Puppet's Protector [Welcome Home x Kaiju Reader]

pt 3: Early Kaiju

You mumbled softly, eyes fluttering as the morning sun flittered through the small hole of your cave wall, along with the cool breeze, carrying the slight smoky scent. And of course, there was the light quaking and rumbling in a distance from the early-rising kaijus awakening for the morning rush-hour for breakfast.

You laid there for a moment, contemplating whether or not you wanted to get up. You were warm and cozy, nestled up in your thick nest of blankets, but after several minutes of laying there, the memories of yesterday slowly started to trickle back into your groggy mind.

It was particularly loud the other day, as there was a territorial dispute between Rodan and Gamera. And you needed to get away from it all.

It was then you found a nice little meadow, surrounded by oddly colored trees...

...then there was someone you met...

A small, cute little bird... with feathers red like a...

"....Poppy!"

You snapped wide awake, remembering the cute little red bird's face smiling up at you. You smiled yourself, remembering the pleasant conversation you had with her.

She said she wanted to see me again. You thought, glancing out of your makeshift window. Does she remember? Your tail flicked anxiously as you crawled out of your nest, stretching your arms over your head and flaring your wings out, flapping them slightly to get blood flowing into them. I wonder how she's doing this morning. With a soft sigh, you walked out of your room to start your morning routine.

I hope she won't mind me being early.
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Making your way to the "Foyer" of the cave, you straightened out your (color) sweater, flapping your wings to adjust them throught the wing slits. You make your way towards the entrance of the cave, where you're greeted by the sight of a familiar massive moth perched at the "porch", preening herself, using her upper forelegs to straighten her antennas. Her antennas twitched when you entered, and she perked her head up, her eyes widening slightly in surprise.

"(Name)? You're not usually up this early."

"Ah, I just... wanted to get out to stretch my wings before the morning rush." You made up on the spot, unconsciously pulling at the bottom of your sweater. "And I... might be out for a while, if that's okay. I just wanna sun somewhere quiet."

Mothra started for a moment. Her facial expressions were limited, but her eyes were squinted in contemplation. "Hm... very well. Don't go out without eating though," she picks up a large crate in her mandibles and offers it to you. It was filled of (favorite fruit). "I had my human subjects send a large offering of fruit to this island, and managed to save you your favorites."

You smiled gratefully accepted the offered crate, instinctively taking a handful of fruit and munching on it, the sweet flavors instantly waking you up. "Thank you."

She nods and gently wraps her forelegs around you into a tender hug. "Wherever you plan on flying, please be careful. The biggest dangers can come from the most unlikely of places."

You gave a playful roll of your eyes and returned the hug, nuzzling her fluffy chest.

"Don't worry." You assured.

"It'll be quick."

"Yes. Don't worry. It'll be quick."
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"Where did you last meet them? Here right? Where are they?" Poppy chuckled as her friend bounced excitedly on her feet, her hand up to her forehead as she scanned the vast meadow and sky.

"It's still pretty early, Julie." Poppy reminded, scanning the sky for a moment for any movement. "I don't know if kaijus are early risers." She paused and looked down, worry adorning her face. "Oh, I hope they made it back home okay. I wonder how far away they live from here?"

"This is so exciting! I've never meet a kai-juice before! Too bad Frank didn't wanna come" She jittered excitedly. "Oooh, I can't wait to see what they look like! So like, they're giant, right? Weren't you scared?"

"Of course I was! I've never seen anything like them!" Poppy nodded. "But truly, they're a real sweetheart once you get to know them. They really put meaning to the term... gentle giant." Poppy giggled softly, as Julie continued to bounce on her feet. "Oooh, what do they look like?"

"Oh, it was actually quite interesting," Poppy smiled, looking up in thought. "They had these two (length) horns on their head and a long (color) tail with (color) spikes on it..." she brought her wing to her chin. "They also had these big (color) eyes, and their pupils were straight like a kitty cat's... but the most magnificent part of them were their wings!" As soon as she said this, her eyes flared up in excitement, glittering like stars. "Oh, you should have seen them! They were the biggest pair of wings I've ever seen on anyone! And they were so... so shiny!"

"Really?" Julie's eyes lit up in curiosity as well. "Do you think they're covered in glitter?"

"Nope! Just daily preening."

The two were startled at a voice overhead, along with a distinct whooshing noise. Looking up, Poppy practically jumped in excitement upon seeing you make your approach. "Oh! You!" She instinctively ran out from beneath the trees to see you. "Y-You actually came back!"

"Yup! Wanted to check up on you." You landed a few feet away from her to prevent them from knocking them off their feet, and made your approach to the two, squatting down to see your avian ally. "Good morning, Poppy. You're up early. I didn't scare you out of too much sleep, did I?"

"Oh I slept well!" Poppy chirped, bouncing on her toes. "But I was just so excited, I couldn't wait to get out of the bed."

"Likewise. I'm not usually up this early." You chuckled softly, laying down on your belly. "So! How are you this morning?"

"Oh, I'm just swell, thank you!" She wagged her tail-feathers subtly. "Ah, that reminds me, I have someone who wants to meet you!"

Your brow lifted. She talked about you to her friends? "Oh yeah?"

Poppy turned back to the like of trees. "Julie! Come on out here!"
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Sorry to cut it off here, but I didn't want it to be too runny-

I swear, I will/don't intend not drag it out, but I also don't wanna dive into the more interesting things too early. I swear this'll pick up somewhere in the next page and beyond.

And yeah, I didn't want to make Mothra "anthromorphic" here. I like her "feral" design better.

I also used her older/original(?) color palette to replicate. (The 2019 version didn't have the fluff)