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The cage he was put into is much too small, and the humans that took him hadn't bothered to untangle their net from Pyro's tail.
It stings, the ropes digging into his scales and rubbing his skin raw, but he can't do anything about it. His claws are bound behind his back with the net, and Pyro isn't strong enough to break through the metal of the cage anyway.
The humans move around the ship, rotating positions, but without fail, the one in charge of watching Pyro always stares at him. There's greed in their eyes, looking him up and down like a predator. It puts him on edge, wanting nothing more than to have somewhere to hide away from their gazes.
Pyro doesn't know what they plan to do with him, but he knows it can't be good. Humans are dangerous, and whatever it is they want him for, he's sure he's going to suffer. He can't understand their language, but their expressions say enough as is without a translation.
The ship rocks back and forth, but it stills after a while. It's still moving, a slow sway, but it isn't the same as it was before. That, in addition to the way the humans are rushing around, tells Pyro he doesn't have much longer.
He flinches at the sound of yelling above them, irritation obvious in the tone of whoever is speaking. It goes on for a moment before stopping, though Pyro can't see anything from their place under the deck.
Pyro shrinks at the sound of footsteps approaching his location, pressing himself as far back against the cage as he can.
A new human enters the room. She's tall, with long red hair and dark eyes. He hopes that maybe she doesn't know he's there, and will leave him alone if he's quiet enough.
There's no such luck, the woman's gaze landing on him within moments of her entry. Her eyes widen, but she doesn't gawk at them the same way the other humans did.
Pyro snarls at her when she comes near him, and despite how defenseless he is, she pauses before coming closer. She doesn't look afraid of him or intimidated by his display, but she still moves slowly, crouching down in front of the cage. She doesn't try to touch him, her eyebrows furrowing as looks over Pyro's tail.
Pyro startles when she shouts something behind her, an older looking man with short greying brown hair entering after a minute. They shrink backwards as the man hands the woman a key, one that Pyro knows will open his cage.
The man doesn't linger long, though his eyes are sad when he looks down at them. He says something to the woman, his voice quiet.
The woman looks back to him, speaking softly before pausing. She frowns after a moment when Pyro doesn't acknowledge her, tapping her finger against her arm.
Slowly, she lifts her hand, pointing to her chest. "Apo."
Pyro blinks, tilting their head as she repeats herself. It takes a moment for them to realize she's saying her name. He doesn't know why she's bothering, eyeing her warily.
Apo sighs, shaking her head. He growls at her when she puts the key into the lock, but she doesn't flinch. They can't move at all as she slips the cage door open, the growl shifting into a nervous whine when she reaches for them.
She stops at the noise, looking at them in consideration. She reaches into the cage, her hand staying low as she does so. Apo carefully telegraphs her movements as she pulls them out of the cage by their waist, continuing on even when they bare their teeth at her.
She manages to get them out of the cage, and despite wanting to be out, Pyro almost wishes they were back inside.
The man from before comes back, and Pyro freezes at the contraption in his hand. They've never seen anything like it, but it looks terrifying. The man kneels down in front of them, shushing them gently as he fits the metal thing onto their face.
Pyro whimpers, squirming miserably as the man lifts him up in to his arms. They can't bite him with the thing on their face, snapping their jaw uselessly. The man continues speaking gently as he carries them on deck, Apo walking beside him.
They whine again as the humans that captured them glare when they're brought past, though Apo and the man try to block their view. Pyro hides their face against the man's chest as they're carried off the ship.
They don't want to see where the humans are taking them.
It doesn't take long until they're brought into a building, the man setting them down on a large counter.
Apo approaches them again, saying something to the man, who nods. He leaves, handing Apo a small knife from his belt before he does so.
Pyro growls fearfully at her as she comes near them with the blade, but she continues to move slowly, her voice careful. Apo cuts the netting around their tail, though she pauses before releasing their arms.
She looks up at them, her unreadable expression making Pyro whine. She walks over to a set of drawers, pulling out a pair of connected metal bracelets. The bracelets snap into place around their wrists before Apo starts slicing off the rest of the net.
It takes a while with the careful pace she's going at, but Pyro is free of the net soon enough.
He still can't move, what with the bracelets holding his arms behind his back. Apo pulls out a red and white box, taking out a small puff ball and pouring a bottle onto to it.
Pyro flinches when she brings it to his tail, fins flickering nervously. The liquid stings a little when she applies it to the cuts on his abdomen, arms, and tail, but it doesn't hurt. It smells awful, too strong for his sensitive nose, but that's the worst of it.
Apo lifts him up, stumbling a bit under his weight, but she stays standing. She brings him through a small door, a chirp escaping his lips when he sees the ocean just outside.
She sits him down on a wooden dock near the water, watching him closely as she removes the bracelets from his wrists and the metal contraption from his face. She backs off quickly once she's done, leaving him on the dock and looking at him from a distance.
Pyro moves towards the water. When she doesn't stop him, he dives off of the dock, poking his head above the surface to peer at Apo as she makes her way back into the building.
She let him go, and he didn't even have to beg or whine or fight.
Did she save him from those other humans?
Pyro watches her leave, chirping quietly to himself as he slips under the waves.
Maybe not all humans are bad.