Jack was out in the woods picking herbs that his home town needed when an unearthly roar swept through the trees. Birds squawked and fled, as did a nearby deer as Jack whirled around and froze with wide eyes.

What the hell was that!? He dropped a handful of sage in his basket and hurried along with it, scrambling through the tall grass and over gnarly roots as he searched for the source of the sound. Another bellow turned him slightly to the right, toward the mountain, and it wasn't long before he pushed tree limbs out of the way... and before him was a huge pile of rocks at the base of the great peak. His eyes widened. The rocks were scarred and heavy, numerous and dusty from collapsing... but what was that underneath? Jack kept in a crouch as he inched up behind a bush, peeking through the leaves. There were rumbles, loud grunts of pain and soft growls as the thing underneath tried to move. Jack gasped. He could see trunk-sized fingers covered in pale dust, twitching in an effort to move; hair also dusted was more of a peppery shade than black, covering a tan forehead that was marked by a dribble of blood. Fangs were bared in a pained effort to get up... but it was pinned down by the heavy rockslide.

Jack's eyes trailed back up to the huge rocks, and then back down to the giant. He couldn't even see what it was wearing, or tell the true color of its dusty skin. It looked like a male, though. Male giants were suppose to be strong. How did this one get trapped?

The Irish lad took a nervous breath. He, like all other folk, knew full and well about giants; they were uncommon but powerful, hunting humans down as one of many prey, but if enough hunters gathered than it was possible to kill one of them. Just a few weeks ago he had heard of a successful case, and there was much celebrating. And he knew that a giant in a weakened state like this was perfect for killing... but there was a sinking feeling in his stomach. Was it fear?

Jack set his basket down and slowly unhooked his knife. He emerged in a slight crouch, slowly going down the remainder of the hill and approaching the pinned beast. He saw its nostrils flare as the male turned its head: Upon sight he bared his fangs, snarling with red eyes. Jack hesitated, but then he watched as it unwillingly relaxed and let its head slump on the ground, heaving. Jack straightened and cautiously approached. He wasn't attacked: He walked right up to it's demeanor and saw that even though its eyes were focused fully on him, it did nothing to stop his approach. It couldn't; it could maybe bite at him, but other than that it was good as dead, and it clearly knew that as well as Jack did.

Jack felt his blood stir as he lifted the knife. There'll be stories about this. They'll welcome me like a hero. Nobody will just ignore me or pick on me again. They'll finally listen to me! But his hands trembled as he gripped the handle. He found himself looking back at the giant: Its jaw muscles were twitching with anxious bobs, nostrils flared with dread, and pupils constricted. It then closed its eyes, furrowing its brow: It was bracing itself.

He stared at the immense being, biting his lip, and then he grit his teeth and swung his hands with a yell. The giant flinched... and then it opened one eye to see that Jack had thrown the knife away. The Irishman was breathing heavily, shaking his head as he backed up a step with remorse shaping his brow.

"I can't do it," He breathed, "I can't kill something that doesn't deserve it... I can't..." The giant stared at him, clearly astounded, and then it huffed and rested its cheek against the torn earth, exhaling. Jack's hands trembled as he shrank back, feeling guilty for even thinking of trying such a thing. Just because he'd heard stories about bloodthirsty giants, it didn't mean all of them were.

He heard the giant let out a relieved rumble and sighed shakily, looking back up at the heap of rocks. He frowned thoughtfully, and then he came back up to the giant. He could hear it rumbling curiously, feel its gaze on him as he started to climb, up the rocks and up to the top of the mound. At one point he scaled a bump that was warm and slightly soft, and he realized with a jolt that this was the giant's shoulder. Damn, he's huge. Bigger than any the elders described! Uneased, Jack continued before pulling up onto the top boulders. He studied the clustered rocks: there were big ones, but if he moved the little ones first then maybe he could push them off.

He grabbed the first ones and started tossing them away. The giant twitched with a puzzled look as he watched the string of pebbles tumble in the grass and roll away, and he twisted his head around in an effort to look up. Jack was digging at the base of the biggest rock on top, pulling away handfuls of rubble until the boulder suddenly shifted. He sprung back with his hands intact, and he came around the other side and pushed with all his might. He groaned as he put his whole scrawny body into it, almost falling off as the rock suddenly gave way and rolled forward. With a creak, it picked up speed, and it came crashing down next to the giant's head. The giant had quickly put his face in the ground, peeking out as Jack leaned over and winced.

"S-sorry!" He said instinctively. He went back to work and kept digging and pushing, ignoring the sun as it traveled its path across the sky. His skin was breaking out in sweat rashes, his hands sore and blistering, feeling hot and drained. His stomach growled from all of his hard work, but he lost his appetite when he heard the giant's rumble far below. It made him pale and hesitate: Why was he doing this? What was to stop the giant from gobbling him up once he was free?

Nervously, Jack wiped his brow with the back of his arm and shoved the next rock overboard. It was smaller, and it broke easily, scattering amongst the other remains of rocks that had already endured the fall. The giant rumbled and opened one eye, and then he suddenly sneezed with a low groan, startling the Irishman.

"Bless you," Jack chuckled after he'd recovered. He started climbing back down, and the giant twitched his shoulder. He was still pinned, and he warily watched the young lad with tired eyes as his feet hit the solid ground. Jack paused to look at him, meeting those-- wait, they weren't red anymore? They were a chocolate brown now, with only a tint of red. Curious, Jack started to take a step closer, but then the giant bared his teeth with a soft growl, and the eyes flashed red again.

"Whoa, okay, okay." Jack quickly backed up, putting his hands up. The huge being growled again, but it tapered off to a soft rumble, and the eyes faded back to brown as his demeanor relaxed some. Jack slowly crouched, fascinated now. "So yer eyes go red when yer scared...?" He murmured to himself. "Or maybe just to try and scare me off." He stood up, and this time he deliberately stepped forward. Again, the giant snarled, and again his eyes gleamed warily. Jack backed off, but now he was captivated.

"Man..." He turned and went to grab the basket he'd left in the bushes, and he brushed away the shriveled herbs he'd left inside to pull out a small book of leather. He pulled a stick with a charcoal tip out of the spine, and he opened the book to a fresh page before jotting down some notes. "Red eyes when aggressive... Head, about thirty hands in heighth... Total size...?" He looked over at the trapped brobdingnagian. He was watching him, and Jack could see clearly the curiosity in those brown eyes. Jack tilted his head, and the giant did the same, pushing his cheek into the ground as his eyes flashed gold in the low sun, igniting like two stars. The lad's breath caught in his throat. He closed the book and slowly walked towards the beast. The giant narrowed his eyes and let out a low rumble, but he simply watched as Jack took one step at a time.

And then, he was there. He could just reach out and touch it. The head filled his whole vision, the eyes even slightly crossed as they paid well attention to him. When he started to lift his hand, the giant growled softly, pulling back a little. Jack hesitated, and then he turned his head away, and with eyes closed he slowly reached out. The giant gazed at him for a quiet moment. Then, he too closed his eyes, and he leaned forward just enough for the small hand to press against his nose.

A tremor ran through Jack as he felt the warm skin connect. It pulsed with heat, even more than the air around it, and he could feel the breezes of the giant's every breath. He let out an anxious breath and dared to look, astounded by how close he was to such a legendary beast, a beast meant to kill and ravage. He slowly shifted his hand, moving it up and down in a slow rub. The air vibrated as the giant let out a warm rumble, a deafening sound that reminded Jack of a content cat. His lips twitched uncertainly, but then they pulled back to reveal a huge grin. He laughed nervously, feeling out of breath as the giant's eyes opened slightly to meet him.

He then pulled away and let out a growl, probably remembering that the human had stood over him with a knife just a few hours ago. Jack winced and respectfully stepped back, adrenaline teeming through his aching body.

"Y-yer-yer probably thirsty. I know I am." Jack pocketed his notebook and hurried away, out of the giant's reach and away into the woods. He could feel the giant's gaze on him as he left, and he didn't stop walking until he knew he was out of sight. Then he collapsed onto his knees, in the shade, and he gave himself a few minutes to realize just how close he could have been to getting his head bit off.

When he got up, he hurried his way home, trouncing through the village with a brisk pace. He caught a few confused murmurs remarking his tattered state. He ignored them and rushed into his hut, rummaging through the supplies until he found a large water carrier. As he was picking it up, his mate came in and regarded him with alarm.

"Sean?" She exclaimed. "Are you okay? You've been gone all day, I was worried something happened to you!" He gave her a tight smile.

"I'm fine, I just- I found a-uh-an injured animal, and, I just-I-it needed some water."

"Ohh. I hope it'll be okay." She kissed his cheek, making his cheeks turn redder. "You're so considerate."

"Th-thanks. Don't wait up for me though, I'll be a while." He hurried out of there before he had to tell any more fibs, and he jogged back out all the way into the nearby wilds. After filling the cauldron in a river, he hauled it back to the rockslide, where the giant had its head down and was resting. Upon Jack's approach though, the beast's nostrils twitched, and he lifted his head and rumbled hoarsely.

"Got some water," Jack said sheepishly. He wasn't sure if the giant understood him still, but he was relieved that he wasn't threatened as he shuffled up to his face. "It's really heavy, but I'll try to lift it for ya." Jack put it down to catch his breath, and then he picked it up again as high up as he could. He inched closer, stumbling a bit before the cauldron pushed against the giant's lips and sloshed its contents. Jack froze, wondering if the giant would take advantage. The lips parted, allowing the water carrier to tilt in, and the water splashed into the dark fleshy depths of the maw. Jack felt the blood drain from his cheeks as he caught a glimpse of the glistening darkness, and the audible gulp that followed the torrent made him shudder. He pulled back and set the cauldron down, and he let out a shaky sigh of relief when the giant closed his mouth and purred.

"Y-you want more?" He offered. He was startled when the massive head suddenly moved forward, but he was so stunned that he had no reaction as the giant's cheek rubbed up against him with a loud murring. Shocked, Jack stood there dumbly for a few seconds before he realized that the giant was thanking him, and he let out a breathless chuckle before patting his jaw. "H-heh, y-yer welcome." He fetched another cauldron-full of water, which the giant gladly accepted with an amiable rumble. He even let Jack rub his nose, which the Irish man thought was actually freaking awesome. He got back to work though, digging away at the stones and methodically reducing the rubble. He'd made great progress, but the sun was sinking behind the horizon, making it hard to see. With a sigh, he slid onto the grass and leaned back with a tired yawn.

"That's all I can do today," He murmured sleepily, "At this rate, ye might not even be free tomorrow. Maybe the next day, but you'll be starvin'..." He trailed off and shuddered a little, recalling the stories. All of those tales had depicted giants as monsters, blood-thirsty and destructive. Maybe this one was only acting nice because he was stuck, and he had no choice. Maybe he was just using Jack as a means to an end, taking advantage of his weakness. Jack shivered, rubbing his cold arms. All he knew was that he was doing what felt right, but he could only hope that freeing this beast wouldn't end in his village's demise...

He heard a loud gust of air, and he looked to see the giant yawning. His eyelids drooped so low, eyes dull and narrow slits under the curtains of dusty lashes. Jack felt the weight in his heart lift a little. Could something so murderous and destructive be as innocent as this? He gently pat the giant's pinkie finger.

"Don't worry," he said, "You'll be outta here soon enough. Just get some rest. We'll be back at it tomorrow, okay?" The eyes flickered toward him, and the giant let out a soft rumble. Jack pulled himself away, gathering his basket and leaving the cauldron in the bushes for tomorrow. "Try to keep quiet though, okay?" He cautioned, "Don't want anybody finding ya." The giant blinked at him, and Jack hoped dearly that this enigmatic creature could understand him to some degree. He sighed and turned away, heading home for the night.