Disclaimer: I don't own Subeta yadda yadda Chapter 9

"I'll bet you can run a lot faster now that you can take longer steps and leaps," I told him.

"Want to find out?" he flashed me a fierce smile with his startlingly white teeth.

We took a spaceship ride straight back to Subeta's capitol Centropolis and another quick trip along the river to Veta Lake.

"Ready?" He flashed me another grin.

"Whenever you are," was all I got out of my mouth before he was off like a shot.

I leaped into the air and in a couple beats of my wings was high above him. I glanced down to see his powerful legs devouring the ground. I caught a wind going in just the right direction and rode it. To my surprise, he remained ahead of my shadow.

"Heh! Oh that's how you want to play it huh?" I called down to him with a grin and shifted my wings somewhat.

Now instead of passively gliding, I was using the wind to boost my speed. I angled just a bit lower so I was in the wind instead of on top of it. My shadow sped up across the landscape until it caught up with him. We raced across the distance, each teasing the other with just a bit of challenge until we reached our destination.

Laughing breathlessly, I swooped down to join him and joined him at the bank for a thirsty drink of the cool, clear water. We both needed a break before stepping up to the task of weeding and watering my flowers.

"Hey Tia!" Nerrow called to me from across the patch a few hours later, "Come check this out!"

I tossed aside a weed and stepped carefully around delicate plants until I joined him at his row. Gently Nerrow hooked a black claw under a bit of pure white and I sucked in a happy breath.

Some way, some how, a Shinwas Flower of Morning seed had snuck into my field, and was producing a single perfect bloom amongst my row of Red Hibiscus plants.

"Shall we transplant it?" Nerrow asked, "There's a patch of earth over there where it should do fine…"

I shook my head, "Nah, let it be. It seems to be doing just fine where it is."

Nerrow smiled and dutifully watered the soil at its roots.

Coming home was a mixture of fear and anticipation for the both of us. We'd set out for the Coda Caves together, even declining Mom's offer to come with us. Everyone had known what we were going to turn into, but the two of us had decided to face our new looks and our fears together.

I dove down to land beside Nerrow outside the yard and gave him a quick hug. He stretched up onto his hind legs to open the latch and pushed the gate open. With a final shared glance to bolster our spirits, we stepped into the yard together.

Alkuma was the first to spot the two of us coming in. She paused in the middle of polishing the grip on her Aemis and looked us both over from nose to tail. Finally she stepped close and murmured in a low voice, "Are you two all right? There's still time to smuggle you to your rooms for a few minutes if…"

"We're fine, and we might as well face the masses now as opposed to later." Nerrow nodded slightly to show he was grateful for the offer.

I nodded in agreement and Alkuma gave us a rare warm smile, "Then come on. Everyone else is waiting for you in the front room."

Our reception was warm and enthusiastic. Nerrow and I were fed some cookies by Mom while everyone listened curiously to our recounts of our transformations. Mavhai was absolutely freaked by Nerrow for the first twenty minutes. The rest of the time he spent tentatively investigating the changes. By the end of the evening he was comfortable in his presence.

Finally the pair of us made our excuses and headed wearily up to our rooms. It had been a long day. Okay, technically it was a long day ever since I had gotten out of the pound.

The life of a pound pet isn't easy; getting out of the pound only seemed to complicate matters. Nerrow paused by my bedroom door and he turned those dark eyes to mine. He hesitated only a second before giving me a soft, gentle kiss, his purr rumbling in his throat.

I had to scramble mentally to collect my totally scattered wits enough to kiss him back before he gently broke away. He smiled softly at me, managing not to show too many teeth this time, and headed quietly into his bedroom.

Dazed, I turned slowly back to my room, remembering to close the bedroom door quietly behind me.

The thundering of Mercolo's paws woke me up the next morning, as did Nerrow shouting a good natured curse after the racing Kumos. I blinked sleepily in the morning light, waving away the starry fog that gave the walls a hazy blue and purple look.

When my vision didn't seem to clear I blinked and rubbed my eyes firmly. I looked more closely and realized that the blue shifted to purple and back again, shining with a diffused glow from…

I turned my head as reflected sunlight shone right in my eyes.

Dangling in my bedroom window was a single Dream Gem suspended from a slender silver chain. A slow, soft smile slid across my muzzle and I gently toyed with it. Who knows when he'd found the time to dig it out. And who knows where he found the gorgeous chain. And who knows how he snuck into my room without waking me up.

But I knew, without a doubt, that Nerrow had gotten it for me.

And I heard a light but impatient rap on my door and Nerrow's gruff voice rumbling out, "Come on Tia, Lacoda made waffles this morning!"

And as the heady scent of warm maple syrup leaked teasingly into my room, I scrambled off my bed – managing not to get tangled in the sheets or fall on my face – and joined my boyfriend… and my family... at the breakfast table.

"Hey! The two stragglers made it! Come on you two! Lacoda's saving you a stack, so you haven't missed anything, but you better join us quick or we'll eat those too!" Mavhai called us over.

"Yeah, c'mon and join us! Don't be shy, you know you're welcome here with us." Konaro pulled out two chairs for us to join him at the table.

'You're welcome here'

I am home.