Well, this has been a nice experiment. It's time to think about getting ourselves some self-sufficiency.
First things first... we should apologize to the kid. Go say "good Ali" a few times, be all cute and cuddly and comforting. Maybe it'll help.
Once that's taken care of, we'll want to start practicing some survival skills. "Gliding" just isn't gonna cut it if we want to really go places, so... next morning, find a nice out-of-the-way room and practice flapping. Be careful not to break anything.
+1 If we have to leave we'll need more strength to take our Ali with us.
Also if we get a chance we should try to learn how to work the lock. We might need to use it if we get too big for the window, and we don't want to damage the lair if we don't have to.
After a moment's hesitation you follow Ali to her room. You find her crying on her bed, her face hidden in a pillow. You know crying means that she's in pain, you remember from that time she hurt her leg on the table while she was chasing you. She hurt it on a corner and then she fell down and started crying. But you're certain she didn't get hurt now. You were watching.
You move closer to comfort her regardless. You nuzzle her and lick her on her cheek a couple of times. You try to say "good Ali" again, hoping it will make her happy enough to forget her pain. She turns around and wraps her arms around you, whispering something to you. You don't understand but you respond with a few more licks. She smiles briefly but doesn't stop crying, not until she falls asleep. You stay with her, spreading your wings to protect her from the cold. Soon you too fall asleep.
...
In the morning, you very carefully try to leave her bed without waking her. But as you are jumping off you feel her grab your tail. You stifle a yelp, land and try to remain unmoving. She lets go a while later, grabbing one of the fuzzy fake-animals she sleeps with instead. Now free, you head for the refresher. There, you push the button above the sink that triggers the flow of water for your morning drink.
...
When Ali goes to the refresher for her morning routine, you use her room to practice flying, seeing as it's the largest empty space you can find and the one you're least likely to get in trouble for using. You position yourself in the center, careful not to accidentally smash any of her things. You jump in the air and flap your wings hard. It's very easy to reach the ceiling that way. You could use your wings to jump very long distances. But it is also very tiring. You won't be able to fly upwards like this, at least not for a long time. Maybe the lack of food is making you tire easily. Maybe you're still too young to fly. Maybe your species just doesn't fly. Like many other things, you don't know.
...
Today you decide to tackle one of those things you don't know. How does this "lock" thing work? You watch Dad leave for work. He simply presses a red button, it turns green and the door opens. A moment after he exits he does something on the other side of the door and the button turns red again.
About a minute after he leaves, you try doing the same thing. But instead of turning green, the button emits an annoyed beep when you press it, just like the last time you tried it. Frustrated, you grab Ali's attention and bring her to the door. "Lock open" you say, hoping she will understand. She looks confused and a moment later a bit sad. She says something, the only thing you understand is "leave". You just stare at her, not knowing what to do. She exhales loudly and says something else, but the only thing you understand is "unlock". You keep staring. Perhaps understanding that you don't understand, she reaches up on her tiptoes and presses another button near the red one. 10 symbols are projected in the air, arranged in 4 rows. She repeats what she said before more slowly, but it still doesn't help you understand.
Ali seems to get bored of this conversation, so she brings you to the holovision. She presses a button and the holovision projects two chairs along with a symbol. "Two" she intones. Another button and there's another symbol along with three plates. "Three" she says slowly and loudly. Then she presses a button and there's only two plates with no symbol. "How many?" she says and points at the plates while looking at you. You're not sure what you're supposed to say. "Two" she says. But you're not sure what she means.
This is going to take a while.
...
After a long time spent teaching you, you have finally attained some understanding of small numbers and the words and symbols used to represent them. She brings you before the door. She takes a deep breath, presses the button that reveals the symbols and repeats what she said before. You realize it's numbers, both the symbols and her words are numbers. 4 numbers that will remove the lock: 1, 1, 3, 8. You nuzzle her and say "good Ali" to show her you understand and are satisfied. She pets you in response, though she seems a bit distracted.
Still, it's strange that she didn't just show you how to do it. It would probably had been much quicker. Maybe she didn't want to open the door for some reason? Or maybe she didn't want
you to open the door? But then why would she teach you? Another thing you don't understand.
Age: a few weeks (hatchling)
Size: about the size of a large dog
Status: hungry
Health: fine
Weapons: claws and teeth
Armor: soft scales
Abilities:
- Glide: You can glide in order to survive falls and quickly move great distances, though your wings are too weak to allow you true flight. However you can use favorable winds and updrafts to increase your glide time.
- Rudimentary Human Language: You are able to understand human language to a very basic degree. You won't understand everything though and there will likely be misunderstandings. You can also attempt to speak, but you can only form simple, short sentences and it's very hard for others to understand you.
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Topic: Surviving in an Alien World [Suggestion Game] (Read 106579 times)