HollyYoshi

"Huh," Mint said, leaning back in her seat slightly. " Ya learn something new every day."   "Well," Aether began with a smile, "If you insist!" With that, the dragon pulled his board out from under him and began to fly.

"Hold on a minute," Mint cut in, "I thought they lived near the Master Emerald."   Aether shot the young fox a wink. "Can we fly? You bet we can. Would you like to see me do so?" he asked with a curious tilt of his head.

Striker looked back at Anna. "Haven? Where's that?" the tiger inquired. Out of the corner of his eyes, he could see Aether and Harmony catching up to them.   "Ah, that's certainly a relief to know," Aether told the fox next to him.

"It shouldn't take us long at all to get to Ice Cap Zone," Striker told them. "About an hour I believe."   "Heh, you'd think an island of all places wouldn't be so large," Mint commented.   "Just stay close to me," Aether told Harmony. "If you start to fall, let me know."

"No need to apologize," Mint assured her. With that, the plane finally took off into the sky.   On the ground, Aether turned to Harmony. "Alright, they're far enough away. Follow me!" he quickly moved in the direction of the plane, steadily increasing speed.

Mint was quick to notice how worried Anna seemed. "Hey now, don't be afraid," she said, trying to comfort the mongoose as the plane traveled down a small road, gradually picking up speed. "Striker can fly this thing really well."

Aether gave them a perplexed look. "Oh, I thought.... Ah, never mind. You good to go, Striker?"   The tiger flashed a thumbs up. "Good and ready!"   "Alright, you all go on ahead, we'll catch up to you in a few minutes."   Striker nodded and started the plane.

Mint climbed into the plane as well and she and Striker waited for Anna to get into it as well. As he waited, Striker pulled out a map of Angel Island and looked for Ice Cap Zone on it.   Aether ran a little ways and jumped into his board. "Ready Harmony?"

"They want to go visit Ice Cap Zone," Mint explained. "Remember?"   Aether snapped his fingers. "Ah yeah, that's right! Striker, you're taking the plane."   "Got it," the tiger said, climbing into the aircraft.

As a concerned Mint and Striker looked at the two siblings, Aether looked up. "Well, if we're going, we'd better start heading out now," the dragon told them, beginning to pack everything in the back of the plane. "Where did you two say you were going again?"

Mint tilted her head to one side. "You don't know what your goal is? That's odd."   "Hey now Mint, she probably hasn't figured out what she wants to do with her life yet," Striker told her. "She's still got her whole life to figure that out."   All three members of Team Inspire backed up when Harmony snapped like that, Striker even holding his hands up defensively.

"Well, I'm sure with a little bit of practice, you'll become a fine racer some day," Mint told her. "If that's your goal I mean."   Aether wasn't really convinced by Harmony's answer, what with the way she stuttered and how she answered him so quickly. "Are you sure?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "I mean, you're not... scared, are you?"

"Impressive," Mint compliment upon seeing Anna's Extreme Gear board. "I take it you know how to ride it well?" the red-furred husky asked the young mongoose.   Aether had noticed the blush coloring Harmony's cheeks. "Is there something wrong, Harmony?" the concerned dragon inquired of the fox.

Striker crossed his arms and grinned. "Heh, someone seems excited."   Aether nodded in satisfaction. He reached in the plane and pulled out an orange and yellow Extreme Gear board. "Hope you can hang on well."

"In a... sense?" Mint began, rubbing the back of her neck and shrugging one shoulder. "I dunno, we just like to share our works with the world in hopes that we'll inspire others in some way."   "And even if we manage to inspire just one person, we've still done what we've set out to do," Striker finished with a grin.    Aether glanced at the plane, before looking at Harmony and Anna. "So, who's coming with me?"

Aether slowly closed his eyes and gave a nod and a smile. "Mmm-hmm. We at Team Inspire believe that everyone should have a chance to let their creative selves shine. We seek to inspire others in some matter, through three forms of art - audio, visual, and written. We take pride in the works we share with the world," the dragon explained.

"I'm not surprised," Aether admitted. "My species isn't too common and most of us prefer to keep to ourselves." He shot them a wink. "Emphasis on 'most'. Me, on the other hand, I want to share my music with everyone."   "Aether enjoys playing music for others. He just had a performance last week in fact," Mint explained.

Aether stretched his arms out, his large wings following suite. "Well, heh, that's certainly good to know," the dragon said with a chuckle.   Mint stepped back and gestured between the dragon and the two siblings. "Harmony, Anna, I'd like you to meet the leader of Team Inspire, Aether the Dragon."   Striker had noticed the looks on their faces and chuckled. "Speechless, I see."

The dragon coasted the plane to the ground and landed it. "Sorry I'm late you guys," he said as he jumped out. "But I had to make sure everything was in tip-top shape. He had red spikes on his back and dark green eyes. For attire, he wore a blue bandanna around his neck, white gloves with gray cuffs, and blue shoes with gray cuffs and a stripe in the middle.    "Eh, it's no big deal, Aether," Mint assured him.

Mint pointed to a green object in the sky. "It's right up there, can you see it now?"   As the aircraft got closer, it became possible to make it out as a green and gray biplane. Sitting at the controls was a dragon with orange and yellow scales. He waved at the Mobians below.

The tiger, rubbing his shoulder, rolled his eyes at Mint before turning to Harmony. "Yeah, all three of us do in fact. I used to live in the jungles of Leaf Storm Zone when I was younger though." All at once both Mint and Striker's ears twitched with the hum of a flying plane. "Ah, that must be Aether now."

"No," Mint explained, elbowing her feline companion in the side and glaring at him out of the corner of her eyes. "This whole thing just came up pretty suddenly so he still needs time to prepare. I'm sure he'll be here shortly."

Striker rubbed the back of his neck, a sheepish smile on his face. "Eh, not really. The plane only holds three people. One of you will have to go with Aether while either Mint or I fly the plane." The tiger looked up. "Whenever he gets here..."

Striker shrugged. "Eh, you can't really DO anything. Sparks of inspiration can't be forced."   "By the way" Mint cut in, "Where's the third member of our little team?"   "Last I saw, he was getting the plane ready."

Striker laughed. "You got that right. Mint and I are both part of a three-Mobian group we call Team Inspire. And as a matter of fact, I have been stuck with a small bit of inspiration for an adventure novel. It just needs a few more sparks to start its full development."