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Post by biali on Apr 20, 2010 9:38:22 GMT -5
Hey peeps ^^ Sorry for the long wait, but I was a little stuck on this chapter ^^ I hope this long update makes it up ^^"
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Chapter 15 - Compassion
Rina felt how the little Twimp trembled as Tom bent down to her. "Give her to me, Rina. She belongs to me." Urged her brother. She would not have believed that it was possible, but the girl was trembling even more than before. She saw that her brother was pretty upset. It seemed not to be a wise idea to give a fragile creature into his hand, especially, because she was the reason for his anger. "I ... I do not think she wants to be with you now, brother. She has a certain panic. Maybe I should hold her until you calm yourself." She said quietly and pulled her hand back a little, to get the little creature out of his reach. For a moment her brother was a little confused there, but then said, "How do you know, how she feels? Are you a Twimp expert?" Her look was very serious and she could feel Maya tumbling backwards, as if she wanted to escape from the situation. "No, I am not, but even a blind man with a cane would realize that she is afraid of you." She said very angry, but although quiet. Protectively holding her free hand in front of Maya, she suddenly rushed past her brother. She quickly ran to the bathroom and locked the door behind her. "What are you doing Rina? Come out immediately," she heard Tom calling from outside. "No, not until you have calmed down. You better make yourself a tea, while I watch Maya." "I said, come out!" "No matter how much you scream, the door remains locked until we can talk again to reason with you." She replied ,sounding as calm and reasonable as possible. Behind the door, it was quiet now, and she could hear how her brother walked away. Now she looked at the Twimp in her hand, which just wiped tears from his eyes. She suspected that she would feel better if she had some more air to breathe. So she put the little one on the shelf above the sink, and sat down on the toilet lid, right next to it.
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Sophie felt terrible, as she suddenly saw Thomas before her. She could see he was angry, and did not like to think of what he would do her now. She had never had so much anxiety as the moment when he leaned forward to grab her. Fortunately, his sister stopped him. Even if the girl did not like to be back in the hands of a giant, this was probably a pretty safe place at the moment. She hoped fervently that the girl would not hand her over to her brother. Therefore, Sophie was actually almost happy when the giant left the hall, and fled into a room that was clearly identified as a bathroom. But she took not much time to take to a closer look. At the moment she was distracted by Thomas's angry voice that came through the door. Again great fear rose in her and drove her to tears. Only when she heard how he walked away, she calmed down a bit and wiped her eyes dry. Then something happened that she had not really expected. She was finally put down, although it was in a place where she could not move much, but at least she could stand again. A little unsure she looked over to Rina, who gave her a worried look. "Now I feel almost bad that I have brought you here. I did not know that you ran away from .... and also that he freaks out so much because of that." She said almost apologetically. Sophie could not deny that she was far from happy, that Rina had caught her, but at least it seemed like she would really do care about her well being. "It was not easy to come this far, right?" Sophie shook her head and tried to look a little more friendly. "Well, maybe he was just worried ... but you should leave him alone for the time being ... Normally he is very calm and balanced. There even was a time when he remained silent for a whole year. "said the girl, who looked at Sophie a little thoughtfully. "But he has recently lost someone. Since then he has changed a lot ...", she said and her eyes became very sad. Sophie suddenly felt a pang in her heart. She had had no idea that Thomas was in mourning. He had behaved a bit sad and depressed, but of course she could not know beforehand that he had a different character before. Even if she did not approve of his behavior towards her, she still had compassion. His sister seemed to notice that the matter got to her. "Do not worry, he's a big boy. And this matter is no excuse for treating you badly."
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Rina knew that Twimps could not speak, but in contrast to her brother, she already knew that they were very intelligent beings. Her boss had several of these pets, who often stayed at their workplace. She had noticed quickly that they perceived the world around them very deliberately. However, she often was the only one who saw them like that. Many others saw the Twimp only as a rather interesting variation of hamsters, and treated them accordingly. And at the moment she had every reason to suspect that Tom thought the same. She looked at Maya, who seemed not to know exactly where to look at. Again and again she looked into her eyes, and then again around the room. And she constantly shifted the weight of her backpack, as if it would become to heavy for her. She had seen all sorts of things that Twimps produced for their needs, but this piece was the most fascinating she had seen by now. She was a seamstress and appreciated such detailed work. She would have given anything to have a closer look at the tiny piece of luggage, but she would not just take it away from Maya of course. "You can put the backpack down, it must be very heavy, right?" The little girl looked at her a little suspicious. "Do not worry, I will not touch it. And before we go out again, I leave you enough time for pick it up again." She said reassuringly. Maya looked still very uncertain. Probably she was not sure whether she could trust her. After all, she had stopped her otherwise very successful escape. Rina wondered how she could gain her trust, without being intrusive. "Listen, I really want you no harm. On the contrary, I want that you're doing well and will be treated decently by my brother. And we can achieve that the best, by showing him what exactly he needs to do to make it better for you here. I know you know me for just a few minutes, but if you give me just a little trust, we can certainly change a lot. "said Rina, and tried to be as convincing as possible. ---
Sophie looked at the giantess with big eyes. Since she was here, no one had spoken in this way with her: As if she was a human being. The eyes of the girl proved that she meant her words very seriously. Nevertheless, it was a big step to trust someone completely unknown. Especially when this stranger was about eleven times larger than herself But Sophie was not so stupid to pass up such an opportunity. Rina This seemed at least, to be very nice at first glance, and at least she tried to reason with her. She nodded to her carefully, and slowly unbuckled her backpack, which already had caused her some back pain. On Rina's face grew a ridicule happy grin, but it was not sneaky in any way, and Sophie could not help but respond to it in the same way. "Thank you very much, little one. You will not regret it. I promise to treat you more fairly. But I also need your help. If something unpleasant for you, you need give me a sign and we will find something that is pleasant to you, understand? " Sophie nodded happily. She liked what she heard. "So we have to make up a sign which shows that you do not want something. Any suggestions? Sophie thought for a moment, and then moved her hands forward, as if she was pushing something away from her, before she looked expectantly at Rina again. "Well, this is quite clear and by far still clearly visible. I think that will work well." Said the giantess joyfully. Sophie was startled by a sudden loud noise from outside. It sounded like the clatter of dishes and quite loud cursing. Rina also seemed to have heard, and threw an anxious glance toward the door. "I think he will still take a while to cool off. I will not go out there now, or do you want to?" She immediately made the gesture of refusal, which they had agreed. That was really the last thing she wanted now. "I understand, I would have expected that."
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Rina could not sit on the toilet lid as it was quite uncomfortable. So she got up abruptly and stretched a little. Suddenly she heard a loud clatter, and quickly turned to Maya, who apparently stumbled in fright at the sudden movement to the rear, and had tipped over the tumbler and its contents . The little girl was a little taken aback because,she was apparently alarmed by her own reaction. "Oh, sorry Maya, I have not thought of this. Is everything okay? Are you hurt?)" But the Twimp waved and smiled, apparently a little embarrassed. She quickly got up and dusted off her pants. However, some of the dirt was left behind on her little hands. It seemed that her attempt to escape wore out her clothes very much. For a few seconds Rina stood pretty undecided between sink and bathtub. She was not sure if she should ask what she thought, but then decided to say it. "So ... If you want I can prepare a bath for you. You look like you need it..." Maya looked at her blinking. "Of course you get all the privacy you can get, I promise ... I just thought you'd feel you better if you could wash yourself.",stammered Rina. Then she heard something that sounded like a giggle, and it seemed to come from Maya. Did the little one make fun of her? No, that was probably just a normal reaction. After all, they were indeed among women, which made the situation somewhat less precarious. After Maya had calmed, she nodded her assent. "Okay ... wait a minute, I'll run you a little water." For a brief moment, she wanted to turn the bathtub to fill it. But then she came to the conclusion that it would probably not be particularly pleasant, to swim in a huge deep pool. "Um, I think the sink would be better ...", she said somehow absent, and gave a little bubble bath into the pool and then some nice hot water. But only so deep that Maya could comfortably sit in it. "Well, the water is ready." Rina said, reaching out her hand to Maya to take her down. However, the Twimp gave her a negative gesture, and seemed a little scared. "Oh, what's up? I have to put you down, you can not climb down from the shelf." Maya nodded understanding. Then she pointed to Rina, and held out her hand with the palm up, then pointed on herself and imitated a walking movement with her other hand and moved it to the open hand. "Ah, I understand, you do not like it when someone just grabs you, huh? All right, then we try it this way." Carefully Rina put her hand next to Maya, palm up. She could understand that the little on reacted a little nervous and made a big step back. After she had looked back an forth between the huge for her hand and Rinas assuring face, she overcame her fear and climbed carefully over the fingers into the middle of the palm. It was a strange feeling, to feel her little hands and feet on her skin. But above all it was amazing to see how the Twimp literally put her live into her hands. And still voluntary. Only when Maya was sitting quietly, she moved her hand down slowly.
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She still could not believe what she had just done. She had entrusted her person voluntarily to someone she barely knew. But her feeling told Sophie that it was right. It was also significantly more pleasant, to decide whether to be carried around or not. Although the trip lasted only a few seconds, and ended directly next to the faucet, it was still very exciting. She climbed down as carefully as she had gotten up, and cast a friendly glance at Rina, when had solid ground under her feet again. And before she could even think of it, her big new friend had also carried her backpack down. "I think you've got something in there that you might need." Sophie nodded yes and quickly took out her shampoo and a towel. For a moment she stood there, unsure if she should be as easy to get ready for the bath. But apart from size difference, the two were girls, yes, so there was really nothing to it. So she slowly undressed, noting, that Rina turned politely of the opposite shelf, and acted as if she would find the contents terribly interesting.
When she was ready, she grabbed her shampoo and was slowly sliding into the sink, that fortunately had no particularly steep edge, and landed with a small splash in the biggest bubble bath she had ever seen. The water was warm and smelled of jasmine, her absolute favorite flower. She made herself as comfortable as possible, and washed of the fiercest dirt. Then she paddled a bit between the large flakes of foam and enjoyed the smell and the warmth of the water. The circumstances under which she had to clean herself in the last few days, was not nearly as pleasant as this one. But unfortunately the water got quite cool after a short time, and she would not want to let Rina stare at the shelf the whole time. So it was probably time to leave the pool. She carefully moved toward the sloping wall of the sink and tried to get back up. However, the walls were too wet and slippery, so, after a meter, she fell back into the water with a distinctly inelegant splash.
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Rina knew that there was nothing to feel ashamed of. After all, Maya was not a human, but a highly intelligent animal. Therefore, she thought it would be better not to watch while she was swimming, especially because she had promised her the necessary privacy. She spent the time while Maya bathed, to think about her brother. His behavior disturbed her somewhat. He used to be so balanced, before Melissa had passed on, he has become somewhat irritable and got very carried away by his emotions. Even for her and her mother this was difficult enough. But how hars would it be for Maya, who was at the mercy of his moods? Well, as long as she was here, she would be able to protect her as best as possible. But tomorrow she had to leave. “I hope that Tom would have calmed down until then.” A loud splash ripped Rina from her thoughts. It was followed by a small cough and splutter. Worried, she turned to the washbasin, and saw Maya, which was covered by a load of foam in the water, and rubbed the back of her head. "You want out? One moment, I'll help you." She said quickly, and grabbed a wash cloth, lying on a shelf, folded it and laid it on her hand. "Do not be alarmed, I'm not going to grab you." She said then, holding her hand above the water, . Maya smiled, and pulled herself out of the water on her palm. Without stopping to think, Rina grabbed the tiny towel that was still lying by the pool, and let it fall down a little awkward to Maya, who quickly wrapped herself in it, and trembled a little from the cold. "Would be the best if you put on something dry quickly, otherwise you'll catch a cold.", she said in a motherly tone, and let the Twimp down next to her backpack, from which she quickly took out some clothes. Again she turned around so that Maya could change in peace noticed that it had become quiet out side at last. Maybe they should go out now and try to calmly talk to Tom. She waited two minutes before she turned back and saw the Twimp in long dark blue pants and a light green top standing there while she combed her long auburn hair with a tiny brush. "Maya?" I think we should go to Tom now. It seems as if he has calmed down now.” The little one looked at her a little uncertain as she tied the still wet hair in a pony tail. "Remember, I have promised you that I protect you. And that I will keep it. So what do you say?" Maya quickly grabbed her towel and brush, and swung her backpack on her back. "I guess that means yes." Rina laughed and offered her palm again, which was climbed this time without much hesitation. This time she curled her fingers slightly to ensure a little protection of falling, and then walked slowly and cautiously to the door and turned the key. She could feel how the little cramped and trembled a little Out of reflex she held the hand closer to her stomach as if she wanted to hug the little creature to her . And surprisingly, it seemed to work, as Maya seemed much calmer.
Searching, she walked around in the apartment and finally found Tom in the bedroom, where he sat pretty depressed on his bed. "Can we talk now?" Rina asked quietly, and Tom looked up at her. His face no longer looked angry, but rather sad and exhausted. "Yes, sit down." He said curtly, pointing next to him. Rina sat down next to her brother in some distance, so that the Twimp did not feel uneasy.. "I'm sorry Tom, but I had the feeling, that you were not yourself before." "I know. ... It's just...." His eyes fell on Maya, who gazed at him still very scary. "It is far too dangerous out there. You're not a wild Twimp, how do you think you would survive out there?" he hissed at Maya in a very sharp tone.
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Post by Satal on Apr 20, 2010 14:58:45 GMT -5
Looks like he needs some good old meditation. I still like Tom, faults and all. XD
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Post by Amayasama on Apr 20, 2010 15:16:08 GMT -5
XD Okay...totally on Rina's side now, Tom grow up my boy ...XD Though I still luffles him. And I'm wondering dear, was Mesilla his wife? Another sister? An aunt? Who was Mesilla (I think that was her name I can't find it again) to him?
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Bloodcore
Knight
What runs through all peoples veins, I will spill.
Posts: 256
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Post by Bloodcore on Apr 26, 2010 21:35:22 GMT -5
This is gettin' good! I love where you're going with this.
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Post by biali on May 9, 2010 22:32:10 GMT -5
thanks to all of you. And at least Tom get's some love from you. XD No new chapter today, but some awesomeness nonetheless. I got my first fanart ever from a friend on shrinkingman.com ant it is super duper cool ^w^ www.haggi-und-vaughan.de/images/Sophie.jpg
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Post by biali on May 27, 2010 13:31:59 GMT -5
Sorry for not updating for so long. I was stuck on the following chapter and just did not have it in me to complete it. But as every unfinished thing, it was nagging me. and I finally managed to finish the chapter. Now I just have to translate it. I'll try to work on it more frequently from now on, promise >_< ! if everything works well, 'I can post the new chap in a few hours ^^
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Post by biali on May 27, 2010 17:13:08 GMT -5
Okay, sorry again for the long wait again. I hope you still read this story ^^
Chapter 16 - Back at the starting point
--- Sophie flinched as Tom spoke in such a harsh tone and did not really realize what he had just said. Even Rina backed some centimetres away and said: „It's no use if you yell at her like that.“ „Firstly, I'm not yelling and secondly I would have very much reason to scold her. She just went away and I've gone crazy because I was so worried. I turned the whole House upside down to look for her. She could have been stuck anywhere or could have hurt herself while climbing around. At least I'm responsible for her and promised to take care of her.“, he said grumpy, but his tone softened at the end. Although he was actually talking to his sister, Sophie could see from her angle that he meant what he said. And despite his friendly words, she did not really like what she heard. He still talked about her as a pet and not as a human. „And I won't just over her outbreak. Maya has to know that she did something wrong. And that's why she has to live with the consequences now.“, he said more strictly this time and for a split second, he looked into Sophie's eyes. She did not like his tone and words at all, so that she backed away a little more and bumped into Rina's belly in that process. The giantess stayed silent for a moment as if she was pondering of what she should say. Sophie hated the fact that she couldn't say a word to fend for herself. She hat to let those giants to decide her fate. Even if she knew that Rina was on her side, she wanted to give him a piece of her mind himself. The siblings looked at each other, still thinking about their next words. And then she just could not hold it back any more. She was no little child and not an animal, nobody should make decisions for her but herself! This frustration made her do something she did not really think about. She buckled off her backpack, stood up and jumped from Rina's hand onto her lap and after a few unsteady steps, she leaped on the bed. Now it was her turn!
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Tom was used to the fact that his little sister always tried to convince him of her point of view. In the past she had never had any success with this because his arguments had always been better. But since she got older, she got much better every time. That was why he tried to be the leader of this argument. And it seemed as if he had won again because Rina was obviously out of ideas. But then something happened which he had never expected: Maya freed herself from her backpack and impressively swiftly jumped from Rina's hand onto his bed. her landing was not that graceful and she needed some seconds to steady herself. Then she plated her hands on her hips and looked at him in a stubborn way. He did not know how to react to this. For a second he thought of just picking her up and telling her what he thought of her outbreak. But something held him back and he just looked into her small green eyes. She responded with an almost angry expression, which looked somehow familiar to Tom. After a few seconds she slowly moved towards him on the uneven surface until she stood about twenty centimetres away from his leg. „What's up Maya? What do you want?“, he asked, a little confused. She didn't change her expression but made some gestures: first she pointed at him and then pulled on an imaginative rope which was attached to her collar. Then he moved her arms as if she would push something away. „What do you mean?§, he asked, not understanding. „She doesn't like it when you put her on a leash.“, Rina said and looked very worried because Maya was not safe in her hands any more. The little one nodded to his sister's comment. „Well, your actions showed me that a leash is necessary to keep you from running away and putting yourself into danger.“, he said strictly and bent down to her a little, which made the Twimp jump. But she did not stop to look at him stubbornly.
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Sophie was not sure any more if her actions were very smart, when he suddenly came so near. But although she knew that Rina meant no harm for her, she felt much safer when she was not in the hand of any giant. She was well aware that he could just pluck her from her spot in this situation, but she tried to look as unimpressed by that fact as possible. For some time she stared into Thomas' eyes- Actually she had planned to tell him that she did not want to be treated like an animal by using gestures, but right now she did not feel able to do so. Suddenly the giant looked away from her and moved his hand over his face. „What am I doing here actually? As if it would be of any use to discuss this.“, he said gloomy. „I just have to secure the cage and then nothing like this will happen again. Like I said: I'm her owner and so I'm responsible for her outbreak.“, he said to Rina. Sophie just stared at him with an open mouth. This was really not what she wanted to achieve. The only thing she had on mind was to get away from him and to live on her own. Frustrated she stomped with her foot and let hear an annoyed groan.
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Rina looked at her brother very unsatisfied. He just sounded like every other human who saw Twimps as better dogs. But her little conversation in the bathroom showed her that this was not the case- She wanted to contradict vehemently, but as she looked at Tom properly, she saw that she could not convince him today. But at least he was much calmer now and she was sure that he would not harm Maya physically. But as he reached out to the little one, she said quickly: „Er... can I bring her to her cage? I think she feels a little safer with me today...“ Her brother stopped in his motion and looked at Rina sceptically. „No worries, I'll close the door properly. I've no interest in letting her start such a dangerous thing again.“, she added quickly and a little snappy. „Okay.“, he finally said and put his hand back on his lap which calmed down Rina and also Maya, who looked very much depressed now. Cautiously she reached out and was just about to pick her up as she remembered their agreement in the bathroom. Slowly she put her palm next to Maya. The Twimp gloomily looked back and forth between the siblings and climbed on the hand a little more hesitantly than the last time.
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Tom's eyes widened as he saw how Maya climbed onto the hand without any forcing. „H-how did you do that.? He asked very surprised and unconsciously pointed at the Twimp. „She told me that she does not like to be picked up. Maya understands very well that it is necessary to carry her, but this is much more pleasant for her.“, said his sister and he could see the little one nod to this. „What do you mean, she told you? I...“, he responded confused. „You surely noticed that she understands us very well. She can't talk, but she can show quite well what she likes and what not. And before in the bathroom she made me understand that she prefers this way of transportation.“ Tom remembered how he had 'talked' with the Twimp before. Again it became clear to him that Maya was much more intelligent and understanding than one would expect from a pet. But it was hard for him to see her as anything different than that. And even if she were anything different, he still would feel responsible for her safety. At least Maya was put into his care and he would protect her from any danger, even from the danger she puts herself in. He gave no response to Rina's explanation and just said: Okay, just bring her to bed and give her some fruits and water. I'll prepare your bed in the meantime.“ Then he looked at Maya and added: „Good night, little one.“
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Sophie was not really content with the outcome of this conversation, but at least she was still in one piece. As Rina started to move, she held on to her thumb to secure herself. It was still strange to be carried around in such a ridiculous height and she was sure that she would never get used to it completely. As they came into the living room, Rina closed the door behind her and told her: I'm sorry that this did not turn out any better. But I think today to much had happened and we can't expect quick solutions. Maybe I can talk to him better tomorrow.“ Sophie responded with an understanding nod and looked around the room. Nothing seemed to be in its old place any more. All cupboards and shelves were emptied and the contents were spread all over the floor. The couch was moved away from its place and even the big cabinet on the wall was moved. Rina had to pick up the cage from the ground to put it back in its old place on the sideboard. Only now it became clear to Sophie how desperately he had looked for her. She almost felt bad for making him worry so much. But then her eyes fell on 'her' cage again and she remembered which kind of worry it must have been. Surely he was just scared to lose his new, extremely expensive pet because of his carelessness. Slowly Rina out her down and placed her backpack next to her on the ground. Then she knelt before the sideboard to be on eye level with her. „Maybe it will take some time, but I think you'll soon get a better place to sleep.“, she said cheering and seemed quite convinced by her own words. Sophie just had to give her a friendly smile for this before the giantess left the room to prepare some food for her. Exhausted she let herself fall on the bed and buried her face in her hands. So she was on her starting point again. But at least she got a very precious new friend now. Sighing she stated to pull out her sleeping bag and unpacked her things.
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Orphus' robe slid over the marble floor of the huge entrance hall of the temple, as he walked up to the elevator with confident steps, which just did not fit his high age. The priests and adepts who were passing by, greeted him with a respectful bow. Today he had only few things on his schedule. Mainly he would just control the rituals and prepare his speech for the parliament. His bony fingers pushed the button which would bring him to the fifth floor. A little bored he turned one of his many rings and wasted a little thought on Peter, the young priest. He had reacted neglecting, like many others who were informed about the truth. But like all the others, he would resign his doubts and would full fill his task for the good of the community.
The elevator doors opened and allowed the view on a long hallway, which was much more plain than the entrance hall, which was highly decorated with marble and gold. Here the floor was also made of polished stone, but the doors were absolutely plain.. Normally no believer came here. They mostly dwelled in the foyer or the preaching hall. The upper stories were of no interest for them. Actually it was strictly forbidden to go there, but Orphus thought that a very less secured security zone would attract less attention. And the last twenty years proved that this policy was very effective. Confidently he walked down the hallway and after a few meters, he stopped at a door that did not differ from any other. After a strong knock he stepped in and unconsciously held his breath. The room was almost completely white, if one looked away from the linden green curtains which weakened the daylight in a pleasant way. In the middle stood a long table on which several silver bowls were placed. They were filled with a steaming liquid which emerged a bitter smell. Left and right from the table stood four beds, but only one of it was occupied. The person who was lying in it, was barely to be seen because he was covered by the blanket. But this was not important, Orphus knew that this person would not live much longer. His attention lay on a young priest, who sat on a chair next to the bed. Her face was covered with paint and hundreds of symbols, so it was hard to see her features. But if one looked more properly, one could see a concentrated frown and beads of sweat on her forehead. After looking at her for a few seconds, the door opened behind him, and a man in white clothes came in. „Good morning, master Orphus.“, he greeted the head priest and bowed deeply before him. „Good morning. How is the ritual going?“ he asked curtly. „Well the outcome is not overwhelming but average. Since yesterday she had only managed two seals, and it looks like she would not do any more.“, reported the assistant and felt the pulse of the priest, who groaned slightly. Orphus nodded, but could not suppress a sound of disapproval. „Well then we have tt put our hoped in the new well trained ones. I thank you for your work.“, the head priest stated and left the room after a short nod.
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muhahahah! Some more obscure Orphus- plot for you.... I hope you like it ^^
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Post by Amayasama on May 28, 2010 17:01:25 GMT -5
;3; Ohhh Tom you buttmunch you need to listen more...
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Post by biali on Jun 1, 2010 11:03:54 GMT -5
Amaya: well, we'll see if he listens in this chapter XD Although i can't find a german translation for buttmunch, I can imagine quite well what it means XD
Now you will get a longer chapter with some information but also some mysteries... be prepared ^^ This time the translation is done without translator tool or dictionary, that's why I needed almost 5 hours for it ;o;
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Chapter 17 – Dreams, Desire, Tears
Sophie hit the ground very hard. Coughing she propped herself up and looked around. She could not remember at all that she fell down from anything which could cause this fall. After she took in her surroundings, she recognized that there was nothing around her but an endless black floor which reflected a source less light. Confused she got up and rubbed her shoulder which hurt after that mysterious drop. The Steps she made now, caused no sound. This fact reminded her of this strange tunnel which lead to this strange giant world. Maybe this was the exit. Quickly her uncertain steps changed into a quick running. But no matter how long she ran, everything around stayed black and dark. „Hello?!“, she called trough the silence and was a little surprised to hear her own voice so loud. First she did not hear anything but the echoing of her voice, but then an extremely loud and dark ringing of a bell sounded over her and was followed by a many voiced speaking choir: „Golden rule number one: „Your being shall be hidden to everyone. Golden Rule number two: The sound of your voice will not reach your master. Golden rule number three: „Your...“ The voices vanished very abruptly, just like the surroundings did. Sophie now stood on a small lawn which was next to some high green bushes. She still was too confused from this strange voices, so that she did not realize that everything was in the right scale now. And although it looked like she was in the open air, she could not feel any wind going and no sun on her skin. She flinched heavily when suddenly a woman appeared right next to her. She did not sneak up on her but just showed up. She was not not much taller than Sophie and had long brown hair that fell a little wavy down her shoulders. Her dark green eyes looked at Sophie somehow curiously. Nervously the girl made some steps backwards and tried to think of what she should say. But then she looked at the young woman's face and got the strange feeling that she had met her before. „Who are you?“ Sophie asked. The woman just wanted to say something, but a loud bang made the scene vanishing.
Sophie rushed awake and found herself inside her sleeping bad before her bed in the cage. Sleepily she looked up and saw how Thomas was strangely jumping through the room on one leg and cursed: „Damn table, argh!“ Obviously he hit his toe, which would explain the bang that woke her up. But Sophie did not know how she could have fallen out of the bed. Still in her sleeping bag she crawled back on her bed and hoped that she could find some more sleep. But when she saw that Thomas quickly approached the cage, she could not think of sleeping any more. Rather scared she backed away to the farthest corner and looked at him with scared eyes. After all that happened yesterday, she could not be sure what consequences for her outbreak would have now. As he saw her rather intense reaction, he stopped immediately and bent down a little bit. „Clam down. I didn't want to scare you. I'm sorry if I woke you with all that noise. I totally forgot to move the furniture back in place and hurt myself.“ he explained, almost embarrassed. Sophie did not know how to react. It almost looked like he had forgotten what had happened yesterday. But she could not be completely sure, that was why he looked at him suspiciously and did not move an inch. „Er... well.“ He obviously tried to find the right words to say something and a faint cough from the corridor seemed to help him. „Well, I had a long conversation with my sister yesterday... Ah well actually it was just too hard to make her shut up.“ a louder, and slightly angry cough could be heard from outside „Er, whatever. In the end we... I made a decision. I think it would be of no use if I would keep you locked up for the next few days.“ Sophie flinched a little at these Words. That he had even considered this method, made her feel extremely uneasy. „And that's why I think it would be better if I... er... give you more opportunities to show me that you won't repeat what you did yesterday by giving you a little more freedom.“ Sophie sat up very interested and a faint smile came over her lips. „But you have to understand that I want to take it slowly. I think both of us must get used to it.“, he ended his little speech ant looked at her expectantly.
The wheels in her head were turning. She did not know exactly what he meant by 'more freedom'. Maybe this would offer more chances to flee. But where would that lead to? If he would catch her while running away again, he would surely not go easy on her. But if she could move more freely, her life here would not be that bad any more. And maybe she could finally achieve that he would not see her as a pet any more. Yes, that could be the right way. She looked into his eyes which still looked at her questioning. She could imagine that it must have been hard for him to offer her that much. That's why she thought it would be polite to show him a little appreciation. A little hesitantly she peeled off her sleeping bag and stepped from the bet to the floor. She straightened herself and then pointed her forefinger on herself. Thomas nodded to show that he was looking at what she did. Then she imitated walking before shaking her head vehemently. „Does this mean that you won't run away again?“, he tried to interpret her gestures. Sophie nodded and pondered what she could add. She reached out her hand as if she would seal her words with a handshake. Thomas took some time to understand what she meant by this, but then he quickly opened the cage door and slowly moved his hand inside until it was only a few centimetres away from her. Of course it was still scary for her when such a huge limb approached her like that, but she tried to remain still. As non-hesitantly as possible she raised her arm and placed her hand on his forefinger. He twitched a little under her touch, which was certainly tickling him. „I count that as a promise.“ he said sternly but his face was friendly, to which Sophie responded with a friendly smile.
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Tom was happy that Maya did not seem to be scared of him any more. Maybe his sister was right after all. She saw the Twimp in a way he did not really agree with. After all he just wanted to handle Maya with much less stress. And if she felt good, he would not have to worry that much any more. After a few moments he took his hand out of the cage and said: „Rina and I will have breakfast in a few minutes. If you want to, you can eat with us. She gave him a happy nod as an answer. „Okay, then I'll get you when everything is ready.“, he added and went into the kitchen to prepare the food.
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Sven was woken up by a heavy hit into his stomach and sat up coughing and choking. Ready to attack, he looked around for the attacker and saw his wife Lena who was snoring next to him. One of her hands was placed on her pregnant belly and the other on his stomach. He sighed. For a few weeks she slept very bad and gave him very much sleepless nights. The day before yesterday she had occupied the whole bed and made him fall on the floor. A short glance at the clock told him that it was six o'clock in the morning. He had two hours left until he had to go to work but he did not think that he could find more sleep this morning. He gave Lena a sweet kiss on her belly and left the bedroom as quiet as possible.
The wide corridor which he passed now, did not differ ,much from any usual corridors. The floor was covered with bright wooden floor boards and on the left side was chamber which was separated from the rest of the room by a curtain. As quiet as possible he tried to sneak past that curtain, but before he could the living room on the end of the hall, he heard a faint but moaning voice saying: „Do you have to stomp trough here like a herd of elephants?“ Sighing Sven turned around and looked down. The small black curly head of Pato peeked out of the curtain and he could his disapproving face even from a distance. „I'm sorry. I tried to be quiet. Go back to sleep.“, he whispered at him. „I don't think I can sleep if you keep on trying to be 'quiet'.“, the Twimp responded grumpily. „Well, then you can enjoy the breakfast TV-program with me.“ „Oh yes, there is nothing I would like to do more.“, Pato said and rolled his eyes. Sven did not understand why Pato had such a great sympathy for the morning program, but maybe it was one of these 'ironic' comments. His small friend had often tried to explain him this rhetorical tool, which was obviously frequently used between Twimps. But it was hard for him to make it out. „Do you come alone or should I give you a lift?“, he asked and tried not to show his uncertainty. Pato shook his head with a little grin but then said: „Wait a sec. I'll just put something on.“ Only a few seconds later he stepped out and was dressed in long gray pants and a washed out green hoodie. Sven knelt down and picked him up routinised but also gently. Earlier he had offered him his palm to get on, but Pato still had a big problem with heights and felt safer when he was held completely. „Why are you awake that early anyway?“ mumbled Pato who was certainly not a morning person. „Ah, Lena hit me again in her sleep.“, Sven responded a little gloomy. „Hehe, maybe your child will become an martial arts fighter if it even makes the mother so aggressive.“, joked the Twimp. „Then I'll let it train with you, then it will at least have an opponent in it's size.“ Sven responded with a smirk and opened the door to the living room. It still looked quite messy in there. Everywhere stood the presents of Lena's baby-party and the furniture for the baby still were there because the nursery was not ready yet. But the way to the white sofa in the middle of the room was free. But before he let himself sink into the cushions, he put Pato down on the flat coffee-table in front of the couch. „I think I will do my best to stay away, if it shows such a talent before it is even born.“, said the boy and held up his arms in defeat. Sven pondered for a moment. It would surely be necessary to keep Pato away from his offspring. Children were just too dangerous for Twimps and he really did not want to put his small friend into danger. „Hey, didn't we want ton watch TV?“, the little one interrupted his thoughts. He had made himself comfy on a pillow that was placed on the table especially for him. Sven nodded and switched the screen on. The morning news were on now. A brunette woman in a serious dress said: „... The new government will move into the parliament tomorrow. Still it is not clear how much weight they will give the words of head priest Orphus in governmental matters. Master Orphus made no comment on that....“ „Who is this guy actually?“, asked Pato and turned his head to Sven. „You mean Orphus? He is the head of the 'Community of Salvation'. It's the leading religion here in Tuskland.“ „Really? I did not notice that the people here are very religious.“, The Twimp stated a little confused. „Well me and Lena don't make such a fuss about it, but much morals and traits are based on the main ideas of the Community. And much laws were just copied from the holy books of this religion. That's why the words of the head priest still have much weight.“ „Does this work well?“ „There are some people who do not approve so much importance of religion in politics. Often some new laws were not established because Orphus spoke against it although he has no actual political might.“, explained Sven. „And is this new government on his side or against him.“ „Well, nobody knows exactly, as you have heard in the news.“ „But you voted for then, or didn't you?“, asked Pato a little bewildered. Sven looked at him with wide eyes. „Voted? What do you mean?“ „Er... who decides who leads the country?“ „This is not exactly decided. The government consists of the best absolves of the elite- university here in Runburg. They are replaced every decade. „Hmm... very strange system...“ mumbled Pato. Sven did not say more. He was a little astonished that the Twimp showed such an interest in politics. Normally he just focused on technology or food. The news were over now and some ads flickered on the screen. A soft and happy melody gave an interlude for a spot that showed a young female Twimp who presented her nice hair as a result of the new Twimp-food. Sven saw that Pato frowned at this. On the one hand because hid kind was considered as pets but on the other hand he could see that his eyes were longing for something. He hesitated to ask what he had in mind, but he did anyway: „Er... Pat?“ The Twimp turned around to him. „I know that this might be a bit personal, but... do you feel alone a little?“ „What do you mean? We are three here, soon four.“, he responded. But it came a little too quick. „You know exactly what I mean. It would surely be more pleasant for you to talk with someone without looking up all the time.“ Pato remained silent for a while. Obviously Sven guessed right. „But how should that work? You surely don't want to... buy... another Twimp, or do you?“, he finally asked. „No, not really. But maybe there are some other possibilities... Maybe you can remember Thomas. We met him at the grocery store two days ago.“ „You mean the black-haired guy with the Twimp-food?“ „Yes, he told me that he had just gotten a female...“ „A girl.“, Pato interrupted him angrily. „I'm sorry. So, a few days ago he got a Twimp-girl. And we were quite good friends in the past. Maybe I can befriend him again and you could talk to her.“ „I don't know...“ „Come on. It would not be bad for her if she would get the chance to talk to someone. You know exactly how frustrating it was for you when you could not speak with us.“, Sven stated. Pato seemed to ponder. He seemed worried in some strange way, but Sven did not understand why. „Yeah, Okay. Maybe that would not be that bad... Thanks.“, he finally said. „No problem, buddy.“ Sven said smiling.
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Sophie had finished her morning routine and was now dressed. She put her mug, plate, knife and fork into a small messenger bag to be prepared for the meal. While she was waiting for breakfast to begin, she remembered that strange dream. She could not recollect it completely. This eerie speaking choir was echoing in her head, but she could not make out any word now. And then this woman: Who was she and why had Sophie the strange feeling of knowing her? The door opened and Thomas came in. „Okay, breakfast's ready.“, he said somehow happily and opened the cage door. She prepared to be picked up, but to her surprise he offered her his palm instead. He gave her a cheering nod which gave her the guts to get on. She felt his muscles twitching. Surely it tickled when someone so small was moving on ones palm. Because if that she tried to bring herself into position as quickly as possible and then remained still. A little shy she looked up into his face and saw something like a proud expression. As they came into the kitchen, she something a little unexpected but still nice: Rina sat waving on the table and wore blouse which showed every colour of the rainbow. The table was covered with many delicious food and the smell of fresh baked rolls and cocoa was in the air. But what caught her eye was the place which they had obviously prepared for her. Someone had build a small armchair out of match boxes and the seat was covered with a folded piece of cloth. An empty cardboard box for teabags was placed in front of it to serve as a table.
The breakfast went quite smoothly, but Sophie only had the chance to eat the things that the giants gave her. She would have loved to walk around and pick whatever she wanted. But neither Tom nor Rina wanted to give her something of the sweet stuff. Maybe they thought that Twimp could not cope with too much sugar. So she could not enjoy any jelly or honey for breakfast and only ate cream cheese and bread and some vegetables. But she did not want to complain. After all she did not have to stay in the cage the whole morning. The main thing that was disturbing her, were the loud chewing sounds the siblings made. They had no bad table manners at all, but their size amplified the unpleasant noise. Although she knew that the people here ate no people her size, but it was still disturbing to hear the crunching of theses giant teeth. Sophie tried to concentrate on other things and cut a big piece of bread with her knife and fork. Soon she noticed that Thomas was watching her while she did this. And Rina said what Sophie was thinking: „Why do you stare at her like that?“ „I just wonder where she got that knife and fork.“ „Maybe it was in the basic equipment that came with her when mom bought her.“ „I don't think a human can produce something as small as this... her backpack is also worked too detailed.“, Tom mentioned. Sophie did not like that they talked about her as if she wasn't there. „Maybe the Twimp of her tribe produced it.“, guessed Rina. „What tribe?“ „She is a wild catch. She surely had lived in some kind of tribe with other Twimps.“ „But she said she did not live in the wilderness.“, responded Tom and both of them looked at Sophie again, who gave them a slightly angry glare. „But you lived somewhere else before, right Maya?“, Rina asked and seemed very curious. The Twimp nodded and was a little relieved that she was now part of the conversation. „Did you live with your family?“, she asked further.“ Maya nodded again and her face became sad as she thought about the fact that she would maybe never see her parents again. „Do you have siblings, too?“, Tom wanted to know, he obviously got curious too now. Sophie looked at him for a long time as if she was thinking if she should tell him. But instead of giving an answer, her eyes suddenly filled with tears which she quickly tried to wipe away. As this was in vain, she stood up abruptly and turned around. „Maya... what's wrong?“, she heard his voice behind her and it sounded worried. Although she knew that he couldn't have known what is question has triggered, she cursed him for asking it. She would probably need weeks to let those pictures vanish which were now in her head again: Those empty blue eyes, the crusty blood in the short blonde hair... Soon she began to sob heavily and just couldn't stop. Suddenly she felt a big hand closing around her which lifted her up slowly. Maybe Thomas wanted to bring her back into her cage so that she could calm down. But she did not feel him standing up but was pressed onto a soft and warm surface. The steady beat under this surface told her where she was and what was happening. Thomas held her very close to his chest. He was giving her a comforting hug... at least as far as this was possible. Sophie was not sure if she should accept such a personal reaction from him. But she felt very miserable and if she was really honest, she was grateful for this attention. Resigning she dug her hand into the fabric of his shirt and pressed her teary face against the cloth. Now she just let her tears flow and her lips formed a voiceless „Thank You“.
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Post by Amayasama on Jun 1, 2010 15:33:40 GMT -5
D: Awww Tom, good boy! Good boy for huggling Sophie like that! ;3; I teared up near the end...good chapter hun!
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Post by MoonStarNinja4 on Jun 1, 2010 18:15:12 GMT -5
Aww... That was a good chapter! ^_^
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Post by Neon on Jun 2, 2010 21:04:48 GMT -5
A death in the family, hmm? Good of Tom to be sensitive for once. It's been too long since I could comment, but I've been keeping up, promise! ^^
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Post by biali on Jun 15, 2010 17:39:29 GMT -5
Well, Tom is a good boy... he just needs more time to show it ^^ Thank you all for commenting or just reading my story, it means a lot to me ^___^
On my 8 hour train ride to Berlin I had time to write one and a half chapter, so I hope that the next one could be ready in a few days, If my chinese exam won't take too much time. But here you have the first part of my on-the track- typing XD
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Chapter 18 - Two steps forward, one step back
It took a while before the Maya had calmed down, if it could be called that. At least her loud sobs, which Tom had never expected to hear from such a small body in this volume, were slowly turning into an occasional sniff. He was quite happy that the Twimp did not took his comforting gesture negative, but on the contrary, had reacted very grateful. He kept looking down at her red hair, which was pressed into the fabric of his gray T-shirt again and again. He wondered what had happened to her family members, and that's what confused him again. Until just now he had not even known that Twimps lived in family groups, and had such a strong connection to them that their loss could drove them to such grief. At the moment she reminded him of himself, as he had been crying three months ago until no tears were left in him, and everything was replaced by that dull feeling in the stomach. Nothing at that time could have prepared him for Melissa's death, and not for the emptiness that it would leave in his life. He did not know if he did make to much out of Maya's reaction, whether animals mourned just like humans. But for the moment this was not important at all. She felt bad and needed attention. Rina sat opposite to him with drooping shoulders and compassionate face, and was obviously not quite sure how she should react. Maybe she felt guilty because she had raised the family theme. After a while she seemed to recollect, and quietly began clearing the table. Tom wondered what he should do now. It would certainly be heartless, to put Maya in her cage again and leave her to herself. But quickly he thought of something better. He shortly nodded to Rina and then slowly left the kitchen. His path led him not into the living room but the bedroom. For a moment he stood beside his bed and intended to lay the Twimp on the pillow. But he had the feeling that she could feel lost on such a huge plain. The floor was also out, since she would intended not feel safe when there was the risk of being trampled by someone or had to look up to him from so far down . His eyes went from the closet near the bed over to the garden door and then saw something that might fit better. In the corner near the door was a light green and white striped hammock chair hanging from the ceiling. A small pillow lay in the set, which would surely make a good mattress for Maya. Tom was pretty sure that she would feel comfortable there. She would have a good view, protection from the back and sides and also was quite comfortable. He looked back down at her, and noticed that she tried to look around, but could not because he still held on tightly to her. He carefully took off his hand and moved it under her body to give her a more secure area to sit on. She gave him a, as he suspected, grateful nod and turned around, wiping a tear from her eye. When Maya discovered the hammock chair, he said: "You can rest yourself there if you want."
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Sophie still felt miserable, but she soon had no strength left to cry. She also found it a little embarrassing to show her deepest feelings to two people she barely knew.
But even if the tears disappeared, the terrible images in her head did not. It had happened four years ago, but suddenly it seemed as if only a few days passed since that fateful afternoon. If she just had not been there that day . She did not want to see how it had happened, seeing it made it real, much more real than she could cope with endure. She had noticed that Thomas had stood up, and suddenly felt very uncomfortable. He carried her like a baby that was placed over a shoulder to calm it, only that she was, in this case, still pressed against his chest. She wondered what he would do, but could not turn around to see anything. Only a few moments later he pulled his hand away and let her sit down. Because her eyes were still full of tears, so she first did not recognize where she was, and especially what was before her. Not until she had thoroughly wiped her eyes, she recognized the room as a bedroom, but to identify the strange Object in front of her was not so easy. It seemed to be a very thick, striped fabric, having a cave-like form, but which, as she realized after a closer look, had an open top and was hanging from the cieling on a construction of several ropes. In the middle of the cave was a large lime green cushion, perhaps twice as big as a double bed. "You can rest yourself there if you want." She heard Thomas' voice, which sounded after this long silence. Sophie looked up at him with a questioning look. She did not understand why he did not put her back in the cage right away. "I thought, now you need a little more friendly place. Here you have some peace and can look out into the garden. This hammock chair was the favorite spot for ...", he stopped short, and his eyes got back this wistful expression. "My wife really loved to sit there.", He finished the sentence. Sophie's mouth was wide open for a moment, but she quickly closed it again, because it sure looked awfully rude. She would have expected many things from Thomas, but not that he is married ... or was. "She is on the other side now , but I think she would not mind if you relax in her chair.", He added, and gave her a sad smile. Sophie did not know how they should react. Should she be proud that he offered her such a meaningful place, or should she refuse strictly because it was burdened with such sad memories. But Thomas took her from the decision by making it easy to put her down on the pillow and sat down on the ground before it , so that he was only about two meters taller than her. The hammock chair swayed a little back and forth by his touch and made sure that she had to sit down. "And? Is that comfortable?" He asked with a smile, this time with a less sad look. Sophie nodded simply, firstly because it was actually quite pleasant, and secondly to not to complain about the favourite spot of his passed away wife. "That's good. If there would not be as some hygienically problems, I would let you sleep the night here. I think this is a very good place for you." Sophie could not tell what he meant. From here she surely was not able to flee. There was nothing on which one could climb down, under it and beside it was nothing but air. She had no problem with the height, but that she could not even leave this place in an emergency made her scared. It was like a prison without bars and walls. Thomas looked at her a little quizzically, as if trying to read her thoughts, and then wrinkled his brow thoughtfully. She dared not really to tell him what she thought about his idea. In her condition she did not want to cause more stress or trouble. "Wait, Wait a second, I think I have an idea." He said suddenly, getting up hastily. The draft that resulted from the movement, made the hammock rock a little. He left the room and moments later she heard a low rumble and clatter which she could not really identify. Resigned, she let herself fall into the pillow, that fortunately did not yield too much, and made a comfortable mattress. Thoughtfully, she looked at the ceiling, where the chair was attached with a giant metal hook. She tried to close her eyes for a moment, but when she did, those awful pictures only came back to mind. Therefore, she turned to the side and watched as the sunlight glinted through the fabric. It looked very nice, almost pleasant hypnotic. There was a pleasant warmth in the room, and the birds out there really sounded just like at home, only a lot louder. Slowly she began to wonder why this world was so little different from herr own. Except for the size of the animal and plant life it was pretty much the same. There was television, telephones, cars, and they even spoke German here. It was all very strange, but there had to be a reason. Maybe she would find out someday. Tom suddenly burst into the room, but not with empty hands. He carried a kind of beside table in both hands, on which were some things she still could not identify exactly. "I'm sorry if you had to wait, but I tried to hurry." He said and then put the table down in front of the hammock chair. Sophie could now see what was on it: It was the washing chamber, her food and drinking bowl, and her backpack and sleeping bag and some loose clothes that he had probably picked up from the cage floor. At first she did not understand exactly what all this meant, but when she looked closer, she realized that the tabletop was less than half a meter away from the hammock. She would be able to get in the table without major problems to get to the washing area. And also the legs offered an escape route for emergencies. "You can sleep here, and you can also live her. Is it not a bad idea, right?" He said, apparently very proud of his idea. Of course, Sophie was glad of this opportunity. After all,she would no longer be stuck in this cage, which was often quite stuffy and here she had a much more comfortable place to sleep. The only thing that made her a little worried, was the fact that she would sleep in the same room with him. What if he snored awfully loud or talked in his sleep? But Sophie was trying to push these thoughts aside and gave him an approving nod. Maybe that was a big step to a much more pleasant life here. "Tom, it's half past eight, we must go!" Rina suddenly called from the hallway. Thomas started and looked at his clock: "Ah, she's right. Okay, I'll have already put food and water in the bowl. I'm back again this afternoon. Be a good Twimp." He said quickly and stood up, but stopped before he left. "I can leave you alone, right? I mean, you're feeling better, right?" He asked a little worried. Sophie was not sure. She felt better, but if she thought about how boring it might be here, and what thoughts might rise again... "Maybe I'll take you with me." He said, and looked as though he had already decided. He put his palm next to her and then said: "It is not necessarily exciting at work, but it is certainly more varied than here." She was not sure if she really felt able to go somewhere, let alone to a place where everything would be crowded with giants, but she was also pretty sure that it would be pretty boring if she stayed here alone. And boredom would not distract her from her gloomy thoughts at all. It would probably be good to see something other than the house and when she learned something more of this world, it would perhaps be possible soon to find a door back home. Carefully, she climbed on Tom's hand and sat down in the middle.
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Tom thought about how he would carry Maya, so she would not fall. Because he could not keep her in the hand all the time. Then he remembered his old friend Sven he had recently met at the supermarket. He had had his Twimp in his pocket. Maybe that would work with Maya, too. He walked fast, but still cautious into the hall, where Rina was waiting impatiently. "Please take Maya for a sec." ,he said, and put the Twimp gently on the hand of his sister, so he could quickly put on his shirt. "You want to take her with you?" Rina asked perplexed "Yes, I think she should not be alone today." "The poor thing will get terribly bored at your dull office job. I could take her to the studio, which would be certainly much more interesting for her. And perhaps some off my boss' Twimps are there, then she would have some company." suggested Rina. "Are there male Twimps?" He asked a little sceptical. And Maya was back in his hand after he had put on his shirt. "Yes, two of them are males." Rina said, and seemed not to know why he asked. "Then rather not, she comes with me." He replied sternly. "Hm? Why? "His sister asked confused. "They are males. They will surely harass Maya. And I honestly do not want any Twimp- cubs in the near future." He replied, wincing a little as he heard the Twimp coughing in his hand, gasping for air . Worried, he raised her to eye level and asked, "Is everything all right?"
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Sophie did not know whether she should laugh or cry loudly, as she heard Thomas* comment. What sick imagination he had of the people her size? Of course there were some men who try everything to get a woman into bed, but that humans would act like dogs in that case, was absurd. She wanted to laugh out loud, of course, but failed and led therto swallow and to cough loudly. When he lifted his hand concerned and asked her if she was ok, the cough gradually calmed down again and she nodded. But nothing was allright. Despite all the progress that had been made today, he still thought she was an animal.
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Rina was a little amused at the testimony of her brother and laughed at him a little. "Dear brother, you really do not know much about Twimps, right?" She asked, grinning. "What do you mean by that?" He asked a little peeved, and turned his eyes away from Maya, who had now calmed down, to his sister. "Twimps are not rodents or dogs. They have themselves pretty well under control. My boss holds females and males together for years, and there had never been any...outcome." Tom was still sceptical. "I think I'd rather be safe than sorry. Maya is much smaller than other Twimps, she could not defend herself if they are mean to her." He said, determined and held his hand, on which Maya was sitting ,very close to his chest. Rina did not know if she should assess Tom's suddenly awakened protective instinct as positive, but she now had no desire to discuss this further. After all, they were already very late, and it did not look like she would be able to sway him in the next minute. "Well, then maybe another time ... We really have to go, otherwise I'll miss my train, and you'll be late too." ,she urged him now, and opened the front door.
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Sophie had indeed hoped to be allowed to come with Rina to finally see people of their size, but Thomas' sister's conviction talent was not as good today as yesterday. However, what made her much more concerned, was his overprotective nature, which he suddenly put on. It was true that she was smaller than most of the other people, but that he thought that she would therefore be suppressed, bothered her a lot. He certainly had not a very high opinion of people of their size. As Rina opened the door, he suddenly moved his hand up and held it in front of the large breast pocket of his shirt and seemingly waited for her to climb into it. She was not sure if she wanted to. When the girl thought of what heat he had emitted during their 'embrace', she did not know how warm it would be if she would be sitting in this pocket. But as the two siblings were in such a hurry, she did not want to be cause of much more delay. So she turned around and climbed carefully into the pocket in where she disappeared almost completely. Only if she would pull herself up at the fabric, she could look out over the edge. And without extensive effort, it was not possible to stand. For now, she sat down cross-legged, leaning her back against the sagging material that faced the outside. So she sat in it like on a beach chair and did not come into much to close contact with Thomas' body heat. He looked into the pocket and asked: "Is that all right?" She nodded somewhat restrained but smiled a little. That seemed to satisfy him, so he looked away again and now set in motion. It was something else, to be inside here and not in his hand. Apparently he normally compensated his strong rocking movements with his hand. But in the pocket, she was exposed to the undamped ups and downs. Although the fabric was somehow elastic, it was not necessarily pleasant. Moreover, in her position, she could hear his heartbeat that was anything but subtle. Sophie did not want to imagine how big heart must be for such a huge body. Was it really a good idea to accompany him? In any case, there was now no turning back now and she surely would have an opportunity to negotiate with him about convenient form of transportation later, for now she would have to go through this. So the girl tried to stay calm and rather focused on the sounds that came from outside. Sophie could hear the wind and few birds ,apart from the volume, actually sounded like at home. All of these similarities with her home world were pretty suspicious.
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Post by Neon on Jun 15, 2010 22:26:27 GMT -5
Suspicious? That may be a bit of an understatement, considering her plight. Very good chapter, and better that he's protective than mean, right? Seems to me like he's coming around, slowly but surely.
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Post by Amayasama on Jun 15, 2010 22:38:23 GMT -5
^0^ Ohhh does that mean that Tom's gunna get all older brother/fatherly protective? XD Holy crud she's in trouble...
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Post by biali on Jun 18, 2010 9:00:10 GMT -5
This will be a rather short chapter, but there is very much revealed ^^ I hope you like it ^^
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Chapter 19 - The dream of flying
After Sven had gone to work, Pato had spent the rest of the morning in the study. It was a relatively small room, which mostly consisted of one big desk, which occupied nearly half of the place, and a comfortable office chair. The room had not even a window, but was lit only by a desk lamp, which illuminated the terrible mess on the table. Everywhere scribbled or crumpled paper lay around, which buried strange models of thin wooden sticks, rubber band, fabric glue under it. These models often had wings, propellers or parachutes, and covered almost the entire spectrum of basic aircraft. Pato was busy to prepare a sketch for a helicopter model. Since he had no pens in size with him, he always used as the broken lead of a giant pencil and made some notes for a planned wind-up mechanism. After several minutes he noticed annoyed that he had once again drawn to small. For him, the whole sketch was visible, but Sven would again need a magnifying glass to see something, which made the later construction of the model not very easyl. Now he would certainly need all the afternoon to draw a larger version.
Before, Pato was not such a great model freak. As a child he had build a model plane from time to time with his father, but later he had left this field. But here, this hobby had become something that connected him with Sven. It was perhaps five months ago, he lived with here just a few weeks as he scribbled an air plane on an old newspaper out of sheer boredom . Sven had discovered this scribble by pure chance and he was pretty interested in it and he was pretty upbeat when he learned of a machine that could fly. Because in this world, there existed no form of aircraft. At that time it was extremely difficult to explain to Sven, how the machines work as at this date, he could not yet speak with his great friend. But since this barrier got eliminated, it was no longer a problem to explain everything. Of course, he himself was not an expert in avionics and could only come up with basics and paper air planes, but that was enough in to inspire Sven. Since then they have tried to put all forms of basic air craft into models. It was very rare that something worked right away, as none of them knew enough about physics to make exact calculations. Therefore, everything went according to the trial-and-error principle.
Pato was looking for a paper with enough space for a larger drawing when the door opened behind him and let in some natural light from the living room. Lena stood in the doorway and smiled at him. Her long blond hair was tied in a braid and her pregnant belly could be seen under her finely flowered maternity dress. "Good morning, Pato." She said kindly. Pato waved to her, but said nothing. "Have you had breakfast?" She asked. He nodded. "But you surely would drink a cup of tea with me, right?" The young man glanced at his sketch and then back to Lena. It probably would not hurt to take a short break. He nodded, smiling. She came slowly toward him and took him gently in his hand, which smelled pleasantly of orange soap. A little waddling she made her way into the kitchen and gasped a little under the weight of her belly. She put him gently down on the kitchen table on which stood a small breakfast ready for her. Now the kettle began to whistle, and Lena quickly infused a fresh mint tea, which smelled intense. She put the teapot and a small cup for Pato on the table before she sat down a little panting. "This child is getting heavier every day, I hope it comes soon. Although being pregnant can be very nice, I would like to see my own feet again soon." She said, laughing, and Pato joined in, albeit voiceless. He often found it very sad that he could not talk to Lena, because she was such a charming person. They both knew very well why it did not work, but they could not force the things which were needed to make it happen. And the longer Pato lived with Sven and Lena, the harder it would be to ever achieve it. " Yesterday I was talking with Sven about the names for the child." She said abruptly and poured him and herself some tea. Pato looked at her interested and waiting for what she would say. "On the first name we have not agreed yet, but if it is a girl, it should be called Anna with the second name , and for a boy we would take Patrício as a middle name." She said joyfully. Fortunately Pato had not had his tea in his hand, otherwise he would have dropped it. After all these months he had, really expected everything, but not that they would give their child his first name. Although he was not considered as a pet here for a long time now, but this act of friendship let him feel much more human. He looked at her with big eyes and bowed quite deep out of sheer gratitude. "Oh please cut that out Pato, you did deserve this reputation." She said, sipping on her tea a little embarrassed. But then she looked over to the kitchen window for a few seconds. "However, I would wish that you can talk with my child." She said, somewhat absent. Pato swallowed. This wish was not easy to be fulfilled. If it was hard make this work with Lena, how hard would it be with a child?
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Toms and Rina separated at the next intersection. She turned left at the station to reach her train to the city centre and he went right to the bus stop. Fortunately, today was not too hot. Otherwise it would have been pleasant for him and especially for Maya . The summer had not yet arrived in Runburg and many trees along the road still had a delicate, spring-like pale green. The sky above him was blue, but in the east he saw huge clouds assembling. He hoped that it would not rain today, because he had not thought of bringing an umbrella with him. After about four minutes walk, he had almost reached the bus stop, where some people had already gathered who wanted to go to the business district of Runburg. Before he was in earshot of the people, he took another look into his shirt pocket and said: "We are now riding the bus, which is a kind of big car. It's not dangerous. Just sit quietly. I'll let you out as soon as we are in the office. Do you understand?" Maya turned her head up and nodded, but not seem to be necessarily happy about it. "If we have a bit more time, I'll show you a little bit of the city." He said in an almost apologetic tone. Then he turned again to look ahead and went to the bus that had just arrived. Contrary to his custom, he did not sit down in the front, but in one of the back rows of the which were hardly. used by the passengers in the morning. Perhaps it would be better to offer Maya a little fresh air. Here in the back, no one would be able to see him.. "Come on, now you can look around a bit.", he whispered, reaching carefully into his pocket to fish out the Twimp. It was not so easy to get a good hold of her, since she moved around frantically. "Now hold still, or you won't get out." He whispered a little strict, whereupon she flinched a little and stopped any movement. Now it was much easier to take her out. As soon as he lifted her over the edge of the pocket, he quickly placed her on his other hand. Maya looked a little dishevelled and looked around a bit disoriented. But then she seemed to know where she was, what seemed very strange to him, because after all, but that was her first ride in a bus, right? She looked curiously at the window to his left, so he brought her a little closer to the screen so she could see everything well. The bus was just leaving the very green suburb and turned to one of the main roads of Runburg. Left and right of the roadway were all kinds of shops that opened just at this time. Now and then there were some large trees and colourful flower boxes planted on the roadside. Yet not many pedestrians were out, but the street filled with cars. Maya looked at everything carefully, but she seemed not necessarily impressed. Where in the world did she came from so she could take this in with such a calm and no great surprise?
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Sophie looked at everything very attentively: The streets, the houses, the cars. Besides the cars which all looked like the models from the penultimate decade, this city really looked almost like Berlin. The houses were similar to the old pre war buildings of the thirties. And the tree-lined street, reminded her of the endless avenues of the German capital. Only the strange letters on the signs of the business gave her the feeling of being in a foreign country . The difference in size was not really recognizable from her perspective If she would walk on one of these broad side walks, the high buildings would certainly contribute a lot more intimidating. The bus turned onto a side road now that was slightly narrower and was almost completely overshadowed by large oak trees. Here one could see a few more people on the street who left their homes. For a moment she could have sworn to have seen a little human on the shoulder of a child, that, judging from the knapsack, was on the way to school. If that was allowed? After all, they were regarded here as pets, which were forbidden in schools in her world. Soon, the alley was replaced by a wider road with more modern buildings. Now the houses were not made of stone but of concrete and glass. Some were even skyscrapers, which were glittering in the morning sun. "We're almost there. Until we are in the office,you have to stay in the pocket. Twimps are actually not allowed in the company." ,said Thomas, moved his hand to his pocket, so she could enter again. She found it a pity that she could not look around more, but she would not bring Thomas into trouble. She quickly climbed back in again, and sank to the ground. Only a minute later the bus stopped and he got out. She could only hear the noise from the street and the steps by many people moving around them. It was not easy to guess what was the sources of the noises around her were, so she gave up pretty quickly.
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Tom walked a few yards until he reached the glass door to a ten-story glass building and pushed it open with a confident push . The foyer of the company looked more cool than inviting. Everything was just made of polished stone, steel and glass. Routined, he walked to the turnstile and put his ID card into the card reader which, after a short beep, let him pass the barrier. This system ensured that no unauthorized came into the building, and registered the working hours of the employees. To make sure that no one saw the bruise, which Maya created in his shirt pocket, he put on his jacket before he joined with some colleagues in the elevator. Apparently he had just arrived at rush hour, which is why the elevator was filled to the limit. He was pressed into his side very powerful, so he held his hand over the place where Maya was in a protective manner. Fortunately, the ride was short and with a sigh of relief he could enter the fifth floor. Three long hallways went out from the elevator area. Tom went to the left and then walked into his office, that was quite in the middle of the hallway. Only after he had closed the door behind him, he put his jacket over his desk chair and then looked at Maya. "We're here." He said shortly, and reached back down into the pocket. This time she immediately held still, so he could release her a little faster this time. He gently placed the Twimp on his hand and said proudly: "This is my office."
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Like the last time Sophie was quite shocked when Thomas' huge fingers appeared above her. Although she actually knew that he would do nothing bad, it was pretty scary when something that approached you when there is no place to escape. Earlier, she had flounced panicking because she was a little overwhelmed by her fear, but now she knew it would pass quickly if she held as still as possible. When she finally sat outside and was relatively safe on his hand, she had an excellent view of his working place. The office itself was very tidy but friendly. There was a large desk with a computer, a large file cabinet and a rather large glass front, which was protected by a half-open shutter . In the corner next to the cabinet was a great indoor plant and at the filing cabinet some notes were attached with colorful magnets. Sophie wondered what exactly he was doing here. Rina had hinted that it was a boring office job, but maybe it was just a little more interesting. Thomas put his hand on the desk so she could walk off with no problems. She stretched extensively and was glad to finally be able to move freely. Somewhat reluctantly she took a few steps, and then looked up to Thomas, to see how he reacted to it. "You can walk around a little, but when it knocks on the door, you have to hide behind that folder, okay?" He said, and placed a large gray folder upright next to his computer screen. She nodded wisely and looked around a bit while he sat down and started his PC. Everything was very tidy, so there was not much to be seen. She strode past a nearly full block notes, and next to it was lying a rather worn pencil. She had not much interacted with the objects that were meant for the giants. She wondered if she could lift the pen. With a glance over her shoulder, she made sure that Thomas was busy with his work on the computer to not paying attention. She did not want him to see her, if she should make a fool of herself. The pen was almost as long as she was tall and its blue paint was already chipped in some places. How heavy could such a pen be? They were often made of soft wood and designed to weigh less. Sophie grabbed the rear end with both hands and lifted the pen gently. It was a lot easier than she would have thought. She estimated that the entire pin weighs probably around two kilos. Of course it would have been much to heavy for her to write with, so she was glad to have her own writing tools in their size. Nevertheless, she raised the subject again in the middle, and weighed it in her hands. "I think I would rather take my notes, on my own," she suddenly heard Thomas' voice behind her say, he sounded somewhat amused. A little scared, she dropped the pen, and jumped back, so it did not fall on the feet. She turned around and gave him a slightly sour look. She hated to get frightened. "Sorry, you do not want to frighten you." He said smiling and moved his hand toward her. Sophie made a few nervous steps back and thought that he wanted to pick her up again. But he reached past her and tore a leaf from his note pad. "Can I have my pencil please?”He asked, holding his other hand open before her. Sophie first did not understand what he wanted. The pen was still there at hand. Then she realized it: he wanted her gave him the pen. Again the girl lifted the object and carried it without problems to his hand that still lay there patiently. Carefully, she let the pen roll on his fingers into the palm. "Thank you, my little one." He said with a smile and then turned his eyes away from her to write something down. Sophie was not sure what that meant exactly. Did he want to give her the feeling that she was a help, or did he wanted her to fetch it like a dog? She would not find it out yet, so she strolled across the table, but went along behind the monitor, so as not to interfere with his work. Footed he climbed the cables that were in her way and found the way to the other side. And there she could see something that was much more interesting. There was a picture frame, in which was probably a photo. She still could not see it because the back was turned to her. Curiously, she circled the frame and looked at the picture in it. It showed a young woman of perhaps 25 years, with long brown hair and soft, dark green eyes. Sophie felt a strange tingling under the skin, as she looked at the picture. The woman seemed so familiar to her. "Of course ... that was the woman in my dream tonight." She thought. Once again she seemed to her so terribly well known, but she could not explain why. The glass of the frame reflected a little, so she could see herself for the first time in days. Her eyes were a little red from crying this morning, but otherwise she looked not as bad as she had thought. A little lost in thought, she opened her hair in order to bind a new pigtail. Her long red hair fell over her shoulders and let her dark green eyes look even more intense. Suddenly Sophie paused. She walked a few steps back and looked back and forth again and again between her mirror image and the woman in the photo. The eye shape, the small, but somewhat broad nose, the chin line ... This woman looked like helself, only a few years older and with different hair color! What was going on here? Was she still dreaming? What did a photo, that looked just like her do on the desk of this giant? "Ah, there you are. This photo .. This is Melissa, my wife." Thomas said in a lovingly voice. Suddenly there was a strange buzzing in Sophie's head. It felt almost as if two people would yell at each other in her thoughts. Her whole body reacted violently to it. She trembled all over and got dizzy. As a precaution, she sat down and held her head. Something went wrong, terribly wrong. "Maya, what is it?" Are you not feeling we-. "Thomas was interrupted by a loud knock at the door. Since she could not move, he put the folder in front of her in a hurry and asked the visitor to come in.
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Well, some things are revealed... kind of. If you want, you can guess what can enable "Twimps" to speak.
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Post by Amayasama on Jun 18, 2010 18:55:04 GMT -5
>< Arg I must know why they can speak! Is it when they meet their ancestors or somethin? o.O Or is it when the owner knows they're not a pet? >< If that's the case why can't anyone else talk to them? x.x Ugh my brain is fried, good chapter though hun!
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Post by Satal on Jun 18, 2010 21:04:50 GMT -5
Finally caught up! Wowzee! I wonder if she will speak in the next update? Freak Tom out... Lol
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Post by whisperer on Jun 18, 2010 21:43:44 GMT -5
Oh man, when - if - she does speak... she'd better have one heck of a rant against Tom!
Maybe they learn to speak when they meet their "copy" (I'm guessing that they have copies of people, like the way everything else seems the same with Earth) they can speak again? But that doesn't explain why Pato can only talk to Sven... Maybe they can only talk to the person in this world who had the closest relationship to their "copy"? But then, why would Pato be talking about how hard it'd be to talk to Lena, or their baby? Gaah, I dunno. But you have me extremely interested!
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Post by biali on Jun 26, 2010 17:55:39 GMT -5
Wow, you all have made some interesting guesses... we will see if one of you had the right idea... but not in this update. It is rather short, but quite important.
Hope you like it ^^
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Chapter 20 - A box of lightbulbs and a box of life
Tom threw an anxious glance at Maya, who seemed not to feel entirely comfortable before he saw who entered his office. A very young man came through the door and looked plenty nervous and uncertain. Tom knew him as Martin from the Postal Department, who always delivered the internal post. "Good day Mr. Harman. I am just bringing a few letters." "Thank you Martin." "Tom said standing up to take the papers. He would not risk that Martin came too close to the desk and would spot Maya. "I have heard that the new head of government is quite active in the Community of Salvation.", The postman said abruptly. He was well known for being quite talkative. Even if Tom rather wanted to look after Maya, he could not dismiss Martin so abruptly. "Really? Then the head priest will probably get even more say. ",returned Tom, and threw a few glimpses to the letters he had received. "Yes, it is presumed. Aren't you worried about that, Mr Harmann?" Tom looked up at him confused: "Well, why do you think that?" Martin paused briefly as he would have to consider whether he should really say. what he intended to: "Well. The community is not very friendly towards members of other religions. And and since you are ..." Tom gave the messenger a friendly but determined smile: "I am very grateful for your concern, but I think that religious issues will probably not affect my work in administration. After all, we are working regarding to the companies' manual and not to the holy script don't we? Martin looked at him briefly with an open mouth and then nodded. "I think you have a good point there ... Well, I have to finish my round now. Have a nice day", said the messenger, and prepared himself to go. “You too Martin. Until next time. "Tom said and closed the door after him. He breathed short, and ran his hand through his hair. Actually, this made himself more concerned than he would admit. When he was moving in with Melissa, he had searched for a new job and he had received many rejections because of his religion. There were only very few managers who did not care of his kind of belief. He sincerely hoped that his boss would not be influenced too much by the new government. Then his eye fell again on the desk, making him remembering Maya. Carefully, he walked around the table and looked down at the small Twimp. But other than expected she was not sitting there and holding her head anymore, but stood upright again before the photo of his wife and gently touched the glass of the frame. "Maya, what is the matter?" Are you feeling better? "He asked, leaning a little over her, and tried to see her face.
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The buzzing in her head had gone almost as quickly as it had begun, and the dizziness was suddenly gone. Still quite confused she looked around and heard Thomas talking to someone. The big folder, which stood next to her seemed to be a sufficient cover, so she could stand up without being seen. Again she looked at the photo and this time she was able to recognize the unique similarity again. And like before, this buzzing was in her head, but it was significantly quieter and her balance was steady this time. She asked herself seriously, what that all was about. Maybe it was just coincidence that she looked so much like this woman. But what did this buzzing and her violent reaction mean then? Carefully, she touched the glass of the frame and saw the big green eyes that expressed a great kindness. Suddenly she heard Thomas' loud voice above her, which startled her a little. She looked up and saw some concern in his face. She opened her mouth to tell him what she had noticed, but as always, the words were stuck in her throat. How could she explain that? While she thought she saw back and forth again and again between him and the photo. "Is something wrong with the picture?" He asked and took the frame in his hand. Sophie nodded and then pointed at the picture and to herself. "Hm? What do you mean?" He asked again. She repeated the gesture a little more forceful, but his face showed that he was far from understanding of what she wanted to tell him. Instead, he got even a little angry: "I do not think it's nice to compare my wife with an animal, Maya." Sophie flinched at this comment. Firstly, it frustrated her that he had not yet moved away from the idea that she was an animal and secondly, he had understood it in the completely wrong way. She shook her head vehemently and waved her arms before her face to demonstrate that she did not meant, as he understood it ... But had he even understood it wrong? After all, she demanded of him, to compare his wife with her. "Now I really have to care about my work. Just be a good girl." He said a little angrily and ignored her attempts to explain further. He gently placed the photo back to its old place and turned back to his computer. The girl gave a sigh of resignation from and missed gave the folder that was still standing beside her, a frustrated kick. Most of all she would throw something broken now in order to give vent to her frustration. If she would not find out soon how she could make him understand her better, she would probably eke out a quite miserable life here.
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Rina spent the last few hours with unpacking moving boxes. The design studio, where she worked, had just moved to the capital and now all the staff had to help to set up the new studio. She just put the desk lamps in the sockets and checked whether they still worked. One of the bulbs appeared to be burned out, so she looked around for the box with replacement bulbs. She discovered the box on one of the cutting tables, on which the three Twimps of her boss had made themselves comfortable. They sat on a cloth and just giggled a little as she approached them. "Well, you three? You have fun?" She said, smiling, an got some smiles an waves back. Rina knew the three a few years, though not particularly good, as she had not much time during the work to deal with them. They were all a lot older than Maya and not nearly as nervous. Nevertheless, they all lived at least five years with Rina's boss and were accustomed to being surrounded by humans. She found it really sad that Tom had not allowed that Maya could come here too. Maybe the other Twimps would have looked a little reassuring to the little one or at least gave her a little company. She picked out one of the bulbs and let the three be back among them. After she had repaired the light, she left the room and could hear the giggle of the Twimps again. She wondered how they communicated with each other, since they couöd not speak and hardly made any sound at all. "Hey Rina, it's almost half past five, we make it a day." She heard your colleague. "What? I did not even notice how time flies. "She said incredulously, looking at her watch. "We will have a drink together, you come with us?” ,asked the colleague. "Hmm ... no thanks. I still have do deal with some moving boxes in my apartment . But next time I'll come." ,she said and grabbed her handbag. "Well, then, until tomorrow." shouted someone behind her before she closed the door.
The studio was on the second floor of a shopping street, which was now quite busy after work. In addition, the weather was very well and in the street cafés, so free seat could be found. Rina was really happy to be finally back in the capital. When she had to move away four years ago from her home to start her dream job, she was pretty sad. She had almost never had time to visit her family and the small town where she had lived offered not as much entertainment as Runburg. The suburban train station was a good distance away, so they still had to walk for a while. To do a shortcut, she turned off into a side street, which was very much less busy, since there were hardly any shops. On a wall that was painted over with graffiti, was a young man who looked a little torn and again and again looked worriedly into a cardboard box, he held in both hands. When he saw that Rina came past him, he made some tentative steps towards her, which made her a little nervous. "Excuse me please, Miss ...", he said to her, and Rina wondered if she should simply ignore him and pass him. But he did not seem drunk or somehow aggressive, so she stopped and looked at him. "I ... I have worked to this day as a caretaker in a breeding station for Twimps." He began to tell and Rinas look became serious. She had never heard anything good about this facilities. "Yes, I know that is not something to boast about. So I just left." the man said quickly. "And why do they tell me this?, Rina asked a little sceptical. "Well, in the breed, it is unfortunately often the case that the Twimps that do not match the breeding objective, are abandoned or even killed." He said affected. Rinas eyes widened. She had had no idea that something so cruel was going on in these stations. "So ... I have, before I left, took some of the Twimps with me that were sorted out and looked for people who would take them in. And for almost all I have now found a new home. There is only one left. And they look very nice to me, so I thought ... " "You say I should take a Twimp with me?" "Yes, you would save a small live. You do not even have to pay for it. Here she is." He said eagerly, holding out the box. Rina saw a very young Twimp in it, which was crouching in a corner. Herr ash-blond hair was matted and full of knots and as clothing she was wearing a sack like piece of cloth. She looked anything but healthy or happy. "Oh no, she looks terrible ...", Rina said frightened. "She was not particularly well treated because she did not meet the breeding objective. She is still quite young, maybe ten or eleven years. She would badly need a loving home." The man said in a supplicating voice. Rina chewed pensively on her lip. Did she really have enough time to take care of this little bundle of misery? She saw the Twimp trembling. "Okay, I'll take care of her." She said finally. "Oh thank you, Miss. I'm so glad I was able to accommodate them all." Said the man visibly pleased. "I know that my actions, I can not completely make up for what I did by working in this place, but maybe it helps a bit. Please take good care of her." "Well ... does she have a name? "No. She had so far only a breeding number." He replied, and gave her the box. "Then I'll have to think of one soon." she said, smiling bitterly, and looked down at the pitiful little creature. "A thousand thanks again." He said, visibly relieved. Rina nodded friendly once more and continued her walk to the train station. She tried to keep the box stead so the little one was not shaken too much. "Do not worry dear, you will soon get better when you are with me." She said softly.
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