#g/t original story

[gina103]

Girl From The Belly Ch 4

Ch 4 - word count: 4050 Previous - Next

Cassian needed to see her again.

He needed to find out if the entire encounter with the tiny woman he rescued from Lord Babbledon’s drunk clutches was real, he was beginning to suspect himself of dreaming the whole scenario. If it was all a dream, then Cassian was lonelier and more depressed than he thought. He couldn’t help but feel like it was real, the way her tiny body felt sitting in the palm of his hand, the way she moved so realistically, exactly like a real person except doll sized. It had to be real, right?

Cassian had no idea, no clear answer. All he knew, was that he thought of the woman often. So often in fact, he was distracted from his regular hobbies and royal duties. He would frequently be caught lost in his own world, daydreaming, imagining what he would say to the woman if she ever showed up again, what questions he would ask. Maybe she would never show up again, it wouldn’t surprise Cassian if she turned out to be some kind of angel, destined to never show herself again. He certainly hoped not.

That woman, whoever and whatever she was, fascinated him. Despite her not being more than five inches tall, she was less afraid of him than other people his own size were. All his life, people filtered themselves and never spoke freely around him, not even people his own status. They were either fearful or wanted to gain something from him. Cassian had learnt a long time ago that people were not to be trusted. However, for the first time ever since his mother’s death, he was impressed by someone. That mysterious little woman intrigued him, there was something about her that pulled him in. Maybe it was her wittiness, or her cheeky smile, or the fact that she wasn’t afraid to tease him. Cassian wasn’t used to anyone teasing him, he also wasn’t used to anyone acting so carefree, it was almost intoxicating. He needed to know more. He needed to speak to her again or else it would drive him crazy. He’d been so deprived of enjoyable conversations that he felt desperate to latch on to this woman and never let go, whether she was real or not.

“Cassian! Has your sleep been interrupted as of late? Do pay attention!”

The prince in question snapped out of his daze, caught daydreaming for the fourth or fifth time that day.

“Forgive me, Father,” Cassian replied, catching the annoyed gaze of his fiancée.

It had been a difficult day for the prince to be present for. Now that the engagement festivities were over, the wedding planning was underway, much to the annoyance of Cassian. He simply hated everything around him, he especially hated being where he was at the moment, sitting on a sofa in the King’s study, his fiancé next to him, listening to his father go on and on and on with his advisor about his wedding, the guests, the celebration in the capital, and most horribly of all, the wedding night.

Cassian would rather die than think about the wedding night where he will undoubtedly be expected to consummate the marriage and start popping out heirs as fast as possible. He glanced sideways at the Duchess, she seemed poised and perfectly polite as usual, nodding along to whatever the King let pour from his mouth. It was moments like this where he felt the pang of his mother’s absence. He knew that if she could’ve been present, she would be on his side, and maybe he wouldn’t feel quite so alone, so lost, directionless, ambitionless, and isolated. God, he missed his mother. It was then that Cassian finally checked back into his father’s ramblings.

“I do hope to finally be rid of the pianoforte which resides in the music room. I’m afraid I do not see the use in continuing to pay for its tuning if it’s not regularly played.”

“Forgive me, Father for interrupting, but surely you recall the piano’s most frequent visitor?” Cassian interjected. His mother used to play his favorite pieces on that very pianoforte.

“The Queen is no longer here to play that dusty thing,” The King waved his hand dismissively, “and you, my son, shouldn’t be playing it either. The pianoforte is a woman’s instrument, an unfit occupation for a gentleman.”

Red hot anger coursed through the prince’s body. He couldn’t possibly be serious. How dare he speak about his mother in such a flippant and disgusting manner? His fists clenched at his sides, doing everything they could not to go flying at the King’s face.

“If I may speak, your majesty. I do play quite a lot these days, I’m sure that pianoforte still has its uses,” The duchess spoke up, trying to ease the tension in the room.

“You make a lovely point, your grace. However, even if that were true, I fear it may be too much of a temptation for the prince. He needs to prioritize more productive pursuits, such as his riding, his fencing, and his royal duties.”

Cassian merely sat, unresponsively. It was a normal occurrence for his father to ignore him, to speak about him like he wasn’t in the room, like nothing he said mattered. It made no difference in the outcome whether he protested the pianoforte’s removal or not. His father would simply remove it anyway, and once again prove the point that Cassian’s opinion did not matter in the slightest to him.

“Father, that pianoforte is an important heirloom to-,” he tried to say, but before he could finish his sentence, the King interrupted him with a dismissive “shh!”

“I will not entertain your childish fixations on this matter.”

All of a sudden, it felt as though the room had shrunk, it was hard to breathe properly due to the intense wave of anger and despair that hit Cassian. He said nothing, merely standing to his feet, crossing the room towards the door in brisk strides, and exiting the room. Tears threatened to spring to his eyes as he marched down the hallway, but he wiped them as quickly as they came. He heard the sound of the door opening and closing behind him, followed by hurried and delicate footsteps.

“Your highness!” The voice of the duchess called. The last thing Cassian wanted to hear.

“Your highness, stop!” He ignored her again.

“Cassian!”

The prince stopped in his tracks. He whirled around to see his fiancé standing before him, looking at him almost sympathetically. He wanted to throw up, he despised the superficial pity of others.

“How dare you address me by that name?” He spat.

“Forgive me, your highness,” she bowed, “I only meant to gain your attention.”

Cassian stared at her impatiently, waiting for her to continue.

“His majesty only wishes to see Feywen prosper, I’m sure, your highness, that you are aware of that?” Cassian scoffed at that, “Aside from this matter, we must discuss our marriage.”

“What is there to discuss?” the prince asked, crossing his arms.

“There are many things to discuss,” the duchess replied firmly, “I understand that you may dislike me, but I do hope his highness can put away his personal qualms in time to produce an heir to his throne.”

“Need we speak of heirs before we are even married?”

“You won’t speak to me of anything else!”

Cassian opened his mouth to try and dismiss her again, but she beat him to it.

“You act as if I am the cause of all your misery! We both realize the purpose of this match. I only wish for his highness to stop childishly avoiding his responsibility to his country!”

“You dare refer to me as childish, your grace?” the prince lowered his voice, “I’d advise you to stay out of my way, nothing good happens to those who overstep their boundaries.”

He turned and marched down the hallway out of sight, leaving his future wife alone.

“Insufferable…” She muttered to herself before making her way back to the King’s office.

-

Lina was almost floating.

Instead of sweeping the floor of the main room, like she’d been told, she was busy humming the beautiful melodies she heard playing at the ball.

The same ball that brought her into the hands of the prince.

Lina twirled around as she swept. Even though the night had gone horribly wrong, from her falling into the cake, to being kidnapped, it had ended in the most fantastically wonderful way. She remembered how hard it was to sneak back into her room and go to sleep as if nothing happened, as if the prince did not make her promise to see him again. Although she didn’t explicitly promise to him, she had every intention of meeting him again. She just had to be careful how she did it.

Even though Lina wanted to run back to him the next day and catapult herself into his hands, she knew she needed to be patient, or else her family would discover her secret. Another day would have to pass before she would meet him again. For Lina, this would be the hardest task in the world. Ever since that fateful night, prince Cassian occupied every thought in her head. How could he not? Lina remembered how it felt to be held by him, his warm calloused hands protectively cradling her to his chest, the amount of strength and care in his touch was almost overwhelming to recall. The way he spoke to her so kindly, asking her if she was hurt, comforting her when she was literally blubbering in his hands.

“Your laugh suits you much better than your tears…”

Just remembering the gentle tone of his voice uttering those words was enough to cause her to squeal. In the past, when she would spy on him, she could never recall seeing the stoic prince smile or be gentle towards anyone. He always seemed very reserved and even cold at times, but he wasn’t like that at all towards herself. His smile was warm, his eyes were alight with genuine curiosity, wonder, and humor. She was rescued by the prince, and he wanted to know her, what more could Lina ask for in life?

Suddenly, the broom she had been using to dance about the room was snatched from her hands. Lina shrieked in surprise at the sight of her sister before her.

“Did you go see the prince again?” Eunice questioned, crossing her arms.

Lina clutched her chest, trying to catch her breath.

“Why would you think that?”

“Lina please, you only act like that when you’ve gone to spy on him.”

“Act like what?” Lina attempted to seem clueless. She had certainly done more than spy on him.

“Like you’re in a fantasy world or something! What did you do this time?” Eunice was losing patience.

Lina fixed her eyes on the floor. “Well, I didn’t exactly go spy on him.”

Eunice stared impatiently, nodding at her sister to continue.

“I went to watch the ball…”

Lina looked up to see her sister pinching her nose bridge in a very frustrated parental manner.

“Why am I not surprised?” Eunice muttered in disappointment, “don’t let mama catch you acting like a fairy princess.”

She handed the broom back to Lina and walked out of the room, sighing loudly as she went.

“Don’t forget we have to babysit for Mrs. Kettle tonight!” Eunice called out.

“I won’t!”

Lina sighed to herself, was she really that obvious?

 She really needed to be more careful. She didn’t want to give herself away to her entire family. At least it was only Eunice who had seen her dancing around. Being secretive would certainly be a challenge for Lina, she was horrible at keeping secrets. Whatever she was thinking or feeling in a given moment was always reflected directly onto her face and body language in an almost exaggerated manner. This habit had certainly gotten her in trouble throughout her life. This, combined with her honest and passionate way of speaking, gained her a reputation as a loudmouth, headstrong, and stubborn girl.

If you were a woman in The Belly, that reputation was a recipe for spinsterhood. Nobody wanted to marry a woman who couldn’t keep her mouth shut.

It wasn’t like Lina cared about being marriage material in The Belly, that was something Eunice and her mother worried about far more than she did. It was an unfortunate issue to stress over in Lina’s mind because the pool of men to choose from in their community was filthy. All the young men were simple, sloppy, rude, entitled, and incredibly selfish. Although she understood her own mother’s desire to see her married, it was almost insulting to oneself to choose. Lina compared it to having to sift through garbage. This problem is also the precise reason why Lina would prefer to never be married.

In her mind, the prince was the only man who could even measure up to her standards. If he was a borrower, Lina would have married him faster than it took Mrs. Acorn to spread a rumor. It was a real shame that he had to be human. Interactions with humans were forbidden, unheard of, and punishable by exile in The Belly. It was absolutely imperative that nobody was to find out about her little run-in with the prince, less she be exiled to who-knows-where, never to see her family again.

Although she knew about this very heavy risk, Lina had to see Prince Cassian again. Was it stupid? Irresponsible? Risky? Yes. Was she still going to do it? Of course.

Following rules wasn’t exactly her style.

-

The next day brought more wedding planning, arguments, and misery for Cassian.

This time however, he at least tried to be involved. He spoke to his future wife more, and finally remembered her first name, Andrea. He discussed names for their future children, and he did his best to be civil towards his father, whom the duchess was finally able to convince to keep the beloved pianoforte the late Queen used to play.

Through all his fake politeness and civilities, Cassian couldn’t stop thinking about that fateful engagement ball, where he rescued that miniscule woman. By now, he’d concluded that he was having a very intense hallucination due to his stressed and exhausted state that night.

It was almost tormenting him that he never learned her name, which was very strange for Cassian who had just now begun consistently recalling the name of his future wife. There had simply never been anyone he’d met who had left such an impression on him, but he’d never met anyone who was the size of his hand either, nor had he held them, or spoken to them, or laughed with them, or felt as strangely drawn to them as he did that woman.

As he sat in his private study, dipping his quill into the ink, and writing in his journal, he did his best to recall the entire encounter in detail. Cassian figured that if it was all an elaborate dream or hallucination, it would be beneficial to put it into writing. Maybe this would be a fantastic bedtime story for his future children. It would be like the stories his mother used to tell him, about fairies and mythical creatures of the forest, complete with life lessons geared towards children at the end.

In Cassian’s case, he had no idea what the lesson could be. What lesson could be learned from rescuing a miniscule woman? Maybe the story didn’t stop there, it wasn’t finished yet.

The cool nighttime breeze from the open window blew softly over the pages of the journal, flickering the flames from the lit candles. The fireplace crackled and popped in the quiet room, blanketing Cassian’s mind in tranquility, warmth, and fondness as he remembered all the simple details of that fateful night. Like the fact that the mystery woman was almost caked in chocolate, and when he gently wiped her tears away with his handkerchief, there was a brown splotch left on it from the chocolate frosting. Cassian smiled to himself. Although she had clearly been through a traumatic and stressful situation, the mystery woman still smiled as if she didn’t have a care in the world, and for that, he admired her. She was so different from anyone he knew.

Cassian could recall the King becoming enraged when the napkins on the dinner table were not arranged in the correct way he would have liked. Or that time he was forced to attend a coming-of-age ball for a distant cousin of his, where many other royals and noble families were in attendance. Just remembering the slimy smiles of the people who bowed and greeted him, who then turned around to scream at a footman for no reason, made his lip curl in disgust. They lashed out over the most superficial and unremarkable things.

There was just so much about the mystery woman that he didn’t know, that he wished he knew, or wished he asked, it was a shame that he would most likely never know the answers to all his questions for her.

Cassian put his quill back in the inkpot and closed his journal. Slowly, he rose to his feet, crossed the room and stood in front of the fireplace. Almost hypnotized by the dancing flames, he closed his eyes and listened to the crackles and pops emitted by it, letting the warmth of the fire drape him in peace.

Tinkle* Tinkle*

He opened his eyes in confusion. Silence. Instead of turning around, he closed his eyes again.

Tinkle* Tinkle*

What was that noise?

Cassian turned around only to freeze in his place when he saw it.

When he saw her.

He couldn’t believe his eyes. Standing on top of his desk, his journal open, struggling to write something with his quill which looked humongous compared to her, was the mystery woman. He watched her huff and puff with his quill a moment longer, scratching something onto the paper of his journal before he said something.

“It’s you…” Cassian said breathlessly, an excited smile creeping onto his face.

The woman’s face snapped out of concentration mode to notice Cassian standing there watching her. A wide grin broke out on her face.

“Good evening, your highness,” She dipped her head in a slight bow.

“What are you doing?” he asked amusedly, walking slowly back to his desk.

“Oh nothing, just leaving a message…” The woman grunted as she attempted to write.

Cassian took a glance at his journal. She had written an A, a d, and seemed to be writing another a as well. He sat down, folded his arms together on the desk, and rested his head on them. The woman turned and shot him a fake annoyed look.

“Are you not going to help me?” she asked, raising her eyebrows.

“I was under the impression that you were self-sufficient,” Cassian shrugged. He reached out and lifted the quill from her grasp, hearing her gasp a little from the sudden intrusion of his hand.

“What do you need me to write?” he asked, leaning closer to the desk so he could hear her better.

He saw her tiny freckled cheeks go slightly pink before she started to spell the word she was writing. Eventually, he ended up with something. A name.

Adalina.

Cassian’s eyes widened in realization. “Is this your name?” he asked.

Her smile widened in glee as she nodded. “I go by Lina, your highness.”

“It’s beautiful,” he whispered, “my apologies for not introducing myself sooner. My name is Cassian.”

“I’m aware of your name,” She stuck out her tiny arm, still smiling from ear to ear, “pleased to make your acquaintance.”

How was this woman so smiley? Cassian didn’t know, but it was certainly contagious, and he felt himself smiling back at her.

Lina. That name suited her.

 He reached out and carefully grasped her hand in between his pointer finger and thumb. While he shook it as gently as possible, he marveled at the sensation of her microscopic digits. He could feel every individual one against his own fingers. He let go, still taking in her appearance.

“I must admit, it is wonderful to see you no longer covered in chocolate,” he mused.

“Oh yes!” Lina replied sheepishly, “may I ask you to erase that memory from your head?”

“I’m afraid I cannot,” Cassian opened his journal to the entry about her, “I’ve written it down right here.”

“You wrote about me?” Her expression was one of genuine surprise.

“Well of course. It’s not everyday that one runs into a woman the size of one’s hand,” Cassian held up his hand next to her for comparison.

For a split second, her expression turned grave. Worried he may have made her uncomfortable, he quickly added, “I can rid of the entry if you wish.”

“Oh no! It’s alright!” Lina said, snapping out of her trance, “You can keep it! I just want to ask something. Will you please keep it a secret that I’m here?”

“I give you my word,” he said earnestly, “however, even if I were to read this journal out loud for the whole kingdom, I doubt there would be a single soul who would believe me.”

Lina cocked her head to the side slightly at the almost bitter tone in his voice. He noticed the splay of freckles running across her face, made clear to him by the flickering golden light of the fireplace. Cassian quickly corrected himself.

“Never mind that. Why has it taken so long for you to make yourself known to me?” he propped his elbow on his desk, resting his chin on his hand.

Lina let out an amused laugh. “Your highness, it has been four days.”

“Four days too long.”

“I didn’t realize you would miss me so much.”

And there it was, that cheeky, gleeful smile was back. Was she some kind of impish, wingless fairy? He was envious at the amount of joy she held.

“I was worried I had dreamt the entire thing.”

Cassian’s other hand was resting on the desk. She moved closer to it, resting her own miniscule hand on top of one of his knuckles.

“Does this feel like a dream?” she asked, locking eyes with him. Her eyes were hazel, they reminded him of a beautiful sunset.

“No,” Cassian said. He was utterly mesmerized.

“What about this?” She draped her body across the back of his hand.

“No,” He could even feel the soft wisps of her auburn hair on his knuckle. He felt goosebumps erupt on his arms. Thanking the universe that she couldn’t see that, he leaned down.

“May I?”

Lina rose and nodded.

Cassian took his time. Taking her hand in between his pointer finger and thumb, he gently caressed it, feeling every little digit beneath his fingers. Then slowly, he moved upwards, grazing his thumb along her arm. Before he knew it, he had reached her shoulder, then he slowly began caressing her back. Lina leaned back more and more into his hand until he was holding her around the waist. She looked completely blissful, her eyes were closed. He gently began playing with her hair as well, just marveling at her. She was so small, so fragile, and she trusted him. It blew his mind how she was even alive.

Knock* Knock*

Cassian quickly let go of Lina and sprang up.

“W-who goes there?” he asked in a fluster.

“Mr. Cutlet, your highness.”

Cassian sighed in exasperation, marched over to the door, and opened it halfway. He stared expectantly at the butler.

“Correspondence from your fiancée for his highness,” the butler held out a letter for him.

The duchess had traveled back to her home country to visit her family for a time, she must have sent word of her safe arrival. Cassian snatched the letter from Mr. Cutlet.

“Thank you,” he said stiffly, shutting the door.

When Cassian turned back around, a pang of sadness struck him.

Lina was gone.

Shaking his head in disappointment, he could only hope that she would visit again soon.

And he certainly couldn’t wait for it.

[mariposita24]

I love them your honor 😭💕

(characters belong to @misupahana)

[yourl0calrayy]

Main ocs, Characters for my story!

First pic Elizabeth and Xavier (same fairy species) brother and sister princess and princess of their kingdom (8-10cm)

Second, Benedict, Xavier’s love interest -human (193cm)

And Xavier sketches/doodles on the 3,4

[tea-potato-gt]

One of the few things they won’t tell you about raising a giant child…

It can be kind of gross… 🤢 especially if your giant son is an ugly crier who snots… a lot…🤧

~~~~~~~~~~~~

But it’s nice to know, no matter how big your giant son gets… he’ll always need his Dad(s) ☺️🥹

~~~~~~~~~

If you wanna know more about the biggest heart universe (click here)

If you wanna know more about Stør’s childhood (click here)

[smol-n-smol]

Odd One Out: Chapter 1

A/N: Finally banged out the first chapter for this story based on this idea I came up with a little while ago. I hope y'all enjoy! I'll make a proper blurb at some point

Also I'm gonna be so fr, I've never done a tag list for a story before, so I'm just pulling this based on people from comments/tags who sounded like they wanted an update? If you want to be added or removed, just let me know :)

Tag List: @axolotlsdreams @seasonschange32 @tthevoic3s @kgonbeiden @coffehbeans

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

With its multilevel Roman-inspired buildings and wide cobblestone paths, the Kingston Academy campus is practically a work of art in and of itself. The early morning air carries the scent of prestige and erudition along a crisp autumn breeze.

Eriel stands before the glimmering gates of the academy, building up the nerve to walk through. He’s intimidated by the size of it all, though probably not for the same reason as most new students. It’s less that he’s afraid of getting lost in such a large place, and more that he’s scared of accidentally crushing something beneath his feet.

As the first giant to attend Kingston, it’s obvious that the school was never designed with his kind in mind. Most of the three story buildings don’t even reach the height of his shoulders. Even the monumental clocktower in the center of the courtyard just barely passes his 46 ft frame. 

If Eriel really wanted to, he could probably  jump right over the entrance gate in front of him. Not that he would ever do such a thing of course!! The thought alone of accidentally damaging something (or worse, someone!) is enough to send a wave of goosebumps down his spine.

Thankfully or unfortunately — Eriel is still trying to decide whether his enrollment here is a good or bad thing — the gilded gates part, at last inviting him onto the campus. There aren’t many students out yet, which makes sense. It’s barely past 7 AM on a Monday. Given the choice, Eriel wouldn’t be up this early either. Even so, the giant’s eyes stay focused on the ground as he navigates to the gymnasium on the other side of campus.

Usually students receive their orientation packets inside the administration building, but given his impressive size, there are only a handful of buildings that Eriel can fit into at all. The gym doubles as an auditorium and a venue for special events. The high ceilings were probably originally meant for improved ventilation and added elegance, but now the only benefit Eriel cares about is that he can at least sit inside without feeling overly claustrophobic.

He enters the building through a modified loading dock door. While he still has to crouch to fit through, it’s much better than having to crawl on his hands and knees like the first time he visited the building for interviews and psychological evaluations. Now that was a humiliating experience. He had been poked and prodded, and asked the most demeaning questions. Eriel shoves those memories back into a mental box. He needs to stay focused on the present moment.

Once he reaches the main area of the gymnasium, Eriel is finally able to sit down properly. The sunlight from the windows warms his skin. While he may not feel hot and cold the way that humans do, it's  a comforting sensation nevertheless. If he closes his eyes, he can almost pretend that he’s back in the forest with his family.

He misses them, despite it only being the first day. If the integration program goes well over the next year, maybe his little sister will be able to join as well. She’d probably learn much more easily in a school than from the limited knowledge that Eriel is able to share with her every so often. It was difficult enough to teach himself most of what he knows — his knowledge a hodgepodge of information from the occasional abandoned books that sometimes wound up in the forest.

He doubts that Lora will keep up with his studies while he’s away, but a big brother is allowed to hope, right?

Just the thought of the young girl falling asleep while poring over a human textbook is enough to make Eriel chuckle aloud.

“I’m glad to see you in bright spirits today,” a voice says, bringing Eriel back to the present moment. 

Mr. Leeway, the head administrator and school guidance counselor, now stands on a walkway that wraps around the walls of the room. Eriel meets his gaze nervously, though less eye-to-eye and more eye-to-full-body. Thankfully with a giant’s enhanced vision, Eriel has no trouble with making out the details of the man before him.

“Good morning, sir,” Eriel greets in response, his back straightening as he now sits in a human’s presence. “Thank you again for allowing me to attend school here.”

The counselor  waves a hand, brushing aside Eriel’s politeness. “No need to be so formal now,” Mr. Leeway responds kindly. “You’ve more than earned your spot here after all.”

Immediately, the giant’s shoulders drop. In retrospect, those were the words he’s been hoping to hear. The ones he needed most for today.

He’s grateful that Mr. Leeway is so accepting of him. Hopefully the rest of the staff are as well. Eriel has yet to meet any of the professors at the academy. While it’s unrealistic to expect everyone to be this friendly, hopefully no one is too afraid or mean. 

As Mr. Leeway patiently talks him through the school handbook, the dorm system, and the giant accommodations scattered across the campus, Eriel can’t help but feel like maybe things will be okay.

“Any other questions?” the counselor asks, pausing long enough for Eriel to shake his head before continuing. “Perfect. Well in that case, I’ll let you get a head start towards your first class. Best of luck, kid.”

Eriel sits still until the human leaves before at last rising stiffly to exit the building.

𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟

The campus is much livelier now than it was less than an hour ago. Students walk in small groups to different destinations — some dressed in uniform and heading to classes, while other folks are still in pajamas, clearly in search of their first meal.

Eriel is one of the less fortunate folks, his first class starting at 9 AM. He’s always been a bit of an early riser, as most giants tend to be, but part of him wishes that he opted for a schedule with a later start time. He’d appreciate a bit more time before having to face his new peers.

Mr. Leeway assured him that all the students received a special training and information session on interacting with giants. In theory, everyone should be prepared for this transition. And yet, as Eriel rises to a standing position, stretching slightly to relieve his back of some of its stiffness,  it’s as if the whole world holds its breath.

Everyone stops whatever they’re doing once Eriel reaches his full height. The slight crack of his joints resounds throughout the quiet air, unintentionally drawing even more attention to the giant. 

The poor students closest to him quickly back away, and one especially frightened soul even faints. Eriel winces at that. The reception makes sense, and honestly, it could be a lot worse.

Slowly, the giant takes a step, just a small one in the direction of his class. Immediately, a group of nearby students begins to run away, despite the ample space Eriel makes sure to leave between himself and any humans. The giant sighs but continues on his way. What else can he do?

It takes only a couple of minutes for Eriel to cross the campus to his destination. The English building stands before him, just barely reaching his chest. There’s no chance that Eriel is going to be able to squeeze into the building itself, much less one of the classrooms inside. For pretty much all of his classes, he’ll have to sit outside and listen in through the windows. 

Eriel follows the instructions in his handbook packet to find the window for his first class. A large awning has been set up along that side of the building — big enough for Eriel to be able to sit beneath for protection from the weather. He’s used to sitting outside for prolonged periods of time, but he appreciates the cover anyways. It will certainly help to keep his notes neat at least.

With the few minutes he has before class begins, Eriel puts down his backpack and digs out his notebook and pencil. The set was a gift from his mom — the pages were re-usable and the pencil was designed to provide more or less endless writing. Once he settles down in his dorm, he’ll be able to type everything up on the computer that the school provided him with, but this combination is much more efficient for carrying between classes.

Intro to English Literature, Eriel writes on the first page, taking his time in making the headline look pretty. It gives him an excuse to keep his head down and avoid the watchful gaze of the other students around him.

It’s only when the bell rings that he at last looks up, positioning his face so he can clearly see the blackboard through the window.

“Good morning, class,” the professor says as she enters the room. Her brown hair is done up in a bun and a pair of quirky glasses accentuate her wide grin. Her smile falters as her eyes meet Eriel’s, but props to her for managing to keep up the expression at all. The same can’t be said for the other ten or so students sitting in the classroom, who look back at him with expressions ranging from fear to disgust to cold interest.

“I’m Professor Dockerty,” the teacher continues, her introduction regaining the attention of most of the students. One boy is a bit slower to turn away, his blue gaze unabashedly staring right at Eriel. And then, the boy — Ashton, based on his response as Professor Dockerty takes attendance — smiles at him.

Okay, it’s more of a smirk, but even that’s better than the other looks.

“Did I miss anyone?” the professor asks.

Eriel gulps but shyly raises a hand, limbs tense and heart pounding as he draws additional attention to himself. A few of the students flinch as his fingers come into view of the window, and upon seeing that reaction, Eriel immediately puts his hand back down. Hot shame rises in his chest and his cheeks burn as he realizes the fear that a simple one of his actions could cause.

“I don’t think I heard my name, ma’am,” the giant all but whispers, desperately wishing for this moment to be over already.

Professor Dockerty laughs nervously, glancing down at her papers again. “Oh my, I must have missed it. Eriel, correct? Our giant student? Great! Well, if that's everyone then let’s start by going over the syllabus.”

Eriel doesn’t get a chance to say anything throughout her ramble, but the professor is already handing out paper packets to the students.. There are just enough for everyone in the room. Eriel doesn’t even bother asking if there are any extras for him.

[vt-scribbles]

Peregrine wing studies + Vee wing rework exploration!

[gt-daboss]

Nightmares (9)

lotsa lore here, please lmk if the words are legible!

First | Previous | Next (One day break cuz its finale time!)

Sorry for being late today!

[sageshell-draws]

I finally decided to do some studies of the creature that attacked Bryn in the forest thats referenced in this page here of my comic. I'm not sure what to call these creatures, but the one name that keeps popping up in my mind is "a Corrupted." It sounds like a name of a character that exists already so if anyone knows this, let me know and I'll come up with something else.

So basically, this scary looking guy used to be just an ordinary wolf, but something is amiss in the forest and it's "corrupting" the creatures that live there. So you might encounter a corrupted wolf, bear, mountain lion, even a squirrel. And you don't want to cross paths with any of them. It's almost like they are infected with rabies and will attack anything with no warning signs. They have red glowing eyes and mouths and their bodies are made up of a smokey/ black tar like substance. Their bodies become contorted and elongated as well

[narrans]

A Small and Tall Collection | Chapter Ten | Battle Scars and Boundaries

Chapter Ten | Battle Scars and Boundaries

Her entire body shook violently. Unable to keep anything down and running on a completely empty tank was obviously taking its toll on her, but Ashlynn didn’t care. She had to get out of there – and now.

Trapped in a drawer just a few inches taller than she was, the Borrower woman knew she had maybe a minute before the human man named Soren showed back up with something that was either going to contain her or maim her so she couldn’t escape. She drew her injured arm close to her chest, afraid to use the tender limb, and glanced up at the edge of the drawer.

On occasions where she had to jump and catch herself, she would use her right arm or both arms to support her weight. This time was going to be different, and she only had the one shot. Her heart was starting to thump louder and louder, creating a roaring sound in her ears while her head throbbed.

Jump. Catch. Swing. Get away.

Ashlynn stood on the socks to give her a minute boost up and, bending her shaking legs, sprung up with as much energy as she could muster. Her fingertips barely cleared the top, but her grip didn’t last. The edges of the drawer were rounded, something she didn’t account for, and her weakened body couldn’t maintain her hold on it.

No! Curses! Come on… one more time. You’ve got to get out of here.

Ashlynn gritted her teeth and crouched again before jumping as high as she could. This time, she felt a groove in the wood as her fingers slid over the side of the drawer. She latched onto it. Even as she felt a dull throb begin in her palm as her nails bent backwards, she held on as tightly as she could. Her instinct and sheer will to live helped drive her leg upward, heel snagging the edge of the drawer.

Yes!

Ashlynn had just barely managed to drag herself up onto the edge when she noticed her surroundings within the human man’s room – and it wasn’t good.

From her vantage point, she could see there were two closets at the far end of the room next to the door. There was some kind of large cabinet she remembered him getting not too long ago and a bedside table that was at least a foot from the bed, which was where she was. The drawer she’d been carried here in was on the bed in the dead center. The good news was that if she fell now, it wouldn’t be the end of her.

The bad news was that there was no clear way down.

If she were on the bedside table, she could’ve used the weird looking lamp cord to belay down to the ground, but that was too far away for her to jump in her current state. Perched up high where she was, Ashlynn could see that the blankets on the bed draped over the edge, but she couldn’t remember if they went all the way to the ground.

Did she dare risk the climb and the potential drop down for the chance at freedom? And, if she made it to the ground, could she make it to a loose electrical socket in time before Soren got back?

All of this thinking was making Ashlynn’s head spin, but every dizzying thought came to a screeching halt when she heard a soft, “Oh,” of surprise come from the door.

She’d been looking all around the room instead of the one place that really mattered most – the door. Standing there was Soren holding some kind of red case in one hand and a clear plastic container with a turquoise lid in the other. It startled her so badly that, out of sheer instinct, Ashlynn leaned backwards to try and duck away from being seen by those almost golden eyes.

It was a mistake.

Her already poor balance sent her off of the edge of the drawer. She didn’t fall far, but her lack of balance and slowed reaction times left Ashlynn landing directly onto her injured arm. The squashy blankets did nothing to cushion the fall. A scream of agony erupted out of her before Ashlynn even had time to fully register the pain. Like hot coals being shoved beneath her skin, the burning throb in her arm reminded her of how little she could do now.

Fresh tears sprung to her eyes and she shoved her free hand into her mouth to prevent another vocalization; but did it really matter at this point? Did it count as talking to a human if they heard you scream? The shock of the weight of the body slamming into her injured arm sent a ripping shock wave through her body and, all at once, the nausea returned and the gag she’d suppressed came out of her.

What little bile was left in her spurted out onto the comforter, making Ashlynn burn hot in embarrassment and shame, but also fear. The one oldest human seemed reasonable, but would he have the same kindness now that she’d gotten sick on his bed? No coherent thought surfaced as Ashlynn lay there on the bed cradling her injured arm, the smell of her stomach acid permeating through the air.

This is it. He’s going to come over here and grab me. It’s over. I can’t get away. I can’t escape. I have to be a pet. All that stuff Soren said was just for show. Real person… yeah…

Those two words rang in Ashlynn’s head.

Real person…

He called me a real person. And… and he’s not over here.

Ashlynn’s concept of time was discombobulated, but what she did know was that some time had passed, and Soren wasn’t hovering over her handling her and picking her up to put her back into the box. Even with her eyes stinging from the salty tears, Ashlynn realized she had to look. She reluctantly let her eyes travel from where she was toward the door where she had seen Soren.

To her surprise and utter relief, he hadn’t moved. Not even an inch.

His jaw was locked, and his hazel gold eyes were transfixed on her. The expression on his face was a hard one to read, but Ashlynn knew she didn’t see malice. Concern? Worry? Unease? Eagerness? She wasn’t sure, and her blurring vision wasn’t helping.

What else wasn’t helping was the fact she didn’t know what Soren was thinking; and she wasn’t alone in that feeling.

Soren had stepped away just for a second to grab his medical kit as his mind scrambled to comprehend what had happened over the past ten minutes. A small woman was found in his brothers’ bedroom, and she was sick and injured. His brothers were upset, but they also needed a lecture about the importance of asking for help and also the importance and value of life, no matter how small. He’d just woken up. Part of him wondered if all of this was just a dream.

Then, the moment he made it back to his bedroom to tend to the first of many objectives he needed to tackle, he was greeted with the scene of that same small woman balancing precariously on the edge of the drawer he thought she was contained in before she fell onto the bed, landing harshly on her injured arm. Guilt riddled his mind as he realized he had made some sound of surprise, which probably surprised her. His heart lurched when he heard the woman scream in agony followed by the sound of her gag and subsequent vomiting. The instinct to rush over and make sure she was okay had never been stronger in his life. It was ingrained into who he was. So often he’d rush to his brothers’ sides when something was wrong, but now he forced himself to wait.

She’s hurt.

She’s scared.

She’s sick.

She’s probably alone.

She doesn’t know me.

I have to treat this like ground zero for anyone else. I’ve done this a million times. This is just a million plus one… a very… very… small… one.

Soren felt some switch in the back of his mind flick on and, just like that, his facial expression neutralized. He felt his pulse slow and his mind quiet. For several minutes, Soren simply froze in place and waited as the small woman shivered. It was when his impulse was to take a cautious step forward that the small woman opened her eyes after averting her gaze from him all this time and slowly let herself look at him.

There was no way to know what she was thinking, but Soren knew he needed to start working on her arm as soon as possible. He had to risk saying something to her first. The words usually came to him when he was out in the field working on one case or another. Trusting himself, he took a slow, deep breath and cleared his throat.

“Hey there, little miss. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare or startle you,” Soren stated gently. His heart started to quicken, but he let himself continue. When there was no response, Soren continued. “And… I’m sorry for the way you were treated. Dorian and Rey are young. Just kids. They’ve given me plenty of battle scars too, all from being careless kids. They should know better, but I’m sure they didn’t mean to hurt you. It’s not like them to do something like this on purpose.”

Ashlynn wasn’t sure where Soren was going with this apology, if that’s what it even was, but now she felt like the conversation was being tossed back to her. Was Soren expecting a response? Should she respond? Would saying something help her or hurt her?

No. It’s a trick. I’ve got to refrain from speaking. A scream of pain doesn’t count, right? Don’t all creatures make sounds when hurt?

“Well, I’m here to… I guess… try and make it up to you? You don’t look like you’re feeling well, and your arm is either broken or dislocated. I couldn’t tell which from a glance. I know how to fix stuff like that. So, I’m asking if it’s okay for me to help you.” Soren’s words hung in the air for several, long seconds while Ashlynn processed them.

Do I want a human grabbing and poking and prodding me? No. No! Of course not!

Ashlynn glanced from Soren to her arm as her fingers tingled numbly.

Then again… do I really have a choice?

I can’t get away like this.

I’m sick.

I’m hurt.

I’m alone.

Ashlynn looked back at Soren and then back to her arm.

He might be my only chance at fixing what’s wrong with my arm. I might have to trust him…

The thought was a nauseating one, and one Ashlynn was uneasy to accept. At the same time, what other choice did she have?

The expression must’ve been easy to read on her face because Soren cleared his throat again before asking, “Why don’t we start fresh, yeah? You don’t know me. I don’t know you. So, let’s start at ground zero. My name is Soren. I’m twenty-two years old. My favorite color is pale mint green. I have a sixth sense. Finally, I have a knack for helping people. There. Your turn.”

Ashlynn’s heart raced. She wasn’t sure what to do. The Borrower woman was in the same precarious situation as she was before, but now time was running out. What would happen if Soren wanted the answers now and wouldn’t help her unless she responded? Would she suffer because of her silence?

Soren’s light chuckle drew her attention back to the human across the room. “Well, it’s okay. You don’t have to say anything. I mean, the point is for you to get to know me, right? Earn trust, not just give it away?”

Ashlynn couldn’t believe what she was hearing. This had to be fake, right?

“Tell you what. If you want me to leave… no, that won’t work either because I don’t know if you can understand and because you might not feel like talking,” sighed Soren. “Okay, new plan. I’m just going to talk this out in case you do understand, which I believe you do. Regardless of how you feel about me, it doesn’t change that your arm is hurt. So, slowly, I’m going to come over there and I’m going to fix your arm.

“If you don’t want that, say something. Back away. Squeak. Throw something. Anything. If you do understand, just… be patient with me, and I’ll do the same. Right? We’ll make some boundaries from there.” Ashlynn had to give kudos to Soren. He certainly was direct and thinking of every scenario. Was this what happened when you had kids? Especially two rowdy boys? There were obvious flaws with Soren’s plan with trying to communicate with someone who didn’t want to talk, but no one was perfect. If Ashlynn was being honest, it was the best case scenario.

She clenched her teeth and, as her head swirled, forced herself to hold still as Soren slowly took the first step forward. He took another. Then another. Each step felt like he was right there on top of Ashlynn, but it wasn’t until he was actually there beside the bed kneeling that the Borrower woman started to lose her nerve. The true moment she felt like breaking was when she craned her neck to look up into the human’s hazel eyes and swore she saw tiny flecks of green mixed in with those pools of gold.

Her whole body was shaking. Thoughts raced around her mind while being sucked into the void like dust bunnies succumbing to the vacuum cleaner hose. Only now did she register that Soren was still speaking to her, saying the same thing repeatedly.

“You’re okay. I’m not going to hurt you. I promise I’ll keep you safe.”

Now merely a foot or so away from her, Soren could see minute details of the tiny woman’s face. The way her features twitched and shifted from resolved to absolute panic. The glistening sweat from her forehead. Every shiver and shake as she obviously fought off every impulse to run. Most importantly, he could see even beneath her oversized clothing that her arm was dislocated and not broken.

Heavens… she’s so human. I can’t imagine being that small. What does the world look like from her eyes? What do I look like?... probably some kind of monster.

Soren’s brief thought let him reflect momentarily on what he wanted to say next. Already, his practical mind was switching into high gear again. He’d helped do so many things in the field before like popping in dislocated shoulders and reviving people who had lost consciousness. He’d never felt so nervous to do what had always come so natural to him.

Get it together. It’s just like all the others. Just smaller. Just take a breath.

Soren followed his advice before setting down the medical supplies he brought with him and focusing on the miniscule woman in front of him.

“Okay. First things first, yeah? Let’s get your arm taken care of?” Soren asked. He received no response, but he didn’t really need to. All he needed to do was inform and perform. “Right. So, I’m going to walk you through this first, okay? What I need to do is slip your arm back into joint. It’s dislocated, not broken. It’s a good thing. Now, I’ll need to touch your arm and your shoulder to get everything back into place. Okay? It’s going to hurt, but after it will feel much better.”

Ashlynn didn’t like the sound of any of what Soren said. Touching. Hurting. Joints. The only acceptable parts were that it wasn’t broken and that it would feel better.

Ashlynn watched as Soren’s fingers crested over the edge of the bed, fingers slightly splayed in a surrendering motion and hovered there for several long seconds. The Borrower woman choked back a sob as she saw Soren’s immense fingers beginning to approach her. Every horrible scenario filled her head and flashed before her eyes. Those fingers wrapping around her, crushing her with as much ease as breaking a cracker. Her fears surrounded her, making the Borrower feel small and powerless. She had no voice. She had no way of escape.

“Hey, little miss, it’s okay. I promise.” Soren’s voice, deep and soothing like a summer rain, was so close that it sounded all encompassing. Unlike her fears of being contained in the fleshy digits, however, the sound of the human’s words was like that of a stack of blankets on a cold winter day. Comforting. Warm. When he said she would be okay, Ashlynn felt like she could believe him.

“Please… will you let me fix your arm?” asked Soren in a tone Ashlynn could only describe as earnest and pleading. Perhaps it was desperation. Perhaps there was something pleading in Soren’s eyes that was just enough to convince her. Ashlynn glanced from the human inches from her down to her cradled arm before, after several agonizing moments, she held out her injured appendage.

It was with increasing difficulty that she felt the tips of her fingers. Even stretching out her arm made her wince. She felt a whimper in her throat, but kept it down as she kept her arm extended. Ashlynn could’ve sworn that she saw Soren’s eyes flare with curiosity and wonder, which he clearly kept at bay as he slowly reached out toward her.

The tips of his fingers easily dwarfed the small woman’s entire arm. Soren knew he had to be careful to not cause more damage, and he hoped she could forgive him. Based on the way it looked and the way she was moving, Soren recognized the injury – a dislocation. Before, he wasn’t sure, but now he was. The pads of his thumb and index finger gingerly grasped the woman’s forearm, making her lean away as her chest rose and fell rapidly.

This is crazy. This is crazy. Both thought silently at the same time.

“So, good news and bad news. Bad news is this is going to hurt a lot. Good news is that your arm isn’t broken, so your recovery time is going to be a lot shorter,” said Soren. Ashlynn’s eyes flicked up to Soren, down to her arm, and then back up to the human whose fingers now practically encased her limb.

Okay. Not broken. I can work with that.

“Okay, there’s two parts to this,” stated Soren as he placed his other fingers by her shoulder. Her eyes, which Soren could see now were a stormy blue gray, were wide open while she continued to suck in beath after breath. I need to be quicker so she doesn’t freak out. “First, I need to get your arm into the right position. Second, I’ll need to pull up and toward you to get your shoulder back into joint. Don’t be afraid to pass out or scream if you need to. It’s going to hurt. Now, lay back on your back and I’ll get you fixed up in no time.”

Ashlynn hated this. Every moment the human man’s fingers were on her was one more second she could feel his steady pulse surrounding her limb. It was one moment closer to her screaming at him to get away. It was one more moment of agony she was subjecting herself to. She hated that, with no effort, he was able to guide her body backwards onto the bed.

The faster he does this, the sooner he’ll leave, and you can get out of here. Ashlynn thought over and over.

“Don’t tense up, and I’ll go on three. Ready?” asked Soren. Ashlynn gritted her teeth as she braced herself. “One… Two… Thr-…” Ashlynn didn’t hear Soren finish the last word. Everything happened so fast. She watched as Soren rolled her arm with ease in between his fingers as he pulled her arm ever so slightly away from her body. The twisting sensation made her head spin, but the distinct *crack* was what made Ashlynn cry out as her vision darkened.

Her ears were ringing, clouding all other senses she possessed, when her vision started coming back. Reverberations in the air shifted and fluctuated around her. There was a slight pressure on her shoulder before it subsided again. The pressure and pain were gone, and sweet relief had replaced it. Ashlynn clenched and unclenched her fist and a smile spread across her face as no stabbing pain ripped through her.

The Borrower woman blinked a few times, vision clearing up, and she could see the blurry face of Soren leaning slightly over her. Something was in his hands, which were eclipsing her returning vision. Her instincts returned and she attempted to sit up and push herself away when she felt another twinge in her arm.

“Hey… hey there… little miss. You passed out on me there for a second. Sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.” Soren’s voice still sounded a bit muffled, but Ashlynn popped her ears a few times as he spoke, and his words became clearer with each word. He held up something that looked like a white cloth diamond. “I know your arm probably feels a lot better right now, but it’s going to be really tender and sore. Okay? So, you need to not use it and put it in something called a sling. It’ll keep your arm still while it heals.”

Ashlynn didn’t like the sound of that. Holding still? Not being able to use her dominant arm? Was this a trick? Or was this real? Soren’s fingers were fast approaching, and Ashlynn suddenly found herself scooting back until her back was pressed against the wood of the drawer that was her confinement the night before. Soren stopped and retracted his hands, sighing only for a moment as he thought about how to best address the issue. He saw distrust and unease as clearly as the sun peeking through the wintery clouds looming in the sky.

What would I do in her shoes? A massive person tells me I can’t leave and that I need to get better.

He looked earnestly into her stormy blue gray eyes and offered a look of sympathy, muttering, “Yeah, I’d have a hard time believing me too.”

This got Ashlynn’s attention. In just a single look, Soren was able to figure out what was causing the issue. He could place himself in her shoes with such ease that it almost felt unnerving. If a dull throbbing wasn’t starting to intensify in her previously dislocated shoulder, Ashlynn would have dismissed Soren’s words instantly.

Seems like he’s telling the truth. I can’t lift myself like this, especially if it’s going to be more painful than this. Ashlynn interrupted her own thought with a round of coughing before focusing back on Soren, who had the same look of concern in his eyes as he did when he first entered the room and saw her fall. He’s been right so far…

“Tell you what. Um… why don’t we… set some boundaries, yeah? Things I’m allowed or not allowed to do. Sound good?” Soren asked. Ashlynn thought about it. It wasn’t the worst idea he’d suggested. The real question wasn’t about boundaries though – it was how she was going to tell him what she did or didn’t want. It required her talking to him.

Do I talk to him? To keep from talking to him? To keep him from touching me?

“I get it. Lots of stuff happening all at once. You might be feeling the symptoms of shock as well as you being sick, but we’ll start with no touching or approaching without some kind of indicator. You seem to be the most scared of that,” muttered Soren. “And, with that being said, instead of me helping you with the sling, I’ll show you how to put it on and you do the rest. Okay?”

Ashlynn swallowed hard, feeling the nasty gloss the mucus had coated her throat with, and glanced from Soren’s hazel gold eyes to the small diamond cloth in his fingers. What on earth is this guy? A mind reader?

Soren wished he could read the small woman’s mind. It would be so much easier than guessing based only on body language and facial expressions. Whether for better or worse, Soren had delt with a lot of people of all ages in circumstances very similar to the miniscule woman currently curled up on his bed. He’d helped children, the elderly, and one too many drunks as well as a collection of everyone in between. Having two young brothers who sometimes struggled with their words didn’t hurt either.

“Well?” Soren prompted. “Sound okay?”

Ashlynn bit her lip and looked between Soren and the cloth again.

“Well, just in case you change your mind about me helping you, here’s how this goes.” Soren proceeded to show her using a pillowcase from his closet how to tie the top of the cloth around his neck in order to support his arm. He demonstrated everything as simply as he could before offering the cloth to Ashlynn.

Ashlynn, head throbbing slightly, leaned forward and snagged the cloth once Soren’s fingers were far enough away. It took her a couple of tries, but she managed to tie a knot in the end and tightened it with her teeth before sliding it over her head and lifting her sore arm into it. The whole time, Soren watched in wonder as the small woman followed his instructions perfectly, even remembering to tuck in the flap at the end to make sure her arm didn’t slide out as easily.

He decided not to make a comment about it, fearing he would make her self-conscious and shut down from future understandings and instructions, and instead grabbed a bottle of water from his kit and filled the lid with water.

“Thirsty?” he asked as he balanced the lid onto the tip of his finger. Ashlynn looked eagerly at the clear plastic cap and the clear liquid it contained. Every part of her craved water except for her throat, which felt swollen and slick. She’d tried keeping water down before but hadn’t had much luck. The Borrower woman knew she needed to try again though, regardless. So, when Soren’s finger approached slowly, she fought the urge to shy away and hauled the cap into her lap where she took small handfuls of water from her unbandaged hand.

The cool water offered little relief and, in fact, made her feel colder. The threat of nausea returned after a few seconds. Soren, however, seemed to have a plan for that. He had already placed a cracker onto a piece of tissue after crushing some of the corners and middle parts before sliding it across the bed.

“You probably need something to eat too, huh?” he asked.

Ashlynn stared eagerly at the broken saltines. She could practically smell their freshness even through her stuffy nose. Soren’s hand approached and, for the first time, she managed to clearly see some of the scars scattered about on his fingers. Some were scrapes and others were cuts, all varying in age. Most of them looked like burns.

Battle scars? Ashlynn thought quietly. What from though?

Ashlynn didn’t feel like spending the energy on trying to figure out what those marks on the human’s hand meant. For now, eating and drinking something and then keeping it down was her primary focus. The moment his fingers were far enough away, Ashlynn leaned forward and snagged a few of the fragments. She nibbled cautiously, drinking a few sips of water after each bite and waiting a moment to see how her churning insides would react. She hadn’t had a proper meal in days, and now she felt like she could finally keep some of it down.

After she finished a few fragments of cracker and part of the cap full of water, she felt her eyelids beginning to droop. The adrenaline that was keeping her upright was now completely depleted, and staying awake wasn’t an option anymore. The unease of falling asleep in the presence of a human also was a fleeting thought that Ashlynn was quickly losing her battle to.

A flicker of movement caused her to open her eyes once more, but what she saw made something in her chest and cheeks warm. Soren had another fragment of soft, fuzzy cloth he’d pulled from the other side of the bed and had set it near her side.

“Alright then, little miss. Looks like you’re getting sleepy, yeah? Okay. I’m going to leave and make sure the boys don’t bother you. I’ll be back in a bit to check on you. If you need anything, you let me know. And don’t hurt yourself getting down or anything, okay? Just get some rest and we’ll talk arrangements… well… I’ll probably talk arrangements, and you’ll probably listen. Anyway, sleep well,” said Soren gently.

Ashlynn didn’t need to be told twice. Before Soren had even left the room, she’d pulled the blanket over her injured shoulder and had laid down on her side, sleep dragging her into darkness in a matter of seconds. The Borrower wasn’t sure if trusting the human was a good or bad decision, but there was no going back now.

Desperation brought her to the brink, and now holding onto the word and a few kind actions of a being she thought would treat her inhumanely was all she had.

She hoped it would be enough.

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

Continue

Previous

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

A Tall and Small Collection | Original Story

[kix-mm]

Forever resting…

A sketch I never plan on finishing, he just looks so peaceful… I think I'll name him ……

He is the last living giant from a once flourishing civilization... brought to ruin by a curse to forever trap them in a deep sleep. They seemed to live out the rest of their lives in their dreams as if it were reality. Their physical bodies would age over the years, some surviving till hundreds of years old, and some dying from a fatal nightmare. But most would die of old age. Once they die in their dream, their physical body dies too.

This boy was somehow found quite a bit later than the rest of his people. While civilization had watched the very infants of this giant sleeping race age into their now late 80's, this boy is estimated to be far younger than scientifically possible. By all logic. This boy should not exist. Yet, here he lies, unmoved, just like all his people.

For reference: The youngest baby they had found was no less than 3 months old by the time the curse took place. Today, that same baby is 88 years old. And this boy may or may not have just reached his early 20s.

The people of the village have given him the title of the "beautiful dreamer." And the majority speculate that it is his dream that keeps him so young, along with similar speculations of him bring immortal. And there's even a saying that if you are to kiss the boy, you would gain immortality.

Fortunately, nobody has been able to come into contact with the boys' body to test this theory, and it is strictly prohibited to touch any of the sleeping giants.

Other villagers have some darker theories about the boy. Certain people believe that he is the one responsible for the giant's curse or that this body had been removed previously by thieves/the government, which would explain why it only recently was discovered. Another theory is that this is a fake addition to attract more tourists.

The second and third theories have been debunked, and scientists see no indication of the boy being responsible for the endless sleep.

[gina103]

Girl From The Belly Ch 6

Ch 6 - word count: 3480 Previous - Next

The atmosphere at home was awkward for a while.

Following the argument with Idris, Lina would alternate between feeling racked with guilt to passionately defensive. It didn’t help that her mother was giving her the silent treatment, still angry at her for what she said, even after she apologized. Lina could only hope her mother would come around soon, but until then, life had to go on.

It had been a long day once again. Lina and Eunice had been helping their neighbor, Mrs. Kettle, with her rambunctious children. Busy taking care of her newborn son, Mrs. Kettle had tasked the girls with looking after her two toddlers, a pair of twin girls, Rosie and Petunia. Lina was exhausted, she jealously watched Eunice bouncing the calm and docile Petunia on her lap, laughing and giggling, while she once again had to pry another object out of Rosie’s mouth.

“It’s not fair,” Lina whined, “why did you get the nice one?”

“Hey! They are both lovely children!” Eunice retorted.

“OUCH!”

Rosie had bitten Lina’s finger, wiggled out of her arms, and run off into another room.

Lina turned to give her sister a look of disbelief and frustration. Children were impossible.

“Aww, Petunia’s having so much fun with you, Eunice!” Mrs. Kettle walked over to where the girls were sitting. Rosie was clinging to her mother’s legs as she walked over. “This is great practice for you girls, right? After all, it won’t be long before you have your own children to look after.”

Lina felt herself twitch in annoyance, she forced herself to agree politely along with her sister.

Mrs. Kettle thanked them for their help and took her children to put them all down for a nap.

“I swear, if one more person brings up either marriage or kids, I’ll run away and go live with the rats,” Lina said as soon as Mrs. Kettle left the room.

Eunice laughed, “It only gets worse until you get married. Then after that, it’ll be all about when you’re having kids.”

Lina slumped down dramatically in her chair, “At least you’re good with kids, you’re a natural with them.”

“Because I don’t throw a fit every time I have to babysit.”

Lina shot her an offended glare. “I do not throw a fit!”

“Yes, you do!” Eunice retorted.

“Do not!”

“Do too!”

“Do not!”

The girls kept up this debate all the way back home, and even though the past weeks had been hard at home for Lina, she felt so grateful for her sister, gaining a new level of appreciation for her and for those little moments where she could feel a true bond between them.

-

The wedding was only a week away.

Cassian didn’t understand. How could time move so quickly? Fortunately, he didn’t feel nearly as sick to his stomach about it as he used to when he pondered his approaching marriage. He supposed this was due to his efforts in building a friendship with his fiancée. Over the past two weeks, he had made an effort to speak to her more. Instead of sitting in silence at every meal like they usually did, Cassian would attempt to make polite conversation. He was still very poor at conversing with others, but he was on an upward trajectory in both his attitude and demeanor lately.

And there was a special reason for that.

Lina.

She was the true friend he’d always wanted. Her visits were the best part of his day, only appearing to him in the dead of night like a little angel, always in his study where they would spend the majority of their time just talking. For hours, they would talk about anything under the sun, causing the time to simply fly by. Since he had begun reading books aloud to her, Cassian learned that Lina had the same insatiable hunger for knowledge that he did. She would ask him questions about everything, about new words he would read, what the world outside was like, how their nation worked, and Cassian was very happy to teach her. Lina was fascinated by everything he told her about, whether he was explaining how the clock told the time, or how the quill he wrote with was made, her face lit up at the prospect of acquiring new knowledge. It filled Cassian with a warmth he couldn’t explain. Lina made him feel like he was worthy of listening to.

He just felt lighter with her in his life. Cassian used to feel heavy with the burden of loneliness that he had carried ever since his mother’s death. Lina truly was a little bright spot in his gloomy world. He was now motivated to accept his upcoming marriage, he felt ready to step up as the heir to the Silvenian throne, to step up and be someone his mother would be proud of. He felt ready to be a husband, even though it was with someone he didn’t love, he accepted the fact that he had a duty to his kingdom and the legacy before him.

He was ready, and he never would have felt this way if it wasn’t for Lina.

Hopefully she would come and visit soon, he already had a stack of books in his study that he specifically wanted to read to her. Cassian could imagine her expression, lit up like a Christmas tree, hazel eyes sparkling with curiosity.

He was already smiling at just the thought. He’d actually been smiling quite a lot recently, partly because of Lina and also because spring had sprung. Cassian had been spending quite a lot of time in the palace gardens which were filled with beautiful blooming flowers. There was a particularly secluded spot in the middle of a hedge maze that he loved to sit and read at. He could spend hours lying on the grass, absorbing the pleasant rays of the sun. He hoped to one day bring Lina with him to share in all of its peace and tranquility.

He could imagine her now, sitting in the grass, eyes closed, hair blowing in the breeze, soaking up the moment with him.

One day… he thought wistfully.

-

Lina found herself traversing the dark and dank tunnels once again.

She needed Cassian.

She quickly wiped away the remaining remnants of her tears. Her attempts to patch things up with her mother were once again, ignored in favor of the silent treatment. Lina had absolutely broken down, begging her mother to speak to her, pulling on her skirt, apologizing over and over again to no avail. All Mrs. Brook did was pry her daughter’s hands off her skirt and exit the room, leaving Lina all alone to sob on the kitchen floor. Her father having heard everything, made no effort to comfort her, deciding to lock himself in his workshop instead. Eunice had been helping out Mrs. Kettle again, so she wasn’t even home when the incident happened, and Lina knew she wouldn’t have been much help anyway. She probably would’ve said “I’m sorry about Mama, you know how she feels about Idris, I’m sure she’ll come around soon.”

She needed Cassian’s overwhelming presence, his gentle touch, his smooth rumbling voice, his kind eyes, everything. When he’s around, Lina could forget about everything, he was her escape. No mother could snub her, no brother could berate her, no father could neglect her, no sister could she disappoint, there was only him.

Lina arrived at his study to see him looking out the window at the night sky. He loved the stars. He’d gone on and on about the con-stel-la-tions, as he’d called them. She could remember him holding her, standing in the same spot he was now, and pointing out all the various formations in the sky, all while Lina listened to him in raptures, noticing the way his fingers curled securely around her back and how she’d felt so safe and protected in that moment.

She needed that feeling now.

“Cassian!” Lina yelled from the floor, her voice cracking, “Cas…”

His colossal form turned around to search for her, a grin forming on his handsome face. “Lina? Is that you?”

“Down here!”

He looked down and locked eyes with her, “There you are! Why are you on the floor?” He slowly knelt down and reached out a hand towards her, slipping his fingers around her waist and gently lifting her up.

As soon as he brought her up to meet his gaze, his expression changed to concern. Lina tried to smile weakly at him, but it was quite obvious in her appearance that she had been crying. Her usually lively expression seemed tired, her eyes red and swollen.

“What happened?” Cassian whispered, his thumb brushing over her cheek.

Lina had no answer for him, where could she even begin? She looped her arm around the thumb that brushed her cheek and held it tightly, lip quivering.

Cassian’s eyes softened, he slowly brought her towards his chest and pressed her against it in an odd kind of hug. Lina closed her eyes and rested her head on his chest, feeling the steady and rhythmic beat of his heart, it was so warm. In that moment, all her worries and concerns were far away, all she could concentrate on was him and his enormous presence. Nothing else mattered.

“Would you like to go on an adventure?” Cassian’s voice rumbled through her whole body like thunder.

Lina lifted her head to meet his gaze. “Adventure?” she asked quietly.

“We won’t go far, of course,” he clarified, “I have something to show you.”

Now she was curious, nodding to give him permission.

Cassian took that as his cue to start walking. He maneuvered her away from his expansive chest, forming his hand protectively around her. Making sure to grab a lit candle in his other hand, he opened the door to his private study which led out into a quiet and dark hallway. It was late at night, the palace corridors were quiet, dark, and undisturbed, not even the servants were awake at this hour. Cassian turned the corner into another dark hallway, walking carefully as to not jolt his little passenger. Finally, he came to a door.

Opening the door into another pitch-black space, Cassian walked forward into the abyss, setting his candle down on what Lina recognized as a grand pianoforte.

“I would set you down, but I believe I can do this with one hand,” Cassian whispered.

Lina’s heart fluttered. He’d inconvenience himself just to hold her a little bit longer.

She felt herself being pressed against his chest once more, his thumb brushing up and down her arm as he searched the dark room for more candles to light.

Soon, there was a good number of lit candles that provided the adequate amount of light needed to see the pianoforte and both of their faces. Cassian lowered his hand to a spot on top of the piano, letting Lina disembark and sit down. From her place, she had a great view of Cassian and all of the keys.

“Are you going to serenade me?” she asked teasingly.

He looked up in surprise. “Feeling better already?” he asked softly, “You teasing me again is a good sign.”

He reached up and gently poked her torso, earning a giggle from her.

“Whenever I happen to feel sad or upset, music always revives me. I’ve been practicing this piece quite often as of late, and now, you’ll be the first outside ears to bear witness to it.”

Lina let out a small oooh before straightening up in anticipation.

Cassian fixed his posture, placed his fingers on the keys, and began playing what Lina could only describe as the most beautiful music she’d ever heard.

It started off slow, almost melancholy before speeding up into a higher intensity. All Lina could do was listen, spellbound by the sweet sounds of the keys echoing throughout the room. The piece was picking up speed. Cassian’s fingers flew across the keys with expert precision and grace. As the piece found its crescendo, his eyes were closed, he was totally engrossed. Finally, the music slowed once again, finding that slow but melancholy tune.

“You’re crying.” Cassian had stopped playing.

Lina then realized that he was right, she quickly wiped the fresh tears that were streaming down her face. When she looked up at Cassian again, he was just staring at her, his beautiful blue eyes flooded with concern. He looked slightly lost, like he didn’t know quite what to say to her, but Lina knew what his eyes told her. It pains me to see sadness in you, I wish I knew what was causing you such pain.

Lina gathered her thoughts and started talking.

“My brother hates me.” She began, “He’s hated me for a very long time and the other day, I said something to him that I shouldn’t have and now, my mother hasn’t spoken to me since and- Lina’s voice broke.

“I don’t even know what I did to make him hate me, and I feel like my parents don’t even care,” Tears streamed down her face as her voice trembled. “I just feel as though all I do is disappoint people.”

For the second time, she was now sobbing before the prince. Except he wasn’t just “the prince” to her anymore, he was Cassian, someone who was on her side. He gently scooped her up off the piano to hold against his chest. Lina gripped the fabric of his waistcoat, burying her head further into him. She did her best to concentrate on the sound of his heartbeat.

“Lina,” his voice rumbled, “look at me, love.”

She slowly gazed upward towards his face. He had a new kind of conviction in his eyes. He raised her up to meet his gaze, delicately brushing away her tears with his fingers.

“You are, without a doubt, the most remarkable woman I’ve ever met.”

A blush appeared on her cheeks.

“Why? Because I’m tiny to you?” She asked.

“No, that’s not it at all,” Cassian said sincerely, “I can very well think of hundreds of things besides your size that make you remarkable.”

“Such as?”

“Well, you’re charming, you’re curious, you’re intelligent, you’re honest, you’re beautiful…I could go on. “

A shy smile bloomed on Lina’s face.

“Thereee’s a smile,” Cassian said softly.

“What was that last one?” Lina asked cheekily.

Cassian leaned in, heating up the air around her and filling her vision like the night sky.

“I said, you’re beautiful,” he whispered.

Oh.

Oh.

Cassian pulled away, leaving Lina to remember how to breathe. She felt the heat rising in her cheeks, he had such an effect on her, it was hypnotizing and annoying at the same time.

“Y-your highness…” she trailed off, in a rare moment, Lina couldn’t find the words.

“My apologies, have I made things awkward?” Cassian asked nervously, studying her expression which, to her embarrassment, seemed to be growing more tomato-like by the second.

A high-pitched “No!” squeezed its way out of her. Why did she have to lose her cool right now? Cassian was now openly flirting with her, there was no way she could let this opportunity go to waste.

Lina cleared her throat before continuing. “I was just surprised by your boldness, your highness. I didn’t know you were capable of complimenting women.”

Cassian threw his head back in laughter. “You are the bold one now! Calling me your highness and disrespecting me in the next sentence! I never know what to anticipate from you.”

“I’m not sure I would call it disrespect, I’m merely inspiring humility.”

“Oh yes, of course you are,” Cassian smiled fondly at her, once again brushing up and down her arms with his thumbs. He had a wistful look in his eyes, as if he was remembering something happy.

“I wish you could’ve met my mother, I’m certain she would’ve loved you.”

Lina looked at him curiously. “How so?”

This was the first time Cassian had ever mentioned his mother to her. She’d of course, heard about her death when it had taken place all those years ago. She’d heard about how hard it had been for him at the time, and how different relations within the royal family changed because of it. Lina was only a young girl at the time, but she remembered feeling a lot of sympathy for the prince who was just as young as she was when it happened. She couldn’t imagine the pain he must have experienced at an age where the extent of one’s loss should be limited to losing a favorite quill.

“Well…” He thought for a moment, “She loved all people, all animals, all creatures of any kind. I know she would’ve treated you with respect and kindness, maybe even a little more, just because of how happy you make me.”

“I make you happy?” Lina asked quietly.

Cassian looked her in the eyes, “Yes, very happy. Was it not obvious enough?”

Lina laughed. “Oh Cas, you make me happy too!” She turned her head and kissed the closest digit she could reach, “Very happy.”

They both gazed at each other, simply enjoying the moment. Lina heard the sound of birds chirping outside. They both turned to look out the window, the sky was brightening. Sunrise was approaching.

“I really should be getting home now, before anyone notices I’m gone,” Lina said, she wished she could stay with him forever. It would be a lot better than going back to her family now.

Cassian looked sad to see her go. “If you must…I won’t keep you.”

He rose from the piano bench, once again bringing her close to his chest to make his way back to his study. Lina did her best to savor the closeness, listening to his heartbeat thud in his chest with eyes closed in bliss. She had no idea how long she’d be able to keep seeing him. All she knew was that she didn’t want to lose this, the feeling of his touch, his genuine care for her, she didn’t know what she’d do without it, without him.

Before she knew it, they’d made it to the study, and it was time for her to leave. However, instead of lowering Lina to the ground, Cassian brought her to his face once again.

Before she could even wonder what he was doing, his enormous, beautiful face closed in. She felt the heat of his breath, his scent, and the warm press of his lips against the side of her face.

He’d just kissed her.

“Goodnight,” He whispered. He lowered her to the ground and let her disembark his hands, which she had been held in almost the entire time they were together.

“Goodnight,” Lina replied. She’d barely processed the fact that Cassian had just kissed her. She felt cold without the warmth of his touch.

She turned to walk away from him, but quickly whirled back around. “I think you meant good morning!”

“Ah of course, my mistake,” Cassian replied amusedly, “good morning, Lina.”

She smiled and waved goodbye at him before finally disappearing into the walls.

It was a good morning indeed.

-

 Cassian had a hard time watching her go.

As her little shape disappeared into the walls, he couldn’t help but wish she would stay forever.

When he first saw her face, red and stained with tears, he just wanted to hold her close and never let her go. He’d never seen her cry before, and it almost caused him physical pain to see her so sad, so worn down. Her family sounded toxic and draining from the information she had disclosed. How could her own brother hate her so much? How could anyone hate someone like Lina? She was such a joy to be around, such a lively countenance with so much love to give. How could someone want to destroy that?

Cassian was sure that if he ever got the chance to meet her brother in person, he would have some choice words for the nasty fellow. In no world did Lina deserve that kind of treatment. She deserved to be treated with the utmost respect, kindness, honesty, and integrity. She deserved all of that and more. All Cassian wanted was to see her shine like the bright ray of sunlight she was.

His mother surely would’ve loved her.

Cassian walked over to the side table and poured himself a glass of brandy. As he took a small sip, the realization hit him squarely in the chest.

He was in love with Lina.

How had it taken him this long to realize it? Cassian didn’t know.

All he knew was that the 5-inch-tall mystery woman he’d saved during his engagement ball had now made a permanent mark on his heart.

[wearyeerie]

old wip I haven’t felt like finishing ,, g/t on the mind lately

[mariposita24]

post-nightmare scribbly colored doodle of this poor traumatized man. Let him get some rest.

(character belongs to @misupahana )

[tea-potato-gt]

The Biggest Heart Story: Stør’s Job (Part 1)

Summary: A story of blossoming young love between a Giant and a Water Nymph. Mizu can’t explain it, but she feels like she needs to see her giant friend, Stør. Little does she know of the surprise that awaits her on the farm the giant teenager works on. (Very early stages of their relationship.)

Kæmpe Stør Giant (17yrs - 36ft) & Mizu Rivers Water Nymph (18yrs - 5’6)

More on The Biggest Heart story here

Part 2 here

***

3k words

***

"Is Stør home?" Mizu asked nervously, clutching her blue hands to her chest.

"No I'm sorry, Mizu, he's at work right now." Stør's human father, Joseph, said.

"Work?" Mizu repeated. She didn't know Stør had a job. Or more accurately, she didn't know he COULD have a job. She couldn't imagine many grocery stores were looking to hire a 36 foot high schooler to man the check out lines.

"Yeah, Kæmpe works odd jobs for the local farmers. Right now he’s at Old Briar’s place down the road." Joseph read the confusion on the Water Nymph's face. "He should be done soon if you want to wait here---"

"I'll go to him!" Mizu interrupted. She realized how rude she must have sounded, her already blue face became a darker shade and she couldn't make eye contact with the human before her. "S-sorry... I don't want to intrude on you and your family... I-I just need to talk to Stør about our class project really quick."

Joseph smiled at the young girl's flustered face, "no worries, Mizu." He took out a pen and paper from a nearby drawer and wrote the address of Old Briar’s farm and handed it to a very stiff Mizu. "I'm sure he'll be very happy to see you." Joseph gave her a wink and closed the door.

Mizu stood on the doorstep for a few moments, holding the piece of paper, face turning a dark shade of blue.

***

Walking down the dirt road became increasingly nerve wracking with every shaky step Mizu took.

Mizu felt ridiculous. Why was she there? Appearing unannounced at Stør’s house no less! She had been there a few times before, but never alone. Strega (Stør and Mizu’s mutual friend) always dragged her along to hang out. When Strega's friend got together, there were very few places they could all go if Stør was involved. This usually meant they just watched movies in his room or swam in the sea by his house.

But Mizu had never invited herself over before. Why was she doing this to herself?? Maybe she should just go home. The questions she has about their project could be easily answered with an email. She'd worked with Stør before on projects using email and video chats as their main form of communicating. Why did it feel like she needed to see and talk to him in person right now?

“That’s it! This is stupid. I’m going home.” Mizu huffed out loud to herself. The anxiety was becoming too much for her to handle. “I’m so stupid!” She repeated as she turned around.

Little did she realize, she had already arrived at Old Briar’s farm.

She felt the ground tremble slightly. Mizu's eyes widened as the treeline started to shake. She heard a low strained grunt.

Curiosity got the best of her. Mizu walked further down the road, following the sound, attempting to figure out what it was.

Old Briar’s farm was quite large, and surrounded by trees of various kinds, sizes, and thicknesses. There was a stretching field of crops that bordered the trees and went up and over the hills nearby. The property was surrounded by a wooden fence that came about shoulder height on Mizu.

She walked parallel to the fence till she made it to the edge of the woods where she finally spotted it--- him.

About 50 feet away from Mizu, there on the edge of the woods, stood Stør.

He was hunched over and gripping a large tree. It was tall enough to reach his mid torso. His large hands barely grasp fully around the trunk. It looked like the branches were scratching up his inner arms as he tried to get a better grip on the tree.

He wore a white tank top, covered in sweat from the hot afternoon sun, blue jeans, and thick work boots. (Once again, Mizu was amazed by the magic created to let a giant wear human clothes on a grand scale.)

Mizu could almost forget how tall Stør really was. From this far away, she could imagine her classmate as a normal sized teenager weeding in his backyard.

But the illusion quickly dissipated with a horrible wrenching sound coming from the tree as Stør used all his strength to uproot the plant and free its hold in the ground. Twigs and roots snapped and leaves scattered.

Mizu stared. She couldn't believe her eyes. As he exerted himself, she saw the muscles on his arms bulge. She never noticed how toned Stør was. In the three years Mizu had known him, she had only seen him wear baggy long sleeved shirts, even on the hottest summer days.

Rationally she knew Stør had to be strong. He was a 36 foot tall giant, of course he has to be strong compared to an average human. But watching him rip a massive tree out of the ground like it was nothing really cemented something Mizu had been thinking about since she met him…

Stør is holding himself back.

Mizu had heard Stør briefly mention his status of living on Noma. Being the only giant on the small Island nation led to a lot of red tape and trepidation when it came to his presence. Any mistake he makes could result in dire consequences for himself or others.

Stør’s life is constantly dictated by rules and harsh punishments.

After closely observing Stør for months, Mizu slowly realized he never lashed out. Even when faced with hatred or bullying or fear, he never retaliated or fought back. No negative words of others ever passed his lips. Stør kept a constant air of calm and control about his actions, features, and body. His movements were always slow and purposeful. He never raised his voice and he definitely never showed his full strength.

But here in this moment, uprooting a tree, when he thought he was alone… For once, Stør didn't need to hold back his strength. He didn't try to make himself smaller for other people's comfort. He didn't need to worry about hurting anyone. No one was running away screaming at the very sight of him.

In this brief moment, Stør was free.

After watching how the world treated Stør, this realization broke Mizu’s heart. Could Stør truly only be his true self in the absence of others? In the absence of his family, friends, or even Mizu herself?

Mizu thought she had experienced every curveball becoming friends with a giant could offer, from learning how to ride on his shoulder to how a giant navigated a world literally too small for his stature. But once again, Stør unknowingly turned her whole understanding of his life upside down.

In the past, Mizu has overheard other students call Stør a freak or a monster. Comments like these always made her see red. How could anyone think less of him? So what if he’s a LITTLE taller than most people? He’s still the sweetest guy Mizu has ever met. It infuriated her to no end.

But then she regrettably remembers the emotions she felt when she first laid eyes on the teenager (in the English class they shared three years ago). She felt nothing short of pure frozen terror. Worried he could at any moment decide to reach his hand through the classroom window and snatch her up from her desk, carrying her off to the gods mnow where, and hurt her.

She (unfortunately) can’t blame people for being afraid of her friend. And it seems Stør doesn’t blame them either.

Mizu watched as Stør regarded the large tree in his grasp. Something she could never hope to lift in her wildest dreams. He turned it from side to side as if admiring the poor tree he just forcefully evicted from the earth.

Then he turned and gently set the tree down in a large pile of other trees that too had been uprooted. A dozen massive trees lay on their sides, roots out for the world to see.

Stør wiped the sweat from his forehead and walked back to the tree line. He grabbed a hold of another tree with both hands. A slightly smaller one, but no less impressive. He looked like he was about to pull when suddenly, Stør looked up and locked eyes with Mizu.

Her body froze. Stør did the same. They stared at each other for what felt like an eternity.

Mizu was the first to find her voice, “Hi.” She called across the feild to him and waved.

This finally broke the spell, Stør quickly let go of the tree in his grasp. He curled in on himself in an attempt to look smaller.

Finally, his brain processed her presence in front of him to and allowed words to form.

“M-Mizu!?” Stør stuttered her name, he blinked rapidly as if hoping she wasn’t standing right there. “I didn’t see you,” Stør quickly grabbed his crumpled up plaid shirt from the ground, threw his arms into it, and immediately began buttoning up his baggy shirt.

Once again, here he was trying to hide himself. Hide his muscular arms in favor of a more round and soft outward appearance. Something more palpable to the average onlooker.

Mizu watched his personality change in real time, from a confident young giant to a scared timid child wishing to be anything other than what he was. Her heart ached at the fact he felt he needed to do this for someone he considered a friend.

“Don’t let me get in the way,” Mizu said as she climbed over the top of the wooden fence and sat on top. “You can keep on working.”

“No, no I was j-just about done anyway,” Stør rubbed the back of his neck, refusing to look at her. “I just need to take these– these to the other side of the property.” He vaguely gestured at the pile of large trees at his feet.

She usually found it cute when Stør stuttered with nerves, but in this moment, it felt like a knife slowly cut through her heart. He wouldn’t even look at her anymore. Stealing herself, she said, “Okay, I’ll go with you.”

Stør did a double take, “Wha— Are you sure?”

“Yes.” Mizu climbed down the rest of the fence and confidently walked across the field towards him.

“Y-you really don’t have to.” Stør sunk further into himself as he kneeled down. “It might-might take a while.”

Mizu shrugged, “I don’t have any plans.” She was now within reaching distance of the giant teenager. She had to look up at him to catch his eye. Mizu had to admit, his slouching and lowering of his body did help with neck pain when it came to keeping eye contact with a giant.

“But still… A-Are you sure, Mizu?”

Mizu rolled her eyes, “Yes I’m sure, Stør.” She was getting impatient.

“Okay…” his voice was unsteady.

Quickly changing topics before he could change his mind, Mizu clapped her hands together excitedly, “So how are we gonna transport these big-ass trees?”

Stør snorted at her abrasive language, he often forgets how foul mouthed this Water Nymph could be. “WE aren’t going to do anything. I just have to– to walk them over the hill to the other side of the farm house.”

“Fine then, since I can’t help you do all the heavy lifting, how about I keep you cool?” Mizu giggled. She held out her hand, and using her hydrokinesis, she pulled water from the surrounding air, “Can’t have you passing out from heat stroke while you do all the heavy lifting.”

Once the sphere of water was about the size of a bowling ball, she flung it straight at Stør’s face. It splashed harmlessly on his cheek, but he still reeled back expecting it to hurt. He slammed his eyes closed, but immediately felt the coolness of the water on his face, it was wonderful. He opened his eyes to find Mizu laughing, “You should have seen your face!”

Stør wiped the (to him) drop of water from his cheek, “Yeah, Yeah.” He rolled his eyes, but as he looked back down at Mizu he became serious. “I’m going to stand now. Is that alright?” He watched her closely for her reaction.

Mizu gave a quick nod. That was all he needed. Placing a hand on his knee as he slowly stood to his full height. He looked down to make sure Mizu hadn’t moved. She did not. Then he went to work.

He reached past the pile of uprooted trees and grabbed a long silver wire. It was huge and thick, she watched as he wrapped the trees in steel rope, which is usually used by giant cranes. He carefully tried the rope around the trees and fastened them in place. Then he lifted the pile of trees up, and using another long steel rope, attached them to his back.

Stør looked back down at his friend with trepidation at her reaction. Would she be frightened? But the look in her eye dispelled that worry. Her eyes were wide, sure, but not from fear. Awe and admiration danced on her face.

Slowly bending down, Stør lowered his free hand in front of Mizu, silently asking for her to climb aboard. Something she has done plenty of times in the past, and had said yes every time, but he made it a point to never grab anyone no matter how well they knew each other.

With his right hand entering her space, Mizu finally blinked and realized she had been staring for too long. She quickly looked away, blushing harder, and got to work.

Concentrating, she conjured up the moisture out of the ground and air. It was relatively easy with the high humidity and it had rained earlier that day. By the time she was done, Mizu had collected about as much water as a jacuzzi could hold. Hoping this would be enough, Mizu stepped onto his hand and began her ascent to Stør’s shoulder.

Now it was Stør’s turn to stare. The water danced alongside Mizu as she marched her way up his arm with a practice stride. Her steps tickled as she made the last stretch and slumped down on his shoulder with a huff. He tried to look at her, but she was too close to his neck that he could only see the top of her head. “Ready?” Stør said in a quiet voice due to her being so close.

Stør felt her grab his earlobe for balance. “Always.” Mizu said. The sphere of water flowed and changed at her whim beside his head, he could hear it splashing and gurgling by his ear like a stream.

With Mizu secured, Stør slowly stood up with a little more trouble than usual. He had to get up from a crouched position with heavy trees on his back weighing him down.

Sitting on Stør’s shoulder gave a view Mizu could never grow tired of. She was astonished to think Stør saw the world like this every day. What would be large rocks to step over, became unnoticeable pebbles in their path. She could see over the treeline and even a little bit of the ocean in the distance.

Stør was about to take his first step towards the farm house, when his breath hitched. A sudden cold sensation wrapped around his neck. Whatever it was it constantly moved like a soft stream around him.

Mizu had held up her end of the deal and created a water based neck wrap to help with the heat. It felt so wonderful on this hot day, that Stør briefly considered asking Mizu to join him every time he was out working. Her company and powers would definitely make the hours he spent in the sun much more enjoyable.

“Damn that feels good, thanks.” Was all Stør said as he started walking. Mizu just hummed pleasantly as she tried to focus on balancing on an ever moving giant shoulder and keeping her water powers stable.

“You can drink some if you want. It’s clean.” She raised a ball of water to his lips. To him it was just a sip, but to her the sphere of water was about the size of her head.

“Not— not right now.” Stør stammered. “Maybe later?” He always felt too awkward drinking her magic, it felt like taking a bite out of her. When he had tasted her enchanted water in the past, it continued to move as if it were alive in his mouth. He knew from his magical species class, any water she touches gets imbued with her essence as long as her magic is linked. To drink water while still activated by her hydrokinesis made him feel icky.

There was a long stint of silence between them. Neither knew what to say, as they passed over the hill. Mizu could tell Stør felt off. “What’s wrong?” Mizu glanced at his worried expression. He continued to stare at the ground, watching his step.

“I-it’s nothing.” Stør said not looking at her.

“Stør, please?” Mizu’s voice was soft in his ear.

He hesitated, several things were wrong right now, but he settled on one. “It’s just… I-I’m sorry if I smell,” Stør dreaded her being so close to him normally, but now the anxiety was unbearable. He had been working in the hot sun for hours resulting in him certainly smelling like body odor and sweat.

Once again she giggled in his ear, a sound that set his soul aflame. “Stør, did you forget what I am?” She splashed his cheek once again with a ball of water to remind him. Water Nymphs’s bodies were made entirely out of water. They have no need to breathe or smell like normal creatures, because they take in oxygen through their skin. They live in dark underground caves filled with water. Their senses are dedicated to their large eyes and ears or to their hydrokinetic powers. “You could jump in raw sewage and I wouldn’t know the difference.”

Stør chuckled to himself, relieved at her reminder of her species. He liked that Mizu was a Water Nymph. He liked a lot of things about Mizu. Her passion and kindness. Her blue hair was made of water and it flowed like a stream through a single drop would never fall to the floor. Her laugh was contagious and sweet as honey. And her smile… Oh Gods, it was a rare treat indeed, if only he could find ways to make that smile never fade… A-And he guessed her being unable to smell his body odor was a bonus too…

The rest of the trip didn’t last more than a few minutes. The pair chatted about nothing in particular, but neither minded, comforted by the other’s presence.

***

Part 2 here! 🫣

This is my first (published) short story. I usually don’t write stories, I like drawing comics, so any critiques and suggestions are welcome! Thanks!

Find out more about Stør & Mizu in The Biggest Heart master post 😉

[folliesoftheforest]

A Lunch Run Gone Wrong

In which Shop learns something new about SD's workplace- (Content warning for peril and profanity)

SD's phone lit up with a quiet buzz, not that anyone in the small auditorium would have noticed, seeing as they were all busy chattering amongst themselves and comparing notes and discussing research. He picked up the phone, momentarily adjusting his glasses to see that Shop had sent him a text, opening it to read, 'You forgot your lunch man!'

SD rolled his eyes with a chuckle, realizing that's what he had forgotten that morning as he rushed out the door for work. He rubbed the bridge of his nose before sitting back in his chair to respond with 'In the middle of a lecture right now. You can drop it off by my office if you have the chance.'

'Are you gonna be in there?'

SD chuckled again, 'Not until I get a break in my classes today; Cyprin should be hanging out in there though.'

He could just see how Shop must have rolled her eyes when it took her a moment to respond, finally answering 'Fiiiine, I'll hop over and drop it off, might swing by to see what you're teaching today!'

SD shook his head with a smile on his face. Being a mythology professor was ironic on its own when you house a mythical being yourself, but ever since that night, Shop would drop by to sit in on some lectures, usually when SD would mention that he was going to be using visual aids or artistic depictions in a lesson. Nonetheless, he set his phone back down to attend to his students as they began to finish up their discussions.

~~~~~~

Wanting to make a quick trip of this impromptu lunch run, Shop threw on a simple, faded hoodie, shorts and some flip flops and headed out the door. She would have loved to hang out in one of SD's lectures, even just to people watch, but if she had to interact with his Teaching Assistant, Cyprin, she might reconsider it. She didn't much care for them; they just gave off bad vibes to her, whether it be the way they glared at her or their overall grouchy disposition. Shop never really paid them much mind, she never really needed to, but for now, she shook off the thought of an awkward interaction in favor of focusing on the road, seeing as she had to remember how exactly to get to the university.

Parking where she could, Shop bounded towards the vistor's entrance with a hum. She texted SD to let her know she was on school grounds, but quickly frowned when she remembered that the campus had a tendency for bad connection, save for a few spots. She waited a minute or two until finally her message went through, ringing the intercom to be let through.

"Hiii! I'm just here to drop off Professor Braddock's lunch for him!" She chimed into the old speaker before she was greeted with a voice that crackled through the worn device. Soon enough, she heard the door in front of her unlock. She walked through, giving the receptionist a wave as she passed. They waved back, having recognized her as she walked by.

Bzzt bzzt-

Shop had a bit of pep in her step as she felt her phone go off, whipping it out as she strutted her way down towards SD's department.

'Lecture almost over, you know where to go?'

'Of course! See you soon!' Shop quickly replied back, knowing that she would likely make it to his lecture hall before the message could finally send.

While SD waited for Shop to come around and for his next class to come in, he walked just down the hall to his office, knocking on the door before entering to Cyprin hunched over some papers they were busy grading, grumbling to themself whenever they had to mark a question wrong.

"Just to give you a head's up Cyprin," SD began after he cleared his throat, "Shop is going to be stopping by in a moment to drop off my lunch, would you mind making sure to bring it in, since my next lecture will be starting soon?"

"Tsk, sure thing Mr. Braddock." They sneered. SD raised an eyebrow while glaring them down, which earned him a worried look from the TA, who tried to blow it off. "Professor. Professor Braddock." They corrected themself, sneering mockingly as SD turned to close the door and return to his coming class. They hated when SD would use his glare on them, but, the class was easy enough to TA and they got free coffee out of it from time to time, so they would grin and bear it for the credit they needed.

On the other side of the building, Shop was starting to get the creeping feeling that she was getting lost, her chest starting to feel tight. The fluorescent bulbs overhead suddenly seemed way too bright, the sounds of students and faculty chatting amongst themselves way too loud, and the walls and halls seemed to begin to stretch on forever. The sensory intake was overwhelming, and Shop could start to feel her heart beating faster as her anxiety spiked and her mind began to race; but this didn't feel like a normal panic attack. She pressed herself against a wall, shut her eyes, and begged herself that what she was feeling was just her imagination.

"Hey-" a voice called in her direction. "Are you ok?"

Shop snapped her eyes open to a worried looking student, who seemed to be leaning down to talk to her. "H-huh?..."

"Are you ok? You look like you're having a bad time there…"

"O-oh, no, no, I'm ok, just uh, frazzled… um… you wouldn't happen to know how to get to uh, Professor Braddock's class, w-would you?" Shop managed to stammer out.

The student stood back, an understanding smile on their face, "Oh yeah! I just came from there, just head down this hall, then make a left and then a right, can't miss it!"

They called after Shop as she thanked them and gathered herself to start walking again. "Oh hey by the way! I love your ears, those are some dope prosthetics!"

"What?..." Shop mouthed to herself as she sheepishly waved back, raising her hands to her ears and rushing into a bathroom to see what they had meant. Her eyes went wide when she saw her ears had turned pointed, and her heart leaped into her throat when it dawned on her that she did not come up to her usual height in the mirror.

Her hands fumbled for her phone as Shop nearly ran out the door again, following the kind student's directions as people began to file into class, leaving Shop alone in the halls. 'SD!! I think something's happening to me!?' She shakily texted before chucking the phone into the lunch bag without a second thought. If she could at least get to him and somehow hide until the end of the day, that would be ideal, no matter how nerve wracking it became for her.

The university?? Of all places?? Maybe it's not a lot, Shop thought as she turned the corner, but it must be enough to make something happen to me. She didn't want to entertain the idea of what she could be turning into, but she deduced it couldn't be some small cosmetic change when she ran up to the door to SD's room, and could easily stand under the door handle without it touching her head.

Recognizing she couldn't just waltz into a room full of people in her current state, Shop ran over to SD's office, practically dragging his lunch bag behind her. The thought did come to her that she didn't seem to be changing much beyond her now obvious lack of height, and truthfully, her curiosity was piqued over what exactly she could be becoming. But of course the adrenaline and anxiety mixed into a potent cocktail for Shop, suppressing any curiosity as it pushed her into survival mode. She had barely dragged the lunch bag to SD's office door, no more than a foot tall when her heightening senses picked up shuffled steps coming up to the door. Trying to look for a quick escape, Shop scrambled over her elongating feet into a nearby open service closet, ducking behind the lip of the door as Cyprin opened the office door, knocking it into the now abandoned lunchbox.

"What the-, ugh," Cyprin picked up the bag in mild disgust, "Huh. Must've just missed her; good riddance, don't have to deal with little miss sunshine." Cyprin mocked Shop with an exaggerated grin before slinging the bag over their shoulder and walking down to SD's class. Shop was too panicked and in shock by the vastness of her new perspective to even be mad as she watched as Cyprin stomped off, taking her only way to communicate with her friend with them. She failed to notice as changes increased, making her smaller still, with whiskers and patches of short, velvety fur that began to sprout, as well as a long, slender, yet muscular tail that grew out from her spine and forced her to lean a bit forward. Shop was solely focused on trying to figure out how to get into the classroom, her mind so clouded from the adrenaline rush that everything began to seem hazy, like a dream. 'I'm fine. I'm fine! I just need to get to SD. He'll be able to help, just need to get to him.' She repeated in her mind, trying to will herself out into the bright, empty hallway.

~~~~~~

"What do you mean, it was just, 'there'?" SD asked quietly after pulling Cyprin off to the side when they stepped into the room, dropping the lunch bag on SD's desk.

"I don't know what else it could mean," Cyprin snarked back, gesturing to the bag. "She wasn't there; must've gotten distracted by a butterfly or something, I dunno-"

SD pursed his lips and wrinkled his nose as Cyprin bad mouthed Shop, he knew something was up, but he still had classes and wouldn't be able to do much for now. He glanced to his side, causing a few students to quickly duck their heads back down to their tests; SD sighed and massaged the bridge of his nose, displacing his glasses momentarily.

"Alright, alright, fine," He began with an exhale, "Go ahead and leave it in my office for now, please." SD waved Cyprin off, who rolled their eyes with a scoff as they left with the lunch bag, returning to the office and kicking their feet up.

Meanwhile, Shop was still trying to build up the courage to make a run for the classroom when Cyprin walked back past the door, drawing her curious gaze. She watched them disappear back into SD's office before her sensitive ears caught wind of a small, echoey sound, coming from inside the service closet with her.

"H-hello?..." she cautiously called out into the dimly lit space, trying to see what could have made the sound, or if it was her imagination. Her attention was spread so thin with everything happening that she barely registered how the hallway had begun to fill up with students again.

One such lumbering giant of a body came walking very close to the door Shop was currently cowering behind, her itty bitty hands nearly getting crunched off when the door came swinging shut, surprising Shop as she was plunged into darkness, staggering backwards in shock. She tripped over a newfound tail and right into the metal leg of a cabinet, slamming the back of her head onto the hard surface and promptly knocking her out as she fell to the ground with a minute thud… She was indeed right to believe that someone, or something else was in the room with her, but they were still a ways away from where she now laid.

In his class, SD was the one staring at the clock, ready to dismiss his current class to message Shop. Something told him it was serious, but he hated cutting his lectures short, especially since he would have a break after this. Soon enough, the time came and everyone promptly left the room, seeing how SD had more or less ushered everyone out before closing the door behind him and marching to his office, practically slicing through the sea of people.

"Wow, you look REALLY worried." Cyprin commented when SD closed the door behind him. "So what's really going on?"

"Excuse me?"

"Come on, you look like you have something on your mind, what's going on? I'm guessing it has to do with your little friend~" Cyprin cooed with a cheeky grin.

"I would appreciate it if you kept any ill-willed comments about my friends to yourself next time, Mx. Bacardi." SD stated firmly as he readjusted his jacket. He knew they hated it when he addressed them so formally, as evident by the way they sneered and crossed their arms with a glare.

"But yes," SD admitted, "it does seem out of character for Shop to just, up and leave, but I'm sure she had her reasons. I don't much appreciate you trying to stick your nose into other people's business though." He walked around to his desk, seeing all the graded papers. "Did you get all the tests done?"

"Tsk, yeah, of course I did." Cyprin hissed.

"Hm. Good, good. I only have one more lecture after this, so if you'd like to head home for the day, you can." SD offered.

Cyprin's eyes lit up at the prospect, not questioning it as they gathered their stuff without another word and bolted, happy to be out of there. SD rolled his eyes with a knowing smirk as he sat down, organizing his papers to make room before he felt his phone go off, opening it to see Shop's last message, his eyes going wide in realization. Clutching his phone, he quickly typed, 'Where are you right now?' staring at the phone screen as if that would strengthen the connection and send the message faster. What he wasn't expecting was to hear a buzzing come from his lunch bag. His heart dropped to his stomach as he reached over and opened it up, his breath seizing up as Shop's phone lit up with his message to her.

'She left her phone??' That was DEFINITELY out of sorts for her. SD planted his elbows on his desk as he dug his hands into his hair in growing worry, trying to think of what he should do. If she had sent that message at the beginning of his last class, 'she must have turned into something by now-' SD hypothesized, taking off his glasses to rub the growing pang of anxiety from his face. 'If she always turns into something fitting for the environment…' SD thought, starting to think aloud, "What the hell would be fitting for a university campus?!"

~~~~~~

Back in the darkened service closet, a small creature finally mustered up the willpower to approach the vent it was hiding in to peek out and see if anyone was out there. They had heard a faint 'hello', and that, along with the door slamming shut, was reason enough for it to wait a while, lest they risk revealing themself over trying to gather some toilet paper and paper clips, but it was always a fairly safe go-to for trading in the marketplaces that littered the underbelly of the campus. Having waited enough to believe that the coast was clear, the creature pushed the vent cover, making it go up with a small squeak, to which it held its breath. Not hearing anything that would be cause for alarm, they let out a sigh of relief, and stepped out into the small gap between the wall and the towering cabinets. The figure adjusted the pack on their back, using its tail to gently lower the vent cover back down before walking around the corner closest to the doorway.

They would normally prefer the high route over the ground level, but it led to the easiest and quickest way to climb back up to the supplies that were needed. This time, however, they stopped dead in their tracks with a gasp when they saw a small figure laying sprawled out on the ground, and quite out in the open at that. They stepped forward, wanting to check on the fallen being, but quickly retreated when they heard thundering footfalls pass just outside the door. They took a moment to recollect themself when the phenomenon faded before venturing back out to the body, scared for what might have happened to them. 

The creature crept up to its side, examining the best it could from a respectful distance for any outward injuries. They quickly realized this was a rather young borrower, possibly similar in age to themself; maybe they were attacked by bandits? That would explain why they were alone the way they were and without any packs or satchels. Feeling more comfortable, the borrower continued to creep forward, their tail tense and curled, ready to be out of the way in the event that it needed to bail.

Hoping they were wrong, they exhaled when they saw the body breath faintly, with their wispy whispers occasionally twitching. And seeing as they currently weren't being ambushed, they assumed that this borrower was in need of help, and set down their pack, moving some stuff around to make it easier to carry the unconscious stranger.

~~~~~~

Having made up his mind, SD hastily sent out a message to his last class to tell them that their lesson was canceled for the day 'due to unforeseen circumstances' before he stormed out of his office and down to the Administration office. He knew that there were security cameras around, and while he would rather not have to deal with the repercussions of Shop turning on camera for the world to see, he'd rather risk that and know what happened to her than the alternative.

Scanning his ID, SD readjusted himself before walking into the Security office, where two uniformed guards sat on their phones, relaxed as can be.

"Oh hey, Prof. Braddock, how goes it? How can we help ya?" One guard sat up to greet the man, who exhaled to get his story straight before responding.

"I'm alright I suppose. Is there any way I might be able to access the campus' security cameras?" SD cut straight to the point while remaining as vague as possible.

The two guards shared a look before turning back to SD with delightfully confused looks. "Why would ya need to do that, if you don't mind me asking?" One asked, with a bit of cheeky smirk on their face.

SD sighed, trying to come up with an excuse on the spot, rolling his eyes with a groan. "Because I think someone may have stolen my lunch bag…"

"Tsk, ooooo, tough luck there sir," one guard started.

"Yeah, unfortunately I doubt we'd be able to do much for ya there." The other continued.

"Wait, why's that?" SD asked, his brows furrowed in confusion.

"Well, ya'see, tons of the cameras have been down for ages, and the rest that DO work, aren't really even that good a-quality." One guard explained while the other nodded in agreement.

"Sorry to hear about your lunch though sir!"

"Wha- ugh, it's fine," SD said halfheartedly, "I'll manage, thanks for the help anyway."

"Don't mention it!"

SD walked back to his office, grumbling to himself about budgets and security. He sat down in his chair, taking his glasses off before shoving his face into his hands.

"Where did you go Shop?..." He only let himself worry for a moment though, psyching himself up with the possibility that Shop could have already found her way back home, although he suspected her car would still be in the parking lot. Grabbing his keys and bag, SD decided to head home and take a cab back to the school to pick up Shop's car, not wanting anything to happen to it overnight.

~~~~~~

When Shop finally began to come to, everything felt hazy. The adrenaline had left her system, leaving her exhausted despite sleeping the past few hours away. As she began to stir, she could feel a blanket laying over her and a warmth coming from ahead, so she propped herself up with a groan, stretching to pop her achy back.

"Oh, hey, you're finally awake." An unfamiliar voice said to her as she opened her eyes.

"Hmm, g'morning-" Shop froze, her eyes growing wide at the sight before her. A small, makeshift lantern sat before her, and beyond that, a lanky man with a scruffy looking mohawk. They seemed to be sitting on something, but Shop couldn't take in all the visual information before they spoke again, a hand pressed against their cheek.

"Ah it's uh, actually the middle of the night, you've been out for quite a while." He said, quite sheepishly.

Shop scrunched her face up in confusion, bringing a few light bundles of whiskers down into her view. "What the?..." she questioned as she tried to look up at the wispy hairs, as a slender, velvety furred limb snaked around Shop's leg, spooking her. "WHAT THE FUCK?!" She shrieked, tossing the blanket to the side to try to figure what was grabbing her as it coiled up and away from her body. "WHAT IS THAT?! Is that a tail oh my god I have a tail OH MY GOD IT'S MOVING ON ITS OWN???"

The stranger looked on at the strange reaction; to him, Shop looked like any other borrower, and by all intents and purposes, she was. He felt bad for whatever must have happened to the poor thing, standing up to step over to Shop, who shuffled back a bit, her tail swinging around her to create a barrier between them.

"Hey, hey, it's ok, I'm not going to hurt you." He reassured, taking a seat next to the shaken borrower. "You must've hit your head pretty bad to forget you have a tail huh?"

Shop stared, confusion etched in her face as she took deep breaths, gripping at her hair, trying to calm herself down. She knew exactly what had happened, but, she didn't exactly know what she was, and quickly figured she would have to play along with what this creature thought of her so far.

"My name's Ian," they started, pointing to himself before opening his hand towards Shop. "And you are?..."

"S-shop…" she shakily replied, taking the extended hand up in a small shake.

"Shop? Well ain't that a nice name," Ian began with a soft handshake before letting go. "I ah, don't mean to bother you with so many questions just after you've just woken up, but, what exactly happened? You were knocked out cold when I found you…"

"I uh…" Shop had to think of something to say, and all things considered, she didn't think coming out and saying that she was actually a human, or that she tripped over herself, would have been very good for her. "I was uh, trying to deliver some food to a friend-" 

Shop rubbed her hands together anxiously, trying not to freak out over the fact that she now only had four digits on each hand, her eyes drifting to her feet to stare at the way the three clawed toes wiggled. Ian seemed intrigued by Shop's response, trying to help her fill in the blanks. "Did you happen to get attacked by anyone on your way?"

"Huh? W-why? Does that happen a lot?"

"Eh, I mean, it depends, but if you were carrying alot of food on you, that would definitely make you quite the target for bandits." Ian responded, stepping back over to his side of the lantern. "So… uh, where are you from? I don't recognize you from any of the markets around here…"

Shop pursed her lips, running her fingers through her hair as her tail twitched. "Oh, um, well…" She fidgeted more, trying to skirt around the question. "I'm uh, I was just uh, visiting."

"Huh." Ian exclaimed plainly. "Us borrowers don't really just go about visiting others outside our communities… but I guess there's always the odd exceptions…” 

'Borrower??? I'm a borrower??' Shop thought to herself as Ian talked, not really listening as she played with her whiskers and rubbed the soft short fur covering her nose and forehead. 'Guess all those books and movies got the looks pretty wrong then…'

"Shop?" Ian leaned over to get her attention.

"Huh? Oh- sorry, lost in thought…" she responded sheepishly.

"It's ok," he said with a small smile. "I was just saying we ought to get moving, I'd feel better if you came with me, if you want we can grab some supplies and get you some things if you needed to travel again."

"O-oh! I suppose that would be good…" Shop started to remove the blanket more to fold it up before she paused. "Wait, what do you mean, 'if' I needed to travel again?..."

Ian looked up from disconnecting his light from the coin battery that powered it. "Well, we aren't really nomadic folks... I suppose I've heard tales of wild borrowers, but," he gestured to Shop, "guessing from your clothes, you're no wild type." 

Shop looked down at her clothes, not even realizing that she was wearing the same clothes she was earlier, just, smaller, and without shoes, though she had no way of telling just how much smaller she was now. As Ian turned away to repack his bag, Shop set down the blanket and realized she still had not stood up. Nervous that she might not find her balance at first, Shop pushed herself up in a push up formation, tucking her feet in towards her chest as her tail stuck out like a counterbalance. She stood up a bit too fast, stumbling backwards, but she didn't fall over.

Instead, her tail had instinctively stiffened and propped her up, her surprised look earning a small laugh from Ian. "Looks like you're doing good over there- Mind handing over the blanket? It's the last thing I need to pack up."

Shop blushed a small bit in the darkness, coming to realize that her vision was still fairly clear without the light from the bulb. She tried to walk to the blanket with her whole foot, almost tripping over herself and readjusting to stand low on her toes, walking over to Ian with the blanket in her arms.

"Ah, thanks!" He chimed as he took the item from Shop. She rubbed her arm and looked off to the side. "I just realized I haven't thanked you for helping me out back there… so, thanks for that."

Ian blinked, closing his pack and placing it on his back before standing, reaching a whole head taller than Shop. "Ah don't mention it, us borrowers gotta look out for each other!" He said with a grin before leading the way. Shop hesitated, flexing her hands and tail, but quickly followed Ian, jogging after him to catch up.

"Hey, I have a question…" Shop began after walking in silence for a minute, stepping up to walk next to Ian.

"Hm?" He looked down, his expression bright and curious. "Sure, what's up?"

"Well, uh," Shop rubbed her hands together, trying to figure out how to pose her question in a way that would seem most natural and wouldn't sound odd coming from her. "Don't us borrowers usually ya'know? Borrow together in groups? I mean, that feels safer, doesn't it?"

Ian's expression turned into a frown, but not one directed at Shop. "Well, yeah, most borrowers do," he started, his tail coiling a bit as he grew tense. "Some decide to go it alone, for their own reasons…"

"What's your reason?"

"W-what?" Ian perked up, confused.

"What's your reason?" Shop repeated innocently. "Obviously I'm uh, away from home, but I assume you found me on your own, so, why are you a lone wolf, so to speak?"

Ian took his time mulling over the answer, biting his lip. The two came to an apparent dead end, but the wall was textured enough with cracks and crevices to be climbed.

He nodded towards the wall, leading Shop upward. "I uh, used to work with some others, but admittedly I worked a bit too slow and cautiously for their liking, so I just, drifted off to another part of the campus and well, here I am! I borrow things to trade in markets and get what I need that way, it's honestly not too bad a life if I do say so myself!" Ian chuckled before looking back down to see Shop falling behind as she struggled to find footholds. He climbed down a bit, extending his tail to her for support. Shop silently took up the offer, pulling herself up to a more grippable ledge, following Ian's path to more effectively climb up to the landing above.

"I dunno what I'd do without my friends in all honesty," Shop mentioned through gritted teeth as she pulled herself up onto the landing after Ian, dusting herself off between pants. "I mean, I do enjoy some alone time here and there, but overall? Company just feels so much better." Ian nodded solemnly in agreement, poking his head around the corner as he went into full borrowing mode, lowering his voice to a hush.

"From here on out we need to be careful ok? We only have about an hour or so before the morning beans begin to make their rounds." 

Shop caught on quickly to Ian's tone, sucking in a breath as her heart seemed to instinctively begin to beat faster. Was this adrenaline? Was it panic? Shop couldn't quite tell as Ian led the two down a narrow ledge, making quick work of the path and occasionally turning his head back to make sure Shop was ok. She stumbled a bit at first, but as the two continued to climb down, she began to trust herself more, even if it seemed untrue as her tail wavered and wagged, seemingly sporadic in nature.

As Ian and Shop shimmied down a pole, Shop took a moment to take in her surroundings and realized that the room they were in looked familiar, although to be fair, it seemed to be a run of the mill supply closet. 

Shop was just about to open her mouth to ask something as she stepped onto the cold cabinet surface when Ian whispered, "I hope you don't mind me taking us back in here," He continued as he walked to save time, "I can't imagine you'd really like to be back in the place you got knocked out, but there are some really good supplies up here, and not everyone is keen on risking getting caught when it's so close to morning, which means it's a bit safer from any possible crossings."

Ah, so it was the same closet, Shop noted, catching up to Ian with a new spring in her step. That meant she was back in the same hall as SD's office! The hard part, Shop figured, would be trying to get away from Ian without arousing suspicion or breaking his heart.

'And he seems like such a nice guy…' Shop sighed, aimlessly walking into Ian's pack with a muffled squeak.

"Oh hey, woah-" Ian softly exclaimed, turning back around to face Shop as she awkwardly stumbled backwards. "Heh, you space out a lot, don'tcha?"

"I- uh, sometimes, I'm sorry," Shop stammered out, embarrassed. "I just, have a lot on my mind, trying to get home and stuff…"

"Ah…" Ian nodded his head upward to lean back and turn, walking past some towering bottles of hand sanitizer. "You seem pretty adamant about getting back, it's admirable."

Shop gawked at the size of the bottles as she walked by them, wondering just how small they were, before hopping to keep up with Ian again as he used some loose string to swing down the level under them.

"Well, it's not really too far for me to go…" She commented, following his lead and staring curiously as her tail helped her maintain balance as she slid down.

"Hm, that's fair I suppose-" Ian whispered as he pushed past rolls of unused toilet paper, squeezing through to one in particular in the back that had already been opened rather delicately. "But any travel for us can be pretty difficult, even if we did it solely under the cover of night."

He gestured to Shop to come over and help him pull up a square, silently counting down before tugging with all their might, successfully pulling out a perfect square. Shop let out a little triumphant huff, earning a warm affirming smile from Ian as he set down his pack, making room for the item.

Shop made herself useful by folding the toilet paper, Ian's statement mulling in her mind as she decided to try to carefully prod.

"Obviously traveling isn't, impossible, y'know?"

Ian looked up, perplexed. "No, no of course not, it's just that not alot of borrowers do it with intentions of, well, returning to their original place."

"Would I be the first?" Shop inquired, curious.

"Well, the first I've met at least." Ian responded honestly, taking the neatly folded paper from Shop and squeezing it in his pack, standing up to offer something to the borrower.

"Here, I ah, well I want you to have this, it was taking up space anyway, and I figure we can start trying to get you some new gear now!" Ian offered, secretly hoping that he could dissuade Shop from leaving. There was a growing sense of comradery; finally having someone who wasn't trying to run off on him and leave him behind, or worse, and he didn't want her to leave so soon.

Shop tried to play off her hesitation of the gift as best she could, knowing she couldn't stay forever. "Ian, I- are you sure? This looks like you've had it for a long time, a-and I couldn't take that from you!"

He practically pushed the small satchel into Shop's arms, beaming in the dark. "That's because it's sturdy! Besides, it's gonna take you a while to gather enough stuff to barter to be able to even start trying to go home, and I-"

"NO!" Frustrated and a little flustered, Shop shoved the satchel back into Ian's arms, tears welling up in her eyes as she balled up her fists, trying to remember not to raise her voice in the dark. "You're not getting it! I can't- I don't belong here! I have to get back, I have my life out there! My friends, my love! How am I supposed to get back to them, hell, how am I supposed to explain where I am if I'm stuck here like this!!"

She gestured to herself aggressively, freezing up with a small gasp when she realized how pointed she was getting.

Ian had all but seized up, his body language was tense, hurt, and closed off. He stared at Shop, trying to process her words. Eventually, he pulled himself out of his shock with a twitch of his nose, turning silently to finish packing, abandoning the gifted satchel as he retraced his steps to leave, coldly pushing past a regretful Shop.

"I-Ian?" She stammered, nervous when he didn't even look her way. "Ian, please, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" She scooped up the satchel and slung it onto her back, the worn material soft against her as she squeezed her way out to follow Ian, who had taken up a brisk pace to put distance between them. "Ian! Come on, I just, I'm sorry, I'm just, frazzled and, and-!"

She scurried up the rope with surprising speed, practically running to Ian to grab him by the tail to stop him before they got back into the walls. "Ian, please, I can explain…"

"Then let's hear it." He replied, a hint of anger to his voice, trying to disguise the way it oozed of sadness.

"I, uh, I just, um…"

Ian only stood still for a moment, tapping his foot before he grew impatient, not wanting to be hurt any more. Shop hesitated to follow the borrower, unsure if she'd get another chance to escape and get to SD, but feeling guilty for snapping at Ian.

Just as he turned the corner to climb back up to his entry point, the door lock clicked before it creaked open, a hand reaching in the feel for the light switch, flicking it with a quiet click and flooding the room in bright florescent light. Shop gasped, her sensitive eyes screaming at the sudden intake of light as she clapped her hands over her eyes and backed away from the edge and into whatever plastic surface was behind her. Ian scrambled up the pole, making a mad dash for the small hole in the wall that they had entered through, his heart pounding in his chest as a bean of impossible stature shambled in.

~~~~~~

SD had gotten very little sleep that night after realizing there was no sign of Shop anywhere at home.

He was worried sick about her and where she was or what she could be trapped as, but eventually he had to get up and start his day. As he poured himself a tall, dark mug of coffee, he plotted out his day.

'I only have three classes today, all early, I'll just have to roam around afterwards and try to find her.' He glanced over at Shop's abandoned phone, messages buzzing from overnight and the morning from different message groups, but he only bothered with one really, her girlfriend, Terri. 

Shop always boasted about the two of them, and was fairly open when it came to talking to SD about the two of them and their escapades, but he always kept his distance out of respect for both of them. Now though, the thought of her partner getting worried that Shop hadn't returned any messages in a day pained him, knowing how much the two would go back and forth until they met in person for dates. He sat down with breakfast and his coffee, holding the phone in his hand to try and remember how Shop unlocked her phone. After a few tries he got in, and immediately opened to Terri's messages.

'Hello, this is SD, Shop hasn't been able to' He hesitated, pausing to think before continuing. '-use her phone for a little bit.'

Almost immediately, Terri responded, 'SD? What's wrong with Shop?! Do I need to come over?!'

'No, no, it's nothing serious,' SD fibbed, biting his lip. He certainly wasn't the lying type. 'She got overzealous and thought she could stomach pork, again, and ate quite a bit for lunch yesterday. I'm afraid she has a pretty bad stomach ache, and now is complaining about a bad headache, so I took her phone away because she kept insisting to talk to you, even if it made her head feel worse.'

He hoped this would appease Terri, waiting in silence for a response. Not long after, Terri replied, 'That definitely sounds like something she would do, heh… thanks for looking out for her, can you let her know to text me back when she feels better, please?'

SD relaxed and exhaled, smiling warmly at Terri's thoughtfulness. 'I will, don't worry. You have a good day Terri.' He texted, adding a smiling emoji. He set the phone down and put his head in his hands with a groan, silently praying to whomever listening that he could find Shop sooner, rather than later.

Finally arriving at the university, SD parked in his usual spot, sitting in his car for a moment to gather his thoughts and run through his plan again. He just had to get through his lectures and then he could go searching, that's all he could do anyway.

"Phew… ok, here we go." He told himself, stepping out and scanning his ID to let himself in, making his rounds before ending up in his office to wait for Cyprin to show up so he could busy them with tasks. He needed room to think and sometimes even he found his TA's attitude to be too much for him to balance with everything else going on.

Soon enough Cyprin trudged in with their usual doom and gloom look about them, muttering a " 'morning." to the professor. SD sat up straight at his desk, putting on his best poker face.

"Good morning Cyprin, I hope you had a good evening; before I have you work on today's papers, I just have a few tasks I need you to do while I have classes."

Cyprin grumbled under their breath as SD sent them on their way, grabbing a coffee for themself from the nearby cafeteria before they set off to start on their list of menial tasks SD had set them to complete. First off was for them to get some hand sanitizer from the nearby supply closet so they could refill the nearby dispensers. They had grabbed the keys from SD's office after setting down their cup of coffee, sighing that they couldn't sit and enjoy the beverage in the moment. Still, they went over, unlocked the door, and lazily snaked their hand into the room, turning on the light in the small room.

Cyprin perked up momentarily when they thought they heard something shuffling about, but chalked it up to the pile of old brooms and dustpans sitting in a corner as they rolled their eyes and looked for the hand sanitizer, spotting it on a shelf second from the top.

For someone as, vertically challenged as Cyprin, this posed a bit of a problem. "Whoever built this cabinet must've built it for giants." They said through a scowl, looking around for anything that could boost them up even a little bit.

On the shelf they were trying to reach, Shop stood frozen in place, her legs locked in the fear of being found out. She wanted to scream and call for help, but she immediately recognized the voice below her and wanted nothing to do with them.

'Maybe if I just stay up here and don't move, they'll leave.' Shop figured, holding her breath. Ian was still at the entrance of the hole, catching his breath from the scare before looking around. Sure what Shop said had hurt, but she meant no ill will towards him, and not seeing her anywhere, he knew she must still be out in the open.

"Ah!" Cyprin exclaimed, holding up a bucket. "Well, it's not a stepladder, but whatever." They shrugged, setting it down upside down so they could step onto it, their hands peeking over the edge to reach out for the hand sanitizer, which was good enough for the TA, who would have to rummage around blindly.

Shop now found herself paralyzed in fear of the giant hands that seemed to materialize from under her. She managed to snap herself out of the freeze up, running up to one side and scurrying back as mighty wrists twisted and turned like some kind of stiff kraken. Shop soon realized she was boxed in, a hand sanitizer bottle to her back, and arms on either side of her. Soon, the hands grasped the bottle behind her, and dragged it, and her, forward. Shop attempted to stop this from happening, but to no avail. Her whole chest pounded harder and harder the closer to the edge she got, until the floor seemingly gave out beneath her, and she fell with a cry.

"WHAT THE-?!" Cyprin yelped as a tiny figure fell towards them, letting go of the hand sanitizer at the edge of the shelf as the creature screamed, muffled as it fell into their jacket and tumbled onto the ground in a tizzy, losing its teeny tiny satchel in the process. It stood up with a shake of its head, panting hard before it looked back up at the human, eyes wide and full of fear.

What Cyprin did not notice was another, similar creature rushing to cautiously poke its head out from the very top of the shelf, shocked and scared for the other's life.

Shop only stared up at Cyprin for a moment in absolute terror of the behemoth before she realized the door was wide open, and scrambled to her feet to make a run for it, but she was not fast enough as she was plunged into darkness, Cyprin slamming the bucket they were standing on over her, their eyes wide in confusion and wonder.

"Wh-what? What the fuck? What are you??" Cyprin breathed with oozing curiosity. They couldn't let this thing escape, oh no no, but they also wanted to get a good look at it. Putting a foot on the bucket so the creature had no chance to squeeze through, Cyprin looked around the closet for anything clear that they could trap their find in.

Shop was trying, and failing, very hard not to panic and break down in the total darkness, fearing for her life at the sudden realization of just how small she really was compared to everything else. Soon, a crack of light came through the bottom rim of the bucket, and not thinking twice, Shop made a mad dash out, and right into an old vase, ramming into the bottom of the glass with a dull thunk before she felt the world turn, tumbling her over onto her back as she was raised up to Cyprin's face, a wild, almost crazed looking grin on their face that struck fear into the little borrower as she scooted herself as far away as she could, pinning herself against the far side of the glass.

Cyprin had found some old abandoned flower vases, and figured one would be great for holding and observing their catch. They stood on the bucket again to grab a vase, quickly dusting it off with a corner of their jacket before placing it down flat as possible and opening the bucket just a smidge. They beamed when they found their plan worked like a charm, marveling at the tiny creature cowering in their presence as they lifted the vase up to their face.

"Oh ho ho, what in the fairy tale fuck are you?..." Cyprin whispered to the creature curled up in the glass.

Shop was shaking from how still she was trying to keep herself, her tail coiling around her to try to act as a barrier, unable to peel her eyes off of Cyprin in the very likely case that they might try to grab her. 

Cyprin scoffed and shook the vase lightly, "Come on! Talk! You look like you can anyway! Why else would you be wearing tiny clothes like that?" They quickly grew impatient with the seemingly mute creature, looking around before setting the vase onto a more accessible shelf, tucking their find behind some random debris so no one could take it. 

"You can sit here until I can come back, but you're coming home with me for sure." Cyprin grinned with a small snicker before leaving, turning off the lights and closing the door in the process.

As soon as she heard the door close, Shop immediately began to attempt to escape, jumping up towards the neck of the vase to try and get any sort of grip to climb up, every attempt being more and more desperate and tiring before Shop's spirit began to sink. Eventually she gave up, curling up to tuck her head to her knees, holding back tears to the point of shaking. Soon she heard some rustling, and sucked in her breath, thinking it was Cyprin. But, it ended up being Ian, who had watched the whole ordeal from the safety of the top shelf. 

"I-Ian?!" Shop hiccuped, her voice hushed and muffled a bit by the glass prison. "Ian, you need to get out of here before they get back!" 

"Not without you." Ian bluntly stated as he tried to look around for anything he could climb to get closer to the lip of the vase. 

"Ian, please, it's not worth it…" Shop pleaded as she tried her best to watch as Ian climbed around.

"Of course it is!" He shouted in a hushed voice as he turned a corner. "Why in the world would you say that?"

Shop couldn't bear to hold it in anymore, she needed to come out for his own safety. "Because I'm not a borrower!!" She exclaimed, trying to stay as quiet as possible.

Ian poked his head out and glared at Shop, confused. "What're you going on about?..."

Shop stood up on shaky, fearful feet, propping herself against the glass. "I'm not… really a borrower Ian… I was cursed by a faerie king to turn into… well, whatever, when I get close to wells of magic…" She started, pressing her head against the glass in shame. "I'm really, a human… once I get off the campus grounds I'll start turning back, but until then…"

"You're stuck like this." Ian finished as he walked up to Shop. She shot up, surprised that he was in front of her, not to mention how he had finished her statement, though she quickly ducked her head back down, not wanting to look at him.

"I, I'm sorry I didn't tell you…" She started, her hands balling into fists. "I was scared that you wouldn't help me if I told you the truth when you found me, or that you'd think I was insane, or…" Shop looked up and Ian was gone; saddened, but understanding, she sunk down to her knees with a sigh, accepting her fate. Soon she heard some tapping come from the glass around her, and she looked around, confused before looking up to Ian, who had climbed atop some clutter to the opening of the vase with a coil of rope, tossing one end down to Shop.

"Well come on!" He encouraged when Shop just sat there, staring up at him in confusion. "You can't get back to normal if you're stuck in here, can you?"

Tears bubbled up in Shop's eyes at the borrower's kindness, taking up the rope and beginning to scale the vase when the door lock turned, slicing through the silence. Shop and Ian both perked up, the door swinging open with a creak. 

"Ian, get out of here!" Shop hissed, dropping back down.

"B-but, what about-?"

"Nevermind me! I'll find another way, I promise, now get going!"

Ian hesitantly nodded as Shop sat back down in her prison, quickly coiling his rope and hopping down to hide again as the lights turned on. Cyprin, having drank the rest of their coffee, practically skipped into the room, pushing aside the clutter to reveal their prize still sitting in its place, though it seemed to wear a fearful scowl in place of the terror it had before.

"Looks like someone's a bit pouty~" Cyprin mocked Shop with a laugh as they picked up the vase.

"I'm not letting you out of my sight, so you can watch me work before we go home and have some real fun!" They snickered in their excitement over their discovery, hopping in place for a moment, which jostled Shop around. It wasn't the greatest feeling in the world, but she could at least breathe easy knowing the real borrower was safe.

Cyprin peeked out into the hallway, which was mostly devoid of people. But just to be safe, they balled up their oversized jacket and used it to conceal the vase, effectively closing off Shop from any clear visual or auditory information that she might've been able to use to escape.

Even if the office wasn't terribly far from the closet, Cyprin still wanted to be safe, not wanting anyone to take their discovery from them. After looking around, Cyprin did their best to act casual, marching along till they got to the office door, nearly getting smacked in the face as SD opened the door.

"Oh! Cyprin, I'm sorry, I didn't realize there was anyone outside my door."

"That's ok Prof.!" Cyprin chimed with uncharacteristic jolliness.

SD stood stunned in the doorway, if only for a moment, since Cyprin pushed past him to get inside.

"I'll take care of those papers you wanted me to!" They exclaimed, "You just focus on teaching your lessons!"

Cyprin closed the door on the man, leaving SD in the hall, confused.

He was definitely going to have to figure that out later, since he had to rush over to his room to get the next class all set up, leaving no time to ponder over Cyprin's odd behavior.

In the walls of the hall, Ian made quick work of trying to follow Cyprin, listening intently to their echoing footsteps. As he maneuvered around, he thought about how everything was clicking in place for him. Shop's strange reactions and questions, her unwillingness to answer him beyond vague responses. Even if she wasn't truly what she said she was, she still looked like him and was nice, and that was reason enough for him to try to help her, even if there wasn't much he could do that wouldn't put him at risk of being seen. Ian snaked his way around pipes and wires, overhearing Cyprin talking to someone. He waited until he heard the door close before beginning to scale up and down along the inner walls to see if anyone else had made entry points into the room. 

As soon as Cyprin got inside, they ran over to the desk and plopped Shop and the vase down, rattling her into a small daze with little time to react when a hand descended down onto her, gripping her. She squeaked in surprise as the ground left her, her tail instinctively reaching for anything to anchor her, in this case, any one of Cyprin's fingers as they held Shop up to their face, staring her down as they turned her this way and that.

"You're so small, I could probably break you easily-"

"N-no!!" Shop shrieked, quickly pursing her lips, regretting the outburst.

Cyprin's unobstructed eye widened in wonder, creeping Shop out more than anything. "You can talk!!" They shouted, making Shop wince from the volume; people were so much louder when you were about the size of their finger.

"Oh ho, you're just getting more and more interesting by the minute, aren't you~" Cyprin cooed, sending uneasy chills down Shop's spine. They toyed with her for a few minutes, rolling her between their hands without a care. Soon, Shop got fed up with the nauseating action, and did the one thing she could think of to try to escape.

Putting her hands down against a finger to brace herself, Shop leaned back and bit down into the flesh in front of her, doing her best to dig her teeth in to inflict as much pain as she could. A warm iron taste filled her mouth before she suddenly found herself being shaken off, her coiled tail thankfully stopping her from being launched immediately, giving Shop precious moments to try and aim her descent, using Cyprin's momentum to swing herself on the desk, taking a rather hard tumble, but one she'd rather deal with than the drop to the floor.

Cyprin yelped as they instinctively shook the creature off their hand, their finger growing a tiny streak of blood as it flowed out of their bite wound. "Agh! Goddamn- you bit me??? You bitch-" Cyprin insulted as they held their hand, watching as the creature began to try to stand up, dizzy from being flung. Cyprin took advantage of this dazed state to take the vase and flip it upside down on top of Shop, who jumped in surprise before whipping around, angrily baring her now bloodied teeth in a snarl.

Before she could even attempt to lift the lip of the vase up, Cyprin slammed a textbook on top of the base to weigh it all down, crouching to be eye level with the pissed off creature. "I have to go wash my hands off to make sure I don't get any diseases from you, but when I come back, you're gonna regret biting me."

The way Cyprin's voice oozed with malicious intent before leaving the room was enough to scare Shop into shutting down. She couldn't help that her mind began to roll through loads of possible ways she could be tortured, but she wasn't about to quit. Gathering her thoughts, Shop ran up to the glass and tried her best to push, knowing Cyprin wouldn't be gone long. When it wouldn't budge, she resorted to attempting to ram into the glass to shove it forward, pushing with her side. This ended up with her hopping back in pain, rubbing her shoulder.

"Argh… definitely not doing that again…" She muttered to herself, trying to think of other ways she could try to get herself out that would be less painful. Suddenly, she remembered how she had used her tail to stop her from falling over, and wondered if she could use that as leverage to push with her legs, rather than her arms. Even if she was still a little creeped out by the limb and the way it seemed to move around on its own, it was still worth a try.

It took a few tries, but eventually Shop propped her tail against the ground, anchoring her enough to place her feet against the glass with her knees tucked inward. "Ok, alright, here we go-" She took a deep breath and began to push, tuning out the sound of glass scratching the wooden desk underhand as the vase began to move towards the edge of the desk.

Shop was so focused on the task at hand, with her eyes shut, that she didn't notice Cyprin coming back into the room. Their brows went up in shock that their catch was trying to escape, and they quickly ran over to hold the vase in place. Shop struggled, continuing to try to push until she finally looked up to see Cyprin's grinning face looking down at her. "Nice try mousey, but you're not going anywhere!" They removed the textbook and lifted the vase, snaking their hand towards Shop as she tried to run away, gasping when she felt her tail get grabbed and pulled before her body followed. Cyprin yanked her up and into the air, suspended by the fifth limb as they swung her this way and that.

"Man, you must be a tough little bastard to be able to hang by your tail like this!" Cyprin teased with an airy laugh.

"S-stop it!! Put me down!!" Shop squeaked, her head starting to swim from the constant rocking motion as she tried to pull herself up.

"Ooooooo! It talks again! How interesting," Cyprin hummed. "But no dice, I can't just let you go, unless…"

They used their free hand to rub their chin as they thought. "You tell me if there are more of you, hm? With a creature as small as you, I can't imagine you'd be the only one~"

Back inside the walls, Ian was listening for where the bean's voice was coming through the loudest, his heart sinking into his stomach. That was the biggest worry of being discovered, and he had no idea what Shop would say in response. He would soon find out though, as he shimmied against the ground floor and found a meticulously cut out piece of molding.

'Oh thank goodness-' He thought to himself as he slowly pulled the molding towards himself with the makeshift handle he found, with oversized but well oiled hinges helping to open it a crack, placing the borrower behind a bookcase; a perfect place to enter without being seen. He left his pack just outside the hole so he could scout ahead, poking his head out to see the bean dangling Shop by her tail, with her looking worse for wear.

"I am…" Shop finally responded. "I-I am the only one here." She used her sinking feeling of helplessness in the grasp of Cyprin to play up the fib. "I was trying to look for a new place to live, I'm… I'm the last of my kind…" She let herself hang dejectedly to sell the lie, which seemed convincing enough to Cyprin, who's smile seemed to grow impossibly wider. Ian on the other hand, let out a tiny sigh of relief, internally thanking Shop for keeping all the borrowers a secret, though he seemed confused when the bean seemed to giggle in excitement, equally confusing Shop.

"Oh ho ho!! This just keeps getting better and better!!" They exclaimed.

"W-what?!" Shop cried as she was pulled up more by her tail and placed back into the vase that Cyprin had turned right side up.

"I don't expect you to understand with such a tiny little brain, but you're going to make me rich! The last of your kind? You know how much people would pay to see you?!" They stomped their feet lightly in excitement over the idea as they picked up the vase, twirling in the office chair.

While Ian and Shop were both horrified by the proposition, Shop was more worried about what would happen to her when Cyprin eventually saw her change back. 'That's gonna make me even more of a get rich quick scheme to them!' She thought, doubly dreading the idea.

Little did she know, with despair setting in, that the cavalry was on its way as SD wrapped up his last class of the day. He decided to have a small break before beginning his search, trudging over to his office with an uncharacteristic somber attitude about him. He turned the doorknob and paused for a moment when he heard some shuffling from inside, but opened the door after remembering that Cyprin was inside. Immediately his gaze was drawn to the random, empty vase on his desk, his brows furrowing in confusion. 

"Cyprin? What's with the vase?"

"Hm? Oh! That ah, well, it was supposed to be a surprise buuuuuut, I was going to go get you flowers!"

"Flowers?" SD questioned.

"Yes yes!" Cyprin nodded, trying not to move their hands much in their pockets, which was getting increasingly hard with Shop squirming so much, trying to figure out which way was up and where she could bite them again. "You're always doing such amazing work for your students, and I figured, why not give you some flowers!"

"Cyprin." SD started coldly, setting his bag on the ground before placing his hands down on his desk, looming over them, even from the other side where he was standing. "Since when have you ever cared about what I do for my students, let alone what I even teach?"

Cyprin was caught off guard by SD's tone, mostly knowing the man to be quite content and dare they say, jolly. This change in attitude was something completely new to the TA, who stammered over their words until they took a deep breath and tried to get out of the situation. "I'll uh, I'll just see myself out then, heh-"

"And what happened to grading these tests, Mx. Bacardi?" SD asked. Cyprin could swear that the professor's voice seemed to growl, but it must've been their imagination. They laughed nervously as they side stepped around the desk, unnerved by SD's following glare. While he had begun to suspect that Cyprin was hiding something, he was truthfully just stressed between having to keep up with his lectures and trying to find his friend, and Cyprin wasn't helping on either accounts. 

He did find it curious that their hands were shoved in the pockets of their coat, since normally Cyprin had their arms crossed. His suspicions grew ten-fold when a tail flopped out of one of the pockets, writhing and wriggling before Cyprin swiftly tucked it back in, eliciting a small, squeaky yelp from the same pocket.

SD's eyes snapped from the pocket and back up to Cyprin, who was nervously grinning now. "Cyprin…" SD began, attempting to soften his voice. "Was there, by chance, another reason for the vase?..."

"Ah well, you got me Prof.-" Cyprin started, maybe if they showed him the creature, he would let them go with their discovery, he was always an honest man anyway. "I found something scuttling around in the supply closet, but you can't tell anyone! It's mine!" They exclaimed. Capturing SD's curiosity, the man walked over to sit down at his desk and gestured to Cyprin to go ahead and show him what the big fuss was about. They stood up straight, reaching over to the vase with their free hand before dropping Shop back in the now very familiar prison with a dull thunk. Tired from fighting Cyprin's hand, she just laid at the bottom in an exhausted heap. SD leaned in, his eyes growing wide behind his glasses. "Oh my god…" he breathed.

Cyprin hopped, excited, "I know right?! It said it was the last of its kind, so, uh, obviously I wanted to take it home and give it a long, happy life-"

Having watched the entire interaction unfold before him, Ian scoffed at the lie, standing his ground as the new, even bigger bean looked over Shop. This was all he needed, another over curious human to fight over the poor thing.

"Hm…" SD hummed as he listened to Cyprin. It was was so painfully a flat out lie, but he figured it was time to play a game of Keep Away. "Well, as you know, I do teach Mythology and not Biology. But, would it be alright if I kept them here for the night, to try and figure out what exactly they might be? That way you can know exactly what you need to look into, to, best take care of them?"

SD, holding his best poker face, held his breath as Cyprin mulled over the offer. They definitely were suspicious, but eventually they caved and nodded. "Yeah, alright, that would help, but you only get one night!" They reinforced.

"Oh of course, of course," SD waved his hand dismissively. "You've nothing to worry about, they'll be in safe hands with me."

Cyprin scoffed at SD's reassurance, but walked out the door, followed by SD, who had stood up to walk them out. "You go have a good rest of your day!" He called after them before they waved him off. SD let out a relieved exhale as he closed the door and returned to the vase and the creature inside.

His hand was too big to fit inside the neck of the vase, so he had to resort to pouring the seemingly comatose creature out and onto his hand. Immediately he could tell they were frightened stiff, their heart pounding with the only movement in that moment being the whiskers shuffling and tail twitching. "Hmm…" SD hummed quietly as he leaned back in his chair. "You poor thing, I'm sorry you had to deal with them… I wonder if you know my friend Shop, hmph, you look like you have the same wild hair…"

Ian's attention snapped to the bean with the mention of Shop. From what he had seen so far, this man didn't seem any more friendly than Cyprin. But at the very least he seemed more gentle. Of course, Ian was still cautious as he began to inch his way out, wanting to climb the bookcase he had been hiding behind to get a better look at Shop and this new situation.

SD lifted his other hand to try and roll the creature over, but as he did, Shop blindly lunged, only hearing the pounding of her heart in her ears, and once again, sunk her teeth into flesh, assuming that she would be dropped and could then make a run for it. But all that happened was the muscle under her jaw tensed as SD took in a sharp breath, tensing himself specifically so he wouldn't drop the poor, undeniably scared being.

Shop's eyes welled up with tears as she let go of the finger in her jaw, shivering as she began to sob, assuming the worst of her situation. She felt air rush by her before she was gently tumbled back onto the wooden top of the desk, SD simply wiping the small trickle of blood off on his pants before he scooted back and leaned forward to set himself eye level with the currently unfamiliar creature. "I'm sorry if I scared you, you seem like you've been through quite a lot…" He apologized softly. Coming out of her blind panic, Shop propped herself up, pushing her hair out of her face to stare in shock and awe of her friend, tears of despair turning into tears of joy. "O-oh my- my god…" she hiccuped. "I-it's… you!" She tried to smile, wiping away her tears with the back of her hands. Ian paused his climbing to look back down to Shop, his brows scrunching in confusion, quickly deducing that she must know this ginormous bean, seeing as he mentioned her by name.

"Yes, well, I'm always me, er, most of the time-" SD commented, unsure of what to make of the little creature's broken revelation.

"SD, it's, it's me!" Shop stood up with wobbly legs, growing more confident as she realized she was safe.

The man paused, daring to lean in a bit, looking over Shop through his glasses. She felt a bit strange being so close to eyes as big, if not bigger than her head, especially as they widened in realization. "Oh my god, Shop?!" He exclaimed, trying to keep his voice down. Now that he knew it was her, it seemed obvious that she was, well, her. SD sat back in his seat in disbelief, not believing that she had been here all along.

"What, are you?" He questioned out of curiosity.

"Well, uh, believe it or not," Shop started with a nasally chuckle, sniffling as she rubbed her nose with the back of her hand to get the last bit of tears out of her system. "I'm a borrower!"

"Really?" SD mused, rubbing his cheek with a hand. "I suppose all those books and movies got the looks pretty wrong…"

"That's what I was thinking! Although the core ideas are still true." Shop chuckled, pausing as her mind reminded her of what she had done; "WAIT OH MY GOSH I'M SO SORRY I BIT YOU I DUNNO WHAT I WAS THINKING AND I-"

"Hey, woah, woah, slow down," SD urged. "It's alright, you were freaking out, I can't imagine you had a very fun time with Cyprin… besides, look, I'm not really bleeding or anything." He calmly lowered his finger to Shop so she could see for herself.

Assured that she did nothing wrong, Shop let out a relieved sigh before she looked back up to SD, just now noticing Ian scaling the bookcase behind him. She tried not to draw attention to him, turning back to SD, missing what he had said. "What was that?" She asked, having not paid attention.

SD smiled warmly; this was definitely his friend. "I was just asking, how did you do overnight?" 

"Oh! Well… I did alright…" Shop put a hand on her cheek, debating whether or not she could tell him the truth. "I did have some help." 

"You did?" SD asked, noticing how Shop's eyes seemed to drift behind him. He turned around, but all he saw was his bookcase, same as usual. Ian had ducked behind a loose book, holding his breath.

"Yeah, um, actually, can you give me a lift?" Shop sheepishly asked, with SD graciously complying as he opened his hand to her. She hesitated to step onto the open palm, given her experience, but stepped on and sat down before SD lifted his hand to his face, the spectacle taking Shop's breath away; he silently nodded to Shop to let her tell him what she wanted to do. "O-oh! Sorry, can you uh, take me up to your bookcase?"

SD hummed and lifted Shop up without a word, watching in wonder as she hopped off, the slight difference in weight on his palm mesmerizing. She stuck her head behind some books, whispering words that were too quiet for SD to hear.

Eventually, Shop stepped back, and a lanky, very nervous looking borrower peeked out. "SD, this is Ian! He pulled me over to safety when I uh, well I tripped over and knocked myself out, heh."

"Oh my…" SD breathed, recognizing the anxious nature of the borrower and staying where he was. "Well, thank you, Ian, for helping my friend stay safe overnight. I'm glad to see that not everyone is out to get us." He added with a small chuckle.

Ian looked over at Shop, his concerned expression asking her what he meant. "Oh! Well, see, he's cursed too. And we haven't really had good luck in meeting fae folk that aren't aggressive towards us for, well, ya'know. Reasons." She explained, Ian's brows going up in concerned acceptance. Seeing that SD was staying put, Ian dared to step out a bit more into the open, against his better judgment, to ask something of SD. "You're not, you're not going to tell anyone about us, are you?"

"Oh goodness no!" SD exclaimed, scaring the borrower with the bombastic response. "Apologies, but no, your secret will be safe with us, I swear." He held up his hand and laid the other over his heart to solidify his sincerity, which seemed to calm Ian down as he took a deep, relieved exhale before turning to Shop. "I guess you have to get going…"

She rubbed the back of her neck, all the aching joints and bruises starting to take their toll on her as she laughed, thinking partly at the many ways she imagined SD might try to smuggle her out of the building. "Yeah… gotta start getting back to normal… but uh," she paused to mull over a thought. "That doesn't necessarily mean this has to be goodbye, y'know? We'd just have to, well, plan it out very carefully."

Ian perked up at the offer, but politely declined it. "That would be nice, but, after that Cyprin character? I think I'm going to make my way elsewhere, I'll spread the word to avoid this area, I mean! no offense to you Mr. SD!" Ian quickly added to SD, who chuckled warmly.

"None taken, it's for the best anyway."

Ian relaxed, even giving the man a small smile, before looking back to Shop. "Well, guess this is it then…" he held out his hand for a handshake, but Shop instead went in for a bear hug, squeezing Ian before he returned the gesture, even if his hug was a bit more dainty than hers. They shared the hug for what felt like a while, until Shop began to let go, giving Ian a lopsided smile. 

"Good luck out there." She said with a sense of finality, lightly punching his arm.

"Thanks, uh, you too." He returned, watching as a hand raised up to carry Shop down to her friend, who turned to Ian as well. 

"I wish you the best out there; may you thrive." The well wishes seemed to reenergize Ian, who nodded warmly before beginning his descent back down, giving the odd pair one final wave before he disappeared behind the walls.

"Well." SD started, "I think you and I have had enough adventure for the day."

"Ugh… you're telling me… all this?" She gestured to SD in general. "Is super overwhelming still. I can't even tell if it's me or the borrower instinct, ya'know?"

"You know, I really don't, but I'm sure you'll tell me on the drive home."

"Oh my god, driving!!" Shop exclaimed, shoving her hands into her hair. "My car!! Is it-" 

"I already took care of it, don't worry, same with Terri-"

"TERRI OH MY GOD THEY MUST BE WORRIED SICK!!" Shop interjected, her tail swinging from side to side anxiously.

"Hey, hey, breathe." SD directed, setting Shop back down on his desk. "I told them that you ate a bunch of pork and were too sick to text them, it's alright."

"Oh my god, you did not," Shop snorted, unable to help the smile that blossomed across her face. "Oh gosh… thanks man, for covering for me…" She sheepishly thanked as she idly scratched her arm.

"Of course Shop, but you know you can't-"

"Ah puh puh puh!!" She shushed him, "I don't want to hear it right now, ok? Let's just, go home and see how long I'm stuck like this."

SD sighed, but nodded in agreement, looking over his outfit to see what would be best for Shop. He opened his jacket, examining the inner breast pocket for space. "Well ah, I think this might be the best spot for you, so you're not being jostled as much?"

"Oh yes please, I've been shaken like a cocktail all afternoon and lemme tell ya, it is not a good time." 

SD showed some concern through his expression but decided not to press for questions, just grateful to have found Shop. He opened his palm to her, the sensation of her hopping on still leaving him tingling. It was one thing to grow larger, but to be so small? It must be insane. Carefully, he lifted Shop up to his chest, moving close to the inner pocket and holding steady as Shop gingerly tested the space, sliding in awkwardly with a gasp. "Shop? You ok?" SD asked quietly, getting his response in the form of some ticklish shuffling, followed by a thumbs up from the borrower. "Phew, alright then, let's go home…"

~~~~~~

The next day, Cyprin bounded down the hall and opened the door to SD's office, only to find that the vase was gone, and SD was peacefully sitting at his desk, grading papers. The happy grin on Cyprin's face quickly faded as they approached SD, slamming their hands on the desk.

"WHERE IS IT?!" they yelled. SD looked up from his papers, glaring up at Cyprin.

"Well. Good morning to you too Cyprin." 

"Don't you play coy with me, I said where is it?!" Cyprin hissed.

"What? The little creature you found? They escaped overnight." SD stated plainly.

"IT WHAT?!" Cyprin cried. "How could you let it escape?!"

"I didn't. I said they escaped overnight, while I wasn't here."

Cyprin knew there was no point in trying to fight SD over the situation, trudging out of the room and simply leaving for the day, much to SD's delight.

[shortshifter]

Jun (“June”) & Leesie (“Lease-E”)

​I wonder what these friends get up to?