I growled and tugged backwards on the rope again. Minna let me pull her hand forward a bit, then she pulled on the rope and dragged me back towards her. I growled again and shook my head back and forth, mauling the rope a little in an attempt to pull it out of Minna's grip.

It was the next day, and we had finished most of the morning routine. We were just waiting for Trenil and Ivy to arrive. We had been watching a movie, but it was a boring one, so I had tossed the rope and rolled around with it on the floor until Minna got the hint and joined me in playing. Trenil would probably show up soon, but we still had time to play.

I let go of the rope and hopped back, seeing the surprise on Minna's face as my resistance abruptly vanished, then I leapt forward and pounced on the rope. I dug in with all four sets of claws and bit down on it, then flapped my wings with all my might to try and lift it up out of Minna's grip.

I felt Minna's grip weaken slightly and I hissed in excitement, shaking my head back and forth to try and slip the rope free... then the soft chime rang through the house to indicate somebody was at the door.

My ear tufts shot up in sudden interest and renewed excitement, and I released the rope to fly towards the foyer. I heard Minna laughing behind me, then a few seconds later she called out, "Come in!"

The soft 'ding' of the front door opening echoed through the house, and I prepared to greet Ivy with a happy song as I rounded the last corner...

A strange Kymari I had never seen before was stepping through the door as I flew into the foyer. Ivy and Trenil were nowhere to be seen. The strange Kymari looked to be about middle age and was slightly taller than most Kymari I had seen. He had a noticeable fighter's build.

His eyes narrowed as he noticed me, and the hand near his side twitched towards his gun. I hissed and backwinged, then shot out of the foyer.

I flew back to Minna and circled around her. She looked at me and frowned, then looked back towards the foyer. I chittered at her as she rose to her feet and started towards the front door. "That's not Trenil; it's somebody else!"

She didn't understand my words, obviously, but she could tell something was wrong. She had been expecting the musical song of two fire lizards happily greeting one another, and instead she had seen me return hissing and sputtering. One hand gripped the knife at her side and pulled it half out of its sheath.

She glanced slowly around the corner... then her eyes widened. She quickly slipped the knife back into the sheath, then stepped around the corner to face the stranger.

"Father! What are you doing here? Why didn't you tell me you were coming?"

Father? This... this was Minna's dad? I hovered out of sight in the hallway for another second or two, then dashed forward to land on Minna's shoulder. I eyed the stranger again nervously. Now that I looked, I did see a bit of a resemblance to Terron. Maybe. It was still hard to recognize Kymari features.

Minna's dad looked at her with an icy expression. "I have tried calling you, but for some reason my calls tend to only go to messages of late. I told your brother, but I take it from your surprise that you haven't been talking to him much, either." He shifted his gaze to her shoulder and raised a hand to point at me.

"I have come to finally talk you out of this foolishness and take you away from that."

The two Kymari moved into the dining room. I settled onto one of the half-shelves that served as my perches and glared down at the older Kymari while Minna offered him water and some snacks. He looked back at me for a few seconds, then shook his head and looked back towards the hallway, as if he wasn't impressed by me.

Minna finally settled down at the table and began talking to her father.

By completely changing the subject.

"Did you have a nice trip here? Do you need a place to stay? I have plenty of room here if you do." I felt like there was a subtle hint in the mention of having plenty of room, as if Minna was trying to reassure her father that she was doing well.

"Your brother agreed to let me stay with him if there are any problems, but I would appreciate staying here if it is not an inconvenience." His voice had shifted to a cordial one. "The flight was okay. I know better pilots, but he got the job done." There was a subtle bit of pride in his mention of knowing better pilots, and I suspected he was making some reference to Minna's own skills as a pilot.

"It's no trouble at all. Do you have many things? How long do you expect to be staying?"

"I have some luggage being held at the spaceport for me. I can have it sent here." He shot another glance at the shelf I was still glaring out from. "I don't expect I will be long, but I am prepared to stay as long as I need to. I made sure to clear plenty of time with work, and your mother will be taking care of things while I am away."

I heard Minna inhale sharply. "How is Mother?"

"Furious. She has been demanding I come here since she heard the news."

Minna looked down at the table and sighed heavily. "Daddy, I told you already; there's nothing to worry about..."

"My daughter has abandoned her goal of being a pilot, a dream she had spent significant time working towards and was on the very cusp of achieving, to instead end up ensnared on a backwater world because of some wild animal she's decided that she has to take care of, and that's not something to be worried about?"

"No, it isn't. I told you; I'm happy. Happier than I've ever been; I like doing this. I'm not trapped in this, and you don't have to rescue me. This is what I want to do."

"You are working as a guard, and not just any guard - one whose sole responsibility is to hunt down and fight one of the most vicious predators in the known universe. You can't really expect me to believe you want to do that."

"I don't fight them. I only help find them."

"You shouldn't be going anywhere near them! Let somebody else do this; there are plenty of others who would be more than happy to have that job. Let one of them take the beast and endanger their life. You don't have to do this."

"Yes, I do. And even if I didn't have to, I told you, I want to." She glanced back up at me. "I won't leave him."

"Minna, sweetie, we can get you another pet. One that doesn't require you to risk your life to keep him."

"Nate is not just a pet, Dad. I'm a bond handler; these creatures are far more than common pets." There was a sudden anger in Minna's voice. I had the sudden feeling the two Kymari were rehashing an argument they had been through several times now.

I was starting to see why Minna hadn't been answering her father's calls lately.

"But you don't have to be. You don't even want to be; your brother told me you tried to shoot the thing when you first met it. That you only took it in because of guilt. You don't have anything else to feel guilty for now; let it go. Give him to somebody else. Come back home, come be a pilot. That's a safe profession."

"Not entirely. The first sicora we hunted down had come from a crash, where the pilot had been killed by a sicora."

"So being a pilot is dangerous because a sicora could get you, but your solution is to go chase down sicora instead?" Her father sounded exasperated.

"I'm not just doing this because it's safe! Somebody has to find the sicora, or else no job will be safe, not for anybody."

"But it doesn't have to be you."

Minna sighed again. "Yes, it does. Watch." She stood and left the dining room.

I glared silently at the other Kymari while she was gone. He just shook his head without even looking at me.

Minna returned a minute or so later and sat back down. I could immediately smell the difference - she had a shia fruit with her. I perked my ear tufts and looked for where she was keeping it, but I kept most of my attention on Minna's father. I still didn't really trust him.

Minna looked up at me and spoke calmly. "Nate, come here."

I rose to my feet and glided down to land on her shoulder. I caught my balance, then shifted so that I could continue glaring at the other Kymari. He kept looking at Minna, but at least now he couldn't avoid meeting my glare.

"That's the phrase to call him back." Minna reached into her pocket and withdrew a shia fruit, which she tossed to her father. I abandoned my glare for a brief second to watch the fruit fly across the table, then resumed glaring back at him. "This is his favorite fruit. All of the fire lizards go crazy for it. Offer it to him, and try calling him to you."

The older Kymari looked at Minna as if she was wasting his time with a game, but he held up the fruit for me. I stared at it. "Nate, come here."

I looked away from the fruit and resumed glaring at him, without moving from Minna's shoulder.

"Bond animals don't accept other handlers. And fire lizards are even more particular than most once they have accepted a handler. He won't listen to anyone else but me." Minna spread her hands on the table and shrugged slightly, making sure not to unbalance me as she did.

Minna's father tossed the shia fruit back to the table. I stared back at it and shifted on Minna's shoulder, immediately trying to figure out how I could get the fruit, stay on Minna's shoulder, and continue glaring at him. Nothing came to mind, but I decided to keep working on the problem while I continued glaring at the older Kymari. Really. Tossing around shia fruits like that.

"You haven't even had him for a year. With a bit of time and patience somebody else can step in for you. Bond companions have been known to accept replacements."

"But I don't want somebody else to step in for me. I want to do this." Minna sighed again, then reached up her hand to stroke over my back. I broke my glare long enough to nudge her hand with my head, then went back to glaring. Minna sounded tired, as if she was pleading for understanding. "Dad, he's my friend."

Her father just looked down and shook his head again. "I guess I will be staying for a while then."

Minna sighed again. "You're welcome to stay as long as you want, father. I'm happy you're here. But... I am not changing my mind on this."

The other Kymari sighed. "I came here to protect you, Minna. If I can't talk you out of this foolishness yet, I can at least protect you from sicora until you come to your senses. I have my armor and weapons packed in my luggage. I will be joining you on your patrols."

"I already have guards. Four guards; that's more than most bond handlers have when they go on a patrol."

Minna's father shrugged. "You are hunting sicora. They will not say no to having more help."

Minna opened her mouth to respond when another chime rang through the house. She winced and looked in the direction of the front door. "That must be Trenil - he usually comes over today to review my patrols and give me advice for taking care of Nate. His fire lizard will be with him. We try and make sure Nate gets company, since we're so far away from the main flock. I'll introduce you and we can put them in the backyard, and then Trenil can tell you more about what I do."

Minna's father nodded and rose to his feet. "I'd like that."

I sat on Minna's shoulder while she led the way to the front door and opened it for Trenil. I saw Ivy stretching her wings on Trenil's shoulder and getting ready to jump into the air to greet me, but she paused and pulled her wings back in when she saw the Kymari standing behind us. I chirped a subdued greeting at her. "Hi. Minna has company."

"Hello Trenil. Father, this is another bond handler I work with; Trenil, this is my father. He arrived earlier this morning," Minna motioned to the two Kymari and took a half step to the side.

Minna's father held out his hand to Trenil. "Trenil. I've heard a lot about you." He shot a sideways glance at Minna and spoke pointedly. "From my son."

I felt Minna wince a little at the not-so-subtle reminder that she hadn't been talking to her parents lately. If Trenil noticed any of the tension, then he was good at pretending otherwise. He took a step into the house and shook the offered hand. "It's nice to meet you. I have a few things I need to speak with Minna about regarding her work, but if it's a bad time, I can come by later?"

"No, don't let me interrupt. Minna was telling me about her job anyways; I would be interested in hearing how she has been doing." Minna's father shook Trenil's hand and stepped back, giving him room to step into the house.

I wasn't sure if Ivy had noticed all the tension or if she was just picking up on my own clear dislike of the older Kymari, but she shifted on Trenil's shoulder enough to join me in glaring at Minna's father. We both stared at him from our shoulder perches while he stepped away.

Minna seemed to notice the tension - I suspected everybody noticed the tension, actually, but Minna decided to do something about it. "Let's put Ivy and Nate outside. I'm sure Ivy will want to fly around some after the long flight, and Nate could use some fresh air too."

"That's a good idea." Trenil nodded carefully, as if worried any sudden moves would set something off, and followed after Minna. She took us out to the backyard and lifted me off her shoulder.

I gave another withering glance back at Minna's father. I wasn't sure I wanted to leave Minna alone with him - I was not happy with him - and there was still a shia fruit back in the dining room. I squirmed in Minna's grip and tried to hop back up on her shoulder, but she calmed me with a stroke over my back. "It'll be okay. Go play. I'll be fine."

I hissed ever so slightly, really not liking the idea... but I relented. I flew over to the closest tree and perched in its branches, and a second later Ivy joined me. We both glared back at the house, and specifically at the older Kymari standing in the hallway, until the door closed and cut off our view.

Ivy hopped closer to me on the branch and leaned up enough to peek through one of the windows. "What's that all about?"

"That's Minna's dad. Her parents don't seem happy that she's a bond companion. He's here to talk her out of it."

The green dragonet tensed up next to me. A sudden concern filled her voice, along with a faint sense of some hidden pain "...oh."

The rest of the day was noticeably frustrating. Ivy and I spent some time in the yard, but we were both preoccupied with wondering what the Kymari were doing inside the house. It wasn't long before we slipped back inside to see what they were up to.

It turned out they were just going over paperwork. Trenil and Minna were occupied with forms on their laptops, and Minna's father was quietly watching from one side. Aside from a random comment about one of the ships we had inspected or a feedback survey left by the crew, the Kymari weren't talking at all.

After a bit I ducked back into the dining room to check, but Minna had even put away the shia fruit.

So I returned to the room and sprawled next to Ivy on one of the shelf perches Minna had installed. We lurked over their shoulders and spent the rest of the morning glaring at Minna's father.

The afternoon arrived, and Trenil and Minna began to get ready for our walk around the city. I felt a bit of hope that we might be able to salvage some bit of normalcy from the day... but it was immediately dashed when Minna's father invited himself along.

We wandered through the city in nearly complete silence. Ivy and I occasionally glanced at other Kymari, but for the most part our attention stayed on Minna's father. All three Kymari could clearly tell that we did not like him following us by that point, but none of them brought it up.

Minna would point out various items of interest in the city to her father, but he didn't seem to be that impressed by anything he saw. Trenil tried to help by mentioning various tidbits of trivia about Earth, but that didn't seem to interest the older Kymari either. Eventually they both seemed to give up and just silently focused on their walk.

Minna cut the trip short near evening and began heading home. Nobody seemed to mind that we skipped our usual visit to the marketplace.

Trenil said his farewells when we got back home and left us to wait for a shuttle. A few sets of travel cases had been left at the door of the house, and Minna helped her father take them inside to unload in one of the guest rooms. When they were finished, Minna put out some fruit for my dinner and made a quick supper for herself and her father. I pointedly dragged the container of fruit to the extreme opposite end of the table from where he picked to sit, and glared at him the whole time I was eating.

And the whole time he was eating.

And the entire rest of the evening. All through the various shows Minna put on in the living room.

After what felt like years, the day finally ended. Minna stretched and excused herself to get ready for bed. I stayed in the living room and continued to glare down from my perch halfway up the wall, while he ignored me completely and continued watching a show on the screen. Finally Minna came back and sighed. "Nate, come here; I'm about to close my room."

Minna's father glanced at me as I flew over to Minna, then looked at her with an expression of obvious disapproval. "He doesn't sleep in his own room?"

She sighed and shook her head. "No, dad. He sleeps in my room."

The frown deepened on her father's face. "I didn't see a kennel or a pet bed in there. Does he just sleep on the floor? One of the wall perches?"

Minna sighed again. "Dad, he's a bond companion. He sleeps on the bed. All of the bonded fire lizards sleep near their handlers. It helps us sleep. And he needs it especially, even more than the other fire lizards do; he has trouble sleeping on a flat surface. He lived most of his life with another animal, and he doesn't really get to sleep without being able to lay on top of somebody. He needs the rhythm of breathing."

I blinked in surprise. I had kind of figured that out after a while, but... I hadn't realized Minna had noticed that.

"Aren't you worried about parasites? This planet has... what were they? Fleas, and ticks?"

"No, I'm not. Goodnight Dad. You should think about going to bed soon too. We get up pretty early in the morning, if you're serious about coming with us." She shook her head and turned to go.

Minna closed the bedroom door behind her and just collapsed face down into the bed. She grabbed a pillow and pulled it in front of her face, then let out a muffled 'Aaarg!' of frustration.

I winced a little at her reaction and slowly followed her, gliding to a landing on the edge of the bed. The day probably hadn't been very easy for her. And... my glaring at her father the entire time probably hadn't helped things for her, despite how good it had felt.

I carefully walked over to her and nudged at her cheek with my head. "Sorry."

She sighed through the pillow and kept her face buried in it for another moment, then she slowly rolled over. She reached for me and pulled me to her chest, and gently cradled me in her arms. "Today was awful." Her voice was dry as she brought her hand up and slowly petted me on my back.

I leaned up to bump her chin with my head. I knew that made her feel better, and I felt a small bit of happiness as I saw her face break into a reluctant smile. I thrummed lightly as her hand idly brushed over my scales. "He's serious, you know. He won't go away." Her voice sounded sad. Worried. "I'm not sure what to do. I can talk to the other handlers, since they won't be happy about somebody messing with a bond companion like this, but... he's my father. I don't want to get him in any trouble."

She glanced down at me and paused her petting to scratch lightly over my head. I thrummed louder. "And I'm not entirely sure he's wrong. There are cases of handlers being replaced, especially early on." Her voice got a little quieter. Sadder. "You might even be better off with somebody else. Happier. You wouldn't be stuck with somebody who introduced themselves by killing your best friend."

I tried not to wince at the reminder of what had happened to Susie, but my ear tufts fell a little. I still missed Susie... but I didn't hate Minna for that anymore. I knew it had been an accident. I hated that Susie was gone, but I also knew Minna deeply regretted what had happened, and would undo it in a heartbeat for me if she could. When I thought about Susie now, it was more in wishing that Minna could have known her. We could have had a lot of fun together, and I think both could have come to like each other.

She sighed and brought her hand up to her head, then made another frustrated sound. "Fuh." She held her hand there for a long moment, then slowly brought it away. "Tomorrow will be better. We'll go exercise, and he'll see I'm able to take care of myself. I've learned a lot." She nodded again, and repeated it, as if trying to convince herself. "Tomorrow will be better."

Minna let out another frustrated sigh, but brought her hand back to pet me. She cradled me and pet over my back, and her breathing gradually slowed as she began to drift off into sleep.

I carefully flexed my hands in indecision. I felt bad for Minna and wanted to help, but... there wasn't really much I could do. This was a Kymari problem. Short of attacking her dad, I couldn't make the problem go away. And something like that would only cause more problems for her.

But...

Not having much I could do wasn't the same as having nothing at all. I wasn't ready to talk to her - I was still very, very worried about what she might think of me if she knew how smart I really was - but I had other ways of communicating with her, like the image I had sent to tell her my name. It ran the risk of her realizing just how intelligent I was... but... if was only a small risk. And even if she did, it was close to Ivy's deadline anyways. The other dragonets wouldn't be too upset by it.

And the chance to cheer Minna up and help her was worth the risk even if they would be upset.

I dug through my memories and carefully sent two of them to her as she lingered on the edge of sleep. The empty apartment, with the feeling of horror and loss at the thought I had waited too long and lost her. And the sight of her standing in the doorway to her empty room, in that brief half second before I had flung myself back into her arms, with all the relief and happiness the mere sight of her had brought me.

I wasn't sure if she would understand, or if it would cheer her up... but I hoped it would. I let my wings sprawl out over the blanket and started to drift off into sleep too.

I'm not going anywhere, Minna.