Dangerous world

Alex opened his eyes with an irritated huff to stare at the offending thing that kept poking him only to stiffen when he saw it was a woman with thick black hair and oddly long ears but the craziest thing was her reverse jointed legs and sharp long nails. those nails were what was poking him along his armored scales and spiked spine as she seemed absolutely fascinated by him. she went to poke him again and he used his new weaponized tail to swat at her finger making the woman recoil her hand.

The woman didn't seem all that bothered by his defensive action but actually spoke to herself "the unknown reptile seems to use its long tail in a defensive and possibly predatory manner judging from the serrated spike at its tip. in addition to the thick scales and spiked back i deduce that this creature is likely a minor predator with an emphasis on defensive measures and trickery to kill it's prey." the woman spoke in what alex would have sworn was a perfect british english. "i shall proceed with dietary experimentation for further information." she said before leaving the room and leaving alex alone for a few minutes that he used to open the cage and attempt escaping.

Alex managed to open the latch on the cage door and leave the cage just before the woman returned and she had a stare down with alex who froze. " the unknown reptile seems to display an unusual level of mental acuity as it has actually escaped it's confinement in the few moments i stepped away to retrieve dietary samples. i am currently engaged in a visual confrontation with the reptile that seems to be observing me just as i also observe it." the woman said again to no one in particular as she closed the door sealing alex in the room with her again.

The woman moved slowly while maintaining eye contact with alex who honestly wasn't sure what to do. it was any when the woman turned to look at a corner that alex noticed that he was actually not alone in the room when she left. there in the corner hidden in shadow was a very feline creature that was holding a quill and sheet of paper. it hit alex where he was as the details clicked into his mind 'I'm in fucking monster hunter.'

Alex didn't immediately realize this just from the woman since it had been several years since he last played the newest version of the series on his playstation. when he saw the palico in the corner however alex knew exactly where he was as palicos were such a unique thing that they were unforgettable. alex immediately decided not to escape anymore since at his size even the weakest monster jagras would kill and eat him with little effort. it wasn't unusual people to keep the smaller animals as pets in this world as it was even something you could do actively in the game.

Alex wasn't going to act all cutesy or anything but he at least wouldn't make any attempts to do anything harmful to his health like escape or attack people wantonly. to show this alex crouched down and relaxed his body which seemed to surprise the woman. "fascinating , the reptile seems to behave in a much more restrained and docile manner upon noticing a palico in it's proximity. quin come over here so we may measure it's actions if you get closer." the woman spoke and the calico cat person walked out of the shadows towards alex , still holding the quill and paper.

Alex didn't even flinch as the palico named quin approached and even ignored the cat person to find a bunched up scarf on the table that he laid down on. both the woman and quin seemed dumbstruck at the sheer nonchalance that alex seemed to exude. "it would seem i was mistaken earlier as it seems more accurate to say that it appears this reptile is apparently just more relaxed in the presence of a palico , perhaps the local grimalkyn are a stabilizing factor in it's species environment." the woman said and quin recorded her words.

The woman then approached the table that alex was laying on and carefully placed a handful of dead ants and some fruit on the table before backing away. alex felt a little hungry and thanks to his past life's homelessness he had no qualms eating insects or dirty fruit. he tried the fruit first but found that his body didn't like that at all as he spat it out. the ants though were a whole different thing as the first one he ate cause a small notification to appear at the corner of his vision telling him he earned a single point.