Storm Call

He Never Really Left

The house was nearly silent in comparison to the two recent outbursts of emotions, and the group had decided to sit together in the living room once more. Lucas had joined them to talk to his other selves, Luna, Liliana, and Lucile, about recent events in his timeline and issues with his kitsune forms.

"So you have more than one form? I'm not sure if I can help," Luna replied, distracted by Liana. "You've already tried asking Ender and Enderia?" He nodded before six of his tails protruded from behind him, each a darker shade of pink and orange.

"No you didn't, you only asked Ender pre-split!" Enderia shouted, throwing a small snowball at him. When it hit, everyone stifled a laugh.

Lucas brushed the snow out of his hair before he responded. "I just talked to Enzefer a second ago, maybe you should listen better!" Several multicolored cats suddenly surrounded them, all of them staring at Lucas, most of them quietly purring. "Mass summoning, huh? You've gotten used to being able to yet?" he asked Ender, his voice shaking slightly.

"...looks like they worked how they're supposed to. Thanks kits, much appreciated, but you can go now," came his quiet orders. As suddenly as they appeared, the cats vanished, and their summoner began to walk towards the door. "Johann, Taylor, Enze, we should get going. We have some dragons to bring back," he calmly whispered to them, grabbing Ted's and Stella's attention as well. He noticed the two begin to stand before saying, "I don't want you to get hurt, and you, Ted, we'll make sure Sonui can patch your wing up. Just give us a few hours, okay?" The two sisters stopped in their tracks, deciding to listen and sit back down. His siblings followed him outside and they began going towards Arthur's signal.

"So when you said a few hours, what did you mean, Ender?" Enzefer inquired, realizing it would only take a few minutes to reach them.

"A 'family meeting' isn't something to miss out on, especially if it's with Navomi. We need to get as much info as possible about the scroll," came his reply. He was expecting that Stella told them as well, but to his surprise, Johann and Taylor were extremely confused as to how he knew. "Did... did she not tell you guys? I could've swore Stella... nevermind. Anyway, stay sharp, we have no idea what he'll have protecting it." About a second or so later, he felt a familiar presence in the distance, stopping instantly.

"A ferret? All the way out here? What are they doing so far north?" Johann asked, aware of the situation. Before long, he noticed that his brother had stopped a few hundred feet back. You have got to be kidding. It can't be him! He was a bat! "Come on, Ender, you'll freeze out here! We have to keep moving!" he shouted. His response was an immediate burst of speed towards the source.

You can't be alive! It must be someone else, there's no way it's him! Ender's mind raced with these thoughts as he blitzed toward the mouth of the now visible cavern. He only stopped when he saw Arthur being carried slowly by Sonui. "Guys! What happened? How bad are the injuries?" Before they even gave a response, the others arrived behind him.

Taylor was the first to speak by the time Arthur began to wake. "We'll talk when we get back to Luna's house, now's not the time for it. Get on my back, you two," she told them as she reverted to her natural form. They followed her orders and left, leaving Ender, Enzefer, and Johann behind. Soon after, Navomi called out from deeper within the cave.

"What do you think you're doing here, Ender? Come to slay another one of my pets, or are you here to see someone?" He chuckled after getting no response. "What, were you surprised to notice a ferret here, of all places? Did you really think I only enlisted dragons and wyverns to my army?" Before long, two sets of steps began coming closer to them. Johann braced for a fight, but Enzefer and his other half stood in shock. As the pair arrived at the entrance, Navomi glared evilly at them, and the masked figure recoiled at the sight of Ender.

"You have three seconds to run. Don't, and I'll kill you."