The Laistrygonian giant grinned down at the little girl in front of him, revealing sharp yellowing teeth. The girl in turn looked up at him with tear-streaked cheeks and quivering lips. She couldn't have been more than ten, making the Laistrygonian's mouth water at the thought of that young tender flesh. He glanced around the field, making sure no irritating halfbloods were waiting to spring out and steal his prize. Long Island was dangerous for monsters; the entire place seemed to crawl with well-trained demigods just waiting to turn innocent little ogres like him into dust.
"Now pipsqueak" the Laistrygonian said, turning his attention back to his prey, "are you ready to die?"
"You should really ask yourself that question at this point" a voice came from above the giant's head, he looked up just in time to be kicked in the head by a flying hoof. The giant howled and staggered backwards, clutching his face.
He sensed something land between him and the shaking girl that would have been his lunch. The Laistrygonian forced his eyes to focus on his assailant, ready to shred them to pieces for intervening. What he saw stunned him. A girl of fifteen or sixteen sat astride a white Pegasus. She was gorgeous. Her unevenly cut brown hair had a white feather braided into it, contrasting exquisitely with her tanned skin. She even made the orange t-shirt and jeans she was wearing appear glamorous. However, what had paralyzed the giant were her eyes. They transfixed him in a sea of dancing colours and shifting light, almost making him forget that he had been on the verge tearing the throat of a little girl out. Almost.
"Piper!" the girl seemed to have shaken herself from her terror and jumped to her feet. The older girl glanced down at her and the spell over the giant was broken.
"Who are you and how dare you interrupt my meal!" he roared, charging towards the girl on the Pegasus with arms extended, ready to throttle her. The girl glanced at him.
"Freeze." The giant froze mid-step, his mouth still twisted into a snarl. He willed himself to move but something in the voice was so irresistible, so powerful, that his muscles wouldn't obey him.
"Betty" older girl was talking to her young friend sternly, as if she had forgotten the giant's presence "why did you leave camp? You know how dangerous it is out here, you could have died."
"I'm sorry Piper" the girl's voice was shaky "I just wanted to have adventures like you and Jason did, and Chiron wasn't letting me go on a quest so I just thought…"
"Well that was a ridiculously bad idea" the older girl's voice softened as she smoothly slid off the Pegasus' back "but at least you're ok. Let's get back, I'm sure Chiron's really looking forward to setting you your extra chores. Also, in the time you've been gone Drew's managed to change the entire colour scheme of the cabin to hot pink."
"What? How?"
"I don't know, but it was impressive and scary. You have to hand it to Drew, she has her skills. Also, you missed Katie and Travis getting into a huge argument, we're going to have to sort that out."
"Oh my gods, that's-"
"Release me now halfblood or I'll rip your legs off and make you watch as I bite your little friend's head off before I eat you alive!" the Laistrygonian spat at the girls, his fury at being ignored making him froth at the mouth.
"Funnily enough, I don't really feel like doing that. I take it pretty personally when people try to eat my siblings" the older girl's eyes bored into the giant's, making his rage curl up somewhere inside him and die, fear taking its place.
"Tell you what though, I'll let you have my knife" she pulled the gleaming blade from its sheath and handed it to the giant, the meaty fist accepting it of its own accord. Her voice had hardened and her gaze had intensified. The giant could feel his legs trembling, he would have fallen to his knees if the power of the girl's voice hadn't been forcing him to stay standing.
"Now" the girl gave him a devilish smile "don't you think that it's way too hot today?"
The giant could feel the rays of the sun beating down on him.
"It's so unbearably hot, don't you just wish that you had the power to cool yourself down?"
The giant was panting, sweat dripping off his brow.
"Hey, wouldn't pressing that knife to your skin help?"
The giant pressed the flat of the blade to his neck, sighing with pleasure at the feeling of the cool metal.
"Maybe if you pushed it all the way in you would feel even cooler."
The giant did as she suggested, sliding the knife into his neck, and for a split second felt relief as the intolerable heat faded, before he realized what he had done. He tried to roar in anger at the girl, but he was already turning to dust.
"That's what you get when you mess with Piper McLean" he just heard the younger girl say smugly before he melted into the soft green grass.