A New Beginning

Chapter 41

Tessa's POV:

My head jerked up to do a double-take as Soranto came down the hallway behind Tkael. He was wearing armor. Abandoning my wall perch, I flew over to land on his newly acquired shoulder pad. I sniffed it a few times and lifted my head to trill a question at him.

Taureen chuckled. "Too bad I didn't have the recorder going to catch her reaction."

"You might not have, but I activated the camera on my armor since I have to test it out as well. I'll turn it off until I leave." Soranto reached up to gently scratch me behind my ear tuft.

I leaned into the scratching while glancing down, although I didn't see the camera he was referring to. In fact, Soranto's new armor was almost the same as what Taureen and Aeria wore when we went on patrols.

The shoulder pads had a different design stamped into the leather-like material, but, otherwise, they were the same as well. He even had the same type of wrist guards that Taureen and Aeria wore. Soranto looked like a fire lizard handler now. He stopped his scratching and pressed a few buttons on his wrist comm, likely turning off the camera.

Taureen tilted his head, gazing intently at his friend. "They added a camera to your armor?"

"Mostly because I'm in training. The two accompanying guards will also have cameras, of course."

"If they try to stick a camera on you, I get first crack at it," Mom told Taureen ominously. "I doubt it will do any good, but then you can break it or at least disable the audio."

I blinked as I realized that a camera would prevent Taureen from talking to Mom during their patrols since it would record his side of their conversations. Normally he couldn't talk if Tran or Vick were around, but a camera would completely prevent him from speaking with Mom while they were working.

Tkael inquired, "Have you decided on who you are choosing for side guards?"

"I was assigned to the same division Taureen is in. Drae is in that group, and we get along quite well. He was happy to accept when I asked. For the other person, I'm debating between Nikra, Soel, or Sipar."

"All three would probably be happy for the position. Their skills are about the same as well," Tkael said.

"It'll probably be easier for me to mention those names to the Captain and let him choose. Fewer hard feelings that way."

Tkael nodded. "Very true."

Taureen glanced out the window at the slow drizzle of rain. "Why don't we go for a walk over to the Aralias Gardens? This will be a good time to see if Tessa will sit on your shoulder without a leash. She will probably stay with you since she won't want to get wet."

"Sure. I'll even pay our way in," Soranto said.

"Deal. Just give Aeria and me a few minutes to put our armor on, then we can truly call it a practice session."

It was a struggle to pretend that I didn't understand what I had just heard. Mom had told me about those gardens – huge areas that were enclosed within glass. Each one was like they had taken a piece of forest or land from somewhere else in the world and brought it here.

Pets weren't allowed inside, but bond animals were an exception. Even we would have to remain on leash while inside. That didn't bother me though – I couldn't wait to see this place.

As Taureen walked down the hallway to the room that stored their armor, he called back over his shoulder, "Tasha, Keegan, Tessa, Dirk. Get ready to go."

That was our cue to get ready as well. I left Soranto's shoulder at the familiar command, heading over to the water bowl for a drink. Dirk was quickly grabbing a few mouthfuls of fruit. Mom joined me at the water bowl while Dad flew into the bathroom.