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So here is the story from beginning to present. I wanted to give you all a chance to read what I have so far in one piece.
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Prologue
No matter what shoes I wore, the dirt road always found a way to stick to my shoes and stick out like a sore thumb. Normally I would not care, but going into town the townspeople will find anything to judge. They think of me as some sort of intruder. I have been an outcast ever since I showed up here three years ago. The townspeople wear bright pastels and clean cut clothing; just like the Germanic architecture of their buildings. They live in some sort of fairytale land and I stick out like a sore thumb, ruining their image and ideal. However, today I made an attempt to appease them, I wore a plain gray t-shirt and white twill pants but I, Bastian don't always give my 100%. My pants had tears on the knees and on the back where my shoes met the pants. I reached into my back pocket and pulled out a small shopping list that had been prepared for me.
It consisted of the basic items, groceries. My feet pattered over the cobblestone roads in the city as my black and red hair contrasted the bright pinks and yellows of the flowers in the window boxes. I was greeted in the grocery store with blank stares and I went on with my business with record speed. Before too long I was back on my way home with my goods in tow. Bastian, the delivery boy.
Leaving the village there were two obstacles in my way that make this trip a pain. The first is a small wooded area that forms a natural wall around the village; as if nature itself wants to isolate the town from me. The second is vast fields of wildflowers that go on for miles in every direction. It's not distance that's the problem, or the mountain range in the background - it would be nature itself. The great outdoors is a pain in my ass. I take care of this by sliding headphones and drowning out the noise of the outdoors with my tunes. Fuck you nature!
Just as I was feeling as I had won I heard the padding of an animal through the field, the noise crescendoed as whatever the animal was grew closer and closer until it cut right through the dirt road. The mystery animal was a wolf, one I'd never seen so big before. It's size nearly reached my shoulders, and me being 5'11". Blood dripped from it's muzzle as it dissapeared into thin air. I looked at the plot of land where the wolf had dissapeared and I slid my headphones off. "What the fuck..?" I heard myself ask aloud.
Between the sound of the wind blowing and the flowers blowing in the breeze I heard a faint crying. Curiosity caught the better of me and my legs began to walk in the distance of the noise, and the trail of bent flowers also helped lead me to where the crying eminated.
I leaned forward and saw a young woman sprawled on the ground. Her boddice had tears on the side from the wolf, and through the tears you could see the bite wounds. Blood dripped down her left side as she tried to push herself up. "Here, let me help you." I offered, holding out my hand to her, however my act of kindness was met with a weak slice from her knife that missed me completely. She was trying to defend herself, wether she knew I was harmless or not. The swipe had taken the last of her energy as her arms collapsed, sending her down to the ground. I kicked the knife away and slid my arms under her back and knees.
As I picked her up she moaned in pain, grabbing at her side. "Don't worry, I know someone who can help you." I comforted. Bastian! Have you gone soft? This is not like you! Shut up mind! She tried to struggle but was too weak. In silent surrender she leaned into my grasp and passed out. Her long blond hair was in a mess from her fight and splattered with some blood and swayed around wildly as I carried her back home.
There was no way to open the door without dropping her, so in true Bastian style I kicked the door a good four times. Who other than the little twerp to answer the door? Yuuta. His grin spread from one side of his face to the other like a shark, and his green hair hid his mischevious little eyes. Yuuta was 14 years old, and barely came up to my chest.
"Did you really need to kidnap a woman to get her to come home with you? That's low dude." Yuuta smirked. Fuck it. I slung the girl over my shoulder to free up my right arm. SMACK! Yuuta tumbled back as he was caught off guard.
"Really! REALLY?" Yuuta shouted, his voice muffled by him holding his bleeding nose. Yuuta ran to the kitchen yelling for Aline, our 'mother'. Aline came into the room, her long purple hair flowing gracefully behind her. However, that wasn't enough to hide the smile on Yuuta's face as she got ready to yell at me. The blood dripping form his nose seeped between his teeth, making him look like one of Satan's spawnlings.
"We have bigger problems then that midget." I spoke, pointing towards Yuuta. I gave the woman a slight lift to bring the attention back to her. "She was attacked."
Chapter 1
I had never seen Aline move that fast, after placing the woman on a spare bed; Yuuta and I just sat at the table watching the purple blur that was Aline. Aline hurried around looking for the First Aid kit and had banished all males from the room so she could treat the womans wounds. "Doesn't Aline remind you of Grimace?" Yuuta whispered to me. Yeah she did. In an odd moment of synchrinicity, Yuuta and I laughed. After my horror of getting along with Yuuta I stopped and looked at him.
"I still hate you." I mumbled as my face twitched in contempt. Aline came out of the room after ten minutes, washed her hands in the sink and gave us a look. Oh no, she's going to ask a favor!
"I need you two to go into town and get some antibiotics from Niiro for me." Aline ordered. Crap. Kyan Niiro. Niiro is five feet four inches of crazy. A small redheaded girl who was an ally of Yuuta.
"Can't Yuuta go alone? He's a big boy." I hate to admit, whined. The look Aline gave me could send chills down anyones back.
So we were off, me and the little green haired troll. Surprisingly Yuuta hadn't made a sound. "What's the deal?" I asked, because when Yuuta's quiet - there's something wrong.
"Nothing." Yuuta replied.
"Liar."
"I've always felt safe here, but after that lady got attacked I'm scared." Yuuta replied. I am really not good with the sentimental stuff, so I just gave an akward pat on Yuuta's head. A quick stab of pain grew in my lower right side. That bastard had punched me in the kidney!
"What the hell was that for?" I yelled at him, doubled over holding my side.
"I'm not a dog! Don't treat me like one!" Yuuta yelled.
"I was trying to be NICE!" I grumbled, instinctively I made a fist but let it fall. Aline would kill me and spread my dead body parts around the field if I dare hurt her little Yuuta. That was enough of a detterant to not bruise Yuuta.
Yuuta was getting excited as we reached a small house in the back of the town. It was a cutesy stone house with a bright red door. Before my hand could even knock on the door, Niiro had torn the door open and smiled brightly at us. "Hey guys!" She greeted us, her voice bright and cheerfull. Niiro was actually nice to be around, but when you add Yuuta they become the wonder-twins of Bastian-annoying proportions. "So what brings you to my doorstep?"
"We need some antibiotics." I explained, and I saw the confusion on Niiro's face.
"What happened?" she asked.
"Bastian found a lady who'd been attacked by a wolf." Yuuta added, voice a bit shaky.
"Wolf? That's really odd. We don't have any here normally." Niiro replied. She invited us into the house and searched through her cabinets until she found what we had come here for. Before I knew it, and much to my surprise we were on our way home.
When we returned Aline had dinner on the table for us. After an akwardly silent meal Aline dished up another plate and handed it to me. "Please bring it to our guest." Aline spoke softly. I set the plate on the counter as I filled a glass with milk and regrabbed the plate and headed down the hall. I pushed open the door and on the bed sat the woman. Her hair had been washed and was now the bottom half was split into two halves and braided loosely halfway down. She looked fragile and her features exhausted.
"Dinner time." I greeted, handing her the plate and glass of milk. She took it silently and nodded her head in thanks and began to eat. I plopped myself down on the bed at her feet and looked over at her. "Got a name?"
"Menne Strommen" she replied, setting her fork down. "And yours?" she asked politely.
"Bastian." I answered.
"Do you have a last name Bastian?" she asked, curiosity painting her face.
"I'm not sure" I shrugged. "All I know about myself is my time here in the house with Aline and Yuuta."
"Well, Bastian. Thank you for rescuing me earlier." she smiled brightly.
"What was that back there?" I asked, motioning a hitch-hiker fist over my shoulder and her face darkened.
"It was Fenrir." she spoke.
"Fenrir...like the norse god?" I asked. Don't be stupid Bastian, there's a reason it's mythology. To my surprise, she nodded. "You're shitting me"
"I beg your pardon?" she asked.
"Forget about it." I shook my hands infront of me mixing up imaginary puzzle pieces. "Good night." I said as I got up and left her room and crossed the hallway to mine. I kicked off my shoes, threw my shirt on the floor and slinked out of my pants and fell down onto my bed. Nothing better than a nice fluffy bed and boxers to make a man comfortable. Before too long I was out.
Suddenly I jumped awake, a crash catching my attention. In my sleepy haze I squinted through the darkness but saw all the lights out. Then the moan of a door opening. What the hell is going on? I walked out of my room and stumbled through the darkness grumbling. "Yuuta, if that's you I swear you're dead." I growled, and once I reached the kitchen I flicked the light on.
There on the table was a small ball of hair, with black shiny eyes and tiny pink feet. "Shoo!" I motioned with my hands towards it, but it merely balanced itself on it's fluffy bum and munched on a cracker. I scooted it over an inch but it seemed to enjoy the ride. Munch munch munch. The more it ate the bigger it's cheeks got. A hamster, duh! Wow Bastian, you're slow today. "How did you get in here?" I asked, but it said nothing as it contentedly munched some more. CRASH! A jar fell to the ground, and I noticed the cupboard open. That's odd.
I grabbed the newspaper off the table and rolled it up, preparing to smack whatever was in the cubpoard. I swung the door further until the hinges protested and smacked blindly into the cupboard only to hear a pint-size "Ow!" Out of the shadows stumbled a three inch tall figure with hand-stiched clothing, a beard that reached it's belly, a red cap and matching beady black eyes. The tiny figure fell out of the cupboard and landed on the counter with a soft "moosh." I took a closer look at it, a small fabric doll - but...it was moving. It's tiny mouth opened up to a just as tiny scream.
I greeted it with a scream aswell and tumbled backwards as it stood up. "What the hell is going on?!?"
Chapter 2
The tiny creature jumped down from the cabinet and landed flat onto the countertop with a soft "oof." I had to rub my eyes, I couldn't believe what I was seeing. The tiny doll was carefully hand-sewn with tiny suspenders holding it's trousers up and his red cap was pointed like an elf. Getting onto my knees and scooting closer I poked it with my index finger. All two inches of the enchanted figure fell over.
"What are you?" I asked. It picked itself up with it's fabric hands and dusted off crumbs from it's wardrobe.
"I am a Nisse." it replied. "I am Menne's house-servant."
"And what's with the hamster? Is he your mighty steed?" I asked, pointing back to the beady eyed hamster who was still munching on the cracker, but his cheeks had doubled in size.
"That would be Beowulf, he helps me get around." the Nisse spoke. I looked closer at the tiny thing and noticed the wool beard and giggled.
"This is so wierd!" I picked him up by the scruff of his plaid shirt and examined him some more. "I have no idea what I ate last night."
"Let me down! Let me down!" the small Nisse yelled, but his tiny voice sent me into a fit of laughter. Whoop! The Nisse slipped right out of my grasp as I was laughing, and he was sent flying through the air.
"Eeeeeee!!!" The Nisse yelled, which sent me doublingover onto the ground in uncontrollable laughter until tears threatened to leave my eyes.
"Snorre?" a voice called from the hallway. A figure using the wall as support came out of the shadows, it was Menne. She was bandaged from the waist up and she was wearing my black beaters and a pair of my boxers. Aline, why did you give her my clothing!?
"Menne!" the small Nisse called from the floor, running at it's momentous one mile-per-hour towards the woman. She bent down with a grunt and a pained expression to pick up the Nisse and gave it a small kiss on it's head. "When we heard you had been attacked by Fenrir, we came as fast as we could!" However, Menne's attention was soon brought to me.
"Why are you on the floor?" she asked, the Nisse turning around in her hand to face me aswell. I quickly stood myself up and straightened my clothing out.
"No reason." I lied, the Nisse glared at me before turning back to Menne.
"This boy threw me across the room!" Snorre narrated.
"That's a lie! He flew out of my hand, it was an accident!" I defended myself.
"Snorre, you probably deserved it." Menne finished, picking up the hamster on the table. "I'm glad you could make it." The small hamster stood up on it's hind legs and licked her cheek. Holy crap, I'm surrounded by tiny-troll, a hamster and Snow White. Okay, I correct myself. The hamster was pretty sweet. She slid her finger gently over the hamsters head as it leaned into her hand with full delight. Menne straightened herself out and made a sudden cry as she swayed, grabbing her side. Instinctively I reached to catch her as she began to fall over as her hands grabbed around my waist to steady herself.
Her head rested against my chest as she tried to gain her strength back, and I didn't stop her. What can I say? It felt nice to hold a girl, is it my fault I am male? I noticed her hand lift up to my line of sight, covered in blood. "I think my stitches tore" she whispered, upset. Snorre watched us with his miniature mouth agape, and the hamster just looked back at Snorre, then to us, and back again. Seeing as how hamsters have a brain the size of a pea, he was merely watching us because we were moving. With Menne's permission, I helped her onto the table where she waited for me to find Aline's medical kit.
The expression on Menne's face showed that it took a lot for her to trust me, especially when she rolled the top up to show the freshly opened wound left by Fenrir. After carefully threading the needle and stitched her up, nothing that would pass a Home-ec class but the stitch-job did it's job. It would probably heal up and look like train-tracks, choo-choo! I was pretty proud until the mouth-breather Yuuta stumbled in, observing over my shoulder. "Looks like crap, dude." Yuuta mumbled.
"What are you doing up?" I asked him, controlling myself infront of the lady.
"You couldn't have been louder when looking for the first-aid kit." he replied, pulling the milk out of the fridge and pouring a glass. Menne slid off the table, hiding her face as she shuffled to her bedroom with tweedle-dee and tweedle-dum close behind her. "You're blushing!" Yuuta taunted.
"Am not!" I yelled back, jumping up to get ready to punch Yuuta but I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror above the sink - damnit. He was right.
Chapter 3
I caught up with Menne in the hallway, making sure she was doing alright. She had been walking slower than before, and proping herself along the wall, the new stitches must be sore. In her hand she was holding the dastardly duo consisting of Snorre and Beowulf. Only one of which was happy to see me.
"Get lost Sasquatch!" Snorre yelled. I reached down and using my thumb and index finger I flicked him off her hand. As he fell to the ground I heard something along the lines of "Bastard" but his voice was soo quiet and as he fell it seemed to fade away into thin air until his body made the satisfying THUNK! on the ground. Menne struggled to make eye-contact, something was making her uneasy.
"Yes, Bastian?" she asked, looking down at the ground.
"I thought you might like some help." I replied, nervously reaching behind my head and tugging on a tuft of my hair. Menne gave a small grin and led me into the room. Gently and with great care she placed Beowulf down onto the pillow where he ran in circles until he plopped down finding a comfortable place to rest. This involved him sprawled out flat like a bear rug. Menne paused alongside the bed and placed her hands around my neck as I gently placed one hand on the small of her back and the other behind her knee as the two of us leaned down. Once I felt my hands reach the matress I let go of her, sliding my hands away and then pulling the blanket over her.
"Thank you." she said, her voice soft and nervous.
"No problem." I replied, just as unsure. I was greatful the light was off, because I was more than confidant I was blushing. "Good night." I said before rushing out of the room and closing the door behind me. Once outside I turned back to her door and rested my forehead there. Get a hold of yoursel. You go gaga over a girl you've just met? You must be a creeper. Thanks self, my favorite critic. Sigh. I looked at the entrance of the hallway and Yuuta was standing there, making smooching noises and forcing fish-lips on his face. "Whatever, I'm going to bed." I dismissed him with a wave of my hand and as I went into my room I heard his shocked gasp. I could only imagine the expression on his face, one of horror and shock.
My room was a very plain one, white walls with mismatched furniture. Aline did her best to provide stuff for me, but I lived light. I didn't need a desk, a dresser, a night stand. All I needed was a closet and a bed to rest my head. I know she meant well, and God bless her for that. However, Bastian only needs what he can carry in his backpack. The desk sat infront of the shade-less window, it's surface bare of any momentos or papers. Directly across the room was the five-drawered dresser, only two of the drawers were in use. Opposite the doorway was my bed, neatly made as always.
In my nightly ritual I slipped off my socks and overshirt and flopped into bed, over the covers. The house we lived in was more of a cottage in appearance and was built to withstand armageddon - which also meant it was well insulated. This left me cooking to a slow death during the night. So in a way of saying, I had no need for the blanket. A soft knocking at the door caught me off guard and I sat up abruptly. "Yes?" I called out, the door opened to reveal Yuuta. "What do you want?" He just stood there, his green eyes reflecting the moonlight, making him look creepy. Not really that he needed help. The pause was beginning to get on my nerves, and as I slid off my bed to charge him he opened his mouth.
"Faggot." escaped Yuuta's mouth, which sent me in a frenzied mode and caused me to charge faster. Almost as if in slow motion I saw him close the door. Crap! I couldn't stop my feet from running and CRASH! I fell face first into the door. Next thing I knew the sun was out, however I was still facedown on the floor with my head lined up with the door and a headache to rival that of a lobotomy patient. Rolling over onto my stomach I placed my palms flat on the ground and propped myself up, keeping my head low. I reached up with my right arm and opened the door to find Snorre staring up at me. His little chest quivered with laughter as he looked at my face.
"What?" I growled in a low tone.
"Nice face." Snorre laughed before taking off down the hallway. I'll get him, eventually. I stood myself up and walked down the hallway and throwing myself down onto the table, next to Yuuta. On the otherside was Menne, her hamster Beowulf, Aline, and another person. I lifted my eyes up and noticed a thin male with blonde hair pulled back lazily. Some of the pieces of hair had escaped the hair binder and were framing his face. It was Hayao Misakura.
"Nice of you to show up." I spoke, breaking the silence in the room.
"All for you babe." Hayao laughed, then turned his attention to Menne. She was looking better this morning, her hair still braided into two ponytails falling down the front of her body. More color was in her face and she was smiling a lot. One thing I did notice, they all had plates with breakfast on them - except me. All went silent once again, and the air seemed to become electric as Menne stood up directly, placed her dishes in the sink and preceeded to her room, followed by Beowulf. Soon after everyone began to clear out as they had finished their breakfast, and I wasn't really up for eating.
Soon there was a knock on my door. "Come in." I called out, the door opened and stealthily Aline walked in with a piece of paper in her hand. "Yes?"
"I need you to run into town again and get more stuff." Aline comanded gently, there was no question. I took the list and scanned it, clothing, bandages, ect. All things to help our new house-guest. "Thanks hun." Aline said, giving me a pat on the shoulder before she left the room. As I was getting ready to leave, Yuuta stopped me in the hallway.
"Yes?" slipped out of my mouth. Yuuta was staring at his feet and his hands behind his back.
"I have a bad feeling about you leaving." he mumbled.
"Why is that?" I asked, confident that my trip to the town and back would be quick and eventless.
"Last night I had a dream, it felt too real." he whimpered. "In the dream...y-you were attacked."
"Come on! We live in the middle of nowhere!" I reassured him. "Anyways, it was a dream Yuuta. If you are so worried you can come with, I'm sure anyone wishing harm would let us go after listening to you for five minutes" I messed up his hair and slid my shoes on. Yuuta mimicked my behaviour, sliding on loafers.
"Let me grab my jacket. Wait for me!" Yuuta callled, running back to his room and returning with a red zip-up hoodie. Just as I had predicted, the walk intto town was boring and uneventful. However, Yuuta kept scanning the landscape like a meerkat. Getting closer to the town the roads went from dirt to cobble stone and moss growing between the stones. The townsfolk stopped as they saw the two of us, an unwelcomed pair to their utopia. As we walked down the road they'd clear out of the way when Yuuta and I headed to the clothing shop.
Reaching safety inside the store we headed to the womens section. This was a whole new world to me, all sorts of colors, shapes, and styles. How the hell did Aline expect us to pick something out for Menne? "Why were the people doing that?" Yuuta asked, looking up at me - ligitimately confused. I uncomfortably shuffled through hangers of clothing.
"They don't like us, they don't like people who are different." I replied, and in Yuuta's eyes I could see his tiny soul break. "Don't worry about it." Since when did Yuuta confide in me with his fears? This was unlike him, but it must have been one dream. "Either way, we are here to buy clothes for Menne. " Everything I saw just was mind boggling, how do women wear such clothing. Also, what kind did she like? "Hey Yuuta, you find her some clothing - I'll buy you a treat on the way home. Deal?"
"Deal!" he said, making me pinky-swear and he was off like a green streak through the store. In a matter of moments he handed me a pile of clothing that seemed reasonable enough, so we checked out and headed across the street to the bakery. Yuuta picked out a pastry with strawberry filling. In no time we were leaving town with the items Aline had asked us to purchase.
"Can I get a bite of that?" I asked, leaning over Yuuta. I reached down and he hissed, then licked the pastry. "Nevermind." I finished.
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Prologue
No matter what shoes I wore, the dirt road always found a way to stick to my shoes and stick out like a sore thumb. Normally I would not care, but going into town the townspeople will find anything to judge. They think of me as some sort of intruder. I have been an outcast ever since I showed up here three years ago. The townspeople wear bright pastels and clean cut clothing; just like the Germanic architecture of their buildings. They live in some sort of fairytale land and I stick out like a sore thumb, ruining their image and ideal. However, today I made an attempt to appease them, I wore a plain gray t-shirt and white twill pants but I, Bastian don't always give my 100%. My pants had tears on the knees and on the back where my shoes met the pants. I reached into my back pocket and pulled out a small shopping list that had been prepared for me.
It consisted of the basic items, groceries. My feet pattered over the cobblestone roads in the city as my black and red hair contrasted the bright pinks and yellows of the flowers in the window boxes. I was greeted in the grocery store with blank stares and I went on with my business with record speed. Before too long I was back on my way home with my goods in tow. Bastian, the delivery boy.
Leaving the village there were two obstacles in my way that make this trip a pain. The first is a small wooded area that forms a natural wall around the village; as if nature itself wants to isolate the town from me. The second is vast fields of wildflowers that go on for miles in every direction. It's not distance that's the problem, or the mountain range in the background - it would be nature itself. The great outdoors is a pain in my ass. I take care of this by sliding headphones and drowning out the noise of the outdoors with my tunes. Fuck you nature!
Just as I was feeling as I had won I heard the padding of an animal through the field, the noise crescendoed as whatever the animal was grew closer and closer until it cut right through the dirt road. The mystery animal was a wolf, one I'd never seen so big before. It's size nearly reached my shoulders, and me being 5'11". Blood dripped from it's muzzle as it dissapeared into thin air. I looked at the plot of land where the wolf had dissapeared and I slid my headphones off. "What the fuck..?" I heard myself ask aloud.
Between the sound of the wind blowing and the flowers blowing in the breeze I heard a faint crying. Curiosity caught the better of me and my legs began to walk in the distance of the noise, and the trail of bent flowers also helped lead me to where the crying eminated.
I leaned forward and saw a young woman sprawled on the ground. Her boddice had tears on the side from the wolf, and through the tears you could see the bite wounds. Blood dripped down her left side as she tried to push herself up. "Here, let me help you." I offered, holding out my hand to her, however my act of kindness was met with a weak slice from her knife that missed me completely. She was trying to defend herself, wether she knew I was harmless or not. The swipe had taken the last of her energy as her arms collapsed, sending her down to the ground. I kicked the knife away and slid my arms under her back and knees.
As I picked her up she moaned in pain, grabbing at her side. "Don't worry, I know someone who can help you." I comforted. Bastian! Have you gone soft? This is not like you! Shut up mind! She tried to struggle but was too weak. In silent surrender she leaned into my grasp and passed out. Her long blond hair was in a mess from her fight and splattered with some blood and swayed around wildly as I carried her back home.
There was no way to open the door without dropping her, so in true Bastian style I kicked the door a good four times. Who other than the little twerp to answer the door? Yuuta. His grin spread from one side of his face to the other like a shark, and his green hair hid his mischevious little eyes. Yuuta was 14 years old, and barely came up to my chest.
"Did you really need to kidnap a woman to get her to come home with you? That's low dude." Yuuta smirked. Fuck it. I slung the girl over my shoulder to free up my right arm. SMACK! Yuuta tumbled back as he was caught off guard.
"Really! REALLY?" Yuuta shouted, his voice muffled by him holding his bleeding nose. Yuuta ran to the kitchen yelling for Aline, our 'mother'. Aline came into the room, her long purple hair flowing gracefully behind her. However, that wasn't enough to hide the smile on Yuuta's face as she got ready to yell at me. The blood dripping form his nose seeped between his teeth, making him look like one of Satan's spawnlings.
"We have bigger problems then that midget." I spoke, pointing towards Yuuta. I gave the woman a slight lift to bring the attention back to her. "She was attacked."
Chapter 1
I had never seen Aline move that fast, after placing the woman on a spare bed; Yuuta and I just sat at the table watching the purple blur that was Aline. Aline hurried around looking for the First Aid kit and had banished all males from the room so she could treat the womans wounds. "Doesn't Aline remind you of Grimace?" Yuuta whispered to me. Yeah she did. In an odd moment of synchrinicity, Yuuta and I laughed. After my horror of getting along with Yuuta I stopped and looked at him.
"I still hate you." I mumbled as my face twitched in contempt. Aline came out of the room after ten minutes, washed her hands in the sink and gave us a look. Oh no, she's going to ask a favor!
"I need you two to go into town and get some antibiotics from Niiro for me." Aline ordered. Crap. Kyan Niiro. Niiro is five feet four inches of crazy. A small redheaded girl who was an ally of Yuuta.
"Can't Yuuta go alone? He's a big boy." I hate to admit, whined. The look Aline gave me could send chills down anyones back.
So we were off, me and the little green haired troll. Surprisingly Yuuta hadn't made a sound. "What's the deal?" I asked, because when Yuuta's quiet - there's something wrong.
"Nothing." Yuuta replied.
"Liar."
"I've always felt safe here, but after that lady got attacked I'm scared." Yuuta replied. I am really not good with the sentimental stuff, so I just gave an akward pat on Yuuta's head. A quick stab of pain grew in my lower right side. That bastard had punched me in the kidney!
"What the hell was that for?" I yelled at him, doubled over holding my side.
"I'm not a dog! Don't treat me like one!" Yuuta yelled.
"I was trying to be NICE!" I grumbled, instinctively I made a fist but let it fall. Aline would kill me and spread my dead body parts around the field if I dare hurt her little Yuuta. That was enough of a detterant to not bruise Yuuta.
Yuuta was getting excited as we reached a small house in the back of the town. It was a cutesy stone house with a bright red door. Before my hand could even knock on the door, Niiro had torn the door open and smiled brightly at us. "Hey guys!" She greeted us, her voice bright and cheerfull. Niiro was actually nice to be around, but when you add Yuuta they become the wonder-twins of Bastian-annoying proportions. "So what brings you to my doorstep?"
"We need some antibiotics." I explained, and I saw the confusion on Niiro's face.
"What happened?" she asked.
"Bastian found a lady who'd been attacked by a wolf." Yuuta added, voice a bit shaky.
"Wolf? That's really odd. We don't have any here normally." Niiro replied. She invited us into the house and searched through her cabinets until she found what we had come here for. Before I knew it, and much to my surprise we were on our way home.
When we returned Aline had dinner on the table for us. After an akwardly silent meal Aline dished up another plate and handed it to me. "Please bring it to our guest." Aline spoke softly. I set the plate on the counter as I filled a glass with milk and regrabbed the plate and headed down the hall. I pushed open the door and on the bed sat the woman. Her hair had been washed and was now the bottom half was split into two halves and braided loosely halfway down. She looked fragile and her features exhausted.
"Dinner time." I greeted, handing her the plate and glass of milk. She took it silently and nodded her head in thanks and began to eat. I plopped myself down on the bed at her feet and looked over at her. "Got a name?"
"Menne Strommen" she replied, setting her fork down. "And yours?" she asked politely.
"Bastian." I answered.
"Do you have a last name Bastian?" she asked, curiosity painting her face.
"I'm not sure" I shrugged. "All I know about myself is my time here in the house with Aline and Yuuta."
"Well, Bastian. Thank you for rescuing me earlier." she smiled brightly.
"What was that back there?" I asked, motioning a hitch-hiker fist over my shoulder and her face darkened.
"It was Fenrir." she spoke.
"Fenrir...like the norse god?" I asked. Don't be stupid Bastian, there's a reason it's mythology. To my surprise, she nodded. "You're shitting me"
"I beg your pardon?" she asked.
"Forget about it." I shook my hands infront of me mixing up imaginary puzzle pieces. "Good night." I said as I got up and left her room and crossed the hallway to mine. I kicked off my shoes, threw my shirt on the floor and slinked out of my pants and fell down onto my bed. Nothing better than a nice fluffy bed and boxers to make a man comfortable. Before too long I was out.
Suddenly I jumped awake, a crash catching my attention. In my sleepy haze I squinted through the darkness but saw all the lights out. Then the moan of a door opening. What the hell is going on? I walked out of my room and stumbled through the darkness grumbling. "Yuuta, if that's you I swear you're dead." I growled, and once I reached the kitchen I flicked the light on.
There on the table was a small ball of hair, with black shiny eyes and tiny pink feet. "Shoo!" I motioned with my hands towards it, but it merely balanced itself on it's fluffy bum and munched on a cracker. I scooted it over an inch but it seemed to enjoy the ride. Munch munch munch. The more it ate the bigger it's cheeks got. A hamster, duh! Wow Bastian, you're slow today. "How did you get in here?" I asked, but it said nothing as it contentedly munched some more. CRASH! A jar fell to the ground, and I noticed the cupboard open. That's odd.
I grabbed the newspaper off the table and rolled it up, preparing to smack whatever was in the cubpoard. I swung the door further until the hinges protested and smacked blindly into the cupboard only to hear a pint-size "Ow!" Out of the shadows stumbled a three inch tall figure with hand-stiched clothing, a beard that reached it's belly, a red cap and matching beady black eyes. The tiny figure fell out of the cupboard and landed on the counter with a soft "moosh." I took a closer look at it, a small fabric doll - but...it was moving. It's tiny mouth opened up to a just as tiny scream.
I greeted it with a scream aswell and tumbled backwards as it stood up. "What the hell is going on?!?"
Chapter 2
The tiny creature jumped down from the cabinet and landed flat onto the countertop with a soft "oof." I had to rub my eyes, I couldn't believe what I was seeing. The tiny doll was carefully hand-sewn with tiny suspenders holding it's trousers up and his red cap was pointed like an elf. Getting onto my knees and scooting closer I poked it with my index finger. All two inches of the enchanted figure fell over.
"What are you?" I asked. It picked itself up with it's fabric hands and dusted off crumbs from it's wardrobe.
"I am a Nisse." it replied. "I am Menne's house-servant."
"And what's with the hamster? Is he your mighty steed?" I asked, pointing back to the beady eyed hamster who was still munching on the cracker, but his cheeks had doubled in size.
"That would be Beowulf, he helps me get around." the Nisse spoke. I looked closer at the tiny thing and noticed the wool beard and giggled.
"This is so wierd!" I picked him up by the scruff of his plaid shirt and examined him some more. "I have no idea what I ate last night."
"Let me down! Let me down!" the small Nisse yelled, but his tiny voice sent me into a fit of laughter. Whoop! The Nisse slipped right out of my grasp as I was laughing, and he was sent flying through the air.
"Eeeeeee!!!" The Nisse yelled, which sent me doublingover onto the ground in uncontrollable laughter until tears threatened to leave my eyes.
"Snorre?" a voice called from the hallway. A figure using the wall as support came out of the shadows, it was Menne. She was bandaged from the waist up and she was wearing my black beaters and a pair of my boxers. Aline, why did you give her my clothing!?
"Menne!" the small Nisse called from the floor, running at it's momentous one mile-per-hour towards the woman. She bent down with a grunt and a pained expression to pick up the Nisse and gave it a small kiss on it's head. "When we heard you had been attacked by Fenrir, we came as fast as we could!" However, Menne's attention was soon brought to me.
"Why are you on the floor?" she asked, the Nisse turning around in her hand to face me aswell. I quickly stood myself up and straightened my clothing out.
"No reason." I lied, the Nisse glared at me before turning back to Menne.
"This boy threw me across the room!" Snorre narrated.
"That's a lie! He flew out of my hand, it was an accident!" I defended myself.
"Snorre, you probably deserved it." Menne finished, picking up the hamster on the table. "I'm glad you could make it." The small hamster stood up on it's hind legs and licked her cheek. Holy crap, I'm surrounded by tiny-troll, a hamster and Snow White. Okay, I correct myself. The hamster was pretty sweet. She slid her finger gently over the hamsters head as it leaned into her hand with full delight. Menne straightened herself out and made a sudden cry as she swayed, grabbing her side. Instinctively I reached to catch her as she began to fall over as her hands grabbed around my waist to steady herself.
Her head rested against my chest as she tried to gain her strength back, and I didn't stop her. What can I say? It felt nice to hold a girl, is it my fault I am male? I noticed her hand lift up to my line of sight, covered in blood. "I think my stitches tore" she whispered, upset. Snorre watched us with his miniature mouth agape, and the hamster just looked back at Snorre, then to us, and back again. Seeing as how hamsters have a brain the size of a pea, he was merely watching us because we were moving. With Menne's permission, I helped her onto the table where she waited for me to find Aline's medical kit.
The expression on Menne's face showed that it took a lot for her to trust me, especially when she rolled the top up to show the freshly opened wound left by Fenrir. After carefully threading the needle and stitched her up, nothing that would pass a Home-ec class but the stitch-job did it's job. It would probably heal up and look like train-tracks, choo-choo! I was pretty proud until the mouth-breather Yuuta stumbled in, observing over my shoulder. "Looks like crap, dude." Yuuta mumbled.
"What are you doing up?" I asked him, controlling myself infront of the lady.
"You couldn't have been louder when looking for the first-aid kit." he replied, pulling the milk out of the fridge and pouring a glass. Menne slid off the table, hiding her face as she shuffled to her bedroom with tweedle-dee and tweedle-dum close behind her. "You're blushing!" Yuuta taunted.
"Am not!" I yelled back, jumping up to get ready to punch Yuuta but I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror above the sink - damnit. He was right.
Chapter 3
I caught up with Menne in the hallway, making sure she was doing alright. She had been walking slower than before, and proping herself along the wall, the new stitches must be sore. In her hand she was holding the dastardly duo consisting of Snorre and Beowulf. Only one of which was happy to see me.
"Get lost Sasquatch!" Snorre yelled. I reached down and using my thumb and index finger I flicked him off her hand. As he fell to the ground I heard something along the lines of "Bastard" but his voice was soo quiet and as he fell it seemed to fade away into thin air until his body made the satisfying THUNK! on the ground. Menne struggled to make eye-contact, something was making her uneasy.
"Yes, Bastian?" she asked, looking down at the ground.
"I thought you might like some help." I replied, nervously reaching behind my head and tugging on a tuft of my hair. Menne gave a small grin and led me into the room. Gently and with great care she placed Beowulf down onto the pillow where he ran in circles until he plopped down finding a comfortable place to rest. This involved him sprawled out flat like a bear rug. Menne paused alongside the bed and placed her hands around my neck as I gently placed one hand on the small of her back and the other behind her knee as the two of us leaned down. Once I felt my hands reach the matress I let go of her, sliding my hands away and then pulling the blanket over her.
"Thank you." she said, her voice soft and nervous.
"No problem." I replied, just as unsure. I was greatful the light was off, because I was more than confidant I was blushing. "Good night." I said before rushing out of the room and closing the door behind me. Once outside I turned back to her door and rested my forehead there. Get a hold of yoursel. You go gaga over a girl you've just met? You must be a creeper. Thanks self, my favorite critic. Sigh. I looked at the entrance of the hallway and Yuuta was standing there, making smooching noises and forcing fish-lips on his face. "Whatever, I'm going to bed." I dismissed him with a wave of my hand and as I went into my room I heard his shocked gasp. I could only imagine the expression on his face, one of horror and shock.
My room was a very plain one, white walls with mismatched furniture. Aline did her best to provide stuff for me, but I lived light. I didn't need a desk, a dresser, a night stand. All I needed was a closet and a bed to rest my head. I know she meant well, and God bless her for that. However, Bastian only needs what he can carry in his backpack. The desk sat infront of the shade-less window, it's surface bare of any momentos or papers. Directly across the room was the five-drawered dresser, only two of the drawers were in use. Opposite the doorway was my bed, neatly made as always.
In my nightly ritual I slipped off my socks and overshirt and flopped into bed, over the covers. The house we lived in was more of a cottage in appearance and was built to withstand armageddon - which also meant it was well insulated. This left me cooking to a slow death during the night. So in a way of saying, I had no need for the blanket. A soft knocking at the door caught me off guard and I sat up abruptly. "Yes?" I called out, the door opened to reveal Yuuta. "What do you want?" He just stood there, his green eyes reflecting the moonlight, making him look creepy. Not really that he needed help. The pause was beginning to get on my nerves, and as I slid off my bed to charge him he opened his mouth.
"Faggot." escaped Yuuta's mouth, which sent me in a frenzied mode and caused me to charge faster. Almost as if in slow motion I saw him close the door. Crap! I couldn't stop my feet from running and CRASH! I fell face first into the door. Next thing I knew the sun was out, however I was still facedown on the floor with my head lined up with the door and a headache to rival that of a lobotomy patient. Rolling over onto my stomach I placed my palms flat on the ground and propped myself up, keeping my head low. I reached up with my right arm and opened the door to find Snorre staring up at me. His little chest quivered with laughter as he looked at my face.
"What?" I growled in a low tone.
"Nice face." Snorre laughed before taking off down the hallway. I'll get him, eventually. I stood myself up and walked down the hallway and throwing myself down onto the table, next to Yuuta. On the otherside was Menne, her hamster Beowulf, Aline, and another person. I lifted my eyes up and noticed a thin male with blonde hair pulled back lazily. Some of the pieces of hair had escaped the hair binder and were framing his face. It was Hayao Misakura.
"Nice of you to show up." I spoke, breaking the silence in the room.
"All for you babe." Hayao laughed, then turned his attention to Menne. She was looking better this morning, her hair still braided into two ponytails falling down the front of her body. More color was in her face and she was smiling a lot. One thing I did notice, they all had plates with breakfast on them - except me. All went silent once again, and the air seemed to become electric as Menne stood up directly, placed her dishes in the sink and preceeded to her room, followed by Beowulf. Soon after everyone began to clear out as they had finished their breakfast, and I wasn't really up for eating.
Soon there was a knock on my door. "Come in." I called out, the door opened and stealthily Aline walked in with a piece of paper in her hand. "Yes?"
"I need you to run into town again and get more stuff." Aline comanded gently, there was no question. I took the list and scanned it, clothing, bandages, ect. All things to help our new house-guest. "Thanks hun." Aline said, giving me a pat on the shoulder before she left the room. As I was getting ready to leave, Yuuta stopped me in the hallway.
"Yes?" slipped out of my mouth. Yuuta was staring at his feet and his hands behind his back.
"I have a bad feeling about you leaving." he mumbled.
"Why is that?" I asked, confident that my trip to the town and back would be quick and eventless.
"Last night I had a dream, it felt too real." he whimpered. "In the dream...y-you were attacked."
"Come on! We live in the middle of nowhere!" I reassured him. "Anyways, it was a dream Yuuta. If you are so worried you can come with, I'm sure anyone wishing harm would let us go after listening to you for five minutes" I messed up his hair and slid my shoes on. Yuuta mimicked my behaviour, sliding on loafers.
"Let me grab my jacket. Wait for me!" Yuuta callled, running back to his room and returning with a red zip-up hoodie. Just as I had predicted, the walk intto town was boring and uneventful. However, Yuuta kept scanning the landscape like a meerkat. Getting closer to the town the roads went from dirt to cobble stone and moss growing between the stones. The townsfolk stopped as they saw the two of us, an unwelcomed pair to their utopia. As we walked down the road they'd clear out of the way when Yuuta and I headed to the clothing shop.
Reaching safety inside the store we headed to the womens section. This was a whole new world to me, all sorts of colors, shapes, and styles. How the hell did Aline expect us to pick something out for Menne? "Why were the people doing that?" Yuuta asked, looking up at me - ligitimately confused. I uncomfortably shuffled through hangers of clothing.
"They don't like us, they don't like people who are different." I replied, and in Yuuta's eyes I could see his tiny soul break. "Don't worry about it." Since when did Yuuta confide in me with his fears? This was unlike him, but it must have been one dream. "Either way, we are here to buy clothes for Menne. " Everything I saw just was mind boggling, how do women wear such clothing. Also, what kind did she like? "Hey Yuuta, you find her some clothing - I'll buy you a treat on the way home. Deal?"
"Deal!" he said, making me pinky-swear and he was off like a green streak through the store. In a matter of moments he handed me a pile of clothing that seemed reasonable enough, so we checked out and headed across the street to the bakery. Yuuta picked out a pastry with strawberry filling. In no time we were leaving town with the items Aline had asked us to purchase.
"Can I get a bite of that?" I asked, leaning over Yuuta. I reached down and he hissed, then licked the pastry. "Nevermind." I finished.
