FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter 22

Both Spyro and Cynder made instinctive steps towards the obscured stranger.

Sparx' eyes widened, his head threw itself from left to right, shaking off the surprise caused by the encounter.

"Wait a second there!" he dashed in front of his draconic companions, getting in between them and their unexpected guest, raising his arms to stop his team's advance "Are we seriously considering trusting some mysterious dude? Especially with the things we know about this place?"

The golem kept knocking at the frozen door. More of the constructs were approaching from the corridor, their heavy steps now clearly felt in the vibrations of the stone.

"I won't force you to do anything" the obscured by shadows dragon spoke, his voice was calm, low, mature, like that of a well versed sage "This is how I see it, you have two options here. You stay and fight against the overwhelming numbers of the sentries, or you follow a lone dragon. Even if I might be fooling you, your chances are bigger against one than two dozen"

Sparx folded his arms, turning around, challenging the orange gaze with his own glare.

"How can we know you don't have some of your friends waiting for us in that creepy tunnel?"

"Friends are rare here and while your careful approach is justified, I still believe that following me is the lesser evil here. A creature set on hurting you wouldn't so adamantly state the facts would it now? Whatever you decide I advise you make up your mind in the next ten seconds, I won't be risking the sentries attention to be drawn upon myself"

"We don't have a better choice here boys" Cynder said "No matter how tough we may be, those walking rocks have number advantage"

Spyro stepped forward, allowing his forelegs to be enveloped by the darkness of the tunnel, his amethyst gaze intently observed the orange one.

"I agree. Let's go. If things will go sour at least in this tunnel our enemies won't know what we are capable of"

The orange eyes looked away, Spyro noticed them moving slowly up and down. Clearly the head they were attached to was nodding, the owner undoubtedly impressed by his deduction.

Sparx sighed deeply.

"Into the dark and unknown we go then. I really need to stop being surprised by this"

Spyro felt a paw pressing against his shoulder, stopping him. He impulsively looked down, eyes widening in uncontrollable surprise when he noticed the scales of the extended leg were colored exactly like his scales.

"You must enter as the last one I'm afraid. Besides me, you're the only one who can lock the passage" Diazen explained

Cynder sped up before Spyro managed to utter a word of protest she surely knew was coming. As she passed by him, she gently and comfortingly caressed his thigh with her tail.

When he looked in shock behind his shoulder she was already in front of him.

"How do I lock it?" Spyro inquired when all of them finally got inside of the tunnel

"The same way you opened the door out of the Disposal area. The depression is to your right" their mysterious helper explained

Sparx immediately moved to his brother's side, illuminating the area with his natural aura.

Diazen didn't lie, the depression was there. Neither he lied about its function, the passage did indeed lock behind them. The darkness here was so thick that even Sparx' glow had troubles fighting through the veil.

"From now on we remain silent. I'm not the only one who might be using these passageways. Trust me when I tell you that we don't want to be discovered. We do not speak until we reach my quarters. I would kindly ask however that you, strange, little, glowing creature move in front of me to light the way, I wouldn't want to use my magic if I don't have to. Extra safety measures"

Sparx frowned, looking at his companions for confirmation if this is exactly a right idea.

They didn't have anything to offer but a shrug and uncertain nod.

He sighed in defeat again, flying in front of the dragon, it was weird to see another purple dragon in his brother's age.

"Thank you" Diazen lowered his voice to a whisper "I will tap you and point in the right direction when we're going to reach an intersection. Let's go"

They walked in complete silence, amazed how their new companion remembers every nook and cranny of this completely dark place and especially evaluating his actions. Actions that confirmed that everything he said wasn't a lie.

They changed course whenever he told them to, they stopped whenever they heard a strange sound, they crawled to limit the noise their claws created whenever he asked them to.

What was more important was the fact that they didn't meet anyone.

Sparx' fears of being ambushed were shredded like an unwelcome missive.

They kept their guard however, firstly because they were in an unfamiliar, mainly hostile place and secondly because they remembered Flare's words about this place and its purple inhabitants.

The silence however opened their eyes to another perspective.

Flare was a prisoner, they didn't know exactly why he was locked up, all they knew was that the purple dragons were responsible for that. A prisoner has a rather subjective view of his captors and its hardly a positive one.

Of course they remembered about the torture and humiliation part, yet both of them were aware how cruel captivity might be. Just because there were some sadistic guards and tortures harassing you, that doesn't mean that the whole population is like that.

A prisoner cannot have an easy life, otherwise there would be nothing to be afraid of.

For instance, they were sure if Spyro wouldn't intervene Cynder would meet the same fate like Flare did, in a world they know. A world where there is a civilization that has so much in common with barbarism and sadism as a turtle has with speed.

Every turn they made, every time they didn't encounter anyone on their path made them think that perhaps things aren't so bad here as Flare described.

Being subjected to things we do not enjoy spoils our view, making us see only one side of the coin.

The unfortunate destiny of life is that the only way to pave your road to success is by using other people. Torture or honest labor, in the end both lead to the same thing, only differed in shade.

Both lead to imprisonment.

"We are here" Diazen said and momentarily the tunnel was filled with a purple light, for a second overpowering Sparx' natural glow

A wall slid away, revealing a brightly lit room into which Diazen stepped without hesitation.

The same thing couldn't be said about the trio of friends, they all due to instinct took advantage of the flash of light and looked around the slightly illuminated tunnel they were inside.

The canal wasn't wide, but if they really wanted to, they could walk side by side, which would result in one of their flanks being unendingly scratched by the tunnel's rough walls. What the passage lacked in width it compensated in high, even with the light from the quarters entering the passageway they couldn't see the ceiling above.

This tunnel was capable of housing even a full grown dragon.

What drew Spyro's attention in particular was some weird looking sockets scattered around in some places of the walls. One such socket was right at his claws reach.

No matter how many months he spent on fighting, no matter how quickly he must have abandoned his childhood and grow up, he never got rid of his natural curiosity and recklessness dipped in naivety that was so prominent in his youth.

He reached forward, poking the strange socket with his claw, his head jerked back when suddenly a gentle, purple flash lit the room and the part of the rock that was hidden inside the socket moved down, opening a peephole with a view into an unknown room.

"I would advise against that, those that know what to look for will certainly notice something is amiss" Diazen proposed

"Damn dude" Sparx whispered a scold, slapping the frozen in midair paw "Do you have to stick your claws everywhere? Close it"

"There's no need, everything will return to its natural place on its own, nobody will see the difference if you won't be standing there. The tunnel is dark enough, it is impossible to tell whether the eyes are opened or not"

"You hear that?" Sparx scolded his brother pointing at their new companion

Spyro lowered his head, feeling ashamed, exactly as if his parents would catch him on doing something entirely stupid in front of the whole village.

"Please, join me in my quarters, here we can speak freely"

The trio did exactly that, not like they had any other choice, especially after walking all this distance. When they stepped into the lit room, with the part of the wall leading to the dark passageway closing behind them, they could finally take a good look at their mysterious savior.

Diazen was exactly their age, give or take one year.

His scales were royal purple, same like Spyro's, instead of gold being his second color, Diazen was hatched with copper hued scales. The brown scales could be found in the typical places, like the underside of his body, the copper dotted the sides of his neck, forming circles like the usual coloration seen in a cheetah's fur.

He had a mane of fins of the same, brownish color starting from the top of his head and ending on the nape of his neck. The spines were bigger on the head and became smaller the lower they stretched.

His wings were colored differently than the common way. The membranes instead of having the hue of his secondary color, or completely different one, wielded the tint of his main shade while the wings itself were copper.

Same brownish dots stippled the length of his tail on both sides. The tail flattened at its end, forming a tip in the shape of a trident.

His horns were copper like the underside of his body, two big ones protruded from the top of his head. There was another pair, smaller than the main ones, stretching from the back of his head, like Cynder's horns.

His claws were different, instead of being the typical silver his natural blades were a combination of black and deep red, with the second tint mostly present at the tips of the claws.

A pair of bright, orange eyes observed the world.

Cynder had a soft spot for purple, despite all the unspoken regulations of tact and faithfulness she scanned the male in front of her from claw to horn with almost lustful intensity. She only met two purple dragons in her life, one was big, nasty and disgusting, the other was Spyro, there was no other point of disparity.

It wasn't her fault that purple dragons in Spyro's age are cute, it wasn't her fault that even if Diazen was colored differently he reminded her of Spyro, merely wearing a cloak of different scales.

The passionate enchantment didn't last long however, her senses quickly returned to her when her salacious examination birthed a result.

This wasn't Spyro. Not even in the slightest.

Diazen's body was different, there was no trail of the softness and power of Spyro's well formed yet shy muscles. The body of the dragon in front of her was rough, sculpted raw, as that of some miner swinging a pickaxe year after year, in the same exact motion. The form of muscles was clearly visible even when Diazen wasn't flexing his limbs.

There was strength in those muscles, abrasive strength of a dominant male.

She could tell that simply by looking at him, her sense of touch was already tuned to the right range of attraction. She touched, caressed and kissed Spyro's body after all, had him below her for her to grope, had him pressing against her, she knew what softness and loving care of a strong male figure felt like.

There was none to be found in Diazen, she simply knew she would recoil back if she merely grazed his scales.

"Speak freely?" Spyro asked, thoughtful frown wrinkling his brows as he looked behind his shoulder, at the recently closed part of the wall

"What prevents anyone else from using this same tunnel and spy on us?"

"Our privacy is unhindered, I have my own security measures, just like anyone else in their quarters. Get comfortable and don't worry, no one will spy on us" Diazen explained with a comforting smile

"Get comfortable and don't worry" Sparx snorted, looking around the room "Yeah right, no problem"

The quarters were of the typical size for dragon of any size to feel comfortable in, guess that one characteristic when it came to construction remained the same throughout eons. They weren't in this place long, but its dull and monothematic look was already starting to get to them, it really made you feel as if life is nothing else but utter boredom with no enjoyment to be found, with no reason to fight for it.

This quarters were a complete opposite of this initial thought. Here you could really find out what comfort and pageantry mean, here you could find that there is actually some enjoyment to sought in life.

This place would actually make you want to live.

This was something they all sensed was forbidden to feel here.

The cracks in the walls, the scolding, disgusted sculptures, the black and dull stone, it all formed some kind of psychological pressure that made you feel worthless.

And honestly, right now, they couldn't imagine a worse torture than that. Shredding hope away was probably far more effective than any physical pain.

It made them think how Flare managed to retain his youthful naivety, if he was indeed a prisoner here, how is it possible that he still found enjoyment in life?

There was a possibility that he saw more than a prisoner is allowed to, like this room for example.

Before all the decorative aspects of this place started to come in play, what all of them sensed first was the smell, a peculiar sweet scent that all of them caught, even Sparx who's nose is not that sensitive.

It was the smell of marzipan.

In a mostly scentless place like this, where only the smell of blood and grime was present, the sweet scent of sweets was almost mind numbing. They all lived in a civilized city, where the production of sweets wasn't merely a fantasy, yet they all somehow made a mental note of this smell.

Even the duo of dragons for some unknown reason gave the scent some attention and dragons aren't the biggest fans of sweets.

Most of them anyway.

With the image of marzipan forming in their heads they really acknowledged the perfect match the smell made with Diazen's copper, colored scales and the general look of his room.

The quarters were constructed from a well carved and sculptured creamy stone, colored exactly like the sweet which's pretty scent hung in the air. Diazen's room also contained the typical black stone, yet the carvings only embroidered the slice of wall through which they arrived.

The images presented on the dark sculpture were in no way similar to those they encountered earlier. There was no crowd of artificial dragons, no hateful looks, no feeling of worthlessness. The carving depicted nothing interesting in particular, at least for the trio of arrivals, it was just some unknown scenery.

Beautiful in its dark allure, it was clear that much effort was put into the creation of this mural.

Even if they are considered heroes in their realm, well at least two of them earned that title officially, they never learnt what it meant to see, let alone live in true, royal and rich environment. Sparx protests and arrogant demands didn't change that, they remained loyal to modesty, some more willingly than others.

From the looks of it modesty was a foreign word here.

The furniture was made of some kind of leather, they weren't experts in this particular branch of decoration, or any at all to be entirely honest, so they couldn't tell precisely what kind of animal was reduced to serve as someone's butt pillow. All they could tell was that the leather was of the finest quality.

This was a dragon's room, that fact alone made them genuinely surprised when they didn't notice even the tiniest scratch of a claw on the leathery furniture.

The big couch in the center of the room was untouched, as well as its cushions. Armchairs dotted the room, their leathery surface also untouched, didn't matter where they stood. Be it near the couch surrounding a big dinning table, or in the corner near a small, round table with a bookshelf adjacent to it. Even the armchairs near a big fireplace made of pristine marble were untouched by any scars.

The bookshelf was massive, long as a stretched in a sleep adult dragon, the books leathery covers were fresh as if they never were touched. Colored in all different ways that perfectly mended with the smell of the marzipan and the general color of the room.

Volteer would be envious seeing so much lore in such a perfect condition.

They felt too overwhelmed already to pay much attention to the many paintings and all sorts of other decorations adorning the walls, just a glance was enough to tell that they didn't lack anything in comparison to the furniture when it came to beauty and quality.

From the ceiling hung a chandelier, littered with pristine, valuable gems, sapphire, ruby and emerald dotted the whole construction. There were no candles there however, every socket was like a tiny brazier with a clearly magical fire burning within.

Similar braziers to those of the chandelier, but bigger, were inserted in the walls all around the room.

The floor was made of some dark wood, it was only visible in the corners of the room since most of it was covered by a big, fluffy fur that served as a carpet. Clearly sewn together by using the coat of several, exact animals.

From the same dark wood were made all the tables, closets and all other sort of furniture.

There were two doors here, one on the opposite side of where they were standing right now, most likely leading outside. The second ones were opened, located on the left wall of the room, from what they could see the entrance led to a bedroom.

All this luxury made them feel rather uncomfortable, including Sparx. Most of their nights they spent in the open, caves or simple rooms with a bed. This quarters were like from some poor beggar's dream, not even the Guardians lived in such comfort.

Diazen smiled arrogantly at seeing his guests awestruck expressions.

"Astonishing, isn't it?"

"Ehh" Sparx scorned "I can imagine better"

The purple dragon's brow raised in offended surprise.

"You've seen better?"

"I didn't say that I saw better. I've said I can imagine better"

Orange eyes ran over both draconic guests, all Spyro and Cynder could offer was a defeated shrug.

Diazen laughed.

"I understand now, you're a snarky, clever little creature"

"I prefer to call myself sophisticated" Sparx pointed a scolding finger at the purple dragon "And I'm not little!" he puffed out his chest proudly "I'm the biggest and strongest of my kind"

Cynder started choking, coughing roughly.

Sparx balked, turning slowly to glare at the dragoness. He knew too damn well that this wasn't a coincidence.

"Sorry" she covered her mouth "Wrong hole" she smirked from behind her paw "Seems like my throat isn't as big and strong as you are"

"Hey man" he turned towards Diazen "Don't you have one of those walking rocks in your bedroom? If so, call one will you and tell it to slap her"

"Guys" Spyro hissed through clenched teeth "This is not the time, nor the place for this. Cut it out"

"I see. Now I begin to understand that perhaps my offer of comfort was a little exaggerated. It seems your home is where your heart is" Diazen commented roughly "Do you share a drink with your guests and hosts from where you come from?"

"And I thought Iris had her head up her ass" Cynder mumbled under her breath

"Sorry?"

Her green eyes widened.

"Nothing!" she snapped "I....was just talking to myself, thinking out loud how wonderful it would be to sit down, drink and relax. My thrashed bones could really use that"

"Splendid! Just sit-stop! Actually, don't move, I've completely forgotten" Diazen shook his head in self loathing manner "A moment"

He walked across the room, well walked was probably an overstatement in this particular situation. He was raising his legs so high up that he practically kicked his own body, the claws on his paws were curled, basically thrusting into his draconic palms and feet.

He was tapping as he moved across the fur as if he would be stepping on hot coal.

The trio of friends exchanged puzzled looks between each other.

Diazen reached into one of the lower cabinets "Here" he turned around, some strange objects danced above the floor as he held them by the straps "Put these on"

Spyro narrowed his eyes on the objects, for him it looked like some artificial, black claws on a twine.

"What is that?"

"Claws overlays" the purple dragon cocked his head "You're not familiar with them?"

The trio of arrivals exchanged puzzled glances once again, in this silent debate confirming that they had absolutely no idea what the dragon was talking about.

"No" the three of them replied in unison

Diazen looked genuinely shocked and troubled.

"No? How else do you protect your furniture from the sharp touch of claw? I don't see that you trim them" he shook his head in disdain "No matter. I would request that you wear them in my home however, allow me to demonstrate how it works. It's very simple"

For the time being he dropped all of the overlays on the nearby armchair, fishing only four of them out.

"Place them on the ground" he did as he said, placing the black claws on the floor, facing forward, exactly in the same way his natural blades were directed "Simply slide your claws into the indentations on the back of the overlays. They will fit, don't worry" due to Diazen's claws already being mostly black they hardly seen any difference when his claws hid inside the overlays

They fit perfectly, they had to give him that.

"Then just put the strap behind your paws and you're ready to go" once again he followed his own instructions, reaching down to put the strap on his forelegs, just to kick his hind legs alternately soon after to secure the artificial claws on his back paws

He picked up the rest of the overlays and offered them to his draconic guests.

His walk now fresh and unhindered.

"Here you go"

Both Spyro and Cynder took the black claws with expression of despondence wrinkling their snouts.

"You don't need to look so sour. These are not real claws torn from some poor sod, merely an artificial creation, a form. I'm sure that even from where you come from some kind of metalwork and forging techniques are known, yes? Fire has many uses, it doesn't have to necessarily destroy things"

"You have to let it go" Sparx waved his hand dismissively "These two just yesterday learned that they shouldn't use their tails to pick in their noses"

Diazen observed group with a hard to read look.

"I...see"

Spyro and Cynder put on the overlays, you didn't have to be an expert to see that they weren't comfortable with wearing them. Both weren't used to have anything on their claws, claws are a dragon's natural weapon, not even armor touches them. Sets of artificial claws are only used in the most extreme cases, when a dragon loses his or her claws one way or the other.

For them it was like putting socks on a snail's tentacles.

"I feel weird" Cynder whined softly, eyeing her paws as she rose them alternately and watched as her freshly blackened claws curled and straightened in turns.

"Kinda feels like wearing someone else's skin" Spyro agreed bitterly, giving the artificial claws the same displeased evaluation as his mate

Diazen looked genuinely shocked and disturbed.

"I cannot fathom the thought of you being unfamiliar with claws protection. How tragic your homes have to look like"

"We're very careful. You are somewhat hatched with it I suppose"

The purple drake shook his head.

"If you say so" he nodded at the couch "Please sit, I'll get the wine"

"Okay, enough of this royal fashion crap" Sparx folded his arms, darting in between his two companions, blinding them with his light for a second

He aimed his gaze at the orange eyed purple dragon.

"What do you want from us?"

Diazen's eyes flashed, an angry snarl wrinkled his snout, he was almost like a Guardian who just got slapped across the snout by a dirty worker

"You really have no sense for tact and hospitality do you?"

"Usually you lose the touch after fighting for your life just a moment ago. That and you sorta are skeptical towards selfless heroes appearing out of nowhere, just in the right moment. Especially when you are paired with two already"

Cynder's eyes widened, a warm wave washed over her heart. Her relations with Sparx greatly improved over the course of several months, he was no longer that mean brother and she already heard a nice word from him regarding her person once in a while.

Being called a hero however, that was something she never heard before, not counting Spyro. For a second she felt as if she alone could open and close every damn Veil in this world and all the rest of them.

It was a brief moment of power.

Yet even now she could tell that she will remember those couple of seconds for the rest of her life.

"A fair approach probably, one that for sure will make me refrain from offering any sort of assistance in the future, that's for certain"

Despite the contempt in Diazen's voice he opened a glassy cabinet and removed a tray from there.

It had a single bottle of wine on top of it and several, beautifully transparent glasses, laid upside down, forming a circle around the flask.

"I have my own, personal interest in you, true" he uncorked the bottle, filling four glasses with the blood like liquid "Can you blame me? I've never seen a glowing creature like you before for once, of course I would like to know how you appeared here, which is the most standard curiosity of all. If I knew you would be so harsh towards me then perhaps I wouldn't have interfered, still considering both perspectives, I believe it's still better to be here with me, in a rather comfortable atmosphere, than fighting for your life out there. I don't expect you to trust me, but I would ask for some manner of civility, for instance I would be honored to know your names. Sharing a drink with complete strangers isn't any different from watching a slave drink from your paw. Makes things a disgusting necessity, I wouldn't want that happening between us"

The trio looked at each other, coming to a mutual, silent agreement that it's only fair to introduce themselves, no matter about their thoughts and suspicions.

"That is Sparx" Spyro nodded at his brother "He's a dragonfly" he nodded to his side "This is Cynder" he touched his chest "And I'm Spyro"

"Well then Sparx, Cynder and Spyro, it's very nice to meet you" he chuckled "Whether you believe me or not"

They knew they were in a different time and era, but seeing someone not going crazy at hearing at least one of their names, whether it was a positive or negative insanity, was greatly refreshing.

"Would it be too much to ask if you would be willing to indulge into a little conversation? I will try to be as straightforward and brief as possible. All of us would benefit from a little social contact I like to think"

Diazen raised his glass.

"The wine isn't poisonous or drugged in any way" to make his point he gulped down the whole content of his glass

"Is this evidence enough? Or do I have to prove myself some other way?"

"There's no need" Spyro stepped forward, ignoring the discomfort the overlays caused to the best of his ability

Diazen definitely wanted something from them, he trusted Sparx' gut as well as his own, that doesn't mean necessarily that he would want to cause them harm. You don't grind your treasure into dust after all.

The orange eyed purple dragon smiled when Spyro took a place near the table, followed by a modest sip from the glass.

His team followed in his wake.

"There's one tiny problem dude" Sparx muttered, lowering himself next to the glass, a glass that was practically a dragonfly head higher than him

Not to mention that at least three times wider.

Diazen's eyes widened, he didn't have troubles connecting the dots.

"Excuse me, I haven't thought it through" he looked around, scratching his forehead with the fake claws "I should have straws here somewhere, some of my guests had peculiar drinking habits. Will it be enough to make amends?"

"It's going to be a s-"

"You've done enough Diazen" Spyro interjected, feeling stupid, their host didn't do anything bad, also Sparx was pushing the mistrust issue way too hard for his taste

He wasn't naïve, well at least not anymore, to believe that Diazen is not playing a game of his own, yet he didn't show them any kind of hostility. It was only fair to repay him with at least part of this decency.

"There is no need for you to make any sorts of amends. We are still sore on every level from all that fighting earlier. Apologize for that"

Their purple host nodded.

"I appreciate it, let's leave hostility to itself. Now, for that straw..." their generous host fetched desired object in mere minutes, saving Sparx the time of putting it in his glass

"I'm not sure if you can even drink wine"

"I can" Sparx raised, grabbing the straw "Never done it like this before tho" he shrugged "First time is a charm" he drank a sip, giving everyone a thumbs up

Diazen smiled, clearly relieved.

"At least one thing worked out, I have never seen a creature like you before. You're..." he frowned, picking at his back horn thoughtfully "a dragonfly... that was the name? You are a wonderful creature"

"Really?" all three of them blurted out in shock

The purple dragon balked, eyes shooting wide.

"Of course I'm wonderful!" Sparx clapped his hands, quickly taking advantage of the situation, he didn't remember when was the time someone acknowledged his presence when he was in the company of those two stars

Let alone he didn't remember the time when he was considered more important than his draconic teammates.

He thought he grew up from the Atlawa, godlike arrogance those people woke up in him.

Guess he was wrong, and being wrong in this particular topic wasn't so bad.

"I don't know why I get surprised when people tell me that" he chuckled, waving his hand and taking another sip "Must be my naturally modest nature"

"Naturally sardonic you mean" Cynder mumbled, tilting the glass to hide her mouth as she aimed her green eyes at the dragonfly in a self-satisfied manner

It felt good to be finally on the other end of their taunts battle.

"Let it burn baby" Sparx took a deep breath, making circular motions with his hands to empower the air absorption process "Let the jealously flow through you, must be depressing to be kicked out from the podium of praise, rightfully so I might add. You are finally where you are meant to be, see this? This is what happens when more things matter than just looks"

"Oh well, I can use a breather, thanks for calling me pretty though"

"Pretty, yeah" he snorted "I've said looks, remember to wipe the spit off when people will start appreciating it again"

Diazen's eyes kept jumping between both arguing parties, he was clearly distressed, annoyed and lost in this current moment.

"Don't worry about it" Spyro comforted their host "They always bicker like that, whenever they get a chance I mean"

"Don't you travel as a team? Such negative energy cannot possibly be healthy, for you as well"

"This is how they say they care. As for me?" he shrugged "I got used to it, in rare cases I even get a chuckle out of this, so it isn't that bad"

Their host shook his head.

"I fear I will never understand you"

"Don't try to" Spyro smiled apologetically "You poked a bee hive, it's just a moment for Sparx to shine. It'll be over soon"

"By saying merely a single appealing sentence? Haven't you heard anything like my words before?"

"Regarding Sparx? No"

"Hey bro!" Sparx exclaimed, slapping his brother's shoulder "What gives? You forgot about your blood or something?"

Diazen shook his head, swallowing his thoughts with the wine.

"I fail to see why. You both are dragons, only dragons. The lady here might have a different scale color, but she is still of a draconic heritage. You are as standard as they get, our race has just so little it can offer. The other species however, they open possibilities, expand the perception, are truly magical"

"This!" Sparx blurt put, pointing a finger at the other purple dragon while nodding his head constantly "This is the right attitude!" he folded his arms, pleasingly examining the dragon "You know, I think I'm starting to like you"

"Sparx is a dragonfly" Cynder stated bluntly "A fly with a forced dragon part in the specie description. He isn't magical, if you don't count his popular move called the Ray of Annoyance"

The dragonfly glared at the dragoness.

"Something like this!" she pointed at him with a giggle

"I disagree wholeheartedly" Diazen pushed his point "Your peculiar, mutual animosity doesn't help in perceiving things either I'm afraid. Reducing everything to basics makes our race not very appealing either, take our breath away and what do we have? A big lizard with wings"

"Isn't that a bit rough?" Spyro inquired skeptically

"Not at all. Our adaptation is strictly connected with other species, we evolve based on them. Your friend for example has no legs, to make up for it just look at his wings, do you see how quickly they flap? Do you even get tired of flying Sparx?"

This might be the arrogance and most likely it was the arrogance dictating his emotions, it forced him to like the drake more and more. If he would care it would be sad to realize just how much he missed to be appreciated.

His chest puffed out proudly.

"Not even a bit"

Diazen nodded.

"Precisely. Now compare this to us, we do get tired in a relatively quick amount of time, also I believe this quick flapping makes you improbably swift in the air. A speed no dragon will ever achieve, no matter how talented he would be in the sky. I'm also amazed by your aura, you have a natural glow, this is simply magnificent"

Sparx grinned, waggling his eyebrows at both his friends.

"Magnificent. Say it guys. Magnificent"

Cynder rolled her eyes.

"Careful, or you're gonna get a heart attack"

Spyro simply nodded, taking a contemplating sip of the wine, he believed that he could understand Diazen's fascination with Sparx. He himself grew up around dragonflies, he got accustomed to all sorts of light and glows. Yet there is that magical moment in every childhood when you were young you got mesmerized by some unexpected light show.

Thinking about it made him recall a one specific memory, very blurry and from a very early day of his life. He remembered staring through the window of his room once, looking at the city in the distance where some big event was happening.

He no longer remembered what it was, but he precisely remembered the pretty light show of many cutting through the air and hovering in the sky dragonflies. It was like every little light was a door to a different, magical realm.

Yes, he could understand Diazen's fascination.

"I get the feeling I'm making a fool out of myself" The purple drake exchanged glances with all of his guests "Dragonflies are pretty common in your home, yes?"

"Pretty much" Cynder answered emotionlessly

"But that doesn't change anything!" Sparx protested "I'm still magnificent!"

"I would love to see it"

Spyro choked on the wine, this sentence made him realize where they are again. As he started coughing, clearing his throat, he remembered Flare's words, whether true or not, this thought was enough to remind him that they should take a careful approach to this situation and Diazen himself.

If the purple dragons are as bad as Flare said, then there were more of them somewhere out there that would definitely love to see their home, no doubt about that.

Diazen might be a merely pleasant and well behaved exception.

"You okay dude?" Sparx asked, clapping his brother at the back of his neck

"We..." he coughed, raising his paw to signal that he is alright"...we would like that too. The portal that Sparx opened closed behind us however"

"I opened?" Sparx pushed back in surprise

Cynder's eyebrow raised, instead of looking at her mate to confirm that she didn't misheard his peculiar choice of words she swallowed her thoughts under another gulp of wine

"And you still have doubts about your friends magnificence?" Diazen chuckled, taking a sip with a broad smile "Does every dragonfly possess the ability to open doors between dimensions?"

"From what I saw, yes. I always been in some other place around them" Spyro confirmed

Cynder licked her lips, throwing an inconspicuous glance at her mate, evaluating for a brief moment his concentrated and serious snout, before she focused on their host out of the unspoken rule of hospitality.

Spyro was a terrible liar, you could catch him on speaking untrue heresy almost momentarily, yet right now, he seemed as if he would be believing his own words. She knew it wasn't the truth, yet somehow he made it sound true, she didn't know how, what, made him spread obvious falsehood without a single wrinkle on his nose.

She knew Spyro was smart, she respected his wit, finding loving traits mostly in his heart instead of the brain. Yet right now, his display of cleverness made her scratch her chest, claws impulsively trying to calm her speeding up heart.

She had no idea that intelligence can be so alluring.

"Extraordinary" their host gasped in awe "However I don't understand what do you mean by the portal locking behind you, can't you reopen it?"

"Currently no, I hope you can help us with that"

Diazen jerked his head back.

"Me? I know nothing about traveling to other dimensions"

"But you were definitely studying that portal, since you know of its existence"

Diazen refilled his glass and took another swig, before placing the glass back on the table and slowly and thoroughly licking his lips. His snout remaining unreadable during all this time.

Both Sparx and Cynder were observing their host, for all their playful bickering and difference of opinions, they were doing the exact same thing. They would most likely chuckle at this coincidence, but they both were too busy to see this coincidence. They evaluated Diazen, trying to tell if Spyro's assumption, undoubtedly correct, surprised him or not.

It would speak of his manners a great deal, especially about their honesty.

Nothing happened in the end.

He did knew about the portal it seems, whether he would share that without Spyro pressuring him was a mystery though.

"My knowledge is limited in this matter" the purple drake replied, orange eyes aimed at the swirling liquid in his glass. His unusually bitter voice dry as the wine

"I don't know when it appeared, all I know is that it was probably behind the disappearance of my Keeper and several other constructs that I used as guards and put them inside the same room. I thought that the golem's essence was the key, but I was wrong and you dispersed all doubts about that"

"Those rocks were all yours?!" Cynder blurted out in bewilderment

One dragon, supposedly evil and vile according to Flare, created a small army of very hard to kill constructs. Now put every single dragon of this world focused on the portal, with their own army of golems.

They would overflow the Realms like ants a picnic.

Danox didn't lie about closing the entrance to this world.

"Yes, they were all bound to me. Judging from your reaction I think you already met them"

She snorted in disgust.

"Met them is putting it lightly. One of those things surprised us and gave us quite a beating before we finally put it down. The rest of your little friends just wiped a whole village, no big deal. I hate those things and you can't even begin to imagine just how much I enjoy wrecking them up"

Diazen's eyes grew so wide that they threatened to pop from their sockets.

"You destroyed them?" he gulped, voice wavered as if in fear "All of them?"

"Every. Single. One" Cynder pronounced with great satisfaction "I kept a piece of one of those rocks as my personal claw sharpener. I never enjoyed something so mundane as this before"

Their host's purple scales lost their intensity, becoming pale almost like the scales of a decaying, dragon body.

"B-But how? T-they are indestructible"

Sparx noticed the shocked expression, it wasn't difficult to do that at all, the pompous, high held head and flush of cheek of the dragon made sure to get in your face, the moment you looked at him.

In that sadistic, stomach turning manner of some arrogant gal who keeps wrapping insults into compliments.

Seeing all that shatter to pieces was extremely satisfying.

It was obvious that the dragon loved control, watching it slip away, or being misplaced, all of it was accomplishing and so great to see. It's amazing how the powerful think they are immortal because life decide to give them a strong deck of cards.

Seeing them loose however opened their eyes to one simple truth.

They are mortal like everyone else.

Sparx snapped his fingers several times, with each knuckle the aura he emanated pulsed with brighter light.

"Sick skills, dude"

"Everything has a weakness" Spyro explained, the dragon's reaction worrying and exciting him at the same time.

It could mean that he will think twice before crossing them, or might actually consider the possibility of betraying them and ending his game, judging them to be more dangerous.

Right now however they had him in a spot where he would probably believe their every word.

"Dragonflies have many specialties" he continued his overstretched explanation, which ironically, was true if looking from his perspective and having something else in mind than the image of a dragonfly beating a huge golem

"Even we sometimes get surprised by what they can do"

"Yeah" Sparx grinned, feeling powerful, believing in this lie a little too much "If you wouldn't stop us we would have wrecked your buddies guarding the lava chamber too"

Diazen took another sip, his snout wrinkled itself as if the wine would be made of the most sourest of lemons.

"Those are the Constructor's minions, I have no control over those specific creations. No one does"

"That's why you were sneaking? You were afraid that they might have attacked you?"

"It's complicated" Diazen snapped, pushing himself up, beginning a contemplative walk around the room

Sparx probed his brother with his shoulder.

"I think you touched a soft spot there" he hissed through clenched teeth

There was a moment of silence, the only thing that was heard was Diazen's muffled shuffling of his artificial claws. At some point he moved close to the door, there would be nothing special about it if not for the fact that it was exactly in that moment when he stopped and stared at the entrance as if it would be a spyglass to some other realm.

"You still enjoy that claw sharpener Cynder?"

The question caught her by surprise, she looked over her friends, searching for some kind of clarity, some kind of sign that her companions expected such a question.

Their dumbfounded frowns stated clearly that they didn't.

"I do" she replied, honest with her heart, everything that reminds her of her past, especially the things she can destroy, bring her that certain degree of closure

Diazen's head moved down, making a long, slow, acknowledging nod.

A pleased, greedy nod.

"I think I know how I can help you"