I gradually woke to the gentle rhythm of Minna's breathing. The scent of the oil lingered around me. I wrinkled my nose a little. It wasn't exactly unpleasant, but it was strong, and I wasn't that used to it. Minna must have covered me in the stuff after I had passed out.

My entire body felt extremely relaxed, though. I didn't even feel the need to stretch my legs or roll my shoulders and wings like I occasionally did in the mornings. I was rested, reenergized, and brimming with energy for the day.

Ivy had not been kidding about that stuff.

I felt a little bad at just falling asleep while Ivy had been visiting... but I dimly remembered Trenil mentioning something about spending the day with us as a checkup. If that was the case I would probably get the chance to make it up to her later.

Minna's hand rested near me, probably from where it had landed when she became too tired to keep petting me, and we were back in her room. I must have been so out of it from the massage that she had been able to carry me back without waking me.

On some level that seemed like it bothered me... or maybe more accurately, that it should bother me... but Minna hadn't done anything while I was out of it, or let anybody else do anything. I was alive, in one piece, and feeling better than ever. What was there to be upset about? If anything, this just served as more proof that I could trust Minna.

I carefully shifted off on Minna's stomach and sat up on the bed beside her. I wasn't sure what time it was and didn't want to wake her. There weren't any clocks in the room, and even if there were I doubted I could make much sense of the Kymari numbers. A quick glance around the room showed Minna had left her tablet on the nightstand, and I suspected it had some way of telling the time... but I still had no idea how to use the thing. And even if I did, I would still run into the same problem with trying to understand what the numbers meant.

I guess this was just going to be a part of the life I had accepted. I was living in a Kymari world, and there would be some points where Minna wouldn't be free to help me with it. I rested my head on the blanket and sighed, preparing myself to be bored for a while. It wouldn't necessarily be the worst thing that could happen - I had spent a lot of my time in the wild doing nothing, after all, so it wouldn't kill me to do nothing for a little bit here. But hopefully she wakes up before dawn... I'd hate to miss the Morning Song.

I felt a warm hand against my back as Minna reached over to pet me. "Good morning."

I was going to have to get better about not disturbing her when I woke up. Either she was just a very light sleeper, or else Kymari were a lot more alert than humans had been.

She stroked my back a few more times while I thrummed contentedly, then she rolled on her side and reached for her tablet. She tapped it a few times, then smiled. "It's close to dawn, but we still have some time. Do you want something to eat?"

My stomach answered that question with a hungry growl while I was still considering it. It informed us both that I had slept through dinner last night and was now in danger of starving to death if something was not done immediately.

Minna giggled and gave me another scratch over the scales on my back. "Okay, okay, I'll get you some food. Hold on, let me just get dressed."

I flew to the dresser while Minna got out of bed and prepared for the day. I pretended to be fascinated by my reflection in the heat lamp while she changed, and idly hoped whatever house she moved into would have some solution to this. I liked falling asleep next to her, but this had gone well past awkward by this point. I did not want her thinking I was some kind of Peeping Tom when I started talking to her.

I idly considered asking Ivy what she did to avoid that... but I could still hear her laughing over the idea of my taking a bath in the toilet. No thanks. I'll figure something out on my own.

"Nate, come here." I glanced over to find she had finished dressing and was holding up her fist as a perch. I flew over and landed on her hand, and prepared to hop up to her shoulder... but instead of saying "Up," Minna picked up the harness and looped it around my neck and legs.

I stared at her in a mixture of annoyance and confusion as she clipped the pieces together against my back. What was the point of the harness this early in the morning? It wasn't like I could get into any trouble in the sunroom. I spread my wings out for balance and craned my neck back to scratch at the stupid thing.

"Up." I paused my scratch to stare up at her. Now she wanted me on her shoulder? She was lucky I was in a good mood from the oil massage... but even still, I was annoyed with the harness. I blinked at her, then flew over to her far shoulder. Just because.

Minna grinned at me. "Okay then, be that way." She reached up to clip the leash on my harness, then took us out of the room.

My stomach growled again as she took us through the house. I felt a vague sense of annoyance as she opened doors that had previously been closed off to me. Had Loreena insisted I be on a leash when I was in any other rooms of the house? That was silly... but I still wouldn't put it past her.

We eventually reached the kitchen, and I stared into the various cabinets that I could see into. Most of them held various boxes or otherwise unappetizing foods that I was more than happy to leave for the Kymari. Minna grabbed two of the frustratingly dragonet-proof containers from one cabinet, causing me to wonder what the second was for, and I stared hungrily at the delicious fruit crammed inside while she took us through other rooms.

I blinked and looked around me when I realized Minna had taken us outside. Was she going to let me dance outside? Aside from when I had been released back in the wild, she hadn't trusted me enough to let me dance off leash. Now that she was confident I would come back when called, had that changed?

I felt a surge of excitement at the thought I might be able to properly dance through the skies for her. And for any other Kymari that would be watching.

The sky was still dark, though. It would still be a bit before it was time to sing for the sunrise. Plenty of time to eat.

Minna sat down on the grassy lawn and opened one of the containers. She spent a few minutes feeding me before my stomach finally accepted that it wasn't the end of the world and quieted down.

I snatched the sunburst berry Minna tossed up to me to signify the end of the meal, and nibbled on it slowly as she closed up and sat aside the empty container. The ever-present odor of the oil made it taste a little funny, but the berry tasted delicious nonetheless. It was still the perfect way to end the meal.

I glanced over at the second container Minna had grabbed, still wondering what it was for, but she just sat it beside the empty one. I had begun to think she had grabbed it to make up for the missed dinner, or that she might even eat it as her own breakfast, but she seemed to be happy leaving it on the floor for now. I gave a little shrug of my wings and adjusted my stance to look over at the horizon. The sky was still dark, so we had plenty of time before I would begin to feel the call of the Morning Song, but I wasn't hungry anymore. I was content to wait and watch the world around us.

After a few minutes I heard the door open again. My ear tufts twitched at the sound and I leaned around Minna's head to see who had joined us. I fought the urge to grin as I saw Loreena standing in the doorway with Lyzel in her arms. The Kymari child was clearly exhausted, and stared blearily ahead with half-open eyes. She glanced at the window as if it was the hardest thing in the world to do, then grumbled. "...not even a school day..."

Loreena stepped out onto the grass and stood next to Minna. "That's right, but you wanted to see the fire lizard dance. That means getting up early."

"Can't they wait a little? I'm sure they'll like getting more sleep, too..." Lyzel yawned and leaned against her mother again.

I caught Minna smiling gently as she watched Loreena and Lyzel. She raised her hand and pointed up at her shoulder. "Lyzel, look who it is."

Lyzel followed Minna's finger... and just stared blankly for a few seconds. I stretched my wings out as much as I could without hitting Minna, making sure my silvery scales could catch as much of the dim starlight as possible, then whistled a greeting to the child. "Hi Lyzel!"

The girl's eyes widened a little as recognition broke through her sleepiness. "It's Mister Fire Lizard." There was a bit of excitement in her voice, but it was still obvious the child was exhausted.

"It is! His name is Nate now."

"Nate..." Lyzel tried out my name. Then her eyes widened even more. "You gave him a name! Does that mean he's going to start hunting the monsters now?"

"Soon! He's not quite ready for that just yet, but he's getting there. He's just going to dance for us today."

"Ooo... I wanna see." Lyzel's eyes shone as she started to wake up.

I caught Loreena smiling in spite of herself. Despite her dislike of me, and despite her concern that Lyzel might become too idealistic about the idea of having her own fire lizard, Loreena was still like any other mother. She liked seeing her daughter happy.

I had a feeling part of the reason Loreena wasn't letting Lyzel sleep through my dance was to make sure she knew we weren't all fun and games. Still, I liked the idea that I would be able to dance for Lyzel. The Morning Song was meant to be shared.

"You'll have to wait a little bit; it's not quite time yet."

"Aw..." Lyzel sighed and looked down... then looked back around the yard. "But where is Missus Fire Lizard? Doesn't she want to sing, too?"

Missus Fire Lizard...?

I glanced back at the second container.

"Ivy?"

"Hi Nate! We're coming outside now, Trenil just got caught up talking to Terron."

I blinked at that. "Wait, are you here? Like, staying in this house, here?" The house was certainly big enough for guests, but... "How did you manage to get Loreena to allow that?"

"...yes? She was the one who insisted, actually. Trenil was just going to spend the night in a hotel, but Loreena wouldn't have it. She seemed to get a lot friendlier once Minna mentioned she had picked out a house."

"Wait - Minna picked out a house?!"

I felt laughter come through the mindlink. "Wow, you really did sleep through everything, didn't you."

"It was late, and I hadn't had a chance to nap all day!" I tried not to sound too embarrassed, but I was pretty sure I failed.

Amusement was plain in Ivy's reply. "Don't worry; that oil does that to everybody. It's hard not to fall asleep from it. I fell asleep for a little bit too. When I woke up Minna was talking about the house she picked out. She said you seemed to like it; it has a pond, and she knows you like being able to swim. She mentioned watching you do that before you got injured and said she liked the idea of being able to see you swim again. Trenil suggested going by again later today so we could both swim; it sounded like the pond was big enough."

I thought back to the house we had looked at last night. "It was a nice place. Lots of room and trees." I sent her an image of the yard.

"Ooo... It looks like the kind of place you'd raise ducks in."

I thought about it for a second. "Yeah, it kind of does. Maybe that's what it was built for." I thought for another second or two. "Wait, do the Kymari raise ducks? Am I going to have to share the backyard?"

"I don't know! Don't worry though, I'm sure you can take the duck if it comes down to that."

"Ha, ha." I glanced up at the sky again. "The sky's starting to brighten."

There was a subtle change in Ivy's 'voice' as she included somebody else in her next words. "Trenil, hurry up!"

Another minute or two passed, then the door opened again. I glanced back and saw Terron and Trenil step out into the yard, with Ivy riding on Trenil's shoulder. I stretched my wings and glanced back at Minna. I still felt the ritual of waiting for permission to fly was silly and degrading, but... I could still tell it made Minna happy to see me wait on her.

Her eyes lit up ever so slightly, just like I knew they would, and I felt a fuzzy feeling along with it. She reached up to unclip the leash, then nodded slightly. "Go on."

I took to the air as Trenil finished a similar ritual with Ivy, and we sang out to each other as we whirled through a quick series of spirals and circles in the air above the Kymari.

We finished our greeting and banked back towards our respective handlers. Minna passed the second container of fruit to Trenil and he began passing Ivy her breakfast. Lyzel seemed to wake up a bit and watched the green dragonet in sleepy fascination.

I mostly just watched the brightening sky, aside from a few glances at the fruit being passed up to Ivy. I caught Minna smiling at me when I stared at Ivy eating the sunburst berry at the end, and I fanned my wings out indignantly at her expression. It wasn't my fault those berries tasted so good...

Ivy finished eating and flew into the air. She looped over us and I jumped up as she flew past, following her to land beside her in the middle of the yard. The green dragonet made a soft humming sound as we landed and bumped her head against my side. I chirped happily back at her and fidgeted awkwardly with my wings. Ivy smiled and turned to watch the horizon for the sunrise, but I glanced back at the Kymari first.

They were mostly just watching us patiently - though Lyzel looked to be struggling to stay awake - but Trenil was watching Ivy with an expression of focused curiosity, as if she had done something important that he was trying to understand. It was a very intense expression, especially one this early in the morning... and it made me a little nervous.

I fidgeted and took a cautious half-step away from Ivy just to be safe.

The yard was silent after that while the two of us watched the horizon. The sky slowly grew brighter, and I began to feel the call start to build in me, preparing me to leap in the air and lose myself in exhilarating dance for the sunrise...

I blinked suddenly. "Um..."

"Yes?" Ivy didn't look away from the soft glow on the horizon.

"I've never done this with anyone else."

"I know." There was a faint hint of hidden sadness in Ivy's thoughts. I suddenly wondered whose idea it had been for Trenil to come by last night, since it meant that Ivy could be here early enough for the Morning Song.

I set that question aside for now. There wasn't much time before the sun rose. "Do I need to do anything special, to make sure I don't run into you? I... kind of lose track of what's going on."

Ivy smiled a little. "We all do. You'll be fine. We never have problems like that; the sun will guide you. Just-"

Whatever Ivy had been about to say next was lost as the building call of the Morning Song reached its apex. It rang through me like a bell, and I answered by snapping out my wings and jumping into the air.

Ivy was right beside me. The sun had called to us both at the same moment, and we had responded in unison. In harmony. The three of us - myself, Ivy, and the sun.

We climbed for a few wingbeats, then I felt the sun tug me in a different direction. I banked to one side just as Ivy banked to the other. We flew apart from each other, each chasing the glimmering rays of sunlight beginning to bounce from the Kymari buildings... then at another unspoken signal we looped upwards and turned back to each other. I tilted to one side as she tilted to the other, and we looped again after passing right by one another, then flew towards the sunrise again.

The two of us danced in unison with the dawn.

We sang together in the quiet calm of the morning. The sunrise filled me with happiness and urged me to give voice to it, and I responded in low-pitched warbles that resonated deep in my chest. As I did, Ivy gave voice to the sunrise's call and trilled out in a lyrical soprano. The sky brightened as the sun cast its light over the clouds above us, and our voices rose in time with the illumination.

The two of us sang in harmony with the morning.

My Morning Songs before had always been a duet, where I sang to the sun and gave voice to the feelings the new day inspired within me. The sun had been another participant, a singer and dancer in its own right, a leading partner in my own dances. I had poured out my heart to the sun, and the sun had responded, and I had woven that response into motions and sounds.

But now... now the song was the conductor, and Ivy and I were the orchestra.

We wheeled and spun in convoluted patterns no amount of rehearsing could have ever prepared us for. The instincts inside us drove us through flawless executions of dives, spirals, loops, and aerial dashes in response to the changing patterns in the light above us. Reds and oranges stretched out over the sky, and we added our flashes of silver and green as we flew through the air. We stretched our wings out wide to let them catch the light, then pulled them in to dive back towards the ground and shine in the growing glows.

We wove our voices together in concert with the rise of the sun. Our song reached out through the Kymari city, announcing to all within reach that the morning was here. We sang out the arrival of a new day, and proclaimed our joy of being alive for it. We sang out the potential and wonder that existed in the possibilities the new day was bringing.

I felt joy at being able to dance without constraint once more, and I offered that to the instincts guiding me through the dance. It pushed me to sing out that joy, and as I did I heard Ivy sing out her own happiness at dancing over a new city, and giving a new group of people the chance to hear her welcome the dawn.

I offered my excitement at being able to dance with another dragonet to the tug of the Morning Song, and it pulled me through a rising spiral in the middle of the yard. And as I climbed in the air, Ivy joined me in a complimentary spiral that somehow conveyed the deep joy she felt at seeing how happy I was at being given these moments.

And when we reached the apex of our climb I saw her glance back towards the Kymari... and she fell away in a backwards loop that somehow told me how happy she was to greet the dawn for Trenil. She stretched her wings wide, making a canvas of her scales for the light to play over, and somehow painted an image with the sunlight that spoke of the deep love she felt for her handler.

I glanced at Minna and felt the same sensations inside of me, even if not quite as strong, and I felt the tug to break out of the spiral just as Ivy had done. I followed the urge, backflipping through the air and almost touching my own tail with my nose as I curled tightly through the air. I caught sight of Minna watching me, pointing the recording device at me while an expression of awe and amazement shined on her face... and the happiness and love I felt at the sight urged me to spread my wings wide, just as Ivy had done. I followed the Morning Song through that motion too, letting the sunlight play over my scales and paint the same message it painted over the green dragonet.

The two of us glided through the last seconds of the Morning Song like that, and reached the ground right as the call of the sun faded. I barely had the presence of mind to get my hands and feet out beneath me as I met the ground.

I stood where I landed and simply stared up at the morning sky, still overwhelmed by the rush of feelings and excitement. Wow...

A sudden sharp pain at my shoulder dragged me out of my trance. I shook my head and looked towards the source of the pain, only to find Ivy standing beside me. The pain was already fading. I got the distinct impression she had just nipped my shoulder, though I had been so caught up in the moment that I couldn't actually remember her doing it.

"Sorry. You looked a little lost there." She leaned back towards me and nudged gently at my side. "Are you back?"

"Yeah..." I trailed off, still feeling my senses buzzing. "Yeah. Wow."

"Yeah." Ivy looked back up at the sky. "I'm sorry you weren't able to dance with the full flock. It's even more incredible when all of us are together."

I stared back up at the sky too. "I'll bet... Thank you. For getting Trenil to come out here early, so we could do that. I really appreciate it."

I saw Ivy's ear tufts perk in surprise and embarrassment. "I didn't..." The sour note filled the mindlink, and she ended the lie almost as soon as it had begun. She was quiet for a second or two, then her voice held a shy feeling. "You're welcome."

We sat in silence and watched the first moments of the new day.