°~《Chapter Four》~°☆☆

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-Eight years later-

"Aspen?" I heard Dan's soft chirping voice and felt his gentle nudge as I jolted awake.

"What-" My confused mindvoice went out to him, still disoriented from the recent sleep.

Dan slowly sank against my side with a wing draped over my back, "You looked like you were in the middle of a nightmare."

I remained silent for a short time as Dan waited patiently for me to respond, "I was running away from something. It started out as the scientists from the lab, then it turned into the votaks, and then it turned into the kymari."

Dan used his nose to nuzzle the underside of my chin, "Was it any different from your past nightmares?"

"Not really." I didn't elaborate further as I shivered from the memory.

The image of the votaks was still heavily ingrained into my mind from the fresh nightmare. Their murky white bodies, tall lanky figures, dark soulless eyes, and bug-like mouth and antennas were something I would never forget.

I could feel Dan's emotions and I interrupted him before he could apologize, "Whatever it is you're thinking, stop. It's not your fault. Someone else would have shown me what they looked like even if you hadn't."

His mindvoice was filled with warmth, "That doesn't stop me from wishing I could take away all of your fears."

A lighthearted laugh escaped my mouth and leaked amusement into our mindlink, "You have been protecting me ever since we left the lab. You deserve to have peace as well."

Ignoring my invitation to rest from worrying about me, he nipped lightly at one of my ear tufts instead, "You are my peace."

"Yup, ok. It's time to get the day started before I die of all your corny comebacks." I couldn't help but chuckle again as I stood up and whacked him playfully with my tail. I let out a trill of short clicks, ignoring the bubbling feeling inside my chest from his meaningful words, "I believe the morning song is in the same place as it was yesterday. Can you tell how long we have?"

Dan didn't hide his amusement from me as he responded, "I'd say there's still a good hour before it starts. It's only slightly hard to tell with the overcast weather, but there should be plenty of time to grab a bite to eat first."

I turned my attention to Dan with my clicks as he sent me an image of the view right outside the burrow we called home. He launched into the air and I followed not far behind as he took the lead towards one of our favorite alien fruit trees. We stopped on one of the higher branches and began eating our fill in comfortable silence.

With nothing else to occupy my time, I couldn't help but think back to my nightmare. I hadn't told Dan, but most of my nightmares usually consisted of more than just being chased. A lot of the time I would watch as my family was killed in cold blood at the hands of the votaks and there was absolutely nothing I could do as I watched, helplessly stuck in place in view of it all.

It wasn't fair. And knowing that unfairness was just part of life, didn't make me feel any better. Life had dealt us a hand of rotting lemons and all I wanted to do was throw them and make life take them back. But I couldn't. I was stuck with these rotting lemons and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get rid of them.

A lot of the other dragonets were taking the situation a lot better than I was. For starters, most of them seemed rather pleased with the demise of our captors. I, however, didn't know what to feel. I knew I could never go back to the life I once had, but I had also hoped that my family would be able to continue on without me. I never wanted their lives to end the way they did. I hadn't even wished for such an end to come to the scientists who had held us captive. Sure, we all wanted them to get what they deserved, but this wasn't what I wanted.

Sensing my mood going down hill, Dan interrupted my thoughts, "Do you want to go bring over some extra fruit to Patty and her hatchlings?"

My mind was instantly brought out of its stupor and I didn't need to think twice about what he said before I agreed, "Yes! I've got to make sure I see them again before they outgrow the nest completely!"

Dan chuckled at my excitement and I could even imagine him smiling. We didn't have any children of our own, but that had been intentional. I was still far too fearful and the children from the flock were enough to appease my desire for now. I knew I didn't want to hold it off forever, but Dan was more than willing to wait until I was fully ready for the role.

I felt the intense emotions of his love for me as we both gathered an armful of the alien fruit we had just been munching on. The white fruit slightly resembled a plum and tasted somewhat like a sour orange. Our blood memories told us it was called a pralit and because of its slightly sour flavor, a lot of the other dragonets tended to ignore it; and that meant more for us.

I held onto the fruit firmly in my arms as Dan led the way once again. Careful with the timing of my clicks to avoid the occasional branch, we flew through the canopies before diving down to where Patty had her nest located. Her presence echoed like a hum in the back of the mindlink, but I couldn't sense her mate's mindecho nearby.

I called out to the dragonet mother with a high greeting whistle, "Hey Patty! We've come with pralits for the little ones. Where's Benjamin?"

Dan sent me an image of Patty as she revealed to us her bright green scales. She rubbed at her eyes with a hand paw as she looked up at us from under the bush.

"I absentmindedly asked him to bring me some sunburst berries and he accepted my joke as a challenge." She replied with a guilty chuckle.

"Ah, that would definitely explain his absence." Dan said knowingly.

We swooped down and landed carefully in front of the bush. I could feel the tiny echoing presence of the two hatchlings just beyond the green dragonet. Their mindechoes were fuzzy little hums that brought a smile to my face. I could also smell the faint traces of fruit that had been fed to them less than an hour ago and knew the two parents must have been exhausted trying to fill their stomachs when they awoke.

The fruits were cut into tiny slivers through the aid of our claws and we spent our time feeding them their fill once again. By the time we were done, the morning song's call was starting to become present and I could feel the mindechoes of the entire flock as they gathered around the area. An out of breath Benjamin had returned just in time with the promised sunburst berries as we got ready for the morning song.

The morning song had been in this same area for the last three days so Patty and Benjamin wouldn't need to stray too far from the nest to partake in the daily event. We were always careful to perform the morning song close by, but also not so close as to give away the location of the nest to the watching kymari.

I could feel the pull becoming stronger now even though I couldn't see the sun itself. For whatever reason, it had always called to me after Dan shared our first sunrise free. He was still courteous and shared the view every morning. I was grateful since it helped me know the theme for each song and dance.

Dan's shared image of the rising sun came to me just as it started to peak and we both shot into the air on joyous wings. I stayed closer to the ground and on the outskirts of the circling dance as Dan remained close to my inner wing. The morning song required far too much attention for me to properly use my echolocation or for Dan to give me consistent updates on where I was going, so it was up to gentle wing taps and the rest of the flock to avoid any in-air collisions.

With my eyes closed, I focused on my voice and how it harmonized with the entire flock. The way we all sang allowed me to paint a picture in my mind of all of our voices. Each voice was like a paint brush with its own trajectory and by the end, we had painted exactly what the morning song had guided us to carefully create.

The song eventually came to an end and Dan and I glided to the side where a perfectly good branch waited for us to perch on. With the morning song complete and our hearts filled with joy, I took a few moments to admire the lingering image of the painting the morning song had created in my mind today. I had tried to share the beautiful image with Dan multiple times before, yet none of my attempts fruited any results. If not for the joy the morning song provided, I would have been even more saddened by the fact I could no longer put what my mind imagined into a physical form.

The wind changed directions and I turned my head to the right as I smelled a couple of kymari approaching. I clicked my tongue a few times to get a better image of them and noticed how they were silently observing us. A shiver went through my body and my chest tightened at their proximity.

"What do you think about one of them?" Dan asked.

I examined our watchers for a few more seconds before turning back to Dan with a sigh, "They seem just like every other kymari we've seen. I still think it would be a better idea to have Tasha ask her handler for suggestions. He would know who is better for the position than either of us."

I didn't particularly like this idea of Dan's, but I wasn't against it. Ever since Tasha helped destroy that sicora nest, Dan and a few others were determined to help track and hunt the disgusting creatures.

"Well, we can still look around at our options until Tasha comes to visit later. It won't hurt to try and form our own opinions first." Dan's tone was light as he continued trying to weigh the pros and cons of our current audience members.

I didn't mind Dan taking an interest in the kymari and their lifestyle. He had always been the curious type. But the tight feeling in my chest had only grown stronger to the point I started feeling sick.

"Can we just go find a place to sunbathe while we wait for Tasha to arrive? Somewhere without kymari staring at us?" I asked, my mindvoice shaky with my current emotions.

A mix of calming feelings washed over me as Dan responded, "We've stayed long enough."

He bumped his chin against my cheek and I squeaked in surprise when he nipped at my ear tuft before flying off in the opposite direction. My mouth spread into a smile and all of the nauseating feelings vanished as I launched off the branch in hot pursuit.

We weaved and dodged through the park as I chased him until the trees thinned and a clearing came into view. I could smell and sense the mindechoes of a handful of other dragonets already sunbathing in this area, but only one of them caught my attention.

Dan made a sharp turn and landed roughly behind the startled dragonet, "Samantha, quick! Hide me!"

The half asleep dragonet didn't have time to even form a thought before I landed in front of both of them, "Don't listen to him, Sam! He started this game, so he has to see it through!"

Samantha was now much more awake as she looked between Dan and I, "Sounds to me like there's still a score to settle."

She hid her intentions masterfully before she struck, tackling Dan and sending them both sprawling into the stream behind them. I wasn't far behind as I jumped in to join the party.

"Traitor!" Dan called dramatically as he splashed both Samantha and I with his wing.

"I was always on Aspen's side, silly." Samantha laughed, "She's my best friend after all."

I smiled as feelings in my chest fluttered. I never had a true best friend like Samantha in the past. Other than Dan, of course.

Samantha and I worked together to splash Dan to oblivion before Samantha's mate and a few other dragonets decided to join in on the fun. Water hit my face and I blocked the next attack with my wing as I laughed. I was going to miss this when Dan and I eventually left to join the kymari.

The game continued for a few more minutes before we all grew tired and our activities turned to bathing. I rolled around in the bank of the stream and then grabbed a handful of sand to start scouring my scales.

Dan sent an image of myself with a single thought: "Beautiful."

I could feel my face heating up, and even though we couldn't blush, I threw my face back under water to hide my embarrassment. Dan chuckled as he continued sending feelings of adoration through our link. I was very glad our mindlink was private so no one else could tell how much I adored his compliments and reciprocated his feelings ten fold.

After cooling down, we both finished cleaning each other's scales and went to sunbathe with Samantha and her mate as we waited for Tasha to arrive. My mind was still buzzing with loving warmth as I continuously projected my feelings to Dan.

I knew Dan's love for me was unconditional, and I wanted him to know I felt the same way. He hardly ever asked anything from me, but when that day eventually came, I was willing to sacrifice everything.

(Quick important note for new readers! Along with all of my editing, this is a completely brand new chapter to help clean up later plot holes. So until the entire book has been revised, this chapter might contradict later chapters! You've been warned!)


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