FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter 38

It seemed like their fears were unwarranted.

No matter what they opinion might have been about the new, young version of Ignus, the dragon seemed to act honorably, at least as much as his social habits allowed. Their blind walk was uneventful, each one of them looked at the ground, in between their moving paws, instinctively looking for a thread or some other sign that they felt they must have followed since everything went so smoothly.

Something that they never expected to happen considering Ignus' idea of a plan and the general hostility of Skyward.

Yet it worked.

Too good actually, every now and then Sparx couldn't control himself and surrendered to his natural carefulness, betraying his emotions by allowing his body to glow that slight tone brighter. To him it seemed like Ignus could walk them around in circles, making them traverse over some stairs and bumps to change the feeling of pace and they wouldn't even know if they were making progress or not.

The city was quiet and its rather bland architectural flair made it difficult, if not impossible, for newcomers to get a hang of their surroundings. The longer they walked in the blind like this, the more Sparx became certain that it was done so intentionally.

Skyward already seemed like a lifeless fortress, this absolutely uncharacteristic style was simply another layer of defenses. He was sure that the citizens living here were the only variable that added any color to this dull, bloody place.

The sad thing however was the fact that they didn't have any other choice being dragons wielding different sorts of elements.

Eventually, after traversing for what felt like an eternity they all suddenly felt a change in their surroundings, the air became cooler and more fresh, out of a sudden as if they would have crossed a portal into another dimension. The red hues and the flying petals however reassured them that they were still in the same, old place.

For better or worse.

In their case in was hard to decide if known poison is better than perspective of changing their fate, knowing that they have a high chance of becoming victims to an even more serious condition.

Sometimes he wondered why he keeps sticking around his brother and his Queen of the Dark instead of just bailing.

Damn family ties. It's all their fault.

Their pace slowed, came even to a stop at some point, the chain that became mostly tolerable after their time spent on walking suddenly tightened its grip, pressing their bodies together so tightly that they started getting burn marks from all the rubbing, scale and metal partaking almost in the same amount in their discomfort.

Even though they couldn't see it, they could tell that Ignus' legs stiffened, one of his paws even shyly poked at the blanket, as if making sure that it was still there, lifting it ever so slightly to reveal more of Iris' dirty, feathery wing.

They all felt the girl shivering, the trembles stirring discomfort in their souls, momentarily shifting the thoughts about Ignus' gentle lift as not being a standard confirmation of goods before a more curious guard, but an offer, enticing, exposing offer of a prize he just snatched and presented with the appeal of the most heartless of traders.

Her head was hanging low, eyes shut so tightly that they could see frowns projecting on top of her mask. Fangs were biting into the lips strongly, drawing droplets of blood, she looked like someone who was bracing for some unavoidable impact.

It was a matter of dispute if she is overreacting due to her mental condition, or there was really something to Ignus they didn't know about.

The constantly quiet trek was silent no longer, the shrill ringing of the constantly moving chain paired with the thickness of their cover muffled the sound, yet it was quite clear that Ignus was being questioned, the rumble of his voice was loud and professional, whoever he was answering to he either was afraid of or held in great regard.

The verbal skirmish lasted for some time, none of them could tell what it was really about but they surely could feel that something has changed in their guide's behavior. Their pace increased and the chain that was only there to remind them of their position remained glued to their bodies, pressing tighter and tighter.

Spyro let out a soft whine which was soon mimicked by the rest of the group.

The chains immediately relaxed.

Whether it was a part of his plan to continue the ruse or his personal way of letting go off of his anger they will never know.

They almost ran the last distance, claws clicking over smooth tiles until they eventually came to a rough stop, grinding echo followed not soon after and their legs were once more assaulted by a change in the air, the cool aura was still there but now it was also mixed with a gentle, warm touch, like that of a dying out fire.

They were pushed inside with one single jerk, the grinding noise echoed behind them.

They knew they have arrived at their destination even before the chain around them dropped. For some reason Ignus didn't remove their cover immediately, they heard him prancing about, slamming something shut until he finally reached for the blanket and swiped it away, revealing a huddled group of dragons and a dragonfly.

The place was absolutely dark, it was only Ignus' burning tail and Sparx' aura that was giving any light.

"Apologize for the repellent welcome. I'm certain you don't like finding yourself in another dark hole after your time in the dungeons, however I assure you that we have arrived safely in my humble abode. In its basement to be precise"

Ignus wearily looked around the room, eyes darting over the shutters he just closed.

"It is a necessary precaution I'm afraid, turns out that I have been watched too closely for my liking and let's just say that your visit in our little city didn't go without notice...sadly. I need to make some arrangements, stay here for a while, I'll lock every window in the upper floors and then prepare for the unavoidable visit of several guests...all of them want to meet you" he snarled, disgruntled

"I will never understand how it is possible that such thick walls of our city can be so hollow to let every rumor squeeze through. Your escapes Cellsa surprise be less and less each day" he shook his head "As I said, stay here for a moment, your identity might be known but there are still some special friends out there that would want to stick their noses where they don't belong and it would be very, very bad if they were allowed the opportunity"

He flipped his tail up, his fiery tip touching a small mushroom near the ceiling which immediately lightened up like a bulb, giving a soft, almost romantic light.

"My home is yours to explore, but I have one demand for all of you" he looked at the group with a disgusted frown "You stink, clean yourself before I return, you'll find a pool on the ground floor. Present yourself at your best before my arrival, I cannot have you tarnishing my name. Filth has a ban on this house so take care of yourself, it is not too much to ask for giving your freedom back I hope?" the dragon ended any signs of protest with a short nod, answering his own question

"Good. Now behave, I expect you to be in your top shape when we see each other again" without waiting time for any kind of reaction from the rather stunned group he left them alone in the atmospheric illumination of the single, characteristic bulb of light

Ignus who was relatively collected before, now acted with a fever and recklessness that didn't stood in pair with his idea of holding fate by the neck.

"UPPER CITY!" Cellsa let out a shrill blare of an excited, teenage girl who just saw her idol

"Upper city! Upper city! Upper city!" she bounced around, bucking like a wild horse "We're here!" she took a deep inhale, puffing out her chest to extreme proportions as if she would be a frog

"I can smell it!"

Cynder sniffed the air, patch of dust tickled her nose, making her sneeze.

"Mulder wood and mire from leaking barrels, if this is how prosperity smells like than we were in a lot of upper cities in our lives. Add to the mix the salty taste of tears and I would feel like in my childhood home"

Spyro chuckled quietly, one thing that made him click with Cynder was her sarcastic way of joking, especially when it came to putting some humor to her dreadful past.

"Exactly! It feels like home!" electricity cracked lively between Cellsa's horns, thumping like a pulse of an exercised heart "This is where I belong! Not only it smells better than in the gutters where all those people following orders live, with no ambition in them, content to be mindless drones for the betters" she snorted, shaking her head "Bunch of walking corpses the lot of them. Bores from left to right, stinking heaps of stale meat"

Sparks of magical energy flared up in her citrus eyes, making the sweet color of her pupils ripple like a stream.

"This is where life is! Guys! Upper City! Where the prestigious and powerful live! A place ruled by a hot chick no less! Don't you get it what it means?! A sense of freedom in this freaking coffin of a city! Finally the end of the tirades of being unwanted, unworthy and all other un- words just because I don't have a cock in between my legs! I heard you guys that there is a place here where girls go to pretty themselves up, a place where they put those drones to good work, meaning they are pampering to the needs of a girl like me! Finally! Everything I want served by the fools that only saw me as breeding stock and even in there I was last in the line! Too skinny! Pah!" the electrical orbs around her wing horns busted like eggshells, spitting sparks everywhere

"Screw them! I'm up here now and I'm not leaving nu-uh, they can kiss me right in my skinny ass!"

"Slow down there Sparky!" Sparx chimed in "Did you forget already that we were stuffed in a bag after bailing from prison? The welcoming committee wasn't much welcoming if you ask me"

"Whatever!" she threw her head up in disdain "Everything is better than that dump below!"

"Be quiet guys!" Spyro hissed condescendingly "Ignus hid as here, whoever is watching us might be still out there so maybe let's not give them the chance to figure out that we are not really the playthings many expected us to be alright?"

Cellsa dropped her butt on the floor with an impatient grumble.

"I hate waiting!" she pouted her lips, luckily not adding anything more to it, despite her bickering attitude she seemed to be aware of the danger she might bring on the group

The purple drake let out a sigh of relief.

"Iris do you have any idea maybe what is all this shady business or who might be so interested in your uncle's deals? I know it's not really the period you are familiar with but maybe there is something about Ignus that he carried with him over the years? A simple story might be helpful"

"Observe the eyes. If they light up we are most likely being toyed with. Uncle grizzles a lot, and is an intolerable son of a bitch I would strangle with my own tail" she growled and for a moment they saw the same cold, heartless Iris they were all used to seeing, Iris who if only could would strangle the world around her

What caught them by surprise, besides her unexpected honesty that didn't include any violent curses and taunts, was the fact that the popular sight of her lasted only for a brief moment. Her attitude shifted immediately, turning from violent and angry to meek and submissive in a matter of seconds

"He is cunning" she cooed, her voice full of strange, hurt, passionate longing that made Spyro and Cynder uncomfortable, reminding them of their own feelings towards each other

Adoration and affection.

"Very, very cunning" she licked her lips, wings jerking hectically, unable to flutter cleanly due to the grime stuck to them

Cellsa scratched her head.

"You guys are sure she's his niece? That chirping sounds like a mating call to me. You got hots for your uncle or something you sick shit?"

Iris glared at the girl, tendrils of ice wafting from her nose, the magic in them so strong that it immediately covered in frost a nearby crate.

"Girls! Girls!" Sparx dashed between the two dragonesses, clapping his hands "How about we clean first and then beat each other huh? Sounds better right? You won't see anything through this dirt anyway"

"Hey I do-"

"Enough Cellsa" Cynder cut the dragoness off before things escalated any further, she acted before Spyro did to at least provoke some manner of surprise in Iris since she undoubtedly expected at some point her loyal friend to calm the situation down and take her side

Iris threw a quick glance at her there was no gratitude in them, only annoyance and hatred, but it was not as violent as it was when Cellsa opened up her mouth.

It worked.

And despite her feelings towards Iris, she was glad that it did work. Not that she wouldn't like to see her getting that arrogant, smug face getting smacked once in a while, yet it wasn't the right time for that now. Whatever her relation with Ignus was, or is for that matter, it was none of their business, her turbulent life was her own, what mattered to her right now was the fact that she recognized a familiar pattern in Iris' tone of voice. She acted the same way towards Spyro when she was drooling over him, back then she would also cut everyone in half if they dared to get in her way or make fun of her.

Sparx was the only exception, being Spyro's brother and all.

It was in impulse of solidarity, Iris is a bitch and she didn't really trust her change of heart, but she knew how difficult it was to bare all those emotions and having them ignored, or what's worse, mocked, was the worst kind of torture she could imagine.

And putting Iris through torture would bring her closer to her corrupted self, projecting the same pain on someone else would never make her distance herself from her past. In the back of her mind she could hear the faint laughter of the Dark Master.

Iris spat at the orange dragoness paws, turning away from hero.

Cellsa winced

"As I said. Prestigious" she backed away with a snort

Both Sparx and Cynder let out soft sighs of relief, this was way too much stress, not only they have to deal with unfamiliar territory and politics, they also have to quench the fire brewing in their own group.

"Then we better be careful" Spyro scratched his neck nervously, pretending not to see the tension from just a few seconds ago and instead focusing on Iris' unsuspected willingness of cooperation, accepting it as far more important matter than any private issues or whatnot

Nobody knew how strong Iris' loyalty is so it was better to take advantage of it when they could.

Respecting each other's company and the given orders when having in mind the possible dangers of not doing so the group went silent. Cynder approached Spyro, taking a seat next to him, exchanging loving glances, in the darkness her claws scratching his thigh playfully, the only act of affection they were allowed in the place.

Cellsa dropped on her back, picking up some sort of a ball made of wool that she kept tossing up and down to keep her paws busy.

Sparx hovered in the air, he was the only one who instead of taking a break kept vigil, observing the behavior of Cellsa and Iris carefully, both of which weren't the top picks if it came to trust. Maybe it was paranoia, but one never can be too careful.

Iris was the only one who was moving around and actually examining the basement they were in. She sniffed the dusty boxes and furniture, gently touched things that interested her and smoothly ran her claws over other fragile objects.

Sparx' gaze got stuck on the dragoness, he knew he was not supposed to lose his focus but there was nothing he could do to help it. Seeing the girl so tender was a sight to behold, even in the shadows there was no denying that Iris had royal blood in her, she simply caught attention and he wasn't certain that it was due to her looks alone, even though they played a huge factor in the way many perceive her.

There was an undeniable grace in the girl, it was obvious that a lot of effort was put in her education, those were learnt patterns and tendencies, grace is a skill that you need to develop like any other and she had all that potential somewhere, deep inside her.

The girl could move nations.

If only her soul wasn't as dusted as the basement here.

But despite it all he still believed she could be cute, especially now when she recoiled back with a grunt every now and then when her examination of the surroundings brought her in close contact with a more slimy and thicker layer of filth.

Iris eventually stopped near one of the more cleaner drawers, she didn't know why but there was this weird humming in her head, like a whisper demanding her to pay more attention to the furniture. She was quickly becoming irritated by the strange sense of command, there was nothing interesting about this old piece od crap, it was just a piece of junk from top to bottom.

And then her eyes landed on the drawer's leg, among the dust and cobwebs one particular characteristic stood out, clearly visible amidst the filth, an engraving on the left leg, barely touched by the dust, standing out like a relic in a secret dungeon like in some fairytale.

It was a pair of irises.

The crowns of the flowers were dipped in magic, this is why they held so bravely against the decadence of oblivion, each of those flowers sparkled gently with a touch of elemental magic. One glowed faintly blue while the other was red.

Ice and Fire.

This was her drawer.

The blue flower was made by her mother, the red one by her uncle. Later each of them will add two more flowers, every other bigger than the rest until the drawing will resemble a small bouquet with six flowers in them. She will be the one who will add six more, three for herself and three more for father.

It was a game of theirs that carried over the years, each of the flowers was a way of remembering an important moment from their family life, an individual milestone, however uncle and mother always added their flowers at the same time, the first one marked the day when they reached the throne.

It would be around this era.

Neither mother nor uncle spent much time talking with her about that period or their life, merely marking it as important and advising her to focus on the later irises.

Two more flowers will appear for each of them, each new one longer than the previous one. The second will be there to mark the day of mother's ceremony where she took father for mate and essentially ended a long, bloody war between dragons.

The final third one will be there to honor the day of her birth.

This is the only piece of furniture they never changed, they always said it was too important and that she should always take care of it like they did because memories are one of the things we should cherish in life. They always said they identify us as dragons.

If this drawer was so important then what it is doing in a dusty basement?

It doesn't belong here!

With an angry growl she spat a gentle layer of frost on top of the furniture, immediately she tilted her head to bite into her wing, ripping a tuft of feathers she instantly used as a towel to polish the drawer using the melting ice as a cleaning ingredient.

Her grunting drew the attention of everyone in the room.

She kept rubbing the drawer, putting more and more effort in each stroke that the piece of furniture started to shake on its legs. With a growl she eventually slammed her upper body on top of the thing, spitting more ice and putting more pressure into the circling motions.

Using the same, already dirty feathers to do the job.

"Crazy bitch" Cellsa dropped her head back on the floor, returning to her important task of juggling the ball in the air

Sparx flew closer to Spyro and Cynder, covering his mouth.

"Who's going to tell her that using dirty rugs doesn't help you clean things up?" he whispered "It looks like our princess didn't do a lot of wiping in her life"

Iris started to growl more ferociously, the rattling of the shaking drawer provoking her like a dragon's meat does a Death Hound.

"Iris, calm down" Spyro spoke up, yet there was no confidence in his voice

"Why did he put it here?" she snarled back, continuing her reckless cleaning

"I don't know, but you're not helping-"

"He had no right to! It's mine! How does he dare! Besakte!"

"Great, she started to speak in tongues now" Cellsa sighed

"It can't be yours, we traveled back in time it has to-"

"Atine!" Iris roared, lunging at him and stopping only a few centimeters away from Spyro, her freezing breath together with chilly spit smashed against the purple snout and even managed to hit the black one next to it

Her eyes were cold and full of rabid fury, everyone was aware that she wasn't completely stable emotionally, but no matter how she behaved Iris always seemed to look sane. Something that changed in this moment, the bloodshot eyes, the wound around the neck that stretched under the pressure of her roaring throat to the size of a gaping mouth of some fish and the spit and drool flopping from her opened maw, all of it stripped her of her beauty.

Right now she truly looked like an insane hag who dropped her sweet coat of illusion.

"OK!" Spyro blurted out, instinctively pulling Cynder with him as he jerked back from the fangs "Okay, okay, do what you want" he mumbled apologetically, aware that she was beyond any reason right now

Not to mention she looked absolutely terrifying with that dirty mask of hers that in this faint light made it look like some scalp.

She turned back to the drawer, staring as if she would see her own reflection in it

Sparx gulped.

"At least we know now that Atine probably means "Mine" in that weird tongue of hers. Knowledge is worth a little stress, right bro?" he gave his draconic brother a taunting slap in the back

"Take it out of here" Iris stated coldly

Cellsa burst out in laughter, her entire body trembling on the ground.

The trio of friends first glanced at the laughing dragoness and then onto Iris, their eyes wide in bewilderment.

"What?" Cynder hissed, all the sympathy she had for the chick was quickly fading away

"I won't repeat myself" Iris spun around, not even acknowledging the stunned dragons with a look, directly marching out of the basement, finding her way through the darkness with ease as if she lived in this place

"What the hell was that?" Cynder blurted out

"Boy she's a joy! If she wouldn't have feathers I think I'd like her!" the electric dragoness kept on laughing

"Iris doing Iris things" Spyro shook his head, warming up his muscles with some shaking as he got up "I expect more things like this to happen, this place might stir some ugly memories and we all know just how stable Iris is" he stretched, slowly crawling towards the drawer

"Just what do you think you're doing?" the poison hissing in his mate's voice made him balk in fear

He looked back pleadingly, shrinking in sight.

"Picking it up?" the uncertainty in his voice could cut like a blade

"Over my dead body, you won't be dragging that piece of junk just because our retarded princess wishes so. You did enough for her already"

"Look, I know she's not good in asking, but you know just as well if we don't do what she says things will only get worse"

"Excuse me? She's the one who should be pampering us, not the other way around. Must I remind you that we are here in this mess because you did her a favor?"

"You know me Cynder, I couldn't say no even if I wanted to. I don't have any better explanation for that so you need to accept it as it is and not blame me for it"

"I do accept it and I don't blame you for anything even though I have my doubts about all of it. I know your heart "

Spyro sighed.

"Thanks, I know it sucks, but we'll power through it, just help me pick this up will you?"

Sparx slammed his hand into his forehead, shaking his head.

Cynder narrowed her eyes.

"I'm not touching that thing"

"But you just said you accepted our situation!" Spyro protested, confused

"Yes I did. But there's a big line between helping someone and becoming someone's puppet"

"Oh come on Cynder, this thing looks heavy for one guy, two of us can handle it easily. Trivial thing and it will get Iris off our backs, we already have enough troubles, let's not provoke any more with small things like this"

"No. Do it yourself if you want to I'll wait for you in the next room"

"Cynder!"

"No Spyro. There are millions of small things like this I can think and ask someone else to do them for me. They tend to pile up and since you don't seem too keen on ignoring them you better train those legs, you will need that strength to deal with all that crap. Just remember to lift with your paws and not your back! Kisses!" she waved him off with a cheery, leaking with sarcasm giggle as she disappeared into the darkness

"Haha! That was sweet" Cellsa cheered, clapping her paws happily "She's got some sass! My brother is dumb like the brick he is, but he always had a nose for finding fun groups to hang out with and you're no different! You act like you know each other well, whether you are mates or siblings you better give that girl some revenge shag! Nothing feels better than that!"

Sparx bowed gracefully.

"Thank you for that invaluable source of insight"

"You're welcome" the dragoness grinned happily

"She's right, you know" the dragonfly commented, leveling himself with Spyro's head, giving the cursed drawer a proper look over

"What?!" the drake blurted out, blushing he looked around hectically before craning his neck closer to his flying brother "I'm not going to mate with Cynder!" he hissed through clenched teeth

"Not her!" Sparx slapped his brother across the head "I'm talking about Cyn you dork!"

"Oh!" Spyro scratched the back of his head "Yeah, that makes more sense"

"You should stand your ground every now and then bro. I know you have a weak spot for bad girls but this is getting ridiculous"

"Very funny. Sparx I'm just trying to do the right thing here. We never know what Iris will do it would be better to keep her on our good side"

"Dude, that girl's eyes spark whenever she looks at you after you did your healing trick. Saying no once in a while wouldn't make her slit your throat all of a sudden"

Spyro turned his back to the drawer as he approached it from the side.

"I don't want to risk it. I have all you guys to take care of, I'll rather play mule this one time for Iris then let her become more volatile than she already is. It won't hurt my pride" he crawled under the drawer to the best of his ability

"It's not about pride bro. Look Cynder might be a little biased when it comes to our princess and you might actually be doing the good thing here by letting her whip you around. The thing is that what Cynder meant stretches way ahead of Iris, you need to get rid of the habit of being on everyone's whim. Decide for yourself sometimes dude"

"I'll try" Spyro grunted as he lifted himself up, giving the drawer on his back two bounces to arrange it properly "Can you hold it so it won't fall down when I'll walk?"

Yellow hands appeared on the drawer immediately.

"Just remember dude what Terrador told you. You are not here to keep everyone happy, but alive"

"You can lend a paw too if you want" Sparx glared at the electric dragoness

Cellsa grinned.

"Good thing is that I don't want to do it" she winked, with a laugh and a dancing step she left the boys to the weight lifting "Don't strain yourself there boys!"

"You know what bro?" Sparx grumbled in irritation "My bad, it is a little about pride"

Spyro chuckled.

"Stings to be made fun of huh? Thanks for making me immune to this by the way, you tormented me so much in our childhood but it finally started to pay off I guess"

"Let's just drag this thing from here smartass"

The boys didn't have to go far to catch up with the rest of the group, the first one they met on their way was Cynder who at the sound of them turned her head.

Spyro smiled meekly at the sight of her stern gaze.

She rolled her eyes, turning her head back into the main room.

And it was quite a spacious one.

Splendor didn't even begin to describe it.

Ignus' house stood in great contrast with the lower levels of Skyward, while the place below was dull and clearly focused on militaristic purposes where style and comfort didn't matter much, making the dragons living there look like true cave dwellers where the citizens were as bland as their surroundings.

Something that couldn't be said about this house.

The typical red was covered in many places with big, colorful tapestries, all of them bore rather simplistic engraving, while clearly talented dragons lacked true artistic genius, something that obviously remained unchanged in the past years. Nonetheless even such artistic display stood out in this place, giving it much needed color.

The ceiling was high, practically turning this house into a small dome, many pipes were running at the top, all of them disappearing eventually into the walls. They didn't know what they were there for, yet it was clear that they weren't there just for show. If they focused they could hear the walls vibrating with a gentle humming, followed by an even quieter sound of whizzing.

This realization was enough to stir their noses, noses that immediately caught different taste of air in the house. It was more fresh, devoid of the stale itch and peculiar musk created by the mushrooms below. It tingled their elemental senses, this ventilation wasn't a typical, technological device, there was definitely ice magic used somehow for the filtration system, only mimicking the taste od fresh air.

There was a massive gallery of stairs filling the center of the room, it was not made of wood or any other construction material they were used to see. Instead the staircase that rounded the hall from both sides as if they were opening their arms for a hug was carved from the stone of the cave. The amount of work it had to take was immeasurable, something that the host clearly appreciated, decorating the staircases with long carpets, the carved railings circling from the inside had tubes attached to them where chilled with magic water flowed. The length of them adorned with gems, every second or third glimmered like blinking, teary eyes.

In the middle of the spreading into a hug staircase stood a big statue of Ignus frozen in a proud pose where he puffed his chest out, standing on the body of a fallen wind dragon. Lava was flowing from the ceiling above it drowning the statue in a heating coat, enough for it to be visible but also glow like a tall torch, only adding more intimidating touch to the already awe inspiring piece of work.

The whole statue stood on a glass similar to the ones seen on the levels below, but this one instead of opening its privacy to the public was there to showcase a bit of sightseeing. The view below led into a waterfall of lava, spotted with the familiar mushrooms that glowed in rhythmic patterns whenever a drop of magma touched them as if there would be keyboards of some regularly played instrument.

There was no sign of the red petals floating in the air in this place, the ventilation seemed to keep the most prominent feature of this cave at bay. It was either due to the banners blocking every possible crack that could be found in the walls or their sophisticated, glamorous carvings. Wherever the tapestries couldn't reach, murals and all other decorations filled their place, crude compared to the works of art moles could create, but the shimmering gems and flickering lights coming off of them emanated a sense of grandeur, especially in Skyward.

In between the stretched carpet in the floor they could see veins of flowing magma, glistening with elemental magic, making the magma there look like thick, boiling blood. The gems, lights and the floor created a rather atmospheric aura, especially when considering the fact that the shutters and windows opening the house to the outside light were closed.

Making them feel as if they were in a massive chamber of a golem's heart.

"Holy shit!" Cellsa whistled in awe, immediately springing into the air, making spins as she climbed up towards the ceiling "Can you see this?! This thing is bigger than the courtyard I've played in when I was a kid! How did they squeeze it in here without us common folks noticing anything? There is no way I'm going back to that kennels of ours! No way! Not even the training grounds are as big as this house! This is sssssss-" her voice trailed off when she gazed to the side, past the statue and the flow of lava, spotting something fascinating behind, as if finding a secret passage behind a waterfall

"No way" she mumbled and then without further warnings made a swift flip in the air "NO WAY!" she shot through the sky, diving through the only opened shutters above that connected the main hall with the room next door

"INCOMING!" her rabid laughter was interrupted by a loud splash of water

It seemed that she found the pool that Ignus was talking about.

A brief moment of exchanging looks was enough for the trio of friends to come to a mutual understanding, favors and responsibilities stopped mattering in an instant when the sloshing noise of water reminded them just how dirty they were.

They rushed after the dragoness, but before joining her in the splashing fun they stopped in their tracks, dazzled by the sheer size of what Ignus called a pool.

To them it was an ocean.

The room was shaped like a tank, it was round and deep, so deep that an adult dragon needed two full swings with his limbs to reach the bottom. Two closed grates could be seen, one at the top of the cavern ceiling and one at the bottom, a way to drain and fill the pool. The tank was constructed from the same glass they have already met, they didn't know what material it was precisely but it was sturdy enough to withstand pressure of water and heat of magma.

Magma because behind the tank there was nothing but bowels of a spurting volcano, a sea of steaming, blazing death liquid.

Someone had to take great pride in his work to construct glass opening into a gallery of bursting, bone melting liquid. Ignus was a fire dragon, true, heat is something natural to him, but even he wouldn't withstand the touch of a volcano. The highborn of the Upper City must really be bored to find excitement in such extremities, first slavery and now baths in a glassy tank that constantly reminds you of your fate when it eventually breaks.

All those excitements circulating around dangers of life and death, whether it was a prominent occurrence among the royals or Ignus' individual test of his grip on his own Fate remained to be seen.

No matter how brave one can be however, everyone needs some relaxation from the stress every now and then. This is why there was quite a shelf carved into the face of the mountain, there were several steps of them, long and wide enough to fit an adult dragon who wanted to lie down and rest his or her tired limbs from all the swimming.

While also inviting the gaze of everyone interested, somehow they doubted that the shelves were right in the middle by accident, it was like a podium where the ones below could admire the ones on top and what is more enticing than strong, sensuous figure glistening with fresh touch of water?

An obvious staircase of self-indulgence.

"This is awesome!" Cellsa roared as she burst from underneath the water and with a wet flop dropped on her back, letting the water to lift her up "Damn, I needed that"

Without wasting more time the trio of friends jumped into the pool, the refreshing touch of water making them immediately feel more alive, rejuvenating the energy drained by the grime.

Only when they got in the pool they noticed that they weren't alone here with Cellsa. Iris was already bathing before any of them came here and judging from the way she hugged a corner and the narrowed eyes she wasn't happy to see anyone joining her.

Right now however nobody cared about anyone else's problems, selfishness ruled here where everyone desired to focus on themselves and finally feel like there was truly something good happening since they got in this place.

As Cynder swam around her eyes kept darting towards Spyro, she couldn't help herself but admire as his strained muscles glistened under the touch of water, making him look far more stronger and far more safe as the they relieved themselves of their stress, bulging and inviting.

She wanted nothing else but to be squeezed by them.

She knew she shouldn't do it, but the desire was stronger than any logical sense, not to mention that she had a self satisfying order to draw some lustful spark from her mate's eyes. Especially after all this period of being locked in a stinky dungeon and being covered in filth, she wanted to feel like a female again and the slight berating she gave him earlier was a perfect ground to keep his eyes on her.

She flipped casually on her back, splaying out her wings and gently floating close to her partner, she looked up, pretending to be interested in the ceiling, or occasionally shut her eyes, drifting off in a land of wishes and desires.

Taking advantage of the cover the water provided she reached out, grabbing Spyro tightly by the butt.

He balked, tail standing at attention.

Her paw relaxed its grip, massaging the length of his muscular thigh.

Luckily for her Spyro wasn't born yesterday and knew how to control his reactions, with a yawn he turned around, smiling obliviously at his partner, politely accepting her innocence presence.

Pretending not so see the coy grin spreading her lips.

Cynder's paw had no restrains, casting away any notion of shyness it grazed over his leg from the outside as well as the inside, reaching towards his waist.

He felt his blood heating, the previously indifferent eyes became more intense, they landed on her toned body, landing on her exposed magenta belly, his favorite spot to kiss and feel. The sloshing water bounced off her curves delicately, emphasizing the softness of her beautiful figure.

One black eyelid popped open, revealing a green orb underneath, pupil that looked straight at Spyro who was so busy devouring her with his eyes that he didn't even notice the accomplished glimmer of triumph in her own.

Triumph reaching another step on the pedestal when she felt his paw tenderly groping her side and back.

Her mate was attracted to her, she still got it.

It felt damn nice to remind herself of her feminine allure, blood and fighting is an ugly business, it has the potential od ruining what is attractive and desirable. Passion was one of the signs that they are still doing good, despite the bruises and scratches that so hard tried to maim them.

The obscure moment of intimacy didn't escape Iris' notice however, seeing the two fools so clumsily hiding their unquenchable desire to grope one another made her sick with hate. She hated their naivety that blindly believed that there is a happy future for the two of them, she hated the fact that they ignored her, the most valuable creature in this fucking pool and especially she hated that black whore for trying to draw Spyro's attention from her.

She wouldn't care, but Spyro was so stupid(sweet) that he went after her every whim without batting an eyelash. She needed him, he was such a good slave(friend), as a naïve child she prayed for a dragon with power to do the unthinkable and after so many years he finally appeared.

Many years too late, the fucker, but he was here with the power to heal.

Iris touched her wounded neck tenderly, still feeling the warmth of the magic mending her flesh under his protective touch. It was care that only mother ever shown her, it's been many years since she felt that genuine attention.

There is no way you will take him away you black bitch, he is mine to use{care for}. Spyro was still a pitiful male though, with pathetic instincts considering that he was drooling over that withered, black thrash of a female.

She had all the arguments to keep him by her side.

Get lost Tat.

Iris dived, pressing all of her limbs and wings together to catch as much water as possible, letting it wash her over every scale and feather. She swam deeper, pushing closer to the middle of the pool, glancing from underneath at the caressing black scale purple paw.

She growled, bubbles popping from her mouth, right now she wanted nothing else but to bite it off.

With an angry snarl she pushed with all her might towards the top, her strongly moving legs and wings cutting the depths with the jagged precision of a serrated knife. After several powerful moves she burst from the depths in a huge splash of water, leaping right onto the top shelf of the cavernous pedestal.

Spyro's heated head was instantly splashed by a torrent of water, the sheer weight of it jerking even his neck. He shook his head violently, mouth spreading into a shout of protest, demanding to know what is going on, yet in the end no sound came out from his mouth when his eyes finally located the one responsible.

It was Iris.

She climbed on the highest shelf, turned sideways to the pool, stretching out her body.

And by the Ancestors was it a sight to behold.

Water was cascading down her voluptuous flesh, droplets circling and swaying down her divine curves, emphasizing each and every shapely female muscle, pouring the tender flesh through the soft scale, the sight making you feel like you would be gripping the softest, most succulent of fruits that ideally filled your palm.

She had her upper body stretched out on the ground, arching the rump high, flexing her artistically shaped muscles. The feathery wings were opened, already free of the choking touch of water, puffed out and healthy, her golden mask glowing under the moisture paired with the reddish hue of the stones.

She looked absolutely divine.

And what made it more enticing was the fact that she was there for the taking.

Her lifted rump was a work of art in itself, his eyes trailed the sensuous length of her figure, heart making a flip when the admiration turned into a more circular motion when he reached her butt. This stretched out pose put her great legs on display, her glistening thick thighs, paired with a godly shaped butt were blood boiling, Spyro could feel his loins burning at the mere sight of her, he didn't even know when his paws started to clench, instinctively gripping that flesh.

To make things even more perfect Iris eventually kicked one of her hind paws up, curling up the toes of her white, draconic foot, adding up an additional flex to the already hedonistic sight. Her glinting body begging to be groped.

And then those white eyes of Iris flashed at him from underneath the mask, flirty and begging, godly creature saying clearly that it was his paws she wanted to feel on her butt.

Cynder snorted angrily, throwing an offended glance at Iris and then at Spyro, pushing away from him quickly, his paralyzed paw on her back making her feel sick.

Spyro's head immediately was pulled back from the intoxicating allure when he felt the soft scale of his mate leaving his touch. He watched her swim away, her moves full of irritation, without a word she pulled herself up from the pool.

He can't leave it like this.

"Look at that bro" Sparx dropped in front of him, blocking him in his tracks, his eyes kept bouncing back and forth between Iris and the water, with great difficulty pretending to be indifferent to her appealing body

"She's showing off" Spyro grumbled uninterested, jerking his head back and forth to look past his brother and at his mate who had her back turned to the pool and observed the flowing magma of the cave

Tail wrapped close as she was cold.

"Sure she is, but damn man, she's like from a picture. Whoever made us folks in sure he used all his talent on her, you should try getting a piece of that"

"Iris is unstable"

"Hey nobody is perfect dude, but holy hell" he scratched his neck anxiously "She sure is close"

"Look, I need to speak with Cynder" he pushed past his brother, voice betraying his irritation

Sparx watched his brother go, feeling proud, it was good to see that Spyro's heart remained loyal even though the she-devil lured anyone foolish enough to believe she genuinely desired them. A night with a goddess was not worth selling your soul for.

Good job bro.

You passed the test.

"I know I shouldn't say this, since you're a half-feathered spawn, but damn girl you're hot!" Cellsa blurted out in admiration "I don't know from what cloud they plucked you out from but shit, they knew what they were doing out there! Nobody ever saw Athron without an armor, but if you took that ass from your mum than it's no wonder everyone wants to get a piece of her! The pretty face would finally match the body! I've never done anything with a girl before but damn" she bit her claw "I would like to experiment with you, so how about bygones be bygones and let's make out?"

"Don't you dare lay your filthy claws on me or I'll make you choke on them" Iris snarled at the girl "Besides Junkie, you're nothing more than a walking twig, a worm wouldn't find you appealing"

"Hey! I don't have a big ass and nice legs as you but I have my perks! I'll drove more than one guy crazy with my flexibility!" Cellsa twirled a strand of her hair seductively "I can show you" she blew the ice dragoness a kiss

"Fuck off bitch"

Sparx sighed sadly, Iris might be attractive like a goddess but all that spell is broken the moment she opens her mouth. It takes more than just figure to make someone truly desirable it seems.

Spyro gulped as he approached his mate, the weight of the saliva making him sink a little deeper so that only eyes and top of the nose stood above the soft waves. As he swam closer and observed her tattooed, glinting, dark back he couldn't help himself but wonder just how Iris could draw his attention when perfection was right in front of him.

Damn male instincts.

"Hi beautiful" Spyro mumbled shyly

"I wasn't beautiful a moment ago when you started to drool over Iris" she tapped at the glass lifelessly

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, it just...I'm stupid alright? I will never hurt you, you know that. I know it is a sucky excuse, but it was only instinct, nothing else"

"Spyro" she turned to him, he immediately sank lower under the weight of her gaze, making only the horns and fins stand above the water

It was so silly and stupidly cute that she couldn't help herself but smile.

"I know that, it still pisses me off that you even do a thing like that, instinct or not, Not to mention I would rather put a chain around us again to keep you close and shove Iris' feathers up that ass of hers to make sure things go the way I want" she sighed "I'm aware though that I'm overreacting, I trust you with my life but I'm a chick Spyro, you got to power through it"

"Then if its not me then what bothers you?" purple head raised from the water more confidently

"It is you stupid"

Once more horns and fins floated above the surface of the small ocean.

She shook her head with a faint smile as she turned back at the blazing cavern behind the glass, afraid that she will eventually drown the dork.

"This reminded me of something" she took a deep breath, sorting through her memories "Did you ever had this feeling that what is happening between us is only a short lived fairytale?"

She stared ahead, one of the cracks in the cavern face opened up a hole through which a light breaking through. A pillar of illumination cascading upon the ground, as if trying to put something to the foreground that she couldn't see.

"She wouldn't be doing it for me, but for the world" Brill responded calmly, stepping in the her sight, stopping exactly in the colorfully illuminated rectangle on the floor

In the brilliant pillar of light coming from what seemed to be haven themselves the mole's frail figure radiated a beaming, blinding aura of respect and kindness.

"Is there any light still left in you girl? the mole asked "Do you accept my offer?"

She opened her mouth automatically yet surprisingly no sound came out. The ridicule of the request was beyond any reasonable measure and yet, part of her mind caught her on hesitation, scolding her for it like parents catching their young child on doing something a child should never be doing.

For a period of time, so short that no clock was capable of measuring it, no wise scientist capable of finding a name for it, she heard herself saying Yes.

And in that particular moment she felt that everything is as it was supposed to be.

"Boy, I will stay away from Iris, she wakes up really depressing thoughts"

"This is not a joke Spyro"

He gulped, this was really serious if Cynder trampled his joke like that. He had no idea what was going on with her, what made her think about things like that. But as he observed her distant look, he became more and more nervous, it was true, things really started to derail from what they knew, his strange healing powers came in play, not to mention his own thoughts about them being some toys for unknown forces.

But he never took it so personally.

"So Spyro? Did you ever had this feeling that no matter how hard we try to hold on to each other there is always something telling us that we are naïve?"

He opened his mouth to voice his disagreement, but a memory flashing before his eyes announced its presence faster.

The flower that he held in his protective embrace was nothing more than crushed petals now, it seems that in his excitement he ruined the only thing that reminded him of her that would serve as a perfect apology gift.

Yet now it was destroyed.

The sight of the crushed flower falling on the grass filled him with some kind of unexplained dread. He scratched his chest, it felt like something was burning from within. He couldn't explain this but for a very brief moment he felt that he was his tail, embracing that flower, holding to it as strong as he could and yet in the end it still slipped from his grasp.

He shook his head and threw the stupid thoughts away.

"You thought you were a dragonfly" mocked himself and darted for the bag filled with twigs and leafs

"No, never" the lie flew smoothly off his tongue, yet the eyes betrayed the unimaginable dread squeezing his heart

Heart that felt extremely heavy all of a sudden, each beat like a pound of a huge hammer, crushing his lungs more and more.

He didn't know if the memory was responsible, or the way he so fluently lied about it even though lying was never his strong suit.

But was he truly lying?

He might have thought about it only because Cynder mentioned it, her worry plucking out a memory from the bank that actually fit with her theory, but logically thinking there are thousands of situations like that that could serve as an argument for whatever ugly idea one's mind can come up with.

Like the stereotypical bad events that come piling up the same day before some important ceremony that supposedly warn you from not committing yourself to it.

If he would consider such trivia as an ominous omen that would warn him from loving Cynder he would ignore it anyway. There was absolutely no force in this world that could keep him from her and if there was really something going on then it better stay where it was now, afraid, because he would find a way to kick its ass.

He could see the surprise on her snout reflecting from the glass.

"No? Really? Or are you trying to make me feel better?"

"I will always try to make you feel better, that's my job silly" he swam closer, tenderly caressing the black tail that still remained sunk in the water "I had some weird thoughts of my own, but you know what they were? My personal fears. I didn't know I loved you, but I knew I always wanted to make you happy and it was that pressure that made me think all those crazy things, in fear that I will lose you if I don't try hard enough, and blind diligence is never a good thing"

Her tail curled around his paw caringly.

"That simple?"

"That simple"

Cynder smiled gratefully, her grin reflecting from the glass, an image that Spyro caught immediately, smiling back in turn. Was this an overreaction? Quite possibly, all this depressive thoughts might have been triggered by Iris ruining her special moment of utter peace which then spiraled into more and more bad ideas.

All this mess, Spyro discovering new abilities, the flowing lava reminding her of Boven and the Destroyer within that asked them to return, and many more things that get in the way, all of it kept piling up and shattering even further they already limited time when they could enjoy each other's company.

Perhaps this is truly her far cry of depression for better times, maybe she really wanted it to be all over.

But would Spyro ever smile like that if not for all those troubles they go through, together no less. Wouldn't peace make it bland? There was no denying that the excitement she felt when they could spend some time together in private was breathtaking, was there a chance it would lose its magic if it became a daily basis?

She didn't know the answer to that question.

But did it really matter?

Spyro was here, he didn't go anywhere and never will, he will always have her back, she knew that and if he ever does some stupid thing she was certain he would do it because he believed that it would somehow help her.

Was there really any reason to worry?

"Relax Cynder" Spyro said as if hearing her thoughts, giving her tail a supportive squeeze "When it comes to the two of us, you know what I think? I think that we shouldn't be afraid of something trying to destroy our bond, we were chained together before any of this mess ever started to take notice of us. We shouldn't be afraid of anything, the snippets of occasional bad thought is evidence enough that something else is afraid of us"

He took a short dive, kissing her tail reassuringly, the touch of his lips sent a shocking pulse through her spine.

Her expression became more confident, eyes glowing and full of purpose, to the point that even her own reflection jerked away from it. The flow of lava in the cavern slowing down to a trickle like a mouth holding back its breath in fear.

Spyro was right.

The two of them had the power to change the world and if there is anything out there plotting to sow doubt in their hearts, know this son of a bitch.

Waves of poison drifted from her nose, her face contracting with a feral snarl of a confident, hellish beast.

Shadows skidded in the cavern in every direction, startled like a pack of birds showering the ground with their dropping that when combined together formed a pair of escaping white eyes.

Know that you will pay dearly for it.