°~《Chapter Seven》~°

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The next couple of weeks seemed to go by in an instant. I got to harmonize with Dan during the Morning Song every day and even got to talk with Tasha when she visited with her handler.

Tasha gave us some tips for trying to settle in and also told us that she talked with her handler. Dan and I were both shocked when we learned this bit of news. I made sure to tell Dan I wasn't ready for our secret to be let out and he agreed to stay quiet for now.

Other than the Morning Song, which was recorded every day, Dan had the pleasure of going through command training. He didn't seem all that bothered by it but it could have been because he was in the military for a while and was used to it.

They tried to get me to do simple commands such as "come" but I just didn't feel up to the tasks unless there was a strawberry or sunburst berry involved. I was pretty content on staying underneath the heat lamp for as long as I could. The warmth hit my back and made it feel so much better.

There was a slight downfall to having no scales on my back, though. Even if I tried to stay under the lamp for as long as possible, my protective scales were gone making my back burn with the extra contact of the heat. Tuskon and Marcy took turns using the scrubbing pad and oil on me. I didn't enjoy having to rely on the Kymari to get my scales cleaned but the oil on my back and cuts were enough for me to accept it.

Tuskon and Marcy had friends over every now and then which didn't bother Dan as much as it did me. He just loved the attention and would even let them pet his head for a few seconds before flying off. I growled at any of their friends if they tried to get too close to me, and Dan would fly over to distract them from trying to pet my head.

I didn't care if Dan took all the attention. He was just that kind of person. I always had problems with people trying to randomly touch me, even in my past life. Being touched was just not something that I enjoyed.

Today both Marcy and Tuskon were going out. That left Dan and I to have full range of the house. Dan wanted to explore the rest of the rooms and I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to as well. I've been cooped up in the large living room for far too long.

My painkillers had been reduced these last couple of days and I've been able to walk around more freely. My back still hurt but I was at least able to stretch out my wings now.

I carefully jumped from the table, to the couch, then to the floor. I didn't unfurl my wings in case I strained my back again.

Dan was on the ground waiting for me. Together, we walked to the only open door which lead to the kitchen. Tuskon and Marcy rarely ever shut it and if they did, it was because they had food sitting out.

I wasn't surprised to see the counters bare of anything edible. Of course there were their weapons that they seemed to just have everywhere. The amount of weapons the Kymari have laying around their homes still freaks me out.

We knew Marcy would be home sooner than Tuskon since they didn't want to leave us alone for too long. The time we would spend in the kitchen would have to be a short one if we didn't want to get caught. They would surely keep this door shut permanently if they saw us rearranging their counters. Not that there was a lot of stuff to rearrange.

Dan flew onto the high counter top and looked down at me. His mindvoice was filled with humor, "You ready?"

I flicked my tail from side to side as I let out a trail of clicks. "Of course!"

The game begins! Dan began to push some small objects off the counter down to where I was waiting. Without ceasing my clicking I try my best to catch every fallen item.

I may have once been human, but I am now more like the animal I often pretend to be. This was one of the things about my new life that I didn't mind. As an animal I didn't have nearly as many responsibilities as I once had. I've always wanted to be as lazy as my old dog and I guess I got my wish.

There was one downside, though. Being blind was a huge part of my life, but it wasn't the thing I regretted about my new form. Not being able to draw and sketch kills me little by little everyday. It was my soul and passion to do art and was my only life support as a human. Now that art is out of the picture, Dan is the only thing keeping me going.

We played our little game for a little longer until all of the small objects were beside me unharmed on the floor. Now we had to get everything back onto the counter. Dan was smart though and made sure to only knock down objects he was sure he could carry back up. This was entirely up to him as I didn't want to risk flying in case I hurt myself again. I didn't want more painkillers than I was already taking.

Once everything was rearranged and back on the counter we walked around the tiled floor before going back into the large living room. We were cuddled up under the heat lamp in the corner when Marcy walked through the front door with two of her friends in tow.

The first friend, Quin, spoke when she saw us, "Your green firelizard is looking better with each visit."

Fillis peaked around the corner to get a look, "Do you think she'll be more willing to let us pet her?"

Marcy hung up her coat on a hook near the door. "It's doubtful but you can try. The male will probably try to hog the attention if you get too close."

Quin titled her head slightly, "If we move the male to the other room for a few minutes he won't be able to get in the way."

I couldn't hide the annoyance in my mindvoice, "I don't like where this is going."

Dan didn't reply and we watched as Marcy continued the conversation. "I don't think they'd like it if we separated them. The only time they weren't together was when the female was getting her back treated."

Fillis sat down on the far end of the couch next to the table we were on. "You never really know unless you try."

The room grew quiet as the ladies thought about what was said.

Soon Marcy spoke up, "Let's get some snacks from the kitchen. I'm sure the two firelizards are hungry as well."

The three Kymari left the room and Dan finally spoke. "I won't let them separate us."

We laid where we were as we waited for the Kymari to return. When they came back from the kitchen door Marcy was the only one holding a bowl. The fruit inside was probably meant for us.

Marcy walked closer and gave each of us a strawberry. We accepted the food and played oblivious. I knew I was hungry and Dan's stomach was probably just as empty. The food was going to be hard to resist.

Marcy reached out to pet my head and I reacted with a low growl. Dan stood up and used his own head to redirect her large hand away from me. She used both hands to gently lift him. Dan's body language was clearly stiff, even in my echolocation vision, but he didn't make any obvious movements.

It was when Marcy started slowly moving to one of the closed off rooms that Dan made his move. She had him in her arms as he fully spread his wings to fly out of her grasp. Marcy tried to keep ahold of him and was instantly scratched by Dan's sharp back claws. I only knew he made contact because of the short cry she made as Dan flew back over to my side.

I hadn't expected Dan to actually scratch Marcy and my clicks went silent in my surprised state. He had always been neutral whenever being handled, this was new to everyone in the room.

I heard footsteps and Quin began to talk, "Marcy, are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine. He just managed to graze me, that's all."

I could hear more footsteps and then Fillis speaking, "That's a fair bit of blood. Are you sure it doesn't need stitches?"

"It looks worse than it actually is. I'll really be just fine."

I turned my head to better face Dan, "How badly did you scratch her?"

"I barely extended my claws. I only ment to prick her but she reached out to grab me and was able to cut herself worse."

"Dan. How bad is the cut?"

Dan was quiet for only a moment before sending me an image through the mindlink. "The cut is on her palm."

I spent some time to analyze the image I received. Marcy must have grabbed wildly and got ahold of his foot to have gotten that deep of a cut. It didn't look bad enough for stiches but she would need to bandage it before she got it infected.

I stayed silent as I heard the three Kymari leave to another room. They were most likely getting a medical kit to treat her hand. Dan had calmed down and was laying at my side once again.

* * *

Tuskon came home later that day. I had no idea where he might have gone but I didn't really care. My attention was on how he would react seeing Marcy with a cut inflicted by Dan.

They talked for a short amount of time until the conversation lead to the bandage on Marcy's hand. Tuskon's voice was rough and startling when he learned how she received it.

Marcy managed to calm him down and fully explained that it was within her own fault for grabbing his foot. Thankfully that was enough for Dan not to be punished. But not enough to avoid extra command training.

Dan wasn't thrilled but gave in quickly. He was too hungry to not accept the fruits given to him during the practice. While they were doing that, Marcy had lured me over to her lap with a sunburst berry. She managed to get me to do "sit", "come", and a few other simple commands. I was still starving so I couldn't help but do what she said if I wanted food.

Dan and Tuskon were still busy doing drills when Marcy started scrubbing my scales. I carefully stretched my wings out for her to wash them easier. I was half asleep during the oil massage when Tuskon came over with Dan on a hawking glove.

Marcy continued to massage the oil gently into my bare back as she spoke, "You still haven't decided on names for these two."

Tuskon let out a sigh, "Both Alec and Taureen said the names they picked out came to them from an inside voice. They said that the firelizards will show their approval of the chosen names if it came from this voice. I have no idea what this voice even is, they wouldn't say any more. It's honestly giving me a headache."

I heard Marcy's hand pat Tuskon's shoulder, "It'll come eventually. It really sounds like it would be from an inside voice for the absurd names their firelizards have."

Tuskon finished Dan's scrubbing and oiling and placed us both under the headlamp for the night. Both he and Marcy retired to their room for some sleep leaving Dan and I alone once again.

I yawned, "Remember how Tasha revealed her name to her handler?"

Dan curled up next to me, "You want to do that tonight?"

I nodded, "It's better to do it now before he chooses a really weird name for us."

"Okay. We'll do it one at a time when we are sure they are asleep. I'll tell him my name then you do the same for yours. We shouldn't do it at once or it might confuse him."

"That's a good idea. Don't send him anything but the words though. I don't want him tracing it back to us."

We came to an agreement and sent our messages separately to Tuskon. I wasn't sure if he received the words until I heard him step out of his room. I lifted my head and started clicking to see what he was doing.

Tuskon heard my clicks, "It's alright. I just wanted to check to make sure it was only you two out here. Go back to sleep."

Tuskon sounded calmer than I expected. He must have thought the inside voice came from someone who broke in. From how he reacted, I don't think he thought the two voices came from us.

Dan whispered into our mindlink, "Hey, guess what?"

I looked over at him, "What?"

A second later an image of Tuskon in his sleeping shorts was sent to me.

I whacked him with my tail, "I didn't want to see that!"

Dan only replied with a teasing chuckle through the mindlink. It took a while to push the image from my mind so I could finally fall asleep.

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