Dawn melted into morning agonizingly slowly as Wynessa watched Miklian's chest rise and fall with his breath, the steady cadence calming as she knew it meant he was still asleep. After their conversation the night before, they had gone to his rented room in a giant-made tavern on the western edge of town. There had been whooping and hollering and propositions for her to stay the night "with a real giant" to which Miklian had quickly responded by glaring at anyone who dared try to touch her. His protection had probably saved them a lot of trouble the night before.
As she had promised, the first thing for her was to find a new place to stay until she had a better idea of where she was going. She left her belongings in the room with Miklian, tucked into the storage trunk just like the one she had used at the temple but larger, and made her way down the stairs. The stairs themselves were made in two sections, about two thirds the width was built for giants, the other third was at the same angle but built for humans and elves. It was an inclusive design Wynessa did not see terribly often.
Even the bar of the quiet tavern had a section specifically for "smaller folk" and shortly after she sidled herself into one of the seats, a giantess smiled and set a bowl of pottage in front of her.
"On the house, dear." The giantess waved a calloused hand before she moved on to continue wiping down the last of the bar, humming a tune cheerily. "First time?"
"Sorry?" Wynessa nearly choked on her spoon before she sputtered out the word.
"First time staying in a giants' inn. What did you think I meant?" She smiled knowingly with a raised eyebrow. "Actually, you'd be surprised how mundane that kind of pairing is in these parts. Giant man, smaller woman. Happens often."
Wynessa stared intently at the bowl in front of her before glancing around to be sure her question wouldn't be overheard.
"Is there some way to... Erm... Train for... That?" Her voice was so quiet she was afraid she might have to repeat herself, but the giantess chuckled softly.
"There is. Do you know where Madame Lufoncia's is?" She barely hesitated as Wynessa shook her head. "From here, head south down the main dock on the north side of the river until you find Likutan Way, then follow that south across the river. It's the third bridge to the east of here. Follow that road straight south and it will be on the right. If you find Dodger's smith, you've gone too far."
Wynessa listened intently, unsure why the idea interested her so much. Maybe it was to protect herself? Yes, that must be it. Like the elf woman from the night before, it could happen. She had to be prepared.
After breakfast, she returned to the room to grab her paper with the map of the city on the back as well as her cloak. It was an overcast and windy day, but the dark blue woolen cloak cut the biting wind easily.
Following the instructions she had been given, Wynessa found herself pacing back and forth outside a tall building that seemed to have been built for smaller folk but had an addition for giants and those of larger stature added afterwards. She debated knocking on the door for at least ten minutes before a woman, about her age, stuck her head out the window of the second floor exasperatedly.
"Just come inside already! Gracious!" The girl had dark skin and fiery red-orange hair that curled intensely, bouncing as she moved down the stairs towards Wynessa who stepped quickly into the dim building.
The inside confirmed what she had assumed from the outside, the area of the building that appeared older was built with humans and elves in mind while the newer-looking area was more open and built to accommodate giants and ogres. As Wynessa was looking around the building, the fiery-haired woman moved behind a bar counter and began making herself some food and boiling some water in a kettle over the fireplace.
"The Madame is asleep at present, and she's not hiring anymore girls right now neither, but if you're here for business I'm happy to attend to your needs." She poured a cup of a dense-looking purple froth before pushing it towards her guest.
"Oh, erm, I-I-I actually... I've nev-never been... Erm... With a woman." The flush that covered her face burned down her neck and across her chest as well as she stammered out her response, "But I-I actually came here to, erm... Well, to... To learn how to handle... Erm..."
"Big ones?" The woman assumed the answer and was met by the ashamed nodding of her dark-haired guest. Chuckling, she pulled the drink to herself and drained it before replying. "You're in the right place for that, for sure. That's the Madame's specialty. Best there is at taking giants and ogres, that's our Madame. What's your name, sweetheart?"
"Wynessa."
"Well, Wynessa, I'm Cori. Sit with me and tell me what it is that's got you wanting to learn this particular skill set, yeah?" She invited her guest closer to the bar, pouring a cup of tea for each of them and biting into a brilliant green apple as she awaited the response. Wynessa began at the beginning and truthfully told her everything.
Miklian woke up about an hour after Wynessa had left, which was probably in his favour because he woke up thinking about her. His sleeping mind played out ideas that his waking mind balked at, and as he dressed himself for the day he could not help but think on the dreams he had been having the past few nights. They were always different, but the theme was the same.
She was his and he was hers.
Unable to get her out of his head, he doused his entire head in the cold water of the wash basin. After drying himself and re-braiding his hair he headed down to the bar for some food. A few of the patrons had woken up already and were discussing their previous night with gusto at the tables behind him as he pulled himself closer to the bar. The giantess behind it had a knowing smirk as she handed him a bowl of the same she had given his human earlier.
"So how was your night, Captain?" She dropped her voice and leaned in so the others in the room wouldn't catch their conversation, and lifted an eyebrow at his stunned expression. "Word travels fast through certain groups of semi-organised revolutionaries. Your name and face are known to the resistance, and so is your human, Wynessa. That elf you had, too. You're not safe here for longer than a few days."
Before he could respond, a pair of giants entered the tavern and her attention was pulled away to her patrons. He could feel his entire body tighten as it sank in what she had fully meant.
"... And then this morning the giantess running the tavern we stayed at last night, she told me to come here to learn how to "take it" I guess, and I mean, that's a good idea for self defense, right? Better to be prepared than be torn in half, right? It makes sense. So then I came down here and Cori saw me trying to decide if I had made the right decision and now I feel so stupid because I've literally just told all of you probably far more than you wanted to know."
Wynessa found herself breathing heavily as she addressed the group of professionals who had slowly trickled down the stairs from their rooms during her explanation. Sitting at the tables and benches were easily a baker's dozen of various gender expressions sipping their tea and eating their breakfast as this human poured her heart and soul out onto the table for them.
"Alright, but do you want him? Like, carnally?" One of the masculine figures asked bluntly, earning a jab in the ribs by the person sitting beside them. "What?! I'm just asking to clarify what I'm hearing, because it's important! If she wants this giant, she's going to need to be prepared and knowledgeable about what he specifically is wielding down there. If not, we could train her for what we think he's got and end up totally wrong! He could be thicker or longer and we wouldn't know for sure how to teach her safely! I'm sorry, I assumed. It's She, right?"
A small mutterance of agreement passed around the group as they turned to their guest.
"Yes, thank you. I mean, I can kind of guess based on what I've seen so far, right? Is there a way to know without asking him to drop trou?" Wynessa felt every blood vessel in her face practically screaming with embarrassment throughout this conversation, but they were right. It was a possibility that they might have to perform some kind of sexual act to prove that she belongs to him. It would be important for her to know how to handle such a situation.
It was just being prepared, right?
"Sweetheart, you know what they say about assuming, right? It makes an ass out of you and me. What if you brought him here? Like a secret meeting place to keep up your charade? We could ask the Madame, I'm sure she'd agree to it." Cori spoke up from where she sat on the bar.
"Sure I'd agree to what?"