From a shady copse of trees, the party watched as Simone and Shayn moved forward.
"Is this close enough?" Victoria asked quietly. "Will we see anything?"
"At the very least, we will see if the giants head towards Klain with our friends, or without them." Gabriel said.
"I'll sneak a fair distance ahead on foot," Walter said. "I'll take an arrow with a red bandana on it, as a signal for danger. It'll give you lot a better chance to flee if the need be."
"That seems inefficient," Kyler protested. "Shayn and Simone went ahead so the rest of us could be safe, and you're all but guaranteeing to sacrifice yourself if things go awry. The giants will see the arrow as well as we will, there will be no hiding for you after that."
"It'll give you lot more time to get away if I can distract them," Walter said gruffly. The party had taken time to load the horses with a few necessary items in case swift retreat meant leaving the wagon behind.
"Why are humans like this?" Bran was saying to Tom. "I don't understand why they don't all just hide until the danger is gone."
Victoria brightened. "You are terribly good at hiding, aren't you? That's why Jerry and his group never could see your camp even though it was practically in plain sight. After we let the messenger bird go, would you be able to hide all of us?"
"We were already planning on it," Tom shook his head as if she were dull. She felt dull in the face of this obvious solution. "Humans just don't listen very well. I think it is because your young offspring are very dumb, and we resemble them in size."
"Children aren't dumb!" Victoria protested.
"You claim to listen to them and their suggestions and plans well, then?" Bran asked. "Because that is not, largely, what we observed in Klain."
"I was there as well," The woman reminded the halfling. "And I agree, it can be frustrating feeling as if no one cares what you have to say."
"And now that you have grown, people listen more to what you want, do they not?" Tom put in, pressing the point.
"Well, sometimes," Victoria conceded, as her eyes wandered to Gabriel. "But not always."
"If you were taller, we might hear you better," Walter apparently couldn't resist the jibe, and Victoria gave the man a harsh look over it.
"So your hearing is the issue, then," Bran said in his regular monotone, "that is logical."
"Finn always listened, even when I was a child, and she thought you were, too," Victoria reminded. "And Mayra."
"They are both not as tall as other humans," Tom nodded. "Their ears are lower."
"No, that's not the point, my point is that there are always people who–" The hair on the back of Victoria's neck stood up, and she whirled around. "What was that?"
"I heard it, too," Gabriel stepped in front of her.
"A portal? One of those bugs?" She whispered.
"Sounded more like a chirp than a buzz to me," Walter said, scratching his head, but reaching for his sword anyway.
"A chirp?" Victoria stood up straighter and tilted her head to listen. "You're sure it was a chirp?"
Victoria moved around Gabriel. He looked like he might stop her, but fell short of touching her. He'd been acting like that lately. Like he was afraid to touch her. It puzzled her, but not enough to ask him about it.
The last time she'd confronted him about something had gone very poorly indeed.
"Could it be?" She whispered to herself, before clearing her throat and asking in a clear voice. "Judah? Judah, are you out there?"
The halflings reacted in horror as a monster leapt into view. Light green in color, with darker green and brown spots that matched the scrubland, it was the size of a large horse, with a fluffy mane, six powerful legs, and a tail with a glimmering spearhead for a tip.
"JUDAH!" Victoria cried, running forward. The animal tensed, and she paused. "Don't you recognize me, Judah? It's Victoria! And Gabe!" She gestured back at the man behind her, who had paused with one arm out to yank her backwards out of danger.
"Victoria, there could be thousands of his kind. He could have died years ago, they may not live this long. You can't be sure that it's him. This one might not be friendly." He urged quietly.
The animal hissed at Walter, whose hands were shaking slightly as he held out his sword.
"It has to be him. He came when I called his name. Walter, put your sword down, please." Victoria insisted. She just knew it was Judah.
She held out her hand, open, showing she had nothing to harm him. "Gabe, could you grab something out of the wagon, some dried meat, to feed him?"
As she recalled, his appetite was ravenous. Even if it wasn't him, perhaps they could make friends by offering him something to eat.
The large cat moved forward to sniff her hand. Its large eyes were set in black circles, and examined her face.
"I know, it's strange. I grew!" She smiled. He hadn't bitten off her hand yet, so she moved it up to stroke the fur along his great cheek, as she did many times during the days he stayed at Finn and Roland's home in Klain. He was still taller than she was, but it wasn't as overwhelming a distance anymore.
Leaning its great head into Victoria's hand, the cat let out a low groan, almost like a purr.
"I'm glad you're back!" Victoria declared, and Judah flopped down on this side with a great THUMP, allowing the girl access to scratch his belly.
Avoiding his large front paws, she moved in and obliged his obvious desire.
"What is that thing?" Bran demanded. Though his voice was still emotionless, Victoria could have sworn she heard just a hint of fear in his intonation.
Judah sat back up, though he was careful not to knock the woman over. His ears flattened and he hissed at the halflings.
"No, no, Judah! They're friends. Friends, see?" Victoria moved to put her hand on Tom's shoulder, since he was closest. The halfling nearly shrank away from her gesture, but Judah's flaring nostrils were assessing the quality of the bond, and it seemed he thought wiser of distancing himself from the human this monster liked.
"Hey there, Judah," Gabriel smiled, apparently convinced of the cat's identity. Judah chirped and nuzzled his great head at the man, who laughed in response. "It's really good to see you, Buddy. We missed you."
Victoria nodded. "Did you come with the giants? You're from the same world, aren't you?"
Judah looked over his shoulder from the direction he'd come and chirped again.
"Are they… nice? Or bad?" Walter asked. Judah stared at him with an even gaze.
"He doesn't talk," Victoria giggled. "Though he seems to understand everything, don't you, Judah?"
The large animal chirped again.
"What a strange sound he makes." Tom commented.
"I think it's perfect," The woman smiled. Judah moved forward to nudge her.
"What now?" Gabriel asked, looking ahead, towards where Shayn and Simone had disappeared. "We haven't seen them yet, but… well, I remember Roland talking about how fast Judah was. I think he might be faster than the giants. Maybe he'll help us?"
The cat tilted his head in inquiry while the humans considered the problem.
"You mean, ride it? Like a horse?" Tom asked incredulously.
"Roland used to." Victoria said brightly. "And he let me sit on his back once, when I was younger."
"Which Finn didn't take kindly to, as I recall," Gabe chuckled. In retrospect, Judah was a terrifying creature with a lot of claws and teeth. The fact that the children had been allowed around him at all was surprising.
"She was afraid Mama would find out and become angry." Victoria giggled. "Or that I would fall and get hurt."
"A fair concern to have," Walter observed.
"Judah, do you think you could help us find out if the giants are friendly or not? Shayn and Simone, our friends, went to check, but they aren't back and we've not seen them yet." Gabriel reached up to scratch behind Judah's ear.
The animal leaned into the attention, and then lowered one shoulder to the ground.
"You… want me to ride?" Gabriel asked uncertainly.
Judah gave a low chirp of assent, nudging his head at the man.
"None of the rest of us are going to," Walter's eyebrows rose.
"I might!" Victoria protested.
"No, I'll go. It'll be fine. Victoria, take charge of the birdcage and the note," Gabriel handed them to her gently. "If you need to, tie the letter here, on its leg, and then let him fly. He'll find his way back to Klain. I'll be back before too long."
"I'll be very put out with you if you aren't," Victoria warned as Gabriel climbed up and buried his hands in Judah's mane.
"Don't worry about me. What could go wrong?" The man grinned and then yelped as Judah took off in a dizzying sprint.
"So much," Victoria whispered to herself as she watched them disappear.