A New Beginning

Chapter 4

Tasha's POV:

I nudged Tessa over the edge of the nest as she shakily crawled over to the low pan with litter. Even though it was only the beginning of the third day, the difference in the hatchlings' size and coordination was remarkable. It was enough of a difference that I really had to start calling them nestlings at this point.

As much as I detested it, I had agreed that the stump could be permanently removed, allowing the nestlings to remain under the main heat lamp that Keegan and I used. It made it easier for Taureen and Aeria to help feed Tessa and Dirk. I had scratched a shallow dip out for a nest, but it wasn't as deep since potty training had to start sometime.

Tessa quickly did her business, even clumsily attempting to cover the smelly leavings, before stumbling back towards the nest. As she started to go over the edge of the nest, her legs gave out, causing her to roll into the nest with a surprised squeak. It was only one roll, so I wasn't too concerned.

She remained laying on her back as she blinked at the world around her. The slight haze in her eyes showed that her sight still hadn't cleared up, which was to be expected at such a young age.

Out of curiosity, I bumped her with my nose, sending a mental picture of how she looked on her back. She gave a chirping whistle and tried to respond the same way. It wasn't her first attempt at mindlinking, and her efforts usually didn't succeed, but the slightly blurry image of my golden face appeared in my mind. Things in the background were just vague blurry splotches of color.

Aeria was sitting nearby and smiled tenderly at the rather cute-looking nestling. These two were just as irresistible as a couple of tiny kittens, so I couldn't exactly blame her. She reached out to dangle a string with several large, shiny beads above the silly scarlet youngster.

The sparkly object immediately had Tessa's attention, and she stared at the slightly swaying object in fascination before trying to reach out to bat at it with her hands.

~ ~ ~ Tessa's POV:

It was shiny. I didn't know what it was, but I wanted it. It swayed back and forth temptingly, and I tried to catch it again, but it was just out of my reach. It was also fast. It evaded my hands time and time again.

I tried harder, stretching my hands further up, yet it kept evading my grasp. Eventually, I gave up, curling my arms against my chest and creeling piteously at it, begging it to come down.

It must have heard me since it came closer. I watched it, biding my time. Glimmers of the proper ways to ambush things flickered along the edge of my thoughts, distracting me with their clarity and knowledge. Light reflected off of the sparkly thing, reclaiming my attention once more. It was almost close enough...

There! I was quick enough to grab it this time. I wrapped myself around it to prevent it from escaping. It tugged lightly in my grasp, trying to escape. I rolled over to pin it beneath my stomach, and it finally lay limp.

I caught it! I caught the shiny! It was mine now!

Keeping my hands on it, I stood up to get a better look at my new treasure. It shimmered and glimmered from between my claws. I bared my teeth in prideful success at my accomplishment.

A deep, off-key crooning from the side made me look over. The big green one was holding something red in her fingers. More food! I had just finished eating, but there was always room for more!

Sitting back on my haunches, I opened my mouth wide. Mom, Dad, and the two big green ones took turns feeding us. The red thing was dropped into my mouth, and I chewed the juicy red thing in a couple of bites. A few other pieces were offered before my stomach told me that it just couldn't hold any more at the moment. I closed my mouth and turned back to my shiny.