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Almond knew how skillful his daughter was. How quickly she learned where to search for essential supplies. How she rapidly started to memorize the giant’s schedules to not get seen. And how, in just a short while, she’ll be able to make her own climbing line.
But, with how much she developed and how mature she could be at times, it was easy to forget that she was still merely a child. A child very curious about the world around her. A child still unaware of the many dangers of borrower life.
A child who had just experienced a very close call with danger.
The moon had risen over the sky a while ago and by now Walnut was curled up in her bed, sleeping soundly. But her father remained awake, the events of the day reeling in his mind and keeping his desire to rest away.
Close encounters with giants were something that every borrower would experience in their life, regardless of age. All of his years of experience made him very aware of that fact. And this certainly wouldn’t be the last time this event would occur.
It certainly wasn’t the first time he saw Walnut terrified, either.
And yet, the image of his daughter curled up in a corner, with her small body trembling as her eyes threatened to spill tears in her terror, still made his heart ache.
And that was when they were out of danger,when the human didn’t see them. How would she have been, if the human had noticed her tiny presence close to their paperwork. How would she have been, if the human had used its grabby hands to snatch her and then…
Almond felt his body tremble at the thought, and he instantly took a sip from his coffee mug in an attempt to calm his nerves.
It didn’t help much.
Even when it was just part of their life, the consequence of being so small and frail, he felt she didn’t deserve that. She was just a kid, and a kid didn’t deserve to feel such fear for their life.
A kid, even with this lifestyle, deserved to be happy. At least, for a moment.
It was decided.
He stood up, and strode towards Walnut’s room. After making sure that she was well asleep, he turned and carefully started to gather his borrowing supplies.
After some minutes of preparation (and a last minute turn to check for his needle, just in case), he was on his way.
Patrolling the walls at night was far from foreign for him. In fact, it was a normal part of his job, to check for evidence and mysteries while the giants slept unaware of the activity. It also made it one of the preferred borrowing hours for his kind. This trip would be no different… sort of.
Instead of venturing to the corners, to the outlets leading to the various rooms of the building, Almond kept to the halls closest to the walls until eventually he found what he was looking for: a small crack close to the floor, leading to the outside.
The borrower took a deep breath before poking his head out, ears alert for any noise. The night had a calm breeze to it and, apart from the magical lights giving some shine to the darkness, there wasn’t anyone outside. But he knew better than to be deceived by such first impressions; for at this hour owls and cats prowled the city, looking for an easy meal.
Someone like him would do just fine.
Still, when he didn’t catch any sign of them nearby , he leaned forward, looking around once again to make sure he was correct before eventually stepping out and making the trek towards his destination.
At every step and turn the detective made sure to remain alert, to scan the perimeter for danger and possible hiding spots. Being outside, completely exposed to the world and all of its threats, was dangerous for even the most experienced of his kind. Not like the tight spaces like walls were automatically safer, but at least the things that could kill you in there were limited due to size.
Thankfully, the trip went surprisingly smoothly and, soon enough, he arrived at his goal; the local street market.
Because of how close it was to the school, it wasn’t uncommon to see wizards of all ages visiting to buy all the various items sold there. But when night came about, the market closed and all the merchants picked their stuff and left to rest. So right now it laid quiet , the only sounds coming from the wind and his own footsteps as he peeked from behind the stone.
Just as expected, there was no one there. Good.
Almond pulled his hook from his bag and started to dart around the various wooden stands and crates, the things the giants left to hold their products. Most of the time they remained in place, but because of the open nature of the place it wasn’t uncommon for them to fall from their stuff, in which case their owners either picked them up, threw them in the trash, or simply didn’t bother and left them in place.
That third option seemed to be the one most prominent, for in his way he found pieces of vegetables, fruit, cloth, amongst other stuff. Perfect for any animal scavenging or another of his kin, but right now the detective felt confident enough about their food storage that he didn’t feel the need to restock. No, what he was looking for was much more simple, something that would fill quickly yet not last long.
And after some circling around, he came to a stop in front of one of the stands. The floor around it was clean and unscathed, but that didn’t mean there weren’t signs of what was sold there. That sweet smell was pretty hard to miss.
The borrower paused, checking his surroundings once again before launching his hook towards the wooden object. It landed with a small thud and soon lodged on one of its ledges. He checked to make sure it remained in place; when that ended up being the case, he wasted no time in climbing up the line.
Soon he reached the ledge, and cautiously stepped in the stand, keeping low while dislodging the hook. When he finished such a task, his eyes scanned the contents in front of him; and just like he predicted, there was a plethora of different types of candies, stored in small, colorful bags.
Popular with both human and borrower children alike.
A smile fell on Almond’s face. He started maneuvering around the various bags, careful to not accidentally topple over or crush their contents while actively glancing around for anything of interest.
For instance, two colorful gummies, which he grabbed from their container to place on his bag. He did the same with a couple of jellies, marshmallows and, after a moment of doubt, a shiny strawberry lollipop.
Things that were rarely collected for how they didn’t last long in open air (and much less inside walls), but also something he knew Walnut adored. They were simple, yet much needed treats after days like this.
Satisfied, the detective closed his bag, pulling it over his shoulder and turned…
To be met face to face with the shocked stare of a human, looming over him.
Almond yelped, losing his balance and falling backwards in his surprise. His eyes widened, his heart thumped rapidly against his chest , and all of his hair raised at the sight before him.
The human took some steps back, their mouth open in a silent gasp in their own startlement. They looked old and rugged, clearly not part of the merchants that stayed nearby. Either a civilian that passed by, or a thief taking advantage of the dark to prowl.
But the detective had no time to ponder about all of this, because the giant soon recovered from their surprise and locked their dark, narrowed eyes on him. Almond felt a chill run across his body. He knew exactly what this meant, and what would occur if he remained in place.
And there was only one thing he could do.
He forced his still stunned body to stumble backwards against the candies, before finally managing to stand and run just before the human lunged against the stand, enormous hands barely missing his trembling tail. The stand shook from the impact, sending some candies flying and plummeting towards the floor; and had he not grabbed the edge of the wood at the last second, he would have joined them.
The frustrated growl of the giant told him that he could not remain there, however. He stole a glance at the angered being and then at the floor, so close yet so far below for someone like him. There would be no time for putting a hook for safety.
“Time to do this the old-fashioned way” , Almond gritted his teeth, using his hands to slide towards the nearest of the stand’s legs as fast as he could.
The human closed the distance with just a few long steps when he managed to start climbing down, forcing him to let go and fall. It was far from the most elegant landing, but thankfully he made it in one piece.The borrower turned his head to see the human leaning against the wooden leg just an inch from him, gaze filled with anger.
The detective muttered a curse as he was forced to roll out of the way of a massive shoe, and in an instant he was up, sweaty hands clutching his bag as he fled for his life.
By now Almond thought that the giant might give up the chase. Humans tended to give up on their targets easily when they were faster and smaller than them, especially when there really wasn’t any reason to get rid of them. But nope; when he looked behind him, he saw that the giant had started to follow him, their giant footsteps shaking the floor behind him. The sight made him wince, willing his legs to move faster, away from danger.
Even with this, his pursuer kept close; their great size giving them the advantage of being able to cover more distance than him with fewer steps. But such a thing also came with its weakness, something that he was willing to use in his favor.
Even in such open places like this, there were small corners where one could briefly get out of sight and reach. Maybe there were some of the stands closer to the floor, or a paper curtain that obscured whatever laid behind it. Regardless, as the detective passed through them, they did the job just fine.
And with every brief pause to try and grab him, every sudden turn that had to be taken when he suddenly changed directions and every failed attempt to catch their target, the human started to slow down, their breath gradually becoming heavier and tired. Until finally, they came to a stop with their hands on their knees, while their target moved a good distance away.
Almond stopped near some pipes, his chest heaving with every breath. Usually he would have immediately moved to a spot where he couldn’t be reached, but by now most of his energy had been spent, trembling legs barely keeping him in place.
He sighed. Well, his pursuer was even more tired than him, and a look behind him confirmed that they were walking away. They probably realized that keeping the chase would be pointless.
“Perhaps I should rest a little” , the detective thought as he leaned against one of the pipes, turning his gaze towards the calm starry sky. Right now, there wasn’t any imminent danger, so a brief moment to recover his breath could be spared.
Or so he thought.
For there was suddenly a sound of shuffling objects behind, and when he turned his head back in curiosity, he was met with the sight of something big rapidly falling towards him. His eyes widened in horror, and in a split second he straightened himself to try and dodge-
But it had been too late.
The borrower barely managed to let out a scream before the thing fell with a crash, sending everything near it flying from the impact. And unfortunately for Almond, he had been near another tall ledge; and unlike last time, there was nothing to hold on to.
There was a small street beside the market, located in much lower ground. That was where some of the pipes and Almond started to plunge towards the floor. It happened so fast; one moment he was falling in the air, then he felt something snap , and the next the rest of his body impacted the cold concrete, skidding and tumbling over for a bit before finally coming to a stop near a wall. The pipes followed soon after.
For a moment there was a stillness in the air, and the borrower didn’t make a move at all. Eventually though, he willed himself to roll over to his back, clutching his head as he grit his teeth in pain. Miraculously, the fall didn’t kill him; but that was a small consolation. His eyes had trouble keeping open, his head throbbed painfully, his heart was pounding in his pained ribs, his limbs felt as fragile as sticks and overall, he felt like hell.
Even in his pain however, his ears managed to pick up some sounds; including the sound of footsteps. The human was coming.
The hand that wasn’t placed against his head felt along the floor until they found the wall, which he tried to use for support to get his trembling body to stand . But when he tried to do so, one of his legs gave out, sending another wave of pain through him and almost making him fall. He let out a pained gasp, looking down at his limb; even in this position, it was clear that the fall had broken it.
Fear started to crept up his mind, as he processed it, as it became clear that he wouldn’t be able to flee. Maybe that had been the giant’s plan, and if they caught him…
The footsteps were becoming louder. They were getting close.
Frantically his eyes darted around, trying to find anything, anywhere to hide in. He spotted something: a small man-made hole in the wall he was leaning on. It was a foot away from him, and he could barely move as it was. But he had to try.
Ignoring the trembling in his body, the terrified tears forming in his eyes and how his leg was dragging along on the floor, Almond pulled himself along the wall in a pace that was slower than he would have liked. Still, he kept onward, trying to focus on his objective instead of how close the sounds of the human were now.
It felt like forever before his hand grabbed a small gray pillar instead of the wall. He barely spared a moment to bring the rest of his body along before finally managing to pull himself inside, mere moments before the human’s shadow fell over the floor he had been just standing on.
Instinctively he pressed himself to the inner wall, shaking body curling into a ball, praying that the giant hadn’t seen him. The entrance wasn’t big enough for a human hand to go through, but with how easy it would be to remove the steel and how low the floor was, there would be nothing he could do if the human put their mind up to the task.
He listened as the human moved around, obviously trying to find him amongst the objects that had fallen alongside him. He flinched when he heard the giant grumble in anger, and his heart almost leapt from his body when a pipe was loudly kicked against the wall.
The sound of sobs was rising from his throat, but he threw his hands over his mouth to keep himself from giving up his presence. He tried to keep himself from hyperventilating, to try and calm his rising nerves. Giving in to panic wasn’t going to do him any good.
Outside, the giant continued their search, their steps making shuffling against the floor. And suddenly, there wasn’t any sound at all. Only silence
Almond’s ears perked up. Did they… leave?
No, it was foolish to think that. If they had actually left, they would have gone farther away, not just like that. He remained in place, not daring to fall through such a trick once again.
A few seconds passed. Still, nothing. The detective pressed himself more on the wall, and dared to turn his head towards the entrance. Only moonlight passed through. Truly, there was nothing…
Until once again, he heard something behind him. Before he could even wonder what it was, he saw it: one of the human’s fingers, pressing around the corner.
He felt his blood run cold. Immediately he shuffled backwards, away from any reach, ignoring how his leg throbbed in protest.
They probably didn’t know he was there, yet with it being the nearest place he could hide in, it was still worth investigating. Still, maybe after not noticing anything, they would give up?
It was a wishful, hopeful thought. A thought came crashing down when its tip touched his borrowing bag, the place where he had put the candies for his daughter, and then started to move around it and pull it closer.
Against all rational and self preservation instincts, the detective’s hands flew to the bag, attempting to pull it away. Even with just this one finger, the giant was strong, dragging it to the entrance. Thinking quickly, Almond opened the bag and felt around it until he pulled out the needle he brought along for the trip and, without a second thought, plunged it near the giant’s nail.
The yell that followed soon after pierced his entire being, and in an instant the limb was pulled away, making him fall backwards with the bag on his arms. He barely had a moment to pant and process what he just did before the steel entrance started to rattle wildly, all the while the human outside cursed in fury.
He tried to shuffle away, but another wave of pain went through him, making him wince. His breath started to quicken, as a wave of cold terror filled his mind.
This.. this was it, wasn’t it? Not only was he unable to run, but if the human hadn’t been angry at him before they certainly were now. Not only that, but with how close he was it would only take one swipe to snatch him and do whatever they pleased with him. And with how much the screws keeping him away from his doom were rattling… that moment wasn’t too far away.
All of this, just because of some candy, huh? Just because he wanted to make his daughter happy.
Well… now she wouldn’t even be getting a friendly salute in the morning, would she?
Almond didn’t realize he was actually, truly crying until he saw the way his tears had tainted his shirt. He attempted once again, to keep calm, to stop his trembling as he, begrudgingly, accepted his fate.
That was, until the rattling suddenly stopped.
He blinked, expecting to see the human’s hand lunging at him. But instead, he could see their shadow move as they hurriedly stood up. At first he just stared, confused. Then the color of the night was replaced with flashing bright lights, and that’s when he heard it:
The sound of police sirens.
Stunned, he heard as the human cursed and started making a run for it. They likely were a criminal, or at least someone who had trouble with the law, it seemed. Behind them, other footsteps followed alongside the car, until they faded away after a while, leaving the place quiet once again.
For a moment, Almond breathed heavily, not quite believing his luck. But when it became apparent that yes, what had happened just now had been real and yes, that human wasn’t going to come back for him, he finally, finally allowed himself to breathe a sigh of relief.
He was, if momentarily, safe.
The detective remained in place for a minute or so, before pushing himself into a more proper sitting position against the wall.
Alright, first things first…
Hands trailed along his body, checking on himself now that he had time to properly do so. Despite the fall, it seemed that his body had made it out unscathed. Well, except for his leg.
It hadn’t popped that much out of place, but it couldn’t be left like this. With his lack of proper supplies however, the only thing he could do was take off his jacket and fasten it as tightly as he could around the limb.
Next he pulled the borrowing bag to his lap, and looked down at its contents. The sight below made him frown: pieces of the lollipop, broken because of the previous events, were scattered all around, tainting the fabric and tools. The rest, while looking much more munched over than before, at least were in a much better state, so he would have to content himself with that.
Narrowed eyes fell on the now candy- less lollipop stick. It was of a pale color, and the lack of damage indicated that it was either made of a hard material or its creator used magic to prevent it from bending over.
An idea popped in his head. He pulled the thing out, testing its durability by lightly hitting the ground with it. Nothing happened. Good.
He hoisted the bag around his shoulder. Using both the stick and the wall to stabilize himself, Almond slowly, and tremblingly, got up his feet. He grit his teeth at the pain, but tried to ignore it for the moment, and instead focus on the bigger problem.
Which was, figuring out what to do now.
Because even though he could still somewhat move, getting back to the institute would be a nigh- impossible task. Not only because of the possibility of injuring himself further, but now that he was vulnerable there was no way he could fight back should anything spot him.
That said, he wasn’t going to be any safer if he just stayed in place, was he?
At the very least, he should find a way back to the walls, where he would at least be protected from external forces.
“ ‘Guess the surprise will have to wait,” he thought with regret.
With his current goal in mind, the detective dragged himself to the entrance using the makeshift cane as a support and peeked at the bars. He could see the marks of footsteps left by the giants in their pursuit, but by now the place was empty. He was farther from home than he would have liked, but there was nothing he could do to change his situation.
So, with a sight, he carefully pushed himself out of the hole and marched onwards.
******
Just like Almond expected, it was hard . The drag created by his leg hurt; his movements were slow and clumsy; and worst of all, he was in the open.
Normally the borrower was far from a nervous or skittish person, but this situation had put every single one of his senses at high alert. At every strange sound or shadow that might have belonged to creatures larger than him, he couldn’t help but flinch, his heart threatening to bust out of him at any moment.
What didn’t make things better was how far he had fallen , requiring him to climb back up to his normal route, which if it didn’t already take a toll on him, the subsequent walk surely did.
He didn’t like this one bit, nor at all. He had to find shelter. Soon .
By the time he reached the outer edges of the street marker, Almond was exhausted . He leaned against a stand’s leg. He resisted the urge to collapse right then and there, and instead scanned his surroundings one again.
And to his relief, he found something: a noticeable crack at the foundation of a wall. Not only close enough, but one big enough for him to fit through.
Almond took a deep breath and made his way towards it. When he was standing at its entrance, he took a brief glance to make sure nothing was following him before limping inside.
The place was pretty much pitch black, with the natural darkness of the outside not helping matters. But unlike his previous hiding spot, the space wasn’t limited to where he stood.
Using his hand and stick to check for walls or holes, the detective guided himself through the darkened halls until he found himself in a wider space.
Certainly nothing compared to a soft, comfortable bed, but it wasn’t the worst place he had been in. The lack of signs of spiders and rodents helped too.
Taking a deep breath, the borrower slumped against one of the dusty walls, settling himself on the floor while setting his bag beside him. At last, he could allow himself to, hopefully, rest unbothered.
He thought about his daughter waking up to find him completely absent. A situation that happened constantly, but with all he had gone through, that thought only made him grit his teeth in shame.
It couldn’t be helped, unfortunately.
After letting himself relax a bit, he closed his eyes, preparing himself to succumb to his exhaustion… when the sound of small taps on the wood reached his ears.
Almond’s body snapped to alertness in a flash, his hand soon reaching for his needle. But before his thoughts could run wild about the possibility of a creature coming after him, he noticed something else: a small light , coming from one of the halls.
The detective blinked a few times to make sure that what he was seeing was real. Yes, it was light. Yellow and tiny, approaching alongside what he quickly realized were footsteps. He felt himself relax a bit.
Unless a giant decided to tie one of their things to a rodent, or if it was some sort of toy, there was no way a human light could go down these tunnels. Moreover, there was a faint, but very familiar coffee scent coming from that direction. So that could only mean…
Almond put the needle back in place, shifting to have a better look and prove his assumption correct. At the sound the footsteps suddenly stopped, light still far enough for him to still be concealed by the darkness.
“Hello? W-Who’s there?” a very, very familiar voice called out, a faint nervousness creeping in his tone . Almond’s ears perked up.
“Cappuccino? It’s alright, it’s just me!”
There was a pause. Then, the footsteps and light quickened towards him, and before long a lamp light illuminated the area in front of him. The detective squinted, and when his eyes adapted to the change in brightness, he saw the older borrower standing at him, hand carrying a small cappuccino mug.
“Almond?! What are you doing here…” His tired eyes inspected his comrade and his body froze at the sight of his injury “And what happened to you?!”
“It’s… a long story,” was his answer, feeling too tired to go over the situation “I’ll explain later”
Cappuccino hummed, eyes narrowed. He set his lamp on the floor beside him before kneeling to inspect the detective’s leg. The detective didn’t offer any resistance about it, apart from wincing as his limb was grabbed.
“Goodness! Please don’t tell me you were walking with an injury like this ”.
He got no response. The other just blinked and then let out an exhausted sigh.
“Alright. Just, let me carry you back home to patch this up” Cappuccino offered “I don’t think it will get better if you keep moving”.
His friend nodded, glad for the help. As the other borrower shifted to carry him however, an idea popped in his head.
“Thanks, but actually…”, he started, earning a curious look from the other “Do you think you’ll be able to take us both back to the institute? I need to bring something there before the morning”, he continued while a hand opened his borrowing bag.
“Huh. And what exactly is-“ before the older borrower could finish his sentence, he turned his head towards the bag, eyes widening in silent comprehension “ Oooh ..”
“If you can’t do it we can hold it off until tomorrow, in case you need to finish some of your work to-“
“ No no no, it’s fine. I’ll take you there, no problem!”
Almond couldn’t help but smile.
“Thank you, my friend”
The next moments were vague in his mind. He could faintly feel Cappuccino’s hands grabbing his back, and the sound of his things being lifted up the ground. But, with how tough the night had been, it did not take long for him to fully close his eyes and pass out on his companions’ arms.
******
It was in one of the early hours of the morning that Walnut woke up. The kid yawned, stretching in her bed.
She pushed herself to a sitting position, rubbing her still tired eyes. After a moment or two passed she started to recognize the sounds of talking outside, close to her room. Ever so curious, she stepped off the bed, Ted at hand, and made her way to the door.
She opened it just so slightly, taking a peek outside.
To her surprise, she found her dad and one of his work friends casually chatting in the living room, small cups of coffee in their hands. Perking up, she got out of the room. As soon as they noticed her approach they stopped their conversation and greeted her with a good morning.
“Good morning, dad! Good morning, Mr. Cappuccino!” she greeted back. The adults just smiled.
“Did you rest well?” , her father asked, straightening in his seat to pat her hair.
Walnut nodded. Upon noticing his rather ruffled look, she was about to return the question. But then her gaze traveled lower, up until she noticed that one of her dad’s legs was enveloped by a hard cast.
She couldn’t help but let out a surprised gasp.
“D-Dad?! What happened?! Did something try to hurt you?” the kid turned to the older borrower, a look of distress and worry in her face.
Almond and Cappuccino exchanged a look and, after a moment of silence, the detective gently pulled his daughter to his lap.
“It’s alright, kiddo. "Just had an accident on one of my patrol routes, that’s all”, he reassured with a small smile.
Walnut looked at him, somewhat relieved yet not completely believing his words. Before she could dig further into it though, Cappuccino spoke up.
“Anyway, now that you are awake, would you like to see what we brought here?”
The kid looked at him in contemplation. Did that have to do with her father’s current state? Maybe. But with how tired he looked, she doubted that it was something he wanted to discuss at the moment. So for now she let it slide, and nodded.
The other man smiled at her dad’s direction, before walking to the other side of their home, where the detective stored most of their stuff. As he did, Walnut pulled herself closer to her father as she speculated what was this “something” they were referring to.
And she didn’t have to wait for long, because a minute later Cappuccino came back with a small tray in his hands. A tray that contained various pieces of candy .
The little one squeaked, and her father couldn’t help but chuckle a bit at her starry-eyed expression.
Cappuccino gently put the tray on the table in front of them and, after a brief question to her dad to know if all of this was hers, Walnut tore into the candies.
Both adults leaned back on their seats and watched with happiness as the kid indulged herself. She deserved it, after all. And while Almond would rather not re-experience the events of the night before…seeing her smile because of his actions was all it took to brighten his day.