There will be very little G/T in this chapter, but next chapter I promise there will be. This is an AU were Sander Sides are Animal Shifters. Got the idea from anonymous asks from @delimeful page. Warning I did change Patton into a dog and Roman into the cat instead of the other way around. I just though it fit a bit better. Roman can turn into a grey and white cat, Patton into a Golden Retriever, and Logan can change into a White Cockatoo. The Light Sides think Dark sides just can’t shape shift. In reality Virgil can transform too. Just into a tiny/ defenseless mouse. Any of those animal his fellow sides can turn into can harm him in anyway…and doesn’t help not all Light sides are that friendly with a Dark side hanging around. All Virgil can do for now is hope Thomas does not tell his fellow sides his secret, none of them catch him, and stay hidden. In human form he can talk to any of them. He’s actually pretty close to Patton and getting there with the other two, but once he sees the animals his mouse instincts come into play and he gets anxious.
What’s His Problem?
First Chapter. Just an introduction to Virgil
Encounter With the Only Human
Second Chapter! This is a chapter about how Thomas found out about Virgil’ s transformations. So far he is the only person that knows he can transform like the others. All this time Thomas has been a great Creator and friend by keeping Virgil’s secret. He wants Virgil to talk about it, but he stresses how much he doesn’t want the others to find out. Not yet.
Understanding Along with Secrets
Third Chapter! Thomas and Virgil talk about the events that transpired. Virgil practices to control his shifting powers. He also stumbles into a place that was a bit too tempting for him leading to some more mischeif and another secret.
Cat at Movie Night
Fourth Chapter! Virgil explores Roman’s room as a tiny instead of a mouse. This does lead to some feelings that were not suppose to come out. When this is all over at least everything calms down with a Movie Night! Well we thought they would calm down.
Interactions Between all of the Sides
This chapter is more about the interactions and relationships between the sides. Explaining how all of them feel about each other. I know kind of boring, but it is needed to understand what is going through Virgil’s head. I promise Virgil being a mouse is in here, but not till ¾ths in.
Dog’s Best Friend
Dog!Patton and Mouse!Virgil have an interaction. That’s all I can say about this chapter. I mean Logan is doing typical Logan actions and looking too far into things he’s not supposed to. Please let me know how I did with this chapter. It took a lot longer than planned because writing an interaction between animals is a lot harder than I thought, especially since we only hear the thoughts of Virgil. Please be brutally honest. It helps me better as a writer. I promise to add more angst and inside thoughts of the characters in the next interaction since that is what a few of you requested for the interactions.
The Talk
Thomas and Virgil talk about his options but face it. There is only one option and Virgil hates it.
Heart or Logic
Virgil and Logan finally talk. The moment we have been waitng for. This is probably the most anxious and tiring moment he has had in a long time. Even worse then talking to Thomas.
popping back in with fanart for my friend @i-am-beckyu's fic "Just out of Reach, but Never out of Sight" :DD (which you can read right here and you totally should)
featuring a lonely little sizeshifter c!Tommy who just wants a family,, and c!SBI who are normal humans and worried about this strange teenager in ragged clothes who doesn't seem to have ever heard of pizza <3
Summary: Loki is king. he's taken over Midgard with Stark Tower's as his throne. the heroes have fallen, most captured and utilized for his entertainment. But for Loki's tastes, there had to be some.. adjustments
Rating: DARK fic! obviously from the description you can kinda get the gist.. DO NOT INTERACT IF YOU GET TRIGGERED WITH R@PE
IMPORTANT NOTE:
This Loki x Tiny fics will be a following chapter(s) to "Devil is a Lie". I recommend reading those first before you dive into there but not necessary.
Stand alone G/T fics can also be my "Polly Pocket" and "Portal Play" fics.
TW: Underaged intoxication, brief mention of child loss, and general angst.
***
Now…
It had been more than an hour since Layla went to sleep, and Jace hadn’t come back to the kid's bedroom.
Briar was getting worried. He paced back and forth under the bed. The only noise, other than his soft footsteps, were Layla’s light snores as she slept just above him.
After three days of exploring the walls of this mansion, Briar had almost nothing to show for it. He had barely made it off the second floor. This place was a bean-made hell on earth. (Like most places created by and for beans.) It was a maze of confusingly dark passages with almost no end in sight.
Briar was looking for one of two things:
One, a way out here that would be viable for two bean children to make an escape. This was looking less and less likely. Even if the three of them safely got out of the house, this whole town was still surrounded by huge, thick walls and hundreds of armed beans.
Two, he was looking for any sign of other borrowers who might have, at one point, occupied this mansion. Maybe not even permanently. But mostly, he needed to find Wall Symbols that could answer his questions. With any markings carved into the walls he could decipher what region the mansion was in, where there might be other safe houses for Briar and the kids. How many and what kind of beans lived here. Any pets or traps he should worry about. Best places to borrow from and where to get water. And most importantly, if there was a way out of here.
Here was the main issue, wall symbols were usually carved on to the outside of a bean made structure at ground level. Somewhere easily accessible for borrowers traveling to the houses by foot. The problem was when Briar arrived, he was brought to the second floor and still couldn’t find a safe way down.
Briar let out a resigned sign, he hadn't found what he was looking for nor anything helpful.
The one thing that kept him sane in all his worrying thoughts was Layla's presence in the room right now. He peeked up past the edge of the bed, seeing Layla's chubby hand hang over the side. He wanted nothing more than to scale the quilt, climb onto her pillow, and gently tap her forehead till she awakened. To watch her big brown eyes open and dilate when they focus on his small form. To see the smile he loved so much grow on her large face as she whispered his name in that adorably sleepy way. He missed seeing her sweet face while he was away.
He mostly wanted to check up on her. He hadn't properly seen or spoken to her since they came to this messed up place. Layla, much like her brother, didn't do well when it came to uncertainty and stress. Jace had a bad habit of lashing out. And Layla was a bit more unpredictable in how she would react.
He sat under the bed listening to her soft breaths when he felt the ground tremble underneath him. Briar froze, he knew them as approaching gigant footsteps coming down the hall. They sent vibrations through the wooden floor. He didn’t recognize the steps as belonging to Jace, the boy walked lightly like a borrower. These steps were uneven and heavy footed, but not as heavy as those of the General with his thick military boots. It didn’t feel like the dainty footwear of the two ladies who brought Layla in earlier. Briar didn’t know who it was.
The thumping footfalls grew stronger. Whoever this was was getting closer to Layla's room.
Briar got up on his feet and pulled out his large sewing needle from his hip and held it in his right hand. In the other he grasped his pocket knife and looked up at Layla, still fast asleep, unaware of the rising dread in her smaller companion as he mentally prepared for the worst. The borrower steeled his resolve, he would do anything to keep her safe, even if that meant facing down an unknown giant.
He saw the distinct shadow of two feet in the gap under the door. The door handle giggled, but immediately stopped.
Briar felt the bean take a couple of booming steps away from the door and then the distinct thud of the bean hitting the floor.
Briar listened intently, no more movement could be heard. All was still once again, but that didn’t calm his nerves. Whatever giant was sitting outside could still pose a threat to Layla and Briar wasn’t willing to risk it.
Briar raced to the nearest wall entrance and traversed the dark space as quietly as possible while in his rushed state. He found what he was looking for, a wall outlet to the hall outside the kids room, one of the first things he discovered.
The uneven breathing of a bean could be heard just on the other side of the wall. It wasn’t shallow enough for the bean to be asleep. Briar unscrewed the bolt holding the outlet to the wall with his hands till he could peek out into the long hallway. It was dark, only illuminated by the distant lights downstairs.
Briar looked to his right and his heart almost stopped, slouched against the wall was a mass of flesh. Even in the darkness, Briar recognized him, Jace’s hair and clothes were a mess and his eyes weren’t focusing on anything. He looked pale and sickly.
“What are you doing out here, boy?” Briar called out cautiously after he was sure there were no other beans around.
Jace immediately sat up, but swayed. “Boss?” He looked around. It took him much longer than usual to find the tiny man. When his eyes finally located Briar sticking out of the wall, a big dopey grin plastered itself to the teen’s face, like he was so happy to see the borrower. “Heeey-ya, boss! Where have you been?”
Briar bristled and looked around in alarm, making sure no other beans heard the boy. Jace was being way too loud for addressing the borrower in an open area. Briar quickly tried shushing the boy, putting a finger to his lips. What’s gotten into him?!
Jace mirrored Briar’s shushing motion and giggled. He repeated himself much quieter this time, “where have you been, boss?”
Briar was at a loss for proper words. He was beyond bewildered by Jace’s actions, the boy was normally much quieter and subdued. Briar cautiously stepped out of the walls, “Uh… just been around exploring,” he gestured vaguely to the tunnel he had just crawled out of.
“What’d you think?”
“That this place is too damn big.”
Jace's head flopped around like he was trying to nod in agreement, but he couldn’t properly control his movements.
The borrower continued, “I don’t like it in this place… too many beans running around.” Briar muttered that last bit, he looked up hoping he didn’t offend the boy, especially after their fight the last time they spoke. “Both inside and out.”
Jace had stopped paying attention. He was staring at the wall before him, like it was the most intriguing thing in the world. The large hand near Briar clenched and unclenched methodically.
Briar gulped, something was very wrong, “Boy?”
The teen’s head flopped to the side like the string holding up his neck had been suddenly cut. His eyes focused on Briar for a second before and he snorted a laugh, “You’re short.”
“What?” Briar scoffed incredulously.
“Wait,” Jace giggled as he looked at Briar’s offended face. “N-no, you’re just small.”
Briar huffed, irritated and quickly lost patience. “I’m not short OR small, you’re just gigantic—“
Without warning, Jace’s left hand landed beside Briar. Or more carelessly flopped down like a dead fish. It weighed so much that the ground shook under Brair’s feet, he lost balance and fell onto his backside. If that hand was an inch closer, Briar would have been hit, crushed under the hand’s weight. The borrower stared at the hand, as long as he was tall, unsure of what Jace wanted him to do.
Jace chuckled lightly and mumbled, “let me help you up, boss.” That was all the warning Briar got before Jace's fingers sprung to life and wrapped around Briar like five thick snakes.
Briar was immediately uncomfortable as he was unceremoniously lifted into the air. Jace was both held too tight and too loose, Briar felt like he might slip out of the boy’s grasp. The borrower quickly clung to Jace's thumb as vertigo took hold of his stomach. Internally, Briar was freaking out, this was not normal behavior for either child. They were careful after years of practice and trust built up. He fought with his internal instincts to struggle against Jace’s grip, in case the boy accidentally dropped the small man.
Briar was roughly dropped in Jace’s other hand with a grunt of surprise due to the teen’s careless actions.
When Briar sat up, he realized he was sitting in the bowl of the boys cupped palms. Jace placed his thick thumbs on Briar’s lap, like a seatbelt. It was probably the boy’s attempt to keep Briar steady, but it really just made him feel stuck. The feeling of being trapped twisted in Briar's chest and clamped down on his heart.
Jace’s vision went in and out of focus as he stared at the small man sitting in his palm. The boy pulled the small man much closer to his face than necessary. It was here, being so close to Jace’s mouth, that Briar could smell his breath. It smelled awful, like a dying animal.
Briar distantly recognized that pungent smell. Danger bells were blaring in his head. “D-did you drink alcohol?”
Jace was silent as he looked away, inadvertently hitting the back of his head on the wall. He and Briar winced. The borrower felt the boy’s hand tense from the pain under him, but thankfully didn’t close them. Jace hissed in pain and he shook his head to make the dizziness stop. It didn’t work.
Briar had never tried alcohol himself. Over the years he had witnessed many times what that concoction could do to Beans. They became loud, clumsy, and dangerous to smaller creatures. Briar thought the only good that could come from liquor was to treat wounds. He let out a shuttering breath, I thought I had thought Jace better than this.
Briar tried to keep his voice level. “Where did you get it?”
After an excruciating long time of Jace staring at the ceiling, he muttered: “My Father and the C-Colonel.” His jaw quivered as he took a hesitant breath.
“What?!” Briar was horrified; he had a hard time keeping his voice down, “Why on earth would they do that?”
The giant boy looked back down at the small man in his hands, Briar watched as Jace’s face contorted into something full of anguish, “I’m sorry. Ssssooo sorry. S-Sorry, Briar.” His words came out slurred and shaky. Jace curled in on himself, his legs bent behind Briar like a wall and his face quickly crashed into his hands. Leaving the borrower to be squished under a giant cheek and next to the long nose. Briar was no stranger to being held up to the kids' faces to comfort them, but given Jace’s odd and unpredictable behavior Briar felt very claustrophobic. The heat and smell from the boy’s breath as he continued to whisper desperate apologies was almost unbearable.
Briar pushed back on the boy’s cheek and nose. He knew it was a fruitless effort, if Jace so wished it, they would sit out here all night like this. But the boy obliged and pulled back a little. His moon sized face was still close enough that Briar could touch the tip of Jace’s nose if he so desired. Which he didn’t.
Jace had to cross his eyes to look at the borrower. Normally, Briar would laugh at that silly look on his face, but now was not the time. He was really freaked out by this whole situation and Jace continued to mumble apologies to the point the word ‘sorry’ didn’t sound real anymore.
“Why are you sorry, boy? What happened?” Briar wracked his brain as to what he could possibly have done to gain this reaction. Maybe it was for their fight? The terrible, hurtful things Jace spat at Briar? Maybe he pranked his sister and went too far again? The borrower's hands shook with anxiety.
Jace groaned, “I feel sick.”
“Don’t change the subject.” Briar grimaced at the thought of Jace throwing up while keeping the borrower so close to his large mouth. Jeeze, this kid is all over the place.
“My father wanted to celebrate our return.” Jace hiccupped, “I had a cup of… I don’t know what he gave me.”
“Alright?” Briar found giving a teen alcohol to be an odd way to celebrate, but it wouldn’t be the first time Briar learned of an odd and most likely dangerous bean tradition that he didn’t agree with. “But that doesn’t answer why—”
Jace’s voice hitched, “The– The Colonel wanted to know how we s-survived out there for— for so long…”
“He’s still on that? I thought since he realized you were the general’s kids he would have forgotten all about that.” Briar was glad the Colonel didn’t resort to torture when they were in jail, but this was cruel. This bean had taken advantage of an inebriated child. Briar was livid. “Where the hell was your father in all this?”
“He left…” Jace pulled further away from Brair, “He left and he didn’t come back till… it was too late.”
“Too late for what?”
Jace’s eyes watered as he stared at the borrower in his grasp, “It just s–slipped out. I’m so sorry.”
Cold sheer panic ran through Briar’s body, “Did you tell him about borrowers?!” He was struggling to keep his voice down as he remembered the General was still somewhere in this nightmare house.
“No, he thinks you’re a human bean like me,” Jace shook his head. “But– but I told him your name. I’m sorry. I didn’t realize I said it till– till it was too late.”
To any normal person that might not sound like a big deal, though Briar’s name might seem a little odd to most Beans.
The issue came with the fact Jace spoke the borrower’s name to a bean.
To borrowers, a name is a gift. Telling someone your name is like creating a secret promise, and sharing said name with an untrustworthy party can be seen as an insult. Borrowers are traditionally not given their names until their third birthday, due to the fact that these smaller beings had a high infant mortality rate. Many infants and toddlers died within the first few years of being born, oftentimes without cause or explanation. To save parents the pain of losing a named child, for the first few years they are just referred to as “baby” or “child” or “boy” or “girl.” Really any descriptive term of endearment that gave a degree of separation between parents and their new children, just in case the children died.
A borrower's name is a sacred gift from their parents on their third birthdays. It means they are survivors. A hope that they will continue to be strong and capable while living in a world not built for them.
The borrower side of Briar was completely furious with Jace, it took a lot of time and trust before Briar ever spoke his own name to either child, and Jace gave it up to a strang bean so quickly. A couple of sips of that disgusting concoction and Jace could have revealed everything!
Briar took a shaky breath, that anger wasn’t fair, at least not where the teen was concerned. Briar knew Jace didn’t do this on purpose, he was very intoxicated and not thinking straight. Briar kept an air of calm on his features so as not to make the giant boy, who literally held Briar’s life in his hands, more upset than he already was, “It’s okay, boy. What else did you tell him?”
“He asked when the last time we saw you was. I said it’s been a while. That you left us. And–and we didn’t know where you were.” All of these things were true, the kids hadn’t seen Briar in days, not since he slicked his way into the walls. Jace was a pretty convincing liar when it came to half truths. Even in his inebriated state, he was still quick enough on his feet to tell the Colonel exactly what he wanted to hear.
Jace continued with a shaky voice as he tried to muddle through his foggy mind and remember what he told Colonel Johansen. That Briar taught them to hunt, to get clean water, and had them constantly moving around for their own safety. But everything he said wouldn’t lead a normal person to think all these teachings came from a five inch tall man.
Yet, something in the back of Briar’s mind still worried, the Colonel was nothing if not a paranoid freak, so Briar wouldn’t put it past him to realize something was off with the story and come back for more information later. They needed to be on guard.
“I— I even said that told us that any alcohol we find should be used to treat wounds. My father said you sounded like a ‘s-smart man’.”
Briar frowned. “I won’t take any compliments from the mouth of any bean,” he muttered under his breath, “Especially not that one.” Even if it wasn’t Jace’s father who directly interrogated the boy, the General still was irresponsible for leaving a drunk Jace alone with a potentially dangerous stranger. What an irresponsible father, Briar seethed.
Jace went quiet for a long time, his eyes stared at Briar's bandaged left hand. It had been days since the borrower got rope burn from falling down the string, but it looked like the wound hadn’t healed up fully because under the white bandage were spots of blood. “You were climbing again?”
“Yes,” Briar was bothered by the sudden change in subject. On the second day of exploring the house, he had found a new piece of string and a paperclip to use as a hook.
“But– but your hand is still hurt.” Jace leaned in closer. “Let me see.” The boy’s foul breath once again affronted Briar’s senses as his personal space was invaded.
“No!” Briar pulled his bandaged hand into his cloak and shut it for good measure. He knew that Jace could easily pull the rat skinned cloak away and force Briar to show his hand, but he hoped the boy would still be cognitive enough to show respect when the borrower was in an already vulnerable position as it was.
Jace pouted, “But it could be infected.”
“Maybe all that alcohol you drank could have been used to disinfect my hand,” Briar snapped. He sounded harsher than he meant, and he instantly regretted talking to Jace like that when he saw the look on the boy’s gigantic face.
Jace looked hurt, his bottom lip quivered as he pulled his face back.
Briar took a deep breath and placed his non-injured hand on Jace’s thumb, “I’m– I’m sorry.”
“What if it’s infected and you have to cut off your own hand?” Jace wined, not entirely thinking straight. If he was, he would know there would be several countermeasures Briar could take before even considering cutting off his own hand.
Briar sighed, “I know how to take care of myself. Been doing it long before I met you and I will be doing it long after I leave.”
“Noooo,” Jace grimaced and curled tighter around Briar, once again nuzzling the small man with his big nose the size of Briar’s torso. “Please don’t talk like that, Briar... I don’t want you to go anywhere.”
Briar’s chest tightened and it wasn’t just from the massive nose pressing up against his body. His breath hitched as he felt the earnestness in Jace’s voice rumble through his small body.
Briar was taken aback, he had joked about leaving the kids for years now, given their arrangement was originally supposed to be a temporary one. It had been almost three years since they met, and Briar had promised to stay as long as there was something to teach the kids about survival. As long as he was needed. Once he was done, they would go their separate ways. Briar joked about the inevitability of his leaving all the time, and these jokes had never aroused such a reaction out of Jace before. Layla would usually whined, but Jace often awkwardly laughed or stayed silent.
If it was any other circumstance and Jace said those words Briar might have smiled, but this was all wrong. The boy was wasted and not thinking straight. No matter how sweet his drunken words were, they probably didn’t mean anything. After all, Briar’s heart still ached from the teens' hurtful words that still haunted him: “It was a stupid deal anyway. It's not like we need you around anymore--" Jace was completely sober when he said it.
The small man’s mouth was dry as he leaned against Jace’s nose and gently stroked the bridge. So which was true? Did Jace not need him anymore or did he want Briar to stay?
Jace just started to whimper when he felt Briar’s small hand touch his nose.
Briar hesitantly laughed, “you’re more whiny than your sister like this. I’m still here. I’m right here.” I’ll be here as long as I’m needed. Just like I promised. He gently stroked the bridge of Jace’s nose and watched as the giant face began to relax under his touch. “If you need to cry, you can, boy.”
“My F-father wouldn’t like that.” Jace took a shaky breath, “H-he never liked it when I cried.”
“I don’t see that bean anywhere, do you?”
With those words leaving the borrower’s lips, Jace’s face immediately began to contort. His breath hitched and his shoulders shook. He brought the borrower closer, if that was possible, Jace held Briar desperately to his cheek like he never wanted to let him go.
“Deep breaths. Everything will be okay, I’m here,” Briar assured the giant boy. As tears fell from Jace's eyes, Briar felt his pants slowly soak with warm salty tears. He suppressed a shudder at the sensation and continued his calming words and petting.
Briar brushed his small hand between the boy’s eyes, unknotting Jace’s frown lines. Jace molded to the small man like clay. Briar was always amazed at the influence he seemed to have over these gigantic kids. They listened to him, most of the time. Sometimes he wondered if they could really feel his weight in their hands given how small he was. It was moments like this, where these giant kids's entire focus was on him and they bended to his whim that Briar felt… powerful. A feeling not often experienced by small beings such as himself in this chaotic world.
They sat in that hallway for what felt like hours, but it had only been around 20 minutes.
Jace pulled away from the borrower, leaving a tiny, soaking wet man in his cupped hands.
“Thank you, Boss,” Jace’s smile didn’t reach his eyes. He looked exhausted and ready to keel over at any moment.
“Of course,” Briar nodded. “I think it’s time to go to bed.”
Jace didn’t respond. His eyes were distant and he felt numb now. Briar didn’t like this change in emotion either. Snapping from tears to a numb face with no in between was very jarring.
A low grumbling sound snapped Briar out of his thoughts. Jace frowned and curled in towards his middle.
Briar’s eyes widened, “Are you hungry?”
Jace nodded and sniffled.
“Those bea— ladies who brought your sister in left a bunch of food on the desk.”
Jace glanced toward the door to their bedroom.
Briar rubbed the teen’s thumb to get his attention, “come on, boy, just get up and go eat. Then go to bed. Easy, right?”
Jace nodded and began to shakily stand. The giant held Briar in his loose fist at chest height. Jace’s feet wobbled beneath him and he tried to take his first unsteady step towards the bedroom.
“W-wait put me down first! Boy!” Briar clung to Jace’s thumb for dear life on this unsteady roller coaster, he wanted off immediately. Jace either ignored or didn’t register the small man’s words as he focused on trying (and failing) to walk in a straight line.
Jace messily opened the door with his free hand, and managed to close the door behind him, though a little harder than intended. It was a miracle Layla didn’t wake up. The teen even bumped into the bed frame and proceeded to apologize into the darkness. Briar couldn’t tell if the apology was for the bed, himself, Layla, or the unwitting passenger in his palm. Maybe all of them at once.
Jace flopped unceremoniously onto the desk chair next to the bed where Layla slept. Briar cried out at the surprise drop, though Jace’s grip remained around his small body. Jace cupped the hand holding Briar to his chest, essentially holding him there. Briar could not only hear, but feel the giant’s raggedy breaths and irregular heart rhythm. That probably wasn’t good.
In the dim moonlight Jace could make out the dinner on the tray before him and immediately began scarfing the food down. His dinner was cold now, but Jace didn’t care, he just wanted something to fill the void in his upset stomach.
“Don’t eat so quickly,” Briar nagged from Jace’s hand, “you’ll make yourself sick.” Jace didn’t say anything, but did slow his pace. “And… and maybe you can put me down?”
That request Jace didn’t listen to. In fact, Jace’s grip tightened ever so slightly. It was so subtle that the teen probably didn’t even notice, but Briar sure as hell did. The borrower gulped, this was a side of the boy he wasn’t used to, and he definitely didn’t like it. Even when Jace’s hand became sweaty and Briar began squirming and complaining, the teen didn’t let him go.
At some point, Jace remembered to share his meal with his tiny companion, pulling off a piece of bread and chicken, before offering to the borrower. Briar initially declined, saying he wasn’t hungry, but Jace was insistent. The boy practically shoved the bits of food in Briar’s arms and the man begrudgingly accepted. Briar was famished too, having only eaten raw bugs he found in the walls for the past few days. They were high in protein, but hard to catch and didn’t taste very good.
Whatever Briar didn’t finish, Jace took the crumbs and popped them in his mouth. Soon, the teen let out a satisfied sigh as his stomach no longer ached. Now sleep finally seemed to be his next want because he wobbly stood from the chair and before Briar could ask once again to be put down, Jace jumped up and onto the mattress.
Briar screamed. He was suddenly airborne, fearing he’d be crushed under the teen’s bulk. But at the last second, Jace flipped and landed on his back.
Briar still slammed into Jace's torso with an oof. Fear and anger welled in Briar’s chest as he was essentially pinned, face down, under the boy’s massive hand. He was laying on Jace’s chest, he felt it rise and fall with his unsteady breathing, nothing was normal about this.
Briar let his anger boil over for the way he had been treated that night, it was either he gave into his anger or fear might overtake his small body. Better to feel pissed than piss yourself.
Briar spoke through gritted teeth, “Never do that again, boy.” He pounded a tiny fist on Jace's chest.
“Sorry boss,” Jace mumbled. As an attempted apology, Jace tried to gently stroke Briar’s back to comfort the two of them. It was unsteady at first and thumped its way down the borrower’s back, then he eventually found a nice rhythm.
Briar tried to wiggle out of the boy’s grasp and avoid his thumb, “Let me out. I’m NOT sleeping out here in the open!”
Jace either was already asleep or didn’t hear or ignored Briar’s request. The bean’s breathing evened out and the stroking slowed down. Soon Briar noticed Jace’s palm was losing its hold on his small body. Eventually, there was enough room for the borrower to try and crawl out.
I can’t believe this is my life, he mumbled under his breath while scrounging up the strength to free himself.
Jace wasn’t one to move in his sleep. But Layla sure was. Briar had seen her curled up next to her brother beside his head, only for morning to come and she was sprawled down by his feet upside down. Jace also said she kicked in her sleep. One good shot to Jace’s torso could leave Briar as nothing more than a stain on the boy’s clothes.
With that horrible image locked in his mind Briar tried to push up on the hand to get it off. Eventually, Briar was able to crawl out from underneath the mound of flesh and stand on his own two feet. Briar took a steadying breath to calm his heart. Ironically enough, he could also feel the large thump of the heart twice his size under his feet. The terrain rose and fell with every breath Jace took as Briar made his way to the pillow and jumped off Jace’s shoulder. He still wasn’t in the clear as he traveled past the boy’s face, down the pillow and hopped across the dark chasm between mattress and desk. There he was finally able to catch his breath.
He settled down on the wooded table top with an aching groan, his joints and injuries burning in protest. Briar felt much better than he did the previous two nights after his initial injuries, but after Jace's rougher handling, Briar felt like crap again.
He sat there watching the two giants sleep in the darkness. Layla had rolled closer to her brother and began cuddling up to his side for warmth.
Jace briefly whined in his sleep before gently gripping the space Briar once occupied on his chest. The boy was searching for the borrower in his sleep. In any other circumstances, Briar might have felt touched, but with Jace’s unpredictable and overbearing behavior he had been displaying that night, there was no way Briar would get near the boy again until this alcohol wore off.
Briar stiffened when he heard the distant thumps of combat boots making their way down the hall towards the General’s room.
Thankfully that man isn’t coming in to give his kids goodnight kisses, Briar seethed, glaring at the door. If only he could give that bean a piece of his mind. How could that man be so irresponsible? Getting Jace drunk was bad enough. What if Jace got alcohol poisoning or–or was allergic to it?! Worse yet, the bean promptly left his only son alone with a man who threatened to hurt him just days ago? Leaving Jace alone in a possibly dangerous place with a stranger? A man who cornered an inebriated child and forced him to tell information he wouldn’t have given otherwise?! Does that bean ever relent?!
The General should have stayed with his kids no matter what to ensure they were safe—
Then everything in Briar’s body froze. His eyes widened. He suddenly remembered something Layla had said mere days ago, "Bad things always happen when we get separated." And it still rang true.
I left Jace.
I left both kids in a dangerous place with strange men, who threatened to hurt them days ago, when I should have stayed with them to insure they stayed safe.
Briar gulped, he was no better than the kid's own father. He had no right to be angry at that man. Briar had taken shelter in the walls in search of something that might not even be there, when he should have stuck to those kids like glue and protected them.
Well protected them as much as a five inch tall man can when facing literal giants. Briar grimaced, he couldn’t even get Jace, the kids he wanted to protect, to let him go when he asked.
The world was a wide and dangerous place, even those Briar loved could be dangerous, but what’s new? Briar had been taking care of these bean kids for almost three years, was this situation all that different?
Other than the fact there were hundreds of live, terrifying giants everywhere and he might get caught or killed at any moment.
Then he asked himself: What’s more important, his safety or theirs?
Theirs. Obviously, Briar quickly concluded.
Then there was no issue.
I won’t leave either of them till we get out of this hell hole. We’ll find a way out together.
Determined, Briar got out his hook, scaled down the desk as safely as possible with his injured hand. And settled under the bed, using his cloak as a blanket and his borrower bag as a pillow. He chose to stay here because it was close to the kids, he could hear their slight snores and the occasional creak of the bed as they turned in the night. If any other bean came in during the night, he would be ready to defend them. Being under the bed also gave him enough cover that no bean would see him and the crack in the wall close enough he could take cover if necessary.
As he settled down, he quietly listened to the children sleep. They were the gigantic kids he had known for almost three years and whispered: “I won’t leave you again.”
***
Previous / next / All chapters
I drew a few alt chapter covers, couldn’t decide which one I liked the most…
Part 4 where Bruno holds the borrowers for the first time ? 🤫
Anon were you looking at my drafts?😯😏
Thank you to @guaxinimraccoon for this art! You did a wonderful job! (I commissioned them! Just look at my babies!)
Species Swap AU: What if Briar was a human (named Bruno) and the kids were borrowers (named Lilac and Juniper)? Read other parts here: (part 1) / (part 2) / (part 3) / (bonus AU comic here)
Main story “A Borrower at the end of the World” can be found here!
Word count: 4,600ish
***
The early morning sun shined through the windshield and woke Juniper up. It was cheerfully bright, he groaned as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes and stretched. When he sat up and let his vision finally come into focus, his heart stopped.
A massive lump of flesh sat just out of reach. He had never been so close to a bean’s hand. He could feel the heat radiating from the skin. Juniper was shaking like it was freezing.
A gigantic hand lay beside him, connected to an arm as thick as a treetrunk, which extended up and over the plastic armrest which concealed most of the bean’s body.
Too close! Too close! I have to get away! Juniper shakily tried scooting away from the large hand. Juniper was just about to start screaming and running when he remembered Lilac.
He looked around desperately, where was his sister? In his panicked mind he almost missed her.
Then he spotted two little arms wrapped around one of the titanic fingers.
Ice ran through the boy’s veins as he crawled his way to Lilac. Every cell in his body told him to run away, but his need to protect his sister took over any rational thought. “Let go of her, you gigantic oaf! You monster!” Juniper shouted as he pulled his sister out from under the giant’s hand.
Lilac whined as her brother forced her to let go of the warm finger and yelped when Juniper pulled her into his arms. She was fully awake now, and thoroughly confused.
Bruno was so startled by the sudden noises beside him and feeling tickling sensations on his hand. He reflexively pulled back his arm and sat up. The giant unfortunately sat up so quickly that he smacked his head on the car roof. He emphasized the impact with a quick shout, which made Juniper jump at the sheer volume of the exclamation.
The air around the giant hand was sucked along with it as it was pulled away. Juniper wavered in his stance, almost tripping in the process. Still the boy backed up, holding the squirming five year old in his arms. He fervently looked for a way out. They were trapped in a car with a bean and there was no escape.
Lilac looked around, startled and unsure of what was happening as her brother backed away from the giant staring at them, trying to recover from his own rude awakening. Juniper didn’t realize he was getting too close to the edge of the seat and was about to fall off.
“Woah, woah, careful–” Bruno reached out at the edge of the passenger’s seat, blocking them from falling. If they did get closer to the edge, he would have caught them.
Juniper panicked as another gigantic form loomed behind him and over corrected, running forward and immediately tripping on the uneven soft surface. Juniper fell onto his shoulder with a shout. Lilac screeched as she tumbled out of her brother’s arms, landing on her butt. Her head spun as she looked up at the towering giant above them, who had his hands up like he was just as surprised as they were and didn’t know what to do next.
“What was that?” Bruno asked, wide eyed.
“What do you mean ‘what was that?’ Do you have rocks for brains? You tried to grab us!” Juniper was on his feet immediately, shouting at the giant and pointing an accusatory finger towards Bruno’s titanic face.
“You were both about to fall off the seat–”
“— Because you grabbed her–”
“—I did not–”
“Did so! You were holding my sister in your giant, monster hands!”
Bruno froze. Memories of the previous night crashed into his mind. “I didn’t– No…well, I did, but I-I was just— She– your sister, was about to have another night terror and I was trying to calm her down– and then she grabbed my…” Bruno looked at the fuming boy, red in the face, ready to hurl more insults the bean’s way. Then he looked down at Lilac, she stared back at him with wide, innocent eyes. She had no fear in them, just confusion, like she didn’t know what he was talking about. That shut the giant up before he dug his own grave any further. Bruno pulled himself as far away from the children as possible in the tight car, “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have– I shouldn’t have touched you, Lilac, I won’t do it again.”
“You better not,” Juniper snapped.
Bruno ran a hand down his tired face, “I-I’m gonna go outside for a bit…” He grabbed his glasses that were resting on the dashboard and used the hand crank to roll down the window a few inches. “If you need me, you can always–”
“We won’t,” Juniper muttered, but Bruno still heard it. The giant’s face turned into a frown for a split second, before becoming neutral again. But it was long enough to startle the borrower boy into shutting up.
Bruno sighed and turned his back to the kids. He grasped the car door handle and sat there for a moment. The subtlest shiver came to his shoulders, like the tension was building in his monumental back. The giant man opened the door, his shifting weight rocked the car as he left, and closed it as softly as possible. He tried his best not to scare the kids, but it seemed much too late for that.
When the bean’s thumping footsteps faded away, Juniper finally found the ability to breathe again. The tension in his small body lessened and his heart was almost a normal rhythm.
“Junie?” Lilac’s soft voice cut through the fearful haze in the boy’s mind.
Juniper was instantly brought back to reality and rushed towards his baby sister, almost tripping in his hurry.
Juniper landed on his knees in front of her and cupped her face in his hands, “are you alright? D-did he hurt you?!” He pulled at her arms and legs, checking for broken bones, scratches, bruises, anything, but found nothing. “This was all a mistake,” Juniper was suddenly on his feet and began pacing and pulling at the roots of his hair, “A very bad, bad mistake. We shouldn’t have come. I shouldn’t have let you or that behemoth convince me to let us come. We don’t even know where the hell he is taking us!” He was spiraling now, thinking of every possible horrible thing the bean could do to them. “This must be his master plan, to trap us and keep us like pets or eat us—“
“Junie!” Lilac pulled at her brother’s sleeve, forcing him to stop, “it’s okay! I’m fine!”
“How can you say you’re fine?! He was holding you in his gigantic hand! He could have crushed you!”
“He was?”
“You don’t remember?” Juniper couldn’t believe it.
Lilac shook her head, “not really.” She paused for a long time concentrating, “I don’t know, but I remember feeling… warm. Warmer than I have in a long time.”
Juniper huffed, exasperated, “Of course you felt ‘warm,’ that giant freak practically radiates heat all the time!”
Lilac scoffed, “You are so mean to Mr. Runo.”
“Wha— I am not—“
“Are so! You call him mean names all the time.”
“I do not--”
“You called him stupid.”
“Well—“
“You said his feet could destroy a whole borrower house yesterday.”
“So–”
“You called him a monster today. A few times.”
“Why are you keeping track?”
“And I heard you say that he has an awful voice that shakes the earth.”
“Well, it’s not like I don’t say things that aren’t true.”
“But it’s not true!” Tears filled the child’s eyes. “He’s nice, Junie. He’s so nice.” She shook her head adamantly, “all he’s done is help us.” She began to cry.
Juniper paused, “Hey,” he bent down to her level and wiped away her tears, “Lilac, d-don’t cry–”
“You are so mean to him.”
“But–”
“No, butts!” Lilac huffed, “Mommy always said, ‘if you got nothing nice to say…”
“…Don’t say anything at all,” Juniper finished lamely. He sighed and scratched his neck. Maybe he had been too harsh on the bean— Bruno. Lilac wasn’t hurt and that’s all that really mattered.
“You have to tell Mr. Runo you’re sorry.”
“What?! No way—“
She pulled at her brother close by the shirt, he could feel her hot breath as she whispered into his ear, gritting her teeth, “You will apologize to him when he comes back or else.”
Juniper got a chill up his spine as he pulled away, she spoke with the same cadence and irritation as their mother once used when threatening punishment for the kid’s misbehaving. (Though her voice was much higher.)
“O-okay…” When Juniper pulled away, he half expected to see their mother sitting there, but instead Lilac was doing her best attempt at a glare. He let out a hesitant laugh as he looked at his little sister, “when did you become so bossy?”
“When you decided to be a big butt-head,” Lilac countered with a giggle and a quick shove in the chest.
“Oh yeah?” A devilish smirk grew on his face as poked her in the stomach, eliciting a series of giggles until she breathlessly begged for him to stop. Juniper looked up towards the window Bruno left open. “Where is that bean anyway?” he asked, “The guy’s been gone a while.”
“Do you think he’s lost?” Lilac worried.
“No,” Juniper rolled his eyes, “how can you lose a guy that big anyway?”
***
Bruno never wandered far from the car. No matter how angry the children were. No matter how much they hated him, he made a promise to keep them safe.
He locked the car door behind him, not to keep them trapped, but as a cautionary move. There probably weren’t other beans out there, but he didn’t want to risk someone hijacking his (stolen) car and finding two tiny, defenseless children in the passenger's seat.
The windows were left slightly open for three reasons. One, so they could call out for him. Two, if they really needed to get out of the car, they could use their hooks and climb out. Juniper had tested that out the day before they officially left because he didn’t like the thought of being fully trapped in a confined space with a bean. The third reason was just to give them much needed fresh air, since the air conditioning was broken in the truck.
Bruno sat in the dirt beside the car, leaning up against the tire. His head down and his arms resting on his knees. His body refused to move from the spot, unsure if he should take a walk into the woods to relieve some of the tension in his body or just get back in the car, get back on the road. He just froze and wallowed in his misery.
The man felt like shit. He probably looked like it too, if the constant smell of BO (from lack of bathing) had anything to do with it. His clothes were tattered and torn. His shoes and socks had holes. His long, curly hair was twisted in matted knots. He slid a calloused hand down his jaw and felt his stubby patches of beard. He hadn’t shaved in a while either.
He definitely looked like the shell of the man he once was. He felt like it too. Bruno used to have everything, money, fame, now look at him. A man long past his prime, just trying desperately to get home. Praying that his family would survive long enough for him to see them again. There was so much uncertainty in the world now. Who knows how long it will take for him to get there, they were going to run out of gas soon and would have to abandon their (“borrowed”) truck, find a new one. Or have to walk the rest of the way there, Bruno’s legs ached at the very thought.
Then a thought occurred to him: I’d have to carry the kids. Bruno gulped.
Juniper’s terrified eyes and shouts echoed in his mind. Over the past few weeks the boy’s insults were really getting to Bruno. The almost constant accusations of being a monster. Juniper’s worries that Bruno might suddenly turn on the children or hurt them accidentally, was really getting to the bean.
How can I help or even protect them if they don’t even want to trust me? He lamented to himself.
He knew on some level, this was a bad idea. Traveling with beings smaller than his hands could be dangerous to them. Not just him posing a threat, but the entire outside world too. Bruno wanted nothing more than to help them, his intentions were pure, but it seemed that every action he took was wrong. It was one screw up after another.
Bruno grasped at his arms, digging into the skin with his nails. He took two children away from their home. He forced them to trust a man 40 times their size to keep his promise of protecting them. He was taking them to a place they had never even heard of. No wonder they were terrified.
Maybe instead of taking them with him, he should have helped them search for other borrowers. Who knows, if he found borrowers once, maybe he could do it again? Or at the very least he could have stayed in that abandoned house with them until another borrower came along.
The bean looked to the sky for the right answer. He should just turn around, use what’s left of the fuel to bring them back to the house where they first met and search for someone else their size who could take care of them.
Bruno absentmindedly rubbed his pinkie finger. The ghost of Lilac’s two inch figure lingered there, wrapping her little arms around the digit.
The man was selfish. He knew it was selfish, to want something that just wasn’t possible. He wanted to be trusted. He wanted to be helpful. He wanted the kids to want to be with him, to maybe even stay with him. He wanted to be a hero.
He should have made Lilac let go of his finger when he had the chance, even if that meant she would cry, at least her brother would have woken up and taken care of it. Then they wouldn’t be in this mess of a situation. Their alliance was precarious enough as it was. Now he was sure he broke all the trust either kid had left in him. He broke one of the first rules given to him: don’t touch the borrowers.
His stomach hollowed out and he curled in on himself, leaving a big pit in his chest.
Those kids will probably never want to see me again. Bruno buried his face in his moon-sized hands, and I can’t blame them… I could never blame them.
Bruno was used to being seen as a villain. But never a monster.
***
“Mr. Runo!” Lilac cupped her hands around her mouth to amplify her small voice, “We need you!”
“Don’t shout,” Juniper tried to shut her up, “He’ll come back eventually! Stop!”
She twisted out of his grasp and yelled louder, “Mr. RUNO!
It sounded like a barely audible whisper, but the second Bruno heard Lilac’s call, his spine instantly straightened. The hair on the back of his neck was standing on end as he shot to his feet. Moving faster than he had in years.
The kids could see his large frame casting a shadow on the window. They could hear as he fumbled for the car keys at his hip, cursing in Spanish when he nearly dropped them in his urgency.
He finally unlocked the door, but he pulled it open so quickly the air in the car moved with such force that the children almost fell over.
Juniper worried the door might get pulled off its hinges. A terrible reminder of the power this creature— bean held over them. Yet they chose to trust and spend their time with him.
“What is it, what’s wrong?!” Bruno’s wild eyes scanned each child for injury or distress. Juniper had the same nervous features as usual and Lilac was more wide eyed, but unharmed.
“We’re fine,” Lilac squeaked.
Bruno released a hefty sigh and sat down. The car rocked at the entrance of the 6’7 man and the suspensions creaked. Both kids tried to stay steady on the chair as the whole world around them jostled.
Juniper started sweating, this was just another reminder of the weight under Bruno’s giant shoes. One wrong step and the kids would be nothing but a stain on the floor. Juniper tried to shake that horrible thought out of his mind.
Bruno rested his head on the steering wheel, taking a deep breath to calm his racing heart. He couldn’t take much more of this stress so early in the morning.
“Are you alright, Mr. Runo?”
“Yes, yes I’m fine. I just need to catch my breath.” Bruno sat up a bit and waved them off, “you just scared me is all.”
“Sorry,” Lilac looked down guiltily.
Bruno turned to face the children, shaking his head, “there’s nothing for you to apologize for. In fact…” he licked his lips and looked towards Juniper, who stiffened under the scrutiny. “Listen, Juniper, I’m–”
“I’m sorry,” Juniper shouted.
Bruno’s jaw went slack, that was the last thing he ever expected to hear.
The boy waited a moment for any response back. But upon seeing their giant’s dumbfounded face, he continued, “I-I shouldn’t have shouted at you earlier.” Lilac elbowed her brother. He grunted, but continued, “And I didn’t mean it when I called you a monster. Or an oaf. Or said you were stupid. Or that you could squish us under your fat boots. Or that you smell worse than a horse’s as–”
“It’s okay!” Bruno stopped the boy before he dug himself into a deeper hole, “I understand. You were just trying to protect your sister, I’d be pretty scared too if I were you.”
“Really?” Juniper was sceptical.
“Of course,” Bruno said seriously, “I’d freak out too if I woke up next to “moon sized hand.” Bruno smirked as he repeated Juniper’s words from two nights ago.
The boy grimaced and looked down in shame, “I’m sorry about saying that too.”
“No. No, I should be the one apologizing." Bruno took a deep breath and looked at each of the borrower children in earnest, “I’m sorry, Juniper. I’m sorry Lilac. I overstepped your boundaries. I won't do it again.”
“It’s okay,” Lilac said.
“It isn’t really,” Bruno muttered. “If this is too much for you, either of you, just say the word and I will drive you back to that house. I’ll help you find other borrowers or a permanent living situation. You’ll never have to see me again.”
Juniper looked down and shrugged, “There’s nowhere else for us to go.”
Lilac nodded. “Mommy said we might be the last borrowers out there… before she died.”
“And our father has been missing for three years now. He’s probably dead too.”
The kids weren’t normally so open about their lives before the bean came into the picture or about other borrowers, so Bruno hung onto every word.
Bruno sighed out all the stress and worry in his body. It looked like the kids were going to stick around a bit longer. “Can we start over?” He asked. The man really wished he could rewrite how they met. No terrifying the kids. No pissing off Juniper or his name calling anymore. Start off right and not deal with the consequences of their fear for no reason other than his stature. But time machines were not readily available to them, so he settled for this.
“Huh?” Juniper looked at the bean like he had sprouted a second head.
“You know, pretend like nothing happened this morning that was scary or awful. Say that we woke up right now and are starting the day just right. How’s that sound?”
“I guess we can try,” Juniper rubbed the back of his head. He thought this was a dumb idea, but figured he’d at least play along to appease the bean and for Lilac’s sake. No matter how much they pretend all the shit didn’t happen, it sure as hell did. The terror of it all was still fresh in his mind.
“Okay!” The young girl smiled, “Mr. Runo, you gotta put your hand here, just like this morning!” Lilac pointed at the spot where his hand was the previous night. A large indent still permeated the blanket that once held the hand’s weight.
“Uh…” Bruno didn’t anticipate this request, he was so caught off guard that his brain seemed to stutter. Before he fully registered what he was doing, he quietly guided his large hand to lay beside the children. He gave them a wide birth of space between them and the appendage, waiting for what came next. He eyed Juniper to see if he’d protest, but the boy didn’t move.
When Bruno fully rested his hand where it had been that morning, Lilac squealed and bounded towards the huge appendage.
Juniper tried to grab her, “Lilac! Get back here.” He wasn’t quick enough.
She stood beside his thumb and placed both hands on the joint. Lilac began shoving and pushing on his thick skin, “Flip your hand, Mr. Runo! Flip it!”
Just like the night before, it seemed Bruno couldn’t help but adhere to the whim of this two inch child. He carefully turned his hand so the palm was up.
Lilac then did something neither Juniper nor Bruno would have ever expected, she climbed up onto the massive hand. She had a bit of trouble doing so, but as soon as she put her full weight on his palm, Bruno was completely frozen. Too scared to move or risk accidently hurting her.
It didn’t help that she began exploring his hand. Tracing his life lines with her minuscule fingers and testing the squishiness of his palm. It tickled, but not in an unpleasant way.
Bruno was frozen, he looked between the two kids for what to do next. Juniper felt like he was going to be sick. Lilac laid out on the wide palm, she was attempting to make little snow angels in his skin. Even with her arms and legs stretched out as far as she could reach, she didn’t make it to either end of the palm.
“Come on Junie!” Lilac waved her brother over and patted an empty spot on Bruno’s skin next to her, “Come up here!”
“N-no, I’m okay.” Juniper shook his head.
“Please?” She used her best attempt at puppy eyes.
"You don't have to if you do want to," Bruno finally spoke up in his defense.
"He's not gonna do it ‘cause he's scared."
"I am not!"
"Are so!"
"Shut up," Juniper shouted at his sister as he marched over to the giant hand. Before he could really think about what he was doing, he jumped onto Bruno's palm. He almost tripped on the unexpectedly squishy surface. His arms swung round to keep balance. Lilac giggled at her brother’s struggle till he glared at her, immediately shutting her up.
Bruno stared in amazement, he currently held two lives in his hand. They (on some level) trusted him enough to hold them. His heart almost leapt for joy out of his chest.
They had only been on his palm for a few minutes before…
“Up!” Lilac said as she raised her short arms, grasping by motions, “pick us up Mr. Runo!”
Bruno looked at Juniper, “is that okay with you?”
Juniper numbly nodded.
“Okay,” Bruno seemed skeptical that Juniper was really okay with this. “You can stop me at any time and I’ll put you down immediately, I promise.”
Juniper nodded again. He just wanted to get it over with.
Vertigo gripped Juniper's stomach as the passenger's seat dropped away. He let out the softest of gasps as they rose higher. The world spun slowly as the giant carried them up and over the arm rest. Then they stopped in front of his titanic frame. Bruno held them at chest level, and raised his other hand just below their platform as extra protection in case one of them fell.
“Closer,” Lilac commanded. Bruno did as he was told, guiding his palm to just below his chin. The bean had to cross his eyes to see them properly.
Juniper might have laughed at Bruno’s ridiculous face behind his glasses if the boy wasn’t so nervous. He had never been picked up by a giant before and he had never been so close to a bean before, he wasn’t sure how to feel. He fidgeted with his hands and tried to think of anything other than the fact they were being held so close to the giant’s mouth. The bean could eat them right then and there.
Bruno noticed the boy’s weary glances at his mouth, now that they were so close he could properly read his worried expression, he raised them a little higher and closed his mouth.
Juniper felt a little better when they couldn’t see the bean’s mouth. He focused on the large eyes staring back at them. Juniper never realized how startlingly beautiful eyes could be, it was especially apparent when they were on this scale. He could see the golden flakes scattered in Bruno’s green eyes and watched the pupils dilate. The long lashes that could be used like rope, moving with every blink.
On Bruno’s part, he had never gotten the chance to see the kids this close before. He saw that both of their eyes were brown and they had splashes of freckles along their cheeks and arms. He noted the way their boots just barely left little indents in his skin and the bulky stitching on their clothes that could have only come from them “borrowing” bean made thread and cloth.
Lilac smiled from ear to ear. She stood on the squishy surface and attempted to walk towards Bruno’s face.
Juniper stayed where he was standing, fidgeting with his hands. He was still nervous to be held by a bean, but it wasn’t as bad as he originally feared it to be.
Bruno’s eyes widened and every muscle in his body froze completely. He even refused to breathe or risk accidently pushing Lilac down.
Then two tiny hands grasped at his crooked nose, she patted it for a moment before extending her arms and giving her best attempt at a hug.
Suddenly, the spell the giant had been under broke. Bruno let out a sigh he had been holding, the breeze from his nose rustled the kids' hair and clothes.
Lilac laughed with her sweet musical giggle as she wavered a bit in her stance, but she held fast to his nose. She was exactly where she wanted to be. She nuzzled the bridge of his nose with her own nose, a common gesture among borrowers to those they cared about.
All the worry and sadness Bruno had felt over these past weeks washed away. To think these children, only a few inches tall, would trust him enough to hold them after everything they had been through told him everything he needed to know.
If Bruno could bottle up the sound of Lilac’s laughter, the joy he felt, or the trust Juniper was giving him, he would. He would do anything to keep this feeling. For these little moments.
He would do anything for these kids.
***
I'm alive! I finally had a bit of time to finish this chapter that had been rotting in draft hell for too long.
I also got my first adult paycheck and you know what I did instead of buying myself a nice dinner? I commissioned the lovely @guaxinimraccoon to draw art for this chapter! 😍🤩🤩🤩🤩 I love it so much I literally can’t stop staring at it! 🥹🥹🥹
💬 0 🔁 10 ❤️ 149 · Commission for @tea-potato-gt!! Had a blast with this one, I'm a sucker for drawing comfort and fluffy g/t 😭😭
You can c
Part 4 where Bruno holds the borrowers for the first time ? 🤫
Anon were you looking at my drafts?😯😏
Thank you to @guaxinimraccoon for this art! You did a wonderful job! (I commissioned them! Just look at my babies!)
Species Swap AU: What if Briar was a human (named Bruno) and the kids were borrowers (named Lilac and Juniper)? Read other parts here: (part 1) / (part 2) / (part 3) / (bonus AU comic here)
Main story “A Borrower at the end of the World” can be found here!
Word count: 4,600ish
***
The early morning sun shined through the windshield and woke Juniper up. It was cheerfully bright, he groaned as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes and stretched. When he sat up and let his vision finally come into focus, his heart stopped.
A massive lump of flesh sat just out of reach. He had never been so close to a bean’s hand. He could feel the heat radiating from the skin. Juniper was shaking like it was freezing.
A gigantic hand lay beside him, connected to an arm as thick as a treetrunk, which extended up and over the plastic armrest which concealed most of the bean’s body.
Too close! Too close! I have to get away! Juniper shakily tried scooting away from the large hand. Juniper was just about to start screaming and running when he remembered Lilac.
He looked around desperately, where was his sister? In his panicked mind he almost missed her.
Then he spotted two little arms wrapped around one of the titanic fingers.
Ice ran through the boy’s veins as he crawled his way to Lilac. Every cell in his body told him to run away, but his need to protect his sister took over any rational thought. “Let go of her, you gigantic oaf! You monster!” Juniper shouted as he pulled his sister out from under the giant’s hand.
Lilac whined as her brother forced her to let go of the warm finger and yelped when Juniper pulled her into his arms. She was fully awake now, and thoroughly confused.
Bruno was so startled by the sudden noises beside him and feeling tickling sensations on his hand. He reflexively pulled back his arm and sat up. The giant unfortunately sat up so quickly that he smacked his head on the car roof. He emphasized the impact with a quick shout, which made Juniper jump at the sheer volume of the exclamation.
The air around the giant hand was sucked along with it as it was pulled away. Juniper wavered in his stance, almost tripping in the process. Still the boy backed up, holding the squirming five year old in his arms. He fervently looked for a way out. They were trapped in a car with a bean and there was no escape.
Lilac looked around, startled and unsure of what was happening as her brother backed away from the giant staring at them, trying to recover from his own rude awakening. Juniper didn’t realize he was getting too close to the edge of the seat and was about to fall off.
“Woah, woah, careful–” Bruno reached out at the edge of the passenger’s seat, blocking them from falling. If they did get closer to the edge, he would have caught them.
Juniper panicked as another gigantic form loomed behind him and over corrected, running forward and immediately tripping on the uneven soft surface. Juniper fell onto his shoulder with a shout. Lilac screeched as she tumbled out of her brother’s arms, landing on her butt. Her head spun as she looked up at the towering giant above them, who had his hands up like he was just as surprised as they were and didn’t know what to do next.
“What was that?” Bruno asked, wide eyed.
“What do you mean ‘what was that?’ Do you have rocks for brains? You tried to grab us!” Juniper was on his feet immediately, shouting at the giant and pointing an accusatory finger towards Bruno’s titanic face.
“You were both about to fall off the seat–”
“— Because you grabbed her–”
“—I did not–”
“Did so! You were holding my sister in your giant, monster hands!”
Bruno froze. Memories of the previous night crashed into his mind. “I didn’t– No…well, I did, but I-I was just— She– your sister, was about to have another night terror and I was trying to calm her down– and then she grabbed my…” Bruno looked at the fuming boy, red in the face, ready to hurl more insults the bean’s way. Then he looked down at Lilac, she stared back at him with wide, innocent eyes. She had no fear in them, just confusion, like she didn’t know what he was talking about. That shut the giant up before he dug his own grave any further. Bruno pulled himself as far away from the children as possible in the tight car, “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have– I shouldn’t have touched you, Lilac, I won’t do it again.”
“You better not,” Juniper snapped.
Bruno ran a hand down his tired face, “I-I’m gonna go outside for a bit…” He grabbed his glasses that were resting on the dashboard and used the hand crank to roll down the window a few inches. “If you need me, you can always–”
“We won’t,” Juniper muttered, but Bruno still heard it. The giant’s face turned into a frown for a split second, before becoming neutral again. But it was long enough to startle the borrower boy into shutting up.
Bruno sighed and turned his back to the kids. He grasped the car door handle and sat there for a moment. The subtlest shiver came to his shoulders, like the tension was building in his monumental back. The giant man opened the door, his shifting weight rocked the car as he left, and closed it as softly as possible. He tried his best not to scare the kids, but it seemed much too late for that.
When the bean’s thumping footsteps faded away, Juniper finally found the ability to breathe again. The tension in his small body lessened and his heart was almost a normal rhythm.
“Junie?” Lilac’s soft voice cut through the fearful haze in the boy’s mind.
Juniper was instantly brought back to reality and rushed towards his baby sister, almost tripping in his hurry.
Juniper landed on his knees in front of her and cupped her face in his hands, “are you alright? D-did he hurt you?!” He pulled at her arms and legs, checking for broken bones, scratches, bruises, anything, but found nothing. “This was all a mistake,” Juniper was suddenly on his feet and began pacing and pulling at the roots of his hair, “A very bad, bad mistake. We shouldn’t have come. I shouldn’t have let you or that behemoth convince me to let us come. We don’t even know where the hell he is taking us!” He was spiraling now, thinking of every possible horrible thing the bean could do to them. “This must be his master plan, to trap us and keep us like pets or eat us—“
“Junie!” Lilac pulled at her brother’s sleeve, forcing him to stop, “it’s okay! I’m fine!”
“How can you say you’re fine?! He was holding you in his gigantic hand! He could have crushed you!”
“He was?”
“You don’t remember?” Juniper couldn’t believe it.
Lilac shook her head, “not really.” She paused for a long time concentrating, “I don’t know, but I remember feeling… warm. Warmer than I have in a long time.”
Juniper huffed, exasperated, “Of course you felt ‘warm,’ that giant freak practically radiates heat all the time!”
Lilac scoffed, “You are so mean to Mr. Runo.”
“Wha— I am not—“
“Are so! You call him mean names all the time.”
“I do not--”
“You called him stupid.”
“Well—“
“You said his feet could destroy a whole borrower house yesterday.”
“So–”
“You called him a monster today. A few times.”
“Why are you keeping track?”
“And I heard you say that he has an awful voice that shakes the earth.”
“Well, it’s not like I don’t say things that aren’t true.”
“But it’s not true!” Tears filled the child’s eyes. “He’s nice, Junie. He’s so nice.” She shook her head adamantly, “all he’s done is help us.” She began to cry.
Juniper paused, “Hey,” he bent down to her level and wiped away her tears, “Lilac, d-don’t cry–”
“You are so mean to him.”
“But–”
“No, butts!” Lilac huffed, “Mommy always said, ‘if you got nothing nice to say…”
“…Don’t say anything at all,” Juniper finished lamely. He sighed and scratched his neck. Maybe he had been too harsh on the bean— Bruno. Lilac wasn’t hurt and that’s all that really mattered.
“You have to tell Mr. Runo you’re sorry.”
“What?! No way—“
She pulled at her brother close by the shirt, he could feel her hot breath as she whispered into his ear, gritting her teeth, “You will apologize to him when he comes back or else.”
Juniper got a chill up his spine as he pulled away, she spoke with the same cadence and irritation as their mother once used when threatening punishment for the kid’s misbehaving. (Though her voice was much higher.)
“O-okay…” When Juniper pulled away, he half expected to see their mother sitting there, but instead Lilac was doing her best attempt at a glare. He let out a hesitant laugh as he looked at his little sister, “when did you become so bossy?”
“When you decided to be a big butt-head,” Lilac countered with a giggle and a quick shove in the chest.
“Oh yeah?” A devilish smirk grew on his face as poked her in the stomach, eliciting a series of giggles until she breathlessly begged for him to stop. Juniper looked up towards the window Bruno left open. “Where is that bean anyway?” he asked, “The guy’s been gone a while.”
“Do you think he’s lost?” Lilac worried.
“No,” Juniper rolled his eyes, “how can you lose a guy that big anyway?”
***
Bruno never wandered far from the car. No matter how angry the children were. No matter how much they hated him, he made a promise to keep them safe.
He locked the car door behind him, not to keep them trapped, but as a cautionary move. There probably weren’t other beans out there, but he didn’t want to risk someone hijacking his (stolen) car and finding two tiny, defenseless children in the passenger's seat.
The windows were left slightly open for three reasons. One, so they could call out for him. Two, if they really needed to get out of the car, they could use their hooks and climb out. Juniper had tested that out the day before they officially left because he didn’t like the thought of being fully trapped in a confined space with a bean. The third reason was just to give them much needed fresh air, since the air conditioning was broken in the truck.
Bruno sat in the dirt beside the car, leaning up against the tire. His head down and his arms resting on his knees. His body refused to move from the spot, unsure if he should take a walk into the woods to relieve some of the tension in his body or just get back in the car, get back on the road. He just froze and wallowed in his misery.
The man felt like shit. He probably looked like it too, if the constant smell of BO (from lack of bathing) had anything to do with it. His clothes were tattered and torn. His shoes and socks had holes. His long, curly hair was twisted in matted knots. He slid a calloused hand down his jaw and felt his stubby patches of beard. He hadn’t shaved in a while either.
He definitely looked like the shell of the man he once was. He felt like it too. Bruno used to have everything, money, fame, now look at him. A man long past his prime, just trying desperately to get home. Praying that his family would survive long enough for him to see them again. There was so much uncertainty in the world now. Who knows how long it will take for him to get there, they were going to run out of gas soon and would have to abandon their (“borrowed”) truck, find a new one. Or have to walk the rest of the way there, Bruno’s legs ached at the very thought.
Then a thought occurred to him: I’d have to carry the kids. Bruno gulped.
Juniper’s terrified eyes and shouts echoed in his mind. Over the past few weeks the boy’s insults were really getting to Bruno. The almost constant accusations of being a monster. Juniper’s worries that Bruno might suddenly turn on the children or hurt them accidentally, was really getting to the bean.
How can I help or even protect them if they don’t even want to trust me? He lamented to himself.
He knew on some level, this was a bad idea. Traveling with beings smaller than his hands could be dangerous to them. Not just him posing a threat, but the entire outside world too. Bruno wanted nothing more than to help them, his intentions were pure, but it seemed that every action he took was wrong. It was one screw up after another.
Bruno grasped at his arms, digging into the skin with his nails. He took two children away from their home. He forced them to trust a man 40 times their size to keep his promise of protecting them. He was taking them to a place they had never even heard of. No wonder they were terrified.
Maybe instead of taking them with him, he should have helped them search for other borrowers. Who knows, if he found borrowers once, maybe he could do it again? Or at the very least he could have stayed in that abandoned house with them until another borrower came along.
The bean looked to the sky for the right answer. He should just turn around, use what’s left of the fuel to bring them back to the house where they first met and search for someone else their size who could take care of them.
Bruno absentmindedly rubbed his pinkie finger. The ghost of Lilac’s two inch figure lingered there, wrapping her little arms around the digit.
The man was selfish. He knew it was selfish, to want something that just wasn’t possible. He wanted to be trusted. He wanted to be helpful. He wanted the kids to want to be with him, to maybe even stay with him. He wanted to be a hero.
He should have made Lilac let go of his finger when he had the chance, even if that meant she would cry, at least her brother would have woken up and taken care of it. Then they wouldn’t be in this mess of a situation. Their alliance was precarious enough as it was. Now he was sure he broke all the trust either kid had left in him. He broke one of the first rules given to him: don’t touch the borrowers.
His stomach hollowed out and he curled in on himself, leaving a big pit in his chest.
Those kids will probably never want to see me again. Bruno buried his face in his moon-sized hands, and I can’t blame them… I could never blame them.
Bruno was used to being seen as a villain. But never a monster.
***
“Mr. Runo!” Lilac cupped her hands around her mouth to amplify her small voice, “We need you!”
“Don’t shout,” Juniper tried to shut her up, “He’ll come back eventually! Stop!”
She twisted out of his grasp and yelled louder, “Mr. RUNO!
It sounded like a barely audible whisper, but the second Bruno heard Lilac’s call, his spine instantly straightened. The hair on the back of his neck was standing on end as he shot to his feet. Moving faster than he had in years.
The kids could see his large frame casting a shadow on the window. They could hear as he fumbled for the car keys at his hip, cursing in Spanish when he nearly dropped them in his urgency.
He finally unlocked the door, but he pulled it open so quickly the air in the car moved with such force that the children almost fell over.
Juniper worried the door might get pulled off its hinges. A terrible reminder of the power this creature— bean held over them. Yet they chose to trust and spend their time with him.
“What is it, what’s wrong?!” Bruno’s wild eyes scanned each child for injury or distress. Juniper had the same nervous features as usual and Lilac was more wide eyed, but unharmed.
“We’re fine,” Lilac squeaked.
Bruno released a hefty sigh and sat down. The car rocked at the entrance of the 6’7 man and the suspensions creaked. Both kids tried to stay steady on the chair as the whole world around them jostled.
Juniper started sweating, this was just another reminder of the weight under Bruno’s giant shoes. One wrong step and the kids would be nothing but a stain on the floor. Juniper tried to shake that horrible thought out of his mind.
Bruno rested his head on the steering wheel, taking a deep breath to calm his racing heart. He couldn’t take much more of this stress so early in the morning.
“Are you alright, Mr. Runo?”
“Yes, yes I’m fine. I just need to catch my breath.” Bruno sat up a bit and waved them off, “you just scared me is all.”
“Sorry,” Lilac looked down guiltily.
Bruno turned to face the children, shaking his head, “there’s nothing for you to apologize for. In fact…” he licked his lips and looked towards Juniper, who stiffened under the scrutiny. “Listen, Juniper, I’m–”
“I’m sorry,” Juniper shouted.
Bruno’s jaw went slack, that was the last thing he ever expected to hear.
The boy waited a moment for any response back. But upon seeing their giant’s dumbfounded face, he continued, “I-I shouldn’t have shouted at you earlier.” Lilac elbowed her brother. He grunted, but continued, “And I didn’t mean it when I called you a monster. Or an oaf. Or said you were stupid. Or that you could squish us under your fat boots. Or that you smell worse than a horse’s as–”
“It’s okay!” Bruno stopped the boy before he dug himself into a deeper hole, “I understand. You were just trying to protect your sister, I’d be pretty scared too if I were you.”
“Really?” Juniper was sceptical.
“Of course,” Bruno said seriously, “I’d freak out too if I woke up next to “moon sized hand.” Bruno smirked as he repeated Juniper’s words from two nights ago.
The boy grimaced and looked down in shame, “I’m sorry about saying that too.”
“No. No, I should be the one apologizing." Bruno took a deep breath and looked at each of the borrower children in earnest, “I’m sorry, Juniper. I’m sorry Lilac. I overstepped your boundaries. I won't do it again.”
“It’s okay,” Lilac said.
“It isn’t really,” Bruno muttered. “If this is too much for you, either of you, just say the word and I will drive you back to that house. I’ll help you find other borrowers or a permanent living situation. You’ll never have to see me again.”
Juniper looked down and shrugged, “There’s nowhere else for us to go.”
Lilac nodded. “Mommy said we might be the last borrowers out there… before she died.”
“And our father has been missing for three years now. He’s probably dead too.”
The kids weren’t normally so open about their lives before the bean came into the picture or about other borrowers, so Bruno hung onto every word.
Bruno sighed out all the stress and worry in his body. It looked like the kids were going to stick around a bit longer. “Can we start over?” He asked. The man really wished he could rewrite how they met. No terrifying the kids. No pissing off Juniper or his name calling anymore. Start off right and not deal with the consequences of their fear for no reason other than his stature. But time machines were not readily available to them, so he settled for this.
“Huh?” Juniper looked at the bean like he had sprouted a second head.
“You know, pretend like nothing happened this morning that was scary or awful. Say that we woke up right now and are starting the day just right. How’s that sound?”
“I guess we can try,” Juniper rubbed the back of his head. He thought this was a dumb idea, but figured he’d at least play along to appease the bean and for Lilac’s sake. No matter how much they pretend all the shit didn’t happen, it sure as hell did. The terror of it all was still fresh in his mind.
“Okay!” The young girl smiled, “Mr. Runo, you gotta put your hand here, just like this morning!” Lilac pointed at the spot where his hand was the previous night. A large indent still permeated the blanket that once held the hand’s weight.
“Uh…” Bruno didn’t anticipate this request, he was so caught off guard that his brain seemed to stutter. Before he fully registered what he was doing, he quietly guided his large hand to lay beside the children. He gave them a wide birth of space between them and the appendage, waiting for what came next. He eyed Juniper to see if he’d protest, but the boy didn’t move.
When Bruno fully rested his hand where it had been that morning, Lilac squealed and bounded towards the huge appendage.
Juniper tried to grab her, “Lilac! Get back here.” He wasn’t quick enough.
She stood beside his thumb and placed both hands on the joint. Lilac began shoving and pushing on his thick skin, “Flip your hand, Mr. Runo! Flip it!”
Just like the night before, it seemed Bruno couldn’t help but adhere to the whim of this two inch child. He carefully turned his hand so the palm was up.
Lilac then did something neither Juniper nor Bruno would have ever expected, she climbed up onto the massive hand. She had a bit of trouble doing so, but as soon as she put her full weight on his palm, Bruno was completely frozen. Too scared to move or risk accidently hurting her.
It didn’t help that she began exploring his hand. Tracing his life lines with her minuscule fingers and testing the squishiness of his palm. It tickled, but not in an unpleasant way.
Bruno was frozen, he looked between the two kids for what to do next. Juniper felt like he was going to be sick. Lilac laid out on the wide palm, she was attempting to make little snow angels in his skin. Even with her arms and legs stretched out as far as she could reach, she didn’t make it to either end of the palm.
“Come on Junie!” Lilac waved her brother over and patted an empty spot on Bruno’s skin next to her, “Come up here!”
“N-no, I’m okay.” Juniper shook his head.
“Please?” She used her best attempt at puppy eyes.
"You don't have to if you do want to," Bruno finally spoke up in his defense.
"He's not gonna do it ‘cause he's scared."
"I am not!"
"Are so!"
"Shut up," Juniper shouted at his sister as he marched over to the giant hand. Before he could really think about what he was doing, he jumped onto Bruno's palm. He almost tripped on the unexpectedly squishy surface. His arms swung round to keep balance. Lilac giggled at her brother’s struggle till he glared at her, immediately shutting her up.
Bruno stared in amazement, he currently held two lives in his hand. They (on some level) trusted him enough to hold them. His heart almost leapt for joy out of his chest.
They had only been on his palm for a few minutes before…
“Up!” Lilac said as she raised her short arms, grasping by motions, “pick us up Mr. Runo!”
Bruno looked at Juniper, “is that okay with you?”
Juniper numbly nodded.
“Okay,” Bruno seemed skeptical that Juniper was really okay with this. “You can stop me at any time and I’ll put you down immediately, I promise.”
Juniper nodded again. He just wanted to get it over with.
Vertigo gripped Juniper's stomach as the passenger's seat dropped away. He let out the softest of gasps as they rose higher. The world spun slowly as the giant carried them up and over the arm rest. Then they stopped in front of his titanic frame. Bruno held them at chest level, and raised his other hand just below their platform as extra protection in case one of them fell.
“Closer,” Lilac commanded. Bruno did as he was told, guiding his palm to just below his chin. The bean had to cross his eyes to see them properly.
Juniper might have laughed at Bruno’s ridiculous face behind his glasses if the boy wasn’t so nervous. He had never been picked up by a giant before and he had never been so close to a bean before, he wasn’t sure how to feel. He fidgeted with his hands and tried to think of anything other than the fact they were being held so close to the giant’s mouth. The bean could eat them right then and there.
Bruno noticed the boy’s weary glances at his mouth, now that they were so close he could properly read his worried expression, he raised them a little higher and closed his mouth.
Juniper felt a little better when they couldn’t see the bean’s mouth. He focused on the large eyes staring back at them. Juniper never realized how startlingly beautiful eyes could be, it was especially apparent when they were on this scale. He could see the golden flakes scattered in Bruno’s green eyes and watched the pupils dilate. The long lashes that could be used like rope, moving with every blink.
On Bruno’s part, he had never gotten the chance to see the kids this close before. He saw that both of their eyes were brown and they had splashes of freckles along their cheeks and arms. He noted the way their boots just barely left little indents in his skin and the bulky stitching on their clothes that could have only come from them “borrowing” bean made thread and cloth.
Lilac smiled from ear to ear. She stood on the squishy surface and attempted to walk towards Bruno’s face.
Juniper stayed where he was standing, fidgeting with his hands. He was still nervous to be held by a bean, but it wasn’t as bad as he originally feared it to be.
Bruno’s eyes widened and every muscle in his body froze completely. He even refused to breathe or risk accidently pushing Lilac down.
Then two tiny hands grasped at his crooked nose, she patted it for a moment before extending her arms and giving her best attempt at a hug.
Suddenly, the spell the giant had been under broke. Bruno let out a sigh he had been holding, the breeze from his nose rustled the kids' hair and clothes.
Lilac laughed with her sweet musical giggle as she wavered a bit in her stance, but she held fast to his nose. She was exactly where she wanted to be. She nuzzled the bridge of his nose with her own nose, a common gesture among borrowers to those they cared about.
All the worry and sadness Bruno had felt over these past weeks washed away. To think these children, only a few inches tall, would trust him enough to hold them after everything they had been through told him everything he needed to know.
If Bruno could bottle up the sound of Lilac’s laughter, the joy he felt, or the trust Juniper was giving him, he would. He would do anything to keep this feeling. For these little moments.
He would do anything for these kids.
***
I'm alive! I finally had a bit of time to finish this chapter that had been rotting in draft hell for too long.
I also got my first adult paycheck and you know what I did instead of buying myself a nice dinner? I commissioned the lovely @guaxinimraccoon to draw art for this chapter! 😍🤩🤩🤩🤩 I love it so much I literally can’t stop staring at it! 🥹🥹🥹
💬 0 🔁 10 ❤️ 149 · Commission for @tea-potato-gt!! Had a blast with this one, I'm a sucker for drawing comfort and fluffy g/t 😭😭
You can c
The street was quiet. A brisk winter breeze whispered through the tops of trees in the distant forest, carrying the chill that kept most of the neighbourhood snug in their homes.
Along came the stranger to break up the peaceful silence. He confidently hopped up to somebody's porch and gave the door a series of sharp raps to the rhythm of ‘Shave and a Haircut’ punctuated by a ring of the doorbell for good measure. After about a minute, a rather confused resident answered the door to find a tall, thin man with wildly spiked-up hair and a cheery grin that spread from ear to ear.
“Afternoon!” he greeted them. In a blink, he reached into the pocket of his tan overcoat and flashed open a small, thin wallet with an ID of some sort in it that certainly looked professional. “John Smith, here with the electric. Had some calls about surges in the area, just checking in to make sure all's on the up and up.”
With the homeowner thrown for a loop, the man stowed the wallet and slipped casually through the threshold to have a look about. Something about that John Smith completely disarmed them, so they answered all his strange questions and allowed him to come in and scrutinize the electronics. He seemed harmless enough, and somewhat official-looking in his blue suit (though the bright red Converse high tops did give them pause).
Half an hour passed quickly, and Smith admitted that all seemed up to code and he'd found nothing out of the ordinary. With an unceremonious, “Ah well. Bye, then!” he sauntered back out the way he'd come.
The resident was left slightly reeling from the unexpected, yet strangely unobtrusive interruption to their day.
When he reached the pavement out front, the man who actually called himself the Doctor rather than John Smith paused. He turned to give a long stare up and down the space between two houses, his gaze sharp and almost expectant. Then he shrugged and strode right up to the next house over.
He introduced himself similarly to the next neighbour, but got caught up chatting in the doorway with them. No matter how hard he tried to steer the questioning toward any bizarre sightings or unexplained surges and outages, the woman found a way to swing the conversation back to busybody gossip about various people up the street. That took up about twenty minutes before he managed to come up with an excuse to end the conversation and got her to close the door.
With an exasperated sigh, the Doctor once again glanced down the walkway between the two houses. Nothing there.
The next two houses down the line yielded nothing; one shut the door in his face before he could even finish his spiel, and the other didn't answer at all. He didn't bother to wait for more than five minutes before circling back around to the first house. This time he was tense from head to toe, growing agitated each time he looked in the same spot and found nothing.
Brow furrowed deeply, he glanced up and down the street before reaching into the inner pocket of his jacket to pull out a small silver tube with a blue bulb at the end. He cupped a hand over the bulb to hide the way it glowed when he pressed a button on the side. It gave a strange warbling buzz as he slowly panned it along the street before him.
His left eyebrow arched as he somehow derived meaning from the sound, only for the other to quickly join it when a few short whistles rang out from behind him.
The Doctor quickly put away his device and straightened his coat, looking down at himself to regard his right shoe. On the off chance that someone noticed him through a window, he made a point of ‘noticing’ his shoe had gotten untied and crouching down to do it up again.
“Thought you were in trouble,” he murmured under his breath as he pantomimed tying his shoe.
Well hidden behind his hunched frame, a small figure jogged out of the shadows alongside the first house and sidled right up to his shoe. An extremely small, young-looking woman who stood only a few inches high. Having just burst out into the cold again, she frantically tied up the fastenings of her dark, fitted coat and adjusted the single strap of her knapsack to a more secure position than being hastily thrown over one shoulder.
“Got tied up with the locals, sorry!” she called up to him as she clambered onto the back of his hand in a well-practiced motion.
His shoulders slumped in a huff to feel her slight weight start to hike up his forearm. He did his best to keep still otherwise, but as he glanced toward her to make absolutely sure that she was alright, his eyes narrowed.
“Your pack is more full,” he pointed out the noticeable extra heft she seemed to be carrying in her knapsack. Her climb up the fabric of his coat sleeve stuttered briefly as tiny violet eyes cut in his direction. He continued, growing a little more indignant with each question. “Is that what took you so long? Did you go borrowing in there, Zepheera?”
“No!” she insisted, full of indignation to be accused of wasting time. One miniscule hand let go of his coat sleeve so she could brush back her short brown hair and look him in the eye as she informed him, “The family was just…hospitable, that's all. Of course I look like a kid out on my own to them, so they refused to let me leave without giving me something. I took some granola to be polite, alright?”
He couldn't argue with that, so Zepheera carried on with her climb. “Find anything?” he asked.
“Nah, nothing unusual,” she shook her head as she pulled herself up onto his shoulder. “You?”
“Not a blip.” The Doctor reached up to adjust his collar to stick out a little more from his coat and jacket. “Can't even pick up anything on the sonic.”
Zepheera was quick to duck underneath the collar once his hands fell away; though she had on extra layers to stave off the cold, she'd never complain about having a warm hiding spot. Being smaller than a finger made it quite easy for her to crouch low enough to remain perfectly out of sight, without even a wrinkle to give the borrower away.
“Think we need a new approach,” she commented, clinging to the fabric beneath her as the Doctor rose to his feet.
“Yeah, I agree.” Tugging thoughtfully at his earlobe, the Doctor glanced around and found the road as empty as it had been all day. “Let's try the next street over. Stick together this time?”
“Definitely. Dunno if my pack can handle any more hospitality.” Though she rarely had cause to use it for its intended purpose whilst traveling with the Doctor, Zepheera felt naked without a bag to carry out and about. Hers was relatively compact compared to what other borrowers would carry; she mainly needed it to hold her climbing supplies. Even while traveling with a Time Lord out in the wide universe, there was always something that required climbing for a person who barely stood over 3 inches tall.
With that decided, the Doctor shoved his hands into his coat pockets and made his way to the other side of the neighbourhood. He passed by a police box standing on the street corner that did not belong there, running an almost affectionate hand along its blue wooden finish as he sauntered down the road.
~~~
Unbeknownst to them a tiny pair of green eyes peered down from above, watching from the old outstretched branches of an ancient oak tree. He was sat up on the mossy bark, one leg dangling over the edge whilst the other was propped up on it, clutching a mini pair of crudely-made binoculars in leather-gloved hands.
The outdoor borrower’s skin was a warm shade of almond, his dark brown hair slicked back smartly to frame his sharp features. He wore a pair of rectangular glasses crafted from thin wire that held two concave lenses in place to correct his near-sighted vision. The forest green collar of his undershirt peeked over the neckline of the lighter-colored green sweater, a fur cloak hanging over his shoulders to keep him warm in the frigid air.
“Hmm… I don't recall there being a police box there… Aren't there only 15 left in the UK?” He lowered the binoculars, turning his gaze upwards and meeting the intense golden gaze of the common buzzard perched beside him. She let out an agreeable croon, narrowing her eyes at the blue box as if she too had been reading up on the topic.
“Peculiar… Well, I cannot deny that it is there now. I will have to add it to my maps once I have finished these rounds.” With a hum, Oliver looked back down towards the newest odd addition to the landscape. Recently in order to make the city feel less dull there had been a lot of changes; signposts, lampposts and letterboxes being painted with colourful flowery patterns by artists all over the area. Ornate graffiti coated the sides of large buildings, and Oliver had to agree that it gave the city a much more lively atmosphere.
Pushing himself up to a stand, the man brushed off his green sweater and straightened his collar. He readjusted his wired glasses before taking hold of the reins attached to the bird of prey and pulling himself elegantly and effortlessly up onto her brown speckled back with a low but short whistle.
“Come on then, girl.” He received an affirmative squawk in response and pressed his body down against her feathers to avoid being dismounted by the wind, a hint of a smile playing on his lips as he kept a tight grip on the reins, waiting for the feeling of rushing air to hit him. The buzzard flapped her wings experimentally before diving off of the tree branch, two broad wings each far longer than Oliver was tall snapping outwards a moment later as she soared over the pavement, heading straight for one of the few semi-detached terrace houses with a tree in the fenced-in garden.
Landing smoothly on the dormant grass after circling to check for humans that may be watching, she leaned down to allow her fragile passenger to climb from her back onto the ground waiting below. The man obliged, and once he was off of her back he leaned his forehead against her beak affectionately, cradling the sharp appendage in his gloved palms and closing his eyes.
“Thank you, Gail. I will call for you when I need you. You know the drill, my friend.” He pulled back after a moment only to chuckle as the bird leaned in and pruned at his already mussed up hair as a goodbye. He backed away whilst trying his best to straighten his wind-swept hair and waved, one hand holding the strap of his pack which was full to the brim with supplies— not to mention the ones on his back that were previously strapped to Gail’s sides.
Cupping one hand over his eyebrows to block out the low winter sun, he watched as Gail ascended and flew off into the empty blue sky. Once she was out of sight he turned and began approaching the same crack in the wall he had used every year to start off his rounds.
“Alright, Oliver… This year should be relatively smooth,” he muttered to himself determinedly, pulling out a notebook sewn together at the spine with golden thread and labeled as ‘Inspection Ten’, flipping it open to page one. The notebook was empty so far but with hundreds of pages to fill, not to mention an extra notebook just in case that wasn’t enough.
“If there are no changes, move on. This city keeps expanding, and I do not have time to do thorough checks of places that do not need it anymore…” he reminded himself, pulling out a tiny lantern he had made using wires and a small LED connected to a battery slung over his back. It was still a pretty clunky device, but it made travelling in the dark much easier.
He hummed as he inspected the derelict state of the tunnels, holding the handle of the lantern between his teeth as he pulled out a piece of lead and began to take notes.
“First Zone, House One, still uninhabited by borrowers… Due to the toys in the garden I am led to believe this is because of the young children in the house, same as last year. No changes.” He underlined the last line before closing the notebook, putting it back in his pack and continuing along the tunnels with a healthy level of caution; wary of any potential predatory bug infestations that may have developed due to the lack of borrower habitation.
He held the lantern out in front of himself, knowing the route to the next house by heart at this point due to this being his tenth year of doing this exact thing. He always started at the same house and followed the same path every year in order to keep track of the borrowers and humans in the area, trading along the way. It was now simply another part of his routine, and though he took the time to make note of any potential damages to the structure of the house, or suspected critters living in other parts of the walls, he continued along his route without much fuss.
Usually there wasn't much to report during his rounds, but he still believed it was necessary in order to make the city safer for borrowers. Sure, it wasn't the biggest city in England, not even close, but it was expanding year by year, and with cameras becoming much more common in human homes Oliver just wanted to check in with his fellow borrowers to make them aware of whether the house they were residing in was no longer safe to borrow in.
It was cameras that got his cousins caught after all. He had never found them since then; just left with the remains of the den he was raised in and a lot of unanswered questions that still burned in his mind to this day.
At this point, almost every borrower along his route knew who he was and didn't mind what he was doing; rarely did his people ever turn down the company of another of their kind. The first few houses never had much to report on due to being uninhabited by borrowers— but Oliver always checked, just in case a new family had moved in and wanted help settling or making sure the tunnels didn’t hide any nasty surprises.
He took off his backpack and pushed it through first to get through the next crack, shimmying though the tight space after it without much issue due to his lean figure. He threw it back over his shoulder as he walked across the uneven dirt ground between the first house and the next. He was wrapped up well for the weather so the winter air didn't bother him too much, although the cold nipped at his hooked nose. He let out a small sigh which turned to steam as it made contact with the frigid air, looking up, up, up at the brick foundation ahead.
“128 new houses…I have a long couple of months ahead of me…”
~~~
“How can nobody be affected?” groused the Doctor, shaking out his fingers from the light shock he'd received from the wiring he was poking at.
Zepheera, sat more openly on his shoulder now that they were alone in someone's basement, sighed and offered, “Maybe it's a good thing? Y'know, if people aren't seeing any effects, then it could just be harmless.”
“I don't see how it could be,” the Doctor insisted. “A signature potent enough to trip an alert on the TARDIS should have some kind of effect! And even if it were benign, I would still rather know than leave it to chance. Or else it's gonna bug me for the rest of time.”
“I see that.”
Despite her patient approach to the Doctor's gripes, Zepheera was beginning to feel just as restless. Sticking to his shoulder while he asked around the last handful of houses hadn't been any more rewarding than when they decided to split up. It had seemed like a good idea to check in with the local borrowers before, since there were certain things that humans could overlook. Small signs or changes in the air, anything that might occur outside of the notice of human beings.
Zepheera had very few opportunities to chat with other borrowers face to face. Not just because she spent all her time with a human look-alike of an alien, zipping around time and space. Even before then she'd been more of a recluse and found it difficult to relate to others of her kind, let alone grow close to them.
Traveling with the Doctor sparked something new in her, however. His inability to pass by anyone he could help was starting to rub off on her, and she found that all the traveling allowed her to feel a certain degree of separation in these situations. The likelihood that they would run into the people they helped again was incredibly slim, all but eliminating the chance of forming any lasting connections. Somehow that made it much easier for Zepheera to throw herself into helping out any way she could.
She felt a bit bad about lying to the locals earlier, even if it was to earn their trust. They couldn't know she was involved with the Doctor, or they'd assume that it was a trick or a trap. Being just about twenty times bigger than borrowers, it was all too easy for humans to take advantage of the smaller folk. Zepheera still had a healthy caution toward any new humans and people of a similar scale out in the universe, but she knew that most borrowers went so far as to keep up a fearful mythos of humanity. It was better to be vague when interacting with her people than to cause unnecessary panic.
Thankfully, it was easy for borrowers to accept one of their own simply passing through, and wouldn't be too thrown by a curious question or two. Though she had to admit, people in this area seemed particularly receptive. Expectant of it, even.
“Should've built a detector from the start,” grumbled the Doctor, interrupting Zepheera’s thoughts. “Soon as this is done, I'm going back to the TARDIS and doing just that!”
“Sounds good,” Zepheera said as she pushed herself up to stand at the edge of the Doctor’s shoulder. Even though she knew very little about wiring, she could tell he was nowhere near done, so she took a running start with what room she had, and leapt to a nearby shelf. “I'm gonna try another look around, just in case.”
The Doctor squawked indignantly. “What? You're gonna leave me alone with this??” He gave a nod toward his hands, and the aftermath of a battle between his fingers and a roll of electrical tape.
“Well, I'm hardly of help just sitting here,” Zepheera pointed out, tossing her hands up. “And I'm not the one who promised that bloke I'd fix his flickering lights.”
When he didn't have an argument against that point, Zepheera gave a sharp nod and began climbing down the side of the adjustable metal shelf.
“Don’t stay for tea this time,” he pressed, wrestling one hand free from the tangle of tape with a painted grunt. “I want to start on that detector right away.”
Zepheera rolled her eyes and assured him, “I won't. Meet you outside!” With that, she slipped into the shadows.
“What makes you think there's gonna be people here, anyway?” the Doctor called after her.
A slight pause came before she answered. Zepheera hadn't been in a position to notice any glaring signs of habitation from her perch on his shoulder, but given the way the previous family of borrowers not only expected company but assumed she was with someone who often came around this time of year…
“Call it a hunch!” rang out from the darkness out of the Doctor's sight.
(Old note: Throws this at you guys. Haven’t written in a while. I don’t know if that will change, but I couldn’t help but make this after the whole vampire event. Once more I end up disappointed by Obey Me events. I really need to lower my standards like I do for Ark, because as fun as the concepts can be, every event ends up feeling rushed and half-baked. They’re not gonna stop though because suckers like me will pay money for a dopamine hit because I have no meaning in life.
New note: Obviously taking some liberties to make it so that Solomon does actually have vampiric urges rather than just being a horndog because this game is literally mostly horny, but I crave plot and substance and have no interest in horny. Maybe I don’t want to fuck anyone, maybe I want actual stakes and near-death because if there’s no threat of dying, then what’s the point of living? Anyways, have something started last July, haha. It’s short, but I want it out of my WIP pile where it’s been judging me from the goddamn corner. I have a bunch of lore ideas with this given the events status being introduced after Nightbringers release, but I won’t get into it cause I’d need to refresh myself on OM.)
Word count: 3668
TW/CW: Soft, safe, nonsexual G/t vore, fearplay, blood, bloodsucking (I hate any word with suck in it, but it’s in here), prey in a stomach full of blood
“Because I’m always craving you, Kat. So much so that I honestly could devour you.”
That… hadn’t really been what I had expected when I asked him why he seemed to be acting odd today when he walked into my room at Cocytus Hall to give me something, kind of freezing when some sort of realization went over him.
I couldn’t help the way my heart picked up the pace anxiously, despite having come across multiple situations similar to this one. Seeing Solomon with a similar hunger to Beel that was uncharacteristic of him made my anxiety spike a bit.
“Buuut, you’re not. Right,” I asked nervously, unable to NOT notice the way his eyes glowed slightly as I lowered the book I’d been reading. I couldn’t help but keep my desk chair facing him, something instinctive decidedly not wanting to turn my back to him despite having been in far worse situations.
It didn’t seem to matter much as he touched his throat lightly, stepping slightly closer and replying, “I don’t think I could actually stop myself if I wanted if this keeps up… Kat, I know this is a sudden request but… would you mind if I drank some of your blood?”
“Wha- blood?” I blinked a bit in surprise, feeling a slight epiphany as I realized. “Ooh! I thought Vampiritis couldn’t affect you. Or did your hubris come to bite you?”
I intended no pun, but Solomon still let out a snort of amusement, though he also looked a tad sheepish like I had hit the nail on the head. I had told him that he should still be careful with the brothers himself, but he’d mostly brushed me off and said that he needed to keep his ‘precious apprentice’ from either catching Vampiritis or becoming a human-sized CapriSun to the afflicted demon brothers while that whole situation was figured out. But, it seemed like his rather attentive nature to me hadn’t extended to himself and he ended up contracting Vampiritis despite all boisterous assurances that he wouldn’t.
“Unfortunately, it appears that being around the brothers so much has infected me,” the sorcerer sighed, looking a bit dejected at having contracted the disease. His eyes seemed slightly glazed over and unfocused like he wasn’t fully in the conversation.
“Well, Barbatos might still have some of the antidote,” I replied, seeing him perk up slightly at the reminder, eyes refocusing with his normal clarity from the pretty obvious distractions on his mind. I set my book down on my desk and started to get up, adding, “I'm sure Diavolo will be able to-."
I yelped when there was a sudden weight against my shoulder and I was shoved back into my chair, looking up at Solomon with startled eyes. His own glowed slightly as he unintentionally loomed over me, looking caught off guard at his own actions.
“Uuuuh, Solomon?”
“I'm a bit a-... worried that I may not be able to hold back against my current thirst on the way to Diavolo or Barbatos,” Solomon admitted. “I'm afraid that if something isn't done NOW that I'll quite literally see red.”
“Really? Did you really try to make a shitty joke in the current situation,” I asked, but I couldn't make myself add any bite to it. His grip on my shoulder was firm and I could feel it tightening slightly each second, able to feel the shake in his grasp. Feeling overly aware of him with the proximity, I could barely hear the slight pant beneath his breath. I took a steadying breath of my own. “Look, I'll give you a LITTLE bit of blood. Just enough to hopefully ebb the hunger pangs, alright? Then we can go to Diavolo with your mind clearer.”
He jolted slightly at my suggestion, or maybe it was just my voice, and a conflicted expression passed across his face. He opened his mouth to say something but it didn’t come out for a few seconds, straining before saying, “I… Yes. Yes, perhaps that will help abate the hunger.”
I didn’t like how he hesitated as he said it or how his expression looked both extremely guilty and eager. But, despite the anxious feeling settling in my gut, I trusted him. To a point.
“Alright, well, first of all, you gotta back up a bit there, bud,” I planted a hand against his chest and shoved at him. His lips twitched in the barest frown before allowing himself to be pushed back away from me, giving me some much needed breathing room and some relief from being pinned by my shoulder to the chair. Absentmindedly rubbing the back of my neck, I thought aloud, “I kind of don't really trust you with my neck, so we're gonna go with… a wrist, I think, yeah.”
“R-Right.” Solomon looked like he was barely paying attention, hands shaking slightly as he bit his lip, seemingly trying to keep his mind clear enough. I saw a bead of his own blood from it.
I reached down and began to roll my sleeves up nervously, only slightly comforted by the sight of the protective charm on my right wrist. Once my sleeves were rolled I felt a bit awkward as I kind of held both out towards him. “Uhhhh, take your pick, I guess. Just don't bite too deep? I'm not sure if you could break my wrists by biting them, but I'd like to not test that too much.”
“I'll do my best,” Solomon presumably tried to give me a reassuring smile but it came out as more of a grimace. He gave up pretty quickly and carefully grabbed my left wrist like it'd snap at his touch. If Vampiritis gave him the cliche super-strength that movie vampires had, maybe it was for the best.
I was a bit surprised when the sorcerer kneeled to get better access to my wrist, feeling more than a little awkward - I probably should have stood up or figured something else out before offering my blood to him since he wasn't really in the headspace to think clearly - but the awkwardness was tempered by a familiar squeamishness that settled in the pit of my stomach. It was similar to, but wasn't quite as bad as, the nauseous anxiety I felt anytime I had to get my blood drawn or a shot.
I managed to watch as Solomon raised my wrist slightly to his face, saw him open his mouth to reveal a glimpse of the elongated canines that were a symptom of Vampiritis and felt a bit of his breath against my skin. But I felt myself pale right as he opened his jaws wider and averted my gaze before he bit down, warned by the slight tensing of his hold on my wrist.
There were two points of pain that suddenly bloomed along my wrist vein as the skin was pierced, making me yelp and stiffen. I managed to mostly resist the urge to pull away as I bit down on my tongue, but my heart skipped a beat as a twitch from my arm told me that he probably wouldn't have budged if I had tried to pull away properly.
I swallowed thickly, wondering if he could taste adrenaline in my quickened pulse for a moment before the pain in my wrist faded startlingly quickly. It was cold and numb, like novocaine to my system, and I couldn't help but blink in surprise and look back.
Only to immediately avert my gaze again with a fresh wave of dizziness and queasiness.
"Okay, nope," I muttered to myself, trying to push aside the image of Solomon latched onto my wrist with a thin stream of blood trickling from the corner of his mouth and an almost blissful close-eyed expression out of my head. At least one of us was having fun.
Thankfully, it wasn't too long before I heard the small gasp and slight panting as he detached from me. It had maybe been several seconds, probably enough for a full mouthful or two with the smaller veins in my wrist compared to my throat, but it had felt awfully long, and I felt the lingering squeamishness that I knew would remain for the rest of the day.
"I hope that helped clear your head a bit," I pulled my wrist back to myself and gingerly touched a finger to the two beading puncture wounds as I started to turn my head to look at Solomon. My hand had a pins and needles feeling. "I was a bit worried you'd-."
My voice immediately became muffled as my mouth was covered by a hand, eyes widening and crying out in surprise when the force of Solomon lunging upward caused the desk chair to fall back. It hit the desk edge first before sliding to the ground, rattling my skull as the chair back hit the ground, making me grunt from the fall and ending up pinned beneath the feral sorcerer.
"Mmph!" I blinked away my brief daze, looking up at Solomon's face in the shadow of the desk as panic flared across my pacts. His slightly glowing blue eyes were replaced by an intense red and I could see streaks of my own blood from the corners of his mouth. The feral looking expression was something I'd never seen in him before, but I couldn't summon anyone or use a spell with my mouth currently covered.
There was a sharp tug against my neck as my choker was broken off, jolting me from my frozen shock. I squirmed and bucked beneath the sorcerer, twisting up and elbowing him in the face. The man HISSED at me and I took advantage of his surprise to shove his hand off of my mouth. Kicking at his chest to push him off me and retreat further beneath the desk, I began to recite a summoning spell.
"Hear me and heed my call," I exclaimed as quick and clear as I could, feeling a pressure behind my eye. Solomon was sat from where I'd pushed him back, hand against his cheekbone where I'd struck him. His expression went from indignant surprise to one of uncharacteristic, raw fury. I saw him tense like a coil before trying to push forward off the ground to lunge towards me again. I quickly raised my leg, shoe planting firmly against his chest as it barely stopped him, knee almost buckling painfully against the force. “In the name of the sorcerer Katherine, I draw upon my pact with the ring of li-GHT!”
My voice hitched as Solomon grabbed the ankle of the foot against his chest, pulling it to the side and yanking me closer. My heart raced, gritting my teeth as we scuffled in the cramped space beneath the desk. I tried to not fuck up saying the summon, while trying to stop him from stopping ME from saying it, while also trying to get my foot loose and scramble further back again.
“Come forth, Mam-mphf!” I narrowed my eyes and grunted as Solomon let go of my ankle and managed to wrestle both of my wrists in one hand, covering my mouth again with his other. The pressure that had been building behind my eye fizzled out and disappeared dead in its tracks.
The sorcerer wasted no time in descending on me, making me gasp in pain as my throat was bitten. I squirmed but could do nothing as restrained as I was, my pained panting lessening as the numbing began to settle in my neck, my hand still tingling from loss of feeling in the wrist. I heard the first swallow as he began to drink greedily and felt a rush of lightheadedness. Lightheadedness that lingered as more blood was stolen and less was able to reach my head properly, making my thrashing lessen alarmingly fast.
I tried to call out Solomon’s name, to try and appeal to him past the feral fervor that had overtaken him. But, of course, it came out as an easily ignored muffled shout that I barely heard over the blood rushing in my own ears and the sound of gulping.
Time slowed painfully as I remained pinned beneath the sorcerer, the lightheadedness and weak feeling in my body increasing every second. My limbs felt more and more like lead until my arms simply hung by my wrists in Solomon’s hold, now struggling to just keep my eyes open and focus on the wooden grain of the desk underside above, trying to not pass out with the fear that if I closed my eyes that I wouldn’t open them again. However, even that became too much effort and my eyelids slid closed.
I felt cold and tired.
I wasn’t sure how much time passed with my eyes closed but I realized that I was being nudged, barely able to focus on the voice, “Sh-Shit, Kat? Kat?!”
“Nnngh,” I groaned at being nudged again, eyelids twitching a few times before I managed to groggily force them open. My sight was blurry and I had to clear it with a couple blinks to look up at Solomon, who gazed down in worried panic with slightly glowing blue eyes rather than the red from before. I just felt an overwhelming wave of relief at seeing that he seemed to have come to. “Oh, thank god..”
I let out a relieved sigh, eyes closing again tiredly, adrenaline either long gone or drained and feeling exhausted relief at seeing Solomon alright. My brow twitched and furrowed as I was shaken, struggling to get out of the dazed stupor I’d almost immediately fallen into without realizing it.
I just wanted to sleep now, man, leave me alone.
“Come on, stay with me,” Solomon said, something brushing against my neck as he murmured some words under his breath. “I can’t have my adorable apprentice dying on me.”
“Mmmn-n-not adorable,” I grumbled weakly, managing to open an eye in an attempt to glare at him. He pulled his hand away from my neck and the glow of a healing spell dissipated in his palm. The healing spell didn’t clear away the blood on his hand and chin, making me wonder how bad I looked if HE looked this disheveled and blood-covered.
“I can’t believe that worked. You’re ridiculous,” the sorcerer laughed, but it was strained. He reached for something nearby and muttered another spell, adding louder, “Just try and stay awake while I try to fix this before the bloodlust becomes unbearable again. If this is how Beel feels all the time, no wonder he goes mad with hunger as often as he does…”
I groaned in acknowledgement, fighting to keep my eye open. I gave up and lifted a lead-heavy arm to drape lethargically over my eyes. “How much blood can I lose before dying?”
“Well, the average person can lose up to a fifth of their blood on average before going into complete shock. However, more than forty percent is almost certainly lethal.”
My lips pursed at the information, quiet for a few seconds before lifting my arm slightly from my eyes to peer at him and mumbling, “I don’t like that you just know that.”
“You did ask,” Solomon replied lightly in an attempt to lighten the mood. He seemed satisfied with whatever he cast and started reaching for my neck again. His expression fell when I involuntarily flinched slightly away from his hands.
“I-... s-sorry…”
“No. No, it’s… understandable,” he sighed slightly, grabbing my other wrist instead. My hand curled defensively as he lifted it up and tied my choker around the wrist.
I let out a surprised noise as I felt a sudden surge of energy and slight warmth, having not realized how chilled I was with my lack of blood. Not enough to be jumping up and down or anything, but I didn’t feel like I was about to die anymore. I blinked at not feeling like death and gave Solomon a bleary quizzical look.
“It’s to magically help your blood levels. I can’t make something from nothing, especially in my mental state right now, but it'll keep you from dying to blood loss,” Solomon explained, giving me a guilty, apologetic, and shameful expression. He sighed and I felt like his eyes flickered for a second. “It's also to help you breathe and hopefully keep you clean.”
“Solomon. I don't like that you said that…,” I narrowed my eyes at him and shifted to try and push myself into a sitting position, yelping when my elbows buckled beneath me. Yup, still too weak to move much.
“Don't strain yourself,” a hand planted against my shoulder to keep me down as the sorcerer looked at me with concern. He tried to give me a reassuring smile despite the obvious mental strain it was taking him to maintain control.
Probably would have been more effective if there wasn't a slight discoloration on his face where I'd elbowed him as bruising started setting in, he hadn't literally just overpowered me, was on the verge of relapsing, and we were both covered in my own blood. In my slightly delirious state, I had to internally admit that it was quite a look.
“Sol-.”
“It's nothing you haven't handled before,” the sorcerer continued, interrupting whatever further protests or questions I had before he started reciting the now very familiar shrinking spell I’d grown accustomed to hearing from the brothers.
Almost immediately the lightheadedness and vertigo took over, dazing me and making my vision swim. I barely registered the sensation of being lifted from the ground, my eyesight refocusing in time to see Solomon’s mouth open above me. The elongated canines that had punctured my skin minutes prior now framed the dark confines of his bloodstained jaws and the warm, shaky exhale that washed over me was saturated with the scent of iron. My heart skipped a beat.
I knew any protest or words would fall on deaf ears but as I was lifted closer to Solomon’s open mouth with his tongue extending slightly to lay over his lower teeth I couldn’t help but weakly say, “If this ends up killing me, I’m gonna kick your ass.”
There was another, sharper exhale from the sorcerer and a slight upturn at the corner of his lips before I was transferred from his palm to the slick, textured surface of his tongue, the muscle curling behind me and drawing me into his jaws. Saliva instantly soaked into my clothes as teeth lightly clicked shut behind me to leave me in darkness, able to hear and feel everything around me flex as Solomon instinctively swallowed some excess saliva.
His breathing was more noticeably ragged from within his jaws, huffing as his tongue quivered beneath me. I was confused, laying in a tired daze and wondering why nothing was moving, used to being tasted, sometimes with aggressive fervor. From the way I could feel drool pooling beneath my back I could tell that I was appealing to him, but the question of whether or not it was brought on by the Vampiritis would have to wait until later. I realized when his tongue only gingerly lapped at me a couple times before gravity began to shift that he seemed to be desperately holding himself back.
“Right,” I mumbled, letting myself slide toward the back of his throat. “Kind of attacked me.”
Solomon probably didn’t want to hurt me more.
I grunted slightly as a swallow quickly dragged me into his gullet and more hastened my descent down his esophagus, breathing restricted by the tight confines and each inhale laced with the tang of blood. Slipping past the collarbone was more constrictive and I was able to hear the sorcerer let out an exhale of relief, felt the odd sensation of being tightly hugged on all sides by peristalsis pulling me yet able to discern the sensation of him leaning forward slightly.
“I can’t tell how much of it is the Vampiritis but… this is unnervingly satisfying,” he admitted, voice resonating down to my bones in my descent. “I really hope you’ll be able to breathe. I guess I’ll find out if you don’t flail.”
There he went, mentioning breathing again. I was almost confused but as I felt the slight pressure beneath me that precluded spilling into a stomach, I realized that he quite literally had his fill of me. There wasn’t even a splash as I was forced into the organ, just slipping into a chamber of blood that I was thankful I couldn’t see. Whatever he did to my choker was allowing me to breathe, which I was thankful for considering I hadn’t exactly braced myself to hold my breath, and oddly enough each inhale was clean air instead of iron-saturated liquid. Potentially some sort of personal breathing bubble, I wasn’t exactly going to summon a light source in here.
“You’re good, Solomon,” I mustered the energy to shout up, feeling for the nearest stomach wall in the space expanded with my own blood. I tried not to think about it too much.
“Thank goodness,” Solomon let out a sigh of relief. Everything sort of sloshed around as he moved, the force of him shifting and standing up making me sink a little. “It seems eating you has tempered the bloodlust slightly. I was worried that I was going to drain you, felt like I was starving and greedy even though I feel full. Now, to get Barbatos and-.”
Solomon was interrupted by the sound of the door breaking open and slamming against the wall, Mammon’s voice shouting in a panic, “KAT!”
“Uh oh.” Solomon and I muttered at the same time.
“I assure you, this looks far worse than it is,” Solomon told Mammon, and considering how bloody and disheveled the sorcerer and my room was, I didn’t think the demon would believe that.
All I could do was wish Solomon luck and prepare to potentially be sloshed around.
(Borrower!Syn has the unfortunate luck of being found by Floyd while out from the safety of the walls. This took WAY too long to finish, but here it is!)
Count: 3292
TW/CW: Soft, safe, nonsexual G/t vore, fearplay, fear/panic of dying, being torn apart, digested, etc
Why was he here? HE WASN’T SUPPOSED TO BE HERE.
Syn’s brown eyes stared at the heterochromatic grey and gold ones that stared right back from the towering man at the room’s door. The owner of the room who was supposed to be off doing something else for some Azul person at this time, and he WASN’T DOING THAT.
Moments or seconds ticked by in the impromptu staring contest, part of them hoping in vain that he really wasn't looking at them, but rather something close enough so that it LOOKED like he saw them. Obviously, that wasn't the case when he was the first to move, taking a step towards the desk they stood on.
But, the second he did so, it prompted Syn's body to finally jolt into action, darting behind the mess on his desk to slip into the crack in the wall they'd come from.
"Hey, come back!" The man exclaimed and they could hear his footsteps run closer.
Quickly, they started to traverse the wall as the loud clatter of things being shoved off the desk was barely muffled by the wall. Their mind raced with potential outcomes from being seen. Would he tell others? Would they believe him?
"I'm not gonna hurt ya," they heard the man say, though something gave them the impression that they definitely shouldn't trust that. There was the sound of something scratching the crack in the wall, looking back to see him PEEL a piece of wall out. "Man, what's that noise people use to attract small things to you? Isn't it 'pspsps'? Pspsps, come on out~."
Fuck that noise, Syn thought, continuing to speedwalk along the wall. They didn’t want to full on sprint in case the human could hear them through the drywall. They froze briefly when they heard the sound of something shuffling against the wall for a moment, but it stopped and they continued.
There were no more outbursts from the human that found them after several seconds of unsuccessfully ‘pspsps’ing them back, which was odd considering he'd found a tiny being in his room, but they weren't going to complain about it. The less they stuck around and the less the human tried looking for them, the better in their opinion.
Suddenly, the suspicious silence was broken as the wall mere inches in front of them exploded in from the outside, causing them to cry out in panicked surprise and reel back while lifting their arms instinctively in front of their face to protect it. As the dust settled, they realized the human had PUNCHED through the wall in front of them. And thankfully missed.
Heart pounding in their chest while their eyes stared with fear, they turned back to run in the other direction when the drywall was punched in on that side as well, leaving them trapped in a space about a foot long between two hands that uncurled from the initial fists. With nowhere to go, their eyes widened further and they paled as the human began to close his hands on each other like there wasn't even any drywall against his wrists.
"A-Ah, stop," Syn yelped on instinct, mind racing as they could basically do nothing but panic as the hands got closer, thinking that they were about to die squashed between a human's hands.
Thankfully or not, the hands didn't slam together with enough force to kill them, cupped enough that they were mostly spared from injury. Given the humans blind fumbling and their panicked flailing, one of their legs got caught between the edges of his palms, but there wasn't enough pressure to break it.
"Gotcha!" The human's voice boomed excitedly with some laughter as they felt their organic cage move, able to hear the muffled sound of drywall chunks falling from his hands while they squirmed and shouted for release. “With all the wriggling, I’m guessin’ you’re still alive, at least.”
Alive and very, VERY terrified.
“LET ME GO YOU-YOU. BUMBLING BASTARD,” Syn exclaimed, trying once more to unsuccessfully push the walls of skin and muscle away from them with their arms and their leg that wasn’t pinned. They yelped when the palms split apart to allow them room, shifting into a cupped shape that left them sprawled in surprise, staring up at the wide over-eager eyes of the human.
“I knew that I saw a tiny human,” he said, grinning. It revealed sharp uniform teeth that glinted in the room light, the points making their blood run cold. They’d only caught glimpses of the human before, but hadn’t noticed the teeth. Did humans have sharp teeth sometimes? His grin faded for a second when they tried to scoot towards the edge of his palm, shaking his hands for a moment to make them stop.
They yelped at the action, small to him but enough to bounce them off the palms briefly and somewhat violently to them, staring up with wide eyes as the human excitedly asked, “Are there more tiny humans in the walls?!”
Syn winced at his loud voice, sensing that the excitement practically radiating off of him wasn’t exactly just innocent curiosity. Even if there were other people, they didn’t think they could bring themself to rat them out. But it was the truth when they shakily replied, “Uh, n-no. I-I’m the only one.”
At least that they knew of.
Unfortunately, the human was not happy with their answer, grin falling completely to an intense stare that made their limbs lock up coupled with the frown that still showed his teeth.
“You’re not lying, are you?”
The question seemed rhetorical as the hands shifted beneath them before they could even think to reply, finding themself shifted entirely to the palm of one hand, the fingers curling around them in a firm fist. Lifted to his eye level, they let out a pained noise as he began to tighten his grip.
“I’ll squeeze the truth out of you, if you are,” the human said, watching Syn as they struggled weakly in his hold.
They couldn’t breathe in properly, vision beginning to spot and ribs starting to ache. They tried to wriggle free, their arms weakly trying to push at the flesh of his hand around their torso to get him to let go, barely managing to wheeze out, “I-I’m not l-lying! I-I swear!”
They squirmed under the scrutinizing glare of the human, who didn’t let up the slow crushing pressure. Spots of color began to burst in their vision, feeling like their ribs were starting to creak under the force while they questioned if there was anything else they could have done to not end up crushed. They hadn’t really expected THIS to be how they ended up dying.
“I suppose you’re telling the truth.”
Syn barely heard the human, didn’t even register what was said until the pressure subsided and they were able to gasp a lungful of air painfully, causing a coughing fit. Their chest ached and their eyes watered as they coughed, barely able to see the human's mild disappointment past just trying to breathe properly after being squeezed.
“Man, I kind of was hoping you’d crack and tell me where others were,” he said, looking slightly crestfallen. “Buuuut, I guess I should be careful if there’s only one of ya. You can’t really blame me for checking if you’re lying, all the humans seem to do it.”
Oh, I can blame you for a lot of things, Syn thought bitterly as their coughing fit subsided, silently adding, Like the fucking bruising I’m probably going to have now.
They bit back the urge to spit venomous curses at him, instead mentally latching onto a certain part of his statement as they finished their coughing fit and cleared their throat. Feeling drained from practically having the life squeezed out of them, their voice cracked slightly as they asked, “Wh-What do you mean by that? Are you not human?”
The ‘human’ blinked in surprise, as though the thought that he was anything but should have been obvious. There was a flash of realization across his face and a second passed before a mischievous grin split across his face and revealed his uniformly sharp teeth once more. With renewed vigor after being deflated from the thought of no more tiny humans, he replied, “Nope!I’m a merman! And you’re either a really unlucky or stupid minnow to get caught by me.”
Syn felt their heart skip a beat nervously, unable to keep from giving him a disbelieving glance. He didn’t look very… merman-esque. Aside from his unnervingly sharp teeth, he looked every bit as human as any of the other students that walked through the halls, other than the odd ones with weird ears and tails. Merpeople were supposed to be in the water, right?
Their disbelief was evident enough for the ‘human’ - merman - to pick up on because he didn’t hesitate to add, “You can’t expect me to go around to classes on my tailfin, can you? I take potions to basically look and function like a human. Well, mostly human.”
With his last sentence, his smile widened a moment before his teeth split apart, snapping them shut within inches of them. They, of course, yelped and jolted back as much as they could in his hold, face paling. He threw his head back with sharp laughter while their breathing shook with terror at being so close to the sharp bone.
“Hahaha! You flinched so hard,” he exclaimed gleefully, a concerning twinkle in his heterochromatic eyes. “You’re gonna be fun to keep around, Minnow.”
Syn felt a sharp jolt of panic and fresh terror flood through them.
“Wha- you can’t just KEEP me,” they said, wriggling slightly as the merman’s expression turned to bored confusion.
“Huh? Why not,” he asked, raising his free hand to rub the back of his neck absentmindedly as he looked down at them.
Syn blinked, startled at how casually he’d asked, as though he was questioning why he couldn’t have the last cookie and not essentially ‘Why can’t I keep a person?’. A tiny person, but still a person. And, after a couple seconds of feeling flabbergasted, they burst out and exclaimed, “Because you shouldn’t keep sentient and conscious decision-making beings or people as if they’re just pets!”
The merman frowned as they shouted, almost immediately looking bored with their protests. He puffed his cheeks briefly with a huff, replying, “The way I see it, you’re not really in any position for ‘decision-making’ or whatever.”
They felt their heart sink heavily in their chest with dread, only far too aware of the MASSIVE power imbalance between the two, thinking wishfully of the safety of the walls. Well, before the wall was PUNCHED into.
A sharp shriek tore itself from their throat as the hand around them surged, the wrist flicking upward and fingers letting go as they were tossed lightly into the air. They expected to fall to the ground, but found themself stopped harshly by the back of their shirt, pinched between his index finger and thumb. They struggled to shake off their daze and dizzying panic, eyes focusing on the worryingly mischievous face of the merman as they dangled in front of him.
“Besides, do you know anything about merpeople,” he asked, expression on his face saying that he didn’t expect anything from them.
And Syn didn’t know. They knew nothing but the fact that they were humanoids that lived in water, cautiously shaking their head as their voice failed to respond.
“Well, while humans have all their complex rules and junk, we go by a rather simple rule in the Coral Sea,” he smirked, eyes narrowing slightly in a way that set off alarm bells in Syn’s head, yelping as they were lifted slightly higher. They felt cold in their limbs when they saw a flash of his tongue licking his teeth in anticipation. “It’s ‘Eat or be eaten’. And you’re looking rather bite-sized, little Minnow.”
Syn was left in a state of shock at the mermans statement, looking slightly down at his face while he watched his words sink in. After a couple seconds, he opened his jaws and began to lower them down TAUNTINGLY slowly, allowing way too much time to take in the details. Like, how a couple strands of saliva broke as his mouth opened or the way the points of his teeth glinted menacingly or how he extended his tongue over his bottom teeth as they got closer.
It only took them a second to take in the sight of his open mouth, but it was all that was needed to make them panic, kicking and squirming, and trying to wriggle loose from their shirt. A meeting with the floor sounded a lot more pleasant than being torn apart or being eaten alive!
“DON’T FUCKING EAT ME,” they shouted at the top of their lungs, an entire octave higher than normal in their sheer terror. Which felt like saying something since they thought their voice was on the higher side anyways.
Shrieking protests and struggles were ignored entirely save for some amused chuckling, lowered enough that they could feel the humidity of his breath against the cuffs of their pants, then felt their shoes sink in slightly to the muscle of his slightly extended tongue. Almost immediately, it surged to life beneath them, coiling around their legs in a way that they were CERTAIN wasn’t normal as they were simultaneously yanked and dropped into his jaws.
Syn bucked and squirmed against the tongue that was curled around them, twisting and turning them like a candy in his mouth. It was far too versatile and-and WRIGGLY to be a normal tongue. They were at least sure that theirs wasn't anything like this.
It could have been seconds or minutes, but either way it felt like an eternity before everything stilled enough for them to realize that the entire inside of his jaws were FLOODED, wondering if they could dryland drown before being eaten. Before that could happen, however, they found themself pressed harshly to the roof of the mermans mouth, scrambling with a panicked 'DON'T!' with the thought that they were about to be swallowed. While there was the sound of a noisy gulp behind them that paired with the entire mouth tensing around them, they were held in place so firmly by the tongue beneath of them that they could scarcely breathe right.
Syn barely had a moment between the strong swallow behind them and the jaws suddenly opening with them being fished out by the back of their shirt past the sharply pointed teeth back into open air.
They shivered as drool began to dry on their clothes and skin, making the room feel a lot colder than before after being stuck in the mermans jaws, and blinked in the comparatively bright lights. After a moment, their vision refocused on a rather pleased looking merman who licked his lips unabashedly with a large grin. Something instinctive definitely hated how pleasantly surprised and predatory he looked.
"Gotta say, Minnow," he said, practically purring with pleasure. "You might not be a huge mouthful, but you're a lot tastier than you look."
That was decidedly NOT a compliment as far as Syn was concerned, and they were less than thrilled at the comment. They were more concerned to why this was being dragged out rather unnecessarily in their opinion, unless he wanted them to die of a heart attack before eating them.
"Wh-What are you… what are you doing," they forced themself to ask past teeth gritted in terror, heart dropping at the wicked delight that lit up in his eyes, yelping when they were jostled slightly as he shook them a little.
"WE," he said slowly, emphasizing the word mischievously. "Are going to play a little game? One where you're hopefully not going to bore me, and-."
"FLOYD!"
The shout from down the hall outside the room wouldn't have meant anything to Syn in their predicament if it weren't for the fact that the merman holding them jolted, face immediately turning to dour irritation. The delighted and mischievous spark left his eyes as he groaned, sighing.
"Damn it," the merman - Floyd, apparently - grumbled, straightening as he looked to the door. He narrowed his eyes as though contemplating whether he wanted to risk the wrath of the voice, eventually calling back, "GIMME A MINUTE!"
With a huff, he turned back to Syn, saying, "I guess I'll have to wait until later to mess around with you more."
Syn's heart soared a bit in hope. They would still be captured, but they'd be ALIVE and maybe they could figure out a way to get back to the wall to never see him again, and why we're they being lifted in front of his face again?
They blinked in surprise as their fantasizing of escape was brought back to reality when the teeth split in front of them again, making them yelp in renewed panic and exclaiming, "WH-WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! I THOUGHT WE WERE DONE!"
"Yeesh, you like yapping," Floyd rolled his eyes at their panic, seemingly over it after being called. An almost bored expression was on his face, opposite of before, as he added, "You'll be fine."
Without any further clarification, he opened his mouth again and wasted no time popping them inside, though they were protesting very loudly that THEY WEREN'T GOING TO BE FINE. Teeth clicked shut behind them and he hummed a little as he lapped at them a couple times. Everything shifted in a way that made them think that he started walking before everything tilted back and they struggled to not slide over the back of his tongue.
SOMETHING from his throat latched onto their ankles, causing them to shriek, right before they found themself crushed by an audible gulp. And then another, and another until they were constricted and trapped squirming within his throat.
Syn struggled as much as they could, but they were already exhausted and the walls were too strong and tight around them to allow much room. They felt everything become even more constricting after a couple seconds, the overwhelming sound of his heartbeat and lungs telling them that they were in his chest.
They weren't even in his stomach when they heard the voice from before.
"Floyd, I'm getting a little tired of you running off and getting distracted right before Mostro Lounge opens," the voice chastised, earning an irritated groan from Syn’s captor that vibrated all around them.
"It was only a few minutes, Azul," Floyd replied, voice shaking everything a bit.
Syn slipped into a more open space, immediately trying to get up and avoid touching anything, only ending up falling against one of the walls in their haste. They heard a hitch in breath, but that was the only acknowledgement that they were even there. With fear fueling them, they exclaimed, "LET ME OUT!"
Their voice was unheard through the layers of muscle and a continuation of the conversation above.
"I was only grabbing a couple things," Floyd was continuing, the organ moving in a sway that suggested he was probably following Azul. "Besides, it takes an hour to get reaaaal busy."
"Regardless, I still expect better of you."
Syn was left alone in their terror, ignored by their captor and unknown to this Azul person. Was it supposed to hurt yet? Why wasn't anything really happening? Were they somehow okay? Is that what he had meant by saying he was going to mess with them later?
They were left stewing in their anxieties and fear, the conversation above pointedly interrupted by Azul asking, "Is that DRYWALL dust on your hands?"
I like the both the prompts “Hey, can I- Can I eat you? I, uh, you’d just- feel really good in there, I think, and um… Jeez, I’m sorry, you just look so tasty…” and “Your stomach can wait its dang turn.” !
(Finally able to make something for this request from a while ago! I feel so rusty at writing rn, Jesus. Glossed over the early on bickering because I didn’t feel like writing a lot of dialogue and just wanted to get into it. Honestly, trying to write the argument was delaying me for a few days before I scrapped it ;-;
But, here it is! I hope it’s up to snuff despite taking a couple weeks and being shorter than most with another rushed end. I hope to have the beach episode done by the end of Saturday, but we’ll see. :P)
TW/CW: Soft, safe, NONSEXUAL, m/nb g/t oral vore; kind of foodplay?? (It’s crepe filling, so not exactly food)
Count: 2426
“Hey, can I- Can I eat you? I, uh, you’d just- feel really good in there, I think, and um… Jeez, I’m sorry, you just look so tasty…”
I paused what I was doing, tapping the whisk I was using against the side of the bowl so that it wouldn’t drip as I turned around to face the ginger demon that was practically drooling on my shoulder.
“Beel. Honey,” I said in the tone of mild sweetness over barely restrained irritation as I looked up into his eyes. Which were a bit too glazed over and focused on me for my liking.
Simultaneously reaching across the pact to magically give him a tug and lifting my empty hand up to snap and catch his attention both ways, his eyes blinked into focus and I took the opportunity to say, “I’m busy making dinner and dessert right now, and not only will the others not appreciate you eating me in the middle of doing so, I’m also hungry and tired and REALLY want my fucking strawberry crepes. So, your stomach can wait it's damn turn until after dinner, capeesh?”
“But, Kaaaat,” Beel’s eyes widened as he begged, reminiscent of a dog begging for a treat.
But, I was too used to this and gave him an unimpressed look, gesturing to the kitchen with the whisk and commanding, “Go sit down and WAIT, Beel.”
He whined but reluctantly walked out of the kitchen with the help of some nudging from the pact. I sighed to settle my irritation at being interrupted and turned around to continue cooking dinner.
……………….
Dinner was, thankfully, uneventful in the way of arguments between the brothers. Not because they didn’t have anything to argue about, but more because I feel like they could sense my rising irritation anytime voices started raising, mentally tightening the hold on the pacts with the brothers in preparation. Today was just not a day that I had the patience for much bickering.
Of course, bickering was inevitable when I got up to put my dishes in the sink and Beel kindly tried to remind me about my ‘promise’. And by remind, I mean a whine that made me sigh with the knowledge of the inevitable onslaught of argument from the other brothers about eating me.
“That’s not fair! I haven’t been able to eat Kat in over a week,” Levi complained, like the Avatar of Envy he was.
I groaned and rubbed my temple with my free hand, breathing in and counting like Barbatos and Simeon had suggested. Apparently I could rival Satan on my bad days with my moods.
I decided to leave the brothers to fight, knowing that any damages would be something for THEM to deal with, not me.
As I walked to the sink and placed my dishes in, I tried to avoid a loud clatter. Humming in mild smugness at the ‘Whoever cooks doesn’t clean’ policy, I walked up to the fridge and took out the small tupperware of crepe cream and strawberries I’d set aside for myself. There were more extras, but this one was for me before Beel could get to the leftovers.
Popping over the two little tupperware containers, I got a clean fork and stabbed a strawberry, dipping it in the creme and eating it.
“Kat?”
I made a noise of curious acknowledgement, looking towards the kitchen entrance with fork still in my mouth, seeing Beel walk in. Knowing exactly what he wanted, I made a disgruntled noise at probably not being able to finish my strawberries and pulled the fork out, saying, “Hey, Beel.”
“Can I eat you now,” he asked, placing his own dishes in the sink. Like usual, there were several plates and utensils.
“Can I finish my strawberries,” I replied, frowning a bit at his tower of dinnerware. “And you just ate. You know I don’t like being in any of you when there’s food.”
The demon let out a whine and placed a hand over his stomach. He looked so dejected that I couldn’t help but feel a bit bad for his ever-present hunger. Everyone did say that I gave into the brothers' whims a bit too easily a lot.
“Okaaay. Mira.” With a grumpy growl, I cleared my throat from the sticky sweetness of my treat and leaned on the counter. Once Beel gave me his attention, I added, “We can watch a movie or something so that I can finish my strawberries and your stomach can empty, and you can eat me for tonight.”
“Really?” Beel’s eyes lit up as he looked at me, able to see drool at the corners of his mouth.
“Yes, really. But no going for a run in the morning with me inside,” I grimaced at the thought, very much not wanting to be woken up by being violently jostled. “When you wake up, let me out so I can shower and pass back out.”
“Of course,” the demon nodded seriously, taking the instruction seriously since I can, and have, used the pact to make him stop his morning runs while eaten.
“Alright then, let’s go.”
I closed and grabbed my two tupperware containers and followed Beel to his room. There was still a bit of arguing from the dining room, but I’m pretty sure it’d been long enough that the topic had changed from who should probably get to eat me next. Just the usual brotherly bickering of raised voices and name calling probably.
Belphie wasn’t in the room when Beel and I entered, either still in the argument with his brothers or gone to catnap somewhere, so I didn’t hesitate to flop down on the purple comforter while Beel started up the TV.
“Do you have any movie in mind?” He asked, catching my attention.
I shook my head, sitting up and carefully setting my small tupperware aside to look at the ginger demon. Humming a bit, I said, “You can pick whatever you want. Wasn’t there some movie that came out that you wanted to watch?”
“Oh yeah. That new horror movie that came out. Are you sure though? I thought you didn’t like horror movies.”
“I mean, not really, but I’m probably not even watching the whole thing,” I replied, feeling like we’d probably get into about thirty minutes max before he ate me. “I’m just here to chill and eat my strawberries before you eat me.”
“Fair,” Beel’s eyes glossed over a bit at the thought and he shook himself from his fantasizing to look at the movies on the shelf. After a couple seconds of searching, he pulled out the movie he wanted and put it in, patting his bed once he sat down.
I moved over from Belphie’s bed to his to sit in front of him while we started watching the movie. Sitting cross legged in front of him, I carefully ate my strawberries and creme while he rested his head on top of mine, arms loosely wrapped around my middle.
The movie was something about people in mirrors being able to kill their real life counterparts, at least from the looks of the first few minutes. Then it moved onto some family who would probably inevitably have to face their mirror selves and likely not die because they were the main characters, and no movie I’d seen had the balls to kill off children on screen. That one side chick was totally going to die somehow though, I could feel it.
I didn’t get to see it though because once my strawberries were all gone and we’d watched maybe twenty minutes of the movie, Beel’s stomach loudly growled behind me, causing me to jolt. I’d honestly gotten too absorbed in the movie to remember why we were watching it in the first place.
“Can I eat you now, Kat?” Beel whined, arms tightening around my abdomen as he sort of hugged me to himself like a living teddy bear to try and ignore the hunger pangs.
“Tch, yeah, you can eat me,” I snorted in amusement, reaching up to pat him. I was still a bit annoyed, but felt a lot better than when he’d interrupted me while cooking. Besides, I couldn’t help but feel a bit endeared as I felt him lean into my hand.
“Can I use the crepe stuff?”
“Ehhh,” I glanced at the currently closed tupperware, not really feeling like being drizzled in the stuff. But, I was going to end up soaked by saliva and eaten anyways, so I supposed it didn’t really matter. “Fine. Just try not to make a mess everywhere.”
“Thanks, Kat,” the demon purred, something that rumbled in his chest and I could feel it against my back as he hugged me closer briefly. Without any hesitation, he began to recite the protection and shrinking spells, causing me to shudder at the feeling of magic coursing through me.
A familiar sense of vertigo washed over me and I tried to shake it off on instinct as I was quickly shrunk down to half a foot tall on the bed, finding myself carefully scooped up by Beel.
“You doing alright?” he asked on routine, though he was already licking his lips in anticipation. Still, he was restrained enough to allow me a response.
“Yeah, I’m good. You’re set to go ahead.” I nodded up at him, still finding myself easily overwhelmed by the brothers size when I shrunk. I wasn’t scared like I used to be, but there was still something daunting going from normal size to almost handheld in mere moments, and I could never quite get used to it.
Being given permission to continue, Beel looked as excited as a Golden Retriever that found a treat, replying, “Let me know if I hurt you or anything.”
“Will do.”
Beel excitedly glanced down at the two tupperware containers and obviously thought about how to utilize the crepe cream without spilling it all over his sheets. He decided to place me down while popping both plasticware open and then scooped me up to deposit me in the container that had had the strawberries.
“Ugh, I’m already looking forward to a shower,” I grumbled at feeling the residual strawberry juice soak into my shoes and socks with the knowledge that I was only about to get stickier.
“Sorry, Kat.” Beel apologized as he picked up the crepe filling container, pausing as he glanced at it, warring with his guilt and innate desire to use it.
“It’s fine,” I waved off his apology, adding, “I already said it was okay, and I’d be showering afterwards anyways.”
He hesitated only a second before nodding and starting to tip the other container above me.
I braced myself as much as I could for it, tensing and unable to keep my mind from going to the comparison of one of those slime dump videos from the Human Realm. But, I still wasn’t prepared for the chilled sensation as it was drizzled on top of me, making me yelp in surprise. After a few seconds, the entire container had been dumped on me and I was left raising my arms with a grimace, covered in crepe filling that dripped off my arms and body.
“You ready, Kat,” Beel asked, carefully plucking me out of the tupperware, three fingers to my back and thumb against my chest.
“Ready as usual. And the more we wait, the stickier I’ll be,” I stuck my tongue out in distaste, feeling like I could already feel the sugary liquid drying on my skin and clothes. But, maybe that was just my immense dislike for anything sticky against me.
“I’ll be quick.” Beel purred, licking his lips again before raising me up to his mouth.
I made a small noise as he licked my front from chest up, his tongue taking a good chunk of the crepe filling with it and replacing it with warm saliva that contrasted the still kind of chilled cream.
“Mmm, you taste really good,” the demon said. Despite him saying similar stuff everytime, my face still heated a bit with embarrassment, still unsure how to feel about the ‘compliments’.
“Yeah, yeah,” I grumbled, trying to ignore the redness at the tips of my ears.
Thankfully, Beel never really cared about whether or not I got flustered, so he didn’t tease as he opened his jaws and shoved my upper body into his mouth.
Carefully clamping his teeth around my middle, everything around me rumbled from his purring. He didn’t waste any time as he immediately started tasting me, sucking and licking the crepe filling off of me. The eager tasting probably only lasted seconds, but I was still left gasping for air when he paused to swallow the excess saliva that had pooled in his mouth, using my arms to press away from his tongue and try to allow me more breathing room.
Gluttonous as he was, the reprieve was brief and I found his teeth splitting apart slightly to shove more of me inside.
“Beel!” I couldn’t help but exclaim a bit as I was quickly forced further into his jaws, my arms slipping over the precipice at the back of his tongue. A loud swallow made my ears pop, drawing me into his throat. Several greedy swallows followed, each as noisy as the last.
It was obviously pretty constrictive in his throat, but it definitely had more give than his brothers, something I was thankful for with his habit of eating me at larger sizes than the others. I could feel him place a hand against me from the outside of his throat as I was worked down past his collarbone, where he sighed in satisfaction and purred even louder, rattling me to my bones.
I could feel him hunch a bit forward as I slipped past his heart and lungs into his stomach, knowing that he was doing his best to feel me even more.
“Are you okay, Kat?” Beel asked, voice laced with satisfied bliss at having his hunger sated.
“Yup, fine,” I called back up, pushing myself to a sitting position. I shook off the small daze that naturally came with being eaten, let alone eaten upside-down. Huffing a bit from the trip down, I stretched and asked, “You feeling better.”
“Always, with you inside,” the demon purred.
“Well, I’m glad to help your hunger pangs, but don’t forget to let me out in the morning before your run,” I yawned, already not looking forward to being woken so early.
(Finally here’s the continuation of the Firefly Fairy AU. I don’t know why, but writing has been more difficult lately, lmao. Hope I don’t get burnout.
Sorry it’s so short with not much going on!)
Count: 2205
Lilia was the name of the Fae I was brought to, or at least the name I heard when I was TELEPORTED out of the stomach belonging to the Fae that found me, blinking in the dim green glow of a stone room whilst in a black-gloved hand. When my vision focused enough after a moment, I noticed a Fae that was far smaller than the one I’d crashed into who looked even more human. Nowhere near as small as I, but it was noticeable.
If it weren’t for the pointed tips of their ears or the wine-red eyes that were signature-ly reminiscent of a felines currently looking at me with a look of shock, they’d be able to pass as human under the weird glow of green torches. Granted, a human with pink streaks in his hair, but almost human nonetheless.
“Wha- MAL-?!” the Fae, Lilia, started to exclaim, but the nameless Fae holding me interrupted them.
“I came across this injured fairy during my walk,” he said, extending his hand out slightly towards the other. “They fell from the canopy with a broken wing and iron burns that I could not fully heal.”
(This chapter, despite being shorter than some I’ve written before, was incredibly difficult. I struggle to remember dialogue between two characters, and I’m over here just chucking in characters to conversation like it’s Smash. No vore in this, mostly just talking, ranting, etc. with character interactions.)
Word Count: 6339
Unlike Mammon, Solomon wasn’t worried that I was going to slip and end up down the sink drain, so it took no convincing for me to be left to my own devices once I was placed on my bathroom counter. I could hear him and Belphie talk past the ajar door, but I couldn’t discern anything more than Belphie’s disgruntled tone. I didn’t really care anyways.
I spent a minute angrily muttering to myself while I tried to figure out how I was going to get in and out of the sink, deciding to just push my hairbrush so that the handle clattered to the bottom of it, creating a slope I could use to get back out to the counter.
“Kat? Are you okay,” Solomon called out from the bedroom.
(I was so torn between continuing a bit past the point at the end or cutting, but I decided to cut because I’m tired, and it works better with the flow. Anyways, here’s the next Animal Incident chapter, haha)
Word Count: 4738
Nothing like near death experiences and being eaten to take all the energy out of you. After texting Solomon, it wasn’t long before I passed out beneath the edge of my oversized comforter, curled against the side of my pillow while my phone also went to sleep. I woke up late the next morning with another plate of small portions and texts from basically everyone, along with a box of cookies from Luke that I could only assume were the ones Beel was talking about yesterday.
Speaking of, Beel’s text was an apology for eating me that ended with him saying that I tasted really good, if that helped at all. Given that him eating me was just yesterday and the mild betrayal was still raw, it didn’t, but I said it was fine as long as he didn’t do it again.
Satan, Asmo, Mammon and Levi all asked me if I was alright in their own ways, each one I replied with “I’m sure it’s not the worst thing that’s happened to me”. Belphie texted me about how he missed being able to nap with me and Lucifer said that he hoped that I was okay, giving me the classes that Satan would be sending me notes for. Never a day off with Lucifer.
Summary: The gang heads down to the annual fair and enters a magic show that turns out to be a little too real. When the witch believes the humans are keeping the borrowers captive, sizes are swapped and now they have to figure out how to get back to normal.
Or; A non-canon April Fools fic where everyone gets to swap sizes with each other!
Warnings: Fear and panic
Word Count: 12,404
AO3 Link
Other people do actual pranks on April fools, I, apparently, write the literal longest one-shot of my fanfic writing career, lol. Anyway, this was a lot of fun to write! It's non-canon to the actual bbbcau but I hope you guys enjoy it anyway!
Also, special thanks to @valcove for help in beta reading this beast of a one-shot!
“I still can’t believe the nearby town holds a fair every year.” Joel said as he, Grian, Impulse, and Tango walked along the fair’s path, looking at everything it had to offer. They had arrived not too long ago, having carpooled in an uber since they hadn’t wanted to deal with parking. Good thing too, because the place was packed. Not just from people within the town but from their fellow peers at the college. “This thing is huge.”
Impulse smiled and laughed. “Yeah, they really go all out on it. It’s a whole three day thing and they’ve got a ton of different things to do.” Impulse explained. It was no wonder the college had a three day weekend this week in particular. They were pretty sure they could even see some of their professors around.
“Impulse and I have gone the last two years and they’ve been a blast!” Tango exclaimed with a grin. “So I’m sure you guys will have a great time!”
Grian hummed, a smirk forming on his lips as he leaned over to look at Impulse. “And was Skizz with you those times too?”
Impulse laughed again, though this time it came out sheepish as he rubbed the back of his head. Tango blinked at the question and turned to look at Impulse himself. Upon seeing his reaction, Tango looked affronted. “What?! Even then?!”
They all laughed as Tango deflated, pouting at just how unobservant he had been for two years, with a borrower right under his nose. This wasn’t the first time and it certainly wouldn’t be the last, but it was always funny.
Speaking of the borrowers, both Jimmy and Skizz had decided to tag along to the fair. Jimmy hadn’t been sure at first, after all, the most crowded place he had been in before had been a classroom and at one moment, on the floor of a busy crowded hallway. It had sort of put him off going out into public again. But Skizz had hyped up the fair so much and managed to convince him to at least give it a try.
So now, the two were tucked safely within a pocket. Skizz in Impulse’s chest pocket, and Jimmy in Grian’s hoodie pocket. Thankfully the day wasn’t too warm where Grian couldn’t wear it at all, since Jimmy really did prefer the hoodie pocket over other kinds. Skizz was a bit weird, saying he didn’t mind anything. Over the years he had spent with Impulse, he had found himself in a variety of places in order to hide. Some worse than others, and among them pretty much any kind of pocket was a solid ten in his book. Especially if it was Impulse’s pocket.
It was still strange knowing how long Impulse and Skizz knew each other. Thirteen years was a long time and finding out they had met as kids had been especially surprising for Jimmy to hear. Kids could be a lot, they could be so much more dangerous than even adults, but after hearing the story, it didn’t seem like that at all. In fact, Impulse had been far better than any adult. Even an adult borrower.
Jimmy shook those thoughts away for now, focusing back on the present. He could hear the sounds of the fair all around him and though he couldn’t make out anything distinguishable, it did all sound like fun. He was probably the most excited to try all the different foods they had. Skizz describing everything he’d tried at the fair was probably at least half the reason he had been convinced to come.
“So, what should we do first?” Grian asked after getting his laughs out at Tango’s expense.
Impulse snorted. “Well, I know what Skizz wants to do.” Impulse moved off to the right and the others gave each other a look before following him. Sure enough, Impulse stopped at a food stand, the first of many they were sure to stop at. Impulse turned around as he waited behind one person. “Skizz skipped breakfast so he could save room.” Impulse explained.
“Heck yeah, I did.” A small voice said, coming from the front pocket of Impulse’s shirt. Thankfully, Skizz’s voice was only loud enough for those closest to hear him. Though that didn’t stop Impulse from glancing around him, just in case.
“What stand is this?” Joel asked, trying to look behind everyone to see the sign for the menu. He wasn’t having a lot of luck though.
“This was Skizz’s favorite last time. They sell elephant ears.” Impulse explained.
“Oh, they were the best. Jimmy, if you can hear me, you need to try it!” Skizz exclaimed, this time a bit louder than before. Impulse placed a quick but gentle hand over the pocket, causing Skizz to make a noise, as the person in front of them turned their head to give them a look. Impulse gave them a nervous smile until the person simply turned back around, continuing his order.
Everyone sighed in relief. “Little too loud there, buddy.” Impulse said, slowly taking his hand off his pocket. He heard Skizz let out a small huff, his turn to be a bit pouty.
Jimmy had heard Skizz though and he moved a bit, pressing against Grian’s left hand, which was nestled in the pocket with him. He felt more than heard Grian hum and gave Jimmy a small poke. “Seems like Jimmy wants to take you up on that offer.” Grian translated for him. The only bad part about being in the hoodie pocket was that he was a bit too low to be heard like Skizz could be. But he had other ways to communicate, as he had just showed off.
“I’ll buy two then. They're big enough for two people to share, so once Jimmy and Skizz have their portion the four of us can split the rest.” Impulse explained before realizing it was now his turn and walking up to the stand to order.
“Sounds good to me. Not sure if I’ve even tried an elephant ear before.” Joel admitted, trying to think back. He was coming up blank though, so if he had tried it at some point but forgotten, well it no longer counted anyway.
It didn’t take long for Impulse to grab the two elephant ears, which were large, hanging over the paper plate it was on to the point all of them were worried it would fall. Thankfully though, they managed to make it to a secluded table and Impulse placed the plates on top as they all took a seat.
They all glanced around, making sure no one was around before Impulse reached into his shirt pocket and pulled Skizz out. Grian, hand already in his pocket, simply cupped it around Jimmy, making sure his grip was firm before pulling him out as well.
Both borrowers were set down gently on the table and the humans allowed them to grab what they wanted, both Jimmy and Skizz ripping off a corner piece of their respective elephant ears, before moving more towards the middle of the table to sit down together. Skizz had taken a bigger portion than Jimmy had, but Skizz was used to eating more food. Jimmy still had some catching up to do, if he wanted his stomach to grow out a little more, even after these last few months.
Once the borrowers were settled, the humans split up the rest with each other and they all dug into the fried cinnamon bread with eagerness. As soon as the flavor hit Jimmy’s tongue, he couldn’t help but let out a small noise of pleasure. “Oh my goodness.” Jimmy reacted as he swallowed. “You were right Skizz, this is amazing.”
“I told ya! And there’s plenty more food like this all over the fair!” Skizz exclaimed before taking another bite. “We eat like kings today, Jimmy.”
Impulse snorted. “Like you don’t usually?”
“Yeah, well, this food is extra special, so it’s different.” Skizz huffed, causing the humans to laugh.
Jimmy finished his piece and then stood up, stretching a bit before moving back over toward Grian and Joel, though they weren’t his real destination. He moved in between them and used their bodies as cover in order to see out into the fairgrounds. He had only caught a glimpse of it from the car before he had to go into the pocket, so he wanted to take this opportunity to look around.
There were a lot of humans around, to the point where Jimmy felt a bit tense just looking at all of them. He moved his gaze away from the crowd though and focused on the actual fair attractions themselves. There were tents set up all over, booths and games scattered in between them. Like Skizz had said, there were also a lot of food stands just from where Jimmy could see. It was different than anything else Jimmy had seen, and despite the crowds of people he was happy he had come.
A hand suddenly snaked in front of him, curling around him front to back. He settled his hands against the top of the finger and looked up to see Grian was the one the hand was attached to. “Careful, you don’t want to be seen.” Grian said.
Jimmy rolled his eyes, though it was mostly out of fondness. “I know.” The hand curled around him became just a bit tighter and it moved him over so he was now in front of Grian before the hand left completely. Jimmy turned back to the rest of the table, who he noticed were just finishing up the rest of their snack.
“So, what should we do next?” Tango asked as he licked off the excess cinnamon on his fingertips.
Joel hummed and leaned back in his seat, looking around them for anything interesting. His eyes caught sight of a particular tent, one with a sign readable even from how far away he was. He pointed over to it. “That one sounds interesting.”
Grian followed his gaze, eyes squinting as he read the sign. “The Amazing Witch Aria? Really, Joel?” Grian asked, looking at Joel with a raised brow.
“Hey, it could be entertaining! Not that I believe in magic but everyone likes a good magic show. Right?” Joel said, trying to explain himself.
“He’s got a point. It could be fun.” Impulse said and Joel nodded along, thankful someone else agreed with him.
Neither Jimmy nor Skizz believed in magic either. Even if some would say the existence of borrowers at all was magic in and of itself. But with everything Jimmy and Skizz had been through before meeting their humans, well, it was a hard sell for anyone to convince them magic was real. Either way though, the idea of a magic show intrigued the two of them. “I think we should check it out.” Jimmy chimed in and with an agreement from Skizz, the group was decided.
Jimmy scurried onto Grian’s hand and was placed back in his hoodie pocket, Grian’s hand once again staying inside with him. He leaned against it, getting comfortable. Impulse scooped Skizz up and carefully deposited him back in his chest pocket. Once the borrowers were secure, they all stood, throwing away their empty plates and heading over to the witch’s tent.
As they drew closer, Tango got close to the sign in order to read the fine print. “So…it looks like it’s ten bucks per person.” Tango said, already in the process of pulling out his wallet for a ten.
“Bit expensive, ‘innit?” Joel mumbled a bit to himself as he also pulled out a ten.
“You were the one who pointed it out.” Grian reminded him. Joel simply shot him a look.
Money in hand, they pulled back the tent. It was a good medium size, fitting a table and enough chairs for at least six people. There was a girl messing with something on said table, but her head perked up once she heard the rustle of the tent opening. She put on a smile. “Hello! And welcome into the world of magic and wonder.” She said with a bow before standing back up and putting her hands together. “Are you here for the show?”
“Yes, please.” Impulse said and she nodded.
“That’ll be forty dollars then.” She said and Impulse collected everyone’s ten and handed it over. She quickly counted that all forty was present before slipping it into her pocket. She motioned toward the chairs in front of the table. “Please, take a seat.”
They did as told and Tango leaned in closer to look at the desk. There were some things like cards spread all around and some sort of stick off to the side. Though the stick was probably supposed to be a wand, now that he was thinking about it. “So…what kind of show is this? Are you going to be reading our futures?” Tango asked.
The girl huffed a bit. “I’m not a psychic, I’m a witch.” She blew some hair out of her face and put on another smile. “I’m here to do some magic and let you feel some magic.”
Tango blushed a bit. “Oh. Okay.” He said, feeling embarrassed for having asked.
The witch collected herself and then snapped her fingers. The lights in the tent went out, plunging them into darkness for a brief moment before a single light, right over the witch, came back on. “My name is Aria and welcome to the magical world of witchcraft!” She grabbed her wand and raised it up in the air.
Grian, Joel, Impulse, and Tango clapped politely, as Jimmy and Skizz simply listened in to what was happening. Though they both wished they could see the show, it was too dangerous to try and sneak a peak right now.
“First thing I’m going to do is let my magic wash over you, for not only you to get a feel of it, but for me to get a feel for you.” Aria said and her wand flicked forward. Both humans and borrowers were suddenly filled with a slight tingling sensation, though the humans chalked it up to placebo effect. The borrowers were a bit more awed at the feeling though.
As her magic washed over the four, she settled into their auras…and then promptly froze. Her magic wrapped around two more things than what she could see. Tiny things, tucked away in two of the human’s pockets.
Her grin dropped, her mood more than soured. “Oh. I see how it is.” She said out loud, her voice carefully even.
The humans gave her a confused look before Aria switched her expression back to a smile. Though it was clear there was something more sinister behind it this time. The humans felt another kind of shiver go down their spines. “Thought you could hide them from me, hmm?” Aria said and everyone tensed.
“...What are you talking about?” Grian asked carefully, his body shifting, ready to leave any second.
“You know. Your little borrowers.” Aria said, her eyes narrowed as she said it.
Grian stood up, quickly followed by everyone else. “We’re leaving.”
“You’re not going anywhere.” Aria said, her eyes shining as she flicked her wand again and all the humans froze against their will. Joel tried to open his mouth and speak, to yell, but that too was frozen shut. Aria stared at all of them and then smiled. “How unlucky for you that you happened to stumble upon a real witch.” She said and then waved her wand again. The humans dropped to the floor, suddenly unconscious.
Thankfully for the borrowers, however, Aria had held them with her magic to protect them from the fall. She then used her magic to lift them out of their respective pockets.
Jimmy struggled and squirmed as he was suddenly lifted into the air, waving his hands and legs every which way. He didn’t know what was happening, how this was all happening. But he looked down and saw all their humans passed out and felt terrified for what was going to happen to them all.
He glanced over at Skizz, who was acting similarly, before both borrowers were set down on the table in front of the witch. Jimmy felt his legs give out and he fell to his knees as he shook from the unexpected fly through the air. Skizz, on the other hand, righted himself almost instantly and glared at the witch. “Hey! What’s the big idea!?” Skizz shouted up at her and Jimmy’s eyes widened at the bravery Skizz was showing.
The witch’s sneer towards the humans turned soft when she focused on the two of them. The sudden change felt like whiplash. “Sorry for the sudden use of magic on the two of you.” She said, and surprisingly she sounded like she meant it. “But you’re safe now from these pathetic humans.” She turned back to glare at their unconscious friends, the word humans sounding like an insult the way she said it.
Jimmy blinked, carefully raising himself up from his knees. “W-Wait, you-”
He was cut off. “I’m sorry, I can only imagine what horrible things you’ve had to endure from them. But you won’t have to any longer.” Aria turned to glare at the humans again. “I’ll take care that they are never able to again.” She lifted her wand, ready to flick it, ready to do something to their friends.
“Wait!”
“Hold on a second!” Jimmy and Skizz said at the same time. Though Jimmy was terrified, at this point the witch was more of a threat to his friends than to him and Skizz, that much was at least clear.
Aria paused and looked at the two with a hum. And then her eyes widened in realization. “Oh! Don’t worry little ones, I understand.” She said and Jimmy and Skizz relaxed in relief. “I’ll let you have your revenge.” She said, striking a bolt of fear and panic through the borrowers once again.
Before anything else could be said, Aria lifted her wand and flicked it. The tip created a brilliant white light that took over Jimmy and Skizz’s vision.
Both borrowers fell over, unconsciousness taking them too.
***
Jimmy groaned as he woke up. He sat himself up so he was sitting on his knees, rubbing the back of his head. He opened his eyes, taking in where he was. Jimmy froze, his hand dropping from the back of his head and going down to his side in shock. He was still in the witch’s tent, that much was obvious. But something was different. Something had changed.
The tent was empty other than the tables and chairs. All of the witch’s things were gone, as was the witch herself. But it was the size of the tables and chairs that Jimmy was focused on. They were…smaller. They no longer towered over him, in fact, with how Jimmy was sitting right now, he was almost as tall as the chair itself and he found he could peek over the edge of the table.
The tent itself also seemed to have shrunk in size. Because the walls were now a lot closer than they had been before he had passed out.
A groan coming from his right made him look in that direction and he saw Skizz sitting up himself. “What happened?” Skizz asked, opening his eyes and looking over at Jimmy.
“I-I don’t know, but the witch is gone.” Jimmy said. “And…everything seems to have shrunk?” Jimmy was less confident about that observation. Skizz looked around them, his eyes widened as he took in what Jimmy had only moments ago.
“Oh, wow you’re right.” Skizz frowned and used a nearby chair to help him stand up. He then came over and gave Jimmy a hand, helping him do the same. Now that they were both standing, it was clear they were far taller than both the chairs and the table. “Weird…wait, where is everyone?”
Jimmy blinked, realizing they were alone in the shrunken down tent. “Did the witch teleport us somewhere else?”
Skizz grit his teeth and headed toward the tent’s door flap. “Probably. Come on, we have to find them before that witch does anything!” Skizz exclaimed and Jimmy jumped, quickly following close behind Skizz.
“Stay close to the tent, we don’t know how many humans will be out there, or where the tent even is.” Skizz said, a bit quieter this time. Jimmy nodded, knowing the drill. Skizz pulled the tent’s flap back a bit and took a peak outside.
To Jimmy’s surprise, Skizz immediately closed it again, his eyes wide as he simply stared at the tent’s fabric. “Skizz? What is it?”
Skizz turned back to look at Jimmy and there was something in his eyes that Jimmy couldn’t make out. When Skizz didn’t say anything, Jimmy pushed past him and took a look outside the tent himself. His jaw dropped, his body frozen as he took in the world around him. It was the fair, same as before, except Jimmy was now staring at it from a new perspective.
Everything was his size. All the people, all the tents, the booths, the stands, everything was the size of a borrower.
No, it’s not that everything shrunk. We grew. Jimmy thought to himself as he couldn’t help but take everything in. After a moment, it became too much and he closed the tent flap once more. He turned to look at Skizz, understanding that look in his eyes now. “Are we dreaming?” Jimmy couldn’t help but ask.
Skizz, numbly, reached up and pinched the skin of his arm. He winced and Jimmy’s eyes widened. “Nope. This is…This is really happening.”
Jimmy turned his head to look back at the opening, at the world that now fit the two of them perfectly. It was something Jimmy had only ever dreamed about but the dream was quickly crushed by the reality that a witch did this to them and they still had no idea what the witch had done to their friends.
“So, if we’ve grown, and this is the same tent as before…then where are Grian, Joel, Impulse, and Tango?” Jimmy asked, turning back to Skizz again.
Skizz thought for a moment, looking around the now smaller tent, at least to them. “Well, the witch was clearly upset with them. She seemed to think they had us against our will.”
Jimmy nodded, that assumption had been all but proven by her words. “Yeah, and right before we passed out she said something about letting us take revenge? Is that why we’re big?” Jimmy asked, trying to piece everything together.
“Maybe…but if that’s the case then where are-” He suddenly stopped talking, his eyes going wide. Jimmy tensed, wondering why Skizz had cut himself off.
“What?” Jimmy asked in a panic, wondering what Skizz had figured out.
Skizz let out a deep breath. “If we’re big and the witch wanted us to get revenge on them then…Jimmy, what if they’re small?”
Jimmy froze. “No, that…” He bit his lip. He was about to say how impossible that was, but ‘impossible’ no longer held any meaning now that the two of them were human-sized. It was completely and utterly possible that the witch had reversed their roles for the sake of ‘revenge’. “Does that mean…you don’t think they're still in here, do you?” Jimmy asked, looking down at the floor, suddenly panicked that they hadn’t been looking where they’ve been walking this whole time.
“Only one way to find out.” Skizz said and started moving around the tent, slowly, scanning the floor and watching where he was stepping. Jimmy let out a shaky breath before following his lead, looking around the legs of the chairs and tables and in the corners of the tent. Jimmy leaned forward and took a look behind the chair that was behind the table this whole time and his eyes widened.
“Skizz.” He called out and Skizz was immediately by his side. He followed Jimmy’s gaze and his jaw dropped at the sight. “Is that really…?” Jimmy whispered, as if talking too loud would make them disappear. He dropped to his knees, careful to stay a couple feet away from them.
“Oh my god.” Skizz said, also kneeling on the ground and staring openly at their once towering friends. His eyes fell specifically on Impulse’s form and he sucked in a breath. “Impulse…all of them, they’re so small.”
Jimmy could only nod.
Skizz tore his eyes away from their passed out friends, looking at Jimmy with wide eyes. “This is weird, man. They shouldn’t be this small. They’re-this is-it’s too much!”
Jimmy couldn’t help but agree. This was too much all at once. Seeing Grian and Joel especially like this…like Skizz said, it was weird. He was so used to seeing them as larger than life and now he was like that to them.
He couldn’t help it when his hand reached out, his fingertips ever so gently grazing Grian’s back. At the contact, he snapped his hand away, feeling weird about it. He cleared his throat to try and get rid of the feeling. “They’re still…they’re still unconscious.” Jimmy observed, subconsciously rubbing his fingers along the tips that had just touched Grian. “What do we do?”
Skizz swallowed the lump that had been forming in his throat, unable to tear his eyes away from their shrunken friends. His eyes lingering on Impulse most of all. “We need to…wake them up. Right?” He glanced in Jimmy’s direction, just as unsure as he was.
“Yeah…Yeah, right. We need to make sure they’re okay.” Jimmy said but didn’t move. He simply continued to stare. “...How should we try and wake them up?”
Skizz winced and bit his lip. “I guess just how you normally wake someone up?”
Jimmy was about to ask what that meant when he watched as Skizz reached out and nudged at Impulse gently on his shoulder. Right, now Jimmy understood, Jimmy himself had been woken up many times from Grian and Joel both nudging him like that. It was just…very weird to be the one doing the nudging to someone so small.
“Impulse…hey, come on buddy, please wake up.” Skizz said as he continued to nudge at Impulse’s limp body. Impulse groaned and started to move and Skizz relaxed a bit in relief before moving his hand over to Tango, doing the same thing with him as he waited for Impulse to fully wake.
Jimmy swallowed and followed along with what Skizz was doing, moving his hand to gently poke at Grian and then Joel’s tiny form. “Grian, Joel, please wake up. We’ve uh…got a bit of a situation here.”
Slowly, but surely, all four humans began to stir. Whatever spell the witch had hit them with must have really taken it out of them, because it took a while for each of them to fully enter the realm of consciousness again. Impulse was the first to start opening his eyes but before he could open them fully, Skizz scooted back, pulling Jimmy with him. Jimmy sent him a questioning look.
“We don’t want to crowd them.” Skizz murmured and Jimmy’s eyes widened in understanding. Right, he had to remember, things were swapped now and their humans were far from used to being around beings who were essentially giants to them. Not that Jimmy was any more used to being the said giant, but he knew better than anyone that his current position was a lot easier to handle than theirs.
Impulse let out a small groan, coming back to reality as he slowly realized he was laying down on the cold hard ground. He opened his eyes to confirm what he was feeling and slowly pushed himself up. He felt achy and drained and it took him a moment to remember what had happened. When he remembered the witch, and what she had said before the four of them had passed out, he immediately went to check his pocket. To his panic, Skizz wasn’t inside.
He looked beside him, seeing Grian, Joel, and Tango stirring and waking up as well. His eyes scanned around them, looking for Skizz, hoping he was okay. He looked further into the expanse of the room and promptly froze at what he saw, all the breath in his body leaving him at that moment.
Skizz and Jimmy were sitting a few feet away, towering over them like skyscrapers. Impulse scooted back some, his eyes meeting Skizz’s, who had a softened look in his gaze. Impulse swallowed thickly and his eyes went to the rest of the room, finally noticing the furniture that also now towered over them. As he met eyes with Skizz again, he realized what must have happened. “Skizz?”
Skizz put on a smile, trying not to show how panicked he was at Impulse’s current size. “Hey buddy.” Skizz said, keeping his voice low just in case. Though no matter how low he tried to keep his voice, it was still much louder than any of the humans were used to. The rest of them shot up at the sudden loud voice, only for them to freeze when they saw Jimmy and Skizz.
They all simply stared at each other, not knowing what to do or say. Jimmy, for his part, felt incredibly awkward being the giant. He glanced over toward Skizz, wondering if he was feeling the same way.
“J-Jimmy?” Joel stuttered out, breaking the silence. Joel tried to take in what he was seeing but it was hard to believe. Hard to fully comprehend the fact that not only were there two towering beings in front of them, but that those beings were Jimmy and Skizz.
“Yeah, it’s…me.” Jimmy said, though he didn’t sound confident. To be honest, he didn’t really feel like himself like this.
Jimmy’s eyes moved to Grian when he saw the human start to shake his head. “No, no this isn’t real.” Grian said, his tone toeing on the edge of panic. Jimmy’s heart broke at the sheer look of fear on Grian’s face. All the humans, actually, had looks of fear spread across their features. Even from where he was, he could see Joel’s breathing starting to pick up even more. Tango looked pale, like he was going to pass out again. Impulse actually looked the least scared of them all, but he still had that familiar feeling of wariness toward them.
Jimmy bit his lip about to try and say something, but Skizz beat him to it. “Unfortunately, this is very real.” Skizz said with a somber tone, very unlike Skizz usually.
“We’ve…shrunk?” Tango’s tiny voice said.
Skizz nodded but Grian once again shook his head. “No! This is…” Grian jumped up to his feet, swaying slightly, looking like he was going to fall over and pass out again.
Jimmy started to move before he could truly think about it. “Careful-!” Jimmy reached his hand out toward Grian, intent on helping him balance. Grian, however, had caught his balance on his own and when he turned and saw the giant hand coming toward him, he panicked.
Grian would hate to look back on it later, but he screamed at the incoming hand. His scream seemed to jolt everyone out of their shocked, fear-filled stupor, because they all jumped up to their feet. Jimmy flinched at Grian’s scream, his hand paused, and that gave Grian and the others enough time to start running.
Jimmy and Skizz’s eyes both widened as their friends ran from them.
“H-Hey, wait!” Jimmy called out, scrambling to get himself up.
“Impulse!” Skizz called, feeling a bit hurt that his best friend would run, even if he couldn’t really blame him given the situation.
The humans continued to run, their mind so clouded by fear that they didn’t even process the concern in the giant’s voices. They watched as Grian and Joel split from Impulse and Tango, going in the other direction but both sets of humans seemed to be heading for the walls of the tent.
Skizz’s eyes widened with panic as he turned to Jimmy. “We got to stop them from getting out.” Skizz said and Jimmy nodded. “You get Grian and Joel. I’ve got Impulse and Tango.” Skizz said and then both borrowers jumped into action. Jimmy felt really bad for what he was going to do, he knew better than anyone, except maybe Skizz, how it felt to be grabbed so suddenly when trying to run.
He was reminded of when he first met Grian and Joel and how that whole first meeting went. This was seemingly going down very similarly, much to Jimmy’s guilt.
It was quite easy for Jimmy to catch up with the two, the hard part was making sure he didn’t get too close and accidentally kick them or worse. He really needed to get them off the ground and so, despite his guilt, Jimmy reached down and grabbed Joel first.
It was sickeningly easy for Jimmy to wrap his hand around Joel’s entire body. Only Joel’s head was free as Jimmy lifted him up toward his chest. He could feel Joel struggling against his finger, pushing and hitting but doing nothing. Jimmy swallowed but didn’t have time to think too much about it because he still needed to grab Grian.
Keeping Joel close to his chest, he used his free hand and reached down toward Grian. Once again, it was so very easy to grab Grian, even with him running as fast as he could, Jimmy at this size was faster. Like with Joel, only Grian’s head was free as he brought him close to his chest. He could feel their little heartbeats against his fingers, going a mile a minute as both humans struggled against his grip. Jimmy would be lying if he said his own heart wasn’t going just as fast.
Jimmy glanced over toward Skizz, who he watched snatch up Tango, Impulse already in his other hand. Jimmy relaxed just a bit, knowing the humans were safe from getting themselves trampled outside of the tent. He swallowed thickly and turned his attention back to the two shrunken humans in his hands and geez, wasn’t that a sight? Seeing Grian and Joel in his hands like this was nothing short of insane.
He took a deep breath. “Guys, please, it’s okay.” Jimmy tried, though he winced at his own words. He didn’t think he was terrible at comforting people, so then why did he feel so bad at this?
Maybe because he had never been looked at with such fear before.
Jimmy shook his head, trying to push that down. He carefully brought his hands close together, opening them up and allowing Grian and Joel to sit in his cupped hands. “It’s just me, I’m not going to hurt you.”
The two were clinging a bit to each other now and Jimmy just felt bad. He didn’t like scaring them. He didn’t like being something worth being scared about. Gently, Jimmy used both his thumbs to rub at Grian and Joel’s back, knowing he found comfort in it when they had done the same to him. Jimmy almost stopped when he saw the two flinch but slowly, he watched as their shaking died down.
“Jimmy?” Grian voice came out, careful and nervous. Jimmy nodded and continued the slow and gentle rubs.
“Yeah.” Jimmy confirmed. “Are you guys okay?” He then asked.
Joel sucked in a breath. “Y-Yeah.” He stuttered and winced at himself. “It’s just…a lot.” Joel admitted and Jimmy nodded, knowing exactly what Joel was talking about.
“I get it. I mean, obviously I get it.” Jimmy said with a slight laugh, trying to lighten the mood just a bit.
He counted it as a win as he saw two brief smiles flash across their faces.
“But seriously, are you guys okay?” Jimmy asked. He just wanted to make sure there were no other effects left behind from the witch.
This time, Grian was the one who nodded. “We’re fine.” He paused. “Sorry for running.” He mumbled more under his breath, looking away in embarrassment. Joel also couldn’t seem to look Jimmy in the eyes. Jimmy sighed but smiled softly.
“It’s okay, like I said, I get it. I’m…I’m sorry for just grabbing you guys like that but we were scared you’d run out of the tent and get hurt.” Jimmy explained to them. Jimmy was unfortunately familiar with large crowds and stomping feet and he did not wish that fate upon anybody. But especially not his two best friends.
Grian shivered, as if he had just realized what could have happened if Jimmy hadn’t snatched them up in time. “Yeah, no, that’s…” He shook his head as he trailed off and Jimmy couldn’t help but agree with the sentiment.
“Everyone okay over here?” Skizz said, moving over to them, Impulse and Tango cupped in his hands similar to how Jimmy was holding Grian and Joel. The two looked a lot better than before, though Tango still looked a bit pale.
“Yeah, we’re okay.” Jimmy answered, turning around to face Skizz and let the humans see each other. “Are you guys?”
Skizz nodded. “Yeah, Impulse was easy to calm down. Tango here was a bit harder to tho.” Skizz said, though it was clear he meant it in more of a teasing way. Tango blushed and looked down. He muttered something that Jimmy couldn’t quite make out but Skizz must have been able to because he laughed, gently poking Tango’s side. “Aww, come on buddy, you know I love ya.”
Jimmy smiled a bit at that but quickly frowned again when he looked around the still very empty tent. “Now that everyone’s calmed down, we need to find that witch.” Jimmy said, looking back at Skizz with furrowed brows. “I’m pretty sure she’s gonna be the only one who can reverse this.”
Skizz nodded but then paused. “How are we gonna find her though? This fair is huge and she could be anywhere. The fact that she has magic doesn’t help either.”
“Maybe you guys could go out and ask someone?” Impulse spoke up and he only flinched a little when both pairs of giant eyes fell on him. He cleared his throat. “Um, if she was here with a tent that means she was registered with the fair. So one of the fair employees has to know where she is.”
Skizz nodded. “Good idea Dop. I guess that’s our next order of business then.” Skizz decided and then, for a moment, nobody moved.
Joel looked between the two of them. “Uh, what’s going on?”
Jimmy cleared his throat, gaining Joel’s full attention. “Well, um, if we want to head out there and ask someone…” Jimmy trailed off so Skizz picked up the end.
“You guys are gonna need to go in our pockets.” Skizz finished and all the human’s eyes went wide.
“What? But Jimmy doesn’t even have…wait, Jimmy, are you wearing my hoodie?” Grian’s line of thought scrambled as soon as he recognized the red hoodie Jimmy was wearing. Jimmy blinked and looked down at himself, not even realizing his clothes had changed.
“Huh.” Jimmy said and then looked up at Skizz. He pointed at his chest. “And Skizz is wearing Impulse’s shirt.” Jimmy noticed.
Skizz looked down and his noise crinkled. “So not only did that witch swap our sizes, she swapped our clothes too?”
“Seems that way.” Impulse said, looking down at himself and realizing he was wearing Skizz’s shirt.
“Well, it works out for us right now, I guess. We both have pockets we can put them in.” Jimmy said.
“I am not going in your pocket.” Joel said, adamant. Jimmy knew Joel was probably still just scared and that’s why he was refusing, but it still hurt just a tiny bit.
“Joel, I’m in your pockets all the time. It’s really not that bad, in fact it’s actually pretty comfortable.” Jimmy tried to reassure. Joel blinked at the reminder and made a small noise, turning his head as he crossed his arms.
“Joel, I don’t like it either but Jimmy is right. He does this all the time and he’s perfectly fine.” Grian said, though with the kind of tone to suggest he really wished he could come up with an excuse to not go into the pocket. Thankfully, Grian usually thought more logically between the three of them and despite not liking it, he knew it was the only way they were stepping foot out of this tent.
At least with Grian thinking logically again that meant his fear wasn’t as bad as before.
“Gah, fine.” Joel huffed and Jimmy looked over toward Impulse and Tango.
Impulse shrugged. “I don’t mind. Skizz is always going on and on about how nice pockets are so I’m curious about it anyway.”
Skizz grinned. “It’s so comfortable, although it might be a little cramped with two of ya in there.” Skizz snickered a bit and then his eyes landed on Tango. “Top? You okay with this?”
Tango let out a sigh. “Yeah…not like we really have a choice.” And really, they didn’t, but Jimmy and Skizz at least wanted to make them as comfortable with it as possible.
“Okay, then I guess…” Skizz trailed off as he tilted the hand holding Tango into his other one so that he was holding both humans in one hand. He used his now free hand to open up the chest pocket, bringing his other hand at the lip of it. He gently tilted his hand and let both Impulse and Tango slide down into the fabric. Jimmy watched all of this, fascinated at the way the two humans simply disappeared. Only a barely noticeable bump was all that gave away their presence.
With Impulse and Tango secure, Skizz turned to Jimmy and Jimmy realized it was his turn. Jimmy looked down at Grian and Joel who simply gave him a nod to indicate they were ready. Jimmy nodded back and carefully lowered them down to where the hoodie pocket was. Unlike Skizz, instead of pulling them both into one hand, he instead separated them. Now holding Grian and Joel in one hand each, he put both of them into his pocket at the same time.
He let them slide off his hand and then moved his hand away but didn’t completely remove either hand. He knew Grian and Joel always kept their hands in the pocket with him for a reason, as evident by the one time they didn’t, so Jimmy wasn’t going to take any chances. With Grian and Joel settled, Jimmy turned his attention back to Skizz.
“Ready?” Jimmy asked, despite feeling barely ready himself.
Skizz nodded. “Let’s go.” And with that, Skizz headed toward the tent flap. Jimmy took a deep breath before making himself follow Skizz.
Just like when they had first woken up, Skizz pulled back the tent. Unlike the last time though, Skizz stepped fully into the outside and Jimmy was quick to follow him. They both paused, once again taking in the sights as people who now fit the size of it. Jimmy frowned as he looked up into the sky though, realizing the sun was in the process of disappearing over the horizon. A heavy amount of orange in the sky because of it.
“How long were we out for?” Jimmy asked quietly to Skizz, who noticed what Jimmy was looking at and could only shrug helplessly.
“At least a few hours if the sky is anything to go by.” Skizz answered. “Man, this whole thing is crazy.”
Jimmy couldn’t agree with Skizz more.
“Anyway, do you see anyone wearing some sort of employee uniform?” Skizz asked, looking back down from the sky to scan the crowds of people in front of him. Despite it being the evening, there were still quite a few people bustling about the fair.
Jimmy looked at all the people, feeling weird at being in sight of all of them. Even if he was the same size as them now, it was still weird to be perceived by so many people. He tried to ignore the feeling, looking for anything that could be an employee uniform. Jimmy paused on one of the booths, there was somebody there wearing a tan sort of outfit helping the booth person in putting stuff away. He tapped Skizz and when he turned around he pointed toward the guy. Skizz nodded and the two headed over in his direction.
“Um, excuse me?” Jimmy started as they got closer, gaining the employees attention. He had a nametag on, so it was more than likely their assumption was correct. Jimmy tried to continue. “We were uh, wondering if, I mean, there was this witch and-wait…” Jimmy trailed off, his words getting all sorts of jumbled at the fact that he was talking to an unknown human.
Thankfully, Skizz took over. “We were wondering if you knew where Aria the witch went? We wanted to catch a show from her but her tent’s empty now.” Skizz asked and Jimmy couldn’t help but admire the fact that Skizz hadn’t stumbled over his words once.
The guy scratched the back of his head. “Oh, she packed up and went home a few hours ago.” Jimmy and Skizz deflated. This was bad. If she had gone home, how were they supposed to find her now? “But she’ll be back tomorrow, same time.” The guy continued and relief flooded the two borrowers.
“Great, thank you so much.” Skizz said and the guy nodded, getting back to work. Jimmy and Skizz moved away from the guy, off to a secluded part of the fair so they could all talk.
Skizz opened up the flap of his pocket and looked down at the two humans inside. It was still a very surreal sight to see for sure. “It looks like we aren’t going to get much further on this tonight.”
“So, what? Do we just…head back to the dorms?” Tango called out from the pocket. Skizz hummed at that.
“Not sure how we’re gonna get in. Or get there.” Skizz said.
That was true, neither Jimmy nor Skizz had anything they could use. Jimmy thought for a moment. “Maybe their phones still work? They could call us an uber?” They’d have to figure out the rest when they got there, but at least one obstacle would be out of the way. Jimmy curled his hands around the two squirming figures of Grian and Joel and lifted them out of his pocket. They looked a bit frazzled, but otherwise okay.
They both took a moment to gain their bearings before Grian reached into his pocket. But Jimmy watched as he froze, his hand pulling out with nothing. “My phone is gone.”
“Hey, mine too!” Joel exclaimed, also coming away empty. “And my keys!”
Impulse and Tango checked their pockets, only to be met with the same emptiness. Joel barked out a laugh. “Really? That witch couldn’t just shrink us, she had to rob us too?!”
Suddenly, for some reason, Jimmy felt a weight in his pants pockets that he hadn’t noticed before. Moving Grian and Joel to one hand, Jimmy silently reached into said pocket. His eyes widened and everyone matched his expression when he pulled out two phones. Phones that they all recognized as Grian and Joel’s.
“Well, at least she didn’t rob us.” Joel muttered, unable to ignore the fact his phone was bigger than him now.
Jimmy reached back into his pocket and pulled out two sets up keys as well. “Looks like we’ll be able to go back to the dorms after all.”
Jimmy had to get help from Grian and Joel to use the uber app and order them an uber as soon as possible, but once it was set, it was pretty easy from then on. Jimmy slipped Grian and Joel back into his pocket and both him and Skizz waited right outside the fairgrounds for their uber to arrive.
As the car pulled up, they got inside. Jimmy stayed silent, only giving a nod in greeting. But Skizz chatted with the guy at least halfway back to the college. Jimmy, once again, couldn’t help but marvel at just how sociable Skizz was. It was hard to see when the two of them only ever interacted with the same five people, but Skizz really seemed to excel at talking with others. It made Jimmy feel a little sad, that Skizz couldn’t be like this all the time.
Skizz noticed his demeanor and leaned back into the seat once he had ended the conversation. He gave Jimmy a knowing look. “You okay?”
Jimmy let out a shaky breath. It wasn’t just that, but everything seemed to be crashing down on him now that they were away from the fair and in the car. Jimmy couldn’t help but curl his fingers around Grian and Joel, feeling them move against his hand. His breath caught as he felt the tiniest of hands press against his own. It was almost too much to think of that being him to Grian and Joel.
“I’ll…get back to you on that.” Jimmy said, not knowing what else to say. Skizz nodded in understanding and the two spent the rest of the car ride in thoughtful silence.
***
The pocket swayed a lot more than Joel had initially been expecting. But as Jimmy got out of the uber and started walking toward the dorms, it was clear their ride in the pocket was not a still one. It wasn’t bad though. The slight sway was actually quite peaceful, almost lulling them. If Joel hadn’t been on such high alert, he might have even been able to fall asleep.
As it was though, there was no way his mind or body would allow him to rest right now.
He glanced over toward Grian, who was huddled in here with him. Jimmy’s hand was situated behind Grian, there, but not quite touching him, though the hand had moved a few times so far and curled around the two of them. Joel knew there was also a hand behind him as well. He didn’t look back at it, but he could feel its presence.
He still couldn’t believe they had been shrunk. They couldn’t have been smaller than Jimmy himself now. Well, normal Jimmy anyway. It was also hard to wrap his head around the fact the borrower he could normally hold in his hand could now do the same to him.
It was no wonder Jimmy was so scared when they first met. It was a wonder he wasn’t still.
Grian was in a similar state of mind, thinking over the last few hours and what had happened. He hated the fact he had let fear consume him so much he ran but looking back he wasn’t sure if he could have kept himself from doing so. The shock of seeing Jimmy and Skizz so big…the sudden horrible fear that had washed over him when a hand bigger than he was had started to reach for him…
Grian had already felt guilty before, of how their first meeting had gone with Jimmy, but now he felt even worse. All Grian had been was grabbed and cupped gently in Jimmy’s hand. The two of them had not only grabbed Jimmy, but moved him back and forth between them. They had poked at him, pressed down against his chest, completely surrounded him in their hands…Grian shivered at the memory. With the new perspective handed to him, Grian now fully understood just how terrifying that would have been.
The two were jolted out of their thoughts at the sound of a key unlocking a door. Voices, familiar but far too loud, rang out above them. “Are you coming in?” Jimmy’s voice asked.
“Nah, I think it might be best if we split for now. Give the guys a break from two giants hovering over them.” Skizz said with a slight laugh.
“Alright, have a good night then.” Jimmy said and they heard Skizz reply with the same, with a promise to meet Jimmy in the morning so they could head back to the fair.
Jimmy opened and closed the door behind him and Grian and Joel both watched as Jimmy’s hands tensed a bit. They braced themselves as the fingers began to move again, wrapping around each of them like it was the easiest thing in the world. And from experience, they knew it really was that easy.
Jimmy’s grip solidified around them and they were pulled out of the pocket once again. Grian couldn’t help but shake, his nerves alight like nothing else before. He tried to push it down, tried to tell himself that Jimmy was safe, obviously. But it was like his body didn’t want to listen to rational thought.
They were only in Jimmy’s hand for another brief moment before they were both placed on Joel’s nightstand. Joel couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief at being back on solid ground. Even if that solid ground was still well above the actual floor.
“How are you two holding up?” Jimmy asked. He was bent down a bit in order to be more level with them. It was appreciated though it didn’t take away from just how imposing he was.
Grian couldn’t help but snort. “Would you believe us if we said fine?”
Jimmy winced and Grian felt a bit bad for joking like that when he saw the sad look in Jimmy’s eyes. They had always had an effect on him before, but with them being so big now it was even harder to try and ignore them. Jimmy let out a small sigh. “Honestly, I probably wouldn’t. Being small is…hard. And I can only imagine it’s harder for someone who hasn’t been small their whole life.” Right, Jimmy was very aware of how Grian and Joel must be feeling. The only thing Jimmy had was more experience but he had been terrified just like them before.
“I really don’t know how you do it.” Joel couldn’t help but say, rubbing at his arm where he could still feel the phantom touch of Jimmy’s fingers.
Jimmy titled his head and suddenly he was smiling softly, looking at the two of them with a fond gaze. “Well, it’s easy when I know I’m the safest with the two of you.” Jimmy admitted, a slight blush coloring his cheeks.
Grian and Joel could feel their own blushes creeping up their necks. “S-Still.” Joel said with a slight huff.
Jimmy laughed a bit, letting his smile linger a bit longer before it slowly turned back into a frown. “It is hard. I still get scared sometimes too. Not of you two, not really. Just…your size.” Jimmy said, looking away from the two pairs of tiny eyes.
“Makes sense.” Grian mumbled, even if he hated to hear how Jimmy still got scared sometimes. “It’s not like we’re scared of you. Just of how…big you are.”
Jimmy nodded and then bit his lip. He straightened up and tried to ignore the fact that Grian and Joel took a step back when he did so. “I should…probably change, right? You probably don’t want me sleeping in your bed like this.” Jimmy said, looking down at Grian’s clothes that he was wearing.
Joel hummed. “Yeah, especially if you’re using my bed.” Joel pointed over to his dresser. “You can use my sweats, I think they should fit you?” Joel tried to look Jimmy up and down but it was hard to gauge just how tall he was when all Joel could see was giant.
Jimmy nodded and Grian and Joel both turned around as Jimmy undressed and put on Joel’s sweats. But when Grian and Joel turned around, it was clear that the clothes didn’t quite fit. Joel blinked. “Huh.”
“It’s…just a little tight.” It wasn’t enough to be too uncomfortable, they were sweats after all and already baggy to begin with. But the fact that they didn’t fit was enough to tell the two humans that Jimmy was taller than either of them first thought.
“Don’t tell me you’re taller as a human than either of us!” Joel exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air in exasperation.
Jimmy looked down at himself, as if he would be able to tell how tall he was that way. “Huh. That’s…that’s really weird to think about.” Jimmy was taller than them as a human? How on earth was that possible?
“You’re telling me.” Joel mumbled, another huff leaving his lips.
Jimmy didn’t really want to think about that anymore, so he instead opened the drawer of the nightstand Grian and Joel were standing on and rummaged through his clothes. He had to pause for a moment, fingers rubbing at the tiny piece of fabric, awing at just how small they were. He quickly cleared those thoughts though and grabbed two sets of his pajamas. He put them in front of the two. “Here, you can wear my clothes.” Knowing that Jimmy was taller than them, the clothes would be a bit baggy but should still be comfortable.
Jimmy turned around and Grian and Joel each grabbed a set of clothes, turning away from each other as well as they got dressed. When they were finished, they all looked back at each other. “I guess…we should head to bed? It’s already getting kinda late.” And the sooner they went to bed, the sooner they could hopefully fix all of this.
“Yeah, we probably should.” Grian agreed, though he wasn’t sure how he was supposed to rest when his body still felt on such high alert. Jimmy nodded and set up the small nest of blankets he usually used to sleep in. Once that was set up, Jimmy climbed into Joel’s bed. He sat up in it, watching Grian and Joel as they moved toward the makeshift bed.
Joel went ahead and fell into the small pile of blankets and was surprised at just how comfortable it was. Jimmy had always looked nice and cozy within the blankets but Joel couldn’t have guessed it would feel this nice. He let out a sigh as he sunk in deeper and Grian sent him a look. “Just get in and you’ll see.” Joel told Grian.
Grian hummed and got in, immediately understanding. “Oh wow.” Grian curled up within the layers of blankets. “It’s so warm.” Grian hadn’t realized just how cold he had been until now.
Jimmy chuckled. “I told you guys it was comfortable. Though I still prefer sleeping on the bed.” Jimmy said, running his fingers along the mattress. It wasn’t as comfortable as when he was small but it still felt nice. “I’m gonna turn out the lights now.” Jimmy warned, before reaching over them, once again ignoring the way they flinched, and shut off the lamp.
The room fell into darkness and Jimmy shifted until he was laying down in bed. “Goodnight, guys.”
“Night.”
“Goodnight.” Joel and Grian answered back. And then the room fell into silence.
…
…
…
Jimmy wasn’t sure how much time had passed, it couldn’t have been long, but he had yet to fall asleep no matter how much he tossed and turned. His mind was still awake with the events of the last several hours and he couldn’t shake the feeling of just how insane all of this was.
He turned over so that he was facing the nightstand. In the cover of darkness, he could only just barely make out Grian and Joel’s small figures. Jimmy frowned as he took them in, their eyes closed and their chests going up and down with steady breaths. That was supposed to be him. This is what Grian and Joel saw every single day, his tiny form snuggled up in blankets otherwise far too big for him.
Jimmy wetted his lips, and he couldn’t help himself as he reached out and gently laid a finger on one of the tiny forms. The figure underneath his finger flinched and Jimmy snapped his hand back, his eyes wide. “Grian? Joel? Are…are you guys still awake too?” Jimmy asked, quiet enough that if they were still asleep he hopefully wouldn’t wake them.
As it was, he watched as Grian and Joel both sat up from their positions. Grian glanced over at Joel, unaware he had also been awake until now. “Seems like it.” Grian said with a sigh.
Jimmy sat up and reached above them to turn back on the lamp. The room flooded with light, briefly blinding all of them. As Jimmy’s eyesight came back, he looked down at the two shrunken humans. “I guess we all got stuff on our minds, huh?” Jimmy said and Grian and Joel nodded in agreement.
“Like just how crazy this all is.” Joel said quietly, staring down at his own hands that were now tinier than life.
Jimmy agreed with that. This was certainly all very crazy. Jimmy looked down at his own hands and bit his lip. He was still curious and maybe now he understood Grian and Joel’s want to hold him better because he was feeling the same way toward the two of them. He swallowed the forming lump in his throat. “Hey, can I…” Jimmy trailed off, feeling awkward for even trying to ask.
“Can you what?” Grian asked, though his tone was a lot softer than Jimmy had been expecting.
Jimmy took a deep breath. “Can I…hold you guys?” Jimmy asked, not looking at the two as he waited for their answer.
Grian and Joel both tensed as an immediate reaction to the idea. Despite having already been held before, the idea of it happening again was still terrifying. But still, this was Jimmy. And the two of them could understand better than anyone of wanting to hold a borrower. The two sent each other silent looks, communicating with their gazes. Grian nodded and Joel sighed but also nodded.
“Yeah, Jim.” Grian answered and Jimmy finally looked up to stare at them with wide eyes. He had honestly not been expecting them to agree.
“Really?” Jimmy asked.
“Yeah, just, ya know…be careful.” Joel said and Jimmy nodded rapidly. Of course he would be careful. He might not have experience on this end of things, but he liked to think his experience on the other end of it would make him pretty good at this part.
Jimmy carefully brought his hand closer and Grian and Joel tried very hard not to flinch at the approaching hand this time. However, instead of grabbing them like before, Jimmy set down his hand palm up in front of them. Looking up at his face showed them he was giving them a gentle smile. “Whenever you’re ready.” Jimmy said, willing to wait as long as he needed to.
Grian and Joel sent each other another look and surprisingly, Joel was the first one to step forward. Grian, not wanting to be shown up by Joel, was close behind and pretty soon the two of them had climbed on and seated themselves down in the center of Jimmy’s palm.
Jimmy brought them over and settled his hand with the two of them over his lap, his other hand coming over and adding to the surface area, just in case the two needed more room. Now that they were safe and away from the craziness of before, Jimmy could actually take a second and process the fact that Grian and Joel were literally in his hands.
He could just barely feel their weight at all. Even the two of them combined wasn’t enough for Jimmy to really notice it. In fact, the two of them could fit comfortably on just one of his hands, let alone both of them. His thumb came up and nudged Joel on the side, watching the way Joel tried not to react very much to it and failing miserably.
On Grian and Joel’s side of things, they too were taking everything in a lot more than they could before, when they were still trying to figure out what to do. Grian couldn’t help but run his hand over the skin of Jimmy’s. He could feel the heat rolling off of the skin in waves and once again, the warmth made Grian realize just how cold he was. He knew smaller beings got cold a lot easier and Jimmy had also told them as much, that borrowers were more susceptible to the cold. But experiencing it first hand was something else.
Experiencing actually being on a hand, first hand, was also quite the mind boggle.
Joel shifted in his place, trying hard to act brave and not react to the giant finger nudging at him. He tried not to think about how that one finger could crush him like it was nothing. He shook his head angrily at himself. Jimmy would never do that, it was just his stupid fear getting in the way. He trusted Jimmy implicitly, even if their roles were now reversed and Jimmy held all the power in the situation now.
Jimmy continued to stare down at them, a question on the tip of his tongue. “Is this how it always is for you guys?” Jimmy felt the question leave him before he could properly think about it.
“Huh?” Grian let out a noise of confusion and Jimmy glanced away for a moment.
“Like…holding me and stuff. Is it always so…?” Jimmy trailed off, not even really knowing how to describe it. “It’s like…you’re just so small and yet you trust me enough to let me hold you?” Was the only real way Jimmy could think of to describe how he was feeling about this.
Grian blinked and then his eyes softened. “Oh.” He said gently, almost just a breath instead of an actual word. “Yeah. It…it’s sort of always like that. Holding you never really gets old because it’s just so…” Grian trailed off and looked to Joel, who continued.
“Amazing.” Joel finished Grian’s sentence. “Like you said, it’s the whole trust aspect of it. You barely even react to us grabbing you anymore and you always look so comfortable in our hands…it hard not to stare in awe sometimes.” Joel admitted. Jimmy nodded along. He could understand all of that, now better than ever. He felt like all he wanted to do was stare and poke at his friends.
“Is it…” Grian started, wetting his lips before continuing. “Is it always like this for you?”
It was Jimmy’s turn to be confused. “Like…what?”
“Terrifying.” Joel chimed in, looking down.
“Do you always feel so…small, compared to us? Like, we know you are small but…do you always feel like it?” Grian asked and Jimmy really had to think about that question.
“I mean…kind of? I am constantly hit with the sheer size difference between us and especially in your hands I feel my size most of all. But while I feel small it’s not a bad feeling. Maybe it’s because I’m used to it but feeling small is just normal for me. And the two of you make being small feel…nice.” Jimmy said earnestly.
“Nice, huh?” Joel said with a small exhale. “I mean, I guess I can kinda see the appeal.” Being in Jimmy’s hand was still a lot but even Joel could admit he was slowly relaxing more and more within the hold.
Jimmy hummed. “Well, you haven’t even been on a human’s chest yet.” Jimmy said with a grin and then shifted around so he was laying on his back, before carefully letting Grian and Joel off his hand and onto his chest. “I think you’ll see why this is my favorite place to sleep.”
Grian and Joel wobbled on the uneven surface of Jimmy’s chest and then paused as they could feel the giant heart beating against said chest. Their eyes widened. “Is that your heart?” Joel whispered in awe.
“Yep.” Jimmy said with a smile, watching as his two friends walked around on his chest. For the moment, Jimmy decided to try and ignore just how weird the sight was.
Grian kneeled down and pressed his hand against Jimmy’s chest, his eyes wide at the consistent thudding heart underneath his finger tips. “Wow.” Was all Grian could really say.
Joel took it a step further and completely laid down, pressing his ear up against the chest. Grian waited for Joel to do or say something but when he didn’t, Grian followed his lead and laid down too. “It’s so loud.” Grian said, though even with how loud it was, he felt mesmerized by it.
“Yep and when paired with this…” Jimmy placed his hand down over the two of them, like a blanket. As the gentle weight settled over them, Grian and Joel couldn’t help but relax for what felt like the first time all day. The warmth mixed with the steady beat of Jimmy’s heart underneath them was so comforting.
“...I’m usually out like a light.” Jimmy continued, his voice now a whisper as he realized Grian and Joel had closed their eyes. Their breathing was steady and Jimmy smiled at their relaxed expressions.
Jimmy hummed as he moved to get a bit more comfortable, careful not to jostle his friends too much. While he obviously knew that being on the small end of this was comforting, what he didn’t know was being on the big end was too. Feeling their tiny forms against his hand, knowing they were safe, it brought Jimmy more comfort than he had felt since waking up big.
He closed his eyes and with Grian and Joel close to his heart, he let sleep take him too.
***
The next day they woke up to the sound of knocking on their door. Jimmy had been nervous wondering who it could be before they had all realized they slept in and it was Skizz knocking on the door, ready to head to the fair. Jimmy had to let them know they would be a minute and they quickly all got dressed. Jimmy had slipped Grian and Joel back into Grian’s hoodie pocket and then opened the door and left with Skizz back to the fair.
Jimmy’s stomach grumbled, especially as they passed by all the different kinds of food, but they needed to find the witch and fix this first, before he could even think about eating.
They came across the same tent as before, and this time the sign was back up, announcing the Amazing Witch Aria to the world. Jimmy and Skizz nodded at each other and then went inside.
“Ah, welcome in-Oh!” Aria cut herself off as she realized she recognized her guests. “The borrowers! How is your revenge going? I hope you are repaying those lousy humans in kind for what they did to you.” Aria said, sneering at the mention of the humans again.
Jimmy stepped forward. “You’ve got it all wrong!” He exclaimed, causing Aria to blink in surprise.
“Sorry?” She said, confused.
Skizz matched Jimmy’s step forward. “Look, we tried to tell you before, but we weren’t in any danger. These humans,” Skizz cupped his hand over the chest pocket holding Impulse and Tango. “They’re our friends.”
Aria blinked, processing this new information. Her eyes widened. “Oh my goodness! Wait, really?”
Both Jimmy and Skizz nodded.
“I am so sorry. I just…I saw the two of you and I just assumed…” Aria shook her head and bent her head down toward them. “I’m sorry.”
Skizz sighed. “I guess I can sort of understand the assumption but you really should have talked to us about it first. We could have avoided all of this.”
Jimmy bit his lip. “Um…you can fix this though, right? Turn us all back to the right size?”
Aria stood up straighter. “Of course! As long as everyone is here, it’s no problem.” Jimmy and Skizz, as well as the humans in their pocket, sighed in relief. Jimmy and Skizz brought the humans out of their pockets and onto the table in between them and Aria. “I’m sorry, I was only trying to protect the borrowers.” Aria apologized, looking guilty.
Impulse rubbed the back of his neck. “We appreciate you looking out for borrower kind, but like Skizz said, maybe talk to them first?”
Aria nodded. “Yes, I will do that next time. I promise.” She brought out her wand. “Now, just stay still and…”
“Wait!” Grian suddenly shouted, all eyes falling on him. Aria tilted her head and Grian continued. “Is…is there any way for Jimmy and Skizz to stay this size? And for all of us to be the same size?” Grian asked a bit nervously.
Jimmy and Skizz’s eyes widened at the request. They hadn’t even thought of that.
Unfortunately, Aria shook her head sadly. “I’m sorry, but unless you want some other humans to take their place, I’m afraid it’s not possible. Magic is an exchange. In order to grow one thing, something else of equal value has to shrink. It was hard enough for me to grow two and shrink four by exchanging it that way.”
Grian sighed but nodded. “Right. I understand.”
“It’s okay, Grian.” Jimmy said, giving Grian a smile. “Thank you for trying, but I think I’d rather go back to my regular size anyway.”
“Same here.” Skizz chimed in.
Grian looked between the two and smiled.
Aria lifted her wand again. “Are you ready?” At all of their nods, Aria waved her wand and flicked it toward them, a brilliant shining light filling the room.
A few minutes later, Grian, Joel, Impulse, and Tango exited the tent, now back to their regular human heights. Jimmy was carefully tucked away in Grian’s hoodie pocket again and Skizz was likewise hidden in Impulse’s chest one.
“So…food?” Tango suggested and they all agreed. They were starving after everything that had happened in the past day. As they looked around for something filling to eat, Grian couldn’t help but let out a content sigh.
“It feels good being back to normal.” Grian said.
And from within his pocket, leaning against his hand, Jimmy couldn’t help but agree.
Two weeks after the events of Shot in the Dark, Cliff is burying the bones of a vanquished banshee—when Sylvia interrupts. This free bonus chapter from Cliff's POV bridges his and Sylvia's relationship from the events in book one to Hunted in the Shadows (book two).
Our street team voted for a Cliff POV chapter by a landslide when asked, and we're so glad that idea won! 😍 We had a lot of fun writing this sweet short with some classic Cliff and Sylvia banter, and we're so excited to share it with you! ✨
(disclaimer/ tw) there is a stabbing, conflicting emotions, murder,
and also bad guy who hates Donovan, because he never wanted a son, and gets jealous because his wife cares more for Donovan than him.
very small scene of gt
I never understood why he hated me. I just knew he did. He didn't say it to my face, but as they, say actions speak louder then words. His rare glances upon me weren’t that of pride or happiness, more than enough were stinging with destain or revolution. He saw me as tool more then anything, something that if he handled right he could unlock the secrets of the universe. But his ways were cruel and merely just made me hate him as much as he hated me.
He never treated my mother harshly except when she discussed me, I seemed to be the source of all her problems. Not that she would admit it. Her eyes always snapped with a fire I wished for, as she held her tongue, a rare thing for her. I saw as she left the room, and his eyes followed her before resting on me. I quickly ducked from sight my heart pounding, she found me outside the room and scooped me up into her arms and brought me to her room. She had started packing her bags, the fire behind her eyes dimming as her hands had begun to shake. She crumpled to the ground silently crying.
She never cried, I was the only one who had ever seen her cry, and as a child my only way I knew how to comfort her was to shift smaller and curl next to her hand waiting for her quiet sobs to subside. I stared up at her with all the love I had for her.
She cupped me in her hands, her smile making her eyes glow softly.
“I wish we could run away… I wish there was a place he couldn't reach us, reach you…” Her voice cracked.
“I can't run though… no matter how hard I try… i can't stop loving him…” she sounded helpless, and ashamed she was telling all this to her child. But who else could she talk to that wouldn't think it an act of treason against the king?
And even as a child I understood, maybe not completely, no matter how hard I tried, even though I hated him, I couldn't stop loving him. Maybe it was a version of Stockholm syndrome. Maybe it was just us, caring for someone we knew could be a good person but choose the violence that we saw day to day.
After my mother died, and that long cold year before I killed him. I wondered what he would do if I died, if he killed me, what would he do next?
Once his fury was taken out on me, he would have nowhere else to put his anger into except the world around him or himself. Destroying everything and everyone on the planet till all that was left was a barren planet with him as it's ruler, slowly wasting away till he died with it.
That's when it all came crashing down around me. The reality, that it was either kill or have a whole planet die after me. The finale nail in the coffin that sealed his fate was the night he had bargained me for some of my magic, and when I had declined he had shouted in a blind rage.
“YOU WANT TO END UP LIKE YOU'RE MOTHER BOY?!” Quickly the puzzle pieces fell into place, mother getting sick seemingly out of nowhere after father had a fight with her. The long weary days of watching her fade, but by bit, like she was being drained. She had known. All along what was happening.
She just kept quiet to protect me. Me.
“You killed her?”
“Of course. Thought you were smart enough to figure that out on your own Donovan.” I had never heard him call me by my name. It felt vile in the air, I didn't get even see it as my own name anymore, then the sword, was out and he was dying on the floor, rage in his eyes till the end.
Treason. Treason. Treason. I took a step back lowering my sword feeling my heart pounding in my chest. I had took a life. A living breath loving hating speaking hurting life… tears sprang to my eyes, and I ran. Breaking a window fleeing to the only place I knew was safe. The between. A black void that existed between realty space and time. It's inky black somehow wasn't dark. It just was and I lost myself in it's passages
