HollyYoshi

"Eh, it's not that far," Striker commented, taking off his vest and putting on his jacket, which was a dark gray, made of a lighter material than Aether's blue one. "Besides, a little exercise would be nice to get in."

When Striker and Aether landed, they headed to the back of the plane to grab the jackets. Striker handed over Anna and Harmony's, before grabbing his own.   Though there was no snow where they were, snow capped mountains were in the distance.

As they continued to descend, Mint turned to the mongoose."Well, that depends on whether or not the ground itself is bumpy."   Aether shot her a wink. "Alright then, follow me!" With that, the dragon headed downward, following the path of the plane.    As it would happen, there was a fairly smooth, long path of ground for the plane to land on. Striker carefully coasted the aircraft downward."

"Alright, I'll start landing right now. Hang on!" With that, Striker veered the plane downward. The ground steadily grew closer.   Aether had grabbed Harmony before Striker moved the plane down. "Let's follow them, shall we?"

The red-furred husky grinned widely. "It's a nice trait to have, isn't it?"   Aether started to shiver. "I envy you two. Maybe we should land before we get there and put on our jackets..."

"Yeah. Can't you feel it?" Striker asked her.   "Not really," Mint cut in, a smirk on her white muzzle.   "I wasn't asking the one with resistance to the cold, Mint," Striker told the husky, rolling his eyes.

Mint agreed with Harmony. "Sounds good to me," the red-furred dog replied. She turned to Striker. "How much longer do we have, Striker?" The tiger looked down. "Not too much longer. It's already starting to get a little chilly."  

The husky and the tiger in the plane let out a sigh of relief. They had dodged a bullet there.    Aether, still out of the loop, flew over to the plane. "Hey everyone, what's going on here?"

Mint's ears drooped to the sides. "Oh no..." Striker grew nervous, wringing the collar of his vest. "Well, you see.... It's not really her fault... We were just having a conversation and there was a little... Slip of the tongue...."      

Striker and Mint both turned away from the young fox, unsure of what to say or do. "Maybe we shouldn't have.asked about it," the tiger whispered to his friend.   "I agree, but what do we say now?" Mint asked him.

Mint and Striker gave a sad smile.   "Well," Mint began, "I'm glad it seems like you both are trying to make the best of it." When Harmony flew over, however, the husky and tiger suddenly stiffened. Striker tugged at his vest, unsure of what to say to the fox, now that he knew her secret.

"Oh my gosh...." Mint whispered, placing a hand to her mouth. "I.... I never thought...."   Striker slowly shook his head, disbelief clear in his eyes. "That sounds terrible...."   At Harmony's question, Aether tilted his head to the side. "I don't think so.... Hey guys!" he called out, "What's up?"

At that shocking revelation, Mint and Strike stared at one another, mouths hanging open. They probably would have stayed like this for quite a while, if Mint hadn't noticed that the plane was heading right for a cliff. "Striker, watch out!"   Acting quickly, the tiger veered the plane away from the cliff. "Whew, that was close.... Now Anna, could you explain?"

Mint tried to wave it off. "I know, but still..." She stopped suddenly. Something Anna had said didn't quite sit well at all with the young husky. "Hold on," she began slowly, "What do you mean she's not used to having fox tails?"

With one eyebrow arched, Striker looked back at Mint. "What accident?"   The husky glanced up at the sky. "Eeeeh, Harmony accidentally hit me with her tails," she explained, prompting the tiger to laugh.   "Oh, really?"

"Oh, she does yell at them," Striker told her. "Mint is, how should I put this? Blunt. She doesn't sugarcoat stuff and is not one to pull any punches."   The dog in question brushed back the tuft of hair in-between her ears. "I'm not denying that," she said with a grin, almost as if she was proud of it.    "Yeah. She's a good person at heart though."

Mint gave a good-natured chuckle. "That's fine, performing for crowds is not for everybody. Heck, that's why I prefer painting - you can do it from the privacy of your own home and no one will be there to bother you. Well, except annoying neighbors who can't be bothered to keep their music down during parties. I swear, some people don't realize there are folks trying to sleep at certain hours..."

Aether got back on his own board. As they flew, the dragon kept an eye on Harmony, hoping she wouldn't fall off again.    "Instruments you say?" Striker began. "You know, Aether happens to play a mean guitar."   Mint stretched her arms out in front of her and leaned back a little. "Yeah, he likes to play for crowds of people."

"Well, alright then," Aether told her, flying the young fox to her still hovering board. "Ah yes, you've mentioned you two were musical before, right?" Mint pointed out, turning to Anna. "What kinds of instruments do you both like to play?"

"Huh, that's interesting," Aether noted. He glanced down at Harmony. "Are you okay to continue on the board?" As he waited for her to answer, the dragon thought to himself.; "Maybe I can help her out in some way..."   Striker tried to steer the conversation to a different place. "So, Anna, what do you and Harmony like to do in your free time?"

When Harmony had said she could have flown herself, Aether gave a confused tilt of his head. "Hold on, you can fly too?"   Mint and Striker breathed a sigh of relief, glad Harmony was safe.

Mint and Striker had both felt thier hearts stop upon witnessing Harmony call off her board. Fortunately, Aether was quick to act, swooping down and grabbing her.   "Are you alright?" he asked the young fox.

"If you... Say so, Aether said, looking off to the side, more than a bit concerned about Harmony. He knew now was not the time to talk about it, however, and resumed flying. "I hope she'll be alright," Striker said, glancing back at everyone.  

Aether stopped flying, hovering besides Harmony as she wobbled on her board. "Harmony? Are you alright? Do you need any help?" Mint had seen what happened as well. "Is everything alright back there?"      

"Oh, don't worry," Striker assured her. "If it's a secret, we won't tell anyone, right Mint?"   "That's right. Our lips are sealed."   Aether started doing some flips and twists.