Sorry if anything is... sloppy... or hard to get. (do please point these out I would love to improve) This is my first submission to this site when I've only ever lurked here. Early warning... I am really slow at uploading. No consistency at all so don't expect something for awhile... But uh... yeah enjoy I guess...
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Summit Parallel

Mount Everest. Earth’s tallest mountain. To simply reach its summit was an incredible feat of human achievement as well as proof of their own foolishness at times. Few ever reached the top and many more have vanished under the snow, or maybe to another realm entirely?

Heather Adventum was the adventurous sort and thrill seeker. She’d traversed the depths of the Amazon, explored the deeps of the ocean and now was climbing to the top of the world’s tallest mountain. Here she was reaching the summit of Everest seeing the snowy landscape and spikes cones that stretched for miles. Everything was so high up it felt like she could touch the clouds overhead. Smiling she proudly looked back at what she’d accomplished to get here... only to see naught but a flurry of snow buffeting everything.

It didn’t make sense. There was no report about such severe weather taking place for the next week. She’d made it to the summit only to have the most impossible of circumstances possibly make it her grave. The sheer wall of swirling white kept her in place. If she moved blinded like this she may trip and fall. If she stayed to wait it out she might not have the oxygen left to make it to the camp.

Suddenly everything felt weightless. Her feet still felt firmly planted on the ground, yet it also felt like there was nothing beneath them. She couldn’t explain it. But as quickly as the sensation had come it was gone and the storm with it. The light as well it seemed. What light had been in the sky was gone it was now pitch black. One would assume night had fallen but when looking at the sky there were no stars, no moon. Reaching into her backpack she pulled out a flashlight and illuminated the way forward. Everything looked normal at first. Never ending ice... but then that was the problem. Being at the summit meant there should have been drop off spots, edges... but it all seemed never ending. Her teeth started to chatter, and not because of the cold as she pressed on. In a few minutes a truly startling thing came into her flashlights range.

It had to be impossible. The cold was making her mind play tricks on her. There was a box standing upright, tall as two story houses for some sort of ice cream fudge pops. If she was gauging it right, when next to it she would only be two inches tall... but that was insanity! Yet when she flashed the light around more there were other items commonly found in one’s freezer. Frozen hamburger meat packages and an ice tray. If what she was seeing was real it wasn’t dark because of the night, but because she was in a freezer.

“A bad dream... a nightmare! There can’t be any other reason!” She muttered under her breath. Despite her rightful fears and panic that didn’t change the fact that she needed to get out of wherever she was. If she was still on the mountain and this was all in her head then that at least meant she was alive and could still make it to a safe location to rest and warm up.

Sticking her climbing poles into the ice she prepared to give herself a slap to awake from this insanity... That’s when blinding light caught her off guard. Like a door opening to the great beyond, light slowly cracked in then all at once washed over her. She gasped and shielded her eyes with one hand while keeping the other on an ice climbing pole to stay balanced. Once her eyes managed to adjust something far beyond comprehension then everything before now greeted them. A giant face was there, poking into her landscape. It wasn’t human either. Their eyes were cat like. Nose a black little thing, whiskers protruded from their cheek and then a blend of orange and white fur stripped by black. A massive tiger cat face was staring her down and seemed equally surprised. Heather’s mind was struggling to keep up. This really was somehow a freezer owned by some sort of anthropomorphic creature a giant one at that that could pick up her entire house with ease back home!

For some time there was a long silence as they stated at one another. The tiger broke it however and what was said sent shivers down her spine. “A living one...”

“L-Living one?!” That was it. Whatever calmness she had left was now long gone. Even if it meant going back into the freezer and praying that whatever brought her here mercifully took her back and let her freeze to death on Everest it’d be better than being some lab rat! But that was easier said than done. The panic made her make clumsy decisions on the uneven ice that had built up inside. Her foot got caught and she started to trip. Showing quick reflexes she kept herself from falling completely over by using her poles to stop, but that delay was all the giant tiger needed, not the gargantuan needed more help. There was a rush of wind and filling it two fingers that delicately pinched her minuscule form up by her torso.

She struggled in the behemoth’s grasp, though it was overall pointless. All that she could do was pray to wake up soon. There was no way this was really happening. No way! It was too much. Her near frozen body. The giant. Her puny body. The fatigue setting in. Her body and mind couldn’t keep up any more and she at last succumbed to darkness.

-

She woke up sometime- Wait, woke up? She shot up straight, gasping at the air eyes still closed. Alive? She was actually alive?! But surely she froze to death? Maybe she didn’t even go on her trip? Whatever she was on felt soft... spongy. Her bed. Surely. “Yeah when I open my eyes I’ll be in my room. Yeah. No way I climbed the mountain and definitely no way was I in some giant anthropomorphic tiger’s freezer.” Her eyes opened. The realization sunk in.

The spongey bed she sat on was... well literally a sponge. A new clean one. It with her sat atop a countertop next to the very refrigerator that had contained her before. It was real. All of it. She could deny it all she wanted too, but it was legit. Somehow, someway climbing to the top in that storm had transported her to this place... this world of animalistic giants.

She noted something else. Her equipment was all missing even her heavy clothes. She was left in her fleece stitched jeans and fleece shirt. Confused she tried to wonder why the creature would take her gear but leave her alone. Why wasn’t she in some hamster cage or something?

Luckily (or unluckily) she would get her answers maybe. Like a parade drummer in the distance she could hear thumping. As it approached the thumps grew louder and louder. She could feel the vibrations through the countertop and sponge. Finally from the other side of the kitchen from a hallway perhaps appeared the giant from before.

A giant tigress to be precise. She was of course huge though judging by how she looked in conjunction with everything else around her she was taller than the average human girl. Hell given how her ears seemed to nearly scrap the ceiling she might be pushing six five unless it was a low ceiling. Like any tiger she had orange-brown fur running across her. The stomach area, her face, tail, and undersides of her arms and legs sporting white then everywhere zig zagging black stripes. Paw like hands that had thumbs even. She even wore clothes, a simple pair of jeans and tank top. It was too human.

Heather didn’t even bother trying to run. Where would she even go? She didn’t know this place. Even if there was some sort of mouse hole nearby to hide inside what then? Too small to do much of anything she wouldn’t last longer than her time at the summit.

The giantess’ attention snapped to the tiny girl and locked on seeing that she was awake. It made her shiver and quake. What was going to happen to her? “Oh thank goodness you’re alive!” She exclaimed walking up and looming over her. The sudden invasion of Heathers bubble made her eep and try to shield herself from the twin moons dangling over her tiny body.

“Space please!” She screamed out of reflex. The human wasn’t claustrophobic, but having the entire world around her nearly being engulfed by tiger was suffocating!

Hearing the shrill shout the tigress quickly took two steps back and sheepishly pressed her pointer fingers together. “M-My sincerest apologizes! I didn’t mean to scare you. I’m just so excited to see you’re alive and can’t wait to talk with you!”

Despite still freaking out about the insanity of her situation, Heathers curiosity was overriding those feelings currently. “Y-Y-You can understand me?”

“Well yes I.... oh! My word I didn’t even realize it till you mentioned it just now!” The giantess’ excitement was reaching worryingly high levels again. “Her overbearing chest load dangerously coming close again. “Oh thank heavens... I feared I’d have to spend months possibly making a translator, but clearly I don’t what wonderful news! Granted, it raises even more questions but that just makes this all the more fun!”

Fun for you maybe! I’m still freaking the fuck out! Heather thought to herself trying to scoot back. “L-Look can you please explain what’s happening?! Why am I here? Why am I tiny? Why are you huge? Why are you some tiger? Why... everything!!” She wrapped her hands around her head, screaming out the last part. She could feel a migraine coming on and tears welling up in her eyes. Her vision started to get foggy again. The stress of it all was making her hyperventilate.

The tigress seeing her act like this quickly peeled back again. Grabbing a chair she sat down and stayed away and started to calmly speak, “I’m sorry, really. I’ll stop. Just... relax. I know that’s probably a difficult thing to ask right now, but we can’t explore the questions you’re asking if you faint again. It’s just hard containing my excitement. You’re this little no-fur somehow spawning in my freezer and I’m a scientist and I too want the answers to the questions you’re asking. Every so often I’ve found these little bodies in my freezer, but they’re always dead. You’re the first living one. I understand this must be, traumatizing, and a lot of it is my fault for being overbearing, but if you can be strong for me we can get those questions answered someday and maybe even be really good friends what do you say?”

Heather sniffled. Wiping her tears she looked up at the tigress. She had a cute innocent face, not unlike her own house cats. The familiarity and kind words helped pull her out of her slump if only just a little. “I... I don’t know... If-“

The tigress reached a pawed hand to the left of Heather’s sponge bed and dropped her missing gear beside it. She poked at her gear then continued to try and cheer her up. “These items you wore. Wherever you were it was obviously cold and there wouldn’t have been much oxygen. You went on some kind of adventure. You’ve got an explorers heart. Try thinking about this as just another big adventure!”

Heather’s face contorted a little. She hated puns. “That was terrible.”

“Eh-What did I do?” The tigress mewled back.

“That pun. It was terrible.”

Frowning she clearly had to retrace her own words before making a big *ohhh* “I-I honestly meant no pun when I said ‘big.’” She laughed pulling her arm back. “I was just trying to help, and it looks to have worked one way or another. You’re no longer a mess. Progress.”

Heather climbed off her sponge to stand. Admittedly the tigress was right. She did like adventuring. She’d taken many trips around the world seeing as much as she could, what was this but a brand new one? An unknown territory one at that. No one else on earth could say they’d climbed Mount Everest and somehow were transported to another world or dimension entirely. The giantess was also being friendly and trusting if one didn’t count the lack of care for personal space. Calming herself so they could talk it out was indeed what needed to happen if she ever wished to go home someday.

“So can I go first? I mean... ask a question?”

There was a giddy glint coming back to her eyes now that Heather was fully ready to talk to her, but thankfully she managed to keep herself contained in her seat. “Certainly! You are my guest so after you.”

“Alright... thanks Uhm... what’s exactly happening? Like you probably don’t know too much more than I do, but from your perspective what’s happening?” It was broad, but the tigress seemed to understand it.

“Hmm, let’s see. If we go back to my beginning when I first found a tiny in my freezer it’d have to be about five years ago. I was one year into my science job for the government. Tired, a bit stressed after a long day I wanted to grab a pint of ice cream from my freezer. What a shock when I saw this bipedal thing frozen against its side. I did feel bad, but I couldn’t believe this discovery I’d just made. Excuse me, but I did investigate my finding by doing a dissection. They were already long dead after all.”

The tigress paused there giving Heather time to process the information. Something she appreciated. The dissection bit did make her a little squeamish, but it didn’t make her trust waver. It only made sense... Terrible terrible sense. “Right uh, so how many dead humans have you found?”

“Hoomun?” She muttered aloud. The word was obviously new since she’d been calling her a ‘no-fur’ this entire time. “That’s what you are called... interesting. Before I get lost thinking allow me to continue. Three others besides the first I mentioned. A total of four. The second didn’t pop in till one year, a month and three days later. I’d been checking day by day for six months hoping to find another but living. Unfortunately none came till that time and I kinda gave up. Still I found another. The interesting bit was how similar everything was when preforming another dissection. Here we are all various animals but you hoomans are all one race with very varying appearances and color. Given the third one I found having black skin. The fourth whom I found just three months before your arrival today. Finally you. In all honesty I do not know why you ended up in my freezer. Why you were whisked here. I do know based on what I could salvage from the bodies and yours our two places of origin are very similar. Tech appears to be very much the same level. Clothes are also very samey given the casual things you’re wearing now. The gear you wore also is the same mountain climbers here use. At least those who’s animal parts can’t handle higher climates. Mountain Goats are scary with how high they can go without much issue. Language is somehow also the same. Currently the only known major difference between our worlds are the people. We multi-race anthros and you one race humans.”

That was a lot of information. Helpful but at the same time not. It raised infinitely more questions then it answered. Heather could only hope whatever information she could possibly give the tigress would help. “Oh uh technically we do have multiple races actually. Based on skin color or other appearances.”

“Bizarre. You all have the same ears though... same heads, same body, red blood... just appearances different in places. You should all be just hooman.”

“It’s hu-man. My world’s got issues is the best I can really put it.”

“Ah no it’s fine I get that. We have our own problems here. Anyways it’s my turn! What’s your name? I’m Keela.”

Heather felt embarrassed. She’d strung this along this whole time without doing a proper introduction! “I-I’m Heather. That doesn’t have to be your turn. I’m so sorry I should-“

“Shh, it’s alright,” she hushed before giggling. “You’ve given me a lot of information already. Answering questions I was going to ask. Just you asking things is making good progress. I am a tigress by the way a-“

Heather took the opportunity to cut the giantess off for once. “I know what you are. A Bengal tiger. Just where I’m from they’re not anthropomorphic.”

“Really?” She grabbed a notepad and began taking notes. “Interesting. Our animal brethren exist there too but have not evolved at all.”

Heather waited patiently for Keela to finish before asking her next question. “Doubt I’ll get a good answer for this but uh, why are you so big?”

“You’re the tiny here actually. Again it’s unknown. My best guess is whatever transferred you here shrinks you and if I somehow went to where you’re from it’d shrink me. Second guess is when moving you from your cold place it has to take you to another cold spot. Somehow a freezer counts and in order for you to fit it shrunk you. I have trouble believing this however since why make you this small? Six inches would be more believable if it just shrunk you to fit. Even more pressing is why my freezer specifically?”

“But I’d still be small and at the mercy of whomever found me. Great.”

“Yes but seems you were lucky enough to meet a big cuddly tigress instead,” she replied with a smile. Was it lucky? Wouldn’t lucky be this not happening at all? She didn’t say that out loud... no need to be a downer for the tiger’s best day ever.

“My next question, is more of a.. request? Can I... Can I pick you up?” She had the cute innocent look on her face. Still the question made Heather flinch.

“Ex-Excuse me?!”

“I mean no harm. You don’t have to if you don’t want to. If you d-do allow me, you can just walk on if you wish.”

“Stop.” Heather sighed putting her hands up to end the rambling. The thought was worrying, but given her size regardless of her feelings she was going to be dependent on the tigress one way or another. “You can. Let’s start with the walk on. Just try not to shake from your giddiness please?” When she gave her response there was a sort of muffled squeal from the giantess. She was looking forward to this. Holding out her hand to the counters edge Heather approached. It had five digits like a humans, but unlike a humans there were traces of claws no doubt retracted currently. Black paw pads for the digits and a big one for the palm. Finally well groomed fur between them. It was too alien and too similar at the same time. Taking her first step onto Keelas hand she marveled how soft the pad seemed to be. She expected it to be tough, firm, but it gave way to her weight easily. The second step... and on were a little challenging. It felt like trying to walk across a waterbed. It didn’t help the tigress was shaking each time. Still far too excited about this. Nonetheless Heather made it to center and took a seat. Sinking deep into it. Twas almost like bean bag chair.

Sitting back Keela kept her hand out and observed her new tiny friend. Clearly it wasn’t enough though as the tiny girl was hit with such a sensation of vertigo. To Keela she was simply lifting her hand up to her eyes for a closer look. To Heather it was as if god was taking her from earth to heaven at hyper speed. Not used to this she was flattened out and dizzied unable to complain about it even as her body was trying to relax her from the adrenaline overdose she just got.

Now at eye level the tigress closed one eye and squinted with the other doing her best to examine the tiny over. “Athletic build. Possibly an inch and three quarters tall.” That only made Heather feel worse again. Her two inch tall guess was wrong she was even smaller than that?! At the very least her dizzy high was wearing off. She gasped seeing nothing but tiger eye. It was a unique sunset orange color and cat like. She could see all sorts of things she’d never see if she were normal. The iris were like little gems. “Eyes green?” Keela continued doing her best to see the human’s.

“H-H-Hazel.” Heather stuttered still breathless at the art before her. “G-Green brown.”

“Ahh. Thank you. Hair brunette. Tell me if you were back home what size are you supposed to be?”

“F-Five seven?” It hurt to say that. To think about what she once was just hours ago where she and this tiger could speak properly to one another. Sure she’d still be freaking out about everything but maybe a little less so. “If you’re wondering average female human height is five four.”

“Wasn’t wondering that yet, but it is useful info to write down for the future, thank you. Let’s see skin a multitude of colors but primarily white and tan. The tan caused by sun exposure. I know I’ve been spouting questions non-stop but I’d like one more to add to the record for now,” she asked pulling the human away finally, letting her see Keelas whole head again. “While the experience is vividly in your memory can you tell me exactly what you were doing and where?”

Heather nodded and rubbed her head a little thinking the details over. She began by telling about the planning of the trip. Then the preparation for it. “Finally the day came where I readied myself at the summit of Mount Everest where-“

“Pause...” Keela interrupted using her thumb to gently push Heathers face to make her stop. With her free hand the giantess pulled a phone out of her pocket and fiddled with it. Like everything else it was bizarrely similar to what humans used. It looked like an iPhone except the logo on the back was different. She didn’t get to see exactly what it was when the tigress moved the phone down and around so Heather could see the screen. By the showing of the time bar it was a quick four minute documentary of a mountain range. The title... Quick Knowledge About Mount Everest.

At first she couldn’t believe it but as the documentary went on it was exactly that. 29,031.7 feet to its summit. The largest mountain in this world. Even the locations were the same. “I-I don’t understand what does this all mean?”

“Obviously it proves one of my possible theories. To answer your question we need to talk about; parallel universes. Basically your world and mine are the same... kinda. Tech develops at the same speed for the most part, our geography is the same, and languages so far are the same. It’s no doubt not 1:1 exact, but the main difference is here animals evolved much quicker than your world where they’re not sentient at all. Or something intelligent? Not going to lie trying to explain it in basic terms that won’t pop your brain is not my strong suit.”

“So is that a good thing or a bad thing?” Heather questioned, more interested in whether or not it helped her case.

“Depends... has your world made inter dimensional travel yet?”

“Unless the government did and didn’t tell anyone then no?”

“Then no.” She shrugged. “Because it means mine also likely hasn’t, and since I’m a scientist who does work for the government I can safely say we don’t have that for a fact. Unless rivals over seas do.”

*Plop* Heather fell back and groaned to the cruel heavens above, “I’m stuck here till the day I die!”

“Tsk Tsk, I didn’t say that. Just definitely not going anywhere anytime soon, but now that I have you and know more about this I can start making something it just wouldn’t be ready for a good while.”

She sat up and smiled for the first time since this all started. “You’d really do that for me? Wouldn’t keeping me be a hot commodity instead?”

The tigress grimaced a little, a bead of sweat rolling down her neck. “Well uh, I would and will, but on the note of ‘hot commodity’ you’ll have to help me there. Building something to cross dimensions or universes what have you, no doubt won’t be cheap and I am supposed to show my findings to government big wigs soooo you’ll need to help me out there.”

Heather imagined herself being passed around like some doll. Each one pushing and pressing places she wouldn’t like. “That doesn’t sound... fun.”

“It likely won’t be,” Keela murmured. “But they’ll likely leave you in my care by the end of it. I’ve been the one on top of everything relating to no-fur research along with my own projects. One day of presentation is all.”

“I don’t really have a choice in the matter I guess.”

Keela tried giving a confident smile. Finally setting her pen down she stood up and started walking somewhere. “I’m sorry. Really I am. What would you like to try sleeping on? It’s actually passed midnight already. You were out of it for awhile. I have a meeting with them at seven on the dot.”

That made her tense a little. She didn’t expect it to happen so soon and for it to already be so late. She also didn’t feel tired. “I dunno... I’m not really that tired?”

“Yes well, I feel a little time alone to rest and ponder today’s events might be healthy for you. I too should get my own rest even though I’d like to keep learning. We’ve got plenty of time for that in the future. Here how about this.” The tigress set her down on an end table that was very close to a simple leather brown sofa. “You can walk around here for a bit if you’d like then make an easy jump to my couch for bedtime when you’re ready. I’ll meet with you in the morning,” she finished with a wink before walking away not giving Heather a chance to respond for once. At the very least she got to see Keela’s back for the first time. The main note if interest being her long white and black tail. Across her back more of that orange and black fur. A big caboose cramped up in her casual jean wear. “Or is it big just because I’m small?” She wondered to herself. Keela also had a fairly big rack- wait seriously? “Why am I thinking about body features like those at a time like this? Urge...”

Observing her new spot continued to drill into her head how tiny and pathetic she felt. There was a lamp. Simple, ceramic. Small, to her normal size. She’d be able to hold its entire base in a fist back home but now it dwarfed her inch half height allowing her to climb it instead if she wanted. A nearby coaster wasn’t even a stair step. It was an effort to pull herself onto it, needing to lift her legs waist high. Then there was the gap. It wasn’t anything crazy she definitely could make it, but at human height her hand wouldn’t even fit in between without moving the side table. Her entire body could now fall through if she did anything stupid.

To think Mount Everest was going to be considered her greatest accomplishment yet, but now it was going to be surviving this realm of giants. Could it be considered uncharted territory if the territory is exactly the same but paralleled? Having things that aren’t human? Being so small that other humans would have probably not noticed her? Actually that made her realize that it was a good thing Keela was a tiger person. If she was anything like her four legged cousins her heightened hearing and sight no doubt was helping a lot. She imagined if she was tiny with another human she’d never have left that freezer... “And like everyone before me, died in there,” she murmured to herself. What a terrible fate. She was lucky... and grateful for it, at the same time however as she leapt over the gap to lay on the sofa’s arm she still wished to wake up in her own bed back home and leave the excitement and terror of this new world as only a dream.