Tor didn't set her princeling down until she was a comfortable distance from the town, perhaps a twenty minute ride. She could still feel the doctor and assistant squirming and pounding in her stomach. They likely would for quite some time. But their two small bodies alone did not fill her up. They only wet her appetite. Her stomach growled around her prey, demanding something more substantive.

Eric heard the noise and shuddered. He couldn't even think about the fact that he was cradled against her left breast. All he could think about was the two men who had healed him dying in his owner's stomach. "Why did you eat them?" he finally asked. "They helped me. They took care of me while you were gone."

Tor reined Idiot to a stop and swung down from the saddle. She left Eric on the warm leather as she dropped the reins, ground tying her horse. She didn't say a word as she pulled out her canteen and took a long swig of water. She still didn't say anything as she began chewing on some jerky. She dropped her pack from her shoulders, untied the tent and set it up. She finished off the piece of jerky and started on one of the few pieces of fresh fruit she had bought in the town. Another long drink of water when she was done with the fruit and she set up the bedroll. She was pleasantly full and could even feel the two humans sloshing around in her stomach.

"Tor!" Eric snapped. She looked over at him as she tossed the saddlebags and pack into the tent.

"What?" she asked calmly. She crouched in front of Idiot and hobbled his front legs before walking back to the saddle. "Did you need something?"

Her calm, emotionless tone angered Eric more than he thought possible. He didn't think or filter what came out of his mouth. "Yes! I need to know why you ate my two friends! Because that is what they had become. They became my friends. They stayed by my side, cared for me when I couldn't walk, took me outside when my spirits fell. Why did you eat them?!"

Tor covered her mouth when a little belch escaped. She watched as Eric paled and began to tremble. "Calm down. I'm not going to eat you. You wouldn't even be a snack." She went to scoop him up so she could take the saddle off only to have her hand batted away by her princeling. Or, more accurately, he swatted at her fingers and she obliged by pulling them away. She scowled. "Fine. You really want to know why? Because they pissed me off. They blatantly disrespected me. The doctor had the nerve to scold me when I left you with him. He lectured me about taking care of you, watching out for you. As if I didn't know these things already! As if I didn't ride my only horse to the point of being lathered to get you to a human doctor when you wouldn't wake up. And when I came to pick you up, he did the same damn thing! He proceeded to tell me that I was wrong to leave you among your own kind to be healed. That I had irreparably broken you by leaving you for a short time among humans."

"And his assistant?" Eric pressed.
I
She snorted. "As if I couldn't hear his mumblings of 'stupid giant' and 'lumbering idiot' under his breath."

"Neither of them should have done what they did," Eric said finally. "But you should not have eaten them just because they angered you. Tor, you claim to be the better race, so actually be it by rising above lashing out in anger and eating any smaller being that disagrees with you."

"A disagreement I can handle. Like what we are having right now. This is a disagreement. The assistant downright insulted me. He was prejudiced against my people because of who we are. That is something I cannot stand."

"And if an Elder was prejudiced against me?" Eric asked. "Would you stand up for me? For humanity?"

This caused her to pause before she spoke. "If you give me something to prove you are an exception to the rule of humans, yes, I would defend you."

"Haven't I already?" he pointed out. "I offered my life to be your pet to avoid an arranged marriage. I've put my life, and therefor my trust, in your hands. You may not have been around, but I defended you to the doctor at first. He said from the second day that you had abandoned me. He encouraged me to go back to my home. But I asserted that you would come back for me. We had made a pact and I keep my word. I had no doubt you would keep yours and come back for me. And you did. You have kept my faith. Surely I have earned a bit of yours?"

Tor didn't respond. She simply scooped him up and carried him into the tent and set him on the bedroll. Then she went back out to finish taking care of Idiot. Eric looked around and sighed. He wasn't sure what kind of an answer that was. He had to smirk when her pained shriek rang out, followed by a curse at the horse.

"That hurt! I swear you are so ungrateful. I feed you, groom you, make sure you are sleek and healthy and you bite my ass when I turn around!" She mumbled something else. "See if I feed you treats anymore. Brat." She stomped back to the tent, crawled inside, yanked her pack towards her and dug out her nightshirt.

She took off the shirt she was currently wearing, much to Eric's delight. He took in every inch of skin she willingly bared. She was gorgeous, he realized. Breathtaking. If she were a human, he would have connived her into his bedchambers for more than one night. Her breasts weren't massive on her frame, but they would certainly be a handful for any male giant she slept with. Her auburn hair fell past her shoulders in tumbling waves when released from the braid that held it tightly out of her face. Where her skin was normally covered and out of the sun was a soft pale. But what was exposed to the sun on a daily basis was a golden tan. She pulled on her long nightshirt and reached under it to remove her bra. She sighed in relief and dropped it by her pack. Her shirt fell to her knees, covering her modesty as she removed her pants.

Comfortable and ready for bed, she crawled into her blankets and settled down for the night. She stretched out on her stomach that contained the still-struggling humans. They were resilient, putting up a fight long after she thought they would have stopped. But that made their ultimate fates all the sweeter for her. The longest a human had survived her stomach was almost three days. If they could stay out of the mire of the acids, they had a chance to last longer than average. She cracked one eye open when the princeling didn't move. "I'm not going to eat you, you know. Pick a spot and get comfortable. You need rest, still."

Eric sat still for a moment before pulling himself to his feet and hobbling over to his owner. He paused at her arm that lay between him and his destination, trying to figure out if he should climb it or go around. Tor made the decision for him by lifting her arm out of the way. He smiled over at her before continuing his journey. Her arm coming down behind him didn't phase him in the least. He continued his trip until he settled down under her chin. He sighed as he reclined against her neck. A little shifting and he was on his side, his head resting on her jaw.

"Wut err 'ou doin'?" she ask through a clenched jaw.

He smiled. "Resting, as you instructed. Now you should do the same. Go to sleep, Tor."

She snorted. "ute'er, Prinsling."

Eric chuckled at that. The warmth of Tor's body heat slowly lulled him to sleep. Unlike the last time he was with her, this sleep was not unconsciousness due to fever. It was just the natural rest that a healing body needed.

When he woke the next morning, he was pleasantly surprised to find that Tor was still on the bedroll with him. He curled a little closer to her jaw and began to doze off. Until a human sized pack dropped in front of him. He yelped and squirmed further into his owner. When rational thought returned, he glared up at the smirk he knew she was wearing.

"Oh ha ha. Picking on the crippled human. How magnanimous." But he scooted over to the pack and began to dig through it. The first thing he realized was it was brand new. Every single bit of it. There were new boots, a new cloak, new clothes and even a new bedroll attached to the pack. Surprise and gratitude welled up inside of him. This was a big sign to him that she did care. "Wow, Tor, this is, this is such a generous gift. When I fled my father, all I had was the clothes on my back and a few food supplies stashed in the saddlebag."

"I know," she deadpanned. "They began stinking after the first week. I didn't realize what it was at first. By the time I found your saddlebags, they were soaked with juices from the rotting food. I threw them out."

Eric shrugged. "I don't need them anymore anyway. Not with this." He gestured to the new pack in front of him. "And I don't need food supplies if I stay with you."

"Who said I was going to feed you?" she grunted. "The last deer carcass I gave you, you let spoil."

"'Let spoil?'" He laughed. "I went unconscious with fever. Then you took off without me. I couldn't have eaten it if I wanted to. My deepest apologies for wasting your generosity."

Tor rolled her eyes. "I had your name carved into the leather. Into the straps."

Eric pulled the pack closer and eyed the craftsmanship. It was beautifully done work. But there were too many letters for it to be his name. It took a minute for him to decipher the lettering. "'Princeling?' That's not my name." He turned to look back at Tor. "You called me that last night. But that is not my name." The giant woman rolled to her back and said nothing as she sat up. "You do remember my name, don't you?" He grinned when she wouldn't look down at him. "Tor, come on, tell me the truth. Do you remember my name?"

"Alright, alright! No, Princeling, I don't remember your name. But you can't fault me. You said it once! And a day later you broke your legs and I took you to a human town and left you for a month to recover. So, forgive me for not being the best with names." She huffed and finally looked down at him.

Eric was nearly rolling with laughter at how uncomfortable he had made her just by forcing her to admit she couldn't remember his name. "Calm down. I hold no ill will. I completely understand. You are utterly unforgettable to me. But I am just one human among many to you."

Tor huffed. "Whatever, Eric. I like Princeling better."

"So you're just going to change my name?" he asked.

"Did I say that?" She gave him a look. "I just said that I like Princeling better. It suits you. You're a little prince. Princeling."

Eric rolled his eyes. "I'm hungry. I haven't eaten since yesterday evening, shortly before sunset."

The giant woman turned a sharper eye over his form. "They did take care of you, didn't they?" If they hadn't, she could regurgitate them and make them regret their life all over. They were still squirming inside of her, pounding on her stomach. She couldn't hear what they were saying, but could imagine them begging for escape. She figured her supper from last night had moved on, judging by the location of their movements. And the fact her stomach was growling all over again.

"Yes, Tor. I told you last night, they took very good care of me. But I still need to eat on a regular basis." He glanced at her stomach when it growled audibly. Guilt flooded him, even though he had done nothing wrong. He sent a prayer for the men to the Creator.

"Fine. Let me dress and I'll fix you something." She pulled herself the rest of the way from the bedroll and grabbed the jeans she had ditched the night before. She shimmied into them, ditched the nightshirt and pulled on a clean, short-sleeved shirt. Eric watched her intently before working out of the old clothes he had been given by the doctor and into a new pair of trousers and a shirt. They fit him pretty well and he was pleased with them.

Tor pulled out some of the cooked bacon she had purchased before leaving the town. She warmed it in a skillet over a low fire, along with a couple of eggs she had brought along with her. As that cooked, she made a pot of coffee and cared for Idiot. She brushed him down, picked a few seed pods from his mane and tail and clipped his feed bag to his halter. She patted his muscled shoulder and went back to her own food. By this time, Eric had managed to hobble his way off the bedroll, out of the tent and was almost at the fire when Tor passed him by. She glanced briefly at him but didn't make a move to help him out.

She sat down by the fire and pulled the pan of bacon and eggs out first, scraping them off onto her plate. She poured herself a cup of coffee and relished in the smell of the strong, black, caffeinated drink. The two in her gut were still making a lot of commotion. It was time to teach them their place. They were food and nothing but. She blew on the coffee just enough to where it wouldn't scald her going down before taking a generous drink. She felt the warmth as it slid down her throat and settled in her stomach. A few bites of food and the movements inside of her stomach stopped.

"Much better," she sighed. "I didn't realize I was so hungry. Jerky and an apple don't fill me up." She looked over to Eric as he plopped down next to her. "The food is too hot for you. Let it cool down before attempting to eat it." She picked up the plate of food and kept eating her portion. After a while, she set the plate back down in front of Eric. A little portion of the eggs and bacon had been left untouched, pushed off to the side.

"Eat while I break camp." She stood and began doing just that. She dropped his pack and bedroll next to him, as well as her own pack and neatly-rolled blankets. She broke down the tent and left it on the ground as she tacked up Idiot. He was less than happy about the girth and aimed his usual kick at her when she tightened it. It was easy to avoid such a habit of his and she deftly turned to the side when he kicked. She gave him a look and brought her foot up to kick him in the muzzle when he turned to bite her. "Just you wait until I get you home and have all the time I need to polish you. I'll teach you to kick and bite me."

The big stallion opened his lips and showed his teeth in what almost seemed to be a mocking smirk. Tor gave him a dirty look and made sure to keep her fingers away from his mouth as she put the bridle on him. She fastened the curb chain and the cheek strap and clipped on the heavy lead rope before undoing the hobbles around his legs. She led him away from where Eric was eating his breakfast and let out all the length of the lead before working him in a circle. He bucked a few times, tested his owner's patience and didn't listen for the first ten minutes of the warm-up. By the time he finally behaved, the already-low fire had burned to embers.

Tor reeled him in, praised him when he touched her hand, and tightened the saddle girth. She put the reins back on and ground-tied him before tying down the saddlebags and tent. "Where do you want your things, Princeling?"

He thought it over for a moment. "I shall hold them. The bedroll will make the saddle more comfortable. And I like the pack. It will be a comfortable headrest." He gave a flourishing bow. "Thank you for your generosity."

She rolled her eyes. "Whatever." She crushed the remnants of the fire under her boot and made sure it was cool to the touch before pulling on her own pack. She was about to scoop Eric up when she saw him flinch. Thinking of his legs, she instead set her hand down in front of him. It took the human some effort, but he managed to scoot into her palm. Tor lifted him to the saddle, watching as he slid off and made his way to the gap in between the pommel and seat. He unrolled his blankets and arranged them in there to cushion the spot before sliding in. The pack went behind his head and gave it a comfortable resting spot.

He smiled. "Ready. Where are we headed?"

"Settlement," she said as she swung into the saddle. "Settlement is where my brothers will ultimately show. So Settlement is where we are headed."