Eyrn shuffled around in bed, nestling her body into the fluffy array of pillows that surrounded her on all sides. Pillows, custom made for someone her size, stuffed with a synthetic fiber that put anything she had back on base to shame. Of course the best part of sleeping now a days were the comforters. Huge quilted mats of soft warm softness cocooning her in their gentle embrace, it was diving. Climate controlled living that put air conditioning to shame, and it beat the hell out of living in the Nevada Desert.

Eyrn didn’t like a whole lot about Archavian living, but she could not deny the benefits of living in a world that was tailored to her, rather than shoe-horning herself into one twenty sizes too small.

Tapp had scaled the bedroom night stand, and leapt the short distance between the stand and bed with relative ease. The long night, as humans often called the endless Titan sleep cycle, was usually a time Tapp and Dego choose to busy themselves with their own endevours, work on private projects and otherwise enjoy some much needed alone time. Privacy, even for relatively-liberated humans such as themselves, was a rare commodity thanks to their utter dependence on their titan ‘house-mates’ for nearly everything. Tapp was not one for seeking out extra attention, but on a night like this with blowing winds, ominous noises and cracking thunder, the solitary ice princess had absolutely no desire to be alone…and Degu was not the sort of company she craved.

“Wake up!” Barked Tapp with purpose.

The sleeping giantess was bundled up with her back facing the intrepid young human. Tapp was well aware of the potential hazards that came with pestering a sleeping titan, it was one of the agreements she had made with Bedra as they began to work out more mutual and understandable household guidelines. Though Tapp had brought up her displeasure at the idea of not having a working method for getting Bedra or Eyrn’s attention while they slept, she would never admit to either of them how concerned she was in recent days at the prospect of being left to her own devices during the endless night.

Eyrn remained unresponsive, breathing slowly and deeply as she lay asleep.

Tapp balled her fists and let out a most indignant groan. “Wake up!” Tapp overcame the pillow fort that barred her access to the sleeping titan and navigated through the bumps and wrinkles in the cocoon of blankets that mummified Eyrn so tightly.

“Honestly, how do you even sleep like this!” Tapp muttered scornfully as she struggled to maintain her footing against the uneven terrain.

Bedra slept with nothing but a simple sheet and two pillows, generally in the nude as Tapp and Degu. Tapp had made sure to don one of her own creations before her night visit to Eyrn. Modesty had never been something she had put much thought into, however the idea of personal space and ownership of her own body appealed to her more and more as she began to grasp liberty and independence. Just having the right and the freedom to wear clothes wasn’t her driving factor anymore, but seeing value in her own body, and choosing who was allowed to see it, made Tapp feel empowered.

“Eyrn…Eyrn are you asleep?” Tapp asked, testing the waters with a gentle poke to the sleeping giants’sback.

There was no response.

“Eyrn?!” Tapp projected her voice, and placed both hands on the back of Eyrn’s neck in a vain attempt to shake the woman awake.

Eyrn continued to sleep blissfully.

“Wake up you big lug!” Shouted Tapp, exasperated from her trek.

Eyrn stirred this time, but to Tapp’s chagrin did not do so in a beneficial manner. Much quicker than the distracted human could react given the terrain disadvantage, Eyrn shuffled around and turned onto her back, then onto her side facing where Tapp had been standing. A tidal wave of tangled chocolate brown hair swept Tapp up tangling her up in an inescapable web.

“Hey! Eyrn help! Cut it out! Eyrn? Wake up!” Tapp was dragged along with Eyrn’s unaware movements and could only struggle helplessly as Eyrn settled back to sleep.

“Eyrn!? Oh! Wake up!” Tapp shrieked, utterly enraged by the indignity of her current predicament.

Eyrn mumbled incoherently as she nestled her face into her pillow, remarkably comfortable and completely unwilling to allow her sleep to be interrupted so easily. The continuous struggles of the tangled Tapp, however, slowly began to rouse her, aided in no small part by the near constant screaming and irate shouting. Eventually Eyrn’s eyes fluttered open, and with the stereotypical lack of grace of your typical giant, Eyrn began to wake up.

With a groan and a yawn Eyrn stretched, slowly pulling herself to a sitting position. Alarm bells signaled something was off but it was the enraged cursing turned terror felt screams coming from Tapp that finally sunk through Eyrn’s groggy sleepy skull.

“Mmmmrrrrrmmmm, what?” Mumbled Eyrn, rubbing her eyes repeatedly.

The sickeningly quick movements of the unaware titan was frightening enough, but when trunk sized fingers began to clumsily comb through the mess of hair, Tapp’s survival sense went into overdrive and the tiny woman began to scream shrill loud shrieks to desperately attract Eyrn’s attention.

“Eyrn, Eyrn stop! Wake up and stop! Shaka! Stop moving, you’re going to break my arm if you keep that up…Eyrn stop!” Tapp braced for the worse and closed her eyes tightly as Eyrn’s fingers continued to comb through her messy brown hair, until Tapp felt a platform underneath her.

“Will you stop screaming in my ear?” Eyrn said dryly, in a raspy and gravelly voice that sent a very clear and distinct message: Eyrn Fitzgerald was not a morning person.

Tapp, by this point, had been close to hyperventilating from the excitement alone. Tapp had no way of telling if she’d been spotted or noticed and had flown into panic from the jerky clumsy movements of Eyrn. Hearing Eyrn address her, however, had calmed her down slightly, leaving her time to digest what was happening.

“Eyrn! Let me out of here! Get me out of here now!” Ordered Tapp, though not with the regular sense of poise and dignity she normally carried.

Eyrn yawned quite audibly and smacked her dry lips together a bit before shuffling out a reply. “You got yourself in there, can’t you get yourself out?” Eyrn was perhaps trying to be at least a little but funny, though being woken from a deep sleep had dampened her mood significantly.

It became crystal clear to Eyrn that Tapp was not at all amused, when rather than thrash and shout angrily at her, Tapp whimpered in a defeated and desperate tone. “Please, just get me out.”

Eyrn slowly worked her hands through her tangled mane, eventually managing to free Tapp without causing harm. Both ladies were silent during the whole endeavor, but once Tapp sat still in the palm of Eyrn’s hand, the titan gently lifted her to eye level, speaking softly to her.

“What’s up? Everything alright?”

Tapp pulled her knees up to her chest and hugged her knees tightly. She was wearing an elegant pair of rose colored silk Pajamas she had designed and crafted herself, but carried a flush red look of embarrassment on her face.

“You sleep too long, it’s lonely.” Tapp responded harshly, avoiding eye contact with Eyrn.

“I’m sorry?” Responded Eyrn with a hint of sarcasm.

“There isn’t anything to do when you’re both asleep.” Tapp rested her head on her knee and sighed deeply, the tiny woman looked to be trembling and her voice was off.

Eyrn found it peculiar indeed to find Tapp seeking attention like this, especially when she normally lavished in the alone time she got when they slept.

“Is everything ok? Did something happen? Are you hurt?” Eyrn asked, starting to get concerned. “Do you need something?”

Tapp looked up to Eyrn, her expression tired and impatient. “I just…” Tapp looked away, trailing off as she did.

Eyrn continued to watch Tapp, confused as ever, until it finally clicked what was happening. Tapp wasn’t bored, and she wasn’t seeking attention. She was afraid – terrified, in fact. Eyrn was sure it had little to do with the hair-raising ordeal she had just gone through.

“I’m just bored, okay!” Tapp shouted quickly, keeping her eyes well out of Eyrn’s line of sight. “You two sleep all day and I’m supposed to find something to do, we’ll that’s not fair!”

Eyrn kept silent, she didn’t know what else to do, risking a bout of backlash Eyrn gently stroked Tapp’s back. When the tiny human didn’t pull away or bark angrily at her, Eyrn continued.

“You wanna talk about it?” Eyrn asked, settling back down into bed, and gently placing Tapp on the pillow next to her.

Tapp examined her surroundings for a while before looking back to Eyrn. She hated how it made her feel to be alone, the helplessness, the vulnerability. Every bump in the night, every sudden noise, every little thing had her fearing the worst. Somedays it was easy to forget, others it was impossible. Most of the time Tapp distracted herself in her work, drawing designs and showing them to Bedra, then sewing them together from the different fabrics Bedra would bring her. Tapp had managed to forge herself a rather expansive wardrobe over the past few months. But as she sat there working on a design tonight, every time she closed her eyes, every time she blinked she saw the terrible bug eyed overseer, or the slimy tendrils of saliva coating Keeran’s throat to make it easier to force her down. She could feel the hot, sticky, humid muck in Keeran’s stomach, smell the choking, sulphurous, noxious gasses….

Tears streaked down Tapp’s face as her defenses crumbled to pieces. “Don’t tell her.” Tapp whispered. “You can’t ever tell her.”

Eyrn timidly reached out to comfort Tapp, then pulled away, but finally decided to go for it and ran her finger along the tiny womans back. “Tell who what?” Eyrn spoke softly.

“Bedra, you can’t tell Bedra.” Tapp tried to choke her tears back.

“Tell her what?” Asked Eyrn.

“I’ve worked hard to show her I’m not weak, stupid, or helpless. You can’t tell her I…that I…well that I was….” Tapp frowned, even saying it was embarrassing.

“That you’re afraid to be alone?” Eyrn offered.

Tapp nodded.

Eyrn took a weighted breath and exhaled slowly, she pulled herself up to a sitting position and rested her back against the bed’s headboard. Tapp peeked up at the looming titan, but felt much more comfortable with her around than without. Eyrn was different than Bedra. She had the most gentle and warm aura to her, it was immediately disarming and reassuring, no other Titan gave her that feeling as quickly and constantly as Eyrn did. Tapp felt safe with Eyrn around, but more than that she felt understood.

“So, you think that makes you weak?” Eyrn asked, watching as Tapp moved slowly from the pillow over to her lap. Eyrn kept as still as she could.

“Yeah,” answered Tapp, picking up an almost embarrassed sort of disgruntled grumble.

“Just because you’re afraid of something, that doesn’t make you weak hon,” Eyrn chuckled slightly, and allowed Tapp to climb up onto her lap. Normally Eyrn would not hesitate to remove somebody who invaded her personal space so boldly, as human or Titan, Eyrn didn’t enjoy being so touchy. However Tapp’s sudden vulnerable exposed core pulled at Eyrn’s heartstrings and she allowed it. No…she was glad of it. Glad she could offer the wounded woman a bit of protection.

“It does so!” Tapp barked with her signature indignant scoff. “How would you even understand, you’re a Titan.” Tapp muttered dismissively, rolling her eyes.

Eyrn paused thoughtfully and chuffed a bit, a slow smile creeping onto her face. “Aww, well that’s a bit of a double standard now isn’t it?” Eyrn asked as Tapp leaned against the fabric of Eyrn’s pajamas, hugging her knees to her chest and nestling into Eyrn’s tummy.

“It’s different for us,” said Tapp with a condescending assurance.

“You want to know what I think?” Eyrn said after a pause.

“Hmm?” Tapp mumbled, secretly relishing in the soft rhythmic motions of Eyrn’s breathing.

“I think, and you’ll have to bear with me as I’m no expert on the matter, but being afraid…that is part of what makes you human.” Eyrn said quietly, and set her hand on her lap a short distance from Tapp.

“How so?” Tapp looked up at Eyrn with a puzzled expression.

“Well,” Eyrn began, taking a moment to choose her words carefully, “everyone has fears, and everyone is afraid of something. You’re a complex creature with a wide verity of feelings, dreams, aspirations and yes, even fears. And there’s no shame in that.” Eyrn paused to gauge Tapp’s reaction.

Tapp simply looked up at Eyrn, by the look on her face Tapp was quite interested in what Eyrn had to say.

“And it isn’t just humans, Tapp. Titans…we aren’t any different in that respect,” Eyrn said, with a bit of a knowing smile.

Tapp scoffed and waved her hand dismissively. With a condescending tone, she said, “We are hardly the same, I mean what on Selene do you have to be afraid of?”

Eyrn hummed for a few seconds and scrunched her lips to the side in thought. “When I was a child, on Earth, I was afraid of thunder and lightning.” Eyrn paused as Tapp began to giggle wildly.

“That’s just silly!” Responded Tapp with a smug grin.

Eyrn hummed rather annoyed like and clicked her tongue off her teeth. “I didn’t think so at the time.” Eyrn mumbled, feeling a little of the vulnerability of it.

“Why were you afraid of thunder and lightning?” Tapp asked, her curiosity bleeding through her haughty tone.

“I am tall – well, at least I was on Earth – and lightning likes to hit tall things. As for thunder, it was…well…not very many things were louder than I was…and for a child who has nobody to hold them close and tell them everything’s okay…it’s…a little…frightening,” Eyrn mumbled softly, looking away from Tapp.

There was silence as Tapp looked up at the titan above her, quietly she spoke in a tone that was far more gentle than she normally used. “Well, I guess we have that in common then…Titan’s and humans? We are all afraid of something?”

“We have so much in common, Tapp. So very much,” Eyrn said, nodding. She could tell Tapp was starting to calm down a little; her posture had relaxed quite a bit, and Tapp had nestled herself in quite comfortably on Eyrn’s lap. Her quickened breathing had slowed and she was talking in a much more hushed voice.

“What was it like, growing up on Earth?” Tapp asked, letting her eyes close.

Eyrn thought for a moment. She had never really been asked that question. Oh she had been flooded with questions about Earth, humans, culture and all that, but not really about what her life had been like growing up. After a pause she looked back down to Tapp and smiled sadly. “Lonely.”

“Didn’t you have people to keep you company?” Tapp asked sleepily.

“Oh sure, really nice people for the most part. I was everybody’s little miracle girl. My adopted parents loved me like their own child, and every caretaker I had right up to Darren was for the most part a good and kind person. But I was still a giant, and they were still really small. I had to be careful all the time, every moment of every day. I couldn’t play to rough, I couldn’t let myself forget it…ever…not even once,” Eyrn shrugged, and absent-mindedly she began to stroke Tapp’s back with her finger.

“I wasn’t allowed to have any fun either,” Tapp responded, in what Eyrn took as an attempt on Tapp’s behalf to empathize.

Eyrn paused to give Tapp a chance to elaborate, but when she didn’t say anything more, Eyrn continued. “I was a big girl…in more ways than one. I wasn’t allowed to be a kid, to have tantrums, to be selfish. Because if I was, people would get hurt. I had to act my size,” Eyrn said quietly, her own eyelids getting heavy.

“I had to do what I was told,” Tapp said. “if I didn’t learn quickly enough, I was reprimanded. Only the best, the sharpest, the smartest, those who were trainable without flaw…we were conditioned from the youngest age…as far back as I can remember…there were always the trainers,” Tapp said, half-sympathetically, half-bitterly.

“That sounds terrible,” Eyrn responded with a heavy heart.

“Eyrn, what kind of parents did you have?” Tapp asked, enjoying Eyrn’s back rub enough to actually slowly begin to lay down.

“Mama was a Southern gentlewoman. She wore dresses and her English was refined. She could read, which at the time was not very common for women,” Eyrn said with a smile. “She taught me that ladies never raised their voice, and that brains always came before brawn.” Eyrn smiled warmly. “She was patient, and abundant with hugs and kisses. Even when she was too old to run and climb all over me, when I had to carry her around because walking hurt, she always had such a positive and optimistic world view. Momma always saw the best in people,” Eyrn sighed contently, she always loved talking about Marcy Fitzgerald.

“And your father?” Tapp asked, with interest.

“Daddy was a big teddybear, but a hard worker. Mama always said he had rough, calloused hands, but they never felt that way to me. He believed a man could do anything he set his mind to, so long as he worked. Daddy was the kind of man who felt with all his heart that if you told the truth, no matter what, you’d be okay…that the truth would set you free. He thought all people deserved a fair shot in life, and he wasn’t too keen on those who felt otherwise. And he was smart enough to put his money where it would do him good. He was a gentleman, a hard worker and a mean poker player,” Eyrn chuckled.

“I didn’t know my parents,” Tapp said, quietly.

“Never? You can’t remember them at all? Arn’t most humans raised on farms? With their families in communities?” Eyrn asked cautiously, not that anything she was saying was at all good or reassuring.

“Yes.” Tapp softly responded. “Though they try not to let you know exactly which breed-human was your mother. But…if you are going to be sold to the higher ends…the upper class…you are not afforded a standard childhood,” Tapp’s eyes opened and she looked up to Eyrn, she looked angry – bitter, even.

“People like me are taken from their parents at birth, we cannot be raised with the general population because they are a negative influence on us. We are raised in the care of strict Titan teachers, in isolation from our own kind. We are taught to speak properly, perform simple tasks, even to read. We are taught nothing about our own kind,” Tapp’s eyes drifted away, possibly to hide the swelling of emotions building up.

“That’s terrible…oh Tapp I’m so sorry,” Eyrn looked down at the tiny, vulnerable human, with a mixture of sorrow and rage churning in her belly.

“I was raised to be the perfect Titan companion, smart, witty, able to carry on a conversation, an adorable little pocket-sized analog…and the best part Eyrn is we have no rights, no freedom, no liberty, so when they get bored of us, when we say something wrong, or when they find a titan sized companion…they can just throw us away.” Tapp closed her eyes and turned onto her side hugging her knees in the fetal position.

Eyrn sat in stunned silence, gently stroking the woman’s back. “Tapp….”

“Hm?”

“You can throw out a possession, even a pet, but you can’t throw out a person, or a friend. And you are both. I’m sorry for what you went through, but it doesn’t have to be like that anymore, I…I can’t speak for Bedra but…well I’m not going to let stuff like this happen to you anymore…not you, not anyone.” Eyrn’s voice teetered on the edge of frustration as she spoke, but she did so with absolute determination.

“Heh. What, are you going to free all the humans?” Tapp asked with a cynical slash in her voice.

“I hope so, some day,” Eyrn said, with a flinty determination – though it faltered by the next sentence. “I’m gonna try. I know, maybe I can’t. But…but I can as many of you as I can. I can help my friends. And I will.” Eyrn scooped Tapp up and brought her to face level. The tiny human righted herself to a sitting position and looked to Eryn with a hint of confusion.

“Tapp, I’ll do what ever you need me to, okay?” Eyrn said with a quiet smile.

Tapp nodded.

“I can’t speak for Bedra but….”

“I’ve been working on that one, she’s coming along.” Tapp suppressed a laugh.

“You’re not a pet, Tapp. You aren’t. And I promise, I’ll never throw you away,” Eyrn said through the lump in her throat.

“That…that’s nice to know.” Tapp could hide her smile no more, so she quickly hid it from sight by looking away. “What about Darren?” she asked carefully.

Eyrn was quiet for some time, before she set Tapp down in her lap and continued to gently stroke the woman’s back. “I’d go to the stars and back for him…its what you do for friends Tapp…for family. You do what ever you have to. No matter the cost.”

“How are you going to help him? Get him back from that woman?” Tapp asked, fishing for specifics.

“Sometimes, the best way to help somebody else is to leave it in the hands of people you trust. Sometimes the best way to help is to trust somebody else Tapp,” Eyrn said wistfully, and thought of Aisell. Darren’s fate was in her and Loona’s hands, and it made Eyrn feel as small and as helpless, outside in a thunderstorm, with nobody to protect her, and no way to protect anyone else.