I gradually woke up the next day to the feel of Minna petting my back. It was a slow motion, one that seemed distracted, but it was actually rather pleasant to wake up to. I yawned and stretched, then rested my head back down to catch a few more minutes of rest.

Minna scratched at my head just above my left ear, and I rumbled in appreciation as I tilted my head to nudge back against her.

We spent a few minutes waking up like that before she reached down to lift me up. I warbled in protest but she stood anyway, passing me up onto her shoulder as she climbed out of bed. "Sorry, but the sun is going to rise soon. Then we need to get breakfast, then it's more training for us."

She reached up to pet my back again, but this time I noticed she was watching me thoughtfully. Something was definitely on her mind.

We went into the garden sunroom and found Terron and Loreena already waiting for us. I flew to a perch closer to the window to stare out at the horizon. The tug of the Morning Song was already strong. We had cut it close. The sun was about to rise... any... minute... there!

The sun called me to sing and dance, and I rose into the air to meet its call. I lost myself in dancing through the small room, happy just to be a part of it once more.

The sunrise ended, and I settled down onto another sturdy looking branch. It hadn't been a particularly strong dance, but that was okay. Welcome, even. I had been through a lot of ups and downs the past few days and weeks, and it was nice to just have the equivalent of a gentle wave of greeting after the overwhelming bear hug of yesterday's dance.

I watched the sky for another second or two, then turned and flew back to Minna's shoulder.

She had been watching me with that same thoughtful half-frown. I shifted nervously on her shoulder. Had the images I sent her been too much? Did she know something?

I forced myself not to look at her hand, but the scratches there were all I could think of.

"I need to call Trenil and talk over some things, but I'll head out soon for some more training. Would you like me to pick up anything while I'm out?" Minna looked away from me and over at Loreena, who was still watching the sky herself.

"We could use some more snacks, if that is okay? I invited some of Lyzel's friends over yesterday afternoon and they ate through more than I expected."

"Of course. I'll probably be out late again, but I'll be sure to pick some up for you." Minna dipped her head in farewell and left the sunroom.

She stopped by the kitchen and piled some fruits in a bowl before grabbing what looked to be a candy bar of some kind, then took us back to the guest room. I flew to the dresser, expecting her to leave my food there like she had before, but this time she kept the bowl with her and sat on the side of the bed.

That was fine. I flew over to perch on one of her legs and let her feed me by hand. It had been a few days since we had done that, and it was nice to have that little bit of closeness.

But she kept looking at me with that same thoughtful expression the whole time.

She strung her own breakfast out with mine, and we finished at about the same time. I flew back over to the dresser and landed next to the heat lamp, then scratched at the side of it and looked back at Minna. "On?"

Her thoughtful expression changed to a smile and she crossed over to turn on the lamp. I stretched out under the growing warmth and felt a smug sense of satisfaction. Ha! Looks like I taught Minna a trick. And I didn't even have to use treats to do it with.

Minna went back to her luggage and pulled out her tablet. She sat on the bed and fiddled with it for a bit while I relaxed.

The tablet made a 'beep' sound after a moment, then Trenil's voice came from the tablet. "Trenil speaking."

"Good morning Trenil, this is Minna. I'm sorry to bother you but I had some questions about my fire lizard; I was wondering if you had some time to talk?"

"Of course. Our shift doesn't start for a few hours still, and it's a light schedule today. Is anything wrong?"

I heard Ivy sing out in the background. "If Nate's trapped in the toilet, make sure she gets pictures!"

I rolled my eyes from under the heat lamp and chittered back at her. "I am not trapped in the toilet!"

Minna's voice rose a little in pitch. "Hi Ivy!" Her voice settled and she shook her head. "Nothing like that, I just wanted to go over some things from my first day."

"Of course. How's he doing? Have you gotten him to track the scent disk yet?"

"I did! He actually seems to really enjoy that, and picked it up right away. I've tried fooling him and haven't been able to yet, though I'm still limited in what I can do myself. He hates the blindfold but he refuses the recall command, so I can't really let him off leash yet. That makes it harder to find good hiding places."

"That might just take time for him to get used to. Try working on other commands instead, like 'stay'; then you can leave him somewhere while you hide the disk?"

Minna seemed to consider that, then nodded. "I can try that. I thought of tying the leash to a tree, but was worried about leaving him trapped somewhere like that. That's a better idea. Arlia suggested trying a different phrase to recall him with, too; I... think he might just remember how I tried to teach it to him the first time, and not be too happy about it."

"That's possible. Let me know if that works? That would be useful to know, in case we run into problems teaching others."

"Will do." Minna hesitated and glanced back at me with that same thoughtful expression. "Um..."

"Yes?"

My handler sighed and looked down. "This is awkward, but I have to ask. Have you ever caught Ivy using your toilet to clean herself? Loreena thinks she saw him doing that, and I'm not sure what to think. Is that something I need to train him out of?"

An explosion of chirps and warbles came from the tablet as Ivy burst into laughter.

"Ivy, no! Put that down!" Trenil covered for Ivy's giggle fit, but I could hear the amusement in his words. "Sorry. Um. No, I don't think she's ever done that, or any of the other fire lizards. It might be something he picked up from living with humans? If they didn't wash him enough, he could have learned to find other sources of water to use?"

Sigh.

Minna glanced back at me with a frown... then she shook her head. "Actually... okay, this might just be wishful thinking, but I am wondering if Loreena just misunderstood what she saw. She only saw him dripping water in the hallway outside the bathroom; she didn't actually see him in the toilet. And... the fire lizards are clever, so I'm wondering... what if the humans had trained him to use plumbing, instead of litter boxes? I didn't have one set up for him here but he didn't make a mess anywhere that I could find, but he also didn't seem to need to go when we were out at the park. Is... is it crazy to think that maybe he just knows to use the toilet instead? And maybe he wasn't trying to get clean, but just got wet trying to flush it?"

I felt a sudden sense of smugness.

"That's... possible. I've never considered that, but... Ivy is pretty smart..." Trenil paused.

"You." I loaded the tone down with as much smugness as I could pack into the thought.

"Don't you dare."

"Are."

"Jerk!"

Trenil continued. "I'll have to try and see. That would cut down on a lot of work if they can be. They are pretty clever with latches and handles; it might be possible to train them to use that instead of a litter box."

"Welcome."

"Gah!"

"Dragonets generations from now will be able to use the toilet instead of making their handlers clean up after them, all thanks to my wanting a shower."

"Go on. Rub it in."

"All the other dragonets are going to learn that I don't need to use a tray of dirt!"

"Aaaaarggggg." Ivy groaned through the mindspeech. "So not fair. She still thinks you fell in the toilet!"

"I think you're just jealous because Trenil still has to clean up after his bond companion, unlike somebody..." I sent Ivy an image of me nudging her side in a teasing fashion.

"Let me know how it goes? I'll try and keep a closer eye on him to see what he's actually doing in there, but I think that would explain some things. If he knows how to use the sensors and handles then it would explain how he kept getting clean without my washing him." She hesitated. "And... if he doesn't, then I'll probably need ideas for how to train him out of that. I hope he isn't drinking out of it, too."

Well. That was easy enough; I could just let Minna 'catch' me doing random loops in front of the sensor to try and get it to trigger.

"I'll let you know what I find. But somehow I get the feeling we'll be able to teach them this. If nothing else, I could bring Ivy by to see if he can pass it on to her."

"I'll have to ask Loreena if she'll be okay with a second fire lizard around, but if she's okay with it then that would be great. I was actually hoping to ask if she might be able to help me train him out of that helpless act he does when he's wearing the harness? It's kind of funny, but I'm a little worried he might decide to try it in the middle of a ship inspection. It seems to be something he likes to try when he meets a new person, and he'll be exposed to a lot of strangers during that. That first time it got Ivy so upset she attacked him, and I think having that happen to him a few times might break him out of the habit?"

"HA!" Ivy sent a surge of triumph through the mindspeech. "Vengeance!"

"Ugh."

Trenil's voice held just the slightest hint of amusement. "That's a good idea. I'll try and arrange some time to visit; I know Ivy will be happy to see him again."

"Okay." Minna nodded towards the tablet. "Thank you."

"Of course. Did you have any other questions?"

Minna shook her head. "I think that's it for now. I'm going to leave soon and do some more training; I'll file a report soon to let you know how it goes. I'm behind, so I have a lot to put in the next one."

"I'm sure. I'll look forward to reading it. Good luck today."

"Thanks." Minna leaned forward and tapped a button on the tablet. There was a soft 'bonk' sound, then it went quiet.

I basked in the warmth of the heat lamp for a while longer. The dresser wasn't the same as the bowl of sand had been - it was hard and cold, even with the lamp, and I couldn't sink into it the same way I had been able to with the sand - but it was still warmer than anywhere else in the room. And it was flat and supportive. It wasn't as comfortable as resting on Minna, but she was busy tapping away at her tablet, and I doubted she would be as happy underneath a heat lamp as I was, so it made an acceptable alternative.

"How do you feel about... 'Nate'?"

I lifted my head from the peaceful doze at the sound of my name. I looked toward the sound and found Minna watching me curiously.

I felt a sudden warmth that had nothing to do with the heat lamp. I felt my ear tufts rise on my head, and I chirped happily. My friend knows my name.

I hadn't realized how important that was to me until that very moment.

Minna smiled gently at my reaction. She slowly lifted her hand and made a fist with it. "Nate... come here."

I stood up from the dresser and glided over to her. I landed against the back of her hand and steadied myself with my feet and wings, then wrapped my tail around her wrist for added balance. I looked up at her and chirped again.

My friend smiled and slowly brought her free hand up to pet along my back.