I got up and flew to the other sunbeam for what must have been the millionth time that day... then paused and lifted my head to look towards the window. Had that been...?
I jumped into the air and hovered before the window to double check, then did a backflip and let out a happy trill. "Minna!"
My Kymari was walking down the sidewalk outside the house. Her hands were full of various bags. She looked towards the window, probably noticing my flash of movement, and I saw her frustrated expression suddenly turn to a smile. She started walking faster and turned out of my view to approach the house.
I flew down onto the windowsill and pressed my head against the glass to get a better angle. I watched until Minna moved out of sight of even that view, then flew from the window. I didn't have access to whatever room the front door opened into, but I could at least get to one of the hallways that led to that side of the house.
A small voice inside me said I was just acting like a silly dog excited to see its friend coming home, and that my tail might as well have been wagging at the speed of sound. It bothered me a little, on some distant level, and made me a tiny bit nervous about what somebody else might think if they saw... but I pushed those fears away.
I was excited to see Minna. It had been annoying to go so much of the day alone and apart from her. I was glad that it was finally done.
And I had seen how happy my excited wheeling had made Minna. Against that, what did it matter what somebody else might think?
I landed in front of the door that I guessed led to the part of the house Minna would come in at. I heard a gentle chime, followed by a muffled 'ding' that I knew signified the door opening. I hopped in place, eager to be back around my friend again. Maybe we could get out of this stuffy house and do something, too; I was more than tired of being stuck inside it.
I thought I heard footsteps beyond the door, but they didn't seem to be coming closer. I heard a door open somewhere away from me, then another... then I heard the sound of bags being set down in another room, this one behind me. I turned and flew back to the living room.
Minna was there!
I chirped out a happy greeting and flew around her in excitement. She laughed and put down the last bag she was carrying, then held up her hand in a fist. I landed on the precarious perch, leaning against her knuckles and warbling up at her. "Welcome back!!"
Her smile grew wider and she reached her free hand up to stroke along my back. "I missed you, too." She gave me another pat, then lifted me up to her shoulder. "Come on - I need to check in with Loreena, then we can go outside for the rest of the day. I'm sure you're ready to get some fresh air by now."
I shifted to Minna's shoulder, being careful not to scratch her unprotected hand with my claws, and settled down on the padded fabric - Minna must have put one of the thicker shirts she usually wore around me in her carry-on luggage, or else gotten one from Trenil. I was able to stretch my legs and flex my hands and feet without worrying about scratching anything.
Minna picked two of the bags up and brought them to her room, then came back for the last three. I tried to glance in the bags to see what Trenil had given us, but everything was wrapped up in something that seemed to be the Kymari equivalent of bubble wrap. No amount of leaning or stretching my neck offered any clue as to the contents.
Once she had everything settled Minna walked back through the hallways and knocked on one of the closed doors. "Loreena?"
There was a shuffling sound somewhere beyond the door, then it cracked open. Loreena peeked out, then carefully stepped out into the hallway. She eyed me nervously as she did, and immediately closed the door behind her, as if terrified I would dart through the opening and incinerate everything in the room beyond.
Only when she was certain the door was shut did she focus back on Minna. "How was your trip? Did you get everything you needed?"
"Yes, thank you. How was he? Any messes I need to clean up?"
"Surprisingly, no. He stayed in the living room most of the day, and doesn't seem to have broken anything or left any droppings. He did take a bath in the toilet at one point and soaked the carpet in the hall, but I already put a towel down to dry it. You had a letter come for you from Elder Naishi not long after you left, and you got a call from an Arlia about some houses to look at. I wrote her number and left it on a note on the fridge. It's the one circled, underlined, and starred."
"Yes, Arlia offered to go with me to check out a few places... wait, what was that? He took a bath in the toilet?" Minna turned her head and glanced at me.
Oh, great...
"Yes. You didn't close the bathroom door well enough and he slipped in. I caught him on his way out, dripping water all over the carpet." Loreena pointed down the hallway in a vague gesture, indicating back through the living room and towards the bathroom.
Minna continued to regard me thoughtfully. "Huh... I... was wondering how he managed to keep cleaning himself, but I thought he just used his water bowl... I hope he hasn't been drinking out of it too. I'll have to ask Trenil about that."
I made the effort not to droop my ear tufts while Minna was watching me. Ivy was never going to let me hear the end of it now.
"Please do. If he makes himself sick playing in the toilet that is his problem, but I do not want him soaking the carpets or making Lyzel sick."
Minna nodded slowly. "I will. I'm sure there's a way to get him to stop. You said there was a letter for me?"
"Yes, a courier brought it by. I left it for you in the kitchen."
"Thank you. I'm going to take him out now for some training, and then I'll be meeting up with Arlia to look at some houses. I should be back near sundown."
Loreena seemed genuinely surprised and even a little impressed by that news. She nodded slowly. "I will let Terron know when he gets home. Good luck."
"Thank you." Minna started down the hall to the living room. I heard Loreena slip back out of the hallway behind us.
Minna took us back to the guest room and pulled one of the bags aside. I leaned forward to watch, a little curious what all Trenil had given her...
She pulled the depressingly familiar harness out of the bag, followed by the yellow leash.
Something in my posture or expression must have changed. Minna laughed slightly and held up the orange straps. "Come on, it's not that bad. We'll be going outside; you're going to have all sorts of fun."
I stared at the harness dubiously. It was probably true... but it was easy for her to say. Nobody was going to be dragging her around by a leash.
She smiled a little more and reached her free hand back into the bag. I heard a soft 'pop' sound of something opening. A second later the scent of a sunburst berry drifted up from the bag, and I leaned forward on her shoulder to sniff at the air.
Minna unfolded the harness so it rested flat on the bed, then retrieved the sunburst berry from the bag. I kept my eyes glued on it as she took the berry and sat it right in the middle of the harness.
I knew what she was trying to do. Get me comfortable with the harness, associate it with yummy treats and all manner of good things. Let me eat something sweet and delicious while she stuck me in the harness, so I'd be less bothered by it next time. I wasn't an idiot.
I stared at the orange berry in the middle of the orange straps.
Minna stared at me expectantly.
I jumped down from her shoulder towards the bed... and banked towards the bag at the last second.
Like I said, I wasn't an idiot. I doubted she only had one berry in that entire bag.
"Ack! NO!" Minna jerked behind me and tried to grab me. I chittered in amusement and flapped my wings, dodging her hands with a well-timed juke upwards, then dove into the bag.
I searched quickly - I knew I only had a second or two before Minna grabbed me - and got lucky. My hands closed around a small tube of some kind that had been opened, and in the dim light inside the bag I could barely make out round shapes inside it. They looked to be the right size to be the berries I was looking for, so I grabbed one and popped it in my mouth.
Minna's hand closed around me and dragged me out of the bag as my teeth bit into a delicious, perfectly ripe sunburst berry. The berry was a bit too big for my mouth, and it was a little awkward, but I had gotten it. I grinned up proudly at Minna with cheeks puffed around the treat. Ha! I win! Now I get two berries!
Click.
Gah!
I grumbled around the berry in my mouth as Minna adjusted the straps around me. Stupid harness.
I finished chewing and swallowed, then reached for the second berry. Minna saw me starting to move and slapped her hand down on the berry, blocking me from getting it. "Nope! You already got one for putting the harness on."
"No fair!" I squawked up at her, then leaned down to bump at her hand with my head. She pulled her hand away... but the berry was gone, held out of reach up in her hand. She used her other hand to clip the leash to my back, then balled it up in a fist. I narrowed my eyes as she held the berry up a little higher.
"To fist."
I jumped in the air and flew up to her shoulder, passing right by the offered perch. I sat up on her shoulder and pointedly ignored the sunburst berry.
Minna sighed and slipped the berry into one of her pockets. "We'll work on that. You'll learn it."
I made a mental note of where she put the berry. Don't hold your breath on that one.
Minna grabbed the bag and collected up a few things from her luggage, then straightened back up. She took us through the hallway and headed towards the living room... but paused at the bathroom. She frowned and looked at me, then at the bathroom, then back at me again.
"What." I tried to look innocent as I chirped dryly back at her.
"Hrm... I wonder..." She eyed me another moment, then pushed open the door. She carefully lifted the seat of the toilet as if scared of what she would find... then seemed to relax. "Oh, good. It's empty."
I glared at her.
Minna put the seat back down and stepped out of the bathroom. "Okay! Off we go." Minna took us into the kitchen to grab the letter from the Elder... and then we finally left the house.