I made a giant just so Ingmar could be small and gay for a little while.
Anyway, Alessandro is a rich heir who spends all his time and money on flirting and partying, and is a legendary love machine. Ingmar deserves to be pampered ;;
I'm bored so here's some animals I think borrowers/tiniest would domesticate:
Mice:
This one is a little cliche, but I think mice would be great companions for borrowers. They could be used to gather resources or alert borrowers of oncoming danger. Companionship would also be a major perk! They could even be house pets, depending on how big the borrowers are.
Wasps:
Eusocial wasps, specifically paper wasps, could be excellent working animals. They could assist in construction and camouflaging borrower settlements. Artistic borrowers could provide them with colorful materials to make art with, either by getting the wasp to make the piece with instruction or shaping the 'paint' themself after taking it from the wasp. Their intelligence would allow them to receive basic commands and even remember and accurately recreate constructions built in the past.
Dragonflies:
This would be most prevalent in communities that eat more meat than others. Dragonflies would be used primarily for hunting insects or small lizards. When trained to do so, a dragonfly could be commanded to hunt specific targets, and bring them back to their handler. Nymphs could be raised in a sort of moat or river around the edge of a settlement as a form of pest control.
Ladybugs:
Though lacking in practical use, ladybugs would be interesting companions bred for show. Borrowers could breed them for interesting patterns and colors in a similar way that we do with pigeons. Unlike pigeons they would be a bit less intelligent, only able to follow basic commands like staying still or spinning around. They could possibly stick with their owners when they can to bask in their body heat.
my latest OC is a borrower who late in life suddenly able to become human sized at will, and since she is so used to stealing she decides to continue to steal. she becomes a con-artist specializing in the supernatural. it doesnât take long for her to become the LEAD magic and miracle worker in the nation. she has no magic. she doesnât even know if magic exists. but her she can work a con and charm a room like no ones business.
she has one employee, a very normal man whoâs very terrified of his obviously powerful boss, but also she sometimes leans over his desk and asks what a SSN is or to explain the concept of the moon. and heâs like yes maâam right away maâam bc he thinks she has god powers but sheâs actually just a two inch tall LIAR
I sit in bed - if one could call a pile of stolen socks a bed - and when the giant thunks their head against the wall of my home, or their home, rather, Iâm not alarmed. They do it a lot. Iâd thought the concept of a person thudding their head against the wall repeatedly was just a trope in fiction. But itâs real. And as someone who lives in the walls, itâs annoying.
âSwitch to evening classes,â I snap, before the giant can shake the walls of my little home with their giant coconut once more. âYouâre always up late regardless, and your grades will keep getting worse if you keep thinking you can handle a three hour lecture at six in the morning.â
The thudding stops. Iâve never spoken to them before. They donât even know who, or what, just spoke. All they see is the wall. They donât reply, and after a moment I can hear them stepping away, and thatâs the last I hear of them for the night.
Our paths donât cross much, by design. Theyâre a night owl, and I tend towards the early morning hours. As the days go on, they sleep through the mornings more, and spend time at home in the evenings less.
Another thud rouses me from some concentration.
I thought we were over this.
âWall Oracle?â
I go by many names. But that one, that oneâs new. I sit up from where Iâm hunched over some leather and thread - a new backpack once I get the stitching down - and turn to the wall where I imagine the human is putting a solid dent in with their head.
âI switched to night classes, and it helped, thank you,â they say. They sound less tired. âBut itâs weird, I feel like my friends havenât been wanting to-â
âThey still like you even if youâre in different classes. Itâs just hard because youâre not sharing as much time with them. Text them first. They still want to hang out, someone just has to be the one to instigate it. â
Thereâs silence, before the wall creaks slightly as the human lifts their head.
âThank you, Wall Oracle.â
It goes like this for a while. A thud snaps me from sleep, work, pleasure, and I get to hear the humans stressors and rants and inquiries. Sometimes they treat me like a goddamn fortune cookie - âWill it rain this weekend?â. Other times, they pour out their heart and soul. I give them advice as best as I can, and eventually talking to them becomes as easy as breathing.
âWall Oracle?â
Itâs dinner time, on a Saturday. No classes, no hangouts. They only go out on Sundays. Saturdays were for them, and by extension it meant I stayed in my home as well. Currently Iâm waiting for some stew to cool, and hoping that the human doesnât catch the scent of the tealight I used to cook with.
âMake ramen,â I say, an educated guess based on the time and the day, âAdd a slice of cheese. Itâs better than you think.â
âWhatâs your name?â
The question almost makes me drop the empty bowl in my hand, and I quickly set it down next to the pot cooling on the die I use as a counter. The candle is out now, and I work on smothering it in wax to clear the smoke rather than reading too into the prompt.
âI have a lot of names,â I say, because itâs true. What Ma called me, what I tell others to call me, what I call myself. Wall Oracle, too. I suppose Iâm only ever called the latter these days - I donât see people often enough to have a use for a proper name. âWall Oracle is fine.â
Thereâs a chuckle, and I can hear how loud it is through the wall. Their headâs not against it, they must be standing straight, putting their chest level with my home. When they speak, I can hear the way it rumbles through their body.
âI guess I just wanted to say thank you, like, properly,â they say. They sound nervous, and itâs a little cute. âIf you wanted to like, I dunno, meet or something?â
âDo you even know what I am?â
Thereâs a beat, and the only reason that I am not nervous is because theyâre nervous. Their hesitation shows I hold at least some cards, and if they can fling sudden questions, I can do the same.
âIâma be real, I have no clue. You could be my next-door neighbor, or a talking rat, or a ghost. Iâve thought about it a ton and I think it started to make me go a little bonkers so I just, havenât been worrying about it?â
I clasp a hand over my mouth. It barely muffles the sudden laughter I cannot stop. I always knew humans were clueless, but I didnât expect it to be endearing.
âGo by your toaster,â I say, leaning down to grab my backpack. I head to the exit into the kitchen walls before I can think about this too much. âGive me five minutes.â
âO-okay?â
(They sound cute when theyâre confused.)
It doesnât take me long to get to the small crack in the wall behind the toaster, and I slip out of it into the shade of the appliance easily. Itâs gross back here. I sidestep crumbs and dust, and pause at the very edge, placing a hand on the toaster and leaning out to peek at the kitchen.
Theyâre standing right there. They loom over the counter like a celestial body in the sky, blocking out the humming florescent lights. Sheer confusion coats their features, and it takes a second for their sweeping gaze to land on my face.
Something softens, and I can see the wash of wonders over their features. Their eyes dialate, and they quickly move down to eye level with the counter - all while respecting my personal space. I can see the gears turning in their head as I step out, them trying to fathom me.
(My heart pounds ferociously in my chest.)
I lift a hand, and wave. A small smile finds its way on my lips despite the nervous energy buzzing in every inch of my skin.
âHi,â I say.
After a second, the largest grin Iâve ever seen crosses their features.
just so everyoneâs aware, @/shortirl is a TERF. cw for transmisogynistic content in the links, but ik their commissions post has been going around and theyâre following a lot of big community names.
- from their main
- following from their main
you can check it yourself as well, but itâs all right there. just so yall know, TERFs will never be welcome on my blog or to my content. trans women are women. fuck off.
Summary: Yonah (half giant), is no longer struggling to just exist at the wizard academy (Best Wizard College In All The Land) and that's making his friends suspicious. What's going on with him? Why was he struggling before and suddenly, after he moves in to the dragon professor's caves, he's excelling! They aim to find out. (note: his friends think he's human, for now)
Lots of GT fluff with a smol amount of angst. Also a dragon.
Warnings: swearing. and that's it.
[takes place about 3 months after Honorary Princess. Reading Honorary Princess isnt strictly necessary but itâs also a fun little story. Thereâs cuddles with a dragon. Holy cow it's been a year since i posted that story...]
---
The three wizardlings waited an hour before heading down into the depths of the school. Down and a little to the east, into the mountainside known as The Pass of Living Light. Into a series of caverns carved out long ago by a dragon. Not by the dragon currently living in the caverns, for that had been before Professor Xharemâs time.
âHear anything yet?â Micah asked Shoshana, whose ear was against the large metal door which they knew was barred from the inside.
âShush!â
Shoshana rubbed her training staff against her face to enhance her hearing up another notch. Micah looked to Avshalom, the older student just blinked. It was a long 30 seconds before.
âNah, this door must be enchanted, i can hear voices but nothing close to words. Whoever is talking to Xharem must be loud!â
âCan you hear Yonah?â
âI dont think so⊠but he has to be in there! Thereâs no other place for him to have gone, he lives there now and he said he was grading midterms for the professor!â
They all stood in deep thought. There was no getting through the door. But maybe there was another way .
âThe Chimney!â said Avshi, âXharemâs office has a chimney, of a sorts. Itâs exit is behind the schoolâ
Micah and Shoshana stared at them.
âItâs on the map of the schoolâ they explained.
âYou memorized the map?â Micah was astonished.
âYou- Oh right, I keep forgetting youâre a few years behind meâ Avshi laughed âMaking a copy is the first practical homework assignment for advanced scaffolding programs of interactive illusions!â they took out a scroll from their hat.
âGoodness knows you take note of interesting features after painstakingly drawing them over and overâ
Unfolding it, Avshi silenced Shoshana before she could point out that it was too small to be a map of the school. It didnt even LOOK like a map of the school! They pressed their hand onto the map and said a few words laced with magic. They closed their fist, and in doing so gathered the lines of ink into their hand, pulling it up. Before them was a three-dimensional diagram of a small section of the school.
Avshi pinched at the phantom ink and pulled it to the side, the image moving with it, disappearing as it hit the edge of the paper but new ink being pulled out of nowhere on the other side. They did this a few times until it displayed the area of the caves they were in.
They pointed out the chimney and Xharemâs caves. The caves themselves were not well defined. Made sense Xharem didnt want people to have a map of her personal quarters. But her office was clear enough.
âIThatâs a long way down,â said Shoshan, âAt least I think it isâŠâ
âWeâre going to need a ride!â said Micah âNone of us can fly, unless we levitate each other down the chimneyâ
None of them liked that idea. Levitating living things was trickier than objects and only Avshi had any practice at that advanced level. Living beings move around to much and one had to keep correcting the gravitational field.
âIâd rather notâ said Shoshana âbut we know someone who can help!â
---
âNo.â
âPuuuhlleeeeease Eli, just for tonight!â
They were in the students quarters and had just woken up Elisheva, for she had taken a while to answer the door and wore a bright pink nightgown and slippers that looked like bunnies. She looked down at Shoshana who was on her knees.
âIâm not letting you borrow it! Itâs an heirloom!â
âBut we need it to find out what yonah gets up to at night!â
âSleep probablyâ she turned but then froze âWait⊠Yonah⊠youâre sneaking into Xharemâs lair!?â she let out a deep laugh âthatâs the worst idea i've ever heard!â
The trio before her looked downtrodden.
âBut I also want to know what the fuck is up with him so count me inâ
Now the trio looked astonished.
âYonah canât just be her assistant! No way. Ive neve heard of Xharem choosing students to be her âhonorary princessâ before. Not ever! I asked my grandfather, Xharem doesnt even play favorites! Something is up.â
âAlso, the changes right, you noticed too?â
Eli nodded. Since becoming Xharemâs âhonorary princessâ, yonah was different. No major personality changes⊠more like his mood and certain behaviors. The entire first month at school Yonah went from eager to learn to increasingly tired and moody to the point that he was struggling in class. School was difficult but Yonah was smart, he was driven. Plus it was the first month of his first year, it wasnt normal to tank that fast that soon. It didnt make any sense. He also ate constantly, ate as if he was a bottomless pit!
Then Xharem called him for a meeting and he moved into her caves.
The change was near instantaneous. He was suddenly happy, well rested, and no longer filled his pockets with food from the dining hall to eat throughout the entire day. People dont bounce back like that, not that fast.
It was odd still, that Yonah had been a bit⊠short tempered before, and still was now. Guess whatever had him in such a depressive spiral wasnt contributing to his anger issues. If she didnt know better, she would think Yonah was under a spell, but Xharem wouldnt do that to a student.
âSo does that mean?â Shoshana stood up, grinning from ear to ear.
âIâll get it⊠but you cant laugh!â she shut the door in their faces to get dressed.
None of them knew what she meant until they were at the chimney. In reality it was a hole behind a boulder and surrounded by bramble in the forest behind the castle. A massive hole. Powerful illusions made it seem like just an indent. And more powerful illusions made it so that forest creatures could just cross it like ground. There was also a repelling force that kept people away so they didnât fall in. The four of them were perched on the rock looking down into darkness. A little smoke was coming out but not enough to signify any large fires, or dragon breath.
With a THUMP Eli and Avshi dumped the rolled up carpet onto the ground and it unfurled.
âNot. A. Word.â Eli warned.
The carpets design featured fat rainbow pegasi prancing across a sunset sky with blue cotton candy clouds.
âAn Heirloom? This?â Avshi doubted.
âI said not a word! You donât have to ride it if you donât like it, stay here if you want, or jump down!â
âNo no, I like it a lotâ and they climbed on.
Once everyone had taken a seat Eli, face visibly red in the dim moonlight, stroked the mane of the pink Pegasus in the front right corner.
âgiddyyup!â And up they went. Then down into the hole.
Down, down, down into the darkness. After a few seconds they all scrambled to put handkerchiefs over their mouths as even the thin smoke hurt their lungs.
They lowered into a large, and familiar, chamber that had a few dying torches around the walls. The only still brightly lit ones were the ones flanking additional caves. And one behind the massive desk. On one side of the chamber there was the backside of the massive metal door. Barred shut with a stone slab that rested in hooks. Only a dragon could lift that.
Whoever Xharem had been talking to wasnât in this room and neither was Xharem. She was probably down one of the other caves. They didnât know which one could lead to an angry dragon or to Yonah, so they flipped a coin. And down a cave they went. Shoshana whispered into her staff which produced a dull red glow.
âWell, thereâs no Yonah here, but neither is there a dragonâ said Micah. His voice bounced around the cave.
The rest collectively released breaths they had been holding.
âWell, should we go down the other cave?â
âBut thatâs definitely where Xharem is!â
âItâs also definitely where Yonah is!â
âShhhh, did you hear somethingâ
They all fell silent as they heard shifting. The boulders were moving. Those werenât boulders!
âSssomone there?â
The giantâs rumbling voice accompanied the definitely-not-boulders rolling over as the wizardlings fled the room.
Shoshana looked behind them and could see it moving in the darkness, darkness that was soon broken up by two glowing lights. Massive Burning orange eyes peered at them. Shoshana quickly dismissed the staff light. But that face. That voiceâŠ
âStop stop!â cried Shoshana as they were about to rise into the chimney. Against her better judgment, Eli whispered âwoah there beastieâ bringing the carpet to a stop.
âThere had better be a good reason you stopped usâ said Micah, his voice low as an example for the rest âthat was a giant back there.â
Eli coaxed the carpet higher into the chimney space so that they werenât visible.They could hear footsteps as the giant made its way down the hall and into the dimly lit chamber. The figure was about 20 feet tall. its eyes were full of fire and the mess of curly hair burned at roots. smoke billowed out of its head. It gripped a large club in one hand. The smoke rising from its hair further obscured the curious wizards.
âThat doesnât look like any giant Iâve ever seen,â said Elisheva, who looked down, getting a face full of smoke.
âYouâve seen giants?â said Avshi, a little too excited, âI mean, how so?â
âFor one thing,â she coughed, and looked away, âwhatever that is, itâs too smallâ
âGiants are nearly twice that sizeâ Eli didnât even need to see her friendâs stunned faces, she could pretty much hear them, âWell, at least eastern giants⊠western are shorter â
âSo then itâsâ
âNeither western hill giants nor eastern mountain giants have fucking burning hair or glowing eyes!â she was starting to get worried. âWhatever it is, itâs a magical creature. A monster. AndâŠâ her eyes widened âand Xharem is hiding it in her caves! It was asleep, on a mattress! It lives here!â
The not-quite-a-giant had stopped moving and just standing, almost dead center in the cave. It looked up. The wizardlings couldnât see it well through the smoke, just a figure, but could see the eyes. The way the light refracted around⊠Was it wearing glasses?
âI can hear youâ it growled, âwhere are you?â it sang, then lower âI can smell you.â
The voice was skin crawlingly deep. It was angry. It was hungry.
It was... familiar.
âYonah?â Shoshana squeaked out, and then coughed, the others covered her mouth but it was too late.
The large thing prowled around looking for the source of the small voices that bounced around the cave making the words nonsensical. A trail of smoke following it.
The four wizardlings had a quick, silent conversation by mainly shoving each other until Avshi nearly fell off, and Eli slowly brought the carpet down. The monster spotted them and froze as they approached.
Shoshana made her staff glow again, a gentle white light.
As the beastâs hair returned to a warm black and the flames in the eyes died down to dark brown, Shoshana brightened her staff to illuminate the wide eyed, scared, face of their friend.
âYonah? Is that you?â Shoshana Asked almost too quietly to hear.
They knew the answer. Now that they had proper light; it couldnât be anyone else. But he was so large.
âI-â he started to say, and his eyes flashed bright orange as he raised a hand in a rather threatening manner âYou canât be here!â he growled, temper flaring before he caught himself. His hesitation allowed Eli to move the carpet back so his hand harmlessly swatted the air.
âShit! Shit shit shit!â He hissed and he turned around, marching to the door and sitting down against it. He continued to curse under his breath, smoke starting to leak from his head again. They had seen him! They knew! They were going to run and tell the administration! And he couldnât blame them, fuck he must have looked so scary. In the silence his pulse roared in his ears. Still he could hear the light âtap⊠tap⊠tapâŠâ of human footsteps.
Eli had landed the carpet but none of them dared get off until Yonah had stopped muttering curses. Then only Shoshana felt brave enough.
She took a nervous step forward. Then another. And another. Closer. Slowly, waiting to see if yonah would notice, and then if he would stop her, or lash out. He didnt even look up.
The heat radiating off of him made her halt her progression. And he spoke.
âIs it wise, little mage, to approach me?â he growled.
Shoshana gulped down her nerves. âYonahâŠâ
âIf you get within reach, I could crush youâ He extended his foot and stomped on the ground, and then withdrew it. âThough I suppose I could just incinerate you all from here.â
âYonah you wouldnt⊠I dont think you would!â Shoshana said, her voice squeaked a bit.
Now he looked up, glaring fiery daggers at her. Daring her to try.
And she took another step forward.
She was not incinerated. She continued to step until she was exactly at the spot where his food had been. And she was not crushed. And now she could see, Yonah was shaking. He wasnt just angry, he was scared. Could he kill them all? She didnt know, they were half-trained mages and he was⊠she didnt know what he was!
Except She did know. He was a friend.
Now directly in front of him she looked up into his face. Looked into his burning eyes until they didnt burn anymore.
âYouâre not going to kill me.â she said. And when he did not contradict her she placed a shaking hand on his right knee. It didnât go through. It touched fabric. This wasn't an illusion.
Carefully Yonah lifted his own hand and placed it over hers. It was so small! But she didnât flinch. He took her entire arm in a fist and lifted her up, it was painful but she let it happen, using her other hand to hold herself up and not strain her shoulder. She did flinch when he reached out to touch her face, mostly from his shockingly warm skin.
âSee⊠Im not dead! Ha!â she said, quietly.
âYouâre not mad?â he asked, the anger draining from his voice but the fear remaining. âOr frightened?â
âNot⊠mad!â Shoshana said, wincing and clawing at his knuckles as pain flared in her shoulder. Yonah placed his other hand beneath her and let go with his other so that she sat in his palm, âBut⊠i cannot say we arent frightened. Even if i was right, and you did not crush or incinerate me.â
âWe are however very disappointed!â
Shoshana looked behind her and yonah looked around her. Micah, followed by Avshi and Eli, were walking over. Yonahâs eyes flickered in warning but they did not stop. Soon they surrounded him. His breathing got a little more rapid, but they just leaned on him. Avshi CLIMBED into his lap and he gave a half snarl as they did but the foolish wizardlings did not go away.
âYouâre a fucking giant and you didnt tell us!â Avshi said, âand sooo warm!â they settled down.
Yonah was still tense, but he was trying to relax. So he brought Shoshana close to his chest for comfort. He didnt mind holding smallfolk, in fact, he loved it. Most giants did. He just didnt expect to be doing so again for⊠years⊠until he graduated! And especially not these humans.
âIm⊠half giantâ he said, his voice cracking from angry to⊠happy⊠but still a bit nervous. No. he was not going to cry. Oops⊠Shoshana squeaked a bit as he held her a bit too tight. To make up for I he gave her a gentle kiss on her side and she froze up but realized that it was actually quite nice.
âFucking knew it! I said you were too small to be a proper giant! And your hairs too thin.â Eli said with pride from her position leaning against his left thigh. âThat was scary though. Before⊠When you were all fire, smoke, and death, That illusion was so real the smoke made my eyes water!â
Avshi reached up and pat yonah on his portly middle âyouâve gotta teach us that one!â
Blinking away tears Yonah glanced aside, âThat might be tricky. Emâ he was thinking.
Without warning he scooped up all of his friends in his arms and brought them back to his room.
For a few seconds they were too shocked to react, but protested as soon as they got their wits back. It was like holding onto a bunch of large rats, except these ones talked too much. Yonah just shushed them and squished them into his chest which scared them into silence. Except for Shoshana who continued to voice her grievance as he hugged them tightly.
âSpeaking of frightening!â she said, âWhat if you had dropped us?â
Yonah sat down on his mattress and released his friends onto his pillow where they all wobbled in a futile attempt to stay standing. They sat down.
âBut I didnât.â Yonah crossed his arms âI didnât want to stay in Xharemâs office, her sleeping cave isnât far down. If we are lucky, she did not wake.â
His friends (at least, he hoped they were still his friends), all agreed.
âNext time warn us before picking us up,â said Mica, adjusting his robe to get comfortable on the very lumpy pillow.
âSure,â said Yonah, shrugging, making it clear he didnât really intend to do so.
All four of them were now looking up at him expectantly. Ah.
âIm⊠half giantâ
âYes we know that one. Explains the fucking teeth! I can't believe we thought you had some fairy ancestryâ Eli said and Yonah displayed them with a smile. There was a tinge of pride as the humans all tensed up at the sight of his fangs.
âAnd half fire witchâ
Yonah took a deep breath and told them everything. Well not every detail of his life, but about being half giant and half firewitch, how his dadâs magic exploits were always what he loved best but he craved a more academic environment and thus made up his mind to attend the academy. Only⊠he wasnât human. So...
âYou permanently enchanted yourself! At 18 years old!?â said Eli, very impressed.
âI did what I had to do to get into the school.â He had not explained his fake documentation. Including a reference from an adventuring witch he apprenticed under who did not exist. It was just his dad. He also explains that Xharem could tell he wasnât human from his scent, but it was ultimately a good thing that she did.
âHoly shit, you were slowly starving trying to be human!â Eli remembered how desperate Yonah had been a month ago, eating almost every free minute that he had.
âI was hunting in the woods, I never thought I could eat enough at the school. I justâ he looked oddly ashamed, âTurns out I'm just not that good a hunter.â
âMaybe, my dear giant,â Shoshana offered, already trying out new affectations, âYou were just tired. You know, after a long day at school.â
âI know that I can barely keep my eyes open after getting back from the library.â added Eli.
Yonah snuffed a bit. How had he managed to make such good friends? They didnât care that he was half giant. They didnât care that he'd lied to them. They werenât scared (muchâŠ), and they werenât angry.
âStill funny you thought my fire was an illusion! I could hear you coughing from the smokeâ
âOh so you think im stupidâ
Eli tried to rise to her feet but tumbled forward into Yonahâs lap. Yonah picked her up to hold her securely in his hand. She struggled to get out of his grasp. The others gripped their staves, ready to leap into action. Yonah raised his brows at them and they sheepishly put the staves away.
âNo, of course not. You are brilliantâ said Yonah, moving Eliâs hair out of her eyes, âIâm just amused.â
Eli folded her arms, âYou wonât be so amused when you go full fire-witch inferno from, I donât know, stubbing your toe? Fire witches, as well as giants, are not allowed to attend the school!â
Oh boy, this was exactly why he kept it a secret. The insult made him bare his teeth and snarl again, making Eliâs hair blow around. She shook and looked to the rest of the wizardlings who made no moves to rescue her from the monsterâs grasp.
âThankfully what you saw is as far as it goes. Iâm not about to burst into flames in the middle of an exam. And,â he resisted squeezing Eli, settling for bringing her up to his eyes, and then glaring at the other three âI have just as much right to attend the academy as anyone else.â
Since Shoshana got one he decided Eli deserved a kiss too. She didnât appreciate it as much as Shosh had. He put Eli back down and she smoothed the ruffles in her robe before sitting next to Shoshana and examining her own feet.
âShe wasnât questioning your place here,â said Asvhi, âyou werenât were you?â Eli just snorted and looked away, âWhat she meant is itâs still noticeable if smoke starts spewing from your head ya dingus.â
Eli nodded, still not looking at anyone.
âEy,â said Yonah, âI was worried about that too. I was planning on just trying my best to keep it coolâgiggles escaped from his friends. /dammit fuck/ âbut even if I am not a full fire witch I,â
âHave the hot-headed aggressive short tempered personality of one?â shot Eli. Yonah winced but nodded.
âXharem actually⊠here, Iâll show you!â he was kinda excited about this, it was truly brilliant.
From his trunk Yonah fetched his hat and pulled out his wizard staff, not the large one that they had mistaken for a club, but a small, human-sized one. The one his friends were familiar with him using. Eli had turned back to the conversation, and grinned.
âI told you all that staff wasnât normal! Itâs so.. so plain!â
It was true. Compared to the other wizard staves, this one looked like a walking stick someone picked up on a hike. Except more elegant and polished. Everyone elseâs staves had elements of metal designed engraved into them, or crystals, or both. Training staves, but fancier than Yonahâs.
âIt might look plain, but itâs not. Itâs also not made by the Academy method, itâs technically not mine. It belonged to a Society Wizard. Here,â he held it out for one of them to take. Avhsi took it and nearly dropped it as it was like sticking their arm into a vacuum. Not a vacuum that sucked air, but one that sucked magic. Their carefully and arduously accumulated magic.
Yonah took it back.
âSociety Wizards drain magic from whatever they can without discrimination,â his friends made some amusingly horrified faces, âI know, how fucked up is that? Anyways, they designed their staves to suck it out of whatever they touch, even if its wizard isnât around. Right now Iâm too large for it to work effectively, but when Iâm your size it drains me of fire magic, since I guess thatâs the most readily available. Xharem says that the fire magic is so potent that itâs âhappyâ to leave other magic alone. It still lets me store magic and And cast spells! though it can take some persuasion.â
âWhere does the fire magic go!?â Asked Shoshana.
âI⊠I havenât figured that out yetâ he admitted.
âDo you think it could explode!?â
âNo⊠I had not considered that terrifying thought, Shosh.â Yonah said through a gritted smile.
âYouâre welcome!â she said brightly with all her teeth.
âGods be damned what if you just siphon it off at night?â said Avshi.
Yonah considered that. He closed his fist around the staff and tried to pull the Fire Magic out.
The staff didnât like that. It didnât really like him, only tolerated him, it didnât want to give up the magic.
You donât want to explode do you? Yonah thought at it. And he felt it release.
Two and a half months of built up Fire Magic. Back into his body.
All.
At.
Once.
Even if only his hair was actually on fire, it felt like his blood was boiling through his veins, his arteries, his heart. Every hair on his arms, legs, and chest were like red hot needles. The fire in his eyes was trying to pop out. They didnât thank the gods.
Fire finally came out when he opened his mouth and screamed.
In a moment of lucidity through all the pain, Yonah ran from the room before setting his things, and his friends, on fire. He ran to the central cave and screamed skyward. fire swirling up the chimney.
In all likelihood it lasted about a minute. It felt like an eternity.
Then it stopped.
And Yonah collapsed.
No longer expecting the sweet release of death, his skin still felt like he had second degree burns and the air distorted around his body. Surely his father didnât feel like this whenever he blew up! No way! He wanted to close his eyes which were horribly dry, but the hot flesh of his eyelids was worse and the cool air felt so good. He had to blink. He closed his eyes. That stung. He opened his eyes. The yellow eyes of a dragon looked down.
His friends came running but stopped short. Professor Xharem was looking over the steaming body. And then snapped her neck to look at the four humans.
âWhat,â She snarled, âdid you do?â
The humans huddled together, Shoshana spoke up.
âThe- the staff,â was all she managed. Xharem tilted her head her eyes widened in understanding.
âI told you when I gave you the staff that you had to drain it regularly,â she said to Yonah.
âI- forgotâ Yonah coughed up smoke and embers.
Xharem looked to the humans again. Picking one out carefully.
âMr. Cohen, if you could fetch the snow apple butter for me?â And she directed him to one of the shelves. It was easy to find, a large barrel with a crystal apple painted on it. He carefully levitated it over to the professor who plucked the lid off with a quick claw motion.
âShit, Iâm almost outâ she hissed.
âUnlessâ she continued. Yonah whimpered. âYesâŠâ she looked back at the humans who were still recovering from hearing the professor swear.
âOne of you, I donât care which, Yonah keeps a pouch on his belt, inside is a small box, which contains a powder.â
Micah, already having done one task, ran off.
âYou donât need to bring the whole thing! Just a pinch of the powder!â Xharem called.
Micah was halfway down the cave but he yelled back âa giant sized pinch?â
âNo.â
Now the rest of the humans were brave enough to approach Yonah, even with Xharem standing guard. What held them back now was the heat radiating from their friendâs body. Nearly unbearable, unless you were a dragon.
âEYipe!â Avshi cried as they touched Yonahâs beat red arm. Their palm now the same color.
Xharem rolled her eyes and consider offering the barrel. But decided against it.
Micah came back holding a small amount of powder in one hand. And looked to Xharem for the next steps.
At her instructions He walked around to Yonahâs face. Yonahâs massive eyes looked at him in pain. His breath hit Micah like a shot of steam from a tea kettle. Careful to not spill any of the powder, he slapped it onto Yonahâs tongue.
Yonah, who was not expecting someone to shove their arm into his mouth, instinctively closed his lips around micahâs wrist.
Micah yelped and stumbled forward as the burning hot lips engulfed his arm, and steam shot into his face. A moment later they let go. Yuck. There was a lot of hot drool. He looked into Yonahâs eyes which were wide and fearful. Then Yonahâs head turned away, and He muttered something under his breath.
A woosh of warm air (though colder than the air around Yonah), a puff of grey smoke, and Yonah had reduced to his still rather large human stature that his friends were familiar with. He didnât look at Micah as he sat up groaning. Instead he turned his back on his friends to remove his sleeping linens to stand there awkwardly in his undies. His entire body was uniformly burnt. Xharem tipped the barrel towards him holding it with a claw. He reached inside to take out a silvery-blue goopy substance.
Even as his hands touched it it was instant relief. And ignoring all shame he took handfuls and lathered it all over himself. There were places on his back that he couldnât reach, Avshi jumped to volunteer to help And used their burned hand to apply the lotion. Micah applied some to his wrist.
The dragon, shaking a bit to get
Her old joints to cooperate, stood up, stretching and yawning.
âI have classes to teach in the morning, so Iâm going back to sleep,â Xharem declared, âI suggest you do the same,â then she looked at Yonah, âleave the lotion on for 5 minutes then you can remove it.â
She walked back down the hall. Leaving the humans, and the half giant, in the dim light.
âWell this is awkward,â said Avshi, waving their lotion covered hand around for extra coolness.
âMore awkward than us finding out that Yonahâs not human?â Eli asked.
Yonah, who was standing off to the side, next to the barrel, had been looking down, watching drops of silvery iridescent goop drip from his nose to his feet. He looked up.
And nodded, âIm going to say being half-naked, covered in goop, in the middle of a professorâs office is much more humiliating than you finding out im 20ft tall!â
âPoint taken, though being a giant is more than just height! And youâre not just half human eitherâ said Eli, âwhere do we get water for when itâs time to wash up?â
Yonah pointed her to a water spout, it connected to a subterranean river and the water was cold as ice. There was a shallow bucket propped up next to it. A half-giant sized one. Not large enough for a half giant to bathe in, just, regular bucket for his normal scale. So perfect as a bath for his reduced size! Though to turn the nozzle, the humans had to use magic, it was meant to be used by largefolk.
No longer burned, Yonah relaxed. His friends were back at his side to help him clean up. Mostly clearing away soap and water. Yonah would tidy the space properly at his normal size in the morning. For now they went back to Yonahâs cave.
âDo we⊠need to stand back?â Eli asked as Yonah sat on his bed looking comically small.
âI- hmmâ Yonah thought, he hadnât tested how the spell handles living things in the same space his body would be occupying, âbest to be safe,â
His friends distanced themselves and Yonah, using his own magic, dispelled his reduction. There was no POOF this time. One moment he was human sized, the next, a half giant. He put on a clean nightgown and sat back down; his friends clambered into his lap.
Instead of sleeping they got to talking, in hushed tones. Mostly they asked yonah about his family, about what it was like to be a giant, for they were unfamiliar with the culture. They also discussed mundane things like homework and school gossip. It was⊠really nice. They even let him pet them! Let him Stroke them and Pick them up. There wasnât much in the world more enjoyable than handling the little people. Except magic! magic was fucking dope.
Ok, at first only Avhsi let him handle them, a bit nervously until melting into his fingers. Then everyone else wanted a massage.
Eli was impressed with his delicate touch. Yonah repeated that his dad was human, adding that his village has other smallfolk residents, heâs handled smallfolk before. Though this helped reassure his friends, he was a bit offended by the assumption that he didnât know his own strength.
Unfortunately, it was getting late, and while they didnât have a curfew, they did have sense.
âWe canât just leave him here! All alone!â Shoshana looked up at Yonah with extreme sorrow.
Yonahâs cheeks flushed at her words.
âItâs ok. Iâve been sleeping alone for months,â he said, setting his friends on the floor and standing up. âI never planned to have roommates, I planned to live in the forest. Living here has been a dream compared to that.â
He walked to the main cave and then looked back, amused as his friends ran to catch up. He went to the door and started to lift the metal bar. Even gently it scraped, making an awful noise. He set it back, making a mental note to polish and oil it.
He knelt down âGuess youâre flying back out, or⊠you could stay the night.â He knelt and held out a hand palm up.
Avshi, Shoshana, And Micah all let him pick them up, placing them into the crook of his other arm.
âWeâre still in our day robes!â Eli said, clearly conflicted. Then she yawned.
âCome on, Eli!â Avshi encouraged, âI donât think you should be flying again tonight.â That earned Avshi their kiss from the giant and they laughed as Yonahâs stubble tickled.
She relented and climbed into Yonahâs arms. being carried was much better when you were able to get settled first. And his arms were so pleasantly cozy, she almost fell asleep as he walked down the tunnel. There were no torches but Yonah didnât seem to need them, the dim light from his eyes became brighter until they brought friendly orange light to whatever he looked at.
There were no spare beds, and Eli assumed they would be given the pillow for their mattress but Yonah simply straightened out his cot and lay down, motioning for his friends to join him.
Now they all hesitated. What he was proposing⊠what if he rolled over! He could squash them!
As if he read their minds he rolled his eyes, âitâs perfectly safe, I sleep like a log. I promise.â
He would mention having to fall asleep with his dad in his arms when he had bad dreams, or simply got anxious at night, if he had to. That the last time that happened was the night before he set out for school... he had slept in his motherâs arms and his father in his. But that embarrassing anecdote wasn't needed. The humans decided to strip down to their undergarments, the robes would be too swealtering. Anyways, it was standard to have light silk shorts and shirts on under oneâs robes, perfectly fine for sleeping in.
Yonah lay on his side but angled back against the cave wall, positioning his arms so his friends could lay in them. With arms full of humans, he used Magic to pull up the blanket. A thin one but it was perfect for the half-fireWitch. They were all asleep within 10 minutes.
Waking up at the crack of dawn and knowing the wizards would have stayed up chatting, Xharem could not help but check in on her half-giant and the humans. Casting a spell to make her clawed footsteps silent, she poked her head into Yonahâs room. Darkness was no problem even for her aging eyes and she need not risk disturbing them with any light to see inside the room m.
She found her half-giant sleeping peacefully, arms full of sleeping humans. A small smile on Yonahâs face told her there was nothing to be concerned about. The little ones wouldnât tell.
[Thanks for reading if you liked this PLEASE REBLOG and/or tell me what you think in an ask/message!]
When you are just a little (slightly mutated) creature sneaking around laboratories but the head scientist catches you and has to escort you out for your own safety and give you a talk about OSHA regulations @^@
AT LAST! My side of the art trade with the lovely @gt-ridel is complete!! I hope you enjoy :3
this books sounds straight up my alley and I know a lot of other ppl in the g/t community might be interested in it too! PLUS!! THE HANDHELD COVER?!??! I LOVE IT
mortyâs a changeling, meaning he was grown from a variety of spores and some horrible magicks by a fey court for the purposes of replacing a human. but for one reason or another, he was never used, and thus just kept growing as a little fungal monster until said court forced him to leave. unlike other fungi-fey, in his true form, he doesnât borrow from any real fungus species - heâs a mishmash of black mold, stinkhorns, cap mushrooms, and bracket fungi. being a changeling, he can shift his appearance at will, although he tends to forget how big humans are supposed to be. heâs usually around 9 feet tall but he can make himself anywhere from 5 to ~25 feet
whether by design or by happenstance, heâs very interested in humans! his main disguise is a combination of mimicking traits from humans heâs seen in the forest and trial and error with what makes him look approachable and what makes people run screaming from him. sadly, he doesnât often get to interact with humans properly, instead just observing them from a distance⊠at least until a certain reanimated corpse stumbles into his neck of the woods. what luck!
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