Tessa's POV:
My head jerked up to do a double-take as Soranto came down the hallway behind Tkael. He was wearing armor. Abandoning my wall perch, I flew over to land on his newly acquired shoulder pad. I sniffed it a few times and lifted my head to trill a question at him.
Taureen chuckled. "Too bad I didn't have the recorder going to catch her reaction."
"You might not have, but I activated the camera on my armor since I have to test it out as well. I'll turn it off until I leave." Soranto reached up to gently scratch me behind my ear tuft.
I leaned into the scratching while glancing down, although I didn't see the camera he was referring to. In fact, Soranto's new armor was almost the same as what Taureen and Aeria wore when we went on patrols.
The shoulder pads had a different design stamped into the leather-like material, but, otherwise, they were the same as well. He even had the same type of wrist guards that Taureen and Aeria wore. Soranto looked like a fire lizard handler now. He stopped his scratching and pressed a few buttons on his wrist comm, likely turning off the camera.
Taureen tilted his head, gazing intently at his friend. "They added a camera to your armor?"
"Mostly because I'm in training. The two accompanying guards will also have cameras, of course."
"If they try to stick a camera on you, I get first crack at it," Mom told Taureen ominously. "I doubt it will do any good, but then you can break it or at least disable the audio."
I blinked as I realized that a camera would prevent Taureen from talking to Mom during their patrols since it would record his side of their conversations. Normally he couldn't talk if Tran or Vick were around, but a camera would completely prevent him from speaking with Mom while they were working.
Tkael inquired, "Have you decided on who you are choosing for side guards?"
"I was assigned to the same division Taureen is in. Drae is in that group, and we get along quite well. He was happy to accept when I asked. For the other person, I'm debating between Nikra, Soel, or Sipar."
"All three would probably be happy for the position. Their skills are about the same as well," Tkael said.
"It'll probably be easier for me to mention those names to the Captain and let him choose. Fewer hard feelings that way."
Tkael nodded. "Very true."
Taureen glanced out the window at the slow drizzle of rain. "Why don't we go for a walk over to the Aralias Gardens? This will be a good time to see if Tessa will sit on your shoulder without a leash. She will probably stay with you since she won't want to get wet."
"Sure. I'll even pay our way in," Soranto said.
"Deal. Just give Aeria and me a few minutes to put our armor on, then we can truly call it a practice session."
It was a struggle to pretend that I didn't understand what I had just heard. Mom had told me about those gardens – huge areas that were enclosed within glass. Each one was like they had taken a piece of forest or land from somewhere else in the world and brought it here.
Pets weren't allowed inside, but bond animals were an exception. Even we would have to remain on leash while inside. That didn't bother me though – I couldn't wait to see this place.
As Taureen walked down the hallway to the room that stored their armor, he called back over his shoulder, "Tasha, Keegan, Tessa, Dirk. Get ready to go."
That was our cue to get ready as well. I left Soranto's shoulder at the familiar command, heading over to the water bowl for a drink. Dirk was quickly grabbing a few mouthfuls of fruit. Mom joined me at the water bowl while Dad flew into the bathroom.
It didn't take long for Taureen and Aeria to return in their usual patrolling gear. Soranto picked my harness off its hook and examined it for a moment.
"Tessa, come over here. Let's see if I can get this on you."
I flew over and landed on his outstretched wrist. He lowered me to a nearby wall perch, and I hopped off and turned around to face him. Surprisingly, he had almost no trouble putting the harness on me. He even knew to check each strap in case one was too tight.
My harness was on before Aeria finished putting Dad's on. Soranto put his hand near me, and when I stepped onto his wrist, he raised me up to his shoulder. I sat on his shoulder and waited for the others.
Aeria passed him my leash. "Here. We'll need it when we get to the gardens."
As she stepped back, I spread my wings as if intending to go to her shoulders like I was normally supposed to.
She held up her hand. "No. Stay with Soranto."
I folded my wings with a faint snort, looking between her and Soranto. Pretending to have to be trained was an annoyance, but at least I could prove to be a fast learner.
Soranto tucked the leash into a pouch as everyone walked towards the door. He wasn't as practiced as Taureen or Aeria, but he managed to unclip his shoulder pads, slip on his coat, and clip them back into place on top of his coat. I dutifully remained on his shoulder pad the entire time.
When we went outside, I rustled my wings in disapproval as the cool, damp air caressed my scales. Luckily, Soranto's umbrella was a bit bigger than Aeria's, and it kept all of the raindrops away from me.
Laying down on his shoulder pad, the ride was both familiar and different. The shoulder pad itself was of the same material and sturdiness that I had come to expect. Soranto's walking stride was a big change, though.
When sitting on a Kymari's shoulders, their stride made us rise and fall with every step. Taureen's walk was powerful and smooth, while Aeria's was more subtle and graceful. I struggled to put Soranto's pace into words.
His steps practically flowed, almost like he was dancing. It didn't seem to be a conscious effort either.
"His walk is really smooth," I commented to Mom.
"Both Soranto and Adeline come from very wealthy and powerful families. I have no doubt they were stuck in many classes on how to walk and act from the time they could stand. They have managed to shake off most of their upbringing, but some things remain."
That explained the odd conversation around the center table. They must feel like their home could be on show if their relatives ever came for a visit.
"What else do you know?"
"Not much. Neither of them liked that lifestyle. Somehow, they eventually realized they were both putting on the act that their family expected. Knowing they could be themselves around each other, they hung out more. It didn't take long before Soranto asked if he could court her instead."
"Considering that they are married, I'm going to assume she said yes."
Mom's mindvoice practically rang with her amusement. "Indeed. To make things better, both of their families viewed it as a powerful alliance and supported it. Those two took full advantage of their new freedom and moved far enough away that they had little physical contact with their relatives. Later, they moved here since none of their family would likely ever stoop so low as to visit such a remote backwater planet."
My ear tufts perked up at that good news. They would probably never come here then, and with the dragonets not being permitted off the planet, it was very doubtful I would ever meet their families. If they ever did stop by, it would be a short visit. I hoped they weren't as stuck-up or prideful as I imagined.
The new information also gave me a lot to think about. Their family background explained a lot about the way they lived, although they seemed to be quite happy. Soranto and Adeline were always able to go visit their family on good terms, but had peace and quiet here.
If someone ever did come here, it would only take a few minutes to tidy their home and yard to make it look more formal. So, they were free to be themselves and could easily put on their act in the unlikely event that someone stopped by for a visit.
It was a long walk to our destination, but considering that even Mom and Dad were trying to hide their excitement, it was probably worth it. I hadn't been here before, although it wasn't possible to miss the large domed buildings that seemed to be made of glass.
As we approached the doors, my leash was clipped onto my harness. Once all of the dragonets had their leashes on, we went inside. Soranto paid our way in, and I looked around, wondering which hallway we would go down.
The first dome we entered was humid and warm. Strange trees crowded each other as unusual flowers grew on the trees themselves. Colorful noisy birds I had never seen before sang from above.
"This is similar to the Amazon rainforest," Dad told us.
The walkway was raised and allowed us to look down on a number of animals. My jaw dropped when I saw a bird twice my size with a huge orange beak. The beak was almost as long as the bird was tall! A toucan.
I gawked at pink birds wading along a stream. They were almost half as tall as Aeria, although it was hard to tell since the flamingos kept leaning down to stick their weird beaks into the water.
Swift movement made me turn my head and examine the golden-furred monkey in the trees above us. The red and blue macaws screeched at it before flying to another tree. My Blood Memories were clearly going to get a workout in this place.
Even though the Kymari walked slowly along the walkway, I was sure that I hadn't seen everything that lived in this dome. The next dome was very different; the air was chilly, but in a different fashion than I had felt before.
Most of the trees were oddly bare, and their brown leaves littered the forest floor. Some spiny green trees were unaffected by whatever was plaguing their neighbors. In many spots of the floor, there was odd, fluffy-looking white stuff. Snow.
The birds here were different and much smaller. I did spot a pair of brown eagles with white heads and tails high up in a tree.
"What is that?" Dirk asked, craning his head to look at something on the ground.
The chubby critter had grey fur with black patches over its eyes and a striped tail. My Blood Memories easily identified the raccoon, so Dirk was just asking because he was too lazy to think that hard.
"It's a raccoon," Mom said, "and the animal in the water is a beaver."
I blinked slowly when I spotted it, trying to understand why an animal with fur would want to spend most of its life in the water and have a diet of tree bark. It made no sense. Its chipmunk cousins were clearly much smarter.
I was getting cold by the time we left the dome, although the next place had me spreading my wings to catch the intense heat from above. Golden grass and tall spindly trees made it easy to see the animals.
Black and white zebra contently grazed while a small group of meerkats stood guard. I tilted my head as I tried to figure out how the giraffes even got to their feet. Legs that long simply should not have been possible.
Dome after dome, I saw places that were near perfect replicas of somewhere else on Earth. There weren't any big predators, which I was grateful for, but I couldn't wait to come back again one day. Taureen might bring us back, or I could even ask Soranto once I was allowed to speak with him.
My mind felt full and slow after everything I had seen and heard. I had learned a lot on this little trip, and I was more tired now than after an afternoon at the park.
The sky was starting to darken with the coming dusk, and the wind was beginning to stir. I folded my wings tighter against me and leaned against Soranto's neck, seeking warmth.
He glanced down at me before holding his umbrella to Tkael, quietly asking, "Can you hold this for a minute?"
Tkael held the umbrella over us as Soranto opened the top of his coat a bit and picked me up. He slid me into his coat as his arm gave me support from below. I chirped happily as I got a bit comfier – it was much warmer inside his coat than on his shoulder. My head stuck out of his coat, but the rest of my body was sheltered from the damp air and cool wind.
Soranto took the umbrella back from Tkael. "Thanks."
"Anytime."
I relaxed as I gazed ahead of us. This was much better than a long, cold walk. It probably wouldn't have been so bad if the last dome we were in hadn't also been cold. It was surprisingly comfortable to be curled up against his chest. No wonder Mom let Taureen hold her like this so often.
The sound of a door closing jolted me awake. I blinked drowsily at the world in front of me, suddenly realizing that we were already home. I meeped my objections when Soranto took me out of his coat – I had been nice and warm in there!
He chuckled in amusement as he set me beneath the heat lamp. Curling up on the hot sand, I chirruped a sleepy good-night.
"I'll see you tomorrow, little one."
With a quiet whistle, I stuck my head beneath my wing. I didn't feel like waking up any more than I already had, and sleep returned very quickly.