A young man goes to the Travel Agency for vacation and trades places with a woman from a fantasy world, giving both a of them a whole new perspective on things. This story was originally written and posted in 2001

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Quinn stood silently, staring at the office in front of him. The windows
were all covered with pictures of exotic destinations and foreign
cities, all appropriate since it was a travel agency. There seemed to be
no name for it though, just The Travel Agency, painted on the window in
clear view.

"So many places..." Quinn whispered to himself, the first words that he
had spoken all day. Then again, what was the use of talking if there was
no one besides himself to hear.

For a moment Quinn just stared at the ground, frowning to himself.
Somehow he knew that he could go to every place that they offered, but
nothing would really change. He'd come back, back to the same empty
apartment, to the same meaningless job. Nothing ever changed.

At 25 Quinn had many regrets. Sometimes it seemed as that those were all
that he had. And unfortunately, those times seemed to be growing more
frequent. It was because of that, because he needed a change of scenery,
even a temporary one, that he was there.

Then Quinn looked back at the door and slowly started towards it,
feeling rather nervous, and even excited. It wasn't the first time that
he'd come there. He had been there just several days earlier, noticing
it while walking past. However it wasn't the discovery of the Travel
Agency, which Quinn remembered most clearly, it was what had happened
once he had gone inside.

Quinn remembered the strange man that was inside, the man who'd
introduced himself as Mr. G. The man who had offered Quinn a chance to
travel to some place different, some place magical. Mr. G had even shown
him something amazing, making a crystal ball float in the air. That had
been all the proof that Quinn had needed, and minutes later, he had
signed up for one of those trips. For one of the 'special' vacation
packages. That was why he had returned.

"I hope I'm not too early," Quinn muttered, glancing down at his cheap
watch before stepping inside.

A moment later Quinn looked around the office, seeing an overweight and
balding man behind the counter, while a teenage black boy was sitting in
a chair off to the side. Quinn only recognized one of the two... the man
behind the counter. It was Mr. G.

"I'm here for my trip," Quinn told the man behind the counter, feeling
nervous as he did so.

Mr. G looked up and smiled. "Good. I have everything ready."

"What do I have to do?" Quinn asked quietly.

"I shall take care of everything," Mr. G told him patiently. "Once you
arrive in the other world, you will inhabit someone else's body for the
two weeks that you are there. A guide will be provided for you, just as
he is for your exchange." With that Mr. G gestured to the black teen,
who nodded faintly.

With that Mr. G gestured for Quinn to follow him, then went into door in
the back. A minute later Quinn stood inside the other room, looking
around in surprise. There was some sort of powder sprinkled on the
floor, in the shape of a large circle.

"Stand within," Mr. G instructed. As soon as Quinn had done so, feeling
a little ridiculous, Mr. G continued, "and I hope that you enjoy your
vacation."

Suddenly Mr. G slammed a wooden staff into the ground at the edge of the
circle and everything exploded into blue light. Reality dropped away
from Quinn, as did all of his senses.

Quinn had no idea how long he was out since there was no point of
reference. It could easily have been the tiniest fraction of a second...
or even months. The timeless limbo quickly ended though and his senses
suddenly returned.

At first Quinn remained where he was, lying on the ground, aware of the
sunlight on his skin, of birds chirping in the distance and the light
touch of a breeze against his skin. Then there were the strange
sensations coming from his own body, the ones that made him hesitate
before opening his eyes and facing whatever... or whoever he had become.

Frowning slightly Quinn stood up and looked around, noticing that he was
in a grassy clearing, though there were lots of trees all around it, as
well as enormous mountains a short distance away. After looking around
he realized that he was in a large valley between the mountains.

Then Quinn finally looked down at himself, surprised at what he saw. His
chest... his chest was pushing out into what were obviously a pair of
women's breasts, covered by a somewhat ragged green shirt. He blinked
several times, then continued looking himself over, seeing that his
whole body was dressed in green and brown cloth, as well as lots of
brown leather, all of which covered his body up fairly well. However a
nervous pat at his crotch revealed that the familiar organ was missing.

With a cautious pat at his breasts, Quinn mused, "Interesting." He
certainly hadn't expected to be turned into a woman, though he knew that
he shouldn't have been too surprised. With a wry smile he muttered, "I
suppose that two weeks won't hurt."

Quinn patted at his shirt and pants, then looked at the bare skin on
sleeveless arms. The arms were both well toned, with a light tan that
revealed that they had spent a bit of time in the sun. There were even
several slight scars, though the arms were still definitely those of a
woman.

Turning his attention to the hands Quinn held them up in front of him
and stared curiously. They were definitely feminine hands with nails
that were longer than his own had been, though without a trace of
polish. And when he looked at the palms of his hands he found that they
were a little callused, obviously not the hands of some pampered
princess.

Once he was done examining his hands, Quinn reached behind him and felt
the hair that went down to his shoulder blades. Then pulling some of it
into view, he saw that it was a very dark brown. A moment later he ran
his hands over his face, not finding anything that felt strange... other
than that it was obviously the face of a woman.

Quinn frowned for a moment, not because he was obviously in the body of
a woman, but because he'd expected to trade bodies with someone a little
more... exotic. After all, Mr. G had said that most of the people around
there were mythological creatures, though he had admitted that there
were a number of humans as well.

After a moment Quinn stood where he was, taking a long look at his
surroundings and frowning as he did so. Something didn't look quite
right, though he couldn't place exactly what that was. Or was that many
small somethings? Then again, he reminded himself, he wasn't in his own
world anymore either.

With that Quinn started to slowly walk around the grassy area that he
was in, unable to shake the nagging feeling that there was something
really wrong with his environment. However he put that out of his mind
as he looked around.

Then Quinn noticed movement out of the corner of his eye and snapped
around, startled to see a figure moving towards him, having come out of
the trees. As it got closer, he could see that it was a woman, or at
least looked like a woman.

She was dressed in reddish-brown clothes and tanned leather, with
shoulder length light brown hair and appeared to be in her late teens or
early twenties, though Quinn couldn't quite be sure. And then he noticed
the weapon that was strapped on her back, which he thought was better
than pointed at him. It was a crossbow.

However there was one thing about the strange woman... or whatever she
was, that really caught Quinn's attention. Her size. The woman didn't
even come up to his waist. In fact it looked like she only came up to
his mid thigh or so.

"Greetings," the tiny woman called out, holding up hand, "I am Chiandra
Treebrook."

Quinn stared down at her, amazed at how small she was. Then he shook it
off, feeling a little embarrassed. "Hi," he answered slowly, "my name's
Quinn."

The woman... Chiandra smiled broadly, "Welcome to our world," she
beamed, "I am to be your guide."

Not sure of what else to say, Quinn nodded, "Thank you."

"Here," Chiandra said, pulling something out of her leather bag and
holding it up, "put this on."

It took Quinn a moment to realize that it was a bracelet or arm bracer
of some sort. With a frown he crouched down; both to be on a more equal
position with Chiandra and so that he could take the arm bracer. As soon
as he'd accepted it, he frowned.

"This isn't going to fit me," Quinn told her gently.

Chiandra just smiled, "I was told that it adjusts to the size of
whomever wears it. It is a symbol that you are a visitor so that others
will not trouble you." Then she added, almost as an afterthought, "Or at
least most others, for as long as you don't trouble them."

Quinn nodded silently, though he stared at the bracelet skeptically
before he tried putting it on. Almost immediately the metal seemed to
melt... flowing up his hand and wrapping around his wrist. When it
solidified again, it was in the shape of a bracelet, much wider around
than it had been so that it would fit his wrist, but much shorter as
well. Instead of covering half his forearm as it looked like it was
designed to for someone of her size, it fit more like a wristwatch.

"It fits," Quinn muttered in surprise.

The tiny woman just laughed at that, then gestured, "Come with me. I
will take you to the village and a place where you may stay while you
are here."

Quinn nodded and followed behind the tiny woman, who seemed rather
cheerful. She even hummed as they walked along, with her moving at a
rapid pace so that Quinn didn't feel as though he was standing still.

Finally, after watching Chiandra for a little while, Quinn just had to
ask the question, "What are you anyway? I mean, what species?"

Chiandra paused and looked up at him with a proud smile, "I'm a human."

"Human?" Quinn choked out in disbelief. "That's impossible. You can't be
a human, you're so small..."

Chiandra just laughed at that, obviously very amused. "I'm not small,"
she finally answered, "you're just very large." Then Chiandra grinned
broadly, "You are a giant after all. Or is that giantess..."

For a moment Quinn just stared at Chiandra in disbelief, then slowly
started to look around him again. This time, he was able to realize what
was wrong with his surroundings. They were too small. The trees didn't
look as large as he thought they should, and the grass all looked so
much smaller than was normal.

Finally, Quinn just shook his head in amazement, "A giantess..." That
was going to take some getting used to.

---

There had been a flash of blue, followed by a confusion that overwhelmed
all senses. At least those were the last things that Kestra remembered
as she slowly came to in a strange place.

Kestra slowly stood up, blinking as she looked around at the flat walls
on all sides, then the fat man just a short distance away, holding a
wooden staff in his hands. It only took a moment for her to recognize
the staff as that of a mage.

"You are a mage," Kestra said slowly, surprised by the sound of her own
voice.

Looking down she blinked, startled to see that she appeared to be in the
body of a man. A thin man at that, wearing strange clothes unlike any
that she'd ever seen.

"Welcome to this world," the fat man greeted her with a smile, "you may
call me Mr. G while here."

"You are the Gray One," Kestra exclaimed in realization. He just nodded
faintly. "And you are my size..."

Kestra moved closer to him, realizing that he was perhaps just a tiny
bit taller than she was. That was a strange occurrence as she rarely
encountered anyone that was even close to her size unless they were of
her own people. And even then, she rarely encountered another one of her
kind.

Mr. G smiled faintly, "Of course. Your host body is that of a human, as
is my own."

"Oh," Kestra responded, feeling a little surprised, though she quickly
reminded herself that she had expected as much since the Gray One's
messenger had told her a little of what to expect. She took another look
around the room she was inside before asking, "How soon may I explore
this world?"

"Immediately," Mr. G answered, gesturing for her to follow him through a
door. A moment later she was inside another strange room where Mr. G
stated, "Here is your guide."

With that Kestra noticed a strange creature stand up. He was just a
little shorter than her and looked completely human except that his skin
was a very dark brown. She had heard of humans with darker skin, but
never one of that shade. Then again, she was no expert on humans either,
usually preferring to avoid their kind.

"Hey," the dark skinned stranger said, "the name's Sam." He held out his
hand.

"Kestra," she responded slowly.

Kestra wasn't sure why he was holding out her hand, then he let out a
sigh and grabbed her own hand in his and held it for a moment. "We call
it shaking hands," Sam told her. Then Sam continued, "Nice name, but it
might attract a little less notice if I called you something like Kenny
or... Kester while you're here. That sounds a bit more like a guy's
name."

"Sam will show you around while you are here," Mr. G told Kestra gently.
"I hope that you enjoy your time here, but please remember, there are a
great many dangers here that you are not used to. Sam will keep you
advised of those."

With a faint snort Kestra didn't bother to pay any attention to Mr. G's
warning, doubting that there was anything short of a dragon for her to
be worried about. Instead, she looked at the door, impatient to get
going and see the strange new world.

A minute later Kestra followed Sam out the door, barely noticing Mr. G
shaking his head sadly behind them.

As soon as they were outside Kestra looked around in amazement, unable
to believe the amount of buildings and stone that were within sight. And
the people. The people surprised her the most, all of them being
somewhat close to her own size. And none of them... not a single person
was staring at her in horror or running away screaming.

Sam just grinned, "C'mon man, I'll take you on a bit of a tour before we
get to where your host lives. Then" he winked at her, "We'll really do
all the sights."

However Kestra just stared around her in amazement, still in shock by
the human's reactions. By the fact that none of them seemed to be giving
her a second look. By the fact that there were so many of them, all the
same size as her. It was almost overwhelming.

"You all right?" Sam asked, sounding just a little concerned.

Kestra nodded faintly, gulping as she looked up at the buildings, the
stone buildings that seemed to stretch up to the very sky itself. She'd
never imagined that any construction could possibly be so... enormous.
Between that and the dozens of people within sight who were her own
size, she was beginning to feel something that she'd never felt in her
entire life. She was beginning to feel... small.

"I am... fine," Kestra assured Sam with a grunt, regaining her composure
and adding, "everything is so different... So strange..."

Sam just laughed at that, slapping Kestra on the back and catching her
by surprise when he did so. "Man, you have no idea." Then with a grin,
he added, "I think a taxi ride is in order."

Then still feeling somewhat in awe, Kestra followed behind her guide,
not sure what a taxi was, but eager to find just what other wonders that
strange world possessed.

---

Quinn sat on the hay covered ground with his legs crossed, hunched over
a little so that his head did not hit the rafters of the barn that he
was within. Chiandra stood several feet away, looking up at him with a
smile, though she did look just a little awed.

"I'm not used to being around giants," Chiandra answered when Quinn
asked her about it.

"But I'm not really a giant," Quinn told her, still not sure that he
believed it himself. He sure didn't feel any different, at least other
than being in the body of a woman. That was strange enough, but to be
about 18 feet tall on top of that...

Chiandra nodded, "Perhaps not inside, though your body most assuredly
is." Then she gestured at the barn around them, smiling, "I have
prepared my uncle's barn for your use as long as you are here." After
pausing a moment, Chiandra added, "I fear that it is all that you would
fit inside."

"It's all right," Quinn sighed, glancing at the make shift bed. "Just
not quite what I'm used to." He sighed, beginning to regret his decision
to come, though it had to be better than staying home.

Just a short while ago they had come to a large farming area and
Chiandra had led him straight into the large barn that was away from any
other construction. He was surprised to find that it had been set up
inside much like a bedroom, though without any of the modern
conveniences he was used to.

"The owner of that body lives in the mountains," Chiandra told me, "and
I am sure that her home might be better suited. However," she grinned,
"her home is rather out of the way."

Quinn just nodded, feeling rather strange as he looked down on the tiny
Chiandra, still having a hard time coming to terms with the fact that
she was the normal sized one. Or at least she claimed she was, and with
everything else he'd seen, he was inclined to believe her.

Then Chiandra announced, "I'll go and gather some food for our meal and
will be back in awhile." With that she grinned and winked at Quinn, just
before vanishing out the barn door.

For a minute Quinn just remained frozen where he was, staring both at
the door and then down at himself. He frowned for a moment, then with
one more glance at the barn door, he started to take off his clothes,
dying to know what he looked like without them.

"It's my body now," he told himself to cover his embarrassment, "at
least for the next two weeks."

It didn't take Quinn very long before he was naked and staring at
himself in amazement. His body was definitely all woman, much to his
mixed feelings. Most of his skin wasn't tanned quite like his arms,
though his body was all firm and shapely, almost athletic from the well-
toned muscle.

Quinn slowly ran his hands over his smooth skin and his breasts, which
looked like they were around a C up. However he couldn't be certain,
especially since he knew that his whole size made normal measurements
difficult. Then he finally looked between his legs, seeing that even
that was all feminine.

After he had finished looking himself over, Quinn reluctantly started
putting his clothes back on, deciding that he didn't want to get caught
with his pants down... literally. He wanted to be fully dressed when
Chiandra came back.

There was one thing that Quinn had learned from his self-exploration
though, and that was other than size, his body appeared to be entirely
human. But then again, he reminded himself that he had only been able to
see his outside, and had no idea what kind of organs there might be
inside of himself.

Chiandra came back some time later, making enough noise so that Quinn
was well aware of her presence before she came in through the barn door.
Then she handed Quinn a large burlap sack that contained his dinner of
six large steaks, 3 large baked potatoes and some sort of yellowish
apple-like fruits. And it still only looked like a somewhat small meal.

While Quinn ate, Chiandra talked almost non-stop, seeming to grin the
entire time. Quinn just frowned slightly and ate, knowing that such a
cheerful optimist would normally annoy him, but somehow Chiandra
actually seemed to lighten the mood.

"So," Quinn's guide asked cheerfully, "what are you really like? I mean,
what do you look like in your world?"

Quinn was just a little embarrassed to admit, "I'm a guy. A man."

"I figured that," Chiandra responded, "I mean, from the way you grabbed
at yourself after coming here." She grinned again, taking a bite out of
one of the yellow apples that she'd brought with her.

It was relatively silent for the next several minutes before Chiandra
asked, "Do you have a family name, or is one name all that your people
use?" She looked sincerely curious as she stared up at Quinn.

For a moment Quinn just sat there, not sure exactly how to respond, or
even if he should. Finally though the sincere look on Chiandra's face
convinced him to tell her. He just hoped that she wouldn't laugh.

"Quinn is my last name," he told her with a slightly frown. "My full
name is Boliver Wendell Quinn." He winced as he said it, remembering how
much shit he used to get back in school because of his name. "I prefer
to just be called Quinn."

Chiandra just nodded, "Then Quinn it is."

Once Quinn had finished eating Chiandra announced, "If you are ready, we
can go into the town so I can show you where it's at."

Quinn thought about it for a moment, not sure that he wanted to be
around a lot of people but he nodded agreement. After all, he decided,
he was on his vacation so he might as well see the sights.

And as they were getting up to leave, Chiandra looked back at him with a
nervous expression, "I have to warn you," she started slowly, "they
might not take to you well in the village. We don't get many giants
around and don't really get along with them." Then Chiandra quickly
assured Quinn, "But I've already warned them that you aren't a real
giant and the Gray One's bracelet will make them leave you alone."

Then Quinn thought he heard a faint, "I hope," though he wasn't sure.

"What..." Quinn asked, but Chiandra was already out the door.

A minute later Quinn was outside of the barn and noticed Chiandra
sitting a short distance away, on top of a spotted gray horse. She waved
at Quinn to follow then started off in a trot. He hesitated only a
moment before shrugging and following after her.

Chiandra led Quinn past some large farmed fields and areas with sheep,
goats and cows roaming around inside. However she made sure to keep him
out of the way as they followed a dirt road, if it could even be called
that.

It didn't take long before Chiandra announced, "We're here," though
Quinn didn't need her to tell him that.

Just a short distance in front of them Quinn saw a walled town, with
wooden walls that reached up to Quinn's breasts. There were even people
standing atop the walls, armed with what looked like crossbows. And
then, Quinn could see the houses and buildings within, though without
much detail from that distance.

As they got a little closer, Quinn was startled to realize that the
people outside the walls all stared at him in horror... then ran as fast
as they could. Some darting for the rapidly closing village gate, while
others just ran away from him. Then he noticed that the guards were
aiming their crossbows at him.

"What's going on?" Quinn gasped in surprise at their reaction.

Chiandra just scowled for the first time since Quinn had met her some
hours earlier. "Stay here," she told him firmly, "I'll deal with this."
And with that Chiandra rode ahead, stopping just a short distance from
the now closed gate.

"Stand back!" one man dressed in brown leathers called from the top of
the wall, "We will deal with this monster."

Quinn just stared at him in shock, not sure how come he was being called
a monster. However he didn't take his eyes off of all the weapons that
were aimed at him, perhaps a dozen sets of crossbows or bows and arrows.
He wasn't sure to be frightened at the weapons... or amused. Being as
small as they were, they just didn't really look like anything more than
toys.

"She is with me!" Chiandra called out, sounding pissed. "You were told
that a visitor from the other world would be coming in the body of a
giant. Now put down those weapons you idiots, and open these gates."

There was complete silence from the gate for several minutes while
several of the armed people atop it talked with others below and out of
sight. Finally, one of them yelled out, "Come closer giant... and keep
your hands up. Show the Gray One's token."

Quinn did as the armed man said, feeling extremely nervous as he held
out the arm with the bracelet on it. They continued to stare at Quinn
for a minute, as well as at Chiandra. He could see fear cross several of
the men's faces, though the one who had yelled the instructions seemed
stern and self-controlled.

"I'm not here to cause any trouble," Quinn announced nervously. "My name
is Quinn."

"I told you," Chiandra yelled, "she's safe, now open these gates Orwen."

With that the stern man whom Chiandra had yelled to... Orwen called out,
"You may be a visitor, but you are still a giant as far as I am
concerned, and I do not trust you. But since you are a visitor, we will
let you inside."

Quinn let out a sigh of relief, but then Orwen continued, "But remember,
should it become necessary, we can defend ourselves. We have poisoned
crossbow bolts."

Then as the gates started to open, Chiandra gave Quinn a quick grin,
then gestured for him to follow.

As Quinn walked past Orwen at the gates, he actually looked Orwen
straight in the face, since the man was using the wall for height. He
nodded at Orwen and gave a weak smile, only getting a stern...
suspicious glare back.

"Don't worry," Chiandra told Quinn, "I'm sure that they'll get used to
you." However her tone betrayed her own doubts.

Quinn just paused and looked around the village nervously, seeing that
there were a number of stone and wooden buildings, some of them being
two or even three stories tall, though only a very few. Then there were
the people, most of them quickly dodging out of view or closing
shutters.

With a sigh Quinn just shook his head while Chiandra yelled out,
"Cowards. She's not going to hurt you." Then Chiandra turned to Quinn
with an apologetic, "You are the first giant that most of us have seen
and we've heard bad stories about giants."

Frowning slightly Quinn nodded, "I understand."

Chiandra didn't waste much time though before she tied her horse up and
started walking down the sidewalk, pointing things out to Quinn. "That's
the inn," she told him, "and the there's the smithy..."

While they went on their tour of the village Quinn stared at everything
around him in amazement, surprised at the way people were terrified of
him when he hadn't done anything. Most of the people quickly disappeared
from view or stared at him from the safety of a window, though there
were still some who were brave enough to at least remain in sight.
Either that, he realized, or drunk.

Everything looked almost as if it came straight out of the middle ages,
though there were discrepancies. At least, he was sure, against the real
middle ages. Some of the clothes were strange, as was some of the
architecture. He even noticed several horses that were of slightly...
odd colors. One that looked like a zebra and one that was a dark shade
of green. But still, the village was definitely primitive compared to
modern standards.

"Interesting," Quinn mused, paying special attention to where he
stepped.

After a short while Quinn paused, noticing a little girl who was around
5 or so, standing off to the side playing. He slowly bent down and
smiled at her gently, pleased when she started to give a weak return
smile.

Suddenly a woman came out of nowhere, giving Quinn a nervous look before
exclaiming, "Come on Gwenneth, it's time for dinner." It sounded just a
little forced though and she quickly pulled the girl through a door.

Chiandra gave Quinn another apologetic look, but that didn't make him
feel too much better. He'd taken the vacation to get away from his life
where he felt like an outsider, only to become one even more extremely.
With a sigh he slumped over, feeling extremely small and insignificant
yet again.

The rest of the tour through the town wasn't quite as exciting, though
Chiandra certainly tried to make it so. When they finally finished and
almost immediately left town, at Quinn's insistence, he was greatly
relieved, though seriously afraid that his decision to come had been a
big mistake. Yet one more in what seemed almost like an endless line of
them.

---

Kestra let out a sigh as she stared from the window, still in awe of
everything beyond it. She had been there in the human's home for a short
while, left there by Sam after they had looked around the city for most
of the day.

Shaking her head Kestra could barely believe the immense size of the
human city, never before having imagined such buildings. Such towers
that reached up to the very clouds, and so many of them as well. There
was no doubt that such a city could only have been built using the most
powerful of magics, even if Sam had told her otherwise.

Then there were the people. Kestra had seen humans everywhere; more
humans than she ever would have believed existed. She suspected that
every human in that strange world lived right there in that city.

And what was the strangest thing, at least as far as Kestra was
concerned, was that she was around so many humans, and none of them paid
her any attention. None of them ran away screaming or charged at her in
an attack. They reacted as if she was no different than they were, which
was a strange... almost comforting experience.

"So many my own size," Kestra mused, staring out the window again at the
people below, all of them looking tiny again from her height. However
she knew that none of them were. They were all just as tall as she
was...as strange as that seemed. "And none of them were affright..."

Kestra slowly turned from the window and looked around the home of the
one whose body she was using. Apparently, the Gray One... Mr. G had
offered to set her up in an inn, but the one who's body she was in had
allowed her to use his own domicile instead.

"Such luxury..." Kestra whispered, staring at the strange furniture,
which was obviously of the highest quality. Such soft chairs and items
which were made of materials that she didn't recognize.

Then Kestra remembered Sam's earlier comments that even he didn't live
in such a slum... whatever that was, making her wonder if all the
wealthy human merchant's lived in such wondrous slums.

However Kestra wasn't completely sure that she liked the idea of so many
clustered together so tightly. Though the idea was fascinating,
everything did look a little constricted and she couldn't even see any
forests or mountains from the streets.

After a minute of slowly looking around her host's home, Kestra looked
out the window yet again, this time staring at the strange metal carts
that were all over the streets below. Cars were what Sam called them and
she smiled as she remembered her ride in what he called a taxi. It had
been extremely interesting, making her wonder what kind of magic powered
them.

Finally, Kestra looked down at herself, "And I be in the body of a man."

She paused at that, not sure exactly what kind of a man he was though.
He was thin and without the muscles that would mark a warrior, or even a
farmer. And his hands were almost without calluses, indicating that he
did little labor. Obviously a wealthy merchant or some sort of lord
then.

Kestra looked down at herself in curiosity, then started to tear off her
strange clothes, deciding that it was time to examine her borrowed body
in more detail. Within moments, the clothes were all shed and she stood
there naked, a little disappointed with her borrowed body.

"Strange," Kestra mused as she carefully examined the new male organ
between her legs. It was not quite what she would have expected, though
certainly not uncomfortable. "Strange indeed."

Once Kestra had finished examining her borrowed body, she frowned and
looked around, "Now where is the chamber pot..." Then she remembered the
small room, which served that purpose. "What luxury to have such an
outhouse within his own home..."

Kestra quickly relieved herself, even remembering to pull the little
knob that Sam had pointed out. Then she watched in amazement as the
water in the strange chamberpot swirled around then vanished, only to be
replaced yet again by itself. Such a use of magic amazed her just as
much as the toilet itself.

A minute later Kestra stopped and stared at the bed, again amazed at how
soft it was. There was little doubt that the humans of this world knew
how to live in luxury, bringing a smile to her lips.

Then Kestra remembered that Sam had said they were going out again early
the next day to play tourist... whatever that was. He was even going to
take her to see a movie and a baseball game, whatever those were as
well.

"Perhaps it is time to sleep," Kestra half grunted, still staring at the
comfortable looking bed.

And with that the former giantess grinned to herself, eager for the next
day to begin. She couldn't wait to see what other wonders that strange
and magical new world had to offer. On her first day, she'd already seen
more than she could have imagined and knew that there were countless
more to discover.

---

The morning air was chill and filled with scents that Quinn wasn't
familiar with. Scents that didn't come from the city, but from the
countryside... from natural things. Even the sounds of birds and insects
served to tell him that the countryside was exactly where he was.

With a grunt Quinn stood up straight, stretching the kinks out of his
muscles and wishing that he'd had a real bed to sleep in. Of course the
one that he'd had was very good under the circumstances, probably better
than he should have expected, but still, it didn't compare to a nice
mattress.

Quinn took a deep breath and then slowly looked down at himself, giving
a wry smile as he thought about the day before. About waking up an 18
foot tall woman, his tour of the town and then the walk around the
surrounding farms afterwards before returning to the barn for dinner and
bed.

"And what comes next..." Quinn mused.

Suddenly Quinn heard, "I can answer that."

He turned around, then looked at the ground, letting out a sigh of
relief when he saw that it was Chiandra. "Morning," Quinn grunted.

Chiandra just nodded and tossed a burlap sack to his feet. "Breakfast,"
she explained with a grin.

A minute later Quinn had opened the bag and pulled out several loafs of
bread and a chunk of dried, salted meat. And without his having to say
anything, Chiandra patted a small barrel that was hung from the side of
her horse, which he quickly learned was filled with wine.

While Quinn silently ate his breakfast, Chiandra watched in fascination.
"Incredible," she exclaimed. Then after Quinn gave her a curious look,
she explained, "The amount that you eat. That was enough to fill a whole
family for a day."

Quinn took another look down at what was left of his breakfast, feeling
just a tiny bit guilty. It didn't seem like much to him, but he reminded
himself that at his current size, he had to eat a lot.

"No wonder you guys don't like giants," Quinn slowly responded, "they'd
eat everything in sight."

Chiandra just nodded faintly, quietly admitting, "Yeah, they do. But
fortunately there aren't many of them around." She gave Quinn a quick
look, almost as if assuring herself that he hadn't been insulted.

After a minute, Quinn asked, "Can you tell me about these giants? I
mean, what you know..."

"Of course," Chiandra responded, then looked up at Quinn thoughtfully.
"Like I said, there aren't many of them. And giants don't get along too
much with others of their kind I guess, because you almost never hear of
several of them living together."

Quinn nodded, "Okay..." listening in complete fascination. He was
incredibly curious about what kind of a creature he had become. Though
he knew that he looked like a human, except for size that was, the
reactions in the town reminded him that he wasn't. At least in body, or
at least not as far as they were concerned. "And what else?"

"Giants do not get along with most other races," Chiandra said slowly,
"They take what they want from those who are smaller and weaker. From
those who can't defend themselves." Then she puffed up, looking proud,
"But we can take care of ourselves."

"I see," Quinn muttered, "they bully people." Chiandra just nodded at
that.

"Or at least most of the ones I've heard about," Chiandra admitted, "but
probably not all."

After a moment of thoughtful silence, Chiandra continued, "I'm no
expert, but I heard that giants live around 200 years... and they never
stop growing. I have heard tales that the oldest giants can reach 50
feet tall."

For some time Quinn remained where he was, looking down at himself and
absorbing that information. It was obvious that he was not one of the
older giants, though that much was all that he knew for certain.

Finally, once Quinn had completely finished his breakfast, Chiandra
grinned. "Since you want to know more about giants...why don't we go and
find the home of the one whose body you wear."

It didn't take more than a few seconds before Quinn nodded agreement. He
was curious to see what kind of place an 18 foot tall woman would live
in. Somehow, he suspected that it was going to be a very interesting
day.

---

Quinn paused and looked down from the edge of the mountain, staring at
the forest and valley that were spread out below him. At the moment he
was standing above the far end of the valley, on the opposite end from
the town. And though the town was out of his view, some of the farm
fields were visible.

It was late afternoon and Quinn was beginning to feel a bit tired. He
and Chiandra had been traveling for most of the day, towards a
destination that she seemed to know... or at least have a general idea
of.

"What a view," Chiandra exclaimed, breathing deeply and obviously a lot
more tired than Quinn was, though she seemed capable of continuing on.
"I think that we should be there soon."

With a nod, Quinn took another look at the valley, then turned to
continue around the mountain. He hoped that Chiandra was right about
being almost there, more for her sake than his own, though he was tired
of walking.

Suddenly Chiandra yelled out, "Get down! Hide!"

Quinn snapped around, seeing nothing odd, "Why... what's wrong?"

Chiandra was already crouched down next to a large boulder, gesturing
for Quinn to get down as well. He frowned, wondering what was going on,
but the look of fear on her face was enough to convince him that she was
indeed serious. And With that he crouched down as well, hiding behind a
larger rock as best he could.

Then Chiandra finally pointed up... towards something in the sky in the
distance. Something that was obviously large and could have an airplane
if there had been any in that world.

"A dragon," Chiandra explained, not taking her eyes from the image
above. "I don't want it to see us... and you are kind of hard to miss."

Quinn nodded, crouching down even further and silently cursing his size
as it make him much easier to see. He did so even more when the dragon
flew a little closer, and a little lower, enough so that he could
actually make out its shape a little better. It actually was a dragon.

"Oh shit..." Quinn whispered, his heart beginning to beat rapidly as the
reptilian creature came even closer, flying over the mountain. "It's
gonna see us..."

"Shhhhh," Chiandra admonished him, a finger to her lips.

Then suddenly the dragon dove down, and Quinn gasped in horror at the
thought that it was coming towards him. But it hit the mountain a
distance away, vanishing from view for a few seconds... then returning
to the air with something held in its claws. Not a something, Quinn was
startled to realize, but a bear.

A minute later the dragon had flown off with its prize, while Quinn let
out a sigh of relief. He wasn't sure that he wanted to meet a real
dragon, even if he was a giantess at the moment.

"One of the few things that eat giants," Chiandra commented with a wry
expression.

With a nervous nod, Quinn muttered, "Then I'm glad that I didn't see it
any closer."

"Well," Chiandra asked with a grin, "shall we continue?"

Quinn didn't need to be asked twice and a moment later they were back on
their way up the mountain.

---

Kestra said goodbye to her dark skinned guide at the beginning of the
building her host lived in. She shook her head, looking up and still
marveling that humans could have built such a wondrous structure. It
amazed her just how much she was learning of their ingenuity since
coming on her travels.

"Remember," Sam told her seriously, "you can't tell people where you're
from. Most people around here wouldn't believe you and would think that
you're insane. That could cause problems for your exchange when he gets
back."

With a snort Kestra didn't see why she should do anything... or keep
from saying anything just to make things easier for someone else.
However with the serious expression on Sam's face, she sighed and nodded
her agreement. It wasn't like it was any human's business where she was
from.

"See ya then," Sam called out, "I'll be back tomorrow morning and I'll
show you around some more." And with that Sam hurried away, leaving
Kestra there alone.

She looked up at the stairway and then started for it, carefully
remembering where her host's home was within the strange building.
Without Sam to help her the final bit, she had to rely on her own memory
of such... and she hoped that it was accurate.

It didn't take long for Kestra to reach the right floor, and she was
feeling a little bit tired by the time she had done so.

"Why would humans wish to climb so high just to sleep?" Kestra asked
herself with amusement, then grinned as she remembered that her own home
was near the top of a mountain. Then again, that was entirely different.
"Such strange creatures."

Just as Kestra had started down the hall, towards the inviting room at
the other end, a door opened up off to the side, revealing a room that
wasn't much larger than a closet. And with that a woman stepped out of
the strange small room... only moments before the doors shut again on
their own.

"Such a strange use of magic," Kestra mused in fascination. It was
definitely a very interesting world that she found herself in. Not at
all like she would have imagined.

"Hi," the woman greeted with a grin. She was thin and rather attractive,
with blonde hair that was pulled back into a ponytail. "You look like
you're in a good mood for once."

Kestra blinked at that in confusion, "For once?"

The blonde woman just laughed, "Well, whenever I see you in the halls
you usually have such a depressed and gloomy expression."

"Oh," Kestra sighed, realizing that the woman must mean the person whose
body she was wearing. "I'm... I'm on vacation."

"I'm Jennifer," the blonde introduced herself with a pleasant smile,
holding out her hand.

Kestra wasn't sure how to respond, so took her cue from the blonde and
held out her own hand. "Kestr..." she started to say, then paused,
realizing that she should probably give her hosts name. Then again, she
didn't even know what it was.

"Kester..." Jennifer mused, "that's an interesting name."

With a nod, Kestra responded, "So is Jennifer." She'd never heard that
name before.

Jennifer gave her an odd look, then started grinning, "Okay smartass."

At this point, Kestra felt a little confused and uncertain. She wasn't
used to dealing with others, at least not with others that were the same
size as her. And nearly everyone else always ran away, leaving her with
little experience at such conversation or the nuances.

"Well," Jennifer grinned, "I know it's usually the guy who asks this,
but would you be interested in going out for a drink say... tomorrow
night?"

For a moment Kestra stared at Jennifer in surprise, not having expected
a question like that.

"You don't have to if you don't want," Jennifer blurted out, obviously a
little disappointed by Kestra's hesitation.

"Oh no," Kestra quickly responded, "I would like to. You just caught me
by surprise." She blinked, deciding that at least it was bound to be
interesting. And of course, who knew what she'd learn about the silly...
and confusing humans.

With a broad grin Jennifer exclaimed, "Great. Is seven okay?" When
Kestra nodded agreement, she apologized, "Sorry, I've got to get going
now, but I'll see you tomorrow." And with that she waved towards Kestra
while hurrying through one of the doors in the hallway.

After Jennifer was gone Kestra just shook her head, grinning at the
strangeness of these humans. She was especially amused by that curious
blonde, never before having had someone come up to her and immediately
treat her as if she were a friend. Wanting to spend more time with her
like that. In fact, the closest she'd ever come was when she'd met Sam
just the day before.

Finally Kestra just shrugged and continued towards her host's apartment,
deciding that she'd have plenty of time to figure out humans during the
rest of her vacation.

---

The sun was still up in the sky, but there was little doubt that it
would not remain so for much longer, not with how quickly the sun was
sinking. Within just a short while, perhaps even an hour, Quinn decided,
the sun would sink behind the horizon and the night would begin.

"I didn't think it would take so long to get here," Chiandra apologized,
looking especially guilty. "I guess it would have taken you a lot less
time if you knew where you were going."

Quinn knew that what Chiandra had said was true, but that didn't really
bother him. He was just amazed that they made it at all. Chiandra had
definitely slowed him down, moving so slow and having to rest so
frequently, or at least she would have if he'd been in a hurry or she
hadn't been the guide. But At the moment he didn't even care that he'd
had to help her over a few obstacles that were nothing to him, but too
large for her to overcome.

With that Quinn just looked at their destination, a large cabin that was
made of stone and wood, leaning up against a huge rocky outcropping. It
was a pretty level area, just at the treeline and where the mountain
started becoming little more than jagged stone. Everything in the
flattened area though was covered with grass, brush and wildflowers.

"So this is where she lived..." Chiandra whispered, looking around
nervously, almost as if expecting some other giant to jump out and
threaten to gobble her up.

On a sudden whim Quinn exclaimed, "Fee fi fo fum..." Then he paused,
looking around and wondering if there might be some sort of beanstalk
nearby, though there was nothing of that nature within view.

Quinn then turned his attention to the house in front of them, if it
could be called that. It was a small looking cottage that was made of
stones and wood. And from the size of the door, there was little doubt
that it had to be the house of the giantess whose body he was in.

They quickly hurried to the door that looked just a tiny bit small to
Quinn since he would have to duck just a little to get inside, however
it was enormous compared to Chiandra. Still, she threw her shoulders and
started to push at the door, while Quinn knocked on it instead.

When Chiandra gave Quinn a questioning look, he shrugged, "What if she
has a boyfriend or something?"

He definitely didn't like the idea of just barging in on someone that
way, but then again, he wasn't sure how comfortable he was with walking
in anyway. Still, he wanted to know more about whoever's body he was
within. And after a minute with no answer, Quinn pushed the door open
and stepped inside, nearly falling over as his foot went down further
than he expected.

Quinn just scowled as he realized that the floor was sunk down about a
bit further than the surrounding ground, and there were was a bit of a
step at the door. But once Quinn had noticed that, he looked around the
rest of the cottage, feeling more disappointed than anything else.

"What a dump," he sneered. "This is even smaller than my apartment." And
as far as Quinn was concerned, that was quite a task.

It was a small, cramped one bedroom place, with a cheap looking bed in
one corner, a small stone fireplace in the other, a cramped table and
not much else. It was just a little smaller than just his old bedroom.
Or at least it seemed that way because of his size, though in truth it
was somewhat larger.

Chiandra said nothing as she slowly moved around the room, poking at
several piles of furs and small ragged blankets, then looking at what
looked like dried meat hanging from the ceiling... as well as dirty
clothes. Quinn just cringed at the sight of it, though still feeling
fascinated in spite of that.

"Doesn't seem worth the climb," Chiandra finally said, sounding
disappointed as well. At Quinn's questioning look down at her, she
shrugged, admitting in embarrassment, "I thought giants lived in
castles."

"Sounds good in fairy tales," Quinn muttered grimly, having learned a
long time ago that real life just didn't work out that way. In real
life, there were no happily ever afters.

Chiandra just stared up at Quinn with an expression of confusion. "I
didn't think that fairies had tails..."

Without a word Quinn sat down on the bed and stared out the still open
door and the narrow slits in the wall that served to let light in. He
patted the mattress absently, deciding that it was definitely softer
than what he'd slept on in the barn, but not quite as soft as the well
worn mattress in his apartment.

"It's getting dark out," Quinn stated unnecessarily, frowning grimly.

Chiandra just nodded, "We'll have to stay here for the night. It's
wouldn't be safe going down the mountain in the dark."

Quinn didn't bother to argue, knowing that she had a point. And at least
the bed would be a bit more comfortable than the one in the barn. But
With that he stood up and started for the door, saying, "I want to look
around outside a little more."

A minute later Quinn looked around the cleared and somewhat flat area of
the mountain that the giantess lived on, noticing several patches of
what could only be described as gardens. Gardens filled with some sort
of giant pumpkins and other plants that Chiandra identified as
'lorkins', which she described as an edible root that was something like
a potato or a turnip.

Then Quinn moved to the edge of the flat area, on the other side from
where they'd come up a short while earlier. He looked down at the grass
covered slope that went quite a distance before ending in trees. However
what drew his attention the most were all the sheep that were in that
area, grazing on the grass.

"I guess we know what she eats," Quinn told Chiandra who'd come up
beside him.

After a few more minutes of looking around they silently returned to the
cottage where Chiandra promptly started a fire. She looked around,
specifically up at the ceiling and grinned.

"If you get me some of that food," Chiandra told Quinn pleasantly while
she lit a candle, "I can get dinner started."

Quinn frowned and did as Chiandra had asked, pulling a piece of the
dried meat off of a hook on the ceiling and handing it to her. After a
brief examination she threw it into a pot above the fire and rushed out
for some pumpkin and lorkin to make a stew with.

"What kind of a stew has pumpkin in it?" Quinn grumbled, deciding that
he'd better not let Chiandra hear him complain. At the moment he was
hungry enough to eat it anyway.

Then while Chiandra was still out, Quinn turned and started looking
around the tiny cottage again, pausing when he noticed something against
the wall. It was a mirror, a bit dusty and with a crack in one corner.
For someone like Chiandra, it would have been near full sized, but for
Quinn it was much smaller than that.

For a moment Quinn just stared at the mirror before his curiosity
finally got the better of him. He still had no idea what he actually
looked like, at least not his face, and this was his chance to find out.
With that Quinn pulled the mirror from the wall and positioned it, as
well as himself, to catch the best light from the candles. It was still
a little dim, but there was enough light for him to see the mirror's
reflection.

It was the face of an attractive... though not gorgeous woman, framed by
dark brown hair. She could have been anywhere between 25 and 30... or at
least that was how she looked, and though she was very pretty, she could
never pass for a model. Her features were too strong for that.

"And now I know," Quinn muttered, carefully setting the mirror back on
the wall where he'd found it.

Quinn's thoughts then turned to dinner, filling him with mixed emotions.
On one hand, he wasn't quite sure that he was ready for a pumpkin and
turnip stew, but on the other hand, his stomach didn't really care. It
just wanted something to fill it. In the end, it was his stomach which
won.

---

Quinn frowned thoughtfully as he walked slowly so as not to leave
Chiandra behind. They had just reached the base of the mountain and
reentered the valley, having gotten up at first light and beginning the
trip back as soon as they had finished with breakfast.

"What are you thinking about?" Chiandra asked, having been fairly quiet
for most of the morning.

After glancing down at her, then back up at the mountain, Quinn
answered, "Just wishing that I'd brought the mattress." Quinn didn't
relish the idea of sleeping on the lumpy bed in the barn after sleeping
on that wool filled mattress the night before.

Chiandra grinned up at Quinn, "I don't blame you. We don't really have
much for those of your size."

Several minutes later, Quinn absently asked, "So what else is on our
schedule?" He paused, not bothering to look down at Chiandra, "I mean,
for my tour..."

"I was thinking the crystal lake tomorrow," Chiandra answered after a
moment. "Then there's some ruins on one of the other mountains from a
floating castle that crashed several centuries ago. There's also the
griffin hatchlings on a few of the mountains... as long as we keep a
distance that is," she added.

"Sounds... interesting," Quinn mused, still frowning slightly.

The fantasy world wasn't quite what he was expecting, though he hadn't
been quite sure what he'd been expecting. Just something... different.
All he knew was that even with Chiandra providing all the sight seeing
and distractions, he still felt... empty. The same as he always did.

Suddenly Chiandra cried out, "Smoke!"

Quinn turned around and looked behind him and then down at Chiandra,
frowning, "What?" She just stared straight ahead with a look of dread on
her face. Without a word, she pointed down the valley to where lots of
smoke was billowing into the air. It took a moment for Quinn to realize
that it was coming from the direction of the town. "What..."

"Something's wrong!" Chiandra yelled out, "I've got to get back." And
With that she took of running as fast as she could, while Quinn just
stood there For a minute watching her.

After taking several steps behind Chiandra Quinn paused and looked at
the smoke filling the sky again, frowning as he did so. There was no
telling what it was, though Quinn suspected that it was probably one of
the farmers doing a bonfire or something to clear land. However with a
quick glance at Chiandra, there was no doubt that she thought it was
urgent.

With a, "Damn," Quinn hurried forward, easily catching up with Chiandra,
not completely sure what he was doing. "Here," he growled, "it'll take
you forever that way." And with that Quinn picked Chiandra up as easily
as if she were a child.

"What are you..." Chiandra yelled furiously, but Quinn just shifted her
position for better balance and held her tight, then started running
himself.

Snorting, Quinn grumbled, "I can get us there faster."

Chiandra yelled and demanded to be put back down for several minutes,
until she realized just how much ground they were covering with Quinn's
longer strides. Afterwards she just went silent and held on tight, only
occasionally speaking and then just urging Quinn to go even faster.

Quinn was somewhat surprised by just how quickly he was moving,
especially considering that he was carrying Chiandra at the same time.
He was just as surprised by the fact that he wasn't getting tired
either, realizing that his borrowed body was in a lot better shape than
his own, and with a lot more endurance.

As they got closer to the town, Quinn's doubts about the smoke being
anything serious began to quickly fade. Especially as they reached the
edge of a farm... where the crops were horribly trampled and a cottage
was little more than a smoldering ruin.

A cold chill began to run down Quinn's spine, but before he could stop
as every instinct was telling him to, Chiandra urged him to hurry up.

"My uncle..." Chiandra cried out, "the town..." With that Quinn just
pushed himself faster, in spite of the knot in his stomach.

Several minutes later the smoke was billowing thicker, and noise was
starting to fill the air. Screams, growls, yells and clanks of metal.
There were sounds that sent chills through Quinn along with sounds that
he had no reference to.

With a gulp Quinn muttered, "Oh shit," knowing that they were getting
really close. Far too close for his comfort. But with the way Chiandra
was clutching him, almost desperate to get there, he couldn't stop.

Then Quinn past a patch of trees and came into sight of the town. He
paused, gasping at the sight of the wooden walls, covered with flame in
one section. Without even thinking about it, he stopped running, staring
not at the walls... but at everything outside of them.

"What the fuck...?" Quinn squeaked, dropping Chiandra to the ground. All
he could do was stare at everything going on.

The town gate was bent and cracked, serving little purpose as it was
bent inward, leaving a large enough gap for anyone to run through.
Several people lined the walls, armed with a variety of weapons, mostly
crossbows. All of which was aimed at the mass of horror that was lined
up outside the town.

All Quinn could do was stare in horror at the several dozen... creatures
that were outside the walls, obviously attempting to get inside the
town... while at the same time fighting a number of humans were armed
with everything from swords to pitchforks. It was a fight... a battle.

Each of the creatures had slimy looking green skin and were roughly
human in shape, though their faces looked hideous. They were all about
half as tall as Quinn, making them around 9 feet tall, towering over all
the humans they fought. All of the monstrous looking creatures were
dressed in scraps of clothes and armor. Some of them had dented and
battered shields with different symbols, though all of them were armed.
There were swords, axes, spears and clubs... as well as things that
Quinn didn't recognize.

"Trolls..." Chiandra gasped, her voice filled with loathing. "Troll
bandits." With that she fired a shot from her crossbow, causing the
nearest troll to bend over with a bolt in its ass. However after a howl
of rage, it turned and glared at Chiandra... then up at Quinn with a
look of surprise. "Brakka!" Chiandra spat in what was obviously some
sort of profanity.

Quinn was confused, then horrified as several of the creatures... trolls
charged straight at him. They were only half his own size, but they were
heavily armed and he had no doubt that those weapons could easily hurt
him... or worse.

Chiandra frantically struggled to reload her crossbow in time, but it
was obvious that she wasn't going to succeed. A moment later the trolls
were all over them and Quinn howled in fear, kicking at them with his
feet and relieved when one of the ugly creatures flew backwards.

"Whatthefuckisthis?" Quinn blurted out, his eyes wide as he looked at
the small army of ugly green midgets that were starting to really take
notice of him. At least half a dozen of them were coming straight at
them.

A moment later Quinn knocked another one of the trolls back, keeping him
from taking Chiandra's head with a nasty looking ax. However before he
could get the next one, Quinn felt a burning pain in his thigh and
screamed in pain as he instinctively knocked the troll with the sword
away from him. Two more took its place within seconds.

"Look out!" Chiandra cried out, firing another crossbow bolt, this time
catching a troll right between the eyes. It fell over and she screamed
out, "Brakka!" again, using her crossbow to like a club on another
troll.

Though Quinn was shocked... and terrified, he was also beginning to get
pissed. His leg was hurting like hell and the freaky trolls were still
coming after him. He managed to kick several more of them away, but that
didn't stop another sword from catching his leg or a spear from catching
his side. It hurt... but not enough to keep him from knocking the trolls
away.

Still Quinn looked around frantically, knowing that he couldn't keep
them back much longer. He'd been lucky so far, but there were far too
many of them and unlike him... they were all carrying weapons.

Suddenly a voice yelled out, "Kill the foul bandits!" Quinn looked over
at a pair of humans who were coming towards them, one holding a sword
while the other just had a pitchfork. "Chiandra," one of them called
out.

Just then Quinn realized who it was. The one with the sword who was
yelling was Orwen, the same guy Quinn had met when he first came to the
city.

Then Quinn glanced at the man beside Orwen, an older man with a white
beard who was using his pitchfork as though it were a deadly weapon. He
had a grim expression as he pushed with his pitchfork, only to have it
finally knocked aside.

"Orwen!" Chiandra yelled out. "Uncle..."

A moment later Orwen and the man whom Quinn realized was Chiandra's
uncle were next to him... or more precisely, next to Chiandra. They
didn't seem to give him more than a glance before lashing out almost
uselessly against another troll.

With that one of the trolls, a big nasty one with a spear charged
straight at them, the point aimed straight at the now unarmed old man.
Quinn's heart nearly froze, and without thinking about it, stepped
forward and kicked the troll in the stomach, sending it to the ground in
a howl of pain, just as its spear almost hit Chiandra's uncle.

Chiandra's uncle gave Quinn a quick look of surprise, then his
expression went grim again as he picked up the fallen troll's spear to
replace his pitch fork with.

At the same time Orwen snarled, "Run for the walls!" He wasted no time
in yanking Chiandra and her uncle, then charging straight towards the
city gate, trying to avoid the trolls as they did so. There was no
glance spared for Quinn, who kicked at another troll that started after
them, his heart racing like never before.

When they were nearly at the gates, several crossbow bolts and arrows
flew down to give them cover, though they seemed to do little if any
damage to the trolls that they hit. It did serve to keep them back
though... making them hesitate for several seconds.

"Oh shit..." Quinn gasped, looking around at the dead bodies...almost
all human. Even the injured trolls were getting up and coming towards
the gates still, all looking vicious and evil. "Oh shit..." And all of
them armed.

Quinn grabbed his side, which was bleeding and hurting like hell, then
looking around frantically as he realized that there was nothing he
could do against them. They might be munchkins compared to him now, but
they were all armed and all that he had were his hands and feet. He'd
been lucky so far, even with the few injuries he'd received, but there
was little doubt that it would only get worse.

Frantically looking around for a weapon, Quinn's eyes fell on the broken
gate next to him, gasping as an idea suddenly came to him. With a grim
expression and a grunt of pain, he grabbed at one of the broken logs
that comprised the gate and pulled it loose, holding it firmly in his
hands.

"Batter up..." Quinn growled, swinging the log with all he had.

A moment later Quinn was almost shocked to feel an impact, hear a
sickening thud and then see a troll flying backwards with half of its
head caved in. For a moment he just stood there, frozen as a wave of
disgust started to rise. He couldn't believe that he'd just killed
something.

"Get them!" Chiandra's voice yelled out from behind Quinn, shaking him
out of his shock in time for him to realize that though the trolls were
looking a little shaken and wary, they were still coming towards him.

Quinn took several more swings, keeping the trolls back but not hitting
any more of them. Not until he jumped forwards and caught one of them in
the side, sending him flying to the ground.

With a grimace, Quinn yelled, "Fore..."

After several more swings and several more injured trolls, they group of
bandits started to back off, clustering together and chattering in some
growling language that Quinn couldn't quite make out. They were glaring
at him furiously, their attention diverted from the town walls as they'd
obviously found a new target to work on. And this time they seemed
intent on doing it together.

"Oh shit," Quinn whispered again, clutching the log tighter, "I hate
teamwork..." He spat the last; sick of the word his boss loved to use
when he really meant the employees had to work overtime to make him more
money.

And almost as if on cue the trolls all started towards Quinn again, this
time in mass and quickly surrounding him. With a grimace, he swung
several more times, but while he went after one troll, another one
charged him from behind, catching him in the ass with some sort of
spear. It hurt like hell, making Quinn scream and nearly drop the log.
Nearly.

Suddenly the troll with the spear fell to the ground with an arrow in
its eye, while the other trolls slowly took a step back, especially once
Quinn howled and jumped at them, swinging the log and catching several
of them at once. Then as they started to back away further, obviously
reconsidering their tactics, he threw the log at them, grinning as
another fell to the ground, though it quickly got back to its feet.
Still, its arm was bent at a horrible angle and hanging limp, so Quinn
knew that he'd done some damage.

"Come here you fucking midgets!" Quinn yelled out furiously, now more
pissed than scared. He grabbed at a large rock that was next to the town
wall and with a grunt lifted it off the ground. "Catch this you
fuckers..." And with that he threw the rock, not hitting any of the
trolls and falling several feet short of the closest.

However Quinn's attack with the rock seemed to be the breaking point and
the group of trolls turned and started running away, obviously desperate
to get away from the one who was causing all the injuries. After he'd
watched for a minute and was sure that they were going, Quinn let out a
sigh of relief and clutched his aching side.

"They're gone," Chiandra called out excitedly, "we won..."

"No!" Orwen cried out, just as several screams came from inside the
town. "Some got inside." With that he turned and ran through the cracked
gate, limping as he did so.

Quinn hesitated only a moment before grimacing and following after, not
sure what he could do or if he'd just get in the way, but he wanted to
get rid of the ugly creatures that had hurt him. He followed after Orwen
and Chiandra, as well as the screams. It didn't take long before they
came on a group of 3 more trolls.

The three trolls were carrying weapons like all the others, as well as
having bags slung over their backs. Quinn noticed food coming from a
tear in one while a gleam of metal shone from the top. He grimaced at
them even deeper, realizing that they were thieves of some sort.

Suddenly Orwen cried out, "Hold. Look, they have a child..."

Quinn's eyes bulged as he noticed that one of the trolls was indeed
holding a child. He was clutching a little girl tightly in one hand,
sneering as he raised an ax head to her throat. He glared at everyone
around him, as if daring anyone to take a step closer. There was no
mistaking his threat... the little girl was his hostage.

"Brakka..." Quinn whispered, repeating the profanity that he'd heard
Chiandra use. He gulped even more when he recognized the little girl
that they were holding. It was the same girl that he'd seen the last
time he was in town. Gwenneth, he believed her name was. "Not good..."

For a moment they all stood there in near silence while the troll held
out its ax, red blood dripping along the blade. Human blood, Quinn knew,
since he'd seen that the trolls bled green. Then it put the blade back
towards the girls neck and started edging away, counting on the girl to
keep him and his friends safe.

With an evil sounding laugh one of the other trolls grinned and held up
something for everyone to see. Quinn's blood suddenly ran cold as he
realized what it was. It was a human head. And worse... the head of
another little girl.

Everyone went dead quiet at that though they grew even more tensed.
Still no one moved for fear of having Gwenneth getting killed as well.
The trolls just laughed at their victory and started moving away,
holding their hostage close.

Suddenly a woman, whom Quinn had seen before, ran into the street
screaming, "Gwenneth!" Her voice was filled with panic as she saw her
daughter held by the monster.

At that moment the troll with the ax was distracted and stumbled over a
rock in the street, loosening his grasp on the little girl. And all at
once Gwenneth hit the ground and started to roll several feet away.

Without even thinking about what he was doing, only reacting out of his
fury at seeing the little girl held like that, Quinn threw himself at
them, landing just above Gwenneth and protecting her body with his own,
even as he felt an ax cut into his back.

"QUINN!" Chiandra's voice screamed out, though all he could do was curl
up and protect the little girl, ignoring the pain in his back.

Then with a grunt of intense pain Quinn picked up Gwenneth and stood up,
holding her firmly out of reach of the trolls. All three of them were
lashing out wildly with their weapons against the humans who were
charging them, to little effect. Two of the trolls fell right before
Quinn's eyes, though the third broke free and ran. It was the one with
the ax.

"Bastard!" Quinn screamed, carefully setting Gwenneth down and then
running at the troll who'd somehow managed to avoid or knock aside the
humans who were after it. And with a single movement he swung his foot,
catching the creature between its legs and sending it flying up into the
air... where it promptly smashed into the wall of a building.

For a moment Quinn just stood there, glaring at the troll who'd fallen
back to the ground, fighting back the urge to stomp on the ugly thing.
However the troll made no move to get up. Instead it remained frozen and
motionless... its head bent at an odd angle.

"Dead," someone finally announced, though Quinn couldn't see who.

With that Quinn dropped to his knees, aching from every inch of his body
and tired beyond belief. He looked down, staring at the pool of red that
was starting to form around him, vaguely aware of the relief he felt at
seeing that his own blood was still red, as well as the very shock at
seeing it.

Then Chiandra was standing there with a worried expression on her face,
though Quinn wasn't quite sure where she'd come from. Everything was
starting to seem foggy, even as people started to step into the streets
and surround him.

"Quinn..." Chiandra asked, the worry evident in her voice.

For a moment Quinn just stared at there, feeling little but agony and
tiredness. Then with at that moment everything started to spin and Quinn
collapsed the rest of the way to the ground, not even aware of his face
splattering into the blood soaked street.

---

Kestra was standing in the middle of her host's home, with her guide Sam
just a few feet away. She frowned as she looked down at her clothing,
not sure if it was the right thing to wear... or even why she had to
wear it, though Sam had assured her several times that it was
appropriate for a first date.

"Man you move quick," Sam grinned, giving Kestra a wink. "Just here and
you're already lining the babes up."

"I do not understand," Kestra told him, tugging at her clothes. "We are
just going out for a meal and drink." Then she grinned, "That is
something I can not do in my own world, so I wish to experience it."

Sam just winked, "Just don't experience too much alright?" He paused a
moment and in a more serious tone reminded Kestra, "Mr. G can take care
of most troubles and make people forget if things get too hectic, but
you still don't wanna be raising no hell."

Kestra just snorted at that, knowing that she was going to do what she
wanted to. She had never before had the opportunity to experience such
interaction with humans... or even others of her own kind, and she was
more than a little curious about how it worked. Still she decided that
perhaps a touch of caution was in order.

"And remember," Sam told her, "you can't be telling no one where you're
from since they'd just think you were nuts. We're trying to fix that
though."

"Of course," Kestra sighed, wondering if all humans had such a weak
grasp on reality that they refused to believe truth when told.

And with that Kestra nodded goodbye to Sam and left the apartment,
heading straight for the one down the hall where her 'date' lived. She
quickly ran things through in her mind at the same time, remembering
what Sam had told her about money, driver's licenses, appropriate
behavior and how to use a taxi. Then she grinned, confident that she was
ready for anything that could occur.

After Kestra knocked on the door, only waiting a few seconds before it
opened and revealed Jennifer. She stood there was a smile, dressed
rather nicely in the strange clothes that the humans liked to wear. It
was some sort of short dress that revealed her knees and lower legs.

"Hi," Jennifer grinned, "I'm really glad that you came." She paused for
a moment, adding, "I was half afraid that you wouldn't."

"I would not have missed it," Kestra responded with a smile of her own.

With that she stepped out of the doorway, locking it behind her. Then
she asked, "I know a very nice club just down the street..." Jennifer
started, tugging on Kestra slightly as she began to move down the hall.
"They have the greatest sandwiches..."

Several minutes later they were both sitting in the club with Kestra
looking around nervously, not used to being surrounded with so many
others of her own size. However Jennifer was rather pleasant to be with,
and seemed very kind. Kestra was extremely pleased that she'd agreed to
come.

"And what is this called again?" Kestra asked, taking a hesitant bite of
the food that Jennifer had recommended. She thought that Jennifer had
called it a sand witch, but she wasn't completely sure.

Jennifer just chuckled, "A BLT silly. Have you been hiding out in the
woods all of your life or something?" She smiled, showing that she was
merely teasing.

Kestra just nodded, "Something like that."

With that Kestra took a long drink of her beer, looking around the club
curiously. It was interesting to see so many humans relaxing and having
a good time, even putting her into a very pleasant mood. Of course, she
smiled, knowing that beer helped. It was much better than the barrels of
ale that she'd once... taken from some merchants.

"What are you thinking?" Jennifer asked After a moment looking genuinely
interested.

Kestra just stared at her for a few seconds before answering, "I was
just remembering..." she paused for a moment, smiling faintly as she
answered, "a story."

Jennifer grinned, "Oh. I like stories. Tell me."

Shrugging Kestra started, "It was about a giantess who lived in a land
very far away. One day she was walking along, hunting a griffin for her
dinner, when she ran across a group of traveling merchants."

At this Jennifer stared at Kestra in fascination, "Oh..." she
encouraged, "and then what happened?"

Kestra smiled as she remembered the incident, finding it much easier to
do in hindsight. Then she continued, taking her time as she told of how
'the giantess' stole most of the contents of their wagons... which
consisted of several barrels of ale, as well as some foodstuffs. Then
she want into great detail of how she'd gotten drunk from one of the
barrels.

"A drunk giantess..." somebody exclaimed with a chuckle, startling
Kestra as she realized that there were several other people standing
around her and Jennifer's table. They were all listening to her.
Jennifer glared at the man who'd made the comment, and then urged Kestra
to continue.

Taking a long drink from her beer Kestra eyed the people around her
table before she decided that she might as well continue. She continued
with the story for several minutes, then cringed at the memory as she
added, "And I... she was somewhat surprised when the mice she picked up
and started to pet... turned out to be VERY angry skunks."

There was a series of laughter around the table, drawing Kestra's
attention back and realizing that her audience had grown. It seemed as
if half the club was gathered around and listening to her, which made
her feel rather... odd. She wasn't used to that sort of attention and
decided that she rather liked it.

"I guess the moral of the story is never get a giantess drunk," some
tall blonde guy grinned, shaking his head in obvious amusement.

At this Kestra blushed slightly, then debated with herself about whether
or not to tell the rest. It was the attention from her audience that
convinced her to continue, regardless of how embarrassing the incident
had been.

"But there is more," Kestra announced, causing everyone to suddenly go
quiet and pay close attention. "After she'd sobered up... with a giant
sized hangover, it took her two whole weeks to clean the stench off
completely."

Jennifer grinned, her eyes sparkling, "I'd imagine."

Kestra just nodded, taking a drink of beer before continuing, "It was a
month later when the giantess decided to try some more of the ale,
However when she opened the next barrel, she should have read the
label." Everyone started at Kestra as she winced, "Had she done so
before drinking a good deal of it, she would have realized that it was
not full of ale... but of a grom nut oil."

At that Kestra had to pause and explain a little of what a grom nut was,
and that grom nut oil was used by many to help when sharpening their
weapons. Then she cringed, knowing that they were going to love the next
part... as mush as she had hated it.

"And the giantess soon found that the oil had an... unpleasant effect,"
Kestra told them, slowly looking around and keeping a straight face as
she explained, "it causes the runs if consumed, and she had consumed
enough to effect half a village." Again the room broke out laughing,
especially once Kestra told them about the sheer amounts she had lost
uncontrollably, though she did exaggerate some.

By the time Kestra was finished nearly everyone in the club was close by
and listening. Jennifer was just smiling in obvious amusement while
someone bought Kestra another beer and set it in front of her. She was a
little surprised by that, but wasn't about to turn it down.

"Got anymore?" Someone called out from the back, though Kestra couldn't
see who it was.

"Yes," Jennifer smiled, winking at Kestra, "got any more?"

Kestra took a deep breath, not sure of what she'd gotten herself into.
However since she was enjoying herself immensely, she took a deep drink
from her new beer and announced, "Ever heard the one about the dragon
and the dwarf?" It was an old story that her father had once told her
when she was but a child.

"Is it funny?" a girl up front asked, winking at Kestra.

With a slight frown, Kestra answered, "It's a love story." And then she
started the second of what was to be a series of stories to a totally
entranced audience.

---

Quinn awoke suddenly to the feeling of something cold and wet on his
face. He bolted upright, wincing faintly from aches and pains that
covered his body. And almost immediately he remembered the trolls...the
midget monster's who'd attacked.

"Damn..." Quinn grumbled, sitting the rest of the way up looking around
in confusion, realizing that he was lying down in the middle of the
street.

Suddenly Chiandra's voice asked, "Are you all right?"

Turning his head Quinn saw her standing a short distance away with a
look of relief on her face. There were several other people standing
around as well, including Orwen, Chiandra's uncle and others whom he
didn't recognize.

"I... I think so," Quinn finally answered, patting at his side and then
looking down, surprised to see that there was only a very faint scar.
"What..." he started, clearly remembering getting injured. In fact he
still felt a little bit of the pain, though it seemed only a dull ache
rather than the sharp pain he remembered.

At that Orwen stepped forward with a grim expression on his face. Quinn
didn't miss the crossbow that was strapped to his back, nor the sword
that was hanging from his belt. He stared at Quinn silently for a moment
before finally speaking. "I... I thank you for helping us with the
bandits." Quinn was a little startled at that, even more so when Orwen
gave him a faint smile.

"Um... no problem," Quinn responded slowly, then looked at Chiandra
curiously. "I thought I was hurt..."

Chiandra moved next to Quinn and put a hand on his leg. "You were." Then
she turned her head and gestured to another man who was standing there.
He looked to be in his mid thirties, with black hair and a leather bag
held in his hands. "But Crosh helped you get better. He's a healer."

"A healer?" Quinn repeated, guessing that it was something like a
primitive doctor. Then again he ran a finger over the very fine scar,
knowing that no doctor could fix things like that.

"Yes ma'am," the healer...Crosh answered, bowing his head slightly.
"They say that you are a... visitor." He gave Quinn an odd, curious look
at that.

Chiandra broke in, "Healers are low powered mages who heal the sick and
injured." She gestured at Crosh again, adding, "Crosh healed all of your
wounds." Crosh gave another faint bow at that... and an embarrassed
look.

Quinn was a little startled at that, and relieved when he thought about
how much those cuts had hurt. All that he felt now was a shadow of that
pain, and a bunch of aching muscles. "Thanks," he told Crosh with
genuine gratitude.

"T'was nothing," Crosh muttered quietly, looking embarrassed.

Then Quinn looked around, startled to realize that there were a number
of people close by, all watching him. A number of them wore bandages and
looked injured or at least tired, though quite a few of those were
smiling or looking satisfied.

Suddenly the crowd surprised Quinn even more by bursting into cheers.
All he could do was look around in confusion, half expecting some sort
of trap or cruel track. However they showed no sign of that, only of
excitement.

Noticing Quinn's confusion Chiandra exclaimed, "You drove the trolls
away and saved the town. They... we are all grateful."

Quinn was too startled by that pronouncement to speak. All he could do
was stare at all the people around him with his mouth open. Just a short
while earlier they'd wanted to hide from him, but now they were actually
cheering him.

Just as Quinn started to regain his composure a woman whom he'd seen
before stepped out in front of him, gently pushing a little girl in
front of her. It took him a moment to recognize the girl as Gwenneth,
and the woman as her mother.

"Thank you," the mother blurted out, "thank you, oh so much for saving
my Gwenneth..." There were tears in her eyes at that.

Gwenneth smiled up at Quinn shyly, waving her hand before disappearing
behind her mother's leg. He couldn't resist smiling back.

"I... I don't know what to say," Quinn finally said, still feeling a
little confused.

Chiandra's uncle grinned and stepped forward, "Y've already met me
niece," he gestured to her, adding, "and me barn."

Quinn nodded, "Thanks for letting me sleep there."

"It be me pleasure," Chiandra's uncle chuckled, "not like I use that one
much. But how do you feel?"

Quinn was silent for a moment, thinking about all of his sore muscles.
However when he answered, he only said, "Hungry."

A minute later Quinn found a large amount of food placed in front of
him. With a quick... and heartfelt thanks, he started in, eager to fill
his... giant appetite. Still, as hungry as he was, he felt a little
uncomfortable eating in front of so many people... but he didn't let
that stop him.

---

There was a loud burst of yelling that snapped Kestra out of her sleep,
making her instantly gasp and clutch her head, half sure that it was
going to explode. She closed her eyes, remembering the sensation very
clearly and cursing whatever God had created such a thing as a hangover.

With a wince Kestra slowly sat up in bed, trying to make sure her head
didn't fall... or that she didn't empty her stomach. At the moment both
seemed like definite possibilities. It was made even worse by the sound
that she could hear a short distance away, the sound of people arguing
outside the room, though fortunately going further away.

"Bright Drestas..." Kestra swore, hoping that the Goddess of light and
healing would take pity on her.

Then as Kestra slowly looked for the edge of the bed, she paused,
noticing for the first time that there was something in it with her. No,
she corrected herself... someone.

Kestra gasped, "Who..." just as she recognized Jennifer's face. Her eyes
went wide at that, then even more so when she remembered the night
before. "No..."

Though her head pounded from the effort, Kestra remembered the
drinking... the storytelling... the attention... and the drinking. Her
stomach heaved at the thought and she closed her eyes for a moment, only
vaguely remembering that she had gone home with Jennifer afterwards and
they had...

"Oh my..." Kestra squeaked out, unable to believe that she'd actually
done THAT with another woman... and a human woman at that.

Then Kestra climbed out of the bed, feeling too sick to think too much
about the night before. At the moment she had far more urgent business,
such as relieving herself and getting the room to stop spinning. She was
extremely thankful for the convenience of the other room's magical
chamber pot.

When Kestra came out several minutes later, she was startled to find
herself staring at Jennifer, who was standing in the middle of the room,
wearing a white robe and looking somewhat ill herself. For a moment both
of them stood there, staring at each other in uncomfortable silence.

Finally Jennifer gave a weak smile and announced, "I'll get breakfast."
And with that she went into the kitchen, not saying a word as she went
about her preparations.

Breakfast was a silent affair with neither Kestra nor Jennifer saying
anything and only occasionally giving each other quick, embarrassed
glances. It was obvious that Jennifer was somewhat uncomfortable with
the previous night's activities as well.

Afterwards Kestra quickly finished putting her clothes on and said
goodbye to Jennifer. It was a quick and uncomfortable goodbye on both of
their parts, with little sentimentality as Kestra left Jennifer's
apartment and rushed down the hall back to her host's.

Once safely inside Kestra let out a sigh, not at all delighted by the
irony of the situation. Her current hangover started off with her
telling the story about he last time she had gotten that drunk. It
should have served as a warning, and she knew that she should have
learned her lesson.

"Perhaps this time I'll learn my lesson," Kestra mumbled, half doubting
it already.

And as she stripped off her clothes again, grimacing from the receding
but still present headache, she decided that it wasn't going to be a
good day to go sight seeing. Not a good day at all.

---

With a faint grunt Quinn tried to ignore the aches from his muscles,
forcing himself to hold the wooden gate absolutely steady while several
of the townspeople scrambled to finish repairs. Quinn had been helping
with repairs to the gate for awhile and hoped that they would be done
soon. His arms were getting tired of holding it up.

"How much longer?" Quinn asked with a grimace.

"Only a minute," Chiandra's uncle responded, not even looking at Quinn
as he struggled with some sort of hinge. Then he called out, "Lift her a
little more on the far side." After Quinn had done as he asked,
Chiandra's uncle did something else to the hinge, though Quinn couldn't
quite make it out from where he was at.

Just then Chiandra gasped, "Amazing." She stood there and stared up at
Quinn and then the several people working on the gate, shaking her head
faintly.

"There," Chiandra's uncle told Quinn, "that should do it. Let her loose
so we can see if she's balanced."

Quinn nodded and slowly pulled his arms from the gate, relieved when it
didn't fall down. He took a step back and watched as several men slowly
pushed it open, then closed again. They nodded at each other and
repeated the process several times, even bolting and unbolting it.

Finally Chiandra's uncle called for them to stop, looking satisfied.
"Thank ye for yer help," he told Quinn. "Ye made me job easier."

Then another of the gate workers laughed, "And quicker." He gave Quinn a
nervous, yet also grateful expression. "It woulda taken two days ta fix
the gate insteada two hours." With that he shook his head and hurried
off.

Quinn just blushed, feeling a little uncertain of the thanks. It was
extremely rare that anyone had ever thanked him and actually meant it.
But he could tell that these people did.

"No problem," Quinn answered with a grin, feeling rather pleased with
himself.

Once everyone else had wandered off to work on other repairs and clean
up to the town, Quinn rubbed at his arms, still smiling faintly. He was
sore and tired, but still, he felt better than he had in a long time.

"You know," Chiandra said, tugging on Quinn's leg for attention, "you
don't have to help fix the town. You should just relax and enjoy your
vacation." She gave a forced smile, though it didn't fool Quinn at all.
It was obvious that the attack had gotten to her.

Quinn nodded, slowly dropping down to his knees so that he could look at
Chiandra from a little closer to her own height. "I know," he muttered
quietly, absently glancing around. Then he caught sight of a dead troll
being hauled off in a cart by several people and frowned.

Chiandra asked, "Something wrong?"

"Yeah," Quinn responded slowly, frowning thoughtfully, "I thought you
guys had poison arrows and stuff."

"Some," she answered, looking a little tired herself. "Why?"

"Then how come you didn't use them on those... things?" Quinn pointed at
the dead troll with a look of disgust, remembering how he'd seen several
of them hit with arrows and crossbow bolts but barely seeming to notice.

Chiandra just stared at Quinn as if he had asked a stupid question.
"They're trolls," she said impatiently, as if that was answer enough.

"What..." Quinn started, shaking his head and wondering what that had to
do with it.

After a moment Chiandra seemed to remember that Quinn wouldn't know
about her world and let out a sigh. Then as if explaining to a child,
she said, "Poison doesn't work on trolls. At least not any poisons I
ever heard of."

With that Quinn nodded in understanding and slowly stood up, grunting
from the aches in his muscles. He took a look around the town, or at
least what he could see of it, frowning. The damage that the trolls has
caused were pretty obvious, especially the burned out section of wall.

Quinn barely heard Chiandra suggest, "If we like, we can go back to the
barn and get dinner."

Instead Quinn stared further down the town wall, hearing the noise that
was coming from the burned out section. He was amazed at these people,
at how quickly they'd started putting things back together after the
attack, carrying on as if it was commonplace.

Then as he looked down at himself, remembering the amount of food that
he'd been eating, he felt just a tiny bit guilty. And as he thought
about it, he knew that he would feel even guiltier if he just went back
to the barn while everyone in the town was busy working.

"I..." Quinn was half surprised at himself when he told Chiandra, "I
think I'll see if I help out here a little more first." And with that he
started towards the destroyed section of wall.

---

Kestra leaned back and stared in fascination at the magic box that Sam
had called a television. Like most of the human magics that she'd seen,
it filled her with questions, and wonder. Such as how they could afford
to expend so much magic on everything.

"Plays in a box," she mused, shaking her head in amusement.

Then Kestra took a bit of the cold delicious food that Sam had brought
her, calling it I scream... or something like that. Whatever it was
called, it was very tasty. He definitely knew how to be a good guide,
even if he had only been over there for a short while earlier before
leaving her to spend most of the day alone by her own request. She
smiled at that, knowing that misery loves company... but only when the
other person is equally miserable.

Standing up Kestra looked out the window, still amazed that even at
night the human city was kept lighted. Kept lighted and very active. It
was almost as though the people in the city never slept, something that
she had seen quite well while out the night before.

Kestra sighed slightly at the memory of the night before, not sure what
she should think of it. Some of her memories weren't that clear,
especially between the point where she started telling her stories and
waking up next to Jennifer, but she could remember enough. And she could
remember that she had enjoyed it... as strange as the experience had
been.

Several minutes later Kestra was startled by the sound of a knocking on
the door. She went to answer it, sure that it was Sam, but surprised
when the open door revealed another face instead. Jennifer's.

"Mind if I come in?" Jennifer asked, looking extremely nervous.

"Oh," Kestra blinked, recovering from the surprise and stepping out of
the way, "of course."

Jennifer looked embraced as she stared at Kestra, "About last night..."

"It was..." Kestra started, not exactly sure how to word it.
"Unexpected." That was putting it mildly she thought wryly.

Jennifer nodded at that, "Yes... and I thought that we should have a
talk." Then she up a bottle and gave Kestra a wry smile, "I thought a
little hair of the dog might help."

"Hair of the dog?" Kestra repeated in confusion.

"You know," Jennifer added, this time with a more genuine smile, "of the
dog who bit you."

That only confused Kestra more. She didn't remember getting bit by any
dog the night before, but there were a lot of things that were blurry.
And she could see no reason to have any hair from it, but she didn't say
anything.

With that Jennifer made a pair of glasses appear and started to fill
them, explaining, "Just a little wine."

After Kestra had accepted a glass and taken a careful sip, she invited
Jennifer to sit down, deciding that it would probably be more
comfortable. She gave herself a wry smile at that, already feeling
somewhat uncomfortable with Jennifer from after the night before.

"I don't usually drink so much," Jennifer said after a minute.

"Me neither," Kestra answered, adding, "I've had a few too many
surprises when I do."

"And I don't usually go to bed with someone that quickly either,"
Jennifer added, blushing as she did so. "I can't say it was entirely the
beer though." After a moment more of silence, she blurted out, "I didn't
want to let our sleeping together ruin any chance we might have."

Kestra blinked at that, "Oh..." She wasn't sure what to say about that.

However she didn't have to say anything as Jennifer quickly announced,
"I enjoyed spending time with you last night and thought that we might
do so again." She grinned in embarrassment, adding, "But without all the
alcohol."

"I enjoyed your company as well," Kestra admitted honestly. It had been
interesting to actually sit down and talk to someone without them
running away in fear.

They talked for several minutes while slowly sipping at the wine,
neither drinking too much. The conversation remained mute while Kestra
and Jennifer danced around the subject of their sleeping together and
tried to get past the discomfort.

Once they had both settled down, Jennifer told Kestra, "I loved those
stories you were telling last night. Wherever did you come up with
those?"

Kestra grinned, "Here and there." There was no way that Jennifer would
believe the truth, at least if Sam was right, which she was beginning to
suspect he was.

"Well you ought to consider getting them published," Jennifer told her,
sounding sincere. Kestra just nodded at that, feeling rather pleased at
the compliment. "You're quite a storyteller and you almost make it seem
as though you'd actually seen that stuff."

"Thank you," Kestra said with a smile.

Then Jennifer abruptly changed subjects, "So, Kester is kind of an
unusual name."

Kestra gulped at that, suddenly feeling just a tiny bit nervous, though
she pushed that away, chiding herself for the emotion. What cause was
there to be nervous of a human, especially when they were just talking?

"It is not my real name," Kestra responded slowly, "it is just what
others call me."

"A nickname," Jennifer nodded. "So what's your real name then?" She
looked at Kestra curiously.

With a shrug, Kestra answered, "I don't remember." Sam had told her the
name of her host, though she didn't remember it at the moment.

"Oooh," Jennifer gave an exaggerated wince and look of sympathy, "that
bad eh?"

A moment later they refilled their glasses and Kestra announced, "A
toast." She had seen the custom on the television and rather liked it,
"To spending time with others."

"An odd toast," Jennifer mused, adding, "to good conversation with
interesting people." They clinked their glasses at that and each took a
sip.

After several more hours of talking Jennifer excused herself, saying
that it was time to return home. "I prefer to take things slowly,"
Jennifer told Kestra as she got to the door, causing them both to smile
as they thought about how late that statement was.

"I will look forward to seeing you again," Kestra told her honestly,
half surprised at how much she meant it. It was strange for her since
she was definitely not used to being around others. At least not in such
a pleasant manner.

With that Jennifer leaned forward and gave Kestra a kiss on the cheek,
then stood back again and winked. "To remember me by," she told him,
just before she left.

For a minute Kestra just stood there, unsure of her own emotions. Unsure
of the strange things that she was feeling. Not only did she enjoy
Jennifer's company, but she was eager for more of it. That was very
unusual for one such as herself who was used to being alone... and
preferred it that way. At least she thought that she had, but now she
wasn't so sure.

***

The shimmery water was chilled, but not quite so much as Quinn would
have expected. Closing his eyes, he smiled and let out a contented sigh,
wishing that he had a nice hot bath, but deciding that at the moment a
soak in the lake was nearly as good.

It was several days since the incident with the Trolls, and Quinn was
amazed at just how much attitudes around the town had changed towards
him. At first even while he helped with repairing the walls, most of the
townspeople had still been suspicious of him. But that didn't last long
and now they came out smiling at him, treating him as if he were a
friend, not a monster who might tear down their town at any moment.

With that Quinn splashed his hands along the lake surface, smiling as he
thought about that morning. The people in the town had been so nice to
him since that he felt that he had to do something for them... or at
least something more. Even if it was something small for him. That was
why he'd spent most of the morning helping the farmers... finding that
he could do a lot more work than several of their horses together.

"Nice," Quinn muttered, "but I'm still not much of a drafthorse." Still,
he smiled, feeling pleased that he'd been able to be helpful... and
actually appreciated.

Quinn nodded towards Chiandra on the shore then took another look around
himself, absently scuffling his feet along the sandy lake bottom. He was
still amazed at what his guide had called the Golden Lake. The name was
very appropriate as the water actually looked like liquid gold from a
distance, though Quinn couldn't quite figure out why.

Shaking his head, Quinn splashed in the water a little, "So strange...
so beautiful."

For a moment he remained where he was, taking turns looking between the
golden lake and his own body... or at least what he could see through
the water. The sight of breasts on his chest... as well as their feel
was still very strange... and though he was reluctant to admit it... a
little erotic as well.

Then Quinn started back for shore, grinning as he stepped out of the
water and towered over Chiandra... completely naked. Water dripped from
his body, especially from the tips of his massive mammaries. It was
strange for him to think that each was even bigger than his head
was...had been in his own body.

He'd felt a twinge of embarrassment when he first undressed to get in
the water, but after he reminded himself that they were both girls at
the moment... he realized that it wasn't even his own body so there was
nothing to be modest about. And of course Chiandra didn't seem to care
one way or the other, which settled Quinn's mind further.

"The water is nice," Quinn told Chiandra, "you should have come in."

"No thanks," Chiandra grinned, "I do not know how to... swim."

Quinn blinked at that in surprise, wondering how anyone could live so
close to such a nice lake and still not know how to swim. "I'll teach
you," Quinn told her after a minute.

Chiandra looked a little embarrassed, "Thank you. I will gladly
accept... but not this day. I promised uncle that I would help him with
supper."

Feeling a little disappointed at that, Quinn nodded, "All right. Just
let me get dressed."

With that he started for his clothes, wishing that he actually had a
towel large enough for his body. Unfortunately though there didn't seem
to be anything around so he had to let the sun dry him... and get into
his clothes while still wet.

Once Quinn had finished getting his clothes back on, he grinned down at
Chiandra, "Want a piggy back ride?" He couldn't help asking since she
looked as small as a child to him.

Chiandra just looked a little confused at that. "Piggy back?" She shook
her head, "I will be riding horse back." Then she called, "Carrot..."
attracting her horses attention.

A minute later they started back towards the town, with Quinn looking
down in amusement. It still amazed him that a horse looked closer to the
size of a large dog, and that an adult human only looked about the same
size as a little kid. He didn't think that he could ever get used to
something like that, but at least it was interesting.

"Better than boredom," he muttered to himself. "A hell of a lot better."

It didn't take long before they got past the trees into the part of the
valley where the farmers were working the field. And even from a
distance Quinn could see a group of men gathered around with several
horses, though he couldn't make out what they were doing until he and
Chiandra got closer.

"Tis the giant..." one of the men called out once Quinn was close enough
to see them all. He looked up at Quinn nervously, though he made no move
to run.

Then another of the man nodded, "T'was my sisters child that ye saved,"
He smiled, "Ye have me thanks." The other three men all relaxed at that.

"What is going on?" Chiandra asked curiously.

Quinn just stared into the large hole that the men were standing in
front of, seeing a large rock in the middle of it. A moment later the
men confirmed that they were trying to remove it, already having tried
with heavy ropes, several chains and a pair of horses.

"Maybe I can help," Quinn offered, bending down for a better look.

The man who claimed that Gwenneth was his niece grinned, "T'would be
greatly appreciated."

With that Quinn climbed into the hole that the men had dug around the
rock and grimaced, beginning to question if he could move it. From that
position, it was a lot bigger than it looked from above. Still, he tried
to lift rock... the small boulder, to push it up the side of the hole.
And though the rock moved several inches, it quickly became obvious to
Quinn that he wasn't going to succeed.

"Damn!" he spat, "That bastard is heavy."

"Mayhap if you lift along with the horses?" one of the other men
suggested, acting almost as though Quinn was one of his normal co-
workers.

"Good idea," Quinn agreed.

However even after the horses and all the men pulled on the chains while
Quinn struggled with the rock, it only moved several more inches,
showing no sign of actually coming out of the hole. After attempting
that for over half an hour, they gave up in disgust.

"Tis too large," one of the men grumbled, "even for one of your size."

Chiandra suddenly exclaimed, "Uncle is waiting... I have to get back."
She turned to Quinn, an expectant look on her face.

However he just glared at the rock, beginning to hate it. "You go
ahead," he told her, "I can catch up when we're done here."

Chiandra seemed a little surprised at that, "Are you sure?" Then she
asked, "Do you know the way back..."

Quinn just nodded, "Yeah, I'll be fine."

Still Chiandra didn't seem convinced. At least not at first though
several minutes she was on her way again while Quinn remained behind
staring at the boulder in determination.

Finally, Quinn shook his head, "I think we're going about this all
wrong." At the questioning looks, he said, "Work smarter, not harder."

"What mean ye?" Gwenneth's uncle asked.

Quinn wasn't completely sure of that himself. At least not yet. "Do you
have any dynamite or explosives?" At their blank looks, he muttered,
"Guess not." And the rock did look too sturdy to break up into smaller
bits very easily. Not without some good tools that he didn't see around.
"Maybe dig a ramp or use a lever..."

After several more seconds, something suddenly dawned on Quinn. "You
guys want to clear this out so you can plant... whatever." At their
nods, and expressions that hinted that they thought the question stupid,
Quinn asked, "How deep do you guys need to dig... or whatever?"

"A good foot or two," Gwenneth's uncle answered after a moment
scratching his scraggly beard.

"Okay..." Quinn mused; staring at the rock in the hole, seeing that at
least six inches of it was above the ground. Suddenly he announced,
"I've got it. Why try lifting the rock and fighting gravity when we can
use it instead?"

One of the men, a balding man with a brown beard, demanded, "What do ye
speak of?" He scratched his head as he looked up at Quinn in confusion.

After bending over a little so that he could see past his breasts, Quinn
nodded down towards the man, trying to consider how to explain it. He
absently twirled one of his fingers through his hair before suddenly
grinning.

"Look," Quinn grinned, "it's like this..."

Even before Quinn had finished with the exploration, the men all nodded
and grinned to each other, quickly picking up their shovels and picks.
Within moments they were all in the bottom of the pit, working at the
ground. Quinn... who had no tools of his own, quickly bent down to help
them make the hole even bigger with his bare hands.

It didn't take long before they'd excavated the hole where Quinn wanted
to his satisfaction, especially with his large hands pulling the dirt
away just as quickly as the workers dug it loose. Then he gestured for
the others to clear the hole while he moved to the other side and pushed
at the large rock once again.

"C'mon," Quinn grunted.

Then Quinn grinned in satisfaction as the rock moved, slowly at first,
then quickly as it started to topple. A moment later there was a
crashing sound as the rock fell sideways into the deeper hole that they
had dug next to it, leaving a clear two feet between the highest point
of the rock and the ground level.

"She did it!" the balding man gasped in awe.

"We did it," Quinn corrected with a grin, knowing that they still had to
fill the hole back in with the remaining dirt. He started that off by
pushing a large amount in with his foot.

Gwenneth's uncle just chuckled as he reached for his shovel, "Not only
strong... but clever as well." The other men echoed their agreement as
they went back to work, making Quinn blush at the comments, but feel
extremely pleased.

Once they had finished Quinn said goodbye and started on his way back to
the barn, feeling not only incredibly satisfied, but very hungry as
well. He absently rubbed his stomach, jokingly thinking that he was
hungry enough to eat a horse... until he laughed, realizing that he
actually could.

---

Kestra stared intently at the green table in front of her, trying to
determine her next move. With a scowl she took a drink of beer, then
glanced over at her guide Sam, determined to beat him at the game that
he called pool. At least this time.

"Well," Sam grinned, "you going man or what?"

With a snort Kestra snapped, "In a moment." She still had to figure out
how to get that tiny red ball into one of the holes using the stick he'd
given her. It was definitely a challenging game and she had yet to beat
Sam... but she wasn't going to rest until she did. "I think I have
it..."

And with that Kestra took her shot, missing the target hole by several
inches and knocking one of Sam's balls closer to a hole in the process.

"You're getting better," Sam grinned, bending over and taking a shot,
easily knocking his target ball into the hole. "You just need a little
practice."

Kestra just nodded, not feeling much better. It had been several hours
since Sam had brought her to the bar and introduced her to pool. It was
interesting since she was not used to competing against others in such a
way, and rather amusing. And though she had been enjoying herself, there
was no doubt that it would have been far more enjoyable had she been
winning.

"Ten bucks says he misses the next shot," one of the guys standing
nearby said aloud, earning a glare from Kestra. He just laughed at that,
"Hey man, I was just kidding."

"Hey," Sam added with a grin of his own, "I'll take you up on that bet."

There were several chuckles around the table but Kestra tried to put
them out of her mind and focus at the task at hand. There were definite
downsides to being around people she decided, though she smiled faintly
at the thought, knowing that sometime challenges could prove the most
interesting. And With that she took her shot, grinning triumphantly as
the ball she was aiming for went in.

"Damn," Sam grumbled, handing some money to the other guy, "you choose
now to get better." Kestra just grinned smugly at that.

By the time Sam had finished winning that game and they were firmly in
the middle of another, they were talking quite cheerfully with the
gambler, whose name Kestra learned was Mitch, as well as several of
Mitch's friends at the next table. Kestra was somewhat curious as to
their boisterous attitudes, but suspected that much of it was due to the
beer.

"So," Mitch asked, glancing over at Kestra and Sam, "who do you think'll
win tomorrow?"

"Win?" Kestra asked, wondering what he meant.

"You know," Mitch added, "the Giants or the Bears?"

Kestra just stared at Mitch as though he were stupid. "Giants of
course," she halfway spat, wondering how anyone could ask such a stupid
question. Then she added with a smirk, "Giants always win."

Mitch shook his head, giving a mock disappointed look, "A Giants fan."
Then he grinned and asked, "Care to make a bet?"

Sam grinned at that, "Sure thing." Then he grinned at Kestra, "Wanna
come back here tomorrow night for the game?"

She shook her head, wondering what kind of a game they could have
between bears and giants... especially when she didn't think that giants
even existed there. And since humans weren't supposed to believe her
kind even existed, she was even more confused by the question and
decided to ask Sam about it later.

"No..." she finally told Sam, glancing at Mitch and his friends, "I have
other plans."

Sam just nodded, looking at Kestra with a slightly worried expression.
However he didn't say anything, just gesturing for her to get back to
the game.

A minute later Kestra excused herself to go to the bathroom, reminding
herself to use the one for men. Sam had made that very clear earlier,
though it amused her that humans actually had separate places for men
and women to relieve themselves. It was just another curiosity about
their behavior that she had to add to the rest.

Once she had finished relieving herself, Kestra started back towards the
pool table, absently thinking how strange it was to urinate that way.
Even after several days as a man, it still startled her when she did
that.

Suddenly Kestra felt as though she ran into a wall and staggered back,
startled to see a man in front of her. An extremely large man who was
over a head taller than her, bulging with muscles and looking extremely
mean.

"What the fuck?" the man growled. "What the hell do you think you're
doing?"

Kestra just stared up in surprise, her mouth hanging open as she stared
at the largest person she'd ever seen. Or at least he seemed that way,
making her feel tiny in comparison. She was NOT used to being smaller
than others or in the weaker position. Then she gulped as she felt an
emotion that she had not felt in a VERY long time. Not since she'd run
into that dragon years ago. It was fear.

With a snarl, the man grunted, "Keep the hell outta my way." And with
that he shoved Kestra, not even using his full strength, as she sprawled
backwards and into the nearby wall.

Kestra got to her feet, clenching her hands angrily, not sure whether
she was angry at the huge man or herself for being afraid. She shook
slightly, still unnerved by the sudden realization of how small and
helpless she now was. No longer was she the imposing figure that people
ran from... at least not at the moment. And that meant that she could be
hurt. Was that was how the people always felt when they ran...

Then with a deep breath, and a more sober state, Kestra started back
towards Sam and the pool table, having gained a lot to think about.

---

There was a slight breeze that blew by; just enough to take the edge
from the sun's warmth and make the grass nearby dance lightly. The scent
of roasting pies and breads were carried upon the breeze, as well as
strong hints of smoke from a fire. And then there were the sounds of
children playing close by, all of which made Quinn feel quite relaxed
and carefree.

At the moment Quinn was sitting on the grass just a short distance from
the town walls, enjoying his vacation. Enjoying the fact that he didn't
have to work, though he certainly didn't mind helping like he had with
the rock just the day before.

Then he shifted position slightly to get a better look at the children
who were chasing each other around in some variation of tag, laughing
and giggling as they did so. After several minutes the kids stopped
their game and started to slowly move toward Quinn, looking at him
curiously. It was only then that he realized that one of them was that
little girl Gwenneth.

"Wow," a ragamuffin boy who looked around 10 exclaimed when he got
closer to Quinn, "look how big she is." Still he made no effort to move
any closer, only glancing at the other children with him. None of them
seemed inclined to get any closer, not within arms reach, which made
Quinn smile faintly.

Suddenly Gwenneth ran forward and giggled, "Hi big lady." She looked up
at Quinn with a pair of wide brown eyes that somehow reminded him of a
puppy's.

"Hello," Quinn smiled back gently, bending down a little so that he was
a little closer to her level. "How are you today Gwenn?"

Gwenneth brightened at that. "Fine." Then she grinned back at her
friends and bragged, "She knows my name." A moment later she ran towards
Quinn and surprised him by throwing her arms around his leg and giving
it a hug.

Quinn wasn't sure how to react to Gwenneth's hug, so he just gave her a
gentle pat on the back. And as he did so, Quinn noticed that the other
kids were coming closer, seeing that he wasn't going to hurt them.

Then the oldest one, the 10 year old who'd first commented about his
size, looked up at Quinn with an expression of mixed awe and
curiosity... as well as defiance. "My daddy says that you ate one of the
mean trolls."

Nearly choking at that, Quinn responded with a grin, "No, I don't eat
trolls." And then with a wink to show that he was joking, he added,
"Just naughty children."

The kids all giggled at that, none of them taking him seriously. Instead
they came even closer and started to hesitantly started to touch him. It
was almost as if they were daring each other, trying to prove how brave
they were. But none of them seemed afraid of Quinn, especially after
several minutes.

"How did you get so big?" one girl asked in awe.

"Did you really fight all of those trolls?" one of the boys asked.

Then a 7 year old girl with reddish hair in pigtails exclaimed, "I bet
you're really, really strong."

All of the others nodded at that, all except for the oldest boy who
retorted, "I bet my daddy's stronger than her. After all, she's just a
girl."

Quinn nearly laughed at that. "Just a girl..." he repeated, looking down
at himself and staring at his breasts. "I guess you're right." It still
amazed him at that. "But can your daddy do THIS?"

And with that Quinn reached over and picked up a large rock that was
nearly as big as Gwenneth was. All of the kids stared at that, even more
so when he easily tossed it to the side. Then they burst into excited
chatter, most of which he couldn't quite make out.

Suddenly the pig-tailed girl demanded, "Pick me up."

"No... me," another burst out excitedly.

"I don't know..." Quinn started, then shook his head. "Why not."

A moment later Quinn gently picked up the pig-tailed girl and lifted her
into the air, smiling as she giggled and gasped in excitement. Then he
stood up, lifting her even higher into the air, much to her delight...
as well as the others below.

"My turn..." they each cried out when Quinn set the girl back down.

Quinn carefully lifted the next, giving them each a turn but being
extremely careful with them as he did so. They were so small that it
took almost no effort to do so, which only impressed them even more.

"And this is called an airplane ride..." Quinn started, holding one and
moving her around in the air. "Hang on..."

Once Quinn had finished with the rides and sat back down, he quickly
found himself in the role of a jungle gym as the children started to
climb on him. He laughed, amazed at just how amusing it was just to play
with little kids.

Then Quinn heard another laugh... an adult laugh. He looked over and
blushed in embarrassment to see Chiandra standing there with her arms
crossed and a bit of a smirk on her face.

"You seem to get along with them rather well," she commented.

"Yeah," Quinn admitted with a grin, "they do look up to me."

Chiandra just shook her head at that, making Quinn grin even more. It
appeared that the power of bad puns transcended dimensions.

"So what's up?" Quinn asked, beginning to move the kids off of him.

"No need for that," Chiandra gestured for Quinn to remain where he was.
"I was just checking on how you where." She looked back towards the wall
and nodded towards someone there, then told Quinn, "You can stay here
and keep the kids occupied. I have something that I need to take care
of."

Quinn shrugged, shifting one of the kids and smiling, "Sure." He had
absolutely no problem playing baby-sitter, especially since he was
having the time of his life. "See you later then."

And then Chiandra said a quick, "See you later," as she hurried off back
towards the town gate and the several people standing there.

However Quinn barely noticed Chiandra leaving as one of the kids tugged
on his hair, demanding that he return all his attention towards them.
With an exaggerated sigh Quinn did just that, amused at the fact that HE
was actually having fun playing with kids.

---

The sound of music could be heard in the distance, the same strange sort
of music that Kestra had heard a number of times since coming to that
world. Music that was wild and filled strange sounds. And though the
music was interesting, some of it even hypnotic, Kestra was unable to
find most of what she'd heard very enjoyable. And At the moment it was
an annoyance that she was trying to ignore.

Kestra glanced over at Jennifer and smiled as they walked down the hall
of the apartment building, having just returned from dinner and
entertainment... what Sam had called a date. In fact, they had spent
most of the day together, having gone to the zoo earlier, and then to
dinner and dancing, with Kestra thoroughly enjoying all of it.

"Such strange creatures," Kestra commented casually as they reached the
door to Jennifer's apartment.

"Oh," Jennifer responded, smiling at Kestra as she asked, "what ones?"

With shrug, Kestra answered, "Humans."

Jennifer just laughed, "C'mon, I know you were interested in the zoo.
You acted like you've never heard of an elephant before."

Kestra didn't bother answering that, only smiling instead. It had been
the first time that she'd ever heard of such a creature, or that giraffe
thing. In fact, there were a great number of strange creatures that
Jennifer had shown her at the zoo, which she had never seen or heard of
before. But at the same time, Kestra couldn't resist smiling, relieved
that at least some of the animals were ones she knew of, such as the
bears. Even if some of them were white.

Just as the door opened Jennifer smiled at Kestra and asked, "Do you
want to come in for a nightcap?"

Though she wasn't completely sure what a nightcap was, Kestra nodded
agreement. She'd already had such an enjoyable time with Jennifer that
she was reluctant for it to end just yet. It was so rare that she was
able to spend time with someone, to just talk and be comfortable with
each other. It was very rare indeed for any giant to enjoy
companionship, especially with ones of equal size.

"Yes," Kestra said with a smile, "I would enjoy that." That seemed to be
just what Jennifer wanted to hear.

Several minutes later, they were inside and Kestra was sitting down on
Jennifer's couch while she put her coat away and went to the kitchen.
She came back out a moment later and handed Kestra a glass of what
appeared to be wine, but as Kestra took a sip, she was startled to
realize that it was some sort of juice.

"Grape juice," Jennifer said quietly, sitting down very close to Kestra
and taking a sip from her own glass. And as she put her hand on Kestra's
thigh, she looked nervous for a moment. But just for a moment. "I didn't
want... I don't want either of us to blame the alcohol this time."

Kestra just stared at Jennifer for a moment in surprise, realizing what
her friend was saying. She blinked, realizing for the first time that
her heart was racing. That her breathing was a little choked. And of
course that there was a pressure from her crotch, from her new equipment
threatening to burst out of her pants.

"I understand," Kestra said quietly, setting her glass down and staring
Jennifer straight in the eyes. She couldn't help noticing that Jennifer
had very beautiful eyes.

Then Jennifer blushed, "Thank you," making Kestra realize that she'd
said that thought out loud, embarrassing her as well.

As Jennifer pushed herself even closer to Kestra, making her breath felt
on Kestra's cheek, Kestra realized that her body was reacting even more.
She was slightly confused by the strange sensations running through her
body... and her heart. There was no doubt that her body was excited by
Jennifer's presence... to a great deal.

For a moment Kestra just stared at Jennifer's eyes... and then down at
her breasts. They were nice and shapely, though smaller than her own...
than the ones from her real body. However even though she had seen her
own breasts countless times, these ones seemed almost hypnotic in the
way that they drew Kestra's attention.

"Oh," Kestra whispered quietly, slowly bending forward until her lips
were just inches from Jennifer's. She could feel Jennifer's breath on
her lips... could smell the sweet perfume and scent of a woman. "Yes..."

With that Kestra pushed her lips forward and completed the contact,
starting what was to be a long and passionate kiss. Kestra put her arms
around Jennifer who grabbed her back and they held each other for some
time in a deep kiss.

Finally they broke apart and Kestra stared at Jennifer with a feeling of
wonder. Wonder at the emotions that she was feeling for a woman when she
knew that they were supposed to be reserved for her mate... for a male
giant. Wonder at the fact that she desired something that she knew she
should not. And wonder that the feelings were obviously returned.

Kestra hesitated only a moment under all these considerations, thinking
about all the reasons she should not... could not do anything with
Jennifer... at least not again. However after only a few seconds, they
were all thrown away as she reached forward for another kiss. This time,
knowing without a doubt that it was going to lead to something much...
much more intimate.

Several minutes later Kestra's prediction was proven correct as they
moved to the bedroom, leaving a trail of clothes strewn on the floor
behind them. Neither of them said a word, not... until Jennifer started
screaming out, "Kester..."

Some time afterwards Kestra lay motionlessly in the bed, feeling the
presence of Jennifer beside her. The presence of her friend... her
lover. And it felt oddly comforting, bringing a gentle smile to Kestra's
face. And as she slowly drifted off to sleep, she didn't feel any guilt
at all from what they had done, only a deep contentment.

---

It was beginning to get late by the time Quinn returned to the barn. He
frowned slightly, wishing that he could have caught up to Chiandra
before going to bed, but whatever it was that she was busy with had
taken the rest of the day. It was a little disappointing, but Quinn knew
that he'd see her the next day.

"I wonder what she has planned for tomorrow," Quinn mused absently,
pausing a moment to think about it. There was no telling where Chiandra
would take him or what she would show him. He'd already seen more than
he could have imagined possible on his vacation and knew without a doubt
that there was plenty more to see. "Should be interesting at least."

Then Quinn thought about what had happened earlier during that day,
smiling at the memory. Who ever would have thought that he would have
been a baby-sitter for a whole town, at least for one day. And what was
more, he had enjoyed it, liking the way those kids had actually wanted
to play with him. It had actually made him feel wanted... needed.

Shaking his head slightly Quinn sighed, "A first time for everything."

After a moment Quinn opened the barn door and crouched down to enter,
stopping in surprise when he saw that there were already people in the
barn... lots of them. And Chiandra stood in front, with Orwen, her uncle
and several others standing nearby, including Crosh and Gwenneth's
mother.

"Surprise!" Chiandra called out with a mischievous expression.

Quinn gasped, "What..." in confusion, definitely surprised.

"I thought you might be," Chiandra commented with a grin.

Then Orwen took a step forward, bowing his head slightly and looking
embarrassed. "I come to apologize for my earlier mistrust. You have done
nothing but good for us since you came to visit."

"Thanks," Quinn responded, feeling a little startled, "but I think I can
understand why..."

With that Chiandra grinned as she announced, "Well, the reason we're
here is that everyone appreciated your helping out so much." There were
several comments around the barn at that, mentioning the rock, the
trolls and even his playing with the kids.

"Ye've been a good guest," Chiandra's uncle commented, "and even though
ye got a short time left, we thought ye might like it bein more cozy."

Chiandra grinned up at Quinn, then gave a glance at her uncle before
gesturing behind her. At that several of the men in the back pulled a
tarp off of the 'bed' that Quinn had been using, revealing a new
mattress beneath.

"We know you're not going to be here much longer," Chiandra quickly told
Quinn, "but we thought that you might sleep a little better in that time
if you had a more comfortable mattress." She grinned. "I know that you
complained about the other one a few times, so some of us got together
and made a new one for you."

Quinn just stared at the mattress in shock, then at Chiandra, something
catching in his throat. Feeling nervous, he moved over to the new
mattress and gently put his hand on it, pushing down. It felt so soft
compared to the previous one. Almost just like a real mattress.

"Oh my..." Quinn whispered, slowly turning from the mattress and looking
around at the people in the barn.

"I think that she likes it," Orwen told Chiandra quietly.

"Our mattress makers aren't used to making anything that big," Chiandra
said apologetically, "I hope it's soft enough."

All Quinn could do was nod his head, still in a complete daze. There was
little doubt that there was a lot of effort put into the mattress... and
the sturdy bed frame that seemed to come with it. They had actually done
all that...j ust for him. It was shocking...almost beyond belief.

"You guys did that for me..." Quinn gasped quietly.

No one had ever done anything like that for Quinn in his entire life, at
least not as long as he could remember. He'd never had anyone go through
that kind of trouble, go through that kind of effort to try making him
happy. Not even for Christmas when he was a kid.

"Quinn..." Chiandra asked carefully, looking worried. "Are you all
right?"

For a moment he just stared at her and then the smiling people around
him, people who had previously looked at him as though he were some sort
of monster but now were all smiling, looking at him as if he were one of
them. As if he were a friend or member of their family.

"I... I..." Quinn's voice was shaky as he collapsed to the ground, "I've
never been better."

With that Quinn smiled at them all, feeling overwhelmed by the surprise
of it all. "Thank you," he finally said, his voice so quiet that most of
them had to strain to hear it, "thank you so much."

However it wasn't just for the bed and mattress that Quinn was thanking
them. Instead it was for something far more important. It was for the
reason that they'd given them to him. For what they symbolized. And then
all Quinn could think to do was reach out and grab a surprised Chiandra
in a hug... tears of joy streaming down his cheeks.

***

Quinn sat up in his bed with a smile, patting it gently and fighting the
urge to go back to sleep. It had been the best night's sleep that he'd
had in a long time, longer than he could remember. The new mattress was
even better than the one up in the giant's house, as well as the one
back in his own apartment. However he knew that it had been more than
just the mattress.

"Let's see," Quinn mused, looking down at his naked body with a wry
grin. It was still a little odd to see a woman's body whenever he looked
down, but not nearly as strange as it had been. "Yep, they're still
there."

With that Quinn ran a hand over his breasts, smiling faintly as he did
so. It was almost erotic to touch his own breasts, then he changed his
mind and decided that there was no 'almost' to it. It was erotic, and
enough to get him a little turned on. However he decided that he didn't
have time for that now, no matter how much he might be tempted.

Several minutes later Quinn had dressed and left the barn, still smiling
to himself as he thought about the night before. Not about the sleep,
but about the part. About the people gathering to give him something
that they'd gone through so much effort to make. And just for him.

"For me," Quinn whispered, shaking his head in disbelief.

He stood outside the barn for several minutes, doing nothing except
slowly looking around and breathing in the fresh air. For a moment he
considered waiting around for Chiandra, knowing that she would come by
sooner or later. After all she had mentioned wanting to take Quinn up to
see where a flock of golden geese supposedly nested. However Quinn
decided against waiting, at least for now. And with that he started off
towards the town.

While he was walking Quinn noticed a group of men in the distance,
though what they were up to he couldn't make out. Then he curiously
started towards them, absently wondering if maybe they were just trying
to get out another rock. He smiled at that, flexing one of his arms and
deciding that if they were, he might be of some help. In an odd way, he
almost hoped that they were.

But as Quinn got closer to the group, he could make out several things.
That there were five of them, that they seemed to be armed with
spears... and that there was something else that they were circling...
and backing away from.

"Holy shit," Quinn gasped, as he got even closer, drawing the attention
of the men as he stared at the thing they were facing.

The creature was larger, though not quite the size of a horse, having a
catlike body. Closer to the body of a lion, with a tannish color.
However the front legs were scaled and clawed, while a pair of feathery
wings sprouted from its shoulders. And even stranger than that was the
creature's head, which looked very birdlike... and extremely pissed. As
he saw it, one word sprang to mind... griffin.

"Careful," Orwen growled out. It wasn't until then that Quinn realized
that he was one of the group. He barely gave a glance back at Quinn as
he warned, "The griffin is injured... making it more dangerous."

Quinn nodded, even though they couldn't see it. Then he noticed the wing
which was bent slightly... and the streak of blood down it's side, not
to mention what seemed to be a nasty gash the blood was coming from.

"It be lookin ta cause trouble," one of the men growled back as
explanation, "Caught er startin for town."

Orwen moved forward slightly, holding his spear out as if to push the
griffin back. It just let out a cry that sounded unlike anything Quinn
had ever heard. It was sort of a cross between a growl and a bird's cry.
Then it lashed out with its claws, knocking the spear out of Orwen's
hands and causing him to jump back.

"Something injured it," Orwen growled, glancing at Quinn again, "and now
it is in a spiteful mood, ready to attack anyone it happens across. It
must be slain before it hurts anyone."

Quinn just stared at the creature nervously, thinking that in spite of
its small size, at least compared to him, its claws and beak still
looked rather nasty. "Slay it?" he repeated slowly, actually feeling a
little sympathetic to the griffin. After all, it was hurt and probably
pretty scared as well.

One of the other men snorted sarcastically, "Less ye have a better
idea."

Almost as if on cue the griffin lashed out forward with its claws,
though the men's spears pushed it back again. It let out another howl
while crouching down, looking as though it were about to pounce. The men
all grimaced and shifted positions, trying to find a way forward though
the creature seemed wary and good at avoiding their spears.

Then Quinn frowned, "I think I just might."

And before anyone could say anything, Quinn lunged forward and grabbed
hold of the griffin by the scruff of its neck, pulling it back. Wings
flapped uselessly against his arm while he snaked his other hand
underneath and latched it around the claws.

"I've got it," Quinn grunted, picking the griffin up and holding it just
like he had the neighbor's cat when he was a kid. A cat that absolutely
loved to scratch and bite, making him learn very quickly how to hold it
to avoid all of those. "Just like a big old puddy tat."

"Brakka..." Orwen gasped, staring up at Quinn with a look of shock on
his face.

"She caught the flamin beastie..." another of the men gasped.

Orwen shook his head, smiling faintly though he tried unsuccessfully to
hide it. "Impressive," he admitted, "but what are you going to do with
it since you seem to have little inclination to slay it?"

Quinn just grinned, holding the griffin firmly, "We have Crosh heal it,
then we let it go. Since it won't be hurt anymore, it won't have any
reason to stick around and will fly off." He grinned proudly.
"Everyone's happy and there's no need to kill it."

Orwen just shook his head faintly, as if thinking that Quinn was doing
something foolish but unwilling to say so. At the same time he seemed
vaguely amused by Quinn's unique method of handling the griffin and was
humoring him.

Just as they started on their way to find Crosh, Orwen looked around,
with one of the other men asking, "What's wrong?"

"Something injured the griffin," Orwen told them all with a grim
expression, "and I would like to know what... and if it presents a
danger." That was a chilling thought, especially with the griffin blood
dripping down Quinn's arm.

Several minutes later Orwen called for a stop, holding up his arm and
pointing. "Look!" Quinn looked to where Orwen was pointing... and
running towards, finally seeing what Orwen had noticed, just as the man
yelled, "Trolls."

Some distance away were a group of trolls; only 3 of them, but all of
them were armed. They looked like some of the same troll bandits who'd
attacked the town earlier, and nasty looking at that.

"They must have been what hurt the griffin," one of the men growled,
chasing after Orwen, along with the others.

Quinn just stood where he was for a few seconds clutching the still
struggling griffin, undecided about what to do. Then he grimaced and ran
after them, still clutching the griffin. However as soon as he got
closer to the trolls, they stared at him with expressions of horror.

"The trolls are afraid of her," Orwen gasped, sounding as though he were
talking to himself.

"I be glad she be on our side," one of the other men chuckled, "I not be
wantin an angry giantess after me. Specially not after what she did ta
their friends."

At that Quinn stepped forward, moving closer to the trolls, still
holding the griffin so that he couldn't really use his hands. However
either they didn't realize that or thought he was going to throw the
griffin at them, because the moment Quinn started towards them, the
trolls all screamed out something in a language he couldn't understand.
However the tone... and their expressions were unquestionably ones of
terror... and panic.

"Come to da... mommy," Quinn grinned, glaring at the ugly creatures.

That seemed to be the final straw, because at that very moment the
trolls all turned and ran, two of them even dropping their weapons. They
screamed in panic as they bolted off as if the very demons from hell
were after them, though Quinn and all of the men remained where they
were, staring at the fleeing trolls in amazement.

After a minute Orwen commented, "Somehow... I suspect that we shall
never see them in this valley again."

"I spect yer right," chuckled one of his friends.

Then Orwen looked up at Quinn with a broad grin, gently putting one of
his hands on Quinn's leg, "Very well done lady Quinn. And without even
loosening the griffin." He shook his head at that. "You are as
compassionate as you are strong and beautiful."

Though he wasn't quite sure why, Quinn blushed at the compliment.

"Now let's hurry and get this beastie to the healer," Orwen told Quinn
with a gentle smile. And with that he started off, leaving Quinn and the
others to follow.

---

It was late in the morning as Kestra sat in a chair by the window,
staring out of it thoughtfully. The people below went about their
business, looking even smaller than they had from her real body. Even
the cars moving around looked small from that height, like the toys she
had seen in the stores Sam had taken her through. However it was not the
scene below her that really occupied her thoughts, but the previous
night's events.

Kestra slowly turned away from the window, staring again, as she had
done several dozen times, at the sleeping body that occupied the bed.
The very same bed that she had woken up from herself just a short while
earlier, and the very same bed that she had shared with Jennifer.

With a faint, almost imperceptible shake of her head, Kestra whispered,
"Unbelievable."

Still, as she stared at Jennifer's still sleeping body, Kestra smiled,
almost dreamily as she thought about the day before. She still found it
hard to believe that it had happened, that she'd actually slept with
Jennifer again, and this time without the excuse of being drunk. And
even though it left her a little uncertain, Kestra didn't regret it.

For a moment Kestra was tempted to wake Jennifer up, smiling as she
thought of an interesting... and enjoyable way to do so. However she
kept that impulse in check, satisfying herself with just watching her
friend... her lover.

As Kestra thought about the previous day's events, she smiled
pleasantly, feeling a warmth inside. Feeling oddly enough... whole.
Almost as though she had been missing something her entire life and had
never even noticed it. Not until she happened to find what that
something was. A something that she still wasn't sure what it was.

"Jennifer," Kestra whispered, realizing that the woman in the bed held
the answer.

Kestra stared at Jennifer in the bed again, licking her lips faintly,
amused by the reaction of her new anatomy. And even more so, the strange
feelings that she felt inside when she not only looked at Jennifer, but
thought about her. About the time that they'd spent together the day
before and all the things that they had don, and not just in the bed. In
fact, every moment of the day before, from their dinner to their quiet
conversations made Kestra smile at the memory. She could barely wait to
be with Jennifer again, even with Jennifer being right there only
several feet away. And this wasn't the first time. She'd felt that way
for several days, though she didn't quite realize it until just that
moment. It was a strange feeling, not to mention a warm one.

"Is... is that love?" Kestra questioned herself, suddenly feeling a lot
less comfortable. Was she really falling in love with Jennifer... with
another woman? With a human woman at that? "This... this can not be..."

Then Kestra slowly moved forward, bending over the still sleeping
Jennifer and staring at her even more intently, filled with mixed
emotions. She was eager to wake Jennifer up and talk to her again, but
at the same time, Kestra felt reluctant to disturb her. To wake her from
the peaceful expression that adorned her face.

With a faint sigh, Kestra got up and left the bedroom, going to the
living room where she paced back and forth, trying to make sense of her
own thoughts and emotions. She wasn't at all used to feeling uncertain,
to feeling something so strongly for another person. Then again, she
reminded herself that she wasn't even used to being near other people.

Kestra paled as realization dawned. "Is that it?" she asked herself
weakly.

For nearly her whole life, Kestra had been alone. And that she realized
was what was missing... people. She'd spent her life alone... and
lonely, without anyone to be near. Without anyone to care for. And now,
for perhaps the first time since she was a child, she didn't feel alone.
That hole in her life was filled.

"People..." she whispered, her eyes going wide as she corrected herself,
"Friends..."

That was what she had been missing, she knew, friends. Now she not only
had Jennifer, who made her smile at the very thought, as well as Sam and
all of the people at the bar who'd listened to her stories. All of them
made her feel better, more alive than she had before. They made her feel
as though she was actually worth something, that she was wanted and
perhaps even needed. That there was actually someone besides herself to
care whether she lived or died, or even how she felt.

"Friends," Kestra whispered, the single word holding a world of emotion.

For some time, Kestra remained standing where she was, smiling as she
thought about how happy she had been since coming to that world. Since
befriending Sam and more importantly, since meeting Jennifer. However
that reminded her that her trip was temporary... and almost over. There
were only several more days left with Jennifer.

"No..." Kestra choked, feeling as though her heart were about to break.
Just thinking about not seeing her again made Kestra feel lonely and
unhappy. She didn't want to think of that... of going back to living
alone on her mountain, scaring everyone else away with the very sight of
her.

Kestra turned to the window with a scowl, lost in her own thoughts once
again as she stared out at the street below. This time However her
thoughts were not as pleasant as before. They were filled with worry,
regret and the horrible knowledge that the surprising happiness she'd
found would soon be gone.

Finally, after several more minutes, Kestra exclaimed "NO!" Her hands
were clenched into fists as she turned around in determination, knowing
what she had to do.

Several minutes later Kestra was dressed again and standing in front of
Jennifer's bed, staring down at her sleeping body... at her beautiful
face. There was little doubt in Kestra's mind that the feelings she felt
for Jennifer were returned. She KNEW that Jennifer cared for her...
loved her as well.

Kestra took a deep breath as she looked down at herself, at her flat
chest and male body. It wasn't at all like her real body, but she was
beginning to get comfortable in it. More than that though, it was the
body that Jennifer knew.

Then almost as if hearing her name thought, Jennifer's eyes fluttered
open and she slowly looked up at Kestra. "Morning..." Jennifer said
sleepily, a dreamy smile on her lips. "Last night was wonderful."

"For me too," Kestra answered honestly, bending over and saying, "there
is something that I have to do. I'll be back later."

Jennifer looked a little curious but she didn't say anything. And when
Kestra bent over and gave her a kiss, Jennifer just smiled more. "Hurry
back love."

"I will," Kestra promised gently.

With that Kestra stared for the door, filled with determination as well
as the unfamiliar uncertainty. All she knew for a fact was that she
couldn't just throw away the only true happiness that she'd ever felt
and that there was only one person who could help her to keep it... the
very same person who'd given her the opportunity in the first place.

A short while later Kestra stood in a familiar office, not bothering to
look at the fascinating pictures that covered all of the walls. Instead,
her attention was on the fat man who stood a short distance in front of
her with a scowl. It was a man whom she knew was more than he appeared.
He was the Gray One, or as he requested he be called in that world, Mr.
G.

"No," Mr. G exclaimed vehemently, "I can not do what you ask."

Kestra just stared at him in disappointment, then demanded, "Why not?
Why can't I remain in this world? In this body?"

"No one has ever asked such a thing," Mr. G spat, "and more importantly,
I will not play any part in stealing the life and body of a customer."
He glared at her, obviously taking great effort to keep himself under
control.

"But I do not wish to go back!" Kestra snarled, slamming her fist on the
counter to intimidate him, frowning when it didn't seem to faze him in
the slightest.

"The arrangement was for you to come here for two weeks and observe this
world," Mr. G stated, "just as it was for your host. And I intend to
honor the arrangement."

Feeling extremely frustrated, Kestra pleaded, "But I can't go back..."
Tears were beginning to form in her eyes, though she neither noticed or
cared.

For a moment Mr. G just stared at her, then his expression softened
slightly, "The spell I used for the exchange is only temporary in
nature. It can not be made to go longer than a month, and it has already
been cast."

"There must be a way," Kestra urged him, "you're the Gray One. Surely
you could make an exchange permanent."

Mr. G sighed, looking thoughtful for a moment, almost as if it were an
interesting puzzle or a challenge, "Perhaps I could find a way." However
Kestra's rising hopes were quickly dashed as he continued, "But as I
said, I would not do such to one unwilling."

They both stared at each other for a moment, with Kestra feeling
frustrated, disappointed and at the same time, determined. There had to
be a way that she could stay with Jennifer... and even Sam. That she
could keep her friends. Perhaps... perhaps she could get them to go to
her world. Surely that would be possible.

Then as Kestra thought about what Mr. G had just said, she hesitantly
asked, "Couldn't you at least ASK him?" She looked at the mage
hopefully.

Finally Mr. G let out an exasperated sigh, and to Kestra's great
delight, gave a faint nod.

---

It was several hours later when Quinn returned to the barn to meet up
with Chiandra. He was feeling rather pleased as he leaned up against the
side of the barn, staring at the mountains in the distance, or
specifically the small moving dots that he knew were griffins. One of
them might even have been the one from that morning.

As he'd expected, as soon as Crosh had finished healing the griffin, it
had taken off without so much as a backwards look. Orwen at least seemed
relieved at that, or at least by the fact that he wouldn't have to fight
it. Crosh just seemed a little confused as to why Quinn had bothered to
have a griffin healed in the first place, but he'd quickly and willingly
done the job.

"Not bad for a day's work," Quinn mused, rubbing at his arm where the
griffin had scratched him earlier. Of course Crosh had healed the
injury, not even leaving a scar, but Quinn remembered it.

Suddenly Quinn felt something in the air, like static electricity that
was making the hairs on his neck stand up. A second later there was
glowing ball of light in front of him, hovering in the air. Then it
quickly changed colors, revealing something within... a face. A face
that she recognized as well.

"Mr. G," Quinn gasped.

Mr. G's imaged nodded faintly from in the ball, "Greetings Quinn. How
has your vacation been so far?"

After hesitating a moment, Quinn answered slowly, "Interesting. VERY
interesting."

"That is good to hear," Mr. G responded, looking a little... off. As if
there were something wrong. Quinn wasn't sure that he liked that.

Quinn gulped, feeling just a little self-conscious as Mr. G was seeing
him in the body of a woman. It bother him when people who'd never seen
the real him looked at him, but somehow the idea of someone who knew the
real him seeing him like that seemed more... threatening...
embarrassing.

"The reason that I contacted you," Mr. G stated calmly, "is that there
is someone who wanted to talk to you about something. Remember..." he
stared at Quinn intently from the glowing ball, his eyes seeming to say
'trust me', "nothing happens without your willing consent."

"Um..." Quinn responded nervously, feeling even more apprehensive,
"okay."

A moment later Mr. G's face was replaced by another, one which looked
vaguely familiar though Quinn couldn't quite place it. Then he gasped as
it suddenly dawned on him. It was the same face that he saw in the
mirror every morning, or at least had before he'd started his vacation.

The face... Quinn's face stared back at him silently, with an odd
expression. Neither of them said a word for nearly a minute, both filled
with the sense of strangeness.

"Do I truly look like that?" the other face asked, almost to himself.
Then he blinked and his expression became entirely serious. "My name is
Kestra... and the Gray One tells me that you are Quinn."

With a nod, Quinn responded, "Yes."

Kestra gave a faint smile, then looked back to something that Quinn
couldn't see from the sphere. He (or was that really she?) looked at
Quinn with an odd expression, "I have greatly enjoyed living in this
world during our exchange." Kestra paused, asking, "What are your
thoughts of the exchange?"

Quinn blinked, answering slowly, "It's... interesting." Then he smiled
in embarrassment, admitting, "I've enjoyed it so far, though it's not
quite what I expected."

Her eyes seemed to peer into him at that, with something in them that he
couldn't quite make out. Finally, she slowly asked, "Would you be
interested in making the exchange permanent?"

That was about the last thing that Quinn had expected to hear and all he
could do was stare into his own face... or Kestra's for the moment, too
stunned to say anything.

"The Gray One says that he should be able to do it," Kestra continued,
her voice filled with emotion, "but he'll only do it IF you agree." She
looked at Quinn through the sphere, her expression hopeful... almost
pleading.

"Oh..." Quinn finally gasped out, his mind whirling in confusion.

Then Mr. G's face returned to the sphere, with an apologetic expression.
"She insisted that I allow her to talk to you about this," he told
Quinn. "I've worked out how the spell can be done, though it is not
easy. Not easy at all."

However Quinn barely paid any attention to Mr. G, his thoughts still
locked on what Kestra had asked of him. He could scarcely believe it,
shocked that she could just throw away her own body and life that
easily. And more than that, that she could want HIS.

"You've got to be kidding," Quinn squeaked out, seeing that Kestra had
returned to the sphere.

For a moment Quinn continued to stare at her in disbelief, then he
suddenly froze, unable to help but think about her offer. About his
staying there for the rest of his life.

Quinn blinked, taking a deep breath as he thought about how he felt with
her keeping his life... and the fact that he was surprised she would
want it. It wasn't quite until that moment that he realized that he
wasn't even sure that HE wanted it. After all, what was there for him to
go back to. A cramped apartment and a shitty job? There weren't even any
friends or family for him there.

"But here..." he whispered, his thoughts turning to Chiandra, Orwen and
all of the people of the town.

Quinn smiled faintly as he thought about all of the people... and how
nice they'd been to him. About the bed they'd given him and the way the
children laughed around him. He had friends there... people who actually
cared for him. For the first time in a very long time, he felt... happy.
And perhaps for the first time ever... he truly felt wanted... needed.
He felt as though he actually belonged.

As Quinn thought about it, he was startled to realize that it felt like
he'd finally found something that he'd been missing his whole life. As
though a missing piece of himself was now present, though that didn't
really make much sense to him. But that was without a doubt exactly how
he felt.

"For my whole life," Quinn whispered, more to himself than to Kestra,
"I've been alone."

It wasn't until he said it that he realized just how true it had been.
Even surrounded by others, he'd always felt alone. Had always felt as
though there was no one that actually cared whether he existed or not.
There was no purpose to his life, no meaning. Nothing that he did had
any meaning or effect. Nothing. It had been as if he existed, but never
lived. But not during the past week and a half. Not since he'd begun his
vacation.

Taking a deep breath, Quinn looked up and into Kestra's eyes... seeing a
reflection of his own emotions deep within. For a moment all he did was
stare in silence, his mind already made up.

Just then Quinn heard something and turned, seeing that it was only
Chiandra coming towards him on her horse. He stared at her for a moment,
then glanced back at Kester, slowly beginning to grin. Slowly beginning
to feel more confident.

"Chiandra," Quinn called out as she got closer, "How would you feel
about my sticking around a little longer?"

"Longer?" Chiandra repeated, blinking in confusion as she glanced up at
Quinn and then at the glowing ball in front of him, "How much longer?"

Quinn just grinned, at Kestra and then Chiandra. "Oh... how about
forever?"

Chiandra looked surprised at that, and somewhat confused. "There is
little that I would like better," she told Quinn, "but why?"

However Quinn didn't answer. Instead he just turned his attention to the
sphere in front of him and nodded his acceptance to Kestra, both of them
grinning in satisfaction. There was little doubt in either mind that
they had just made the best decision of their entire lives.

---

The sweet smell of bacon filled the air, as did the sizzling sound that
came from the kitchen. Kestra... now calling himself Kester, sat by the
window, smiling at the thought of Jennifer in the other room, making
them both breakfast. He could barely wait to taste it, and even more, to
taste her again.

It had been over a month since Kester had changed places with Quinn
permanently, and he didn't regret it in the slightest. In fact, the only
thing that he regretted in the slightest was that he didn't have a
chance to get to know the one he had traded places with. Still that was
nothing compared to what he had gained in his new life.

Kester smiled as he remembered the day they had made the exchange
permanent. It was the very same day that it was supposed to have ended,
that he was supposed to have returned to his own world and his own body.

He remembered returning to the Gray One's shop, where he stood inside a
circle painted upon the floor, surrounded by intricate symbols and
designs. And then everything had exploded in a blue flash of light, the
same as the one that had brought him into his current world. But instead
of taking him back as it was supposed to have, Mr. G's spells had
altered the effects. Instead, when the flash had gone, Kester remained
where he was, in permanent possession of his new human male body.

"Breakfast is almost ready honey," Jennifer said, peaking her head
around the corner and blowing Kester a kiss.

"Thank you," Kester told her with a smile, feeling as though he were the
luckiest man alive.

Kester shook his head faintly, still having a hard time believing that
he could be so happy and loved. Those were things that had once seemed
completely impossible for a giantess, things that were beyond her grasp.
But not beyond his.

No longer was Kester alone, nor would he ever be again. He had friends
now, friends such as Sam and a few others that he'd made. One of whom
had heard his stories about the other world and arranged for him to get
a book deal to write those stories down so that others could see them as
well.

And best of all, Kester knew that in several months things would get
even better. In several months, he and Jennifer were to be wed. The day
she'd accepted his proposal had made him happier than he would have
imagined, and that was only the beginning. Sam was going to be his best
man and even the Gray One had agreed to come.

"Yes," Kester sighed in contentment, deciding that there were some
dreams too large for even a giantess to dream... but not for a man, and
a very lucky man at that.

---

The sky was clear, giving clear view of the massive blanket of stars
that spread overhead. There was not a single cloud to obscure the view,
nor even overly bright light from the moon. It was the type of scenery
that Quinn knew was impossible to find in the other world, and certainly
not near the city.

"So beautiful," Quinn whispered, staring up at the night sky with a
smile.

Then Quinn slowly looked down at herself, staring at feminine shape of
her chest with a feeling of amusement. Sometimes it seemed that it had
been far longer than a month since she had gained it permanently, and
sometimes far less. Still, as she gently touched her breasts through her
shirt, she knew that they were hers, even feeling comforted by that
fact.

Just a short time earlier she had been a depressed man with nowhere to
go and no one to care for him. He had been depressed and lonely, and now
she realized, quite possibly on the road to a self inflicted death. But
at moments like the current one, life seemed so long ago and so far
away.

Quinn smiled even more as she thought about how much her life had
changed. No longer was she alone, no longer was she useless and
unwanted. Instead, she had lots of friends and knew that she made a
difference.

In the past month she had stopped a band of human bandits from attacking
the town, chased off an angry bear and saved a young boy from drowning
in the Golden Lake. And of course he had been effectively deputized,
finding herself Orwen's partner in protecting the town and the people of
the valley from danger. It was a job that she loved doing, though
certainly not her only one.

Quinn had become a favorite of the children, not only because she would
play with them, but because of the stories she sometimes told of her own
world. And of course the adults were pleased at her baby-sitting,
knowing that the children would be safe.

And of course there were all the odd jobs that Quinn did, helping farm
fields, build houses, remove rocks and just about anything else that
people needed help doing. Not only that, but they frequently asked her
advice on things as well, somehow deciding that she had a lot of wisdom
to offer, though she wasn't quite as sure of that herself. She felt more
than happy to give a hand, earning even more friends in the process and
making herself feel even happier.

Then when she had started building herself a house of her own close by,
just above Golden Lake, she had been delighted when nearly everyone
around town had offered to help in some way or another. Those offers had
even brought tears of joy to her eyes, while her house quickly took on
shape and would soon be finished. There was even room for a garden and a
nearby hill for Kestra's old goats to roam.

With a sigh Quinn whispered, "I have a home."

A moment later she turned to the direction of Chiandra's home and
smiled, then towards the town, though she couldn't see either from where
she was at.

"I'm wanted," Quinn mused to herself dreamily, happy that she finally
belonged somewhere. That she finally made a difference. That she was no
longer alone or lonely.

And as she thought about that, Quinn's thoughts turned to Orwen. They
had been working closely together since she had decided to stay, and had
spent a great deal of time with each other, getting to know each other
rather well. And to her surprise, she found that she liked him... more
than she was sure she should.

Quinn looked down at her womanly body again and sighed, still not
completely sure about the new way she had been looking at Orwen. She
didn't know if it was her new hormones, but she knew that she was
definitely attracted to him... even with him not only being a man, but
only a third of her height. And it wasn't just physical. But what was
more, she strongly suspected that the attraction was mutual, though
neither had spoken of it. At least not yet.

"But it's only a matter of time," Quinn finished her thoughts aloud,
though also wondering about the logistics of such a relationship.

However Quinn leaned back and stared at the stars again, deciding to
deal with that when the time came. At the moment she enjoyed her
friendship with Orwen as well as everyone else. At the moment she felt
happy... more so than she ever would have imagined possible. And she
felt complete, as if she was finally whole.

"Yes," Quinn whispered, closing her eyes and laying down to sleep
beneath the stars, confident in the knowledge that no one or anything
would mess with one of her size. Her life as a man had been small and
meaningless, but her new life as a giantess was beyond incredible and
without a doubt... larger than life.

THE END