Tessa’s POV:

  I spread my wings as Aeria put my harness on, asking, “Are we going back to the training room with the sicora?”

  “No,” she replied, “we’re going to visit some of your parents’ friends. They have the morning off.”

  She could hear me if I tried to talk to her now. My attempts to warn her two days ago in the sicora room had worked, but she hadn’t replied because there had been video cameras watching us.

  I perked up my ear tufts in curiosity, wondering who these people were. Mom didn’t like any Kymari besides Taureen and Aeria.

  Soon we were ready to go, and I sat on Aeria’s shoulder as we walked down the street. There was so much to see; hover vehicles quietly flew by, other Kymari walked past, plants bloomed beside the sidewalk, and some buildings had interesting carvings while others had very smooth sides.

  Taureen and Aeria approached a house with netting over the big backyard. When Taureen touched an elaborate carving beside the door that must have been a doorbell, a pleasant chiming came from within.

  “Come in. We’re in the living room.”

  Taureen opened the door for Aeria, letting her enter first. Mom sat up in excitement, and even Dad looked eager. We went down the hallway and entered the living room. My jaw dropped when I saw two dragonets under a heat lamp on a central table.

  One had red scales like me! The other dragonet was bright purple. Both of them sat up as Aeria and Taureen came inside and unclipped our harnesses.

  “Go on,” Taureen told Mom at the same time that Aeria nodded at Dad.

  Mom and Dad immediately flew toward the dragonets, who jumped into the air. Taureen and Aeria sat on a couch as I watched the four whirl and twirl around in a greeting.

  “About time you came to visit, Tasha! I’ve been waiting to see your children for weeks!” The woman’s voice came from the red dragonet.

  “Things only happen so fast,” Mom replied. “Their first outing was only the other day.”

  “Let’s land and see if we can coax the cuties closer.”

  They landed on the central table, looking at Dirk and me.

  “Dirk, Tessa, come meet Serena and Tom.”

  I was suddenly nervous—I had never met another dragonet before. Somewhat shyly, I glided over and landed beside Mom. Dirk landed behind me.

  “This is Serena and Tom. Alec is their handler, he’s in the loop.” As odd as her wording was, I knew that it meant he was one of the trusted Kymari

  I nodded and took a step closer, not entirely sure what was expected of me. Serena trotted forward and happily bunted her nose against my shoulder in a greeting.

  “It’s good to see you. I’ve been waiting to meet you ever since your Mom told me you hatched.”

  I didn’t know what to make of this very friendly lady, and I just blinked at her.

  She kept talking. “And you have red scales too! I bet you know exactly how hard it is to play a fair game of hide-and-seek.”

  That one made me grin. It was very hard to play hide-and-seek when your scales stood out so much.

  She draped a wing over me as she grinned in return. “Let’s enjoy the heat, and I can tell you some tricks to get around that problem.”

  I glanced at Mom, and at her nod, I followed the scarlet dragonet to the warm sand.

  As soon as I settled down, she started talking, “The easiest way to hide is to find a dark place. Red doesn’t stand out as much in the dark. Your Mom or Dad couldn’t pull that off with their bright scales, but reds and purples can. Another way is to roll in the mud—keeping in mind that your Mom might throw a fit. Oh, and let’s not forget about—”

  I listened intently as she gave tips and explained how to hide and move without our bright red scales being seen. Other than an occasional nod or tilt of my head if I didn’t understand something, I didn’t even have to talk. Her advice sounded really good. Dirk was probably going to regret my visit with Serena.

  It didn’t take long before I lost all nervousness around the two friendly dragonets. Once I got used to how they occasionally nuzzled me or draped their wing over me, I completely relaxed. It struck me as odd until I realized that the Kymari rarely touched us unless we came to them. Dragonets acted differently, and in a way, it seemed more natural.

  When I stretched my wings, Serena jumped to her feet and gently whacked me with her wing. “Tag! You’re it!”

  She blasted into the air like a red lightning bolt, the wind from her takeoff scattering sand across the table. I scrambled to my feet and tried chasing her. After one loop of the room, it was clear that Serena was just as fast as Mom. My sights turned to Dirk, who saw me coming and jumped down from the table to try and evade me.

  I dove and carefully angled my flight into the limited space between the Kymari’s legs and the center table. Balling up my fists, I rapped my knuckles against his back as I flew above him.

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  “You’re it!”

  He jumped up and reached over the edge to tag Mom’s tail. Dad bolted into the air before she could catch him, and Tom wasn’t far behind.

  Serena swooped past me. “This way, quick!”

  My wings beat faster as I tried to keep up with her. She darted through a small access door to the backyard. The Kymari were getting to their feet, likely heading outside where there was more room. Mom was airborne, searching for any sign of weakness or mistakes among her potential targets. That was good enough to count as permission for me.

  I pushed the door open with my nose and scampered through. This backyard had more trees and hiding spots than ours. Serena was nowhere in sight.

  If I wasn’t fast enough to evade getting tagged, then I had to avoid being found. My wings quickly took me into the shelter of the leaves as I searched for a better hiding place. The Kymari opened the back door, and streaks of silver, gold, blue, and purple shot past them.

  Where could I hide… My eyes scanned the openings in the leaves. The red scales on my hands stood out brightly against brown bark and green leaves. Hiding below a bush or in a log weren’t options with my family—they always looked there. I needed an unusual hiding place

  My eyes focused on what looked like a good spot. I just had to get there without being spotted. Peering through the leaves, I saw a few glimpses of shiny scales in the trees against the back of the fence. No one was close by.

  I took off silently, weaving between the branches to keep my bright hide mostly hidden. My wings remained mostly level with my body, since raising or lowering them too much would make me much more visible. I dove out of the leaves straight down into a tall, narrow shrub against the house. Other than a few small bushes, nothing else was nearby. No one would think to look here.

  The three Kymari didn’t even notice me sneak into my hiding place as they sat on the patio. They continued talking quietly as the whistles, screeches, and squawks came from the trees.

  “Have you had any real problems so far?” Alec inquired.

  “Not yet,” Taureen replied. “Although they are just old enough now to mindspeak someone other than their parents. Tasha and Keegan had several long talks with them about not speaking to other Kymari.”

  “That’s a relief. Tom was worried they might slip. The last thing we need is a couple of the old bloods getting wind of it and demanding that all fire lizards contribute in some way if they want to live in our cities.”

  “The Elders would flatten their demands in an instant,” Aeria asserted quietly. “Once they ensure it isn’t slavery, they’ll let the dragonets continue to work with us. Granted, changes would be made so the fire lizards are more recognized as intelligent, but they already have a protected status and help us.”

  Alec inclined his head. “You’re correct. I’m just overthinking things. Even when off-leash, our companions always return, so it’s clear they are coming back willingly.”

  Aeria reassured him. “Even though only twenty fire lizards are helping with patrols, that’s enough to inspect every cargo ship and protect the entire planet. There are only a hundred and thirty-three of them in the wild; it’ll be centuries before the main park won’t be able to support their numbers. They have no technology and seem more than happy to co-exist, so the Elders won’t consider them a threat even if they learn of their intelligence.”

  My ear tufts perked up. It only took twenty dragonets and their handlers to protect an entire planet?

  “I’m not entirely certain the Elders are unaware.” Taureen’s words were so soft that I barely heard them, but it got the immediate attention of the two beside him.

  “What?” Alec asked, staring at Taureen.

  Taureen pulled something out of his pocket and handed it to Alec. “I sent an update to Elder Dairno yesterday. Look at the reply he sent this morning. Just the wording of it… it made me go back through all of our correspondences and check the notes from our conversations.”

  As he read, Alec murmured, “…and I hope all efforts will be made to ensure the fledglings enjoy their training. Please keep me updated, particularly if they show signs of choosing a handler in the foreseeable future. I grant permission to take them into the main park without a leash, although I request that they be introduced to as many Kymari as they are comfortable meeting during such outings. There are to be no restrictions on the youngsters’ choice.”

  “There’s nothing concrete,” Taureen said in frustration, passing him a few pieces of paper, “but I’m quite positive they have an idea of how smart our friends actually are, and that they are content to let the fire lizards pretend to be clever animals.”

  Alec scanned the rest of the letter, before quickly moving onto Taureen’s notes.

  “I helped someone else train a greeta as a bond animal in the past,” Alec finally said in a somewhat troubled voice. “Bond animals generally choose their handlers, and we try to make sure that they like their training, but this isn’t a typical letter. I’ve never seen this many suggestions about the bond animals picking their comfort levels and what they want to do.”

  Alec frowned at the papers before handing them to Aeria.

  He looked back at Taureen. “Is there any sign of them seeking confirmation or requesting more details than usual?”

  “No. Thankfully, everything I am seeing is more or less telling us to continue as we are, unless ‘something comes up.’ The wording around the handler section is making me suspect that there won’t be any repercussions if a fledgling joins the wild flock and refuses to return.”

  “That is how I read it too,” Alec replied. “Objectively, there really isn’t any harm with them staying in the park. They are quite safe there, and so far, every injured or ill adult has been found and rescued. The escaped youngster might choose a handler when they’re older.”

  Taureen looked thoughtful. “Those are good points, but I think it might be more than that. If the Elders are aware of the fire lizards’ intelligence, this may be their assurance to them that any youngsters born in captivity will still have a choice.”

  “I think you might be right,” Aeria said quietly, leafing through the papers again. “It might be my imagination, but there is no emphasis on them needing to choose a handler. Elder Dairno also states that his instructions will apply to any youngster. The Elders might be worried that the bonded ones won’t have young if they think their children don’t have a choice. The fire lizards are the only creatures that can track sicora and crawlers. They’re valuable allies.”

  “That could be it,” Alec stated. “We have had several pairs of bonded fire lizards for five years, and this is the first clutch. The wild population has had at least twenty-five clutches during that same time. If the Elders are certain of their intelligence, this is likely their way of offering an option for the future generations. If we are jumping to conclusions and they aren’t aware, then it makes sense to let an ambitious youngster join the wild flock, grow up, and have a few clutches before possibly returning.”

  They looked at each other for a long moment before Alec asked, “I guess life goes on until the fire lizards make their decisions? Whether they choose to remain with us, choose a handler of their own, or move into the park?”

  Taureen nodded slowly. “That is the conclusion I came to.”

  The group fell silent, lost in thought.

  I blinked slowly. Their conversation had been fascinating, even if I didn’t understand everything they’d said. Were dragonets really the only ones who could find the sicora and crawlers?

  As much as I wanted to ask them, I had a feeling I hadn’t been supposed to hear this conversation. In fact, it might be better if they didn’t know I was nearby. Quietly, I glided beside the house, keeping the shrub between me and them, until I could scurry under some shrubs and make my way to the trees.