Several of us headed to the far side of the park since we knew that it was only a matter of time until someone came looking for me. Amanda was overjoyed to see me, and I greeted her with a nose bump against her shoulder while she draped her wing over my back in a sign of friendship.

I was shocked at how big her children had grown. I exclaimed, “What happened to the day-old nestlings that I helped feed?”

Amanda chuckled while the two fledglings that were quarter my size wrestled with one another on the grass nearby. “They got bigger.”

I shook my head, still trying to get over their growth spurt. “I’ll say.”

A mindvoice interrupted us. “We have a dozen Kymari moving fast through the park.”

“Is Taureen among the group?” I inquired.

“I can’t tell one Kymari apart from another. One has shoulder pads and a hawking glove though.” He sent a mental image of the group.

I shifted uneasily, glad that I was on the other side of the park. “That’s him.”

“I highly advise anyone with a gold hide to make themselves scarce. They look like they are on a mission.”

I swiftly followed Drake and Amanda deeper into the trees.

~

I went to the creek and thoroughly enjoyed a sand and water bath. Drake found my antics entertaining and teased me, “What? They didn’t have a river with soft sand running through that backyard?”

I grinned at him and shook so that some water droplets hit him. He snorted and used his wing to splash me. After a brief water fight, our small group reclined on the rocks, enjoying the evening sun.

It had been a long time since I had heard the whispers of the general mindlink in the back of my head. Most of us were in this area since so many Kymari were searching the other side of the park. It was unusual to hear so many voices apart from our morning gatherings.

One lady asked, “Tasha, can you tell us exactly what happened while you were gone? If one of us gets caught, it might be best to have an idea of what to expect.”

This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Others raised their voices in agreement, wanting to know the true full story. I slowly agreed and spoke over the general mindlink, going over what had happened each day.

~

As much as I wanted to join the flock in the Morning Song, I knew that Taureen would be watching them to see if I appeared. I went to the other side of the park to sing alone. It felt somewhat strange to know that I wasn’t joining the others, but I was happy to put up with it.

After the song ended, I flew some distance away and landed in a tree to pluck a piece of fruit from the branches. I sunk my teeth into the thick skin and peeled it off to get at the fruit within. I finished my breakfast and took a quick bath before settling down to sunbathe.

After lunch, I flew carefully above the trees to avoid any chance of being spotted. Kymari were still roaming the park in unusually high numbers and many of them were heavily armed as if searching for sicora.

I perched on a branch high in a tree and gazed across the treetops, somewhat surprised that no one had come to keep me company or visit with me. I thought about visiting some of them, but most were too close to the walking paths for my peace of mind. I felt a bit lonely.

Oddly enough, I was also bored. I thought I had been bored most of the time when I had been with Taureen, but this was a different kind of boredom. One could only bathe, eat, and sleep so much. I simply couldn’t figure out how I had sunbathed for half a day in the past so easily.

I shook my head to dismiss the thoughts. I unfolded my wings and dropped off the branch before letting the air open my wings and level out my flight. Being able to fly freely still brought me great delight. I had seriously missed that.

~

I opened an eye and whistled a greeting as Drake and his mate joined me at this sunbathing location. Not many places got full sun this late in the evening.

One of his fledglings sniffed the air before asking, “How long until the smell of that oil wears off of you?”

Drake growled and swatted him with a wing for his blunt question.

With a shrug, I replied, “I’m not sure. Possibly a couple of days.”

The twins took off to play upstream while Drake and his mate spread their wings in the sun. Drake’s quiet voice entered my mind, for me alone. “From what I hear, your story spooked quite a few people last night.”

I glanced over at him. “It wasn’t exactly fun for me to re-tell it. They asked for the unadorned truth and pried details out of me that I would have rather not shared.”

He sighed. “I know, but your story reminded them of the lab and has made many of them uneasy. They don’t realize it, but their attempts to avoid those memories are also making them avoid you, as if you had something that was contagious.”

“I noticed that, which wasn’t hard considering that I spent all day alone. I’m hoping that their avoidance fades.”

He fell silent as we dozed in the sun. It was less lonely with company. He seemed to feel a bit guilty now, realizing that he had also unintentionally avoided me all day as he visited with the others.

We parted ways as the sun began to set. I was surprised to find that my old home was untouched. At least I won’t have to ask someone to let me stay at their place.