#lilliputian!virgil

[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

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 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.

[bilgisticallykosher]

Devil On His Shoulders And Lesser Demons All Over The Place; AKA Well, There Goes The Metasphere

As a note, I actually don't believe that Mandy is that angsty. The rumors of her sadism have been greatly exaggerated. As another note, I'd just like to apologize to everyone. Inspired by Devil On My Shoulder by Lime. Or the shortened version, DOMS. Which is ridiculous; clearly Mandy is the only dom here.

Words: Just under 2000

Lime sighed, careful not to cause too much movement to his little "shoulder devil" as he secretly liked to think of her. Mandy was great, and the scenarios were fun to think about, but he could never actually write them. He loved his characters too much to ever hurt them permanently. And yet…

Well, at any rate, he was still out of ideas. And this little (heh) theoretical session hadn't helped any. Maybe he'd have to start from scratch after all. The curtains fluttered in the windless atmosphere, and a bright light flickered from beyond them. Lime squinted. What in the heck? 

"...and since he doesn't know about the others living in his house, he doesn't get them out from the flooding!" Mandy concluded her dreary thought. She looked up and blinked. "Hey, what's that-" She cut herself off with a soundless noise that might have very well been a curse, as a fire bird flew in out of nowhere, and landed lightly on Lime's other shoulder. 

He flinched, but it turned out to not be hot, just pleasantly warm. 

"Um, hi?" He greeted, bewildered. 

"I know I'm not exactly one to talk," the phoenix began, definitely actually talking, "but I think you can do a little better than Miss Not-So-Infinitesimally Angsty." Mandy gasped. 

"How dare?!" The phoenix, who Lime now realized was Phoenix, rolled their eyes. 

"I'm just saying, there's maybe an imbalance there on hurt/comfort you know?" They had a point. 

"Hey, I know how to do comfort!" Mandy huffed. "I get plenty of comfort from readers screaming in the comments." Lime groaned. Phoenix, being one of her screaming readers, slapped their face with their hand- er, wing. 

"Alright, I think I need some backup," they said, muffled through their feathers. They dropped their wing and sent out a fire symbol. Lime couldn't quite see what it was, or if they used their mouth like a dragon, or if it was a feather or something. Pretty awesome, though. 

And suddenly there was a purple butterfly hovering in front of him. At least this newcomer wasn't too hard to figure out. 

"Nyn?"

"I hear you're having trouble with some plot ideas?" She seemed excited and willing to help, something Lime was very grateful for. 

"Yes, thank you so much, I can't seem to get away from the really awful permanent death ones." Lime stared obviously at Mandy, who just shrugged nonchalantly, spinning her magic pen around. 

"Ah. Yes. Well, I've got the perfect solution!" Her voice was so sweet-sounding, it was like music to his ears. Phoenix nodded their head. 

"Yes?" Lime listened raptly. 

"Kill 'em anyways." He froze. Surely, he must have misheard. 

"Wh-" he floundered for coherent English. "What?" 

"If you wanna kill them, kill them!" There was a snort from his shoulder.

"But your stories are usually so cute! And fluffy!"

"Usually,” she emphasized. "Unless Mandy picks the wrong number." Lime turned to Mandy, horrified. 

"Whoops," she deadpanned. 

"I wrote a fic about the werewolf getting a kitten," Phoenix said reproachfully.

Then he got distracted by a voice at his feet. 

"Heya!"

"Aah!"

"Woah!"

"Geez, now I know how Virgil felt," the voice joked. Lime looked down. It looked like...a box? With little cat features? That was adorable, but admittedly very confusing. He had to contain himself from petting. His talons twitched. 

No! Big, scary dragon! Rawr! He wouldn't cave to some weird kitty box! 

… Who was he kidding? He'd be cuddling it within the hour. 

Mandy squinted, staring down at the creature. She steadied herself on Lime's shoulder before sliding down his arm. He grumbled something about safety that went unheeded. 

"Kat?" She asked, tilting her head. "Is that you?" The box- Kat, apparently- nodded. 

"Yep. I'm here to help out!" Mandy squinted. 

"Why the heck do you look like that?"

"Well, like my username. You know," she sighed, Callboxkat? Box Kat? Box cat? Yeah."

"Wait, isn't it supposed to be a callbox? As in a telephone booth?"

"Yeah, but the author doesn't watch Doctor Who." Kat watched Nyn fluttering back and forth, repressing her newfound cat urges. 

"Wait. I thought we were the authors?" Phoenix furrowed their eyebrows. 

"Listen, this is already so meta, does it really matter?" Kat raised an eyebrow. 

"Fair point." Mandy jerked her thumb back in Lime's direction over her shoulder. "So, do you have any suggestions?"

"Do I?!"

"Do you?" Lime echoed back at her.

"So I was thinking," she box-stepped over to one of the lower-set universe basins, "you take some of your tiny characters,"

"Yeah…" He considered the few universes where he had borrowers.

"Then you slap a tail on them, and have them almost drown!" She concluded triumphantly, lithely swaying her own tail at the mention of them. 

"Almost drown them?" Lime asked warily.

“Almost drown them?" Mandy asked with a gleam in her eye. 

"Okay, that's it." A new voice called out. Lime thought he recognized it, turning his head to confirm. Yep, there Allison was, dressed in her own witch outfit of purple and teal. "You," she pointed at Mandy with her magic quill "have had enough angst for the day. You're being cut off."

"No!" Mandy pouted, readying her puppy dog eyes. 

"Yes," Allison crossed her arms triumphantly. 

"Um, not to encourage her," Phoenix spoke up, turning to face her, "but haven't you been just as guilty of angst recently?" 

"What do you mean?" Allison frowned, confused. 

"Yeah!" Kat turned to her, "all those Perspectives lately have been pretty heavy and angst-laden."

"Wh- hey, first of all, recently is subjective, we wrote those a while ago. And we've had a lot of fluff in there, too!" Lime considered this. 

"Vampire Perspective, Pet Perspective…" he listed off. 

"Mandy's been choosing the wrong numbers," Nyn nodded. 

"And! And Lilliputian, Freezing, those were also recent-ish!"

"Face it," Mandy suddenly appeared next to Allison, leaning her arm on her friend, "we're in the same boat now." She flopped over dramatically into her arms. "I've corrupted you."

"Noooo…"

"Hey, Allison, what's that building on your hat, by the way?" Phoenix asked. She sighed, and threw a photo version their way. 

"Arc."

"Oh my god." There were snickers around. Mandy was still draped over Allison, shaking her head at the truly awful pun. 

"PSSSST!" Everyone turned around. There, as if summoned by the bad humor, was a stick figure, looking shifty-eyed, and unmistakably Lefay. She was wearing a trenchcoat, and hat. Of course, the hat wasn't the typical hat associated with a trenchcoat. It was, instead, an umbrella-hat.

"Um," a new voice came in before they could address that. They turned back, seeing a small snail with a dorsal fin on his back. Fin. Lime was starting to see a terrible, terrible pattern here. "I was also invited, but, I don't know, maybe I should leave? You guys are all so cool, I think I probably don't belong here."

"Fin, please!" Everyone chorused together. 

"Alright, alright!" He acquiesced, really taking in the room. "Hey, I guess not everyone's cool, you're looking pretty hot, Phoenix!" He made finger guns at them somehow, and they laughed at his antics. Lime smiled, before remembering the previous interruption. 

"Hey, Lefay," Lime started, slowly, turning back to her, "why's there an umbrella on your head?"

"The costume store was out of trench hats-"

"There's no way that's what they're called," Allison balked. 

"-so I decided to go with the rain theme. And I got this instead!" She patted the umbrella headband happily before tensing, and crouching inward, voice lowering to what was definitely not how she spoke a second ago. "Pssst. Hey, hey kid. C'mere. I hears ya need some help with your woiks."

Lime took a moment to mentally translate this. He was uncertain, but he did need help with his works. He twisted his long, scaly neck over to where she stood. 

"Yeah, alright."

She opened her trench coat wide, causing a flinch or two throughout the group, to reveal what was lined on the inside. Lime could identify a turnip, a rutabaga, celeriac, a parsnip, a yam, taro, a daikon, and jicama. "Um…" Lime was confused. "What-"

"Oh my god" Kat put her paws over her face. 

"Did youse need help wit' some titles?" Lefay waggled her eyebrows. There was absolute silence, aside from some traitorous snickering from some of the others. 

"..............No," Lime decided on as his response. "Titles I can figure out later, but I just need some story ideas to title in the first place." 

"Oh, why didn't you say so!" She responded in her normal voice. "I can totally help with that!" Lime brightened. Lefay smiled back, and then promptly fell to the floor, pillow under her head, asleep. 

Lime flinched back, and turned back to the rest of the room, slumping his head in his hands. 

"This is never going to work," he lamented. "I'll never get a new idea like this!"

"Well," Nyn cut in, "maybe that's your answer." Lime slowly lifted his head, squinting in confusion. "I mean, if you're not coming up with ideas this way, maybe this way isn't the way to go about it?"

"Right," Allison agreed, as Mandy un-flopped from her. "Just because this works for some people, or even if it's worked for you before, doesn't mean you have to use this method."

"Inspiration comes differently for everyone." Kat piped in, tail swishing in excitement. "You shouldn't feel pressured to choose one specific way and stick to it." 

"And if you're forcing yourself to come up with ideas, doesn't that negate why you're writing in the first place?" Phoenix added. 

"Heck yeah!" Fin shouted. "Writing fanfic is supposed to be fun!" Mandy gently put a hand on his arm. 

"You shouldn't feel pressured at all. If you can't think of something to write, you don't have to." Lime looked up at her, she smiled gently down at him. "You're allowed to not write. You're allowed to take a break. You're allowed to put yourself first." Lime sniffed out a laugh, before looking at all the smiling, encouraging faces of his friends and fellow fanders. 

"Okay, I give. You guys are right." He stood up on all fours, nails clacking against the wood floor. "Now let's get out of this…" he looked around again, frowning. "Wait, where are we?"

"Looks like a stage of some sort?" Kat voiced, uncertainly. A voice sounded from all around them. 

"I'm a theater, sweetheart." Brook responded. There was a rimshot.

"You know, it's things like this that make me really glad that I picked my authorsona myself." Lime deadpanned. Allison and Mandy nodded. 

Over in the corner, a shovel fell over onto a sketchpad in agreement. 

"Yeah, I don't know who's doing this," Mandy spoke a little too nonchalantly, "but these are really, really bad. Like, objectively terrible. I mean just completely awful. As if whoever did it started with zero sense of humor, and then got worse." Hey, watch it, witchy, I’m in control of this story. "And I'm in control of a lot more stories, I can make angst like you wouldn't believe," she cheerfully stated, appropriate of nothing, according to the others' perspectives. 

…I surrender. 

Mandy smirked, satisfied, before bounding over to Lime's back. "So, wanna give us a ride back?"

"Sure," Lime offered his hands out, palms flat for everyone (except for those with wings) to climb on. When everyone had settled, he spread his wings, and took flight. As he faded into the horizon, he mumbled to himself, "Maybe I'll write something with Virgil…"

About a minute after he left, Lefay jolted awake. 

"Alright! I've got like six more plausible ideas for AUs, there's this one where-" Lefay paused, looking around. She seemed distressed for a moment, before continuing. "-but I never figured out what happened with the incident with the noodles. TIME FOR MORE RESEARCH!" She pointed dramatically up to the sky, before immediately flopping back into sleep. 

BONUS!

There was a ringing sound. Every set of eyes snapped to the source. 

"Are you ringing from your body?” Allison asked Kat incredulously. 

"I've got a phone in the box," Kat blushed, fishing it out.

"Getting a call, box-Kat?" Mandy grinned wickedly. Kat barked at her. Mandy frowned. 

"Why-"

"I love dogs," she shrugged. 

@callboxkat @delimeful @hiddendreamer67 @theatresweetheart @lefaystrent @infinimay @enby-phoenix @arc852 @justanotherpurplebutterfly @eatingashovel (not by name but you make an appearance)

[hiddendreamer67]

Dude I LOVED your prince Virgil in Lilliputian perspective. He's just an awkward nervous poliet boi. And. I must hug him,. To precious..... very good

He a good boi, although there I’ve gotta give credit to @arc852! She’s in charge of pretty much all the boyos in LP, with the exception of Logan. :)

[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."

[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 (9/10)

By: @arc852 and @hiddendreamer67

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

First chapter || Previous chapter || Next chapter

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A short while later Roman noticed Virgil coming back. “Okay, well, it looks like the cave is actually done.” Virgil revealed and Roman frowned. Not really what he was hoping for when he said he wished something interesting would happen.

“Excellent.” Logan said, despite this scenario being far from ‘excellent’. “And how exactly am I to be transferred there?”

 Virgil bit his lip. “...Would you be willing to go there of your own accord again? If we release the chain on your ankle?” Virgil asked.

“Yes, although given my cooperation I am still confused as to why the chains are necessary.” Logan admitted.

 “Just precaution and so the people feel a bit...safer. Like I said, when my father comes back home, he’ll decide what actually happens to you. This is just...temporary, for now, until then.” Virgil explained.

“It seems like a lot of hassle for ‘temporary’.” Logan observed, looking down at the chain around his ankle. “How did you construct such a contraption so rapidly?”

 Virgil blinked at the question. “Oh, uh...we’re fast builders?” Virgil said with a shrug, not knowing what else to say.

“It’s impressive, if not concerning.” Logan’s expression showed his amazement. It was a small contraption, yes, but not in comparison to the Lilliputians. How much of their metal had to be smelted for such a task? How did they create a mold of the correct size?

 “Thanks?” Virgil said, a bit confused. “Anyway, are you ready?” He asked, a few guards already stepping forward to release the ankle chain.

Logan nodded, holding his leg still for the Lilliputians to do their work.

 Virgil gave a motion and the guards hesitantly unhooks the chain before scrambling to get back and away from the giant. Virgil took several steps back as well, looking up at the giant as he bit his lip.

Logan rubbed at the spot where the chain had been, noting the red indent. He scooped Roman into his hands and carefully stood, cautious not to spook the guards any more than necessary.

“Lead the way, your highness.” Logan gestured forwards.

 Virgil nodded and hopped on his horse, heading for the cave.

 Roman looked up at Logan. “Now's your chance.” He whispered up at the giant. 

But Logan just shook his head. It would be easy enough to escape from this small group of soldiers, but Logan could not remain in hiding for long. It would be foolish to try.

 Roman huffed and crossed his arms. Welp, so much for that.

 Virgil led Logan into the cave. “If you could just lay there and hold your arms out.” Virgil spoke.

“My arms?” Logan looked to the new chains as he sat down in the cave, attached to the back wall. “I thought you were restraining my ankle.”

 “Well, we’re restraining that too.” Virgil revealed. “Now if you could lay down all the way.”

“How far am I being restrained?” Logan tried to get a gauge of how much his range of movement might be limited. “This seems excessive.”

 “Again, it’s just to help the people to feel safer.” Virgil said, feeling nervous at the way Logan kept asking about it.

“Shouldn’t they already feel safe knowing I’m contained in the cave?” Logan pressed on. This cave was already much smaller than the one Roman had inhabited. “Why do my movements need to be so restricted?”

 “It’s so you don’t escape, beast.” A voice came from the mouth of the cave. Virgil turned to see Dee there, coming over to stand next to Virgil. “Now, are you going to cooperate or were we right about you?” Dee asked, narrowing his eyes.

“I’m willing to cooperate, just as I have continued to prove.” Logan said firmly, looking down at the Lilliputians. “And because of my track record thus far I believe I should retain control over my upper limbs.”

 “So you are going to disobey direct orders from our prince? Hmm, well that doesn’t seem very cooperative to me.” Dee said. Virgil bit his lip. He didn’t like how Logan was refusing him either, though more out of fear than anything.

“I am not disobeying.” Logan was quick to correct. “I was merely expressing a concern, and hoping to negotiate a compromise.”

 “Well, this is non-negotiable. Now, I would lie down, or we’ll be forced to treat you like the beast we all think you are.” Dee smirked.

“And just what do you mean by that?” Logan inquired, not liking the advisor’s tone.

 “Well, we have a fairly large army. I’m sure it wouldn’t take too long to cut you down to size.” Dee said, examining his nails. Virgil’s eyes went wide and he looked at Dee but the advisor ignored him for the moment.

 “You can’t do that!” Roman yelled from his place on Logan’s hand. Dee scoffed.

 “Of course, we can. And I will, if the giant doesn’t lie down and cooperate in the next few seconds.”

“There’s no need for violence, I’ll cooperate.” Logan grumbled, getting down to his stomach. He placed Roman near himself, sticking out his arms and feeling a bit foolish.

 Dee smirked. “Good.” He then snapped his fingers and the guard quickly went to work in chaining the giant up. “Glad you decided not to give us too much trouble.”

 Roman wanted to glare at the stupid advisor, but currently couldn’t see him due to Logan. So, instead, he turned towards the giant. “See? You should have left when you had the chance.”

“It’s not ideal, but I’ll manage.” Logan replied sternly, turning his chin down at a harsh angle to view Roman. “There is still a large amount of tension. This too shall pass.”

 Roman frowned. “Whatever you say…” Though Roman highly doubted it.

 The guards soon finished and quickly moved back. Dee grinned. “There we are, that wasn’t so hard, was it?”

Logan picked up Roman and maneuvered around to face him, feeling a bit foolish at the way he had to scoot around. He tried to just stand but quickly discovered the length of the chains would not allow him to stand any higher than a crouch. The two attached to his ankles were imbedded in the left and right sides of the cave respectively, and offered very little distance.

“It was not difficult, but it is demeaning.” Logan complained.

 “Oh, I’m sure you’ll get used to it.” Dee said with a smirk. “Well, I suppose we are done here. Good day, beast.” Dee left the cave, followed by the guards. Though some stayed planted in front of the cave to guard it and watch over Logan. 

 Virgil looked from Dee to Logan before sighing and following Dee out.

“Well, this is certainly not an improvement.” Logan tried to keep his tone light, but even he was feeling quite crestfallen.

 “No, definitely not.” Logan looked absolutely miserable changed up like that. Roman shook his head. “I’m not sure how you’re gonna get out of this.”

“I am not.” Logan sunk back against the cave wall, holding Roman close to his chest. “All I can hope is to be released.”

 “Yeah, well, good luck with that. It seems your only hope is the actual king.” Roman said, “which could take a while.”

“Hopefully not too long.” Logan murmured. He wasn’t sure how long he could last like this.

***

 Virgil was sat down on his father’s throne, tapping his fingers nervously. He didn’t even feel like he deserved to sit atop it but his father had insisted to act as much like a king as possible while he was gone. Virgil sighed but it seemed like things might actually be turning around. He had just received word that a messenger had entered the kingdom. Meaning he would hear how far his father was and when he would officially come back.

 Virgil focused when the large doors opened. First, Dee entered, followed closely by who Virgil assumed was the messenger. Virgil straightened but he was starting to grow more anxious the more he studied the messengers face. Why did he looks so solemn?

 “Your majesty.” The messenger bowed. “I...have some tragic news.”

 Dee took his place standing next to Virgil. “Please just get out with it.”

 The messenger looked down but nodded. “The king...is dead.”

 Virgil’s eyes widened. “...Wh-What?” No, no he had to have heard that wrong. But the messenger looked up at him sadly.

 “I’m sorry, your highness. There was a run in with some bandits on the way back and...he didn’t make it. I’m sorry.” The messenger further explained and Virgil slumped back in the throne, staring down at the floor but his eyes were unfocused.

 Dee frowned. “Well...that is certainly tragic.” A turn of events, sure, but one that played into his favor. Dee had to keep the smirk off his face though, especially as he turned to Virgil. “Sire?”

 Virgil suddenly stood up, “I...I need to-to process this.” Virgil said before running off.

 “Sire!” Dee called after him but Virgil kept going. He didn’t know where, he let his feet lead him. And where they led was to the spot he always went to when he wanted to be alone.

 Except, he had forgotten for a moment, that the cave was currently occupied. He froze as he met the giant’s eyes. 

 Roman raised an eyebrow at the prince. Especially when he saw the tears streaming down his face. 

Logan tensed, noting the royal’s distress as well. “...is everything alright, Your Highness?”

 Virgil rubbed at his eyes. He should leave but then again, he didn’t really feel like going back out there and facing Dee. He wasn’t ready.

 “M-My father...we got word back about him.” Virgil started.

 “Finally!” Roman exclaimed. “Well, when is he getting back then?” He asked, which only caused more tears to stream down Virgil’s cheeks.

 “Never. He’s dead.” 

 Roman’s eyes widened. “...Oh.” Well, now he felt bad.

“I- “ Logan fought for the correct words, feeling uncomfortable. Dealing with emotions was never his strong suit. “That must be quite overwhelming. I can imagine you are experiencing a very strong set of emotions.”

 Virgil nodded, looking down. “Y-Yeah, just a-just a bit.” He couldn’t believe this was real. “I-I ran out as soon as I heard...I just, I couldn’t stay there.”

 “Well, why did you come here?” Roman asked, knowing the prince was scared of the giant as much as everyone else. Virgil looked up at him and then shrugged.

 “I don’t know, I...I guess I forgot that you guys were here for a moment.” Virgil admitted. The news of his father’s passing had pushed everything else way back.

“Were the two of you close?” Logan asked softly, trying to be delicate.

 Virgil was silent for a moment before he nodded. “As close as we could be, with him being king and all. But despite all his duties, he always found time for me.” He rubbed at his eyes more. “It isn’t fair.” 

 Roman bit his lip, he wasn’t great with people who were crying or upset. But he felt his heart go out to the guy. It made him realize that the prince was really still just a kid.

“How did it happen?” Logan asked, his eyes giving the prince a pitying look. “If you feel inclined to share.”

 Virgil shrugged. “The messenger said bandits. I didn’t really feel like sticking around for any details though.” He glanced up at Logan through his bangs. “...Why do you care?”

“It’s polite to ask.” Logan gave a small shrug. “That’s an unfortunate way to go, you have my sympathies.”

 “...Thanks.” Virgil said, looking back down. “I think the worst part is, I won’t even have time to grieve. The kingdom needs a king and I’ll be thrown right into it.” He said with a sigh.

 Roman winced. “Yeah, that is rough.”

“How does that work?” Logan inquired. “Will you at least have a few days of preparation and grief, or are you king as of this moment?”

 “I’m technically still stand in king at the moment, but knowing Dee, he’s already preparing the coronation. For it to be official.” Virgil groaned, rubbing his hands over his face. “I never even wanted to be king.”

 Roman raised an eyebrow at that. “What? Who wouldn’t want to be king?”

“It certainly would be a lot of pressure, Roman.” Logan reminded the Lilliputian. “Royalty is mostly politics and tough decisions. I for one would not want to be on the throne, and I can imagine the transition will only be more difficult with my presence.”

 Roman hummed. “I...suppose you have a point.” All that pressure would certainly suck.

 “Exactly.” Virgil sighed. “And yeah, now it’s up to me to decide what happens to you.” And...that was a big decision for Virgil to make.

“I understand if you cannot make a decision right away.” Logan admitted, knowing it must be quite difficult. “But, of all the castle dwellers I have met I can assure you I am thankful that you are the individual who will be deciding my fate.”

 Virgil blinked. “R-Really? Why?” Virgil didn’t pride himself on making good decisions.

“You seem the kindest, even if you are easily manipulated.” Logan spoke bluntly. “If you rid yourself of that advisor I think you’ll make an excellent king. From our interactions, it's clear you’re attempting to do what you think is right, and you are one of the few individuals not only willing to consider my perspective but also talking to me as though I am a competent individual as well.”

 “I mean, I think you’ve since proven yourself.” Virgil admitted. “And I never did like Dee. I’m not sure why Dad kept him around.”

 “He’s a jerk, that’s for sure. An evil snake.” Roman said with a huff.

 “Yeah, he isn’t great. You definitely don’t deserve to be executed either, Roman.” Virgil pointed out and Roman grinned.

 “Why thank you, I think so too.” He was starting to like this prince more and more.

“What do the people think?” Logan asked, knowing the importance of public opinion. “Both about myself and Roman.”

 “Uh, I mean, I’m not really sure about Roman. I think they feel bad he was given to you to eat.”

 “As they should!” Roman exclaimed. 

 “As for you, Logan, well...they’re still very scared of you and what you might do.” Virgil admitted.

“I really do not wish to do anything.” Logan insisted. “But perhaps if you have been crowned, it would be possible for me to depart and leave you in peace.”

 Virgil thought and then, slowly, he nodded. “Yeah. I think that’s the way to go.” He looked up at Logan. “I’m sorry about all the trouble we caused you, chaining you up and everything. I’ll do everything I can to help get you home.”

“I appreciate that most sincerely.” Logan assured him, giving a sigh of relief. Finally, finally things were beginning to look up. A pity Virgil had to lose a father for this to be the case.

 Virgil nodded. “I better get back, but I’ll start making preparations. Hopefully I can get you out of this cave at least in the next two days.” He turned to leave but paused to look back at Roman. “Oh, and I’ll go ahead and pardon all your crimes too.”

 Roman blinked. “Sweet! Thank you your majesty.” Virgil nodded and with that, he left, trying not to think too much of his father.

 “Well, looks like things are finally looking up!” Roman exclaimed.

“Indeed they are.” Logan smiled genuinely for the first time since his arrival.

[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 (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 (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.”

[hiddendreamer67]

omg i loved the "virgil on the beach ala gulliver’s travels" one! honestly i see him as being super angry at the lilliputians but then crying because 1. he starts believing they are indeed capable of causing him great harm or 2. accidentaly ends up hurting patton or any other possible lilliputian!sides :(

Ooooh, I do love an accidentally destructive giant in Lilliput, and I can imagine him putting on that brave evil mask to try and figure out what the hell is happening plus it’s pretty easy to intimidate tiny people. Except then they cry and Virgil doesn’t know how to deal. And then he’s a prisoner of tiny people and this is insane and he’s gonna die in a world where everybody thinks of him as a beast. (except then it’s fine perhaps)