“So you’re really going back?” Thurfrit asked. “I mean…really?”

“Not forever,” Luke said, drinking a glass of…well, the people of the tribe called it ebala, but it was pretty clearly a beer. He was sitting in Thurfrit’s library, exhausted; he had been writing as much about Earth’s history and culture as he could remember over the past eight Archavian days. He was determined that they have a record of it, should he be unable to return for some reason.

“But why are you going back to the monsters? I had thought we were…that our people were….”

“Thurfrit, you’re as good a friend as I have anywhere,” Luke said, finishing off his drink. Thurfrit poured him another; another drink or two and they’d have to get a fourth flagon from the kitchen. “Really, I’m serious, I don’t intend to stay with them forever. But…well, tomorrow it will be four Archavian weeks since you guys grabbed me. I mean…I know Titans don’t see time the way we do, but even so, that’s a long time. I have to let Aisell know that I’m okay. Once I do…then I can go back and forth. Visit them, visit you, see all of my friends. At least the ones on this planet.”

“And what if they don’t let you go?” Thurfrit said.

Luke laughed. “Trust me, they will. Lezah likes me, and Aisell….” He took a long swig from his mug. “Aisell likes me a lot,” he said with a grin.

Thurfrit drank a bit, then spat it back out. “Wait…what do you mean?” He asked.

“Well, when I was on Titan Station, Aisell and I….”

Luke stopped, and looked around carefully, though perhaps not so carefully as he would have a few hours before. “Thurfrit,” he said, finally, “you tell anyone about this, I will kill you.”

“Tell them what?” Thurfrit said.

“On Titan Station, Aisell and I got drunk one night, and we were…um…we did….”

“You mated?” Thurfrit gasped.

“Yeah, that,” Luke said, taking another drink.

“You…how…and…what?” Thurfrit stammered, at an uncharacteristic loss for words.

“Yeah, she tried to pretend it didn’t mean anything, but last few days before I left, I think she was hinting…well, y’know.”

Thurfrit looked on, jaw open. “So you think if you go back….”

“I dunno,” Luke said, shrugging. His mood changed a bit; the braggadocio seemed to fade suddenly. “I don’t know, Thurfrit, I don’t know if she actually likes me like that or what. And if she doesn’t, that’s okay, I guess….” Luke said, taking another sip.

“Because you like Quendra.”

It was Luke’s turn to spit out his drink. “What?”

Thurfrit smiled. “It’s okay, I think she likes you too, though it’s hard to tell with her. She certainly hasn’t been happy since you said you had to go back.”

Luke sighed, and rubbed his eyes. “Thur, I don’t know how I feel about Quendra. I mean, I like her as a friend. But….”

He spread his arms wide, as if they could pull in all the different pathways his life had gone down. “I need to be able to go, and come back,” he said. “I need to be able to have a choice, at long last. And the Maris sisters are good people. I need let them know I’m okay. And…and I have no idea what happens after that.”

Thurfrit rubbed his beard thoughtfully. “You are lucky, Luke. You have two girls who you could have a future with.”

“Hey, you dumped Ithun. And you were right! If you can’t talk with her, how can you marry her?”

“I know,” Thurfrit said, somberly. “It’s just…there aren’t that many choices for us, you know. Ithun and Quendra were the only ones close to my age unmarried. I suppose, in a few months, when Neri, daughter of Sasenon is of age….”

Thurfrit took a drink. “I don’t know, Luke. I just don’t know.”

“You’ll find someone,” Luke said. “Really, you will.”

“Maybe one of the monsters,” Thurfrit said with a lopsided grin.

“Hey, you never know!” Luke laughed, and took another swallow.

—

Twelve hours later, Thurfrit stood in the shadow of enormous steps, wondering if he could possibly go through with this.

He had made the decision not long after Luke left to go to bed, and it had seemed sound at the time. Of course, he had been inebriated at the time, and had only begun to be less so when he set out after his rest. But now, he had sobered up, and he was staring at what he had been taught from birth was the most dangerous place in the world.

He breathed in and out carefully, as if he might draw their attention simply through respiration. He knew that Luke had told him he had nothing to fear, but that was less reassuring when each step towered over his head.

He thought back to the time Hair Like Fire had nearly caught him. She had looked like a person. But would she act like one? Really? He couldn’t help but doubt it. As much as he wanted to believe what Luke told him…his stomach churned.

Still, he had made it this far. And he couldn’t back out now. Well, he could, but his curiosity wouldn’t let him. He had to know if Luke was telling the truth about them. If they really were just big people, rather than monsters.

Swallowing hard, Thurfrit leapt for the first step. It would have been impossible on Earth, but on Archavia, it took him a few short leaps before he reached the porch.

All right. He was by the door. Now he just had to get through it.

—

“Can’t believe I couldn’t find Thurfrit to say goodbye,” Luke grumbled, as he followed Quendra along the edge of the field.

“Hmm,” Quendra said, pausing briefly, then turning sharply onto a narrow footpath, barely wide enough for a human.

“I feel bad. I’m not going back because I don’t like you guys, really. I told him that last night, but we were kind of drunk…I hope he remembers it.”

“Mmm,” Quendra said.

Luke followed on in silence for a little while, before he said, “So are you unable to form words this morning, or just unwilling?”

Quendra paused, and turned to face him. “Unwilling,” she said. Then turned and continued on.

Luke sighed. “Quendra, wait a second.”

Quendra looked back over her shoulder.

“You know why I’m doing this, right?”

“It doesn’t matter,” Quendra said.

“Yes, it does,” Luke said. “I don’t want you to think I’m choosing them over The Tribe.”

“You are.”

“No, I’m not!” Luke said, throwing up his hands. “I’ll come back, I just….”

“Like the shaars you will,” Quendra said. “You will not tell them of us. If you plan to, I will slit your throat right now.”

Luke looked at her, completely at a loss.

“If you tell them where we are, they will come for us. Will they destroy us? Luke, I don’t know. I’d love to believe you, but I can’t. I’m risking the Tribe to take you back. Please, please, don’t make that risk a fatal one.”

Luke looked at Quendra carefully, and sat down for a second. She looked at him, bemused, as he motioned to her to join him on the ground.

When she finally sat, Luke spoke.

“Quendra…first, I want you to believe me when I tell you that I would sooner die than bring harm to the Tribe. I mean that.”

“But….”

Luke held up a hand for just a second. “Quendra, we’ve talked a lot these last couple months – and it is just that, a couple of months, or at least it would be on Earth. Do you honestly think I’ve been confused by the Titans? Screwed up? Driven insane?”

“No, but….”

“But nothing. I swear to you on Earth itself, I have a very clear understanding of who the women in that house are. They will not hurt you. But I know that’s not enough for you.”

Luke drew in a breath. “I want you to know that I will not tell them where you are, I will not tell them how many of you there are, or anything about what you are or what you do. I will tell them only that there are a couple of wild humans on the property, and that I’ve stayed with them, and that they’re terrified of the Titans. That I know my way back to them, but I promised I would keep it secret. And that from time to time, I would like to walk that path back to them. Alone.”

“And when they follow you?”

“You think I won’t notice them following me?”

Quendra chuckled in spite of herself, then sobered. “And what if they tell you no? What if they tell you that you cannot come back to us, unless they go with you?”

Luke studied the dirt for a moment. “I don’t know, Quendra. But I can promise you, whatever happens, I will not lead them to you. It’s just…I’ve lost too many friends. My family on Earth, my friends there, they’re gone. I’ll never see them again. Not without a miracle. I have two friends in that house, and at least a couple in the Great Tree. You and they are all I have. I don’t…I don’t want to lose even more friends. Not them. Not you.”

—

Thurfrit was aware of two of them coming up the pathway; fortunately, he could see them far, far away. Hair Like Fire and Eyes Like Ice were walking in from a far field, talking to each other about something. From this distance, he thought Luke had a point – they looked like any two women, talking quietly about something-or-other; their dress was somewhat unusual, but they certainly didn’t look like monsters.

As they drew closer, though, he realized two things. First, unless he got to cover, they were going to see him, and second…Great Spirit, they were certainly the size of monsters.

Thurfrit looked around, and saw some work boots that had been set out by the door. He dove behind them, and tried to make himself as small as possible; truthfully, if they looked carefully they would see him, but he just had to hope they were engrossed in their conversation.

Fortunately for the tiny chronicler, they were. “So when’s she coming back to town?”

“About a month or so,” Lezah said. “It’ll be good to see her. I’m just hoping she isn’t looking for a job, because as much as I like Gae, we can’t afford to hire her on.”

“I thought she was working for Titans for the Ethical Treatment of Humans,” Aisell said.

“Well…as much as anyone does,” Lezah chuckled. “I’m not sure anyone makes enough with TETH to do more than have a basic residential unit and enough money to eat out once a month.”

“Yeah. It’s too bad. They’re right, kinda,” Aisell said, letting her sister go up the steps first.

“Kinda. Exactly. Their hearts are in the right place, but they’ve got no clue what they’re actually doing. Say what you will about the Human Owners Association, at least they don’t just turn humans loose in Imperial Square and wish ‘em good luck.”

Aisell chuckled mordantly. “No kidding.”

Thurfrit felt the porch shake with every footfall. They were now so tall that he would have to crane his neck to see them, if he was so inclined, which he wasn’t. What was worse was the door opening, and Hair Like Fire just standing there, standing, standing, looking back toward her sister.

“Aren’t you coming?” the voice boomed from above, though as before, it boomed like soft thunder in the middle of a soaking rain, more soothing than frightening.

“I just wish I knew what to do,” Eyes Like Ice boomed back – he had not heard her voice before, but it, too, boomed placidly, and a bit wistfully. “Seems like nobody is asking them what they want.”

Thurfrit peeked up, and saw Hair Like Fire shift just a bit; he couldn’t see her sardonic smirk.

Aisell chuckled in spite of herself. “Okay, s’pose I earned that,” she said softly, and followed Lezah in.

The screen door slammed once, as the second giantess covered the length of the porch in two mighty strides, her simple canvas shoes passing by in an instant. The door rebounded, and Thurfrit did something that amazed even him.

He leapt for it.

He was still in the air when it slammed shut again, hitting him and launching him halfway into the living room. He was fortunate that the two Titans had headed for the kitchen; he had a second to clear out the cobwebs and run for cover under the nearest chair.

—

Luke started to get up, but Quendra shook her head. Not in anger, or even in sorrow; it was a sign to stay put, for just a moment.

“I lost my mother and father, you know,” Quendra said.

Luke didn’t know quite what to say, so he simply nodded.

“I can’t imagine losing…losing everyone. Not just my parents, but my uncle, my hunters and huntresses, Thurfrit…even Kumn, shaars take her. I forget that you have.”

Quendra sighed. “Luke, I don’t want to say goodbye to you forever. You are welcome to come back any time. Just…do so as you said you will. Make sure they do not know where we are. And…and if they will not let you go, if you do not return before the fall, know that we will come back and get you again. At least, if you want us to.”

Luke smiled. “If they will not let me go to you, then please, come and take me. This time, though, you won’t have to hit me with a dart.”

Quendra laughed out loud. “I don’t know. You were certainly quieter on that trip!”

Luke got up, and offered the huntress his hand; she grabbed it, and he pulled, and chuckled as he actually pulled her off the ground; he didn’t know if he’d ever get a feel for the gravity here.

Quendra landed gracefully, and laughed. “All right,” she said. “Let’s get you back to your monster friends.”

—

The sisters finished their lunch, talking about this and that, as a room away, Thurfrit watched.

It was easier, at a distance. When they weren’t right on top of him. He could take them in all at once, get a feel for them. Oh, true, the floor still shook when they moved their chairs around, and their voices were explosive even at a distance. But he could get a sense of them from here, get a feel for them as people, not just as masses of flesh and bone.

Even had the chronicles not attested to it, he would have known Hair Like Fire was the oldest. She watched over her siblings like an elder, directing them gently but firmly. Eyes Like Ice seemed distracted, but she took her older sister’s direction gracefully. Thurfrit still wasn’t sure if Luke had been lying about mating with her; it was a rather ridiculous boast. She was quite lovely. He found it hard to believe she would need to mate with a human. Of course, if she and Luke had…well, he hoped to get the opportunity to shake Luke’s hand. That would be rather daunting even if she was the same size as he.

Suddenly, the third sister began to walk into the living room, and Thurfrit felt his heart race. Tall As Tree was barefoot, wearing breeches that didn’t even reach her thigh, and a shirt that didn’t cover her stomach or arms. She walked toward him, and he followed the acres of skin up to her face.

She was distracted, fiddling with some kind of tablet, and paying no attention as she headed toward his chair. He backed up, feeling the floor quaver with every footfall.

She paused, just in front of him; he stared at feet half the size of his library, each nail painted in a sparkling aquamarine with tiny, embedded LEDs that shimmered and sparkled in patterns. One foot tapped for a moment, and suddenly, they spun around so he looked at her heels.

It sounded as if the world was ending; the giantess flopped into the chair above, and the floor and the chair and Thurfrit shook. He was knocked off his feet, and covered his eyes until the quake subsided.

His heart was pounding so hard it felt as if it might burst from his chest. Above, great metal springs groaned in protest at the weight of the woman they supported – though really, she was not close to heavy. Indeed, she was thin, and lithe, and moved with the same grace he admired in Quendra – only grace on such as scale as defied even his imagination.

His heart was not just pounding in fear.

“Not helping clean up?” Aisell called from the kitchen.

“I made lunch, you clean it up. Seems fair to me,” Aezhay said, sticking her tongue out.

“We were out working this morning, kit,” Lezah said.

“Can I at least finish messaging Xego?”

“We’re teasing you, Zhay,” Aisell said, as her own pad chirruped.

“It’s Bedra. I can….”

“Go talk to Bedra, pup. You’ve been good all day.”

Aisell hit answer. “Hey, what’s up?”

Bedra smiled, and almost sighed in relief. “Well! Good to see you actually smiling, finally. How are you doing?”

“Well…the smile comes and goes,” Aisell said. “Gonna for a long time, I think.”

“That’s normal,” Bedra said. “As long as it shows up from time to time. You’ve stopped blaming myself?”

“No, still blaming myself,” Aisell said, sitting on the couch near Aezhay, and shaking a tiny human in the process. “But I can’t undo it, so I’m trying to figure out how I can atone.”

“Any luck?”

“Not yet, but I’ll get there. Just gotta figure out the right plan.”

“That’s the Aisell I know,” Bedra said. “You get a plan in place, you’ll be unstoppable.”

“Here’s hoping. But enough about that. How’s the Wild Girl?”

“Eyrn? Don’t let her hear you call her that. She hates the name. Especially since she’s the least wild girl you’ll ever meet. I mean…she was so shy when she got here…but it’s getting better. It’s funny, she says we’re all intimidating, because we’re so big,” Bedra chuckled.

“Well, I suppose…I mean, she was a giant the whole time she was there. Must be weird to suddenly be among people your own size.”

“Yup. But she’s nice and polite, even if she does have weird opinions about humans. I need to get you two together, you could probably spend all night talking about how misunderstood humans are.”

“Speaking of misunderstood, how’s Katatatatatappatap?”

Bedra laughed ruefully. “She’s…she’s Tapp, all right. In fact, I gotta run – I hear Tapp yelling at Degu again.”

“Good luck,” Aisell said, chuckling.

“I’ll need it! I’ll call you back tonight. Bye! Oh, thanks, Darren –”

Aisell switched off, and got up. “I suppose it’s time, huh?”

“Yup,” Lezah said. “Zhay, you ready to get to it? There’s more work to be done out there.”

Thurfrit heard the titaness above him sigh heavily, and then bellow melodically, “All right, Lee. You guys head out, I’ll be right there.”

—

Quendra wiped her brow. It wouldn’t be long now. They were over halfway there, moving at a steady pace. Soon enough, the den of the monsters would come into view, and they would take him from her.

She didn’t blame him. She knew he believed it when he said he would return to visit the Tribe someday, knew he believed that the guardians would let him go once he returned. She knew he trusted them, foolish as it may be. Knew he considered them friends who would worry about his absence, and be distraught if he was gone.

And because she had found him to be an honest and decent person, she knew why Luke felt he had to go back to the monsters. Because to him, it was wrong to let them think he had died. And it would be, if the guardians were human.

She hoped that he would find his way back, once he realized his mistake, and she hoped that when Drugar found out what she’d done, he would still let her go back to rescue him again.

But whether or not Drugar let her, she would. She would have to. He fit with the Tribe so well. He belonged with them, whether he knew it or not. She just hoped that the guardians would be forgiving enough that they would not harm him.

“So I suppose you’ll be glad not to have to baby-sit me anymore,” Luke said.

“Well, it will make things less complicated,” Quendra said.

“You know, something I was wondering. Talked with Thurfrit last night. You know he and Ithun broke up.”

“Really?” Quendra said. “I hadn’t heard that. Too bad.”

“Why didn’t you and he ever get together?” Luke asked.

Quendra laughed. “Oh…well, first of all, I like Thurfrit a lot. He’s probably my best friend in the Tribe, but…we’re pretty different people, I guess. He’s always dreaming of what could be, and I’m always trying to catch enough food for tomorrow…and, I don’t know, it just….”

Quendra shrugged. “I just can’t imagine we would be good partners. Not in that way. Is that wrong?”

“No, it isn’t,” Luke said.

Quendra held up a hand, and Luke froze; she heard something. She cocked her head to the side, and then began to move slowly forward. “Kipp or a shaar, maybe,” she said. “But it’s moving away from us. Probably better to be quiet for a bit.”

Luke nodded. He had no desire to get attacked by a wild animal. Not when they were this close.

—

Thurfrit walked toward the screen door carefully, keeping a wary lookout for Tall As Tree.

She had disappeared a few moments ago, and he knew from what she’d said to her sisters that she planned to leave soon; unless he wanted to get trapped in the house, he would need to follow her.

Part of him thought he should get stuck in the house. Part of him was arguing he should leap out into the middle of the room and get her attention…though that would probably end with him dead or imprisoned.

No. No, that would be reckless. Maybe someday, he’d talk to Luke, and….

Thurfrit dove under a table near the door, as the thudding of her steps approached again, announcing her presence in the room. Thurfrit was disappointed to see she had slid on a pair of work pants and socks; still, he had little time to ponder this, as she was already nearly to his position. One thud, and her hand hit the screen door. Another, and the door pushed open, and she stepped through. As the third thud hit the deck, Thurfrit raced out through the door after her.

He had just gotten out the door when he slid to a stop; she had turned right by the door, and was even now sliding her feet into her work boots, which sat on the porch by the door. They stood not thirty paces from him; there was no way she could miss him.

Thurfrit was done for. As the beautiful mass of Aezhay sank toward the ground to fasten her boots into place, his stomach flipped. She was sure to see him. Sure to fix him in her gaze and then her grasp. Would she think he was funny? Strange? Annoying? He would soon know. By the Spirit, he had failed….

A tone rang out from above, and Aezhay muttered something under her breath. She reached in her right pocket, turning her head away from Thurfrit’s position.

He didn’t wait. He took three huge bounding steps and leapt off the porch into the shrubbery.

Aezhay looked at the message and sighed. She was getting sick of Xego. He was cute and nice enough, but far too timid. Even now, he was making excuses for why he didn’t want to spend a quarter studying on Koganak. Yes, she knew it was in the Outer Territories. But it was a colony on a planet with a red dwarf star! It would be like nothing she’d seen before.

She was so annoyed with her soon-to-be-ex-boyfriend’s diffidence that she missed the slight rustle in the bush. Even if she’d heard it, it’s likely she would have ignored it; she was in a hurry. Lezah was right, she had been slacking today, and she wanted to make up for it. She bounded down the steps and jogged off in the direction of her sisters.

Thurfrit watched her run for a good long while, amazed at her speed and agility. She had a long, almost lazy gait. He could watch her run all day, he thought.

But he couldn’t. He needed to head back to the Great Tree, and document what he’d seen. Quietly. It would not do to tell anyone exactly what he’d done. Or how close to disaster – wonderful, remarkable disaster – he had been.

—

Luke could see the house from here. They were close. Twenty minutes, maybe.

He was looking forward to telling Aisell and Lezah as much as he dared; perhaps he could get them to help the Tribe, surreptitiously. And he would have to let Lezah know about where they were – in general, anyhow. He knew that if she had to sell the land, the woods would be endangered. He hadn’t troubled the Tribe with that yet – there was nothing they could do to help, he thought. But if Lezah knew, maybe something could be done, some kind of protection set up. Maybe.

He didn’t dare tell Quendra that part of what he wanted to find out was if that maybe was a yes or no. Because if the Marises were going to lose the farm, the Tribe might have to evacuate. He didn’t want to raise that specter until he had to. Lezah had said next year; that was six years from now, really. There was time.

Quendra stopped dead, and raised her hand again. Luke stopped again, and listened.

“He’s got something,” Quendra whispered. “Great Spirit, he’s close. Hear the low growl?”

Luke nodded; the hair on the back of his neck was standing up. He knew that shaars were a lot like cats; clearly, they were enough like them to trigger a gnawing panic that worked its way up his spine.

Then, suddenly, he heard something that changed all of that.

—

Thurfrit backed up slowly. If only he’d been found by Tall As Tree.

The sapphire eyes of the shaar were fixed on him. It growled malevolently, as it slowly extended its teeth. It was waiting. Waiting to strike.

Thurfrit knew he couldn’t outrun it, knew he couldn’t dodge it. He dug his knife out of his waistband, hoping that maybe, if he was lucky, he could get in a shot. But as he held it up with a trembling hand, he knew he was probably done for. Even an experienced hunter would be in trouble facing a shaar with just a knife; he was not an experienced hunter.

In a blink, the shaar slid sideways, whipping its tail around faster than the speed of sound. Thurfrit heard the crack of it as he dove; it dug into the ground right where he had been, kicking up dirt and sending him sprawling.

As the shaar approached, Thurfrit did the only thing he could. He screamed in terror, and prayed to the Great Spirit that someone would hear.