#ulstories

***

It had been three weeks since the first mission of the U.L. gone wrong. The time that had almost cost Warren his life getting wrapped up in the affairs of ravenous, savage giants. Warren has only narrowly escaped with his life due to the help of an unexpected ally. Even then the memory still gave him nightmares.

The way he had believed to have been betrayed as the terrifying fanged maw opened up before him, hungry, and awaiting to devour him whole. Even if he had been safe then, it didn’t alter the fear and terror of the memories.

The Unseen Legion had assigned him the mission to kill one monster in order to be allowed to join their ranks. Warren had stupidly chosen to kill a giant and failed at that task. Normally, this would make him instantly denied entry into the Legion, but his rare experience of the Banding ceremony and surviving it had served as a valuable source of knowledge they couldn’t waste. Before he knew it, he was an initiated member, and he hadn’t even killed anything yet.

Now for the moment of truth, they wanted him to kill a werewolf. Simple enough. It wasn’t anything as massive or powerful as a giant. This one should be easier, right? All he had to do was avoid getting bitten and use his silver knife, or silver bullets to deliver a fatal blow to the heart. No worries about getting eaten alive or any of that. He was sure he had some sort of PTSD from what happened with Eli and didn’t want anything like that to happen again.

He had searched for hours past midnight as he tried to follow what little he knew about tracking in order to locate the beast. The moon was high above the blackened dome, splaying it’s fragmented rays through the branches of the trees, glistening across the forest floor like glistening shards of glass that provided a hazy illumination. It only furthered the distortion of the shadows of the forest where the parts of the moonlight didn’t reach.

Warren’s lone silver ray from his flashlight beamed through the darkened forest to provide a small path of light like a tunnel through the walls of blackness. He had found his first paw print, but it was hard to determine whether it was fresh or days old. The U.L. Archivists had been tracking the hunting patterns of this particular wolf for a while now and we’re quite certain that it would be nearby. It seemed that they were right, but one could begin to only look at so many paw prints before hope of finding the real beast would begin to dwindle.

Suddenly a howl broke through the night. It was low and long, and split the chilled air that froze his breath. Warren paused, tensing in place for a moment. The nerves of the situation were beginning to settle in. There was a powerful mythical beast out there, and he was supposed to kill it. He drew out his pistol shakily, but stabilized it over his flashlight-wielding hand.

He turned a few times, trying to locate the source of the sound. For a moment, there was an eerie stillness in the forest. The shadows of the trees didn’t falter as their gnarled limbs caged him in bars of darkness that split the moonlight. There. Off in the distance, he could have sworn he saw a slight movement in the underbrush. But as soon as his flashlight shone towards it, it was gone.

A pause.

Each passing millisecond mounted the scene with more apprehension. Warren bated his breath, not daring to move just yet.

CRASH!!!

There was a sudden burst of motion that dove through the trees and pounded onto the foliage with a swift motion. It towered above Warren, easily twice his size. It was a mere shadow at this point. But then Warren saw the eyes. A glistening golden color that reflected off of the light animalistically. The eyes leered down at him for a split second before they were gone again.

Warren’s heart raced and he stumbled backwards, tripping over a tree root that protruded from the soil. He scampered backwards, fumbling as he tried to grab his flashlight again.

A giant.

What was a giant doing here?!

Warren had made sure to double check and triple check that the U.L. Was certain that their rotation had already passed before he could do his first mission. How had one slipped under their radar?

Warren lifted his pistol, still scooting on his back away from where he had seen it. The flurry of movement continued. There were growls and a sudden high yelp like an injured dog split the air. Something whooshed by as a large object was hurled into the air and crashed into the underbrush, just inches from where Warren lay. Warren flashed his light to the side, gasping. The werewolf lay there with matted grayish brown fur with long narrow lashes that had sliced it open. It wasn’t moving, but blood still flowed from the wounds.

Warren was shaking. He shined the flashlight back at where the giant was. His heart stopped. It wasn’t there. His breaths rasped in his throat faster and uneasily. Even in the cold, his palms were sweaty from fear, making it more difficult to grip the pistol properly.

There was another burst of movement. A large shadow swept over him with a flash of reflective eyes.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Three shots were fired from the pistol, before the wind was knocked out of him. He was pinned to the ground. A massive hand bore down over his chest. Golden eyes glinted down at him like an animal's. Warren’s heart pounded in his ears and it took him a minute to react. He tried to aim the pistol back at the giant, but it was quickly twisted from his grasp. A low chuckle sounded, almost like a growl.

“Thought ya could be a big scary Hunter, now did ya, Kiddo?”

Warren froze, still shivering. That voice. “...Eli?”

The giant snorted. His face was still not visible through the shadows, and for a moment, Warren feared that he had guessed the wrong giant.

“Do ya really think that knowing my name will spare your life in the field?” The voice came back in a mocking chuckle, only confirming Warren’s assumption. “I know what ya did with the Unseen Legion. And you’ll never survive.”

Warren’s eyes narrowed. He brought up his hands to try to pry off the giant’s grip, but it remained firm and unyielding. “I— I have it under control! If you just let me kill that wolf—“

A cruel laugh broke out. Though he couldn’t see the creature’s face through the shadow, he could see its form quake with laughter. “Hunting is never that easy, Tiny. It could have been any other giant just now that jumped ya, and right about now, you’d be somewhere in their gut.” The giant leaned closer, his chuckles still heard as his warm breath wafted over Warren’s face.

Warren shuddered. “I’m trying, okay! Just give me a chance!”

The giant paused for a moment, a growling hum came from his throat in thought. And then the grip around Warren was released.

“Alright, Hunter. If you really think you can be part of the Legion, try to survive. Either beat me, or escape. I’ll even be nice and give you a head start. But if you fail, you suffer the consequences of what a real bad giant would do.”

Warren took in a nervous gasp, trying to scoot to his feet. “W-wait— no— you can’t possibly be thinking of eating me again!”

“Well, I did promise that the last time we met, ya know. That would be kinda embarrassing if I just… didn’t. Also, I can never pass up a tasty little snack.” Eli rolled his eyes, getting to his feet.

The giant lifted the little pistol and slid it onto safety before pocketing it. Standing, he was more in view with the pale moonlight that illuminated his features in pieces cut off from the shadows of the branches. His eyes were framed by dark stripes, not unlike the eye markings of a cheetah. His hair was dark and spiky. His fingers were tipped with long, sharp claws. Standing at his full height, he was 13’3, easily over twice the height of the small human hunter.

Warren finally managed to get to his feet, cringing at Eli’s words. “But—“

“Aaaand there goes your head start and you just wasted it.” Eli feigned a yawn.

Warren tensed, not waiting another moment to dash away in alarm. He pushed through the thick underbrush, weaving through the trees on the uneven trail. His heartbeat thundered in his ears, and his breaths froze against the moonlight in puffs of silver mist.

It was almost impossible to navigate in the darkened forest, and outrunning a giant that had evolved for terrains such as this, capable of sprinting at sixty miles per hour, made home seem slim. But Warren didn’t want to endure going through that again. Some part of him believed that with just a small stroke of luck, he might escape this.

He glanced over his shoulder for a moment to try to locate how close behind the giant was, only to find out, he wasn’t there. Where there had once been a towering creature, there was nothing at all. Nothing chasing him.

Giants were ambush predators.

Warren took in a shaky gasp, immediately feeling ten times more hyper aware of his surroundings. He looked ahead and ran faster—

THUMP—

A tree trunk slammed into his face. He should have been looking forward while he ran. He must have regained his bearings too slow. With a hand bracing him against the tree to try to stabilize himself to run again, he suddenly felt something warm wrap around his leg and jerk him backwards. Warren let out a yelp, quickly reaching out to try to hug the tree in order to resist being pulled backwards, but it was helpless since the grip around his leg was much stronger. He was dragged onto the floor, face mingling with the gross dirt and underbrush.

He flailed helplessly, trying to grab onto something. He reoriented himself, twisting in the grip to be positioned on his back, only to let him have a clearer view at the gigantic creature looming over him. The giant was on one knee, stooping over the small human, only really needing one hand to restrain him. Even crouched down, he was taller than a man was standing. His face was close, allowing a clear view of the glinting fangs as he drew back his lips in a hungry sneer.

“Really? That was pretty pathetic. I was going easy on ya, but you were beat by a tree. Pfft.” Eli’s voice came in a mocking chuckle.

Warren winced, panting with his heart still racing in his ears. “Eli… please don’t…”

“This ain’t anything new to a Hunter, ya know. Your defeat could be a whole lot worse. Once ya join the Legion, ya won’t last long. Not more than two missions I bet.”

The giant drew closer until his warm breaths could be felt on Warren’s face. From this close position, Warren could hear the giant’s stomach gurgle nearby in anticipation.

“Aww, sounds like someone misses you,” The giant chuckled teasingly.

The hunter grimaced, his breaths growing more rapid through his nose as he tried to hide his fear without much luck. He tried to pry the hand off of his leg, but his arms were soon gripped between Eli’s fingers and he was lifted off the ground, dangling before the giant’s face.

“W-wait— Eli I swear to god—.” He let out a yelp as his shoes were suddenly yanked off and he was held higher to dangle above the maw of the giant. “—Hey!”

“I don’t like eating shoes.” Eli said with a shrug.

“Well I don’t like being eaten!!” Warren retorted with a shudder. “Wh— WAIT—!”

The giant was clearly getting impatient. He pocketed the shoes and lowered Warren’s feet towards his mouth. Warren gasped, kicking and struggling in the giant’s grip. Another hand reached up to steady his feet, guiding them towards the giant’s hungry maw. His mouth chomped lightly around his socked feet and ankles, bringing them within the warm confines. Though he didn’t bite down, the pricks of fangs barred them in warningly, making it too dangerous to struggle.

Warren’s eyes widened, and he grimaced as he could feel the slimy tongue begin to soak his socks and feet as they were brought inside. A murr sounded as he could feel the tongue move beneath him, pushing his feet towards the palate as they were tasted, brought in deeper. A little more of his shins were brought into the mouth as his feet were pressed by the tongue and funneled towards the entrance of the throat.

Warren tensed up, jerking his legs as he could both feel and hear the first swallow. His feet were firmly squished against the palate and tugged into the tight, warm throat where he could already feel the slick muscles gripping at his feet to hold him in place. Warren panted, quickly changing his trajectory from trying to break loose from the grip, to clinging onto Eli’s hand to try to slow his descent. The hand only lowered Warren further into the giant’s maw as Eli began to swallow more rhythmically, making his way up to the thighs.

Warren was fighting at this point, terrified as he saw more of himself disappearing down the tight throat. He could see the bulge he made in the giant’s neck, moving slightly in-tuned with his struggles. He was practically sitting on the tongue now, and the throat had gripped him tightly enough to make it near impossible to try to pull himself out. Saliva soaked through his pants as the slick muscles gripped and massaged at him.

Eli’s hand began to let go of his arms, repositioning to brace him behind his back as he pushed Warren towards the throat. Greedy, pleased murrs sounded in his throat in a low growl as more of Warren’s form was accepted into his possession. Warren was shaking, forgetting in the moment that Eli probably wouldn’t hurt him. This only took him back to the dreadful memories from where he was swallowed the first two times. The encompassing terror that had encapsulated him then.

GLK—

There was a disgusting slick sound as the throat gripped him, dragging his hips into the tight folds. Warren panted, gritting his teeth in desperation as he tried to grip the hand that held him, trying to do almost a pull-up to hopefully pull himself free, or pause the giant’s efforts. Only for a mere moment it seemed to be working. Empty swallows rippled at his form, though he wouldn’t budge. There was a glimmer of hope. He was stuck! The way the muscles twitched against him uselessly was still disgusting, but at least he wasn’t going any deeper!

There was a choked, gagging sound coming from the giant’s throat as he struggled with Warren’s resistance. It only lasted for a moment longer before the hand let go and Eli jerked his head backwards. Instantly, gravity shifted, allowing Warren to begin to slide deeper again. He was now up to his chest in the fang-lined maw. With his hands free, he tried to push against Eli’s jaws to try to immobilize him, locking his arms in a stiff position to not get down further. From working up his appetite this whole time, his jaws were dripping with slick saliva, making it gross to contact it when Warren’s hands were there. He was now uncomfortably close to Eli’s face. The giant’s eyes were shut. An expression of enjoyment and pleasure played over his face. He seemed unphased by Warren’s attempts. Almost even indifferent to them.

Warren shuddered, tensing as he felt another swallow tug at him. It was a battle maintaining his ground by gripping Eli’s jaw to hold him in place. He only sunk in another millimeter. His second attempt seemed to be working better than the first. The only issue was how far he was in right now. Only a couple more swallows, and he was done-for. If he slipped, if Eli managed to remove his grip, he would be easily gone. Most of his body was now soaked to the bone in encompassing heat and slime as he was constricted and tugged at within the claustrophobic confines of the throat.

“Eli— stop— p-please don’t do this.” Warren’s protest came out in a breathless stammer.

The giant didn’t make any response, but lifted up his hands to pry the human’s little ones off of his jaw. “No—- NO—!” Warren pleaded.

GLK—

His chest was pulled into the throat and his head and shoulders were now within the giant’s slimy maw. He panted, trying to reach his arms above him to grab something— anything that would help him, but to no use. He winced as he could feel the fangs so close to pricking his arms. Fearfully, he looked down.

Through the dim moonlight, he could see the back of the mouth where the tongue had pinned and guided his torso into the more cramped area. The giant was heavily salivating at his taste, and out of instinct in order to slick down his meal enough to make him slide down with ease. Slick slime dripped from the roof of the mouth. Threads of saliva connected to his form, following his torso into the throat. He felt the tongue rise up beneath him, pinning him uncomfortably to the palate as it pushed more of him into the throat. His shoulders were now crushed into the tight space.

The muscle raised up to the roof of the mouth once more, squishing Warren’s face against the slimy palette. He squeezed his eyes shut to avoid getting slime in his eyes. Any hope of escaping was pretty much gone now. This was it.

Another loud gulp sounded around him as the throat gripped him, pulling him inside deeper. His face was now squeezed inside the tight muscular tube. He could feel his socked feet begin to press against a tight area before entering a more open space. He shuddered, feeling the swallows become more rhythmic now as they dragged him in deeper. More of his legs followed into the opening. He was only in up to his shins before his feet pressed against the opposite wall, but the stomach easily stretched to accommodate him as more slid in.

Warren’s chest was tight and he couldn’t breathe in the suffocating confines of the passage. He was completely at the mercy of the larger creature, as unsettling as it was. His hips and torso soon passed through the opening as well. His legs bent in order to fit properly into the small space, but he didn’t stop kicking. His struggles were easily viewed from outside as the giant watched in amusement. A growling hum was heard around him as his hands were finally squished into the tight throat and the giant enjoyed the sensations from the little struggles.

The rest of the little human finally slid inside, curling up in the tight, squishy environment. He immediately gasped for air, coughing a few times to get used to the thick, humid air that burned his lungs at first from the sheer temperature before he gradually got used to it. He could hear the giant take in deep breaths around him as well, as his airway cleared. He felt a firm pressure against his back and he scowled through grit teeth, aiming an angry kick at the walls.

“Y-you f-frickin’ monster.” Warren growled.  

“Hm?” The giant’s voice responded around him casually. “Oh wait-- were ya insulting me or addressing me?”  

Warren frowned bitterly, curling up tighter, knowing his struggles couldn’t get him anywhere anyways. The environment was hot and slick and gross, and he hated how the walls seemed to have a mind of their own as the involuntary peristalsis continually massaged at him. He could recall how quickly the sheer heat had sapped him of energy before, and didn’t like being weakened like this, despite already feeling the beginnings of it draining his energy.

At the lack of response, the giant chuckled, rubbing at the small form in his gut. He got to his feet, walking along through the forest. He quickly found Warren’s flashlight that he had dropped and scooped it up, putting it in his pocket.

Warren’s heart was still racing from the bad scare, but was beginning to slow down a bit as he tried to disconnect himself from the fact that he had just been eaten. He knew Eli wouldn’t kill him, so at least there was that small reassurance. He still hated this place no less, however.

“Hey kiddo?” 

Warren grimaced as he felt a jab on his back as the giant poked at him. “What.” the hunter’s voice didn’t sound too happy.

“How do ya feel about bein’ one of those lousy Hunters now? I’m tryina show ya that… It won’t work out. You’re just gonna end up getting killed. Ya know how easy it is to eat you?”  

Warren shivered. He pulled his arms up around his legs, tucking his head close. It was like he was trying to appear even smaller. “I don’t want to know.” He returned in a low voice. He sighed. “Monsters are just… stronger. But I can do something to stop them. I just need to try harder.”  

Eli let out a blunt laugh. “Do ya really wanna know how many people I’ve heard say that? And how they ended up?”

Warren didn’t respond. He grimaced as the stomach muscles churned slightly around him, holding him in place. He heard gurgles come from nearby. Just the silence accompanied by the slick, churning sounds of the giant’s insides were enough of an answer to Eli’s question.

Eli groaned, continuing to walk through the forest as he navigated the route with Warren’s scent on it.

“You’re being awfully quiet tonight. Where’s that fighting vigor?” Eli was clearly growing impatient, as he tended to enjoy feeling his victim’s struggles within him. Warren’s lack of a fight was just annoying to him.  

Warren sighed. “What’s the point? I’m not going to be able to get out of here until you let me anyways.”

Eli rolled his eyes. “Well you aren’t fun. Do ya even know why I’m doin’ this? I told you last time we met that ya have to take care of your sisters. What a good lot of takin’ care of I’m seein’ right now. Throwing your life away to fight monsters that you’re never gonna beat? Really? What do ya think they’re gonna do when you disappear one day and never return? Do ya even know how that’ll affect them?”

The giant’s voice raised to a booming volume around him, shaking the walls of the human’s fleshy prison. Warren winced. “W-why do you care?” The Hunter retorted.

“I DON’T. I couldn’t care less about ya pathetic little humans. The only reason why I’ve never killed ya has nothing to do with mercy. Don’t for a second think you’re too special to kill. I just don’t want some other giant or monster to go off wastin’ a meal that I spared. That’s lame.”

Warren was silent for a moment. Something about the giant’s words didn’t add up. There was still some curiosity on why Eli ever started sparing the lives of humans, but he knew how Eli resisted explaining last time and didn’t want to cause any triggers that could endanger him.

“I’m still going to hunt monsters.” Warren said quietly, afraid of Eli’s response.

“Then what’s the point in keepin’ ya alive now? Maybe I should just digest ya and get your death over with, since you’ll be getting killed on the job soon anyways.”

“N-- DON’T--!” Warren tensed up, flinching as he felt the stomach clench around him again, accompanied by gross gurgling sounds. He struggled in place, trying to reorient himself in the darkness. He was now sort of lying on his back, in a good enough position to spring a strong kick upwards where he assumed the lungs to be. “I s-swear Eli--”

Eli hiccupped as the kick came in contact with his lungs, actually hurting a bit. He pressed a hand against his stomach to immobilize his prey. Warren panted in the hot, close confines, finding it hard to breathe while stuck in this new position.

“What’s the point in letting you go, hm?”  

Warren shuddered, pressing his elbows out to try to free enough room for him to breathe. He panted for a moment to try to catch his breath. Despite being covered in slime, he was oddly sweating in the sweltering environment. It was exhausting to fight against the walls to struggle for breath.

“Be-- because…” He paused between breaths for a moment, thinking desperately. “L-look, just now you were-- were offering me a chance of practice to fight or sur-- survive being attacked by a giant--”  

“And you failed.” Eli quipped with an amused snort.

“I know-- I know-- but-- what if I kept trying-- you know-- you know a lot more about monsters than me. I could learn more about how to fight them properly, and how to survive. You hate the other giants, right? What if I was able to help?”

It was a strain to even gather breath at this point. He knew he couldn’t keep this up long, and his struggles only seemed to bring further enjoyment to his captor instead of persuading him to release him.

Eli raised a brow, lightening his grip slightly. He paused in his strides in the forest, one hand going to scratch the back of his neck in thought and the other to rub at the form of the little human in his gut, just thankfully with less force this time.

“You mean, like train you?”

Warren squirmed slightly, not enjoying the rubs against his side and feeling disgusted that the giant would gloat over him like a filling meal instead of a person.

“Y-yes.”

There was a rumbling hum around him, as if in thought. Then a chuckle.

There was no response for a while, and Warren laid there in the draining heat, already beginning to feel his strength leave him as the fatigue settled in.

After a while of movement (assumedly Eli walking), the stomach grew tighter, crushing around Warren’s form. Warren struggled at first fighting back and panting before his head was sucked back into the throat from the sheer pressure and he was brought upward. He was being released!

The convulsing muscles tugged him along, feeling even tighter than before, almost to the point of crushing his very bones. There were slick gagging sounds as light poured in and his head pressed back through the mouth. The scruff of his shirt was roughly grabbed and he was pulled the rest of the way out with disgusting slick sounds. Saliva trailed from his form, connecting to the giant’s mouth.

Warren gasped for air as soon as he was freed, shivering violently as he was re-exposed to the bitter chill of the air. After being in the scalding stomach for a while, the sudden change of temperature shocked his body. He continued to gasp, wiping his face and blinked his eyes open to look at the giant. He grimaced as he saw the threatening face so close. Eli was smirking down at him and raised a hand to wipe the slime off of his jaws.

“Well that knocked some reason into ya… hopefully.” The giant huffed. He lowered the little Hunter onto the ground. They were now near the side of the road where Warren had parked his car. “Also, word of advice; don’t ever park your car on the side of the road where you’re doin’ a hunt. The monsters can trace your scent right back to it and know which cars to watch out for, or even deduct where you life off of that… So yeah. Bad idea.”

Warren wobbled unsteadily as he got to his feet again, craning his neck up to look at the massive giant above him as he spoke. He just nodded stiffly, still shaky from the experience, but relieved that he was alive.

“Wait-- so you’re going to help me become a Hunter then?”

The giant shrugged. “Meh. Maybe. Dunno yet. I still don’t see much of a reason to help out any human, but I have reasons to help myself here.”

Warren furrowed his brow, still blinking blearily as his head was foggy from drowsiness at the moment. He opened his mouth to try to ask what these “reasons” were-- He didn’t want Eli to use this training as an excuse to keep on eating him. But the giant quickly spoke again.

“Anywho, you should probably get back to your sisters now. Don’t want them to get worried. Don’t worry, I’ll clear up the werewolf evidence.”

Warren groaned. “Wait-- but I need that werewolf! The U.L. needs it as proof--”

“You gotta earn your first kill. Doesn’t count if I do all the dirty work ya know.”

Warren sighed. He had a long way to learn to get good at this hunting thing. He dug into his pockets to pull out his car keys and grimaced as they were dripping with slime. “Ugh disgusting…”  

Eli smirked, offering a short pat to his fluffy hair condescendingly before he stopped, seeming to remember something. “Oh-- almost forgot this,”

He dug in his pockets, taking out Warren’s pistol and his shoes and tossed them over to the little man. Warren sputtered, quickly managing to catch them. His eyes narrowed at how carelessly the giant had just thrown a pistol at him, but at least it didn’t go off or anything. Warren shot a look at Eli uncertainly as he fumbled with his reclaimed items.

“Thanks.... Uh… You won’t use this whole training thing as an excuse to... you know… eat me again, right?” There was a slight waver in his voice.

The giant let out a short snort of laughter. “Alright, how about we look at it like this; if ya can actually escape me for once, ya won’t have to worry about getting eaten by anything.”

Warren’s eyes widened by a hair. He bit his lip and his eyes narrowed again. “F-fine.”

“Aw you get all cute when you try to act all fierce and stuff. Seeya ‘round Tiny.”

The giant stepped back, still smirking as Warren got flustered from his words, but he got back into his car with a sigh, dropping his shoes on the passenger seat and put his pistol into the glove compartment. He shot one last glance at the giant. “Don’t call me tiny.” Warren snapped back to the giant’s amusement. Without another word, Warren took a deep breath and began to drive away. He could see a small glimpse of the giant’s reflective eyes in the rear view mirror before he seemed to disappear at the edge of the treeline.  

Warren took in some deep breaths as he tried to wrap his head around what he had just agreed to. That giant had every reason to hate his guts. For all he knew, Eli might be toying with him to gain his trust. Warren was new to the whole Hunting thing, and already he must be breaking some sort of ancient rule not to team up with monsters. He really hoped that his judgement wasn’t wrong about this…