I woke up in the same almost-tingly state as the night before. The pain was a bit more noticeable, but still a distant thing that I had to concentrate on to really notice. I was glad for that, since what I had seen of my wings and leg made me think I should probably be in a lot of pain.
The cloth over the cage had been removed at some point while I was asleep. I took a look around the room, frowning as I did.
Wherever this was, it was obviously not a veterinarian clinic. Or if it was, I had been put in the lobby instead of a recovery room. My cage was sitting on a small end table of some kind and had been placed next to a window on one wall, close enough that I could cover the distance in a short hop, though the window was covered by a shade at the moment. I hoped the window faced towards the east and that the horizon beyond wouldn't be blocked by other buildings - it would be nice to get to see the sun rise. The shade looked bright enough to suggest the sun was up outside, but the light from inside the room was artificial and seemed to be coming from fixtures in the ceiling and in the corners.
There was a large couch in the center of the room, though the couch lacked any armrests. A coffee table rested in front of the couch, and a larger piece of furniture served as a stand for a thin television-like screen. A flower pot rested in the corner opposite the window, though the plant - the encyclopedia in my head informed me it was a plant from some alien planet and would produce a pleasant smell when it was in bloom - seemed to be drooping a little, and the soil in the pot looked dry. An end table with a lamp was in the corner opposite of me, similar to the one my cage was resting on. There were a few loose boxes resting on the end table beside my cage, but I couldn't make out what was inside them.
Three doors led into the room. Two were opened and seemed to lead into hallways, though I couldn't get a good enough angle to see what they might lead to. The encyclopedia in my head seemed to suggest I could find either the dining room and the kitchen or the bedrooms and bathrooms beyond them, though I wasn't sure which door led to which. The closed door was on the same wall as the window, so I assumed it led outside.
The brief thought of a bathroom made me realize I hadn't used one in a while. I glanced around the room again and confirmed it was empty, then wobbled over to the tray of red dirt to take care of that problem.
I limped over to the food dish after I finished burying the evidence in the tray of dirt, and sniffed at the pair of bowls. The dried mangos had been swapped out at some point while I was sleeping, but the replacement fruit was similarly dried, and there were still bits of fish sprinkled in among the dried fruit. I gave an unhappy snort at that. It was a clever trick - if I had been left fresh fruit to eat, I might not be thirsty enough to drink the water. But this food would leave my mouth dry, which would push me to drink more of the painkillers. Even the chunks of fish seemed a little drier than I expected, though I still had no interest in eating them.
I sat beside the bowl and slowly nibbled on the fruit slices, eating at a slow pace to try and keep the dryness of the fruit from overwhelming my thirsty mouth. It helped a little, though I was still thirsty after I finished eating.
The tingly feeling was still taking the edge off most of the pain, though, and the thirst wasn't so bad that I was willing to knock myself out to take care of it. I did my best to ignore it for the moment.
I glanced back over my body and noticed that the bandages on my wings looked different - they must have been replaced while I was sleeping, when the food had been changed - but otherwise I was in the same sorry state. The light was bright enough now to tell that the gleaming smears on my wing were not blood, but instead some sort of clear gunk that had been slathered over my scales.
That took away some of my worry. I wasn't actively bleeding under the bandages; whoever was taking care of me had just applied the Kymari equivalent of Neosporin to my wounds. I did get the sense of an itch somewhere beyond the tingly haze, but it wasn't serious enough to risk nudging the bandages out of place. I ate a few more slices of the strange fruit until my stomach stopped rumbling, then limped back to the bowl of sand to sprawl out in its pleasant warmth.
The heat lamp buzzed lightly behind me as I thrummed in satisfaction. I glanced back out over the room and thought about the furnishings. Okay, so I wasn't in a veterinary clinic. This looked more like a small home. It lacked any personal mementos like photos or wall hangings, so I got the impression I was in some sort of standard apartment building, and the varying scents of Kymari seemed to underscore that impression. The older scents seemed different from the fresher ones, as if somebody else had lived here for a few months and then moved out for whoever the current resident was.
For some reason I got the impression that one of those bright orange berries must be nearby, but I couldn't see any. I pushed that feeling away after a few seconds of searching.
Maybe the doctor or one of the nurses had brought me home with them, so as to make sure I had constant attention. I was pretty badly hurt, judging by all the splints and bandages I was covered in, and I remembered the voice saying that they weren't sure I would make it. Instead of leaving me alone overnight until they opened back up in the morning, they might have felt the need to keep me where any problems could be spotted immediately.
I eyed the plant in the corner again. Hopefully whoever brought me home pays better attention to me than they do their plants.
I basked in the faint warmth of the heat lamp and the sand and zoned out for a bit. There wasn't much to do inside the cage, and the fuzzy feeling didn't leave me with much desire to do anything anyways. I was too well rested to fall back asleep, so instead I just watched the room as the day wore on.
The room remained empty.
I frowned as the hours passed. This didn't make any sense. Why would I have been brought back to somebody's house if not for them to keep a closer eye on me? And if they were supposed to keep a closer eye on me, why weren't they keeping a close eye on me?
The fuzzy feeling faded more and more, and the pain and itching grew stronger. I let out miserable warbles as more time passed and the pain became more intense. Ow...
I glanced back at the water again and sighed. I didn't really want to drug myself back into the hazy stupor, but my wings and leg hurt. I climbed out of the sand - ow - and rested on the glass floor for another moment to recover from the throbbing pain that even those simple motions had sent back through me.
A soft 'ding' filled the room and I spotted movement at the closed door. It split apart, with each of the halves sliding open, and I had a vague glimpse of a walkway stretching off in the direction opposite the window, with a railing around it that ended near the door. I blinked against the brighter light outside as a Kymari walked into the room.
No, not just a Kymari.
It was her.
Her face was exactly like I remembered.
I hissed as she walked to the couch, which caused her to stop and glance back at me with a surprised expression. "Oh good, you're awake." She dropped the bag at her side on the couch and walked towards me.
I hissed louder and backed away from her, stopping only when I reached the corner. I tried to spread my wings so as to be more intimidating, but the bands and splints still kept them firmly in place. I settled for hissing louder.
The Kymari hesitated in the middle of the room, and I saw something flicker across her face. Anger? Frustration? I wasn't sure, and it vanished almost the instant it appeared. She took a step back and started speaking in a soft, calm voice.
"Sorry I'm late, but we had an emergency call I had to cover. Your wings must really be itching by now, but I can go ahead and swap out the bandages for you. Senica said they were growing back nicely. It'll probably just be another day or two, and then we can get your wings in a real cast, which should help you out with the pain."
The Kymari walked slowly closer to the cage as she spoke in her soothing tones, but I didn't fall for it. She reached for the door of the cage and I glanced around me again, searching furiously for some form of cover I might have missed. The only option with any hope at all was the blanket, but aside from making me feel better I didn't think it would offer any real protection.
She fiddled with the latch and opened the door, then reached towards me. "It'll just take a second, and then you'll fee-OW!"
I grinned around the finger I had just sunk my teeth deep into.
She jerked, and I felt a wave of pain go through my side as her hand tugged me across the cage. She shook the hand and I let go, giving out a startled warble of pain as my right side thumped against the glass floor.
My vision went fuzzy, and I just lay there for a moment, stunned.
"I probably deserved that." I was vaguely aware of the Kymari doing something on the edge of my vision, but it was outside the cage so I didn't pay it much attention. The throbbing pain was much more of a pressing concern. I gradually became aware that she had opened one of the boxes that had been resting on the end table beside the cage, but I didn't catch what she had done with it.
The hand reached back into the cage and I began hissing again. I tried to get up and crawl further into the corner, but the pain was too much to focus through. The hand got closer... so I lunged forward and bit it again.
The hand didn't move this time, so I just kept sinking my teeth in. An unpleasant taste of blood and flesh filled my mouth, along with a strange metallic taste that seemed vaguely familiar...
The hand stayed right where it was, and I started to feel awkward. I wasn't sure what to do - she wasn't moving away, and my jaw was beginning to get sore. Though, oddly enough, the soreness in my jaw began to fade as I thought about it.
In fact, most of the pain in my body had started to fade.
Wait a minute...
I hissed louder and glanced away from the green hand I had clamped onto, looking up at the Kymari's face instead. She was just watching me with a patient expression, as if I hadn't been sinking sharp teeth into her.
More of the pain began to fade... and... what was I doing, again? I was biting something, but it was so much effort to do... it'd be easier to just let go. The floor felt nice underneath me, and it would be nice to slink down against it. Everything would be nice then. Everything already was nice.
I let go of the hand and wobbled down to the floor. The hand moved, and I caught sight of something clear gleaming around the blood pooling out of the wound I had left... but it was too hard to focus on.
Good grief, that stuff works fast.
The Kymari must have covered her hand in whatever medication had been slipped into the water. I wanted to be mad at her - really, really wanted to - but... the glass wall in front of me was so neat. The light kind of glimmered off of it, and it was just so fascinating...
I felt the Kymari's hand scoop under my body and lift me up. I let out a disappointed whine as the glass wall fell out of my field of vision, but my body felt so warm and fuzzy, and it would just be too much effort to try and tilt my head to find it again. I hung limply in the Kymari's hand as she carried me across the room.
I think she settled down on the couch and put me in her lap, but I really wasn't sure.
"Sorry about that. But we need to change those bandages. The medicine is working beautifully and your wing was almost done growing back the last time I looked, but it is probably still going to need another treatment or two. If you don't get them, you might not be able to fly again."
I was dimly aware of the Kymari poking at my wing, and I felt the soft pressure of the bandages unravel. I had the strange thought that I should be upset, and that I should try and stop her from touching me. But... the screen across the room just looked so pretty...
The voice somewhere above me sounded happier. "This looks much better. This may be the last treatment you need; I'll tell Senica you're about ready for another checkup." Something cool pressed against my left wing and added to the pleasant fuzzy sensation. I felt myself start to thrum in response to it.
I stared at the screen and tried to figure out what the dancing reflections were. The hand kept prodding and shifting the edge of my wing, and only paused when a gentle chime rang through the room.
"Come in.'
I heard the soft 'ding' from when the door had opened before, then another voice spoke up somewhere above me.
"Minna, tell me you did not do what I think you did."
"Hello Arlia." I felt myself lifted upwards into the air as the hand beneath me rose upwards. Wheeeee. I felt the instinct to spread out my wings... but that would take too much effort. Oh, and the bands were probably still there.
"You did." The other voice sounded excited, and I heard shuffling as somebody moved to sit on the couch. "What were you thinking?! You said you were just going to keep an eye on it and leave it some of those berries, not that you were going to kidnap it!"
I sank downwards as the hand lowered me back into the Kymari's lap. There was more prodding at my wing, and I was vaguely aware of another female Kymari sitting on the couch... but the screen was back in my vision again, and the reflections...
"I didn't kidnap it! And this one is a he, by the way, according to the doctor. I was just keeping an eye on him, and then he got attacked by one of those large birds. What was I supposed to do, let the bird eat him? He would be dead right now if I hadn't chased the bird off."
"But why did that mean he needed to come here?"
The hand shifted underneath me and I tilted to one side. "He was bleeding from his neck, missing a large chunk of his wing, and he had just hit the water hard. Just look at him - he has three shattered ribs, his back leg is ruined, and neither of his wings work. If I hadn't brought him back with me he would have bled out at the very least."
There was silence for a moment. I felt the hand pressing more of the goop onto my wing.
"Is it true they had to fly somebody in to help?"
"Senica. She's the only vet that's had any real experience with treating fire lizards. He probably wouldn't have made it without her. She still wants to be involved in his recovery; she left me her number for his next few checkups, and in case anything changes."
"The Elders are not going to be happy..."
The voice above me took on an indignant tone. "I didn't do anything wrong. The rules are clear; we're supposed to leave them alone, but if one gets hurt or is abandoned then we can step in and try to help it. We're encouraged to do that, actually. He got hurt, so I'm helping."
"But not this one! You know this is going to cause problems." The new voice broke off, then sounded concerned. "Is he supposed to look like that?"
"It's a medicine the vet gave me. It helps him with the pain and will keep him calm; I mixed it in with his water."
"What happened to your hand? Are you bleeding?"
There was a pause, then a guilty tone. "...he wasn't thirsty."
"Minna..."
"I'm fine, really. It's just a few scratches; I'll take care of it once I'm done."
There was a heavy sigh, then some shuffling as the other Kymari - Senica? No, that was somebody else... those reflections looked so neat... Arlia! That was the name. Arlia got up, and I heard her footsteps moving off somewhere.
There was a soft pressure against my wing, only barely noticeable through all the warm tingling feeling, then I felt the hands pick me up and shift me to rest on the Kymari's leg. I stared at the reflections flickering over the screen for a little longer until I saw Arlia walk back in from the corner of my eye.
I was vaguely aware of Arlia taking a bandage and putting it on the first Kymari's hand. "This looks like more than just a scratch."
"It looks worse than it is."
"Uh-huh." The hands worked somewhere above me for a bit more while I stared at the screen. "There. Now you don't have to get up."
"Thank you."
An awkward silence settled before Arlia spoke up again. "I always liked the way the purple ones looked, but up close like this he is kind of cute. Not really gray like I thought. More of a silver color. Is he going to bite me too if I try to touch him?"
"Not while he's like this. This might be the only chance you have." I felt the hand return and shift me a little closer to Arlia. "I think he likes having his neck stroked. I did that some when I brought him back from the vet, and he made this rumbling sound. What I've read from the bond handlers' notes suggests they do that when they're happy."
A warm hand settled over my head and stroked slowly along the back of my neck. I felt the gentle thrumming start up in my chest again. The soft fingers brushed over my scales a few more times before Arlia spoke again.
"The scales are smoother than I imagined they would be." Another stroke. "What are you going to do? The Elders will not be happy about him staying with anybody."
"The Elders can be unhappy then."
"Minna!" The voice sounded shocked. The stroking stopped, and the warm fingers moved away.
"I mean it." The hands slipped under me and scooped me up into the air. The world spun around me, and then the warm sand was underneath me again. "I owe him, Arlia." I stared blankly at the glass pane in front of me, vaguely aware of the hand moving over the latch mechanism on the outside.
The hand pulled out of my view, and a moment later the cloth slipped around my cage and blocked out the view of the room. "Let's go out for a bit. Senica said he's going to need plenty of rest, so we probably should give him some peace and quiet."
There was a sigh somewhere beyond the cloth, followed by some shuffling, then the soft 'ding' of the door opening.
The room grew quiet.
I stared at the fascinating glass while time passed, until at some point I finally drifted off to sleep.