Aja stretched her good wing as far as she could within the confines of the cage and then folded it back against her side. It was a nervous motion, just like how her tail tip continued to twitch back and forth, but she couldn’t contain her restlessness.

The room was dark once more. Tobin had turned the lights out before he and Lescelli had left the room. The door was shut and she couldn’t see any windows from her place beneath the desk. She felt very vulnerable in the poor hiding spot and found herself flinching at even the slightest sound that came from beyond the walls of the room. The towel Tobin had draped over the top of the cage did little to ease her discomfort.

She sighed and kneaded at the towel in the cage. Her anxiety was going to be the fabric’s demise as she had already pulled up several threads and her talons were starting to rip small holes in it. She hoped Tobin wasn’t going to want it back.

After taking a breath, Aja settled herself down on the towel to ponder her current situation. She wanted to fuss with the lock more now that Tobin and Lescelli were gone, but she was worried about attracting further attention. It was bad enough the two had her in a cage, but they seemed to be trying to keep her presence a secret. It meant there were likely more people in the home and Aja didn’t want anyone to come snooping after the rattling noises.

With that option out, there was little she could do to escape on her own. Still, it didn’t seem like either Tobin or Lescelli intended to harm her. They’d helped treat her wing and while being held down by the horns had been unpleasant, they had been as gentle as possible. Her wing still throbbed, but she knew that it would have hurt a lot worse if Lescelli had been rough or shaky when treating it. They didn’t seem to know anything about her people and viewed her like an animal – which made her sad – but it could be worse. They seemed to want to help her to an extent at the least.

But she still needed to get away from this place. She wanted to go back home. And even if the desire was not relevant, she and Lanna were still on a timer. It had paused now that she was injured – she could sense it – but the limbo would not last forever and as soon as she was better, they would continue running out of time.

If Lanna ever woke, that was. Aja whined and brought a paw to her chest as she silently begged for her human counterpart to stir. But Lanna was still unconscious. Aja supposed that since she could still sense Lanna, that was a strong indicator that the girl would be alright, but it didn’t soothe her fears or make her feel less lonely.

The last time they had been in a cage, Aja at least hadn’t been alone. She’d had Lanna in her heart, and though they had both been so young at the time and Lanna had been just as frightened, at least they’d had each other. Now, Aja felt like a hollowed-out shell of herself. And with the unyielding steel surrounding her, Aja was fighting off horrible memories and she would have given anything to feel less isolated.

Aja lowered her head down to her paws and snorted. Her nostrils flared and she watched the thin wisps of smoke that rose up from them. They coiled in the air for a moment and disappeared, so Aja exhaled heavily once more so she could watch more spurts rise in the air. It was a pointless exercise, but at least it was something to do for a few moments. She could never sustain a flame for long, but she liked releasing small jets of fire and steam. It warmed her chest and made her feel powerful, despite her small size. But she couldn’t breathe fire now. Not with the belt still secured firmly over her snout, and not unless she wanted to risk lighting the home on fire. That would do her no good since she couldn’t get out of the cage herself and a fire would attract all sorts of attention. But she could play with the smoke a little, so she did.

It didn’t take long for her to grow bored with the senseless activity and she sighed. She closed her eyes and tried to ignore the cramps that had been growing more prominent in her gut. After her frantic flight and her injuries, Aja was quickly growing famished. Her belly was tight and it rumbled at her obnoxiously.

She knew Tobin had mentioned something about trying to find food and she found herself hoping he would hurry back. He made her nervous in her current situation, but there was nothing she could do to resolve her own hunger pangs at the moment.

She still wasn’t certain what Tobin’s motives or intentions were regarding her predicament. He wanted to help her heal, otherwise he and Lescelli wouldn’t be bothering with her wing, but after was what made her nervous. Did they intend to help her and let her go, or did they want her for the same reasons their ancestors had wanted dragons?

From his conversation with Lanna at the library, it sounded like Tobin detested the use of dragons in the war, but he also hadn’t sounded overly fond of her people either, so she wasn’t sure why he was helping her or what to think.

But she didn’t get any more time to ponder it as she was torn from her thoughts by the click of a lock and she spooked. She knew she wasn’t directly visible from the door, but she could see it as she curled up in the back of the cage and watched the handle turn. Her heart thudded frantically in her chest as she watched the door slowly swing open.

The relief that flooded her when Tobin stepped through the doorway alone was immense. She relaxed slightly but didn’t uncoil or move from the corner of the cage. Just because she knew who had entered the room didn’t mean she had complete confidence that she was safe for the moment.

Tobin’s footsteps thudded lightly on the floorboards as he crossed the room and approached the desk that Aja’s cage was shoved under. She cringed a little, but Tobin didn’t crouch down or reach for the cage. Instead, he merely set some things down on the desk and walked away out of sight.

She could hear some rummaging of drawers opening and closing, and when Tobin walked back into view, he had changed into a new shirt and fresh pants and was pulling a comb through his messy locks.

He sat down on the corner of his bed and pulled on a pair of socks. Then he set about folding up the blanket still draped over the small sofa he had been sleeping on, and making the bed itself.

All the while, Aja remained tucked into the back of the crate. She gradually relaxed and shifted out of the tight ball she’d curled up into, but she remained lying down and didn’t try to draw any attention to herself. She was hungry and wanted out of the cage, but she was still wary of Tobin too. She knew he was kind and that he liked Lanna, but that didn’t mean anything when it came to Aja herself. He didn’t know she had any connection to Lanna and though he had been gentle with her earlier, that wasn’t a guarantee. She wasn’t brave enough to risk another interaction any sooner than necessary.

It took him a while to finish his puttering and tidying, but once he had, Tobin’s attention finally turned back to the desk. This time, he did sit down on the floor and he pulled the cage out. Aja squeaked at the sudden jostling and flared her good wing. The instinct had her trying to move both and she winced as pain flared from her injured one. She stilled both appendages and then carefully refolded her good wing. She was glad the bandages had held. Now that she knew what they were for and the state of her wing, she had no desire to mess with them. Even if she did, Tobin and Lescelli would probably be quick to replace them again anyway, and she didn’t want to repeat that experience either.

Tobin was smiling at her as he peeled the towel back and opened the cage door. “Hey there, little guy, you wanna come back out for a bit?” he coaxed with a demeaning coo to his tone. Aja growled lightly at him in response. She may not be able to converse with him in his language, but that didn’t make her an animal that needed to be cooed at like a pet.

Smoke coiled up from her nostrils as she huffed and shifted her weight.

Tobin’s smile faltered at her reaction and he frowned instead. “You were so calm a few minutes ago,” he sighed. He clucked his tongue. “Are you just cranky because you’re hungry? You’ll have to come out if you want some food.”

Aja’s belly rumbled again at the mention of food, but she snorted at him and shuffled her weight again. She didn’t like the notion that it was simply being hungry that was making her moody.

But when Tobin reached up and pulled a plate of raw chicken off the desk, Aja couldn’t help giving him her undivided attention. Her belly growled again.

Tobin heard it this time because he began to laugh. He clucked his tongue. “Come on,” he encouraged. “Come here.”

She knew she shouldn’t encourage him, but the smell of the meat was making her salivate. Her tail twitched a few times as she wrestled with herself. Finally, primitive need won out over logic and she began to creep forward. Food first and then she would worry about the rest. It was hard to think on an empty belly.

When she was at the threshold of the cage, she hesitated, then stepped free and skirted around Tobin. She wanted the food, but she wasn’t comfortable with him picking her up again. He might try to hold her by her horns again and she hated how trapping the sensation was.

Once she was entirely free of the cage, Tobin grinned. “That’s better.” He set the plate aside and leaned forward. He kept his motions slow, but Aja still spooked as his hands came up towards her face. “No, no, it’s okay. I’m not going to hurt you. Easy.”

Aja’s good wing flared with alarm and she took another step back. She was fairly certain that Tobin didn’t want to hurt her, but being grabbed at made her nervous. Last time, it had happened very quickly and though it hadn’t been entirely unpleasant, Tobin was so much bigger than her. It was hard not to feel intimidated at having his hands in her face when he could probably crush her skull between his palms if he wanted to. Or at least, he could definitely hurt her even if he couldn’t manage that.

“It’s okay,” Tobin murmured. He dropped one hand and continued to lift the other until his fingers brushed her scales. Aja flinched and whined, but he only stroked the scales along her cheek and the side of her snout. “See? It’s okay. That’s it. Now let’s get this off of you now.”

Aja tried not to flinch as Tobin leaned forward and his other hand came up to her face too. Her posture remained rigid as Tobin fumbled with the buckle of the belt and then began to unwrap it from her snout.

As soon as she felt it loosen, she tore her head away with a snort and flared her one good wing. She shook her head violently and brought a paw up to scrape at the makeshift muzzle. It took some doing to finally pull it free of her snout. She stretched her jaws wide and gave herself another shake before tilting her head so the belt could slide off her horns. It clinked against the floor, but Aja was no longer concerned with it.

It felt so nice just to be able to stretch out. The muscles in her jaw had begun to cramp from having her snout secured shut for so long.

Though it was a silly thing to do, she growled at the leather strap for good measure.

Tobin began to chuckle. “Don’t like that much, huh? You’re a fickle little lizard, you know.”

The next huff had smoke curling up from her nostrils as indignation burned like acid in her belly. Aja growled at Tobin and shuffled back a few steps. Her people had scales and forked tongues and some reptilian features, but she did not care for the comparison to cold-blooded ground scurriers.

As she growled at him, Tobin’s eyes widened and the start of a frown twitched at his lips. He leaned away and held up his hands. “Easy now.”

Aja curled her claws into the carpet and huffed. There was a pinching sensation in her chest and she shifted her weight in hopes of alleviating it, but the motions did little. She didn’t want Tobin to be afraid of her. Fear would only make him hate her, and that thought made her feel like purging the bile in her gut.

She watched as Tobin slowly drew the plate of chicken pieces close to himself and then he moved it to his lap. For a moment, all the previous offences melted away as she fixated on the ceramic dish. She licked her lips and her belly rumbled.

Tobin pinched a tiny morsel between two fingers and then flicked his wrist. It sent the scrap of meat flying in her direction. It plopped down on the floor near her and she bent her head to inspect it.

Her nostrils flared as she inhaled and saliva pooled in her mouth at the smell of the raw meat. It didn’t smell tainted, but she still poked it with a claw and flicked her tongue against it. She supposed that if Tobin had wanted to drug her, it would have been easier while she was restrained, and she couldn’t imagine that he and Lescelli would bother with trying to mend her mangled wing if they just intended to poison her now.

Unable to resist the draw of temptation any longer, Aja’s jaws parted and her neck lurched as she snatched up the morsel and scarfed it down. The taste burst on her tongue and she licked her lips a few times once the piece was gone.

“I guess that answers the question on whether or not you can handle solid food,” Tobin mused. “Want some more?”

He tossed another piece and Aja grabbed it barely a second after it hit the ground. The next piece, she snatched out of the air. If she weren’t so ravenous, she might have been irate about being tossed scraps of meat like a stray, but for now, she just wanted to satiate her hunger.

As Tobin continued to offer her small chunks of chicken, Aja found herself having to gradually shuffle closer to where he was sitting on the floor. He was purposefully luring her over.

She still wasn’t entirely certain that he was safe to be around, but for now, she decided that he didn’t wish her any immediate harm, so she decided to play his game and made her way over to him while accepting further pieces along the way.

Soon, she was next to him with her heart hammering in her chest. She peered up at the boy and found his brows furrowed and his lips pursed. She could hear his heart drumming in his chest and smell the perspiration beading on his brow and the back of his neck, and that made her feel a bit better about the situation.

Tobin’s hand shook slightly as he lowered an open palm close to her face. The final piece of chicken was resting there and Aja wanted it. She hesitated for a moment, then reared onto her hind legs and curled her talons around Tobin’s wrist. He flinched but thankfully didn’t yank his hand away. Losing her balance would probably have jarred her injured wing. She gazed up at him again to ensure he wasn’t going to spook unexpectedly and then bowed her head to gingerly lick the final piece into her mouth.

Now that the food was gone, Aja felt a bit better. Her belly was full and though her wing still hurt, the lack of hunger pains was helping her feel calmer and more settled. Tobin was staring at her, so she held his gaze in return. In her chest, Lanna was still buried by exhaustion, but she could sense the human girl more clearly. She would wake eventually, and Aja hoped that she would know whether Tobin could be trusted before then. She didn’t want to break Lanna’s heart.

“It’s hard to imagine that you’re a monster,” Tobin murmured as he brought his free hand up. Aja flinched, but relaxed when he merely brushed over her scaled cheek and then began to rub the underside of her chin. “Or at least that you’ll grow up to be one. You’re so gentle.”

Offence prickled along Aja’s hide and she lashed her tail, but she bit her tongue to keep from growling at him. That would not help his view of her and it seemed like he was trying to overcome the perspective that dragons were beasts. Maybe.

His touch felt good, so Aja closed her eyes and began to purr. It lit the spark in her chest and thin wisps of smoke curled from her nostrils, but she relaxed and leaned into the sensation.

Tobin’s heart wasn’t racing anymore, but it was replaced with the sound of his breath hitching in his throat. He shifted and Aja opened her eyes as his other hand came around under her haunches.

Tobin tensed as she squeaked in surprise when her feet left the ground and she found her body pressed to his torso. His heart was back to hammering, so she forced herself to still in his grasp despite her desire to squirm free.

He was holding her tightly against him – though not so tightly that it hurt – as he stood up. Aja’s tail lashed and her talons curled into the fabric of his sleeve. Tobin responded by placing a hand on her back. “Easy,” he murmured.

Aja did not have a fear of heights, nor did she normally fear falling, but at that moment, being unable to fly and suspended by a power not her own, Aja felt her throat close and a whine built behind clenched teeth.

“It’s okay,” Tobin murmured again. His heartbeat was thudding chaotically in Aja’s ears and she shivered. She wanted him to put her down and clearly holding her terrified him, so she couldn’t figure out why he’d picked her up in the first place.

He walked back towards the desk and the cage he had been keeping her in, and Aja tensed further. She had no desire to be locked back inside. However, instead of moving to the wire prison, Tobin merely pulled the chair away from his desk and sat down. Aja found herself being released into his lap with a hand against her chest to keep her from trying to jump down.

As his fingers began to run down her back repeatedly, Aja arched her spine into his touch. She knew that it was bad to allow him to pet her, it was only going to reinforce his notion that she was an animal. At this point, it was starting to feel like perhaps he intended to keep her as a pet, and she should be attempting to discourage that. But it had been a miserable day and the stroking felt really good, so she found herself settling down in his lap with her head resting on her paws. The rumbling in her chest returned with a vengeance.

“There we go,” Tobin hummed as she settled in. His hand moved away from her back for a moment and she could hear a few rapid clicking and tat-tat-tat sounds before his hand returned to her scales and she shifted to get more comfortable. “Now let’s see what we can find about you.”

That caught Aja’s attention, so she reluctantly peeled her eyes open and lifted her head. If she twisted, she could rest her chin on the lip of the desk in order to peer at the glowing screen sitting on it. She had only the vaguest idea of what a computer was and how it worked, but she couldn’t remember if that was from Lanna learning or from observing humans using them so long ago, but the sight of this one sent unease prickling down her spine like thistle catching between her belly scales. Unlike Lanna – who had taught herself a little – Aja could not read, so the symbols on the screen just appeared as a jumbled, blurry mess without Lanna’s subconsciousness to help her translate.

The clicking sound came again and the image on the screen changed to a new one, with a darker background and more jumbled symbols, but Aja could see the picture and she flinched involuntarily.

There was a photo of a dragon reared back on his hind legs. His wings were spread and fury blazed in his eyes, but a thick metal band held his jaws shut and there were several humans yanking on chains that were secured to a collar around his neck. His scales were like molten lava, and Aja whined and looked away.

“What’s the matter, little guy?” Tobin resumed petting her, but Aja’s purr had stopped. Now she just felt sick to her belly and the chicken she had eaten threatened to make a reappearance as the harsh sensation of a similar metal collar around her throat resurfaced in her mind. She shivered again. She wanted to know what Tobin was looking at, but she had no desire to see another terrible visual of her people’s abuse, so she kept her eyes shut and her snout down in her paws.

Silence stretched like an ominous cloud over Aja as Tobin continued absently running his fingers down her back. She was beginning to miss Lanna terribly and her heart ached with the desire for her other half to rouse.

After a while, Tobin’s hand moved and ghosted over her face. “Hmm…one, two, three jaw spikes…” He trailed off and his hand moved to the back of her neck, where he ran his fingers down the spines there and she shivered. “Flacid neck spines…you’re a female, huh?”

Aja hummed in response. She wasn’t sure what her spines had to do with being a boy or a girl, but his guess was correct, so she supposed it didn’t matter how he reached the assumption.

“It says that you mostly eat meat, but that some dragons have been seen eating vegetation, and the small ones will also hunt large insects…Guess I won’t have to worry about any spiders in my room, huh? Let’s see…temperament is highly aggressive, even in the young. Though young dragons cannot sustain a flame for longer than a few seconds and are a fraction the size of the adults, they can still cause serious burns and injury, and all dragons will attack on sight. Anyone untrained or lacking the experience of professional hunters is cautioned to avoid any dragon – adult or young – at all costs…But you’re not aggressive,” Tobin mused as he continued patting her. “A bit skittish, but no bites, no fire…”

Aja lifted her chin once more to stare at him. She silently willed him to realize, to understand that dragons were not monsters, they were people who had been hurt and enslaved and forced to do terrible things.

“I suppose there’s still a lot to learn,” Tobin decided finally. He wasn’t looking at her prior, but now his gaze shifted to hers and he rubbed her chin with the side of his finger. “Now you’re going to need a name, huh?”

Aja huffed and smoke curled from her nose. She had a name, but she had no means of sharing it with him, so she supposed he was going to wind up calling her something either way. But the idea of being renamed sat like a hot stone in her gullet. She wanted to growl at him for even considering it.

“Let’s see…how about…Lazuria?”