I reclined on Taureen’s shoulder as he walked through another building. Our shift was almost over, and we hadn’t found anything today. I sniffed the air and looked at Taureen in surprise. He saw my look and chuckled I sat up while glancing around in building excitement. Taureen stopped by a door and pressed the doorbell.

“Come in.”

The door opened and Taureen walked in. Tran and Vick followed us inside. I stood up eagerly, glancing at Taureen for the okay to leave his shoulder. He held up his hand, and I jumped onto it.

Alec spoke quietly, “Wait until they see her first, just in case they react poorly.”

I reared up on my hind legs in excitement with my wings spread out for balance and let out a high-pitched whistle of greeting. “Serena, Tom, are you two going to just ignore me or what?”

They had been curled up in a corner together, pointedly ignoring whoever might have entered. Their heads whipped around so fast that I was surprised they didn’t get whiplash. “Tasha!”

Tom jumped into the air with a excited whistle of greeting. Taureen held out his hand. “Go on.”

I jumped up to swirl in the air with Tom in a reunion dance. I dropped to the floor where Serena waited impatiently for her own greeting, although nose and wing bumps had to suffice. I glanced at the odd cast across her chest and light restraints on her wings. “They aren’t letting you fly yet, I gather?”

She snorted faintly at the reminder. “No, but that might be for the best. You have no idea how happy I am to see you.”

I chuckled and draped a wing companionably over her shoulder as she nuzzled my shoulder. I pulled my wing back and shook myself off before asking, “So, why do you two look like you are in timeout in this corner?”

Serena shook herself as well, as if she couldn’t figure out why I even had to ask. “We can’t stand being near the Kymari.”

I tilted my head and chirped inquiringly, “Aren’t you cold? The heat lamp is on the main table.”

Alec’s apartment was set up in a similar fashion to Taureen’s old one. Although, there was a big heat lamp over a sand tray on the central table as opposed to on an end table. After walking around in buildings and ships all day, heat sounded really good to me.

Tom blinked as disbelief colored his voice. “It’s on the table in front of them. How can you even think about going that close to them?”

I stretched my wings lazily and warbled my amusement. “I just rode around on the shoulders of one for seven hours. They are far enough from the table that their proximity won’t bother me much.”

Truth be told, the table had obviously been moved away from the couches and chairs. The Kymari would have to get off of their seats to even reach the edge of the table.

Tom shook himself off in dislike of that idea. “I have no idea how you can handle them being so close to you. What is up with all of the sound effects anyways?”

I turned and walked towards the table before jumping on it. I lay down on the hot sand and regarded the two wide-eyed dragonets in the corner who couldn’t really believe that I was so close to the Kymari.

“The extra sound effects were because they have the video recorder rolling, and we would have stood out otherwise.”

Tom blinked slowly while Serena lifted her head as she glanced between the Kymari and me, although neither of them replied.

I lowered my head to my hands and blinked slowly at them as I enjoyed the heat, letting the contentment of warm sand seep into my voice. “Besides, I don’t let all of them touch me. You get to choose who you allow contact with. I chose Taureen since I didn’t have much of a choice in the beginning, and we already got along well enough by the time I returned. I hiss at the others, although they rarely try to pet me at this point.”

They both looked at me in shock, trying to wrap their minds around the details and my nonchalant tone. I rolled around in the sand a bit. “This sand is nice and warm. It’s a pity that my heat lamp doesn’t get this hot. Why don’t you come on up? I can ensure that the others keep their hands at a distance. I can’t do anything about Taureen, but I doubt that he will try to get close. He already has his hands full with just me; he isn’t about to try and charm two more dragonets.”

I raised my head and trilled at them like a mother calling her fledglings. Serena narrowed her eyes at my call, but her eyes kept drifting to the heat lamp and then to the Kymari, who were watching silently from their seats on the far side of the room.

I spread my wings out to catch the heat and snuggled into the sand a bit more, just to rub it in. Serena’s expression turned envious, and she took slow steps forward. She hesitated as she got to the point where she had to jump up to table.

I murmured quietly, “The heat will make your injuries feel better.”

She jumped up and approached me, sighing in relief as the heat hit her. She lay down beside me as Tom warily settled down on her other side. Both of them kept a sharp eye on the Kymari, ready to run at any sudden movement. With a yawn, I closed my eyes as I soaked up the heat.

Serena spoke quietly in my mind. “How can you relax like that? Aren’t you scared that they will kill you or something?”

I cracked an eye open to see her confused expression. “If they wanted us dead, they had plenty of chances before this. Besides, dragonets are protected by law now. Those of us in captivity have even more protection. Anyone who thinks about even touching one needs permission from the handler. If anyone tried to harm me, they would have to fight their way through Taureen to get to me. Alec will protect you two similarly. Honest, the Kymari are not human.”

Tom tilted his head as he tried to understand. “Why would Alec do that for us?”

I blinked slowly as I tried to simplify it. “Alec is to you two, exactly what Taureen is to me. A specially designated handler, protector, and caretaker.”

They were silent as they mulled that over.

I heard Alec sigh as he relaxed a bit. “I’m glad that they are getting along. I was hoping that Tasha would help calm these two down. I have been trying to get them under that heat lamp for days while I was in the room.”

Tom looked at me with wide eyes. “How do they know your name?”

I winced at his inquiry. “Good question. Take my advice and never direct your mindspeech at a Kymari. I think they can hear it. I thank my lucky stars that Taureen was asleep when I was muttering at him.”

Taureen responded, “How much progress have you made?”

Alec shook his head. “Some in the tolerance department, but nothing more. The bit of headway I made with the male disappeared as soon as his mate was up and moving. They keep reinforcing each other’s fears, but I refuse to separate them.”

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Taureen tilted his head. “Have you tried luring them over with sunburst berries?”

“It only works some of the time, and even then, only the male comes over. The male takes food to the female. I haven’t been able to get her to come close even once.”

Tran spoke, “What are the odds of them being released?”

“Next to zero,” Alec replied. “It’s an established pair, so it won’t affect the population. If something happens to that park, we lose most of the population – and that would be a disaster. The Elders are concerned about the appearance of the sicora and crawlers. They want another fire lizard handler making rounds as soon as possible.”

Serena whispered sadly, “I know you said we would be entering captivity, but I thought that we might have a chance at being released.”

“It isn’t as bad as it looks,” I replied quietly. “Once you build up trust, he will let you off-leash in various parks. Although if you run away, he will find you and probably won’t let you off-leash again. I have been to the central park and let off-leash half a dozen times now so that I can visit with the others.”

“You seem to enjoy this life. Why?” She looked at me in confusion.

I gazed at her as I tried to word it in a way that they would understand. “It allows me to make a difference. My sense of smell has been responsible for the death of half a dozen sicora and almost two dozen crawlers already.”

The desire to see sicora dead was a powerful thing, almost as if it were rooted as deeply in our blood as the Morning Song was.

Serena regarded me quietly as she considered my point of view. “How do you do that?”

“Taureen walks all over the city and through the trade ships. If I scent something, I hiss and act up. Often, I can lead them closer, and once we find it, the fighters with us kill it.”

I caught a scent in the air and turned my head to look at Taureen as he subtly passed Alec something. Taureen saw my knowing gaze and knew he was caught. He held a piece of fruit in his hand, and I got up and jumped with wing-assist to land on his lap to take the treat. He glanced behind me at the two incredulous dragonets and offered me another piece.

“Serena, creel at me as if you were a hatchling begging. Honest, you will like this.”

She bobbed her head and creeled obediently. Her voice was thoroughly confused, though. “Why?”

I turned my head to look at her before flying over to her to offer her the piece of fruit in my mouth. She sniffed it, and her eyes widened before she took the fruit without complaining about how I offered it. She knew we had to act like animals with our observers, and from the scent of the fruit, she knew it was worth it.

The piece of shia fruit swiftly disappeared, and her eyes travelled to Taureen, checking if he had more. She asked, “What was that fruit?”

“Shia fruit. I have no idea where Taureen gets it, but I’m positive that he has it shipped in from another planet just for me.”

Alec glanced at Taureen with slight jealousy. Taureen was amused at his friend’s look as he said, “Offer a piece to her. Go slowly and let them smell it. They had a taste, so they might be more willing to come once they catch the scent.”

Alec held a piece of the fruit so it was visible between his finger and thumb before easing off of the chair and going to his knees beside the table. The other two dragonets shifted uneasily as they got to their feet, but they remained where they were with frequent glances at my calm body language.

Alec kept an eye on me to ensure that he didn’t get close enough for me to hiss at him. He held the piece of fruit at the edge of the table and waited. I flared my nostrils at the scent, but I wasn’t about to go to Alec.

Serena stretched her neck out as she looked at the tempting fruit. She took a few hesitant steps closer before glancing back at me. “He won’t ever harm me, right?”

My answer was instantaneous and without doubt. “Never.”

She glanced back at Tom, who was watching her closely. “Tom, do you feel like joining me? It’s just a small step now, but I want to hunt sicora. I remember how it felt when we killed that one in the park, and it felt right.”

Tom walked up beside her and nuzzled her head. His words were for her alone; although considering that he had been willing to follow her into captivity when she got injured, he was probably willing to help her hunt down those dreadful creatures that we longed to see dead. She returned the gesture before slowly approaching Alec and cautiously taking the fruit. Alec kept slowly feeding both of them the tiny bits of tantalizing shia fruit.

I shook myself off and went over to Taureen for some shia fruit. No sense in those two being the only ones to pig out on the decadent treat. He must have given most of what he had on him to Alec since he only had a couple of pieces. Since he was out of good treat, he pulled out the cleaning kit as a substitute. Good enough for me.

I lay on his lap as he scrubbed my scales clean. He was already rubbing in the oil before Serena and Tom were full of shia fruit. Serena sat at the edge of the table, staring hard in disbelief before eventually asking, “Did he drug you? Tom looked like that the first couple of days.”

I gazed at them lazily. “Some things in life are even better than shia fruit, and this is one of them. Whatever oil they use is amazing. Way better than any massage invented.”

Serena lifted her head and tried to scent the air. Taureen started working on the muscles where my wing joined to my back, and I closed my eyes, humming contentedly. Aeria may have had a soft touch, but Taureen was able to work out any stiff or sore muscles. I was nearly asleep when I heard snuffling by my head.

I opened my eyes and blinked sleepily at Serena who had crept onto the couch beside Taureen as she checked to ensure that I was all right. I stretched my wings a bit wider before relaxing again. Tom was on the edge of the table, watching both of us anxiously.

“Do you want me to come closer and see if he might oil some of your scales? I will be right here, so you won’t be alone.”

Serena bobbed her head nervously as she glanced at the silent Kymari who were watching her. I rolled to the side a bit and slid down onto the couch, leaning against Taureen’s leg. I lifted up a wing and lazily stretched it out so it halfway draped over her shoulders like I had done when greeting her.

“Lie down and try to relax,” I advised her. “He might massage a bit of the oil into your scales when he does my wing. If you get scared, you can just jump down from the couch.”

She shuffled her feet nervously before slowly lying down under my wing, keeping a close eye on Taureen, who had pulled his hands back for the moment. I hummed reassuringly and lowered my head to rest on the couch near her. She nervously lowered her chin as she also rested her head near mine.

Taureen moved one hand to keep massaging my back. After a while, Serena relaxed a bit since he hadn’t touched her yet. Her eyes went back to her mate, who was watching anxiously from the heat lamp. In her distraction, I saw Taureen slowly move his hand to where her neck brushed the edge of my wing and very lightly rubbed a bit of oil in. She jumped slighting, turning her head to watch him with wide eyes as she trembled lightly in fear at the touch.

I nuzzled her jaw, and she remained where she was, which would have taken some courage on her part. It was only seconds before the oil sunk in, and her shaking subsided as she realized how good the oil felt.

I lowered my head once more, and she mirrored my actions, angling her head so that she could keep a nervous eye on him. Taureen slowly worked his way up her neck, slowly and lightly massaging the oil in, but didn’t go close to her head.

He moved his hand back to my wing, and Serena watched his hand move away with a faint look of longing.

“That did feel good. I wasn’t aware of how dry my skin actually was.”

I hummed my agreement. “Just wait until you let Alec clean and oil all of your scales.”

She whined lightly, conflicted. “I kind of wish he would do my back; it has been itching something fierce the last week.”

I yawned and scratched lazily at one of my ear tufts. “Then nudge his hand with your wing. He didn’t want to put you past your comfort zone. He can’t do much about the spots under your cast, but he can probably help with the rest of it.”

She glanced back at his hand for a moment before getting to her feet and sliding out from under my wing. Taureen stopped massaging my wing, being careful not to spook the flighty scarlet female. She turned around and cautiously sniffed the hand that Taureen held still for her to inspect. Trembling lightly with nerves, she gently rubbed her shoulder against his oiled hand.

He cautiously started rubbing her back, and she nervously lay down beside me. After a few moments, she sighed in relief as he oiled her back and eased the itch. I was amused to note that she was starting to relax like I had during my first oiling.

She crooned and leaned against his hand as he lightly scratched his nails in that really itchy spot along the base of the wing. “That feels so good…”

I chuckled across the mindlink. “This is beginning to look like a ‘see who can spoil the dragonets more’ party.”

I closed my eyes as Taureen used his other hand to rub oil into my wings. Between the oiling and the fruit, Serena had gotten over her original aversion of the Kymari. It would still take time for her to get over her nervousness and fear, let alone build trust, but it was a start.

Alec had a chance of tempting them closer now that they had tasted the delicious fruit and had their dry skin oiled. Those were two things that we couldn’t find in the wild, and the dragonets would associate those good things with the Kymari, which would help them eventually get over their fear.

The lure of seeing more of those detestable sicora dead was just a good cover story for those still in the park.