#this is tea

“Put me down!”

“Okay!” She let go of him with one hand, still holding him firmly in the other, and grabbed something from under the table. She gently dropped him onto a soft surface...surrounded by curved glass walls. He looked up in disbelief. A jar. She’d put him in a jar.

“Neteri, this isn’t what-let me out of here!” he yelled, banging his fist against the glass uselessly. 

“Don’t worry bud, I’ll take you outside later. For now, I have some things to do, so just sit tight, okay?” He protested further, but she just ignored him and screwed on the lid. She’d poked holes in it, at least, but now he was even more trapped. He found it hard to stand as she started walking, so he angrily sat down on the thick layer of cotton and scraps of cloth that lined the bottom of the jar, watching helplessly as she carried him along.

She brought him into a room he’d never seen before, but he assumed it was her office. Bookshelves lined the walls, and papers were stacked in neat piles here and there. She gently set the jar down on her desk, gathering some materials before sitting down and getting to work. Erebus sighed, looking around more closely at his prison.

There really wasn’t much in there besides the layer of bedding, just a small stick and a coin. He laid back, sighing. This was worse than being stuck in his cell, since there he had things to do, and more importantly, privacy. Here, everything he did was very much on display for Neteri. Every now and then, she’d glance up at him and smile, or even just watch him for a little bit. Why did she even want him here if she wasn’t going to do anything to him? Wait, he...he was just her desk ornament, wasn’t he? A little pet for her to look at while she worked. Humiliated, he rolled onto his stomach, burying his face in the soft material. There wasn’t any way to escape her gaze except for burying himself completely, but he was certain she’d just tease him for doing that.

A little while later, he heard her unscrewing the lid, and upon looking up, he saw her hand reaching in. He tried his best to get away, but there wasn’t really anywhere for him to run. She managed to pinch the back of his shirt between her fingers, and he struggled uselessly as she pulled him up and out of the jar. “You’re so wiggly,” she remarked, grabbing him in her other hand and letting go of his shirt.

“Yeah, because I don’t like you grabbing me and picking me up!”

“Oh come on, how can I resist?” She rubbed the side of his face with her thumb. “You’re so lil and cute and all mine; I just wanna hold you.” She moved her thumb, stroking his hair now. “Maybe I’ll just keep you like this forever. My own little Erebus.”

A look of horror crept across his face. “You wouldn’t-you can’t-”

She laughed. “No, I can’t. The spell only lasts for twenty-four hours.”

“Well that’s-wait I’m going to be stuck like this for a day?!”

Neteri smiled wickedly. “Yes you are. And you can bet I’m going to make the most of this. I’m almost done here, and then I’ll take you outside, ‘kay?”

“Are you going to let go of me while you-”

“Nope.” Erebus groaned, but tried to make himself as comfortable as possible in her hand, trying to ignore the way she was constantly petting him with her finger in one spot or another. Thankfully, she finished her work soon after and let go of him, placing him gently on her palm. “Alright, lil guy, do you want to ride in the jar or on my shoulder? Or,” she gasped, “I could put you in my pocket! Nevermind, I’m putting you in my pocket.”

“Hey, wait-” Erebus cried, but she paid him no heed, dumping him into the breast pocket of her coat. After some struggling, he managed to right himself, standing so his head and shoulders were sticking out. Neteri was looking down at him with the happiest smile he’d seen her wear since...ever, really.

“This is so amazing look at you in there you’re so small and aaahhhh!” She jumped up and down a few times, and Erebus had to hold tightly to the edge of her pocket to avoid being thrown out. 

“Cut it out, Neteri, you’re going to kill me!”

She looked down at him, realizing her mistake. “Oh no I’m so sorry little bud are you okay?!”

“I mean for a lot of reasons, no, but physically I’m...not in pain.”

“Great! Let’s get going, then.” She slung her bag over her shoulder, and off they went. It was strange, seeing the world from this height. He felt so small-well, of course he was small, but-just...height wise? Regular person size height wise? He felt like he was a kid again, only being this high off the ground. This was sort of how Neteri saw things, wasn’t it? He was a little lower than that, but still, the tops of doorways were so far, not even close to his head at all. 

Musings aside, he was relieved when they made it to one of the many palace gardens they visited every so often. He begrudgingly climbed onto Neteri’s hand, glad to get out of her pocket, at least. She petted his head a few times, muttering “Tiny Erebus,” to herself, before lowering him enough that he could step onto the ground. They were right next to one of the plant beds, and Erebus couldn’t help but look up in awe. The plants were so tall, their leaves big enough for him to easily hide under.

“You can go wandering in there if you want, but don’t go too far or...well, you’ll see,” Neteri said. Erebus was tempted to ask what exactly she meant by that, but he refrained, simply nodding and heading off into the veritable jungle. Soon enough, he lost himself in the strange little world among the plants, fascinated by the way they looked from this angle. He didn’t know how long he spent just wandering around, studying the huge flowers, stems, and leaves. For a moment, he almost didn’t mind being small. But just for a moment.

Because then he saw something moving.

Erebus was frozen in horror as he watched the long, shiny legs scuttling towards him. He’d never really been afraid of spiders, but they usually weren’t so big, certainly not almost up to his knees. He finally managed to get his legs to move, breaking into a run. He didn’t really think it would hurt him, but he didn’t want to take his chances and that thing was still freaky. He tried to gauge where he was, but it was impossible to tell. He could hardly see the sky through all these tall stems and leaves, much less Neteri. And no way was he calling for her. If she knew he was being chased by a spider, she’d never let him live it down.

Erebus just kept going, hoping he could lose it, when something suddenly jerked on his neck, temporarily choking him and knocking him onto his back. He frantically felt his neck as he coughed, feeling for whatever had pulled him, but there was nothing besides his stupid collar, which hadn’t caught on anything, as far as he could tell. He scurried to his feet and tried to keep going, but again his neck was pulled back. He waved his hand around, and there wasn’t anything there, but it felt like he was being tugged back by...a leash. Oh. This is what Neteri meant by him not being able to go too far away. 

Thankfully, he seemed to have lost the spider, so he turned around and headed in the direction the leash had pulled him earlier. It did end up leading him back to Neteri, who looked at him with an eyebrow raised. “Did you try to run, Erebus?” She tapped a ring on her finger that he hadn’t noticed before, a tinge of harshness in her eyes. 

“I-no, I was just...running...from something.” He’d...he’d rather take teasing over punishment.

Her gaze softened instantly, her hands flying up to cover her mouth. “Wait did you get chased by a bug or something that’s so cute!” She grabbed him before he could dodge, bringing him up and rubbing him against her cheek again. “You poor sweet little thing I’ll always protect you from those big scary bugs.”

Erebus then remembered that teasing was basically punishment. 

He couldn’t wait for this damn spell to wear off.

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