Ty heard a clatter from downstairs where Mark was clearing the table. Rounding the corner, he felt his lips twitch as he took in his foster dad looking over (and up! By like, five whole inches!) at him in shock, the dishes in a pile where he'd set them down.
"No you don't," the older man said dumbly. Like that would change reality or something.
(Jokes on him. Only Ty can do that.)
"I really do." Ty beamed and slapped his sandals on the table; dang those things were big, just over a foot long, they made a loud plop as they covered an entire empty plate. And Ty's feet were too BIG for those things!
Mark must have thought something similar, because he scowled, rolled his eyes, and grabbed the dishes again.
"Ty, I am not giving you money for shoes right now. It's summer. Those sandals are practically new. It's going to cost us too much for shoes next fall anyway without you wearing them out now."
Ty felt a tingle run down his back, from his neck to his tailbone, and shivered a little while goosebumps popped up on his arms. What was that?
Mark paused as a loud thump echoed down from Dustin's room. Huh, so the freeze must have worn off. Shrugging, the old man trudged into the kitchen and dumped the plates in the sink. Ty followed, stepping up next to Marc and then looming slightly over him. That was cool, Ty hadn't ever loomed before. He'd have to practice. Marc clearly noticed, as he seemed to hunch for a moment before scrubbing at the plates with a grumble.
"Really, it costs enough to FEED you these days..." there was that tingle again! "and you could always get a job if you want more clothes..." Ty winced and shifted on his feet as they ached a little.
"Mark, I don't care if they're shoes, but I need something to wear, right?" Ty may have growled a little. He didn't MEAN to, but he hadn't figured out his voice yet and when he tried for whiny it just came out as 'big scary threat voice'.
"Don't take that tone with me. You need to learn some respect. I don't care how growly you get, and I don't care how tall you are, you aren't going to go around disrespecting me in my own - "
"Ow!" Ty yelped, limping over to a chair and rubbing his feet. Jeeze, that really hurt!
Mark sighed, and tromped to the table, coming back with the sandals and muttering about 'annoying teenagers'. As another tingle raced down his spine, Ty gasped, understanding. His wish! Mark being annoyed with him over his size must be effecting his growth!
Caught up in realizing, Ty barely noticed when Mark tossed him his sandals.
"Well go on then, put them on. Let's see what the problem is."
The problem, apparently, was that Ty's toes stuck out almost completely off the edge of the sandals, even further than they had upstairs. If he had to guess, Mark's complaints had made his feet grow another inch, at least! Ty was a bit tall and really stocky, but the flippers he was sporting were almost bordering on goofy, like... like...
Right, like the start of a really, really big growth spurt.
Mark didn't say a word as he handed Ty his credit card. Ty didn't either, but he did grab an egg sandwich. Hobbits get second breakfasts. And he was a hungry hungry hobbit.