After they got done with fishing and selling things at the market the next day and had gotten lunch, Mattie asked if they could explore the town more. Ivan said it was fine and brought him to see a more residential part of town, a peaceful area, one where Mattie could see the families and a little of how they lived.

There were a lot of children running around and Ivan thought that was a good thing. It was the older ones that were mean and threw things; these ones were still too timid to talk to someone they didn't know. Although there were quite a few women that gave Ivan serious looks or just watched him walk by until he was out of sight.

Mattie smiled at everyone they passed and said hello to several people, attempting to interact and be friendly with them, Ivan saying nothing as the boy tried to be friendly. A few people gave an uncertain wave though most just glanced at Mattie without saying anything, and few of the children had stopped to stare but quickly ran off when the pair had gotten closer.

Mattie's happy smile started fading slowly as his attempts of interacting with the others failed again and again, causing Ivan to frown. It wasn't the boy's fault that the townsfolk avoided him, but he kept trying, still smiling and saying hello to people though not nearly as enthusiastic as he had been when he had started.

Suddenly, Ivan decided to do something very risky. He stopped and looked to the boy. "Mattie, would you like a sweet treat?"

The boy stopped as well and turned to look at him, tilting his head curiously. "Like the bread from the market?" He asks curiously.

"Yes, like that. Would you like some?"

Mattie considered this for a moment before nodding, watching as Ivan then did a quick look around. "Could you wait there?" The man asked, pointing to a big tree stump. "I'll only be a few minutes."

The boy tilted his head a little in confusion, unsure why he couldn't just follow Ivan but nodded anyway. "Okay." He then went over to the stump and stopped there, watching Ivan leave to get the sweet treat and waiting for the man to return.

Ivan dreaded leaving Mattie alone; he didn't know how people would treat the boy without him around. He feared that once he was out of sight, a group of them would attack the innocent boy. The man hurried to get the treat, but also stalled long enough to give Mattie a chance of getting to talk to someone.

)*(

Mattie stood patiently for a minute or two before sitting down on the stump and continuing to look around him quietly. A small group of children had taken notice of Ivan's absence and stood a distance away from the new person. They had never seen a woman so tall before and were curious as well as cautious. As Mattie took notice of the children, he smiled at them a little.

Two girls smiled back and one boy did a little wave, causing Mattie to smile a bit more and wave back. The children whispered to each other for a bit, looking back over to Mattie every now and then before they slowly moved closer to him. It was like a little cluster of ducklings following one another.

Mattie waited where he was quietly, smiling a little and watching them start to move towards him, stopping about six feet away. The children seemed unsure about what they were doing until a little boy pushed himself to the front of the group. "Who are you?" He demanded.

"Mattie." The merman replied calmly, a soft smile still on his face.

"What do you want?" For such a small boy, the child was rather nasty, scowling and crossing his arms at Mattie. Though it was possible that he was just trying to show off.

"Nothing." Mattie tilted his head a bit in confusion, not sure why the child was being so hostile towards him.

"Lair. The giant never goes anywhere without wanting something."

"I was just saying hello." Mattie says with a soft, confused little frown. "Is it not a good thing to do?"

"Hello doesn't mean safe." One of the other children spoke up.

"Hello doesn't mean not safe either." Mattie points out after a moment.

"... You should leave." The boy said after a little bit. "If you don't, I'll get my brother."

"Why? I am just sitting here."

"Because nobody likes giants! They do what they want and hurt people!"

"But I'm not hurting anyone…"

"But you will."

"I don't think I will." Mattie says, looking down at his lap dejectedly. "I don't like seeing people hurt. I don't want to hurt anyone either…"

"I won't fall for your tricks giant. You're a lair."

"You are not nice." Mattie says softly in a sad tone of voice as he stood up. He then walked away from the children, going the way Ivan had left earlier and hoping he'd find him on the way.

"Leave and don't come back mother killer!" The boy shouted after Mattie, though he stayed where he was.

Mattie quickly left the area, his smile completely gone as he looked for Ivan. He had barely gotten out of the neighborhood when he realized he wasn't quite sure which way to go to find Ivan in the first place.

)*(

Ivan had returned after a while with a small bag but when he saw that Mattie wasn't at the tree stump, he panicked. No, no, no, no, NO! He was looking around everywhere for the boy. "Mattie!?" Ivan turned and shouted at the nearest person. "Did you see a woman, about this tall!?"

The poor young lad just about jumped out of his skin, petrified of the man. Ivan really didn't feel like repeating himself but stormed up to the boy. "S-she went that way! Please don't hurt me!" The lad squealed, pointing in the direction he just came.

The bag was forgotten as Ivan ran off, hoping that he would find Mattie before someone who wanted to hurt him did.

When Ivan was outside of the residential area, he spotted Mattie almost instantly. Almost. His eyes had fallen on a young man that he knew all too well; he had been in a fight with him and his friends too many times to be overlooked. This boy was looking at Mattie with the same hate he had always directed towards Ivan.

Ivan would have ignored it, he would have called to Mattie, he would have run to him, but he didn't because the boy had started to twirl his sling. A sling which no doubt held a rock with the most edges on it the boy could find. He was cruel, always wanting blood when he fought and nothing less. Ivan had scars from that little toy and was not about to let Mattie have ones to match.

Ivan charged at the boy, startling the people he nearly ran over. Ivan lashed out and grabbed the boy's arm before he could launch the rock, said rock falling from the sling and hitting the ground nearby. Once the boy realized who had the nerve grab him, he let his guard slip and Ivan swiftly grabbed his free arm and pulled it into a painful position behind his back before shoving him into the dirt. The boy gave a shout of pain while women and children cried out in fear as they ran away.

Kneeling down and pushing down more onto the twisted arm, Ivan made sure this boy knew what he was in for. "If I ever see you or one of you friends even attempt to hurt Mattie again. I will break your arms, boy." He growled out, loud enough for everyone to hear so everyone would know.

Mattie didn't see the boy with the sling but he did see Ivan grab the boy as well as everything that followed. He watched with wide, startled eyes, not quite sure exactly what was going on. He could quite clearly hear Ivan's words but he didn't really know what to do or how to respond to this situation at all, just continuing to stare.

"Why?" The boy grinned even though he was in great pain. Cocky bastard-. "I would be more merciful than you ever could. You'll just watch while you kill her slowly. Just like you did to y-" A horrific sound was heard as Ivan had pulled the boy's arm from its socket with a swift pop, the boy's shout of agony following the sound.

"Anything else you want to say before I pull the other one out?" Ivan asked coldly as the boy as he thrashed in his hold. A few men shouted at Ivan to stop and rushed in to grab him but Ivan had shoved the other men back, not in the mood to deal with them at the moment.

Mattie cringed at the scream and without really thinking quickly ran forward until he'd reached Ivan. "House." He demands, tugging on Ivan's sleeve insistently. This situation was only getting more confusing and scary as time passed and he wanted to leave and go back to the house now.

Ivan almost shoved Mattie away before he realized who it was and suddenly stopped what he was doing. He let go of the mean boy and stood, not caring about anything else as he wrapped his arms around Mattie. "Mattie, I'm so sorry. I should have never left you." He whispered as he gently nuzzled the boy. "Are you hurt? Did anyone hurt you?" A few people were already helping the boy Ivan had hurt up, wanting to hurry and bring him to a doctor to get his arm fixed up.

Mattie shook his head and pushed Ivan back to stop both the hug and the nuzzling. "House now." He demands again, grabbing Ivan's hand and tugging it insistently as he took a step in the direction he thought Ivan's house was. Ivan didn't argue and hurried away with him before anything else happened.

They walked back to the house quietly, holding hands and not stopping until they were back inside Ivan's little hut.

"Are you hurt?" Ivan asked again as he shut the front door behind them, deeply worried that there was something that Ivan couldn't see, like bruises.

Mattie shook his head. "No, not hurt."

Ivan then gave a sigh of relief and smiled. "I am glad to hear that. I feared you were hurt when I couldn't find you."

"I left because a child said he would get his brother if I stayed. I didn't want anything bad to happen so I just left to look for you." Mattie says quietly, not looking at Ivan.

Ivan was frowning now; he had hoped the children would have been kinder to the boy. Mattie looked so gentle, how could someone think ill of him? "I'm sorry."

"He was not nice." The boy frowned softly. "… What do giant and liar mean? The child said both many times."

Ivan thought hearing that was even worse; his names were being passed on to Mattie. He hated it but he would save his rage for later and spoke softly to the boy. "A liar is someone who doesn't tell the truth and a giant is a big, ugly, dumb, human looking creature."

"What do ugly and dumb mean…?"

"Ugly is something you don't like to see, like rotting fish. Dumb means you can't think or do anything on your own."

"Oh... What does killer mean?" The merman had a pretty good idea of what it meant but he wasn't positive and wanted to know for sure.

Ivan stared at him in shock, wondering what awful things had been said to him to hear that word. "Someone who hunts because they can, not because they need to, but most times when it is said it means someone who hunted their own kind." He answered sadly.

"Oh." The boy then fell silent, just looking down at his feet and not saying anything.

"Mattie...?" Ivan knelt down so he could look him in the eye, one hand reaching out to gently touch the other's cheek. "Listen to me, don't listen to their hateful words. They are not about you. They do not know you."

Mattie's cheeks were wet with tears though he didn't seem to notice them at all. He just reached both arms out for a hug silently and Ivan didn't hesitate a second pulling the boy in close right away. He hadn't known the boy was crying, nor had never seen Mattie cry before; his heart ached just from the sight of it. "Oh Mattie, I'm so sorry. I'm so, so sorry. I will never do that again. I won't let them hurt you. I'll protect you."

"Not hurt." The boy mumbles, hugging him tightly and hiding his face in Ivan's chest.

"But you're crying Mattie, you've never cried before." He nuzzled the top of the boy's head. "They may not have hurt you on the outside, but they hurt your feelings. That's just as bad."

"Crying?" The boy asks in confusion.

"When water comes from your eyes." Ivan answered gently.

"Oh." He fell quiet and just nuzzled Ivan.

"... Do you hate them? For what they said?"

Mattie was quiet for a moment or two in thought before he shook his head no.

"Are you mad at me?"

"No." The reply was instant as he shook his head again. "Why would I be mad at you?"

"Everything that they said to you was because of me and... Then what I did to that boy."

"Not mad… but that was scary." Mattie admits softly.

"I'm sorry you saw that but I didn't want him to hurt you."

"But he was not close to me...?"

"He didn't have to be. He was going to throw a sharp rock at you. He has done it many times in the past."

"Oh…" Mattie pulled back a little and wiped the tears off his face.

Ivan helped wipe away the tears with a caring touch and a smile. "Next time we go to town, stay with me. Okay?" He requests softly.

"Don't like being left on my own. It is not fun." Was Mattie's almost pouty response.

"I'll never let you out of my sight again unless we're hunting. I only did that in hopes that they would accept you if I was not around, but I was wrong." Ivan felt horrible; it was all his fault from start to finish; Mattie couldn't make new friends or even freely walk around because of him.

"The other childs may be nice. Not sure though. Just the mean one talked."

"Children" Ivan corrected softly, though he was impressed that Mattie was trying to figure out the language on his own. "And if you want to go back and try again, then we will. But I will stay with you next time." The children might be a good step towards Mattie being accepted. While they may always hate Ivan, he didn't mine. He just wanted Mattie to be happy since the boy was used to being around a big family and a lot of friends.

"Children." Mattie repeats, giving a nod. "…Maybe try again in a few days. Don't want to go back to town right now."

"I understand. Would you like to lie down in the bed for a while? Or are you hungry?"

"Bed." He responds after a moment. "Not hungry." He had been a little hungry earlier but to be honest, he really wasn't hungry at all right now. Learning what the words the child had called him had ruined his appetite for the moment.

Ivan said no more and brought him to bed, worried that if Mattie was reacting this badly to insults from a child, his reaction to insults from the adults would be even worse.

Mattie just snuggled in bed with Ivan quietly for a while after that.

)*(

About a week later, Mattie asked to be taken to town again.

In town again together for the first time, Ivan was anything but calm. He had already dealt with heated words and actions towards him at the docks while leaving Mattie either on the boat or in the water this past week. So far, the most they got today was a few quick angered or frightened looks before people went about their day.

Ivan bought the two of them a bag of treats to share as they walked and Mattie nibbled on the treats quietly, holding hands with Ivan as they walked. He wasn't really smiling or greeting anyone, just quietly observing the townsfolk instead.

"Where would you like to go today?" Ivan asked quietly.

"Don't know." Mattie replies just as quietly. "Somewhere I have not been yet?"

Ivan thought about it for a moment. "There's the church. I'm sure you'd like the paintings."

"Okay." The boy nodded. "What do those words mean?"

"I think I'd rather show you this time." The man smiled and changed their direction towards the church.

"Oh, okay."

)*(

The church was the largest building in town and one of the few that was made mostly of stone. It was a tiny thing compared to all the grand ones on the main land though. When they got there, Mattie's eyes went wide as he looked up at it; it was by far the biggest thing he'd seen on land yet and he looked upon it with curious eyes as they approached it.

"Wait until you see the inside." Ivan whispered in his ear, more for the fun of it than to keep his voice down. When he pushed open the big doors, only a few people were inside but they didn't even turn their heads to see who came in.

Mattie's eyes went wide upon seeing the paintings that covered the walls and the stained glass windows that sent colored light dancing across the room. "Beautiful." The boy whispers to Ivan, completely in awe of all the nice looking things in the room.

Ivan nodded with a bright smile and pointed to one painting, explaining what it was. That one word was definitely better with a solid example. After thoroughly exploring the church, Ivan sat down on one of the benches still munching on the sweets, allowing Mattie to wander the place on his own since Ivan could easily see him from his seat.

The boy took a piece of the sweets with him, munching on it quietly and continuing to look around at the paintings and stained glass windows. A smile was on his face and his eyes were wide in awe and wonder of all these nice looking things.

Great relief finally washed over Ivan as the smile remained on the boy's face; he had feared that Mattie would have lingered in the pain or lost some joy in the town because of what had been said to him.

Mattie smiled and walked around the church even after he'd eaten all of his snack. He was just quietly observing all the nice things in here and enjoying how he couldn't see or hear anything mean coming from the townsfolk inside. In fact, no one else seemed to care that they were even there.

After a while, Mattie came back over and sat down next to Ivan. He rested his head on Ivan's shoulder and grabbed another piece to nibble on quietly, a soft little smile on his face.

"You like it here?" Ivan chuckled, wrapping an arm around the boy.

Mattie nodded. "Yes. It's beautiful here and no one says mean things to us or looks at us not nicely."

"That's because it's a church, everyone must be respectful when inside." Ivan explained regrettably, wanting Mattie to live in the little dream world but unable to allow that since it wouldn't be wise. The boy needed to be aware of these things; he couldn't stay as innocent as a child forever in Ivan's world.

"Oh." Mattie was quiet for a few moments before speaking again. "Well, it's still nice."

"Yes it is."

Mattie smiled and snacked, and when the snacks ran out, he just quietly enjoyed the peace and calmness of the church. He was glad that there was at least one place aside from Ivan's little hut that they could go and not get mean words and looks from the townsfolk.

"We can come here whenever you like. But just know that there is one day where this place will be full of people."

"Do they still have to be respectful on that day?" Mattie asks curiously.

"Yes, if not more so on that day."

"Why do they all come here on that day?"

"It's a day for God and a day for prayer. Some come because they want to, some come because they have to, and others come just to see others here."

"Oh. What do those words mean?"

"Which? God and prayer?" Ivan sighed shortly after. That would take all day to explain and he still wouldn't understand. "I can't tell you, they mean different things to different people."

"Oh… okay." Mattie nodded. "Can we try coming here on that day?" He asks after a moment or two. "I want to see what it's like then."

"If that is what you want, Mattie." Ivan smiled down at him and Mattie just smiled back up at him and nodded. He then snuggled close and just sat there contently with Ivan for a while longer.

)*(

After two peaceful hours in the church, Ivan asked if he would like to see the children again and Mattie nodded after a moment of thought. "Can we get another sweet treat first?"

Ivan ruffled his hair playfully. "Sure and you can pick this time."

Mattie giggled softly and nodded. "Okay." He held hands with Ivan on the way to get their sweet treat.

He picked a sweet snack that looked like it would be easy to share and gave Ivan a little, holding the rest of it in the little bag in one hand so he could hold hands with Ivan on the way to the residential area too.

While the hand holding was nice, Ivan still felt a little embarrassed when he noticed people staring. It was a different kind of stare than he normally received and he didn't know how to take it.

When they got to the same area, Mattie quietly asked Ivan to watch him from off to the side while he sat down on the tree stump again with the snack. Ivan did as Mattie asked, but grew tenser the farther he was from the boy. But to Ivan's amazement, a little girl about ten years old walked up to Mattie after staring at him for a few moments.

Mattie was munching on a piece of the snack quietly, looking up and smiling at the girl softly when he noticed her. "Hello." He calls out to her quietly.

"Hello." She said softly. She didn't seem shy or timid, as she looked Mattie over though. If anything, she was just being careful.

"Would you like a sweet treat?" Mattie took another piece out of the bag and put it in the palm of his hand before holding out his hand and offering it to her.

The girl looked at the treat, then at Ivan, and then at Mattie.

"He will stay over there. He is just watching me to make sure I don't get lost or hurt." Mattie explains with a soft smile.

"How do you get lost? You can see over everyone."

"Well yes, but I haven't been here very long." The boy explains with a soft giggle. "I don't know where everything is yet. It's very easy to get lost when you don't know where everything is."

"Can I really have that?" The girl asked, changing the topic as she pointed to the treat.

Mattie nodded. "Yes. I wouldn't say you could have it if I didn't mean it."

The girl gave a little smile and took the treat before sitting down next to Mattie, humming away as she ate. Mattie smiled happily and took out another piece, eating it quietly and offering the girl another piece when she'd finished the first one.

Ivan could only watch happily from afar as he watched the little girl and Mattie interact, even laughing a bit as he had the thought that the scene looked a little like a mother and daughter spending time together.

Mattie smiled happily and interacted with the girl, sharing his bag of treats with her and asking what her name was. The little girl was just about to answer when she saw a group of young children coming in their direction and scowled in anger.

Mattie followed her gaze to the children and sighed softly, watching them approach. It was the same group of kids from the first time Mattie had been here.

The girl then hopped off the tree stump and ran at the group. "Nanook!" She yelled in rage, making all the boys scream and make a run for it as she tackled one of them to the ground, making the two girls that had been with them laugh.

Mattie blinked and watched the scene unfold in surprise. He hadn't been expecting her to do that at all. Ivan too was bewildered as he watched what happened. The girl was shouting at the boy she had pinned and he was clearly crying.

Mattie got up after a second or two and walked over, kneeling down a little ways away from them with the bag of treats still in one hand. "That's not a very nice thing to do." He points out softly. He wasn't scolding the girl, just pointing it out.

The girl pulled the boy up into a sitting position; it was the same boy that had bullied Mattie last time. He was still sobbing as he looked up at Mattie. "Nanook, you will say you're sorry. Right now!" The girl scolded. "Or I will get Mama and she will make you say you're sorry."

Mattie blinked in surprise at her words and just looked at the little boy, waiting to see what he'd do.

"I-I'm sorry." He said, sniveling as he closed his eyes. The other girls tried not to laugh too hard at the sight as they watched.

"Sorry for what?"

"I'm sorry for calling you a-a giant and a killer. I'm soorry!" The boy wailed. "I'm sorry, don't tell Mama!"

Mattie smiled a little at the apology, even if it was somewhat of a forced one.

"I won't if you go and say sorry to everyone you told lies to." The girl then let the boy go and stood up. Nanook took off in a hurry right after.

"Nanook went around bragging that he had scared off the girl giant and you were the only one besides Ivan that is tall enough so when I saw you... I thought I'd see what my wimpy brother had really done." The girl explained before giving a bright smile. "My name is Natalya."

"I see." Mattie smiled back at her. "It's nice to meet you Natalya. My name is Mattie."

"You're a nice tall girl Mattie, I like you. Do you know how I can be tall just like you?"

"I like you too. You're very nice Natalya." Mattie says happily, though he tilted his head a little at her question. "Why do you want to be tall like me?"

"So that I can beat all the boys! I want to be strong just like my Mama, but I want to be tall too! That way I can crush them with just my hand and hide my stuff where they can't reach." She gave a small cheer of triumph and the other girls cheered along for the sake of it. "I'll teach those boys to never mess with a girl!"

Mattie stared in surprise before giggling softly. "Well, I'm sorry to say that I don't know how you can get taller faster but I'm sure you'll get taller over time." He says with a smile. "Though I don't think it's possible to crush anyone with just a hand. I've never done it before."

"That's just 'cause you have no muscle." The girl flexed her arms to show off her strength.

"Very nice." Mattie compliments with a smile. "Yes, I don't have much arm muscle. I think all my muscle went to my legs instead." He paused a moment before holding up the bag of treats. "Would you and your friends like to share the rest of the treats with me?"

"I would!" One of the younger girls exclaims, bouncing up and down on her toes. Mattie smiled and beckoned her over, opening the bag of treats and holding it out for her to take a piece from.

)*(

Later when they went back to Ivan's hut, Matthew was holding his hand and smiling happily. "It was fun playing with the little girls." He comments when they reached home.

"I am happy to hear that. After Natalya, you had so many girls on you I thought I would have to go hunting for you." Ivan chuckled and gave Mattie's had a gentle squeeze.

Mattie giggled a little and squeezed back. "It is very nice being around children again. I'd almost forgotten how much I enjoy them."

"I suppose they are nice, but I rarely interact with them. Their parents throw a fit if I do. Then the whole town hears about it and I get into a fight. It's not worth it." He sighed.

"Oh." Mattie squeezed Ivan's hand gently again. "Well, I enjoyed it. I always enjoyed watching after children with my family too."

Ivan smiled at this. "I wonder what the children of your kind look like."

"A bit like me, only much smaller. They're not that different from children of your kind. They like playing and having fun and getting into trouble sometimes."

Ivan pictured a group of tiny mermaids swimming about like a school of fish. "I bet they can be quite troublesome."

"Sometimes." Mattie gave a shrug, still smiling. "It'd be nice to have children of my own someday."

Once Mattie had said that, it dawned on Ivan that Mattie would have to leave someday.

He had gotten so caught up in his own happiness that he hadn't thought about Mattie's. Ivan felt horrible now but continued to smile. "You will. You'll have a big family full of wonderful children. Just promise me that you'll visit?" He was uncertain with the last part. Would Mattie come back?

Mattie tilted his head a little. "Yes, of course. We do swim up this way when the waters are nice and warm." He smiled. "Though there is quite some time before I can have children. I need a…" He hesitated, not knowing the word for it.

"A woman...?" Ivan offered.

Mattie blinked in surprise before shaking his head. "No."

"No?" Ivan did a double take in surprise and confusion.

The boy nodded. "No."

Ivan opened his mouth a few times, baffled and trying to understand what he missed. "But... you want children."

"Yes." Mattie nodded again and put one hand on his own stomach to hopefully help him understand. "But I can't have them unless I have someone else."

Ivan's hand was pulled away so quickly that he hit himself in the side. The man looked greatly startled, trying to keep his smile on his face as he gave a strangled laugh. "You… You are a funny one Mattie. Learning to tell jokes already?"

Mattie however didn't seem amused and gave a soft, puzzled look. He tilted his head to the side as he struggled to understand what Ivan had meant by that. "I… I am not a… a liar…" He says slowly.

Ivan then realized that Mattie didn't know what a joke was. "B-but you are a man?"


I apologize for the wait. Life has been trying to prevent us from posting. There will be a double update this week but sadly the next chapter won't be posted until tomorrow, September 2. We will however be giving you the normal update today. I'm still in the process of editing Through the Moon but that update will be posted today. It will be probably updated an hour after the other two stories so be patient with me a little while longer concerning that story. Again, I apologize and thank you all for being so patient with us.

-GQ