Shrunken

Chapter 3

Seto's POV

Scaring her was the last thing I wanted, but all my attempts to calm her had failed. Tyra looked so cute at that size, small and innocent, but scared half to death at the mere sight of me. I guess she didn't like how big I must have seemed to her, nor the fact that she was only slightly taller than my longest finger. I wanted keep her calm, show her I wasn't a threat. As gently as possible, I picked up her tiny, fragile body in a soft grip and placed her in my palm. She let out a squeak of terror and tensed, looking torn between giving into her instincts and struggling, and remaining obedient.

I frowned at the desperation in her eyes. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," I said softly. "What happened in there?"

She met my eyes again, hers wide and filled with fear. "I-I was l-looking for a f-fire charge, b-but I hit m-my head on the sh-shelf a-and a potion f-fell on m-me..." she stuttered.

"Calm down... you're okay. Just breathe. I'll fix this..." I reassured her, adding with a whisper. "I hope..."

Tyra hugged her knees and curled into a fetal position, the color draining from her face. Her lapis eyes locked onto my gaze, a shudder running down her spine when she finally averted her stare and shut her eyes. I lightly brushed my fingertip against her cheek, my heart twisting with guilt at the expression of fear on her face.

"I-I'm really s-sorry... I thought y-you'd be m-mad at m-me," she stammered, diminutive tears forming in the corners of her eyes.

"No, no, I'd never be mad at you for something like that. That potion was an experiment, I was going test it on something else, but.... er, well..." My voice trailed off, not needing to finish the obvious statement.

"How l-long a-am I gonna b-be l-like this?"

"I'm not sure, I'll need to make a counter-effect potion. But first thing's first, you need to calm down. I won't let anything happen to you."

"I-I know b-but I-I'm just n-not used t-to th-this..."

"I'm sorry, but you're gonna have to get used to it... I'm gonna have to get used to this too," I said, frowning. "You're gonna have to stay with me until I can get you back to normal..."

"Y-you're n-n-not going t-to t-tell anyone... R-right?"

"Of course not."

"Brice?"

I hesitated, "I'm not sure how he'll react to this... this'll be a secret... for now..."

As if on cue, Brice tapped the door and came in, grinning. I quickly slipped Tyra into my inner cloak pocket before she could protest.

~

"Hey man," Brice said casually. "How's the potion coming along?"

"Uh... well..." I was about to reply.

He sent me a look of confusion, "What happened? You look like you saw a ghost."

"Nothing... just kinda stressed..." I half-lied, I was stressed...

"I can tell you're lying." His expression changed to suspicious.

"Don't push me," I threatened.

"Mkay, you need your space. I get it. See ya later Seto," Brice said, leaving.

I sighed and reached into my pocket, feeling for Tyra and taking her out. "Sorry, very limited options...." I apologized.

"Its alright," she shrugged, sitting cross-legged in my palm. She seemed less afraid.

"Not scared of me anymore?" I smiled, cupping my hand.

"Well, I was just startled at first... but I'm okay now. I think..."

"It's not the end of the world."

"Exactly, but my survival rate just shrunk... literally."