If Max must have made a guess as to what was going on inside the alien's mind, she would have guessed that it was taken aback. For, despite Max's worries, her gesture wasn't met with hostility, no, the alien didn't even seem to bristle in the slightest. It just tilted its head ever so slightly and eyed her with even more suspicion than before, maybe even a little curiosity of its own.
But the blonde didn't have much time to stew and wonder about her blunder and subsequent lack of repercussion since she felt heat creep up in her face and an all too familiar feeling of embarrassment settle within her stomach. She glanced around the room trying to see if anyone was giving her judgmental looks because of the fact that she had just winked at a 7,5 foot high mountain of a creature as if it was just some flirty boy at a bar, but to her relief, the rest of the attending staff was too busy keeping their eyes on the alien in question.
She leaned back in her chair and muttered "lucky" under her breath as she realized that her little goof went both entirely unnoticed by her colleagues, who would have no doubt given her shit for it if they had observed it, and not answered with aggression by the creature itself.
She gave her cheeks a quick rub to encourage a redistribution of the extra blood that shot up into her face and began formulating theories in her mind as to why the creature reacted so casually to her little act.
"How to proceed?" she wondered as she observed the staff run around the lab, write things down, and tinker with equipment. She doubted that she would be able to gather any more intel with the creature tied down and at the mercy of its captors. In this state, it would hardly be able to show any natural mannerisms or behaviors, let alone be in a mental state that would allow for anything productive or civil to occur.
She wondered if there was a way for her to show goodwill, and thusly ease the tension. If it were up to her he would have loved nothing more than to untie it to ease its aching muscles and to offer it some kind of sustenance, but she knew the dangers of it. Heck, she reckoned that if she were in its position she would want to kill everyone too.
Max needed to build some kind of rapport, she decided. When dealing with a cornered or scared animal it is best to give it something it wants to show that you are no threat. But the creature was by no means a simple animal, and she could hardly offer the alien a biscuit and hope for the best.
Perhaps a case could be made to ever so slightly loosen the chains to allow for more comfort.
A loud growl at a lab worker taking a flash photograph made her realize that suggesting such a thing to her superiors would get her laughed out of the room.
Firstly, she would have to either come to an understanding with the creature and or find a way to keep it docile, but for that to occur she had to earn its trust, and that could only be done through a show of good faith, which the higher-ups would only approve of if she could calm it down, and now we're running in circles. Great. Fucking glorious.
She sighed inaudibly and bit down on her lower lip in deep thought. It was a carnivore, that assumption she treated as a fact, for all the markers pointed towards that being unmistakably true. Yet it didn't lash out at her making-eye contact, which was an anomaly for any aggressive apex-predator. She glimpsed at the provided notes once again, remembering that physically smaller staff is snapped at less harshly than more physically imposing personnel (or individuals that deliberately make asshats out of themselves when dealing with the alien).
That already made for two abnormalities. However, considering that it's no simple animal, but a sentient humanoid creature, it makes perfect sense. It was analyzing and rationalizing the people it was dealing with.
Which meant that she had to test the limits of what she could get away with and work from there.
And this exact point was where Max's expertise ceased to be of much use. She was now teetering on the edge of psychological and anthropological studies, and neither she had any remarkable proficiency in.
So, she had to stick to what she knew best and keep hoping that some of the skills and know-how of dealing with living creatures on a most instinctual and primal level were transferable and applicable.
A deep sensation of dread settled in her stomach as she stood up from her desk. "Four feet, no closer" she repeated in her mind like a mantra.
"I definitely need to ask for a raise after this," she thought in an effort to ease her own tension "and more benefits"
Her colleagues paid her no mind, but the creature's glance momentarily shot towards her, eying her with investigative caution, before returning its attention to the pair of armed guards that came to stand beside the shivering lab worker that had just taken the photograph of the alien in question.
Max cringed at the hostile hisses of the creature as the lab worker, now assured through the presence of the guards, took yet more photos, and she could not but roll her eyes at that poor fool. "For fucks sake, just turn the flash off you moron," she thought as she slowly paced around the creature at a distance of, give or take, 15 feet.
She came to a halt near Dr. Gibbson who was meticulously scribbling down notes alongside two other lab-workers. "The guards" she whispered as she mulled over what to say "I want to test something. They need to stay down and preferably out of sight". Her colleague blinked at her, taken aback by the request as the other two exchanged wary looks.
"Sure. I take you know what you're doing, right? We're running out of beds back at med-bay" he said before motioning for the stationed guards to come closer and informing them of their new orders.
The creature had again followed the interaction with much caution, and now seemed to have shifted its entire focus onto Max, eying her with an expression that seemed to ask her what she was up to.
She stepped closer to the alien, watching its movements closely as she passed the 10-foot markers.
It didn't react until she was only six feet away from it, growling warningly at the blonde woman, which caused her to gulp and gooseflesh to begin covering her arms.
That was good. It was just a warning, not all-out hostility… yet.
Surprisingly she felt herself become more anxious at the hushed whispers of her coworkers as they curiously followed her shenanigans, rather than the threats of the dangerous alien in front of her.
She took two more steps forward, now standing at the threshold of four feet that promised her safety so long as she didn't pass it, and it was then that the first all-out roar was heard as the creature lashed forward, or tried to at least, in an attempt to intimidate her, which she consciously ignored and refused to show fear.
Her muscles felt as if static was coursing through them as her heart-rate begun to quicken. Her body was releasing adrenaline and urging her to run, but Max pushed those pesky feelings aside.
She couldn't help but eye the alien's features with wonder as she once again felt transfixed by its physical attributes. Another rattle of the chains and a roar that made her ears ring snapped her out of her stare.
Back to basics, she thought quickly. The Animal-Psychology101 advised to pose no threat, and even though she was like a quarter or a third of its size, looming over the bound creature, she was in a very domineering and threatening position.
Max steadied her breathing, getting down on her knees and proceeding to observe the aliens' mandibles flare and click together in what must have been a puzzled query.
Given their size differences, the blonde found herself in a position in which she was now the one looking up at the creature in front of her, and it made her blood run cold as she only then came to realize how truly massive that guy was.
"Now what, dumbass?" she heard her inner voice ask her. That, however, she wasn't able to contemplate as her gaze settled on the heavy metal contraption around the creature's neck.
The woman's eyes widened, and she finally dropped her fake aloof image as she once again felt her stomach churn with disgust and disapproval at her colleague's and superiors' actions.
The alien clicked its tusks and hissed, seemingly reminding her that she was still too close for comfort and telling her to fuck off, which Max took notice of, but didn't show any particular reaction to.
The heavy metal collar around its neck was too tight. It was pressing into its throat and Max instantly realized that it must have had trouble breathing. In an instant, her hand reached towards her own neck, and following that motion, the creature clicked its tusks but did not hiss.
Her eyes wandered upward again and once more locked eyes with the alien. Her breathing stopped for a few seconds as she felt overwhelmed by the striking depth behind those yellow orbs.
At that exact moment, the creature ceased being an "it". She couldn't put it into words exactly, but, as funny as it sounds, she saw something human in those eyes; something sentient and wise.
She opened her mouth to say something but realized that he most likely wouldn't be able to understand her, let alone answer in a way she could comprehend. Either way, it wasn't like she could get a tone out of her throat anyhow, for she was too taken aback by a mix of intrigue, pity, and fear.
The blonde bit down on her lower lip as she observed the collar more thoroughly, realizing that it had a simple button mechanism that wouldn't require a key to loosen by a few inches.
All she had to do was reach out and press them.
A daunting prospect, considering the gnarly sight she encountered in the hallway.
She should ask her commander for permission, she really should, she knew that, but she didn't know if the creature would give her another chance to come this close. There was no time for bureaucracy, and despite there being no downsides to allowing the captured alien to breathe properly, she was almost certain that the commander would decline her request out of fear, or insist that it would be done under the oversight of a dozen armed guards which would only stress and aggravate the creature into not complying.
Max bit down on her lower lip, harder, tasting blood, before she dared to establish eye contact once again. He squinted his eyes at her and clicked his tusks again as he seemed to process the silent proposition she made.
He tilted his chin upward slightly, blinking at her once as if to say "go ahead"
Thousands of thoughts and worries rushed through her mind. "What if he's just lulling me closer to take a bite out of me? Maxie, you're a lunatic. What if he somehow breaks loose?" however, those thoughts were quickly squashed by her inner demon, the inner Max that seemingly had no self-preservation instincts and just did things for the heck of it, as she passed the threshold that was four feet of distance.
The room was completely silent, safe for a few horrified gasps as Max reached out her hands.
She felt his hot breath on her face as she leaned forward to able to interact with the collar properly, and realized that if he wanted to, he could easily lash forward and sink his teeth into whatever part of her he saw fit.
Her breath hitched and she felt the sudden urge to back away, but she kept at it and came to lay her hands on the cold metal. Doing so her fingertips graced against the skin on his neck. It was warm, warmer than human skin, and unsurprisingly tough, however, not rough or hard like an alligator's scales. It felt peculiarly smooth.
In the corner of her eye, she saw a guard ask Dr. Gibbson if whatever Max was doing was allowed, but he and Dr. Hearth only shrugged and threw their hands up in the air with exasperated dismay.
She tried to keep her hands steady, to keep herself from shivering, but those attempts were futile and she just hoped that the creature didn't notice her anxiety, but it no doubt did, for the look in his eyes seemed to shift into something Max could only recognize as smug glee.
She pressed the buttons, two on the left, two on the right, and gently tugged against the collar, loosening it by half an inch. However, before she was able to give the creature a whole inch, the Commander came marching in through the door and yelled "What on God's green earth…?!"
She felt a sharp hot pain in her left wrist as the alien roared at the intrusion. Whether or not it was on purpose, he had dug one of his mandibles into Max's flesh which caused her to yelp and stumble backwards as a splatter of blood hit the white tiles between them.
That sent the guards into overdrive as they closed in on the alien and fired their stun guns at him, causing him to roar in agony at the shock.
"Dr. Swan! Are you alright?" she heard Dr. Hearth call out as he grabbed her by the arm and dragged her away from the center, leaving behind a thin trail of velvet red that was continuously trickling down from her wrist.
"For the love of god, Max-" cursed Commander Cliffton "tell me you still have your hand"
The woman felt too stunned to speak, but nodded at her old friend whose worry then quickly turned to fury. "You- you…! What were you thinking?!" he yelled as he helped Dr. Hearth hoist the shivering woman onto her feet.
Max could give him a dozen explanations, but her brain could only formulate word salad at that moment as she was too fixated on the creature's anguish to pay him any mind.
She hissed as she felt Dr. Hearth press a napkin onto her cut, who looked back at Dr. Gibbson and asked "We've established that it's not venomous, yes?".
"I need a rabies shot" muttered Max, or at least that jovial inner demon of hers, before she shook her head and came back to. She stared up at a disheveled Commander before yelling "Tell them to stop!"
"What-?" he asked with bewilderment.
"You startled him! It was an accident! They are hurting him!"
"Him?" quipped Dr. Gibbson curiously.
"You can hardly call him an it, can you?" hissed Max, anger like poison dripping from her words as she felt profound disgust at the treatment the creature endured.
Commander Cliffton stuttered a few words at her sudden anger before Max laid into him once more "That's inhumane, Matthew!"