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zaceouiswriting · 1 month ago

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Fairy Prince - Hearts of Leviathans - Ch.38

Character: Sky x male reader, Riven x male reader, Brandon x male reader

Universe: Somewhere in Winx Club/Saga

Warnings: None

Feeling a little mischievous, I smile and barely move my head above the water again. "Is everything okay?" I shout louder than necessary; the girl flinches a little, but not as much as I would have liked. Before I know it, I feel a pout creeping onto my lips.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you," she replies quietly. Even from a distance, I can hear the exhaustion in her voice; something is clearly wrong, and I finally see a chance to return all the favors she had given me.

I dive down and immediately start swimming again. In just a few seconds, I'm close to the lake's edge. Luckily, I hadn't been too far out. As soon as I'm close enough to stand up, I step out of the cold water, drops running down my flawless body, which I'm only too happy to show off.

And Bloom doesn't seem to mind either, which makes me grin silently. Maybe all her help was just an attempt at flirting. But I don't think so. However, it wouldn't be the first time that I don't understand when someone tries to flirt with me.

As I walk closer to Bloom, where my clothes happen to be, I see her flushed cheeks. She laughs loudly and quickly looks away, only for me to reach for my clothes and realize that I'm still wet. I sigh in annoyance; I don't want to walk around with damp clothes.

"One moment, please," I murmur as I let myself fall back. I see her eyes widen as she tries to reach her hand out to me, but the ground swallows me before she can grasp me. Without hesitation, once I'm down here inside the ground, I transform some stones into special dust capable of absorbing vast amounts of water. I move as if I were still in the water until I stand, and the dust finally touches my whole body. When I realize that even my underwear is bone dry, I use the surrounding magic to lift myself back up.

Like a burrowing animal, I quickly lurked out of the ground where I had been standing and looked the same girl straight in the eyes. "Hello," I greet her with a smile. "I heard you're looking for the manager."

At first, she looks confused, if still slightly scared, but as my words sink in, her expression changes, and before I know it, she's giggling. Her honeyed voice makes it even better. I use the moment to get up, stand in front of her again, grab my clothes, and quickly put them back on. She laughs the whole time and almost forces me to join in. It feels contagious, but somehow I can suppress the urge, even though it is painful.

After getting dressed, I wait for her to calm down, but it takes longer than expected, as she's doubled over with laughter. The sight doesn't make it any easier to ignore the urge in my stomach to laugh with her. Honestly, she looks pretty cute with her loud laughter. It made my little joke funnier than it should have been and relieved the tension she brought to this serene place.

All I can do is stand there, purse my lips, and shake my head. Before my smile can break into laughter, I turn away from her and look down at the lake's water reflecting the moon. For a second, I think I see a building deep inside, far away from where we are, but the next moment, when I try to focus on it, it has disappeared as if it had never been there. And yet, I know I saw it. I am sure.

But suddenly, my body tenses, alarmed in fear. I move my head slightly to the side and turn back to Bloom. Her magic, although locked behind a seal, is still leaking out. The seal wasn't perfect and is crumbling, which would explain why she can't use it, but why can I feel it? Whoever sealed her magic, or rather whatever hides inside, either had no idea what they were doing or didn't have enough time to complete it.

But the seal seems strangely familiar, almost like a coat of arms I'd seen before. I'm sure it wasn't in the Book of Nobles of my homeworld, and none of those books depicted flames or dragons. Could it be about a war? Most historians add the coats of arms of the people who fought when they recount the battle. But I read about hundreds of battles in my childhood.

"Where did you come from?" I suddenly hear myself asking. My question was followed by silence; her infectious laughter died instantly. Listening to this silent moment, which weighs me down like the heft of the world on my shoulders, forces me to look at her fully. Her eyes, which were once sparkling with life and happiness, have become dull and empty; her hands are shaking, and tears are threatening to fall like rain.

Shocked by her sudden outburst of emotion, I try to calm her down, but I don't even need to, as she remains strong, clears her throat, and wipes away the tears threatening to fall. A somber tone hangs over us as she turns away from me and looks at the lake.

"I followed a whisper here," she says suddenly, reaching for her right arm with her left hand to pull it closer to her middle. "I couldn't sleep; it was so insistent. Then I saw flames, a woman shimmering in gold, and a red dragon" - she paused, the memories clearly frightening her. "The dragon came towards me, opened its mouth, and swallowed me. Engulfed in flames, I suddenly woke up, bathed in cold sweat. I didn't even realize I'd fallen asleep, but the whisper I heard in my dreams followed me and brought me here."

As I listened to her story, I quickly realized that she wanted to avoid the subject of her origins. Perhaps it is too painful for her to talk about. Although I don't want to, I let it go for now and hope we can return to it when she feels more comfortable.

"Sometimes I wonder if this is right for me or if I should even be here." Her voice broke, making her painful thoughts all the more clear.

But at least I can take away this one worry. I had to smile at the absurdity of her fears, as she is supposed to be one of the strongest fairies, remembering that I couldn't but laugh. I see the shock on her face through half-open eyes, but I can't hold back anymore. Her worries were just too cute. I couldn't stop laughing for a while, but when I saw her pout and turn away, presumably to walk away, I held my breath. Before she can get too far, I quickly go after her, grab her by the shoulders, and pull her back.

I try to apologize, but my laughter returns as I open my mouth. It feels uncontrollable. How could she never feel the immense magical power that lies within her? I wipe the tears of laughter from my eyes, but I still giggle a little, but somehow I get it under control again.

I apologize again, but she doesn't seem to accept it. Instead, I offer her something she certainly can't refuse. "How about I show you your magic?" My face is close to her side, and as I whisper these words, a visible shiver runs down her spine. She quickly pricks up her ears; she turns her head slightly, no longer sulking but uncertain. Hope in her eyes, or perhaps a desire for meaning?

Just as she agrees, my hands tighten on her shoulders. I warn her that it might be uncomfortable, maybe even painful, and try to press on the vertices of her magical skeleton to start the flow through her shoulders, but no matter how much pressure I apply or how much magic I pour into it, nothing happens.

This quickly sends me into an unprecedented rage. After all, this should be a relatively simple task. But suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, I can feel something as I rub my thumbs in the opposite direction of the blocked connection in her right shoulder. I focus only on this point, trying to feel even the tiniest bit of her magical lines, but I am suddenly torn from my concentration when I hear a certain sound.

Shocked, my hands fly away from her as my vision returns to normal. The red-haired girl is slumped slightly, her cheeks red, either from embarrassment at the noise she just made or perhaps something else? However, she doesn't dare look at me, so I assume she's embarrassed.

I smile at her kindly and assure her that this is normal. After a brief pause, I ask her if she can feel the flow through her shoulder and down to her upper arm. Although she doesn't answer with words, she makes a half-agreeing sound. Now, a step away from her, I have to admit that I need skin contact to help her, but it feels quite intrusive, almost like I would confess to the world that the rumors of me being a pervert were true all along. On the other hand, there was no other way, at least not in the current state of her magical skeleton. I don't know who did it, but her magic was sealed, probably at birth. She must have lived somewhere where she had no connection to any form of magic, as her nodes and magical lines are underdeveloped and so thin that if I put too much magic into them, they would explode, risking her life.

As I ponder what to do, I feel a pair of eyes boring into me. Looking up, I stare straight into the blue-green eyes of the red-haired beauty I'm trying to help. She looks flustered but still barely manages to maintain eye contact.

"Is something wrong?" Although she seems strong and determined, her voice is shaky, almost as if she is close to tears. It somehow hurts me.

Still smiling, I tell her the truth about the danger her body is in and what could happen if she suddenly uses magic in this state after breaking the seal on her magical core. Although I try to explain it to her as simply as possible, the questioning sparkle in her eyes gives me the irritating feeling that she cannot follow my words. Sighing heavily, I massage the bridge of my nose, hoping to relieve some of my exasperation.

"First, I must open all your nodes in your shoulders, elbows, palms, near your heart, and around the center of your stomach. Since your magical core has no form, this is where your magic will gather." I try to explain it to her, but it's painfully obvious that she still doesn't understand much. "I won't go any deeper, though. Someone else will have to open your nodes in your legs, and somewhere, a man should never touch a woman he's not in love with."

She listens to me quietly. However, after finishing my explanation, I see her face turning the same color as her hair. She seems at least as uncomfortable with the situation as I am. Although she is clearly embarrassed, she still asks me to do it if I can. Fiddling with my fingers, I tell her I would be reluctant to do that because it would require her to remove her clothes. At this comment, her eyes widen, and for a moment, I think I see the same thoughts the other fairies have about me. But after staring eerily into my eyes for a few seconds, she takes off her top without saying another word. Shocked, I turn away just in time, and, in a voice I never want to think about again, I scream at her, asking her what the fuck she thinks she's doing.

“I trust you,” she suddenly says, freezing me in place.

Did...did she just tell me she trusts me? Me? Before I know it, something warm runs down my cheeks. But I quickly realize I'm crying and quietly wipe away the hidden tears. This was not the time or place for such feelings. So, I conjure a stone table to hopefully distract my thoughts and attention from my tears (although Bloom probably didn't even notice them). Since this will undoubtedly take a while, I decide to let her lay down, which at the same time also protects her modesty a little.

When I turn around again or dare a look, I see with great relief that she is already lying on her stomach. Her shirt and jacket are on the sides, hiding her fairly ample chest.

"You may think of this as a massage, but please do not move a single muscle. This is a delicate matter! Even if one thing goes wrong, the balance in your body could be disrupted, and you would no longer be able to use certain types of magic or any magic at all."

Once she tells me she understands everything, I get to work. I start with her right arm (since I already fixed her shoulder there). I wait until she turns her head forward, and once she stops looking at me, I can use something I always have to hide.

I close my eyes and feel a brief, sharp pain in them before I open them again. Glancing into the lake behind me, I see the gifts of our Leviathan. Two lizard-like eyes, one pupil black and the other red, but both irises and the normally white areas are turquoise, the color of pure, unadulterated mana. Looking her body up and down, my throat tightens. Never in my life have I seen such a bad case of mana loss. How this girl is still alive should be investigated.

Utilizing only a tiny amount of magic, I trace her arm from the shoulder. Her body reacts immediately to the flowing mana; her magical lines light up. My left eye shows me every line, almost like the vein and nerve network in one body, only that many of her magical veins are torn by a long time without magic. It's truly tragic. It will probably take years for her to recover, even if she can use the Leviathan heart that resides within her. The thought of taking it from her hands flashes through my mind for a second. It would make my task much easier, but how could I break her trust? I may have more blood on my hands than a conqueror, but I'm still not a monster.

I pull myself together and painstakingly heal the line in her upper arm down to the next knot in her elbow. As I massage the area, I notice that the node is about to explode and shatter everything in her arm.

I don't have much time. As I press my left hand to the table, all I can think of are stone shackles above and below her elbow. She squeals in alarm, but I quickly calm her down and order her to stay still. "I'm sorry, but this will hurt a lot!"

Without letting her resist, I summon a few extremely thin stone needles, smooth as refined metal. I carefully hover them above her elbow at twelve key points. Once they are all in place, I forcefully thrust them into her at the same time. The magic used fills her knot. But what followed will haunt me forever; her screams made old, forgotten scars pulse once more. All I want is to pull them back out, but if I did that, her arm would be useless forever. If the knot breaks, it can be repaired with a lot of time and help, but if it bursts, there is no chance she will ever be able to use the limb again.

For a minute, all I could do is stand there, waiting and hoping the mana wouldn't turn orange or red. But as the minute passes and nothing happens, I sigh with relief and return to her arm. I move along her forearm and tend to the damage there, doing it faster than before to overburden her body. When I finally reach her hand, the node there is somehow intact and fully undamaged, although the veins at her fingertips are missing, almost as if she had been in regular contact with magic.

Even after I finish with her right arm, I still don't remove the needles. I quickly move to her left side, where I see her face again. Her eyes are red and swollen, while her face itself is pale. Despite everything, there is no time for further apology. I repair her left shoulder with simple movements and a swirl of magic as quickly as possible.

Under pressure, as I run down her left upper arm, my heart nearly jumps into my throat as I accidentally damage an intact part of her mana vein. Thankfully, Bloom doesn't react, which gives me enough time to make up for my mistake.

“How many times have you done this?”

Her question throws me off a little, but talking a little wouldn't hurt. "Never. I only read about it, as it's a rare phenomenon that hasn't appeared in the magical dimension for hundreds of generations." Of course, that's not the truth. I despise most literature unless it's battle logs or war stories, but I couldn't tell her I dreamt about it either. Her diversionary tactic gives me enough time to repair her lines to her elbow, which is at its limit, just like the other side.

Warning her again, I insert another dozen needles into her body, effectively preventing any ill effects from her damaged elbow node.

“Then how can you be sure it works?” she asks in a suppressed voice, probably from pain.

Not even fully registering her question, I answer mindlessly. "Nagilisk, my main Leviathan, gave me a gift at birth, the magical seeing eye. Thanks to it, no mage can ever defeat me because when I use it, I can see the flow of mana."

“What about your other eye?”

"To be honest, I'm not entirely sure either. It's a newly acquired skill as a reward for faithfully serving my Leviathan," I answer quickly, only to stop treating her forearm a second later as I realize what just happened. I feel slightly dizzy, and my heart stops. Lowering my gaze, I see Bloom's curious eyes. "Promise me this will stay between us," I plead quietly.

She stares at me, her expression more questioning than before. But even if she asked, I would not answer any more questions, as this could cause great trouble for me and my people, especially if Stella or Sky find out about it. They are followers of the Star Leviathans, who began hunting the followers of my world's main Leviathan long ago. The first star is the Phoenix, the Leviathan of the sun and stars, while the second is the Golden Lion, the Leviathan of the moon.

"What are you so afraid of?"

For a moment, I'm stunned, not sure what she could be talking about. It's not until I look down at my hand and see it shaking that I understand her comment. But should I tell her? She obviously doesn't seem to know anything. Even though it's odd, I don't think she's a spy put into place by Stella. For a good minute, I consider lying to her face, only to remember the words of trust uttered earlier. With a heavy sigh, I close my eyes, finish her arm, and move to her back to finally reconnect the upper parts of her magical skeleton to her heart and magical core.

As I work in silence, I try to forget her question, but I can't. "That they're hunting us again," I mutter in pain. Bloom doesn't seem to have heard, which relieves me of further stress. As I work for another minute, she suddenly looks at me over her shoulder, her eyebrow raised suspiciously. "Before you ask, no, we've never done anything wrong. It's a long and painful story, but in short, we fairies believe in leviathans, something like gods who are so old that they lived before the world our ancestors were born into even went through its second cycle, leftovers from the Age of the Old Ones when beasts ruled the universe. Twelve beasts gave our first empress and emperor the power to form this pocket dimension we find ourselves in, within another pocket dimension that is much smaller than this one, when our empress feared for the survival of our race."

Interested, Bloom never broke eye contact, obviously engrossed in our story. However, I do not know everything, only what the elders told me when they raised me to be the next king—things that a ruler should know, especially in my position. Using the moment of silence, I reconnect her magical lines to her heart. When I take a breather afterward, as it is a strenuous process, I look back at Bloom, who is still lost in thought. Feeling the calmness in the air, I go back to work to reconnect the lines from her heart to the main core and the lines from her shoulders directly to the main core. As I make the final corrections to all four at once, I wait, hoping Bloom won't suddenly scream in immeasurable pain.

After finishing everything, I sit down next to her and wait patiently. "The faith of us fairies is called the Eternal Circle, which alludes to our eternal life and hopes that our faith and race will live forever. But this is all a lie. The twelve Leviathans that were praised and followed had nothing to do with the creation of this place"- I pause, sliding my hand through the air and letting the meaning of my words sink in -"The twelve Leviathans represent the core values of their part of the faith as gods. For example, the home planet of the Phoenix is Solaria, Stella's homeworld; it represents beauty and is the goddess of love. In contrast, Eraklyon is the homeworld of the golden lion, which represents bravery and is the god of war. They waged a war against us long ago because we praised a thirteenth Leviathan, the representative of knowledge and the god of time and space. He created this space to protect us. But the other twelve cast him into the darkness when he was finished. He accepted it with dignity and confined himself to my homeworld, but when the others found out he was building his part of our shared faith, they were dissatisfied and started a war. No one won, but our world was devastated. To stop the bloodshed, our Levithan sealed himself, with the keys being the hearts of the other Leviathans."

When I finished speaking, I felt an awkward silence fall over us. It's almost as if my words had hurt her personally. Bloom doesn't seem to want to talk about it further, and since nothing negative happened to her magical skeleton, I take that as a good sign. So I return to her back and place both hands on her lower end. All the while, I'm preparing to explain to the others how I accidentally killed her.

"If you feel a burning pain, tell me immediately, and please don't scream, as if any major muscle movement could endanger you, understood?" When I see her nod, I immediately get to work. After all, it's getting late now, and even I have to sleep sometimes.

I press my hands deeper into her. As I massage her, I let my mana flow through my body, cleansing it of my inner magic as best I can until it is pure enough not to harm Bloom's mana veins, as our magic lies at different points on the scale.

Finally filling her core with magic, I can feel the seal tremble. Although that shouldn't be possible right now, I channel my mana further upward so as not to endanger her. Her seal must be broken in a controlled environment because if it breaks on its own, it would greatly injure her and everyone around her as the magic has built up underneath. So, I use only a tiny portion of her upper magical core and let my mana flow further into her lines. Without hesitation, I see how endless veins form throughout her body, supplying every cell with magic, almost like the roots of a tree. Never before have I seen something so beautiful with my own eyes.

Slowly, her main lines fill with almost pure mana. It takes a bit of time to reach the shoulder before it inevitably fills up, so it flows into her arms, where my heart starts to beat harder again. Holding my breath, I wait for it to reach her elbows. When I hear a sharp breath intake, I immediately stop and search for Bloom's face.

“Keep going!” she presses through clenched teeth, visibly overwhelmed.

Though reluctant, I do as she asks, not taking my eyes off her elbow knots. As it fills, I can clearly see it turning reddish. Fearing for her life, I'm about to stop again, but the mana clears again, turning cleanly turquoise as if her body is cleansing itself. Since her magical core is sealed, that should be impossible.

"I found a snake!" The voice echoes in my head. I quickly take my hands off Bloom's back just as her palms fill with mana, and her entire upper body begins to glow. But the sight is quickly replaced by the fear that races through my body as I see the red dragon emerge from Bloom's body. Contrary to what I thought, there is a rather obvious smugness in his playful eyes. Instead of speaking to me again, he grins at me and disappears back into Bloom.

As soon as the dragon disappears, I fall to the ground, my breath caught in my throat and my heart beating faster than it should, so fast that it feels like it isn't beating at all.

I can only sit there, trying to get my bearings again. Did I really just see a dragon? One of the strongest among the divine twelve? And was he just teasing me? But why?

"Is everything okay?" Bloom's soft, exhausted voice calls to me. I want to stay on the ground, afraid the dragon will come out again and maybe attack, but I know I can't.

With both hands placed on the floor, I force myself up. I'm feeling just as exhausted as Bloom sounded. Standing, I touch the stone table. Suddenly, the shackles disappeared, and the needles vanished with just a small movement of my hand. I replaced them with Mother Earth. I can almost hear Bloom wailing. "It's for healing," I tell her quietly. "It will get hard when you're in bed and will break when you're healed. Before you worry, the dirt will come back here when it breaks and won't dirty your bedsheet." My words instantly silence Bloom.

I help her sit up and immediately turn back around, waiting for her to get dressed, but her desperate noises force me to check. To my horror, she can't use her arms yet, which is understandable considering this is the first time mana has flowed through her. It must feel like she's been hit by a boulder. So, I swallow any future consequences. I walk around, not even looking down at her but keeping my eyes on her face and helping her get dressed like my servants had done when I was younger. She quietly thanks me, only for me to help her stand up. Before I know it, her legs give out. Quite annoyed at this point, I put her back on the table, turn around one last time, and order her to hold on to me. I put my hands under her legs and lift her onto my back. Thankfully, she's light as a feather.

Just a few steps away from the table, I let it disappear into the ground again. As soon as she is safely on my back, I make our way back to the school building under the silver shine of the full moon.

[Masterlist]

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himbogiants · 1 year ago

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Part of your world: part 2

Part 1

I should really be studying omfg- but I just needed to write! Maybe exam anxiety is the cure for writers block? Nevertheless, enjoy!

Word count: 5665

The miniscule girl approached the camera as her friend left and sat down in front of it. Testing the waters she tapped it, screaming away incase anything happened. Definitely the bold type, for all this borrower knew this thing could've been a trap- and it sort of was, just not intended to capture her.

She reflected their own astonishment, only hers was for an object rather than a tiny being that very much defied the laws of physics and nature. Her friend rejoined her, asking what it could be. He seemed far more cautious. He must've thought it was a trap. This 'Riven' spoke of traps earlier when they had sat down on the ledge (a detail fracturing Theos mind alone, that a fall from that height could kill them). They must have known of the rat traps then. He'd have Henry remove the death devices as soon as this was over.

Which didn't take long. After that he insisted on leaving, which 'Daphne' wasn't all too happy about.

Only he promised to return.

Tonight.

The whole way back to the wall she didn't take her eyes off the camera, before slipping in behind a loose tile and disappearing from their world.

Theo paused the footage, knowing from his rewatches that those little beings didn't make a reappearance.

He turned to the group, whose expression echoed his own as he first laid eyes on the duo.

"This is crazy" Thomas whispered- almost as if he feared talking too loud would do something bad.

"Indeed..I, I apologise Theo. It may not have been ghosts but this. I'm not quite sure what to make of this." Henry spoke with an expressionless face, but Theo knew on the inside he was screaming internally, something he was far too collected to ever display in front of his friends.

Sadies face suddenly contorted into one of concern "Theo- does anybody else know about this?"

This lulled Theo from his happiness as he regarded her.

"Um no why?"

Sadie seemed to sigh in relief

"Good. Keep it that way. It's clear these guys don't wanna be found. It could be downright catastrophic if the wrong people got their hands on this footage-"

Theo interupted sheepishly

"We- I mean well of course I agree but..but we are gonna meet them right? I mean this..this is a once in a lifetime opportunity, we have to sieze it now! This is like something from a campaign!"

Everyone's features flattened either with anger or dismay. Thomas, Sadie and Henry looked angry, Maisey and Theo looked dismayed.

"Dude! What?"

"Your suggesting we capture them?"

"No Theo! We'd give 'em a heart attack we need to leave them be. We're like a hundred times bigger than them"

Theo turned bashful instantly and began to defend himself

"No no! I don't wanna capture them! I'd never do that! O-or scare the little guys..I just want to talk to them! Can you guys seriously tell me with absolute certainty you don't want to do the same?!"

Everyone went quiet at that, almost in some sort of shame. It was fairly obvious that they all shared the passion, but didn't feel like voicing it.

Maisey sighed, flexing her fingers as she tried to grasp an idea of how to structure her words

"I understand Theo, but if that footage was any recognition, they don't exactly like humans- well one of them doesn't anyways. The girl might be..dexterous, but her friend isn't. If they wanted to be found then they would've made themselves known."

Everyone seemingly agreed to this brushing their own selfish desires aside- all except Theo who was exasperated.

"I wouldn't hurt them Maisey!- or intend to scare them!" He looked down, away from his group feeling to embarrassed to meet their gazes.

Until Henry chipped in.

"Well..perhaps communication isn't a terrible idea."

Everyone's eyes snapped to Henry, almost in surprise that the most logical of the bunch was saying such things. This was uncanny territory for them, Henry wasn't particularly one to agree with Theo on brash ideals.

"These two are interesting to say the least, I too would like the chance to converse with them. But if we are to do such a thing it must be in a way that is absolutely safe for them. And more importantly doesn't give them a heart attack- especially since we don't know their anatomy."

Thomas nodded carefully, as he processed the information

"We also need to set up some ground rules. Us five are the only ones who know of this, yes? It stays that way. Nobody else can know, for their safety."

Theo found his smile again, as he watched his friends slowly but surely form a plan.

Henry grasped his beverage once more, scanning each of his friends, but his eyes for the most part lingered on Theo.

"For now however I propose we simply watch through the cameras. More information could be beneficial to our venture."

Sadie piped in with a glance to Thomas, as if echoing his rules

"This doesn't leave this group. Or even this house. I wouldn't even trust discussing this on campus."

Evergone seemed to nod in unison and Theo sat down by the sofa with child like wonder pooling in his gaze. This was actually gonna happen. He pinched his arm sharp, ensuring this wasn't some dream or hallucination. But sure enough this was reality, and he couldn't be happier.

He turned to Henry, whose stoic expression was beginning to seem uncanny for the situation.

"Okay then! But before any of that, we gotta remove those rat traps. I..I don't even want to think about what one of those could do to a..a borrower."

Henry's eyes widened ever so slightly. In his sense of disbelief he'd almost disregarded those all together, he rose to his feet heading for the kitchen, only to pause before hand "of course. For now, everyone continue as normal. They only come at night after all. Now, anyone want tea or coffee? I assume we're divising our plan now, and we should take time with this."

Daphne never did like mornings in the colony. Namely for her 'responsibilities'. Oh how she loathed them. Her father, so high and mighty, refused her constant requests to borrow, but 'scouting' was perfectly fine. Deep down she knew he was just concerned. She'd lost her mother at a very young age- not to anything human related that is. No, it had been illness. Who would've guessed that living off findings and the land would mean terrible health care? Not the colony anyways, that was sure. Humans had that all figured out. She'd even heard they had magical properties called 'pills' that healed you when sick! How on Earth humans conquered the magnitude of magic She'd never know- but she would do just about anything to find out.

She supposed that was why besides holding him dear as a treasured friend, she was beyond thankful for Riven. Without him, Daphne was almost absolute that she'd make reckless decision after reckless decision, or perhaps..be dead.

Riven was the only one who ever listened. While he may not share her obsession, he respected it and her in his own way and that was all she could ask for. Though his respect only went so far, he would not condone any sort of contact with the humans. He was her voice of reason most of the time always having some sort of evidence as to why she shouldn't reveal herself, though it did kill her when he refused at leaving notes.

This mornings patrol was uneventful as usual. Her father always had her positioned in the safest spots after all. Not only that but due to his apparent dislike for her dearest friend, when he had the time, he ensured she was not stationed with Riven- so naturally the patrol dragged by excruciatingly slow. But all things come to an end at some point and after a sluggish morning it was time for the change over and she was off duty. Immediately she hurried to the rotted tree near the border of their hidden haven where leaning back against the bark Riven was waiting for her.

His lips quirked into a knowing smile and he tilted his head

"Long day?"

She let out a combination between a groan sigh and a dry laugh, coming to his side as the pair began walking

"You have no idea. I was stuck with Fergus."

Rivens laughter bounced off the trees around them and in a teasing manner he raised a brow

"Oh really? And what's so wrong with poor Fergus?"

She turned to face him with a deadpanned expression and upon seeing his poor attempts at hiding a smirk she thumped him lightly in the arm, tugging his lips upward

"You're the worst." She chuckled

He furrowed his brow in mock offense

"Truly? Worse than Fergus?"

Her soft smile played at her features as she pondered at the ground

"No, I suppose not."

The pair came to a stop just before the secluded pathway and she clapped her hands

"OK. So here's the plan. I'm gonna hurry in and grab my stuff, you go get yours. You know the drill by now, don't be seen."

Riven scoffed with a mumble to follow

"Funny how you're more concerned about our own people seeing you than humans Daph."

Daphne rolled her eyes

"Well, yes, of course! If our own people knew what we get up to they'd probably kill us"

"Correction, you're father would kill us. Or in reality, worst case-"

"I know what you're gonna say so don't. Fathers..cold. But he'd never resort to that. Even if he isn't very fond of you. I'm his daughter, and you're my friend. I'd never let it happen"

"Never let what happen?"

The pair swiftly spun around to see Barney behind them. Both their faces dropped, into disgust and annoyance. Fathers dearest protégé Barney.

Barney was a nasty piece of work. Brutish. Rude. Exactly why he was a guard. Daphne despised him. Her father adored him. He was everything he had wanted in a child, and despite never saying it out loud- his face gave it away.

Daphne could try and excuse Barney's attitude, but how he treated Riven infuriated her. He was always so horrid to her dear friend- which is something her father respected no doubt.

"Barney." Daphne retorted in an ice manner

"Hello dear. I see you've encountered some rather poor company. I can fix that" He grinned crudely. Riven stepped forward almost in front of Daphne. He was well aware of how much Barney repulsed her.

"Take a hike, you rat"

Daphes face contorted further

"What he said. Nobody wants to look at your ugly mug any longer than we have to"

Barney scowled at this, advancing threateningly on Riven, ignoring her words all together

"Excuse me?"

Riven rose to the challenge, he wasn't about to let this rotten boy near his friend.

"Going deaf Barney? Can't be awfully good for a guard."

"Listen here pond scum, she's got better people for company than the outcast."

"That's for her to decide. And if she truly rather confide her time with 'pond scum' it speaks volumes of how much she'd rather avoid you."

Barney's eyes darkened but before the two could break out into a fight Daphne stepped forward between the boys.

"Leave. Now."

Barney's eyes fell to her and a sickening grim smile plagued her eyes. He trailed his fingers through her hair making her eyes sharpen and Riven down right snarl, before her friend could land a punch, Barney spoke up.

"I suppose I have better things to do than fight off this pest. Plus I'm supposed to be meeting the chief now- something Riven here will never do " His attentioned flicked to Riven, then back to her "another time, darling" He winked.

Daphne fumed watching him walk over scrubbing her face with her sleeve.

"That vulgar piece of- UGH"

Riven put a hand on her shoulder

"You okay?"

She released a frustrated breath. "Words cannot describe how much I hate him, and hes going to meet my father. I know exactly what that means"

"You're not the only one." But he went quiet at the second part. He knew what it meant as well. But he also knew how much she hated thinking about it.

Still he hated even more to see his friend in dismay. He knew exactly what would cheer her up. He loosely took her hand testing the waters

"Come on Daph. Let's go get our gear."

She seemed to instantly brighten at this and her enthusiasm seeped back in, she tightened the hold.

"Sure thing."

The duo set off as the evening sun began to set, and soon stars would paint the sky.

The plan wasn't as simple to lay out as the group had hoped it would be, but Henry expected as much. Each scenario ended with the borrowers (a concept his mind still hadn't completely grasped) conversing with them..but it was getting to that point that was the hard part.

In truth it would be quite easy. They could easily catch them. They could set up traps. The could study their routine and catch them off guard. But that would break any possibility of trust and not to mention, defy any sense of morality and treating them humanely. These two, 'Daphne' and 'Riven' had intelligence. They couldn't deal with them like animals. The concept alone felt wrong. Though it wasn't as if they could just wait in the kitchen and strike up a conversation (that had been Theos idea)

Maisey suggested leaving notes- not a terrible idea but while Daphne would be intrigued, Riven was sure to dissuade her interest and it would most likely result in the pair never coming back- lest Daphne came back alone, but given what he had gathered on their relationship he doubted the girl would do so. They seemed rather close.

Thomas suggested they try find ways to make them come more often like leaving out food or supplies. Though Sadie had said once again they werent animals, and wouldn't be so easily tricked- not only that but given how cautious the boy had been been about the Coke lid it was uncertain they'd take that bait, as well as that, they seemed to have a good amount of knowledge on the concept of traps- not that food was meant to be a trap, rather an offering- but again, it would most likely cause concern and lead to them once again not returning.

It was shaping to be an impossible dilemma. On one hand they wanted to act soon, on another they knew they had to be patient. And so the group sat. They had wasted most of the day, nobody was free today after all, everyone had assignments to catch up on. Yet here they were nonetheless, plotting away.

"Well, what if we do take my idea and wait in the kitchen until they come out? The once they were in, we could seal off the exit long enough to ensure them it was safe-"

"That's trapping them Theo."

"No no it's not trapping!, I mean.. ok so it kinda is- but in a nice way. Once they realise it's okay they'll calm down and..and this is a terrible idea. One can't trap someone in a nice way, can they?" Theo pouted slightly.

Thomas seemed to smirk at this, he hadn't really smirked a lot today, this was proving a harrowing experience for everyone.

"No, no I don't think so Theo."

Theo slumped back

"I guess..I guess we leave it then?"

This surprised all his friends, who hadn't expected him to say such a thing given his excitement earlier.

"Really?" Sadie asked, no doubt voicing everyone's thoughts

"I mean..what else can we do? Every idea just ends in scaring them or making them leave for good- which are two options I'm not liking."

"So..we kinda just came full circle then didn't we? This was our initial reaction after the footage.." Thomas sighed.

Silence fell over them all. Until Maisey piped up.

"Maybe..I..okay.. the girl seemed really interested in the camera. We can't treat them like animals. We can't leave stuff like food out without seeming obvious. We can't leave stuff they'll see as any sort of offering either. So what if we just feed their interests? Daphne, was that her name? She, she seemed to like the camera right? So what if we left a phone? Innocent enough. It's your home after all, leaving a phone in the kitchen isn't that crazy of an idea. We might even win over Riven? I think that was his name? well we might win him over too. If we cant give them food to eat, give them food for thought? And maybe from there we can decide where to go next. We might learn more about them from it. Plus if they could see one our of camera rolls on our phones they'll see our group pictures, and might deem us friendly?"

Henry fiddled with his fingers, considering the idea, as did Sadie. Theo seemed to be on board with any idea that seemed rational. Thomas perked up with scanning the coffee table.

"Henry, if we do this, it's got to be your phone. If they do look though pictures, they might see the footage of them on Theos. That's a definite red flag. We will one hundred percent never see them again."

Henry stood.

"Well then. I'm going to disarm the traps. I believe we have a plan"

The clock ticking was once again the most apparent noise filling the empty kitchen, pairing once again with the moonlight and tonight the addition of the occasional drip of droplets falling from the tap.

And finally, two pairs of small feet, followed by two smaller voices.

Slipping through the tile Daphne continued their conversation, hurrying out like she had the night before

"-wait to see it! I hope it's still here!"

Riven who rushed after her panted as he exited the wall

"I'm sure it is Daph! Just- phew- let me catch my breath, yeah?"

Daphne stood star struck. It was still here!

But something else had caught her eye.

"Riven! Riven!! Get over here!!"

Riven had immediately noticed the lack of traps, he was sure Daphne did too, but she was more focused on her newest find, th box. The lack of traps made him itch. It was a good thing there was absolutely no arguing with that- but why the sudden removal? Those traps hadn't been touched in ages..the traps were gone, the strange box had appeared something was off. But before he could think any further he heard Daphne yelling his name.

Thinking his friend was in danger, scrambled to get over as quick as possible, only to see she was perfectly fine. Leave it to Daphne to unintentionally give him a heart attack. But then his eyes met the object that captivated her, and he felt he very well could collapse there and then.

Another human object- like that strange box from their last venture- which was sure enough still there, it's little red light blinking- something about it still unnerved him, he just couldn't put his finger on it, though he was almost sure it had something to do with the missing traps..

But this one was different. It was flat, its surface covered in the same sort of sleek glass from the circle on the box.

His concerned paired rather poorly with Daphne's astonishment. But before he could even speak she'd already pressed her hands against it, and snatched them away instantly. He sucked in a deep breath at this- but calmed when nothing happened. This could be a trap of some sorts..he needed to ease her away from it.

"Huh...l guess they don't do much..odd. We should leave it alone.."

Daphne wasn't one to give up however

"No no, it has to do something! Humans are far too creative to build something so..unexplainable and have no reason for it!" Unafraid this time, she softly brushed her hands over it only only notice another feature, her excitement making Riven jump.

"wait! Look here, there's bumps on the side!"

She scooted over to them. One was a long line, the other a short one. She pressed it experimentally but nothing happened.

She cocked her head and looked to Riven

"Maybe I need to push harder? Here go on the opposite side and hold it steady"

Riven swallowed, reluctant to do so, but found his legs giving in to the command. Still, nothing happened.

After a second failed attempt, her giddy smile was morphing into one of confusion.

"Okay... oh right! Maybe it needs to be pulled? But..no they wouldn't make sense. If it's too difficult for us to pull at this height it would be way to small for a human." She sat in concentration and regarded the second shorter line.

Maybe?

She pressed down and suddenly light filled the room!

She gasped aloud and scurried backwards, Riven who was equally shocked, let out a yelp, almost falling off the counter- but managed to stop just before the lethal fall.

Daphne gasped his name and hurried over to her friend skidding before him "gosh! Are you okay?!"

Riven who was collecting himself let out a shakey breath

"S-sure.. didn't expect that."

Daphne found herself laughing at this

"Me neither.. but I was right! It does do something!! Come on we gotta figure out what!"

Riven was less enthusiastic, but hesitantly made his way back over. The glassy surface had gone black once more.

"Okay..let's try this again"

With a push, the illumination was back and the pair stared down, ones eyes like the stars themselves, ones with fear and caution.

Daphne inspected the sight before them. A picture of mountains and a gorgeous lake in the summertime shone before them. And this time, despite his better judgement Riven founr himself in awe

"Woah.."

"Do you think it's a doorway? Can humans do that? No..too big. But do..do you think we could?"

It would be Riven this time who carefully reached forward and tapped the expanse before them.

Only for it to deny entry.

"Huh..I don't think so"

Riven couldn't believe his own sudden lure to this stange object, fascination with human stuff was his counterparts thing, not his. And yes here he was almost captivated by the sight before him. He noticed a strange detail near the tip of the moutain top

"what are those numbers up there?"

Daphne scratched the side of her head, and tugged on her hair in thought, reading them out.

"Zero Two..dot dot One Zero? Um maybe some sort of code?"

The screen went black abruptly and Daphnes face reddened a little disheartened.

"Oh..maybe I was wrong"

She pressed on the side once more and the image was back, as were the numbers- only before them the numbers changed the zero and two remained the same on the left but on the sight there was now a pair of ones.

She scanned the magical glass in intrigue unable to figure the mystery out, but words found there way anyway.

"And here I thought humans only conquered healing magic, I have no clue what this power is but it's..beautiful."

Riven pulled his eyes away from the phone, watching her instead, his cheeks burning ever so slightly- but he coughed it aside and read the words below the numbers in smaller writing.

"Tues, May, two..what do you think that means?.."

Daphne couldn't fathom an answer

"No idea.. oh! Wait! Humans measure time differently right? I heard from the borrowing squad they have names for not just days of the week but the months too. May is a summer month from what I recall? Tues could be the day Tuesday. But it isn't Tuesday until sunrise surely? It's still night..maybe the magic is wrong? Two is odd though, I'm lost on that"

She longed for an explanation, questions were bombarding her mind- and then another detail caught her eyes.

"Look- 'swipe to unlock' unlock...as in like locks from the big glass things- windows?..but..but I don't know how to get those locks open..it's why we use the walls after all- and to hide I suppose"

She gave a contemplative hum, and looked up at the window across the room.

"Swipe..swipe.. like to swipe something? Wait Daph maybe we have to do some sort of action to 'unlock'?"

Daph whirled around to face Riven again as it dawned on her too

"Excellent idea! Alright!"

But then she paused

"But what does that mean? Swipe at our surroundings?"

Riven shrugged, equally lost and in search of answers.

"We could try it?"

And so the two made exaggerated movements at the air, hitting and swiping with all their might, but the screen went black once more.

They both huffed at this. Riven gave a determined nod and Daphne excitedly pressed the button once more. She'd never seen her friend this interested in human stuff, and she didn't want to let the opportunity slide.

We the light springing back on they tried again..and again.

"Maybe together?"

In unison they tried again, but there arms went opposite ways, and to avoid getting hit, Daphne slipped forward falling onto the object.

Rivens eyes widened and apologies spilled.

"Daph! Sorry! I should've asked which direction. You okay? Here"

He held out his hand to pull her up but she was giggling at the silliness of it all. She took his hand assuring him

"Riv I'm fine! Don't worry so much it was only a-"

As he pulled her up her arm unintentionally brushed on the glass and below her everything changed.

She sprung up at this.

"Wait! That worked?! Maybe it likes humiliation.."

Hand in hand they gazed down below mouths agape. The view had changed entirely and hundreds of squares filtered before them.

Daphne fell to her knees once more to try something. Wordlessly, her palm pressed against a square and it immediately grew in size to cover the expanse entirely.

But it was what was in the square that made her heart stop.

"Riven.."

"I..I see them Daphne"

People their height, all sitting at a table- Daphnes mind was blown.

"Are they..borrowers? H-humans know about us? No no this..this can't be true! If humans know then why are we living in secret out in the forests? And look Riv, their clothes! The furniture! They all fit perfectly.."

Riven found fear melting into him once more, pushing out that previous joy and shock.

"Daphne..this.. this is a human object and.. they," He pointed at the group below "are our height. What if..what if this thing..captures borrowers? And makes them p-pets stuck inside a trap forever? Maybe they removed the rat traps to capture us alive in this instead?!"

For the very first time, Daphne found herself almost frightened of humans. It had never truly hit her until this very moment and the implications and lurking danger of of her visits loomed over her like an impending doom knotting up her stomach. Thought it didn't exactly last long. She was back to her curious mindset almost instantly.

These borrowers looked happy? There was a boy with dark skin and curly hair, he had a playful smirk and mischievous hazel eyes, he was making some symbol with his fingers, holding them over a fair skinned sandy blonde girl with bold green eyes and freckles. Beside them two sat another girl whom had short red hair with a slight fringe, her eyes were closed in the picture from her warm cheerful smile, her cheeks were blushed and she had dimples- a complete opposite to the boy beside her, he had his arm around her shoulder affectionately- his eyes were dark behind two strange glass circles, his skin was quite pale, perhaps accentuated from his pitch black hair, he was sulking at the boy beside him who looked the most joyus of all, he gave a toothy smile matching his untamed wavey hair and wild look in his eyes- which were equally enthralling on their own as one was a pale blue and the other was washed with light green- that teasingly looked at the grumpy boy.

Daphne couldn't describe it well, but inside she felt an odd sadness? She'd never seen such a group, and a part of her found herself wanting to meet these borrowers. They didn't seem trapped to her. They seemed to be living the life she longed for.

Riven who had since calmed himself took note of Daphnes sudden change.

"Daph...are you okay?"

She could only shake her head in silence, the tick of the clock and drip of water echoing loudly in her thumping head.

"I don't understand it Riven" She whispered.

"I mean.. if humans know..why have we been made hide away? Is this truly what happens when a borrower is seen? Everything is their height..everything is normal..does Father know of this? Is that the truth being him refusing to let me borrow? Because being caught means living a normal life? Because that against the borrower way of life?"

She was almost mad at that, if her father did know she'd be furious. A whole new way of life and his controlling ways shielded her from obtaining it.

She had a conflicted look on her face- and Riven didn't like it. Her being this distraught felt so wrong- but he didn't want to interupt her, it would probably frustrate her to not voice her worries. Thought it appeared she had finished when her darkened eyes met his.

Riven wasn't quite sure how to react. It was almost as if she wanted to he trapped if it meant living like this. But why would anyone want that?

"I..I don't know Daph. I wish I could give you the answers you want. Though their smiles could be part of the trick after all..maybe to allure borrowers in. I know you want to know more Daphne, but maybe it's best we leave this be. I just..I would never forgive myself if something happened to you. Especially when I could've done something about it. I care about you okay?"

Daphnes eyes widened a little, her heart fluttered at his words, and her concerns seemed to flutter away. A small smile touched her lips

"There we go. Much better"

He guided her back to the object, scanning the various faces. They did look happy. He supposed he envied that too. But they needed to make it black again. They couldn't risk leaving evidence of it being touched.

"Now..how do I make this go away?.."

He tapped the glass but nothing happened. Thats when beside him Daphne noticed something she was floored she hadn't caught before, eyes widening she grabbed his arm.

"Riv! Look!"

She pointed at the screen, then across the room.

"The table-"

His eyes snapped up from the phone to the dark interior of the kitchen, to where the moonlight fell on a table.

"Those aren't borrowers Riv"

And as if she had never been upset, Daphne was back to her old habits in no time. Her eyes glistened

"They're humans! It isn't a trap! Though I still don't understand it- though it explains the clothing! And the furniture!"

With this newfound information she scrutinised it closer.

On the table sat a strange colourful board, paper and two weird green circular things..but what she couldn't get over was the strange shapes- figures!

"What do you think they are? They're our height?"

Riven found a part of himself wishing she understood the risks of her interests, wishing that this was a trap so that she'd stay away from it. It was a little selfish but he couldn't help it. He could keep Barney at bay, but humans..

Still, he followed her pointed finger to the figures and swallowed thickly upon seeing one in the wild-haired humans hand. He pictured himself.. or worse, Daphne in the same grasp, encaged by the terrifying giant. It made his stomach turn.

Daphnes curiosity moved on and she stared longingly at the image

"I..I wish we could talk with them"

Riven wasn't drinking but somehow he still managed to choke. He gave her an incredulous look, his stomach dropping even further at her words. Gods..

"Daphne? You..you can't be serious"

She only smiled sheepishly, predicting she'd get such a reaction. She was gonna drive him insane

"Gods Daph! They're..they.."

Daphne interupted him before he could finish.

"They just..well..they seem nice is all. That short haired girl has lovely rosey cheeks, the blonde girl is so pretty too her eyes look like the could tell a story of their own. And the guy beside her seems so sneaky- in a good way though! Kinda playful. The grumpy one is kinda creepy though..but if the smiles are anything to go off I'm sure he's nice all the same..I wonder what those circles on his face are"

She pointed to the crazy haired boy "But I really like that ones smile..it's so..crazy? it looks like fun. They all look fun.." She stated longingly at the group "could you imagine it? Meeting them?"

Riven shook his head vigorously, he couldn't believe her enthusiasm. "Not a chance Daph. That's insane!"

Daphne scowled dramatically "I'd never actually do it Riv, I may want to- more than anything- but I'd never put you in that level of danger. Is it so wrong to picture it?" She sighed inspecting them once again

"What I would give..just to spend one day..just one day out here amongst humans, see their way of life, have my questions answered- like what this object is!"

Rivens shoulders slumped. He'd never understand that view. But..but despite the danger, he felt pity. It must be frustrating, to long for something you could never have. In some way he could kind of relate- though his wants were more personal. He watched her eyes filled eith desire, a sad smile tugging her lips. He supposed it was..fine- so long as she never acted on it. So long as they were never seen, day dreams could suffice.

"It's not something I'd dream off but... I get it." He noticed the sky outside was a growing gradient of deep blue to pinkish orange "hey, sun's gonna come up soon..wanna head back?"

Daphnes eyes darted to the window and nodded slowly, only they fell on the other strange box. She gave a small giggle.

"All this madness and I never figured out what that other thing was. I guess I do get easily distracted after all"

Riven laughed at this. That was an understatement to say the least.

As the pair left, the red light kept ite continuous blinking, as it captured the pair, the pair that had unknowingly already been seen by five humans.

#g/t #giant #gianttiny #tiny #borrower g/t #borrowers #g/t story

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