"Come here, to fist." Svin gently attempted to call me over onto the brown hawking glove with an encouraging tone.

As I eyed the sunburst berry in his other hand, he repeated the last two words. My stomach growled, so I hesitantly hopped off of the end table and onto his protected wrist and took the berry in my jaws. I need to take small steps, baby steps. I forced myself to stay on my handler's wrist as I savored the berry. Soon, I'll get to go on patrols.

We had started these simple training sessions a few days ago when my binding had come off, and I was grateful for my freed arms and wings. Thanks to the daily oilings and gently massaging on Svin's part, I barely noticed any weakness in my muscles.

White bandages covered the membrane on one of my wings and kept the two sides of the tear close. Though I was grateful that the white butterfly bandages allowed me to fly, they also tasted disgustingly bitter. It was annoying when I tried to nibble on an itchy spot beneath the sticky paper, though Svin attempted to keep it from itching too much with a green salve applied during my twice-daily oilings.

When I remained on his wrist, Svin rewarded me with a piece of shia fruit. As I savored the delicious pink and blue cube, I drifted into thought. Over the past couple of days, I had become more and more comfortable with my handler. However, my fear and my instincts still struggled to accept other Kymari.

"To shoulder," Svin encouraged in a gentle tone, and I hopped onto the special padded shoulder guard. He rewarded me with a bit of peach, my favorite fruit next to shia fruit and sunburst berries.

For a while, we repeated the training until I had eaten all of my breakfast. I perked up a bit and jumped down from Svin's wrist and into his lap. I spread my wings as he scoured and oiled each scale until they shone.

Soon, I was half asleep.

"Is it safe?" I barely managed to keep an eye open as Svin's friend poked his head into the room from the kitchen.

"Yes," Svin softly spoke as he continued to oil my scales, "come over, Heriun,"

Heriun slowly entered the room, then sat on the seat next to Svin. I resisted the instinct to flee, but my muscles still tensed a bit. My mind knew that he was not going to harm me, but even after several visits to his east-facing apartment, my instincts still screamed at me to avoid Kymari at all times.

"Good girl," Svin praised and offered me a bit of shia fruit with one hand while he continued to massage me with the other. I flinched a bit as he removed the bitter bandages from my wing and added cream to the wound. However, the delectable fruit calmed my instincts a bit, and I knew I was one step closer to going out and hunting sicora.

Herak moved to a seat farther away right before Svin finished oiling my scales and gently replace the bandages over the tear in my wing membrane. He let me lay in his lap for a while as the soothing effects lingered in my mind. However, when I began to stir, Svin gently spoke to me. "Time to go back, to fist."

I shook off the last bit of drowsiness and obediently hopped into his fist. Once I finished my fruity reward, Svin stood and carried me back down the slightly curved hallway and into his room. "Go on," he encouraged, and I swiftly flew onto my newest perch that sat in front of the west-facing window.

It was like a cat tree, but instead of being covered in cloth, it looked more like an actual tree. Replaceable bark-like pieces covered the supports, while sand-filled platforms sat at the ends of the branches, mostly obscured by leaves. Lamps hidden under each tray shone down on the ones beneath them, but the top platform only had the warmth of the sun on it. The top perch was my favorite, but if the weather was cloudy, I chose one of the other spots.

Svin briefly walked into the kitchen and brought a small bowl of fruit and water, then laid down on the couch and eventually fell asleep. He has a perfectly good bed in that bedroom, yet he still has to sleep in here with me. I glanced at him occasionally until I was sure he was asleep.

I fidgeted as I processed what I was about to do. Based on stories from the other dragonets, I knew the Kymari could hear a mindlink as long as I purposefully directed my thoughts at them. However, nervousness churned through my entire being. If I am going to hunt sicora, I have to do this at some point. My mental decision reverberated through my mind for a few seconds as I took a deep breath and focused on sending one single word to the sleeping figure on the couch.

Melanie.

I quickly feigned sleep as he briefly stirred. I did not move for several moments, but slowly stood once I was sure the Kymari would remain asleep. After a quick stretch, I glided over to the end table and examined the objects Svin left for me.

I recognized the first object; the bundle of small strips of fabric was unmistakable. A harness! I get to go out soon! I barely contained my gleeful squeaks as I hopped a bit in joy. I put my head through but could not figure out how to put it on properly. With a quiet sigh, I untangled myself and looked at the bowl next to me.

I looked at the bowl of fruit he provided, then blinked when I noticed this bowl had a lid on it. I sniffed the bowl as I approached, then studied it. Is this one of those puzzle things like the ones given to dogs? I nudged one of the many flaps and noticed it easily lifted.

Inside, as I expected, was a piece of cantaloupe. Not exactly one of my favorites. I carefully lowered the lid so it closed without a sound. I could smell plenty of other fruits in the bowl, but I was still full from the breakfast Svin provided only a few minutes ago.

With a bored yawn, I flew back to the uppermost platform on the tree. I snorted softly at the clouded sky that stole my sun, then resigned to napping under the coolest of the other heat lamps. The only advantage to heat lamps: clouds cannot block them. With that thought, the gentle warmth on my dark scales lured me to sleep.

I woke as the doorbell rang, then quickly pretended to be asleep again, but watched the door though mostly-lidded eyes.

"Enter," Svin yawned as he sat up and shook off the sleepiness that still fought for control of his body. however, he immediately stood at attention with his head bowed when he saw who stood behind the door. "Elder Dairno, it is a pleasure to see you."

I barely opened my eyes to look at the strangely old Kymari. His muscular body only looked more buff with his advanced age, and grey stripes covered his skin. As my blood memories informed me of how rare old Kyari were because of their warrior nature, I noticed the green signet ring on his hand. That ring signified this elder was on the Council of Elders, the group that led the entire city.

"Svin, I see the fire lizard has recovered well," the elder nodded as he entered the room and the door closed behind him.

"Yes, sir, she has recovered extremely well," Svin respectfully nodded. "Her wing has healed, though the muscles are not quite back to their original state."

"How has she responded to captivity?" The elder looked towards me, but I kept up my facade. However, something about his expression seemed knowing.

"Other than her fear of cages, she has done well," Svin replied respectfully.

The elder slowly nodded. "Tomorrow, I want to try a release attempt, and if she returns to you, then we will designate her as your bond animal."

"Thank you, Elder Dairno." Svin bowed slightly.

I don't need a release attempt. After a moment of hesitation, I stood and shook my scales. Once I finished, I glided over to Svin and landed on his shoulder, to the shock of both Kymari. I was careful with my claws as I balanced on Svin's shoulder. I chirped to both of them and did my best to hide my nervousness. This is just like the training exercises, it's just like the training exercises. The mantra seemed to help.

"Well, it seems a release is unnecessary. Do you accept all the responsibilities of being a fire lizard handler?" Elder Dairon studied Svin's face.

Svin glanced at me, then firmly nodded to the elder. "Yes, I accept the responsibilities as a fire lizard handler."

If I had not been nervous, I would have purred in joy.

~~~~

I awoke from my shallow sleep with a squawk as an unfamiliar mechanical alarm reached my ears. I had gotten used to Svin's constant presence, but I still struggled to sleep while he was around. The noise wasn't loud, but its sudden appearance rattled me into full consciousness. Thankfully the chime only went off once, as Svin quickly tapped his watch to end the noise.

"Sorry," he quickly apologized while I chortled and rustled my wings. He reached over and gently rubbed my back, but my nap had still been disturbed.

I glanced out the window and blinked at the broad daylight outside the window. This is much earlier than when Svin usually wakes up. Usually, I had a few more hours of alternating between sleeping and exploring before he awoke. Also, the actual alarm was new. If he had one previously, it never made a noise. I eyed him and eventually chirped questioningly as he sleepily rose from the couch.

Once he straightened the cushions on his makeshift bed, he picked up and examined the treat puzzle box. "You ate a few of the treats," he spoke in a calm tone while I studied his movements, trying to make sense of his actions.

The ways of Kymari will never stop being confusing. I pretended I didn't notice the harness he was trying to hide from my sight beneath the puzzle bowl as he set it back on the table. I could use a snack. I slowly stood, then watched the green-skinned Kymari as I approached the fancy food bowl.

Svin reached over and scratched the itchy spot between my wings that was just beyond my reach. My eyes closed in pleasure. However, they soon opened and focused on Svin. Something's off; the harness isn't in his hands anymore.

I swiveled my neck and looked at my back, then blinked. The harness is on me! I control my excitement. Ok, what would an animal do? I grabbed one of the straps and chewed on it while I squirm, every muscle in my body stretching to their full length. I even added a few growls to the mix, but I'm not sure if my Kymari watcher found my noises adorable or intimidating. Perhaps a bit of both.

Eventually, I collapsed onto my back, my tongue nearly dangling from my open mouth as I panted. Thanks to my frantic quote-unquote attack, I knew that this harness did not rub or pinch me anywhere, even if I stretched every limb to the very extremes of their ranges of motion. Once I recovered enough that my breathing returned to normal, I rolled back onto my feet. After I chewed and clawed on the straps a bit more, I snorted and shook my self until my scales chimed. I think that's how the other dragonets acted. 

I watched Svin's countenance as I walked to the water bowl and drank my fill, then ran back to the heat lamp tree to pretend to sulk.

"Kuna?" Svin called, but I plain ignored him. "Melie?"

My ear tuff twitched as I glanced at him, but I restrained myself. You're almost there. My mental encouragement fell deaf to his ears. However, my hopes soared at the thought of being called by my real name. I preferred to respond that over any of the crazy things he previously tried to name me, such as Xenith.

Svin was silent for several moments. I secretly watched him from the corner of my eye. Eventually, I closed my eyes and ignored the deafening silence of the Kymari's thoughts. Maybe Kymari can't hear in their dreams after all, at least not clearly. When he spoke again, I had almost fallen asleep. "Melanie?"

I jumped slightly and raised my head. I inquisitively chirped as I focused on the Kymari and rose to my feet, then fluttered over to the end table. He remained frozen as I landed right next to his arm. When his shocked silence continued, I trilled inquisitively and tilted my head. Thankfully, he awarded my adorable antics with a large piece of shia fruit.

"Melanie," he gently reached out and stroked my head with a finger, "a name just as unique as you are."

He offered me a piece of strawberry, and I happily took it out of his fingers. Now that he knew my name, I felt as if my actions lifted a weight off of my shoulders, and I knew I could not turn back and return to the park. I didn't know when I would feel comfortable enough to talk to him, but maybe someday.

He reached over to the opposite end of the couch and grabbed his hawking glove. After he slipped it onto his fist, he kindly smiled to me, "Melanie, to fist."

I chipped and hopped onto his covered hand, then blinked as he swiftly clipped a thin piece of cloth to my harness. He hid his emotions as he watched me investigate my new accessory. I chewed and tugged on the leash, but it was the same material as the harness. Neither my teeth nor my claws could nick the leather-like cloth.

After I gave up on my pretend endeavors to destroy the leash, Svin carefully stood without jostling me. He gave me a piece of fruit, then began to walk towards the door. Where are we going? I blinked as he turned away from the direction of the apartment complex, then stopped in front of a pair of metal sliding doors. Is that an elevator? I shifted anxiously and wrapped my tail around Svin's gloved wrist.

He passed me a piece of crunchy watermelon as the doors opened. As I held the fruit, Svin stepped into the large box. The watermelon was tempting, but I kept it in my mouth the entire time we were in the somewhat-small space. I tensed as the doors closed and waited for the stomach-dropping feeling my blood memories told me happened with elevators.

However, the feeling never arrived; the doors opened without me noticing the movement. I blinked as Svin gently stroked one of my wings and stepped out of the elevator. "Good girl," he praised, and I ate the piece of fruit still in my jaws.

That wasn't too bad. Svin offered me a sunburst berry, and I ate it as he walked out of the building. Just as I finished the berry, the Kymari stepped outside the building, and my stress elevated again. He held my leash with his hand and watched my reactions as he carried me close to his chest.

I flinched at every hover vehicle, my ear tuffs upright. All of my instincts screamed at me to flee and hide, but I buried my claws into the glove and refrained from panicking by sheer force of will.

Thankfully, the few unfamiliar Kymari also on the street silently gave us space as Svin ferried me around. They watched me from the very extremes of their vision, but I would have never noticed if it was not for my blood memories informing me of their discrete methods of watching others.

My claws dug into Svin's glove as my head remained on a swivel. I looked at every tree and bench as if it was a monster ready to jump out at me. No matter how much I tried, I still could not calm my instincts as they panicked at every new thing, screaming for me to dive into cover. This is a bit more stressful.

I blinked as we entered a building and recognized the material. However, though I started to calm in the elevator, I did not fully relax until Svin opened the door to his apartment and entered. Svin walked over to the tree platforms and held his arm to the sunlit top sand tray as he unclipped my leash.

Before he released me with a command, I hopped onto the sand and snuggled into its warmth before Svin could remove my harness. I didn't mind it that much, and the bond animal symbol sewn onto it was a badge I wore with pride, though I would never show that I liked the harness. That wasn't too bad. I blinked as Svin gently placed down a small bowl with a sizable piece of shia fruit in front of me. After a few moments, I pulled the bowl over to me and happily nibbled on the fruit. That wasn't bad at all. I could do it again.

Author Notes!

This is the first chapter that contains writing that was not in the first version of this story, so I hop you all enjoyed it! This story will update once a week until we are caught up with everything that I have written, and then will publish whenever I get a chapter done. I don't mind having multiple stories updating at a time, but I want to make sure my main project, The Liveship Paragon, gets the regular updates it deserves as my main project.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter!