It was getting late and Cindy was waiting with a starving gut for Dagon to appear. She ate some berries a little while ago but it didn't fill her as much as she hopped. They never did. Cindy let out a tired sigh as she lay down in a small clearing. Dagon wasn't going to travel at night so Cindy decided she better get ready to sleep. Just as Cindy decided to close her eyes and get some rest, she heard Dagon call out for her. Groaning at the perfect timing, Cindy opened her eyes to see Dagon walking toward her.

“Just checking up on you, did you get something to eat,” Dagon asked her.

“Yeah I found a couple of deer,” Cindy said patting her stomach. Of course this was a lie. If she told Dagon she didn't he would go in search for something for her and she didn't want him to trouble himself with hunting for her at night.  

“Lucky, all we have is some bread and cheese.” Dagon sounded very disappointed about missing out on the food that didn't exist. Changing the topic Cindy asked her brother how far away they were. “We still a good 6 or so days to go.”

Cindy let out a tired sigh, “I forget how slow you all walk with your tiny little legs. I could have carried all of you there in like an hour.”

Dagon scoffed. “It would take you at least 5 days.”

“Whatever,” Cindy said rolling her eyes at him. “It's still faster.”

“I should head back before the sun goes down. Sleep well little sis,” Dagon said as he walked away.

“Sleep tight, little bro,” Cindy called out to him making him groan at her nickname for him. Cindy couldn't help giggle at his displeasure of his nickname. As soon as Dagon left Cindy's stomach let out a loud growl. Cindy winced in pain as her belly demanded food that she didn't have. “I promise I’ll get you something in the morning,” Cindy told her gut which seemed to calm it down. Closing her eyes Cindy drifted off to sleep dreaming of an endless supply of giant fish.

Dagon made it back to camp where the captain of the guard, Kevin, was sitting watch. The other guards were sleeping or trying to sleep. Dagon went over to his part of the camp near the fire and pulled out a piece of wood and a long dagger the size of his forearm. He started to chip away at the wood to make a shape. Very few knew about his hobby of whittling wooden flutes, but no one knew that he played them when he was alone and finished. Chipping away at the block of wood he started to round the block into a more smooth object. As he shaved off some wood he became more and more engrossed in what he was doing and less with his surroundings, picturing how he wanted the flute to look like and how much detail he wanted to put into it.

Dagon was so busy whittling that he was startled when he heard the princess speak. “What are you doing,” She sounded very interested. Dagon paused as he looked over to where the princess was sleeping. She was just slightly off to his side in a sleeping bag already wrapped up to go to sleep. She was watching him intently as if she were witnessing something magical.

“It's something I do to pass the time,” Dagon said as he chipped at it some more. There was a low growl somewhere off in the distance. This caused the princess to jump in fright at the monstrous noise. Dagon didn't even flinch as he kept carving. Olivia started to look around in fear. She never was scared of the dark but out here… it was a different story. It felt like something was watching her and waiting for her to go to sleep. Just as her panic was reaching it's peak Dagon spoke to her without taking his eyes off the piece of wood, “Don't worry princess, that wolf was miles away. Besides it wouldn't dare come this close to a camp.”

Olivia was stunned at the calmness in his voice. He wasn't even remotely scared at all. “You really do live out here don't you,” Olivia asked amazed that anyone could do such a thing. Dagon just nodded. “Do you ever get scared?”

Dagon paused in mid swipe. Dagon didn't fear death. Yes, he didn't want to die, but he was ready for death. In fact he didn't fear much when it came to his life. Yet he couldn't help but think of his sister being left by herself. Sure she could look out for herself, but Dagon couldn't let her be all alone. He's been there and he would never do that to her. It would kill her. “Yeah, I worry about my little sister.”

Olivia looked surprised at this news. “You have a sister? Is she back in Hagger's town?” Dagon didn't say anything and went back to his whittling. “Sorry,” Olivia said causing Dagon to pause looking confused at her remark. She continued, “I normally don't talk to many people and sometimes say things that I shouldn't. I didn't mean to get so nosy with you.” Olivia wanted to keep talking but it seemed that she crossed a line with hm.

“I know what you mean, I have a hard time talking with others. I've been out here so long I forget how to act with others. I'm not sure if that's a bad thing though,” Dagon said. Not knowing why but Dagon decided to open up a little with her, “She's going to meet me at Luther's town.”

Olivia frowned, “She's not traveling alone is she? Isn't that dangerous?”

Dagon laughed, “Trust me, she can handle herself better than I can.” Going back to whittling Dagon said, “You should get some sleep, we have a long way to go. Don't worry about what's out there, the fire will keep them away,” Dagon lied. There was no sense in having her stay up all night frightened and too tired to travel.

Those words seemed to calm her a degree as the Princess nodded and wished him a good night. She quickly went off to sleep leaving Kevin, Dagon, and the camp fire crackling between them.

Dagon didn't get much sleep last night, he stayed up for a long time till he knew it was safe to sleep. Kevin swapped out with another guard halfway through the night. Dagon didn't talk with either of them, he just kept to himself and completed his flute. He didn't have a chance to check on Cindy to see if she was awake before they left camp, but Dagon figured she could find them on her own. Dagon had bigger things to worry about, well metaphorically speaking. He lead their group down the road toward Luther's town for a while until it was roughly noon. There was a cross road that would be coming up soon and Dagon wanted to get passed it before they stopped for a break. As they approached it Dagon slowed down.

“Are we taking a break,” Olivia asked through her guards to Dagon.

“Yeah, let's take a break,” Dagon told them all sounding a little distracted. As soon as Olivia's guards dispersed she was able to see why. There was a cross road up ahead that split the road into, but that wasn't what was shocking. The road on the left side had several large tree fallen down on the side blocking the road.

“Are we lost,” Olivia asked as Dagon's face was still in deep thought.

Dagon slowly shook his head no. “Then what's the problem,” asked Kevin slightly annoyed at Dagon's hesitation of where to go.

Dagon didn't say anything for a moment longer and then pointed toward the road on the right side. “That's the road to Luther's town, it's a straight shot to it.”

“So then we take that road,” Kevin told them starting to head toward it.

“But these trees,” Dagon said causing Kevin to pause.

“What about them,” He asked.

“Well normally trees fall down from heavy weather and block some roads.”

 “And?” Kevin asked irritated.

Dagon just gave him a droll stare. “When was the last heavy storm? 2 months ago? These trees would have been long gone by then. Which means they were put here recently making people take that road,” Daogn said pointing to the road Kevin was walking toward.

“You think it's a trap,” Kevin said now catching on to what Dagon was saying.

“Exactly.”

 “So we just walk around the trees. How long will it take to get to Luther's town,” Kevin said.

“About an extra day behind schedule.” Dagon told him.

“That's not bad,” Kevin replied happily.

“Yeah...” Dagon said drawling out the word.

“What,” Olivia asked as everyone started to move toward the tree, yet Dagon didn't move.

“Well there is an issue. You see if we take that road we risk heading into Giantess territory.” They all paused and turned around and look at Dagon. “Exactly, now you see my dilemma.”

“So we just take the trap and fight off whoever set it,” Kevin said determined to protect the princess.

Dagon gave him another droll stare. “Who do you think set the trap? Who can move tree that size,” Dagon said directing their attention back to the giant trees blocking the road.

“You don't mean,” one of the guards stated in disbelief.

“Yeah, there are Giantess waiting down the other road,” Dagon finished for him.

“So what do we do,” Olivia asked.

Dagon thought about it for a moment, either way there would be danger. If they head down the road toward the trap they would surely get caught. The group wasn't conspicuous enough to get past them. Yet going by Giantess territory was just as bad. What that left was heading down the middle of the road and cut back onto the road after traveling a while in the woods. Of course that isn't as safe, there were numerous things out there in the forest and not to mention he didn't know the this land by heart like some other places. Deciding to share this information, Dagon told the group what his thoughts were.

After hearing his thoughts a guard spoke up, “There might not be that many Giantess down that road.” He pointed toward the trap.  

“Or there could be a dozen,” Dagon told him. “It all comes down to which is less dangerous. Our best chance of survival would be to walk off the road.” No one argue but they all didn't seem pleased at all. With the route decided, Dagon lead the group toward the forest and off the road. They marched into the woods and the unknown.

Cindy watched as her brother walked off the trail and into the forest. What was he thinking? It was too dangerous for him to be in the woods, especially this close to her fellow Giantess. She waited a good 5 minutes to come out and follow toward her brother's path. Before she entered the forest she looked down both roads to see if she could spot anything out of the ordinary, but it all seemed the same except for the tree blocking the road. Shaking her head Cindy went into the woods after her brother. Hopefully he knew what he was doing. 

Olivia noticed the sky was getting dark as they still hadn't changed course from the straight path forward into the woods. It was a strange experience, walking off the road. She saw animals she never even heard of before or read about. She wondered how dangerous they could be. She tried picking up a brightly colored frog that she never seen only to have Dagon stop her. He told her that one touch would paralyze her. Olivia found that hard to believe but didn't want to take the chance, so she left it alone. Just when the sun was fading fast, Dagon told them they were going to camp here.

“I thought we were going to head toward the road,” Kevin said sounding agitated.  

“I haven't seen any Giantess tracks yet,” Dagon said as he started to collect some wood for a fire.

“So,” Kevin said just as angry as before.

Letting out a tired sigh, “Look, do you want to lead everyone back to the road?” Dagon asked. Kevin didn't reply as he grumbled something and walked off to gather wood.

“He's just worried about us,” Olivia told Dagon.

“Sounds more like he hates my guts.”

“He's like that to everyone he meets,” Olivia said smiling.

“And I thought it was just me,” Dagon said as he started to make a fire. It wasn't a large fire but big enough to keep warm and to keep most things away at night. Dagon didn't want to attract anything too big to their camp. With the fire burning they prepared camp and made food. It wasn't long till they all started to go to sleep except for a guard and Dagon. Taking this opportunity he got up and started to leave camp.

“Where are you going?” The guard asked.

“Scouting, I'll be back in a little while.” The guard didn't seem to like that answer but didn't do anything to stop him. Dagon left the campsite to go look for his sister.

Cindy was woken up by a small set of hands pushing into her face. “Wha...” She mumbled as she opened her eyes to see her brother 'poking' her with his hands. “Gah, I was having a good dream,” she complained to him.

“Sorry, just checking up on you. I wasn't sure you were able to follow us.”

Sitting up Cindy replied, “I saw you all head into the woods.”

“Did you eat,” Dagon asked.

Cindy rolled her eyes at his concern. Of course she didn't eat much. She found a small animal and some more berries to eat. “Yeah I did.”

“Good-” Suddenly Cindy's gut whinnied in protest at the lack of food. Cindy clutched at it trying to shut it up. When it stopped Cindy didn't say a word as she sat there ashamed at the noise. “I'm just trying to look out for you. If you don't eat then you'll be too tired to move,” Dagon said upset.

“I didn't lie,” Cindy said just as upset. “I did eat some food. Just not that much,” Cindy mumbled.

“Then lets get you something more filling,” Dagon told her.

“Fine,” Cindy tried sounding annoyed but really she was glad her brother was helping. He always did find the best food. As they searched for some food in the dark Dagon collect some large boars that were sleeping and a couple of other filling animals that were hiding in dens that Cindy couldn't get to. When they had enough food Dagon proceeded to cook the food for her and eat with her. When they were done with the food Cindy nudged him with her finger nearly knocking him over, “Thanks.”

Rubbing his side where she pushed him, “Don't mention it.”

“You need to be careful. We're pretty close to them,” Cindy referred to other Giantess. “I saw two walking by. They didn't say anything to me but I think they were setting a trap further down the road.”

Dagon thought about it for a moment. “So we should stay in the woods for a little longer?”

“Just to be safe,” Cindy told him. Dagon nodded in agreement.

“It's going to be a long journey,” Dagon told her. “Well, I better head back and get some sleep.”

“Be safe,” Cindy told him.

“You too,” Dagon replied as he headed back to the others. Cindy couldn't help but feel useless to her brother who always looked out for her. There had to be something she could do for him… Cindy got an idea. She could help but throwing the other Giantesses off their trail! Excited at this new discovery she waited till she was sure that Dagon was gone to get up and head toward where she last saw the Giantesses.

Dagon entered camp and noticed the guard on duty had a worried look until he saw him and then his face turned that to relief. “I didn't think you were going to come back,” he told him. “What took so long?”

“Wanted to make sure where the Giantess were.”

 “Did you find them?”

“I saw two, but they were asleep. Were fine for the night so don't work yourself up too much.” This seemed to relax the guard slightly as he agreed with Dagon. Dagon headed toward his sleeping bag and noticed the princess was still up. “You should be sleeping.”

“I was, but then I heard you coming back to camp.” Dagon apologized to her for disrupting her sleep. “Don't be, I’m just glad your ok. How do you travel in the dark? In fact how do you find your way around here?”

Dagon slipped into his sleeping bag and thought of just not answering and going to sleep. Yet he couldn’t help but feel like she was looking at him. Turning over to see, she was in fact staring at him waiting for his response. “I have a good sense of direction.”

“A good sense of direction?”

“Yeah, it's something I learned in the army.”

“You were in the army? What was it like,” Olivia asked.

“… you should get some sleep,” Dagon said deflecting her question. The things that happened in the army were things he didn't feel like dwelling on right now. Not when he needed to rest. With that Dagon turned over and tried to get some sleep…

Melody woke up to the sound of some branches creaking. She and two other Giantesses were sleeping waiting for tomorrow to capture anyone who came down the road. What she didn't expect was to see another Giantess walking past them. “Who are you, what are you doing here,” Melody asked.

The new Giantess acted surprise, “Oh sorry, the name is Cindy. I was trying to catch some little people.”

“We were here first,” Melody said trying to sound kind but stern to show her dominance.

“But I’ve been following them for a while. I need to get them before they go too far that way,” Cindy said pointing toward Hagger's town. “If you like you can join me on my hunt?”

Melody thought about it when one of her fellow Giantess said, “I'm kind of hungry. Let's follow her.”

“No that's alright, we will just be here waiting for the next party.”

“Oh, well ok,” Cindy told them. “Good luck,” She told them as she walked off. Cindy waited until she was out of site. “Prefect,” She said to herself. Now they will either head that direction or stay where they were and Dagon will be safe. “Dagon you owe me big time,” she said again to her self. She proceeded to head down toward Hagger's town a little further before cutting back and heading back toward Dagon.

“Melody why didn't we help her,” Ginger, one of the other Giantess in her party asked. She had dark red hair.

“Because, I think she was just throwing us off.”

“What,” Cathy, the other Giantess who was with Melody the other day when they attack the transport. “Why would you say that?”

“Because I don't remember seeing or smelling anyone come by. Not to mention it's what I would do. Send others away in a different direction and go after the real prize later.” Melody looked in the opposite direction. “I'm positive there is a group of little people heading that direction. Let's head further down the road,” Melody told her group as they got up and headed in the opposite direction of where Cindy went. Melody could already feel the tingling sensation in her gut from the little people she was about to devour.