Daisy walked with Cedric at her side and Michelle attached to her back with a harness. She held her axe at her front. "You didn't have to come with me. I know you have schoolwork to do."

"And miss the chance to meet this 'cute little mouse'?" Cedric laughed softly. "I'd never hear the end of it. Besides, it's my daughter too."

"Daughter." Daisy smiled at the thought.

Michelle giggled as she clung onto Daisy. "Hello, dad." She mused for a moment, finger at her chin. "Having more than one dad and mom is funny, but it's not bad."

Daisy stroked over Michelle's ears. "You're getting bigger! I'm gonna have to go shopping soon, to get you a bigger harness. You're not quite able to walk, though I know you can crawl around nicely."

Michelle perked at that. "I want to try that, but when we're not trying to move so quickly." She looked down as Daisy covered the ground with powerful steps. "You're fast, Mom."

"I'm very fast." She patted Michelle's back. "We'll find you something to do to pass the time. Maybe Cedric will help you with that too."

Cedric nodded. "I heard you were practicing magic with Theo. Want to do a little magic game with me? It's easy, and we can do it as we walk."

"Okay." Michelle held up a hand, concentrating hard.

Cedric put his palm against hers, letting his fingers interlace with hers. "Now focus on your hand. I'm going to send some mana into you, and I want you to push it back at me."

That trick Michelle knew, sending a little burst into Cedric, but he backed away. "And again." He sent his magic to bridge the distance in the air towards her. "The same way, but with some oomph to make that jump."

Michelle closed her eyes and concentrated, then pushed back against him. He felt her mana strike him, making his fur stand on end slightly. "Wow! That was good for a first try."

Daisy chuckled at them both. "I can't see it, but I can imagine it. That's cute." She turned an ear back towards them. "Tell us if you get tired, Michelle."

"I'm fine, Mom," she assured Daisy before turning her attention back to Cedric. "Alright, do it again!"

He did, and she returned the attack easily.

The pair continued to practice, Cedric increasing the difficulty of his task while Michelle followed suit. The ball of magic bounced back and forth between them, batting it through the air like they were playing tennis with it. "You're getting the hang of this!"

"It's fun!" Michelle grinned as she sent another shot at him, which he dodged with ease.

Daisy turned her head to watch, seeing them playing with each other. "Nice."

Michelle let out a yelp of surprise as she missed her return shot and fell onto her side.

Daisy paused in her steps and Cedric hurried in to right Michelle in her harness. "You alright? I didn't hurt you, did I?"

"No." Michelle hugged onto him, rubbing her face against his chest. "It was just a fun exercise."

"Good." Cedric smiled as he hugged her tightly. "I'm glad to hear that." He set her securely in her harness and patted her head, their walking resuming. "Let me know if you want to try again."

"I think I'll watch for a while," she said, patting his hand.

Daisy walked along, the trees thickening into forest as they left town. "There's a cave not far from here. Inside, there's a giant I need to visit. I promised him I would. His name is Olm, and he is nicer than the other cylopses. He let me go, but I promised I'd come back and play with him."

Michelle looked at Daisy in confusion. "You want to go out of your way so you can play with a giant?"

Cedric patted her head gently. "She does. She is nice."

"And I promised." Daisy quirked an ear to the side. "I don't like breaking promises. I try not to give them if I know I won't do them."

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"Ah!" Michelle nodded at this, understanding what she was getting at. "So you're doing it for a promise then?"

"That's right, dear." She looked at Cedric, who smiled at her. "So, you'll stay with daddy Cedric a bit while I go visit him. I don't want to risk him 'breaking' you, my little treasure. He's nice, but still a giant. He's broken his toys before. I think I can handle it, but I'm not risking either of you two."

"I'll be fine," Cedric assured her.

Daisy offered Michelle towards Cedric. "Last chance for a snack before I go."

Michelle quickly took her up on that, drinking deeply before letting out a content sigh. She curled up against Daisy's chest. "Thank you, Mom. That was really good."

Daisy stroked Michelle's back gently as she smiled down at her. Gently, she passed the sleepy child to Cedric. "Take good care of her. I know you will." She leaned in to nose Cedric. "I trust you. Be right back."

With that, she hurried ahead, taking a turn at a cavern fork. "Hello? Olm?" Her nose wiggled as she sniffed the air, trying to find him.

"Hello." The voice was deep and rumbled from the darkness. "You came back."

"I said I would." She jogged towards the small house of Olm. "Have you been alright while I was away?"

Olm shrugged his massive shoulders. "I've been okay." He reached to gently stroke her with a finger. "I missed you."

"I'm sorry I made you miss me." She nuzzled against that finger, then climbed onto his palm as it offered. "I've been busy. If you can believe it, I had a child." She patted her belly, not showing much hint of that event. "That delayed me coming back a few days."

"Oh." Olm blinked at this news, seeming surprised. "I'm not sure how to feel about that."

"Happy for me, if you can?" Daisy smiled up at him. "I'm happy for me." She grabbed his thumb and hugged it. "I don't know how cyclopses do it, but do you have another big lady you're eyeing?"

"No." Olm sighed softly. "I don't know where to meet another cyclops." He looked away, ashamed.

"Okay, you're my friend." She hugged his finger. "But there's only so much I can do about that other part. My card is pretty full, and you're a bit large for me. Hm, well, you have those friends, the other two that came over last time. They do seem to tease, but they are friends, right?"

Olm shook his head slowly. "We're friends, yes."

"I'd say to call them, maybe set up a game night, something. Do you ever leave this cave?" She waved her hand around them. "Get out there, so other giants can see you, and that lady will show up eventually."

"I like it here." Olm hugged Daisy gently to him. "I feel safe here."

"It is comfy. You've done a lot to make it homey. I love your place, it's nice." She was overblowing it a little, but attacking the giant while he was feeling down felt wrong. "But so are you, and people deserve to meet you. They can't if you're hiding in here."

"Okay." Olm let out a sigh. "I guess I should get out more."

"All I'm suggesting." She hopped down to his table, tail swaying easily as she turned to face him. "Now, what game did you want to play while I'm here?"

Olm smiled at this. "I made something fun! Let me go get it." He moved quickly to the side, digging around in a box before coming out with a small board, some figures, and some dice.

Daisy peered at it all curiously. "Some kind of tabletop game then? She moved up to one of the figures, each about as large as she was. "Did you carve these? They look nice."

"I did." Olm blushed lightly as he looked away. "I've got nothing better to do."

"These are amazing." Daisy stroked the face of a carved mouse figure. "You should play with these where more people can see. Bet the other cyclopses would be impressed too." She hopped back. "Now, show me how to play this game."

"Okay!" Olm grinned widely as he set up the board and the pieces. He explained the rules, and soon they were playing, moving their pieces along the board and rolling their dice with abandon. Sure, Daisy had to work a bit harder to slide her pieces around, but they were both playing and chatting as they did it.

The game seemed to involve fighting some great monster, which the characters would have to defeat in order to win. They moved together, sometimes splitting up to take down smaller monsters on the way, or picking up various items that could help them.

By the end, Daisy was applauding. "You invented this game? You have a sharp brain hidden in there! I love the design work. It's really solid, and flows well."

Olm smiled at her praise. "Thank you." He looked away bashfully. "It's nice to have someone else play it."

"Now get out and show people." She poked a finger at him. "They'll like this game too. Such good pieces, and solid rules that are easy to pick up."

"If you say so." Olm sighed softly as he leaned back. "I just want to have friends."

"You can find them." Daisy put a hand on the giant's wrist. "It's scary, but it can be done. You have to trust that you're a person worth knowing, and you are."