Lore ducks her head underneath another wooden beam, greeting it as if it's an old friend. To her though it was, being the very first thing she used to map out the house when she moved into its walls.
After walking down the tunnel she takes a left from the plank to enter a little room cleared every trace of mice nests and webs. In front of her stands a small table for one with her bed tucked into the corner away from a makeshift pantry. All homemade, the feeling of love spreads through the room out of her little figure.
Hopping over to the table she sighs at the sight of her thimble chair tumbled over, showing signs that another draft got in. She pushes it from her mind as the contents from a strong leather bag pour onto the sturdy card table. Glancing at her chair a face is made as she ponders what a human could possibly use a thimble for. It can't hold sewing needles or cotton balls. Water yes but it's too little for a human to consider it a great cup.
Lore is a strange little borrower. Instead of simply taking things the owners wouldn't mind being gone, she thinks about each and every purpose they use them for while taking them. Not that she'll ever be able to do what the giants of the world do, but she enjoys the idea, even going as far as to learn about the humans owning the house she lives in without their knowledge.
She always gives her parents a heart attack at the stunts she pulls, but at least Lore doesn't cower in fear at the mention of humans...
Shaking her head of the rude comments she smiles at the food she managed to collect this time. A full cheerio, a piece of chocolate the wife dropped, and even a sliver of beef. With the great find she can lay low and maybe watch a movie tonight like the couple always does.
The clang of Lore's bent paper clip reminds her of all the hard work it takes to accomplish the task. A groan escapes her as she nods in agreement. Besides, it was still light outside.
A smile lights up her face as when she realizes with all the food in the pantry, she can go and check out the alleyway. Racing quietly out of the 'room', her footsteps pad through the halls toward a well remembered spot she found a while back. Past the slowly dripping water pipe and heater, around the crisscross beams of the house's structure and she comes to halt at a small hole leading to the outside.
A hole that barely stands just a bit lower than her two inch frame, she's come to love the way out without any fear of humans finding her. No matter how careless she is the lessons Lore's parents drilled into her still keep the loud voice of exploration and curiosity at a safe distance. Luckily the hole was already there, making sure no extra work had to be put in. And the best part, in leads into an alleyway that ends, making anyone thinking to go in immediately turn around the way they came.
Her cloth shoes step out as se ducks into the alleyway when an unfamiliar noise sounds, slowly getting louder and louder.
Lore jerks back into the safety of the walls after hearing the weird sound coming from outside. Leaning against the wall out of sight, she compares it to be mostly like an engine, having the quality of sound many cars she's heard have, but then again it seems as if it's wheezing. It's almost like a pure engine that's just having a bit trouble to start or stop.
Peeking her head back out just to see what exactly happened, her eyes land on a giant blue, box. On the top a white paint spells the words POLICE. What seems to be a door holds a sign reading about how to contact said police mentioned. From the angle its at to her spot Lore estimates it's a fairly large box for her, about three feet by three feet. All in all though it seems like a normal telephone both.
The problem is the box was never there before, and never has there been any other boxes in the little alleyway. Lore loved that about the spot, so how can a bright blue box just seemingly appear out of nowhere in one night?
Slowly standing up, Lore again begins to duck out of the hole, too curious to not check out the weird phone booth. Suddenly though, an extremely tall man nearly sprints out of the box, not bothering to shut it as he races out of the alleyway, a brown coat billowing behind him like a hero with a cape.
It all happens so fast the borrower doesn't even think about hiding until he's completely out of sight.
Trailing over the path he took, her mind reels with the possibilities of what he could possibly be doing. Movement from the corner of her eye attracts her attention right back to the blue box as the door swings open from the quick exit. Staring at it, it stays open, practically inviting the borrower to come take a look.
Just for a moment.
Lore makes sure the paper clip on her belt is secure as she sprints across the alleyway's cobblestone pattern. Having done it a few times before she expertly leaps over the small chasms humans easily ignored for being too small to be noticed.
Upon closer inspection the fine grain stands out in different colors than just the blue she saw from afar. Shrugging though her head twists to the wide open door, revealing a large room. Biting her lip shows the indecision inside the small head of hers. On one side her parents and even her carefree sister yell to get away from an enclosed space a human can easily trap her inside. On the other though, she gets the feeling the small-yet-not-small box can answer her a few questions about humans she never could have before.
Sucking a deep breath the first voice is slammed down as Lore hops over the edge of the door, landing soundly on a metallic plate. Her body quickly walks toward the giant console like object that stands in the middle of the room. Glancing left to right her wide eyes capture everything inside the beautiful room. The ceiling is higher than anything she's ever seen before, and to top it off there's even a lower level beneath the holed metal walkway.
Lore's smile lights up her face as she takes in the view of the giant console. Not only does it have screens and plenty of love put into it just like her little room, with some of the levers looking like parts from a car. A glowing button looks as if one it's the type of buttons used for human coats before. It draws her, but the floor below the small holes barely being too small to make her fall in is just too fascinating. A few lights flicker from below and reflects off her wide blue eyes.
A glance at the door reveals no one has come back, or even close to the strange blue box. Her lip again is bit out of habit as she contemplates the danger of staying longer or getting to safety.
No, too much for one day. Don't get caught up in all of it. Go home.
Lore sighs as she nods her head in resignation, turning toward the still wide open door. But as she glances down one final time, the sound of footsteps slowly get louder at a quick pace. Immediately the borrower whips out her paper clip and snags it the the edge of the raised floor, leaping off without so much as thinking about it.
About one inch above the floor she twists her leg into the fishing line and grabs on tightly to stop herself. The sting on her hands as they turn bright red is ignored when the sound of the door swinging shut echoes around the room. Her breath coming in short bursts, but at least there, she flicks her paper clip into her waiting hand and quickly ducks behind a metal cylinder of some sort.
She holds her head between her knees, silently hoping the giant in the room wouldn't find her.