Tranquility was a peaceful planet. Ever since a pod of Descendents had chosen it as their breeding grounds, piracy and crime rates had dropped significantly. This gave Tranquility a chance to be prosperous, and President Maldar took it, opening the planet for trade and integrating a proper legal framework for the planet and its fledgling inhabitants to follow.
Red hadn’t been born here. Her first memory had been inside a cage with over a dozen other hatchlings. The next was the nursery, and Odin.
Odin was a wonderful parent, a lone Vorchan that always made sure they were all happy. She was red with black stripes and paws, with beautiful white horns that extended back to the nape of her neck, and very long ears, longer even than Red’s own ears. Her eyes were a piercing blue, and you could feel it when they gazed on you. But it wasn’t an unsettling gaze; it was comfortable, and warm.
It pained Red to think of what she’ll go through when she’d find them missing. Not in their beds the next morning, having gone off in search for freedom.
It hadn’t been her idea! Really it hadn’t. It was Arc. He made her go. It was all his fault. She was sure she’d blame him if they got caught. With them was Leila and Litus. The four of them were best friends, and enjoyed going on Arc’s adventures.
This one was pushing it, though. This one went beyond the eyes of Odin, something none of them had ever dared do.
And there would be no coming back. Arc had made that clear. They would go out into the mountains, living their life there in freedom the true Vorchan way, the way it was meant to be lived, away from the city and the houses and the smelly Raumens.
Red liked looking at Arc. He was the most mature, at least a year older than her. He had dark brown scales with red stripes. His wings were outlined in dark blue, and the webbing was a tattered mix of red and blue. His tail was purple, as were his rear paws.
He stopped, she bumped into him. Leila glared at her. Red glared back. Leila was purple, with black stripes along her tail and a light brown stomach. She was very pretty, but had a crush on Arc, which seemed to make her and Red rivals, even though Red didn’t really care too much about Arc.
“I hear something.” Arc said. “Do you hear it?” he asked Red. She had the longest ears of all of them, which apparently meant she had the best hearing, too.
“No…” she concentrated.
“Are you sure?”
“All I hear is the insects.” Red said. She focused on one, watching it dart between the flowers.
Crack, she flinched. A branch. Arc noticed the change in her expression.
“Everyone hide!” he hissed.
They disappeared into the bushes, tucking in their wings and tails. Red saw massive feet in front of her. They belonged to a Raumen. He was walking through the forest on his own. He stopped by a tree.
Red could see Arc near the tree, staying perfectly still. His tail was up, wagging slightly.
She glared at him. He looked back. She waved her tail. He pushed his against the ground.
The Raumen looked over right as the tail disappeared into the bushes. He kept walking.
“That was close.” Arc whispered.
“Your tail…” Red said.
“I forgot about it.”
Litus nipped at it. He was a light brown with light blue running along his spine and stomach. To Red he looked like a beautiful beach. Red laughed at the nip, seeing Arc pull his tail back defensively, growling at Litus.
“I’ll help you remember it!” Litus joked.
“That wasn’t nice!” Leila said defensively.
“Lighten up, Leila. It was just a joke!” Litus said.
“Yeah.” Arc added.
She was crushed, dejectedly skulking over to Red. “It’s not fair.” she sighed.
“What?” Red asked. They were following behind the boys again, heading somewhere, they didn’t really know where, just that it got them deeper into this forest.
“I wish I had long ears, then he’d ask me if I heard anything.” she said.
“I don’t ever hear anything anyways. He just thinks I do.” Red said.
“Exactly! You’re more deaf than me! And I barely have any ears at all!” Leila said.
“Thanks…” Red replied sarcastically.
“No problem, Redwing.” It was her full name, a joke, really. The manifest had her labelled as a Blackwing, but her wings were a crimson red.
They journeyed for several more hours before finally coming to rest near a river, only to be chased away by a couple of crocodiles. They decided to settle on top of a tree, where the forest’s creatures couldn’t reach them. Red couldn’t wait to grow up.
The sun was setting now, and she dug into the thickest branch, settling on it. Arc settled on a branch beside her. Leila and Litus stayed near the base of the tree, the other branches not looking very sturdy.
“Isn’t this great?” Arc asked.
“I sort of miss the milk.” Red mused.
“And the chocolate.” Litus added.
“I think it’s nice here.” Leila said.
“No you don’t.” Red snapped before she could stop herself.
“I do! I think it’s great! Here we can live the way we are meant to!” she exclaimed.
“And get eaten by crocodiles!” Red argued.
“We’ll grow bigger.” Litus said, looking at Arc.
“Of course. I can already fly!” he said smugly.
“You can glide.” Red corrected.
“Gliding is the first step to flying.”
“Nuh-uh, flying and gliding are completely different. A leaf can glide.”
Arc flared his wings. They really were beautiful. “These aren’t leaves.” he said.
Red glanced at Leila, she could have fainted.
–
That night she came by, sneaking over to her branch. “Redwing!” she hissed.
Red didn’t answer, hating that name.
“Redwing! Redwing? I know you’re awake! I can see your mutant ears twitching.”
“What’s my name?” Red asked.
“Redwing.”
“Red!”
“Redwing, because you’re not a Blackwing, you’re a redwing, as in your wings are red, not black, the opposite of black.”
“The opposite of black is white.”
“Whatever!”
“What do you want, Leila?”
“Can I have the branch?”
“No.”
“Please?”
“Arc will stretch his wings; you’ll faint and fall off.” Red said, amused at the thought. “It’s for your own safety!”
“Please?”
“…”
“Pleaase?”
“Will you let me sleep?”
“Yes.”
“Fine.”
She swapped places with Leila, falling asleep next to Litus.
–
–
Red awoke the next morning with Arc at the base of the tree, and Litus on the branch. They had switched places during the night.
Arc, expecting Red to ask, immediately explained, “I was too heavy for that branch.”
It was a believable explanation. Leila was crushed, again.
They continued onwards.
Their next point of interest was a cave. They eyed the cave, daring each other to go in. Even Arc thought twice about exploring it.
They moved on, ignoring the cave. The air was getting thinner here, and colder. They were going up a mountain. Leila didn’t like it. “It’s too cold.” she complained.
It only took thirty minutes for her to start straggling behind. Their rest stops became more frequent. “Where are we going, anyways?” she asked.
“On top of it. I heard there’s a hotspring at the top.” Arc explained.
“What’s a hotspring?” Red asked.
“Warm water.” Arc replied.
“We had warm water back at the nursery!” Red said.
“Yes but this will be our warm water!” Arc exclaimed.
“I’m hungry.” Litus said.
“Eat some of the mushrooms.” Arc said, motioning at a growth by a small tree.
“I’m not eating mushrooms.” Litus muttered.
Red felt her own stomach grumbling, they hadn’t eaten since they’d left. Why hadn’t any of them thought about this? “We didn’t even bring food!” Red said.
“It’s okay. I’ll catch us food.” Arc said smugly.
“Really?” Red found that amusing.
“I can catch food!” Arc insisted.
“You can hunt?” Litus asked, surprised as well. “When did you learn to hunt?”
“You don’t have to learn to hunt. We’re born with it. It’s istinct.”
“Instinct.” Red corrected.
“Yeah, that.” Arc said.
“Why don’t I know how to, then?” Red asked, challenging this ‘instinct’ theory.
“Because you aren’t as old as me! But don’t worry. I’ll catch enough food for you.”
“What about me?” Litus asked.
“You should have the istinct.” Arc explained.
“Instinct…” Red sighed.
“I think I have the istinct!” Leila said.
“Really?” they asked, looking.
“Sure. I have an idea of what to do. I think I can do it. I saw some goats near the edge of the mountain over there. Let’s use our istinct there!” she trotted towards the edge of the mountain.
“This is a bad idea.” Red muttered.
“We’ll be fine.” Arc said, right behind Leila.
Red could tell the purple Vorchan was enjoying the attention.
–
There were three goats. One had really big, sharp horns. The others looked younger. They heard them coming and froze. Which made them freeze. They stared at each other, neither group moving. Eventually the goats acclimatized and kept foraging.
“What are they eating?” Litus asked.
“The mushrooms.” Arc said.
“Ew.” Litus groaned.
“What do we do?” Red asked, getting curious.
“We chase them!” Leila said, staring at the goats.
“What if you fall off the mountain?” Red asked.
“I won’t.” Leila replied.
“This is too dangerous, look at those horns.” Red said.
“I’ll be fine.” Leila replied, looking over at Arc. This was all to impress him.
“Don’t do it.” Red said, genuinely worried.
“Watch, you’ll see.” she started skulking towards the goats. She froze as they spotted her.
Suddenly the horned goat bleated at her and began charging. She yelped, running from the goat. It chased her down.
“Leila!” Red called, running out to her. The goat caught Leila with its sharp horns. Leila cried out. Red lunged on the goat, biting into it with her teeth. It bucked, flinging Red free.
The ground below her was slanted, she began to stumble, and keep stumbling. She was rolling now, out of control, falling down the mountain.
Suddenly her world went dark.
–
She awoke in unbearable pain. One of her horns had chipped, and there was something pinning her leg.
A small stick! It had gone through her front left paw. She suddenly felt nauseous, resting her head. The pain was unbearable. She had to get her paw free.
She pulled, it wouldn’t budge. The stick kept her trapped. She began chewing on the stick, the smell of her own blood filling her nostrils. She couldn’t break free. She cried for help, aware of the pain in her wings now. Their webbing had been torn by the fall, blood running down them and settling on her hide.
She was a crumpled mess, she couldn’t do anything but cry out, hope someone would find her. But who would be up on this mountain? It wasn’t fair, she should have let the goat get Leila. It was her fault anyways. How could she be so stupid? She looked up at the cliff she had fallen from. It looked like it had been a long way, a very long way, and the way down looked bumpy, with jagged rocks lining the edges. How had she survived that fall?
But she didn’t, she was going to die here. She wondered how much of her was broken.
She tested her other limbs. They all seemed to respond. Even her wings, with their torn webbing, moved at her command. It was a relief, and it gave her the strength needed to start gnawing at the stick some more.
“Red!” it was Arc.
“Arc!” she cried out. “ARC Arc! I’m over here!! ARC!!!”
Arc ran over to her, “Oh no… are you okay?”
“My paw.” she cried.
He licked it, examining the stick that had impaled it.
“What are you doing?” Red asked.
“It’s going to infect if we don’t remove the stick.”
“I can’t get it out. I can’t break free. Help me!” Red cried.
“Okay… calm down… what if we…” he pressed his paw at the stick, but stopped when Red cried out from the pain. “Okay, let’s try.”
“No! Stop touching it! You’re making it worse!”
“I’m just trying to—“
“Argh!” Red pulled with all her might. The stick moved slightly, barely. There was still a long way to go, and she could feel the splinters inside her flesh. She gave up, sobbing. “I’m going to die! I don’t want to die!”
“Red…” he licked at the paw, cleaning the blood. He then licked at her torn wings. “I’ll get you out.”
“Bite it!” Red demanded.
“What?”
“Get your head in there and bite that stick. Free me!”
“I’ll try…”
Arc pushed his snout in first, trying to get leverage, it was too tight, and Red was clenching her teeth from the pain. “I’m sorry I can’t.”
This stupid paw, it was getting numb. What if she chewed it off? But she couldn’t function without a paw, she needed her paw! “I need this paw!”
“I know!”
“Do something!”
“I’m trying.” Arc ran off, coming back with a stick. He poked at the stick with the stick.
“That is not helping.” Red whimpered.
“Okay…” he came back with another stick, and then a rock, and then more rocks.
“What are you doing?” Red asked.
“I don’t know!” he replied. “There must be something here that could help…” His ears twitched.
Red heard it too, footsteps… and those voices, Raumen voices.
“Raumens!” Arc hissed.
Red heard stories about how the other Raumens caught hatchlings and made soup out of them. It was one of Odin’s favourite stories. She always told it to hatchlings that talked about trying to escape.
“I don’t want to be soup!” Red wailed.
“Shh! Be quiet, they’ll hear you!”
“Get me out of here.” she tugged at the stick.
Arc clamped his jaws down on her arm, pulling on it with all his might, trying to get her paw free. Red was crying out uncontrollably.
“What’s that noise?” asked one of the Raumens. Their footsteps were quicker now. Red was still screaming.
They were massive, looming over them. Arc flared his wings and hissed. They began to approach him, he bolted for the trees.
Red was all alone now with these two massive creatures. “Oh my god what happened to you?” asked one of them.
She had been given a translator injection when she’d arrived, but she still found understanding them took time. Odin said that was normal. Raumens had just as hard a time understanding what they were saying, the languages being so drastically different.
She hissed. They would understand that. It meant “Don’t touch me.”
They kneeled down next to her, talking to each other quickly. The conversation was hard to follow.
One reached for her paw, she snapped at the hand, it pulled back.
Another hand, hovering in front of her, she attacked it, suddenly she felt something cold and hard under her paw. Click.
Her paw was free. She tried to run but hands embraced her. She flapped her broken wings wildly but the hands adjusted to cup them, restraining her completely.
She cried out. “ARC! Arc help me! Come back!”
They were running their hands along her head, down her back, over and over. She was still crying, shivering, terrified. They kept stroking her, crooning into her ear.
“I don’t want to be soup I don’t want to be soup.” she whimpered, nipping at one of the hands. They were so fast, never where her teeth were.
“It’s okay little Vorchan, it’s okay.”
Then more words she couldn’t follow. She struggled against the hands, but finally gave up. They were too powerful. She let them carry her down the mountain, her paw aching unbearably.
“My paw…” she whimpered, “My paw, my paw.” she hoped they would understand.
“We know.” one of them said. “We’re taking you to a doctor.”
“I don’t want to be soup!” she exclaimed.
“Soup?” one asked.
“You make soup out of us.”
Their voices became high pitched, warbly, she didn’t understand. She began to cry again. They stroked her, their voices soft again, soothing. “You’re safe now. We’re almost at the car.”
It was a strange black thing, with a blue stripe running along its side. She was in the back of it in one of the Raumen’s laps. Its hands cupped over her to keep her from escaping.
“Eww… I think it peed.” said the one whose lap she was sitting on.
The Raumen was wiping her down now. “Great… the entire back seat, and these pants.”
“We can buy new pants.”
“That smell is never gonna come out. God dammit.”
“We’re saving a life.” the one in front had a softer, higher voice. It must be a female. She had long, black hair.
Red felt better now, the napkin wash reminding her of the cleanings Odin would occasionally give her.
“I won’t be soup?” she asked.
“What’s that?” asked the one she was sitting on. It leaned in close. Its hair was short, with a lower, stronger voice.
“Are you a man?” she asked.
“I am. My name’s Harry, and that’s Janet.”
“I’m Red.”
“Yes you are, and black.” he crooned, using his finger to scratch the bottom of her neck. She hadn’t realized how itchy it was until he did that. She closed her eyes, letting him scratch, it was very enjoyable. “I wonder what nursery you’re from.”
“Odin.” she said.
“What?”
“Odin.”
The man didn’t understand, he wasn’t scratching her neck anymore. She stared at his fingers until he did, arching her entire body for the scratching. It was such a wonderful feeling. It seemed to make all the pain go away. His other hand was petting her now, stroking her back. Her wings were free to stretch. She spread them, looking at them pitifully.
“My wings.” she said.
“They’re very nice.”
“They’re broken.” she folded and unfolded them.
He stopped scratching, his hand running along her left wing while the other hand held it in place. He wiped the blood from his hands. “Yeah… does the webbing heal?”
“I don’t know.” Janet said, “Probably.”
“You’ll be fine.” Harry said comfortingly, letting her try and balance. Her paw still hurt. He picked her up and placed her on the seat beside him. She pressed up against the backrest, stretching. She yawned. She was getting tired.
–
She awoke in the man’s hands again. She was in a building with bright lights. She blinked the drowsiness away. They were in a room. There were other creatures here, all brought in by other Raumens. None of them were Vorchans. She didn’t recognize them.
“Oh wow.” said a woman in a white dress. She kneeled down next to Red. Red hissed. “I’ve never seen a Vorchan before.”
“You treat hatchlings here?” Harry asked.
“We do. How much did it cost?” she asked.
“We found it while hiking. Its paw…”
“I see.” she tested the paw. Red cried out, jumping away from her, falling off of Harry’s lap onto another person’s. The other person screamed. Red screamed back, jumping off the lap. The hard cement was coming up to hit her – and Harry caught her, bringing her back onto his lap. She was dazed, she closed her eyes, head spinning.
“You can leave her with us. We’ll find her owners.” said the woman.
“We don’t mind staying.” Harry said.
“Well the wait could take a while. Our Vorchan specialist has to be called in.”
“We’ll wait.”
“Alright.” sighed the woman, walking off.
Red let Harry pet her to sleep.
–
She awoke on a table, she wasn’t sure how much time had passed. Two people immediately held her down as she awoke. She looked at her paw, it was covered in a white plaster. A man was wrapping it in more and more of the white stuff. She began to whimper, the feeling returning to her body.
Harry was stroking her again; she could recognize his hand now. It was so warm, she dozed off.
–
The car, she was back in the car in Harry’s lap. “I think they wanted to steal you.”
“I think so too.” said Janet. “Did you see the look in that nurse’s eyes when we didn’t want to leave?”
“Yeah, dicks.”
“Yeah.”
For soup… Red thought.
–
She was being carried again. She recognized this place, or the concept behind this place. It was a room, similar to her nursery. She was placed on a transparent table. She stared down at the floor below, mesmerized.
“It’s glass.” Harry said.
“Gl-ass.” she repeated. “Ass. Ha!”
The Raumens didn’t get it, she found it amusing, but wordplay never translated properly.
“Do you know where you’re from?” Harry asked.
“Odin’s nursery.”
“I don’t understand. Who’s nursery?”
“Odin!” she growled.
“You must be saying the name the Vorchan way. Is it a Vorchan?”
She nodded.
“What does she look like?”
“Red.”
“Like you?”
“No. More red.”
“Vulcan?” Harry asked.
That term was familiar, but Red wasn’t sure what it meant.
“What race are you?” Harry asked.
“Blackwing!” she exclaimed.
Harry was looking at her wings, she knew he was.
“Ah! That makes sense. That’s why your skin isn’t red. Was your mother or father a Vulcan?”
“Harry…” Janet warned.
“Right, sorry to remind you about your parents.”
“I don’t know them.” Red said. “Scratch me!”
Harry scratched her neck. She whipped her tail against the glass from the pleasure. He lifted her, putting her on his lap, stroking her with the other hand. They were so warm, she growled, a low guttural growl of pleasure.
“She’s like a cat!” Janet observed.
“A very smart cat, aren’t you? So smart!”
“Smart!” Red repeated, content.
“Do you like it here?” Harry asked.
“I miss Odin.”
“We’ll find this red Vorchan, don’t worry.”
It took her some time to be able to walk again. She spent a lot of it on the couch. Harry would come by at the end of the day and pet her. She loved it. Janet gave her food in a little bowl. She loved the food too, very meaty. She even had a litter box where she could do her business, if she wanted to, but she preferred going outside, running around the house, trying to fly. There was a big yard with a pool of water. She would stand near the edge, staring at the reflected trees. It was such a big house, but she only ever saw the two of them.
It would get lonely when they were both gone. She wondered if they were still looking for Odin, she decided to ask one day.
“Odin?” she asked, jumping on Harry’s lap. Her paw had healed, and the tears in her wings had sealed themselves.
“Oh right. We haven’t really gotten around to checking, Red. Sorry.”
“I miss my friends.” she said.
“Ok, we’ll find her.” he said.
“Okay… scratch!” she said, lying on her back, stretching her wings.
He got up, “Not right now, Red. Later, I promise. I have to talk to Janet.”
Red watched them walk away upside-down. She felt the blood rushing to her head as she craned her neck to follow them. She spun over, watching them talk by the kitchen. It looked animated but she couldn’t hear them.
She walked over to the door. It was open. She idly thought of leaving the house, the safety of the yard.
“Whoa!” Harry came running down towards her. She panicked, recoiling. She bolted out of the way as Harry ran to the door, closing it. “That was close. It’s dangerous out there, Red.”
–
She spent the next day leaping from furniture, testing her healed wings. Feeling ready, she crawled as high as she could, digging her claws into the wall as she made her way onto the highest shelf. She looked down, feeling vertigo. This was higher than any distance she’d ever jumped before. She readied her wings… and jumped! She was gliding down, it was exhilarating! She saw the glass table coming up below her. She tried to turn but didn’t know how, the wing folded in on itself and she began to plummet, crashing through the glass table.
–
She was at the doctor’s office again.
“What happened?” the doctor asked.
“We don’t know.” Harry said, shaking his head.
“I flew!” Red exclaimed, wincing as the doctor disinfected the lacerations.
“That could have been a lot worse, Red.” Janet scolded.
Red didn’t care about the pain, it had been such a wonderful feeling, to cheat gravity for those few moments. She felt the air under her wings, helping her stay afloat. What a wonderful feeling it must be to fly through the air, not go down but up.
“You really have to be more careful. Negligence isn’t tolerated when it comes to caring for Vorchans.” the doctor said.
“It was an accident.” Harry explained.
“Still, I’ll have to make a note of this.”
“Do what you gotta do…”
–
Red was staring at the shelf reverently. They had moved it away from the wall so she wouldn’t be able to climb along it. Little did they know she could just climb the shelf itself! She started her trek, jumping onto the first tier, then the second, digging her claws in, using her wings to steady herself. She felt herself tilting back. The shelf was falling! She lunged, trying to flap free of the shelf. It caught her tail, trapping her.
She wailed and cried until the neighbours had called the police, who took her to the doctor.
–
“Harry!” she said.
“Harry won’t be endangering your life anymore. You’re safe now.” said the doctor.
“Harry!!” she wailed, trying to break free of the doctor’s grip. They had bandaged her tail. The shelf hadn’t broken it, only cut it slightly.
“You’ll be safer with me.” he was stroking her the way Harry did, but it wasn’t Harry. She bit his finger. “Ow, bitch!” he dropped her. She glided to the ground and ran for the door. “Get the door!”
A nurse ran for the door but she scurried through it. She was in the main lounge area now, “Harry?” she called.
There was no answer, she continued out into the street. People screamed and scattered as she ran through the crowd. She was in a city, she had to find Harry. He lived by other houses, farther from the city. She had to get higher and see where she was.
Red climbed the gutter as people watched, getting all the way up to the roof of the small medical building. She could see farther now. She saw houses. It was Harry’s house, she knew it. She could recognize it, even from her. Her instincts told her that was where she needed to go.
A web covered her. “Gotya!”
She cried out, biting at the web with her teeth. It lifted her. She was on her back, unable to balance herself. It was very nauseating.
“Let me go let me go!” she cried, struggling against the unstable webbed world she was in.
She was thrown inside a car. It closed around her, making her world pitch black. The engine started. It was hard to breathe. She started crying, clawing at the black walls. “Let me out let me out!”
She stumbled as the car lurched. It lurched again, she tried to steady herself. There was no reference point. She felt terribly sick. She collapsed against one of the walls, breathing heavily. It was getting hotter, and damper. The air was getting thicker.
The door finally opened, cold air came in. She saw the doctor. She automatically bit at his hands, but the texture was different. He was covering them with something. She bit as hard as she could, digging in, wrapping her entire body around his hand as she mauled it with all her might.
The doctor had her clasped in his hands again, she was being carried away, to another house.
“Harry!” she cried.
“Dammit I’m just as fine. Harry nearly got you killed. You shouldn’t be running around in houses unsupervised.”
He carried her into his house. It was smaller. She didn’t like the room, it was too green. He opened a small cage and threw her in. She instinctively ran for where she was thrown, only to have a gate close in on her face. She jumped back and hissed, flaring her wings, they hit against the cage. She started gnawing at the cage bars.
“Stop that!” said the doctor.
She kept gnawing, gnawing and gnawing. It started to buckle, one of the bars snapped. She began gnawing at the other.
“Holy shit, that’s steel.” he opened the cage doors. She pulled herself to the very back, hissing.
He reached his hand in, she bit at it, gnawing and gnawing. She could feel the material giving way. He suddenly yanked his hand back, almost taking her incisors with him. She hissed, nearly making it out of the cage door before it slammed closed on her.
She started gnawing at the cage again.
“Oh my god!” the doctor cursed. “Stop it!”
She broke another bar. A few more and she’d be able to squeeze through.
“Alright, don’t make me hurt you.”
Her ears perked up. Hurt?
She saw a stick in his hand. “Do you understand me?”
“Let me go!”
“I’m keeping you safe.”
“Let me go!”
“People need to be trained to take care of Vorchans, they can’t just catch one.”
She started gnawing at the bars again.
He opened the cage door, poking her with a stick. She snapped at the stick, he pulled it back and hit her with it. She yelped in pain and surprise.
“That’s right, stop eating the cage. It’s bad for your teeth.”
She watched him. He was watching her. She put her muzzle against a bar, testing his response. He started opening the cage door again, she backed away.
You can’t watch me all day, she thought, wagging her tail.
He grabbed her with a quickness, covering her face and mouth. She struggled at it, unable to see. She was being lifted. She scratched with her hind legs. She was pinned against the floor, her mouth held shut. She snorted angrily, trying to pull free. Something went over her mouth. “There!” He put her back in the cage and closed the door behind her.
She glared at him, baring her fangs. She couldn’t open her mouth anymore. She began clawing at the bars.
“That’s not gonna work.”
It wasn’t, she gave up, tired.
The doctor left.
–
It was one of the worst night’s she ever had. She kept trying to stretch her wings, only to have them rattle against the cage doors. She hated it here, she wanted to be back with Harry. She had to pee too. She didn’t want to pee here, she wanted to pee outside. She cried for the doctor, for somebody. She started wailing as loud as she could. The doctor came out of a room. “Dammit it’s five in the morning.”
“I have to pee!” she hissed.
“Well… go in the cage. That’s what the newspaper is for.” he said.
“I want to pee outside!” she demanded.
“Tough, you bit me.”
“You stole me!”
“That’s quite a big accusation for such a little creature.”
“One day I’ll be bigger, and stronger.”
“One day you will be, yeah.”
“And then I’ll find you.” she hissed.
“Oh-ho, now you’re threatening me?”
“I’ll bite off your arms… and your legs… and your head!” she growled.
“Ok, I won’t accept threats like that in my house.”
“And then I’ll feed you to all my friends, and we’ll eat everything, except your bones. We’ll make soup out of your bones!”
“Right, well there go your outside privileges!”
“I had outside privileges?”
“You did, until you said all that.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t mean it! Let me outside!”
“If you promise to not say things like that anymore.”
“I promise.”
“Alright, let me get a leash.”
“What’s a leash?”
–
She hated the leash, and the collar, and the fact that he was watching her the whole time. It was very humiliating. “Are you done?” he asked.
“I can’t go with you looking at me.”
“Fine!” he exclaimed, exasperated, looking away.
It was nice to pee. She was content, bladder empty. He yanked at her leash. “Alright, back inside.”
“Harry!” she demanded.
“Forget about him.”
“I want to stay outside.” she pleaded.
“Fine, we can go for a walk?”
She had never been on a walk before. Harry always just let her play in the yard.
–
The walk was fascinating. She saw things she’d never seen before. Massive cars and things that looked like cars but flew through the air. “Hovercars” he’d called them. Then there were buildings, buildings that were taller than the tallest buildings she’d ever seen. They must have walked for hours, everyone stared at her, complimenting her looks, telling her how pretty she was. She really liked this: being the center of attention.
She went home content, almost forgetting about Harry. Until she saw the cage.
“No.” she fought against the leash. “No cage!”
“It’s for your protection.”
“NO CAGE!” she screeched.
“Holy shit you can be loud.”
She screeched some more, incoherently. “FINE!” he yelled back.
She wagged her tail, “And this leash.”
He unclipped the leash.
“And the collar.”
“You’re pushing it.”
“COLLAR!” she screeched.
He put his hands around her neck, seemingly unfastening the collar. Suddenly he pinned her. She yelped, thrashing against him.
“Alright. I know you Vorchans are smart. So I know you’re smart enough to realize I can seriously hurt you if you don’t start behaving.”
She instinctively struggled, thrashing wildly, trying to break free of his hand. He put his other hand over her body, flattening her. “Hurts!” she cried. “Stop!”
“Stop being difficult, then!” the doctor yelled.
“Let me go!”
“Promise to behave!”
“LET ME GO!” she screeched, he pressed on her neck harder, she was suffocating. She couldn’t breathe! This was bad, her world was spinning. She stopped struggling, going limp, a universal sign of submission, even when they played.
“That’s better.” the doctor said, panting. “You have to understand that I know better than you. I live in this world. You were just born. You were in an egg less than a year ago.”
Her mouth was quivering, she looked up at him.
“Oh don’t…” the doctor said.
She started to cry. He lifted her, petting her. “Ha-ra-ra-rey” she sobbed.
“What am I doing…” he sighed. “I’m so sorry.”
“Haaarr-rreeeyyy” she repeated.
“Okay… I’ll take you to Harry.” she breathed heavily but stopped crying, letting him carry her to the car.
It was a quiet drive, they stopped near a building in the city. Red watched him walk inside the building they stopped in front of. She awaited Harry, excited.
Minutes passed.
Men with nets came out.
She panicked, clawing against the door, pulling on the hinge with her teeth. It wouldn’t open. She jumped into the driver’s seat, pulling at the hinge there. It popped open. She ran across the street, cars careening wildly to avoid her. She stopped and hissed at them, recoiling as one flipped over her, crashing in a heap of metal behind her. Red: 1; Cars: 0. She continued across the road and ran up the highest tree she could find. There was a bridge beyond her, then a lot of roads and buildings. She couldn’t see Harry’s house. Where had he taken her?
She leapt from the tree, gliding to another. Impressed that she actually accomplished such a precision glide, she then leapt for the first floor of a building. She climbed the building, getting all the way to the very top. Tired, she decided to rest here before proceeding.
This time, she thought, looking down at the tiny cars below her, and the tiny bridge; the tiny houses.
“This time.” she said out loud. “I will fly!”
She leapt from the building. The air caught her wings and she carefully steered, aiming in the direction she sensed they had come from. She flapped her wings but lost too much altitude, she started to fall. She was falling too fast now, she couldn’t open her wings again, the air was pressing them against her side. She crashed into a branch, then another, and another, collapsing on the floor.
She brushed herself off, miraculously unharmed.
She climbed up the tree she’d just fallen through and tried again, gliding several dozen meters and landing gracefully. Flapping was too dangerous for the moment, but she was mastering the glide.
Something grabbed her. It wasn’t a Raumen hand, it was some sort of clawed beast with big wings. It lifted her into the air, struggling. It dug its beak into her scales. She cried out and slashed at its face. Blood filled the air as her claws cut through the flesh, the feathered creature fell from the sky. She glided to safety. She’d never seen anything like that before, it had tried to eat her. She checked the area where it had attacked her, damaging her scales. There was no blood. She was okay.
She looked up at the sky, seeing if there were any more feathered beasts up there. She didn’t move for several minutes, scanning, staying perfectly still. Her black skin didn’t blend well with this green environment. She then began her run towards Harry’s house.
Occasionally she would reach areas designated for vehicles, it seemed, as there would be an unending stream of them, and to break past she would have to climb a tree or building and glide across. It was a difficult journey, but she was developing a rhythm to it, and she was grateful to finally get away from the men with nets.
She wasn’t sure how she knew which way Harry’s house was, but she knew.
She was also getting tired…
She scanned the area for a comfortable place to sleep. She knew it would be important to find a spot where she couldn’t be attacked, a place where other predators wouldn’t go, but where she would be safe. There were several buildings to choose from, but she didn’t think the roofs would be that safe, and the rooms had Raumens.
Underneath the buildings were where the vehicles dwelled, it was quieter there. The air was thicker. The echoes were louder. She ran to one of these dwellings, making her way down the ramp to the lower tiers. She noticed animals never went here, it meant it was a safe haven for her, so long as she found a place out of sight of the Raumens.
She looked up: piping and insulation. Arc had told her about how the Raumens built their buildings, how those metal things took water to their bathrooms and bathtubs. She climbed up to one, settling on the pipe. The insulation flaked when her tail grazed it. It was hard to get off her body, but she felt safe up here, and the pipes were large enough to conceal her, so long as she kept her tail tucked under her.
It was hard to sleep, vehicles moving by would wake her on occasion as they traveled, but every time she woke she felt more tired, wishing she could sleep forever. Wishing she were back in Harry’s warm couch. How she longed for a warm and soft place to sleep on. The garage was too cold.
When she awoke for the final time, knowing she was ready to head out again, she didn’t feel very healthy. She had developed a cough over the night, and her sense of smell was failing her.
There were people, too. And cars, cars everywhere. She couldn’t jump down from the pipeline, not without alerting them of her presence.
Maybe she should just jump down, just give herself up. What was the worst they could do to her? Soup. She clutched the pipes, looking at the cars going by down below. She could try gliding onto one and riding it for a while, but they went fast, and she wasn’t sure how well she could judge their speed. As if bending to her will, one of the cars stopped right below her, and it had a flat box-like back that she could jump into. It was perfect. Now was her chance. She jumped, afraid to glide in case it shot her past the car. She hit the back of the truck with a loud clank, yelping from the pain of impact.
“What was that?” asked a Raumen.
Uh oh. She instinctively squeezed herself into a corner of the flatbed. It was a black truck, and it was dark down here, and she was black… maybe they wouldn’t see her.
She saw Raumens at the back of the truck now, peeking into it, examining it. They were looking at the side of the truck. Finally one looked inside, his eyes gazing right past her, then back to her.
“Whoa.” he said, staying perfectly still.
Red watched him carefully, mirroring his stillness.
“There’s something in the car.” he whispered to another Raumen, beckoning for him to see. She had to run away, her position was compromised, but she wasn’t sure if she could make it out of the garage. Maybe onto the ceilings… run across the pipes and look for alternate routes.
Hands came down from above her, just out of her line of sight, she slashed at them but they were too quick, again, pinning her against the floor. She wailed for help, the hands let her go. She bolted for the wall, nearly getting hit by a car before she scurried up the insulation to the pipes up above, staring down at the people down below. They stared up. “It’s fast.”
“What is it?”
“I think it’s a Vorchan.”
“Oh wow I’ve never seen one of those before.”
“Don’t they understand us?”
“Some do.”
“Hey you!” they called to her.
She watched silently, ears perked and tail up. Suddenly she sneezed, and lost her balance, falling into one of their arms. She felt sick – she didn’t want to run anymore.
“Watch out! It has claws!”
“It won’t hurt us.”
“How do you know that, put it down!”
“I’ll be fine.”
“Watch the horns!” She was placed into a soft seat. The inside of the truck was so warm, she pressed up against the backrest, content. She was confident she could escape again, so confident that she went back to sleep.
She awoke inside a room, lying on a soft table with wooden bars on either side. The top was open. She could easily climb out, but found the table comfortable, relaxing, stretching her wings. It was a very roomy bed for her.
Boredom overtook her quickly, and she was out soon, looking around the room. It was very small, and there was only one window. There was food all over the floor, crumbs. Boxes of half-eaten food were on a table by a couch.
Realizing how hungry she was, she ate the food and then relaxed on the couch, comfortable here. She wondered what kind of people lived in this room, and hoped they wouldn’t make soup out of her.
Warmth surrounded her as she woke up, she was inside something. It was soft and comfortable, but she couldn’t stretch her wings or move her legs. It made her uneasy. She wailed slightly, only to have someone start stroking her back. It wasn’t Harry, but she found it acceptable, letting the hand stroke her.
They arrived in a building, she idly knew she would have to escape soon, but felt confident that she would be able to, having escaped so many times before. But for the moment she played their game, and let them take her to the waiting area.
It was a different medical facility, this one had Vorchans. She didn’t recognize any of them. None of them were fully grown. All of them had a Raumen.
She looked up at her Raumen. It was a man, she couldn’t recognize facial features well enough to tell age or race, but she knew it wasn’t Harry. She would recognize Harry.
The doctor called on them and the man carried her to the doctor’s room in the towel. The towel would be a problem, she would have to figure out how to break out of it soon. It could hinder her attempts at escaping.
“So this one’s been slipping in and out of consciousness?” asked the person she assumed was the doctor.
“Yeah, I don’t think they’re meant to be outside in this cold.”
“Well…” the doctor had warm hands, and moved them past the towel, reaching for her right wing. When he grabbed it he pulled gently, stretching it, moving away the towel. As he stretched out her wing she was compelled to stretch the other to its full wingspan. She was free of the towel and started shivering from the sudden temperature change.
“It’s a mix of some sort, probably Blackwing and Vulcan. Do you have a translator? Do you understand me?”
He was talking to her. She nodded. “I’m lost.”
“Who was your owner?”
“Harry.” she said.
“Do you know his last name?” the doctor asked.
“Last?” Red asked, perplexed.
“Never mind. You’ll need rest anyways, you’re sick.”
“Sick?”
“You caught a cold being outside. Your Vulcan physiology didn’t like it.”
“Fiz-e-oh…” it was an interesting word. She tried repeating it a few times.
“Thanks for bringing her in.” said the doctor to the man.
“No problem.” the man walked away. She watched him leave, wondering if she would recognize him again. With her scent of smell gone it was very difficult to distinguish the Raumens from one another.
The doctor put her back in a towel and placed her in a small warm transparent box. It was very comfortable, and when the lights went out, she fell asleep immediately.
She awoke the next morning as she was being lifted out, still wrapped in the towel. The doctor was taking her somewhere. She drowsily wondered where they were going.
He didn’t say much while he drove, looking out at the street on ahead. Red could see the flying cars zipping by up above, so much faster.
“Flying.” Red observed.
“Can you fly?” he asked.
“No.” she shook her head, staring at all the cars. She was envious of their ability, and they did it without wings too. She didn’t understand.
“Oh. The cars. They’re hovercars. They use magnets. There are wires up there, tons of wires. They create an electromagnetic field that keeps the vehicles suspended.”
She had no idea what he just said, so she just nodded, looking out at the cars.
She recognized the place she had been taken too. She wagged her tail excitedly.
“Don’t do that you’ll slice the leather.” said the doctor, putting his hand over her tail.
“Odin?” she called.
She was rushing out to see her, almost airborne.
“Red, are you alright?”
Red nodded meekly, grateful to see Odin again. She pulled her ears back as Odin loomed in, smelling her intently.
“I was worried about you.” Odin said.
“Oh is that the one?” asked another man. He carried himself in a very peculiar manner. Red didn’t like him. He had followed Odin outside.
“She is. She’s the one you sent us.”
“Excellent.” he kneeled down to her. “How do you like it here?”
“It’s okay…” Red said.
“But there’s more out there, lot’s more!” the man exclaimed, nodding to the doctor, who drove off. Another person she’d never see again…
Suddenly his hands were over her and she was being carried. He held her with a proficiency she hadn’t experienced before. Not even her wings felt confined.
“Where are we going?” she asked.
“Up to my ship – I came a long way to find you again. There was a mistake.”
“A mistake?”
“Yes. I’ve decided you’d be better off with me. Rather than out here, where it’s… dangerous.”
Red wasn’t sure what the man was talking about, but she had gotten used to being carried, and she was curious to see what this ship looked like.
“Is that the ship?” Red asked, seeing a white car with thin tapered wings that extended out from its nose, curving back. It was very beautiful.
“Oh-ho no. That’s just the shuttle for the ship. The ship is even better.”
The shuttle doors hissed open and they entered. It was bright inside. There were all sorts of televisions on the walls. The floor was shiny and reflective, it mesmerized her.
“Who are you?” Red asked.
“A friend of your mother’s: Admiral Martock. But you can call me Martock.”