Lost Change

Chapter 18

I lay on a branch and stared down at the distant ground. Kymari were all over the park today - I could only imagine they were looking for me. I heard snatches of conversation as they passed near my burrow, talk of finding the 'fire lizard' - something I could only assume referred to me - questions of how it had managed to survive out here, theories as to why it seemed so attached to a dangerous coyote.

The prevailing one seemed to be that a human had kept both me and the 'coyote' as pets, and that we had been surviving here ever since the invasion.

I didn't care. All their talk made them easy to avoid, and I slipped away through the forested park any time their voices or steps drew too close.

Night fell. I retreated into my burrow, passing through the wide tunnel Susie had helped me dig out. I curled up in the center and let time pass - sleep wouldn't come.

The noises of the forest changed, and the air outside my burrow began to grow subtly lighter. I felt the dawn approaching. I thought about staying inside, thought about letting the sun rise ungreeted once more... then closed my eyes against tears as I thought of all the times Susie had wagged and barked as she watched me dance through the air and sing to the sun.

I closed my eyes and steeled myself against the call. I just couldn't. Not yet.

The call faded... and I became aware of sounds outside my burrow. Kymari voices.

"Nobody has reported anything. The ones in the flock would have all finished singing by this point."

"Maybe it is too hurt to sing?"

"It seemed healthy in the video."

"It seemed upset in the video."

"True."

The voices were quiet for a moment, and I had almost begun to think they had wandered off without my hearing before the first voice spoke up again. "Could be a sub-species. Different breed with different habits the others do not have. None of the others have tolerated predators around, but this one was obviously close to that coyote."

"Maybe. The humans could have bred a few different varieties. The coyote looked odd too; they might have both been kept together as pets before the Votak attack."

"That could explain why it is out here by itself. This might have just been the closest area to its home, or at least the closest area with everything it needed to survive. And if it is a different breed it might not have the same dietary requirements as the others; maybe it can live in more areas."

"Or it could be that they need something extra as fledgelings. It is all by itself after all; it might be that they need something extra to survive after hatching but not once they have grown into adults, something that they cannot find elsewhere. So one may be able to survive even where a flock would have trouble."

The voices grew silent, and I began to think they had gone away without my hearing them before one spoke up again. "Still no sightings. The Elders were debating a catch order for it to try and move it to be with the others, but now they're worried we might have scared it off. They're closing off the park to the public for now to see if it will come back on its own; only designated observers will be allowed in."

There was silence for a moment, as if the Kymari were hoping that maybe their timing was just off, and that at any moment they would see me burst into the air and sing... then I heard the sound of their heavy boots walking away.

I hid in the darkness of my den. On some level I realized that the Kymari had been talking about others like me, and that must mean there were others out there like me - other dragonets, maybe even ones that used to be human. The others that had escaped from the lab, the ones I had long since given up on ever finding. They did exist. They were out there after all.

I might not be as alone as I had thought.

But I didn't really care about any of that now.

The day passed much the same as the one before. My stomach made a demand for food, but it wasn't strong enough to break through my grief. A squirrel tried to poke into my burrow at some point, and I responded with a burst of flame that sent it fleeing, but beyond that the day passed just like the one before.

There was nothing in it for me beyond the cool darkness of my burrow.

The night fell, and I continued staring aimlessly at the side of my burrow. There was no longer any soft fur to sink into. No warm body to sprawl on, no gentle rhythm to rock me to sleep. Sleep still wouldn't come.

The sounds of the night began to change. The owl grew quiet, and the morning songbirds began to sing. The pressure of the air started to change, the oh-so-subtle difference only a flier would notice. I closed my eyes, waiting to fight off the pull of the call...

I took a deep breath, and slowly forced myself to open my eyes.

I walked from the tunnel and stared blankly to the east.

The first rays of light broke the horizon and called me to flight. I rose into the air to meet it. My body felt heavy - I hadn't eaten or slept in days - but the sun gave me all the energy I needed. I poured out my grief, and the sun responded in kind, acknowledging my sorrow... and reminded me of the hope that still remained. I wove through the branches and danced out its message that life was not defeated. That even though my friend was gone, I wasn't. There was still a purpose for me, there was still joy to be found in living, there was still happiness that could be found... happiness that could be shared to others.

The sun rose. The next day began.

I sank to the ground as the last echoes of the Morning Song faded. My grief wasn't gone... the pain at the loss of my friend - at the knowledge I would never again snuggle into her fur, or catch fish for her, or throw pinecones for her to catch - was all fresh in my heart. And the Morning Song felt incomplete without Susie running and barking beneath my swoops and dives, like an important part of it had been hollowed out by her absence.

But there was hope inside me once more.

There was still life.

I dimly became aware that a Kymari was nearby. He had a device out - not the angled shapes of the Kymari weapons, but a flat rectangle similar to the machine I had seen the guard with when I had left Susie. A camera. He had been watching me.

Good.

The Morning Song was meant to be shared.

I stared at him, not blinking for a long moment... then I rose wearily back to my feet and flew into the trees.

I found an apple tree and perched on its branches. I made it about halfway through an apple before weariness overtook me. I was dimly aware of a startled voice somewhere beneath me as I sank against the branch and lost my grip on the apple, causing it to tumble to the ground. My last thought before the exhaustion dragged me into sleep was that the Kymari must have followed me.