Chapter Text
It was silent in town, save a soft yet perpetual drumming on the roofs, and it seemed like darkness had descended early that evening, for the skies were shrouded by heavy, billowing clouds. If someone watched for a while, they would find frequent blurs of cats scurrying about in search for dry havens, but despite that there was nothing but the heavy glitters of raindrops falling through the cones of streetlamps, seemingly appearing out of nowhere before merging with the ground.
Annie sighed a soft, deflated sigh as she peeled her face off the window, smiling meekly to herself as she watched the haze of her breath fade away from the glass. It had taken her a whole hour to come up here to the attic, but she didn’t mind the climb. Watching the outside world was something she would never grow bored of.
It was her perfect secret hideaway. Or would be, at least, if it weren’t so cold.
Seeing that her fingers had grown all stiff from the glass, Annie decided that it was better to make her way back down again. She was just about to turn, however, when she noticed another movement out in the open, and before she knew it, she found herself pressed against the glass again.
A large, dark silhouette was bounding across the street, leaping through the rain with their head ducked beneath a large hood. In a matter of seconds, he crossed the whole length of the street, splashing water with every step. From up here it all looked so easy. So small. As if the Titan - eh, human, below was just a normal person and not a terrifying giant in comparison. As if the water was not more than an inconvenience instead of an unrelenting element that could easily put her life at risk.
As quickly as he had appeared, the human escaped her vision as he reached the door beneath her window. He hadn’t seen her, of course, for she knew that the darkness in the room behind her wouldn’t have given her away. More than anything else, she had mastered the skill of stealth and inconspicuousness.
A tiny shiver ran over her shoulders as she escaped the cold grasp of the glass, yet there was another smile on her face, albeit a different one. It was definitely time to retreat down into the warmth of the house, but she might add just a little detour.
“Mum, I’m back!” Bertholdt called into the living room as he stripped off his soaked coat and boots, neatly placing them into the corner by the door so they wouldn't drip onto the floor. He then walked over to the kitchen to deposit the groceries he had brought from town.
“Mu-um~!” he called upstairs, but there was no response either. Only as he finished storing the stuff into the fridge did he notice a little note on the kitchen table.
Got a last-minute case today. Sorry to leave you alone tonight, you know how it is. Make yourself a tea if you want. There’s a new one in the cupboard. I'm afraid I won’t be back until tomorrow.
Love you my dear ~
Bertholdt sighed as he set the note aside, then headed upstairs to take a shower.
/Half an hour later/
It was silent in the room, save the perpetual ticking of a clock that had replaced the soothing sound of rain. The walls were graced by the dim light of a bedside lamp, its warm colour flecked with the shadows of the furniture. If someone watched for a while, they would find that one of the shadows stirred from time to time, giving away the presence of a gargantuan being.
Even less significant however was the miniscule movement in the potted ivy that flowed down the corner shelf.
Cautious as a doe, Annie rose her head to peer over her cover, lifting a leaf in the process. With eyes sharp as a predator's, her gaze roved over the human’s chamber. There were the nightstand and bed to one side, and the desk to the other, with scribbled notes and paper sheets strewn across like autumn foliage. On the far opposite side of the room were a wardrobe and a long table that she'd learned to be an e-piano. Annie herself was situated in the corner shelf that was filled with more books than she had ever thought possible. The first time she had seen it, it made her wonder how many people could make use of them, the number of Borrowers not to mention. Admittedly, she had no real idea about how many humans there were out there. But given their enormous size there couldn’t be that many, right? After all, there was only so much wood and rocks and other weird material (like glass, where did they even find that) they needed to build their ingenious stuff, and not to mention the food! Seeing the wall of books, she was sure they would suffice for the entire human race.
A crunching sound yanked Annie’s attention to the other side of the room. Sunken deep into a large pillow sat Bertholdt, the younger human of the house, with his legs stretched out in front of him while leaning against the headboard of his bed. His attention was glued to a book in one hand while he absentmindedly nibbled on a cookie with the other. As usual for his evening routine, he had switched from his school attire to comfortable-looking pants and a pine-green sweater. It matched the green tone of the bedsheets, she noticed.
For a whole minute, she scrutinized his every movement. As he remained fully immersed in the rows of ink, her eyes narrowed into thin slits as she zeroed in on her target right next to him.
It was the perfect opportunity.
With her plan set in stone and her chest puffed out in determination, Annie left the safety of her favourite hiding spot and crossed the shelf to its other side - the one that bordered to the bedside table. Upon reaching the other side of the shelf, Annie carefully rappelled down with her grappling hook. Unfortunately, her calculations proved wrong as she ran out of rope about five inches above the nightstand. That might not sound like much, but given her size of only three inches, it was still quite a jump. Checking on the human again, she pulled off her shoes to avoid noise. She would need to find another way to get back to her hidden entryway, but this was certainly worth it, if not more than worth it. Graceful as an antelope, she then pushed herself off the wooden shelf. The noise of her impact was not more than a dropping pin, yet she didn't take chances and darted behind the picture frame in the blink of an eye. The human, of course, was none the wiser. Even though the sound was unmistakable to her, she was always a bit surprised, if not dismayed to see just how deaf and blind they could be. Truth be told, if it wasn’t for her fathers’s incessant warnings, she wouldn’t consider them a threat at all. She had observed them many times already, and all they did was to stare at whatever they were holding in that moment, sometimes a book, but more often a so-called smartphone. They would keep staring at them for hours with their necks crooked in a hunched position. And even when they were walking, they weren't paying attention to their surroundings whatsoever. It was as if anything above or below their eye-level was non-existent to them.
Anyways, it was a tad different with this guy here, so she had to be careful all the same. After a minute of only hearing him munch on yet another cookie, she peeked out of her hiding place to reassure herself of the human's location. The fragrant aroma of camomile permeated the air, along with something more exotic. Perhaps elderberry? Or rosehip? She couldn’t tell what it was but it surely smelled good.
With eyes firmly trained on the now towering figure, she flitted over the wooden board, silent as a shadow and fleet as the wind. Only as she reached the side of the bed did she put on her shoes again, for she needed them to climb the headboard. It was risky, of course. But she had faith in her climbing skills that allowed her to move silently. She couldn’t even recall a time of her life that she hadn’t been able to overcome an obstacle. And even if she slipped once or twice, she was certain that the human wouldn’t even notice.
After all, the safest place was in the eye of peril, she recalled. Or something similar at least.
Upon reaching the top, she prudently pulled her head up to peek over the edge. The human was still leaning against the bed board as he flipped another page. She was close enough to hear his breath by now – an even, calm breath of repose that was surprisingly quiet for a creature of his size. For a moment, she took advantage of her hidden position and inspected the details of the human. Short, dark hair and a slightly hooked nose. Like the rest of him, his long face gave him the impression of being stretched out.
Deeming herself safe in the shadow of the giant, she cautiously walked the board line, supporting herself against the wall to make sure there was no way of falling down the other side. A rush of excitement poured through her veins as she stood right behind the unsuspecting human, feeling extraordinarily powerful for once. For several minutes, she simply stood there and grinned into herself, yet she couldn’t suppress to flinch as he stirred at some point, if only to stretch his back and shoulders. He then turned his head to reach for something on the bedside table before returning to his book, still unsuspecting.
His movement spiked her adrenaline, knowing that there was no place to hide up here. It was time to gather her bearings and execute her plan before she lost her chance.
For a moment, her eyes glanced to the little pile of cookies on the bedside table but then swivelled back to the human again. Another smirk then split her face as her heart spiked in exhilarated anticipation.
This would be so much fun.