This chapter is from Destiny PoV.
My mornings are early. I wake up just as the sun rises and stretches out, look around with my round, beady eyes, see my golden body reflected in the walls of the transparent box, and flick my tongue in and out with satisfaction.
The temperature and humidity were kept at a constant level in the transparent box. I knew that it was my room, but it was too small for my growing body, and these days I didn't come near it except when I was sleeping.
When I moved to the wall and looked down at him, I saw that he was sleeping with a strange sound coming from his stomach. I thought it would be a bad idea to wake him up since he fell asleep right after coming home late last night.
Stretching my body, I shifted the top panel with a familiar motion and easily escaped from the transparent box. It wasn't hard, since I did it every day.
I moved to the edge of the platform where the transparent box was placed and peeked down....I knew the Lord was sound asleep. I could dive into the bedding from here, but that would wake the Lord. He thought about it and walked slowly along the edge. Then, he jumped to the desk set up by the wall in the Lord's room.
Sitting next to the board lined with protruding objects that the Lord taps on diligently every day, he sits down. Looking up, he sees a square board with a beautiful image playing on it. He knows that the world he is seeing here is a different world from the one he is in now.
I jumped off the desk and landed on the corner of the Lord's bedding. Since I avoided the Lord's body, he didn't wake up, and he was still breathing heavily. Seeing this, I pat my chest with my paw.
I look closely and see that the blanket he was wearing was in disarray, not even covering half of his body, so I bite the blanket with my mouth and pull it off while backing away. When the blanket reached his shoulders, I opened my mouth and flicked my tongue in satisfaction.
I remembered my original purpose, and as I moved to the entrance of this room, I stretched my neck upward. In front of me is a large piece of wood. This is the most difficult obstacle to escape from this room. Unless the board is opened, there is no way out of the room.
In the past, I didn't know how to do that and had to stay in this room quietly, but not anymore. Every time I witnessed the Lord opening the board, I continued to watch closely. If I click down on the metal protrusion at the edge of the board, the board will open.
I walked over to do it and put my paw on the board in front of me. Normally, it would be impossible for someone to climb a vertical plank, but I could do it. There was no foothold for me to climb up, but I did so without difficulty.
My hands are covered with a myriad of tiny, microscopic hairs that act as a non-slip surface, allowing me to climb up and down all kinds of places. I moved to the metal protrusion, hung down and heard a click. But this wasn't enough to open the board. I swung my big, long, proud tail vigorously and slammed it against the wall beside me. The board slowly opens in response.
When there was enough room for me to get through, I took my hand off the metal protrusion and landed on the floor. I slipped out of the room and found myself in a huge, boarded-up passageway.
I looked up and saw three huge boards by the side of the passage. Four if you count the one I just came out of. This one, I remembered, was where a female younger than the Lord lived. Before, the Lord told me.
"Look, you can't go in here, okay? There's no guarantee that you'll make it out in one piece!"
He told me in a strong tone. The Lord looked a little frightened, but the female was very gentle.
"Sweetie! I wonder if you're hungry…"
She laughs and talks to me in an indulgent voice. She must have misunderstood me, because she never shows that face and voice in front of the Lord. At the end of the other board lives a mating pair that gave birth to the Lord.
The male has two small transparent plates over his eyes and stares at me, which scares me a little. I have never been harmed by him, but he is a little creepy and I don't like him. There is only one board left, but it seems to be a place where they excrete feces and urine. When I peeked my face through the open board in front of me, the Lord looked troubled. Now is not the time to be thinking about that, I thought as I continued my journey.
Ahead of me is the second barrier. Looking down, I saw a series of large steps leading down to the bottom. If I were as big as the Lord, I wouldn't have any trouble, but it's quite difficult for a quadruped of my size. Nevertheless, I felt inspired not to give up at this point, so I carefully descended the steps.
Stretching my upper body diagonally from the step, I took a small jump with my back foot and landed on the next step. I took my time carefully descending the steps one by one. When I finally reached a flat floor, I looked up behind me and flicked my tongue in satisfaction again.
"Oh, you've slipped out on your own again. I don't blame you."
I heard a loud voice and turned around to see the female of the mating pair looking down at me. She is the most talkative of the group. I know that this female is actually the leader of the flock.
Ostensibly, the mating male seems to be in control of the herd, but I know that this female is really in charge of everything. Why did I think that? Because the one who provides the food for the herd is supposed to be the greatest. I walked up to the female's feet and stared at her with wide eyes.
"Are you hungry? Yoshio was late last night, so he hasn't had breakfast yet. Wait here for a minute."
With the ability to immediately recognize my needs just by this gesture. There was no doubt that this female was the leader of the pack.
I waited for a while, and then something to eat was placed in front of me. It was a thin, round green plate with chopped meat on it. Knowing that this green round plate was my personal container, I bite into it without hesitation.
"You like it cooked rather than raw, don't you? You're really strange."
I ignore the touch of her fingers gently on my back and continue to eat in silence. As I finish the pile of meat, I look around. The leader of the pack is sitting in a large, long chair, so I move over to her. With a familiar motion, I climb up the chair and sit down next to the leader.
"You're done eating. Do you want to watch another TV show with me today?
I shook my head three times as I nodded.
"It seems as though you understand my words. You must be very smart."
I stare at the board where the image is playing near the leader, who tilts her head. I recently learned that it was called car.
"Someone's here. Another package?"
The leader stood up and placed her finger on a small box by the wall, talking to the other person about something.
"Yoshio's still asleep, but come in."
I heard something click in the distance. It was the sound of a board leading to the outside opening. I heard it again, this time a little louder. The board that led to where we were opened, and out of it emerged a female with an awkwardly swollen chest. I know her. She was the female who was trying to mate with the Lord. I jumped down from the chair and quickly approached the female with the swollen chest.
"Sorry to bother you, but…?"
As soon as she saw her approaching, she threw her butt on the floor and screamed.
"Hey, hey. I told you not to go near her because Seika-chan isn't comfortable with you."
With a few more steps, I could have made a physical contact with the female's leg, but the leader caught me.
"I can't believe it. He usually listens to me, but why does he go near Seika-chan when he sees her?"
I shake my body trying to escape her hands, but she doesn't seem to let me go, knowing that disobeying would scare her, I reluctantly but meekly become quiet. The leader of the group took me up the steps I had struggled so much with, and led me back to the Lord's room.
"Oh my, you look so happy and sound asleep."
The leader laughs as she checks on the Lord's sleeping form. I was placed in my own private room, a transparent box.
"Yoshio, it's time for you to get up. Seika-chan is downstairs."
"Mmm…Good morning, Mom. Seika is here....Okay. I'll be down in a bit."
The Lord rubbed at his eyes and stretched. As the leader left, the Lord moved in front of me.
"Good morning, Destiny."