Given he was in a state of sheer panic a moment ago, Hero leaned into the touch. The teen couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief. Things could have gone very poorly for him in a fraction of a second, and his body was still feeling the effects of his fight, flight, and freeze response. He also breathed a sigh of relief at how gentle her touch was now that she verified his identity. What was initially an uncomfortable, probing touch was now soft, the pads of her fingers smoothing out the tenseness of his shoulders and spine.

Hero wasn’t sure how long she stroked his back, but it must’ve been a while as he didn’t even realize that she had moved from the kitchen to the sofa in the living room. He didn’t realize how unaware he had become while being lulled by her touch, but now he needed to focus. Hero couldn’t be gone all day and there were people who needed help.

“Um… Thanks. Yeah, I… didn’t mean to scare you. Sorry. I’m sure hearing a strange voice in your home is kind of freaky,” apologized Hero, reaching up and scratching the back of his neck nervously. The woman smiled, looking in his general direction, and moved her left hand under her right for support, fingers curling slightly around him.

“Yeah, it was pretty scary; but, forgiven.” The woman paused before continuing. “So, you said you’re a Little? How is that even possible? I thought it was just a children’s book. Oh! And I don’t think I caught your name.”

“Um… well. I’m kind of like a Little, but I don’t have the ears and tail. I look pretty much like you, but I’m a boy,” clarified Hero. “And my name is Hero. What’s yours?”

“Eliza,” said the auburn-haired woman. “I’m Eliza Fox. Nice to meet you Hero.” The warmth of her smile was akin to Maggie’s smile.

“Nice to meet you Eliza,” he replied.

“So, I mean, I don’t want to sound too forward or anything, but are you here for a visit? Or is someone you know in trouble. Do you need help?” asked Eliza. Hero shook his head, realizing a second too late she couldn’t tell.

“No, I don’t need help. Actually, I’m here to help you.” The Borrower’s statement brought a brief wave of confusion to Eliza’s brow.

“Help me?” asked Eliza.

“Yeah. I’m… well… it might seem silly to you, but I’m trying to live up to my name and help people when I can. So far, I’ve been able to help a few people, but I just feel like there’s so much more that I can do,” explained Hero. “And… well… I don’t want this to sound weird, but I wanted to help you.” Eliza giggled lightly and shook her head.

“That’s really sweet of you Hero, and don’t take this the wrong way, but I’m not exactly sure how you can help me. I mean, not unless you wanted to be my ‘seeing-eye-little.’” Eliza giggled again, but Hero tucked the thought away for another day. Who knew? Maybe he could do that one day.

“No,” Hero replied, also with a little laugh. “But I do think I can help with your singing gig, whatever a gig is.” Eliza now looked perplexed but also intrigued. Her hands shifted slightly, making Hero readjust.

“Well, a gig is an event, like a job; and how can you help my singing? Do you sing?” she asked.

“No,” sighed Hero. “But I wished I sang half as good as you. You’re amazing! That’s why I wanted to let you know about this other guy who lives in this building. He carries around some kind of weird-shaped box and was talking about gigs and how they needed a singer. He’s in 401 if you wanted to know.”

“Wow, that’s a lot to take in,” muttered Eliza. “No offense, but that might seem a little weird. I mean, I didn’t hear him say anything about it. He might wonder how I know.”

“No, that’s the thing!” interjected Hero. “He put up posters and has his number places and even made this thing called an ad. I don’t know what that is, but it sounded important. All you’d have to do is say that a friend referred you from the posters and see what happens!” Eliza looked uncertain, but eventually nodded slowly.

“I guess that makes sense. Do you know what kind of music he plays? What his band does I mean?” asked Eliza. If she could see the look on Hero’s face, she would have seen an adorable chibi moment where Hero had involuntarily turned his head and looked absolutely clueless, Eliza using a few too many words and concepts he didn’t understand. To him, music was music. He didn’t know what the guy’s band did, and now he felt slightly foolish not knowing this information.

“Um… No? I’m sorry,” replied Hero. Eliza shrugged.

“It’s alright,” she muttered. There was another long silence before she gave a subtle nod. “I’ll think about it.” Hero felt himself beaming.

“That’s good with me. I just wanted to let you know and tell you that you’re really talented. Don’t get discouraged. You’ve got this!” Eliza giggled again, sadly unable to see the positive thumbs-up from the Borrower sitting in her palm.

“Thanks Hero,” she smiled.

The two of them talked for a while longer where Hero confessed he had been by to check on her a few times. Eliza took it as well as she could have. Then again, there wasn’t a protocol for how to react to a small person telling you that they’ve been watching you. Hero assured that he never stayed for too long, which naturally made her feel better. Eliza did suggest that in the future, however, that Hero make his presence known before watching her again – a reasonable request which he promised to uphold. 

At the end of their conversation, Eliza promised to not reveal the identity of Hero or his kind to anyone and that she would let him know what she decided. She set him onto the ground, bid him good-bye, and listened until his footsteps disappeared. Eliza had a lot to think about, not only with Hero but also this potential singing opportunity. For now, however, she elected to make dinner as the little Borrower made his way home.