FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter 12

Not even the tiniest sound could be heard coursing through the staircase to the temple's catacombs, same ironically loud silence spread into what appeared to be a passage carved from a part of the wall. The very same atmosphere encircled the four creatures currently occupying the area, creating parties of two that stood the length of a dragon's tail across from each other.

They were completely still, just like the sound. Bodies, not even eyes betraying a minimal motion, pupils of which were constantly locked on the ones facing them from the opposite side.

They were like gunslingers, looking like being prepared for the final standoff, only waiting for the church's bells to start ringing and a ball of tumbleweed roll in between them.

Those were pretenses however, ready to be sold to anyone from the outside who would just arrive and notice the scene.

In truth these particular gunslingers were more pale than corpses.

"What are you doing here?" three of four gunfighters fired indolently at the same time, each and single one of them knowing the other perfectly

Only the blue scaled dragoness remained silent.

There was another moment of silence, the trio that just spoke balked, startled by the sound of their own combined voices.

"How did you find this place?" Sparx was the first one that broke the silence, his voice making everyone around wince, waking them up from whatever stupor they were in

"We heard your..." Cynder mumbled, looking the dragoness over, the girl ahead cringed under the weight of her stare, wings flicking nervously from underneath the robe, stretching it, tail sliding in between her legs. If she could she would polymorph into a ball

"...friend laughing" the black dragoness continued

"What?!" Sparx balked "Cor! You said that this wall is soundproof!" he exclaimed indignantly at the dragoness

"No..." the girl whispered, due to her nervousness it was difficult to hear her, something she obviously realized since momentarily she cleared her throat, the cough sounding very appealing

"I've said..." the dragonesse's voice returning to its normal tone, it was modulated and silvery, very pleasant to listen to, especially with the young tone as a result of her age still brimming behind it

"I THINK this wall is soundproof" the voice was empowering in a very attractive way, not by authority as one might think, but with understanding serenity. Making you feel safe and secure even when words formed by that throat had a stout emphasis put on them

A mark of a true and dedicated cleric.

"What?!" the dragonfly blurt out, throwing his arms in the air, the still wet droplets of clay that clung to his hands splashed onto the girl's head and horns

"What kind of priestess are you if you don't know your temple?!"

She shook her head fiercely, throwing off whatever bit of clay that was still possible to move.

"A very patient and helpful priestess that..." she raised her paw with the intention to wipe her head, yet the leg stopped right in front of her bright like sun eyes "...spends her every free second with you..."with a wince she dropped her paw, deciding that with it being as dirty as it was there was absolutely no chance she would clean the mess from her head "...instead of learning the layouts of her working environment"

Cynder's eyes sparkled, head pushed itself higher, a sunny smile spread her lips wide as her pupils jumped from between one member of the pair ahead to the next.

"EVERY second you say?"

The two stared at the black dragoness for a while, as if letting her words to properly sink in, when they finally did both their eyes grew even wider than the first time. The heads of the two snapped sharply to the side, their startled eyes meeting each other.

"Whatever you're thinking about Cyn" the dragonfly said with a gulp "Stop thinking about it"

Cynder however squealed excitedly, covering her mouth with her paw.

"Stop thinking about it!" Sparx exclaimed, pointing an accusing finger at her

"Do you see this Spyro?" her voice still was prolonged and resembling a mouse's squeak as she turned her head at her partner

View of who changed her expression drastically.

"Spyro?" she muttered in amused shock

The trigger that woke them up from their trance seemed to work slightly differently for Spyro, he did wake up from the initial stupor, but the shock of awakening seemed to put him into a completely different trance whatsoever.

His jaw seemed to want to literally drop to the ground, it was held aloft only by the stretched to the limits scales and bones that Cynder could swear snapping gently under the pushing weight. He was hardly breathing, his gaping maw really resembled that of a dead fish, if flies decided to buzz inside his mouth it was highly doubtful he would feel them.

The hilarious picture completed his huge eyes, eyebrows of which were shaking, just as the bones of his jaw so did the eyebrows fight with an impulse that would reach behind the natural limit of one's body. Behind that boundary was a zone called disfigurement.

Unreachable for everyone without a hammer in paw and yet Spyro was very close to be the first one to accomplish such a feat without the help of any second tools of whatnot.

Cynder snickered, not able to contain her amusement.

"What's wrong with you?"

"Leave him" Sparx darted past the two recently arrived dragons and pressed his hand to the wall just next to the newly opened entrance

The wall slid back into place, obscuring the stairs behind.

"He's having one of his special strokes"

Cynder craned her neck forward, observing Spyro's snout from up close.

"What do you mean by special strokes?"

"My bro over there always wanted to be like me you see"

She cocked her head, eyeing the dragonfly with disbelief shimmering in her eyes.

"Yeah, right"

Sparx shrugged "Fine, whatever" he flew back towards the cleric, spreading his arms and shrugging with his back turned towards the black girl "You don't have to believe me if you don't want to"

"Sparx" the priestess said with her typical, empowering, silvery voice making the dragonfly stop in place "I believe it's only fair if we let some truth slip after they discovered our hiding place"

"Do you really have to be such a priestess?" he whined

"You knew what were you signing up for"

"It was a safe risk!" he protested "Nobody should ever find us here!"

"Someone actually did"

Sparx sighed, shoulders slopping down.

"Fine"

Cynder turned her attention at the bright eyed dragoness, her mouth displayed a loving, friendly smile.

"That is very nice of you. Thank you"

The dragoness nodded "I'm glad to be of help"

"Seriously, it's about time someone forced Sparx to finally grow up"

The dragonfly snorted, arms folding on his chest, feeling insulted.

"Very funny Ink Scale"

The cleric chuckled, her laugh as pleasant as her voice.

"Grow up? Hardly" she looked down, stretching forward the material of her dirty robe on her chest "Look at me"

Cynder giggled "You still got further than any of us. You managed to get him to listen, usually he's like that buzzing mosquito you just can't make shut up"

"Enough OK!?" Sparx blurt out, his glowing shape indignantly hovering in between both girls "You want to know what's going on with my bro or not?"

The black dragoness grinned "As far as I can tell and understand you are in no place to demand a decision on an already solved problem"

"I told you to stop thinking about what you're thinking"

"As you wish"

"Wow" Sparx clapped his hands gently "You finally did something smart. About time. Gratz"

The smile on her black snout turned into a cattily, triumphant smirk.

"Now...did that change anything?"

He looked behind his shoulder, the natural glow he was emanating seemed to flicker brighter for a second, the light it let out was aggravated, probably just as its host. When his head returned to its natural place a defeated sigh escaped his throat.

"When we were young, Spyro was very...spyroish"

"Spyroish?" Cynder repeated with a chuckle "What does that mean?"

"Like you don't know" he replied weighting her up with a knowing gaze

Her emerald eyes kept shifting from side to side, wordlessly looking for an answer they simply couldn't find, or perhaps believably pretended that there was none to find.

"He was dumb and dim-witted" he continued, being true to his obligation "comes with being a dragon I guess, basically whatever I did rocked his world that he could no longer remember his name" he pointed at his brother "That's the face he made when he realized just how awesome his brother is"

She cocked her head, mind traveling back to the moment when Spyro was really excited to tell Sparx about their relationship. All the pieces were slowly forming a clear image of a brotherly rivalry she didn't understand.

"Did Spyro ever stun you like that?"

Sparx snorted indignantly "Don't mock me. I'm too good for that"

She scratched the choker on her neck "I think I'm starting to understand what's going on here"

"Really? Wh-" the glow he emitted pulsed with a brighter, startled light as his eyes suddenly narrowed on her neck "You're wounded?"

"Hmmm?" she mumbled, impulsively freezing in place as she threw the dragonfly a confused stare

He pointed at her raised limb "Your leg"

She followed his gaze, observing her bandaged paw casually.

"It's nothing"

"Don't you guys know what restraint means?" he asked with a scolding shake of his head

"What are you talking about?"

Sparx darted in front of his brother's gaping maw, stopping at the edge of his mouth before pressing both his hands to his face, forming a tube over his own mouth.

"BRO!" his rumbling yell rumbled inside the purple dragon's mouth

Spyro jumped back with a chocking, rough cough, as if he would swallow too much water. Razor sharp teeth snapped tightly and loudly just in front of the dragonfly who didn't even budge. Spyro grabbed his neck, jumping slightly backwards on his three remaining legs.

Cough after chocking cough left his throat, only when he finally calmed himself a little he narrowed his eyes on the glowing dragonfly. Amethyst eyes burning with sheer anger.

"I told you to never do this again!" he growled, throat letting out one final cough as his fourth leg returned to the ground

"What in Ancestor's tails were you thinking man?!" Sparx admonished his brother

"Me?" he blurt out offended, pressing his paw to his chest "What did I do?!" he pointed an accusing claw at the glowing shape ahead "You shouted into my mouth!"

"You might want to keep your voices down" a silvery voice sounded from the farther part of the area

The two brothers paid it no heed.

"This!" Sparx darted to the side, grabbing Cynder's raised, bandaged leg and pulling it in his brother's view

Cynder hissed slightly as she jumped after the dragonfly.

"This actually hurts" she whispered bashfully

"This is not how it supposed to be done!" Sparx shook the bandaged leg, getting his point across in the most obvious of ways "Keep your feral brain cells in the gutter where they belong!"

Spyro jerked his head back "I didn't do that!" he let out a defensive, squeaky growl "I would never hurt Cynder!"

"Yeah?!" he dropped the leg, a single finger pointing at the black dragoness "Then how come whenever I leave you two alone lately she always is messed up?!"

"Why you're asking me?! I have nothing to do with this!"

Sparx' eyes widened suddenly, his whole body jerked back fiercely, for a moment his natural glowing ball looked like it couldn't keep up with his moving body.

"Or is it you?" he blurt out dumfounded

Cynder looked around, looking for whoever the dragonfly was addressing, only after a fruitless search her emerald orbs returned back to the dragonfly only to see that his gaze remained in the same place as she left it.

Aimed directly at her.

"Me?" she mumbled without thinking

"Wait a moment!" Spyro protested, stepping forward, eyes aimed angrily on his brother "Who gave you the right to question us? We just found you in a secret room that opened by using some stupid knock game from when we were kids! If there is anyone who should be asking questions here then it's us!"

Sparx folded his arms "I disagree with that"

"Sparx"

The dragonfly winced, hearing the modulated voice addressing his name meaningfully. He sighed with a roll of his eyes.

"Ask then"

"Awwwwww!" Cynder squealed in delight, eyes feverishly jumping between the cleric and the dragonfly "I'm so excited!" she squeaked, covering her mouth

Sparx rubbed his forehead, shaking his head, devastated.

"We'll start with an easy one" Spyro waved his wing around, covering the whole room with a single motion "What the hell is going on here?"

"I would like to explain"

Spyro's eyes narrowed in surprised frown, his gaze was aimed at his brother, it was from him that he expected the answer and yet a quite pleasant and unfamiliar voice offered to diminish the veil of mystery that was the essence of their current family problem.

His not entirely calm eyes shifted at the dirty dragoness in the far end of the room.

"Who are you again?" he asked coldly

Cynder gasped faintly, the deep frown that covered her snout when she turned her attention at him radiated nothing but annoyance and shame.

The dragoness aimed her cute eyes at the ground, head hanging low in respect, her dirty head making her worthless in comparison to him.

"I'm Coriza, no one but a humble priestess for this temple my Lord"

Spyro balked, his whole body tensing as if electrocuted.

Whatever signs of anger and involuntary primacy burst like an overloaded balloon. Everything came back to him and started to make perfect sense. First it was Cynder's look from earlier that the corners of his eyes acknowledged, but pride failed to take into consideration. Then he remembered his tone, so much similar to Cyril's or Iris' when one of the two speaks to someone who they consider to be nothing but a necessary nuisance. Lastly it was the girl ahead, the way she bowed and the tone with which she spoke, so submissive and respectful.

All those things however were just roots and a trunk of the tree of disgust and loathe he felt for himself that seemed to suddenly sprout within his heart. The crown was made from two words.

My Lord.

Never has anyone addressed him before using a title, not in the way the cleric did. Savior was all he heard, but it was nothing but a name given for him by the grateful people, as much as he didn't like it he was capable of tolerating it.

This was something else entirely, there was no hidden responsibility that would make the girl call him like that. She gave him that title only because of sheer esteem, something that he most likely forced with his authoritative attitude. Being considered better than somebody else, being made into a figure that everybody else looks pale in comparison to is something that he hates and is terrified of.

If he is meant to wield the mantle of leadership this is not the way he will do that.

Everyone is important.

"I'm sorry" Spyro said apologetically, voice meek and honest, begging for forgiveness "I meant no offense"

"None taken my Lord" the cleric replied, head still hanging low

"Watch for that stick Cor, it's sliding back up" Sparx chimed in

"Don't call me..." he swallowed, almost feeling the bitter taste of the word that that just formed on his tongue "...lord. My name is Spyro. Can you...umm...stop bowing, please?"

She raised her head as he wished, when he looked into her golden eyes he felt an immense wave of awkwardness filling him from claw to horn.

"Do I have to introduce myself?" Cynder asked with a polite smile, stepping a little ahead of Spyro while spreading one of her wings slightly, just enough to slightly hide him behind it

She heard him sigh in relief and gratitude.

Coriza smiled, or at least tried to since momentarily her lips parted and presented the teeth hiding behind. Everyone that had their eyes aimed at the dragoness noticed that her natural, sharp blades lacked the typical shine of a draconic smile. They were covered in clay just like the rest of her body, a discomfort she momentarily was reminded of when she noticed all of the eyes instantly shifting at her mouth.

A mouth that soon was covered by an even dirtier paw.

"It's not necessary" the dragonesse's pretty voice muffled by the paw and the occasional gentle slurp of her tongue lashing at the dirty teeth

Cynder smiled, turning her attention at the dragonfly hovering near the wall at her left side, it only took a moment for him to feel her gaze, his eyes in mere seconds landed on her.

"I like her" she whispered, her breath like voice only for her to hear. The only way for anyone else to understand what she said was to read the words from her slowly moving lips, which wasn't really difficult with how she silently emphasized each word, all you needed to do was to pay attention.

Sparx did exactly that, he confirmed it with a frustrated roll of his eyes.

"Please Coriza" Spyro gently rubbed the inside of the black wing that covered him, making it roll back to its feminine owner with what seemed to be a joyful chirp of membranes

"Could you explain what are you two doing here?"

Cynder gently jabbed with her blade tail tip Spyro's thigh, making him jump back with a hurt and surprised expression.

Frown that adorned her snout radiated nothing but a meaningful scold.

"Seriously Spyro?"

"What?" he blurt out, completely not understanding why she chastened him, and as to prove his innocence he made wide, puppy eyes

"Do you really need to be so straightforward? That's rude"

"It was her idea!" he whined, pointing at the cleric "Why do you blame me?"

Sparx flew close to his brother, patting his head.

"Don't worry bro, one day you'll show them"

The dragon glared at his brother.

"Forget about what he said" Cynder addressed the dragoness and sat down, tail bouncing up excitedly, eyes gleaming with sincere, kind interest, smile radiating nothing but friendly curiosity

"Tell us how you met Sparx"

Coriza opened her mouth and yet no words came out when suddenly she realized the meaning behind the black dragonesse's look. Her gold eyes widened, pupils jumping nervously between all three souls ahead, instinctively playing their unexpected meeting with the eyes of the freshly arrived dragons.

Everything came back to her. The laughs, the clay, the words.

It was enough for her intuition to find the hidden meaning between the lines.

The priestess raised her paw defensively "I...believe this is a misunderstanding" her voice surprisingly wavered, losing the modulated tone and yet still remaining very pleasant to listen to.

A fact that she undoubtedly realized herself since momentarily she pressed her paw to her cheek, rubbing it as if trying to diminish the heat that so suddenly warmed her snout. If she was aware that she smeared the rest of the wet clay on her snout as if wanting to hide the blush was a matter for a debate.

"Oh?" Cynder mumbled, tail dropping flatly on the floor with a defeated click of her tail blade

"How did you know?!" Sparx suddenly exclaimed, his febrile outburst drawing the attention of everyone currently present

He flew towards Cynder, poking her forehead, making her wince with each touch.

"This intuition is annoying"

She cocked her head, tail impulsively bounced again, growing emerald eyes jumping between Coriza and Sparx.

"So I was right?"

"I don't th-"

"There's no point in hiding it any longer Cor" he cut the silvery voice off, spreading his arms with a clear resigned shrug, making his way towards the priestess

Her big, gold eyes followed his every move "But I-"

"You wanted to tell SOME truth right? So here it is"

All that the two freshly arrived dragons could see was Sparx hanging for a longer while in front of the girl's snout before he finally took position right next to her. Cynder observed the cleric curiously, the young girl however avoided eye contact.

And she was quite certain that it was because of shame.

"Yes Cyn you nailed it. We're romantically involved"

"WHAT?!" Spyro blurt out, his voice so high that if not for the ceiling it would be heard by dogs even at the other end of the world

The other three souls present in the room with startled gasps placed their paws and hands on their chests, calming their startled hearts.

"Higher bro" Sparx replied, voice dripping with cheeky tone "I don't think all the wolves heard you"

The dragon's amethyst eyes kept jumping between the two recently discovered lovers "But...but....HOW?!" he screamed

His paw pointed at his glowing brother "Y-y-you're a dragonfly!" his paw moved to the priestess "She's....she's a dragon!" by now his paw started to shift from one to the other "How...how do you...think...it's not....she's young, she will grow...how will you...I mean...how do you want..." his voice trailed off, paw still jumping between the two

"WHAT?!" he squealed again, a crack appeared on a window somewhere in Warfang

Cynder giggled awkwardly, scratching the corner of her eye.

"My eyeballs are going to pop out"

The cheerful, shy laugh drew a similar one from the other female in the group.

Spyro's already wide eyes grew even bigger, as if being enlarged by invisible magnifying glasses.

"Don't tell me that's what the clay is for!" he let out a horror filled shout

"Sweet Ancestors Spyro" Cynder groaned with an unpleasant wince, imagination reaching out to very far-away places, dragging images that she most likely won't forget for the rest of her life

"That's disturbing"

"Dude" Sparx said painfully "Your narrow-minded view is hurting us."

The pained voice of his brother stung his heart, eyes shed the almost maniacal veil of disbelief, replacing it with a look of utter guilt.

"Sorry! I didn't want to offend you"

"But you did. Who gave you the right to judge?" the dragonfly practically sobbed

The dagger of guilt that pierced his heart made a painful twist.

"I didn't judge you!" Spyro protested sincerely "I simply don't understand"

"So you make fun of things you don't understand instead of supporting your own brother?"

He looked at the ground in shame "I...I didn't mean to"

"Have you never heard of only spiritual and emotional relationships?"

The ball that wrapped itself around his neck on a chain of guilt and regret pushed his head even lower towards the ground.

"I...I did" he mumbled

Sparx shook his head "I'm very disappointed bro. To do such a thing, and to your own brother"

"I'm sorry" he whispered pleadingly

"That will be enough Sparx" Coriza admonished the dragonfly

The dragonfly snorted in amusement and dashed in the direction of his purple brother, patting his shoulder.

"Chill man, I was just messing with you"

His whole body stiffened suddenly, something snapped in the back of his neck, head remained aimed at the ground.

An awkward silence surrounded the quartet of magical beings.

"What?" Spyro murmured, voice as cold as ice

"Dense is like your middle name. There's nothing wrong with that, it's just the way you are"

"WHAT?!" he growled, raising his irritated head so swiftly that Sparx had to make a dodge to the side as to avoid getting hit by it

"You make me feel stupid and miserable, just because it's fun?" he hissed angrily

The dragonfly spread his arms wide in a sign of total disbelief "After all this time you still gotta ask?"

"Why?"

"Man, really? I'm your awesome brother, I have a reputation to keep"

Spyro narrowed his eyes on the dragonfly "You think you're so smart?" he hissed challengingly

He shrugged "After all this time you still gotta ask? Dude, I see and hear everything"

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah"

"Then watch this!" Spyro replied commandingly and approached Cynder who stared at him with a confused stare

Without hesitation he pressed his lips to hers, making her groan in surprise into his mouth. He kissed her but it was a kiss with no emotion behind, it felt more like signing a paper with your name titled Why I'm cool?.

Business is business.

Even his eyes didn't melt into the kiss, instead his pupils were shifted to the corners of his eyeballs, as if trying to look at the dragonfly through the invisible hole at the back of his draconic head.

In fact it was hard to call the lip meeting a kiss, it was more like pressing a plunger to a clogged sink, as to consolidate the unspoken comparison he retreated his lips with a popping sound.

With a triumphant grin Spyro turned to his brother.

"What about this huh?"

"Don't mind me" Cynder said casually, wiping her lips "I love being a toy in a sandpit of two brothers"

Sparx' mouth was slowly dropping down, Spyro could exactly see every beaten inch, time slowed down for him. The grin on his snout grew wider and wider in perfect accordance with his brother's sliding mouth. His eyes were also getting bigger, and slightly filled with tears.

Spyro heard his own triumphant voice snickering in his head. After so many years he finally got his payback, he finally astonished his cocky brother, he finally has his moment of triumph.

Sparx' mouth reached the limit, Spyro's grin however still kept on growing to the point where it hurt, but he didn't care about such trifles. Only his brother's stunned groan, stutter, gag or anything else, those were the only things that were important to him. Those were the only things he wanted to hear.

Sparx covered his mouth.

Things were getting better and better.

And then a prolonged yawn left the small throat.

"Did you show it already?" the dragonfly asked uninterestingly

Spyro blinked in complete shock, his whole world of arrogant triumph collapsed and was cast down the image of the drain he so recently created with his so called kiss.

"Wwwwhhhhyyyy you are not freaking out?" he mumbled

"Because he knew" Cynder added confidently

"He knew?" he repeated, somewhat disconnected from the world

"I knew" Sparx confirmed

"You knew?" Spyro muttered dumbfounded

"Dude, everybody knew, even the blind and deaf. Well...maybe except Flare but I'm not counting him in, he's a different category in himself"

"Oh" the purple drake huffed, turning his head slowly behind his shoulder, eyes aimed at his partner apologetically "I...I'm so stupid"

Cynder winked at him, her lips silently forming only one single sentence of comfort.

It's fine.

"I'm more surprised that you didn't freak out Coriza" she addressed the priestess

"Why should I?" the soothing voice of the dragoness echoed in the room "Love is a noble feeling, it's reach is unfathomable. If it decided to wrap its tendrils around your heart then it's not my place to try to sever the connection. Your feelings are your own, no one has the right to trespass in that territory, no matter the motives"

Cynder smiled lovingly, emerald eyes radiating nothing but gratefulness.

"Are you sure you work for the right temple?" she teased

The dragoness covered her mouth, lips stretching into an obvious smile.

"Besides Sparx already prepared me for the news"

"Really?" emerald eyes focused curiously at the dragonfly "For how long you knew?"

"You're asking me for how long I've been awesome" Sparx replied with a cocky grin "Simple. Forever"

She scratched her choker thoughtfully "All that teasing...you knew or had suspicions?"

"Cyn, I told you guys already that I know everything"

"That's why you were so mean to me?"

"I'm always mean. That's my life style"

She shook her head playfully "Nope. You're not attacking me anymore as you used to. I think I made you jealous"

Sparx snorted "Of what?"

"A black girl with dubious appeal shows up and steals your brother's attention..."

The dragonfly poked his forehead with his finger.

"You're crazy"

"Cynder's right"

All three turned in the direction of the priestess. Spyro looked curious, Cynder kindly triumphant and Sparx devastated.

"Sparx confided in you?" the purple dragon said, each word pronounced slowly

"I'm a priestess" the cleric stated the obvious

"Why Cor?" the dragonfly whined

"Are you sure you're talking about Sparx?" Spyro inquired further

"Positive"

"It was no other dragonfly?"

The cleric's lips stretched into a toothless smile.

"It was definitely Sparx"

Spyro licked his lips, eyeing the priestess and his brother alternately.

And then he burst out laughing.

"You got whipped!"

The dragonfly crossed his arms on his chest, a deep, angry frown wrinkled his face, almost boiling his forehead.

"Look who's talking"

Cynder smiled apologetically, nodding at the cleric.

"I'm so sorry for this. Spyro usually doesn't behave like this"

Coriza shrugged "I had an older brother I know how it is. Siblings fight. Priestess or not I like to be reminded sometimes how it was"

"Well maybe I am too" the purple drake replied casually "But I'm not ashamed to admit it. While you oh mighty Great Glowing One can't. Where's your awesomeness now?"

Cynder made her way towards the priestess, cautiously, biting her lower lip "Had? Did I...ummm..."

"No" Coriza replied in her typical modulated voice, a tone which made anyone around listening to her become calm "He perished while defending Warfang from the Dark Army"

"I'm sorry"

"This is the result of war and aggression, our feral dominating and ambitious nature. This temple shows us that there is more to dragons than arrogant strife. There's magic in peace, all we need is a wish to grab it within our claws"

"It's still there don't you worry" Sparx replied exasperated, eyes still narrowed on his draconic brother "I showed you a sample"

"We came with a Guardian that wouldn't necessarily agree with your point of view" Cynder continued the conversation with the dirty young dragoness on the side

Coriza's golden eyes remained unchanged, they were still peaceful, pretty and comforting to look at.

"You can't force somebody to see the world through your own spyglass. You can only make them consider it and hope that one day they will look through it"

"Don't get me wrong, I mean no offense, but Brill, your leader, exhorted to spill the blood of the tainted. Perhaps aggression is not only in draconic nature"

"You came to this temple today, crossed the doorstep. Was it truly aggression that you felt?"

She looked at the ground, reminding herself of the serene, almost blissful sensation.

"It was so peaceful"

The cleric nodded "Did it feel like a lie? Was it dreadful or sincere?"

"Sincere"

Coriza looked around the ceiling and walls of the room, letting out a deep, longing breath.

"People built this temple and it's up to people to spread its influence"

"You caught me by surprise" Spyro protested at the other side of the room "Show me something now when I expect it"

Sparx snorted "I don't have to prove anything to you"

"You don't want to or you can't? the drake smirked

The dragonfly joggled the corner of his cheek where it met with his mouth "Wipe off that stupid smile" he snapped, folding his arms on his chest, letting out a prideful snort "I don't want to"

The purple dragon jerked his head back in false surprise "Really?"

"Yeah, really"

"So you won't have a problem if I ask Coriza if that's true? She seems to know a lot and seems like a honest cleric"

The yellowish glow suddenly sparkled fiercely.

Spyro laughed.

"I respect the Seeker" the priestess continued the feminine monolog "I disagree however with his rather radical point of view" she looked at the black dragoness, golden eyes radiating the pleasant aura "Towards you"

Cynder swallowed, tail and wings flicking nervously "Thank you" she looked to the side "It's not often when I hear this from strangers" she chuckled "If ever"

"My disagreement with the Seeker's words comes most likely from not experiencing the horrors of life he had to endure. Or perhaps it's my natural resentment to any kind of force that speaks through me. Whatever the case may be my opinion remains unchanged, I never questioned my judgment and I don't intend to begin now. In this particular case the Seeker is wrong, he sees you Cynder as Darkness, failing to realize in his perhaps selective opinion that the darkness he speaks of is in every single one of us. it's not an entity as he believes it is, it's the dark side of our hearts, the only fighter capable of conquering it is right here"

She tapped her claw against her dirty robes, right where they splayed on her chest.

"Redemption is a noble cause to pursue and you walk its path for a long time now. Darkness, if it would be an entity, would never be able to walk this path for such a long amount of time. Evil can stand Good only for so long after all, even if it jumped on this road only to fool everyone around"

A smile appeared on her turned to the side black snout, an emotional, happy chuckle escaped her throat.

"I don't believe what I'm hearing"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah" Sparx mumbled, each word coming out with more and more derisive tone "Laugh all you want, even when that would be the truth, which ISN'T"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah" Spyro snickered, mimicking his brother's voice

His arm jerked up, palm directed in the direction of his brother "That's only one battle, you still have a lot of catching up to do"

The drake grinned victoriously "Enough to win the war and you know it"

"Nothing exceptional" Coriza said calmly on the opposite side of the room "This is what in my opinion is the truth"

Cynder swallowed, as of late every bulge of saliva that traveled down her throat felt extremely jolly "I don't want to sound ungrateful" she raised her gaze "It isn't the most popular of opinions and yet you seem to be awfully confident about it"

The priestess golden gaze turned at the bickering brothers, especially focusing on the one hanging above.

"I had someone who ignited this certainty in me"

Her emerald eyes followed the gaze of the cleric, when it landed on the glowing shape hovering in the air her eye widened in surprise. She impulsively craned her neck forward, the same bewildered look was directed at the young, robed dragoness.

"Sparx?" Cynder whispered, eyes shifting at the mentioned dragonfly "Sparx told you about me? What did he say?"

Coriza blinked, opening sun like eyes once more kindly directing themselves at the other feminine speaker, making the craned black neck withdrew respectfully.

"Forgive me, but I would rather not say, I'm afraid I betrayed enough already. I hate to speak in somebody's else name. You should ask him if you want to know"

"Sorry, I didn't mean to pry" she turned her attention once more at the dragonfly, his whole form sparkling in complete different colors for her all of a sudden. A happy smile crept over her lips.

"He must really like you"

"The feeling is mutual I believe, we both make ourselves to do things we wouldn't suspect ourselves to be capable of. He made me question the wisdom of the Seeker and helped me to get out of my natural, formal shell" she smiled, for the first time making no move to hide her dirty teeth "Or how he said it...pull the stick out of my ass" she looked herself over with a giggle, sliding a claw under her dirty robe to stretch it forward "Something I think I took a level too far"

"Believe?" Cynder mumbled, a question formed inside her head for which she was certain she knew the answer already, but this time, seeing the dragoness smiling like that, it didn't make her disappointed. In fact she felt happier than ever.

"You aren't really a couple like Sparx made us believe are you?"

Coriza winced, letting out a defeated sigh "Shows how well I listened, he warned me that if you ever find us I should watch for my tongue"

"Let me guess, he said something like" she cleared her throat "That smartass sticks her tail in everything" she mimicked Sparx' voice

The cleric giggled "Something like that" she straightened up, getting back into the formal shell she mentioned earlier, even if only a little

"For argument's sake I won't answer your question. Trust and honesty are very important for me, I already bent both a little too far for my liking regarding Sparx and the Seeker. The first wouldn't approve If I would start spilling secrets we decided to never mention. The second wouldn't approve of anything that is happening here. Let's just say that I've reached the middle ground here and forgive me but I'm not about to leave it"

Cynder nodded, not offended in the slightest "It's ok, I respect that"

"Don't you have anywhere better to be?!" Sparx whined, a little too loud probably for his liking since he momentarily drew the attention of both females irritation and exhaustion ringing in his voice

"Whyyyy?" Spyro asked with fake, childish innocence "You think I'm annoying?"

"Yes!" the dragonfly blurt out, throwing his arms in the air "You're annoying! Happy now?"

A triumphant grin spread itself on Spyro's mouth with a click of his teeth. He turned his smiling snout around, towards his partner, impulsively trying to show her how ingenious he is and show off his victory, ego prepared for her admiring rub.

Cynder however had no intention in rubbing his ego, or praising him in any other way for that matter. She was looking at him with that kind disapprovement he remembered his mother giving him when he did something extremely stupid, not suitable for one of his age.

Whatever beaming smile was plastered on his snout turned into an awkward and ashamed wince.

"Are you finished boys?" Coriza asked, the silvery voice, seemingly unchanged and comforting, made both brothers cheeks flush at the same time

Cynder smiled, noticing the change in the brothers expression without a problem, something that the priestess was certainly aware of as well, in fact the dragoness believed that the cleric knew exactly what she was doing, her intuition just sensed it. It's surprising how a polite, pretty and a little feminine authority can shake even the most irrevocable of male hearts.

Boys will be boys.

"I hate to be a lousy host" Coriza continued "But I think you came to this temple for a reason and I doubt we are it"

"Wait!" Spyro exclaimed, jerking his head up in alarm "Don't throw us out!"

The priestess smiled comfortingly, her lips forming a toothless line "I'm not throwing you out, you can stay as long as you wish, but I doubt you will find here whatever you are looking for"

"I don't know anything about you! You're my brother's...umm...friend...and I have some...umm...questions"

"Bro!" Sparx pressed his hand to his forehead with an audible slap "Don't be so pushy and stop acting like you are my dad"

"I would gladly answer your questions" Coriza answered "but I don't believe we have enough time left to indulge in a typical private conversation. You are here for the Seeker are you not? With one of the Guardians no less? If the Seeker arrives without finding you a search might be commenced that could result in the discovery of this place and that would be...most troublesome"

"Watch out Cor, it's the speech again. The stick is coming out" Sparx chimed in

Cynder giggled.

"But...but..." Spyro stammered "How did you two meet? How long do you know each other? How...how..."

"All of these questions fall under the category of a typical private conversation Spyro I'm afraid" the cleric ended the drake's troubled stammer "Questions I'm sure we would gladly answer with Sparx in better circumstances" she smiled, covering her mouth "Some other time perhaps?"

"Sure we would" the dragonfly coughed in his hand, words dripping with sarcasm

"Ok some other quick...technical ones if you would be so kind" the purple drake pointed at the entrance "What's inside? And why does it reek of clay from there? What you guys are doing with clay? What is Brill up to? Are you Sparx' source of information from the temple? Are-"

"Spyro" Cynder addressed him with a giggle "Mind that curiosity of yours, I love it but not everyone may tolerate it"

Sparx dashed to the black dragonesse's side, elbowing her gently "I know about you two for quite a while, but can you stop using the L word? It's really creepy when heard aloud"

"Ok" she said

The dragonflie's eyebrows raised in reaction to her answer "Ok? No snide remark?"

"Nope"

He pressed his palm to her forehead, patting it occasionally.

"You have a fever or something?"

"Nope"

He backed away, arms raised in the air, shaking slightly "Ok, seriously, you're starting to creep me out"

She eyed him intently, emerald eyes sparkling happily, a smile on her snout only confirmed what her heart felt.

"Thanks Sparx"

"For what?"

She didn't respond, the gleam of the stuck on him green eyes was all the response he was given. It was quite unnerving seeing her looking at him like that, she had never paid him so much attention before without any sassy plan behind.

"Why are you staring at me like that?" he mumbled

"That room" Coriza spoke answering the question that hung in the air from earlier "is why we are meeting here from all places, it's secluded and hidden behind one of the temple's many hidden rooms. This one is probably forgotten by most of the caretakers, it's on the way to the Catacombs and the living have no reason to walk these stairs. A simple spell allowed us to acquire it for our needs"

She turned around, looking behind her shoulder to focus on the entrance "As for what is inside...it's strictly connected with the clay and most importantly it's a secret which I won't reveal without mutual consent" her head returned to its natural position "I won't speak in the Seeker's name, I'm sure you will learn everything you want to know from him. Lastly, no, I'm not Sparx' source of information, not any longer anyway. I relied some information that was mostly common knowledge for anyone willing to pay a visit to the temple, the rest is as much an unknown to me as it is to you. I spend most of my free time here with Sparx"

Golden eyes directed themselves at the purple snout ahead "I apologize if those weren't the answers you were expecting, but I can't offer better ones. I only hope that I satisfied your curiosity, even if only partially"

Spyro's eyes traveled at the entrance to the mysterious room, snout adorned by wrinkles of sadness and disappointment.

"Are you sure I can't check it out? Only take a little peek?"

"Dude, are you deaf?" Sparx dashed in front of the purple eyes, placing his glowing body right in the line of the dragon's sight

"It's off limits and if you're going to insist..." he pointed at the priestess "Cor here told me that she will mop the floor with you using only one paw. Don't let her stiff appearance fool you, she's a beast"

"No" replied the modulated voice of the young dragoness "I said that if somebody will want to get in that room they will mop the floor with ME using only one paw. I'm not a fighter, which is a very embarrassing trait for a dragon, I'm clumsy to the point that only last week I've mastered the ability to walk without tripping over my own tail"

Cynder chuckled "It's not so bad Coriza, you have a sense of humor. You don't have to worry about that stick"

"The sad thing is that I wasn't kidding"

The black dragoness laughed.

Spyro threw a brief glance at his laughing partner, as much as he wanted to know what he's brother is cooking up inside that room with his new companion he decided that it was best left alone. Insulting someone who seems so nice and treats Cynder as a living, feeling creature would be wrong and unfair.

He smiled with a nod "All that is left for me is to hope then. Maybe one day you will be prepared to reveal what's inside. I can live with that"

Coriza started to bow respectfully, but before her head made a complete full motion she froze and momentarily jerked her head back up.

"Your understanding is greatly appreciated. Before we part ways perhaps you would be willing to allow me to offer you a piece of advice? That's all I can offer I'm afraid, a meager prize for all those unexpected and still mostly mysterious revelations I know, but unfortunately this is all I've got"

Spyro shook his head comfortingly "All help has great value to us and we will accept it but not as a consolation prize, but as a gift from a dedicated and pretty cleric"

Both Cynder and Sparx looked at each other, smiled and then turned their eyes at the purple drake

"Smooth" they said in unison

His eyes traveled between the two of them, his mind hectically replaying the words in his head. His cheeks immediately flushed.

Coriza offered another one of those cute, toothless smiles "Now I begin to understand why there was constantly a line of young girls praying at your statue"

He scratched the back of his head "This...is awkward"

"Don't approach the Seeker with prejudice as your guide" her silvery voice attracted the drake's attention "It is often misleading. Remember that..." she bundled up the black dragoness in her golden sight before turning her whole attention back at the legendary dragon

"Not everything is as it seems"