"Sorry, sorry for grabbing you so suddenly without asking first," she giggled softly, her shoulders shaking with amusement as she finally loosened her grip and allowed the small, thrashing, silver-haired girl to pull away and leave her arms, "but you see, I have a particular condition where I simply cannot help but fawn over anything that I perceive as adorable and small."

"GASP!"

Briar’s big, striking blue eyes went wide with shock, and a certain expression that bordered on genuine fear and awe mixed together, her small mouth hanging open slightly as she processed what had just been said to her.

"S... Small thing... you look at me and you genuinely believe that I am some kind of small... thing? Is that what you mean?"

"Hm? But of course! Without any doubt! You are a very cute and small, and a precious little creature!" Heka smiled warmly and brightly as she exclaimed these words, her voice full of genuine affection and amusement.

Of course, she was completely unaware of the deeper meaning her words carried for the small titan listening to her.

She did not understand what Briar meant by her shocked response.

To Heka, she was simply giving a compliment to an adorable child, a simple statement of observed fact delivered with warmth and good humor.

But when Briar was called a "small thing" in that casual, offhand manner, the young titan immediately assumed — based on her own understanding of how size, power, and status worked in the hierarchy of beings she had been taught about (by her "teacher") — that Heka was insinuating, implying and declaring that she herself was bigger than Briar.

Larger in stature and therefore greater in authority and worth.

Despite being a titan, someone was looking at her and seeing nothing more than a tiny, insignificant creature in need of coddling and affection.

"Then... if you are saying those words so confidently..." Briar’s voice, which had been sharp and commanding just moments earlier, was now small and uncertain and almost shy, barely above a whisper as she spoke. "You must be b-bigger than me to utter such a bold statement about my size."

"Haha. I cannot say for certain whether I am big or small in the grand scheme of things," Heka laughed lightly and scratched her cheek with one finger, a slightly embarrassed gesture that she often made when she was unsure how to answer a question.

She continued; "In this life, in this world, there is always going to be someone who is bigger and stronger and taller than you, standing above you in some way. And there is likewise always going to be someone who is smaller and weaker and shorter than you, standing below you in some other way.

"That is simply how existence works. But yes, in answer to your specific question, one could say that I am considerably bigger than you are at this moment."

Briar’s bright blue eyes, which had been wide with shock and something approaching fear, then began to sparkle and shine with an entirely different emotion: Reverence.

She gazed up at Heka as if the Amazon woman were not merely a person but a god descended from the heavens, a deity of immense power and wisdom standing before her in mortal form.

"P-Please forgive my earlier rudeness and my disrespectful behavior toward you, great and powerful one!" Briar closed her small eyes tightly, bowing her head as low as she could manage while still sitting on the bed, her voice trembling with genuine contrition and newfound respect.

She continued; "I did not understand your true power and your deep wisdom until just now, but I see it clearly. You are truly worthy to give Father a kiss."

"Er, uh, okay? Well then, thank you, I suppose?"

Heka wondered a little bit what Briar was talking about so seriously and reverently, but she had no real interest in pursuing the matter further, so she shrugged it off with a light roll of her shoulders and decided to move on to more practical concerns.

She soon stood up from the edge of the large bed where she had been sitting, her body rising gracefully to its full height.

The skimpy and traditional Amazon dress that she wore revealing her toned and muscular abdomen and her strong and defined thighs for anyone who happened to be looking in her direction.

Then she turned to face the assembled titans and began explaining her plans to them in a clear and straightforward manner.

"Benjamin has put all of you into my personal care and direct supervision," she said, placing one hand on her curved waist in a confident and businesslike pose, "so I will babysit every single one of you exactly as he requested. However, before we begin that arrangement in earnest, I need to... take a bath for myself and cleanse my body properly.

"I will return back as soon as I possibly can. Can all of you be patient and wait for me here?"

Silver Moss, the eldest of the titans, nodded her head slowly and gracefully in response to Heka’s request.

"It is of no issue whatsoever, ma’am. We shall remain here in this room and wait for your return."

"Haha!" Heka laughed lightly at the formal and polite response, a bright and cheerful sound that filled the quiet space. "Ma’am? Please, no need for such formality and stiffness, just call me Heka, only Heka, nothing more."

"Very well," Silver Moss replied with a gentle smile. "Lady Heka." 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

"No, no! Not Lady Heka either! Just Heka!"

"Understood, Heka-sama," Silver Moss said, her smile never wavering.

And Heka, realizing that she was fighting a losing battle against the polite and unshakable formality of this strange silver-haired woman, simply gave up the verbal tussle entirely.

She sighed in mild exasperation and turned her body away from the bed to leave the treehouse quickly so she could finally go and take her long-awaited bath.

But just as she was about to step through the doorway and exit the room entirely, she felt a small hand reaching up and grabbing firmly onto the fabric of her dress, holding her in place and preventing her from moving.

"Hm? Briar, is something the matter?" Heka asked the small girl who was now holding tightly onto her clothing, her tiny fingers gripping the material.

The small silver-haired girl would look up at Heka with her big and luminous blue eyes and then she would avert them shyly, looking down at the floor or off to the side, her small body fidgeting slowly and nervously as she struggled to find the words she wanted to say.

Heka saw the hesitation and the shyness written all over Briar’s small face, and she understood immediately what the child wanted but could not bring herself to ask for directly.

So she smiled warmly and reached down to hold the small girl’s hand in her own larger one, her fingers wrapping around Briar’s tiny palm with care and tenderness.

"Do you want to take a bath with me?" Heka asked softly, already knowing the answer before it came.

Briar’s entire face beamed with sudden and overwhelming joy, her expression lighting up like the sun breaking through heavy clouds.

She nodded her head furiously, almost too fast to track with the naked eye.

"I-I-If I am p... permitted and granted the honor to bathe together with your great eminence and your mighty presence, then I would be deeply grateful and endlessly thankful for such a privilege!"

Heka still did not fully understand what was going on with this sudden shift into reverence and worshipful behavior.

No less, from the small girl who had been glaring at her and accusing her just minutes earlier.

But either way, she found it more amusing than concerning, so she simply smiled and walked out of the treehouse with Briar’s small hand held securely in her own.

***

Before the duo would reach the stream, the day had suddenly turned dark, and a wild storm arrived suddenly.

But they all knew it was coming from the summit of world leaders at the hall. So panic was at minimum, especially when it stopped abruptly too.

In a fairly wide and open area, a place located at a comfortable distance close to the village, there was a natural formation where rocks and plants intertwined beautifully and perfectly.

Their shapes and colors were complementing each other to form a small, secluded, and very private oasis hidden away from the main paths and the wandering eyes of other Amazons.

There were a few waterfalls in this area, several cascading streams of clear and cool water falling from different heights.

Each one landing in the pool below with the roaring and thunderous sound of water splashing en masse and with force.

The noise echoed off the surrounding rocks and filled the air with a constant and soothing white noise.

The falling water formed a natural tub, a basin of clear liquid held in place by a bowl of rocks that had been aligned by nature itself over countless years.

With corners and edges, and small gaps here and there where the water flowed steadily and continuously outward, never stagnating, always fresh and moving and alive.

"It is a good thing that this place is completely unoccupied at this time of day," Heka breathed out in relief, one hand resting comfortably on her curved waist, the other hand holding a small woven basket that contained her bathing soap and her natural lotions, with other cleansing supplies.

She continued; "I prefer silence and solitude when I bathe, without any other people around to disturb my peace and quiet thoughts. However, the few private and enclosed areas which are designated for bathing belong only to Mother, Lotus, and to Sara, but no one else in the village. How dreadfully unfair that arrangement is, don’t you agree, Briar?"