window to see the rain. It was pouring outside, the water turned the dirt to mud and left splashes in the lake. The wind howled through the branches and blew sticks and what was left of the leaves around with the water. Lightning would flash every so often with the roar of thunder, which didn’t seem too loud given the footsteps of the giant that had taken me. I turned towards her to ask something,

“I’m…really stuck here until tomorrow?”

“I’m not any more happy about it than you are, kid,” the giant said, leaning on the window still. “They can’t control the weather, so you’re just gonna have to wait it out.”

“Um…what will happen until then?” I asked,

“You just, stay here I guess,” Ella said, before sighing. It was awkward being alone with her. She clearly didn’t want anything to do with me, and I was too scared of her to try making conversation. So we just sat around in silence. I guess eventually she got fed up with it because at one point she tried talking to me.

“So…what were you doing when you saw me?” ‘Ella asked,

“Uh, why do you ask?” I said,

“Just wondering. Y’know, kids like you shouldn’t really be up that late,” Ella said,

“um…I was star gazing…I have trouble sleeping sometimes…” I said, looking down,

“Doesn’t your town have a curfew or something?” The giant asked,

“I was doing it from out a window…” I said, before realizing something, “How do you know about the town's curfew?” Ella was silent for a moment. She looked almost embarrassed at what she just said, how she revealed something she wasn’t supposed to. Then she sighed.

“You know what I said about asking those kinds of questions,” Ella said. There was a pit in my stomach as soon as she said that. I backed away from her, remembering the threat from earlier.

“I…I’m sorry, I didn’t….I don’t……please, I…”

“It’s fine, it’s fine, you not in trouble this time,” Ella said, “it's my fault for bringing that up in the first place.” she sighed again. “All I’ll let you know is that they give me news about what happens in that little town of yours. That's all I’m telling you about my job or why I’m here, nothing else. You already know too much, so don’t ask.”

“Um….so…..what can I ask about?” I asked,

“Anything that isn’t about what I am, or who I work for, or what I do, or why I’m here,” Ella said, “and nothing annoying,”

“Um…so….what do you…” I think about how to phrase this sentence for a moment, “what do you do apart from work? Like…to pass the time?”

“Books, radio, playing cards, going on walks…” the giant answered.

“Um….were you…on a walk last night?” I asked,

“No, I was….” Ella sighed, “that's not important,”

“Ok…” I nodded. Whatever she was doing last night must have had something to do with her job, which she doesn’t want me to know anything about. I decided to change the topic,

“So…I'm guessing you don’t have any…technology…here…”

“It would just break here, anyways,” Ella said,

“...break?” I asked. Ella was silent for a moment again. I heard her cursing to herself before looking back at me.

“Do you know what an EMP is?” she asked,

“...no?” I said.

“Good.” Ella turned away from me with her arms crossed. I looked up at her. She looked stern and closed off. The room went back to silence, as more rain hit the windows and thunder roared outside. The lights would dim and brighten occasionally from the weather. I swallowed my spit and spoke again.

“Is this place…usually like this?” I asked,

“What are you talking about?” Ella said,

“...quiet……”

“Well, it would be, if you weren’t here,” the giant looked down at me.

“Don’t you ever get….bored? Um….lonley?” I asked,

“I’m fine alone,” Ella said. “And my job keeps me from being bored,”

“....um…” I paused for a moment, “...sorry, it’s kinda hard…not to ask about your job…”

“Well maybe just don’t ask about anything,” She said,

“....do you just….live here alone?” I asked,

“Alright, I’m sick of this,” Ella said, grabbing me off of the window sill. I nearly fell as she readjusted her grip around me. She carried me back to where the couch was, but kept me in her hands as she sternly stared down at me with her massive eyes.

“Now I’m going to ask you some questions, how does that sound?” She asked.

“I…uh,” I could hardly get my words out. Her thumb was wrapped around my arms, and her other hand had a tight grip on my legs, preventing me from kicking or squirming.

“So, you're an orphan, right? How’d your parents die?” She asked, clearly just trying to be insensitive towards me on purpose.

“Uh, they went missing in this forest…when I was a baby….” I said, not wanting her anymore angry at me anymore.

“Interesting, do you have a last name, Quincy?”

“Um, I think they said…it was Mora…” I said, “Q-Quincey Mora,”

“Any idea what happened to your parents when they went missing?”

“N-no…no one does…” I said,

“Really? No idea?” She said as if being rhetorical, “Do you think something like that could happen to you? Like, you could just go missing, and never be found, and no one would know what happened to you?

“Um…maybe?” I answered, my heart now racing. She squeezed her hand around me more,

“Would you want that to happen to you?” she asked, bringing me closer to her face,

“N-no ma’am,” I said, my head spiraling in fear. “Did….are you…what made those people go missing?” she squeezed me tighter for my question. I let out a small yelp of pain.

“Stop asking things, Quincy. You know I can make you regret it very easily,” Ella said, still stern, glaring down at me almost with disgust. “Don’t make things worse for yourself. Just stay quiet, and stop asking questions, kid. If you do, things will be worse for you. Much worse. Understand?”

She said that last part with such malice. The sound buzzed through my throat and my lungs as she spoke just feet away from me. I hesitated to speak.

“i…I…but…”

“Do you understand?” she repeated herself, even louder and more harshly than before. Her voice caused my heart to drop. She squeezed me harder, to the point where it actually started to hurt. My eyes widened in fear and pain.

“OK! OK, I’M SORRY! PLEASE LET GO OF ME, PLEASE!” I yelled.

“Alright then,” the giant said, dropping me out of her hands. I landed on my arm, the couch barely cushioning my fall. I immediately ran and hid behind a pillow on the side of the bench. I lost control of myself, I started crying and holding my body, shaking in fear of the giant looming over the large pillow I was hiding under.

“Geez, overreacting much?” Ella said before she heard me weeping. Wait, are you…crying?” She stood up from the couch and got on her knees, looking at me in between the pillow and the side of the couch it was leaning against. I backed away from her, still crying. She started to look guilty,

“Hey, I didn’t mean to make you that upset, I just..” Ella paused for a moment, while I kept crying, “I wasn’t acually going to hurt you or anything like that, I just..I was fibbing, I just didn’t want you to ask me those things. Just, come on out of there, ok?”

The giant reached towards me. I backed against the back of the couch and hugged my legs while covering my face with them. She looked even more sympathetic than before.

“Hey, I..I’m being honest, I don’t want to hurt you, really. You’re just…” she paused for a moment like she just realized something. “You're just a kid.”

I kept crying. She sighed and looked down, before getting up and walking away from the couch, leaving me to cry alone.

[pool-floatie]

Tall Tales: part 7

lets goooo 💯💯🔥

Ok I love this cause its raining rn and I was writing a scene where its raining and its night and now IRL its r a i n i n g and its n i g h t it's like im a manifestation wizard you should all cower, oh by the way heres the rest of that fic i promised ya (I didnt promise you shit, this exists only because i am a merciful and kind God.)

Also lets play a little game of spot the metaphor/ hidden message!! Its pretty obvious if you know anything about literature !! Good luck!!

Avril woke to the surrounding warmth of the giants hand, giving them blissful comfort from the chill of their new surroundings. They wriggled around to get a better look. Kneeling, they peeked out of the large hand; A cave big enough to hold the giant at full height sheltered the pair from the slowing patter of rain outside, a shallow breeze blew through the large entrance, keeping the cave almost as cold as the outside. At least it was a bit less wet, they thought.

Avril felt a small twitch of Jaces' fingers; apparently, their stirring had awoken him.

They sunk down lower, making sure they wouldn't be knocked off if the giant made any sudden movements.

Big, drowsy, half lidded eyes blinked open, slowly landing on the little thing in Jaces palm.

Avril gave a tentative wave. Jace let out a small puff of air from his nose, smirking.

As cute as they were when asleep, he loved the humans shyness, though he was sure that eventally he would get them to come out of their shell, he had seen their spunk before, a real person behind the mask of fear.

"Mornin' " he sighed, stretching his free limbs out.

" .. Hi.." Av uttered quietly

Jace sat up slowly, minding the little being he held.

He sat up against the cave wall and admired his tiny companion. They were wonderful, short, blonde, ruffled hair framed their face and brown doe eyes looked up at him adorably.

" you sleep well, av ?" he asked, though he wanted to ask a more open question, it seemed the simple 'yes/no' questions were easier for them, baby steps.

" Mhmm" they replied

" Great " he sighed

Loking out of the cave jace saw that the rain had nearly stopped.

" hey, not sure if your too much of a morning person but, the suns about to rise... Did you wanna come watch?"

They thought for a moment, sure not being awake at the literal crack of dawn would be nice but...

" .. Yeah, sure"

Jace beamed

"Sweet. And, hey... I, I know I was, absolutely awful to you... Before.. I just, i guess I got carried away but I hurt you, I didnt even realise cause' ive never actually met a human" he rambled

" but I know that's not an excuse for hurting you and making you scared and being a complete dickbag, so, Avril, im Sorry. Im sorry for hurting you and im sorry that I teased you and-"

He was scilenced by a touch on his thumb.

" ... Jace, its - well its not ok, but, , well- thank you."

He hadnt even realised he was crying.

Jace smiled through teary eyes.

"No, thank /you/ for... Well for a second chance." he said

Av paused for a moment.

" yeah,,, a second chance" they said

Jaces smile grew and he wanted to hug the human through any means, but he reisisted knowing it would probably freak them out.

"Oh hey, it, uh, stopped raining..." avril said, breaking the scilence.

Stepping towards the entrance of the cave the two saw the sun begin its ascent into the new sky, lighting up the previously dreary dwelling to reveal a new side to it.

Outside the cave the rain left dewdrops on everything, turning the scene into a shimmering chandelier. It hilighted the mossy green rocks, cracked from age that sat just outside the cave, beyond lie a beautiful willow tree that framed the caves entrance. Rain dripped from its leaves and tapped a slow rythm on the ground

Pip, pip, pip.

A small breeze blew past, carrying the blooming scent of nature and rusting the willows leaves.

The birdsong slowly began to crescendo, announcing a new day to the rest of the forest and all who inhabited it.

Jace briefly looked away to see avrils reaction, they were enthralled, wide eyes taking in every gorgeous detail as they stood leaning off the side of Jaces' cupped hand trying to take in as much as they could.

" its beautiful..." they said, unable to look away lest they miss a single second of the mornings beauty.

"Amazing what nature does, you cant find this stuff anywhere else." Jace replied, equally enthralled.

" Thank you" avril said

" thank you? For what?"

Av thought for a moment.

" just.... This."

Jace smiled, he knew what they meant.

" yeah, of course."

The sun rose higher as the wind slowed and the pair continued admiring the stunning morning.

" hey, seems pretty clear now, you want to head back ?" jace asked

" yeah, sounds good" av said, plopping down into the massive plam and resting their arms on the cupped edges.

Jace began the trek back, following the river upstream.

"Hey, humans eat fish, right?" he questioned

"Uh yeah, what, you got a fishing pole my size?" av joked

"oh, much better" he hinted

Av turned and quirked a brow at the giant.

" what?" he said innocently

Av rolled their eyes, whatever awaited them would surely be an adventure.

[munchkin1156]

Horror and Help

So, want to know what happens when I get g/t angst brainrot? Read under the cut. Warning, this chapter is mostly a panic attack, so please don't read if it makes you uncomfortable. Also contains mildly graphic death and blood, so sorry about that aswell. Enjoy!

Crack. Tailbiter watches in horror as her father's body is crushed between the humans fingers. If she squints, she can see his eyes roll back, but only for a moment as the hand envelopes his head too. Crunch. Blood leaks through the clenched fist, and she can only watch as the unhinged grin appears on the humans face as they open their palm. The borrower then looks away, she doesn't want to, she can't want to see what remained of him. She turns, ears flat against her head, tail poofed up, and ran.

Get to the walls walls bad human knows run get away get out of HERE-

Her thoughts screamed and she obeyed. It was snowing outside, but she didn't notice. Tears blurred her vision and the memory of her father dying to that- that monster played on repeat. The next few-? Minutes? Hours? Went by in a daze, she ran and ran, until all that was powering her was her adrenaline and then on she ran still when it had stopped.

She only slowed down once she couldn't run. Her breath was fast, and her fingers numb, and only then did Tailbiter realise exactly where she was. In a human street, alone, without supplies, and with snow coming in quickly, so quickly that she was soon half buried.

With all hope lost, the borrower curled in on herself. She cried silently on the ground as the snow fell around her, covering her entirely. Nothing mattered anymore. Everything was all a waste. The human had found them, and- and it was all her fault.

. . .

"Oh my god it's cold." Jader shivered as he walked through the snow. The pest control member sighed. He never liked his job, exterminating small creatures always made him feel guilty. But the pay was good, and he didn't want to starve. Something glinted in the corner of his eye, and he turned to look. Something in the snow? He knelt down to look. He brushed snow off it and it was...

"What?"

His first thought was a mouse. It was the same size as one, but... "That's not a mouse!? It can't be..." He muttered to himself. Mice didn't have long tails, or that kind of ears, and most importantly, mice didn't have clothes and humane features. They especially didn't wear gold necklaces. The... Tiny person, was freezing. It shivered, and was cold to the touch. Out of its mouth, blood trickled, and it's armed seemed twisted painfully. It seemed to have been crying. He would have to take it home, to help it. Jader was certain that he would help it no matter what, or at least try. He had to...

[kendsleyauthor]

Prompt 13 for Xander and Grayson or Micah and Everly? 👀✨

Makeshift Medic

Print/trinket universe

~1900 words

Warning: Blood

Summary: When Xander stumbles in, drunk and bleeding, Grayson takes it upon himself to treat his wound properly. (Takes place sometime between Teddy Bear and Cozy Up.)

Thank you for the prompt!! This one made my heart sing 🥰

@marydublinauthor 🌸

If Xander didn’t make it back to his room on the bus by 4 AM, that typically meant he didn’t plan on sleeping that night. It was nearly dawn, and Grayson hadn’t gotten a wink of sleep.

It wasn’t that he was worried about what Xander was doing—he was a rockstar on tour, what could anyone expect? No, Grayson’s uneasiness came from having the room to himself. Intimidating as Xander’s presence could be, having him around was a safeguard.

A drunken roadie could stumble into the room to harass him. Or maybe a rabid fan looking for Micah. 

Laying back on the pillow, Grayson kneaded his temples. 

He was being paranoid. There was twenty-four-hour security keeping an eye on the troop of tour vehicles. But would anyone bother to intervene if it was a print who was in the danger?

The door burst open. A figure stumbled into the dark room.

Sleep-deprived and wired as he was, Grayson shouted in alarm and scrambled to the corner of his pillow. Then he froze up, his heavy breathing beginning to calm when he recognized Xander’s silhouette. 

“Lights… on,” Xander mumbled. When nothing happened, he huffed. “Lights on,” he said louder.

Grayson flinched both from the sound of his voice and the light that flooded that room. He gaped when his vision cleared.

One, Xander was clearly hammered.

Two, his hand was bleeding.

“Are you okay?” Grayson jolted to hands and knees, leaning forward.

Xander barely looked at him. He muttered something incoherent and sank down on the floor beside the bed. For a second, Grayson thought he was passing out right there, until he heard Xander digging around through one of his bags.

When he stood again, he held a med pack—one that had clearly been swiped from the tour physician. 

“Do, um… Do you get hurt often enough to keep that in reach?” Grayson asked.

Again, Xander didn’t answer. He sat on the edge of the bed and slumped over, clumsily opening the pack. 

For all of his hyper-intense focus while sober, his inebriated self could only focus on one thing at a time—if even that. Or, he was just being an asshole and purposely ignoring Grayson’s concern.

“Don’t tell me you got mugged?” Grayson tried again.

Finally, Xander snapped his head around to see over his shoulder. He stared at Grayson like he was crazy. “You think I’d lose a fight?”

The intensity of his glare almost sent Grayson fleeing back to the corner of the bed. He raised his hands in peace. “Hey, for all I know, they’re laying a blood-soaked heap outside.”

Xander narrowed his eyes like he couldn’t be sure whether to take it as a compliment or not. He snorted and went back to rifling through the medical supplies. “I tripped, okay? Scraped myself on gravel or glass or something.”

“Two are two very different things. Maybe you should go to—”

“I’m not knocking on the doctor’s door like this. She’s already been on my case about drinking. Don’t wanna deal with that.”

The finality of his tone made Grayson shut up for a few moments. He watched as Xander haphazardly selected what he was going to use to fix himself. Unfortunately, that selection only amounted to a roll of bandages to wrap the wound.

“You can’t do that!” Grayson blurted before he could stop himself.

Once again, Xander looked over his shoulder. That glare, unfocused or not, towered over Grayson at a building’s height. Neither of them moved for several seconds, locked in a silent staring contest that Grayson finally forced himself to break. 

“You… you can’t,” he insisted. “You can’t just cover it. You’ve got to disinfect it.”

“I can take care of myself.” The defensiveness in his tone bit hard.

Intimidation rolled through Grayson like a thunderstorm as Xander continued to study him, daring him to continue the argument. But the longer Grayson looked, the more he could see embarrassment lining his narrowed eyes and pout. It was far more than Xander gave away when sober. 

“If that gets infected, there’s no way you’re playing for a while,” Grayson said, injecting some semblance of authority into his tone. “So, listen to me.”

Another beat of silence. Grayson’s confidence wavered. For all he knew, pushing Xander over the edge would result in a broken limb or two. 

At last, Xander pursed his lips and shoved the box in Grayson’s direction. He stared down at the bedsheets with insecurity that Grayson didn’t think possible from him.

Grayson slowly slid off the pillow and inched toward the drunken giant. It could have been some power move trap—lure Grayson close and hurt him just for the fun of it. But Xander didn’t appear to have the wherewithal or spitefulness to pull that off. 

Although every self-preservation instinct told him to keep his eyes on the massively potential threat, Grayson tore his eyes away to look through the box. He grabbed a bottle of salve by the cap and heaved it out. It was longer than Grayson’s arm, and he’d never had access to such high-end medical supplies. He’d only heard that it worked wonders.

Clutching the bottle to his chest, Grayson walked closer to the edge of the bed, right beside where Xander was sitting.

“Lay your hand out,” Grayson said, calmly as he could manage.

Xander obeyed after a heavy sigh. The gash was deep, but thankfully it didn’t look like he needed stitches. Blood continued to trickle out and pool in his palm, threatening to stain the bed. 

Grayson uncapped the bottle. “You need to soak up the blood first.”

“Ugh.” 

With some more cajoling, Xander did as he was told. He used some of the gauze to gracelessly mop up his palm. He even managed to use an alcohol whip on the cut without being a baby about it.

“Good,” Grayson said.

“Don’t talk to me like I’m five,” Xander muttered.

“Then don’t whine like you’re five.”

When Grayson peeked up to see if that would ignite some anger, he noticed the other side of Xander’s face has a smear of red across it. There didn’t appear to be another cut—maybe he had thoughtlessly brushed his hand over his cheek. Whatever the case, the sight of it didn’t do much to make Xander appear harmless at the moment.

Let’s get this over with.

Taking a dollop of the salve into his hand, Grayson leaned over Xander’s palm to apply it to the wound. The moment he made contact, however, Xander seemed to forget what his intentions were. Fingers curling reflexively, Xander snapped his hand away and stared at Grayson with wide eyes.

“H-hey,” Grayson said, swallowing hard. One of those fingers had nearly given him an uppercut to the jaw. “I need to touch you. Please. I just want to help.”

“Why?” Xander snapped.

“B-because, I mean,” Grayson sputtered. “You’re bleeding. People hurt when they bleed. You’re hurt. It hurts, doesn’t it?”

That didn’t quite seem to satisfy Xander’s demand, judging by his deepened frown. 

Grayson returned that frown. “Why are you so shocked that I want to help you?”

Xander shrugged. Cautiously, he laid out his hand again. “Whatever.”

Watching for so much as a stray twitch from Xander’s hand, Grayson gingerly spread the salve on the wound. Almost immediately, the redness began to fade, and the skin began to close a little. With any luck, it would be nothing more than a scrape by tomorrow morning.

“Okay,” Grayson said, searching for the end on a roll of gauze. “Can you lift your hand a little?”

When Xander didn’t move, Grayson dared to peer up at his face and found him staring hard again. Whatever he was thinking about, he couldn’t seem to make sense of what was going through his own head. He blinked and finally seemed to register that Grayson was waiting for him.

Once Xander’s hand was in place, Grayson pressed the end of the gauze to the salved wound to keep it from slipping. Then he wrapped Xander’s palm, asking every few rounds if the tightness was okay. Xander’s only feedback came in the form of noncommittal grunts.

When it was done, Grayson hesitantly told Xander to cut off the remaining bandage roll with medical scissors. Thankfully, that went without disaster. After the gauze was taped off, Xander inspected his hand and flexed his fingers.

His eyes drifted back down to Grayson, intensity flaring up again. “You’re not gonna tell anyone about this, are you?”

Grayson tossed the salve back into the box and clenched his jaw. Annoyance kept him from making eye contact, not fear. “Oh, what? That a print patched you up?”

“Nah. That I tripped over my own feet while I was fucking wasted.”

“Oh. I mean. I don’t know.” Grayson’s gaze fluttered upward and he caught sight of the smeared blood on Xander’s face again. “Hey… You’ve still got—”

“What?”

“Here. Lean down.” 

Grayson ripped off a clean corner of the alcohol wipe that Xander had used. To his surprise, Xander didn’t argue about leaning down. 

Once his face was close enough, Grayson reached out to wipe the blood. Xander went tense—his jaw clenched right beside Grayson. But neither of them flinched. Xander’s skin was hot to the touch. Stubble grazed Grayson’s skin as he gently cleaned away the red smear. He took a step back, holding up the stained wipe for Xander to see.

“Hm.” Xander clumsily plucked it out of his hand and tossed it, along with everything else they’d taken out, back into the box.

Grayson sighed wearily. “Okay, I know you’re wasted, but you can’t just put bloody things back in—”

“Thanks,” Xander cut in suddenly. “Thanks for the help. Micah would’ve lost his shit if I couldn’t play because of an infection.” There was a beat of awkward silence, though it didn’t last long. “You didn’t answer my question, though. About not telling anyone.”

“I mean… I think the doctor should probably know that you hurt yourself, right?”

“Wrong.” Xander’s expression went blank for a second. Then he stifled a yawn into his good hand and wavered like a sudden wave of sleepiness had crashed into him. 

Without warning, he scooped Grayson up.

“H-hey! Wh-what—” While Grayson stammered out half-questions, Xander yanked back the sheets and crawled under them, taking Grayson with him. 

Settling into bed without a care, Xander hugged Grayson to his chest. Although his touch was more uncoordinated than usual, it felt far from menacing.

While Xander’s heart thudded at an unhurried pace beneath him, Grayson’s pulse was fluttering like a panicked bird. Sure, Xander was a cuddler when he was unconscious, but never while he was this awake—though it quickly became clear that awake was an understatement.

Xander’s mumbled words were barely audible, even when pressed up against his chest. “Can’t have you running off to tell on me.”

Before long, his breathing evened out. The weight of his hand loosened. But Grayson stayed where he was. After what he’d been through the last fifteen minutes, he couldn’t say no to some warmth and safety—things that were becoming dangerously familiar from the likes of Xander Dalton.

((Xander only knows two things: 1. be grumpy 2. cuddle Grayson))

[narrans]

Stellar Allies | Part Two

GT July | Stellar Allies | Part Two

Words: Grit, Warmth, Foggy, Experiment, Honey, Lost, Doubt

It was mind boggling. Was this actually happening? There was something that looked like a weird spaceship in the form of a cylindrical tube the color of liquid mercury with a tiny figure inside – an alien.

Jax and Cliff both simultaneously reached up and pinched their forearms, mirroring the motion as if it were planned.

Swallowing the nerves that was making him tremble, Jax carefully secured the tongs onto the edge of the silver cylinder and began pulling it away from its original crash site. Cliff said nothing and instinctually maneuvered out of the way so that Jax could pull the ship in between the two of them safely away from the flames.

The looked down, gawking at what was inside. There, inside of the silver cylinder, was a six inch tall figure. Their limbs were limp, and they were wearing what looked like some kind of black mesh and leather flight suit. Cliff counted two arms, two legs, one head, and most interestingly another limb that made him think it might be some kind of tail. There was a dark helmet secured to their head, but it was obvious there was a crack along the surface.

Is that what was causing some of the hissing sound? Or was it just the ship? Cliff wondered as he crouched a little lower to examine the ship.

Tiny lights flashed and blinked all around the padded interior. Symbols on a screen flashed intermittently, but neither boy had any indication of what that could mean.

“Is it… dead?” asked Jax as he began reaching the tongs forward. Cliff was about to scold him for using the tongs on the figure, but was relieved when his friend merely grabbed the edge of the cylinder and gave it a little shake.

Both boys nearly leapt out of their skin when they saw the most minute movement from the figure’s chest and the head twitch subtly. They knew it wasn’t because of the movement of the cylinder that caused the movement, meaning this alien was alive. Cliff’s fascination was making him tingly all over, and the shaking in his friend’s shoulders told him Jax was feeling the same way.

“Dude!” hissed Jax. “There’s an alien. A freakin’ alien! Do you know how dope this is!? We might be the first to make contact with an alien species.”

“Allegedly,” grinned Cliff. Both boys exchanged an amused look, having read up on dozens of conspiracies and “abduction accounts” during their research, before turning their attention back to the figure.

“Do you think it’s hurt? Can it even breathe oxygen? All of these things are leaking and stuff, and we do not have the equipment to make an environmental chamber suited for it if it doesn’t breathe oxygen at our atmospheric levels,” fretted Cliff. Jax noticed the crack in the alien’s helmet and his brow furrowed. He was obviously trying to think of a good solution, as was Cliff.

“Okay, let’s assume for a second that it can breathe oxygen. I’m basing this off of the fact that it took us thirty minutes or so to get here and this ship-pod thing has probably been open this whole time. Unless this thing doesn’t abide by the rule of threes, it can probably breathe in our atmosphere,” stated Jax.

His friend was right. Cliff remembered the rule of threes being three weeks without food, three days without water or sleep, three hours in a harsh environment, and, the most important for this argument, three minutes unconscious without breathable air while unconscious.

“Okay, assuming these things are true,” added Cliff. “Then we can assume that this ship-pod thing wouldn’t open if the environment wasn’t ideal. I’m basing this off the fact that a species capable of interstellar travel would have the tech and wherewithal to make sure a survival pod wouldn’t open in harmful conditions.”

“So, at the moment, we’re assuming the alien is stable,” concluded Jax. Cliff nodded affirmatively. “Okay, then the next big question is what do we do next? Assuming the online conspiracy theories are right and everything, the government might want to experiment on the little guy. On the other hand, this might be part of a scouting mission or invasion force. This is just starting to get complicated, and I don’t want this thing face hugging me in the middle of the night and implanting little chest bursting aliens in my throat.”

This was ultimately the biggest question they had to contend with. Was there a “right” choice? They were far out of their depth when it came to preparedness and knowledge. It was a judgment call which had countless unforeseen repercussions.

What was the right thing to do?

Cliff chewed on the inside of his cheek as he thought, a nervous habit that often left him tasting iron by the time he came up with a solution. Both points Jax made were valid, but it was clear to him which one felt like the right thing to do; and he had the argument to back it up.

“I think… we take our chances and bring him with us back home.” Jax’s eyes widened as he listened to his friend’s words. It was obvious, even beneath the mask, that he was about to interject, so Cliff continued. “Hear me out. Just look at this tube for a second. Do you see any weapons? Do you see anything on here that might indicate anything other than life support? And what about our little alien companion? Any weapons? Side arms?

“I think this whole thing is supposed to be an escape pod and that our little alien was either in danger from his crew mates and had to evacuate using this escape pod or something happened to the original ship, which is probably the bigger chunk of burning mass that was falling from the sky that we thought was a meteor, like a technical malfunction. Either way, I think at least this little guy here is safe. This is just a theory though. I could be horribly wrong, but that’s what my gut is telling me.”

Jax listened patiently to his friend’s logic and, after a few minutes, nodded.

“Your argument is sound enough, but on the off chance this guy has acid blood or some kind of weapon, is there something we can… I don’t know… put him in for the time being?” asked Jax. Then, his eyes brightened. “Wait, our experiments from last year. We’ve got those plastic containers.”

“My thoughts exactly,” concurred Cliff. “We’ve got those ULINE poly tubs and, worst case scenario, mom has some catering equipment in the shed that is probably acid resistant. Until then, we’ll just have to take our chances.”

Their nerves set back in as they suddenly realized what it was they needed to do next – transport the alien. Both of them with their backpacks were prepared to move rocks, not miniscule alien beings. Still, they had few options available at the moment.

“Okay,” said Jax finally. “I’ll do the transportation and we’ll keep him at your place. Mom is inspecting my room tomorrow to see if I’ve cleaned so now is a bad time for me. If something bad happens, we tell parents and everyone who’ll listen. Yeah?”

“Yeah, sounds good,” breathed Cliff. Jax, obviously shaking, removed his backpack and shifted some of his things to Cliff’s bag to give the most space possible for the space pod. The boys worked together to tape part of the pod open so it wouldn’t close on the figure or accidentally seal shut during transportation.

They also tried to secure the figure by gently laying some of their emergency duct tape along the opening across the figure’s legs and chest and securing it to either side of the opened pod. The moment of truth came and Jax’s brave face was threatening to crack. It was Cliff’s reassuring bump on his shoulder that really pushed Jax over the edge and away from his uncertainty.

Using his heat resistant gloves, Jax lifted the pod off of the ground and slid it into his backpack, using what little padding he had as well as his jacket to make sure the pod didn’t jostle around too much.

The entire time, the figure only stirred twice, but made no additional movements even as Jax zippered his pack shut. Before leaving, Cliff made sure to tamp out all of the smoldering brush to prevent potential environmental hazards.

And with that, they were off. Neither of them knew what was going to happen or how they were going to navigate the countless decisions before them. One thing they did know was that this decision felt right, and they had their logic to back it up.

They could only hope they were right.

~~~^*^*^~~~

Warmth.

Foggy.

Groggy.

Pain.

Cold.

Confusion.

Ol’oih wasn’t sure which thing he felt more. The confusion of everything leading up to him blacking out felt like a bad dream, and the pain in his body made the experience real. It was a souvenir of recent events, and it wasn’t a pleasant one.

He could’ve sworn he heard voices at some point, but he couldn’t be sure. They were loud and booming, but also muffled. Was that because his hearing was damaged? Was it his life support helmet? Or was this actually how the voices were supposed to sound?

There was a fair amount of jostling all around him and, at some point, he was once again stationary. Every element of training told him he needed to be awake and aware, but his body was absolutely no help in this endeavor. He just needed to rest to heal and, ultimately, that was the logical choice too.

Ol’oih knew that he would be no use to himself or any one of his crew mates if he was incapacitated and hurting. So, he relented and let himself sleep.

When he returned to consciousness, however, he wasn’t sure if he had made the correct decision to rest. For a moment, he thought he was still beneath the night sky until he realized that the “stars” above him weren’t stars but merely beams of light. He was surrounded by darkness all around except for the little dots of light above him.

Another thing he noticed was that his helmet had a massive crack along the screen, breaking the airtight seal and exposing him to the atmosphere. He thanked Ove silently that this atmosphere was a friendly one and not something that was toxic. He’d be out of luck if that were the case. The rest of his limbs felt intact, albeit stiff, and he was laying on something that was soft that wasn’t the safety of his escape pod.

A thousand questions came to mind.

What happened when he blacked out? Where was his crew? Were they alright? Were they the ones who found him? Or did something – someone – else find him and bring him here? Had he been captured? Was he now someone’s experiment? Or had he been rescued from the crash? Where even was he? Had they even managed to crash near the rendezvous point?

His body thrummed nervously as he allowed his feelings of doubt to overwhelm him before taking two deep breaths, as he had learned in his training, before collecting his thoughts and worrying about one problem at a time. It was all he could do. Getting through this was going to take grit and determination, and laying there being afraid was not a luxury he could afford at the moment.

First problem was his ability to see. His vision was still a bit foggy, but that probably had something to do with his helmet and the lack of light around him. He had something for that, but he’d need to remove part of his suit. It was a risk he needed to take.

Ol’oih extended his arm forward, feeling it twinge slightly, to make sure he wasn’t going to sit up into a wall or ceiling. Confirming his surroundings, Ol’oih cautiously sat up and detached the clasps keeping his helmet affixed to his suit and pulled his helmet off of his head.

Now free, he realized he was feeing a bit woozy. He hadn’t had anything to eat in who knew how long and would need to consume something soon if he was going to survive. Everything cost precious energy, even what he was about to do to see his surroundings, and he needed to ration correctly if he was going to get out of this ordeal alive.

His body thrummed again, but he shut down his feelings of nervousness as he focused on the task at hand. Ol’oih reached up and removed one of his protective gloves and concentrated on the ciferi in his hand. Like he’d done so many times in his youth, the ridges leading from his core to the tips of his four fingers began to glow a soft green, illuminating the space around him.

What he saw made a pit form in his core.

All around him were portless, doorless walls with odd ridges along the top which undoubtedly latched the roof to the rest of the structure. Nothing else was in the containment unit other than what Ol’oih was sitting on, which resembled a type of white growth similar to this planet’s moss. The item didn’t seem alike like the white growths from his home, so he elected to stay sitting.

Being close enough to touch the walls, Ol’oih hesitantly gave the wall a push. Though it didn’t give easily, there was an element to it that was extremely synthetic as well as flexible. With the right nudge, Ol’oih thought he might be able to use it to his advantage.

I need to measure the space and estimate how tall this thing is. If whatever put me in here is hostile, I need to be able to jump out if I can. It’ll take energy, so I need to use my opportunities wisely.

So, with that in mind, Ol’oih stood and walked to the far wall. He pressed his back against it before walking at a steady pace from one side to the next, using his gate as a measurement. He repeated this for the width and then reached as high as he could to guestimate the height of the container he was in.

Okay, twelve ambas wide, thirty-seven long, and probably twenty or so wide? 8880 sambas. Great. I won’t run out of air, plus the holes in the top should allow air inside. No suffocation. My standing jump is twelve. Running might be fifteen? Using my addon, I could probably hook it along the top and swing to get out if I really needed to.

Last resort though. Lots of energy to do something like that. Plus, that’s if I need to escape. If I can, I will communicate my intentions. About time I’m able to practice my practical language skills. Years of study and simulations finally paying off.

Looks like being a communication ensign actually is coming in handy.

This thought made Ol’oih tremor nervously. Though everyone had basic language in the program, he was the only one of their crew who was fluent. If the others were in trouble, they’d have no true way to communicate.

In the middle of his swirling thoughts and feelings of being completely and utterly lost, Ol’oih was suddenly interrupted as the entire container around him shifted. The sudden jostle threw him to the side and then to all fours as there was a cacophonous cracking sound.

Juthez! Out of time to make a plan. Can’t pretend to go back to sleep. No sense in that. I need answers and assistance. Looks like communication is my only option. Juthez! Please be friendly.

The thrumming wracking Ol’oih’s body was making him feel completely sick and cold, but he knew this was necessary. The doubt in his mind would have to be pushed to the side for the time being. Skill alone was what he had to rely on, and he could only hope it would be enough.

~~~^*^*^~~~

Both boys had managed to make it to Cliff’s home without disturbing his parents. Jax was the one brave enough to lift the six inch tall figure of the alien out of the pod and into the plastic storage container while Cliff arranged a towel for a bed, arguing that it would be cruel for the alien to just be on the hard ground when he could be injured.

Jax went home and immediately cleaned his room while Cliff kept the storage container under his desk with the lid fastened securely. He tried going back to sleep, but knowing there was an alien mere feet from his bed was enough to keep the teen away from sleep for the next week.

It would be hours before Jax reached out saying his room had passed inspection and another twenty minutes before Cliff’s parents were awake and preparing to go to work. He’d asked if it was okay if Jax came over, to which his parents agreed as long as they didn’t perform any science experiments.

Cliff felt like he was lying by omission by saying he and Jax wouldn’t be doing any science experiments since they would be investigating the alien, but he deemed that as a scientific investigation and not an experiment and agreed. With his assurance, his parents left for work and Jax was over within minutes.

He had barely crossed the threshold before the questions started coming out.

“Has the alien woken up? Have you checked on him? Do we know if it’s a him? What if he doesn’t wake up? Are you as stoked as I am because I’m literally vibrating all over!” Jax’s inability to contain his excitement was hilarious and he quickly pulled his friend inside his house.

“Dude, just take a breath. Yeah, I’m stoked too, but we need to chill. If the alien reads emotions and stuff like that, he might get spooked. This is a friendly check-up and possible exchange of information, possibly with the first alien in history. Oh, who am I kidding, I’m shaking all over. I couldn’t even go back to sleep,” grinned Cliff.

“Me too!” Jax’s grin was stretching from ear to ear. Cliff knew his expression had to be the same to the point his cheeks were starting to hurt. “So, do we check on him now? Or what?”

“Only logical,” agreed Cliff. “If he’s still passed out, then we can investigate the ship, which is still safely under the bed. If he’s awake, we can commence Operation: First Contact.”

“Nerd,” teased Jax, getting the reference immediately, as both teens made their way to Cliff’s room. What started as a confident stride immediately shifted to cautiously optimistic steps as they shuffled into Cliff’s room and crouched by the hard plastic crate. As carefully as they could, they pulled the crate out from under the desk.

As they did, both boys felt the crate jostle subtly, as if something fell over, and let their excitement override caution as they cracked open the top of the crate. Light flooded into the crate, and, for the first time, they saw someone looking back at them.

~~~~~^*^*^*^*^~~~~~

Continue

Previous

Beginning

~~~~~^*^*^*^*^~~~~~

@gianttol #gtjuly #gtjuly2024

[smolghostbot]

GT July: Dream / Memory

Posting this early since I'm not going to be able to on the actual day for Dream. Decided to get borderline experimental with these prompts, since it gave me a kind of interesting way to give details of Patch's backstory (they can't exactly... tell it themself, y'know?)

Word Count: 1k Character bios in my pinned post

⚠️hoo HECKIN boy here we go with the content warning list⚠️ Whump, the whole thing is whump, Pest Control in a Borrower story portrayed as vague traumatic memories similar to a fire, unreality in the context of dreams, unreality shown through writing techniques, mentions of physical, mental, and emotional abuse, alcoholic abuser, hints of inhumane living conditions, and a panic attack (All except the panic attack are in a dream, but as the prompt implies, are also memories). Abuse section is surrounded by ⚠️emoji so you can skip over that one if you want/need

If that is too much or too heavy, or if you need a cooldown afterwards, may I politely suggest checking out Melancholy / Video Games, which is a lot gentler.

========

They were running. They had to run, the room was filling with bright clouds, the ones that cause that intense pain. They look around, seeing their childhood home, covered in darkness. They could hear the muffled noises through the wall to the humans' kitchen, the loud whirring of the unknown device that heralded the downfall of their village. The panicking sprite reaches for their backpack, hoping it would protect them like it did last time, but it wasn't there. No! Did they leave it somewhere? They had to go back!

A door, was that always there? That wall should lead to outside, what was this door? An escape from the clouds, that's what it is. They walk through, only to be met by that familiar alleyway. As if on cue, she walks into sight, her blue-green hair, eyes the color of fire, and golden dress a contrast to the dreary gray and red-brick surroundings. She glows in an almost supernatural light. The sprite tries to get her attention, but she keeps walking, causing them to have to lunge out of the way of her sandal. Why didn't she see them?

Wait, the backpack, they forgot their backpack! They turn to the doorway that was never there, replaced with the usual wall, with the offset brick that served as the entrance to their nest for a few months, a little shelter to keep out of the elements.

They enter the bricks and end up in their little outlet room, their slice of home in the human world they've been a part of for months now. The wiring seems different… oh, of course, yeah, they did change that, didn't they? Still missing their backpack, they walk to their shelf, to see if there's anything they can use. As they reach for supplies, they remember that there was nothing there. They reach for supplies, but they remember that there was nothing there. They reach for supplies, but they remember that there was nothing there. With every shelf empty, the young sprite realizes they'll need to go borrowing. Maybe they'll even find their backpack along the way.

As they leave the room, they fill with dread as they realize where they are. This place. The sprite hears the noise, that dreaded noise, the uneven thumping that indicates they are home… and are even more aggressive than usual. The panicked sprite looks around, trying to find where to hide, they can't see them again, this can't be happening! The door to the room opens, that dark, looming silhouette appearing, taking up the doorway, taking up the room, taking up the mind. In a singsong voice, they call out. ⚠️⚠️⚠️ "Paaaaatch~"

Wait, Patch? How… only… they didn't get that name until afterwards… did she betray them?

"Aren't… aren't you glad? Glad that-that your friend found you? Just think… you would have been sooooo lost if she... if she didn't bring you back here, where I can, y'know, I can keep you safe. Because nowww you're home! With me. Where you… belong."

Their face grows a dark grin as they finish that sentence, staring at the terrified sprite with those ice-cold eyes of sapphire. As the figure stumbles through the room, trying to capture them, the sprite runs towards the dresser, atop which sat that familiar prison of a cage. They were always able to move the dresser, but it gave a few moments of respite before the pain. Time to brace, to prepare. As they enter the darkness, they cower as their legs cease to work. How… How could she betray them like this? How could she let them know where they were? Didn't she promise to protect them? ⚠️⚠️⚠️

The backpack, that's what they notice. It's sitting there, in the darkness. A bright light shining down on it, drawing them to it. They walk over and inspect it. Their name, the only trace of their identity, gone. The writing seems to shift between nickname after nickname. Lighter names, "Patch", "Buddy", "Little Cutie"... Darker names. Names that sting their very soul to read. All a part of said soul, for better or worse.

The glow, they see the glow again. Looking up, they see her again, facing away. Her outfit is the same as that fateful day they met, a simple t-shirt and jeans. Either she's really far away, or somehow smaller. They approach, cautiously, having some strong words if this is really her. As she turns, her purple eyes – the sprite's own purple eyes, gaze right through them. She opens her mouth, the sound coming from everywhere and nowhere as she speaks in a voice they've never heard, "I am Ri

Patch awoke in a sweat, eyes full of tears. They looked around their room. The wiring was exactly as they left it. Their shelves were full of supplies, a few blueprints, and some snacks they kept handy. Most importantly, their prized backpack hung from its usual hook, their name inscribed on it. Panicked and breathing heavily, they did the only thing they could think of. They ran outside and furiously rang the bell outside of their little room, hitting it like their life depended on it.

Before long, the kitchen light turned on, and the towering, half-awake form of Melody stood before them, her hair messy and eyes bleary. She yawned before starting to speak. "Wh… where's the fire, Patch? You okay?"

The answer was made clear as she focused her eyes, taking in the shaking, crying form before her. This instantly woke her up a bit, as she ducked down to the level of the countertop. "Oh, oh no, Patch, buddy… how can I help? Touch, or no touch?"

Patch held their arms out, signaling that it was in fact a touch situation. Mel gently held out her hand as the scared sprite jumped into it. They were moved right to the human's shoulder, where they embraced her in as much of a hug as possible with a two-inch arm span, as they silently cried. The human's heart broke to see their friend like this.

"... Say no more, Patch. Why don't we go lay on the couch, I'll put the TV on, and we'll help you forget about whatever you dreamed about, okay?"

She needed no approval from the sprite as she laid down on the couch, consoling her small companion, who was already starting to drift off again to the comforting rhythm of Melody's heartbeat, their dreams for the rest of the night uneventful.

[a-tiny-frog-girl]

Soon...

Doctor Who g/t from my requests <3

[allthesmallthingsgt]

Eliza and Kith

TLDR: Kith is upset and Eliza comforts him. yup

267 words!

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Soft muffled breaths came from the outside of Kiths room. Eliza cautiously peeked inside to see Kith crumpled in a ball lying on his side.

“Kith?” Eliza whispered softly. He turned to his side cheeks flushed red and eyes puffy. His deep brown eyes hazy and his hair tangled.

“I’m sorry.” He replied as tears spilt out of his eyes. Eliza felt her heart break just a little seeing him so vulnerable. She reached a careful finger out to wipe the tears from his cheeks. Kith grasped onto her finger tip for a second and gave it a loose squeeze. They sat in silence for a moment.

“Can I hold you?” Eliza asked sheepishly.

“I’d love that” the corners of his mouth upturning as he looked up at her through tears. Fingers wrapped around his body gently hoisting him up to her face.

“I want to let you know that I’ll always be here for you. Whatever you need. Truly. Things are hard but try to take it day by day.” Warm words washed over him like a wave pulling him offshore. She rested him on her chest leaving her hand on him like a blanket.

“Focus on my heartbeat.” They rested in silence for minutes on end taking in each other’s presence. Kiths emotions seeped out of him slowly but surely. Kith felt nothing but warmth and comfort laying in Eliza’s light blouse.

“Do you feel better?” Eliza murmured.

No response.

She tilted her head down to see that Kith was fast asleep with lightly knitted eyebrows and a small smile on his face.

All was well.