Tessa’s POV:

  I opened Soranto’s belt pouch and pretended to stick something inside, just so he’d have to check it later. He would probably be confused when he failed to find anything later on, but that was half the fun. He caressed my neck and back. It felt good and was almost as relaxing as a small massage. I leaned into his hand.

  Abby and Dirk were perched precariously on the back of the bench behind Tran’s shoulder. He seemed perfectly content to let them do whatever they were doing, even though everyone knew he’d have to take that section of his armor off to get the joints working properly again.

  Dirk was ferrying a lot of pebbles to Abby as she carefully wedged each one into the worst spot possible. I idly wondered if Tran would ever invest in armor like Soranto’s, although I kind of doubted it. Soranto liked to watch our reactions when he foiled our efforts, but Tran welcomed the pranks in quiet amusement.

  “I heard your schedule is shifting to every second day?” Taureen asked Soranto.

  My ear tufts twitched as I resisted the urge to look up. Sometimes playing dumb was hard.

  “It starts in five days. From what I’ve heard, my side guards will be ready to join us around that time.”

  “Drae and Sipar?”

  “Yes. They just finished the bond animal accompaniment training, so the only thing left is getting Tessa used to their presence. They don’t have any experience with bond animals or fire lizards, but they do have a lot of experience with crawlers and sicora.”

  Taureen replied, “That shouldn’t be too hard. In a week or so, you should be ready for your first patrols without us. Just make sure the tracker in Tessa’s harness is linked to your wrist comm.”

  “It’s already linked. I don’t think I will have any trouble, but you never know.”

  They continued discussing Soranto’s first solo patrol, which would involve walking around the streets to see if I’d stay with him, go looking for my family, or take off for the main park.

  While the general idea was boring, this was the next step, and it made me excited. I’d never had an outing without Taureen, Aeria, Mom, Dad, or Dirk before! I would finally get to meet Soranto’s side guards.

  It wasn’t long before we left the park. Abby watched us go with longing eyes, but didn’t leave the trees. I knew she’d be pestering us tonight for glimpses through our eyes and explanations about everything as she tried to learn as much as she possibly could.

  As had become custom, Adeline and Maria joined us for dinner and visited most of the evening. If nothing else, my slow bonding with Soranto was turning the two families into very close friends.

  As they were getting ready to leave, Taureen asked Soranto, “Do you have everything you need at your place? I think today might be a good day to see if Tessa will go home with you.”

  Dirk and I stared at Taureen in shock. Mom rustled her wings in annoyance but didn’t even growl.

  “You think so?” Soranto asked. “Everything is set up, and I have all of the supplies and several kinds of fruit on hand.”

  “Try taking her home and see how she does.”

  Excitement began shining in Soranto’s eyes. “Let’s see how far I get. If she starts crying too much, I could be bringing her back.” He reached for my harness on the wall. “Tessa, want to come with me?”

  Playing dumb and hiding my sudden nerves, I tilted my head before flying over. He put my harness on and lifted me to his shoulder. Maria opened the door for us with a huge smile. I looked back as it closed; it was strange to be out here without Taureen or Aeria nearby. It left me feeling jittery, like the first few times I’d flown through the park without Mom or Dad nearby.

  Soranto saw me glancing back uneasily and stroked my neck. “Easy. You’re okay. We’ll see them tomorrow morning.”

  That was easy for him to say. He didn’t have a big surprise just dropped on him. Well, actually, he did since it had been Taureen’s idea. I’d never been away from my family before.

  “Mom, did you know this was going to happen?”

  “I knew it was going to happen this week, although not the exact day.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me?” I tried to keep the pain and accusation out of my voice.

  “I don’t like surprises either,” she replied tiredly, sorrow leaking through her voice. “Soranto isn’t aware he can just explain things to you, so this was your first brush with him doing things you don’t know about or understand.”

  I winced; we had talked about this weeks ago. It was one thing to know about it in theory, but quite another to have it sprung onto you. I should have expected it.

  I took a deep breath and tried to relax. The mindlink was still there; I could talk to Mom, Dad, and Dirk like usual. I just couldn’t see them. The three Kymari with me were among those I trusted the most, and we were going to a house that I was very familiar with. The only difference was that I’d be sleeping somewhere else.

  After a few minutes, my initial unease faded and the walk began to remind me of our usual practice walks. It was still a relief when their house finally came into sight. We went inside, and Soranto took off my harness, which felt kind of strange since it only ever came off in Taureen’s home. He hung it on a small branch near the door.

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  “There you go. Go on.”

  I flew over to the heat lamp, hoping the warmth would help ease my few lingering nerves. As I curled up underneath the warmest section, I watched the three Kymari settle into their usual chairs. Soranto pulled a laptop out of the new center table while Adeline sketched something on a pad of paper. Maria began reading a book.

  Other than Soranto’s occasional glance, none of them looked at me. Yet, I knew they were watching me in their peripheral vision. There were plenty of hiding places at hand, but I appreciated their presence. It kept the looming loneliness at bay.

  The intense heat did wonders as it turned my muscles into mush and began to push me into a sunbathing trance. I had never rested under this section of the heat lamp before, nor had I ever encountered one that emitted so much warmth. I was getting too warm.

  After a big stretch to get my muscles working properly, I glided over to Adeline. I kind of wanted some comfort or reassurance, and a mother seemed like a good place to start. I curled up on her lap, and she gently pet me with one hand as she examined a detailed sketch in the other. It kind of reminded me of the old human blueprints of buildings, although hers seemed to show the layout of rooms and how the light would shine through the windows.

  The contact was close to cuddling, and it was more comforting than the heat had been. I didn’t really feel like playing, although I could feel boredom creeping in now that I had finally managed to relax. My mind never seemed to give me peace.

  Stretching my neck, I grabbed her pencil in my teeth. At least, I was assuming it was a pencil. It had a soft spongy coating, but there was something hard under the surface layer.

  I dropped it by my hands and flipped it around a few times. With a sly glance at Adeline, I grabbed the pencil and quickly flew over to Soranto. Banking over his head, I dropped the pencil.

  My jaw dropped as he managed to catch it without even looking up. How did he know it was there? I pulled into a hover as I stared in disbelief. I had to see if this was repeatable…

  A quick check of the room revealed just how few items I could actually pick up. They had dragonet-proofed their home more than I had originally realized. It took a bit of work, but I managed to get into Adeline’s pencil case and find more pencils.

  Grabbing one, I flew back over Soranto and dropped it while watching closely. He caught the pencil just as easily, but this time I saw him watching the faint reflection on the laptop screen. Swooping down, I landed on his shoulder pad and peered at the computer screen before turning my head to chirp at him. He looked at me with a smile.

  “What are you up to? Are you hungry?”

  My ear tufts perked up. I wasn’t particularly hungry, but I was curious to find out what goodies might be around. Putting his computer to the side, he got up and went into the kitchen.

  The side wall inside the kitchen now had tree branches on it. Higher up, the gaps between some of the branches were actually openings between the rooms, which gave it a neat three-dimensional look. Some were even big enough to fly through.

  Soranto got a bowl of fruit and walked back to his chair. When he opened it, I hopped onto his armrest to get a better look. I was somewhat disappointed to see it was the same types that Taureen left out for midnight snacks. They could sit at room temperature for several hours without going bad.

  Still, a snack was a snack, and I ate the pieces Soranto offered before eventually losing interest in the fruit. Adeline murmured something about bedtime to Maria, and both of them left the room. I watched them leave and glanced at the window. The sun hadn’t completely set yet, so Maria must go to bed earlier than her parents.

  Soranto hesitated, then picked me up. I blinked in surprise as he curled me against his chest and very lightly rested his chin on my wings. It was almost exactly like how I had seen Taureen hold Mom.

  I could feel his slow heartbeat through his skin, and his steady breathing was peaceful and calming. It felt so right, like I was loved and cherished. The feeling was a welcome one right now. Reaching up, I nuzzled my head against his cheek, thrumming contentedly.

  We remained like that for a while. When Adeline came back, Soranto set me in his lap and pet me. She quietly sat in the chair and watched us with a soft expression.

  Soranto quietly said, “I didn’t realize how attached I must have become over the last few weeks. Even now, I am having a hard time seeing her as an animal and not just part of the family.”

  Adeline nodded. “I noticed that as well, although her youthful charm might be part of it. I’m trying to hold back so she primarily bonds with you, but I’ll admit it was hard to do so on some of those occasions.”

  Both were silent for a few minutes, lost in thought.

  “I have a feeling that she’s going to transition here faster than we originally planned,” Adeline murmured thoughtfully. “She likes the attention, and she doesn’t have to compete with three other fire lizards for it.”

  Soranto seemed oddly serious. “I believe you’re correct. She may have been a bit of out of sorts earlier, but it didn’t last long. I guess we’ll have to see how she does and go from there.”

  I rested my chin on Soranto’s leg as I listened to them discuss the additional changes they wanted to make to the backyard. The fence and netting were already in place, although the access flap wasn’t installed yet. I’d never flown the Morning Song alone, although I knew Mom had done so many times before Dad moved in. But that was a worry for tomorrow.

  With a big yawn, I looked around the room, trying to figure out which warm place would be the best one to sleep in. The heat lamp was the most familiar, but I kind of wanted something a bit more enclosed and protected.

  The room lights had slowly dimmed as the night progressed, so the faint red illumination highlighted the presence of the warm nooks and nests among the branches. Getting to my feet, I sleepily flew up to one of the higher ones.

  This one practically doubled as a hiding place; unless I raised my head, it wasn’t possible to see me. As I slipped inside, the temperature seemed perfect. There was some sort of soft material lining the floor, but it was still a poor substitute for sand. I’d have to try and find a way to carry some up here once they went to bed.

  I rested my head where I could peek between the leaves along the opening. It took longer than I anticipated, but Soranto and Adeline eventually left the room, dimming the lights further as they left.

  The room was almost completely dark, and the faint illumination around the heated and cooled areas faded to almost nothing. Getting to my feet, I slipped out of my newfound sleeping place. Being as quiet as I could, I dragged the lining out and rolled it up before flying over to the sandstone shelf.

  I filled the makeshift bag with as much sand as I thought I could carry and flew back up to my room. It took several trips, but soon, I had a nice soft bed of sand to sleep on. After a bit of thought, I hid the lining among the branches near the ceiling in case I needed it in the future.

  The stars caught my attention. Now that the room lights were off, the three large skylights gave a fantastic view of the night sky. A couple of the branches actually extended along the ceiling and under the glass, so I flew up and landed on one for a better view of the stars.

  I gazed at them, marveling at their beauty. After a while, my yawns became more and more frequent, so I visited the bathroom before going to my sleeping place.

  Focusing on Mom and Dad, I quietly murmured, “Good night.”

  “Good night,” they responded groggily, as if they had been almost asleep. I was surprised they hadn’t spoken to me earlier, although they might have been waiting for me to start the conversation in case I was busy.

  I curled up on the warm sand and closed my eyes.