I crawled under a bush and nibbled on a few sweet leaves before continuing on. As I suspected, my long exploration leash got hung up on something. Taureen freed it as he followed me. This particular leash was long enough for me to fly somewhat with it.

I scampered all over the park, making sure to nibble things here and there. Drake’s plan seemed to be working well. They had noticed that the fire lizards seemed to be searching for something intensely over the last week. They were trying to keep a close eye on the situation but failing due to Drake’s group playing shy.

I wondered if they realized that Drake had returned to the main park last night.

Folding my wings, I climbed up a tree with hundreds of small branches, thoroughly tangling the leash. Taureen never seemed to get exasperated as he untangled it, regardless of how often it got stuck, snagged, or tangled. He clipped a second leash onto my harness before he undid the first one and untangled it.

I thoroughly enjoyed the outings to this tiny park. It would be better without the harness and leash, but beggars couldn’t be fussy. After several hours, Taureen placed me on his shoulder as he put the shorter leash on me.

I nuzzled his chin as a thank you for taking me to the park. He hummed lightly at my action, making me snort faintly in amusement at his attempt to replicate the hum that the dragonets made when content.

He walked slowly down the sidewalk, going a different way than we usually did. A particular building caught my attention, I shifted my weight as Taureen began walking towards the front door of the veterinary building.

When we entered the main lobby, two people with animals were leaving. I wasn’t sure what the one was; the creature resembled a small bear, although it was covered in feathers instead of fur.

The other animal was a large non-native bird that the dragonets often chased out of the main park. It was sitting on a Kymari’s wrist as he held its ankle jesses. The bird saw me and flared its wings with a screech, obviously recognizing me for what I was. I wonder which dragonet chased this one?

I tilted my head innocently as I watched its negative reaction. Heads turned towards the hawk-like creature as it made its opinion of my presence known. It plainly did not want to be anywhere near me. Taureen moved to the side of the room, using his body to block the bird’s view of me while its owner tried to calm it down.

Taureen turned his head to examine me before glancing back at the still-panicking bird. It was pretty worked up, so it must have been chased several times by dragonets for such a strong reaction. He continued walking down a hallway before meeting the vet who had taken the cast off my wing, and she guided us into an examination room.

I gazed around uneasily, not entirely sure why I was here. Taureen got me to jump onto his arm before gently opening up my recovered wing. The lady came forward, and I pinned my ear tufts back but didn’t growl or hiss. She gently touched and examined my wing.

“It looks like it has recovered fully,” she eventually said. “Is she having any problems with it?”

“Not that I can tell. It seems just as strong and flexible as her other wing at this point.”

“Any other concerns?”

Taureen slowly nodded. “I was recently told that the wild group left the other park last night and returned to the central park. Observers said that the fire lizards were searching for something with increasing activity over the last week. I’m concerned that there may be a dietary requirement we might not be meeting. Otherwise, as far as I can tell, she seems healthy.”

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“I will take a blood sample and compare it to the one we took when we put her wing in a cast. If she is missing something, it should show up, and then we can locate whatever food has it in high concentrations.”

She went to a cabinet and pulled out something that looked like a handle with a tiny suction cup attached. As she came closer, I pinned my ear tufts again with a growl. I always had a standing grudge against needles, and even if I didn’t recognize this instrument, I knew that it would pierce my hide to get to my blood.

She watched my reaction before saying, “You should probably pin her.”

Moments later, I was firmly pinned in Taureen’s arms. My claws dug into the glove on his arm, but, of course, my claws didn’t pierce it. I noticed that he made sure my head was facing away from both of them, just in case. I felt something press on the upper section of my hind leg before a small prick made me squeak in alarm.

My struggling did no good, so I gave up while chittering in irritation. The vet finished within seconds, and Taureen released me. I climbed up his shirt and onto his shoulder pad while rustling and rearranging my wings in disapproval. For some odd reason, it felt like I had been betrayed.

Taureen left the clinic and headed to the house. He removed my harness, and I sullenly retreated into the garden. Despite my foul mood, it halfway amused me to note that the recently added plants were ones that I had nibbled on in the tiny park.

Out of spite, I pulled half of the leaves off one bush before shredding and burying them in numerous locations in the garden. I crawled underneath some sort of dense vine, trying to pretend that I wasn’t trapped inside of a fence.

I glanced over and blinked to ensure that my eyes weren’t playing tricks on me. You have got to be kidding me… The mirage didn’t disappear – the back gate in the fence hadn’t been shut tight.

I glanced towards the house, but Taureen wasn’t visible in any of the windows. I crept forward with my excitement building. Using my shoulder, I pushed against the door, and it opened a bit more.

I am so out of here. I had at least two hours before supper, which would be when Taureen would discover my absence. I had an idea on how to get rid of the tracker, but I needed help. I pushed the door open and quickly exited before taking to the air.

I pushed for speed, reveling in the feeling of the air flowing over my scales. The city held no fear for me anymore, and I easily navigated my path while staying out of sight. “Drake, where are you?”

“Near that big rock by the strawberry patch. Why?”

Excellent. He was on the closer side of the park. “I just escaped and need a favor.”

I felt his excitement. “You got away? Awesome! What kind of favor?”

I hadn’t told anyone about my hitchhiker yet. “I have a tracker bead underneath my skin that I have to get rid of before they realize I’m missing.”

“How am I supposed to help with that?” He sounded baffled, but eager to help in any way he could.

“It’s just beneath the skin, and your claws need to make a tiny cut to get it out. I doubt I can manage it myself due to where it is located.”

“How close are you?”

“About five minutes away, at this point.”

~

I flew into the clearing and saw Drake, as well as half a dozen others, waiting excitedly. I dove towards them with a joyful trilling greeting. They rose on wing as we flew around one another in a happy reunion.

I landed on the rock and rubbed my hand over the scales on my back, just above my leg. I could feel the tiny tracker bead as a small bump under my skin.

I pointed to a spot and glanced at Drake. “It is right here. I can feel it.”

He gave me a dubious looked before walking closer. “Are you sure you want me to do this?”

When I nodded firmly, he took a deep breath and carefully extended one of his claws, pressing the sharp weapon against my scales. I winced, and my claws dug into the surface of the rock, although I managed to hold still as he pierced the scales and sliced through my skin. Seconds painfully ticked by as I gritted my teeth to avoid making a sound of pain.

“I found it.” His voice was somewhat shocked.

I glanced back and noted that the small cut in my skin was bleeding slightly, but my eyes were drawn to a shiny object in Drake’s claws. I turned around to inspect it; it was smaller than I had expected, barely the size of a pinhead.

He shook his head as he got over his surprise. “You can head over to the small pond by the big white rock and wash up while I drop this thing in the creek. I’m hoping that it washes downstream and leads them on a wild goose chase.”

I spread my wings and jumped into the air, ignoring the small pang of pain in my leg. “Thanks!”

I was free.