Taken

Chapter 4: Observed

I stared at Band Lady and she stared right back at me. Clearly, she didn't seem to understand exactly what it was that I had wanted. I want you to get up off your butt and get this stupid metal thing off of me so that I can chew on that toy! I thought angrily as I shook out my feather-accented fur. I no longer cared about trying to sink my teeth deep into a researcher's arm at this point. I just wanted to chew on my dang toy!

I turned away from the bed and the toy that laid beside it with a dismissive snort and began to pace along the far wall out of boredom. With my muzzle banded shut, I couldn't chew on any of the toys, let alone groom myself properly. The more I thought about how much I hated the metal band around my muzzle, the hotter the metal began to feel. It wasn't a painful heat, per say, but it was more of a gentile heat; similar to the heat that radiated from an electric blanket or mattress warmer on the lowest setting. I paused and sniffed the air for a few seconds before I threw Band Lady a quick glance. Nothing smelled like it was burning and the researcher in the corner still had that same blank look on her face and she currently had around three pages of notes in her lap and was now working on a fourth page.

By now, the metal band around my muzzle was glowing red from the heat that I still couldn't connect to a source. Just then, there was a faint whoosh from over my head and the now familiar soft sound of a crackling fire filled the large room. However, this time, an entire blanket of warmth enveloped my body as the floating blue flame flickered harmlessly over my head. I shook my head a few times, earning a faint swish swoosh from the ball of fire above me. I then instinctively focused my attention on the metal that had my mouth sealed shut and I watched in fascination (and in slight horror) as the glowing hot metal turned into to a viscous substance, beaded up, and slowly oozed off of my muzzle and onto the solid dark grey, epoxy sealed floor with a loud sizzle and a couple of pops and cracks, which caused me to scuttle back with a startled yelp.

Before I could do anything else, Band Lady had jumped up, rushed over to where the glowing glob of molten metal was, and dumped an entire glass of ice water that I had failed to notice earlier onto it. The interaction between the water, ice cubes, and the red hot metal produced a decent-sized cloud of steam and a good amount of sizzling. Once the steam cleared away, I looked up at Band Lady, who had her mouth hanging open in shock.

We stared at each other in total silence for a few seconds before she uttered, "How did you do that?"

I didn't know if the question was directed at me or if it was an out loud thought. Still, I blinked and tilted my head slightly to the left then to the right to give her the impression that I didn't understand what she was saying. The woman chuckled softly and shook her head.

"What am I doing, talking to an animal? It's not like you can talk back or anything, let alone understand what I'm saying."

That was where she was wrong; well, in regards to me not being able to understand what she was saying to me, anyway. Silence enveloped us once more and when I didn't move from where I stood or break eye contact, the female researcher spoke again.

"Maybe... "

She hesitated before she slowly knelt down so that she was eye level with me and tentatively reached out a hand in an offering of peace.

"Maybe we can be friends?"

Megan's warning echoed in my head and my own hatred for what this female researcher and her colleagues had done surfaced. You stole my life from me! What made you think that I'd EVER be your friend? I immediately peeled my lips back in a snarl and the blue flame that was still hovering above my head almost doubled in size before it migrated down and formed a sort of lion-like 'mane' around my face and neck. Oddly enough, the smell of burning fur was completely absent and I wasn't in any pain, despite the fact that I was literally on fire. I didn't attack Band Lady out of fear of the possible punishments that I could face from such an action. So instead, I just stood where I was; snarling like an enraged tom cat as my mane of teal fire flared out threateningly. At my display of aggression, the female scientist flinched, retracted her hand, and slowly stood back up.