FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

_ Perspective _

"Purpose of your visit?"

I'd been standing silent in line so long that I'd almost forgotten how to talk. Jet lag had my head all kinds of mashed up, too. No matter. The ultra-formal, no-nonsense crow glaring at me from behind her immigration desk fast had my brain firing on all cylinders. Mostly. "Vacation. Holiday... Visiting a friend."

She took my passport and slipped it under the reader. A green glow and a beep signalled her to turn to her monitor. "How long are you in Bolstrovo for?"

"Two weeks."

Her laser-like focus flicked to me, then back to the monitor, making sure the wolf in the photo matched the one standing in front of her, I guess. "And will you be staying here in Sturanja?"

"Uh, no... My friend lives in Valtija."

"Valtija?"

"Yes."

"Some would call that Sturanja."

"Oh... would they?" My tail tucked. I started squeezing the handle of my trolley case. "I-I didn't know--"

"And how exactly did you meet this friend of yours?"

"Online," I threw back. Fast. Maybe a little too fast. Damn. Did she start glaring at me because of that, or was I just imagining things? "We play computer games together."

She turned back to her screen again, almost allowing me the chance to glance around all the other desks here in this vast yet suffocating hall. "Are they Visoka or Maleni?"

"Uhm..." I corrected my already correct collar, swallowing a non-existent lump from my throat. "He's like... the one that's our size? Normal."

"Maleni," the agent retorted, the marginal raise of her brow the closest to an emotion yet.

"Yeah, uh, Maleni. Sorry."

The reader beeped again: a sign for her to yank my passport free and pound a brand new stamp into the centre of its very own page. Oh, thank the stars.

"Enjoy your vacation," she said, barely managing even a fraction of a smile as she handed it back with one hand while beckoning the next in line with the other.

"Thanks," I replied, tucking it into my pocket before hauling myself away from the desk as fast yet discreet as possible.

I couldn't even try to hide the enormous sigh of relief that barged its way out into the open. These steps towards the bilingual exit signs were my first on Bolstrovan soil. The security guards stationed around the opening into the baggage claim area paid me no mind. Just another tourist amongst the crowd, that was me. Following my sigh's lead, a wide grin spread across my muzzle. With security in back home dealt with, my plane boarded and disembarked, immigration and customs in Sturanja cleared, after almost half a day of travelling, I'd finally made it. My first ever Trans-Sovereign flight was over. I'd left Linvendia, Polcia behind and it all the way to Bolstrovo.

As I towed my trolley through crowds waiting for and retrieving their checked luggage, this weird cocktail of excited nervousness rushed through my whole body. I couldn't stop smiling, but the paw pulling my belongings couldn't stop shaking. Everything I'd seen so far, from the crowded customs hall to this even busier baggage claim, had looked nothing but plain. Ordinary. Normal. Heh. I knew this picture wouldn't last long.

Following the signs for the collection point, as well as the other passengers making their own ways there, my thoughts turned to Teo, the guy who'd invited me to come visit. My gut fizzed with excitement, blasting away any sense of anxiety over being an entire ocean away from home. For more than two years, ever since we'd first met while playing Charge of Heroes online, the most Teo had been to me was a voice in my headset and the occasional picture he shared. We'd spent hundreds, thousands of hours battling through dungeons and fighting enemy players together, but as close as we'd gotten, as much as I enjoyed his company during our adventures, this'd be the first time meeting the mouse in the fur.

My arms and legs began to tingle, spreading to the rest of me. How cool would it be to talk to him in person? How fun would it be to hang and do stuff with him outside the game? Oh... and with the other guys too, of course. After all, me, Teo, Emil, and Kris played most things as a quartet, but just this once, as bad as I felt for thinking it, I much preferred starting as a duet along with someone my size. Getting used to being face to face with giants, Visoka, was gonna take a little time to sit right, no question. So, as much as I wanted to meet and hang with the others, starting out easy by dealing solely with building-sized passers-by seemed like the least nerve-wracking option. Plus, both Emil and Kris had a thing for calling Teo 'Shorty' over voice chat, and in the interest of fairness, I suppose I had to expect that to start coming my way, too. Not that I minded that part so much. We all joked with and made fun of each other, but it was always in good spirits. Never nasty or personal. Either way, no matter how good-natured the ribbing might be, being the short guy wasn't something I'd ever dealt with at home. But here... there'd be no escaping the fact that to a lot of people, I was gonna be a_real_short guy.

A final sign guided me to the base of the longest, tallest escalators I'd ever seen. Longer even than those at the deepest subway stations back in Tawmouth. I waited my turn to hop onto one of the moving steps, huddled up close to those ahead and swamped by the sensation of all those piling aboard right behind me. Body heat radiated while a dozen of conversations in almost as many languages floated through the air. Nothing for me to do but to cling onto my bag, turn to the white wall beside me, and wait to make my painfully slow ascent.

Counting cracks and admiring imperfections fast became a hobby as that otherwise blank wall carried on scrolling. The odd raised voice and bout of distant laughter sent an ear flicking here and there, but otherwise, not even tallying up splits in the plasterwork could stop me drifting off halfway to space. Boring. Even more than the crappy selection of movies they had available on the plane. No matter. At least this'd only last a minute or two. Gods, they could've put a bit of colour on these walls. Maybe some pictures to give people something to look at during this mountain climb. Something to look at... I guess something like fate or similar must've read me like a book in that instant.

That sea of whiteness gradually rolled out of view, replaced instead by the bold shimmer of glass and metalwork. A few seconds passed, in which time that metal gave way to a floor. Tiles. Feet. _Big_feet. Feet as long as I was tall. I stopped my drift off into space and fell back down with a bump.

A crowd even thicker than the one squeezed onto this escalator swarmed in all directions, thumping through the terminal building. Giant legs took giant steps, moving at speed, some towing trolley bags that resembled my own, albeit the size of a damn house!

Instinct had me craning my neck up as high as I could, peering towards the very top of this dizzyingly tall window. Even so, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't spot a thing beyond a thick forest of thighs and tails.

On this side of the glass, raised voices grew both in number and volume. Above and below me, it was easy to pick out the tourists from the locals, like the leopard pointing and grinning away with his panther friend, using their phones to snap off upshot photos of a towering portly rat in a business suit. Meanwhile, the shaggy-furred ferret standing behind them appeared entirely uninterested, slowly bobbing away to the music playing from his headphones. As for me, I was somewhere in between. This was amazing, no lie. These Visoka were as tall as the birch trees outside my apartment building, sending faint but noticeable trembles underfoot as they stomped along beyond the window. But at the same time, as the escalator carried me higher, to their knees, then towards their waists. I could see more of them all. More of their expressions, their mannerisms. More of what made these super huge people... people all the same.

Straight ahead, through the crowd, I caught a pair of raccoons stopping dead in their sizeable tracks, the guy patting himself down frantically, calling out to the girl who'd been walking alongside him. He looked like he'd seen a ghost, blurting out something with a hanging jaw and wide eyes. She on the other hand looked totally unmoved, pointing casually to the rucksack on his shoulder. The guy blinked, reaching back to rummage through it for a moment before looking to the ceiling and letting go of a visible sigh of relief. He pulled out his passport, showing it off with splayed ears and an awkward grin, winning a shake of her head and chuckle, followed by a rub at his arm as passers-by filtered all around them. Phew, crisis averted.

Everyone back home made such a big deal of the size difference, acting as if places like Bolstrovo were some distant, scary, alien world where you needed to be on your guard at all times. I suppose I understood the sentiment. On first thought, being around people you barely stood ankle-high with didn't sound like the smartest idea. But after actually going through with the trip, seeing all of this with my own eyes, pushing through the initial shock to the system, there was nothing scary about all this. Hell, scared? I was excited! Hanging and chilling with my friends, both bigger _and_smaller, was gonna be reality for the next two weeks. Bring it on!

Once free from that escalator, moving away from that window to the world outside, I pretty much ran the length of the dull, empty corridor that led me to where the collection point started. The narrow white walls and low ceiling all gave way at once, opening into a space so bright, loud, and sprawling that it jolted me just as much as the shock I'd had while riding up the escalator.

A few people swerved past me, cutting a beeline towards the waiting crowd massed behind a set of railings ahead. This place was packed out. Busier than the line for immigration, even. One by one, I watched everyday people welcome their friends and families, hugging, smiling wide with perked ears and sweeping tails. At the same time, people dressed to the nines in suits and ties stood statue-like, holding up name signs printed with various company logos. Damn, it felt like everyone and anyone was out here waiting... Well, almost everyone.

I took a stroll towards the crowd, allowing a few more of my fellow arrivals to race on past me. Through all the chaos, I made the best scan I could of the area, searching for a familiar face in a sea of many.

The bubbling in my gut I thought I'd left in the queue for immigration returned, forcing yet another tucking response from my tail. My first scan ended in failure, as did my second. Slowing to barely a shuffle, I felt awfully isolated in the big, wide open as I started a third search. It was hopeless, though. Teo wasn't here, or at least, he hadn't made it yet. I stopped, figuring it smart not to wander off too far. After all, this arrivals area was the only part of this entire place that I could consider even close to familiar. No sense in getting myself lost before I could find him.

More and more people greeted and reunited with one another, leaving me hanging as very much the odd one out. Alone. Don't freak, I told myself, rubbing and pressing at my grumbling stomach in the hope of settling it. Teo had said he'd be there, so he'd be there... No need to panic... Maybe he was just running late.

'I'm here. At collection point. Are you here yet?'

I hit send, holding my breath for the few seconds my phone thought about whether or not to connect with the local network. While I waited, I re-read the last text message that Teo had sent me, unable to resist a smile at the excitement packed into something as simple as 'Safe flight! Ya almost here :3'.

Message sent, I decided to try and distract myself from all the noise and activity around me, taking a moment to swipe away the automated 'Welcome to Bolstrovo' and 'Your clock has been updated' notifications that had popped up during my walk to the immigration hall. In the process, a third message flashed up to grab my attention. One that I was far less keen to brush away.

'I'm here! Waiting for ya.'

"What?" I blurted out loud, head throwing itself into a tilt. That message read as if it were in a foreign language for all the sense it made to me. The question I had to throw back was obvious. 'Where? Can't see you.'

Teo came back to me almost instantly. 'Look other way.'

My brain blue-screened hard. I had a tough time getting it up and running again in time for his followup.

'Right behind ya... ;3'

That damn near sent my head spinning right off my shoulders. Behind me? It took way longer than it should have to process that, surrounded by the chorus of voices and gate announcements echoing around this place... From all directions.

I jerked and twisted around, slammed by the realisation that there'd been a whole different side to this collection point the whole time I'd been standing there. A whole separate bunch of people dragged themselves and their bags up a short, shallow slope, heading towards a different guardrail entirely.

I gawked down at my phone, then back up again. That guardrail... I doubted it'd do much to hold back those waiting on the other side, resembling as it did a shiny steel belt around the waists of most. Standing high above it, I watched what I figured were a family of giant-sized foxes wave frantically, all smiles for the smaller fox half-jogging up that slope towards them. Next to them, a huge wall of a beaver bent down beyond that hopelessly outmatched guardrail, scooping up and hugging a way smaller skunk deep into his chest. This scene... I'd never seen anything like it--

"Hey!" someone called above the rumble of the airport. "You gonna stand there all day, Josh?"

I turned further, fully facing that giant crowd. Peering up, I fast found a mouse with a familiar pointed white snout, their large, stud-pierced ears perked high above a brown-furred face wearing the biggest, widest grin I'd ever seen. Literally. "...Teo?"

"Expecting someone else?"

My legs twitched, planning on starting up that slope. My head urged them to wait. "...Kinda."

"Oh?" That grin twisted into a smirk. "How so?"

"You..." My focus flashed to a few of the other Visoka standing and milling around him. None were paying us much mind. "...Never said you were a... _bigger_guy."

"Ya never asked."

"...Huh?"

"I said, ya never asked if I was Visoka." He gestured for me to come closer. "C'mon! Do I gotta be shouting like this all day?"

"But... I'm confused."

"Why?"

"The guys... They've always called you 'Shorty'."

"Yeah?" His teeth came fully on display. They only frizzled my fur a little. "I mean, I _am_shorter than them. Comes with being a mouse."

"...Guess so."

"C'mon, man." He beckoned me harder. "It's me!"

That voice, his face and fur patterning, the loose, relaxed way he spoke such great Polcian; he _was_Teo... Except probably enormous enough to stuff me entirely in his pocket.

"Josh, honestly, I've only got an hour on my parking ticket. Get on up here!"

I allowed my legs to move, starting up that slope to close a slither of the... considerable height difference between us. I kept watch on him the whole time, combing every detail, processing and comparing him to the skinny, 'small' brown mouse I'd seen in those pictures he'd sent me. Gods, what a mind melter.

"Speaking of 'Shorty'," he said. "I'm gonna be glad to have someone around that I can start calling that."

I only half-heard him, what with how lost I got in my analysing. The crest of that slope seemed the best place to stop again. A few steps away from the railing, but still deep beneath his sprawling shadow. Whether it came from how high I had to look to see him properly, or just the sheer shock of his size, a dizziness had me so twisted that I needed my trolley bag just to stop from stumbling all over myself. "...Why didn't you say?"

"Say what?"

"That you were big... Visoka."

"Hey, I was gonna, but..." He shrugged. "Once ya agreed to come visit, talking about how cool it'd be to tag along with me in a place full of giants, well..." He flashed his teeth again. "I couldn't resist keeping it to myself, just to see the look on your face when ya got here."

"Huh...?"

"Yeah!" He jabbed out a fist-sized fingertip, forcing me into a backward step. "That's the one! That's the face."

"...What?"

Teo snorted hard, turning over and cupping his paws together. "Okay, dopey. Wanna hop in?"

"Hop in?"

"Yeah." He dipped his snout towards them. "Tsk, to carry you, man. I guarantee it'll be quicker than walking, even with all them Maleni pathways rolling 'round back down there."

Did he want an answer? Wait... what was he asking me again? Stars above, it was a battle just to take this all in. Teo... he looked just like he did in the pictures I'd seen, but... way harder to see all at once.

"Hey..." He stopped his grinning. "Honestly, are ya good?" His paws moved towards the railings. "I know this is probably hitting like a surprise."

"It is!"

The corner of his mouth rose. He peered back over his shoulder. "Suppose all this _is_kinda weird for a Polcian to see for the first time."

I shifted around to peer past his skinny yet massive frame as best I could, catching a glimpse of all the people, from normal to enormous, shuffling around the arrivals hall together as if it were nothing. "Got that right."

"It's cool, I get ya." He found that super-wide smile all over again. "But ya don't need to be nervous or anything, okay? I'm still me... just maybe a little taller than you expected?"

"Only slightly," I spat through a scoff. "Mate, I told the border agent that you were a Maleni."

"Oh, no, really?" Mouth wide, Teo slapped his cheek. "Ya best come on then. We gotta get our tails outta here before they come to throw you on the first flight back to Linvendia."

"Oh, we're doing sarcasm, are we?"

"Just a whole lotta it, yeah."

"Pfft." My head started to clear. Instead of using my trolley handle for support, I snatched it into my grasp to pull it along for the ride. "I've told you before. Bolstrovans are no good at it."

"You'll be happy to hear I spent all day practicing, just to prove ya wrong."

"That's a day wasted then."

"Hurr, hurr, funny." His cupped paws came down again, open and ready for me. "Your opinion means so very much to me."

"Okay... Half wasted."

"Ah, just pipe down and get on up here."

I'm sure anyone that might've been listening in would've questioned the way we were speaking to each other. But to me, and to Teo too, I'm sure, it was like being at home on our voice comms. For the first time in my life, I used a friend's fingertip as a step. The way his skin squished slightly underfoot was a trip. Almost as big as the one I nearly took face-first into his palms.

"Heh, careful."

"Oof." I caught my balance with a helpful tilt of his paws, pulling my bag along with me. "What was that I kicked?"

"My other finger."

"Oh right..." I settled down into a seat. "Unfortunate and completely accidental, I'm sure."

"It was!"

"Sure."

"Ah, whatever, man." His fingers curled into an unexpected backrest as he lifted me to his chest and towards his smirk. "Anyway. Now you're here in one piece, how does grabbing some dinner sound? It's past nine o'clock and ya gotta be starving."

"It's only five back at home, but yeah, dinner sounds good."

"Only if ya wanna," he shot back.

"No--"

"Don't make me force ya."

"I didn't--"

"I mean I'm sure the food on the plane was oh so goodthat ya just couldn't resist filling up on it."

"...Are you done?"

"Pretty much." His tongue tip poked out at me. "Just making the most of today's sarcasm practice is all."

I couldn't stop from grinning. "Well, if you heard me from all the way up there, I said that dinner sounds good."

"I heard ya fine..." Teo flashed me one in return. "From _all_the way down there."

"Good."

"It is." His chunky thumb bumped the side of my shoulder. "Let's get going."

I needed a moment to find my bearings. See, when I stepped off that plane, the very last thing I expected to end up doing was riding around in my friend's paws, high above a floor that I plain refused to look down at. As he turned, I leaned. As he started to pad forwards, I was jolted forwards in kind. Around us, giants wandered in all directions, the combination of their sharp scents and rolling, rumbling sounds helping to overload my senses. Even in Teo's grasp, I felt awfully exposed. Maybe he sensed it, too, moving me up towards the pocket of his green denim jacket as he did.

As packed and as overwhelming as that bustling terminal was, it wasn't until we headed outside into the cool spring night air that things truly began to twist me up.

From the ship-like coaches that were rolling through the pickup area, to the street lights, tall as office buildings, shining down on us from way up high. Everything was... stars above, so fucking huge. I had no other way of putting it. Impressive. Intimidating. How much more would it have been if I hadn't been travelling along in Teo's chest pocket?

All the while, people of all species crossed our path, heading towards waiting vehicles with their bags and trolleys in hand and tow. Unlike back in the terminal, I couldn't make out anyone my size in the area. I wondered where the others that arrived on my flight had gone after heading to the smaller-sized section of the collection point. They must've taken a completely different path. A few hundred people couldn't just disappear--

"Hey!"

"Huh!?" I jumped from the barking, then again from the solid poke at my stomach through Teo's jacket. "W-What?"

"I was asking, what you're feeling for food?"

"...Eh?"

He pulled his finger away, teeth shining as bright as the lights passing above us. "What. Are. You. Feeling. For food?"

"Right--"

"You guys gave us Polcian. I figured ya could all speak it at least."

"I speak it fine," I snapped back, puffing out my cheeks as my heart rate dropped towards normal. "I'm..."

"You're, what?"

A mountain of a white bear brushed past us, pounding the pavement with two massive sports bags, each the size of my car back home, dangling from his fists. The noise was incredible, step after crashing step echoing between the terminal and the traffic. I had to poke at my ears to double-check this Normaliser I'd put on back on the plane was working.

Teo glanced down at me. "Still trying to take this all in, huh?"

He sounded normal at least. These trippy earpieces must've been up and running after all.

"So?"

"Hmm?"

His hard scoff cut through the noise. "Dinner, Shorty! Whatcha wanna eat?"

"Oh." I rubbed under my muzzle. "Uhm... I don't mind."

"C'mon, gimme at least a little input, won't ya?"

"I just did."

"Ya didn't."

"I said I don't mind."

"That's not input."

"It is."

"You've got yourself 'til we're back at the car to decide."

"I have."

"And?"

"I don't mind."

He huffed with enough force to ruffle up my headfur. "Are ya looking to walk your way back to Valtija?"

"Maybe. How far is it?"

"About forty minutes by car. But with those little legs of yours... ya might make it in time for me to drive you on back here for your flight home."

"Sounds like a challenge to me." I swung an elbow back to nudge him in his chest. "Put me down and we'll see."

Teo stopped fast, slinging me forward into the padding of his pocket. I barely got the chance to bounce before I had his fingerpad bumping me in the stomach, casually pushing me back against him. "Man, it's so awesome to have you here in the fur. Seriously. Real cool."

"It's cool to be here." I leaned over to the side, peering up past his grin to look at him directly. "Thanks for having me, mate."

"No sweat." His smile softened. "Well hey, I was thinking of something quick and dirty like a Q-Burger or something, or... Something more Bolstrovan, but it might be a little late for that today."

"Q's works for m--"

"-Oy!-" Teo's big ears jumped up like crazy, blue eyes wide open, looking like he'd just won the lottery or something. "I was gonna wait 'til Emil and Kris were around, but if you can wait for us to make it back to Valtija, there's a place I wanna take you where you'll get the best burger you've ever had!"

"Bold claim."

"It's true! Swear on my life." He whipped out his TV-sized phone, giving me a front row seat to him jabbing 'Papa Djoko's' into a search bar. "And... Nice! It's open 'til midnight, so we've got plenty of time. Whatcha say? You won't regret it."

"Told you, I don't mind."

"Oh for-- -Blin-, man!"

"Damn? Why damn?"

"Because!" Teo growled, shaking his head with a heavy hack of a chuckle. "After all that selling, ya 'don't mind'. Really!?"

"Okay, sorry." I made a point of clearing my throat, loosening up my shoulders. "That legit sounds _amazing_and we should _totally_do it. Right now. This instant."

"Why thank you!" He slipped his phone away, revealing the sprawling, semi-dark car park that we'd turned towards. "I'm so very glad to have you onboard."

"Don't mention it."

"Gods," he spat. "I didn't think ya could bug me any more than when ya head AFK unannounced during a raid, but here we are."

"Gimme some time. I'm just getting warmed up."

Teo scoffed, grinding a rough, ear-flattening, head-dipping finger through my headfur. "Dick."

I fixed my fur up with something that hopefully resembled a laugh. This was a headfuck of proportions epic enough to rival even Teo. He had to be like... I don't know how tall, but while we joked and jabbed at each other, like normal, he carried me around like I was something to go along with his phone and wallet. A portable-sized wolf. Mate, this whole picture tripped me out so hard that it almost blinded me to the toothy smile flashing down my way. One that lasted the whole walk to his car, and continued as we began the drive back to Valtija.

By the time we rolled up to that burger place Teo had been bigging up, I felt like I'd begun to get to grips with Bolstrovo. Sort of. Things weren't weird, not really. Just... if I wasn't riding in the pocket of a friend I'd expected to be the same kinda height as me, I was riding along in a tiny fold-out seat in the passenger side of his car. Still, while I might've been rivalling his gear stick in height, we did spend the whole drive chatting about all things normal.

We reminisced over all the good times spent playing Charge of Heroes with Emil and Kris, the other guys in our gaming group, going right back to the beginning two years prior, when I was still finishing up university. Teo reminded me of those early days, back when we stayed up until 5am Bolstrovan time hopelessly looking for a way to pass over the Redpeak Mountains to Bandit's Coast. A day or two later, after hours spent exploring in vain, we headed back to Malaban Harbour, only to find the big ship waiting to sail us there across the bay.

After that, I brought up more recent adventures with the clan we'd all joined together, like clearing Coldcrest Abbey, the final dungeon, without a single boss wipe. Right from the start, before we'd even cleared that place for the very first time, I had my eye on the super good Staff of the Thaumaturge that dropped from the last boss. But, knowing how desperately one of our clanmates wanted it, and the fact that they'd been trying and failing to since before New Year's, in a moment of Friday night-inspired generosity, I decided to step aside and let him take it instead.

"Man, the squeal he made over voice chat when ya gave him it was priceless," Teo said with a chuckle.

"I'm still not sure if he was speaking Polcian or Velikan," I replied.

"It's Tomastorm, so it might have been Vodak... Heh, or more likely, just total jibber."

As fun as it was to travel down memory lane together, face to face, kinda, I couldn't help wondering how the scenery outside looked. After all, I was in a brand new place, on a whole different scale from anything and everything I'd ever seen back home. Just what was I missing beyond that giant window above? What weird and wonderful sights were blocked off by the passenger-side door? Probably not much, I reasoned to myself. It was nighttime after all, which meant all I'd likely see outside would be the darkened verge of a highway whizzing by. Either way, by the time 10pm rolled around, I forgot all about the giant sights and sounds of Bolstrovan countryside that I might've missed, eyes only for the red and green neon soaking the car park that we'd pulled into. Not to mention a nose for the sweet smell of grilling meat and frying onions once Teo helped me out into the open.

"This is the place," he announced, lowering me back into the increasingly familiar warmth of his jacket pocket. "If ya turn 'round and tell me you've had a better burger anywhere else, I'm telling ya now, you're lying."

"Do you work on commission for this place or something," I jibed back at him. "I'm starting to feel like if it doesn't knock me off my feet, I'll be asking for my money back."

"No chance of that, I promise ya!"

Leaving him to carry us the rest of the way across the green and red tarmac, I took a moment to take in our surroundings. Beyond the other giant-sized cars parked out here, I noticed so much more. I noticed... everything. From the trees dividing the lot from the street, standing even taller than the riverside office towers back in Tawmouth, to the single floor houses that rivalled the seven or eight-storey apartment blocks of the complex I lived in. Even further beyond, a million lights dotted and blanketed the bases of the surrounding hills, thinning out as those hills turned to mountains that blackened an already darkened sky. It all left me speechless, as stupid as that sounds. Simple trees and houses... like none I'd ever seen before. Everything was so utterly, overwhelmingly gigantic, stretching on and on in every possible direction. Gods, I don't think I'd ever felt so outmatched before. For sure, I'd never felt so small! My gut bubbled in the weirdest way, fingers tingling as I grabbed and clung to the top of Teo's pocket. I remembered to breathe sometime after, retracing a scent that got my stomach grumbling for a whole different reason.

"All good?" Teo asked with a cock of his head, stopping under the awning covering the burger shop's entrance. "Ya look like someone swiped your loot from a raid boss."

"I... Fine, I'm fine."

"Ya sure?" He snorted. "Don't sound like it."

"Yeah, it's just all... so..." I peered straight ahead at the door, focusing in on a sign that I assumed said 'Welcome to Papa Djoko's' in both Polcian and Velikan right above. "...different."

"Wait 'til we get inside and grab something," he called, tugging the door handle. Heat blasted and washed over me, followed by an aroma ten-times stronger than what I'd sampled outside. "_Then_you'll get exactly why this place is different."

When Teo made that suggestion to me, I figured he'd thought I'd been staggered by the restaurant rather than _everything_else around it. As it turned out, once we'd strolled past tables filled by Visoka diners towards the big open kitchen, he might've seen what was coming.

We ended up taking a table for two roughly central in the diner. To be more exact, it was a table for two Visoka-sized people with another normal-sized table on top of a paper mat. Maybe Teo set me down in a hurry, or maybe it was the contrast between two identical yet very different tables ahead and below, but I followed my first step onto paper with a couple stumbling sideways.

"Hey..." Teo called after me from above and behind. "Ya cool?"

"I'm cool," I shot back, like a reflex. Grabbing the table for support, I pulled myself around it so fast that my feet scrunched a hole into the place mat, hurtling into the seat facing both Teo's stomach ahead and his creeping smirk above. "...What?"

"Cold?"

"I... What?"

He started to unbutton his jacket, showing off his front teeth. "Ya can take yours off too, if you wanna."

"Oh. Right. Yeah..." I grabbed the collar of my coat in one paw and snagged the zip with the other, squirming my way out of it as if someone had doused it in petrol and tossed a match my way.

"Are ya sure you're cool, Josh?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." I needed a second try to claw the laminated menu up from my table. "Just, uh... hungry. Been a bit since I had that sad, soggy ravioli on the plane."

"We're in the right place to fix that," he replied proudly. "Everything comes in big portions here."

I took a second look down at my menu, stomach churning over the prospect of my first proper meal in a day. It only took as far as reading, or rather _not_reading, the very first line for my head to start spinning all over again. "Uh..."

"Sup?"

"It's all in Velikan," I mumbled. "Everything. Not even any pictures to help."

He started snickering, waiting for me to crane my neck all the way up before making a twirling gesture with his finger.

I didn't clock what he meant right away, but in time, I followed his lead and flipped the menu over. My head sank along with the rest of me. Reading a menu in perfect Polcian, I felt even smaller than I must've looked sitting atop this table. "...Thanks."

"Anytime, man."

Teo left me to browse what this place had to offer, working his large self out of his own larger jacket. Even with my stomach still rumbling in anticipation of a nice, fat burger, helped along by the constant, mouthwatering aromas wafting from the busy kitchen, I couldn't stop my attention creeping towards the low rumble of conversation rolling all around us.

I looked up from my strange menu and my weird table, glancing around and taking in as much of this place as I could. Putting aside the fact that everything_and_everyone_here was just so godsdamned _huge, I did my best to focus on and admire what I could see of the equally massive decor from my small tabletop seat. This here was a real slick place, positioned somewhere between trendy and laid-back. Brown bricks made up the interior walls, though they were tough to see past all the black and white pictures of busy streets and random buildings from days gone by. Dotted around them, I also spotted a bunch of framed newspaper articles from far more recent times. Written in Velikan, I didn't have the faintest chance of understanding them, but from the pictures of smiling staff they included, it wasn't the biggest assumption to think they featured positive news and reviews of this place.

As much as there was to admire, the decorations couldn't keep me distracted for too long. All those giants sitting at the tables around us made real sure of that. Closest to us were a lioness and vixen, apparently chatting away about something hilarious. At the next table over, right under a picture of some tramcar passing an old produce market, two well-built huskies munched away on whopping great portions of food stacked atop their enormous plates, thick paws grasping steak knives almost as big as me. Ahead of them at a tabletop table resembling my own, a Polcian-sized coyote and jackal weren't holding back from tucking into their own far smaller servings.

All of them, every single person, sat around acting like everything was... normal. Maybe it was tiredness from such a long day, maybe it was the toll taken from everything I'd gone through during it, from rushing for an early morning train to coping with airport security, but either way, my aching head was ready to sign off for the night.

"Seen anything ya like the look of?"

Teo's sudden question sent me twitching in my seat. "Hmm?"

"For food, man. Anything look good?"

"Oh..." I flashed another glance at my well-used menu, barely making it past 'Papa Djoko's' at the top before peering up to be blindsided all over again.

My lower jaw froze half-open. I took him in as he sat tall, real tall, in the chair opposite mine. His t-shirt resembled a black cliff face, topped by a trace of his white chestruff peeking over its collar. Higher still, a bright smile shone along with his blue eyes, large ears perked towards the ceiling so far above. Altogether, I swear they had my seat on this table sinking and shrinking by the second.

"What?" His head tilted. "Sup?"

"I--uh..." I grabbed my menu in both paws, but still, I couldn't pull myself away from the sight of him. Even when seated, even with me there atop the table, he completely overshadowed me. "...Nothing."

Another moving cliff appeared to my right, sending me jolting left in my seat. With big, clapping footsteps, a giant otter stopped at our table, speaking fast and completely unintelligibly. His massive webbed paw moved towards his red apron, diving in to pull a tablet the size of my computer desk at home from its front pocket. He blurted something else in what must've been Velikan, peering down at me in wait for an answer. My fur frizzed like crazy, eyes darting, chest tensing. I wondered what to get anxious about first.

"We're good thanks," said Teo, switching things back to something far more understandable. "How are you?"

"Busy tonight," the otter replied in his own lightly accented Polcian, turning Teo's way. "But, ah, I can't complain."

"Good stuff."

He came back towards me, readying that big tablet with a few heavy jabs of an overgrown finger. "My name's Neven and I'll be taking care of you both this evening."

All this head craning had my neck going stiff. Still, I managed to glance up high enough to catch most of his smile. "...H-Hey there."

"How about we get you started with some drinks?" He peered down past his tablet, the corner his mouth creeping upwards. "Sound good?"

"...Sure." The waiter paused at my answer. It took me far too long to realise why. "Oh! I, uh..." I snatched up my menu again, tail curling around the leg of my chair while I tried my hardest to find the drinks section. "I'll have..."

"Ya gotta try one of their sodas," Teo suggested. "They're made local. Real good. The blackberry one's my favourite."

"Blackberry soda? ...That's a thing?"

"For sure... 'course." He looked at me kinda sideways. "Not in Polcia?"

"No," I tried to reply, managing barely more than a croak instead. My throat was drying out by the second. "...Not in Linvendia at least."

"More reason for ya to try it then!" Teo turned to the waiter to confirm, "Two blackberry sodas, please."

"Great choice," answered the otter, jabbing at his tablet.

"And a water," I called as loud and as clear as I could. "Please."

"Sure thing. I'll bring a couple of jugs for your tables." After a few more claw taps, I expected him to head back towards the kitchen. As it turned out, I couldn't rest easy just yet. "If you'd like, guys, I can take your food order now, or I can come back if you'd like more time?"

"Well I know what I'm getting," Teo said, gesturing a paw my way. "Ready if you are."

I squeezed and crumpled the menu's laminate all over again, tail tip batting at the underside of my seat. For the first time, I made it past the name of this place to the burgers themselves. The air got warm, starting me panting and tugging at my shirt collar. A burger was a burger, right? I'd take my chances on that just to be able to breathe easy again. "Uh, yeah. Ready too."

I tuned out hard from Teo's confident start at ordering for himself, sinking even lower towards the menu in my paws. A burger was a burger, I'd convinced myself... just not at Djoko's.

From sauces and toppings, right down to the buns and meat rubs, you could customise absolutely _everything_into who knew how many combinations. I tried to search for some 'ready-made' options to make my life easier, but they were nowhere to be found. Guh, trying to make sense of this wall of text got so tough, I had to check I wasn't reading from the Velikan side of the menu again. If only.

All that choice had me grabbing at a clump of my headfur, my mind twisting itself into knots to rival those created by all these giants packing the place. I should've asked for more time. I should've tried to focus more on the menu rather than the people sitting around us. Beyond that, I lost my trail of thought so bad that I started to wonder if they had a separate, normal-sized area for people like me to sit.

Before I got the chance to peek around and feed my curiosity, I found myself back under the shadow of our big otter waiter. I jolted in my seat all over again, doing what I could to look as casual as possible as he crouched down to bring his big smile and even bigger teeth towards my level. "...And what can I get for you, my friend?"

"...Huh?"

"Whatcha wanna eat?" Teo called with a snicker that sent my tail lashing and curling around my leg.

"Oh. Yeah. Sure." I threw my muzzle back towards my menu. It hadn't got any easier to make sense of. "...Uh. It all looks so good. Tough to pick."

"I know," our waiter replied with a sweetness to his voice that helped settle my fur. "There's a lot of choice. You wouldn't be the first to struggle, I can tell you."

"Good to know." I managed a smile, I think.

"I can recommend something if you'd like?"

"Sure! Uh, please."

"Alright," he said with a chuckle. "You wanna go for the mustard-fried patties, then top that off with Meerlander cheese, minced onions, pickles and our Beachfront Signature Sauce. Get it along with the thick cut spicy fries and you can't go wrong."

I heard everything he said but took in less than half of it. My head had gone from spinning to twisting to throbbing. That whole conversation needed to be over right there and then. "Yeah, yeah, I'll take that."

"Great choice." The otter poked away at his tablet. "That's my favourite, and I reckon it'll fast become yours too."

The spotlight left me, allowing me a moment to sit back in the shade and not to sweat stuff. I almost got comfortable in my fur again. Too bad my mind couldn't help picking at itself.

I turned away from our waiter, and our table, peering off towards that table under the old marketplace picture. The giant huskies were still eating with their normal-sized friends, all with their own plates, glasses and all that, but I began to wonder if what the smaller 'yote and jackal were eating had started off their size, too. After all, Teo did mention how this place offered 'big portions'.

My brain raced back up to top speed, begging and screaming at me to ask what I knew was a dumb as a rock question. I tried to resist, but my thoughts were deafening to the point where I just had to throw a paw up at our waiter and cry, "Hey. Excuse me... sorry."

"Hmm?" I caught the otter halfway up to fully-standing. "Can I get you something else?"

"No, uh... I just wanted to check something with you." I hacked my parched throat clear. "The burger... Will it be regular-sized?"

His round ears twitched along with the corner of his mouth. Eyes narrowing, they darted towards his tablet then back to me. "Sorry, I don't understand... It comes with two patties, as standard--"

"No, I mean... Will mine be a Polcian-- uh, Maleni-sized one?"

Teo grunted so hard that he bumped the table beneath mine, following up with a heavy snort into his fist. I couldn't say I appreciated it, but at least he piped up to explain things. "He's visiting from Linvendia. First night here."

"Oh!" The waiter's crooked smile had me expecting another laugh at my expense. "That's cool. Welcome to Bolstrovo."

"...Thanks."

"And yes, everything here is available in Maleni or Visoka portions. Don't worry about that."

"They won't bring out a big-sized burger for ya, shorty," Teo jeered. "They'd never fit it on that tiny table of yours for one thing!"

I sank the lowest into my seat yet, glaring at my menu while I felt my cheeks and ears go warm. Gods... I wished so badly for the conversation to end there.

"Okay then..." The waiter grabbed Teo's menu, then took mine between his finger and thumb. "I'll go grab those sodas and get the burgers going for you guys."

As the otter left us to stomp off towards the kitchen, the shadow over my table lifted and cleared. Mostly. I still had Teo sitting across from me, keeping up his grinning and snorting, pressing me so low in my seat that I wondered if I'd slip right off it. I wished I still had that menu to keep my attention.

"That's too good," he squealed past a drawn-out round of chuckling, wiping something from his eye. "Oh... I'm picturing ya stumbling around, heh, wrestling a burger almost as big as ya in both arms. Man... way too funny."

"It was just a question," I muttered into my chest. Glaring at the table didn't make him any quieter.

"Sorry to break it to ya, but your soda's gonna be Maleni-sized, too." He hit me with yet another bark of laughter. "Don't expect to go swimming in your glass."

"I'm not!" My voice got sharper. "And I'm not _that_small anyhow."

"Did ya not read up before you came over?"

"Read up? On what?"

"About how things work here."

"I_know_how things work here."

"But not enough not to think ya might get pinned down by your own dinner."

"Maybe I wouldn't be thinking on it so much if you were as big as I thought you were." I looked up the moment I finished snapping my tongue at him. His perked ears told me I had his full focus. Too bad it wasn't enough to stop his damn chuckling.

"If I _was_Maleni, you'd have still been freaking about the size of stuff..." He snorted again. The loudest yet. "Like whether you'd be able to fit a Visoka-sized ticket through the train doors."

I sucked the back of my teeth, ears flattening, glancing down then around the diner. At least he hadn't attracted the attention of anyone else around us.

"Never mind how you'd even work a regular-sized ticket machine... Hah, you'd need a pretty big ladder."

"Quit it," I mumbled, face so warm that it could've probably grilled those burgers we were waiting on.

"Ah, you shoulda seen the look on your face..."

"Stop."

"The look on the waiter's was pretty great, too--"

"Back off!" I growled, louder and clearer than I expected, forceful enough to push even Teo back in his overgrown seat.

"Okay... Chill out," he whined, jaw hanging, eyes widening. "I'm just playing. Like we always do."

The heat in my cheeks wouldn't quit. I grabbed at my collar, then my headfur. Neither helped me chill. "Well it's not funny."

Teo slumped in his seat, snout twisting, looking as if it were him about to be served a Maleni-sized burger. "Fine."

"What?"

"Whatcha mean 'what'?" He huffed hard enough through his nose to tickle my face and shift my fur.

"So_you're_the one aiming to be annoyed. Seriously?"

Teo grunted something, maybe in Velikan, snatching his phone from his pocket and letting it clatter down to the table. The vibrations rocked me, but not a chance was I about to react to it. In fact, with tail twitching and fur prickling, I decided to follow his lead, deciding that a phone screen might offer some better company.

We spent the rest of our time waiting there in total silence, barely even registering each other's existence. I think even our waiter could tell something was up, serving up our food and drinks as he did with nothing more than a muted 'enjoy'. My first meal in Bolstrovo ended up taking place beneath a dark, gloomy cloud. A world away from how I pictured things when I leapt up out of bed back at home that morning...

Almost an hour after I'd finished it, I still couldn't get the taste of that thick, smoky burger out of my mouth. Godsdamn, it honestly _was_the best one I'd ever eaten, hands down, served up with some homemade spicy fries that sent tingles through your tongue before melting in your muzzle. To wash it all down, a couple of those blackberry sodas really hit the spot, nice and fruity, perfectly placed between smooth and sharp. I swear, I could have bolted the whole lot down again right there and then. No question, we'd have to go back there and see what other combos we could create. Bloated, buzzing, vegging out on a giant couch in front of a TV that would have blended in well at a Polcian cinema, my tail flicked with contentment. Contentment that should have spread to the rest of me.

I struggled to stay focused on this late-night talk show I was watching, totally baffled by the Velikan that the host and guest were speaking, and barely able to keep up with the Polcian subtitles. My mind simply refused to cooperate, dwelling on how much I should have been smiling as I chilled out there on Teo's couch, finally hanging out with him without the need for a computer and a microphone. Instead, I was playing back that moment in the diner in my head, again and again, dissecting every detail and hanging on every shared word. I couldn't escape how sore I felt about how he'd acted like a total jerk and hadn't even apologised. In fact, rather than say sorry, it was _him_that'd acted like _I_had done something wrong. Fine, he might've been joking around, but... well, I wasn't laughing, was I? Not even a little bit. Sure, okay, I might have been acting stupid with some of my questions, but everything here was so damn weird and different that he could have at least had my back rather than torn me down over it, especially in front of a stranger. That's what _I'd_have done if the tables were turned!

I yawned hard, slumping even further against the bottom of this massive couch's back cushion. My eyes were getting heavy... I could barely even make out the white wolf hosting this talk show... Maybe I was just tired, cranky. Overreacting... Damn, that evening had taken such an awful downward turn. I'd flown all the way to Bolstrovo... just to have an argument. I felt like shit for it... But I wasn't to blame. Not totally... Right?

I yawned again, deep enough to get my eyes watering, almost missing how my tail began to wrap itself around my thighs and stomach. What I couldn't miss, however, no matter how close to unconscious I'd crept, were the plodding stomps of Teo's return from his bedroom.

"That was a big yawn," he said, flicking the fastest glance my way as he strolled past the couch towards the front door of what he'd called his 'small' apartment.

"Yeah... maybe."

I lost track of him beyond the arm of the couch, only able to hear the clunk of a lock before the thump of his returning footsteps. "It's not long after midnight."

"...Is it?"

"Yeah!" He reappeared above the arm, smirking despite his back pointing ears, growing bigger and taller with each loudening step. "Ya can't be tired yet... It's only like 8pm back in Linvendia, am I right?"

"So?" I snapped, regretting it the moment my voice rose all the way to those twitching, flattening ears, though not enough to stop me growling, "I've been on a plane almost seven hours. A plane I had to be up at _5am_this morning to catch."

"Okay, okay!" Teo held up his paws, frowning. "Sorry I asked."

He sighed hard, tail whipping with how fast he turned to start a march back towards the hallway. Good. I wouldn't mind the peace... But did I really want to get it like that?

I watched the giant mouse start to disappear behind this mountain of a couch all over again, head slowly sparking with the guilty realisation of who he was. This mouse was Teo. The same Teo that I'd spent so much time having fun with online along with Emil and Kris, and the same Teo that I'd been only too willing to spend a good chunk of wages on coming to visit. What was wrong with me? What in the furthest of stars was I doing!? "Wait! Hold on."

He stopped, starting the whole couch shaking from the paw he clamped down on top of the back cushion. Silent, studded ears lifting, he just... hovered, waiting for me to say or to do something. The only reaction I could piece together would be my own ears splaying once my brain misfired into static. Maybe that's what led to him asking, "Seriously, Josh. What is up with ya?"

"Nothing," I insisted half-heartedly. "...Not really?"

His nose creased like he'd smelt something off. "If this is 'nothing', then I'm not sure I wanna see something."

"Look, I'm sorry! I don't know why I said..." Stars above, this was tougher than it should've been. Rubbing my eyes didn't help me focus as I sat myself up straighter. "I don't know. About anything."

After all my groaning and complaining, the apartment fell quiet again. That Bolstrovan talk show kept on rolling, saving us both from absolute silence. In all likelihood, I'd have been hoping he followed what I'd tried to explain to him. That is if I could've even remembered the exact order of words that'd slipped out of my mouth. I rattled my throat with a grumble, rubbing my head as if it might help stop it crashing.

"Struggling to get your head 'round stuff?" Teo started back towards the front of the couch. "Or is there something else?"

"Yeah, I suppose... Uh, I mean, I think that's it." He smiled on his way between me and the TV. I huffed, gathering myself enough to go on to explain, "I didn't think I'd be thrown out of whack this badly by... everything."

"I get ya." Teo brushed his tail aside and stopped in position above the couch. "Hey man... listen."

I tried my best to, but as he shifted around and settled into the seat beside mine, the resulting thwump filled my ears and grabbed most of my attention. "What did you say?"

"I said, I should be saying sorry too. I was... kinda being a dick at the diner, giving ya a hard time." He rubbed the back of his head. "I wasn't trying to be mean, but maybe I got carried away... having a good time with you."

I smiled for the first time in what must've been hours, directing it up towards him. Doing that came way easier with him filling the cushion beside the one I'd sprawled out on, his tail curled and flitting around me as he seemed to wrestle with what to say next.

"All the shit I was giving ya about your size and all... I was just playing. I'm _always_just playing." His cheeks and eyes creased with how wide he forced his tight smile. "Like I said earlier. It's really cool to have you here in person. Forgetting the joking and the whole surprising you with being Visoka thing... I've been looking forward to hanging with you here a whole lot."

I might've felt terrible before, but sitting there in Teo's shadow while he spoke from the heart had my head hanging and the rest of me tightening. No matter how weird or uncomfortable I'd been since getting picked up, literally, from the airport, the very last thing I wanted was to take it out on a friend. "It's cool... and yeah, same. I'm glad to finally make it over here to meet you in the fur... Even if you and everyone else around here are way too damn huge."

"Pfft!" He shook his head, cutting a smirk that helped ease the pressure. "Don't overdo it."

"Okay, fine... Only 99% of people around here are too damn huge."

"Puh." His long tail flicked about behind me. "Whatever."

"But honestly, you being big and all aside, I thought I knew what to expect and I thought I'd roll with it, no problem..." I turned away from his big self to scan around his even bigger apartment, taking in the TV and the floor lamp beside it, then the top of his front door and window. All ordinary. All enormous. "...but the reality is that it's mashed me up. A proper shock, you know?"

"Yeah. That's fair." He joined me in scanning our surroundings. "Suppose I'm just used to this as being normal."

"Heh. Nothing here feels normal."

Teo chuckled loud and long enough to shake and shift the cushion beneath me. "And here I was thinking ya were just being cranky after a long flight."

I rubbed at my temple, peering down into my lap. "It's probably that too."

"...Mixed in with a helping of me being a dick?"

"A Visoka-sized helping."

He laughed louder still, nudging a finger down into my shoulder before I had the chance to join him. I think he meant it to be a light bump, but still, not even throwing out a paw could save me from tipping and falling all the way over. "Ack!"

"Oof..." He cringed hard. "Too much?"

"N-No... you're good." I started to pick myself up again, jabbing a fist at the base of his apologetic paw. "But let me know if you're gonna go harder next time. I'll make sure to have my bags ready for my next flight."

Snorting, grinning, Teo curled a big, pink finger around my shoulder to help me back up again, following up with a way more careful repeat of his shoulder bump. Behind and beside me, his thick tail settled into easy, steady flicking. "Well hey, I know ya said you're feeling sleepy and all, so if ya wanna head off to bed, just let me know. Your stuff's in the Maleni room."

"The... Maleni room?"

"Yeah." His grin got playful. "The room for Maleni."

"Because_that_helps me make sense of it."

"Heh, what's to make sense of? It's the little room down the hall. First Maleni door on the right. It's all set for ya."

"Uh, thanks." Maleni rooms? Maleni doors? Maybe I hadn't done as much reading around Bolstrovo as I thought. "But I think I'm good for now. Can stay up a bit longer."

"Ya sure? I don't want ya falling asleep on the couch." The tip of his tongue pushed between his teeth. "Might lose ya between the cushions."

"Oh, come off it, mate. I'm not _that_small."

"Small enough."

"Tsk." I batted at the tip of his waving tail. "Talking shit, acting like it's not _you_that's all overgrown."

"Oh?" He gestured around the apartment with both arms. "Guess that makes everything else 'round here overgrown too, huh?"

"Exactly."

"Hmpf... We'll have to run this past Kris and Emil when they come 'round. See what they say."

"They'll agree with you."

"Yeah." He nudged a blunt claw under my armpit. "Because I'm right."

"No!" I shook and crumpled from the ticklish sensation, throwing out a paw to bat at his leg-sized finger. "Because you're all wrong."

We kept up all our back and forths, joking and playing, laughing along like we were sitting at our computers and wearing a headset. All the tightness and tension I'd carried into Teo's apartment up and left me, to the point where my tail could sweep and sway just as far and as hard as his. Well, relatively speaking at least.

This whole scene still hit me as strange, leaving my head plenty of work to make sense of how everything, everywhere, was ordinary and bizarre all at once. As weirded out as I might've still been by cinema-sized TVs and floor lamps standing twice as tall as a house, Teo did a standup job of keeping me in check. In fact, the more I thought about my place there, sitting level with his hip in the curve of his tail, the more this whole size difference thing started to feel... cool.

"Whatcha grinning about?" he asked, still shining bright with one of his own.

"I was just thinking about this vacation of mine. I reckon I'm gonna enjoy it even more than I thought."

His head tilted. "Why's that?"

"Well, with you being Visoka and all..." I settled against his tail, using it as a cushion. "...I can sit back, relax, and have you carry me around everywhere."

"Oh?" He bumped me forward with a deliberate whip of his tail. "That right?"

"I'd say so, what with how many people I saw getting that sorta treatment earlier."

"Usually they ask first. Agree on it." Teo folded his arms, leaning over to hover above me. "They don't assume."

"Hmm..." I threw my own tail against his. "Okay. Then let's agree that you'll do the legwork and carry me around everywhere while I chill out during these next two weeks. Deal?"

He frowned, keeping a corner of his mouth raised up high. "And what's in for me?"

"Well..." I cut myself off with a big, long yawn. Being able to relax was nice, but it sure helped the length of the day catch up with me. "I reckon I'm too tired to do much meaningful in Charge of Heroes... But how about you name the game and I'll give you the chance to win at it."

"Pfft! I don't need ya going easy on me."

"Prove it."

"Alright!" He rubbed the underside of his snout, swinging the tip of his tail up to flick against the side of my face. "...Ah! If ya remembered to bring your Playmaster controller, I just picked up the new Second Strike. I'd pay money to see ya beat me at that."

"I did bring it, and trust me, I'm only too happy to show you a beating. Shooters are my bread and butter."

Teo leaned even further, throwing me into shadow and starting me tilting as the cushion sank beneath him. "That's some big talk for such a little guy."

"I can back it up, too!" I jumped up onto my feet, paws on both hips. "I'd have thought all those times I beat you one-on-one on the first game woulda taught you that."

"Oh, now you've done it." He threw his paws down at me, bumping me back with a finger and tripping me into a seat in the palm of his other. "It's on. Go grab your controller from your bag and let's see what's what."

"Huh..." I folded my arms. "Interesting."

"What's interesting?" he asked as he lifted us both up from the couch.

"I'm thinking this is you agreeing to our deal, right?"

He stopped halfway up to standing, frowning. "What deal?"

"Doing all the legwork? Carrying me around everywhere?" His brow creased even tighter, looking like I'd started speaking another language. I grinned so hard I could feel it. "Who's dopey now?"

I had to grab his thumb and middle finger for support against his quaking, full-blooded laughter. Earlier, maybe even a few minutes before, I reckon I might've freaked about getting shaken and bumped around that far above the ground. But right then, grinning up at his big, brown, happy face, held firmly in place by two fingers on my stomach and chest, I could rest back easy. "Man, I'm gonna kick your little tail so hard that even _I'm_gonna start feeling bad about it."

"Bring it, big guy." I waved a fist up at him. "Gonna wipe the Visoka-sized floor with you."

We headed off together to ready up for our grudge match, passing gigantic walls and heading through enormous doorways that struck me as less and less remarkable. I'd been so shocked, maybe even a little scared back at the airport, doing my best to process and deal with the unexpected size difference between us. But as Teo stomped along his hallway, heading to this so-called Maleni room he'd set up for me, the shock and the fear were nowhere to be found. Instead, there was only stomach-fizzing excitement over how much of an adventure the next two weeks were gonna be. Even more so than I ever realised when I stepped off that Polcian-sized plane and onto a Polcian-sized sky bridge.

"Remember," said Teo, bumping my chin with the tip of his claw. "Just let me know when ya wanna head off to sleep, okay?"

"Sleep?" I sneered. "Fuck sleep, mate! We're just getting started here."