A New Beginning

Chapter 28

Tessa's POV:

The days and weeks slipped by in a blur of happiness. Our days varied slightly, although our daily walks and park visits were a guarantee if the weather was good. Some days I accompanied Taureen and Mom, and other days I was with Aeria and Dad. Occasionally, all of us wandered the streets and buildings of the city together.

I partially folded my wings as I dove through an opening in the tree canopy. I might not be quite as agile as Mom or Dad, but I was nimble enough to weave between the numerous branches. My smaller size also allowed me to slip through areas that the older fledglings couldn't.

Swooping down towards the sandy area along the creek, I backwinged as hard as I could, although I still skidded to a halt from my speed.

"I win!" I crowed triumphantly. "And Tracey takes second place!"

The gold dragonet landed beside me and grinned as she tried to catch her breath.

It wasn't more than a few seconds before most of the others were within sight. Our races were usually pretty close, although Tracey and I usually ended up competing against each other.

Dirk landed heavily and snorted. "How about a wrestling match?"

It was my turn to snort. "I'll pass, thanks."

Dirk had bulked up a lot, and it was no longer as much fun to wrestle with him since he always won.

Abby wasn't keen on a wrestling match either. "What else can we do? We already bothered the Kymari and ate all of the fruit they were carrying. We visited Florence and brought some fruit for her nestlings. I'm not hungry enough to try locating a tree with ripe fruit."

Dirk tilted his head in consideration. "We already swam in the creek and had a race. So, unless we want to go for another swim or sunbathe, I'm not sure."

A purple fledgling commented, "Why don't we go sunbathe with the adults for a while?"

Most of the others nodded and began flying towards the area our parents usually hung out. Reluctantly, I took to the air as I joined them. I simply didn't understand how the wild fledglings and adults managed to sunbathe and nap so much.

It didn't take us long to reach the clearing where about twenty dragonets were relaxing. Mom looked up as we glided into the area above them.

"Do you two want to nap now?" she asked, limiting her discussion to just Dirk and me. "There is something I would like to show you, but it can wait until after you relax."

Dirk's ear tufts perked up in interest. "I'd like to see it."

"Count me in," I added. Almost anything was better than napping.

Mom got up and began leading us through the trees. She seemed lost in thought as she flew. Her silence and unusually solemn mood made me glance at Dirk, although he was no wiser than I was and just shrugged as best he could while flying.

She landed on a branch above a small pond beside one of the Kymari walking trails. We landed next to her. This area wasn't exactly new to us, which just left me more confused.

"This is the place where I made my choice to join the Kymari," Mom told us softly, her voice distant. "Drake had cut out my old tracker, and it must have flowed down the creek into this pond. I found Taureen on this bench days later, mourning because he thought I had died. I made my choice years ago, but soon you will have to decide what you want."

This wasn't the first time we had heard the story of Mom's original escape and return, although this was the first time she was telling us that we would have to make a decision.