Crystal Folly

Travel Complications

"Ender, I'm almost ready to fly! Should we call Arthur down?" It had been an hour and a half after they left, and Ender's back was freezing.

"N-no, I'll b-be fine running. I n-need to w-warm up my fur, that saddle is too cold for long distance travel!" Ender told her.

"Sorry about that, Enzy! I'll let you warm up so that you don't get sick in this weather," Stella replied. She took the saddle off of Ender and reformed it into a protective ice shell for her wings before deciding to call Arthur down to let him know of the situation, only leading to him landing a short distance away from them.

"I guess we're taking a break here," Stella told everyone via the comms installed in their gear. This distracted Ender when he was transforming back into a human, making him unfocused and resulting in him still having his cat ears and tail.

"Is everything...alright, Ender?" Arthur inquired shortly after landing, becoming human immediately after.

"I think he looks cute like that! Now if it was intentional, it'd be purr-fect," Stella added, giggling at the cat pun.

"Oh hardy har har! Can we just get where we need to go? This isn't permanent unless I decide it is," an irritated Ender grumbled.

Stella, still teasing, continued, "Aww, is my wittle tom mad? Don't worry Enzy, you'll be fine just as long as the tail doesn't get out of control."

"I'm not little! I'm taller than you, Stella!"

Arthur interrupted them, "Guys! Let's go, we can't spend another 15 minutes talking like how we did at the station!" After setting off, Arthur went into his white dragon form, knowing he wouldn't need to rest for a while.

"So I know this is really late, but where exactly are we going?" Ender asked. He'd been wondering since before they left.

Arthur didn't turn his head before replying. "We're going to Paradise. Most of my family lived there almost all of their lives. My little brother really wants to see me, and my family wants to see some of my friends. That's why I asked some of you to come with." A few minutes passed before a distant roar spooked them both. Ender looked up and saw a large shadow above the clouds, but thought nothing of it.

"Get down! It isn't safe near the clouds! Some other ice dragon must be making rain icicles!" Stella screamed, looking for a place to land that provided cover. "Follow me, I found somewhere!" They immediately followed her, trying to dodge as many icicles as possible. Most of them weren't hit with more than three, leaving shallow cuts on them, but Ender was hit with a huge icicle that stuck to his tail and left leg, causing him to trip a second afterwards.

"Guys, I need some help! Taylor, can you try melting the ice stuck on and around me?" he screamed, crawling towards the cave. Taylor managed to melt the icicle in his leg and tail and then made a small heat barrier around them so he could get under cover. Once he got inside, he collapsed onto Stella.

"Arthur, come over here and help him out! Cauterize the wounds or something! I can bandage them after," she yelled. The icicle storm was getting worse, almost to the point that the only thing they could see outside was the massive amount of falling ice.

Arthur tossed her the bandages and came over to him with a small ball of golden fire in his hand. "This can go inside and heal him quickly, but it won't replace any blood lost. He should wake up within an hour. Open his mouth for me."

Suddenly, an icicle broke through the ceiling of the cave, causing it to crack in more places. We have to get out of this part and go deeper. If we don't, it'll be just as bad as outside. More icicles broke through as he was thinking this, and chunks began to fall. "We need to move! If we don't, we'll either end up crushed under rocks or pinned with icicles everywhere!" he shouted shortly before becoming human again, leaving the tail and ears behind. He then grabbed Ender and carried him on his side, who groaned in agony.

After checking they had all of the bandages, they ran farther into the cave, and as they went, they heard the entrance crash behind them and the icicles falling harder and harder. When they stopped, they were in a room with glowing crystals and even brighter moss and vines. Johann quickly made a small bed for Ender, who transformed into his normal cat form after hearing how tired they all were.

"So, how are we getting out now that we're grounded?" Taylor asked. Everyone groaned. "I know, it was poorly timed, but it's a serious question."

Johann answered, "I should be able to move enough for us to get out, but it'll be cramped. By then, the dragon should be gone after boring itself." He looked at the general area where they came in, then back at Ender. While he rested, the others decided to come up with a plan, albeit very risky as it involved fighting the dragon.

"Ender, wake up. We need you for this," Johann told his brother. "We've got a plan that we think will work, and you're an important part in it."