13 years later, in the Frozen City...

She gazed upon the pinewood message board, which had stood untouched by HallowFrost talons for over a decade, the majority of it taken up by a large map of Elementia. She had studied this map multiple times over, her claws having struck a hole in the map where her mother had been slain, that snowfield was forever a haunting place of sorrowful memories. I don't care what it takes, CryoFangs thought as fury boiled inside of her, I will avenge my parents, I'll murder every last one of those... things that took her from me!

She heard the distant echo of agony that was her mother's scream, the spikes on her tail stood erect and shook with nerves as BitterWynd's amethyst blood was suddenly coating her claws and splattered down her front, her heart raced as everything tried to come flooding back into her mind faster than gale-force winds.

She was seething as her anger rose, tears sprung into her eyes as she knocked her head against the message board, and upon the first strike of her skull against wood she stopped, it would do no good to hurt herself, she knew it only brought pain that would further her fury.

She heard the small footsteps of a familiar being quickly approaching her, his feet crunching the snow. "Mistress, don't DO that!" He yelped, and Cryo whirled towards her friend, the dull ache in her head was starting.

She sighed, "sorry, Nimbus," she mumbled, he frowned as his silver eyes glared up at her, his glittering pale bluish-white scales shimmered as he approached her, it was clear that he didn't believe her.

"I really must put my magic to good use," he huffed, "Cryo, you must come to me whenever you feel emotional like this!"

She felt her eye twitch, "I'm stubborn, ok? What else am I supposed to do that'll help me settle my emotions?" CryoFangs wondered, her eyes holding in their depths a look of despair, she had been asking that question for years and looking for an answer, but to no avail.

"Just talk to me, I can help you." Nimbus said calmly, she heaved a sigh through her nose and muttered, "maybe later..."

She wasn't really in the mood for talking, she was in one of her moments where she would simply shut down, refusing to acknowledge Nimbus, at times it would become so bad that she simply refused to sleep, her mind stuck in the past and her heart aching.

She opened her wings and got a running start before taking off, the buildings of the abandoned City that she'd lived in for so long soon falling behind her. 

The Frozen City was once a prosperous place full of fisherdragons, the city making its coin through trade of fish. The best fishers of the city had done business with not only the rulers in the HallowFrost Palace, but with the rulers of the Aquaz as well, for the semi-aquatic dragons were always looking for more fish to stock up on.

I should know, she thought as she circled the collapsing courthouse. My father worked here and he was one of the best fisherdragons around.

CryoFangs let her mind wander in the past as she remembered traversing the City many times, not just with her parents, but she remembered her time wandering the dead streets with Nimbus by her side. As she wallowed in her thoughts she felt herself turn and fly in a random direction, unaware of her surroundings.

She remembered the morning after her mother was killed, Nimbus had guided the barely-adolescent dragoness to the Frozen City, saying that it would be the safest place to be for now– but at the time, she had no idea that she was being stalked.

Cryo remembered the impossibly dark nights, when the snowstorms cloaked her world in frost and cold, the nights where the wind would howl its haunting melodies, keeping the disturbed dragoness awake. She could feel Nimbus sleeping beside her, he was a light sleeper at times, and no doubt he would lash out at anything that harmed or startled little CryoFangs.

The roof of her abandoned home would creak when the frosty gales whipped, and she swore it would collapse someday. The pressing dark she stared into would only stare back blankly, boring holes into her soul and whispering in her ears. Sometimes the darkness swallowed her up, sometimes it spoke in the depths of her mind, and other times it simply gazed into her tired blue eyes, as if longing for a place inside the hole in her heart.

She had no idea that the darkness was a living being, one that she unknowingly knew all too well, her young mind simply believed that the shadows were a late-night hallucination that she would sometimes speak back to.

During her morning routines, Nimbus would listen to the little dragon speak of her late-night one-sided conversations with the darkness, reminding him of the odd, pressing dread she'd feel in her body upon awakening hours later, a sour taste on Cryo's tongue as if she'd consumed infected carrion.

Nimbus would always explain that the shadows were not what she thought them to be, and he was right.

Even now, in her teens, Cryo could feel the faint tendrils of dread snaking through her mind as if something unknowingly watched her from afar, staring her down and silently hoping Nimbus wasn't around to protect her. She knew it was impossible to get away from Nimbus, for no matter how much distance she put between them, he'd always find her in the end. He's been guarding me for years. CryoFangs thought with a faint smile, and as she shook herself out of her thoughts, she realized just how far from home she was.

As she turned around, she saw Nimbus in the distance, his white body contrasting beautifully with the dark purple-blue sea behind him. As he neared her, she saw the curiosity and worry in his eyes, "Mistress?" He asked from afar, "are you feeling any better?"

She shrugged slightly, "a little bit, yes." As she neared Nimbus, he gave her a small smile, "good– now it's best that we get back to our little hideout, it's almost nightfall."

Indeed, the sun was setting as she looked towards the western horizon, the fiery-red glow of the sun making the sea glitter the color of amethysts and rubies. She nodded in acknowledgment and followed him in silence, admiring the Sleet Sea from afar as they made their way back into the City.

Once Cryo was back on the front porch of her house, she gently pushed the door open, and looked upon what used to be the inside of a lively home.

Off to her immediate left, when she walked in, is a small sapphire sculpture of a young CryoFangs sitting on a pinewood shelf, mother made that for me, she thought as she fought her tears back and picked up the pristine figure. Her thumb gently caressed the figure's blunt horns and traced her claw down to its heart, where she could see a faint glow from within the deep azure crystal. An otherworldly feeling emanated from this specific part of the figurine, and she quietly wondered if her mother placed a spell on it.

She set it down and continued examining the rest of the house. A framed painting of her family was hung proudly on the back wall, displaying her mother standing next to Cryo's father, their tails twined as young CryoFangs smiled hugely, Nimbus matching her beaming grin in the painting.

Off to the far right of the house was a sort of large bowl carved out of pale blue ice with a folded purple blanket sitting nearby, that used to be her parent's bed, but it has since become the bed of their daughter. Every night, before Nimbus curled up beside her, she would blankly stare at the ceiling, mentally sending a prayer to the Heavens as she faintly caught wind of her own scent lingering in the chilled air.

The chest at the foot of the bed was simply filled with various drawings that CryoFangs had done over the years, a few scrolls also contained experimental short stories she had written.

Beside the bed was a bookshelf, which contained books pertaining to HallowFrost myths and various legends from across Elementia. 

On the far left of the house was a small kitchen, a large chest and a table was all that was present there, the chest filled with frozen fish and various meats. She would've eaten something, but her mood disallowed her from consuming anything, instead, all she desired was sleep.

Ascending to the Dream realm is a peaceful experience I always look forward to, she thought with a sad smile as she crawled into the bowl-shaped bed, Nimbus stood nearby in the semi-darkness, waiting patiently for his Mistress to finish what she started.

She cleared her throat and sighed, clearing her head as she clasped her talons together and shut her eyes, a warm aura enveloped her body as she verbally prayed:

"Please, ruler of the Heavens, hear my pleas for comfort. Let my soul be free of burdens this night, and keep your watchful eyes on me and my friend Nimbus. I... I hope you haven't grown tired of hearing me ask for comfort for the past thirteen years... I don't know what else to pray for." She finished her prayer with a small smile, looking at Nimbus, seeing a faint golden aura envelope his body for a few seconds.

Nimbus smiled as he curled up beside CryoFangs, hugging her tightly as he murmured, "thank you, Mistress. Now then, you should rest, I'll keep watch."

She nodded and yawned, turning onto her side that faced away from him, and slowly fell into a deep sleep, unaware of how fate was to twist deep in the night.