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Author's Note - Content Warning.

This chapter is not a happy one.  And I am told I am pretty good at writing some emotional scenes - which, in this case, may be upsetting.  So I am going to offer an option and some advice from one of my editors, who knows what's in this chapter and absolutely refuses to read it:

If you have trouble with emotional or tragic scenes, this may be a chapter to skip.

The upcoming chapters will make it pretty obvious what takes place in this chapter, and another character will summarize the events again in a less emotional way in a few chapters.  And I'll upload the next chapter today too, so you can continue reading.  You can absolutely enjoy the rest of this story without reading this chapter.

That said, it is an important part of Nate's story and sets up the rest of Lost Change.  So with that warning out of the way...

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I lifted my head and blinked at the sound of laughter somewhere beneath me. Where had that come from? I hadn't seen any signs of Kymari approaching - none of the strange heat mirages that usually accompanied a hidden one, and none of the scents or sounds that went with one approaching. Was the wind blowing in the wrong direction? I glanced down at Susie to see if she had noticed anything...

The dog was looking at something behind me. I spread my wings a little and confirmed it was downwind of us. I let go of the apple and whistled the 'let's go' call, hoping to get away before we were noticed by whoever was laughing.

Susie... ignored me. I blinked, trying to remember when the dog had ever done that, and took a closer look at the dog. Her tail was wagging a mile a minute, and she was completely focused on whatever she was looking at. I whistled again, and I saw her ears perk... but she continued to ignore me, and instead started walking towards the source of the laughter.

I felt a surge of panic rise in me, suddenly worried. I dropped down from the tree and glided towards the dog, catching sight of the source of the laughter as I did.

Three Kymari stood several trees away, all with their backs turned to us. Two of them were adults, one male and one female, each with weapons at their hips, while the third - the source of the laughter - was a young child. She was bouncing a brightly colored yellow ball against a nearby tree - she threw it at the ground, it bounced and hit the tree, rebounded to hit the ground, then bounced back into her arms. It was a simple game, and one I could remember playing many times myself when I was a human.

Exactly the kind of game a dog would leap at the chance to join in on.

The ball bounced off the tree again, and this time Susie started running. I whistled again in desperation, calling out as loud as I could... but it was no use. The dog ignored me.

But one of the adult Kymari heard my cry.

I saw her start to turn towards us, and dashed towards a bush to hide. I think I made it before she saw me. But she saw Susie, still running happily straight towards them. I saw the sudden alarm in the Kymari's expression, saw her reach an arm to the side to push the girl to safety behind her, heard her yell out 'Coyote!' to the other adult, saw her raise her weapon...

...and saw her fire a burst of energy at my dog.

Susie dropped to the ground with a strangled, high-pitched yelp, and skidded another length or two from the momentum of her run. The horrid scent of burning air and scorched flesh reached my nose, too strong to be entirely swept away by the wind.

A surge of emotion overwhelmed me. I jumped from the bush before I knew what I was doing. I screamed at the Kymari, yelled out an angry hiss that bordered almost on a full on roar - a sound I hadn't known I could make until that moment - and I hurtled myself through the air towards her. My claws were fully outstretched, and I could think of nothing beyond sinking them into the Kymari's arm and ripping out the muscles that had just hurt Susie.

The Kymari's eyes widened in further alarm, and reason and fear suddenly broke through my rage as I watched her shift the weapon towards me, and saw her prepare to fire a second shot...

A startled exclamation came from the other adult Kymari. He shoved the first, grabbing her arm to push the weapon away, and I heard a crackling sound as the blast flew harmlessly past me. "Stop! That's a fire lizard!"

My reaction to the fear kicked in, and I abandoned my charge to drop to the ground instead, landing only a few lengths away from Susie. The dog was still breathing, but she hadn't gotten back to her feet. I growled up at the Kymari, almost hoping one of them would step closer and give me an excuse. I felt a bitter taste in my mouth as I prepared to spit fire at any of them that moved the wrong way.

The male Kymari pulled the other Kymari backwards, and kept talking in a low voice. "Those creatures are not supposed to live near here, and they are protected - this must be someone's bond animal. Take Lyzel home and make sure she is okay. Stay away from it!"

I hissed again as the woman nodded, still vividly imagining a stream of my fire consuming the hand that had shot Susie and waiting for any excuse... but she only stepped backwards, away from me. She took two more steps back, then turned and picked up the child.

I glared at her as she retreated, feeling the steady hiss fade in my throat along with the fire I had been about to call forth. It left a foul taste in my mouth as I swallowed the oily saliva, and I swallowed again to try and clear the taste. With the major threat gone, my concern went back to Susie.

The border collie was still breathing, but it was slow. Even from here I could tell each breath hurt her, and I warbled out a mournful cry. "Susie..."

I hopped forward and climbed onto her side, the way I had done almost every night since I had met her.

The energy weapon had struck the dog in the side. A huge patch of her fur was simply gone, melted away, and blood was covering the skin beneath. I felt myself rise into the air with her inhale, only to quickly sink with her exhale. The normal rhythm I fell asleep to each night was wrong this time, too quick and shaky.

I made sure to avoid the wound as I crept forward. I felt Susie's tail start to wag slowly as I came into her view. She whined, a hurt sound that broke my heart to hear, and I sprawled out against her side, covering as much of her as I could with my wings. I chirped and whistled to her, trying to think of anything I could say. "It's okay. It's okay, Susie, it's okay. Good girl. It's okay." She lifted her head again and tried to tilt it towards me, and I felt her tongue lick over my face... then she lowered her head back to the ground with another painful whine.

I felt Susie's inhale lift my small body upwards.

I felt myself sink.

I felt her inhale lift me again.

I felt myself sink.

...

...

I felt my hands tighten around the clumps of fur in my hands, and I buried my head against Susie's neck and sobbed.

I don't know how long the third Kymari remained near me. I didn't care. I was dimly aware of him talking into a device on his wrist at a few points, but I didn't spend any thought on trying to hear him. As long as he didn't come closer, I didn't care what he did. I don't know what he thought of what he was seeing. I didn't care about that, either.

The sun eventually set and night fell. An owl hooted somewhere occasionally, and I had a distant concern that it might attack me... but it didn't. I had a vague thought that the Kymari might have been scaring it away. But it didn't matter. I wasn't going to leave my friend, even if he hadn't been. I ignored the owl.

I gradually felt the subtle changes in the air that heralded the dawn. The slight shifts in pressure, the morning birds waking and beginning to sing out their songs. I only lifted my head away from Susie's cooling body to look at the soft red glow rising on the horizon. I saw the Kymari out of the corner of my eye, sitting up against one of the trees with some flat device angled towards me, but he didn't matter. I ignored him.

I felt the sun call to me. Felt its message build inside of me. I heard it whisper that it would be okay - that it was a new day, that life could continue, that there was still joy to be had. I felt it stretch out its hand and invite me to dance with it, to soar through the air, to let go of my grief. To celebrate all that Susie had given me and to continue on, and to find new friends to help celebrate life with. To give to them what Susie had given to me.

I felt it invite me to live, just as it had invited me every single day for the last eight years. Just as I had always leapt at the chance to do.

But today I ignored it, too.

The call continued on, pulling at every part of me as the sun slowly broke over the horizon. I simply stared back at it, refusing to move or make any sound despite the growing need to respond... until at last the pull faded. The sun had risen. A new day had dawned.

I leaned down and nuzzled at Susie's side, saying one last goodbye to my friend.

Then I let go of her fur, hopped into the air, and flew away.