Work Text:
“My name’s Kelly, by the way,” the Orphnoch introduced herself, as she and I hid in an alley between a tattoo shop and a frozen yogurt store. She was slowly morphing back into a vaguely human form, though her eyes stayed the same through the whole process. A layer of clothes seemed to reveal themselves from under the rough, armor like skin of her full Orphnoch form. She wore a casual T-shirt and a relatively short pleated skirt, and her flat top shoes covered a pair of teal knee high socks. After a few minutes, she looked like a relatively normal young woman, outside of the horn like protrusions pushing out of her forehead, covered by her bangs, and the fact that her leg was still bleeding out.
“Sorry about having to wait in an alley, again. This is usually a safer spot to shift back,” she continued.
“So… can all Orphnochs shift like that?” I asked.
“I mean, it depends. It’s usually a part of the medicinal process we’ve come up with to help us pass in human society. We do get to keep some elements of ourselves, though.” She pointed at the protrusions on her forehead, not large enough to pierce the skin, but still somewhat visible, then continued, “You don’t know how many people just assume these are bruises.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. If people are stupid enough to believe SmartBrain’s lies, they’ll think horns are bruises. Anyways, some of us choose to stay all out all the time. It’s riskier, but can often be more… comfortable, to say the least”
After she said that, I was left in an awkward silence. I really didn’t know how to respond. Hearing that word, comfortable, clicked another thing in my brain. That seemed to be happening a lot lately. The thought that one could just… be comfortable was insane to me. I tried to shake the revelation from my head to break the silence.
“Cool,” was all I could say, “Good to know.”
Kelly looked at both sides of the adjacent road, then turned back to me, saying, “Alright, we can pass now, just follow my lead.” With that, she ran across the road, quickly, yet casually. I stumbled behind her in a much less dignified manner. After making it across the street, the two of us stood in front of a small bar. It had an old, wooden aesthetic, with a rustic hanging sign right next to the door. It was a bit out of place sandwiched between two generic storefronts, but it was nice.
However, I was even more surprised when Kelly casually walked up to the door and opened it. A small bell rang, as the doorway revealed a dark, single room bar. It looked more like a tavern than anything. I was confused, so I looked back at her, then at the bar again.
“Well,” Kelly said, “Are you going in?”
I responded, “This is just a weird bar, are you sure…”
“It’ll be fine, I meet my ‘friends’ here all the time, so trust me, alright.”
I sighed, then walked into the bar.
Well, I guess it could be better described as a tavern. Everything was as old and rustic as the outside. The seats were made of old barrels, the tables looked like they could give someone a splinter. The bar itself was warmly lit with a few oil lamps. The whole place had a slightly damp smell, like an old wood cabin, which I was surprised by, given how dry the city usually was. There was a single bartender, an old man. His head was barely covered by a few strands of white hair, his body covered in brown, baggy clothes. He wore a leather apron, to give off an appearance that fit with the rest of the bar.
“Hello there, Kelly!” the old man said, his voice raspy with age, “What brings you and your new friend in today.”
She responded, “Oh, I just want to introduce him to the usual clientele.”
The old man’s face slightly sank, saying, “Are you sure? He looks… weary.”
“Ian, here, is new to this whole thing. He needs help. Besides, if this does turn out to be nothing, he did save my skin from a drunken idiot, so he seems trustworthy.”
The old man chuckled, the light returning to his eyes, before saying, “Alright. Do you need me to call the doctor?”
“For me at least,” she pointed to her leg.
“Ah. I hope you didn’t have to run too far.”
“Don’t worry. I’m alive, so…”
The old man then opened up the entry to the bar and beckoned to it. Kelly simply walked around to the back, and I simply followed. I had shrunk into myself as much as I could, this conversation felt a bit too personal for me to be hearing, but I didn’t want to hold Kelly up too much. As I rounded the corner, the old man suddenly stared into my eyes. My eyes darted around the room so as to avoid direct eye contact.
He said to me, “No need to be so small, kiddo. If you truly are a friend, we’ll do our best to help you in whatever ways you need.”
I mumbled a bit and rushed past him to Kelly, who was now deep in the back of the bar. It was much more clinical and clean back there, I imagine to help pass health inspections. Some fridges, a small oven, all very simple and clinical. Kelly began to lean on one of the fridges, then punched it a few times. She then stepped back and watched it as the whole fridge swung open like a door. It was slow, still had quite a bit of heft, but it moved.
Within was a staircase, made up of gray concrete, with a few quaint lights lining the walls. It looked like a path to an old nuclear bunker. Maybe it was some time ago. On the stairs, behind the door, was another Orphnoch, this time vaguely looking like a stony ferret. They had a long neck, with fur poking through the layers of their armored skin.
“Good to see you back, Kelly!” The ferret said, “...with a human in toe?”
“Maybe,” Kelly responded.
“Maybe?”
“Just trust me, alright, Bill?”
“Ok, sorry, I’m just being careful. I’ll close the door behind you.”
With that, Bill shuffled as far as he could to the side of the stairway, though he obviously struggled to make himself as small as possible in the small corridor. Once again, I followed Kelly as she walked down. I kept my eyes ahead, but as I walked down the steps, which began to coil more and more, I heard the doorway slowly creak closed. I guess there was no going back, huh.
Eventually, the two of us made it to the bottom of the steps, and the small passageway opened into a fairly large room. It had similar gray walls to the stairway, but a couple of roomy additions made it feel less like a bomb shelter. There were a few couches, some nice lamps, and a simple rug on the floor. It was nice. However, it was a bit hard to notice this when I was busy hiding behind Kelly, scared of the others in the room.
Leaning on the back wall was a tall Orphnoch, clad in bulky armor. Their chest brandished a horseshoe, and their shoulderpads jutted out with Unicorn shaped adornments. They turned their head towards Kelly, revealing a horse shaped helmet covering their entire head. However, they still had a majestic mane poking through the helmet. Their glares scared me, glaring towards Kelly, definitely seeing my failed attempts of hiding behind her.
There of course were others. There was one that appeared like an armored goldfish (though obviously they were gray), another like a white tiger, and a few who presented in more human forms. They all seemed to stare at Kelly, slightly confused by me, as I tried my best to hide behind her, making myself as small as possible.
However, my attempts were foiled as she stepped to my side and stood to present me to the crowd.
“Everyone,” she proclaimed, “I’d like to introduce you to Ian, here. I met him out today, and, through a peculiar series of events, he has started to question if he’s an Orphnoch or not. He seems to be new to this, but he seems to want to learn. And hey, even if he turns out not to be one of us, he did save me from a Trooper, so at least he’s something of an ally.”
The other people here turned their gaze to me, and I couldn’t do much more than blush profusely. My eyes darted around the room in a bit of a panic as I stumbled down the final step, barely able to keep my footing. As I balanced out, I looked up to see the massive horse begin to walk towards us. No, towards me. As they approached, I realized just how large and imposing they truly were. They were tall and wide, like an old roman soldier. Their gaze was intimidating, peering down at me through their helmet shaped head.
They then stopped in front of me, standing several inches taller than me. Their eyes darted up and down my body, like they were investigating me, staring deep into my soul. I could only stand there, shaking. Eventually they stopped, raised their arm, and simply laid it on my shoulder. Their eyes immediately lit up, obviously smiling through the helmet.
“We’re glad to have you, Ian,” the horse said, their voice in a low, calming timbre, “If you ever need any help with anything, we’re here for you.”
I simply nodded, more calm than before, but still a bit shaken by Kelly’s sudden betrayal.
The horse continued, “My name’s Vaughn, and if you couldn’t tell, I’m a horse. The goldfish back there is Evan, the tiger is June, the two love birds back there are Gwen and Liz. Oh, and the one behind you is Bill.”
Suddenly, behind me, Bill said, “Hi, my full name is William, but Bill is better. Sorry if I was a bit abrasive at the door!” I simply nodded in response.
Vaughn continued, “There are more of us, but we don’t all hang out here at the same time.”
“He may be quiet,” Kelly retorted, “But I’m sure he understands the concept of conflicting schedules.”
“Yeah, I just wanted to assure him that there were more than, like, 5 Orphnoch.”
I chuckled quietly to myself, “Heh, like sheep”
“What was that?” Vaughn asked. I could feel him peering into my soul with those eyes of his. Just like Kelly’s. Just like mine.
I barely stuttered out, “Oh, uh, it’s like… it’s like how sheep is both a singular noun and a plural noun.”
At that, Vaughn let out a full bellied laugh, then said, “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”
I felt a bit more relieved, especially as the rest of the people there began to snicker a bit. Most of the tension I had perceived from them seemed to go away at that. I finally managed to smile. It was probably the first time I had that day.
—
I sat at one of the couches and just listened. All of these people had so many interesting stories to tell. Whether it be Vaughn talking about how his shoulder pads could get awkwardly stuck in doorways, or Gwen and Liz talking about their shared grocery job, there was something interesting in their mundanity. All I could there was sit there and listen, sipping on some tea Bill had brewed earlier. It was nice, being able to sit with people and listen.
Suddenly, I heard the refrigerator above us screech open and closed again. Then, a series of squeaky footsteps made their way down the long, winding staircase down here. I turned around as everyone quieted down, expecting someone around my age, as was everyone else. Instead, someone well in their 50s walked down, with a graying beard and thinning hair entered the small room. They wore a long, white lab coat, and simple, black shoes. They did look a tad disheveled, but overall, happy.
They eventually spoke, “Sorry I couldn’t be here sooner, I was in the middle of some work, and the traffic to get here was absurd.” Eventually they looked down at me and said, “You must be the new kid. Ian, right? The barkeep let me know you’d be here, said you’d need my help.” They walked up to me and held his hand out.
I slowly turned around and shook their hand, asking, “And who are you, exactly?”
They responded, “Oh, of course. I’m Dr. Rascal Cooper, an Orphnoch Cell specialist, one of the only ones who isn’t developing phone guns.”
“A doctor? Why would I need…”
“We’ll get there, though first,” he turned to Kelly, “Do you mind if I get to the new kid before I get to your wounds,”
She responded, relaxing on a recliner, letting her wound rest, “Yeah, sure, it’s not like I’m going anywhere.”
“I’ll be quick, I swear,” he finished before turning to me, “Now, would you mind following me, I prefer to do this in a private room.”
I briefly responded, before following him to a small side room. Entering, I noticed how much brighter it was inside this room. The main room had been cozily lit, but this room downright glowed. The walls were lined with cabinets filled with various medical tools and vials of liquid. It looked like an average doctor’s office, outside of missing the usual bed, only having a pair of reclining chairs, as well as an odd briefcase in the corner of the room.
The doctor sat down in one and beckoned to the other, before saying, “Sorry it’s not much, like I said, funding for my research needs to be a bit… under the table given current global politics.”
I sat before saying, “I guess, yeah.”
He then continued, more clinically this time, “So, I was informed that you have been wondering recently that you might be an Orphnoch. Is that correct?”
“Only really today, but yeah.”
“Interesting. Do you mind if I ask what spurred this on?”
“Wait, hold on a second. Why do you need to know all this?”
“Of course, sorry. Being an Orphnoch is a lot more complicated than how it’s portrayed on tv. It doesn’t just come out randomly one day, at least usually. A person being an Orphnoch is intrinsic to their being from the moment they are born. Some people are conveniently born in monster form, but that is extremely rare. More often than not, they have Orphnoch cells activated in their brain, but the rest of their body’s cells are left dormant, overwhelmed by human cells. However, this disconnect between the mind and body can create a subtle, yet increasingly painful psychological dissonance.”
“So, you’re testing if my mind lines up with other Orphnoch?”
“Not exactly. I trust your claims, I just want to see if we can make some breakthroughs on your end, I guess.”
I felt a bit unsure at this response, but went along with it, “Alright.”
“So, anyways, would you mind telling me what made you realize this about yourself.”
“Uh, so, I saw Kelly getting chased by one of those riders, and I followed along. I saw her eyes in Orphnoch form and felt a sense of, I guess, recognition. I don’t know, something just kind of clicked.”
“That makes sense. And I thank you for helping her. Did you ever have these thoughts beforehand?”
“Not really… though, if I’m honest, I never really thought about myself in general, at least, that deeply.”
“Hmmm…” he sighed.
“Did I say something wrong?” I stumbled over my words, worrying that I had screwed all this up.
“No, it’s just this sense of familiarity. So, you’re sure about this?”
I sat there and chewed that question in my mind for a while. I thought back to this whole day, to my whole life, all those little stumblings that were finally falling into place, finally making sense. I responded, “Well, I’ve never really been sure about much of anything, but I’ve been more sure about this than anything before.”
“Ok,” he responded. After some considered silence, he finally continued, “Now, there are multiple ways we could handle this. Now, no matter what, I would recommend getting a therapist. Just being a part of society makes being an Orphnoch difficult, so you’ll probably have some things to work through. I have a list of ones who we work with for our specificities that I can provide you with. However, there are other treatments to help realign your physical and mental forms somewhat.”
“Wh… what kind of medicine.”
“Nothing too intense, mostly just two main chemicals, one that suppresses human cells and another that promotes growth in the Orphnoch cells. It will make your body more like the stereotypical stony creatures you see before you. Though, which animal form it takes is based on what your Orphnoch cells are already telling you. Again, my medicine is more focused on promoting growth.”
I chuckled, “So I could end up as something lame, like a grasshopper?”
“Yes, that is a risk of these medicines. And, for the most part, it is only reversible by surgery. My doctoral integrity wouldn’t let me give you this without informing you otherwise.”
I sat there, again, in silence. These were some pretty high stakes, but I couldn’t help but feel that what I would come out with on the other end was more than worth it. I thought to Kelly, to Vaughn, and what that could look like for myself.
“Oh, yes, one more thing,” the doctor butted in with, “You will need to hydrate more regularly, as Orphnoch skin dries out easily. If you don’t, it will lead to some minor complications. So, with all that out of the way, is that a path you’re interested in? Again, you do not have to to be an Orphnoch, it is simply an available option to you.”
After a second, I finally responded, “Yeah, I think I want to.”
The doctor smiled, stood up, and clapped his hands together, “Alright then, let’s get this started. If you don’t mind, I will need to draw your blood so I can analyze it. You know, to make sure your medication is right for your system.”
—
I walked out of the small room a bit woozy. I had a small bandage wrapped around my arm, a small speck of blood visible. Kelly leaned on the wall next to the office, smirking.
“So, it’s finally my turn with the doc, then,” she said.
“Sorry I took so long,” I responded, “I didn’t realize we’d be sampling my blood going in.”
“Don’t sweat it.” After saying this, she snuck into the room, her limp still obvious.
I walked a little further before Bill walked up behind me and patted me on the back, saying, “Sounds like it went well in there, though!”
I eventually responded, “Yeah, sounds like once my blood’s all analyzed, I’ll be able to start getting on some medication. For all of this.”
“Congrats, man! I guess that means we get to call you part of the Orphnoch Horde!”
“What?”
“Sorry it’s what we call ourselves, jokingly mostly. It’s our little coalition of Orphnoch, hiding in the shadows, fearful of our attackers at every turn!” He chuckled, then put something into my hand. I looked down to see a pager from the 90’s. It had a small LCD screen, but was in decent shape overall. “And that’s how you’ll get in contact with us. We like to stay off the SmartBrain grid, and this old 90’s stuff is a completely closed loop. I’d recommend replacing your other stuff with SmartBrain competitors as well.”
I clutched it, and thought back to society as a whole, specifically to my family. I frowned, reminded of what my elation had made me forget.
“I’m not sure I can do this. My family, well, they aren’t very approving, and I still live with them.” I felt reality hit me like a truck, dashing any dreams I built up in here.
Suddenly, Vaughn shot up from the chair he sat in, saying, “You could always move in with me.”
“What? Are you serious?”
“I’ve been looking for a roommate for a bit, and I imagine you may need some help adjusting fully to Orphnoch life. It took me a good few months to stop stabbing my pillows with my shoulderpads.”
My eyes grew with adoration, and a few scant tears started to fall down my face. The panic subsided, but was filled with simple gratitude. I had never felt this way before, wanted, cared for, as my full self.
I stammered out a simple, “Th… Thank you.”
—
I finally sat down on my bed. It had been a long day, longer than most, and it was already the middle of the night by the time I made it back home. However, through my tired mind, I was smiling from ear to ear. For the first time in a long time, I was positively giddy.
I then looked across the table to see my closed laptop. It sat there, looking at it with papers stacked around it. Right, I thought, I should probably check for any updates around my assignments. I had just turned in an early draft for one of my screenwriting classes and was waiting for feedback on it. I got up, grabbed it, and dragged the laptop back to my bed.
Upon opening my laptop, I noticed something I didn’t often get, notifications from my messenger app, tons of them. Curious, I opened it to notice they all came from one place… my brother. As I scrolled through them, I noticed the messages become increasingly worried in their pace. He must have tried to text me, which would have been a bit difficult at the moment. I finally decided to respond.
“Hey,” my message read.
After a few seconds, my brother quickly responded, “Finally, are you alright?”
“Yeah, I just dropped my phone down the sewer, and I had a busy day, so I only got back to my computer now.”
“Oh, sorry to hear. I can get you a new one.”
“No, don’t worry, I’ll handle that.”
“Oh, alright. Anyways, I wanted to let you know I got the internship!”
“What?”
“I know, exciting, right?”
“What are you talking about, what internship.”
“I thought I told you, like, a few hours ago.”
“Sorry, today’s been busy, must have slipped my mind.”
“Or you weren’t listening.”
“Sorry… I can’t confirm or deny anything.”
“Anyways, whatever, it’s still cool. I got an internship at SmartBrain! The one I’ve been aiming at for years!”
I sat there in silence, my mood immediately taking a panicked downturn. This was going to be… complicated, but at the time, I could only respond with a simple lie.
“Sounds great!”