A New Beginning

Chapter 43

Tessa's POV:

It felt like forever before we finally arrived at the main park. We were a bit later than usual due to someone – possibly Banrai – locking the exit door and forcing us to go back the way we had come. Of course, this gave whoever was watching through the cameras the chance to trigger some of the remaining traps we had walked past the first time.

Soranto held his hand up to me, and I jumped on it in excitement. After stroking my neck and back a few times, he passed me another small slice of fruit. I happily ate the treat; it was a type that Taureen didn't buy that often.

Once I was done, he said, "Go on. Go have some fun."

With a happy trill, I took off. Mom was already heading towards the usual dragonet meeting place, so I followed her. With a glance back and a grin, she flipped upside down and swerved around a tree trunk.

I immediately gave chase as we darted through the forest. It was almost impossible to keep up, but I managed to keep her within my sights until we arrived at the clearing.

Dad flew up to greet us as a dozen others glanced at us. I whistled a greeting and let my wings barely brush against his in our flight. I circled the clearing, but didn't see Dirk or any of the other fledglings.

"Dirk is with Abby and Glen. They were heading to the fruit trees by the big, white stone," Dad told me, sharing an image of the exact area.

"Thanks!" I replied, veering off to fly in the correct direction.

I gained height and carefully flew through the thicker foliage in case Abby was planning some sort of revenge. Splashing and laughing whistles came from closer to the creek, so I changed direction.

Landing on a branch, I peered through the leaves to see Glen and four other fledglings playing in the water. Abby and Dirk weren't among them, though. Perhaps they were still eating.

Taking flight again, I continued towards the clearing with the white boulder. I kept my wingbeats silent in case they were just waiting for me to show up. I really didn't need to be the focus of any more ambushes today, although, to be fair, all of the ones in training had been aimed at Soranto, Taureen, or one of the guards.

The clearing was empty, so I decided to check the area since there were a number of fruit trees around here. I blinked and did a double-take when I spotted the green and blue dragonets curled up together in the grass.

I landed on a branch as I stared at the two cuddling. Well. This was not what I had expected. Looking around, no one else was in sight. I also didn't want them to know that I had seen them, mostly because Abby didn't need any more incentive in the revenge department.

Continuing to use the leaves for cover, I took to the air again. I could join the fledglings back at the creek. It would be a much safer place for them to eventually find me.

When I reached the creek, I was relieved to see the group still romping around in the water. Diving down, I changed my angle at the last moment as I skidded across the top of the water. As I had intended, the spray from my landing hit all of those within range.

A purple dragonet energetically splashed me back as I joined the water fight. We had a blast, although I had joined in near the end, so they were tired before I was. They rested on the sandy banks, spreading their wings to catch the sun.

I wasn't ready to relax just yet, but my options were rather limited. It was a pity that the Ply-Ball group wouldn't be back for two more days. There was no way I was going back to see if Dirk and Abby were done cuddling, and it really wasn't wise for me to annoy the adults after yesterday's stunt.