The medicine had died down to a light fuzzy feeling when I woke up. I could focus, and I was aware of the aches in my body, but they were still distant things. The drugged stupor wasn't overwhelming me.

The cloth had been removed at some point, and I could make out a soft glow beyond the blinds over the window, so I assumed I had slept through an entire night and that it was now morning.

I felt a little sad at that thought. It would have felt nice to greet the sun, even if I couldn't fly for it like this.

The room looked empty beyond the cage, so I waddled over to the food dish. The strange alien fruit had been swapped back out for dried mangos so I ate a few, still ignoring the chunks of fish that remained mixed in with the fruits, but the water still had that metallic scent to it. I was extremely thirsty - how long had it been since I had really had any water to drink? - and I seriously considered drinking the drugged water anyways.

I wasn't in pain at the moment, though. And... I wasn't that happy with the idea of ending up back in that state with her around.

I shook my head to put those thoughts out of my mind and instead went back to the business of waking up for the day. The tray of red dirt had been cleaned out at some point, presumably by her, so I buried a new mess in the dirt for her to deal with.

After that...

There wasn't really anything to do after that.

I walked a few aimless circles around the cage a few times just for the purpose of doing something, but the cast around my hind leg made it awkward to do too much walking with. There weren't any toys to play with - probably to keep me from hurting myself on them - and nothing was going on outside the cage. I tried chirping, "Hey Alexa, turn on the tv", but the screen across the room stayed dark. Either the Kymari had no equivalent of voice-activated digital assistants, or it didn't recognize the musical warbles of a dragonet as valid instructions.

I tugged the blanket closer to the heat lamp near the back of the cage and burrowed underneath it. I poked my nose out of one end so as to be able to breathe and to keep an eye on the room, and then I settled in to wait for something to happen.

The soft warmth from the blanket and the heat lamp was relaxing. I zoned out after a bit, forgetting my boredom and just enjoying the pleasant surroundings instead.

I heard a noise from one of the hallways, and I felt the blanket shift a little as my ear tufts rose to push against it. There were a few more noises, then the Kymari walked into the room.

I made a mental note that the hallway in question must lead to the bedroom. She was wearing a baggy shirt and a short pair of shorts, which seemed like it would make for a comfortable outfit to sleep in, but wasn't one I had ever seen a Kymari wear when I ran across one in the park. She also seemed to still be half asleep, like her alarm had gone off a bit too early, or as if she hadn't been able to sleep that well.

Since it looked like the sun was already up out past the blinds, I decided she must be having trouble sleeping.

Or maybe I just really hoped she was.

I hissed as she continued into the room. She paused and looked towards me, then frowned.

"Well. Good morning to you too. Not very thirsty, I take it?" She started walking again, but this time instead of heading towards the other hallway, she moved straight in my direction.

I hissed louder and pulled my head back underneath the blanket. I doubted that it helped much - even flattening myself as low as I could manage against the floor, the blanket was the only place in the cage I could possibly be, and the fact that the blanket was hissing and sputtering like water pouring over the hot rocks inside a sauna probably removed any other lingering confusion the Kymari might have had as to my location.

I heard her footsteps get closer, then heard her giggle. "You don't have to hide; I'm not going to hurt you."

Lady, you've drugged me like four times now, and you shot Susie. I glared at where I suspected she must be through the blanket and stayed right where I was.

There was silence for a moment, then her voice continued on with a lingering trace of her laughter. "Suit yourself." I heard the door to the cage open, and I tensed and hissed louder, expecting to be grabbed... but instead I heard the sound of the food bowls being moved about.

"You're clearly eating, but it doesn't look like you've had anything to drink. I don't think that's a good sign..." There was a note of worry in the Kymari's voice, followed by more shuffling outside the cage. A second later I heard the cage door close, followed by footsteps.

I peeked out from under the blanket and saw that the Kymari had gone back to sit on the couch. She was fiddling with a device on the table, and...

My ears perked up as I caught sight of the orange berry lying in front of the door. I stared at it. It was perfect. Big, round, and most importantly, juicy. I could already taste the cool liquid in the berry drenching my parched throat in sweet deliciousness.

The cast caused my hind leg to drag awkwardly as I tried to dart forward and grab the treat, but I still rushed forward as fast as I could manage. I was thirsty. I scooped up the treat and dashed back to the blanket, hopping up onto it and sitting up to inspect my prize.

It smelled and looked like the orange berries always did, even right down to the subtlely specific Kymari scent lingering on it. My tongue immediately demanded a chance to inspect it too, and I happily bit into the berry. I closed my eyes and savored the delicious taste of the sweet fruit.

These things are so good!

Granted, I hadn't had much to drink in a while, but still, those things were amazing. I probably would have gone just as crazy for it even if I hadn't been thirsty.

The berry lasted for three bites. I licked my hands and claws clean of any lingering juice, of which there was sadly far too little, and then I glanced back towards the couch.

The Kymari was watching me with a small smile on her face.

I hissed and hobbled back underneath the blanket.

The room was silent for a few moments after that... then I heard another voice speaking.

"Doctor Senica speaking."

I blinked underneath the blanket. There had definitely only been one Kymari in the room, that Kymari, but the voice was obviously not her voice. It also had a distant quality to it, as if the sound was coming from somewhere else.

I perked back out from underneath the blanket, but the room was empty. I glanced back at the Kymari on the couch and saw her focused on the device on the table. Oh. It must be a phone of some kind.

"Yes, this is Minna calling, about the fire lizard you treated a few days ago?"

The new voice - Doctor Senica? - grew cheerful and upbeat, and I confirmed it was definitely coming from the device on the table. "Yes! I got your message about the progress of his wing, and I think we should be fine to go ahead and get him in a proper cast tomorrow. I can fly up and take care of it first thing in the morning if that works for you?"

The Kymari glanced back towards me before nodding. "That works great, thank you. Though I was actually calling about something else I noticed."

"Oh?"

"I don't think he's drinking any water. I've been mixing the medicine... um, the liquid sedative you gave me, the tranquilizer one; I put that in his water like you suggested, and he seemed pretty out of it the first time I changed out the ointment, but after that he's always been alert. I checked his water just now and it looks to be at about the same level as when I put it in there."

"Hmm." The reply was thoughtful, with a note of concern to it. "That could be a sign of something serious, but none of his early scans showed any problems." The voice grew quiet, though I thought I could hear tapping coming from the 'phone'. "None of the other fire lizards I treated ever had any problem with this medication, or even seemed to notice it was there. You said he did drink it once though?"

The Kymari looked at my cage with obvious uncertainty. "I think so... I gave him some food the first night, and he was still really out of it then, and then the next morning he just slept through everything I did. He was definitely awake when I was feeding him, so I assumed the medicine was wearing off, but maybe it was still in his system?"

More tapping. "No, it should have worn off faster than that. Hmm." More thoughtful tapping. "Has he shown any signs of wanting to drink? Trying to get at cups in the room, anything like that?"

The Kymari glanced around the room, wincing a little as she looked over the obviously thirsty potted plant in the corner, then looked back down at the table. "I've been keeping him in his cage because of his leg, and I don't really have any other water around. I did give him a sunburst berry, and he was pretty excited about it, but from what I've read they're always pretty excited about them."

Was that what those berries were called? I made a mental note in case I heard somebody use the word again. I liked that name - it was fitting, as if the berry was a tiny bit of the Morning Song ready to burst and give me a tiny bit of that same experience.

I felt a little bit of sudden sadness. It had already been too long since I had gotten to dance and sing for the dawn.

"Mm." More tapping from the phone. "We think he used to be kept as a pet by the humans, right? Maybe he had a bad experience with a sedative they used, something similar enough to ours to remind him of the problems it caused, but which none of the wild ones have had to deal with. Try putting some clean water in his cage too, and see if he is willing to drink that instead."

"What should I do with the medicine if he does?"

"Just leave it. All reports are that they are clever animals; he may drink some of it on his own if he gets to be in too much pain. If not, then we can try to find some other way to dose him." More tapping. "Send me a message if he does start drinking; otherwise I will have an opening in two hours and I can fly out to take a closer look at him."

"Of course. Thank you, Senica."

The Kymari leaned forward and tapped something on the phone. She got up and went down the other hallway - which I assumed must lead towards the kitchen and dining areas. A few minutes later she returned with another food dish, this one full of water.

I hissed at her just on general principle as she put the bowl in my cage - I did not want her getting comfortable around me, even if it meant the only water I got was the kind tainted with tranquilizers - and waited until she was back on the couch before crawling out from under the blanket. I was pretty sure it was safe given the conversation, but I gave it a few sniffs just to be sure. It smelled just like water should smell.

And it tasted like water should taste, too.

I heard some more happy laughter from the couch as I stuck my head in the bowl and eagerly drank my fill.