Arad crawled underneath the mine, keeping his ears open for any movement above the surface. With each claw strike, his scales tingled, sensing the steps above as tremors in the ground.
"I can hear them growling above. Tens, if not hundreds, of goblins, live in the tunnels." Aella whispered to Arad, "We can't get in without a distraction,"
Arad stopped digging and closed his eyes, focusing as hard as possible. There was a single way to it. Using his claws, he widened the hole and laid Aella down.
Aella stared at Arad's body as it shifted. His scales shifted and sunk into his body and revealing a pitch-black emptiness. The smooth look of his body resembled gems, and Aella instinctively reached with her hand to touch him.
FISHHH! The moment her fingertips touched Arad, her skin disintegrated, consumed by the empty void. AW! She quickly pulled her head. She looked at Arad, and he shook his head.
"Sorry, I won't touch you again," Aella said, staring at the ground.