Minna wouldn't let me follow the sicora out through the tear in the side of the ship, so instead we wasted more precious time by backtracking all the way back to the damaged airlock. I growled the entire way, aching to get into the air.

We got outside... and wasted even more time. Ketzel wanted everybody together before we left. Which meant we stood around and did nothing while the sicora got away and while more heavily armed Kymari gathered around us.

I was not happy.

"Nate?" An unfamiliar voice reached me. I had the vague impression of a tired looking purple dragonet along with the voice.

I thought back to that impression. "Yes?"

"My name is Tom – we haven't been introduced, but I'm a friend of Ivy's. Alec has filled us in about the ship crashing and said you're trying to track it with Minna. Serena and I are on the way now but it will be a few hours before we get there - is there anything I can do to help?"

Of course; now somebody gets back to me. "I think I just learned on the job. There were two sicora; the Kymari got one but I followed another scent out of the ship. Everybody's gathering outside and getting ready to go after it now." I hissed in impatience. "I wish they would hurry."

Ketzel was still talking to the three guards he had left outside the ship. It didn't seem like they had seen anything. I wasn't sure why he was wasting time asking them anyways; I could clearly smell which way the sicora had gone.

"Give them a minute. The Kymari are patient, but they're methodical. If they're taking their time, it's just so they can be absolutely certain they kill it when you find it. You'll get it."

Tom's words reassured me a little - I was so worked up that anything that worked towards getting the sicora seemed like a good thing - but I still wasn't happy with waiting. "It's already killed two people. The one they got killed two others. If we wait too much longer it's just going to get somebody else!"

"Four deaths?" Tom sounded shocked.

"Maybe more. I don't know how many people were killed in the crash."

"That's horrible..."

I watched as the Kymari wasted more time around me. "Ivy made it sound like this wasn't that uncommon. That sicora killed everybody on a ship if they weren't stopped."

"Well, yes, but..." There was still a sense of incredulity in the other dragonet's tone. "We've been really good at stopping them. Except for an occasional guard getting hurt in the fighting, they haven't been able to cause many problems anymore."

"This one is."

"Right." The voice grew quiet for a moment, as if the speaker was talking to somebody else, then came back. "We're already going as fast as we can. I've asked Alec to call Minna; he might be able to get things moving a little faster."

I thought back to how uncertain Minna had been while we were tracking the sicora inside the ship. Getting advice from somebody a little more familiar might be a big help to her. I know I was already feeling better just from knowing I could ask the purple dragonet if I had any problems. "Thanks. Any tips or suggestions?"

"Try your best to calm down, if you can. I know it's hard. But you'll need to keep from getting too focused on following the sicora. Once it realizes it's being chased, it might try and ambush you. You'll need to pay attention and be watching for that."

"Thanks." I turned my attention back to the Kymari. They were still reorganizing and moving about. Wasting time. Ugh.

I tried to work on following Tom's advice. Calm down. You can do that. It's not like there's a life or death situation unfolding, where every minute wasted increases the chance of somebody dying. Just relax. No problem.

I tried taking in a deep breath, then letting it slowly out. That was always a suggestion for staying calm - focus on your breathing. Take deep, full breaths. Try not to think about what was bothering you. Think happy thoughts.

Each breath brought more of the sicora's scent to my attention.

Minna started staring at me on the fourth deep breath. I think she thought I was about to explode. She took a slow step back away from the other Kymari and started to lift her hand up towards me... only to pause as something beeped nearby. She frowned and fiddled with the armor over leg, unstrapping it and then pulling her tablet out from a pocket underneath. "Who is calling me this late..."

She tapped on her tablet a few times, then tapped something on the side of her helmet. "Hello? Minna speaking."

I heard a muffled voice coming from Minna's headset. Minna shifted to put the tablet back in her pocket and strap the armor back into place, and I shifted to keep my balance as she did. I tuned the conversation out and tried to focus on my breathing - it must have been Alec calling, and I couldn't hear what he was saying anyways.

Deep breath.

Hiss at the sicora scent.

Exhale.

Deep breath.

I think I had calmed my heartrate back down to just slightly under a hummingbird's when Minna nodded and started to move. She approached Ketzel and began unwinding the leash from around her arm. "Ketzel, a moment?"

Ketzel paused from arguing with one of the Kymari near the shuttles - one of the medics, maybe? - and stepped towards us.

I hissed at him before I realized what I was doing.

Ketzel stopped approaching and slowly spread his arms to his sides. I blinked at that, surprised. He was not risking annoying me, even though I was a fraction of his size.

Minna ignored me and continued speaking as if nothing had happened. "I've gotten in contact with a senior bond handler and have updated him on the situation with the sicora. He agrees that there must be a second sicora, but he is concerned about the immediate danger. We're requesting that you send five senior guards with me and let me continue hunting the sicora while you deal with the situation here." Minna paused for a second, during which I heard the faint sound of the other voice from Minna's helmet, then she continued. "The senior handler will be able to help me with any issues in dealing with Nate or in tracking the sicora."

I saw Ketzel actually relax a little. Had that been the whole reason for the delays? Was he just worried Minna wouldn't be up to the task of following me?

The part of me that had calmed down and was thinking rationally pointed out that I was hissing aggressively at anyone who got close and constantly fidgeting as if about to leap into the air. Ketzel was probably worried about me getting loose, or accidentally attacking one of the guards escorting us, or any of several other problems a more experienced handler might have been able to deal with.

The part of me that could still smell the sicora promptly told that other part of me it was being stupid, and that it could go sit down in the corner and shut up.

Ketzel nodded at Minna. "Of course." He turned to the guards still gathered by the ship and signaled to five of them. "The rest of us will keep watch for any more sicora that try and get out, just in case there are others."

"Of course. When Alec arrives, he'll do a more thorough sweep of the crash, too."

The guards Ketzel had selected took up positions around us. I shifted a bit closer to Minna, not liking how deadly their spears looked... though I did notice the smarter guard we had been working with was in this new group. That made me feel slightly less nervous.

"Same orders as before - protect the bond handler and her fire lizard while they track the sicora, then kill it. If anything looks like a problem, stop and call it in." Ketzel looked back at the houses around us, and his expression turned grim through the helmet. "That said... these are homes."

The guards all nodded solemnly. I felt another twisting feeling in my stomach at Ketzel's reminder. There were people in the houses, people who wouldn't necessarily be aware a sicora was around. If we played it too safe, they could end up like the bodies I had already seen.

Minna unwound the leash the rest of the way, then nodded at me. "Nate, go seek."

Finally! I jumped into the air and tore after the scent of the sicora.

The scent led us to a tree in a yard two houses down. I dropped to the ground and sniffed at the tree. I could tell the sicora had continued on from here, and I felt the urge to skip this obvious stop and go straight after the continuing trail, but I remembered Tom's advice. Watch for an ambush.

The sicora had spent time here, and it would be a good idea to know why.

I saw jagged gouges in the tree's bark. The creature had climbed up the tree for some reason. I flew up to the branches and sniffed around. I tried to follow the scent all the way, but the leash jerked me back. I hissed in frustration and tried to make out what the sicora had been after.

I spotted it near the upper branches. A dead... well. I wanted to say squirrel, but... the sicora hadn't left much intact to recognize.

I dropped out of the tree and continued after the scent.

A pigeon was next. I wasn't even sure where it had been when the sicora got it; its body wasn't near any trees or buildings. Just lying in the middle of the street.

After that was a frantically dug hole in somebody's yard. The sicora had clawed its way into a burrow and killed a family of rabbits.

The scent was fresher now. We were getting close.

There was a slight tinge of alarm mixed in with the sicora's scent now. It must have seen us - it knew we were chasing it, and it was getting worried.

I remembered all the gruesome bodies it had left.

Good. Be scared. We're coming for you.

I flew faster.

I circled around the house in confusion. Minna and the guards followed along behind, but I could tell they knew something was wrong. The scent definitely led here, but... then where did it go?

I flew back to where the scent ended. There wasn't really anything big enough to hide a sicora in. There was a tree, but I had checked it. The yard did have a lot of bushes, but the scent didn't really go towards any of them. The only thing really in the yard was the large fountain in the center, and the scent had gone around that a few times, but then it had branched off and gone off to the back of the house. It had to be somewhere near the house now; that was where the scent led.

Didn't it?

I dropped to the ground and sniffed while Minna and the guards looked nervously around. "Alec, something's wrong. Nate is focused on this yard, but we don't see the sicora. There aren't any signs it went inside the house, and Nate is mostly interested in one side of the yard."

I heard the faint voice from Minna's helmet, but I still couldn't make the words out. I was much more interested in the scent anyways. The sicora had definitely come this way; it was slightly stronger here than it had been leading up to the yard. But... no, it was actually just as strong, all along this path from the fountain. Could...

It had doubled back!

I jumped into the air and flew towards the fountain, growling and hissing as loud as I could. It had to be in there, that was the only thing that made sense! It was too dark to see into the pool, and the water would mask its scent. I wasn't sure how long a sicora could hold its breath, but with my luck the wretched things could breathe underwater.

No matter. I was a good swimmer. I could dive in and find it.

I flew towards the fountain... then squawked in alarm as the water suddenly exploded upwards around a monster. A hurtling mass of slightly-lighter darkness shot towards me from the water, growling at me and opening its mouth wide to show off cruel, sharp teeth still coated in blood.

I screamed at my wings to move, to drop me into a dodge, to bank to the side, to anything to get out of the path of the beast diving towards me. My momentum was too much, and we were racing together with only a fraction of a second before those teeth reached me. Not enough time to get out of the way. I swallowed and began working up a mouthful of saliva, hoping I could get enough to shoot fire right down the monster's throat before it reached me...

I was yanked backwards, hard. An intense pressure on my chest and legs caused me to cough from the force and spit out all the oily saliva I had been preparing. One second I had been racing towards the sicora, and the next I was halfway across the yard and still moving backwards.

The sicora landed in the yard and snarled as its jaws snapped shut on empty air. I was still trying to figure out what was happening when I felt a second forceful yank backwards, again around my chest and legs. Where the harness rested against me - Minna was pulling me back using the leash. I felt a mix of relief at being snatched away from danger, along with frustration at being pulled away from my target... then I was in Minna's arms.

The sicora screeched at me and charged across the yard... and five heavily armed and armored Kymari jumped into its path. One of them shot at it with an energy weapon of some kind, which left mild scorches in its dark hide but seemed to do nothing else but annoy it; the rest brandished their spears and moved into a half circle around the beast.

I hissed and prepared another mouthful of oily saliva, anxious to get back into the fray and attack the terrible creature. It was smaller than the one Ivy had shown me, but even still, actually seeing one enraged me. I had to kill it, had a drive to destroy it on a level so primal that I could barely comprehend it, much less deny it.

That thing was a threat to everything, and every second it was alive was another second it would be spreading death and misery. Letting it live, doing nothing while it was around; those were simply not options. I spread my wings as much as I could in Minna's grasp and tried to take to the air to dive back at it.

"No! Nate, stay." Minna's voice was almost pleading, but she might as well have been trying to stop lightning with a slice of cheese. Against the urge to kill the sicora, all of her training was meaningless.

Her grip, on the other hand, was more than capable of holding me in place.

I hissed louder and struggled in her grasp as the guards drove the sicora back towards the fountain. It looked from one deadly spear to another with angry eyes. It wasn't scared, it wasn't looking for a way out - somehow I could tell, somehow my instincts knew what it was planning. It was looking for a weakness, so that it could decide which of the guards to attack.

Well. Which of the guards to attack first. It was going to kill all of them if it could.

One of the guards lunged towards the sicora with his spear, and I saw the moment when the sicora made its decision. It took a half step back from that spear... then it hopped backwards, landing on the ledge of the fountain for a brief half second before pouncing at another guard.

I could tell the shift in position had surprised the sicora's target. He brought his spear up, but it wasn't enough. The sicora sailed over the spear and collided with the armored Kymari. The sicora was a small one - allegedly, at least; it was still much larger than I was - but it still managed to drive the guard to the ground. The vile creature snarled and began slashing at the armor while the Kymari toppled over, and bit down on one of the plates at his shoulder.

I struggled in frustration, desperate to help. I was far more maneuverable than the guards were; I could have forced it away faster than they could have. Even from here I could spit fire at the monster, if Minna would just let me get a good enough angle... though I had no idea if the guards' armor was fireproof.

Minna hesitated another half second... then she started running.

Away from the sicora.

No! No, what are you doing?!? I pushed as hard as I could against Minna's hand as she fled. I had completely lost it by this point. My rational mind was completely overwhelmed by the sheer need to fight the sicora now threatening the life of a Kymari.

"Ow!! Nate, calm down!" Minna jerked in her stride but continued running. I couldn't see what was going on behind us, but I could hear the snarls of the sicora, along with the sound of something sharp cutting through something else. I desperately hoped it was the sound of spears cutting through the sicora, and not the sound of teeth cutting through armor.

Minna made it all the way through another yard before one of the guards shouted to us. "We got it! It's dead."

YES!

A ripple of satisfaction went through me. The sicora was dead. Good.

My blood was still boiling and adrenaline was still coursing through me, but the sense of urgency was gone. The need to fight was quelled. I was still horribly on edge, but I could think again. I could focus on other issues besides the need to attack the sicora.

I realized my teeth were digging into Minna's hand. I had bitten her at some point. I winced and carefully opened my mouth wider, releasing my grip and pulling back as much as I could with her hands wrapped around me. I caught sight of blood where my teeth had dug into her.

Minna looked down at me. I could see a look of surprise on her face, followed by confusion. She turned back to the house we had run from and glanced into the darkness of the night.

I began struggling against her grip again and growled. I could still smell the sicora even though I knew it was dead, and I was still very worked up from tracking it for so long. Minna looked back down at me with that same expression of confusion, then let me go.

I took to the air and flew straight back towards the sicora. I wanted to see it with my own eyes. And I guess I wanted to know if the guard was okay. That was important too. But mostly I just wanted to see that the sicora was dead.

The harness tugged me back as I reached the edge of the leash. I squawked in frustration and flapped around at the extreme edge of my range from Minna. I had forgotten about that. I turned around and chittered angrily at the Kymari. "Let's go!"

Minna just stood where she was. After a few seconds she called out to the guards. "Is it safe to approach? I'd like to show Nate the body; that's supposed to calm them down."

I could barely make out one of the guards in the darkness. He had moved to the edge of the yard, and he waved at us. "It's safe."

Minna looked back at me while I hissed and flapped at the edge of the leash... then she finally began walking back to the yard she had run from.

A few seconds of walking brought us back in sight of the creature. I stared down at it in intense satisfaction. The sides of the creature bore numerous deep slashes from where the spears of the guards had struck it. It was bleeding from multiple wounds. And its head had been cut off, probably a technique the guards used to make sure the sicora was actually dead, and not just faking it so as to strike when their guard was down.

The monster was quite definitely dead.

The threat was gone.

I hissed at the creature one more time as the last of the urgency faded from me.

The guards stood nearby and panted from exertion. All five of them were alive - one of them had dents and slashes in his armor, but the sicora hadn't been able to bite anything. He hadn't been poisoned by the creature. He didn't have any cuts or injuries. All five of them had dark stains on the otherwise bright metal of their spears.

Nobody else would die because of that monster.

I flew back to Minna and calmly landed on her shoulder. She watched me with that same hint of confusion in her expression, and slowly brought her hand up to pet over my back. I chirped at her happily, then nudged at her hand with my head. She took her hand away and I looked lazily back around us as if bored.

I was actually a little surprised at how suddenly I had calmed down - looking at me now, you would have had no idea I had just been furiously trying to bite and scratch my way into a fight. But with the sicora dead, all my body's instincts had shut off. The only thing I was feeling now was a bit of sleepiness from having been woken up in the middle of the night.

One of the guards noticed Minna's hand. "Are you hurt? Did it get you?"

Minna shook her head. "No. Nate bit me when I was running. They get very riled up around sicora and want to fight them. I'll be fine." She looked back down the street, where we could see faint lights from the shuttles back at the crash. "We should head back. They might need our help, and we can do sweeps around the crash to make sure there aren't any more sicora trying to get out."

The guards nodded, and we began walking back to the crash.