I woke up the next morning with a strange feeling in my chest. I lifted my head and sent out a few clicks. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

I nudged my sleeping partner with my hand, "Dan, wake up."

He turned over on his side with a grown, "Ugh, what time is it?"

I huffed at him, "That's what I need you to tell me."

Dan yawned and stretched before looking towards the window half asleep, "It looks like the sun is about to come up." He tried to lay back down but the reality of his words caught up to him. "The sun is about to come up!"

I stood up and spread out my wings, "We're about to miss the Morning Song! Hurry up! Hurry up!"

We rushed to the window and made it just in time to start. Dan sent me the sunrise in all it's glory. Together we sang and danced the praises of the new day.

The Morning Song ended and we went to rest on the room's center table. With the amount of noise we made, it wasn't a surprise when Tuskon and Marcy stumbled tiredly out of their room.

Their body language was clear for how tired they were. They shuffled towards the kitchen and I decided to follow. After almost missing the Morning Song, I was completely convinced I was starving. Dan was probably on the same mind set as he followed too.

We both sat in a corner of the room as we listened to their conversations and waited for our turn to eat. Usually we'd eat right after the Morning Song but it seems our caretakers have forgotten.

Marcy finished a bite from her plate, "I've been thinking, what if Aspen was going into season? That would explain her behavior towards a crying child."

I stared at her, "Really? That's the only explanation?"

Dan almost fell over as he started laughing in the mindlink, "Everything you do could be explained with 'going into season'! That's the funniest thing I've ever heard!"

I narrowed my blind eyes at him, "Yeah let's see you laughing when I skin your hide!"

I pounced on his still laughing form and dug my claws into his scales. I knew it wouldn't hurt him, but it would sure help me win this match.

Tuskon continued talking as we wrestled, "I sure hope not. It's hard enough with just the two of them."

Dan didn't stop laughing, "We'll know you're really going into season when I start making dad jokes!"

I bit his arm lightly, "I swear, if you start doing that, I really am going to kill you!"

Dan rolled over, failing to avoid my attacks as he laughed sarcastically, "Oh no! What are we ever going to do? Her crazy seasonal mood swings are going to be the death of us all!"

I clawed and kicked him a few feet away from me. He angered me but I knew he didn't truly mean it. His teasing actually reminded me of my father. It was a calming feeling to be reminded of.

Our two caretakers had managed to miss our little tussle and were still talking with one another. Lucky for us, they hadn't completely forgotten that we needed to eat. They sliced some fruit and we followed them into the main room.

We ate fruit from their hands, then got a good wash and oil massage. I was pretty much asleep when Tuskon started talking again.

He was oiling Dan as he spoke to Marcy, "We will need to leave soon if we want to be there on time."

I didn't look up as Marcy continued my oiling, "Did I miss something? Where are we going?"

Dan's mindvoice was sleepy, "I don't know."

Marcy continued the conversation, "Yes, you're right. We need to have time to drop these two off and get to the next star system over before it starts."

Our caretakers finished with the oiling and clipped us into our harnesses. Their wording made the event they are going to sound urgent. We just got back from a baby shower and now you're going off again?

I truly did not understand Kymari customs. One minute you're celebrating a new born, the next you could be mourning a death. I did not understand this at all.

So we all got into a shuttle and were off. Where to, I did not know. I asked for frequent updates from Dan, who was looking out of the window.

We left the city, that held our little park, and traveled through miles of untamed wilderness. The shuttle passed by maybe two other cities before we stopped in the one of our destination. From the images Dan sent me, this city was much larger than our own. Not only that, but the buildings seemed much taller as well.

The sounds around me were much louder than before and made me nervous. Like the buildings from our city, these ones also made it hard for me to use my echolocation. Stupid alien technology.

We traveled around the city at a much slower speed until we reached a specific building. The image from Dan told me nothing about it. It looked like any other buildings in this city.

Tuskon did something causing the familiar doorbell sound to chime. A voice from inside invited us in so we entered. Dan kindly sent an image through the mindlink.

The room looked like a studio apartment. It was almost like the one I was going to move into before I was abducted and had my life stolen. This apartment was a lot fancier than anything I could ever afford, though.

There was a female Kymari living here. She was very good looking for a green skinned alien. Her thick hair was half up and went just a little past her shoulders.

I heard the Kymari lady stand up and walk up to us, "Marcy! I haven't seen you in ages! Ever since you've met this hunk of a Kymari, you haven't taken the time to come visit much."

Tuskon didn't seem bothered by her words, "It's good to see you too, Terra."

Terra got right up close causing me to stop clicking, "And who are these lovelies? I have never seen a firelizard before."

I snorted at her, "Back off lady. You're way too close."

Marcy stood next to Tuskon, "This is Aspen and the silver male is Dan."

Terra backed up, "Those are the weirdest names I've ever heard. Either way, it's a pleasure to finally meet them."

Tuskon cleared his throat, "Anyway, thank you for watching them. We'll be back later tonight to pick them up. They're fairly tame, but watch for their claws."

Terra laughed, "I've dealt with enough exotic animals to know what to be careful of. You two should get going. I'm sorry again about Blyde."

Tuskon was calm, "Blyde fought honorably. He will be remembered."

I faced Tuskon, "So it was a death! How do I guess this stuff?"

Dan chuckled through the mindlink, "You must be psychic."

I laughed with him, "I could earn a fortune as a psychic firelizard. People will come from all over the galaxy to see me."

Our silent conversation was interrupted as Tuskon spoke, "Go on."

I listened and took flight. Where he expected me to go wasn't clear though. Dan flew to the window and I decided to follow. The sun was warm against our backs as we snuggled and faced the trio of Kymari.

They talked for a short while longer before our caretakers left us in the protection of this stranger. From their conversation and the context clues I picked up, Terra was Marcy's older sister who lived alone and Blyde was Tuskon's older brother who had just died in some galactic battle.

I clicked as Dan and I stared off Terra. I wasn't about to be all friendly with this new Kymari even if Tuskon and Marcy trusted her with us. She walked closer and I gave a low growl. Terra ignored me and faced Dan who hadn't done anything yet. With the sharp nail of her index finger, she scratched underneath Dan's chin. He allowed this for a few seconds before shaking his scales to make her move her hand.

She eyed us for just a moment more before moving to her sofa and ignoring us. Terra was a lot different than any other Kymari I've seen. She just seemed too happy.

I didn't know a lot about Kymari, but I had a vague idea that they all acted pretty much the same. Her behavior was just a bit too hyper to be considered normal. For all I knew, she could have some kind of mental illness that acted opposite of depression. Her serotonin levels must be off the charts.

I closed my eyes and stopped clicking. I could hear her fingers typing away on her device. It had a constant rhythm that soon had me fast asleep.

* * *

I awoke to a strong sweet scent. I opened my eyes, wishing I could see what was giving off the delicious smell. Dan was still beside me, also awake, as I sent out a few clicks.

Terra was holding a bowl of something tasty, "Come. I got a nice treat."

Where did I remember this scent from? It was too enticing to hold back. I stretched out my back and wings before taking flight to land beside the large Kymari.

I gave an impatient chirp and quickly took what was offered to me. The flavor rushed over my tongue and I could now remember what this was.

Tasha had told us about shia fruit once before. I almost didn't believe that something could taste even better than a sunburst berry. One thing was certain though; I wanted more.

I let go of my fear for this Kymari, if only just momentarily, so I can enjoy more of this Gourmet food. It was like all of my worries were gone for just a few more moments.

I mindlinked Dan, "Can I have your share of the shia fruit or are you gonna come get some?"

Dan landed next to me and waited for his turn. We stayed like this until we were sure all the fruit was eaten. I let my fear come back to me and I flew with Dan back to the window.

The day was half over and I was getting surprisingly bored. I don't think I've been this bored in a long time.

I dramatically lay on top of my partner's silver wings, "Dan, I need something to do!"

He grunted under my light weight, "It's not like I have anything to make the situation better."

I rolled to the side until my head was on top of his, "Lets play a game then, like Tag or something."

He turned his head, "Tag? With just the two of us?"

I emptied my mind and thought for a moment, "Why don't we play Hoarders?"

I could feel his excitement through the mindlink, "Now that's a tempting idea."

Hoarders was a game Dan had made up shortly after we had escaped the lab to help me learn my echolocation. The goal of the game was simple; collect as many pieces of food as you could before the sun hid behind a cloud. The rules were also simple, and had to be put into place when fledglings started to gain interest; no stealing from other people's hoarding piles. The last thing that is needed to know about the game is that you can have as many people as you want join in the game and you can even form it into a team game. It was a pretty popular game for anyone who wanted to pretend to be a mighty dragon and defend their hoards.

In the Kymari house, however, there wasn't much in regards of food to hoard away. Instead, we would find and collect as many small trinkets together as a team until Terra stopped us. We were very sneaky and stealthy and we grabbed as many small items as we could and then piled them all together in a curvy corner of the room.

The pile was a fairly large size by the time Terra noticed. She was surprised but cleverly hid all other emotions. Now that we've been noticed, we went back to the window and left the pile of miscellaneous gadgets where it was.

Confusing people is the best kind of entertainment.