"No no no no no no no no no..."
Tian had her face buried in her hands, continuing to chant her unbelief.
Soi had coaxed her to lie back onto the blanket as she dabbed her even smaller forehead with a wet rag.
"Tian, just calm down alright? Tomorrow we'll be back at the stronghold and Genrou and Kouji can figure out how to fix you."
Tian pulled her hands from her face and swatted the air at Soi.
Soi, in response, sighed in frustration and dropped the rag.
"Tian! Stop it! You're not making the situation any better!"
Tian slowly sat up and wiped her eyes, looking around. "By the gods, I'm so TINY! What if it continues?! What if I end up as small as him?!" She pointed accusingly down at Kyang who was all but ignoring the girl's distraught nature and enjoying a bit of venison.
"I don't know! That may be the case..."
Tian whimpered and threw her arms over her eyes.
Soi grabbed her small arms gently and pulled them apart, looking down into her eyes. "...but whining about it isn't going to help anything! So just shut up alright?"
Tian slowly sat up and fell silent in thought.
Soi picked up the small plate of meat and placed it down next to her. "And at least eat something. You'll need your strength for the walk tomorrow."
This made Tian groan again. "The walk tomorrow...I nearly died earlier today! And I was twice the size I am now!"
"Well, it isn't as far, alright? You'll manage."
She reached out and gentle wiped away an escaping tear from her tiny companion's eye.
Tian looked up at her and was almost surprised to find her smiling almost encouragingly to her. Before she could say anything, Soi stood and walked over near the fire, leaning against a nearby tree.
She looked down at the plate of food before her and began to tear at it eagerly. It had been all day since she had eaten.
Soi plucked a blade of grass from the ground beside her and placed it between her thumbs. She brought them to her lips and blew, whistling an unknown tune through the grass. She casually looked over to Tian and Kyang who were busy working at ripping the strands of meat apart and stuffing them in their mouths, eager for the taste of food. She lowered her hands, letting the blade of grass fall from her fingers, and continued staring at the two. It had yet ceased to amaze her how tiny Kyang was and how small Tian was becoming. Before, she was just out on a journey with a little tag-a-long, looking for a lost treasure. Now she had the responsibility of looking after two very small, very fragile lives. Neither of the two could do anything to defend themselves. It was up to her to keep them protected. And she vowed to do so.
Tian found herself getting full very quickly, much to her surprise and chagrin. She lowered the leftover meat back onto the plate and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.
Kyang, who had finished moments before, gazed up at her and smiled. "That was some darn good venison if you ask me."
Tian looked down to him and nodded. "Yes. It was. I guess going all day without food will do that to a person." Her eyes softened immensely as she let them wander over him. "What's it like?"
"What do you mean?"
"What's it like at your size?"
"Oh! Uh. Well, to be honest, I don't think I've actually come to terms with it." He chuckled almost nervously.
Tian nodded, understanding and laid back down onto the blanket. "I can understand that..."
"Hey now..." Kyang stood up and walked over to her then sat down next to her on her blanket. "Don't be getting discouraged! I'm sure it'll all turn out okay in the end."
Tian slowly turned over onto her side to gaze down at him. "I know. I'm sorry. I'm not usually such a complainer." She blinked and looked away, a small smile creeping onto her face. "Well, okay. Maybe I am. But still!"
Kyang laughed. "Well, I'm sure no one can blame you. So, I suppose you have that right."
"Yeah." Tian covered her mouth with her hand to stifle a yawn then turned back over onto her back, closing her eyes.
Kyang eyed her for a bit then collapsed onto his back beside her, mocking her by closing his eyes and soon joining her in sleep.
Soi's eyes never left the two. She kept thinking of an owl swooping down and snatching Kyang off or a fox or small wolf bounding by and picking off Tian. She shuddered at the thoughts for she knew those creatures liked to feed while their prey was still alive and wiggling. Beginning to panic as the thoughts raced through her mind, she stood and walked back over to the blankets. She laid down on the far end of her blanket just in case she turned over in her sleep- no need killing the two off by using her own self. She then laid on her side so she could keep a watchful eye on the two all night. She knew she would not be able to sleep anytime soon, so she just focused on resting.
Tomorrow it would be finally all over. They would reach the stronghold and Tian and Kyang would be back to their original sizes. Kyang would travel home to be a farmer and Tian would take her place as an archer to help defend the stronghold.
Unfortunately, Soi couldn't have been farther off...