Lost Change

Chapter 46

"Weekly report. End of week two." The Kymari passed me the pineapple slice as she spoke, and I stood up on her leg and nibbled on it. "Trenil's suggestions appear to be working."

"The fire lizard definitely enjoys the pineapple fruit and the shia fruits, as we expected he would. Unlike what I expected, he has not tried to bite me while I was feeding him. I've stopped coating my hand in the sedatives for meals."

I thought about biting her right then and there just because... but she would know I had done it on purpose because she had said something. So would anybody who heard her say 'ouch' in the recording. It would have been a lot of fun... but I had promised Ivy I wouldn't give away the secret.

Oh well. I would just try to remember to bite her during breakfast tomorrow - after all, I had been right about her using the sedative to protect herself against me. Now that she was stopping, I could bite her any time I wanted.

I eyed the hand fishing out another piece of fruit from the container for me. Yeah. Any time that I wanted. I just... didn't want to quite so much lately...

"Physically, he seems to be recovering like the doctors expected. The brace on his side came off this week and he seems to be adjusting well without it. I can tell his leg still bothers him a little - I'll catch him stopping in the middle of moving around to stretch out and rest for a few minutes, but those breaks have become a lot less frequent, and they are becoming shorter. He still spends most of the day resting under the heat lamp, though I was told that was expected, too. I think that's made things easier for both of us, since he doesn't get into trouble or suffer from boredom while I'm working."

She paused for a moment and glanced out the window. "I've taken him on one walk so far and let him look around, but he didn't seem interested in anything beyond what the other fire lizards have gone after. If there is some plant or nutrient that is responsible for their flock only being found in the southern city, it doesn't seem like it grows here. Though if it is something they only need at certain points in their life cycle, such as when raising young, he may not show any interest in it even if it is growing here. Either way, I haven't learned anything useful in that regard."

I finished off the pineapple slice and took the next piece of fruit from her hand. I had no idea what that meant - I had survived for eight years up here. I was obviously getting all the nutrients I needed. Most of which were delicious.

"As far as socially, that's harder to say. He does seem to be much more comfortable around Kymari than the other fire lizards tend to be. In small settings for limited periods he seems to be fine - he enjoys playing games with my niece and brother, tolerates the presence of my friend Arlia, and will accept food from me without complaint. He is even starting to allow me to pet him in certain situations. But there do seem to be limits to his comfort. When I took him through the city we ended up surrounded by a group of Kymari, which caused him to become visibly agitated. His posture became defensive and he began growling, which makes for the first time I think I've seen him hiss at anyone other than me."

She passed me a slice of an apple and I started in on it.

"The only explanation I have for his difference in behavior is my belief that he was raised among humans. Exposure at a young enough age may have led to him considering creatures like humans and Kymari to simply be part of his 'flock'. If that is the case then it might be easier to attract the younger fire lizards to us. Another possibility is that the fire lizards 'imprint' on the creatures around them when they first hatch. If that is the case, then it may mean the only way for us to truly 'domesticate' these creatures will be to separate them from their parents while they are still in their egg, and instead have a Kymari raise the hatchlings." She paused for a moment, and I felt her gaze settle back on me before she continued with a heavier tone. "The final possibility is that the humans had some training techniques for them that we do not."