Aeria’s friends arrived within the hour, although none of the women approached me as they played some sort of game on the table. It reminded me somewhat of chess but allowed all four to play at once.

Aeria visited with her friends while I lay under the heat lamp. It was distinctly odd to not have Taureen nearby when other Kymari were around. Now that I think about it, it has never happened since I broke my wing.

I glanced over as I heard my name, but they were talking amongst themselves. It didn’t surprise me really; myself and Taureen had been the main topic so far. Closing my eyes, I rested and sunbathed under the heat lamp.

With no one else around, the ladies’ conversation shifted as they began discussing some of the men they had taken a fancy to, as well any who had showd more than a slight interest. I didn’t realize how much they compared the various males and their numerous qualities. Kymari didn’t take marriage lightly and ensured that they took the time to decide who would be the best mate out there.

I got the ‘luxury’ of hearing them discuss the pros and cons of various males at great length. It faintly amused me to hear that Taureen had far more pros than cons. As I had suspected, his rank as a bond animal handler impressed them. It was a rank of honor and showed he was highly responsible. Our bond was also the biggest problem.

The one lady shook her head. “It will be rough when she dies. Lazarath took decades to even somewhat recover from the loss of Kadrid. He never could be around another feonid either; the memories were just too painful.”

“At least you know that he is willing to open up his heart. Some men never truly let anyone into their hearts.”

The one lady glanced at me. “I’m surprised that he trusted you enough to look after Tasha. You haven’t been seeing each other for long.”

Aeria also looked at me. “Apparently, I was the only other person she let touch her. He wasn’t happy about having to leave her though.”

“Can you blame him? It isn’t supposed to happen. Tasha hasn’t come over yet, though.”

Aeria left the room for a moment before returning with a small bowl. She took her seat and held out a sunburst berry.

“Tasha, come see what I have.”

I blinked slowly at her soft voice. It is to her grace that the way she talks is more like asking as opposed to commanding. After a few moments, I got up and hopped down to the floor before slowly walking over to take the berry. Taureen normally fed me tidbits all day long to keep hunger at bay until supper came, and I hadn’t had anything since breakfast.

Aeria petted me a bit while feeding me bits of fruit. One of the other ladies leaned over, commenting, “Her scales look so soft.”

She slowly reached out her hand, and I turned my head to face her while pinning my ear tufts back. A low growl made her pull her hand back.

“Well, I guess she doesn’t want anything to do with me.”

I shook myself and went out to the garden. I was feeling out of sorts, and it grated on me like an itch I couldn’t scratch. Maybe some exercise will help. I started flying as fast as I could around the inside of the fence.

Fifteen minutes later, I landed with tired wings; it had been quite a while since I had flown that hard and fast for such a long time. The exercise hadn’t really helped settle me down any.

This is ridiculous. Until about eight months ago, I hadn’t even seen Taureen before. How can I possibly be missing him so badly? Yet, here I was; he had been gone only about four hours, and I was restless because he wasn’t around.

I lived in the wild for seven years with mostly just voices in my head for company. However, it didn’t seem to matter. Sure, every day I sang with the flock and lounged around with the others, but it hadn’t been the truly interactive stuff that Taureen and I did.

He was the one that I was at ease with. I could tolerate Aeria more than others because I was trying for Taureen’s sake, but it wasn’t nearly the same. With a sigh, I went back inside, flying over to the windowsill to watch the front sidewalk.

I contemplated what I was feeling. The emotions and reactions were more based in the animal side of me. As deeply ingrained as the desire to spread my wings in free fall. I closed my eyes and resisted the urge to pace.

Why am I feeling this way? What does Taureen mean to me? I considered it for a while.

Eventually, I lowered my head to my hands with a sigh as I finally accepted the fact that he had become the best friend I had ever had. I never had made friends easily before, and Taureen had slowly and gracefully muscled his way into that position since the day he found me.

Once we had started talking, we had become even closer as we both opened up to each other. But even that didn’t account for my restlessness. This was something deeper, more instinctual.

I gazed out the window in my epiphany. Deep down, I didn’t really see Taureen as a Kymari. My instincts considered him part of the flock at this point. With the other Kymari, I saw them as Kymari first, and possible friends or allies second. Part of it was also his earlier tactics when attempting to tame me.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

I knew in theory what he was doing and my mind could somewhat resist it, but my body’s instincts and reactions were more automatic. He had cared for me and hand-fed me for months on end – and my subconscious instincts recognized the care as that of a parent. Family bonds among the dragonets ran strong and deep.

That was why I was restless. It was like a fledgling missing a parent or someone severely missing an extremely close friend who they saw every day. I may have said that he was like my brother, but he had also filled the roles of father and friend. Between my human mind and my dragonet mindset, it was an overpowering combination.

I guess Taureen wasn’t the only one who had been getting closely attached. Even though I knew why I felt this way, these feelings weren’t exactly something I could turn off or dismiss. The next couple of hours are going to feel very long...

I sighed and gazed out the window again. An odd deep bell-like sound from behind me made me turn my head. The four ladies were also looking at the source of the sound. It came again, and I realized that Taureen’s laptop was making that sound. It had been sitting on the end table in the corner as it faced the main room.

The black screen flickered, and Taureen’s face appeared. I sat bolt upright and stared in surprise. Aeria seemed unsurprised and nodded a greeting at the screen as she said, “Taureen, are you on your way back?”

“The shuttle is just about to leave. I should be back in just over an hour. How is Tasha doing?”

This must be a video and audio feed like Skype or something. He didn’t even finish his question before I was airborne. I swiftly back-winged in front of the screen and trilled a greeting at him. I tilted my head several different ways as I examined the screen.

Aeria chuckled lightly. “She has missed you. A bit restless, but nothing too worrying.”

Taureen’s face softened. “I am coming back Tasha. It won’t be long now.”

I shook myself and flicked my wings while chattering at him with bird-like sounds. I nudged the screen with my nose before pulling back so I could see the screen properly. I had no idea where the camera on this thing was.

He smiled. “You have no idea how much I missed you. I must go now. I’ll see you soon.”

I whistled lightly in return before the screen went black. I tilted my head sadly at the black screen. I had been happy to see him, even if it was just through technology.

“Poor thing. She was so excited to see him for that short time.”

“Did you see his smile when he saw her? I haven’t seen a smile that genuine in a very long time. You could even see it reflected in his eyes.”

Aeria slowly walked up to me and gently stroked my back as I continued gazing at the black screen. “It’s okay. He will be back before you know it.”

She hesitated before carefully picking me up. I glanced back at her and lowered my ear tufts but didn’t give any other warnings as she carried me back to her seat. After she sat down, she put me on her lap and pulled out the cleaning kit to start grooming me.

Even with the oil massage, I couldn’t completely relax, although it was the closest I had come to unwinding all day. My eyes kept drifting between the computer and the front door. The moment she finished, I got up and flew over to the windowsill to stand watch.

I knew he was coming, and I was also aware of which door he would come in. I wasn’t sure how much longer he would be, though. I wasn’t able to read their version of a clock. My wings rustled impatiently as I shifted my weight. Somehow, knowing that he was getting closer was building the suspense.

My restlessness grew, and I forced myself to sit to avoid pacing. To distract myself, I started chewing on my front claws, cleaning the grooves and snipping off any hint of a hangnail. My claws are starting to get too long. I really have to get Taureen to find a heavy-duty piece of wood for a sharpening post.

I was distracted from my manicure as a dark grey spaceship came to a hover above the street. It was much too large to fit in the street and hovered well above the buildings. A door opened, and a Kymari jumped out. I flared my wings with a screech before I noticed that a cable was connected to the ship.

Taureen stood on something that looked like a big pogostick as it swiftly lowered him, at a speed closer to a freefall than a controlled descent, to the street below. He let go and jumped down the last six feet or so before coming towards the house at a swift walk. The ship reeled up the rope and contraption before rapidly taking off towards the main port.

“He got them to drop him off here? Wow. I wasn’t aware that those interspacial shuttles were allowed to do that.”

“He probably got special permission since they separated him from Tasha. I sure wouldn’t want to be in a shuttle with a handler when their bond animal wasn’t on board.”

I stood up on my hind legs with my hands on the glass like an eager kid. The window latches weren’t something that I could open, and the door control panel would only respond to Kymari, so I was forced to wait for him to come to me.

I let out a shrill whistle, and he must have heard it since he glanced at the window as he approached the door. Even before he had completely opened the door, I launched myself at him. I was going fast enough that I landed on his shoulder pad with a pretty good force, at least for me. It didn’t even cause Taureen to shift his weight.

I crossed his shoulders and rubbed against the back of his head while thrumming as loudly as I could. It was loud enough to vibrate my chest and wings. No cat could hope to purr as loudly as I could thrum. I reached his other shoulder pad and nuzzled his head while still thrumming.

He reached up to lift me from his shoulders and cradle me against his chest. I kept thrumming as he lowered his head and exhaled a big breath of relief. I could feel his tense muscles slowly relaxing.

He faintly murmured, “I’m so glad to have you back with me. I didn’t expect the separation to be so bad.”

I nuzzled his chin and cheeped lightly before I resumed my thrumming. “I think I can relate. I didn’t expect your absence to make me so anxious. I’m reminded of what a young fledgling feels like when its parents suddenly disappear in the middle of a strange forest.”

I gazed up at him as he looked down into my eyes. We remained like that for several minutes as both of us relaxed. He straightened up a bit while still cradling me against his chest. I suddenly recalled our guests and glanced back at the ladies.

Aeria was watching us, but the other three seemed somewhat uncomfortable at having witnessed our reunion, as if it had been more emotional than what they were comfortable with.

Taureen nodded at Aeria and said, “Thank you for keeping an eye on her. How was she?”

He moved to take his usual seat, and I noticed that he was back to his welcoming and genial self.

“It was no problem. She slowly got more restless as the day wore on and seemed unable to settle down. She wasn’t able to relax even when she let me oil her. Your call had her immediate attention, although she started pacing more afterwards.”

Taureen gently scratched beneath my chin. “I hope you weren’t too bored considering that you were here for quite some time.”

One of the other ladies spoke, “It wasn’t that bad. It was nice to have a quiet and relaxing day.”

I noticed that Taureen was reluctant to let me go. Being held against his chest like this didn’t bother me, though; I was small enough that I fit into his arms nicely. His skin was warm, and the way I rested was quite comfortable. I knew that being held like this was an affectionate expression of how much he cared for me.

My thrumming slowly eased off into a soft hum as the five Kymari talked.