Okay, this is... odd...
I peered out of the box that served as my makeshift den and stared at the carrier. The Kymari had woken up, gotten completely dressed, and then put the carrier down on the floor of the living room. It was in clear view of my den, and I could smell the scent of multiple sunburst berries inside it. If it was open I would have been tempted to try and run into it to retrieve them, despite knowing it was probably a trap, but with it closed I wasn't sure what was going on.
Also, it was still the middle of the night. There were at least several hours to go before sunrise.
I had no idea why she was awake now. The only reason I was awake was because I hadn't been sleeping that well anyways, and the sound of her stomping around was impossible to sleep through.
My Kymari walked into the kitchen again while I stared out from the shade of my den... then came back with a sunburst berry in her hand. She sat down next to the carrier and held it out for me.
"Ivy, are you awake?" I sent the question to the other dragonet. I felt an odd half-echo of my own words in reply, and the other dragonet was silent.
Was that what happened when you tried talking to somebody who's asleep? I would have to ask Ivy about that at some point to be sure, though I suspected I was right. It would be interesting to know if I could wake somebody up by pestering them with mindspeech, the way noise could wake somebody up, or if they weren't even 'hearing' my 'voice' at all to be disturbed by it in the first place. Oh well - questions for later.
At the moment I had a sunburst berry to figure out how to get. Preferably without something happening to me that I'd rather avoid.
I stared at the orange berry for another moment and tried to think it through. This could be a trick - or more specifically, an attempt to teach a trick. She hadn't really done anything like that so far, but I had a feeling it was coming. I had seen Ivy react to certain phrases a few times, so it was a good bet that Trenil had passed along some notes on how to 'train' one of us.
Still, why would this happen early in the morning? I knew my Kymari hated getting up early; what would be the sense of waking us both up and trying this while we were sleep deprived and grumpy? Especially since today was a work day for her - the last thing I would want when facing several hours at work would be to miss out on several hours of sleep. Especially not for something I could do later, without missing out on sleep.
It was still much too early for her to be trying to take my cast off; by my count I still had two weeks to go. I vaguely remembered the vet saying something about one of my wings healing faster than the other, but I didn't remember hearing anything mentioned about taking the cast for it off earlier. I doubted there would be any benefit to doing that while the other one was still healing. And certainly not in taking it off in the middle of the night. Why not at least wait until after the Morning Song?
Oh. Wait - Ivy had said something about that, hadn't she? When they were sticking me in that blasted harness. About my Kymari wanting to bring me out to Susie's grave. This must be a setup for that. Get me up early, lure me into the carrier, then bring me out there to greet the sunrise. That... was actually really nice of them. Especially since it looked like it was going to mean missing a lot of sleep that, given the tired and 'out of it' expression on my Kymari's face, she clearly needed.
Well. The least I could do was to not waste too much of her time. It would be nice to sing for Susie again. It had been too long since I had last done that... and I didn't like the idea of having to wait until I was released to be able to do it again. Maybe if I made it easy for her she would go out of her way to bring me to Susie's grave a few more times, too.
I slipped out of the den and crossed to the Kymari. I took the berry from her hand and started in on it - okay, this alone was worth waking up early for, these things were good - and tried not to laugh when she blinked and jerked in surprise. She must have been drifting off while waiting for me. The feel of me taking the berry had startled her, even though she should have seen me crossing the room.
I finished the berry and shook myself off, loosening my muscles and pushing away the sleepiness I still felt. I kept it light enough to avoid making the chiming sound with my scales - that would probably just cause my Kymari to fall asleep right there on the floor.
She stared at me for another moment, then slowly lifted her hand up and brought it to my back. I stiffened a little but didn't move. I still wasn't exactly used to her petting me, but... I had accepted that she was going to do it. And despite myself, I had to admit that it did feel nice.
Her hand stroked slowly over my back while I stared up at her. Once... twice... a third time... I stiffened and shifted on the floor, and she stopped and pulled her hand away. I might not be wasting effort actively attacking her every time she tried to touch me, but I still had my limits.
I walked over to the carrier and scratched at the door, then looked back at her. I made a show of sniffing the air and made it clear that I knew there were sunburst berries hidden inside.
She just stared blankly back down at me.
I narrowed my eyes at her. She... did know that there were sunburst berries in there, right? It was obvious that she was still half asleep, but she must have been the one to put them inside... right?
I turned back and scratched at the door a few more times.
Click.
...I hate you all so much.
The annoying weight of the harness pressed against my scales. I probably should have seen that coming - the Kymari wouldn't have wanted to risk trying to put that on me outside, in the middle of the woods, when messing it up would mean I escaped into the wild with my wings still trapped in a cast - but I wasn't exactly fully rested, either.
I turned back to look at her and hissed, growling out my frustration... and then just because I could, I abruptly stopped hissing and fell over onto my side. "Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaallllllllppppppppppp...."
My Kymari just rolled her eyes. She reached over me and opened the carrier, then scooped me up and dropped me inside it.
I had caught a hint of a smile on her face, though. For some reason that made me feel a little better.
She closed the door to the carrier, causing the world to go dark. I heard her mutter, "Well, that didn't take nearly as long as I thought it would. I still have time for a shower."
Wait, she wasn't going to just leave me in here, was she? What if I don't want to be in here, or if I have to go to the bathroom, or more importantly, if I don't want to be in here?!
I heard footsteps start walking off towards the bedroom hallway. It seemed like she was.
I sighed again and fumbled around in the darkness of the carrier until I found one of the berries. Well. At least I had a delicious snack.
The carrier door opened slightly and my Kymari's hand reached in through the gap. She felt along my back for a moment, then I heard a soft 'snap' sound as she attached the leash to my harness. The door opened the rest of the way and gave me a glimpse of dark forest wilderness. I scurried out of the carrier and looked around.
I was back at Susie's grave.
I hadn't been here for the better part of a month. But it was the same as I had remembered it - the simple mound of elevated dirt marking where she had been buried, the small pile of rocks that served as a marker, the trees nearby, the simple grass all around. Aside from the scattering of pinecones everything was right where I remembered it.
My Kymari shuffled over to one of the trees and sat down against it. She pulled the recording device out of her pocket and put it on the ground beside her, then closed her eyes and yawned. The yellow leash was tied in a loop around her arm and there was no way I could get it free without disturbing her, so it was probably safe for her to close her eyes for a bit. I didn't really have any intentions of escaping anyways - until my wings were out of the cast, I wouldn't be able to survive on my own out here.
Of course, she didn't know that. Hmm... this could be fun...
A quick glance towards the sky showed me I still had about an hour before the sun rose. It hadn't been that long of a trip from the apartment, and I had a feeling the Kymari had planned some extra time in the schedule in case I wasn't that cooperative about getting into the carrier. Which meant I had some extra time to use to mess with her.
I scouted out the area I had to work with. Every time I reached the edge of my leash it jerked me back, and jerked my Kymari's arm a little. She opened her eyes a few times to find me gnawing uselessly on the yellow fabric, and would watch me for a little bit after one of the jerks... but she would inevitably yawn and close her eyes again.
Perfect.
I scouted out the length I had to work with, then began rearranging the pinecones that I could reach. It took a bit of work to get enough of them without jerking the leash but I managed it, and I stacked them in a loose pyramid on the ground near the Kymari. I looped the leash around the pinecones, then carefully walked back and climbed a little bit up the side of the tree she was resting on.
I had gotten the angles right. From her perspective, it would look like the leash vanished into a stack of pinecones, with no disgruntled dragonet anywhere in sight. The leash trailed right back towards her and would give it away, but I figured there would be a good chance she was too tired to notice that right away.
I glanced at her again and saw she was still nodding off. I clawed my way around the tree until I was right beside her... then I took a deep breath.
"FREEDOM!" I warbled out the cry at the top of my lungs. I knew she wouldn't understand the energetic warble, but that wasn't the point. And I understood the word, which made it all the more hilarious.
The Kymari jerked at the sound. Her arms shot out to the side and pressed against the ground, and she opened her eyes wide.
She stared at the pile of pinecones. "Wha... bu... " She blinked, then blinked again. She looked down at her arm where the leash was looped around her wrist, then looked back at the pinecones, then back at her wrist. She brought her hand over and tugged at the leash as if to remind herself that it was, in fact, still attached to her arm.
The motion caused the leash to pull out from underneath the pile of pinecones. She was only a second or two away from realizing the yellow strand ran back towards her, and then realizing where I was.
"Hi." I chirped at her from right beside her head.
"Aah!" My Kymari jumped. She went from sitting calmly against the tree to a standing position in half a second, and she whirled around to look for the source of the sound.
Her sudden motion scared me in return, and I crouched closer against the side of the tree and flattened my ear tufts. I took a second to calm down then chittered back up at her. "Keep it down! People are trying to sleep out here!"
She just stared at me. I would've given an entire shia fruit to know what she was thinking right now. Please, oh please, please put this in one of those weekly reports.
My Kymari slowly shook her head and brought her hands up to rest her face against her palm. "Aaaarg."
I chittered a bit of happy laughter. Okay, that had been fun.
There were only a few minutes left before the sun rose. I could already feel the beginnings of its tug at me. I climbed down from the side of the tree and looked around for a proper perch - singing while clinging to the side of a tree was doable, but it would be a lot easier to take proper breaths if I was sitting up on my haunches. I wanted to have a good view of the sky, so ideally I would find something elevated that I could sit on.
The tallest thing in leash range that I could sit on was the Kymari herself. Her shoulders would be a good base, and it would put me high enough off the ground that I would be able to clearly see the horizon even through the trees.
I moved over to the carrier and hopped on to it. No way was I going to sing the Morning Song for Susie from on her shoulder.
I grew still and watched the faint glow on the horizon. A bird was calling out somewhere in the distance, but otherwise the forest was quiet. The Kymari disturbed the stillness by moving back to her tree and picking up the recorder, but after she set it up to record me, she went quiet, too.
I took a deep breath as I felt the call of the Morning Song reach its peak... and I answered it with my song.
It was the first time in nearly a month that I had watched the sun rise without having to settle for a half-view through a window. Today the sun brightened the sky all above me, and I sang out my appreciation of it. I gave voice to the pleasure of the trees and grass all around me as they felt the warmth and light of the sun reach them once more. I put music to the sleepiness of the squirrels and birds as they emerged from their hollows and nests to seek out breakfast. I wove the humid feeling that came from the cool hours of the night into sweet notes that filled the first moments of the dawn.
I sang my joy at seeing the sky brighten with proper rays of light, so much more right than the sterile glow of the artificial lights the Kymari had. I sang my pleasure at the fresh air all around me, and the breeze tickling my ears, and the sound of the leaves rustling against each other. I sang my gratitude at being awake and alive to experience it all.
I sang for the sun. I sang for the forest around me. I sang for the Kymari. I sang for Susie.
The new day began. I ended my song and stared up at the bright green leaves filtering the sunlight down at me.
I had really needed that.
Singing inside a room just wasn't the same. There was still an emptiness in the song... but my song still felt fuller than it had been. Being able to sing outside, and being able to sing for the memory of Susie, had filled a bit of emptiness I hadn't realized had been present.
I glanced back at the Kymari and silently thanked her for bringing me here this morning.
I wandered around Susie's grave for a few minutes after the euphoria of the Morning Song faded, but... in the end, I didn't want to stay there. It was nice to sing there. But it made me uncomfortable having her there. After a while I just went back to the carrier and sat on it to wait for the Kymari to get the hint.
She yawned and stood up. "Ready to go home?"
Technically I was home. But I was ready to go back. I chirped up at her.
"Want to walk back?" She came closer and picked up the carrier, then started walking towards a path between trees. "You did good yesterday, if you'd be up for following me again?" She stopped a few paces away and tugged lightly on the leash, pulling at the slack more than anything.
I narrowed my eyes at her. I had been tired before and had been planning on a nap in the carrier... but the Morning Song had energized me. A walk actually sounded like a pretty good idea.
I started after her and let her lead me through the forest.
The walk was mostly uneventful. I stopped a few times to sniff at random scents that caught my interest, and the Kymari paused to let me, and I made sure to stop just to chew on the leash a few times just on general principle, but for the most part I just followed the direction she picked. She knew the way, so I kind of had to. Ugh.
We reached the edge of the park and the dirt turned back into the alien material the Kymari used for pavement. We passed some of the cleaning machines but for the most part the streets were empty. I idly wondered what I would do if we did come across another Kymari. Being led around on a leash was still extremely embarrassing.
And then another Kymari came into view, and I realized exactly what I would do.
"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLPPPPPPPPP!" I wailed out in the most pitiful voice I could manage and promptly fell right down on the ground.
"Oh, are you... really? Now?" My Kymari looked back behind her and down at me, but her tone was light. I could see a hint of a smile on her still-sleepy expression.
I ignored her and focused on the stranger instead, though. "Help meeeeeee."
The other Kymari had been distracted by something on his wrist, but my noise got his attention. He frowned and started over, clearly concerned. "Excuse me, is everything okay?"
"I'm dyiiiinnnnngggggggggg...." The hardest part of doing this was not laughing.
My Kymari turned to the newcomer. "Yes, I'm sorry for the disturbance, but he's fine. He's not fully tame and isn't entirely used to a harness yet."
"IT'S HOWWIBLEEEEEEEEE MAKE IT STAAAAAAAHHHHHHPPPPPP." I wailed again at the other Kymari.
He regarded us both with a doubtful expression. "Are you sure? He sounds like he's in pain."
"He's fine, really." My Kymari fidgeted and gripped the leash tighter in her hand. "Somehow he learned that pitching a fit will get the harness taken off; he's not in any actual discomfort. He's just being dramatic."
"I totally aaaaaaaaaaammmmmmmm but help me anywaaaaaaaay...." I put on my best pleading expression for the newcomer.
"That really sounds like he is in pain. And should he be laying on the ground like that? It does not look very comfortable. Should we call a vet?"
"He's fine, really. He walked the whole way here from the park; he only started when you came into view. It's just an act."
I heard a whirring sound nearby... then something cold and metal poked at my sides. I squawked and jumped up, whirling to see what it was.
One of the cleaning machines had wandered near and poked me with one of the collection arms. It paused, possibly confused by the 'garbage' it had tried to collect suddenly getting up and scurrying away.
"See? He's fine."
I eyed the machine for another wary second... then slowly fell back over onto my side, making sure my face pointed back towards the stranger. "No I'm noooooooot..."
The machine whirred again and extended its arm again. This time the grasping appendage managed to grab my arm. It tugged backwards and tried to pull me towards it.
I hissed at the machine and scrambled back to my feet. It kept its grip on my leg and made a confused-sounding 'bonk' noise. I wasn't sure what the machine did to trash it collected, but I was quite certain it would not be pleasant, and even more certain that I did not want to find out. I curled around and slashed at it with my free hand. "Let go!"
"Ack!" My Kymari jerked in surprise and used her foot to nudge at the machine. "Go away, that's not trash!"
The machine let out another 'bonk' noise and began whirring louder. It started to drift away from my Kymari and dragged me along with it. I hopped awkwardly after it so it wouldn't drag me along on the ground - this had already become undignified enough, and I was sure being dragged limply along would only further convince the stupid machine that I was garbage that needed to be collected. I landed another slash on the hard metal, but my sharp claws just left a few scratches on the surface.
I started to get worried.
My Kymari kicked the thing one more time, which caused it to let out another confused sounding 'bonk', but it kept tugging me along after it. I did not want to know where it was trying to take me, and I slashed at it again in a growing panic. I started to take a deeper breath and began to work up enough of the oily saliva to unleash fire at the contraption...
"Here, there's a cutoff." The other Kymari stepped up to the machine and reached towards the top. He fiddled with something and the machine made a musical series of beeps.
The whirring stopped and it settled down to the ground.
The grasping claws relaxed and released me.
I hissed louder and ran away from the stupid machine, only stopping when I had my Kymari between it and myself. I glanced around her leg and squawked at it again, just for good measure.
My Kymari turned to the newcomer. "Thank you. I didn't know they had that."
The other Kymari smiled back at us. "It's just a switch in the back. I'll turn it back on once you're gone. You should probably make sure to avoid them for now though. At least until he learns not to pretend he's something they need to clean up."
Hmph. Easy for you to say; nobody's dragging you along on a leash. I hissed up at him, then twisted my neck enough to gnaw on the yellow material again.
"I'll keep that in mind." My Kymari knelt down and lowered the carrier down on the ground. "I think he's had enough walking for one day though; it's probably safer to carry him the rest of the way."
I eyed the deactivated cleaning machine again and hissed at it once more just because. I glanced further down the street and thought I saw another one of the things working off in the distance.
She was probably right.
I grumbled and crawled into the carrier. My Kymari reached down and unclipped the leash, then closed the door behind me. I felt her lift the carrier up in the air, and I stretched out on the floor of it to keep my balance.
"Thank you again for your help."
"Of course. Have a safe rest of your trip."
The two Kymari finished exchanging pleasantries, then the carrier rocked slightly back and forth as my Kymari continued the trip back to her building.
When we got back she set the carrier on the living room floor and let me out. We had a quick breakfast, then she yawned and wandered off to her bedroom.
I grinned at that. Okay, it was kind of cute to see her so tired like that. It made the alien creature feel a bit more like humans, to know they had to deal with being tired too. And it had been nice of her to go through that for my sake. I hoped she managed to get enough of a nap before she had to go off to work.
I climbed up the end table and sprawled in the warm sand beneath the heat lamp for a nap of my own.
Fourteen more sunrises to go.