A Matter of Size (Elvish and LemonSpark)

The sun was just about set, washing the fields with pastel light that stained all it touched orange-brown as Dwayne trudgingly hauled his way along the final stretch of un-tilled soil, dragging the heavy iron plow behind him like some base beast of burden. Which he may well have been, for all that this foreign and hostile land thought of him.

Dwayne was half-giant, two heads taller than even the best-built males of pure human lineage, the same mixed blood that made him so well suited for brute labor marking him as impure, inhuman and therefor good for nothing else in the eyes of his purebred "masters". Day in and day out he worked without cease, till lean muscle decked his towering, surprisingly gaunt frame and sweat clung to every pore of his tanned skin. An uneven mane of sand colored hair drawn back into a ponytail hung down to his bare and well-defined chest, but nery a single hair graced chin or lip, for despite his prodigious size Dwayne was still quite young, his twenty-second birthday only a few days past and the prime of his virility still well underway.

His foot finally striking solid earth instead of muddied soil, he let himself pause a moment to muster his strength, unhooking the plow's harness from around his broad shoulders before taking hold of the chains and pulling the heavy metal contraption out of the muck onto solid ground with one final, concerted effort. There.

Done. At long last, done.

The plot of farming ground stretched nearly fifty acres in all directions, a fair stretch by any measure but made far worse by the lack of assistance. Dwayne alone had been sadled with the unpleasant task of weeding, plowing, tending to this field and it's products for the last year, backbreaking work to do alone even for someone as strong as he. Only now that the crops had been harvested and the ground broken for the next planting would he see any rest, a brief period of lighter work while the seeds were laid before he was once more set to harsher tasks. Assuming of course the "masters" didn't think of anything for him to do in the interim. There was always that unpleasant possibility.

Letting out a deep and tired yawn, Dwayne collapsed onto the ground, wiping the sweat from the brow as he glanced over at the falling sun upon the horizon. He could likely head to his quarters now without fear of some busybody catching him along the way and setting new work for him, perhaps even catch some semblance of much needed rest, but Dwayne knew that if he hung around a little longer there was the chance that she might bring him his supper... And that was certainly worth risking a little sleep over.

She was the sole redeeming feature of this place, a bright star in otherwise clouded skies that rarely failed to leave him without a smile upon his face. It was silly of him he knew, but Dwayne sometimes wondered if she liked him back, despite the fact that he'd never spoken more than a few words of thanks to her and didn't even know her name. If nothing else, the impossible fantasy of holding her in his arms was better than the grim reality of this place.

It was nearly sunset as a female, who looked no older than 20, paced around the hallway, looking agitated. This half-cat, half-human female was one of the main servants to the presiding lord. She took care of the cleaning and most of the cooking. The one thing she doesn't take care of was the land outside the manor. She would, normally, have no problem offering her help to the half-giant that worked the lands. It irritated the young neko that the slightly older male took care of it by himself. It wasn't as if they were they only two servants in the care of the lord. No, there was about 200 servants altogether. However, today seemed as if all the forces of nature were working against those inside the manor. The female looked back on the earlier events that caused her near melt-down.

It was a seemingly beautiful day in Lund. As the young neko was awoken in her cot, she felt the hairs on her tail and back of the neck raise. As if she was aware of the coming problems. Their lord had left the manor a few days ago to do business in the neighbouring country of Triand.

As the female had changed into her working clothes, a light beige shirt with tan skirt. Her mahogany hair bundled up into a braided bun. She got up slowly and walked into the quite manor. It was... eerie to say the least. Normally, there would be shouting of who to do what but there wasn't and it set the female on edge. Her mahogany and black tipped ears perked up for a sign of 'life' in the manor. She walked into the kitchen to see a few servants crowding another. She frowned.

'What in the nine layers of hell, do those idiots think they were doing? Just because the master had left doesn't mean that they can laze about.' thought the neko. One of the girls finally spotted her and waved her over.

"What is going on?" she hissed out, her brows furrowed. The girl who noticed her frowning and told her.

"It seems as if the oven is broken and Miho is paying for it." explained the female. Serenity frowned. Miho was like her, a neko. She pushed her way through and wanted to scream at the site of the poor girl. Miho's hands were bloodied and blistered. She turned to shoo the rest away for what is going on.

"Go. The master is returning in a day. We need the manor spotless. I will take care of Miho" said Serenity with a glare. Her tail lashed behind as she dared the others to disobey. She was one of the younger servants but she was more commanding than the others and normally took over.

Serenity shuddered that was only the beginning of the problems. It seems as if with the master gone, things just go south and end up with them whipped for their stupidity. She sighed before looking out at the fields. She frowned, seeing a lone figure out there still. Was he still working? The thought made her shudder. He was extremely hard working but the night were freezing and she didn't want him to get injured.

She moved out of the hallway to go into the kitchen. She knew that the half-giant didn't eat anything and was probably tired but she, also, knew that he needed to eat and she was normally the one who brought him his dinner. She grabbed a few slices of bread as well as a wedge of cheese. She grabbed a pitcher of water. She smile as she stepped out in to the chilly air as the sun was finally falling. She didn't know how long she was thinking about the earlier events but it seemed long enough for the sun to be nearly gone. She steadily walked over to the male. She was petite to his towering figure. She gave him a small frown.

"I do hope that your going to be putting that away soon." she said, softly, hoping to not startle him.

"I brought you your dinner, uh..." she trailed off blushing. Out of all the times she's brought his dinner, she never ask for a name. Serenity felt like such a child for forgetting. It was the basic of manners.

The half-giant's face breaks into a smile as he hears her voice singing out behind him, turning round to grin down at the petite neko-girl. "Dwayne. I'm Dwayne. And, er, and what's yours? Your name I mean?" He asks, words tumbling out in an eager rush as he finally gives voice to the question he's wanted to ask her for months now.....

Not that this changes anything of course. Just because she asked his name doesn't mean she has any interest in him or he has any chance with her, Dwayne has to remind himself, consciously cutting short pleasant but hopeless line of thought before he gets carried away.

Taking the food gratefully, the half-giant eats with gusto, devouring the bread and cheaze within moments and gulping down half the water just as quickly, splashing the rest onto his face to stave off the burning heat. It's not nearly enough to fill his stomach but it's something to keep him going until tomorrow, much as ever. "Oh, uh, and thank you for the food." Dwayne adds suddenly, only just remembering his manners.