~~Nine years Later~~

"Thank you for volunteering for this, Mel," Mom tiredly nuzzled me, then rubbed her eyes with the corners of her wings.

I hummed, "I'm glad to watch them for you. Now, get some sleep. Dad and I have this." I gently nudged her with a wing. "I'll mindlink you if anything happens."

Mom dropped off of the branch with a yawn. Her wings instinctively spread, and she flew to the mess of underground tunnels that served as the family den. Each one of my siblings had separate rooms with an entrance connected to the tunnel system. There was also a chamber filled with dried fruit in case a massive storm kept us underground for a few days.

I dropped out of the tree and landed next to the bush, then crawled over to the nest hidden beneath the thick rosebush and nuzzled Dad's shoulder. "Besides, how much trouble can a pair of two-day-old hatchlings be? All you have to do is keep them warm and feed them." The nest was a small sand-filled pit scooped out near the base of the thorny plant. It wasn't possible to put hatchlings in the tunnels or anywhere else underground. For some reason, hatchlings became sick within hours if they were not outside. Thus, dragonets built nests beneath bushes or in tree hollows. However, my parents stopped making nests in trees after I fell out of one.

Dad chuckled as creels of hunger burst into existence from beneath his purple wing at the mention of food. They cried like they had not eaten in days, but I knew they had eaten about an hour ago. "I'll cut up the fruit if you lay next to them." He folded his wings to his sides and stood. Once he jumped onto an adjacent branch, I settled in his place. He grabbed a strawberry from the small stash of fruit within the depths of the bush. After he brought it back, he began to drop tiny slivers of the red fruit into my two blue brothers' open maw.

"They can eat that much!?" I marveled as Dad brought over a second and third strawberry. "How?"

"How do you think they grow so fast?" Dad chuckled as the twins curled up against my warm black scales. He grabbed a couple of leaves from the bush, then picked up the droppings they left behind. The purple dragonet carried them out, then quickly returned. I chuckled as he eyed the fruit pile. "I think we misjudged how much they can eat. We're going to need more before the night is over."

"Next time we feed them, I'll fly out and get some fruit. My dark scales will help keep me hidden in case there are owls around."

"That sounds like a good plan." Dad nodded as he settled down next to me. "I'm going to nap."

I allowed myself dose, but after what felt like no time at all, the hatchlings stirred beneath my wing and began to cry with their mouths held agape. "I'll be right back," I carefully exited the nest without disturbing anyone, then ran out from the bush.

After a short flight, I approached one of the peach trees. Suddenly, I slammed headlong into a barrier as it appeared. I squawked one pain as I dizzily plummeted to the grass a few feet below me.

"We caught something!" Despite the unfamiliar language, I understood every word, thanks to the Blood Memories.

Huh? I staggered to my feet, then flinched as my left shoulder throbbed from where I landed on it.

"It better be an actual fire lizard this time." A second voice huffed. "We are not getting paid to catch mice and skinks."

I begin to pant and frantically look around. "HELP!" I screamed over the general mindlink. "I'M IN SOME KIND OF TRAP!" I released a shriek so loud it almost immediately hurt my throat.

I felt fear reverberate through the channel. "I'm coming!" Mom's voice rang through the mindlink with a chorus of others.

My panic increased as my the strange dark figures approached the wall, then effortlessly walked through the energy barrier. I ran towards the wall furthest from my captors. Unsurprisingly, I slammed against the wall and staggered as a new wave of dizziness washed over me. I released another wail, hoping the other dragonets could hear me.

"It's the black one," the voice closest to me stated as he noticed me.

"So?" The huffy one outside the cage snorted.

"It's the one they will notice is missing," he responded. "This is the only black one!"

"They will notice no matter which one we take. Grab it and get out of here. I can hear the other wild ones get us caught."

I wedged myself into a corner as the person's massive hands reached towards me. I clumsily swiped at him. However, despite making contact, he did not react.

"NOW!" The other man screamed as fire suddenly rained down on him as dragonet battle cries filled the area.

Massive hands quickly grabbed me, but I squirmed and managed to free one wing as he roughly shoved me into a bag.

I screamed in pain as the zippered edge of the bag sliced into my wing membrane. While my vision blurred from pain, the bag sealed. I cried out as my container began to jostle. "HELP!" I yelled again.

"Can you cut or burn your way out?"

I clumsily scratched the walls, then cringed at the metallic screech that resulted. "It's metal mesh!" I squawked as a violent jolt caused my shoulder to slam into the bottom.

"They ran out of the park!" I could feel their hesitation through the mindlink.

Suddenly, the bag unzipped and a strange pellet the size of my paw dropped inside and began to hiss. I panicked further as a metallic scent entered the air and the bag once again closed. "They put gas in here!"

"Hang in there!" The voice sounded distant.

I felt sudden panic weakly echo through the mindlink as the bag suddenly hit something and began to slide. The general mindlink became a garbled mess to my ears with a sense of panic with a strange undertone of relief.

"Please, don't leave me." I whimpered as I drifted into unconsciousness.

"MELANIE!"

~~~~

I purred as I snuggled into the space between my two parents. Their sides were nice and warm. With a yawn, I slowly opened my eyes, then froze as the sight of the inside of a large building greeted my eyes.

Where am I!? I panicked as my mind slowly remembered the previous events. Adding to my fear, I soon discovered that my body refused to move other than an occasional twitch. "Mom! Dad! ANYONE?!" My desperate plea echoed inside my head. Can anyone hear me? Where am I? MOM?! DAD!?

"You are safe now," a gentle voice soothed in the Kymari language and stroked my back, "no one will hurt you here."

A Kymari! I'm dead for sure! I managed to raise my head and whimper as I looked at the green-skinned humanoid. As I ignored his soothing attempts, my heartbeat pounded in my ears, and my nostrils flared with each breath.

"shh..." he once again soothed and gently stroked my back. It would have felt nice if I had not been terrified. I whimpered and managed to tremble as a chiming tone reverberated through the room. "Come in," he spoke to the door as he gently carried me to a different part of the room.

I heard a whoosh from the other side of the room as he gently carried me over to a large glass wall. He gently set me on a rough surface with my gaze toward the rest of the room. When his hands placed me onto a bed of warm sand, only fear kept me from succumbing to the drug-induced sleepiness that lingered in my body. Despite the comforting warmth of the sand, I cowered as he slowly backed away, despite his calming words.

"She's awake?" One of the two new armored Kymari in the room spoke as the first briefly walked into a different area. "Since when?"

Kymari are even bigger up close? How are they that tall! I tried to hiss at the tall green man as he worriedly looked towards me, but the sound died in my throat. "Mom! Dad! Anyone?!" Once again, my mindlink failed. My heart raced as I tried to keep blood memories from the original dragonet's experiences in captivity. I do not want to die!

"Only a few moments. Since she healed well over the past week, the vet decided it was time for me to ease her off the strongest drugs," the original Kymari spoke as he returned with two small metal bowls in his hands, "I hold her every moment I can, but this is the first time she is awake for it. She was scared when she realized it, but most fire lizards react with fear." He slowly approached me.

My tail twitched as the only outlet for a shiver that ran down my spine. A week? I was unconscious for a week and he held me the entire time!? I raised my head, then collapsed back onto the sand as nausea bubbled through me. I am going to die here. I resisted the urge to puke as my mind swirled. I whimpered as he set the two bowls down, my eyes locked on him.

"Shhh, it's ok, this is for you. Its food and water," the Kymari paused as if he noticed my reaction. After a brief moment, he slowly turned back to his friends. However, he kept my unmoving form in the corner of his sight.

"I thoroughly reviewed the notes from several of the handlers and noticed that each fire lizard is different. However, I know my first challenge is to dissolve the fear." He approached the opposite corner where a pile of armor lay scattered on the floor and began to slip it on.

"When do you stop working the night shift so you can train the fire lizard?" The third spoke. He tried to hide the fact he, like the others, was watching me, but I could tell with the way they held their heads. "Especially since fire lizards are diurnal. You sleep during most of her awake hours."

"The Elders have yet to decide. This dragonet is a novel mutation in the gene pool, so they are going to see how well she heals and adjusts to me. Most fire lizards form a bond, though there was the one older dragonet that was released after he healed." My captor looked in my general direction, but his eyes remained focused on something above and beyond me. "If she responds poorly, then the Elders may desire her to be released." He opened the door, and his two armored companions departed with him.

That is my path to freedom. My breathing slowly calmed as I concocted my plans to resist becoming trained. Kymari are even more terrifying up close. I don't know how the bonded dragonets do it.

My nostrils flared as I slowly looked at the two small bowls thankfully placed within my reach. One contained a colorful paste that smelled like fruit, while the other held water that cycled with a minuscule pump that let out from the side.

I sipped a bit of water, noting the metallic tinge to the otherwise-fresh liquid. I looked back to the bowl of paste, then weakly tasted the food. When the sweet taste of fruit reached my mouth, I realized the full extent of my hunger and weakly licked up the contents of the small metal bowl.

After I took another drink of water, a yawn escaped my lips. He drugged it. I laid my head down and soaked up the warmth of the sand and the light above me. Soon, sleep consumed me in its warm embrace.