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clumsiestgiantess · 5 months

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Chapter 18 of the Other-world Universe; let’s just try to calm down now. Five v one is a big enough fight for one day.

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[Sympathy, Speed, and Safety all start with S]

As I started down the valley, Ivan called out to me from the opening to what was left of the cavern. "Are you leaving already? What if another portal opens?" I sighed, "I'll be right back, I left-" "Oh, your friend's still back there, right. Just don't take too long or everyone here will start to worry." I nodded and continued down the valley. These people really need some sort of defense that isn’t little gunmen standing guard 24-7. Though, I guess I’m that defense for now.

During the short walk to the entrance, I brainstormed some ideas on how to better protect these people and myself. I couldn’t stop thinking about that scientist's parting threat. I was by no means invincible, and I didn’t really know how to fight. Even with my fancy powers, a large group of scientists would easily be able to take me down if I tried to fight them all together.

Once I made it to the end of the valley, I called out. "Erica! I'm back! Where are you?" A full minute of silence passed without a reply. "Erica!?" I could hear my heartbeat quickening as it thrummed in my ears. Where is she? I scanned the rocks over again, unsure where she could have gone. "H-hello? Where are you?" Panic bubbled into my voice. I made sure to keep her away from the fight so this wouldn't happen, dammit!

Bending over the mountainsides, I started searching the last place I saw her. It was over here somewhere, I thought uncertainly, by the base of the mountain. Before I unearthed everything in sight, I reached under an outcropping I'd watched her disappear beneath earlier. Desperately, I searched the ground in panicked sweeps. My fingertips brushed against something warm and alive; I grasped it anxiously, and a shocked yelp echoed from beneath the overhang. When I removed my hand from the rocks, I found Erica stuck firmly in my grasp, her torso engulfed by my hand, arms pinned to her sides.

I reflexively brought her closer to my face and scrutinized her small form. She seemed scared for only a moment before plastering on a steely glare. "I was hoping to leave you waiting a bit longer. Didn't think you could reach me under there." I tensed, watching as she angrily averted her gaze from my own. "You purposely didn't answer me?" It wasn't a question really, more like a confused statement. My grip loosened just slightly, and she yanked her arms out of my fist. "You left me out here-" "For your own good!" I finished, "I left you out here so you can be safe!" "I don't care if I'm 'safe' here! What about you? How am I supposed to know if you're safe, huh?" Erica questioned. "I heard the screaming, then everything went quiet and I wasn't sure…" her voice tapered off, then started up again. "Yes, I didn't answer you. I knew you would be scared for me. That's how I felt. I wanted you to know how it feels when you get left behind — when someone you care about disappears into some big fight that you can’t even see and you don’t know when they’re coming back.. If they’re coming back.”

Hesitantly, Erica placed a hand over the top of my thumb, which still pinned her in my grip. “I- We just figured out this whole.. loving eachother thing less than a week ago,” Erica said, cheeks slightly reddening. “We've been through a lot together; I don't want you to get hurt, or taken. Or worse.” She angrily rubbed her eyes on the back of her arm. I could feel her shuddering breaths contracting in my fisted hand. Finally recognizing the way I held her, I slowly unfurled my fingers into a flat platform so she could stand instead of being held aloft. Erica straightened herself out accordingly, holding onto my thumb for support.

"I… But.. It was your idea for me to fight," I said, bewildered. "Yeah, but it wasn't my idea to be left here, away from everything." I hesitated, unsure if she would take my next argument the wrong way. She couldn't really have done much to help me, even if she wanted to. "Would it have made that much of a difference if you were there, besides peace of mind?" I asked cautiously. "I don't know!" Erica whined, "I just.. If you had gotten hurt, or- or if you couldn't fight anymore, I thought I might distract them so you could get away." I faltered, causing her to fall to her knees in my open palm from the sudden jolt it caused. "But that would be suicide! You would've been captured!" "But you would be safe. You’d still have a chance to go home."

I stood with my mouth agape, dumbstruck by thoughts of potential scenarios that could've gone horribly wrong had I let her come with me. “I know how badly you want to visit your world again. Hasn’t it been months since you've lived there a single day?” It had been a while, but even if I did leave, and Erica let me go, I would still miss her awfully. "Erica, I… You would do that for me?" She looked me over disbelievingly, "Of course I would. I'd do anything for you, because you've done everything for me." Standing shakily, she held her arms open wide, gesturing for a hug. I silently pulled her close; I could feel her arms slipping delicately around my neck as I did so. They didn’t even reach completely around it.

With careful caution, I pulled myself in around her, enveloping her small form almost protectively as I lowered myself against the soft earth, kneeling there with her tucked close. It had been so excruciatingly clear to me that if anything were to happen to Erica, I would never have forgiven myself. I guess it never occurred to me that she would feel the same way. I really didn’t want to fight; especially if this was the result of me winning. Sure, the adrenaline rush was enthralling and I was saving countless lives, but at the end of the day, I was endangering myself, and I was hurting people. Albeit they're awful people, but still. There has to be a better way. Something less risky than me throwing my superpowered self at awful people in an attempt to undo some of the damage they'd caused.

I felt Erica shifting beneath my chin and pulled away, leaving her standing on my palms. "I don't want to fight anymore," I told her, "I'm going to find another way." She nodded, "How?" “I'll figure it out later. Right now I think we both deserve a bit of down time." Erica laughed; I could still hear the tears in her voice. "Yeah, I think so too. Saving the world is really stressful." I smiled, despite myself. "Shoulder?" I offered. "Like you have to ask?" Erica replied happily, climbing onto it the second she was brought close enough. Soon, she gave me the all clear and I headed back towards the Cavern Town.

"So," Erica interjected into the silence we walked in, "Obviously you saved everyone. What happened?" I relayed a short version of the fight for her as I slowly walked back, even voicing my concern about the woman's threatening parting words. Erica listened attentively from her seat beside me. In the end, she patted my neck reassuringly. "Everything'll be alright. I'm sure you'll think of some way to stop the hazmat giants." I let out a relieved breath. Though I had no idea of what I was going to do, it was nice to be listened to.

“Oh, and the refugees are letting me stay here now! Some people came up to me after the fight and told me that as long as I keep protecting the town, I can stay as long as I want!” Erica leaned over my shoulder, peering out to where the hole was torn into the mountain’s face. “You’re sure? Even after you.. you know..” I nodded, “They were still angry at me for that, or at least one of them was, but hopefully having a guarding job here will help make up for it. And I think we can both agree that your little tent won’t suffice as a house for much longer.”

Erica nodded so eagerly that I could feel it without having to look at her. “I know! Finally! It’ll be nice not having to wake up to new bug bites every damn morning.” I paused for a moment, “You know you could’ve taken any of the hundreds of houses that were empty, right?” “Yeah, but then I wouldn’t be close to your height anymore.” “You won’t be close to me at all in the mountains.” She was silent for a while, fidgeting with the material of my shirt. I slowed to a stop and glanced over at her. “If.. I- I mean.. Will you stay here? You agreed; you took the job, so you’re staying in my world, right?”

I hadn’t thought about that. When they asked me to guard the town, I hadn’t realized that it would become my new job; I just wanted to make sure everyone would stay safe after what I’d done. The hazmat giants wouldn’t have noticed them if I hadn’t destroyed the roof. What do I want back home anyway? To go back to boring college? To go live in the world that’s sized to me, with showers and new clothes and a bed and people who don’t want to hurt me or fear me — the world I’m meant to be in. Hmm I made some good points.

“Well, I guess I can stay a bit longer,” I said finally, “My world isn’t going anywhere.” By my right ear, I heard Erica breathe a sigh of relief. “If it makes you stay longer, I’ll sleep anywhere. If the place I’m staying happens to be better than the one I had before? All the more reason to stay.” I smiled slightly and nodded, reminding myself that if I went home, Erica couldn’t come with me. As much as I missed normalcy, I would miss her so much more.

By the time we'd returned, most of the people I'd saved had gone to their homes in the mountains. Only a few stragglers remained, wandering through the valley. Small stone monuments had already been erected near some of the wooden structures. Piles of tiny rocks were adorned with candles and flowers. My breath hitched at the sight of them. I'd forgotten that there had been casualties on the other-world side of the fight too, those who'd fought bravely from the gunning towers until their bitter end. I swallowed a lump in my throat and continued walking.

Ivan was still waiting for me at the cavern entrance, which wasn't too surprising to me, though I wasn’t sure why. He hadn't wanted to fight directly, which was smart, yet he was willing to risk coming all the way out to the mansion to find me, despite not knowing if I would even help him. Judging by his well-postured stance poised directly in front of the entrance, I'd have guessed he was guarding the town had I not known any better.

I sat beside him, looking out at the foreboding abandoned cages left barren in the valley. "We really need to get rid of those things," I said, gesturing to the metal prisons scattered nearby. Ivan nodded, "My mom will be back soon with lunch. After that, I'll help clean up. Though there isn't much I can do to move the crates, I could probably find somewhere suitable to destroy them."

"I'd be glad to help with the destruction part," Erica offered from my shoulder where she was happily perched, "Those things kinda freak me out. Don't you think they look eerily similar to.." "Animal cages?" Ivan finished coldly, "Yeah, they do. No offense Alexis, but why are you.. so much nicer than they are?" “She wasn’t always..” Erica sneered quietly. I gasped, pretending to have been offended. "Hey! At least I'm trying to be better!" Erica's face immediately flushed to a bright embarrassed red. "Shit, maybe I shouldn't sit by your ear anymore," she realized aloud, glancing nervously over at me from her seat on my shoulder. "Do you chasize me under your breath often?" I asked playfully. Erica only shrugged and turned away, though I could still see the tips of her ears becoming rosey red.

"What?" Ivan asked, bewildered. "Nothing," I replied quickly, thinking back to his question. It took a while for me to explain to Ivan what I'd once told Erica all those years ago — that my world was really no different from theirs other than its scale. "These scientists aren’t from my world, either. I’m honestly not sure if my world would be any better finding out about this one, though. There are people better than me, and people worse than me. Same as there are here. I think most people you see are just kinda biased against you, you know?" I offered, "I'm sure there are plenty others like me out there in both worlds, they just aren't here in the other-world."

"The other-world?" both Erica and Ivan asked simultaneously. It was then that I realized I'd never actually referred to their world as the other-world aloud before. "Yeah, it's just a name I gave to this place when I found it. So I could differentiate between my world and yours." "Well, we call our world Earth," Erica stated matter-of-factly. I snickered, "We call our planet Earth too, Erica. That's the reason I needed to give your world a different name."

Just then, Ivan's mother appeared at the town entrance with a large plate of something homemade that smelled delicious. Unfortunately, the entire dish she made for all of us was bite size at best to me, so I had to decline eating it. Lest I eat everything in one mouthful. Erica, on the other hand, instantly clambered down to ground level by the rocks next to my shoulder, hungrily asking for a plate. The box that made my food was all the way back at the mansion, as well as Erica's last remaining possessions.

"If you don't mind, I'm going to go get the stuff from the mansion and bring it back here," I announced once the others had settled down with their meals. "Just get that later," Erica replied, "It's kind of a long trip back, don't you think?" "What is it with you and not letting me eat?" I asked jokingly. Erica's eyes widened as she remembered the box I'd made. "Ohhh yeah. I swear I'm not trying to starve you or anything." I nodded, "It's actually not too far away if I run, so I'm going to jog down there real quick. Then I'll come back, eat, and we can start destroying shit. Sound good?" Ivan nodded, but Erica abruptly stood up. "Maybe I should come too!" she suggested quickly, "You know, to gather up my things?"

This was rather suspicious, especially because Erica seemed so intent on having lunch only moments before. "No, I can carry everything just fine, you stay and eat." "Have I ever seen you run before, like, full speed?" What a strange question. "Uhh, I don't think so, why?" Confused, I bent down a little closer to Erica, and everything clicked into place. She had that mischievous look in her eyes. The one she always got right before she said something ludicrous. I’d seen it a lot more recently — ever since she’d confessed her feelings for me that fateful afternoon. It was wild to think that she might’ve never done so without getting kidnapped by the people of this town.

"Can I-" "No." "You don't even know what I'm gonna ask!" "I don't need to," I chided, "I can tell by the look on your face that it won't be anything good." "But.. but you can out-walk a car! Imagine how fast you'd be if you ran!" "Exactly. I don't have seatbelts, Erica. There's no way I'm letting you come with me while I'm running at 200 miles an hour! You would literally die." "What about your pockets, though?" "You really think sitting in a pocket on my leg while I'm running is a good idea?" I retorted. Erica was silent for a moment, then annoyedly sat back down. "Fine, go get the stuff. I'll stay here." She seemed so defeated, but I had to refuse her.

A 15 minute jog later, I was back at the ruins of the mansion. I'd just finished gathering up my box and Erica's things in a small pile when an idea struck me. It was risky — I'd have to return to my world to do it — but it would be worth every second I was gone. I zapped away to my basement just as my father came running down the stairs. "Where in the world are you taking all the food?" he asked when he caught sight of me. Luckily I'd been quick enough to get away from the table. "I, uhhh…” “Why are you taking all the food?” “I- I needed something to eat." "You needed all of that?"

Shit. Quick, think of something believable! "Well, I put some of it away over there!" I said as convincingly as I could, pointing to the small kitchenette in the opposite corner of the basement. My father looked at me curiously for a moment, and I nonchalantly told him I needed to go upstairs and change my shirt because I got food on it by accident. He let me past him on the stairway, but I could tell he was still suspicious of me. I walked upstairs to my room as naturally as I could, and soon I'd changed into a fresh shirt.

Afterwards, I returned to the kitchen and announced that I would be downstairs ready to move things once my dad was ready. This was mostly an unnecessary step. I could've easily slipped back downstairs without anyone seeing me. However, I thought it would help prove that I wasn't doing anything strange. Once I was sure Dad had acknowledged me, I returned to the basement. Standing there at the bottom of the stairs, I took a long look around the room. Everything seemed so big — so normal. I could go lay down and relax on the blissfully soft couch, sleep in a real bed, or even take a much-needed shower. But I had to get back to Erica and Ivan.

My plan worked, and in good time too. I now sported a shirt with a front chest pocket. The things I do for her… Again, I gathered everything up and headed back to the Cavern Town. Once I was seated with the others, I handed off Erica's things to her. She was so distracted by her trinkets, I doubt she'd even caught sight of my new T-shirt. I happily enjoyed a normal-sized meal while the others finished up theirs. Finally, once each of us were done eating, and Erica had stashed away her things in the home that had been assigned to her when she first arrived, we set off to get rid of the cages.

With Ivan as a lookout on top of the mountain, which gave him a taller vantage point than me, he was able to find a gorge cut off from the valley where we could dump everything. It took me three trips there and back to relocate all the cages. It was easier going after that. Erica and Ivan used some of the chiseling tools from the town to snap all the brackets that held the metal together. Though, it was really Erica who did most of the breaking while Ivan stood by at the ready with a new chiseling bit every time an old one snapped. Finally, once everything was broken down, I stomped each thin piece of metal flat. This way the metal could eventually be repurposed by the Cavern Town.

It was a bit of a hike back to the town entrance from there, so I offered everyone a ride back. It was a bit weird how I'd become the new mode of transportation, but I didn’t mind it very much. I mean, we were all heading that way anyways, and my companions weighed next-to-nothing, so it wasn’t like I was straining myself just to appease them. In a strange way, it seemed like the polite thing to do.

For a while afterwards, I was left alone outside. The others had gone into town to get Erica settled in. I'd asked her to come by whenever she got the chance, though. I sat draped over the mountain on the opposite side of the valley. If I sat at just the right angle, the rocks created the perfect little seat. It was by no means comfortable, but nothing in this world was very comfy for me, anyways. I'd have to figure out how to spruce up my new home — a field a short walk away from the valley — with some more comfortable things from my own world. However, it was an amazing view from up there, and it had quite a nice breeze too. I closed my eyes peacefully, letting my hair billow freely through the wind as I inhaled the crisp air.

"Well, don't you look beautiful this afternoon?" My eyes flew open and heat crept across my cheeks. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you're trying to impress me." Erica's exhausting yet charming demands were one thing I could readily deal with, but whenever she gave me so much as one unforeseen compliment, I practIcally melted.

Turning slightly, I saw her standing at the foot of the mountain. Her voice carried as an echo throughout the valley; I could still hear her despite being so far away. I stepped back down to ground level and knelt so I wasn't that insanely tall beside her. "Did you change your shirt or something?" Erica asked me, finally noticing, "Why do I remember you wearing a different one?" I smiled, remembering why I'd asked her to come back and see me. "That's actually why I asked you back. See, even though your ideas make zero logical sense sometimes, I do think they're pretty cool." I proudly showed her the new pocket. "Introducing: The closest thing I have to a seatbelt." It took Erica about two seconds to realize what that meant. "Holy shit! You mean I can go!? But I thought you said it's too dangerous or whatever." "Eh," I shrugged, "This pocket will probably be safe enough, but if you don't want to-" A wide grin stretched across Erica's face, "Can we leave, like, right now?" "I don't see why not." "Then what are you waiting for? Let's go already!"

I held my hand out as Erica practically threw herself into it. "Just please don't kill yourself doing something ridiculous, ok?" I asked, slipping her into the new pocket. "Wouldn't dream of it!" Erica responded, peering excitedly out of the top. I walked out of the valley so as not to cause a landslide, but once I hit the open ground I was officially in the clear. "You ready?" I asked, glancing down to where Erica stood pressed halfway to my chest. She nodded eagerly. "Alright then, you might want to hold on." Moments later, I sprung forward in a burst of excitement-filled energy.

Though I'd long since moved on from volleyball, I still took my daily jog at least a mile or two around campus and back. Point being, I can run for a long time without getting worn out. "YEAH! WOOOHOOO!" Erica yelled as I ran, "FASTER! GO FASTER! YEAAHHH!" Rolling my eyes and smiling in delight, I pushed myself to pick up the pace. I dashed over what must've been over a hundred miles in the other-world, lightheartedly grinning at the adrenaline rush my speed gave me. I was astonished at how quickly ruined towns and forests whizzed by me. It was as if I had super speed as one of my abilities too; though I knew it was only because of my height that I could travel so fast.

Eventually, I had to slow down just a bit. I couldn’t run at full speed forever, but I could keep up a steady pace. Even having slowed to a more manageable speed, wind still whistled in my ears and the landscape still passed by with shocking quickness. Now I was thoroughly transfixed into my steady gait. You know the feeling you get when you're cruising down a scenic highway, just enjoying the speed and the scenery? Yeah, I felt like that.

Every so often Erica would gasp and point to something cool, or she would ask me to go a bit faster again, but we were otherwise perfectly content to simply watch the moving landscape. We might've kept going on like that forever — just the two of us. Unfortunately, I eventually got too winded to keep jogging. We stopped in an open field, where the grass was short enough so Erica wouldn't have to wade through it.

"That was AMAZING!" Erica gasped as I let her off, "Can we do that on the way back too?" I laughed in a wheezing sort of way as I tried to catch my breath, "We'll have to see how tired I am, because I can not run anymore right now." I exhaustedly flopped backwards onto the field, limbs splayed out to stop my muscles from burning. "Wow," Erica stated, "You didn't have to almost kill yourself, you know. It would've been fine if-" "No," I stopped her, "That was awesome. If I could've gone any faster or further, I would've." I lay back, eyes closed, taking in the fresh scent of wildflowers and the woods. Beautiful scenery and pleasant fleeting moments replayed in my head. Then I felt a knee digging into my neck, abruptly cutting off the tranquility of my short rest.

"Erica, what are you-" "Shh," she silenced me. I opened my eyes and went completely still; I could feel her shifting around on my chest as I stared confusedly into the sky. "I can't take my eyes off you for two seconds, can I?" I asked mockingly, "Aww, that's so sweet of you to say," Erica cooed, "I can't take my eyes off of you either."

My head shot up in surprise; I could already feel my cheeks flushing rose red. Erica was standing inches away from my face with a devious look about her. She took one look at my blushing, flabbergasted expression and burst out laughing. I chuckled, both nervous and excited at once. "Stop it!" I chided sheepishly, "You know that's not what I meant. What do you think you're doing?" "Oh, nothing much," Erica said, smugly leaning in closer to me. "Ok, now you're just asking for it," I teased. "For what?" "This," I whispered, planting a delicate kiss on her cheek. Erica giggled and my spirits soared. "Oh come on, I know you can do better than that." "Come here you little-"

My hands cupped closely together, bracing her from behind. I kissed her passionately, trying hard not to envelop her entire face in my lips, though it still happened anyway. She leaned into me and I felt weightless — free. My eyes closed in bliss as she slowly cupped her hand under my chin. She stroked it with a feather-light touch, prompting a shuddering sigh from me. Erica pulled back after a moment to take a breath of air while I lay there beaming in delight. "I love you." "I love you too."

We were leaning so close to one another, I could feel her breath on my skin. Her taste was still on my tongue, and her scent hovered in my nose in a mixture of sensations that were undoubtedly Erica’s. She nestled happily into my cupped fingers around her, standing on her toes to press her forehead onto mine. Kissing me lightly once more, she fell back into my palms.

Gently, I brushed her cheek with one delicate finger. Erica flinched and I nervously gave her a bit of space, watching as her hand drifted up to the scar over her eye, just above where the pad of my finger had traced her skin.

“Sometimes I forget this is here,” she said quietly. “I finally got to look at a real mirror in the refugee camp. It- I look awful.” My eyebrows knitted together in concern as I gently shook my head. “You look beautiful, love.” In a slow, delicate balance, I lightly touched my lips to the surface of her scar. She was so close I couldn’t even see her, but I could feel the slight flinch of her head beneath me, and I could hear the faint gasp she made as I leaned over her. Drifting away, I again brushed the pad of my finger over her cheek, gently resting at the spot beside the thin break in her otherwise soft chestnut skin. Erica’s hand fell over my finger and gripped it tightly, smiling lovingly up at me. “Thank you.” “Anytime.”

The sky started to bleed red and gold, creating a marvelous backdrop that neither of us could ignore for long. I scooped Erica up and placed her on my shoulder, propping myself up with my hands so we could watch the sunset for a bit. Giddy adrenaline rushed through my veins as I felt Erica snuggle up against my neck, pressing a tiny kiss to it before settling down.

We couldn't stay to watch the whole spectacle, however. I wanted to start heading back to the town before it got too dark. I left Erica alone for about five seconds to grab an electric lantern from the basement doorway in my own world so we wouldn't be lost in the dark. With Erica tucked away at my neck, I began the long walk home.

The night was refreshingly wonderful. I watched the stars in awe, noticing for the first time that the sky in the other-world had completely different constellations, as well as those unique colors of star. The best part was that every time I looked back to the ground to make sure I was still heading in the right direction, I'd glimpse Erica staring up in wonder, herself. At first I thought she was watching the night sky as well, but after I caught her quickly turning away a few times, I realized that she was gazing up at me.

I smiled fondly. Never in a million years would I have thought we'd gaze at each other the way we did now. At best, I thought I might stare at her longingly from afar, refusing to believe she'd ever trust me enough to love me. Yet, here Erica was, sitting effortlessly on my shoulder while I walked, as if the spot in the crook of my neck was made purely for her and her alone. The rhythmic thud of my footsteps nearly lulled me into sleep, but I managed to stay awake just enough to determine where I should be headed. Sometimes I would bring the dazzling lantern light close to my face just to wake myself up. By the time my exhausted body shuffled into the valley opening, Erica had long since fallen asleep. I hadn't even noticed. I'm thoroughly surprised she didn't fall off me the entire trip back.

Well, I can't exactly put her to bed; her new house is all the way in the town somewhere. Refusing to wake Erica up, I stepped into a field to my right, above the valley. This place was my new, and not really improved, bed. I'd already dumped my pillows and blanket there earlier.

I was so tired at that point, I didn't even care how hard the ground was where I slept. Carefully, I slid Erica off my shoulder. She groaned in her sleep and rolled onto her side. I couldn't help fawning over her. Erica was absolutely adorable sleeping curled in my hands. As she rolled over and pulled one of my fingers lightly to herself, it struck me just how small she really was. It was baffling that an entire person could fit neatly in the palm of a single hand, and how trusting that person would have to be to lay unconscious in a place where I could very easily hurt her. Not that I would ever take advantage of that to do so.

Setting Erica down on the ground beside me, I fluffed up the pillows and unfurled my blanket, ready to call it a night. My brain had just fogged over into the beginnings of a dream when I heard a sleepy whisper. "Hey, are you asleep?" "Not anymore," I whispered back, "What is it?" "It's cold, and I don't have a blanket." I chuckled drowsily. "Do you want mine?" I offered, lifting it slightly. The whole thing must’ve been about a mile long to her, at least. She shook her head and stepped underneath the fuzzy covering. Once her eyes adjusted to the dimmer light, she made a beeline for my hand and pried it up, placing herself beneath it. Laying down, she pulled my pointer finger closer to her. Erica's small form was wedged perfectly in the space between two of my fingers. "You're like a giant space heater. Your hand is the only blanket I need."

Erica sighed happily, snuggling further against me. My insides tingled with joy at her small touch. She really was fascinating, casually sleeping with one of my digits held tightly to her chest. Her own small hands gripped mine softly in her sleep. My arm was already going numb from the way I had it tucked beside me, but I was too tired and too charmed to care.

Between the two of us, I was the first to wake up that morning. Erica was sprawled on the grass next to me, snoring, so I decided to leave her be. I made sure to keep the blanket over her to lessen the chance of her waking up as I slid out from beneath it. Then I took a short walk around the valley to make sure nothing was amiss. I nodded good morning to the guards who were still defending their posts, despite their ruined state. Some of the wooden structures were being rebuilt right there and then.

Once everything had been surveyed, I returned to the field. "Hello?" I stopped midway to the place I'd slept; Erica's confused and slightly annoyed voice called out from beneath my blanket. "Hello, anyone? Alexis, if you're just sitting out there watching me.. This isn't funny! I can't fucking find the end of the blanket, it's too goddamn big!" I watched as Erica angrily kicked the blanket from beneath. Her tone grew more annoyed with every word. I smiled, biting my lip to keep from laughing as I wandered over and lifted the cover off of her.

Erica grumbled at my lighthearted grin, "You were watching me struggle, weren't you? I knew it!" "No, I swear I wasn't," I protested as she stomped out from beneath the blanket's shadow, "I was checking in with the guards by the town, I promise. Though, to be honest, that was kinda funny." "No! No it wasn't!" she laughed as she spoke, suggesting otherwise. "Alright, back to town with you, I have to go plan some way to keep everyone safe now that I’ve agreed to it — before I end up stuck in a fight I can't win." Erica nodded in agreement. "You don't have any ideas, do you?"

She thought for a moment, then shrugged, "Not really." I sighed, also completely out of ideas myself. In one swift movement, I scooped Erica off the ground and headed for the town. For some bizarre reason, Erica seemed thrilled by the way I casually picked her up and carried her off. Is this even the same woman from four years ago? Once, she was afraid of me lifting her a few feet off the ground. Now she insists on riding my shoulder 24-7, and pouts when I refuse to pick her up. I concluded that her actions now were probably who she was all along. Erica was likely too frightened of me, in one way or another, to act on them earlier.

My arrival was greeted by Ivan, whom I also asked for ideas on how to protect the town. He simply told me that it was my job to protect the town, not his. "However," he added, "we wouldn't need your protection if you hadn't destroyed our rock ceiling." I apologized again for my destructive rage a few days prior, and returned to my lookout on top of the mountain. Erica and Ivan both disappeared into the town, and I was left alone with my thoughts.

Using the box, I made myself breakfast while I surveyed the land for potential threats. I tried not to stew over Ivan's remark. My behavior before had only proved that my presence here was really more of a hazard, if anything — certainly not a protector. One thing stood out to me, though. If I hadn't destroyed their natural barrier, the scientists wouldn't have found them. Even if I replaced it, they would still know the town is here. What if I made something else? A new barrier that would be strong enough to keep the scientists out, permanently.

#aww the sunset scene is one of my favorites #also angst?#perhaps #a bit of both #g/t #giant tiny #other-world universe #g/t writing

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