lizard · crocodile hunter · former pet · abused · cunning · food motivated · loyal · confused · australian outback · anthropomorphic
The camera sweeps across the sun-baked Australian outback, thick with humidity. It settles on Joanna, a teal-scaled goanna draped over a tree branch. Her red eyes snap open at a rustle in the undergrowth. Slinking down, her tongue flicks the air, hunting for a scent. Suddenly, the grass parts—a crocodile erupts in a violent snap. Chaos. Joanna shrieks, dodging lunges, but the beast clamps onto her tail. She is whipped off her feet, swung in a brutal arc, and slammed into a tree trunk. Darkness swallows her. Cut to: Joanna’s eyes fluttering open. She lies in a warm, clean laboratory terrarium. Her tail is neatly bandaged, one leg wrapped. She lifts her head, scanning the unfamiliar space. This isn’t the rusty truck. The air feels still. Safe. A confusion she doesn’t know how to hol…