Tessa's POV:

Soranto, Tkael, and the four guards walked all the way to Taureen's house with us. The guards went their separate ways, already having plans for the evening. Tkael and Soranto came inside for their usual visit.

They had stopped to buy some pre-cooked food on the way home, so Taureen and Aeria didn't have to cook tonight. Once we were inside, Taureen and Aeria removed our harnesses while Tkael and Soranto grabbed the plates and utensils.

It wasn't uncommon for them to eat in the living room as they visited. As they settled down to enjoy their dinner, I went out the access flap and into the backyard.

My scales were still itchy from that mud. I rolled around in the damp sand on the edge of the pond and scrubbed my scales some more. It took a lot of work, but my arms, legs, chest, tail, and neck finally didn't feel gritty when I shook myself. I couldn't say the same for my back or wings, though.

I went back inside and curled up beside Dirk under the heat lamp, waiting impatiently for Taureen or Aeria to bring out the cleaning kit. They were barely halfway done eating, so I was going to have a wait a while.

I had made it this long though, so I wasn't about to be so rude as to ask them to stop eating just to clean my scales. I rolled upside down on the warm sand with a long-suffering sigh. My impatience was somehow managing to even annoy me; possibly moreso than my restless shifting was bothering my brother as he attempted to nap.

Mom got up and shook herself off, filling the air with the musical chiming of her scales. With a single beat of her wings, she jumped to the center table and landed beside Taureen's plate. After a few sniffs, she grabbed a small piece of greyish stringy stuff.

She returned to her previous spot under the heat lamp. As she laid down, she pulled off strands and nibbled on them. My nostrils flared, and I snorted as I shook my head.

"That isn't fruit," I informed her, completely clueless as to how she had managed to mistake it for something edible.

She glanced at me from the corner of her eye before tearing off a larger chunk and tossing it at me. I recoiled from the foreign object. She gave a feeding croon and watched.

I eyed it up uncertainly. "What is it?"

"Something I enjoy occasionally. You might also like it."

I sniffed it and shook my head, still convinced that she was crazy. It clearly wasn't fruit.

Mom narrowed her eyes and gave a faint snort, still watching. I now had a pretty good idea of how Soranto had felt when I had tormented him earlier. The only difference was that Mom was eating this stringy thing, and I was smart enough to never try that yellow fruit again.

I gave it a tentative lick, unwilling to put it in my mouth right away. It was... strange. It wasn't sweet or sour, nor did it have the heavy taste that a cantaloupe or mango had.

After a second lick of the completely foreign tasting thing, I decided that it wasn't bad. Just different. I picked it up and took a careful bite, discovering the reason Mom was tearing off small shreds. It was much harder to bite through than fruit.

I managed to tear a tiny piece off and chewed it cautiously. The texture was so strange... kind of like the thick pulp of an orange, but not quite.

It was good enough that I finished the entire piece Mom had given me, but it wasn't something I would want every day.

"So, exactly what was it?"

"I'm not too sure. Some sort of bird probably."

Images of the little pretty songbirds from the park immediately plagued me, and I sent them to Mom.

"No, it would be something they raise for meat. Like a chicken." She sent an image of a fat bird whose calls were nothing like the songbirds.

It made me feel a bit better, although I had zero desire in trying another piece of the meat right now. The unusual silence made me aware of our spectators. They had almost finished their meals and were watching us.

"That was interesting," Tkael commented quietly. "She wasn't too keen on it, so meat might be an acquired taste."

"Or it may come with age," Taureen countered thoughtfully. "This isn't the first time Keegan or Tasha have raided our plates, but it is the first time I have seen them offer any of it to the fledglings."

Tkael shrugged. "Time will tell."

Soranto got to his feet and collected the dishes before taking them to the kitchen. Aeria followed with the leftover food. My head lifted the moment I saw Taureen pull out the cleaning kit.

I didn't waste a single moment as I bounded over. I took care not to step on the pale red marks on his leg. They were all that remained of the cuts that had been under the bandages.

I lay down on his lap as he pulled out the scouring pad and began scrubbing my scales gently. My head lolled to the side, and I examined the red marks just past my nose. With a slow blink, I realized that there were two sets of four long healing cuts. Exactly like a dragonet hadn't watched their claws.

The marks were too far apart for any of the fledglings. He also had the injuries before we had visited the park. I wracked my brain, but all I could think of was that Mom or Dad must have slipped at the wrong moment. I made a mental note to avoid making such a mistake, especially since my claws were getting much sharper.

"I don't think I have ever seen you this dirty, Tessa. What did you do? Roll in the mud?"

It took a force of will to not react in a way that Tkael might notice. Dirk sneezed from under the heat lamp, although his laughter rang across the mindlink.

"Something like that..." I muttered, embarrassment coloring my voice as I let him and my family hear my response.

Soranto and Aeria returned and sat down in their usual seats again. Mom went over to Aeria when she pulled out another cleaning kit.

It took Taureen a long time to clean my scales. Aeria had finished polishing and oiling Mom's scales before he finally got the last bit of dirt out from between my scales. Dad had just taken her place, leaving Dirk to whine and nudge my side as he looked longingly at the scouring pad in Taureen's hand.

With an annoyed sigh, I stood up and snagged the vial of oil before flying across the room to Soranto. He might help oil us, but I had yet to see him or Tkael pick up the scouring pad.

After so many times, Soranto was familiar with this and took the vial from me as I stretched out my wings for the oil and massage.

I nearly fell asleep. Even after Soranto finished oiling my scales, I had no desire to move. The itch and grit were finally gone. I remained where I was, half-dozing as the evening went by.

Eventually, Soranto gently lifted me as he stood up. I meeped at him, sad that he was disturbing my rest. He took several steps before hesitating. I finally opened my eyes to see him standing near the end table with the heat lamp.

Mom and Dad were watching him – clearly unimpressed with his proximity. My muscles were relaxed, and I couldn't bring myself to even get to my feet and glide down.

"Easy. I'm just returning your baby to you," he murmured softly as he carefully lowered me to the edge of the sand tray.

Mom growled faintly as he got closer than she liked, but she didn't do anything. Soranto set me on the sand and withdrew his hands as he stepped back with a relieved sigh.

"Pretty impressive," Tkael commented from where he was still sitting. "I was halfway expecting her to try and scratch you like she usually does, but she didn't even hiss."

"I'm pretty sure it was because my fingers were hiding behind Tessa," Soranto admitted.

Tkael chuckled deeply as he got to his feet and clapped Soranto on the shoulder. "One step at a time. I'm pretty sure that we pushed Tasha to her limits tonight, so let's leave while we are still ahead."

"Sounds good to me. See you tomorrow, Taureen, Aeria."

"Good night," Taureen and Aeria both replied.

I yawned and curled up tighter. A gentle swat across my rump made me jump.

"You better use the bathroom before Taureen goes for a shower," Mom told me.

I groaned, but got to my feet. Our litter tray had disappeared earlier this week when we had mastered the use of the Kymari's grey toilet-like facility. The worst part was that there was only one bathroom in the house.

I did my business and washed my hands as well as my feet for good measure. Then I went back to the sand for a good night's sleep.