Chapter 12: A Picnic With a Cat-Boy and His Girl

As I expected, no danger came along my path as I rode back to Beacontown on Lluna, who seemed more than happy to get out of Champion City and Stella's hair for today.

When the llama stopped in front of the red gates that I was all too familiar with, I jumped off her comfy, furry back and onto the ground. "Goodbye, Lluna!" I waved to the llama with a big smile on my face.

Lluna did likewise and started walking back to Champion City. At least, that was what she wanted Stella to believe. Instead, she tried to reconvene with her kind in the forest as I suggested on my way back.

As Lluna walked off, I walked underneath the small hole beside the red gates which, to my surprise, hadn't been patched up since I left Beacontown unnoticed. I figured that during all that time I wasted cleaning up Lluna for Stella, someone would've covered the hole up... But no, that hole seems to have been completely ignored by those who could've wished to fix it.

I anticipated that Beacontown would be alive and buzzing by the time I got back from Champion City, and as it turned out, I was right. Every citizen I knew there was casually walking around, continuing their builds, chatting to one another, enjoying their day, the usual everyday stuff.

As much as this lovely sight put a big grin on my face, I couldn't let myself get distracted watching all these beautiful people enjoying themselves. Exploring the world outside Beacontown was fun and all, but I bet Jesse was most likely worrying about me, wondering where I am right now...

With no hesitation, I made a run for the Order Hall, but since I couldn't be bothered to check my surroundings, an enormous, heavy white sneaker fell onto my body. The tremendous amount of pressure the shoe was putting onto my poor, helpless form made me feel like I was getting crushed to death.

"Aaah! Someone get this thing off me! I'm being trampled by a freaking monument-sized foot!" I screamed into the cold, hard ground.

As I kept screaming for help that would most likely never come, the shoe lifted itself off my crunched and injured body. "Owww..." I groaned in pain, slowly turning my back so I could see the person who just stepped on me.

The individual who trod on my small, defenceless self was wearing an orange hoodie, dark blue denims and white Vans, and the female companion alongside him was donning a white and blue striped long sleeve shirt, blue jeans, and brown leather boots. I let out another groan of pain as I brought more of my attention to the massive duo who looked concerned and frightened as they examined my damaged body.

"Oh no!" The giant boy exclaimed. "Are you okay, tiny person? I didn't see you there!" He picked me up with his hands and brought me up to his dark green eyes. "Are you okay?! Please tell me!" He shouted loud enough for everyone in Beacontown to hear. The citizens that eyed him thought he was nuts, but to be honest, I really couldn't blame them since they were unaware of the fact that I was so small.

"Stampy...?" I asked for the boy's name out of curiosity, still stricken with the busted tone in my voice.

"Wait... Is that..." The boy speculated, looking closely at my small being. "Petra?! What happened to you? I don't remember you being this tiny!"

"Stampy, relax!" The girl by his side assured him. "Your mind's probably playing tricks on you! There's no way Petra could've gotten this small in size!" She roughly measured my microscopic height with her fingers as she said this.

"Guys, it really is me! Petra!" I exclaimed at the pair, jumping up and down on Stampy's hands and waving my hands back and forth.

"Yes, but... how did you get so small?" Stampy asked me.

"You see..." I started, tugging at the top of my tunic with my fingers. "Half a week ago, me and my friends threw a party at the Order Hall... But Ivor sent a lot of shrinking potions to that party by accident, and I basically drank every last one of them, so the day after that, I woke up to find out that my entire body had shrunk down to the size of a silverfish!"

"Ivor did this?!" Stampy exclaimed, his eyes wide with shock. "I knew that guy would've had something to do with this!"

"Hey, it was an accident!" I blurted in partial anger.

"Is he doing anything to get you back to normal size?" Stacy inquired.

"He is working on an antidote..." I mentioned. "But I have no idea when he's going to get it finished. He mentioned that there's too many combinations of ingredients for him to try. So, unless somebody already had this problem in the past, I think I'm gonna be stuck like this be months."

"Oh no, you poor thing, Petra!" Stampy cried, stroking my cheek with his finger. "Is it going to be hard living like this for months?"

"Well, I have already gotten used to certain aspects of this new life, but since I don't want my friends to know about my downsizing, I don't know how long I'm gonna be able to keep this up..." I acknowledged. "I appreciate your concern by the way, Stampy."

"Awww, thank you, Petra..." The cat-boy smiled with a blush.

"Anyway, what were you going to do before Stampy stepped on you by accident?" Stacy asked me. The cat-boy broke into a small sweat as his female companion mentioned this.

"I was just going to go back to the Order Hall in case Jesse was worried about where I had gone." I gave my answer to the gentle giantess. "What about you?"

"Well, me and Stampy were just going to go out of Beacontown for a picnic." Stacy answered back. "Would you like to come with us?" She smiled as she offered this choice to me.

"Stacy, do you really think this is a good idea? What if we accidentally squash her?" Stampy whispered, putting me back down on the stone ground.

"Oh come on Stampy, she'll be fine." Stacy whispered back to her massive cat-obsessed friend.

As I was focusing on the couple's silent conversation, I heard the sound of a baby wolf barking, and that's then Stacy's pet puppy, Wink, came careening around a corner and stopped at my small form, happily panting at me with his tongue sticking out.

I gleefully laughed at the big puppy, waving at him. "Hi, Wink." I greeted the dog. The cute pup then started to lick my body, which made me howl in laughter as I convulsed and fell to the floor. "Please stop it!" I giggled as Wink continued to caress me with his long tongue.

"Okay Wink, that's enough. Give Tiny Petra her space." Stacy said, grabbing Wink with her arms placed under his belly and bringing him up to her torso. 'Tiny Petra', eh? I like the sound of that... "Sorry about Wink, Petra. He's just curious. Are you coming with us to the picnic?"

"Well, I wish I could, but I really have to get back to the Order Hall." I confessed.

"Awww, come on Petra! Please? Pretty please with a cherry on top?" Stampy begged me, trying to make his eyes as big as he could.

I sighed in defeat and told the giant cat-boy "Okay, I will", forcing a big smile on my face.

"Hooray!" Stampy exclaimed, clapping his hands in a rapid manner. "Let's go have something to eat, Stacy!" Not too soon after he said this, he accidentally trod on one of his untied shoelaces and fell onto the floor. He started crying as he brought himself back onto his knees.

"Oh Stampy, did it happen again?" Stacy asked, walking over to the sobbing boy who simply nodded at her. She grabbed his shoelaces in her hands as she tied a basic knot, made a loop with one of the laces, used her other hand to wrap the other lace around the loop, pulled the shoelace through the hole to form another loop, held onto both of the loops and pulled them tight. "You know, Stampy, someday you're gonna have to learn how tie your shoes yourself." Stacy said as she did the same thing with Stampy's other shoe.

"I know, Stacy..." Stampy sobbed. "It's just that... No matter how many methods you try to teach me, I just can't seem to do it myself..." Awww, good ol' Stampy. Even though he was a grown man at this point, he was still an innocent and inadequate child at heart. And that's what I liked the most about him.

"There, done!" Stacy declared as she got done tying Stampy's shoes and put an end to his crying. "Come on guys, this picnic isn't gonna eat itself!" The hulking girl quipped as she picked up all of the picnic supplies.

"Can I carry Petra in my pocket, Stacy? Please?" Stampy inquired, holding me in the palms of his hands.

"Sure, Stampy. Go ahead." Stacy laughed. "Think of her as your own personal toy for the day."

"Thank you, Stacy! You're so kind!" Stampy complimented Stacy as he placed me in the large, spacious pocket of his orange cat hoodie. The cat adorer and his friend certainly didn't plan on procrastinating since they started to walk away from their houses and out of Beacontown, into the endless plains of grass.

After a walk that lasted for two minutes, Stampy took me right out of his pocket and watched with me as Stacy laid the red and white checkered blanket onto the grass. Stampy then planted me on the long, protracted rug as Stacy laid all of their food on the picnic blanket. Cake, pumpkin pie, apples, bread and melons, all of which were the size of skyscrapers compared to me.

Stampy and Stacy both decided to sit down alongside each other to dig into their picnic lunch. As my milk chocolate eyes mainly focused on Stampy, I noticed that on the bottom of one of his white Vans was a pink puddle-shaped surface that seemed to be stuck to his sole.

"Uhh, Stampy? What's that on your shoe?" I inquired, pointing at the strange pink object stuck on his footwear. The hulking behemoth of a child trapped in an adult's body stopped moving his hands towards the plastic wrap surrounding the jumbo-sized cake as I asked him this.

"What are you pointing at?" He blurted out of curiosity, bringing the bottom of his sneaker up to his vision. "Huh? Did I step in something?" Stacy peeked over to take a look at the sole of his shoe too, and she pulled a face of frustration and disgust as she saw exactly what was stuck on Stampy's sneaker.

"Bubble gum..." Stacy groaned in distaste. "I swear this world would be better off if it didn't have so many litter bugs... Do you want me to take it off for you, Stampy? It certainly won't come off with ease the next day."

"No thank you, Stacy! I'll be independent for once and remove it on my own!" Stampy declared with forced pride in his cheerful voice.

"Okay... just get it off when you get the chance." Stacy demanded. "You don't want anyone else noticing that when we get back to Beacontown. It'll make us unclean and lazy." I have to say, it was pretty amusing to see Stacy come off as a mother figure to Stampy's inner child.

Not too long after Stacy let Stampy off with a warning, the inquisitive giantess and cheery goliath started to dine on their pumpkin pie and cake respectively.

Stampy still hadn't taken the gum off his shoe yet because he was busy devouring the cake that he was enjoying all too much. By the time he finished eating half of the delectable snack, his mouth area and hands were already covered in crumbs and white icing. Stacy laughed as she wiped the mess off of Stampy's mouth with a tissue while the giant boy licked his hands free of crumbs.

"Can I dig into anything here?" I asked the two out of curiosity.

"Sure, Petra! Help yourself!" Stacy informed me, waving her arm over everything I was allowed to try.

"Just save the rest of the cake for me!" Stampy laughed in a playful manner.

I took multiple bites out of the tremendous melons and apples, chewing them slowly but surely for my taste buds to savour the sweet aroma of the delightful meals. I made several "mmmm" sounds to signify that I was enjoying the satisfying taste of the monster-sized food.

After I felt my stomach reach it's finish line, I laid down on the perpetual blanket as I rubbed my tummy in gratification. "Thank you, guys." I complimented the appealing duo. "It seems that you certainly know how to fill me up."

"You're welcome, Petra." Stacy accepted my feedback with ease. By the time I was full, Stampy had finished his cake, his mouth and hands covered in crumbs and icing again, and Stacy had finished all of her bread and pumpkin pies while sharing a few bits of them to Wink. I gazed back at the colossal melons and apples I left unfinished because they were too big and I was too small, and I asked the threesome "Are any of you willing to finish these for me? I'm stuffed so I don't mind..."

"I'll happily finish those for you, Petra!" Stampy exclaimed in a helpful tone. He dug into the melons and apples which had a fair few of my tiny bite marks on them. I thought that he wouldn't want anything to do to them since I chowed down on a few chunks of them first, but again, knowing Stampy's inner child, he just dived straight into eating them without even minding the fact that I tried to down them first.

"Thank you, Stampy." I praised the adorable cat admirer.

"Awww, you're welcome, Petra." Stampy replied, swallowing the last chunk of food that was in his mouth.

"Come on guys, let's head back to Beacontown before it gets dark." Stacy announced, rolling the picnic blanket up and causing me to jump into the grass. I started my walk back to Beacontown in front of the humongous combo, Stampy and Stacy. But as I was walking behind them, I noticed that the sun was being blocked by something, as indicated by the huge shadow that drifted underneath me. I turned a full 180 degrees and looked up at the heavens to catch a glance at the large, strange object that was obstructing the big ball of light in the sky. It was Stampy's gargantuan white shoe, and the way he positioned his leg at the highest peak he could really made it seem like he was actually going to trample me again!

"STAMPY, WAIT!" But Stampy didn't seem to hear me, and his tennis racket-soled sneaker fell on me with a thunderous BOOM! that shook the ground.

His shoe rose up shortly afterwards, as the grown man-kid stepped off the endless plains of grass, but I was actually levitating off it too! What was happening?! But after examining the situation I was, I saw that I was stuck on Stampy's mammoth-sized sneaker, cemented to the big piece of bubble gum that he still hadn't taken off his sole! I screamed out in fear as his shoe ascended and descended in a huge, churning roller coaster-like motion.

THUD!

The shoe I was stuck on fell to the grass again, and I felt myself get squished deeper into the bubble gum...

"Stampy, did you hear anything?" I faintly heard Stacy's voice, who seemed curious about what she heard.

"No, I didn't..." I heard Stampy say as his sneaker started to move up again, causing me to scream at the top of the lungs yet again.

"Someone get me off this thing!" I screeched like a banshee.

BOOM!

The shoe fell on the ground and I got squished deeper into the bubble gum!

"I swear I could've heard Petra screaming..." I heard Stacy ponder. "Is she still with us? Is she in danger?"

"I don't know actually... Where is she?" Stampy responded to Stacy's questions as his solid clodhopper lifted up into the air again, which prompted me to shriek as loud as I could.

BANG!

I felt myself get squished into the bubble gum even deeper as Stampy's shoe hit the ground again for what felt like the hundredth time!

"Wait..." I heard Stampy speculate. "I think there's something on my shoe..." And that's when the unaware colossus lifted his sneaker off the ground and brought the sole up to his eyesight as he balanced on one leg.

"Petra?!" Stampy exclaimed in shock when he saw me stuck on the bottom of his sneaker. "What are you doing on my shoe?!"

"Just get me off of this thing for crying out loud..." I groaned, feeling like my body was ready to give up from the immense amount of agony Stampy inflicted on me by accident.

"Stampy, I thought you were going to take that gum off your shoe!" Stacy yelled in frustration at the colossal cat-boy.

"I was!" Stampy asserted, gradually becoming shaky and jumpy. "I guess I just... forgot all about it as I was eating my cake..."

"Come here..." Stacy requested, grabbing the shoe that I was stuck on with one of her hands and prying the gum off with a stick in her other hand. The pleasant giantess then pried me off the sticky substance at last with her fingers, the pleasure of being able to move my body around however I wanted finally coming back to me.

"Thank you, Stacy..." I panted as she laid out her hand. "I thought I was gonna be stuck underneath Stampy's foot forever..." I pointed my thumb towards Stampy himself as I said this. "I don't think the kid's ready to become independent just yet..."

"My pleasure, Petra." Stacy assured me, stroking my face with her huge fingers. "And yeah, I think Stampy might have to wait before he can handle things on his own too..."

"I'm sorry, Petra..." Stampy whined at me with sympathy. "I completely forgot that you were still here with us... Again, I'm really, really sorry if I hurt you too much..."

"It's okay, Stampy. I forgive you." I reassured the young child trapped in a grown man's body, placing my tiny hand on his ginormous face. "Come on guys! To Beacontown!"