After taking a brief nap, Snowy woke up feeling eager to introduce Drew to her brother. Her tail wagged with joy as she thought about how her brother was always seeking to learn more about the world around him She even remembered the time when he told her about a human currently in stasis, which may have been why he was so excited about seeing her again.
Snowy: Drew, wake up!
Snowy heard Drew, who was slowly opening his eyes. She noticed that Drew's eyes were back to normal, and she ran up to him. Her ears perked up excited as she told Drew that she knew the path to where her brother spent his free time.
Snowy eagerly tugged on Drew's sleeve. "Come on!" she said with a grin. "I'll show you where my brother spends most of his time."
Drew hesitated, feeling a bit nervous about meeting new people. "Um, okay," he said hesitantly. "But can we not drag out the introductions? I'm not great with new people."
"Of course," Snowy replied with a reassuring smile. "Let's go check it out!" And with that, they set off on their adventure together.
Drew and Snowy started to continue onward. Snowy, being more familiar with the area, would often run ahead of Drew, who would follow closely behind, trying to keep up. As they made their way down a long hallway, Snowy suddenly sprinted off, prompting Drew to chase after her. When he finally caught up, Drew asked Snowy why she had run off like that. Snowy, feeling guilty for leaving Drew behind, tilted one of her ears downwards and apologized for the
Drew playfully teased Snowy, "Hey, hey, why did you ditch me back there?"
Snowy looked up with a guilty expression, "I'm sorry, I was just so excited to see my brother that I completely forgot about you."
Drew grinned and put his hand on Snowy's shoulder, "No worries. I know how important it is for you to introduce me to your brother. Let's go!"
Snowy's eyes flickered away from Drew, unable to meet his gaze for more than a fleeting moment. A wave of sorrow washed over her face, the memory of leaving Drew behind still raw and painful. Despite Drew's reassuring words, Snowy couldn't shake off the guilt of what she had done. Drew sensed that something was amiss, and even after Snowy's attempt at explanation, he could tell that she was still deeply troubled by their past.
Drew thought of something and asked Snowy if she could move her head to face him.
"Hey Snowy, can you look over here for a sec?" Drew called out, trying to catch the attention of his furry friend.
Snowy was at a loss for words, but she couldn't help but turn her head towards Drew. Suddenly, Drew did something unexpected - he gently booped Snowy's nose! Although Snowy was initially confused, the playful gesture instantly lifted her spirits and left her feeling less upset. In fact, she was so taken aback by Drew's adorable action that she couldn't help but blush with excitement!
Snowy looked up at Drew with tears in her eyes and choked out, "Drew? Why? Why did you-"
Drew cut her off gently, "Because I care about you, Snowy. No matter what happens between us, I will always be there for you."
Snowy's eyes widened in surprise and she stuttered out, "O-Oh, um...thanks."
Drew flashed her a smile and said, "Come on."
When they were about to enter the next room something fell on Drew, a dragon-like dark latex landed on him, but instead of Drew freaking out he pick the creature off his head, and after looking at it he noticed that the creature wanted to play.
Drew gazed at the adorable creature with a hint of sadness in his eyes. "You look like so much fun to play with, but Snowy has plans to introduce me to her brother."
The creature would look down sadly until Drew finished his sentence.
Drew's eyes sparkled mischievously as he finished the sentence, "...but I'll be back to play any game you want."
The creature would look back up with a happy expression hugging Drew around the neck. Snowy didn't say anything because she wanted to see how Drew would interact with the yufeng cub.
The cub would fly into the next room while Drew and Snowy also enter the next room. The room had dark latex all over the ground, and crystals in random areas the adult yufeng latex were angrily looking at Snowy while the cubs just played with each other.
Snowy was unsettled by the way everyone was looking at her, due to the nature between the light latex creatures and the latex beasts she went from energetic to scared of being attacked by them.
Drew's concern was palpable as he looked at Snowy. "Hey Snowy, are you alright?" he asked. Snowy hesitated for a moment before admitting, "I don't feel very safe here." Drew's heart sank at hearing this. "Is there anything I can do to help?" he asked. Snowy hesitated again before replying, "I would love a hug, but I'm just not sure how everyone else would react."
The yufeng dragons would start to approach, causing Snowy to end up clutching Drew in fear, while Drew took steps back to get away from the dragons, Drew nearly bumped into a crystal while backing up and stopped after bumping into a wall. A yufeng dragon started to reach towards Drew but before it could transfur him the yufeng cub from before flew right in front of the two trying to convince the older yufeng dragons to not harm the two or transfur Drew.
When Drew realized the cub was buying them time to get away Drew quickly grabbed Snowy by the hand and ran deeper into the latex dragon's territory, Snowy ended up losing consciousness due to her vulnerability to the large amount of crystals.
"Drew was calling out to Snowy, but she wouldn't budge. He tried again, a little louder this time. 'Snowy! Come on!' he urged. But Snowy remained still and silent. Drew grew concerned. 'Snowy? Hey, what's going on with you?' he asked with worry in his voice."
Drew despite being unaware that Snowy has a vulnerability exclusive to her, decided to not think too much about what happened and focus on the both of them out of there. Drew picked Snowy up and started to carry her on his back. Some of the adult yufeng dragons after seeing how Drew was helping a latex creature started trying to help guide Drew through the area until Drew entered a room containing crystals that were placed like a maze.
Drew saw something in the distance but couldn't understand what it was so he kept moving while avoiding the crystals, while he was progressing he heard a roar and crystals started to briefly stick out of the ground as well as a swarm of yufeng dragons now chasing him.
Drew nearly dropped Snowy on the crystals but stopped it from happening due to him melting from stress causing a wall made of a black liquid to appear to stop the fall, however, Drew was completely unaware of it so continued quickly and eventually he made it to the other side of the room where he saw something odd.
Drew looked at the towering creature before him and couldn't help but feel a bit intimidated. "W... Who are you?" he stammered, unsure of what to expect. The Dragon King turned his gaze towards Drew and replied, "I'm just a monster." Drew was taken aback by the response and asked, "W... Why would you call yourself a monster?" The Dragon King let out a deep sigh and replied, "That's what we are - monsters." Drew shook his head and said, "I don't see anyone as monsters."
Drew realized something was off about the latex dragon being that it had green pupils, unlike the white pupils which he had seen on every other latex he had encountered.
Drew approached the Dragon King with a hint of hesitation. "Hey um... can I ask a question?" he asked nervously.
The Dragon King looked down at Drew and assessed him for a moment. "You have passed a trial that another human had completed before you, so you may," he said in a deep, booming voice.
Drew took a deep breath and gathered his courage. "Until now every light and dark creature here had white eyes and I'd like to know why yours is different from theirs. Not to be rude, I'm just curious," he asked, trying to sound polite.
The Dragon King looked at Drew, his eyes betraying no emotion. "That is something I can't say," he replied cryptically.
Drew's face fell, disappointed by the Dragon King's response. "Oh um... okay..." he muttered, turning to leave.
Drew just remembered something and wanted to know why it happened.
Drew was curious about the strange behavior of the light creatures in that place. He turned to the Dragon King for answers.
"Do you know anything about the light creatures not responding while in here?" Drew asked.
The Dragon King knew exactly who Drew was talking about. "Oh, you're talking about her?" he replied.
Drew nodded eagerly. "Yeah..."
The Dragon King's response was cryptic. "She can't stay in this place that long..."
Drew was puzzled. "Okay, I understand what you're saying right now."
Sensing Drew's curiosity, the Dragon King offered, "Is there anything you would like to know?"
Drew thought for a moment and then asked, "Um... yes actually, do you know the way to Snowy's brother?"
The Dragon King shook his head. "No, I don't know where he is."
Drew was a little disappointed. "Okay, that was all that I had to ask."
The Dragon King wished him luck. "Good luck!" he said.
"Thanks!" Drew replied, feeling grateful for the Dragon King's help.
As the two left the area, Drew noticed that the crystals he had encountered were no longer the vibrant green color he had expected. Instead, they appeared to be gray, and as he walked further, a strange feeling of dizziness overcame him. He realized with horror that he was rapidly melting away. The pain was unbearable, and Drew lost consciousness before he could even figure out what was happening to him.
The yufengs and the latex beasts present notice a black puddle leaking out of Drew's unconscious body. The cubs who were more curious than concerned looked at the puddle one of them even started rolling around in it. The puddle was similar to latex yet it was not.
*In Drew's mind*
After three minutes, Drew would suddenly awaken in a pitch-black void, feeling disoriented and clueless about his surroundings.
Drew groaned as he gradually regained consciousness. "Where am I?" he asked, his voice hoarse.
A voice replied, "You're in your mind." Startled, Drew looked around him but saw nothing. "Who said that?" he asked.
"I did," the voice responded. "Don't bother asking who I am. I am no one you should be worrying about."
Drew nodded slowly, still trying to make sense of what was happening. "Okay, I was going to ask how I even ended up in my mind."
The voice replied, "You passed out from the crystals as well as stress." Drew's eyes widened in surprise and confusion, but before he could say anything else, the voice fell silent.
Drew was in the middle of a sentence when he suddenly experienced a piercing pain in his head, even though he was inside his own mind. The sensation was intense and overwhelming, causing him to momentarily lose his train of thought.
The mysterious entity answered Drew's question "You just felt something piercing your head. But don't worry, it didn't hit anything vital. You'll recover with no signs of it ever being there. You passed out and no one knows about it. It's time for you to wake up, and you won't remember any of this afterward."
Drew slowly begins to stir after feeling several gentle shakes from Snowy. As Drew's eyes slowly flutter open, he is greeted by the sight of Snowy's smiling face, and the warmth of her embrace as she wraps her arms around him in a tight hug. Snowy's relief at seeing Drew wake up is palpable as she holds him close, grateful for his return to consciousness.