#OC:Rhys
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awkwardgtace · 1 year ago
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Gt July 2023 All Stories
So like last year I did a list of all the stories alongside a little blurb, the prompt, and included characters all under a read more
Enchantment or Curse: Rhys has been cursed by an enchanted ring, but then he meets Vincent. Characters: Rhys(Giant then Tiny), Vincent(Tiny then giant) Prompt: Enchanted
A Small Unkindness: Dabria needs medicine for her son, winds up asking Vitus for help Characters: Dabria(Tiny), Vitus(Giant), Rhys(Giant) Prompt: Bird
Fighting Doubts: Ryder wakes up in a bad spot that gets worse when his brothers start fighting (Mafia AU) Characters: Rhys(Giant), Felix(Giant), Ryder(Tiny), Vitus(Giant), Dabria(Tiny) Prompt: Impulsive
StarGazing: Meg is watching the stars and Streya makes it better Characters: Streya(giant), Meg(Tiny) Prompt: Stargazing
Is Indoors Really Safe?: Alessia has been living with the humans and still doesn’t trust them completely. An attempt to spy goes a bit wrong. (Continued from First Time Indoors) Characters: Alessia(Tiny), Vitus(Giant), Felix(Giant), Rhys(Tiny), Ryder(Tiny) Prompt: Caught
Meeting Your God: ff14 AU(Spoilers for patch 6.3 raids) Delphia and Ash sneak ahead of the group to see their next fight, but it doesn't go as planned. Characters: Delphia(Tiny), Ash(Tiny), Alessia(Giant) Prompt: AU
Legendary Phantom Thief: You want to be a legendary phantom thief, and this heist will make you one. Characters: Self insert size shifter Prompt: Thief
Meeting Through Dreams: Mira reaches the point in her life the dreams to meet her perfect match start and she’s not exactly happy. Characters: Mira(Tiny), Kaya(Tiny), Corus(Giant) Prompt: Dream
Rainy Changes: Dabria was walking home in the rain and came across what she thought was an empty bottle. Characters: Dabria(Giant), Alessia(Tiny) Prompt: Rainy Day
Forgotten Pasts: Mira and Kaya are exploring a cave of ruins when they find something strange. Characters: Mira(Giant), Kaya(tiny), Corus(tiny), Zeke(giant) Prompt: Ancient
Self Reflection: Kaiju Ash is thinking about their life, both current and former. Unsure what they want if they should let things continue as they are. Characters: Ash(Giant), Delphia(tiny), Alessia(tiny), Rhys(tiny), Vincent(tiny) Prompt: Melancholy
Statues Aren’t Great For Hiding: Kyrie gets caught trying to watch Melody. Characters: Melody(giant), Kyrie(tiny), Caprice(giant), Byssal(tiny), Pelago(Tiny) Prompt: Video Games
A Normal Afternoon: Rhys is tangled in his string, but keeps joking with his human brothers. (Continued from Ice Cube Prank Gone Wrong… or Right?) Characters: Rhys(Tiny), Felix(Giant), Ryder(Giant) Prompt: Banter
Destruction and Hero: Melody was given a role she hates, but will she even be able to fill it? Characters: Melody(Tiny), Kyrie(Giant) Prompt: Instrument
Broken Changes:Ash is just trying to get some food for them and Rhys. Vitus hears a crash and goes to investigate. Characters: Vitus(giant), Ash(tiny), Rhys(tiny), Dabria(Giant) Prompt: Designated break day, used the word Break
Escaped Cake Topper: At a party for the daughter of the Kamias a human is brought as a gift. They manage to escape, but can they survive? Characters: Alessia(Giant), Vitus(Giant), Sloan(one off tiny) Prompt: Celebrating
Adjustment Period: Ian is slowly adjusting to the expectations of the alien Mikhail. Characters: Ian(Tiny), Mikhail(Giant) Prompt: Home
Beauty in Flames: Two strangers enjoy the beauty of fire and each other Characters: Self insert Giant, unnamed tiny Prompt: Fire
The Menace of Salt: Mira is a house sprite who enjoys playing tricks, but this time something went wrong. Characters: Mira(tiny), Kaya(giant) Prompt: Trickster
Intimidating Presence: Dabria goes out into the forest to find out about the giant watching the town Characters: Dabria(Tiny), Felix(Giant), Vitus(Tiny) Prompt: Intimidate
Open Secrets: Alessia and Delphia take a bath together Characters: Alessia(giant), Delphia(tiny) Prompt: Secret
Garden Mishaps: Mira tried to take a relaxing walk in the garden, a misfired spell changed that Characters: Corus(Giant), Mira(tiny) Prompt: Garden
Subject 829: Subject 829 is a weapon, but maybe that’s not all. Characters: Ryder(Giant), Rhys(tiny), Felix(tiny), Vitus(tiny) Prompt: Weapon
“Please, share with me your memories…”: The story of someone who found hope in a small human Characters: Harmony(giant), Sy(tiny) Prompt: Memory 
Simple Night: Evelyn waits for Conny to come home and join her in bed Characters: Evelyn(Tiny/Giant) Conny(Giant/Tiny Sizeshifter) Prompt: Pajamas
Tangled Emotions: Rhys is woken up by Sola and Luna climbing his hair, but they aren’t the only humans on him Characters: Rhys(Giant), Ryder(Tiny), Sola(tiny), Luna(tiny) Prompt: Tangled
Planetary Pearls: Streya drifts through space when she finds something strange. Characters: Streya(giant), unnamed tiny Prompt: Jewelry
Cursed Dreams: Melody feels like she's cursed. It gets worse when the dreams of her perfect match start. Characters: Melody(Tiny), Caprice(Tiny), Kyrie(Giant), Byssal(Giant), Pelago(Giant) Prompt: Cursed
Step After Step: You wake up confused, in pain, and tired. Someone helps you. Characters: Self insert giant. Unnamed they to she Tiny Prompt: Element
A Needed Break: You wake up confused as your phone goes off, but your bed is suddenly massive. Characters: Self insert tiny, Unnamed Giant Prompt: Self Care
Secrets Exposed: Rhys has a secret his foster parents just saw so he runs Characters: Vitus(giant), Rhys(Tiny), Dabria(giant) Prompt: Free Day
Princess and Protectors: Alessia and Ash are carrying Delphia home after she took a trip to a human city on her own again. She's caught up in her memories for much of the walk (Using the same world as Enchantment or Curse) Characters: Delphia(Tiny), Alessia(Giant), Ash(Giant) Prompt: Free Day
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eldritchcryptids · 4 years ago
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Jay may we see the stockpile of soft Fusion photos you have??? Pleaaase?? We won’t tell him 😍
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u can get one as a treat
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bergentruckung · 9 years ago
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did more things to that self-indulgent sketch from yesterday. decided to change up rhys’ color scheme to make him just a little less generic. also bear bf’s tentative name is warren.
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bkdraws · 11 years ago
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i guess i should put this here too cause all the wips are here huh
this pic would've taken less time if i planned better i actually just drew the full thing then erased stuff LOL
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odasketch · 11 years ago
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i really need to send my laptop in to gateway cause it's super busted but i cant be bothered to mainly because i dont hAVE A REAL BOX FOR IT RN
Anyway ive been being lazy and finally forced myself to work on sketch thing for next paint we're doing in my painting class (theme is opposites, i went with fish in the sky and people in water THOSE ARE OPPOSITES RIGHT) and just drew Cinna, Rumiko, Mayura, and 9583729584 Rhys
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awkwardgtace · 1 year ago
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Enchantment or Curse
gt july let's goooooo Rhys was enchanted a long time ago. It's the time where he is near his home avoiding things, but he might not avoid everything
Enchantment or Curse
Rhys stared at the field of flowers before slowly lifting his hand. Despite the years passing, the ring was still fused to his skin. Everyone else said it was enchanted, he said it was cursed. The ring became blurry as his focus shifted to the flowers he ran through as a child. He missed those days. 
Heaving a heavy sigh, he moved to the clearing he’d wait in. Usually his family didn’t go looking for him when he didn’t meet them, but just in case. He couldn’t risk them going too far, they’d get hurt. He covered so much more ground than they did. Once clear of the trees, he turned towards the flowers and sat down heavily. He was met with a shout that sent his heart pounding.
Looking around he managed to see a man lying on the ground staring at him with striking eyes, one the color of emeralds and the other of violets. Despite the intense glare he couldn’t stop himself from reaching out to grab the small person. As soon as his fingers started to wrap around the small body, tiny fists bashed against his skin. It made him pause, but he had to see this person up close.
Rhys pulled them up to his face before the punches stopped. Once he dropped them in his other palm he was frozen. The man he held was stunning. Silver hair tied back and out of the man’s face, leaving pale X shaped scars standing out against his dark brown skin. He was dressed in simple dark clothes, simple enough they managed to pull his attention from the man’s looks.
This could be a sign his so-called enchantment was ending, or at least weakening. He whispered, “You’re so big.”
“Playing with your new toy already?” the man sneered. Rhys jumped at the venom in his voice. His hopes were dashed already, everyone knew about the prince. About how he had been ‘enchanted’ to view the world from above. “Let go! I’m a person you damned monster!”
Rhys let his hands fall to the ground. He kept it slow enough the man would be safe. He waited limply for the man to leave. They weren’t from his kingdom, so the curse was still there. For all he knew this person was-
“Wait… you’re actually letting me go?” the man asked. Rhys looked down where the man sat on his fingers. He didn’t want him to go, even if there wasn’t hope of returning home he was lonely. The last time he’d spoken to another person was years ago. That last time he’d seen anyone besides his family was even longer.
“It’s what you wanted,” Rhys said. The man scrambled off his palm and Rhys closed his eyes. He was painfully aware of how tired he was at that moment. Tired of fear, of being alone, tired of everyone talking about him like he was a monster. He wanted to be normal again, to be-
“What’s your name?” the man asked. Rhys jumped as he snapped his eyes open to stare at the man. He couldn’t find his voice to answer. How long had it been since someone cared about his name? “You don’t get to play like you can’t talk. You already did twice. I’ll just leave if you don’t want to tell me.”
“Rhys!” he shouted. The man flinched, his hands shooting up to cover his ears. Fear had forced the word from his throat. Guilt filled his heart at the way the small man reacted. Taking a deep breath he focused on keeping his voice quiet. “I’m Rhys.”
“Jeez, keep your voice down. Do you want to blow out my eardrums?” The man just glared up at him with a gaze that seemed almost soft. Rhys frowned, shrinking away from the stern view. “Vincent. What are you?”
“A person?” Rhys hadn’t considered what he was. The man- Vincent- crossed his arms with a dubious look. It felt nice to have someone act like this, to act like he wasn’t a monster. He didn’t want to have an answer to what Vincent was either. He could pretend like this.
“Fine whatever.” Vincent sat down on the ground continuing to just stare up at Rhys. In an attempt to get a better look, Rhys decided to lie on the ground. When he moved Vincent tensed, but he didn’t run. Rhys counted that as a win. “So what’s your plan, let me go and follow me to my village or some shit?”
Rhys shook his head, he didn’t want to be near anyone. It would be a few weeks before he left, but he wouldn’t go near people by choice. Vincent narrowed his eyes before standing. The man patted at his pants and turned to leave. A part of Rhys was desperate to make him stay. Instead he managed to watch the small man disappear in the trees, returning to his lonely lifestyle.
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A few days later Rhys was staring at the clouds through the trees. He had been thinking about Vincent more than his past. It was a nice change, usually the day that ruined his life was all that was on his mind. He knew he’d never see the small man again. It wasn’t worth the risk of seeing more people he might hurt. Of finding out he’d been gone long enough his family gave up on him.
“Hey tiny! You still out here?” Vincent’s shout echoed through the air. Rhys sat up on his elbows looking around for the man. He saw the silver hair first, those striking eyes and the scars that made his heart hurt next. “I actually thought you’d leave before I decided to come back out here.”
“You came back?” he whispered. Rhys pushed himself to try and sit up more, shocked to see Vincent walking closer. By the time Rhys was sitting up straight Vincent had settled close enough it would be easy to grab him. It left a strange warmth in his chest.
“Figured you didn’t follow me so I’d come back. Find out just what the fuck you are.” Vincent dug into his bag and pulled out a container. He opened it and pulled out something small before holding it out to Rhys. “I don’t like to eat alone, take this. I don’t care if your giant ass will barely taste it.”
Rhys brought his hand close to the small man trying to ignore the way it shook. Vincent dropped something miniscule on his finger. He used his other hand to steady it before bringing the tiny thing close to his face. It was sweet, and smelled like something he recognized. He couldn’t place it though. He opened his mouth wide before placing the tiny thing on his tongue. The blast of flavor was bigger than he expected and also something he hated. A grimace found a way on his face.
“What? Don’t like strawberries? Thought for sure you would. Your breath smells like them,” Vincent said. The man shrugged his shoulders, taking a bite of his own version of the small thing. It was weird, Rhys couldn’t actually remember the last time he’d eaten anything. He never had liked strawberries though.
“No… I hated them before too,” he said. 
Vincent looked up at him, Rhys swore the man felt larger than him. He knew it would be easy to pick up the man and knock that feeling away, but he enjoyed it. He used to be shorter than his family and his friends. He missed that. He’d never forget the fear on the faces of his friends when he walked out of his room a head taller than Ryder. Ryder was supposed to be the tall one.
“Before what?” Vincent’s question felt like ice in his veins. The last time he told someone the truth they stopped visiting. He shouldn’t be honest. At least not completely just a little bit of what it was.
“I… I was given a gift that changed me. Everyone says it was enchanted, I say it’s cursed.” It left a bitter taste in his mouth as he spoke. He hated it, hated his life since he ran away. He was getting too big, too dangerous. He was still growing years after he left. He had no idea how his family would look to him now.
“Well, it’s a curse if it needs to be broken and an enchantment if it has an end. Did you get some stupid rhyme with it?”
“It’s time you grow into your own. Spend some time, wander alone. Look on from there, see from above…’” He stopped before he said the rest. Rhys took some time to look like he was trying to remember, but the reality was he knew. Until you find your one true love. “There were more lines, but I don’t remember anymore. It's been a long time.”
“Probably true love or some shit.” Vincent stood up, once again dusting his clothes off. “Gotta head back. I’ll try a different pastry next time. See ya, tiny.”
“I-”
Vincent ran off before Rhys could speak. A promise he’d come back. A promise he wouldn’t leave Rhys to suffer alone. No matter what happened he wanted that. He wanted time where he wasn’t trapped in his mind. He returned to his original position staring at the clouds. This time he had the smallest bit of a smile on his face.
The next day Vincent was back. He didn’t have to call out, Rhys was watching the spot the man disappeared the last time. Somehow he knew Vincent would be there before sunset. The smaller man gave him a look, but continued to walk closer. He came up to Rhys’s leg before lying back against it. Fear sent his heart pounding, but Vincent didn’t react if he heard it.
“Hey tiny, what do you normally eat?” Vincent asked. Rhys frowned, what did he eat? Also why did the man keep calling him tiny?
“Why do you keep calling me tiny?” he asked. Answering about his eating habits didn’t seem fun. Admitting he couldn’t remember eating since he ran from his home would make things change. He wanted to not be alone while he waited here for time to pass.
“Why not? Would you rather I call you big guy or something?” Vincent held an arm out with something in his hand again. Rhys set his own massive digits next to the small frame. Another treat was set down with no hesitation, like this was normal.
“You know my name.” Rhys lifted the hand with the treat up to his face. It smelled sweet again. He hesitated, he didn’t want to have the taste of strawberries stuck on his tongue. It took hours for it to fade the day before.
“So?” Vincent tilted his head back to stare up at him. Rhys felt awkward staring down. The small man looked amazing, Rhys probably looked monstrous. He’d seen monsters before too. He didn’t like the idea of being one. “You worried that I’m slipping you strawberries again? It’s just chocolate cake this time.”
Rhys used that to push him to taste the sweet. It was something new, he couldn’t find words to describe it. Vincent laughed below him. Setting his hand on the ground, Rhys got a chance to see the smile on the smaller man’s face. Another thing that sent his heart racing. No one else had made him feel like this before.
“I don’t think I’ve ever tried that before,” Rhys said. Vincent’s eyes widened. The man climbed to his feet and stepped away to stare up. At first Rhys thought it was fear, but the pure shock on the small face pushed that away.
“Damn, never had chocolate. What kind of sheltered weird life were you living before?” Vincent said. Rhys sighed. He hadn’t been sheltered, at least he didn’t think he was. Vincent sat down again, this time not leaning against his leg. Maybe he was sheltered. “By the way, I looked into an enchantment record.”
“What’s that?”
“It’s this record most places keep. Has a history of the first use of any enchantment. Thought it might have the rest of yours in it.” Rhys held his breath. If Vincent knew he’d stop coming. He’d be alone again. Vincent’s demeanor changed, softened almost. “Only record was some prince a few hundred years ago. A birthday celebration that went wrong. It…” Rhys was terrified. Once he knew, once Vincent said it, he was alone. “It didn’t have the rest of your enchantment in it. Was stuck at the same place you remember. Probably… probably part of it or something.”
“Oh…” Rhys’s heart continued to pound. Something in the way Vincent looked didn’t feel like it was the truth. It didn’t matter, he didn’t know. For the few weeks Rhys stayed in the area Vincent wouldn’t have a reason to abandon him. That’s all he wanted.
“So, what was it like before you wound up like this?” Rhys jumped, but it made him smile. When was the last time he got to think about home? Not just think about it, but talk about it.
“It was… fun.” 
Rhys went into stories of trouble he caused. His friends, Ryder and Felix, were a bit older and would try to make him stop playing tricks. He had fun. Vincent nodded along, even laughed at times. Rhys talked until the sun started to set. A part of him wanted to reach out, to hold Vincent as the night air started to grow cold. Before he could consider giving in to that feeling, Vincent stood up and stretched.
“Gotta head back, I’ll probably visit again,” Vincent said. Rhys nodded, if the small man took too long he’d be gone. It was how his life went ever since that horrible birthday. The similarities between the story Vincent knew and his own life were fighting to take his thoughts. He didn’t want to think it had been hundreds of years. “Jeez, don't look so sad. Make sure you don’t disappear. I’ll think I dreamt up a weird giant guy with pink eyes.”
Vincent disappeared before Rhys could speak again. He watched the spot the little man came from. Following would let him find a whole place where people might talk to him. He could see if any broke this stupid curse he had. It didn’t feel right to follow him. It had only been a few meetings, but he wanted this to keep going. Vincent… Vincent made him feel like he was normal again.
Vincent kept visiting. Each time he brought something new for Rhys to try. The man stayed later and later each time. Rhys was growing more and more tempted to hold the smaller man in his palms. It was getting harder to avoid it. Reaching forward, hovering, feeling more alone than before. The ring on his finger was making him angrier each morning too. A reminder Vincent wasn’t the one to break it. That even his own feelings weren’t important to the stupid thing.
“So, how long are you gonna keep hovering before you grab me again?” Vincent asked. Rhys jumped, staring at his hands currently trapping Vincent in the clearing. He started to pull back. Guilt ate at him.
“Sorry,” he mumbled. Vincent smirked. That at least made this less embarrassing.
“You should be. At least ask, I might even say it’s ok.” Rhys’s eyes went wide.
“You… you’d let me hold you…” Vincent climbed to his feet and crossed his arms. The stare he offered made Rhys’s heart pound. The smaller man paced before shrugging his shoulders.
“Why not, you haven’t killed me yet.” Rhys brought his hand close. Worry sank into his bones, what if his hands were sweaty? He wasn’t this nervous the last time. Just as he was about to wrap his fingers around the small, stern man a hand was placed on his finger to stop him. “I don’t think grabbing sounds fun, tiny, let me climb on.”
Rhys nodded, setting his hand flat next to the small man. When those hands touched his palm he shuddered. Vincent chuckled, making him flush. The tiny weight in his palm made his heart race. Vincent was bigger than his family, but still so small. What if he hurt him? What if he did something that killed him? What if he-?
“Rhys,” Vincent’s voice was soft, kind, and reassuring. The first time it wasn’t a nickname. “It’s fine, I trust you.”
The anxiety in his heart died down. Vincent crawled to the center of his palm. As soon as the man sat down, Rhys lifted his hand from the ground. He moved slowly, deliberately as he brought the man up to his eyes. Seeing him close like this left Rhys with a feeling of awe. Vincent’s eyes were all the more striking. His face was soft, just like his words.
Rhys brought his other hand up and grabbed Vincent’s hand. The small fingers tensed in his hold, but he didn’t pull away. Despite the size difference, he felt Vincent dig his nails into his own skin. He squeezed, just a little, trying to show he felt the small fingers on his skin. Rhys continued to hold his hand for a while. Eventually he let go and started to run his fingers up to trace Vincent’s entire body.
Vincent shuddered under his touch. There was no request to stop. He got to feel the soft silver hair. The warmth of the small man who kept coming back to him. The tiny hands that dug into his palm this time while he traced a finger down the firm arms. He moved to hover over Vincent’s chest and pressed down only a little. Rhys heard the gasp from the smaller man, but didn’t pull back. The tiny hands reached up and gripped the finger on Vincent’s chest, but he still wasn’t asked to stop.
“...why do you trust me?” Rhys whispered. Vincent’s miniscule hands tensed, trying to hold him tighter maybe?
“Why not?” Vincent said.
“I… I scared everyone before I left.” Rhys didn’t know if telling him was right, but he had to. He moved to cradle Vincent just above his mouth. A finger kept against the small face. “The first morning after this whole enchanted thing, I scared my closest friends. I was taller than one of them, he was always the tall one. Then I almost hurt my sister, she was trying to surprise me and I almost stepped right on her. I… one night I knew I was growing. My bed broke and I ran… I was supposed to see my family whenever I came through here. I haven’t in a long time though.”
Vincent sat up again in his palm. The violet and emerald eyes weren’t fierce or cruel. He rested a hand on the finger Rhys kept close. The man leaned into the large digit, and Rhys started to cry. He hadn’t spoken about those days in so long. How scared his closest friends looked. How wrong he felt, but Vincent didn’t look scared or angry. In a way it reminded him of when he was young and played pranks all over the kingdom.
“If they didn’t want you they weren’t worth it then,” he said. Rhys was shaking, he started to lower his hands. “Don’t move me. At least not to the ground. Don’t feel like sitting on the hard ground again.”
“I… I don’t know if they wanted me.” Rhys knew his voice was quiet. Barely audible even by his size. “I… I kept growing after I left. I stopped risking going near them after I saw the tops of trees. I… I didn’t want to hurt them.”
“You didn’t hurt me.”
Rhys nodded. Vincent was right, he didn’t cause the small man any pain. It was different. Vincent was definitely taller than his family. If… if Vincent came along it could be safe. It wasn’t fair to ask that of him. They were maybe friends. He couldn’t expect Vincent to trust him enough to go somewhere together. Even if it was nearby. Especially if his family wasn’t even there for him. It would seem like he lied to take him away.
“It’s late,” he said. Vincent nodded.
Vincent stretched and rubbed his shoulders. “Yeah it is, guess you should lie down so we can sleep.”
Rhys stared with wide eyes at the little man. He pulled his hand away from his face and curled his fingers over Vincent. Slowly he moved on to his side with Vincent still in his hand. Then he pulled that same hand close to his face before uncurling his fingers. Vincent moved to lie on his side staring into Rhys’s eyes. This… this felt nice. It felt normal, like they were the same. This was something he could live his life with. 
“Better have that strawberry breath in the morning or I’ll kill you,” Vincent whispered.
“Probably will, I don’t eat anything to cause it,” Rhys said. He leaned forward until his nose was against Vincent. He got the faintest hint of a smell, something like copper. “I think you smell like copper…”
“Weirdo knowing what a metal smells like.”
Rhys pulled back, but smiled as he watched Vincent. The smaller man closed his eyes and looked happy in his palm. He moved his forehead close enough to rest against his hand, this was nice. He wanted things to stay like this. To be close to someone. He started to hope Vincent felt the same. He might actually feel enchanted if he could stay with the small man falling asleep in his palm.
The next morning Rhys woke up alone. Positive it was a dream he tried to stop his shuddering breaths. When he sat up he found large letters drawn into the ground. Don’t leave before I come back. A blush coated his cheeks, Vincent would be back… He wasn’t alone.
It was almost a full week with no sign of Vincent. Rhys had to leave in a few days, the meeting with his family would come and go. Once it had passed he wouldn’t stay, but maybe… maybe for Vincent he would. He frowned, the silver hair hadn’t appeared in the shadow of the trees yet. With the sun setting it wasn’t likely the man would show up today. Rhys hugged his knees to his chest, Vincent might have given up.
A grunt caught his attention. His breath caught in his throat as a small form slipped into the slowly fading light. He gathered the tiny form into his hands without a second thought, a warmth spread out that he hated. He’d felt it a long time ago. 
“Sorry, tiny,” Vincent coughed. “Had some trouble getting out. They didn’t like that I was out so much. Thought I was getting ready to run away.”
“What, why?” Rhys breathed. He brought Vincent up to his eyes, tears already falling. He didn’t want the smaller man to die. 
“Heh, guess you didn’t know. Takes a special person to read those enchantment books. This is the latest place that decided it was worth keeping me.” Rhys curled his fingers in, hiding Vincent from everything. He didn’t know what it meant, but he’d keep the smaller man safe. “You know, I’m pretty tired. Your hand was cold the other night, how about your chest this time?”
Rhys didn’t hesitate. He brought Vincent over his heart before lying on his back. The small man went limp and left a gaping hole in Rhys’s heart. He… he had an idea. He hadn’t tried since all of this started. Since his birthday however long ago… Probably hundreds of years ago. 
“Rhys,” Vincent said. The quiet word pulled him from his thoughts. He had to remember the right feelings to use it. It would work, he’d save the small man who reminded him what it meant to be alive. To be seen. To be a person. “I lied to you.”
“What?” His own voice cracked. What possible thing could he have lied about? What would shatter the building warmth in the back of his heart? A warmth he’d abandoned for so long.
“That book had the full words. You probably even knew them. ‘Until you find your one true love’.” Vincent laughed, it was hollow. The feeling made everything happening worse. Rhys could feel the warmth of blood pooling on his chest now. “Probably wasn’t the best idea to keep sneaking in for a way to break it. Couldn’t stop myself, kind of wanted to be the answer for you. Didn’t think they’d stab me though.”
“I lied too.” Rhys focused on the better warmth, the one that he’d given up on ever trying to use. He could feel as it worked out of his heart and into his hand. The coolness overtaking the warmth of the pooling blood. His father explained it when his mother was bleeding like this once. How to heal someone. “I think… I might be that prince you read about. I am a prince, at least I was. I knew what broke what happened to me, but I wanted you to keep seeing me.”
“We’re both liars, I can live with that. I’m gonna sleep. G’night Tiny.”
“Good night… Vincent.”
Rhys closed his eyes pushing all the warmth he could into his hand. This had to save Vincent. He couldn’t lose the smaller man. It hadn’t been long, but no one else could replace him. Fuck the enchantment his true love was sitting on his chest and dying. He’d save him, find a way to solve all of this. To do something.
The next thing he knew he was on the ground without a small body on his chest. He sat up in a panic, looking for Vincent. His breath hitched when he turned to find a massive face with the scars he’d grown so curious about in front of him. As those eyes he’d been mesmerized by started to open he was frozen. Vincent… Vincent was huge now.
Emerald and violet locked on his small form. Time was still as the two stared at each other. More actions he couldn’t react to occurred. A massive hand grabbing him. His back was on Vincent’s middle and ring finger, the man’s thumb holding his stomach. His pinky and index were touching him and… and holding his wings? Rhys stared at the wings Vincent held steady.
“This is real,” Vincent breathed. That smell of copper wafted over Rhys. He was terrified. The grip was firm, the firmness that always exuded off the man. The other hand held one of Rhys’s wings still. He hadn’t even realized he was moving them. “Guess tiny is too on the nose of a nickname now.”
The smile shown on the now larger man’s face sent all the anxiety away. It was Vincent. The man who brought him treats. The man who kept visiting despite Rhys grabbing him at first. The man who almost died just to keep seeing him. To try and help him. His wings slowed. He didn’t even know they’d still grown while he was huge.
“Rhys,” Vincent’s voice was soft. It made him jump, but he nodded in response. “Are you scared of me?”
“...no,” he said. It was the truth. He wasn’t scared. The fingers holding his wings disappeared. The thumb on his stomach was released and he fell face first into a palm. It was covered in rough, calloused skin.  He pushed himself up to stare at the amazing eyes above him.
“So… what are you?” Rhys opened his mouth to answer, but Vincent used a finger to silence him. “Don’t say a person. Obviously you aren’t human so what are you?”
“A fairy, I thought you were one too. Just taller than my family. At least taller than I remembered them.”
“I don’t have wings, why the hell would you think I’m a fairy?” Rhys crossed his arms and glared up at Vincent.
“We’re not born with them Vincent. Obviously they grow later.”
“Right because I’d know the natural age progression of a fairy. Guess that explains why I’m not dead. You healed me right?” Rhys nodded. Vincent pulled Rhys close and pressed him against his chest. “Thanks, strawberry.”
Rhys grimaced that one was worse. He hated strawberries ever since his mom… his mom, his family. He could see them. It would be safe, he could go home! He started to struggle against the hand cradling him. Vincent let him go and he flew up to hover in front of the human’s face. His wings were buzzing behind him, he loved the sound.
“We have to go!” he shouted. He flew to the hand by Vincent’s chest and tugged on one of the fingers. “My family, this is when I’m supposed to meet them! We need to hurry.”
“Right, fairy. Guess hundreds of years isn’t the same,” Vincent mumbled. Rhys paused, there was a sour tone behind the words, but Vincent started moving. He’d worry about the sourness in the words after he saw his family.
The two moved shockingly fast. Rhys was sure it would take a lot longer, then again he always thought he’d be walking at his real height once the ring was gone. He thought someone his size would be next to him. He held the hand up that had held his curse for so long, the ring was really gone. It was over. Vincent’s shadow over him made him feel safe. It was weird, humans were always a scary story as he grew up. He barely believed they existed.
He burst out of the trees hoping to see his family hovering over the flower field. There was no one. He wasn’t giving up hope, not yet. They wouldn’t need to be there yet, it wasn’t time. The sun was still high. A curse behind him made him pause, Vincent had stepped on a flower. Vincent… he was as big as Rhys was when he ran for good. Rhys flew right back to his face.
“You need to be careful! Fairies could be out here,” he insisted. Vincent smirked before grabbing him. He was held the same way as earlier, fingers supporting his back and stopping his wings from flapping forward. The human kept walking, but the hold left Rhys with a feeling of safety.
“Please strawberry, I’m not a monster. I can keep an eye out for things that might be even smaller than-”
“Your highness!” A voice called. A voice Rhys knew. He was being pulled from the fingers holding him by hands his size. The fingers around him went limp as soon as a force tugged at him. Rhys was left with wings colored gold with hints of bronze blocking him from view. They barely moved as the fairy in front of him hovered. “We’ll keep you safe, grab the princess and return home. She’s far enough it won’t see you. This monster won’t follow you. Stay low to catch the others.”
“Wait! He’s not-”
“You really want to attack the one who helped break the strawberry prince’s enchanted ring?” Vincent sneered as he spoke. Rhys tried to look around Felix’s wings and found Ryder in the human’s face. Vincent lifted a hand up near Ryder, Rhys had his heart freeze as the human moved. All he did was press a finger to the point of what looked like a spear Ryder held. He moved it down and Rhys’s heart started beating again.
“You… broke the ring?” Ryder asked. “That was enough to free him?”
“Yup, came along for a reward. Not worth it with little brutes like you two.” Vincent had bent forward at some point. He stood straight up and glared down at both Ryder and Felix. Rhys saw the soft look sent his way. Vincent was giving him a way out, a way to go home without the truth ever being revealed. A way that didn’t include him- and that made Rhys sick.
“He’s lying.” Ryder and Felix looked at him with shock. Vincent narrowed his eyes. He would let Rhys decide what happens next. If… if his friends and family hated Vincent then he’d leave with the human. He had already been willing to give them up to keep the man in his life; this was no different. “He didn’t break the ring, he’s the answer to the enchantment. My true love.”
Rhys watched the weapon in Ryder’s hand fall. It kept going until it reached the dirt below. He waited, the anger and fear. Yelling at him for this being what happened. Treating him and Vincent like monsters. Treating the only one who made him realize he was still a person like something wrong. He couldn’t, he wouldn’t, let that be his life. Vincent was too important. 
Arms his size wrapped around him. Fear seized his heart as another pair joined the ones already containing his wings. From where he floated he saw Vincent’s eyes go wide and the massive being moved his arms. Rhys fell with the two around him. They landed on the calloused palms that held him earlier. He still expected fear, but it wasn’t happening.
“You finally get to come home,” Felix whispered. Both pairs of arms around him tightened. He couldn’t believe this.
“I apologize for threatening your love,” Ryder said. It was loud, loud enough Vincent definitely heard. “We’ve had some close calls when we came to see if you’d visit. I have to admit the princess was too eager that it might be you.”
“You… you’ve always come,” Rhys whispered. He looked up to the human holding him and his closest friends. It was easy to read the subtle hints of concern on Vincent’s face. He forced himself free, and climbed to his feet on the palm. Both Felix and Ryder stared at him, gold and silver wings buzzing. “This is Vincent.”
Ryder flew up to Vincent’s face. He did a bow that he’d done since being assigned Rhys’s guard. Vincent kept a dead look and didn’t speak. Felix flew up slowly, his wings were shaking. The two shared a look before Felix joined the bow as well. Then he lowered himself so his wings were on full display. The way they faced royalty.
“We apologize for our actions. We have been assigned to defend the prince at all costs,” Felix said. Rhys stumbled, they were still his guard? Even after all this time. “Our services would be passed to you as well, as his partner. We have had some issues during these trips away from the kingdom that made your hold something to worry about.”
Rhys felt the hand beneath him warm up. He started to fly up a bit and saw the hint of red finding its way to Vincent’s face. The human was looking between the bowed fairies and Rhys. As if he needed some kind of guidance. His wings started to buzz when reality hit him. Vincent didn’t know fairies, Vincent wasn’t one. The thought faded as the words Felix said finally registered in his mind.
“You’re still my guards?” Rhys asked. The two broke from their bows and faced him. Faces warm and kind, just how they always treated him. “I thought for sure you’d be changed or at least assigned to… Wait Del’s here! You said princess where-”
The words were knocked into silence as something, more likely someone, slammed into him. He was knocked back into the large palm that had stayed hovering just below him. It didn’t take much effort to move enough that he could see who was holding him. The fairy princess, his younger sister who hadn’t been close to her wings, Delphia.
“You’re home,” she whispered. “I thought… I was so sure I made you hate us. That you wouldn’t come back. I didn’t understand, I’m sorry. I should have realized the games we played before were dangerous I-”
“It wasn’t your fault I should have been careful. I… you were young. It was…” he started. The words didn’t exist to explain. Was it his fault for doing as he was raised? Was it his fault for not pulling away? More likely, how wasn’t it his fault?
“Don’t beat yourself up shortstack, he almost sat on me and he let me stay around. Strawberry’s just worried about hurting someone,” Vincent said. This time the human’s voice was soft and kind, Delphia pulled away to stare up at him. Almost like she hadn’t realized they were currently on his hand. Her arms tightened around Rhys, she was scared.
“I didn’t almost sit on you, you were near the trees.” Vincent’s other hand came up and ruffled Rhys’s hair.
“Close enough, probably as close as you came to hurting the shortstack here.” Rhys smiled, Vincent might be right. Delphia let him go.
“I have a name!” Rhys couldn’t hold back his laughter. Currently held by a human that she’s never met and her reaction is that he’s not using her name.
“So does Strawberry doesn’t mean I’ll use it.”
“Del, this is Vincent. He’s the answer, my love.” Rhys’s cheeks were red hot. How many times would he need to say that? At least one more… Vincent’s hand got warmer too. She shot up from the palm and plastered herself to the human’s face. Felix and Ryder both gasped as she did this. Just because he was with Rhys didn’t take away the distrust of humans. If he had known Vincent was human would he have let the man stay around?
“Thank you.” Rhys pushed the thoughts away as he watched his sister hugging the cheek of a human she just met. “Thank you for bringing him back.” She pulled away before offering a curtsy before the human. “I am Rhys’s younger sister and current crown princess.”
“Uh… sure no problem.” Vincent had a tinge of red on his cheeks that sent Rhys’s heart racing. The human was kind. Even if he knew Vincent was human, Rhys wouldn’t have been able to send the man away.
“Sorry to interrupt,” Felix cleared his throat. “The king and queen should arrive soon. I would suggest the human uh… Vincent I mean lie on the ground so as not to cause undue stress.”
“Sure.”
Rhys noticed the sour tone in the word again. He wanted to understand, but Vincent was moving. Rhys fluttered to the ground with Ryder next to him, Felix had pulled Delphia back to wait. He felt the way the human’s movements shook where they stood. He’d been bigger than this, a larger force of nature. Vincent trusted him… He wanted his family to trust the human he loved.
Once again he was pulled from his thoughts. When Vincent folded his arms in front of them the others relaxed. Felix and Ryder were telling him news. Delphia was telling him how things changed. That they still couldn’t find who gave him the ring and were more careful in case someone tried to do it again. All three spoke of how his mother and father had been worried. His father was quieter since he stopped visiting, something he struggled to believe. His mother was gone more often.
Overall, he learned his choice to stay away hadn’t been ignored like he thought. Felix and Ryder kept worrying they failed to protect him, the little brother of their group. Hearing that made him smile. Delphia apologized even more for driving him away, no matter how much he promised it wasn’t her. It was nice to see no one had wanted him gone, but it was the right choice. It brought him to Vincent.
He looked up at the human, a darkness was in the man’s eyes. Rhys wanted to ask, to understand the sour tones and pain he was seeing. Why the time he’d been gone could matter. Fairies were ageless once they grew their wings… Once their magic was at full strength. His heart shattered as it finally clicked. Humans weren’t like that… Humans lived small blips of time compared to a fairy.
“Vincent,” he started as he walked away from the others. The human’s demeanor changed. The snarky attitude he expected plastered on the face above him. He didn’t have words. He watched as the arm in front of him moved until a single finger was pressed against his chest. That finger pushed him back causing him to stumble a bit.
“What’s the long face for Strawberry?” Vincent asked. Rhys could hear the hints in the human’s voice. It was harder to hide it when Rhys was the small one. “Keep getting caught up, I’m listening too.”
Rhys tried to find the words. To tell Vincent they’d be together for both their lives. He didn’t have any way to promise that. It didn’t help when Ryder’s hand landed on his shoulder as Felix turned him around. In the distance he could see the wings of his parents. Dark black, so dark you couldn’t see the pattern of her magic. Brilliant white filled with images of life. The king and queen of fairies were walking on the ground. They always walked when together, he never understood why.
Once they were close enough he started to tremble. All the stories he’d been told before that stupid ring popped in his head. His father would be strict, expect no more of his mistakes. He was to stop playing his games and having fun. It was time for him to be a respectable prince, a respectable heir.
His mother noticed him first. Her wings started buzzing as soon as their eyes met. In a flash he was knocked to the ground while she hugged him tightly. Her wings continued to buzz loud enough he was sure Vincent would be hard to hear. Her arms tightened, he wrapped his own around her. He missed his family.
“Rhys, I’m so happy you’re back,” his mother said. She pulled away and he saw the tears rolling down her face. “I’ve been so worried since you stopped coming to see us. Your father wouldn’t let me go too far to try and find you. He felt you needed your space if you weren’t coming here.”
“I…” he said. His mother climbed to her feet and pulled him up with her. She looked up at Vincent, Rhys followed her gaze. The human looked sad and happy all at once. 
“This must be your true love then? A human?” Her mother flew up and offered her own bow in front of Vincent. Rhys’s heart thumped as a smile wormed its way on the human’s massive face. “An honor to meet you. Please call me Dabria. I hope my son hasn’t been much trouble.”
Rhys was distracted from Vincent’s response by his father. The man had continued his walk towards the small group. Despite being smaller than the human behind him, his father felt like a giant. A stern look, his wings frozen as he walked. Rhys tensed in an attempt to prepare for what was coming next. He knew the stories of the previous king, the iron handed rule back then. His father had been kinder, but no one expected it to last with his heir. 
“F-father,” Rhys said. He could feel the concern wafting off the human behind him. In the few stories he’d told, his father was kind. That didn’t include everything he’d been told before the birthday that changed everything. His father stopped right in front of him, the white glow from his wings was intimidating. “Vincent was the answer to the enchantme-”
Rhys was cut off as his father pulled him into a hug. His father’s chin was placed on his head, the white wings wrapping around them both. It reminded him of the times he had nightmares, protected from everything by the glowing white or black of his parents’ wings. The whole world went silent waiting for what this meant.
“Welcome back,” his father whispered. Rhys melted at those words. His father wasn’t a great speaker, but he could hear the crack of tears. He felt the droplets landing on his head as his father cried.
“I’m home,” Rhys said. His own voice was too quiet. He was sure no one would hear, but the arms and wings wrapped around him tightened. A worry that his father’s wings could rip snuck into his mind.
“With a human too.” The chuckle from his father made Rhys stiffen. “I guess it runs in the family. Your mother should be telling him, but she’s human too. At the castle I’ll show you a way to craft something to share your own magic. His life and yours would be tied together.”
Rhys pulled back to stare at his father with wide eyes. He was let go just as he started to try and see Vincent. The human had a look of shock on his face aimed at Rhys’s mother. Then looked back at Rhys. There was a moment where they seemed connected, like no one could come between them. A true love always sounded like a fantasy, but as he nodded to the human who offered a smile with a nod back. Rhys knew he had found someone that would stand by his side, enchantments be damned.
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awkwardgtace · 1 year ago
Text
Is Indoors Really Safe?
heey for gt july day 5 we have caught I decided to continue the prompt I got from @da3dm the first part is here
I did also remember someone had said they'd hope I do more so I hope you don't mind the tag @skmayor
Again since I'm kinda new to actually taggin people i'll add again y'all are welcome to ask me to start tagging you in stuff <3 I am anxious and awkward so worry about the actual act of doing that usually
Alessia has been living with the humans for a month, but she's still not sure they're trustworthy...
Is Indoors Really Safe?
Alessia wasn’t sure she made the right choice to go back with a human. All her things had been brought along, he even gave her a different rope to use with her hook. He said he wanted to make sure she wouldn’t lose a memory of her parents. It was weird. This human was weird. She kind of liked how weird Vitus was.
Then there was his wife. That human had her anxious. They only met once, but the woman tried to grab her. If Vitus wasn’t there she had no idea what would have happened. She might have wound up just like her parents. Although… the woman apologized and gave her an entire human room to live in. She didn’t trust that one though, Dabria was to stay far away.
The youngest of the three had her the most on edge. Every time she saw him he looked angry. Vitus mentioned there had been some arguments before he found her. Something about a fight that the younger human wouldn’t explain. She could see the fatigue on the older man’s face when he talked. She heard the younger one arguing in his room sometimes. He sounded angry, he’d thrown something once when she spied on him. Alessia would be staying far away from Felix.
Other than the humans, the new home Vitus took her to was nice. He kept his word, giving her freedom. Apparently they did put her near one of those vent things. She didn’t fully understand, but it went all through the house. Dabria called it central air. Alessia thought that was a dumb name. Air was central to, well, everything. It was in the middle of every place ever. At least the stupid name gave her nice paths.
Vitus would bring food and sit in the room to talk to her. She didn’t trust it, but when he brought that red liquid she would sit in the open. He called it tomato soup, she didn’t know what tomatoes were but she liked soup. Her mom had made soup a few times when she was young, she called it mixed herb surprise. The surprise was usually some acorns.
She’d been thinking about her parents more since moving to the human house. The times they would tell her stories and play games. The food they ate and how often it was just herbs with nothing else. Humans had so much and these ones shared with her. Vitus didn’t let Dabria in the room and both hid her from Felix. Her parents would never believe it.
In reality she couldn’t believe it. There was a part of her that thought it was a lie. That she’d be better off on her own still. It could be possible for her to find some other borrowers in the world. She’d work on leaving those thoughts behind once she was confident in the humans. Once she’d seen what was hidden from her.
Vitus would spend time in a room that she couldn’t enter. The vents didn’t give her an opening and he kept the door shut at all times. It didn’t have room for her to sneak in over or under the door itself. A perfectly sealed place. She would find a way. It held the truth of these humans, the truth of what she’d walked into. A truth she had to learn.
Alessia came up with what she deemed a perfect plan. She hid in the vent on the floor a few feet from the room’s door. She waited for him to enter, he did every day around the same time. Her goal was to climb up to the top of the door and swing in once he opened it again later.. It was easy. She climbed trees all the time. Plus she hid from humans and animals all the time. At least it was going to be until steps that shouldn’t have been around knocked her from the bit she’d climbed towards the handle of the door.
Dabria wasn’t home and Felix wasn’t supposed to come to this floor. They said he always stayed on the lower one. It was a lie, she knew humans lied. Of course Vitus lied. Felix ran towards her, she wasn’t in place, she wasn’t hidden yet. She was lying on her back on the floor staring at the massive human. He was shorter than Vitus, but heavier. Would he be the human to kill her?
“How did you get here?” he hissed. Was it a hiss? The human’s voice was low, it could have been a whisper. The fingers that found her were softer than Vitus’s but it made her more terrified. This one could hurt her without knowing it. She watched him stare at the shut door for a second. “We need to get you out of here before my dad finds you.”
Alessia’s eyes widened. Vitus was the safe one, wasn’t he? He nursed her back to health, saved her from a storm. Unless it was a trick. That he knew she’d been on his shoe. Known she was hiding and lured her. In that room he might be planning something awful. A way to torture her before she winds up like her parents.
Felix started talking, but her mind wouldn’t process his words. She was going to die. She never should have trusted a human. Her vision started to darken as her breathing became hard. The fingers around her were firm, they weren’t changing as the human carried her. It wouldn’t be long before they would tighten. Until her body was crushed and thrown away. As her consciousness faded she was grateful she wouldn’t be awake to face her death.
—--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“You just grabbed her!?” someone said. Alessia’s head was hurting. She didn’t expect to still be alive. She didn’t know why someone would be upset she was grabbed either. They had to be another human. Felix probably planned to give her to someone else or give the other human the fun of crushing her.
“She was outside my dad’s workshop and you two said he can’t know about anyone like you,” Felix was quieter than when he found her. Maybe not even next to her. Alessia gasped when the words sunk in. He said two. There were two more humans near her.
Snapping her eyes open she expected three towering figures surrounding her. Instead she saw Felix far enough he would need to take a few steps to reach her. Another borrower stood with his arms crossed and glaring up at the human. She wanted to take the chance to escape, but another borrower appeared in front of her. She yelped and drew the attention of the others in the room.
“Ah that’s a relief, you’re awake,” the black haired, silver eyed borrower said. Alessia slowly pushed herself up. She was on a pillow, kind of like when Vitus had taken her in. That reminded her of the danger he has to pose. Two of her kind don’t want him around them. She has to get away. “Call me Ryder, would you care to tell us your name?”
Felix came closer. They were all trapped with this human now. She was trapped with humans. Trusting them was a mistake. Except he didn’t grab her or this Ryder person. He set a hand out and the other borrower hopped off. Salmon hair and pink eyes still glaring at him.
“Are you ok? This guy looks scary, but he’s not like other humans,” the pink eyed one said. He walked up and held out a hand. “I’m Rhys.”
“What happens next?” she whispered. This time there wasn’t a plan. She didn’t even have her hook to get away. All the things from her parents were hidden away from sight. She’d never see them again. Tears fell from her eyes. She wanted the rope back at least, she needed that back. The heavy sigh that blew past her made this worse. The human was annoyed.
“I know I scared you, but my dad doesn’t watch where he’s walking. He might have hurt you, he doesn’t know people like you exist. You can leave once you’re ready,” it sounded like earlier. He had been whispering. She couldn’t believe it. Borrowers didn’t trust the human who saved her. She was in too much danger around any of these people. She wanted to go home, she didn’t even know how to get home.
Vitus only brought her here a month ago. If she had her bag and hook maybe she could get home. It… it was probably something possible. Her parents had told her how they traveled away from humans before. A bedtime story she loved hearing. It was the last one she’d heard before they were gone.
“Don’t worry we live nearby,” Rhys said. 
Ryder helped her to her feet. She couldn’t just run away. She had things, they’d look for her. That child had searched for her dad when he ran. Vitus would hunt her down. Even if she made it back he knew where she lived. This human knew where these two lived. There was no telling if this was a test either. Would she run given the chance?
“This is why we said don’t grab one of us if you find them!” Rhys shouted at Felix. Alessia flinched, yelling at a human would end in-
“You’re the one who said not to tell my dad,” Felix growled. Alessia shrank away, but Rhys stepped forward. Ryder even approached the angry human. “He’s barely talking to me still. I wouldn’t have grabbed her if he wasn’t about to find her!”
“You mean well, but our kind do not trust humans. Grabbing any of us would only make you more likely to be considered a threat. You could have spoken to her,” Ryder had stepped between Rhys and Felix. She stared in awe, he was explaining it to a human. A human who’s golden eyes were on fire, but he hadn’t made a move.
“You’ve said my dad can’t know. You said if he finds anyone like you they’d be in trouble. My dad would have opened that door and sent her flying. I didn’t have a choice,” Felix had his arms folded. Rhys and Ryder stayed firm against him. They were unbelievable. “Blame me all you want, but I did what I promised.”
“Promised?” she whispered. Rhys softened and looked at her.
“Yeah, Felix here promised not to tell anyone about us after he saved us.”
“Wait… he saved you?”
“Yes!” Ryder actually had a bright smile.The bristle of Felix’s anger was dying too. He looked away. “He fought another human so as to stop them from hurting us.”
“Why are you still here?” 
Felix seemed to deflate. The burn in his eyes died completely, his posture drooped. Under other circumstances she may have thought she hurt him. Ryder walked right up to Felix holding a hand up towards him. The human didn’t move. 
“He’s our friend that’s why!” The anger in Rhys’s voice made her jump. “Other humans always wanted to hurt us. Felix could have and he didn’t. His dad is still mad at him and he could just tell him about us, but he doesn’t because we’re friends!”
“A good human…” she muttered. Felix moved again, crouching down in front of her. She stumbled back and even managed to see past him. To see the wide open door, the tall stoic man watching them. His presence made her more terrified. Would she witness humans fighting?
“You don’t have to trust me or like me. They don’t trust my dad so I got you out of there. Decide where to go. I’ll leave so you don’t have some awful human bothering you,” Felix said. The way he acted had her worried. She didn’t usually worry about humans, but he… he was like Vitus. They weren’t bad.
“Why are you afraid of his dad?” 
Her question stopped Felix. What she could see of Vitus barely shifted. No one else was noticing the much taller human. He wasn’t doing anything either. She noticed a point where he seemed to meet her eyes. He offered her a sad smile, like he knew too. What didn’t she know?
“Wouldn’t you be?” Ryder said. His voice was different, the dramatic tone falling away. “You must have seen him if you were up there. He glares at everything, even his steps are a lot.”
“You can trust him,” Felix’s voice was quiet enough she would have thought Rhys or Ryder whispered it.
“You said that, but you don’t know! The last adult who saw us wanted to kill us!” Rhys shouted. 
Unfortunately that reached Vitus and Alessia noticed the man shifting. He wasn’t quiet, at least not quiet enough for the other borrowers not to notice. This time she stayed somewhat calm while the other two froze. If… if this human… If Felix wasn’t bad then Vitus wasn’t bad and she hadn’t set herself up to die. 
Vitus had mentioned the fight, that it had been almost a year. A whole year the two hadn’t been speaking. A year of two borrowers choosing to come and go with a human knowing. She… she was always going to be afraid, but these ones she could try to trust. The truth was she was more terrified she’d be left alone again than they’d hurt her. She was scared of what could make humans be taken from her.
“Guess I’ve been caught,” his voice was gravelly. It was nothing like that usually. He cleared his throat and she jumped along with the other two borrowers. Felix jumped up with his back facing her and the others. He stepped forward and glared up at his dad. At Vitus. “Felix-”
“Dad, what happened to always knocking?” Felix said. He sounded angry. Rhys and Ryder ran up to her and grabbed her arms. They started to drag her away, towards the spot she’d seen Rhys arguing with Felix at first.
“Go, I’ll stay here just in case,” Ryder whispered. He let go pushing Rhys and Alessia forward. She stumbled, but Rhys tugged her along. Rhys was crying, the tears fell from his face to her arm.
“Hurry, we have to run!” Rhys’s voice was hoarse. Alessia knew that pain. Rhys expected Ryder to die.
“Wait,” the words started before her mind caught up, “he’s not dangerous. He brought me here after we met… I live here in a human room.”
Rhys tripped over his feet when she spoke. Ryder stared at her with wide eyes. Felix and Vitus didn’t notice the words they shared. She was able to watch as Felix shifted to keep Vitus from entering the room. Ryder ran up to the two as the humans continued to face each other. Vitus looked over at them, he looked almost happy they weren’t running.
“I found Alessia’s hook and got worried. I was going to check the kitchen when I heard you talking. That I don’t watch where I’m walking,” Vitus smirked. It was like when he spoke to her. An attempt to calm the situation.
“Alessia?” Felix asked. He tilted his head, the hand behind his back was waving. Telling them to run… He was keeping them safe. “Who is that?”
Alessia saw the small change in Vitus’s expression. Widened eyes that flashed concern only to switch to pride. Vitus set a hand on Felix’s shoulder. The younger human braced, Rhys and Ryder grabbed her and backed up. No one knew what the taller man would do, Alessia had a guess. If her guess was right then these were humans she’d try to trust. If she was wrong they would all run.
“I’m proud of you,” Vitus said as he pulled Felix into a hug. All of them seemed to relax once that happened. “I was sure there was something you’d been hiding. I had no idea what to do if I was wrong about the reason you wouldn’t tell us what caused the fight. That it was like that man said.”
“Dad I…” Felix tried. It was clear that this had caused a change. Rhys and Ryder looked at each other before stepping forward. Alessia watched the two reach the edge of the table. The edge where they could never run to safety in time. 
“He saved us!” Rhys shouted. Vitus let Felix go to stare at them. Another gaze at Alessia from the man. “We… I fell in his bag Ryder followed to try and get me out. The teacher found us and wanted to… to do really bad things. Felix fought him to get us away.”
“Rhys speaks the truth,” Ryder said as he pressed a hand to his heart. “We owe Felix our lives. He hid the truth for us, we have had many poor meetings with adult humans. There is a reason it is merely the two of us now.”
“I see.” Vitus stepped forward. Alessia stepped up to hold a hand of each of them. Vitus was terrifying to face. The man stopped away from them and crouched down. All three borrowers face to face with a human who could crush them in an instant. “Well, we have room. The two of you are free to stay here, just like Alessia. Speaking of which, Alessia, I have been working on something for you.”
“F-for me?” she asked. He nodded standing up straight and offering her his hand. She was scared, but stepped forward. She crawled into the palm, a smile from the human a welcome response.
“Why don’t I show all four of you?” She looked back at Rhys and Ryder. They were clearly nervous, but Vitus didn’t actually wait for them. He stepped back pulling his hand up to his chest. He paused in front of Felix. “We’re in the extra room at the end of the hall.”
Alessia was taken with him. He held her close to his chest. Each step shook through her spine, but that fear Felix gave her had melted. A month in and he hadn’t done anything. He even made Dabria stay away and hid her from Felix. She couldn’t help wondering if he was mad at her. That Felix caught her, that she expected so little.
“You could have asked about the room, I would have let you in,” he said. It made her jump. “It’s locked up tight because I make things in there. It’s a lot of wood dust, that’s bad to breathe in. I try to keep the dust inside so I can clean it up when I’m done working.”
 “Oh…” she said. It made sense, humans did a lot of weird things. They knew a lot too. Words that he still had to explain. Like windows, those things were weird. So was glass. A finger poked her and made her look up. He had a soft look on his face.
“I know you’ll be scared and have doubts, Alessia.” The voice was quiet and reassuring. “It’s a big move to risk living here. Take your time, we’ll all be here when you’re ready.”
“...really? Isn’t that bad? You… I agreed to come here.”
“Take the time you need to trust us. You’ve taken a risk trusting just me. You don’t have to move faster than you’re ready for.”
Alessia wrapped her arms around the finger that had poked her, “Thank you.”
“Wait until you see what I’ve been working on to say that.”
Vitus kept walking, it was clear to her he moved slower to give the others time to decide. It could have been giving him time to speak with her. Either way she appreciated it. She stared at the doors they passed, worrying when they walked by the one they gave her. That was where she would still get to stay right?
Vitus walked for a little longer. He stopped at a door that almost blended in with the wall. She wanted to ask, but saw he’d already started to push open the door. The room itself was normal. At least the normal she’d learned about. It looked kind of like the room they gave her without the bed. Just shelves, one of the table things, and what she lived under. There was nothing different.
He walked into the room and up to the thing she lived under. She tried to remember the word, dresser maybe. He stopped there and turned to the door. There she saw Felix with Rhys and Ryder sitting on his shoulders. If others like her could do that they couldn’t be bad humans. Vitus turned back to the dresser thing and crouched down.
“It’s not quite done yet, but it’s enough to show you. I thought you deserved a place we couldn’t just appear without warning,” he said.
Alessia stared in awe as he turned the dresser thing. The inner part was completely gone, but it looked kind of like the house the humans had. Even inside there was one of the beds Vitus said she could use if she wanted, but her size. A room with stuff she’d never seen before and things she’d seen around the house. One she was pretty sure Dabria called a couch when she was spying.
“Woah,” Rhys said. She looked away from the amazing dresser thing to stare up. Felix was leaning over to see them. “It looks like a house, but for someone like us.”
Vitus laughed a bit. His laugh made her smile, it was infectious. She wanted to feel comfortable with humans. At least these humans, they weren’t like the one in her past. They weren’t going to hurt her or those her size.
“That’s my goal,” he smiled. “There’s a lot more work to be done on it. I’m looking into some plumbing and wiring I can set up. I want to give you a place that’s more like the home that’s around you, but that you can use. Of course if you two would like to stay I’ll be making this project a bit bigger.”
“You’re really gonna try and put a shower and stuff here?” Rhys sounded excited. “And wiring? Like lights and-and all the other stuff?”
“I would like to, but I never really worked with it.”
“Rhys knows a lot about it,” Ryder said. Alessia turned around to face them more comfortably. Rhys looked like he was vibrating on Felix’s shoulder. The human cupped a hand around the borrower to keep him from falling.
“Oh?” She could hear the laugh in his voice. He’d spoken like that to her. To encourage her. Vitus… Vitus was a good person. He’d be so much easier to keep trusting if he were a borrower. “Would you mind helping me? It would have to be once all the wood work is done. I don’t think I have protection for someone your size and wouldn’t want any of you getting sick.”
“Can I really help?!” Rhys had climbed up leaning over Felix’s fingers. Alessia thought he was foolish. He’d fall and die if Felix moved. Vitus nodded, she noticed the look Rhys sent to Ryder. The subtle nod of the other. “We’ll stay to help with this at least. We can’t leave you to take care of another borrower when you don’t know anything anyway.”
“Rhys!” Ryder smiled when Felix cried out. “Can’t you just admit you want an excuse to play with electronics?”
“Don’t tell him that!”
“I believe he’d already noticed. You aren’t subtle.”
Alessia watched Rhys disappear behind the hand blocking him from falling. The smiles on the other two told her this was normal. This might work out. She might really have a good home with safe people here. Plus she wasn’t alone, other borrowers. Others who could teach her things her parents were taken too soon to. This might even turn into a family for her.
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awkwardgtace · 2 years ago
Text
Ice Cube Prank Gone Wrong... or Right?
hey @da3dm here's the next request. This might have changed a little bit from the original idea.
Rhys is a young borrower that likes to play tricks on mostly one of the two humans he lives with. One day it goes a little wrong.
Ice Cube Prank Gone Wrong... or Right?
Rhys glared at the dark blue thread currently wrapped around his ankle. It mocked him as he hung limply from the vent with that as his only life line. Stupid vent just had to shift under his weight and make him fall. He knew he was lucky he was caught by the thread, but he was more annoyed that his prank wouldn’t work out now. How could he drop one of those weird cold plastic cubes on the grumpy human when he was stuck like this? 
It would be easy to free himself. It wasn’t like this was the first time he was caught by his ankle, but the humans were loudly talking in the other room. He had time to glare at the thread and vent for betraying him. At least he was supposed to have time. The humans were supposed to stay in the kitchen together. This was the day they always did that, but one voice started to come closer. From where he hung in the sky Rhys saw the grumpy human in the doorway starting to walk away from the room the other was in.
“I’ll just eat later, I have to meet this deadline,” the grumpy one shouted. Rhys started to try and climb up enough to free his ankle. He had to work quickly. Heavy steps rocked through him making it hard to grab the string.
Rhys froze when he felt himself drop. Staring up he saw the thread fraying. The sharper edge of the vent had caused the thread to weaken. Another step from the human had him drop again. He managed to grab the thread and start to pull it apart enough to free his ankle. He paused as he dropped again to stare down at the floor that would kill him if he landed on it. Another heavy step, another drop, and he went back to work.
Biting back a cheer he pulled his ankle free, holding himself up with the thread. Unfortunately it wasn’t fast enough, the human took another set of quick steps that had him falling. Rhys had no time to scream as his body registered the free fall. He was going to hit the hard ground and turn into nothing. His mouth kept moving as he tried to make some noise to maybe land on a human’s hand rather than the floor.
His body collided with something soft and warm, but firm too. The thing shifted forcing Rhys to slide down the soft surface. He felt more than heard the human make a noise that would usually make him laugh. He tried to grab onto something, but found only a surface that felt like skin against his palms. Ice filled his veins as the realization of where he landed hit him. The human, the grumpy human and he was still sliding down towards the floor. The reality didn’t get to set in long before he’d fallen between the human’s shirt and skin.
“Ryder! An ice cube really?” the human shouted. The voice was too loud. Covering his ears would have been a blessing. It took a steeper fall for him to remember to grab the cloth and avoid reaching the hard floor. “I told you to knock it off with these dumb-” A hand reached in too quickly to dodge. Rhys had the air squeezed out of him as fingers pinched him. “-pranks.” 
Rhys was pulled out from the human’s shirt and rushed up to see a giant face. He felt sick as the golden eyes studied him. It had been terrifying to consider being caught by either of the humans. The one holding him always looked angry and put his full weight into each step. The yelling would bring the one with silver eyes, meticulous in everything he did down to the bits of plastic he left out a lot. The one holding him narrowed his golden eyes.
“...You’re not an ice cube,” the golden eyed human said. 
Rhys had quips and responses flit through his mind. No I’m not, put me down. I’m just one you’ve never seen. Correct now if you’d let me go. I’m a new ice they’re testing out. None of them sounded quite right. He didn’t really know what an ice cube even was. His best guess would be that plastic square filled with water he was planning to drop on the grumpy human. 
Either way he couldn’t bring himself to make a sound. Even if he did speak and miraculously got let go, there was no way for him to get home. He never set up the ladders and steps he needed after he moved here. The humans were too fun to mess with. Along with how hard it was to steal the materials from them. A stolen pin had grumpy searching for hours until Rhys put it back. A stolen plastic sword from the other one had the guy almost digging into the vent that Rhys liked to store things in. No reason to bring it all the way home when the humans might go crazy enough he gives it back.
“Felix I don’t know what you’re talking about,” the meticulous one said. He was coming closer now. The steps reached him even through the grumpy one. The fingers holding him actually tensed which forced a pained gasp to escape. It was followed with almost too much pressure removed. Rhys had to hold the fingers to make sure he wouldn’t fall.
Horrified, he stared at the entryway the grumpy human had come from. The other human appeared, his long black hair tied back and out of his face. He always knew the grumpy one was shorter, but held up this high made it more obvious. It was also more terrifying as the taller one came closer. His silver eyes lit up once they found Rhys. The approach of the tall one grew worse once he smiled.
Fingers thinner than the ones currently trapping him wrapped around him. Rhys could feel the strength in the digits as they forced him from Grumpy’s hold. He was moved quickly, fast enough to make him feel sick. The light around him disappeared. The fingers pressed him to something firm and warm. Not as soft as before, but that wasn’t important. The fingers slid until he was pressed against that firm surface by a human palm.
“Ryder, what exactly are you doing?” Grumpy asked. Rhys was doing everything he could to forget about those eyes. The way they looked at him made him want to die.
“You mistook them for an ice cube, they have to warm up,” the meticulous one announced. He always spoke like he was issuing orders to someone.
“You don’t even know if it’s supposed to be that cold. Warming it up could kill it.” 
Rhys shivered at the tone used. He was going to be just some bug or animal to these two. He shouldn’t have been so focused on messing with them. They just kept blaming each other, but never did anything else. It was funny and almost made him feel like he belonged here. It was a lot nicer after the way he was sent away from his last few homes.
It seemed like the one holding him now at least wanted to help him live. That could give him the chance to escape. Then he’d leave and find another new home. The fourth one this year…��
“Please, nothing alive should be this cold. Probably came in from outside due to the weather,” the meticulous one said. Rhys almost nodded along to that. A perfect excuse that he could use. A clicking sound came from above. It made his blood run cold. The things he left in the vent weren’t likely to stay where he left them now. 
“Ryder, you have no idea what that is, if it belongs-” the grumpy one stopped. Silence followed for a horrible span of seconds. 
Rhys held his breath, unable to see what was happening. The fingers that slid away wrapped around him. He grabbed the cloth shirt as tight as he could, desperate for something to keep him safe. His attempts to stay were completely ignored as the meticulous one pulled him free. He was forced to face the humans, wrapped in a tight fist. The grumpy one held a purple plastic cube between his fingers. The traitorous frozen thing had become slick in the warm air of the vent.
“Aha,” the shout made him jump, the meticulous one was too loud. “It appears we discovered a little prankster!”
 Rhys started shaking. The humans definitely would hurt him now. He felt the golden eyes assessing him the whole time. The softer hand was held out near him. Rhys looked at the one holding him, there was something in the way he looked that answered any questions Rhys could ask. The grumpy one was going to get his way, it didn’t matter what happened.
The fist holding him moved until he was dropped on the palm. Fingers curled over him. He was brought close to those eyes, he genuinely considered poking one to try and escape. That would just kill him, Grumpy was wearing a shirt that just had thin bits of fabric on his shoulders to hold it up. Grumpy let out a hum while staring at him.
“Ryder, finish cooking breakfast. We’ll come eat in about…” Grumpy mumbled as he tilted his head, “thirty minutes.”
“Yes sir!” the other said. 
The hand holding Rhys wrapped the fingers around him blocking most of his view. He was pulled close to the human, unable to see anything around him anymore. The steps jolted through his spine. This human wasn’t thinking about anything he did as he walked. Rhys didn’t want to see what Grumpy was planning. He tried to run through what he’d been taught before being sent off on his own. He was following one rule at least, never refer to a human by their name. Being too familiar could get him killed, although familiar wasn’t the issue now that he was caught.
Felix sighed as he kicked the door shut to his work room. He should have warmer fabrics than the creature currently wore in here. He just needed an idea of how big it really was. He walked to the desk he used to test designs, none of the dolls were quite small enough. They’d work at least.
He sat down, grabbing a few things before bringing his hand close to the table. Folding back his fingers, the thing was still shaking. It was hard to believe this was actually planning to drop an ice cube on anyone. Probably just liked the color and tried to steal it. He tilted his hand until the creature slid off. He hesitated for only a second before curling his other hand around it.
Felix grabbed a few of the heavier sewing kits he owned and placed them around the creature. Each side blocked off except the one open to where he’d be working on something. He considered something to keep it occupied. If it liked purple he could give it some purple fabric. Maybe it would make a nest on his desk… that would be interesting at least. He pulled his hand back, resting his elbow next to the sewing kit near the edge of the table.
“Stay put,” he mumbled. He didn’t really expect the thing to listen. Looking human doesn’t make it human. “I have a feeling you’ll run off if I don’t stop you.”
Felix grabbed the smallest doll he had. It was still at least twice as big as the creature. He found himself wondering if there were any other extremities he should worry about. Wings, a tail, anything. He’d just have to assume there weren’t. He wasn’t going to risk injuring it to find out, plus he’d need more than thirty minutes to go that detailed. He snapped the doll apart to get to work.
Felix jumped as the small creature shrieked. He stared at the thing, the small hands held over its head in fear. He didn’t see how it could have hurt itself. There weren’t any loose pins around. The idea that this had been the cause of the string of pranks he’d suffered only grew more impossible. Although the shaking was making him struggle to believe it wasn’t as human as it looked.
He noticed the creature looking at the doll in his hands. His own eyes went wide as he made the connection. Ryder’s theory that it came in to avoid the cold may not be wrong. If it had been in the house for any time it would know the dolls come apart. He put the doll back together, holding it out to the little creature. He used his empty hand to tap the creature’s head, guilt consuming him as the little thing scrambled away. The eyes locked on his fingers.
“Hey,” he whispered. He spared a glance at the doll he held. This creature was smaller than it and the doll was already so small in his hands. “They’re designed to come apart. I’m not gonna hurt you, I just use them to make small designs easier. Here, try pulling it apart, it’s easy.”
Felix held the doll’s head close to the little thing. He didn’t expect it to listen, he wasn’t ready to accept tiny people existed. It was a strange creature that used fabric to cover some shell or something… probably. Regardless he’d make something to keep it warm. After that they’d have to wait and see. The small form slowly stood and reached past the doll head to the shoulders. He smiled a bit when pink eyes stared up at him. Weird eyes just like he and Ryder had.
The small person tugged on the doll’s body. Felix didn’t even need to help, the doll popped apart. He smiled when a look of awe took over the creature’s face. There was a chance it hadn’t spoken because it was mute. It looked so much like a person, it was getting harder to deny that. It was possible that their voice was too quiet for them to hear too. The face was staring straight at where the doll had separated.
“Wow…” they whispered. Felix thought his heart stopped. That was definitely not meant for him to hear. It would be easy to pass off as the wind. At least if he hadn’t been sure the small mouth moved when he heard it. He sat back, pulling a slightly bigger doll closer to work with. He couldn’t deny it anymore, they’d found a tiny person. He’d wait until they’d eaten to ask about getting measurements for better clothes.
It was hard to guess the right size for someone so small while working on a doll four times their size. It didn’t have to be perfect though, an oversized sweater was enough. He kept looking at the small person while he worked. They were studying the part where the doll broke apart. It was clear they’d never seen something like it up close. He smiled when he saw the way they acted when they found another part that could disconnect.
Felix finished the sweater, but left the small person investigating the doll longer. At one point he reached closer to show more of how it worked. They backed away, but moved closer as soon as his hands were gone. It sort of reminded him of when he and Ryder were younger. The constant questions from the younger one about what he worked on. The look of awe felt more like their sister though.
“We’ve probably made Ryder wait long enough,” he said. The little person jumped and stumbled away from the doll. Felix grabbed the pieces, locking them back in place. He offered the sweater to the person, hoping it would work to get some response. He wanted proof he hadn’t imagined their voice. It would make everything a lot easier moving forward. 
Small hands grabbed the sweater. The little face stared up at him with wonder and something he couldn’t name. The purple sweater was pulled over the small head. Felix had estimated poorly, it looked like it hung down past their thighs. It would be something he could fix once they started communicating. It had only just occurred to him they might speak different languages.
Felix reached for the small being. Hesitating when they started to shake again. He bit his lip, they couldn’t just wander freely. They would probably disappear, or worse a careless action could hurt them. He wasn’t about to let them die from his own ignorance. He pulled his hand back and set it in front of the person instead.
“Is this better?” he asked. The small face stared at him again, Ryder wasn’t going to be happy to let them leave anytime soon. Their frame looked thin. They felt it when he held them too. It was likely the little person hadn’t had a good meal for a long time. They nodded, Felix felt like an idiot. They listened when he offered the doll, of course they spoke the same language. He would have to make it up to them for doubting their personhood later. “I’m Felix.”
“...grumpy,” the small person said. He could hear a bit clearer. The voice was much more masculine than he first thought. The little man looked up with wide eyes. A deep breath made the sweater hanging loosely on his frame move. Felix opted to let Ryder deal with trying to make the man talk.
“Ryder’s waiting, let’s go.”
Ryder had focused his time since meeting the little prankster on trying to make small pancakes. He didn’t have the best judge of the small person’s size, but that wouldn’t stop him. Of course it didn’t help that he burned a lot of attempts. The delay Felix ran into wound up being something he appreciated. By the time he heard his elder brother returning he had the prankster’s portion ready. He set the plates with the pancakes he’d made for the two of them down.
Ryder stared at the small pile of tiny pancakes. He needed something for the little prankster to eat from. He searched around the kitchen before settling on a small dish they had from a tea set someone gave Felix a long time ago. He knocked the pile of food onto the dish, setting it centered between the two normal plates. He opened a bottle of water, using the cap to hold syrup for the small person.
As Ryder set the bottle cap down Felix walked in. His brother carried the small person in a flattened palm held near his chest. The small person didn’t appear to love the arrangement, but it might be better than a fist. He’d take that into consideration the next time he held them. Felix took his seat and set his palm down on the table. It made him smile to see the little prankster in something his brother had put together.
Ryder took his seat, leaning his elbows on the table. He put his hands up to rest his head on as he stared at the small person. It was clear they were young, probably close to his sister’s age. It made him worried that someone else was around they hadn’t seen. Felix hit his arm distracting him from his thoughts. The little person was staring up at him.
“I hope you haven’t found my brother poor company,” he said. Felix sighed, he never did like how Ryder phrased things. “I hope the pancakes are something you’ll enjoy, little prankster.”
The small person tensed. It made him worried. He moved his hand to check, but they scrambled away. The reaction spurred him on, reaching closer to them. Felix cleared his throat, getting Ryder to look at him. A single shake of his brother’s head made Ryder pull his hand back immediately. He looked to Felix for a sign of what to do next, a shrug was not the answer he wanted. 
“...gonna…me…” the small person said. Ryder leaned closer to try and hear them better. The following stumble made it worse again. Especially when they tripped on the too long sleeve of the sweater Felix gave them. He and Felix shot out a hand to catch them, but failed. The small person fell onto the bottle cap of syrup spilling it on the table and themself.
Felix stood up quickly, shaking the table as he did. Ryder frowned as the prankster wound up covered in more of the sticky syrup. He reached forward with every intent to help the person. They started trying to force their way out of the purple sweater on their own. Looking at the mess, the best option seemed to be pulling them by their legs. It would get them out of the sticky substance, mostly clean. 
Ryder moved carefully to pinch the small legs between two of his fingers. He pulled the prankster free from the predicament. The amount of squirming made him frown. The attempt was successful as he pulled them up and away from the puddle of syrup. The sink was running as Felix got things to clean the mess, he was almost tempted to just bring them over to it.
All his thoughts stopped when he met the face of the being he held. Nothing could make the tears on their face any clearer. The sniffling he heard was louder than a concert speaker to him. Slowly and carefully he set the little prankster down on the table. It was the first time Ryder took a good look at them.
The little person was young, younger than his sister. Salmon hair that needed to be taken care of and bits of dirt stuck to his tan skin. They didn’t find a small adult or a child without a parent. They found a young boy who was on his own in a world that definitely wasn’t made for him. Felix came back with a few wet paper towels, but Ryder knew the damage was done. They’d made things awful for a child.
Rhys wanted to die. He’d been able to handle it with Grumpy. Completely dumbfounded when he learned the human hadn’t just been finding the same doll a million times. Of course with both of them staring at him he’d started to lose his confidence. It didn’t help that he was almost positive Grumpy heard him mumble that in response to his offered name. Trying to speak was a mistake, he should just stay a dumb quiet animal so these monsters let him go.
He didn’t expect to be put down gently after Meticulous held him by his legs. A quick motion had him curled in a ball the second he was free of those fingers. Honestly, he thought that was going to be when he died. Whatever curiosity kept him safe so far would be gone now that he made a mess. No reason for humans to be any nicer than other borrowers.
“Hey,” Meticulous said. Rhys just tried to curl up smaller. Maybe he could disappear if he got small enough. “No one is going to hurt you.”
“As if I can trust humans,” he mumbled. Something cold touched him, making him jump. Grumpy’s face was close.
“So you can talk little guy,” he smirked. Rhys was even more mad at himself. He should know better by now. Talking to himself is what got him sent off on his own in the first place. He hugged his knees as tightly as he could. Desperately hoping the humans would think he died or something. A finger poked him, he tried not to move. “You need to clean the syrup off of yourself. Can you do that?”
Rhys refused to move. He felt one sigh and heard the other’s. Mumbled voices that he couldn’t make himself understand. Humans plotting was bad. He was expecting those huge fingers to lift him up and start wiping off the syrup stuff. Instead he was left alone. The humans moved other things, but not him. Slowly he chanced looking at them again. Grumpy had the clothes he made and turned away with them. Meticulous was holding a plate of something up high with his arm stretched over Rhys to do something.
Grumpy took a seat in front of one of the giant plates again. Meticulous set the one he held down in front of Rhys before sitting down himself. The two humans shared a look before nodding at each other. Rhys just hugged his knees tighter. A part of him thought if he didn’t act then they’d forget about him. Once he was forgotten about he could try to do something.
“You should eat the pancakes before they get too cold,” Meticulous said.
“He’s right. The syrup incident just joins our list. There’s also the butter event and the jelly fiasco,” Grumpy said.
“Jelly…?” Rhys mumbled. He didn’t know what jelly was. Grumpy got a smile on his face that actually made him look nice. Meticulous groaned which made him jump.
“My dear brother never tires of telling this story.” Rhys tilted his head, but Grumpy’s smile got bigger.
“He’s right I don’t. The kiddo here asked about it, no reason not to tell him.” Meticulous buried his head in his hands. “When Ryder here was a kid he wanted to make everyone breakfast. He was determined and succeeded in burnt toast. He slathered peanut butter on some pieces and decided he needed jelly to add to it.”
Rhys found himself nodding along. It wasn’t like Grumpy was a good story teller, but Meticulous reacting by hiding made him curious.
“Well the jar was stuck closed. Ryder wasn’t going to let that stop him, but his master plan was to hold it up above him to open it,” Grumpy mimed the action, holding an imaginary something above him and twisting his other hand a bit lower. “Our parents walked in just in time to try and stop him. He was pulled off the chair he stood on only to manage to open the jar as our dad held him close.”
Grumpy was laughing and Meticulous moaned. Rhys found himself grinning.
“The jar popped open and jelly spilled all over Ryder, our dad, the chair and the floor. Somehow it missed the burnt toast completely despite the splash all over.” Grumpy leaned closer holding up a finger with a big grin. Rhys actually leaned forward too. “The best part was back then every time he made a mistake it was some heroic deed. So he valiantly announced he’d defeated the monster trapped in the jelly.”
Grumpy started to laugh more and Meticulous hit his head on the table. Rhys wound up laughing too. It sounded funny even if he didn’t know what all the words were. Especially with Meticulous getting so upset. Grumpy kept a big grin on his face as Meticulous sat up straight again. They both were smiling still, it made him feel a lot safer.
With that safe feeling he decided to try the food they put near him. He reached out to one, it was almost as big as his head so he ripped a part off. Carefully he took a bite and his mind went blank. He couldn’t remember having warm food really ever, but it was more than that. He never had something that tasted like this. He started to eat quickly, completely ignoring the humans. He didn’t want them to take it away. 
“Hey,” Meticulous whispered while tapping Rhys’s head. Rhys froze, looking up at the human. “Take it slow, if you eat that whole pile I can make more. Or you can take from one of our plates. Going too fast can get you sick.”
Rhys nodded and forced himself to go slower. He almost wondered if they’d let him take some home. If they let him go. Although getting let go still wouldn’t do much. He didn’t get to focus on his situation for long. The two humans started to talk again. Telling more stories that wound up with him laughing. He had no idea how long he sat between them listening, how long he felt like this was normal.
After a while he realized he couldn’t eat anymore of the food. He frowned at the pile that was still mostly his height. He didn’t want it to go to waste. The two humans ate everything they had. He felt almost out of place, but the casual way the two talked had him lose that thought. He liked how they acted. Every once in a while they’d say something directly at him, but neither made him answer.
“Well, it’s almost time I get back to work on my designs,” Grumpy said as he stretched.
“I do need to finish painting those figures,” Meticulous nodded. Rhys felt a little sad that this couldn’t keep going.
“What about you, kiddo?” He jumped when Grumpy spoke to him, but got excited too. He never got to talk about the things he was planning. “What are your plans for the day?”
“After I dropped the cold purple thing on the grumpy human I was gonna try and take some warmer fabric from him. Then I wanted to see if the meticulous one dropped one of those swords so I could take… it…” Rhys trailed off. He realized too late that he excitedly told both humans his plans to first play a trick on one and then take from the other. He stared up in fear, but both humans had a look that almost made him feel safe.
“Grumpy… I wouldn’t think I look grumpy. Although Ryder does fit meticulous.” Rhys shrank away from the humans staring at him. Slowly Meticulous started to shake. Rhys started to slide back, he only moved a little before the human burst out laughing.
“I’m sorry, but Felix, that is one of the nicer things someone has said when they see your neutral expression.” Rhys backed up more. He didn’t want to be near angry humans. Grumpy sighed.
“That is true…” Grumpy’s eyes locked on Rhys again. “So, what else were you planning today? I don’t think you’ll get one of the swords you wanted. All of the meticulous human’s statues are being sent out soon. They need those weapons. I’d be happy to get you some warmer fabric, even make the clothes once I’m done with my designs.”
“Felix, he'd be bored watching you work. Why don’t you come help me paint, little prankster?”
Two hands were set down in front of him. He backed away, the warmth from them terrifying. He started to feel safe, like he belonged. That was dangerous. All he found out was these humans wanted to keep him and he wouldn’t get to find a new home. He didn’t want to be a pet… He wanted to keep exploring and playing his tricks. 
“Y-you’re keeping me?” he managed to ask. The humans shared wide eyed looks with each other. Both hands were pulled back. He didn’t know what was worse.
“No, we’re giving you a choice to spend the day with one of us,” Grumpy whispered.
“A-aren’t you mad?” A finger ruffled his hair and made him duck down to hug his knees.
“When I thought my brother, the adult, was playing tricks? Yes. A kid having fun, not so much.” Rhys stared at the humans with his own eyes wide. He pouted almost immediately after.
“I’m not a kid.” Meticulous leaned closer.
“How old are you?”
“Fourteen.” Meticulous gasped and leaned back, the hint of a smile on his face.
“Felix he’s right it’s worse he’s a teenager. Soon we’ll have to deal with loud music that the neighbors complain about.” Grumpy nodded as Meticulous spoke.
“It might even be rock music.”
“Oh no, little prankster, do you listen to rock music?” Rhys climbed up to his feet and shook his head. He didn’t understand what the humans were even talking about.
“I don’t know what rock music is…” Grumpy shot him a smile that made him start feeling safe again… It was tempting to use their names. They kept saying them. He already broke so many rules, would it be bad to break another?
“That’s a relief, maybe we can skip the punk phase.” 
“What’s going on?” Rhys had to voice his confusion. He didn’t understand anything anymore. The humans weren’t grabbing him or punishing him. They were just… making jokes. He stomped his foot as he stared up at them. “Are you treating me like a joke? I’m a person!”
“No, we’re making you smile.” The meticulous human’s voice was soft and kind. Rhys jumped from the voice. The grumpy human just gave him a look.
“Of course you’re a person… I apologize for doubting that at first. It is hard to believe people so small exist.” The grumpy human looked away. He saw a bit of red on his cheeks. That meant the human was embarrassed.
“So… what are you gonna do with me?” If the humans were just going to keep trying to make him smile he had to ask. He couldn’t just look for an escape when the humans weren’t making it easy. Acting different from normal would only trap him. The two shared a look.
“Nothing.” Rhys fell to his knees. This was just a weird dream and he’d wake up cold in his poorly insulated home. The humans would be loud, he’d still drop the cold thing on Felix. He’d maybe try to steal some of the stuff Ryder made… and he’d keep calling them by name in his head like he just did.
“I can’t get home… I lost my hook when I fell out of the vent.” It felt like he opened a door he shouldn’t. That now the humans would know he was helpless and stop pretending.
“What do you need for it?” He stared up at the humans in shock…
“Y-you’ll just give it to me? No deals or-or threats? Just… just like that?” One of the massive hands came close, a finger ruffled his hair again.
“Just like that. What do you need for a hook?” It felt strange that the constantly grumpy looking Felix was the one who gently ruffled his hair. It didn’t feel real.
“...thread and a… a paperclip or safety pin.”  Felix left without a word. Rhys just watched while Ryder folded his arms on the table and smiled. He looked at the silver eyed human with a bit of hope. “Can I… can I have pancakes with you again?”
“We can add chocolate chips next time.” 
Rhys jumped to his feet with a smile. He never got to have chocolate before. He knew humans liked it a lot. Felix came back, setting a whole spool of thread down along with a bunch of paper clips and safety pins. Rhys grabbed one of each, quickly fashioning a hook similar to what he had. He looked up at the humans, both standing at their full height again. He should leave, humans were dangerous. They weren’t mad at him or yelling or upset he had been messing with them.
“...can I still stay with one of you today?” he asked. Rhys jumped when two hands were set in front of him again. He would run away later, for today he’d embrace this feeling of belonging.
—--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Rhys!” Felix shouted. The borrower ducked under a table to avoid the angry human. It was probably not the best idea to mess with the sewing machine… again. Heavy steps came towards his hiding spot. He tried to run, but a hand caught him as soon as he shot out.
“Um… hi?” he smiled. Felix glared at him, but the hold stayed soft. These humans were nothing like they looked like. The human turned and walked back to his room, setting Rhys carefully down on the sewing machine where he’d left part of it dismantled.
“What did we talk about with the sewing machine?”
“Not to take it apart when you have deadlines nearby?”
“What did I tell you and Ryder two days ago?”
“You have a deadline to meet… I still don’t know what those are though!” Felix sighed, it blew his hair back. He fixed it to sit over his shoulder again, he liked how clean it was now.
“You know exactly what a deadline is. I've explained it to you six times already.”
“I’m a fourteen year old borrower with no education. You can’t expect much from me.”
“Ryder told you to say that, didn't he?”
“...no.” Rhys looked away as Felix sighed again. The human did it on purpose, blowing his hair out of place again. He liked keeping it on his shoulder and Felix took advantage of that. The golden eyes stared down at him unflinchingly. He let out his own sigh and stepped back a bit. “I… might not know how to fix it this time…”
Another sigh and he stiffened. Despite how nice the humans were he knew they’d get angry at some point. Felix would grab him and squeeze him, or Ryder would trap him in one of those cleaners for the statues he made. Felix’s hand came close, but all he got was a light shove from one of the fingers. He pushed back at it, stumbling when it pushed him harder.
“Stay here while I fix it so you don’t leave it taken apart again. Next time I’ll start locking it up when I have a deadline to meet,” Felix whispered.
Rhys climbed to his feet and sat off to the side. He watched the huge fingers fix all the things he took apart. It felt weird to see how deft Felix actually was. The whole thing only took a few minutes. He just sat silently as it happened. Once it was done Felix sat back and smiled at him. This still didn’t feel real.
“Let me know next time you can’t fix it, I usually can ok?” the human said. Rhys nodded. He expected to be ignored, but a hand was placed in front of him. “Did you want to stay in here while I worked or go back to what you were doing?”
“I’m allowed to stay?” he asked. He thought Felix would kick him out after that.
“It’ll be boring, Ryder’s probably going to watch a video or something while the minis print.” Rhys climbed on the hand with his eyes shining.
“Let’s go to Ryder!” The human holding him laughed, but did as he instructed. 
The humans were dangerous and could hurt him. They could turn on him in an instant. The hand that was holding him carefully now could squeeze hard enough to break him. The one he was dumped on before Felix walked off could just drop him somewhere to forget about. Each time they held him promised those things wouldn’t happen. Soft, gentle holds that kept him close to their hearts. He really did find a place he belonged.
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awkwardgtace · 1 year ago
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Self Reflection
hey hey day 11 we have melancholy. This time I went more for the overwhelming feeling of the story rather than my usual methods of taking prompts. Will add this to ao3 once the ddos is over
Kaiju Ash is thinking about their life, both current and former. Unsure what they want if they should let things continue as they are.
TW: Mentions of death, probably other things i'm not realizing please lemme know if I should tag them.
Self Reflection
I stared at the clouds as the water fell over my body. I never stood for storms before, but I wanted to clear the dirt from my skin, or rather scales. Alessia said it, my body was no longer human skin. I was covered in something more like carapace. After a day of begging I did promise the two I would use the next storm to clear the dirt and leaves from me. Of course they had to stay in the small house, one made of my vines. Even with it separated sometimes it let me hear, let me know things I shouldn’t. Now was one of those times.
“We need to go into a town soon,” Alessia said. I frowned, if they left I shouldn’t let them back. It wasn’t safe near me. I closed my eyes as the water continued to pelt my body. I sort of enjoyed the feeling of the rain on my eyes. I knew that wasn’t normal.
“You know if we both go Ash will need convincing to bring us back,” Delphia said. Despite the way their voices traveled, I enjoyed hearing such normal talk between them. I didn’t even know this could happen. I should stop being shocked when the vines become an extension of myself.
“So you stay.” The two sounded happy, it had been too long with me. They should leave. I tried not to react to their words. If I moved it would still bother them despite the security we’d managed to create. 
“No, there’s too much for you to get alone. Too bad Ash can’t just grow everything we need.” The unflinching trust continued to hurt my heart. The willingness to abandon their world, their lives, just everything… I didn’t think I could ever feel worthy of their actions and choices. “Plus I’m a bit better at hiding from people than you are. We can’t have someone following us.”
I wanted to keep listening, but the vines decided I’d heard enough. What would happen if someone followed them? If someone new found me? I had met other humans, ones I helped to get to safety. Those ones might not have discussed my existence, or maybe no one believed them. I shook my head, I couldn’t think about people like that. I wasn’t something else, I was human… wasn’t I?
I walked away from my miniscule loves. My focus was at the edge of the forest. The forest that fit me, that grew around me. Trees tall enough that they hid me even when I stood. This wasn’t natural or normal. I ran my hands, more precisely my claws, over the bark. It was stronger than the trees I faintly remembered from my life before. When they weren’t just a little taller than me. 
It didn’t take long for me to reach my goal. I stood next to the town that I’d turned into a grave. It still hurt to think of what I’d done. Delphia and Alessia were convinced it wasn’t my fault, but it was. I could have listened, I could have gone back to sleep. So many lives would have been saved if I had never woken up. The days I dreamed, the times I woke up to phantom feelings of arms around me, were all ones I wished I got to live more often.
I started to reach out towards the edge of the trees. I could leave, I could reveal myself to the world. It would free Alessia and Delphia. It would change things, explain so much. Possibly even make others be believed. My claws hovered near the edge, my hand was shaking. I couldn’t remember what would leave me scared, but revealing myself was terrifying. My memories before this, ones that didn’t include Alessia and Delphia, were still too hazy. Sometimes it felt like they were fading away, that if the others weren’t with me I would lose everything that explained who I was.
“We shouldn’t be doing this,” a small voice said. It wasn’t coming through my vines, it was masculine. Familiar. A shiver ran through my body, water fell from places it had pooled on me. The only thing that reminded me that rain was falling all around me.
“Leave then, I’m not walking away,” a new voice. Also masculine… Also familiar… I was frozen, the strange scales or carapace caught water all over me. That didn’t matter, those voices… Those voices terrified me.
“So you can disappear too?” I was tempted to try and find them. To face the terror in my blood. They were going to be the same size as the others… I couldn’t risk doing anything to them.
“I’m finding them. This is the last place they checked in from.”
“You know how likely it is that they survived out here this long?! Their car isn’t even here! At least wait until the storm is over.”
“You can wait until the storm is over. If my sister is out there I’m finding her. I’m dragging them both home because if she’s there so is Alessia!”
My heart froze. They… these voices wanted Alessia and Delphia. Were they from that life? That time that I can barely remember? I felt it as they entered the forest. My forest. One storming ahead, something in my mind tingled at the knowledge. As though it was something that bubbled with joy and memories.
“Strawberry, we should at least stay together!” I stumbled at those words. A thousand arrows attacked my heart. I knew those words, I knew these people. I knew these humans. “Shit, run!”
They were running because of me. Something I did, my steps or my vines I didn’t know. I had to stop them, protect them from the truth. From finding the damage I’d done by existing. I heard screams. A part of me wondered if Delphia and Alessia would hear them. If they’d hate me for what was happening now. Another part thought they should and then they would leave.
I heard shouts as my vines grabbed the two humans. I was conscious of the choice to grab them. I focused on keeping the movement of my vines slow even as I crouched. I was still towering over everything. The vines stopped just at my eyes. It was like the day Delphia and Alessia returned to my life. One face of anger and fear, another of something akin to a calm understanding.
“Rhys, do not say a thing, do not ask questions, I will get us out of this,” the angry one said. He had scars on his eyes, the shape of an X on each. They were a pale contrast on his dark skin. Silver hair that had fallen in his face and hung heavily due to the rain. Mismatched eyes like my own, different colors though. A brilliant emerald and striking violet.
“Vincent…” Rhys said it, at least that’s what I could assume was his name. Salmon hair, tan skin, pink eyes that saw through me. I knew this person, I’d spent a lot of time with him. A flash in my mind, someone yelling with the pink eyed man laughing beside me. I pushed him, a smile playing on my own lips.
I brought a hand up to shield them from the rain. Both stared at me, unflinching eyes. I… I shouldn’t have grabbed them. I should have left them to wander, only blocking them from going too far. Instead I took my other hand below them. Another thing I learned I could do, the vines moved over to my skin without a need for me to try. More screams.
I stood, slower than normal to be safe. I looked around the world, these two on my hand a stark reminder of what I’ve lost. I kept my hand low. It was difficult, but I knew raising them too high might cause them to be hurt. I was lucky Alessia and Delphia had been safe. I made the choice to change how my vines held them. Holding them safely together instead of apart. I could hear the mumbles from them, reassurances that they would survive. 
I could speak, I could tell them. Words didn’t occur to me, the ones to fix this. I… I wanted them not to know who I was. More memory flashes made it hurt to imagine them scared of me when they knew it was me. I took the steps I needed to return to Delphia and Alessia. The small women were waiting for me, ignoring the rain still pouring from the sky.
As soon as I brought my hand close the men I held reacted. The words were… not kind. I didn’t want to think about the consequences of how they acted. Directing my vines to set the men down was easy, the two grabbing Alessia and Delphia and trying to hide them from me was not. I still couldn’t make my voice work. When they knew it was me, would they still be scared? Was I not something to be trusted? I wasn’t… I wasn’t a human no matter how much I wanted to believe I was… was I?
“Rhys?” Delphia said. She was trying to pull away, to be in my view. It made me feel happier, warmer, more human. “Let go of me. What are you even doing here?”
“We came to find the two of you. It’s been months with no contact!” Rhys shouted. The shout made me jump. It was louder than I expected, but my jump caused both men to lose their footing.
“Vincent, Rhys calm down. We’re fine.” Alessia looked up at me with a bright smile. Another thing that made me feel human, gifts constantly offered by them. “We found them. We found Ash.”
Both men stared at me. It didn’t take long for Rhys to be on his feet holding Delphia’s shoulders. I wanted to pull him away. To stop him from hurting her. He wouldn’t… Rhys wasn’t that person. I knew that. Vincent was glaring at me on his feet. It… I knew that glare. I knew him too. I hated this terror budding in my heart.
“Del, that-that thing is not Ash!” I closed my eyes. I needed to stay calm, but my tail didn’t agree. The loud thumps of the appendage were already causing the four ant sized humans to stumble. “This is proof! That thing is a monster and we need to escape.”
“No.” Delphia set herself free. She actually came closer to me. I brought my claw near her, she reached for it. Vincent pulled her back, he had a firm grip on Alessia’s wrist too. Something rumbled up deep in my chest, I had never noticed the growls I could make before.
“That is not a human reaction, Strawberry is right. We need to get away from this thing. You two are brainwashed.” Vincent had always been harsh. My brain had so much firing at once. Times with both, pushing Rhys to speak to the glaring man. Vincent unsure how to admit his own feelings. Smiles with both of them, nights where I spent time away from Alessia and Delphia. Where I spent time with another family, my new family.
“Who cares!? This is Ash and we’re not brainwashed. You two shouldn’t even be here. Go home. We’ll be back once we’ve fixed this.” Alessia’s firm voice calmed me. The rumbling in my chest disappeared. The ones most important to me were fine and didn’t see me as a monster.
“It can’t even talk that isn’t Ash! I know you miss them, but they died. Just like everyone else when this forest popped up, please just let us try to figure a way out of this and get home. Everyone’s been worried about you two and this constant searching.” My chest rumbled again, but there was more pain than anger.
“Will you stop talking like they aren’t here? Like they can’t understand you!? This is Ash, you're both just being cruel. It’s… how can you treat them like that!? You both were as devastated as we were when the news came and they’re here and you’re treating them like a monster that can’t even speak!”
“It can’t speak! All it’s done is growl. It probably just decided to look like them.”
“I do speak, I.. it is me,” I whispered. Despite the safety my vines promised my voice I was terrified. Now those humans would know who I am. The memories of happy times would be tainted by fearful faces. The men stared at me with a cocktail of pain, shock, and fear.
“They’re really alive, Rhys. It’s them.” Delphia was grabbing Rhys’s arm, trying to make them listen.
All I could do after that was watch them. Words exchanged all while the staring continued. I wanted to do something. Find a way to prove who I was. It was clear they didn’t believe in me. They only saw a monster. The pain I feared came together the longer I watched them. 
“Fine, we’ll get your supplies and come back. We’re staying at least for a few weeks,” Rhys said. 
That would make sense, it would work. There would be room in the house for the two of them. Although… I could almost remember what their home looked like. At least Rhys’s home I couldn’t recall if Vincent lived there. On top of my claws a small square of vines appeared. I pushed the cube off, vines trailing off my claw. I snapped it before the cube settled next to the home I barely remembered.
“Is that our house?” Vincent said. It was always him when there was a strange mixture of shock and suspicion.
I watched Rhys walk in, despite Vincent calling him back. The man walked out and stared up at me with awe. Vincent grabbed his arm, but stopped. I wasn't sure why. It didn’t matter, they were too far in the forest for a human to walk back in a reasonable time. It looked like they were slowly realizing it.
“Well we should go… assuming ‘Ash’ will take us… and pick us up when we get back,” Rhys said. It was clear they didn’t believe it was me. That I was some monster that Alessia and Delphia had trained. Maybe I was.
Regardless I offered my hand. The two didn’t move. I wasn’t sure what to do. I noticed Delphia pointing towards a loose vine. I should grab them? I tilted my head. She nodded, reading the question despite how hard it must be to read my face. So small and delicate. In the back of my mind I knew those words didn’t suit the men my vines were grabbing.
“Woah, easy with the vines godzilla,” Vincent said. The words hurt, but the nickname stuck out. Vincent… he gives people nicknames; it's a part of him. I… calling me something else might be good. I set them down in the center of my palm. Where I knew I could keep them safe. Ant sized humans… How had I started to trick myself into thinking I still was one.
I stood, with my hand at my waist to avoid hurting Rhys and Vincent. Only a few steps to travel what would take them days or weeks. I couldn’t call myself human. Near the edge, not quite outside the trees that towered thousands of feet over humans… over creatures I was starting to struggle to believe I ever was one of. I crouched again, setting my hand down and hoping the two I could faintly remember laughing with wouldn’t show me more fear.
They stumbled off my hand. Stared at me with emotions I couldn’t understand.
“If you really are Ash. Alessia says she’s finding a way to turn you back. If it works well… I’m glad they found you and I’m sorry… for treating you like a monster,” Rhys said. My eyes widened. Vincent pulled Rhys towards what I knew had to be a car. It was so small… I constantly found myself in awe at the trust Delphia and Alessia put in me.
“You’re keeping the nickname whether you’re Ash or not. Godzilla fits you pretty damn well,” Vincent pushed Rhys towards a door as he spoke. I stood up straight as I watched both men climb into the vehicle. It was hard, I could remember riding in one. The danger it posed before. Only now could I crush it like a bug. I… I didn’t like thinking like that. 
I watched it drive off. The distance it covered would be faster for me. I could travel farther than I had ever dreamed. Yet I had to stay within these trees. Where nothing could find me from above and I controlled the ground. I stared at my clawed hand, looked over the scaled body I now existed in. I wasn’t human.
My vines apparently wanted me to know this. They pulled back from my skin, the skin akin to stone. It looked like stone when I focused on it. Other vines pulled my tail forward, even with the rain that continued to pour I could see the red smears that I never cleaned off. Remnants of what I’d done, who I’d hurt. People with names and faces I couldn’t remember or know.
I didn’t know why the building was unharmed that day. Why the people had survived and stayed past the terrifyingly large trees. Maybe I had disrupted them. This monstrous body was covered in sin after sin that I could never escape. I turned to look at where I knew Delphia and Alessia were. Humans that loved me… that loved a me that was dead. 
“I’m sorry,” I whispered. “I love you and I miss our life, but I don’t think I can go back. After everything I did… Everything that happened because of me. I don’t deserve to live a simple human life again.”
I wouldn’t tell them now… I wouldn’t end our time yet. I would wait for Rhys and Vincent. Wait for them to leave and when- when supplies were next needed I would tell them. I would send them off and lock my forest away from humans for good. No one would be at risk because of me or anything I might cause.
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awkwardgtace · 6 months ago
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Out of the god squad, who would struggle the most and who would adapt the best in a modern setting?
ok ok so i had to think about this. I think like it depends pretty much on their sizes.
Ash would probably struggle the most cause their connected to nature and humans in modern society haven't been great to nature.
Felix and Rhys I would say are tied for handling modern stuff the best. Felix just gets it cause he can basically have all he wants at his size to adjust. Then Rhys with his interest in tech would have an easy time.
Overall I think it relates more to what the aspect of modern life it is though. If we include Delphia then she would 100% be the least capable. Even when she's born in modern times she's tech illiterate mostly cause i find it funny
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awkwardgtace · 2 years ago
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Alessia's New Fear
Well now I feel like I cheated in my answer to the ask game. Anon feel free to send it again for another wip lol.
More Mafia AU. A look at just why Alessia is so afraid to be near humans
TW: for blood, mentions of giants eating humans, uhh mafia au warnings. I'm so bad at this I'm sorry
Alessia's New Fear
Alessia kept turning to make sure no one was following her. Rhys would only cause the others trouble. Felix would tell mom and dad. She was the only one who could help and she was going to. She knew exactly what to do. Even if the others caught her she’d just lie until they left her alone.
She gripped the bag she carried tighter. Another pause to check around her, holding still when she saw some of the adults nearby. She wasn’t supposed to be playing in this part of the property. Mom and dad always said it was too close to the city. She didn’t think it would matter, she was going to be a hero like them when she was older. She could handle anything on her own.
The bush she had to crawl under finally came into sight. She grinned when her last search around her came up clear. She fell to her knees and made her way through the little tunnel she made. As soon as her head cleared the leaves the old toy castle came into view. It was one of the bigger ones that mom said she had to be careful with. That had been harder to sneak out here, but she managed it. Piece by piece.
She finished crawling through the bush and climbed to her feet. Carefully brushing off the leaves and dirt as she walked closer to the toy castle. It helped that mom and dad hadn’t been to her room lately. They might have asked where it was. She knocked on the drawbridge, waiting patiently for it to come down. Waiting was always the worst part.
As the bridge opened she smiled. It took everything in her not to bounce on her feet. A human with graying black hair poked his head out. She grinned, gasping and covering her mouth when she realized her teeth were in sight. It was hard to remember everything the man told her was scary, but she was getting there. She even managed to keep her voice softer most of the time.
The man stepped out and smiled up at her. She waited a bit impatiently for him to wave. Once he did she nearly fell to her stomach to see him better. He laughed at her excitement. When she first met him he would get upset about it. She was glad it changed. She tried to see inside the castle, to the others she knew were there. He said some were her age.
“Miss Kamia,” the man said. It pulled her from looking into the castle. She pulled the bag she’d brought in front of her.
“Alex!” she said. He shook his head, but the smile on his face stayed. “I brought bread this time. And I managed to grab some pieces of fruit at breakfast.”
Alessia started to empty the bag she’d brought. He told her she usually brings too much, but it was better than too little. She saw the way he brightened at the wrapped napkins. He went to them first, pulling them apart to see the bits of strawberries and melon she grabbed. The second he started to pull it back she picked it up. It would be heavy for him so she set it near the entrance and pushed it into the darkness. Where other humans were still hiding from her.
“Thank you, this is a great help,” he said. She had to force herself not to smile. She didn’t want to scare him this close. “You can smile, it’s clear you won’t hurt us.”
Alessia listened immediately. A big grin showing off her teeth graced her face. Unfortunately a shout from inside the castle made it fall. Alex was the only one who even trusted her. She’d seen faces a few times. No clear features. She wanted to know them though. She wanted to help these humans.
“You should head back before anyone notices where you’ve gone,” Alex said. She knew he didn’t want her there long, but she still had something to ask.
“Are you sure I can’t tell my parents about you? They’ll give you a real place to stay, not a toy. And make sure the others are healthy…” she whispered. 
That first day she found them had been awful. A game she made up brought her out here where she found Alex trying desperately to save someone. Alessia managed to bring bandages and medicine, but she still had no idea how much it helped. She hadn’t even seen the face of who he was trying to save.
Despite the faith Alex had he backed away from her. She asked every time and he got nervous every time. He stepped back until he was almost in the castle. She frowned, but accepted the result. She pushed herself to her knees. This time though he came forward again instead of immediately hiding.
“I know you want to help us. I know you say your parents will, but not all giants will be kind. Maybe once everyone is back to full strength I’ll go with you to talk to them,” he offered. She smiled and brought her hands close to him, remembering not to grab just before she made the mistake. She pulled away quickly, noticing the breath of relief he let out.
“Sorry,” she mumbled. She didn’t let it keep her down and focused back on what he said. “You’ll really talk to them? At least think about it?”
“I promise to think about it.”
“Pinky promise?” She held her pinky out to him. She was smaller than most giants her age. Even Rhys looked like he’d be taller than her. Times like this she liked it. He used both hands to grab her pinky. She moved it up and down slowly, smiling when they pulled apart.
Alessia went home after. Days like this continued, her sneaking food out for the humans. Rhys tried to follow her a few times, but she managed to get him to leave. Felix was a lot harder. He started to notice she kept grabbing fruits she didn’t usually eat and hiding them. If their parents didn’t keep him busy with lessons he would have found the humans. She was going to start having those lessons in a few years. Learning how to get humans out safely if they were given one.
Alessia shook her head as she made her way to the bush. Everyone was busy today, some important person was coming over. No one would notice her sneaking out to the bushes this time. She got on her stomach and started to crawl through, but something felt wrong. The tunnel in the bush wasn’t as clean as usual. Something smelled off too, less fresh than she’d grown used to. She didn’t smell the ones she’d noticed the most often either. One earthy and the other like apples. Alex said the others were getting adventurous now.
She swore her heart stopped once she saw the castle smashed to pieces. She didn’t smell blood and hoped that meant something good for the humans she’d been helping. Slowly she crept out the rest of the way. At first she thought they were all gone, but a shout caught her attention. At the edge of the small area was another giant holding a human up above their face.
Acting without thinking she tackled the other giant. It made the human fall, but she grabbed them in her hand before they hit the ground. The other giant had only stumbled, she hated being smaller than the others right now. She wanted to be older, bigger, stronger. She wanted to protect humans like the one she had in her hand. She tightened her grip a bit to make sure they didn’t fall.
“What the hell? I found it first, what's wrong with you?” the giant shouted. She heard that voice before, it was one of the kids of another family. She pulled her hands close to her chest, she’d keep them safe. She didn’t know which one had survived what happened, but she’d save them.
“This is my family’s property, the humans here were mine,” she said. She tried to sound scary and intimidating. She tried to think of her parents and be just like them. “Mom and dad let me keep them here. They won’t be glad that you’ve taken them from me.”
“Why don’t you try to stop me from taking that human back?” The giant finally came to tower over her. She was a full head shorter than them. It wouldn’t be easy to fight them while holding the human. She hadn’t even looked at them yet. She held just a bit tighter, she would keep them safe. “Can you shorty? You’re almost short enough to be a human yourself…”
Alessia backed away prepared for the worst. She would get out of this. The human would get out of this. She’d tell her parents and they’d find the family that took all the others. Her parents would save the humans. She tripped over the bush she’d climbed through so many times letting out a yelp and tightening her hold on the human more. She couldn’t let them get hurt. Her nails were digging into the skin of her palm with her tight grip.
“Alessia?” Felix’s voice was a lot more of a relief than she expected. He ran up to her just as the other giant climbed over the bush. Felix’s hands were on her shoulders as the other giant registered who he was meeting. “What’s going on?”
The cold voice was one she knew. He was mad. He was mad and willing to fight. He spared a glance down at her hands before looking at the giant she ran from. He pulled her to her feet, so much taller and only two years older. Her parents were huge too, she wanted to be like that someday.
“The shrimp stole a human I was given, just have her give it back and nothing happens. I won’t even tell my dad about this. You know your dad’s been trying to meet with him, wouldn’t want to ruin things,” she shivered from the giant’s voice. She pulled her hands closer to her chest. This human would be saved. Felix squeezed her shoulder before stepping forward.
“Seems more like you’re picking a fight. Alessia, why don’t you go tell mom and dad about the human they gave you getting stolen by a Sulvan. Should make things easy right?” Felix said. The cold tone made her nervous, but she had to get the human in her hands to safety. She nodded before running off. There was a shout before she heard what was likely Felix punching the other giant. Someday she’d be strong enough to fight someone like that and protect a human.
As she ran she finally looked down at her hands. They were red, she didn’t know why. As she opened them she realized how tightly she’d been holding. The human in her hands looked broken, but they were looking up at her. It took her time to realize it was Alex. The one who had finally started to trust her. She pulled her flat hands close to her chest as she ran.
In the house she didn’t bother with the study where her dad would be. He was meeting someone. She ran straight to her parents’ room where her mother was sitting at the desk. Alessia pulled her hands from her chest and shoved the human at her mother. There were a few seconds where nothing happened. She was panting while her mother stared at the broken figure who had fear painting his features.
As soon as the shock wore off everything happened too fast. Alex was pulled from Alessia’s hands while her mother whispered oh no and oh god. She was ushered from the room as her mother called for her father. She didn’t leave, using what she’d seen Rhys do to overhear. She had to know if Alex would be ok. He wasn’t that bloody before, but she didn’t… it wasn’t because of her right?
“Vitus, we need a doctor now!” her mom said. She heard her dad rummaging around the room. Cabinets and drawers closing. “Vitus!”
“Can you handle the meeting today? I’ll head to a human safe city. We’ll get him treated and set up now. There’s no way we can get him treated safely here,” her dad said. His voice was more commanding than usual. She flinched at the subtle anger in his tone. It would be directed at her. “There’s a town nearby, it should be fine to go there.”
“Vitus, they'll recognize you. What if they-”
“I’ll get him safe and get out. We’re not letting someone we could save die.”
The door was ripped open as her dad started to walk out. She didn’t see where he was holding Alex, but she knew he was. He glanced at her before storming away. It was her fault, she’d hurt him. She tried to save him, but only made it worse. Her mom noticed she was there, but Alessia ran before she could say anything.
Her room was her goal. She ran upstairs ignoring the call of her name. The front door shut, her dad would probably yell at her later. She deserved it. They were supposed to be the good guys. They were the heroes, but she was worse than the giant Felix got into a fight with. As soon as she reached her room she crawled under her bed. Another privilege to being small, most of her family couldn’t fit underneath like she could.
She waited for someone to come get her. To tell her how terrible she was, maybe even tell her she’s like the other families. Instead the first steps that came into her room were light and careful. Before she could try to hide Rhys was there, his curiosity clearly driving him. He was younger than her, but always knew how to find out information people wanted hidden. Felix was good at sewing. And she… she couldn’t even protect one human without hurting them.
Rhys crawled under the bed towards her. She tried to shimmy away, but she wasn’t as small as a human. She couldn’t get away that easily. Her brother reached her and wrapped her in a hug. It took a few seconds for her to wind up crying instead. He probably knew, Felix definitely knew, her parents were going to make sure none of the humans went near her now. That was better because she couldn’t hurt them.
“Felix made the Sulvan kid cry,” Rhys whispered. Alessia tried to stop crying, but it hurt too much. “Apparently he didn’t like picking on someone bigger. Dad called, the human’s getting treated.”
“...I hurt him, Rhys,” she whispered. Her little brother curled up how he used to, making her hide him from everything else. He knew it usually helped when she was upset. This time… this time it hurt more. “His name is Alex… can you go tell mom for me?”
Rhys nodded against her and started to leave. He stared at her for a few minutes. Finally disappearing. He threw her favorite stuffed doll at her before leaving. A hero from stories her dad told from where he grew up. The hero she wanted to be. She curled up as small as she could, leaving her toy forgotten.
The next time someone came to her room she knew it was her mom. No one else had steps that sounded quite like hers. Alessia tried to slide further into the darkness. She didn’t want to be yelled at or hear her punishment. It didn’t help when her mother’s eyes appeared straight ahead. She would never be a hero like her parents.
“Your friend Alex is going to be fine,” her mom said. Alessia nodded. “Why don’t you come out here and we can talk, ok?”
Alessia wanted to fight it, but she knew better. Her mom would wait all night if she had to. With one last muffled sob Alessia climbed towards her mother and away from her shelter. She stood the second she was out, her mother grabbed her hands. There was a small noise from the adult before a warm towel was rubbed against Alessia’s hands.
“I knew you hadn’t done anything other than hide,” her mom whispered. Seeing that she stayed sitting, Alessia joined her on the floor. She stared up at her mother’s face, a warm look that she didn’t think she deserved. The red she’d left on her hands was wiped away, revealing cuts she must have given herself. “There we go, I knew you’d cut your hands too. Too much blood to be just his injuries.”
“I thought I was saving him,” Alessia whispered. She was forced to face her mother.
“You did, he asked your father to tell you that. The one you grabbed him from was going to eat him.” Two hands held Alessia’s face still so she had to stare into her mother’s red eyes. “He was hurt, but he’ll live and that means a lot more.”
“He probably tried to tell me, or he would have if I didn’t say you gave him to me. I promised not to tell you, not until everyone was all better.” She was pulled into her mother’s arms. A tight hug that she didn’t deserve.
“Alessia, there wasn’t much you could do. You did save him, even if he got hurt. He was already hurt from the one you saved him from. We’ll just start you on the lessons we’re giving Felix now so you can be better prepared next time-”
“No!” She pushed herself away from her mother’s hug. She didn’t want to go near humans anymore. She didn’t want to hurt them again. “I’m not touching a human again! I won’t hurt them again!”
Alessia didn’t wait for her mother to say anything more. She crawled back under her bed, as far back as she could. She didn’t want to put humans at risk because she wasn’t good enough to protect them. Felix, Rhys, mom and dad could be heroes. She’d just stay away and make sure she wasn’t one of the bad guys they had to stop.
Her mother sighed. She waited for some lecture to pull her back out. Instead she was left alone as she turned around to face her mother again. The woman stood up and left. Alessia was left alone. She folded her arms and hid her face. She’d just hide out in her room until she was old enough to leave. Then she’d move away and not be a problem for her family either. She was too small to be a hero like them anyways.
She didn’t know how long it was before she heard the heavy steps of her dad. She curled up as small as she could. She heard him groan, probably as he sat on the ground. She didn’t want to see his angry face. He never got mad at them really, but she’d seen it in meetings. She didn’t want to see it now.
“I talked to Alex,” her dad said. She flinched, he sounded tired. Not angry at least. “He said you helped him take care of a whole group who’d escaped someone else. That you brought a big toy castle outside for them to stay in. Medicine, bandages, food…” 
Alessia chanced looking up from her arms. All she could see were his crossed legs. She couldn’t stop herself from crawling forward to try and see his face.
“He said that it had been going on for weeks. That you kept trying to convince him to meet us so we could help him.” She heard something in his voice. Usually she heard it when her dad talked about Felix playing the part of the future head, or Rhys and his spying. “He said you saved one of the kids he was taking care of. They would have died from the wounds the person they escaped from caused if you hadn’t found them all.”
She was close enough to the edge of her bed she could look up at her dad. His face wasn’t as angry as she expected. He looked tired, more than he normally did. His eyes were on her before she could back up again.
“He told me he wishes he believed you about us. That we’d help. He didn’t know what happened, the castle was destroyed and the others were screaming. He was given to someone else and held so tightly he could barely breathe. Next thing he knew you were holding him.”
He opened his arms to her. An invite for a hug. She was a little scared to accept it, but he didn’t look angry. Alessia finished climbing out of her hiding spot and moved straight into her father’s lap. He wrapped her tightly in a hug, resting his chin on her head.
“You did hold him too tight, but Alex would have died without you. We’ll try to find the ones who got taken away, but I told him it’s not likely we’ll find them all.” She nodded. That made sense. He pulled his head off hers and made her look at him. “I’m really proud you tried to help them. Next time, tell us even if they don’t want you to. We’d rather not force a human to let us help them, but we don’t want things like this happening again.”
Alessia just nodded. Her dad was right. She should have gone straight to her parents even though Alex begged her not to. Then all the humans would be safe. She just didn’t want to betray them. He pulled her close again and set his chin back on her head. She stayed there quietly.
“...I don’t think I could,” she whispered. Her dad hummed questioningly. “I don’t think I could tell you even if I know they might get hurt. Wouldn’t that be as bad as grabbing a human?”
“You’ll understand as you get older why it’s better to tell us, for now we’re all going to make sure this doesn’t happen again.” His hold on her got a little tighter. It made her feel safe. “We’re going to build a fence around the property. Leaving human sized entrances placed at the base.”
“What if they need things? Like bandages… or food?” If humans could be safe without any of their help she’d be happy. She had no idea how many humans had been with Alex, but if they didn’t need her they would have been safer. She liked this idea.
“Well, that’s why I’m giving you an important job.” She gasped, she didn’t want to be near humans. She’d just hurt them. She couldn’t get how broken Alex looked out of her mind. “You’ll know best what a human who ran would need. I want you to make packages to leave near all the entrances for humans to use. Anything you think they could need, gets put at those entrances. Small safe zones for any humans on the run.”
“I… Felix should do it. He can keep humans safe…” Her dad pulled away again. She looked up at him on her own. His face was soft, he only looked at her, her brothers and her mom like this. Others never saw it.
“This is a job only you can do. We’ll talk about it more once we’ve started building the fence, but this is how we need you to help Alessia. Will you try?”
“...I’ll try…”
Vitus hugged his daughter tighter. She’d been through more than enough. There was a lot he got to hear from the man she’d saved. How she’d been visiting daily and bringing anything he asked for. That she’d bring whatever she thought might help. The way she managed to make even the kids her age calm enough to leave the shelter she’d given them. Alessia was kind… So kind he wished she was being raised in his hometown.
They sat together for a long time. He just kept her held in his arms. Once she fell asleep he climbed to his feet and tucked her into bed. As he reached the door he looked back at her. He could see the marks from her tears still on her face. This wouldn’t be something she moved past easily. When he made a mistake around her age he’d been reluctant to go near humans again too. It was easier for him, he wasn’t in a city like this.
Vitus sighed as he turned off the lights and shut the door. As he walked away he checked on Rhys and Felix. Both had fallen asleep long before he came home. He didn’t think Alessia would be awake either. He was proud of Felix for defending Alessia and Alex, but the fight was going to need cleaning up. Rhys apologized for not spying well enough, he didn’t want his son thinking like that. Sometimes he did regret the choices he and Dabria made. Bringing innocent kids into this mess.
“Mr. Kamia, Sir,” someone called out to him. He stopped, staring at the shorter giant as he ran up. “There’s a call for you. In your office. They said it was important.”
Vitus nodded and made his way down the stairs. He passed his room, Dabria was curled up unable to sleep. Too worried about Alessia. He shut the door to his office as he entered. He’d probably work all night. He needed to get that fence set up. He fell heavily into his chair before picking up the receiver.
“Hello,” he said. He realized only now he didn’t ask anything about the call. There was no idea of who he was talking to. The reason they could be calling could be too many to name.
“Is this Vitus?” a muted voice asked. He couldn’t recognize it. “I’m sorry sir, there was no last name on the information you left us at the hospital. This is Vitus right?”
He sat up straight. “Yes. Has there been a change?”
“We just wanted to update you. The patient has woken up and is stable. He’ll have to stay for a few weeks while he heals. It does look like he’ll make a full recovery. There will be a need for some physical therapy. I just had a few questions. You said there had been an accident, but the wounds don’t coincide-”
He ended the call before they finished. There was someone who’d arrive as the human’s family and give him a safe place. He’d make a full recovery, Alessia hadn’t done lasting damage. At least that was something he could tell her. Then… then he’d just have to hope time made her willing to get close to humans again. 
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awkwardgtace · 2 years ago
Text
Interesting Sample Part 1
Heyy finally getting a bit more fore the mafia AU.
This time we get to learn just how the human Ryder wound up with the ruthless Kamia family. And how he got to stay with them.
TW: Some dehumanization, broken bones, panic, blood, references to giants eating humans
Part 2 , Part 3(Final)
Interesting Sample
Ryder ran as fast as he could. A foot stomped down just barely missing him. He almost lost his balance, but managed to turn it into a dive under a chair. He was breathing heavily as the weight of the man chasing him slammed into the ground. Ryder scrambled back to try and get any distance from the giant. A scream escaped him as the chair was roughly thrown to the side.
“Fucking brat,” the giant said. Ryder flinched at the loud voice. He climbed to his feet planning to run again, but a hand slammed down on him before he could. He screeched when he thought he heard something crack. “So much for making it worth my while agreeing to take you along.”
Ryder had to focus on breathing. The pain was only in his arm, he could overcome that. He just had to wait for the idiot to move to pick him up. Then he could run again, at least hide until things settled down. He was smart enough to get away.
“Sir!” someone called. The same someone who ratted him out. All he did was steal a little of the fancy food the jerk holding him down bought. It wasn’t even noticeable, but he acted like it was the end of the world. He just wanted something other than the stale food the giant normally left out for him. “The eldest Kamia kid is coming!”
Heavy steps made Ryder jump as the other giant came out. He didn’t need to see the traitor’s face to know there was a confident smirk. It wasn’t Ryder’s idea in the first place to take some. Stupid assistant said it would be fine. The hand around him grew just a bit heavier. It made him gasp for air.
“Maybe you can make up my investment in you after all,” the heavy handed giant said. Ryder’s eyes went wide as the fingers curled in around him. He wasn’t getting a chance to run this time.
—----------------------------------------------
Felix kept a bored look on his face as he walked down the street. A few new stores popped up recently and his dad asked him to see just what they were selling. There’d been some rumors that even the other families weren’t happy to hear. His mom would be handling it, but he was finding the proof. The newcomers liked to think he was just a dumb kid who wouldn’t know any better.
So far none of the stores had anything obviously wrong. A few he knew his parents would target later. Clear them out and get the humans to safety. He wanted to do something more to help when he was older. He’d find some way to be useful.
“Hey little Kamia,” a voice called. It was different than any he was used to hearing. ‘Little Kamia’ certainly wasn’t a name he’d heard before. A rather short stocky man ran up to him. There was a small box clasped in meaty hands. It didn’t leave a good feeling in Felix’s stomach.
“Can I help you?” Felix asked. The man leaned in close with a conspiratorial smile. It made him angry. Adults who treated him like this were never up to something he wanted a part of.
“I just opened a business here. Selling only top of the line goods. I was hoping you could give your father a good word after getting a view of what I have.”
Felix narrowed his eyes. The box in the man’s hands seemed a lot smaller than it did at first. Too small for what was implied. Felix just gave him a small nod waiting for the presentation of his stock. The man seemed almost giddy as he opened the small box. Inside was someone who shouldn’t be there.
Ryder should have known other humans wouldn’t help him. Being gagged and tied didn’t make this whole situation better. It was even worse knowing they pitied him. They still tried to cushion his arm. Of course the jerky giant would keep the other humans in the place hidden from him until now. He was just an example of what happens when you misbehave. Apparently this time it was being given to some random giant kid.
Golden eyes glared at him and made him wish he could say anything. Huge fingers reached forward, it seemed like they could dwarf the hand that crushed him earlier. Fingers as wide as he was tall pinched his sides. The giant kid plucked him from the box like a toy. At least he hoped it was a toy. The eyes he was held in front of seemed to bleed a different idea.
“What exactly are you showing me? This one doesn’t seem to be worth even half price,” the kid said. Ryder had tried to ignore the discussion about what he’d cost. He managed to turn enough to see the cruel smile of the man he’d been entrusted to. He might have actually been sold to him based on how things were going, and how far his old town was by now.
“He’d be a good treat, fun toy for a good kid too,” the jerk of a giant said. Ryder started to struggle hearing that. He knew he should keep his arm still just in case he survived, but he had to escape. He wasn’t getting eaten alive. The hand holding him started to move. The fingers tightened just enough to hold him still, the care in the way he was held firmly was cruel. “Been trouble, I don’t suggest keeping him. Why not give him a taste?”
He was brought up and up until he was met with the giant mouth. He tried to scream around the gag they’d placed in his mouth. There was no luck in freeing himself. The gargantuan tomb just came closer and closer until he was released into the gaping maw. Ryder kept trying to fight as the tongue pulled him in. All the light disappeared as the lips closed, his death almost guaranteed.
Despite knowing he wouldn’t escape he kept fighting. The muscle moving him around would hopefully hurt later. Although it was a lot bigger than him. He was pushed around until he was set under the tongue, but still safe from the giant’s teeth. From where he was held he could see as the giant placed their tongue on their teeth and bit down slightly. The blood from the self inflicted injury coated him a bit as well.
The tongue continued to move him around the mouth. Ryder was pushed back a bit, but still kept under the tongue. Light filtered in from the now open lips. He managed to move enough to see the tongue lick the sharp teeth that apparently spared him.
“Interesting taste,” the giant said around him. The voice was loud and hurt his ears, but it was probably better than dead. He couldn’t see anything, but felt the sigh blow over him. “We do like troublesome humans, does this cover what you want for him?”
“For you little Kamia, you can have him. Consider it a free sample, I have a few more like that too,” the one who gave him away said. Ryder was frankly insulted. He was definitely more than just an interesting taste or a sample. Although if being an interesting sample kept him alive he’d take it.
“I’ll make sure my parents know.”
Ryder was trapped in darkness again. He could feel the steps of the giant as he moved. He could keep struggling and trying to free himself. It seemed like a bad plan. He wasn’t killed, he was probably just saved for something later. He’d known giants that were better towards humans in his old town. Before he wound up with the creep of a shop owner. This one at least probably wouldn’t kill him. Maybe.
Ryder was hot and uncomfortable where he was being kept. The tongue rested heavily on him, which at least kept him from getting near the teeth or the throat. Each of the giant’s steps made him bounce despite the weight above him. He tried to imagine himself being anywhere else, but the small pooling of drool that was regularly cleared out with a loud swallow made it hard. Eventually he was moved roughly followed by the giant sucking in a deep breath.
Ryder hadn’t been prepared for that. He tried to hold his own from the sudden deprivation of oxygen. It wasn’t doing much, his chest was already starting to burn. He squirmed to try and get the gag off again. It would help… maybe. The giant quickly exhaled, this time pushing Ryder closer to the front of his mouth. The sharp teeth were close leaving him with a fear of what was going to happen next.
The mouth was opened wide and he stared across to a brick wall. His view was blocked as massive fingers reached in, covering him in shadow. The same ones that grabbed him earlier pinched his sides again. He was pulled out just barely avoiding touching the sharp fangs. It took all his self control not to immediately try to get free again. He’d survived the giant’s mouth; he could wait until he could run.
Ryder was carefully set on a palm. It was the first time he got a good look at the giant. He’d never seen golden eyes before, he wasn’t one to talk when his own were silver. He didn’t like the glare on the giant’s face. Fingers clamped down around him, he couldn’t move at all. He tried to struggle, letting out a muffled scream when his broken arm slipped.
“It’s ok,” the giant whispered with a squeak to his voice. Any other time he would laugh at it. The other hand blocked his vision, a single finger coming near his face. Ryder tried desperately to free himself. A sharp claw touched his skin and dragged across his face. The tape holding the gag in place was lifted by the finger. In a strange show of deftness, the giant removed the tape completely.
Ryder was flipped on his stomach by those fingers. At first he wanted to be patient, but the hot breath on his back changed his mind. He tried to struggle despite the flaring pain in his arm. The fingers around him tightened before he’d made even imaginary progress. There was a sigh before he was moved closer. He felt the sharp teeth graze along his spine. A clack of them meeting made him shudder. Then he was pulled away.
He was turned again. There was still a glare on him, but he wasn’t as bothered by it. Fingers blocked his vision again, but they just pulled away the ropes holding him. He stared up at the giant unsure what to do. He didn’t like not knowing.
“So,” his voice came out hoarse, “what next?”
Felix almost dropped the human in surprise when he talked. None of them ever spoke to him after he’d faked eating them or had gone through with tasting them. If they did it was just begging for their lives. After hurting himself to make whoever sold them or gave them to him believe they were gone it was always painful. He knew what he looked like, who his family was, but he tried to be like his parents. He wanted to help humans, just like they did.
“I take you home,” he said. He’d never known what to tell them. Usually he would just walk off once they were out of his mouth. Usually they weren’t tied up and gagged.
“What then?” the human asked. “Am I a pet? A toy? A tiny servant?”
“Of course not!” Felix jumped at his own voice. He ducked down to hide more in case anyone heard him. He’d almost forgotten he was still in public. “We get you out of this place, somewhere things like this won’t happen.”
“Right, sure.” The human curled in on themself.
Felix just sighed. He took a minute to really look at the human in his hand. They seemed short compared to the others he’s held. He brought his hand closer to his face. Their clothes were ripped and seemed to have blood on them. Judging by the scent it was mostly the human’s blood. He scrunched his nose up, but still brought the human even closer.
Their skin was dirty and pale. He couldn’t see their eyes well. The position they sat in made it hard to make out much of their face. It seemed an odd position. His eyes went wide when he noticed they were shielding their side.
“Did… I hurt you?” Felix asked. His voice was barely a whisper. After all this time he messed up.
“It was the guy who gave me to you. Took a bit of some fancy food he’d left out. Guy almost crushed me, just broke my arm instead,” the human whispered. The voice sounded close to tears. “Changing your mind?”
“No… We just need to hurry then.”
Felix didn’t wait for a response. He curled his fingers tightly around the human and ran off. He had to get home. His parents would know what to do. They would call someone to take care of the human’s arm. Until then he’d keep them safe. He stuffed his hand with the human in his pocket and focused on keeping his concern hidden.
—---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ryder didn’t enjoy the ride around in a pocket. It wasn’t as bad as it could be since he was still held. Getting knocked around with a broken arm seemed a sure fire way to make it worse. The hand holding him didn’t actually hurt, it was kind of nice. He’d heard the giant talking a few times; he tightened his grip on Ryder every time.
He was pulled from the pocket and into the light. It was almost as bad as when the sun blinded him after the box. This time he was held against a chest. He couldn’t look around, but it was a lot quieter now. He wanted to trust the giant holding him. Others he met weren’t gentle when holding him like this.
The sound of a door pulled Ryder from his thoughts. The hand holding him flattened a bit. He got a nice view of a place that seemed bigger than any building he’d ever seen. There were fingers blocking some of his view, but he managed to see a massive couch. Someone was sitting on it, but he didn’t care about that. He tried to take in more of the room.
A huge staircase led to another floor. It felt like the place would topple if a bunch of giants were all up there. He pulled his eyes from that and passed over a set of double doors. He’d sneak in there if he got the chance. There were exits to more of the house, along with a single door to the left. Somehow the door gave off a vibe of danger. He didn’t want to go near that one.
“Felix,” a loud feminine voice said. Ryder just nodded to himself, he knew the giant’s name now. He saw the person sitting start to stand. Then watched her keep going up. She was taller than any giant he’d ever seen. He dug his fingers into Felix’s skin. “How did it go?”
The massive woman came towards them. It seemed like her steps were lighter than the shorter giant holding him. That sounded more like his imagination. He managed to catch the moment she noticed a human. There was an awful feeling when her eyes locked on him, and shiver he couldn’t avoid under the intense stare. Felix didn’t try to hide him. Ryder was out in the open with an angry giant glaring at him.
“Where?” her voice seeped with anger. Ryder curled up to try and hide behind the fingers around him. It didn’t work when she stepped even closer towering over him and Felix.
“The newest shop, the last on the street. I was given a sample ,” Felix spat out. The fingers around him curled protectively, he was starting to like this Felix guy. He might try to find a way to stick around. It actually seemed like there would be an attempt to keep him safe.
The woman disappeared from above him. Her steps were heavier now, more like what he’d expected after she stood. It was almost horrifying how clear they felt in Felix’s hand. The woman looked different by the time she towered over them again. Like death in the flesh.
“I’ll be home late tonight. I’ll see you in the morning, bring the human to your father,” she said. Ryder saw the door open up behind Felix and just like that she was gone.
Felix was on the move again. He was along for the ride as the giant approached the door he’d decided was bad. He tensed, fully considering jumping from the more open hand. He’d probably survive at this height, humans were durable. Then he could figure out a place to hide.
“It’s just my dad, you’ll be fine,” Felix mumbled. That comment was quite possibly the least reassuring thing that could be said. Let’s go meet the dad of the Kamia family. He didn’t know who the Kamias were or why their family mattered, but if the jerk of a giant he was with before liked them then Ryder couldn’t.
All his opinions on the matter didn’t get voiced. The gaps in the fingers surrounding him closed. Felix paid too much attention. Ryder did get a nice view of the dangerous door opening. A white ceiling plus the sound of writing. He didn’t like it, writing had yet to mean something good for him. Usually it was showing the countdown until he was let out of a jar or a box.
“Dad,” Felix said.
The writing stopped, so did Felix. The fingers hiding him didn’t move though. He heard the creak of a chair from somewhere in the room. A second later he felt the impact of something heavy. The impact continued in a rhythm he knew well, someone was walking. Ryder just stared up until a giant as big as the woman came into his view. This one embodied one word. Intimidating.
Before speaking, the new one actually looked down at him. He wilted under the stern expression. It got worse when the protective fingers around him started to flatten. Immediately followed by the massive giant crouching way too fast. He was still towering like this, but now Ryder couldn’t even pretend to hide.
“You’re young,” the new giant said. His voice was loud and commanding. Ryder just nodded he didn’t think he could get away without responding.
“His arm is broken…” Felix said. Ryder’s blood ran cold as a look of anger appeared on the new giant. The gaze started to shift to Felix. He didn’t know what to expect, but he wasn’t about to let someone get blamed when they saved him.
“The guy who tied me up as a sample did it!” he shouted. The fingers around him curled up again followed by the angry face staring down at him. He had to force himself not to try and squirm to hide beneath the fingertips. A heavy sigh escaped the new giant.
“We’ll be taking care of him, Felix-”
“Wait! What do you mean take care of him? He has other humans, what's going to happen to them!?” For a second it looked like the other giant softened. White hair fell into the giant’s face as he leaned forward.
“The humans will be safe, Kamias don’t hurt humans. I’ll find a doctor. Felix get him set up somewhere safe.”
As the giant stood and started to walk away Felix pulled him close. He looked up to see a much softer gaze than he expected. He was carefully held close to Felix’s chest as the giant started to walk again. He could hear the sound of the other’s voice as he was brought somewhere.
“We’ll go to my room,” Felix said. Ryder just nodded.
He didn’t get to look around as they walked this time. He didn’t mind it, if there were more overgrown giants he didn’t want to meet them. He was starting to get tired. Everything had been hectic since he woke up this morning. All for some lousy food he didn’t even taste much of. He closed his eyes, letting the rhythmic steps relax him.
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awkwardgtace · 2 years ago
Text
Interesting Sample Part 2
Continuing Ryder's first meeting with the Kamias
TW: Some dehumanization, broken bones, panic, blood, references to giants eating humans
Part 1, Part 3
Interesting Sample (continued)
When he opened his eyes he wasn’t in a hand anymore. He was on something soft, it was the softest thing he’d ever felt. The cloth beneath him was smooth too, like the silk he’d felt a few times in the store. He sat up, half expecting to be hiding in a box back with that creep. Instead he found a giant room filled with fabric.
All around were different colors, the most prominent were gold and bronze. He didn’t see Felix or the two insanely big giants anywhere. Ryder tried to stretch, but his arm flared with pain. He let out a yelp as soon as it happened. A grumble that followed made him freeze. That voice didn’t sound like Felix. He just had to hope the giant had a massively different voice when he woke up.
A shadow rose up over him. Somewhat darker skin than the others, pink eyes and salmon hair. He didn’t trust that this one was going to be as relaxed around him. The latest giant lifted a hand up, Ryder flinched, but it didn’t reach for him. Instead he watched the hand move to meet one of the pink eyes as the giant rubbed it.
“Felix decided to get some food and stuff for you,” he said. Ryder didn’t say anything back. “Dad said he found a doctor that agreed to come. It’s just taking a while to get her here. She said not to move a lot until she gets here.”
Ryder nodded. The latest giant huffed and loomed over him. All he could think of was if the giant slipped. That weight falling on him would make sure there was more than just one broken bone to take care of. It wasn’t long before the giant’s form was gone. He didn’t feel a bounce like he expected.
“So do you have a name? Felix said he didn’t know what to call you, but he doesn’t ask for names. Something about better to avoid making humans think we’re planning something. I don’t believe him. He just thinks the humans are gonna be scared when he talks.”
“You talk a lot,” Ryder said. The giant’s face was over him with a grin. Sharp teeth on full display, but oddly it made him smile back. The idea one of them would eat him was starting to feel insane. “Ryder.”
“I’m Rhys. How old are you? You look younger than me.”
“I could be older. No way you can see me well enough to tell from up there.”
The grin on Rhys seemed to grow as a glint appeared in his eyes. Ryder was immediately filled with regret for saying anything. The giant moved more until the pillow he was on was between two towering arms. The massive face started to come closer. All he could think to do was dig his fingers into the cloth beneath him. It was the first time he realized how hard silk was to grab. The impossible face stopped just close enough Ryder could touch it with his fingertips.
The speed it was gone was almost worse. Rhys disappeared, a loud thunk resounded as the giant hit what had to be the floor. Ryder waited for what came next. A bigger hand snatching him away seemed the most likely. Instead he heard a thoughtful hum near him.
“Yep I was right, you don’t look that old. Probably ten,” Rhys said. He sat up to stare at where the giant had disappeared to. A smirk met him when he moved enough to see him. “Am I right?”
“No,” Ryder said. He would like to be a lot older. Already an adult and on his own. He’d be trusted when he spoke out about things. Like how he didn’t believe the claim that he had distant family his parents never mentioned. That the giant they said was just someone they hired to take him to a really far city for that family to take him in didn’t seem prepared to travel with a human. That leaving his things behind sounded dumb when most giants could fit entire rooms of furniture in a pocket. “I’m only eight.”
“Wow…” Rhys’s face hovered over him again. This time the giant looked sad yet a bit excited. “I thought you were older than me, but I’m older than you.”
“Does it matter that you’re older? Yo-”
“Course it does. It means that I have to be extra sure to protect you from anyone who’d hurt you.” Ryder tilted his head. He wasn’t sure the other even knew he’d been cut off. “Felix always says I need to leave the older humans alone. They’d get annoyed that someone younger was protecting them. You’re younger than me so it’s ok now!”
“Protect me…”
Rhys nodded his head with a big grin. Ryder was just confused. No one protected him anymore. Not since his parents died. A giant being the one to declare it didn’t sound right. Trusting the giant felt natural, but he was trying to fight that. He looked away from the excited face to stare down at his hands. This was the first time he doubted his gut instincts about someone.
“Rhys,” Felix said. It made Ryder jump. He hadn’t even noticed the footsteps of the other giant. “What are you doing in here?”
“I heard you talking to yourself. Also dad on the phone to humans. It made me curious about the human you hid in your room, plus he smells weird,” Rhys said. Knowing Felix hadn’t just left him alone with a random giant made him feel warm. “Besides, if you left him alone he might have gone exploring without you knowing and gotten hurt.”
“I’m sure he’s smart enough not to do that.” The looming giant above him was gone in an instant. A loud thud followed the disappearance. “Besides I doubt you hovering like that is any safer than if he walked on his own.”
“Hey!” Rhys was on his feet and leaning over him again in an instant. “I’m helping. Besides I actually asked his name unlike you.”
“Right of course. I forgot I’m supposed to ask for someone’s name right after they thought I’d eat them! Introductions aren’t the first thought for anyone after that.” 
“It’s not like anything else that’s going through a human’s head is better! Plus you could apologize for having bad breath!”
“I don’t have bad breath!”
Ryder just watched the two argue. Felix’s face appeared over him after a few seconds. Despite them being giants, both were keeping their voices soft. There was a strain in their tones, he knew they wanted to yell. It started to seem funny. Eventually he just laughed. The voices above him stopped, but he couldn’t stop laughing.
As he laughed, two faces wound up in front of him. Equal looks of concern and confusion in front of him. It made the whole thing funnier. The two giants were quiet as they listened to him laugh. Then he saw smiles that were followed by laughter of their own. He hadn’t laughed so much in a while.
Things were calmer after that. Felix even asked his name. The two asked him a lot about how he got there. He didn’t tell them much besides leaving a town a long trip from the one they were in now. That he’d never heard of giants eating people until he was offered in a box. It was actually fun to talk with them. At least until he heard one of their stomach’s growling.
“Oh right, I forgot when I saw Rhys in here,” Felix said. 
Ryder watched him walk away. It felt weird knowing the table he was on mitigated their steps so much. When the giant came back he had a plate in his hands. Ryder’s heart raced, the idea of what could come next in his mind. The plate was set down next to Ryder’s pillow, giving him a solid view of more food than he could imagine a person eating.
“Why did you bring so much? It’s not like he could eat much of anything you brought,” Rhys asked. Felix had a red tint appear on his cheeks that made Ryder curious.
“Ryder you said that the shop owner hurt you because you took some food he had,” Felix cleared his throat before continuing, “I thought it would be nice if you could pick from a lot when you got hungry.”
That choice didn’t seem to matter when Rhys reached over him and grabbed something Ryder barely processed off the plate. It was held near him, something that smelled incredibly sweet. He tried to scramble back, especially to get a look at the giant’s face. There was just a smile and the weird pastry was brought closer again.
“Try this one!” Rhys said. Ryder’s heart was pounding. “Oh wait.”
Ryder watched as Rhys pulled the pastry back. Staring as the giant only a few years older than him took a bite from it. That one bite was so much bigger than him. The pastry was held in front of him again. A sweet smelling cream was visible now. He jumped when a smack sounded, the pastry falling next to him as Rhys pulled his hand back to rub his head. Felix glared at the younger giant.
“Rhys,” he hissed. Ryder jumped when Felix shot a look at him. His skin crawled as pink eyes landed on him, then drifted to the pastry.
“...oh right,” Rhys whispered. “Sor-”
A door slammed, cutting Rhys off. It might not have slammed, but it was loud enough Ryder flinched. Both giants in front of him froze up before turning around. The white haired one was standing there. A stern look on his face like before, but his hand was held to his chest. The earthquake steps he couldn’t ignore started as the impossibly big giant walked forward.
“Go downstairs,” he ordered. There was a visible sign of hesitation in both Felix and Rhys, but they left anyway. Rhys grabbed the pastry before walking off, shooting another sad glance towards Ryder. “Shut the door you two.”
The click as the door shut was deafening. Ryder was left alone with a giant who seemed to glare at everything. Heavy steps came close, the pillow kept him safer as they reached him. The white haired giant set a hand, knuckles down, on the table. Ryder had massive fingers surrounding him before he could think. They tightened, but the hold was gentle despite the massive size of the fingers and palm around him.
Ryder was released on the table near the intimidating giant’s other hand. He saw a woman pulling things from the massive palm. Once the last item was gone both massive hands were pulled away, but the giant didn’t leave. He sat down making both Ryder and the other human bounce. The shadow loomed over them for only a few seconds more. Massive arms rested on the table followed by that huge head laying on them. Stern eyes stayed locked on Ryder. The giant looked sort of funny with his back hunched over to rest his head on the low table.
“Well then,” the human woman said. She approached Ryder with a tense smile, it was clear she wasn’t ready for the feeling of a giant watching them. “I’ve been asked to come see you. You can call me Laura, what should I call you?”
“Ryder,” he said. He kept his voice quiet. She nodded at him. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen an actual doctor. 
“And how old are you?” 
“Eight…”
“Right,” she cleared her throat. “Ryder, eight years old.” He flinched from how loud she spoke. It was clear she said it so the giant could hear, the growl that came from the massive being didn’t help. He saw the doctor shiver too.
“Well, I was told you have a broken arm. Let’s take a look. I have some things here we can use.”
Ryder just did as she instructed. Those intense eyes didn’t stop glaring at him. He felt like he’d be burned away by them. He was stuck standing out in the open, no pillow or furniture to hide behind as she set things up. At one point she pointed to a part of the things she’d pulled off the hand. Ryder was forced to watch as a hand moved close to lift it up, placing it on another piece. That continued until some big machine was set up.
“A-alright. Mr. Kamia, sir, if you’d give us some privacy I’ll see to Ryder’s injury,” she said. 
He felt the table shake under the white haired giant’s nod. He wanted to run as the man stood. A hand with fingers more than three times his size flattened against the table. He watched the giant stand to a dizzying height before finally walking off. He noticed the man stood at the far end of the room, but didn’t leave.
“Ryder come over here and sit down,” Laura ordered. He did as she instructed and just waited as she played with the machine. He knew better than to expect a human to help him. “I’m so sorry I can’t get you out of here. I’ll make sure you’re healthy, that's all I can do.”
Ryder let the words settle. He focused on the massive giant who was fidgeting near the door. It didn’t seem like they were being watched in case of escape. A light flashed drawing his attention back to the doctor. “He said they don’t hurt humans.”
“I wish that were true. There’s been a lot who come here and are never seen again… I just thought they were better when it came to children.”
“These ones didn’t hurt me…”
“They’re keeping you.”
She said it so plainly he couldn’t argue it. As far as he knew they were going to keep him. The other two were nice, but they’d get bored of him. He’d just be in a bigger prison. At least he hoped it would stay that way, they didn’t seem fond of the alternative. Ryder stayed locked in his head as the doctor started to put a cast on his arm. He grimaced, there’d be no climbing while it was locked up like this.
“All done,” she sighed. She squeezed his good arm before looking him in the eyes. “I can give you two months. Your arm should heal after a bit more than one. Find a way to survive these monsters.” She turned from him walking towards the edge of the table. “Mr. Kamia, we're all finished here!”
The giant of a.. Well giant came closer. Already his steps rumbled through the table, it was a wonder the equipment stayed standing. The man moved faster than Ryder expected again. Crouching down and scooping the heavy equipment into his hand. The doctor appeared reluctant to step into that same palm.
“He’ll need about two months to recover. The cast is at least a month, possibly the whole two. I’ll need to check on him after a month. We can decide the next time after that,” she said. The giant nodded at her, almost like he cared. He waited for the doctor to climb into his palm. She cast another look at Ryder, he could swim in the pity she sent his way.
“I’ll have someone take you home,” the giant said. He should probably call the guy Mr. Kamia or sir or something. At this point he just wanted not to deal with the insanely big giant. He wanted to be somewhere he could sleep and maybe eat some of the food Felix and Rhys left behind. The giant brought his other hand down and held it near Ryder. “I’ll need you to come with us, Ryder.”
All the human could do was stare at the palm. He hadn’t been offered one in a long long time. The giant didn’t show any sign of annoyance as Ryder hesitated. He looked into the emerald eyes staring at him. There wasn’t malice like the one who gave him away that morning. The brow of the face above him furrowed. He grew nervous, tensing to start his attempt to climb on.
“Do you need help?,” the giant said. Ryder froze and nodded. The giant frowned. “Of course, I wasn’t thinking.” 
The massive hand moved behind him. He had to force himself to stay still as fingers wider than he was tall wrapped around him. Suddenly the suffocating heat was gone. Just as quickly as the heat disappeared, fingers pinched Ryder on his sides. He felt like he’d be crushed as they pressed together lifting him off the firm surface. It took him most of his time in the air to realize his arms weren’t pressed to his sides.
He spared a look at the face of the giant again. It was full of concentration. Ryder had never had someone stare at him with so much… something. He wasn’t sure what it was. He was set down on the palm next to the doctor. He was kneeling before the fingers released to let him go. The hand that had moved him was put next to the one he was sitting on. 
The doctor pushed his shoulder lightly. It was clear he had to ride in a hand all on his own. It wasn’t as terrifying as it seemed when the palm had rested in front of him. He climbed to his feet and crossed the expanse of flesh. The leathery surfaces were hard to make progress on. He never got to walk on them before. He stumbled to his knees as he crossed into the hand meant for him. The giant made a noise, but didn’t make a move to check on him.
All the care was gone. At least it seemed that way as those massive fingers curled over and lifted him up. The giant moved quickly pulling his hand up to his chest. The loud beating behind Ryder was sort of reassuring. He tried to grab the shirt to lift himself up, but the silk made it impossible. He was forced to just slip around as the man walked. He looked up, catching those eyes on him for a few seconds.
Ryder yelped as his weight was thrown in the air. The man must have reached the stairs. The fingers curled over him more, almost how they were when the giant walked in with the doctor. He bounced more as the giant kept moving. He kept trying to grab the shirt better, but each step his grip was lost. 
“Take her home, keep an eye on her. Make sure it’s known we consider her one of ours,” the giant said. 
“Yes sir,” someone said. It was a voice he hadn’t heard yet. All this time he hadn’t considered other giants besides the ones he’d met so far. He didn’t think he wanted to meet more giants in this family. Especially if humans became ‘theirs’.
The steps started up again. The hand he was in pressed against him. He stayed in place for the next set of steps. Although this felt almost like a hug, he let himself think it was that. It wasn’t like anyone would know he found the hand of someone so massive comforting. He could enjoy this moment until whatever came next.
Next was a lot faster than Ryder expected. He felt his stomach hang in the air as the giant holding him sat down. The fingers curled around him, he gave in immediately. The cloth of the shirt didn’t give him a grip. He was flat on his back as the palm finally settled flat on a desk. The other hand covered him in darkness.
“Felix, Rhys come in here,” the giant called. The hand disappeared and the man looked at him with a stern expression. He wasn’t feeling scared as the giant stared. “You can call me Vitus.”
“Y-yes sir,” he whispered. The eyes on him widened. He thought he caught something sad in them, but it was gone as footsteps came in. Ryder tilted his head back and caught a glimpse of the two younger giants walking in. They walked right up to them. It felt a lot easier with them back.
“It will take at least a month for the cast,” Vitus said. Ryder kept his eyes on the two he almost thought could be his friends. “Ryder, you’re free to stay with us while you recover. Although there are options if you’d rather not.”
The idea of options sounded bad. Rhys reacted before him though. The giant had his hands on the desk pulling himself up to stare down at Ryder. His eyes were sparkling as he looked over him. He had to stop himself from laughing as Felix pulled him back. He didn’t have to see it, the relationship between the two was already obvious.
“If you want to stay with us we can-”
“You can stay with me!” Rhys cut Vitus off with a shout. The sigh from the adult made him flinch.
“Rhys don’t shout. Besides he could stay with either of us,” Felix said. The oldest of the three of them was clearly the most calm. Although it didn’t do much when the fingers around him curled up to hide him from the others. He’d rather be in their hands.
“We can set you up with one of them, or somewhere else that will ensure you’re safe.”
Ryder slid back into the fingers. The face staring at him filled him with dread. The idea of where the safe place was scared him. He managed to sit up and face the giant holding him.
“I-I’d like to stay with R-Rhys or F-Felix,” Ryder said. He wasn’t sure that calling them by name was safe. The fear bubbling in him died down as the stern face softened. The man nodded as he accepted Ryder’s answer. Vitus sat back flattening the fingers blocking him in. 
Rhys was already reaching for him before Vitus cleared his throat. The hands reaching forward froze, slowly turning to an offered palm instead of the clear plan to grab. Ryder climbed to his feet looking back to make sure Vitus wouldn’t be stopping him. The soft look was still there so Ryder jumped from the older man’s hand to Rhys’s. The smaller fingers curled over him immediately before pulling him close to his chest.
“Alessia may have some things he could use for tonight. We’ll get better accommodations set up tomorrow,” Vitus said. Ryder watched Rhys nod before feeling as he started walking. He didn’t relax until the sound of a door came from behind him.
“Are you alright?” Felix said. Ryder had to move a bit to see the other giant. The fingers around him were hiding him completely. “Dad can be a lot sometimes…”
“I’m fine. Just curious why all of you are so big. I may be small, but it’s pretty clear you’re bigger than other giants I’ve met,” he laughed. Rhys laughed, making him bounce, but he wasn’t scared. At least he wasn’t until the sound of a door opening happened. It got worse when Rhys froze up.
“Mom, I thought you weren’t back until tomorrow,” Rhys said. He pulled his hand closer to his chest and held Ryder near his heart. It only made the fear worse, if their parents were nice why hold him close.
“I see you were eavesdropping again,” the woman’s voice from earlier answered with a hint of pride. That made her Mrs. Kamia. He could feel her steps through Rhys more than he did through Felix. He didn’t want to see her. “Things went easier than I expected. We have a lot of guests tonight though. Felix, what about the human you brought home earlier?”
Rhys’s hands started to move. Ryder grabbed the cloth of the giant’s shirt. It was easier to hold than Vitus’s. The hands froze when Ryder didn’t follow gravity down with them. He swore he heard the fabric of the woman’s clothing moving. He didn’t know what she did or the guests she talked about. He didn’t want to know.
“Hey,” Mrs. Kamia said. Her voice was soft and warm. Not like Vitus’s. “I’m Dabria, you’re safe now little one.”
He looked behind him, red eyes were looking at him over Rhys’s fingers. “I-I’m Ryder, m-ma’am.”
The woman smiled and the fear she initially instilled in him faded. He couldn’t imagine her being anything dangerous. She stood back to her full height and the fear came back. He had almost forgotten she was just as big as Vitus. As she stood he saw the blood on her clothes. Worse than that he heard shouts from the bag on her hip. One of her hands met it immediately.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “We’ll keep you safe Ryder. Felix and Rhys will make sure you’re comfortable. Also you don’t have to call me ma’am, just Dabria is fine.”
She walked off with steps that rumbled through Rhys. Ryder let the shirt go falling back onto the palm. He stared up at two giant faces full of concern. He offered the best smile he could. The two took that as enough and started to walk again. Curling up in the palm that held him and falling asleep again sounded nice. Until he remembered the name of someone else they were going to find.
“Who’s Alessia?” he muttered. It was more to himself, but Rhys apparently heard him. The hand holding him shot up as the giants kept walking.
“She’s our sister,” Rhys smiled. Somehow that didn’t reassure him. Felix’s sigh was the loudest he heard yet.
“She has some things that might be a little big for you, but better than nothing. She… doesn’t interact with humans much,” he said.
Ryder nodded trying to hide his fear. It was a bit too late to hide though. As Rhys lowered his hand Ryder saw the open door. Inside it was a normal room. He saw scattered toys, most notably a few dolls, on the floor. The temporary set up was probably just a doll bed. The way the doctor spoke rang in his ears. He had to survive whatever these giants did to humans. Rhys walked in just as Ryder steeled himself.
“Alessia,” Rhys said. He heard a loud yelp from the sister he hadn’t met. He heard more than felt her footsteps, but it wasn’t long before that changed. She came up close without even noticing him in Rhys’s hands.
“Do mom and dad need me?” she asked. Her voice was the softest. Sort of like music. He didn’t expect her to naturally speak so quietly.
“No,” Felix said. He pointedly looked down at Ryder. He watched as Alessia moved her hair, colored like the night sky, from her face and looked down. The brown eyes above him filled with fear as she backed away. “We need something for him to sleep on tonight. Dad thought you might-”
“Over there!” Her voice was almost so quiet only Ryder could hear it. He was lost as Felix walked over and picked something up. He didn’t see it, but he wasn’t trying to. He was more focused on the giant girl cowering from him. Even as she pointed somewhere else in the room. “Th-there too.”
“Alessia, this is Ryder.” Rhys’s fingers were slowly moving to show him off more. He didn’t mind it this time. “He’s gonna stay with us.”
The way Alessia froze made him want to help her. He knew that fear, he had that fear. It was the same way he felt when he saw Vitus and Dabria. He climbed to his feet using the slight curl of Rhys’s fingers to help him stand. Staring at the terrified girl he just waved. She gasped, but he saw the faintest smile as she waved back.
“J-just let me know if you need anything else,” she whispered. Her eyes were locked on him, she was talking to him not the others. “I… have a lot.”
“Thanks,” he said. The smile on her face made him a lot less scared of her. A lot more tempted to climb down Rhys to go check on her. He couldn’t with his arm like this, but seeing her less afraid was better.
“We should get you set up, Ryder,” Felix said. None of the giants moved at first. Ryder didn’t get it, but nodded at Felix like he agreed. That was when Rhys started moving again. It was a bit weird that they waited for his okay. He was left in a more open palm as Rhys finally walked out of the room.
The actual set up wasn’t something he looked forward to. Probably some high place he couldn’t get down from on his own. He shouted when the door slammed as Rhys kicked it open. He heard Felix growl which made him laugh. Once in the room Rhys pulled his hand close again. He looked up at the giant seeing a similar smirk to earlier. Faster than Ryder could think he was in the air.
Ryder screamed. He actually thought he could be friends with these giants. He closed his eyes tightly terrified of where he would wind up. The impact was a lot softer than he expected. It wasn’t on a table, the floor, or even hands. Slowly he opened his eyes and found a weird roof over his head. It wasn’t like the normal ceiling, a different kind of wood. He could feel as his body realized he wasn’t getting hurt again.
“Rhys! What’s wrong with you!?” Felix shouted. He felt the heavy steps rattle the surface he was on. He wrapped his hands in the fabric as golden eyes found him. He’d never seen someone looking so terrified and relieved all at once.
“What? I thought he’d think it was fun to land on a giant bed!” Rhys complained. Felix brought his hands close, but Ryder couldn’t hold back his flinch this time. The huge hands froze surrounding him. Rhys appeared over Felix’s shoulder. The smirk on his face fell as soon as Ryder met his eyes. “That… wasn’t fun for you was it?”
Ryder couldn’t bring himself to speak. All he did was shake his head. He saw tears immediately start falling down tan cheeks. Rhys’s face was gone in an instant followed by the sound of sniffling. Felix looked behind him for a second, but his attention quickly went back to Ryder. 
“Are you hurt? Should dad call the doctor back? It shouldn’t take long…” Felix trailed off as Ryder shook his head. He was fine, just a bit terrified. The sniffling behind Felix wasn’t dying down. “Should we go to my room instead?”
Ryder had to think about that. He definitely felt more safety with Felix. Although safety was its own mystery. He couldn’t remember the last time someone made him feel safe. Although Rhys sounded fun. He pushed himself up enough to be sitting. If he knew what was happening it probably would have been fun. He didn’t get hurt. It should be fine… right?
“We… can set up in here,” he said.
“Felix’s room is better,” Rhys mumbled. He didn’t expect the giant to sound so disheartened. “I don’t get to be around humans a lot… It’s better if someone else is around if I’m with you, so I don’t almost hurt you again.”
“Rhys…”
Ryder had no idea what to do. Rhys was terrifying, but he didn’t want to lose his first chance at a friend in a long time. He looked up at Felix for help. The oldest of the three looked deep in thought. He wanted to say something, but the older giant leaned closer.
“Are you afraid of being near him?” Felix whispered. His voice was quiet enough only Ryder could hear, especially with the way Rhys was still sniffling. Ryder shook his head with all the energy he could. He was almost afraid Rhys would hear if he spoke. “I have an idea.” 
Felix stood up to his full height. He turned to the side so Ryder could finally see the other giant. Rhys looked small, smaller than Ryder was to them. The giant had pulled his knees up to his chest and buried his face in them. He even backed away so he wasn’t close enough to reach Ryder if he wanted to. Ryder hated it.
“We can all sleep in here. Your bed is big enough for the both of us Rhys,” Felix said. Ryder’s eyes widened. He never considered that option. The younger giant looked up from his knees, the whites of his pink eyes had turned red. Rhys started shaking his head.
“Like a sleepover?” Ryder asked. He actually liked this idea. More than just an easy way to fix it, these two felt like he could trust them. Felix shot him a smile he hadn’t gotten to see yet. It seemed like his real one. Rhys had his eyes blown wide as he stared at Ryder. “I don’t think I ever got to have a sleepover with giants before.”
“You’re not scared?” Rhys mumbled. 
Ryder looked at the giant who had thrown him. Who had offered him a pastry he bit into so Ryder could try the cream. Who didn’t force him to face Dabria as soon as she walked in. Who was excited to stay with him and listened intensely enough he heard Ryder mumble about Alessia.
“No… I’m not scared,” Ryder said. 
Rhys jumped to his feet immediately and started rubbing his eyes. Felix walked back to the door to the room. Ryder noticed a desk and realized he’d forgotten about the doll bed. He grimaced at the idea, but hoped the things Vitus mentioned getting would be actually for humans. As Felix walked back Ryder noticed his hands were mostly empty. He tilted his head waiting to see what the deal was.
Felix kneeled at a table like the one Ryder woke up on. He walked to the edge of the bed trying to get a better look at what the giant was doing. A shaky hand was set in front of him. He looked at Rhys who seemed nervous, but Ryder climbed on the palm easily. He didn’t think these two were dangerous, at least right now. It almost felt like he had really big brothers.
Rhys curled his fingers over him until the light disappeared. He felt the giant slide across the ground before the light filtered in again. The palm he was on tilted until he slid off onto the table. Rhys pushed himself away again. Ryder frowned, but turned to Felix.
“Wait… that’s a human bed?” he asked. His skin crawled when the eyes of both giants locked on him. “Didn’t Alessia give you one of her doll beds? I thought that was… where I’d be… sleeping…”
Ryder looked back and forth seeing twin looks of horror. It didn’t sound that crazy to him. They weren’t ready for a human so obviously they should just grab a doll bed from their sister. He was shocked when Rhys stopped his constant looking between the two. His face was serious in a way that felt almost dangerous.
“You wouldn’t stay with us if all we had were doll beds. There’s a house for humans in the family on the property you would have gone there. Dad just wants to make sure you get everything you need until you’re healed. When Felix said something might be big for you it was clothes,” Rhys said. It didn’t sound like someone a few years older talking to him. Rhys sounded like an adult. “Ryder, you know you’re not a toy or anything right?”
Ryder slipped from Rhys’s gentle hold to look back at Felix. The older giant was crying. He didn’t expect it. He didn’t know why. Felix continued to set up the bed like it was all he could do. Ryder watched in silence. Once Felix finished he left the room. Rhys’s hands left him too. Felix came back with the food from earlier, he noticed there was another one of the pastries Rhys had eaten.
“I mean… even if that’s what I was,” he started, “it still sort of seemed like we were gonna be friends. Although if I keep making you both cry I don’t know how well that’s gonna work out.”
“...friends…,” Felix whispered. Ryder looked up at him, the tears were falling faster now. Another clearly sincere smile made its way onto Felix’s face. “You… want to be friends?”
Ryder nodded a bit worried his words would make it worse. He heard Rhys muttering a bit, but the words were too garbled to understand. Felix sat in front of the table and folded his arms on it. He rested his head on his arms and stared at Ryder. Rhys’s head hit the table with a loud thump and sent Ryder off his feet. He looked between the two giants again.
“Usually humans don’t want to be near us,” Felix whispered. “We’re part of the Kamia family… they think we’ll hurt them.”
“It’s stupid, Mom and Dad get humans out of the city, but because they look scary no one trusts them,” Rhys said. “They have to be scary, so do we. Cause we want to help humans too.”
Ryder climbed to his feet and walked towards the center of the table. There he could look at both giants mostly at the same time. “Well, you two suck at being scary. So… friends?”
“Friends!” Felix and Rhys nodded. He got to see big smiles filled with sharp teeth from both of them. It wasn’t scary in the least, he knew these two wouldn’t hurt him. The whole eating him thing started to seem like that creep just didn’t understand. Scary looking giants ate humans obviously. Just a good way to scare him and Felix played along to keep him safe.
The rest of the night went a lot smoother. They actually got to talk and laugh for most of it. Rhys convinced him to eat the pastry he’d picked out earlier too. It was a lot better with the cream he could only reach thanks to the giant. By the time Ryder started to feel sleepy the two giants were almost asleep. The two wound up sitting next to each other during their time playing and talking. Ryder decided to make use of that. They had a hand close to each other so he climbed on one and tugged at the other. A sleepy Felix followed his tugs where he had a bed of Rhys’s palm and a blanket of Felix’s fingers.
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awkwardgtace · 2 years ago
Text
Interesting Sample Part 3 (Final)
Ryder's been healing, how long will he stay with the mafia family?
Continuing Ryder's first meeting with the Kamias
TW: Some dehumanization, broken bones, panic, blood, references to giants eating humans
Part 1, Part 2
Interesting Sample (end)
The next month seemed to fly by. Vitus and Dabria bought what they called a small house for him. It seemed huge. They said it could go anywhere in the manor, but he didn’t really want it. He kind of liked having the open space in Rhys’s room. Sleepovers with Rhys and Felix were fun. Spending time with them was fun.
Vitus and Dabria left him alone with them most of the time. He was only pulled away a few times. One of them was to see the humans who had tied and gagged him. A lot of them broke down in tears when he was shown off. Even begging him to forgive them, they just didn’t want to die. He noticed Vitus getting a dark look in his eyes when they spoke so Ryder just said it was all fine. He was more shocked they were even there.
Shocks like that kept happening. He’d ride around on Felix’s shoulder a lot. When he did he noticed the humans running around the house out in the open. None of them even acted nervous when a giant’s foot landed near them. They even managed to keep their balance when Vitus walked around. He wanted to be like that.
The worst part of his month was how all the humans that were apparently living near the giants acted. When he was with Felix or Rhys they were nice and weirdly respectful. When he was alone they were always whispering. I hope they don’t ask me to take care of him. How long will they keep him around? The kids are getting attached. It’ll be harder to deal with later. He wasn’t a pet to just get attached to. He was friends with Felix and Rhys. He wanted to try with Alessia, but the most he got was a small wave before she ran off. She acted like that with all the humans though.
“Alright,” Laura said. He’d completely lost himself to his thoughts while the doctor checked his arm. She was speaking softly again. Vitus stood nearby, but they were in his office this time. He leaned against the door, like he was ensuring no one could enter while Ryder was looked at. “We can take the cast off, it seems the break was cleaner than I first thought. That or you’re one of the lucky ones with better healing.”
“So we’re taking it off?” he asked. She looked at Vitus with a bit of fear, letting out a sigh when he didn’t react to Ryder’s words.
“I can give you a sling to give you a chance to get out, or leave you in the cast longer. I haven’t figured-”
“They’re nice. I don’t need to escape.” The doctor dropped what she was holding, a bunch of random things for what she planned. They both stiffened from the noise of Vitus moving. Ryder relaxed first, the giant wasn’t going to come over unless he had to. She grabbed his shoulders, digging her nails partly into his skin.
“What are you thinking?!” There was more noise from Vitus, but she didn’t stop. “They’re monsters.” Step. “They’ll kill you or keep you as a pet.” Step. Step. “Please let me help you.” Step. Step. Step. “Ryder!” Her voice had raised, but she only stopped talking because Vitus’s shadow came over them.
“Is there a problem?” Vitus said. The doctor was shaking as she turned to him. Ryder saw the same dark look Vitus had when he learned the others had prepared him as a sample. He stepped in front of the doctor.
“She’s worried about my recovery here. I need to practice climbing again, my arm’s gonna be weak,” he said. Vitus softened right away. He crouched down so his eyes met them.
“How can we best help safely with that?” His voice was never soft, but it was getting easier to hear. The doctor gave Ryder a relieved look as she cleared her throat. 
“He’ll need safe p-places to climb. Ones where if he falls he can’t be hurt.” Vitus nodded as she spoke. Ryder smiled, the giant wasn’t quite as intimidating as he first thought. Vitus looked at him for a minute.
“Ryder.”
“Yes, sir?” Vitus made another of those sadder looks. Ryder still couldn’t understand why he made it each time he said that.
“How would you feel practicing on us? It should give you a good challenge and keep you safe.” Ryder’s eyes widened. He swore he could feel the doctor’s mind short circuiting. 
“If you don’t mind, it sounds like a good idea. Sir.”
“I-I just need to remove the cast then…”
Vitus backed off again. Staying significantly closer than before. It seemed like he wasn’t happy to leave her alone with Ryder anymore. She got to work on cutting off his cast quickly. It didn’t take long, but there was a lot of dust. Vitus was in front of them as soon as it was off. He set his hand down on the desk.
“Ryder, stay here for a few minutes, Laura, if you'd come with me,” he said.
Ryder watched the doctor shaking as she climbed on the palm. The equipment she brought was left behind. As Vitus walked away Ryder felt guilt fill him. The doctor would be fine, they didn’t hurt humans. He didn’t need to worry or feel guilty for her getting involved. He started to wander around the desk while he waited, trying not to wonder about where they went. Stretching his newly freed arm was a good distraction. He paused at the picture Vitus kept on his desk.
“If you were this big you guys wouldn’t be as scary,” he said. The picture didn’t react, but he kept staring. They looked happy in it. Vitus and Dabria the day they married. Vitus looked stern and intimidating even then. There were some signs he could see that the man was happy. Dabria was easy to read, all her emotions clear on her face. He stepped up to it, running his hand over the glass. “Kind of wish I was one of your kids. Seems a lot better than how my family was back when they were around.”
“Ryder?” Vitus asked. The human scrambled away from the picture to stare at the giant who had walked in. He heard the smallest chuckle. “I worried you climbed off the desk. You shouldn’t push yourself.”
“Just walking around and stretching, sir.”
Vitus let out a sigh as he walked over to the desk. The giant sat in the chair causing a loud creak. At least loud to Ryder, he wasn’t sure giants heard the way furniture reacted to them. He set his hand down on the desk and Ryder climbed on quickly. The hand didn’t move right away, he was tempted to try climbing up the sleeve of the suit Vitus wore. The fact that last time he was held close the silk made it impossible to get a handhold kept him still.
“Where’s the doctor?” he asked. Vitus leaned forward, the shadow engulfing him.
“She’s just getting a look at how we run things,” Vitus said. 
The hand Ryder was on was pulled from the desk and held near the giant’s chest. Out of habit Ryder grabbed the cloth. He almost shouted in excitement when he was able to grab it. The silky cloth was replaced with one he didn’t recognize, but he could definitely climb. He took his chance to start climbing a giant for the first time. It got a little harder when a few purrs escaped. He forgot giants could do that.
Vitus let him spend time climbing. Ryder kept going until he felt himself struggling. He tried to go a little farther, losing his grip. He expected to fall for a few seconds, but a hand caught him right away. He landed on his back staring up at the ceiling. Vitus leaned forward, cupping Ryder against his chest.
“You should rest, it might take some more time to get back to normal,” he whispered. Ryder didn’t argue or even respond; he just curled up in the hand. He liked these giants. He didn’t want to leave.
The next few weeks were similar. He’d try climbing on Rhys, Felix, or Vitus. When he tried to climb Dabria she worried too much and always started to help him. Alessia still wouldn’t go near him. The first time he managed to climb from Vitus’s wrist to his shoulder he got a real smile from the giant. It was followed by a careful grab and a trip to Rhys’s room. Vitus let him try a lot later than normal.
He had fallen asleep on the trip up. Only waking up as Vitus slipped him off his hand into the bed on the table. Ryder listened to the heavy footsteps along with the door creaking most of the way closed. It was becoming familiar enough he was almost asleep again after a few seconds. Until the steps stopped when they shouldn’t have.
“Vitus, I’m getting worried,” Dabria said. Her voice was quiet, but the door wasn’t shut enough to block it. He slipped out of bed and climbed down the blanket that covered Felix and Rhys. He managed to slip out of the small opening to find the biggest giants he’d ever met standing nearby. He saw the way Vitus changed as he decided to answer.
“I know, I’m not sure what to do,” Vitus said. It was the first time Ryder heard the man’s voice this quiet. It made him anxious. “It’s not uncommon for the Kamia family to take in humans. I’m sure we could find a way to make that work.”
“We could go find two humans in the city? Maybe from one of the other bars.”
“And send him to a human safe city? I do-”
Dabria walked off before Vitus finished talking. Both giants were out of sight long before Ryder could follow. He just sat there watching where they’d been standing. He didn’t want to leave and they were all so nice. Now they wanted to send him away because he was getting better. Even worse it sounded like Dabria wanted it the most, but she was the one fretting over him all the time.
Ryder tried to keep his tears from falling as he slipped back into the room. He made his way to the blanket he used before, but Rhys had fallen on his side again. He sighed, resigning to climbing up Felix and likely waking up the older giant. Instead one of Rhys’s hands found him and pulled him close. He tried to squirm, but the hands cupped him over the giant’s heart.
“No,” Rhys whined. Ryder had noticed the sleep talking pretty early in his time here. It wasn’t hard to sleep through it. It was still quieter than the creep who brought him to this city. “You can’t have Ryder, he’s my brother.”
Ryder froze up. He knew they’d gotten close pretty quickly, but brothers? It made him feel warm. He curled into the cupped palms around him. Pressing his ear to the chest of the giant, he took in the heartbeat. It usually helped him relax. Tears started to make their way from him.
“I don’t want to lose my family again,” he whispered.
The next morning he almost thought everything was a dream. Until he heard a frantic Felix calling his name. He started squirming to try and wake Rhys up. It actually worked a lot faster than he expected. The giant sat up instantly. The hands curled around Ryder were thrown to Rhys’s waist. He managed to grab the cloth of the shirt before he got thrown too.
“I’m here!” he shouted. He heard the racing beat of the heart below him, but Felix was the one who grabbed him. The older giant started to search for any signs he’d been hurt. “Calm down, I'm fine! I climbed down from the table last night. When I came back Rhys grabbed me. I got to hear him talk in his sleep again.”
Ryder wanted to hide what he heard. He didn’t want to think that this could end. Felix was saying something, mostly about Rhys needing to be more careful waking up in the future. He honestly felt protected by the two of them. He knew Alessia cared. He thought Vitus and Dabria at least liked him. He didn’t want to leave.
“You are hurt aren’t you?” Felix said. He jumped, staring at the golden eyes that were far closer than he expected. “If it hurts you can tell us.”
“Really I’m fine!” Rhys was staring at him with a look he didn’t like. It faded as Ryder climbed to his feet and started to climb up Felix’s arm.
“You know,” Rhys said, “now that you can climb again you’ll probably get to go do things in the city. If anyone ever gives you trouble make sure they know you’re a Kamia.”
“But I’m not.” Ryder tried hard to hide the hurt in his voice. He wanted to be one. “I’m a human, you’re giants. They’d know it’s a lie.”
“Not like that, well sort of like that. It would be like the other giants and humans that come through the house. Family like they are, just part of the business.” Felix shook his head at Rhys’s explanation.
“He means. It’s what the people who work with our parents are called. The other humans and giants they’re in the Kamia Family. We’re the head of the family so it uses our name.”
“Oh. Like in those old mafia movies?” The two giants stared at him like he had said something stupid. He tried to think of how to change it, but saw Rhys opening his mouth. Felix slammed his free hand over it before a sound left.
“Ryder…”
“Y-yeah?” He tried to push the embarrassment away.
“You know we’re a mafia family right? That’s why that guy gave you to me, why there’s so many people most of the time, and why mom came back with blood on her your first night here.”
“...I thought mafias didn’t exist anymore…” His voice was quiet. There was a lot of embarrassment building in him. It seemed like he should have known, even if he didn’t live in a town like this. Felix caught him where he was on the giant’s arm. He was gently pulled off and held up for both giants to easily stare at him.
“Dad told us about it a long time ago, most places they don’t. In cities like this they do, and humans are more of a commodity.” Ryder tilted his head, a bit unsure about the word.
“Other families only keep humans they think are useful… The other humans they find get eaten for real.” Rhys sounded scared as he spoke. Ryder looked up at Felix almost hoping the older giant would complain like usual. Things stayed quiet for too long.
“I kind of thought the eating thing was a bad joke since none of you did it… I guess I was lucky he gave me to you guys…”
Ryder tried to laugh it off. The giant eyes on him felt ominous. He couldn’t keep looking at them, turning his gaze to the palm he sat on. A gasp escaped him when drops of tears landed on the skin beneath him. Now the doctor’s fear made sense. He still hadn’t seen her again. She could have been…
“Ryder?” one of them whispered. He couldn’t make out the voice, he kept thinking about the sharp teeth. He had no way to know if he could trust his judgement on these giants. The hand around him started to lower. “Are… you scared of us now?”
Ryder thought back to the time he’d spent here. Trying to view it knowing what he just learned. They always made sure he had what he needed, they trusted him. The other humans were comfortable enough to walk around on the ground blindly.  The one thing that stuck out was the horror on the faces when he expected doll furniture. The care as he recovered. The ways they let him climb up and encouraged his adventures. They way they listened as he spoke.
“I’m not scared,” he muttered. He managed to look up at the two giants again. Swinging his head back and forth. They both had tears in their eyes as they stared at him. Felix was the one to act first, pulling him quickly to his chest. The thumping beneath him was erratic. He never expected this from Felix of all people. The giant was always stoic, even the genuine smiles were rare.
“You can be,” Felix said. The hand holding him was pulled back. He looked up, finding Rhys staring back at him. Just like that first night the whites of his eyes were red.
“You two suck at being scary.” He hadn’t been wrong until now. He wasn’t going to doubt himself yet. He did have an idea of how to stay here though. If humans had to be useful, he had a use. There was a reason he pissed off that shop owner creep so much. “Can you take me to talk to your dad?”
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Vitus sighed as he finished drafting the explanation about the recent fires they were asked to look into. It helped that was often a Kamia task when they were the one’s setting them after getting humans out. Ryder’s decision to help was doing more than he expected. The idea of having someone so young and small involved still sat wrong with him. He couldn’t ignore it when the young human had faced him with so much determination. At least it made their struggle easier. Ryder felt like part of their family, but even suggesting he stay with them had seemed too selfish.
“Vitus, sir?” Ryder called. Vitus turned to the small human sitting next to his hands. Even a year later the human seemed too small compared to the others. The ease Ryder had in talking to him now made him smile. 
“Yes?” he asked. A part of him wanted to just send his human son off to rest or play like the others. He always wound up next to him. Of course he was at least doing the homework his tutor assigned.
“You haven’t eaten all day, you should get something.” Vitus reached over and ruffled Ryder’s head. The human was more responsible than himself. He pushed himself up from his desk. He cupped his hand around Ryder, waiting to see if the little human wanted to come with him to the kitchen.
“Can I stay here? I’m almost done with my homework.”
“Of course, anything you want me to bring you?” Ryder focused on his work, bowing down.
“Can you get one of the pastries Rhys likes?” Vitus chuckled at the request. This whole time things had seemed too risky. It was consistently a relief that their worries about Ryder’s safety were disproven.
“Sure.”
Vitus started on his way out, leaving the office door open. It shouldn’t be a problem today, he had no meetings. He would just grab two of the pastries, one he’d cut open for Ryder and another for himself. He saw one of the others that seemed anxious, a small detour would be fine.
Ryder smiled to himself. He liked the life he had now. Helping get humans out of bad places. All that time finding ways to sneak around those two giants he was stuck with was worth it. Plus Vitus and Dabria were nice. Dabria always brought things she saw for humans saying it reminded her of her youngest son. Vitus never minded that Ryder preferred to do his homework in the office. It was fun. He felt like family.
Footsteps sounded near the door. He started to shuffle his homework to the side so he wouldn’t get any of the sweet cream on it. He stood with a smile that fell faster than his heart was racing. Standing at the door wasn’t Vitus, but that jerk of an assistant that sold him out. The one who wanted him to die. Ryder could barely breathe as the giant took in the room.
“Ruthless head huh,” the familiar voice muttered. 
Ryder’s blood ran cold. He needed to run, but there wasn’t a safe place. The giant kept looking around until finally those beady eyes found him. There was a heavy silence as the giant stared at him. He watched the huge face go from annoyance, to shock, to confusion, straight to anger.
“You trash,” the man seethed. “You sold us out to save yourself didn’t you? Found a little use so they’d keep you alive. I’ll make sure that doesn’t last.”
Ryder’s legs were shaking as the man stomped forward. He had to run. He had to make his legs move. If he didn’t run he’d die. He didn’t want to die. Rhys said he was going to teach him a new game. Felix wanted him to help with his sewing. Alessia would even talk to him now. He had a family he actually liked, he didn’t want to die.
“V-Vitus,” he tried to shout. His voice came out hoarse. He stumbled back, falling off his feet. “M-Mr Kamia!” Better he thought it could work. He just had to be a bit louder. They paid more attention, they’d hear him. “Sir! I need help!”
No one responded. There were no world shattering footsteps. No mountain of a giant towering over the one closing in. His heart was racing. Dabria wasn’t home. The others were at school. He could have been at school, he just hadn’t gone for too long. He needed to catch up. He was starting next year. He wanted to go to school. The giant’s shadow was reaching him.
“Dad! He’s gonna kill me!” Ryder shouted as loud as he could. 
The jerk hesitated for a second, but it didn’t change anything. He had tears rolling down his face. No one would save him. No one could hear him. He was in a world of giants and no one would care when he’s gone. He was a useful human to the mafia. Just like those other humans whispered, the kids shouldn’t have gotten attached. He was re-
“Don’t touch my son!” Vitus roared. Ryder had never heard the man’s voice as loud as he did then. He thought it would shatter his ear drums. He swore the entire house shook before the words finished echoing. The giant approaching him finally stopped. He turned just enough Ryder could see the massive giant holding a gun pointed at his would-be killer's head. “Ryder, cover your ears and close your eyes.”
Ryder did as he was instructed. Curling up along with it. He just wanted this over. Despite listening, there was a cracked boom that felt deafening. A heavy thud followed, right after there were steps he thought he recognized. He started shaking on the chance it wasn’t him. It wasn’t the giant he begged to help him. The one he finally called dad.
A large hand surrounded him. He curled up smaller and felt the hesitation. The hand disappeared, replaced by two fingers lifting him in the air. It felt familiar. He was placed on a palm and held over a racing heart. It was faster than his own. He felt and heard the thunderous steps as the winner walked off with his prize.
“You,” Vitus snapped. Ryder shook more at the tone.
“Y-yes sir?” a giant answered. He only knew because of how close the voice was to him.
“Get the body out of here. Find anyone who worked with him and take care of them. We’re sending a message. Make sure they know touching one of my children gets them a lot more than dead. No names, just that my youngest was in danger.”
“R-right away sir.” He felt the hand press against him a bit harder.
“Wait, call the human doctor we added last year. Laura. Tell her what happened and report to me anything she says… Tell her he was near a silenced giant's gun firing.” Ryder was kind of shocked to hear Laura’s name. They said they didn’t hurt humans, but she’d been gone since she took off his cast.
There was silence as the giant must have run off. Vitus kept walking, but Ryder was terrified. The rhythmic steps continued. The heartbeat barely stopped racing as the giant moved. Ryder was held tightly enough he couldn’t even tell if they were on the stairs or not. All he could make out were muffled voices followed by the slam of a door. The first sign anything changed was when the hand softened and huge fingers wrapped around him.
He was brought up to the stern eyes he’d stopped fearing. It was the first time he’d seen the face anything besides intimidating or oddly soft. Vitus had an expression of fear. Ryder just stared at him while the giant set him down on his palm. Two fingers gently pulled at one his arms, he didn’t realize he was still covering his ears.
“You’re safe now Ryder, were you hurt?” Vitus whispered. It was the first time the man had spoken softly to him. Ryder knew the giant just never considered his presence and wasn’t intending to be loud and frightening. This was something new, something he actually feared. All he did was shake his head. The relief that painted over the fearful look was overwhelming. “That’s good. That’s good… I didn’t know anyone was coming today. I never would have left you alone. I’m so glad I heard you.”
“Y-you called me your son,” he choked out. Vitus actually offered a smile. One he hadn’t seen very often. He only saw it a few times, each of them directed at one of the others. The giant nodded his head.
“It’s what you are,” Vitus brought his hand down and held Ryder firmly over his heart, “I just wish I was the one you shouted for.”
Ryder grabbed the cloth around him, “It was you.”
Vitus started to purr almost immediately. The stress and fear fled Ryder’s body in an instant. He felt tired, more tired than he had in a long time. He squirmed a little to curl up comfortably under the firm hold. He almost died. He thought no one could hear him. Vitus answered for him, hearing him as his son. It was too much.
He doubted this would last. A part of him knew the fights they had. That Dabria wanted him gone. He’d take advantage of this. Enjoy his life with a family that seemed to want him. A family that heard him when he needed it. The purring picked up in volume as the heart beat settled. He could feel Vitus moving around, almost shocked when he heard the sound of a mattress shifting.
“Just rest, I’ll keep you safe,” Vitus promised. After all this time Ryder did believe it. He was safe in the giant’s hand. He was a member of the Kamia family. No matter how long it lasted he’d be kept safe by them.
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awkwardgtace · 2 years ago
Note
If it's not too late, prompt 10 sounds hilarious for seer and the gods au 😂
ty for the prompt. It was very much not too late!! I don't know if this is quite what you pictured, but it's the first thing I thought of and couldn't consider anything else!
Naughtiest and Nicest
Delphia could barely keep her eyes open as she returned to the gods’ realm. This time of year had turned into a constant stream of visions. People making risky choices out of a rush to be with their families. It seemed like each time she closed her eyes another vision occurred. As soon as the light faded from the door she thought for sure she’d been sent another vision. 
In front of her Vincent was sitting with his back against her door and his head in his hands. He never came to the gods’ realm, he hated it there. She waited for something to happen, the vision to move forward. Instead she just sat there in silence with Vincent barely moving. He kept his head down, grabbing at something she couldn’t before snapping his head up to face her.
“You’re back,” he said. She’d never heard him scared like this. “You need to fix this. Rhys wanted me to explain the holidays and I started explaining the whole guy who watches everything with lists.”
“They think it’s Vitus right?” she asked. It made sense in a way to her. The descriptions she heard of the one Vincent meant, white hair and kind at least, matched the god of life. The other descriptors not so much, he did keep a list though.
“At first, I told them it was someone else when they asked.” He stood up placing a hand on the door. “Then I told them it was a naughty or nice list. Now…”
Vincent pulled open the door and she could hear the rumbling voices of the gods.
“I’ve already made it clear,” Felix said. Delphia frowned, she knew the tone he was using. Blaming himself for things out of his control. “Clearly the one at the top of this naughty list would be me. The desperation for prosperity drives mortals to cruelty.”
Delphia sighed, Vincent had already grabbed her arm and started out the door. She didn’t know how to fix it. The naughty list would probably have them all spiraling in some manner.
“Ash… I think I’d be on that list,” she heard Alessia’s melodic voice echo through the hall. “I keep hoping our seer would spend less time with the mortals… I’ve been selfish.”
“Vincent, how long has this been going on?” Delphia asked. She stopped following him, making him stop too. 
“I’m not sure, time here is weird. I don’t even know how long it’s been since Rhys brought me here,” he sighed. She could hear the annoyance in his voice, but there was a bit of fear in how his hand tightened. It didn’t matter how much she and Rhys promised the gods were kind, Vincent stayed nervous.
“Wars are held because of me!” Ryder shouted. She didn’t think anyone else noticed the slight tremor in his voice. He hated everything about his domain. “Mortals kill each other endlessly, many seek glory through it!”
Vincent took that as the sign to get them moving again. She followed along, picturing Ash’s face as they tried to convince Alessia she wasn’t bad. They rounded the corner, finding Ash and Alessia standing near the entrance closest to them. Sola and Luna were standing between the two gods. It was the first time in a long time she felt intimidated walking up to them.
“Wouldn’t that mean Lady Death is on that list?” Luna’s quiet voice shocked her. It was clear he’d been crying, but there was nothing she could think of as why. Unless he thought he’d be on the list from scaring others… “She’s so nice she doesn’t belong there.”
“Of course not,” Ash placed a hand on Luna’s head as they spoke. “She guides others; she and Lord Life would be on the nice list Vincent mentioned. Tied at the top with the little flower.”
Delphia paused just next to the gods. All of them were focused on the argument she and Vincent went ignored. Vincent brought her to the stairs leading to one of the counters and sat just within the shelter it provided. He didn’t quite let her walk out, but she did look back at the four gods closest to her. Sola was grabbing at Ash’s other hand. The child-like goddess seemed pained.
“Am I naughty for sneaking out to watch mortals and draw in the clouds?” she whispered. Delphia knew the others had missed it, but Ash’s smile and shake of their head relieved her. 
“If selfish actions put someone on that list I’m clearly the one at the top.” Felix’s voice was almost convincing. “There are countless selfish actions done in the name of prosperity.”
“Enough!” Rhys’s shout made her cover her ears. Vincent stood and pulled her behind him. Something made her think she’d seen the more volatile emotions of the god of love, it wasn’t easy to witness. “If you want to argue who’s the worst it would be me. The emotions mortals feel are what causes wars, cruelty, selfishness and anything else you can think of. I'm at the top of that list.”
It turned into all of them talking at once. It was hard to make out the words with how loud their voices were. Vincent started to push her back, clearly second guessing his choice to bring her here. Delphia moved forward watching the argument unfold. Only to think of the children from the village she’d been visiting.
The longer the argument went on the more she was reminded of the children. Shouts of who was nicest, who had done the most selfless things. A smile crept onto her face. After only a few seconds she started to giggle, then it turned into full on laughter. The room slowly fell silent as she laughed. Vincent had stood up to block her almost completely from view. She just couldn’t stop laughing.
“You’re arguing like children,” she breathed. She heard Felix huff and Ryder gasp, but everyone else was still silent. “They usually argue over who was nicest, but it’s the same thing.”
“Del,” Vincent whispered. She knew he was worried, but if he’d seen the groups of children she had he’d be laughing too.
“Little warrior?” Ryder asked. She looked towards where the god of war had been standing with Felix. He came closer than she expected, but it didn’t bother her. She stepped out around Vincent, a squeeze on his arm to promise she’d be alright.
Ryder set his palm flat on the table. His eyes were shining, he’d likely been holding back tears. She climbed on without hesitation, her laughter slowly dying. He lifted her up to his face, the fingers taller than her curling over her. She leaned against the closest finger, the exhaustion she pushed away resurfacing.
“There’s no top of either list. It’s just meant to encourage kindness,” she sighed. The fingers around her tensed. As quickly as they tensed they flattened, Ash’s palm held out where she could walk over to it. She stood and walked slowly, pausing just before stepping onto their palm. “I do have an idea, if you want to follow holiday traditions and give a gift to those you all put on the nice list that is.”
The eyes of every god locked on her. She smiled as she met each pair. She didn’t miss Vincent now sitting securely in Rhys’s palm too. There was no telling whether the others would follow her idea, but she’d give it a shot. The worst case she’d help them all do something to celebrate the holiday. Vincent knew more and could help too.
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Dabria walked out of her office following behind Vitus. Her little raven had asked them to go with her to the kitchen, she asked for things so rarely they couldn’t say no. Vitus kept glancing at her as though she’d know what was going on. He’d be the one they go to for surprises, if they weren’t too nervous it would anger them. As they walked the sky gods ran up to them. Luna grabbed Vitus’s free hand while Sola grabbed on to her. They continued walking as the two fell into step with them.
“D-Dabria,” Sola started, she gasped hearing her own name from the young god, “will you draw in the clouds with me today?”
“Of course,” she smiled. 
“V-Vitus!” Luna squeaked. She watched the god of life stiffen, unsure how to act from hearing his own name. “Will you help me write down more of the stars’ stories later?”
“Yes,” Vitus said warmly. 
The twin gods ran off, but before they could say anything Rhys appeared just before they took the turn towards the kitchen. 
“Vitus, Dabria, Vincent said he’s ready to meet the two of you, maybe over the next few days?” Rhys said. She sent a look towards her little raven, the smile on the mortal woman’s face a clear tell she knew the cause of the sudden change. Vitus just kept a wide eyed look on Rhys.
“Whenever he’s ready… Rhys,” Vitus seemed unsure how to respond. Honestly Dabria was as well. Felix and Ryder were quick to replace the god of love as he disappeared in a flurry of petals.
“Dabria, if you have more designs there is a mortal I believe would be receptive,” Felix said as he passed by. She just nodded at him.
“Vitus, have you considered my offer of chess?” Ryder asked.
“Maybe after I write the stories with Luna.”
The two gods walked off, Dabria grabbed Vitus and stared down at her little raven in his hand. She slipped two fingers under Delphia’s arms, the human woman helped with the movement. The small thin arms tightly pressed against Dabria’s fingers reminded her that she was trusted. She brought her raven up to sit in her palm, curling her fingers around the small woman.
“What did you do?” she asked. Vitus hummed, he was catching on now. The smile of the human in her palm didn’t falter at all. Delphia climbed to her feet, the small movements still shocked her.
“Nothing at all,” she grinned.
“I doubt that,” Vitus chuckled. Delphia just tapped her fingers, clearly wanting them to keep moving. It was almost tempting to refuse, to hold the little raven close until she found out. 
Dabria started walking. She wouldn’t do that, she promised never to make her raven feel trapped. She did hold the little human pressed against her heart though. Vitus slipped his hand into her free one, lacing their fingers together. As they finally reached the kitchen Ash and Alessia were sitting there. She smiled at the two before Alessia jumped up and approached them.
“Dabria, Vitus, have you seen the little seer?” she asked. Dabria flattened her hand, holding back a pout as Alessia took her raven. Ash walked up, a soft smile on their face.
“We plan to be in the mortal realm today… Vitus, Dabria.” Ash nodded and the two disappeared in a flash of lightning and brilliant light.
“I don’t know what she did, but… I’d be happy if this continues,” Dabria said. Vitus wrapped an arm around her pulling her close.
“I would be too,” Vitus whispered.
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awkwardgtace · 2 years ago
Text
No Official AU Stories
Written enough one shots or two shots like this that it gets it's own page now.
i know i can’t protect you with Mira and Kaya
Friends don't talk about each other that way Mira and Kaya
Dropping Flowers with Vitus and Crow Delphia
Fallen Pots with borrower Ash and Human Alessia
Mistletoe Traditions with borrower Ash and human Alessia
Surprising Coffee Addition with Human Streya
Trapped Before The Storm with Fairy Ryder, Fairy Delphia, and Human Felix
Warmth in the Cold with human Streya
Secret Santa with human Mira and borrower Kaya
First Time Indoors with borrower Alessia and Human Vitus
Is Indoors Really Safe? (follow up to First Time Indoors)
Ice Cube Prank Gone Wrong... or Right? with borrower Rhys and humans Felix and Ryder
A Normal Afternoon (Follow up to Ice Cub Prank Gone Wrong... or Right?)
A Change of Pace with self insert person and random named giant
Enchantment or Curse with fairy prince Rhys and Human Vincent
Princess and Protectors with Alessia, Ash, and fairy Delphia (takes place in the enchantment or curse world)
A Small Unkindness with tiny bird!Dabria and humans Rhys and Vitus
Rainy Changes with Human Dabria and borrower Alessia
Broken Changes with Fairy kids Rhys and Ash and humans Vitus and Dabria
Intimidating Presence with giant Kid Felix and humans Vitus and Dabria
Open Secrets with Delphia and Alessia
Simple Night with Evelyn and Conny
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