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Author's Note - Happy New Year~!

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She didn't try to pet me, thankfully, so I begrudgingly ate the food she offered until I was full enough that the prospect of more pineapple slices couldn't convince me to remain in the Kymari's lap. I hissed at her again just because I could, then slipped out of her lap and hopped back down to the floor. I wasn't exactly tired - I still wasn't sleeping well, but I had been awake enough at this point that I didn't really feel the need to go back to bed - but my body had a 'well fed' feeling that made stretching out somewhere a very appealing idea. Normally I would go find a nice branch to sprawl on, one high enough up a tree for the sunlight to reach me while still being low enough for me to keep an eye on Susie, but the Kymari didn't have any branches in her apartment.

What she did have was a nice bowl of sand underneath a satisfyingly warm heat lamp.

I climbed up the end table and flopped in the sand. The coarse substance felt good rubbing against my scales, and the ambient heat made my leg feel better. I felt a bit of regret that I couldn't spread my wings out and soak up the heat properly... but it still felt really nice. Especially after the stress of having to eat like that.

The Kymari watched me from the couch, but the full feeling and the warmth all around me was too good to waste worrying about her. I closed my eyes and just enjoyed myself.

The soft chime rang through the room. I lifted my head from the warm sand and glanced around as I tried to wake up - I must have dozed off in the sand.

"Come in." I glanced towards the couch and saw the Kymari setting down her tablet.

The doors opened with a 'ding' sound. "Aunt Minna!" Lyzel ran through the doors and up to the Kymari, who stood up from the couch and grabbed the child in a hug.

"Hello Lyzel! How is school going this week?"

Lyzel pouted. "Bor-ing. Can we go to the park to play today? Daddy said we could if you were up for it?" The older male Kymari - Lyzel's father, Terron - stepped through the doorway and into the room.

I blinked and took a closer look at an object held in his hand.

"Maybe not today, Lyzel. I have to take care of a friend, and he's still a bit too hurt to go to the park just yet. I don't want to leave him alone for too long..." The Kymari glanced towards Terron, and I saw her smile as she noticed the same thing I had. "But he might enjoy playing with you some inside, if you promise to be gentle?"

Lyzel frowned for a second... then her eyes lit up. She looked around the room wildly, then threw her hands up in the air when she saw me. "Mister Fire Lizard! Yay!" She squirmed in the other Kymari's grip until she was put back on the floor, then the child ran the short distance over to her father. "Can I play with him today?"

The little girl reached up towards her father... and more specifically, for the yellow ball I had grown familiar with in the past few months, which he held in his hand. He started to pass it to her, but paused at the last second and pulled his hand back a little. "Remember what I said, Lyzel."

Lyzel was practically bursting with excitement, but she looked from the ball to her father and nodded. "I knowwww... he's hurt, and he needs to rest, so I have to be gentle with him. I have to stop when you or Aunt Minna tell me to, so he doesn't hurt himself more, and have to make sure it's okay with Aunt Minna before playing with him."

"That's right." He smiled and handed the ball to the child.

She took the ball and looked back towards the other Kymari. "So can I? I promise I won't be too rough. And I'm sure he'll be happy to play; he always seemed so lonely and sad when we saw him rolling the ball around out in the forest, so I know he'll be glad to have somebody else to play with?"

Something flickered through the older Kymari's expression, but it disappeared just as soon as it appeared. The smile on her face seemed to be a tiny bit forced as she shook her head. "Why don't you settle down and play by yourself for a little bit? He's been laying under the heat lamp for a few hours now so he might want to play, but you have to let him be the one to come to you in case he doesn't. His leg is still healing, so he might not feel up to it."

Lyzel pouted a little but nodded. "'Kay!" She sat down on the floor by the table in the center of the room, then started to roll the ball at the wall on my side of the room. It hit the wall with a 'thump' sound and rolled back to her, and she caught it easily.

I wiggled through the sand to get closer to the edge of the bowl, then rested my head on the side to watch the child play with the ball. It would be fun to roll it around a bit... but...

Terron stepped nimbly around the ball as he crossed to the couch, then he and the other Kymari sat down. They watched Lyzel bounce the ball and started a conversation - idle chitchat about how their jobs were going - but I was acutely aware that all three of the Kymari had their attention on me.

Terron in particular kept glancing over at me. He had sat on the side of the couch closest to Lyzel, and he seemed on edge, like he was ready to jump up at any moment. Which... he probably was.

I knew full well how seriously Kymari took the safety of their children.

I watched the male Kymari for a long moment. For all Ivy's talk about them wanting to keep me safe and happy, they still considered me a danger. And they would still protect against that danger... even if it wasn't actually there to protect against. I felt a sudden sense of exposure and had the urge to hide inside the hollow box that served as my den. The Kymari were all between me and it, though. I stood up slowly and moved to the far side of the bowl, then curled up as tight as I could with the cast on my side.

"Terron, you scared him." The Kymari leaned forward on the couch and reached for the tablet lying on the table.

"I scared him? I'm just sitting here." Terron glanced at me again, then down at his daughter. The girl caught the ball and looked up at me, then at the two adults.

"And you're still managing to hover over Lyzel like she'll disappear if you take your eyes off her for even a second." She tapped on her tablet a few times before nodding. "These are from Alec's notes - he followed the fire lizards a lot even before any came into captivity, and he's responsible for two of them now. He says they only curl up like that when they're upset or bothered by something; they prefer being able to stretch out."

I stopped myself from blinking. That... was true, actually. It always felt better to stretch out. The only times I could remember ever curling up was during the winters when it got cold. Unless something upset me I doubted I would ever prefer to scrunch up like this - it felt a little safer and comforting, maybe, but it was just so much more relaxing to sprawl my legs and wings out.

It felt a little odd that the Kymari had figured out something about me that even I hadn't realized. I had lived with this body for eight years now; I should have been the expert, not them.

"Maybe it was the sound of the ball hitting the wall?" Terron glanced at me again, as if hoping I would uncurl now that Lyzel had stopped rolling the ball.

"He was watching you, not the ball. You need to relax. He won't hurt Lyzel." The Kymari reached back on the table and dug something out from under the clutter there.

Terron looked back at her and only seemed to grow more tense. "Minna, these things breathe fire."

"There's only been a handful of instances of them ever doing that to a Kymari, and they were always under extreme duress, such as when the fire lizard's handler was threatened or had been injured. And even then it was mostly to get the threat to back off enough for them to flee." She held up her hand and showed off the collection of scratches there. "He hasn't tried to burn me, not once. As much as he hates me, if he hasn't come at me with fire, he isn't going to use it on her. She's going to be fine."

Terron just stared at her arm dubiously. I doubted the marks left by my teeth and claws did much to convince him that I was as safe as the other Kymari claimed.

"And none of them have ever hurt a child. There's another note from Taureen, where was it..." She tapped on her tablet a few more times before holding it back up for him. "A child ended up hurting the broken wing of the fire lizard he was taking care of, and all that it did was slap the child. No scratches or anything. Lyzel will be fine."

"Are you sure?" Terron glanced back at Lyzel, then around the room. "It was one thing out in the forest; if he feels he's cornered..." He trailed off uncertainly.

"I'm sure. Now stop scaring the poor thing." A teasing note entered her voice as the Kymari passed something to her older brother. "Go sit near Lyzel and put this on the floor; he loves these."

Terron sighed but rose from the couch. I watched him carefully as he walked to a spot past Lyzel and sat down out of her reach beside the door. He took a few deep breaths and made a visible effort to calm himself, then he reached his hand out towards me.

When he pulled his hand back, two sunburst berries rested on the simple carpet.

I felt my stomach leap in anticipation. It had been a few hours since I had put up with the Kymari feeding me, so I was starting to get hungry again, and I had to be pretty full to not have room for the delicious berries.

"Lyzel, hold on to the ball for now; let him get used to your father first." The Kymari's voice spoke up from the couch, and I could tell all three were watching me.

I waited a few more seconds just to make sure... but when nobody else showed any signs of moving, I relaxed from my curled up posture and stepped down from the bowl.

I paused again at the edge of the table and looked at them again. The two adults were pointedly not looking at me, though I suspected they could see me out of the corner of their eyes. Lyzel was staring directly at me with wide, excited eyes... until I looked back at her. She made a startled 'eep' sound and looked away from me, turning instead to look at Terron to try and pretend I didn't exist.

I held back a grin. Okay, that had been cute.

The nearby sunburst berries drew my attention back to them and I scampered down the side of the end table. I paused when I was halfway to the berries, suddenly realizing that both Lyzel and the larger Kymari were both very nearby. I glanced between them, feeling a bit of a trapped feeling... but neither Kymari moved, and after a few breaths it faded.

I moved closer and kept a nervous eye on both Kymari as I grabbed both berries, then scampered back to the end table. I sat up on the floor and started in on the first berry while the three Kymari relaxed and went back to watching me.

"It looks like you understand a lot about him now." Terron leaned back against the wall and relaxed a little more. He still seemed a little concerned, but I got the impression he wasn't worried about me anymore.

"Not really. I just have the notes from the other handlers to help me out. There's a lot of useful information in them."

"Uh-huh." Terron nodded slowly. He looked like he had something else to say, but that he wasn't quite sure how to bring it up.

After a few seconds the Kymari spoke up from the couch. "I think he's settled down now, Lyzel. Try rolling the ball against the wall again, but this time bounce it so it rolls over to your dad?"

"'Kay." The child nodded and rolled the ball towards the wall. It hit with a thump, then rolled over to Terron. He caught the ball easily, then rolled it back to her the same way.

I watched them play while I finished off the first berry, then glanced back at the second one. I didn't want to eat it now - well, okay, I did, because those things were delicious, but I wanted to have it to snack on later even more - but the path to my den still took me past the two Kymari. I glanced back towards the end table and nudged the berry closer to it, hoping that would be protection enough for now.

Then I watched the two Kymari play with the ball.

They were both watching me - Lyzel was staring at me openly, and kept missing where she aimed the ball's rebound, though Terron was more subtle about it. The other Kymari was watching me from the couch, too, though she kept her gaze angled more towards Lyzel so it just felt I was at the edge of her view rather than the target of her focus. The ball wasn't moving that fast and I knew from playing with it out in the woods that it wasn't that heavy. It should be safe to play with them.

And much more importantly... it would be fun.

I took a few steps towards the two Kymari and watched the ball roll some more. They kept passing the ball between themselves, though I could tell Lyzel really wanted to bounce it towards me. I was still a little concerned about Terron... but he was on the other side of the room from me, and he was sitting down. If I did something that upset him, I should be able to make it into the kitchen or a hiding place before he got up...

I watched them for a few more passes, then stepped even closer. Terron passed the ball back to Lyzel and she caught it. She held the ball and watched me, seemingly trying to decide between passing it to me or passing it back to her father.

I half-hopped into the air and chirped up at Lyzel. "It's okay!"

She brightened and rolled the ball towards the wall... and this time when it bounced off, it rolled towards me. I turned towards it as it approached and jumped at it, landing on it and bringing its momentum to a halt.

I leaned against the ball for a half second, then backed away. I needed room to get enough momentum, but once I had enough I ran back towards the ball and hit it with my head.

It flew towards the wall and bounced off with a 'thump' that was just a bit quieter than the ones the Kymari had been making. My aim was a little off, but the ball still rolled close enough for Lyzel to catch, which she did with a giggle.

"Yay! I told you, Mister Fire Lizard did want to play!" The girl was practically beaming with excitement, and she quickly rolled the ball back to me.

I caught it again and rolled it back at the wall, though this time I angled it towards Terron. He seemed a little surprised but he caught it easily, then passed it back to me.

I passed the ball back to Lyzel, and she caught it with a grin. "I'm playing with a fire lizard; the other kids at school are going to be so jealous." She bounced the ball towards Terron, and he caught it easily. "Do you think they'll be able to play with him too? When he's better, and we can play outside?"

Terron hesitated, then rolled the ball back to Lyzel. I watched it roll patiently and actually felt a bit grateful - my leg was starting to feel a little uncomfortable from the activity.

"That is a good question." Terron glanced back towards the couch. "He does seem to enjoy this. If it is only a small group out in the open then he might be willing to approach them. Assuming he goes back to the park." There was a subtle emphasis in his last sentence, as if it meant a little more than he was saying.

Lyzel caught the ball. I saw her glance at me, then back at her father; she grinned a little and then rolled the ball back to her father.

The older Kymari caught it... and rolled it around on the floor instead of returning it, just using his hand to keep it spinning around near him. He almost threw it a few times, and Lyzel and I both tracked the ball's motion as he taunted us.

He faked us out again, and I hopped in place and chittered at him in annoyance. "Stop that!"

Terron grinned and finally rolled the ball back towards the wall... and it bounced off the wall and towards Lyzel. She caught it, though I noticed her grin seemed to be a bit wider.

"I got a few interesting calls from an Elder this past week." Terron watched Lyzel, but his voice was directed towards the couch. "Elder Naishi, I believe she said her name was. Perhaps you've heard of her? She had a lot of questions about you."

I heard the Kymari swallow on the couch. "Um... yes. She came by a few days ago."

Lyzel passed the ball back to Terron - wait, when was the last time they had passed me the ball? - and he caught it once more. "I don't suppose anything important came up in that meeting? Perhaps any life altering decisions that were made, which you might want to share with your brother? About not releasing Kymallata back into the wild once he's better?" Terron rolled the ball around, faking us out a few times.

"Don't call him that..." I heard a bit of pain in the Kymari's tone.

Terron grabbed the ball and held it. "Minna, don't tell me you already named him..." His voice suddenly sounded tired, as if he was weary from an old argument.

"No! No, it's just... I don't like that name. It's too... it..." The Kymari got quiet for a moment, then shook her head. "I just don't like that name."

"Oh." Terron spun the ball on the floor, then rolled it back to the wall. It bounced... then rolled over to Lyzel.

I narrowed my eyes as I watched the ball.

"I was going to tell you, I just wasn't sure how, or when the right time would be."

"Tell us what?" Lyzel piped up and looked between the two adults. She tried to roll the ball around her the same way Terron had, but she wasn't quite as good at it. The ball wobbled around her as she batted it along.

"Your Aunt Minna has decided to tame the fire lizard. To become a handler and help protect us from sicora."

I frowned. That was a strange word - had I heard it before? I made a note to ask Ivy about it, or check the Blood Memories. But later. Right now I had to keep my eye on the ball. Literally.

"Ooohhh..." Lyzel's eyes went wide and she looked at me. She forgot about the ball entirely and it spun off in Terron's direction. "Then Mister Fire Lizard is going to stay? But I thought you said she would be in a lot of trouble if she tried to keep him, and that everybody would be mad at her."

Terron caught the ball, then glanced pointedly up at the couch. He spun the ball in place, then rolled it towards the wall... and back to Lyzel.

Again.

I hopped back and forth and chittered angrily at both of them. "You're doing this on purpose!"

All three Kymari broke into sudden giggles. Terron recovered first. "Looks like he caught on."

The Kymari on the couch nodded. "I told you, they're all very clever."

Lyzel was still giggling, but this time she passed the ball towards me. I stopped it and eyed both of them while I tried to decide who I was more upset with. Lyzel was obviously too excited at even the idea of playing with me, so it had probably been Terron's idea. He must have passed on the suggestion through some inside gesture or expression that I hadn't caught, and then Lyzel had played along. I ran into the ball and made sure it angled back towards the younger Kymari.

She caught it easily and rolled it around her. "Is Aunt Minna going to get in trouble? I would like it if Mister Fire Lizard could stay, but I don't want her to get in trouble." She passed the ball back to me.

"It's not that simple, Lyzel. He probably isn't going to end up staying."

Lyzel frowned. Even Terron seemed surprised by that information. I passed the ball to him... but he hadn't been that surprised. He managed to catch the ball.

"I don't understand. Elder Naishi said that you wanted to the last time she called me." Terron passed the ball back to me.

"I didn't want to. She did everything short of passing a law to make me, even asking it as a personal favor. A personal favor, for an Elder. And I was still going to tell her no; I know what Mom and Dad will say, so I told her I would think about it and let her know, and I was going to tell her that I couldn't, right up until..." She shook her head.

I pretended not to notice what the conversation had shifted to, but it was hard not to notice the tension in their voices. I passed the ball to Lyzel.

"Until what? What changed your mind?"

Lyzel caught the ball and glanced towards Terron... then looked back at me with a less-playful expression. She passed the ball back to me.

Got it. The adults are having a grown up conversation. Play quietly and don't disturb them. I caught the ball and rested for a second - my leg was starting to ache a little - then passed it back.

The Kymari leaned forward on the couch and picked up her tablet. "Have you ever heard them sing in the morning?"

Terron frowned at the sudden change in subject. "I haven't, but I've heard people talk about it. It's supposedly quite the experience."

"It is... you should go and see the flock if you can; when there's a lot of them together it can get very intense."

"When did you see it?" Terron watched Lyzel as she rolled the ball back to me.

"A few months back. After... When I was learning about them, that was the main thing that kept coming up. I spent the night after one of my shuttle routes and caught it. The flock does it every sunrise, unless there's a storm, so it's easy to catch." She tapped a few more buttons on her tablet.

The screen on the far wall lit up. I paused from rolling the ball to glance towards the screen and saw... me. Perched on the windowsill, my wings and side in the dingy cast. The picture was dark but I could see the first hints of dawn in the image, and the dragonet in the image was staring intently out the window.

"This was the morning after Elder Naishi visited."

It was quiet for a few more seconds... then I saw a subtle change in the dragonet's expression.

Music filled the room. The sweet sound of my chirps, trills, and warbles surrounded us. There was no meaning to the individual sounds of the song - the Blood Memories did not give a translation to the individual sounds, like it did with the Kymari's speech, or when I spoke with Ivy. But it didn't need to. The song was simply imbued with meaning. Joy at being alive, excitement at a new day, the anticipation and pleasure at seeing the familiar companion of the sun once more.

I also heard sadness woven through the song. Frustrated warbles lamenting that the singer could only sing, and wasn't able to dance along with the song, followed by happier trills of relief in the knowledge and promise that the sun would be there when the singer could dance again. Worried chirps that spoke of the singer's concern that they weren't able to give the dawn the welcome it deserved while unable to fly, followed by happy warbles of delighted assurance that the dawn was even brighter with the life of the singer, and the life of all who heard his song. Sad croons of desire to be outside, to be out in the world as the sun lit it up, instead of trapped inside that room, sealed away from the world with only a tiny bit of glass to see the sunrise through, followed immediately after by the voice shifting somehow, adjusting to more properly match the acoustics of the room with the realization that it too was part of the world, and that the sun was bringing a new day to it as well.

The small whistles of sorrow because a close friend was no longer there to hear the singer... and the tiny half seconds of silence that followed, where the song held no answer.

The empty feeling that had been in the Morning Song these past few months.

I stared at the recording playing out on the screen. Was... did I really sound like that...? I had always been so caught up in the moment, and had never really known... But now, without the tug of the sunrise distracting me, I could appreciate it on another level. It was beautiful...

The pace of the song began to slow, and the singer gave another small whistle... then the song ended. The Kymari tapped a button on her tablet and the screen went dark. A quiet moment passed before she spoke in a soft voice. "That's what changed my mind. I doubt he'll actually accept me after what I did, but... he deserves that I try."

I recovered from the recording and nudged the ball back to Lyzel.

Terron continued to stare at the screen with an unreadable expression for a long moment before he finally nodded slowly. "I see." He looked down at me for another long moment before speaking again. "What will you do if he does?"

"Find a bunker to ride out the inevitable shockwave from dad hearing the news?" She shrugged. "I... don't know. I'll miss being a pilot. But Elder Naishi seems very interested in him. I think she'll make sure I'm okay. I have a bit of money saved up, and the other handlers have been sending over most of the things I need. Being a handler to a fire lizard pays well."

"That's at least something."

Lyzel rolled the ball back at me... but when I went to jump I felt a spasm of pain in my leg. I yelped and fell to the side, shifting my weight back to my other side. The ball hit me and bounced off to roll off towards the couch. I ignored the ball and slunk down to the floor to wait for the throbbing in my leg to go away.

"Oh, eep, I lost track of time. Sorry Lyzel, I think that's enough play for him for now; he needs to rest." The Kymari got up from the couch and moved towards me, kneeling down beside me. "You okay?"

I hissed at her. What kind of question was that? No. My leg was in pain, my wings were in a cast, it hurt if I took too deep of a breath, and oh, I was stuck here with her.

She reached out towards me. My leg hurt and I was not in the mood for any of that. I slashed out at her and felt my claws dig into her hand.

She simply ignored it and scooped me up. It was a gentle motion, and she was careful to support me just right, so that the casts didn't pull or cause me any pain. "Come on, let's put you in your bed; you'll feel better with some rest."

I saw Terron and Lyzel watching me as she carried me over to the box. Lyzel looked at me with a sad expression, and a guilty one, as if she was worried she had done something wrong... but Terron just watched his sister with a thoughtful, impressed expression. She reached in and adjusted the blanket a little, then slid me through the entrance and set me down on the blanket.

I grumbled, but pulled my claws back from her hand and let her put me in the blanket. I made a point to rearrange the blanket and undo the adjustments she had made, even though it actually made it less comfortable afterwards, then stretched out on it to rest. My leg immediately began to feel better without my weight on it.

"You're bleeding." Terron's voice sounded concerned, and I could hear him shifting, even though I couldn't see him from where I was.

"It's nothing. All of the handlers get a few scratches; it's just part of taking care of one."

"That looks pretty deep; are you sure?"

"It's nothing." There was a stern note in the Kymari's tone, one more appropriate for the words 'drop it' than words of reassurance. "I'm going to wash it up; I have a few cartoons if Lyzel wants to watch something for now, and maybe we can go out for a few minutes when he falls asleep?"

Terron did not sound convinced at all as he nodded. "Okay."

I heard cheerful sounds start to come from the screen, along with random giggles from Lyzel, but I tuned them out. My leg had dulled to a light throb, and... the activity had worn me out; my body just wasn't up to doing as much while it was healing. I yawned after a few minutes and closed my eyes...

The house was quiet when I woke up. I stood up and stretched over the blanket, then shook until my scales chimed and my muscles felt looser. A peek out the entrance showed that Lyzel and Terron were gone - or at least, not in the living room - but she was back on the couch. The screen was droning on about some weather report that she was ignoring, and her attention seemed to be on her tablet. Something about her posture subtly shifted, though, and I got the feeling she had spotted me peeking at her from the entrance. She had probably heard the noise from my scales.

I looked back around the room just in case... and saw the sunburst berry from earlier resting against the end table. My stomach happily informed me that it could eat, and the Kymari wasn't stomping around, so I slipped out of my den and across the room.

I sat up by the end table and grabbed the berry. It was just as delicious and juicy as sunburst berries always were, and I nibbled on it happily while I watched the Kymari.

I heard her shuffle her feet and looked over at them. The yellow ball was underneath one of her feet, and she rolled it in a slow circle by the couch. She glanced up from the tablet to watch me for a few seconds... then she used her foot to slowly nudge the ball to me.

It rolled slowly, and I was able to use my hand to stop it. I held the uneaten half of the berry in one hand and kept the ball in place with the other while I stared back at her.

She watched me with an expression that was a mix of curiosity, fear, and hope. I knew what she hoped I would do - nudge the ball back towards her, play with her a little just like I had with Lyzel... but I could also tell she was worried that I wouldn't. She was just watching me, wondering what I would do.

What did I want to do?

The desire to just take the berry and walk away was strong. This was the game I played with Susie, and she... she was the one who had robbed me of that. I had gone months without anybody to play with, all alone with nobody but myself because of her, and now... now she wanted to replace my friend. Wanted to take that thing I had shared with Susie, and do it with me instead.

But...

I also knew she wasn't looking at it that way. She hadn't meant to do that, and she wanted to make up for it. Wanted to try and give back a little of what she had taken from me.

Nate, you're going to have to forgive her...

Ivy's words were still clear in my memory. And... it had been fun to play with a ball again. It wouldn't be the end of the world if I played with her a little. I was still taking off and never looking back the second my wings were better.

But... it was her. This wasn't just playing with a random Kymari, this was playing Susie's game with the very person who had killed her.

I ate the rest of the berry slowly, watching her carefully.

No.

I turned and walked away from the ball.