I sulked under my heat lamp. How many more weeks would it be until my wing was healed? I had no idea; I knew that a human arm took about six weeks, but that was my only basis. I missed the feeling of the air passing over my scales in flight, not to mention that I was itchy and hadn’t had a decent bath since arriving here.

I missed the Morning Song dreadfully. I was dejected and put out. Was this what depression felt like? It was like I had no reason to get up; no hope or bright spot in my day.

I glanced over as Taureen entered the room before ignoring him. Lately, I didn’t even have the ambition to hiss at him unless he touched the cage. Over the last five days, he had sat on the couch and tried to lure me like he had the first time. The first few times the berries had successfully tempted me out of the cage.

He once more sat and held three berries just outside the open door, hoping to lure me over. Here kitty, kitty... I knew what he was doing but was determined to not show much progress. I was hoping to be considered a lost cause and released into the wild.

I had successfully ignored him and the berries the last two days. Truth be told, it was more my gloomy state of mind rather than determination. Taureen had even increased the reward to three berries, but I was so dejected that my favorite treat didn’t even tempt me. I mostly sulked under the heat lamp.

I blinked in surprise as I noticed that the window blind had finally been raised. This window faced east... I could see the reds and oranges of the approaching sunrise. The sight of the sky had my attention as I felt the sun start to peek above the horizon. I could feel it in my bones.

I rose and padded out of the cage, not bothering to go slowly or cautiously. If Taureen had meant me harm, he wouldn’t be going through the numerous attempts at taming me on a daily basis, nor would he have put my wing in cast so it could heal. I ignored him and the berries as I jumped to the floor.

A glance back showed that he was watching me with confusion. I had always used extreme caution whenever so much as approaching the door. For me to pass by him like he was a fly on the wall, and to ignore the berries that I had worked so hard for the first day, had him very confused.

He had never seen me explore the room before either, so this was completely opposite of the behavior he had witnessed so far. I walked straight towards the window, only now realizing just how much higher the window sill was than the end table.

I wasn’t entirely sure I could jump that high with my wing in a cast, but the sun continued to call me, compelling me to attempt it anyway. I crouched down before jumping; my wing protested the sudden movement, but I made it up on the window sill.

I slowly sat down, remaining as still as a statue as I watched the sun’s rays start to peer over the horizon. I felt the old desire rise within me; the Song was bubbling up as the time for the Morning Song drew nearer.

Flight was out of the question with my injured wing, but I shifted my wings restlessly anyways. The knowledge that I couldn’t fly was killing me, and I started pacing as the drive built higher.

I knew the instant that it was time for the Morning Song to start. As the silent cue rippled through me, I rose up on my hind quarters as I folded my wings against my back. I stretched my neck up high as I started to sing softly, following the build and shift that was the silent conductor of both the dance and the song. Joy rose once more as I participated in the Morning Song.

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I couldn’t dance... but I could still sing. My song got louder and more intricate. My good wing flared in my desire to dance for the sun, but the bindings prevented my injured wing from doing anything other than shifting slightly. Even the attempt was painful.

I half-furled my good wing as an attempt at a compromise, putting my energy into my voice since flying wasn’t an option. My voice rose and dipped with various noises in the elaborate Morning Song.

The sun cleared the horizon, and my song trailed off into silence. My lethargy and depression had disappeared. My heart was re-energized, and life once more felt like it was worth living. I was still frustrated that I was unable to fly and was more or less trapped, but it wasn’t nearly as bad now.

I dropped back to all fours to watch the sun for a few seconds before turning around. Taureen was still in his seat, holding a recording device. I shook myself off hard until my scales tinkled, earning an odd look from him. He must not have known that my scales could make that sound.

After carefully jumping down, I pretended to explore the room. I kept an eye on Taureen, although he just kept silently recording me. When I came to the center table, I stood up on my hind legs, and my neck was just long enough to let me peer over the edge of the mostly empty table.

Well, I am already out here, so why not? I dropped down before springing onto the low table and cautiously walked around most of the objects. Some were weapons, along with the supplies to clean and sharpen them. One was their equivalent of a laptop.

A different object in the middle had my attention though – it was a large bowl of sand with a detailed design traced into it.

I’m sure that it must be about time to change the design. The shallow bowl was large enough for me to stand in, so I stepped over the edge and dug my toes into the sand. The feeling of sand against my scales was one that I had really missed, and even just flexing my fingers and claws through it was relaxing.

I lay down in the sand before doing a few quick rolls to try and clean most of my scales. I only managed three rolls before the pain in my wing made me stop with a faint whine.

Using my hands, I rubbed the sand along my good wing, arms, stomach, sides, and tail. My arms were unable to reach my back though; it was one downside to this form. With a sigh, I stood up and shook myself off hard enough to earn a tinkling sound again.

I turned to watch Taureen as he slowly leaned forward to put a sunburst berry on the edge of the center table. He sat back and waited. I sat where I was in his decorative bowl of sand as I regarded him. I had always kept an eye on him, but I had never truly examined him before.

He was about the average size for a Kymari male. I was guessing that he was just over a century old, although it was tough to tell with this race since they had a lifespan that averaged about seven hundred years. I only saw two small scars, and both were on the same arm, tokens of some of the fights he had been in.

I was somewhat surprised to realize that his presence no longer caused me terror or even fear. I was still a bit uneasy and cautious, but that was about it. At some point, I had become accustomed to his presence. When did that happen?

I suspected most of it had occurred during the last few days of my depression when I had barely reacted to his presence. Another thought crossed my mind. He isn’t like the scientists... I was no longer in the lab. Any resemblance this place might have had in my mind during those first days had vaporized.

As similar as their observing natures were, there was a different air about them. The scientists had studied us in a cold, analytical fashion to find out what made us tick. Taureen watched with a curiosity that any animal lover would be familiar with.

I slowly stood up and walked towards the berry before picking it up. I backed up a bit before making a wide detour around him, dropping down to the floor before walking over to jump up on the end table. Once I was under the heat lamp, I finally began nibbling the berry. I hadn’t had a sunburst berry in three days, so I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Taureen switched off the recorder as he regarded me with a thoughtful expression.