One day she woke up with no memories of her past, but if there was one thing she knew, it's that she didn't use to be a miniature dragon with stripes on her scales. The scientists that kept her and the rest of her kind captive called them dragonets...
I was enjoying my bowl of fruits when six scientists walked into the room, half of them were wearing the protective gear they always have when we were in the playing room.
What's going on? I asked Colonel and Blue while hissing at the humans.
They had similar reactions to the scientists, hissing and growling louder as they got closer.
Let me ask them. Blue said and swiped at one with a snarl.
The man flinched back despite the metal separating them. We could only see the humans through the round air holes at the front and back.
Guess they aren't feeling particularly social right now. Blue commented.
The scientists started wheeling all three snarling cages out of the room.
I don't know, they have never taken all three of us at once. Colonel answered her.
The hissing tripled when we were taken through the room with all the other cages. It sounded like someone just stepped into an enormous snake nest. The general mind link swarmed with worried questions as they voiced their concerns out loud with chirps and yelps. Whatever was happening was unusual, making everyone anxious.
We were taken to a room that was similar to a zoo enclosure with an observation deck behind a thick glass panel.
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(Pic. from Zoochat.com aka, not mine. Imagine the room a bit bigger and more spaced out)
This is new. Blue awkwardly pointed out.
I looked out from the air holes. I have a bad feeling about this.
I think they are about to open up. Scatter and regroup at the farthest corner. Colonel quickly thought. His first priority was to keep us safe and everything else we could deal with after.
We sent our acknowledgment and got ready to bolt as the geared-up humans released the latches and others left the room.
They opened my door first and I took flight as soon as I had run out of the metal box. I swerved under a thick branch running diagonally across the room and perched on a ledge in the far corner. I had no desire to be anywhere near humans. I would have preferred to also be out of their sight, but there weren't exactly many places to hide
I saw a group of scientists behind the observation glass and there were cameras in every corner. The human that had opened my cage turned to the other two holding the doors of Colonel's and Blue's cages still shut.
"If either of them gets aggressive towards the other, tranquilize them. We don't want to risk them hurting each other in a show of dominance over territory or over the claiming rights." He warned the other two before they nodded and let the growling boys out.
The striped boys flew in opposite directions before they both ended up on the same ledge I was on. It got a little crowded. We all curled up on the ledge in a big ball of colors with a few limbs hanging over the edges and glared at the humans in the room with loud growls. We probably looked like a moody three-headed hydra.
There was a word that echoed in my head. Something the ugly human had said.
What did they mean by claiming rights?
Blue turned his head in confusion. Colonel just considered the words for a moment and then suddenly froze.
Um... He awkwardly mentally cleared his throat, sounding unusually nervous. Well, uhh... Okay. Do you know how usually there are two things that male animals in the wild fight over?
He made a rather hesitant eye contact with me, seemingly praying that I would understand without him having to continue. I was suspiciously confused, but Blue seemed to get it.
Ohh...
Yeah.
What? What do they fight over? I looked between them. I then already had an idea of what it could be, but I was dearly hoping that wasn't the case.
Colonel looked at me, still hoping I would know it without him spelling it out. Since I didn't want to believe it, I had to hear someone confirm it for me. With a deep sigh, he gave up.
Territory and females, Bee. It's territory and females. He said with the absolute driest face he could muster.
What?! I snarled standing up, I heard perfectly well, I just didn't want to believe it. That seemed so outrageous to me, even though it was a natural phenomenon in the animal kingdom.
My harsh movement caused Colonel to almost fall off before he caught himself at the edge, and Blue to actually fall off with a startled screech.
I was about to launch myself at the observation deck. I knew I wouldn't be able to actually hurt them through the glass, but I was hoping to at least give one of them a heart attack.
Before I could jump into the air, I let out a squeak as Colonel grabbed me by biting into my scruff and using his weight to pin me down on the ledge. I tried to get out from under him and get to the furiously writing humans that I desperately wanted to hurt, but unfortunately for me, Colonel had a firm hold on my scruff.
Calm down. Have you already forgotten what happened with Ember? That snapped me out of my struggle, but I still continued to growl lowly in anger. If they find out we are smart enough to know what they are planning, that we are more intelligent than what is beneficial to them, they will exterminate us too!
With a huff, I ceased my attempts at showing the scientists just how much I disagreed with their ridiculous ideas.
I agree with Casanova. Blue smugly chirped up at us from where he was sitting on the ground.
Colonel quickly let go and let me up with an apology.
Nah, it's fine. Probably saved me from a lot of embarrassment. I shook myself out.
Blue let out a dramatic sigh. Ohhh, well. I better enjoy the benefits of this room while I'm still here. They definitely won't be bringing me back in here now!
Colonel rolled his eyes at Blue's antics while I tilted my head in question.
Blue smirked at me the best he could with his reptilian face when he answered.
What do you think that looked like to these humans? They aren't writing poems on these pages you know.
