G/t Side Blog

My original story (The Biggest Heart & A Borrower at the End of the World), General G/t things (thoughts and recommendations), & G/t memes of other blog’s stories!

Things from my original story: "The Biggest Heart"

“It’s hard enough for anyone to fit in at high school… it’s even worse when you LITERALLY can’t fit into the high school building.”

Kæmpe Stør’s Life:

Part 1 here / Part 2 here / Part 3 here / Part 4 / Part 4.5 / "Stor asks his father if he can go play with other kids" / Raising a giant child / 20 Years Later /

Character breakdowns:

Header / Meet Kæmpe Stor / Meet Hansa & Hasna / Meet Mizu / Meet Strega / Meet Suki / Meet Sunday / Meet Yilan /

Written works:

“Stor’s Job (part 1)” / “Stor’s Job (part 2)”

Comics:

"Messing with your brother" / Lilliput pt1 / Lilliput pt2 / Lilliput pt3 / Lilliput pt4 / Stor and Mizu and the sea /

Mizu & Stør:

"OCs: Mizu and Stor," / "He loves her so much" / "Stop flirting," / "Mizu falling from the sky" / "go for it Stor!" /

Doodles:

Strega flying around Stor’s head Here / "Stor and his friends," / "Old OCs" / “Stør’s worst nightmare” / “Plush” / The Baddest Heart AU / Suki & Sunday /

Memes:

"I'm just a kid" part 1 / part 2 / Every friend group has /

Asks:

Stor’s age / Simular to my story / Are there other Giants in The Biggester Heart? /

Art trade:

evieismol / pizzafish77

My other story: “A Borrower at the End of the World”

General G/t things:

================================

I wanted to try something new with Mizu’s hair to really show that it’s made entirely out of water that moves and flows from her head. (Her whole body is made out of water, but her hair is constantly in motion.) lmk if it comes across:

The inside of the fridge

A movie theater

A giraffe 🦒

The inside of the dish washer

Under the sink

(Really anything from a human’s pov)

The beach/ocean

An air fryer

The aquarium

The inside of a picture book

A grocery store

Christmas lights

A park covered in snow. If they’re warm enough, see a snowman up close

Christmas decorations (trees and twinkling lights and presents and bows).

An art museum

Any video game (specifically Metal gear Solid)

“chocolate milk being injected into a bell pepper at 400 ft in the air” @spinnymcwinny

A Cellphone

The internet

Inside a car

STAWWWPPP MY HEART YOU CANT DO THIS

hes so precious <3

Hehehehhe ❤️ Thank you!

My Poor precious baby Stor 🥺🥺🥺 in this post from “The Biggest Heart”

OMG yes! Thanks for asking 🥰 I love your asked for something so specific! Heheheh

Alt pallets?

If anything, since the kids are so big, adaptation would make them duller in color and more shark like. Briar is the same color.

It’s just their normal color palettes lol I’m not very creative when it comes to the colors here lol.

If you want you can make up a whole new palette!

Here’s the AU they are asking about:

Species Swap meets the main story (Not cannon on either side). This was a request from @Bunni-08, hope you enjoy! Thanks for this fan animation!

Word count: 2400ish

All Chapters AU and non

I was heavily inspired by this anon post!

***

“I spy with my little eye, something green.” 

“We’re in a forest, Lilac, everything is green,” Juniper frowned at his sister. 

“Nu-huh! Not everything,” She said while sticking her tongue out. 

Bruno tried to stifle a laugh at the fruitless kid’s bickering. The children certainly felt a slight shake in the fabric floor below their feet, but they had been traveling with this giant long enough to ignore the odd and exaggerated actions of his enormous body. Currently, the borrowers hung from a makeshift pouch across the human man’s chest, leaving the kids high off the ground, but secure. The pouch kept them close, here Bruno could hear, see, and (occasionally) feel the kids during their travels. 

Six months, eleven cars and nearly 900 miles together got them into a decent routine. Bruno watched every step, always conscious and aware of his two passengers. The kids trusted him to keep them safe on their travels.

Trust. Bruno smiled to himself, what more could he ask for when he was so big compared to both of them.

None of them were alone on this journey, and that was all that mattered. 

Bruno taught the borrowers human-bean travel games for their long trip which led to some very amusing conversations.

Juniper guessed the ‘green’ object almost immediately, “that was a dumb one.”

“Was not!” Lilac whined at her brother. 

“Whatever. It’s my turn anyway, I spy something grey–– Hey! Bruno!”

The giant stopped in his tracks and looked down to find the boy hanging halfway out of the pouch. The man grimaced, not liking how comfortable the children were with heights, even before he met them, he cautiously brought a hand beneath the pouch opening in case the boy fell out. “What is it, chamaco?”

Choosing to ignore the nickname, “I’ve seen that rock before,” Juniper pointed. “I spied it two rounds ago.”

“No, that can’t be… I could have sworn that I…” Bruno frowned at the rock. Then it’s surroundings. Was everything familiar, or was Juniper just trying to be funny again and mess with Bruno the only way he really could? Psychologically. Using his free hand, Bruno rubbed his face. Nope. There was that tree up ahead that he almost ran into earlier. 

Mierda.

“Face it big guy,” Juniper shrugged, “You got us lost.”

Lilac poked her head out beside her brother, eyes wide with worry, “We’re lost?!”

“No, Chiquita. We are not lost,” Bruno said as he fiddled with a compass in his free hand.

“Oh, yes we are!" Juniper sighed dramatically at the five year old, "we are completely, hopelessly and utterly lost!”

“Mr. Runo!” Lilac’s eyes filled with tears, before quickly disappearing back into the pouch. Bruno felt her run right to the wall of his chest and cry into the warm fabric. 

“Juniper, knock it off, you’re upsetting her.”

Juniper modeled mock offence and scoffed. “Who? Me?”

“Move aside,” Bruno said. 

Juniper shrugged and did as he was told. 

The boy had finally gotten over his initial fear of the human bean, which Bruno was grateful for. He didn’t miss the fearful glances when he entered a room and came anywhere near either child. But now Juniper teetered strongly in the opposite direction, becoming over confident with the giant. And after Juniper lost his overprotective streak his sister had revealed more chaotic and teasing ways of messing with her, leading to Bruno on more than one occasion having to physically separate the children to keep them from fighting.

Bruno’s large, calloused hand began to reach into the pouch, intent to pick up and comfort the child. 

A snap of a branch caused everyone to freeze. 

“Mr. Runo?” Lilac called from inside, his hand eclipsing the light outside of the pouch. She could feel the heat radiating off the appendage. So close, but his fingers became rigid. 

“Shhh,” Bruno breathed, scanning their surroundings for any danger. More leaves rustling, he turned and spotted something red and a rather short run through the trees away from Bruno, “was– is that a kid?” He hadn’t seen a living human in months, not since he started keeping borrowers as travel companions. “Hold on.” That was the only warning Bruno gave before taking off after the human child, shouting: “Hey, stop!”

“Are you insane!?” Juniper practically screamed when he almost fell out of the bag. Lilac wasn’t faring much better, shrieking her head off the whole way. 

All the bean did in response was place his hand on his chest, cupping the kids through the bag and making their ride a little steadier as the man continued to call out to the child. “Little girl?! Are your parents around here? Hey!”

The girl didn’t slow down her pace and didn’t scream for help. Instead she made loud and high pitch bird calls, echoing across the forest. 

Bruno didn’t have time to think or question that as an old house came into view through the tree line, that’s where she was running off too. Finally, he could see other humans again. Maybe he could ask for directions or trade something for supplies. 

Before he could think of anything else, something hit Bruno in the stomach. Hard. He quickly fell to his knees.

Thank goodness the borrowers were cupped in Bruno’s hand higher on his chest and not hanging any lower on his torso or they might have been crushed. 

Bruno fell over, curling up into a protective ball, not just for his internal organs but for the two lives held in his palm. He briefly glanced up to see a young boy wielding a stick like a weapon as he hit Bruno again in the back. The boy had red hair to match that little girl’s and fear in his eyes. 

At the next strike, Bruno cried out and loosened his grip on the children long enough for Lilac to escape the pouch and ran just past the bean’s arm out into the open. Juniper’s shouts for her to come back were lost under Bruno’s pained grunts. 

“Stop it! Stop it!” Lilac shrieked as loud as her little lungs would allow, “You’re hurting him!” Tears streamed down her cheeks. From the ground, the human boy seemed almost as large and intimidating as Bruno. Her legs shook with fear as she stared down the giant who was hurting her bean. 

“¡Mi hija, no!” Bruno immediately pulled her back in with a cupped palm and held her close. His other hand clutched her brother, still in the pouch.

Upon seeing the borrower, the boy dropped the stick, face turning pale. He took a shaky step backwards before yelling, “BRIAR!” And running inside the house.

Bruno began to unwind from his curled position, scanning the area for any other threats. He didn’t want to risk putting the children in any more danger than he already had. If the way the boy initially reacted was any indication, whoever this ‘Briar’ was was probably bad news. 

Juniper hopped out of the bag and into the giant’s palm with his sister. He cupped her face, "Lilac! Are you alright?!”

She nodded and sniffled.

Juniper's face turned red hot, "what the hell were you thinking?! Don't you ever do something so foolish and stupid as running out and yelling at a giant! What part of 'never be seen' do you not understand?!"

"But-- but," Lilac began to whale, "He was hurting Mr. Runo!" She pushed her face into her brother's chest and cried.

“Oh, Come on,” Juniper hesitated for a moment before wrapping his arms around her. "Please don't cry."

Normally, Bruno would have tried to also comfort her, but he wanted out as much as that human boy seemed to want him to go away. He struggled to his feet. 

“Mr. Runo,” Lilac now hugged his pointer finger, “Are you okay?”

All he could do was grunt in return and attempt to walk away in the other direction. 

“Stop!” A new, distinctly softer, male voice called out from behind. 

Bruno didn’t bother looking back as he staggered away. 

“You have a borrower?”

Now Bruno froze, as did the kids in his hands.

“Where is she?” The voice demanded. “What have you done to her?” 

“Now wait just a damn minute,” Bruno spun around, “you better watch your mouth, I haven’t ‘done’ anything to her.” He held the children close as he scanned his surroundings for the source of the voice. 

The only person there was the human boy who had hit Bruno earlier. But it wasn’t him who was speaking, the voice was low, like a grown man. 

Movement on the boy’s right shoulder beside his scarf caught their attention, and Bruno's heart stopped. Juniper and Lilac’s eyes were as wide as saucers. 

“You…” Bruno started, but the words died in his throat. 

“A Borrower?! Another borrower!” Lilac was practically bouncing in Bruno’s palm. Tears long since forgotten.  

“Bruno, put us down!” Juniper banged on the pad of Bruno’s thumb. “Put us down!”

The giant man hesitated. On a normal day, he wouldn’t think twice to let them roam if they asked but the appearance of these strangers, especially after he took that a few hits from the boy, he wasn’t so sure. “I don’t think that’s such a good idea, Chamaco,” Bruno muttered as he pulled them closer, taking a step back. 

“So you don’t listen to your prisoners.” The borrower shouted across the chasm between the beans. 

“They are not my prisoners,” Bruno snapped.

“Then you won’t mind if I speak with them.”

“No, of course not.”

“Alone.”

Bruno hesitated. Borrower or not, this man was a stranger to the children. He looked down at Lilac and Juniper who each had pleading puppy dog eyes. Please. He sighed, “fine.”

“Take us towards the house.” The borrower said to the human boy whose shoulder he rode upon. 

***

If Bruno listened hard enough, he could have sworn he heard Lilac’s high pitch squeal of joy. That was as good a sign as any that they were at least enjoying this man’s company. This borrower. 

Bruno looked down at his hands, touching his palms where the children once stood. He could almost feel their weight if he focused hard enough. 

“I am very sorry for hitting you, sir,” Jace said as he sat beside the man. He introduced himself after the borrower, Briar, left. “I was just trying to protect my little sister,” he handed Bruno a wet cloth. 

“Don’t worry about it, kid.” Bruno took the cloth gratefully and washed away the dirt caking his body. “I understand, I have sisters of my own. Can’t say I wouldn’t do the same if someone was chasing them.” 

Jace sucked in a breath looking at Bruno’s scraped knees, “does it hurt?”

Bruno shook his head, “I’ve felt worse fighting in the ring.” 

“The Ring?”

Bruno nodded, “yeah, I was a–”

“You were a wrestler?” Jace said at the same time.

“I was a lot of things, but mainly, yeah I was.” He smiled shyly. 

Jace’s eyes widened, “what was your wrestler name?”

“Bruno the Beast.” At Jace’s blank stare, Bruno chuckled. “Ah, I’m not surprised you hadn’t heard of me. I wasn’t a household name in these parts, but I had a good career as a heel. Kept the lights on and food on the table.”

 “Did you ever go up against any big names?” Jace pried. 

Bruno thought for a moment, “I fought the Leopard once or twice.”

“No way!” That elicited an excited squeal from the pre-teen, “Did you ever get any injuries from the ring? Or is that too personal to ask?”

Bruno shook his head before recounting getting accidently close lined by his fellow heel. Or the first time he learned how to safely fall from a great height and accidentally fracturing a bone.

Jace’s eyes shone with stars as he listened intently. Something in this human boy reminded Bruno of Juniper, but maybe it was their shared hair color. 

The hair on the back of Bruno’s neck stood on end. It was a feeling of knowing when he was being watched, he had developed over the years. When he was a (semi) public figure, fans or photographers would spot him in his everyday life, maybe they would ask for pictures or continue to stare. On one of the worst occasions they followed him around as he was shopping in a grocery store. It became useful when a certain couple of little borrowers decided to spy on him. He looked behind him. 

“Hm?” Jace turned to follow his eye line and frowned. “Layla, it’s rude to stare.”

Hiding slightly behind the doorframe stood the little girl Bruno had chased earlier. She clutched a brown bear to her chest and silently watched them. 

Bruno blanched at the sight of her. Guilt more painful than his newly formed bruises. She seemed uneasy about this stranger. How could he blame her?

“I,” Bruno began but hesitated when she shyly hid her face. “I’m sorry for scaring you… As soon as my borrowers come back, I’ll leave. Is that— will that be okay?”

Layla shrugged.  

Jace sighed, “she’s acting so weird because you are the first bean we’ve seen in months.”

“I see.” Bruno nodded and let out a quiet laugh. It seemed Jace had picked up the borrower colloquialism for the human species. “You both are the first I’ve seen too. How did you two end up living with a borrower of all people?”

“We could ask the same thing about you,” Jace quirked an eyebrow, as if saying ‘you first.’

Bruno nodded, “I found Lilac while hiding out in an abandoned house. She was terrified of me at first, but she got over that quickly. Infact, she decided to share some of the bread her brother stole— i mean — borrowed from my supplies. Her brother on the other hand hated me the first time we met. He was as wound up like a rattle snake, but his heart was in the right place. He only wanted to protect his sister.”

“I get that,” Jace nodded.

“They came with me when I left because they had no one else to turn to. There were no other borrowers.” Bruno paused and looked at the hole in the wall where three borrowers were. He gulped and looked down at his hand that couldn’t even push into that hole without getting stuck.

“Where are you trying to go?”

“Home. I’m trying to make it to my family home down south. My sister will be waiting for me there.”

Jace slumped, “how do you know that she is still alive?”

Bruno paused, “I don’t really know, but I can hope. At a certain point that’s really all we have.”

Jace nodded somberly, “We don’t have anyone other than Briar.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Bruno sighed, “how did you meet a borrower yourself?”

“Really he met us first,” Jace let out a breathy laugh, “he started bringing us food in the middle of the night so we couldn’t see him. We were starving. He saved us more times than I can count.” He grasped his scarf, feeling its constant weight on his shoulders. “Eventually he appeared to us, though he really didn’t want to. He taught me how to hunt and live like a borrower.” Jace saw Bruno quirk a brow at that statement, but continued, “He is the reason we are still alive. We owe him everything.”

“I see,” Bruno nodded, “he sounds like a good man.”

While they were speaking, Layla stepped out from behind the door frame. Holding the stuffed bear behind her back, she tip-toed closer. Tilting her head, never taking her eyes off of Bruno. 

When Bruno realized how much she was scrutinizing him, he became nervous. 

Now she stood within arms reach, scrunching her nose as if trying to put a puzzle together. The five year old girl with messy, red hair didn’t seem afraid anymore. Just cautious and curious. 

She got up on her tip toes and into Bruno’s face. He pulled back in surprise, but she pushed closer. She squinted her eyes and turned her head slightly. Bruno began to nervously sweat as she stared into his eyes. 

Suddenly, a gasp escaped her lips and her eyes widened in recognition. She broke into an ecstatic grin, showing her missing baby teeth, followed by a sweet giggle.

Bruno was completely taken off guard by this almost 180 degree change.

Then, Layla pounced on the man, causing him to fall back a little, she wrapped her arms around his neck in a tight hug. She nuzzled her cheek into his shoulder. “It’s you!” She declared. 

Bruno furrowed his eyebrows, “Uh, yeah, it is me?” He looked to Jace who was just as confused if not more confused. Jace had never seen Layla warm up to strangers so quickly, even before the end of the world. 

Bruno hesitantly returned the hug, with a shaky arm across her back. It was nice to finally hold someone close to his size. He leaned into her touch and held on as long as she wanted.

She melted into him, whispering, “It is you.”

***

All Chapters AU and non

I was heavily inspired by this Anon post!

Word count: 2100ish

Previous / Next / All Chapters

***

Two years ago…

Jace sighed as he finally set down the pile of fire wood he had been collecting that afternoon. He was standing in the heat for so long that he wanted nothing more than to lay down in his (shared) bed. He lazily dropped his borrowing bag onto the floor, knowing he'd probably get an earful from Briar about keeping the ground clear, but he really didn't care. With his last shred of energy, he jumped up and onto the mattress.

"Ack—" Jace sat up quickly, there was something big and lumpy beneath the quilted blanket. He lifted the covers to reveal a stuffed Bear. Mr. Ursa. "Ugh! Layla!" He shouted down the hall.

Moments later, a tangled mess of red hair popped out from the kitchen, "what?"

"Why is your dumb toy here?"

"He's NOT dumb!" She frowned. "He was taking a nap."

"How many times do I have to tell you to keep your things off my side of the bed!” Jace held the toy upside down by its leg, shaking it. 

Layla's face turned to panic, "don't hold him like that! He doesn't like it!" She ran up and grabbed her bear by the head, trying to pull her toy away from her brother.

Jace gripped with both hands now, "don't be ridiculous, 'he' can't feel anything, it's just a toy."

"Let go!" She pulled harder.

"I will once you promise not to put it on my side—"

The neck seams ripped. Completely separating Mr. Ursa's head clean from his body. The room rained bear fluff and guts all over.

Layla and Jace fell to the floor on their backs, still clutching their halves of Mr. Ursa's carcass.

Jace stared at the headless bear in his grip, then looked at his sister.

Her lip began to quiver, her face turned bright red and tears filled her eyes.

"No— no, don't you cry. This is not something to cry over—"

She took a deep breath and screamed… “BRIIIIIIAAAAAARRRRR!!!!”

Jace winced and covered his ears.

It took a little bit of time, but they eventually heard the sounds of little feet running in their direction. Briar appeared on the fireplace mantel parallel to the mattress, out of breath and pale in the face from running, “What’s wrong?!”

Layla ran to the shelf, he was just above her eye level. She was in full on hysterics now crying and making odd hiccupping sounds when she managed to catch her breath. It seemed like she was trying to say something, but it was drowned by her tears.

"Sweet Girl?" Briar worried, but she wasn’t in the state to communicate properly. With nothing more to go on, the borrower finally took in the state of the room. Stuffing scattered everywhere. The decapitated bear clutched in Jace's grip. The boy himself refused to even look a Briar. His face, guilty as hell.

Layla took a long shaky breath before blirting: "J-jace broke Mr. Ursa!" She ended her sentence with another loud sob.

Briar winced from the noise.

"I didn't break it!" Jace snapped back, "you were the one who was pulling!”

She whirled around and screamed, “You shouldn’t have grabbed him!”

“You shouldn’t have put it on MY side of the bed, I told you to keep your stuff away from mine.” 

"That's enough!" Briar shouted, trying to match their volume, though failing. "Jace, apologize to your sister.”

“What?!" Jace glared at the small man, "Why me?!”

“Because you are upsetting her.”

“I’m upsetting her?! Screw that!” Jace threw the bear's body onto Layla's side of the bed before storming out of the room, “Ugh! Why do you always take her side!?” He slammed the door, harder than the borrower would have liked.

The borrower rubbed his temples, he mentally couldn’t handle this level of pre-pubescent teenage angst coming off of Jace right now and the crying sounds Layla was making were utterly ridiculous.

Layla fell to the floor, bawling over the emptied husk of her beloved teddy bear.

Briar let out a sigh. Solve one problem at a time, he thought to himself, before taking out his hook and embedding it into the wood beneath his feet. He carefully lowered himself to the floor where the sobbing child lay. Her hair was in more disarray than usual. Against his better judgement, the borrower reached out and touched her leg. He was still getting used to physical contact with the younger of the two siblings, but he had come a long way in trusting her. "Take a deep breath, sweet girl, it'll be alright."

"No, it won't!" She wailed.

"Yes, it will."

"How do you know?"

"Do you see this?"

Layla finally opened her eyes and blinked away the blur and tears to see what he was referring to. In his hands, he held the needle he kept at his hip for as long as the girl had known the borrower. He used it like a sword to fight small creatures such as bugs and rats. (Oftentimes cooking and eating his kills afterwards.)

"I have almost everything we need to fix your Mr… uh…"

"Ursa," she sniffled.

"Yeah, I'll patch him up, good as new." He put on a brave face and a big smile, but didn't like how close she stood to her gargantuan face. "But I need your help."

She nodded and sniffled.

"You have to collect this white fluff." He kicked a puffy cloud closest to him. "Then I need you to find some thread. If you can't, I'll use my borrowing rope. Can you do that, Sapling?"

She shakily stood up and began doing as she was told. All the while, tears continued to fall, but at least she wasn't loudly wailing anymore.

***

Thirty minutes and various colored thread later, Mr. Ursa was reunited with his head. 

Most of the fluff had thankfully made its way back inside his body. Some of the smaller pieces or those that had landed out of Layla’s reach were largely forgotten. He was whole once again, and mostly refilled, that was all that mattered in Layla’s eyes. 

Sewing it back together was a hard work out for the five inch man. Pushing and pulling the needle and threat through the cumbersome fabric. Briar’s back and arms hurt as he admired his handy work. 

“Thank you, Briar,” she held the bear close to her chest with a shaky, grateful smile. 

He nodded, placing the needle back into the holster at his hip. “Now that that’s over with, I’m disappointed in you young lady.”

Layla’s face became crestfallen.

Briar almost dropped it all together and the hurt expression on her face, but he continued, “your brother has asked you several times to keep your things on your side of the room.”

“But I was just playing—“

“That’s no excuse.” Briar shook his head. “You saw how mad he got because you disrespected his boundaries.”

Layla’s bottom lip quivered slightly.

“You’re still scared to sleep alone right?”

She nodded emphatically.

“Then you have to respect his wishes if you want to keep your brother beside you. Got it?”

“Yes, Briar,” she pouted. Pushing her face into her bear. “…I’m sorry…”

“Don’t tell me you’re sorry. Tell your brother.”

She didn’t say anything. She just squeezed her bear tighter.

Briar sighed, he hated seeing either child so upset. “Do you have any ideas where your brother ran off too?”

“He’s probably at the creek,” she mumbled. 

Briar licked his lips, thinking for a moment, “Can you take me?”

Layla perked up, as he knew she would. She loved holding and touching the borrower any chance she was given. 

“I can get there myself of course,” Briar chuckled awkwardly. (Layla nodded in agreement.) “But you could get me there a lot faster.”

She beamed, revealing her missing baby teeth. She set Mr. Ursa on her side of the bed then sat before Briar, putting her palms flat on the floor. Eagerly awaiting the borrower. 

Briar had been practicing with Layla for some time now as to how he wanted to be picked up and carried by the six year old. Open palm, never closing her fingers or riding on her shoulders. (Though the platform of her shoulders was less than ideal, smaller and moved much more than that of her brother.)

He stepped up onto her hands, and settled into the center. When he was ready, he gave her three pats on her fingers and they made their way outside.

Layla did her best to walk carefully on the uneven terrain, but she was still largely uncoordinated and occasionally stumbled enough to make Briar nervous, but she never dropped him or closed her hands.

Briar spotted red hair and a maroon scarf in the distance, clearly distinguishable from the greenery around them and the dark water Jace stood beside. 

“Here is fine.” Briar tapped Layla’s thumb. She carefully set her cupped hands on the rocky ground. He looked to the towering child above him, “I’ll see you at the house in a bit, okay?”

She nodded and stood up. From here on the floor, it was hard to tell she wasn’t much shorter than her brother. All beans look the same height from this perspective, Briar thought as she skipped back to the house. 

Briar studied Jace as he quietly made his way to the boy. 

Jace had tension in his shoulders, brooding in his slouch position. Fishing pole in hand, he was reeling it in to see what he might have caught. 

The hook came up empty. The bait wasn’t attached either. Frustrated, Jace shouted and hit the surface of the water with his pole. He even kicked rocks into the water for good measure. 

“Catch anything?”

Jace practically jumped out of his skin. “Boss?” He turned around, first checking the ground before scanning the foliage. The borrower stood on a low tree branch just above the water, parallel to the pre-teen. Once the man was spotted, Jace turned to the creek and frowned. 

Briar spoke again, “You know, something tells me that throwing rocks is not going to make the fish want to come to the surface and be caught. Just a hunch.”

“Yeah, thanks for the wise words, you can go now.” Jace made a waving motion, as if trying to shew away a fly or a pest. 

Briar gritted his teeth and tried not to take offence to that, “Your sister was pretty upset.”

“So?”

“So… you should apologize to her.”

“Why do you always take her side?!” Jace shouted, tears welling, before he turned away. Sniffling. Rubbing his eyes.

Briar sighed, “I guess I can seem a little harsher to you. And yeah, I do go easy on her sometimes. But that's because I know how capable you are. I expect you to be the bigger person because I know you can be.” 

Jace snickered at ‘bigger person’ like Briar knew he would.

The borrower continued, “I’m not going to be around for much longer, I’ll be leaving both of you any day now, and who will be there to end your petty disagreements? To fix broken toys and help your sister stop crying?”

Jace’s eyes clouded with worry. 

“You are the oldest. You will have to be the responsible one between the two of you. You will have to keep a level head, even when you get frustrated or upset. It’s important to keep things from getting worse.”

Jace frowned at the very thought. 

“I know it’s unfair. Trust me, I lived it myself, having to take care of my siblings for years.” There was reverence in his voice whenever he spoke of his siblings, something the borrower didn’t bring up often. “But if you want to survive out here, you need to work together, settle your disagreements in better ways. You need her just as much as she needs you.”

***

“I’m sorry.” Jace stood in the doorway, looking miserable as a drenched cat. 

Briar held fast to the boy’s scarf, whisperingin his ear, “what are you sorry for?” 

“For breaking your dumb toy–” Jace started before Briar roughly jabbed him in the neck, “for breaking Mr. Ursa.”

Briar smiled, though it was hard won, but peace between the siblings was worth it. “Now child, what do you say?”

Layla looked at her brother, “I don’t forgive you.” She turned her back on them. 

“Wha–” Jace practically choked. 

Briar smacked his forehead, they were doing so well, he internally lamented.

“Just kidding!" She giggled. “It’s okay now, Briar fixed him.” She held up her bear to show the mix-matched stitches in its neck. “And I super-duper-pinky-promise that I will never-ever-ever put him on your side of the room again.”

Jace walked over to the bed, taking a closer look at the stitches. “You’re a little stinker, you know that?”

She stuck her tongue out at her brother. 

Briar huffed a sigh of relief as a semblance of calm returned to that abandoned house. 

Until their eventual next fight, of course. 

***

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AN: In celebration of my big 24th B-day, I decided to count up how many words I have written so far for this story... 91,500ish words (OMG) that's about a 330 paged book!? That's insane!!! Thank you all for taking this journey with me!!!

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Word count: 3200ish

Warning: talk of previous body mutilation, swearing, physical/verbal abuse, dehumanization, and psychosis. (AN: Oof)

***

Now…

Dark. Cramped. Cold. 

The walls Briar traversed day in and day out felt suffocating to a man who had spent his last couple of decades roaming the outside world freely. He felt stifled, forced to stay in a place that constantly set him on edge. It was a nightmare house crawling with beans. Soldiers. Maids. Townspeople. Who knew how many were here at any given moment. For what purpose or for how long?

It wasn’t safe to travel on the floors. Walking on mantel tops and climbing tables in the light of day wasn’t an option either. The borrower was forced to navigate the dark, complex maze withing the walls of the mansion. 

If it was just himself that he worried for, he would have left as soon as he arrived. Go from house to house until he either found someplace safe to hide or a tiny crack in the exterior wall and made a break for it.

Unfortunately, with Jace and Layla, he didn’t have that option.

Living with two humans who were constantly aware of his presence had made Briar soft. He had to relearn a lot of his bean detecting instincts that were still waking up from hibernation. He had almost been caught a few times in the past few weeks by soldiers and those maids running rampant through out the mansion. 

Yes, weeks. 

Briar and the kids had been living under this oppressive roof for too long. Even when they were traveling, Briar didn’t like to stay in one place for this long. Layla was still being forced to go to school, coming home crying every other day. That was bad enough, but something was wrong with her. More than her usual crying or being upset. It had been a while since Briar had heard more than a sob from her throat, and he was becoming increasingly concerned as the weeks went by.

Jace would come back from boot camp looking utterly exhausted, but he said the days were getting easier as he grew more used to the training. He even managed to make a couple of friends. Than bean-girl Hannah didn't seem so bad. Once or twice a week he was assigned to guard duty of the main gate, with a supervising officer, and they even let him help patrol the outer perimeter too. Briar intended to leave with him the next time Jace would be sent out on patrol, get a better idea of the mess they had gotten into. Though, Jace didn’t know that yet and hadn’t agreed to it. Briar figured it be better to tell him once they are outside.

The little man did his best to visit the kids when he could, but now that he had made it to the first floor, it was even more difficult and exhausting to find a way back upstairs to their bedroom. At this point, Briar hadn’t seen them in about five days, as he searched the various rooms for any signs of other borrowers. 

Two days ago, he did see screws lined up along an outer wall like a ladder. Perfect for a borrower to climb leading to the top of a book shelf. Though it was old and breaking, that was good enough for Briar to keep looking on this side of the house, though it was the side soldiers and the General more than often occupied. Leading to too many close encounters with soldiers stomping about with their heavy boots.

All the chaos and stress and need for escape only made him all the more desperate to find any wall symbols or other borrowers that might help him get answers about this place and possible ways out.

Today, Briar entered a vast room through a rat hole at floor level beside a tall book shelf. The room had several red velvet chairs surrounding a grand mahogany wooden desk. The chair beside the desk looked like a king’s throne. The shelf beside him was stacked with books and a large mirror on the opposite wall. 

Despite his better judgment, Briar left the safety of the walls to explore this new space. Based on the description Jace had given him, this was part of the forbidden wing of the mansion. The General’s office.

He walked away from the rat hole, giving him a clear view of the slightly ajar metal door leading to the hallway, with complicated locks, evidently there was information in here that General Monroe didn’t want anyone to find out. Perfect.

He knew he had ro be quick, a bean could come back at any moment.

He noticed a piece of paper laying on the elegant rug, apparently having fallen off the mahogany table at some point after a bean meeting. Briar couldn’t make heads or tales of the words, but he did recognize the images. A map, showing a birds eye view of the town. It would have more up to date information than any wall symbols, given it seemed the town surrounding the mansion was significantly new compared to the building at its heart. This paper was only a small portion of the map, showing a corner of the town. Briar looked up and spotted more sheets of paper on the desk above. 

Taking out his hook, then swinging it into the air and catching on the side of the desk. He pulled to make sure it was steady before making his assent. Having recovered from his injuries by now made it much easier to travel and borrow in the mansion. Though he was getting on in age, leading to his bones creaking and aching at the most inconvenient times. 

Making it to the top, he didn’t let himself rest before taking in the pieces of paper before him. The town expanded in all directions from the mansion at its heart, having been built around it. At the bottom, blue markings clearly defined the lake and a thick black block separated a stream from the large body of water. A dam. The human-beans built a dam, leading to the river becoming a lake. Both fortifying the south side and providing water to the entire town. Briar had to admit, he was impressed with the ingenuity.

The walls bordering the town ended abruptly beside the lake as if anticipating the water would be enough to deter anyone from escape or entrance. 

Near the water, but still within the walls indicated food and crops, farm land. Few bean made buildings occupied this map. Worst comes to worst, the kids and I could hide somewhere here and swim for freedom, Briar thought. 

A soft gasp and shattering porcelain broke the silence of the room. 

Briar turned pale and locked eyes with a woman standing not five feet from the desk on which he stood. A human-bean. There was nowhere to hide, nothing but the maps on which he stood.

Neither moved, taking the other in. 

The woman had dropped the tea set she had been carrying upon seeing the borrower. One of the cups had shattered and tea was quickly seeping into the intricate rug, staining it. But she never took her eyes off the borrower.

He recognized her as one of the maids who had been taking care of the children, but he knew that grace would not extend to someone like himself. 

The woman was the first one to move, she pinched the skin on the back of her hand and closed her eyes. Blinking and squeezing her eye lids as if trying to wake herself from a dream. She did this several times, even holding her breath at one point.

She finally opened her eyes and focused on the borrower. A gasp escaped her slightly parted mouth as her bottom lip quivered. Her eyes began to water, she was almost to the point of tears. 

Briar went from terrified to utterly confused. What did he do to possibly make her cry?

Before they could stare at each other any longer, heavy boots were heard marching down the hall. Jolting both the borrower and bean out of their stupor.

More human-beans. 

In a flash, the maid reached down and grabbed the tea pot, still leaking liquid onto the rug, and ran towards the desk Briar stood upon. She was too fast. 

She’s about to kill me. Mash my bones with ceramic porcelain. Or trap me. Deliver me to the other beans to be interrogated. I’m not sure which would be a worse fate. 

The tea pot was coming down like a fist from the heavens. He closed his eyes, preparing for the worst, but instead of hitting Briar, she slammed the tea pot down in front of him. 

He looked up at the bean in utter astonishment, but was met with the sight of her back. Not only was the tea pot there hiding him from sight, but she put herself between him and whoever was on the other side of the door. 

“And that is why you have to be tougher on your recruits, Sergeant.”

A chill ran up Briar’s spine. He recognized that voice and venom filled his veins. He instinctively grasped the needle at his hip.

“I’d say I have to disagree with you, Colonel.” Another voice Briar recognized, Drill Sergeant Brown. Jace’s officer. “I find being strict is important, but showing compassion and respect for their abilities can be just as crucial.”

The third soldier, who Briar didn’t recognize, scoffed. “You’re definitely too soft, Brown.”

To Briar’s dismay, these three beans entered the room. Colonel Johansen, Drill Sergeant Brown, and the third man towered over the human-bean woman. The human shield before him was ridged, yet she didn’t move as the men came closer. 

The other soldier raised an eyebrow and took in the state of the room and woman standing ridged in front of the desk, “what are you doing, girl? Get a move on, clean up this mess.”

The maid shook her head. 

“Mel. That was a direct order. Move.” The Colonel said. The maid stared daggers at him. He gritted his teeth, irked at her defiance, but watched her for a moment. Then his demeanor changed, a ghost of a smile appeared on his lips, that made Briar shiver. “Don’t tell me you started hearing voices, seeing things again?”

Mel scowled indignantly. 

“I understand the doctor recently cut back on your medication, but you couldn’t have relapsed that quickly.”

“She hears voices sir?” Sergeant Brown quirked an eyebrow. “Her?” He emphasized that word as if to say ‘are you kidding me?’

“Yes, voices. And she sees things that aren’t there.” The Colonel reveled in how uncomfortable the room got. “She may look all sweet and innocent, aren’t the most dangerous of them usually are? She’s the schizophrenic savage who gave me this.” He followed the path of the scar that went from his chin to his eye. 

The other men balked. Looking from the short young woman to the terrifying officer. To think that she was the one to lay a hand on him was almost absurd. 

Mel didn’t deny it. Her mouth stayed shut as she stared at the men before her. Briar noticed the white knuckled grip she had on the table. 

“How?” The third soldier asked. “How did she…”

“Well, it was about three years ago,” Johansen tapped his chin. “This mansion was the home of the Perkins family. Very wealthy, old money and all that.” As the Colonel spoke, he made casual strides about the small room. Moving it like a vulture about to feast. Never taking his eyes off Mel. She didn’t break eye contact either. “Ernest and I had been chasing a pack of Razors for a few days, but unfortunately, they had broken into the Perkins mansion, killing almost everyone. Luckily for the one surviver, I was there to rescue her.”

Mel sneered at his words. A growl started in her throat, so quiet that only Briar could make it out. 

“I found her in the kitchen, screaming about some… oh, what was it?” He snapped his fingers trying to jog the memory. “A hammer? Hazelnuts? Or was it Honey?”

Mel bristled at the sound of that last word on his lips. 

“Anyway, she was trying to claw her way into a tiny hole in the wall, probably hoping to crawl inside and hide like a rat. I grabbed her, trying to save her life, may I remind you, and she slashed my face with a fucking butcher knife.” The Colonel only paused his stride to take in his fellow soldiers' shocked faces. He turned his cold eyes to the woman, “what? Not going to defend yourself, Mel?” He smirked, “Cat got your tongue?” 

Mel all but turned red with blind rage, she let out an audible, guttural growl from her throat. Making the Colonel smile wider. The other two men took a weary step back. 

“That’s awful,” Sergeant Brown said. 

“Oh, it wasn’t all bad.” Johansen had finally finished his vulture swoop around the room and was almost beside her. “Why don’t you step forward and show these fine men what I gave you in return?”

She stumbled back against the table, shaking it and tried to turn around, but it was too late. Briar backed up against the tea kettle, closing his eyes to wait out the shaking world around him. An oppressive shadow overtook the desk. 

The Colonel grabbed her face, forcing her jaw open with his fingers. “Look,” Johansen said as he turned her open mouth to the other men. 

A gasp escaped the third soldier, “… H-her tongue."

“You cut out her tongue?” Sergeant Brown’s eyes darkened as he watched Mel try to wrench herself out of the man’s oppressive grip. “You mutilated another human being?!”

“Oh please, she ‘mutilated’ me first! Plus, she is less than human. We are now looking at the shell of a woman, who could have inherited a dynasty of wealth driven to insanity when her family was killed. We even took her house and used it as our base. And yet after all that, she chose to stay. Why is that my dear?” He turned her to face him, squeezing her jaw harder

Mel began to cry out in pain. She was shaking, the humiliation was too much. She would have tried to cover her mouth, hide the gaping hole the muscle once occupied, but she refused to let go of the desk. 

“Sir, you’re hurting her–” Sergeant Brown stepped forward. 

“Stand down soldier.” Colonel Johansen said, “I’m just showing you how to properly teach a lesson–– Ow!”

Mel bit his hand while he was distracted, forcing the large man to let go of her face. He pushed her back against the desk, she let out a brief cry, but kept her grip on the desk.

“Why you insolent, little snake! Apparently I didn’t teach you well enough the first time—“ he raised his hand as if preparing to strike her across the cheek. 

Briar almost cried out for the giant to—

“Stop!” Sergeant Brown attempted to grab his superior's arm, but he wasn’t fast enough. 

Mel flinched, bracing herself against the desk. 

“That’s enough Johansen.” A deep voice spoke, commanding attention. Everyone froze. 

Colonel Johansen straightened up, saluting the General. The other two men followed suit. 

“I would appreciate it if you do not harm my staff any more than you already have.” General Monroe strided into the room with the confidence of owning the place, which he did. “Are you alright, Mel?” 

She quickly nodded, not looking up at him. Her arms and legs shook with adrenaline and anxiety. 

“I think we should leave her here alone, sir,” Sergeant Brown suggested. 

“Very well, shall I send for Annie to help you clean this mess?” The General turned back to Mel, who shook her head. General Monroe grunted before looking at his subordinates, “We’ll discuss your reassignment in the mirror room, Johansen.” 

Mel and Briar perked up at the same time. Reassignment, what is that supposed to mean? Briar thought. 

Three of the men left.

Sergeant Brown stayed behind, “Are you alright?” He offered Mel a hand. She ignored it, refusing to meet his gaze. “Right, dumb question.” He sighed. “I do apologize, Miss Perkins, he shouldn’t treat you that way.”

She lifted her head slightly at the name she had long since stopped using. Tears welling in her eyes.

Sergeant Brown reached down and began to pick up the broken pieces of ceramic and set them on the tea tray. “If I can offer any comfort, Miss Perkins, The colonel will be leaving in two days for another razor hunt down south.” He looked up at her and for the first time, her eyes met his. Almost hopeful. “He could be gone for a couple weeks or a few months. We aren’t sure, but at least you won’t have to be scared in your family home for the time being.” He held the trey out to her. 

She hesitated before slowly prying her hands from the desk, still covered in sweat and shaking slightly. She took the trey, before setting it on the table slightly away from Briar. 

Sergeant Brown tipped his hat to her in return and took his leave. Closing the door behind him. 

Silence returned to the room, but fear permeated the space. Briar was alone with the bean who had just protected him, to her own detriment and pain. He was at a loss for words as he watched the titanic woman before him sink slowly to the floor as her legs finally gave in to their shaking, weakened state. 

She seemed so strong a moment ago, a woman protecting him from three men bigger than even herself. Now, it felt as if Briar hit her hard enough, she might shatter. 

“I…” Briar began but cut himself off when Mel flinched. She hesitantly turned, he was just above her head now as she crouched on the floor. Her eyes were wide as if not entirely believing he was there. Briar gulped, “Thank you.” 

Tears began to well once again in her eyes, blurring her vision. She covered her mouth, stroking her lips in a calming gesture. 

“I’m… sorry for causing you so much trouble.” Briar bowed in shame. 

She shook her head before forcing a smile to her tear stained cheeks. 

“Is there anything I can do to repay you?”

She paused. Pointing to the rat hole he had come from. (He was a little unsettled that she knew exactly where it was.) Before opening her mouth, “H-uuh-ey.” Her voice was weak and hoarse from unuse. “Ooo you o H-uuh-ey?”

Briar stared in confusion. 

She let out a frustrated sigh, “H-uuh-ey?” She knew what she wanted to say, but her lack of tongue made it almost impossible. Being forced to approximate sounds to the best of her ability was still almost unintelligible. She shook her head, it wasn’t worth the hassle. 

After a long pause, she whipped her tears and sat up, meeting Briar eye to eye. She pointed to the hole in the wall once again, gesturing with her head and eyes. 

Briar squinted, “You– do you want me to leave?” Briar almost couldn’t believe it. When the kids found him, they never wanted him to go, now this bean was telling him to hit the road. 

She nodded, ending with an affirmative grunt. 

“I– okay.” he hesitated for a moment before taking out his hook and dropping the line to the floor below. He looked up at the bean and found her back was to him. She proceeded to clean the tea stains on the carpet, scrubbing with the cloth she kept in her apron. Leaving Briar to his own devices. As he scaled down the cliff, he noticed that he didn’t feel the familiar sensation of bean eyes staring at him. Layla loved to watch him climb even though he frequently asked her not to. He would sense her watching him. But now he felt nothing.

Briar touched the ground safely and retried his hook from the cliff. He cautiously backed away from the giantess before him, not taking his eyes off her. She never turned around, he could hear the soft sounds of sniffles as she whipped her eyes again. 

Briar made it back to the bookshelf where the rat hole lay. Against his better judgment he called out to her, “Thank you again, ma’am.”

Her soft gaze turned to him, instantly finding him on the far away floor. Her smile did not meet her eyes as she nodded and began to stand up. She took hold of the tea tray, picking up the tea kettle that had shielded Briar from view just minutes ago. Setting the dirty rag on the tray before turning towards the door. 

As she walked away, her shirt swung in her stride, revealing a little more of her leg. Her white sock had also fallen lower than the other and Briar noticed something black on the outside of her right ankle. He might have brushed it off as a mole or a birthmark, but its distinct silhouette made him do a double take. 

Wait was that–

He was about to call out to her, but she had already made it across the floor to the exit on the other side, shutting the metal door behind her. 

He shook his head. The stress and lack of sleep must have finally gotten to him. If he didn’t know any better, ge would have said it looked like a symbol. 

***

Mel lore drop! (My poor baby girl has been through so much! 😭) Once upon a time, she was a wealthy heiress who had everything. Now reduced to a maid in her own family home. Mute and heavily medicated. Is she truly as insane as the Colonel claims she is? Why does she choose to stay here? What is holding her back?

***

Word count: 1500ish

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*** Two Years ago… 

“Please! Please! Please! I will not ask for anything else for the rest of my life!” Jace begged as he followed behind Briar, who walked along the table top of an old clerk desk.

“I highly doubt that,” Briar rolled his eyes, turning to look up at the 12 year old human boy hovering nearby— practically breathing down his neck. The human had grown taller recently, which made Briar miss calculate where exactly those brown eyes would be when he turned back. He sighed and quickly readjusted his gaze.

“Is there anything— anything you see that is wrong with this place," Jace gestured around them. They currently stood in an abandoned library. Dust and the smell of old paper permeated that space. Often places like craft or book stores had well stocked stationary supplies for borrowing. Briar had claimed what he needed and saw no further use for them to stay any longer.

"You mean other than the fact there is no food here?" The borrower raised an eyebrow.

"I mean like a reeeaaally big red flag?” Jace whined, “Plus I’ve seen you hunt down and kill a cockroach, you can definitely find food here.”

Briar frowned.

"It's secure, you said so earlier," Layla popped out from behind a shelf, her red hair had grown longer and more tangled. She was six now and apparently too old to let Jace brush it for her, but not too old to learn how to properly get the knots out herself.

Briar's glared at her too. He did say that, when they first entered. He and Jace performed a perimeter scan, finding all entrances, exits and easy escape routes. Of which there was enough to feel comfortable for staying there to borrow for a few hours, not a whole day and night. They hadn't come across a monster in a few months. They had long since stopped following their trail.

“Fine.” Briar conceded, it seemed like a losing battle, plus he was exhausted. Before Jace could get too excited he quickly added, "just for tonight."

"Yes! Yes! Yes!" Jace jumped around with excitement.

Layla parroted and followed her brother's path towards the children’s section.

 Briar rolled his eyes, before climbing down the tall desk in search of a place big enough and comfortable enough to house two growing beans for the night. 

 ***

A few hours and a ton of old, smelly bean bags later, the kids found themselves in a nice corner surrounded by books from all over the library. From children's literature to fiction to comics to origami and craft books to everything in between, Jace was in paradise. 

Layla stared at the beautifully illustrated books, trying to understand the story without reading the words. Jace would occasionally ask her to read out, but after a while of struggle she would get frustrated and give up. Jace would help her sound out more complex words and he even finished reading a few of the stories with her. 

While the sun set, their corner was lit by a small candle Jace carried around with them in his borrowing bag. The children huddled closer to the light as Jace read tales of heroes and monsters. 

They didn’t realize a small figure had been listening from the shadows for a while. 

Layla’s eyes lids grew heavy as her head teetered to the side, leaning against her brother. Jace gently took her head and laid her across the beanbag chair, hopefully more comfortable than sleeping upright. Before turning back to the book. 

Briar walked out into the dark room beside the candle, he cleared his throat to make the bean aware of his presence. 

Jace looked up and smiled, “Hi-ya boss. Where have you been?”

Briar glanced away, “oh you know, just around.”

“Well, since you're here, do you want to read a book?” Jace offered.

“I can’t.”

“Can’t what?”

“Can’t read Bean writing.”

Jace paused, mouth a gape, staring at the little man.

Briar stepped side to side, uncomfortable under the scrutiny. 

“Is that… is that why we ate canned corn for a week because you couldn’t read the packaging label?”

Briar shook his head, “food is food, I don’t see what the big deal is.” Briar’s face began to turn hot, embarrassed at the memory. 

“I can try to teach you if you like,” Jace gave a gentle smile, seeing how uncomfortable Briar suddenly became. “I’m still trying to teach Layla.”

“No, thank you,” Briar shook his head. "I don't understand what's so exciting about these things. It's just a bunch of ink blobs on a piece of shredded tree.” He kicked the nearest book beside him. Though thin, it was definitely longer than his entire body. He couldn’t even think about trying to lift one of these things, let alone open the cover. 

 “Well,” Jace said, “Books can be helpful, you can learn a lot from them.”

“What can you learn from that book?” Briar gestured to the one in Jace’s hand, “there are no dragons in the real world. You can’t learn to kill something that doesn’t exist."

Jace nodded, “okay, maybe not this book.” He set a bookmark within the pages and pointed to the other books around him. “This one is a cookbook, it can teach you great recipes.”

“I learned how to cook from my Ma.”

“Here’s a craft book or a travel guide.” Jace excitedly showed the pages, to which the borrower scoffed. “Maybe a history book might be more interesting?”

Briar rolled his eyes, “This all seems completely pointless to me, all the information I ever needed to learn was by experience. Anything else important my Ma and Pa told them to me. Our histories, our beliefs. Writing is completely pointless.”

“What about wall symbols?” Jace countered.

“What about them?”

“Borrowers do have a writing system.”

“Yes, we do, and it’s much more efficient than all this mess,” Briar gestured to the stacks of books scattered across the floor and shelves. 

Jace nodded, “Sure the wall symbols are helpful at giving basic information. It tells you about the possible dangers in a home, but does it tell you anything about the borrowers who used to live there?”

“Yes.” Briar frowned, “Sometimes we write how many borrowers live there.”

“But what were their names?”

Briar paused.

“What were their dreams, fears, hopes, their favorite colors? How old were they? You don’t know anything about the people who lived there, just that they did, but is that really enough? Briar, you say you know your family’s history, but how can you know another borrower’s history if no one is around to speak it?”

Briar was at a loss for words. 

"Who's going to pass that story on your people’s history if they aren't around anymore to speak of it? Who will know it then?"

 Many emotions flashed across Briar’s face in a matter of seconds before settling on indifference, "Whatever, knock yourself out with this nonsense, I'll be… anywhere else.”

“Suit yourself boss, goodnight.” Jace hesitantly smiled before returning to his book. 

 ***

The moon shone brightly in the darkness and the stars sprinkled the sky. 

Briar held on to Jace’s scarf as they walked outside the library. Layla sleepily held onto her brother’s hand. 

“Why are we out here in the middle of the night, boy?”

“I wanted to show you this!” Jace excitedly pointed at an object on the ground. 

“A trash bag?” Layla yawned, not too pleased about being woken up so late. “Can’t we do it tomorrow?”

“No,” Jace shook his head, he pulled out the craft book that he had been clutching with his free hand and opened to a page. Briar squinted at the paper in the dark, even with sunlight he wouldn’t be able to decipher what words were before him. “My book says to do this on a cloudless, low-wind night. It’s perfect to do this now!”

Briar frowned at how excited and loud the boy was being at such an hour. If the children were borrowers like himself, he might have worried about being taken by owls or foxes. But given the kids sizes, he brushed the thought out of in his mind. 

Jace sat down before the bag and pulled out a box of matches. Layla sat beside him curiously watching her brother as he lit the match and set their candle ablaze. Which was now attached to the plastic bag with string. Then Jace held the plastic bag opening over the candle. Hot air rose up, slowly inflating the plastic bag. They watched in astonishment as the bag and candle began to lift off from the ground. 

Layla squealed with delight and Jace smiled as he watched his creation drift as the balloon raised higher and higher, gently lifting off into the sky.

Briar would be lying to say he wasn’t impressed, That was a waste of a perfectly good candle. Briar internally cringed, but chose not to say anything. He’d let the kids have this, just for tonight. 

***

Heeeeeeeeeeyyyyyyyy 😅😅😅😅

Short answer: Soon-ish!

Long answer: I have to wait till summer break to be able to have time to write. I’m a teacher and testing season and end of year has been kicking my ass. 💀💀💀 I have had no time to write my story or the prizes for the ABATEOTW fan contest. It’s coming I promise, but it’s just taken a backseat to my irl job and responsibilities. 🥲🥲 I’m about to have two months with no work and no kids, All the time i need to write!!!! I’m so ready for summer break istg 🫠🫠🫠🫠 so exspect more chapters in Late June early July!

This has nothing to do with A&IC, but I saw it ok Tik tok and thought it was funny:

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZT6hctaEr/

***

Another one of my favorite scenes from Adelaide and Ian Chronicles! From the chapter "Nick Van Owen"

————

Adelaide: "One day I get stupid or lazy or whatever and drop my guard, so Ian finds me and holds me hostage till I tell him information about myself.”

“And you still trust that guy?” Nick blurted.

Adelaide gazed up ahead at Ian,

who was laughing with Kelly,

while she thought about her answer.

“Yeah, I mean, he let me go. And also he’s done a lot of things to build up that trust over time. Wouldn’t you do the same, if Ian weren’t here with me? If you found me on your own? Beans don’t react logically to people like me.”

***

Me when I have finally been released from the hold A&IC has had on my soul…

We’re going to pretend like the other eye is there, okay?

AGHHHHHH!!!! How did I miss this?! OMG YES! My boy 😭😭😭 My 24 year old baby boy!

Ten years later… Layla would be 18 (and probably 5’9) and Briar would be 58 (and still short af 💀).

***

My soul ascending to the next plain when I get fan art:

What happened was—😡🤬

Six years can do a lot to a man, especially when you lost your wife and (think you lost) your kids to the apocalypse.

This audio was in my brain:

(Referring this post)

***

Not to spoil anything, but yeah, in about ten years, Jace is gonna be…

Also, the borrower lifestyle is good for bulking muscle💪🏋️

Anyone talking to Briar about (future) Jace: