Unfortunately for the tiny Oboro, the most dangerous person possible was preparing dinner. Oboro harbored nothing personal against the now giant maid, but she was well known for her clumsiness. Loud thuds sounded out at regular intervals, in time with the arm Oboro could see moving high above. Felicia must be chopping something up, Oboro deduced. She was going to have to be very careful, if she were to complete her task alive...
Felicia was big beyond what words could describe. Even just her skirt seemed impossibly high up, far above Oboro's head. Climbing such a titan seemed too dangerous at Oboro's size, she could be crushed in a single small movement. She would need to find something a bit more stable to climb. Looking around, Oboro spied a small table near the worktop. Remembering that the magical needle seemingly poked through anything, she decided to head up to the top of the table first before climbing up to the counter, which would give her a bit of rest partway through her ascent.
Food for dinner should be out in the open, so this was as good a time as any to steal from the army's kitchen. Oboro wasn't sure how she would be able to steal from closed cupboards at her current size, so this might be one of the few chances she had of returning with food. She knew Felicia was friendly enough, but her sheer scale made Oboro scared to be seen. She took the long way around to the table, staying in the shadows along the wall. She grimaced as she fought her way through the grime. She had just cleaned in here yesterday! It was amazing how quickly Corrin's army made things dirty again. They traipsed in dirt from all sorts of places, it seemed.
Oboro reached the table leg without incident, but she remained on edge. She really didn't want to meet any insects at her current size. The blue-haired woman stared up at the pillar before her. Certainly a much bigger climb than the small step before. Though her arms were quite strong, she wasn't sure if she would be able to pull herself up that high. She looked to the needle in her hands, that which had solved all of her problems so far. Was there a quicker way to climb? She noticed her bare leg below the needle. Maybe she could use her legs as well...
Closing her eyes, Oboro imagined a needle in her other hand, then needles attached to the sides of her feet. Upon opening them, she saw the glowing apparitions she had imagined, one on each side of her body. She lifted each leg in turn, wiggling her foot to check if the phantom needle remained attached. They moved with her foot, remaining firm on her body. Nodding to herself, Oboro stabbed into the table leg with all four of her needles. She scampered up a bit, like a spider, before stopping and looking down below. It was working! A smug smile spread across her face. She was rather good at improvising. Oboro started to think she really was the ideal candidate for this mission... Though she felt uneasy when she remembered she was still a single inch tall.
There was suddenly a low, resonating sound, like a strange melody of sorts. An out of tune instrument? Hearing it again made Oboro realize that it was Felicia, humming to herself. Oboro grimaced at the thought of the giant Nohrian. Did she really have to hum a tune? Rather inconsiderate to any tiny allies trying to steal food from the army kitchen! She fought back the odd tingling feeling she felt as the notes vibrated through her body, trying to focus on the climb.
Soon enough, Oboro reached the top of the table. Proud of her speed, she smirked to herself as she clambered over the edge, only to see her next obstacle. Plates and cutlery were set out over the small table, a huge teapot the centrepiece of the maze. Oboro sighed. Why did Felicia have to put out this tea set? It didn't look like it had been used or was going to be any time soon judging from the lack of steam from the teapot. Oboro remembered Felicia's difficulties with preparing tea. Perhaps she was just practicing the proper arrangement of dishes? A Nohrian practice, though one Oboro could understand. She certainly felt an urge to keep everything neat and tidy, after all. Deciding to waste no more time, Oboro scurried forward. She was easily short enough to fit under the rim of the plates, but the ceramic roof over her head got lower the closer she got to the middle of the plate. She crouched down, staying low and in the shade of the huge dishes. Though she could climb over without too much trouble, she didn't want to risk being seen.
It didn't take long for Oboro to make it to the other side of the plates. Now one final climb was all that was between her and the top of the counter. A solid panel of wood, roughly a foot high. Oboro imagined her previous climbing gear, the magical needles appearing on her body once more. As she climbed, Felicia's voice boomed once more.
"That's all of the carrots cut up." Felicia sang. "Now for the onions!"
Oboro hadn't seen anyone else in the room. Felicia must have been talking to herself. Oboro could sympathize, having caught herself doing the same thing during chores. Coming to think of it, she was often rushing around doing odd jobs around the castle, just like Felicia did. Perhaps the two of them weren't so different after all. Though Oboro at least wasn't as clumsy...
Atop the counter at last. Oboro dusted herself off. She hadn't thought to wipe down the side of the counter before, since she didn't think it ever got very dirty. Being at such a small scale made her see things she wouldn't have noticed before. Perhaps she would have to give the place a good clean once she was back to full size. Looking up, Oboro gasped. Before her was a town of food, arrangements the size of buildings. Bread, meat, radishes... An assortment of foodstuffs. Oboro was starting to see why the Wimpish would want to steal from the humans. There seemed to be enough food up here to last her the rest of her life! She started to feel rather hungry. Her task needed to take priority, she decided. When she was back to normal, she could have all of the food she liked.
Remembering she was to get cheese, Oboro wandered along the counter. The closer she got to Felicia, the stronger the impact of her knife on the chopping board felt. Oboro couldn't help but flinch a little each time. There was such a diversity of food up here, Oboro wondered what kind of a meal Felicia was making. Some sort of soup, perhaps? Oboro shivered, recalling the last time Felicia cooked. A dinner she'd rather forget, one she was probably missing today. If there had to be a day for her to be shrunk and given tasks by demanding tiny people, perhaps today was the best.
Just past a tremendous pile of rice, Oboro found the cheese. A huge block of it had been set aside, dozens of times the size of the tiny woman. There was no way she could retrieve such a big thing. She would have to take off just a small piece. Raising the needle, she jabbed it in as high up as she could reach. She then pulled the needle to the side, as hard as she could. A small chunk ripped free, embedded in the needle. Pulling it back down towards her, Oboro placed the block down. It looked to be about half her height, and roughly cube shaped.
This should be enough Oboro thought. She reached down and tore a piece off, stuffing it in her mouth. It tasted fantastic, somehow a bit thicker than when she ate it at full size.
Perhaps being small isn't all bad... Oboro thought.
Hoisting the cheese over her shoulder, Oboro thought about how to get back down. Back the way she came? But she would have to carry the cheese somehow...
"Eek!"
Oboro turned at the loud scream, only to see Felicia's gigantic body quaking. Huge blue eyes stared down at the tiny Oboro.
She's seen me! What do I do?! Unable to think of anything, Oboro remained still.
"A bug!" Felicia cried. "A really weird one!"
"No Felicia, it's me, Oboro!" She corrected her huge friend, but a huge hand descended towards her. Oboro jumped out of the way, barely avoiding being squashed.
"Ouch!" The giant Felicia cried. Oboro turned to see her cradling her hand, rubbing her finger. Though she had evaded, the needle Oboro was holding must have jabbed into Felicia's hand. Entirely by accident, but perhaps this was for the best. Though she wanted to seize this opportunity to flee, Oboro hesitated. Would this magical needle have some effect on Felicia?