I sat up from laying on Svin's padded shoulder as we entered a strange building. A few days ago, Svin shifted out of his nocturnal schedule and increased my training while his body adjusted to the change. Walks with me on his shoulder became more frequent, and as I become more comfortable with the outside world. However, this was the first time we had entered a building other than his apartment complex.

The metallic room was bland and offered no pants or decorations on its slightly curved walls. Several pathways branched off of the room, but my eyes focused on the set of green scales atop a different Kymari's shoulder. "Chloe!" I chirped happily in greeting. "What are you doing here? What is this place?"

"Melanie! Hello!" Chloe chirped. "This is the dragonet's training area. It's not only for newly bonded dragons to learn from experienced sicora hunters. This way I can teach you all the techniques without the Kymari questioning how you suddenly know what to do."

I sent Chloe a wordless confirmation, excitement bubbling inside of me while I remained calm externally. "I finally get to start!"

Chloe mentally chuckled as she chirped. "I'll help tell you what to do, but a lot of this will be instinctual."

"Are you ready," Chloe's handler looked to Svin, who nodded and followed the experienced handler into a hallway. "This will just be a beginner course with no traps."

Traps! "THERE ARE TRAPS?!" I barely contained my panic as we continued to travel down bland the metal hallways.

"One of the military personnel likes add traps, but thankfully he usually stays at one of the other training areas," Chloe said, "and new handlers would never go through what he comes up with."

I somewhat relaxed, then tensed as an unfamiliar scent reached my nose as we stepped into an intersection. However, my blood memories immediately informed me of the scent's identity. Sicora. Chloe and I began to growl at the same time. I pulled on the short leash that tightly tethered me to Svin's shoulder and hissed.

Svin seemed surprised I could hiss and growl, especially since I preferred to remain silent and flee rather than a growl.

"Watch this," Chloe instructed, and I kept her in my sight as I scanned the area. I knew we reacted to sicora, but I never realized how strong the reaction was. Every fiber of my body wanted to find and kill the vial creatures. At least for now, I could think straight, I knew as we got closer to the scoria, the more my instincts would take over.

Leun unclipped Chloe's leash. "Go on, find it."

Chloe spread her wings as she hopped off her handler's shoulder and flew in a circle around the intersection. During her second lap, the green dragonet stopped and hovered in front of the left branch.

"Chloe, to fist." Leun held out his hand.

Chloe growled one last time at the intersection, then flew back to her handler and landed on his hand. Once Leun clipped a short leash to her harness, the Kymari looked to Svin. "For the next intersection, we should let them fly together."

Svin nodded, then followed Leun down the path Chloe had designated.

"That doesn't seem too hard." I mindlinked Chloe as the scent strengthened. I wanted to find the sicora and kill it with fire.

"Soon, you will be a pro!" Chloe encouraged me in an upbeat tone.

I excitedly waited until Svin unclipped my leash as Leun did the same. "Go on," my handler encouraged in a gentle tone, "find it."

Chloe and I took off at the same time, and I followed the green dragonet closely as we circled the intersection. The scent was close; I could feel my instincts trying to take over. On the second lap, we hovered at the branch with the strongest sicora stench and growled fiercely. I flexed my claws, fighting the instincts that demanded I dive towards the stench and kill the vile beast.

"Melanie," Svin broke me out of my trance, "to shoulder." I flew back over to him and growled with my wings partially spread as Svin secured me to the short leash attached to his armor.

"When we are this close," Leun looked at Svin as he secured Chloe to his shoulder pad, "it's best to keep them secured so they can't endanger themselves." After Svin nodded, they continued down the hallway Chloe and I had indicated.

I felt my instincts take over more and more of my mind as the vile scent of the sicora strengthened. How can Svin not smell this!? I flattened my ear tuffs.

Suddenly, the smell shifted to above us, and I screeched loudly at the dark shape that stared at us through the vent, and Chloe soon followed my example. Scoria! I blasted a bit of fire at the creature.

As I attacked, Svin pulled his weapon out as the black shape burst from the ventilation system and fired with the speed and accuracy of a highly trained guard.

"Good reaction," Leun nodded as the smoke from my fire faded, revealing a stuffed sicora. Slight damage marred the black hide, but the material was naturally robust and resisted energy blasts. Also, it looked like someone added a fireproof coating, as dragonet fire is traditionally effective against the beasts.

I huffed, then shook my scales until they twinkled. That was an awful trick. I snorted as I laid down on Svin's shoulder, a glower directed towards the long-dead creature on rails. All that buildup, but I guess it was still good training practice.

Though the puppet was not real, the blood memories filled my thoughts with information about the non-stuffed version. Each of their six claws was sharp enough to leave deep wounds, but their bite was the most dangerous. A single sicora bite could kill a Kymari in a matter of moments. Even with their advanced technology, the Kymari cannot detect them, which was why they need us dragonets. We can smell sicora like a fart in close quarters.

"I hate puppets like that because you don't receive the satisfaction of killing it. I prefer it when there is a piece of skin, but the puppets are realistic to the field." Chloe mindlinked me and trilled softly. "But you did well! There will be two more exercises today, and then next time, you will get a bit of practice on your own."

"Good girl, Melanie." Svin praised and gently stroked my dark-scaled wings, and I continued to glare at the fake black monster. "It's defeated." I doubted my little flame would have done that much, but his touch did help me calm down. Once I calmed, my handler looked to the other dragonet handler for more instruction.

Leun nodded and led Svin through a door that sealed behind us, locking the scent of the sicora away. "You can unclip the leash," he released Chloe from her restraint, but she remained perched on his shoulder.

Svin stroked my neck with his fingers as he took off my leash and followed Leun through the continuing boring metal hallway occasionally interspersed with random shipping containers. He smiled a bit at me as the leash as he slipped it back beneath his shoulder pad.

I briefly nuzzled him back, then paused as a new vile scent reached my nose. It was faint, and my instincts barely urged me to growl. I looked around, my wings partially spread, but I could not find the source of the smell. What is that smell? My blood memories can't identify it. I lashed my tail slightly in agitation as we reached an intersection.

Svin paused and glanced at Leun. After the experienced Kymari nodded to him, Svin looked at me while Leun looked to Chloe. "Go on, find it."

I blinked, then took off as Chloe took off without Leun's instructions. As I followed Chloe, I mindlinked her. '"You left without permission?"

"You need to be a bit self-sufficient at times, the Kymari can't scent sicora as we can, and if the scent changes or is close, then we need to alert them." Chloe looked to the ground. "This scent belongs to a ktari, rat-like relative of sicora. Follow my lead." She landed on the ground and sniffed around.

I followed her example, then blinked as I noticed the strange smell was a lot stronger on the ground. I moved to follow it to the source, then paused as Chloe suddenly spoke in the dragonet verbal language.

"Ktari." The word coming out of the green dragonet's mouth sounded like a derogatory chirp mixed with a sneeze.

I blinked and whipped, then mimicked the sound. "Ok, what was that for?"

"Chloe, to shoulder," Leun called, and Svin quickly echoed his call, though in a softer tone compared to the other Kymari.

"I alerted the Kymari that there are ktari, they are an annoying pest species, and it's better if they don't spread to this planet." Chloe obeyed the command; I did the same. "They don't want us to fight with them, so they will always call us back when they tell them. Even though we could easily kill them, the Kymari prefer to avoid situations where we could even be potentially hurt."

I sent her a wordless feeling of understanding as I settled on Svin's shoulder, content now that I knew the ktari was just another puppet. "Ktari," I sneezed.

"That is the sound the fire lizards make when they find ktari." Leun pressed on a hidden button on the nearest crate, and a stuffed six-limbed lizard-like creature came out. However, the taxidermy creature quickly reached the end of the rail and stopped. Chloe hissed at it just before it rolled back into its place behind the crate. "If your fire lizard gives the signal, it's best to call her back before she starts fighting a ktari."

Svin nodded, then began to follow Leun to the third and final area. While the other Kymari looked away, my handler secretly passed me a small cube of strawberry, and I happily ate it as we passed through another airlock door.

Just as I swallowed the morsel, I begin to growl as a vile scent reached my senses. The smell did not work me up as much as the sicora, but I still wanted to find the source and kill it. Since it smelled so similar to a sicora, I assumed it was a crawler.

My mind knew it was probably another stinky taxidermy creature, but my instincts would not calm until I saw it. I became a bit annoyed with my instincts as the scent strengthened, but at least this reaction was more manageable.

I looked towards a door and growled with my ear tuffs pinned back. "It's in there." In response to my mindlink, Chloe sent her confirmation and approval.

"With small rooms, let your guards go in first, especially if there is clutter. If they can't find the creature, then enter." Leun opened the door, and both Chloe and I briefly hissed at the preserved crawler collapsed on the floor with a spear impaling it to the floor. With a snort, I shook my scales and relaxed as Leun closed the door. "She did well," Chloe's handler subtly nodded to Svin.

Svin returned the nod as he gently stroked my wing. "Good work, Melanie."

I trilled and purred as I nuzzled his fingers.

"That will be all for today. Have you decided who will be your guards?" Leun looked at Svin as they walked to the next door, which led out of the training area. "They will need to start training with you so your fire lizard can get used to them before you start patrols."

"I have a few prospects, but for some of them, it will be a lot to shift back onto a day shift. I am going to make my final decision in the morning." Svin nodded to Leun. "I am also looking into buying a house with an appropriate yard."

Leun nodded in approval as he led Svin back to the entrance to the training area.

After Svin clipped my leash back on, Svin stepped back onto the sidewalk and began to walk back home.