A New Beginning

Chapter 44

Tessa's POV:

Aeria held up a new harness. "Your new harness won't have the flaw that your older ones did, so it won't be possible to get out of this one. We had to disguise it on your last harness so Soranto wouldn't see it. Considering he's coming over soon to watch the Morning Song, I can either leave this one on the hook or leave your old one hanging for today."

I understood the subtle hint; this was my last easy chance to back out of my plan.

"We can hang up the new one," I confidently replied.

She nodded and put the slightly larger harness on the hook. I subtly glanced at Dirk, who was still sleeping beneath the heat lamp. I still hadn't told anyone about his cuddling session, but I was wondering if he was having second thoughts about potentially joining the wild flock.

My eyes strayed to the window, although there was still some time until the sun rose. Between my undisturbed sleep in the back room and the anticipation of Soranto arriving early, I had been the first one to wake up. Soranto would also get to come with us on patrol again today! I was really looking forward to it.

I flew to the front door and peered out the window to see if he was coming yet. The worst part about this window was that I couldn't see any of the east-facing windows. The possible lure of the rising sun had me flying back to the living room again to check.

Taureen opened up the back door. "Why don't we go outside? He'll likely show up at the back gate since he is coming right from his place."

A place to wait for both Soranto and the rising sun? I couldn't pass up that offer. I flew past him and landed on the driftwood where we usually waited for the Morning Song. It was so hard to sit still. Normally, I had no trouble waiting for the sun to rise, but this morning I kept looking at the back gate.

Spreading my wings once more, I flew up to the top of the fairly short trees for a better vantage point. The netting wasn't far away, but the height allowed me to see the wide walking trail that separated the backyards. The benches, shrubs, and trees that grew beyond the fence made it hard for those in the backyards to see who was walking there, which was probably the point.

I twisted my head to the side and stared at a clump of bushes that I had seen a glimpse of motion behind. My wings sagged in disappointment when I got a better look at the Kymari walking there – it wasn't Soranto.

Waiting had never been my strong point, especially when I was excited. With a groan, I deliberately overbalanced while hanging onto the branch, flipping upside down. Then I just hung there while watching the empty trail.

I heard the back door open as Aeria's voice became audible. "-she's out here somewhere. It isn't unusual for her to be the first one to wait for the sunrise."

My head whipped around in surprise, and I almost lost my grip on the branch. Soranto was here! I let go of the branch so I could fly over.

As I was flying over, Taureen greeted him, "Good morning. I'm surprised you didn't walk."

Soranto shrugged. "The shuttle was faster, and I got a bit distracted with a few small renovations."

I landed on Soranto's shoulder pad with a trill of welcome, happy to see him again.

He reached up to scratch behind my ear tuft. "Good morning to you, too."

I warbled my amusement. I was looking forward to the day he learned that I could understand him perfectly, although that was a very long time away. In the meantime, he seemed to be getting the gist of things.

A glimpse of gold flashed past the corner of my eye as Mom flew over to the driftwood. Dad glided past as well, followed by Dirk. There were still a few minutes left, so I remained on Soranto's shoulder as I softly whistled a quiet, happy tune, although my eyes were mostly focused on the horizon.