HollyYoshi

Out of the corner of her eye, the husky noticed the small swarm heading towards her. Acting quickly, she dived to the ground, hoping to make the robots pass over her.

Not too far away, a Mobian husky with deep carmine red fur was taking a walk when she heard the alarm go off. "Hmm? What's wrong?"

The three members of Team Inspire looked at one another. Striker cocked his head to the side as if to ask his teammates a question, to which Mint just shrugged. The husky in question turned back to the siblings, asking the query that was on her companion's minds. "What do you mean by 'plotting against each other'?" The canine couldn't imagine living the kind of life these two might have. Sure, she may have had problems with her own family, but it had been nothing like what Anne and Harmony had been indicating went wrong with theirs. "It seems like they've tried to make the best of it, though."   (Sorry if I haven't been around much. Work and Resident Evil 4 have been distracting me as of late. ^^;;)

Striker leaned over and laid a hand on Anna's shoulders, trying to comfort her. Aether shook his head in disbelief. "That sounds terrible!" the dragon told them, feeling that parents should love and care for their children.   Mint let out a sigh and rubbed her left temple. "Why in the heck would someone like them even have children if they aren't going to treat them well?"

"You can give us the shortened version, if that makes you feel any better," Aether told the two siblings.   "We understand if this might be hard for the two of you," Striker tried to assure them. 

Mint glanced at her friends and smiled, the other two returning the expression. "And we wouldn't have it any other way."   "So, Harmony," Aether began, clearing his throat before continuing. "Didn't you say you were going to tell us something as well?" the dragon asked softly, not wanting to force the fox into anything.

"Something like that," Striker answered in response to the question, a smile playing on his features. "I introduced him to Mint a little bit later and the three of us have been friends ever since."   "We all felt connected through our love of the arts," Aether told them.

Striker nodded in response to the question. "I heard music playing and went to check out who was making it. That's when I saw Aether here strumming on the guitar."

Aether laughed and shook his head. "Oh no, there was no 'paint explosion' or anything like that. No, instead, Striker here happened to be passing by." the dragon explained, gesturing to his friend.   The tiger shrugged, a smile on his white-furred muzzle. "I just so happened to be in the area. It was merely a simple case of being in the right place at the right time."

Aether waved it off with a smile. "Nah, it's okay. No harm done."   Mint tapped the dragon on the shoulder. "Well? Aren't you going to get to the part where you met us?"   Aether snapped his fingers. "Ah, right, I was just about to get to that! Well, one day, I was in the park, playing my guitar."

"Oh, I go back to visit every six months or so. And no one has actually lived in the castle for a few hundred years," Aether explained. "Like I said, me and my fellow dragons, yes there were a lot of us, lived in a nearby village."

"Sylvania Castle is located not far from Aquatic Ruins. Been exploring in it a few times before, it's actually a pretty neat place. If you're ever in Westside Island, maybe you could check it out," Aether told them. "Anyway, I came to Studiopolis to get a start in my music career. Sadly, there wasn't a big enough venue for music back in my village. Didn't like leaving my family, but they understood."

"Eh, anyway, maybe Aether should go next," Mint suggested, trying to get the conversation back on track.   "Thank you Mint," the dragon told her. "As for me, before I moved, I lived in a little village near Sylvannia Castle."

Striker smiled. "Well, as someone who is creative myself, I felt a sort of... connection to her, if that's what you want to call it."   Aether grinned and crossed his arms. "A 'connection', you say?"   Mint turned, a sly grin on her muzzle. "What are you implying, Aether?"   The dragon held his hands up. "Oh, nothing Mint. Nothing at all."

Mint took a deep breath. "Yes, I was not happy about that at all. Those paints were expensive. And on top of that, one of my favorite shirts was ruined. However, a few weeks later, I was met with a surprise. Turns out, Striker decided to be a nice guy and gift me some new paints."

Mint rolled her eyes as Striker began to snicker, Aether joining him.    "Yep," the tiger answered. "I ran right into her. Paint went everywhere. On me, on her, on the sidewalk, everywhere. Let me tell you, Mint was not happy about that. She had a few, let's just call them 'choice words' for me."

Striker laughed and shook his head. "You're on the right track, but it didn't happen quite like that. See, I was taking my morning jog around the block on day. Well, that also happened to be the day Mint went out and bought herself some brand new, high quality paints. I," the tiger paused for a moment. "...Think you can guess where this went..."

The tiger shook his head. "Nah. Nothing like that. My life was just kind of boring out in the jungle and I wanted something more.... exciting. So, I came to Studiopolis to start my writing career. Now," Striker began to chuckle a little. "Would you like to hear how Mint and I met?"   "Well, considering that's what they asked in the first place...."   Striker shot the dog a quick wink.

"True, true," Mint agreed with a nod. "Plus, though it wasn't much at first, I did start to make money with my artwork."   "Perhaps I should go next," Striker cut in. "If you don't mind, Mint."   The husky let out a sigh, annoyed at being interrupted. "Fine. But make it quick, Striker."   The blue-furred tiger laughed. "Very well then. Well, as I've already told you guys, I used to live in Leaf Storm Zone."

"That's what I kept saying!" Mint stated, thrusting an arm out to the side. "But they wouldn't listen. And so I left home and made my way to Studiopolis. Unfortunately, all I could find at first to live in were really small apartments, as I didn't have much in the way of money."

"No, no, not at all," Mint assured Harmony. "I had a bit of a falling out with my family. Let's just say they weren't too supportive of me making a living out of my talents. They wanted me to get a 'real job'."

As the group walked, Mint turned to Striker. "You want to tell them?"   The tiger thought about it, tapping his chin. "Hmm, I think you can tell the beginning better than we can."   The husky nodded. "Fair enough. So, let's see here... Well, it happened a few years ago. I had moved to Studiopolis Zone from Ice Paradise."

Mint sighed and rolled her eyes. "No, I'm sure it's not that bad," she said, glaring at Aether. "Just keep an eye out, just in case." She looked out and saw Striker already taking a few steps, motioning everyone to follow.

Aether shouldered a pack and turned to the group. "We'll be there before you know it. However, I need to address something very important. It can be dangerous on the trails heading to Ice Cap. Everyone needs to stay together, at all times."