Run Away With Me, Pet Shapeshifter

A new kind of cage

The ride wasn't long. I counted to 2,854 before the car stopped. Sure, it wasn't short, but I'd been in smaller cages for longer. Heck, I've been paralyzed for longer. I'd have just fallen asleep again, but it is very difficult for my kind to fall asleep so restricted. If we don't have free range of movement, we stay awake until we need to sleep. That was just how we worked. Unfortunately, without exercise, we only need to sleep a few hours at most. Our ability to process calories and go without sleep had been greatly improved when we split off from our human cousins, but flight and shape shifting takes a lot of energy.

The cage I had been stuffed in was covered by a much thicker blanket than at the warehouse, close to zero light trickled its way in. Despite this, I was certain when he took me inside. The movement of the cage was enough. I counted 30 steps to the front door. I counted to thirty-seven before he took me inside.

I listened to him fiddle around with something while I analyzed him. I got a good look at his face, what were his intentions? Actions may speak louder than words, but intentions were louder than even that. To be honest, I didn't really get cruel vibes off of that alien. Trust me, I've seen cruelty. I've seen such things that I wouldn't do as much as mention to anyone who hadn't seen far more good in the world. I have seen amazing things. People have risked their lives to save me, and not just my own kind. Aliens have fought to find me freedom when I didn't even ask. Despite my current situation, I knew the world wasn't entirely cruel.

Because of my past experience, I knew to keep an open mind. Keep your head down, watch your captor. It is immensely easy for my people to sense what is expected of us, we fit in that niche easily; whether it be a pack of wolves, a flock of geese, or in some aliens house.

This alien didn't seem outwardly evil or cruel. Strict, maybe. The rope around my neck, while clearly a threat, was a bluff. He knew that I wouldn't risk choking myself. He seemed to know a lot about Cuckoolines. This wasn't a good or a bad thing, really. It was bad in the sense that he knew how to manipulate me, but good in a different way. Many aliens mistakenly put us in horrendous situations because they get the bright idea to treat us like humans.

As much as I love humans, they tend to hate Cuckoolines. The few human friends I've had since the catalyst  described it as "The uncanny valley of behavior". It is immensely hard to make friends with them in the first place, as I have no way to communicate. I've had a kind soul try to reach me sign language, no dice.

I have long since learned to roll with the punches when it came to being captured, especially when the alien in question knows what they're doing. On earth, banding wouldn't hinder me too much, I still had a chance against humans. However, most aliens were faster and stronger than humans could hope to be. I'd be on the floor in seconds if I bolted, and then I'd just be in trouble.

Finally, the blanket was pulled off my cage. I had to blink for a few moments, trying to adjust to the bright lights. I wanted to take a look around first, but this Manori had other plans. He flipped the top of the cage open, helping me up with my wrist. I had little time to react before two additional tags were put on each of my ankles.

Unlike the band the poacher Alnos had put on me, these were flexible. They weren't itchy or obnoxious, and much higher tech than the cheap metal ones. Those were worse than a handcuff. These were hardly noticeable, which is a rare find for Cuckoolines. I've gone insane, trying to get cheap bands off to the point that my wrist was rubbed raw and bleeding from my blind panic. We don't like to be restrained. Needless to say, I was happy to have the metal band off my wrist. The flexible bands were remote controlled, he could disable them at will to allow me to change. The fact that they were on my ankle meant that I could change into a bird and fly with them on, not possible with a wrist band of any kind.

"Ground rules. You are banded and tethered, don't bother trying to leave. I don't much care to keep you here long, I'd rather get done with you fast and sell you off. Do what I say, escape attempts and violence won't be tolerated. I don't care about your name, give it to whoever buys you. Prove you can obey and you'll get out of here. Your room is in the garage. You are not to go into any room that has a closed door. You will be exercised once a week."

This wasn't anything I didn't expect. It seemed I would be allowed to roam the house, and I'd be exercised. Exercising essentially meant that I'd be taken to a giant cage and allowed to transform to my heart's content. I've been in plenty of places that don't allow me this common decency, and I have family who have gone mad because they weren't allowed. They pace until their feet bleed, pull at the band until their wrists break. I simply nodded back at him.

Published 1/6/19