I struggled to bring my knees out from under myself so that I could rock backwards. I was magically exhausted and for the time being, stuck at my diminutive size. I could feel the shakes starting in my limbs as my overuse of magic started taking energy from my physical body in order to maintain the magic I wanted to keep in place. I collapsed backwards, laying on the ground, staring up at Autumn’s face, seeming to be about a hundred feet above where I lay.

“Seth, are you alright?” Autumn’s voice boomed and reverberated through me. She had gotten on her knees and was bringing her face down low. All I could do was shake my head. “Why have you not changed back?”

“I do not have the energy,” I croaked. A puzzled look overtook her features. I knew she could not hear me.

“Um, may I lift you?” I groaned, but nodded my consent. Carefully, she maneuvered the fingers of one hand under me and then used her other hand to slowly turn my body so that my head lay on her fingers and my body in her palm. She deliberately asked her next question before lifting me towards her face. “Can you repeat what you said?”

I nodded and she lifted me up, turning an ear towards me. “I cannot shift so much without becoming exhausted,” I called as loudly as I could muster. “I will need to rest.”

She lowered me away from her ear, her hand coming to rest on her legs, as she sat cross-legged. “You can rest. I will keep you safe.”

I had little choice and welcomed the moment to shut my eyes. The warmth of her hand was comforting at my back and lulled me into a half sleep.

A twitch of Autumn’s fingers woke me. “Riders approach,” she whispered. I craned my neck to see and cursed. Three bandits rode towards us.

I lightly tugged on my magic, checking my reserves. The sun was much lower on the horizon, so I had slept nearly two hours, I estimated. Autumn stood, the bandits already within shouting distance. They split to circle Autumn.

I banged my fist into Autumn’s palm to get her attention. She looked down to find me holding out my hand in a manner that denoted the hand she was using to hold me. Then, I flicked my wrist, making the motion of throwing. Autumn looked appalled and shook her head. I nodded and made the motion again.

“What do you have there, lass?” one of the bandits inquired.

“You look like you might have something worth our time,” another said, from behind us.

Autumn was not looking at me anymore and I slammed my fist into her palm again. “Do it!” I screamed. She made a pained expression and pulled her arm back, then pitching it forward, releasing me to sail through the air.

I waited for my body to spin so that I was facing the first bandit and then sharply called upon my magic, my body rapidly expanding. By the time I reached the first bandit, my feet were on the ground, I was fifteen feet tall, my body jacked with thick muscle, and my giant fist was driving into his body. He flew from his horse, which fell with him. I spun, my eyes locking on the other two bandits, one behind Autumn to the left and the other behind her to the right.

They were stunned, unsure what was happening, but as I brought my hulking form up to full height, they decided they wanted nothing to do with Autumn or even assisting their comrade. They fled.

“Impressive,” Autumn called out. I was already bringing my body back to the optimum Seth state. “Where do you hide those muscles normally?”

“My biggest muscle is my brain and I just pull from those vast stores,” I commented, receiving a laugh.

“Sure, I totally believe that!”

The strangled noise of the man behind me drew my attention around. The man’s horse had recovered, but the man still lay in a heap. “I may have broken a few of his ribs. He will need medical attention.”

“Can he even ride a horse?” Autumn asked, and as I considered how to answer, I realized that even if he were tied so that he was laying on his horse, the jerk and bounce would likely be very painful. I got the sense that Autumn was of the same mind as myself, not wishing further harm on him, despite the fact that he had sought to rob us.

“Not likely.” I sighed, knowing she would suggest what I was already considering.

“You could carry him.”

“Are you comfortable leading both of the horses?” She nodded. “The closest town that would have the adequate medical practice would be Lumin. We passed it on the way here.”

“You do not like the idea?” She was studying my face, which I tried to keep impartial.

“It is not that I do not like it, but that is two additional shifts today,” I reasoned, “and I have already been magically exhausted once and just shifted moments ago.”

“We can wait before departing,” she offered.

I nodded. I knew our options were limited by our own morals – having nixed both forcing him onto a horse and just straight up leaving him. “Have you had any of the bread and cheese?” She shook her head. “Would you like to?”

“Please. I got caught up when you were tiny and forgot my stomach.”

“Caught up?” I went through the pack I had removed from my own horse, retrieving the food. We sat together and I began pulling the bread apart before she responded.

“You know,” she pressed. I shook my head, denying that I knew what she meant. “Well, at first I got this rush of energy – I felt powerful and in control.” My brows knit together as I slowly chewed the thick bread crust. “But then I just felt at ease. I was holding another creature, a sentient creature, a beautiful creature in my hand, but the feeling came from the fact that I was trusted.

“I was certainly tempted to poke and prod, purely out of fascination, but there was such peace in letting you be.”

“It was certainly more peaceful for me,” I said.

She looked ashamed and diverted her eyes. “I am sorry.”

“You did not do anything,” I said with a half chuckle.

“But I wanted to. I would compare it to curiosity, a nagging urge.”

I shrugged, trying to be reassuring while also trying to calm my nerves. “You resisted,” I said plainly. “I would trust you to do it again.”

Her eyes shot up to meet mine. “You would?! You would shrink in from of me again?”

“I am not saying I want to, but if it had to happen, I would trust you.”

Our conversation shifted away from my gift and Autumn seemed a lot happier, making things flow easily. I was beginning to enjoy her company.

When I felt like I had enough reserve magical energy to make at least two major shifts in a short span of time, we began collecting and saddling the horses. My horse and the bandit’s horse were leashed to Autumn’s. She mounted and got a head start. We were in agreement that I could not be close to the horses, for fear of spooking them. I counted under my breath, giving her a two minute lead, before I let my magic rush through me, shooting me into the sky.

The man was unconscious and had been for some time. I stooped to pick him up, knowing that there was no way of lifting him so that he would feel no pain. His expression twisted as I used one hand to turn him on his side, allowing the other to side in behind him. Once he was in my hand, I followed after Autumn, making sure not to move too fast, not wanting to startle the horses with my approach.

As we had guessed, they were skittish having me walking next to them, one of my strides covering a massive spread of land. We kept pace together, with much of my concentration going into keeping my hand steady as I moved. It was not long before Autumn saw the first building break the horizon, soon allowing her to see much of the town. I, however, had seen it a lot sooner, having had the height advantage.

We slowed our pace, which became difficult for me. There was commotion within the walls and armed men were coming to the gate to prepare to fend off the potential threat – me.

A man called to us from atop the wall. “State your business!”

Autumn responded for us. “We come in peace. My friend is carrying a man who is injured and in need of medical aid.”

“How was the man hurt?”

“He and a few others tried to rob us and we defended ourselves.”

The man looked skeptical, but shouted back, “you will not be permitted to enter our town! We will send people out to you!”

“Fair enough.”

I knelt down and placed my hand against the ground. Two brawny men and a nurse came out after a few minutes. Each was shifty, hesitant about approaching my hand. The nurse inspected the man while the two hovered over her shoulders, their eyes staring up at me, waiting for me to become violent. One of the men had a stretcher on hand and the nurse instructed that they move the bandit onto it. They laid it on the ground, next to my hand, and each stepped up onto my hand, taking a side of the man’s body. They hoisted him up and hastily moved him onto the stretcher. They soon vanished back behind the walls of the town as I erected myself to full height.

Autumn had informed the nurse that one of the horses belonged to the man and it had been brought inside the walls. Autumn looked up to me expectantly and I nodded towards a distant cluster of trees that thickened into a forest. She rode towards it and I walked along side. I entered the woods by myself and when I could not see the town through the trees, I began to shrink myself, slowly walking back through the woods so that by the time I reached the edge, I was back to normal.

“So, why did you not shift back there?” Autumn inquired.

“Size changing is specific to my family. I am not ready for them to find me,” I commented.

“Someday, you could tell me why, if you like,” she offered. I gave a weak smile. She nodded in understanding.

I mounted my horse and we began the ride back to Graum, as the sky darkened.