The sound of voices woke me, and I blinked sleepily as I lifted my head. I inhaled in surprise when I saw that a dozen people wearing white lab coats were going down the rows. They were examining each cage and writing things on the clipboard that was lying in front of that cage. A man was in front of my neighboring blue dragon's cage, taking notes.
I inhaled in shock. The dragon had been right - I was much smaller now. The scientists dwarfed me. The young man in the white lab coat put the clipboard down and moved in front of my glass prison.
I wanted nothing to do with barbaric people who could do this to other people. I hastily staggered to my feet and backed up with a loud hiss, startling myself with the sound. I had not been aware that I could hiss in this new body. It sounded more like water hitting hot rocks, rather than like a cat. The blue dragon lowered his head and growled at the guy. The man was not fazed by either of our actions, and I could hear the other dragons expressing their dislike of the scientists near them.
He examined the clipboard in front of my cage before grabbing the handle on top of my cage. He put the cage and the clipboard on a small cart in front of him. I whined in fear as I backed into a corner of the cage.
The blue dragon's voice once more entered my mind as he said, "They will take you to a small room to weigh and measure you. Remember to act like an animal. They will also likely give you a chance to move about. They do this to everyone every day."
It was a small consolation, but at least I knew they weren't about to strap me down and pretend to play mad scientist. Although, technically, the fact that I was in this situation meant that they had already done that... Where are one of those animal rights groups that sneak into illegal testing facilities when you need them?
The man pushed the cart out of the large room and down a hall before going into a small room. I growled at him as he lifted the cage and put it on a metal-topped table. Some of the things on this table looked like torture devices. He undid the latches on two ends of the cage. I hadn't been aware that both the front and back glass pane were actually doors until he opened both of them.
Another white-clad man entered the room and closed the door behind himself. He put on heavy gloves before coming over and reaching into the front. I, of course, backed up to avoid him. I didn't realize that I had backed up past the back door until it was too late. The cage was whisked away, leaving me standing on the cold table nervously. The gloved man started organizing stuff on the side of the table while I shuffled backward until my tail touched the wall.
The first man started flipping through the clipboard and spoke into a small voice recorder. "Specimen D5843. Female, twenty years old. Part of the intelligence specification group. Collected on September fourteenth with use of injected tranquilizer blend A3. Metaforming completed on February second. Egg case finished formation on February eighteenth. High heat hatching method C5 was used. Hatching occurred late evening on March twenty-first."
He nodded to his companion, who came forward to grab me. I tried to run, but I hadn't gotten used to my new body and simply ended up tripping over my own feet as my claws skidded on the smooth metal. All I succeeded in doing was banging my chin on the table as I failed to find any sort of traction.
I screeched as the man grabbed me; I tried to claw him, but my claws couldn't pierce the thick glove. It was as if there was a metal lining inside to stop sharp objects. He placed me in a basket that wobbled lightly beneath my feet. I instinctively half-spread my wings, trying to keep my balance so I didn't fall down again. He eyed up both the scale and the odd black lines on the back of the basket.
"Four pounds and three ounces, or 1.9 kilograms," he said. "She stands twenty-three centimeters, or nine inches, at the shoulder. Typical weight and size upon hatching. Growth will be monitored."
I squawked as I was grabbed again; my heart was pounding and my struggles were in vain. I was held up and examined as the one man moved my legs and wings to inspect their range. "No noticeable deformities or mutations. Meets standard form and shape. Before collection, specimen D5843 was noted to have preferred flight over fight and actively avoided conflict. These traits seem to have transferred over. Actions are mostly evasive with defensive moves if she is unable to avoid us."
I wiggled in the man's grasp as I hissed at him once more. Stalkers! They stalked me for who knows how long while taking notes?! Oh, I can't wait until they get what they deserve! The man bent over and placed me in a large tray of sand on the floor. I clumsily scrambled backwards to get away. The tray was in the corner, and soon I had pressed myself against the walls.
The man backed up and placed the gloves on the table before leaving the room. The first man was sitting on a chair in the corner, watching me with a clipboard in his hand as if taking notes.
I swiftly looked around, but there was nothing to hide under or any obvious escape routes. I shivered lightly; the air seemed cool after a night under the heat lamp. I watched him cautiously, but he remained sitting while simply watching me.
I was starting to feel chilled, and the nearby heat lamp was tempting. With one eye on the man, I walked several steps over to the heat lamp that was shining on the sand tray. I sighed in relief as I curled up on the warm sand and spread my wings to collect the heat. I watched the man warily while I warmed back up, but he never left his seat.
This heat lamp was much hotter than the last one, and it wasn't too long before I started feeling overly warm. I glanced up at the windowsill, but all I could see from the floor was blue sky. I wondered if I could manage to get up there. If I could, I might get an idea as to where I was being held. That knowledge would be essential if I tried to escape.
I took a deep breath and stretched, luckily my body knew the best way. Like a cat, I stretched my forearms out in front and dug in my claws slightly as my wings arched over my back.
My claws were retractable like a cat's were. Cool. I shook myself like a dog, resulting in an odd tinkling as my tiny scales rustled against one another. This tail feels so bizarre. Perhaps I had better get the hang of walking before flying, or else my attempt at landing is going to be rather humiliating...
I stretched a few more times in various ways, trying to get a hang of how my muscles and limbs moved. I was delighted to realize that I could sit up on my haunches like a rabbit. At least I wasn't completely restricted to all fours.
Pretend I am a simple animal... What would a cat or similarly-sized animal do? I shook myself once more and slowly walked around the large tray of sand. I dug down a bit in one corner, although I didn't get far before I found the bottom of the tray. So much for digging to China.
I realized that nature was calling. Well, I already dug a hole, I might as take my cue from cats. I quickly did my business in the hole and buried it. It would give the staring pervert behind me something to clean. Serves him right for making me so uncomfortable. The least he could do is look away and give me a bit of privacy, but no...
I wandered back over the heat lamp and rolled around on the warm sand. The sand felt really good against my scales. It also gave me an idea of how lithe and flexible my new body was. I hadn't ever been this flexible. I didn't even think that my cat could do some of the contortions that I managed.
I was warm again. I sat up and shook myself with that tinkling noise as my wings halfway unfurled with the movement. I regarded my wings, mindful of the silent man in the corner. I pretended to lick and nibble on an itchy spot on the wing joint before stretching my wings to their fullest. They were long and narrow. At least it is a skin membrane covered in scales, and I don't have to preen feathers.
I moved out from under the lamp and went to the edge of the sand tray. It was just high enough that I couldn't step down. I would have to jump a bit, but it would be an excellent way to test out my wings. I partially unfurled my wings as I crouched on the sand and examined the small drop with my head peering over the edge of the tray. I tried to recall what I had observed when watching birds take off - and especially how they landed.
I jumped over the lip of the tray and beat down hard with my wings. I had expected to only slow my fall; I had not expected to end up gaining so much height. I squawked in surprise and spread my wings wide in alarm before gravity regained its hold on me. With several awkward back-winging motions of my wings, I landed lightly on the floor.
Well, at least I know my wings work. I glanced at the man in the corner as he was scribbling quick notes. I turned around to regard the tray again. Well, they say practice makes perfect. With another hop and a single wingbeat, I managed to land in the sand tray with fanned wings slowing my momentum.
That was much more graceful. But a wing-assisted hop wasn't true flight. And I still wasn't on the windowsill.