A Lilliputian Perspective (reupload)

Chapter 3

Chapter Text

Alfur, Twig and Raven spent the day helping Hilda adapt to the change. It wasn't going to be easy, but they were willing to help make her hopefully limited time as an elf less confusing in the eyes of a former human.

Hilda got the hang of jumping and climbing around the furniture very quickly, but easily got tired out. Alfur was very used to it, though. It wasn't very exhausting for him.

"Nobody told me Alfur was so good at parkour," Raven blurts out. The two elves and deerfox glance at him in confusion.

"What's parkour?" Alfur asks.

"Never mind," Raven mutters.

Hilda now even had her own little setup in Alfur's house to sleep. They spent most of the evening talking after Raven left.

"...-and believe me, if I could change my name, I would," Alfur pouts, "I despise it, to be perfectly honest."

"Why?" Hilda inquires.

Alfur's face turns red in embarrassment, turning away.

"...My parents were not very creative. My mother was a wonderful lady, bless her heart, but when it came to naming children, she chose the worst options. Just imagine if your name was "Manna" or something."

"I think that's an okay name..."

"If you knew what it meant, in your case, I think you'd be cursing your name, too. But I still feel grateful that my name isn't something like... I don't know, Chauncey?" He chuckles.

"Eww! That would be the worst. Sounds like the name of a 19-year-old goat that lost all of his teeth and drinks... liquified grass."

Hilda's ears perk up in curiosity, giggling a little, but she leaves the subject alone. That's a... very strange thing to associate with a name.

The little girl's eyes wander back to the framed faded photos on the shelf, the piles of paper neatly stacked and most likely alphabetized. Alfur was certainly what Frida only wished she could be.

"Is it scary? ...Being so little? Do you ever feel vulnerable or... insignificant?" Hilda asks.

Alfur tilts his head, his eyes flickering slightly as if he's gotten these questions before and was experiencing some kind of deja vu. Raven probably asked him that.

"...You're going to be seeing everything in an entirely different way. The rest of the world is so much bigger for elves than it is for humans. And you're an elf living in human territory, where everything outside here is gargantuan and possibly dangerous, though we're mostly protected by contracts. It can be scary, but you're an adventurer, Hilda. From what I recall, you're the bravest person I know."

His expression is unreadable.

"No, no one, no matter how small or large, can be insignificant. Vulnerable, sure, sometimes..."

"Do I have to make a big fuss over paperwork now?"

The taller elf looks mildly offended.

"Paperwork isn't all we do, you know. It's kind of... well, mandatory for elves. It's how we organize and whatnot... maybe not for the Lost Clan, but the rest of us, yes.

"And hey," Alfur adds, "now that you're an elf, too, I don't have to shout so much for you to hear me! I missed you, indoor voice..."

Hilda's lips form a straight line. This was probably the longest conversation they've had, which made her feel guilty. It put in perspective how much she didn't really know about Alfur. She glances at the stacks of paperwork and wonders if he's overworking himself. Put with the fact that she technically used a powerful enchantment on herself, she figures that she's stressed him out enough. She runs over and hugs him as he sits down again. When he reciprocates the gesture, she can't help but smile.