Lost Change

Chapter 53

"Wanna play with the ball for a little bit?" Ivy yawned and stood up in Trenil's lap, stretching as far as her legs would go, then she lowered and shook herself off. Her scales gleamed with the fresh oil as they chimed gently with her motion.

I glanced towards the floor by the dead plant where the yellow ball rested. It would be fun to play with it for a bit... I hadn't gotten much exercise today, and my body was feeling a little cramped. I still felt incredibly drained and conflicted emotionally, but I could probably muster enough energy to play some.

It had been a few hours since Trenil had sat down to oil Ivy. Minna had eventually given up trying to interest me, and had instead dried off her hands and put the oil back in the bathroom. She had seemed so hurt when she did... but there had also been a determination in her. A resolve.

If nothing else, I knew that Minna was the type of person who would go to great lengths to try and fix a wrong she had caused. No matter what it meant for her. She was sad I wasn't okay anymore... but she had been given a path on how to fix it, and she was going to see it through. Even if it hurt her.

She had spent a bit of time cleaning up the bits of wood that I had scattered over the room, then she had sat back down on the couch. By that point I had just felt too bad about everything. I hopped up on the couch and sprawled out on the cushion by her leg. She smiled a little and brought her hand down for me to sniff... which I did, then nudged with my head. She got the message, and she had pet me while Ivy napped.

A bit of exercise after all the lounging around would be perfect. And my leg was feeling more than up to it.

"Sure!" I hopped down from the couch and crossed the room to the ball. I nudged it a few times to get it away from the plant stand, then glanced back over at Ivy. She was still in Trenil's lap but was watching me with obvious interest. I whistled up at her for Minna's benefit. "Come on; I can't throw it up there."

The green dragonet smiled and glided down to the carpet. I backed up to get a running start, then bumped the yellow ball towards Ivy.

She jumped in the air and landed against it easily - she had the completely unfair advantage of being able to fly, something I still lacked due to my injured wings. The ball came to a stop and she sprinted a few paces away, then turned around and ran into it. The ball came bouncing back towards me, and I caught it the same way she had.

"Huh. I was wondering what the ball was for; has he done that before?" I glanced up long enough to see Trenil watching us curiously from the couch, then I passed the ball back to Ivy.

"He played it when Lyzel - my niece - came to visit. I think it's a game he used to play with the dog he was with. I mentioned it in my report. Um... I think." Minna frowned a little as she tried to remember.

Ivy bunted the ball back to me and I jumped into the air to stop its momentum with my own force. "Interesting. I've never seen Ivy or the others do anything like that, but I don't think we've ever really tried. It actually looks a little painful; have you thought about getting a smaller ball?"

"Lyzel would pitch a fit if I did; she gave him that after what happened to his dog." I eyed Ivy for a moment and decided to up the game. I hit the ball and sent it off towards her, but far enough away that she had to run to get it. "They might do better with a Ply Ball or something lighter, if you want to get one for Ivy. That one is really meant more for throwing and bouncing instead of kicking around, so it's heavier than it probably needs to be for them."

Ivy cheated by flapping after the ball, and managed to catch it before it hit the wall. Her eyes sparkled as she turned and hit the ball back towards me, and it was angled far enough away that I had to run after it.