Chapter 17: The Gentle Giant.
Small towns were spread out throughout the continent, with the capital city on the west coast. The capital was called Kiariar after the last name of the family that originally founded the settlement. The biggest and most popular industry in the capital was fishing, as it was the most accessible and easiest to do.
On a popular beach younger children were running around in the sand, while most of the teens and up were working either on the boats or on shore. Some of the teens were watching their younger siblings. One of the people helping was a Giant. He had a human appearance, the most notable difference was his over 4 meter stature and four grooves on his face, two on each cheek. The bottom ones were horizontal, while the top ones were diagonal.
A young man, most likely barely in his twenties, looked at the Giant and pointed towards a large crate full of fish on a boat, "Azir, get that crate to the storage." The man said, and the Giant, named Azir, nodded.
Azir effortlessly picked up the crate, which weighed over a ton, and carried it to the storage, placing it down gently.
Normally, Giants were considered a threat so big they would never be allowed to live among humans, much less work with them so closely. However, the human most dear to Azir has convinced the people years prior to give Azir a chance, and that he would take any responsibility if needed.
One of the kids that was running around the beach ran up to Azir, looked up at him and extended her arms high above her head, "Azir! Up!" She said, jumping up and down enthusiastically.
Azir chuckled, knelt down, picked up the girl with one hand and placed her on his left shoulder. The girl's upper body was just slightly bigger than Azir's head, she could just barely see the top of Azir's head.
"Well? Where to now, captain?" Azir asked, his left hand on the girl's legs and pressing them into his body so she won't fall.
"To my dad! I wanna help!" The girl yelled, pointing towards a boat on the water.
Azir looked at the girl and asked, "You sure?"
"Yeah! I'm grown already! I can help!" The girl responded.
"If you were as grown as you say, your dad would take you more often." Azir said.
"Oh please! I'm already 14 years old, dad's just scared that I'll become a better fisher than him!" The girl persisted.
"You turned 14 not even two weeks ago." Azir said.
"Useless details. And you've already seen me working, so just get me there." The girl said.
"Alright, but keep close to your father and listen to everything he says." Azir said, before walking to the shore, water just short of touching him.
The girl knew what Azir was about to do, and she clung onto him, her arms tightly wrapped around his head. Azir, seeing that the girl was prepared, jumped, or more accurately launched himself into the air. The boat was over 100 meters away from the shore, yet Azir was able to jump that distance completely. Just before they hit the boat Azir created a small platform from Xen above it, landing on the platform instead. The platform was largely transparent, with only a gentle purple hue visible suspended in the air. Then, he slowly descended the platform until they were less than 5 centimeters above it.
Azir picked the girl up and placed her on the wooden floor, while he still stood on the Xen platform. He would most likely sink the boat if he stood directly on it. After all, he was a Giant. The girl's father was watching her from the moment she came up to Azir, so he wasn't surprised to see her.
"Ellai, if you wanted to come with me, you should've told me in the morning, I would've taken you with me." The man said.
"You were already gone when I woke up." The girl, Ellai, replied.
"That's why you shouldn't go so late to sleep." Ellai's dad said and then looked up at Azir, who had been quietly watching, "Thank you, you can go now." Azir nodded and turned around, launching himself into the air towards the shore, the Xen platform breaking the moment he jumped off of it.
The children on the beach watched in awe as Azir flew through the air and above their heads before landing safely on the ground. While it was semi-common for them to see Azir flying through the air, it was still awesome to see.
Azir walked up to the kids, feeling bored at the lack of work. While most stayed on the beach, a small amount was taken away by their older siblings. Azir was mostly accepted in the city community, but some were still skeptical or outright didn't like him, saying that he's most likely plotting something behind his facade.
Suddenly, from behind a building a small figure leaped at Azir. Azir, who had his back turned, didn't notice anything. Or he pretended not to.
"Catch that!" The being yelled. Right after, a small, seemingly harmless ball the size of a tennis ball was thrown at Azir. The average human most likely wouldn't be able to react in time, but Azir was not human.
Azir calmly turned around and caught the ball before it could hit him. Then, he threw it high up into the sky and into the ocean. The ball soared through the sky before hitting a sea stack, shattering it completely. Only after that did the ball do what it was supposed to, which was to explode.
The being, who turned out to be a young boy around the age of 10, was standing right next to Azir, "HUH?! Oh come on! How are you so fast!" The boy yelled.
Azir smirked, "Don't underestimate me, Hyu." He said.
"What is it, the 15th time that you failed at a surprise attack against me? Or maybe the 16th?" Azir said
"Just you wait, I'll surprise you one day." Hyu said.
"I await the day that happens." Azir responded
Suddenly, someone telepathically called to Azir, "Azir, come, I have to tell you something." The voice said. Azir immediately did as he was told, abandoning the humans and teleporting to where he was ordered to.
On the other side of the city stood a small, average-looking house. Some flowers out front, a wooden fence, nothing too extravagant.
Out of nowhere, Azir appeared right in front of the house and hurried inside, having to almost crouch down due to the small door. Inside, a man sat on his bed, watching Azir as he entered.
Azir knelt down on one knee in the middle of the room in front of the man and said, "You called, Master?"
"I told you to not call me that outside of training." The man said.
"Can't." Azir said, still kneeling.
The man sighed and stood up, "Just stand up, I don't have time for this." He said.
Azir stood up and said, "Kuriuru, you're immortal, you have all the time you could ever have."
"That's not important right now. But let's get to the point. Azir, I have something to tell you." Kuriuru responded, which made Azir a bit anxious and his posture stiff.
"Which is?" Azir asked cautiously.
"Azir, have you ever loved someone?" Kuriuru asked.
"You ever since when you vouched for me to be allowed to live here." Azir answered without delay or hesitation, completely serious.
"Azir, I'm talking about genuine, romantic love." Kuriuru said.
"No, I have not." Azir replied, wondering where Kuriuru was going with his question. Was he about to propose Azir with an opportunity for love? But why? Kuriuru knew that Azir was completely fine alone, as long as he was by his side. And even if, who would it be? There were no other Giants besides Azir, so not that. A human? But how? Azir was liked by most of the population, but there were some obvious problems with his partner being a human.
"I also haven't, until recently." Kuriuru said before sitting down on the edge of his bed.
"Huh? What do you mean? You fell in love?" Azir asked, getting even more anxious. What if Kuriuru's newly found partner takes him away from Azir? What would Azir do if that happened?
"Yes, I have. She's beautiful, even more than the most beautiful Elven princesses. Smarter than any old Dwarven king I've ever seen. More perfect than any narcissist claims themselves to be." Kuriuru said, which shocked Azir. More beautiful than Elven princesses, who are considered the most beautiful? Smarter than Dwarven kings, who are renowned for their wisdom and knowledge? How could that ever be? Was that even physically possible?
"Kuriuru, are you serious? Are you possessed? Under illusion magic?" Azir asked, concerned, but he couldn't see anything wrong with his closest friend and master. They had known each other for over two centuries, Azir basically knew everything there was about Kuriuru, and he couldn't see anything wrong with him.
"Azir, believe me, I'm in my right mind from my very birth. And no, I'm not under illusion magic." Kuriuru answered with a sigh.
"I wanted to tell you, I'm giving up my immortality and most skills. I want to live a normal, human life with this woman, and I hope you can understand that." Kuriuru said, and the room fell silent. A heavy atmosphere that was almost visible filled the room.
After a long pause, Azir sighed and responded, "As long as you promise that you'll be happy."
"I promise, Azir." Kuriuru answered with a small smile on his face.
"You better keep that promise, Kuriuru." Azir said.