The last time Turtle had been this cold, it was when he fell into the waters of the Ice Kingdom's coastline by accident during a trip there to promote his books. It felt like there were thousands of talons stabbing through his scales and into the hide underneath. No matter how much he turned, grabbed at his scales, the cold painfully clung to him.

The darkness in front of his eyes did not help either: he could not even see the light of his own aquatic markings. Three Moons, even when he lifted his talons in front of his face he could not see them.

Had he been thrown into the darkest underwater trench? Just the mere thought of this made him think of the many horror stories he and his brothers would tell each other at night before bed. About unspeakable creatures that turned you insane by just the mere sight of them. Said stories always made it hard for him to sleep at night.

Except...while it was cold, it was not cold like freezing water. No, it felt like air...Like a cold blizzard wind.

And he could hear his own rapid breathing…

Then, a voice.

"Did you think you could get away with it?" A low, vicious, voice spoke...just mere inches from his ear.

Turtle spun to face the voice. But once again, he only saw darkness. Then: He felt it, talons wrapping around his neck.

"You think you can just do what you want and get away with it?!" A voice in the darkness shouted. Gasping, Turtle tried to back away from what seized him, but he felt as if his scales were being ripped from his neck. "Just because you are a writer!?"

"W...what?" Turtle gasped, struggling to clutch at whatever had a hold of him.

"You killed me! You killed me!" The voice shrieked in his ears.

Suddenly, a flash of light filled the air like lightning: Making Turtle see his attacker. It was a LeafWing, with a terrible scar over the right side of his face. Eyes widening, the LeafWing seemed familiar to him. But not in the way one would recall seeing somebody in real life as if seeing a dream standing before him.

He recognized the dragon, he knew where he had imagined the face. It was a dragon from one of his books!

A dragon he had killed off…

"I'll make you pay for that you self-righteous monster!" The dragon screamed in the darkness.

Even with this revelation, Turtle was still in the predicament he had been in before. Trying to slam his talons down on the dragon's arm, he did his best to claw at the arm. But all he felt was nothing but air. It was like there was nothing present, but it could still touch him.

Then, he felt it: A sinking feeling...something crawling up his feet. Something wet, sticky. Struggling against the dragon trying to strangle him, and now the unseen substance ensnaring him, Turtle felt like he was being pulled into quicksand. Ever so slowly, the feeling of his body started to leave him as he fell further, and further, into the abyss.

"If you won't do it, then I'll take you with me!" Snarled the dragon.

Somehow, that single demand made Turtle stop. It was as if the dragon had just asked him to make the moons vanish and never return. He did not know what the dragon was talking about, but it was like his brain was triggered by something that left the rest of his mind and body confused.

"Do it, or I will take everything with me!" The dragon roared furiously.

"NO!" Turtle screamed, his voice echoing across the void of darkness.

A simple word, but it had power: As a roar echoed through the void and pierced his eardrums.

And then, as if a switch had been flipped, the darkness was consumed by a blinding light.

When he woke up, the only thing Turtle could hear was the sound of his rapid breathing into the ground. His vision was blurred and dark, for a moment he thought he had actually fallen into an abyss. It was only when he started looking at his surroundings did his vision start to come back...and his mind finally realized where he was, and that it had all been a dream.

Sitting up from the blankets he had been laying on, Turtle saw the walls of the tent he had been sleeping in. Groaning, the SeaWing fully sat up and looked beside him, expecting to see the sleeping form of his mate...only to find himself alone in the tent, with the fire pit having died down to embers.

"Kinkajou?" Turtle yawned as he did one last look around their tent. Not seeing his mate, Turtle groaned as he realized that he must have been making noise in his sleep. Add to the list of things she could be frustrated at me about.

Getting up from the bed they had shared, Turtle made his way out of the tent that had been set up for the night. As he got out, he saw the familiar shoreline of the small island that he, Kinkajou, and their travel group had landed on the afternoon before. It was an island that was not meant to support a population, but it was a regular stopping point for dragons traveling between Pyrrhia and Pantala.

Or, in their case, the last stop before they reached an island chain west of Pantala: The Amethyst islands. A popular vacation spot for Phyrrian and Pantalan dragons alike.

According to everything his mate had heard, a perfect place for artists to regain their inspiration.

After a busy few years of writing and getting many of his stories published, Turtle did not deny that he felt his inspiration for his craft start to dwindle. The fact so many dragons wanted his attention did not help that. Even worse was the fact Kinkajou insisted that he interact with the public more, this almost always led to an argument between the two of them.

This is why he was relieved when she wanted to go on a vacation with him, get away from Phyrria for a few weeks. Leave all of the drama behind them, and enjoy time together as a couple.

Walking amongst the small camp of their traveling group, Turtle quietly made his way over to the beach of the small island. Sure enough, he found Kinkajou laying by the waterside...sleeping.

Groaning to himself, this all but confirmed he had been making noise in his sleep.

After a second of taking a deep breath, and exhaling, Turtle walked towards his mate's sleeping form and quietly lay down next to her. Part of him wanted to drape a wing over her but stopped himself at the last minute. Instead, he chose to just watch the ocean.

Hours passed, and the sun began to ascend over the horizon. With its arrival, Turtle could hear the camp starting to come to life. It was agreed that their group of fifteen dragons would leave at first light, but the SeaWing Prince decided not to wake up Kinkajou. Best to let her get as much sleep as she can.

It would not be long when Kinkajou started to stir from her sleep, yawning while her forelegs stretched and her talons digging into the sand. When she was finished, he noticed her eyes briefly glance in his direction before looking away. It was a brief moment, but it almost made him wince.

The silence between the two continued for a few minutes before Kinkajou finally spoke.

"How are you feeling?" She asked, almost nervously.

"I'm...fine…" Turtle answered, doing his best to sound as truthful as he could. The nightmare from earlier felt like a distant memory, but little images of the darkness that engulfed him would occasionally occur. He did his best to smile, look at his mate, and close out the memories. "Did I keep you up last night?"

"No! I mean...no…" Kinkajou responded, loudly, as if afraid that he was upset before she recomposed herself and repeated herself, but much calmer. "I just needed to go for a walk."

They had been married for two years, and Turtle had come to know when his mate was not being truthful. The way she composed herself, definitely showed that his suspicions were confirmed that she had been kept awake from noises he made in his sleep.

"How did you sleep?" Kinkajou asked after he did not say anything.

Now...it was his turn to lie.

"Okay," He replied. Realizing he did not want to lie to her entirely, he quickly added. "Just, some parts of sleep were better than others."

"Well...I think us getting away from Phyrria will change that," She said, smiling softly.

He doubted a month away from his home continent would erase years of stress that had taken hold of his life and his relationships. But being able to spend time with Kinkajou, away from the noise...he was hopeful.

"Yeah, yeah it should," He replied.

Their moment of peace ended as the dragons of their group had torn down their camp and were gathering to continue their journey.

"Shall we?" Kinkajou asked as she stood up.

"Sure, let's go," Turtle replied as he got up and followed Kinkajou towards the camp.

After a few minutes, they tore down their tent and gathered their belongings into their bags as they gathered with the group of fifteen dragons. The group chatted with one another while they waited for their guide to lead them the rest of the way to the Amethyst islands. As the dragons talked with one another excitedly about reaching their destination that day, Turtle made sure he stayed as far away from the group as he could manage.

So far, he had yet to encounter any fans of his stories, let alone recognize him. Most reactions he got back at home were excitement from readers that he passed. They would always try to be his friend and shower him with unending praise. A part of him would always feel honored...but it got to the point where privacy became uncommon in his life. While Kinkajou would always strike up conversations with fans of his writing. But that did not stop people from trying to intrude into their lives.

Maybe these dragons knew of him, maybe they did not. But the fact that nobody tried to force him to talk with them was a relief.

After everything had been packed up, the group's guide finally gathered everyone around him to get their attention.

"Alright, alright, settle down now everyone," Shouted their group's guide, a male SilkWing with peculiar red and gray scales. He was one of many guides for dragons who wanted to cross the ocean between the two continents. Like his fellow guides, he had spent years after the Pantalan War finding the best routes. "With luck, we should be able to reach the islands by midday. The winds are in our favor, and no storms seem to be on the horizon."

Good, because after days of flying, his wings were starting to ache even when with their stops on the small islands.

A few more minutes, the group took flight over the ocean to the Northwest where their journey would end.

The flight would last for a few hours. By the time the sun rising to its peak in the sky, Turtle, Kinkajou, and the others could see nothing but water miles for the eye could see. While the sight of water was a sight that was common for Turtle (being a SeaWing, you typically lived up to your name) he wondered if there was a sense of nervousness among the non-SeaWings of the group who had not traveled to Pantala before?

But whatever nervousness the new travelers might have would have vanished when the guide announced what they had all been waiting to hear for days.

"Land, several miles out!" Shouted the SilkWing guide to the rest of the Phyrrian dragons. Turtle's head perked as he looked in the distant horizon. Instead of seeing endless stretches of water on the horizon, he could just barely make out a distant mass of land that looked like a black line. The closer they flew, the more this line expanded and grew larger.

Minutes later, he could see trees and small mountains on this landmass. To his tired body's relief, Turtle realized that they had indeed arrived at their destination as they flew towards a chain of islands, the biggest they had seen in their days of travel.

Above these islands, Turtle saw Dragons flying across it. Flying between mountains and the forests that were scattered across the island chain. Their group would fly past smaller groups of dragons who flew to some of the smaller islands, some waving at Turtle and the others with their talons before going on their way.

Their group made their way to the southern shores of the largest island of the chain, where a large town was built on the shore, just on the edge of a forest. Once they had landed, Turtle was greeted with the sight of SilkWings, HiveWings, and SeaWings, who migrated to the Amethyst Islands, roaming the streets, going about their business.

It was loud and busy...and Turtle was not sure he liked that. But the feeling of relief that they had finally made it to their destination outweighed the nervousness. A brush of Kinkajou's wings against his caused him to look at her as she gave him a relieved smile.

"See, told you we would make it," She said, winking.

"Never doubted you for a moment," Turtle replied, smiling.

Okay, maybe he did doubt a little bit that a storm would kick up and they would get lost. But he still believed they would make it.

"Alright everyone," Their guide said, getting the group's attention on him. "I suggest you all go to the inn on the east side of town, it's a good place to stay and the inn keep is very welcoming. That is where you will pay."

The guide was bombarded with questions, such as where the best food in the settlement was or the most romantic places were (this came from a SandWing couple who were very clearly just married). But while all of the group asked the guide questions, Kinkajou's tail wrapped around his and she gently tugged on him. Looking back at his mate, he could see her gesturing at him to follow her.

"But...shouldn't we rent our room?" Turtle asked as he relented and followed her.

"Oh we are definitely renting something, but it's a little more than a room," She winked.

Quirking a brow, he wondered what his mate could be talking about. He knew she had planned this trip for months and had kept a tight lip on the details of it, which was a surprise. But given how confident she was, Turtle followed her as they left their group and walked around the busy streets of the village.

"So...who did you talk to about our lodging?" Turtle asked.

"A HiveWing, he knows the island very well, and there is a spot he thinks would be perfect for our needs," Kinkajou said, almost skipping along as she spoke.

Admittedly, this did make Turtle smile. Seeing Kinkajou happy, always brought some light to his day. It was not often he got to see her smile, not when his days were largely filled with dragons he did not know trying to catch his attention.

"So, where are we meeting him?"

"A restaurant...hmm...what was it called?" Kinkajou tapped her chin.

"Uhh...Kinkajou?" He asked, not entirely sure about the idea that she forgot where they were going.

"The Amber Honey!" She remembered, snapping her talons as she pointed them at something.

Following the direction her talons pointed, Turtle realized that they were approaching an establishment sharing that very name. It had a mostly SilkWing and HiveWing customer base, all of whom were drinking from glasses filled with honey.

Well, at least they were not lost.

Walking past the dining area, the couple approached the front door. Kinkajou raced forward and opened it for him, though he noted she seemed to be doing it a bit quickly and frantically. Giving her an awkward smile and walking inside. Despite the kind gesture from Kinkajou, Turtle felt the familiar tense feeling in his heart.

The feeling you normally get when you and your significant other had a lot to talk about, but did not talk about it at all.

Entering the restaurant, they walked over to the bar where one bright yellow HiveWing sat, downing a drink of her throat, Kinkajou managed to get the HiveWing's attention. Turtle noted that the HiveWing was big...like...very big. Like looking at one of the Rainforest's largest wasp species…

When the HiveWing's dark brown eyes looked at Kinkajou, he squinted them as if to analyze Turtle's mate carefully. Then, realization dawned on him.

"Kinkajou, I take it?" The HiveWing asked.

"Yeah, Apidae?" Kinkajou replied, earning a nod from the dragon.

"Glad to see you and your boy got here safely," The HiveWing, Apidea, said as he gave a toothy grin at them both. His attention turned to Turtle, which made him feel even smaller. "Prince Turtle, a pleasure to meet ya!"

Apidae said his name loudly...making Turtle flinch and glance around the restaurant to make sure nobody heard. Thankfully, there were so few dragons in the restaurant, save for a few who were in busy conversations.

Calming down, Turtle looked back at the HiveWing.

"I take it you are the one we are supposed to talk to about where Kinkajou and I will be staying?" Turtle asked.

"Yeah, I'm in charge of some of the properties rented out to visitors. Especially those couples, like yourselves, who want some alone time," The dragon said, winking at the two. This made Turtle blush at what it was Apidea could be implying beyond a couple wanting to rent a private property. "Your mate has already paid in advance, so you both don't need to worry about anything." As he said this, Apidea reached into his neck bag and pulled out a key. "Not too far from the main village, so you'll be able to come and enjoy the sights while enjoying some peaceful atmosphere here on our beautiful islands."

Kinkajou took the key and smiled up at the HiveWing.

"Thank you so much for this Apidea, I know you worked so hard to get this set up!" Kinkajou said, grinning.

"Hey, anything for a kind dragoness and her husband," The HiveWing laughed before turning back to his drink. "Hope to see you both at the festival in a few days."

At the mention of a 'festival', Kinkajou's eyes widened, and it was at that moment Turtle could already tell that she was coming up with a whole bunch of ideas. And he wasn't sure if he was going to be thrilled about them.

Once they had left the restaurant and back into the busy streets, Turtle looked back at Kinkajou with a raised brow.

"You were...busy…" Turtle said. "With the house, and all."

"Yeah, I just really want this to be a good vacation for us," Kinkajou grinned, twirling the key between her talons, though they flipped out of her talons by accident. "Whoops!"

Catching them, in mid-air, Turtle chuckled.

"Well, I look forward to seeing this place," Turtle said. "Just the two of us."

Kinkajou's ruff perked up at his comment and smiled at it.

"Yeah, the two of us…"

Together, the two walked down the streets of the village while heading to this "mystery" home they would be living in during their time here.

To himself, Turtle tried to build up the excitement that he was away from home and that this would be a relaxing week or two. A place for him and Kinkajou to stay away from the bustle of the crowds? Even better!

It was going to be fun...and nothing in the world was going to change that.