"Well met, traveller."

Jun came to a stop, unbreathing. It was the same man from before, not far from a pile of wood beside which the skinned corpse of an animal lay on its own pelt. For whatever reason, he was on the other side of the river, and what little Sachiko could make of his face showed not the faintest hint of recognition.

Jun seemed to notice this too, as he shifted and hesitantly began to speak, "H-hello."

"You look like you've seen a ghost, boy," he said. This was wrong. Something about him was wrong - not the words, but something about the satche-

Sachiko was too startled to even squeak as a heavy mass pressed around her. She could hear a muted "sorry", and the world was sent lurching as her warm, fleshy prison descended. There was a rustling of fabric all around her, and just as suddenly as she was grabbed, Jun's fingers relaxed to drop her on some cramped hammock.

He'd grabbed her. He'd grabbed her -and with a wordless cry of rage, Sachiko punched the tense fabric-covered wall that she knew to be Jun's thigh- he'd grabbed her and stuffed her in his pocket.

Jun would pay for this. Sachiko had half a mind to take out her vibroknife and cut him for sticking her in this stuffy, dirty prison like she wasn't even a person. But her rage abated, just that tiny bit, when she noticed the conversation had continued without her.

"-from a distant land, eh? Well, y're welcome ta join me. I'll be heading back t' town on th' morrow," came the distinctive gruff of the man.

Sachiko had the sick feeling that this change in demeanor was because of her. Maybe Jun had done right to hide her, but did it really have to be in his pocket? There was sand here and who knows what else.

The muscle-wall undulated and her world swung about. No, scratch that - she was definitely going to kill him when this was over. The sound of splashing fought with the too-loud voices and Sachiko was left to curl into herself against the chaotic moving and slamming that came with every footstep.

With a catastrophic tilting-falling, the pocket turned horizontal as Jun presumably came to sit. The pocket entrance was now pointed slightly downwards, and the position seemed to cause it to bow open, letting the dying sunlight through. This made it easy enough for Sachiko to crawl her way over the coarse, unsteady ground towards freedom and clean air.

The light dimmed, and like some grotesque spider, Jun's fingers felt their way to blocking her. Sachiko swiped at them, pushing against the solid muscle despite the futility. He persisted, even going as far to clumsily bump her head before pressing against her shoulders.

Sachiko bit, hard. The fingers jerked and fell away as fast as if there had been a depressurisation incident. Serves you right. Sachiko spit the salty taste out of her mouth, not caring in the least it was onto Jun's clothes.

The world vibrated a little, and Sachiko could make out the stranger asking in concern. It didn't matter, though, and she continued to army-crawl her way forward.

Although she didn't care for the stranger's words, Jun's reply set her blood boiling anew: "It's nothing," he said.

Fuck you, Sachiko thought, giving his thigh a swift kick before she dropped onto the ground. Finally able to get her bearings, she could just see that Jun had picked a spot near a bush and was sitting cross-legged. Sachiko didn't like this perspective; it was somehow worse than in the cave. Jun's back stretched upwards like a cliff, painted with stark contrasts by the flickering light of a bonfire as he spoke with the stranger, whose form was hidden by the rise of his leg.

It didn't matter though. Jun could make do on his own if he didn't need her; she'd rather take her chances against the birds than endure humiliation like that.

Careful not to make a sound and eyes wary of the sky, Sachiko made her way through the bush and away from the giants.

----------------------------------------

Whether it was the giants or the bonfire, Sachiko found that most of the wildlife she had seen was nowhere to be found. That suited her just fine, as it allowed her to think once she'd finished muttering curses and kicking whatever happened to get in her way. At first, she pondered the mystery of the almost-out-of-earshot stranger. Why had he forgotten them? Why did he switch sides of the river? Why were his satchels different? None of it made sense, not without invoking outlandish ideas of doppelgängers and sliders.

Reluctantly accepting that just like her own transmigration, this phenomenon was likely beyond explanation, Sachiko moved on to other concerns. Her food was running low, and Sachiko's suspicion was that giants couldn't subsist off 'solution; Jun had gone two days without eating, and without any significant fat to burn. Every monster they had encountered appeared to be carnivorous, and the hunter's prey seemed to imply a similar need in the giants. The only explanation Sachiko could concieve was that their bulk allowed them to stay warm, by the same principle that made cooling larger spacecraft difficult.

By staying warm, giants could subsist entirely off of less-digestible foods. Like most people, Sachiko needed a solid meal every now and again, but such meals simply couldn't provide the energy needed to fly. In other words, if the giants dominated this world, Sachiko would need to figure out her own eating arrangements.

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

Nectar was an obvious candidate. And as she passed through bushes, she could see that berries would be too. Concentration could be solved by evaporation of excess water, although it would be unrefined and inefficient in the case of berry-derivatives.

Unfortunately, that begged the question of how she would achieve that. There were nut shells around, but waiting for the water to evaporate would risk spoiling the product. It was also unweildy, as she would need many shells to make a decent batch. Thinking back to the bronze knife, Sachiko considered it might be possible to find some "small" metal bowl that could serve as a crucible - if the giants made regular use of bonfires, evaporating large volumes with one would be trivial.

The last concern was a weapon. If even "harmless" animals considered her prey, then she would need a way to deter them. Sachiko picked up a stick and considered it. Spears were traditional. Ceremonial glaives evolved from prehistoric weapons, weapons that must have been effective against the same threats for her ancestors to have so widely used them.

Sachiko loosened her heat suit and dug into her pocket, pulling out the multi-tool. Flipping out the vibroblade, she superimposed it over the stick. A spear. All she needed was something to secure the two. Sachiko let it drop, and returned the tool her pocket. She'd also need some kind of holster, a sturdy one, if all the jostling she got put through was a sign of things to come.

She was cupping a flower, once again scooping out the precious nectar, when a voice rang out through the night. "Sachiko? Amardamu's asleep now, you can come out now," Jun begged by way of whisper-shouting. The sip of nectar tasted bitter to her tongue. "Sachiko?" the call came again.

By wing, she made her way to the campsite. "Amardamu" was up against a tree, arms crossed and head bowed, while Jun sat as he had, pouting eyes directed towards her distinct buzzing. Sachiko hovered in front of the asshole, hands on hips and back to the crackling bonfire - projecting every ounce of pent-up anger towards him. Anger that came readily when she heard the first few words out of his lips.

"Look, I'm sor-"

"Sorry?!" Sachiko exploded, throwing her arms out. "You gave no warning, none! You didn't even ask." Every grievance was suddenly in the forefront of her mind, screaming to be heard. "I- you- do you have any idea how scared I was? What it felt like? To be grabbed -helpless- then stuffed in a pocket like some fucking thing?" Every word was a blugeon that beat Jun's head lower and lower as she wildly gesticulated for want of a normal-sized Jun to slap.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Jun pleaded, cringing. He didn't sound sorry, though. Not really. He just wanted her to stop, and the next damned word out of his mouth confirmed this: "But-"

"You don't get it!" Sachiko flew right up to his enormous face, picking a side of his nose to jab her finger dangerously close to an eye. Jun blinked. "That's not even the worst part of all this. What stings is that you just left me there. I understand why you did it -obviously the Old Ones are cutting us some slack- but you didn't have to go and sit down with me stuck like that! I could have flown off or- or stayed in your bag instead of being pressed against your fucking thigh. Ignored. And- and when I try to get out?! You fucking pushed me back in!" Why was it so hard to speak? Sachiko's throat was tight and her eyes itched.

Jun seemed to be getting it now. Whether his eyes had widened in recognition or horror, she couldn't tell. "I'll make it up to you, I swear!" Jun clasped his hands, begging.

Sachiko spared a moment to collect herself. When she next spoke, her tone had a deadly edge to it: "If you weren't the only other person in our situation, I'd have left," she said. And by the way she said it, she might've meant it.

"I know," he whispered, defeated.

"Dogeza."

To her consternation, Jun did not do so immediately. What was there to think about? What possible reason could he have to hesitate? She didn't know, and when his head did come to bow in prostration, Sachiko gave herself some space and landed in front of him.

Seeing Jun's head to the ground, as close as it ever could to being at her feet was inexplicably thrilling. In a way, she had subdued a kaiju by herself - and a part of her wanted to rest a foot on his forehead in victory. Sachiko resisted the impulse, however, and instead considered her demands.

Demands. Honestly? Sachiko didn't know what she wanted. At least, what she could ask within reason. Jun's issue was being thoughtless, and he had otherwise proven himself to be a decent person. Still, there was no reason to pass up this opportunity, so Sachiko went with the first thing that came to mind: "Baths! Every other day! You're smelly and disgusting and I'm not going to put up with it."

Jun's head tilted away from the floor so he could see her. Much to her annoyance, this also meant that his eyes were now slightly above her head.

"Ok?" came the hesistant, unbelieving assent. He was bemused. Did he think she was joking? Maybe he wouldn't take this seriously, but she would hold him to it.

That was one. What could be two? Oh! "And- and you're going to help me with food," she demanded, thinking of how useful someone who could casually lug around hundreds of tonnes would be.

"That doesn't sound too bad." He almost looked relieved at this point.

Sachiko felt a wicked sense of glee at his naivety. "I'll need you to pick berries, mash them, wash them, and then concentrate the syrup if we can't find a better source of sugar."

"Sugar?" As she had predicted, he looked confused. More importantly, he also looked indignant - as if this were somehow unreasonable.

Unfortunately for the both of them, it was not. "I need sugar, Jun. It's not an option for me."

There was flash of realisation, or acceptance, before his face became glum. "Alien, right."

Sachiko rolled her eyes. He was the weird one, not her. How could an entire species of giants manage not to starve or spend their entire lives eating? It boggled the mind.

"And I'll leave the third demand for later," she conceeded. Honestly, this had gone further than she had expected. Jun really was a harmless idiot. "Of course, not man-handling me should go without saying," she decided to remind him, steely. Maybe one day he'll get better.

Sachiko sighed. Hopping back into the air, she considered Jun for a moment before looking over to the bag. "This has been exhausting," she told him. With an ease that belied her, she drifted over to the bag and landed. A sharp tug at the zipper with both arms, and she slowly pulled it open. Sachiko looked back at Jun. "Try not to crush me while I sleep," she asked, half-heartedly batting away his "help" before shimmying into the darkness.

It was awkward. Corners dug into her from every direction, and support varied from solid and smooth to giving and coarse. Eventually, Sachiko found herself an acceptable nook, and surrendered herself to the icy claws of torpor.