In the beginning...

"Ugh, No!!!"  He stomped in frustration, the ground shaking beneath his shoes.  He had done it again…another group of kids…gone…their terrified shouts still echoing through the forest as they fled back to town.  Granted, they had lasted a little longer than most others who had seen him; he at least managed to utter a hopeful 'hello' before they took off running.   

But hey, wouldn't you freak out too if you saw a 40 foot tall ten year old?

"This is pointless."  He groaned and sat down, leaning himself back against a sturdy elm tree.  Above him was the sudden rustling of leaves and chattering of squirrels, but he paid them no heed. "Why did we have to move so close to a human city?  I miss my old friends…and I can't make new ones if all the kids I meet keep running aw-"

"Oof!"

His eyes widened and he nearly jumped out of his skin as he felt a small weight fall onto his chest from the lower branches of the elm.  It didn't hurt, but it sure as heck gave him quite a start!  And he was even more surprised when he saw what had fallen….A little human girl, maybe a little younger than he was.  She groaned and rubbed her head, trying to get back onto her feet.

"Ngh…silly squirrels…huh?  This isn't the ground…" He held his breath and watched as she fumbled with his shirt, trying to figure out just what she landed on.  She let out a little gasp.  Slowly, her eyes traveled upward, following the cloth of his shirt up to the base of his neck….then his chin…and then his face.

He closed his eyes and clenched his teeth.  <Here it comes> he thought <She'll notice me and then she'll scream and run.  Just like the rest of->

"Hiya!"

His eyes shot open and his jaw dropped.  The little girl was standing up, glancing up into his deep blue eyes with the biggest smile he ever saw.  He was to surprised to respond.  After a few moments, her smile dimmed and she tilted her head, puzzled.

"Hey, are you ok?  What's wrong?  Can't you talk?"

He furrowed his eyebrows and tilted his head too, showing his own confusion.  "O-of course I can talk!"  Why hadn't she screamed?

Letting out a sigh of relief, she smiled up at him again. "Oh good!  I was worried maybe I hurt you when I fell!"  She tilted her head again. "Hmm…I don't think I've ever seen you around here before.  Are you new?  My name is Joy!  What's your name?"

"….L-Leonard…." He managed to stammer out, still in shock that he had gotten so far as to mention his name without her screaming in terror.  "erm…and yeah, I just moved here last week."

"Oh neat!  Maybe my parents could throw your family a welcome party!  We did that when our neighbors moved in next door, we should do it for you guys too!"

"Erm…I'm not sure if my family would….fit…."

"oh…..ok."  She shrugged it off and looked up at the forest canopy, the late afternoon light shining through the leaves.  An awkward silence filled the air until Joy turned to look back up at him, putting her hands on her hips.

"Sooo…Leo...you gonna help me down or what?  I don't think you can walk around with me on top of you like this.  How else are we going to get to the lake?!  Teleportation?"  She sighed and stared off into space.  "Believe me, that doesn't work…I know…I've tried…"

He blushed.  "W-we?  You want me to go with you?"

She nodded excitedly, clasping her hands together. "Sure!  All the kids in town are gonna be there!  We could go skip stones or something!  It'll be loads of fun!"

"Why would you want me to go with you…aren't you…scared of me?"

She furrowed her brows and crossed her arms.  "You?  Why would I be scared of you?  You're just a kid.  Like me!"

He blushed and turned away.  "W-well, y-you wouldn't want me showing up there…all the other kids run away from me…I've probably 'met' every kid in town already."

She shrugged, keeping her beaming smile.  "So what if they can run?  I can run pretty fast too!  Wanna see?"

His eyes went wide and he frantically shook his head.  "N-no!  No please don't run!"

"Then I won't run."

His heart nearly stopped.  She couldn't possibly fathom how much that one sentence meant to him.
  
"R-really?"

She nodded and held her arms up to him, reaching out with her hands as if she were asking him to pick her up.  "Mhmm!  Absolutely!  Now let's go have some fun before it gets too dark!"

He couldn't move.  All he could do was stare.  Was this really happening?

"Hey, are you still awake?  I said let's go!  C'mon!"

He shook his head, breaking from his thoughts and returned her endless smile.  Yep.  This was all real.  His heart raced as he raised his hand up to his chest, allowing her to walk on as if it were the most natural thing in the world.  The feeling of her petite feet on his palm caused his fingers to twitch, making her stumble backwards in his hand

"S-sorry…you…tickle."

She sat up and tilted her head in confusion. "Tickle?" He watched as she lifted her hand palm up and moved two of her fingers across her palm, imitating someone smaller walking across it.  She sat there for a moment in thought before she dropped her hands and looked up at him, shaking her head.  "I don't get it…."

"Erm…hehe, don't worry about it."  He grinned down at her and slowly rose to his feet keeping a close eye on his little passenger, who didn't even seem phased by the sudden change in altitude.  She leaned forward on his fingers and pointed off in a direction.  "Here, go that way!  It's my secret shortcut!  We'll get there in no time!  Onward!"  

Leo set off, his little guide secure in his hand.  He wasn't sure what would happen if the other kids saw him down by the lake.  Odds are they would do the same thing that they've already done for the past few days; scream and run.  But he knew one human that wouldn't.  She was the very first human he had ever conversed with.  The very first human he ever held in his hand.  The very first human who didn't run away from him.

She was his very first human friend.