I sat right inbetween Tuskon's and Marcy's chairs. I caught the scent of something fishy while they were cooking their breakfast and I wanted some. Every bite they took was followed by my eyes. I was really close to upping my begs when Tuskon looked down at me from where he sat.

He waved his utensil with a piece of fish in the air, "Do you want some?"

I did a little spin just like how my dog always did to show my excitement. I really wanted that fish.

"Okay Aspen, sit."

I was pleased that he used my name so I sat as quickly as I could. I heard Dan chuckling in our mindlink. He wasn't interested in any fish so he had stayed in the doorway. I was barely even able to get in here before they tried to shut the door. I may be only as big as his foot, but it wasn't about to stop me from getting inside.

Tuskon reached down and I used my nose to bump around his fingers until I found my desired treat.

Marcy's voice rose above my chewing, "You've chosen their names already? When did this happen?"

Tuskon finished a bite from his plate, "There were two voices that came to me last night. It was so weird. Try thinking of whispering, but instead of it being spoke into your ear, it skips right into your brain."

Marcy spoke with humor lacing her words, "Okay so this inside voice told you her name would be Aspen, so what about his?"

Tuskon looked at Dan who was still waiting in the doorway and held out his hand. "Dan, to fist."

Dan swerved his head at the sound of his name being called and took off to fly to Tuskon's clenched fist. He was offered a piece of fish but turned it down after sniffing it and then snorting.

Tuskon dropped the fish back onto his plate, "I guess you don't want any."

I let out a high pitched chirp that they'd be able to hear, "I want it!"

Marcy looked down at me and laughed, "Looks like there is someone else who wants it."

I chirped again while jumping to my feet, "That's what I said!"

Tuskon bent over in his chair to put his hand closer to the ground, "Aspen, to fist."

It wasn't a command that they had tried with me yet, but I was determined to get that fish. I scampered over to his fist with help of my echolocation and carefully climbed on top without clawing him. I wobbled a little as he lifted me up and gave me a bite size piece if fish. I still wasn't satisfied.

I swallowed the fish and whistled at him, "Come on, just a little more?"

Tuskon shook his head, "How are you still hungry after being fed earlier? Where is all this food going?"

I narrowed my blind eyes at him as I answered with a few tweets, "That's a different stomach, now give me more fish!"

Tuskon laughed and raised his fist to his shoulder, "Aspen, to shoulder."

If it means more fish, I'll do it! I jumped from his fist to his shoulder and kept my balance with the pad he was wearing over top his shirt. He gave me a bigger piece of fish and I laid down to enjoy the flavor. After finishing, I was content and completely stuffed. Even if they didn't use any spices on their food, it still tasted amazing.

I rested on his shoulder pad as he finished his breakfast. They chatted over different things that I didn't overly care about. Once they switched the topic over to us, I really began listening.

Marcy had started doing the dishes as she talked, "Dan is doing really well with the commands. He's probably almost ready to begin patrolling."

Tuskon reached up to set me down, "I think you're right, but I doubt he'd want to be separated from his mate. We'll have to wait until they're both up to it to start doing patrols. To fist, Aspen."

I followed his command and received a piece of mango he had gotten out of his fridge-like storage container. It was a yummy mango.

We walked around until he decided to set me under the heat lamp. The heat felt good and with my stomach full, I decided to take a nap.

I was almost asleep when Dan landed next to me. "Once you've learned the commands, we can finally hunt down sicora!"

I didn't open my eyes as I yawned at him, "I won't be much help on that front."

Dan laid down next to me, "If the ships are as dark as Tasha says they are, your echolocation will come in handy. Besides, it's not like you'd have to fight them, just find them."

I huffed at him, "We'll see how it goes. I'm just going to let you do all the work anyways."

We ended our conversation as both of us tried to catch some shut eye. Once again my sleep was interrupted when Tuskon and Marcy started having a discussion of their own.

"Aspen's back is almost well enough to remove the bandages. Her scales won't fully come in for a few more weeks but she should be able to fly without hurting herself." Tuskon was walking around the room talking to Marcy.

"You shouldn't let her off leash during the patrols then. Without protection on her back she can really get hurt if she tries to go after a sicora." Marcy was somewhere in the far end of the room.

"Aspen will need more training but she does seem to know the commands pretty well from watching Dan." Tuskon paused, "Speaking of leashes, when were those fitted harnesses going to be finished?"

"I was going to pick them up today along with the netting for the backyard."

I yawned without looking up, "When was the last time we were outside?"

Dan also sounded tired, "It's been too long, that's for sure."

* * *

I wasn't aware of when I fell asleep but I woke up to Tuskon's scent right in front of me. Clicking, I looked up at him. He was holding something thin in his hands. I look over at Dan to see him already in his harness and instantly knew what was coming my way.

I sat up and growled as Tuskon placed the harness around my back. The bandage was still on minimizing the contact the harness had to my growing scales. Dan shook hard to receive a tinkling sound from his scales. I followed suite and shook gaining a slightly lighter tinkle.

Tuskon put out both hands, "Dan, Aspen, to fist."

I could smell the apple he had in his grip and was slightly hungry. Dan was already eating his piece when I reached his other fist. Tuskon lifted us up and I spread my wings out to keep my balance. I couldn't feel any more pain.

We were taken out the back door and I was hit with a gust of fresh air. I took in a deep breath and smiled. I could smell the greenery and feel the sun heated breeze on my bandaged back.

Dan was awe struck. "Woah."

I looked over at him. "What?"

My silver companion sent an amazing image to me. The backyard was pretty large, as if it was meant for kids to run around in. Along the edges were flowers of all kinds of colors. Taking in another deep breath, I could smell the light sweet scent of each of them.

One flower in particular caught my minds eye right away. There were bluebells growing in the shadiest areas of the garden. One of my fondest memories as a human was when I was hiking in the beautiful mountains of Alaska. Bluebells grew all over the area and the sweet honey within the flower bulbs were delicious.

I spread out my wings, getting ready to take off when Dan whistled at me, "Wait for the command."

I looked over at him and then up at Tuskon. I had forgotten there was a command we had to wait for. It annoyed me but I refolded my wings and waited.

After a few seconds Tuskon held out his gloved fists, "Go ahead."

I took off and flew to where I remembered seeing the tiny blue flowers. I used my echolocation and nose to pinpoint my awaiting treat. Once it was located I took a bite of the first one I came across. The petals were soft on my tounge and the honey lingered for a few seconds before I swallowed.

I was about to take another one when Tuskon called out, "Aspen, Dan. Come."

I quickly bit off the stem of a few flower pods and landed next to Dan on the same wrist.

Dan sniffed the flowers and turned to face me, "What are these for?"

I looked at him, "It's to eat, you dummy."

Tuskon looked at the flowers in my mouth, "Why did you bring those over here?"

I snorted at our handler and turned to face Dan once more, "Just try it."

He looked at the plant for a second more before taking a hesitant bite of the delicate flower. His breath got caught and he stopped chewing for a split second before going to devour a second flower.

At the last moment, I pulled the flower away from his reach and Dan bit into open air. He leaned closer to try to get the flower and I stepped farther up Tuskon's arm. I was completely ignoring his presence as I continued to tease my mate.

Tuskon had stretched out his arm trying to keep us away from his face, "Go on, don't do that on my arm."

I laughed and took his cue to fly off his arm with Dan hot on my tail. I did a trail of clicks and spins as I tried to avoid my chaser. Dan quickly caught up and tackled me midair. Our fall was softened thanks to both of our wings.

We rolled a few times in the soft grass and came to a stop with Dan on top of me. He tickled my neck with his silver muzzle until I dropped the stem of flowers. I reached up and lightly knawed on his shoulder and tackled him so he was the one on the bottom of the dog pile.

We did this for a short while before we both grew tired. The sun was warm on our backs as we laid next to each other and shared the rest of the bluebells. Tuskon walked up and we both looked up at him as he approached.

"Aspen, Dan. To fist." Tuskon held up only one hand this time.

I followed Dan as we landed together on his outstretched hand. Dan nuzzled my neck with his nose and I responded by nibbling his ear tuff. He shook me off to better face Tuskon who was watching us.

"You two are ridiculous." Tuskon shook his head and began walking back to the house.

I nudged Dan with a grin, "He's talking about you."

He laughed and flicked me with the tip of his tail, "I'm pretty sure it was aimed more at you."

We were brought back into the house but Tuskon didn't stop. As he reached the front door he clipped leashes onto our harnesses and placed us on each of his shoulders. I hadn't realized, but Tuskon had on his new handler armor.

Tuskon reached for the door handle, "Time to go."