Tessa's POV:

The next three days were very similar. We got to sing the Morning Song in the backyard before spending most of the day playing amongst the bushes and in the pond.

I got much better at swimming and flying. They still hadn't discovered my hiding spot yet, although I didn't go there if I thought they might see me.

Later in the afternoon, we would go back inside the house to nap and relax while Taureen and Aeria made and ate their evening meal.

       I yawned and stretched my wings beneath the heat lamp as I woke up from my nap. Dirk snored beside me, still fast asleep. I got up and noticed that the two strange Kymari were on the other side of the room.

Mom was once again glowering at them unhappily. I wasn't sure why she didn't like them. They never even looked at her. They simply visited with Taureen and Aeria like they did every evening.

I went over to the food bowls and picked out my favorite pieces. I left one raspberry for Dirk, although Mom would probably eat it if he didn't wake up soon. She really liked raspberries. Dad was lounging on Aeria's lap while she diligently buffed the scales on his back that he couldn't reach himself.

As I got a drink of water, I heard Dirk stir and wake up. He came over and quickly claimed the last raspberry. Spreading my wings, I flew a few laps around the room before landing on a wall perch.

I nibbled on an itchy spot along the edge of my wing. Rustling my wings back into place, I looked down, but to my dismay, Dirk was already on Taureen's lap. I snorted faintly and shook myself; the motion didn't produce any sound, but neither did it help relieve the growing itch on my wings and back.

I twisted a few times, trying to scratch the itch, but I wasn't able to reach between my shoulder blades with my front or back claws. The itch was driving me crazy and trying to chew on it with my teeth wasn't working very well.

I couldn't stand it anymore. Swooping down, I landed beside Taureen and picked up the small vial of oil in my mouth. I could barely get my jaws around it, but I managed to hold it securely.

With a jump and a quick wingbeat, I glided towards our guests. They were friends of Taureen, and they probably wouldn't mind helping me since both Taureen and Aeria were busy.

Soranto had always seemed more easygoing than Tkael, so I angled my flight towards him. I wasn't used to carrying something, and I almost lost my balance when I tried to land on his knee, although I still managed a good landing without digging my claws in.

Folding my wings, I gazed up at him. He seemed oddly still, as if he was holding his breath. He also looked somewhat worried. I tilted my head as I examined his expression – it was definitely worry.

I ignored Mom's hiss from where she lay under the heat lamp as I tried to figure out why both Kymari suddenly seemed tense. The vial of oil was still in my mouth as I tilted my head and attempted to trill at him, hoping he would take the hint.

He was mostly looking across the room, so I glanced back over my shoulder. Taureen also appeared somewhat concerned, although he was watching Mom. She was on her feet with her wings half-unfurled as she watched Soranto with narrowed eyes, still hissing.

Even Dad was sitting up alertly, somehow ignoring Aeria as she massaged the oil into his shoulders. Dirk was snoring on Taureen's lap.

"Why are you hissing?" I asked Mom, confused by her behavior.

After several long seconds, she sneezed violently before slowly settling back down on the sand. Her glare didn't ease up, nor did she fold her wings or spread them out under the heat lamp. The loud hissing subsided into a low growl, although she didn't look away from Soranto.

She never did answer me.

I tried again. "What's wrong?"

She still didn't reply. Something was making her unhappy, but I couldn't figure out what or why. Her gaze rested on Soranto, though, so I probably wasn't the one in trouble.

Dad was also watching intently, although he seemed more concerned than upset. Their reactions confused me, almost as if Soranto was a threat. Mom and Dad had never told us to be careful around these two.

"Is he bad?" I tentatively inquired, halfway scared that I had unknowingly gotten myself into trouble.

After a long moment, Mom reluctantly replied, "No."

I faintly sighed in relief, although the various emotions behind her voice didn't help with my confusion. My back was still itchy, though, and my jaw was starting to hurt from holding the vial.

I turned back and took two steps so I could drop the vial beside Soranto's hand. When he didn't move, I nudged it closer until it bumped against his fingers. He remained motionless, still not taking the hint.

I snorted faintly in exasperation and spread my wings as I creeled at him. The begging noise had always worked very well for me in the past, and my bright red wings weren't exactly easy to ignore.

He glanced down, before his gaze moved back to Mom, and then back to me. Moving very slowly, he opened the vial and put his finger over the opening as he tipped it, letting the oil touch his fingers.

With equally slow movements, he righted the vial and – finally! – rubbed his finger along my back. I hummed happily as the itch slowly disappeared wherever the oil was spread. His touch was very light and delicate, barely brushing my scales.

I lay down and let my wings rest on his legs so he could oil them as well.

Taureen quietly spoke, "Tasha, come."

I turned my head so I could watch them. Taureen had placed Dirk under the heat lamp and was holding out his hand to Mom. Her head turned to face him for a long moment, before going to me, and then back to him.

She got up and stepped onto his wrist. He cuddled her against his chest as he began massaging oil from another vial into her shoulders. Eventually, she lowered her chin until it rested on his forearm as she lay on his arm, although she kept watching me.

Tkael spoke softly, "That was close. I didn't expect her to come right over like that."

"The fledglings have no reasons to fear Kymari," Aeria quietly replied as she massaged oil into Dad's wings. "We aren't sure how outgoing they might be in comparison to the wild ones."

"That is true," Tkael agreed. "At the moment, they are young, curious, and trusting. Some of it will likely fade as they mature, but, as long as nothing spooks them, they probably won't be nearly as touchy as the wild-caught adults. Time will tell if their reaction to sicora is an instinctive or a learned behavior."

Mom hissed faintly as her eyes moved to Tkael.

"Easy, Tasha. There are none here." Taureen reassured her before moving his gaze back to Tkael. "It's likely instinctive, although if it is a learned behavior, it shouldn't be too hard to rearrange the training area and use an old hide while the parents teach them."

"That would work, although I suspect it will be a while before they get to that stage."

Taureen nodded. "From watching the wild ones, we know that it will be a year before they are almost as big as their parents. The Elders are pleased that the population is slowly growing, and they aren't in a rush when it comes to training. These two won't be able to go on a spaceship until they are six months old, at the earliest."

"I'm not overly surprised. These are the first two youngsters in captivity, so the Elders would rather err on the side of caution. They will probably shift their approach once they see how well these two do. Am I correct in assuming that they want them to remain with their parents for quite some time?"

"Yes," Taureen replied, "as long as the parents accept their presence, there is no real timeline. The Elders are hoping that they will begin to bond with a handler within the first six months, although they do want daily interactions between the parents and youngsters for at least a year, preferably longer."

Soranto quietly murmured, "I'm enjoying how soft and smooth her scales are, but she's so tiny that I'm scared of hurting her just by touching her. I have no idea how you handled them when they were smaller than this."

"Very gently. We make sure that their claws don't get caught on anything when we pick them up, and we haven't had any issues so far."

Soranto rubbed a finger behind my ear tufts, and I leaned harder while thrumming when he found an itchy spot. The residual oil on his fingers made the itch quickly disappear.

A soft smile graced Soranto's face. "She sure is a cute little thing." His smile turned into a faint grin as he murmured, "I just hope that you don't learn your mother's social skills."

Taureen chuckled in the background as he offered Mom some sort of orange berry. The berry also caught Dad's interest, so Taureen passed one to Aeria.

"Tkael, catch." Taureen tossed another one across the room to Tkael, who caught it and passed it to Soranto.

Soranto offered it to me, and I sniffed it before nibbling the small berry. Flavor exploded in my mouth. I promptly sat up – the massage and oil forgotten – as I took the rest of the berry and quickly devoured the morsel.

I investigated his fingers, but he didn't have any more. My gaze moved to Taureen, who was once more massaging Mom's shoulders. To my disappointment, I didn't see any more of the orange berries. Perhaps he had more hidden in one of his pockets.

I flew over and landed on the couch beside him as I sniffed his pockets.

"She didn't seem to recognize what it was at first. Was that her first sunburst berry?" Tkael inquired.

Taureen nodded. "Yes, most of what they have eaten so far are mild-flavored native fruits. We are sticking to things that the parents are introducing to them. Interestingly enough, they are expanding the types of fruits as time goes by."

There was a faint smell of the berries in one pocket, but when I opened it, it was empty. I checked all of his pockets a couple of times before giving up. A sunburst berry. I would have to remember that name. It was my new favorite – even better than cantaloupe.

I shook myself as I glanced around. Dirk was sleeping under the heat lamp, but I didn't really feel like a nap. My eyes scanned the room, eventually focusing on the wall perch directly overhead.

I had never tried flying straight up that high before, but I had seen Mom do it, so I knew it was possible. I crouched down before jumping and spreading my wings for the first wingbeat.

Flying straight up was very different than flying normally – and much harder. My claws bit into the soft wood as I grinned happily. I did it!

The wall perch was big enough to lay down on, so I did as I watched the others below.

"Their flying skills are certainly improving at an impressive rate," Tkael observed. "No wonder we have never managed to locate a nest. They must not stay in it for long."

"The parents are quite secretive, so we have probably walked past several nests before and never realized it," Taureen replied. "They seem to be very good at hiding their nests, which makes it nearly impossible to even locate one, and we already know that the wild ones will readily move the youngsters with almost any disturbance."

"That isn't taking into account that we are talking about getting close to the nest of flying lizards who also happen to be capable of breathing fire. There is a reason that they are called fire lizards," Tkael countered.

Soranto snorted faintly. "Don't forget about their claws. Those things can do a lot of damage. They aren't exactly slow, either."

Tkael nodded as he got to his feet. "Very true. But it is getting late, so I will take my leave."

Soranto got up too. "I should get going as well. Adeline and Maria should be back shortly."

"Hey, Soranto. Catch." Taureen gently tossed a small orange object towards him.

A sunburst berry! Where did he manage to hide it? I had checked all of his pockets!

Soranto easily caught the berry and held it between two of his fingers as he turned his hand palm-side up. I was already airborne and flying over before Mom or Dad decided that they wanted the treat.

In my excitement, I landed a bit too hard on his wrist and almost over-balanced, but I didn't fall off. I quickly took the berry and began chewing the juicy thing. It was just small enough that it could fit in my mouth without taking bites.

A warm finger brushed my back as I finished my snack. I looked up at Soranto and trilled at him before spreading my wings and flying back to Taureen. This time I was going to figure out where he was hiding those berries...

Soranto chuckled. "Well, she is smart enough to realize who originally had the treats. You might need to invest in childproof containers."

"Those won't work for long. Tasha and Keegan figured out how to open them up years ago. It generally has to require more strength than what they have or contain a recognition scanner to keep them out of it," Taureen replied in amusement.

"Sounds like a fun game. Have a good evening."

"You too."

I heard the door open and close as they left, although didn't pay any attention to their departure. I was busy rechecking each of Taureen's pockets.