#gianttinyinteract

Heard in Silence

PROMPT

“Get your over-sized mitts off of me!”

Teacher’s pet used to mean something different. It used to be some goodie-two-shoes who always knew the answers and who would take on extra responsibilities, so the teacher didn’t have to.

There was another form of pet in the classroom – class pet.

It used to be a gerbil or mouse, maybe even a fish. Fish, mice, and gerbils didn’t understand though. They were cute, but relatively mindless.

So, with the creation of bipedal, language capable creatures resembling humans which averaged around five or so inches tall, it was no wonder they were swept off of the shelves. How similar they were to humans was rule “inconclusive” at best by various doctors and legal speaking pencil pushers.

So, this was where Nivea found herself.

She was sitting in the bottom of her cage, pressed under the pathetic squeaking wheel, and hoping that those kids would leave her alone. Middle schoolers were particularly vicious, but her owner, Ms. Robinson, could keep the kids at bay if Nivea were asleep.

So, Nivea would cram herself under the running wheel and pretend to sleep for hours on end, only exercising and being active at night. At the moment, the kids were outside performing an experiment, so she had the whole classroom to herself. Needing a stretch break, Nivea decided it was safe and crawled out from the wheel.

She stretched and walked up to the pure glass container she was forced to stay in. The holes at the top were too tall and too small for her to fit through, but maybe she would get lucky one of these days and the lid would be left ajar. Kids were careless after all.

The water dripped rhythmically onto the base of the cage beside the pellets of food. Disgusting. It was like chewing on stale bread, but at least that had relative flavor and texture differences.

Nivea walked along the edge of the cage, running her fingers over the cold, glass surface. She caught a glimpse of her reflection in the far corner as she walked by. Narrow, sharp features that she wished would cut the glass and set her free. Thin, dexterous limbs. Short auburn hair that fell by her shoulders. Tired, hazel-brown eyes looking back. A miserable five and a tenth inches tall. Crazy to think she wouldn’t grow anymore. Rumor was that pets didn’t stop growing until they were twenty-three, just like humans, but that was five years away.

While she paced back and forth, all Nivea could think about was how to get out – escape. What would she do after? No idea. The impossibility of escape prevented further planning.

Still, a girl could dream.

Nivea could do it. She pressed her back against the glass and stared at the latch at the top of her cage. If she could just grab that, she could swing from side to side and knock the latch loose. It wasn’t locked after all. Guess the humans thought they were too stupid to figure out how to escape.

The word wasn’t stupid – it was short. Pets were too short to escape most containers.

But that didn’t mean she wasn’t going to try.

Nivea took off running as fast as she could with the limited space available and used the food bowl as a spring point.

*WHAM*

Nivea slammed against the side of the cage and slid down in a crumpled heap. That was definitely going to bruise. She forced herself upright again. She was barely an inch short of her target.

She would’ve tried again if she didn’t hear a bone-chilling sound. The sound of the door opening and the overwhelming shouts of the middle-schoolers of the classroom. It was too late. The first three, all boys, saw she was awake and made a bee line for the cage, their voices raising to a near shriek.

“She’s awake! Ms. Robinson! She’s awake! Can we play with her?”

No.

Please no.

Nivea ran for the wheel in a desperate attempt to play it off, but she knew she was already too late when she heard Ms. Robinson give the okay.

Like sliding into home plate, Nivea slipped under the wheel, but the lid was already coming off, shaking the whole cage. She heard their cooing voices already and felt the cage shudder with vibrations of them grabbing the ledge.

Nivea’s heart was pounding mercilessly in her chest. Her whole body was tense and shaking. She just got over the bruises from the last time. Why couldn’t they just leave her alone?

She gritted her teeth as she heard the wheel whirring just above her as it was removed from the wall. She braced herself, clenching her fists and tensing her whole body. Their sweaty, oversized digits closed around her frame in an instant and hoisted her into the air at an alarming speed.

“Hey there sleepy,” the boys grinned, their teeth forming menacing grins that could easily snap her in half.

“Get your over-sized mitts off of me!” she howled as she thrashed in their grips.

“Aww! It’s okay. We’re not going to hurt you. You don’t need to be scared,” they said. It was all downhill from there. The boys passed Nivea around, setting her on their desks and poking at her ribs. While they weren’t trying to be purposefully hurtful, their size alone caused perfectly finger-shaped bruises to form. The entire class got their turn with the class pet until Ms. Robinson pulled her away and placed her back in her cage.

“That’s enough class. We have work to get to. Also, we have a new student joining us. Settle down and get out your books,” instructed Ms. Robinson as she set a shivering and bruised Nivea back into her cage. She didn’t know if they were being rough on purpose or if it was an accident, but what she did know was her will to fight had never been stronger.

The pet limped back to the corner of the cage and slumped down into the crease where the glass met. Her breathing was labored and, for the life of her, she was having a hard time feeling her fingertips. Her limbs stung and ached, but she didn’t want to give anyone the satisfaction of whimpering or asking for help.

Nivea would do what she always did – handle it herself.

She watched with mild distain as the door opened and two humans entered the classroom. They were both girls. One was undoubtedly the student while the other was an adult. They didn’t look related, but what did Nivea know. The girl, middle school aged obviously with very fair skin, had curly blonde hair and big, bright blue eyes. The adult also had curly hair, but it was jet black which complemented her darker skin tone.

Ms. Robinson stood at the front of the room and gestured to the girl, who looked around nervously at the classroom.

“Class, I’d like you to meet our newest student. This is Kaylee Ella, our new transfer student; and this is Miss Rachel. They’ll both be joining us. Kaylee, would you like to say anything about yourself?” asked Ms. Robinson.

The girl, Kaylee, looked curiously at the teacher before turning her eyes to Miss Rachel. Miss Rachel, instantly, began using her hands to make different symbols which Kaylee focused on. Nivea knew exactly what this meant.

Miss Rachel was an interpreter, and Kaylee couldn’t hear.

Kaylee was deaf.

Nivea had been in the classroom for nearly six years and had managed to pick up on the sign language dialect, not that it would impress any human by any stretch of the imagination. Nivea read what the interpreter signed and quickly picked up on Kaylee’s response.

“Hello, my name is Kaylee Ella. I’m from Maine. I just moved here. I like to read and write. I also like to draw, even though I’m not very good. Also, I was born deaf, meaning I can’t hear. If you need my attention, just tap on the desk or tap me on the shoulder. Thank you,” said Miss Rachel as Kaylee signed.

The other students start asking her questions and Kaylee answers, Miss Rachel responding verbally, but Nivea could see Kaylee’s responses before the verbal response. Nivea laughed to herself. She wasn’t the only one reliant completely on another to interact with the world.

The rest of the day went without a hitch, but Nivea couldn’t help but watch Kaylee for the rest of the day. It wasn’t until the end of the day that Kaylee had to go and put her papers in the cabinet – the same cabinet that Nivea’s cage was on top of.

Nivea squirmed and tried to make it back to her hiding spot in the hopes that she would be unnoticed under the wheel when she felt bright blue eyes on her. The teenage girl walked over and had stopped moving entirely, eyes locked onto Nivea.

What was it about humans and wanting to just watch someone smaller than them squirm?

The pet clenched her teeth and glared at the teenage girl but was immediately caught off guard by the look in the girl’s eyes. Sympathy? Remorse? Pity?

Nivea wasn’t sure how she felt about it, but all she wanted was to be left alone.

“Go away,” said Nivea spitefully. Kaylee’s eyes narrowed as they locked onto Nivea’s lips. “Leave me alone.” Kaylee didn’t move. Instead, she continued to watch Nivea’s features.

Nivea, frustration and rage boiling in her, readjusted her body position and used what she understood about sign language in hopes to get the teenage human girl to go away.

“Leave me alone,” Nivea signed. Her heart was pounding in her chest, making the deep bruises in her body throb. “Just go!”

Kaylee’s expression changed from keen observation to surprise and, finally, to remorse. She reached up to her chest, making a fist, and rubbed it against her chest.

“I’m sorry.” She was saying “I’m sorry.”

Nivea stiffened and leaned forward, seething. Her head was starting to hurt as her breathing became more ragged. So, that was how she wanted to play? Fine.

“Sorry?” She signed, baring her teeth at the girl. “If you were sorry, you’d tell them to leave me alone. If you were sorry, you’d not treat someone who can think like a mindless gerbil. If you were sorry, you would help me.”

Kaylee, the girl, kept her eyes fixed on every word Nivea signed, looking more and more guilty and heartbroken. The pet knew there would probably be consequences to her actions, but it felt so good to finally vent her frustrations to the first person who actually seemed to be listening to her.

Kaylee bit her lower lip and signed, “I’m sorry,” one last time before backing away from the cage. Was she offended? Or was she listening? Nivea decided she would rather nurse her wounds and rest instead of calling the kid back.

She slipped beneath the wheel once again and stared up at the obnoxiously colored piece of plastic above her until exhaustion pulled her into unconsciousness.

~~~^*^*^~~~

Several weeks passed since that day when she told the human, Kaylee, off and, surprisingly, no repercussions were inflicted. She wasn’t put into solitary confinement. Her food wasn’t reduced. She didn’t even have to engage in “playtime” with any of the other students because, oddly enough, Kaylee would interfere.

Nivea first noticed it one day when a group of girls, including Kaylee, asked Ms. Robinson if they could play with her and get her out of the cage. Nivea, barely healed from her last “playtime,” started to hunker down in hopes to stay out of their clutches when Kaylee signed to them that the pet made her uncomfortable and suggested another game instead.

The girls initially started to protest when Ms. Robinson said that they needed to find a game where everyone could be included, especially Kaylee. Annoyed, they found another thing to play, but not before Kaylee made direct eye-contact with Nivea as they walked by.

Coincidence? Most likely. Still, the pet couldn’t help but feel overwhelming relief that she was spared for now.

Another time was when the boys were coming over to see Nivea to play with her when Kaylee once again ran interference, seeing if they wanted to do an experiment instead. Because the experiment involved race cars and building track to test speed or something like that, they agreed.

Each time, Kaylee would make deliberate eye-contact with Nivea and offer a small, thoughtful smile. Nivea had to admit that even though her loathing for humans was deep, this one didn’t seem that bad overall.

Then, one fateful day, Kaylee was out of the room when the girls came back and asked Ms. Robinson if they could play dress up with Nivea. Kaylee was at some kind of special class, which left Nivea to endure the groping hands of the girls and the forced stripping of her clothes to put on scratchy costumes.

Once again, Nivea cried out for them to stop. “Get your over-sized mitts off of me!” Her cries only received a coo from the girls in response, all of them saying that all she needed was a spa day to relax.

Nivea had to admit that she would rather play dress up than wrestle with the boys. For whatever reason, the girls who were fascinated with how Nivea held her arms and why she stood the way she did had softer grips and at least tried to be, for lack of a better term, nurturing and “careful.”

Still, it didn’t stop them from pinching her arms too tight, making perfect finger pad bruises, and tugging a few chunks of her auburn hair free from her scalp.

Nivea was writhing in their grip when Kaylee came back into the room. The moment Kaylee saw what was happening, her face melted into sadness and mortification. She started signing immediately and rushed over to the group of girls.

The pet recognized the signs Kaylee was making immediately, even though the girls didn’t seem to know what the problem was.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Kaylee signed as she knelt with the group of girls. “She doesn’t want to be bothered. You’re hurting her. Just leave her alone.” Nivea was beyond shocked at this teenage human girl attempting to defend her. What was even more shocking was when Kaylee lowered her hand to the ground and looked at Nivea directly in her hazel-brown eyes.

Nivea felt instantly absorbed in Kaylee’s big, bright blue eyes. She had never experienced this before. It was like Kaylee could see directly into her mind – like she was being seen as a person, not a pet.

Instead of scooping her up into her hands or forcefully grabbing her, Kaylee’s hand was open and extended. It was an invitation for a rescue and nothing more.

Seizing the opportunity, Nivea scurried over and practically threw herself onto Kaylee’s palm, wrapping her arm around Kaylee’s thumb to stabilize herself. The girls instantly rose a chorus of complaints as Kaylee carefully brought Nivea back to her cage, setting her inside with the utmost care.

Nivea turned around to see Kaylee signing, “I’m sorry,” over and over again as she laid the lid down and stepped away. A momentary pang of sympathy swelled in Nivea and, in a spontaneous moment, simply signed back, “Thank you.”

Usually, the pet would see the rows of monstrous human teeth as a terrifying sight, but Kaylee’s smile was different. It was kind and sweet, filled with joy and sincerity. Nivea backed away to her hiding spot and listened as Ms. Robinson lightly “corrected” Kaylee’s behavior when she noticed something – something crucial.

The lid to Nivea’s cage wasn’t secured. Kaylee had left it ajar enough for Nivea to slip through but not be noticed by the other students.

This was her chance.

The moment the students left for lunch, Nivea poured her aching body into one purpose and one purpose only – escape.

Nivea heaved the food dish over to the side and stacked up as much bedding as she could so that she wouldn’t injure herself if and when she fell. The pet stared at the gathered mess in the corner before charging at the wall.

Heart pounding, palms sweating profusely, adrenaline surging, Nivea charged at the wall and leapt with all her might against the food dish.

*WHAM*

She slammed into the hard glass cage wall, grunting as she slid down and collided with the ground.

Again.

She hoisted herself back up and marched across the floor of her container before charging at the wall again. Quick step, jump, scrape, catch, miss!

*WHAM*

Nivea tried five more times before adjusting her tactic, stacking more cloth over the dish so she could get better height. Three more times of falling and failing, fingertips grazing the top of the cage each time. Nivea, angry and frustrated, leaned against the cold wall of her prison.

This world was too big. Why did it need to be so big?

Nivea closed her eyes and listened to the rhythmic and exaggerated ticking of the plastic geared clock that hung above the door to the classroom. Every second she waited was another second her captor or the students could return unannounced only to foil her plan.

She breathed deeply.

No.

Not today.

She let every humiliating memory fill her with a seething rage. Every bruise and break, twinge and turn that she endured was not going to happen again. Determined, she forced herself once more to her feet and inhaled deeply.

Nivea’s eyes flared as she charged the wall once more, using the last spurt of adrenaline and will in her body. Her feet pounded against the ground, digging into the coarse material filling the prison that kept her for so many years. She ran up the side and leapt.

Soaring through the air, she threw out her hand and clasped around the ledge. Her grip started slipping.

Not yet.

Nivea threw her leg up onto the ledge and used what little momentum in her shoulder to get a better grip. Almost there. Throwing her arm over the edge of the cage, she gripped with all her might. Her nails bent and cracked against the rim of the cage from clinging on for dear life.

Her muscles shook, but Nivea felt a sudden rush as she pulled herself over the lip of the cage, flipped over the edge, and fell to the ground. It was ungraceful, but Nivea fell to the ground landing on her side on top of the shelves.

She took several, stunned seconds to realize what just happened.

She was out of her cage.

She was free.

Her shoulders began shaking from sheer excitement and the thrill of using her own strength to get out. A nervous, breathy chuckle escaped her, but she was far from finishing her mission.

Freedom was on the horizon, and she intended to take it. The shoes on her feet made a soft tapping sound as she made her way to the ledge, suddenly presenting the next challenge that Nivea hadn’t thought of – how to get down from the cabinet that was her Rapunzel’s tower for so long.

There were no obvious ways down. Next to the cabinet were a few shelves maybe a foot away and a foot tall. Not good. There was a gap between the cabinet and the side wall, but that would have Nivea trying to hold herself aloft all the way down, pressing her feet against one wall and pressing her back into the cabinet in an attempt to walk down the wall.

Nivea did find a gap just behind the cabinet as well as a forgotten broom which had fallen, propped up by the cabinet and the wall. It took a couple of minutes, but Nivea finally convinced herself that dropping down the six inches and sliding down the broom handle was probably her best bet.

She sat on the ledge and dangled her legs, staring at the abyss and darkness below, barely able to see the broom handle just below her.

No going back.

One… Two… Three…

She slipped off of the ledge and landed harshly on the broom handle, almost losing her grip as she slid down at an alarming speed like a fireman on a fireman’s pole.

*WHAM*

She collided with the ground and undoubtedly gave herself yet another bruise.

Nivea, up until this point, had been confident in all of her actions; but now that she was on the ground, a sickening thought settled over her.

She didn’t know how to survive on her own.

All her life, she had been a pet – a biological construction made for entertainment and cages. She had never been outside except for one other time in her life, and she was in the cage the whole time.

Nivea was smart and knew there were massive creatures in the world. She also knew the common house pet could take her out in every bit of two seconds.

How would she find food? How did you find water? Not all water was good to drink. How could she tell which was which? How do you make a proper shelter? Was there even anything she could use as a weapon? Could she even make it out of the school without being noticed? The world was immense, a simple children’s desk looking like a skyscraper from where she was on the ground.

She ran her fingers through her short auburn hair and clenched her fists by the roots, tugging at her scalp. Freedom suddenly had an incredibly bitter taste, but she wasn’t about to go back and be found only to be locked back behind the glass, exposed for the world to see.

No.

She had to do something – anything.

Taking a chance, she walked out into the open and made her way to the cubbies and backpacks of the students. Maybe there was something in their bags that could be used as a weapon. Nivea was almost there, looking at the enormity of the human world around her, when she heard the sounds of approaching children.

Time was out.

Her exhausted body gifted her with one last burst of adrenaline. She turned her hazel-brown eyes to the cubbies and sprinted for the first slightly opened backpack, which was a bright bubblegum pink, and slid inside, shimmying all the way to the bottom. It took a second, but she managed to stifle her breathing by covering her mouth with her hands.

She couldn’t hear what was going on because of the roaring blood in her ears, but she felt the tremors in the ground as the students approached and the backpack she was in suddenly jolted. Nivea was thrown forward and tossed from side to side in the rhythm of someone walking.

No.

Helpless, Nivea could only brace herself with each step and make plans to run the moment the bag hit the ground. Nivea wasn’t sure how long passed, maybe an hour or so, before she felt the bag finally come to a resting position.

Good. She could slip out and get under a piece of furniture. There was no way the kid would start on their homework immed…

*ZIP*

Nivea barely choked back a shriek as the zipper above her was quickly pealed away and the bag was opened, exposing her hiding place. Nivea crouched by a small bag and hoped she wouldn’t be noticed as she hunkered down and kept her head down. Heart racing, she hoped she was fast enough.

This dream was immediately shattered by the softest inhalation of surprise.

No.

She’d been found.

Nivea felt tears of frustration prick at the corners of her eyes as she shuddered and waited for something to happen. Maybe she would be grabbed. Maybe she would be let go outside, which was a death sentence with no supplies or weapon. Maybe the kid would turn the backpack inside out and send her flying only to crash into the ground.

*tap* *tap* *tap*

She knew a finger was nearby tapping on one of the books a few inches from her head but didn’t want to look just yet. The pet had to savor the moment of almost making it all the way to freedom.

*tap* *tap* *tap*

Face the music… no use prolonging this.

Nivea opened her eyes and craned her neck to look up, her body suddenly releasing the tension and relief swelling in her chest. She recognized those big, bright blue eyes in an instant.

Kaylee.

Nivea laughed in disbelief, absolutely baffled at this sudden turn of luck. Of all the bags she could’ve slipped into, she managed to go home with the one person who seemed to care.

Kaylee pulled her hand away cautiously and gave a timid wave, which was accompanied by a sweet and curious smile. She then started signing, making sure her movements were slow.

“You got out, good job,” signed Kaylee. Nivea snapped out of her trance and went through the signs she knew before responding in the simplest way she knew.

“Yes, thank you,” signed Nivea back, saying the words out loud simply out of habit. Kaylee’s eyes were fixed onto Nivea’s mouth and hands, absorbing everything. The intensity and thoughtful insight of the teen’s gaze was intimidating and, in an odd way at the same time, reassuring.

Kaylee was listening, which was the important part. The human teen started signing again, looking slightly confused as she did.

“So, why are you here? You’re free. Do you need help? Or did you come with me by accident?” asked Kaylee, slowing her signing so Nivea could keep up, which the pet was immensely grateful for.

Nivea suddenly felt the same, crushing sensation from earlier when she realized how little she knew about the world. Nivea had always been a house pet. Outside may as well be another planet. Surviving may as well be like learning Ancient Greek.

She hated to admit it, but she needed help. Slowly, Nivea began signing and saying the words out loud, making a lump in her throat. “Both, and… I don’t know how to live. I don’t know what to do. I don’t know where to go.” Nivea slumped slightly and leaned against the coarse fabric of the pink backpack behind her.

There were several seconds of silence between them before Kaylee began signing again, this time cautiously. It took a second for Nivea to recognize what the blue-eyed teen was saying, and when she did, she felt cautiously optimistic.

“Do you want to stay here? With me?” Nivea felt herself bristle when Kaylee continued signing. “Not as a pet. As a friend. You could stay here in my room and hide. We could be friends… if you want.”

Nivea was about to sign a relatively hostile comment, but something about what the girl was saying sounded… nice. Kaylee had listened and helped at least a dozen times.

Maybe… just maybe… this could work. At the very least, this would give Nivea a good launch point to gather supplies. She began signing and saying the words out loud. Besides, she did have a question for the curly haired teen.

“Not as a pet? No cages? As a friend? Why? Don’t you have friends?” signed Nivea. The look in Kaylee’s eyes practically said it all, but the girl responded anyway.

“None of them can talk to me the way you can. They don’t want to learn,” signed Kaylee. Nivea exhaled and ran her fingers through her tousled auburn hair.

“Well, that’s not nice,” she said out loud without signing. Kaylee, however, smiled and nodded, making the sign for “morons.” Nivea couldn’t help but chuckle and nod, this time signing as she spoke. “Yeah, morons.”

Nivea looked around at the bag and books surrounding her before looking back up at Kaylee. “Could you help me out?” Nivea said and signed, making sure to be careful with how she phrased her words.

Kaylee smiled and nodded before carefully reaching into her backpack and offering her hand for Nivea to climb onto. It wasn’t a grab. It wasn’t a snatch. It was an offer, which Nivea gladly took. She stepped onto the girl’s hand and braced as Kaylee lifted her out of the backpack and onto the desk.

“Do you want a snack? I was going to get one,” signed Kaylee, using only one hand to keep from jostling Nivea. Nivea gave a sigh of relief.

“Yes, please; and… maybe… a washcloth to sleep on?” asked Nivea, making generic symbols for things she didn’t know how to sign for. Kaylee smiled and nodded, setting Nivea down on the desk before leaving the room for a few minutes and returning with a plate of goodies and some soft crafting material to make a bed.

The two of them ate in relative silence before spending the rest of the evening constructing a living space under Kaylee’s bed for Nivea to make her own space. Nivea once thought she wanted freedom, but she realized only now that what she really wanted was space to call her own and a friend to share it with.

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

HUGE shoutout to @ratcatcher0325 for inspiring me with the world forged by pure imagination. Show some love to this astounding author!

Also, as a personal note, I've watched your work for years and this is an absolute honor to see your message. I hope to do you proud with this. Thank you @hiddendreamer67!

Cheers and, as always, stay awesome!

@starskichild,

Wow!.... 😲😭🤭🥰 SO MANY EMOTIONS!

First and foremost, thank you so much! I am absolutely blown away by your response. I don't even know what to say other than thank you.

Seriously, it is because of people like you and this community that let me do what I do and help inspire me to write.

You and the community are the ones to thank for creating these characters.

Haha and I will come to your Ted Talk any day ^.^

Soren: Me? Oh... wow... um... Well, I guess I have a few things that always makes me smile. One of them being my daughter, Mayzie. She's getting more adventurous, like her mother, and I love watching her explore the world around us. A big thing she loves now are bubbles when I can get the right kind of soap. Another thing being memories. First time borrowing with Rey and Dorian. Going out with my dad and my first solo mission. My wife. Spending time with... Ashlynn. (*subtle smile*). Hard to say just one thing.

Regret? I've tried living without them, but we can't escape it I guess. Obviously not getting to spend enough time with my parents and asking them the questions I know now. There is one other thing that I always wanted to say to Ashl... well... it doesn't really matter. Never mind.

Fear? Ha... well, naturally there are a lot of things that I'm afraid of. One of those would be not being able to help or save my family. Being helpless is the worst feeling, having gone through it before. I suppose a more recent fear is working with these new Borrowers. I have no idea what they're going to think or do if they find out about us and Ashlynn. Maybe the Rafters will keep it quiet, but... what if they don't?

The two stared at one another for a time as Murad’s words dispersed through the air. Jellal’s mind swirled as it tried to wrap around what the giant before him said.

Did I hear him right? Save… save our lives?

“Wh…what… what do you mean save our lives? Who? All of you? And save them from what?” asked the teen, feeling his chest tightening with panic and worry. Murad blinked slowly and rolled his shoulders, readjusting his folded arms.

“Please spare me having to explain. Honestly, you’re not going to remember so why spend the time?” sighed Murad. Jellal’s heart skipped a beat. He naturally leaned away from Murad, chest tingling with apprehension.

“Wh… what do you mean I won’t remember?” the teen barely managed to sputter out the words without stuttering before Murad leaned forward. The giant’s arm extended, hand outstretched and fingers slightly splayed.

“Relax, it is a simple spell and will cause you no harm. You will simply wake among strangers and friends in a town you recently relocated to. Just breathe and don’t fight it. It will make you sleep better,” instructed Murad. Murad’s extended hand began to glow with a faint ember glow sparking from his palm and lacing around his fingers.

Jellal felt his breath seize, mind blanking in terror. He wanted to shout for the giant to stop. He didn’t want to lose his memory. He didn’t want to lose his family. He just wanted to be home with his sister and his mother and father. His limbs began to shake. Tears gathered in the corners of his eyes.

The young blue-eyed boy watched as Murad flicked his fingers and a brilliant swirl of ember overtook him. Instinctually, he slammed his eyes shut, every nerve and fiber in his body tensing and flinching away, and he averted his gaze.

Something made a solid impact with his chest. It was warm and felt soft like the brush of feathers against his skin. Suddenly, the sensation felt constricting, wrapping around his arms and torso and legs seized him. He wanted to cry out. He tried to shout, to beg for the giant to stop and take him home. His voice refused to obey. His heart was pounding out of his chest. Everything hurt. Everything wanted to thrash and be free. Just as warm tears slid down his cheeks, the sensations subsided.

The tension around his body dissipated. The warmth left him. The constriction faded. His face was wet and finally his breath returned; however, some things remained.

His consciousness.

He was awake.

Unmistakably awake.

Most importantly – he remembered.

The blue-eyed boy opened his eyes one at a time, afraid but also daring himself to take a peek. He was still on the pillow. He was still in the odd room with books and shelves and fire. He was still on the table. He was still in front of Murad, who wore the most curious expression. His eyebrows had partially knitted together, head turned slightly to the side. His narrowed features seemed to further purse in an examining manner.

A new terror struck the boy as the realization sunk into his head – whatever Murad did wasn’t working. His shoulders began shaking involuntarily as he stared up in panic at the other. The auburn-haired giant, on the other hand, seemed more calm than before as his features relaxed. He leaned forward, looming over Jellal, and for a fraction of a moment there was the smallest trace of a tugged grin on his face. His dark brown eyes swirled as a dangerous fascination swirled in them.

“Well,” he said softly. “Seems as though you truly are an interesting one.” Murad once again tilted his head to the opposite side while maintaining eye-contact with the frightened blue-eyed boy. Murad hummed curiously and, placing his hands gently on the edge of the table, stood while maintaining contact with the table and Jellal’s eyes.

Jellal, at this point, went from holding his breath and all of the tension being pinned back by all the will power he had left to having a hard time breathing. His shallow breath was coming in short, bursting gasps. His vision began darkening as his mind darted from thought to thought like a skipping stone on a pond.

What is going on? What is happening? Why didn’t it work? What is he going to do to me? What is so interesting? I’m not interesting. I’m just me. Please! Just let… me… go…

A sudden rush of uncomfortably warm air forced its way into his lungs and churned his stomach. The same nauseating vapor surrounded him like a dense fog. Jellal gasped and coughed, suddenly – surprisingly – finding it easier to breathe. He looked up in time to see Murad placing what looked like the end of a pipe into his mouth and inhaling deeply. The strange device of swirling fumes was connected to the pipe in the giant’s hands. After his deep inhalation, Murad pulled the pipe like device from his mouth and exhaled slowly and steadily.

The fog rolled from his mouth as he directed all of the air currents toward Jellal. Despite the panic he was feeling, the teen remembered his sister’s guidance and began to take slow, deep breaths, taking in the smoke surrounding him. It was a bitter and sickening fume; however, whatever it was made his breathing a little less shallow and was making his chest hurt a little less with each breath. Murad, seemingly pleased with the results, placed the end of the pipe into some kind of latch on the side of the device and nodded approvingly.

“You have the right idea. Breathe deeply, preferably in through your nose and out through your mouth. Tell me, do you always get excited so easily when confronted with the unknown? Or is this simply an inherited trait? In either case, any conflict in your life will undoubtedly send you spiraling into inaction. Hardly advantageous,” stated Murad as he stepped away from the table where Jellal still lay and retreated to one of the bookshelves where he began pulling tomes from their place and sifting through various pages.

Jellal, in the meantime, dared to let his body relax from its immensely tense state for the first time since encountering the giant. While this happened, he began to wonder what had suddenly changed Murad’s mind and what this “spell” he referred to was. He said I would wake up among strangers and friends, but I’m still here. How? Why? What’s going on? I need answers. I need to know what’s going on.

Jellal readjusted himself on the pillow so he could pull his knees to his chest. Somehow, making himself ball up and feel smaller gave him some sense of security. Murad returned after a few minutes with several items on a tray which included a rag big enough to cover three beds Jellal’s size, a bowl of slightly steaming liquid, and several small vials nearly as tall as Jellal with flowers and floating substances in them. Methodically, Murad removed the corks from the vials. Then, he took a step back.

“Please clean yourself while I find you something suitable to wear. Apologies, it’s been a while since I’ve utilized the spell and its components. Regardless, you will need to clean yourself prior to changing,” stated Murad as he once again brushed a few auburn strands of hair from his face using his pinky finger. He began to whisk himself away when Jellal summoned the courage to speak again.

“Hey, wait!” he called, forcing himself to stand shakily on the uneven surface of the pillow to confront his captor. The teen nearly lost his balance, but managed to catch Murad’s swirling dark brown eyes before the giant turned completely away from him. Making eye contact with him made Jellal’s hair stand on end, the all too recent memory of being engulfed by the massive digits of Murad’s hand so easily replaying again and again in his mind. Still, the blue-eyed boy tentatively concluded that Murad’s initial intention was not to hurt him and the possibility of that changing in a moment seemed slim; at least, he hoped so.

Once again, Murad’s eyes swirled again with a dangerous curiosity as he stared at the much smaller sentient being who was now demanding his attention. Jellal swallowed dryly and forced the words from his mind into his constricting throat.

“What did you try to do to me? Why the sudden change of mind? You said I was going to sleep, but here I am awake. What did you mean when you said you’re trying to save our lives? Save them from what? And what weren’t you going to explain to me? What is this place? What is going on?” Everything spilled out of Jellal all at once. Every question flowed over the restraints in his mind just as tears of frustration pricked his eyes. Fists clutched and heart pounding, Jellal searched Murad’s fire glinted eyes for some kind of explanation.

Murad’s expression held just as much curiosity and fascination for the teen as the other held in frustration. He never expected to be lectured to by someone who hardly stood the height of his smallest finger. The boy did have a point, however, and so Murad sighed and resigned himself to sit once again in the chair. He now had the challenge of condensing a significant amount of information without prompting further questions from the emotional boy.

“Well,” Murad sighed while unbuttoning his sleeves and rolling them up lazily. “You certainly do not waist time with that bombardment of questions. If you could, hold further questions until the end. Both of us will lose track otherwise.”

“Now, where to start. Most likely where you began before that outburst – why are we bringing you from your homes. The oversimplistic answer is because we, meaning my superiors and colleagues, believe there is a war coming which will ravage the land and quite possibly tear asunder a great number of cities along with it. We, in accordance with our studies, are not permitted to take sides in these various conflicts and instead dedicate ourselves to commemorate and record the events as they transpire. There are times, however, where our superiors feel it is necessary to take matters into our own hands and ensure the preservation of a species – ergo, removing a select portion of a population to ensure its survival. Are you understanding me so far?”

Murad spoke with neutrality. Murad spoke with a direct, logical thinking that was completely and utterly detached. It was cool, collected, unabashedly honest. If he felt sorry for what was occurring or what he had done, it did not show.

Jellal, on the other hand, felt the worst swirling knot twisting his stomach and forcing a numbing ringing in his ears. His blue-eyes blurred, darkening around the edges of his vision. His heart sunk. He didn’t remember falling to his knees, but that’s where he was. A weight, an undefinable and yet oppressive weight, thrust itself down on his shoulders as though sandbags had imbedded themselves into his bones.

“So… you…” Jellal spoke absentmindedly, unaware of exactly what words were forming. “You’re taking us… to breed? Like livestock?”

“Hardly,” stated Murad. “You are free to live as you deem satisfactory. If you desire a mate, you may select one. The same could easily be said of your profession and level of interaction with the populous. You’re also exaggerating the situation. We merely aim to preserve the various cultures and societies, even if it is marginally fragmented.” Jellal stared at the giant in disbelief.

“How can you say all of this so calmly?” Jellal asked breathily. “You’re talking about my people dying and whoever you took being the last few remaining and…” A thought hit Jellal like an icy wind. “I… my sister… my family… everyone…”

“What about them?” asked Murad calmly.

There was an untouchable pang as Jellal felt his chest as his eyes slowly raised to meet Murad’s gaze. “You should’ve taken my sister. She… she would know what to do. She deserves to survive. She could survive if she were in this position. Oh Spirits, what have I done!”  

“You haven’t done anything wrong given the circumstances.”

“Why not save everyone? Can’t you do that?” countered Jellal.

Murad once again rolled his swirling dark brown eyes and readjusted in the chair. “My dear boy, were you not listening? Firstly, refrain from additional questions until the others are addressed. Second, we are unsure if such an event will even occur. Do we uproot entire cities, cultures, civilizations and disrupt the flow of your advancement on the chance something may occur? Or do we induce widespread panic and fear? Believe me, we have contingencies set in place to protect your kind should worst come to worst but my superiors elected to be proactive this time.”

“Wait… wait… this time?” Murad stared curiously at Jellal who, once again, interrupted to ask a question.

“This is not the first time it has been done. There have been no less than a dozen ties that come to mind where similar actions have been taken. Have you not wondered why we possess cities and established structures rather than nomadic, migratory tribes and fundamental tools and structures for survival?” stated the auburn-haired giant. “Of course, this is the first time in my lifetime, but it has happened before. Generally speaking, our turmoil and disputes are handled civilly or in a designated area. There are times, however, where war is inevitable and there is an undeniable chance of collateral damage.”

Jellal couldn’t believe what he was hearing. This had happened before? There was a war coming? And they were going to stand idly by, only acting after bloodshed? Saving only a few on the chance nothing could be done? The teen’s mind swirled and a sick, acidic taste boiled in his stomach and burned at his throat. His eyes burned as though they were dry, yet warm tears streaked down his face. This was too much.

Jellal wasn’t sure how long he sat, shoulders slumped, while the rest of his body shivered and threatened to collapse. Eyes dazed finally focused on a set of hands placed nearby, tapping rhythmically as though to attain his attention. Numb, the blue-eyed boy grasped onto the rhythmic sounds of the taps and let his eyes focus on Murad’s enormous fingers.

“Evidently, that was too much information for you to process. At least you’re not wheezing. Feeling any better?” asked Murad plainly. He reached off to the side and retrieved another spoon which he dipped into a glass and with extreme care brought it in front of Jellal. Based on the color, Jellal assumed it was water and didn’t bother questioning his captor, instead leaning forward and sipping the refreshingly cool liquid. He hadn’t realized how thirsty he had become throughout the whole ordeal.

The liquid brought a calm serene over Jellal; something he didn’t anticipate. For a moment, there was a flare of worry he had taken in something that wasn’t water. It instantly dissipated when Murad took a sip from the same cup he drew the spoon from.

Jellal, in his stupor, came to the realization that he could do nothing about his current circumstances. Murad had taken him and, most likely, wasn’t going to bring him back to his home. There was a war waged by giants which was inevitable – at least from what Murad had stated. Finally, he was completely and utterly alone with more questions than his mind knew what to do with. The teen’s wandering mind wanted nothing more than to curl up and return to that stupor, but some deep, curious part of him tugged back to his bombardment of questions.

“You… said you weren’t going to tell me,” muttered Jellal. Murad shook his head in response while taking another drink of water. With a satisfied sigh, Murad resumed.

“No. Personally, I thought it was going to be a waist of time, but things didn’t go according to plan with you,” stated Murad, setting down the glass and now looking mildly perturbed but fascinated at the same time. He folded his arms indignantly and leaned back in the chair.

“If… well… could you tell me why? I mean, what was the plan? Other than taking me to wherever you were going to take me?” asked Jellal numbly. There was little else that could surprise him at this point. He dared the fates and took a chance in pressing further into Murad’s plans.

“Well, initially, my intention was to alter your memory in such a way that you would believe you were simply out in the forest and elected to rest for a time. There were other elements I intended to add, but that fell through rather quickly. Frustrating, if you ask me, but informative,” sighed Murad, eyes catching the blue-eyes of the boy.

“Frustrating? Wait, is that what that feeling was? Like being grappled by vines?” Jellal asked, now putting together a few of the pieces. Murad’s eyebrows raised and he gave a curt nod.

“That is one description of the spell’s effects. And yes, frustrating. I didn’t anticipate the spell not taking effect, but that’s to be expected given your abilities.” Jellal felt his heart beginning to quicken in pace again.

“My what?” asked the boy.

“My dear boy,” said Murad in an exasperated tone. The giant leaned forward, unfolding his arms, until he was dangerously close in Jellal’s personal opinion. “You’re a Theurgist – a wielder of the arcane, magic. This is the reason the spell had no effect on you. Did you not know?”

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