Must Defend Him

Chapter Five

"Zelphar, don't worry about us, okay? Well, maybe just a little, but you don't have to strain yourself. You are covered with bruises, so you'll need to unwind." Herman looked sad before he noticed shocked looks from his friends.

"Damn, I didn't expect that to come from you." Eliza nudged his elbow and giggled.

"Shut up!" Herman hissed as he glared at her. After he said that, the hand they were sitting on became a bumper ride. The giant was walking less carefully and loosened his stiff shoulders.

Instinctively, all three humans hugged the nearest finger to keep themselves stable. Shortly after, Theo let go of the finger, completely trusting his giant friend.

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When the humans arrived at Yairenth, townsfolk were whispering at each other. It was a massive crowd with everyone there. There was a platform in front of the public, the mayor with a few guards stood beside him.

Theo, Eliza, and Herman shoved their way through, wanting to find out what was going on. There were mentions of "giants," "camp," and "more."

"Hello residents of Yairenth, I am mayor Lorahorn!" Everybody immediately hushed to hear what he was going to say. "I know you all must be horrified to hear that there are more giants!" The entire crowd gasped and whispered some more.

"We are going to fix this situation to the best of our abilities! For the time being, avoid the forest as much as necessary!" Some of the villagers began protesting against it. Mainly the people who were obtaining food to sell in the market. "If you see or hear a giant, report it immediately to keep this town safe!"

"Mayor Lorahorn!" Theo raised his hand and made his voice as loud as possible. "What if we actually talk to the giants!" The mayor was staring at him, shocked.

"Why would we even consider talking to them? Do you want to get eaten?" Mayor Lorahorn smirked, a few people from the crowd chuckled.

"No, but we don't have to resort to violence! We could use them as allies against our enemies!" Everyone was completely silent before burst into laughter.

"Who are you?" Mayor Lorahorn laughed, barely holding his composure.

"Theodoric Grelamin!" He answered with a straight face, unlike everybody else.

"Come up on stage, Theodoric, so everyone can hear you." The mayor couldn't hide away his grin. Theo nodded and began making his way there. People were whispering and snickering at him as he went on stage.

"Tell us, Theodoric, why should we talk with the giants?" Mayor Lorahorn handed him a microphone so everybody could hear. He firmly grabbed it and faced the people.

"ZELPHA-! Ow!" Theo was interrupted when a man dragged him by the ear and dragged him off stage. "Ow, dad, let go!" He demanded, but his father didn't listen.

"We are going home NOW!" Henricus shot a menacing glare at his son, shutting him up. The villagers laughed as he was taken home.

____

Henricus opened the door and threw his son onto the hardwood floor. He slammed the door behind him as Theo looked up at him in fear.

"What has gotten into you?! Why are you so persistent with the idea of 'good' giants?!" Henricus anxiously ran his fingers through his hair, frustrated.

"I-"

"You should have kept those thoughts to yourself! The whole town already consider you a fool!" He sent another sharp glare at his son, making him scowl.

"Dad-"

"STOP! Stop it! Stop defending those heartless monsters sent from hell! Get that ridiculous idea out of your head and forget about it!" Henricus kept shouting as his son got off of the ground.

"Dad, it is not fair that humans are judging all giants based on their massive size! Sure, I'll accept that some giants eat humans, but that doesn't mean all of them do!" Theo stomped his foot onto the ground, glaring back at his father.

"Who has put these thoughts in your head?!" He put his hands on his shoulders, staring down at him.

"No one!" Theo shouted, making his father speechless in shock. Then Henricus removed his hands from his shoulders and stepped back.

"Go. To. Your. Room." Henricus had rage-filled eyes, continuing to grow angrier.

"Fine, but only to stay away from your selfish ass!" Theo ran to his room, slamming the door behind him. Henricus leaned on his hands on the dining table and sighed.

Meanwhile, Zelphar was wandering around the woods, searching for a new cave to live in. Not too far away, he spotted the perfect den for him. Immediately, he ran as fast as he could. He sat down on his knees and looked inside.

There was a sleuth of bears, ripping apart a deer they had caught. Two cubs were wrestling each other. The mother growled, telling them to eat. They immediately stopped and ran over to the deer carcass and dug in.

"H-Hi." Zelphar shyly waved at them, but none of them paid any mind to him. "Can I live here?" He asked, fidgeting with his fingers.

After a few seconds, the father roared at him, telling him to leave. "You don't have to be so rude about it." The giant huffed, earning another roar. "That was uncalled for! Ugh, fine..."

Zelphar stood up and continued searching for a new cave. It seemed like everyone already claimed the big and/or good ones.

Luckily, it was only an hour until he found another cave that could fit him inside. The giant crouched down to peek inside, only to be met with a pack of wolves.

The alpha growled at him, looking ready to pounce. Zelphar knew for a fact that wolves won't hesitate to attack anyone, even a giant.

"Sorry! I'll go! Please don't bite me!" The giant quickly ran off, afraid that they were going to chase after him. Thankfully, they didn't.

Another hour later, Zelphar found the third cave that he had seen today. He was exhausted and giving up hope. Like the two other times, he sat on his knees and saw a family already living there. A cackle of hyenas was just lazily sleeping, sprawled out around the cave.

"Hello?" Zelphar called out to them, but only one of them cared to wake up. They stared at each other for a moment before the hyena began laughing, waking the others.

"I'm too tired to deal with you guys." The giant groaned as he crawled into the cave. The hyenas ran around to avoid getting crushed by him. Zelphar laid on his stomach, using his arms as a pillow.

Shortly after, Zelphar fell into a deep, dreamless slumber. The hyenas relaxed and went back to sleep.