I curled up underneath the heat lamp while keeping an eye on my hosts as they continued their friendly get-together. Their discussions were mostly about things I didn’t understand in the least. It sounded like most of it was about whatever gadget Taureen had been working on for a few days.

I tensed up as Taureen reached towards the door and opened it up all the way. He left it open and proceeded to ignore me while talking with the others. They were keeping a subtle eye on me, watching my reaction.

Considering that the door faced him, I had no intention of moving. After a few minutes, I slowly relaxed my tense posture, although I kept a sharp eye on them since I had no idea what they were up to. If you guys think I am about to make a break for freedom, you are a bit late. I already know that there are no hiding spots in here, and with my wing in a cast, my usual getaway plans are down the drain.

They continued discussing some sort of large event that would be occurring in a few days. I tuned them out and half-closed my eyes as I rested. My eyes popped open as I saw Taureen’s hand approach the cage door. With a low growl, my ear tufts went back in warning. Thankfully, he didn’t put his hand inside the cage.

Moments later, he withdrew his hand and rejoined the conversation. I narrowed my eyes and lifted my head in suspicion, wondering what he did. I blinked in surprise at the small, bright orange berry.

A sunburst berry.

The same berry that I had stolen from the flower pots beside the benches. I got fewer than fifteen a year simply because they grew slowly and some of the other dragonets were daring enough to go that close to the edge of the park.

My stomach murmured slightly at the sight of my favorite fruit. They were a rare treat, being delicious and nearly addictive. How did he know that those berries were so highly desired by my kind?

I studied the sunburst berry and Taureen. Was it a trap? Or an attempt to try and gain my trust? Obviously, there is no point in a trap when I’m already in a cage. With that recent discussion on the possibility of taming us, I have a sneaking suspicion of what he is up to.

Taureen rubbed a small leaf between his fingers, causing my nostrils to flare as the scent of the sunburst plant leaf reached me. The berry looks perfectly ripe, too. It was just outside of the door, so I wouldn’t have to leave the cage to get it.

The temptation was just too much. If it had been anything other than a sunburst berry, I would have ignored it, but the rare treat beckoned me. I slowly got to my feet and took a few cautious steps forward while keeping low, watching for any movement from the four.

They were sitting completely still, quietly talking while pretending that they didn’t notice me. You aren’t fooling me. I paused by the door to get a drink, as if that it had been my destination all along. I doubt that I’m fooling them any more than they are fooling me.

I sidestepped towards the door, ready to jump away if needed, before I slowly extended my neck past the door and gently grabbed the berry. I slowly backed up to the corner before lying down to nibble on the heavenly berry.

“What was that?” Soranto inquired.

Taureen was now watching me openly. “One of the guards on my shift had seen the fire lizards at certain planters along the street. He said as soon as he entered their line of sight, they always took off, even if he was quite some distance away. After hearing of my new guest, he checked each of the flower planters to see what could have lured them so far out of the forest. All of the ones that he had seen the fire lizards at had a certain plant which the others lacked. None of the sunburst vines had ripe berries on them either.”

“Are you sure that the berries weren’t eaten by birds or something?”

“Out of curiosity, I had someone move a few new planters to the edge of the park, and Alec kept an eye on them from a distance. The fire lizards stripped all of the ripe berries off the very first day. I tried putting one berry in a hard-to-get location, and the fire lizard went through a lot of effort to get it.”

The other Kymari commented, “Excellent. Now that you found one of their favorite foods, you can use them as training treats. If they will go to great lengths to get the berries, then you can push her right to the edge of her comfort zone quite easily.”

Great. They were prepared to use my favorite foods against me; that berry had been worth it, though. It was too bad that I hadn’t had my supper yet, or it would be much easier to resist those decadent berries. I licked my talons clean of the slightest bit of berry juice.

Soranto asked, “How far do you think they will go to get those berries?”

Taureen glanced at me speculatively. “I have a pretty good idea judging from how the wild one acted, but there is another way to find out.”

He picked up something beside him before rested the back of his hand on his lap. His hand opened up to reveal a shiny orange berry sitting in the middle of his large palm. I watched him, but he never put it down. I tilted my head as I studied the situation.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

My cage was on his right side, and the berry lay in his left hand which rested on his left leg. The berry taunted me from its position as I flared my nostrils, picking up its fragrant scent. Even if I rested my forehands against his right leg, I wasn't sure I would be able to reach the berry.

The cage was far enough away from him that I would have to leave the cage to even attempt it. The tip of my tail would still be inside the cage, but that didn’t really count. I snorted lightly as a memory crossed my mind. When I was young, I had done this to squirrels in the park just so I could feel their soft paws as they stood on my legs.

My feet aren’t exactly soft and furry though; they have small razor-sharp blades attached... He does realize that, right? Had he done this with any other fruit, I would have ignored him since it was so far out of my comfort zone. Sunburst berries were more addictive than chocolate though, and the shiny orange skin beckoned to me like a siren’s song. He just had to learn about sunburst berries... Go figure.

The taste of the last one was still fresh in my mind, making it that much more tantalizing. I really wanted that berry... At this exact instant, I was sure that they meant me no harm; they were just curious. And possibly very, very bored if the thought of luring a wild animal with sharp claws and teeth out of a cage sounds like fun.

Crouching low to the ground, I took slow steps forward while keeping a careful eye on Taureen, and an ear on the other two. The door faced him, so I only had to travel in a straight line. For some odd reason, none of his chairs or couches had arms on them, making the seats just a bit lower than the end tables that they were touching. My back legs cleared the door, and I hesitated, how far could I trust them?

All of my Blood Memories reassured me that they weren’t sadists and didn’t enjoy torture. I just had to remember that they were not known to be very tolerant of other sentient beings or races on a long-term basis. If they found out that I was intelligent, things could get messy.

The Kymari kept ignoring my presence and the fact that I was obviously having second thoughts. They were all extremely relaxed, although I knew their actions were intentional – they were masters at controlling their body language around animals. I lifted my head and slowly peered over Taureen's leg. The berry was still there.

I slowly put one hand on his leg and rested some weight on it. He didn't react, and I moved closer to put my other hand further up. My heart was already racing, and only picked up speed. Simply being in the vicinity of a Kymari made me uneasy – and now I was actually touching one! His skin is quite warm. I wonder if that is normal?

I was tense with nerves, and my ear tufts lay flat against my head in nervousness as I leaned towards the berry. Just as I had feared, I couldn't quite reach it, but I had come too far to go back at this point when the berry was just out of my reach. I moved my right leg up and slowly inched forward while moving my right hand another small step. I was ready to bolt if he so much as twitched.

My eyes were on the berry, but I saw a small bag containing a dozen berries on the seat beside him. I thought fast; was there any way that I could get that bag? I was sure he would block me if he thought I planned on grabbing it.

Now all of my feet were on his legs, and I could feel the heat of his body radiating from his chest and legs. I was close enough to grab the berry in his hand now and slowly picked it up in my jaws as I carefully turned around on his right leg.

I noticed that he was barely breathing to avoid spooking me. I somehow suspect that he doubted I would actually get this close considering my behavior in the past. I could really mess with any test results given my bipolar actions.

I jumped towards the cage and heard the quiet sounds of surprise from the Kymari. I had made sure to not dig in my claws, but they had been watching my claws and head, as well as where I was headed. They hadn’t expected me to hook my tail through the handle of the bag when I had jumped. I now had both the berry that he had taunted me with as well as the bag of berries. I had never had more than three sunburst berries in a day before.

I was ecstatic.

I heard the two guests start chuckling as I curled up under the heat lamp and started to nibble on a berry. The unnamed Kymari was finding it particularly hilarious as he told Taureen, “You are going to have to start doing a better job at securing the treats.”

Taureen also seemed amused. “I didn’t think that she would even step foot out of the cage while we were here, and I certainly didn’t expect that she would actually stand on my legs or grab the bag of berries. I’m also quite surprised that I don’t have any scratches from her claws.”

Apparently, he hadn’t thought that one through. My wing was throbbing from the jouncing of my jump, but I figured that it was a small price to pay for an entire bag of sunburst berries. The Kymari lost their focus on me, and their talk turned to matters within the city once again.

They left the door open, but I ignored it. I had my berries.

In the end, I decided to save half of the berries, carefully wedging the remaining berries under a fold in the cloth before tossing the bag out of the open door. I curled up and relaxed as they discussed how their friends and family were doing.

After a while, all of them left, and I blinked as I regarded the open door of the cage. Okay, I know they are aware that the door is open. Now what are they up to? Curiosity ate at me though, could there be something around the room that could help me plan my escape?

I slowly eased out of the cage as I kept an ear on the door. If I heard it open, I was running back to the dubious safety of the cage. The end table was fairly low since it was about the same height as the couch cushions, but it was probably a three-foot drop.

I carefully dropped down to the floor, wincing as my landing made the pain in my wing flare up. After waiting a few moments for the pain to subside, I started exploring. Just as I had noted before, there was truly nothing to hide under or behind.

The three other doors were closed. I eyed up the window, but with my wing out of order, there was no easy way to get up and a jump that high would jar it something fierce. I didn’t see anything to operate the semi-opaque blind covering it either. I shook my head and decided to call an end to my wandering before they returned.

I napped for a bit before Taureen returned. He closed the cage door before dimming the lights to a very low level. He went into one of the back rooms, and I saw a dresser before he closed the door behind himself. That would be his bedroom then.

I examined the door without moving. I’m not sure what you are up to buddy, but I’m not buying it. The door was slightly ajar, and I could have pushed it open if I chose to. He knew that he had left it so.

I pretended that I didn’t notice – it wasn’t like I could fly anyway. Perhaps he would begin to assume how I would behave, and when my wing had healed, I could slip out without him noticing immediately. I didn’t even bother thinking the words careless or sloppy – such words didn’t apply to the Kymari race. Almost all of their actions were deliberate and thought out.