Planet of the Giants

Chapter Three: The Indulgence

You were genuinely surprised and confused by Kai'shu's comment, but he continues, "Most To'kustars working in this field love interacting with humans. This is the reason for most to work as a Human Steward in the first place. Most of your kind travel here on a business setting though, and see their To'kustar assistants only as a transportation tool. I really wished I could interact with my human clients more, but company policy dictates I have to act professional unless requested otherwise. I am so glad that I could meet a human that truly shares my enthusiasm in this inter-species encounter"

You could tell from his voice that he holds the same excitement has you do. His usual professional tone was replaced by a more joyful and innocent one. You curiously ask, "What makes you enjoy interacting with humans so much?"

"Well...", the To'kustar answers hesitantly, looking slightly embarrassed, "I believe humans also have a soft spot towards pets right? Us To'kustars do too. We share the instinct to want to care for creatures that seem helpless and fragile, and humans do look very helpless among To'kustars. If humans were to walk among us, they would be powerless to fend for themselves among those that can accidently pulverize them with an oblivious yet lethal misstep. That alone makes me want protect them. Humans also look very cute at their size. It just makes me want to pet them. That being said, although this may sound weird, holding a fully sentient being within the palm of your hand really contrasts your stature, and makes you feel very powerful over relatively vulnerable human. You feel like you are in control of the situation."

From his answer, you realize Kai'shu's fondness towards humans is on par with yours towards To'kustars. You two are like a perfect match: two alien species that hold keen interest to each other, albeit the substantial difference in stature. You could also tell that he really wants to pet you, with the understanding that he probably never had the chance to feel one despite having carried numerous humans in his palm. Conscious of the fact that Kai'shu may be too embarrassed to ask for such, you decide to initiate the conversation,

"If you want, you can pet me! But since even your fingers drawf my size, please be careful."

"Yes I would love to! I promise I will be extra gentle."

Knowing exactly the interaction that would for sure appease any giant who is sympathetic for a tiny, given your past experiences in fantasizing such, you ask Kai'shu to lay his palm flat on the table this time instead of on the edge. Once the enormous hand has settled, you see that it is as thick as you are tall, no wonder all the intentional movements by Kai'shu to make sure his hand is flush with surfaces to allow you to walk straight off. You can already tell it will be a workout just to climb on top of that, due to the curving edge of his palm. You walk right up to it, at the same time noticing Kai'shu with a concerned expression, undoubtedly wondering if you can make it to the surface without hurting yourself.

The wall of flesh stretching several yards in the either directions looks intimidating at first, but you are determined to climb it without any help from Kai'shu. Placing your hands as far over the palm as you can, you try to pull yourself over the edge, but quickly find that there is nothing to hold onto from the smooth curvature of the surface. You even try raising one leg over the top, but just couldn't reach over. Not to be defeated, you walk over to the tip of the To'kustar's finger, seeing that it is not as thick as the edge of the palm you were attempting to scale. You can see Kai'shu looking sympathetically, but also seemingly cheering for you. The relatively shorter finger tip makes for a much easier climb. Pushing yourself up with your hands anchored onto the ledge, you make it onto the surface. You walk cautiously down his finger so that you don't fall and wedge yourself between the digits each as wide as a bowling lane, even though knowing Kai'shu will for sure come to your rescue. Despite taking longer than you expected, you eventual make it to his palm. All the effort from you just to complete a negligible distance from the To'kustars perspective.