The door to Rixie’s quarters hissed shut as she entered, with Alex once again hidden in the pouch at her hip. She was still amused by his reaction to her question about her feet. He hadn’t answered her, not really anyway. Rather he flushed red, muttered something indistinct, and refused to comment further. 

She’d found the whole thing incredibly cute, and decided that some torment was definitely in order… if for no other reason than as payback for all the grief he’d put her through in the last few hours. (Even if most of it was not entirely his fault.)

She unzipped her belt pouch and set it on the dresser, allowing Alex to climb out on his own while she retreated into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her.

When she reemerged a few minutes later, she had shed her uniform in favor of a pair of silky red shorts and a white tank top. 

Alex’s mouth fell open, but fortunately for him Rixie was still too far away to see it. He watched, mouth closed again, as she sauntered into the center of the room to stand in front of the couch. Stretching languidly with arms over her head, and her back arched enough for her shirt to rise and expose her navel, she let out a contented sigh and then collapsed on the couch. After placing her bare feet on the table in front, her shorts rode up to expose her thighs. Picking up a pad and stylus, she began to fill out some duty forms, pointedly ignoring Alex’s gaping. (Or at least pretending to, anyway.)

Alex, for his part, was pretty confused by his own reaction. Why was she affecting him this much? It wasn’t like he suddenly realized that Rixie was attractive, he’d known that since the first moment he saw her. And it wasn’t that he’d never seen Rixie in sexy clothing; her duty uniform was sexy in the right light, and more to the point he had seen her naked before. (The quarters they “shared” weren’t all that big, after all… relatively speaking.) 

And yet… he couldn’t seem to tear his gaze away from her, even as she lounged in her pajamas doing boring paperwork. He suddenly felt very lonely; he wanted to be closer to her. Needed to be closer to her. 

Now that he had a goal in mind, he grasped the climbing rope that led to the floor and descended as quickly as he could without giving himself rope burns. 

Once he had his feet planted on the carpeted floor, he began the long trek towards the couch. After reaching that edifice, he climbed thirty feet up the rope that was attached, until he reached the summit of the cushions. 

He walked to where her thigh depressed the cushion and placed a hand against her warm flesh. He felt her muscles twitch as she finally acknowledged his presence.

“Do you need something, Alex?” She asked, looking down on him with a warm smile on her face, and a mischievous knowing look in her eyes. Her hand suddenly descended and lifted him on to her thigh. 

“No, nothing really.” Alex muttered, suddenly self-conscious. “I was just bored… I guess.” 

Rixie rolled her eyes and nodded. “Me too. I hate paperwork, but I have to fill out an incident report for that photographer, and I have to be ridiculously thorough about it. I’m honestly surprised there’s not a form detailing whether his shoes were tied or not.” She smiled when Alex laughed in reply. “I’ll tell you what though, why don’t you keep me company while I finish, and then we’ll… play.” 

Alex’s eyes widened. He wasn’t sure what sort of “game” Rixie might have in mind… but the look in her eyes told him he ought to stick around to find out. 

So he sat on her thigh, leaning up against her taut abdominal muscles, as she busily typed away at her tablet. Occasionally he could hear her mutter darkly to herself about military bureaucrats and their seemingly endless need for pointless busywork. But, mostly he just listened to her breathing. 

Finally, with an exasperated sigh Rixie threw the tablet onto her bed. She scooped Alex into her hand then stood and raised her arms above her head in a stretch. For a second, Alex enjoyed the novel view of looking down at her, before he was lowered back to just below her face level. 

“So, what should we do now little one?” Rixie asked with a knowing smirk on her face. “Maybe we should sit and watch paint dry. That would be more fun than paperwork.” She grinned and ruffled Alex’s hair with the tip of her finger. 

“No. I suppose not.” She tapped her finger on her chin and bit her lower lip, as if pretending to think. “Perhaps you’d like to paint my toenails for me, hmmm?” 

Alex groaned and covered his head in embarrassment, mentally cursing Pryvani Tarsuss for exposing his interest in the first place. 

“Alex, seriously, what’s the big deal here? Do you like feet or not? Just answer honestly.” 

He sighed and rubbed his face in frustration, but then, with teeth clenched as if to prevent the words from coming out, he admitted it to her: “Yes. I like your feet, Rixie. I don’t really know why, I didn’t have a liking for feet back on Earth… at least I don’t think I did… I don’t know. But… yes, I do like your feet.” 

Rixie smiled warmly. “And I think it’s cute hat you do. I don’t understand why you’re all grumpy about it. It’s just me here, I’m not going to be mad or make fun of you for it. …I can’t promise I won’t tease you though…” 

Her face brightened suddenly. “In fact, I think I know a game we can play!” She lowered Alex down onto the floor next to her feet, her unpainted toenails wiggling excitedly. He noticed she was wearing a pair of beaded anklets on her legs that he had never seen before. 

“Are you going to have me paint your toenails?” 

“No. Well, maybe later… But first I think you need to earn it.” He glanced up at her grinning face, barely visible beyond her bust. “I think you need to climb to my feet.” 

Alex looked at her feet in confusion. He stepped over to the tips of her toes, where the top of her big toe didn’t even come up to his knee. “Um… I don’t think that’s going to be much of a challenge for me, Rixie. “

Rixie snorted and rolled her eyes. Without saying a word, she squatted down and placed both hands firmly on the ground on either side of Alex, and about twenty feet apart. Then, without any further warning, Rixie kicked her feet into the air and balanced in a perfect handstand, grinning down at Alex’s astonished look. 

“Enough of a challenge now, Smart Guy?” She mocked. 

Alex gulped nervously. “Yeah… I guess it is. How long can you stay like that though?” 

Rixie shrugged. “A long time. I’ve never bothered to time myself.”

Uh huh…” Alex was still a bit dumbfounded. “Won’t the blood rush to your head though?”

Rixie blinked. “No… why should it?”

“Um… no reason… never mind. I’ll just get started then, I guess.” Deciding to ignore the wonders of Titan physiology for the time being, he stepped over to where her braids were hanging down like a curtain of black vines. He tugged on one experimentally, and when Rixie didn’t cry out in pain, he began to hoist himself up on it.

She giggled and watched him out of the corner of her eye as he climbed past her face, her tongue sneaking out of the corner of her mouth to lick teasingly at his naked body. 

He swung from his chosen braid to her ear and from there he clambered up onto the underside (so to speak) of her chin. He looked up and found his face practically buried in her considerable cleavage. 

“Take your time Alex.” Rixie ground out between jaws clenched so as not to dislodge the little climber. “No rush.” Alex could hear the sarcasm, but knew she was also amused.

“I’m just enjoying the, uh, scenic view.”

After pausing there a moment longer to catch his breath, it was an easy leap to the shoulder strap of her tank top. From there he hauled himself around the outside of her left breast until he found himself at her armpit. A devious thought formed in his mind. 

“Hey Rixie… what do I get if I make you fall?” He asked with a grin on his face.

“You’ll get squished, probably.” Rixie responded sweetly. Alex quickly abandoned his evil idea, having decided it wouldn’t be nearly as funny in the long run.

“And I’m not ticklish there, anyway.” She called up from below him. With a rueful grin, he continued his climb upwards. He was now thankful that Rixie had decided to tuck in her shirt beforehand, because while he was fond of her abdominal muscles generally, he wasn’t confident that he’d be able to maintain a sufficient grip on her six-pack.

As it was, he had a relatively easy climb up her shirt, past her navel, and to the waistline of her silky red shorts. 

This, however, posed a bit of a problem. While her shorts were no-doubt comfortable, and definitely sexy looking… the material was very slippery and his arms were already pretty tired as it was. Not only that, but gravity had caused the material to bunch up at her thighs, and her bare legs were even silkier so they were that much harder to climb. Fortunately, he spotted a place where he could rest for a moment.

He strained to pull himself up as quickly he could until he reached the pockets on the side of her thighs. The entrance to the pocket was angled in such a way that he could rest comfortably in the lip of the opening and give his sore arms a break. He glanced around, hoping for inspiration. All he could see were the underside of Rixie’s breasts below him, and her sculpted legs towering above him. Both sights were inspiring… just not the kind of inspiration that he needed at that moment. 

“What’s the matter? Did you give up?” Rixie taunted from below. She wiggled her hips slightly, forcing Alex to grab on to her pocket lest he be thrown off. 

“Hey, be careful!” 

“Oh relax, you’ve jumped from higher than that and been fine.” 

Alex had to admit, silently, that she did have a point in that respect. He still wasn’t sure how to proceed, however. 

“Do you want some help?” Her voice was smug, and though he couldn’t see it, he could picture the cocky smirk that he was certain was on her face. 

But… as much as he hated to admit it, especially to her, Alex was stuck. “Yes I could use some help…” he muttered, frustrated. 

“Sorry?” Rixie asked pleasantly. ”I didn’t catch that.”

“I said: ‘I could use some help’ Rixie!” He growled. 

“Oh, well. Okay then. All you had to do was ask.” Alex watched as her right leg bent at the knee and her foot slid down her other leg until it came to a stop a few feet above his position. The beaded anklet was hanging tantalizingly close. 

“Better hurry up before your ride leaves!” Rixie called from below.

Alex quickly abandoned his perch and grasped the material of her shorts tightly in his fist as he pulled himself up to her crotch where the wire of her anklet hung within reach. He grasped ahold of that and hung there, waiting for Rixie’s foot to begin its ascension.

“Uh, uh. It’s not going to be that easy little one. You have to get up on the foot before this ride starts.”

Alex rolled his eyes but knew that, as usual, Rixie was making all the rules. With a resigned sigh he shimmied up the wire until he was able to haul himself to the top of her instep and eventually to her toes. Where he wrapped both arms around her big toe and clung to it like his life depended on it. 

“Good job. I didn’t even have to tell you to do that part. Hold on tight now, here we go!” She slid the sole of her foot back up the side of her leg. She stopped at the ankle of her other foot. 

When her foot stopped moving, Alex made to continue his climb, but her toes clenched around him, preventing him from moving.

“Not so fast. I think you owe somebody a little gratitude.” 

Alex sighed and rolled his eyes. “Thank you for the help, Rixie.”

“You’re welcome, but that’s not what I meant. I meant my toes; they’re the ones that got you there, after all. I think you should show them a little appreciation.” 

The little man groaned, certain now that he would never live this one down. With a resigned sigh, he bent his face to her big toe and pressed his lips to it in a kiss. With a triumphant laugh, Rixie unclenched her toes from around his body, allowing him to continue. 

Alex reached out and grabbed hold of her other anklet and climbed up to perch precariously onto one of the beads. Carefully, so as not to roll the bead underneath his foot, he pulled himself over her heel and onto the sole of her foot. 

“Yay! You did it!” Alex paused to look down the length of Rixie’s body. It was actually a fairly familiar sight, seeing as it was basically how she looked from the floor. The view around him, however, was new. Objects in the room that he was familiar with as gargantuan edifices suddenly looked very… ordinary. He sat on the sole of Rixie’s foot and rubbed it gently with his hand. He marveled at how her skin could simultaneously be so soft, yet so strong.

“Okay now you have to climb back down.”

“WHAT?!” 

Rixie giggled again. “I’m just kidding. Hold on, I’ll get you down.” Alex watched as she lowered her other foot to the ground first. When her foot was planted firmly, she slowly began to lower the foot he was sitting on. She rotated her foot so her sole was parallel to the ground the whole time, until she was once again upright with her leg sticking out behind her. Then it was a simple matter of clenching her toes around Alex again and placing him safely on the floor. 

“See? That wasn’t so bad.” 

Alex regained his footing and dusted himself off. “No. It was actually kind of fun. Maybe next time we can try it with you right-side up. I can’t imagine you were able to see much, what with your view being obstructed.” 

Rixie snorted in amusement but didn’t say anything in response. “Alright then, I suppose you’ve earned your reward. Would you like to paint my toenails? I’ll even let you choose the color!” 

Alex shook his head, a self-debasing grin on his face. “Silver then?” 

“Ooh, good choice. I was really afraid you’d pick something like bright pink.”

Alex grinned. “Oh well, I’d hate to disappoint you. I mean if you really want pink…”

The next thing Alex knew, he was flat on his back with Rixie’s foot covering his body from the neck down. “Don’t. You. Dare.” She hissed menacingly. Then she grinned, blew a raspberry at him, and trounced off to get the nail polish.

*.*.*.*.*.*

Brinn walked down the hall towards Zara’s bedroom. Nick was peeking out of the pocket of her jeans. When they reached the door to the bedroom, they could both hear muffled speaking from within. Brinn knocked on the door and the noise suddenly stopped. 

After a moment the door creaked open.

“Hey there, Brinn!”

Outlined in the doorframe was a tall athletic guy… who was wearing absolutely nothing but a slightly open bathrobe. 

The magnificent being standing before Nick made his mouth drop open and his face turn bright red. The guy was slim and toned, with a swimmer’s build. He had perfect six-pack of abs, and golden tanned skin. The truth that Nick had kept hidden for much of his life on Earth was that he was bisexual; he wasn’t attracted to a lot of men, but men like Taron definitely fit the bill. Looking at the Titan standing before him, Nick was not surprised at all that ancient humans had worshipped them as gods. He looked like a Greek statue come to life.

“Hello Taron.” Brinn responded. She stepped right up to him, and from Nick’s vantage point he saw her slip a hand into the bathrobe for a moment. With a cheeky grin, she addressed him. “I didn’t expect to see you here. Where’s Zara?” 

“I’m right here!” A pair of feminine hands with black polished nails circled Taron’s waist as Zara made her presence known. “Taron and I were just… conducting an interview for a position on my research team.” Zara licked her lips suggestively. “Anyway, what’s up?” 

“I hate to ask this, but I need to finish some errands and don’t want to leave Nick all alone so…” She gathered Nick into her palm and lifted him so he was level with the giants’ faces. “I don’t suppose you’d mind pet sitting?” 

Nick could now see Taron’s face. He looked like he could be a typical California surfer. His hair was brown that had been sun-bleached into a honey color, and a bit on the shaggy side, coming down to just above his stormy gray eyes. Zara had her head perched on his shoulder, her purple eyes bright to match the grin on her face. 

“Don’t be silly, of course we don’t mind!” Zara took Nick from Brinn, wrapping her fingers around him gently. “He can keep Sophia company for a while!” 

“Thank you so much! He won’t be any trouble… or at least he’d better not be.” Brinn gave each of the titans a kiss goodbye that was just a bit more than friendly, and then was gone in a whirl of bright red hair.

Nick was carried into the bedroom and lowered into a glass enclosure almost exactly like the one he slept in in Brinn’s room. Sophia was sitting on a mat in a corner of the cage; she waved as Nick was set on the glass floor across from her

“You two play nice now!” Zara gushed cheerfully. “Taron and I are going to take advantage of the empty house and move this… ‘interview’ into the living room!” And like a flash, the two nude Titans were gone. 

Nick was once again confronted with the fact that he was naked, and so was Sophia… but unlike the first time the two of them met, it didn’t quite bother him as much. He went and sat down next to her, leaning his back against the clear glass wall. “So uh, who’s that Taron guy?” Nick asked, trying to keep the blush from his face. 

“Oh him. He’s a work colleague of Zara’s. They are actually doing an interview for a spot on the research team, Zara wasn’t lying about that. He worked on the research project that I was a part of too. It’s just… that’s not all they were doing.” She giggled conspiratorially.

“So then, are he and Zara… you know…” 

Sophia grinned at him. “Yes, they are, and so are he and Brinn. Zara and Brinn are too, for that matter.” Nick’s eyes must have bulged from shock because Sophia took one look at him and burst out laughing. 

“I keep forgetting you haven’t been here that long. The Titan’s culture is a bit different from ours. For one thing, monogamy isn’t quite as common, and bisexuality is considered the ‘default’ orientation here. Probably around ninety percent of the giants are bisexual.” 

“That… that’s incredible.” Nick muttered, mostly to himself. 

“Yeah.” Sophia nodded. “It’s a good thing I am as well, being Zara’s pet would be unbearable if I wasn’t attracted to women too. She can be a little… rambunctious.”

Nick grinned and was about to reply when the door opened. Zara reentered and walked across the room to their enclosure. She wore a big grin on her face as she sauntered into the room and over to the enclosure, utterly hypnotizing Nick with the sway of her hips. Within moments she was looming next to their terrarium and looking down at them through the top.

“Come little ones, you can sit with Taron and me for a while. No sense in keeping you in this glass box any more than we absolutely need to, right?” Without waiting for an answer she lowered her hand into the box, palm up, and the two humans dutifully clambered into her hand. With a mischievous wink, Zara carried them back into the living room. 

The three of them entered the living room to find Taron sprawled out on a couch, now completely naked, without even the bathrobe. 

“Move over, quit taking up so much space!” Zara chided playfully as she crossed to the couch. With a grin, Taron raised his legs to allow Zara a spot on the couch, and the replaced them again so his calves lay in her lap. 

Zara tipped her hand slightly and deposited her tiny cargo onto the giant’s pelvis. Nick marveled at the sensation of the soft warm skin below him covering the muscular hardness of Taron’s abs. He happened to glance up and was treated to the impressive sight of a Titan gaining an erection. 

Nick watched awestruck, and a little humbled, by the spectacle of the growing shaft rising before his very eyes. When the obelisk of flesh had reached its maximum girth, it stood over twice Nick’s own height, and wider around than the span of his arms. 

“Well, well. Someone’s having a good time!” Zara giggled as she stared lustfully at her lover’s member, placing a fingertip on the head of his penis and wiggling the organ back and forth. “It would be a shame to waste though.” With a grin on her face she wrapped her fingers around Taron’s shaft and began pumping up and down, a sight which Nick found hard to break his gaze from, he sat watching the erotic display for several minutes. 

“Pretty impressive, isn’t it?” A sultry voice whispered, hot breath tickling Nick’s ear. He snapped out of his daze and turned to see Sophia watching him with a smirk on his face. Her eyes slid downward and her lips widened into a grin. “Although, yours isn’t bad either, handsome.” She reached out and slid a fingertip along the shaft of Nick’s rapidly hardening cock. 

“Perhaps someday you can show me just what that thing of yours is capable of hmm?” She smiled ruefully at him, “If our masters ever permit it, that is.” 

She leaned in and began to nibble on Nick’s earlobe. “No reason we can’t have a bit of fun in the meantime though, is there?” Nick shuddered in pleasure and was about to engage the attractive brunette in some “fun” when suddenly she gasped and pulled away. 

“Shit, look out!” Sophia rolled away from him quickly, leaving Nick confused.

“What’s the mat-“ 

SPLAT! 

It was like getting hit with a bucket of warm pudding. The weight of it knocked him breathless for a moment, but when he regained his senses he looked down to find his torso covered in a thick, sticky fluid. Taron’s cum. The giant’s moans of ecstasy mixed with uncontrollable laughter from both Zara and Sophia. The latter came back over to where Nick was sitting and used her thumb to wipe the goop from where it had splattered on his chin. With a seductive smile she licked it from her hand and swallowed it, slowly. 

After a moment’s hesitation, Nick dabbed his finger into the cum and brought it to his own mouth. Rather than tasting salty, like he expected, Nick was surprised to find the taste was more like the sour apple candies he’d had as a kid. 

“Oops! Sorry about that Nicky!” Zara grinned down at him, Taron’s shaft still in her grip. “Let me help get you cleaned up!” Before Nick could react, the giantess had leaned down then slowly, and methodically dragged the entire (and not inconsiderable) length of her tongue across Nick’s body. 

“Mmm, tasty!” Zara giggled, before bending down for another long lick that scooped Nick onto her tongue and drew him in to her mouth. 

Nick once again found himself sealed in the humid mouth of a Titan. Zara’s breath wrapped around him and soaked him in a miasma of her saliva that tasted and smelled like honey. Nick shuddered in pleasure as he laid himself flat along Zara’s tongue, facing her gaping throat, letting her breath wash over his face, and her taste-buds stimulate his entire body. 

Without any warning, he felt something equally slimy slide up his legs and along his back. Nick looked over his shoulder to see, in the little light let through Zara’s lips to see a second glistening wet and humungous tongue slide into her mouth and settle over his body. 

Nick found himself trapped in the middle of a titanic make-out session, and he couldn’t possibly be more thrilled about it. The two wet muscles slid over and under his body and he was tossed all over Zara’s mouth as her moans of pleasure vibrated his body. 

It seemed to go on forever for Nick as his saliva-soaked body was playfully tossed between the two of them. Then, suddenly, the infiltrating tongue retreated and Nick found himself alone in Zara’s mouth. Not that Zara’s tongue wasn’t good company, as it rose underneath him and pressed him to the roof of her mouth, with her erotic growls filling the air around him. 

Zara was in a pretty good place at that moment. She had Nick wriggling delightfully on the tip of her tongue, she herself was wriggling delightfully from the ministrations of Taron’s tongue between her thighs, and her little Sophia was wandering down somewhere near her pelvis and riding out the seismic bucking of her hips. 

The combination of the three individuals and the various sensations they were inflicting on her body had placed Zara into a bit of a dazed trance. For a brief moment she had no idea where she was, she only felt the blissful pleasure that ran through her entire body. It got to the point that-

“Ooh, looks like you’re all having fun. I hope you saved room for me!” 

Zara came back to reality with a start. She sat up so fast that something caught in her throat, she reflexively swallowed to avoid choking… and then she remembered what that “thing” in her throat was. 

“Uh oh.” 

The world around Nick heaved violently and he was thrown against Zara’s molars. Rendered dazed for a moment, he tumbled away from her teeth and into the black tunnel at the back of her mouth. Powerful muscles gripped him and he was pulled down before he could even realize what was happening, let alone call out for help.

Brinn pounded her coughing friend on the back, helpfully. She wasn’t sure what Zara had gotten caught in her throat but it must have been something bad. She was coughing so hard that tears were coming from her eyes. When Zara had finally regained her breath, she collapsed on the couch with her head in her hands moaning pitifully. 

Brinn reached down and scooped Sophia into her hand from where the girl had tumbled unhurt onto Zara’s thigh. Brinn and Taron exchanged worried and confused looks before Brinn sat down on the couch next to her friend. “Zara, what is it? What’s the matter?” 

“Brinn… I just swallowed Nick!”

Nick felt himself being pulled down by powerful muscles, but it all happened so fast he really didn’t have time to think about it. All he knew was dark, damp, humid and cramped. Eventually his downward journey stopped. He felt a ring of flesh open up underneath his feet and he was unceremoniously dumped into a shallow pool of thick liquid. 

At this point he was finally able to catch his breath and realized what must have occurred. Zara had, presumably on accident, swallowed him. There was a primal part somewhere in the back of his mind that knew he should be scared out of his wits right now. This was, after all, the most basic of fears; being consumed by a larger more dominant predator. 

And yet… Maybe it was because he knew it had been an accident, and that if there was any way to free him Zara would do so… But the emotion Nick really felt the most wasn’t fear… it was fascination. 

He marveled at the way that even in here, within the depths of Zara’s body, some red tinted light had managed to penetrate. It didn’t allow him to see much, but he could at least see something. 

He found himself in a red and pink cavern of flesh roughly the size of a large bedroom. The walls oozed wetly around him and there was a knee deep pool of thick liquid at the bottom of it. 

But really, the sights didn’t seem to interest Nick very much… it was the sounds; the sounds of Zara’s body. He could hear every breath she took as gust of mighty wind, every one of her heart beats was a cacophonous bass drum. Every word she spoke, indistinct though they were, was a distant rumble of thunder. 

And then, with a start Nick realized that he wasn’t in any pain. Everything he knew about the human digestion system told him that he should be in terrible agony as stomach acids ripped his flesh apart. Yet some strange quirk of Titan biology apparently made it so that their stomachs were not hellish pits- although his instincts told him that if he stayed in there too long, Zara’s body would eventually rip him to agonizing shreds. 

But, for the moment, he felt safe. He reached out a hand and stroked the walls of flesh around him, grinning in childish delight when it caused the whole cavern to shudder. She could feel him. The idea was oddly reassuring. 

“You did WHAT?!” Brinn leaped to her feet, her hand instinctively closed around Sophia. She loosened her grip when the little human woman struggled in protest. 

“It… it was an accident Brinn. He was in my mouth while we were all playing… and then you came in and you startled me. He fell into my throat and I choked. I swallowed as a reflex… I didn’t mean to…” 

Brinn sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose. Her friend looked so miserable it was hard to be mad at her. Besides, Brinn knew that Nick wasn’t in any danger just yet, as long as they could get him out soon. 

“Okay, everybody just relax.” Taron said as he climbed to his feet. He was still very naked, Brinn noticed amused. “This is completely fixable. After all, Zara’s not the first Titan to accidentally swallow a human. I know just the thing for this. You two stay here and keep calm, I’ll be right back after a quick trip to the store.” He quickly dressed himself and left, promising to return as soon as he could.

Brinn sat down next to Zara and rubbed her friend’s back comfortingly. She placed Sophia into Zara’s palm, where the young titan stroked the human’s hair absent-mindedly. 

“I’m so sorry, Brinn. I can’t believe I did this.”

Brinn smiled, reassuringly. “It’s okay. We can fix this. Nick isn’t in any real danger, not so long as he stays out of your intestines… and that won’t happen for a while yet at the very least.” 

The two sat in silence for a moment before Zara gasped in shock. 

“Zara? What is it?” 

“I… don’t know. I think I can feel him in there. This is so weird… it’s like he’s tickling me from the inside.”

“That’s probably exactly what he’s doing.” Brinn looked contemplative for a moment, and then got a wicked grin on her face. “Let me get you a glass of water.” She patted Zara on the thigh and got up to go into the kitchen. 

Zara’s eyes widened. “Brinn! That’s so mean! He’s probably scared silly in there.” 

Brinn reentered carrying a big glass full of clear water. “Well, then this should snap him out of it. It’s just water after all, and I bet he’ll appreciate a rinse after being dropped into the muck in the bottom of your stomach. Just drink it.” 

Zara shook her head ruefully, but took the glass, the water inside was lukewarm. She raised it to her lips and drained it in a few seconds.

Nick was leaning up against the wall of Zara’s stomach, idly wondering when they would get him out of there; when he heard an odd rumbling noise coming from above him. Curiously, he moved to stand just under the entrance to Zara’s esophagus. Suddenly the ring of flesh opened above him and a deluge of warm water cascaded down onto his head. 

The torrent of water lasted a few seconds, and then stopped just as suddenly as it had begun. He shook the water from his hair and thanked, well Zara most likely, that it had at least been warm. On the plus side he was at least somewhat cleaner. 

The door opened and the two titans and their small companion turned to see Taron reenter their home with a small bag in his hand. 

“Okay, I got just the thing. It’s probably not going to be particularly pleasant for you, Zara, but it’s the quickest way to get him out safely. 

Zara nodded and rose to her feet. “That’s okay. What do I need to do?” 

“Grab that glass and follow me.” Taron walked past them and into the kitchen. Taron was unloading from his bag four small bottles of varying sizes and colors. He took the glass from Zara’s hand and began pouring different amounts of the contents of each bottle into the glass. Then he took a small spoon and gave it a few stirs to mix up the concoction properly. When he handed it back to Zara it was a putrid looking grey-brown mess. 

“Ugh. This smells foul!” Zara gagged, wrinkling her nose. 

Taron grinned. “It’s going to taste worse. Here, better stand over by the sink.” He plugged the sink and ran a bit of warm water into the basin to act as a cushion when Nick was… expelled. 

“Well…” Zara muttered, eyeing her glass of sludge doubtfully. “Here goes.” She upended the glass and swallowed the foul drink as quickly as she could to avoid actually tasting it. 

Almost immediately after finishing it, she bent over and grasped her stomach, letting out a pitiful moan of distress. 

“Watch out, she’s going to pop!” Brinn yelled as she lifted her friend up and aimed her toward the sink. 

Nick was wiping water from his eyes when suddenly everything started to shake around him. The ground underneath him shifted and he fell over into the sludge at the bottom of Zara’s stomach. He surmised that his host was walking somewhere. Nick hoped it was to get him out of there… although if he was completely honest with himself, he wouldn’t be too upset if it wasn’t. 

He heard that same odd noise that had preceded the sudden shower he’d received earlier, so was prepared for another downpour of water from above. 

He wasn’t quite as prepared for the foul muck that fell over him, however. It smelled like a rotten cabbage and had the consistency of sour yogurt. 

“Ugh. They must be trying to make her throw up.” Suddenly the muscular walls around Nick contracted violently and the contents of Zara’s stomach began to bubble ominously. Nick wasn’t sure what that stuff she’d drunk was, but it apparently worked fast. 

Before he could even think to prepare himself, the stomach around him heaved and the liquid contents of Zara’s gut propelled him up and out of her stomach and into her esophagus, upside down. He shot up her throat, past her tongue and out between her teeth. Daylight struck him like a hammer and he free-fell blindly into a pool of water. 

He was too dazed from his ordeal to even attempt to reach the surface, fortunately a helpful and giant hand rose underneath him and lifted him to the surface, where he gasped for air and wiped the grime off his face. When he could see, he realized he was in Zara’s hand. 

She looked pale, and green, and she as still gagging a bit. Not exactly the most attractive he’d ever seen her, but at least he was seeing her from the outside. 

“Are… ugh… are you okay Nick?” She gasped. 

Nick nodded and spat… stuff… out of his mouth. “Yeah. That… that was quite a trip.” 

Zara nodded. “Yeah. I’m so, so sorry.” 

Nick shrugged. “I’m not hurt and it was really… interesting. So, I guess I can forgive you, on one condition.” 

Zara grinned weakly. “Name it.” 

“Draw me a bath, would you?”