It turned out that the walls of Amardamu's house came up slightly above the roof, forming a "low" (it reached her chin) barrier which made the space suitable for storing yet more pots. Some straw was piled around a few of the smaller ones, and Sachiko had made the space between them and the wall her bed last night; something about the arrangement just struck her as safe in the absence of Jun.

The next day, she didn't bother to check on the giants. Jun could have his fun - Sachiko had an entire village to explore. Better yet, unlike her early childhood at Arsia M. C., the giants had no hope of seeing her if she decided to sneak into somewhere she "didn't belong". Knowing this gave her the same feeling she had whenever she stepped out into the Martian desert, only now there was something really worth seeing out there.

Sachiko burst into the air, spinning around to take in her surroundings. It was a village, or at least, the settlement consisted of only four buildings that could serve as a house. One of these was much larger than the rest, boasting an exterior staircase that lead to a partially sheltered second floor the size of Amardamu's entire hovel. Despite there being only four houses, she could see a number of other constructions spread about. Most prominently, there was a fountain.

Taking note of the giants' positions and how they were relatively distant, Sachiko made her way to mysterious water feature and landed on the rim. Same as she'd seen from the air, there was no obvious mechanism to power the steady trickle of water. Perhaps pressure from underground? She leaned over the rim to get a better look. Edges ever-so-slightly too high for a swimming person to reach, the basin came across as almost threatening in contrast to the serenity it otherwise exuded. Sachiko decided against drinking from it, feeling it to be too risky, and resolved to get a straw and a bag of her own in the future.

Taking off once more, slightly unsettled, Sachiko gave a wary glance around the sky for birds. While she could make out some distant specks above, the area seemed clear of them. Perhaps, like her species, they were fond of trees and the village's dearth contributed to their absence? More questions. Sachiko shook aside her worry and considered the ground once more. Aside from avians, there were groups of land animals fenced in, as well as individuals tied to posts.

If she... if Sachiko was going to be stuck in this world for the long haul, she would need to get used to the giant residents. Not only the humanoid giants, but the fauna as well. Determined to that end, she approached one of the posts to which a grazing animal was secured and landed on it. Sachiko studied the animal, taking in its shaggy white coat and quadrupedal form. It reminded her of the mounts the strange band of beings in the forest rode - two dull and lifeless eyes faced sideways without any sign of comprehension as it chewed languidly on a messy mouthfull of feed. Indeed, the only acknowledgement she recieved from it was a flick of an ear and a shake of the head.

Emboldened by its passivity, Sachiko inched towards its back and gently dropped down. Where before the smell had not been particularly pleasant, now it was bad enough to make Jun seem positively fresh in comparison. Oily, gross fur reached up in clumps to her shins and along with the persistent unsteadiness, served to hinder any efforts in moving around. Still, it seemed the creature did not mind, and Sachiko was quick to push on towards its head.

The hair was shorter here, and the ground even less steady as it rocked with the motion of chewing. For something so terrifyingly huge, the creature was surprisingly docile - moreso than any of the insects they farmed at home. Maybe things wouldn't be so scary after al-

Sachiko took one wrong step, and everything went to hell.

With gut-wrenching motion, the ground beneath her sharply rose and rotated to launch her off. Sachiko yelped and found her subconciously spread wings had been quick to catch her. But just as soon as her feet left the ground, the head rocked to the other side and the floppy, elongated ear that had twitched at her previously now whipped forwards. Suffice it to say, like damn-near everything in this world, the ear probably weighed more than she did and would have knocked her out of the air had it hit.

Thankfully, the ear was taller than it was wide, and Sachiko was able to spin out of its way and into the open - right in front of the beast. In the same moment, the creature had lifted its head up and opened its jaws. Flat, grass-covered teeth just as terrifying as any carnivore's parted to reveal a writhing tongue, covered in muddied saliva guarding an abyss from which the stomach-churning stench of a mouth that had never been washed rose. Sachiko screamed and fell back, watching in horror as the definitely-large-enough-to-eat-her maw clicked shut over the space she had been.

She didn't have time to think, Sachiko just flew as far as she could from the monster. Her eyes stung, and the humiliation that this was yet another animal giants considered harmless stung even worse. Finding a patch of tallgrass in the shade of a tree, Sachiko landed -hard- and with a cry of rage, she swept her spear in an arc. A moment later, several blades came tumbling down, sliced by the flip-activated vibroknife on its end. Sachiko shifted her grip and gave another sweep, channeling her frustration into the weightier swing the low grip provided as she cut another patch of grass. Again, and again, she slashed. And when she'd had enough of slashing, she jabbed, and stabbed, and put her entire body into perforating the roots and trunk of the tree until she was sore from exertion.

Sachiko panted, leaning into her stuck spear for support. Once again she'd almost died from something stupid. Was this how things would be? Hiding behind Jun while he effortlessly finds their way home? Even flying, something unique to her, was a risk here. Birds flying as high as she'd seen, it only made sense that they could strike at any moment. From that altitude, with their way of flying, their dive would be too quick to dodge, and silent right up until it was too late.

What point was there in making a spear if she was too pathetic to actually use it? Sachiko pushed herself to a stand, wobbling. She took one look at the tree and punched, scraping her knuckles against the tough bark. It stung, and she hissed from the pain. Defeated once more, Sachiko cupped her fist into her other hand and turned away from her shame. When she looked up from her throbbing hand, Sachiko was forced to blink.

A beetle, resplendent in its natural headdress, approached. Shiny black shelled and a quarter her height, it must have been attracted to the sweet scents of cut grass and sap as it trundled towards her. The fact that it showed not even the smallest hint of caution towards her was infuriating.

"You're courting death!" she yelled, balling her fists before turning to the tree once more. With a tug, she pulled her spear out of the tree letting the pain tighten her grip. Sachiko marched towards the offending insect, huffed, and swept her spear out to face it.

The beetle stopped, antennae briefly waving about to scent the air before returning to tapping the ground. Clawed feet readjusted their grip on the loamy earth, and seemingly without a care in the world, the beetle crawled its way around her readied spear.

Sachiko grit her teeth as she tried to reign in her returning temper. She knew that it was just a beetle. That it knew nothing and meant nothing. Maybe, distantly, there was an argument about honor she could make. But honesly? She needed something she could best. It didn't matter that Jun could crush them both under a shoe and not even notice - Sachiko desperately needed a win.

"I mean it! I'll kill you!" she threatened pleaded, running around to face the beetle. She waved her spear in its face, letting the unimaginably sharp blade pass inches away from the oblivious insect. Nothing. The beetle just moved around her again, unperturbed, to sup at the oozing sap.

Sachiko dropped her spear and sighed, slumping next to the contented beetle as all the anger drained out of her. Idly, she ran her hand over its carapace, feeling the fine hairs and varied textures beneath her fingers. Maybe she didn't have what it took to be Jun's equal. Maybe she should just be like the beetle and accept her place in this world, letting be what will, she thought.

For all the wisdom, Sachiko wasn't sure if she could.

When Sachiko returned to Amardamu's hovel, late in the evening, it occurred to her that she had failed to ask Jun to gather some berries or inquire about sugar. This occured to her precisely because her habitual sip at the 'solution straw had come up dry on the way there, and that for the first time in memory, she started to feel hungry.

Perhaps it was because of the persuasive effects of hunger on the mind that Sachiko decided to push her luck once more. Like the lowly insect she was, she set down on the window sill and crawled her way through a gap in the shutter. Inside, she could see that the walls were lit by a glowing pit of embers in the center of the room, from which only a small amount of smoke rose. Nestled in the pit was a clay pot filled with great chunks of vegetables and the withered remains of various leaves.

Amardamu was kneeled over the dish, poking at it with stone utensils and adding yet more ingredients from the many brightly decorated jars that cluttered the space. It was one ingredient in particular that drew Sachikos's full attention.

At first she had thought it a mistake, but as she watched the thick, golden liquid stretch towards the meal she knew it was not. The sweet smell, the impossible clarity - all of it pointed to being honey. Amardamu was casually adding the most famous 'lost food' in history to his meal as mere sweetener.

Sachiko stared in wonder, commiting the unique pattern of the honey pot to memory. Judging by the size, she could estimate it held hundreds of liters of the precious liquid. Hundreds. Even the "small" amount he seasoned his meal with could last her days, if what she understood of its density was true.

She had to have some - the only question was how. Her heat suit wasn't built for manual refills, and the way the honey stuck to everything it touched disturbed her. If it was stickier than water, then there was a real chance of drowning if she wasn't careful. There's a grim humour to that, she thought, drowning in food.

Worming her way back into the night, Sachiko rested her back against the shutter and thought. As heavy as the jar's lid appeared, she would still be able to slide it to the side. With some long implement, she could scoop some out safely - but then it would cause a mess that she doubted Amardamu would miss. Perhaps, she thought back to her desire for a straw, a very long one might work. It would also solve the issue of how to refill the suit: just use the straw to blow the honey in like it were an ordinary pouch. But how to make a straw without a lathe?

Having wracked her brain a couple of times, and feeling hungrier than before, Sachiko conceeded to ask Jun. Flying about to another window, she could see that he was sitting alone, whittling a length of wood with his knife.

Careful not to pass in sight of Amardamu, whose form could be seen through the interior archway that separated the "rooms", Sachiko flew around to face Jun. Having first heard her and then caught sight, Jun was visibly nervous - shooting her a questioning gaze. She breathed in to speak, but upon realising that even her voice might be audible in the quiet of the night, she reluctantly hovered over to Jun's shoulder.

Getting a close look at an ear wasn't pretty, and Jun had definitely failed to take a bath, but Sachiko persisted and grabbed its edge for moral support. "Meet me outside," she whispered, "I need to talk."

Not wanting to risk any further exposure, she fled for the window.