The most terrifying thing in the world for Bo was when Jac got seriously hurt, all because of a careless oversight on his part. After sheltering these memories for so long, he failed to understand why he was beginning to recall these events ever so vividly. The exact scenes would play over and over again in his mind, from his being late to go home due to soccer practice, to the fateful incident when he threw the ball at the human girl upclose. It was in that moment that his worldview shattered simultaneously with her bones, and he began to understand that these tiny people were much more fragile than they appeared to be.

For a good while thereafter, he wouldn't dare pick up or handle anyone human sized or smaller. But given enough time and through some encouraging words from Jac herself, Bo managed to overcome his fears and would ultimately use this lesson as a resolve to better himself as a person. The chronicles of this particular past experience had been put in the back burner of his mind for some time. So why was he having relapses now all of a sudden? As was usually the case however, the Bunyan giant kept quiet about his thoughts.

Off days were seldom had and relaxing outdoors with his little sister with no sneaky Wile giants lurking about was even rarer still. Bo wanted nothing more than to sit on the park bench and just relax without a care in the world. If only Jac would just stand still then he wouldn't have to get paranoid on keeping an eye on her, but then again that's asking too much of the energetic human.

Just as he was about to doze off, a rustling noise caught the giant's attention. It was too loud to have been a friendly Wile, yet it was too quiet to be potentially caused by a comnon giant's footsteps. He turned his head to the source of the disturbance when he spotted something off the distance on the arch of a human sized bridge. A strange, smaller person, who looked as if he was rattling something hard within his fists. Curiosity had gotten the better of the Bunyan, so he decided to approach this lad while being careful not to draw too much attention to himself.

Using a nearby bush as cover, Bo was still some ways away from the scene, but he was able to make out a figure: a boy who looked to be no more than ten years old. He was laughing and hollering at the object in his hands, swinging it around as if it were a toy. While Bo's hearing was no where near as good as a Wile giant's, the Bunyan was able to put two and two together when the sight of something on the side of the young man's hand caught the attention of the giant. His eyes widened gradually upon realizing what was going on.

A skinny tail with a turf of fuzzy hair on the end hung mostly limp from the opening between the boy's digits. The Bunyan giant had only laid eyes on this humanoid a couple of times, but he knew immediately that he was looking at a telltale sign of a Maurognome's tail. Bo was readying himself to go over there to do something about it, but as soon as he had gotten up, he froze.

He couldn't understand why this was happening. On normal days, he wouldn't hesitate to step in to try and defuse a situation like this, but this time he was low-key panicking. Once more, something else plagued his mind, a thought that was getting in the way of his efforts to stay calm and to keep his head together.

Just then, a familiar voice cut through the air like a knife.

"HEY KID! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!"

Jac stomped onto the wooden bridge, her expression was seething with rage but she tried to keep it together overall.

"I found him under my bed," the boy yelled, "he's mine! Go get your own!"

Jac was just about ready to blow her top, but she took a deep breath through her nose and continued her interrogation with as much of a straight face as she was able to pull off.

"I know a doctor," Jac exclaimed, "I've been around a few cases like this so I can tell that your 'friend' is in a lot of pain right now. So please, can I have a look at them?"

"No! I'm taking very good care of him, so he can't be sick!" The boy said as he jerked his hands away from Jac, the little gnome's tail was now dangling dangerously close to the side of the bridge. "I gave him a little house to play in and he eats a lot of snacks and stuff. I wanted to get him out in the sunshine, but he keeps trying to run away!"

"Gee I wonder why? Maurognomes can't be out in the sun for too long!"

"Mauro-wah?"

"You don't even know!" Jac sighed harshly. "Alright, hand them over."

"Why?"

"If you don't, I'll call the police."

"Wha~?"

"Maurognomes are protected! If you hurt one or have one as a pet, you could go to jail! Did you know that?"

"No...?" The boy was beginning to whimper.

"It may not be like that in other parts of the world, but this is the Beanstalk Society, and we take this sort of thing VERY seriously."

The boy had gotten nervous, not only due to this revelation but the fact that everyone else in the park had now gathered around the bridge. Feeling smaller than usual, the young man finally give up on his prized possession, hesitating frequently before Jac verbally showed her displeasure with him not hurrying things along.

The human woman opened her hands to see a middle aged gnome gasping for air. The clothes on his back as well as his carrier bag was left in tatters and he was as thin as a pencil.

"Not a moment too soon," Jac thought.

After the ambulance drove away with the Maurognome on board, Jac turned around to face Bo who had remained planted in place since the beginning of this incident.

"What's eating you?" She asked.

The smaller sister knew that Bo didn't enjoy that terminology, but she figured that would snap him out of his own thoughts.

"I really don't know myself to be honest." He finally admitted. "I never dealt with a child handling someone much more smaller before and I guess, I was worried that I might escalate things if I approached too hastily. He may not be used to giants like me after all."

"I guess that's valid."

"But you were amazing, Jac!"

"Ah, I'll admit. It was hard to stay calm. But I saw that a life was at stake, so I charged right on in."

"You're braver than me..."

"Nah, it was just circumstance. If you were human height I bet you would have done the same thing."

Jac then rubbed the giant's hand as he proceeded to lift her up. "I know you're scared of your own strength sometimes, but you're the gentlest person I know, giant or otherwise. You don't have to worry so much!"

"I saw myself in that little boy." Bo finally confessed his thoughts.

Jac paused for a moment, she couldn't believe what she just heard. "You're comparing yourself to that brat? Bro! You were much better than him even when you were his age! You had a steady hand even then and you were never rough with any of us! Sure you weren't as good as you are now, but that's the point!"

Bo paused for a bit as he began to contemplate what was said.

"I keep thinking about that accident, Jac..."

"That was thirteen years ago!" Jac shouted. "You take a lot of effort to prevent stuff like that from happening again! You're great at it! You should be proud of yourself!"

That was what he needed to hear. Bo couldn't help but be touched by those words, as he turned his head to view the spectacular start of a sunset. Yet again, Jac had made his eyes water, even though he tried his best not to let his tears drop this time.

"Thank you.." He whispered.

Jac understood that he was feeling bad, so she thought about cheering him up the best way she knew how.

"How about we get some ice cream before we go? My treat!"

Bo took a moment to gather himself again and he spoke softly after clearing his throat. "That sounds great. Remember you can't eat off of my cone. You need to get your own, little lady!"

"Not even one lick? Please?"

There was Jac with her puppy eyes again... Bo couldn't help but sigh.

"I guess one lick wouldn't hurt." He laughed.

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