I woke up with my nostrils flaring as I picked up the smell of fruit. For the first time in a long time, I felt halfway decent and undrugged. My wing throbbed dully, but it wasn’t too painful at the moment. I stretched my good wing as I raised my head and looked around.

Taureen was sitting in his usual spot, once more working with some technical gadget. There were ten small bowls inside the cage door. Getting closer to the bowls once more entailed getting closer to him.

In theory, I knew that the Kymari likely meant me no harm, especially considering that they had patched my wing up. Without their intervention, my wing wouldn’t have healed properly, and I would have been as vulnerable as a hawk with a broken wing. Their presence still made me extremely uneasy though; our caution had built up over years, so it wasn’t about to just disappear. Besides, they still creep me out...

I lifted my head to see what was in the bowls, and my mouth watered at the sight of the various kinds of diced-up fruit. I had zero interest in the meat or the minnows, and if they thought I was about to sample anything in that bowl of still-wiggling insects, they were crazy. If they think that a mealworm is the equivalent of spaghetti, then they need their heads checked.

I sniffed the air as I tried to identify the small cubes. Apple, orange, mango, strawberries, and some other types of alien fruit that I knew I liked. Raspberries. I hadn’t had raspberries since I had been human... Considering that I had never seen them in any of the forests I had flown through, I had no idea where they had found them.

Getting to my feet, I slowly inched forward and snagged several raspberries in my mouth before backing up a few steps to eat them one by one. I regarded the other bowls; every piece of fruit was diced up small enough that it was a bite-sized morsel. Breakfast was going to involve being near that door and close to him.

I was aware that he was halfway watching me while pretending not to. He was being quite subtle about it, probably to keep me from getting too nervous. Too late for that, buddy. Everything about this situation makes me want to fly out of here as fast I can.

I examined the bowls again from a distance as I debated what I wanted to eat the most. I wasn’t really interested in the orange or the apple, but the raspberries, mango, and strawberries were quite tempting. I sidled a bit closer to the dishes before using my tail to drag those three bowls closer to me.

Taureen turned his head to watch me in surprise; he must not have expected me to do that. My breakfast was more comfortable under the heat lamp in the back corner as opposed to by the door.

I emptied the three bowls and pushed them close to the door. As much as I didn’t want to be near him, I liked the thought of him reaching that close to me to retrieve the bowls even less. While I was near the door, I ate a few of other fruits before taking a big drink of water.

I made a face and snorted at the bitter aftertaste of both a painkiller and a tranquilizer to make me rest. Considering how much my wing was starting to hurt, the painkillers would be welcome. I curled up under the heat lamp and gave in to the inevitable.

~

I woke up and drowsily stretched. There was only a bowl of water in the cage, which was a disappointment, but I wasn’t exactly starving, so I had likely only slept half a day this time.

This time, the water didn’t taste like medicine. Since no one was in the living room, I took a good look at it. The couches and chairs had no space below for me to sneak under them, nor was it possible for me to fit behind them either. An inspection of the room showed that there was nothing I could fit under or behind. No hiding spots even if I did manage to get out of this cage.

There was one large window across the room, but some sort of blind was pulled down, so I couldn’t see outside. It let in light, allowing me to see vague outlines of green and blue shapes that were likely tree tops and the sky.

I craned my head and tried to check the area where I knew the cage latch was. My view of it was blocked by a metal plate on the back of the mechanism. There was no way for me to get to it to even try to unlatch it.

My grogginess was fading as the last dose of drugs disappeared. My hide itched fiercely, and I shook myself. When was the last time I had a proper cleaning? All I could remember was the morning of the sicora attack.

With a resigned sigh, I grabbed a handful of dirt from a corner of the tray that I hadn’t even walked on yet. From the lack of smell, he must completely change the dirt every time I was out cold. I rubbed the gritty dirt over my scales as I tried to buff them clean. It was nowhere near as good as a proper water and sand bath, but it was better than nothing.

I was almost done when I heard the faint hum of the door opening. I quickly backed into the corner under the heat lamp. The three from last night entered the room as I watched them in suspicion.

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“See, Soranto, I told you she would be awake by now,” Taureen mildly commented as they sat in the same seats that they had last time.

The one on my right, Soranto, looked at me. “She looks fairly alert.”

He leaned in closer, and I flattened myself to the floor. I pinned my ear tufts flat against my head as I hissed fiercely at him. He chuckled as he sat back up. Great, I threaten them with one of my best hisses and he finds it amusing...

Soranto shook his head in amusement. “She sure gives lots of warnings. I’m glad that she doesn’t attempt to breathe fire as often as she hisses and growls. Alec has been watching the wild flock as much as possible, but he hasn’t seen any trace of fire yet. If it wasn’t for the fact that the camera on your armor recorded those six scorching the sicora, I would have dismissed it as a tall tale by now.”

The other guest commented, “It could be because there was a nest nearby. They never did return to it. I also heard that the burn marks matched those of the first sicora we found, which is rather interesting.”

Taureen remarked, “I spoke with a couple of Elders, and they want the fire lizards left unharmed. We have been here for seven years, and they haven’t harmed a Kymari yet, despite killing two sicora. In fact, no one can even seem to get close to them at the moment. We did stumble across the new nest, but the only reason we realized we were near it was because the parents took off with the chicks again. They seem to prefer relocating their young as opposed to attacking those who get too close.”

Soranto frowned faintly. “That is very odd behavior for something that attacked not just one, but two sicora.”

Taureen shrugged. “The others also commented upon that. We aren’t even entirely sure that the flock will accept her back if we do release her. The Elders are discussing the possibility of seeing if a few of them can be tamed just due to their strong reaction to sicora. They might give us warning if one sneaks into a building. Sicora are nearly impossible for us to detect, but the fire lizards can clearly smell them. Alec dragged a piece of sicora hide on the ground, and as soon as they entered the clearing, they started hissing and circling around as they looked for it.”

I didn’t like how closely they were observing me and my friends; the scrutiny made me very uncomfortable. I didn’t even want to think about what would happen if they found out that we were sentient beings. My blood memories recalled without a doubt that the Kymari didn’t share their planets with other races.

They usually picked vacant planets to colonize, but had no qualms about chasing off other races who were in the area of space they controlled – such as the nomadic white aliens. The Kymari had killed thousands of that race when they located them here, and they weren’t about to leave a planet just because a hundred intelligent creatures had first dibs on it.

As much as I really don’t want to admit it, it isn’t as if the dragonets are in any kind of position to fight for the top spot on this planet. At the moment, living peacefully in their parks is our best chance of long-term survival since the Kymari keep the white aliens at bay and ensure that the nasty creatures remain outside their walls. I really do hope that they decide to release me though…

The other Kymari tilted his head in curiosity. “It isn’t like the Elders to debate on such a subject. What reservations do they have?”

Taureen sighed before replying, “The biggest problem is that we know almost nothing about their habits, and thus, can’t provide ideal care at this point. You were just as surprised as I was when she ate that apple like she hadn’t seen food in a month. Considering they are only found in the central park, there might be something there that they need. The last detail is that every fire lizard we remove from the wild population is one less in the breeding pool.”

“I can see that,” He said, nodding slowly. “If the Elders are hoping to use fire lizards to detect sicora, the last thing they want to do is reduce the population when it is so low.”

Taureen waved a hand towards the window. “Exactly. That is why Alec and the others are out there right now, trying to monitor the fire lizards as closely as they can. They are attempting to learn more about them as well as keeping an eye out for any abandoned chicks or injured adults.”

“I heard a rumor that they were encountering some difficulties.”

Taureen huffed in annoyance. “That is one way of putting it; when it comes to pulling a disappearing act, they are very good at it. Alec spends far more time trying to locate them or catch up to them than he spends actually watching them. They seem to realize his interest in them, and they want no part of it. Even when he is stealthed with the invisibility shield, they pick up his scent and take off.”

You guys just realized this now? We have been trying to avoid you ever since you came. I resisted the urge to shake my head; doing so could tip them off to the fact that I could understand them. At least the other dragonets were avoiding their new stalkers. The general mindlink was still silent, which meant that I was likely too far out of range for it to work. The drugs had previously prevented me from attempting to directly mindlink others, but those were wearing off once more.

I closed my eyes and focused on Drake’s face. “Drake?”

His voice was distant, and I could feel the strain of trying to reach him. “Tasha! Are you okay? Where are you?”

I sighed in relief and rested my chin on my hands. “The sicora managed to break my wing, and the Kymari took me with them. They put my wing in a cast, and I’m currently in a cage listening to a Kymari discussion regarding the troubles they are having trying to spy on you.”

“We were worried that they might have killed you,” he replied, relief clear in his voice. “We did notice that they are stalking us, and we are keeping on the move. Any idea of what they are up to?”

“At the moment, they are trying to figure out our habits and preferences in food. Whatever you do, don’t try to flame them. The fact that we haven’t done so is the biggest reason that they have no plans to harm us. They are intrigued that we can actually detect a sicora and have attacked them in the past.”

I felt his snort across the mindlink. “None of us plan on letting them anywhere close enough for our flame to reach them, but I will spread the word.”

I was beginning to feel the strain of maintaining the mindlink since the drugs hadn’t completely worn off yet. “These painkillers are messing with my head, so I will let you go for now.”

“Stay safe.”

I glanced at the four who were unaware of my conversation with Drake. Stay safe. Right. As if I have much choice in the matter.