Star Trek: Starbase 777 - malaika-hilltang

Malaika was enjoying a quiet evening in her quarters when the bell to her quarters chimed. Well...she certainly wasn't expecting anything. She paused the movie she was watching and went to her door. She found a young man from a cargo ship with a package in his hands. "Package for a Miss Malaika Hilltang?" He spoke to Mal. "Uh, I wasn't expecting anything. I'm Malaika, yes..." The man handed her the mysterious package, said goodbye and started to walk away. "Thank you!" Malaika said, just before he left. Something gently rattled inside of it. Now she was looking at it, it was birdcage shaped. Like a birdcage with a cloth over it. She set it down on the table in her quarters and removed the cloth, revealing a pink, blue and purple bird. A Risian Tropical bird. As she admired the beautiful bird, she noticed a letter attached to the cloth.

'To Malaika. Hey! It's Aunt Lizzie, I remember you mentioning you were considering getting a Risian Tropical Bird a while ago, and unfortunately, the breeder I knew couldn't get a bird early enough for your birthday, but he did get one. So, happy late birthday! I hope you enjoy your time on the station, and this little guy can make you a little less lonely in your quarters. - Aunt Lizzie'

Well.. She was considering getting one. She was actually in contact with a breeder. But she supposed she didn't have to get one now. "Well, what to name you, sweetie?" She spoke softly to the bird, not wanting to startle it. She went to lock the door to her quarters, maybe she should let him get used to the room. Well, its a good thing she had ordered a bigger cage. She'd take him to the vet later on, to double check all was well with her new companion. She decided she'd do a bit more research on the bird as she thought of a name. She wasn't expecting to get a bird so early, so she still had a bit to learn. "Hmm...You're a pretty birdy, aren't you? Gizmo maybe? Hmm...or Terry? No, Terry's too bland...Lux? Alaska? Arty?" The bird seemed to be more interested in the new room than the young woman saying words, so Malaika carefully opened the cage to let him explore a bit. He couldn't escape out into the hallway, she had locked the door. But she knew he'd want to explore and get to know the room. And so, the bird carefully stepped out of the cage and did a preliminary fly around the whole room, before carefully inspecting everything in it. The trinkets on the tables, the pictures on the walls, everything. Before he accepted a perch on a shelf. "I like Lux. But Arty is good too. Full name Artemis. What do you think, Birdy?" The bird, now named 'Arty', squawked triumphantly on his perch before swooping back down to land on top of the cage near where Mal was sitting. "I know Arty, I don't have much here for you yet, but I didn't know to expect you! I promise I'll have more things for you soon though. Okay?" Mal had already ordered some food, which had arrived the previous day, so she had food and treats for the bird. She took a treat and lifted it up to Arty, who gratefully ate the treat from Mal's hand. She was impressed. She didn't know he'd take to her so quick.

21:08

Malaika gently stroked the side of his face and neck, trying to gain that bond between them. But she knew that birds can take some time to bond with people, so she wasn't expecting a super close bond straightaway. Birds weren't like dogs, who love unconditionally from day one. Birds were more like cats. Very loving and caring, but only after a bit of time to gain their trust.

21:10

"Alright Arty, you can explore the room, I'm going to research on how to properly care for tropical birds like yourself, and then we'll head to Medical. Sound good?" Malaika didn't feel like lying to the bird, even if it would be so easy. So she clearly stated her intentions, even if Arty didn't understand a word she said. He called again, before flying around the room a few more times, perching on different shelves and items.

Almost a week later, Mal had begun training Arty, after he had gotten used to her quarters. He was pretty comfy in and outside of his cage. All of the things Mal had ordered had arrived, so now she had a large cage in her quarters, and many toys and other items for her new companion. So she was starting to train him. He had already picked up his name, and was mostly understanding 'no'. Now, Malaika was trying to train him to come onto her hand, on command. "Come on, Arty, hand! Hand! Artyyy. Hand!" Arty was perched not to far away, looking at Mal with a look of confusion. Then Mal slowly reached over, picked up the bird and placed him on her hand. "Hand. This is hand, Arty. Now you try." And she put the bird on the table again. "Hand. Arty, Hand.* And to Mal's surprise, Arty flew up and landed onto Mal's hand. Mal reciprocated with a gentle stroke and a treat. "Good! Good boy Arty, well done. That's Hand." She continued to practice Hand with Arty until he was disinterested in it and flew off to play with one of his toys. But he knew Hand. She could call out 'Hand', and Arty would fly over to her outstretched hand. He knew his name, 'no' (mostly) and 'Hand'. That was pretty good for just over a weeks training. In a few days, after he would've mastered these three commands, she was going to teach him 'Greet', when he could finally meet some other people. 'Greet' would be more of a trick though, she'd try to teach him to bow to the person. But that'll be later on. She didn't want to bombard the poor bird with too much too soon. But he seemed to be getting pretty comfortable here, so maybe she could start to bring him out and about the station.