Blood Ties 5

“Come on, Dean... you can't continue being so silly about it...” Brad called out in a warm whisper.
“Is that a challenge? 'Cause I can continue as long as I like.” Dean muttered back.
“Trust me, you wouldn't have liked it if he ended up dead.” Brad said.
“It's not true! He would have deserved it for trying to eat a village!”
“Still, you can't blame Dad for being nice.” Nero pointed out.
“He shouldn't have helped that guy.” Dean said, stubbornly crossing his arms in front of himself.
“He always says that giants should help each other.” Nero said.
“I don't care, that's a maneater!”
“Zev is too, you know?” Brad pointed out “And so is Cyd... giants eat smaller people.”
“But they don't do it for real.” Dean wasn't about to stop protesting any time soon.
“I'll be very tempted to fix that if you don't shut up, kiddo.” Zev snarled... he didn't like much the way in which Cyd left them to scout the next village on his own. Of course the Frost Giant understood why he did it, since he and Brad would hardly go unnoticed, but... he had a feeling of uneasiness he couldn't shake, and the way in which Cyd told him to look over the kids made him think that the Avraan knew that something would happen.
“Oh, yeah, why don't yo-” Dean started a retort but stopped when Brad went 'shhhhh' over him... and that was a real gust when coming from a huge dragon “Frosty is trying to keep watch... you shouldn't disturb him.” there was a certain glint in Brad's eyes that made Dean understand that it was better to keep it as that.
He just sulked and started reading instead.
“Dean...” Nero called him under his breath, coming closer to his bro, only to be shoved away.
“I'm the only human here. You can't understand.” he said flatly, barely even looking away from his book.
“Fine! I don't care anyway!” Nero said with a pout, clearly hurt by Dean's words.
“What part of 'quiet' is hard to get, runts?” Zev snarled again.
The lack of answer made him grunt with satisfaction.
Now that there was some silence, the Frost Giant could tune in on the sounds of nature around him, a familiar – if somewhat exotic given how far from home he was – ensemble that he knew by heart... and it wasn't hard for him to pick out two sets of human steps from the bunch of natural noises.
They were coming closer, though not very quickly, and he soon could smell the scent of excitement and anxiety coming from some bushes nearby...

“DIE, GIANT!” the scream came as a figure darted out of the bushes.
Zev was expecting an entrance of this sort and was standing tall and glaring down at the human in a matter of a second... enough to see a tiny speck of stone arching through the air to impact on his low chest and bounce away harmlessly... it was seriously borderline between sand and gravel when compared to his gigantic body.
“From that? No, I don't think so.” Zev chuckled smugly as he looked down at the girl who was looking up at him in... well, terror seemed like the right word, a sling in her hand, another stone in the other, but either she noticed that those pebbles wouldn't work against the Frost Giant or she was just too scared to move a muscle.
“Was that really your plan? Lobbing a stone and hope I'd get a heart attack?” Zev grinned, lowering himself to loom properly over the girl, his squatting figure putting her in the shadow of his head “Maybe you shouldn't have chosen the career of the giant slayer, kid.”
His hand opened wide and went towards the girl at his feet, catching her up in a single, fluid movement... as he felt her squirm against his skin, he couldn't help but think it was all too easy.
“Tsk... too easy? Come on, it was just a crazy kid...” he then chuckled between himself, shaking his head.
“Let my sister go!” there was another shout, still from a girl, and a stone – no larger than the previous one – hit him precisely on an ear.
That got a grunt of pain out of him.
He turned around to look at the source of that sound and, if not for the fact he felt the first girl in his fist, Zev would have checked to see if she somehow got away and climbed on a tree... they looked exactly the same, and almost smelled the same too.
“Do you really think that's going to work?” Zev flashed a very toothy grin as he raised a hand to deflect a stone that would have hit him in the eye “One more try, and your pal here is getting crushed.” he warned with a frigid tone.
“Zev... Zev!” Brad called “They're kids, dammit! Go easy on them.”
“Sometimes kids need to get burned to learn they shouldn't play with fire.” he growled back, not breaking eye contact with the little runt the whole time... he could see her shaking.
And... yeah, he couldn't deny he liked it a bit. That's how humans should be when a giant was around: afraid.
With how Dean acted, Zev was afraid he lost his touch.
“Now you come here quietly and maybe you'll keep your lives.” Zev growled as he moved to snatch her up too... of course he didn't mean it, he could never actually kill some kids... or humans in general, unless they tried really hard at hurting him.
But she didn't need to know that.
He could see her eyes darting around, frantically looking for a way out... but then she was snatched up as well.
Zev's chuckle of triumph was short-lived though, as he felt this little pest biting deep into his palm “Wh-WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!”
The pain wasn't all that much, really... once again, it was more the principle of things.
With a quick motion, he opened his hand and got the girl to dangle by two fingers “You really want to be eaten, don't you?”
She just glared at him in pure defiance “Do your worst, monster!”
Zev took a deep breath to calm himself... and took the challenge quite gladly.
He cut the chit-chat and went straight to the noms, opening his jaws wide and popping in the little girl... she struggled and flailed against his blue tongue, but that only made it all the more entertaining for him as he tasted the girl thoroughly.
Of course, he muttered a protective spell before gulping her down, feeling just the bliss of live prey in his stomach without any of the guilt that would come from really eating someone.

“And now that I'm no longer this hungry... let's hear your story.” Zev said, bringing the first girl into view.
“Sam? Sam?! SAM!” the girl called “What did you do to her?”
“What do you think, pipsqueak?” Zev eloquently licked his lips “But no worries, you're following soon.”
“N-NO! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” the girl started to cry and flail wildly in his grasp “SAM!”
“Fine... answers later, then.” Zev shrugged and put the girl in his mouth as well “Enjoy the ride.” he finished in a sing-song tone, ignoring the screams that came from his tongue.
“Thanks, Zev... totally what we needed in the whole 'bad giants' argument.” Brad rolled his eyes.
“It was my pleasure to help out.” he flashed a grin.

“Seriously, Zev?” Cyd looked flatly at the Frost Giant.
“I don't get what's so hard to grasp in the idea of me eating someone.” Zev grunted “I understand I can't eat your kids, and I'm fine with that... everyone else's? Free game.” he gave a smug grin “And it's not as if I hurt them.”
“I'm really sorry for this, girls... he's an idiot.” Cyd sighed and glared up at Zev, who didn't seem to feel guilty in the slightest “But why did you jump out to attack him? I'm sure he wouldn't have done it if you didn't throw stones at him.”
“He's a bad giant!” Sam said, pointing accusingly up at the towering, white-haired giant “And I don't believe anything you say, mister... you're all friends with that monster, I saw it.”
“Sam... don't make them angry!” her sister whispered.
“As if that would change anything, Samira.” she shook her head “They're going to eat us all the same.”
“Friends with that monster?” Cyd paled as he looked down to the girls “W-What do you mean?”
“Tyrenan the Terrible.” Sam spat out that name “I saw you talking with him yesterday!”
“I... I saw it too, yeah.” Samira added.
“Who's that?” Brad asked, blinking “I would remember a dude with such a flashy name...”
“Big, blond, merciless?” Sam suggested “He ate our hometown... and you're no better.” she added spitefully... it was mostly directed at Zev, but the others got the whole guilty by association treatment.
“Ah, that Faron guy.” Cyd nodded “I'm sorry for your town, but I never saw him before yesterday... we just exchanged a couple of words, I wouldn't say we're friends.”
“That's a LIE!” but it was Dean who shouted that, not Sam “You're not sorry, Dad! You helped that monster, you don't care about humans at all!”
“Not now, Dean...” Cyd tried to remain calm and focused on the two girls “Don't you have anywhere to go? It's dangerous out here in the wilds... I'm sure that Brad can get you somewhere safe if yo-”
“Oh, now he cares...” Dean said bitterly “I hate you, Dad!” and ran away.
“Dean!” Nero turned around and started to run after his brother.
“Cyd...” Zev sighed.
“Let them go... there's nothing I can say to make it better now.” Cyd said flatly “So, girls?”
“We... don't have anywhere to go.” Samira admitted.
“Then you should come with us... it's not safe to stay alone for two little girls like you.” Cyd said.
“And stay close to him and his mouth?” Sam asked, pointing at Zev “I'll take bears over that.”
“The girl has her mind all made up... just let it go, Cyd.” Zev shrugged.
“Right... we don't trust any of you!” Sam yelled “Let's go, Samira. We can make it on our own.”

Cyd just sighed and sat on the ground “Talk about being stubborn.”
“Kids are unreasonable... it comes with having small brains.” Brad pointed out.
“Even big-headed fools like you can be unreasonable.” Zev added “Hmm? Just talking to myself.”
“Still, we can't let them have it their way just because they're stubborn...” Cyd said.
“What are you planning?” Brad asked.
“Me? Nothing... I can't say anything to Dean... I'm sure he doesn't even want to see me right now.” Cyd sighed “And... I'd need a moment alone. Gotta think about something.”
“Understood.” Brad brought a paw to his head in a mock salute “I'll go check on the kids.”
“I'll go take a stroll.” Zev said with a shrug, sniffing the air and then heading on the twins' trail.
“Thanks...” Cyd muttered “And now I have to figure out what I should do... about this whole mess.”