The Giant Prisoner

Prince Valentine falls through a magical rift, only to end up in a strange land of tiny cat-like beings that chain him up like a barbarian. Rude. ( Written by @HiddenDreamer67 ) Chronological Link

[the-giant-prisoner]

mmm i don't know if valentine should get punished or not but i would love to see him interact more with marshall 👀

Anon you're so right

I would absolutely have gifted a short of the two of them interacting here, but I think it will still be a minute before we'll see that and I didn't want the punishment aspect of this ask to become irrelevant and people get confused. Rest assured though, I love where your brain is headed and we'll steer accordingly!

[the-giant-prisoner]

I agree! The boy shall be spared.

[the-giant-prisoner]

what will happen now to valentine? is he gonna get punished by spara now or something :0

Hmm, should he be punished? What do you guys think? 🤔

( This is, after all, an ask blog )

[the-giant-prisoner]

omg just binged this blog! love it! what happened to that barrel on the ledge ?

Thank you! & I just answered an ask that covered why Valentine threw it. :D

[the-giant-prisoner]

ah yes, sparrow the catboy.

giant with a barrel what crimes will he commit. destruction apparently.

just caught back up and this is great

We're really into the thick of it now, bois. Sparrow the catboy emerges, and Valentine got a single item and broke it immediately

[the-giant-prisoner]

i wonder what made valentine throw the barrell 🤔

And now, a quick rewind to show Valentine's barrel maneuver...

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Despite Valentine’s best efforts to calm Sparrow down, nothing seemed to work. Even as Sparrow primped and preened like a proud hound, Valentine could still see the little cat’s hair stood on end like a cornered alley cat.

Even as Valentine watched this small creature all but tremble before him, it slowly dawned on him the reality of the situation. What if there was an unspoken rule that Valentine was not allowed to touch the little people? Would he- would he be punished? If their roles were reversed, Valentine could certainly see his own kingdom punishing a giant who dared to lay a finger on one of their citizens.

Worse yet, as if to confirm his fears, Sparrow was leaving. The cat was hastily climbing the steps, eager to escape Valentine as quickly as possible. Valentine gulped, reaching a hand towards Sparrow as if to stop him.

“Wait, come now, let’s not be hasty.” Valentine requested, almost pleading. “Can we not talk about this like civilized creatures? There’s no need to- to do anything rash. Sparrow, won’t you listen?”

“NO!” The cat’s response had been harsh, and even without his linguistic abilities Valentine would have understood what he meant. Sparrow quickened his pace, taking the stairs two at a time as he rushed towards the door.

Valentine held his breath, trying to think what he could possibly do now. Surely he was in hot water this time. But what could he do to prove his innocence, his desire to cooperate?

As Valentine went to fiddle with his hands, he suddenly remembered the barrel left behind. Yes! Perfect! This was the only object at his disposal. Perhaps if he returned it, Valentine would seem less monstrous, and not be punished for a mistake that truly wasn’t his fault.

Unfortunately, when Valentine tried to reach over to the edge of the cliff near the tiny cavern entrance, Valentine found his arm’s reach to be sorely lacking. The prince considered the notion of setting the barrel on the cavern floor, but the cats wouldn’t see it right away. The gesture would fail.

“Nothing for it, then.” Valentine gauged the distance, trying to toss the barrel up onto the cliff. To his horror, Valentine watched the barrel smash against the rocky wall, accompanied by the sound of frantic tiny footsteps up above.

...Shit.

[the-giant-prisoner]

Happy to see more of your story! Thank you for sharing it with us 😊

I'm happy to share! Thank you for reading & sending asks & being patient with me through the hiatus! <3

[the-giant-prisoner]

love how both of them reacted to briefly understanding the other with "you can speak comprehensiblely? Why didn't you do that earlier!?"

Yes! Haha I'm glad somebody caught that, as I was writing I appreciated the fact that they both are sitting here thinking "I alone am a genius and this other person is holding out on me." Gosh, they're both so thick-headed and stubborn and self-absorbed.

I love them.

[the-giant-prisoner]

grabby giant! wasn't on purpose, but still.

Valentine: uwu? What's this~?

Spara, spitting and hissing like a kitten: I think the fuck not you trick ass bitch

[the-giant-prisoner]

bitty prince is feeling a bit of compassion for the giant! nice!

Hey look, we've reached the bare minimum level of possibly recognizing another person!

[the-giant-prisoner]

does Valentine want another chance to touch Sparrow's fur?

Valentine: I certainly wouldn't be opposed, he was very soft! But I also do not wish to perish. 0.0

[the-giant-prisoner]

Very important;

Do Kitlev blep?

100%. Behold, an actual image of Spara:

[the-giant-prisoner]

With all that water, does Valentine have to pee?

Yes but wow isn’t it so convenient that the kitlevians magically took care of that and Valentine didn’t even notice???

Honestly one of the main reasons I gave tinies magic in this universe is to solve the logistics behind keeping a giant captive haha

[the-giant-prisoner]

these updates are giving me life

I’m glad- they’re giving me life too! 😁 happy to get back into this blog

[the-giant-prisoner]

Language acquisition! Nice! Now they're getting somewhere!

Marshall was the one keeping guard outside this time, raising a brow as Spara appeared through the dungeon entrance, looking weathered from the journey. “Are you alright?” Marshall asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Not dead yet.” Spara sighed, rubbing a hand down his face.

“That bad, huh?” Marshall pushed off the wall where he had been leaning for the past hour. “Heard a bit of ruckus down there. Did it throw a fit or somethin’?”

“No, ah….” Spara paused, thinking back to the afternoon down in the cave. He supposed some of Valentine’s petulant behavior initially with the water barrel was reminiscent of throwing a fit. “Generally, positive interactions. I think I may be on the road to progress.”

Marshall was obviously surprised by this. “Think we’ll get some cooperation out of the beast yet, then?”

Spara nodded. Before he could answer, though, a crashing sound from down in the cave made them both jump. Marshall and Spara shared a worried glance, dashing back down into the cavern. There, on the ledge, the smashed remains of the water barrel were present.

Spara frowned, mind racing to put the pieces together. He looked back and forth between the cracked wood and Valentine himself, still safely chained to the wall. Did Valentine throw the barrel? Why? Spara turned to Valentine for answers, but Valentine had only eyes for Marshall, looking quite pale.

“What happened to cooperation?” Marshall was already drawing his bow, notching a poisoned arrow and taking aim at Valentine.

“Wait!” Spara hurried to stop Marshall. Violence would only put them back, undoing any progress Spara had made today.

Valentine, in all his awesome height, clearly understood the situation. He was pressed up against the back wall, the giant trying to make himself as small as possible. Valentine looked positively miserable, pleading directly to Spara now. “Sparrow, please no.”

Spara paused, taking note of the fact that Marshall gave no reaction. Did he… did he not comprehend Valentine’s speech?

“Did you hear him?” Spara asked, searching Marshall’s expression for any understanding. Marshall only frowned back at him, looking puzzled.

“Yeah, big guy’s gotten vocal.” Marshall shrugged, bow still pulled taunt. “Shall I sedate it, your highness?”

Spara shook his head. “No, leave him be.” Spara murmured, looking down at the fragmented barrel. His understanding of what was going on only grew more cloudy. Spara watched Marshall lower his bow, clearly displeased with Spara’s judgement. “Tell no one of this.” Spara instructed, leading the way back out of the cavern.

[the-giant-prisoner]

Shoooooot Spara are you okay after that

Spara took a long, deep breath. That was… well, that’s not exactly how Spara had expected this afternoon to go. Perhaps he was partially to blame for approaching without giving Valentine warning, but that sensation of suddenly being forced against the barrel, crushed and prodded by curious fleshy digits as long as he was tall-

It was not something Spara was about to forget. Despite feeling a familiar spark at the touch, this sensation had been so different to when Spara had laid his own hands on Valentine in order to access the giant’s mind. Then, Spara had felt fully in control of the situation. Here, the opposite was true.

“Right.” Spara pushed back his fur, pressing down his ears in the process. Get a hold of yourself, Spara. Your behavior is unbecoming of a royal. “I think that’s- this was sufficient interaction, for today.”

The giant had paused his ditherings, looking down upon Spara with a concerning amount of attention. After their encounter, Spara was feeling less eager to be treated like an interesting specimen. He needed a breath of fresh air, which would probably be good for them both. Unfortunately, that was no longer an option for Valentine, chained up down here like this…

Well, there was the opening up above, allowing air flow. Valentine would have to be content with what he was given, for now. A prisoner should be thankful for their life.

A prisoner. Spara looked back at the mighty chains, keeping Valentine tied to the wall. Prince Spara felt a bit of the instinctual fear in his chest loosen, remembering that Valentine lacked the capability to reach any further. Spara was safe, and Valentine would be fine.

“I’ll come again this evening.” Spara instructed, beginning the long climb up the stairs. “Perhaps then we can actually get some food in you.” Much progress was made today, and Spara tried to keep focused on the positives. The giant was willing to drink, for one. The giant was willing to talk. The giant had a name.

“Sparrow?” Spara paused, turning at the sound of his nickname. He flinched, eyes wide as he watched Valentine reach forward.

“No!” Spara quickly reminded him, trying his best to look stern. The hand paused, frozen in midair. Taking stock of the situation, Spara felt a bit foolish, realizing that Valentine’s hand was nowhere near his person, not even held out at the length of his chains.

“...No?” Valentine repeated. Spara sighed. Oh good, he’s learned ‘No’- that can only end well.

“No.” Spara repeated, turning back to the stairs. He began to take them two at a time, holding up his robes to not trip. That would certainly be embarrassing. “I’ll be back in the evening. Stop bothering me.”

Valentine continued to call out in that strange language of his, but Spara purposefully ignored him, huffing as he made it up to the main ledge. Without a glance backwards, Spara disappeared into the cavern.

[the-giant-prisoner]

ohhhhh i wonder how this will improve their communication 👀👀👀👀

Valentine nodded eagerly, pleased with his own quick thinking. He pointed to himself again. “My full title is Prince Valentine of the Vesper Kingdom, son of the great Robert the Third.” Valentine chuckled, amused as the little kitten only grew confused- named Sparrow of all things, how ironic for a cat.

“...Valentine?” Sparrow repeated, pointing uncertainly at Prince Valentine.

Valentine hummed, giving a nod. “Yes, I suppose just ‘Valentine’ will do, given the circumstances.” Valentine drummed his fingers on the empty barrel, still grasped in his hands. Now what? It wasn’t exactly easy to gather more information about Sparrow if the little lad wasn’t speaking.

A certain part of Valentine wasn’t certain why he was so eager to converse with Sparrow, either. After all, Sparrow was still part of the dastardly magical race keeping him captive, but a strange part of Valentine seemed to trust this little cat wasn’t currently a threat. Perhaps it had to do with finally putting a name to that teensy little face.

“Can I have that beche?” A tiny voice spoke up. Valentine blinked, surprised that this time, he seemed to comprehend almost a whole sentence. Of course, it was perhaps helped along by the fact Sparrow was pointing to the barrel, looking like a child attempting to get assistance reaching the cookie jar on the highest shelf.

Valentine chuckled at that visual, setting the barrel down in front of Sparrow. The cat figure nodded. “Parche curr.” With this bizarre declaration, Sparrow tipped over the barrel, rolling it with ease towards the tiny stairs lining Valentine’s prison.

Deciding to test his own understanding, Valentine pointed at the barrel himself. “Can I have that?”

Sparrow paused, looking back at Valentine as if he were a bit mad. For a moment, Valentine wondered if his pronunciation had been off, or perhaps the cat just thought it odd Valentine would give up the barrel and ask for it back in the same breath. It seemed the second option was more likely as Sparrow nudged the barrel forwards, rolling it towards Valentine as if to say ‘be my guest’.

Valentine grinned, Sparrow flinching back as he leaned forwards to catch the barrel. He winced for a moment, having forgotten his chains’ length as the brace pulled uncomfortably at Valentine’s wrist, the barrel just out of reach.

“Oh come on.” Valentine huffed. This was ridiculous. Valentine flattened himself to the ground, reaching out his fingertips to slowly brush the barrel closer, feeling a bit ridiculous. This position wasn’t exactly becoming of a prince, and having an audience made it worse.

So involved in his task, Valentine didn’t see Sparrow approach, coming to give Valentine a helping hand and push the barrel closer. Instead, as Valentine gave an extra lunge, wrapping his fingers around the far edge of the barrel, his fingertips brushed against something unbelievably soft-

“NO!”

Valentine frowned, only having a moment to try and feel what was pressed against the barrel before Sparrow’s frantic cries caught up with him. Valentine let go, the barrel naturally rolling towards his large boot, revealing a ruffled Sparrow on the other side.

Both boys flinched back. Valentine realized what he had touched as Sparrow frantically scurried back, brushing at the fur atop his head.

“I- I’m terribly sorry.” Valentine apologized with a wince. The Prince fought to keep any amusement from showing externally, despite the fact that watching Sparrow hiss like a proper kitten was quite the sight. “I did not intend to grab you, just the barrel. Though I must admit your fur is terribly soft. Is it fur? Oh wait, are my inquisitions rude?”

Not surprisingly, Sparrow didn’t seem to be comprehending anything Valentine was saying. The catboy seemed much more rattled from their encounter, pressing against the far wall as if to get as much distance between them as possible whilst Sparrow got his breathing back under control.

“...Sparrow?” Valentine asked. Sparrow’s eyes met his gaze immediately, responding to his name. Valentine leaned closer, frowning down at his visitor. “Are you alright?”