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23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaG4Mlp73kT
"This is a long hall," said Aurora.
"Hey, I think I see light up ahead!" Shadow exclaimed.
Coral walked forward his eyes rounding as he saw the sight before him. "Is this... Heaven?"
Sable pushed ahead, falling forward onto the fluffy, cloudy surface. Sable lifted his head. "That could've been worse."
"Your voice sounds weird," said Reef.
Sable quickly stood up. "What do you mea–wait, what?. No, no, no! AHHH!"
Splash laughed as Sable floated into the air, flailing his wings and yelling in an unusually high pitched voice.
Tiny Wings wings buzzed with excitement. "I wanna try!"
Tiny Wings launched herself off Moss’s back, her small wings buzzing frantically. As soon as she hit the cloudy surface, a strange sensation overtook her, making her giggle uncontrollably. "Whoa! My voice sounds funny!" she squeaked, her tone so high-pitched it sent Splash into a fit of laughter.
Reef rolled onto his side, his fins awkwardly trying to push him upright as he floated just above the ground. “This is the weirdest thing ever,” he said in his own high pitched voice. He paused before bursting into laughter at himself. “Why do I sound like a singing bird?”
Aurora couldn’t stop herself from laughing, though her weak fire puffed out in harmless little bursts as she hiccupped. “This is—oh no, it's happening to me too!” She found herself drifting upwards. “Help! I don’t want to be a balloon!”
Shadow flapped his wings in a panic as he floated past Coral. “Is this... magic? Are we cursed? WHAT IS THIS?”
Coral, still standing stiffly on the cloud, frowned and kept his voice steady, though it had an odd chipmunk-like quality. “Calm down. This must be some sort of enchantment.” His serious tone only made his squeaky voice funnier, and Reef doubled over, tears forming in his eyes.
Sable, who was still flailing helplessly in the air, groaned. “This is undignified. I am a Crimson Fang dragon! I am terrifying! Not some... floating toy!”
Tiny Wings zipped around him, her laughter bubbling out in high-pitched squeals. “You sound like a hatchling!” she teased, zooming by his ear.
Meanwhile, Frostbite sat calmly on the cloud, completely still and unaffected by the chaos around him. His icy blue eyes swept over the group with a faint look of amusement. “Interesting,” he murmured in his normal voice, the helium having little effect on his frost-born physiology. “You’ve all become floating jesters.”
Elanor and Cole had finally caught up to the group, both staring in confusion and awe. Cole immediately tripped over the cloud’s oddly springy surface, falling flat on his face. When he tried to yell, his voice came out squeaky. “What’s going on?!” he cried as he floated into the air, his voice cracking and sending Elanor into fits of giggles.
"Think about it this way Cole, there's no possible way you could be clumsy now!" Aurora purred.
Cole flailed in the air, his arms and legs moving like a windmill. “That’s not how it works!” he squeaked, his voice cracking even higher as he spun upside-down.
Elanor laughed so hard she had to clutch her sides. “This is the most absurd thing I’ve ever seen!” she managed to gasp between giggles. She reached out to try and grab Cole’s leg, but he slipped through her fingers, floating higher. “Oh no—wait! Someone grab him before he floats away!”
Splash, still flipping and spinning in the air, made a heroic attempt to help. “Don’t worry! I’ve got this!” he declared, before misjudging his aim and colliding with Reef mid-air. The two of them spiraled in a tangled mess of fins and claws, laughing uncontrollably.
Coral tried to keep order, despite his squeaky voice undermining his authority. “Everyone, stop flailing around and get back on the ground!” He planted his claws firmly into the cloud, but the helium made him lighter than he’d realized, and he started to rise despite himself. “Oh no—no, not me too!”
Tiny Wings zipped around him like an overexcited firefly. “Come on, Dad! Lighten up! You sound so funny!” She giggled, buzzing in circles and doing little flips in the air.
Sable, who had finally managed to stop flailing, crossed his arms with as much dignity as a floating Crimson Fang dragon could muster. “This is humiliating. When I get back down, I’m never speaking of this again,” he declared.
Aurora, still hiccupping tiny puffs of smoke, hovered beside him. “Oh, come on, Sable! This is hilarious! When will we ever get to sound like this again?”
Meanwhile, Shadow was trying to piece it all together, though his high-pitched voice made his usual thoughtful tone sound more like a young hatchling’s musings. “Maybe... this is part of the trial?” he suggested, drifting past Frostbite, who was sitting calmly and observing. “Frostbite, why aren’t you floating?”
The frost dragon smirked faintly. “Ice doesn’t rise, little one,” he replied smoothly. “This enchantment must affect only warm-blooded creatures—or those with fire.” He nodded toward Coral. “Which is why even our stoic leader here is now... airborne.”
Coral sighed deeply, floating just above the surface of the cloud, and pinched the bridge of his snout in frustration. “If someone doesn’t figure out how to undo this, we’ll all be a bunch of squeaky balloons for eternity.”
Tiny Wings grinned mischievously, zooming past him again. “I don’t know, Dad. I think it’s kind of fun being a balloon!”
A loud roar echoed through the air. The roar startled the group, sending them spinning in different directions. Even Frostbite, usually composed, tilted his head slightly in acknowledgment of the sound. A massive Blue Fire dragon descended from the sky, her shimmering scales reflecting moonlit ripples. She carried a large, ancient book of incantations in her talons, her expression a mix of exasperation and disinterest.
The massive Blue Fire dragon landed gracefully on the cloud, her swirled horns gleaming like polished silver as she tucked her wings close to her sides. Aldra’s piercing eyes scanned the group, narrowing slightly at the chaotic scene. Sable was stuck in a nearby tuft of cloud, Tiny Wings buzzed around Coral, who was awkwardly spinning in the air, and Cole floated helplessly just out of Elanor’s reach.
She heaved a long, tired sigh, setting the ancient book down with a heavy thud. “This,” she began, her voice low and dripping with irritation, “is why we need better signs on that door.”
Aurora, still giggling uncontrollably, waved a claw. “Uh, hello! Can you help us? We seem to be... um, floating?”
Aldra’s expression didn’t change. “Yes. I can see that,” she deadpanned, her voice cutting through the helium-induced laughter like a blade. “You’re not supposed to be here. You took the wrong door.”
Splash, tumbling mid-air, chimed in with his squeaky voice, “We didn’t mean to! It just kind of... happened?”
Aldra tilted her head, unimpressed. “Do you have any idea how many visitors make that same excuse? ‘It just happened,’” she mimicked flatly, her tone a perfect combination of boredom and annoyance. “And yet, here I am. Cleaning up the mess. Again.”
Frostbite, still seated calmly on the cloud, inclined his head. “What's your name?"
Aldra's eyes briefly scanned him before turning to the rest of the group. “Aldra. The elder sent me to retrieve you—though frankly, I’d rather be anywhere else.” She paused, flicking her tail. “But first... let’s deal with this.”
She raised a claw, tracing intricate runes in the air. A cool blue glow surrounded the group, and one by one, the helium enchantment faded. Everyone’s voices returned to normal, and they gently settled back onto the cloud.
Sable groaned as he shook his fins, muttering, “Well, that was embarrassing.”
Coral straightened himself, his serious demeanor snapping back into place. “Thank you for the assistance, Aldra. We’ll try not to waste any more of your time.”
Aldra snorted softly,it. “Too late for that,” she muttered, picking up the ancient book with a flick of her claw. “Follow me. And try not to wander off again—or you’ll wish helium voices were your biggest problem.”
Tiny Wings hovered close to Moss, whispering, “She seems grumpy.”
Aldra’s sharp ears caught the remark, and she shot the dragonet a dry look. “Grumpy doesn’t even begin to cover it,” she said, spreading her wings. “Now move it, before I change my mind about helping.”
ns 15.158.61.47da2
