After nearly freezing to death in the blizzard raging outside, Jem and Russo retreat into the warm halls of the Tedrah guild to resume their conversation. Delighted to finally have someone to speak to about his true nature, Jem gives the human a crash course in the culture of his giant tribe.


Icon is © to  Cirotin


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Chapter 33

“You’re in an awfully chatty mood today,” Russo noted as his body shivered. Leaning back against the guestroom’s door, the human scrunched his shoulders together and wrapped his arms across his chest. Stuttering as he exhaled, the mage winced as melting flakes dripped down his hair and onto his cheeks.

“Heh, so maybe I am. I’ve never really had someone I could speak so candidly with about these topics before though. Well, someone your size anyway.” Sticking his tongue out, Jem sat upon the side of one of the two guest beds with a flump. Kicking his paws along the floor a great big smile spread across his furry mug, wet streaks stretching across the floor as his leathery padded toes dragged along the wooden paneling. Flattening his ears against the top of his head, the collie scratched at his muzzle shyly. “It’s kind of nice being able to share this with you.”

Slicking his soaked hair back, Russo chuckled softly. “Willingly or otherwise, you know I’m going to lend you an ear. You talk it off half the time as is.”

“Only because no one else will,” Jem growled playfully. Wrapping Russo’s cloak tightly around his wet fur, the collie delighted in hearing groans and grumbles come petering out of the human’s mouth about the state of his attire. “Besides, who else would lecture you?”

“The old man would certainly try.”

“But would you actually listen to him?”

“Pffffft, hell no.” Rolling his eyes at the ludicrous suggestion, Russo shook his head. “Come on, you know better than that.”

Arching his brows and shrugging his shoulders, a smug smirk grew upon Jem’s furry face. “Only serving to hammer home my point. Have I ever told you I love it when you win my arguments for me?”

“Yeah yeah,” the mage mumbled as he squinted his eyes. “So are you going to get back to gushing about your giantness or not? …It’s kind of interesting.”

“Oh?” Wagging his tail gently, Jem’s posture straightened excitedly.

“That… and anything is preferable to your preaching.”

“Anddddddddddd there’s the backhanded compliment.” Shoulders sagging, the collie let out an annoyed merf.

“Oh don’t be like that,” Russo grumped as he trudged over to his companion and sat down next to him, the mattress sagging under their combined weight. “Seriously, keep at it. I’m not trying to butter you up or anything this time, I really would like to learn more about you.” Softly slapping the collie on the back, the mage’s demeanor softened.

“Where to start…” Jem replied, tapping at his fuzzy chin.

“I don’t know, noticed anything that’s peculiar to giants or the other way around?”

“Hmmm…” Staring down at his paws, the muscle-bound warrior wiggled his furry toes as he pondered. “I’d say one of the first things that struck me were your naming conventions.”

“What’s so weird about them?”

“You have more than one. That would strike everyone back in my tribe as being pretty outlandish.”

“…Whuh? What, you mean my first and last name? Everyone gets a first name and a surname. Nothing too complicated there. Ehhh okay so sometimes we slap people with a middle name. Still, it’s not that much to take in.”

“Maybe it’s just a numbers thing for people your size, but we’ve never had a need for them. A name and a tribe is all a giant needs to identify by. For instance, if I really wanted to be all formal about it, I would introduce myself as Jem of the Kalharao tribe. Whereas you would introduce yourself as Russo Awi-”

“Alright, alright I get it.”

“Aww come on you’re still shy and fidgety about that? I really like your last name, it suits you!” Leaning against Russo and bulking up slightly, the dripping wet human found himself teetering under his friend’s increased girth.

“I’m just uncomfortable sharing it, alright?” Russo meekly replied as he pushed back against his growing fuzzy buddy.

“That whole superstition about your names strikes me as odd too. You can possess multiple names yet you only permit people to know of one.”

“To know a person’s name is to have power over them, simple as that. And it’s not just some superstition,” Russo grunted as he shoved Jem off of him. “It’s easy enough to shrug off someone when they just refer to you vaguely. There’s an undeniable power that comes with knowing that kind of information. If someone yells out your full name it's all but impossible to give them your full attention.”

“And yet you trusted me with it.” Tail thudding against the covers loudly, the warrior turned towards the mage with an appreciative look in his eye.

“Y-you’re my best friend. What do you expect?” Rubbing at the back of his neck, Russo felt himself shying away from Jem’s heartfelt and implied compliment.

“Heh, Russo Awiar, one time slayer of demons, hero to the whores and harlots of Reias, and home-wrecker of Letum! His many titles are as distinguished as they are dubious, and at times rather difficult to remember!” Putting on an airs of showmanship, Jem spread his arms out wide and motioned towards his chilly companion.

“Might want to add in ‘Arsonist of Yash’ in there,” the mage mumbled as he dwelled on his latest rematch with Umbra.

Cocking an ear, the collie dumbly stared at the human.

“I’ll explain later. A decent chunk of Yash ended up in flames when a familiar demon reared her head.” Bobbing his head side to side, Russo tried to recall how many homes and businesses up and melted during the demon Labrador’s assault. Jaw agape in a mixture of shock and fear, Jem stared back worriedly at him. “I-ignore me, you can keep going.”

Eyes uneasily shifting side to side, Jem grit his teeth as he arched his brows and carried on. “…Anyway, names. You have more than one, giants would find that weird.”

“Any reason why that’s the case?”

“Because your last name doesn’t really say anything about you! It’s just something that feels tacked on to barely distinguish you from any other Russos.”

“Well then how are your tribe names any different?” The human shot back as he pointed towards the collie.

“They actually describe us! My tribe name, Kalharao, signifies the manes that nearly every one of my kin possesses.” Pulling at the matted down mounds of white fur surrounding his neck, Jem slid his finger along a strand. “Every giant tribe’s name describes some feature unique to that close knit group. It’s why I was so confused by your last names before I had learned of the concept. Hearing something like Ragglefraggleforeignsoundingsmorgasbord absolutely boggled my mind! What the hell kind of tribe name is that?! What sort of trait would that describe anyway? That every person in that family has iron lungs? They’d have to if they wanted to speak their own name in one breath.”

“Yeahhhhh I will admit last names don’t always have much of a rhyme or reason to them. I want to think way back when they actually stood for something. If they ever did, most of us have long forgotten them. Honestly, you could probably just mash together a mess of consonants and a couple vowels and you’re done. No one would be the wiser. Shit, we could make one up for you on the spot if you wanted. Make it nice and unpronounceable too.” Leaning back on the bed, Russo stretched out his arms and legs, his appendages having gone dull and stiff as he unsuccessfully tried warming up.

“Thanks, but no thanks,” Jem snrrked as he laid back besides the human.

“Anything else strike you strange about us smaller folk?” The mage inquired as his eyes swiveled towards the wet snout resting beside him.
Clacking his teeth together loudly, Jem narrowed his eyes and let out a sigh. “A recent bout of ghostbusting reminded me of one such thing.”

“Oh yeah, I heard about that. How’d you like swinging around cursed weaponry? Those things have a reputation for draining the life out of you.”

“It wasn’t that bad to be honest. Granted, the effect was only temporary but I didn’t feel that much more winded than I usually would after killing something. Well, rekilling something in this case,” Jem mumbled as he rolled his eyes.

“Hmmmm. I’m half tempted to think your uhhh… rather impressive stature and stamina might be giving you a leg up on others in that department.” Pondering, Russo rubbed his hand along the stubble on his chin.

“I’m cheating by being a giant? Is that what you’re getting at?” Jem smirked as he slapped a wet hand against Russo’s chest.

“Ow. Hey hey hey, your words not mine.”

“The implication is there.” Chuckling, Jem’s tail wapped loudly against the mattress as he grinned at the human. “I mean… I guess it would be pretty arrogant on my end to deny that being a giant has given me advantages that others don’t have.” Adopting a much more thoughtful expression, Jem furrowed his brows, his gaze drifting towards the ceiling.

“It’s not like that ludicrous strength of yours disappears when you shrink down, does it?” Russo thought aloud as he let out a yawn.

“Compacted is maybe the best word to describe it?” Scratching at his head, Jem’s tone became uncertain as he struggled to mold his thoughts into spoken word. “Proportionally speaking, I think that’s the right way to describe it… anyway, I get the impression that I’m significantly stronger than others my current size. Ignoring the fact that I train daily, I still think that I’d be noticeably stronger than any of you.” Barking softly, the collie stumbled on his thoughts. “Dammit this is difficult to explain. I mean, look at Dax for example. He’s pretty much all fluff and yet he still drags you around with little to no effort on his end.”

“He is a deceptively strong nuisance.” Russo groaned as he closed his eyes and exhaled loudly. “So what you’re saying is that when you shrink down, your raw power comes along for the ride. And that nice big boost of strength pushes you leaps and bounds ahead of everyone else at your ‘current’ size?”

“…Why the hell couldn’t I have explained it that easily?” Sighing loudly, the muscled fur harrumphed as he wrapped Russo’s cloak snugly around his frame. The human’s familiar and comforting scent that lingered on the clothing dissipated the collie’s frustration quickly enough. Shaking his head softly, Jem steered the conversation back on track. “Okaaaaayyyyyyyy, so that got a little off topic. As I was saying, that bout of ghost busting with master reminded me how much I abhor the way you treat your dead.”

“What the hell’s wrong with how we go about treating dead people? We bury them and leave them be.” Arching a brow, Russo failed to see what his friend could find wrong with it. “There’s not much to it.”

“You construct entire cities for the dead and leave them there to rot in isolation. It’s unnerving.” Shuddering, Jem shook his head as he tried to forget having the poor misfortune of treading amongst tombstones and mausoleums.

“Cities? What, you mean graveyards? Yes, they are pretty fucking creepy, I’ll give you that. That’s just how it is when dealing with the dead.” Raising his shoulders, Russo shrugged nonchalantly.

“No, it’s not. It does not have to be that way when dealing with the dead.”

Curiosity piqued, Russo pushed himself up into sitting position. “And I’m assuming giants have found a better way?”

Surprised by minimal amounts of sarcasm and snide in his tone, Jem slid off the mattress and paced back and forth along the wooden floors, his thick paws trailing wet smudges as he went. “Maybe not better per se just… well it’s what I grew up with so it’s what I’m most comfortable with. When our kin join amongst the ranks of the deceased, we let the earth reclaim them. It’s where we came from after all, it only makes sense to us that it’s where we would return to.”

“How is leaving your dead out to rot in the open better than us letting ours decay in boxes underground? Huh. Well then again I doubt you guys can even construct boxes big enough to…”

“And we’re already getting off-topic again. We can talk about what giants are capable of constructing later,” Jem curtly stated as he shook his hands. “For now, dead people.”

“Your commitment to staying on topic is getting kind of weird,” Russo replied worriedly as he leaned back.

“Shush. Look, the reason for that is because during our time here the earth feeds us with its bounty. After we’ve exhausted our stay, it only seems right that our bodies nourish the earth and keep the food chain running. I can’t say I’m all too fond of how you break the cycle.”

“That’s all well and good Jem but we’re not going to go offloading our dead into the freaking forest or wherever we please,” the mage snorted as he hunched his shoulders.

“And why not? For someone as lazy as you I’d think the idea would appeal to you. You don’t have to buy a casket or even dig a grave.” Crossing his arms about his chest, the fur adopted a defensive position, his voice taking on a chiding tone.

“You’re getting preachy again,” the human noted irritably as he blew at some strands of hair that had matted back down against his forehead. “Fine. Let’s say that we loaded all of our dead into a cart and unceremoniously dumped them off into the middle of a forest. Awesome, we have ourselves a corpse party. Let’s also say that some feral monsters wander around and oh hey look food that won’t fight back. Fantastic, we’re helping to feed and sustain the very things we’re called into action to often fight against. I’m not really complaining since it keeps me in work, but hey, that’s just me. Welp, now that those monsters have gotten good and fat off our dead, I think it might be safe to say they mayyyyyyyyyy have acquired a hankering for oh say, human and furry flesh. Now that they know we taste good, guess what happens? Oh shit, a completely unexplained spike in monster attacks on villagers and wayward travelers. Certainly doesn’t have anything to do with our sudden lack of burial rituals, no sir.”

“You don’t always have to be so biting and caustic with your replies,” Jem growled, his ears flattening against his head and tail having gone limp.

“Sorry,” Russo mumbled quietly as he bit his lip. “What works for giants might not work as well for us is what I should have said. By virtue of your freaking gigantic size, your survival is never really threatened by monsters or anything of the sort. Even if they were to nibble away at your deceased, it wouldn’t matter since you could just stomp on them or shrug them off. For us, that’s a much more prevalent issue that we can’t really ignore.”

“…Now that you’re being much less of an ass, I can see your point.” Dropping his defensive posture, the collie rubbed the back of his neck. “I suppose over time the wooden caskets break down and you little ones return back to the land anyway,” Jem hesitantly admitted as he tapped a paw against the floor.

“It’s fine, it’s fine. I was a snide jackass and you were overbearing. I’d be worried if our conversations weren’t like that from time to time.” Laughing, the mage brushed aside any lingering hard feelings floating about in the air with a wave of his hand. “So uh… mind if I ask you a question?”

“Shoot.”

“Are a lot of giants aware that they can, you know, shift sizes?”

“Ummmm… I’m not really sure.” Hmming loudly, the fur tucked in his chin and stared down at the floor. “In my own tribe everyone is aware that the possibility exists within them, it’s just my aunt and I happen to be the only ones who can pull it off consistently. As for the other tribes, can’t say. There’s bound to be a couple out there, but whether or not it’s widespread knowledge is anyone’s guess. The Kalharao tribe has kept the information to themselves though, that much I can confidently say.” Fidgeting around worriedly in place, Jem tapped the toes of one paw atop the other as he awaited Russo’s likely response.

“Your aunt?”

Not quite what he was expecting. “Yeah, my auntie Arya. She’s who I originally learned how to change sizes from. A lot of it has to do with forming a vivid mental picture like say imagining yourself on the ground below, staring up at the trees looming overhead.”

“That kinda sounds vaguely similar to some of the basics of magic I’ve been teaching Dax,” Russo quipped. The gears in his head rotated slowly, the human far too tired to read too into it.

“I don’t know where she first learned how, but she’s been rather adamant about our tribe keeping it to ourselves.”

Eyes darting back and forth, Russo sucked air in through his teeth as he dwelled on that last part. “Is that a good thing or a bad thing?”

Alright now that was closer to what he was expecting. “W-well it’s a wonderful thing in one respect. You don’t have to worry as much about a giant strolling into a town or village undetected and wreaking havoc on a moment’s notice.” Laughing nervously, the bulky warrior wagged his tail timidly.

What the hell was with that fluffy collie? Getting an answer out of him had just up and suddenly become comparable to pulling teeth. “…But on the other hand?” Russo drawled on as he raised both his eyebrows and gestured towards the collie.

“D-depending on who you ask umm… my tribe guarding-”

“You mean hoarding?”

Growling softly, Jem clenched his fists and stamped a paw against the floor. “Fine. My tribe ‘hoarding’ such information could be seen as a bad thing, considering… that… we want to use it to ingratiate ourselves amongst you smaller folk,” he quietly trailed off as he stared down at the floor.

“Could you repeat that a little louder?” Leaning forward, the human cupped his hand around an ear and turned his head to the side.

“My tribe wants to shrink down and live like you do.”

“Louder.”

“IT’S JUST A NICER REWORDING OF HOW GIANTS COULD ABUSE THIS KNOWLEDGE.”

“There we go.”

Uneasily rubbing a hand along his furred arm, the collie locked eyes with his best friend. “Every time I go back and visit my tribe, I tell them more and more about life at this size. The people I’ve met, the places I’ve seen, the good and the bad. The more I tell them, the more excited and sure they are that they want to give life at this size a shot. Maybe just stroll into a rural village, introduce ourselves as a family seeking a fresh start and keep going from there. …They’ve all been working on trying to shift sizes like I do. Last I checked, my aunt was making good progress with teaching the rest of my tribe the basics.”

“You know I’m immediately going to repeat what I said when we first met Dax,” Russo stated solemnly as he gazed back at the collie.

“I know. But they’re my tribe, Russo. They’re going to do what they think is best for them. And right now, this is their chance at a better life. Or at least I hope it is. They know all about how you little ones perceive them. They aren’t stupid enough to risk blowing their cover. Nor would they be foolish enough to try and use it to their unfair advantage. My aunt and I will make absolutely certain of that.” Jem’s expression softened as he pleaded with Russo, pulling out all the stops to convince the mage to not consider thwarting what his family had in store.

“No, screw you, don’t use those puppy dog eyes.”

Wincing as a frozen pair of gloves sailed through the air and bopped him on the nose, the fur sighed sadly as his most adorable means of persuasion was rendered useless. “Russo please…”

“Quit that. I’m not gonna do anything unless your tribe or family or whatever fucks up.” Putting on his familiar airs of nonchalance, Russo flumped back onto the mattress and closed his eyes. “If they do cause any problems, and I am strong armed into fixing them, too damn bad.”

“By fix, I take it you’re affectionately referring to beating the hell out of them?” Jem plainly remarked as he plodded over towards the human and loomed over him.

“Bingo,” the mage replied as he raised an arm up and twirled his finger in the air.

“It’s not going to come to that.”

“If you say so,” Russo replied quietly. Praying that such a burden would never fall upon his shoulders, he shivered in place as a draft served to remind him he was still freezing cold.

“Come on, let’s hit up the baths.” Extending a furred hand out towards his companion, Jem pulled the mage onto his feet. “A warm dip will do us both good, these frigid temperatures aren’t doing anything for our agreeability.” Sliding off Russo’s cloak, the collie strutted about in his bare fur as he delicately folded the human’s signature attire. After rummaging through the closet for a set of clothes, Jem hefted his hastily tossed together wardrobe over his shoulder and tossed a spare towel at Russo. Shooting a quick wave to his friend as he exited out the guest room, the furry warrior couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief. A goofy grin crept up on his muzzle, giddy as can be that he could get what he had been holding in for over a decade off his chest.

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“Can’t believe how many people were packed in there,” Russo griped as flumped onto his bed and crawled under the covers.

“You say that whenever we aren’t the only ones there,” Jem teased as he slid under the comforter of his own sleeping arrangement.

“I’m just more comfortable being semi-nude around you I guess.” Burying his face into a pillow, the human hmmmed happily as he curled his bed sheets around him.

“Ohhhhhh, is that how it is? I never knew that’s how you felt Russo,” the canine smirked.

“Shut up.”

“I’m just so flattered to hear you feel that way,” the collie snorted cheekily.

“Can I pretend to flirt with you tomorrow or something?” The mage mumbled into his pillow.

“You are aware that you’re the one that makes it so fun to tease you, right?” Sporting a toothy grin, Jem could barely hold in his laughter. “Heh heh, hmmmm… think anyone will mind we switched up guestrooms? We left those last two beds sopping wet.”

“Not our problem now.” Too tired to shrug, Russo instead responded with a yawn.

“Hmmmm. Hey, Russo?”

“What?”

Covers curled tight around his toned form, Jem’s breathing became rhythmic and slow as he stared up at the ceiling. “Do you think any differently of giants now? I mean, after what all you’ve learned from and about me?”

“I don’t know, probably? Now that I actually know and regularly fraternize with two of them, I guess my feelings have mellowed out. Why do you care so much about what people think? Aren’t you and your tribe planning to just masquerade as something you’re not anyway?” Bleary eyed and exhausted, Russo’s mental filter had long since turned off.

“T-that is true but… but I still wish we didn’t have to hide it. I cherish the fact that I can be so transparent and honest with you about what I am. It’s wonderful being able to just… talk with you Russo. *Sigh* Whenever I dwell on it though, I always have to remind myself that you’re the exception, not the norm.” Closing his eyes, the collie remained silent as he let himself sink into the cushy mattress.

“Then do something besides complain about it,” Russo replied grumpily as tried to go to sleep.

“I-I guh… where would I even start?” The fur replied shyly as he tightly wrapped his comforter around himself.

“You seemed awfully determined to stop Dax from making the reputation of giants from getting any worse. Start with that, just quit your whining. Besides, it’s not like people will think any better of you all unless you prove them otherwise. Look we can talk more about this tomorrow. Go to bed, Jem.” Pulling the covers over his head, the mage sleepily brought the conversation to an abrupt halt.

Sighing softly, Jem clasped his hands together across his chest and continued staring at the ceiling. “I hate it when he’s right,” he mentally moaned, familiar feelings of timidity and crippling doubt creeping to the forefront of his thoughts.

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