Hera knew the halls of Blazer Castle just as well as she knew her own family’s farm on the outskirts of Prifma. Rolled up towel draped over her shoulders, swimming suit donned, nine tails flicking individually behind her, she made her way through the halls with a spring in her step. It was going to be a fantastic day. Beautiful glass windows to her left framed the city below as she walked, a bustling metropolis of modern vehicles and ancient buildings. Many of the footpaths through the town were well set up for pedestrians, making it a walkable utopia of sorts. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky and the temperature was scorching.

Perfect weather for fire elementals like herself.

“Oh, hey!” Ignis rounded a corner at the end of the hall, a smile brightening his face as he saw her. He was still in his pajamas and wearing his slippers, “Heading to the pool?”

“Nah, I just like walking around your castle in a bathing suit,” She sarcastically replied, sticking her tongue out as she walked past him, “You coming up?”

“Sorry, I’m busy.”

“Aww, come on!” Hera said, turning to face him as he kept walking, “Whatcha’ got planned today?”

“Training with mom,” He replied, looking over his shoulder and waving. Before he could get too far, arms wrapped around his chest and the wet nuzzle of his friend’s nose graced his cheek.

“Well! Best of luck, I’m going to go hang out with your sister. If you wanna cool off after, you know where to find me. Tell Lapis too, maybe we can make it a little party.”

Hera pecked him on the cheek and let him go, turning on one paw. Her tails brushed a vase gently enough that it didn’t move. Before he could respond, she was gone. The end of the hallway where Ignis came from was a large room she entered. The door to her left was open, continuing down another hallway that curved out of sight. There were two doors in front of her and an archway to the right that led to a stairwell. Picking up her pace, she went towards the stairs, blissfully unaware of anything beneath her paws…

Meanwhile…

Sore, tired, hungry…

Unlike Hera, Mathew was completely new to Blazer Castle. A tiny intruder trapped in an enormous, inhospitable labyrinth that was immaculately cared for. He was lucky to have found some grass that was tracked in by someone, enough to reform his little green kilt and cover himself up as he wandered. However, food was nearly impossible for him to come by. While he didn’t need it per-se, since he’d never actually starve to death, he still experienced famine and hunger pains. Food for him could come in many forms, from delicate sweets and crumbs fallen on the ground, to the literal sweat and grime on a paw or foot.

Weeks, months? 

Days blended together. Trying to get people's attention from the ground wasn’t working. Waving his hands, shouting, nobody seemed to notice. He’d managed to dodge paw-falls from the home’s denizens for quite a while this time, however. There was one person who seemed more aware of the area around her though.

Terra… She’d seen him several times roaming the floor, but the only thing he ever heard from her were complaints about bugs. He’d even managed to get to cover and avoid being smeared out under her paw once or twice. If he was going to get anyone’s attention here, he thought, he’d have to get to a higher place. Working for the last few days, Mathew finally managed to climb to the table’s legs and reach the highest place available to him. A massive vase sat alone on an ornate cloth.

Perfect timing. He saw someone coming down the hallway - Hera. Shouting as loud as he could, the little one squeaked his way over to the edge and waved his arms. Another person came by as well, black fur and folded up wings on his back. Ignis - He’d managed to catch the names of the people he’d seen in the home over the course of his stay.

“Hey!” He shouted up, waving his arms the best he could.

Neither looked in his direction. They were too preoccupied with their own lives to notice a blue bug hopping nearby. Hope began to dwindle as they passed each other by, up until Hera turned back. Her tails swung nearby, brushing just over the tabletop he was in and against the vase. It was now or never! He hopped up, grabbing onto what he could as he swung out over a massive drop down to the floor with the force of a rollercoaster.

He slipped…

The angle was perfect, tumbling him to the ground in her path as she turned to walk. Falling from such a height wasn’t an issue for him, his size protected him from such hazards. As he came to a stop in a roll, he looked up to see a massive, blonde, bare paw become his sky. Black pads came for him, aimed at his little body. He rolled just as her foot landed. Fur covered his body, pushing him up between her toes. Instinctively, the little one grabbed onto the fluff, pulling himself up into Hera’s digits the best he could as she walked along.

Thump, whump, thump.

She made her way up a flight of stairs. He caught glimpses of the floor as it came into view, holding on as tight as she could. Hera’s toes twitched every so often mid-step. She could feel him, feel she had picked up something from the ground. They ground together from time to time, squeezing on him, forcing him to breathe out, nearly crushing his frail body as he held on for dear life now. If he let go at the wrong time, he’d wind up under the pad mid-step.

The Rooftop…

Feeling something between her toes was nice in its own way. Hera walked barepaw often, especially at home. She enjoyed feeling tiny things pop against her pads. Shrunken people like Mathew simply didn’t exist in this world, so when she felt him pull up between her toes, she didn’t know exactly what to think of it. A bit of debris that was there the whole time perhaps, that just now shifted so she could feel it. Her toes rubbed together mid-step as she idly squeezed the thing.

The sunlight on her fur again felt fantastic though. Clean scents drifted through the air, Aqua was in the pool, enjoying the weather the same as she was. Terra lay on her stomach, arms crossed under her chin and eyes closed. She was nearly asleep as Hera approached. A single eye opening, just enough to see the nine-tailed fire elemental take her seat nearby and kick up her paws.

“Tsk, tisk. Late,” Terra said, closing her eyes again, “Thought you forgot and made plans with someone else or something.”

“You know where I like to park my truck. Just enjoyed the hops on the way over! Rooftop to rooftop.”

“Fair, nice day for it.”

The thing between her toes was gone now… Probably fell off. Who knows, it wasn’t her problem…

Mathew had fallen, hitting a soft strap on his way to the floor. He landed on his back, the wind being knocked out of him as he looked up to the paws high above. They crossed over each other, toes flexing tauntingly overhead as Hera got herself comfortable. Pushing himself to his feet, he looked over to see her.

Terra… The one person he thought he may be able to get the attention of. With a newfound burst of energy, the little one ran over. A towel was draped down to the ground, giving him the perfect path to climb up. It was a tough job, especially after such a lack of food over the last few days, but he managed it. One hand over the other, Mathew rolled to the upper level, coming face to toe with a pair of paws he recognized quite well.

They were crossed at the ankle, one paw more visible than the other from his perspective. Pads facing upward, Mathew’s stomach started to growl. He hadn’t had food in so long… Crumbs were few and far between, but there was something else that could easily energize him. Paw sweat, grime…

The thought of being discovered was now second to simply getting some form of sustenance, that and the intense arousal he felt from the situation he was in. As Hera and Terra talked among each other, Mathew made his way to the closest toe. He gripped some fur, pulling himself up the same as he did with her towel. The moment he touched the tough pad, he felt her toe twitch. She grumbled, but ignored him mostly as she spoke with her friend…

Carefully, Mathew crawled onto the pad.

On his hands and knees, he started to lick. Salty sweat, grime, dirt slid down his throat with the same vigor as he would with a beautiful home-cooked meal. It was invigorating, both with his own pleasures and his body taking in a fuel of some sort. The tiny being worked his way to her main pad, crawling into the center as her toes twitched every so often.

She could feel him. She knew he was there, but she didn’t do anything. Terra was busy relaxing, the bug on her paw was far from her mind. So he continued worshipping, kissing, and smelling the sweet smells. Faint sweat and musk mixed with the soft smell of lotion.

Without warning, her paw lifted.

He tried to hold on as she flicked it towards the pool. There was no hope. He was flung from her as she peered back, watching the blue speck fly through the air and tumble to the ground near the poolside. Hera glanced down, rubbing a special lotion into her fur as Terra scoffed.

“Another one of those weird blue bugs…” Terra sighed, “I’ve been feeling them around more often.”

“Want me to squash it?” Hera asked as Mathew pushed himself to his feet.

“Nah girl, if it comes back then maybe. Think it’s like an infestation or something? Should tell mom about it. Exeter-mi-nator time...”

Hera shrugged. Her paws bobbed teasingly as she watched Mathew get to his feet, tilting her head slightly. He was too far away to really tell that he was a person, the best feature that stood out was his bright blue hair on the floor.

“I mean, is it a problem?” Hera asked, “Just splat them when you see them unless they're destructive or something. No need to go too overboard. Worst case scenario, I can be your exterminator. Stomp-stamp-squish, pop-pop-pop.”

“You’re well trained from the farm,” Terra said with a laugh, tucking her face into her arms again to relax, “Alright, you’re the exterminator now. Maybe I’ll see one of the bugs on your pads just as deep as your favorite berry targets.”

Spl-swoosh!

The sound of water splashing behind him caught Mat’s attention. He jogged over to the edge, seeing Aqua in the water. Quite literally in his element, he swam with grace and speed. Blue fur, orange swimsuit, reddish fur on his chest - though through the water Mat couldn’t be completely sure of that. He’d seen Aqua around in the halls, though never was successful in getting him to notice his presence. A wave of water washed over the edge as the water elemental swam by. Mathew fell to his back, cracking his head on the surface as he was washed closer to the edge.

If he fell in, he’d never be able to escape the tides.

Mathew couldn’t drown. Breathing wasn’t an issue, though if he did succumb to the waters, he’d be trapped. A sentient bit of dirt and debris forever drowning until someone scooped him up while cleaning. As he slid towards the edge, that fact forced him to squirm and writhe. He caught the edge, scurrying up just in time to keep himself out of such a dangerous position. Coughing, gagging, he spat up water and crawled away.

“Oh, hey!” Aqua said, peeking up as he saw Hera had finally arrived.

Mat jogged along the edge of the pool, getting away from the wet spot that was just created by a tidal wave of water. He panted, now feeling better with a stomach full of paw sweat. He didn’t notice Aqua getting out until he was looming overhead. Flip-flops in hand, a towel tossed over his shoulder.

His toes splayed out, revealing the webbing in between. One step later and Mathew’s arms raised. There was only one thing he could think to do in the moment, wave and try to make himself as noticeable as possible. Water drops fell around him in the split second he had to think before he was engulfed in a wet paw pad. The air emptied from his lungs in an instant. Blue skin molded around his body, soft before becoming rock-hard. His mouth opened, jaw shattered as every part of his body compressed. He felt his skull deform, his chest resisting before a series of popping and snapping ran through his body.

Less than a second…

Eyes bulged before being pushed from his tiny skull. As Aqua’s heel lifted, more weight sealed his fate. A single burst of pain, though consciousness didn’t fade. He lifted with Aqua’s paw, only leaving a stain of blood in the watery print. As he stepped down again, he felt his body squelch down even more.

“You know anything about the mystery of the blue bugs?” Mat heard Hera ask, her voice muffled as Aqua stepped down again.

They talked. The sound faded, agony and pain was all that remained for Mathew. He could hear them conversing about something, laughing, but he couldn’t see anymore. All he could feel was intense pressure as water from the pool soaked into his tiny body. After a few minutes of being stood on, he felt Aqua begin to run. A splash of water washed over his crushed body, the cleaning agents of the pool causing the pain to multiply as he was forced under. It washed him free of the paw’s pad easily, cleaning him off as Aqua went back to swimming. A crushed pelt of a corpse floated below the surface, barely large enough to be seen as a speck of flowering red liquid.

With the muffled sound of water, the agony disappeared…

Ushering him into his next experience. Another attempt to get someone’s attention, to be seen as more than just an insect…

An impossible task, it would seem.