Chapter Text
"Finally the last few harlaberries!" Crystal said as she picked the last handful of berries from the bush, popping the small handful into her mouth. "Damn! Even after having twenty of these i'm still am surprised by the taste,"Crystal said swallowing the berries, sending a shiver down her back with the phenomenal sweet and potent taste. "No wonder Tyron wanted these berries so much for his famous Harlaberry pie for the school dance," she exclaimed as she walked back to her tunnel into the royal family courtyard, carrying a jar full of harlaberries. Before she got back to the tunnel she started to feel a queezy feeling in her gut, nausea and drowsyness slowly cascading over her, causing her to collaspe to the ground, the wave of tiredness slowly overtaking over her body. Before her body shutted down from the outside world she hears a faint voice in the distance.
"Holy mother of ancients!"
____
Crystal slowly wakes up, her muscles sore and the taste of vomit and saliva filled her mouth. She steadily stands up, holding a hand over her mouth and the other leaning onto the wall, stinging tears filling the corners of her eyes. The tears blocked her vision as she looks around her surroundings, feeling a pair of eyes watching her, inspecting her. As the nauseated feeling departs she wipes her tears with the back of her hand, soon coming face to face with large electricfiying yellow eyes staring at her from a human, but just not any human, a giant.
"Mornin sleepyhead~," the giant said to her, it's voice making her sensitive ears ring, "how'd you sleep?" he asks, the underside of his chin laying to rest on his hand, never breaking eye contact.
Her eyes go wide with fear, causing her heartrate to quicken and breathing become unsteady as thoughts race through her mind,' where am I?, Why am I so small!,' but one made her ears go flat with dread, 'am I going to die?'
"-oah just breathe, ok," the giant says soothingly making her bearthing slowly momentarily, but quickly disintegrates as the giant grabs the hood of her hoodie bringing her to eye level.
"L- let me go you fu- fucker!" She yells at the giant, flailing her arms and legs vigorously as he just stares at her with a confused expression on his face.
"What even are you?" The giant questions her, poking her abdomen, earning a slight giggle from her. Before long that happy giggle diminished from existence and resplace by a puffed up chest, Crystal trying to show dominance despite being only 5 inches tall.
"I'm a human just like you, and those stupid harlaberries in the courtyard turned me into this!" Crystal snapped as she jabbed at her chest.
The giant pinched the bridge of his nose, shaking his head as he stated, "oh my dear small friend, those weren't Harlaberries, their Marilaiberries, you know the types of berries that have shrinking abilities?"
"What! I got friends and family to go back to, I can't stay like this!" She says tears welling up in the corners of her eyes as a panic attack slowly seeps in, feeling a breakdown cascading over her.
"Hey hey, there's a way to change you back, " the giant says trying to calm her down, her eyes looking at him with a sprinkle of hope.
"R-really?" Crystal asks in between sniffles and hiccups.
"Mhm, but I have to do a bit of research on where their found, is that ok?" The giant says as he sets Crystal gently on their desk, earning a small "thank you" from her and a nod to his question. The giant nods back and turns back to their homework, doing complex equations on the white paper as he asks yet another question," I must ask, what is your name?"
"C-crystal," she says wiping away the stray tears from her face, "and y-yours?"
"My name? Well my name is Mark, Prince Mark to be exact," he chuckles, not breaking eye contact with her, giving her a slight smile.
----Timlaspse----
It's been two weeks since the mixed berries incident, and nonstop research and room inspections. Hearing a slight click of the door, giving Crystals cue to slowly pop out from her hiding spot in Marks collar of his sweater. "Why do the guards check you room so often?" Crystal asked Mark, curiosity plastered onto her face.
"Well it's just so I can't hide anything to hurt the royal family that's all," Mark claims as he reads his favorite book 'Gone by the Strike of Midnight" by Natalie Melania, having read it 10 times over the coarse of her stay. As the both of them read the book, a knock is heard from the door, startling Crystal to fall back into Marks collar. "Come in!" Mark yells, making Crystals ears ring. He looks up as he hears the door creak open to show his good friend, Toby and two of his royal guards standing behind him, spears in hand.
"Sir Prince Mark, your loyal friend wanted to see you, is this a good time?" the guard on the left asked, chin standing high, letting their brutal scar show.
"Sure it's a good time, come on in Tubs!" Mark gesturing Toby o come into his humble abode, a smile creeping over his face as his friend steps into his room.
"Well, good day to you Prince Mark," the other guard says, both bowing before one of them closing the door with a soft click.
"Hey Mark, haven't seen you in a while, huh?" Toby exclaimed as he sat on the other side of his bed, his feathered tipped ears twitching occasionally.
"Yep, just working on some things at the moment, but I can't wait for our sleepover tonight!" Mark says as he sways excitedly. Crystal tugs onto the inside of his sweaters collar, trying to get Marks attention. "But before we get started I would like to show you something, let me go get it," Mark tells Toby as he sets his book to the side as he stands and walks into the his walk-in closet, closing the door behind him.Crystal hears the sound of the closet door and tugged on the lip of sweater pulling herself out of it and onto Marks awaiting hand, siting in the middle of his palm.
"So Crystal, are you ready?" Mark asks her, looking into her pale blue eyes with his electricfying yellow ones.
"Kinda, I'm just a little bit scared," Crystal murmurs, fiddling with her braid as she talked. Mark chuckled a bit as he gave her head a few scratches, causing Crystal to lean into the touch, her purring vibrating her entire body.
"Remember what we talked about, if he tries to hurt you, just call me on your phone, ok?" Mark reassured her as he continued to scratch her head, in return getting more purring as he does.
"Oookkkk," Crystal says as she melted into his touch, feeling like a wildfire spreading throughout her skin. As he pulls his hand away and cups over her, she can feel him trembling in his hands as he turns the doorknob with his elbow.
"Whatcha got there bossman?" Toby asks, pointing at Marks cupped hands as he walked over to him and sat on the bed beside Toby.
"You can see but you can't hurt it nor eat it, got that?" Mark specifies with a stern tone.
"Sure thing bossman, I wouldn't hurt a fly~" Toby said sarcasticly as he stared at Marks cupped hands, sheilding Crystal from view. Before long, Mark raises his hand, exposing Crystal to his friend.
"Crystal, this is Toby, and Toby this is Crystal," Mark introduced both of them to each other. Toby gave Crystal and Mark a confused look as he scratched his head.
"So this is your new friend you've been talking about?" Toby says as he poked Crystal in curiosity, "she's so small though."
"At least I'm not fucking gigantic," Crystal scoffs, pushing Toby's finger away from her with a shove. Toby retracts his hand sniffing at the air, eyes going wide with a intoxicating and wonderful scent. Toby looks down at Crystal, giving her a slim smirk.
"Hey bossman, can I hold her for a bit?" Toby asks Mark, giving him a halfhearted smile, not breaking eye contact with Crystal.
"Sure, but you have to promise to hurt her in any way, got it?" Mark exclaimes, sliding Crystal onto Toby's palm. When situated on Toby's hand Toby starts to scratch her head, but it doesn't feel a great as Marks head scratches, it feels like a the boney hand of death caressing her skin. As all of them sit in silence, a subtle groaning sound comes from Toby, but not Toby, his stomach.
"You hungry Toby? I can get you something to eat from the kitchen?" Mark says worried for Toby's continuous growls.
"Don't worry bossman, just forgot to eat before I came that's all," Toby says but his stomach says otherwise by growling harder, "actually maybe I do need something to eat."
"Ok! I'll be right back," Mark says lifting from the bed, "and Crystal you what anything?"
Crystal shakes her head vigorously, waiting to be picked up by her best friend, but that never came. Mark scratches her head with angelic eyes looked at her before heading out of the room, closing the door with a soft click.
"Now that he's gone, maybe we can get to know each other," Toby says sweetingly as he grabs her tail to bring her up to eye level. "So Crystal, what's your favorite color?" Toby asks her, sniffing the air again, trying to hold something back.
"Um, blue?" Crystal answers, feeling lightheaded from blood rushing to her head. Toby chuckled a bit before asking another question.
"How about favorite food?" He flips her right side up and holds her by her Pusheen t-shirt she wore, looking at her hungeringly.
"W-well that's a weird q-question, but my favorite f-food is cookies," she stutters, heart thumping with fear and head throbbing from the sudden change, "a-and yours?"
"Well my favorite is blueberries, and my you look just like one," Toby says, looking at her up and down with a hungry smile. By now she understands what he's doing, her body kicking into self defense mode, slashing at his face, cutting a nasty scratch mark under his eye. Toby bites his lip to not yell with pain, not wanting to alert anyone. "Now listen here," Toby whispers, "if you do that fucking again, I will most definitely eat you you little shit!"
"Remember what Mark said!" Crystal barks, "he said not trying to hurt me!" She slashes at his face again, succeeding at making him drop her from scratching him across the nose. She lands on the soft bed with a soft thump right next to Toby, who eyes are filling with black ooze, arms growing long spines, resembling wings.
"Come here you little fucker!" Toby roars as crystal jumps off the bed, rolling under it to hide, tears stinging her eyes. She pulls out her phone, clicking Marks number on speed dial, and waits for him to pick up the phone. Then she hears him pick up the phone.
"What happened crystal?" Mark askes, concern in his voice. Crystal starts sobbing as she whisperes.
"It's Toby, he's turned into this thing, and when I tried to get away, he said he'll eat me," Crystal sobbed, the tears flowing in now and her voice starts to go hoarse, " I'm hiding under the bed right now and I don't know how much longer I can hold on."
By now Mark is running down the hall from the kitchen as he says, "I'm on my way, just hang in there a little longer." Mark hangs up the phone after some quick goodbyes, leaving Crystal with a blood thirsty beast. She looks over to the closet, her only escape from the beast, and makes a mad dash for it sliding in at the last moment before Toby turns towards the closet and smirks. "Oh Crystal come out wherever you are~!" Toby sings as he opens up the closet door wide open, Crystal no where to be seen. Crystal clasps her hands over her mouth, trying not to give away her hiding spot behind a laundry bucket full of clothes. After a few minutes of hiding she doesn't hear a sound anywhere, so she peeked her head out, only to be caught from behind by her shirt and lifted up pass Toby's head.
"Oh the little mouse has been caught, hm~?" Toby said looking up at her, his prey, "what a little morsel." The sudden fear washed over her, paralysing her as a continuous thought rushed into her head, 'im going to die.'
"Pl-please don't e-eat me Toby," Crystal stutters, tears welling up in the corners her eyes, "pl- pl- please don't." But all he did was chuckle as he pushed a chair under the closed closet door's doorknob, leaving no escape of entry into the closed space.
Now lifted back up in the air Toby looks up at her and says, "to late." He opens up his mouth, bringing Crystal closer as moist, humid air envelops her body.
"P- please stop!" Crystal sobs, now crying, "I d-don't want to d-die!"
But Toby never listens only setting crystals feet and legs into his mouth. Toby let's go for a second and uses his index and thumb to pin crystals arms to her sides. Before long the both of them hear a crashing on the other side of the door and a bang following after with a few jostleing with the doorknob.
"Toby! Open this fucking door right now!" Marks muffled voice screams on the other side of the door with him trying to open it. Crystals eyes go wide and tries to break free.
"Mark help ple-," crystal cuts off as the rest of her is pushed into Toby's mouth, covering her is his saliva. Crystal doesn't yel, not wanting his spit in her mouth. As Toby savors her flavor, another bang can be heard from the door with cracks now showing on the doors oak walls. Toby's eyes go wide and he pins crystal to his palate with his tongue as he swallows his saliva, not wanting to hurt crystal physically. Toby lowers his tongue to the the bottom of his mouth, feeling crystal start to try to fight back but is to weak to. Toby tilts back his head, pushing Crystal to the back of his throat and swallows hard, pulling in crystals bottom half of her body.Crystal jabs her heel into his throat, making him gag a bit, but not enough to throw up .Crystal starts sobbing again begging to be let out, making Toby feel a twinge of guilt as he swallows again, sending Crystal to his brooding pouch. After a few seconds of being in the tight, wet space, she lands into his second stomach with a wet plop. Crystal pounds at the fleshy stomach walls, her wet sobs can be heard from inside, but it's no use, she's going to die in here. Crystal, giving up, she curls into a little ball and sobs into her legs, waiting for death to claim her.
"Toby, open this fucking door right now!!" Mark shouts, punching a hole through his door, just enough to look inside, to see what beast Crystal was talking about. Tobys eyes are black, like obsidian gems that sparkel in every angle. As Toby takes the chair away from the door, Mark sees the long scratch Mark across his left cheek and the bridge of his nose, still oozing tiny amounts of blood. "Toby, what did you do to fucking Crystal," Mark snapped at Toby as he opened the door, pushing right past him.
"Well she scratched me trying to get away, sooo I just played a little game with her, that's all," Toby answers, tilting towards him, just enough to show a little bulge in his abdomen.
"You didn't," Mark says, taking a step forward. Flames of anger and betrayal burned in his eyes.
Toby laughed as he put a clawed hand under Marks chin, making him turn a bit red. Toby leans Mark's head up to stare into his obsidian black eyes as he whispered, "oh but I did." Mark says silent as he stares into Toby's coldblooded eyes as a cocky smirk grew over Toby's face, "oh, cat got you tongue~?" Mark pulls away from his hand with tears welling up in his eyes. He looks down at the floor, tears starting to fall from his face.
"You fucking killed her," Mark sobs, "but why, why did you have to kill her!" He slumps down to his knees and bangs on the floor, "why her of all people, all she wanted is to go back to her friends and family, I promised to help her and keep her safe! But I failed to do that because I left her with you!"
Toby feels a lump in his throat with waves of guilt rush over him as he thinks, 'but she's safe, why can't he understand that?' Toby kneels down and pats Marks head, pointing at the location of the brooding pouch, feeling a little lump slowly breathe as he whispers slowly, "safe."
"No she isn't," Mark exclaims, ignoring Toby's words, "I don't really want to talk to you." Mark turns away from him, crossing his arms and lays his head in them. Toby tilts his head and taps Marks shoulder instead, his eyes slowly emptying of rage to show his regular forest green eyes.
"Crystal safe," Toby tells Mark, patting his brooding pouch lightly, without startling his little resident inside.
"Stop toying with my fucking feelings you prick! She's dead because of you!" Mark snaps at Toby, turning to look into his evergreen green eyes, "it's all your fucking fault..." Mark wilts again and collapses due to the bursts of emotional and mental pain.
Toby feels guilt rush over him again as he thinks, 'maybe I should just leave, let him have his space.' Toby gets up and begins to walk over to the door before stopping to look behind his back to look at his friend, laying limply on the floor before thinking, 'I can't just leave him like this.' Toby turns and walks back towards Mark and picks him up to place him on his bed before whispering, "I'm so sorry," he gives a kiss on his forehead before walking over to the door. He places a hand on the doorframe before looking back at Mark before whispering shakingly, "I'm so fucking sorry," before walking out of the door, closing it behind him with a soft click.
-----A few days later-----
Toby steps up to the front door with the basket at hand thinking, 'I hope he likes it,' before knocking on the mahogany door. Toby waits until a guard opens the door slightly and looks down at Toby, rolling his eyes.
"Prince Mark wants no visitors at the moment, good day," the guard stated with a monotonic voice as he closes the door, but being stopped by Toby's foot.
"Please just this once, I'll make it quick, and besides I'm his best friend y'know," Toby asks, holding the door open with his free hand and foot. The guard rolls his eyes and opens the door enough to let Toby in.
"Fine, but don't tell him I let you in," the guard orders Toby, moving out of the way to let Toby inside the palace.
"Ok, I won't!" Toby shouts as he runs over and up the stairs, holding the basket close to his chest.
"His room is the fifteenth door to the left!" The guard yells back with a smirk on his face, "ancients, I hope Mark knows he has a good friend," the guard tells himself before shutting the door, closing society from the manor.
"Fifteenth door on the left," Toby repeates as he runs down the large corridor before skidding to a stop nearby his door. Toby tiptoes over to his door, breathing in and out to regulate his breathing. He steps infront of his door before exhaling deeply before whispering, "you got this, he'll love it," Toby reminds himself before knocking lightly on the door.
Before long Mark opens the door and orders, "Alahond, I told you I don't want any visitors," Mark rubs his eyes and gazes at Toby before giving him a irritated look, "oh, it's you, what do you want." Toby looks at him with a saddened look at Marks appearance, his hair in mats, eyes bloodshot red, and dark bags under his eyes.
'Damn, he looks horrible,' Toby winces in his brain, before speaking slowly, "um I wanted to bring you something, to apologize," Toby holds out the basket, covered with a light blue cloth. Mark sighs and turns to walk into his room again.
"Come in," Mark states before sitting on his bed, gesturing to come inside, his eyes locked on his. Toby walks in slowly, looking around the trashed room, all his stuff scattered around the floor and a photo of Mark and Crystal baking cookies on his pillow. Toby walks over and sits on the floor, not wanting to intrude Marks space, before handing the basket to Mark.
"I thought you would like some things," Toby explains, looking at the ground as he rubs his neck, "so I bought you these to make you feel better." Mark folds the cloth over to reveal the goodies inside, candles, freshly made cookies, corus fruit swirl bread, some expensive shampoos and conditioners, and a tiny box with small holes pokes on the sides with a tiny blue bow and note decorating the top.
Mark picks up the bread and cookies and smells them, his eyes going wide but still looking tired, and looks at him then asks, "did you make these?"
Toby nods and tells him, "I remember you told me that you liked corus fruit, so I got some from the market and made some sweets for you," a slim smile forms on his face and thinks, 'yay, he's liking it.'
Mark setsthe sweets aside and picks up the bottles shampoo and conditioner, " and how did you get these? They cost like 50 copper shamras!"
"Well," Toby chuckled, "I kinda used some of my life savings to buy it." Toby looks down at the ground, embarrassed on telling him how he bought it.
Marks eyes go wide and sets the shampoo and conditioner aside before looking back at Toby before saying," but you were saving that to go explore, to find your parents that left you here, in Andertha."
Tobys ears droop down that his last words before looking at Mark with tiny tears forming in the corners of his eyes before telling Mark, "oh that was just a silly dream," tiny streams of tears roll down his face," but I know where I belong now, it's with you, in Andertha." Toby stands and sits beside Mark as he pulls out the candles.
Mark reads the candle before laughing as he speaks, "Blueberry Crystals? What type of candle name is that?"
"Idk, I just thought you might've liked it," Toby laughed a bit before taking out the tiny box, "last present~," Toby placed the box in his Marks hand after he set the candles aside. Mark takes off the note and flips it open to find a heartfelt note.
Dear Mark,
I hope you like this last present, and I picked it especially for you, and I'm sorry for what happened on that night. It wasn't intentional and I didn't mean to hurt you, I'm genuinely sorry and you don't have to forgive me.
From your friend, Toby
Mark slowly opens the box and his eyes and tail go into excitement mode when his pained eyes land on her, Crystal. "Crystal! Your fucking alive!" Mark quickly grabs her and holds her close to his chest, enough to not suffocate her, "I thought I fucking lost you!"
"Me to," Crystal talks back, patting his chest with her free hand. Mark smiles and looks up at Toby and asks, "but how? How is she still alive?" Toby pionts towards his chest, right above where the stomach is.
"It's hand to explain, but it's basically a second stomach that isn't filled with stomach acids, it was used to store food in the winter and hold their young in the olden days or some shit, but I did a project on it a while back," Toby explains," but all people have it so you can basically hold anything that's about 8 inches tall and wide."
"Well I'm glad you didn't actual eat her," mark says again, giving Toby a side hug so he doesn't squish Crystal."But don't ever scare me like that again!" Mark says, punching Toby in the arm, "I seriously thought she died!"
"Well, I tried to, but you didn't listen so I just left to give you space," Toby explains, rubbing his hand on his neck, "sorry I didn't tell you sooner."
"Your fine, and do you want to have that sleepover again Toby? We don't have to if you don't want to," Mark asks Toby, not letting crystal go from his chest.
"Sure, why the fuck not," Toby answers,"but first you need to clean yourself up a bit, especially your hair." Toby reaches over and grabs the bottles before giving Mark them, "and use these, they help with matted hair to."
"Thanks," Marks says as he lays crystal on his bed and leaves to get cleaned up. After a while of having fun and many orders to go to bed, Mark, Toby, and crystal sit on the giant pillow and blanket pad they made, Mark braiding Tobys hair as Crystal lays on the nearby pile of pillows, sleeping.
"This was fun," Mark says to Toby as he finishes his braid.
"Yea it was, and I hope we can have this much fun every time," Toby chuckles as he flops backwards, his braid laying beside him.
"Yea..," Marks says as he yawns, gently picking up crystal and placing her on his chest as he lays back.
"You tired," Toby asks, earning a small mhm and another yawn. Toby gets comfortable and tells Mark," well goodnight." Toby looks over at Mark, realizing he's already asleep and smiles, " you adorable dork." Toby turns back to look up back at the ceiling, the glow of the stick-on stars and the soft breathing of his friend, letting him sleep soundly for the first time in a long time.