Orchid - 1 - Kaiju Blue

>Not wheeling her lunch wheelbarrow of food into the enclosure
>Not being scrutinized by her huge Dune-esque "spice must flow" eyes, that same weird electric blue color that all kaiju seem to have.
>Not audibly hearing her blink at you because ponies already have big eyes and a giant pony would mean crazy big eyes.
>Not getting stopped on your way out, and spinning around with a pang of fear.
>Not watching her remove her hoof from out of the way of the door as she suddenly loses confidence.
>Not hearing her clear her throat and plead, "I, I'm sorry, but um... can you stay and talk? Just this time?"
>Not feeling the crackle of electricity making your hair stand on end as you get close to her horn.

I can see where you're coming from but I'm afraid I just don't agree, brah.

>You take a moment to let that sink in.
>Kaiju were big monsters.
>She, was a big monster.
>Normal kaiju were made by aliens or something, tore through cities, and fought jaegers, the piloted mech guards of humanity.
>She, was engineered after numerous studies into kaiju corpses and pretended to tear through cities to help train jaeger pilots.
>Normal kaiju have a mighty roar.
>She kind of squeaks and yells "roar!"
>Normal Kaiju don't give a damn when yelled at.
>She started to get really nervous last time the trainees got too into it and said some harsh words, something about "ripping the monsterhorse punching bag into shreds."
>Normal kaiju don't talk.
>She just awkwardly asked if you'd stay for lunch with her.
>You raise up a finger and those huge irises larger than a truck refocus on the digit.
"Um, let me go see if I can get my lunch then."
>There was an awkward pause as she blinked and breathed in a sharp intake of air through her nose.
>"W-wow, really?" she asked, voice rising in volume. "Oh that-that would be great!"
>She shifted her weight forward for a split second before recoiling back to give you some space.
>That big smile on her face was like she was getting a Christmas present early.
>"Don't be long!"
"Okay, Orchid. I'll just grab it and be back in a bit."
>"Okay!"
"It'll be quick."
>"Sounds good!"
"Yeah, Orchid, honey, you're blocking the door again."
>"Oh! Oh, sorry, it's just so small, you know?"
"Yeah, welp, see you later."
>You scurried back through the door, noting the little screen and keypad next to the door showing the camera feed from inside.
>Was she really still waving at the door?
>Whatever, time to grab your lunch

>A short ride down the elevator and you made it back, lunchbox in tow.
>Nothing super important to do; the food delivery was supposed to be your last responsibility before lunch break.
>And you were spending it with a giant horse.
>It was an anxious giddiness with which you passed the elevator doors and into the hallway towards the kaiju enclosure.
>Lunch with a friendly monster, not something you expected when you signed up to work at the dome.
>You eye the panel next to the door, offhand withdrawing a card to swipe it into the reader.
>But after four seconds, the card just hangs there in your grasp.
>You hesitated.
>Was this a good idea?
>You weren't really supposed to fraternize with the giant pony.
>For good reason; these kaiju creatures, even a man-made pseudo horse, were dangerous as hell.
>One that could talk possibly more so than the rampaging beasts from the coast.
>At least you knew what to expect from those brutes.
>But this... what if you said something and she took it the wrong way?
>A giant tantrum could go many, increasingly horrible ways.
>You looked at the monitor displaying the enclosure through the camera system’s eye.
>There she was, right dead center of the room.
>Big, glowing electric eyes intensely watching the door as if you might appear and vanish again in the moment it might take for her to blink.
>She swished her tail with a sigh, sending the bundle of thick, cord-like hairs moving, neon blue tips lit up like fiber optic cable.
>"Good job, Orchid, you probably scared him off. You’re supposed to look big and scary..."
>She lay her head on the platform by the door.
>"...doesn't mean it doesn't hurt."
>Fuck it, you slid the card home.
>The look on her face as the door opened was priceless.
>"You came back!" she nearly exploded out of the pool of water she rested in with deafening volume, almost sending you back into the hall.
>"Uh, I mean, sorry," she looked away bashfully and whispered.

>”I don’t get company in here very often.”
>You nodded your head and sat down, snapping open your lunch box.
“Let’s see if we can’t change that.”
>Orchid glanced up at the ceiling, towards a camera, and briskly to the wall.
>The monsterhorse fidgeted with her hooves, seemingly unsure where to place them.
>”I, I’d like that. A lot.”
>A smile quirked the edges of her mouth, a far cry from the splashing and cheering from a minute ago, but the radiant glow of her eyes told you that just underneath her composure was a bountiful energy.
>Right now, that energy shining behind her eyes looked you up and down as you stood there, not quite sure what to do in the absence of chairs.
>Her attention came to rest on your lunch box for a moment before she blinked, eyelids cutting off the bluish light for just a flash like a camera lens snapping a photo.
>”So, um, I have my food,” she said, looking towards the wheelbarrow, still untouched.
>“But, what did you bring for lunch?”
>You sat down on one part of the platform before fishing around in your lunch box and setting each item down on the ground.
“A sandwich, soda, and a bag of chips.”
>The monster looked curious about your selection, but didn’t ask.
>Instead, she scrutinized the wheelbarrow, sniffing at its contents.
>”Oh, well I have… fish.”
“The usual, huh? It’s good for you.”
>Orchid didn’t seem so convinced.
>”I guess.”
>The water in the pool churned as Orchid shifts around.
>A massive fore limb rose out of the water, stirring a brief moment of panic in your heart that manifested as a shudder and a scoot backwards.
>Coating that part of the platform with a deluge of droplets, the hoof gingerly reached around the wheelbarrow and drew it closer to the edge of the pool.
>The gigantic beast set her nose down on the front of the wheelbarrow, causing it to tilt forward and spilling the meal into her mouth.

>You couldn't help but grimace a little at the explosion of fishy smells and the wet, slapping noise as the catch of the day fell onto her tongue.
>Orchid exerted some pressure with her hoof and the wheelbarrow tilted backwards into its regular position.
>She shut her mouth and sloshed her meal around noisily before swallowing, sending the fish deeper down into the pool.
>Somehow, you lost your appetite for the sandwich.
>You opened the bag of chips with a noisy pop in the otherwise oddly quiet chamber
>The kaiju dove with a startled “yeek!”
>Your meager step back did nothing to save you as you found yourself in the middle of a splash zone, water soaking your ankles and spilling into your shoes.
"It's okay! Just a bag of chips!"
>Two ears rose out of the water like satellite dishes.
>You stood up a bit to see further into the deep end of the pool and found two big, neon blue eyes staring back through the crystal clear water.
>You sat back down on the concrete platform and munched away for a minute while the water audibly shifted as she moved under the surface.
>You look up again to see her eyes just off the platform, literally shining with interest.
>"Chips?"
"Yeah, they’re salt and vinegar, actually.”
>You shake the bag at the kaiju.
“Want some?”
>”Yes, please.”
>You unceremoniously toss a chip her way, where it lands a fair distance along the platform, though not anywhere near close enough to her.
>She frowned at it and looked back up at you, the message clear despite the radiant glow coming off of her.
>"Really?"
"I sucked at baseball in junior high, okay?"
>She didn't bother suppressing a grin.
>”I don’t bite anymore, it’s okay to come closer,’ she said like she was trying to coax a small animal.
“You bit people?”
>”Not since that time I fought Julian Bounty.”
“Julian Bounty?”
>”Yes, that was back before they had their new look, kind of like the classic, Cherno Alpha.”
>Her eyes flicked to your lunchbox for a moment.
>”Nice choice of jaeger, by the way.”
“Oh, thanks, Cherno’s my favorite Mark 1. You just can't beat the classics, you know?"

>Orchid glanced down into the bottom of the pool as if contemplating diving down again.
>”S-sure," she said, clearing her throat awkwardly.
>"Anyway, they wanted to practice on me and I got carried away after they grabbed me and I kind of…”
>She sunk back, head dropping deeper into the pool in the center of the chamber.
>”...bit into their arm.”
“Did you break anything?”
>”I may be a man-made kaiju, but my teeth still work.”
>She clacked her them together loudly for emphasis.
“So what happened?”
>”Well, it's kind of embarrassing."
"What? Oh come on, it's all in the past, right?"
>"Right, yeah."
>Those electric blue eyes stopped flitting around and focused on you, irises adjusting visibly.
>"Well they reached around with the other arm and..."
"And?"
>"...and pinched my ear really hard."
>You see her ears flick back as if scared the fearsome fighting machine would come back and do it again.
"Well that doesn’t seem so bad; it could have been a lot worse."
>Orchid began to fidget again, obviously uncomfortable with the direction the conversation was headed.
>"They didn't let go until I cried."
>Cherno Alpha was well before the human's own kaiju project, as you were aware, though the old Russian model still stands as a much-loved example of a good old brawling jaeger design.
>Any machine based off of its prodigious strength would have quite the pinching power.
>You watched the giant almost comically avoid eye contact, putting a hoof up to her right ear and just letting it hang there.
>Gotta salvage this.
>You crinkle the bag loudly and she snaps to attention, blinking at you audibly.
"Oh my, look at the time, lunch break is going to be over soon."
>You draw out the last chip in the bag and hold it aloft like a victory trophy.
"Oh wow, it's the last chip. Do you want it?"
>Despite the intense stare and neon colors, the kaiju's eyes do not shoot any laser beams.
>"Yes, please" she replies.
"Do you? You don't sound like it."
>"I, yes, I want that chip. I've never eaten any chips before."

"Only good horse, er, kaiju, um, pony, monsterhorse, things, get chips."
>Orchid watched you wave the chip around in the air, pleadingly.
>As her lunch delivery guy you were well aware of what kind of food she received.
>It was always pretty bland.
>Nothing like the manufactured piece of flavored snackage you wielded.
>"I'm a good... thing?" she said with a toothy smile like she was a kid at Disney World posing for a photo op.
"But do you want the chip?"
>She lay her head down on the end of the platform to get that much closer.
>"Yes! I want the chip! I want to to know what it tastes like, please!"
>You began to walk forward to reward her enthusiasm.
"Alright, Orchid! Here it comes!"
>"I'm ready for it!"
>You looked up at the single potato chip clasped in your hand.
>And then you saw past it.
>Your confidence sort of crumbled.
>There she was, the you-forgot-how-many-ton monster pony, head resting on the platform, jaw wide open like she was about to get a checkup with her dentist.
>Wet, everything was wet,and so alive.
>The way that same bluish light that came from her eyes glowed up from the bottom of her throat after she swallowed switched on some deep-seated primal alarm.
>And you were walking towards it.
"Yeah, h-here it comes."
>You were shaking, trembling.
>She could swallow your whole car if she wanted to.
>You slowed to a crawl.
>Hot and heavy breaths came and went as she eyed your progress.
>Before it was kind of cute, but now the glow of her eyes seemed oppressive, like spotlights.
>Her breath reeked of fish.
>Was there a really good reason why no one tried to make friends with a kaiju, after all?
>You couldn't stop shaking, but you continued forward.
>Closer, and closer, until she took up your entire sight.
>You were hyperventilating.
>Suddenly, her mouth closed, removing the scary blue maw from sight.
>"Are you okay?"
>You craned your neck and looked from one eye to the other, not sure which was dominant or if she even had something like that.

>You didn't reply immediately, still caught up in the moment of a few seconds ago.
>When you snapped to, you noticed that Orchid had retreated, giving you space by swimming further out into the pool.
>"I-it's okay, you can have the last chip.”
>You steeled yourself despite a noticeable shaking in your legs and waved your arms at her for attention.
"Orchid! No! You big, stupid sea-pony. You better get back here, put your head on this pier, and open your mouth so you can get this salt and vinegar potato chip!"
>She blinked incredulously.
>"N-no. You can have it."
"What did I just say?! You want it, right?"
>"Yes?"
“I said I’d give you this chip! Don’t make me use that wheelbarrow like a rowboat; I know where I can get a paddle!”
>Her mouth worked, trying to formulate a response to this outburst.
>She finally settled with a simple, “O-okay. I’ll get the chip.”
>She started coming back with a certain organic grace, something that you had to admit the jaegers lacked no matter how many upgrades they received.
>The whole way you couldn’t help but notice how those ridiculously large eyes locked on to you, sizing you up like you might try to jump onto her face at the drop of a hat and lay eggs in her brain or something.
>She more slid than swam into position, stopping just short of the platform with one final look that conveyed only one message.
>“Are you really sure you want to do this?”
>Honestly, you didn't know.
>You pushed on anyway, moving to the edge of the platform.
>With a third step you felt that electric charge in the air like you always did when she was really close.
>You weren't one of the lab guys, but you could feel your hair shift a little as you stepped to the very edge and looked down into a new kind of abyss.
>You felt adrenaline start pumping intuitively, the ancient fight or flight response gearing up to save you from the scary monster like it did for the earliest humans.
>Her tongue quivered, tethered beneath a temporary strand of monster spit, moving as she breathed through her mouth.

>Perched just off the edge of the platform, she waited, mouth angled diagonally.
>Right towards your face.
>Those two blue, dangly, glowing bits that reminded you of an angler fish were your chief source of light now save for her eyes.
>She watched, pupils dilated with her own nervous fear, or perhaps excitement, you weren't sure.
>You leaned back a little and widened your stance, terrified that a stiff breeze might come from nowhere and knock you off the platform into the maw of the beast.
>Your arm reached out tentatively, shakingly, clutching that same stupid chip you were potentially risking your life over.
>The uvula, mostly in the shade and something you never understood why she would have, stopped swaying in the breeze.
>Orchid had stopped breathing through her mouth, her breath catching in her throat just as yours did.
>You let go, watching flaky remnants of the chip flutter down onto her tongue.
>In your terror you must have crushed it in your fist without realizing it.
>Good riddance.
>The jaws closed with agonizing slowness, lips and muscle working like motors and actuators on a giant machine.
>At such proximity it was anything but quiet, though overshadowed as the both of you let out long sighs when Orchid's mouth closed all the way and you finally felt like you could breathe again.
>The kaiju moved the crunched up chip about in her mouth, politely keeping it closed and studying you as she did.
>You more collapsed on wobbly legs than sat down, causing her to blink uncertainly.
>"A-are you sure you're okay?"
"Yeah, just, give me a moment."
>When she was satisfied that you weren't about to have a heart attack, she swallowed, a booming sound that echoed over the self-conscious silence in the reinforced concrete structure.
>"That was really, um, good, thank you."
>You almost didn't hear her, running a hand through your hair as thoughts raced through your head.

>Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit!
>You just fed a kaiju.
>You had just HAND FED a kaiju.
>Not one of the city-destroying ones from the rift, but she could talk and that in itself was pretty nerve-wracking.
>And you had given her a potato chip from less than a meter away.
>You were quite possibly the craziest person alive.
>You flopped on to your back, staring at the ceiling.
>Your arms shot up and you gave a whoop of victory, startling Orchid.
>There you rested before you heard the slosh of water and felt the telltale tingle of static electricity across your body as she encroached on your personal space.
>As a blue glow reflected off the platform around you, you wondered if you were in danger of getting shocked.
>Orchid cleared her throat from startlingly nearby and you propped your head up in turn.
>There she was, exceedingly close, looking you over with irises that expanded and contracted rapidly as she flicked her gaze around.
>She watched with some concern from the water at the edge of the platform, unwilling to intrude any further.
>”I really enjoyed lunch today, but I don’t think I can keep you in here.”
“Hmmm?”
>"Don't you have a work schedule?"
>She was right.
>And you were definitely late.
>You dashed across the platform and grabbed the wheelbarrow
"Yeah that's right gotta go it was crazy but kind of fun thanks goodbye!”
>You slid your security card into the reader and started out the door when a loud splash of water drew one last look back.
>Orchid was waving at you cheerfully.
>”Thank you for staying with me for lunch, mister...”
>You waved back at her.
“Actually, my name is-”
>The door slammed shut, cutting you off.
“Maybe some other time then.”
>As you pushed the wheelbarrow down the hallway you stopped to glance at the security monitor again.
>You had never seen Orchid so happy looking before.
>She moved across the pool and the screen with an energy that made you feel like smiling, yourself.
>Her blue glow seemed a bit brighter, though that may have been the camera feed.
>You continued down the hall, whistling.