FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter 9

Eyeballs shook violently underneath the closed white eyelids, usually it was always a sign of a dream being played out. Of course this rule applied to people other than her, for her sleeping was never the same after the invasion and years of being on the run, surrounded by enemies from all sides.

There was also Silence, it only waited for an opening and found it after Amela left, the cheetah put some strange sense of peace into her that made her drift off, yet she wasn't dumb to fall into the trap.

She could see images forming in her head, dreams, some blurry shapes were really enticing, despite of seeing figures of flames, blood, abuse and betrayal there were images out there that really called out to her, asking her to focus on them and be dragged into sweet oblivion of rest.

Off all the things she lost, including sanity, her vengeful instinct did not allow her to fall for tricks like that anymore, it always kept her alert, turning every bed time into a closed eye vigil, a shallow sleep sensitive to the most delicate sound.

Making her never fully rested.

And always leaving her angry.

Like now for example.

Years of being locked inside tight caves and different cells really enhanced her hearing, to the point she could even hear a rat's fart vibrating through the cracks. This is way she had no difficulties catching the muffled, ruffling noises coming from behind the door.

Someone was in front of her room.

She tried to ignore it, but her fighting eyeballs did not listen, throwing themselves at the trying to embrace her dreams as well as on the pulls of reality.

Iris growled in irritation.

Whoever was outside belonged to the popular group of spineless cowards she met thousands on her path, never daring to approach her when she sees them but craving to do her nevertheless, the same cowards that jump on the opportunity the moment it presents itself, the perspective of gripping her ass stronger than any sense of dignity.

Losers all of them.

The same hesitation she hears now, eventually whoever is outside will get here, like always mumbling, stumbling and crying, pretending to be the perfect male she ever dreamed of. If not for her state right now she would blast those door from its hinges and smear them all across the wall.

Life unfortunately showed how malicious of a bitch it is and did not allow her to even have such a tiny bit of accomplishment.

The muffles kept ranging from really loud ones, like strong footsteps to those of small whines like singing of shy birds. All of them annoying all the same.

Idiotic motherfuckers.

The sounds eventually died down completely, her eyes opening the moment it got quiet, experience already prepared her what unexpected silence meant in situations like these. The cowards finally decided to act.

The handle of the door clicked.

Of course it did.

Males are all the same.

The door creaked but did not open fully, stopping when they revealed a hole the size of a tilted window. She narrowed her eyes on it, it was already different from all the times she remembered, usually when the door opened the fucker was already on the doorstep. She did not care much about it though, she might have forgotten that something like that happened in the past, wouldn't be the first thing that slipped her mind.

She stared at the opening for what felt like an eternity, this fucking tension was getting on her nerves already. Some minutes more and she will start to scream at the shit hiding in the corridor, she hated wasting time, especially when some other fool was the one responsible for it, the sooner the unavoidable will be over the better.

A shape of a snout grew inside the hole as if it would hear her agitated thoughts, ready to provoke her further.

It was the burning head of Dynamite.

Flare gasped the moment he noticed the masked figure lying on the bed.

"Sorry!" he squealed in shock and pulled back, trying to close the door but in panic leaving them gently tilted

His head disappeared as quickly as it appeared.

Iris groaned painfully, dropping her chin in between her splayed front paws, a prolonged, deep sigh left her throat. She was pissed, angry and wanted to scream, yet all she had left in reality was the sense of helplessness, she didn't have the strength to beat some sense into the fool and there was no chance that the cretin will listen to her protests.

Of all the horny males on this earth it had to be the most oblivious of them that decided to stick his nose where it doesn't belong.

"What happened?" she could hear another male whisper in the corridor, more mature, familiar

Once a romantic fantasy.

Goldie.

Perfect, the only thing worse than one dick are two dicks.

"It isn't her" Flare mumbled ashamed

"What do you mean?"

"It's not Iris who lies there"

"What? It has to be Iris. This is her room, one hundred percent, believe me, I know"

"Check for yourself" Flare grumbled

The door creaked once more, this time a purple snout was sticking through it.

Spyro smiled warmly, without difficulties recognizing Iris, even despite the weird mask on her nose.

"Hi"

"Fuck off" the girl grumbled

With the smile still present on his lips the purple dragon withdrew his head through the crack.

"It's Iris"

"Really?!" Flare exclaimed excitedly and pushed his head through the opening, letting it hang above Spyro's who also returned to his previously occupied position in the door frame

"Hi Iris!" the fire dragon's eyes were burning lively, only emphasizing the joy that could be clearly read from his glowing vividly mane

The girl sighed.

"Can we come in?" Spyro asked, amused

"No"

"Then we're coming in" the boys entered the room, agreeing beforepaw that they would enter the room despite Iris' expected protests, agreeing only to back down if she would be really aggressive

Luckily she wasn't, in fact she was rather docile compared to her usual way of carrying herself. It bode well, her seemingly resigned posture only proved their good fortune even more, in her position she simply couldn't see the neatly tucked medallion hanging from Spyro's back fin.

They both were pretty skeptical that Iris will appreciate the surprise, they were ready for insults and shouts, but seeing her in this peculiar state opened their eyes to optimism. There was some probability that all of it will play out in a way they never accounted for.

The door clicked in their hinges, closed.

"You're seriously lamebrained too now Goldie that you don't understand simple words?" the piercing white eyes glowed from underneath the mask

"I'm starting to believe that I am" he looked her over, wincing, the damage he must have caused must have been really serious, dragons sometimes wore bandages, but stabilizing masks that Iris had on her snout were a surprise for him, he knew about their existence, but never seen a dragon wearing one

They were meant to help heal broken bones and dragons rarely get their bones shattered and when they finally do it usually meant that the scythe of Death was grazing their souls.

Shit.

"How are you feeling?" he gulped, running his teeth against the lips nervously, the crunching sound almost felt as if there would be a drill burying into his skull

"None of your damn business" Iris snarled coldly

"It is our business!" Flare grinned "We're your friends!"

"How many times do I have to tell you moron that the only thing connecting us is your stench hanging in the same room in which I also am?"

"It's still something! I kinda didn't like Spyro at first but he still became my good buddy! Even bad stuff makes good friends!"

She touched her masked forehead, claws scratching along the material, wanting to grab the slowly pulsing worms of headache underneath

Sweet fools can be so tiring.

The claws stopped moving, her recent thoughts hummed inside her skull like booing ghosts.

What did she just think about?

White eyes gazed upon the flaming dragon, wide and full of shock, as if seeing the drake before her for the first time in their lives.

Flare the fool.

"You never learn" her uncle commented boringly, observing the flying ice projectiles into the night sky

Soon followed the hooting of owls that strangely reminded her of mocking laughter.

She blinked, the dragon before her began to vibrate, distort like a measured sound wave, in between the shifts the rather frail body changed shape, another figure forming, the contours rough and blurry yet still very familiar.

She will always recognize this body.

Flammar.

It cannot be him, he's history.

She blinked again, when her white eyes gazed to the front again the distortion was gone, replaced by a discomforting, brief feeling of claws poking her eyeballs.

"Just leave me alone wankers" she squealed

Spyro titled his head at the sound, it almost felt like a plea to him, yet despite the peculiar noise, his narrowed in focus eyes couldn't see the girl that sang the prayer to him back in that cave. It was Iris the way everyone expected her to be.

There is still so little they know about the girl.

Flare shook his head enthusiastically.

"We can't do that. Friends stick together!"

"Goldie" she rasped icily "Get Puss in here and tell her to bring the syringes she put in my neck earlier"

"Wha-"

"Don't ask, I'm in terrible pain, we're friends remember? Just do as I ask, steal the drugs if you have to, I REALLY need them right now"

"I'll go! Be right back!" Flare immediately spun around

"Wait" Spyro snatched the red tail, stopping the drake in his tracks

The flames around the red body flared up indignantly, yet despite the increased heat the purple paw kept holding the tail.

"For what? She's hurt!"

Amethyst eyes narrowed on the piercing white ones, the mask giving the already intimidating dominant gaze even more alluring confidence.

"Yeah, I don't doubt that she's hurt, I doubt it has anything to do with physical ache though. Our presence is hurting her"

Flare cocked his head in bewilderment.

"I don't get it, how? We're not even touching her"

"What I mean is that we are getting on her nerves and since Iris doesn't seem to have the strength to kick us out, she would attack us by now if she could, I think she's trying to get rid herself of us in a different way. With the help of the syringes, probably some agent that helps you sleep or makes you dizzy, I dunno. She would use them to drug herself into obliviousness, or drug us, whatever the case may be I'm sure that this request is nothing but a trick"

The eyes from underneath the mask sparkled mischievously, feathers on the neatly folded wings bristled in anger.

He smiled, catching himself on the embarrassing fact that there was something greatly enjoyable in the sight of an dominant, ominous girl getting angry.

"It's a trick" Spyro commented triumphantly

"Congratulations" Iris hissed "You're not so braindead after all, now go jerk off to your success"

"Come on Iris!" Flare whined, his flames dimming "How many times will you trick me? I would come back anyway"

"Not if Amela would catch you" the purple dragon kept on smiling as he led the way through Iris' ruse

The girl kept staring at him callously.

"You get the medicine, Iris wins, she falls asleep or we do, if Amela would catch you during the attempt Iris still wins cause there is no chance she would let you get back in here in the near future"

Flare scratched the back of his head, truly in awe.

"Whoa, that seems smart" he grinned however, throwing the girl a joyful look "I'm not sure if you would be such a big winner though if you got rid of us!"

"I'm willing to bet" the dragoness sighed

There was a sudden burst of heat, Flare in a blink of an eye turned into a bolt of flame that dashed quickly forward, in another blink he materialized right before the bed, grinning widely with his paw stretching out forward, touching Iris' nose who recoiled at the unexpected poke with a vicious snarl.

The dragon was burning like a freshly lit fire.

"When I win you smile once, when you win I leave. Deal?"

Iris growled, smacking the insolent leg away.

"I don't shake paws with filth"

"Ok, fine, but you're going to love it even without the bet!" he winked, waving his purple companion to come closer "Spyro come on!"

The girl frowned, watching the two dragons cautiously.

"What are you wankers doing?"

Flare grinned, his fangs flashing excitedly.

"We got a surprise for you!"

"I don't like surprises"

He sighed, flames flickering in irritation.

"Okay, fine, then we have....um... a gift!" his flaming body spat fresh tongues of fire all around making Iris jerk her head back even further "Everyone likes gifts!"

Iris snarled, lashing with her foreleg, she gripped the burning mane, dragging the dragon to her draconic, masked face, the red nose drummed against the stiff material. Two diamond eyes cut right into the soul of the shocked yellow ones.

"I don't want anything from you" she intoned slowly, each word coming out followed by a chilly stream of ice "Get out of my room"

"You're going to like it" Flare responded warmly

"No I won't, I don't like even you"

Red lips stretched into a loving smile.

"Of course you do, you didn't bite me yet"

The temperature in the room dropped considerably, the barely visible mist of ice coming out from Iris' mouth became thicker, long tongues of it wafted from the nostrils, oblivious Flare unaware of the growing murderous fury. The intensity of the chill rising with each second, embracing even the paw holding Flare by his burning hair. The cold grew so strong there that Iris' claws took on a gentle bluish hue, the freezing magic fighting against its natural enemy in the form of flames.

Flare's head started to hiss, steam pouring into the air from the top of his head like from a boiling pot.

If Iris wasn't thinking about hitting them before, it was obvious that she changed her mind. Flare didn't notice, or simply didn't care considering his special abilities of reincarnation.

Spyro however became aware of the situation before it escalated beyond control.

"Just take a look" he yelped, pushing his paw forward, directing the opened palm at the face of the masked girl

"You won't order me a-" white eyes eventually shifted in his direction, the intimidating growls coming from the blue mouth were cut off instantly

The pair of diamond eyes widened, the freezing aura surrounding the blue body vanished, temperature returning to normal. Blue leg giving the red dragon a shove, instinctively clearing out any obstacle from the path of the surprised eyes.

Spyro sighed in relief when all the palpable tension evaporated.

Iris did not share any of his feelings, to her the entire world stopped existing, the only visible shape belonged to the purple paw and the medallion it was showing to her.

A powerful feeling of loss struck her, one of her paws immediately was put into action, patting at the neck first, finding nothing but scale there, then it moved to the bed, making shorter and bigger circles, finding nothing but the sheets. Then finally her head began to move, looking around the furniture near her resting place, they were as empty as the previous spots.

Her medallion was nowhere to be found.

This was not a trick.

Regret hit her after loss. She had lost it and now it landed in the paws of some other creatures, she watched it with an apologetic, depressed look. The medallion was exactly like she remembered it, not changed at all, old and used outer plate, already devoid of its gold shine together with the murky sapphire in the middle.

It remained true to its promise, something that couldn't be said about her.

The only thing that was different was the chain, its gold color was bright, new, just like when mother gave the necklace to her all those years ago. What was most important though was the fact that it was intact, held together by its natural rings with no touch of ice magic at all.

It was repaired.

Ready to again hang freely from her neck.

A whimper whizzed from her lips at the perspective, sheer terror overwhelming her, paw reaching up, at the back of the neck, instinctively looking for a small head or a cut there, nothing like that was there and this is what only intensified the fear.

She healed without the necklace.

Why Mother?

"And?" Flare mumbled quietly, his joyful energy gone, body dimmed, Iris' unusual distress eating away at his scales like magma "Do you like it? We repaired it"

The blue dragoness kept staring at the jewelry breathlessly, such precious treasure, it was everything to her, one could say that it was even a part of her life. It belonged to the one she loved the most, it was all that remained of her.

Her protector.

Her friend.

Her family.

Her world.

Her paw lifted itself up slowly, stretching minimally forward, sliding across the air with a barely noticeable pace, as if trying to catch a fly.

And then it stopped, uncertainty tugging at the chains, severing the muscles from the commands of the brain.

If this treasure is so vital then why on Forecaster's name she couldn't reach out to for it without fear gnawing at her bones? Why all this hesitation when the purpose of her existence was just a few centimeters away?

Why she didn't sense its loss when she woke up? Before she would not be able to close her eyes without feeling.

Why she couldn't look away from the chain? Every part of her wanted to blink yet the eyelids didn't want to budge, looked at the newly polished chain, examining every tiny gold ring, on each seeing a tiny blade of a saw.

It cannot be.

It was Mother's.

She would never hurt her.

The visible struggle was eating Flare alive, he felt as if he would be melting, his body wrecked by the taxing decadence polluting his ice friend. He felt the Beast stirring, ready to fight for survival, ready to prevent itself from fading away. This feral urge combined with his nervousness burned out all of his patience, stealing away any regard for someone else's troubles.

"It's not hot, totally safe, just look" his voice rumbled otherworldly, leg immediately reaching out for the extended blue one, guiding it towards the medallion.

Iris' eyes flashed with blue flames when she sensed the touch, touch that was dragging her towards the saws that slowly began to turn, laughing.

Each of them reflecting the smug mug of each fucker that used her like a toy.

Mother wouldn't hurt her, but the same thing couldn't be said about anyone else, or even herself for that matter.

Each sharp tip carrying a piece of her own reflection.

"You need to get rid of it" Amela's voice echoed inside her skull calmly

Promises and gifts, they always came with a price, always starting subtly, innocently, in the end gifts given by males led to the same end.

"You never learn" Ignus rumbled stoically

She didn't have to do it, it was over, uncle always said that there are always strings attached to every seemingly good deed. Sooner or later everything will have to be returned. Favors are not cheap.

"It's a trap" she muttered to herself

White toes on the dragged paw clenched tightly just when they were about to touch the jewelry.

"Take it away!" she roared, spitting out lashes of ice when she pulled her paw strongly, the jerk too powerful for Flare's delicate grip, she forced the dragon onto the bed, the freezing sharp whips cutting into his snout

"But it's yours" Flare whined painfully, his body almost dark

The practically dying gasp grabbed Spyro right by the heart.

"I don't care!" she pushed back on the bed, smacking her feathery wings into the wall, snout wrinkled by angry snarls when her escape path came to an end

"It's a present" Spyro added, Iris' panic startling him as well, he expected her to throw insults and curses at them when they showed her the medallion, calling them thieves, seeing her scared was the last thing he expected

"I don't want your presents! I don't want your gifts!" Iris gazed down, looking with disgust at the red leg that pleadingly reached out to her weakly, like that of a dehydrated prisoner "I don't want anything from you!" she pressed her body against the wall tighter, drilling her back into it to the point that it started to whine quietly from all the pressure "I don't want anything from you!"

It's trauma.

He noticed the abhorrence painting the bluish snout as Iris stared at the begging red leg like it was one of the most disgusting of worms. He recognized the signs, Cynder showed similar ones, his mate was his training course that he passed brilliantly that is why he had no troubles defining Iris' unexpected distress.

His experience with the blue dragoness showed him that her past was unimaginably tragic, the medallion she wore, medallion Flare said that belonged to Iris' mom, a clearly important memento judging from the tarnished surfaces depicting constant use. While Iris never got into any details, it was quite obvious that her mother met a tragic fate, probably even died in front of her eyes.

Not to mention her very troubling approach to intimacy, with no regard for the feelings of the other side. Brutal and dominant even, with no regard for basic affection and respect. Things like that don't come naturally, they are taught, or to better word it, all the normality is bleached out.

Iris was royalty, and as royalty she was probably showered by all sorts of gifts, many probably to gain some political favor, but it no longer mattered for her anymore, perspective twisted when her world fell apart. She was beautiful and unreachable for the majority of populace, and if the ego of ice dragons is carried over the eras he could only imagine just how much bile could boil in the simpler folk seeing the prosperity of their betters flourishing while they have scraps.

When it all fell apart Iris became available to everyone and the roles switched, he didn't know how she was raised, but gathering rumors from the Guardians, his own experience and the prayer Iris chanted in the cave, begging for help, he could almost with whole certainty say that she was lost.

The tables were turned and chaos ruled, twisting Iris perspective on everything.

Gifts included.

He preferred not to think about what favors she had to offer in return.

This is not how you approach trauma, Cynder didn't get better by facing her horrors, she got better by clinging to things that are natural to her, to things she desired.

Iris has to feel important, in power, in control, while gifts usually would mean that her view on the world was too much ruined to be able to connect it with such.

They have to return to normality.

And in the areas of prosperity there is nothing more natural than business transactions.

Spyro sighed deeply, pretending as best as he could his own defeat.

"You got us, we wanted to get more out of it but we failed. It's not a present, it's a trade deal"

Flare glared at him, his body flickering, shifting between anger and confusion.

Iris rabid eyes darted between the two of them, cold aura surrounding her, she looked like an animal chased into a corner.

Spyro twirled the gold chain in between his toes like a skilled salesman, catching the sunlight and making it reflect the rays once at Flare and once at Iris, both blinking as if charmed.

"A transaction, we give you the medallion for one personal wish, nothing too fancy, promise"

The terror slowly faded away from the diamond orbs, replaced by cold cunning Iris was known for, it was good to see her change to her natural, even if vile, attitude. Nevertheless he felt dirty about it, knowing all too well that he is subtly manipulating her, taking advantage of her past, ugly experiences.

Exactly like Malefor.

Shivers ran through his spine.

"What do you want?"

Flare's flames ignited with renewed strength, expression relaxing and tail starting its sway of happiness. The dragoness in front of him a dream come true, like the crowns of the tress he sometimes managed to get a glimpse of behind the bars.

Spyro smiled at the visible change in the fire dragon's appearance, with him around you didn't need body language to tell someone's mood.

"You start Flare"

"I only want to make you happy"

Iris rolled her eyes.

"If you expect me to figure out what you mean by your retarded speech than forget that I'm giving you anything in return"

"I just ask that you accept your medallion"

"Suit yourself loser"

"YES!" Flare jumped on the bed, making a roll in the air, hugging his own tail when it slipped in between his paws, giggling cheerfully

Spyro chuckled.

Iris glared at the bouncing and rolling dragon, growling through the vibrations running along the wood, the shakes putting her paws and thighs into an unwanted, jerking dance. She let out a prolonged snort to vent her frustration as she directed her important attention towards the purple dragon.

"And you?"

"I'm very sorry, I didn't mean to beat you up so badly, I'm glad you are better now but it still eats at me" he scratched his chest, heart burning underneath the gold scales "Will you forgive me?"

Iris grasped her mask, eyes widening, he couldn't tell if it was due to anger or embarrassment.

"You did this to me?"

"Yes, but I didn't mean for it to happen"

"Spyro beat me up too Iris!" Flare waved his paw dismissively "He's REALLY strong! Especially when he puts on his black scales. Don't stress about it, it's normal"

The shocked white eyes turned towards the red dragon.

"What Flare wanted to say..." he chuckled nervously, taken aback by the easiness with which Flare spoiled his biggest secret, if the people would find out that Dark Spyro exists and his scales can turn black it would be the end of Cynder, together with his legend, while the other part was not so important the well being of his mate was crucial

The whole world would turn upside down if people found out, especially now when the whole deal with Taint will settle in and people will start pointing claws at the one they already are preparing to blame.

"...is that no one from us was truly himself back then" his eyes kept darting at the back of his paw where he kept seeing the flickering, small, black scale

He felt Malefor patting him on the shoulder like a proud father.

The strong, warm, increased pulse threatened to collapse his lungs.

Ugly liar.

"We are simply sorry for everything that has happened and we want you to know that it was never our intention to hurt you, or anyone else for that matter"

Luckily for him Iris didn't seem to understand or much care about the revelation, taking it most likely like another one of Flare's childish tantrums.

But seeing that her eyes glazed over and paws massaged the mask, claws prying it up slightly as if ease on the squeeze against her skull, he believed that her thoughts were somewhere else entirely.

"You both remember everything?" she breathed out quietly

Spyro frowned at the strange question, yet as weird as it may have been the real shock came when his companion's body extinguished like a blown out candle.

"Y-Y-Y-You d-d-d-d-don't?" Flare stammered, paralyzed

If the mind under his purple skull had any sentiency it would right now say that it finally connected heartbreak with a physical picture.

Her head started to sting again, eyes distant and staring into what seemed to be oblivion itself.

"Nothing" a lifeless sigh left the blue lips

His red scales shivered in terror and such a powerful sense of loss and pain that being devoured by magma in comparison felt like a tickle. Despite the craziness of the situation with the Taint and all that, there was something powerful pulling him towards Iris almost from the start, that weird feeling only empowered by their recent connection after they fought for a while where the other Beast forced him to kill himself.

It was nothing compared to the fact that for the very first time he felt Iris putting her own soul to their special bond, it was not only his own desires flopping around in there, she was there clutching them as her own.

She felt the same thing.

The kiss they shared proved that in a way, but she kissed him already more than once so it all could be just his own wishful thinking. Iris knew how to play the seductive card and the touch of feminine lips is a powerful weapon in that arsenal.

The certainty he found somewhere else.

In her smile.

The image of it engraved itself into his skull, an image he will never forget, he had never seen anything so beautiful before.

He could feel that it wasn't faked.

And now it was gone, everything they shared, everything that for a time made him the most happiest dragon in the entire world, or even all of them, was gone, only a temporary fix, like a feast on worms every morning. He did not know what it was, but he wanted to have it back, to see that Iris did not remember any of it hurt badly, very badly.

But it wasn't over.

Prison taught him one thing, if you fight hard enough you can beat the most terrible of enemies eventually, you just need to fall down in defeat to finally improve enough.

Iris was new to the whole Beast thing, deep down hoping that Coriza's words about her being the Beast are not true, she was unprepared to deal with all of this, she was in trouble, she needed help and as a loyal friend it was his duty to assist her.

Not only because he wanted to feel like the happiest dragon in the world again, not because he wanted to see Iris smile again. He wanted to help her because he felt that Iris needs to remember how it is to smile again.

"I-It's okay" he sobbed quietly, body flickering slightly like an almost extinguished, glowing, oil lamp

"Nothing happened worth remembering a-anyway" he reached out towards Spyro, his glistening eyes locked on the troubled girl near the end of the bed

With a gulp Spyro placed the medallion in the shaking paw, feeling suddenly like an intruder he didn't know what was happening truly, but it felt extremely personal, a place where he didn't belong.

The red paw offered the necklace to the girl, presenting it on fully opened palm.

"We are your friends and we will make sure that the future in front of you will be worth remembering" he smiled warmly, it was genuine yet he could feel his heart being cut open with each centimeter his lips progressed through

There was a risk that there was no place for their bond in the future.

Doesn't matter, anything to make Iris happy.

This is what friends do, right?

Iris' head dropped down like that of someone losing consciousness, seemingly looking down, but not truly caring.

Flare choked, feeling the taste of his own blood on the tongue.

Right?

Right?

Right?

White paw dropped on top of his.

Red tail made a bounce, Flare gasped, when the tip hit the mattress the flaming body glowed sharply, adjusting like a miner's helmet.

Spyro inhaled deeply, his cheeks flushing, already preparing his ice magic just in case to dose another set of flames.

Iris looked up, locking eyes with the yellow ones.

Flare's body exploded, lightning up the entire room, tendrils of fire spitting so wide and high that they curved around every nook and cranny, swaying there like packs of fireflies. The flames touched even Spyro, the purple dragon breathing out a sigh of relief when he felt that the flames were not scorching at all.

The tongues of fire bounced off from Iris' body as well, the dragoness didn't seemed to mind it at all even though the heat from such close proximity must have been higher than normal. The lashes of fire curved all around her, embracing her entire frame protectively.

Flare didn't notice the dancing flames at all, completely lost in the diamond pair of pure eyes, once more reaching underneath the veil of hatred and mistrust, meeting again with the sweet girl in the magical prism.

She could see him.

And he felt it in his bones that she was smiling at him as well.

Spyro looked around the room with wide eyes, letting out a gasp of awe, it was like he would be trapped in those glassy toys which you shake and all sorts of different stuff began to rattle inside, falling like leaves and the like. He wished Cynder would see it, he doubted she would really pay much attention to it with a rather romantic image playing in the background.

He however focused on the light show, he was already trespassing as it is.

"Why?" Iris whispered, her eyes never leaving Flare's, her paw remaining pressed against his, with her necklace in between, caressed delicately like the flesh of a newborn by happy parents

Yellow eyes also traveled onto their paws, Flare's heart racing in his chest, his flames pumping more and more intense light in accordance with the pounding inside his ribcage.

He was holding paws with a girl again.

Almost.

Even though Iris' paw was way more colder than that of Coriza's it still felt as if his scales were being scorched.

He could not resist the temptation, his claws bend, locking themselves around the soft white one. He held his breath as if he would be walking across a thin line stretched across a chasm filled with lava. He did not dare to look up, mesmerized by the sight of her paw within his, she was so pleasant to the touch, so enticing that he barely could hold himself back from kissing the draconic hand.

He begged everything that's holy that she won't recoil back.

She didn't.

He winced from the beautiful pain exploding inside his chest, letting out the strain with a groaning laughter.

She did not pull back.

Iris did not return the gesture, her toes remaining stretched out with his red ones being the only ones presenting the initiative, yet he did not mind. It was enough.

Holy shit.

It was more than enough.

"Why?" he squealed dreamily after her, the meaning of her question escaping him, again, he did not mind, his led lips still stretched into a blissful line, tender giggles managed to vibrate in between the three letters

"Why are you still here?" Iris intoned quietly, her melodic voice a palpable reverence, the whisper so familiar to a personal chant, a prayer you mumble before bed so no one can see "Why you won't leave me alone?" she tilted her head, burying her eyes into the red skull "I humiliated you, I toyed with you, I made you bleed, I killed you"

Spyro balked at the sound of the last revelation.

He shivered when a pair of extremely innocent, lost, white eyes landed on him, so similar and pretty to those he saw in the cave where she begged him for help.

"Why are you still here?" Iris' tone remained unchanged, merely her head tilted in the other direction "Why you won't leave me alone? I almost killed your mate, I abused you, I toyed with you. I did it all to keep you away, uncle said to keep people away, they want nothing else but to use me, traitors all of them"

Her head dropped at the joined paws again, feathers on the wings flopping down like wet leaves, depressed.

"It always worked. All I did, it always worked" her other free paw began to pluck at the feathers "Then why you keep bouncing back?"

Spyro blushed, it was all so emotional that he felt really fuzzy all of a sudden, not to mention that he noticed Iris playing with her feathers, looking impossibly cute while doing so. Somewhere deep down he could hear his alter ego screaming in defiance, blaming him for his attaching recklessness for choosing black scales over a girl like that.

There was no regret though, the voice was quiet, barely a whisper, unimportant, still the effect it left was palpable, crushing his soul and heart together.

By the Ancestors how he longed to see Cynder again.

"We're your friends Iris, you won't get rid of us so easily" Flare looked up at her with a warm smile, despite all her aggression she was nowhere close to him when it came to brutality when he was locked up in those sick labs "Besides, you aren't so bad"

"Yeah" Spyro joined in "I think this can work out"

"Even for you?" Iris mumbled, throwing him a quick glance before burying her sight once more into the tuft of feathers she so vigorously worked on

"I promised to help you and now I kinda want to do that" he shook his head with a small chuckle "I don't know why exactly but I think I don't care anymore. I just work this way, I assist when I see some hope and in you Iris, I see a lot of it. My fetish, can't be helped"

"We're going to find your Mom Iris!" Flare grinned, shaking her paw excitedly "But you gotta show her you remembered! Try the necklace! See if it fits!"

She wrapped her claws against the medallion, making Flare gasp as she accidently returned the gesture. It worked like a whip on him, as awesome as it may have felt he didn't want to hold her back and immediately retreated with his draconic palm the moment she secured the necklace in her grip.

Iris dragged the round jewelry in front of her nose, watching it from up close, it all felt so unreal to her, so disconnected as if she would be in another world completely and the entire thing merely a mirage of a confused mind.

She no longer knew what she was doing.

Her focus wasn't interested in finding out however, its whole attention drew to the necklace, the same round medallion Mother gave her all those years ago, every scratch and dent still there, each carrying its own story. The chain was new, done with extreme precision, every ring matching the other, gleaming like it was new.

Perfect.

Worthy of a princess.

Worthy of a queen.

She lifted the necklace by the chain, her leg shaking, the medallion feeling extremely heavy, part of her screaming numbly to drop it, that it is a trap.

She didn't disagree.

But there was another part of her, louder, telling her that she needs to do it. After all Mother told her precisely when she won't need it anymore.

She is the one who will decide when it will finally be over.

She put the necklace around her neck, no saws from before, nor the weight was sensed in any way. The medallion being light like a feather. A long moan whizzed from between her lips.

Flare lifted himself on his hind legs, clasping the front ones into a double sized fist, his eyes staring wide and full of hope at his ice friend, seeing the necklace perfectly fitting her. He observed her with choking fascination as she examined the chain and medallion.

Spyro had a great idea about leaving the dents and scratches the way they are, the only thing he corrected there slightly was the strange writing, neither of them recognized the letters, but the contours were still visible enough to allow some delicate touch of repair.

"Aaaaaannnnddddd?" he whimpered, his restless teeth almost grinding the tongue to a pulp

Iris turned the medallion in her paw, paying close attention to the ideal connection between it and the new chain. She tugged at it, nothing budged, the point of attachment strong and sturdy.

Worthy of her.

"Did you get scratched when touching it?" she asked, running her toe around the round surface of the medallion

Flare only whined, unable to answer due to the boiling excitement inside him, he pleadingly looked at Spyro, nudging him to answer the irrelevant to him question

The purple dragon was taken aback by the weird dilemma, he did not expect such a trivial inquiry so he needed a minute to scratch his head to wake up the memories during the delicate work.

"No, the surface was even and soft, no sharp edges or anything that could injure us. Why?"

Did Iris start to care about their well being?

"No reason"

Guess she didn't.

A white toe ran over the blue gem, her tender touch making it sparkle faintly, it reflected her satisfied expression ideally, noting even the strongly covered up glee in the eyes.

"I accept it"

"YYYYEEEEEEEESSSSSSS!" Flare roared triumphantly before Iris could release an exhaling breath after her words

The red dragon exploded again, magical fireworks once more filling the room, yet the roar of flames still forced the heads of his two companions back, both startled by the sudden, blinding explosion of fierce light.

Flare threw himself forward, paws spread wide, ready to squeeze the dragoness, yet his respect for her stopped him right in front of her, burning brightly and grinning, with the spread out forelegs he looked like a scarecrow.

"Can I hug you?" he squealed

"No" Iris rasped back, throat dry from the heat

Expecting the answer he opted for snatching her paw, planting a respectful, tender smooch on it before he jumped from the bed and without asking, knowing well that Spyro don't have any past grudges regarding touch, he threw himself at the purple dragon, pulling him in a tight hug.

Spyro gasped, spitting a choking shower of spit when he was pushed back by the impact of the red body, his spine groaning in effort as it kept him from toppling over.

"We did it!" Flare screamed, his tail making such strong and wide swings that both hugged bodies swayed to the rhythm

The purple dragon laughed, returning the hug, giving a joyful look at the girl on top of the bed.

Iris was watching her recently kissed paw as if waiting for it to rot any second now, she sensed his sight on her and turned her head. The pair of eyes sad and depressed, trauma stricken, expecting this situation to develop into something she knew was always coming.

The kiss only a foretaste of what's to come.

She expected to pay the price even though they struck a deal already.

He noticed her blue tail curling around her paws tightly, covering up the spaces towards the underbelly leading to feminine intimate area. The sight of it wrecked his heart and made him feel sad for the dragoness, he absolutely did not understand how someone could do such a thing, but it was obvious that Iris was abused, with her kingdom destroyed she had only one treasure she could pay with.

Every creature in this world knew that her body is worth several kingdoms.

He shook his head, Iris' head lifting itself in confusion, the depression fading away, replaced by honest surprise.

"Enjoy" his lips moved soundlessly

She understood him perfectly, body stiffening in shock.

He smiled, patting Flare in the back.

"Come on Flare, let's give Iris a break, she probably needs some time alone"

The red dragon puffed into a fiery spark, teleporting near the door, understanding that Iris would like some time to play with her new necklace. Grinning widely he waved, saying goodbye to his friend.

"Have fun Iris!"

"Rest and recover" Spyro kept smiling, the sincere warmth in his voice making Iris shiver "When you get better I will fulfill my promise and take you for a time trip"

"Why for free? You don't want me?"

"I don't want anything. I think that all I need is to make people happy" he shrugged "Guess that's what fuels me and I better start accepting it the way it is and not look for any sense here" he winked "Besides there was once a blue girl with pretty, feathery wings that dreamed of hope and support, that sadly abandoned her in the past"

Iris held her breath, she couldn't believe that he remembered the prayer.

"I will be your hope forecaster. Despite everything I had heard your plea, and if you allow it maybe we will make up for everything that happened. I'm sorry that it came so late, but we never truly get what we want, it's a matter of finding worth in what we got"

He looked himself over with a chuckle.

"And even though we have many flaws, this is the best we can get" he sighed, giving her one, final wink

"It's never too late to smile"