I could tell that Taureen was somewhat agitated even though I was draped around his neck like a scarf while thrumming comfortingly. His irritation only built whenever he glanced at the clock.

Truth be told, I won’t be much better shortly. Neither of us were looking forward to the next six hours of separation.

I wasn’t out of sorts since he hadn’t left yet. My head knew that he would have to leave shortly, but my heart saw that he was still here and was content. At this moment, the short-sightedness of my instincts was a blessing, and my relaxed state was keeping Taureen in a level state of mind. I don’t particularly want to imagine what he would be like if I was radiating distress.

From several comments Tran had made, being around Taureen on the shuttle last time hadn’t exactly been a fun experience. I wasn’t sure why he was so worked up this time, though.

I nuzzled his chin, commenting, “I don’t recall you being like this before you left last time.”

He sighed and stopped pacing. “I didn’t realize how bad it was last time, and I’m not looking forward to it this time. How are you holding up?”

I blinked lazily. “You have not left yet. A small part of my mind knows and is slightly on edge, but it won’t sink in until you are gone.”

The doorbell rang, and Aeria entered. Since accepting the bracelet, she never waited for him to answer the door. It didn’t bother Taureen, so I dismissed her actions.

Taureen sighed before pulling me against his chest, telling me, “Be good. I should be back within six hours.”

I gently nibbled the edge of his chin. “I feel sorry for those flying with you. A few more months, and they won’t attempt this again. Keep your head in the game enough to make sure that they don’t plan anything stupid.”

With a sigh, he reluctantly held me out to Aeria. She gently picked me up and cradled me against her chest in the same fashion he had done. It wasn’t the same, and I didn’t particularly like it, but I let her hold me simply to keep Taureen calm.

Aeria said, “I’ll keep an eye on her. If she lets me put the harness on her, do you mind me taking her for a walk? It might distract her if she gets anxious. I would keep the leash on her since you aren’t around.”

He grudgingly nodded before turning and leaving. I blinked at his abrupt departure; even in the human world, it would have been considered dreadfully rude. Aeria sighed as she stroked my wings.

“I feel bad for him,” she quietly said. “I can’t imagine what it’s like for him to be separated from you.”

Well, at least she didn’t take offense at his actions. I twisted around and climbed up on her shoulder so that I wasn’t cradled in her arms. I blinked and examined her shirt more closely; the shoulders were made of a slightly thicker material that I hadn’t noticed until my feet touched them.

I sniffed it and recognized the smell of the same material Taureen’s hawk glove was made from. Nice, I don’t have to watch my claws so closely now.

~

An hour later, I was restless. I grumbled at myself, annoyed that my emotions were refusing to listen to logic. It has only been a week since the last time, why does it seem worse? This is going to be a long day…

Aeria noticed that my mood was going downhill and pulled out the harness. I didn’t put up any resistance as she put it on. Maybe some fresh air will clear my head. It was pretty boring in the house without talking to Taureen. I was used to working seven or eight hours a day and seeing different things. Simply lazing around with nothing to do didn’t sit well with me anymore.

Aeria clipped the leash on and put me on her shoulder before heading to the back garden. I remained on her shoulder as she did a few laps in the garden as a test. Once she had reassured herself that I was going to sit on her shoulder without any problems, she let herself out the back gate.

I know that sent an alert to Taureen’s wrist comm. I also bet that he is checking my tracking chip to see if it was Aeria leaving with me or someone breaking in while we were still inside. I wonder if Aeria is aware of the silent alarm on that door? Probably not.

Aeria walked to a small park and let me explore on the leash. I found it amusing to tangle my leash really good a few times. After a while, I got bored of such things, and we moved on. I found myself looking at every Kymari as if expecting to see Taureen. My head is so messed up. I don’t even want to think what I will be like in a couple of years.

Aeria walked for a long time through an unfamiliar part of the city before another park appeared in the distance. As she walked down a long series of stairs at the edge of the forest, I realized that this was the park by the city wall where Drake had tried to hide.

I hadn’t been in this one before and gazed around with interest. The plants and trails looked wilder and more natural, much like the untouched sections of forest in the main park.

I craned my head to examine the huge trees looming over us. I think I will have to see if Taureen will bring me here one day to explore. I knew what the answer would be if I asked. I got almost anything I wanted.

If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

A Kymari male appeared on the path ahead of us, and he greeted Aeria, “How are you doing today?”

Aeria gave him a polite nod. “Doing well, Draven. What brings you through this park?”

“I just finished my shift on the wall and was passing through the park on my way back. I wasn’t aware that you had a fire lizard.”

“She is Taureen’s. He got called offworld, and she isn’t cleared to leave the planet. I’m looking after her for him.”

“He doesn’t mind you taking her out?” He looked at me in curiosity.

“No,” she replied, shaking her head. “It seems to distract her from missing him so badly.”

Draven thought for a moment. “Mind if I walk with you? It has been a while since I have walked along many of the trails in this park.”

She considered it before responding, “I don’t see why not. I was just going to walk along some of the pathways and see what Tasha thinks of them. Hopefully, it will distract her.”

They started walking along the path. There were a few oddly-narrow steps in the path ahead, and he reached out as if to touch her elbow to help her down them. Hell with that idea buddy. I leaned down and snapped at his hand with a growl. He pulled his hand back swiftly and looked at Aeria with a raised eyebrow.

She shrugged slightly as she walked down the few steps gracefully. “Sorry. Tasha reacts to most people like that.”

She didn’t seem that sorry to me. Draven walked beside her at a courteous distance as we continued along the pathway. They spoke about various acquaintances they knew, and it sounded like it was mostly about those who had moved between planets. Draven asked if she planned on remaining on this planet for the foreseeable future.

Aeria gestured with a hand in the direction of the city with a soft smile. “I believe so. The weather here is mild compared to where I grew up. Most of my family is also here, and they plan to remain.”

I noticed that the hand she used had her bracelet on, like a subtle hint that she had another reason to remain. Draven’s eyes lingered on it for a few seconds, as if just noticing its presence.

We continued walking down the paths, heading deeper and deeper into the ravine. They paused occasionally to let me down and explore. Aeria seemed to be enjoying herself, and Draven relaxed a bit as he also gazed at the scenery.

Aeria allowed me to romp around on the grass once more. I took a deep appreciative breath of the forest air before I crawled under a small shrub, once more tangling my leash up in the branches. The scents of the Kymari and their civilization were much fainter out here, and it reminded me of the days in the main park.

I came out the other side, and my leash jerked me to a halt, thoroughly tangled. Aeria shook her head, slightly amused, as she knelt down to free my leash. She started to unravel the leash once again, although it seemed to be giving her problems due to the narrow space between the branches.

She muttered, “There should be no possible way that you managed to create this many knots in a mere twenty seconds…”

I chortled my amusement and tugged against my leash a few times as I tried to keep walking.

“Hold on. I have to untangle you before you can go anywhere.” Aeria’s nimble fingers were getting a workout.

Draven knelt down beside Aeria, and I turned my head to hiss at him, unhappy and uneasy with his unwelcome presence. He ignored me as he began breaking small branches off the bush, allowing Aeria to finally undo the last knot and get my leash out of the shrub.

With a sigh, Aeria picked me up before standing. She looked down at me as she said, “I think I’m going to wait until we aren’t near bushes before letting you down again.” She turned to Draven, as he got to his own feet, and said, “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

They continued walking down the path, although Aeria didn’t let me down, possibly due to the large amount of undergrowth flanking both sides of the trail.

~

This park was much bigger than I had realized; it had to be at least half as big as the central park. We had been out here for well over an hour and hadn’t reached the wall that I knew was on the other side of the park.

The wind shifted, and I raised my nose to the breeze. There was a heavy scent on the wind, one that I hadn’t scented since my days outside of the Kymari walls. To the best of my knowledge, Aeria only had the heavy knife that all Kymari tended to carry. Draven had a heavy knife and his collapsible spear, although I didn’t see any other weapons.

I wasn’t sure their weapons would be enough to stop this particular creature. This type usually never bothered the dragonets, but it could very well consider the Kymari the right size for a meal. Drake and the others were here for weeks; I am surprised that they never mentioned it…

I growled a faint warning as I sniffed the air again. It got the attention of the other two.

Aeria looked around in concern. “She is trained to scent sicora. We have to get out of here.”

I had to restrain myself from giving her a disbelieving look. Did she seriously think I would have given such a small reaction had there been a sicora, or even a crawler, around?

Draven glanced around at the trees, trying to spot the threat. “The problem is that we don’t know where it might be.” He took a second look at me. “She smelled it when the wind changed. Let’s go this way.”

He headed downwind, away from the path, in the opposite direction of the scent. I sniffed the air again as the scent grew stronger, showing that it was gaining on us. The heavier scent of the large carnivore reminded me of the dangerous things that could be found beyond the wall. I had been out there before, and my memories of that short period of time were not fond ones.

Draven eventually slowed, glancing back at me. “Is she still worked up?”

Aeria came to a stop as she turned her head to examine me. I looked over my shoulder, back the way we came, with narrowed eyes. I gave another low growl, warning them that we were still being stalked.

Draven gritted his teeth in frustration. “A crawler isn’t a problem, but I’m not properly armed to take on a sicora. Are you sure that she is picking up those and not something else?”

Aeria was also uneasy. “She has never given warnings in the past, and we have been to four parks over the last few weeks. I can’t imagine what else would make her growl if she can’t even see it.”

Draven started tapping his wrist comm. “Let me call some guards in.” He paused, then tapped his wrist comm a few more times as he narrowed his eyes in confusion. He asked Aeria, “Is your wrist comm working? I can’t get a signal.”

Aeria checked her wrist comm and inhaled sharply. “No. I’m not getting anything.” Aeria swiftly scanned the trees again. “Which means that we are on our own until we can get out of the park. Is there a part of this park where it is more open? If we can see it coming at us, we will have more time to react.”

Draven thought for a few moments. “The trees thin out to the east, and there is less underbrush.”

Aeria started heading in that direction, cautiously picking her way through the trees with her hand on her belt knife. Draven took up the rear, constantly glancing behind himself in case of an attack from behind.

The wind died down, and I could no longer pick up the scent, although I kept looking around in case the large predator tried to sneak up on us.