Tessa’s POV:

  I sat on Aeria’s shoulder as she stood under the roof overhang. Rain fell steadily in front of us. We couldn’t see the sun behind the thick clouds, but we could feel the Morning Song building.

  We could have flown inside, but it was far more natural outside. The air itself even felt different. It was worth getting wet to fly under the open sky. The worst part about the rain was that it got in my eyes. Having a raindrop hit my eye while flying was very uncomfortable. Keeping my eyelids mostly closed helped some, but not much.

  As the call got stronger, we flew to the middle of the backyard since there wasn’t nearly enough room to fly under the overhang. The raindrops splattered against my scales and rolled off, but it couldn’t distract me from the Morning Song. It wasn’t possible to ignore the rain—it was part of the new day—so we incorporated it into our song and dance. The rich smell of the new grass and growing things became more vibrant as we started singing.

  The pattering of the rain hitting the leaves before plopping down onto the grass simply accented the melody we sang today. It was the sound of a peaceful day, one of relaxation and restoration. Our dance was slower and flowing, reflecting the steady rainfall that fell out of the sky.

  The Song had a surprisingly gradual finish. When it ended, we swooped through the door as Taureen held it open. The rain may have had an excellent purpose, but it was still wet and cold, and I didn’t like being cold.

  All four of us crowded underneath the main heat lamp as well as the second smaller one that Taureen had temporarily brought into the living room. I rubbed my chin and neck against the warm sand. Some of the grains stuck to my damp scales, although they would fall off when I was dry.

  Aeria came out of the kitchen with bowls of fruit. “The rain is supposed to last most of the morning before clearing off. The forecast for tomorrow is the same.”

  “Hmmm… The morning after, once the rain is gone, I think we should go to the main park,” Mom said. “Tessa and Dirk have never joined the flock during the Morning Song. It would be a good experience for them.”

  My ear tufts perked up. I’d get to fly with Abby and the other fledglings!

  “We can do that,” Taureen agreed easily.

  I trilled happily as I rubbed my chin against the sand again. It was nice and warm, unlike the rain. It didn’t take long for us to warm up enough that breakfast became more tempting than the heat lamps. After a cleaning and an oiling, we were set to start our day. Work didn’t stop just because it was raining.

  Taureen, Mom, and Dirk had the joy of tracking ktari in the training center today. That left Aeria, Dad, and me to wander the streets and check buildings. They used an umbrella to shield us from the rain when going between buildings or crossing the streets, although many places had extended their long awnings above the sidewalk to protect those walking there.

  Rhay and Sadria were present, as they always were during our ‘shift’, although I wasn’t sure why since we weren’t really working. It was still nice to have them along. They tended to talk with Aeria more than Taureen did with Tran and Vick, although that was just a reflection of their personalities.

  The guards tended to keep their friends fairly up to date on what was happening in the city, on the planet, and across the star system. Most of it was gibberish to me, and I ignored it, preferring to enjoy the sights around us.

  The morning and early afternoon passed by without anything exciting happening. Thankfully, the rain ended before our shift was over, so we were able to go to the park.

  When I saw Dirk flying our way, I unfolded my wings. “Ready to go see if they’re playing Ply-Ball?”

  “Yep!”

  I whined and looked at Aeria, knowing that I had to wait for permission when other people were present.

  She smiled. “Go on.”

  I launched off her shoulder, weaving expertly among the trees as I headed to the distant meadow. There were a couple along the sidelines, and two were just arriving. One of them pointed at us with a grin. “She returned! It looks like she dragged her brother along too.”

  I swooped down and glided in a wide circle around the seven teenagers with a cheerful trill. One of the girls sat on the bench with a video recorder like Taureen’s, clearly a spectator.

  One of the players from yesterday bounced the ball off his knees, somehow keeping it close enough for his other knee to tap it back into the air. “You’re going to have to work harder today if you want to win! If we lose too many more games against you, our coach is threatening to replace us with squirrels.”

  With a quick wingover, I dove down and curled my hands into fists as I thwacked the ball mid-bounce. My speed startled him, but it also had the effect I wanted—the ball was no longer in his possession.

  With a mid-air roll, I corrected my flight and landed beside the ball, bounding after it. I promptly began pushing it toward the rock that stood in the middle of the decent-sized meadow.

  “Cheater. You’re supposed to wait for the game to start. Or, at the very least, let most of the other players get onto the playing field.”

  Dirk landed beside me, and I let him take the ball. The six Kymari stretched as they leisurely walked this way. By the time they caught up, Dirk was getting the hang of controlling the ball while going faster than a trot.

  I jumped in front of Dirk and used my tail to flick the ball away, stealing it from him. “Remember that you have to pretend to learn the rules.”

  He grumbled and took to the air to follow from above. I picked up speed as I aimed for the rock. The Kymari closed in, and it wasn’t long before one of them stole the ball from me. Dirk dove down and tackled the ball, quickly running away with it—in the wrong direction.

  A teenager managed to get the ball away from Dirk, only for another guy to steal it from him. This game was moving faster than the one yesterday, although they were no less careful around our tiny bodies.

  Dirk quickly got over his nervousness, thoroughly enjoying the game. His bulk and larger size was more adept at tackling the ball away from the players. On wing, both of us were a match for the Kymari’s speed if we had to catch up.

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  “Where are you guys?” Abby called in confusion. “Your parents are sunbathing, so I know you’re around.”

  “Playing Ply-Ball!” I replied excitedly.

  “Ply- what?”

  “It’s a game! And we’re outnumbered! Come give us a hand!” I sent her the mental coordinates to our location while neglecting to mention who we were playing against.

  I darted after the ball again and managed to get it to the rock, successfully scoring another goal.

  “What on Earth…” Abby’s stunned mindvoice trailed off, apparently having arrived.

  “It’s actually pretty fun,” Dirk told her. “You can join us, if you like.”

  “They would probably step on me.”

  “They are being really careful,” he replied. “They haven’t so much as brushed against my scales yet. Sicora and ktari move faster than the Kymari move their feet when they are close to us.”

  She fell silent, and I thought she had left until I saw a green shape gliding along the tree line. Circling high above, she watched but was too nervous to approach the quickly-moving Kymari.

  Dirk and I kept playing, although the Kymari were making me work much harder to get a goal today. I whistled a victory as Dirk scored his third goal. A Kymari kicked the ball across the field as we chased after it.

  The Kymari came to a sudden stop as a green dragonet nervously landed near the ball. Tentatively, she nudged the ball, glancing furtively at her observers before gingerly bumping it with her nose again.

  “It’s a wild one…” someone murmured in surprise.

  “Drop back. Let it get used to our presence. We can do the same thing we did yesterday and let Rasha try approaching it.”

  I ran forward with a happy trill. “Awesome! Now it’s three versus three versus three! We’ll show you how it’s done.”

  “You owe me big time for even attempting this…”

  “How about three sunburst berries?” I knew Taureen would give them to me if it was bribery for helping a dragonet get more comfortable around the Kymari.

  “I’m beginning to think that you are determined to challenge my sanity to the breaking point.”

  “I knew you’d say yes!”

  I bunted the ball with my nose as I began pushing it toward the rock. Abby trotted after me, nervously eyeing up the group of Kymari we were approaching. Several of them backed up while the others remained where they were.

  Her eyes were wide and her pupils were mere slits, but she didn’t fly away when we passed close to one of them. A Kymari—the same one from yesterday—began jogging beside us. He edged closer and carefully toed the ball away from me.

  I jumped after it, batting it to the side with my tail. Abby picked up where I left off, and since she had the excuse that she could have been watching from the trees, she began pushing it toward the rock.

  The Kymari, who must be Rasha, lightly jogged beside us before easing closer to steal the ball. Abby half spread her wings and hopped away fearfully. He immediately took a step back.

  Knowing it would take Abby time to adjust, I took the ball and continued rolling it. I was quite surprised at how well she was doing. She followed behind me as Rasha matched my speed again.

  Repeating his actions, he stole the ball from me, only for me to tackle it away. Gathering up her courage, Abby joined once more. This time, she didn’t flee when Rasha gently nudged the ball away from her. I grinned at her rapid progress. She had definitely earned those sunburst berries.

  Dirk swooped in to help. After a few more scores, another Kymari joined the game. When a third one came closer, Abby flew further away and landed in the grass to watch from a distance. Crestfallen, the Kymari went back to the sidelines, opting to let her play instead.

  Abby lowered her ear tufts with a somewhat guilty look, knowing that he meant no harm. She just wasn’t ready to be so close to more than one or two Kymari at a time. Until Dirk and I had come along, she had never gone near one. Now, she was near two while they were moving.

  She rejoined the game, and we kept playing. Abby wasn’t brave enough to steal the ball from the teenagers, but she no longer looked so terrified if they dared to take it from her. By the time Dirk and I were panting, Abby was at her limits.

  “Let’s head back,” I told them before giving the players a farewell whistle.

  As we flew through the forest, I mindlinked Taureen and Aeria. “Uh, I probably should have asked first, but I promised Abby three sunburst berries if she joined the Ply-Ball game, and she played for almost two hours. The berries can come out of my treat bag if they have to.”

  I was reluctant to lose my quota of berries, which was one a day. Thankfully, Taureen and Aeria were fair, and when it was for something like this, we usually didn’t lose our daily treat. Especially if it helped a dragonet relax around the Kymari.

  Dirk and Abby followed me, oblivious to my shielded mindlink. It was a pity that the Kymari were unable to respond through the mindlink.

  We entered the field where the handlers and guards normally waited. They never seemed to mind sitting on the benches here for several hours a day while we romped through the forest. It wasn’t unusual for the other dragonet handlers to show up and visit, although it was just Taureen, Aeria, and the guards right now.

  I grinned when I saw three orange, pea-sized objects drop from Taureen’s hand and land under the bench, unnoticed by the guards. Neither Abby nor Dirk commented, so I suspected that they hadn’t seen them.

  “Abby, Taureen just dropped the three berries beneath the bench.”

  I kept my words strictly for her. If she was subtle, Dirk wouldn’t even notice. When Aeria saw us, she uncovered a small bowl of fruit and set it on the bench beside her.

  Dirk and I headed for the fruit while Abby glided around the back of the bench. It wasn’t unusual for her to need a few moments to build up her courage, but this time, she was sneaking under the bench for a much better snack.

  Soon, she flew around and landed beside Dirk and quickly took a few types of fruit that didn’t grow in the park. A few types were currently out of season, so the wild fledglings had plenty of incentive to show up at snack time.

  I asked her, “Where is your brother? I haven’t seen him the last two days.”

  Abby glanced at me, her mouth full of kiwi. “He has a fever and isn’t feeling well, so he is keeping close to our burrow with Dad.”

  “Oh. I wasn’t aware of that.”

  I hoped Glen got better soon. The wild dragonets weren’t really able to go to the vet clinic if they wanted to stay in the park. I had already met several of the veterinarians, mostly so that I would be somewhat familiar with them if I ever did get sick or hurt.

  “Speaking of Glen, I’m going to grab a few pieces to take back to him.”

  “Tell him to get better soon.”

  “I will.” She grabbed several pieces of the rarer types of fruit and jumped into the air as she went to find her brother.

  Despite our best efforts, Dirk and I were unable to empty the bowl that held enough to feed a dozen fledglings. We did succeed in pigging out on our favorites though.

  I sprawled out in the grass near Aeria’s feet, too full to even torment Dirk. He was equally as stuffed and idly tossed pieces of grass onto Tran’s boot. A classic display of boredom at its finest.

  Before long, Taureen and Aeria called for Mom and Dad. Neither I nor Dirk budged as the graceful silver and gold dragonets circled the area. Mom landed on Taureen’s shoulder and gazed at us in amusement.

  “Come on, you two. Time to get going.” Taureen reached out with his light boot to gently nudge Dirk.

  “Do I have to?” Dirk asked, squeaking plaintively while stretching out his wings out on the grass.

  With a chuckle, Taureen leaned over—moving slowly so Mom could step back on his shoulder and avoid falling off—and picked Dirk up.

  “Are you going to sit on my shoulder or am I going to have to carry you?” Aeria asked me in good humor as she walked over.

  I rolled on the grass with a yawn. She chuckled and bent down to pick me up. I rested my neck on her arm as I stretched out in her arms, clearly lacking any and all ambition. Dad landed on her shoulder and watched me in amusement.

  With a smile, Aeria began walking down the path with the others. I propped my chin on her arm to observe our walk home in style.