Slate couldn’t believe what he had just witnessed. Shay had just come out of the wall, willingly climbed into the clutches of that human, Todd, talked with him, and then let him carry her out of the room! The middle brother had half a mind to reveal himself from his spot on the shelf, but decided not to do that. Instead, he stayed tucked away and waited for the human to return to bed and turn off the light.
Slate hadn’t been able to sleep. His sister was back, seen, and quite possibly revealed more than she intended - something that he now had confirmed - and the fear of being uprooted and caught in the middle of the night unsettled him to no end. So, he and Beau both agreed to keep a subtle lookout. With the human now asleep, Slate had a decision to make.
He knew what Shay told him; that wasn’t up for debate. Seeing it happen, however, was an entirely different experience. Slate hadn’t heard everything that his sister said, but he could easily pick up the human’s words. Humans were clumsy and loud even when they were trying to be quiet. From what he heard, Todd sounded concerned for Shay, something that was extremely confusing to him, but he was also firm when he insisted she go home.
Slate imagined that if a human were interested in keeping a Borrower that they wouldn’t allow them to leave or at the very least convince them to stay. Maybe it was a trick? Maybe he wanted to lure her into a false sense of security? It would be the quickest way to get to the family.
Still, Todd was careful with his little sister and she didn’t seem to be in distress. Dozens of scenarios crossed his mind, but each seemed further and further from the truth. The scary thing was that Slate was interested and was on the verge of believing that his sister may actually be right about this human. His watch continued and he had to decide now whether he was going to tell Beau about his theories and the encounter between Todd and Shay or if he was going to keep it to himself and watch how everything unfolded.
It was dangerous to keep information to himself, but Beau would undoubtedly have a negative reaction to hearing Shay snuck out to talk to Todd. He could bring it up to his sister directly, but that too would probably not be great. She wouldn’t like being “spied” on and would insist on meeting Todd. Just the thought of talking to a human made Slate shiver.
Then again, maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea.
Shay had done it.
She just did it and everything turned out fine. At the very least, it would reveal Todd’s intentions. If Beau or Icon were to keep watch while he went out and talked to Todd while Shay was at home doing something, perhaps they could get to the bottom of this mystery. It was a terrifying thought, but also thrilling. It was a steep ledge on either side. On one hand, Todd could be everything Shay said and they’d have to accept Shay’s friendship, if it could be called that, with a human, but they would still have to reveal themselves and talk to him. On the other hand, Todd could easily catch whoever approached him and the siblings would have little to no way of stopping something bad from happening.
Both cases weren’t ideal, but at the very least they would get answers.
Slate made up his mind. He would bring in Icon and Beau into the fold and set this trap for the human.
~~~~~*^*^*^*^~~~~~
Unfortunately, Slate’s prediction was correct. Beau was two seconds away from confronting Shay about the entire encounter and Icon nearly tried to sprint off to tell their parents. He barely managed to convince them to listen and spent the next hour persuading them that his plan was going to work or, at the very least, prove whether Todd was as good as Shay claimed him to be.
They drew string strips to determine who would actually go and talk to Todd while the other two watched. Beau hated the idea, but the younger two agreed it was only fair since Slate and Beau both volunteered and felt entitled to the position, Beau for being the oldest and Slate because he came up with the idea.
Slate ended up winning the draw.
They determined what Slate was going to say to Todd and, hopefully, all would go according to plan. The overall gist - leave us and our sister alone. They didn’t want it to sound like a threat, one because they didn’t want to anger the human and two because they actually were the smallest bit grateful to him for bringing their sister home safe and sound. Still, there needed to be clear boundaries and Shay couldn’t be objective and would most likely not cooperate if she knew the plan.
They loaded up their gear and safety supplies, trying desperately to keep from shaking in their borrowing boots as they headed out late one evening when they saw the other family members leave. Shay was busy helping their mother with dinner and, frankly, she hadn’t been outside the walls of their home other than her little excursion a few nights prior. They hoped they would be back in time for their family meal, but prepared mentally for the worst.
Through the walls, they crept along until they reached Todd’s room. The boys checked the sounds of the room and, when they were satisfied, climbed the walls to their positions - Slate on top of the dresser and Icon and Beau along the ceiling trim. Their hearts pounded in anticipation. It was clear they were nervous, but their stubborn determination was stronger.
Slate stayed crouched behind a couple of old and weird looking structures with what looked like crouched people on top until he saw a quick flash of light from the ceiling trim. He looked back out across the vast expanse of the room and saw Todd standing by his bed folding clothes. Now or never.
Slate, mouth dry and limbs shaking, stepped out from behind the structures and walked out into the open repeating over and over in his head that Shay had done this for two months on her own. He could do this. Just as Slate started to wonder how to get Todd’s attention, the human turned around, crouched by an open bag, and began shoving the folded clothes. Slate had to fight every urge to not run away when he saw how fast Todd could move if he wanted to. The middle brother began debating his choice when Todd went to stand up and their eyes met.
No.
He wasn’t ready for this.
How did Shay stand this?
“Oh… hi…” Todd hadn’t heard from Shay in a few days and feared she was being punished because she came to visit him. He couldn’t hardly do anything about it except to continue to act normal with the full knowledge that small people were living in his home. He hoped that he would get to see Shay again and the last thing he expected to see was another small person standing on his dresser.
Todd knew Shay had a family and, based on that, could only assume this was her brother. He looked too young to be her dad. They had some of the same features and, if he was being completely honest, seeing him reminded Todd of the first time he saw Shay in his apartment. Relying on the tactics he used with Shay, Todd very slowly sat on the ground while maintaining eye-contact with the new person on his dresser. There were several seconds of tense silence, which Todd decided to break first.
“Um… nice to meet you,” said Todd quietly. “I’m… Todd.”
Slate, who was on the receiving end, couldn’t stop the cold rigidness from seizing his body. He couldn’t even manage a cry for help at seeing Todd sit down, let alone continue the conversation the human was trying to have with him.
After a moment, Slate managed to choke out, “Hello.” It wasn’t a strong greeting, but it was the best he could muster given the circumstances. Todd simply nodded, a partially amused smile tugging at one side of his mouth. For Slate, this could be really good or really bad for him. Thankfully, Todd continued.
“Um… I hope everything is okay. Is Shay alright? She’s not sick or anything, right? I know I make you uncomfortable and everything, but if she needs anything or if you need anyth…”
“Just… stop!” Slate knew he was going slightly off of what he and his brothers agreed he would say, but Slate was starting to lose his nerve. Something about Todd offering to help made him bristle. Did he think they couldn’t take care of themselves? Did he see them as something to be taken care of? Like a pet? No!
It wasn’t until after that Slate realized that shouting at a human could have very negative consequences and he tried swallowing the lump rapidly forming in his throat. He could only imagine what his brothers were thinking of him. Slate tried forming the words to follow-up, but Todd spoke first.
“Sorry,” muttered the human. “I ramble a bit when I don’t know what else to say or when I get uncomfortable.”
Did Slate hear him right? Did he just apologize? He - a human - was uncomfortable around him?
“Really though, is Shay okay?” asked Todd. Slate had to go back to the original plan - the things he and his brothers planned for. Slate coughed nervously a couple of times before nodding.
“Yes, Shay is fine. I… wanted to say thank you… you know… for bringing her home safe.” Slate had to force the words out in between his heart thumping in his chest. He couldn’t help but pause for a breath every once in a while to help calm himself. His sister definitely had more gall than he credited her with for talking with a human for more than a few seconds. Slate kept a watchful eye on Todd to make sure he wasn’t grabbing anything like a jar or bag to capture him with.
Nothing.
In fact, the only thing Slate noticed about Todd was the thoughtful smile that crossed his face and nodded slowly while shoving his hands in a middle pocket on his hoodie.
“Of course. Anything to help,” replied Todd. There! Slate had an opening.
“Anything?” asked the middle brother.
“Yeah,” said Todd without hesitation. “Shay’s my friend. I’d do anything to help her; or her family for that matter.” Slate bit his lip, breath quickening. This was it. Moment of truth.
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