Chapter Text
The youngest of the Jotuns were playing in the snow. There were only two young ones under 1,000 years old on the whole frozen planet. They were naturally paired together for lessons and play. Tyrnir, the elder, was a mere 11 years old. His companion, Morn, was 8 years old. They were tiny, under 5 feet tall. The barren landscape of Jotunheim dwarfed them, and they blended into their environment. Their usual play was disrupted when they found another being, barely breathing. They rushed to the nearest grown Jotun and dragged her back to the scene.
"Look!" Morn demanded, pointing at the creature they discovered.
The adult's red eyes went wide. "Ymir's teeth! That looks like a human." She said.
"Can you heal it, Gryla?" Tyrnir asked.
"I haven't seen a human in over 1,000 years." Gryla said.
"Please, Gryla?" Morn begged.
Gryla sighed. "I can try." She gingerly picked up the human and brought it into her dwelling in a cave. She gently laid it on some furs. "Morn, bring more furs. Tyrnir, fetch some wood. Humans don't tolerate the cold well."
The smaller child looked around the dwelling for furs, and the bigger child left to find wood. Gryla looked at the human more closely. It had brown hair and very light brown skin. It wore fabrics in shades of blue, and was likely female. "Why have the Norns brought you here, human? What does your arrival mean?" She asked, not expecting an answer.
Morn returned with an armful of furs. "Will it live?" He asked.
"It is breathing. That is encouraging." Gryla responded, taking the furs from Morn and laying them gently down on the human.
"Did it come from Midgard?" Morn asked.
"That is where humans live." She responded.
"How did it get here?" He asked.
"I don't know." She admitted.
Tyrnir returned with arms full of wood and a question. "Is its skin supposed to be that color?"
Gryla looked at the human's face. "I believe so."
"Weird." Tyrnir declared. "It doesn't have any ridges, either." He dropped the wood in the firepit, and Gryla lit a fire. The human's chest started to rise and fall more noticeably.
"That's a good sign, right Gryla?" Morn asked.
She nodded. The young Jotuns observed the sleeping human for a while before they started to get antsy. "Go play outside. I'll watch the human."
The young ones took her up on her offer and ran outside to play.
...
The human opened her eyes and saw she was covered with furs and next to a fire. Her eyes darted around, and she started breathing faster.
"You are safe, little one." A voice said.
The human looked up to see a giant sitting on a chair. The giant had red eyes, blue skin, and ridges along her body. Her modesty was protected by strategically-placed leather. The human's eyes widened. "W-where am I?"
"Jotunheim. I am Gryla. What shall we call you?"
The human's mind whirled. "I-I don't know."
The giant woman clicked her tongue. "That is a shame. I suppose we will keep calling you 'human' for now. Are you hungry?"
"Y-Yes?" The human said, unsure.
Gryla stood up, revealing herself to be 8 feet tall, and placed two bowls made of stone near the human. "Potet and water."
The dish tasted familiar, like mashed potatoes. The human ate quickly and felt warmth spread throughout her body. "Thank you."
Gryla nodded.
The human sipped the water and looked at herself in the reflection. She saw brown hair, brown eyes, olive skin, a prominent nose, pinkish lips and whiteish teeth. Who am I? She wondered. She tried to review things that she knew. I'm a human. Humans live on Earth. I'm a girl... woman. Jotunheim is the realm of the frost giants in Norse mythology. That Jotun is named Gryla. She is giving me shelter. She fed me and gave me water. Humans can survive without food longer than they can survive without water. How do I know that?
Morn and Tyrnir walked in, and Gryla greeted them. "Hello. The human woke up." She reported. The young Jotuns rushed to the pile of furs near the fire.
"Hello, human!" Morn said loudly.
"Hi." The human said quietly, looking up from her sitting position.
"I am Tyrnir. This is Morn. Who are you?"
"I don't know."
"How can you not know your name?" Morn asked, confused.
"I think... my brain got hurt." She said slowly.
"Gryla is a healer." Tyrnir said. "She'll fix you."
Gryla shook her head. "I can't do anything for lost memory."
"Thank you for what you have done." The human said.
"The young ones insisted I preserve your life. We have so few... they are spoiled." Gryla said.
"Do humans have lots of young ones?" Morn asked.
The human took a deep breath and answered. "It depends on the human. Some have lots of kids and some have none."
"What do humans eat?" Tyrnir asked.
"Humans are omnivores. We eat both meat and vegetation."
"That's like us!" Tyrnir proclaimed.
"How big do humans get?" Morn asked.
"Adult males can be over 6 feet tall."
"How tall is that?" Tyrnir asked.
The human wasn't sure how to answer. "Um... taller than me, but shorter than Gryla."
The Jotuns children were not put off by her vague answer.
"How many humans are there?" Morn asked.
"Over 6 billion."
"Do they all look like you?" Tyrnir asked.
She shrugged. "They usually have a head, a torso, two arms and two legs. They have different hair, eye, and skin colors. No humans are blue, though."
"Do any humans have eyes like ours?" Morn asked.
She shook her head. "Some have red where I have brown, but it's rare. Brown, green, and blue are much more common." The human answered.
"How do you know that, but not your name?" Tyrnir asked.
She shrugged. "Brains are complicated."
Gryla nodded. "A most difficult organ to heal."
...