Ryan sat on Amber's shoulder, occasionally grabbing her blonde hair for balance. Ryan remembered the woods, he remembered the days when he moved among the mammoth trunks of the woods, but this time the exposed roots of the trees seemed distant to him. It's strange. The giants saw the world like this every day of their lives. It all seemed so far away.
"You know, I've loved going around these woods since I was little. I've always thought it relaxing." Amber said suddenly.
"Forests aren't so safe if you're my size."
"I like when you're mysterious, my little guy. You're cute." Amber said. Though she said it jokingly, she was intrigued by Ryan. It intrigued her to know more about him, though he was reluctant to talk.
"I'm not mysterious." He said, also annoyed by the way she kept calling him.
"As you say."
As they went deeper into the woods and the path became darker and darker Ryan clutched Amber's hair tighter.
"Where are we going exactly?"
"We're taking a route that I usually do. Just for a walk, you know?"
This, too, seemed bizarre to Ryan. He had never walked just for a walk, he often didn't have the energy to carry out an action as an end in itself like this, yet he appreciated it as a thing. As she walked up a steep road, he was in danger of losing his balance, so she picked him up, holding him by his hips between her forefinger and thumb.
"Here, if I keep you like this you'll be safer and you won't pull my hair." She said.
He blushed. Somehow he felt embarrassed to have been lifted so easily. He still hadn't gotten used to the power dynamics of dealing with a giantess like Amber. His every move would have been meaningless in front of such an imposing creature, yet she didn't seem to have any intention of hurting him. Equally, he didn't mind the touch of Amber's skin, it was warm, and she, most of the time, seemed to be very careful.
"Thanks Amber." he said.
"Aw, you're so cute when you than-" She did not have time to finish the sentence which was interrupted by a voice coming from the ground.
"Shit!"
Amber bent down to look. There were two tinies, a man and a woman, both in their thirties.
"You almost crushed me, bitch" said the man.
Amber looked at both of them with a curious look, as if she didn't understand the reason for such anger. She was still holding Ryan.
"John! John, stop!" The woman said turning to her presumably her partner, then she turning to Amber, she said: "We’re sorry, I don't know what's gotten into my husband, please forgive us."
That scene sent a shiver down Ryan's spine. Had there been any other giant in Amber's place, Ryan would have felt pity for the pair, knowing their fate would likely have been to be instantly crushed for their disrespect. Yet even though he had only known her one day, he even partially trusted her. She didn't strike him as the type to mercilessly kill a couple of tinies. Even the tiny man, realizing what he had just said, started shaking.
"What did you call me?"
"I... I apologize, miss."
She immediately lifted one foot and stamped it on the ground. Ryan closed his eyes, fearing the worst for the man, but as he opened them, he found that he hadn't been crushed. Amber had stomped only inches away from him, paralyzing him and the tiny woman with fear.
"Call me that again, you fucking disgusting insect. It costs me nothing to reduce you to a bloodstain under my shoe." Amber said.
Though he was glad she hadn't killed the man, Ryan was scared by the show of strength Amber was putting on.
"Bow down, you lousy fucking bug."
The man froze for a second, then bowed. The woman did the same, though Amber hadn't addressed her.
"Remember that you are insects." Amber said, before continuing up the road over the couple of tinies.
She could distinctly feel Ryan's trembling between her fingers.
"What happens?" She Asked.
He said nothing. He had printed in his head the fear of the two tinies, the coldness with which Amber had imposed herself on them. They, at that moment, were totally submissive to her anger. What if he was in their place? Sure, he wouldn't have the cheek to try to insult a giant, but it would have been terrifying nonetheless. They were... Powerless.
Ryan swallowed, then said:
"You were really scary. You just threatened them, you would never kill them, would you?"
She said nothing.
"Would you?" He repeated.
"Of course not! Why do you think such bad things about me?"
"Well, you think I'm an insect?" He asked in response.
"God... No! You're not an insect, you're a person. I was slightly annoyed, why are you picking on me now? What was I supposed to do, apologize after being called a bitch?"
"They were absolutely terrified."
Ryan was puzzled how such a sweet-faced girl could have threatened to kill two people. In addition to this, he doubted the sincerity of Amber's words: when someone is angry he often says true things that normally keep hidden.
The two did not speak for the rest of the walk. As soon as we got home, Amber put Ryan in the cage, and went to the bathroom. She looked in the mirror. She didn't want to give Ryan this impression of her, she didn't want him to see her lose control like this. Anxiety began to grip her. Hundreds of little voices were ringing in her head telling her how bad she was for being so angry. She turned on the water in the shower, waiting for it to warm up. Meanwhile, Ryan mulled over what had happened. It was evident that Amber had shown her true self in that moment. She considered the tinies insects to be abused. Sure, she'd been nice to him at first, but he'd heard of giants like that, and it never ended well. A person can't hide who they are for too long, and it wasn't that far from threatening to kill to actually doing it, especially if it involved killing a tiny.
It was not safe for him to stay there: he had to leave. It wouldn't have been difficult. Amber had absently placed him in the cage, without even closing it, and had immediately gone to the bathroom. The sound of the water from the shower reassured him, confirming that he had enough time to get away. Ryan moved the cup of coffee under the door of the cage, and was able to easily hold on to the bars. After pulling himself up, he got down on Amber's desk. from there it would not have been difficult to find a way down, it would have been enough to jump on the pillows of the bed. He plucked up courage and then launched himself. Although he landed on the soft, he still hurt himself a little, but that didn't stop him. He scrambled to his feet, and as each step sank into the pillow, he worked his way to a cell phone charger cord: that would be his way down safely to the floor. Meanwhile, Amber, while the water in the shower was running, stood, fully dressed, in front of the mirror. She couldn't bear to think that Ryan might have gotten a bad idea about her, so before she went to the shower, she decided to go and talk to him. Before walking away to the door of the room, Ryan wondered if he was doing the right thing. If he was careful to leave, if it was a good idea to go back to living free, but in a wild and dangerous world. Shaking his head, he shook these ideas off. He couldn't risk his life by living at the mercy of someone who might hurt him. His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of someone's footsteps approaching.
Giantess World
