Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Missy

I kept myself perched on the Kymari's back. We've been like this for hours, and I hadn't moved. I refused to. I had made myself comfortable and was now absentmindedly chewing on the male Kymari's long black hair. His skin was also very warm, so that was another plus.

"What to do with pretty you," I mused into the Kymari's mind. He had relaxed also and was now lying quietly on the ground, his hands still held out in a display of surrender. I was quite impressed with his patience, but I knew that Kymari were known for their seemingly endless amount of patience.

Kate chirped at me nervously. Since the Kymari showed up, Kate had been scared to death. She knew that Kymari weren't sadistic and knew that they didn't harm animals for fun, but she was still traumatized by our time in the facility. We both were.

The Kymari wasn't the least irritated with me chewing on his hair or getting comfortable on his back.

"As I stated before. Fire lizards are extremely important. Just last year, we discovered that fire lizards were great at scenting sicora. We also discovered that your saliva is deathly toxic to sicora. Last year, a law was passed. It is illegal to capture or harm a fire lizard. Anyone who breaks this law will be severely punished and could even face death. With the population so low, we don't want to risk any harm coming to you all. I promise I would never do anything to harm the both of you."

His words rang true, I could tell by his steady heartbeat. I was stuck. I believed him, but another very stubborn part of me did not want to trust any other intelligent race. The humans took away my body and locked me inside of a cage. I wasn't ready to risk being trapped again.

Sighing, I crawled off of the Kymari's back and he sat up, stretching out his stiff muscles. He smiled at me, and I just narrowed my eyes.

"I believe you, but Kate and I are going to need some time to discuss this. In the meantime, I guess you can have some crayfish."

-*-*-

Kate's amused chirp pierced the air.

"I can't believe you were held hostage by a lizard!"

The Kymari's face flushed in embarrassment as he peeled off the shell on his crayfish. I held my head high, feeling smug.

"My claws are sharp and my flame is very hot. He was smart to obey me."

The Kymari smiled softly.

"I didn't want to appear threatening."

I hummed as I hovered over the pot, picking out another nice sized crayfish. I quickly disposed of its shell and threw the remains into the forest. I hummed in appreciation as I popped the small chunk of meat into my mouth. I gazed at the Kymari. I was completely calm around him. Of course, I was ready to attack if he showed any hostility, but other than that, he was fine by me. Kate was completely at ease, even joking around with him.

Truthfully, I was probably putting a little too much trust into the man, whose name I learned was Victor, but I had a feeling he truly meant no harm. Kymari were extremely strong. Although Kate and I had sharp claws and our flame, he could still overpower us. He was suited up in armor and had the usual weapons Kymari had. If he truly wanted to hurt us, he very well could.

A beeping noise sounded on the Kymari's wrist. He wiped his fingers on his handkerchief before tapping on the device on his wrist. I flew over and landed on his leg, curiously looking at the odd device.

Apparently, it wasn't something that pleased the Kymari, because he sighed.

"I have to go; my team is very worried about me since I've been gone for so long."

My eyes widened. I turned to Kate who also looked frightened. He quickly shook his head.

"I will keep the both of you a secret until you're ready. I promise I won't tell anyone you're out here."

Again, I could hear that his words rang true from the sound of his heartbeat. Hopping off his leg, I watched as he stood up. I marveled at his height. Kymari were easily about 10 feet tall, and he was just a little under that.

He looked a little sad to leave us out here.

"I know I probably don't have to say this, but please stay safe. Tomorrow, I'll bring some fruits."

My eyes widened at the opportunity.

"Bring us alot of fruit of different variety!"

He laughed before nodding. Soon after that, he left and night quickly settled over the forest. Kate and I emptied out the pot of crayfish water before cleaning it in the pond and carrying it back to a tree branch we usually hang it on. Quickly after, we settled into our nest for the rest of the night.

-*-*-

Weeks passed and Kate and I grew extremely close to the Kymari man. He showed up early every morning and watched our morning song before helping us collect crayfish, and every morning, he showed up with a variety of fruit. We'd even hunted a few crawlers. Of course, sicora were out of the picture. As soon as we scented one, we retreated back to our nest and hung out in the trees until the danger passed. Resisting the urge to flame the disgusting animal was hellish. Kate and I were less than impressed that it was still alive, but after eight years in the forest, Kate and I knew how dangerous they were. The two of us alone would never be able to take one down, even with a Kymari male at our side.

Victor revealed to us that the other dragonets were safe and sound inside of the city walls. Some of them even had jobs hunting sicora. Every day, he showed us videos of them doing the morning song. I was awed when I saw the many fledglings that they'd had over the years. All of my old friends were there and safe. If I was human, I'd probably be crying in happiness.

Victor pressed a button and the device that resembled a cell phone shut off.

"Whenever the two of you are ready, I'd be more than happy to reunite you with the other dragonets. I'm sure they'd be thrilled to see you."

I didn't get to reply. The disgusting scent hit me like a punch in the face. I screeched loudly as I scanned the woods. From here, I could see five large sicora stalking towards us, their disgusting yellow eyes trained on us. Kate took to the air, yelling frantically.

"Victor! Get in the trees! Now!"

The athletic Kymari climbed the tree with ease, his sharp nails allowing him to accomplish such a feat. Growls and snarls filled the air as the sicora burst out of the forest and in front of our nest. I couldn't help it. I spat fireball after fireball at the sicora while Kate worked on creating a circle of flame between us and the Sicora.

My tiny body was shaking with rage at the sight of the filthy creatures. I saw red as I continued to launch fireballs in their direction. Their squeals of pain brought me pleasure. One of the large male sicoras snarled fiercely at me as he attempted to swipe me with his tail, but I was a master of flight so I easily dodged him with lightning speed and whipped my extremely flexible neck around, blowing a long stream of flame at the reptile.

"Missy! Get up here! You can't fight them alone!"

Kate's frightened voice in my head was the only thing that broke through my trance. I growled angrily at the disgusting creatures before I flew up into the trees where Victor had perched himself. His face was twisted in a silent snarl as he stared down at the parasites snarling and growling down below. He stood on a thick branch, his spear held tightly in his hands.

There was no way we were going to get out of this unscathed by ourselves. One sicora alone was enough to take out all three of us. There were five down there, all intent on making us their next snack. I hissed angrily as their disgusting smell tainted our nest.

There was no way Kate and I could stay here now. Their smell was like wet sand. It stuck. The barrier of fire Kate had erected around us was starting to die down, and it wouldn't be long until those creatures were nipping at our feet.

Victor looked torn. He knew we weren't ready to leave yet, but he knew that if we stayed, we wouldn't make it out alive.

I hummed as I bumped his chin. It took some serious self-restraint to not growl and flame the sicora down below.

"Call for help, we won't make it through this by ourselves."

He quickly spoke into his wrist; alerting that he'd found two wild fire-lizards and that we needed help. My heart thumped with fear. Kate, sensing my mood, hummed softly and placed her wing over me.

"It'll be okay. We're going to stick this out together."

_Gieo_