FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

The Legend of Spyro: Path of Delusions

Chapter 1

Book IX: Prayers for the Damned

The golden text shimmered powerfully, its light displayed fully, hidden by nothing and obscured by none. The shadow accompanying it was no longer hugging it, an unfocused eye could say that it had disappeared entirely. The book knew different however, it could feel it on its lower corners, two separate touches, one bigger, one smaller, both valuable, their hesitation understandable.

*

The Seal was unlocked.

It was now the time for us, me, the world to act, after all we are the spectrum of one and the same.

It was unavoidable.

Yes.

This is why there is no disappointment, life is our nature.

And the first thing we knew was that life always finds a way.

The Seal should have never been traversed, we all have a weakness, and as the world we knew that the forbidden tastes the sweetest. Withstanding requires fortitude, something I sometimes regret that I have.

Despite the consequences, which we knew would be tragic, there is no anger, but pride. The forbidden requires sacrifice, but not only that, it also requires will, a powerful pushing force that only few are capable of projecting. Even life sometimes decides to color the existence with specialty.

This is what pushes evolution forward, even if the outcome is a painful, sad one, the experience is there, the motion set and what was more important, there was no way of stopping it now.

We have begun our walk.

And life is unprepared to meet us.

Yet even we know, no matter how hard we would like to deny it, that we aren't unstoppable, indestructible, yes, but such a thing is nothing more than a first, and possibly all that is needed, log under our feet.

Ego always makes the biggest crater when it falls.

Such a landmark is needed, the process needs to be stopped one day, recovery is required in every aspect of existence and there will be a day for everything to stop one day, ambitious or greedy, no trait can stand against such a force.

Though destiny is known, such a circle cannot continue for too long, the consequences of such a strife can be disastrous, we do not feel like life does.

Life must have a way to defend itself, making it a victim is not only cruel, but unfair, this is not how the world, how we work, prey and predator deserve a chance to survive.

The latter however has to struggle to achieve it.

Life in all its strength has one sad flaw, sometimes it gives up, not able to see the future and the brightness of its existence. It desires motivation without realizing that it needs one, it requires a goal without knowing that there is a need to find one.

It needs hope.

It can be misguided, it can be false, it can be true, it can be empowering. All of it will serve its purpose in the end, be the driving force for life to thrive.

Hope has to be dosed and obscured, having direct push towards victory would be like exposing a flank during a duel, letting greed and confidence in, the same recipe for disaster.

Life needs its representation, a symbol to aspire and for remembrance, emotions are such a wonderful, magical thing, we might be the force that the world is being fed upon, but true magic lies in devotion.

We were the witnesses of that.

Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world and the soul of soulless conditions.

Devotion is such a majestic and so incomprehensible thing, but so powerful, it reminds me of flowers, blossoming with each passing circle of the sun. You see it thriving from a simple stalk to a majestic crown, just when you expect it to stay like that forever, suddenly a bee appears and pollinates the flower, from the born seed another flower blossoms and the process of majesty continues in its empowered state.

Like that system of nature, devotion also needs its fertilizer.

Prayer is the key of the morning and the bolt of the evening.

This is where similarities with nature cease to exist, flowers thrive always in the same way, the pollination is focused on worshipping the flower, it does not change, but creates image after image of the same majestic being, dressing it in different colors, but in the end it is still the same creation.

Beautiful, but predictable outcome.

A wonderful one, but not surprising.

When it comes to life and its methods, the situation changes drastically, here rules uncertainty and unpredictability, my own, personal hope.

Which is my probably the only sign of what life calls emotion. This hope of mine blurs perspective for me, while I think I manage to pierce it nevertheless, I must admit that there are spots I cannot unveil.

I don't know what hides behind those spots.

There are times when I sometimes think that perhaps I already fell in such a hole and I see a path that I only pretend to recognize.

I don't stop however, in fear that I might ruin everything. There are times when I tell myself that it is better to not know.

My other spectrum fails to comprehend this fascination, don't I want to live, isn't life wonderful, those are the dilemmas presented before me.

I admit they are.

But so is the perspective of relief and unknown.

This is life for me and I'm glad that the devotion of the living is so grand.

Following only one rule.

Prayer does not change the gods, but it changes him who prays.

My own thoughts

The End and Beginning of Time

*

Did we ever imagine that we would be in such a mess one day? I sure didn't, and I've been salvaging my life from scraps from the very beginning of my existence, took me a while to realize that I had many of them though, ha!

Anyway, we will pull it through, I myself could never dram of such a history, read about it, maybe, but to actually live it? No way.

It is scary, while I knew what fear was I never knew the true meaning of it, it is something entirely different to feel fright for someone else than just yourself. I never knew it could be so empowering, caring for someone gives me more power than absorption of Spirit Gems probably ever did in its history.

And I'm not the only one who feels like that.

This is something that they didn't expect, friends give you a reason to live for, and an excuse to fight, in my case quite literally, this is something that our foes didn't expect.

When all of this started, we weren't prepared for it, I could hear people praying for us, saying that we are cursed, pitying us, after all we were the ones throwing ourselves into what many would call a Death Hound's maw.

They are wrong though, they were wrong from the very beginning.

Our strength lies in unity, this is what many failed to see, our enemies included, after all for the most part we struggled between each other.

But this was just a delusion.

This slip of our foes will be our triumph, we don't need support or prayers.

They do.

They are the ones who are damned.

Anonymous the First

*

"You are perfect doll" Sparx intoned, twirling a strand of white hair, one eye observing the bluish tip flipping around his fingers while the other looked right ahead, at the cute, blue snout with wrinkles of worry crunching the nose

A snout that constantly wiggled and twitched in front of a big mirror, golden eyes sparkling with each turn, burning with the intensity of the sun in summer.

"I can still see it" Coriza whined, head making another twitch, a single toe of the front paw landing on the nose, trailing a line on it

Following the cut the old lady in the temple marked her with. No matter how hard she tried she just couldn't mask the injury.

"There's nothing there Cor" his fingers caught another strand of hair, combining it with the other one into a white snake that wanted to devour his digits

"Yes there is" she leaned in closer, side of her snout bumped against the glass, one nostril leaving a mist on the surface with each exhaled breath

Sparx winced as he noticed that, while all this rather intent examination was sweet, this was not the first time she left a splotch of mist on the mirror, which by the way she won't leave it hanging for long. The thing that bothered him was that after each time her breathing became slower, regularity by now went down the drain.

It made him nervous.

In every other situation, when something like this would be about anyone else he wouldn't really be bothered about it, there is nothing bad about losing focus during intense moments of concentration.

But this was Coriza.

For all her wonderful aspects and personality she wasn't without flaws, for him she had only one though.

Clumsiness.

She was like a big child, parents worry about their offspring that they do something stupid and hurt themselves, do something that a mature mind could no longer imagine. While they sometimes pull it through, their youthful immortality prevents them from injuring themselves at all.

Coriza's mind worked like that of an adult, yet every single of her moves was dipped in the sauce of involuntary youth, limbs pushing towards the childish experience of hurting themselves while exploring the world.

Her limbs though were more eager than anyone else's though, she's the type that can trip over a single strand of fur.

What was really terrifying however was the fact that the poor girl lacked immortality, and was just a magnet for all the unfortunate, whenever she brought that nose of hers close to that damn mirror shivers ran down his spine and he winced so strongly that his nose started already to reform into a different shape.

Every single time he could feel the approaching catastrophe, every single time he told himself that this is the moment when she finally breaks her nose. There was no relief even when there was no crack and the blue nose pushed back, creating safe space between itself and the glass.

It was Coriza after all, in every moment she could have inhaled a bit of dust and sneezed, not only breaking her nose, but also cracking her skull open.

Dear Ancestors.

Being with her was like a never-ending torture, instead of being stabbed though, you got stuffed with all kinds of sweets over and over again.

He never wanted it to stop though, always wondering when the next appointment will be.

"You are perfect dove, nobody will see a thing, I wouldn't lie to you" Sparx intoned sweetly, releasing the strands of hair and allowing them to float down upon his opened palm

A river and a moon in one.

Coriza exhaled audibly, the risen paw smacked against the floorboards, forehead pressed against the mirror. She exhaled a deep, prolonged breath in between her front paws.

"There is no surprise that they no longer recognize me, how can they after everything I've done, how can they when I give them no evidence that I'm still the same?"

"Cor, listen" he floated towards the blue head, leaning against the side of her nose as he gazed into her eyes "You think too much about things you shouldn't be thinking about"

"But Brill-"

"No" he shook his head, cutting off the dragoness by catching the side of her mouth in between his fingers "Forget about the cleric, the old lady, these two are just people. Doesn't matter if one of them might be touched by the sacred or whatever, they are people and even holy people make mistakes, I didn't hear the old guy who is your boss calling himself a reincarnated Ancestor or whatnot"

The gold eyes flickered with doubt and worry.

"Rise your paw and touch your chest"

She obeyed without hesitation, pressing her paw right against the chest in the middle.

Sparx smiled, giving the blue nose a gentle pat.

"A little to the left"

She did as she was told, eyes widening and then hiding behind the eyelids moments later, a soft blush filled her cheeks, small smile stretched the lips when realization dawned upon her.

He dived under her neck, pressing his hand against the soft paw on the chest.

"Hear that?" he leaned in closer, pressing the side of his head against the joined toes and fingers "Does it cry or laugh?"

Coriza swallowed, listening to the rhythm under her paw, a steady, unhindered rhythm, normal and natural.

He felt the saliva pushing against their joined limbs, the feeling making him smile.

"See? Told ya there's nothing to worry about, if you were tainted as Brill says than I would prefer to take a bath with you in that goo than be a supposedly clean brush like now"

"I swore my life to the Ancestors Sparx" she whispered softly "How can I love someone else?"

"Look, darling, if you would be doing anything wrong, do you think that heart of yours would allow you to continue?"

The draconic claws curled into a fist on the chest.

"This is what terrifies me, what if I can't tell the difference?"

He rose up, catching a tuft of hair in his hand and tugging at it gently, as if trying to blare through a chimney of a train.

Yellow eyes opened, orbs aiming themselves at him.

He smiled, a gesture that was returned with the same amount of affection.

"I met many people in my life, some really good guys too, like my bro for example, and you know what? Not even he has such a strong heart like yours, you love people dove, there's no betrayal there, Ancestors were once people too"

"Besides" he spread his arms wide "They didn't smite you yet, right?"

"Ancestors don't work like that Sparx, their touch is subtle and not to be seen by us mere mortals. Only the most holiest of us can receive the boon of being able to hear them. This is the first and final direct step they will ever make in our world. Ancestors left this earth, their focus is on guidance now"

"That's what you think" he poked her nose with a grin "I myself don't need any walking dead people and their subtle touches when a creature worthy of worship is right in front of me"

"Don't say things like that Sparx!" she squealed, dragging the hair over her eyes "That's blasphemy!"

He shrugged, shoulders rising and dropping down in slow motion.

"Truth is now forbidden?"

"Sparx, please" Coriza looked into the mirror, starring into her reflection for a long while, locking eyes with the gold eyes of her visible shadow

So warm and regal.

She shut her eyes, cutting off the sharp thought that so unexpectedly rushed through her mind.

"I wouldn't lie to you Cor" he gently cupped her snout, rising it to face the mirror, he began stroking tenderly the side of her nose, rubbing it as if trying to wake up a genie from its lamp

Gold eyes presented themselves to the world again.

His lips stretched into a smile automatically, his only wish fulfilled.

"See that?" he pointed at the mirror "Tell me you don't want to hug it"

Her reflection stared back at her, natural and warm glow from her eyes beaming right back at her, she knew that Sparx complimented her like he always does, most of his words were there for comfort, something that she needed badly.

It was a part of their relationship and she accepted this union.

Some of his words though were spoken from the bottom of his heart, with no strings attached, true, valuable honesty she so valued and recognized.

She didn't know what it was, but he was right, her reflection just made her smile, to the point where she didn't even realize that it already happened.

Crooked teeth slipping past the defense of her lips.

She immediately slapped a paw against her mouth, looking away.

Sparx chuckled.

"You don't have to be afraid doll, there is power in you, you're a people's dragon, I don't think that any Taint would even dare to lay its claws on you. You're greatest friend and enemy is right there, gazing back at you from that mirror"

She caught a tuft of her hair between the claws, twirling them around her toes.

"Why are you telling me this?"

He folded his arms on his chest.

"You know why, there's no way I'm going to lose you and if by any bad luck something stops me I want you to remember what I said"

"I always remember what you say"

"I know, but you are submissive doll, too good for your own health, you prefer to make happy the person you talk to than the one who doesn't see you. You're just like a perfect snack, carnivore, or herbivore, doesn't matter, you taste just the same for everyone"

He reached for her twisted hair, freeing it from her nervous claws and neatly folding it on top of her head.

"Don't let Brill, or anyone else get to you, you hear? Your heart is yours alone"

She gave her reflection one final look, the shimmer of her eyes still there, warm and comforting, even if scared. She blinked, for the time being freeing herself from the pressure of fright, turning away she opted to focus on the pleasant and repay the support with the gratitude it deserved.

She pushed her nose forward, closing her eyes she tenderly pressed the tip of her nose against the glowing, floating body, rubbing it against it, offering all the nuzzling thanks she could grant her companion.

"Thank you" she whispered softly "I will do my best to not let you down"

He scratched the tip of the blue nose lovingly.

"Don't let yourself down and I will be a thrilled dragonfly"

"Okay"

"Atta girl!" Sparx thrust his hand into the tuft of colorful hair, giving it a fierce shake, tousling the strands in every direction

"Hey!" she squeaked, slamming her paw on the top of her head, stopping the hairy chaos from spreading further "I just brushed that!"

"This too?" he reached down the mane, tousling another part just right where the nape began

Coriza giggled, swaying her paw to scare him away.

"That too! Stop!"

"Okay, okay!" he pushed back, rising his hands defensively

She looked around the room, throat still assaulted by joyful hackles.

"Where's the comb?"

"There it is!" he pointed to the left, making the dragoness turn that way while he himself darted to the opposite side

Coriza frowned, looking around the counters and under the carpets, but finding nothing.

"Where?"

"Here"

She spun around, not far from her Sparx hovered in the air, grinning and waving a yellow brush, due to his aura her favorite tool glimmered almost like gold, just like jewelry of royalty.

She grinned back at him, extending her paw, palm directed up.

"Give it back" she commanded playfully

"Hmmm" he huffed, juggling the comb from one hand to the other "I don't know...I kinda like it"

She bent on her paws, rump rising in the air, tail making sharp swings from left to right, disheveled hair flopped down her snout, covering one of her eyes. A grin spread her mouth, pushing the uneven teeth forward with no shame.

"I'm warning you"

"Warning me?" he laughed, spinning the comb in his hand "And just what are you going to do about it?"

"I'm going to take it from you"

"Oh yeah?" he smirked, eye sparkling mischievously "First you must catch me"

With a short laugh she sprang forward, after Sparx who immediately dashed into the nearby corridor, leaving a trail of glowing dust behind him.

Coriza shot right behind him, her clumsiness kicked in immediately, making her slam against the wall as a consequence of not adjusting her body properly for the turn. The collision however left no impact on her, making her squeal in joy only.

It was encouraging, yet no matter how much happiness he couldn't simply erase the sound of the smash from his head, it was too much of a risk and when it came to Coriza, risk was something you had to avoid like fire.

He directed himself towards the bedroom, this was the only place with a massive, soft bed where he could feel relatively comfortable and not worrying constantly that Coriza might hurt herself.

He immediately ducked under the delicate sheets, even if new and cleaned the bed still carried a faint trace of his companion's sweet scent after her last bath.

She entered the room not long after him, stopping in the doorframe she gazed upon the bed, grinning widely when she noticed the visible bump and a tunnel made of bed sheets from which a yellow light was pulsing brightly.

A normal dragon would try catching him through the sheets by jumping on the bed, but right now she wasn't a normal dragon and all she wanted to do now was to have fun, on the fairest terms possible.

She rushed forward and jumped, aiming right for the small tunnel, she dug her snout into the opening like a fox chasing a rabbit. She scrambled a little bit further, kicking the sheets up, pushing her whole body underneath them, the world was nothing more but darkness and Sparx' glow.

It was a world full of laughter, a world that she was a proud member of.

Sparx laughed, due to the sheets and the draconic mass attacking him he had troubles dodging the swiping paws that tried to catch him.

The bed squeaked underneath them as it fought against the bouncing weight of the priestess.

The laughter that filled the room was loud and intoxicating, filling both parties, stealing the air from their lungs, tiring them quickly. If somebody would see the bouncing cover, they would take this house for haunted.

"Eeek!" Coriza squeaked when her right hind paw slipped from the edge of the bed, her whole body toppled down, bouncing off the soft mattress, laugher that was erupting from her throat was nearly choking

"Cor?" Sparx coughed, despite the overwhelming joy and weariness, worry found a place in his voice and overcame the two first feelings with ease

He moved closer towards his fallen friend, friend that burst out laughing and lunged forward, snatching him from the air, paw that held him slammed against the bed.

"Got you!" she exclaimed triumphantly, laughing all the way as she held him gently in her grasp, using her other paw to free the comb from his hand

Sparx laughed together with her, offering no opposition as she took her rightful prize away from him. Her youthful laughter was intoxicating, moments where Coriza dropped the robes of seriousness and duty were too few, even for him, and he was quite successful in triggering such events.

Her deep, rich voice was already enthralling, the level of devotion it awoken in him, and would probably in every other soul out there if it got the opportunity to hear it, was unimaginable.

He could listen to her laughter for all eternity.

She had to notice his full of admiration look since she cocked her head as she gazed down on him as he laid there, sprawled comfortably on her open draconic palm. Snout perfectly illuminated in the darkness of the sheets by his natural glow, gold eyes burning with happiness.

"What?" she giggled, smiling broadly

"Nothing" he shrugged dreamily "I love when you spit that stick out"

"Hey, hey" another giggle escaped her throat "I'm the priestess here, the emotional one, you are the one with the snide remarks remember?"

He stretched comfortingly across her opened paw, the tenderness of her soft scales as welcoming as expensive silk.

"Yeah, yeah, but the mask gets heavy after wearing it for so long"

She winked at him.

"My pleasure, wait, our pleasure" she grinned "How was it? We're the best tea in the world? You're the water and I'm the leaf?"

He loved this girl, every shade of her, the serious, the caring, the emotional, his favorite especially was the carefree. Joining the temple was a very serious step in Coriza's life, it wasn't forceful or spontaneous, it was true calling, a very rare thing indeed and it worked out for her, didn't change what was already there, she remained the same as from day one.

Nevertheless temples have their rules and just simple code of conduct, this didn't kill her personality, it silenced some of it. Clearly stating what is required of her, this is a special call of duty and when you accept it willingly, you have to follow it to remain true to yourself.

The moments where that last part of her soul, the one that was silenced the most, flourishes, are those little things in life you remember for your whole existence. All that boiled, youthful energy pushing forth into the world, it was a majestic sight.

Not only that, but it made him realize that the girl in front of him is himself, wrapped in a more beautiful skin. This is why something clicked immediately when they met all that time ago when he fought that his brother was lost, a very grim moment in his life that was illuminated by this wonderful creature.

The moment they started talking it felt like they knew each other all their life, and today's chase was another example that it was more than just a hunch. They were like a yin-yang symbol like Hunter wears, he was childish when around people while she was serious, when they are alone the roles change.

In the end though, the result was obvious and clear, they understood each other basically without words.

"Exactly" he reached out, catching the tips of the strands of her hair that danced over one of her eyes "The pleasure is ours" he pulled himself up on her hair, planting a soft kiss on her cheek

She chuckled, waving her head from side to side, making the dragonfly grasping them swing in the air.

"Clever girl" he groaned, holding on to the teasing, swinging hair

The blue head stopped moving, tongue pushed out from the mouth, tip of a red tongue drew an affectionate line across his face.

His eyes grew wide.

"Whoa Cor, so bold?"

She shrugged, free of any worry.

"I'm under a blanket" she leaned in closer "They don't see me here" she whispered very quietly, as if plotting the most complicated intrigue

He grinned.

"Yup. Best tea in the world. Told ya you won't regret it"

"You did" she nodded eagerly "It is good to laugh and fool around once in a while, makes me feel complete in a way, also prevents my hair from going completely white" she looked around the gloomy surroundings "Not to mention that being with you here, under the covers makes me feel like a true adventurer, I feel like I'm inside a cave lit by a single torch, not scared though" she shook her head confidently "Nope, not a bit, sheets are sheets, there's no risk that I'm going to break my neck here"

"You know what's the best thing about dark caves, faint light and friends?"

Gold eyes sparkled with joyful interest.

"What is?"

"Ghost stories!"

She squeaked in happiness, momentarily straightening, pushing herself to a sitting position, tail making sure to keep the sheets against the bed, preventing any light from breaking inside. Her eyes full of interest, mouth parted open in excitement, she was beaming like a child ready to hear another fairytale.

Her tail quivered anxiously, barely keeping to its duty of holding the covers, desiring to break free into the natural motion of displaying emotion.

He could only grin at seeing her tense cheerfulness, besides feeling pride he couldn't shake off the nudge to admit just how cute she was, her pixilated behavior, in all the good aspects of this word, was unimaginably charming.

No wonder he so enjoyed their time spent on playing with clay.

"Alright, listen closely" he pushed back a little, shrouding his friend in more shadows, letting the ominous, pretended ominous atmosphere to sink in

He wasn't really good on improvising such stories, why he has no troubles making up things when it comes to dealing with people, especially when it comes to annoying them, making stuff up to make someone feel good and nice wasn't his expertise.

Luckily, he traveled long enough and fell it all sorts of danger that stories were already there, all they needed was a little embroidery to make them feel as if they were really imagined and not a real deal. Making Coriza nervous and scared wasn't a part of this plan.

"Eternal Night arrived, the joining of the moons covering the world in one, big shadow, no matter where you turned you saw only darkness. The first night of this connection was especially dark, the light of the moons instead of focusing on the Realms seemed to start fighting bouncing between the two orbs in the sky, with no power left to illuminate the earth. The only visible distance the length of a tail"

Coriza had a vivid imagination, her faith in the Divine made her especially sensitive when it comes to imagining things and believing in the unnatural. This special tenderness tuning her perception to the levels of the most imaginative of children. As a priestess she possessed the ability to absorb the emotions of others and process them, finding a connection point with just about anyone.

This is why when her interest found a clinging point, she acted as if she lived the tales people told her as if she would be there with them at that very moment, recalling a part of her own life she didn't remember she lived through before.

He tried to keep his voice low and rough, putting himself in the role of a perfect narrator, he didn't have much luck, he could admit it himself, but Coriza didn't seem to mind, momentarily being suck into the tale.

"We couldn't tell where we were, the night seemed to change the entire structure of the land, just like the Realms would decide to switch clothes quickly since nobody can see them anyway" he continued in his deep voice "Darkness claustrophobic, even if we knew that just a moment ago we stood in open terrain, it didn't change the ominous feeling we had that the black shadows seemed to close on around us"

"That wasn't the worst though" he crossed his arms, rubbing his shoulders as if trying to warm himself, looking around the tent of bed sheets "Shivers crept down our spines" he mumbled quietly, the whisper bouncing only between the two of them "We felt that we weren't alone in that darkness"

Coriza held her breath, even despite her natural interest, her reaction was a pretended one, all done in good fun. She knew how to play the childish game and she made it really hard for him to keep a straight face.

However, it wasn't discomforting in the slightest.

"There was something right in front of us, we couldn't see it, but just knew it was there. My hand moved automatically, I don't know why, but I had to make sure that my hunch is correct. I touched something, something slick and warm, my heart stopped, I immediately knew what it was. A tongue!" he exclaimed in forced shock

"No!" she retorted back with the same tone, keeping the atmosphere of the playful stress in the air

"I was wrong tho! When we were about to run, we dashed in different directions, one exactly where the tongue was and instead of smacking lips we heard weird clatter! Like dishes! It turned out to be wet dishes!"

She cocked her head, fighting against the smile that tried to spread her lips.

"Dishes in open space?"

"It surprised us as well!" he pushed the pitiful narration forward, all for the sake of fun, ignoring the obvious mistake "This is why I picked them up, couldn't stop myself! And you know what happened then?! You know WHAT?!"

"What?!" she exclaimed, eyes shooting wide

"It grabbed my arm! The plate was ALIVE! Possessed by a ghost!"

Coriza whimpered, slamming both paws against her mouth as if stifling a scream, her wide eyes glared at Sparx.

He in turn looked back at them.

Short moment later they both started to laugh.

"Better than the last one?" he asked with a smile, wiping off a drop of tear from the corner of his eye

"Much better" she chuckled "One of those gasps wasn't planned"

"Smartass"

"Thanks for the comb though" with a smile plastered on her snout her eyes tilted up spotting the disheveled strands of hair "I really need it"

"You get the hair I get the pin?"

"Sounds wonderful"

"Which one you want? The gold one?"

"Nah" she looked back at him, her eyes full of gratefulness and naked naturalness "I'll go with green this time"

Her eyes sparkled lovingly.

"I feel quite harmonious today"

*

It was a beautiful day, the weather was perfect, the company was ideal and her usually troubled soul was resting comfortably. It reminded her of her first day at the temple, the grass smelled exactly like today, of nothing else but Nature.

Of order.

Of everything just about right.

Who would have thought that when she approached the devastated dragonfly praying at a recently constructed statue of his brother, it would show that in fact he was her anchor.

There are people out there who would say that if she would never meet Sparx, she would never have dilemmas like those of today, maybe they were right.

She wasn't sure though if this was a bad thing.

One could say that if not for her new acquaintances she would never have to deal with the Taint, she would be happy and safe under the protective arms of the Seeker.

She would say, of course only mentally, argument wasn't her strong side, that she feels happy and safe the way she is living now. Minus the occasional berating the Seeker sends her way that leaves her devastated for hours to come.

Despite all of these sad encounters, she felt that she was living her life according to her heart, she would like to rather think that it was Sparx' influence than the Taint's. Logically speaking, even the most clever of vile things cannot pretend to be good, there is always that hint, even the smallest one, that betrays true intentions, as a cleric she would have caught that.

There is always a chance that she is a worse cleric than she thinks she is.

That was also a logical assumption, after all, no matter how noble one can be, everyone to some degree falls into self-praise. It's an evolution aspect, everyone wants to be stronger than the next in line.

Enough dwelling on matters that cause strife, the grass smelled wonderful and the day was beautiful, a perfect moment to serve the Ancestors and help the people.

Harmony of soul and duty.

The hairpin can't lie.

People had to sense her energy, or their energy to be precise, everyone they passed smiled at them, nodded their heads and exchanged polite greetings. It wasn't something special, such attention was always there, but after the recent events and especially after the joyful time spent with Sparx, all of this felt unnatural.

Like a fairytale.

"Hmph" Sparx snorted quietly next to her, one hand rubbing the beard "Everything seems so nice"

"Faith is beautiful Sparx" she replied tenderly, exchanging another nod with the passing people "Like a flower, all that is required for it to thrive is care. Water is a source of life, but even it kills if we spill too much of it. Protect growth, don't drown the flower and everything will function as it should"

"That's an utopia Sweetcheeks. People aren't saints"

"No, they are not, but even the smallest good deed spreads a seed that has a chance to blossom. Patience is a virtue that many of us are missing, burning things is trivial, the effect is visible immediately. Construction takes time and vision, ruled by the laws similar to the Prophecy, with enough tries we can be lucky enough to find our own purple dragon, capable of changing our souls"

She took a deep breath, inhaling the sweet scent of grass deep into her lungs.

"This is faith my dear friend"

The temple's big door were wide open, probably she wasn't the only one who noticed the nice change in the atmosphere, from the distance her second home was welcoming as ever. It was a rare sight to see the temple so wide open, modesty and the respect for the sacred requires a slight note of seclusion.

Also the temple must carry a touch of divine, being welcoming limits that feeling of sacredness and magic. It was something that the Seeker valued greatly, while he understood that people needed the connection with the Ancestors, he also tried to show the boundary between mortal and divine, that it is not simple to reach such union.

Yet the door were opened and people flocked into the temple, even those that weren't much religious, many of the surrounding faces she had seen for the very first time in her life. She didn't remember every face naturally, but even those she didn't truly recognize left that numbing feeling behind that told her that she saw them somewhere before.

Here there was nothing.

She entered the building and momentarily froze in the doorstep, leaning over the nearby wall, snout momentarily turning basically white.

"Cor?" Sparx grabbed the dragoness by the horns, pulling her to make sure she won't fall "What's wrong?"

"Can you smell it?" Coriza wrinkled her nose, covering her mouth to hide the gag that wrecked her throat

"Smell what?" he inhaled deeply several times "Grass?"

"No" she straightened up, rearranging her robe, averting gaze from the people who gave her surprised and worried looks "This vile...rot"

Despite her better judgment, she inhaled once more, immediately regretting it, the only thing that kept her from passing out was the shame that she would bring not only on herself, but also the temple in general. If duty wouldn't keep her standing for as long as it did than she would have been a sack of meat by now.

An indescribable, stomach turning stench enveloped the temple, it stunk previously, but now the odor was far more potent. She couldn't compare it to anything, the simplest way to describe it would be to imagine the most disgusting thing you can and create your own smell.

She would say that if bad emotions like fear or pain would have any smell, this would be exactly their odor.

For a second she hoped that she found the explanation for the gaping door, but then, as her nearly teary eyes ran over Sparx and the nearby people she realized that neither of them is bothered by it.

Why?

Is she so oversensitive?

"I don't smell anything bad" Sparx noted

Or perhaps they don't feel anything?

How is this possible?

She gagged, stomach rumbling dangerously, throat bulging.

"I need to go outside" she whimpered and dashed from the building, momentarily cutting a corner near the temple and sprinting towards the nearby wall, where the bushes were more potent than anywhere else

She began retching, tears drawing streams down her cheeks, she started to throw up, everything she ate today landed on the grass, just when she thought it was over another torrent burst from her mouth dragging food not only from yesterday, but probably from the whole year if anyone would ask her.

Sparx observed this sad scene with a deep, troubled wince, heart was the only thing keeping him here, he could barely tolerate someone else's vomit period. Stomach was already rumbling, sending warning signals, yet he remained where he was, only covering his mouth, offering support to his friend was far more precious than this.

She hacked loudly, it sounded as if someone would just slice through the cords of a playing guilt, throat burned with each audible gasp she took after the disgusting ordeal.

By the Ancestors she has a lot of cleaning to do.

"Did I..." she rasped, swallowing a bulge of saliva that threatened to stir another vomit "...is my robe okay?"

"Yeah" he threw the cloth an uninterested glance, it was clean, but his point of focus laid elsewhere "But are you okay?"

"Did anyone-"

"Coriza!" Sparx raised his voice, the air itself vibrated with aggression

She balked in fear, times where he called her by her name could be counted on one paw, it was so scary that she always felt as if someone would pull her by the hair and was ready to hurt her.

It served its purpose though, making her meek and frightened like a prisoner after hours of horrendous tortures.

"I don't know Sparx" her lips wavered "Something's wrong" she looked over the temple, at ground level and slowly rose her eyes, taking the structure step by step by deep examination "Very, very wrong" her gaze stopped on the walls, looking at it intently, expecting it to peel off any second now, like wounded skin and reveal rotten flesh underneath

He gulped, feeling the bulge landing at the bottom of his stomach, belly not even starting to digest it yet, as if it would be holding its breath just like him.

"All I know is that I'm scared" she muttered, eyes reaching the top where one of the tall towers grew high, high into the air

A malachite draconic snout, with a small horn projecting from the top of the nose stared right back at her.