The Golden Rules

[Amayasama]

^0^ Yay! Now Maya has someone to talk to! D: But this little one is so young...it worries me a bit if she'll be scared of Tom and Rina...

[biali]

Actually this chapter is much longer, but I think I will cut it here. Maybe I will even count it to chapter 20... I will think about that in the rewrite.

Just enjoy this small piece ^^
----------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 21 - The hand that feeds you

Rina had placed the box carefully on her lap and looked worried down at the little Twimp, which had still not moved from the spot, while the city rushed past behind the train window Rina had wondered whether she should pick the little on up to see if she was okay, but the train offered not j a relaxed environment for it.
Instead, she tried to calm her by using kind words:
  "Just relax. I'll take good care of you. My apartment is indeed quite small, but we will have enough space for you to play. And I know a Twimp, which will certainly be happy to befriend you."
The small bundle showed no particular reaction, but only trembled now and then.
  "Are you cold, dear?" Rina asked cautiously and took off her scarf to cover up the girl with it. The small body jerked when it felt the soft fabric on itself. And for a very brief moment, the Twimp looked up to her. Her tiny blue eyes were full of fear, which almost broke Rinas heart. The Twimp squirmed beneath the cloth and then wrapped herself in it, trembling. Her little arms were terribly thin. Apparently, she had barely gotten enough to eat. Rina was close tears when she thought that not only this small one, but many other innocent Twimps had to suffer like that.
From the speaker echoed the name of her station and soon after, the train stopped with a jerk. Fortunately, her apartment was not too far away from the station, so the Twimp had not to endure the rocking of the box that long.
Rina did not live in a suburb like her brother, but in one of the many inner-city districts with many multi-storey residential buildings. But here it was still quite green. Along the narrow streets were small trees and nearly all balconies and were planted with flowers.
It was not easy for her, to bring out your key and keep the box steady, but after half a minute she could open the heavy wooden door that led into the stairwell.
As she arrived the third floor, Rina stepped through her apartment door and made a small slalom through the still half-unpacked crates which still stood in the hallway. Fortunately, her living room was almost completely ready, so she had enough room to take care of the little Twimp.
The furniture here was rather mixed, and the shelves were crammed with all sorts of odds and ends. Between photos of her family were small porcelain figures, or boxes with colored stones and marbles .
A small shabby sofa with a big flower pattern was a little slanted middle of the room and offered just no place to sit because there were just a few sewing patterns and her sewing box.
Her desk, which was standing in the farthest corner of the room, offered more space at the moment. There was only a sewing machine and a few boxes with buttons and spools of thread.

She carefully put the box on the table and sat down in front. The Twimp could not be seen under the cloth. Just a tiny quivering lump indicated that she still crouched in the corner.
  "Now don't be frightened. I just want to see if you're hurt. But I have to pick you up for this." Rina said softly, but again there was no response.
Slowly, she lifted the cloth and noticed how the little girl was clinging to it. Even if she did not like, to snatch that protection away from the girl, it was nevertheless necessary to help her to get a look. Rina tugged a little stronger on the fabric and the little girl was now a little more active. She turned around and clinged in the cloth with all her might. Now she could see her more properly. She was very thin and dirty and apparently, the tugging at the fabric exhausted her pretty much, because she was breathing heavily.
  'Please let go, you'll get it back again when I have seen you over "., Rina said, slightly imploring. She wanted the little girl not to get more exhausted.
Until now, the Twimp had focused only on the scarf, but when she heard Rina's voice, she turned her eyes up and gave a startled sound. In the same moment she let go of the cloth and made some anxious steps back.
Rina noticed at once, that she moved quite different from the Twimps she knew. She kept her head lowered, and always bent her back and touched the ground with her hands after each second step.
  "Hush, I won't hurt you, my little one." Rina insured again. This little creature was so thin and emaciated, that she hesitated to touch her at all. She looked very frail and exhausted, and her violent breathing sounded a little hoarse. Maybe it was the moment really not a good idea to touch her. What she needed now was a good dinner and rest.
  "I'll be right back, stay where you are." Rina said anxiously, and went into the kitchen to look for something with which she could feed up the Twimp.
She grabbed a saucer and put a small piece of banana, a little ham and two grains of corn on it. Into the lid of a water bottle she filled clean tap water and then took the food with her to the living room.
What she saw there, gave her a good horror: The Twimp had managed to grab the edge of the box, and tried to pull herself up. Her small arms trembled under the strain and slowly her fingers began to slip from the edge. Without stopping to think, Rina moved her hand under the small body, which surprised fell back into her palm. Her body was frighteningly light and also quite cold. As not to scare the girl even more, she gently let her slide from her hand back on the floor of the box.
  "Please do not do that again. You can still get out later if it is safe for you. Eat and drink something first. Then you'll definitely feel better." Rina said with some severity in her voice, and put the small plate and the cap in the box.

The Twimp was still really scared of the whole action and looked frantically back and forth. However, she did not look up and did not seem to react to Rina's voice this time. Only after a few seconds she registered the food that stood before her. A little nervous and on all fours, she moved up to the plate and smelled on all the different things. Her face expressed astonishment, as if she had never seen or smelled something like this in her life. However, she recognized the water and shoved some loads of it into her mouth. Only when her biggest thirst was satisfied, she turned to the food. She sniffed a little curious on the ham and then took off a large piece in her hands and cautious bit into it. The first is time since Rina had seen her, a smile appeared on the face of the little one. Eagerly, she took another bite until she had eaten the whole piece. She even gave away a tiny contented belch. Then she turned to the corn and nibbled a little of it. However, it did not seem to taste quite as good because her face contorted a bit. The piece of banana on the other hand, she ate with great joy and smeared her face and hands with the soft fruit.
Rina would have never thought that the child could eat as much, but was glad that she showed a healthy appetite.
Fairly stuffed the Twimp leaned back and held her now bulging belly. She turned her eyes up and saw into Rinas smiling face. This time she was more quiet and laid her head slightly askew.
  "Have you enjoyed yourself?" she asked, still smiling.
The Twimp looked at her quizzically and just tilted her head a little more.
  "Can you understand me?"
Again came a puzzled look. This Twimp really seemed to be quite different than the wild catche of her boss or even Maya.
Rina sighed a little. It would certainly not be easy to take care of her.
  "I have thought of a name for you, by the way."
This time the Twimp tipped her head in the other direction, as if she was trying to understand what Rina was saying.
  "I will call you Tinka." She said joyfully. "I hopeyou like it?"
Still, there was no evidence that the newly named Tinka understood a word.
  "Well, maybe you'll understand it soon. I'll do the dishes now" Rina said, reaching for the plate. Tinka suddenly jumped up and went back down on all fours. She bared her teeth and gave an angry growl off herself. Rina paused in her movement: "Hey? What's the matter?" She said puzzled.
And the next moment the Twimp jumped to the big hand and tried to scratch it with her non ecisting claws and made an angry hissing noise. It did not really hurt, but just the act frightened Rina. Quickly but gently she shook the little girl from her hand and moved it out. Tinka now jumped up to the plate and grabbed the two corn grains before she sent another snarl in the direction of Rina.
Rina shook her head sadly. Tinka was probably always had to fight for her food in the breeding station , so she even defended the corn that did not taste good to her. There had to be pretty much courage and despair in the small bundle, that she even attacked a human.
  "Maybe I should make her known with Maya. It may be that the two can talk to each other ... in some way." thought Rina and gave Tinka a worried look. Now she had to find a place where the little one was safe and could not put herself in danger.

[Amayasama]

D: Aw the little one is still afraid...I feel bad that she's acting this way...>> But it makes me curious just how she got this way. ^^ Good update hun~

[biali]

thank you Amaya ^^ I feel bad for her, too. But luckily Tom's sister is not as loggish as he is XD

Next Update! YAY!!!

----------------------------

Chapter 22 - Sensitivity

Sophie was almost bored to death. Thomas had been deepened in his work the whole time and did not even look up to look after her. Not that she currently had a great desire to deal with him, but otherwise there was not much else to do. If he had left her at home, she would at least have the chance to do some scribbling in her notebook, or she would do some gymnastics again. Of course she had enough place to exercises here, but doing it before Thomas was a little embarrassing. Even as he had watched her the last time, she had wanted to dig a hole and hide in it.
Actually he had taken her with him to distract her from her dark thoughts. And until now, the only thing he had managed to frustrate her even more.
Most of time they had spent with walking around, or staring into the void. At least the anger that she now had in herself, made sure that she no longer thought of the horrific images of this morning.
About two o'clock Thomas suddenly stopped typing and looked at her.

  “I have lunch break now. I don't think that I should take you to the canteen, because you could be ssen by too many people and you would definitely not want to sit in my pocket all the time, right? " He said, but it did not sound as if he would really ask, but more as if he had already decided that he would let her behind. So she just gave him an indifferent glance in reply.
  "Actually, no one should come in here while I'm away, so you can walk around without a problem." He said, yet quickly, before he grabbed his jacket and walked to the door. "Be a good girl." He said again before he left the office and closed the door behind him.
  "Great ...", Sophie said with a sigh, and started a little. She had heard her own voice! This time it was not stuck in her throat!
  "Oh wow ... does that mean that I can finally talk again?" She said out loud to herself. "This is awesome! Now I can give this witted giant a piece of my mind! He called me an animal for the last time, I ..." She stopped when she heard the door open again. Thomas came in, pretty much in a hurry.
  "Have forgotten my wallet." He muttered, and grabbed it from the table.
Now was her chance, now she would give him her opinion. When he just turned to go back, she took a deep breath to shout a loud "Stop!" at him. But again, no sound would escape from her throat and then he was gone.
  "Damn!" They cried aloud, and this time it worked. Apparently she could only speak if no giant was around to hear it.
  "What's wron with this world? This can not be normal! Voice don't fail just because a certain species is present. At least its not natural. There was something else behind it. Definitely.

-

Tom could just not understand this Twimp. Why was she so impertinent now, after he was so friendly to her this morning. When it came to Melissa, he knew no jokes, and he certainly did not want his pet to insult her..
But maybe he should not make that mus of a fuss out of Maya. After all, he could not expect the empathy of a person from her. Whether he could have perhaps misunderstood her, did not come to his head.
Like many colleagues, he went down into the cafeteria to eat. However, he was not sure if he could leave Maya all alone at the office. Although she had promised not to run away again, he did not know how much a promise of a Twimp was worth. Well, he would see when he comes back after the break. A little tired, he pushed the canteen door open and a torrent of voices came towards him. Nearly all tables were occupied and some employees walked about with their trays.
Like allways he ordered into the queue at the food distribution and waited patiently until it was his turn.
Suddenly a hand was put on his shoulder and a voice behind him said cheerfully:
 "Hey Tom! Good that I meet you."
Tom turned and looked at the grinning face of Sven.
  "Oh hello. First we don't se for moth, and now we see each other only a few days after another." He said and held out his hand.
  "Do you mind if we eat together?" ,asked his old friend.
  "Of course not." , replied Tom.
Once the two had their meals, they sat down at a small table in the margin.

  "How is it that you're here? I thought you work in the other branch in the design department.", said Tom to start the conversation.
  "Yes, but today I have much to discuss with the financial department, so I am here today." ,said Sven.
  "I see. So, how are you doing?" ,asked Tom.
  "Oh, pretty good, butsleepless. My wife is already in the eighth month." said Sven and had a bit of pride in his voice.
Tom looked at him incredulously: "Wait a second. You're married? And will become a father?"
  "Haha, we have not seen each other for a quite long time. Yes, I'm married to Lena for one year now.”
  "With Lena Meyer who worked at the financial office?"
  "Yes, exactly. She is the best. We now live together in Blumberg, very close to the edge of town."
  "That is a chic district. I would have never thought that you would ever be so domestic." Tom siad a little chuckling.
  "Neither did I, but it just happened some how. How's Melissa actually?" Sven asked abruptly.
Tom's face became very serious. Of course Sven could not know it. They had had no contact.
  "She ... she died three months ago." He said, and tried not to make his voice break. Sven looked at him shocked and concerned.
  "That ... that's terrible. I' very sorry. How did it happen?"
  "She just had a little cold, but when she did not recover after several weeks, and was getting weaker, I went to the hospital with her. They found out that she had an incurable disease that slowly destroyed her body from the inside. They couldn't do anything for her. Only a few days later she died. "explained Tom and clawed at his cutlery.
  "I'm sorry ... I did not ...", hawed Sven.
  "It's okay, you couldn't know of it." he soothed him and continued eating. For a while silence reigned between the two. But then Sven spoke again:
  "I think it's really a shame that we have not seen each other for so long. We should do something together again more often. A bit of distraction surely would do good."
Tom was glad that his old friend had changed the subject and said:
  "Sure why not? What do you think we should do?"
  "I'm often in the park with Pato. Maybe you could join us."
  "Pato? Your Twimp?"
  "Yes. And maybe you can bring your ... ehm .... Maya. It is quite important for the little one that she has some... intraspecific contact." He said a little awkward.
  "What do you mean by intraspecific contact?" ,asked Tom and raised an eyebrow.
  Ah, I just mean it would be good if she spends some time with someone of her kind. If they are only dealing with humans they become a little cranky and irritable. ", explained Sven.
  "Oh? Never heard about that before ... but you sound like you know what you are talking about. However, I'm not quite sure ...”
  "Hm, why?"
  "Well, I do not know how it is with the mating behavior of Twimps. Maya has recently danced so funny, and it looked somehow as if she was courting." Tom said,whispering a little.
Suddenly Sven broke into a heavy laught, after which some people turned around for them and shook their heads.
  "H-Hey! Stop it!" What's so funny? " , Tom said a little offended.
Sven did his best to get back his breath and then said, still puffing:
  "Firstly you don'T have any idea of the facts of mating in general It's always the males, who dance and do anything to compete for the females. And secondly, this is not how Twimps behave at all. They are usually more civilized than we humans."
  "But what was this ridiculous dance then?" ,asked Tom, a little embarrassed.
  "No idea, perhaps she was just bored. Twimps do all kinds of things when boredom comes to them." Sven said.
Tom had to think about how Maya was now sitting alone in his office and was probably bored. Then he thought of something.
  "Hey, do you mind to get to know the little one? Would probably be better if she knows you, before she spends a whole afternoon with you and your Twimp."
  "All right, but I do not think that we could make it to your home and back during the break." ,said Sven.
  "We don't have to." Tom said, looking around to see if someone was listening.. "She is upstairs in my office." ,he whispered.
  "You brought her with you?", Sven whispered back in disbelief.
  "Yes, I did not want to let her at home. She did not feel good this morning. So, are you coming?"
  "All right. Let's go." , agreed Sven and stood up to clear his dishes.
Tom put some pieces of his chicken into a clean handkerchief to give it to Maya later.

..

Sophie had preoccupied herself by dangling her legs from the tables edge and held her face in the sun whose rays shone through the slats of the blind. Now, as Thomas was not there, she felt a little more relaxed. Until now she did not feel very good when a giant was around. She was constantly afraid to do something that would encourage him in his opinion that she was only an animal. She also did not like the feeling to be constantly under guard. She had never had anything against company, but Thomas often behaved more like a caretaker or teacher, than someone whose company you could really enjoy.
She longed for her home, her friends and family. There, no one looked down on her. And the longer she thought about it, she was sure that she could never feel at home in this world. Not, if she would not soon find someone with whom she was at eye level.

She was so absorbed in thought that she almost did not hear the clicking of the door lock. Although it really could not be anyone other than Thomas, who came in here, she hid behind the notepad that was not far away and waited to see what would happen. When the door closed again, she heard a familiar voice:
  "Don't worry Maya, it's just me. And a friend who wants to meet you."
Sophie sighed. She now had really no desire to meet more giants. Nevertheless, she came out of her hiding place and looked to see who had come into the room. Next to Thomas, stood a young man with short blond hair and a friendly, round face. He also wore a shirt with a jacket on and took a few seconds until he had spotted her on the table.
  "Good day Maya. I am Sven." He said kindly, and made a greeting gesture with his hand, but came no closer.
Sophie waved back a little unsure, and was very glad that he kept a certain distance. It was always rather intimidating, came such a huge person was coming towards her. Thomas was not that sensitive and approached the desk without further ado to sit down behind her on the chair.
It was not exactly pleasant to be surrounded by two giants, especially because she had no idea what either of them had in mind. A little nervous, she looked back and forth between Sven and Thomas. The blonde seemed to notice that she did not feel good about it and slowly walked over to his friend, so she had a good view on both of them. Sophie gave him a small nod of appreciation, which he answered with a smile.
  "Tom thought that we should get to know each other. Well, actually I'm not all that important here, but rather the Twimp who lives with me and my wife." Said Sven and leaned against the window. The girl looked at him interested. In a certain way he seemed to know how he had to behave so that she did not quite feel so insecure.
  "Sven has suggested that you should meet the little guy, so that you relax a little." ,interjected Tom.

That was the best news in days! It would certainly be great to talk to a human her size. Even talking at all was actually reason enough to rejoice. She nodded overjoyed to show that this idea was better than good.
  "On the way up here, we decided to go to Svens house. So you and his Twimp can sniff at each other first." Tom said eagerly.
  "Of course, only if you want that, too. After all, it is up to you.", Said his freind and really looked like he would value her consent. Of course she wanted to! Again she nodded vigorously. Apparently today everything turned for the better.
  "Great.”, said Thomas, leaning back quite satisfied.

-

Sven gave the Twimp with a slightly pitying look. Tom behaved very insensitive towards her and barely made preparations to give her even a little freedom of choice. Of course he could not know how smart these little creatures were actually, because it was not possible for him to talk to Maya. Perhaps he would initiate him sometime and tell him how this would work. However, he had to be sure whether Tom could be trusted in this respect, and whether he would also have the will to do so. Up to now, he seemed just as an ordinary Twimp-owner, who saw nothing else in the girl, than a cute animal. He really hoped for her, that this would develop into a better direction.
  "Good, then I'll call home and tell my wife that we have guests. I look forward to see you two." , said Sven and made attempts to leave.
  "You want to go already?" ,Tom asked a little disappointed.
  "The break is over soon, and I just said that I still have to phone Lena. Until tonight then." he said and gave his friend a hearty handshake and waved a friendly goodbye to Maya, who was smiling at him.

-

As Sven had to leave the office, Thomas looked at her again and bent forward to support himself with his arms on the table. Sophie watched his movements very nervous, and wished that he would have the same sensitivity as his friend.
  "He is a bit strange, but as far as I know him, he's a good guy." He said, grinning strangely.
  "If he is strange, what are you then?" She told herself in thought. But actually, now she had no desire to be alarmed at his behavior. After all, now she had something she could look forward to.
Somehow grinning she turned away and walked a few steps until she heard him hitting the keys again.

-

Somehow, Tom did not like Maya's grin. Maybe he should watch er more properly today. Not that is fears would be proven right.

--------------------

I just can't stop making him more loggish with each chapter XD

[Amayasama]

XD Haha he'll learn eventually Maya, have faith in this blockhead x3 *hugs* Good chapter hun! I hope that Pato and Maya can talk to each other ^^

[whisperer]

The poor girl - Tinka - reminds me of an article I once read on "feral children". It was really sad stuff, basically about children who were treated as animals, and as a result, couldn't act otherwise. I really, really hope she's not going to always be like that...

As for the other update, Tom is... really stupid! Hit that man with the common-sense-stick!

[Bloodcore]

Will do whisperer! *Fwack* DAMN IT TOM, PAY ATTENTION!!

Hon, this is awesome!

[biali]

uh oh... chapter 23... let's hope that does not mean something creepy...

-----------------------------------------------


Chapter 23 - Old Friends
  
Pato had not been so nervous for a long time. Since Sven phoned a few hours ago and had announced, that he would meet the other Twimp today, he could not rest any minute. It was quite a while ago that he had met a human of his size, and even longer he had spoken with one. As Sven had suggested him to arrange something this morning, he would not have expected that it would happen so fast.
For nearly an hour he cleaned up his room, so that his guest would not think that he was an absolute slob, which actually was true. But especially in front of a girl he did not want to admit that.
He was surprised himself that he, although he had nothing more than the clothes he wore when he arrived here, had piled up a lot of stuff over the last few months. Lena had sewed him a few things that were just scattered everywhere, because he still lacked a closet. Now they all lay neatly folded in a corner. Now he only had to arrange all the pieces of paper he scribbled on in the last weeks. They were mostly filled with music notes because he wanted to compose a song for the birth of Lena's child. It was really the only way to live out his true passion: music. Unfortunately, there were no instruments, he could play. There were many moments when he wished to finally be able to play the piano, but it would be probably never be fulfilled.
When he had arranged the papers, he wiped the floor with a damp cloth to remove the dust that had accumulated in some corners.
Suddenly the curtain to his shelter opened and Lena peered in:
  "You're pretty busy. You probably want to make a good impression, right?" She said, smiling.
Pato scratched his head a little embarrassed and tried not to see her straight in the eye.
  "I'll just clean out, then everything will be just fine for the young lady." She said lovingly and clutched the small chamber in which his toilet was situated. He was always embarrassed that she still had to clean up that way behind him. No matter how long he would live here, he could never recover his human dignity completely.
After he had ordered the last papers, he looked at his work with a certain satisfaction. On the large pillows that he used as a sleeping place, lay the ordinary folded blankes and now that he had cleaned up his clothes, one could see the little transistor radio that was still a good bit taller than him. He did get it three months ago so he could kill his boredom with the music. It had already done him good service and still worked perfectly. The most space was taken by some aircraft models which, though they were not necessarily very airworthy, still made a good figure.
He cast a last look in a hand mirror that was leaning against the wall and ran once more through his black curls.
He was clearly much too nervous.

-

Tom was almost finished with the last table and looked at Maya, who gave the pencil a light kick again and again, and each time it slowly rolled back to her. It was obvious that she was bored.
  "You know, what drawing is , Maya?" He said suddenly, and made her stumble over the rolling pencil. Fortunately, she could keep her balance and suffered no injuries.
  "Oh, sorry. But you are quite to skittish." He said somewhat disapprovingly.
She gave him a look he could not interpret, so he just ignored it.
  "So, you know what drawing is ?"
Maya nodded and took a small distance from the pencil, so as not to fall once more over it.
  "Great." He said eagerly and quickly tore a leaf from his note pad, and put it to her feet. Then he considered what he could give her as a drawing utensil. The pen would be too heavy for her. Then he thought of something good. He grabbed a pencil and broke off a part of the mine, which he lay on the note before Maya.
  "Maybe you can draw something of the place from which you come from?" He asked. Still, he wanted to find out where Maya really came from. Until now she could not yet explain.
At first she looked him a little sceptical on, but soon her face brightened and she reached for the graphite-piece and got onto her knees to draw.

-

Sophie knew exactly what she would draw. It would have to have something to do with civilization. So she tried to bring some famous buildings of her home town on paper. She had never been particularly artistically talented, but she was actually quite pleased with what she produced there.
After a few minutes she had finished the Brandenburg Gate, the TV tower, the red town hall and cathedral.
Quite happy she got up and gave a clear view of her work. Thomas bent down slightly and then reached for the paper to have a closer look.
His expression changed from interested, asking and to surprise.
  "Are these buildings?" He asked curiously.
Sophie nodded and made a gesture that indicated that there were fairly large buildings. After all, TV tower would be the still eighteen times taller than him. She had to grin a little when she imagined him standing next to the tower staring at it stunned.
  "These things were built by Twimps ?" He asked now somewhat sceptical.
She confirmed this
  "And where exactly are these things?"
Sophie stared at him a little helpless. He did not particularly tried much to ask questions that were good to answer with gestures. Luckily, he noticed that pretty soon and wanted to know:
  "Is it very far away from here? I mean, of this city. "
Although Sophie was not sure exactly where her home was in relation to this city, it certainly was not wrong when she said that it was far away. As it seemed, that this was a different world. And how much further away could anyone be? So she nodded.
  "Hmmm. Do you think you can bring me to this place? I would really want to see it."
Sophie shuddered when she thought about what a giant Tom could do to her world. But even if she pushed that aside, she did not know how to return.
She shook her head, but tried to look regretting.
  "Does that mean you do not know how to get there?"
She nodded somewhat sadder.

-

Tom was not sure what to make of it. Maya looked fairly down again. Her drawings did not express a very large understanding of art, but she had drawn so quickly and with such certainty that he did not necessarily think that she had just made those buildings up.
And it looked like she wanted to return to this place . But if she did not know the way back, how could he help her?
  "Wait... if Twimps can build such buildings, then ...", in his head a certain thought was about to be formed, but it was supplanted by a strange buzzing.
  "Well. I hope you find out soon how to return. But until then I will take care of you." He finally said to her, and Maya looked at him with wide eyes.
  "Maybe this other Twimp can give you a few tips. Although I can not imagine, how that should work.", He added, and seriously wondered how Twimps interacted with each other. Until now he had seen the little creatures only together with humans. Maya looked at him very strangely again, and he did not know what she wanted to say with that.
  "You sure would know. All kinds of creatures indeed communicate with each other their own way. I have to do some more work now. You can draw a little more if you want." He said and gave her a new, blank piece of paper. Then he turned back to his computer.

-

Sophie was glad that Thomas at least considered, to let her go when she would find a way home. Anyway, she had understood it that way. The rest of the time she spent trying to make a few more or less meaningless sketches. At least it was no longer quite as boring.

After a while she looked up, as Thomas turned off the computer.
  "It is time to go." He said and offered her his hand.
As always, she climbed onto a little hesitant, and then let herself slip into his breast pocket.
Sven will drive us with his car, so you do not have to stay inside that long this time. ".he said, before he put his jacket on and left the office.
The only things she could hear were his heartbeat, his steps and the voices of several other giants. She still felt very strange in that position, and was glad that this time she would quickly come back outside.

And indeed, she could soon hear the roar of the cars on the road that soon were over voiced by Sven:
  "The car is back there, come."
She heard a car door open and noticed that Thomas sat down. As soon as he had closed the door, he fished her out of his pocket and placed her awkwardly onto his right leg, so he had his arms free to take off the jacket. In order not to fall, she had to hold on to the fabric of his pants as he moved it pretty intense. From the corner of her eye she saw Sven getting in and buckling his seat belt.
  "I do not think that this is a safe place for her when we drive." ,said the blond giant, and looked down to her a little anxious.
    "Where shall I put her then?" Asked Thomas, and it sounded a little as he would rather talk about an object and not of a living being.
  "In the back seat is a special seat where she can buckle up. Just drop her on the back seat. I'm sure she knows how to do it." ,Sven said, winking at her.
Something was different about this giant. He seemed to know exactly how to make her feel safe and also seemed to be convinced that she was more intelligent than a simple animal. She was about to throw a friendly smile, but was distracted when Thomas' large hand wrapped around her and picked her up. Fortunately, he quickly out her down on the upholstery of the back seat. She looked around carefully and saw a kind of bucket seat in her size, which was strapped to the backrest with a wide belt. Carefully, she took a seat and secured herself with two smaller straps that had a very precisely worked snap closure. When she finished, she looked to the front and two large amber-colored eyes stared back in disbelief. Thomas apparently had not really expected that she knew how to buckle up.
She grinned at him mischievously and acted as if she would make herself more comfortable in that chair.
  "Are you ready?" ,asked Sven and she could pretty much trace an amused undertone in his voice. Thomas turned back forward and nodded to him.
  "Well, off we go." Said the driver and started the engine.

Although she was in a pretty safe place, it offered little prospect of interest. The windows were too high and all She could see were the now slightly overcast sky and a few tree tops or roofs. Moreover, the steady hum of the engine seemed pretty soporific and after a few minutes, Sophie drifted into slumber.

Only when she realized how someone poked her a little impatient, she awoke from her dreamless slumber and noticed that Tom had bent over her through the rear car door.
  " Come on, little one. We're there." He said, smiling.
She quickly unbuckled herself and climbed into his hand, which was already waiting for her. When she had wiped the sleep from her eyes, she was again conscious of what now lay before her. She hoped that she would get along with that boy she was about to meet. And if everything went well, he had perhaps some information about this strange world.
They went to a rather large house, whose facade was painted in a warm terracotta color. The whole area was a bit more noble than in Thomas' neighborhood because the houses were larger and the front yards were fenced better.
Sven went ahead a bit, unlocked the door to let them in.
The entrance was quite large and open. A large mirror and a small closet were the only furniture that were located here. The white walls were decorated with several abstract pictures.
The home owner opened another door that led into the living room. This was, compared to the hall, quite crammed, there seemed to be too much furniture for just one R
room. But Sophie did not pay more attention on the establishment, but to the giantess, sitting on the sofa in the middle of the room. She had long Blonde hair, that was tied back with a wide clip and it was obvious that she was pregnant.
  Hello dear, here we are. "Sven said, and gave his wife a loving kiss on the cheek. Then he turned again to the guests: “This is Lena, my wife. Lena, meet Tom and Maya. "
The pregnant woman was standing up with a slight groan, and shook Thomas' hand. She gave Sophie a nice wave and kept a little distance.
  "Well, nice to meet you two. Sit down now, I'll bring the tea." She said with a smile and walked into the kitchen. Thomas let himself immediately sink to the couch, but made no move to drop Sophie off somewhere.
  “Where is Pato actually? ", asked Sven his wife and looked around, searching.
  "He will come soon. Surely he just waits until everyone is sitting." ,replied Lena.
Sophie noticed that Tom's muscles tensed in surprise:
  "You let your Twimp run around free?"
  "Of course, we can not let him in one crammed place all day." Sven said, and now took place on an armchair.
  "But isn't that dangerous? I mean, he could fall down from anywhere, or he could be accidentally trampled ...", Thomas stated and Sophie shuddered at that thought.
  "Oh, Pato is very attentive and careful. He usually waits until everyone sits before he enters the room and he can assess our movements quite well. Of course we must watch out, too." ,said the host, and turned his gaze to Lena, who pushed small a trolley with tea and biscuits inside. After she had set the coffee table, she sat down again.
Now, Sophie turned and stared curiously at full expectation at an open door that led into a small hallway. And in fact only a few moments later appeared a man who stood a little hesitant on the threshold.
When he, after a brief observation of the room, stepped into the light, Sophie's eyes widened.
She knew him.

[spazel]

SUSPENSE!!! SUSPENSE!!! *pulls out grenade and blows self up*

nice update as always Biali XD

[aspired2inspire]

Jul 1, 2010 20:07:05 GMT -5 spazel said:

SUSPENSE!!! SUSPENSE!!! *pulls out grenade and blows self up*

nice update as always Biali XD

O.O

Wow....you and your grenades.....XD

[Amayasama]

o.O Holy fudge she knows Pato?! Is he her daddy?! Cousin? Next store neighbor?! ;3; *sniffles* curse you cliffhangers...

[biali]

whao, take it easy guys... no need to blow yourself up XD
I know this cliffhanger was mean... I felt so evil when I wrote it >XD
I don't know if I can write more in the next few days. I have a lot to do for university ^^;
But I hope you stay tuned!

[Amayasama]

^^ That's okay dear, take your time! x3 You should feel no pressure in writing my dear!

[Neon]

Yeeeeaaaaah I saw the cliffhanger on DA and it just floored me. XD
I wish you luck with your university stuff though ... hope it's not too much of a downer.

[biali]

Now that finished my presentaion about "Abberivations of compund english words in the japanese Language" , wich was just as interesting as the title says... I got some time to write the next chapter. And this time you will get some REAL answers XD

hope you enjoy the read ^^

-------------------------------


Chapter 24 - The second rule

Pato looked cautiously around the room. Although he was used to walk around the house, he doubted that that Tom was accustomed to such a situation. Therefore, he was extremely wary. He could not recognize much of the visitor because of its low angle of vision and the girl that he should have with him could not be seen.
  "Come in Pat, everything is all right." Sven assured from his place on the armchair.
He nodded and took a few more steps into the room.
Suddenly, the guest leaned over, presumably to have a better look at him. Indeed Pato had already met him in the supermarket, but first, he had been sleepy at that time and the angle of view was also completely different this time.
  "Hello, little one. So you're Pato?" , said the giant, and looked at him with a rather impertinent curiosity.
It was anything pleasant, to be stared at like this, but Pato tried to not to look even more nervous than necessary. Instead, he put one hand casually in his pocket and gave Tom a confident nod. Only when he turned his eyes from the huge face, he saw the girl that Tom had in a very unpleasant grip while he still was in a bent position. She was just busy trying to gain a bit more air by violently struggling in his fist, but this was ignored by the giant, who still stared Pato.
The Twimp pointed at the girl with an urgent gesture, after which Tom made a surprised sound, and set her gently down on the floor.
  "Sorry, Maya. I was distracted for a moment." ,apologized the giant, and then sat up again. Before adding:
  "Be careful and do not run too far away."
Only now Pato had the chance to look at the girl more closely. But actually, his eyes stopped immediately on her face that seemed more than familiar to him. Since he could not talk when other giants than Sven were present, he formed the following word only with his lips:
  "Sophie?"
The girl just nodded and said in the same way:
  "Hello Patricio."
He could not believe it. Before him was the little sister of his best friend. Since he had seen her the last time she had not grown a tiny bit, but her face seemed a bit more mature. This reminded him of how long he had been here in this world: almost nine months. And now this poor girl was here and by judging the behaviour of her 'owner', she had no good position here. He had to find out how she came here and how she was.
Without any thinking he took a few quick steps toward her and tried to grab her hand to lead her to his room so they could talk undisturbed. But before he could even touch her, a huge hand rushed down on the ground before him.
  "Hey! Slow down, you little philanderer!" barked Tom, to whom belonged the hand.
Pato just stared shocked at the limb and could not move. He heard someone getting up and the regular vibrations of the ground told him that this someone was coming from behind him.
  "Are you okay, Pat?", he heard Sven's voice over him. But before he could reply, his big friend adressed Tom, who had not moved an inch yet.
  "What are you doing there?"
  "I do not know how you have trained your Twimp, but to me it looked as if he wanted to kidnap Maya ...", Tom said angrily in abundance, but was quickly interrupted by Lena:
  "Pato did not need any 'training', he was always a very friendly boy. I do not think he had any evil intentions."
  "For me, however, it looked very different." Tom talked back stubbornly.
Pato would have liked to say something to his defence, but right now he could not do much. He did not know how far he could go with Tom. Maybe he would just crush him if he did something wrong. But then someone acted, from whom he would least expect it. Sophie rounded his hand with her head high up until he stood next to Pato with arms crossed before her chest. Tom looked at the two in confusion. That was definitely a pretty strange picture for the giant: Pato was about 1,95 meters tall and the girl only went up to his chest. And he was the one who was shivering with fear as she stared at Tom boldly.
  "Tom, Pato has lived almost half a year with us and he has neither behaved aggressively towards a man nor a Twimp. And as you see, Maya does not seem to fear him." ,assured Sven, who sat behind him on the floor to give him encouragement.
  "The two have not even greeted each other, and he was about to drag her away to some place." said Tom back defiantly and Pato could see in his eyes, that he thought of picking Sophie up and away.
  "Perhaps you are unaware that they have communicated with each other in their own way. I doubt that Pato will do any thing to her." ,confirmed Sven.
Tom looked at Sophie questioningly: "Do you think he's okay?"
Sophie nodded and assuringly patted Pato's right arm.
  "Okay boy, promise me that you treat her properly." Tom said to the Twimp, and still looked at him very suspiciously.
He nodded nervously.
  "Good. But when I see just a single scratch on her .."
  "Tom, relax now. Nothing will happen to her.", Sven said. "We can leave the two alone without any problems."
  "Leave them alone?" ,asked the giant stunned.
  "Of course, or you want to watch them all the time? I would rather show you a couple of other things. ", replied Sven.
Tom stared at Pato and Sophie for a while and then said:
  "Well, if you think that it is safe ... You can go with him, Maya."
Sophie nodded happily and looked expectantly at her old friend.
  "Come with me." Pato formed with his lips and walked past Sven in the direction of the door from which he had come. This time he did not take her by the hand so he would not upset Tom again.

He was relieved when she finally walked beside him and smiled. He wanted to smile back, but actually he could not when he thought that she was stuck here with such a stubborn giant. When they had crossed the threshold, he heard the giants talking to each other again. Now they could certainly not her him and Sophie any more. He turned to her and said:
  "I think now we can talk." And in fact one could hear his voice.
  "R-really?" ,asked Sophie, and seemed surprised to hear herself.
  "If a giant is not able to listen, speaking is usually not a problem." He said, and led her down the hall to the curtain that surrounded his quarters.
  "But why? How does it work?" She asked curiously.
  "The golden rules prevent it ... well, at least one of them." , Pato said, and pushed the heavy fabric aside. "Now come in first, then we can talk in peace."

--

Sophie was glad that Tom could be persuaded to finally let her alone with Patricio. His protective instincts which had awakened this morning were anything but pleasant. She slipped through the crack in the curtain that her old friend held open. What she saw behind it, did surprise her. In the middle of the room were two cardboard boxes that have been rebuilt with a few pieces of wood and glue to create an arm- and back rest and the wall in the rear was occupied by a large radio.
  "You've got a quite comfortable place here." ,she said, not without envy. "And that Sven and his wife seem to be fine."
  "Yes, but it was a long way to get there. Now let us greet properly first." he said and gave her a friendly hug. Sophie replied, and was glad to see a familiar face, even if it was a while ago that she had seen Patricio, as he had moved away from Berlin over a year ago to study in another town.
He offered her one of the unusual chairs on which she sat down.
  "It's really awesome, that we meet here. ... I mean where is here, and what are these golden rules you talked about?"
Patricio also sat down and sighed a little before he began to explain:
  "This country, in which we are here is called Tuskland, and this city, Runburg, is the capital... wait, I have a world map somewhere ..." He got up and flipped through a thick stack of papers that lay next to the radio. Soon he was lucky and pulled out a large piece of paper. He spread it on the floor before her and she could see a pencil drawing that showed several shapes of land masses.
  "I copied from a big map some time ago." ,he said.
  "But ... those are ..."
  "Yes, every country is an island."
  "We are no longer on earth?" She asked cautiously, although the answer seemed clear.
  "Well, at least not on our earth. The giants also call their world earth ." ,Patricio said and sat back in his chair.
Sophie stared at the world map.
  "So this is sort of a parallel world? That would at least explain why so much is so similar to our world."
  "Maybe. But there is still very much that this is completely different, apart from the difference in size and geography. There are no airplanes, no internet and no real coffee ... which is a big sign for me that something in ths world goes terribly wrong. "he said, grinning a little.
  "Oh, oh, no coffee for Patricio. That's almost as if they would take the water away from a fish.", she joked, noting that she had not laughed for a few days now.
  "I'm so sorry that you ended up here. Nobody deserves this, and certainly not you." ,he said, and apparently was a little sorry that he had dumped the relaxed atmosphere.
  "Well, it's really not very homey here. If Thomas would just stop behaving like an idiot." She said with a sigh and hung hher head a little.
  "Did he hurt you? Is he brutal towards you?" ,he asked and looked at her closely, probably to see if she was hurt.
She then rubbed her hands a little nervous and answered:
  "No, not that, at least not intentionally. Mostly he is just careless and just does not get it, that I'm no animal. Even if I show him that I understand him, he just doesn't see it. I really wonder how anyone could not see this. "
Patricio looked at her very seriously, and then seemed to arrange the words he uttered now:
  "Even if you do behave exactly like one of the giants, even if you could talk to them. Neither he, nor anyone else of them will ever see you as a person."
He said this sternly, as if he spoke from experience.
  "But, how do you kno .." Sophie suddenly could not speak anymore and the loud steps that came near explained why. A giant came in earshot.
  "I'm sorry. It's just me", said Sven's voice and then he pushed the curtain aside. He had sat down on the floor and smiled kindly and apologetically at the two:
  "Sorry if I disturb you. Tom was of the opinion that I should look after you. He wants to know if you're still in one piece, Maya."
Patricio turned his gaze up and did something that made her jaw drop.
  "Sven, her name is Sophie."
With her mouth agape, she looked back and forth between the two. And even if she had been able to speak, she might would not make any sound.
Even the giant seemed a bit surprised and said:
  "You've told her?"
  "Um, no. Not yet. But maybe that would be the right time." ,answered Pato and looked back at Sophie, who was still absolutely stunned. Sven did not look happy about it.
  "You know that it is not completely safe, if too many people know about it. Especially when there is direct contact between them."
  "Yes, but I do not think that we can not keep it from her. She heard us talking anyway." ,said Patricio.
Sven looked over his shoulder to the door and then said:
  "Then I think that you have to do it alone. It seems a little suspicious if I stay here too long. Not that Tom gets strange ideas again. I hope Pat can tell you everything, Sophie."
With these words he left again and disappeared into the living room.
  "So then, I'm waiting." ,said Sophie, and was glad that she could speak again.
  "Sorry, I did not mean to catch you off guard. I shoul have told you before." ,he apologized.
  "That would have been appropriate." She said dryly.
  "All right, so where do I start ...." He stammered and then said: "Well, when I came to Sven and Lena six month ago, it was anything but pleasant. I had just fled from another giant, with whom I spent the first eight weeks in this world and I was anything but happy to be recaptured. It took me quite a while to settle in. Especially Lena tried really hard, to find out everything about Twimps to make my life here as comfortable as possible. And at some point her research lead to a man who did nothing more than putting a piece of paper into her hand. And on that note was a single sentence. The sentence, which resolves the barrier of speaking. She tried to use it on me but it did not work. "
  "Why?"
  "Well,in this special sentence, there is a certain clause."
  "A clause?" She asked confused.
  "Yes. The sentence goes like this: I, your master, rid yourself of the conditions of the second Golden Rule."
  "That sounds ... actually pretty straightforward, albeit strange. Why did it not work?"
  "The word 'master' is the problem. The spell only works if the giant is really recognized as ... as a master."
  "What?" somehow she felt stupid to talk in one-word- sentences.
  "It only works if you accept that you are their possession." He said very seriously. "Lena was much too kind and attentive to me. She has never considered me an animal, which is why I also could never feel this way." He said, and it seemed to be something unpleasant to say the.
  "And Sven?" ,she wanted to know anyway.
  " At first, he was quite similar to Tom. Not even his wife was able to persuade him. He was more of the opinion that I have interesting capabilities. My personality was not in his interest."
  "That sounds somehow not like the man who had just been here." she said in surprise.
  "You can not just expect a human to behave towards an animal in the same way he behaves towards a human. And back then I was just not much to him. ... And he has made it quite easy for me to label him as 'master' as he has behaved like that. " , He added and his face told her that he did not like remembering that.
  "But something seems to have changed. Anyway, until now he was quite considerate and helpful." , remarked Sophie.
  "Yes, since we could finally talk to each other, he has changed a lot. But only after I gave him a piece of my mind a few times. Since then, we could deal better with each other. And he really tries his best so we can get along much better. ", he said a little more relaxed now and leaned back in his chair.
Sophie was silent for a while. She wondered what this information was worth for her. If she wanted to speak with Tom, she had to accept him as a master, to deny her status as a person. But could she? Could she go that far? Then she remembered what Patricio had said earlier.
  "But ... even though you can talk to him, he doesn't see you as a human? Have you never told him that you are one? "
He shook his head.
  "This is another thing that has to do with the Golden Rules."
  "What are these rules actually? Where do they come from?"
  "Where they come from, I still have not figured out. But they are certain rules that are rooted in the subconscious. It is directed at them and us unconsciously, as if you were under hypnosis. This sentence, which lets me talk to Sven, and him to me set off this rule. I do not know of the actual wording of the other rules, but one of them prevents the giants to recognize us as human beings. And she also keeps us from making them understand this fact. We can't even write it down. " ,he said.
  "Right, now that you mention it ... I had tried to write that I am a human, but I got terrible pain. This had, therefore, to do with these rules." ,she recalled. "But who would have interest in establishing such rules? As if someone wanted to enforce that we are regarded as nothing more than pets." She wondered aloud.
  "Believe me, I've been thinking about it so many times but until now I have come to no solution." He said resignedly a little. "But I also have a question for you."
  "Hm?"
  "How long have you been here and what was the date when you disappeared from our world?"
  "This is my fourth day here. And I got on this train on July 20." ,she replied.
  "Oh, damn." ,he hissed out and slammed his hand on the armrest.
  "What? Did I say something wrong? ", she asked anxiously.
  "No ... not directly. I just kind of hoped that the time passes differently at home than here. But it looks like I've been gone over six months.", he said, shaking his head.
If she had had still any contact with his family, Sophie certainly would have noticed that he was missing. But she was also concerned that he was here for so long. At least he could communicate with Sven and apparently still had not found a way back.
  "So you have not yet figured out how to get back into our world?" She asked cautiously, and he shook his head again.
  "No. I did not even found out how and why I came here at all. That would probably be the first step to really understand what is really going on here."
Sophie was about to say something to him as she was again interrupted by loud steps.
  " Unfortunately I need to bother you two now. Dinner is ready and we would like to have you around." ,she heard Lena say, who then disappeared again into the living room.
  "Well, then we better not let them wait, right?" ,said Patricio and stood up slowly.
  "No, better not, or Thomas will get stupid ideas again." , she stated, slightly rolling her eyes and followed him into the living room.

--------------------------------

[MoonStarNinja4]

Wow, that was a great update!
Informative too! ^_^

[Bloodcore]

...Holy balls, that explains a lot! Really good!

[Amayasama]

o.o Ohhh THAT'S why Pato and Sven can talk...XD I was so far off! x3 Oh well, great chapter dear, I'm happy that I finally understand~ As for Tom...>> Sven better give him a good punch

[biali]

No new chapter now, but I made an illustration for the last one. Hope you like it ^^

[whisperer]

I just got caught up - and that totally sucks for the Twimps D: You gotta be dehumanized to talk? That kinda defeats the purpose of what Sophie's trying to do! Gah, I really hope they find some way around it, or find a way to break all the Golden Rules. The mystery in this story is thick, and I doubt I could stop reading if I tried!