There was little to do.

The snow had blanketed everything in a layer of white so thick that Okk could identify neither the natural landmarks that he had noted on the early morning trek to the more fertile ground nor make out any tracks at all. The snow descended with such blinding fury that Okk could not even see the mountain to get a sense of his direction.

Even so, Okk had not ever laid down to die, and today would be no different. If some of the freezing peoples were to find Okk, they would find him striving forward. Or backward. Whichever way Okk’s feet were carrying him through the thick freeze.

Okk's fingers and toes were long since numb, but he was beginning to lose feeling in his limbs rapidly. The heavy furs he had simply couldn’t contend with the relatively sudden snow storm that had fallen. Ice and snow found their way between his layers where they melted and then re-froze, leaving him a shambling, rime-encrusted husk of a man. Just as he thought he might buckle under the cold and his own exhaustion, in the midst of the flurry in front of him there grew a shadow. The dark form gave Okk pause. Okk was moving slow, even stopped now, but the shadow was growing in size as though he were running toward it. Even standing still, the shadow continued to rise up in the blur. Worse still, against the howling wind, Okk could hear a steady, rhythmic thud, accompanied with subtle shuddering of the earth beneath him. As the sound grew, the shadow itself grew taller and wider still, and for a moment Okk considered that the mountain may be falling on him.

The instinct to flee welled up in Okk with an unexpected suddenness, but his legs would no longer respond. Despite his blood pumping faster and faster, Okk could feel his vision fading. As darkness crept into the sides of Okk’s vision, he watched the world rise up around him, and the snow jump up to catch him. Okk was vaguely aware of the ground continuing to shake, and the sound that it accompanied growing louder, but his eyes had shut against the cold.

Okk had expected the embrace of death to be cold and weighty, like ice covering him, but the sensations he distantly felt couldn’t have been more different. Warmth wrappeed around him. And even though he was still exhausted and his limbs felt unbearably heavy, he found himself floating, even flying. Finally a darkness that cradled him in a comforting heat.

The drums of the freezing peoples were well known to Okk. The freezing peoples kept to themselves, they ducked out of sight and avoided all contact. In his time around the valley beneath the mountain, Okk had only caught glimpses of their shapes at a distance, each dressed in their heavy furs and animal horns, both cut from the massive beasts that roamed the mountainside and valley. Okk had thought them beasts or spirits at first, so thick was their attire and accoutrement. But the drums couldn’t be avoided. In the morning the drums began, echoing through valleys and off the hills, and seeming to call the sun up from its rest. They sounded again at the peak of day, and then finally at night, continuing long after the sun itself had gone to sleep.

In the pitch black of sleep, the drums of the freezing peoples came to him. Distant, like an angry sky’s rage at first, every beat grew in strength, the rhythm seizing on his own heartbeat. Before long, the peace of sleep was itself a dance, spurred on by the pounding of drums.

Warm light in Okk’s eyes joined the thundering drums in his ears, and the sensation of warmth flooded over him. He could feel his limbs, his toes, his fingers, even his face felt as though a gentle stream cooling him as the warmth around him encouraged him to remain asleep. Okk’s eyes fluttered open, allowing the orange and yellow glow to seep between his lazy eyelids. The blur around him slowly coalesced into something recognizable, and cool water continued to delicately pour over his forehead.

In front of him was a smile. Okk couldn’t help but wonder how long he’d been out, as the smile appeared overly large, and worse, the face that bore the smile seemed to have eyes set into a void above the smile. It took a few fear-paralyzed moments for Okk’s eyes to adjust to the light and recognize that the face of the woman looking down on him wasn’t that of some evil spirit, but was half-covered, from the nose up, in an opaque ash, leaving the relatively paler skin below to seem alien. The smile, however, seemed genuine in its relief and kindness. Her face was framed by a deeply dark wreath of hair that fell free of any impediments over her neck and shoulders.

It took many more moments for Okk to process the other unusual attribute of the woman who squeezed a cloth of water over his head. She wiped away the excess water with a single hand that more than covered his entire face. The water was cleared from his face and an oversized thumb swept any excess from his eyes.

The giant woman turned from Okk and called out in a tongue that was alien to Okk. Almost immediately another joined her hovering over Okk. This one was a man, and to Okk’s initial relief, seemed to be more in line with Okk’s expectations of another human’s size. It was less relieving to see the man, easily Okk’s equal in height and bulk, next to the woman who was even more easily more than double Okk in height. This man’s face also sported ash, spread across its top, from his nose up to where it even colored the roots of his hair.

The man brought with him a bowl, deep and curved in a manner that Okk had never seen, but large enough that he had to carry it with one arm wrapped around it, and another beneath it. The bowl was less of a challenge for the woman who took it from the man and brought it before Okk, delicately tipping the massive reservoir as she lifted his head to bring Okk’s lips to the bowl’s edge. Okk drank the liquid that poured into his mouth without hesitation. Even before collapsing in the snow, it had been too long since he’d had anything to drink, and even longer since he’d eaten. It was what had prompted him to set out in the relatively clear early morning to seek food and water.

The stream of water that poured into Okk’s throat was a welcome relief, and Okk may have attempted to drink the entire bowl, if the woman hadn’t pulled it back from him. The water worked to clear Okk’s head even further, and he became aware of the sounds other than the drums surrounding him. The world around him was alive, singing, cheering, drums, rattles, pipes, all swirled around. Okk was suddenly aware of the environment he found himself in.

Okk found himself in a cave like he’d never seen. The walls were higher than any he’d ever encountered, and from where he reclined, he could see into the deep structure. Immediately catching his attention was a giant fire, burning in the center of the cave, the column of smoke, thicker than any tree, disappearing out of a hole in the top of the cave. Around the fire, people danced. Men and women, wearing cloth at their waists and little else against the heat of the bonfire, moved around the bonfire in a celebratory, uncoordinated dance. The difference in size and faces half covered in ash Okk observed in his two caretakers carried through to the dancers in the cave as well, with women towering over and next to the men as they danced.

Smaller fires burned throughout the cave, casting illumination and warmth to smaller groups or individuals, some had spits built over with foods of various sources being turned, there were a number of permanent huts of grass, mud, and wood constructed that seemed to offer some kind of privacy, there were also drying and smoking racks set up. Scattered around, hanging on walls of huts or on the cave, Okk recognized the fur and hide garments of the freezing peoples. Okk had seen villages on the open plains with less space and less development. But it wasn’t the village, contained seemingly entirely within the confines of the largest cave Okk had ever beheld that caught and kept Okk’s attention. Instead his eyes fell on something that he could scarcely believe.

Across from the bonfire, still visible despite the flames reaching hire than even the women dancing around it, Okk could make out the face and shape of a single, gigantic woman. Although she sat at the fire, she still dwarfed everything around her, the difference between her size and the other women greater than that of the women and the men. She alone sported no ash across her face, which laughed, smiled, and talked with the much smaller people around her. Even from where he lay, on what felt like cured hides and furs, Okk could see dozens if not more of the freezing people’s attending to this absolutely titanic woman. Some offered her food and items, others danced for her entertainment, more still attended to her physically, their smaller hands and arms diligently massaging and kneading her skin.

Ok was given no more time to gawk, as another member of the freezing peoples approached. This woman, equal in height if not taller than the one caregiver treating him, was older, with the ash on her face disguising some of the greys in her hair, but she still stood upright, and carried herself with the airs of a huntress. The huntress wore her hair in a braid down her back, and unlike most of the other freezing peoples in the cave wore cloth over her shoulders and chest, down to leather shoes. The huntress spoke to the caregiver, in the same tongue that the caregiver had used, but clearly with authority. The exchange between the two was brief, but from the somatic clues, Okk began to dread what was coming. The huntress had indicated Okk  where he lay, and then the titaness across the cave.

The caregiver seemed to acknowledge and turned back to Okk. Okk had little hope of understanding their language. It sounded nothing like the tongue of the river people he had come from, nor the plains nomads he’d trekked with, but the caregiver’s speech was calm, steadying, and gentle. Even more helpful, she was effective at miming her thoughts, and Okk was made aware that he was being asked or instructed to attempt to stand. Most effective still, the caregiver had little trouble lifting Okk, with the delicacy of someone helping a infant to stand on two limbs, from where he convalesced.

The fear and anxiety building in Okk’s chest couldn’t be ignored, but because he couldn’t see an exit anywhere, and because the only reason he could stand with any efficacy was that he was also being held aloft by a pair of giant hands, Okk didn’t even make the attempt. Instead, as his legs shakily lifted him up, he was suddenly aware that he was completely naked. Okk’s hands instinctively shot down to cover himself, and whether due to the water still clinging to the caregiver’s hands or the gentle nature of her support, he arms slipped free of her and he felt his legs threaten to buckle from under him.

Okk would’ve found himself collapsed back to the bedding had the caregiver not been ready and caught him as he fell, steadying him and pulling him back to his feet. The motion itself was enough to refresh feeling in his legs, and through her chuckling the caregiver spoke to the man that had brought the water, who quickly darted off and returned just as the caregiver let Okk attempt to remain upright under his own legs again. The man returned with one of Okk’s cloaks, a thin thing that he kept for hotter weather, but it was enough to cover himself, and he sloppily wrapped his waist in the cloak.

Slowly, very literally under the watchful eyes of the caregiver, Okk was escorted through the cave. The huntress joined, and Okk was reminded of his relatively short stature as the caregiver behind him and the huntress in front of him worked to keep him hidden from the revelers and people in the cave. He moved slowly, every step taking longer than he’d hoped, and made worse by the strides his two escorts took. Each swing of the caregiver’s legs, as long as he was tall, almost overtook him, leading to a chuckle from above him every time, his caregiver clearly enjoying the spectacle of his wobbly march.

Despite the efforts of the huntress and, less so, the caregiver, Okk still caught the eye of several of the freezing peoples tribe that reveled around the fire. If they cared, they showed little as one even attempted to pass him some instrument that seemed a blend of hand drum and rattle, but the huntress quickly shooed her away, back to her celebrations. The path was relatively direct, around the bonfire, but still reinforced Okk’s marvel at the size of both the fire and the freezing peoples’ settlement.

It also served to reinforce Okk’s terror and awe at the titaness, who had taken notice of the trio approaching. Okk was suddenly transported back in his mind to the blinding snow storm, and the growing shadow that he had seen in the distance, and the thundering of footsteps. Even now, in the warmth of the cave, next to the blazing fire, Okk felt the cold of the snow seep in. Recollection flooded back into him, and the dawning realization that he lived only because this titaness who regarded him from above with interest, had plucked his half-frozen body from the snow and carried him back to the settlement.

As Okk was brought closer, he became suddenly aware of the cave around him. The cave stood still and silent. The singing and chanting, the drums, rattles, and pipes, even the shuffling of feet and din of the freezing peoples’ tongues had fallen silent. Only the crackling of flames behind him made any discernible noise. Okk looked around to confirm what he dreaded, as he stood now between the bonfire and the titaness, with the caregiver still standing over him and the huntress in front of him, the entire freezing peoples had turned to silently observe.

The huntress spoke, kneeling in front the titaness sitting idly with one knee up and one down, and looking amused at the situation playing out before her. One hand from the huntress pointed back at Okk as she did. The titaness seemed to acknowledge her, and Okk felt the caregiver’s hands on his shoulders again. This time she guided him forward, closer to the titaness as the huntress stood and stepped aside. When he was almost within his own arm’s reach of the titaness’s massive foot, the caregiver stopped him and he felt a growing pressure on his shoulders. At first, Okk was confused, but it became clear that the caregiver was pushing him down as subtly and gently as she could. Okk took the hint and allowed himself to fall to one knee, as the huntress had done, but the caregiver’s hands pushed him further down, onto both knees, and then one hand pushed his head down until his face was nearly in the dirt.

Okk felt the sweat beading on his skin, he tried to prevent his limbs from shaking, and he worked to control his breathing, to varying degrees of success. Moments passed into an agony of waiting. The huntress spoke, the caregiver spoke, the titaness spoke, their conversation occurring while Okk could see nothing but the dirt of the cave. When the titaness spoke again, this time with more finality, Okk was relieved to feel the caregiver’s hands come off him, although he didn’t budge. The titaness spoke again, the same words it seemed, but this time the caregiver’s hands found their way under Okk’s arms and without warning he was hoisted up. The ground pulled away from him, and Okk found himself hanging from his underarms, the caregiver lifting him up in offering in front of the titaness, who chuckled in amusement.

It was then, hanging in the caregiver’s hands, that Okk was able to see the titaness without impediment. No smoke or flame stood between them, no distance separated them, and certainly no snowstorm obfuscated anything in the cave. Still looking down on him, Okk could make out the green eyes, the skin like a dark wood, and the hair of thick, dark curls, spreading out around her. She wore what the revelers around her and attending her wore, naked save for a garment of many furred animal hides sewn together around her waist. She reclined

Okk’s fear must have been clear as day in the light of the fire, but was only greeted with the titaness’s amused grin. A grin that only grew wider as the titaness’s hand moved from where it rested on her knee, toward Okk. Some animal part of Okk’s brain wanted to flee, and for a flash of instinct, he tried to squirm from the hands of the caregiver, but more forcefully than they ever had, the caregiver’s hands held him fast. He was powerless to stop the titaness’s fingers from wrapping around him, and plucking him from the caregiver’s hands.

The titaness lifted Okk up, higher still from the ground than Okk had ever been. She brought him before her face, up to her eyes. The deep green eyes fixed on him, while Okk tried to cling to a finger or thumb to give himself some sense of security in the air. Okk was turned and tumbled in her hand, his was spun and rotated, while laid out over just her fingers, seemingly ready to be cast into the fire, the fingers of her other hand pinched at the cloak wrapped around his waist and pulled it free and tossing it into the bonfire, leaving Okk naked in the titaness hand.

She rolled him back onto his back, relatively stable on her palm. Okk had only a moment to savor the feeling of feeling relatively safe before he was rocketed up toward her face. Her hand pressed him into her lips and just below her nose where she drew in a deep, prolonged sniff. The force of it was enough to disrupt what little consistency his hair held, and as she released it only to take in his scent again and again, Okk was buffeted the by titaness’s respiration over and over. Moreover there was no abating her scent. Pressed between her palm and her face, Okk was overwhelmed with the woman’s scent and her breath washing over him only reinforced it.

When she finally pulled him away, Okk was out breath, and dazed, limp in her palm. The vortex of her nostrils had left him trying to make sense of everything that he’d been subjected to, but the titaness didn’t give him long to rest. The hand pulled him right back to her face, but this time Okk wasn’t to contend with the titaness’s nose, instead he was pulled into her parting lips and emerging tongue. A scream was immediately stifled as the giant tongue hit him like a wave from an angry sea, but kept at him. The tongue slid between his legs, and under his arms, leaving a thick, pungent coating of saliva as it went. For short seconds, it would retreat, only to return, freshly coated with saliva to resume it’s probing. Even when the tongue wasn’t assaulting him, the titaness’s breath felt like he was drowning inside her, leaving him no comfort, or succor from her mouth. Eventually the probing actions of the tongue were replaced with broad, heavy licks from the tongue, pressing the air out of him with each stroke.

As the titaness pulled her hand away, and Okk with it, he was left with a thick layer of spit, leaving strands of trailing liquid behind. Okk coughed, sputtered, and finally panted, laying in her palm exhausted even more so than when he had collapsed from the cold. There was barely strength in him left to raise his chest with each breath, and he hung limp as she inspected him again.

Barely conscious, but still aware, Okk was almost relieved as the titaness’s fingers wrapped around him again, squishing a bit of the spit, but securely holding him in her grip with only his head above her fist. Holding him at eye-level, Okk looked the titaness face to face through thoroughly defeated eyes.

Her other hand appeared in front of him, and Okk saw his end. He saw her fingers coming together around his head and twisting it effortlessly from his neck, or simply pinching until his head was reduced to nothing but a smear between her thumb and forefinger. Okk clenched his eyes against the inevitable, but no violence came. Instead, Okk felt the thumb of the giantess press into his face and slide over the top of his face. As the thumb left him he opened his eyes to see motes of ash falling from both her thumb and his own face.

The cave erupted into cheers and shouts and a cacophony of drums and other music. The freezing peoples elated without restraint as Okk was lowered back down, where the caregiver was waiting with literally open arms to receive him from the tribe’s living goddess. The caregiver caught him in her arms and squeezed him in a tight, almost painful embrace spinning around in her own celebration. In the crazy crescendo, Okk caught a glimpse of the titaness tearing into the roasted haunch of some massive animal, he caught a glimpse of food and clothing being brought toward him, but mostly he felt a rare security and safety. Just before he passed out, Okk found himself grateful he’d been found by the living goddess of the freezing people.