Brianna's hair whipped around her face as Erasmus slowly decreased her altitude. "You had a family? I dinna -- er, didn't -- know that."

Mason didn't stop laughing or smiling, but his eye's dimmed. "I said I had a daughter, milady. I never said I had a family."

"Oh, uh...sorry...my mistake." Brianna turned her head away from Templar. "Hey, look! I think I can see a giant down there." She squinted, trying to get a better look. Mason, who's eyesight was normal, couldn't see a thing. "He's smaller that the one we saw already -- much smaller, actually. And his proportions are off -- why, I think it's a giant-child! How cute!"

Mason placed his hand on his sword's handle. "Cute. Riiiiight."

Brianna leaned so far out she nearly fell off the pigeon-hawk's back. "Aw! I think he's waving at us! He's got something in his hand. Let me lean closer..." Suddenly, Brianna's eyes went wide and she grabbed onto the back of Erasmus's neck. "Move! Move!"

"What is it, Bri? What's he doing?"

"He's got a --" Brianna went blank. What's the word? I never had one as a child! "A...catapult...stick...sling-thingie!"

"A slingshot?"

"Yes!" said Brianna as a rock hit her on the back of her head. She rolled her eyes and fell backwards, spinning towards the woods like a wounded peasent. Mason tried to spot where she hit the ground, but Banshee disappeared as she approached the woods and the snow.

Another, slightly larger rock hit Erasmus. The giant hawk wasn't unconcious, but she wasn't flight-capable anymore either. Mason held on for dear life as Erasmus crashed in a small clearing. The force of the impact knocked Mason off his hawk.

Erasmus shut her eyes, trying to sleep off the pain on the underside of her right wing. Mason fell into the snow and the mud and slid until a large rock stopped him. "Buhahahaha! Still alive!"

He looked up. The 'rock' was actually the foot of a giant. "What...are...you...doing...wandering...about...in...my...personal...property?"

The entire sentence took forty-five seconds to say. Mason stood up and scratched his back. "Well, funny story, actually."

***

Brianna felt something warm being shoved into her mouth. She opened her eyes. The giant-child was cramming oatmeal into her mouth. "Hey, watch --ubbble!" she tried to say as another spoonful was forced in.

"Don't forget to chew!" said the giant-boy. He spoke faster than his parents, but it was still slower than what Brianna was use to. "Momma said I can keep you until you're all better. Unless you're crippled and maimed for life. Then Momma said I could keep you as a pet. See?" He held up a small rope in front of Brianna. "That's your leash!"

"It looks like a noose!"

The boy laughed. "Boy, you sure do talk fast. I'm gonna feed you and pet you and play with you and name you...George."

Brianna only sighed as the 'leash' slipped around her neck. "I'm sure I'm being punished for something..."