Author's note: Hi all. Firstly I must say, thank you for the response I got to the first chapter, I'm glad so many liked it. And secondly, I'm really sorry it's taken me so long to post this. I've been sick and catching up with work. The other reason I took so long with this chapter was I wanted to get a timeline up to help me sort everything in my head out. Also, since it's the end of semester, I may not get the next chapter up in time but I will try. Thank you all and I hope you enjoy.

Rumble ran exuberantly ahead of his parents, eyes bright with excitement. It was his first day at school and he was ecstatic at the thought of all the new things he'd experience: the yordles he'd meet; the things he'd learn and see. Each new prospect just doubled his feelings until he was practically vibrating with sheer enthusiasm.

Behind him his parents walked at a more sedate pace, smiling fondly at their son's antics. His delight was almost enough to genuinely erase the touches of worry and caution marring their features. While Rumble himself might think school would be perfect, his parents were more realistic. They knew the discrimination and judgement that could come with it. It made them worry for their little son; the son that was small even compared to those his age.

Rumble was their only child. And honestly, it was a miracle they'd been able to have him in the first place. The rare condition his mother had made it difficult for her to carry and they'd been told they'd never be able to have children of their own. Finding out Rosalyn was pregnant had been one of the best and the worst time of their lives. Even now they could recall the initial joy they'd felt at the news turn to worry as Rosalyn had fallen seriously ill. The desperation they'd felt as she steadily got worse until in one last ditch effort to save either of them she'd been forced to have the baby early. Then there had been the heartbreaking sadness when their baby had been pronounced too premature to survive. Their Rumble was a fighter though. And his parents could still recall how surprised and proud they had been when against all odds their baby had pulled through to become a perfectly happy, healthy child. If, albeit, on the small side.

However, after everything they'd gone through they were a little hesitant to leave him to face the world all by himself; even if they knew it was inevitable. And so, as he bid them goodbye with one last kiss, they just had to hope everything would be alright.

Rumble practically dove into the school yard, revelling in the chaos all around him. Everywhere yordles of every shape and colour roamed about in an eye-popping display of fluid, frenetic motion. It was all so exciting. Grinning, Rumble tried to take in everything around him as he moved through the pandemonium. He was so focused on his task that he didn't even see the yordle in front of him until it was too late.

Rumble felt his breath leave him as he hit the ground, looking up to see what he'd bounced off of. In front of him a dark furred yordle with droopy ears turned. He was big for a yordle, taller than most of the other kids around and much wider. A big nose took up most of his face, which coupled with the permanent sneer he wore, really didn't do much for his looks.

"Hey Runt, watch where you're going."

Something about his tone just rubbed him the wrong way and before he'd even thought about it Rumble retorted, "Well maybe if you weren't so fat I wouldn't have run into you."

The yordle's two friends chuckled at that, the comment drawing their interest to the show. Ignoring them, the yordle snarled, "You're a little small to be throwing around insults like that." Reaching out he pushed Rumble to emphasize his point before leaning in close to finish, "So I'd watch my mouth if I was you. Otherwise someone might get hurt."

Again Rumble acted on instinct, too stubborn to be cowed. Taking a step backwards, he waved his hand in front of his face. "With breath like that I'm not surprised."

The guffaws from his friends turned into full blown laughter.

"Hey Klive," one said throwing his arm around said shoulders, effectively holding him in place, "Looks like you made a new friend."

Laughing the other continued and threw his arm across Klive's other side, "I mean I always knew you had the brain capacity of a toddler but I never expected you to actually start making friends with them."

Rumble narrowed his eyes at them, "I'm not a toddler you nitwits. Are you really that stupid that you can't tell the difference between someone's size and their age? I may be small but I'm more than ready to start school, unlike some I could name."

Sharing a look Klive's two friends pushed themselves off him, their smiles turning slightly dangerous. "So you want to play with the big boys do you?"

Lending forward and grabbing Rumble by the front of his shirt, Klive finished, "Guess we better show you the ropes."

Rumble stared miserably at the white tiled floor of the nurse's office gently holding his arm. Shifting slightly, he winced as his multiple of his bruises flared up in protest. To be fair, he'd put up a good fight; but in the end it was still three against one and Rumble's first day had ended before it'd even really begun.

He looked up at the sound of footsteps approaching to meet the pair of matching amber eyes of his mum before looking away again. Rosalyn simply sighed, gathering her son up and heading off.

The trip home was silent: a far cry from what it had been that very morning. Life was sometimes ironic like that, Rosalyn thought casting another glance at her son through the rear view mirror. Behind her Rumble sat staring out the window expression subdued and unreadable. Rosalyn, for her part, was unsure what to say. And so, she decided to wait for Rumble to open up to her first.

It was only when they got home however, that he finally approached her. "Mama," he started hesitantly.

"Yes sweetie," she turned her full attention to him, giving him a warm smile.

He shuffled from foot to foot for a moment, obviously debating on whether to speak or not, before asking, "Is it bad to be small?"

Rosalyn sighed. She'd known this question would come eventually, but she had hoped she wouldn't need to answer it until much later in his life. After all, how do you explain such a difficult topic as prejudice to a five year old when many adults didn't understand it? Still, he deserved some sort of explanation. So pulling him into her lap she said, "No Rumble. There's nothing wrong with being small."

He sat up a bit, twisting to look her in the eyes, "But they picked on me because I was small. They picked on me because they were bigger than me and could push me around. Why? I'm small but I can do things too!"

A small, sad smile tugged at her lips, "I know. Rumble, you are incredibly talented; you can do things many others can't despite your size. It's just," here she frowned, trying to explain, "sometimes people don't like different. It scares them so they pick on it to feel better about themselves."

"But that's not fair," Rumbled whined. "I didn't ask to be small and picked on."

"I know sweetie and it's not right. But you can't change how other people are." Pulling him so close their foreheads and noses touched she whispered, "I'll tell you a secret though. Some of the most famous and respected yordles have been different and been picked on because of it."

"Really?" Rumble breathed.

Rosalyn chuckled, "Do you think they could have made such a great difference to the world by being the same as everyone else? No. They were unique; and no matter what anyone else did or said, they used that for the greater good. You can too Rumble. Being small doesn't hinder you. Yordles are quite short compared to most of the other races but we are valued all over Valoran for our strength, intellect and enthusiasm. You can be too. You may be small but you have a big mind and a big heart. I know you can do anything you set your mind to. Just remember: no matter what happens and no matter what you do, your papa and I will always love you and be proud of you."

Rumble gave her a hug, "Thanks mama."

"No problem sweetie."

Unfortunately the next day did not bring a change. It seemed Klive and his friends had decided that Rumble was now their favourite target and as a result, each day Rumble found himself cornered somewhere by the three of them. Despite that he never backed down, always managing to get a couple of good shots in both physically and verbally. In the end, however, he was always the one to come out the worst.

He wasn't having much success with the other yordles either. The teachers didn't seem to notice what was going on and the other students were all so afraid they'd be targeted if they were seen with him that they gave him a wide berth. And yet, despite everything, he still held onto the hope that someone would eventually not care. That someone would eventually approach him. And then one day someone did.

Rumble had been sitting under his favourite tree during lunch break when the girl approached him. The oak tree grew right on the edge of the grounds, giving him an inconspicuous, yet unobstructed view of the entire yard. From there he could watch the other yordles interact and still keep an eye out for Klive. So far neither he nor his friends had shown up; which is why it surprised him that instead of the huge bulk that was Klive, approaching him was a tallish, dark haired female.

"Hi," she smiled at him. "I'm Litani."

"Um hi," Rumble replied, unsure what to make of the situation. "I'm Rumble."

"So," the older girl continued, shuffling her feet a bit, "I see you sitting here all the time by yourself and I thought you might like to join my friends and me."

Rumble blinked in surprise, hope bubbling up inside him as he smiled, "Sure."

He followed her back to the group of girls she'd pointed out before, sitting on the grass by the 4th year classrooms. "Girls," Litani stated with a meaningful look – a look that Rumble missed in his nervousness, "this is Rumble."

"Hi," he said shyly, sitting down between Litani and one of her friends.

"Aw," the girl said, "He's so cute."

Rumble felt his eyes narrow at the comment but he simply let out a deep breath like his papa had taught him and didn't say anything. After all, he didn't want to blow his first chance at making friends so soon.

"And so tiny."

Not that they were making it easy.

"You must be in the first grade right?" another asked.

Rumble opened his mouth to reply that yes, he was in first grade and no, he didn't like being called small when he was cut off as the third joked, "If that."

In response the second continued, "It kind of makes him adorable though, doesn't it. Like a baby."

With that comment, Rumble couldn't take it anymore. "Look," he stood up. "I may be small but I'm not stupid and I don't appreciate you treating me that way. So stop."

The only response he got from them however was a fit of giggles.

"It's funny seeing him try and act all grown up. Hey Litani, get him to do it again."

Rumble stared at them in confusion. Was that all they really saw of him? A cute, small child not to be taken seriously. If so he didn't want them as friends. Turning around he announced, "Well if you're not going to take me seriously then I'm out of here."

However as he was starting to leave he was tripped, causing him to land face first into someone's lunch. He looked up at them as they burst out laughing again, food sliding down his surprised face.

"Aw," Litani cooed, "Looks like baby made a mess. I guess we should help him get cleaned up." And with that she dumped a whole bottle of water on him.

The laughter doubled and Rumble felt hurt and confusion well up inside him. What was going on? Why were they doing this to him? Uncertain, he started backing up, only to run into a solid object.

"Be careful sis or you might make baby cry," a familiar voice jeered.

Turning around Rumble watched as Klive and his friends came to stand next to Litani. "I don't understand," he mumbled. "Why-"

"What?" Litani cut him off. "Did you actually think we would want to be friends with you? The little loner freak. As if. No one would ever want to be friends with the likes of you. Better learn that now and save yourself a lot of embarrassment later."

By then, the others had joined her, firing off their own insults as they circled him like a flock of sharp-winged thresher geese. Emotions tumbled around inside Rumble, filling him with pain, confusion and fear. All the while their words reverberated in his head, drowning his thoughts under the harmful sounds. Overwhelmed and unable to think straight, Rumble did the only thing he could: he ran.

They let him go, the sound of their taunting laughter driving him further and further away. Images blurred past him but he never stopped. Not until he'd made his way to a secluded corner of the grounds, shimmying between the two walls to the enclosed space beyond. He'd found this place in his first week of school, quickly claiming it as his own. Tucked away on the edge of the school, with an opening too small for anyone else to fit through, it gave him the perfect spot to withdraw himself from the outside world and quietly think.

He slid down the wall, fighting away the burning in his eyes. He would not cry. He would prove them wrong. He was no cry baby. Still their words continued inside his head, causing him to ball up and his fingers to grip his ears in a futile attempt to get rid of them.

Battling the burning and the words, he completely ignored the lunch bell's chimes. Instead he sat comfortably alone staring listlessly at the sky until the final bell rang. With a sigh he got up and started making his way back through the school.

As he neared his classroom he paused, peering around the corner as his classmates surged out of the room. He let the inane noise they made wash away the last of the hurtful words, idly wondering if anyone had noticed his absence. If he was honest with himself: probably not.

His attention refocused on the outside world as the motion of a boy tripping caught his eye, watching as the boy scrambled for his stuff before another two yordles helped him out. He felt a spike of jealousy rise in his stomach. Why couldn't something like that ever happen to him? Why couldn't someone help him for a change? Was there really something wrong with him?

All of a sudden, the girl turned his way, waving at him.

Rumble jerked back in shock, the wave reminding him of Litani's initial greeting and then her words afterwards. His face hardened. Maybe they were right. Maybe he was destined to be a loner. Making friends would be hard now that he wasn't able to trust anyone ever again. But that was alright; he was determined to make the most of it. He'd show them he didn't need anyone. And he'd show them just what he was capable of when they messed with him.

The next day, mid-morning was broken by the shrieks of Litani and her friends when, walking to class, a bucket of permanent paint dropped down on them. Watching the multi-coloured group trek their way to the principal's office, leaving a trail the whole way, Rumble allowed himself a small smile.

So what did you think? :). Please let me know.