TLOS legend of the black dragon chapter 10 preparations
The legend of Spyro
Legend of the black dragon
Chapter 10 Preparations
"I just can't believe it" "This is how it is just accept it" "No they aren't like that" "They are there is hard proof" "That proof doesn't mean a thing" "How can you continuo to deny it" "Because that worthless text doesn't say anything about them" "They have done this once they can do it again" "No they are just like us and I will only believe it if I have experienced otherwise" "So be it then"
Cynder slowly opened her eyes as her tiredness was expired. "This one was different from the other ones. One voice was familiar but the other one was completely foreign". "These things have never added up and it looks like they are not going to start". Cynder looked back and the sight of Spyro sleeping next to her filled her with peace. She however resisted the urge to cuddle up to him again. She carefully got to her feet and snuck out of the room. When she was out and gently closed the door behind her she stretched her body and let her joints pop then she shook herself to loosen her joints. "Well I may just as well go for a stroll around the city again" Cynder thought as she walked down the stairs". When she was in the ground floor she looked and luckily saw no one around. Then she walked out the front gates, spread her wings and took to the sky.
She flew a bit around the city enjoying the morning landscape. "If only Spyro woke up as early as I always do" She thought as she imaged herself that she was taking this stroll together with him. She flew back towards the citadel but didn't enter it. Instead she flew all the way up towards the top and posted herself on the highest pinnacle of the city. Cynder calmed her mind and prepared for it. Suddenly she jumped off the pinnacle and headed down towards the ground. She resisted the urge to spread her wings and instead folded them slightly to increase her speed and keep herself straight. When she was nearing the ground she repositioned her right wing in order to send her into a spin. She positioned her tail in a slight bend and when almost hit the hard street she gave a mighty flap with her wings and spun upwards at an astronomical speed. She spun high in the sky before stretching her body and returning to a normal position in the sky "It's nice to work out sometimes" She said to herself as the thought that she had not lost her touch in flying skills made her feel satisfied. "The war maybe over but Spyro and I can't get soft".
After having flown around the city some more Cynder decided that it was time to head back home. However as she was flying back towards the citadel her eye was suddenly drawn towards a flashy light in one of the suburbs close to the central square. "Who could be making such ruckus at this time of the day" She thought as she flew towards the light to investigate what it was. The light appeared again and Cynder quickened her pace driven by curiosity to find out what was going on. The light appeared from the back yard of one of the houses and Cynder looked down and spotted who was making the lights. In the yard stood a dragoness and she appeared to be practicing fire breath. Cynder lowered down to the house and gently landed in the yard but the dragoness didn't spot her as she was too absorbed in her exercise. Cynder walked up towards the dragoness but the dragon still didn't see her. Suddenly the dragoness spun her head and made a sort of fire whip that spun around her and, by chance hit Cynder right in the chest. Cynder shrieked as the whip seemed to burn away her front scales. When she looked she saw that there was a clear stroke of burned black scales on her dark red chest. "I'm so sorry" The dragoness rushed over to her "It wasn't on purpose". Cynder had one of her paws over the burn wound to shield the pain a little. "Hey you are-" The dragoness swallowed her words "Does it hurt" She asked. "Its okay" Cynder moved her paw away "Just a small burn" "I am so sorry that I hurt you" The dragoness said honest "It's an honour to meet you Cynder" she bowed both in shame and in respect. "It's nice to meet you to" Cynder walked up to her and shook her paw. "My name is-" The dragoness started. "What going on out there!" An agitated voice shouted from the house. "Oh bunkers" the dragoness cursed "Please go before my mother sees you injured and I get punished big time" the dragoness said panicking. "She looks a little like Georga" Cynder thought to herself as she watched the dragoness worry herself sick. "Go!" The dragoness said a bit more demanding this time. Cynder took of without saying anything and quickly flew back towards the citadel. "That dragoness was a bit weird but she seemed kind" Cynder thought as she flew back home.
When Cynder had reached the citadel she flew up towards the upper floor and moved through the open window. She flew over Spyro and landed as gently as she could in order not to wake him up. "Have fun on your stroll?" a voice asked behind Cynder causing her to jump as she tried to sneak and the voice had broken her trance. "Georga!" Cynder shouted in surprise. "Urg what is it now?" Cynder had accidently woken up Sparx. "Huh what's going on?" Spyro asked as she had awoken him as well. "Spyro! I'm sorry I just-" Cynder couldn't think of the right thing to say now. "Was startled by my question" Georga finished for her. "Do you guys have to let me jump awake every single morning or can I also wake up gently?" Sparx asked very annoyed. "Jumping awake seems like the best way" Cynder said satisfied. "Don't even think about it" Sparx said punitive. With that they all laughed and forgave Cynder from interrupting their sleep. "Well let's go out and see if there is anything fun to do" Georga suggested. "But what about the guardians?" Cynder asked. "They won't be up for at least two hours so don't worry about it" Spyro assured her. With that the three dragons flew out of the window and Spyro and Cynder followed Georga who seemed to have a destination in her mind. Sparx stayed behind to sleep some more. "Where are you taking us?" Cynder asked. "To a place I want you to see" Georga replied vague. "Like what?" Spyro asked a bit annoyed by her useless answer. "You'll see" Georga said. Seeing that Georga wasn't going to tell them anything Spyro decided just to let it go and wait for it to come.
They flew for quite some time and it was then that Spyro saw they were nearing the walls of the city. "Are we there yet?" He asked Georga. "No but it isn't far anymore" Georga answered as she flew over the wall. "We are leaving Warfang" Spyro thought to himself as he realised that since they had arrived, they haven't left the city until now. He quickly dismissed the uneasiness and followed Georga with Cynder by his side "Here we are!" Georga declared. Spyro looked down and saw that they had reached a small lake that was in the forest near Warfang. "You took as all the way out here to look at some stupid lake!" Cynder yelled at her. "No not to look but to swim" Georga said gleefully. "But Cynder I do recommend you remove your rings first" Georga quickly added before anyone could say something. "Um Georga I'm not so much fond of water" Cynder said a bit weak embarrassed by it. "Come on Cynder remove those rings and jump in" Georga encouraged her. "Just go ahead of me" Cynder said. "Okay we will, but you better come" Georga said stern like she was her mother. Spyro flew high into the morning sky before speeding down and diving full force into the lake. The water was only about 12 C so it was quite cold but it did feel refreshing to have a cool dive after sleeping. (The scales and magical coat of a dragon protects them also against cold. For a human water of only 12 is freezing but for a dragon it just feels chilly) He got back up towards the surface and moved his four limps in a grabbing like motion to stay afloat in the water. He looked and saw that Georga had also gotten high into the morning sky and flew even higher then he had done. She suddenly created an earth ball around herself, fell downwards and crashed into the lake with an enormous splash. The splash covered Spyro and he was drawn underwater. "You are going to pay for that one" He snarled playfully when Georga had resurfaced. He dove his head down and splashed up some water in Georga face now. Georga however also wasn't going to let it slide and used her wing to splash some water in Spyro's face. The two had a water fight for about 5 minutes. "Cynder!" Spyro looked around but didn't see her anywhere. "Cynder?" he yelled again. He turned towards the other dragon in the lake "Georga any idea were Cynder is?" "She should be ready by-" Georga swallowed her sentence "I think she made a break for it" She concluded with a suggestive look towards Spyro. "Don't worry I can track her down" Spyro shot up from the lake. "And bring her back here" Georga said to herself.
"Phew that one was close" Cynder had dislodged her rings to fool them but instead of coming into the lake she was flying back towards Warfang. "I will pick my rings up later but now I just need to get out of here". Cynder didn't like water and she hated to swim so diving into a lake didn't seem very much fun to her. "I hope they can forgive me" She then thought as she had misled her friends "But o well that's their problem" All of a sudden there was a purple flash in front of her and Spyro appeared in front of her standing straight up in the sky revealing his full length with his front paws crossed in front of him and a very gruff look on his face. "Oh hi there Spyro I just wanted" Cynder stammered like a weak little girl. "You wanted?" Spyro raised an eyebrow. "I just wanted to check up on Sparx" Cynder quickly thought up although she knew right away that is didn't make any sense "I'm afraid that is not possible at the time Cynder" Spyro said in a grievous tone. "Huh?" Cynder was very surprised at Spyro's voice. "Because you are swimming in a lake!" he said while dashing towards her. Cynder tried to move out of the way but Spyro grabbed her midsection with his front paws and dove down towards the ground. When he had almost reached the ground he shot up and landed while dropping Cynder on the ground. "What's the deal Spyro?!" Cynder yelled when she had gotten up again. "I am not going to let you off the hook that easy" He said ominous. "I am still going to get you back for that stunt with that puritus flower" He got to his battle stand and looked like he was going to attack her. He shot towards Cynder and Cynder tried to sidestep but Spyro just chanced his course slightly and it was futile. He bit the end of her tail just before her blade and held it firm. "Au! What are you?!" She shouted as Spyro bit her tail and started to walk while dragging Cynder along on her back by her tail on the dirty forest floor like she was a prey he caught. Cynder tried to fight back but from her position she couldn't reach him and could only squirm in vain while being dragged along on the forest floor, didn't hurt her but it was anything but comfortable. She also felt it very humiliating to be hauled along by Spyro like she was a naughty little hatchling that needed to be taught a lesson.
After only a few seconds they cleared the trees and Georga appeared. "I see you have caught something very nice" She chuckled as she looked at Cynder scrawling as Spyro carried her around. "Want some help?" Georga offered and Spyro nodded since he couldn't speak with Cynder in his mouth. "Huh what are you going to do to me?" Cynder asked frightened from her powerless position on her back and stuck between Spyro's mighty jaws. Georga walked around Spyro and looked her straight in the face "You seriously didn't think we would allow you to get away now did you?" she said with an evil voice as she pulled Cynder on her back with her wings. "I will count till 3 Spyro and then we will do it" Georga giggled and Spyro instantly got what she wanted and so did Cynder. "1" Cynder felt Spyro tighten the grip he had on her tail "Please no" Cynder pleaded. "2" Georga moved her wings upwards lifting Cynder slightly to the right "Please you guys I didn't really ditch you" Cynder now whimpered. "3!" Spyro spun his head towards the lake and opened his mouth and Georga jumped up and slammed her wings into the same direction. Spyro's slinging movement caused Cynder to be hurled towards the lake and because Georga had sent her into a diagonal spin she couldn't open her wings in time to fly away. Cynder fell head first into the cold lake and instantly disappeared below the surface. Cynder flapped her wings a bit uncontrolled since she wasn't used to swimming so it took her some time to get to the surface again. She gasped for air and saw that Spyro and Georga were laying on their backs laughing at her clumsy swimming and the fun of throwing her into the water. "Why those!" She cursed with her fangs clenched and her body tightening with anger. She jumped out of the water and raced towards Spyro. Spyro however just laughed and didn't move a wing. When Cynder was about to hit him he sidestepped, grabbed her tail, swung her around and jumped so they both fell into the lake together. Cynder once again struggled back to the surface where she saw that Spyro was waiting for her swimming effortlessly, Cynder however had to do her very best just to stay afloat. "Spyro!" Cynder shouted while she flapped her wings and launched at him but he just dove down and dodged it. He resurfaced behind her and pulled Cynder underwater yet again and just like last time Cynder flapped her wings to get to the surface again. She was panting heavily from her fruitless ordeals to catch Spyro and from constantly being dragged underwater but she wouldn't give up. She now used her wind element to create a wind/water spiral that headed towards Spyro. Spyro got hit in his chest and was launched like 20 meters ahead into the lake. Cynder looked satisfied and started to try and fly out of the lake again but she turned as she heard something. She was stunned as she saw a brilliant blue flash of light and was frozen solid inside the lake. Spyro quickly came and breathed a small stream of fire at the ice sculpture, melting it and releasing Cynder. Cynder coughed as she fell down on the frozen lake. Spyro had used a very large amount of power and the lake was now completely frozen solid from end to end. "Going to try and get revenge on me my little prey?" Spyro asked bullying before turning around and wobbling his back side in front of Cynder and running away on the ice. "He is going to pay big time for this" Cynder hissed said with her jaws closed. Cynder was faster then Spyro so she caught up to him multiple times. However every time she launched at him he dodged her and got away. Finally she used her wings to send herself into a spin and knocked Spyro down on the cold ice. The two had a fierce wrestling competition for about 5 minutes before Georga stepped in. "Now, now that's enough for now you lovebirds" She said teasingly. "We're not lovebirds" Spyro and Cynder both shouted in unison. Having heard that they both said the same thing at the same time they looked at each other, blushed and quickly looked away again. Georga laughed and walked back towards the chore with Spyro and Cynder following while looking in the opposite direction of each other. Cynder picked up her rings and turned her back towards Spyro to avoid having to look at him. Georga continued to laugh at the couple and she then opened her wings to fly back to Warfang and Spyro and Cynder followed her close behind still not looking at each other.
When they had reached the citadel they flew into their room with the window and were greeted by Sparx. "What have you to done?" He asked as he noticed they were all wet. "We went to a lake isn't that obvious" Cynder said very agitated that he brought it up. "A lake? But I thought you hated water" Sparx said very surprised. "I do" Cynder replied in a very dangerous tone. Sparx didn't pursue it because judging from Cynder response he concluded that it wasn't a very healthy decision. After they had gone off towards the kitchen Spyro and Cynder finally looked at each other and couldn't help but laugh warmly at each other's face. "So was the swimming fun?" Spyro rhetorically asked Cynder. "Never do that to me ever again!" She warned him. "I will try but I can't make any promises" He said teasingly. "I am not asking for promises" Cynder snapped. "Um okay" Spyro said a bit off guard by Cynder's reply.
They walked into the kitchen where they spotted all three guardians eating their breakfast. "Ah the young ones" Cyril said as he spotted them. "Have you been swimming?" Terrador asked. "Yeah and it was so much fun" Cynder said very sarcastically "Yeah it was very much fun" Spyro said cheerfully before looking back at Cynder he shot a hateful look his way. "Don't worry about them" Georga said as she saw Terrador's face getting confused. "Cynder is just mad because Spyro threw her into the water" Georga chuckled again at the thought. "Oh I see" Terrador didn't move but Georga saw that he too was suppressing a laugh.
The young dragons walked towards the counter to place their orders. "A boar for me" Spyro ordered. "A deer for me" Cynder ordered. "A sheep for me" Georga then ordered. "No special meals this time?" Sparx asked after ordering one Taviboah for himself. "Nah those luxurious meals must be rare otherwise they aren't good anymore" Spyro said. "True" Sparx said. After a few minutes they got their meals and started gorging themselves. While they were eating they spotted Terrador walking over to them. "Once you three are finished we would like you to help organize the tournament. "We will" Cynder replied.
After they had eaten their meal Georga stood up. "I am going to visit Volt before going to work so I have to go now" She said a bit sorry. "I almost didn't see him yesterday and I won't get a chance to talk with him today either so I am sure he wants to know what's I have done" "I understand Georga you go and see him" Cynder said warmly. "Thanks Cynder" Georga stood up and walked away. After Georga had left the kitchen the dragons turned towards Terrador. "So what do we have to do today?" Spyro asked. "Well we have discussed the tournament and have come up with more details that the public needs to know" Terrador said knowing it was the same thing they had done yesterday. "Like what?" Cynder asked. "Practical things: When, Where, who. Those things" Terrador replied. "So fills us in" Spyro asked a bit annoyed now "What have you decided" "Well it is like this: the tournament is going to be held in 7 days at the citadel" Terrador explained "We estimate that about 100 fire dragons exist in Warfang right now so we need to get them all to show up". "We have also estimated that there will be a crowd of over 300 dragons and more then 3000 moles present in addition to many other creatures." "Well we wanted something big didn't we?" Spyro interrupted. "Yes we did but let me continuo" Terrador sounded a bit annoyed "We have to make enough sitting space for over 10.000 visitors and we also need food and water to keep them satisfied" "10.000 visitors!" Sparx exclaimed "That's some public!" "Yes it is but as I was saying" Terrador looked stern at the yellow dragonfly. "That is something that doesn't come lightly so we need to redesign the entire citadel to account for it". He explained "All fire dragons need register to participate so we can make the necessary accommodations." He continued "The registration starts tomorrow morning and will last until the day before the tournament. We must make sure all available fire dragons have registered before then." He finished. "Where do they need to register" Spyro asked. "At the citadel, we will set up a counter" Terrador said. "Whoa, whoawhoahwoawhoa just hold on a second there big gay" Sparx interrupted. "Are all those 100 fire dragons going to cross this floor in the next week?" He asked. "Well yes they are" Terrador said not really getting the problem. "Won't we get a storm of fans" Sparx pointed out. "Well-" Terrador felt a bit embarrassed "Good point there little firefly I didn't think about that" "Dragonfly!" Sparx yelled "Not firefly" "I trust that you can figure it out how to announce it" Terrador asked Spyro. "You can, just like last time" Spyro assured him. "I will try to think a way around the fans for you" Terrador assured them.
When the guardians had left the kitchen to go to work Spyro and Cynder started to speak about what to do next. "Well I have to go to the painter again today to check up on those posters" Cynder said first. "Well I don't think making another public speech is the right thing so got any ideas?" Spyro asked Cynder. "Well Spyro actually I was wondering if you could come with me" Cynder said. "With you? You mean to the painter?" Spyro asked. "Yes we both have to agree after all" Cynder said while she blushed a bit. "All right then we are both going to the painter" Spyro said he was a bit surprised by the request but since he couldn't think of something to do he decided to go along with it. "And you are going to spread the news to random dragons you find" Cynder instructed Sparx. "Hey you're not my boss" Sparx said angry "No but I can still boss you around and if you know anything that's more useful now is the time to say it" She listened with joy to his silence. "Well that's what you are going to do today" She ordered him again and Sparx sighed defeated before flying out of the kitchen. "Now you are getting bossed around by a dragoness" Spyro whispered to him. "Hey I'm just a small dragonfly, you are a mighty dragon" Sparx shot back before leaving.
Spyro dismissed it and flew together with Cynder towards the painter. They stopped before the building that Cynder told Spyro was from the painter and she pointed towards the top of the door. "Panten's painters post; posters, portents and other parts" Spyro chuckled as he read it. "Yeah I know that there are a lot of P's in it" Cynder said as if she could read his mind. "Is he really called Panten?" Spyro thought it was a redder weird name. "Yes he is and he is quite an odd fellow" Cynder said before giving the door a push with her wing and walking in. The bell rang as usual but Spyro didn't pay it much attention "Wow he might clean up in here" Spyro whispered to Cynder as the strong smell of the painters oil caused him to shrink away a little. "Don't mind it just breath through your mouth" She instructed him. "Customers!" The voice of Panten sounded just like last time. The mole came rushing through the curtain and stopped in front of Spyro and Cynder. "Oh my, you are" He gasped as he spotted Spyro. "Yes it's me Spyro the purple dragon" Spyro said superficial. "Well I am Panten and I am sure that Blacky told you about me right" He winked at Cynder who shot an sour look back. "Please follow I think I have got it down now" Panten walked through the curtain. "Blacky?" Spyro asked Cynder as they followed Panten "Why does he call you Blacky?". "I don't know it's just some kind of stupid name he thought up" Cynder snapped. Spyro didn't pursue it because he didn't want to face Cynder's wrath.
"Man how did I get myself into this" Sparx complained as he flew aimlessly around the city. "I know dragons are numerous in Warfang but with whom should I start?" "That Cynder!" he cursed "She thinks she can boss everyone around" he grinded his teeth but then he signed "Spyro can't stand up to her and there is no way that I can so I can just as well settle for it" he grumbled "Now if I were a fire dragon where would I go?" He said to himself as he scouted the city. "Hey what's that?" Sparx spotted some flashes in the distance. "A dragon? Maybe he is a good start" he flew towards the flashes that came from one of the suburbs of the city.
Spyro drew a face from the overwhelming smell of painter's oil inside the room. "Yeah I know it smells bad" Cynder whispered. "Well here is my favourite do you like it?" Panten put a poster of about 4 by 5, 5 metres in size. On the poster were three large fire dragons. One breathed a stream of fire towards the reader and another one looked like he was there just seconds before. A third fire dragon was on the top surrounded by fire and had the name master of Eternal fire underneath him written in golden letters. The poster was decorated by yellow and red fire that surrounded everything but didn't cover any of the info and made everything really stand out On the background was an image visible of Ignitus who looked with a face of satisfaction at the battle between the two dragons. Written just under the third dragon in large white text stood: The Igus Fire Cup. Underneath the poster on the left side stood a small fire dragon surrounded by the other guardians and under it was: Win possible chance to become guardian! And on the right bottom was an image of Spyro and Cynder with the text: Win a full match with one of the legends. Under Spyro stood: the legendary purple one and under Cynder stood: The terror of the skies. "So do you like it?" Panten asked excited. "Well it's flashy alright" Cynder admitted at that was what she asked. "But wait was quantity not the main problem?" Spyro asked the painter "Why have you made such a detailed and complex design?" "This one is not for mass production" Panten explained "I will make only a few of these and the rest look like this-" He picked up another poster. This one was much smaller only being about 40 by 50 centimetres in size. It was much simpler mainly having only text: Igus Fire cup. Brightly in red letters in front. And the prizes were on the same spot as they were with the previous one but only the title of Master of Eternal fire was displayed on top and also the match with the heroes and the position as guardian were only in words. The only picture was hastily drawn picture of a strong looking fire dragon in the middle. "That's more like it simple and practical" Cynder said satisfied. "I can make about 50 of these and then 4 more of that other one" Panten said. "Why do we need that complicated one anyway?" Cynder asked "To hang on the most prominent spot I thought" Panten said. "You dragons are pretty large so I thought to a large flashy poster on the most busiest spots would be a good move" Panten's voice now seemed a bit weaker "I hope you appreciate the liberty that I took" he asked them. "Yes we appreciate it very much Panten" Spyro said warm. "But do you also have other designs?" Cynder asked however "I just want to check them all out before making a decision" Spyro rolled with his eyes "Dragonesses" he thought
Sparx was still going towards the mysterious lights he spotted. "Oh my" He was a bit stunned as he saw a bright red dragoness practising some fire moves. He slowly got down and was very wary not to get hit by the flames. "Umm excuse me miss?" he said when he had gotten close to the dragoness. "Huh what? Who there?" The dragoness looked around but didn't see anyone. "There is some news you would like to hear" Sparx said. "Who's out there? Show yourself!" The dragoness fiercely demanded. "Um I am right here" Sparx said and the dragoness finally spotted him. "Hey aren't you Sparx the sidekick of the legendary Spyro?" The dragoness asked. "Well I too have done great things to you know!" He said annoyed at being called Spyro's sidekick. "Sorry that I didn't see you but when you are coming in from the sun you are quite difficult to spot" The dragoness then said to him. "Oh yeah" Sparx thought as he had forgotten that. "What's your name?" Sparx asked although somehow he had the feeling he had seen the dragoness before somewhere. "I am Inge but what are you doing in my yard?" Inge asked a bit surprised. "Well Inge I'm sure you heard about the upcoming fire tournament?" He asked her rhetorically. "Yeah I have heard about it but not many details were given" Inge replied. "Well they have just been announced!" Sparx said like he was presenting it to her. "Then tell it already" Inge said very impatient. "Alright, Alright sheesh" With that Sparx told Inge about the tournament. "Oh so we can register tomorrow already" Inge said as he was finished. "That's right are you planning to enter?" Sparx asked. "Of course I am going to win that thing!" Inge growled and moved her head upwards before breathing a tower of flames into the air causing Sparx to quickly fly away in search of the next fire dragon to inform.
Back at the painters shop Spyro and Cynder were checking out the different designs for the posters. "Well I think that we both agree that your favourite is indeed the best one" Spyro said to Cynder being a bit tired from all the checking and getting annoyed by the bad smell. "Yeah I guess so" Cynder said while still sounding a bit unsure. "However I want a different nickname" Cynder demanded quite sharply "Okay I will see what I can do" Panten replied. "I will make sure you get your money from the guardians" Spyro stepped in. "Good now any idea how much time I have?" Panten asked. "The tournament is in 7 days but the registration ends the day before that so that's about it" Spyro said. "So I need to make them in the 6 days so you can all hang them up" Panten concluded. "Yeah that's right" Spyro concluded glad that the mole was pretty fast to catch up. "Let's say I come here every morning to pick up the next pile" Cynder offered. "That's a good idea, at what time are you going to come?" Panten asked next. "Is seven o'clock a problem?" Cynder suggested. "Seven o'clock!" The mole shouted "Why so early in the morning?!" "I am always up early but let's say then I move it to eight o'clock now" Cynder offered. "No way, my shop doesn't open until 9 o'clock and it is not going to become earlier!" Panten said stubborn. "Alright then 9 o'clock I will come then" Cynder said annoyed by the discussion. "Okay then on 9 o'clock" Panten settled for it. "Well till tomorrow 9 o'clock then" Cynder had already started to walk out of the room. "Goodbye Panten" Spyro said quickly before racing to catch up. "See you tomorrow blacky!" Panten yelled back a Cynder who was most likely outside of hearing distance already. Spyro and Cynder got back to the citadel where they stayed there for the remainder of the day.
Back inside the Citadel Terrador and the others were busy filling in lists and barking orders to moles. "No that counter must stand over there" Terrador ordered as the mole put it on the wrong side of the room. "Those benches need to be placed there and the other ones must be placed there" He pointed with his wings as he continued to instruct the moles into the positioning of all the stuff for the tournament. Volteer was in his room filling in documents. Being the best one of the guardians when it came down to writing skills they had given him most of the paperwork. "Bah, why did I follow that advanced writing course" Volteer grumbled as he looked at the tower of files that almost seemed to dwarf him. "Now they have given me every single piece of paper they could think of" He knew that being angry about it wasn't going to get him anywhere so he got back to his job. Cyril was busy going around and ordering everything they needed. Being the funder he was the one to make orders and also to make sure everything got to the right place so Terrador could position it with his assistants. Luckily for him Volteer took care of most of the paperwork so he only needed to do the ones that specifically needed his signature. The citadel was a hub of activity and it looked like it wouldn't chance for a long time to come.
Ember was getting ready for the tournament and she was totally pumped for it. She had been practicing her secret weapon all day now and it looked like she finally got it down. "One last time" she thought to herself. She began collecting a huge amount of energy in her body. She took a deep breath as the energy continued to amass within her body. However some fire started forming around her left hind paw and it started to lick at her claws. Ember cringed a little "No, keep calm and focus!" She closed her eyes now and felt a soothing tranquillity in her heart and the flame around her left leg drew back inside her body. "Now to activate it" Ember tightened her body and let her energy go out but made sure she always kept it on a short leash. Ember's body was now full of fire energy that she slowly let out very controlled. She felt the enormous energy put pressure on the inside her body but she made sure that it only was released when she had it very good under control. She decided that now was the time to do it. "Miss have you heard of!-" a cheerful voice suddenly sounded behind her. This caused Ember to lose her concentration and the energy inside of her exploded and although the explosion was small it was more then loud enough to be heard 5 blocks away. "Urg man that didn't went so well" Ember scrambled to her feet and inspected the garden to see if there was any damage. Because Ember had practiced with inner flames so often she wasn't injured herself. "Oh no!" She spotted a small fire burning in her mother's flower place. She quickly rushed over to it and stumped the fire out. "This is going to hurt" Ember said to herself fearfully as she saw 8 of her mother's flowers in ashes. "Ember!" An all too familiar female voice sounded from the house. Ember gulped and the colour of her pink scales drained away as she watched the crimson red dragoness appeared from the back door and walked towards her. "Well you see mom-" Ember strain merde while thinking of an excuse. "Did you burn the flowers?!" her mother asked very sharp. "It wasn't on purpose I was distracted when I was practising" she whimpered hoping her mother would forgive her. "You know what the consequences are if you do something like this, don't you?" The dragoness looked down very strict at her small pink daughter. "Yes I do" Ember replied weakly as she remembered the last time all to well. "Then come here young lady!" her mother sharply ordered her. Ember lowered her head in submission and obediently walked over to the dragoness knowing what was to come. The adult dragoness shove her tail under Ember and lifted Ember onto her back just above her hind legs, once there Ember grabbed her mother's back spikes with her front and back legs to gain grip and she also put her wings down around her mother. Her mother crossed her wings over her and pressed her down a bit, preventing her from going anywhere but left Embers head and back side clear. "30" Her mother said short and clear. Ember closed her eyes and feeling a little bit scared she grabbed on to her mother's back spikes more firmly and waited for what she knew was to come. Her mother raised her tail blade and hit it hard on the base of Ember's tail. Ember didn't scream but just cringed as her mother brought her tail blade up again. She hit Ember again this time a bit lower on her back side on the beginning of her tail as well as harder. Ember swallowed her scream but tears started to form in her eyes. The third one was higher on Ember's rump and this time it was harder still. This time Ember couldn't suppress it and screamed from the pain while still crying. Her mother however didn't seem touched by it at all and although she could most certainly hear her daughter cry out from the pain she just ignored it and continued to spank her. She brought her tail blade up yet again and hit Ember on her tail base with a very loud smack. Ember squealed as the feeling of the burning pain coursed through her body. Wilmfe almost didn't seem Ember's mother anymore now but just wicked dragoness who was ruthlessly beating a defenceless little girl. Ember cringed in even more and tightened her grip on the spikes as the blows continued to rain down on her. This was most certainly not the first time that she was spanked by Wilmfe. But she still hated it every single time. Her eyes shed even more tears as the blows on her tail base continued to send jolts of pain and sadness both through her body and through her soul. Ember opened her eyes and allowed some tears to flow and drip down on her mother's crimson red scales. She looked back but her mother's wings blocked the view of her back side so she could never tell when the next blow was coming. She could however feel that her mother made sure that every next blow was even more painful then the one before it. She then looked at the back of her mothers head. When she was looking at her from this perspective she always had the feeling that she was on top of a monster instead of her mother. She hated it, she absolutely hated every single part of this painful but also very humiliating punishment. In these moments she sometimes even hated her own mother. Wilmfe brought her tail blade up again and hit Ember hard on her rump once more. By now Ember was sobbing and her tail base was a bright red. Her mother swung her tail around in a circle in order to build up more speed and with an ear blowing smack she hit Ember on her hindquarter, extremely hard and extremely painful and Ember squealed with everything she had as tears were running down her pink cheeks. Ember had been keeping count so she knew that was the final one and she cried as her mother retreated her wings and shove her tail under her again in order to put Ember back on the ground. When she was on the ground again Ember didn't utter a single word but just looked down on the ground motionlessly while she continued to cry. "You go and lay down in the naughty corner young lady so you can think about it!" Her mother ordered sharply "And if you come out before I come to get you we will do it all over again!" her mother said very threatening and almost hateful. "'Sob' yes mom" Whimpered Ember with a hatchling like voice that was so high pitched from her sobbing and so weak that it was barely audible. Ember didn't raise her head back up and just meekly walked back inside the house. She knew the whole thing by heart and walked up towards the corner of the house that had the word 'NAUGHTY' written on the floor with bright red letters. She had been in this naughty corner countless times before and the memories were always painful. Being in this naughty corner also felt very humiliating for a dragon of her age. "It wasn't my fault" Ember thought, sobbing as she finally looked back at the red spot on her tail base. Her tail base stung very sharply and seemed even more hotter then her own fire breath. No matter how many times she was spanked it always hurt and her tail base always stung just as painful every single time. She then forced out the last of her tears from the spanking and laid down, waiting for her mother to return and scold at her. "If only he was still here for me" Ember whispered to herself before shedding her last final tear.
"Oof that one was close" Sparx had got the scare of his life when the dragoness he was about to inform blew up in front of him. "That damm witch almost got my bum fried" he cursed at the thought of that dragoness. "Well I think I have seen enough action for today so let's go back" He said to himself as he flew back towards the citadel. "I wonder what happened to that dragoness through" She still thought out loud. "Ah I'm sure she is just fine and most likely enjoying her day". "But if I see her again I will make sure she pays for it" he clenched his fist.
It was late in the afternoon and Igüsa was exhausted from her job. The work was harsh and not so well paid but she didn't have any other choice. She had to support her family together with Oxidus now. Although she was only 23 she had already adopted the role of mother for both Oxidus and Furno. "Phew that was tough" Igüsa sighed as she entered her tiny house. "Bad Iga?" Furno asked in his normal high pitched voice. "No" Igüsa said warmly "Just a bit of hard work" She assured him. "Is Oxidus home?" She asked the fire whelpling. "Oxus is home" Furno replied "But busy" he added. Igüsa knew that Oxidus wasn't as busy as he wanted to appear and that it most likely meant that he was pondering in the garden. "I don't think I should bother him" Igüsa thought "He could really be busy and I will just ask him later". Knowing it was already time for diner Igüsa walked to the place that functioned as a kitchen. She picked some meat out the drawer and cooked it with her fire breath. After a few minutes the meat was already cooked "Oxidus!" Igüsa yelled "Diner!" She spotted Oxidus coming from their small garden just as she expected. Oxidus walked up to the boar and started ripping of pieces from it, he didn't say anything to Igüsa. "So Oxidus?" Igüsa said after she chew away some meat strips "Done anything interesting today?". "Nope" Oxidus replied a bit absent minded. "Have you heard about that fire breather's tournament?" Igüsa asked him but she knew it was a rhetorical question since Oxidus his job is right at the central square. "Yeah" Oxidus still didn't seem to pay much attention. "So what do you think?" Igüsa asked doing her best not to get down by his emotionless response "Are you going to enter?" "I don't know" Oxidus looked back at the garden. "But you always wanted to become a fire guardian!" Igüsa raised her voice now. "This is a golden opportunity Oxidus!" She said trying to get him excited. "I just don't know it yet" Oxidus snapped. Oxidus walked away from the boar only having eaten a few bites. "I'm not hungry" Oxidus said without almost any emotion and walked out into the tiny garden to work on his lessons again. "Ow Oxidus" Igüsa still remembered the times that Oxidus could play with Georga for hours and was totally happy and carefree. Igüsa also missed her mother but now that Fouca was gone she had to take her place and care of Oxidus and even more for the little Furno. "This isn't easy for any of us but just what is going on inside your head?" Igüsa thought to herself. "Why can't you just accept it that she is gone?" She shed a small tear but then brushed it aside so that Furno wouldn't see it. "So Furno have a fun day?" She asked the whelpling. "Geora did stupid drill today" Furno replied "Don't talk about her like that!" Igüsa said very sharp. "Yes Iga" Furno said scared while he shrunk back a little. Igüsa wanted to comfort the little whelpling but she restrained herself "He needs to know I am the one in charge here now" she thought as she remembered Fuoca telling it to her after she had a harsh talk with Oxidus in which she made him cry and Igüsa confronted her with that later "He needs to know who is in charge" Fuoca's words echoed in her mind "Good parenting isn't always pretty Igüsa, when a whelpling does something bad he needs to know what he did and why that was wrong" Igüsa remembered her mother saying "You are the one that decide what is right and what is wrong, if you comfort them it was because you think that it is necessary and not because they demand it" That Igüsa was always fascinated by her mother and also all the questions she asked her about her parenting tactics and her maternal ways really was helping Igüsa now. Because although Igüsa was old enough since she was still virgin her maternal instincts weren't active yet so she couldn't rely on her own judgement and had to use what she had observed and learned from her mother. "I wish she was still here with us" Igüsa was tough but she was not immune to sadness. "I'm sure that she would have been able to break Oxidus his facade and get down to the core of the problem without a hitch" Igüsa thought "But somehow I just can't do it!" she grinned her teeth "No matter what I do, he won't talk" it was pretty frustrating for Igüsa to see Oxidus struggling and not being able to do anything about it. "What's wrong Iga?" Furno high pitched voice asked as he saw her grinding her teeth in frustration. "Nothing, just thinking" she took another bite from the boar but she was too deep in thought to even taste it. After the boar was devoured and Furno started playing with his toys Igüsa walked to the garden to check up on Oxidus. She found him sitting in middle the garden seemingly plunged in thought. "Hey would you like to maybe go and visit Georga?" Igüsa asked him. "Huh what?" Oxidus snapped out of his thoughts. "You and Georga haven't seen each other in 6 days now so why don't you go and check up on her?" she asked but deep inside she knew how he would reply. "No, not today, I'm too tired" Oxidus replied. "Ow, that's too bad" Igüsa just couldn't think of something to push it further. She couldn't push Oxidus like she could push Furno, Oxidus was just too old and also too strong and aggressive for that. Oxidus walked out of the garden and got to his pile of straw in the corner of the room. He laid down and settled to sleep although it wasn't even close his bedtime yet. However Igüsa knew Oxidus wasn't sleeping. She could tell it from his breathing. "Why can't you just be honest against someone" she thought but she didn't get mad at it anymore since she knew it was pointless. "Come on Furno it's time for bed" Igüsa instantly switched back to her maternal role. "I don't wanna" Furno protested "I wanna play" "Come on" Igüsa walked up to him and towered over the little fire dragon. "It is time for bed" Igüsa didn't sound angry at all but she spoke very slowly and very clear so that Furno heard every tone very well. "Yes Iga" Furno lowered his head and walked up to his pile of straw that was just besides the one of Oxidus. "Good night, big bro" he said to Oxidus after he had laid down. Igüsa thought she saw Oxidus give a reply but she couldn't say for sure. With Furno asleep and Oxidus possibly asleep Igüsa couldn't leave the house. "I really wanted to go visit Zerzelie again but it seems I can't" Igüsa thought to herself. Having nothing else to do she just walked up to her own bed that she had made in the form of a nest and curled up to sleep next to her brothers. It was still very early for her to go to bed but since she couldn't do anything else she just settled for it and closed her eyes.
Back to the citadel Spyro and Cynder were playing with their toys. They started to make it into a routine to play with their toys before going to bed. Spyro spun the top with his paw towards Cynder. The top went a lot straighter now then yesterday and Cynder managed to stump on it in order to catch it. Now she put it between her paws and tried to get it back to Spyro. However with her the top went spinning through the air and almost hit Sparx who was flying nearby. "Hey watch out with that thing!" he yelled. "Sorry" Cynder said but it didn't seem honest at all. "Cynder" Spyro said punitive. Cynder signed "All right, sorry Sparx" she did seem honest now "Thank you" Sparx said sarcasticly. Cynder yawned now "Let's call it quits now" she suggested "I'm beat" They got down to their usual evening day review. "So Cynder" Spyro asked "Still mad because of that lake incident" he chuckled while saying it. "Nah" Cynder assured him "I could never be mad at you for long" she said seducing and giggled as she saw Spyro cheeks turn a bit more red. Spyro walked towards his bed without saying anything and gestured for Cynder to do the same. Cynder couldn't decide if Spyro was just very tired or that he wanted to get away from the situation but she just dismissed it and walked to her place next to him. Cynder laid down on her side and had her back towards Spyro as she felt him laying down behind her on his belly. She moved her head backwards until she felt his body against her horns and rested her head on his neck Although Spyro didn't like it at all but he allowed Cynder to use him as her pillow. Cynder then used her wing to pull on of Spyro's wings over her body. Spyro retreated it put Cynder pulled it over herself again and this time she purposely scratched it a little with the sharp edge of her wingtip. Spyro didn't' retreat his wing this time and just it left it were Cynder had pulled it. "Maybe we are lovebirds" Cynder thought as she used Spyro as both her cushion and her blanked now. But feeling Spyro so close to her filled her mind and soul with so much happiness and warmth that she just couldn't resist pulling him closer. The feeling of his body going up and down from his breathing, feeling his powerful muscles against her head and the sound of his breathing so close to her sound receptors filled her with far more tranquillity then the best beauty treatment in the world ever could.. She closed her eyes and quickly fell into a happy sleep with her beloved purple dragon sleeping right besides her.