Fiora was quite eager to see how her plan had turned out. She had dropped off the basket early in the morning and left it alone, figuring that the giant would probably find her somehow if she remained in the area. She hoped that she had put it high enough in the tree that random animals wouldn’t get to it. It had been an estimate on her part to figure out the proper height, but she felt confident that she correctly judged it.

  Around midday, Fiora returned to the forest to check on the basket. She found her basket on the ground, empty. Examining the scene, she saw that the rope was not snapped, it was untied, and the basket itself was not destroyed either. It was a good sign that animals had not gotten ahold of it, and that her food had reached its intended target. She smiled victoriously as she thought about how her plan seemed to be working. If she continued to bribe the giant with food, perhaps then she could get him to be receptive enough to her presence to allow her the chance to ask a few questions without being chased away.

  Now she began to formulate said questions in her head as she took her basket and rope back with her. She would have to make more food, and this time, she would deliver it personally. The idea excited her as much as it made her nervous. This was unexplored territory; speaking to an intelligent giant. Fiora felt like she was living a fairy tale right now, though only time would tell exactly what role she would be playing in it.

  For now, she needed more food, so she went back to her house, wearing a slight smile and with a skip in her step. This was a good day, so far, and she was determined to make the most of this momentum that she was developing. She set about the task of cooking up another meal, less time consuming that the pies, but one that should appeal to the giant’s tastes, nonetheless. Of course, she would make some for herself and her dad too.

  While she cooked, she hummed a little song to herself. Emil walked by and saw his daughter in high spirits and decided to make a comment.

  “You seem to be in a good mood today. Any reason for that?”

  She realized that perhaps she shouldn’t be so openly excited about something that was meant to be a secret. Fiora quickly came up with a deflection.

  “I’ve just been working on a little project, and it’s showing good results, so far.”

  “Oh? Care to share what it is?”

  There was a brief flash of panic in her as he persisted, but she clamped down on it and continued to diffuse. “I think that it would be better to keep it to myself for now considering that I don’t know how it will turn out. It might make for an interesting surprise.”

  “Well, consider me intrigued. I look forward to seeing what this little project of yours is.” She was relieved that he had bought her excuses, but as he passed by, he did make note of the fact that she was cooking a lot more meat than they normally eat. He found that curious but didn’t see fit to question her on it just yet. It would get rather expensive if she kept cooking like this, but he figured she had her reasons. If it became a problem, he would bring it up with her then.

  Fiora kept working, making a few simple sandwiches with strips of meat from rabbits and deer. She didn’t know the giant’s preferences, but she figured that living in the wild made him rather open to most types of meat. She set aside those meant as a gift and ate the others with her father. After the meal was finished, packed up her bribe, finished her chores around the house, and then went out in search of the giant. She only had a few hours of light left in the day, so she hoped to find him before it got too dark.

  She had been taking more walks through the forest lately, and Fiora realized that she would have to regulate her comings and goings from now on. People might get suspicious of her if she disappeared into the forest for hours every day. As much as she hated the thought of lying, especially to her father, it might be wise to sneak away without a word.

  Thoughts of subterfuge aside, she crossed the river and focused on her plan of action for confronting the giant. There were so many questions that she wanted to ask, but she did her best to temper her curiosity so she wouldn’t come off as offensive. That was very difficult for her, and she hoped that she could maintain her resolve long enough to build a rapport.

  About several minutes later, she encountered the bone effigies once more, marking the edge of the giant's chosen territory. The bones were still a little unnerving, but she just focused on the fact that there were no human bones hanging from the trees at least. Every time she thought about the dichotomy between how he acts and how he looks, she couldn’t help but compare the behavior to someone intentionally acting out a role to cultivate an image of themselves.

  Holding her basket firmly in her grip, she ventured into the giant’s territory with as much confidence as she could muster. “Hello? I just wanted to talk again. I promise I won’t go too deep into your land if you’ll come out and speak with me. I brought more food for your troubles.”

  Her sales pitch rang out through the trees as she raised her voice so it would carry. From her previous experiences, she figured it wouldn’t be long until she saw him. It was very likely that he was nearby, too.

  She was right. Daegal was nearby, having a crisis as he lay hidden between a few boulders, mind racing as he listened to the girl wander through the forest. He was weighing the options in his head, trying to decide which of them would bring the least amount of frustration. Daegal also wrestled with the buried desire of having someone to talk to that wasn’t himself.

  Just the very idea of exposing himself to humans, allowing one to get close enough to talk with him, it scared him. He had lost everything the last time he connected with someone, but his solitude was weighing heavily upon him, like years of sediment that had built up upon his heart. Even so, if she somehow found his home, then she would know exactly where to go to pester him every day, not to mention the possibility that it would invite trouble. Everything of importance to him was in that cave and losing it would be an unbearable outcome.

  With a resigned sigh, he got up and climbed to the top of the boulder he was hiding behind. He could see her about two dozen meters away as she wandered through the trees, making a nuisance of herself while looking for him. She should count herself lucky that he had established a well-defined territory in this part of the woods, and most animals avoided it. The only creatures large enough to even consider invading his territory would be adult bears, and he’s learned how to deal with them over the years as their hides both keep his bed warm and make up a large chunk of his patchwork cloak.

  With a deep breath to steady his nerves, he spoke up. “You are aggravatingly persistent.”

  Fiora snapped to the direction of his voice, his position on top of the rock making him look even larger than normal. “Ahem, h-hello! I was just hoping that you might be willing to talk for a little while.”

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  “And why would I want to do that?”

  “Well, I don’t imagine you have many people that want to talk to you out here. I’m willing to make it worth your while, if that’s a concern. I have some more things that you might like to eat. Did you enjoy the pies I left for you earlier?”

  Daegal knew it was coming, but her using the meals as a leverage point was still annoying. Sure, his method of cooking was crude by comparison to the ways humans do it, but the snacks came at a heavy price. With a sigh bordering on a groan, he meandered down the side of the boulder, dropping to the forest floor with a heavy thud.

  “I have tried to discourage you, frighten you, and straight tell you to be gone, yet you remain. At this point, I get the feeling I’d have to maim you in order to convince you this wasn’t worth the hassle.” Fiora was slightly nervous at the mention of maiming, but she kept a stoic expression as she listened.

  “Fine,” Daegal continued. “If I must endure your presence, I might as well get something out of it. So long as you bring an offering, I will allow you to speak. However, I have rules you must follow.”

  Fiora was attentive as she tried, and failed, to keep the eager smile off her face. “Sure! Name them.”

  “First, you will not move deeper into my territory than this. If you show up, and I am around, I will come to you. Second, you will not bring anyone else around here. If I so much as even smell another person around you, you can consider the deal forfeit and I will throw rocks at you with the intent of hitting. Lastly, I may refuse to answer any question that I do not like. If you try to force the matter, then we will be done talking for the day.”

  Fiora considered the rule he laid out for a moment before nodding. “Okay, I can agree to those terms. This is actually kind of exciting! I never imagined I’d have an opportunity to speak to someone quite like you.”

  Her bubbly attitude flew in the face of what he’d expected from most humans. He hated how happy she looked just for the opportunity to talk to him, or perhaps he hated how the idea of her talking to him made his heart jump in his chest. Daegal knew how dangerous such feelings were, and he couldn’t afford attachment. It was hard to resist the allure, though.

  Fiora was eager to begin as she sat down on a rock and tossed around a bunch of questions in her head before remembering her manners. “I suppose we should start with introductions, then. I’m Fiora, it’s a pleasure to officially meet you.”

  Deagal let a moment of silence hang in the air before responding tersely. “Daegal.”

  She took the quick exchange in stride as she wanted to get into the questions right away. First, though, she handed over her payment in the form of the sandwiches. Daegal accepted it with only a little reluctance as this marked the beginning of what would likely be frequent interactions.

  While Fiora had many things she wanted to ask, the most prominent of those questions ended up rising to the surface of her mind first. “I’m sorry if this is a little insensitive to ask, but what are you exactly?”

  Daegal finished chewing the food he had in his mouth slowly before answering. “If I knew that, I doubt I’d still be here.”

  Fiora quirked a brow at him. “You don’t know what you are?”

  “Didn’t I just say that?” he responded grumpily.

  She considered that information for a second. He had no idea what he was, nowhere else for him to go. He was alone, and Fiora was starting to understand why she was feeling pity for him before as that feeling resurged anew. Pushing that sensation to the side for now, she instead focused on something else to change the subject.

  “Well, can you tell me how old you are? Are you some ancient being that has experienced centuries?”

  “Thirteen.”

  Fiora blinked. “Uhm... thirteen... hundred?”

  “I will have experienced my thirteenth winter this year.”

  That threw her for a loop as her brain tried to catch up with what he just said. “Wait, you’re younger than me!”

  “Is that a problem?” He glared at her with his literal side eye. She was unnerved by the alien look, still trying to get used to that aspect of his form.

  “N-No, it was just surprising. You seem very, erm, mature.”

  “I grew fast.”

  “I can see that.” The fact that he was so large yet so young was difficult to process. Technically he was still a kid, but with the strength to overpower any man. Such a thing was dangerous, and also sad. The human aspect of her heart told her that someone so young should not be living by themselves, and it argued with her mind that said he was not human and should not be held to those same standards. This argument was in a stalemate, so it was yet another thing that she had to push off to the side.

  After two questions that ended up leaving her rather stumped, she decided to go with very simple ones for a while. She began to learn about some of his likes and dislikes. Fiora found out that he liked fish, but didn’t like wolf meat. Conversely, he liked wolf hides for his bedding and found deer hides to not provide much in the way of comfort. Most of his knowledge and preferences revolved around surviving in the wild, though when asked how he learned all this, he got defensive. Remembering his rule, she didn’t push him into talking about it, but it still made her curious.

  As they were talking, Daegal moved a bit and the seam of his cloak started to unravel, causing a large chunk of the back to fall off, hanging by a single strand. Daegal growled with frustration as he picked up the chunk of his cloak and severed the connection completely, grumbling to himself as he already knew how much of a pain it was going to be to get it back together.

  Fiora could see the problem lay in the stitching. It was uneven, loose in many places, sloppy. It was clear that Daegal was not proficient in sowing, and this provided Fiora a new opportunity to ingratiate herself.

  “Your cloak seems to be in poor condition.”

  “Wow, I didn’t notice,” he snidely retorted at her with a sneer.

  Fiora was not deterred and was quick to mend the perceived slight. “I was just thinking that, perhaps, you would like some help getting the stitches in the right place? I’m deft with a needle and thread. If you’ll accept my help, I can come back tomorrow and make sure your cloak doesn’t come apart so easily.”

  Daegal saw through the thinly veiled attempt at getting on his good side and yet faced with the prospect of having to fumble with the awkward to handle tools himself, he couldn’t help but see the appeal in letting her do it for him. With a groaning sigh, he acquiesced.

  “Fine, I will allow you to fix it tomorrow if you so desire to go through that effort.” The eager smile she wore as he said that made him roll his eyes.

  Her mundane questions continued, lulling him into a sense of routine as he began to mindlessly answer her random questions about things like what types of fish he liked best, or what colors did he fancy and other such drivel. This made the question she asked next hit harder than it should have.

  “Did you know any humans before me?”

  He flinched, his mind sent hurtling into painful and melancholic memories as his expression soured immensely. “We’re not talking about that.” The tone of his voice carried with it a warning, a warning that Fiora heeded.

  The refusal to speak on the subject and the brief reaction the question garnered told her quite a lot already. Even now, she could see his gaze wandering into the distance, lost in deep thought. It was clear to Fiora that he did know someone before her, but that relationship must have ended rather unfavorably. The specifics of the matter were still an enigma, but regardless of the details, it caused a reaction of near pain in Daegal.

  The more she learned, the more invested she became in unravelling Daegal’s story. Regrettably, the sun was starting to set, and the sky turn orange. Daegal was reaching his limit for interactions, so he used the time as an excuse to get her to leave.

  “You should go home. While this has been clearly marked as my territory, I can’t stop the wolves and bears from wandering around at night.”

  Fiora laughed nervously at the idea. “Yeah, that might be a good idea. My Dad might be starting to get worried about me as well.” She stood up, brushing off the lower part of her dress as she did. “I’ll see you tomorrow then, yes?”

  Daegal let a pause hang in the air for a moment, his feelings twisted on the matter. The idea that she would come back, talk to him again, keep him company, it tugged on his heart in a painful way.

  “Yeah, tomorrow,” he finally said.

  Fiora flashed a bright smile as she took her now empty basket home with her. Daegal watched her leave until she disappeared from his sight. The fact that her disappearing made him briefly long for her to come back was concerning. She was affecting him more than should have been possible, and he was afraid. He was afraid of the possibility that he might become attached to someone else again and then lose it. He didn’t want to feel that again; anything but that. With a shuddering breath, he went home, trying to control himself. It was a futile battle, and deep down, he knew it. Daegal had to admit it to himself, even though it hurt. He didn’t want to be alone anymore.