A New Beginning

Chapter 7

The sun cleared the horizon, and I sat down heavily as my chest heaved for breath. The song was over. I was both happy and sad; sad that it was over, but happy that I had seen it and had been a part of it.

My head jerked back slightly in surprise as Mom swooped by on the other side of the window. I hadn't expected that. Dirk crooned tiredly, folding his wings up. He looked much more tired than I felt.

Aeria picked him up in both hands before walking over to the end table and placing him below the heat lamp, leaving me on the window sill for the moment. I took the opportunity to look around the room from this direction. Couches and chairs were against all of the walls, while two corners had end tables. There was a coffee table in front of the couch where Taureen usually sat. The words seemed strange, although the hidden memories easily identified them.

I peeked over the edge of the window sill, and my eyes widened as I realized how high up I was. The window sill was higher than the end table! Part of my mind heard the hidden memories tell me the distance was something that an adult dragonet could jump – and the other part of my mind completely refused to believe it.

I shook my head to dismiss my circling thoughts and whistled to catch Aeria's attention. In my distraction, I hadn't realized that she was already returning for me and mere steps away. She gently picked me up and started walking back.

Although I was somewhat tired, I wasn't ready for a nap. From up here, I could see the floor better. I craned my head down as I examined the fluffy-looking stuff on the floor as she carried me towards the heat lamp. I looked up at Aeria and whistled before pointedly looking down at the floor again.

She paused before asking, "You want to go on the floor?"

I trilled an affirmative sound as my ear tufts perked up in growing excitement. She slowly knelt on the ground before setting me down. I half-unfurled my wings as I gingerly walked across the strange stuff. It sunk underneath my feet whenever I put my feet down; yet, it didn't feel like it was going to let me fall.

I sniffed the fuzzy stuff and snorted at it. I tilted my head as I examined the hidden memories. Carpet. What strange stuff. I simply could not fathom why people would cut up bits of soft stuffs and tie them together just to walk on them. Sand was much better.

My steps were tentative as I slowly got used to the odd carpet stuff under my feet. Aeria remained sitting on the floor as she watched me. I couldn't see Dirk from down here, but I was pretty sure he was sleeping by now.

I looked under the couch, but there was no way I could squeeze under there. I wandered under the coffee table, gazing up at the odd wood pattern on the underside in curiosity. My head turned from side to side, wondering which spot I wanted to explore first. There was a lot more room down here than there was on the end table!

My ear tufts perked up as I started getting more excited. There was so much space! And I didn't have to worry about falling off the edge! With a warbling chirp, I hopped forward to see how far I could jump. The fuzzy floor allowed my claws to dig in more than the sand did, and it was kind of bouncy.

It was fun. I kept bounding around, seeing how far I could jump. I stumbled a few times, but soon got the hang of it. I could jump really far! I wondered how far I could go if I really tried and crouched down as I prepared myself for a big jump.

I shook out my scales slightly before leaping with all my strength. My wings popped open on their own accord and gave a single light flap – pushing me further than I had managed so far.

My head came up with my new discovery – I could use my wings to jump even further! I took another jump, each time giving my wings a flap once to help. I kept bouncing around using my wings for wing assist.

Pausing to catch my breath, I examined the coffee table beside me. If I could use my wings to make me go further across the floor, could I also use my wings to make me jump higher?

I backed up a few steps as I took a closer look at how high it was and glanced back to see how far my last jump had been. The distance was about right.

I crouched down as I readied myself. This was something I had never done before; I had never tried to jump up. Aeria shifted closer, although I wasn't sure why. She was more than tall enough to see on top of the coffee table even though she was sitting on the floor.

I took a deep breath before jumping as high as I could. My wings unfurled and beat down as I tried to propel myself upwards. The table seemed to be approaching really fast, but I wasn't quite there yet.

One wingbeat wasn't going to be enough.

I struggled to get my wings back up before I started to fall. My wings bit into the air once more, sending me closer to the top of the table. I made it! I felt a jolt run through my arms as I grabbed onto the table top with my hands – but my feet hadn't made it far enough! They dangled over the end, scrabbling for some sort of traction.

I squealed in alarm as I started sliding backwards. I had barely started to slide when Aeria deftly moved her hand under my scrambling back legs, letting me scamper onto the coffee table where I lay down and panted.

Jumping up apparently needed more wingbeats than jumping across the floor.

Aeria got to her feet before picking me up. "I think that is enough for now. You should have some breakfast and take a nap."

Breakfast and a nap sounded really good at this point. Perhaps, after my nap, I would see if I could sneak over to see if the couch felt like the carpet did...