Tasha's POV:

When the doorbell rang, I hissed and spread a wing over the sleeping dragonets. Keegan growled lowly from the perch above as he sat up, ready to dive-bomb our familiar guests if he deemed it necessary.

Taureen went to let Tkael and Soranto in as opposed to just calling out and letting them come in on their own. He led the way back into the room as the two Kymari cautiously followed him.

A fierce hiss was my greeting to them; although, to give them credit, they didn't even glance in my direction. They likely thought that ignoring me would make me think they were unaware of the little ones under my wing.

They sat down on the couch on the far side of the room, still not looking in my direction.

Tkael asked Taureen, "How have you been doing? Getting tired of being cooped up yet?"

A tinge of guilt ran through me; Taureen wouldn't leave the house while I was here, and I wasn't about to leave the nestlings, even if Keegan and Aeria remained in the house.

Taureen didn't seem bothered, though. "I have been doing a lot of work around the house. Almost all of the renovations are done at this point. It could possibly get tiresome in a few more days, but I suspect that I might be able to take Tasha out for a walk by then."

Soranto was dubious. "I don't see how you will get her away from her babies. Her maternal instincts are clearly alive and well. It's surprising that she even let me in this room. If she wasn't so set on hiding them from us, I bet she would have chased us out by now."

Just for that comment, I was sorely tempted to do so. I refrained and simply growled at him again. Keegan was still sitting upright, alert and ready to make Soranto's words come true. Keegan was shyer than me, so I doubted that he would go after our guests unless they got too close.

I also knew full well that they wouldn't come close any time soon. For starters, Taureen wouldn't allow it, and he was my designated handler. When it came to us, his word was almost law, unless an Elder overruled it. That didn't take Keegan or myself into account either, and our claws were very sharp.

I remained where I was – with my wing over the nestlings – as the Kymari visited like they normally did. Tkael and Soranto didn't look directly at me, although I knew they were subtly watching, hoping for a glimpse of the nestlings.

Movement beneath my wings told me that they were about to get their wish. Hungry creels sounded as one of the nestlings bumped the underside of my wing. Keegan swooped down to land beside me, 'accidentally' sitting in the best spot to prevent our two guests from seeing the nestlings.

I stretched my neck out to grab some fruit from a nearby bowl before finally lifting my wing. At this point, both nestlings were awake and convinced that they were dying of starvation. Keegan and I both fed the nestlings while frequently glancing at our company. I never caught them looking at us, but I was sure that they were.

Soranto's disappointed comment confirmed my suspicions. "I can't see anything due to how they are sitting."

Taureen reached over to pick up a small sliver of fruit before feeding one of the nestlings. I rustled my wings in disapproval; he didn't have to show off that we allowed him to help with the nestlings...

Dirk got to his feet as he began to walk towards the litter tray, and I swiftly stood up to stand beside him – conveniently using my body to block Soranto and Tkael's view of my baby boy. Tessa was also starting to glance more and more frequently towards the litter tray between mouthfuls of fruit.

Tkael quietly said, "I am surprised that they are already learning to use a litter tray, although it makes sense, since the parents would want to keep the nest as clean as possible."

"And the parents are just as obviously using their bodies to prevent us from seeing the little ones," Soranto complained.

They were deliberately avoiding the use of our names to keep us from focusing on their discussion. Like most animals that were around intelligent beings, they knew that we picked up more than they likely realized, and the use of our names would always catch our attention.

It took a bit of coordination between Keegan and me, but we managed to get the nestlings to the litter tray and back while continuing to act as a sight barrier. I sighed in relief as I once more curled up around the nest with my wing over the children.

Keegan laid down beside me, draping his wing over my back and shoulder protectively. Little nudges from under my wing were evidence that the nestlings were starting to do more besides simply sleep and eat. I kept my wing in place, hoping that they would settle down and go to sleep.

After several squawks, a couple of whistles, and what felt like a few wrestling matches, they finally stilled once more in sleep. I was grateful that they had gone to sleep so easily. Within a day or so, they would be rambunctious and full of energy – and there would be no chance of containing them beneath my wing so easily.

And it wouldn't be much longer before they would be too big to even completely fit under my wing.

~ ~ ~   Tessa's POV:

I peeked over my shoulder, but still only saw one of the big green ones in the room. The word 'Kymari' quietly sat in the back of my mind. Mom, Dad, and the other big green one were in the backyard.

This was my chance to find the shiny again. I carefully looked across the end table, but it wasn't there. Perhaps it was elsewhere. I might be able to see if it was around if I walked to the edge of the table.

I barely got to the edge of the sand tray before the green one's hand gently pushed me back into the nest. I squawked as I rolled backwards down the slight incline. Getting to my feet, I tried to tell her that I just wanted to look for the shiny, but – somehow – I knew that she couldn't hear my mindvoice.

I tried climbing out again and again; each time getting gently rolled back into the nest. Whining pitifully, I tried to get my message across with physical sounds.

She spoke aloud with words that my jaws simply couldn't replicate, "What's the matter? Is the sun calling to you, too? I'm not sure how old you guys usually are when you start to feel the Morning Song... Hmmm... I know."

Reaching over, she picked me up in her hands. My feet had never been off of the sand before, and I tried to hang onto her hands tightly in my sudden fear. I quickly curled my tail around me so that I was completely laying in her hands. The ground was really far away now, and I didn't want to risk falling.

She walked across the room with smooth strides before stopping in front of the window. I stared in shock, my apprehension of being so high up completely forgotten. I had never seen anything like it before. There were so many pretty colors; oranges, yellows, blues, and wisps of pink. Something big and bright was peeking above ground.

It was far nicer than the shiny I had been searching for, and it taunted me from its distant hiding place. I lacked words for it. It was... It was... Knowledge came to me and gave it a name. It was the sun.

The hidden knowledge also told me that the sun rose every day! Always in the place called East, and the pretty colors were part of the sunrise. It was nearly impossible to tear my eyes away from it, but I saw Mom and Dad sitting on a big piece of wood not far away. They were also watching the sun.

The sun was demanding my attention and seemed to shimmer as it slowly rose. I shifted my weight restlessly; I really wanted to go to it, like it was calling me. I didn't understand the longing and desire that its silent plea was creating.

Mom and Dad suddenly shot up into the sky, and I stared at them as they wove around one another in twists and twirls mid-air. The hidden knowledge provided faint images of other dragonets in a similar dance; a dance that answered the sun's greeting – the Morning Song.

The sun distracted me as it called to me even more strongly. I spread my wings wide with a warbling whistle; I held tight to the green one's hand as I tried a few clumsy flaps while I continued to whistle and trill at the sun. Some of my sounds seemed out of place, and I could see that Mom's and Dad's flight perfectly matched the rhythm I was feeling.

Harmonizing my voice to their song and dance was hard, but I wasn't about to give up! My wings refused to fold while the sun called me, so I kept flapping them awkwardly – but they were starting to hurt. I had never used them like this before.

The sun had mostly risen by the time exhaustion made me stop. I laid in the green one's hand, panting hard with my wings still half unfurled. Mom and Dad were still dancing, effortlessly flitting through the air. I wanted to dance like that. As I watched them, I promised myself that I would fly like that one day.

With a surprised snort, I sat up – the sun's call was rapidly fading. The sun completely cleared the horizon, and even as I felt the call disappear into nothingness, Mom and Dad glided away from where they had danced.

The green one holding me murmured, "That was certainly interesting. It's a pity I didn't catch that on video for Tasha and Keegan." She turned around as she headed back to the end table with the heat lamp. "Your brother didn't even wake up."

I blinked in disbelief at the blue ball of scales that had slept through the whole thing. I couldn't believe it! The sun had called us – and he didn't even wake up! Did he not realize just how serious this was?

I was gently put down on the sand, and I started chattering as I verbally scolded him. I walked over, making sure I didn't roll down the slippery sand, before batting him with my wing as I bombarded him with mental images of what I had just seen.

He sleepily blinked at me, sending back a sense of confusion – unsure why I thought it was so important. I mindlinked him with actual words, which weren't easy.

"The sun! It called us! You missed it! It was bright and pretty and yellow and blue and it made me want to dance!"

He yawned as he curled up tighter, his sleepy voice mumbled, "The light in the room is bright, and fruit is pretty. I will look at them when I wake up."

I squawked my disbelief and frustration – the room light was not the rising sun! A slight snore told me that Dirk had already fallen asleep. I grumbled and muttered to myself, but I knew he just wasn't going to believe me until he saw it himself.

That was the answer! Tomorrow, when the sun called again, I would wake him up so he could see it too! Then he could see it for himself! That was my plan.

Satisfied for now, I curled up beside him, scratching slightly at my ear tuft before falling asleep as well.