Note and warning: This story is fiction, intended solely for adult readers' entertainment. It contains explicit sex scenes as well as pseudo-intersex themes.
)OXO(
Hours after the hurricane, not many people were able to get near certain parts of Long Island. I, Elise Watermont, was both able and raring to go. I wanted to check the status of my parents' place. Besides that, I wanted to look around the neighborhood while it was virtually empty. My tiny fishing boat floated high in the water and its motor was extremely quiet. If I used my intimate knowledge of the island, I'd be able to slip into the neighborhood before anyone was expected-or allowed-to return.
)OXO(
I'd rather not give up any of my secrets by telling you how I prepared for my little excursion. I'll sum up the preparation by saying that I quickly gathered my supplies, made sure I was dressed appropriately, and snuck along the flooded shores at dusk. I'd kept a sharp lookout the whole time I'd floated closer. Things were much busier several miles to the west of my position and I'd planned for that. I made my landing and no one knew that I was there.
In a few minutes, I'd ensured that my parents' "cabin" was secure. Not only was it locked, but its state-of-the-art backup generator was running also. The security system was working. Estimates had said that power would be restored in 4-6 hours, so the generator's fuel would be sufficient to keep everything going for as long as the blackout lasted.
I moved along as soon as I was satisfied. If my parents' security systems was online, the neighbors' systems might be as well. It wouldn't hurt to check.
The "lodge" on the next lot was completely dark. (Why did people call these buildings lodges, cabins, cottages, etc.? They were all mansions for vacationing rich people.) I did a careful check and found the burglar alarm was disabled. Either it had no backup power or that power had run out. In either case, locks were the only things keeping the building secure.
Making quick work of the lock on the rear door, I entered the deserted building and did some speedy looting. Platinum and diamonds: nice and portable! There was sure to be a safe that held property deeds and stock certificates and stuff, but I didn't want to crack safes tonight.
The next vacation house still had alarm protection. The alarm wasn't particularly sophisticated. An expert could get past it in three minutes. It took me two and a half.
I was about five houses along when I spotted something odd. A 6- or 7-meter-tall (about 18 to 22 feet) dogwood tree was standing near the sidewalk that led past the next building. Branches, twigs, and leaves were strewn all over the neighborhood: on the lawns and streets, even on the roofs. But this tree looked in perfect shape.
Well, I wasn't a botanist, so I didn't care much. Dogwoods must be sturdier than most other trees; that would go directly to the trivia section of my brain.
I stood in front of the vacation home and looked around for its anti-theft features.
"Don't be afraid," said a deep, breathy voice far above me.
Who doesn't panic when they get spotted doing something illegal? I ducked and started running.
But something was already around my ankles! I sprawled into the deep, thick, soggy grass.
For just an instant, I got a glimpse of what had spoken. In blind terror, I clawed at whatever was holding me.
"Really, calm down," the voice urged. Two enormous hands gently landed on the lawn, one covering my feet, the other resting near my head. "I will not hurt you."
"Let me go; let me go!" I begged, not daring to look anywhere but at the huge fingers that held my lower legs. Using both my hands, I tugged at the smallest finger. The finger felt warm and smooth, but it did not budge.
"I can't let you go yet. I need your help," said the placid voice. "Look at me; I'm not scary."
There was no escaping this thing, whatever it was. I slowly took my hands from its finger and rolled onto my side. I looked upward.
"What are you?" I whispered. Looking down at me (even from a crouch) was an immense figure. I might have said a woman, but women aren't over three and a half meters (about 11 feet) in height! Even starkly shadowed, (the moon was reasonably bright and the sky was clear now that the storm had blown away) the colors of this enormous creature were amazing: pearly white, tawny golden, and vivid emerald.
The huge creature scowled. "How would you like it if I asked you 'what' you were?" it said quietly. "You could at least ask me 'who' I am."
"From where I'm lying, 'what' is more important," I told the giant.
My big mouth had finally done me in. I shut my eyes and prepared myself for death-by-squashing.
"Okay, human," said the creature, "you have a point, I guess. I am Senthethem. Humans have had a lot of different names for my kind, but now the most common human term for me is 'dryad'."
I laughed.
Whatever had been looped around my ankles was gone, but the enormous right hand of this so-called dryad closed around my torso and lifted me. "Are you trying to be rude?" it asked. Its huge golden eyes overwhelmed my frightened green eyes. I was helpless in the grip of this creature. Again, my eyelids shut and I waited to be crushed.
Senthethem simply held me for a long moment. I knew I was dangling nearly three meters (nine feet) above the ground. Falling from this height could result in a twisted knee or sprained ankle. If this creature decided to drop me, I had to be ready to roll with the jolt of hitting the grass. Then I had to be faster than I'd ever been in my life-
-No. I couldn't outrun a creature whose legs were so much longer tha-
-What was this gigantic thing doing? The feeling of my jacket loosening puzzled me into opening my eyes.
Immense as the hands were, they were incredibly nimble. As deftly as though they were the same size as mine, they'd unzipped my windbreaker and now they were slipping my arms through the sleeves and taking it off me.
"What are you doing?" I asked.
"If you promise to stop being so impolite, I'll tell you," said Senthethem.
"Yes, I promise. I'm not usually like this; it's just I was so scared and overwhelmed by your size!"
The creature's glowing eyes stared reproachfully at me. "Anyone would have scared you. I know human behavior; I've lived near humans for decades. You were stealing from the unprotected buildings."
"You're right," I said. "Anyway, let me try to apologize. My name is Elise. And you said you wanted something from me, Senthethem. What could you possibly want me to do for you?"
The creature holding me made a sound that reminded me a creek or a brook running over a shallow, rocky bed. Was it laughing? I guessed it was. "Very sudden change of tone, Elise!" said Senthethem. "I don't blame you for that; you realize now that you can't do anything but play along until I release you."
"I'm not stupid," I said. "That said, do you mind if I make one more comment? I don't want to offend you."
"Go ahead," said Senthethem, holding me in such a way that it was almost like I was sitting on a high-backed chair.
"In fairy tales and fantasy, dryads are always human-sized. You seem like a giant."
Senthethem made a clicking sound. (Did it use its tongue to make that sound? Did it even have a tongue?) "Size seems to matter a lot to you," said the creature. "I can't respond well to your comment. I've only known twelve dryads. I've never met a giant; I doubt they exist. But the dryads I know are my size or somewhat smaller. They're all bigger than you are."
I was 182 cm (just barely under six feet) tall. Part of the reason I was so discomfited by Senthethem was that I was used to being taller than those around me, women especially. I was not used to anyone overwhelming me with size. "Thanks for answering me," I said. "Please, ask me the favor you want. I'll do it if I'm capable."
The towering dryad looked grim. "That would be wonderful; I hate forcing humans to help us.
"Quite a long time has passed since I've been able to cross-pollinate. In that time, my two closest neighbors (and lovers) have become separated from me. If you can carry my seed to another dryad and bring her seed back to me, we will have a mystical connection and be able to join ourselves for the rest of the cycle."
Senthethem's immense fingers dexterously unclasped my belt, then the button and the fly of my jeans.
"And how do I do that, exactly?" I asked, hoping with all my might that it wasn't what I was afraid it was. In spite of myself, I was panicking. My hands flew to the waist of my pants and held on, trying to keep them on my body.
I might as well have been playing tug-o-war with an elephant. Senthethem's irresistibly strong hands tugged the pants out of my grasp and off me effortlessly. "Don't be frightened, Elise. I've told you twice already; do not be scared! I won't hurt you."
"You aren't answering me," I said. The dryad took my underwear too. There would be no point in trying to stop it, so I just kept talking, trying to delay it.
"Okay, Elise. The way we dryads use humans as pollinators is a process very similar to human sexual intercourse. But as I have said, I won't hurt you."
