In pursuit of understanding Lem's present developmental progress and psychological state, and especially his future, there are not any academic references or research available that delve into someone in a similar circumstance. Said circumstance would be a child that was allowed to develop communication and basic reasoning skills before being placed in an environment free from socialization and continued nurturing. There has been research done concerning somewhat associated cases, such as feral children, those abandoned, lost, or kept in captivity since infancy, who having missed the critical period remain incapable of speech and are largely bestial for the duration of their lives; runaways, those with otherwise normal, or only slightly atypical upbringings that decided in pre-adolescence or adolescence to escape from home and never return; PTSD, albeit a condition considered difficult to achieve in Lem's particular set of circumstances; and extremely introverted children who, for reasons both natural or self-induced or externally-induced, avoid socialization and contact that most child psychologists consider necessary for proper development. It can be surmised then that the only way to develop a working theory concerning his present psychological and developmental state, as well as his future, would be a dissection and mockup of where Lem would have progressed through the various key developmental milestones in his life, with particular attention to prior research done concerning parentless children, extreme social stigmatization, the psychology of the runaway, and sociopathic behavior in pre-adolescents.

Lem was created via a scientific experiment where donations provided from an anthropomorphic and human couple were spliced to create, in Lem's world, the first kemonomimi. For the purposes of understanding what is a new and entirely different sort of creature, Lem's parents were not told that the experiment was a success and he was kept in captivity until the age of four. During this period, Lem was given what was considered essential and necessary. He was fed, cleaned, changed, potty trained, and received stimulation necessary for the development of speech and higher cognitive development from which an assessment of his capacities could be made. This research and initial care taking took place until the age of four. At the age of four most children have reached several important developmental milestones. From a linguistic standpoint a four-year-old should know from 250-500 words, should know their name, and should be able to ask and answer basic questions. Around this period Lem was on the lower end of average, knowing about 300 words, but due to his care takers being largely scientists and researchers was not allowed to ask the typical plethora of questions a child in his age group would. He was kept in captivity, having never seen the outside world, until he was released to the group home where he would reside for the next two years. So at this crucial moment in his developmental process he was already intellectually stunted and so kept that he did not know that there was anything to be curious about beyond the walls that he resided in. Perhaps as a way for his mind to compensate, he was able to develop in the areas of movement milestones and dexterity beyond what a typical four-year-old would. He was incredibly fast and had a sense of balance that was many years beyond him. He was able to maneuver objects with a grace and simplicity that is not usually achieved until around seven or eight-years-old. Due to the ease in which he did these things he had an intense interest in expending energy and refused any attempts to learn the alphabet, numbers, or any other age appropriate foundational elements of later academic learning.

At this juncture the scientists considered Lem a failure. The hope was that the hybridization of human and anthropomorph would create a child capable of the same intellectual capacities typical of either, and a suppressed but innate animal instinct. Unfortunately this failure was largely due to an inability to provide Lem with adequate stimulation, but the desire of the scientists to see if a different combination of genetic markers could produce a different result blinded them from seeing their own mistakes concerning Lem's early developmental processes. Rather than dispose of him, it was ultimately decided that Lem would be sent to a group home. During the night Lem was taken from the shelter of the only dwelling he had ever known and placed into an entirely foreign environment, an environment that not only allowed him to see the outside for the very first time, but allowed him the knowledge that he was not the only child in the world. It also, unfortunately, fundamentally confirmed his suspicions that he was the only creature like himself.

With his arrival, Lem immediately discovered that both the adults and children around him were not terribly interested in getting to know him, and often showed their interest in his differing appearance in unkind or in the very least hurtful ways. While this social stigmatization is an important element in understanding Lem's present state, the issue of how this displacement fit into his present developmental boundaries is more important to discuss first. Lem was still unable to ask the questions that most four-year-old children do, but he still maintained his curiosity and was surrounded my new and ample stimuli for self exploration.

It was upon his arrival at the group home that Lem was able to give himself a full and proper name. He was always referred to as Lem at the research facility, an acronym for Linkage Evolutionary Mutation, and when he was asked his name he presented it as such. The registering attendant then asked, “Lem? Like Lemonade? Don't you have a last name?” Lem, in response, crudely stated, “Ahnayd!” Without any further documentation to refute the claim and having no reason to believe otherwise, his name was registered as such. Once the registration process was over Lem became very introverted and afraid of the other children, having never communicated with someone of his stature and age before, and remained indoors for quite some time. He expected being analyzed and asked to preform inane tasks was the only way to live, and did not seek an alternative. It wasn't until he encountered Dante that this would change.

Dante, an older greyhound anthropomorph, was merely a volunteer at this juncture. Noticing the potential value that Lem had, but being unable to communicate with the children at any great level at this point in his career, merely suggested that Lem go outside like the other children. When asked by Lem if this was alright, and receiving an affirmative in response, Lem discovered his first and great love. The outside was an entirely foreign place to Lem and being incapable of asking questions about it, as has been mentioned previously in this research, he instead explored it independently. He began to feel the trees, leaves, grass; he curiously watched over the insects and felt the wind on his skin; he attempted and found himself skilled in climbing trees and determining the cycles of the sun and weather. Until he was commanded to come back inside, he spent the entirety of his day in exploration of this new and exciting world, finally giving him the space and ability to expend the energy that he had always craved. So once more via necessity, his development made up for a lack of academic stimulation by allowing his mind to become attuned to the natural and a capacity for self discovery. This became Lem's lone interest and allowed him to create the foundation for what would make him capable of surviving as a nomad past the age of six.

Continued here...

Art by Nathahniel