[Silver]

A sinister fog was blowing in over the hills. The edges of the sky began to grow dark. At first it looked like smoke, but it didn’t act like smoke. It felt ominous and powerful, but at the same time a bit sad. Like it was crying out.

Nimbus could feel his fur starting to prickle up the same way it did when there was danger right around the corner that he couldn't see but his instincts could feel.The boy quietly watched the sky. From his secluded place in the valley, he didn't know what everyone else was doing, but if he had to guess, they were probably panicking. That's what people did.

[Sekudui Farmlands please!]

[Silver]

Something about the fog felt familiar. Like he had seen it somewhere else before. Now, Nimbus felt this feeling often, but not usually so strongly. He knew that his curiosity would get the better of him, and he would have to go find out why he felt this way. Maybe he would learn something about himself in the meantime.

Nimbus idly scratched his elbow while he considered what it was about the fog that felt so familiar. It reminded him of someone, he thought, but he couldn't think of who. He would just have to get closer and see if an answer revealed itself. That seemed like a great reason to go on an adventure.

[Silver]

Nimbus hopped up to his feet and wandered toward the stables. He wasn't about to get all the way to the horizon on his own two paws, that's for sure. Equinox and Solstice were peacefully asleep, so he didn't even think of waking them up and forcing them to carry him. Aria would be fine, but Sonata was a liability. He would never forgive himself if she got hurt.

Oh! Of course! He could fly! Why he had not considered that before, he would never know, but he raced out of the stables with a cheeky grin. As he ran, he noticed that he was joined by another set of paws. Rhythm was right by his side like always.

[Silver]

"Hey buddy," Nimbus said. Rhythm's tail flapped about wildly behind him and he leaned in to give the boy a headbutt. He knew that those words meant him, and he liked it when they talked about him. He didn't know why they were running, but he liked it.

"We're going on an adventure!" Rhythm sort of knew what that meant. It's what the boy said when they were going to go somewhere. Sometimes it also meant they were going out to poop. Either way, he was excited about it. Nimbus laughed at how cheerful and enthusiastic he was. If only everyone was that easy to please.

[Silver]

"Are you ready?" Nimbus said in his excited-voice. Rhythm began jumping up and down next to him. The excited voice always made him jump. He flapped his wings, sending little flurries of loose feathers and fur all around. It left a slightly sparkling trail along the ground behind him.

"Okay boy, you ready? I know you are! Go find Stormy. Got it? Stormy!" Rhythm paused for a second and then sniffed the air. Then he took off in another direction, slightly adjacent to the way they were going before. Nimbus beamed and tried to keep up with him. He was starting to lose speed, but he would get there eventually.

[Silver]

Rhythm was please to find that the dragon was fast asleep in his nest. With his tongue hanging wildly out the side of his mouth, he ran around the side of the nest and prepared for the pounce. He flapped his small wings a couple of times to give emphasis to his jump and leaped as high as he could onto the dragon's back.

Bark bark! Squawk warble!

The two creatures tussled like cats meeting in an alley. They rolled all over one another and snapped their ferocious jaws. Stormy was equally parts annoyed and frustrated, but Rhythm just wanted to play.

[Silver]

Rhythm nipped at Stormy's wing joint, then expertly dodged her tail as it came around to swat him off. It was like he knew her every move before she made it. The two of them had fought like this more than once, clearly. The dragon, being much bigger, had a clear advantage, so he knew he had to be smart and sneaky. The fact that she just woke up helped, too.

It was too early for all of this. Stormy finally had enough and flapped her huge webbed wings, pulling herself into the air. When she looked down, she saw the winged dog clinging to one of her legs. She tried to shake him off, but was unsuccessful.

[Silver]

With one last vigorous kick, Stormy managed to send Rhythm tumbling to the ground. He tried to catch himself with his wings, but he was still struggling. He tumbled to the ground and rolled over himself a couple of times. Stormy let out a self satisfied grunt and gently folded herself back into her nest where she could finally get some peace.

"What did she do to you?" Nimbus asked with a laugh when he saw the crumpled ball that was his best friend. "She got you this time, didn't she?" Rhythm huffed and looked away. His pride was hurt, and he did not at all appreciate being laughed at.

[Silver]

"Oh, don't be such a big baby," Nimbus said. He was panting from all the running he did, but he was still in a joking mood. He scrubbed the Tali's head with his paw and turned to look at Stormy.

"Oi! Don't go to sleep now," he said. "We have an adventure to get started!"

Stormy was all too sick of being woken up today, so she curled up tighter and let out a grumpy huff. The air that shot out of her nose was warm and left a short trail of smoke. Nimbus rolled his eyes and got closer to her.

[Silver]

"Stormy," Nimbus said in a very parent-like way. "Stop being a lump and get a move on!"

Stormy didn't seem interested in listening to him, so he was going to have to take action. He came over to her nest and began to climb her. He used her leg to boost himself up and sat on her back between her wings. She still didn't move. He flopped forward so that he was laying belly-down across her back, splayed as far as he could reach in every direction.

"I guess we're sleeping now," he said. Nimbus let out an exaggerated yawn and started pretending to snore.

[Silver]

Stormy didn't seem at all bothered by his antics, much to his dismay. After a few minutes of rolling around and obnoxiously pretending to be sleeping on top of the dragon, he gave up and slid off her back. "You're really no fun today, you know that?"

She let out another hot puff of breath, this time including a little curling flame. Nimbus shook his head and turned to Rhythm. "What do you think, boy?" Rhythm barked enthusiastically.

"Great idea!" Nimbus scrambled through his bag, tossing this and that out until he found what he was looking for. "Would you do it for some jerky?" Nimbus asked, waving a piece around in the air.

[Silver]

Now as much as Stormy liked sleeping, she might like jerky just a little more. Her eyelids flashed open and she stared longingly at the little piece of meat Nimbus had. She was torn between not doing anything, which was nice, or reaching up and trying to grab it. If she was clever, maybe she could combine the two...

"Oh come on, I know you want it," Nimbus said. Meanwhile, Rhythm was jumping up and down on his paws and flapping his wings. He really wanted the jerky, too!

"Well, if you're going to be no fun, I guess Rhythm gets it." Rhythm's tail went wild at the sound of his own name.

[Silver]

"See? He wants to go on an adventure." Nimbus shrugged and tossed the jerky at his Tali. Rhythm snapped up the treat and flopped to the ground. He pulled and tugged at it excitedly. He ripped off huge chunks and seemingly swallowed them whole. It was really a wonder he was still breathing.

Stormy was not at all happy with this turn of events. Where was her jerky? She snorted an offended snort and unfurled herself a little bit. She stretched out her neck and blew a puff of air and smoke into Nimbus' face. The boy coughed a bit and rubbed his face with his paws.

[Silver]

"That was unnecessary," Nimbus said with a frown. "Are you going to be nice and join us on our adventure now? I bet there will be more jerky out there where we're going..."

Stormy crawled to her feet and dug her face into his chest. She looked up at him with the cutest look she could manage in her golden eyes. She made a low, soft rumbling sound that resembled a purr. She knew that Nimbus couldn't possible resist the purr.

"Ah, alright, here you go," he said. He pulled another piece of jerky out of his reserve and tossed it to her. She swallowed the entire chunk whole.

[Silver]

"Okay, well, I am definitely going to need some more jerky if we're really going to do this," Nimbus mused. Now he had two jerky-hungry monsters to feed.

Nimbus turned to walk toward his food storage, but he remembered that Stormy was standing right next to him. She better earn that first piece, he thought. He climbed up onto her back and gave her a tap with his foot to encourage her to fly.

Stormy flapped her wings lazily, but did not take off. Nimbus groaned. Was every part of this trip going to be like this? He was considering going back for the blind horse at this rate.