#lilliputian!roman

[perspective-series]

Lilliputian Perspective (7/10)

By: @arc852 and @hiddendreamer67

Warnings: Fear, threats, treating someone like a monster, manipulation, and mention of eating people and death

(Check the reblog for the links to any future chapters)

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 Roman paced back and forth in his cell, glaring at the passing guards. He couldn’t believe this. He had agreed to answer questions, not be thrown in the dungeons! The stupid advisor just had to be the one who questioned them first. He was thinking this was more personal than anything...after all, he had stolen quite a number of things from the advisor.

 And now he didn’t even know how Logan and Patton were doing. Not that he cared too much, of course...well, okay, maybe a little. But he wasn’t about to admit that.

 Another few guards came along, but this time they didn’t just pass. Roman’s eyes widened as the guards opened his cell and made to grab for him. “Hey! Easy!” Roman struggled but was quickly overpowered by the four larger men. He scowled as he was dragged out of the dungeons. 

 “Where are you taking me?” Roman demanded to know but the guards were silent. Soon, he was brought outside and face to face with the advisor. Dee grinned.

 “Hello, thief.” Dee hissed out.

 “Snake.” Roman greeted back and Dee glared at him before his smile returned.

 “Oh, snark all you want. You aren’t getting away this time.” Dee spoke but Roman only rolled his eyes.

 “Uh huh, right.” Roman had done this song and dance before and he always managed to escape. Dee glared at his indifference.

 “Indeed. After all...you are on your way to your scheduled execution.” Dee watched gleefully as the words sunk into Roman.

 “Wait, what?! You can’t do that! I demand a trial!” Death for stealing was uncommon and he knew Dee was only getting away with it because the king was gone.

 Dee grinned. “Not this time.” Dee turned to the guards. “It’s feeding time. Please bring our beast’s meal to him, if you’d please.” 

 “What?” Was all Roman managed to get out before he was pushed along by the guards.

It had been quite an unpleasant day for Logan. All day he sat chained up, unable to find a comfortable position of rest. He also had the dual pleasure of feeling overwhelmed by gawking onlookers...and feeling terribly alone. No one had spoken to him all day, other than early this morning. His requests for water and food went unheard, and in fact sometimes only made the guards tremble. 

Logan gave a frustrated sigh, rubbing at his face. At this point, cooperation was getting him nowhere. What was their plan, tie him to the castle and then starve him to death? Logan didn’t want to hurt any Lilliputians, but if this was their plan he might need to attempt a break out.

As the sun began to set, Logan heard a commotion. He looked up, watching as a small group of guards began to approach him.

“Finally.” Logan tried to hide both the bitterness in his voice and his desire to roll his eyes. Even if he were viewed as a monster, he deserved to be acknowledged.

 One of the guards stepped forward. He was hesitant as he began to speak. “M-Meal time, beast!” The guard spoke and then got out of the way as the rest of the guards approached and shoved a figure to the ground near Logan.

 Roman groaned. He would try and push himself up but he was currently bound by his hands and legs. Still, he managed to look up, only to see Logan. Oh, heck no. They couldn’t honestly believe...Logan wouldn’t...right?

Logan blinked, realizing their implication with the single Lilliputian and lack of food carts. However, despite this, Logan was completely caught off guard.

“...what?” Logan frowned. “Surely you cannot be serious. You actually want me to eat one of your own?”

 “Oh, of course, not.” Dee spoke. Coming up from behind the guards. “At least, actual members of society. Now, this low life thief? Sure, go for it.” Dee grinned. “After all, it’s the only meal you will be getting.”

Logan nearly gagged at the thought. Surely this was just a test. But then, what was the criteria for passing? If this was really all he was going to receive, Logan would rather starve, especially because if he accepted this one more were sure to follow. Logan could not live on a diet of Lilliputians, both morally and physically.

It also certainly didn’t help that this command had been given by the advisor, who was quickly becoming Logan’s least favorite Lilliputian. “I hardly think a single Lilliputian is very filling.” Logan narrowed his gaze. 

 Roman blinked at that. Had he heard that right?

 Dee’s eyebrows raised. “Oh?” Dee grinned. “Well, we’ll leave you with this one for the night. And whatever happens, happens. Then we’ll go from there.” There were plenty of low life scum around that could feed this giant, after all. If that’s how this would play out.

 And with that, Dee left. The guards went back to their posts and the guards already surrounding the area were turning their heads a bit, not wanting to see the grotesque sight. 

Logan let out a long sigh. This was going to be a slow road to understanding if the people were so hellbent on encouraging this cannibalistic agenda. 

Of course, there were more pressing matters at hand. For example, the figure still tied up and practically cowering at his feet. In the darkness of the evening, Logan couldn’t make out what poor sap had been left with him. Surely they must be terrified. Looking further, Logan could make out the guards still at their familiar posts as they had been throughout the day. These Logan knew were a few feet outside of his grasp.. Which may or may not have been discovered via careful experimentation.

“Alright.” Logan said, deciding to get the reactions over with. “Come here.” He reached over, plucking the Lilliputian up by the middle.

 “Ah!” Roman yelled, startled by suddenly being picked up. He squirmed but his restraints were not helping. Not that he could do anything against Logan even without them. Which he knew from experience. “Logan, I swear if you eat me I will give you terrible indigestion!” 

Logan jumped, startled by the sound of a familiar voice. “Roman?!” He said incredulously, raising him up so that Logan could squint and make out the recognizable features in the darkness. 

 Roman met his eyes, still weary that Logan would go through with it. “Of course. Who else would it be?”

“I don’t know, I didn’t recognize you.” Logan furrowed his eyebrows. He kept his voice lowered, not wanting to be overheard by the guards. “What happened? I thought you were with Patton being interrogated by the prince. How on earth did you end up here?”

 Roman sighed. “The advisor recognized me and isn’t my biggest fan. He sent me to the dungeons and since the king isn’t here and he has the prince wrapped around his finger, I was sentenced to death.” Roman gave Logan a deadpan look. “Three guesses as to how they decided to execute me.” Roman’s look turned into a glare. “Which, I swear if you go through with…” He trailed off, threat left empty because he couldn’t really do anything.

“Roman, don’t be ridiculous.” Logan looked downright offended. “I told you, I don’t want to eat Lilliputians. I refuse. We’ve already had this discussion. Did you really think for a second time that I was going to eat you?”

 “...No.” Roman lied. “I was just...making sure.”

Logan hid his crestfallen expression well. It was clear no one on this island listened or trusted him, anyways. 

“But now there’s a new concern.” Logan brought up. “If you’ve been sentenced to execution, you’re legally a dead man. So, if I don’t kill you, they will. Is that how it works here as well?”

 “It...does.” Roman cursed under his breath. “That snake is going to be the death of me...literally.”

“So how are we going to avoid that?” Logan said. “I can’t exactly release you, as the guards will just capture you again. Not to mention there’s the question of my own fate. That...snake, as you named him, isn’t serious about only feeding me Lilliputians...correct?”

 “I don’t know...knowing Dee, he could very well be.” Roman answered. “Hopefully not though, or else you will starve.”

 Roman thought for a moment. “As for not getting captured again…” He looked around at the guards and sighed. “Yeah, I don’t know. That snake is hellbent on killing me.” He was sort of regretting stealing so much from him now.

“I guess we’re both doomed.” Logan gave a sigh. He reached into his pocket, pulling out his knife.

 Roman’s eyes widened as the knife was pulled out and he squirmed. “Um, Logan, whatcha doing with that knife there?”

“I assumed you would want to be released from your bonds, and this will be the quickest method.” Logan explained, readjusting his grip to get a better vantage point. It certainly did not help that the light was now very dim, the sun’s rays just peeking over the horizon.

 “Uh, you know what, I’m perfectly fine like this, no need to, er, cut me free or anything.” Roman laughed nervously, eyeing the large knife. The blade itself had to be as big as Roman.

Logan paused, remembering how intimidating his blade looked from such a vantage point. “Are you certain?” Logan twirled Roman slightly in his fingers, examining how the ropes dug into his skin. “They don’t look comfortable.”

 “...Maybe not. But I’d rather deal with rope burns than a knife wound the size of my body.” Roman explained.

“You can relax, I won’t cut you.” Logan considered his statement for a moment. “Okay, theoretically, there is admittedly a chance. But I certainly wouldn’t form such a large cut, and there’s a significantly lower chance if you don’t struggle.”

 “Ugh…” Roman groaned. He thought for a long minute. “...Just get it over with.” Roman shut his eyes tight, tensing his body and keeping it still.

Logan nodded. Using the last remains of sunlight he brought the blade closer, gliding it carefully between Roman’s limbs. The tiny ropes offered almost no resistance, and Logan very nearly did cut Roman in surprise. Nevertheless, Logan was careful, and Roman came away from the encounter unbound and unscathed.

“There we are.” Logan spoke up, putting away his knife. “At least you can live through the night in relative comfort.”

 Roman opened his eyes slowly, looking down at himself and smiled as he saw that he was free. He stretched and rubbed at the rope burns. “Thank you.” Roman said to Logan, looking back up at him. Roman sighed. “This whole execution thing wouldn’t even be an issue if the king was here. He’s hardly ever even hosted any executions. He saves them for only the most heinous of crimes.”

“And you’re not a heinous criminal?” Logan guessed.

 “Indeed! I would never go so far as to murder someone. Stealing, yes. Killing, no. I’ll admit I have very few morals, but that is where I draw the line.” Roman explained. 

“Good to know.” Logan nodded. “So, tell me more about this king. Why isn’t he here, exactly?”

 Roman shrugged. “He’s on some trip or something. I think to visit some neighboring royals? Either way, he left his son in charge while he was gone, who you’ve met.” Of course, it seemed more like Dee was in charge more than anything. “Not sure when he’s supposed to be back though. He’s been gone for a while now, so it should be soon…”

“Not soon enough.” Logan murmured. “What fate do you think he would give to me? Am I really destined to become a war machine like you keep saying?”

 “...It seems very likely.” Roman said, feeling a little bad but might as well tell Logan the truth. “Either that or…” Roman gestured across his neck.

“Oh, wonderful.” Logan gave a small snort. “What a kind and gracious ruling family you have.”

 Roman shrugged. “Look, can you really blame them? I mean...look at you compared to us.” He gestured toward both of them. “I fit in your hand for pete’s sake! It’s, you’re...ya know?”

“What, my size instantly makes me a murderer as well?” Logan said irritably. “Contrary to belief, I have my own morals as well, and yet I’m to be punished for trying to do the right thing.”

 Roman put his hands up. “Look, people are just scared. You’re a giant in our world and our stories have told us that only bad things happen when a giant comes here. I think most people would rather not take the chance to get to know you, just in case. You can never really know.” Roman explained, sighing a little. He never thought he’d be one to try and calm down a giant, but here he was.

“I understand, but it’s frustrating nonetheless.” Logan groaned, laying back down on the grass with a thud. It was one of the more comfortable positions he could manage with his ankle still chained. He rested the hand cradling Roman on his chest, looking straight up at the sky. Was it just him, or were the stars here smaller as well?

 Roman took a second to gain his bearings after Logan moved. “I know. I...I wish I could help you more.” He sighed. Now they both were probably going to die. Awesome.

“Well, in hindsight, my predicament seems to be in your benefit.” Logan gave a humorless chuckle.

 Roman blinked. “How so?” He asked.

“If I weren’t present I doubt you would have such a merciful executor.” Logan teased, brushing Roman’s arm with his thumb.

 Roman hummed, he went to push the finger away but...it actually felt kind of nice. “I suppose.” He wasn’t going to mention that, if Logan wasn’t here, he would never have been caught in the first place. He let out a yawn, finally feeling the day catch up with him.

Logan took a long deep breath, feeling his chest steadily rise and fall. The human was mulling over his possible options going forwards. Things were beginning to look quite grim for himself, but perhaps he could still help Roman a while longer. At the very least, Logan might be able to stall an execution for a few more days.

“Tired?” Logan asked, tilting his chin down to look at Roman.

 “Quite a bit, yes.” Roman admitted, yawning again. “It’s certainly been a...long day.”

“Agreed.” Logan said, although truthfully he wasn’t feeling very tired. Laying out in the field like this made him susceptible to the cool night air, and he shivered.

 Meanwhile, Roman was feeling quite warm, underneath Logan’s hand. He sighed and curled up more into it. “Goodnight, Logan.” 

“Goodnight, Roman.” Logan returned the farewell, curling his fingers protectively around the Lilliputian. At least one of them could get some rest.

[shakespearenews]

In this “Lilliputian world,” she writes, she has found precious treasures, such as a little twist of jewelry, turned black with age. It was a posy ring, perhaps from the 16th century, when friends and lovers gave them as tokens, inscribed with a line of “posy,” or poetry.

The ring Maiklem found read, “I LIVE IN HOPE X.” Which is pretty right, for a mudlark.

[modernsuperhero]

Just A Tiny Detail

When the humans first came, they were scared.

"I heard they EAT people!"

"What if they step on us?!"

"We need to find somewhere safer."

So they moved underground, tunneled where they were sure the humans wouldn't reach. They slept there through winter, as they always did. When they awoke, they braved their way back up into the sunlight--and to their horror, found that the tunnel that once led them outside now led into a strange square world. Virgil wanted to stay in the tunnels. They wouldn't touch them there, right? But Logan explained it could be dangerous to stay, so Patton took him by the hand and Roman led the way as they went up the strange zigzag mountains and could finally see daylight. 

"What is this place?" No one had an answer to Roman's question. "Do you think the humans put this here?"

"It's a house," Logan realized, recognizing the strange version of their own former homes. "The humans put a house here."

"There are humans living here?" Virgil's voice got deeper, his protective urges trying to take control. 

"But we lived here first! Maybe if we just asked them to leave..." Patton started.

"They destroyed our home and put their own here. I doubt they'd want all their 'hard work' to go to waste." Roman responded. 

The human house was quiet. The four tried to climb up towards where the sunshine was coming through, but found themselves blocked by a strange transparent substance that was too tough for them to break. Then they tried the door--they assumed it was a door, anyway, because it looked like one but was incredibly huge. They tried to weasel out underneath and found that it was sealed completely, and they couldn't reach the handle, much less turn it.

Patton was confused by the sheer number of obstacles they met. "It's almost like humans don't like fresh air!"

"They don't seem to," Logan replied. They were all tired from running back and forth and climbing and pushing and pulling and generally exerting a lot of energy for four tiny people who just came out of winter hibernation. They sat down on what looked like an enormous blanket, curling into the softness and forming a chain with their hands as they fell asleep.

The second time the human came, they were still asleep. He blinked once, twice, three times to make sure he was seeing correctly. On his couch were four tiny people, small enough to carry with one hand. How they managed to get onto the couch he had no idea. He wondered, briefly, if this was a prank, perhaps set up by one of his friends who had helped him move into this house only a week ago. 

The human quietly moved closer and gently poked the first one. He woke slowly, murmuring in a voice the human could barely hear. With the caution one has when holding a newborn infant, he scooped up the tiny person into his palm and held him, marveling at the creature that somehow entered his home.

Patton felt something shift and rolled around until he was comfortable again. He didn't truly wake up for a few more minutes, and as he gradually came back to consciousness, he realized he wasn't holding hands with his friends anymore, and opened his eyes. At first, he was terribly confused, but then he turned and looked up at the large face of the human who held him and immediately became so scared he opened his mouth to scream only to have nothing come out. The human sensed the poor thing's fear, and whispered soothingly that he would not come to harm, that the human was just curious.

"Would you like me to put you down?" The human asked. Patton nodded. He set him down next to the other three, who were still asleep. 

"Than-thank you." Patton choked on his words, his heart was beating so fast. Sure, this human seemed... nice... but he was still enormous by comparison and wholly capable of ACCIDENTALLY hurting them, so Patton supposed manners were a good idea, to keep the human in a good and careful mood. 

"My name is Thomas. What are you four doing here?"

"We lived here... before this human-house was built... we were trying to get out." Virgil started to stir. Patton kneeled next to him and gently rubbed his arm in order to wake him up calm. 

Thomas kept a pleasant exterior, but was rather stressed at this news. He had never considered that his moving here would evict innocent people from their homes, much less trap them inside! (Not that he had ever before considered the existence of Lilliputians, as he supposed they could be called, but still.) 

Virgil woke with a groan, rubbing his eyes before sitting up and gaping at Thomas, who loomed over all of them. Before Patton could even open his mouth to explain Virgil screamed, turning as pale as a ghost in just a moment. Logan and Roman woke and shot to their feet, shaking in their little boots when they realized the impeding threat was a human.

Roman pulled out his small blade, made from a shard of pottery, and pointed it up at Thomas. "Don't you dare come closer! I'll kill you! I'll kill you where you stand!"

Thomas let out a chuckle at such an adorable threat. The chuckle turned to a laugh until he was bent over, trying to catch his breath. The four were confused, to say the least, if not just a tad bit more afraid. Thomas came to his senses and stood up straight again.

"Sorry, hah, it's just, you guys are too cute! And I'm not gonna hurt you guys or anything, promise."

"Too cute?! We are not cute!" Logan fired back. 

"I could fuck you up if I wanted to!" Virgil huffed. Thomas had to bite his tongue from laughing again, but his smile said it all.

"I am cute AND vicious!" Roman swung his sword side-to-side for emphasis. 

"You think we're cute?" Patton's fear of humans seemed to vanish in a second as he gave Thomas a cheeky grin. "Thank you!"

"Of course!" Thomas' smile faltered, and he got down onto his knees so that they were more at his eye level. "And, I uh... I heard about what happened to your homes. I'm really sorry the people who built this place did that, but I swear I had nothing to do with it. It was already built when I got here. But if you want, I'm totally okay with having you guys live here. There's plenty of room, as you can see."

The offer struck them as a surprise. Live with a human? What if he wasn't really as nice as he seemed? What if he accidentally sat on them? At the same time, though, what better protector could there be against hawks or vultures or snakes who may attack them? And they didn't really have anywhere else to go...

There was a third and fourth and fifth and so on time that a human came, but it was just Thomas coming home from work, or the store, or a friend's place--coming home to four tiny people who quickly came to call Thomas "family."

[keevansixx]

Life is cold, beware of shrinkage.

Watched the movie "Downsizing". Not bad, fairly accurate description of the human condition....not so comedic as they wished to portray, but hey, they're only human...

so let's look at it a bit closer for the meta buried in this gem shall we?

 For one, there is the fantastical science of biochemical atomic restructuring, where they pump a chemical into you, and through some sort of radioactive exposure (kinda like a microwave, only the critters don't explode when you bake them for a short amount of time) the space between your atoms is reduced to 1/16th of your original atomic mass, rendering you about 3in tall with everything intact...well all the organic bits intact, all the inorganic or artificial bits of you remain the same size and must be removed surgically prior to downsizing. basically you get shrinky-dinked in a giant human microwave, and come out understanding the novel Gulliver's Travels on an entirely different level.  

For the other side of the coin, there is the economics of a thing.....since you are now only 1/16th your original size, your caloric consumption now equates to less that 1/32nd of your now Lilliputian anatomy, so basically a packet of crisps and a small thumbnail sized block of cheese could theoretically sustain you for well over a couple of months. Then there is the amenities of life....home, transportation, luxuries that no longer cost a small fortune, or your first born offspring, to acquire. Since you are now able to appreciate the irony of the ant and the giant boot, things just seem too good to be true in that new world.

Lastly, we come to the very edge of that coin....

Science, in all it's crazy mad glory, invents a way to physically reduce humanities footprint (figuratively) on the earth, and what do the rest of the primate powers do with this newfound ability? Why...they weaponized it, of course, shrinking dissidents, malcontents, and anyone whom does not agree with the "powers that be" and the status quo to 1/16th their original size, rendering them harmless to the greater powers, while the rest of the Lilliputian hordes live on in declining decadent old roman glory, living up to the oldest of vices in the newest of ways....(seriously, go watch the movie...it's like watching a microcosm of old roman history, complete with the slave quadrants and servant classes.) 

then throw into this mix the notion that the environment has already pushed passed it's tipping point, spelling out global Armageddon because all the methane trapped in the arctic is escaping it's icy bonds, and joyously rampaging back into the atmosphere like a frat party on a keg run, and the only way humanity can survive is for a small colony of tiny humans to bury themselves deep within a mountain like the dwarves of Moria, in a very high tech simulation of human existence complete with lighting, land, lakes, and tiny livestock...and seal themselves away for a few thousand years until the rest of humanity have died off, and the planet has had a chance to, once again, balance out back to factory defaults....

now here's the point where my brain takes a huge nosedive, and starts it's scathing run at the logic within the film, like a fat man chasing a bucket of chicken after a weight watchers day camp.

"Are you friggin kidding me? Science goes out of it's way to preform an impossible task, unheard of in the realms of human capabilities, and instead of taking the next step, and then the next step, and so forth and so on until you have found an amicable solution to a global problem, the ONLY solution they could come up with, in a room full of Nobel winners, top researchers, and other specialists was to say "All ya'll are fecked, we're going to dig ourselves a hole in the ground, stuff it full of food, booze, and women, then seal the doors behind us till the problem sorts itself out....so long, and thanks for all the fish!" really? seriously? {at which, in that portion of the film, I face palmed, and nearly rendered myself unconscious by accident} What about the stromatolites? Hmmmmmm? You science bastards were clever enough to figure out how to shrink a person, but you couldn't go gene splice a bunch of cyanobacteria, colonize it on huge screens, create huge towers to channel the air flow using thermodynamics, and basically scrub the methane out of the atmosphere using the very same creatures that pooped oxygen into the atmosphere in the first place millions of years ago, thereby allowing mammalian life to flourish after the first Sweet Meteor of Death took out Hobart Wash's favorite inevitable betrayal playthings? Or better still, what happened to that idea several years ago where you lot were going to send a small ring sat with a polarizing lens mounted in the ring, basically creating a big pair of sunshades that would float somewhere out beyond the lunar orbit, between the earth and the sun, and limit the amount of solar radiation the earth gets exposed to around the equator, and over the course of years, gradually cool the planet from reaching that dreaded thermal tipping point? sounds like a cheap fix to me, at least until you lot figure out how to resurrect that O2 pooping bacteria that disappeared millennia ago....geesh, keep it simple stupid!"

Has science really gotten that dumb? (at which point I realize that modern science is less and less about discovering the next frontier, and all the bounty it contains, and more about getting paid, finding tenure, and maintaining the status quo....sad. The next great big scientific discovery won't be made by a bunch of PHd's, doctorates, or tv celebrities....they are all too busy trying to get paid to care. No, the next breakthrough will happen by accident from a 12 year old, playing with stuff they really shouldn't be playing with, and interesting results will happen.....either that, or a old bald man playing in the tool shed, and accidentally dropping a jammy dodger into something else, and the eldritch horror he spawns will usher in an exciting age of rampant discovery for humanity. either way, science will get back on the ball again, and maybe I'll get to see my Jetson's sky car come to life before I die. but meh.....dream goals.) 

[friendraichu]

This is The Memory Palace, I'm Nate Dimeo.

You could go to Dreamland. You just caught the ferry at 23rd Street or the Battery, or slogged your way through the slow crawl of horse carts and motor cars heading south on Shell Road and the golden light of a late June afternoon, down to the edge of the Atlantic. Where a white city rose up above the brick and ash in Brooklyn. And you could walk through the fake marble gates as the sun went down. And the sea flashed amber and then gray, and Staten Island disappeared into the shadows, and the light grew dim enough for you to fool yourself that the marble wasn't fake at all.

And then the bulbs blinked on. A million of them lighting up the night in the largest amusement park in the world, which was a hell of a thing to see, just a few years after you'd seen your first electric light at all. And after you'd spent a 12 hour day in some basement room or some windowless factory floor, stitching sleeves or packing boxes, fitting fingers to gloves by gaslight. It'd be a hell of a thing even now, to see dozens of white buildings made to look like French pavilions, Roman fora, Florentine towers. A glow at the edge of the ocean where you could dance in history's largest ballroom, where you could drink tea in a Japanese garden, where you could sit in an auditorium in bleachers surrounding a vast pool of salt water and watch submarines fight a fake battle beneath a scale model of San Francisco.

You could buy your ticket to Dreamland and take a gondola ride through the canals of Venice, past St. Mark's Square and the Doge's Palace, steal a kiss beneath the Bridge of Sighs. You could ride your first escalator, this went to the top of a giant slide which would send you down caroming off obstacles like the Plinko board on The Price Is Right; if you landed on the right spot you won a prize. You could take a miniature train ride through a fake Switzerland or another from New York to California, or walk the streets of Cairo, or Paris. And other places you were never ever going to go otherwise.

Or you could sit on a swing with your friends inside a tiny house and then feel the swing move and feel yourself flip end over end and only figure out later on when you're all laughing over beers, sitting out under the string lights and salt air, that you hadn't moved at all. That it was the tiny house that had flipped end over end, around you. You could gawk at a freak show. In it premature babies in a hospital ward. Which was a freak show too, but one that happened to be the only place in the world equipped to keep premature babies alive. You could sit and watch them through the glass alongside their anxious parents.

You could see a cast of 2000 people set fire to a six story hotel and watch firefighters put it out, scaling ladders to rescue actors from real danger and catch them in nets as they made panicked leaps from fourth story windows so they can make panicked leaps tomorrow night, and the next night, and the next. You could tour the Lilliputian town where dozens of little people live full time in a half sized village, a 15th century French village. Because the indignity of living in a human zoo with modern amenities wasn't enough.

You could fly over all of it in a hot air balloon. You could sink below it in a diving bell. You could watch a magician make a woman float right over your head. You could eat a hot dog (They'd just invented hot dogs). You could see a one-handed lion tamer and chariot races and whirling dervishes and snake dancers. And you could climb into a boat ride called the Gates of Hell, until one night.

One of those million light bulbs blew, and sent a spark that flitted onto paper maché and sent all of Dreamland up in flames. And 2000 firefighters - all of them pretend - couldn't put Dreamland back together again.

[blues-sevenfold]

CBS Metaverse: Theros, Nyx, and Arkhos (and Zendikar)

After existing for a hundred years, Arkhos comes into being - so, similarly to Rath, Arkhos has 150 years of backstory prior to 1987... when the 101 MtG (Magic the Gathering) realm “went live”... a.k.a. became available of access to non-MtG realms and the physical realm.

While Rath combines two realms into one, similarly to how Alara combines five realms into one, Arkhos is a little bit different. Arkhos duplicates Theros, while overlaying portions of Nyx and Zendikar onto the duplicate Theros.

More information on Nyx and Zendikar can be found here.

~~~~~

Theros proper is a realm based on Greco-Roman mythology, and the overall architecture is based on such. Nyx is also more connected to Theros than to other MtG realms - so, while Nyx is accessible to all MtG realms via dreaming, significantly more Theros denizens have access to Nyx. About 25% of Theros have dream clones in Nyx, about 50% of Theros have an ability to periodically appear in Nyx via dreaming, and about 1% of the denizens of Theros are blessed with dream weaving abilities in Nyx.

As with any other MtG realm - the denizens of Theros can access Zendikar via a Zendikar window, a Zendikar cushion fort, and some honey from Zendikar bees. A certain number of cumulative mana points is required to purchase the items. Those with dream clones in Nyx, those with dream weaving abilities in Nyx, and realm walkers are ineligible for the offer.

Sapient species in Theros include humans, mages, nymphs, demigods, heroes (supers), fuzztops, fuzzlows, fuzzlers, centaurs, giants, doves (which includes phoenixes), ravens, dragons, drazils, and chameleons. In addition are various colourful sky cephalopods (octopi, squids, cuttlefish) and quasi-cephalopods. Also present are satyrs (half-humanoids with goat hind legs) and large-size ant people. Concord grapes are also a magical fruit in this realm.

The sun and moon cycles follow that of the centre of Athens, Greece.

~~~~~

Everyone present on Theros (including those “astrally” present in Zendikar or Nyx) at the moment of fusion are duplicated into Arkhos. Those duplicated into Arkhos are unable to access Zendikar or Nyx via the normal methods. Those who are newly born into Arkhos can access both, though.

About 5% of the denizens of Nyx and about 5% of the denizens of Zendikar are also duplicated into Arkhos, along with the accompanying landscape and the accompanying architecture. They are split up about evenly by species. A major exception are the sand fairies from Nyx, in which none are duplicated.

Arkhos is perpetually twilight - specifically right on the cusp on civil twilight and nautical twilight (the darker end), so it’s always “blue hour”.

Humans, ants, and bees from Zendikar arrive 5% in their large-size form and 5% in their lilliputian form. Spiders, scorpions, scarabs, locusts, cicadas, butterflies, fireflies, dragonflies, ladybugs, chrysolinas, chameleons, frogs, mole-mice, colourful passerines, parrots, ravens, doves, owls, hummingbirds, cuckoos, bats, and fairies from Zendikar all arrive 5% in their lilliputian forms. Anthropomorphic cats, clowns, raccoon bears (koala bears, red panda bears, raccoon bears, coati bears, kinkajou bears, olingo bears, wolverine bears), fuzzy bears, gummy bears, and New World monkeys from Zendikar all arrive 5% in their large-size forms. Seahorses, octopi, squids, cuttlefishes, jellyfishes, and fishes all arrive 5% in their medium-size forms. Dolphins and seals both arrive 5% in their human-size forms. About 25% of the cloud-platforms (complete with coral reefs) are also duplicated into Arkhos.

It’s next to impossible to list every sapient species from Nyx, as new species can be “imagined” into existence - due to the nature of the realm. All deities and no sand fairies are duplicated into Arkhos. About 10% of the pillow creatures, 10% of the fireflies, 10% of the locusts, 10% of the lemurs, 10% of the owls, 7.5% of the ponies (horses, unicorns, pegusi, and pegacorns), and 5% of the remaining species (including humans) are duplicated into Arkhos.

It should be noted that Nyx and Zendikar are both quite significantly larger than Theros - and, as such, Arkhos is slightly larger than Theros. Due to dream and meditation physics both being at work, there are various overlaying and shifting landscapes and architecture at work. This can be very confusing for visitors or newcomers, but it’s easy to master using ones imagination to get to where they wish to go. The Mercadia bazaar connecting to Theros is replaced with another Mercadia bazaar in Arkhos.

In some ways, Arkhos is easier to enter than Zendikar. Less cumulative mana points are required to access Arkhos. A little bit more Zendikar honey needs to be consumed, but no cushion fort or window is needed. One cannot “physically” visit Arkhos, unless through elaborate methods (realm walking abilities, via the Mercadia bazaars, via the Shandalar Carnival, etc.) - and Arkhos is not usually advertised as much in other MtG realms as Zendikar is. One can astral travel either to Zendikar or to Arkhos, but not both.

BTW, my idea for Arkhos is inspired largely by Londerland from Alice: Madness Returns.

[yahooin-travel-inspirations]

4 non-touristic countries in Europe and why you should visit them

This article was originally on GET.com at: 4 Non-Touristic Countries In Europe And Why You Should Visit Them

The majority of Singaporeans love the idea of travelling to Europe, snapping up the relatively-cheaper designer goods abroad and embracing the angmoh lifestyle and all. But not all countries on the European continent are as hyped as countries like France, Italy and Germany.

If travelling around the world is one of your goals in life, perhaps you’d want to make your way to some less touristic countries in Europe to savour less-known cultures and sceneries. Don’t know where to begin? Below are 4 non-touristic countries in Europe that we at GET.com reckon you consider the next time you plan your epic trip(s).

4 Non-Touristic Countries In Europe And Why You Should Visit Them

1. Malta

I kid you not, the first time I ever came across Malta was when this unfamiliar name popped up in my Econometrics textbook back in NUS a couple of years ago. As ignorant as I was, I just had to Google where on Earth this place is located geographically on the world map. Just in case you haven’t turned to Google yet, Malta is a tiny island country sitting on the Mediterranean Sea, not too far south of Sicily, Italy.

Although not many travellers make their way to Malta when they are in the mood for a Mediterranean holiday, this charming country has architectural gems, rich historical landmarks, great beaches, gorgeous cliffs and hidden coves that visitors can explore.

2. Liechtenstein

Fun fact: This Lilliputian country wedged between Austria and Switzerland has a population of less than 38,000. Needless to say, this minute sliver of an alpine country is one that’s easily overlooked by tourists despite its fairytale-esque landscape that comprises quaint villages, wineries, alpine chalets, and medieval castles.

For those of you who are made of money, perhaps you could look at renting the entire Liechtenstein at rate of USD$70,000 per night through Airbnb. Check out this Airbnb blog post if you are keen!

3. Moldova

Ever heard of Moldova? Nobody would blame you if your answer is a resounding ‘no’. Moldova is hands down the least visited country in all of Europe. Besides being tough to get to (in other words, extremely ulu), this landlocked country sandwiched between Romania and Ukraine that happens to be a former Soviet Republic doesn’t have a very developed tourism industry yet even after all these years.

If you are game for a truly unspoilt, off-the-beaten-track kind of holiday in Europe, Moldova would be your perfect destination of choice. It is super exotic and you get to savour a lot of great wines while you are there. Drinkers, rejoice!

4. Republic of Macedonia

Not to be mixed up with the Greek province of Macedonia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia is possibly the cheapest country in Europe that you can visit as the cost of living there is pretty low. Seriously, can you imagine going on a European holiday that wouldn’t bust your bank savings?! Word has it that it’s even lower than the cost of living in the Philippines.

Although the Republic of Macedonia doesn’t really have that many key attractions to keep tourists on their toes besides the natural landscapes, glistening Lake Ohrid and the historic waterside town of Ohrid, at least this Balkan destination is rich in Ottoman, Roman and Greek history. History buffs will be stoked to find lots of museums, monuments and ancient ruins there.

What do you think? Share your comments with us below!

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[jackblankhsh]

Truth Fact -- The Fool’s Ordeal -- “Hold your hand out naughty boy...”

This is based on a true story, in so far as anything can be called true considering that every story is a recollection warped, even ever so slightly, by perspective; and facts are not as objective as one may like to think since things like mood can't be measured by scientific instruments -- a set of calipers to calculate the dimensions of one's personal universe; suffice it to say this is an approximation of real events given the availability of particular details which may, or may not offer the fullest panorama possible, however, they do afford an opportunity for a slice of life, though perhaps roman à clef is more accurate given that some bits of fiction may have been overlain given the secondhand nature of certain anecdotes vital to the illumination of back story fleshing out some of the narrative's players, those being the parties involved with events described hereafter in media res.  

 "I took that jolly cunt by the ear, and slapped him so hard I hurt my own hand. Pass the greasepaint would you kindly... thank you darling," applying clown makeup he went on, "But fuck-all if I can remember why I did it.  There's only bits of the blackout I recollect with certainty. Like you fucking that donkey April Mars."

 "I did not."

 "You did too, Jimmy, you did too."

 "Nope, nope. She sucked my cock a piece, but no stuffing I swear."

 Shrugging, Mark used a brush to draw a black diamond on one cheek, "I've no reason to doubt, so I won't, but you know the saying 'in for a penny' and such?"

 Jimmy adjusted his oversized bowtie, "Yeah?"

 "Course you do, it was rhetorical ya pigfucker.  The point being any bit of a sexual doings with a cow is the same. Fuck an ugly duckling in the mouth, why not get some puss as well, eh?"

 Jimmy nodded, "I see your point, though at the risk of ridicule, I have to say, she's not ugly."

 "She's no cover model."

 "Neither is Daphne Greene, and you went for her more than once."

 Slamming down his lipstick, Mark turned to face him, half an exaggerated smile in place, "Are you comparing that dugong April Mars to the fine swan that is Daphne Marilyn Greene?"

 Jimmy stiffened, "I am."

 Shaking his head, and returning to finish the grin, "Well, I can't argue with an irrational man, but if you find the donkey desirable have at it mate."

 A soft knock at the door.  Mark slipped a bottle of whiskey out of sight in the bathtub.  Jimmy opened the door.  Mrs. Pembrook poked her head inside.

 All warm smiles she asked, "Are you gentlemen almost ready?  Folks are getting anxious."

 Mark gestured at his face, "As you can see, it'll be another minute, but no more than two."

 Mrs. Pembrook nodded, "Excellent.  You look wonderful James."

 "Thank you Mrs."

 The door closed. Jimmy aimed a middle finger at it, the gesture hyperbolized by the enormous puffy gloves he wore.  He glanced at himself in the mirror.  Even while he frowned the painted grin wouldn't stop beaming.

 He sighed, "This better be worth it."

 Mark slapped him, friendly backhand across the shoulder, "Course it will.  I've been on both sides of the line here.  You put on the clown gear, go out, and give the people a show.  It's simple. Better than prison, lemme tell ya."

 "I don't want to get hurt too bad."

 Never seeing a need for sugar coating, "A few cuts maybe, some bruises that'll last a week, but no one's ever broken a bone."

 Jimmy grabbed the whiskey.  He took a long pull from the bottle.  Chugging at least two shots he shivered.

 A thin glaze spread across his eyes, "Law of the land, I suppose."

 "No supposing, Jimmy.  And we must respect the law, to a certain extent, otherwise we're nothing but animals."

 This may not be the most opportune moment to intrude on the narrative, however, returning to the matter of truth, mainly as it applies to point of view, I used to know a man who operated under the absolute certainty that he occasionally excreted diminutive, Lilliputian sized people from his rectum, or to put it simpler, he thought he shit out people; but insisted to such an impassioned extent that these events were not delusions, hallucinations, or any of the myriad explanations offered by mental health professionals as well as the average person -- whatever average means psychologically speaking -- that at the very least one is forced to accept that for this man a reality existed wherein he defecated fecal homunculi.  We now return to the story, again, in media res.

 The Judge slammed the gavel down.  Silence descended on the orchard.  Mark brushed a bit of ash off his shoulder, grey snow from the surrounding bonfires. Jimmy tried not to the fidget, but the stern expression on the Judge's mask, the glowering made him nervous.  He wondered if he knew the person behind the porcelain.

 The black robe and white full-bottom wig turned the current Judge -- elected in secret by the town mothers -- into a somber specter.  As a child Jimmy used to have nightmares about Judges coming to get him, beating him in his bed with their gavels.  He never thought he'd stand before one in real life.  He wondered if the dreams would return.  

 The Judge spoke, voice distorted through a mechanism in the mask, "You have been found guilty, and for your crimes, you have been sentenced to the Fool's Ordeal."

 Mark glanced at the clock tower, visible even this far from town.  If things picked up a tick he might just make last bells at the pub.

 "Do you have anything to say?"

 Jimmy looked down at his feet.  Shuffling his floppy shoes, he shook his head.  Mark considered saying nothing, but then:

 "I don't think we did anything wrong, but we got caught, and law is the law.  So let's have at it."

 "Very well," gavel raised, "Let the sentencing be carried out."

 Bang! went the gavel.

 The Queen kissed the King, the porcelain lips of their respective masks clinking.  They stood, and gestured at the vacant throne of roses.  

 Mark sighed, "Let's get it done."

 "After you," Jimmy said.

 The two clowns sat on the wide throne.  Mark leaned on an armrest.  Thorns speared him, but he ignored them.  Now was not the time to look like he could feel pain.  The whiskey helped in that charade.  He glanced at Jimmy.  Poor sod sweating profusely to the point his makeup already ran, white droplets staining the red bowtie.  

 Figuring the ritual would distract the kid, Mark said, "Show time!  I went to a brothel the other day.  They had a sign up, 'Beat it.  We're closed.'"

 The Queen pantomimed laughing.  The King shook his head in disgust.

 Mark went on, "Feeling a pint might ease my sorrows, I go to the pub.  A barmaid, seeing I'm glum, says, 'I got something ought to distract ya.  You know a bit of archeology, right?'  I sez, 'Yeah.'  She reaches up her skirt, pulls out a used tampon, and splats it on my table, 'Tell me what period that's from.'"

 Jimmy started to get the feeling Mark enjoyed this.  Maybe it was just bravado.  He couldn't be sure, but he knew what worried him:  this didn't matter to Mark.  

 Mark carried on for a few more minutes until the King and Queen shook their heads in unified disgust.  Crossing their arms they stepped away from the throne.  The Queen made a slit-throat gesture.  The King nodded in agreement.  

 The Wolves emerged from the darkness.  Dressed in everyday clothes, but wearing wolf masks, townsfolk marched towards the throne of roses.  Some rubbed their hands in anticipation.

 Mark got up. Jimmy hesitated.

 Knowing better, "Get up Jimmy.  They'll just come get you."

 Jimmy shook his head, "I don't care.  Why make it easier?"

 "Show you're taking responsibility."  Mark walked into the throng.  The Wolves punched and kicked as he passed.  Some gave him more than one blow.  He walked until the beatings caused him to fall.  

 Reluctantly, Jimmy got to his feet.  He entered the Ordeal.

 I have one more point to make about truth, mainly the beauteous possibilities inherent in its malleability, perspective acting like a prism separating a single truth into a rainbow of truths, but I can tell by the look on your face, dear Reader, that perhaps it's best to get back to the action in media res.  

 He heard the ocean, a gentle shooshing of waves rolling lazily onto shore.  Then the darkness abruptly filled with a barrage of colors and shapes.  They seemed familiar, but his brain wouldn't comprehend any of it -- Jimmy winced -- yet something about the view seemed off.  It took a moment to realize one eye remained shut, swollen closed.  Though it hurt to move he sat up.  

 An explosive cheer resounded throughout the room.  

 Mark shouted, "He's awake!"

 Quinton started to sing, and the pub crowd soon joined in:

 "And when he landed back, his wife said, 'Tell me Jack, While you've been in Paree have you always thought of me?' 'Always darling,' murmured he, 'For your love I've been pining night and day.' And then the gramophone began to play.

 "Hold your hand out naughty boy. Hold your hand out naughty boy."

 A few patrons playfully slapping the backs of theirs hands, while they sang:

"Last night in the pale moonlight I saw you, I saw you With a nice girl in the Park..."

 Mark thrust a pint into Jimmy's hand, "See now, that wasn't so bad?"

 "I'll let you know once I've seen my face."

[perspective-series]

Lilliputian Perspective (10/10)

By: @arc852 and @hiddendreamer67

Warnings: Fear, threats, treating someone like a monster, manipulation, and mention of eating people and death

First chapter || Previous chapter

——————————————————————————————-

 Virgil was right when he said Dee was already getting the preparation together for his coronation. He was crowned early the next morning and he found himself here, sitting on his throne, wearing a crown that didn’t quite feel right.

 “Now that I’m king...it’s my decision on what we do with Logan, right?” Virgil asked, looking over to Dee who was standing there. He bowed.

 “Of course, my king. May I suggest something? I feel as though the giant can be useful to us and-” Dee was cut off when Virgil gave a firm shake of his head.

 “No, I’m setting him free.” Virgil said, standing up. Dee blinked.

 “You-You can’t be serious.” Dee kept back his growl, composing himself. “Sire, think about our people. How would they react to you unleashing this beast among them.”

 Virgil continued to walk, Dee following close behind him. “Logan isn’t going to do anything. I-I know that now. It’ll be fine and pretty soon, he’ll be off this island and back to his home.” Dee stopped as Virgil continued on, gathering some guards up to take with him to the cave. Dee growled and turned to go in another direction. 

 Virgil made it back to the cave, the guards hesitant as to Virgil’s plan. Virgil smiled at Logan and Roman. “Morning.”

“Morning.” Logan returned the informal greeting. He considered appending a ‘good’ to his statement, but his aching bones from sleeping in a strange position made him think otherwise. He gently poked at the human still asleep on his chest. “Roman, wake up.”

 “Hmm, don’t wanna.” Roman mumbled, rolling over and burying himself more into Logan’s chest. Virgil chuckled at the sight, reminded of his own self in the early morning.

“I apologize for his behavior.” Logan hid his eye roll well, scooping up Roman into his palm and sitting up more formally. “To what do we owe this pleasure?”

 Roman opened his eyes as he was moved with a groan and Virgil took that moment to tear his eyes away and look up at Logan. “As my first act as king, I’m setting you free.” Virgil did not miss the way the guards started whispering frantically behind him but he ignored it.

Logan’s eyebrows shot up, surprised by how quickly things had turned in his favor but not wanting to upset this decision. “I’m honored, your highness.”

 Virgil smiled and then turned to the guards. “Alright, undo the chains.” He ordered but the guards stood in place. Virgil frowned. “Uh...now.” Still no movement.

 “Oh, Virgil, your highness, they are scared, can’t you see?” Dee said, seemingly coming out of nowhere. Virgil glared at him. “Even they can see how much of a bad idea this is.”

“I’ve already been unchained several times in this company.” Logan reminded the crowd, making sure to look as humble as possible. “I assure you, I mean no harm. Not to mention, I was under the impression that a King’s word is law in a monarchy.”

 “He’s right.” Virgil noted, turning full on to his guards. “Now release him.” The guards looked to each other and started over to the chains.

 “Virgil, I implore you to think about this some more.” Dee all but hissed. Virgil looked to him.

 “Alright.” Virgil paused for a moment. “Okay, I thought about it some more. And Logan’s getting released and you are fired.” Dee physically reeled back at that and Virgil smirked. He had been wanting to do that for forever.

 “Looks like the snake is jobless now, ha!” Dee snapped his eyes over to Roman, who was looking much more awake and laughing at Dee’s misery.

Logan hid a smirk of his own, quite pleased that Virgil had made the correct call.

 Dee, noticing the smirk on the giant’s face, turned to him. “You.” He pointed, growling. “This is all your fault, you beast.” He narrowed his eyes. “You are going to pay for this. Mark my words. You all will.” And before anything more could be said or done, Dee was gone.

 Virgil frowned. “Well...that didn’t sound good.” He’d have to strengthen security a bit more.

 “Yeesh, talk about bitter,” Roman said, rolling his eyes.

“You might want to keep an eye on him.” Logan advised, watching the Lilliputian storm off. “Revenge is a powerful motivator.”

 “Yeah, I will.” Virgil promised. He looked to the guards, who had only barely moved. “Oh, for pete’s sake, just unchain him already!”

 The command got them all moving, undoing all the chains and then quickly moving out of the way and outside the cave. Virgil watched them go, rolling his eyes.

Logan set Roman to the side to take a moment to rub at his sore wrists and ankles. Satisfied, Logan stretched, grateful to once again stand to his full height.

 Virgil took a nervous step back but smiled at Logan. “Again, I have to apologize for all this trouble.” Virgil said. 

 “As you should.” Roman said, stretching himself.

“Roman, it’s not his fault.” Logan scolded, looking down at the Lilliputian at his feet.

 Roman huffed. “Well, he could have done something a little sooner. Instead of locking you away and agreeing to execute me.” Roman shot a pointed look towards Virgil, who winced.

 “S-Sorry.” Virgil mumbled again. Man, he had made a number of bad decisions, didn’t he?

“Moving forward, what now?” Logan asked, not one to dwell on the past.

 “Well, we can get started on trying to build you some sort of raft? So you can sail home?” Virgil suggested. It would take quite a bit of wood but he was sure they could manage.

“Yes, what resources are available to me?” Logan rolled up his sleeves, ready to begin.

***

 Dee growled as he stomped through the castle. Fired. No, no, that wouldn’t do at all. Logan would pay for this and so would Virgil. He thought Virgil would be easy to control but it seemed he was wrong.

 Dee’s new plan was as follows. Turn the town on the giant and convince them that the king was brainwashed and too far gone to save. Honestly, it shouldn’t be too hard. The peasants already feared the beast.

 And maybe, he could use a former ally of theirs. He knocked on the guest bedroom door and waited for a few seconds. When it opened Dee smiled at the glasses wearing merchant. “Hello, Patton. How has the castle been treating you?”

 Patton blinked, a little surprised to see Dee here. He had been wondering when he was going to come back. “Oh, uh, good.” He paused in thought for a moment. “I, uh, I heard they moved Logan over to a cave.” He had wanted to go and see him but Dee thought it was best if he stayed in his room.

 Dee nodded. “Yes, well, actually that is what I wanted to speak to you about.” Dee put on a solemn face. “You see, the giant has brainwashed our dear king into letting him go. I fear it is only a matter of time before he shows his true colors on this town.” Dee placed a hand on Patton’s shoulder and Patton tensed. “I would like your help in informing the townspeople of this predicament. Perhaps with them all banded together, we can put a stop to him.”

 Patton stared at Dee incredulously. “You mean...Logan finally convinced the king that he didn’t mean any harm and the king was nice enough to let him go and probably is helping him get home?” Patton asked.

 Dee narrowed his eyes. “No.” He growled out. “I meant what I said.” The grip on Patton’s shoulder got tighter and Patton pulled away from it, staggering back a few steps and looking at Dee warily.

 “I’m not going to help you. I know that Logan is a good person!” Patton shouted and Dee groaned, rolling his eyes.

 “Seriously? You’ve known him for not even a day. There is such a thing as being too trusting, you know?” Dee growled and Patton took another step back. Patton eyed the door behind Dee. If he could just get past him, then he could warn them of Dee’s plan.

 With that in mind, Patton broke out in a run, surprising Dee enough to be able to slip past. “Wha-No! Get back here! Guards!” The guards, not knowing Dee had been fired yet, started running after Patton.

 Patton didn’t stop, he couldn’t afford to. He had to warn them of Dee’s plan.

***

 “Your highness, I really don’t think-” Virgil shook his head, cutting off a nearby worker.

 “I don’t want to hear it. Now please continue to chop this wood down.” The worker sighed but got back to work. Virgil looked around the forest, seeing a worker at almost every tree. He had gotten most of the woodworkers and lumberjacks in the kingdom for this. It was the only way they would be able to get enough wood.

 Virgil went back out on the beach, seeing Roman messing with some rope. He glanced at the pile of wood that was already growing off to the side. “I hope this will be enough.”

“It should be, if we plan accordingly.” Logan murmured, focused on his task of preparing the logs. He skinned them almost like a long potato with his knife, removing the branches and creating even pieces.

 Virgil nodded, he hoped so. “If we can get enough without demolishing the entire forest, that would be great, too.” Virgil spoke, looking back at where the workers were logging. 

 “I think at this rate it will only be half the forest. Which, for how much wood we actually need, I say isn’t that bad!” Roman exclaimed, still lugging pieces of rope around.

Logan was quiet, feeling almost guilty for taking so much while giving back so little. “I’ll be gone before you know it, thankfully.”

 “Yeah, hopefully we can finish all this by tomorrow.” Virgil stared off into the distance. “...I wonder if I should be more worried about Dee…”

 Roman snorted. “That snake? Yeah, no, I think we’re fine. If anything, Logan can just flick him into the ocean for a little swim.” Roman laughed at the thought.

Logan gave Roman a brief glare. “Yes, I would be concerned about your former advisor. Do you have a replacement in mind?”

 “Not yet.” Virgil admitted.

 “You know, I am always available.” Roman swooped in at the opportunity. Virgil just sent him a look.

 “As I said, I don’t have anyone in mind yet.” He turned back to Logan as he said this. Roman huffed and crossed his arms.

 “Rude.”

“I would advise against Roman.” Logan confirmed. “I would offer to fill the position but that would be quite difficult.”

 “Not you too!” Roman huffed. He thought he would make a great advisor, thank you very much.

 Virgil looked up at Logan, still ignoring Roman. “Actually...yeah, you would actually make a really great advisor. If, you know, we were the same size.”

“And I wasn’t currently fleeing your country.” Logan reminded him. Still, it felt wonderful to at least find one Lilliputian who trusted him so wholeheartedly. “But I’m touched that you agree with my sentiment.”

 “I mean, it’s hard not to. You seem really smart. Not to mention calm and collected, even when we were chaining you up.” Virgil shook his head. “You’d be, like, the perfect advisor.”

“I do believe I would.” Logan tested out the title in his head: Royal Advisor. It was almost enough to make him reconsider leaving in the first place.

 “Alright, we get it, enough with the compliments already.” Roman said, rolling his eyes. “If we want to get this done, we have to focus.”

 “Right.” Virgil said. “I’m going to go make another round…” He trailed off when he saw someone running towards them at a distance.

 “Guys!” Patton exclaimed as he was still running from the guards.

 Roman blinked. “Is that...Patton?” He hadn’t seen the puffball in a while.

“Why are you being chased?” Logan called out.

 “D-Dee sent the guards after m-ah!” Patton was cut off by a shout as he was finally caught. Grabbed roughly by one of the men. 

 Virgil’s eyes widened. “Guards! Let him go!” The guards looked up at Virgil before releasing Patton, who bent over in slight pain, gasping for breath.

“Are you alright, Patton?” Logan came closer, crouching to inspect the scene.

 The guards, as Logan came closer, all but ran back to the castle. Patton looked up at Logan with a small smile. “Um, yeah, he just grabbed me kind of hard.”

 “How dare they!” He turned to Virgil. “I thought you fired that snake!”

 “I did!” Virgil raised his hands in surrender. “I haven’t been able to let everyone know yet, though.”

“Ah...perhaps you should remedy that quickly.” Logan advised. “Patton, why did he send the guards after you in the first place? Has Roman rubbed off on you?”

 “Huh? Uh...Oh! No! Dee was trying to get me to go along with his plan but I refused. He’s going to try and convince the town to turn against you!” Patton exclaimed, looking panicked.

 “...Well, that isn’t going to be difficult for him.” Roman muttered, worried.

“I think that’s already public opinion.” Logan sighed in agreement. “But I’m thankful to have you on my side, Patton.”

 “Still...that could be a problem.” Virgil bit his lip. “We definitely need to speed this along. Logan? Uh, do you think you can uproot a tree or two yourself?” 

 Roman’s eyes widened. “Whoa, I would love to see that.”

Logan chuckled, a bit uncomfortable with the notion. “Ah, if everyone clears the area I could certainly get some of the smaller trees.”

 Virgil nodded and constructed some workers to move to another area, to clear a small number of trees. Patton moved so he was next to Roman, who gave him some rope to help out with.

 “Alright, all yours.” Virgil said, looking at Logan.

Logan nodded, approaching the smallest evergreen standing. It was tall, but still not taller than Logan himself. He gave it a harsh tug, feeling the roots begin to give way. With a grunt he readjusted his grip, and soon found the entire tree came loose from the soil in his hands.

 Everyone’s eyes widened. “Whoa…” Patton said breathlessly.

Logan set the tree to the side, careful to avoid his onlookers as he turned to the next tree. The work went faster when it was just the human himself, and the pile of lumber began to grow.

“I estimate this will be enough.” Logan panted finally, his hands rubbed nearly raw from the bark.

 Virgil nodded, staring wide-eyed at the pile. “Yeah, I think so. That was...that was impressive.” Virgil said in awe. The workers, noticing that they were no longer needed, were quick to get out of there.

 “Fantastic! Now we just need to put all this together.” Roman said and Patton grinned, holding up some rope.

 “Rope, anyone?”

This task ended up being better for the Lilliputians. Despite his best efforts, Logan’s fingers fumbled to braid the tiny Lilliputian ropes together into what could resemble normal rope.

 Patton noticed Logan’s struggle and placed a hand on his much bigger one. “I think we’ve got this part, kiddo. You just sit back and relax.”

 “Yeah, it would help if you could keep a lookout for Dee.” Virgil said.

“Very well then.” Logan handed the rope back to his tiny companions, peering over the treetops instead as a living watchtower.

 “I am worried.” Patton admitted as he continue to tie the ropes. “What if he succeeds in getting the people on his side?”

 “Pft, the guys a snake, I mean, surely they won’t actually listen...right?” Roman asked, looking to the king for confirmation. Virgil bit his lip.

 “I don’t know...the people are still wary around Logan, after all.”

 “But your word is law.” Roman reminded him. “Especially now that you are king.”

“You’re going to need to assert your dominance, else the governing body can easily be undermined.” Logan spoke up.

 “Right. Well, I can do that later. Once you’re safely afloat and we don’t have to worry about that anymore.” Virgil said, going back to tying. 

 They were nearly done, when suddenly, a voice drew them to look at the top of the hill. “Hello, dearest king. And...beast.” Dee spit the name out in pure disgust.

 Roman glared. “What am I? Chopped liver?”

“Dee is here.” Logan informed them, a bit late on his watchdog duties.

 “Thanks, we noticed.” Roman deadpanned.

 “Virgil! Oh, Virgil, the townspeople are so worried about their king!” Dee said, putting on a show, it seemed. “If it’s not already too late, please, stop helping this monster! A beast such as this does not deserve to live!”

 Virgil glared at his ex-advisor. “Yes, he does. I won’t stop helping until he doesn't need help anymore.”

 “Yeah! How dare you try to make him the bad guy!” Patton yelled.

“Truly I just want to leave you alone.” Logan gestured to the nearly finished raft. “Hence, leaving the island.”

 “How are we to know you won’t just come back? With even more giants. No, the people are clear on their stance. Virgil? One last chance.” Dee sneered.

 Virgil held his ground. “The answer is no.”

 Dee sighed, though even from where Virgil was, he could see the smirk on Dee’s face. “Very well, then. It seems you truly are lost to us. As you can all see, Virgil is no longer fit to be king!” Dee announced turning around towards the forest. Slowly, several people started coming out of it, Virgil recognized some of them from the council and that was far from good.

 “I am perfectly fit!” Virgil yelled, that one statement having more confidence than any other. Despite that though, Dee just laughed.

 “Sorry, Virgil.” Dee held his hand out, one of the council members handing over the crown. Dee put it on. “But it appears that I am king now.”

“This is how your monarchy operates?” Logan seemed more confused than nervous at Dee’s statement. “What a wretched system you seem to have.”

 “Oh, not usually.” Dee spoke, checking his nails. “But in this case, an exception had to be made. And with the whole town on my side, well...it was an easy decision for the council to make.”

 “That crown does not belong to you!” Roman shouted, practically growling.

 “Says the thief. Please, you’re one to talk.” Dee smirked. “And once I get my hands on you, you will be executed for real this time.” Roman took a step back at that, looking slightly worried.

 “You can’t do this!” Patton cried out. “Logan is a good person!”

 “Logan, is a monster! And he will be treated as such.” Dee clapped his hands. “Guards! Seize them!” Suddenly, the army came out of the forest, coming towards the party of four.

 “Uh, Logan, I know you have that whole moral thing going on but now would be a great time to do something.” Roman hissed at him in panic.

Logan glanced at the raft, then at his three companions. “How attached are the three of you to Lilliput?”

 Virgil blinked. “What kind of question is that?”

 “Uh, not too much?” Roman went ahead and answered. It was true, not many people liked him here anyway.

 “A little bit?” Patton shrugged and Virgil sighed, looking back at the army still coming toward them.

 “Considering my people turned against me, I have to say I wouldn’t miss this place much.” Virgil admitted.

That seemed to be all Logan needed to hear. He quickly scooped all three up, dumping them onto the raft. With a grunt Logan dug his ankles into the sand and shoved the raft into the ocean. Once it got going Logan jumped on as well.

 “No!” Dee cried out, running down to the shore. But Logan’s push, along with the tide had already pulled the raft pretty far out.

 Patton blinked away his surprise, looking up as the island got farther and farther away. “W-Wait, are we…?”

 Roman got up as well. “I...suppose that is one way to go about that.”

 Virgil remained silent as he simply stared back, not so much looking at the island, but at the people.

“I apologize, that was brash.” Logan admitted, grabbing the ore he had fashioned from one of the larger logs. “I can return any of you if you wish, but it seemed disrespectful to leave you in the path of a charging army.”

 “No, I...I think that was the best choice.” Virgil said, turning away from the shrinking island. Sure, he would miss his home but with his father gone and Dee having turned everyone against him, there was no place for him there anymore.

 “I certainly do not want to go back. I don’t have a death wish, thank you very much.” Roman spoke.

 Patton looked up at Logan. “Does this mean...we’re going to your home? Where everything is your size?”

“Attempting to, at least.” Logan looked against the open sea, so large compared to the tiny land of tiny people.

 “So...I’ll get to see a giant dog?” Patton asked, a smile appearing on his face. Roman looked at him.

 “Really? Is that all you care about?” Roman asked, crossing his arms.

 “No!” Patton cried. “I just...a giant doggo sounds so cute.” Patton said.

 “Sounds terrifying to me.” Virgil shivered. Actually, the whole thing sounded pretty scary. “We’re going to be completely out of our element.”

“Yes, but I’ll be there to assist you.” Logan assured them. “Just as you three have assisted me.”

 “You better! We sacrificed a lot for you!” Roman said but he was smiling.

“Indeed.” In spite of Roman’s joking tone, Logan was completely serious. “I appreciate it. You all did not need to stick up for me and yet in the end, have ended up sacrificing yourselves to help me get home.”

 “You’re welcome, Logan.” Virgil said with a small smile. 

 “Like I keep saying, you’re a good person.” Patton grinned. “You deserve to be able to go home.”

 “Well, I guess this is the start of a new chapter in our lives. Or, an old one, in one case.” Roman said, looking up at Logan.

“No, a new one for me as well.” Logan corrected, trying to imagine what his life would entail. “It will certainly be a new adjustment.”

 “I suppose it would be, having three lilliputians around.” Roman mused.

 Virgil stared off into the ocean horizon. “It’ll be nice...not having to worry about running a kingdom.”

“I wonder what will happen to Lilliput.” Logan thought aloud.

 “Knowing the snake? He’ll probably rule with an iron fist.” Roman answered. 

 “I feel kind of bad for the people.” Patton spoke. “Even if they did turn on us.”

 “I say they deserved it.” Roman huffed.

 “It doesn’t matter.” Virgil finally said. “It’s behind us now.” Literally and figuratively.

“Indeed.” Logan agreed, pushing his ore into the water and pushing them farther away. 

Soon Lilliput was out of sight for the strange group, forgotten in the endless sea of mysteries. Now all that lay ahead of them was a world full of possibilities and future adventures.

Logan stroked the water again, bringing them ever closer to whatever fate had in store next.

[perspective-series]

Lilliputian Perspective (1)

By: @arc852 and @hiddendreamer67

Warnings: Fear, panic, lying, stealing and almost drowning.

(Check the reblog for the links to any future chapters)

————————————————————————————————–

Logan gaped like a fish, floundering about on the deck as the storm threatened to overtake their tiny vessel. Another wave came over the side, dousing Logan in the salty spray and threatening to drag him back into the depths with it.

“Look alive, men!” The captain cried out, attempting to navigate them through the wretched waters. The sky above was in turmoil, dark and ominous as though warning them they never should have dared come upon the sea this day. 

A crack of lightning lit up the air, revealing the crew of seamen scuttering about like lost penguins surrounded by a pack of sea lions waiting to swallow them whole. For indeed, that was what the sea had become- one by one she began to pick unsuspecting sailors up and toss them over the rail, her bloodlust never satisfied.

And unfortunately, it seemed Logan was destined to share a similar fate. With a startled yell he felt himself pulled over the edge, miraculously tossed to the surface once more.

“Gulliver!” One of his colleagues called out, but Logan could not make out who it was in the darkness of the storm. He struggled to stay afloat as it was, finding solace in a piece of driftwood torn from the ship.

“Help!” Logan cried out, watching with growing dread as he was tugged further and further away. “Man overboard!”

Whether the crew heard him was of little consequence now; for better or worse Logan was at the mercy of the waves. He sputtered along, every so often finding himself drenched once more as wave after rocky wave crashed above his head. What was he going to do? He was adrift in the middle of the ocean, in the middle of a storm, with no ship in sight, and far from any… land?

Logan paused, feeling his feet touch sand. Perhaps he had merely stumbled across a sandbar by luck, but Logan knew that this was not a structure that would form on its own. If Logan could touch here, land could not be far off. 

Coughing up a bit of seawater, Logan tried to look around, disoriented as he continued to swim. It felt like several hours had passed since he was sent adrift, and by now the scientist was exhausted. As if to finally show mercy it seemed the storm had decided to die down, and in the pale grey light, Logan spotted a tiny island in the distance.

Spurred on by the sight, Logan used his last bout of adrenaline to paddle to the shore. When he finally made it, Logan walked several paces inland to ensure that if the storm returned he would not be taken back to see.

“Shelter,” Logan muttered. “I need… shelter…”

But he felt too exhausted to find a proper shelter. Letting his emotions overcome him, Logan simply laid down in the surprisingly soft grass and wondered if he would ever wake again.

 Roman wrapped the scarf tighter around himself, making sure no one could make out his face. He didn’t need to be recognized. Not in this section of town. 

 Stomach grumbling, Roman slid past a fruit stand and when the owner’s back was turned, grabbed an apple and walked away. When he was far enough, he smiled and took a bite. He loved the thrill of taking something, even if sometimes it was so easy.

 “Stop! Thief!” Okay, maybe he spoke too soon. Roman turned around to see a number of the castle guards running toward him. He cursed and took off running. They must have recognized him, which wasn’t good.

 Roman tried to lose them through the crowd but they were keeping up with him pretty well, despite having to disturb several innocent people in the process. Roman continued to run and weave his way through the market square, deciding to run into the incoming forest.

 He heard the guards following, but with so many trees and all his weaving, they started to sound farther away. Until suddenly, he couldn’t hear them anymore. He came to a stop and grinned. If they kept sending men like that, they were never gonna catch him.

 He continued to walk more into the woods, knowing what lay beyond the other side. A nice trip to the seaside sounded like a good idea. Besides, he always found a few pieces of treasure worth keeping or selling in the sand.

 He came up to the cliffside, looking down and out towards the sand and sea. But all his thoughts halted when he noticed what lay upon the sand.

 Was...was that an actual giant. Like-like in all the stories? Roman couldn’t believe his eyes. But the image didn’t go away as he rubbed at them. No, the giant was still there, clear as day.

 If Roman was anyone else, he probably would have run off and told someone.

 But he wasn’t anyone else and instead he found himself sliding down the cliff with practiced ease, carefully coming up next to the giant. Was it even alive? How long had it even been here? He gripped and tugged at the thing’s tunic, before deciding to hell with it and started to climb up the massive body.

 He made it up on to the chest and looked at the giant’s face. “...Hello?” He called out cautiously. Half of him was hoping the giant was in fact dead. Because the last thing he needed was the thing to come alive and eat him.

Logan let out a groan, feeling the sun beating down on him as he lay still. How long had he been asleep? He should probably get up, get some shelter, get some food, and yet...his bones still ached so terribly. Not to mention, he was clearly seasick as well, if he was already hearing voices.

 As the giant groaned and started to move, Roman’s eyes widened. So it was alive...oh heck no. Okay, maybe it would be a good idea to get out of here before the thing was fully awake. Yeah, he was gonna do that. He started to move towards the edge, but an especially heavy breath caused the chest to rise too much and caused Roman to become unbalanced and fall. “Whoa!” He cried as he rolled a bit and fell onto his back.

Logan tensed, feeling a weight on his chest and hearing that voice again. Slowly Logan opened his eyes, squinting in the bright sun before looking down at his chest.

Logan’s eyes widened. Was that…? Surely it couldn’t be. A man, standing no larger than Logan’s own hand was resting upon his chest.

“Surely I’m delusional.” Logan murmured, reaching up with his left arm to see if his claims were true.

 Roman’s head snapped up at the voice and his eyes widened as he realized the giant was actually looking at him. He scrambled to his feet but then noticed the hand, the giant-sized hand, coming right for him. “N-No!” Roman booked it, trying to make it towards the edge of the giant once again so he could get off this thing.

Logan tensed, feeling the peculiar sensation of tiny boots running across his body.

“Now wait just a moment!” Logan quickly blocked off the man’s path with his arm, propping himself up on his other elbow so his neck did not need to bend down so terribly low.

 “Ah!” Roman screeched to a halt before he could run into the arm, blocking his path. He turned to face the giant for but a moment, before taking off in the other direction, towards the other side.

“Stop that!” Logan scolded, moving his hand to gather up the little man in a fist.

 “H-Hey!” Roman cried, struggling as the giant got his hand on him. “Release me, you beast!”

“Beast?” Logan supposed that would make sense, given the man’s stature he must appear rather ghastly in comparison. “I am no beast.” Logan brought the man closer, entranced by his animated tiny features. The way Logan could feel his peculiar little struggles only solidified the fact this was no delusion. Or if it was, it was a rather detailed one.

“Who are you?” Logan questioned. “What were you doing on my chest?”

 Roman struggled even more as he was brought closer to the giant’s face. Closer to his mouth. He shivered at the idea of being eaten. Hopefully, he could escape before that happened. “I-I should be asking you such things!”

“Perhaps, but I asked you first.” Logan reminded the man. Though he was clearly cowering, it must have taken tremendous courage for him to stand up to Logan. The scientist was not yet sure if that was a good thing.

 He supposed the giant had him there. “Well, I am a Lilliputian. And I was trying to see if you were still alive or not.” Roman spoke, trying his best to keep the fear out of his voice. He thinks it was working, he was a pretty good actor after all. “Now, who are you? Why are you here? And I demand that you let me go!”

“I don’t think you are in a position to be making demands,” Logan said, his tone more observational than threatening. He sat up fully, noting the forest to his left with trees that were only just taller than his head when sitting straight. How peculiar- then perhaps everything was to scale with this funny little man here? A lilliputian, he had called himself.

“My name is Logan Gulliver, and I became shipwrecked here during the storm last night,” Logan explained.

 “Storm?” That was strange, he didn’t remember there being a storm last night. Roman narrowed his eyes. “Likely story, beast. You’re here to terrorize us, aren’t you!”

“Why would I do that?” Logan sighed, still far too tired for this sort of nonsense. “No, I assure you, I mean you no harm. Are all the people here your size, by chance?”

 Roman looked at him strangely. “Of course they are! Why wouldn’t they be?”

“Well, take a look at my own stature,” Logan argued. “It can be reasonably assumed that I am used to a population that’s of my size and not yours. You are the first ‘lilliputian’ I have ever seen, and quite frankly if I was not seeing you myself I would believe it to be impossible.”

 Roman’s eyes widened. “You’re saying there are more giants!” His eyes narrowed. “Well...if you are really telling the truth, about not planning to harm us, why have you not let me go yet?” Roman asked. Not buying into anything this giant was saying.

“I am still fascinated, I admit,” Logan said. “But regardless, that does not negate my claim, as I have not harmed you within my grasp. Aside from perhaps a mild heart attack, but you were the one who invaded my personal space and tried to wake me first.”

 “Yet. You haven’t hurt me yet.” Roman pointed out. After all, he was currently at this giant’s mercy. He could do whatever with him and Roman wouldn’t be able to stop him. “There is no way for me to know your true intentions.”

“Fair enough, think what you will.” In any case, Logan did not feel the need to try and convince the Lilliputian otherwise, especially when there were more pressing matters at hand. “Then perhaps you can assist me, and then I will let you go. Do you know where the nearest body of freshwater is? I’m terribly parched.”

 Yeah, that did nothing to calm Roman’s fears. And he didn’t think for one second that he would be released but...maybe if he did lead him to some water, he could escape while he was distracted. “...There is a freshwater pond just around that hill over that way.” Roman said, pointing in the near distance.

Logan started to stand up, peeking just over the edge of the trees to try and spot the pond the lilliputian mentioned. Rising a bit further, Logan noticed what appeared to be a miniature town just on the other edge of the forest. Of course, Logan now realized that it was just to the little man’s scale and perhaps ‘miniature’ was not at all the correct term. 

“Is that a castle?” Logan observed, going higher to try and view the kingdom within the distance, his curiosity growing.

 Roman’s eyes widened as he remembered the kingdom was not far from here and if Logan was seen...that meant he would be found as well. “Get down!” He yelled suddenly.

“What?” Strangely, Logan felt complied to listen to the command as he ducked beneath the treeline one more. He looked down at the figure in his hand, perplexed. “What for?”

 “You can’t have anyone seeing you. I would-I mean, you would cause a mass panic!” Roman explained himself.

“Oh, I suppose you’re right.” Logan winced. He hadn’t taken his size into account. While he could easily overpower one sassy Lilliputian, having an entire army after him would be quite troublesome. Certainly then Logan would have to go around the forest, as there was no easy way for him to maneuver between the trees on his hands and knees. 

Logan sighed, realizing that this would also make it incredibly difficult to carry the Lilliputian along. Though Logan did not intend on keeping the man captive, he certainly would prefer to have an ally on his side who knew the way of this world if Logan expected to survive.

“If I set you down, would you mind leading me to the pond?” Logan requested. 

 Roman tried to keep himself from looking too happy at this notion. If he was put down, he could certainly escape far easier. But he had to play it cool. “Fine.” He huffed.

“Alright.” Logan relented. “But I implore you not to go running off. Not only is it terribly rude, but I imagine I could catch you with ease.”

 Roman felt a shiver run through him at that. Well...he could just wait until he was distracted. Like he originally planned. “I won’t.” He sighed.

“Thank you.” With that settled, Logan placed the Lilliputian down on the ground, giving him a head start as even crawling Logan knew his strides would be much larger.

 Roman was very thankful to be back on solid ground. He took the time to dust himself off and look himself over before looking towards the giant. “Follow me, I guess.” He started off the long way towards the pond.

[perspective-series]

Lilliputian Perspective (6/10)

By: @arc852 and @hiddendreamer67

Warnings: Fear, threats, treating someone like a monster, manipulation, and mention of eating people and death

(Check the reblog for the links to any future chapters)

—————————————————————————————————-

When Logan finished cutting through the ropes he looked up, only now realizing the terrified sea staring back at him. Logan looked down at his knife, realizing how monstrous his simple tool must appear when the little blade was nearly half their size. Almost sheepishly Logan put the knife back in his pocket, not wanting to accidentally threaten the army further.

 “Okay, this is...okay.” Virgil let out a long breath. “Everyone, start heading back!” It took several beats for everyone to start moving, everyone glancing behind them at the giant warily. Virgil looked up at him. “Um...when you’re ready,” Virgil said, motioning towards the cave entrance. 

 “Wait!” Patton shouted, running up to the prince. Virgil took a step back in surprise and immediately some guards were on either side of him, glaring down at the other. Patton cowered but stood his ground. “Please, don’t hurt him. He didn’t do anything wrong.” Patton pleaded.

 Virgil searched his eyes, biting his lip. “I...as of right now, I don’t plan to.” Virgil said. “I, well, I know I let the two of you go, but will you still come with us? For questioning and whatnot?” Virgil asked. And maybe leverage or something. These two seemed pretty buddy with the giant anyhow, and Virgil didn’t want to lose that.

 Patton nodded. “I’ll come.” Eyes turned to Roman. He let out a long, suffering sigh.

 “I suppose I am already in too deep as is,” Roman spoke and he walked up next to Patton. “Fine. I’ll come.”

“Can I release my wrists as well?” Logan requested, holding up his arms for emphasis. “It’s a bit chafing.”

 Virgil eyed him warily. “As long as you don’t...grab anyone.” Virgil hoped he didn’t regret giving this giant too much freedom.

“That doesn’t seem like a particularly good condition,” Logan observed, already pulling his knife back out. “I still had the ability to grab even with the restraints.”

 Virgil felt a shiver go through him at that. “Just...please don’t,” Virgil said, taking another step back as the knife made a return.

“I will not grab without consent,” Logan assured him, cutting through the ropes on his wrists. It was a bit more of a difficult angle, but Logan managed. It wasn’t like anyone here was large enough to help him in his task. Fully free, Logan returned the knife to his pocket, rubbing at the tiny rope marks left on his skin.

 “Good.” That would have to do for the moment. “Then we better get going. Um, please watch your step.” Virgil said, looking at the giant. As Virgil began to walk out of the cave, Patton turned and came closer to Logan.

“Patton, how about you come with me?” Logan offered, putting his palm down. It should certainly help raise public approval of him if Logan was able to demonstrate the care he took around handling his two Lilliputian friends.

 Patton blinked at the offer. “O-Oh! Um, yeah! Okay!” He came closer towards the hand, looking at it a bit warily but he eventually got on, sending a smile up at Logan.

 Virgil turned back and his eyes widened as the glasses-wearing lilliputian, Patton he remembered, was climbing onto the giant hand on his own free will. Virgil honestly couldn’t believe it.

 As Patton settled on, he looked over at Roman. “Come on Roman!”

 “Ugh,” Roman said, but walked over. He stared at the offered palm. “I guess it beats being grabbed.” He gave a pointed look towards Logan before climbing on as well.

“I would never grab without consent.” Logan gave Roman a stern look, knowing that wasn’t the case but wanting to keep up appearances for the army at their doorstep.

 “Oh, of course!” Roman exclaimed before giving Logan a deadpan look. Patton gave a small glare towards Roman, softly bumping him. Roman huffed but got the message.

 “I...I guess that’s...fine.” Virgil spoke. He couldn’t fathom anyone climbing into a hand that big.

Logan was extra cautious this time as he raised his hands, cupping both close to his chest for protection and standing to his full height.

 Once again, Virgil found himself in terrified awe. He backed up and strained his neck as the giant stood to his full height. Virgil was reminded of how helpless they all really were in comparison. “Okay, um, cool. This is great.” He mumbled. He shook his head to get himself together. “Follow me!” He called up and exited the cave, getting on his horse and starting off toward the castle.

Logan followed carefully behind, keeping his steps small and soft. Thankfully on horseback, the Lilliputians were much faster, although there was an added danger of the horses becoming frightened. Logan kept a further distance back after one had nearly thrown its rider in haste to get away from the human.

It was strange, being able to stand at his full height and approach the little civilization. Despite the severity of the situation, Logan couldn’t help but marvel at the tiny kingdom. At the back, a glimmering white towering structure stood taller than Logan himself, surrounded by a large wall and towers that made it clear this was the castle. 

Of course, the closer they got to town, the more apparent it became that Logan was not going to be able to make it to the actual castle from the front. There was a large amount of shrieking, Lilliputians torn between coming out and ogling at him or running for their lives.

 Virgil halted, noting all the terrified screams of the people. “Okay, I think it might be best if we went around to the back.” Thankfully, there were no towns or people living behind the castle.  Virgil announced this and they started on that way. It would take longer but it would be safer.

 As they changed directions, Patton looked up at Logan. “Logan, are you really going to let them lock you up?”

“Yes,” Logan replied softly, taking care his voice didn’t carry. “Though it’s not exactly ideal, I understand the distrust.”

 “But what if they keep you locked up?” Patton asked, eyes wide. 

 “That ‘making you into a weapon’ scenario sounds a lot more plausible now, doesn’t it?” Roman spoke up. Patton brought his hands to his mouth in a gasp as he remembered what Roman had said the other day.

“I won’t harm any Lilliputians,” Logan said firmly. “Or at least, not in an aggressive nature. Only in defense if it ever came down to such a scenario. No, all I can do now is remain compliant and peaceful and wait for the crown to see me as the two of you have done.”

 “And I’m sure they will, cause you’re a good person!” Patton said but Roman didn’t share in Patton’s optimism. 

 “I don’t know...people will do a lot of things out of fear,” Roman spoke.

 “Roman…” Patton whined.

“That’s why I must take caution not to frighten them,” Logan stated, knowing Roman was correct. “It would take time to get off this island, so resisting is illogical now that I’ve been discovered.”

 Patton and Roman shared a look, knowing Logan was right. But neither could guess how things would go down.

 Virgil led his army and the giant around the back of the castle and was glad to see that the metal restraints were ready. Well, one was anyway but that should be enough for now. They currently had to set it up out in the open field, chained to the castle wall, due to still having to finish the cave. He turned his horse around to face the giant. “If-If you could sit down so that we may put the chains on you.” Virgil more asked than commanded.

Logan did as was asked of him, sticking his leg out for good measure.

 The army moved immediately, wanting to giant chained as soon as possible. The metal clasped around his ankle and everyone let out a small sigh of relief. Still, though, people were tense. And Virgil knew it would stay that way until the cave was completed and they could properly have the giant restrained. “...Thank you for your cooperation.” Virgil said to the giant.

 Patton let out a slight whine as he saw the chain go on Logan. He didn’t like this, why was everyone so fast to judge? Well...he had too but he had quickly turned around. Couldn’t these people see Logan meant no harm?

Logan looked down at the chain around his ankle, giving it a gentle test tug. It held firm and dug into his skin. It was clear this material would take more than a pocket knife to break, and despite his relative size, Logan was not known for his strength.

 Virgil hopped off his horse and looked towards the giant. “If you could release the two lilliputians, we have a few questions to ask them,” Virgil asked. 

“Certainly.” Logan nodded, noticing a crowd was gathering. He set Patton and Roman down, knowing the eyes of the kingdom were on him.

 Patton stepped forward and bowed towards the prince. Roman was close behind but he simply crossed his arms and looked indifferent to the prince. Virgil turned to his advisor. “Can you take them into the castle and into some guest chambers? As of right now, they are to be treated as guests.” Virgil said. Dee, his advisor, gave him a look at that but did as told, leading the two away.

 Virgil then focused on all the people surrounding him and the giant. “Please, everyone, go back to your homes!” Virgil called out. It took a bit, but eventually, the people left. Once they were gone, Virgil told most of the army to leave too, only leaving a few guards near the outer area to watch the giant.

“What now?” Logan asked, watching the Lilliputians disperse. He had no idea what sort of government this kingdom had, and frankly, he was beginning to feel a bit uneasy about how his fate might be decided.

 “Well...um, I guess I have a few questions for you first,” Virgil said, rubbing the back of his neck. “I guess the first one being...do you have a name?”

“Logan Gulliver,” Logan answered. He thought about sticking out his hand, but with the number of guards still floating about Logan thought it best he keeps his distance from the prince.

 Virgil nodded, a little surprised he did have one. At the very least he hadn’t expected him to have a last name. “Virgil Storm, prince of the lilliputians. “He introduced. 

“It’s an honor to meet you, your highness.” Logan put his hand to his chest in a sign of respect. “I just wish it was under better terms.”

 “...Yes, I as well.” Virgil would like this so much better if Logan wasn’t a giant that they didn’t know the intentions of.

 “Okay, first question...where did you come from?” Virgil asked and he really hoped the answer wasn’t somewhere close, cause the last thing they needed was more giants.

“Was my name not the first question?” Logan looked a bit puzzled. “Regardless, I’m from England.”

 Virgil blushed, looking down. “O-Oh right, I, uh, guess it was.” Well, great, now he’s embarrassed himself. He had to press forward though. “England? I’ve...never heard of it.” He doesn't recall ever seeing it on any map.

“I didn’t expect you would.” Logan shrugged. “It’s part of the world where everything is to my scale. I doubt a ship your size could survive the waves out there long enough to reach land.”

 Virgil’s eyes widened at that. “To...scale…?” The very thought about everything being as big as Logan sent a shiver down his spine. “So there are more giants?”

Logan nodded. “Several billion, in fact.”

 And Virgil’s brain just shut down. No, there was no way. Logan must be lying in order to establish fear. Yeah, that must be it. Virgil pulled himself together and looked at the giant warily. He had to be lying. “Okay, next question,” Virgil said quickly to change the subject. “Why did you come here?”

“I did not intend to come here at all,” Logan assured him. “I was thrown overboard and washed up on your shores.”

 Virgil hummed. Again, he wasn’t sure he believed this giant. “Right...and Roman was the first to find you? Right?” Why did that name sound familiar?

Logan nodded. “He discovered me while I was still passed out on the beach.”

 Virgil nodded as well. “And...what about Patton?”

“He was fleeing from bandits and found me in the cave,” Logan explained.

 “Right, okay…” Virgil hummed to himself. “I’m gonna take my leave now. I might have more questions for you later though.” Virgil turned to leave before he stopped. “Er...is there anything you cannot eat?”

Logan shook his head. “I have no allergies, and all the food Roman brought me has been edible.”

 “Okay,” That was good, at least. Virgil sent one last glance back at Logan before leaving, heading back inside the castle to see how Dee was doing with the others.

 When he entered the room, he only noticed Patton sitting there, who looked sad. “Uh, where’s Roman?” He asked. Dee turned towards him as he walked in and bowed to him. 

 “Your Highness! How should I put this...Roman is a thief. A rather infamous one in this kingdom. I’m sure you’ve heard of him.” Dee explained. Virgil blinked. 

 “Oh! Wait, really?” Virgil asked and Dee nodded.

 “Yes, so I sent him to the dungeons. I know you wanted to question him but we can’t trust anything that thief says.” Dee growled and Virgil nodded. 

 “Oh...right.” Virgil walked over to Patton, who stood straighter before bowing to Virgil. “Patton, I have a few questions for you.” Virgil started but Dee stepped in.

 “Actually, Sire, I took the liberty of asking a few questions myself, while you were conversing with the...beast,” Dee said and Virgil blinked. 

 “Oh, well, okay. What did he say?” Virgil looked to Patton, who was looking off to the side.

 “Just that he trusts the beast, or at the very least thinks it won’t hurt any of us. I’m pretty sure he’s been brainwashed.”

 “I haven’t!” Patton cried out, looking up at them. “Logan hasn’t done anything to deserve this! He’s a good person!”

 “Is he?” Dee asked, raising a brow. “Or is he just lying? Biding his time to get us all to trust him and then when he has it, he strikes.” Dee got in close to Patton’s face as he said this, causing Patton to lean back and his eyes to widen in alarm.

 “N-No, he wouldn’t-”

 “You don’t know him.” Dee cut him off. “You just met. He’s only acting nice to get what he wants. And what he wants, is all of us to be his little servants. Maybe even his meals. Perhaps both.” 

 Virgil swallowed the lump that formed at the thought. “You...really think that’s his plan?” Dee turned to Virgil.

 “Of course! He’s a giant. You’ve read the stories, the history. They only want trouble.” Dee paused and turned to Patton. “Don’t you see now?”

 Patton was looking down, eyes wide. “I-I don’t…” Dee put a hand on his shoulder, causing him to jump.

 “It’s a lot to take in. The fact that you were manipulated, I know. How about you go rest on it, hmm?” He turned to the nearby guard. “Please, take him to his room.” The guard nodded and took Patton, who looked confused and sad on his way out. Virgil couldn’t help but feel bad for him.

 “Now that he is gone, I have a...matter, to discuss with you,” Dee announced and Virgil blinked, turning to him. 

 “What?” Virgil asked, looking at the advisor.

 “It’s about Roman’s punishment.” He admitted, admiring his nails. “It’s obvious he needs to be executed but I say we turn this into a little test for our giant.”

 Virgil blinked. For one, he didn’t think it was obvious Roman should die. “Uh...what?”

 “This is my plan,” Dee said with a sly grin. “We don’t feed the beast all day. Let him get so hungry that his true nature shines through. And then? We feed Roman to it.”

 “Wh-What?! Dee, I don’t think-” Virgil stuttered, but Dee cut him off.

 “Please, Virgil, you are too soft. What would your father say?” Virgil shut his mouth at that, looking down. Only for Dee to lift his head up gently by the chin. “It’s alright. That’s why I’m here.” He grinned and dropped Virgil’s face.

 “Isn’t...isn’t it a bad idea to give the giant a taste for our blood though?” Virgil asked and Dee paused in thought for a moment.

 “Maybe...but it’s the price we need to pay to learn his true intentions,” Dee said and, slowly, Virgil nodded. Dee grinned.

 “Of course, we can’t very well do anything with the giant until the king returns but until then, we will learn as much as we can, in order to inform your father when he is back.” Dee came closer, placing a hand on Virgil’s shoulder and giving it a light squeeze. “I’m sure your father will be proud of you for catching this giant.”

 Virgil felt a mixture of pride and happiness swirl around him at that. “R-Really?”

 “Of course! This shows how responsible you are and how well you can manage the throne. Just you wait, he’ll be very proud.” Virgil nodded, eyes wide and Dee grinned. He had the prince like putty in his hands. Perfect.

 And pretty soon, he’d have the beast doing his bidding as well.

 “Now, we wait until tonight without feeding the giant anything and then send Roman to him. Sound like a plan, your highness?” Dee asked.

 Virgil nodded. “Y-Yeah...sounds like a plan.”

[perspective-series]

Lilliputian Perspective (5/10)

By: @arc852 and @hiddendreamer67

Warnings: Fear, threats, and mention of injury

(Check the reblog for the links to any future chapters)

—————————————————————————————————-

 Roman finally reach his cave, the sun setting fast but still giving bits of light. He was pulling several carts behind him, panting all the while. “This better be enough food for you!” He shouted as he entered the cave.

Logan smiled, touched by Roman’s efforts. “Do you need a hand?” He asked, noticing how the Lilliputian struggled.

 “...Yes, please.” Roman said, moving out of the way so Logan could grab them. He looked over towards Patton and nodded at him. Might as well be civil if he couldn’t get rid of him.

Logan took the carts one by one, moving them towards the back section of the cave that could be considered his area. He looked them over, finding a large assortment of meats, veggies, fruits, and cheese. “This is impressive, how did you manage it?” Logan raised his eyebrows, digging into one of the carts after giving the meat a sniff. It there were any bones, Logan found them easy enough to chew.

 Now that they knew, Roman didn’t bother hiding the fact he stole them. “It was difficult, but I ended up having to do each cart one at a time. And from different areas, as to not raise too much suspicion.” Roman explained.

 Patton frowned. “So you did steal it.” Patton sighed at Roman’s grin.

 “Yep! You’re welcome!”

“I do appreciate your effort,” Logan admitted, pausing between mouthfuls. “But this isn’t exactly what I meant by a sustainable source of food. Surely you can’t do this forever. Or very long at all, in fact.”

 Roman frowned. “I can do it for as long as I need to.” He huffed. Though...Logan did have a point. What were they going to do?

 His thoughts were halted for a moment though when he noticed something on Logan’s arm. “...What’s that?” He asked and Patton tensed.

Logan glanced at his arm, only now remembering the tent that had been balancing there. “Oh, right. I do apologize, but Patton suggested I use your tent.”

 “What? Why? What happened?” Roman turned to Patton, expecting an answer. Patton bit his lip.

 “Well...I needed some water. And so did Logan, so we went out and got some...and then we may have...run into the bandits that had been chasing after me.” Patton explained, looking down. Roman blinked.

 “I’m sorry, what?” He asked.

“I have a slight wound.” Logan cut to the part about the tent, pointing at his arm.

 “Not that! You bumped into more people! And you just let them go!” Roman yelled and Patton winced.

 “They said they wouldn’t tell anyone!” Patton tried to defend but Roman just glared.

 “And you believed them?!” Roman glanced between Logan and Patton at that.

“Not particularly,” Logan admitted. “But I trusted Patton’s judgment.”

 “I didn’t think it was right to keep them trapped here,” Patton admitted and Roman groaned. 

 “Well, get ready for the freaking army to come through because they definitely told the king already!” Roman exclaimed.

 Patton paled. “An...An army?”

Logan stopped his eating, beginning to grow concerned. The singular sword had not harmed him terribly, but a Lilliputian army would certainly possess enough firepower to do him harm, especially if he kept trying to harm no Lilliputians himself.

 “What? You think the king would ignore something like this? Even coming from a couple of criminals, he would send people to go and check it out.” Roman explained.

“Well, it’s possible we will remain unharmed here, considering the incident happened at the lake.” Logan reasoned. “Although we’ll have to find a new water source.”

 “We can only hope.” Roman huffed. “No one is leaving this cave though, that’s for sure. We can’t have anyone finding us.”

 Patton nodded. “Right, okay.” He was quiet for a moment. “...Sorry.” He whispered, looking down. Roman blinked and sighed, going over to awkwardly pat Patton’s back. 

 “Look, you can’t help that you have one of those pure hearts or whatever. Just be more careful next time.” Roman said, before taking his hand away and moving away.

“What would you have recommended?” Logan asked quietly, keeping his voice down. “For future interpretation.”

 Roman thought for a moment. “...I don’t know. I mean, taking them back here doesn’t sound like a great idea either…” He hummed. “Probably should have thrown them in the ocean. You could probably throw pretty far, right?”

 Patton’s eyes widened. “No! We can’t kill them!”

 “I never said kill, I just said throw them in the ocean!” Roman tried to defend himself.

“It’s not a terrible idea, assuming Lilliputians can swim?” Logan looked to the two in front of him for confirmation.

 Roman grinned a smug grin towards Patton. “Yes, we can...usually.” He added as an afterthought.

 “No! We are not throwing anyone into the ocean!” Patton exclaimed, not believing he had to actually argue this.

“Actually, on second thought, that would still be impractical.” Logan pointed out. “They would either drown, which would be immoral, or they would swim back, and we would be back to square one.”

 Roman pouted as Patton sighed in relief. “Well then, I’m out of ideas,” Roman admitted. “You shouldn’t have been seen in the first place.”

“Well, I cannot just stay in this cave forever.” Logan sighed. “But there is no way to guarantee that I avoid detection.”

 Roman sighed. “You make a good point...we need to work towards actually getting you out of here and back home.”

 Patton frowned. “But...how?” 

 Roman bit his lip. “I...don’t know. Logan, any ideas?”

“Well, with the right lumber I could build a raft.” Logan suggested. “Although it might be difficult to find enough trees large enough, and it wouldn’t be a subtle process gathering it all. Not to mention, it would take me quite some time to build it.”

 “Well...that might be our only option. Cause it’s either that or you stay here forever, eventually, get caught and probably chained up as some sort of war machine for the kingdom.” Roman said and Patton whined at that, not liking the idea of Logan being put in that situation.

“...I prefer the raft.” Logan said, setting down the cart in hand with a few remaining vegetables. He suddenly had lost his appetite.

 “So do I,” Patton whined and Roman sighed.

 “We all do. Look, I don’t want to see you get caught, Logan. You’re a...good person. And while I usually don’t hang around those kinds of people, I’ll admit it’s kind of nice.”

“You hardly know me, but the sentiment is appreciated, Roman.” Logan gave him a soft half-smile.

 Roman smiled back and then yawned. “Well, we can think up some more plans tomorrow. I am exhausted.” 

 Patton nodded, also yawning after watching Roman. “Yeah, I am too. It’s been quite the day, wouldn’t you guys say?” Patton asked, chuckling a little.

 “Absolutely.” Roman agreed.

Logan gave a large yawn of his own, already beginning to lie down. 

 Roman made his way to his bed but Patton hung back, biting his lip. “Uh...where can I sleep?” He asked and Roman blinked.

 “Oh, right, um…” Roman looked around and went over to a pile of his things, digging through it. He pulled out a sleeping bag with a grin. “Knew it was here.” He handed it to Patton, who took it.

 “...Did you-”

 “Yes, Patton, I stole it.” Roman cut him off with a sigh. “I thought we already established this.”

 “Right, sorry,” Patton said. He didn’t really feel comfortable using a stolen sleeping bag but he didn’t have any other choice, apparently. He set it at the foot of Roman’s bed and climbed into it after setting his backpack up like a pillow.

 Roman climbed into his own bed. “Logan, feel free to lie down anywhere...just as long as you give us enough space.” Roman didn’t want to become a pancake due to Logan rolling over.

“Relax, I’ll be back here.” Logan scooted further into the cave, away from the Lilliputian dwellings. He was not known to rock in his sleep regardless. “I don’t suppose you have anything I could use to prop my head up?”

 “Uhh…” Roman looked around. “...You could use that pile of gold?” He pointed with a shrug. 

 “Roman, that wouldn’t be very comfortable,” Patton said from the floor and Roman huffed. 

 “I don’t know what he usually sleeps on, maybe he likes that kind of thing!” Roman exclaimed, although even he highly doubted that.

“I’m not a dragon.” Logan rolled his eyes at that suggestion. “No matter- I expected not. I shall just use my arms.”

 “Sounds good.” Roman yawned. “Well, goodnight.” He said, before lying down and curled up under the covers.

 “Goodnight!” Patton said back, doing the same. There wasn’t a lot of cushion between the hard cave floor and his sleeping bag but it did the job.

“Goodnight,” Logan repeated the sentiment, settling in. Despite the relative uncomfortableness of the cave floor, and the slight chilly draft floating in from the ocean, Logan found the setup quite suitable. After all, he was still exhausted, and within just a few minutes he was fast asleep, peacefully snoring away.

***

 Virgil rode through the forest, atop his horse along with several of his knights. Er, his father’s knights. They weren’t his, of course, not yet anyway. Night had fallen already and yet they saw no sign of the giant the bandits were talking about. Virgil sighed, he should have no it was some sort of joke or something. Now, he just wasted his knights’ time and they would all see him as a bad ruler.

 Virgil was just about to tell everyone to turn around and head home, when a nearby night stuck his arm out, effectively stopping Virgil and his horse. “What? What is it?” Virgil asked and the knight looked at him.

 “You don’t hear that, Sire?” The knight said and Virgil blinked. He was about to say no, he didn’t, when he paused. A deep, rumbling sound echoed around him, shaking him to his core. So much to the point he couldn’t believe he hadn’t heard it before.

 Virgil gulped, that didn’t sound good. With his heart threatening to beat out of his chest, he motioned for the knights to follow him as they hopped off their horses and went closer to the sound. Soon, it was clear the sound was coming from within a cave, a...rather large cave, Virgil couldn’t help but notice.

 Hesitantly, he led the Knights towards the mouth of the cave and looked into it. Everyone froze as they took in the sight before them. A giant, just as the bandit’s had said, sleeping inside the cave. Virgil’s mouth went dry at the sight and he took a step back in fear.

 “Sire? What should we do?” A knight whispered to him and now all the attention was on him to make a decision. He let out a shaky breath. 

 “We...We need the army.” Virgil spoke, doing his best to remain calm. “And-And something to tie the giant up with and we need it before he wakes up.” As Virgil said this, no one moved. He turned to them. “That means go!” He whisper yelled at them. They got into gear, running back towards their horses and heading back to the castle. Only Virgil and one knight stayed behind to keep watch of the giant.

 “...Please don’t wake up.” Virgil mumbled as he stared at the giant.

Logan moaned, his body feeling sore from the way he slept but at least his mind was well-rested. However, as he began to try to get up, Logan was puzzled to feel his legs were...restrained? 

Logan opened his eyes, gazing in surprise as what had to be at least several hundred Lilliputians stood in front of him in the cave mouth, all frightened and all armed. Well, so much for secrecy. In the crowd, Logan could also pick out Roman and Patton, who were both bound and gagged. 

Looking down, Logan’s hands were bound at the wrists, with what appeared to be many layers of tiny ropes all braided together. With a flex of his wrists, Logan could tell it was relatively sturdy, but he imagined if he tried he could break through. Logan Imagined this was the same sensation keeping his ankles tied together, and wondered how the Lilliputians had managed all this in the night while Logan remained asleep.

 Roman yelled but it became muffled due to the gag in his mouth. Patton, who was on his knees next to him, had tears in his eyes. He had one knight watching him, while Roman needed two to keep him still. His eyes widened, suddenly, when he saw the prince walking around the cave.

 “Sire! The beast is awake!” A guard shouted, backing away from the giant. Virgil swallowed as he looked up and met the giant’s gaze. Okay, he could do this. He could do this. He took a step closer and immediately regretted it, but he didn’t move back.

 “...D-Do you speak?!” Virgil asked, wincing as he heard himself stutter. Hopefully, this giant didn’t catch that.

“Yes,” Logan answered, watching as a more regal-looking figure in black and purple approached him. He kept his answer short, wanting to stay cooperative.

 Virgil’s eyes widened in surprise. Okay, that made things easier...right? “Okay, then tell me why you are here? And who are they?” He motioned towards the two lilliputians tied up as well. “Are they your captives?”

“Ah...no.” Logan decided, thinking back on it. “This is Roman’s cave, and he allowed me to stay here. Patton has been assisting me as well. I come in peace, I washed up on your shores sometime in the night yesterday.”

 Peace? Could that be true? 

 “Do not listen to it, your highness.” His advisor came up to him and spoke. “It is a beast and cannot be trusted, do what is best for our people.” Virgil winced but nodded.

 “R-Right.” Right, he couldn’t let the beast trick him. He curled his fists, gaining the courage to look back up at the giant. “Beast, you are hereby under arrest! You and your lackeys will be coming with us.” Virgil spoke, happy to note he didn’t stutter that time.

“Alright, first of all, not a beast,” Logan said, remembering Roman and Patton’s fears upon first meeting him. “I do not, and will not, consume any Lilliputian. Secondly, your highness, with all due respect, how do you intend to take me under arrest without my assistance? After all, I do believe I have done nothing wrong.” Well, aside from trespassing on the island, but Logan could not help that.

 “You being here is wrong!” A random guard shouted from the giant’s right. 

 “Yeah!” Another agreed. Virgil’s advisor stepped forward, glaring at the beast.

 “We are not going to wait around for you to do something.” The advisor spoke. Virgil bit his lip, he knew they were waiting on him to give orders but the giant was also right. How were they supposed to get him out of here? His eyes glanced towards the lilliputians who had helped this giant and he got an idea. Not a very...nice idea but he had to do something.

 “If you do not come with us.” Virgil began to speak. “Then we will hurt your partners in crime.” He hoped this worked.

 Patton’s eyes widened in fear, while Roman’s narrowed in rage. He started to struggle more and another knight had to come to hold him down.

Logan frowned. “Why would you hurt one of your own? They’ve done nothing wrong, and I hardly know them.”

 “They committed treason, helping you, you beast.” His advisor spoke. “It was a nice try, Sire, but this beast does not seem to care for its slaves.”

 Roman practically growled at that. He was no one's slave! Least of all Logan’s! Unfortunately, he couldn’t even struggle anymore due to how many men were holding him down.

“Well, that’s a bit harsh.” Logan darkened his gaze, not liking that particular Lilliputian. He turned back to the regal figure. “What are you, the king? Do you often let your men speak for you? Where I come from a leader like that is called a coward.”

 Virgil ducked his head, cowering at the giant’s look. “I-I’m the prince…” Virgil murmured in fear, taking a step back.

 “And you, beast, have no right to speak to him in such a way!” His advisor said back and Virgil winced. Why was he still talking? Couldn’t he see that it was just making the giant angrier?

“I do believe I’m done speaking with you,” Logan informed him, his eyebrow twitching. What an insufferable man.

 The advisor looked livid and like he was about to speak again anyway, when Virgil placed a hand on his shoulder to stop him. “Please, I-I can handle this.” Virgil lied. His advisor huffed but stepped away, turning his back towards the giant.

 Virgil turned to face the giant again. “I’m...sorry about him.” He never did like his father’s advisor.

“Apology accepted,” Logan assured him, wanting to remain civil. He looked out amongst the crowd. “But are all these theatrics truly necessary? It seems the only thing that’s been created is tension.”

 “How can we know that you are telling the truth?” Virgil spoke, feeling a bit more confident now that the giant wasn’t glaring at them. “The people-er, my people are afraid and I-I have to do what is best for them.” Virgil let out a shaky breath once more. “If...If you truly don’t mean any harm, then come with us willingly.” Virgil tried, despite not thinking it would work. It at least gave him more time to come up with an actual way to get this giant locked up.

“Well, I would, but you’ve tied up my legs.” Logan reminded him, glancing back briefly at his feet. “And regardless, I am more than willing to cooperate, but I will not come as a prisoner.”

 “Um, well, you really don’t have much of a choice in that,” Virgil said hesitantly. “The people would feel safer if you were locked up, at least until, uh, we...figure this all out?” Oh geez, this was quickly falling apart on him.

“Do you even have a cell large enough to encase me?” Logan asked, always of a logical mind.

 “Uh, well not a traditional one,” Virgil admitted. “But we’re making...arrangements.” Arrangements being metal chains big enough to hold the giant in a more open cave that was closer to town.

“What sort of arrangements?” Logan pressed.

 “...chains?” Virgil revealed, although due to a few glares from a few of the knights, he figured he probably shouldn’t have revealed that. Or anything. He was really bad at this.

Logan considered this. He wanted to cooperate with the Lilliputian government to show he meant no harm, and this prince seemed willing enough to cooperate in turn.

“Alright, I will come with you.” Logan finally agreed. “But, in exchange for my compliance, I have conditions.”

 Virgil blinked and stood up a little straighter. “What sort of...conditions?” He asked hesitantly. He glanced back towards his advisor, who was back to glaring at the giant.

“First, you release Roman and Patton.” Logan nodded towards the two who had helped him. “Second, my legs will need to be untied so that I can have the mobility required to cooperate.”

 “Sire, I don’t think-” His advisor tried but was quickly silenced by a look from Virgil. He then glanced between the giant and the two lilliputians. 

 “...Okay. Untie his legs!” Virgil ordered, before turning to the guards holding the lilliputians. “Let them go.”

 The guard did as told, though it was clear they didn’t like it. As soon as Roman’s hands were free, he ripped the gag off. “Finally! How dare you silence me!” He shouted, glaring at the guards. Patton was glad to be free but he was looking at Logan worryingly.

 The guards ordered to untie Logan’s legs were far more hesitant, slowly inching closer to do just that.

“No need,” Logan assured them, noticing how nervous they were to get close. “I can manage myself.” He shifted slowly around, trying not to terrify the army too terribly as he sat up. Though it was a bit difficult with his wrists still tied, Logan found the correct pocket easily enough. He pulled out his swiss army knife, taking the blade and sawing at the ropes entangled around his ankles.

 Virgil, along with Patton, Roman, and everyone else in the room, stared in terrified awe at the sight of the giant knife. Most took several steps back, even more wary of the giant than before, knowing he was armed, despite not even needing to be.

 Virgil slowly realized the giant could have gotten out of the bonds at any moment. And yet he had waited specifically for Virgil’s permission. 

 Virgil didn’t know what to make of it.

[perspective-series]

Lilliputian Perspective (8/10)

By: @arc852 and @hiddendreamer67

Warnings: Fear, threats, treating someone like a monster, manipulation, and mention of eating people and death

(Check the reblog for the links to any future chapters)

——————————————————————————————-

 Early the next morning saw Patton entering the throne room. Virgil sat there, though Dee was nowhere in sight. Patton bowed to the prince.

 “Your highness...I was wondering if you would permit me to see Roman? I just wanted to speak to him.” Patton asked, head still bowed in respect. Virgil blinked and slowly realized Patton had no idea what they had decided to do.

 “Oh! Er...you see, the thing about that is...um…” Virgil started but before he could stutter it out, Dee entered the room.

 “Sire! Are you ready to check if that petty thief is dead?” Dee asked before he realized Patton was in the room. Patton’s eyes were wide.

 “Wh-What?” The ‘petty thief’ could only be Roman, right? “D-Dead? I thought he was just sent to jail!” Dee rolled his eyes in response and waved off Patton.

 “He’s been executed for his crimes. Fed to the beast as a test.” Dee revealed and then turned away from Patton, whose jaw went slack. No...Logan wouldn’t...but if he was starving would he? Patton...didn’t know anymore.

 “Now come! Let us go check.” Dee motioned towards the door and Virgil sighed, standing up and following Dee out. Patton stood there for a moment before he too followed.

***

 Roman groaned awake at the first sight of sun. A weight on top of him reminded him that he was sleeping on Logan’s chest. He let out a long sigh, knowing full well this might his last morning alive. “Logan?” He called out, voice still groggy from sleep.

“Hmm?” Logan responded in a tired tone of his own, barely sleeping the night before.

 “Just wondering if you were awake,” Roman asked, settling back down. He looked up into the morning sky, watching as the clouds passed slowly overhead. “It’s...peaceful, this early in the morning.” He noticed. He wanted to soak it all in, if this was his last.

“I suppose.” Logan did not share the sentiment, still wishing for a bit more sleep but unable to with the sun shining directly on his eyelids. 

 Roman let out a long sigh before a voice broke out and disturbed the peace. “Beast! Wake up!” Dee called out. Roman chuckled.

 “Well, it was nice knowing you, Logan,” Roman said, softly so the other lilliputians couldn’t hear him. 

“Don’t be dramatic, you’re not going anywhere.” Logan replied in a whisper, slowly sitting up. He kept his hands cupped around Roman, hiding him from sight.

“What a pleasant wake-up call.” Logan spoke up, looking out at the crowd that approached. He noticed Patton was there as well, and it was nice to see a familiar face.

 Patton bit his lip. He wanted to believe that Logan was good, that he had been telling the truth but so far, he didn’t see Roman. Did that mean…?

 Dee smirked when he saw no sign of the thief before putting on a more somber act for the people. “I see you have finished your meal.”

“Hardly.” Now Logan held his hands out, revealing Roman whole and alive.

 “Roman!” Patton gasped, smiling wide. He was okay! Logan hadn’t eaten him! Oh, now he felt bad for doubting him.

 Dee took a moment to process what he was seeing before he let out a growl. He had thought for sure the giant wouldn’t be able to resist. Well...no matter. In fact, Dee straightened, this might make things easier down the road. “Ah, well would you look at that. I suppose you were telling the truth about not eating us.”

 Virgil let out a sigh of relief. Very glad Dee had been wrong. 

“Indeed, I assure you all I mean you no harm.” Logan announced. “I have no taste for Lilliputian.”

 “Thank you. And sorry for this test. But we...we just wanted to make sure.” Virgil spoke, causing Dee to roll his eyes. Virgil really was much too soft. Like his father. Hopefully, he could do something about that.

 “In any case. We kindly ask you to return the thief to us.” Dee asked.

 Roman leaned back into Logan’s chest. He honestly did not feel like dying today, no thanks.

“I’m afraid I have to decline,” Logan said, holding Roman closer.

 Dee’s eye twitched. “I’m...sorry?”

“I understand your need to keep this criminal off the streets, but after the lovely evening you’ve provided for me with him I have grown attached and cannot in good conscience hand him over for a proper execution,” Logan explained.

 Patton grinned, knowing exactly what Logan was doing. Good, he didn’t think Roman deserved execution either. 

 Roman grinned. “You heard him! I’m staying right here!” He let out a large sigh of relief. Looks like he wouldn’t be dying today after all.

 Dee turned to Virgil. “Your highness, do something.”

 “Uh...What? It’s not like I can make him hand Roman over.” Virgil pointed out.

“I think it’s a perfectly reasonable compromise,” Logan explained. “Here he cannot get into any more trouble. Additionally, I must admit that yesterday I found myself quite bored. Now you’ve graciously offered me constant companionship. After all, you did say he was mine, even if it was intended for a different purpose.”

 “I belong to no one, thank you very much,” Roman mumbled but he didn’t say it out loud, knowing what Logan was getting at.

 “Okay, I think that’s fair,” Virgil announced, ignoring the look Dee was sending him. After all, he was never really on board with the fact that Roman should be executed. He was quite glad to see him alive, actually. 

“Excellent.” Logan was secretly relieved his plan had been accepted without the use of intimidation. “Now, going forwards, since it has been established that I do not consume Lilliputians, I do humbly request actual food. I am quite famished.”

 “Oh, right, of course.” Virgil turned to a few guards. “Please fetch him food and water at once.” The guards nodded and dispersed. 

 Patton grinned, wanting nothing more than to stay as well. “Your highness, would it be alright if I stayed with Logan as well?” He asked but before Virgil could answer him, Dee grabbed his arm.

 “Actually, I still have more...questions, for you. Please come with me.” Patton frowned but was forced to go with Dee. Virgil watched after them before sighing.

 “I should, uh, get going too. Your food will be here soon though.” And with that, he left.

 Roman grinned. “Thank you, Logan.”

“Anytime,” Logan assured him. “Although, quite literally anytime now, I suppose, considering you are stuck with me.”

 Roman chuckled. “Yeah, which, ya know, eh, but it at least beats dying.” Roman teased. As it stood, being with Logan was actually far from the worst thing.

“Well I’m glad we’re agreed in that regard.” Logan chuckled. “Not to mention, it’s certainly an added bonus we’ll be fed.”

 Roman chuckled. “Yes indeed. I’m sure you are quite hungry.”

“That’s an understatement.” Logan muttered, feeling his stomach give one of many protests.

***

 “I thought I answered all your questions last night?” Patton all but whined and Dee continued to drag him back to the room from the other day. Dee closed the door and motioned for Patton to sit, which he did.

 “You did. That was just an excuse to get you out of there. You’re welcome for saving your life, by the way.” Dee said, putting his hands behind his back and looking out the window.

 Patton blinked. “What? But Logan just proved himself! He’s everything I said he was!”

 Dee shook his head and turned to glare at Patton. “No, he isn’t. Don’t you get it? He’s brainwashed Roman! The only reason he didn’t eat him was because he saw a greater purpose for him. And he would have done the same to you, if you decided to stay with him.”

 “But...No! You’re wrong!” Patton yelled, standing up. Dee looked at him.

 “Am I?” He turned to face him fully. “How fast did you trust him when you first met? Was it quick? Do you not find that a bit...odd?” Dee asked.

 Patton’s eyebrows furrowed. “I-I always trust a little fast…” 

 “Maybe but to something like that. You have to admit it’s strange.” Dee started to circle him. “You never once thought that maybe he could be using you? Manipulating you?” 

 “W-Well-” Dee cut him off.

 “You know I am right. Deep down. But you’ve already spent too much time with that beast. Your mind is fogged and if you spend any more time with him, you’ll turn out just like Roman.” Dee shook his head. “So yes, I saved you. And hopefully not being in contact with the giant will reverse the effects he had on you.”

 Patton looked down. “You...really think that’s what he’s doing?”

 “Oh Patton.” He placed a hand on his shoulder. “I don’t think. I know.” Dee had to admit he enjoyed the heartbroken look on Patton’s face.

 “Now, why don’t you go back to your room? I’ll call you later for lunch, alright?” Dee suggested and slowly, Patton nodded. Mind swirling with everything Dee just told him. Dee watched him go with a satisfied smirk. Looks like Patton wouldn’t be a problem after all.

***

 “Finally!” Roman exclaimed as he saw several guards pulling many carts of food. He wasn’t hungry but the fact that Logan’s stomach kept growling was making him more than uncomfortable.

Logan rolled his eyes at Roman. After all, it wasn’t as though he could control his urges. “Forgive him. Thank you.” Logan waited until the guards hastily stepped back before he grabbed up the first cart. First, he set Roman on his knee, offering some up to the Lilliputian.

 Roman grabbed an apple from the cart before motioning that he was done with it as he took a bite.

Once Roman was done Logan didn’t hesitate, throwing his head back and pouring the fruit into his mouth.

 Roman made a point to not look at Logan as he ate, not liking the sight despite knowing Logan wasn’t going to eat him. He focused on his apple instead, taking another bite. And he watched as a few guards pulled up more carts of food and a few with some water.

Satisfied, Logan put the cart to the side, repeating the process with them all until he was finished. The barrels of water were a nice addition, as now Logan felt more relatively certain that it was sanitized.

 Virgil came out after seeing the food had been delivered. “How is everything?” Virgil asked.

“Much better, thank you.” Logan was tempted to make a snide comment about the absence of the advisor, but he certainly welcomed the change and was for the moment pacified with his meal.

 “That’s good. I-Is it enough? We can certainly get you more if you need it.” Virgil said. 

“Not to worry, it was sufficient.” Logan assured him. “I thank you for your generosity, your highness.”

 “Of course.” Virgil spoke. “...Roman? How are you doing?” He asked the other lilliputian.

 Roman huffed. “Perfectly fine. Though no thanks to you.” Roman said, crossing his arms. Virgil winced. Yeah, he deserved that.

 “I apologize for my, er, my father’s advisor,” Virgil spoke, looking down.

“Do you possess the capability to make decisions, or is that kept solely in your father’s court?” Logan asked. “I mean no offense, but I would like to know if or when my fate here will be discussed.”

 “Oh, uh, well I technically do, with most things. But in regards to, well, you we have to wait for my father to come back. Sorry.” Virgil answered. “But we should be at least hearing from him soon.”

“Very well.” Logan sighed, expecting nothing less. “At the very least then, would it be possible for some sort of blanket to be created so that it is not quite so cold at night? The wind is terribly chilly upon this hill.”

 Virgil blinked. “A blanket? Right, uh…” He supposed he could order for a large blanket to be made...but that would take forever. Of course, who knew how long Logan would be here. “I’ll put in for it but I don’t know how long it will take. In any case, the cave should almost be ready for you to transfer to and that should be a bit warmer.” Virgil explained.

“Doubtful, but it will be more sheltered.” Logan conceded. Roman’s cave had been comfortable enough. “Why am I kept so close to your castle, anyhow? It seems a bit dangerous from your perspective, and I seem to have caused quite a stir for better or worse amongst your people.”

 “Oh, ah, well, it’s just a temporary solution until the cave is done. We didn’t really want you so close but it was the only thing that would ah...hold you for the time being.” Virgil explained rather awkwardly. It was weird telling their prisoner about all this.

“I understand your need for precautions, but I was planning on staying put in Roman’s cavern,” Logan informed him. “I don’t want to be in the way as much as you.”

 “You aren’t...too much in the way,” Virgil said. “Besides, we’d rather have you in a place where we can, ya know, keep an eye on you.”

 “Why can’t you just let him go?” Roman suddenly asked. “He’s already proven he doesn’t mean any harm.”

 Virgil blinked and looked down. “It’s just...precaution.”

“Wouldn’t the safest precaution be to get me off the island?” Logan suggested. “I don’t want to do anything with your people, I simply wish to depart and go home.”

 “I…” That did sound ideal but he remembered what Dee said. “Even so, we have to wait for my father first. Before we decide anything.” Virgil turned away from them. “Anyway, I have to go. I’ll be back later to check up on you again.”

 And with that, Virgil headed towards the cave, to check on its progress.

 Roman huffed. “Geez. Why can’t they just understand?”

“Frankly I’d be satisfied with the ability to hold a conversation at this point.” Logan gave a huff of his own. “It’s almost as though I’m not even here, which is quite a ridiculous notion given the circumstances.”

 “Yeah, I mean, you’re a little hard to ignore,” Roman said, eyeing the giant up and down. 

“What a pleasant way of stating the obvious.” Logan rolled his eyes.

 Roman shrugged and finished off his apple. “You know, maybe you should just run away when they try to transfer you. Because once you're in that cave, I doubt you’ll be let out unless it’s by their own terms.”

“I’ve considered that,” Logan admitted, keeping his voice soft so as not to alarm the guards. “But it isn’t practical. The island is not large enough for me to avoid detection the entire time it would take to construct a raft.”

 Roman sighed. “If you were just a little more aggressive, you could probably make them help you put together some sort of raft to get home.” Logan was a freaking giant, after all. He was much stronger than everybody on this island.

“As the famous analogy goes, ‘you can lead a horse to water but you cannot make him drink.’” Logan pushed his glasses further up his nose. “You are correct that I could possibly intimidate some Lilliputians into helping me, but I cannot force them to do anything. Not to mention, an aggressive stance would be an unwise decision, as I do not know the numbers or firepower of your militia.” 

 “I guess you have a point.” Roman begrudgingly admitted. “Still, it sucks.”

“It is indeed unfortunate.” Logan agreed, letting out a long sigh. “Although I suppose it helps to continuously remind myself this is preferred to drowning at sea.”

 “Maybe. But being trapped for the rest of your life doesn't sound like too much fun either.” Roman himself was a free spirit. There was no way he could stay here for long. But unlike Logan, he had more of a chance to escape.

“‘Fun’ is not exactly an option for me at the moment.” Logan reminded him.

 “I suppose not.” Roman sighed.

“I do wonder, as we’re discussing the future...what do you expect to do?” Logan asked. “If I were to depart, that is. Where would you go?”

 “Hmm? Oh, well...I suppose I can’t go back to my cave. And knowing Dee, they probably took all my stuff already. So...I probably would have to move to another kingdom.” He sighed at the thought, he hated to move and he had built up such a good reputation here too.

“There are other kingdoms?” Logan blinked. Well, of course, there had to be, as the king was visiting one, but Logan found it odd they could not be seen from here. Perhaps this island was larger than he thought. “Where are they?”

 “They’re a few days journey from here but they’re smaller kingdoms. We’re the biggest on the island though.” Roman explained with a shrug.

“Interesting, I wonder if I’ll ever have a chance to see them.” Logan wondered aloud.

 “You might, if we’re ever at war with them,” Roman said with a shrug. He still firmly believed that they were going to try and turn Logan into a war machine.

“...ah.” Logan seemed uncomfortable with this notion. “Yes, I suppose.”

 “What are you going to do if that does happen?” Roman asked.

“I’m not certain,” Logan admitted. “I wish to cause as little death and destruction as possible, however...if that is indeed my sole instruction, it’s a bit more difficult to avoid.”

 “Yeah and if you do kill people, you’ll just prove their point. But if you don’t, you’ll be disobeying which is also seen as bad.” Roman shook his head. “It’s like a lose-lose situation.”

“I think disobeying would be the best decision.” Logan decided. “After all, a series of laws or instructions only has power when the body being governed allows it; if an order is unjust, it is the duty of the individual to maintain a sense of basic morality.”

 “...Can’t relate to that but I guess I get where you're coming from.” Roman said with a shrug.

“Come now, I think you relate to that very well.” Logan nudged Roman in the side. “You ignore the laws, granted not for a just purpose, but you do maintain your morality with your own sort of code, such as how you draw the line at a murderous offense.”

 “Well, yeah. Murder is just wrong. And I don’t feel like dying for it either.” Roman admitted. “I guess I can relate a little, when you put it like that.”

“Indeed.” Logan nodded. “We’re not so different, you and I.”

 “I suppose not.” Roman agreed. “...Other than, you know, the massive size difference.” He chuckled.

“Yes, as if it would be possible to overlook such a differentiation.” Logan gave a slight smirk, finding the notion almost humorous.

 Roman chuckled at that and then leaned against Logan. “...Well, I’m bored already.”

“Oh, so you’re going to be fun company,” Logan noted.

 “Well, it’s true.” Roman huffed. He had to wonder when something interesting would happen.

[perspective-series]

Lilliputian Perspective (3/10)

By: @arc852 and @hiddendreamer67

Warnings: fear. It’s gt guys why else are you here? Here’s your gt rations. Are they stale yet? Good. 

That’s all a joke. I be tired 

(Check the reblog for the links to any future chapters)

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

 Taking a detour through the woods really hadn’t been Patton’s best idea. He should have just stuck to the normal path but someone had mentioned to him a town over that there was a shortcut that took a good hour off the trip. And Patton being Patton, had wholeheartedly believed him.

 But after being jumped by a whole group of bandits, Patton was fairly certain this whole thing had been a trap. 

 So here he was, running away from several bandits trying to steal his wares and goods and good and quite possibly his life. Patton was not going to stick around to find out.

 He ran through the forest, not caring which direction he was going in. He just knew that he had to get away. After a few minutes of running, he came across a mountain pass. Hearing the footsteps still coming up behind him, Patton ran and ducked behind a rock.

 “I think he went this way!” He heard one of them shouted, before a series of shadows ran past him. He stayed there for another few moments before getting up and running once again. They were still probably close, so Patton figured he needed to hide until the bandits had given up. 

 Spotting a cave in the near distance, Patton ran to it and ducked inside. He let out a sigh of relief as he leaned against the wall, catching his breath and letting his heart slow down. That...had been a close one.

 Patton opened his eyes and took a look deeper into the cave, before his eyes widened. Was that…? No, it, it couldn’t be… Patton took a step back as he was faced with what looked to be a giant.

Logan groaned, hearing a strange jingling sound begin to awaken him from his restless sleep. He was tempted to think that all of the events prior had just been a strange sunstroke induced dream, but the feeling of the rocky cave beneath him reminded Logan Gulliver that this was no dream. He sighed, blinking his eyes open and pushing his glasses back on as he sat up.

 As the giant began to actually move, Patton squeaked in fear, holding a hand up to his mouth to try and keep himself quite. He wanted to move, to get far away but he found himself frozen to the spot.

Logan looked down, eyes widening as he realized it was not Roman making all that noise, but rather a new terrified Lilliputian covered in baubles that clinked together whenever he moved. So much for this location being secluded.

“Who are you?” Logan asked, leaning forward.

 Patton’s eyes widened even more as the giant spoke and the shock of that mixed in with the giant leaning closer to him finally got Patton moving. He turned and ran for the cave entrance.

“Wait!” Logan’s eyes widened, remembering why it was so crucial for his existence to be kept a secret. He dove forward, avoiding Roman’s belongings as he reached out both hands to create a barrier.

 “Ah!” Patton screamed, running into the hands that now blocked his escape. He turned towards the giant and cowered in his presence. “P-Please don’t...don’t eat me.” He begged, tears coming to his eyes.

Of course it was then that Logan’s stomach decided to give another loud growl, the ominous noise bouncing off the rock walls. Logan gave a terse sigh, closing his eyes for a moment.

“I assure you, I’m not going to eat you.” Logan promised, looking back down at the Lilliputian.

 Patton didn’t quite believe the giant, especially after that sound he heard coming from the giant’s stomach. “Then....Then please let me go.” He glanced behind him at the monstrous hands that still blocked his entrance.

“I cannot do that just yet.” Logan admitted, having the decency to look guilty. “No one can know of my existence or there would be wide-swept panic.”

 And for good reason, Patton couldn’t help but think. “Please, I-I won’t tell anyone. Just please, let me go…” Patton glanced around, noticing all the stuff that seemed to be in this cave along with the giant and his eyes widened. Getting an idea, he quickly took off his large backpack and set it down in front of the giant.

 “Y-You can have it all, just please let me leave.”

“Oh, no, I do not want your belongings.” Although my companion might, Logan though idly as he too looked around the cave. Regardless, he was not going to terrify Lilliputians out of their belongings, especially when they were useless to him. Unless… “Well, correction. Do you happen to have any food in there?”

 “O-Oh! Um,” Patton started digging through his backpack, looking desperately for any food he might have to satisfy this giant. Oh, wait, he had been planning on stocking up on more food at this next town. So he currently had nothing. “I-I’m sorry, I-I don’t…” Patton stuttered out, scared of what the giant would do.

“It’s fine.” Logan said, although he couldn’t help the small sad sigh that escaped him. “In that case, you can keep your bag. I have no use of its contents, and they are rightfully yours.” Hopefully rightfully, Logan thought, giving another glance to the piles of gold.

 Patton hesitated before putting his bag back on. “Then...Then what do you want?”

“What a strange question.” Logan answered. “I don’t want much of anything, yet I have many needs. Although, I wonder if getting off this island is a want or a need...perhaps it is left up to interpretation. In that case, that may be my answer.” 

 Patton couldn’t help but be confused by that. He tilted his head. “So...all you want to do is...leave?” Surely that couldn’t be true...right?

“Ideally, yes.” Logan Gulliver admitted. “While I mean your land no offense, it is clearly not crafted with someone of my stature in mind.”

 Patton tugged on the straps of his bag. “So you...haven’t come here to terrorize us? And steal from us? Or…” Patton’s eyes quickly glanced towards the giant’s mouth before snapping away.

“I ended up here by mistake when I was stranded from my vessel in a storm.” Logan confirmed, shifting around to lay more comfortably on his stomach. He crossed his arms, laying his chin atop them. “I was unaware this location even existed. It was not on any map.”

 “Oh.” But if that was the case...Patton couldn’t help but glance around at the cave again. “But then...what about all this stuff…?” Patton asked, motioning towards everything.

“Ah, that would be Roman’s belongings.” Logan explained. “He’s the first Lilliputian I found- or rather, he found me, earlier this morning. He has offered to share his home with me for the time being, and for that I am grateful.”

 “So this stuff isn’t yours…” Patton mumbled thoughtfully. And this giant was friends with another lilliputian? So...that meant he couldn’t be all that bad, right? And he hadn’t been hurt, or anything either. Really, Patton had no reason not to trust what this giant was telling him.

 “Well, Mr Giant sir, if you don’t think he or you would mind...I was running from bandits and need somewhere to hide for a little bit until I know they’re gone...could I stay here?” Patton asked, remembering those bandits from earlier. If this giant was to be believed, than he was far safer in here than out there at the moment.

“By all means.” Logan nodded. That certainly made things easier for Logan, as he wasn’t planning on allowing the Lilliputian to go anytime soon until he was certain it wouldn’t jeopardize his own livelihood in doing so. “However, if you will be staying for an extended period, I think it would be appropriate for me to know your name.”

 Patton blinked. “O-Oh! Of course.” Patton grinned and gave a bow before bouncing back up in excitement. “My name is Patton Hart and I’m a traveling merchant.” Patton introduced.

“My name is Logan Gulliver.” Logan said in turn, sticking out his hand. “It’s lovely to make your acquaintance.”

 Patton flinched away from the incoming hand, taking a step back. But when nothing happened, he realized Logan had meant it as a handshake. He hesitantly reached out his hand and grabbed a finger to shake. “It’s...nice to meet you too.” Surprisingly. But Patton wasn’t complaining that this interaction had ended like this instead of...another way.

Logan watched the strange interaction, noting with a bit of amusement how typical gestures like handshakes would have to be adjusted. He pulled his hand back, still feeling the lingering tickling feeling of Patton’s fingers grasping his own.

 Patton took this opportunity to walk further into the cave, looking around at the piles of gold and stuff around. He frowned as he got a closer look at them. “Um...you said this was your friend’s things?” Patton asked.

“Friend would be a generous term.” Logan rested his head on its side, keeping an eye on the Lilliputian. “I only met the man a few hours ago.”

 “Oh, well...I mean, I shouldn’t just assume things, especially since I haven’t even met him yet but...it just seems like…” Patton paused, thinking. “Did he say what he did for a living?”

“He’s said he is a businessman, although I believe him to be…” Logan paused, for once taking up a social cue and realizing he should not insult someone to whom he was a guest. “Well, I shouldn’t speak badly of him in his own home. In any case it’s not really my business.”

 “Right.” Patton probably shouldn’t make any assumptions either. But he was definitely going to ask when the guy-Roman?-got home. “Uh, anyway, where are you from, Logan? Because I’m guessing it’s not anywhere around here.” Patton asked, chuckling.

“England.” Logan answered. “Although I doubt that will mean much to you.”

 “You would be correct. I have no idea what or where that is.” Patton admitted. Which, as a traveling merchant, it was weird for him not to have at least heard of a place. “Is...everyone there your size?”

“Yes, quite.” Logan nodded. “In fact, I’ve traveled to most of the globe and everywhere else the people are my size. Your island seems to be the anomaly.”

 “What?” Patton’s eyebrows furrowed. “No...that can’t be right.” There was no way giants took up most of earth;s population. It just...it wasn’t possible.

“How large does your population estimate the world to be, exactly?” Logan asked, knowing his civilization had made its own share of mistakes. 

 “I, I don’t know. I guess I never really thought about it.” Patton admitted. He was sure there were better people to ask about this then himself. “The land we reside on is already really big though, so...the rest of the world couldn’t be too much bigger, right? So how could the rest be taken up by giants, when you barely fit on one of the biggest land masses around?” They knew of a few other close by, smaller, islands. But not much else.

“Patton, I’m afraid you’re very much mistaken.” Logan smiled in the amused sort of manner present in one who knows something you do not. “This island is quite small. Where I come from there a gigantic islands which we call continents, and they stretch across distances so vast that a man like myself could spend his whole life trying to see every inch of them, just as I am doing.”

 Patton’s eyes widened. “Whoa…” That honestly sounded amazing and terrifying at the same time. “But-But how do you have enough resources to support so many giants?” Even with just one giant, all the wood on this island wouldn’t be enough to make the giant even a house.

“Oh, the flora and fauna are scaled to my kind as well.” Logan explained. “I’m not usually towering over treetops.”

 Okay, now that was hard for Patton to picture. “Everything is your size? But-But how.”

“Again, I assume that’s the natural state of the world.” Logan said. “I have no idea why your island is so strangely shrunken.”

 For all Patton’s life he had thought that he was normal. Why would he think any differently. But now...apparently him and everyone here was such an anomaly they didn’t even take up a section of the world. “I...I think I need to sit down.” Patton walked over and sat on the edge of the nearby bed, processing everything.

“That’s fair.” Logan stretched his neck, getting a crick in it. “I know what it's like to have your worldview rocked like that, considering it’s what I’m experiencing now, seeing it all around me.”

 “Yeah...I guess this is quite a shock to you too, huh? If you really have never seen people or things my size before.” Patton said, thoughtfully. 

“Correct.” Logan admitted. It was a quite jarring experience. “Although given your reaction, It can be assumed you’ve never seen a person of my size before either.”

 Patton chuckled. “Nope! No one has. Well...there have been stories. Of giants having come a long time ago but we thought that were just stories.” Patton looked Logan up and down. “I guess we were...wrong.”

“Interesting; so I’m not the first, then.” Logan wondered if this island was perhaps the origin story of things like fairies and gnomes of Legend. 

 “I guess not. But you would be the first in, like, hundreds of years.” Patton said, in awe that the stories he had listened to as a kid were real. “Does your kind not have any stories about us? Or here?” He supposed not, or Logan probably would have told him.

“Not about this island, no.” Logan shook his head. “There are make believe stories about tiny people but that’s pure fantasy.”

 “But...I’m tiny compared to you. Doesn’t that mean those stories could be real?” Patton asked.

“Considering those creatures have wings...no.” Logan paused, reaching forwards a moment. “You don’t have wings, do you?”

 Patton leaned back. “Uh, n-no, I don’t. But that sounds really cool!” He’d be able to get around a lot better if he could fly.

“Oh.” Logan looked almost disappointed, pulling his hand back. “It would have made evolutionary sense if you had some ability like that to survive. I am perplexed how this civilization has lasted so long, and in solitary as well.”

 “I mean, we grow our own food, make our own clothes, take care of animals, we buy and sell things, have towns and a kingdom with a king and queen...do you not do those things?” Patton asked because how else would you live and survive in the world?

“No, we do, I’m just surprised a regular sized creature has never happened upon this land and wiped it out.” Logan stretched, beginning to feel uncomfortable on the hard cave floor. Instead he sat up, crossing his legs in front of him like a pretzel. “I would imagine even a dog, while perhaps not entirely fatal, could do quite a bit of damage.”

 “A dog?” Patton tilted his head, looking almost like a dog himself. “How could a dog do so much damage? They only get to be this big.” Patton put a hand close to the height of his hip. “And they’re so cute and sweet!”

Logan chuckled. “Where I come from, the dogs are this size.” Logan repeated Patton’s gesture, holding his hand where waist high would be if he were standing.

 Patton could only stare in awe. “Oh my gosh…” He wanted to see the big puppy! “That’s so cool!”

“I- no, Patton, it’s dangerous.” Logan felt a bit uneasy at Patton’s excitement. “You should be more concerned.”

 “Why should I be concerned? Bigger doggos just mean bigger loves!” Patton exclaimed. He could see nothing wrong with a dog of that size. 

 It was in that moment that Patton’s attention was drawn towards the entrance of the cave. “I’m back!” The voice called out and Patton could see it was a fellow lilliputian pulling a cart full of apples. That must be Roman then.

“Ah, hello Roman.” Logan perked up, stomach rumbling as he smelled the food that Roman had brought. “This is Patton.”

[perspective-series]

Lilliputian Perspective (2)

By: @arc852 and @hiddendreamer67

Warnings: Slight fear, lying, and stealing.

(Check the reblog for the links to any future chapters)

————————————————————————————————–

Logan followed along slowly, noting that his hypothesis was correct. He often found himself having to pause for the Lilliputian to go further. Logan sighed. This would have been so much easier if he could have carried the man properly, but Logan agreed with the sentiment of not starting a riot. 

“Do Lilliputians have names?” Logan asked, deciding to pass the time with his endless bout of questions. “Or are you a collective who all refer to yourselves merely as ‘lilliputians’?”

 “Of course we have names,” Roman replied. “But why on earth should I tell mine to you.” For all he knew, the giant could somehow use it against him.

“Well, I shared mine.” Logan reminded him. “In my culture, it’s customary to have an exchange of names when you meet another person.”

 “Well, maybe I don’t want my name associated with some beast,” Roman replied.

“I don’t think you understand how naming conventions work,” Logan explained. “Your name is still associated with yourself regardless of if I have that piece of information.”

 Roman groaned. “Fine. It’s Roman. Happy?” 

“Roman,” Logan repeated, ducking under a low outcropping branch. “Do you have a last name as well?”

 “I might,” Roman said, smirking a little as he maneuvered around a rock.

“Ah.” So, Roman was one of those secretive types that believed keeping others in suspense about personal details would increase their value as a mysterious individual. Logan had never been fond of secrets as they tended to just get in the way of the truth. “I suppose Roman will just have to suffice for now, then. So what sort of person are you, Roman? Where are you employed?”

 “Oh, I run my...own business,” Roman said. He wasn’t sure if he should tell this giant what he actually did. People didn’t tend to take it well.

“You’re an entrepreneur?” Logan sounded impressed. He had not expected the dark-clad figure to be a man of business, but then again looking at his surroundings Logan remembered it all resembled a bit more of a renaissance era. Perhaps this was a world that was behind the times as well as shrunken down. “What is your business, then?”

 “I...aquire things to sell them.” Yeah, that sounded professional enough, right? Besides, he wasn’t technically lying.

“A tradesman, then?” Logan frowned for a moment. Was that the correct term? 

 Roman smiled. “Exactly.” Roman continued on for a few moments. “So, do you do anything other than terrorize innocent villages?” 

“Well, for starters, I have not done that.” Logan reminded him. “Nor do I plan to in the future- hence this wretched crawling.”

 “Fine, fine, you definitely do not terrorize villages, got it.” Roman still didn’t believe him. “Then, tell me, what do you do?”

“I’m a scientist,” Logan said. “An explorer, one might say. Recently I have taken to boarding ships and traveling to distant lands in order to discover strange and fascinating creations, of both flora and fauna alike.”

 “A scientist?” Huh, that was not what Roman was expecting. “Well, with the way you talk, I’m not really surprised.”

“What is peculiar about the way I talk?” Logan asked.

 Roman was about to answer but realized where exactly they were. “Oh, we’re here.” He thought it had been farther away. Or maybe he just got so into talking that it didn’t seem that long. Huh.

Logan peered over the hill, leaning over the lilliputian to see the freshwater pond. It was perhaps not the most sanitary of sources, but given the size of this island, Logan considered it would have to do. If only he had his disinfectant with him when he was tossed into the sea.

Perhaps the bacteria will be too small to do any damage. Logan joked to himself in his mind, maneuvering around the hill to get close enough to scoop some up in his palms.

 As the giant began to drink the water and his eyes were off of him, Roman began to inch away. This was his chance. To escape this giant and never have to see him again. And he wouldn’t get caught up in his ramage, which Roman was still half sure was going to happen. He just had to be careful about this.

Logan carefully raised the water to his lips. Whether or not it was infected with bacteria became of little consequence as Logan felt the soothing sensation run down his throat. All too soon he had gulped it down, only to quickly be followed by several more handfuls as Logan fought to quench his thirst.

 Okay, it was time. Logan was fully distracted and it was time to go. Roman turned and started to run away.

As Logan was about to reach in for yet another handful, he spotted movement out of the corner of his eye. Acting on his quick reflexes, Logan dove forwards and reached his arm out to block Roman’s path.

 “Ah!” Roman cried as yet again his path was blocked. “H-hey!”

It was strange, but it felt much odder to be constricting Roman’s escape attempts now that Logan knew his name. “Please don’t go.” Logan pleaded gently, trying to remain civil. “I still need your help.”

 Roman looked up at the giant warily. “My help with what exactly?” He asked.

“Well quite honestly, everything,” Logan admitted sheepishly. “I do not know the lay of the land and I can’t exactly go exploring as I normally would without starting an island-wide panic. I have no idea where I could take shelter for the night, and I am completely lost as to where I could find a sustainable food source especially considering everything’s diminutive stature.”

 “Look, I have a life I need to get back to. I can��t be babysitting some giant beast. Besides, if I’m found with you, I’ll be blamed right alongside you. Why would I put myself in that position?” Besides, whether or not he was blamed for that, if he was found, he was going to jail no matter what. 

“Well, then perhaps you should assist me before I manage to blow my cover and let your name slip.” Logan threatened.

 Roman’s eyes widened. “Wait, what?” Roman groaned. “Ugh, I knew I shouldn’t have told you my name.” Even without a last name, if his name was mentioned, especially with a description everyone would know it was him.

 “Fine. You’ve got me. I’ll help you, I guess.” Roman muttered.

“Thank you.” Logan seemed pleased with Roman’s begrudging compliance, sitting back to return to the pond. “I do apologize for the inconvenience, though. I hope you can return to your business soon.”

 “Yeah, whatever,” Roman said. The only good part was that stealing didn’t have a schedule. He could go a couple of days without doing it. It was probably good to lay low anyway. 

 Roman crossed his arms and leaned against a tree, watching Logan. “So, what do you want me to help you with first?”

“Shelter would be ideal, so I can have somewhere to set up a permanent camp.” Logan took another drink. “Although I doubt there are many options for someone of my size, especially far from civilians.”

 “Actually...I might know a place.” Though...that would mean giving up his own hideout. But if it was their only option then he really didn’t have much of a choice. “There is a large mountain not too much farther from here that has a giant cave at its base. It should fit you perfectly.”

“Intriguing.” Logan finished one last gulp of water. “A cave would certainly be ideal. Which way is it?”

 Roman sighed. “Follow me, I’ll take you to it.” At least he knew for sure that no one ever came this way. It was why he chose it as his place of residence, after all.

“Perhaps you can point me to it.” Logan corrected, noting the way the Lilliputian was heading was hidden from the civilization by a growing mountain range. The natural structures were taller than Logan himself, and the human was willing to risk standing even at a crouch. It would certainly hasten their pace. With this in mind, Logan grabbed Roman up in his fist once more.

 Roman yelped as he once again found himself in the giant’s grip. “Hey! I can walk!” Roman yelled, glaring up at the giant as he tried to push against his fingers.

“So can I.” Logan stood up, dusting off his knees which had accumulated quite a bit of debris from his crawl across the beach. “And I have longer strides.”

 Roman groaned. “Well, a little bit of warning would be nice at least.” He muttered. He then pointed in the direction of his home. “Anyway, the cave is north of here. Just keeping going that way and you shouldn’t miss it.” The sooner they got there the sooner he would be put down...hopefully.

Logan headed in the direction Roman pointed, agreeing with the statement that it should be hard to miss if it was truly to his scale. Logan had to be careful to watch his footing, as several of the smaller mountainous trees threatened to trip him as though they were nothing but tree roots themselves.

 Roman made the mistake of looking down as Logan walked and he quickly averted his gaze. He didn’t think of himself as one afraid of heights but even this was too high up for him. “You are...very tall.” Roman couldn’t help but say out loud.

Logan actually chuckled at that notion. “Among my own kind I get that sentiment as well.” Logan Gulliver was not an overtly tall man but certainly had a slightly taller than average build. Regardless, the idea of being truly giant was still quite unnerving. 

“What about you?” Logan asked, taking a moment to once again look down at Roman. “How do you compare to your countrymen?” Logan had assumed most Lilliputians were of Roman’s size, but perhaps he was diminutive even by Lilliputian standards. Or more bizarrely, tall for his kind.

 Roman shrugged. “I’m a little above average,” Roman answered. He was fairly taller than a lot of people but he also regularly came across people his size or taller. Logan definitely fit into the taller category.

“Are you really?” Logan was indeed surprised by that fact. “It’s hard to imagine a person smaller than yourself.”

 “Well, it’s hard for me to imagine someone taller than you, so I suppose we are in the same boat,” Roman said back. Roman looked ahead of him, pointing as his home came into view. “There it is, right over there.”

Logan looked up, spotting the cave in the outcropping. It was well hidden away from the weather, a bit hard to find even for the human surprisingly. A sturdy limestone structure, likely created ages ago when sea levels were higher.

“I see.” Logan crouched down, maneuvering through the rocks to look into the cave. He was pleasantly surprised to find it tall enough that he could stand, and even likely pace a few long strides back before the roof of the cave began to angle down. Regardless, it was more than he could have asked for given the miniature nature of this strange land.

“Yes, I think this shall do nicely.” Logan murmured, inspecting the outer wall with his free fingers.

 “Well, I’m glad you like it,” Roman spoke and then looked down, wincing as he took notice of all his things. “Just be careful where you’re stepping.” Thankfully he hadn’t stepped on anything coming in but he would definitely have to move everything around in order to better house the giant.

Logan paused, just a few steps in. He looked at his feet, eyes widening at the assortment of tiny furniture and trinkets scattered about the cave floor. Logan took a moment to process this, crouching down to get a better look. “...what’s all this?”

 “...I live here.” Roman revealed. “This is all my stuff.”

“Oh!” The dots began to connect in Logan’s mind. “Why do you live all the way out here? Surely it’s a long way from town.” As he spoke, Logan set the Lilliputian down near the collection of items, feeling a bit out of place as he hovered.

 Still not wanting to reveal his true occupation, he shrugged. “That’s how I like it. Not much of a...people person.” Well, he was, but others weren’t fond of him. Roman started to gather some of his things to move to the corners of the cave.

“I would argue that living out here you would be the exact opposite.” Logan offered. “Are you certain you’re a businessman? You seem more like a hermit. I don’t imagine it would be physically possible for you to make your way to the market often enough to earn your wages.”

 “Trust me, I make plenty. Now stop questioning my life choices and help me move this.” He pointed towards his bed, figuring he could use the giant to his advantage a bit.

“Where do you want it?” Logan asked, lifting it by the sides with both hands. It would be easy enough to lift with a single hand, perhaps even pinched between his fingers, but Logan felt it rude to not treat Roman’s belongings with respect.

“Just set it down in the corner over there,” Roman said, pointing to the spot he meant. “And that should leave you plenty of room.”

“Plenty being relative,” Logan commented, but he placed the bed there just the same. “So, if this is what I assume to be your home,-” (Logan would assume it to be merely a treasury if not for the furniture as well) “- why did you offer to let me take up residence here as well?”

 Roman sighed. “It’s the only place I knew that was hidden away enough and that could fit your giant self,” Roman said. “Just don’t go reading into it.” He mumbled.

“I’m actually reading into quite a lot.” Logan glanced around once more at Roman’s assortment of items, sitting with his back against the wall and his knees tucked up. “You never told me what sort of business you operate. I’m beginning to suspect your line of work has more nefarious origins than you implied.”

 “What?” Roman stayed calm, Logan didn’t know anything for sure, after all. “And why on earth do you think that? Because I keep my things together like a dragon hoard? Well, sorry if I’m a little unorganized. Doesn’t make my business any less professional and legal.”

“No, I think that because you live alone in a cave away from civilization with a strangely abundant amount of gold. You also seem particularly keen on not sharing personal details and staying out of the eyes of the law.” Logan looked Roman over once more. “Not to mention, your wardrobe gives you the appearance of an ominous ruffian.”

 Roman took a step back, glaring at the giant. “Well, I think it’s quite rude of you to be accusing me of such things when I am so graciously helping you out.”

“I don’t mean to offend,” Logan explained, knowing Roman correct. “Social graces have never been my specialty; I am often quite blatant with my observations.”

 “Well, if you don’t mean to offend, then let’s drop it and focus on the next thing I can help you with, hmm?” Roman suggested, hoping Logan would go along with it so he could keep his thief status hidden a bit longer.

“Alright, lets.” Logan agreed. It did not bother him morally what Roman’s background was, as frankly no matter his origins Logan could not see him being a threat and frankly Logan had very little room for pure morals in his company when his options for a guide were so limited. 

“Where can I find something to eat? I’m famished.” As if to accentuate his point, Logan’s stomach chose that moment to give a low growl.

 Roman winced at the noise, taking a few more steps back for good measure. “...Look, I’m willing to do a lot of things but leading people here to be your lunch isn’t one of them.” Roman admitted. He only assumed he wasn’t being eaten because he was actually helping the giant.

“What? No!” Logan’s eyes widened, horrified by Roman’s misinterpretation. “No, you have mistaken my intentions entirely. That idea is positively revolting to me.” Logan gagged slightly at the thought. “I meant sustenance that you eat, not yourself. Have you been under that assumption this whole time? How truly barbaric.”

 “Well...yeah. But good to know I was wrong.” Roman thought for a moment. “I think I know of a way to get you enough food. Just stay here, I’ll be back as soon as I can.” He started walking towards the cave entrance before pausing. “You aren’t...allergic to anything, are you?”

Logan was surprised to hear Roman even knew what allergies were- perhaps this race was more advanced than Logan assumed at first glance.

“No, I am not,” Logan assured him. “However, how could you possibly hope to bring back enough food yourself? I appreciate the effort, but…” Logan let his sentence trail off, his mind’s eye picturing Roman attempting to drag a regular dinner plate over and failing to move it an inch.

 “Just trust me, I know what I’m doing.” He waved as he started walking again. “See you later.”

Logan wasn’t sure he particularly trusted Roman, but he did not have many options. It was likely that Roman would return eventually for his belongings, and if he did not Logan could always take the risk and go looking for sustenance himself. In the meantime, however, Logan was still feeling exhausted. He crawled towards the back of the cave, stretching himself out across the cool, slightly scraggly surface. The human winced, his stomach once again growling loudly at him that it had not been fed and sending hunger pains out.

“Be quiet.” Logan murmured at it, trying to ignore it in favor of getting at least a little rest.

[perspective-series]

Lilliputian Perspective (4/10)

By: @arc852 and @hiddendreamer67

Warnings: Fear, threats, and injury with some blood

(Check the reblog for the links to any future chapters)

—————————————————————————————————-

 Roman paused, looking to where Logan had motioned and saw some stranger sitting on top of his bed. He glared. “What? How did you find this place?” Roman asked, abandoning the cart and marching up to Patton.

 Patton hopped off the bed, taking a few wary steps back. “Um...I was running from bandits and, uh, Logan said I could hide here until they left.” Patton looked up to Logan for help.

“I assumed it would be best to keep my cover and not leave a witness unattended.” Logan shrugged. He pointed to the cart. “May I?”

 Roman nodded. “Yeah, it’s for you after all.” He turned back to Patton, looking him up and down. He supposed Logan made a good point. 

 Patton bit his lip and decided to take the initiative, holding his hand out. “Hi! It’s nice to meet you!”

 Roman frowned, but took Patton’s hand, shaking it once before dropping it. “Hi…” He didn’t really like the fact that someone else was in his home. Logan was fine but another lilliputian? He was starting to wish he hid all his stuff better.

Logan, oblivious (or rather, uncaring) to the tense atmosphere reached over them both, plucking the cart from the ground and bringing it up to his mouth. He was tempted to just tilt it all into his mouth but was worried he might lose some of the precious fruit in his haste. Instead, Logan carefully poured some into his hand, shoving the handful into his mouth like blueberries.

 Both Roman and Patton were unable to look away as Logan ate. It was kind of disturbing, seeing something so huge eat so much food. To them, anyway. To Logan, it was probably not even a full snack he was eating.

 “Er, anyway,” Roman cleared his throat, turning back to Patton. “You aren’t going to tell anyone about Logan, are you?” Roman asked and Patton shook his head.

 “Of course not! Logan’s great but he would cause quite the panic.” Patton explained. “And...that wouldn’t be good.” Roman nodded at that.

 “Yes, good, glad to see we are on the same page.” He stepped aside and motioned toward the cave entrance. “You may leave now.”

 Patton blinked. “Wait, what?”

“He said you can leave,” Logan repeated. “Although I think the implication was to leave now, and I’m not certain why.”

 “Because I don’t like people in my home, okay?” Roman said. He turned back to Patton. “Now, please leave before I kindly escort you out.”

 Patton frowned and backed up several more steps. “No! I’m a part of this now and I want to help Logan too! You can’t make me leave!” Patton exclaimed, going so far as to glare at Roman.

 “You want to try me?” Roman asked, raising an eyebrow and moving closer towards Patton.

“Roman, don’t threaten him, it won’t do to make enemies.” Logan scolded, placing his hand down between the Lilliputians.

 Roman backpedaled as the hand came down, glaring at Logan but knowing he couldn’t do anything about it. 

 Patton flinched but was glad that Logan seemed to be on his side. “I want to help, however I can.” Patton said, despite being unable to see Roman currently. 

 Roman groaned. The last thing he wanted was to drag more people into this. He looked at Logan. “What do you think? You want Patton to stay and help?” He asked, knowing that, really, it was Logan’s decision. Despite how much he didn’t like not being in charge it was hard to deny.

“I think more allies would certainly be helpful.” Logan took his hand away, using both to tilt the remaining apples from the cart into his mouth. “For example, do either of you know where I might acquire more sustenance? Thank you, Roman, for your contribution but I’m still quite famished.”

 Roman blinked. “You mean that wasn’t enough!” Of course, now that he thought about it, yeah it wasn’t. “Ugh, I worked so hard for that too…”

 Patton raised an eyebrow, coming a little closer. “How did you get so many apples?” Patton asked, not forgetting about his earlier thoughts about Roman.

 Roman blinked, turning towards Patton. “And how is that any of your business?” He asked. Patton crossed his arms.

 “Well, if I’m part of this team now, then I think it is my business,” Patton stated and Roman groaned. 

 “It was just difficult to acquire, okay? The seller didn’t really want to part with so many apples at once.” Which, was true, though he supposed the seller would have been a lot nicer if he had paid for them.

“Is this your cart, perchance?” Logan asked, holding up the cart in question. “Where do you want me to put it?”

 “Oh, uh, just put it near that pile of gold over there.” Roman pointed.

 Patton continued to look at Roman. “Roman...did you steal those apples?” Patton asked. Roman looked at him with wide eyes and gasped.

 “What? How dare you accuse me of such a thing!” He was already regretting having Patton stay here. “I acquired those apples legally.”

“As of course, you acquired all these valuables in the same manner.” Logan sounded unconvinced as he followed Roman’s instructions.

 “I did, in fact, get all this legally,” Roman said, once again glaring up at the giant. 

 “Roman, I’ve traveled a lot of places and I know a thief when I see one,” Patton said, taking a step closer. He looked around the cave. “And you clearly are one.” 

 “I am not!” Roman huffed and stomped his foot on the ground. Patton sighed and went to a pile of things, taking one on the top that he had been eyeing and holding it up for Roman to see.

 “This same vase was on display a couple towns over before it suddenly disappeared,” Patton explained. “Seems weird it found its way to your home.”

 Roman stepped forward and tore it out of Patton’s hand, putting it back on the pile. “...Ugh, fine. Yes, I’m a thief.” 

“How shocking,” Logan commented, not shocked in the slightest.

 “But why? Why do you steal?” Patton asked, not even flinching as Roman glared at him. 

 “Now that really isn’t any of your business.” Roman turned and started walking towards the mouth of the cave. “Now, I’m going to get some more food.”

 “Wait! You better pay for it this time!” Patton called out. He would follow but he was still scared the bandits were around. 

 Roman smirked as he called back out. “No promises!”

“...Well, now what?” Logan asked, just a few moments after Roman took his leave.

 Patton thought for a moment before rummaging through his bag. “Well...I really should get some more water but…” He glanced towards the entrance nervously. “I’m still worried those bandits are around.” 

 He looked up at Logan. “Could you um...come with me? Just in case?” Patton asked.

“I can do that.” Logan agreed, finding the request harmless enough. After all, he had already been to the lake without an issue. It would also be nice to take a walk and stave off his hunger for a while longer. “Just to the lake?”

 “Yeah, I think I passed one while I was running,” Patton said, he started walking to the mouth of the cave.

“You did, Roman and I were there earlier.” Logan stood up, stretching his arms up until he was stopped by the cave ceiling, making sure his legs were no longer asleep.

 “Great! Then let’s go!” Patton started to speed walk, knowing he would have to in order to keep up with Logan.

Logan gave a knowing smirk, amused by Patton’s efforts. He knelt down, placing his arm out to stop Patton. “Hold on a moment. It will take forever at that pace.”

 Patton squeaked a little in surprise as Logan’s arm stopped him. He looked up at the giant. “Should I run then?” He asked.

“No need to wear yourself out, I can simply carry you.” Without waiting for Patton’s agreement, Logan scooped the Lilliputian up into his palms.

 Patton yelped, shaking as he found himself on Logan’s hands. “Uh...I-I guess this works?” He glanced down but quickly averted his gaze. They were very high and Logan hadn’t even stood up yet!

“It’s simply the most efficient.” Logan shrugged, careful not to jostle Patton too much as he stood up.

 “Can’t argue with you there,” Patton admitted. He was careful to keep his eyes away from the ground, not wanting to see the fall below.

Thankfully for the Lilliputian, it was not a particularly long walk. Logan knelt down, setting Patton near the lake. Being a bit parched himself, Logan cupped his hands and took a drink of his own.

 As Logan’s hands lifted away, Patton went in to fill up his flask, taking a large gulp of water before filling it back up and putting it away in his bag. He glanced up at Logan, who was still getting water to drink before glancing around the forest.

 He had just run through here briefly while being chased. He hadn’t gotten the chance to really look around. He loved finding little treasures hidden in the wilderness that he could sell. He always found the coolest things.

 He didn’t even realize he was walking away from Logan until it was too late. He was several feet from Logan now. Feeling nervous being alone, Patton turned to quickly go back, when something tugged him back by his bag and threw him on the ground. 

 “Well, look who we finally found.” A voice spoke and Patton opened his eyes to see the bandits from earlier, looming above him.

 “You’ve caused us a lot of trouble…” Another one said, glaring down at Patton. Patton couldn’t help the whimper that escaped him. What was he going to do? They were going to steal from him and probably worse…

 Patton’s eyes widened as he suddenly remembered his companion. Just as he was lifted up by the front of his shirt, Patton shouted. “Logan! Help!”

Logan paused, looking down where he last saw Patton but seeing nothing. Instead, he turned towards the forest, where he had heard Patton’s voice a little ways away. How had the lilliputian moved so fast? Standing into a crouch, Logan carefully pushed through the trees, making his way over to the commotion. Seeing the shadowy figures, Logan glared.

“What seems to be the problem, gentlemen?” Logan kept his voice low and intimidating, almost like a growl.

 Patton grinned as Logan showed up and the bandits froze at the sight of the giant. The bandit holding Patton let go, dropping him to the ground. Patton groaned in pain as he landed hard on his butt. 

 “What...the hell…?” One bandit said, all of them backing away slowly.

“Did they hurt you, Patton?” Logan asked, reaching down to gather Patton up. “Do repercussions need to be made?”

 Patton shifted in the grip but smiled up at Logan. “No, I’m okay.” He was a little roughed up but otherwise, he was unharmed.

 The bandits readied their weapons but they still continued to back away. “What is that thing?” One bandit asked the others.

 “It’s...some sort of beast, it has to be…” Another answered.

“A beast.” Logan scoffed, lifting Patton off the ground. “Hardly, although I will not hesitate to defend my colleague.” With this statement, Logan all but slammed his arm down, trapping the bandits.

 All the bandits yelped in fear, brandishing their daggers and swords in defense. One was brave enough to slice down on the arm blocking their path.

“Ow!” Logan hissed, reeling back at the slight cut. Instantly he reached down, grabbing the offender in his free hand and holding their sword arm out with his thumb so there could be no more damage. “How dare you!”

 Patton's eyes widened. “Wait! Logan, don’t hurt them!” He cried. Sure, they were bandits and they almost hurt him but that didn’t mean he wanted to see them get hurt too.

Logan paused. “Patton, they’ve seen me. I have to do something.”

 “No! I mean, they’re just bandits. Who's going to believe them anyway?” Patton tried because Logan was sounding like he was ready to kill them. And Patton did not condone murder, even to criminals.

“...Fair enough.” Logan looked down at the one in his hand, who was trembling quite terribly. “They do seem to be scared silent.”

 “W-We won’t tell anyone, we swear!” The bandit in Logan’s hand said. “Just please let us go.” He pleaded.

 Patton looked from them to Logan. “See?”

“I suppose that will do.” Logan relented. He didn’t particularly like the idea of keeping several Lilliputians captive. “However, before I release you, I expect an apology. Both to myself, and one from all of you to Patton.”

 “I’m sorry.” 

 “Me too.”

 “Same here.” Came the rushed apologies. All of them clearly just wanting to get the heck out of there. Patton nodded to them.

 “Thank you.” He said. “Now let them go, Logan.”

Logan did as Patton asked, setting the third down on the ground and hastily pulling away to avoid being stabbed again.

 As soon as the bandit was on the ground, he took off running, the others not far behind. Patton let out a sigh of relief as soon as they were gone. “Thank you for saving me, Logan.”

“You’re quite welcome,” Logan assured him, heading back towards the lake. “Did you get everything you needed?”

 “Yep! All set.” Patton's gaze glanced down towards Logan’s arm and his eyes widened when he noticed how bad it was. “Logan! You’re bleeding!”

“Oh, so I am.” Logan glanced down at his arm, holding it aloft so as not to drip on himself. He set Patton down on the shore, using the lake water to rinse off the wound. Once again he could only hope to not gain an infection.

 “Roman might have something back at the cave to dress it,” Patton suggested though it was good that Logan was cleaning it first with the water.

“Perhaps.” Logan shook off his hand to dry it, checking that the wound was not actively gushing. “Although I doubt it. In comparison, it would be quite a lot of fabric wasted for a simple cut.”

 “Maybe but we don’t want it to get infected. And it looks pretty deep…” Patton knew the cut probably wouldn’t take the giant down but it was still good to take care of it properly. “I’m sure Roman wouldn’t mind, he could always...er, get some more.”

“That’s true.” Logan agreed. “In any case, we should be heading back before we have another unfortunate encounter.” He grabbed Patton again, heading in the direction of the cave.

 “Yeah, that wouldn’t be good.” Patton agreed. He found himself barely flinching as he was grabbed again.

Logan looked over at the wound every so often, but it seemed to have stopped bleeding. He believed it was not as deep as the Lilliputian thought, but still once they entered Logan’s home the human began to look around for something to tie around his arm.

 Patton started looking around too, seeing something poking out in a pile. “Oh! I found a tent! Do you think that will work?” Patton asked, dragging the large tarp over to Logan.

“Hmm, it’ll do if I hold it.” Logan lifted it up, shaking the debris so it was relatively clean as he held it to his arm. The fabric wasn’t as malleable for tying, but it would do.

 “That’s good!” Patton took a seat on Roman’s bed, letting out a breath. That had been close out there, with those bandits. But he was glad that Logan was, in fact, a good giant. Although…

 “Uh, Logan?”

“Yes, Patton?” Logan said, looking up from his wound.

 “What...What were you planning on doing to those bandits if I...hadn’t stopped you?” Patton asked, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Oh, rest assured, I wasn’t going to harm them.” Logan calmed the Lilliputian's fears. “Well, not unless they proved too violent to handle. I simply thought it would be best to contain them like I did with you. But, seeing as this is your land and not mine, I trust your judgment call.”

 Patton let out a sigh. “Oh, that’s a relief.” He was worried there for a second but Logan really was good. “I guess, we just wait for Roman to come back with more food?”

Logan’s stomach made a noise of agreement. He covered it with his arms, slightly embarrassed. “I suppose we do.”

***

 The bandits, of course, had been lying when they said they wouldn’t tell anyone. And they weren’t telling just anyone, no, they were going to the king.

 Unfortunately, the king was out of the kingdom at the moment, visiting a neighboring one for a treaty. So here Virgil was, sitting on his father’s throne facing these obvious criminals about a giant in the woods.

 “Okay...and why should I believe you?” Virgil asked, looking between the three. They were criminals after all. It was most likely a trap.

 “Do you really think we would come here and risk being thrown in jail if we weren’t telling the truth!” One bandit said and Virgil hummed. The guy had a point.

 “So...there’s a giant...out in the woods. Who has someone captive?” Virgil asked again, making sure he got this right.

 “A man-eating giant!” One shouted. “And his captive is probably long dead.” Virgil swallowed at that. Poor guy.

 “You have to do something about it!” Another shouted and Virgil sighed. 

 “You may go now.” Virgil dismissed them. They were lead out by the guards, still shouting at him to do something. Virgil bit his lips.

 “Well...it doesn’t hurt to check, right?” Virgil turned to a nearby guard. “Gather the knights, we’re headed out.”