Lost Change

Chapter 23

I wasn't sure just how long I spent staring blankly at the glass wall in front of me before I realized I was awake.

Wow. The Kymari must have some good painkillers.

Why had I thought that? It must be true though... right? The last thing I could remember was of a Kymari catching me, and I had been in very bad shape then. There had been so much pain...

But now my entire body felt fuzzy, like I had been wrapped in super soft furs that could somehow still breathe easily. I was very warm, and I felt a pleasant heat filling every part of my body as if I was sprawled out in the noon sun. But I was pretty sure I wasn't outside. Whatever I was laying on didn't feel like dirt or a tree branch, and the heat felt steady and constant, without the occasional dimming I would expect from clouds or the cooling from random breezes. The angle of the warmth felt wrong too - it wasn't coming from above me, but from somewhere behind me. It was just a nice, constant warmth from... something.

I realized I could just glance up to find out where I was, but... it felt really good to just lay there and stare at the glass. Moving would mean effort, and I just didn't want to. The slight reflection in the glass showed a silver dragonet with a dopey, checked out expression on his face, and beyond that was a larger room and then a blank wall, and I was more than happy with that view.

Time passed - it might have been minutes, it might have been hours - and I heard a shuffling sound from somewhere.

"Oh, you're awake. Here, let me get you some food."

There was another shuffling sound as somebody got to their feet, and I saw movement through the glass. Something shifted and pulled away - a door opening? - and I saw a green hand slip inside. It dropped something in front of me, then it pulled back through the door.

I kept staring at the glass for another hazy moment... then the scent of something sweet and tangy reached my nose. I sniffed, recognizing it, then slowly tilted my head downwards. It was hard to focus through the happy fuzziness, but the scent was exciting enough to keep me moving.

I stared at the bright peach slice resting on the floor before me. It looked yummy...

I stretched my neck slowly forward, opening my mouth as I went... and finally closed my mouth over the edge of the slice, sinking my teeth through the soft skin of the fruit. Flavor dribbled onto my tongue as the juices flowed from the peach, and I heard myself start to thrum in delight.

The peach was delicious. I was quite certain it was the best thing I had ever tasted, and I lay there with my jaws closed around it. Chewing would take way too much effort, and this felt nice. Everything felt nice...

Gentle laughter came from beyond the glass wall. "Looks like the sedative is still in your system. Here, let me help."

The hand came back into view and slipped through the door in the glass wall. It reached for the peach in my mouth, grabbing it... then it pulled them away. I let out a desperate creel as the taste vanished, and my head slumped the rest of the way to the glass floor.

More charmed laughter reached my ears. "It's okay, don't worry. Just give me a second." There was more shuffling from beyond the glass wall, along with the clinking of plates and a muffled slicing sound, then I saw the hand reappear in my vision. A second joined it and they reached past my head, going too far back for me to keep in my vision - at least, not without moving my head, and I felt way too good like this to waste that much energy - and then I felt the hands scooping underneath my wings and body to lift me up.