Although that desert did seem to go on for longer than I expected. Perhaps we were flying slower than I planned."
"You were cutting it a little fine," Arthur commented. "I'm very glad to be back on two feet."
"Yes, none of us want to end up like you did in that valley," Crystal added. "You never told me, how did you survive that? I thought doing that was certain death."
"Not on my own," John admitted. "I had some help. Without medical attention I would have been dead within a day."
"Who helped you?" Daisy asked. "We left you alone in that valley. I didn't want to of course. That was Arthur. He tricked me." She glared at her brother, who looked away awkwardly.
John paused, frowning as if irritated with himself. "That's a story for another day. But Arthur only did as I demanded. There was no help he could have given."
"Come on, John. No more mysteries," Seth urged him. "Surely you've given us your biggest secret already. What could be bigger than the fact that you're a Golden Dragon? Tell us, who helped you?"
"Maybe not a bigger secret, but my identity was my secret to give away. This one involves others, so it'll have to stay a secret for now. Anyway, what are you waiting for? Aren't you going to put the tents up? Temperatures will plummet soon. We're quite high up here and there are no clouds above us."
"We were waiting for you to tell us what to do," Jenna replied defensively. "We didn't know if it was safe."
"It's safe," John told her. "We're over the border and it's night. Patrols only operate during the day here. It's a long desert border so it would be too much effort to guard it all the time."
Crystal shivered a little; the air was already starting to cool. She opened her bag to unpack her tent, but Seth wasn't convinced.
"And how do you know this?" Seth asked. "Have you ever actually been here before?"
"Once with my father, a long time ago on the journey out."
"So you can't be sure, can you? Things could have changed since then."
"Hey, if John says it's safe, we should trust him," Daisy objected.
"John almost died yesterday, Daisy, so I'm not sure if blind trust is such a good idea."
Daisy turned to John quickly and put her hands on his arms, looking up at him with concern. "I forgot to ask, how are you? Was it alright transforming back?"
John nodded. "It wasn't too bad. I'll be fine."
Daisy wasn't convinced that easily. "Let me see," she insisted, lifting the side of his top before he could object, exposing a colourful display of bruises on his left side. "Oh, that looks painful. John, are you sure it's better?"
"Much," he replied, replacing his top and hiding the bruising. "Seth, the tents. It's either that or freeze to death. Take your pick."
"This water is pretty cold," Arthur commented, having just filled his water flask. "The air temperature has already dropped quite a bit. I say we risk it."
Seth looked up to the top of the mountains, searching for any signs of movement. "I guess one more won't make any difference if you're all putting your tents up anyway."
"Seriously, Seth, even a fire should be alright here. We had one last time," John told him.
"How many years ago was that?"
"Seven," John replied, unrolling his tent.
"Seven years!" Jenna exclaimed. "But you can't have been flying then surely."
John shrugged. "We start transformation much earlier than you do. Red Dragons and Blue Dragons both believe that learning to transform before you're an adult is dangerous, but we've found no evidence to support that belief."
Seth continued to object to both the tents and the fire, but as it was getting colder, no one heeded him. Crystal was starting to feel quite cold, so once she and Jenna finished putting up their tent she volunteered to collect the firewood. There wasn't very much to collect on the barren mountainside, but she managed to collect enough to build a small fire. By the time she returned, all of the other tents were up and the others were discussing dinner.
"This is all the
"You were cutting it a little fine," Arthur commented. "I'm very glad to be back on two feet."
"Yes, none of us want to end up like you did in that valley," Crystal added. "You never told me, how did you survive that? I thought doing that was certain death."
"Not on my own," John admitted. "I had some help. Without medical attention I would have been dead within a day."
"Who helped you?" Daisy asked. "We left you alone in that valley. I didn't want to of course. That was Arthur. He tricked me." She glared at her brother, who looked away awkwardly.
John paused, frowning as if irritated with himself. "That's a story for another day. But Arthur only did as I demanded. There was no help he could have given."
"Come on, John. No more mysteries," Seth urged him. "Surely you've given us your biggest secret already. What could be bigger than the fact that you're a Golden Dragon? Tell us, who helped you?"
"Maybe not a bigger secret, but my identity was my secret to give away. This one involves others, so it'll have to stay a secret for now. Anyway, what are you waiting for? Aren't you going to put the tents up? Temperatures will plummet soon. We're quite high up here and there are no clouds above us."
"We were waiting for you to tell us what to do," Jenna replied defensively. "We didn't know if it was safe."
"It's safe," John told her. "We're over the border and it's night. Patrols only operate during the day here. It's a long desert border so it would be too much effort to guard it all the time."
Crystal shivered a little; the air was already starting to cool. She opened her bag to unpack her tent, but Seth wasn't convinced.
"And how do you know this?" Seth asked. "Have you ever actually been here before?"
"Once with my father, a long time ago on the journey out."
"So you can't be sure, can you? Things could have changed since then."
"Hey, if John says it's safe, we should trust him," Daisy objected.
"John almost died yesterday, Daisy, so I'm not sure if blind trust is such a good idea."
Daisy turned to John quickly and put her hands on his arms, looking up at him with concern. "I forgot to ask, how are you? Was it alright transforming back?"
John nodded. "It wasn't too bad. I'll be fine."
Daisy wasn't convinced that easily. "Let me see," she insisted, lifting the side of his top before he could object, exposing a colourful display of bruises on his left side. "Oh, that looks painful. John, are you sure it's better?"
"Much," he replied, replacing his top and hiding the bruising. "Seth, the tents. It's either that or freeze to death. Take your pick."
"This water is pretty cold," Arthur commented, having just filled his water flask. "The air temperature has already dropped quite a bit. I say we risk it."
Seth looked up to the top of the mountains, searching for any signs of movement. "I guess one more won't make any difference if you're all putting your tents up anyway."
"Seriously, Seth, even a fire should be alright here. We had one last time," John told him.
"How many years ago was that?"
"Seven," John replied, unrolling his tent.
"Seven years!" Jenna exclaimed. "But you can't have been flying then surely."
John shrugged. "We start transformation much earlier than you do. Red Dragons and Blue Dragons both believe that learning to transform before you're an adult is dangerous, but we've found no evidence to support that belief."
Seth continued to object to both the tents and the fire, but as it was getting colder, no one heeded him. Crystal was starting to feel quite cold, so once she and Jenna finished putting up their tent she volunteered to collect the firewood. There wasn't very much to collect on the barren mountainside, but she managed to collect enough to build a small fire. By the time she returned, all of the other tents were up and the others were discussing dinner.
"This is all the
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