The sun hung high in the sky as Grey and Zeke stood before the open door frame of Jule’s home ready to embark on their journey home. Grey had woken up this morning feeling much better than in the previous day, some slight sores and pains, but nothing that kept him from being able to get up and move once more. Amelia’s magic was to thank for his swift recovery, without it he most likely would have taken weeks, possibly even months to recover, and his wounds wouldn’t have healed as well as they had. The few patches of scars he received from the burns were either almost completely gone or almost unnoticeable, to which he was appreciative for.

            On one of the previous days after Grey had shared his increasingly awkward moment with Jule he had spent rest of it trying to speed up his recovery. Jule had made only a couple brief visits afterward to give him food and water, but had always left rather quickly, quite clearly still embarrassed from their earlier encounter. Amelia had periodically come into to check on Grey’s condition, and applied her magical arts when necessary. Marissa or Kassandra has remained missing since he had regained consciousness, it wasn’t until the following day that he had heard of their departure. Grey couldn’t help but remain curious on the terms which they left on, but decided not to inquire on it.

            Zeke had kept him company for most of that following day. If he could call it that. Zeke had refused to talk about any of current matters, stating that he wanted to avoid speaking about things until after they had left. He constantly seemed to be on his guard, especially whenever Amelia was present. Grey had so many questions he wanted to ask him, such as how he had become a hunter, and where he had been for all the years that they had been apart.

            The last time Grey saw Zeke they were still both children. Zeke just like Grey had been made an orphan at a young age, albeit under very different circumstances. Zeke had lived by himself in the woods after being orphaned, learning to live off the land, and hunt for survival. He wasn’t the only one though, he along with other unfortunate children that in one way or another found themselves without a family lived outside the city gates making for themselves a small community. They stealing from passing caravans and traveling merchants when hunting and foraging proved not enough but for the most part they relied on the land and each other as a source of survival. It was by this group that Grey had been discovered by, passed out and starving on the road a couple day after the giant had attacked. The group of wayward children took him in as one of their own as Zeke and Grey formed a strong bond with each other. Zeke had acted as a mentor; a type of older brother even, to Grey. He had taught him everything he needed to know to survive. Forming starting a fire to hunting with a bow at which Zeke was quite proficient at something that appeared to have only increased since their last encounter with each other.

            Just a few years after Grey had joined them Zeke along with some of the other older kids had gone into the city hoping to find work before returning to the others. They had never returned. Grey being one of the older children went into the city hoping to find out what had happened to them. Finding no hints of where they had gone Grey stayed in the city and found himself living on the streets as he began adapting to the life that he would be living for the next eight years of his life.

            While Zeke avoided answering most of Grey’s questions he did finally succumb in explaining how he had found Grey. Apparently he didn’t even initially know it was him who was out here. Zeke had been traveling from village to village looking for rumors about potential giant attacks, when he came across a rumor of a man who was heading into the giant lands alone he decided to follow the rumors. When he had come across the giant’s home that was rumored to be the man’s destination he was quite surprised to find the man stupid enough to put himself in so much danger was him. He had apparently observed his interaction with the three giants for a while before he was able to deceive a plant to rescue him. He certainly did not expect for things to go the way they did, and mentioned that Amelia’s sudden appearance created a much larger problem than he anticipated. Though he refused to specify why.

            The following day when Zeke saw that Grey’s condition was improving he informed him to get his things ready and that he planned to leave as soon as he ready, telling Grey that when he left I wanted him to join him. Grey thought the answer was clear, of course he wanted to leave after everything that happened. But it wasn’t. Strangely enough a small part of him wanted to stay. Now that the giant’s didn’t pose as much of a threat to him, he felt comfortable here. He never thought he would say it, but he was actually considering staying and living among the giants. Jule had shown she had cared for him, and in a way the feeling was mutual, and despite Zeke’s paranoia Amelia seemed rather protective of him, even after coming to terms that he wasn’t the person she thought he was. If he decided to stay Grey was sure he would be safe under both their care. But despite all this Grey knew, that staying wasn’t an option. After all he was still a human, and they were giants. While he trusted them he knew living in the giant lands meant dealing with more than just Jule and Amelia. What would Marissa or Kassandra do if they returned and he was still here? Could he really trust either of them? And what would happened if another giant arrived, and would Jule or Amelia really be able to care for him? The more Grey considered the possibility the more he realized just how much it wouldn’t work. He knew if he were to stay he would never truly be free, he would always be restricted or handle in some shape or form. He would be more of a pet than anything else, and that was not a life Grey wanted. So he accepted Zeke’s offer, and a few hours later Zeke and Grey stood at the foot of Jule’s door looking up at the two giantesses as they said their farewells.

            Grey stood uncomfortably as he began to grow accustomed to wearing his old clothes. They were ragged with patches and holes they had received from acids inside Jule’s stomach, some of the larger holes had been sewn shut rather hastily with some spare bowstring Zeke had on hand, but there were still a few areas where his cloak pants and shirt remained open. Jule had at least been kind enough to wash them, removing the stench they had obtained on his trip. They had also filled their travelling sacks with food that Jule had given them for their trip home. Of course the food she offered was much too large for either of them to carry so they had to cut off small pieces of what she offered.

            Amelia and Juled both kneeled on the ground as to prevent Zeke and Grey staring up at them as they spoke. With Amelia’s hands neatly folded on her lap, and Jule’s hands resting gently at her side.

            “Are you sure you have everything you need?” Jule asked, a slight hint of concern in her voice.

            “We have plenty. Thank you.” Zeke said in return. It was the first time Zeke hadn’t sounded completely hostile while speaking to one of the giants. Grey almost suspected he was beginning to grow comfortable around them, although it might also had something to do with the fact that they were leaving.

            “Just making sure.” Jule turned to Grey. “I’m sorry that I can’t offer you anything else, after all the trouble you went through to come here.

            “It’s fine.” Grey said waving his hand dismissively. It wasn’t. “Probably would have been too much for us to carry anyway.” Grey knew that when he returned to the village he would have hell to pay if he ran into any of Jack’s men. But he supposed he would cross that bridge when he came to it.

            “Well I think we’ve wasted enough time. We should reach the forest before nightfall, having an open flame out in fields is dangerous in this territory.” Zeke said interrupting Jule and Grey’s conversation.

            “Right, I understand.” Jule said disappointedly. “Well Grey, it was nice to meet you. I’m sorry for everything I‘ve done, and I want to thank you for everything you did for me. For a human, you're really sweet.” Jule paused as she considered her last words. “I’ll miss you.”

            Grey couldn’t help but smile, out of the corner of his eye he noticed that he wasn’t the only one. Amelia observed the two’s interaction with much interest, smiling as she watched both of them speak, with an almost knowing grin.

            Grey knew he had to say something. Something profound. Something that she could remember him by. But what ended coming out was. “Yeah, likewise.” The great silver tongued charmer, at a loss for words.

            “Grey.” Amelia spoke up. “I would like to say that it was an honor to become acquainted with you. I do not know where your path will take you in life, but I am sure you will go on to do great things. You are not like other humans, you Grey are something special and I pray that one day our paths will cross again.”

            “Thank you, the honor is all mine.” Grey said, this time with more enthusiasm in his voice. He paused for a moment and began to internally panic as he realized how his response must have appeared to Jule.

            “And Hunter Zeke.” Amelia said as she shifted her attention to him. “It was an honor to meet you as well. Your skill came as a great surprise to me, as every humans in my time were not known to carry such power.”

            Zeke stood and said nothing, but Grey had caught something in her words that stood out to him. She had said In her time. Another thing he would have to inquire Zeke about later.

            Amelia continued to speak. “I hope you remember what we discussed as you continue on your travels.”

            Zeke continued to not say anything but responded instead with a nod. Grey looked at him curiously every interaction between them brought more and more questions.

            “If that’s all we should get moving Grey.” Zeke said as he turned to leave.

            Grey nodded at his old friend as they both turned and took the first few steps of their long journey back home. Amelia and Jule stood from where they kneeled standing high over the two cloak clad humans as they saw them on their way.

            Jule began to wave as they walked. “I’ll never forget you Grey.” She called out.

            Grey couldn’t help but look back at her with a smile. “Nor I you!” Grey called back as he looked to see the two giants witness their departure. His smile slowly diminished as he glanced back at Jule and admired her once more, realizing this would be the last time.

            Grey sat before the low flames of his camp fire, his worn traveling cloak worse than it had been when he first embarked on this journey. Zeke sat crossed legged on the opposite side of the fire, as the two of them ate pieces of their rations Jule had provided for them. Grey was happy that he would at least be able to eat on the way back to civilization.

            The two of them remained quiet for most of their trip, leaving each other to their own thoughts. As much as Grey’s mind was focused on what would come next and the ordeal he had just been through, he could see Zeke had his mind on his own problems. Grey didn’t dare poke him for answers, at least not yet.

            Grey sat chewing on what was a piece of dried fruit Zeke had cut for them. He looked at it curiously “I’m curious how they do it?” Grey said.

            “What?” Zeke said startled by the sudden break in silence.

            “How do they get food so big?” Grey asked in between mouthfuls.

            “Oh.” Zeke said seeming collect himself back in the present moment. “Well, uhh. They grow them. In farms. Similar to us.”

            “Giant farms?”

            “For the most part.”

            Grey swallowed as he went to take another bite. “So, do have like. Giant animals and such?”

            Zeke shook his head. “Oh, no no. Well at least not that I’ve seen. If they did, they would have probably no reason to eat our kind. You see giant’s rely on humans as their main source of meat. They will occasionally steal livestock from human farms but that's typically rare. I heard rumors once from a fellow hunter who claimed he had seen a giant cow once, but I remain skeptical. However, I have witnessed giants eating cheeses and drinking milk before, so they must be getting their diary from somewhere.”

            “Fascinating.” Grey said as he took a sip from his water skin. ”If they have giant farms, why haven’t I heard of people trying to steal food from giants more often then?”

            “Probably because you a city boy who doesn’t care about life outside your tall safe walls.” Zeke responded almost instantly.

            ”Ouch. That hurts.” Zeke smirked at the response. “And hey, I haven’t completely forgotten the time we spent growing up outside the walls.”

            “Sure, but one of us actually continued to live outside them.” Zeke quickly remarked.

            “Oh, forgive me. We can’t all be mystical glowy hand archers.” Grey said just as quickly.

            “Right, because being a second rate thief is so much more exciting.”

            “Second rate? I take high offense to that claim.”

            Grey and Zeke stared at each other for a moment, before both breaking into a fit of childlike laughter. Despite everything that had happened, despite all the years they had spent apart, and despite the side of him he had seen back with the giants. It was good to know that Zeke was still the same he had always been.

            “It’s good to see you haven’t changed much.” Zeke said after a moment.

            “Yeah, same.” Grey said in response. “Well besides this whole hunter business.”

            Zeke nodded. “Yeah...”

            “So...” Grey said stalling before finally asking the question he had been curious about for so many years. “What happened to you? I remember you went to the city to try to earn some gold, but you never came back.”

            Zeke rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. “Yeah, about that.” Zeke leaned back a bit as he recalled the events from years past. “Well you see, the group of us that went into town. We tried finding a place that would hire us, but that didn’t go well. One of the other kids tried stealing from one of the merchants and well. He got caught, and the rest of us were thrown into prison with him.

            “While we were kids we were still old enough that they weren’t about to go easy on us, that's when a man visited the dungeon and offered us a deal. He was recruiting for the hunters. You see hunters normally don’t come from self-righteous people looking to do some good in the world, they are normally crazy, or criminals looking to get out of some sort of sentence. It was sketchy I will give you that, but we all took the deal. We were trained for some time, to which my skill with a bow came in handy. After serving for a couple years, Trinity discovered I had a gift, and began training me how to use it.”

            “What happened to the others?” The grim look on Zeke’s face had answered his question. They sat in silence for a while before Grey spoke up once more. “You mentioned your power, and someone by the name of Trinity. Actually now that I think about it, Marissa had said something about you belonging to something called the Trinity. What’s all that about?”

            Zeke remained silent for a moment before answering. “The Trinity… we are a group of three human hunters with the ability to use magic. And, well Trinity herself...” Zeke looked up at Grey, his eyes holding a cold seriousness to them.

            “What I am about to tell you is classified information. Only other members of the Trinity and the highest officials that oversee the hunters are privy to this kind of info. Not even the king himself is aware of this information, and it is to be kept secret from all other lower hunters. Sharing this information could get me killed, and if not killed then in serious trouble, and I’m one of the members. If word got out that you knew… well… do you get my point about how serious this is?” Grey nodded, and Zeke let out a slow breath.

            “Alright. I guess to begin Trinity is the founder of my little group. Long before I even became a hunter. You see giants are a powerful adversary, even the most trained hunter can find themselves in trouble when facing a giant alone. Their size and strength and intelligence make them extremely deadly to combat. What even worse is that that some giant possess the ability to utilize magic, and some of those magic capable giants know how to use it effectively in battle. It would be suicide for even a group of highly skilled hunters to take on a giant who had magical training. We humans are naturally incapable of using magic. Despite hundreds of years of trying to copy the magical arts, no human has ever succeeded. We are basically sterile to it, until Trinity.

            “Like I said, this was all long before my time. Trinity approached our order and claimed to have magical abilities akin to a master giant spell caster. At first the heads of our order were skeptical but her claims quickly were proven true. Trinity was the first human in recorded history to have such abilities. How she had come to gain such power is something I don’t even know. Trinity helped the order combat giants, her skills proving useful as we finally had gained an advantage when combating giants capable of magic, however that wasn’t the only great thing she brought with her. Commander Barron, my captain and leader of the Trinity...

            “Wait leader?” Grey cut in.

            Zeke’s expression showed annoyance from being interrupted. “Yes, leader.”

            “I thought Trinity was the leader?”

            “No she was just the founder.”

            “But wouldn’t that make her the leader?”

            “Not necessarily.” He could see Grey was still confused by the concept. “Just let me continue my story and I’ll explain. Alright then.

            “Anyway, Barron is the Leader of the Trinity. Originally he was a high ranked veteran hunter by the time Trinity arrived. But Trinity had noticed there was something special about him. She could sense that Barron like her had an ability to use magic, but was unaware of it. Through training Trinity was able to help Barron unlock his magical power, and use it effectively. While not as versatile as Trinity’s magic Barron now had the strength to fight and kill giants unlike any hunter before him. Barron’s skill at fighting giants combined with his new found power only proved to make him an extremely deadly hunter. Then there was me.

            “When I first joined my natural skill with a bow is what served me when combating giants. But it wasn’t until Trinity came across me that she revealed that I had something more. She told me that I too had powers I wasn’t aware of, and taught me how to summon upon auras that could make my arrows pierce stronger than any weapon ever conceived. She had even taught me how I can use magic to enhance my sense, and before I knew it, I was able to strike apples off a fence from miles away, and pierce an arrow straight through a metal wall.

            “After I had honed my power, I was accepted into one of the Trinity. Well at least that’s what they began calling it after I joined. I think Trinity finds it a little ego stroking having our group named after her.” Zeke smirked a bit at his own comment.

            “But that wasn’t the only thing that changed. As a member of the Trinity I had learned our purpose. While we are the elites among hunters, and we are specialized in confronting giants with magical capabilities, or other extremely dangerous cases, our true purpose was to train to take down the infamous Giant Queen Amelia.”

            Grey’s eyes widened. “Amelia… you mean?”

            Zeke nodded. He looked at Grey considering him for a moment. “Grey how much do you know about Amelia?”

            “Not much.” Grey said being completely honest. Growing up in the city he knew almost nothing when it came to giants. Hell he hardly paid attention to anything that didn’t concern him when it came to being a thief.

“Well, Amelia the Giant Queen is one of the most dangerous and feared giants in known history. Her power with both magic and her physical prowess on the battlefield was unrivaled by anyone human or giant alike.”

            “Was?” Grey asked.

            Zeke nodded again. “Was. You see this was over a hundred years ago. In fact it was the fear we humans had of her that created the Order of Giant Hunters in the first place. But she’s believed to have been dead for ages now, with the succession of the royal family falling to her brother.

            “When I first became a member of the Trinity I was told our primary goal was to prepare for the possible return of Amelia so that we could kill her. They were afraid with the magical abilities she possessed that she might one day be revived and wreak havoc on the world once more. I always thought that it was bullshit, and never believed it could happen. Yet the council and Trinity herself always seemed to treat it as a real threat. I just brushed it off as superstition at best. That was, until I saw her and witnessed her power myself.”

            “So… you think the giant we saw was Amelia?”

            “I don’t think Grey. I know it was her. It had to be. The fairytale my whole training had prepared me for had finally come true… yet. After trying to attack Amelia, trying to fulfill my job as a hunter of the Trinity. It became apparent that the Amelia I confronted didn’t match the description my order painted her out to be. Then the way she worried about you, the things she had said, done. The things she had told me. Something was off.”

            “Meaning what?”

            “Meaning there are some flaws with the story the Order has been telling me...”

            Grey looked at Zeke with concerned as his friend went silent with contemplation.

            “What do you intend to do?”

            “I intend to stay quiet.” He looked up at Grey will cold seriousness once more. “Grey, no one can ever know about what we saw, and what happened to you. Do you understand?”

            Grey nodded. “So, what do we do now?”

            Zeke smirked. “Now? Now I take you back to the Order.”

            “What!?” Grey exclaimed. “Wh… wha….Why!?” Grey stammered out.

            “I would think that would be obvious. I intend to make you a hunter.”

            Grey shook his head and waved his arms out in front of him. “No. Oh no no no. Zeke, I can’t be a hunter.”

            “And why not?” Zeke asked, the question almost sounding rhetorical.

            “Well for one, I’m a thief.”

            “You wouldn't be the first thief to become a hunter. You do remember I was recruited from a prison cell don’tcha?”

            “I don’t have the skill to be a hunter.”

            “After how you handled those giants back there, you already have more skill than most people who initially join.”

            “I… I… I don’t know if I can do it. This trip was already one thing, but doing this… all over again for the rest of would probably be my very short life? It’s a death sentence.”

            “From what I recall, you decided to come out here because you were already facing another life and death situation as is. As a hunter you wouldn’t need to worry about the little problem you have waiting for you back home.”

            Grey hesitated. Zeke had cornered him on all fronts, and he was left unsure how to respond. “I don’t know if I can do it.”

            Zeke let out a deep sigh and sat forward. “Grey listen.” Grey lifted his head meeting his friends’ eyes as he spoke. “Everything that happened back there, Amelia appearing, you almost dying. All of it, something's happening. Something big, and I don’t know what it is, but you almost died, at the same time the infamous Giant Queen magically returns claiming to be looking for a human with your name and saves your life. I don’t know if it’s fate or what, but something big is happening and like it or not, you’re at the center of it. I think what Amelia said was true, after seeing everything that happened I believe there is something special about you, and having you join me and the other hunters, I think we can try to find out what it is. Trinity helped me find what was special about me, I am certain she can help you as well. But we need to be careful, there appears to be more to this than either of us could ever hope to know. If we train you to become a hunter Grey, you will become strong enough to face whatever comes your way. So what do you say?”

            Grey sat in silence and contemplated the offer. It was absurd, impossible, and dangerous. He wasn’t special, he knew that. Everything that had happened had just been luck, coincidence, it didn’t have anything to do with him. Yet he couldn’t help but shake that maybe this was the right path. Grey had made many tough decisions in his life, growing up on the streets made sure of that. He had contemplated whether or not to enter the city, whether or not to steal for a living, whether or not to borrow from Jack, whether or not to go after the treasure. Most of these decisions had lead him down a dangerous road, yet despite all of this something about being a hunter appealed to him. He had seen the way Zeke had moved and without hesitance confronted the giants he was held captive by. He remembered how Marissa was so cautious about having him around and making sure he was “Safe”. The entire time he was held captive he had felt powerless and weak in comparison to them, yet Zeke had showed that not only was he not powerless, but that he was the one in power. At least until Grey had gotten them both caught. The idea appealed to him though, for once in his life he could feel powerful, powerful enough to not run and hide from a threat, powerful enough to take it head on. He knew the risks, he knew the challenge it would be, but the result were all too appealing.

            “Alright, Zeke. I’ll become a hunter.”

            Zeke let out a laugh as Grey responded, a large grin spread across his face. “Haha, I knew you would. Trust me Grey you won’t regret it, and best of all, once again it will be the two of us against the world. Just like old times.”

            Grey leaned back and smiled as he watched the stars above. He was to be a hunter. A couple nights ago he had stared at these very same stars, asking for guidance, and now he had found it.

            “A hunter, huh?” He said up to the stars, for once not searching for an answer.

            Zeke stretched out his arm. ”Alright, well we better get to bed, it will be a long journey back to headquarters and we will need all the sleep we can get.”

            Grey nodded and laid on his back, enjoying the warm heat the fire provided. Zeke remained sitting, his attention turned to Grey as he watched him, a puzzled look on his face. Grey looked over to notice Zeke staring at him.

            “What’s up?”

            “It’s just that… Never mind. It must just be my eyes or something.”

            Grey sat up slightly as he looked to Zeke. “What is it?” He further inquired.

            “Well you see… it’s been bugging me all day, but I could have sworn your hair was darker.”