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It was my first live hunt. My first time hunting and eating a live human. Daddy gave me some advice: be sneaky, blend in, look for the small ones. So that’s what I did. I slipped out of the cave, brushing back my scales and blinking all six eyes. Mama says blinking is a sign of life. I don’t really believe that, but it’s something she says. Stretching my hands, retracting my claws, I slithered through the brush.
Outside, the forest was hot and buzzy. The sun made my green scales sparkle like beetle backs, and I tried to stop that. Sparkly things get noticed.
I crawled low and slow, tail lifted just right, like Daddy showed me. I didn’t have to go far. I smelled the humans before I saw them—sweet and salty, like meat left in the sun. They were sitting around a fire. I watched them from the bushes. One of them poked a stick at the flames and laughed so loud I almost ran back home.
But then I saw him.
He was small. Not much bigger than me. Sitting in the dirt, smushing berries into a rock and talking to himself. His face was messy and pink, and his hair was a fluff-ball. A baby human. A perfect one.
I crept closer. My tail brushed a leaf, and he turned.
I didn’t breathe. If he screamed, I’d have to pounce. That’s the rule.
But he didn’t scream.
He blinked. Big round eyes. Then he smiled like I was something fun. Like I was a butterfly or a shiny stone.
“Hi!” he chirped.
I stared. “Hi?” I whispered back, because that’s what you’re supposed to say when someone says it first.
He stood up and waddled over like a wobbly mushroom. My claws stayed out, just in case, but he didn’t look scared. He poked me in the belly.
Then he giggled. “Kiki!”
I blinked again. “No. Klik.”
“Kiki!” he shouted like he won something.
“No, my name is Klik,” I said, tapping my chest. “Klik!”
“Kiki,” he said again, louder, as if it were a fact.
I guess that was my name now.
He dropped to his bottom, sitting in front of me like we were already friends. Like it was normal. Like I wasn’t supposed to eat him.
I observed his small human body, his soft pale skin. His hair, sticking out in weird ways. He smelled like smoke and sugar and his face was covered in berry juice!
“You don’t look scared of me,” I said.
He handed me a rock. It was small and round, the perfect shape to fit my clawed hand.
I took it.
He handed me another rock. This one was flat. He pressed it into my palm like it was treasure, then waddled back to the rock pile.
An adult human’s voice roared from the campsite “Has anyone seen the basil?”
“Basil? Oh! Basil must be your name!” I echoed, looking back at him.
“Bah-bah-bahzil!” He repeated, singsongingly like it made sense, then picked up a stick and drew a shape in the dirt. I think it was a circle but it was so shaky it could have been anything.
I copied him with one of my claws. Mine came out better. He clapped.
“Okay Basil,” I said. “I’ll call you that. I’m Klik. But you say Kiki. That’s okay too.”
He didn’t really listen. He was already drawing more shapes. Squiggled, big dots, something that looked like a worm. I lay on my belly and watched him. Then I started drawing too.
We filled the dirt with our stories. His mostly incoherent doodles, mine mostly birds and bones. He babbled about who-knows-what, and I chirped and clicked back when he laughed. At some point he tucked a crooked flower behind one of my frills.
I think that’s when I decided I wasn’t going to eat him.
When I decided I wanted to keep him.
Basil fell to his back and pointed up at the trees, jabbering something about “buhds” and “sky,” then rolled back up and toddled to the edge of the clearing.
He turned around and smiled, waving a meaty hand like i was supposed to follow.
I glanced toward the campsite. The tall humans weren’t looking. One was laughing loudly, others were poking at the meat. No one had noticed their small one wander off.
I nodded, scurrying after him.
Basil led us into the underbrush like he knew the way. He didn’t of course, not like I did. He stopped every few steps to point at things or giggle at bugs, but I didn’t mind. I liked watching him discover. It was like when big brother brought me out of the cave for the first time.
Remembering his juice stained face, I decided to bring him to a patch of berry bushes I knew of.
Fat, purple fruits hung low, squishy and dripping with juice. Basil squealed and pointed, then shoved a handful into his mouth without any thought. To him they were like candy.
“I don’t know if those are--” I started, but i figured if he was enjoying it they were probably safe for humans too.
I sniffed one. Tart. I popped it between my teeth and the juice stained my tongue purple.
Basil saw and squealed again. “Kiki!” he laughed and smashed another berry into his face. Juice staining his cheeks like war paint.
I showed him which ones were the ripest, he showed me how to squish them just right to get the juice out. We painted each other with sticky fingers and traded berries. He offered me the biggest berry like it was a crown jewel. I gave him one shaped like a heart.
For a while we just… sat. Together. Quiet. Happy.
He made a sticky mess and I didn’t even mind.
Basil stood up with berry-sticky fingers and wiped them on his shirt. Then he crouched again staring at something by the roots of a tree.
I skittered over to see.
It was a patch of small white flowers in a tangled mess of clover and moss. Basil plucked one and held it up to me, then another. Then another.
“Fowuh,” he smiled. “Fwowers for Kiki!”
I chirped in excitement and showed him how to tie the stems together. Mama taught me once, how to wrap tough grass to make a loop. Basil caught on quickly, even if his stems kept breaking. He
made a crooked crown and shoved it on my head.
It flopped over my left eyes, but I didn’t fix it.
I made him a necklace and looped it carefully over his head. He gasped and patteted it like it was the most important thing in the world.
My tail twitched, “I have an idea!”
His head tilted in a curious manner.
“I hide. You hunt.”
He grinned and clapped, “Hi an see!” he exclaimed.
I darted into the brush, blending as best I could. I curled into a log’s shadow and watched him stumble around.
“Where Kiki?” he called. “Kiki?”
I stayed quiet, even when he nearly stepped on me. Then I popped out behind him with a chip, he screamed and laughed so hard he fell into the dirt. His flower necklace came undone and I fixed it while he kicked his feet and giggled more.
“Mine!” he ran behind a tree, half of his shirt sticking out.
I pretended not to notice, walking right by with exaggerated steps. This was how daddy trained me to camouflage.
“Where’s Basil?” I scratched my scales, darting my eyes back and forth.
He giggled.
I turned around. “There he is!” he screamed with laughter and ran.
“Pay game! Run from Kiki!” he said, and continued to run, so I chased him on all fours through the leaves until we both collapsed.
He flopped onto his back once again, this time panting like a dog. His hair stuck up in weird, sweaty directions. He grabbed my arm and pulled me down beside him.
I let him.
The forest got quiet. All I could hear was Basil’s heavy breathing. Labored and tired. He curled up against my side.
His breathing got slow. He twitched like baby lizardlings do in sleep. I laid one hand over his chest. His heartbeat was so fast. Mine slowed to match it.
I watched his chest rise and fall. He hummed something soft.
I curled my tail gently over his legs. It was something Mama used to do when I was scared at night.
He pressed his hand against my chest and sighed. His warmth soaked into my scales like sunlight and in for a moment, I forgot what I came here to do.
Basil’s breaths slowed, soft and even, as his chest continued to rise and fall. He fell asleep, clutching my claw like it was the only thing keeping him safe.
The sun shifted. The light filtered soft and golden through the trees. It shone across Basil’s skin, catching the berry stains. I could hear the buzz of the bugs, the flutter of wings, and everything felt
right.
But I knew it wasn’t.
I knew Mama would start to worry. Daddy would check the shadow on the cave wall and frown, tapping his claws in a calming way. Big brother might try to cover for me. Say I tried to find a bigger catch.. But I didn’t move. I just… stayed. Guarded. Basil was mine. My find. My friend.
What would Mama say? I’d be coming back with a belly full of berries and no human in sight. But… I can’t hurt Basil. How could I? He’s so nice to me. He gave me rocks and flowers and a name thats not really my name but still feels nice when he says it.
Maybe… maybe Daddy will let me keep him as a pet! He let Big Brother keep a squirrel once. I could feed him berries. He could sleep in the soft moss patch. But what would the tall humans think if their small human disappeared? What do I do?
Basil rustled a little and slowly woke up.
“Kiki… dark.” He whispered, pointing at the sky with one sticky finger.
The sun was beginning to set and I had to make up my mind. Mama and Daddy don’t usually get back from hunting until it’s super dark. I still had a little time to play.
I stood, slowly. I tried not to shake Basil too much as I pulled my claw from his grip. He sat up, rubbing his eyes with a purple fist and blinking at the sky like he couldn’t believe it was still the same day.
“I wanna show you something,” I told him.
He tiled his head. His cheek was still smudged with juice and now a bit of dirt from the chase game.
I took his hand.
He didn’t even hesitate. We walked through the tall ferns and over the crooked roots. We were close to the cave. Close to home. Close to safety. Or at least safety for me.
I shouldn’t bring him here. I knew that.
But I wanted to. Just for a minute. Just to show him.
“I have a toy,” I said. “It’s not really a toy, it’s a bird skull. It makes a funny noise when you shake it. I keep it under my moss patch.”
Basil gasped and squeezed my claw.
“Toy! Kiki toy!” he exclaimed, toddling along behind me.
I nodded. “I found it myself. It’s my favorite thing.”
“Fav’rit?” His head tilted again.
I nodded once again.
It made me feel important, telling him that. Like I was showing off a treasure. I never got to show anyone stuff like that before. Big Brother always said I talked too much about bones.
We continued along the brush, finally arriving at the turn. The cave was just ahead, hidden behind the trees. Mama and Daddy would be back soon, but I couldn’t bear to think of them seeing Basil.
Not yet.
I glanced back at basil, still holding my claw, his eyes sleepy, but the warmth of the cave was calling. It was safe there. Warm. Dark. Home.
“Basil…” I whispered, shaking him gently. “Stay outside. Stay in the trees, like we did before.” I pointed toward a line fo bushes hoping he’d understand.
Basil blinked, rubbed his eyes, and then he grunted. “Kiki,” he said, reaching out for me again.
I smiled weakly, patting his messy hair. “I’ll be back buddy. Stay outside, okay? I just need to--”
But before I could finish, Basil toddled toward the cave entrance, giggling to himself, his little feet tapping against the stone. I froze. “Basil, no! Stay outside!”
But he didn’t listen. The small human ignored my command and continued toward the dark mouth of the cave. His eyes shone with curiosity, and his tiny hands reached out toward the shadows, unaware of the danger lurking inside.
I moved quickly, grabbing his hand just as he took another step forward. “Basil, stop,” I said, a growl slipping out of my throat. “You’re not supposed to go inside.”
He looked up at me, confusion flashing across his face. “Why, Kiki?” he asked in that tiny, innocent voice.
“I—I just—” I stammered, feeling the weight of the truth press down on me. I wanted to keep him safe. I wanted to keep him here. Outside. But there was no stopping him. He was already in too deep. “Because… because it’s dangerous.”
He tilted his head, a pout on his lips. “No dangerous,” he said, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. “Kiki… home.”
I could feel my heart break in my chest. He didn’t know. He didn’t understand what the cave meant, what I had been taught, what I was supposed to do. He was just a small human, curious and innocent, and I was failing him.
With trembling hands, I led him into the darkness of the cave, my breath catching in my throat. The walls closed in around us, and all I could hear was the soft thump of my own pulse.
I walked toward the moss patch, the one near where I curl up at night. I crouched down and started to dig gently, carefully, until I found it—my bird skull. Smooth, pale, perfect. I held it up with a grin.
“See?” I said. “It’s—”
But the sound stopped in my throat.
Footsteps.
Heavy ones.
My heart dropped into my claws.
“No,” I whispered.
Mama rounded the corner first, her eyes shining in the dark. Then Daddy. Big Brother behind them.
They froze when they saw Basil.
He looked up, smiled, waved.
“Hi!”
Silence.
“Klik,” Daddy said. His voice was low. “What is this?”
I tried to explain. I really did. “He’s mine,” I said quickly. “I found him. I played with him. I gave him berries. I didn’t hurt him—he’s my friend. Please, please—”
But Mama moved first.
She was too fast. Too strong.
Basil screamed.
I lunged—but Daddy held me back.
“Stop!” I yelled. “No! No, please—he’s mine! He’s good! He gave me rocks—he gave me a name!” But my attempts at fighting were in vain.
His body hit the stone with a sound I still hear when I sleep.
And when it was over, there was nothing left but the red, and the silence, and my claws curled useless in the dirt.
He was gone.
Just gone.
Basil’s blood spattered on the walls.
His bones are in my cave.