Mirror "Mirror mirror on the wall, who's the fairest of them all?" In an instant, the fairy behind the glass appeared before the queen and replied with a cocky grin. "Hate to break the news to ya lady, but there's a new gal in town that goes by the name of Jac." The queen was infuriated! She made quite a ruckus tearing down the window curtains before she tossed her bubbling drink towards the mirror, barely missing it. "WHAT HAPPENED TO SNOW WHITE?!" "Well, she met up with her sister Red Rose and is now in a cabin with a bear I believe. So she's no longer in this part of the fairy kingdom, ma'am." "Good. That bear will take care of her. But WHO IS THIS INTERLOPER JACK?" "Beats me. She just came out of nowhere, like poof! And she was there." "WHERE IS THAT GOOD FOR NOTHING ASSASSIN?!" Meanwhile, Jac and her giant friend Richard were stuck in a crossroad, both literally and figuratively. "The Wizard brought us through the wrong wormhole again! " Jac fumed. "This is definitely not Never Never Land!" "Never trust a wizard to do a fae's job." Richard replied as he held, and eventually fiddled, with a shining crystal in his hands. "Don't worry, I'm on it. I can open the Tunnel of Chaos again so we can get back and start over.. If I can just... ugh! Get this artifact to work!" "Or we could try to find the right checkpoint ourselves and head over there straight away from the tunnel." "Jac, we discussed this. The last time we did that we wounded up switching sizes. I'm not going to take that risk again." "But I liked being big.." Jac pouted as she folded her arms. Just then, a rugged man wielding a knife walked up to Jac from behind. She whipped around as soon as she noticed him, the sight of the weapon in his hand caused her hair to stand on end. She was about to do a quick draw of her own weapon, when the stranger backed up and held back his blade. He had a sorrowful look in his eyes. "Oh, oh... no you're pretty." He uttered. "What?!" Was Jac's angered response. "I'm sorry. I was hired to kill you. But once again I cannot. I am a weak man." "WHA?! " At that very moment, the man was suddenly plucked up by the rim of his coat and was just as quickly brought up to the giant's face. The assassin was flabbergasted by how he failed to notice this titan before, and began to flail about wildly. "What do you want me to do with him, Jac?" Richard bellowed in an almost beastly manner. "Please!! Mister giant!! Don't eat me!!" The assassin pleaded. "No. Why would I want to do that? You look disgusting. I was thinking more like... how about I throw you over the horizon? That sounds like it would be fun, wouldn't you agree?" "Richard!! Put him down!!" Jac was folding her arms and thumping her foot. The giant then turned his head and looked upon her in disbelief. "What~? Why don't you want me to mess with him? He did just try to kill you after all." "I think I know which story we're in! We're not supposed to screw around with things, remember? Just fix the other Time Warper's messes!" "All right, all right..." The grouchy Richard turned his attention back to the shivering man in his grasp. "You promise you won't tell anyone else about this?" "OF COURSE OF COURSE! I SWEAR BY THE QUEEN'S NAME!!" "O-kay. " The Wile giant then sat the man down roughly on the grass. He then lowered himself and looked at him straight in the eyes before returning with a growling voice. "Now BEAT IT before I change my mind." The man did a complete 180 and made a beeline for the hills, all while wailing hysterically like a madman. Richard got up to his full height and brushed the dirt off his hands. "He won't keep his word. We better get outta here before all the King's horses and all the King's men come after us with pitchforks." "The usual." Jac shrugged. Not long after, after reciting the spell for the umpteenth time, at last the crystal in Richard's hands lit up a bright blue and a portal started to form right in front of the two. They could hear the telltale hollers of an angry mob in the far distance, so the interdimensional tunnel couldn't come soon enough. As what was normally the case, the hole was only big enough for a human to pass through, though that wouldn't be a problem for Richard. Shrinking down to human height is a necessary evil (in his mind) when the situation called for it. As he took Jac by the hand, the two of them jumped in at once, and they were pulled in just as the wormhole was about to close behind them. Escaped by a hair once again. Hopefully their next actual adventure won't be nearly as harrowing.Reverie Jac was walking in air. Yes, quite literally. After she stepped over a puddle, on a sidewalk paved with crayon graffiti of every color imaginable, she found the end of a rainbow. A fabled occurence, one that legends proclaim would lead to vast otherworldly kingdoms or treasures beyond the wildest dreams. Do any of these hold truth? Only one way to find out! The young woman placed her foot atop the prism of light, which caused the surface to solidify and morph in shape. Soon the rainbow arc transformed into a stairway of seven colors that appeared to reach up into the luminescent stratosphere. Jac wasted no time hopping on and she began her ascent towards the stars. "Jac..." Suddenly there was a low, echoing voice that cut through the air, it whipped and whirled pass Jac's body like a raging gust. Colorful dust started to kick around her; in turn, her body weighed down, like an enormous, unseen pressure was pushing against her. Yet not even this will take her down so easily, she'll fight against a literal storm if she has to. "I'm not giving up!" She exclaimed with true defiance in her tongue. "No matter what you say you won't keep me down!" "Jac, what the hell? Get back down from there!" "NEVER!" With a cackle and a raspberry that she aimed towards... the sky, Jac triumphantly ignored the voice without questioning it further, and carried on up the stairs. Before long, she had made it to the top of the arch, which she took great pride in by jumping around and dancing. "HA! I MADE IT! IN YOUR FACE - - Wh-WHOH!" At that exact moment, the ground beneath her began to rumble. The foundation of the magical staircase was weakening and it felt as if it was about to give way right under her feet. Sure enough, the stairs at the base of the rainbow began to break apart, effectively turning the colorful staircase into water vapor once more. Jac tried her best to marathon her way through the rest of the passage, but it was too late. "JAC!!" Down down down she fell, some ten feet, then twenty. She could see the world increasing in size in the blink of an eye before she ultimately passed out from vertigo. Immediately thereafter, there was impact. Her landing was soft, nothing too fluffy like the clouds that she ran past earlier, but leathery and warm. She slowly came to, just as she was gently being lowered into the dip of the palm that became her lifesaver. These hands would then cover her up as they folded together, embracing her on all sides. "Jac!! Wake up!!" Jac's eyes shot open. Moderate rain poured all around her as the chilling air whipped its way past the pillar of fingers she had laid against. She looked to the side to see the pavement where the graffiti rainbow was drawn, from up here it doesn't look as massive. And just in front of her was a giant sized jungle gym. It then dawned on her. "Was I... dreaming?" "Jac!! You could have gotten seriously hurt! What were you thinking!?" "I... got carried away... didn't I?" She said with a weak laugh. She looked up to see the face of her giant, and gave out a blep as a weak attempt to look cute. Richard looked angry, as well as fear-strickened, towards the tiny woman in his hands. He was trying very hard not to exclaim, though the cracks voice was enough to let her know that he nearly had a heart attack just before this. He paused to made sure nothing was broken, as he pulled her arms up gently like a ragdoll. "I'm fine." Jac said as she righted herself up in the dip of his palm. "I'm none worse for wear, as they say." "Let me guess. Did you get too much sugar into your system again?" "Uhhh..." "Jac!" "That new chocolate ball that they were handing out at the factory looked soooooo good! I just had to take a bite out of it... or four." "You can't keep eating candies made for giants! You know how dangerous it can be! Look what it almost got you!" Jac stared into the jungle gym as she tried to recall what she could remember. Blurry fragments of rainbows and the sky.. but not much else. "I must have been sleep walking hard..." "Your sugar rushes are intense Jac! If I hadn't come along, you could have been seriously hurt, or..." At this point in time, Richard was a lot more worked up than Jac was. The human tried to ease the tension by running a hand on one of his fingers. "I'm ok. The important thing is that you were here. Thanks... for saving me. And I'm sorry I made you worry." That was enough to get the Wile giant to calm down, if only by a sigh through his nose. His face still looked a tad judgmental however. "I should get you out of the rain at least. Bag, pocket, or..?" "Pocket!" Jac cuts in. "Sure thing." Without further discussion, the giant dipped Jac ever so gently into his chest pocket. She slid down into the warm felted landscape, the beating of the drum behind her also made for nice background music. Yes, a pocket without any obstructions and a seat belt for good measure was one of Jac's favorite hiding spots. "Now then. You can dream all you want in there." "It's night now. It's probably best if I can hold it off until I can get some real sleep in my own bed." "You're making sense. I like that." "Hey!" "Before then, let me treat you to a nice dinner and a movie when we get home! How does that sound?" Jac was beaming. "I'd like that. Would we get some of those chocolate vanilla shakes for dessert? Mmmm-mmm!" Richard had to sigh. "After what happened tonight? In your dreams!" "Aww! I'll behave this time! I promise!" "Not a chance!" "Aww c'mon!" This small back and forth would continue as Richard trekked towards home. Compared to what nearly happened earlier, this was a welcome calm.Moth"WAHHH! WHAT THE HECK IS THAT?!" Aiden ducked and flinched as the strange little creature fluttered around him, giving him the shock of his life. Richard stood by the shrunken Wile as he watched the ladder flail about. The sight of this was hysterical but the larger Wile had chosen to be discreet about it. "You're scared of a butterfly..." "Is this what a butterfly is?!" Aiden practically wailed. "I always thought that they were pretty little things, not murderous monsters out for blood!" Richard fell out laughing. "You're too much, you know that?" "Easy for you to say! Why don't you come down to my level and see just how terrifying this thing is with your own eyes?" Richard cracked a side grin. "I know what insects are like. Sure, they take some getting used to, especially when you realize that some of them defy the laws of physics as we Beanstalks know it. But once you can get past how freaky they are, they're not so bad... usually." "What in the world is going on here?" Jillian questioned as she walked in through the human entrance. As soon he saw her, Aiden bolted forward and made a flimsy attempt to hide behind the elf. Upon spotting what he was running from, Jillian held a hand to her mouth with endearment. "That's what the problem is?" "It was attacking me earlier!!" "It's a little white poodle moth! Such a gorgeous creature.. Why would you be so scared of this itty bitty guy?" It was obvious Jill was teasing the red head at this point. "You should have seen him earlier, he was practically being chased." Richard replied with a toothy grin. "Yeah! What he said!" Aiden cried. The moth was currently perched atop a Sprout-scaled shelf, sulking the bristles on its legs as it observed the commotion below. "Are you pulling my leg?" Jillian said. "I'm telling you! That bug wouldn't leave me alone!" Aiden then told his account while waving his arms around to set the scene. "I was here, just minding my own business. When suddenly that creature swooped down and crashed onto my head! And it kept doing it too! And no matter what I did to avoid it, it just dived and flung and loop-the-looped! I have no idea what it's deal was!" While listening to Aiden's testimony, Jillian gestured lightly for the moth to come closer to her. The insect's antennae twitched as it turned it's body towards the elf's coos and whistles. It then flew off of its resting post and swooped onto Jillian's finger. Which instantly caused the chicken-hearted Wile to hide for the nearest cover. "Aren't you a pretty little thing! Yes you are!" Jillian hummed as she hovered a finger over it. She took particular care to prevent touching any part of the moth's delicate body. Aiden slowly came out of his curled position to take a closer look, though he remained cautious. "You.. you tamed it." "Nah! These kinds of moths just feel relaxed around elves. We've had them as companion pets since ancient times so it's likely ingrained into their DNA! This one's in such prime shape too! I better work on getting it some life extension potions so I can rehome it to someone who can take good care of it." "Yeah.. you do that. So long as it stays clear away from me, I'll be... happy for it..." "Aiden. Aren't you wearing that woolly sweater?" "Um... yeah? Why?" "Well no wonder! I just found out that this is a little lady! So no, she wasn't really coming after you, she most likely just wanted to lay her eggs on your clothes." Aiden took a moment to fully process what he just heard. Before the realization settled in... and the start of a small, high-pitched scream commenced, which had increased in volume and intensity by the second. "All right!" Jillian shouted. "I'm taking her with me for now! Try to relax, will ya!" Jillian kept the moth by her side as she made her way back to her workshop. Along with getting her new charge somewhere safe, her ears needed a break as well. Aiden wouldn't dream of doing the last thing she said until the elf had shut the door behind him. It was only then that his bundle of nerves settled, if only slightly. He turned around to face the front of the giant sized desk he stood on and wondered where Richard had gone. Only to discover shortly after that the Wile giant was hunched over on the side of the furniture with a look of someone who was in pain. He immedietly exploded in laughter in spite of himself. "You're no better than Jac." Aiden pouted. "I'm sorry...!" Richard uttered before releasing the heckling maniac that he was trying his best to tie down. "If you can't handle a moth, I wonder how you would fare with other bugs? Like jumping spiders?" "Jumping what?!!" Aiden squealed. Richard almost wanted to tease him a little more, but he thought it'd be best to hold back... for now at least. After all, his friend has already had enough scares for one day.Secret“Jackie Newton? Is that really you?” Jac’s eyes shot open upon hearing that name. She turned around to see an older blonde haired woman with a large pink hat who was bent on walking towards her, much to Jac’s dismay. The young woman failed to recognize her, which immediately caused all of the alarm bells in her head to sound off. Her legs began to tremble as an unrelenting panic crept up into the deep corridors of her mind. Concurrently, Aiden stepped into the picnic area with an ice cream cone in each hand, one of which was appropriately sized for his much smaller friend. The Wile giant had arrived the moment the older woman walked up to Jac, and he thought nothing of the conversation at first. Just a friendly “how do you do” and all the casual chatter that was to be expected in a public park. That immediately changed however, when Aiden sensed the the ever bubbling terror that radiated from his human friend. Which in turn caused him to respond with a deep, guttural snarl. Jac had took notice of his low rumblings straight away, as did the stranger. “Is that…? Oh god!” The older woman backed up just as she was beginning to realize what she was potentially dealing with. A giant by themself was threatening enough, but a Wile giant was a whole nother issue altogether. “Aiden!” Jac shouted, as she put herself between the woman and the teeth baring giant. “It’s alright! She’s not here to cause trouble!” “Wa-huh?” Aiden paused just as he was leaning over the two humans, which caused the older lady to fall under the giant’s shadow. She cowered immensely from the pressure of those enormous copper eyes that stared directly at her, as she folded herself into a ball behind the more defiant Jac. “Uh, I thought…?” Aiden looked between the two several times. As he realized that he had caused the attention to shift towards him, he mellowed out instantly and stammered. “Oh! I’m sorry!! My bad.” “It’s okay.” Jac said as she patted the Wile giant on the hand that was firmly on the ground next to her. “You sensed my nervousness, and you were right to be worried about me! But I’m fine now, so try to relax!” Aiden turned to the woman, and gulped nervously when he saw her flinch at the mere notion. “Uh! I didn’t mean to scare you… uhmm…” The Wile figured that the best course of action was to back away as much as possible. He returned to the picnic mat several yards away, though he made sure to keep the two humans within his line of sight just in case. The older woman spent several minutes in a dumbfounded trance and took her time to get her bearings together. Jac rolled her eyes but did offer to help the lady back on her feet, which helped to calm the latter down considerably. “I… I can’t believe you actually tamed that… that Wile giant…” The woman finally uttered. “I don’t really care for such a condescending word. He left of his own will.” Jac spoke with a slight sternness in her tone. “Still, it was really brave of you to stand up to him! He was quite ferocious.” Jac had to hold back laughter. “Aiden’s the least ferocious Wile giant I’ve ever met! He wouldn’t hurt a fly, quite literally.” That still failed to put all of the lady’s fears to rest, though in hindsight it may have been for the best. Knowing that there was a "predatory" giant that seemed to come to Jac’s beck and call was enough to keep her from overstepping. And yet as the two began to talk once more, Jac’s wariness never fully ceased. For the woman, who had revealed herself to be a retired tax collector from Petithiem, would bring up things from Jac’s past that had made her substantially uncomfortable. Aiden meanwhile could not retain his focus on anything else as the human’s conversation continued. Perhaps most irritating for the inquisitive giant was the fact that, per Jac’s request, the rest of their discussion took on the form of near whispers. Which made it difficult for the Wile giant to hear amidst the distraction of other outdoor noises. Though even then, Aiden’s sharp hearing was able to pick up bits and pieces. This helped to fuel some of his anxieties however, but it was thankfully short lived. For just as sudden as she came, the woman had bid adieu to Jac and went on her way. Jac slowly walked up to her giant friend with a heavy look in her eyes. “How much of it did you hear?” She asked. “Not that much.” Aiden replied. “What part?” Aiden cleared his throat lightly as he lowered his palm to the ground, which Jac hopped aboard without question. “What was that lady’s deal anyway?” He whispered instead. “She didn’t even get your name right.” “She… she did.” Jac felt like she had no other choice but to explain at least the bullet points of what he had witnessed. As she was lifted up to his ear, Jac briefly gave him the rundown of her name, what it had connections with, and why the woman spoke to her the way she did. Jac made it very clear that the elder must never tell anyone else back in Petithiem where the former was today, in which the woman replied that she wasn’t planning on returning to that “stuffy old port town” if she could help it anyway, so her “secret would be kept safe.” Having the Wile giant around would insure that the older woman would make good on her promise. Aiden took all of this in without saying a word. He wanted to, but he just couldn’t find his voice after hearing this influx of eye-opening revelations. He was well aware of some of the heavier details from previous chance meetings, but it still brought a slight tear in his eye when he learned just how complicated and hard this was on his human friend. After a few minutes of processing what just happened, Jac broke the silence. “Promise me one thing. Please don’t tell anyone what happened today. We’ll take this to our graves if we have to.” “Of course.” Aiden replied softly. “Another added to the pile. But… what about Richard?” “Especially Richard!” Jac exclaimed, before she looked around and lowered her volume to a mere mumble once more. “He doesn’t even recognize the dag… err…” “I’m aware… But… but why though? Shouldn’t he of all people need to know?” “Please don’t…” Jac was in the verge of tears for a brief second before she collected herself again. “I beg of you…” Sensing the severity of the moment, Aiden quietly relented, speaking softly while gently wiping her eyes with the tip of his finger. “All right. I promise.” Relief washed over the tiny human as she fell back into the digits that were supporting her. As he brought her back up to the front of his face, Aiden smiled. Whether he agreed with Jac or not, he was much more inclined to respect her wishes if it meant that even a fraction of pressure could be lifted off her shoulders. Now that the tension had passed, the Wile giant felt that a nice cold treat was the best thing they could have for this occasion. But as he looked back at the cones on the laid out picnic cloth, he sighed. “The ice cream is probably a puddle by now. I could get you another.” “Mmmm, melted ice cream…” Jac mused, the thought of it made her relax even more. “Just what I needed today. But since you’re offering… ehh, I don’t mind seconds.” Aiden had to sigh again at that response. Not that he minded, of course.Gentle Bo stared at the potted plant for a good minute or so as the leaves quivered ever so slightly. He went to get a closer look, only to see a fraction of what appeared to be a much smaller being as they scurried to get away from sight. Bo could barely make out a figure, he could have sworn that he saw a familiar sleeve. There was only one person he knew who wore that particular hand-knitted sweater. "Rod...?" Bo uttered in the tiniest voice he could muster. The sound of his name caused the elf's ears to perk right up, as he scooted further into the cover of the leaves. "GO AWAY!!" He shouted desperately at the top of his lungs. He was pretty sure the giant couldn't hear him, but Bo was able to read the message well enough based one how intensely the leaves shook. Bo had never seen the elf in his normal five inch height. He was well aware that Rod would never show his true form out in the open, so that was enough to tell him that something was up. Bo also understood however that he couldn't just straight up talk to him upfront, as the latter would least likely trust someone so massive in his current state. The giant needed to approach this with care. After putting his thinking cap on for a moment, Bo pulled out his phone. He decided that the best solution was to make a call. In a moment's time, a faint fragment of a familiar ring tone sounded off from between the leaves. Realizing that there was no way to convince the giant to ignore this, Rod caved in and answered, though he said nothing at first. "Rod? What happened?" Bo talked not through the device in his hand, but in the same barely audible way as he did before. "Please, I want to help." After a minute of consideration, and much sighing, Rod finally spoke. "My magic just suddenly died on me. It happens when I've gotten low on energy..." "And you didn't want me to see you like this?" "I trust you as a friend. And yet.. I don't enjoy knowing that larger folks can see me in my vulnerable state... especially since, you know..." "Say no more! I can certainly see where you're coming from." Bo replied. "Even though I've never been in your position, I can figure out how uncomfortable you must be with someone like me at this time, friend or not. Although..." Bo rested his hand under his chin. "Was it your intention to be hanging around the plants?" "Um...no..." "So you're stuck..." "I can get off of this platform on my own...given enough time..." "Listen man... I know it seems like I'm the scariest thing in the world right now, but you're going to have to trust me on this one." Bo said with determination in his whispered words. "I've had to hold tiny elves and other smaller folks before. You've seen that with your own eyes! So please, let me get you out of there and into someplace more secluded. Okay?" Bo then took out a single finger, pointing it just before he touched the little pot itself. Rod looked at the digit with fear welling up in his core. He could see the fingerprints form craters on its tip; this in turn would cause the elven man to gulp, and vibrate even more. Sensing the tension from the silence, Bo did his best to remain calm for his bud no matter how much of his own nerves he had to quell. He took a deep breath from his nose, and said: "It's going to be okay. I'll be gentle. I promise." A minute passed. Then two. When it had seemed like nothing would change from this situation, Rod finally made his move. Carefully and gingerly, he placed his hands onto the warm surface of Bo's fingertip, and began to crawl. The tiny elf wrapped his arms and legs around as much of the skin he could hold onto, and he still shivered as if he was freezing despite the heat all around him. He remained silent throughout, but Bo knew from experience that Rod was about as good and ready as he'll ever be. As steadily as possible, without a single shake or sway, Bo transported his tiny passenger with his finger still extended throughout. After the initial uncertainty, Rod managed to return to his usual calm self gradually but surely. It would not be long before he began to feel grateful for this improvised ride. After all, this was certainly better than many cases of being held by other giants and even humans. Bo really did earn the title of one of the Beanstalk Society's gentlest giants. After Bo sat the elf down in front of the hole in the wall as per instruction, Rod got off sporting a weary smile. His confidence boosted profoundly once he got off of his carrier; he was relieved that this was over, but was also humbled by the events that took place. Bo noticed this as well, and had instantly released the bundled up worry he had been shouldering throughout this time. "Thank you, my friend," Rod said. "You were a great help." "Anytime." Bo chuckled. "Would you have expected any less?" Rod made a side glance to his giant companion and gave out a small grin. "Of course not." He replied. The elf would then retreat into the walls, retiring for the day and starting the process of regaining his magic as the night went on.Snowed OutWith a gentle breeze the snowflakes fell, becoming one with the sea of white that had made up the forest floor. Surrounded by the mighty cedars as she watched the powder dance and sway, Jac was reminded of a scene from a Christmas movie. A far cry from the storms that had whipped through the town the night before. Jac let out a foggy sigh. Long after the holidays have come and gone, the frosty weather had more than overstayed its welcome. In particular, Jac was left stranded outside after the previous night's blizzard, which had only validated her frustrations further. With this part of the Beanstalk Society largely buried underneath this icy menace, and her workplace being closed for the day, the young woman was left with nothing but to kill time. As she added the finishing touches to her snowman, Jac paused for a bit to admire her work. A standard effort, not too shabby. The doldrums were about to set in however, her eyelids drooping on occasion as she continued to be on the look out. If she was going to do nothing all day, then she might as well rope her best friend into this so they can spend the day doing nothing together. After all, she did happen to be staying over at his house when the blizzard passed through. For a giant like him, this was nothing that a couple of hours of shoveling couldn't fix. But any knee high snow pile for these gargantuan folk would be enough to completely engulf any dwelling within the human district, with Jac's apartment being no exception. Despite repeated reassurances from the townsfolk themselves, Jac could not help but let her mind wander. How were her neighbors doing? And what would she be doing at this very moment if she was trapped along with them? At that moment Jac had snapped back to focus as she heard a rumbling sound, a low growl that echoed in the winter air. Luckily for her, it came from a familiar voice. Sure enough there was Richard, who was making an effort to roll a massive snow ball nearly half his height up the hill. With every shove, extra clumps of snow added more to its size and weight, yet it somehow managed to maintain a perfectly rounded shape throughout. Jac couldn't help but be struck with internal laughter, for to her it appeared as though the Wile giant was pushing a mountainous boulder by the way he was panting. After what seemed like a tremendous amount of time (for the Wile giant at least) Richard brought the snow orb to a designated spot on flat, stable ground. As soon was taken care of, he immediately flopped down on his back red in the face as he huffed entire blimps worth of air in and out of his lungs. Jac clicked her tongue and shook her head, having to fight back from expressing her amusement further. "Who are you trying to impress?" Richard opened a single eye to side glance the woman as she made her way towards his head. His look held a playful glint. "I have no one to please but myself." He said in a fox-like tone. Jac was near his cheek at this time. "But why go through the trouble? You're not competing for some award or making something that could land on the cover of Better Homes and Gardens." "I'll have you know, I have good reason to make a perfectly round snowman bottom. Just... give me a minute..." Richard had to stop for a moment, for he was still recovering from exhaustion. He soon continued. "At least the hard part is over with." "If you aren't having fun, then what's the point? I made mine without using much elbow grease." Richard turned his head to the side to get a better look at Jac's creation. He watched it in silence for a good minute. "What is that?" "What do you mean what is that?" "I'm kidding! I'm kidding!" "Tell me the truth, Richard. What do you think?" "The truth...?" "Yeah! Doncha think it looks pretty good?" "It's decent." "Of course!...Wait, huh?" "Pfft" "Rich!" "I didn't say it was bad. I said it was decent." Said the giant as he perked his lips. "Ohh, go finish your own dang snowman. Let's see what you got, Biggs." With that, Richard steadily pulled himself up and back on his feet with renewed vigor. In less than a minute, his entire frame towered over the human, taller than any of the buildings in her local district. This same titan of a man gently lowers his hand with his palm face up on the snow. "Since you're not busy, do you want to tag along?" Without hesitation nor a reply, Jac climbed onto Richard's hand, and bolted for his shoulder as soon as he lifted her gingerly onto that spot. She dove straight into the loose opening between his neck and scarf, and quickly settled into the giant's warmth. With a small smirk, Richard waited for Jac to eventually poke her head out. They then began to play a little game of hers that she always does whenever she's tucked away like this. "Onwards!" Jac commanded, pointing out to the great beyond. "Aye aye, captain!" Richard replied. And off they went. . . . . . . . It didn't be long before Richard returned with the second snow clump in his hands. He stacked it atop the first, then went to work fine tuning the spherical shape as he made it appear like a shining bald head. After a while however, Jac noticed her giant had stopped moving for a few minutes. She peeked out of the shelter of Richard's scarf to investigate. As suspected, the Wile giant had already moved on to decorating the second piece with stones. "Oh? So tired that you're resorting to putting the face on his torso?" Jac teased. "No, I wanted to create a Snow Daruma instead of the standard one." "A Da..? What is that?" "A snowman based off of a Japanese wishing doll. My dad used to make them with me when I was a small kid. Ah! Wait... I need to explain that concept to you, too." "As you can see, I have time." Jac said plainly. Richard then went on in textbook dialogue about daruma facts. All this talk of a sitting Buddhist monk that the snowmen resemble and the history behind the curious paper machete dolls that also took to the monk's likeness was enough to make Jac's eyelids heavy. At least until he came to the part where he spoke of their ability to grant wishes. "-- their eyes are blank, see? So if you make a wish or set a goal in mind, you draw an eyeball on one of the daruma's eyes and place it on the shelf for the household to see." "And then the daruma helps you grant your wish?" "Yeah.. according to tradition anyway. After the wish comes true, you draw the other eye in. And send it off to a shrine to show thanks for its support." "I see. So it's like a genie." Richard's tone of voice grew disheartened somewhat. "It's not that foolproof." He reached for his pocket to pull out his phone, but stopped short after recalling his battery was nearly dead. "I could show you, but..." At this very time, something lit up like a fire in Jac's mind, a remnant of a small memory that has clicked into place. "Didn't you have a white, rounded face object on your shelf in your living room? It had a bunch of facial markings and it only had one eye!" "That's the one!" Pausing for another moment, Richard then replied with a softer expression. "I'm surprised you remembered it at all." "Of course! I can't forget that gigantic face that scared me half to death! I was nearly startled off on your shoulder that time." "For someone your size who isn't used it, I'm not surprised. I was afraid of it too before I knew what it was. When I was like, five.” Richard chuckled under his breath. "By the way, whatever happened to it?" Richard had expected this. He continued to pat down his snow daruma, as he seemingly tried his best to not let Jac's question get under his skin. "Is something wrong?" That got Richard out of his trance. "Oh? Oh. No, you see..." He hesitated a bit, as he struggled to come up with the best course of action; eventually he settled on being blunt without spilling all of the details. "I wasn't able to get my wish granted... so after a while, I gave it up." Jac gasped. That lit flame ignited into a blazing passion. "They still only had one eye, right? Why didn't you let them do their job? I'm sure that doll was working hard for you!" Those last words stung a little. If only she knew that Richard's daruma could never grant his wish. It was impossible, so it was better for him to not be reminded of it. He spent the next few minutes without saying a single word, as he covered his emotions under the illusion that he was engrossed in crafting his snow creation. Jac didn't question it, but she did finally speak when the silence became unbearable for her. "Are you okay?" She asked meekly. A half-startled Richard replied. "Huh? Yeah! I'm fine. And I'm just about to wrap this up." He knew if he changed the subject, Jac would likely forget about it, and sure enough this was the case. With a final pat, Richard backed up to give Jac a full view of his work. The girl gave the snow daruma her honest review: she had to admit, this snow person was picture perfect with two clean spheres that made up the head and body. The face was simple, yet effective with a cute emoticon-like smile. It definitely fits the bill as something you would see on a holiday postcard. And yet, Jac felt as though something was missing. "Hm?" Richard knew that look in her eyes. After a tidal wave of brainstorming, a spark coursed through the human's mind. And upon processing it, she couldn't help but give out a smile that shined brighter than any of her surroundings. She whispered into Richard's ear; since they were alone, there was no point in doing this except to get a silent reaction. And there it was, that smile was contagious. Richard spontaneously perked up the side of his lips, slightly showing his sharp canine teeth. "That's perfect." He whispered back. He made his way towards Jac's snowman and carefully lifted it up onto his palm. With precise and delicate accuracy, Richard slowly sets it down on the left shoulder of his snow daruma, adding just a tad more snow to the base of the miniature to keep the latter stabilized. The giant then backed up to let his friend marvel at this sight. The result was a perfect giant and tiny person snowmen pair. “I call it Beanstalk and Beansprout united!” "Eh, that works. Mine does compliment yours perfectly I must say." "So, Rich. Think my snowman is only decent now?" "No. Truth is, I thought my efforts were pretty decent as well. The standard round body, round head approach. Nothing fancy. I just got carried away with the first piece. But together? I think they increased both of their marks by at least a hundred percent." "You think?" "Am I wrong?" Richard turned his head to look at the young woman on his right shoulder with a smile as wide as she was tall. Noticing the giant's willingness to express his glee (something that isn't too common for the Wile these days), Jac returned with a large grin of her own. "Nope. Not at all. And I couldn't have made such a perfect work of art without ya, of course." "Likewise." So with that, the two friends continued to look at their accomplishments for some time. As the snow, while still light, was increasing by the hour, Jac watched as her thoughts began to drift away once more. Being lost in her own ponderings, she remembered something she forgot to ask Richard before. "Do Yu...um. Snow darumas? Do they grant wishes, too?" "I've never heard of it." "It wouldn't hurt to try I guess." Jac asked the giant to hold her in front of the snow daruma's face. She then clapped her hands together, before she broke the momentum and asked Richard. "Aren't you going to make a wish?" "I don't bother with these types of things anymore. Besides, I don't really have anything to wish for right now." "Ok then!" With that, Jac closed her eyes and thought about what she wanted the most at this very moment. She then reached and with a bit of trouble she pulled out one of the stones that made up the snow daruma's eye. She then handed the heavy rock to Richard, who placed it in his coat pocket without effort. The Wile giant was puzzled by this. "Aww. The snowmen look less than stellar now.." "Don't worry. I'm sure the Da-roo ma–” "Daruma." "Right. I'm sure they'll get it back soon. Sometime today, hopefully." "What exactly is this wish now?" "It's a secret." "You can tell me..." "Well...hmmmm... nah. Wanna make sure I get my wish, so I don't want to ruin it by saying it aloud.” "Suit yourself." Richard shrugged, with Jac teetering slightly on his shoulder. This got her to respond with a cheeky laugh that the Wile wasn't sure what to make of. But he chose to refrain from any further questioning about it. As the quiet snowfall continued to coat the landscape in a sea of white, the two friends continued to take advantage of this free time. Hopefully Jac will be able to return to her apartment by day's end. If not however, she would have Richard to give her a home away from home.