Tasha’s POV:

  “Yes, I’m pretty sure,” Tessa told me. “I still like Soranto the best.”

  “And Maria and Adeline? They are part of his family.” I asked.

  “Maria is fun. I’m happy that Soranto has brought her over so much lately. Adeline is nice too. Especially since I brought her some flowers and acted cute. She smiles whenever she sees me now.” Her mindvoice was bright and happy with the memories.

  Her preference for Soranto wasn’t surprising. She had always gravitated to the easygoing Kymari. She was taking the decision seriously though, and she had spent the last three weeks hanging out with various Kymari.

  My eyes were half closed in thought. “Hmmm… I know you have been meeting a lot of people over the last three weeks. None of them stand out?”

  “Not really. I thought hard about Sadria and Rasha, but I like Soranto’s personality. None of the people in the park were very interesting.”

  That was about what I had expected as well. As much as Tessa loved playing Ply-Ball, Rasha wasn’t an adult yet. Not to mention that he was still in school. Having a dragonet choose him would seriously complicate his education and restrict him to this planet.

  It would also prevent him from remaining on the Ply-Ball team since most of the matches were in a different star system. Tessa also knew it, and she liked him too much to do that to him. Besides, she liked Soranto more.

  I didn’t really care who she chose as long as she was one hundred percent certain of her choice. As much as I wanted her to think about it until she was at least a year old, both Taureen and I had noticed that she was getting a bit restless when Soranto wasn’t around.

  It was barely noticeable, but it was likely a sign of things to come. She was beginning to look around as if searching for someone, yet this behavior stopped if Soranto was around. Just like I often looked around for Taureen if I hadn’t seen him in the room for a while.

  Even more interesting, both Tessa and Dirk were no longer quite as friendly toward strangers. The scent of a crawler or sicora had them growling and looking for it, no longer trying to flee the area. It would still be several months before they could breathe fire, but their instincts were maturing and changing. Both of them were growing up so fast.

  Dirk wasn’t as ambitious or as outgoing as his sister and seemed content to remain as he was for now. He would likely remain with Taureen and Aeria for months to come while contemplating his options.

  Tessa was a bundle of energy that liked doing things with people. Since she wasn’t as willing to approach strangers anymore, she needed more one-on-one attention. Taureen and Aeria were willing to spend most of their free time with us, but they had to divide their time between four dragonets.

  It was no wonder that a family like Soranto’s intrigued her so much. Even if one person was busy, there were two others around. Despite my reservations, I had to admit his personality made him an almost ideal match for Tessa. Neither of them were overly serious, and both of them liked to keep busy, even if it was just silly games.

  “Do you think he’d be a good handler?” Tessa asked me hopefully, interrupting my thoughts.

  I sighed faintly. “Once he makes up his mind, he does things whole-heartedly. My biggest reservation is that I think it’s too soon. You’re only four months old, and once we start this process, it won’t be easy to stop it if you change your mind. But since you’ve been certain for over a month, we can ask Taureen to occasionally invite Soranto along.”

  Her ear tufts perked up in excitement. “I’d really like that!”

  “I want you to promise me one thing.”

  “What?”

  Stolen story; please report.

  “Don’t mindspeak Soranto or any of his family for at least three months once he becomes your handler. There is a good reason for this. If you change your mind, they won’t take it personally or feel nearly as betrayed. I would prefer it if you waited longer, but at least three months.”

  “I promise!” she eagerly agreed.

  “Alright. If you are completely sure, I can go have a chat with Taureen.”

  “Yes, please!” Tessa’s wings quivered in excitement, and she practically danced in place.

  With my heart oddly heavy, I got to my feet and left the heat lamp as I went in search of Taureen. My emotions were tangled, and I knew why. She was like a fourteen-year-old filling out applications for distant prestigious universities.

  Her leaving home wasn’t going to happen immediately, but it was clearly on the horizon. I was her mother, and it was hard to let go even though I knew we would get to see each other every day. It had to happen eventually, but my heart protested.

  It wasn’t hard to locate Taureen since I knew he was in the basement. I slipped through an access flap beside the basement door. A piece of clear material shielded the area around the flap, just in case something he struck bounced in this direction.

  It wouldn’t take him long to notice my presence, so I took the opportunity to watch him. Even after all these years, it always made me pause when I saw Taureen whirling between various targets as his weapons blurred with speed.

  It reminded me that he was still a fighter, although I felt no fear around him. He slowed to a stop and stretched as he turned to face me. He put his practice weapons back in their holders on the wall and came over.

  “What has you troubled?” he asked, grabbing a towel and wiping the worst of the sweat off his neck and face.

  “Was it that obvious?”

  “Enough that I noticed it when you first entered.”

  His response didn’t surprise me; he could probably determine my emotions better than I could. I sighed as I walked around the protective barrier and flew up to a wall perch near him.

  “Tessa brought up the handler subject again, and we had a long discussion. She’s still strongly in favor of Soranto. She did spend a lot of time with other Kymari and considered them as we requested, but it only made her more certain of her original choice.”

  He thought for a moment. “What age do the wild fledglings usually leave their parents?”

  “By the time they are three months old, they tend to go off by themselves a lot during the day. As for at night, it’s hard to say. Usually, they just add another room to their parents’ burrow since it’s safer. Many don’t leave until they find a mate, although sometimes several friends dig their own burrows close together.”

  “And she just wants to spend more time with him, as opposed to leaving?”

  “Yes. She said she isn’t ready to leave home, but she wants to see him more. Perhaps we can drag Soranto along on a patrol or two?”

  “I can probably arrange something. It will take several days though.”

  “I can handle that. Once Tessa sees him more, she’ll probably get more attached.”

  “That is very likely, and others are beginning to notice her attachment. I already had some people ask me if Soranto was being acknowledged as a potential handler. If he begins joining our patrols, it’s going to be a push in that direction.”

  “I already warned Tessa, and she understands.” I lowered my mindvoice, even though he was the only one who I was mindlinking. “She shared glimpses of her emotions and mind with me. I’m quite certain that she isn’t going to change her mind. Even now, he is practically family in her eyes.”

  Taureen nodded slowly. “I will mention it to Soranto tonight. He will have to shift his work schedule. The Elders were hoping the children would form a bond with a handler, but they also made it clear that they prefer them to remain with their parents for as long as possible. As young as Tessa is, we may face potential pushback if she wants to move faster.”

  “Then we simply go step by step,” I stated logically, somehow arguing in favor of letting my daughter pick her own path and timeline even if it was too fast for me. Which was probably part of his reverse psychology he was using to help me think things through. “Start with a few patrols, have him come to the park more often, and see if we can occasionally invite the family over for supper.”

  “It shouldn’t be hard to manage that. The patrols will take more planning.”

  I tilted my head. “Come to think of it, Tessa hasn’t even been to Soranto’s house. Perhaps seeing four dragonets getting into mischief will prepare their family for what a bored Tessa can manage.”

  “Are you going to be okay with Soranto being around more? You have been tolerating him surprisingly well, but I don’t want it to become a bother.”

  “He’s been giving me my space, so I’ll be fine. Although if she gets hurt in his care, he’ll see what kind of damage I can do.”

  “You wouldn’t be the only one he would have to answer to,” Taureen stated, leaving it at that.

  I flew over and landed carefully on his unprotected shoulder. My nose wrinkled at the heavy scent of his sweat. “You really need a shower. At this point, I might not be able to smell a crawler even if you stepped on it.”

  He chuckled at my teasing, fully aware that he needed to wash up. He opened the door and began climbing the stairs.