FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter 2

By: RaddaRaem

There was hardly a cloud in the brilliant blue sky as Russo walked alongside Jem and a badger down a quaint dirt path winding through the countryside. Both sides of the road were beset with wildflowers that dazzled the eyes with shades of orange, purple, and red; all of it set against a grassy green backdrop that rippled in the wind. Must have been one of the off years for the local farmers. They begrudgingly left the fields to fallow for an entire season to replenish the nutrients lurking in the soil only when absolutely necessary.

Plodding along, the trio was making their way towards the town of Neyv. All of a day's walk away from Russo and Jem's hometown and base of operations, Tedrah. Though the flora left unrestrained was a beautiful sight behold, the tall grass provided ideal hiding spots for thieves and highwaymen to lay in ambush. The mere thought of which kept both mage and fluffy warrior on constant alert.

A dull sensation in his thighs and the soreness of his soles communicated to Russo that now was as good a time as any to rest. They had to have been walking for hours nonstop as it was. Now... how to word it without sounding like he was complaining? "Hey Jem, up for taking a quick break? I could use a bite to eat and chance to rest my legs."

Smirking to himself, the rough collie couldn't help but smile. He was wondering when the human was going to cave. "Same here. What about you Honeycind? Are you alright with that?" Jem turned back to ask the badger.

"I wouldn't mind at all. I could use a breather." The badger replied.

Russo and Jem nodded to each other. That was their signal to get to work. Jem unsheathed his sword and started hacking away at the waist high weeds and grasses to their left while a freezing mist of magic billowed out from Russo's palms. Moisture condensed and solidified upon the greenery; the wild flowers collapsed under the weight of the ice and flattened against the ground. With the potential hiding spots cut down, the possibility for an ambush them was greatly reduced.

Satisifed with their work, the canine sheathed his sword and dropped to the ground. The human and badger followed his lead, plopping down in the middle of the road to rest. Jem fished out some jerky from one of his pockets and devoured the stringy meat crusted thick with salt. Russo crunched away at some sunflower seeds in between sips from his canteen; the leather pouch sloshed every time he brought it up to his lips. Honeycind absentmindedly munched on some dried fruits he had brought along for the trip. They ate in a pleasant silence, Jem and Russo scanning the area all the while for any unseen threats.

Admittedly, escort missions tended to be something both the human and collie avoided when it was possible. Oh sure they paid well, but the tradeoffs were oftentimes rarely worth it. Not only were they tedious as all get out but there was the added bonus of slapping a bullseye on your back by simply associating with your escort. Those people had their reasons for not wanting to travel alone, after all. Knowing that, Jem and Russo still scrambled for the job the instant it was posted on the notched wooden board standing in the center of the Tedrah guild hall, nails and notices plastered across its surface.

To be frank Honeycind was just a simple travelling merchant, going from town to town to sell what all he could carry on his back. Potent and reliable potions and magic crystals were his bread and butter. Nothing all that extravagant or high a quality but he was a nice enough old fellow and the people he did business with were rather fond of him. His wares and personality weren't what mattered however. It was his connections, the very fact that he was a member of the Neyv merchant guild. Said guild did a great deal of business with Tedrah's guild, which focused more on swords and sorcery than mercantile wheeling and dealing. Getting in the Neyv merchant guild's good graces meant earning brownie points from old man Varun, the current leader of the Tedrah guild. Which equated to being offered better paying missions and the ability to apply for them before they were posted for all to see.

Due to the amount of planning, packing, and forethought that was typically required of an escort mission, Russo abhorred them. Toss in the effort required to remain passably civil and professional for days on end with a complete stranger and it was no wonder that the mage cringed at the very thought of entertaining such a job. Fortunately, for everyone involved, none of those roadblocks managed to rear their heads this time around. Neyv was all of a day's walk away, the escort was quiet and cooperative, and best of all, Russo's sole teammate for this mission was his best friend.

As the mage finished off his snack he brushed his fingers against his tunic. The oily glaze from the sunflower seeds layered upon his digits stained his pale brown clothing. His hands suitably dry Russo pulled out some crumpled pieces of paper from his pockets, smoothing them out against his thigh. Some notes to brush up on to pass the time, copied straight from the tomes in the Tedrah guild's modest library. "Wind spells, huh?" He mumbled to himself. They were the last of the basic elemental spells he had yet to dabble in; the mage having already nailed down remedial fire, ice, and lightning magic.

Jem pulled out his sword once more to lay it across his lap. Back and forth his hands went across the warm metal, polishing it to a shine.

Patting at his bony knees, Honeycind closed his eyes and let the gentle breeze brush at his fluffy cheeks. 'Snrrrk!" He awoke with a startle to find himself hunched over and chin tucked against his chest. "Mmmff. Can't say I planned on taking a nap but boy did I need that."

"Ready to pack up and go then, old timer?" Russo inquired as the badger hobbled to his feet.

"Aye, let's get a move on! If I rest my eyes again I fear I'll find the moon waxing its gaze at me next time I open them."

Following the old badger's lead, the human and rough collie rose to attention. Ever so slowly the sun climbed higher and higher up into the sky. Distended shadows cut across the path. The wooden fences that cast them along both sides of the road a signal that they were nearing their destination.

"Won't be too much longer now..." Russo contentedly thought to himself.

As if reading his mind Jem chimed in, "Just because we're getting close to Neyv doesn't mean we can let our guard down. We're more likely to be ambushed or jumped the closer we get to the city. That's when travelers ease up on keeping watch, thinking they're in the clear. Stay sharp."

Shoulders slouched forward, Russo sighed. Augh, he hated it when the collie was always right. Shaking his head, the mage forced himself to focus back on the task at hand of keeping sentry. It would be a pain in the ass to be jumped or have the old badger robbed this close to the city. The trio continued onward, though now with a marked tension in the air. Jem's hand hovered near the the grip of his sheathed sword, Russo kept a stream of magic loosely flowing around his fingertips, and Honeycind kept glancing over his shoulder.

After what seemed like a brief eternity, the town came into view as they plodded up the crest of a hill. Neyv's wide streets beckoned at them from miles out, wide enough to accommodate the hustle and bustle of countless merchants going in and out of the settlement. Every store, stable, pub, and inn glistened and sparkled gently in the afternoon sun. Glazed lumber the building blocks for every structure in that town. It may not have been the most practical material to build their... err... buildings out of, but damn did it look good.

Dipping down the hill, the trio found themselves greeted by the sight of a dried up riverbed that lay at its base. A dust caked stone brigde curved across the rocky vein in the earth. Diverted some time ago for irrigation purposes, if the mage and collie had to guess.

Nearing the stone arch, grass to the trio's left, behind a rotted and crumbling wooden fence, rustled much more than it should have in the wind. Jem unsheathed his sword. The polished metal shinged loudly as it was freed from its resting place. Russo readied a spell, energy tingling in his fingers and collecting at the tips of his digits.

Not even a moment later a grey wolf leapt over the fence right at them, claws at the ready. A toothy snarl, one brimming with snarky confidence, quickly turned to horror and dread when the would-be thief saw the warrior and mage already prepared to strike. Jem swung hard at the airborne foe who contorted his body just out of the reach of the collie's blade. A blast of displaced air blew apart the fences into wooden planks. Poor wolf had narrowly avoiding getting a limb lopped off in the process.

Upon landing, the grey canine snuck a peek at the badger and his fat pockets. He contemplated gunning for him for the briefest of seconds before a streak of scalding hot light whizzed by his head, forcing him to reconsider. Cognizant that his chances of surviving this encounter were rapidly approaching zero, the wolf barreled through the newly made gap along the side of the road. A cloud of dust kicked up behind him as he beat a hasty retreat towards the riverbed. The entire confrontation lasted less than a minute.

Wisps of magic wafting off his fingertips, Russo looked back to the badger who had been left shaken and spooked by the ordeal. "Relax old man, Jem and I have got your back. We aren't going to let you get robbed and we sure as hell aren't going to let anybody lay so much as a finger on you."

A reassuring nod from the rough collie put Honeycind at ease. The elderly fur wrapped his arms about his chest as tremors continued to embarrassingly wrack at his limbs.

Russo turned towards Jem and asked, "You think that wolf has a trap or another ambush prepped for us under the bridge? Thieves are a persistent lot."

"Can't say." Furrowing his brows, Jem scratched at the back of his fluffy head. "He didn't seem all that competent or threatening but you never know." The warrior sighed. "Dammit, this wouldn't even be a problem if my first strike had landed."

"I feel the same way, I missed him at point blank for fuck sakes!" Russo impatiently tapped a boot against the ground. Clouds of dust rose up and swirled around his ankles. "...But we can't just linger around here in the open either, we need to keep moving." Both Jem and the badger nodded in agreement.

The human stroked his stubbled chin in thoughtful contemplation. "Hmmm... say Jem, I've got an idea. You escort our guest across the bridge while I'll head down into the riverbed and run interference. You two book it towards the city and I'll take care of that nuisance."

"What and have you travel alone the rest of the way? Like hell!"

"Relax, relax." Eyes half lidded, Russo feigned insult. "No need to get so worked up about it, I can take care of myself. If it makes you feel better though," the mage flicked an orange crystal at his companion, "take this."

Rolling around the crystal in his fluffy palm, Jem eyed it suspiciously.

"That thing's a waypoint for teleportation spells, now that I've sunk a bit of my own magic into it. All I have to do is imagine that little orange thing dangling down from wherever and I'll be able to warp right to it. As soon as that thief is taken care of I'll teleport right back to you. Done deal."

Fingers curled tight around the crystal, the canine clenched his teeth together worriedly. "You damn well better be quick about this."

"I'll be fine," Russo shot back dismissively as he kicked aside the rotted remains of the busted fence. Cautiously setting one foot before the other, he descended along the riverbed's rocky and dusty embankment. Rocks and pebbles knocked free from the splitting earth tumbled down before him.

Worried as he was, Jem wasn't one to let an opportunity like this pass him by. He patted at Honeycind's back. The badger and rough collie picked up the pace and briskly made their way across the bridge.

As Russo slid to a halt at the bottom of the bank, he looked to his right and saw the wolf trying to hide under the shade of the bridge. The instant the failed thief met the mage's gaze, he bolted. A hurriedly cast barrier, a magic wall of blue light that cast a blue pall upon the shadows, prevented the wolf from running out the other side of the bridge. Back against the barrier and growling weakly, the wolf directed an unconvincing scowl at the approaching human.

"Just look at your sorry ass," Russo mumbled when he finally managed to get a decent look at the fluffy nuisance. Covered in tattered and loose fitting rags that slid along his rail thin limbs, the wolf could hardly be considered a threat. Hell he wasn't even wearing any shoes, though, ehh, that wasn't all that uncommon for furs. Scrawny little thing looked to be in his teens, no older than Russo and Jem had been when they first joined the guild.

"Kid, you picked the wrong people to try and rob today," the mage smirked while his hands glowed with energy.

The wolf stared him down and weakly growled back, "I don't pick fights I can't win." Hurried footsteps reverberated overhead.

"Funny. Seems to me the only thing you're good at is running. Unfortunately for you," wispy ribbons of energy wafting off the human's fingertips congealed in his palm, "I'm not going to give you the chance." Russo slowly approached the wolf as magic continued to cook in his grasp.

"We'll see about that." The wolf replied, voice ringing with far more confidence than would be expected. After uttering his cryptic threat the fur's wiry form began to bulge and thicken with muscle that seemingly exploded out of nowhere.

Russo took a step back, startled by the sudden change in his easy target's appearance. He's sure as shit had never read about or heard about any kind of spell that could do that. The wolf smiled menacingly at him and yelled out, "Well what hope do you have against a giant, human?!" He rapidly swelled in size, the canine's form filling out horizontally and vertically to accommodate the muscle pouring onto his frame.

The concentrated magic gathered in the mage's palm faltered as the whole growth process threw Russo for a loop. Shock and worry clutched at the mage's chest... until the wolf grew too tall too fast and cracked his head against the bottom of stone bridge.

His growth suddenly cut off at nearly twice the human's height, the fluffy giant promptly fell back on his ass and started rubbing his head. "Ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow..." the wolf cringed, tears forming at the edges of his eyes. "H-hey can we move out from under this bridge? I want a do-over."

Blinking rapidly, Russo could do little more than stare blankly at the wolf. ...Hell if he was gonna pass up a free hit. He raised his right arm to his side, palm facing out towards the blubbering giant. Splaying out his fingers and pressing his palm forward, the orb of energy pulsed forth and exploded in a burst of light against the wolf's face. The would-be giant thief's head snapped back and cracked against the barrier, cracks splintering out from where his noggin whacked against the translucent wall. Clutching his head between his hands, the gray wolf backed up as much as he could against the barrier. Arms tossed in front of his face in a shielding position, he started shaking. "A-a-aroooo p-please don't kill me!" He wailed out as tears streamed down his face.

"Oh for fuck's sake..." This... augh, this was just painful. "You tried robbing my escort and then threatened to kill me. I have every reason to off you here and now!" Russo yelled as his hands took on a pale blue glow. The wolf arooed louder and continued shaking, sobbing, and shrinking away from the great and terrible mage as much as he could.

"This is just pathetic." Blech, the mage had never had a lopsided win leave such a sour taste in his mouth before. "FINE you big baby, I won't kill you. You're just lucky I'm in a hurry to catch up with my friend." Exasperated at his victory, Russo allowed the magic to dissipate from around his fingers while he ground his teeth.

Slowly, the terrified tremors rocking the wolf's gigantic body subsided. With great hesistation he removed his arms from in front of his face, half expecting the human to kill him anyway. When he found that he wasn't immediately assaulted with another spell and that said human had in fact meant what he said, he looked down curiously at the mage.

Facial fur still wet and matted down with tears, streams of salty water still trickled down from the edges of the wolf's eyes. With a roll of his eyes Russo released the barrier the embiggened fur was leaning up against. The big wuss arfed as he fell back against the ground and hurriedly pulled himself up to a sitting position under the bridge. Stray rocks and pebbles digging into his legs, the wolf looked upon the human with marked interest. Eyes on his oversized guest, Russo walked out from under the bridge and into the sunlit riverbed and prepared his teleport spell. Before he could blink away the wolf spoke up.

"H-hey human..."

"What?" Russo asked rather annoyed.

Twiddling his fingers, the swollen wolf looked down at him ashamedly. "Thank you for sparing me."

"Yeah, yeah." Well, at least the stupid kid had the decency to apologize. "Just stay out of trouble, alright? If somebody else catches you trying to steal from them again, and is given the opportunity, they will kill you. You don't exactly put up much of a fight, you know."

The giant canine's shoulders sank worriedly at the remark.

"Welp. See ya." Russo shot a quick wave to the wolf before disappearing in a flash of blue light that briefly lit up the underside of the bridge.

"L-later." Waving back, the wolf shyly bid his goodbyes to the mage. He inhaled and exhaled deeply, dwindling back down to something approximating the human's size. Head dipped low and chin tucked against his chest, he sat down in the riverbed and pondered his next course of action. Thievery wasn't cutting it and well... he was kinda glad he sucked something fierce at threatening or hurting people. That just wasn't who the sometimes giant wolf was. His tail whapped against the ground behind him. Who could he look to then? Who could he ask for advice or help? "I... I should at least try." Slowly, the wolf scrambled up and out of the riverbed and started making his way towards Neyv.

---

A blinding burst of blue light gave Jem and Honeycind reason to recoil and slam their eyes shut. When they opened them, where there was once open road was now occupied by a rather irritated looking Russo.

"Goodness, that was fast!" Jem stated with marked relief.

"Did he give you much trouble?" The badger innocently inquired.

"Nah, he was just a kid and a total pushover at that. I smacked him around a little, he begs for his life, and I let him go. Pretty standard affair." Russo arched his brows and exhaled loudly. "Kid talked tough but he had nothing to back it up with. He was a hassle more than anything."

"Aren't you concerned though that he might try and attack us again?" Honeycind asked worriedly.

"I doubt it," Jem interrupted. "Russo ran interference long enough for us to get quite a ways ahead of him. It's unlikely he'll even have the chance to catch up." Coughing into his hand, the collie cut back to business. "We still need to keep an eye out trouble though. We have yet to make it to Neyv, after all."

Thankfully, continued vigilance on part of the trio proved entirely unnecessary. If any further trouble was to be found it never bothered to show itself. Having successfully escorted Honeycind back to his own guild without injury or misfortune befalling him, the badger graciously thanked them for a job well done. Promising to put in a good word for the duo, he bid them goodbye and vanished behind the heavy iron doors leading into the merchant's guild.

Jem and Russo exchanged grins as soon as the badger disappeared from view. Didn't get any easier than that. Sun dipping low into the sky, the human and collie resolved to grab some dinner before bunking down for the night. A pub nearby proved suitable for their needs, even if everything was sinfully overpriced. Per their earlier... agreement, Russo paid for everything. The once taut sacket of gold that hung down from the mage's belt drooped limply after it had been forced to foot the bill.

Hours passed by while the human and canine ate, drank, and relaxed. By the time they stumbled out buzzed, the moon had already taken up its post in the night sky. Surely Honeycind had put in a good word for them by now. Russo and Jem made their way towards the Neyv merchant guild, hoping that they could mooch off that old man's assumed praise and net some lodging for the evening.

When the collie and human entered they found it mostly deserted. Iron doors slamming shut with a clank behind them, Russo and Jem approached a small desk at the entrance. Buried behind a stack of papers piled high along the desk's polished wooden surface, a human lass toiled away at sorting through the fine print.

"Excuse me, miss." Jem stated as he walked up to the woman.

"Yes?" Her eyes bloodshot and strained, the lass happily greeted any distraction from the tedium. "Can I help you?"

"I certainly hope so. My friend and I here helped escort a travelling merchant from Tedrah earlier today, a badger by the name of Honeycind. It's a little late out to be trying to make our way back home and we were wondering if you had any place where we could lodge for the evening."

"Ah... you must be Jem and Russo! Honeycind was talking wonders about you two earlier. Apparently you fought and roughed up a thief?" She brushed aside a pile of papers and opened a drawer. Plucking out a small iron key, she lobbed it at the collie. "It's nothing fancy but we do have some guest rooms you're both more than welcome to stay in. Ah, as well as some public baths for you to make use of should you need to." Rising from her seat, woman was ecstatic to stretch her legs for the first time in hours.

"We appreciate your hospitality and gracious offer." Jem politely said as he and Russo were shown the baths and guided to their room.

"If you need anything else, by all means, feel free to ask!" After the girl had left them on their own Russo ribbed at the canine.

"Look at you all punctual and professional."

"Hard as it is to grasp, that's how you're supposed to interact with members of other guilds. We're their guests and should conduct ourselves accordingly," Jem mouthed back plainly.

"Pfftt... Tedrah and Neyv's guilds are chummy enough that we don't need to worry about stuff like that."

"A little courtesy can go a long way," Jem chidingly stated as he undressed in preparation for a bath. "Are you going to clean up for the night Russo? You really should, seeing as how you humans can start to smelling pretty rank if you don't bathe regularly." He continued to tease at the mage while Russo reluctantly shed his clothes.

"Yeah, yeah... I'll join you shortly," Russo complained as he fumbled with his cloak. He waited for Jem to depart before stripping down entirely. Donned only in a bath towel, the mage made his way to the baths and joined the collie. The public bath Jem was of generous size, easily large enough to accommodate ten or more people. It was a large square indent in the ground filled with water that was kept steaming through the use of magic crystals imbued with fire. The wooden sides were lined with benches for those who desired to sit and rest their feet as they soaked in the water. All in all it was a fairly accommodating and comfortable setup. Well, aside from the excessive public nudity which always nagged at Russo.

Jem couldn't help but laugh at seeing the human slowly lower himself into the waters, towel wrapped tight around his waist. "You humans are all so body shy. You've seen me naked plenty of times before and you've never complained."

"Shut up, that's because you don't need to hide anything. Everything on you is covered with fur. It's different for humans."

The rough collie cocked his head to the side. "It could be that. Orrrrrrr... you just like what you see," Jem replied with a smile as he ran his hands down his body.

Russo frowned and shook his head side to side, prompting the canine's laughter.

Jem smirked shrugged off his friend's complaints while he slid down up to his neck in the water. "Another job well done. Once we deliver word to master Varun how well this went off we can start expecting some nice missions to come our way. Usually you fuss and moan about taking on a group mission but this one wasn't so bad was it?"

"Nooooo." Russo said with some resignation as he slid further down into the bath and closed both of his eyes. "Oh, Jem."

"Hmm?"

"There is one thing I neglected to mention about the thief earlier. Didn't want the old man to drop dead on us of a heart attack or something so I've been keeping mum."

"What is it?" Jem asked. The fur pulled himself up back onto the submerged wooden bench, back pressed against wet wooden wall.

"This is going to sound uhhh... well I don't think there is a way to make this not sound not. But I think that kid was a giant. Or at least he could change his size and become a giant, which is something I've never heard or read about before."

The rough collie remained quiet as Russo continued talking. Had the mage bothered to open his eyes, he may have noticed a disconcertingly worried look plastered across his friend's face.

With his eyes still closed, the mage kept on blathering. "I mean the idea that the kid could just walk into a town unnoticed and swell into a giant is something that flashed across my mind as I finished up the fight. Made me wonder whether or not I should've killed him and been done with it but... ehh he was just some stupid wolf. Didn't seem like he really meant us any harm. Or was capable of it"

Russo paused to dunk his head underwater and soak his hair.

"You... you contemplated killing him just because he could change his size?" Jem queried. Disbelief gripped at his shaking voice.

"Well, yeah. I mean, I was thinking of the trouble he could rile up. But then I got to thinking about what you told me back in Tedrah when I... you know... the thing with the pub. You told me something something or whatever along the lines of that not all giants are murderous monsters. I thought about that as the ass kicking was winding down and I realized it really didn't matter whether or not he towered over me. Was still gonna smack him around regardless." Russo slicked back locks of brown hair draping down over his eyes. "Either way, I didn't think that wolf was that bad. Stupid as all get out but I wouldn't call him bad. I dunno, I guess this is a way of me beating around the bush and trying to say that if I kill someone it'll be because of the things they've done or are trying to do. Not because of something they could do regardless of their size er... potential size. Does that make any sense to you or I am just rambling?"

Breathing a sigh of relief, Jem felt his heart grow light after hearing his friend's thoughts on the matter. "No. No, you're not rambling. What you said made sense... in a kind of convoluted way but I follow what you're saying."

"Good to hear." Russo said as his lips curled up into a relieved smile. "Still though," he carried on while his tone grew serious, "Is this something we should tell old man Varun or those stuffy merchants about? I mean it's not like there's any way we can tell if someone can change size whenever they feel like it. The only reason I even know that wolf can is because he did it right in front of me... and screwed up royally in the process. People are already wary enough as it is when it comes giants. I get the feeling if we were to tell people it would just make them all paranoid and panicked."

Jem remained quiet, giving Russo's words time to sink in. After a lengthy pause, his muzzle parted. "Wow... look at you! I can't remember the last time you dwelled on something at length like this. Exercising something like foresight and actually taking into consideration the consequences of your actions? I'm proud of you Russo."

"Shush."

"You know I'm only teasing. But..." It pained Jem to say it, "I agree with you. If we were to tell people about this we'd just be bringing a problem to light that we wouldn't know how to fix. Want to just keep it hush hush between us for now?"

"Sounds like a plan to me." Russo replied. Vigorously scrubbing at the sweat and grime accumulated on his arms, the thin brown hairs poking out from his flesh tugged up and away at his skin. After he had cleaned himself off to the best of his abilities he stepped out of the bath. Sopping wet towel still wrapped tight around his waist, dripping water accumulating in puddls at his feet, the human looked down impatiently at the bathing fur. "Are you still not done yet Jem?"

"I think I'll stick around and soak for a little while longer."

"Alright." Russo said with a shrug his shoulders. "I'll probably be asleep by the time you're done so... good night." The mage departed, leaving Jem with little more than the splashing of the water and his own thoughts to keep him company.

The rough collie's eyes drifted towards the door. Ears damp and heavy, they matted against the side of his head and listened intently to the human's softening footsteps. After a couple of minutes of silence had passed, Jem sighed and eased up on his mental guard. "Can finally relax..." Stretching out his legs, the fluffy warrior watched as they grew, along with the rest of his body, and extended to the other side of the bath. Padded soles pressed firmly against the wooden benches opposite of him, his toes stuck out of the water and he wiggled them in the cool air. A sad smile crossed his face as he dwelled upon everything his best friend had said. About the paranoia and the panic that would arise were it to be made known some giants could shift sizes. It was dead on. They were thoughts that had turned over in his head countless times, years before he had ever made his way to Tedrah.

He couldn't really blame the people in the cities though for the way they felt towards giants. Could he? The rough collie ground his teeth together. There were enough people of his size that went out of their way to visit the smaller folk out of macabre curiosity that the idea of any meaningful interaction between giants and the staturally impaired had been rendered toxic.

Jem clenched his teeth as thoughts buzzed about in his head like a cloud of gnats. He could practically feel them buzzing at the sides of his skull and back of his eyes. Just how often were people Russo's size beset upon by giants? Drooped shoulders accompanied a sigh. "Often enough," he muttered to no one in particular. Rubbing a hand against his brow, the fur sighed. He recalled how his own tribe had dared to timidly approach a handful of quaint villages in years past, mindful to render themselves as docile and gentle as possible, and still they were met with outright revulsion and terror. Resisting the urge to respond to rudeness with rudeness in kind, the looming furs opted to avoid their ankle high counterparts altogether so as not to exacerbate tensions.

Dragging a hand through the water, fur matted down against Jem's flesh, the steaming hot contents of the tub splashed up and over its sides in waves. The vast majority of giants were nothing like those asswipes that got their shits and giggles from rampaging through the tiny towns. Of course Russo and the locals would think all giants were murderous assholes, that's about all they'd ever been exposed to.

Members of his own tribe... extended family more than anything to be perfectly honest, actually expressed envy for the diminutive people. The land just seemed better suited for them it felt like. Food and shelter was just so much easier to come by or craft at that tiny size. They needed so much less than his family did to survive and thrive. Hell that was the main reason why Jem snuck his way into and ingratiated himself amongst the little ones. With his community's blessings he snuck into Tedrah and situated himself amongst the natives after he had stumbled upon... well that's not entirely true. It was Auntie Arya who had taught him how to alter his size. A warm and gentle smile crept along his muzzle at the thought of her. "Hope she's doing alright."

Scrunching his toes, Jem let his thoughts drift back to how his life fared now under the guise of a mortal. Life had frankly become easier and more accommodating the smaller the collie got. Every summer he would venture deep into the northern forests to intercept the nomadic furs on their trek across the land. Relaying to his brethren about the friends he had made and the life he lived in those tiny towns, both the good and the bad. Jem woefully thought about how pleasant, but unlikely, it would be if giants and the smaller humans and furs actually lived in peaceful coexistence.

"Wishful thinking," he sighed. Shaking those thoughts from his mind, at least he could take some comfort in the judgments Russo cast. It was such a relief hearing his oftentimes brash, inconsiderate, manipulative, rude, short-sighted and callous friend demonstrate such maturity in his decision making. Knowing that it was possible for the human to judge people based on their actions as opposed to what they were was incredibly reassuring.

"Heh... Russo." Jem smirked to himself as he tallied all of Russo's seemingly contradictory qualities. The mage could be loyal, kind, easy going, merciful and considerate when he wanted to. The shrunken giant smiled. He was happy and content knowing that should his secret ever come to light he would still have one friend, one whom he was rather fond of, that would stick by his side.

After one last good stretch in the bath, his padded soles pressing firmly into the wooden sides of the tub, Jem dwindled back down to size. Muscles stiff and contracted from the forceful compression of his size, the rough collie climbed out slowly and with great trepidation. Jem's gaze lingered on the floor where puddles accumulated at his feet. "I'll tell him one of these days..." he thought. Letting those musings slip free from his mind's worrisome entanglement, he trudged back to the guest rooms to for a good night's sleep.