It was late in the afternoon when Minna called the quits to the training, and I was a little tired from all the exploring and seeking, so I sprawled out on her shoulder and took in the city as she walked. We passed other Kymari along the way, and a few waved or greeted Minna, but for the most part they didn't bother us.
I kept a close watch on the cleaning robots that we passed, but they stayed well away from us. Good.
The scents of various foods began to tickle my nose as we walked. I perked up when I smelled the faint scent of shia fruit in the mix, and sat up to sniff the air to be sure.
Minna noticed my sudden alertness and stopped walking. "Stay..." Her hand came up to rest on my back. I fidgeted in place and leaned towards the smell... but I didn't leave Minna's shoulder.
After several long seconds I grew used enough to the scent to relax. Minna took her hand away and passed me an entire sunburst berry. I felt a bit of pride at overcoming the powerful hunger instinct that drove me to go after the delicious fruits, and rewarded myself by tearing into the delicious berry.
It still counted as progress.
Minna started walking again. She stopped every few minutes to repeat the 'stay' command and rest her hand on my back, countering the growing urge to seek out the scent that was becoming clearer with each step. It helped. By the time the market came into sight I had convinced myself that I was the master of these frustratingly strong dragonet instincts, and that I would be able to sit calmly on Minna's shoulder for as long as it took her to wander through the marketplace.
Then I caught sight of the stall with the shia fruits. Dozens of them, arranged in a bin on the side of the table, as if they were an afterthought to the other bins of fruit more prominently displayed on the table. Sunlight shown down on them, a spotlight causing their smooth surfaces to gleam alluringly. Beads of water dotted the blue and peach skin and seemed to suggest exactly where my teeth should sink in. A choir began singing from somewhere in the background as the plump, juicy treats filled my vision. I could taste the rich nectar on my tongue, and could feel my teeth sinking into the tender flesh that was all that separated me from the pure, undiluted deliciousness that was inside...
I felt the leash snap me back through the air as I ran out of slack.
I flapped my wings a few times in surprise and determination, but the leash tethered me to Minna and kept me from getting any closer. I dropped to the ground and hissed in frustration as I folded my wings against my back. I couldn't even remember jumping off Minna's shoulder. One minute I was sitting there, well behaved and obedient, and the next I was being held back by this stupid leash that was keeping me away from the delicious treats that were begging for a dragonet to come along and devour them.
Stupid leash. Stupid harness. Stupid instincts.
I turned back and chewed on the leash, but that was still just as useless, and was a poor replacement to taste buds that had been yearning for a shia fruit. I tugged on it, but Minna had wrapped some of the leash around her arm and it refused to budge. The harness applied pressure against my chest and made sure I was unable to take a single step closer to the source of that irresistible scent.
I stared longingly at the stand that held the blue fruits on the far side of the market plaza for several long seconds before I realized there were other Kymari around. I doubted they would have much influence on Minna's decision to keep me away from the treats... but it wasn't like anything else was working. I angled towards one of the strangers and then went completely limp, collapsing to the side. "Haaaaaaalllllllppppppp...."
Minna sighed behind me. "And you had been doing so well."
I felt a twinge of guilt at the disappointment in Minna's voice.
The Kymari were starting to glance at the commotion I was making. None of them turned to outright stare, but I could tell they were watching me. Attendants at the stalls adjusted their posture slightly so that I was in their field of vision while they continued their work. Customers glanced over their shoulders or peeked quickly out of the corner of their eyes. The background sound of conversation grew quieter as the dozens of voices paused in their discussions.
The leash tugged a little as Minna tensed up. I couldn't blame her - the sudden attention was making me nervous, too. Maybe this hadn't been such a good idea after all.
"Hello there!" A vaguely familiar voice called out from somewhere in the crowd. "I see my singing partner is eager to provide some vocal accompaniment once more, but I must confess I am not familiar with that particular song. Since I don't have quite the same knack for picking up new tunes as he does, perhaps he would permit me to pick a different song to entertain these good shoppers with?"
A Kymari approached us. I stared up at him from the corner of my eye and tried to place him. He seemed familiar, but Kymari were hard to tell apart, at least until I had been around one for long enough. I was pretty sure the stranger wasn't Loreena, but beyond that I wasn't sure - and I still wasn't familiar enough with Loreena to be certain she wasn't one of the Kymari shopping in the crowd.
He came to a stop a few steps from us and smiled at Minna. Oh! That's who it is - the musician, the one who was playing the last time I was here.
Minna picked me up from the ground and dropped me on her shoulder. She seemed relieved and grateful - the attention of the crowd had shifted away from us and towards the singer, and most people were going back to whatever they had been doing. I decided to keep up the act for another minute or two and stayed in a limp pile on Minna's shoulder. The fear of the crowd had been enough to dull the pull of the shia fruits, and I managed to stay put in spite of the smell still teasing my nose.
"Hello again. Thank you." Minna smiled back at the musician and walked over to him. She used one hand to hold me steady on her shoulder as she walked, and wrapped up the slack on the leash with the other.
"It was nothing; I know the attention of the stage can be a scary thing. And I would hate to see you scared off, after the performance he gave last time." He glanced back at us with that same reassuring grin. "I was only partially joking, by the way. If you would like to let him sing, it would be my pleasure to play for him."
"Oh?" Minna smirked back at the musician. "He was that much fun to play for?"
"It was a rare treat." His grin shifted to a wry smirk. "The tips the merchants gave me for the increased sales he attracted had absolutely nothing to do with it, I assure you."
"Oh, of course." Minna's voice was filled with amusement. "I need to do some shopping but I think I can make time after. I'm trying to get him accustomed to being around us as part of his training, so spending some time singing could be good practice."
The musician glanced back at where I was still lying limp on Minna's shoulder. "Oh? Does that mean he isn't going to be released soon?"
"No. His recovery ended a few days ago and I released him, but he came back." Minna's hand came up to stroke over my neck. I figured that was enough time pretending to be helpless so I sat up and nudged my head against her hand. "I'm officially a bond handler now. I'm hoping to have him trained enough to begin patrols in a week or two. He's made a lot of progress... at least when there aren't any treats around."
The musician followed my gaze to the distant stall and the remarkable blue fruits. "I see what you mean." He glanced towards where an empty chair and a musical instrument rested on the far side of the market. "Well, I for one am thrilled to hear that he will be staying with us. I'm on a lunch break for the moment myself, but I will look forward to when your shopping is concluded. Do let the merchants know he'll be singing soon - I'm sure that knowledge will have a remarkable influence on the price of your purchases, for the better."
Minna seemed a little surprised, as if she hadn't considered that, but nodded. "I will. Thank you." She dipped her head a little in a gesture of grateful farewell, then moved to the stalls.
I stared at the shia fruits while Minna did her shopping. I was aware of her keeping an eye on me, and her hand came up to pet me when I fidgeted or leaned too far towards the treats taunting me, but for the most part she didn't have to do much. I sat on her shoulder and stayed there, only shifting to get closer to the shia fruits or to move away from other Kymari that got too close.
It was still kind of nerve wracking to have so many tall creatures around me. Even while being perched on the shoulder of one.
Minna spoke to the various Kymari - greetings to other shoppers, questions about products or pricings to the stall attendants, answers to polite inquiries about my presence - but for the most part the conversations bored me. The crowd's opinion of Minna seemed to be more positive than I had remembered. A few people still seemed unhappy at the sight of me on her shoulder, but most seemed to change their opinion when they learned I had willingly come back to Minna.
After about an hour of shopping Minna had purchased a dozen bits of food that could potentially be described as 'snacks', even though none of them seemed appealing to me. She tilted her head to watch me for a long moment... then she walked over to the stall with the shia fruit.
I fidgeted on her shoulder and bounced from side to side. The treats were right there. I could fly down to get one and be back on Minna's shoulder in no time at all; she probably wouldn't even notice...
"Stay..." Minna spoke in a warning tone and I blinked. I had been spreading my wings out and preparing to fly down to the counter, but Minna's voice had snapped me out of that. It was still hard to resist the pull of the fruit, and I let out a strangled half-whine, half-growl sound that I hadn't been aware I could make until that very moment.
Minna looked back at the stall attendant and calmly asked for one of the shia fruits. She passed some money over to the other Kymari - the alien that had been around before was gone, but the shia fruit were still here so that wasn't that big a deal, and why did it take Kymari so long to count out change and pay for things?
The fruit finally ended up in Minna's hands. I stood up on her shoulder and motioned towards the fruit with my own hands, beckoning it to me. I looked up at Minna and whined in frustration. So close... I can taste it...
Minna shook with laughter as she watched me beg for the fruit. The attendant joined in from across the stall. "Aw, that's cute. I didn't realize they would do that."
I felt a sudden flush of embarrassment as I realized what I was doing. Sitting on Minna's shoulder and begging for a treat. My ear tufts dropped against my head and I turned to hiss at the other Kymari, then pointedly ducked behind Minna's neck to sit on the shoulder furthest from the attendant.
Minna reached up and held her free hand against my back in a calming gesture. "I'm sorry; he's still untrained and isn't very used to strangers. And he gets very excited around this fruit; it's quite a treat for them."
"Oh?" The attendant examined me a little closer. I tried to keep an eye on her... but the shia fruit was still right there, in Minna's hand. If I was careful enough, I could drape my tail down her chest and use it to flick the fruit towards me...
I abandoned my plan and stared wide-eyed at the attendant as she plucked three shia fruits from the bin and held them out to Minna. "In that case, please, take these for him."
"Oh, thank you, but I couldn't..." I screamed internally as Minna politely refused the offer. What was wrong with my handler?! These were shia fruits! Somebody was giving them to me, and for free no less! Stop ruining the best day ever and take them!!
"Really, I insist." The other Kymari produced a clear bag and slid the three round fruits into it. "They don't tend to sell well anyways and are just leftovers that another merchant left behind. And it's the least I can do." She held the bag out to Minna. "My brother works on a freighter. The last time he came to this planet, a fire lizard patrol found three crawlers on his ship."
Minna only seemed to get more uncomfortable at that. "We haven't done any patrols ourselves yet; he still has a lot to learn..."
The attendant just smiled. "But you will. And you'll save lives when you do, and encourage more ships to land in this city and bring me interesting things to sell. If it helps, just consider it an investment on my part to encourage you both to stick around."
Take. The. Bag!
I stared at the bag in the other Kymari's hand and willed Minna to take it... and she finally sighed and relented. "...okay. Thank you."
Yes! Four shia fruits!!
Minna took the bag and glanced back at me. "You only get one today though. And only because you've done a much better job of sitting still than I expected you to."
I stared back at Minna, unblinking... and casually used my tail to flick the unbagged shia fruit up into the air. Most of Minna's hand was occupied with the bag the attendant had given her, so the single fruit was only held lightly in her grasp, and it came easily free and flew up into the air.
I swooped down from Minna's shoulder, grabbed it in my mouth, and looped back up to land smoothly on Minna's other shoulder. I took the delicious fruit from my mouth long enough to chitter, "You were taking forever!", then dug happily into the treat.
Minna sighed and shook her head while the attendant laughed.
Minna sat on a bench to rest while I finished off the treat. It didn't take long before I was down to licking the tasty juices off of my claws and staring longingly at the bag that I knew held three more shia fruits, but Minna rested on the bench for a little longer. I settled down and stretched out on her shoulder to watch the crowd. I hadn't really been interested in them the last time I had been here, but now that I had decided to stay with Minna, I found I was a little curious about them. This was a part of my friend's life. I wanted to know more about it.
The Kymari glanced at us occasionally but for the most part they focused on their errands. Haggling over prices. Window shopping. Chatting. Spending the day with friends. I was even able to pick out a few Kymari that might have been guards, and who were walking in a fairly regular pattern around the stalls.
Apart from being outdoors, it was very much like being at one of the malls or stores I remembered shopping in as a human. It was a very strange sensation. It had been nearly a decade since I'd seen anything like it, and in the time since then I had been all alone. Watching the crowd was a very strange feeling. Just as soon as what I was watching began to feel familiar, something would jump out with its strangeness - the green skin of the Kymari, their tall sizes, the unusual items they were buying, the unfamiliar currency they traded.
It was very disconcerting.
I stared at the crowd for a few more moments before it began to bother me. I stood back up and moved along Minna's shoulder until I was leaning against her neck. She stiffened a little and tilted her head some, bumping into me as she tried to look at what I was doing, then she shifted again. Her long hair brushed over me and formed a flimsy barrier between me and the crowd. I was pretty sure I wasn't that hidden from any of the other Kymari... but it was a nice gesture, and it did make me feel a little less nervous. I leaned up and nuzzled her chin in thanks.
We rested there for about ten minutes before Minna reached up and rubbed my side. "Let's go sing with the musician for a bit. You were a lot calmer when you were doing that last time." I shifted a little on her shoulder to keep my balance as she stood up and walked across the market.
The musician was playing a different instrument this time. I tilted my head and perked my ear tufts as I focused on the tune. I didn't remember it - though I did notice the musician was much better at playing this new instrument than he had been with the last one. He stopped playing as we approached and waved to us. "All done with your shopping?"
Minna smiled and nodded. "And then some. Ready for some 'vocal accompaniment'?" She leaned a little and fished her tablet out of her pocket.
"Am I ever. The shopkeepers have been coming over practically non-stop since you showed up, asking why I'm not following you around to get him to sing." He strummed his hand over the strings of the instrument, reminding me of a guitar player.
Minna sat down on the bench near the musician and showed him the tablet. "Know any of these songs? These are the ones Nate seemed to like singing along with the most."
The musician looked up from the tablet to glance at me. "Nate? Interesting name."
I stared back at him for a second... then fanned my wings and craned my head back to scratch at an itch.
"But it does seem to fit him for some reason. I know a few of these." The musician fiddled with something on the instrument, then began strumming it. After a few seconds I recognized one of the songs Minna had played for me in the past. It was a catchy tune, and I liked singing to it. I opened my mouth and sang out in time with the song.
It was also a fun rhythm to move along with. I bobbed my head in time with the tune and danced back and forth on Minna's shoulder as the song went on. I was once again reminded of the Morning Song. The music wasn't as engrossing or consuming, but it still called to me and urged me to move and sing in a similar fashion.
I barely realized it as I spread my wings and leapt into the air.
I was mindful of the leash - it gave me a wide arc to travel through, but it could still get tangled if I flew past something - but it was a wonderful feeling to dance through the air and sing to the music. A crowd began to form, but I ignored it. The Kymari wouldn't hurt me - I felt a certainty that Minna wouldn't let them - and it was so nice to just get lost in the song...
The first song ended. I felt a bit of sadness as it did, and I flapped my wings enough to hover in place a bit above Minna's head. I thought about returning to her shoulder - there were a lot of Kymari around, and they were all watching me - but before I could give in to my growing anxiety the musician began playing another song.
I felt a surge of excitement as I realized I knew this song, too. I looped through the air and sang out again, matching the rhythm with my own happy trills and chirps.
Various gasps and exclamations of surprise met my aerial acrobatics. I could tell the Kymari were impressed - the entire square had formed into a crowd around us, with the stalls all abandoned once more - and most of them had recording devices pointed at me. They applauded after one song... but in the silence after the song, the sudden loud noise of dozens of Kymari slapping their hands together startled me. Minna saw my fear and asked them to stop - after that they limited their appreciation to smiles and quiet gasps.
I had a feeling most of them had never seen a Morning Song. Dancing to the music was fun, but it was nothing compared to the excitement and energy of a sunrise.
The musician played five songs for me... but on the sixth my wings gave out. I felt a sudden cramp in my left wing and I glided back towards Minna, making a sad warble as I landed on her shoulder.
"I think he's tired himself out... his wing is still only recently recovered; all the flying might have been too much for him." Minna very carefully reached up and stroked over my back. I slunk down against the padding and panted a little, only then realizing how out of breath I had been.
"My apologies. I should have switched to slower tunes; his energy was just very infectious." The musician took his hand away from the strings and let the last notes fade away.
Various sounds of sympathy and disappointment came from the crowd around us. I felt a sudden nervousness as I realized just how many of the very tall, very imposing figures were around me. The closest tree was far away, on the far side of the market, and it barely had any leaves on it. I wasn't sure my wing would carry me the entire distance without needing to come to the ground to rest, which would make it easy for them to catch me, and I doubted the tree would do much to conceal me...
Minna's hand stroked over my back. "It's okay. Calm down." Her voice was calm and confident, and I felt some of my nervousness fade. I stopped trying to think of ways to flee and moved a bit closer along her shoulder.
"Do you want to try something slower?" The musician started playing again, though this time it was a less upbeat tune.
The crowd was still so close though... there were just so many of them...
Minna's hand stroked over me again. "I think it might be time to stop, actually. He's been doing much better, but he's still not used to crowds, and he's had a long day. I don't want to push him too much. I have a few more things to do today anyways."
A collective 'aw' of disappointment came up from the crowd. They reluctantly stepped back, though, and began going back to their shopping.
The musician stood and bowed lightly to us. "It was a pleasure to play with you again, Nate. I'll look forward to seeing you again."
I chirped happily back at him. "It was fun!"
I heard happiness enter Minna's voice as she stood. "I think he enjoys this too. I'll try and come back soon. It really does calm him when he's singing like that. Thank you."
A few people in the marketplace looked after us, but Minna quickly made her way out of the marketplace and back to the street.