A New Beginning

Chapter 21

Tessa's POV:

I peeked out from under the bush before sneaking through some very long grass. Pulling handfuls of the numerous flexible blades over me, I created a small grassy cave that should hide my red scales. It wasn't the best, but it would have to work.

My mind kept going back to the conversation I had just overheard. Dragonets were much more important than what Mom and Dad had let on. We protected entire planets! Or, rather, we could if we had a handler.

We didn't even have to be the ones to attack the sicora and crawlers – Mom and Dad had reassured us that a handler wouldn't let us close to such creatures. It was why each of them had at least two guards with them if they were patrolling.

If I understood correctly, we had to go through training first. I didn't know what training was, and the Blood Memories weren't helping since the word applied to many things. Once this game was over, Serena would probably tell me. It didn't take much to get her talking.

Too excited to sit still, I left my hiding place and jumped in the air to join the game even though I knew it wouldn't take them long to spot me. I would just have to try my best to not get tagged.

I was faster than Dirk, but that didn't stop the others from tagging me. I was doing better though, especially with the tips Serena had given me. It was fun to play with so many dragonets at once.

When my wings grew tired, I joined Dirk on a big rock in the sun. It didn't take the adults long to join us for some sunbathing. Serena chose to lay down beside me, politely not blocking the sun.

"Hey, Serena?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you do the same thing Mom does? Clearing ships and stuff?"

"Yes, all dragonets with handlers do."

"How do you do it? Did someone teach you?"

She yawned sleepily. "I thought your mother would have told you about this. Our handler walks around with us, and we hiss or growl if we smell a sicora, crawler, or ktari. Once we find it, the fighters with us do the rest."

"Is there something like training?"

"Not really. Your instincts will do most of it for you, just like in the test the other day. Most of our training is a joke since we can understand them – the majority of the Kymari don't know that, though. The training is mostly about simple things, like leaving whatever you are doing to land on their shoulder or wrist when they call you."

Well, that sounded much easier than I had feared.

"How does a dragonet choose a handler?"

She was quiet for so long that I thought she had fallen asleep. She replied quietly, "It depends on the person and the situation. For me, I had been badly injured. Alec was with Taureen when they found me. Neither of them knew the truth back then. By the time I healed, I didn't want to return to the park – I wanted to hunt sicora instead. Not that Alec would have let me go at that time, since he didn't know I wasn't an animal."

"What about others?"

"Many of them found someone they liked and began following them. It often took them months before they made up their mind and worked up enough courage to leave the park."

That also seemed simple enough, but it meant that I would have to leave Mom and Dad.

"What about the friends and family they left behind?" I asked quietly.