The next day, a large dragon descends from the sky, knocking a tree out of the way, and lands before us with a loud thump.

If you've never woken up to a large dragon in your face, I wouldn't recommend it. It's loud, terrifying, and probably bad for the native flora. All of us look into its large slit eyes upon waking up and immediately smell its breath, which reeks of fish and decay. It has large yellowish teeth, all pointed, as well as enormous batlike wings that extend all the way past its tail. It's tail is long and slender, like a whip, but with a pointed curve on the end. Around its head are large, ear like pads that form an almost complete ring, which twitch ever so slightly in the wind. It also has large talons and two horns that go upwards before sharply curving out towards its snout. It cuts an intimidating figure, making my heart race in my chest.

"You're the ones she mentioned. Ay, thought I'd never find you. Did you have a nice sleep?" booms the dragon in a voice that would make Obsidians cower.

Gash is cowering behind Natrina, who in turn is on the defensive, but Aislyn strides right up to the dragon and exclaims, "You made it!"
"Heh. There's the little dreamer. I think I remember you from Dimension-" She growls loudly in a slightly higher voice.

Aislyn nods. "That's one of my favorites! Nowhere near as nice as here, though. After the Obsidians are out of the picture, I think I'm going to settle down here! I've already made great friends, and we're off to save the world (you know how it is) but after that, I'm sure we can all find some place and-"

"Wait, wait, wait. You know a dragon?" Natrina asks, "More importantly, you know her from another dimension?"

"She's a dragon. They can travel across worlds at ease." Aislyn says as if this is obvious.

"That's right. As a dimension traveller and protector of the timeline, I can't say that the space-warping Canis are anything but our natural enemies, but somehow, we've managed to work things out. The gold might have helped a little." the dragon adds.

"How much gold?"

"Enough solid gold to fill the clearing up. Never mind how they got all that. Do you whelps want to walk all the way back or are you going to hop on?"

"How are we going to STAY on?" Natrina asks.
"Saddle. Telekinetically tie the knots on it to keep your paws in."

Though I myself am still unsure of all this, and Lotus and Vivian seem to share my sentiment, Gash charges ahead and sits up above, wagging his tail. "Nice view up here!" He says.

Natrina follows him, Vivian follows her, and I follow Vivian. Once we get up there, Natrina ties herself and Gash in while I do my own ties.

"I'm sure Gash could tie himself in." Vivian says.

"No. The mixed genetics kind of... take a toll on my powers. I'm lucky they cancel out. Other mixed species children have it much worse. Some flow over with deadly amounts of energy, unable to reconcile with their own genetics. As for the drop in power, males aren't as magically adept as females to begin with, and as long as I have my family, I'll be fine."

"I'm sorry. I didn't realize..."
"It's fine! Anyhow, you're part of my family now. Do you mind backing me up sometimes?"

"Of course I'll back you up." Vivian says, "I'm here for all of you."

Though Natrina is still clearly ticked at Vivian's comment, she tries to let her fur lay low and instead turns to Gash.

"Hey, um... dragon?"

The dragon turns its massive head, shifting us ever so slightly. "Call me Orrael."
"Why are there only four saddles?"

"I'm flying!" Aislyn calls.
"You're what?" Natrina says, "Aislyn, there is no way you can make that distance."

"I am the daughter of Verhamera. If she expects us to save the universe, I'd at least hope I'd be able to fly for what, one day straight? Just don't expect me to be a good conversationalist when we get back to the castle. I'm probably going to pass out."

"Alright." Natrina says. "So, when do we take off?"

"Right now." Orrael says, and with one astounding jump, rockets upwards. All four of us slam against the seats painfully, and with a huge flap, we find ourselves fully grounded. Aislyn flutters afterwards, astoundingly fast for her size, though she's terribly small next to Orrael. She rides his tail, enjoying the extra power she gets from the dragon's enormous bulk and speed. I'm sure that all of this is beautiful, but I can barely see anything as my eyes blur from the speed and the pain from slamming the seats.

Natrina stays low, muttering something that's lost to the wind, and all of us hang on for dear life to the dragon's enormous back. Knowing we have support barely means anything when we're moving up and down at this momentum.

Luckily for us, we seem to be moving quickly. Though Aislyn is too focused for us to talk with her, looking ahead around the dragon's neck shows trees rushing by quickly as water rushing down the falls and unfortunately, a faceful of biting wind.

Vivian, who made the mistake of electing to be on the outside, presses against me as she is buffeted by the winds as we soar over valleys and hills, nothing recognizable from above.

About halfway through the day, Aislyn lands behind the saddles and we all eat a quick lunch off the remains of our storages. A few pieces of bread fly off into the air, but Aislyn reassures us that they will go to those in need.

After we finish, she spreads her wings to take back off.

"Wait, you're leaving?" Natrina asks. "You look exhausted!"
"Orrael can't hold my weight all day and all of yours. I'm doing all of us a favor by doing her a favor." She pants, and the wear and tear this is taking on her is clearly visible in her sagging wings. She shakes her head several times before launching back into the sky, determined.

The four remaining Canis cluster together, all of us trying not to fall off while whispering to each other.

"So," Natrina says after one of Gash's stories, "Anyone else feeling like they're going to die?"

"All of us." Vivian assures her. "This is definitely not my preferred mode of transportation. Next time, we walk."

"The weird dark creatures would have ambushed us." Gash points out. "We should be grateful."

"Obsidians," Vivian corrects him, "Trust me, I am. Just a little... nauseous."

"Look at that!" I say, eager to distract them.

In the distance, the sun sets like a giant fireball over the large forest leading up to the valley just beyond the castle. A bright warmth flows through me, making me shudder ever so slightly. This is it, isn't it? Right below us is the place where Natrina and I grew up. I can see the burned forest and my heart drops. According to Aislyn, somewhere across space and time lie two sisters in the middle of a garden, two sisters in love with being young and ignorant.

Now, the question is... are they happier than my sister and I are now?

Does that matter?

"It's beautiful." Vivian breathes, looking right into the sun defiantly.

"So are you, Vivian. The sun makes your fur look like it's on fire." I tell her, not knowing quite what's coming over me.

"You really think so?"

"I know-"

Suddenly, Orrael plummets downwards. I look up to see the spires, but I'm mainly freaking out over the terrible burning of my paws as the ropes pull taut and I fly upwards, barely holding on to my grasp on life. If the knots loosen, I will soar upwards and probably die.

My petals flare vibrantly in pure fear and I breathe in and out quickly, hoping for the worst of it to be over soon.

Just a little more, just a little more... come on come on come on come on come on!

Orrael lands in front of the castle, clearly exhausted. "That's all, then."

"Are you alright?" Aislyn asks the large dragon, whose chest still heaves slightly from what I can only assume must have been like running all day with no food.

"Nothing some food won't fix. I'm going to go get something to eat. I'll see you around. Oh, right. Aislyn?" Her gaze fixes on Aislyn, her words suddenly very cold. "Good luck. You'll need it."

Aislyn nods, her whole body shaking ever so slightly. Orrael turns away and her tail flicks uncaringly as she takes off again, heading for the mountains in the distance.

"That was definitely... something." Aislyn mutters. "I think I'm going to go sleep for a few years now."

"You said it." Natrina yawns loudly.

Aislyn flies over the gap, smashes into the wall, and lowers the moat. She stumbles back to us, almost landing in the water, and says, "S'alright." in a manner that indicates that she's almost asleep on her paws.

Canira whisper around us and though Almalia is nowhere in sight, we return to the room where Natrina and I first slept on that fateful night and find it stocked with not two but five piles of furs, just for us. The weary group lie down together and Aislyn falls asleep right away.

However, I'm still nauseous. While Gash and Natrina curl up together, chatting idly in excited tones, I sit and watch the luminous flowers overhead grow brighter as the world outside is probably darkening.

"Hey." A voice. A familiar voice. Vivian's fur is almost purple, illuminated by the glowing flowers. "You wanna see something cool?"

"It's late, Vivian..." I murmur, digging myself into the pelts.

"You can't sleep, can you?"

"No."

"I don't know how many more nights we'll have here. For all I know, we could leave tomorrow." She says, anxiety creeping into her voice. "Please just come with me."

I get to my paws slowly, my eyes bloodshot. "F-fine." I say. "We can go."

She perks up. "Alright. Come on."

We leave the room swiftly. The hallways are all illuminated by the flowers or torchlight, and that is mirrored to brighten the other hallways. The combination of blue and red light bathes everything in a mystical glow. It's almost like walking on pure starlight. Vivian glances back at me, noticing my interest in the lights.

"Beautiful, isn't it?"
"Yes! I suppose we could only see this at night. Was this what you wanted to show me?" I ask.

"Nah. We're getting there." Vivian says before picking up her pace. At long last, we turn and she butts open the door into a courtyard.

It's much larger than the others, and crickets chirp all around us, filling the air with their melodies. A lake lit by starlight sits below us, and upon a slightly elevated hill sits a willow tree. Though there's seemingly no wind, the long branches of the willow sway invitingly. Vivian paces up the hillside and sits beneath the willow.

"Vivian, this is nice and all... but really, it could have waited." I tell her with a quiet yawn.

"N-no! Damnit, Lotus, how can you not understand?!"

I'm taken aback, stepping towards the exit of the courtyard. "Understand what? Vivian, are you okay?"

"We're going to leave soon! We might never come home again! I'm trying to be strong, but I don't want to die like this. I want you to know in case something happens to me. I want- I want-"

I step forwards. "You want what?" The stars glow brightly on my fur as I tiptoe closer, the willow branches brushing my sides. The smell of starberries catches my nostrils.

It all seems familiar.

"Lotus, I'm so scared. Which is why... you need to know..."

"Know what?"

She takes in a deep breath. Beneath the stars, in the dappled moonlight, I can see tears welling up in her eyes. I admire her whole physique, her brawn, the way the willow complements her fur, her beautiful eyes. I take in the scent, the almost summerlike feel to what should be a brisk autumn night, and the soft lighting. This moment stands immortalized in my mind. "Lotus... I love you."

I take a step closer, and she advances on the other side. Our Verhamera's Horns meet, sliding past each other, and I feel my entire body tingle with pure emotion. My snout ends on her neck and hers on mine. I can hear her breathing, feel her every heartbeat.

A million thoughts echo in my head, but the petals on my back flare up and all I can think of is hope.

I can make this work.