Even though it was an underdeveloped juvenile, an Estrellian was still a Large Monster.
The moment it lunged upward, the scholars clustered around it were sent sprawling in every direction. Its long tail lashed out in a spasmodic whip; if Erik hadn't reacted quickly and ducked, he would have been sent flying.
The scene looked almost comical, but it was no joke; the scholars wore no Armor, and their thin robes offered absolutely no Defense.
If they were stepped on by the Estrellian or struck by that four-meter-long tail covered in wedge-shaped carapaces, they would be lucky to escape with severe injuries; a direct hit to the head or other vitals would result in instant death.
The Professor clearly hadn't expected the Estrellian to react so violently to Isis's presence. He motioned frantically to the scholars near the creature, shouting at the top of his lungs.
"Back away! Back away! Get away from it and get outside the iron bars!"
Falling into a state of high stress, the Estrellian shrieked in panic, its body twisting as its long tail swung wildly.
The scholars remained prone on the ground, scrambling on all fours, too terrified to stand up, which only made their situation more precarious.
Watching anxiously from outside the iron bars, Altaïr dropped his weapon and squeezed through the GATE, shouting: "Isis! Stop it!"
Unable to think of a better solution, Isis pushed off with explosive power. The sudden burst of strength propelled her forward, turning her into a grey blur as she sped across the room.
In a mere three or four seconds, she reached the Estrellian at full charge.
Before the Professor could shout a warning from behind the iron bars, she tucked her body in and used her pauldrons as a battering ram, slamming full-force into the side of the screeching, flailing Estrellian.
Under the heartbroken gazes of the gathered scholars, the Estrellian hatchling let out a pathetic wail as Isis tackled it to the ground.
Isis strode to the Estrellian's head. She intended to raise her shield and deliver a few heavy blows to give the creature "the sleep of a babe," only to realize she had brought nothing with her to fit through the fence gate; even her shield had been left outside.
Fighting barehanded felt a bit awkward, but was it worth a try?
Just as she pinned the Estrellian's neck with her foot and prepared to throw a punch, the Professor finally found his voice and yelled, "Don't hit it too hard!"
Isis paused. She suddenly realized the situation was different this time; before, she was trying to Capture it, but now, the goal was to calm it down. Perhaps violence wasn't the best approach?
She unclenched her fist and shifted from a strike to a press, using her own body weight and the weight of her armor to pin the Estrellian's head to the floor.
She looked into those large, golden eyes filled with terror and spoke in the gentlest tone she could muster. "Are we being naughty? That's not good, is it?"
As if it understood her words, the Estrellian hatchling, which had been instinctively struggling, suddenly stiffened. It stopped moving entirely, lying as still as a dead fish on the ground.
"That's a good monster," Isis said, lightly patting its head.
She turned back to the Professor, who was running in behind Altaïr, and said, "Professor, I've calmed it down!"
"That's called intimidation, meow..." Sajji muttered under his breath as he followed them in.
Clawdia stepped on Sajji's foot in annoyance; she couldn't stand anyone speaking ill of Isis. As Altaïr jogged over to Isis's side, he noticed the Estrellian's gaze fall upon him for a fleeting moment, followed by an even greater expression of terror.
"As I thought, this fellow still remembers us," Altaïr muttered softly.
Unlike when they had captured the Estrellian, where he had been wearing Skalda S Armor, he was now equipped with the Seregios set. The visual styles of the two sets of Armor were worlds apart; the fact that the Estrellian could recognize him meant it could likely distinguish human facial features, and its perception of Spirit was exceptionally keen.
The Professor didn't criticize Isis for her violent behavior.
To his surprise, he discovered that as Isis continued her frantic petting, uttering "good boy, good boy" as if she were stroking a dog, the Estrellian's breathing gradually steadied despite its lingering fear. Its emotions seemed to slowly calm down.
This change seemed strange, yet it wasn't difficult to understand.
Imagine a poor young girl who had been violently kidnapped and locked in a basement. One day, when the kidnapper who abducted her appeared before her again, it would be perfectly normal for her to scream in terror and instinctively shrink away.
But after being pinned to the ground by the kidnapper and told "be a good girl" while having her head stroked, it was also reasonable for the girl to sob and try her best to quiet down.
Without a doubt, this was a precursor to Stockholm Syndrome.
Could a psychological ailment found in humans also appear in a Monster? Well, considering the Estrellian's high intelligence and sapience, it wasn't entirely surprising. It was an interesting subject for a study.
No, now was not the time to establish a new research project.
Should he pull Isis away from the Estrellian hatchling to prevent further contact? Or should he allow the situation to develop?
After hesitating for less than a second, the Professor chose the latter.
The outcome of making Isis leave was predictable: the Estrellian hatchling would simply return to its previous state of ignoring everyone, and the research would remain deadlocked.
However, if he let Isis and the Estrellian hatchling continue their interaction, it might actually induce Stockholm Syndrome. By then, the Estrellian hatchling should become very obedient.
Inducing a psychological disorder in this manner sounded a bit cruel, but considering that if the research hit a dead end they might have to resort to "more direct" methods, this level of cruelty was practically an act of kindness by comparison.
"Everyone out. Just leave the food," the Professor said to Isis, ignoring the objections of several scholars. "I'm leaving things here to you and Altaïr. Your first task is to determine the Estrellian's diet, in other words, what it likes to eat. Erik, you stay behind to record the trial results; be careful not to interfere with them."
With that, he led the other scholars out. If they wanted to deepen the Estrellian hatchling's impression of Isis, having too many people crowding around wouldn't do.
"Altaïr, come over here and help me watch it for a bit," Isis said as she stood up.
As Isis moved away, the Estrellian hatchling instinctively tried to get up as well, but then Altaïr knelt by its head and smiled at it.
The Estrellian hatchling immediately lay back down, behaving perfectly.
Isis patted the dust off her backside and walked over to the mountain of food. "There's so much variety. So, what do you like to eat?"
The Estrellian, of course, did not answer her. No matter how smart it was, it couldn't possibly learn to understand human language in a few days.
"Maybe it likes smoked moss root!" Erik, who was recording nearby, chimed in. "Didn't we confirm that on the day of the Capture? It was very interested in the smell of smoked moss root!"
"So you're saying since the day it was born, its mother would build a smokehouse to make it smoked moss root?" Altaïr said irritably. "At most, it found the smoky scent and spices novel. What does that have to do with its natural diet? Besides, moss root is so high in salt that even a Felyne would lose its fur if they ate too much. Aren't you worried about giving it an upset stomach?"
Erik scratched his silver hair, which smelled strongly of moss root. "Hm, you have a point."
Altaïr experimentally scratched the Estrellian's chin, but the expected "purring" did not occur; the Estrellian hatchling remained as stiff as a corpse. "By the way, I recall that a creature's diet can be roughly determined by its jawbone and tooth structure, right?"
Erik nodded while writing. "Yes, it can. The Estrellian is undoubtedly carnivorous, though omnivory can't be ruled out. What we want is more specific confirmation. For instance, do they primarily hunt large or small animals? Or is it Fish? This will help round out our understanding of its predatory ecology."
"I see."
Isis walked over, holding a massive piece of Raw Meat in one hand and lugging a fresh Gastronome Tuna in the other. "Time for dinner. If you can't eat moss root, eat something else. Hey, what do you guys think of naming it 'Bacon'? It's got a nice ring to it, right? Bacon has reddish-orange skin, and its shell is reddish-orange too..."
"?"
Altaïr looked down at the Estrellian hatchling, which didn't resemble the word "Bacon" in the slightest.
"Is naming things some kind of fetish of yours?"
(Translated by yourtl.app)