Tasha’s POV:

  When the doorbell rang, I hissed and spread a wing over the sleeping dragonets. Keegan growled lowly from the perch above as he sat up, ready to dive-bomb our familiar guests if necessary.

  Taureen went to let Tkael and Soranto in as opposed to just calling out and letting them come in on their own. He led the way back into the room as the two Kymari cautiously followed him.

  A fierce hiss was my greeting to them; although, to give them credit, they didn’t even glance in my direction. They likely thought that ignoring me would make me think they were unaware of the little ones under my wing. They sat down on the couch on the far side of the room, still not looking in my direction.

  Tkael asked Taureen, “How have you been doing? Tired of being cooped up yet?”

  A tinge of guilt ran through me; Taureen wouldn’t leave the house while I was here, and I wasn’t about to leave the nestlings, even if Keegan and Aeria were keeping watch.

  Taureen didn’t seem bothered though. “I have been doing a lot of work around the house. Almost all of the renovations are done. It might get tiresome in a few more days, but Tasha might be willing to go for a walk by then.”

  Soranto was dubious. “I don’t see how you will get her away from her babies. Her maternal instincts are clearly alive and well. I’m surprised she even let me in this room. If she wasn’t so set on hiding them from us, I bet she would have chased us out by now.”

  Just for that comment, I was sorely tempted to try it. I refrained and simply growled at him again. Keegan was still watching them alertly, but being more cautious than me, I doubted he would go after our guests unless they got too close.

  I also knew they wouldn’t come close. For starters, Taureen wouldn’t allow it, and he was my designated handler. When it came to us, his word was law, unless an Elder overruled it. That didn’t take Keegan or myself into account either, and our claws were very sharp.

  I remained where I was—with my wing over the nestlings—as the Kymari visited like they normally did. Tkael and Soranto didn’t look directly at me, although I knew they were subtly watching and hoping for a glimpse of the nestlings.

  Movement beneath my wings told me that they were about to get their wish. Hungry creels sounded as one of the nestlings bumped the underside of my wing. Keegan swooped down to land beside me, “accidentally” sitting in the best spot to prevent our two guests from seeing the nestlings.

  I stretched my neck out to grab some fruit from a nearby bowl before finally lifting my wing. At this point, both nestlings were awake and convinced they were dying of starvation. Keegan and I fed the nestlings with frequent glances at our company. I never caught them looking at us, but I was sure they were.

  Soranto’s disappointed comment confirmed my suspicions. “I can’t see anything due to how they’re sitting.”

  Taureen reached over and picked up a small sliver of fruit which he fed to Dirk. I rustled my wings in disapproval; he didn’t have to show off that we allowed him to help with the nestlings.

  Dirk got to his feet and began walking toward the litter tray. I swiftly stood up to stand beside him—conveniently using my body to block Soranto and Tkael’s view of my baby boy. Tessa was also starting to glance more and more frequently at the litter tray between mouthfuls of fruit.

  Tkael quietly said, “I’m surprised they are already learning to use a litter tray, although it makes sense, since the parents would want to keep the nest as clean as possible.”

  “And the parents are definitely using their bodies to prevent us from seeing the little ones,” Soranto complained.

  They were avoiding the use of our names since they knew that we—like most companion animals—picked up more than they likely realized, and that using our names would catch our attention.

  It took a bit of coordination between Keegan and me, but we managed to get the nestlings to the litter tray and back while continuing to act as a sight barrier. I sighed in relief as I curled around the nest with my wing over the children.

  Keegan laid down beside me and draped his wing over my back and shoulder protectively. Little nudges from under my wing were evidence that the nestlings were starting to do more besides simply sleep and eat. I kept my wing in place, hoping that they would settle down and go to sleep.

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  After several squawks, a couple of whistles, and what felt like a few wrestling matches, they finally stilled once more. I was grateful that they had gone to sleep so easily. Within a day or so, they would be rambunctious and full of energy—and there would be no chance of containing them beneath my wing so easily.

  It wouldn’t be much longer before they would be too big to completely fit under my wing.

  ***

  Tessa’s POV:

  I peeked over my shoulder, but still only saw one of the big green ones in the room. The word ‘Kymari’ quietly sat in the back of my mind. Mom, Dad, and the other big green one were outside.

  This was my chance to find the shiny again! I carefully looked around the end table, but it wasn’t there. Perhaps it was hiding. I might be able to see it if I walked to the edge of the table.

  I barely got to the edge of the sand tray before the green one’s hand gently pushed me back into the nest. I squawked as I rolled backward down the slight incline. Getting to my feet, I tried to tell her that I just wanted to look for the shiny, but—somehow—I knew that she couldn’t hear my mindvoice.

  I tried climbing out again and again; each time getting gently rolled back into the nest. Whining pitifully, I tried to get my message across with physical sounds.

  She spoke aloud with words that my jaws simply couldn’t replicate, “What’s the matter? Is the sun calling to you too? I’m not sure how old you guys usually are when you start to feel the Morning Song… Hmmm… I know.”

  Reaching over, she picked me up in her hands. My feet had never been off the sand before, and I tried to hang onto her hands tightly in my sudden fear. I quickly curled my tail around me so that I was completely laying in her hands. The ground was really far away now, and I didn’t want to risk falling.

  She walked across the room with smooth strides before stopping in front of the window. I stared in shock, my apprehension of being so high up completely forgotten. I had never seen anything like it before. There were so many pretty colors; oranges, yellows, blues, and streaks of pink. Something big and bright was peeking above ground.

  It was far nicer than the shiny I had been searching for, and it taunted me from its distant hiding place. I lacked words for it. It was…It was… Knowledge came to me and gave it a name. It was the sun.

  The hidden knowledge also told me that the sun rose every day! Always in the place called East, and the pretty colors were part of the sunrise. It was nearly impossible to tear my eyes away from it, but I saw Mom and Dad sitting on a big piece of wood not far away. They were also watching the sun.

  The sun demanded my attention and seemed to shimmer as it slowly rose. I shifted my weight restlessly; I really wanted to go to it, like it was calling me. I didn’t understand the longing and desire that its silent plea was creating.

  Mom and Dad suddenly shot up into the sky, and I stared at them as they wove around one another in twists and twirls mid-air. The hidden knowledge provided faint images of other dragonets in a similar dance; a dance that answered the sun’s greeting—the Morning Song.

  The sun distracted me as it called to me even more strongly. I spread my wings wide with a warbling whistle; I held on tight to the green one’s hand and tried a few clumsy flaps while I continued to whistle and trill at the sun. Some of my sounds seemed out of place, but I could see that Mom and Dad’s flight perfectly matched the rhythm I was feeling.

  Harmonizing my voice to their song and dance was hard, but I wasn’t about to give up! My wings refused to fold while the sun called me, so I kept flapping them awkwardly—but they were starting to hurt. I had never used them like this before.

  The sun had mostly risen by the time exhaustion made me stop. I laid in the green one’s hand, panting hard with my wings still half unfurled. Mom and Dad were still dancing, effortlessly flitting through the air. I wanted to dance like that! As I watched them, I promised myself that I would fly like that one day.

  With a surprised snort, I sat up—the sun’s call was rapidly fading. The sun completely cleared the horizon, and even as I felt the call disappear into nothingness, Mom and Dad glided away from where they had danced.

  The green one holding me murmured, “That was certainly interesting. It’s a pity I didn’t catch that on video for Tasha and Keegan.” She turned around as she headed back to the end table with the heat lamp. “Your brother didn’t even wake up.”

  I blinked in disbelief at the blue ball of scales that had slept through the whole thing. I couldn’t believe it! The sun had called us—and he didn’t even wake up! Did he not realize just how serious this was?

  I was gently put down on the sand, and I started chattering as I verbally scolded him. I walked over, making sure I didn’t roll down the slippery sand, before batting him with my wing as I bombarded him with mental images of what I had just seen.

  He sleepily blinked at me, sending back a sense of confusion—unsure why I thought it was so important. I mindlinked him with actual words, which wasn’t easy.

  “The sun! It called us! You missed it! It was bright and pretty and yellow and blue and it made me want to dance!”

  He yawned as he curled up tighter, his sleepy voice mumbled, “The light in the room is bright, and fruit is pretty. I will look at them when I wake up.”

  I squawked my disbelief and frustration—a light in the room was not the rising sun! A slight snore told me that Dirk had already fallen asleep. I grumbled and muttered to myself, but I knew he just wasn’t going to believe me until he saw it himself.

  That was the answer! Tomorrow, when the sun called again, I would wake him up so he could see it too! Then he could see it for himself! That was my plan.

  Satisfied for now, I curled up beside him, scratching slightly at my ear tuft before falling asleep as well.