Chapter Two

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Conrad slowly opened his eyes and they widened as they realized the giant child wasn't just a dream, and he was clasped in her grip yet and pressed into her stomach as if he were nothing but a stuffed animal. Shifting, he tried to get out of her grasp without waking her, his heart racing. What if she got angry and attacked his village? With a frown, he just sat there to wait for the girl to wake up.

After what seemed like hours, the giant began to move and Conrad was surprised when her brown eyes looked at him and a smile crossed her face. "You stayed with me." She whispered, bringing the human close to her as a sort of hug. 

He didn't know what to do and was slightly terrified of this child. Sure she was young, but she was a giant! All the stories he's heard about them growing up, he knows they're horrible, vicious creatures. So why hadn't she hurt him yet? Perhaps the parents were killed just in time and he could save this one from the evils of her race. "Of course I did." He mumbled, struggling in the girl's grip. "Now do let me go!" He shouted, a bit louder than he had planned and for a moment he thought he saw a certain sadness in the young one's eyes.

Once her grip had released, he was dropped to the hard cement floor below with a soft hiss of pain before rising to his feet and backed away from her. Conrad stared up at the child with a frown, able to see the quite large size difference now. If this was a kid, how tall would the parents be? 

"Am I scaring you?" The young girl asked with a frown before laying down on her stomach on the cave floor, her face right in front of him. "Is this better? I don't wanna scare you." She murmured as a smile spread across her face. "Humans are tiny. I knew they were, but I didn't think they'd be this tiny!" She giggled quietly.

Conrad flinched at her loud voice before looking at her face, unable to detect any signs of hostility. Perhaps...she truly doesn't mean any harm. But she's young, maybe not all giants are like her. When the ground suddenly started shaking he gasped, looking around as panic shot through him only to realize it was the girl sitting back up. "C-Can you warn me next time?!" he shouted angrily, frowning at her.

His eyes widened when tears began to form in the giant brown eyes and ran down her cheeks, landing in giant puddles around him. Quickly he put his hands over his head to avoid getting too wet as the young girl cried quietly. "I-I didn't m-mean to make you mad! P-Please don't h-hurt me!" She cried out, sniffling and wiping her eyes.

Conrad's chest tightened and he frowned, looking up at her. "H-Hey, c-calm down kid. I-I'm not going to hurt you, okay? Just, stop crying before you drown me." He mumbled, reaching out and patting her giant arm gently in an attempt at comfort.

The sobs turned into quiet giggles, and he yelped, startled when her hand wrapped around him and lifted him up again. "Y-You're funny." She smiled down at him. "I-I'm Coraline by the way, b-but you can call me Cora! Mommy always did." Her smile slowly faded as she looked back down. "I miss her, and my daddy."

"I'm sure you do." Conrad forced a smile, pushing on Coraline's fingers to try and get away. "I-I miss my parents too, they passed away a couple years ago." He looked up to her face with a frown.

"At least yours died from being old. Your stupid friends killed mine." She frowned down at the human. "But, you don't seem that bad. Can we please be friends?" She asked quietly as a small smile tugged at her lips, replacing the frown. 

Uncertain what to say, and how the child would react, he just nodded quickly. "Y-Yes we can be friends. Now put me down, I-I have to go home. My other friends will worry about me." He struggled, his feet returning to the cement floor and he panted, breathing heavily.

"Do you have to go? I-I don't want to be alone, what if more of you come and try and hurt me?" Coraline said with a frown, looking around the empty cave with fear clear in her big brown eyes.

With a frown, Conrad nodded though it was hesitant. "Yes, I'm sorry." Why was he apologizing?! He couldn't care for this giant, it wasn't natural. He'd be put on trial for treason against the whole human race!

"O-Oh, okay. Will you come visit me soon at least? I-I really don't like being alone." She whispered as she tried to get to eye level with the male human again. 

"I...I will." Conrad nodded slowly before grabbing his satchel and paused, opening it and pulled out the few bits of fruit and bread, looking up at Coraline. "Here. I'm going to guess you're hungry." 

He was surprised when a giant hand was lowered near him, hoping for the food which he placed in her palm. Looking up at her face, he could see she was very grateful. "Thank you, Mr. Human." She said quietly as she sat back up on her knees, smiling softly.

Conrad nodded as he took off out of the cave, his feet squelching in the soft grass and mud as he ran to his village, looking over his shoulder to make sure no one saw him and also making sure that the girl wasn't following him. 

He dashed into his home, slamming the door behind him and panted heavily, closing his eyes when he heard his best friend's voice, but not what he said when a hand grabbed his arm.

"Conrad! What happened?!" Roger asked with a frown, looking at him worriedly. "You've been gone way longer than you said, I thought maybe a giant decided to snatch you up for dinner!" 

Conrad looked into his friend's eyes, catching his breath enough to speak. "N-No giant, I just s-stopped to avoid the horrid storm." He lied, even though he wasn't entirely sure why he did as he looked out his window to the direction of the cave, and the giant child Coraline. 




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