"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."
I swallowed the last bite of the apple, then took the peach from her hand. The slippery fruit took a bit of concentration to hold on to, but I managed. I was still glad to have them fresh, even if they took more work.
"On that subject... I... am not certain their techniques will be worth the results. I've started noticing some other behaviors in him that I believe may be signs of trauma. During a recent check up at the veterinarian clinic he became terrified of the scanner; the doctor said it's not unusual for the machine to agitate animals and for them to need to be strapped down, but this was... different. I've never seen him like that. That was more than just being bothered by a strange noise; I honestly think he thought he was about to die. It's the only time I've ever seen him move while being on those sedatives. Usually he just lays wherever he ends up and stares at whatever happens to be in front of him; he can barely even eat unless I help feed him. But when the scanner came on he started to panic and tried to limp away from it. The doctor said his heart was racing, and he was taking a lot of quick, shallow breaths. I can't begin to imagine how terrified he must have been for it to overcome that medication and still terrify him."
She was quiet for a moment while I continued fighting with the slippery fruit.
"He's also... his morning singing is different from that of the other fire lizards. There are points where he pauses slightly and has a little gap in his singing. Before today I thought it was just a result of his injuries, and that he was having trouble getting enough air to sing for the full duration. But while we were out walking we came across a musician at the market. He sang along with the music for hours, and I don't think I ever saw him pause or get out of breath once he had learned the tune. Since his injuries aren't impacting his ability to sing, something else must be the cause of those gaps in his singing each morning."
I finished the peach... and an equally slippery mango slice replaced it.
"I am wondering if the humans had some method of taming the fire lizards that traumatized them. I hope I'm wrong, but... primitive species are known to do such things. I worry their technique may have involved using some sort of machine to terrify the creatures, after which a human came to protect and comfort them. It could be a quick way to force a bond with a helpless creature, especially if the creature was young and separated from its parents."
"I'm sure I'm reading too far into a simple fear of loud noises... but..." She sighed and watched me chew through the mango, then handed me another juicy peach. "Those parts of his song just feel so hurt. If he's not just sad at running out of breath during his singing, then there must be something else behind it. I went back today and listened to recordings taken of him from before his injuries, and all the ones I could find of his sunrise dances have those same sad tones in them."
"I've listened to the recordings of other fire lizards and I haven't been able to find an example of another one making sounds like his during their morning songs. I fear the humans may have hurt him so badly that it left a mark on his instinctive singing."
I tried not to close my eyes at that. She wasn't completely wrong... just wrong about who was responsible.
"On a happier note, he is growing used to me. He's accepted being hand fed and tolerates some petting, as I mentioned; he also allows me to wash him, but doesn't seem as interested in being cleaned as often as the wild fire lizards have shown, with a day or two going by before he shows any interest in the water. I think he might be using his water bowl to get clean in some way that I haven't been able to catch; there have been a few times I've noticed that his scales are wet even though I hadn't cleaned him recently. I haven't read anything about that type of behavior in anyone's notes, but it's possible that this is another learned behavior from other animals the humans kept, or possibly even a trick he was taught by the humans themselves."
I grinned around the mango I was struggling with. Heh. So she hadn't figured out I was using the sink in her bathroom. Probably for the best - if she did, she'd probably find some way to keep me from using it, so I would be forced to go to her to stay clean.
"He isn't exactly happy with his harness, but he has come to tolerate it. He was very against the idea of wearing the thing at first - he slashed my arm badly enough that I had to go to the hospital for help, not to mention the dozens of other bites and scratches he gave me. When I did get it on him he reacted differently from the other fire lizards; so far all of them have tried to destroy the harness or find some way out of it, but he just went limp and cried at the other fire lizard present. I'm including some of the video and audio of that. Don't worry; he isn't actually hurt, despite how it sounds."
"Aside from distressing the other fire lizard that was there, the harness did not cause any harm. Trenil and I believe it is just an act, possibly one picked up from another animal the humans kept as pets, with the purpose being to get a concerned caretaker to intervene and take the harness off of him. Ivy was very upset by the display and tried to get him out of it several times, and I have to admit that Trenil and I were fooled several times into taking it off of him. Trenil's fire lizard eventually became so distressed that she attacked him, which caused him to flee; at that point we realized he was fine. That video is particularly hilarious; he stares right at us and you can almost see him thinking he's been caught. It's the kind of thing I would expect from Lyzel or another child. It was cute."
"I followed Trenil's advice and just left him in the harness like we've done with the other fire lizards, and he finally stopped pretending. He tried once or twice in isolated incidents before we went on a walk, but he gave up almost immediately after I walked away from him. He cooperated enough to allow me to take him on a walk today, and I think he'll come to fully accept wearing it soon if we keep it up."
I shot a sidelong glance towards the door, where the harness was hanging from a flimsy hook stuck against the wall. Don't bet on it. At least she wasn't making me wear the blasted thing full time, though.
I swallowed the remaining bit of peach, then reached up to take the... oh, come on, another mango? My hands were slick with fruit juice, but I managed to keep hold of the slice.
"He seemed to enjoy getting outside and was eager to explore, and was able to track down a vendor selling shia fruit while we were still some distance away. As I mentioned earlier we encountered a musician there, and he seemed to enjoy singing along with him. I haven't been able to find anything in any of the other notes about the fire lizards reacting to music, so it may be something unique to him, but I'm also not sure if anyone has tried playing music for them before. The music had a definite calming effect on him and he seemed to really enjoy singing along with it, so it may have some benefit in attracting and taming other fire lizards. I've never been particularly good with an instrument but will try out some recordings before the next report to see if he has any preferences. It might be fun to play along with his singing one day." She hesitated. "It was very pretty to listen to."
She handed me a slice of peach, and I stared at it for a few seconds. What was this, did she just slice up nothing but peaches and mangos for this bowl? My hands felt slippier than when I was holding a fish; this was getting ridiculous. I huffed in annoyance and took the peach from her.
"A lot of other people seemed to think so too." She sighed. "Everybody was recording us. I must have been caught on dozens of videos. I just hope my parents don't get bored and decide to browse through videos of colony worlds. I've told them I'm taking care of a wounded animal, but... they wouldn't be happy. They've been planning all sorts of things to do when my apprenticeship is over, and have hinted at a few transport companies back home that are in need of a good pilot. They're ready for me to come home."
The Kymari grew quiet and looked down at me. I finished up the slice and glanced at her hand, but it was empty. I took the opportunity to lick my hands clean, but when I finished her hand was still empty. I glanced up at her and saw her glancing down at me. Her eyes were a little unfocused, like she was distracted with something else.
I chirped up at her, and she shook her head slightly before reaching into the container. "Sorry." She pulled out an apple slice - finally, something that wouldn't try squirming out of my hands - and passed it over to me.
I started nibbling on it... then stiffened as I felt her other hand on my back. She stroked slowly along my back once, then one more time. I tensed up and prepared to hiss at her, but she pulled her hand away before I could. I snorted lightly and went back to chewing on the slice.
She watched me for another long moment before she spoke again. "It's been very nice to hear him sing each morning. More and more I've been looking forward to work ending and getting home to see him each evening, and overall... I think I've enjoyed my time with him so far. I'm still certain he won't want anything to do with me once he's better and has the chance to go back into the wild, and I know how much trouble I would be in if he did stay with me, and before now I've always been doing this with the idea that I would release him and leave once he was healthy again... but..." She trailed off again and just watched me. "Now I kind of hope that he stays. Even with all the trouble it would cause." She hesitated again and shook her head. "I'm going to miss him."
Another peach found its way into her hand and I all but rolled my eyes as I took it. Maybe she was giving me slimier fruits on purpose, all so I would need a bath.
"End of weekly report." She reached over to the tablet and tapped a button on it. It made a 'beep', and she turned back to watch me continue eating.