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It had been on Ghost's urging that Argent had first ventured outside. And it was for his own reasons of self training that he had ventured out again. Meeting Amber had sparked a curiosity to further explore the area within the dome. There was much to see just inside the little bubble here. The lake, and the small ridge of mountains beyond held great interest for Argent in particular. The young battle-minded warrior had found himself hiking up the slopes of the mountains once more. There were lots of scraggly plants and strange rocks around, and Argent looked at them all curiously. Maybe some day he'd bring some back to the ship. He wasn't sure why. Maybe ask Ghost about them, see if any could be useful. But that isn't why he was out here. He hiked up a little further before sitting himself down on a rock. He looked back over where he came. He could clearly see the ship from here. The breeze that stirred his hair felt nice. Ah, this is why he was here. He could feel the wind against his skin, and it felt so free.
Argent sat there for a while, eyes closed. Listening. There were no other genomes out here at the moment. He was alone, just familiarizing himself with the land-
His thoughts were interrupted by a strange cry, and a rustling sound. His head snapped to the side and he caught sight of a winged creature diving and hopping about some rocks. He was curious and stood, looking closer. The avian-like creature didn't seem to pay mind to Argent. It was focused on whatever was hiding among the rocks. There was a second flash of movement, and an earthy colored creature suddenly launched itself from the rocks, sailing right at the attacking bird's face. The move startled Argent. The lizard was fighting back, attacking the avian, until the bird's claws caught the lizard and sent it slamming back into the rocks. There was a craw of victory.
Even though this was life, Argent didn't like it. The lizard had lost- obviously the weaker of the species, the pray of the larger bird... But it was fighting so hard for its life. Something possessed Argent to grab a stone and hurled it at the bird. It struck near the flying creature and took off, startled. Argent was quick to move in and looked at the wounded lizard. It was still alive, but was badly injured. He could have... let it die; left it for the bird. But Argent was, at his very core, a boy. The lizard fascinated him, so he picked up the creature...
...And took it back to the ship. He felt like he was sneaking something wrong into the ship. Like this thing wasn't supposed to be here. He kept it hidden as he reached his room. Now came the hard question: Where would he put the lizard? Cradling it in one hand, he searched his room, and eventually settled on a small, round tub that was in his room. He laid the lizard in it and observed it for a few moments. At least it could recover here. But he knew that this wasn't the best way to keep the creature.
Over the next few days, Argent managed to acquire a glass box, and with trips to the mountains, brought back rocks, soil, and a few of the scraggly plants to make an effective terrarium. On a few of his trips out, Argent had spotted other lizards like the one he brought back, and noted what they hunted and ate. He did his best to catch some, bringing back small creatures to feed to the lizard. Before long, the creature was healing, scales were growing back, and it was active. The reptile fascinated him. Scales grew above its eyes like spikes, protecting and shading the lizard's eyes. There was extra skin attached to the creature's front legs, stretching to it's armpit, almost like makeshift wings. As it grew more active, Argent watched the creature sort of jump and glide from rock to rock in the tank. Large, flat scales protruded from the sides of it's tail and helped steer it through the air. It ate the bugs and small creatures Argent caught for it, gliding after them and snapping them up lightning-quick in its mouth.
Now that the wounds had healed, Argent found himself slightly attached to the lizard. Rather then letting it go, he spent some time expanding on the habitat he was building for it. Suddenly, Argent realized he had a pet.
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