I looked around and noticed a Kymari with a video camera scanning the trees. I bet he was looking for me. That had happened quite a bit in the last week.

It was time for a show.

I returned to the trees and moved closer to the play area. Immediately, I noticed heads turning in my direction. I flew higher than they could reach and circled overhead. The male who I was most interested in had seen me, and he stopped the child he was playing with to point me out. They were the only ones in the climbing area, and they were about halfway up the rocks. I landed on the top, out of reach.

"Well, hello there," he said to me. His voice sounded nice. "Do you wish to play, too?"

I knew from my talks with Tasha that I had to act like an animal, but I could show intelligence by repeating whatever the Kymari were doing. With that in mind, I climbed down a few of the rocks, then climbed back up, just as the child had done before I interrupted them.

"I guess you do," he said.

The child was in complete awe of the situation. I chirped at them and tilted my head cutely. I did the climbing thing a second time, and then I turned back to them, chirping again.

"Should we keep climbing, Uncle Leopold? He seems to want us too," the child said.

The male’s name was Leopold. I liked it.

"I'm not sure. They have never attacked us before, but we must stay safe. How about we both step up slowly and see what he does?"

The child nodded, and they both moved up one rock. I chirped, as if in happiness, and climbed down and up again.

"He wants to play with us!" the child exclaimed.

He was excited, but I could see that Leopold was suspicious of the situation, so I took to the air, coming down just slightly out of arm’s reach to chirp a “thank you” before returning to the trees. I cut back through to find the females I’d been watching, still sitting on the bench.

"Did you see that? That was the green fire lizard everyone has been talking about," one female said. She was the friend of the one who was interested in Leopold.

"Even he sees kindness in Leopold and wants to play with him. I’ve made up my mind. I will put my father off until I can find a way for him to accept my choice of suitors," the other female said firmly.

"Asielle, you are still young enough that your father will not force you to choose. Take your time to make sure Leopold is who you truly want."

"No need. I've made my choice."

I liked Asielle. She knew what she wanted, just as I did. Maybe we could both have him.

I watched from a distance as Leopold left the park with the child, and I took notice of which direction he went. When Asielle left the park, she went the other way. I decided to mindlink Tasha.

"Tasha, have you ever heard of a Sicora hunter named Leopold?"

"Yes. He hunted with us several times when we needed additional guards besides our usual two. He seems nice, but I don't know him well. How did you come across him?"

I took the time to tell her everything, and I sent her an image of him with the child.

"Being a bonded animal handler is a considerable promotion and may be what Asielle needs to get her father to approve the match. But Clover, please remember, this is your life. Don't choose Leopold because of her. You are not even sure if she would approve of you. Having a bonded animal means the animal always comes first! Some females do not like knowing that they, and their children, will always come second."

Tasha was right. Becoming his bonded animal could destroy his chances of mating with Asielle, even if he was interested in her. Maybe he wasn’t. Then another thought occurred to me.

"This may all be moot, anyway. I'm unsure of how to approach him, or if he will ever return to the park," I told Tasha, sadness coming through my words.

"I may be able to help. Let me think about this…A big ship is coming tomorrow, and he will be with us. I could act differently around him—in a positive way—and see if that does anything. The Kymari pick every little thing apart. I bet they will think something about him is attracting fire lizards. But keep looking, just in case he isn't the one for you."

Tasha had a point. I would keep looking. But I did like him.

I spent the rest of the day flying around the paths, staying in sight and out of reach of the Kymari. No one else stood out to me, but many stopped to talk to me. I made sure to tilt my head or move my wings to show interest, but I did not chirp at others. If they genuinely paid attention to detail, they would notice that.

The next day, I chose to do my Morning Song away from the other dragonets. It wasn’t the same as being part of the group, but if I was going to be a loner, this was what I needed to do.

This time, my parents noticed my absence.

"Clover, where are you?" my mom asked, worried.

"By the pond. Is everything okay, Mom?" If I didn't confirm I hadn't been there for the Morning Song, maybe she would let this go.

"Why were you not with us for the Morning Song?"

So much for that.

"I wanted to do it at the lake and watch the sun on the water. It was beautiful, Mom." I was doing my best not to lie. Anyone could feel a lie over the link.

"Clover, I know you have not been happy for a while. I had hoped it was growing pains, but you are starting to worry me. Your friends are asking where you are, and no one seems to remember seeing you for the last week, other than during the Morning Song. Did you find someone that interests you as a possible mate?"

It felt nice that she noticed my absence, but it hurt, too, because I had been hanging around the Kymari for almost a month. It was like Tasha all over again.

I decided to tell her the truth.

"It hasn't been a week, Mom. It's been almost a month. I've been staying in plain sight of the Kymari and hanging out along their paths."

That stunned her into silence, but I could still feel all the different emotions running through her: fear, confusion, worry.

"Why?"

"I decided I wanted to hunt Sicora, like Tasha does. I'm looking for someone who stands out to be my handler. Then, I will show interest, and eventually, I will leave the park with him."

I could tell I had shocked my mother with my admission. Now, I was just waiting for the fallout.

"Clover, get back home now!"

She wouldn’t like this, but…

"Sorry, Mom. I love you. I got to go." I cut her mindlink and immediately established another. "Tasha, I told Mom. You may want to block your mindlink."

I could feel Tasha's amusement through the link.

"Don't worry about me. I can handle your mother. Are you okay? How did it go?"

"She finally noticed I hadn't been around much when I didn't attend the Morning Song. I did it by the lake this morning, by myself. I think she is just afraid. She and Dad never really got over their time in captivity. They were among the first humans to survive the experiments, and they were there in that lab the longest of anybody else, but this isn't the same."

"It will all work out in the end, Clover. What is meant to be will be."

I knew Tasha was right, but I was now upset. I had built a new burrow for myself beside Tasha's old burrow over the last month, and I flew there to think for a while.