Lost Change

Chapter 29

Four days later I stared blankly out at the wall behind the cage.

I had stopped taking the painkillers - I had continued taking it when the pain was too much to bear, but it had gotten steadily better since the casts had been put on, and even without the medicine all the pain had dulled to a faint soreness.  I had made it through yesterday without needing even a single sip from the medicated bowl.

Instead, my lethargy came from a complete lack of desire to do anything.  It had gotten worse as the days went on - the first day I had been active enough to wander around the cage and rearrange things to conceal the back corner a little better, and the second day I had still managed to hiss at the Kymari when she came to refill the bowls with food and water... but after that it was just too much effort to do anything.  Unless I was hungry, I just lay on the blanket and stared out at the room.  Even growling out warnings took too much energy, unless she actively tried to touch me.

The Kymari was out most of the day and part of the evening during those days, and I think Arlia had come by at some point to watch a movie, but she had still managed to notice the decline in my behavior.  She had snuck some of the orange berries in with the dried fruits she put in my bowl - she hadn't put any more fish back in the dish, thankfully, which significantly improved the taste of the fruits - and that had helped a little bit yesterday... but today I was so drained that two of the berries sat untouched in the bowl of dried mangos.

She had been on the phone with Senica earlier, but I had barely paid any attention.  They seemed to come to the conclusion that the cast had to come off, and Senica had said it was something the local vet should be able to handle sometime today, but I wasn't sure how that would help.  I had been more energetic before they had been put on, but it wasn't like I had been able to move my wings any more than I could now.  Taking the cast off didn't seem like it would do too much.

I continued to stare at the window...  until I heard the cage door open.  I ignored it, thinking it was just the Kymari swapping out my water or cleaning the tray of dirt.  I jerked in surprise when I felt a hand cover me, though, and I bent my neck back with a hiss to bite at the offending hand...

A metallic taste blended in with the alien taste of skin and blood.  I had enough energy to glare up at her...  then the fuzzy feeling overcame me.  I let go of her hand and leaned heavily to the side, feeling my focus wander.  I had a half-hearted thought of maybe trying to find a wall to stare at... but... it seemed easier to just ignore the world, and go to sleep...

When I woke up... something was different.  I could feel an urgency, a growing tension in my body that demanded attention.

It was dark around me.  I was back in the cage, laying in the bowl of sand... but the cloth cover wasn't over the cage tonight.  I stood up in the warm sand, trying to understand what was different.

The cast on my hind leg was gone.

I stared at it when I noticed how much easier it was to move.  My leg was still very sore...  but the awkward weight of the cast was gone, and I could move it easily again.  My scales even seemed a little cleaner where the cast had been, as if I had spent extra time cleaning them.

I was sure I hadn't done that, though.  Maybe the Kymari had.  The idea that she had been touching me while I was asleep wasn't a pleasant one... but... it was nice to see my scales shining like that.

The tension grew in me, and I turned my thoughts back to that.  The heat lamp had been turned off, but there was still a soft glow coming from...  coming from the window.

The shade had been lifted away!

I tried to move my wings in spite of myself as I realized what was happening.  I checked - yes!  The cage door had been left open!

I leapt out of the bowl of sand and slipped out of the cage, slowing down as I felt a sharp pain from my back leg.  Even though the cast was gone, my leg clearly was not yet up to the task of supporting much weight.  That was going to be a problem.  I had a clear view of the window from inside the cage, so I didn't have to leave it... but the call pulled me closer, driving me to get as close as I could.

My leg didn't seem like it would be able to handle supporting my weight long enough for a proper jump, so I spent a moment leaning awkwardly over the small gap between the end table and the windowsill.  It took a few attempts and some creative positioning, but I finally managed to just barely reach the small ledge.  I dug my claws into the ledge and swung over, then used my good leg to claw my way up the wall until I was perched before the window.

The small ledge was just barely big enough for me, and I had to lean heavily against the window just to fit... but I probably would have done that anyways.  I pressed my nose against the glass and stared out into the pre-dawn city beyond me.

I stared out at the soft orange glow on the horizon.

I felt it when the first rays of light broke into the sky, and I cried out in a delighted trill of greeting.  My wings ached to beat, begged to flap and bring me into a wondrous dance of greeting... and it saddened me to know that I couldn't.  I added that sadness into my next notes, calling out my disappointment at not being able to leap into the air and join the first rays of light in soaring through the sky.

But the sun didn't mind.

The rising sun responded to my sorrow by simply filling the world with more light.  My sad notes were a part of the world, but were not the end of the story.  The light reached through the window to reflect off my scales anyways, not caring if it had to go a little further so long as it reached me in the end.  It filled me with warmth and with happiness, and my sorrowful notes grew brighter and stronger, until they reverberated around me with joy and life.

The sun broke the horizon and filled the world with its presence.

I gave voice to its greeting and filled the room with my own.

The new day began.

I swayed as the last echoes of the Morning Song fell away, and stared out at the city beyond the window.  I hadn't seen it before now, but I thought I had an idea of where I was.  I was deep in the city, but I thought I could make out the trees of my forest home in the far distance.  A few Kymari were already walking through the streets, and I saw other strange objects drifting along.  The Kymari seemed to ignore them, though every now and then I would notice one of the odd things pick up leaves that had scattered into the street, or clip some of the grass that looked to be a little too tall.

Robots, then.  Maintenance of some kind.

I hoped the window would be left open going forward.  It would be nice to have something to watch.  And it would be nice to be able to sing for the dawn again.

I heard a sound behind me, and I glanced over my shoulder.

The Kymari was sitting on the couch and was pointing a rectangular device towards me.  The same type of device I had gotten used to seeing over the past few months out in the forest - the Kymari's version of a camera.  She must have been recording my song.

I hissed at her out of habit... and... regretted it.  The angry sound felt wrong, somehow, horribly out of place after the sweet chirps and whistles I had just filled the room with.  I felt my ear tufts drop to tickle the scales at my neck, and I looked away from her, turning back to the cage instead.

There are two sunburst berries in the food dish!

I went wide-eyed and carefully clawed my way back to the end table, forgetting all about the Kymari watching me as I crossed the small gap and hobbled back into the cage.  I let out a happy trill and bit into the delicious treat.  "Yum!"

The Kymari giggled at me from the couch.  Let her - it was a new day.  And I had another whole sunburst berry left.