Commission for  StoneRabbit featuring some OCs of theirs in macro/micro situations.

Fifi has racked up a bit of a debt with The Merchant of the wasteland and he's got some rather interesting ideas on how she can work it off.

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Time's a Wastin’

“Look, I’ve got nothing more to say, I’m empty right now.” Fifi gave a careless shrug as she stared up at the looming figure that regarded her with a stern, yet not quite hostile gaze. “My stash got nabbed and I’ll need time to build everything back up I just gotta-“

The little ant gal wouldn’t get to finish speaking as the Merchant raised his foot into the air and slammed it down on top of her. “Time?” He asked, cocking an eyebrow somewhere in the darkness under his hat. “Time’s too much of a luxury for ya right now.”

“Ugh…” Fifi struggled a bit, wiggling under the weight of the appendage and trying to pull herself out for under it. Try as she might though, it wasn’t long before she was forced to give up; left lying there, annoyed but at the very least willing to listen to what the Merchant had to say. “Ugh, fine… I’ll try to pull some favors, get you sorted by sunset.”

“I don’t think you quite understand what I mean.” Merchant curled his toes, scooping the little insect up in his grasp and giving the small frail body a bit of a squeeze before letting go. “You’re outta time.”

She got off the ground, dusting herself off a little. “So what do you want me to do about that exactly?”

“Several things.” Merchant replied with a careless shrug of his own as reached over his shoulder, over the countless bags and pouches he carried with him at all times and untied something from his the straps of his backpack. A moment later a pair of heavy-duty snow boots clapped against the ground right in front of Fifi. “You can start by fixing these for me.” He said, taking a step back and eyeing the little gal, more than content to just watch her for the time being. “You do have your tools, right?” He cocked an eyebrow at her.

She stood still for a moment before taking a step towards the looming footwear and assessing the damage. “Some torn insulator, several tears along the side of the boot; less than ideal but recoverable.” She concluded, pulling out her needle and getting to work.

“Uh-huh.” The Merchant nodded as he saw his little debtor disappearing within one of the boots. “Let me know if you need anything.”

“Would be nice if you got off my case for a bit, if I’m honest.” Fifi replied with a chuckle.

“As soon as you’ve paid your debt.” Merchant responded nonchalantly, making the little ant roll her eyes. He picked up the boots and dropped them off a bit closer to a comfortable-looking rock with the intent of keeping the footwear close as he set up a temporary shop for the day.

“Yeah, yeah…” Fifi sighed as her tiny needle pierced a portion of the boot from within to close up a hole around the insulator. “I know the drill.” She sighed and then grumbled a little under her breath. “At least he doesn’t feel the need to keep the boots on while I work.”

---

Wasting no time, the Merchant set up shop, pulling out various wares and prominently putting them on display them in front of himself. He of course had many more things hiding deep inside his pockets, pouches, bags and satchels, but most of that stuff was either too valuable to keep out in the open or not valuable enough to bother showing off at all.

Amazingly, even in the middle of nowhere, the occasional group of customers came by, all of them making exchanges with the man one after another: several small fellows looking for basic tools and supplies, a group of drifters shopping for an engine part, and finally a pair Fuzz members, whom the Merchant greeted courteously despite their less than desireable behavior.

They looked around, poking and prodding at the Merchant’s wares, picking them up and inspecting various things without asking for permission. He simply cleared his throat to draw their attention. “Are you looking for something in particular?” He asked.

“Nah, man.” One of them, a rabbit in a bulletproof vest responded. “Just browsin’.”

“I see…” The merchant responded with a poorly masked grunt of annoyance.

Distracted by being forced to keep his eyes on the goods for fear of letting them be pocketed while he wasn’t looking, the merchant never noticed one of the Fuzz fellows sneaking up on the snow boots he’d left lying off to the side.

“Oi!” A masked cat guy with a fully loaded bandolier called out as he grabbed the boots, lifting them for a quick inspection. “Watchu want for these, eh?”

“Not for sale.” Merchant responded promptly. “Put them down.”

“Ah, don’t be like that. I’m sure we could offer ya somethin’ for these ‘ere beauties.” As he flipped one of the boots over though, a small creature fell out of ‘em and onto the floor in front of him.

“Oi, Frank!” The cat called out, reaching down and grabbing Fifi in his hand. “It’s that gal that nicked our whiskey!”

“Hey! Let me go!”

“Gahah!” The rabbit guy – Frank apparently – walked over and scooped Fifi out of his compatriot’s hand. “Thought you could hide from Fuzz, eh missy?” He gave her a squeeze, gripping her firmly in his gloved fist. “Oh we’ll show ya what we do ta li’l thieves ‘round these ‘ere p-“

“Put her down.” Merchant interjected in a tone that did not leave room for argument. “Now.”

“Hey! She stole from us! We’re not about to let some two-bit wannabe seamstress get away with crap like that.”

“She’s mine. She owes me.”

“Oh yeah? Well she owes us too and you can f-“ Frank was about to reach for his gun when his pal lay a hand on his shoulder and shook his head.

“Let ‘er go, bud. We don’t want no trouble with the Merchant. Unless ya wanna freeze to death when Winter comes… or worse” He shuddered.

“Gah!” Frank grunted, tossing Fifi back in the boot and dropping it on the ground before walking off. “Screw it. She’s not worth our time anyway.”

“Sorry ‘bout that.” The masked cat hurriedly apologized and rushed after his friend.

Merchant saw the two ruffians off with a stern look and the leaned over to look inside the boot, spotting Fifi catching her breath. “You okay?”

“Y-yeah.” She nodded. Shaking her head a bit as she slipped down into a sitting position along one of the walls. “Thanks.”

“You stole their whiskey?” The Merchant cocked an eyebrow, clearly more curious than judgmental.

“They traded me some faulty lamps. So I nabbed the most valuable thing I could get my hands on in their shitty hideout down South.

The giant let out an amused snort. “Fair’s fair.” He shrugged.

---

As time dragged on, the Merchant managed to go through a decent amount of customers, racking up a lot of useful things and begrudgingly agreeing to let one of the smaller fellows have his part of the deal in advance. He’d knew the little bugger well, and both of them were keenly aware of just how difficult for him life would become if he ended up double-crossing the Merchant of all people. Besides, he could always use another small fellow working off their debt once he’s done with Fifi. Speaking of which… He turned toward the boots, finding both of them on their sides.

The little ant gal herself spent most of the day absorbed in her craft, allowing the noise of various conversations to filter in through the fabric of the boot with just enough clarity to assure her she was still in relative safety under the Merchant’s watch. She didn’t particularly like the idea of labor for pretty much nothing in return, but after the incident earlier she felt somewhat safe with him around. Or safer, at least.

“You okay in there?” A voice came from the outside and Fifi turned her head to find herself faced with the familiar sight of the Merchant’s paw resting on the ground. “How’s the progress?”

“The other boot’s done!” Fifi shouted in response, speeding up and making the final few stiches. “This one’s about finished too.”

“Good.” The Merchant nodded and turned the other way to pack his things up.

“Gimme juuuust a sec here.” The little ant gal fished her needle out of the fluffy wall beside her and poked her head outside, giving the looming figure a thumbs up. “And done! Feel free to give them a test run whenever.”

Immediately the Merchant stepped closer and rose his foot as Fifi braced herself thinking he was about to shove her in the boot along with his foot but instead found him just standing there… waiting.

He glanced down, cocking an eyebrow at here. “You… Gonna move out of the way or..?” He hesitated for a moment while the little ant quickly scurried out of the way allowing him to scoop the boot up with his toes, set it upright and easily shove his foot in, moving his toes about within, feeling around for any obvious oversights.

“I uhh… I kinda thought you were just gonna shove me in there.” The little gal admitted with a nervous chuckle; most people these days would have, after all.

The Merchant shook his head. “Tempting.” He admitted, his gaze switching back and forth between the other boot and his small companion a couple of times. With a smirk that remained completely obscured by his mask he locked his toes around his tiny captive yet again and rolled her under his foot for a few moments before rolling her into the remaining boot.

His foot forced its way in and on top of her, pressing her into the age-worn insole as the thick, but surprisingly supple flesh of his paws weighed down on top of her.

“Hey!” Fifi’s muffled voice echoed from within the boot, much to the Merchant’s amusement. He curled his toes over her head, forcing it right between two of his toes as he felt her pointless struggles underfoot.

“Relax.” Merchant said. “Just getting a few kicks.” His foot rolled forward a bit, applying just a smidgen of pressure to the little captive. “And you’re not exactly in the position to argue. Consider it payback for that time you stole those circuit boards from me.”

Half-sunk into the foot flesh Fifi relented; she did try to sneak away with those things… and lie about it afterward. Her body fell limp as the Merchant’s foot kneaded her into the insole, rubbing up and down along her minute but surprisingly sturdy form. She felt every wrinkle of it rippling over her body, every curve dragging across her face. This went on for a little while longer before the giant finally decided to relent.

A gentle pull and the foot slid out of the boot, leaving Fifi to catch her breath when suddenly the whole thing collapsed on its side. “Ughhh…” She groaned and crawled her way outside, shakily getting back up to her feet. “Was that really necessary?”

“No.” A shrug. “Felt good though.” He admitted with a smug look about him. He put the boot back on and lowered himself to the ground, offering Fifi a palm to climb onto. “Let’s be off then.”

“Uhh… Sure.” She nodded and climbed aboard, lowering herself in his grasp as the palm soared upwards and a momentary sense of vertigo kicked in. “Where to?” She asked, not really feeling the need to get hung up on the whole footplay thing; not like he was the first bastard in the wasteland to smother her like that.

The hand moved and she hopped off into one of the open pouches on the Merchant’s belt, settling in and poking her head out of it.

“There’s a settlement a few dozen miles over.” He explained, wasting no time and immediately setting out. “I owe them some water filters.”

“Ah.” Fifi acknowledged the statement with a nod, looking out towards the horizon. “Anything else you need me to do?”

“Nah.” Merchant shook his head. “Get some rest for now.”

Fifi gave the looming man an odd look . “Huh? Wait…” She squinted at him suspiciously. “What’s your game?”

“You’ve worked hard, right?”

“I… Yeah.” The ant gal blinked; once, twice… “Thanks.” She finally said with a nod, still a bit confused. Though she supposed he was a fairly sensible man, so it wasn’t that strange. Maybe she just wasn’t used to nice treatment? And with that she disappeared within the pouch, closing it over her head and settling in for a nap. It was nice to have someone else taking care of the legwork for a change. “Let me know if you need anything though, I guess.”

“Oh, you’ll know.” The Merchant assured as his eyes were already fixed on the road ahead. As Fifi took his offer and got some rest, he spotted a river in the distance, the one signifying he was on the right track. As usual, he would head towards it and then take a sharp right to reach a small town on the bank of it. He was curious about something though…

As the Sun began its lazy descent towards the mountains in the west, he looked down and eyed the various closed-up holes on his snowboots. He approached the bank of the river, taking a step in and... Smiling as he found their waterproofing qualities fully functional again after Fifi’s efforts. “Not bad.” He concluded.

---

With the afternoon soon turning to evening the Merchant decided to stop and set up camp for the night. He opened one of the pouches on his belt, poking his little companion on the back to wake her up.

Fifi stirred and grumbled, looking up and spotting the shadowy face looking down at her. “Mnngh… Just five more minutes?” She tried, but the looming giant reached inside and plucked her by the sides anyway. “Fiiine…” Rubbing her eyes as she was set down on the ground Fifi looked up. “What did you need me to do?”

“I’ll go gather firewood.” The Merchant said as he pulled a stretch of cloth from his backpack and set it down beside their soon-to-be camp for the night. “You can get started on making me some socks in the meantime."

“Roger.” Fifi confirmed and rushed on over, needle in hand as he got to laying out the cloth in a manner that would make the whole process more convenient.

“Good. I won’t be long.” The Merchant said and sauntered away.

“Surprised he’s not carrying firewood around already.” Fifi whispered to herself, aligning two folds of cloth, patting them flat and sticking her needle in to sow them together. “Then again I suppose it’s not too hard to gather on the spot around this area.” As she worked she looked around at her surroundings. Even though one side was completely blocked off by the river, she could still spot at least a couple escape routes, but then again… The Merchant wasn’t that far away. And perhaps more importantly, she didn’t particularly fancy the idea of getting on his bad side, nobody in the wasteland did. Fifi sighed in exasperation and vowed never to go into debt with him again.

---

About an hour later the two of them sat across a fire from one another, each with a stick with several tiny insects impaled on it. While not particularly appetizing to Fifi after she was tasked with ripping out and disposing of any inedible parts, it was still good food.

“So…” The ant gal began as she looked over at the Merchant who sat there staring intently at his meal as it roasted over the open flame. “How long are you gonna keep me around for?”

He shrugged. “Not too long.” He admitted. “You don’t owe me that much.”

“Why didn’t you just let me barter with you later then?”

“I don’t like people racking up debts.” The Merchant admitted with a careless shrug, moving the stick closer to his mouth and taking a bite. “Can’t fuck around with that stuff, it gets them in a situation where they owe me too much to actually want to pay it back. At a certain point running away and avoiding me just feels like the better option.” He cocked an eyebrow at her. “Am I wrong?”

Fifi lowered her gaze, grabbing one of the tiny bodies from the stick and biting into it as well. “No.” She said, reflecting on the fact that her first instinct had been to run away too. “I suppose not.”

Not bothering to finish chewing, The Merchant spoke up again. “See?” The insect crunched pleasantly in his mouth. “Makes sense when you think about it.”

“Yeah.” He was a shrewd one, but then Fifi had known that much for ages now.

It didn’t take them long to finish the meal as they just continued sitting there. She’d expected him to give her another task but he seemed content sorting through his belongings, taking inventory, making sure everything was in place.

But just as she thought that maybe he was just trying to be tactful for a change, the Merchant kicked off his boots, wiggling his toes and allowing them to breathe out in the open. “Give me a foot rub.” He demanded and Fifi sighed, dropping her stick in the fire and climbing down from the stone she’d been sitting on.

“Right on it.” She gave a dull nod and got closer, walking up beside the exposed pale soles of the man and rolling all four of her sleeves up. She hesitated for just a moment but it was more than enough time for the Merchant to take matters into his own hands.

He shoved one of his feet forward, smothering Fifi underneath it and sighing in relief as he felt the tiny body squirming under the weight of his foot. His toes rolled back and forth, grasping at the little ant gal’s shoulders and asserting themselves over her face.

“Agh, quit it!” Fifi protested shoving them away and standing up as she felt the pressure relenting a bit; the Merchant had lifted his foot with a chuckle, just enough to allow the little gal to stay up again. Dusting herself off, the ant turned to face to sole again, four tiny hands pressing into the soft flesh and rubbing at it in gentle circular motions. “Brute.”

“Thief.”

“Touché.”

The Merchant breathed a sigh of relief, finally leaning back and allowing himself to relax for a moment. He may have been used to travelling long distances, but he loved having his paws pampered after a long day, god knows he could use it with the kind of terrain he was forced to traverse in this area.

Fifi would watch the flesh in front of her bend and wrinkle every now and again, like a living wall reacting to her touch. One foot, then the other… All under the tentative, watchful gaze of the Merchant. He seemed pleased with her efforts though, giving his toes the occasional flex.

Suddenly though the feet would lie down on either side of Fifi. She immediately realized what was about to happen but didn’t get the time to get away before the massive appendages slammed together, locking her in-between them. Two tough monoliths, kneading at her body, squeezing her limbs as she strained and struggled. The looming giant didn’t keep her for long though, letting her go after rolling her between his soles for just a moment. “Heh… Good job. We should get some rest.” He said, unclasping the same pouch from before and lowering his hand down once again.

A little dazed from the rough treatment she took a moment to recover and then finally looked up. “N-nah.” She declined, eliciting a head tilt from the Merchant. “I’ve already slept for a little bit and I gotta finish making those socks.” She elaborated, pointing a thumb over her shoulder.

He gave her a suspicious look.

“I’m not gonna run away.” She crossed both sets of arms, rolling her eyes. “I already had the chance earlier while you were out gathering sticks.”

The Merchant’s eyes softened a bit and he gave the little gal a nod. “Sure thing then.” He nodded and lowered himself down, leaning against the rock; the backpack rested beside him, one of his arms draped over it as somewhere under his mask he let loose a hearty yawn. “I’ll see you in the morning then.”

“Night~” She chimed in response and resumed her work on the folds of fabric that she would soon fashion into a neat little sock.

---

The rays of the rising sun soon hit the Merchant’s face, rousing him from his sleep. He yawned once more, looking around. “Drat…” He grunted under his breath as his little debtor was nowhere to be seen. Or so he thought anyway until he spotted some movement coming from within the folds of fabric Fifi left lying around. Curious, he walked over and peered inside, lifting the cloth with a single finger. “Ah.” He gasped in realization and gently let the fabric drape back over the little ant. “Seems all-nighters just aren’t for you, little lady.”