'That fire should last through the night' Katerina stated as she slipped into the make shift bed, made from bits of fur and other scraps of material, next to Sirius. It was under the pretext that they would be warmer if they slept next to each other, but really she enjoyed have a person next to her, touching her, skin to skin and it made a change from the many lonely nights she had spent in her cave. 'It should keep away the monsters'
'The monsters?' Sirius asked in disbelief as snuggled into the bed next to him. 'How old are you Rina? Besides if any monsters were to enter this cave I would gladly step in and defend you from them'
'How gallant of you Sirius' she replied dryly 'but I can defend myself, you may laugh, but there are monsters that live in these mountains'
Seriously, what type of monsters?' Sirius asked curiously
'Giants' Katerina whispered in the darkness
'What, they are actually real?' Sirius asked. He remembered the rumours he had heard of Giants in the south of France during his time at Hogwarts, but he had not believed them. He had thought that giants belonged in dark damp caves up north, not somewhere which was meant to be warm and dry. However, now he was experiencing a winter in the Pyrenees, he guesses it could be plausible that there were actually giants here.
'They are as real as you or I' Katerina replied
'So when you told me to look out for giants every time I left the cave last summer, to find food or water, you actually meant, look out for giants?'
'What else could I have meant Sirius?'
'I just thought it was one of those phrases that had been lost in translation, like 'it's raining cats and dogs' or 'don't let the bed bugs bite'' he explained
'No, I really meant, look out for giants' Katerina stated
'So have you actually seen them?' Sirius as Katerina tried to get to sleep
'Yes, otherwise why would I be warning you about them?'
'So if you knew they were here, why did you choose to settle here, when danger is only around the corner?' Sirius asked curiously, wondering what had drawn the Russian to this isolated cave and being neighbours with giants.
'Because they can also provide protection' Katerina replied evasively
'Can you take me to see them?
'Yes, now please let me get some sleep' and with that, Katerina rolled over away from Sirius.
*******
A shaggy black dog and a sleek white wolf with violet eyes quickly made their way along the steep mountain path. Katerina had told Sirius that it would be quicker, easier and safer if they made their way towards the giant community in their animagus forms.
Suddenly the white wolf came to a halt in front of him and quickly transformed into a blonde haired human, behind a large boulder. Katerina then gestured for Sirius to do the same and they were soon hiding behind the large rock.
'Look, here they come' Katerina whispered as she peered over the boulder and pointed to several large figures which had appeared in the distance.
'Wow' was all that a normally eloquent Sirius could mutter, as the large clan of giants entered the open area and headed down to the stream which was trickling down the mountainside
They sat there for hours observing the giants since Sirius was absolutely fascinated by these huge creatures.
'We should probably head back now' Katerina stated, tugging on her companions sleeve to get his attention. 'It will be dark soon'
'Sure' Sirius replied, still fixated on the giants and he took a step backwards, not realising that there were several loose rocks behind him. He fell head over heels, causing a loud noise and landing in an undignified crumpled heap.
'Sirius!' Katerina exclaimed with worry, running over to him
'I'm fine he replied, dusting himself off
Suddenly there were a series of loud grunts and Katerina and Sirius looked up to find that the giants had turned around, on hearing all the noise and were now staring directly at them. Then they began to advance towards them.
Sirius quickly pulled out his wand in order to defend himself, whilst looking to Katerina, expecting her to be doing the same thing. 'Rina, what are you doing? Are you mad?' he asked, when noticing that the blonde haired Russian, instead of running away, had climbed over the boulder and was actually walking towards the giants, without even having her wand out. He watched in a mixture of amazement and worry as she closed her violet eyes, clutched something around her neck and began muttering things in a language he could not understand, like she was saying a prayer.
Then as if by magic, the giants stopped their advancement, their eyes going black, as if they were in a trance, before slowly turning around and walking away.
'What was that?' Sirius asked as he helped Katerina back over the boulder
'Sirius, what do you know of the Crystal of Sayan?' She replied, unclasping the pendent from around her neck and showing him the now glowing crystal in the palm of her hand.
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