The Dragon backed off a little and flew straight to the shield, fully prepared to crash into it! Arella's hold tightened around its neck and her eyes widened in surprise. Everything was too fast for her to react.
Moments before crashing into the shield, Arella closed her eyes, ready for the oncoming jolt. But even after a few seconds, nothing happened. Out of curiosity, she popped open one eye to look ahead.
All she saw was greens, and the forest, nothing unusual. She opened her eyes and checked the surroundings. It was the forest, not the cat town. The Dragon made a U turn, taking her by surprise.
As the Dragon kept flying, Arella saw the parabolic shield ahead of her covered in a thin sheet of ice! So, did they cross the shield instead of crashing into it?
To check her theory, this time when the Dragon planned to crash into the shield, she kept her eyes open. As the Dragon was expected to touch the shield, the shield disappeared and they found themselves in the forest area again. Looking back, the parabolic structure re-emerged!
This time the Dragon and Arella looked at each other quietly. The Dragon looked confused and at a loss. A chuckle broke out of Arella's throat, making the Dragon more bewildered.
Looking at such vivid expressions on the cold Ice Dragon, arella couldn't hold back and started laughing. The Dragon was now truly at a loss!
She kept comforting it with a slow pat. "It's okay, we will find another way. It's okay."
The tensed Dragon visibly relaxed with her soothing pats and comforting voice. They couldn't land in the forest because it was too deep and had unknown dangers, that is why, the Dragon had been flying for hours. Arella knew that was it, she looked longingly at the barrier and tapped the Dragon. It was time to go and let this Dragon have some rest.
Moments before the Dragon geared itself to fly away, a loud voice gripped their senses.
"Arellaaaaa," Arella instinctively looked back to search for the source of the voice, but the forest was too deep, she couldn't see anything.
The Dragon was different, it shot like an arrow in a particular direction. It flew straight into the forest. Multitudes of trees welcomed them. It was dark without any ray of light. Before it landed on the ground, a black cat leaped out of nowhere.
It aimed straight at the Dragon's back, but the Dragon was quicker and avoided it. The cat nimbly landed on its feet and looked at the giant Dragon in an aggrieved manner.
"It's Omar," Arella whispered lightly. The Dragon heard it and hovered around the black sulking cat. The cat leaped again, this time the Dragon didn't avoid and the cat finally sat on its back.
It went straight into Arella's arms enjoying her warmth.
"Don't land." A childish voice was heard in both Arella's and the Dragon's minds. They knew it must be from the newcomer. They followed it and flew upwards.
"Fly into the barrier." The childish voice continued. Both of them were skeptical but there was no harm in trying, so they did what the voice said.
Arella was ready to pass through it, but this time, they actually entered the barrier!
Arella's eyes widened in astonishment. Not because they had entered, but because of what greeted her!
It was a huge land, more than what they had estimated. At the center was the most gigantic building they had ever seen! Even from above, it looked huge. The rest of the land was divided into four sections. And it appeared pretty normal. Nothing different from other settlements.
In one area was clear, sparkling water. In another area were green fields. And the rest of the two sides had houses. At this moment, every clan member was looking up, toward them.
Maybe both sides, the cat clan and Arella, were equally shocked.
"You can land now," The childish voice had a relaxed tinge.
The Dragon found an open land, near the gigantic building and landed. The black cat jumped off nimbly and Arella followed soon. When she turned around, she saw the building. Only one thought remained in her mind, it was too huge! Standing in front of it made her feel like an insect!
Her back was nudged softly. She turned around, only to find the Dragon looking at her silently. It nodded its head and pointed at the bag.
Arella's brows furrowed lightly, but she opened the bag. She looked around and found some clothes. Oh! A flash of understanding crossed her eyes. She tilted and asked the black cat if there was a place where one could change clothes.
The cat looked at her with confusion and cutely tilted its head as if pondering.
"The fields," the cat looked at the green fields. The Dragon grabbed the clothes and disappeared into the field. A few minutes later, a smartly dressed handsome man came out.
Adrian looked a little tired but his eyes were alert. He stood next to Arella in a protective stance.
"Arella? Is that you?" A hesitant voice greeted her. She turned around and found Aaron and Lucinda walking toward her.
She smiled and greeted them, while Adrian simply nodded.
"Ah! It's really you! No wonder this child abandoned us so quickly!" Aaron spoke while Lucinda threw a black gown on the black cat. After a few seconds, a familiar face appeared in front of Arella.
Arella picked Omar up and hugged him tightly.
"What brought you here?" Lucinda went straight to the point.
"Ah! We wanted to inquire of a person and thought you might know something." Arella quickly responded. Seeing that somebody knew the visitors, the other cat clan members relaxed.
They were curious but held back from approaching the newcomers.
Lucinda's brows furrowed a little.
"We tried looking for you. We waited and looked around but couldn't find any member of the cat clan. So, we had to come in this way." Arella explained hurriedly. She didn't know if it was all right for them to barge in just like that.
"No issues. It's normal to have visitors sometimes." Aaron tried to smoothen things.
"Who are you looking for?" Lucinda cut the sweet talk.
"Liliana, my mother," Arella stated lightly.
Listening to the name, both Aaron and Lucinda stilled.