Tessa's POV:
Opening up Soranto's belt pouch, I pretended to stick something inside before jumping onto his lap. He would probably be confused when he failed to find anything later on. He caressed my neck and back. It felt good and was almost as relaxing as a small massage.
Abby and Dirk were perched precariously on the back of the bench as they did something to the armor on the back of Tran's shoulder. Tran seemed perfectly content to let them do whatever they wanted, even though all of us knew he would likely end up taking off the shoulder section to get the joints working properly again.
Dirk was ferrying an awful lot of pebbles to Abby as she carefully wedged each one into the worst spot possible. I idly wondered if Tran would ever invest in armor like Soranto's, although I kind of doubted it. Soranto liked to tease back or foil our efforts, but Tran welcomed the pranks in quiet amusement.
"I heard your schedule is shifting to every second day, correct?" Taureen asked Soranto.
My ear tufts twitched as I resisted the urge to look up. Sometimes playing dumb was hard.
"Starting in five days, yes. From what I've heard, my side guards will be ready to join us around that time."
"Drae and Sipar?"
"Yes. They don't have any experience with bond animals or fire lizards, but they do have a lot of experience with crawlers and sicora. They just finished their additional training, so now we just need to get Tessa used to their presence."
"That shouldn't be too hard. I suspect you can try your first patrols without Aeria or me in a week or so. Just make sure that the tracker in her harness is linked with your wrist comm."
"It's already linked. I don't think I will have any trouble, but you never know."
They continued discussing what Soranto's first solo patrol was going to be like. From what I overheard, it was just going to be walking around the streets to see if I would remain with him and not go looking for the people I was more familiar with or take off for the main park.
While the general idea was boring, it was still exciting because it was the next step. An outing without Taureen, Aeria, Mom, Dad, or Dirk! I would finally get to meet Soranto's side guards as well. The names were strange, so I didn't think that I had met them yet.
It wasn't long before we left the park. Abby watched us go with longing eyes, but didn't leave the trees. We all knew it would be a long time before she actually tried. In the meantime, she would be pestering us for every detail of our days and nights as she tried to learn as much as she possibly could.
As had become custom, Adeline and Maria joined us for dinner and visited most of the evening as well. If nothing else, my slow bonding with Soranto was turning the two families into very close friends.
As they were getting ready to leave, Taureen asked Soranto, "Do you have everything you need at your place? I think today might be a good day to see if Tessa will go home with you."
Dirk and I glanced at Taureen in shock, although Mom and Dad didn't seem surprised. Mom looked irritated, but didn't even growl.
"You think so?" Soranto asked. "Everything is set up, and I have all of the supplies as well as several kinds of fruit on hand."
"Try taking her home and see how she does."
Excitement began to shine in Soranto's eyes. "Let's see how far I get. If she starts crying too much, I could be bringing her back."
"Just remember to record her singing in the morning."
Soranto nodded as he reached for my harness on the wall. "Tessa, want to come with me?"
Playing dumb and hiding my sudden nerves, I tilted my head before flying over. He put my harness on and lifted me to his shoulder. Maria was smiling widely as we exited the house. I looked back as the door closed, feeling kind of strange to be out here when I had never been outside without Taureen or Aeria nearby.
It made me feel slightly jittery, although the feeling reminded me of the first times I went with Abby or Glen in the main park without Mom or Dad nearby.
Soranto saw me glancing back uneasily and stroked my neck reassuringly. "Easy. You're okay. We'll see them tomorrow morning."
That was easy for him to say. He didn't have a big surprise just dropped on him. Well, he actually did since Taureen suggested it.
"Mom, did you know this was going to happen?"
"I knew it was going to happen this week, although not the exact day."
"Why didn't you tell me?" I tried to keep the pain and accusation out of my voice.
"I don't like surprises anymore than you do," she replied tiredly, sorrow leaking through her voice. "Soranto isn't aware that he can just explain things to you, so this was your first brush with him doing things you don't know about or understand."
I winced slightly; we had talked about this weeks ago. It was one thing to know about it in theory, but quite another to have it sprung onto you. I should have expected it.
I took a deep breath and tried to relax. The mindlink was still there, so I could talk to Mom, Dad, and Dirk like usual – I just couldn't see them. The three Kymari with me were among those I trusted the most, and we were going to a house that I was now very familiar with. The only difference was that I would be sleeping somewhere else.
After a few minutes, my initial unease faded and the walk began to remind me a lot of our usual practice walks. Soranto and Adeline were relaxed, although they were subtly keeping a close eye on me.
It was still a relief when their house finally came into sight. We went inside, and Soranto took off my harness – which felt kind of strange since it only ever came off in Taureen's home. He hung it on a small branch near the door.
"There you go. Go on."
I flew over to the heat lamp, hoping that the warmth would help ease my few lingering nerves. As I curled up underneath the warmest section, I watched the three Kymari settle into their usual chairs. Soranto pulled a laptop out of the new center table, while Adeline was sketching something on a pad of paper. Maria began reading the Kymari version of a book.
Other than Soranto's occasional glance over, none of them looked at me. Yet, I knew they were watching me in their peripheral vision. If I wanted to go where they couldn't see me, there were plenty of options. I knew where each hiding place was, but I appreciated their company. It was keeping the looming loneliness at bay.
The intense heat did wonders, turning my muscles into mush as it began to push me into a sunbathing trance. I had never rested under this section of the heat lamp before, nor had I ever encountered one that emitted so much warmth. It was beginning to get too hot.
After a big stretch to get my muscles working properly, I glided over to Adeline. I kind of wanted some comfort or reassurance, and she seemed like a good place to start since she was a mother who deeply loved her own child.
I curled up on her lap, and she began gently petting me with one hand as she examined some elaborate detailed sketch in the other. It kind of reminded me of the old human blueprints of buildings, although hers seemed more angled towards the layout of rooms and how the light would fall when entering the windows.
The contact was close to cuddling, and it was more comforting than the heat had been. I didn't really feel like playing, although I could feel boredom creeping in now that I had finally managed to relax. My mind never seemed to give me peace.
I stretched my neck out as I grabbed her pencil in my teeth. At least, I was assuming it was a pencil from how Adeline could erase the marks it left. It had a soft spongy coating, but there was something very hard under the surface layer.
I dropped it by my hands and flipped it around a few times. With a sly glance up at Adeline, I grabbed the pencil and quickly flew over to Soranto with it. Banking over his head, I dropped the pencil.
My jaw dropped as he managed to catch it without even looking up. How did he know it was there? I pulled into a hover as I stared in disbelief for a few moments. I had to see if this was repeatable...
I quickly looked around the room and promptly saw just how few items in the room I could actually pick up. They had dragonet-proofed their home more than I had originally realized. It took a bit of work, but I managed to get into Adeline's pencil case and find a few more pencils.
Grabbing one, I flew back over Soranto and dropped it while watching closely. This time, I saw how he was doing it – he was watching the faint reflection in the screen of his laptop.
Swooping down, I landed on his shoulder pad. I peered at the computer screen before turning my head to chirp at him. He looked at me with a smile.
"What are you up to? Are you hungry?"
My ear tufts perked up. I wasn't particularly hungry, but I was curious to find out what goodies were hidden in the kitchen. Putting his computer to the side, he got up and went into the kitchen.
The side wall inside the kitchen now had tree branches along it, much like the other side. Higher up, the gaps between some of the branches were actually openings that led into the living room, which gave it a neat three-dimensional look. Some were even big enough for me to fly through.
Soranto pulled out a bowl of fruit before walking back. I leaned over to get a better look and was somewhat disappointed to see that the contents were almost exactly the same as what Taureen left out for midnight snacks. They were all things that didn't go bad even if left at room temperature for several hours.
Still, a snack was a snack, and none of the pieces were the sour types. Soranto sat down and picked up a piece before offering it to me. I ate it and several more before losing interest in the fruit.
Adeline murmured something to Maria about it being time for bed before both of them left the room. I watched them go before glancing towards the window. The sun hadn't completely set yet, so there was still some time before Soranto and Adeline would head to their bedroom. Maria must go to bed earlier.
Soranto hesitated for a moment, then picked me up. I blinked in surprise as he curled me up against his chest and very lightly rested his chin on my wings. It was almost exactly like how I had seen Taureen hold Mom.
I could feel his slow heartbeat through his skin, and his steady breathing was peaceful and calming. It felt so right, like I was loved and cherished. The feeling was a welcome one right now. Reaching up, I nuzzled my head against his cheek as I hummed contentedly.
We remained like that for a while. When Adeline came back, Soranto set me in his lap and gently petted me. She quietly sat in the chair, watching us with a soft expression.
Soranto spoke softly, "I didn't realize how attached I must have become over the last few months. The bond is strengthening faster than I had anticipated. Even now, I am having a hard time seeing her as an animal and not just part of the family."
Adeline nodded slightly. "I noticed that as well, although her youthful charm might be part of it. I'm trying to hold back so she primarily bonds with you, but I'll admit it was hard to do so on some of those occasions."
They were both silent for a few minutes, lost in thought.
"I have a feeling that she is going to transition here faster than we originally planned," Adeline said thoughtfully. "She likes the attention, and she doesn't have to compete with three other fire lizards for it when she's here."
Soranto seemed oddly serious. "I believe you are correct. She may have been a bit of out sorts earlier, but it didn't last long. I guess we'll have to see how she does and go from there."
I rested my chin on Soranto's leg as I listened to them discuss the additional changes they wanted to make to the backyard. The fence and netting were already in place, although the access flap wasn't installed yet.
I would be able to fly outside for the Morning Song tomorrow. I had never flown alone before, although I knew that Mom had done so many times until Dad moved in. My turn to try it would come tomorrow.
With a big yawn, I looked around the room, trying to figure out which warm place would be the best one to sleep in. The heat lamp was the most familiar, but I kind of wanted something a bit more enclosed and protected.
The room lights had slowly dimmed as the night progressed, so the dim red illumination highlighted the presence of the warm nooks and nests among the branches. Getting to my feet, I sleepily flew up to one of the higher ones.
This one practically doubled as a hiding place. Unless I raised my head, it wasn't possible to see me once I curled up inside. As I had recalled, this one was a comfortable temperature. There was some sort of soft material lining the floor, but it was still a poor substitute for sand. I made a mental note to somehow carry some up into this cubby once they went to bed.
I rested my head where I could peek between the leaves along the edge of the almost entirely enclosed space. It took longer than I anticipated, but Soranto and Adeline eventually left the room, dimming the lights further as they left.
The room was almost completely dark now, and the faint illumination around the heated and cooled areas faded to almost nothing. Getting to my feet, I slipped out of my newfound sleeping place. Being as quiet as I could, I dragged all of the lining out and bundled it up in my hands before flying over to the sandstone shelf.
I filled the fabric with as much sand as I thought I could carry and flew back up to my room. It took several trips, but I had a nice soft bed of sand to sleep on. After a bit of thought, I carried the lining up to a hiding place near the ceiling in case I needed it in the future.
The stars caught my attention. Now that the room lights were off, the three large windows in the ceiling gave a fantastic view of the night sky. A couple of the branches actually extended along the ceiling and under the glass, so I flew up and landed on one for a better view of the stars.
I gazed at them, marvelling at their beauty. After a while, my yawns became more and more frequent, so I visited the bathroom before going to my sleeping place.
Focusing on Mom and Dad, I quietly murmured, "Good night."
"Good night," they both responded. As groggy as their voices were, they had likely been asleep, which was probably a good idea. I was surprised that they hadn't spoken to me earlier, although they might have been waiting for me to start the conversation since I could have been busy.
I curled up on the warm sand and got comfortable before closing my eyes.