A New Beginning

Chapter 57

Elder Dairno turned to Adeline. "This choice affects you and your family as well."

"She is part of my family," Adeline stated firmly, standing slightly straighter as she also met the Elder's gaze. Somehow, her stance seemed more formal and almost challenging.

He wasn't fazed by her response or posture, and merely watched her for a few rather long seconds. "Very well."

After a glance towards me, he looked back at Soranto. "Then I give my permission for you to become Tessa's official handler. The two of you may begin patrols in three days if you wish."

I felt like cheering and flying in loop de loops, but I managed to restrain myself and remained sitting still.

This time, Soranto inclined his head. "Thank you, Elder."

"Would you care to visit for a while?" Adeline offered.

"I can stay for a short time."

"The Elder approved Soranto to be my handler!" I exclaimed, mindlinking Mom, Dad, and Dirk.

"Congratulations!" Mom replied.

"That's great!" Dad said.

Dirk was last, but still commented, "I'm happy for you."

"Elder Dairno even said that Soranto's house was impressive! How often does an Elder use that word? I thought they didn't compliment people much."

"I asked Taureen and Aeria," Mom replied, amusement lacing her voice, "but judging by the blank looks they are exchanging, they are still trying to remember."

I squirmed deeper into the sand and spread my wings out, trying to hide my glee. "I can even start patrolling in three days! I can finally help hunt down crawlers and sicora!"

My family kept talking with me while the Kymari visited.

   

       I flew excitedly towards Mom, Dad, and Dirk, and we swirled through the air in both a welcome and as a celebration of Soranto's promotion last night. It felt good to let loose a little without having to mask just how happy I was.

Taureen clapped Soranto on the back. "Congratulations! Are you excited?"

"Oh yeah," Soranto replied with a big grin. "I never thought I would enjoy this as much as I do. Adeline is also quite happy. She was getting pretty attached to Tessa as time went by."

"When do you get to go on patrol? Did he say?"

"Two more days. Until then, it's just the usual routine."

"Here. Alec dropped this off on his way to the main park this morning."

"You told Alec?" Soranto asked, taking the case from Taureen.

"No, but he called me shortly after you messaged me. He probably heard a rumor about an Elder visiting your home."

Mom landed on the end table with a smirk, causing me to guess how the 'rumor' had originated. There weren't many secrets among the dragonets, especially when it came to news like this. Soranto would learn this one day – in three months, to be exact. I was already counting down the days.

The clock was ticking, and I was fully prepared for both Soranto and Adeline to know the truth. I was willing to include Maria too, but that was up to Soranto. Taureen had mentioned that they might not include Maria since the dragonets counted our secret as being very important and she would probably only be at home for another fifteen or twenty years, which wasn't very long by Kymari standards.

Soranto set the case on the center table and opened it up, revealing a handful of vials and some sort of fist-sized device that tapered to a point. Taking one of the tiny vials of liquid, he held it above his wrist comm while entering something into it.

After his wrist comm flashed, he put the tiny vial into the device and closed the slot. The machine whirred for a few moments before becoming silent.

"That would be your tracking device," Mom observed in a neutral voice.

I had forgotten about that detail. All bonded dragonets had one. Dirk and I had ours in our harnesses until we officially had a handler – and I had just gotten mine.

"Will it hurt?" I asked uneasily.

"No. It will just feel like his nail caught the edge of one of your scales. You should fly over if you still want to go through with this. He won't call you over for something like this, but he also won't come this close to me."

Taking a deep breath, I flew the two wingbeats to the center table and landed beside the open case. I sniffed one of the untouched vials in curiosity, but I didn't see anything besides clear liquid inside. Soranto picked me up and put me on his lap.

I partially stretched my wings, trying to act relaxed in the face of the unknown. Digging through his belt pouch, Soranto pulled out a large chunk of something and put it in front of me. The smell had my nostrils flaring – it was a big slice of dried shia fruit.

Grabbing it, I lay down and began chewing on the semi-hard treat. Soranto petted me with one hand while subtly moving the device behind me. There was a bit of pressure above my back leg and a faint pop that made me jump more than the flicker of discomfort as one of my scales lifted momentarily.

"It's okay," Soranto reassured me, moving the device away.

Taureen took the machine and put it into the case. "I'll have it sterilized later and return it to Alec in a couple of days."

That was it? My splitting nail had hurt worse. If Mom hadn't told me about the tracker, I would have never guessed.

"Did you see Alec's guide on how to set that tracker up?" Aeria inquired, watching me continue to chow down on the piece of fruit. It wasn't as good as the fresh stuff, but still much better than a lot of things I had eaten lately. Chewier, too.

"Yes. I actually downloaded the software earlier and programmed it. It just needed to synchronize with the proper frequency."

"Then you are all set. Have you talked with the Port Master about beginning your patrols?"

"I sent him a message yesterday, actually. The schedule isn't quite set up yet, but we will be able to start in two days."

Perfect. I settled down on Soranto's lap, contentedly munching on the fruit while dreaming of what our first patrol might hold.