One major problem remained; that brat kept constantly soiling her pants. Much to the mother’ s and my detriment. Yet, there was nothing I could do about this stinky business. It went by as quickly as it came. “All that pays no tax has to go”, was a common saying where I was from.

As for my humble self? Peeing and pooping were possible, but happened maybe once every fortnight, if even. I didn’t get hungry nor thirsty all that often. And thank goodness for that. Not to insult anyone's cooking but the food here was downright atrocious.

I miss prison food.

But I digress... Most of the early days of my new life I spent following the little redhead around the house. At first, I didn’t pay much attention to her. She was a more than annoying creature so I kept telling myself I had way better things to do, but honestly, I didn’t. I wasn’t scheming, wasn’t trying to work any angles. I was just... existing. It was like when I'd first gotten into prison. I just didn't see the point of trying anymore. And it wasn’t like there was much to do in this shack, anyways.

Yet the girl turned out to be an incredibly curious and clumsy child. Observing her was... amusing. The kid was lively, a bright spark in a world that felt dulled. She’d pull me along, wanting me to join in whatever little game she was playing, and I’d go. Not because I wanted to, but because it was easier than resisting. Time passed faster when I was with her.

Following her was also profitable. She had this unexplainable urge to get into all sorts of peculiar places. No nook or cranny in the house was safe from this girl. And once the exploring was done, I’d swoop in to reap the benefits. That's what I did. Old matches, pieces of fabric, rocks, I’d take it all. It was certainly fascinating what unusual items you could find in a shack like this.

She didn’t care much for trinkets as she weaseled around the house all day, having the time of her life. Truth be told, it was kind of wholesome to watch. I’d heard of family cats and dogs taking care of newborn children, so surely an oversized lizard was fine as well. Where the hell did I even come from in the first place?

From what I could tell, I was growing at a rapid pace. Much quicker than she was. To her aloof mother this whole ordeal seemed to be the most natural of things.

That’s right, after a hard six months of listening to her mother and that displeased geezer conversing, I’d started to get a grasp of the language. Of course, communication remained a problem, since speaking wasn’t really a part of my skillset. Nonetheless, I was almost... proud of myself. Given the fact that I had no prior skills in learning new languages whatsoever. Probably had my overdeveloped lizard brain to thank for that. Or maybe it was just due to my young age. They do say it’s easier to remember things when you’re still a kid. No, no, definitely the former.

The atmosphere of the house changed drastically once the girl’s father returned home. Without the milk and cigarettes. Apparently, she did have one after all.

With a booming burst the front door came flying out of its frame. The remains scattered themselves all around the entrance hall, giving way to smoke as if they’d just been set ablaze. Behind said smoke stood a man, no, a giant.

The only word that came to my mind when I first caught a glance of him was strong. This man was impressively well built and not shying away from showing it either. His blend of mass, symmetry, and definition, absolutely perfect. With thick arms, his biceps fully peaked. Lines etched across his pecs as if they had been chiseled in right before my eyes. Sharp, fully formed abs and thighs rounding out the picture. You didn’t need any prior experience in bodybuilding to be able to admire this man’s physique.

This guy was supposed to be her father?! The only physical aspect they actually shared was their crimson red hair! It looked more as though someone had decided to simply copy and paste Conan the Barbarian right into the middle of the house. Although instead of a big sword this package of manliness carried a spear in his scar-riddled arms. Wait. A spear? What did this supposed father just come home from? Did he hunt for a living or what purpose did that sharp stick of his serve?

“I'm. Finally. Ho-ome!” he announced with all his heart. His voice echoed through the whole house. The mother emerged from the kitchen, hands on her waist, and stood before him.

“Ursus! That’s the seventh door already. Seventh! By Enkef, you never grow any wiser, do you?!” She looked furious.

“All great things come in sevens, didn’t you know?” That remark quickly earned him a smack over the head. It was quite comical, especially since she had to stand on her tiptoes just to reach his chin.

“I knew it would take you a bit longer to come home but over a whole year?” she inquired with a pout on her face. “Next time I’m staying with you, no matter what!”

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A loud swallowing sound could be heard. “Woho, I… don’t think that’s a smart idea, Hun. Your place is here now. You know how dangerous these campaigns tend to turn out.” The father’s face had shifted from a wide smile to an unsure frown, as he put away his spear.

“Alright… but I was worried sick! You could’ve at least sent some kind of message?”

The big man didn’t respond, instead he took a couple steps towards the mother, who had turned away from him slightly. With his massive arms he reached around her for a tight hug. “I missed you, Visla.”

She embraced him, tears slowly swelling up in her eyes, while the laurel of wings in her hair twitched with excitement. “It’s always the same with you Urs.” she sobbed with a smile. “Welcome home.” They stayed embraced like that for a bit longer.

Visla and Urs, huh? I wasn’t big on romance, but these two made even me re-evaluate my preferences. Must be nice being loved.

“Alright where is she?” Peeking in different directions, Urs searched for his offspring. “Aha! Found you.” He spotted his daughter lurking from below the table trying to make an escape and quickly grabbed her with his giant pair of hands, lifting her off the ground like a pebble. She just chuckled in response.

He looked across her face as if he was searching for something in it. “Oh yes, you’re my daughter, there's no denying that. And what a cute one at that!” Ah, thank you mister, I was worried there for a second.

“Look Vis, she even has your hair wings! Aww, look at those little flappers!”

That’s right. Those things on both Rheka and her mother’s head were not some weird sort of headwear but actual wings. They looked like small laurel wreaths more than anything, especially when they laid flat, but nope – wings.

Don’t ask me how it works, I’m still a lizard.

Visla just smiled at him in response. There was something wholesome yet comical about this giant of a man fawning all over his tiny daughter.

“Did we end up going with-?”

“Rheka.” Visla interrupted.

“Oh. Right... I came up with that didn’t I?”

Rheka was the name given to the girl at birth. For some reason that name had always sounded somewhat ancient to me. So did all the other’s names as well, to be honest.

Where is my name, anyways?

“Well, Rheka, let’s make sure you grow up nice and healthy.” he said, squeezing her tightly onto his chest. For some reason I felt that just by watching them.

“Ursus! That’s too rough!” Visla rushed over, snatching her from the father’s grip. Phew.

And then he finally noticed the white reptilian creature staring at him from behind his feet. “Woho, what do we have here? I couldn’t believe it when they told me! I knew it was possible for sure, but on the first try?! How likely is that?!” My tiny lizard self was swiftly seized against its will.

“Take a look at this! Almost the same as-” He turned to Visla before pausing. “Right... Anyway, you’re one lucky girl! Good for you.” “Take good care of my daughter while I’m not here, alright?” Urs inquired, staring at me with an intensity that made me shudder.

I had no clue what was going on, but the family was enjoying itself. This was all unknown ground for me, of course. Sure, I had something that resembled a family in my previous life as well, but I barely remember anything about them at all. I certainly didn’t get to experience moments like this one with them before they abandoned me. I wasn’t quite sure what to make of it, but it felt... sort of neat. Although I had to get used to the whole physical aspect. I wasn’t exactly the touchy kind of lizard. Courtesy of my rough childhood.

Over the next couple of months, I got to experience the full package of the family’s relationship. The parents talked and "talked" to each other basically all the time. I guess that’s just how it is when there's no television or other kind of mind-numbing entertainment around. From what I had puzzled together they’d known each other since the days of their early childhood and got married at a fairly young age. At the time of my coming to, Visla was in her mid-twenties while Urs was in his early thirties. No clue about the geezer though, who according to Rheka’s parents was her paternal grandfather. His name was Vrintas, in case I didn’t mention that already. That guy never showed his two-eye-colored face around the house. Always holed up in that basement of his. At least that’s what it seemed like to me. Never really talked to any of us either. Not even to his own son. Though he did speak to the mother every now and then. All in all, Vrintas was probably quite an unpleasant customer to be around. How Visla could entertain him was beyond me.

Most of the parents’ conversations consisted of reminiscing about their past spent together and the experiences Urs had in his campaigns. By the way, not only was I right about him being a hunter, but apparently, he was also an actively serving soldier. That man was full of masculine surprises.

I often noticed them using words I wasn’t familiar with. Most of these were names of countries, regions and territories that I’d never heard of before. So, either I had ended up on the remotest place on Earth, or I wasn’t even on the planet Earth anymore at all. And the more time I spent here, the more I began to think it was the latter of the two. Weirdly enough, I was both scared of and relieved by that thought. Of course, I didn’t want to jump to any conclusions, so I had to gather more proof.

Looking outside didn’t yield any results. It was uninspiring. Beside a vast field of green, a couple trees and the odd house here and there, there wasn’t much of anything around this house. Well. There was a huge skyscraper. Far, far off in the distance. Or maybe it was a radio tower, or a power plant. Whatever it was, despite the distance it was tall. And it stood on the only hill you could see from here. How convenient.

It was the only part of this place that stirred something in me. It didn’t fit. It looked too modern, too out of place in this world of old-fashioned houses and rural quiet. A reminder that maybe there was more to this world than I could see.

That thing... no. Even that flicker of curiosity wasn’t enough to get me moving.

Not yet.