Imagine (UWOC)

Five

The day after my talk with Tasha, I started implementing my plan. I needed to put distance between myself and the other dragonets so I would stand out to the Kymari as what my Blood Memories told me was called a “loner,” someone who was alone. That might allow them to take me if I let them get closer. It would also make it easier for my friends when I left.

I never liked to be alone, but I was alone most of the time, anyway. It was my fault, as my feelings for the flock were now unhappy. I still had friends and would play with them occasionally, but I needed to spend more time around the Kymari. I wanted to see if any of them approached me.

For some reason, I was not as scared as I’d thought I would be. My friends were terrified of any race other than ours. Maybe I wasn’t because I'd never taken a good look at my parents’ Blood Memories, or maybe because of what I’d seen with Tasha and her handler.

I wanted that.

Instead of taking off after the Morning Song and hiding from the Kymari watching us, I stayed behind, out in the open by some rocks, and I watched them as they watched me. Several of them were in the area, standing among the trees a good way away. All eyes were on me because I had stayed behind. No one was moving. They were waiting to see what I would do.

I had seen several of them before, as we tended to get the same watchers repeatedly. I turned at the noise of someone coming down the path but didn't move. It was two males in uniform, soldiers either coming or going on patrol.

They didn't notice me until someone else called for them to stop. They weren't that far away, about the distance of half a block, but that was probably the closest any Kymari had ever gotten to us, except for Tasha, Serena, and Tom, of course. We usually ran away as soon as any Kymari were in sight.

The soldiers stared at me, wide-eyed. I just tilted my head and looked at them. After a few minutes, I flew up to a branch they could not reach, still on the edge of the path, still in plain sight of them. None of them moved.

I waited a bit longer and continued to look at them before I took off to find breakfast. It was a good start, and after I got a full belly, I would travel the paths, staying in plain sight, watching them as they watched me. Hopefully, someone would stand out.

–

"Clover! You are the talk of the town! Everyone is talking about the green fire lizard that doesn't seem afraid of them. If you continue this plan, you may get your wish," Tasha said to me.

It had been a week of staying out in the open and traveling the Kymari paths. I couldn’t believe another dragonet had not caught me yet. No one was questioning where I had been, either.

"It hasn't been as complicated as I thought it would be. The Kymari seem in awe of me, and they let me fly around them. Most of them talk to me, too. I wish someone would stand out above the rest, though." It was tough waiting, but I had to decide carefully, as this person would be my forever.

"Take your time, love. There is no rush. Are you a year old yet?"

"Almost. I'm ten months and some. Do I have to wait until I'm a year old?" I hadn't thought my age would make a difference.

"The Kymari who study us know the mated couples and their chicks. I've heard them discussing you as a strange case. On the one hand, they want to leave you there in the park, hoping the other fire lizards will become more friendly, too. On the other hand, they want more patrols to watch you and see if you bond with one person. But they all agree you need to be an adult if you are going to leave the park and hunt Sicora," Tasha stated.

That information deflated me until I reminded myself that when I found someone, it wasn’t as if I would fly away with them right away. Bonding would take time, and during that time, I would come of age—if I found someone, anyway. But positive thoughts!

"Thank you for all your help, Tasha. I will keep looking."

"Don't worry. I'm sure someone will stand out soon."

I hoped so.

–

"Why do you keep doing this? You know your father will never approve of him."

I looked down at the two females on the bench as they watched the children in the play area.

"He was always at the top of my list of suitors. Look at him playing with his brother's son. He is good with children and helpful to his friends. It is unfair that my father would approve of him if he came from a wealthy family, regardless of occupation, but because he does not, my father automatically dismisses him as a potential suitor."

I could hear the frustration in her voice. That emotion stood out to me for obvious reasons. I searched my Blood Memories for Kymari marriage rituals. They could marry as early as 125, but the normal age was closer to 150. They exchanged names if they were interested in courting, and the male would give the female a bracelet if he wished to marry. The parents had to approve of him, though, and if they did, the couple had a tiny ceremony before the female moved in with the male. 

But three males were born for every female, so many males went their whole lives never mating. How sad.

"You can hold your family off for a few more years and hope he gets promoted or changes occupations. He cannot stay a Sicora hunter forever," her friend said.

My attention was no longer on the female, but on the male. He was a Sicora hunter! I took in everything about him. Like the other Kymari, he was green and about 10 feet tall, with stringy hair like the reeds by the pond. He was showing a child how to climb a rocky surface and praising the boy as he went. He even praised the child for trying while he corrected his mistakes.

I looked back down at the female and memorized her features. Even if the male didn't want to bond with me, maybe my newfound fame could help her.