Upon Wings Of Change

Chapter 29

I dipped and spun in the complicated patterns of the Morning Song. My wing was up to such exercise now, and this outdoor garden run was large enough to allow the display. Taureen was watching and recording me. I also noticed that a few people had stopped along the sidewalk to watch as well.

I couldn't really care though; the Morning Song demanded my attention. As always, the Morning Song came to an end, and I banked away from where I had held my aerial display. I landed near a berry bush and searched it for ripe berries. Two were ripe.

It annoyed me that Taureen still insisted on handfeeding me. This house was no easier to escape from than the apartment had been. All of the windows had sturdy metal screens on them, and the doors had a key pad that wouldn't respond to me.

There was no hole or weak spot in the fence. I had even dug down almost twice my length, but had not found the bottom of the mesh fencing. I had quickly filled in that hole before Taureen spotted it.

I noticed that Taureen had gone inside. He probably had the cleaning supplies out as he usually did at this time. I flew over to a small door built into the wall, it was my own personal cat door, so I could go in and out as I pleased. I found it interesting that the house was set up more for me than for Taureen.

I flew into the living room. The setup of this room was almost exactly like his previous one. Furniture sat against the walls while facing a central coffee table. He had secured various perches to the walls, and there was one table in front of the large window with a tray of sand on it, as well as a corner table with the heat lamp above a second sand tray.

I glanced down the hallway, but at the moment, the rooms were all closed off. At night, Taureen left his door open, otherwise they were always closed. I had snuck into them while investigating the first day; one held his weapons and armor, one was being used for storage, one was his bedroom, one was the bathroom, and the other two were empty.

Taureen was on his usual couch waiting for me. I flew over and landed beside him before walking onto his lap so he would use the scouring pad in his hand. I halfway closed my eyes as he scrubbed my scales gently.

We had been in this house for about a week, and Taureen was taking his role as a handler seriously. He had increased my training time by a considerable amount. I was always with him if he left the house, much like a service animal. My harness had some odd pattern marked on it now, possibly reflecting my new status at Taureen's side.

I hummed lightly as he oiled and massaged my back. I could see myself slowly decreasing my resistance as the days wore on. One could only fight for so long before small details became the norm. I no longer balked at getting my scales scrubbed. I do still have issues with being handfed though.

Taureen finished oiling my scales and simply petted me. On a whim, I rolled upside down and gently gripped his hand in my forepaws before kicking my back legs gently. I mouthed his wrist in a parody of play. I really missed wrestling and playing with the other dragonets.

I kept my claws fully retracted and was careful with them since my claws would pierce his skin easier than dragonet scales. He watched me with curiosity before moving his hand a bit and tickling my stomach with two of his fingers.

I squeaked and kicked a bit faster while gently chewing on the offending fingers. After a few minutes, I tired of it and rolled over to shake my scales out. Taureen picked up the harness from the table and put it on me.

I didn't even bother with a token protest at this point. It hadn't made a difference before, and it got me out of house. At least I got to see something new every day. Taureen held out his hand, and I stepped up without the command.