"Let me see... I honestly can't decide between the tartare or the." A shiver ran down her back as the older customer peered up from the menu. His eyes grazed across her body, taking in every. Single. Curve. The sound of the man tracing his tongue across his lips just turned this from awkward into disgusting. The only thing she could do was look straight down at the notepad, counting the seconds in her head. The only time she peered over at him was to make sure his giant grubby, calloused, hand didn't come striking out to grab her off the counter.
"Or the classic roast."

Pushing down all her feelings on the matter, she continued to treat this man like any other customer. "Well." She continued to act like she was writing down every detail that left this man's lips. "The tartare is rare. The meat is fresh. Right off the cutting board. To top it all off, the cook places an egg yoke for the best protein option. For the roast, the cook cuts and prepares the meat the day before. In the early hours of the morning, the meat is then placed in a slow cooker with various spices."

"Hmm." The surface below her began to vibrate from the guy tapping his fingers, trying to decide. She wouldn't be surprised if the guy was doing this to her intentionally. Just trying to test how well she was trained or if he could get her to snap in a second. "I do like raw meat just as much as the next guy...so let me have the tartare."

"Good choice." She couldn't get away fast enough. All she had to do was write down this guy's order then take off across the counter. She would never have to interact with this pig a second longer. The sound of silence was filled with this man's hungry stare pointed right in her direction and the scratching of her pencil across the paper. She was so tempted just to scribble a line on the paper, then take off, but that would get her in unnecessary trouble. "Coming right up."

She slid the pencil into the notebook as she closed it. She couldn't get away fast enough before she heard the deep voice behind her once more. " So do I get to pick my Victim... Oh sorry, I mean my meat?"

Every single time she heard a customer say this question, she wanted to stab her eyes out. They ALL knew the answer to this. These monsters just wanted to see her reaction when they referred to her people as victims. This question was the beginning of a power struggle she knew she would lose every time. If she argued or snapped back, then she was thrown into the next meal. If she seemed too frightened or went along with it too well, then the customer would think they controlled her. "No. I'm sorry the meat selection is up to the chef." She could practically see the drool dripping down his chin already. "Don't worry, Chef Dante always picks the freshest and most mature meat out there." Turning around she prayed this was the end of the conversation.

"Oh, sweetheart. You mean your off the menu?"
With those very words, she felt a very icy and somehow wet touch on her back. The long appendage that was twice her size very softly ran down her back. The voice inside of her head said, 'Turn around and bite him!' But this wasn't the only voice in her head. The other smaller yet clearer voice told her body to freeze. Why would she freeze? That makes no sense! Her eyes drifted down to her feet, hoping they would move. Why weren't they?! The one finger across her back turned into two. Two turned into three grabby fingers that were slowly wrapping themselves around her body. Two fingers were pinning her arms to her side. The third was there to help maneuver the small body so it would go running. Her breath stuck in her throat, so she couldn't even tell the customer to back off.

"Vanessa! Where is that order!"

This was her chance. Giving the customer a small nod the girl named Vanessa took off towards the kitchen. A big sigh of relief overwhelmed her as she took the path specifically made for her. The cook made sure she had her own way in and out of the facility so no grabby hands made their way to her body. To the regular eye, it looked like a mouse hole, but it was a simple archway in the wall that divided the cafe from the kitchen.

Taking a few moments to get in one last breath, her nerves were once more sparked up from that deep voice now directly above her.

"Vanessa. What did I say about taking your time? We are still a restaurant. I can't have a lag."

The gruff calloused hand came straight for her. By now she was used to all the grabbing, but a looming presence along with a sudden grip would make anyone jump. Her eyes scrunched closed as her arms instinctively raised straight up. If the hand grabbed around her waist, at least now her arms were free.

Her mind prepared her for what always happened, but no pressure was applied. Instead, she felt the notepad being slipped out of one of her raised hands. Peeking up she noticed the cook Dante was nearly crouched down a bit glancing at the notepad.

"An order of Tartare? That's it? What took you so long?" She could detect the full-on frustration but was that...maybe a hint of concern?

"Ask your perverted man-eating customers. That's what." She straightened down her apron about ready to go back out before a hand reached down plucking her up like she was a pinch of salt. Her clothing was caught between three fingers to humiliate yet protect the fabric from tearing.
Just like every time this happened she struggled.
"Dante! Don't raise your voice at me for being slow if you're going to just hold me up." Her feet were placed on the marble surface a lot closer to his body than when she was on the floor.

"Take off the apron."

"What?! No!"

"Vanessa. Take. Off. The apron. You'll be helping me in the kitchen."

"I've told you before. I am not helping you prepare humans. Now if you will excuse me."

She didn't even get a step in before her apron string was pulled on by two fingers.

"Stop!"

"Hush. I can't have slow workers out there. You had your opportunity and you wasted it. Now."

"I am not-"

"Go work on the vegetables."

"Fine." She knew the giant could still hear her, but she didn't care. "Lecture me about being productive and you put me on the most useless job here. No one even orders these things," she grumbled to herself as she plopped down on the surface. To her left, a bag of mixed vegetables was placed down that mostly consisted of carrots and potatoes. Right next to it a few tomatoes were dropped. "Great way to bruise them," she argued back.

With a slow growl, Dante held out a small knife that she came in with. He keep it locked up just in case, but when needed he would give it back to her. She did have to admire how the giant brute could hold items 100 times smaller than him without losing or breaking them. Maybe from all the years of cooking, he got practice.

Taking the knife from his palm without cutting him, she started right into the carrot. For her, it was the easiest. She could just run her knife across the giant-sized surface and make carrot strips that Dante could just sprinkle onto the top of recipes.

As time went on she ended up sitting with her back to Dante. Yes, she was upset with him, but she couldn't stand the look of the food he was cooking. She knew very well what type of meat was used and where it came from. By now she was used to the thought of it, but could never help or watch. Slipping her hand into the pile of orange strips beside her helped a little with distracting her. What piqued her interest the most was the help in the dining room.

"What the hell I this!!!"

"What do you mean? It's exactly what you wanted. Veggie Tartar. I thought it was an odd request as well, but I just make the food."

"Where is that little bitch who took my order. She knows very well what I wanted." she could hear the customer standing up with a crash of the chair falling to the ground. "This is why you don't let humans help!"

"She is off for the day sir. I'm sorry. Let me take care of this right away." Dante said as if he was in a hurry, but Vanessa knew differently. He didn't care. The kitchen door swung open just as she peeked behind her back. Dante was walking in holding the plate. If the was a genuine mistake then he would be furious, instead, he slowly made his way to the trash can. Using a knife he cut it in half. He slid half of the tartar into the trash and then placed the other half right beside Vanessa. "One of our mistakes. Eat up cause it's the only thing for today."

Dante went back to cooking the replacement.

So I had this on my mind for a while. I had a dream about these two characters in a world where giants were carnivores and their favorite ingredients and sometimes dishes? Human. Dante takes in a human as a worker. This is one of the struggles she deals with daily. Just a bit of a hint... offering any type of no-meat substance to another giant is considered disgraceful. It says they can not handle hunting on their own or handle the basic necessity of life.
What do you think of these two or the situation? If want more I can definitely write more about Dante and Vanessa.