The idea of a hike was just as much of a surprise for Nick as it had been for Richard and Hannah. Cindy hadn't mentioned that idea with anyone before that day. Nick was also curious as to how, exactly, a hike would go. He and Hannah were only a few inches tall. It's not like they'd be entirely safe out in the wilderness. They couldn't be let down anywhere. They could be picked up by some wild animal, or worse. There were a lot of dangers that now made themselves apparent to them. Even a small spider would be lethal to the two of them. They'd have to rely on Cindy and Richard a lot out there. Not only would they have to keep from accidentally hurting them, but they'd have to keep them safe from outside harm.

Nick had nodded on the idea, though. Despite the obvious dangers, he thought a hike might be fun. They were tiny, and being stuck in a cabin all day long just wasn't as interesting as going out into nature. “Okay, Cindy, but I only want to go on this hike on one condition!” He talked up to Cindy, as if this were some sort of conversation to convince her to take him with her. She raised her eyebrow at him, a little confused at his statement. “What? Condition? What are you talking about?” She couldn't understand the concept of him outright refusing her offer without something being thrown his way. Even though he wasn't really refusing it, it still confused her.

“I want you to keep me with you.” he responded, his 'condition' really just a preference. He'd spent a good amount of Cindy since this ordeal started, and he was starting to get a little more fond of her now. Unlike what Hannah had always told him, she was treating him very well. She had taken care of him. She was gentle with her handling of him, and it seemed like she had his safety and well-being in her head, for most of the situations that were going on here. She had been scary before she and Richard found them, but now, it seemed like Cindy was someone he enjoyed being around.

Cindy blinked as she heard his condition. She laughed for a moment and got on her knees, bringing her massive frame closer to his level. She thought this 'demand' was quite funny. She had planned on keeping him close to her, anyways. She didn't feel the importance in his requesting of that. She couldn't understand it fully, though. She wasn't the one whom had the entire world get drastically bigger. He might be really scared about what was going on, and want someone safe to be around. She was definitely trying to make sure he was safe, so maybe he wanted to be near her because he felt safe around her.

“You wanted to demand that I keep you with me, when I was going to do so, to begin with? You're a silly, little dude.” Cindy was still half-laughing as she spoke back to him, showing him that he was being a little silly in his grasp on this situation. He was wasting his breath by asking her to keep him with her. He now realized that she was going to do that anyways. Shaking his hide, trying to hide the redness that was growing in it, he looked downward. “Oh! Uh, well...thank you! I didn't realize that you were planning to keep me with you, from the start.”

Cindy loved the way this conversation was going. She was in complete control of this situation, without forcing it to be under her control. It was natural, impulsive, flowing. Her relationship with Richard was never like this. She had to work to control him, but Nick seemed to be just letting her have control with the natural flow of things. She kept up her smile as she reached down and patted Nick's head with her finger. “What? Did you think I was going to abandon my little buddy? Don't you remember what I said earlier? We have a lot in common. You're my little buddy, and we need to stick together.”


Cindy had a way with words. This got nothing less than a little more redness in Nick's cheeks, along with a smile across his face. In that moment, he felt that big level of safety that she had provided him with, for quite some time. This is why she was such a safe person to be around. She was passionate, affectionate, and cared about his safety. When she was like this, he wasn't even sure if she was the same person from the day before. She couldn't see a person like this yelling and ordering someone like Richard around. He couldn't imagine her doing that, especially since she had him around, whom she could order around all she wanted.

She didn't order him around, though. Even when she had something that she wanted him to do for her, she had been very polite about it. She hadn't ordered him to rub her feet. She had calmly asked him if he could do it for her. The way she said it made him feel like he had every right to refuse. He didn't because he felt he owed her something. Now, he did owe her something. She'd saved his life earlier, so he owed her every bit of that foot rub. He then realized that he was spending too long with his thinking. Stepping forward, he reached his arms out to her. “Well, we should get ready for this hike, then. Unless, of course, you plan on hiking through the woods with no pants?”

Cindy quickly looked down at her legs and hips, remembering that they were right. She didn't have any pants on. The night before, she'd gone to bed, wearing basically just a shirt and a pair of panties. Her cheeks got a little red at that. Her head came back up and she thought of something to say. “...right! So, we've gotta go get ready. Come on, little dude. We're going back to the bedroom so I can get changed.” She offered her hand to him, which he quickly climbed into. Richard and Cindy were probably prepared already. Pulling herself up, she started walking back to the bedroom.

As they got close, the door opened and both Richard and Hannah came out the door, ready to go. Richard had some clothes on, and Hannah was hanging onto his finger. “Cindy? I thought you were getting ready to go.” said Richard. Cindy pushed past him and walked into the bedroom. “Yeah, yeah. We're gonna get ready right now. Be out in a sec!” With that, she pushed the door shut and locked it behind her. Walking over to the bed, she set Nick down and looked at the clothes, next to the bed. “Okay, little dude. Time for your big friend to get dressed. Don't get too excited, okay?!”