It was the next day before Farkas could get some time to see his family again. Forbasa was quite adamant that the young lupar rest for the remainder of the previous day, and for most of today as well. It was well towards nightfall when the shaman's party set out to meet with the lupar pack once again.

The Lupar had been good guests so far; not even bothering to come into the village proper yet, for fear of doing something that would anger the Gatón. Despite Tiana Farkas' optimism about her plan, the pack was in no way ready to win a fight. She had gabled on being able to talk her way into the graces of the gatón leader, and was greatly surprised - and joyful - over finding her second-oldest son still alive. Add to that the fact that this Forbasa seemed an intelligent person who was willing to give her pack a chance.

That last thought brought a smile to her lips as she waited at the edge of their camp for her son and the shaman to arrive. Here she was, approaching fifty-four years of age, and a female to boot, and yet she had managed to have enough authority to have a leadership position. In the chaos of the city, I suppose it's not that surprising, she mused to herself, remembering the fear and carnage as civil order began to break down. She was surprised and disappointed that her fellow Lupar, and even the leadership of her clan, had panicked so. The people had looked for guidance from their leaders, and found nothing but petty jealousy and bickering in a time of trial.

Tiana was certainly not petty or jealous, and that is probably why I was allowed to be leader. After all, the males theoretically could take over control from her, as Lupar law said. But she was fair and clear-headed, and the Lupar of her clan and some neighboring clans had wanted stability rather than tradition. It also helped that she had two unmarried sons to help carry the weight of her orders, and that the other two had died fighting instead of running away.

Well, only one, thank the Maker. She still mourned Senmar, but those feelings were now balanced by the joy of finding Mikula alive. Though, finding him indebted to a gatón shaman for his life had given her a bit of a pause. Still, their clan was known for melding tradition with progress, and she had pride in her son that he not only took their system of honor to heart, but would live up to his debt even to what most lupar would consider 'barbarians.'

Tiana was startled out of her reverie by the arrival of Kanu, her eldest son. He came from the general direction of the camp's center. "Hello mother." He said.

"Hello Kanu. Is there anything amiss?" She asked.

Kanu shook his head. "No, nothing's wrong, at least, nothing new." The last words were spoken with a bit of irony. "I was just wondering if you wanted to talk about anything before Mikula and his friends arrived."

She smirked a bit. "You mean you want to know if I'm going to trust him?" She asked, with a bit of anger in her words. Kanu had taken a bit of a suspicion not to his brother, but to the shaman. He thought that the old man had laid a curse or something on Mikula and so he might not be under his own control.

His ears went down a bit on hearing his mother's tone. "I don't mean any disrespect, it's just that with all the strangeness going on, and finding him here, like this..." His voice trailed off a bit and he looked away. "I just think it's a little too contrived."

Tiana chuckled a bit at that, prompting Kanu to look back at his mother with a questioning glance. "Oh, my dear son. Eldest you may be, but you have much to learn about life. Namely, some things are more contrived than others." She said by way of reply. "I've seen the most tawdry fireside stories told turn out to pale in comparison to what some people do."

He nodded. "I suppose so. It's just... Things have been so strange. I guess I just want to be careful." He said.

Tiana nodded. "We will be careful, you can trust me on that. Mikula is indebted to these gatón now, and that means he's obligated to help them whenever possible. However, I can trust him to do his best to help us as well. He may well prove to be the best thing that could have happened since we left the city." She finished and stayed quiet now, as they both saw the group they were waiting for leave the last row of houses and walk over the open field towards where the lupar had set up camp.

It was a few minutes later when the shaman and his group came to a stop. "Hello, madam Farkas. May we enter your camp for a talk as we discussed?" Forbasa asked in a friendly voice.

Tiana nodded. "By all means, please join us." She and Kanu waited until they walked the last ten feet before speaking again.

Forbasa managed to speak first. "I trust there has been no complaints about the behavior of any villagers?"

Tiana shook her head. "No, none at all. And I trust no one has complained about my people?"

"No, and I'm glad." Forbasa replied. "Because ordinarily, I'd expect someone to actually try to make an ass out of themselves, but things are calming down from yesterday."

She smirked at that last bit. So, he has a sense of humor. How interesting. "Well then, let's head off for that chat, shall we?" She gestured towards the camp's center. To his credit, she noticed that he hardly paused to contemplate going into a den of potentially hostile people. Very interesting indeed. These gatón continue to surprise me. She waited until he was past, and then went to hug her son again. "We must talk later." She told him.

Mikula nodded. "We will mother, I promise." They all walked to the center of camp for introductions and talk.

It was some time later before the discussions winded down. Forbasa and Tiana were sharing as much as they could, but the Lupar were not as knowledgeable on the subject of the new threat, and Forbasa, though he let them know that he did know ore about it, couldn't say because he had sworn on his honor not to talk about it until he had conversed with some of his colleagues. Honor was something the Lupar understood, despite their curiosity about the attacking giants that mirrored Mikula's earlier enthusiasm. Forbasa had even promised them the same promise he had given Mikula and Alexis and Soru, that as soon as he could get in a conference with his peers and get permission, he'd let them know what he knew.

Alexis found the time to be enlightening. While Forbasa and Tiana talked, she had a tour of the encampment made by Mikula and his brother Pavlo. The latter had taken the lead, since Mikula hadn't been with the pack. Alexis saw how the Lupar lived, at least when they were traveling. It was fascinating, seeing them cook with implements that the gatón were without, most especially metal objects such as knives, which she had thought were only hunting and butchering tools until she saw the small ones in use to make meat and some vegetables easier to chew.

"Enjoying yourself?" Mikula asked with a smile as they left the designated kitchen wagon behind. They were walking out now to see the wagon that the Farkas family had staked for its own.

"Very much so." She replied even as she looked into another wagon they passed, this one another family carrier. She noticed the little children staring at her and realized that this was how Mikula must've felt walking down the street yesterday. Like I'm some strange animal, she thought. Still, it was fascinating to see other lupar, even if they found her just as interesting to watch.

Alexis decided it might be because of her dress. It was nicer one, made from the fibers of the delicate-looking danaku plant. When pressed and woven correctly, however, the fibers became strong as the coarse wool that came from the gawer animal, which made up the gatón's daily work clothes. Forbasa had suggested that they all should appear their best, and so she had picked her best.

The cloth was dyed blue, which for most animals is a nice neutral color. She had also picked a blue dress because it matched her eyes. The cut was conservative, though two slits ran up the sides of her legs, allowing her to run if need be. Her arms were mostly covered, though the sleeves were loose to allow easy movement there as well. The rest of the fabric was also loose around her body and bust, and the only places it came tight in on were the shoulders, neck and waist, the latter because of a belt she wore.

It was an attention getter, and I'm not just attracting the children's attention, she thought to herself. Several of the adults spared their attention to her for at least a minute, mostly the males.

Alexis hardly paid attention to them, instead she just took her time looking at everything, despite the fact that most of the wagons were like one another, the families having too little time to do the usual customizing that they normally do when living in one structure for a length of time.

"Mikula? Is that you?" A voice came from the shadow cast by a wagon in the setting sun. Out walked a young Lupar female, about sixteen centimeters taller than Alexis, and about four shorter than Mikula. She was dressed in a close-fitting pair of green trousers and a red shirt. "It is you!" She said after a minute and ran up give the surprised lupar a big hug.

Mikula took a second to recover from his surprise. "Kalina, it's nice to see you." Was all he could manage.

Kalina drew back and looked at him. "Is that all you have to say to an old friend?" She asked with an annoyed look that dissolved into a smile.

Mikula's ears went down a tad bit to show his embarrassment. "Well, you surprised me, and I didn't really expect to see you here. You don't strike me as the pioneering type, after all." He finished with his lopsided grin, which made her ears move back in the Lupar equivalent of a blush.

"I guess when things go bad, you find out what you can really do, eh?" She replied, a bit of her enthusiasm bleeding out from her voice. Everyone went quiet for a bit, for they all knew about the reasons for their exodus.

"Well, they do say adversity brings out the best in you, so there may be hope for you yet." Pavlo joked to break the mood into something happier.

They all shared a laugh, even Alexis, though behind her blue eyes her mind raced a bit. Who is this woman? How does she know Mikula? She thought somewhat suspiciously. She broke her train of thought as Kalina began speaking again.

"So, who is this?" She asked, indicating Alexis, but asking Mikula.

Alexis bristled a bit at being referred to so off-hand, or so she thought. "You could ask me, since I'm standing right here." She said, letting a bit of anger into her voice to match the wagging of her tail.

Kalina looked over at Alexis with an annoyed look in her eyes. "Oh, well, I didn't know you could even speak Lupar, let alone converse in it."

Mikula spoke up before Alexis could make a retort. "Now, Kalina, that's a cheap shot and you know it."

"What? I was simply saying that I find it unusual that a gatón would know our language, that's all." Kalina replied with a superior air. "In any case, I should go help with the food preparation for dinner." She started walking towards the center of camp. "I'll be talking to you later." She said softly, as she brushed past Mikula and sliding her tail on his good leg.

Alexis stared daggers at the retreating form. She knew exactly what the female lupar had meant by her remarks. That arrogant spawn of a siruk, she thought with some malice. And why did she rub on Mikula like that?

For his part, Mikula decided to try to get things moving. "So, anyway Alexis, we still have time to see my family's wagon, if you want?"

"Yeah, and we even have some of Mikula's things with us, and I'm sure he wants to get his hands on his old toys again." Pavlo added with a nod and a grin.

Mikula grunted and gave his brother a look as Alexis asked "What toys?" I don't know whether to thank you Pavlo or to strangle you, he thought.

"He didn't tell you?" Pavlo asked and his grin grew to encompass his entire muzzle. Alexis shook her head as they started off again, Mikula trying to give Pavlo a warning look that the latter ignored. "He was quite the little general, playing with toy soldiers and wooden swords. And he always seemed to come out victoriously against the most unbalanced odds." Pavlo finished with laugh that Alexis joined in with. Even Mikula cracked a smile and chuckled. "Alright, Pavlo, since you're so interested at what happened when we were young, why don't you tell her about the noodle incident?"

Pavlo's smile disappeared as Alexis looked towards him with a questioning look on her face. "Uhh, well, I guess perhaps everyone goes through a phase of temporary insanity." He said, and brought out his infectious grin of his again.

Alexis laughed again, and she found herself liking this younger brother of Mikula's. He certainly shares his family's gift of wit, of which she knew much from talking to Mikula. She looked toward him and smiled at his embarrassed features. He looked at her and saw the smile and answered it with one of his grins. "Brothers, can't live with them, can't strangle them in their sleep."

They all shared in the laugh that followed as they approached the last wagon in the bunch. Mikula could clearly see the Farkas family emblem engraved on the wooden side, right next to the symbol for the Regulus clan. He was a bit puzzled at that. "Pavlo, why is the clan symbol not the highest?"

His brother grunted. "Mother felt that the clan was disgraced by the selfish actions of its leaders, so she thinks that it's and appropriate proxy punishment for those who let us down." Pavlo shrugged as he finished.

Mikula just nodded and went up to the back and looked in. "Hey!"

"'Hey' what?" Asked Pavlo, though Alexis could tell from the glint in his eyes that he knew exactly what Mikula was referring to.

Mikula reached into the back, leaning on his good leg to get more reach. He came back out from the back end a minute later and walked back to where Alexis and Pavlo waited. He carried with him a small wooden sword that looked like it might have been the right size for a gatón adolescent, but clearly small in Mikula's grown hands. "I can't believe you brought this with you! What in the world for?"

"What is it?" Alexis asked sweetly, trying to keep from laughing at the strange sight of a fully-grown lupar holding a toy sword.

"It used to be my favorite toy back when I was a lad, still running around like a little hellion." Mikula responded. He turned to Pavlo. "Why did you bring it?"

Pavlo's smile faded a bit. "Well, it was one of the few things mom had been holding on to in case one of us got married, that way she'd have something to spoil and grandsons with. But when you disappeared, mom brought it with as a something she could remember you by." He stopped talking, and they all fell silent, the only noise coming from the center of camp.

Mikula once again felt bad at causing grief to his mother, especially at a time when it was only amplified by the loss of his brother Senmar and the horrifying appearance of the giant threat.

Alexis could see it in his eyes, and she walked over to him and touched the toy sword he held out in front of himself. "You know, in my culture, it is a sign of great respect to keep an item of a lost loved one as a memento."

Mikula looked up, his eyes wet with unshed tears. He blinked them away before answering. "Yes... Yes, it's the same in our culture as well." He looked into her eyes, losing himself in their dark blue color for one long moment. He was brought out of it when Pavlo coughed, apparently having smelled something bad.

Mikula looked up, then away, embarrassed at having stared at Alexis for so long. "I'm sorry, I must be boring you."

"No, not at all," said Alexis. She too looked away for a second and backed off a step. You're so ill-mannered, she chided herself internally, staring up at his eyes like that. It's not like you haven't seen them a thousand times...

They were both saved from death by embarrassment by Pavlo. "Ahh, sorry, I think I got a bug in my nose for a second there." He said, but a mischievous look in his eyes told a different story.

"It's alright, Pavlo. I think we needed to head back anyway." Alexis said and she looked towards the center of the camp. Mikula nodded to Pavlo, and they started their walk back after Pavlo put away the toy for Mikula.

The former decided to try and get the conversation rolling again. "So, uh, Ms Alexis." He started a bit unsurely, "might I ask you your last name, if it wouldn't be too assuming? I don't seem to have heard it anywhere."

She shook her head. "In our culture, unmarried women don't have last names, not even those of their fathers. It's believed that to have one is bad luck against getting married."

"Oh. Well, that's interesting." Pavlo said somewhat uncomfortably.

He was saved by the start of a song coming from the camp center. Alexis tilted her head to listen to it. "My, that's pretty. I don't think I've heard anything like it." She said.

Now Mikula had a chance to smile. "I believe that's chao music, isn't it?" He asked Pavlo, referring to the five-stringed instrument popular among the more youthful Lupar.

Pavlo smiled back. "Aye, that it is. That would be Kalina, Herma and Wismat. They managed to be the only ones who brought along instruments." Alexis' fur on her back went up a bit at the mention of the first name, but she held her temper at bay. The music helped, as the twangs from the loosely strung instruments carried over the noises associated with the camp.

The three arrived in the center in time to catch dinner. The fare was typical and not really unique to wither race, as their homes weren't too far apart in distance. They enjoyed the meat of mogg and the hashed fala roots that came on their plates, and most of the camp turned out to see the sun set, for it was a tradition that a traveling pack of Lupar would have their camp in a U-shape with the open end facing the west.

Alexis enjoyed herself, despite the looks she got from the other Lupar, and especially Kalina, who kept looking back at her sitting next to Mikula. Alexis felt a little smug at that, especially after Kalina had practically thrown herself on Mikula earlier, or so she recalled.

Mikula was enjoying himself now, as he caught up with friends he hadn't seen in a few months; his unit had been gone for a bit before it had been attacked. He found out that most of them hadn't really seen the giants, just that they heard the loud noises and saw the aftermath, which was enough for them. They were curious, however, and kept him busy answering questions.

The gathering was in full swing by sundown, with the lupar celebrating a chance to rest at a safe encampment and wanting to impress their hosts/guests with their cooking and conversation. Soru, in particular, had attracted the attention of several younger female lupar, though they regarded him more like a favored brother than anything else.

Alexis sighed, which brought Mikula's attention back to her, as he had a break from the friendly grilling his friends had given him. "Something wrong?" He asked.

She shook her head. "No, I'm just regretting the fact that we couldn't bring any of my friends or family. They'd love this kind of gathering."

"Well, why didn't you?"

"Well, they don't understand Lupari, for one." She said and looked at him with a teasing look. "And I don't think many Lupar here know Gatonese."

He smiled at that. "Yeah, including me." And he laughed.

She smiled a bit. "You really disparage yourself too much. Why, just today you managed to learn the past-progressive of most of our verbs."

"Yeah, but-"

"Nooo buts!" She said, mimicking Forbasa's voice in mock seriousness, and they both had a good laugh.

"I guess I do take things a bit seriously," replied Mikula. "But I'm not the only one."

"Oh?" Alexis asked.

He nodded. "Well, you tend to be more of a hole in the wall when the shaman is around. It's only when you're away from him when you let yourself enjoy things."

"That's different." She replied. "I'm an apprentice, and it's tradition that apprentices be polite and respectful to their shamans and their guests."

Mikula nodded. "I understand but you take it a bit too far sometimes. I've noticed that Forbasa's had to scold you sometimes in order for you to relax or even take care of yourself."

"Sounds like someone I know." She said merrily and poked him lightly in his ribs, eliciting a startled sound. "How many times over the past five days has the shaman had to chide you into taking care of that wounded leg?"

"Too often, I'll agree." He replied with a smile. They both quieted at that, and sat back to enjoy the story that one of the elder lupar was beginning to tell. It was nearly dark now, save for the fire and the stars, since the moons weren't out yet.

Alexis only half-listened to the story about the ancient warrior-kings of Basun. She was more interested in looking around at the lupar. She also wanted to take a good look at the Shaman, who seemed to be enjoying himself, as well. Soru was raptly listening to the storyteller, who also had everyone else's attention in the center of camp. Alexis felt good, and rested her hand lightly on Mikula's.

Mikula noticed that, and turned to say something, but the words died in his mouth as he heard a muted thump come from the east woods. Everyone else heard it, and the camp fell silent save for the crackling of the fire.

Thump. Mikula's mid went into overdrive as Alexis' hand clutched his tightly now. They had both heard and felt that sound before. Thump.

"What the bloody hell is that?" Asked a lupar sitting across the camp. Thump. Mikula looked around quickly, seeing a few others who, like him, had knowledge of the mysterious sound. Thump.

"It's getting louder," said another lupar. But now Mikula, Alexis, and Forbasa rose, the latter knowing from his interviews with the two eyewitnesses of the first attack what the noise meant. He turned towards Tiana and spoke to her quickly. "It's the giant, everyone should get under cover, now!"

She stood up but before she could reply the entire camp and village heard a loud sound that was a cross between a roaring waterfall and the whooshing of a strong wind. Light shown from the east of the wagons, and it rose up in an arc that was bringing it right towards the camp.

"RUN!" Yelled Mikula, and he grabbed Alexis's hand and fairly dragged her over to where his mother and Forbasa stood, hoping to get them to safety as well.

By now, everyone was panicking. Lupar ran left and right, striving to reach their wagons in the strange light that continued its arc to come down with an earth-shaking thud just to the west of camp. Mikula knew what was to come next, but he prayed to god that he could escape with his family one more time. He reached his mother and Forbasa at the same time as his brothers did. They looked at each other and, being army-trained, knew certain signals to use with just their eyes, tails, and ears, allowing them to communicate far faster than words would have allowed. Working quickly, each took a charge and half-carried, half-dragged towards the village, which seemed the safest path as most of the lupar ran towards the woods.

Just then the giant appeared, stalking from it's landing point. Its skin glinted in the firelight, attracting Mikula's eye for just a second, in which he saw that the beast had a symbol upon its chest. He spared not a thought to it, save to note its appearance; a stone tower on a diamond field.

He turned his attention away from the thing as it raised its arms. Great gouts of flame spewed forth and landed among the lupar and their wagons, setting flame to whatever, or whoever, they touched. The light from the hellishly bright flames of the giant joined the light from the campfire.

Mikula and Alexis were falling a bit behind, mainly because Mikula's leg still was hurt a bit by his wound, even in his current state of fight-or-flight. He spared another glance at the giant, and saw it turn towards them. Oh no!

He put on a burst of speed that pulled Alexis off-balance and let him sprint the half-meter to his brothers, his mother, and Forbasa. Not even trying to warn them he jumped onto them, letting go of Alexis' hand, but knowing she'd fall to the ground with the rest of them.

They hit the ground and were there just long enough for Kanu to look at his brother in disgust when the rattling noise and stuttering streams of light poured from the giant, just barely missing their heads as the lights slammed into the ground just ahead of them. The lights raised great fountains of dirt that collapsed to fall on the group. "Stay absolutely still!" Mikula snarled to everyone. He broke his own advice just long enough to turn his head and make sure that Alexis was safe. He saw her lying on the ground, wide-eyed but apparently unhurt.

He turned his head slowly again to watch the giant through his peripheral vision. The great monstrosity had turned its attentions to the lupar fleeing into the forest. Mikula gulped hard, wanting to do more for his fellow people but unable to do anything more than hold still.

Mikula didn't know why, but his instincts told him that to lie still was the safest bet. The others fidgeted a bit, prompting him to issue a wordless snarl to get his point across quickly.

Now the giant turned towards the village and again took flight on its flames to land near the closest house to the lupar encampment. Again the flames and stuttering-rattling lights came from the beat, and against wherever they touched, death and destruction followed.

Forbasa, in shock until now, was broken from its spell by the sight of his villagers under attack. He tried to pull himself out from underneath the pile on top of him so he could get to the village, lead the people to safety in the caves nearby. A strong hand put itself on his shoulder and pinned him more effectively. He turned to see the hand belonged to Tiana. Her eyes were wide in fear, but they also had the look of sympathy. Forbasa realized that it was as hard for her to do nothing at this point, to let her people go without leadership, because to lead them was to line them up to be slaughtered.

He realized at that point, much as Mikula had a few seconds earlier, that the giant seemed attracted to movement, and then usually to the movement of large groups of people. He saw people running singly or in pairs right in plain sight go unmolested, while a group of three or four - families, he realized - were cut down mercilessly. This went for both Lupar and Gatón, for the giant seemed not to care which race it killed.

From off to the south of the village they heard more noises. In the distance, they could identify another giant from the stuttering-rattling light-noise that came from that direction. Forbasa and everyone else realized hen that they should stay still until the giants left.

Then, the first giant turned back now, and it headed for the burning lupar encampment. To the horror of Mikula and everyone else, it seemed to aim its flame-arms right at them

Then the flames gushed forth.