A New Beginning

Chapter 24

"She's so cute," Maria murmured.

"She is, but it's her mother that we have to watch out for," Soranto replied, his watchful gaze shifting between me and Mom.

Mom and Dad were still darting around with several sections of ribbon still attached to their harnesses. There was no way they could have missed the trio who had walked beneath them, but they weren't stopping their game just because three apparently familiar Kymari had walked by.

Maria turned her head to watch the silver and gold shapes that were somehow managing to find and fly through every single available piece of airspace.

"It's always so neat to watch them with the ribbons," she said in admiration.

Soranto shrugged lightly. "It is, and it's a very good way for them to get their exercise. It also helps keep their flying skills honed."

I laid down on Taureen's shoulder as I hid a smirk. The game may be a very good way to build our flying skills, but Soranto had no clue that we mostly did it because it was fun. He was so clueless...

"Taureen, do you mind if I see if I can get her to come closer?" Maria inquired.

"You may."

She pulled something out of her pocket and opened up her hand to reveal a bright orange berry. My ear tufts perked up in interest as I sat up. She placed the berry on the arm of the chair she was sitting on.

I took off from Taureen's shoulder and glided past Soranto to land on the arm of her chair. I happily ate the berry and looked up at Maria. My nostrils flared as I hoped to pick up the scent of more berries.

Tentatively, she held her fingers closer, and I sniffed them. The faint smell of sap was an indication that she had likely pulled more than one berry off of the sunburst vines. I hopped onto her lap and shamelessly began checking her pockets.

"See, that's why I told you to hide them better," Soranto murmured.

Maria slowly reached out and gently stroked my back, not minding that I was trying to locate the hidden treats. Her two pockets were empty, but at least I had confirmation that there were more sunburst berries to be had.

I should have known that Soranto would have shown her how to hide the berries. He always gave me one when he left in the evening, but I never managed to locate it before it appeared in his hand.

Aeria and Adeline came back outside and passed everyone something to drink before sitting down.

"We will have to go inside before the storm hits," Aeria said as she looked into the distance.

I lifted my head and could see a few towering dark clouds past the trees. They were far away, though, so I wasn't sure why the clouds bothered Aeria. The sun was still shining.

Leaving Maria's lap, I glided over to our sunning rock where Dirk was dozing in the sunlight. A nap sounded like a good idea, so I laid down beside him and spread my wings to catch the warmth.

   

       A loud rumble woke me up as a large wind gust blasted across the backyard, dislodging leaves from the trees. My head shot up in alarm as I groggily tried to figure out what was going on.

Mom landed beside us, somehow managing to fly even though the wind was threatening to blow me off the rock.

"Tasha, Keegan, Tessa, Dirk," Taureen called over the wind. "Let's go inside."

He held the door open, waiting for us. I looked up to see that the dark clouds were nearly upon us and almost ready to blot out the sun. A cold raindrop hit my back and rolled off my scales. A couple of other big drops splattered against the stone, leaving dark spots that foretold of what was to come.