Tessa's POV:

My heart was beating fast as we approached the treeline. Even from here, I could see glimmers of color amongst the leaves. Gold, silver, red, purple, and blue. It took me a few moments to spot a green that was far too shiny to be a leaf.

Mom saw them too, and muttered, "That idiot. I told Drake only to bring a couple of friends, not the entire freaking flock."

That did not reassure me. Perhaps I would just remain near the Kymari since most of the dragonets were too scared to come near them.

Soranto commented, "They sang not far from here this morning, and they must not have scattered too much. I can see one or two in the trees."

"Does everyone have their energy shields set to activate with fire or a head strike?" Taureen murmured.

Everyone with us replied with a quiet 'yes.'

"Let's see if we can get to the large clearing inside the forest before too many of them notice the fledglings." His words were clearly for his unaware companions since he knew of our ability to mindspeak.

Taureen was a step ahead of the group as we followed the path into the forest. Distant flickers of color shadowed us on both sides. There were lots of them.

Thankfully, it wasn't long before we reached a big meadow. The Kymari sat down on benches not too far away from the trees.

"Go on."

For once, I wasn't sure I wanted to leave Aeria's hand. Nothing said I had to go near the trees, though, so I glided down to land in neatly trimmed grass near Sadria's feet. I could probably stuff a few handfuls of grass in her boots to keep her occupied later on. If I was lucky, I might be able to locate a grasshopper or two to stick in Soranto's pockets.

Mom and Dad immediately darted towards the trees to meet the friends that they hadn't seen in over a month. About thirty dragonets flew out to greet them, and I stared as they danced around one another in graceful loops. More waited in the trees.

At this point, I had zero desire to go into the forest.

Dirk must have felt the same way since he joined me on the ground. His wide eyes gazed at the numerous strangers that he clearly did not want to meet. To distract himself, he wandered over to Tran's boots and tried to undo the fasteners on them.

Tormenting the guards sounded far more fun than meeting strangers.

I grabbed a handful of grass before trying to find a hole or gap in Sadria's boot. The guards usually walked or paused only briefly, so this was my first chance to inspect their unusual footwear up close. Her shoulder guards rested on top of her other pieces of armor, which gave me plenty of holes to work with, but her legs were a different story.

I could see the joints, but the material overlapped and interlocked almost perfectly, leaving no gap. There were no openings to be found at the top of her armored boot either. It was like they were firmly attached to the armor protecting her legs, which I found thoroughly annoying.

My attempts to undo the fasteners on her boots were having about as much success as Dirk's efforts. In other words, none.

Mom's mindvoice broke through my thoughts, echoed by her trilling call. "Come meet some of my friends."

I sat up and looked at her. Thankfully, she wasn't in the trees, but rather, standing in the grass along the treeline. She wasn't close, but she wasn't overly far away, either. Dad was beside her, along with four other dragonets.

Four was more bearable than thirty. With a deep breath, I pushed myself into the air before slowly gliding towards her. I landed in the grass behind her and scooted closer to her, seeking comfort and reassurance. The sound of Dirk's wings behind me was a relief.

A blue dragonet walked forward in curiosity. "Hello, I'm Drake. My mate is Charlotte."

Those were names I recognized. Drake was one of Mom's closer friends, and both of them spoke with Mom at least once a day. I eased forward to shyly bump noses with him.

"I'm Tessa."

I took a step back and peered around him to look at the silver and green dragonets who were behind him. They were almost twice my size, but still not as big as the adults around us.

Drake glanced back at them. "These are my youngest children. The silver is Glen, and the green is Abby. They are only a few weeks older than you. I thought you might enjoy playing with someone close to your age."

My ear tufts perked up at the thought of playing a game. Although, judging by their nervous glances towards the Kymari, they likely wouldn't help me stuff grass into the guards' armor.

"Uhhh..." I mumbled nervously. "What kind of games do you want to play?"

Mom interjected, "There is a creek in a clearing just behind these trees. You can play in the water, on the sand, in the grass, or fly around the clearing. Let's go."

She took to the air, and everyone else rose in a flurry of wings. Despite my misgivings, I quickly followed her. Dirk flew beside me, also aware that Mom wasn't going to let him remain behind.

We barely passed five trees before reaching the clearing. The creek flowed slowly through it. From the air, I could still see the Kymari, although the shrubs and bushes blocked my sight as I landed beside the water.

"Let's go for a swim!" Abby said excitedly, not waiting to hear my reply before jumping into the slowly flowing water.

I somehow doubted that this water was heated.

Her brother jumped in after her, quickly bounding into deeper water. I didn't want to seem scared, so I jumped in as well. The cold water splashed up my sides and onto my wings. Before I could even wince, more water sprayed my side, courtesy of Abby splashing me.

My wings scooped up some water as I splashed her back before bounding through the shallows to evade her. Dirk and Glen quickly joined the game.

Glen and Abby clearly had more practice than we did. The water also didn't feel so cold once I got used to it. My harness clung damply to my scales, but didn't impede my movements.

I scampered after Abby as she darted onto the grass along the shore. When I got closer, I jumped on her back, being careful with my claws. She squawked before the wrestling match began. I grinned when I saw Dirk coming to join the match.

Something grabbed my ankle and dragged me away. Glen grinned at me as his tail released my ankle. I had never thought of using my tail like that... I narrowed my eyes before crouching down in preparation to jump. He rose up on his back legs, expecting me to try and tackle him.

I knew his larger size and strength gave him an advantage, so I darted in after his back legs. With a surprised snort, he dropped down to try and protect his ankles or pin me. The four of us continued wrestling, although Abby's and Glen's larger size meant that they were winning.

After I got pinned for the fifth time, I shook myself off and wandered to the sidelines to watch and catch my breath. Other dragonets had come out of the trees and were sitting or lounging nearby. Some were perched on branches, while others lazed on the sand or rocks.

My head tilted as I gazed at the dozens of brightly colored dragonets who adorned the clearing like gems in Aeria's jewelry box. I curled up where I was, spreading my wings to catch the sun and warm back up.

Most of the dragonets were already sunbathing. A green dragonet glided over and landed beside me.

As she lay down, she introduced herself, "Hello, Tessa. I'm Mia."

"Hello." I didn't lift my head from the warm sand, hoping she would go to sleep.

She slowly reached out and touched my damp harness. "How long do you think it will take to dry?"

"I'm not sure. I've never gotten it this wet before." The water rolled easily off my scales, but the harness didn't have that ability. Thankfully, it wasn't soaked, just slightly damp.

She looped her nail underneath one of the shoulder straps and extended her claw while pulling. After a few light tugs, she let go with a faint huff that I barely heard.

"What do you think of the park so far?" she asked.

"It's a lot like the backyard. But I haven't seen much of it yet."

"I can give you a small tour, if you want."

"Err... No, thank you."

She hummed idly as she closed her eyes and relaxed in the sun.

Abby bounded over. "You can't be tired yet! What do you want to do next? I can show you some fruit trees nearby."

The thought of fruit was tempting, but I didn't want to go that far from Mom and Dad. I sent her a glimpse of my emotions. Dirk and Glen showed no interest in the fruit trees, so Abby restricted her mindvoice to just me.

"It's not far. The tree is almost visible from here. They will be able to hear us if we whistle."

When I hesitated, she grinned and said, "Come on. I dare you."

If she wanted to push me out of my comfort zone, then I could return the favor. I told her, "If I do this, then you have to help me put some flowers in the Kymari's armor."

Her ear tufts went back slightly, clearly uneasy about approaching the green giants.

It was my turn to bare my teeth in amusement. "Or are you too scared?"

Her head came up in determination. "Deal."

She took two bounds before jumping into the air, and I followed in hot pursuit. Mom watched me leave, but didn't comment, probably aware that I wouldn't go far.

The tree had been just out of sight and little red fruits adorned its branches. I landed on a branch near Abby and pulled one off the branch. It was juicy and tasted very good.

I examined the ground. "Now, which flower looks the weirdest? It needs a hard stem for this to work."

"They aren't going to get mad?"

"Nah. It amuses them. I've done it hundreds of times."

"Okay..."

"We can stick a few in their armor and fly back," I reassured her.

She relaxed slightly. "Let's do this. Araina is going to be jealous when I tell her I touched a Kymari."

With a trilling whistle, I dropped out of the tree to grab the ugliest flower I could see.