A week has passed since Elisa-mae's party, and I'm just done with staying within the village. And with my leg feeling a lot better, I was just itching to go outside. And I could tell that Alvin was starting to get restless again as well. He was still weary, and with good reason, but at the same time his youthful energy was just waiting to do anything other than stay cooped up all day.
So the day I was certain my leg was good enough for climbing, and Alvin asks me for the 7th billionth time when we were going back out again, I agreed to take him the following morning.
I was in the middle of getting ready for the day when Alvin barreled his way into my goosepen. I lightly scold him for not knocking before helping him into his own gear. I grabbed my wagon and we both made our way to the exit of the Village. We were both just about to head through the village exit when we were stopped by a voice.
"Going somewhere?" Asked Elder Elderwood.
I halted in my tracks, causing Alvin to bump into me (whoops), and whirl around to face the Elder, "Yes, we are going to harvest more food."
"But we still have plenty, left over from your... prior excursion..." he points out.
"Yes, but I'm sure the village would like to have something fresh every once in a while," I try to excuse, "instead of eating nothing but preserves day in and day out."
"The village has lasted much longer on preserves." the Elder counters.
"Well, it's better to be safe than sorry," I say nonchalantly, as I readjust my grip on the wagons handle and start moving again, "besides, since we have sooooo much left over, and have the stone that was graciously provided for us by the giants, that means we don't have to collect as much, and can be back much sooner than just before dark! Isn't that great~?"
The Elder stands there flabbergasted, but quickly regains his composure, "And you are certain this isn't just an excuse to go messing around with those giants?"
"No, this isn't an excuse to see my giant friends," I answer, "this is an excuse for me to finally get out of here, cause I've grown very very veeeeeeeerry tired of staying cooped up here for weeks!!!"
He was taken aback by that statement and was speechless.
"If we happen to run into them, then it will be purely coincidence." I add as I keep moving.
But I was stopped in my tracks by his next statement, "And what of the child? Why does he need to come with you? Did you change your mind about it being too dangerous for him?"
I take a deep breathe to qail my sudden rage, "Speaking of changed minds... Who was it who insisted he accompany me in the first place, hmm?"
"Well, that was when-"
"AND! Who sent him, ON... HIS... OWN... despite being a child!?" I cut him off as I continue my argument, "Did you suddenly change your mind?"
"..."
"That's what I thought..." I say before heading through the exit, "Come on Alvin, stay close to me. Wouldn't want any squirrels to snatch you up cause you lagged behind~"
Alvin gasps as he smacks my arm, "Don't even joke about that!"
I laugh loudly as I playfully rub the mushroom on to of hid head, "I'm only half joking kid."
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We were in the middle of harvesting mulberries from the usual Mulberry tree, when we hear the telltale stomping of the giant skeletons heading in our direction.
"They're here! They're here!" Alvin shouts, jumping up and down!
"Yes, yes, I can hear them too. But can you stop moving so much, before you end up falling out of the tree again!?" I chastise.
Despite our best efforts to get their attention, Papyrus, Blue, and Razz end up running past us with out even glancing in our direction... But, just like the other times they ran past us while we were in the tree, Edge stops in his tracks and looks dead in our direction.
"WHO GOES THERE?" He calls out!
"Over here!" Alvin shouts back, "We're in the tree!"
Edge's eyelights dart to the branch we were standing on, "WELL, WELL, WELL, LOOK WHO WE HAVE HERE. I WAS WONDERING WHEN YOU TWO WOULD TURN UP AGAIN."
"[Y/N]'s leg finally healed!" Alvin points out.
"REALLY?" Edge questions skeptically, "THAT WAS PRETTY FAST FOR A BROKEN LEG BONE..."
"You think so?" I ask.
"TRUST ME, I KNOW A FEW THINGS ABOUT BROKEN BONES." Edge huffs, "IT USUALLY TAKES ATLEAST SIX WEEKS FOR SUCH A BONE TO HEAL."
I pale at the thought, "6 weeks... Cooped up in that village... Nope, just no..."
"WHAT'S THE MATTER EDGY ME?" Papyrus asks as he runs back in our direction, followed not far by Blue and Razz, "HAS SOMETHING DISTRACTED YOU FROM OUR MORNING RUN AGAIN?"
"INDEED." Edge states, "IT WOULD APPEAR THE BITTY HAS FULLY HEALED."
"WAIT, YOU MEAN [Y/N]!?" Blue asks, "HOW DO YOU KNOW?"
"WHY DON'T YOU JUST ASK HER YOURSELF PIPSQUEAK?" Edge says as he points to where we are.
Both Blue and Papyrus gasp upon spotting us!
"[Y/N]! IS THAT REALLY YOU!? ARE YOU REALLY BETTER?" Blue rambles, "I MEAN, I GUESS IF YOU GOT UP IN THAT TREE, YOU MUST HAVE. BUT IT'S SO SOON, WE THOUGHT IT WOULD AT LEAST A MONTH BEFORE WE COULD SEE YOU AGAIN!"
"THAT'S WHAT I WAS TELLING THEM, BUT THEY SWEAR THEY ARE HEALED." Edge points out.
"THAT'S SUSPICIOUS..." Razz ponders out loud, "HOW WERE YOU ABLE TO GET HEALED SO FAST? DID YOU FIND A HEAL?"
"Uh... I don't know what that is..." I answer with bewilderment.
"REMEBER WHEN WE FIRST FOUND YOU LITTLE BITTY? AND WE HAD TO HEAL YOUR INJURIES?" Papyrus speaks up.
I turn in his direction, "Yeah, you said you used healing magic, but it wasn't strong enough to heal my leg."
"THAT'S RIGHT!" Papyrus praises, "AND A HEALER IS SOMEONE WHO'S JOB IS TO USE HEALING MAGIC TO HEAL PEOPLE."
"Oh, um... Then no." I answer, "You guys are the only people I know who know any magic what so ever."
"HMM... INTRIGUING..." Razz mutters.
"WELL, I'M GLAD YOU ARE BETTER [Y/N]!" Blue says, "THIS MEANS YOU CAN COME OVER FOR MORE TACOS!"
"OR BETTER YET, MY SPAGHETTI!" Papyrus adds.
"DON'T EVEN BOTHER," Razz butts in, "SURELY AFTER ALL THIS TIME OF CONTEMPLATION, THE BITTIES HAVE COME TO THE RIGHTFUL CONCLUSION THAT MY BURRITOS WERE THE SUPERIROR DISH AFTER ALL."
Edge loudly coughs into his gloved hand. This causes Razz to glare at him for some reason.
"I haven't even had spaghetti yet... but I can't." their hopeful faces turn downcast as I say this, "I really can't be away from the village for too long today, sorry. But maybe some other time?"
"DID YOU ALL RUN OUT OF FOOD?" Blue asks, "WE COULD HELP GET MORE!"
"No..." I shake my head, "This was just an excuse to get out of the Village. The Elders are really not fond of us being out here as of late..."
"WHY IS THAT?" Blue asks innocently.
"Well um... Because..." I stutter as I try to think of a way to put it lightly...
"'Cause they don't want us talking to you." Alvin answers with no filter.
"Alvin!!!" I shout at him!
"What!?" He says with befuddlement, "That's what Elder Elderwood said!"
I facepalm, "You really need to learn how to read a room kid..."
Alvin just looks at me with confusion.
When I looked up, I was not ready to see the expressions on the skeletons' faces. Papyrus looked heartbroken, Blue looked close to tears, I couldn't read Razz's, he had his arms crossed and refused to look our direction, but Edge... Edge looked livid.
"AND WHY IS THAT, DARE I ASK?" Edge says as he storms forward, "AFTER ALL WE'VE DONE TO HELP... WAS IT NOT GOOD ENOUGH!?"
"What!? No! I-" I try to explain, but get cut off as Edge grabs hold of the branch, nearly causing Alvin and I to stumble and fall!
"IS IT THE WAY WE LOOK?" He continues, "DON'T LIKE THINGS THAT LOOK DIFFERENT FROM YOU? THINK THAT WE SHOULDN'T BE TREATED EQUALLY CAUSE WE'RE NOT THE SAME!?"
"EDGE STOP!" Papyrus shouts as he tries to pry Edge off the branch, but this only caused the branch to shake more!
I try to answer but couldn't. All of my energy was put into trying to hold on to the branch, so I wouldn't fall. Alvin just screamed in fear.
"DON'T TAKE THIS OUT ON THEM!" Papyrus continues, "[Y/N] HAS NEVER TREATED US LIKE HOW THEY DO! AND NEITHER HAS ALVIN, OR ANY OF THE OTHER BITTIES FOR THAT MATTER."
"THEY FEAR US." Edge states.
"THEY FEAR A LOT OF THINGS," Papyrus acknowledges, "BUT [Y/N] DOESN'T FEAR US. AND ALVIN LEARNED TO NOT FEAR US. THEY DON'T HATE OR THINK LITTLE OF US..."
Edge takes a few deep breaths and eventually lets go of the branch. He lets Papyrus pull him a few steps back. He continues to take deep breathes as he stands there clenching and unclenching his hands.
Once I get my bearings I stand up shakily, "I'm... I'm sorry... We didn't mean to upset you."
"NO, I-" Edge starts but the words get caught in his throat, he takes a few more deep breathes before continuing, "I'M...... SORRY...... PAPYRUS IS RIGHT... I SHOULDN'T HAVE TAKEN IT OUT ON YOU. IT WAS NOT MEANT FOR YOU...... NEVER FOR YOU..."
Papyrus gives Edge a pat on the should and a small smile before stepping forward, "SORRY LITTLE BITTIES... EDGE DID NOT MEAN TO FRIGHTEN YOU. THINGS HAVE JUST BEEN...... STRESSFUL, SINCE WE SURFACED..."
"Surfaced?" I asked as I tilt my head in puzzlement. I turn to look at Alvin, only to see him still holding for dear life to the branch. Poor thing... I wouldn't be surprised if he had a fear of tree branches now... or heights...
"SURFACED. WHEN WE CAME OUT OF THE UNDERGROUND." Papyrus explains.
"Underground?" I ask, still confused, "You used to live underground?"
"WE DIDN'T LIVE UNDERGROUND," Razz spoke up, "WE WERE TRAPPED UNDERGROUND."
"Huh?"
Papyrus looks nervous and taps his two pointer fingers together, "WELL, UM... IT'S A LONG STORY..."
"WELL HERE'S THE SHORT VERSION," Razz butts in, "A LONG TIME AGO THE HUMANS HATED MONSTERS AND STARTED A WAR. THE HUMANS WON THE WAR AND FORCED US UNDERGROUND, WHERE IT WAS DARK, CRAMPED, AND DANGEROUS. IT TOOK US MANY GENERATIONS TO FINALLY GET OUT OF THAT HORRIBLE PLACE. WE HOPED FOR A NEW START. BUT SURPRISE, SURPRISE, THE HUMANS... STILL... HATE... US!"
"NOW, NOW," Papyrus tries to calm Razz down, "NOT ALL HUMANS."
Razz just scoffs and waves him off.
"PAPYRUS IS RIGHT," Blue says, "NOT ALL HUMANS HATE US, SO THERE IS STILL HOPE. AND THERE IS STILL HOPE FOR THE BITTIES TO NOT HATE US TOO!"
"We don't hate you," I correct, "They fear you. And I can't blame them, cause when we first met, I feared you too."
"BUT WHY?" Papyrus asks, "WE WOULD NEVER HURT YOU."
"Well, I didn't know that at the time..." I explain, "I'm much smaller than you, and I was injured at the time. All I saw were creatures who could do whatever they wanted with me, and there wouldn't have been anything for me to do to stop you..."
"But then, I got to know you..." I continue, "And now I know you would never hurt me. Not on purpose. And I'm sure my village would see that too, if they got to know you. But... the Elders..."
"YOU'VE MENTIONED THESE... ELDERS... BEFORE." Edge says with his arms crossed, "ARE THEY OF GREAT IMPORTANCE IN YOU VILLAGE?"
"Yes," I answer, "they are in charge of everything in the village, including deciding on what rules must be followed. But sometimes, I swear, they can be sooooo STUBBORN!"
"ABOUT US, YOU MEAN." Edge concludes.
"About a lot of things, but yes, that includes you guys too." I elaborate, as I start pacing the branch, "I mean, there are plenty of Bitties that have shown signs that, though they still are a bit nervous, they are grateful for what you've done, and find the idea of magic interesting... But the Elders! Each day I was stuck in that village, the Elders would go on and on about how 'the giants are dangerous' or 'magic is not to be messed with, fear it', ugh!"
"I CAN SEE WHY THAT WOULD BE FRUSTRATING..." Papyrus says as he scratches his chin, "I'M SORRY YOU HAD TO DEAL WITH THAT WHILE YOU WERE TRYING TO HEAL."
I sigh, "I was more concerned for you guys, than anything really..."
Papyrus looked as if he were about to say something, but we all jumped when there was suddenly a loud tune playing. Everyone turns to look where it's coming from, only to see Blue suddenly have one of those 'cellphones' in his hand.
He taps it a few times before holding the device to his skull, "HELLO?... HEY PAPY!... NO, WHY?...... WE'RE BY THE MULBERRY TREE, WHY DO YOU ASK?"
"was wondering what was the hold up is all bro." Stretched answered from beside us.
"Gah!" I shouted as I jumped back, "How do you giants keep sneaking up on me!?!"
Stretch's sockets widen upon noticing me, "whoops, sorry, didn't mean to startle yah. didn't even know you were here... but now i know what caused the delay... heh."
"WHATEVER DO YOU MEAN, LAZY ME?" Papyrus asks.
"you guys are normally done with your run by now," Stretch explains, "and didn't you two schedule to meet with al and undyne for training?"
"OH MY GOSH I FORGOT!" Blue shouts with dismay, "SORRY [Y/N], YOU'LL HAVE TO COME OVER FOR TACOS ANOTHER TIME!"
"I'LL MAKE SURE TO MAKE PLENTY OF PASTA NEXT TIME! GOTTA GO!" Papyrus calls out.
"Wait, I already said I couldn't- aaaaaannd they're gone..."
"sorry to drag them away [y/n], but al and undyne aren't known for their patience." Stretch apologizes before giving a two finger salute, "tah tah for now."
And just like that he vanished into thin air...
.
.
.
"How do you guys keep doing that!?" I shout to no prevail!
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After that awkward moment, Razz and Edge quietly bid their farewells as well, before continuing their run. Alvin and I just shrugged it off and got back to collecting mulberries. It's not like we would have had time to visit any ways... Although I was curious to know more about this war, Razz said they had with the humans. It was my first time ever hearing about it, but I can always ask about it another time.
We didn't collect too much, we still had plenty leftovers, and made our way to collect some cherries and blackberries before making our way back to the village. Fortunately, there weren't any incidents, and since we didn't have to collect much, we got back well before dark. Bitties that were still out and a bout working around the village greeted us upon our return. I could see some of the younger Bitties watching us curiously from a distance. Sorry kiddos, but we didn't bring home any excitement today.
We brought the food back to my goosepen and Alvin helped me with preparations and then later with distributing the food. Some of the Bitties in line asked if the giants helped with the food again, I told them that they asked but declined them since we still have plenty from the last time they helped. Which was true. But the young ones wanted to know more, and stated hanging around to ask questions, much like how Alvin used to, their parents had to come drag them away so they wouldn't hold up the line.
After all the food we had distributed and Alvin and I started cleaning up, that's when Elder Elderwood showed up.
"We didn't collect a whole lot today, so there aren't any leftovers for you to take, sorry." I say as I continue to clean up, without so much as looking at him.
Elderwood cleared his throat, "Oh, of-of course... but that isn't the only reason I'm here."
"Is it now...?" I say with faux curiosity, "Then whatever do you need?"
"While you were out there," he began, "did you come across any of those dangerous giants?"
"I really wished you would stop calling them that," I sighed, "but yes, yes we did."
"I knew it!" He declared, "I knew you went out to go see them."
"I told you that I went out, to get out of this stuffy village." I corrected, "And I told you that if we ran into the giants it would be by coincidence. I didn't know they would be in the forest this morning, and they were surprised to see I was out collecting food again. It was a co-in-ci-dence."
"So instead of staying clear of them as soon as you spotted them, you spent time prattling with them!?" the Elder asked in disbelief.
"I'm not going to ignore them, they're my friends." I state matter-of-factly.
"You trust too easy." He claims.
"No, I don't." I argue, "I'm not saying that there aren't any dangerous giants out there, far from it! But I know my friends, I've taken the time and effort to get to know them, unlike you, so I know they would never hurt me!"
"Do you even hear yourself [Y/N]?" He asks.
"Do you even hear yourself, Elder!?" I ask back before continuing, "They saved my life! They brought food so you COWARDS wouldn't starve. And what did you do in kind? Blaspheme them and call them a threat."
"[Y/N], listen-"
"No, I'm done with this conversation," I declare, "now will you PLEASE get out of my goosepen so I can finish cleaning up for the night."
The Elder left, grumbling all the way.
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The next morning, Alvin and I left extra early. I didn't want to chance running into Elderwood again. We were way earlier than usual, and it was still fairly dark, it might be a while before the skeletons get to the tree, or we may miss them entirely if we finish early. But that would be fine, we could catch them another time if that's the case.
As Alvin and I were picking mulberries, and the sun was slowly getting brighter, something felt off... I hid Alvin in the thickest part of the leaves and told him to stay still and quiet. I slowly moved out on to the branch and looked around. I didn't spot anything, but that feeling was still there... I pulled out my bow and set a quill ready to strike as I crept forward.
Suddenly, the branch shakes violently! I lose my footing, and drop the quill from the violent shake. And before I'm able to catch my self, I fall. I fall, and I fall... I try to brace myself before I hit the ground.
CLUNK!
I hit something hard. It's not dirt, but it doesn't feel like stone either, it's way too smooth and... slippery? I push myself up to look down at what I hit. Only to see the ground still several feet below me!? But how is that possible!? Am I floating!? No, I'm laying on something... but it's... see-through? Glass. I'm laying on glass! But how did it get here?
"Gotcha!"
I look up, only to choke back in fear. It was another giant!? But this one wasn't one of my friends, and it wasn't even a skeleton. They looked to be some kind of giant lizard, with yellow scales. They have a pair of glasses sitting on their face, and one swirly lenses(how do they see with those!?) is piercing down at me.
"That was easier than I thought." They said, "Given what I've heard about you, I thought you would be harder to get my hands on."
I try to get up to run away, only to run into a wall. More glass? I look around. I'm surrounded by glass!?
"Let me go!" I shout!
"Oh, so it can talk. Fascinating, I'll have to write that down in my notes when I get back to the lab!" They say as they lean away from the opening and put something onto of it to seal off the only exit.
"Wait! Let me out!" I shout and plead, "Please! Let me go! Wait! Where are we going!? Somebody HELP!!!"
But my shouts were unanswered as the giant kept walking to who know where they were taking me...