"We're here," Tim informed Candice. Candice looked around and saw a very large cave. The entrance was on the side of the cliff and it was large enough for Tim. The cliff itself dwarfed the giant whose palm Candice sat on. The cave was just a large hole on the side of the cliff with a tunnel that stretched deep into the cliff. She could not tell how far back that tunnel stretched; all she saw was blackness that filled up the entire cave. The only light in the entire cave was a slim strip of slanted light from sun above, but being at the time of the day was noon, the sun was not angled the best for light to be in the cave. It was an irregular shape that looked like an upside down U that was pointed on the top and slightly slanting to the right. To Candice, it didn't feel too welcoming. Tim walked over to the entrance and Candice saw that the bottom of the entrance was level with Tim's waist. Even the giant would have to climb up to get in the cave. Candice felt the platform she was on lower and she looked up at the giant boy's face which was getting farther and farther away.
When Tim's hand was lowered on the cave floor, Candice didn't hesitate to get off. She still didn't know Tim all that well and still feared what he could easily do to her. Being on solid ground was much more comfortable than being on a giant hand that could easily to whatever Tim wanted it to do. She shivered at the thought of all the things Tim could have done to her when she was in his hand. As soon as she got off, she fell to her knees. The rocks jabbed at her bare feet and the pointy hard surface continued to try and penetrate the thin fabric of her solid pink pajama bottoms. However, at the moment, she didn't care that she was on a very hard and uncomfortable ground; she was on actual ground and glad to be on it.
The giant hand lifted away and Candice stared upwards. "I'm going to have to hunt some food," Tim informed her, "I think it is best for you to stay here and I'll bring enough for both of us." Candice was still too fearful to notice that Tim was avoiding direct eye contact with her, as if he was a little nervous.
Tim was also nervous when he had been holding Candice. He had never held a human before, never had a living creature being carried in his hand. He was nervous that he'd do something stupid and accidentally drop her or something. He didn't want to hurt the girl. He never wanted to hurt anyone unless he had no other option. So, having someone's life in the palm of his hand made things uncomfortable to him. He had to make sure that he was extra careful and gentle with the fragile creature in his hand. He had been relieved when he put her down since she was now safe from any accident he might have carrying her.
Candice nodded in agreement with Tim's decision on letting her stay while he left. She wasn't used to being so close to such a massive person and she was scared of him. With him gone, she might be able to convince herself that everything would be okay. "I'll get food and then we'll talk about what we're going to do with you while we eat," Tim said. Tim then turned and left.
Candice watched as the giant walked away from the cave and deeper into the forest. Already near the edge of the cliff, she peeked over it. It was still a very long drop. Maybe I shouldn't stay with this giant. Maybe I should try to leave while I still can, Candice said to herself, having second thoughts about her decision.
No, it's too late for that, Candice told herself, I asked the giant for help and my fate is in his hands now. I've already made my decision. Besides, I'm no mountain climber. I'm not going to be able to climb down that mess, especially with bare feet and only my pajamas on. I'm trapped in this cave and dependent on this giant. I can't live in the wild. I've never even been camping before, let alone hunting or something along those lines. The giant is my only hope of survival, and he seems like he's kind and gentle enough. I'm safe with him, even if he is a massive creature that could force me to do whatever he wants.
Candice shook her head and continued to try and convince herself that the giant was a good and gentle giant. However, she knew she wouldn't be able to completely console her fear. The only thing that would be able to do that would be to stay with the giant long enough to realize the giant was a gentle giant.
Candice turned around. She thought she heard a sound behind her, but she couldn't see anything. It sounded like the loud clack of a rock falling and colliding with the rock solid floor. That clacking continued as that rock bounced and rolled around from deep in the back of the cave. However, it was still close enough and loud enough for her ears to pick it up. If giants exist in this place, what other creatures exist here? Candice wondered. She was no mythical creature expert, but he brother was and he knew many different kinds of creatures. He would have known what kind of creatures lurked in dark caves. I wish he was here, Candice thought with tears starting to form once again, But I'll never see him again. I'll never see my family or friends. I never realized how important to me they are until now.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tim was glad he was in one of the forests where giant animals still roamed. It was the only reason he came to this forest after he was left his home. He had been forced to live in human country since then. If it's a crime to see humans as equals, then so be it. I'm glad I'm guilty and not one of those monsters, Tim thought to himself.
Tim witnessed a clearing of giant deer. Tim hadn't had deer in a long time and was glad to find some. He quietly approached a tree and silently climbed. Luckily, the deer hadn't noticed him. A lone doe began wandering to the edge of the clearing. Tim readied himself on a branch and waited for the deer walk right under him. He waited as the deer nibbled on the grass. When the deer had eaten under the tree long enough for it to feel safe, Tim jumped off the branch and wrapped his arms around the neck, slicing in one swift motion. The doe reared and bucked, but Tim continued to cling on. He may have been fourteen years old, but giants were strong beings. How else would they be able to defy the planet's gravity by being able to move like they do?
The doe weakened from the draining blood and eventually just collapsed on the ground. When Tim was sure the deer was dead, he began dragging it to the cave. He was gladdened that he wouldn't be eating the deer alone, glad to finally have met a human that was willing to stay with him. It may be only because she's desperate, but I'm glad a human has actually decided to stay with me, even if it might be temporary, Tim thought as he dragged the deer, I thought that humans would listen to me and I'd be able to explain to them I'm not a monster, but it has been three years since I've made this place my home and this is the first human I've been able to talk to. All those humans the village has 'sacrificed' to me have been too frightened to realize I was just releasing them.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Candice soon saw the giant come into view with a giant deer. She was slightly relieved to see the giant since whatever might be back in the cave might not come out with the giant around. But the giant was a giant danger as well.
Tim was glad to see that Candice was still at the cave. He had been getting worried that Candice would try to run away, but she decided to stay. Maybe there is hope that I can gain a human friend. Maybe she could someday see me as a friend and not some dangerous monster, Tim hoped.
When Tim reached the cave, Candice called up to him, "Tim, how deep is the cave?"
"It's very deep and full of maze-like tunnels. I've never seen the entire cave."
"Could there be something else living here?"
"There could be, why do you ask?"
"I heard a noise and it sounding like something was moving down there."
"I've heard noises when I was alone too. Whatever lives deep in the caves hasn't harmed me and I've never seen it. I think we're fine, but if it comes, I'll protect you. Now, could you move please? I don't want to hurt you as I get this deer up."
Candice moved to the side of the cave, but stayed closer to the entrance. She thought she was safer with a giant that hasn't shown any signs of harming her than closer to something that could be living deeper in the cave. Tim lifted the deer in the cave and then climbed up himself, being very careful not to accidentally crush Candice. "I'm going to need two hands to drag the deer to the fire pit. Do you mind holding onto the deer while I do this?" Tim asked.
Candice answered by grabbing into the dead deer's fur and climbing onto it. She had liked wild deer and never had any reason to fear them. This dead deer was massive though, bigger than Tim. She had never thought she would encounter a deer she would be afraid of, but even this dead deer was intimidating in this world.
Tim dragged the deer towards the fire pit and started the fire. The fire was massive to Candice and the heat warmed her was a large radius. She had to get off the deer as Tim took up his knife and prepared the meat.
Tim eventually had a large slab of meat cooking on the fire and focused on that more than anything else; making sure it would be cooked properly. Candice sat by the fire. She had to be careful how close she was due to the large heat radius that emitted from the enormous fire. Candice also sat on a different side from Tim. She didn't sit on the opposite side, but she sat on a side adjacent to his. She didn't want to be too close to the giant since she still didn't trust him completely and his size truly intimidated her, but she also didn't want to be the furthest away from him in case there really was something in the caves that may take advantage of her distance. So, Candice made a compromise between her two fears.
When Tim felt that the meat was done, he took it off the rotator and placed it on his lap. Tim then took out his knife and cut a small piece off of the slab. Tim placed it in his hand and reached out to Candice with the piece of meat between his fingers in a pinching grip. Candice scooted back a bit still fearful of the enormous hand. But when she saw he was only handing her some meat, her body calmed down. "I don't know how much you humans eat. Will this be enough?" Tim asked politely.
"Yes, it will be more than enough for me," Candice informed the giant as she looked at the large slab of meat between his fingers. She took the meat and placed it on her lap. She had no plates, no silverware, or anything. She would have to eat with her hands. It was strange for her to do so and she didn't like getting her pajama bottoms messy, but it was the only way she'd be able to eat. Candice looked up at the giant and saw him devouring the meat hungrily. The way the boy savagely devoured the meat, showed Candice how hungry he really was. "He must have been this hungry when he first found me, but he had the control not to eat me. At least I don't have to worry about eating me," Candice realized.
As they ate, no one really talked. Tim was eating and avoiding any eye contact with Candice and Candice was too fearful to talk to the giant fourteen year old at the moment. So, she just watched him as they both ate. She had to admit that he was a very handsome boy and if it wasn't for him being 180 feet tall, she would totally try to go out with him. But even with Tim being handsome and with him acting very gentle and kind, Candice was still frightened of Tim's sheer size and power.
Eventually, it was Tim who spoke first, but he didn't look at Candice as he asked, "So, you said you were lost?"
"Yes, I am," Candice answered, hoping this didn't go badly.
"What happened?"
"I don't know. One moment I was sleeping at my home and the next moment I'm in the middle of a village I had never seen before with villagers wanting to kill me."
"So, you don't know where you are or where to go to get back home?" Tim found himself in an interesting position. He had found a human who had nowhere to go, a human girl he could keep for himself and force to stay with him and no one would come looking for her. Tim looked down at the little human and noticed that she must have realized this as well, because she was shaking with fear again. "No, I can't force her to stay. If I force it upon her, she would never be my friend. She has to freely choose to be my friend in order to be a friend," Tim informed himself. He knew it was a once and a lifetime opportunity, and he might never find a human like this again, but he couldn't bring himself to force a person to stay with him, no matter how lonely he really was.
"I see that you're far away from home and even if you have people who will look for you, they would not look in the right places. I know that I could keep you and force you to stay with me, but I won't do that," Tim informed her as he looked down at his lap, "I know that I'm a giant and have the size and strength to kidnap you, but I can't to it. Humans are just littler people. And I view all people as equals."
"So, you're not going to kidnap me?" Candice questioned nervously.
"I want to. It gets so lonely in this forest and I'd probably never find another person without other nearby ties, but I can't force someone to be my prisoner."
Candice was surprised by the giant's speech. "Maybe I should stay with him. He seems so lonely and desperate to look for a friend," Candice suggested, "Besides, I have nowhere else to go."
"What if I stay with you willingly?" Candice asked.
Tim looked a back at Candice, surprise clear on his face. "You'd stay with me? Don't you think I'm a monster?"
"It's true that I'm still afraid of your size and power, but, you seem like a gentle giant and you haven't done anything to harm me since I've been here with you. Where I come from, there are no giants or monsters, and no villages stuck in the medieval times, which makes me think that somehow I've ended up in a different world or traveled back in time. If either of those is true, my home no longer exists and I have absolutely no place to go. You're the only person I've met in this place that seems to want to help me. So, if I have no place to go. It would probably be best for me to stay here."
"I, I would very much like you to stay here with me."
"As long as you don't do anything to harm me or-"
"I won't do anything to hurt you, I promise. You'll be safe with me, I swear it. Are, are you still afraid of me?"
"It's hard to get used to your height in one day."
"But, maybe we could be, friends?"
Candice noticed Tim avoiding eye contact. She could understand that Tim was lonely and wanted a friend, being desperate enough to befriend a human, but she wondered why he was avoiding her eyes all the time. "Is Tim nervous of me? Is he. Shy?" Candice wondered. Candice had seen shy people before and Tim sure acted like someone who was shy. "He seems to be just as shy and nervous around me as I am with him. The only way he could be shy is if he truly sees me as an equal and-" Candice began realizing, but her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of movement. Both paused and looked in the direction of the movement, but the darkness was too thick to see through.
"It might be watching us. It's never been this close before," Tim muttered.
"Why do you think it might be closer now?" Candice asked, but it didn't take long for her to figure out what might have caused whatever was living deep in the caves to get so close. There was only one thing that was different from when Tim lived alone in the cave: her!
Tim came to the same conclusion and looked down at the human that could possibly become his friend. He couldn't let the creature, whatever it was, have her. He needed to keep her safe. "Candice, I, I think it would be best, if you, stay close to me," Tim suggested.
Candice was a little hesitant, but she realized that she'd be safer with a giant that has not yet shown any intentions of harming her, than with something she didn't know. Candice nodded and Tim blushed a little showing his shyness again. Tim lowered his hand and Candice got on. Tim carefully lifted Candice and set her down on his bare lap. It was slightly odd to have a living creature sitting on his lap, and fairly embarrassing, but it was to keep her safe from whatever was watching them.
It felt odd to Candice too to be sitting on a living creature who looked human, especially when the surface underneath her was bare, smooth, and warm human skin. Candice examined the giant around her and he looked more massive by being so close up. She even caught herself looking at the loincloth beside her. Her teenage mind began thinking about what was hiding behind that cloth, what sort of monster the giant must have with only that cloth keeping it hidden. Even if it might be little to the giant it would still be big to Candice and- She shook her head. "This is not what I should be thinking about now. Why am I even thinking about-" Candice wondered, but again her thoughts were interrupted by more movement.
"What are you? Show yourself," Tim demanded.
Candice stared into the darkness at the back of the cave, waiting for the creature to show itself. Seconds passed, but it felt much longer for Candice due to her frightened mind. Many depictions of terrible creatures were running through her mind, because only a horrid creature would live deep in a dark cave system. She was worried that the creature, whatever it was, would want to eat her and that was the only reason it got closer to Tim's sleeping quarters.
Candice's eyes pulled away from the darkness, when she noticed movement to her side. She turned her head and saw Tim's hand sideways on his lap with his palm facing her side, ready to form a barrier around her if he needed to. Candice looked up at the giant whose lap she was sitting upon. Tim's head was facing directly into the darkness and nowhere else. Candice looked back to the darkness and saw movement as well as hearing more sounds. This spooked her and she jumped back. She turned to her side and pressed her side against Tim's stomach. She pushed her head and hands into the soft skin of the giant and Tim covered her with his hand.
Candice quivered, closing her eyes, fearing the creature had jumped out and was about to attack Tim to get to her. However, that never happened. Instead, she heard sounds shrinking farther and farther away. She opened her eyes and looked over Tim's hand while still pressed against his skin. She looked towards the darkness and saw nothing at all. It had retreated back deep within the cave system. She sighed with relief, glad to be rid of one danger, for now.
However, when she realized what she was doing, she blushed. She was clinging to Tim like a child did to a parent for protection against monsters. It was a natural reaction of course, because even if she was still afraid of Tim, he had shown no signs of harming her and it was natural to look for protection from something that showed no signs of hostility rather than something in the dark. Though it may have been a natural reaction, it was still very embarrassing for Candice to cling onto a giant she didn't know that well who was her age like a helpless child. Well, in this world, humans were nowhere near the largest creatures and she was pretty much helpless here.
Tim could feel Candice's little body against his stomach and when he knew the danger was gone, he looked down at the human on his leg. Both stared at each other for a while and Tim noticed his hand was keeping Candice against his stomach, holding her close. Tim's cheeks too became redder with embarrassment and took his hand away from her. Candice quickly pushed off the giant's stomach and moved father down his lap. "Sorry," Tim apologized, "It was only to protect you. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."
"It's alright," Candice assured the giant, "I, I kind of clung to you first."
This was followed by an awkward silence and both looked away from each other for a little while. Eventually, Tim spoke up and suggested, "We still have enough food for dinner, but we're going to need to find you some material for bedding for you. I think you should come with me when I look for such material. I don't think it's safe for you to be alone here with that thing getting so close."
Candice nodded in agreement. "Hey Tim, you know why I'm here, but why are you all alone in this forest. You said you're lonely here. Aren't there other giants?" Candice questioned. She understood that if she was going to stay with this giant, they'd have to start getting to know each other better.
"I lived in a village full of other giants," Tim admitted, "But, they didn't see humans as equals. Most of the villagers believed that humans were too little to be considered equals, or even people for that matter. But I thought differently. I couldn't take the way the others were treating humans, so I left the village."
"You left your family?" Candice questioned. "Tim must really see humans as equals if he left his family just because humans were being treated unfairly," Candice realized.
"I couldn't live in a place that treated humans so badly. I wanted to live in the human country, hoping that humans would accept me if I explained myself. I had to live in this forest since it has giant animals in here to eat, but I have no luck with humans. They've all believed I'm a monster. You're the first one who has actually talked to me," Tim informed Candice.
The conversations were slow and a little forced since the two were just meeting, but they began to talk and began getting to know each other better. They talked and starting becoming more comfortable with each other. They talked for a while before they decided it was best to go find bedding for Candice. Tim carried Candice once again, and they left the cave.