Tessa's POV:

I stirred and curled up tighter, not quite ready to get up. The heavy scent of Kymari was very strong. Not exactly unpleasant, but noticeable even though I was still half-asleep.

The feeling of cloth under me was another inconsistency. The sound of deep, slow breathing very close by was what finally made me open my eyes. Not that I could see anything in the pitch-black area.

When I lifted my head, it brushed against cloth that was hanging just above me. I set my head back down, realizing that I must be under the blankets beside Soranto. If nothing else, it was nice and warm in here.

I relaxed for a while more before I really had to visit the bathroom. In the darkness, I wasn't sure which way was out. Lifting my head, I brushed my ear tufts against the blanket overhead, testing to see which side angled up more.

Getting to my feet, I slinked through the tiny gap of open space beside Soranto. If I guessed wrong, I could always tickle his feet. I didn't even know if he was ticklish.

The blankets brushed against my scales as my head poked out into the fresh air. Soranto remained laying on his side as he watched me slide out from under the blankets and shake myself off. My scales chimed faintly.

I yawned and stretched my wings. "Good morning."

"Good morning. Did you sleep well?"

"Yes. How long have you been awake?"

"Not long."

The truthfulness of that statement was up for debate, although what I may consider as 'not long' could likely be very different for a Kymari. I had other priorities, though, and stood on my hind legs to look around the room

"Is that the bathroom?" I asked, sending him an image of the half-open door. The other door was the one that led to the corridor.

"Yes, it is."

"Thanks."

I stretched my wings a few more times before flying across the room and into the bathroom. The setup was exactly what I was used to seeing during our patrols. Once I washed my hands and feet, I flew back into the main room.

Soranto was rubbing the last of the salve into the darkest bruises. Landing beside him on the bed, I took a closer look at the bruises. Most of the smaller ones had disappeared overnight. The rest of them were noticeably lighter.

"Those are healing quite fast."

"The salve and healing accelerant pills work well for minor things like this. It will still take a week or so for the cracked rib to fully heal."

"And your ankle?"

"I'm hoping the limp is gone, although it will probably take a few days for the pain to completely fade."

He stood up and took a few steps to test it out. The limp wasn't as noticeable, although it was still present. I sent him a mental image of it.

He glanced back at me. "Do all fire lizards talk with their handlers?"

"So far, yes. It takes some of them a bit of time to get to that point. Now that you know, all official handlers are in the loop."

"Am I supposed to be feeling bits of your emotions behind your words?"

"This is about normal for a conversation. We can include images of things we've seen or we can send more emotion if we want."

He came back and sat down beside me. "It's different, although I really like being able to talk with you. I hope I didn't offend you at some point with how I treated you like an animal."

"You didn't offend me. Besides, I am an animal – the only difference is that I can talk and think. So, other than you being able to explain what you want me to do, not much will change."

"Let me know if I do something that annoys you."

I snickered and rolled upside down. "No fear of that. Now that we can talk, your biggest challenge will be keeping me quiet."

"I look forward to it."

"Excellent. I shall have to ask Dirk for his best jokes and see if you can keep a straight face."

"Please take it easy on me in public. I don't have Taureen's level of composure."

"Maybe," I conceded in a teasing voice.

He grinned and stretched with a wince. "Will you be okay out here if I go for a shower?"

"Just leave that container of fruit here."

"We can get fresh fruit when we go down for food, if you want to wait."

"I know, but a few pieces won't spoil my breakfast."

With a smile, he opened the container and placed it on the bed beside me. He hesitated for a moment, then stroked my back like he normally did. With a hum, I rubbed my head against his hand.

Mom had warned me that he was going to be a bit off-balance and unsure of what his limits were now that he knew I was actually a person with scales. It was up to me to help him through this stage and keep him at ease with what was normal for us.

Eventually, he stood up and walked towards the bathroom, closing the door behind him. He seemed more relaxed now, but I knew it would take a while for the easy flow to return. I investigated the fruit bowl and picked out my favorites.

Once I had enough to tide me over until breakfast, I curled up on his pillow and mindlinked Mom and Dad.

"Good morning. Wait. Is it actually morning there?"

"It's almost time for lunch, actually," Mom replied. "How are you doing?"

I could feel Dad listening in, although he was letting Mom do all the talking.

"Good. Soranto is taking the change better than I thought."

"The Kymari usually adapt pretty quickly. It'll still take a few days though. I've heard that you won't be coming back until tomorrow at the earliest. The distance and delay are irritating me, but at least we are still able to talk."

"I didn't hear an exact date or time yet, although we haven't left the room either. Soranto wanted a shower first."

"Keep us updated in case you hear something first. Adeline is telling Taureen and Aeria news almost as fast as she hears it, but things might slip through the cracks. Oh, and mindlink Abby before she drives Dirk crazy."

"Okay, I will."

"Have fun."

I sent my agreement down the link even as I turned my mind to the green dragonet. "Hi, Abby."

"You're alive! Why didn't you call me earlier? I haven't heard from you since you asked for tips on keeping warm in that cage. I've had to rely on Dirk for updates, and let me tell you, that was a painful experience! He never includes enough details."

"Sorry, I was focusing more on things around me or talking with Mom, Dad, or Soranto."

"When are you coming back?"

"I'm not sure. Not today. Whenever we're allowed."

"What exactly happened? I got a few details from Dirk, but storytelling is clearly not his forte."

With a faint sigh, I went over my entire adventure, even the gene mixing parts. She would sense any gaps in my story and pester me relentlessly until I told her. Besides, Mom had probably already told most of the wild dragonets what we had discovered.

I was just finishing when Soranto came out of the bathroom in clean clothing.

"I have to go, but I'll call you later."

"You better. I have a lot of questions."

I trilled a greeting at Soranto. "Feel better now? Being dirty is rarely fun."

"It was more dust than anything else, but I needed to clean up. Do you want a cleaning and an oiling before we go grab something to eat or after?"

"It can wait until afterwards. I know you didn't eat anything last night."

"Actually, I had a meal sent up, although you were asleep when it arrived."

"Oh. Well, we can still go find food first. I'm not sure what we plan to do the rest of the day."

"I haven't checked my wrist comm yet, but I suspect there isn't anything we can do here. I'll probably have to write up several reports and contact my relatives to thank them for their assistance."

"I've already been talking to my friends and family. Reports don't sound very fun. I'm glad that I don't have to write one."

Soranto tilted his head. "Can fire lizards write?"

"It's possible, but it's a different language from yours. We can't read Kymari writing though. Aeria tried to teach me a few times."

The Blood Memories were what let us understand the Kymari and recall the written languages of our parents. For some reason, learning the Kymari alphabet was next to impossible. Even Mom hadn't been able to manage it, despite trying for several years. My jaws and voice couldn't replicate the Kymari language or the English one. Yet, I could write very well in English, although my letters were more scribbly than what my Blood Memories said they should be.

"Let's go see what they have available. I assume you want fruit?"

I flew up to his shoulder pad. "Please. I doubt they have cantaloupe, but if they do, I would love some." I included an image of the fruit just in case of any confusion, although our mindspeech seemed pretty good at translating our terms to the Kymari equivalent, if they had a common word for it.

"They won't have that one here. There should be a few different types you like, though."

"That will work."

He picked up my harness and paused as he looked at it for a long moment. Realizing that he was feeling conflicted about putting it on me, I jumped down to his lap and partially spread my wings so he could put it on easily.

"You don't mind the harness or the leash?"

"No. I know the leash is mostly for show. Besides, the harness lets other people know that I belong with you."

He slowly nodded and put the harness on me, a thoughtful look on his face. I jumped back up to his shoulder so he could stand up.

"Oh, before I forget again. Why is Drae being so much more talkative on this ship? I think he spoke more in the first five minutes than he did for weeks back home."

Soranto chuckled. "The more people you get in an area, the less you'll hear Drae speak. We are actually good friends and went to the same hangouts for many years. Once he knows someone quite well, he talks more. But he still values silence and deep thought."

"Is it normal for Kymari to be so quiet?"

"No. Drae is unusually silent. But when he speaks, it's generally a wise idea to listen."

"I think I noticed that..." I said, trailing off.

Soranto nodded and tucked a few items in his pockets as he went towards the door. When he opened it, Drae stood up from the chair he had been sitting in across the corridor.

Soranto shook his head. "I was coming to find you. You didn't have to wait out here."

"That was more to keep the Officers from waking you to answer their questions," Drae replied, putting the chair back into his room. "It worked."

"I see. You have my thanks once again."

Drae guided us towards the area where they served the food.