chapter one: the wierdest day ever.

"every story has a beginning, and an end, but not every story begins and ends as quickly as we think..."

-emperorwolf

benson palmer zoomed across the road on his motorcycle, passing the beach, he thought to himself
(it's always so overcrowded, there goes my plans for a nice quiet rest on the beach...)
it was really a shame, he loved to nap on the beach, taking in the wonderful warmth of the sun, he didn't know about other foxes opinions, but he certainly found a nice beach-nap very enjoyable, he always had, ever since he'd spent all those summers with his grandfather at their 'secret' beach, hidden by a cliff that, for some reason, everyone avoided, perhaps people had heard of the old fox's wife dying out there, and assumed the area was dangerous... his grandmother had died of old age of course, but nobody needed to know that.

(come to think of it, the old place isn't far from here... maybe i CAN have a nice quiet rest after all!)
new destination in mind, he turned off from the main road, onto the seldom traveled pathway shrouded by tree cover, and sped off down the track.
it was only a few minutes before he reached the cliff, and parked his bike in the little cave hidden in it, then he changed into nothing but his swimming trunks, depositing his casual wear in the satchel on the bike, and walked out down the sloping path to the hidden beach.

it was just as he remembered it, the white sand, the tall cliff, sure to keep away prying eyes, the clear blue waters, and ost of all, the wonderfully peaceful fact that no one else was there.
"perfect"
he set himself down thirty meters out from the entrance and lay back on the pleasantly warm sand to rest.
(just as nice as i remember...)

benson lay calmly upon the warm sand at the deserted beach,content with wearing nothing but his swimming trunks, enjoying the radiance of the midday sun for a good fifteen minutes, simply relaxing, when suddenly there were several quakes and something blotted out the light, just as the most intense quake occured, and he looked up to find a gigantic german shepherd smiling down at him,clad in only trunks just as he was, and with his left paw stopped just meters from him and hanging directly over top of him.
(wonderful.) he thought angrilly (i'm not alone AND it's a giant...dammit)

the giant kept up a nonchalant expression as he broke the silence
"Woah, sorry there little guy, i almost didn't notice you lying there! good thing i did though, or we could've had a messy situation here, eh?" the giant canine said down to him nonchalantly, almost as if he were joking.

while it was not unusual for macrofurs to share the same living spaces as their smaller counterparts, benson himself for example, but this was his SECRET beach, how did this guy know about it? benson didn't like giants, because they looked down on everyone else, both litterally and metephorically, and it was still quite unnerving to have the titanic paw of one above you, ready to drop and crush you out of existance like a mere insect. there were laws that counted even 'accidental' crushing to death as first degree murder, punishable by life in prison, but even when that happened, which was a rare occurrance thankfully, not everyone could easily deal with the idea of being like insects to their larger counterparts.
but, benson wasn't going to be rude, especially not with the macro's paw above him, so he answered the german shepherd.

"Er-yeah... guess so..."

"s'just, i was running an'all, i almost missed you!"

"th-that right? g-guess i'm l-lucky like th-that huh?"

"i'll say! ... hey are y'okay? y' seem kinda..."

"n-nervous?"

"yeah."

benson couldn't move, paralysed by fear, but he did manage to explain...
"wouldn't y-you be i-if some giant was l-looming over y-you, with their p-paw ready to .."
forming the next words were difficult for benson, and he trailed off uncomfortably, something that the german shepherd did not miss.

"crush... you?"

benson nodded uncomfortably.

the nonchalant expression faded from the german shepherd's face and his ears folded back to match the little fox's uncomfortable expression.

"oh..." he said apologetically before moving his foot back and resting it on the ground, away from the little fox.

"right..." he continued as he knelt down, so as to reduce the 'looming' at least a little bit.
"...dammit man i'm sorry... guess i wasn't thinkin'much 'bout your perspective... can y'forgive me f'r that?"

the uncomfortable expression on the little fox's face softened.

"i could... if.."

"if?"

"if you told me your name mabye?"

"sure!" the german shepherd laughed a little, returning to his previous jovial mood, "i'm Kevin, Kevin Ghast... but y'can call me 'kev' if y'want. an' you would be...?"

"Benson palmer."

"c'n i call ya ben?"

"only my friends can call me ben..."

kevin looked away, ears folded back

"oh... um... okay..."

"...so yes, i suppose you can" benson finished, beaming up at kevin.

that caught kevin off-guard and he nearly fell backwards "WHAT?!" he yelled in surprise, only realising seconds later that his sudden yell had hurt benson's ears, and made a mental note to 'not yell from now on'
"sorry, ... again..." kevin said quietly "... s'just, not many o'your kind 'd even consider befriending someone like me... y'surprised me a lil'bit..."

benson took some time to rub his ears, waiting untill the ringing stopped before answering.

"ergh...point taken... agh..."

"seriously, i din' mean t'do that, i'll try not t'yell 'round you if i can help it and-"

benson raised a paw, while the other rubbed his head "okay okay!" he said quickly "i got it"

kevin sighed in relief, and sat down next to benson on the otherwise empty beach.
"again, i am really so-"

"i think you've apologised quite enough you know." benson cut in.

kevin looked down at his new friend, noticing that he was holding himself now, shivering as if he was cold.

" 'ey are y'alright down there? y' look cold."

benson shivered "maybe that's because i'm in your shadow now, not in the WARM sunlight."

kevin jerked back, wide eyed in realisation of his utter stupidity, but then had an interesting idea...
"hey..." kevin said slyly "would this help?" he reached down and lay an open paw in front of benson.

benson fell back in surprise, causing a concerned look from his friend,it was quite unsusual for giants to be so friendly, or even be helpful to smaller beings, most of them didn't care about non-giants, so being offered a paw-up took benson by surprise. benson quickly raised a paw and gave a thumbs-up to reassure kevin "I'M OKAY!" he called up to him "I JUST FELL OVER!" he laughed.

kevin laughed as well, but conciously made sure not to be too loud "y'r a funny lil' guy! callin' out 'i fell over' that loud even tho' s'obvious!"

benson sat up "and YOU have a strange sense of humor, it wasn't THAT funny..."

"i dun' care!" kevin laughed "i'm jus' like that!" he laughed again before calming down and looked joyfully down at benson "c'mon, s'not like i'll hurt ya." he said gesturing to his open paw.

"are you forgetting that you already nearly did...twice?" benson said cautiously

"nah... but..." his expression became softer, whilst retaining the same joy "y'can trust me. 'f i make ya uncomfortable, jus' say so, if y'want somethin' jus' ask me..." kevin said sincerely, leaning his head closer down, still smiling "...i'll try ma' best ta not hurt ya."

benson sighed "alright... if you say so..."

benson crawled onto the open paw and sat upon the padding of kevin's palm, noting the softness of kevin's fur.

"hold on tight"

"got it"

kevin slowly lifted and turned his paw, bringing it up to his face, allowing benson to be level with his eyes.
"this better?"

"yeah... i suppose..."

"still nervous?"

benson nodded

"guess we only just met though, can't expect ya t'immediately be comfortable wit' me holdin' ya can i?"

"guess not..."

kevin lay back, keeping the paw holding benson level untill he lay flat on the sand, then he brought benson down and placed him gently on his stomach, lifting his head and propping it up with his arms.

"this okay? sorry i din' ask first."

benson took a deep breath and gazed across the field of soft fur on kevin's stomach and kevin's expansive chest, which had a 'small' tuft of fur in the middle of it, and looked up to kevin's face before exhaling.
"it's alright... you're still learning i suppose."

"how've i been doin' so far?"

"excluding almost crushing me and nearly deafening me you mean?" benson joked

"y-yeah... excludin' that stuff..." kevin answered with a wry smile.

"pretty well, actually."

"scale of one to ten"

"six"

"really?"

"oh okay! Seven. happy?"

"come on! at least seven and a half!"

"hmm... let me think about- NO!"

the two canines laughed for a good solid four minutes, joking around like old friends rather than new ones, before calming down.

kevin looked curious, so benson decided to ask "what is it? ... am i irritating your skin?"
kevin shook his head.
"am i... being annoying?"
again he shook his head.
"am i... wierd looking?"
kevin simply answered "not really, no"

"then what is it?"

"why'd y'come here anyway?"

"why did you?"

"fair 'nuff, i use this beach as a runnin' track, s'always empty, the cliffs stop anyone spyin' ... and usually all you guys stay away from this beach, so there's no danger..." he gave benson a look that seemed slightly irritated "...usually that is, except f'r today..."

kevin's explanation had made benson uncomfortable, as if it was his fault for being there.
"...k-kevin...?"

"yeah?" kevin spat

"you're scaring me" benson answered, almost inaudiable to someone of kevin's size.
almost.

kevin sighed, took a deep breath, and calmed down.
"sorry... that was uncalled for." kevin whispered, keeping his eyes closed.
benson felt guilty again, knowing that if kevin hadn't spotted him lying there, he would be dead, and kevin would have been branded a murderer without intending him any harm on his otherwise innocent run.
"no..." benson said sadly "it wasn't"
kevin's ears perked and his eyes opened, peering down at the little fox on his stomach.

"wha-...whadda y'mean? 'it wasn't' i don't think ya deserved it..."

"but you would have been instantly known as some kind of 'bloodthirsty murderer giant' or something... and you wouldn't have even meant it."

kevin growled, clearly angry "you listen to me: IT. WAS. NOT. YOUR. FAULT."
benson looked up, but avoided eye contact as kevin continued "IF. ANYTHING. IT- It... it..." kevin stammered
benson decided to look up, and noticed a single tear roll down kevin's face, but before he could say anything...

"it... was... probably my fault..."

"what do you...?"

"you've got just as much right to be here as i do... i can't rightfully accuse ya' of bein' at fault, 'specially when i almost killed you... i should'a been on lookout for anyone no matter what, now shouldn't have been and different than any other time"

"hey..." benson said reassuringly "it's not your fault... and hey, you DID notice me. no use worrying about something that didn't happen right? ... righ- HEY!"
kevin's paw had snuck up behind benson, grabbed him, and was holding him at least five meters above kevin's stomach. the paw then began to move up kevin's torso, and deposited him onto kevin's chest, having him land upon the soft tuft of fur safely.

kevin smiled through his tears, assuring benson that the events moments ago had been nessisary.
"right." he finally answered and placed the paw over benson lightly, hugging him gently to his chest.
as a friend would.

"you had me woried for a moment there..."

"how so?"

"it's just... you were moving me towards your face and all..."

kevin frowned, tears still running down his cheeks " you thought... i was going ... to..."

an uncomfortable silence persisted for a full minute before kevin continued "...eat you?"

"well..." benson figeted "honestly... i did, yes."
kevin said nothing
"b-but what would you think in that situation? it was the only logical thing i could think of..."

kevin wiped his tears "First: there are laws against that, Second: I don't think you'd taste very good."
benson was even more nervous now, that didn't work.
"dammit, what i meant was, that i would never eat anybody, no matter what they did" he said firmly
"esspecially... if said person is one of my- no, IS my only friend."

benson looked on at kevin, bewildered "only...friend? do you mean...?"

"that we're friends? yeah" he said pleased "that i don't have any others? ... also yeah..." he said sadly.

benson begain to slowly rub kevin's chest, trying to comfort the giant german shepherd "well... at least your one friend... can feel safe with you... considering his size"

a slight smile returned to kevin's face, and he peered down at his little friend through half lidded eyes "yeah... i guess tha- wait....did you just say...?"

"i feel safe with you, yes. it's the truth"

"then... you trust me...? trust me dispite the size difference? if i'm not careful you could get hurt, and i'd hate that. i don't want to lose the only person in the world who means something to me, my only friend in the whole world."

kevin thought he was pouring on the drama a bit much but didn't mind, as benson didn't seem to react to the comment as he thought he would.
he took it as a compliment.

benson blushed "um... thanks. but yes i do trust you, i mean, aside from size and breed we're nearly the same. we're both canines for example..."

"anything else?"

"i'll think of something"

"Sure..."

"I Will!"

"yeah yeah, by the way, y'never answered m'question."

"why i'm here?"

kevin nodded

"there's a beach around the corner, it's where all of... my kind...like to go, but it always gets so overcrowded and busy that i can never just relax in the sun, so i came around here, my grandfather and i always came here every summer when i was a kid-"

"how old are you anyway?"

"25, you?"

"17"

"heh, older yet smaller..."

kevin laughed "yeah, younger but larger..."

"anyway, when i was a kid, we'd come here to play, or relax or whatever, so i knew this place existed, i haven't been here since grandfather died though, that was seven years ago by the way-"

"jus' so y'know, i've only been runnin here f'r three years."

"noted, and since the regular beach was out of the question, i remembered the old 'secret beach' and knew i'd at least get some peace here... i had no way of knowing that someone else knew about this place."

kevin hummed, then smiled "it was pure accident i discovered this place, three years ago, i was walkin' up on the ridge, headin' over to the local library, wanted a history text 'bout the continent for schoolwork, when i spotted a strange shinin' thing, i climbed down t'see what it was..."

"shining thing...?" benson thought, and then a thought entered his mind "was it green?"

"yeah"

benson leapt from kevin's grasp and grabbed his chin-fur "was there writing on it?! numbers?! did it have white numbers on it?!"

kevin was shocked at the sudden severity in benson's voice, and carefully pulled him off his chin before answering, holding benson on either side with his finger and thumb "yes... i think it said 'O5784HHD..."

"...995FDGH2?" benson asked hurriedly, ignoring the pain caused by the hold.
which kevin noticed, and placed him back on his chest.

"y- yes... it also read property of jameson pa-"
kevin stopped, his jaw dropped and eyes widened
"Jameson Palmer and B.Palmer..."
he looked even more amazed now "would 'B' Palmer... be 'Benson' Palmer? you?"

a single tear ran down benson's face, before he ran forward and embraced kevin's cheek, overcome by emotion "yeah... that thing... it's the entrance to grandfather's old place... there's a whole system of tunnels down there that formed grandfather's home, i lost my parents shortly after i was born, so grandfather took me in, i lived down there with him for as far back as i can remember... he told me before he died... that he'd bring me something, something important to my happiness... using the old place, the number code 'O5784HHD995FDGH2' was supposedly some kind of charm..."

"charm?"

"a luck thing i guess..."

"when i got down there to check it out, i noticed the code and typed it into my phone, i dunno why, it just felt right, so i put it in and hit 'send' and a few seconds later i get this elderly voice message saying 'you're good enough, very well then, i choose you to bear my gift' of course i freaked out, and then next thing i know..."

"know what? what happened?"

"the next thing i knew... i was standing at even hight with the thing... before i fell down from shock and rolled down the hill and ended up on this beach"
he knew it in his mind that it sounded crazy, he thought for sure benson would think he was lying, seriously, who goes from 'giant' to seven ft by typing on their phone?

benson had stepped back, paws covering his eyes and shaking his head "but you're not..." he pointed at kevin as if to accuse him "YOU'RE CLEARLY AT LEAST 30 FT TALL! HOW COULD YOU HAVE SHRUNK?!"

kevin had to show him, he had never shown anyone else his secret before, but...
if benson could trust him dispite the size difference, surely he could return the favor.
"get off."

"what? wh- holy crap i've offended you haven't i?" benson said uncertainly

"no, just." he sighed "let me show you something... ok? and by the way i'm at least 45 ft, last i checked"

benson obeyed and slid off over kevin's neck, and ran at least three meters before kevin told him to stop, and he turned. "what now?"
kevin sat up, and proceeded to stand, then spoke forcefully "what i'm about to show you... you can never tell ANYONE. got that? YOU CAN'T TELL ANYONE ABOUT THIS. EVER. I MEAN IT."
curiousity outweighing fear, benson nodded "i promise i wont"
"say my name backwards then say 'EcudeRrepuS' that's 'eck-oo' 'day' 'rep-us" as one word quickly."
"full name or first name?"
"full"
"okay..."
benson took a deep breath, closed his eyes and..."tsahg nivek EcudeRrepus"
there was a sudden gust of wind and when benson looked up kevin was gone
"where did he...? how could he even...?
suddenly someone tapped his shoulder from behind, he spun around expecting to see an intruder...
"hey ben"
but instead saw kevin... at his height, not gigantic, but benson's own size.

benson just stared in disbelief.
"what? it's still me, you know? THIS is my secret." kevin whispered
and then benson fainted.