Tessa’s POV:

  When we got home, Tkael and Soranto came inside for their usual visit. They had bought some pre-cooked food on the way home, and Tkael and Soranto set out the plates and utensils while Taureen and Aeria removed our harnesses. Mine was set to the side, likely due to the lingering mud smeared under several straps.

  As they settled down to enjoy their dinner, I went through the access flap into the backyard. My scales were still itchy from that mud. I rolled around in the damp sand on the edge of the pond and scrubbed my scales. It took a lot of work, but I finally got most of the grit out from under my scales. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to reach my back or various parts of my wings.

  I went back inside and curled up beside Dirk under the heat lamp, waiting impatiently for Taureen or Aeria to bring out the cleaning kit. They were barely halfway done eating, but I wasn’t about to be so rude as to ask them to stop eating just to clean my scales.

  I rolled upside down on the warm sand with a long-suffering sigh. My impatience was somehow managing to even annoy me; possibly more so than my restless shifting was bothering my brother as he attempted to nap.

  With a single beat of her wings, Mom jumped to the center table and landed beside Taureen’s plate. After a few sniffs, she grabbed a small piece of greyish stringy stuff and returned to her previous spot under the heat lamp. As she laid down, she pulled off strands and nibbled on them. My nostrils flared, and I snorted.

  “That isn’t fruit,” I informed her, completely clueless as to how she had managed to mistake it for something edible.

  She glanced at me from the corner of her eye before tearing off a larger chunk and tossing it at me. I recoiled from the foreign object. She gave a feeding croon and watched.

  I eyed it uncertainly. “What is it?”

  “Something I enjoy occasionally. You might also like it.”

  I sniffed it and shook my head, still convinced that she was crazy. It clearly wasn’t fruit. Mom narrowed her eyes, still watching. I now knew how Soranto felt when I had tormented him earlier. The only difference was that Mom was eating this stringy thing, and I was smart enough to never try that yellow fruit again.

  I gave it a tentative lick, unwilling to put it in my mouth right away. It was…strange. It wasn’t sweet or sour, nor did it have the heavy taste that a cantaloupe or mango had.

  After a second lick of the completely foreign-tasting thing, I decided it wasn’t bad. Just different. I picked it up and took a careful bite. It was much harder to bite through than fruit and oddly stringy. No wonder Mom was tearing off small shreds.

  I cautiously chewed a small piece. The texture was so strange. Kind of like the thick pulp of an orange, but not quite. It was good enough that I finished the piece Mom had given me, but it wasn’t something I wanted more of.

  “What was that?”

  “I’m not too sure. Probably some sort of bird.”

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  Images of the little pretty songbirds from the park immediately plagued me, and I sent them to Mom.

  “No, it would be something they raise for meat. Like a chicken.” She sent an image of a fat bird whose calls were nothing like the songbirds.

  It made me feel a bit better, although I had zero desire in trying another piece of the meat right now. The unusual silence made me aware of our spectators.

  “That was interesting,” Tkael commented quietly. “She wasn’t too keen on it, so meat might be an acquired taste.”

  “Or it may come with age,” Taureen countered thoughtfully. “Keegan or Tasha occasionally raid our plates, but this is the first time I’ve seen them offer it to the fledglings.”

  Tkael shrugged. “Time will tell.”

  When they finished eating, Soranto collected the dishes and took them to the kitchen. Aeria followed with the leftover food. My head lifted the moment I saw Taureen pull out the cleaning kit.

  I didn’t waste a single moment as I bounded over. I took care not to step on the pale red marks on his leg. They were all that remained of the cuts that had been under the bandages.

  I lay down on his lap as he pulled out the scouring pad and began scrubbing my scales gently. My head lolled to the side, and I examined the red marks just past my nose. With a slow blink, I realized that there were two sets of four long healing cuts. Exactly like a dragonet hadn’t watched their claws.

  The marks were too far apart for any of the fledglings. He also had the injuries before we had visited the park. I wracked my brain, but all I could think of was that Mom or Dad must have slipped at the wrong moment. I made a mental note to avoid making such a mistake, especially since my claws were getting much sharper.

  “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this dirty, Tessa. What did you do? Roll in the mud?”

  It took a force of will to not react in a way that Tkael might notice. Dirk sneezed from under the heat lamp, although his laughter rang across the mindlink.

  “Something like that…” I muttered, embarrassment coloring my voice as I let him and my family hear my response.

  Soranto and Aeria returned, and Mom flew over to Aeria when she pulled out another cleaning kit. It took Taureen a long time to clean my scales. Aeria finished polishing and oiling Mom’s scales before he finally got the last bit of dirt off me. Dad had just taken her place, leaving Dirk to whine and nudge my side as he looked longingly at the scouring pad in Taureen’s hand.

  With an annoyed sigh, I snagged the vial of oil and flew across the room to Soranto. He might help oil us, but I had yet to see him or Tkael pick up the scouring pad. Soranto was familiar with the routine and took the vial from me as I spread my wings.

  I nearly fell asleep. Even after Soranto finished oiling my scales, I had no desire to move. The itch and grit were finally gone. I remained where I was, half-dozing as the evening went by.

  Eventually, Soranto picked me up as he got to his feet. I meeped at him, sad that he was disturbing my rest. He took several steps before hesitating. I finally opened my eyes to see him standing near the end table with the heat lamp.

  Mom and Dad watched him with narrowed eyes, clearly not thrilled with his proximity. My muscles were limp, and I couldn’t convince myself to get to my feet and glide down.

  “Easy. I’m just returning your baby to you,” he murmured softly as he carefully lowered me to the edge of the sand tray.

  Mom gave a faint growl as he got closer. Soranto set me on the sand, withdrew his hands, and stepped back with a relieved sigh.

  “Pretty impressive,” Tkael commented from where he was still sitting. “I was halfway expecting her to try and scratch you like she usually does, but she didn’t even hiss.”

  “I’m pretty sure it was because my fingers were hiding behind Tessa,” Soranto admitted.

  Tkael chuckled as he got to his feet and clapped Soranto on the shoulder. “One step at a time. I’m pretty sure that we pushed Tasha to her limits tonight, so let’s leave while we are still ahead.”

  “Sounds good to me. See you tomorrow, Taureen, Aeria.”

  “Good night,” Taureen and Aeria both replied.

  I yawned and curled up tighter.