A New Beginning

Chapter 68

Tessa's POV:

I stirred and curled up tighter, not quite ready to get up. The heavy scent of Kymari was very strong. Not exactly unpleasant, but noticeable even though I was still half-asleep.

The feeling of cloth under me was another inconsistency. The sound of deep, slow breathing very close by was what finally made me open my eyes. Not that I could see anything in the pitch-black area.

When I lifted my head, it brushed against cloth that was hanging just above me. I set my head back down, realizing that I must be under the blankets beside Soranto. If nothing else, it was nice and warm in here.

I relaxed for a while more before I really had to visit the bathroom. In the darkness, I wasn't sure which way was out. Lifting my head, I brushed my ear tufts against the blanket overhead, testing to see which side angled up more.

Getting to my feet, I slinked through the tiny gap of open space beside Soranto. If I guessed wrong, I could always tickle his feet. I didn't even know if he was ticklish.

The blankets brushed against my scales as my head poked out into the fresh air. Soranto remained laying on his side as he watched me slide out from under the blankets and shake myself off. My scales chimed faintly.

I yawned and stretched my wings. "Good morning."

"Good morning. Did you sleep well?"

"Yes. How long have you been awake?"

"Not long."

The truthfulness of that statement was up for debate, although what I may consider as 'not long' could likely be very different for a Kymari. I had other priorities, though, and stood on my hind legs to look around the room

"Is that the bathroom?" I asked, sending him an image of the half-open door. The other door was the one that led to the corridor.

"Yes, it is."

"Thanks."

I stretched my wings a few more times before flying across the room and into the bathroom. The setup was exactly what I was used to seeing during our patrols. Once I washed my hands and feet, I flew back into the main room.

Soranto was rubbing the last of the salve into the darkest bruises. Landing beside him on the bed, I took a closer look at the bruises. Most of the smaller ones had disappeared overnight. The rest of them were noticeably lighter.

"Those are healing quite fast."

"The salve and healing accelerant pills work well for minor things like this. It will still take a week or so for the cracked rib to fully heal."

"And your ankle?"

"I'm hoping the limp is gone, although it will probably take a few days for the pain to completely fade."

He stood up and took a few steps to test it out. The limp wasn't as noticeable, although it was still present. I sent him a mental image of it.

He glanced back at me. "Do all fire lizards talk with their handlers?"

"So far, yes. It takes some of them a bit of time to get to that point. Now that you know, all official handlers are in the loop."

"Am I supposed to be feeling bits of your emotions behind your words?"

"This is about normal for a conversation. We can include images of things we've seen or we can send more emotion if we want."

He came back and sat down beside me. "It's different, although I really like being able to talk with you. I hope I didn't offend you at some point with how I treated you like an animal."