It was raining on this particular Saturday in the Nelson household.
Sarah had long since taught both the boys to do their own washing, so more out of habit than anything else were not just the week's worth of dirty clothes, but also all the used towels and bedsheets washed all in the same day, a couple of times a month. It was even easier while David was away for university, when there were only two people in the house to worry about instead of three.
Nick figured all the commotion probably didn't provide the most welcoming environment for his secret neighbor, so he wasn't surprised that he hadn't shown his face today, even after his mum had let him know she'd be out to run a couple of errands for a while, and to please switch the current load to the dryer when the cycles were done.
From his spot on the couch, Nick was idly wondering what the little guy could be up to when he heard the machine ding down the hall to let him know his clothes were dry. He paused the movie and set his laptop to the side as he got up, opting to at least get started on folding everything while the load of sheets finished up.
Maybe half of the freshly warm clothes had been folded when a soft rustle from behind him broke through the quiet of the room, even beyond the movie he'd resumed while he sat and worked. Pausing it again, he resisted the urge to turn around and prepared himself to speak.
"Hey, Charlie," said Nick, gently as he could muster.
"...Hi."
Nick inhaled lightly at the borrower's voice, not missing how timid Charlie still sounded. It had only been a few days since they last saw each other, but even after all this time after having met, he'd admit that some part of him was still getting used to the idea of a tiny person living in his home.
"Can I turn around?"
There was a brief pause, and based on their previous interactions, Nick would have fully expected Charlie to tell him no, and they would continue their conversation not facing each other, and he'd respect that. So, it was all the more surprising when he eventually heard Charlie softly utter, "Sure."
Slowly and calmly as possible, Nick turned around to face the shelf divot in the wall behind the couch, and sure enough, there he was, peering out from behind a picture frame. Nick was reminded once again of just how small Charlie was, and something about the sight made him smile.
From such a close distance, it was a harrowing reminder for Charlie just how enormous Nick was, and he was increasingly grateful to the picture frame for providing him with at least some sense of available cover from prying eyes should he feel the need for it.
"Hi," Nick almost whispered, not wanting to scare him off.
To his pleasant surprise, Charlie politely waved back, with a slight smile of his own for good measure.
More than he cared to admit, the borrower truly was happy to see Nick again. Still terrified, sure, but it was also weirdly exciting in its own way, and Nick had yet to give any kind of indication that he intended to hurt him, so here he was again, despite his species' code. If Tori ever found out, though...
"I was just watching a movie while the washing's getting done, would you like to join me?" Nick gestured to the laptop as he spoke.
Charlie was caught a bit off guard by the question, but all the same, he'd come here in the first place to spend some time with this human (seeing as the woman, his mother, was out), so he nodded.
Not really having expected him to agree to it, Nick's smile grew wider. "Cool, cool, so... do you want to stay there, or would you like a lift closer?" As the last words left his lips, he watched the borrower duck further behind the picture frame, visibly nervous about the latter option. "Sorry, too soon? It's ok, Charlie, you don't have to do anything you don't want to, I'd just like to hang out with you."
"N-no, I... I do want to, it's just— I don't... I don't want to be grabbed," said Charlie, now further behind the picture frame than before. He watched Nick's face drop a bit in disappointment, so he added a "sorry" for good measure.
"Charlie, it's fine, really," Nick reassured. "If you're nervous, don't apologize for that. Anyway, if it would make you that uncomfortable, then no grabbing, I promise." He turned back around to adjust his position slightly and got his laptop situated. "...How well can you see it from there?"
Charlie leaned out again some more, instantly letting out a breath of relief that there was no longer attention focused directly on him, and had a look. He could only make out about half of the screen from his current position, so he might miss some things.
This was probably a horrible idea, but in spite of himself, Charlie stepped forward until he was at the edge of the shelf, and then he sat down. He let his foot move forward just a bit, and his shoe accidentally bumped the top of Nick's shoulder slightly, directly in front of him. Nick flinched.
"Sorry!" As quickly as it had happened, Charlie immediately retracted his foot.
"All good, uh, can you see ok?" Nick's mind was racing a bit, still processing their first bit of contact since they'd met, even if by accident.
"...Yes." Charlie was grateful for the fact Nick was still facing forward so he didn't see how red his face probably got after that. At his word, Nick pressed play.
The two sat in relatively comfortable silence after some time, their attention (as far as the other was concerned) entirely focused on the movie playing.
For Nick, this wasn't entirely true. This was in part because he resumed some of the folding he'd started, liking having something to do with his hands, but he also found himself pondering just how long it had been since they'd met. He wanted to guess that it had only been a few weeks, maybe a month at most, but it was already starting to get difficult to remember what he normally even thought about in his spare time beforehand.
Still, in all that time, they hadn't touched each other. Charlie had made his discomfort with that very clear from day one, and Nick understood completely and was perfectly content to respect his boundaries. Even though, admittedly, Nick did imagine sometimes what holding him in his hands might feel like, it was fine by him if such a thing never happened, as long as Charlie felt comfortable and safe.
An unexpected soft voice saying his name drew him back to reality, and Nick paused the movie again. "What's up?"
"Sorry, it's just... a bit cold in here..." he heard Charlie say, just shy of right in his ear.
Nick looked around for something Charlie could use as a blanket, as he'd have to get up for fetching an actual blanket, which would probably be a bit too heavy for the borrower anyway and seemed ultimately impractical for solving the problem. He was debating whether a large blanket would actually be worth it when his eyes landed on his laundry pile.
"How about this?" Nick reached forward and retrieved a single sock from the basket to show Charlie over his shoulder. "It's clean, I promise, everything in there has just been washed, and it's dried too so it's still a bit warm even."
Charlie instinctively backed away as Nick's hand drew closer to him, but when he understood just what he was holding, he carefully reached forward to grab it. Nick had been right: it was, in fact, still warm.
Charlie wrapped himself in the garment, relishing in the relieving warmth, and said, "Thank you."
"Right, no problem," Nick replied with a smile, resuming the film once again.
The two enjoyed the rest of the movie in mostly quiet, with an occasional chuckle at a joke, or a question from Charlie if something odd happened in the plot or a character said something that he didn't quite understand, always followed by a short explanation from Nick, or even a pause and an explanation if it was a bit more complicated to answer.
Nick had long since finished folding the rest of his laundry by the time the credits were rolling, but Charlie having visited was enough of a distraction that he nearly forgot about the other load. So, when the washer dinged, he carefully turned as slowly as he was physically able to check on the little guy.
What he saw almost made him melt.
Charlie had curled himself up inside the sock given to him earlier, and it suddenly made sense why his reactions and questions had been so limited during the third act of the movie. Based on the runtime, Nick would have guessed he'd been asleep for about 20 minutes at this point, and he was increasingly glad he'd taken the time to be extra careful as he moved.
As he got up from his spot on the couch, Charlie didn't even stir. Was he tired, or was the movie just really boring for him? Nick wondered to himself with a smile as he made his way to put the sheets in the dryer.
———————
Charlie was acutely aware of a noise that might have resembled someone saying his name, but he wasn't sure. He hadn't realized he'd fallen asleep until he then felt something nudge his shoulder; gently enough, but he could still subconsciously sense that it was something big. He shot up with a start, panicked a bit at first, seeing an enormous hand next to him and then an enormous face above, but relaxed a hair when he realized it was just Nick.
"Sorry, didn't mean to spook you there," Nick apologized quietly, having immediately retracted his hand.
"...S'ok," Charlie replied, sitting up fully now, still processing the touch, sock still wrapped around his shoulders.
"Sorry to wake you up, especially like that, but my mum just texted me when she'll be back, and you might want to go home before she gets here if you don't wanna be seen, right?"
Charlie's heartbeat increased at the very thought, and nodded in agreement to what Nick said. He let the sock slide off his body as he stood up, and immediately shivered, wrapping his arms around himself; had it seriously gotten even colder in here?
"Is it still cold in here?" Nick noticed the borrower's reaction at being exposed to air. He hadn't thought it felt cold, but then again, his larger body probably adjusted to changes in temperature differently than Charlie's, so maybe it was. He paused for a moment, then suggested, "Why don't you just take the sock with you?"
Charlie looked to Nick with surprise. "Really?"
"Yeah, it's fine. I'll manage without a single sock. Not to mention, I'm sure if it's cold in here then it'll be even colder in the floors and walls, right?"
Charlie nodded; Tori in particular had been complaining about that lately, and their blankets at home were getting old and worn. All the same, he picked up the sock, wrapping his shoulders in it once again. "Are you sure you're ok with me borrowing it?"
"That's sort of what you do, right?" Nick chuckled a bit, and Charlie smiled.
"Thank you, I— I don't know what to say," said Charlie.
"Well, maybe say you'll bring that back once it gets a bit warmer, I do actually quite like that pair..." Nick teased.
"Oh, yes, of course, sorry, I'll return it as soon as possible..." Charlie quickly started to reassure.
"I was just kidding, Charlie, you can keep it," Nick said with a light laugh.
"Wait, really?" Charlie beamed as Nick nodded.
"Well, thanks... again... but, I should really be leaving now..." Charlie wondered when Tori might be noticing his absence as he started his way back toward the picture frame.
"You're welcome, and hey, consider it thanks for watching a movie with me. That was fun," said Nick.
Charlie smiled at that, now right next to the picture frame. "Bye then," he said with a polite wave.
"Bye," replied Nick, waving back.
And just like that, the borrower was gone.
It was just as well that Charlie left when he did, because not five minutes later, he heard the front door opening from above and across the house, the dog barking, and sure enough, could then faintly hear what must have been Nick greeting his mum. As he carried it home, he realized this sock was probably enough material for blanket fabric to split between him and Tori, but if not, maybe Nick would be willing to part with another.
Sarah had returned home with a load of groceries for Nick to help her carry inside. As he was helping her store everything in the fridge and the kitchen cupboards, she asked, "Had a good afternoon then, Nicky?"
"Yeah, I guess so; I just watched Ant-Man while I folded some stuff, why?" responded Nick.
"You just seem like you're in a good mood, you've been all smiley since I got back," said Sarah with a grin of her own.
Nick nodded, smiling to himself a bit wider. "Yeah... it was a good day."
Who am I? I'm Gem. I don't talk much but I'm working on my game and my book. Game first, then book.
What's the game? It's called Accessories to Murder and it's a murder mystery game. I'm incredibly passionate about mysteries and crafting good ones. I have a whole document that I wrote up just dedicated to what I think makes a good mystery.
I'm also really interested in game mechanics that can draw players in and allow them to put clues together without spelling things out. I love sprites so the game's gonna be 2D and err on the cute side.
Here's some graphics & character designs. Stay tuned for more.
I've got around 100 characters planned. Some might not make the cut, others might get squished into another character. It's a hard business.
Forget the game, what about the book? The book's one of a series. Memories of Aether, first book is tentatively called Shadow Elements. It is a spy-thriller fantasy because I absolutely love spy fiction and wanted to employ espionage in my fantasy world... and so naturally it snowballed. The worldbuilding has improved greatly thanks to my single-minded desire and I regret nothing.
I've got a MASSIVE world map, full of countries I've got plans for and countries that I'm leaving alone for future-me to play with. I always like to leave room for future-me to work some magic. As long as you have an idea of what a thing is and how it can be used, you should always leave room from magic.
And here are my lads. A ragtag bunch and oh, one of them is working against you... have fun guessing.
It'd be great to be included in tag games and the like, but I don't take part in the ones I'm not interested in. I like ones about character voices and story inspirations, not so much ones about headcanons and goofy AUs.
This is a system for writing numbers that i've made inspired on the Gem Glyph script from Steven Universe.
I tried to cover the most quantity of colors, and if you try to write it, you write colors, not with colors, that is to say that you just need a pen to write it.
As you can see, i kept the colors that corresponds to each diamond and used CMYK color model for reference. With that base, i “fused” the diamonds in pairs in order to get RGB color model, and with that we got all colors we need to get all the existing colors.
The rules are these:
-The diamond with the top line is meant to refer to shadness, when it is at the beginning of a word, means that is a lighter shade of the following colors, so then, when it is at the end of a “word”, means that the colors behind it are in a darker shade. It's important to remark that this glyph can only be located either at the beginning or at the end of a “word”. This is the most special color glyph.
-There is a hierarchy for the order in which the color glyph are first and which last: 1.-White (if required), 2.-Yellow, Cyan or Magenta (only one of these can be present in a “word”), 3.-Blue, Green or Red (cannot repeat) and lastly, 4.- Black (If required).
-For writing only Black, you put the diamond with two parallel lines, one above and another below.
-For writing Grey, you just put white and the glyph of black (alone ver)
I think those marking are saying something along the lines "follow to escape the diamond authority", and "safe from the diamond authority". Like the underground railroad or the likes!
(follow up to this post)
Interesting! But it doesn’t seem especially safe to write that in basic gem language, unless the area is populated exclusively by off-colors and patrol bots. And it’s not clear that newer off colors would recognize symbols for Pink Diamond/the 4-diamond Authority–someone old had to make the original marks (but it’s possible that the old marks would effectively have a secret meaning, once taught, since ALL newer gems wouldn’t recognize them).
[side note, the undergound railroad was mostly a system where guides led small groups of escaped slaves from one hiding place to another on the way to freedom, what you’re thinking of is more akin to the hobo codes of the early 20th century.]
I suspect those marks were there originally, since we’ve already seen other Era 1 ruins and symbols down there–including a perplexing statue of a fusion gem.
But no matter who made the marks, it has to mean something that it switched from Blue Diamond to Pink. I have no idea what, though.
My whole body is shaking as I go to turn on my phone. I have to take a few steps just to climb on it and press the home button hard enough. As expected, it doesn't recognize my fingerprint. I imagine that's probably difficult since my hand is almost smaller than the button now.
After the third try, it finally gives me the option to type in my password manually. Thank goodness this phone regularly requires my password for Touch ID because I never use it otherwise and I'd be screwed right now.
My phone unlocks, and all my apps light up the home screen. I try to ignore the fact that each one is just about the size of my entire face. I find my contacts list and begin to use my fist to scroll through all the names. Who could I trust? Like really trust? Who do I know that might be careful, someone kind of quiet, someone who might be nice about this?
Who would believe me in this situation anyway?
I pause when my eye catches a certain name: Sam. He's in my class, maybe a few months older than me, and he talks to most people in my friend group a lot. We've talked before, even though he's usually quiet, and he's a pretty chill dude. I don't know him as well as some of my other friends, but I trust him. I don't even know what some of my other friends would think of me like this anyway.
I take a deep breath of 'enough is enough' and select his name. He's probably my best chance. I move to the texting option and begin to type.
Me: hey, r u busy? i need sum help
Sam replies not thirty seconds later. Thank goodness he's being quick.
Sam: what's up?
Me: can u go 2 the bathroom by the junior hallway pls
Wow it's really hard to type like this. I try not to think about the reason why.
Sam: you ok?
Me: not relly i just need u to come here
Sam: are you sick? Should I get one of the nurses?
Me: nononono i need u, no nurse
Sam: aight I'm omw
Sam: care to share why you need my help?
Me: u'll see when u get here just pls don't frek out
Sam: ok but you still won't tell me what's going on, so no promises
Me: pls pls don't
Sam: you're in the junior bathroom, right?
Me: ye
Sam: ok, almost there
Sam: sorry I was all the way in band but we weren't doing anything important
Me: oh sorry u had to miss it
Sam: no it's fine, I said we weren't doing anything important, dw
Me: can u just promisd u'll keep an open minx?
Sam: I can try, but it'll be easier not to "frek out" if you just tell me what happened
Me: even if i tell u u won't beleive me
Sam: ???
Me: and no u'd probly frek oit more
Sam: what's that supposed to mean???
Me: just get in here
Me: pls don't frek out
Me: pls
My limbs shake more and more as I type. I shiver at the realization that every minute that passes he gets closer, closer to finding me like this. Better him than...well, pretty much anyone else, but I still have no idea how he'll react. Maybe he won't be so nice after all, maybe he'll be super rough, maybe he'll want to keep me, maybe he'll go around everywhere showing me to everyone in the whole scho-
*creak*
Shit, that was loud.
"Jamie?"
Shit, that was really loud. Why are bathrooms always so acoustic??
"Where are you?"
I'm next to a stall, practically underneath a door, on the opposite end of the bathroom, opposite of Sam, who finally comes into my view as he rounds the corner in the entryway.
Holy shit. He's enormous.
I always knew Sam was slightly on the taller end of the general high school population, but now it shows like never before. His long and lanky six feet or so totally dwarfs my now few inches. I can't help the involuntary shudder that makes its way through my tiny body.
Maybe this was a really bad idea after all. He hasn't seen me yet; maybe I can still hide, and at least warn him about what's happening before he does find me—
"Jamie?"
Sam says it much quieter this time. I freeze. I slowly turn to look up at the source of his voice and carefully meet his brown eyes. They're staring right at me. SHIT.
Sam starts to walk closer and crouches down. I immediately back away and curl into myself, shutting my eyes tight, like that will do anything to protect me from his giant person. Bad idea, bad idea. I can hear the fabric of his hoodie and jeans shifting and brushing against each other as he moves closer.
Then nothing. It’s silent. What's he doing?
I carefully, slowly lift my head to see him. He's gotten to the floor, and his legs are sitting crisscross while he slightly leans over me, hopefully unintentionally looming immensely over my minuscule form.
"Jamie..." It's almost quieter than a whisper, but still enough to make me flinch. "Whoa, hey, just relax buddy, it's ok..."
With my eyes trained on his face, trying to search for any sign of awe, fascination, or desire to keep me, I find nothing but wonder and concern, and also completely miss the large digits of his fingers coming towards me until it's too late.
I suppress a scream but it still comes out as a yelp as his hand brushes behind my entire body and fingers curl around my front to secure me gently. My stomach gets left on the floor, no matter how slowly he's trying to lift his hand. He brings me unnervingly close to his face and I have to shut my eyes tight. This isn't happening. This isn't happening.
"You ok, Jamie?" I open my eyes on instinct from hearing my name. He's so big!
"Sorry I scared you, man." Sam glances away guiltily for a moment before turning back to face me. "You just didn't look very comfortable on the floor."
I just shake my head. I'm scared that if I try to say anything that nothing will come out.
"Do you feel ok?"
Even though I'm scared out of my mind, some other part of me reminds my brain that this is Sam, and that he won't hurt me, and I'm pretty sure I'm ok physically, just stupid small, so I nod.
"W-what am I… gonna… do?" It takes a ridiculous amount of courage for me just to ask the question, and I see Sam's face shift in thought at hearing it.
"I...I'm not entirely sure..."
Suddenly the bell rings and I immediately clasp my hands over my ears. The sound breaks through easily, mercilessly piercing my eardrums with a sharp, sickening shriek. Why me? Why me?
My ears are still ringing when it's over so I don't realize that it's actually stopped until I feel something large and warm nudge my side. I flinch, and it takes a moment to click that it was one of Sam's fingertips. I shiver again but still try my best to stay calm as the horrible ringing fades.
"You ok?" Sam asks in a concerned tone with a worried look in his eye.
I nod before realization hits me. The bell just rang. Class is over, and this bathroom is often a between-class haven for the upperclassmen. It could be even worse now that it's 3:00. People could come in here at any moment.
"Sam. H-hide me." I ask softly.
"What?"
"Sam, please, I-I need you to hide me. No-no one can see me like this."
"What? But why? You're so cute!" Sam has a slightly joking tone in his voice but if that was an attempt to make me feel better it didn't work. If anything, it backfired. Now I'm just embarrassed and flustered as well as terrified.
"No, no no no, please. Sam."
Sam's facial expression morphs into something that I can't quite read. Confusion? Disappointment? Worry?
"Please." I know I must sound so stupid, weak and helpless. Begging him like this feels so wrong, but I don't really have a choice.
"Ok. Hang on..." Sam warns me gently before he slowly begins to stand and I have to shut my eyes and cling to his thumb for dear life. The force of gravity tries desperately to draw me back to the hard, unforgiving floor, but is all but stopped by a giant hand that keeps rising.
When it all stops moving, I open my eyes to see Sam has stood to his full height, and he's holding me about at his upper chest level. It seems so high up at this size but for some reason it doesn't bother me nearly as much as it probably should. Sam puts something in his jean pocket with his other hand, and it must have been my phone. He looks around, seemingly trying to think up ideas about the situation. He seems to get one and looks down to me.
"How about I keep you in my pocket?" I freeze up. "Well I can't really use my hands if I'm holding you like this, plus people could see you."
"O-ok." It takes me a few seconds to answer but it makes sense. I suppose it's not the worst idea, but that doesn't make me any more enthusiastic about it.
Sam nods and carefully lowers me to the hoodie pocket by his waist. It's dark, and warm from him wearing it all day, but the sensation isn't unbearable. I'd even maybe say it's almost comforting.
"You good in there?" Sam whispers.
"Yeah," I call out quietly, but loud so he can still hear me.
"Ok, I'm leaving now, try to stay quiet."
As Sam's motions indicate him walking away from the bathroom and to God knows where, I can't stop rebellious tears that escape my eyes. This situation is so weird, so stupid, so pathetic. Why me?
I must have gotten caught up in my spiraling, because the next thing I know Sam is patting me softly through his hoodie pocket, and I can hear the muffled hum of a bus engine.
"You holding up alright in there?" Sam whispers at me.
I peek my head out from the edge to look at him. It's an awkward angle from a weird position, but he's just patiently sitting and waiting for an answer, looking at me with curiosity and concern.
I nod, but I'm still confused about something. "W-why are we on the bus? Are... are you... taking me home with you?" I manage to get the question out, despite the shaking in my voice.
"Well, yeah, I'm guessing you can't really get home on your own, with or without being seen, so I just kinda thought you'd wanna come with me. And it's Friday, so maybe we can figure this out over the weekend."
The information takes its time to sink in, and when it does I try to stifle it but end up choking on a soft sob.
"Whoa, Jamie, you ok? If you don't want to that's fine, I can-"
"No no, n-no it's fine, just..." There's so much I want to say, but all I can manage is a few words. "Thank- thank you, Sam..."
"Oh. Sure, no problem, little bud."
His choice of words probably should have bothered me, considering my current "condition," but for whatever reason, it doesn't. The words weren't said with malice so much as just someone trying to uplift a friend's spirits.
I have no idea what to do next, or will happen to me from here, but for right now, at least, a friend is here, helping me, and somehow, I think I'll be ok.
It was the only thing putting distance between her and the bad place left behind. Whether it was putting any significant distance between her and the bad men hot on her trail, who was to say. The woods never seemed to end, the sky was dark with clouds of looming rain, and the air was cool and crisp, each breath making a visible puff of vapor as she ran.
She stopped for a moment to lean against a tree, trying to breathe, trying to think. She could be big. She could outrun the bad men easily that way, but they could more easily find her no matter how far away she got, and she wouldn't know how long it would last. She could be small. That could probably avoid her being spotted the most easily but it would be vastly more dangerous, more likely from one of them killing her accidentally with a simple misstep instead of capturing her and bringing her back to the bad place.
She shuddered at herself for considering the quick death as a preferable alternative to having to go back there.
A couple freezing droplets of water touched her skin, sending an involuntary shiver through her body. She wanted to sleep. She wanted to eat. She wanted to cry. She was so tired of all of it, the running, the soreness in her bare feet, the scrapes and cuts on her legs from the thick brush, the cold, the damp, the constant fear, the experiments, the punishments, everything. She just wanted it all to stop.
The thought of a quick way out barely had a moment to cross her mind before a distant shout called out from behind her. A faint flashlight beam cut through some of the trees on the other side of the clearing from her, and she took a worn out breath. Time to keep going.
Her mind went numb again as she moved on autopilot through the darkness, hardly flinching to dodge the tree trunks whizzing by. She was getting tired, but she knew she couldn't stop, so she only focused on moving forward, running and running for as long as her legs could carry her.
She became so used to the sprinting and the intermittent dodging of trees and branches that she fully smacked into the chain link fence suddenly in her path, completely missing it until it hit her hard across the entire front of her body. She pulled back and rubbed her face where it stung the most from the impact, using the moment of pause to take in her surroundings. Woods still all around behind her and along the fence, but in front of her, on its other side, she could see a structure. It was still dark outside, but she saw windows of light illuminating some of the fence down a slight hill to her left.
She slid down less carefully than she could have in favor of moving quickly, no longer hearing any bad men in the distance but knowing they would be here soon enough, still coming this way every second. The light from the building illuminated a small part of the fence peeled back creating a gap near the ground.
She hesitated, considering her options for only a moment, knowing that the more people that knew about her, the more danger she could be in, but she'd take her chances at this point. It was either sneak inside to hide and hope she wouldn't be found, or stay outside and be captured and this would all be for nothing, so she took a breath, and crawled through.
She made her way below a window, finding a small wooden crate beneath it and climbing on top to peek inside. She could see a room full of steel walls and machines, and of sleek countertops and tables.
There was a door up a small set of stairs next to the building, so making as little noise as possible, she walked up the steps and held her ear to the door. She could make out the hum of some sort of machine, soft and constant, but heard no footsteps or voices, so mustered up what courage she had left and turned the doorknob.
Stepping through the doorway, she entered a hallway lined with shelving on her left and a chair on her right, next to a doorway leading to one of the lit rooms she'd seen from the outside, with the metallic surfaces inside. Doors, appliances, all of it the same shiny gray, save for a yellow item on a light countertop surface contrasting with most everything around it.
A quick look around the rest of the space showed that she had the room to herself, and she took a few steps inside to get a better look. She could see the white of what looked like some sort of container, and the yellow of some pile of objects inside of it. Closer, and she smelled it; it made her salivate. She'd been running nonstop, she wasn't sure how long it had been since she started, and it had definitely been longer since she'd last eaten.
A cough from her left made her flinch, until she noticed the gap in the wall, where a window might be but was empty space, showing another room beyond the metallic one she was in, able to see some wooden tables and chairs, and a man, facing away from her, holding some kind of wooden rod, accompanied by soft brushing noises she finally took notice of.
Whatever the strange man was doing, he seemed distracted enough, and her hunger was only increasing every moment, so she grabbed a piece of the yellow things and put it in her mouth. She felt her whole body relax at the pleasant flavor, and it was gone immediately, so she didn't hesitate to grab more. A couple of handfuls in, she closed her eyes and sighed in relief, deeply satisfied with what might have been the best thing she's ever tasted in her life.
She was ready to go for another helping of what was left when her other hand accidentally hit a tool on the counter by mistake, knocking it towards the ground. She'd let down her guard while she ate and, having not expected it, could do nothing to prevent it from hitting the floor with a loud racket as it bounced unceremoniously away. Her eyes immediately went to the man through the gap in the wall, who'd paused his actions, frozen where he stood, the absence of the quiet brushing sounds filling the air with a tense silence.
She immediately ducked down below the counter, out of his sight should he turn around and look through towards the metal room. Her mind reeling, terrified of being found, of being sent back to the bad men, of being taken back to the bad place, she had to think fast. She could try to run, but she'd be back out in the open where the bad men were still searching for her. She could find a better place to hide, that could work, but leaving here would only expose her to more unknown dangers, and if she hid here, maybe the strange man knew any places she could hide and she'd just be found.
She could be small. Yes, that might work! He might know hiding places for anyone his size, but certainly not for anyone as tiny as she could be!
She shut her eyes, and took a deep breath, just like Papa had taught her. Focus, bring it forward, up and outside, and let it draw the body in. She exhaled, letting her body slowly decrease into itself, smaller and smaller as she breathed, shrinking her already crouched stature to no higher than an inch or two, and then it all came to a stop.
She opened her eyes. She was in the same position, but now the sleek surfaces of the room towered high above her head, all encompassing, all around her, and to her left, now she could see the counter she'd previously been leaning over stuffing her face with food offered a good hiding place, a small gap between its bottom and the tiled floor.
Then came the rumbles, the tremors of the strange man's footsteps, surely coming to investigate the noise she'd made, growing louder and more powerful as he drew closer. Not wasting a second, she shot to her feet and tried to run underneath the counter gap. She must have stood too fast, though, both after being crouched down and after she got small, as her head immediately felt full and empty all at once. She had to fully stop, hands on her knees, so she wouldn't pass out.
She knew how much growing or shrinking took a toll on her body, that much had been made clear in all the trials she'd been a part of at the bad place, but never like this. She had grown used to doing it on a relatively fuller stomach with more rest, and after getting small on her already depleted energy, she was fully exhausted. She let herself sink to her knees, the floor rock hard and unforgiving on the scratched up skin.
The rumbles beneath her only grew closer, and she knew she had to move. The space under the counter was so close, but her body couldn't take it. An attempt at crawling the rest of the way only confirmed it: she couldn't make it, no matter how badly she wanted to.
The rumbles came to a stop, and, mustering up what was left of her energy and her courage, she looked to see the man in the doorway, intimidating and immense. Even if she'd been normal sized, his stature was wide and tall, a large, bearded man, larger than most of the bad men she'd seen, and her newly small body was utterly minuscule by comparison.
Maybe he won't see me, she began to think, but that would be hoping for too much, as her tiny form on the floor below caught the man's eyes, and when they locked onto her, his expression shifted. The look he'd harbored when he entered feigned annoyance, anger even, likely to scare off whatever had trespassed onto his property, but when he made eye contact with her, his brow relaxed and his eyes widened, mouth agape in shock and awe.
She could only sit frozen in her terror as the man slowly stepped closer, and when he crouched down to get a better look at her, she flinched and ducked down to cover her head with her hands, awaiting the worst. She knew what the bad men would do when she got scared like this, and she got punished for showing it, which of course she hated, but at least then she mostly knew what to expect from the people that wanted her to behave but also wanted to keep her alive, and could safely assume that at least whatever would happen wouldn't kill her.
This was much, much worse.
The stranger, now gigantic and looming over her small form, could do anything to her, and she'd be powerless to stop it. She let out a soft whimper at the thought, praying that whatever he would do, he'd do it quick and get it over with.
"...you alright there?"
The words caught her off guard and she flinched again, but when she processed them after a moment, she opened her eyes in confusion, still frozen where she was. The giant man wanted to know if she was ok? Why? Not like it mattered, he could do whatever he pleased with her when she was like this, so why would he care?
Still, she'd been asked a question, and she didn't want to refuse and possibly anger the enormous man at her current size, so, cautiously as ever, she lowered her arms and lifted her head, and looking up to face him, she froze.
He'd crouched down to get a closer look at her, and his face was up close and overwhelmingly huge, from his bearded chin and furrowed forehead, to each of his eyes bigger than her whole head, now widening slightly in surprise to see her making eye contact with him.
"Hey there," he gently spoke, giving a small smile he hoped was reassuring. "Are you ok, kid?"
She took a moment to consider his question, and,... was she ok? She was hungry, tired, and scared, but was she hurt? She'd been running and only focusing on putting distance between herself and her pursuers that she hadn't stopped to check, but as if her body had been listening to her thoughts, the pain started to sink in. Her limbs were sore, all over but especially in her legs, her feet numb, and—
"You just look exhausted.”
The man interrupted her thoughts abruptly, but at least she didn't flinch this time. She only looked up at him, and nodded in agreement.
His eyes widened a bit at her acknowledgment, and he gave a light smile.
"Wanna get off the floor?" She nodded again. "I'm gonna pick you up then, ok?"
This made her tense up. Still, if the man wanted to hurt her by now, he probably would have done so already, so she took a deep breath and nodded. She could be brave.
The man lowered his hand palm-up towards her, slowly, but intimidating all the same, until his fingertips were at her feet. This was unusual for her to see, since all the bad men ever did whenever they wanted to move her was wrap an entire hand around her body in a firm grip and carry her along as quickly as they pleased. Even so, she could understand the gesture and carefully climbed on, crouching down to a sitting position as he lifted his hand and then himself off the ground to stand up.
After it all stopped moving, she looked to his eyes to see them right in front of her. He was holding her so close! She leaned away uncomfortably at the unwanted attention, which he seemed to recognize, immediately pulling away and uttering a soft apology. Then she was lowered to the surface she'd been previously leaning over to stuff her face with food, and stepped off his hand to stand on it. She still had to look up to face him. He then lowered himself to the ground in a crouched position, once again offering her a warm smile.
"My name's Benny, Benny Hammond. What's your name, kiddo?"
Acting on habit from when Papa made her introduce herself countless times to any of the bad men, she extended her left arm and showed him her wrist, just like she was taught.
* 011 *
"Eleven? Your name is eleven?" His voice was louder, much closer, likely leaning in to read the number at such a tiny size.
She nodded.
"Well, in any case, nice to meet you." He smiled at her again, and she did her best to smile back, but couldn't bring herself to fully mean it, and maybe Benny could tell.
"Anything I can help you with, kiddo? You, uh, hungry, or thirsty, or hurt, or... anything?"
She didn't feel hungry anymore, the lack of appetite either from having eaten her full or nerves, she couldn't tell. An unexpected breeze crossed the room then, and she shivered in response.
"You cold?" Benny asked.
She nodded.
"Ok, one sec, lemme find ya somethin'," he said as he stood up slowly and walked across the room.
She looked down at her feet where she stood, suddenly feeling quite tired as well as cold. Even through her special-made gown that had shrunk with her, she shivered now from the cool air, and she imagined it was now long past her bedtime… just how long had she been running for?
As she tried hard to think about it, she suddenly felt a soft weight on her shoulders, and flinched slightly before registering the object as not the flesh of a giant hand, but simply a light cloth of some kind.
"How's that? Better?" Benny was back, and was gently wrapping the cloth around her where she stood, the soft texture of the makeshift blanket now enveloping her. The material was softer than anything she'd touched, and she felt her limbs relax at the plush contact, and soon found herself melting to her knees and sitting down in it contently.
Her immediate reaction earned a light chuckle from Benny. "I'll take that as a 'yes,' then."
He stood in silence for a moment where he was, taking a moment to think, before speaking up again.
"You feel free to rest up a bit, ok? I gotta clean up a bit but take as much time as you need, alright?"
She only distractedly nodded, now feeling relaxed to the point of her exhaustion starting to fully take over. She still wasn't sure where exactly she was or what was going to happen next, but despite it all, Benny had been kind to her, and that seemed good enough for now, and against what would have served as her better judgement when fully awake, she curled up in the softness of the blanket and let herself drift off to sleep.
It had only happened a couple times before now, but it was the same thing, yet again. Her eyes were probably open but it would be dark, inside some sort of pseudo-sleep. Then she'd blink and be awake, in the same position, always in the middle of the same, unchanged scene. Unchanged, at least, until her sisters and her parents blinked and awoke as well, and everything began to move again.
It always began in what looked like the mid-afternoon, based on the lighting, and sometime in the early fall based on the trees. The garden by the house was always the same, no more grown nor picked at by deer than before, the same faint smell of hickory smoke wafting across the yard, the venison no more cooked, or if it did, it went right back to how it was before and started over.
Her Pa always started off in the woods in the distance; she could faintly hear the chopping of his axe from across the property on occasion. Her little sisters always jumped right into chasing each other around the clearing nearby, squealing and giggling in and out of the foliage. Her Ma would always start next to the hollowed smoking tree, right outside the log house, tending to the flames inside, and Robin would be at her side, holding up hickory chips in her apron.
Once they were handed off to Ma to be put on the fire, then she was always free to go join her sisters, as that would be her last chore of the afternoon. The curious thing was, Robin could never remember what any of her other chores might have been. The thought frustrated her enough to leave her sisters to their devices more often than not, in favor of finding her own place to relax, usually in the small but much quieter meadow, where she could better try clearing her head.
Thick, deep woods surrounded the property on all sides, but in the field it stood out more. A massive, dark wall that seemed to go deeper and deeper the further in you looked, and it looped all around their land. But it was often so quiet. No chirping bugs, no singing birds, just the occasional bunny or prairie dog to scurry past, and even that wasn't too often. Even more rare was a deer Robin saw scamper through the field the other day, when she walked through and had startled it from its poise and it disappeared into the trees. The only other occasional noises were the ones she couldn't place, and sounded miles away, or like ghosts of another realm. Noises she wasn't familiar with, but that she heard often enough that she didn't ignore them, as her parents had dismissively told her to do the few times she tried pointing it out to them. If she had to guess, they didn’t know, and that scared them more than either of them would care to admit.
From what Robin could tell, there weren't very many woodland creatures, and they had their own ways of going about when everyone in her family woke. Her waking position had never been in the right field of vision to see where any one of them might start off, but she reckoned that if she did, they'd be starting in the same positions each time they woke as well, if her own experience was anything to go by.
Robin didn't like dwelling on it all, as it seemed to bring about more questions than answers when she pondered it for too long. So, again, when her mind grew tired from trying to understand it, she'd close her eyes and take a moment to breathe, and then divert her focus to the nature she sat in. So much of her time spent watching her sisters play or being given another chore, and so much of it spent keeping herself busy, doing as she was told, not paying attention to any odd distractions. It was during one of these periods of sitting in the field that she noticed it. Something... off. She had been taking a moment to scan the unchanged, partially clouded sky in all directions, but when she reached a certain point it just... stopped. There was sky, and then it just... stopped. And where it stopped, and beyond it… she didn't know what to think.
An empty space, but surrounded by a vast, mahogany colored barrier that she couldn't see the end of in any direction, except where an edge of it met another, somehow emptier space of a differently lit area, seemingly from a distant, out-of-sight source, different and disconnected from whatever lit up her home. The emptiness wasn't a black void; she could see it, for sure, but Robin's anxious confusion increased when she couldn't quite understand what it was she was seeing.
Wherever part of the space ended was out of her sight past the tops of the trees in that direction, so she began walking. She made her way through trees and brush, hesitantly but determined, growing ever closer to the mysterious space. The more she kept moving, the more woods passing her on all sides, the clearer she could see the color, only the strange, brown, warm light, yet no discernible shapes.
Robin had made it about ten feet from the edge of the trees; she could tell because they were becoming fewer and further between, and she knew she was almost there. The more trees that got out of her way, the more she quickened her pace towards it, the more excitedly terrified she grew. She stopped just shy of a large brush in her path and inhaled deeply, then exhaled sharply with a determined nod, and stepped forward through it to face the unknown.
Words failed Robin. The space continued as far up as it did to her right or left, or even, her east and west, it was so large. What struck her so speechless wasn't only its scale, but what exactly she could now see clearly: a room.
A room, like nothing she'd ever known, vast and open as a valley beneath a mountain, with the exception of some sort of wooden structure at its middle, resembling a perfectly horizontal cliff of some sort. The mountains surrounding the valley were straight walls, reaching not a sky but an immense expanse of a ceiling, but what caught her eye next was what occupied the enormous walls themselves.
Robin's first thought was paintings. What else could they be? They were absurdly large as well, taking up the majority of the area of the walls they were on— no, in, she could decipher now— they were massive concave structures partially inside the even bigger walls, seemingly dedicated solely for the displays. She might have kept with her theory of paintings if she hadn't heard a faint sound.
It was just like some of the noises she'd heard faintly, seemingly out of the blue, (or more accurately, out of the enormous room), only slightly louder. The sound shot out again a second time, Robin attributed to maybe a gunshot, but something not quite like her Pa's hunting rifle. She listened hard, remaining motionless, and hearing it a third time snapped her attention slightly to her right, somewhere ahead of her.
The display in that direction looked like a painting of an arid environment like she'd never seen, with cliffs and arches and horses and a railroad being built, and people, moving about, walking around on foot or on horseback- wait, moving?
Robin moved forward a bit further to get a better look at the wall, so far away. She nearly tripped as her boots hit something that was no longer dirt, but seemingly some sort of smooth wood. She made a mental note of the change, adding to her growing list of questions, took a breath, minded her step, and continued on. She strained her eyes to see across the expansive space and sure enough, the people in the concave painting were moving around. More people! And in an entirely new place. There was no doubt of what she saw, but quite literally only seeing the big picture, she stepped forward again in hopes to get a closer look at just who they could be.
In an instant, her stomach dropped and the entire world around her rose as the wood beneath her feet disappeared behind her and her whole body fell. Her scream barely left her mouth before she covered her face with her arms, bracing herself for the inevitable impact with the ground below.
Robin felt it, of course; she'd essentially fallen off a cliff, it only made sense she felt something. The blow was sudden, strong, forceful, and all at once, but by some miracle, it didn't hurt. Why the hell hadn't it hurt? After a couple moments of letting her panicked apprehension subside, she let herself take some breaths and relaxed her limbs, extending them to examine her person. No broken bones, no blood, no bruises, no visible damage to any part of her, but what struck her most was the lack of physical pain. A fall like that could have killed her, so why was she completely unharmed?
She might have taken more time to think up explanations for this impossibility, but then Robin noticed something else, another foreign noise: rumbling vibrations, rhythmic and loud, subtle at first but soon felt through the very ground. It was one she recognized, but only because it sounded similar to the most menacing of the mysterious noises she'd heard from beyond her home. Oh, how she wished she was home now! She'd never leave her log house again if it meant she would never be here, having to attempt comprehending the vastness of the space she was in, and if it meant she didn't have to face whatever was making the now thunderous noises, that were only growing louder, growing closer.
Robin curled up, shutting her eyes and clasping her hands over her ears tightly and bracing herself for whatever was coming. Whatever it was, it was moving quickly, and it sounded impossibly big. If she just stayed where she was and waited patiently, maybe it would leave, and she'd have the chance of seeing her family again. She'd have the chance to apologize for doing something as foolish as leaving the safety of the meadow in the woods in her blind curiosity. Then at least she'd be at peace knowing she could say goodbye before whatever drew nearer killed her. There was no doubt in her mind that was what it would do, why else would it be coming her way-
"Jed, get back here!"
The voice that rang out was loud, louder than the rumbles, and traveled through her hands, easily reaching her poor ears; Robin whimpered, braced herself with a flinch, and awaited the worst.
"Catch me if ya can, ya roadrunner wannabe! Penelope's like lightnin' when she gets goin', and I don't think she'll be stoppin' anytime soon!"
Hearing the shout of a new but much quieter voice by comparison caught her attention, but not enough to ease her from releasing the tension held on her entire terrified body. The holler also let her notice another softer but prominent sound, like horse hooves galloping on some kind of stone, rising slowly in volume as if they were drawing closer as well. Robin still didn't dare move, because even if the thunderous rumbles had slowed in pace, they still rattled her form to her core, paralyzing her in fear.
"Whoa, easy girl!"
Robin flinched sharply at the surprisingly loud whinny of a horse, seemingly much closer than she thought, even if still at a bit of a distance.
The rumbles continued mercilessly towards her direction, and, at their loudest thud, also came to a stop, accompanied by a quick, loud gasp and a short but piercingly sharp squeak of some sort to finish it all off.
And then quiet.
Robin stayed frozen where she was. Silence, as relieving of a change it was from the previous tumult, was by no means a sign she was safe right now. When they had ceased, the noises seemed close, so who or whatever had been making them had likely noticed her, and all she could do was await the worst.
"Hey, you ok there, sweetheart?"
The shout was thankfully, to her surprise, at a volume not unlike that of her father's when he called for her from across part of the property. Then the hooves against the ground let her know the animal was approaching her, slowly but surely, the rumbles resuming as well, tens of hundreds of times softer than before. Staying still, she carefully opened her eyes. Curled up in the way she was, not being able to properly face the beings, Robin slowly lifted her head.
Looking up at a slight angle, a couple yards from her spot on the ground, a man sat atop a saddled, white and brown patched horse that was making her way near. The gentleman sported a brown leather vest over a blue shirt with a red bandana around his neck, his blond locks sitting under a black hat. He was looking curiously in her direction with concern painted all over his face.
"You alright, miss?" he asked gently.
Still taking it in, Robin tried and failed to ponder the question, but she didn't get much chance to try again when she caught sight of what was behind the cowboy and his horse.
Really, she could say what was behind him was by further observation, also above them both, after a certain point. Starting a short distance behind him was what took her a couple moments to place together as bizarrely colorful shoes, immensely large, and when she did she stopped breathing. Motionless once more except for her eyes, slowly traveling upward, past two pant legs, then a shirt stomach, then hands, arms and shoulders, attached to a brunet boy's head larger than her entire house. The face on the head was tilted down, looking right at her.
The man must have noticed her reaction, because the next thing Robin knew he was at her side, knelt down with a firm but comforting hand on her shoulder. In her shock at seeing the gigantic boy, she hadn't even noticed the other move until he was right there.
"Hey, it's ok. Believe it or not, we're fine."
Robin just stared at him, wanting to ask "what the hell" but not quite finding the words. He didn't seem nearly as bothered by the gigantic being right behind him as she was, which was unsettling, but before she could get much more than a fearful glance at him, the cowboy spoke up again.
"You folks are still pretty new, so I reckon I'm about as shocked as you are that one of ya is out and about, much less all the way on the floor."
"I didn't mean to!!"
The outburst caught him off guard, but expecting her to elaborate, didn't respond aside from a slight recoil in surrender.
"I-If this isn't where I'm supposed to be, I- I'll go back home, and, y-you'll never see me again, I swear! I didn't know I wasn't meant to go so far from home, I'll never do it again, please, just don't let it hurt me!" Robin hated the way her voice was betraying her attempts to be calm and collected about trying to convey her willingness to cooperate, so long as the enormous monstrosity wouldn't harm her.
"Easy, easy, just calm down, darlin'. We're free to come and go as we please 'round these parts. And if you're referring to Nickel-boy here, he's not gonna do nothin' to nobody."
Robin's brain couldn't handle it all, and her breathing quickened. The mysterious man trying so hard to calm her down like nothing was happening, the gargantuan boy looming over the both of them, the vastness of the space they were all in— none of it made any sense, and then everything started going dark—
"Shit!" Robin was vaguely aware of her head hitting the wall behind her, even less so of the man's surprised curse as it did so, but more than anything let herself succumb to the quiet of unconsciousness instead of dealing with the madness of her situation any longer and allowed everything to fade to black.
———————
Robin awoke with a jolt, snapping her eyes open and sitting upright in an instant. She couldn't have been certain where she ended up but it was different than what she could remember so she immediately whipped her head around to begin scanning her surroundings.
She was on a smooth flat surface of some kind, and ahead of her a few paces to her left was a pair of leather boots. Her eyes followed them upwards, past chaps and a vest and reached yet again the face of the blond cowboy from earlier. She prepared herself to ask him what on earth was happening, but he seemed to notice her confused fear and spoke up first.
"Easy, darling. You're alright." He spoke calmly as he made his way to her position and slowly kneeled in front of her. "We're all friends here, don't you fret none, you're safe."
That was enough to let Robin at least get a decent breath in and out before what he said clicked. All?
A glance about her brought her eyes to another man standing nearby, to her right, unlike anyone she'd seen, at least, not on paper. A few of her mother's history books she'd read might have contained pictures of a soldier similar to this one, clad in an armored Roman soldier's uniform, complete with metal helmet and chest plate, accentuated by a flowing red cape.
Robin barely had more than a few seconds to process the Roman soldier before she heard something shift behind her, making her freeze in terror, reminded of the magnitude of what other presence might also be nearby. A slow turn in the direction the sound came from only confirmed her suspicions.
Another giant, much larger in stature than the other one from before, was looming nearby, with everything below his chest obscured by the edge of the flat surface she'd come to on top of. Her eyes slowly followed the colossal being's features up past jacket-clad shoulders to a neck attaching an enormous head and face, to finally large eyes, which she now realized were staring her down.
Robin yelped and began pushing herself away from the enormous being in fear, until she hit something behind her. She flinched and quick turned to look, but it was only the cowboy, still kneeling and facing her, who placed a gentle hand on her shoulder before he spoke again with a soft smile.
"It's alright, darlin', really. Gigantor here ain't gonna give us any trouble."
She only gaped at him in disbelief for a moment, until movement entered her peripheral vision and she noticed the soldier coming closer before kneeling beside her as well and speaking himself.
"Jedediah is correct, young one. No harm shall come to us, lest not if we have anything to say about it."
"Damn right," the cowboy, evidently named Jedediah, spoke again. "Heck, if any danger's to come to us, I can guarantee that it sure as shit ain't gonna come from Laredo."
"Right. Speaking of which, this is Larry." The soldier made a gesture above them towards the giant, still sitting there quietly and unmoving, intimidating Robin to her core.
She tensed further, waiting to be snatched up by an enormous hand, to be shoved closer to him and fend for herself in his presence, something, but all she received upon glancing up at him again was a small smile and a gentle wave.
"Yeah, that's me, hello." Robin could tell the giant's voice had enough withheld strength to be loud, much louder than she or the cowboy or the soldier could have made theirs if they tried, but he spoke gently, and quietly enough that it didn't hurt her ears. "And you've already met Jed and Octavius. Now, what's your name, kiddo?"
To say Robin was scared would be an understatement, but despite that fear, somehow, after keeping a careful eye on the giant, Larry, and listening to his words, and a reminder to herself that she had two people just her size right next to her, a small amount of that fear dissipated. She forced herself to swallow, take a breath, and open her mouth.
"Robin," she said, trying with all her power not to whimper as she spoke. Larry smiled at her confidence and willingness to talk to them.
"Nice to meet you, Robin," he replied. "How are you feeling?"
Robin looked down to her hands in her lap and took a moment to think. She wasn't hurt, she wasn't in any immediate danger, if the people around her were telling the truth, so why was she still feeling terrified??
After a few moments of no response, a hand appeared on her other shoulder, and she glanced up to Octavius as he spoke.
"It's perfectly alright to be scared, Robin. This is a lot to take in, after all."
Robin could only glance back downward and nod solemnly in agreement. She shut her eyes and took as deep a breath as she was capable before she softly spoke up again.
"I just want to go home."
"No problemo, kiddo, we can take you home if you're feelin' alright."
Octavius hummed in agreement before also speaking up. "Yes, are you injured or in pain?"
Robin shook her head, reminded of the fall she had taken earlier on, still in disbelief that it hadn't killed her on the spot.
"Well, good news is we can get you home fast and easy, but bad news is fastest and easiest way to get you back home might not be somethin' you're gonna like." Jedediah stood up and put his hands on his hips as he talked.
"Jedediah, please." Octavius rolled his eyes in the cowboy's direction before once again looking to Robin before extending a hand. "In a sense, he is correct, but trust us when we tell you that there is nothing for you to fear."
Robin still couldn't be sure what either of them meant but based on how this was all going she had a feeling that the cowboy was right that she wouldn't like it. Still, she let herself be assisted as Octavius helped her to her feet, and waited for what they had in mind to happen.
There was a sudden shifting from the giant's direction, and she turned to see him carefully standing up from seemingly having been seated, before he leaned down while reaching closer towards the three of them. Robin tensed up immediately and prepared herself to run away from the large digits, but Jedediah placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder once again, with a quiet "don't you worry, darlin," for good measure.
Sure enough, the hand didn't snatch them up, but instead stopped a short distance away from where they stood, open wide, palm facing up, as if waiting for them to climb on themselves. Robin could gather this much from the whole situation that Larry was doing just that, but Jed had definitely been right about one thing: she liked nothing about this.
Octavius gripped her hand again, this time more as a reminder of his presence, and Jedediah followed suit a moment later with her other hand.
"We'll go together, ok? We'll be just fine." Jed gave her another gentle smile, reassuring her for probably the tenth time tonight. She looked between the two of them on each side of her, and then looked straight ahead. The hand was big and imposing but it had yet to act as a threat to any of them, and if the other two seemed confident in their safety, then, oddly enough, so did she.
Robin shut her eyes for a moment as she took a deep breath before looking up and taking a step. And then another. And another. She kept walking, cautiously yet surprisingly calm, Jed and Octavius by her side every step of the way. Before she knew it, they'd reached the palm of his hand.
"Ya might not wanna stand, darling," Jed gently warned her. Sure enough, Octavius had gotten down on one knee and grabbed hold of one of Larry's fingertips with his hand not holding her own. Robin took the advice and lowered herself to a comfortable seated position, as comfortable as she could be on top of someone's hand. Jedediah remained standing, yet also took hold of a finger in a similar manner to the Roman.
When they were all situated, Larry carefully stood fully upright and moved his hand to his chest, essentially creating a wall behind them, which Robin realized was probably for extra security so none of them would fall. With each step he took as they started the trip, the vibrations shook Robin to her core, but surprisingly, it wasn't as terrifying as she'd expected. They'd been right, it was much easier doing this with like-sized company than by herself.
Robin took this time to focus on where they were headed, and what kind of the place they were in, now that she felt safe enough to at least take in more of her surroundings better. From this height, she could clearly see another vast and expansive room they were moving through as Larry walked, lined with the same color of wood in some areas near the floor and the ceiling, which in this area spread so high she couldn't quite believe it, and ultimately decided it was probably best if she didn't look at it for too long, lest it make her dizzy enough to faint all over again.
Still making the trek there, Robin took a moment to speak up.
"What is this place?"
The two at either side of her looked in her direction, probably not having expected her to speak, but didn't get the chance to say anything before a large voice from above beat them to it.
"This is a history museum." Robin looked up to see Larry glancing at her while he answered her question, not breaking his stride as he talked. "People come here during the day to learn about creatures, people, and cultures of the past from around the world. At night, things get, admittedly, a bit weird, but we have good fun."
"People come here, as in... more giant people, like you?" Robin hoped he wouldn't take offense to her words, but all they earned was a light chuckle and a response.
"Yep, I guess you could say that."
"Nothing you gotta worry about, though, chica," Jed piped in. "All the other big folks that come in here don't even know a damn thing about us."
"Well, they know about what time and place from which we come and how we look, but that is all," Octavius pointed out.
"The part that's a bit weird is that of the things in this museum," Jedediah continued, "we're actually some of the exhibits people come in here to see."
"We may be mere exhibits by day, but by night we are very much alive." Octavius even made an attempt at a majestic pose to make a point before once again latching onto Larry's finger, having almost fallen over from the walking motion. That made Robin chuckle.
"Yeah, and that's where I come in," Larry spoke up again. "I'm the night guard, and my job is to make sure everyone here stays safe and is ok."
Listening to them all explain, as strange as it all sounded, it seemed to make enough sense to Robin so far, but there was still so much about this she didn't understand; she still had so many more questions. But, from the looks of it, she wouldn't have the time for them to be answered, as she gazed ahead of them to see the trees of her woods in their own concave space in the wall. As they approached closer, she could see the smoke rising from the house in one area, and even caught a glimpse of one of her sisters darting through a gap in the trees.
"Yeah, and if you couldn't quite see it before, we're neighbors!" Jedediah happily pointed to the direction of the diorama on an opposite wall she now saw from a different angle, which trying to get a better look at earlier had gotten her into this whole situation.
"Indeed, and I reside there, next to that place," Octavius made gesture toward another spot in the same general direction that had been obscured from Robin's view before. She could see it displayed what she could only describe as the epitome of what came to mind when she thought of what place a Roman soldier would fit in.
It distracted her enough that she almost didn't notice slowing down, and Larry piping in, "I'm setting you guys down now, ok?"
His hand lowered to the platform that made for the frame around the pocket in the wall, and the soldier and cowboy prepared themselves get off, with a glance to Robin, beckoning her to join them. Taking each of their hands still held in her own, she hoisted herself upright and stepped forward, leaving the hand and once again touching solid ground.
"I'm aware that it would probably be a bit much right now, obviously, but if you'd ever like to visit any of us again, you let any of us know, ok?" Robin turned to see Larry had knelt down to be more level with the three of them and was looking directly at her, politely waiting for her response.
Robin felt herself grin and gently nodded, to which Larry nodded back, and she turned to Jedediah and Octavius. "We'll see you around, darling." The cowboy tipped his hat politely. Robin smiled and nodded, then bowed her head to Octavius, which he returned, with a smile of his own. Then she turned and began walking to the woods, ready to go home after all of that had just happened.
She'd made it to the trees' edge when she took a final glance back at the three men. The smaller two were climbing back into the larger one's hand again, likely to go back to their own homes as well. Robin couldn't help but smile, and she made her way through the woods towards home with newfound simultaneous senses of ease and excited curiosity.
She wouldn't be dreading the next time she blinked awake. She couldn't wait to learn more.
Logan's afternoon had been going pleasantly enough. The rain wasn't coming down hard, but it had persisted for most of the day since before dawn, so everything outdoors appeared damp and unwelcoming.
Perfect weather.
The March afternoon was quite peaceful at Logan's kitchen table where he sat, a warm mug in his left hand, and one out of hundreds of puzzle pieces in his right.
After spending his morning completing some household chores, Logan had decided during lunch that he was due for a bit of a break. He could always grade his students' assignments later, and he had one more day of his weekend left to complete that anyway.
His mind had wandered off throughout the day a couple times to guessing what Virgil might be up to on a day like this, but reminded himself calmly each time that it wasn't really his business, and from their last meetings, he knew Virgil liked his privacy, and Logan would respect that. As great as his curiosity was towards such a unique creature, the last thing he wanted was to be the reason someone ended up homeless, based on how Virgil had explained his situation, so Logan had made it a personal goal to give him as few reasons to leave as possible. If for nothing else, it would make the professor admittedly a bit sad to know he'd be losing someone that kept him company from time to time, in his own way. Still, Logan had kept his distance, and ultimately left the borrower be unless Virgil directly approached him on his own.
The thought crossed his mind for the third time in a day, and once again, Logan let the thought leave his mind, returning his focus to the broken up painting on his table. The puzzle of a galaxy had been a gift from his old roommate, Patton, from before their careers had sent them in different directions. Apparently three years wasn't enough time for Patton to forget the date, as the package arrived from his old friend around just the right time with a charming little note attached wishing him a happy 28th. Logan really didn't see the great significance of his birthday, at least not nearly as much as Patton (according to whom, a birthday was a sacred celebration of the passage of time spent alive), but nonetheless appreciated the gesture, and had finally opened it and began working to solve it a couple months later.
This was the second time Logan had properly sat down to work on completing the puzzle since opening it a few weeks prior. It was starting to collect dust, and he wanted the accomplishment of completing it before it got too dirty. A couple of hours into the afternoon, only about 50 unmatched pieces remained strewn about across the table, so he would have an easy time finishing it.
This sentiment was retracted later when Logan discovered that a single piece was missing.
It was entirely possible that one fell to the floor and slid underneath some furniture, somewhere for him to find much later on, but he'd just cleaned this entire room earlier in the morning, so it wasn't likely. He checked anyways, every nook and cranny nearby he could think of, but to no avail.
Logan sighed in mild annoyance, but took the roadblock as an opportunity for him to take a break. His coffee now gone, he made his way to the kitchen counter and prepared his kettle to make some tea. No harm in taking it easy on caffeinated beverages.
The water began to heat up inside, and Logan let his mind wander, reminding himself that there were still assignments to be graded, and he'd feel better the sooner he got them taken care of. He was making the decision in his head to get that done after his cup of tea when something cut through the quiet of his kitchen.
"Hey, Logan." He said it quietly, but the absence of noise (outside of the bubbling kettle) contrasted heavily with Virgil's words, so Logan noticed them right away. A glance to his left where the words had come from confirmed that, sure enough, the borrower was paying him a visit, having appeared from somewhere behind his toaster without him noticing.
"Ah, hello, Virgil," Logan responded politely with a light nod. "How have you been doing?"
Virgil had stopped on the counter at a bit of a distance, not wanting to get too close to the human, but still wanting to talk, so when he shrugged in response, Logan almost missed it, but caught the gesture as he answered his question.
"I've been doing alright, I guess... I mean, it could always be better... but it could always be worse..?"
"How do you mean?"
Virgil seemed to tense slightly at that, at which Logan was quick to correct himself, recalling the borrower's pattern of reluctance to share too much information.
"You don't have to answer that if you don't want to, Virgil; I was simply curious."
That seemed to relax Virgil a bit, thankfully, and Logan was sure he'd try to change the subject as a polite way to distract from the question, a pattern Logan was beginning to pick up on with Virgil, but he didn't really mind. It simply gave them more to talk about, which he always appreciated.
"What about you, how are you doing?" Virgil asked then, likely doing just what Logan had predicted. He let himself grin at that slightly before filling Virgil in.
"Well, that recent assignment I told you about last time we spoke went over fairly well with the class, and one student even asked me wherever I got such a great idea, so good call."
That earned a worried look from Virgil, to which Logan simply continued.
"I didn't tell them about you, don't worry. I have no intentions of revealing your existence to anyone, Virgil, even if a part of me would rest easier knowing I gave credit where it's due. Anyway, thanks again for that idea; it was appreciated, by my students and myself."
Virgil let himself grin at that, and blushed a bit as he quietly said, "no problem." He still didn't quite understand the concept of human education, but it seemed interesting enough, at least whenever Logan talked about it, and he was happy to help regardless.
"Aside from that, not much interesting has happened in the past week. I have been doing a puzzle today, though."
That caught Virgil's attention. "A puzzle?"
"A jigsaw puzzle, yes. Apologies, do you not know what that is?"
"I'm not sure, actually."
"Here, I'll be right back; let me show you." Logan stood up tall from casually leaning over the counter and made his way to the table across the room before returning with a large object in his hand.
"This is merely the lid to the box it came in, but hopefully it gives you an idea of the concept. This picture was essentially printed onto cardboard, and then cut into hundreds of pieces, each one unique and never fitting into individuals of others in the same way twice. It's a means of stimulating the brain and passing the time, and I quite enjoy solving them on occasion. I believe I'm missing one of the pieces from this one, but for the most part, it otherwise looks great, and it's kept me busy today."
Logan finished the brief explanation and looked to Virgil for his reaction, only to be surprised to see the borrower walking closer to him. It soon seemed more like Virgil was getting closer to the box lid more specifically, and appearing like he wanted to get a better look at it.
"What... what exactly is this picture?" Virgil asked hesitantly, only looking to face Logan on the last word, now close enough to have to tilt his head upward to do so properly.
"This is an image taken by a telescope in deep space of the Pillars of Creation, a famous nebula."
Only after he'd said them did Logan realize there was a high chance Virgil would have no idea what any of those words meant. If his facial expression was anything to go by, that was likely the case.
"It's in outer space, in the stars," Logan clarified. "It was a gift from an old friend, and he still knows me quite well; I've always loved astronomy."
After a glance at Virgil's face, Logan clarified again, noting his visible confusion. "Astronomy is the name for the studying of outer space." That earned a slightly less confused expression from the borrower, at least. Logan would have guessed that would be enough for Virgil, at least for now, but his next words caught him by surprise.
"This looks... familiar, I think." Virgil kept staring at the puzzle as he spoke.
"How's that?" asked Logan, now curious what he was getting at.
"I... I think... I mean, there's no way... but..." Virgil muttered quietly to himself, yet still loud enough for the human to hear.
"Virgil?" Logan gently snapped the borrower out of it with the calm word. "Is something wrong?"
"No no, uh, not wrong, just—" Virgil was pacing now, as he spoke, and held up a finger towards Logan to politely indicate he needed a moment to think.
After a long enough pause Logan might have broken out of boredom, Virgil softly blurted out, "I'll be right back," and booked it across the countertop to the outlet cover behind the toaster without another word. Logan, once again surprised at just how quickly the borrower could move when he wanted to, didn't react beyond a light shrug as he continued calmly with preparing his tea.
He'd added the honey and was stirring it in with practiced care when the borrower returned, appearing to be holding something along one hip.
"I'm back," Virgil got out between breaths, visibly winded.
"I can see; take a moment to catch your breath, Virgil," said Logan.
Virgil exhaled at that, sitting himself down where he was with a sigh, letting himself breathe like Logan said.
"Did you sprint that entire trip?" Logan asked, after a moment.
"...ok in retrospect, maybe not my best idea," Virgil admitted quietly.
"I'm surprised you remembered that word, considering how many you were learning the other day."
"What? 'Retrospect?' Yeah, I don't know, I guess it's a good word." Virgil was embarrassed to admit how much he enjoyed "expanding his vocabulary," as Logan had put it, but he did like having more words at his disposal to describe things, especially with having someone to properly talk to and maintain friendly conversation with for the first time in what had felt like years.
"Anyway, what was so important you felt the need to move so quickly?" Logan asked after a moment.
"Ah." Virgil stood up as he grabbed the object he'd brought back, having set it on the counter behind him while he sat to catch his breath. He then held it up in both hands for Logan to see, presenting it similarly as a child would a newly finished drawing to an adult.
"Is that...?" Logan leaned in slightly to get a closer look, and sure enough, it matched the same colors and pattern of the surrounding picture. The final puzzle piece.
Wordlessly, Logan slowly reached a hand in the borrowers direction, from which Virgil now backed up several paces. The human paused for a second, before rotating his palm that his fingertips faced up, a few inches in front of Virgil, silently beckoning him to place the puzzle piece in his hand.
When Virgil realized this, and assured himself that there had been no intent to grab his entire body and never let him go, he cautiously stepped forward, closing the gap and placing the piece on two of Logan's fingertips.
Logan gave a subtle nod, then brought the piece closer to his face for further inspection.
"I... I didn't know exactly what it was, when I found it, I mean," Virgil spoke up.
"Not to worry, Virgil. Now that it's been found, I can finish the puzzle." Logan paused for a moment when he got an idea. "Would you like to do the honors?"
"Me?? Uh, what do I have to do?" Virgil asked.
"Here, I can show you." Logan placed a hand palm-up on the counter near where the borrower stood. He gasped involuntarily and backed up a few paces at the sight.
Realizing this, Logan spoke up. "Sorry, should have warned you. If you'd rather not do this, it's perfectly alright. You've voiced your concerns before and I would understand."
Logan was definitely right that Virgil would rather not do this, but he did want to see what Logan was about to show him, so he snapped himself out of it and took a breath. "No, I— I can handle it, a-and now I'm curious, so... whatever, I can do it, sure."
Virgil made his way over to Logan's hand, hyped himself up for a brief moment, and, ripping the band-aid off, so to speak, jumped aboard.
Once Logan saw the borrower was settled, he carefully made his way to the next room, placing his hand on the table once there, to which Virgil climbed off with a couple awkward steps.
"Stars, here's hoping that'll get easier with practice," Virgil muttered to himself.
"What's that?" Logan asked.
"Nothing," said Virgil, louder.
"Ok… well, here is the puzzle in question," Logan pointed out as he sat at the table. "As you can see, the image is almost finished. Actually, being a thousand pieces, it's 99.9% complete."
"...what. did any of that mean." Virgil, still calming himself down a bit from being in a giant hand, could only look at Logan with confusion.
"Ah, apologies, I forget you might not be as familiar with mathematical concepts," said Logan, making a mental note to maybe teach Virgil some basics at some point, if he asked, then continued.
"In any case, would you like to fill in the remaining 0.1%? The piece was in your possession all this time anyway, it seems only fitting that you complete it."
As the human spoke, Virgil walked around across the puzzle, gaping at the vast image before him in its almost-entirety, the linked pieces spreading out on every side of him. When he turned to face Logan again, he was met with his hand again, this time with the final piece being held out to him between two fingers.
Now excited at the idea, Virgil gladly took the piece in his hands and eagerly made his way to the puzzle's one remaining gap to fill. He knelt, adjusted the piece's position, placed it inside, and gave it a light push.
The long-missing piece clicked its way into place, and it was done.
"Excellent." Logan loved the satisfaction following a completed puzzle, and was more than happy to experience it even secondhand. Virgil, still marveling at the expanse of nebula, was wondering just how long this puzzle took Logan to put together, when the human spoke up.
"If I may ask, Virgil, why exactly did you have that piece? Based on what you've told me, I take it you only borrow that which you need, but what could you use that for?"
At that, Virgil's expression only grew nervous, and he immediately began apologizing. "I'm sorry, I swear, I didn't know what it was for, I just came across it one day and really liked the colors, so I brought it home, I-I didn't think it meant anything this important, I promise—"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, Virgil, please relax," Logan gently interjected. "I'm not upset, it's ok. Like you said, you didn't initially know what it was, and anyway, it's just a puzzle. It's fine, really."
The borrower seemed to relax slightly as Logan spoke, so he continued.
"I was just curious what interest you'd have in something like this, seeing as from my point of view it serves no practical function for survival."
Virgil thought for a moment before answering the question. "I, um... I had it hanging above my bed." He seemed to be admitting to it more than anything, as if doing such a thing had been a crime to commit. "Like I said, I, uh... I just liked the colors. It looked... interesting, so, I guess... decoration..?"
"Ah, ok, that makes sense," said Logan, considering in his head that it indeed made sense that a humanoid creature would act similarly to a human in terms of appreciation for things that were simply pleasant to look at. The thought gave him a small smile.
"Here—" Logan pried the last piece out of its place with his fingernail and held it out to the borrower. "Keep it."
Virgil's words failed him for a moment, but when he processed what Logan had just said, he couldn't believe it.
"No, no no no, I stole it though, like you said, I-I don't even need it, really..."
Logan calmly put up his other hand in surrender to silently tell Virgil to pause his mild panic, and listen.
"I don't mind, Virgil. Truly. Considering it has taken me this long to get even close to finishing this puzzle, it's become clear to me that you got more use out of it than I probably ever will. Wherever you’ve been staying, I'm sure it’s helped make your living space more appealing and pleasant to be in, so I'd like you to have it."
A few hesitant seconds passed, then Virgil asked, a bit hopefully, "Are you sure?"
Logan nodded with a light smile. "Promise."
Virgil couldn't hide his grin as he stepped forward and excitedly took the piece in his hands once again, almost hugging it. "Thank you, thank you so much, this— I don't even know what to say."
"You're quite welcome," said Logan. "Consider it a gift for helping me with completing the rest of it."
Virgil gave a shrug. "Glad I could help..?"
Logan gave a light chuckle.
After a moment, remembering his previous visit to the kitchen, Logan asked, "Would you care to join me for some tea? I've just made a fresh cup for myself if you’d like to try it."
Virgil perked up at that with a smile. "What kind?"
