Just Another Day

"You two simply must come tonight as my guests," the giantess beamed and extended a hand to Rin and Shanku.

"Aye," Rin blushed and kissed her extended fingers.

"Thankie, ma'am!" Shanku said much more informally.

"I have to go back on duty," Rin nodded to the giantess and to Shanku.

"See ya tonight!" Shanku waved to Rin as he flew off to patrol. The giantess also left and took her son to their tents.

I need to be presentable. My last fancy feast was in Wynfall! Shanku suddenly realized. She began to walk back through the forest toward the mountain where Doane and the dwarves worked. Let's see, I can probably take my spare pinafore and... She pondered over the different ways she could alter her pinafore.

Arloda had been letting Shanku live with her. She didn't mind the company, and to her surprise Shanku even volunteered to help in the forge on nights she wasn't out late hunting. Shanku had even confided in Arloda of her origins and misfortunes. As was the nature of a dwarf, Arloda didn't gossip to Sigrid or any other, and to Shanku's relief didn't tell her what she did wrong or should have done better.

Shanku was just finishing her final embellishments on her spare pinafore when Arloda walked in, fresh from a bath after a long day in the forge.

"Yer goin' too, pup?" Arloda asked as she browsed her closet.

Shanku nodded. "Would you believe I got an invite from a giantess because her kid ran away and Rin wanted me to sneak him back while he fought some gryphons?"

"Ye'd think she'd keep a leash on that kid by now," Arloda laughed. "Last year Doane pulled him from his sand pit. Said it took him a week to tear down all those castles the kid had made. They gave him a big elk bull for his trouble."

"Ah," Shanku nodded. So my rescue was nothing special. Oh well, I still get to go to a feast!

Arloda combed her hair and braided it back to her favorite style. One braided chain around her head tied in the back, and one braid at each temple. She donned a white dress with loose sleeves, a v-cut collar, and long cloth belt. She had put on some earrings and a silver and sapphire necklace. Shanku felt silly next to her. All she had managed to do differently was to add some decorative triangles to her spare pinafore.

"You clean up nicely, Arloda," Shanku said bashfully.

"And ye do some nice needlework," Arloda clapped Shanku on the back. "Coom, coom, we have mugs with our names on them!"

Arloda lead the way to the feast. In a hollow between some nearby ridges there had been constructed a large place to entertain the giants. The kurach had taken their pale stones and paved a huge court. Then they had erected three massive tables strong enough to bear the wait of the giants. On the end where the kurach sat were four stone tables to their size and one long table at the very end to serve food from. Half the court was surrounded by two layers of stone archways. A series of torches encased the other half of the court and one torch stood between each column of the lower layer of arches.

There were many already attending by the time Arloda and Shanku arrived. The center of the three large tables was occupied by the giant ambassador, his wife, his child, and their entourage. The four tables for the kurach were mostly filled with both kurach and dwarves, and many more kurach were flying in the air, either choosing to watch from atop the arches or delivering food to the serving table or to the giants. The giants had been served some of the finest elk and stews, and the bakers had done their best to bake some rolls that were easy for the giants to grab.

All were dressed in their finest. Kurach in ornate pinafores, dwarves in loose clothes and an ample amount of jewelry, and the giants were most splendid of all. Geometric designs covered nearly every bit of their clothes and bright borders separated each design from another. They wore tall, fancy hats, and much jewelry of their own.

"Is th' knife necessary?" Arloda asked and nodded toward the dagger Shanku had always carried on her hip since they met.

"I feel naked without it," Shanku said demurely, one hand on her hip to accentuate the dagger and another gesturing before her.