Crystal Folly

Kloudsmith Family Matter

It had been about ten minutes since Arthur and the rest of the group on the ground began walking, and thirteen since Stella and Ender began flying. The sun had officially began its descent, making some of the glare brighter for the couple.

"If only I could grow wings, I'd try covering up the glare. It's getting in my eyes too," Ender told her, knowing there wasn't a thing he could do about it. "So, do you actually wanna come back in about two months for your birthday?" he asked, hoping for a positive response.

"Of course, kitty! I'm just hoping there's snow on the ground then, heard Michigan doesn't know how to set up seasons," Stella happily replied.

Well that's one plan set up, just gotta remember to write it down, Ender thought. "Hey, that reminds me of something completely off-topic. I never heard your last name before. What is it?" He tried his best to make his eyes huge and adorable so that she couldn't refuse, but was unsuccessful.

"Nice try with the eyes, Enzy, but I'm pretty much immune to that thanks to the past year and a half," Stella snickered. "But anyways, my last name's Snowstar. It's got a cold ring to it, doesn't it?" she asked, knowing he'd be on top of that in an instant.

"I see what you did there, Stella! Talk about cold when it comes to you making puns," he laughed, just as Stella had predicted. "Don't forget, I can make cloud puns all day whenever I feel like it. So can Arthur, if he's ever up for it. Johann never wants to be part of it, though," he chortled. "I also have a different name, too, but I only ever listen to it whenever it's a combat situation. Have I told you it before?"

Stella thought for a few seconds before coming up with an answer. "You might've, but I can't remember. I only know of 'Ender Klouden' and 'Enzefer'," she told him, "but that doesn't mean that the elf part of you doesn't have its own last name. What is it?"

Arthur signaled them to come down, as they had arrived at the destination. "I'll have to tell you later. I can never say it in this form, not sure why," Ender answered. Once they were on the ground, he jumped out of her arms and onto the ground before transforming back into a human, leaving the tail and ears in case they were needed.

"Well guys, this is the place. I know it looks small, but magic always does that for houses. Well, as far as I know, anyway," Arthur told them. "There's enough room for everyone to come in at the same time, just be prepared for a... bit of a party."

After almost everyone went inside, each one of them almost as excited as the next one, Arthur, Stella, and Ender heard a metallic crash from the side of the house over the bass of the speaker.

"Should we go investigate?" Ender yelled over the music to Stella, who was about three feet away from him. Arthur overheard them and came in their direction.

"It's probably nothing, might be the wind. My family's been complaining about it too," Arthur explained, "so they tend to ignore it unless it's making them lose sleep."

A louder bang came from the same side of the house, which apparently was unusual for the people living there, as the music stopped playing. The sound of a familiar voice rang through the house, yelling as if trying to scare someone off.

"...if you don't get away from me, I will literally burn you to a crisp!"

"Heh, all talk and no action. What're you, afraid?"

"I'm warning you, take one more step, and you're gonna wish you never messed with me, you creep!"

Ender ran outside only to see Taylor being restrained and pinned against the wall by a guy who looked to be in his early twenties. The man was clearly drunk and didn't know exactly what he was doing or where he was.

"Hey, you," he called out to Ender, "take this and record what's about to-" was all he got to say before Stella came out and froze him where he stood. Unfortunately, this still left Taylor pinned against the wall due to his hands gripping hers above her head.

"Okay, which one of you kids did that?!" the man screamed through the ice, which was melting at a very rapid rate. He was somehow no longer drunk and was instead extremely irritated. "This is how other fire dragons greet each other, not that this one would know, anyway." Taylor tried kicking him in the leg to get free from him, but she missed by an inch and he laughed. "Why don't you try burning me? You're supposed to be a dragon, girl, so act like it!"

Just before things escalated any more, Arthur came outside after hearing him yell. "Brandon, let her go! These are our guests! Try it again, and I'll burn the hell out of you!" This was enough for Brandon to hear before letting Taylor go and running back into the house.

"Who was that, Arthur?" Ender asked, knowing he was somehow related to him.

"That was my one of my older brothers. He's more of a prick than I can ever be. And he's a full blooded dragon, so fighting him would not be the best idea," Arthur answered. Memories flooded back to when the last time he had to fight him, only having the help of his father, who ultimately gave up his body to control Brandon much better than he ever could with just words and burns.

Stella noticed the tears forming in his eyes before anyone else said anything and asked, "He's done something unforgivable, hasn't he?"

Arthur wiped his eyes and sniffed a bit. "Yeah. I don't wanna talk about it, but he's been acting weird according to Mom. It's almost like Na-.'' He stopped, unsure of whether or not to say his eldest brother's name. Instead, he said, "It's like some kind of curse or hex undoing what Dad did."

"What do you think that might be?" Ender asked. He was tempted to ask for more info, but decided not to.

"I have no idea, Ender, but I honestly don't wanna find out if my dad can't constantly keep control of him," Arthur replied. "Anyways, we should get going. We've only got a few hours of daylight left now," he told them, checking his watch. "Ender, you should go get Johann. We gotta leave, like now."