the wasteland || [BUDDY]

He was so wrapped up in his work that he barely took notice of the little ladybug that was crawling along his desk. He had been having trouble with the red insects invading his home. He had been told by one of the nature loving silly girls that lived nearby that they were attracted to houses that faced the sun. It was a ridiculous idea. Most houses face north on one side. Barely skipping a beat, he flicked off the ladybug, taking no consideration for the living thing. The insect was flung off the desk with the force and it fell on the floor very dazed and confused.

Buddy was content with his concentration, not thinking there would be anything else to interrupt his work. But then he heard a noise. Someone repeated “lasers” back to him. It startled him, jumping up in the chair. The force of his weight hitting the back of his chair made it tilt back and it was only a matter of a second before the chair fell. His heart nearly jumped out of his chest as he fell back. A sharp pain ran through his head as it slammed against the wood floor. “Oh for fuck’s sake!” He yelled out as he rubbed the back of his head. This was going to give him a migraine, he knew it. He quickly moved to scramble up from the floor. He grabbed onto the edge of the desk to pull himself up. Who could have said it? There was no one here.

But then he saw it. He held his breath in wonder as he saw the miniature girl standing on his desk. It was the girl that he met only a few days ago except she was much shorter and in his house. She was only a few inches tall now. And what a pity that this was the first time he had seen her legs and he couldn’t appreciate the length. His very first words were a question, “How did you do that?” He asked in absolute awe and curiosity. He leaned in so he could take a better look at her. His next words were not so friendly, “And what the absolute hell are you doing in my house?” He snapped at her as he continued to move his hand along the back of his head.

He used both his hands to cup around her, picking her up off his desk. He opened his hands slightly to look down at the girl he had in the palm of his hand. “I bet this was you drinking something toxic or touching something magical or going somewhere you don’t belong, wasn’t it?” He didn’t wait for her to answer before he started walking out of his study. “Well what was it?” He prompted. He was no longer angry, now he was just excited. His eyes lit up as he kicked the door of his study shut. He walked to the living room who was less cluttered (though not by much) than his workspace. He sat down on the couch, propping his feet on the coffee table. “And where can I find it? Oh you can’t believe how useful this can be. I can probably extract the shrinking compound and….Please! You’ve got to tell me everything.” He was already making plans in his self-proclaimed genius brain to working out some sort of diabolical plan.

TANIA ODESSA PAMYAT

Buddy’s hands felt warm as he held Tania. There was a slight smirk on his lips as he realized that he had gotten away with touching her although it was not in the way he casually thought about. “I didn’t leave it wide open. You obviously snuck in. Though I wonder why you decided to come in here.” He said in amusement. Yes, why would she come in? Surely she had friends and associates that would be more than willing to rescue this damsel in distress. He had just met her and he knew that he did not leave her with a very good impression. Not that he cared, why should he care? Why should he alter himself for anyone?

“I could put you down so you can follow me. Though I can’t say that I have time for you to walk that far,” He said as he continued to carry her. He didn’t mind this method of travel and he figured that she couldn’t mind either. “A bottle of liquid? A random bottle of liquid that said “drink me” on it? And you thought that it was a good idea to drink it despite how sketchy it is?” He let out a snort at her foolishness, “You really are stupid aren’t you?” He said, chuckling. She should know that she should take better care of herself so she would not let this happen to her It could have been worst. She would have been killed and that wasn’t good. He wouldn’t be happy about that.

At her request, he let out a barking laugh, short and fierce, “You think that I can help you? Is that why you came here?” She seemed so nervous in his hands and he thought about how easy it would be to flick her aside like the ladybug he had before, her body hitting the wall and crushing her bones. Though he was attracted to power, there was something unsatisfying about that visualization in his mind.

He thought that perhaps he could get his hands on whatever she had used to make herself small. He was not trained in dealing with liquids or consumables, but how hard it could be. He wondered if he could find the potion again or the person that had made it. “I’m afraid that you’ll have to stay tiny until either the potion wears off, if it wears off, or until you find something. Why should I go out of my way to help you?” He asked her as he went to bend over to put his hands on the coffee table. He released his hold on her and gave a wave of his hand, shooing her away.

Even though it was not in his nature to care about others, there was something that was prompting him to at least see what he could do to help her out. But he couldn’t do these things out of charity. He didn’t have that generous part in his heart. “Unless there is something you can offer me,” He prompted her, a devious grin on his face, wondering what he could get out of her. His time would be better spent in his workshop, he knew that in the long run it would be the better venture. But he could risk this. If he found something that could increase or decrease the size of a person than this could change everything for him. His tiny business could really take off. And while he was hellbent on getting through the door and finding out what happened to everyone’s memories, he knew that he had to settle down. Buddy had to do something to make a living until he could find a breakthrough.

TANIA ODESSA PAMYAT

Notes: Cute outfit. I wonder if the potion should wear of eventually or not.

Impressive. “You’ve been outside all day and you haven’t been eaten? And you have avoided being stepped on and trampled? Good for you, you aren’t entirely useless,” Buddy said, figuring that if she was outside for more than a few moments than a bird would swoop down and feed her to her young. But it seemed that she was crafty enough to avoid certain death. He imagined that she would not be able to get herself out of sticky situation. She either had the brains or the brawns to get through it and he had to admire her for that. Wait, no admire her? For sheer dumb luck of not being something’s lunch? That wasn’t something worth applause.

“And you figured that you would just drink it instead of trying to ask someone about it? Maybe me or someone in the village? You’re awfully too adventurous for someone with your weakness,” He said, taking delight in insulting her. Especially when she was so small and he had so much to work with. But he couldn’t blame her enthusiasm, especially if she truly believed that the potion was somehow connected to their memories. He wondered if drinking random bottles of drink was her first step, how far would she go with she was truly desperate?

There was power there, having her so small and he so big. Her tiny hands on his finger coupled with the way she asked for his help. ‘Please,’ she told him, her hand now touching his palm where there was a lit dot from his injury days earlier. He could indulger her or he could deny her. It all depended on what he wanted to do. “I could use a nurse on call. If I keep you safe until you are big again, I want you to promise to come whenever I need you for whatever reason to treat whatever or whoever I need you to. And you cannot ask questions,” He stood up, figuring that he had got his way. She didn’t have a lot of choice in the manner. Buddy could throw her out of his house and leave her to the mercy of the woods.

“Try not to fall off anything or hurt yourself until I come back. I want to see something,” He said, an idea going through his head. He ran to his study, grabbing the first piece of paper he could find. “Hold on, I want to see something,” He told her as he ran back to the coffee table. He used his nimble hands to fold different angles of the paper before setting it down on the table, “Get in,” He prompted her as he waved his hand at the paper airplane. He wanted to see what happened.

He would not tell this to anyone. Buddy kept this secret close to himself. He always wondered what it felt like to fly. He wondered if he could find a way here in Wonderland to feel himself in the air. But there were so many other things that took precedent. He couldn’t afford that luxury to do things that he wanted.

TANIA ODESSA PAMYAT
Note: Sounds good. He's going to have fun with her until then. She's like a little toy now. Then when he awkwardly pushes her away after the hug, he can ask her out. Bbbies!

Buddy hoped that she would keep her word because he planned to keep his. He was not against working with people. He knew that they had their uses and he was not strong enough to do everything on his own. He just did not want to associate himself with anyone, too fixated on getting out of this realm. It wasn’t familiar to him. Even though he had no memories to recall, he had a stinging feeling that talking flowers were not part of his world. Things were more conservative and less fantastic. He had to swallow a bit of his pride, starting with Tania.

Tania had shaken her head, fear evident in her stance yet at the same time excitement. And that was what he expected. From her standpoint, it must look very intimidating. She would get inside and try it out. He knew it. She could not resist the allure no more than he could if he were in that situation. He watched as her tiny body got into the nook of the plan. At her question, he thought back to the numerous paper planes he had thrown when he was in the depths of a writer’s block of sorts. It was basic gravity and velocity. And his experience with design allowed him to experiment with the flight time and pattern of the craft. “I let a ladybug craw in once before I threw one. It seemed okay when it landed,” He said with a shrug of the shoulders.

Be careful…He had never thought about being careful just because it was Tania, but then again he had made an agreement. That must be what she was talking about. “Nothing is going to happen to you. I promise,” He told her as he went to pick up the airplane, his movements slow as he looked around the room. He walked over to where the living room met the hallway that would lead to the kitchen and his workspace. He turned to face the coffee table and the couch behind it. He looked at Tania and told her. “Hang on tight and trust me.” He took a deep breath before he counted down, “Three. Two. One.” With a flick of his wrist, he threw the paper plane, not with force but with finesse. He watched as the paper plane glided at a slow speed (slow to him, probably not so much to her). He followed it, ready to catch the plane if it decided to nose dive on him.

But it flew steadily, losing altitude with each passing moment until it landed on the couch. Buddy walked to the couch and sat down next to the paper plane. He picked Tania up, looking her over for any possible energy. “How was it? I bet it was fun. Kind of a weightless feeling right? Euphoric?” He shot off questions with a light in his eyes. He wasn’t jealous that she had gotten the opportunity. He was happy for her. He knew that his day would come soon.

TANIA ODESSA PAMYAT

Notes: Tania is not going to be able to resist it now that she knows what makes him happy. Look at these lovely trash babies. They are perfection.

She was laughing and it was a nice thing to touch the ears, something that made his heart jump up in his chest. Why he felt his way over some flighty girl he wasn’t sure. She seemed to enjoy herself and he listened as she told him all about the flying. She didn’t look like she had been injured in flight which was a good thing. That meant that the paper plane was safe and could be used again. He could feel the enthusiasm in his hands. He could sense the high she had gotten from the flight and he secondhand joy was passed on to him. He was grinning, picking up on her excitement. He moved his hands slightly, making sure she didn’t fall over and fall down on the rug.

“You may not have noticed but I am a bit too large to try the plane and I am many months away with coming up with something of my own size to use,” He told her. No doubt that such a large craft could take that long to complete and he also had to gather the materials. He also wondered if there was a valley he could use to test the gliding craft. Once he got the hang of gliding he could go further than that. Oh his mind was going a million miles a moment. To think of what he was capable of and what he could make…

“Again?” Well wasn’t she a spunky one? “Maybe in a bit. I don’t want you to get sick,” He said as he went to get up from the couch. He was tempted to move a finger to her, to feel her and wonder how she would feel being so small. Buddy also wondered how much he would get away with since he could do whatever he wanted with her. But he made a promise. He kept his promises, as far as he knew anyway. If she did not follow her end of the bargain, then he could lash out and use her. Either way, he needed to get these thoughts out of his head. He left the paper plane and went to walk to the kitchen. “You must be hungry being stuck in the forest,’ He said, looking down at her.

Buddy sat Tania down on the kitchen counter and he went to lean up and open the cabinet. “I hope that you don’t like tea because I don’t have it. It seems like everyone in this place drinks tea.” There was a sour expression on his face at the thought of the hot, tasteless drink. Drinks should be cold with massive amounts of sugar and caffeine. “I have coffee and I can make biscuits. And once you get big again, you can pay me back,” He said as he pulled down the coffee bag from the cabinet. He collected his kettle as well and went to put it under the faucet of the sink. He filled the kettle with water before setting it on the stove to boil.

As he fiddled around with the preparation of the biscuits, he could feel her gaze on him and it made him feel….nervous? Was that a creeping anxiety growing in him? But why? She was nothing to be worried about. She shouldn’t even be here in his life. And yet she was, invading his personal oasis away from the average people that assembled in this world. She was just like everyone else…Well…she was a bit different. She had bravery and cleverness…Like a lotus growing up out of mud.

TANIA ODESSA PAMYAT

Notes: Ah, look at that now. Buddy is growing smitten...

He had woken up in this strange world alone and with no memories to serve him. He had no one, no friends or family. Everyone seemed to find other people to live with. Perhaps he had been alone in his previous life. There was a bitterness about it. He was between a rock and a hard place. He wanted to be with people and yet at the same time, he didn’t want it. Instead he spent his time trying to figure out a way to get out of this strange world. He had found the door, heard the stories about someone dying as they tried to open it. And all of a sudden, numbers and designs and blueprints ran through his mind as though remnants from his past life, a life he didn’t remember. He seemed to have education in design, specifically weapons and flying crafts. Sometimes he would wake up in the mornings as though he remembered. But as he left the unconscious world, it was taken from him in a flash.

“I think that Wonderland is unpredictable and dangerous and that people are far too content to be here. I don’t understand it. I don’t want to. I want to go home. Wherever that may be. Somewhere with a waterfall I hope,” He muttered as he stuck the pan of biscuits in the oven, slamming the door shut. Somewhere with good electricity and plumbing wouldn’t be too bad either. And people…what if he had been forced to come here but whatever he had was back in his world, his home? He couldn’t imagine being a large social butterfly, but there had to be someone. There had to be people with the same sort of engineering background and intelligence as he. He needed someone to bounce ideas off of, someone to critique his work. Someone to be loyal to him…Something stung within him at that thought. As though he had lost that loyalty. As someone betrayed his trust or did he betray theirs? Was that the reason why he was alone?

Something dark, something angry, something resentful, something bitter.

He had gotten up on the counter, sitting on it and letting his legs dangle. He looked over to Tania and watched as she sat on his hand. There was a ghost of a smile on his face before he went to raise his hand. He took a better look at her and somehow he couldn’t imagine just putting her out now. He would probably still be in his workplace, still working and still oblivious to everything that would happen outside his house. And he probably wouldn’t have noticed the roses that were growing outside of his kitchen window. “Well, I’m going to get out of here. If everyone is happy here, they can stay here.” He wondered why the flowers chose to grow here out of all of his neighbors. Maybe he should cut them. People will get ideas about him if he had flowers around his house. They would think that he was someone sensitive they could go to in their times of trouble and he was most certainly not anyone’s therapist.

He set Tania down on the counter as he went to take off the coffee kettle from the stove. He went to collect a mug for himself and a teaspoon from the cabinet. He poured the coffee into his mug and in the little teaspoon. He set the teaspoon next to Tania before asking, “Cream or sugar?” He asked as he went to take the sugar bag and promptly dumped a gracious plenty into his mug, letting it settle for a moment before he started to stir it with a spoon he had gotten out.

Notes: Buddy has a baby crisis xD

TANIA ODESSA PAMYAT