FSE

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Chapter 4

During their way back Spyro shot quick glances behind him to make sure she was alright, with everything that happened lately he couldn't be too careful. He was wondering what could scare her so much, he had seen her frightened before but never something like this. It was normal to be afraid sometimes, after all they were fighting with creatures armed to the teeth, some of them were even thrice their size and all of them craved for their lives, it would trigger fright in every being. There was a distinctive line between fear and complete terror however, a line that she undoubtedly crossed.

With every step he took the adrenaline that pumped in his veins earlier was slowly vanishing. It effectively blocked every unwanted sensation that could hinder his attempts to help her, not only it aided him on concentrating at the matter at hand but it also gave him an additional strength, an extra endurance he desperately needed back then.

Now it was all gone, Spyro felt his every sore muscle, every wound and every step he took only intensified the feeling of discomfort. Fatigue finally made it presence felt, he started panting and every attempt to inhale the air deeply resulted in a cough he was so familiar by now. His paws were shaking under him, Spyro had difficulties keeping his balance, every now and then his paws bent under him like they couldn't keep his weight anymore. With the exhaustion taking control their normal walk turned to be a plod.

Every small rise, every small rock felt like it was an impassable barrier, normally he wouldn't even bother noticing it they were usually so irrelevant. It was different this time, something that was a piece of cake before now turned out to be a difficult obstacle. Whenever Spyro had to cross over a rock, branch or when he had to walk on a small slope he used his reserved strength to place his paws as firmly on the ground as he could. After a while even the last ounces of his endurance were leaving him.

Spyro as for his age could withstand much, he didn't practice under the watchful eye of the Fire Guardian for nothing. Ignitus' training sessions were harsh and intense, during the exercises there were maybe seconds to catch a breath, and those were the moments that the Fire Dragon wanted him to focus on. He always said that the enemy won't wait for him to rest, breath control is the most important thing in every exhaustive situation. In those situations Spyro always remembered the Guardian's words that were embedded in his mind .

"You are your worst opponent Young Dragon, no matter how skilled fighter you are if you lose this crucial battle with yourself you will perish before anything can truly begin. Learn to control your body, make it to obey you, don't allow it to take control, force your will upon it by giving it air. Not too much to avoid spoiling it and not too little to avoid making your organism hunger for it. Allow it enough in the appropriate moment, give it a clear signal that there is a reward waiting, make it crave for it and it will prove to you that it deserves the prize. Never become overconfident, know your limit Spyro ,everyone has one ,even a Purple Dragon such as yourself but that's not the case right now. Do you hear that? Another wave of enemies is coming and they won't wait for you, now get up!".

If there was a situation where he finally reached his limit this was it. Spyro lost the battle in fact he did it a long time ago, she was the only thing that kept him going. Ignitus didn't teach him that, he figured this out by himself, besides his foster brother Cynder was the second person who sparked more strength in him, he pushed harder when her safety was in danger and it didn't allow him to rest until he made sure nothing is going to happen to her. He wasn't plodding now he was staggering, Spyro felt his paws giving away, he faltered and he would probably give up and collapse if not for the image ahead.

The familiar hill came into view and with it a hardly visible opening, a sign that everything will end finally. The vision of relief prevented him from giving up but it didn't give him any additional vigor, everything that was left was to come down this small rise he was one. The moment he placed his paws on the slightly steep terrain they bent under him finally having enough of this strenuous effort . Spyro fell on his belly and slid down the little rise, despite his lack of energy it felt quite pleasant, a moment of recovery for his tired paws.

He was panting heavily, coughing almost all the time and to make things worse he became thirsty. Running, climbing, chasing left him dry, he needed water and he needed it now. After everything he came through the thirst was powerful or at least he made it to be, it was a clear signal he had to replenish the lost strength even a little. Luck was on Spyro's side this time, to his relief he stopped just inches from the pond they've seen just before the cave. Spyro couldn't get up instead he crawled towards it eventually plunging his head into the water.

He drank, and drank, and drank getting as much water as he could into his mouth before swallowing it down. With each sip his belly felt like it was getting rounder and rounder, he stopped drinking just before he burst and rolled on his back. Spyro was laying like that with closed eyes, the previously bothersome rain now really helped him to cool down. Taking quick shallows breaths he enjoyed the little moment of peacefulness, a moment he deserved.

Spyro heard a noise but he didn't have the strength even to look what it was, not that he had to, he exactly knew who caused it.

"Spyro are.. are you alright?" Cynder stood not far from him breathing heavily, she pronounced each word slowly between gasps

Breathing quickly, he just nodded a couple of times without saying a word. Spyro could hear her every breath and every step as she trudged towards the pond. It seemed that Cynder was just as exhausted as he was since he even heard her swallowing the water. When she fell flat on the ground next to him he knew that his presumptions were correct.

"I'm a goner" Cynder's voice muffled by the grass and exhaustion

Spyro looked at her and smiled "Really?" he asked with faked surprise " I wouldn't notice, you look terrific"

With her nose still in the ground she clenched her paw and softly punched his shoulder "Someone is in a joking mood I see"

Spyro chuckled and coughed " So how are you holding up?"

"Better now since I've managed to stand on my paws longer than our hero" she smirked

" Only because I'm injured"

" Hey" she exclaimed softly " I'm wounded too"

" Yeah, but mine wounds are worse" Spyro said slyly

" No, they are not, you just whine too much"

" I don't whine, I just let you know how much it hurts" he smiled

Cynder giggled' "Yeah, it makes so much difference, besides..." she slowly started to rise her head " ...if you can still walk they don't count as ser... Spyro you are bleeding!" Cynder burst out when she laid her eyes on him

"What?" Spyro asked confused but being guided by her gaze he impulsively touched with his paw a spot below his nose. He lowered his paw and looked at it, she was right, there was blood on it. With everything that happened lately and with the pain running through his whole body he didn't even notice that there was blood flowing down from his nose. It didn't make much difference anyway, he was already achy as it is.

"See? Told you mine are worse" Spyro said pretty unconcerned

" Stop fooling around" she remarked him with firm tone "Is it broken?"

Spyro touched his nose, he couldn't feel any pain but even if he did he wouldn't tell her about it anyway " Nope, it's just a nose bleed"

Spyro rolled over and slowly stood up, his paws felt numb and were shaking but he managed to make his way towards the pond. Plunging his paw into the water he started to wash the blood from his snout. After a proper clean-up he squeezed his nostrils to stop the bleeding , with a corner of his eye he saw Cynder watching him, she looked extremely guilty.

" I've must hit the ground pretty bad when I fell down" his voice low and muffled

"I'm sorry Spyro, I screwed up again" she lowered her head in embarrassment " I feel like a burden lately. It all happened because of me, you wouldn't be in this state now if I had just controlled myself"

Still squeezing his nose he turned to face her " Don't say that, you have nothing to blame yourself for, It's my fault if I was more careful I would be fine now"

Cynder shook her head " We both know that's not true, stop pretending that this is your fault"

Spyro was watching her with eyes full of worry and concern, he didn't like seeing her sad like this, the image was almost painful for him. He really enjoyed her company, Cynder's witty and cheerful character, sometimes even her temper made him smile and Spyro always did everything in his power to cheer her up, this time it was no different.

His nose stopped bleeding he could focus only on her now. " Maybe you are right" he heard her sigh " but that doesn't mean you have to blame yourself, you are a fighter pain just follows you around"

He moved closer " Besides you have done more for me than I'll ever do for you that's the only way I can repay you"

"I don't think I ever did such a thing" Cynder answered confidently " but if anything happens like this you don't have to repay me, I hate to see when you get hurt because of me"

"I've got an idea" he laid in front of her " From now on if anything happens unexpectedly and one of us gets hurt while trying to help we won't blame ourselves for it. Deal?"

She looked at him "A bet? Seriously?" Cynder asked in disbelief.

"Yep" Spyro nodded

" Stop joking"

He shook his head "I'm not kidding" Spyro watched her intently "Deal?" he asked with a serious tone without any glimmer of humor in it

"My.. .you are truly serious" Cynder said surprised.

Spyro nodded

He was watching her all the time, she averted her gaze and seemed lost in thought. After a while she looked him straight into the eyes and smiled.

"Deal" Cynder said with conviction.

She stood up and nodded towards the opening in the hill "I don't know about you but I would really want to feel some dry ground finally"

Spyro smiled and led the way but before he entered the cave he turned towards the forest. Before he continued Spyro convinced Cynder to wait for him here, she protested of course but he didn't budge, and when she had seen that, she backed down reluctantly. It all started there and he was scared it might happen again and he won't allow it, not if he can help it. The thought of it only brought back the image of her eyes before him, a void filled his guts and dread gripped his heart when he remembered that moment . Her eyes looked lifeless almost...dead, Spyro blinked several times to forget about it, he couldn't stand the thought of losing her.

He looked behind him just to be completely sure she was there, she was. Cynder shuffled around the entrance and wagged her tail impatiently occasionally kicking a small rock. Oh how she hated waiting, before they became the best friends she used to yell at him whenever he tried to hold her in one place and keep out of harm's way. Back then she got really indignant about it, she always kept repeating him that she doesn't need protection, she's not frail and can take care of herself. Spyro never listened, he kept doing the same thing over and over again until one day Cynder annoyed beyond imagination agreed to stay, maybe because the magic necklaces didn't really allow them to move far from each other . As strange as it may sound he really liked that fighting spirit of hers.

That was not the only thing he liked about her, her jokes, resourcefulness, sarcastic relation with his foster brother, helpfulness and many other things made her almost immortalized in his eyes. If she had any flaws he either didn't see them or didn't want to, whatever the case might be Spyro wasn't interested on finding them anyway. He got warmer and a strange feeling in his stomach occurred only by thinking about her and he couldn't stop it, it was like all other thoughts vanished from his mind only the image of Cynder remained. Spyro liked her, really, really liked her, no one ever had triggered such emotions in him, it was the second time he felt like this, and the sensation only got stronger with each passing second. It was strange but somewhat enjoyable at the same time, excluding the uncomfortable frantic pace of his heart that came with it.

Spyro blinked a couple of times to calm himself, every time he opened his eyes a piece of the surroundings appeared. The hills, grass, trees, slopes, everything was slowly coming back to him as if he had just awoken from a deep slumber. Cynder appeared as the last piece of the puzzle, she was no longer walking from place to place instead she was watching him with her head cocked to one side in confusion. Spyro realized then that he was probably staring at her far longer than just seconds, who knows for how long exactly but it must have been a while judging by her expression. Luckily it was dark and she was standing quite a distance away so there was no chance she could see him turning red instantly. He quickly continued walking towards the forest breaking this awkward moment before she could ask him any questions.

Not far from the entrance he saw what he was looking for, the pieces of wood she chopped down were still laying there untouched. Spyro started walking around picking up the wood and twigs placing them in one place so they could be easily found. It took him a while to find all of them but eventually he managed to do it, he created quite a pile in the end. Before he started carry the wood to the cave Spyro turned around to look at the forest.

He tensed and readied himself to fight if there was something actually there and not only imagination playing tricks on her. Spyro narrowed his pupils trying to pierce the thick darkness that the many trees created, but no matter how long he started at nothing changed, there was nothing there. The forest was quiet but thanks to the weather it looked kinda spooky, there was no arguing about that but even if the woods were an ideal place for an ambush it shouldn't scare her like that.

He knew Cynder better than anyone else, she never acts rashly, if something made her act like that then it has to be really serious. Spyro concentrated even more but the result was the same, the only thing he could hear was the wind howling through the trees. She has never overreacted but this time it seemed that was exactly what happened, Spyro couldn't really accept it, he saw her and it wasn't normal but there was nothing he could do here.

He turned around ready to carry the wood towards the cave but before he made a step he felt a slight itch on his scales, Spyro spun around in a moment and looked at the forest again. He observed it's whole length but there was nothing there, Spyro chuckled he probably overestimated the feeling, he really wanted to find an explanation for her behavior so he took an simple itch for more than it actually was. No matter what he thought he couldn't move, his gut was telling him something entirely different. After all his adventures Spyro began trusting his hunch, it helped him to solve problems in one situations and helped him avoid them in other's.

He focused anew maybe even harder this time, firstly there was nothing there and just when he was about to give up he felt something. It was faint almost at the edge of perception but it was there somewhere in that forest. He concentrated harder but this time a barely noticeable tingle crossed his body, he pushed harder but no matter how hard he tried Spyro couldn't feel anything anymore. He was staring at the woods wondering what it was or if there was anything there in the first place, it might have been only his mind playing tricks on him. He really wanted to find out what scared her so much that maybe his imagination created it. Whatever the reason Spyro kept wondering from where these feelings came from, the itch and the tingle felt quite normal but there was something odd yet so familiar about them, he had no idea what it was but he will definitely figure it out even if it may be only his imagination.

" Spyro is everything alright?" came a concerned familiar voice from behind him

"What?" he exclaimed softly completely confused and a bit startled when he heard it, it broke his train of thought immediately

"I've asked if everything's alright" Cynder stood next to him

"Yeah, yeah it's just that I...I " Spyro stuttered still pretty puzzled but when he looked at her his concentration returned "What are you doing here?" he asked firmly

" Don't get all bossy on me now" ,she remarked him irritated "I've been waiting and waiting but you didn't show up and I decided that enough is enough and went after you"

Spyro shook his head and sighted " Why you never listen to me Cynder, what if something happened to you?"

"Then you would have to catch me again" she smiled provocatively

" And what makes you think I would do that?" Spyro returned the smile

" Oh call it a hunch" she winked" besides you couldn't keep me there for long since you've been acting really weird" before he could say anything she added quickly " yes I know that I should be the last one to say it but you got me worried there, it was just like you were somewhere completely different"

He averted his gaze quickly and looked at the ground "It..it was nothing" he started uncertainty "I've just been lost in thought"

"What were you thinking about?" Cynder asked curiously without any hesitation just after he finished

There it was, the question he would really like to avoid, Spyro didn't know what to say, should he tell her that he was thinking about her, or maybe about the strange feeling when he does that, what if she takes it the wrong way? He didn't want her to feel uncomfortable. He felt he was starting to blush Spyro didn't have much time he needed to come up with an answer before she will notice it.

" I...I...I" he cleared his throat " I've just been wondering what scared you so much" his words came out rashly

Cynder sighted "Really?" she asked without any emotion in her voice

Spyro nodded quickly" Yes, whatever came over you it happened here, and I need to know what it was, and I thought this will be the ideal place to look, and this is everything I've been thinking about" he continued to babble thoughtlessly, the last words coming out barely noticeable as he was out of breath

His words didn't seem to have any effect on her "And what did you find?" she asked emotionless

Baffled, Spyro shot a quick glance at her to check if she really meant it, it looked like she did. Sighting in relief he quickly regained his composure and looked at the forest

" Nothing ,I must have been imagining things" he said disappointed

"Happens to everybody" she added indifferently

He watched the forest for a while but nothing new occurred, Spyro shrugged " Let's get out of here"

He turned around and made his way towards the early prepared pile of wood, he saw Cynder with a corner of his eye with her head lowered down, she looked sad and hurt. He was quite surprised to see her like this, he was disgruntled himself but it didn't make such an impact on him. Spyro eventually came to a conclusion that she was more worried about this failure, after all the past events touched her personally.

Spyro took the smaller twigs into his muzzle, one of the branches he impaled on his tail tip by hitting it several times and wrapped his tail around two others to carry them ,the rest he dragged on the ground. Now he was glad that Cynder followed him, he was tired and if he would have to do it alone picking them up wouldn't surely end just in one run but two or three maybe.

When they reached the cave nothing changed in it, the darkness still covered everything. The sound of the wood being dragged on the stony floor bounced from wall to wall and echoed through the cave. Spyro couldn't breathe fire with the twigs between his teeth, he didn't want to drop them, that would only mean that he would have to come back to pick them up later, and that was the last thing he wanted. Spyro had to rely on the tiny flames that were coming out from his nostrils, he always avoided doing so but when there was no other choice he was forced to do it. Dragons usually puff little flames from their noses when in great anger or when they want to intimidate someone. Spyro never did that, he always disliked the uncomfortable feeling that accompanied it.

He knew the way but with the dim light Spyro still decided to move slowly. He already tripped over something once when he rushed from the cave concerned about Cynder's safety when he heard the noise outside, he was sore enough. Eventually they reached their destination, instead of an empty spot when they first came here, there was a circle formed with small rocks. Seeing Cynder dropping some rocks at the entrance he had foreseen what she was up to and since he hated sitting idly Spyro decided to make himself useful.

The twigs came first, on them some smaller branches and lastly even some more twigs. With dry wood and fireplace formed like that a solid flame was enough to lit it. They didn't have neither. Spyro laid on the ground with his neck on the rocks and breathed the little flames from his mouth, with a wet wood like this and pitiful flames it was nearly impossible to start a fire. It would help if they had any dry grass or leaves but thanks to the rain there was nothing like that available.

Flame after flame he tried to lit the wood and with every new one he got more bored and annoyed. Spyro sighted resigned after another failed attempt it was then when he heard a giggle, he shot an annoyed look at the culprit. When Cynder saw his expression she covered her muzzle with her paw hiding her smile and shrugged innocently. Spyro shook his head slightly and renewed his work.

He heard a muffled chuckle almost every time he failed, the sound only made him even more enraged. Spyro didn't care any longer about the pain, ignoring it completely he breathed bigger flames after every failed attempt. He was getting angrier and angrier with each passing moment from becoming completely furious saved him the tiny flame just right in front of his nose, his eyes went wide when he saw it.

"I did it!" he exclaimed happily releasing all the anger in joy and coughed soon after, the air he exhaled was too much for the small flame, it extinguished it completely.

She couldn't hold it any longer, seeing this situation Cynder burst out laughing. Spyro was just staring at the fireplace incredulously. Confusion, anger and embarrassment growing inside him the longer he gazed at it. The female laugh wasn't helpful either, he tried his best to ignore it but just when he looked at her he couldn't remain calm.

"Ok I give up, if this so funny try it yourself" he burst out annoyed and got up

"Oh come on!"she exclaimed barely hearable, Cynder had troubles catching breath due to laughing "It's not that, you just looked so silly"

Spyro looked at her, her happy expression killed all the anger inside him instantly " Ok I'll try again, but don't laugh this time" he admonished her tenderly and moved to the previously occupied spot

" I'll try" she groaned slightly and placed a paw on one of the painful spots on her body, her abrasions ached a little when she laughed " Look what you've done" still smiling Cynder cleared her throat "Come on, it was close"

Spyro laid down and rested his neck in the same position as formerly, but before he tried to lit the wood again, he looked at Cynder, she was watching him with a broad smile. The image only forced Spyro to smile, he shook his head and chuckled before concentrating on the matter at hand. With renewed motivation Spyro tried again to start a fire, this time however he could smell the burning wood, even if he didn't see a flame he knew it won't take long before the twigs will ignite.

Spyro couldn't be more right, soon after a tiny spark appeared, moments later it turned into a small flame. Not wasting any time he started to lit some other twigs so he wouldn't have to rely on one flame with the still damp wood. After a while another twigs caught fire, Spyro moved his head backwards and held his breath, not wanting to ruin it once again he watched the flames as they slowly started getting bigger and consume the wood.

Spyro was still holding his breath and watched the fire intently, he would turn purple by now if his scales had a different color. The fire was getting bigger and even if it looked safe he didn't want to risk it, there were more than enough failed attempts already. It didn't take long for the other pieces of wood to catch fire, in the end all of them were burning.

The image and inability to hold his breath any longer made Spyro exhale the little air he accumulated in his lungs. With it came a very satisfied and prolonged "Yes" that made Cynder giggle, he spontaneously looked at her, Cynder's expression spoke volumes, it was a "well done" look that made Spyro grin with pride after accomplishing such a feat.

A powerful flame formed itself, the heat it emanated made them both shiver, after spending so much time outside in the rain and the cold wind it was a pleasurable and most wanted change of scenery for both dragons. The fire not only provided warm but also light, with it burning they could look around to finally see what was hiding behind these shadows.

They found themselves in a cave with a low ceiling quite a good place to spend the night for creatures of medium size but impossible to accommodate larger ones. In the edges of the cave they could see stalagmites rising from the floor, some small others pretty big and all of them had a shape of a cone. Just above the entrance there was a big hole, they had no idea how it was created. On the ground there was a small cavity and it ran across the cave which ended in a far away corner of the cave, it resembled some sort of canal and it was filled with water. Also there were some dried blood stains on the floor, some looked more fresh than the others.

The thing that really caught their attention was behind Cynder. There was a low dais at the end of the cave with two completely extinguished fireplaces . At the top of one there was a big cauldron filled with disgusting still green liquid. It looked like it was left unattended for some time, the liquid had to boil once since there were green stains running down the cauldron ending on the on the wood and the rocks below turning them green. Above the other there was a completely roasted hare impaled on a stick, it seemed like it was forgotten also.

Between them on the ground was laying a huge bear skin that probably served as a bed, just beside it was a spear with dented tip. In the corner there was a wooden table with many different items on it. A knife, a flat stone, some sort of a wooden ladle, a bone halfway crushed, a provisional hammer and some other things they didn't know what were used for. Above the table there was a woody vine with both ends stuck in little holes in the cave walls. There were many ingredients tied to it, dangling just at arm's reach above the table.

Claws some sharper than the others, dark bat wings, colorful butterfly wings, fangs, and some other parts they didn't really want to know from where they came from. Besides the leftovers from many different animals there were also many kind of herbs hanging from the liana, and just like the body parts they all differed from each other. A flower with big colorful petals here, a herb with a deep green foliage there, some had big showy blue flowers and feathery leaves, others had thick rubbery tubers. Besides the healthier ones there were also herbs that didn't look so pretty, some were dark , others just by looking at them seemed poisonous, another ones were completely weathered, they just had one thing in common they were ugly and pretty scrawny.

Below the table there were pieces of wood placed one atop the other with utmost care. There was laying a hand-made axe on the top of the last piece. Both dragons sighted, they would save much time and energy if they had noticed it when they first came here. There was a tanning rack standing next to the table with an extinguished torch in the wall beside it . A pelt was already stretched on it with many knife scratches on its surface. It looked like somebody was drawing or writing something on it, at least someone tried to. There were some illegible letters, sentences and drawings on it due to many deep cuts running through them, just as if somebody had an idea, wrote it down so it won't be forgotten, then having a different idea, writing it down and erasing the previous one as deciding it was useless now. Just by looking at the pelt they could tell that someone was doing a lot of thinking since almost all the hide was covered in deep cuts expect for one place. At the bottom of the skin one clearly visible sentence was carved " I NEED IT" these were the only three words that were readable. Next to the rack was a cavity filled with water and a canal running away from it, now they knew where all this water was heading to.

The cave is obviously occupied by someone, judging by the looks of it somebody put much work into it trying to make a cozy place to live in and it seemed that someone did a really good job. That only meant that they intruded into someone's home but they comforted themselves that maybe the denizen had abandoned this living place since everything was in ruins and it was like that for quite some time. Even if they were wrong they both didn't feel like moving again, they were both tired and this was the only cave they could find. Besides they just want to spend the night here and not take this place for themselves. It looked like nobody had come back here in a while so they assumed that they could sleep here without any problems.

Spryo lost interest in the cave after a while and focused on something more important, they both suffered injuries after everything they came through and when there was finally some light he could tell how serious they were. He looked at Cynder her head was still moving from side to side scanning the surroundings, Spyro could see a dried streak of blood running down her neck from a small wound, besides it there were some minor scratches visible, nothing really serious. She had a really big bruise on her forehead, a remainder how painful was the collision with the slope.

Spyro's eyes went lower passing her neck and stopping when he saw a gash on her side some still fresh blood surrounded it but she had to suffer this injury quite a while ago since the wound was slowly closing itself. Cynder was sitting with her left flank facing him, in this position it was difficult to see how badly her underbelly was hurt but since Spyro couldn't see her insides anywhere he came to a conclusion that it was nothing drastic. Her front paw had many cuts some smaller others bigger and all of them were bleeding slightly, no wonder since she didn't allow it to rest preventing the wounds to heal properly.

What really worried Spyro at first was the small solid wooden root protruding from her waist, Cynder was colliding with every possible root during the slide from the steep slope that it was almost certain that some of them had to find a chink in her leathery armor eventually, she was lucky that only one did. Spyro was really concerned about it but then he looked at her and realized that she didn't seem to even feel it, or maybe she does but with all the painful spots on her body one more didn't really make any difference. Either way the idea calmed Spyro, if the root went deep it would prevent her from walking or worse like cut some vital veins for instance. It was undoubtedly uncomfortable to be walking with a wood sticking out from your body and since she seemed oblivious about its existence it wasn't anything severe. The last parts of her body he could see was one of her hind paw and a side of her tail. Her back paw suffered the same fate as her front one, the tail however looked pretty undamaged with only minor scratches visible.

Spyro sighted in relief besides the root and the gash on her side that was already healing she managed to avoid more serious damage. These two wounds looked dire and would probably weaken or even make more fragile creatures bleed to death if left unattended. Dragons however didn't need to worry about such things their fast regeneration precluded things like that allowing such wounds to heal quickly or preventing them from doing any more harm. Every organism has its limits, if a dragon body suffers many deep cuts even their natural regeneration won't help in such cases, even dragons can bleed out. The first thing Spyro learnt about this healing process is to avoid overstraining your organism and everything that gets stuck in your body leads to it, effectively blocking the regeneration from accomplishing and in the meantime losing much of needed energy. That's why it's important to remove such things as quickly as possible even if it doesn't seem dangerous, Ignitus kept reminding Spyro at every occasion when he rushed doing everything he asked him for without taking care of his wounds first " Always be vigilant because you never know what is hiding behind the corner". Another lesson he remembered.

"It looks like you had a rough ride" Spyro finally stated after examining her injuries

Her head stopped moving when she heard his voice, Cynder looked at him and if as following his gaze she lowered her head to take a closer look at her body.

She has been moving her head from right to left checking both sides of her form "Wow, more cuts than on a used armor" she said unconcerned

She moved her paws across her body looking for more serious injuries, she only hissed when she touched the wounds that were still quite fresh. It changed when she found something protruding from her waist, the moment she touched it Cynder winced and groaned in pain. Her reaction put him on edge, Spyro immediately got up and was standing near her in seconds.

"Cynder is it that bad? Maybe lay down for a moment? Will you be fine?" Spyro mumbled question after question deadly worried about her, also many bad thoughts were swirling in his mind "What if the injury is more serious than it looks?", "What if I was wrong and this is a mortal wound?"

Cynder only smiled gratefully " Relax, it's just a scratch but it hurts like hell"

Spyro sighted in relief and without any second thoughts moved his snout closer to the tender spot.

Cynder didn't hide her surprise "What are you..." before she knew it a chilling air caressed the painful place on her body " Ohhh, now that's a good idea" she moaned

Spyro looked at her and smiled " I knew you'd like it"

" I might need that one more time"

Spyro nodded and focused on the small root again, he saw as her paw was clenching around it. He heard her taking some shallow breaths and just when she went silent Cynder pulled the root out with one swift move. The moment he heard her painful hisses and groans Spyro breathed a little chilly mist to ease her suffering.

" Thanks, you really surprise me sometimes" Cynder said relived that the stinging pain was gone

"That was the only thing that came to my mind"

Cynder smiled 'Thanks again" she stood up "That was everything that bothered me, let's focus on you now, how are you feeling?"

"I'm fine" Spyro answered thoughtlessly

She reared her back slightly "Is that so?"

He nodded quickly " I didn't suffer any serious injury"

"Let me be the judge of that, lay down" Cynder said firmly

Spyro without any other choice reluctantly laid down on the floor with his left side facing her. Cynder moved closer and examined his body, she finished without saying a word. This was the moment Spyro thought his plan had worked until she circled him and stopped with a loud gasp, she stared at his right flank with shocked expression.

"What the hell happened to you?!" Cynder stated with a loud tone

"What are you talking about?" Spyro turned his head and answered with a faked surprised voice

" Look at this swelling, it's huge" she moved closer to examine it better " How could you not feel it?" Cynder asked concerned and confused

Spyro was lost for words "You know.." he was struggling to find a good answer " with everything that was happening I couldn't really focus on my injuries"

She shot him a quick glance, her eyes seemed to read from his very soul "Oh, really?"

He nodded "Yeah, I have no idea when this could happen" Spyro couldn't look at her, he averted his gaze quickly and stared at the wall

"Breath" she said rigidly

Spyro turned to face her with a confused look "What?"

"I've said breath"

There was something in her tone that didn't leave any space for arguing, with no other choice Spyro took a shallow breath

"Deeper" her tone unchanged

Spyro winced, he felt like a thief who was just about to confess his crimes, he had his back to a wall and only blind hope remained that somehow he will pull it through without her noticing. Spyro started to inhale the air, everything was going fine and when he was almost convinced that nothing's going to happen Spyro felt a sharp pain in his chest and coughed.

Cynder frowned " All this time I thought that you hit yourself badly and you did everything to avoid the pain, but this..." she looked at the swelling "this are broken ribs Spyro!" Cynder exclaimed incredulously

"It's not that bad" he replied quickly

"Not that bad? You have fractured bones and you just walk around" Cynder raised her head to look at him "What are you thinking?!" she exclaimed frustrated

"I didn't feel anything"

'You broke your bones and you want to tell me that you didn't feel it? she kept asking irritated

"Yeah, if you haven't told me I wouldn't even notice it" Spyro answered without thinking

His words seemed to make her more angrier "Your lying, but why are you ly..." Cynder froze with her mouth opened, seconds later her head drops down and her expression changes drastically " You wouldn't be in such a pain if not for me"

" Remember our deal" Spyro quickly reminded her

She stood there with her head lowered down for a while, but moments later she moved, when Cynder set her eyes on him she smiled weakly " Clever"

Spyro chuckled " Don't mention it "

When he laid there on the ground he could feel every part of his body screaming in agony especially his ribs annoyed him, sending surges of pain across his length, demanding attention. They made their point, Spyro looked around trying to find the solution for his problem he thought about earlier. He didn't have to search for long, near the campfire a stone was laying with little ice on its edges, it was bigger than the other ones, just about the size of his paw. Spyro shifted and extended his paw to reach it but it was too far, without no other choice he decided to go pick it up, but just when he was about to rise he felt a paw on his back pinning him to the ground.

"Don't move" a familiar voice admonished him.

He saw Cynder walking past by his eyes, she picked up the rock he reached for and placed it just in front of his snout when she returned. Spyro breathed little icy flames out of his mouth cooling the stone in the process trying to make it as cold as possible. With his limited capabilities it took him some time to achieve his goal but in the end he covered a part of the stone in ice. Cynder dragged it across the ground and moved to the previously occupied spot.

"That's the least I can do" Cynder said with a appreciative tone.

Spyro trembled slightly when the rock touched his scales, he was surprised and quite proud he managed to freeze it that well with his pitiful ice breath. The chill overruled the annoying pain on his right side in seconds, but then just as if in envy other parts of his body started to send surges of pain that felt stronger than before. It almost looked like Cynder was reading his mind, after she finished with the worst place she tenderly moved the stone towards his tail and hind paws, she stopped every now and then and made little circles making sure she won't miss a spot.

When she finished with the lower part of his body she ran the stone across his back and sides towards his neck. Spyro shivered again when the stone reached new territory, he could almost feel the bruises and scratches being grateful for the attention. He moaned slightly when she cooled his exhausted front paws, he could feel every muscle relaxing under her touch. With everything taken care of she moved towards his neck, Spyro stretched when the stone left its cold mark. Besides the chill he could also feel her warm and rapid breathing, both sensations received in turns would make his head drop on the ground if not for the feminine paw holding it.

After she finished with the back side of his neck she moved her free paw under his jaw and raised his head a little before proceeding with massaging the other side of his neck. She ran the stone up and down it several times, with every move his eyelids were shutting down his sight becoming blurry with every second and he didn't do anything to stop it, not that he wanted to anyway. After a while the stone stopped moving cooling only one spot on his neck, soon after she lowered her head to check if she didn't miss anything. Her quick breath was almost intoxicating, the moment he felt it on his neck he purred , Cynder ran the stone across his neck once more time before retreating after she raised her head he could hear his beating heart yearning for her breath again.

She started all over again giving the much needed attention to every muscle she could reach, her touch relaxed every sore spot on his body that when she started massaging him from the beginning again he forgot about the pain completely. It was so pleasant that he couldn't even open his eyes, Spyro forgot about the whole world the only thing he could feel was her invigorating touch and breath.

Just when he thought that this can't get any more pleasant he felt the chill running down his haunches, she moved the stone slowly up and down his thighs, in the position he laid it must have been uncomfortable for her to massage them but she didn't seem to mind. She moved the stone upwards along his left hind paw and then ran it across his back until she reached his shoulders, then she moved the icy stone slowly lower reaching his chest just besides his elbow. Cynder moved it as low as she could, it was enough just to reach only a slight part of his underbelly, Spyro huffed when she caressed the spot that managed to avoid her attention, he couldn't help himself ,he leaned a little every time he felt the stone reaching the end of his body making more room for the refreshing chill.

It was like she realized that this parts demanded attention just like all the others and she did everything she could to make up for this little oversight. Spyro could tell they forgave her instantly as they quickly relaxed under her touch bottling up the pain as if it never was there in the first place. Nevertheless she spent some time on both sides of his chest moving slowly and gently asking for forgiveness, she was pardoned already but his chest didn't mind the additional attention and if it had a mouth it would surely moan.

Cynder convinced it was enough kept the stone as low as possible on his left side touching the edges of his underbelly moved it gently towards his back and loin, Spyro hissed in pleasure when the stone touched the border of his underbelly that wasn't under her spell yet. He leaned once to the left once to the right just like a ship tossed about on the ocean avoiding rolling on each of them, making more space for the chilly rock. Spyro gritted his teeth when she moved the stone down his waist just right beside his left knee, he twitched and his head froze in place hanging in the air when he felt a chill covering that particular spot on his body. She ran the icy stone tenderly up and down the left side of his waist and with every move he gritted his teeth fiercer that if not for the enjoyment it would be painful since it almost felt like they were about to break from all this pressure.

The sensation was overwhelming and now he was sure it can't get any better, he changed his mind quickly when he felt a warm paw touching his back and moving across it towards his rump. Both the stone and her paw met together at the top of his loin just to slide down on both sides of his waist at the same time. Spyro puffed a little ball of smoke from his nostrils when her paw touched an edge of the most tender spot of his body, the position he was laying in prevented her from going lower but it was good enough for him. When she felt she couldn't go any further she moved her paw and the cold stone on the other side slowly along the border of his gold underbelly stopping almost in the middle of his body.

She made little circle motions carefully caressing him with her paw and blunt side of her claws. He couldn't tell how long she spent there, Spyro lost the track of time a while ago, for him her touch was the only measurement of the passing moments. every slide alongside his length an opening for a new sensation. Cynder's paws started returning the same way from whence they came, his head went a little higher and he shivered when her paws reached the place just besides his knees. The stone and her paw ran upwards along his waist eventually meeting at the top before making their way towards his hind paws.

She moved gently up and down his bend thighs, Cynder repeated the motion a couple of times like she tried to accustom his right back leg to the feeling of her warm paw. Deciding it was enough she gently stroke the back end of his thigh, Spyro held his breath when he felt her touch, the icy trail the stone left was pleasant but this even more so. She tenderly rubbed his exhausted muscle every now and then accidently touching the beginning of his tail, and whenever it happened his tail bounced from the ground glad that it wasn't forgotten.

Cynder run the stone and her free paw up his hind paws so they could meet again at the top before returning to his loin. She began to repeat the most enjoyable part of this massage again, and he could feel that part of his body waiting for her touch in great anticipation. The moment she slid her paw down his waist and touched the edge of his gold scales Spyro couldn't hold it any longer. He moaned loudly and his head fell numbly on the ground that in other circumstances would be painful. Cold and heat received at the same time felt incredible, the two most hated enemies coexisting together and working in perfect unison.

She moved up and down his waist, back and forth along the borders of his gold underbelly and every new motion felt even better than the previous one. His breathed faster every time she touched the lower part of his waist, he could only feel his loin, all sore muscles and chill left by the stone in the other parts of his body were completely gone, it was like that only her touch awakened the life in him. Cynder seemed to be focused only on that simple motion now, she moved slow and with so much care that made him emit a soft moan every time he felt like his body wanted to scream in uncontrollable ravishment. Spyro felt like he was in a seventh heaven completely lost in it in fact, he wanted to wander it for all eternity without even thinking about finding a way out. He turned his head just to look for the generous host who invited him here.

Through blurry eyes he saw her sitting with lowered head and with his tail just between her hind paws when the other two gently massaged his body. Her emerald eyes were blurry and unfocused like they were seeing something entirely else. He laid close to the fire and its light must be the reason why he saw a hint of red just above her nose that was even visible through her black scales. She was just moving up his waist just to start everything anew but when her paws met at the top they stopped. As if feeling his gaze she slowly raised her head to look at him.

The moment they made eye contact she froze with her mouth hanged open, her eyes became wider and wider with each passing second, it looked like she dragged her vision back from whenever it was as focus slowly returned to them. In this shock she unconsciously released the icy stone, it slid down his body eventually hitting the ground. Cynder jumped on all her four paws at the sound, just then the flame had to intensify since when she quickly turned her head he saw that her snout was almost completely red.

Cynder cleared her throat " That...that will be enough" she said with a wavering voice without even looking at him

" But.... but..." Spyro stammered

"I'm not going to spoil you!" she shouted irritated and patted the swelling on his right side with a flat end of her tail before she quickly walked towards the water filled cavity, one could say that she almost ran.

His blissful expression vanished instantly it seemed he was no longer welcome in that little paradise anymore. It felt like something grabbed him by his horns and dragged him forcefully through many long serpentine- like corridors before finally reaching the doors. Even those closed loudly behind him blocking themselves from being opened again by shutting its many locks with an audible grind. To make things worse he was dragged to an edge where he received a solid kick in the butt that sent him flying down the many stairs. He accumulated more speed the longer he bounced so when the flight of stairs finally ended he rolled on the ground eventually crashing into a huge boulder.

Spyro felt every inch of his body as it was released from its enchantment. Every muscle, cut, scratch and bruise started to ache with such strength that it was almost unbearable. His body blamed him for losing the refreshing chill and the stimulating touch, sending surges of pain from every direction as punishment. Spyro saw the ice covered stone laying beside him, salvation was at hand. Despite the pain he managed to sit and pick it up. He slowly moved the rock down his right flank, letting his scales absorb the chill that it created.

To his surprise it didn't seem to work, instead of subsiding, the pain only seemed to intensify. He thought that the swelling on that side was the reason so he quickly started working on his left flank. He moved the stone up and down this time faster but it didn't seem to work either, he tried his free paw, then his neck and chest still the same thing. It felt like his body was screaming in agony and longing so strong that his every move infuriated it even more. Spyro tried his best to calm it down but to no avail, his own touch superfluous and irritating for his body, it demanded something else, something that he couldn't give. Spyro dropped the stone and laid down resigned, it seems he will have to fight with the pain again.

His struggle broken by the sound of a splashing water, he turned his head to locate the source of this noise. Cynder was sitting near the canal like cavity with her paws in the water just to splash it onto her snout and run the wet paws down her neck and sides soon after. She helped him relax his sore muscles so it was clear for him that she also looked for a way to cool herself and wash all that blood from her scales. Cynder was in no rush, every time her paws reached as low as they possibly could she froze for a moment, every now and then taking a deep breath before repeating this process again.

After a while she placed all her paws on the ground, took a deep breath and turned around sharply. As she did that Cynder shot a quick glance at him, that split second seemed to drain all confidence from her. She reluctantly took a step forward with her nose sticking to the ground, then she took another one and another one. Cynder moved slowly as if she never wanted to reach her destination, just like a convict who heard a death sentence and was on his way to the gallows with his head hanging low ashamed of his crimes in his final minutes.

He watched her as she laid down on the opposite side of the fire without even looking at him, her sight focused on the flames alone. Spyro kept staring at her and she seemed to feel it since he saw her eyes taking a glimpse of his snout every now and then, whenever that happened she shifted slightly and frowned as she concentrated on the fire again, punishing her eyes for disobedience. They laid like that in complete silence for quite some time, both of them could finally rest so Spyro waited patiently for the moment when she will finally tell him everything about what has happened. He waited a bit longer but it didn't seem to be coming, the situation startled him he had to take the matters in his own paws.

"Will you finally tell me what has happened?" Spyro burst out

His question seemed to hurt her as she winced when she heard his voice "I...I...I didn't mean to..." she stammered and her voice was trailing off with each word

Spyro cocked his head slightly "What do you mean by that?"

She swallowed hard and started to scratch the ground with her claw nervously "I...I... Its just that... that.... that I've never wanted you to....to... " she sighted "it was wrong"

"I would say it was surprising"

"I know I know... I've got carried away"

He reared his head back slightly, confusion filling him " Then I guess you should be more careful"

That particular sentence seemed to struck her right in the heart as she froze and thrust the previously moving claw into the ground so forcefully that it was on the brink of breaking apart " I was afraid... I hoped... I've never expected.... one day it just happened"

In his confusion Spyro didn't notice as she struggled to hold back tears, with his head cocked to the side completely dumfounded he tried desperately to make sense out of everything she said but he couldn't do it "Cynder I've played along but now you completely lost me and I give up" he sighted "What are you talking about?"

Cynder looked at him, her expression a mix of confusion, sadness, anger, resignation and surprise. She stared at him lost for words

"So?" Spyro urged her after a while

"And you?" Cynder asked surprised

" I'm talking about the situation just when I saw you running away from something"

Cynder reared her head in abashment "Me too!" she exclaimed " I just don't know where to start"

" From the beginning" Spyro smiled "Please"

She shook her head as in disbelief, Cynder looked like she was lost in thoughts but after a while she focused on the matter at hand.

" Honestly I have no idea, it all happened so fast"

" Oh no you won't slip away that easily" he admonished her " Tell me everything step by step"

Cynder sighted" I left the cave, collected some rocks, took a sip from the pond outside and went up the hill towards the woods. There I found some twigs that I threw down the slope and some branches which I started chopping down and then I felt something strange, like someone was watching me"

Spyro looked alarmed and shocked " Bandits, here? This cave seems to be abandoned for weeks but I trust your hunch"

"The thing is..." she scratched her head "that wasn't my instinct"

He cocked his head " No? "

" No, it was something else, I've felt....insecure, I was worried that something will jump out from the trees"

" Bandits scared you?" he asked baffled " I mean... the vision of them attacking would put anyone on edge"

Cynder raised her head "Your right!" as she watched him her expression darkened, it looked like she was realizing something else "No, it's not that, I wasn't afraid for my life" she made a brief pause ,thinking "or maybe I was?" she shook her head " I don't know"

" Cynder focus"

" My heart started to race, beating in my chest like it was defending itself" she scratched the floor nervously " I didn't want to go"

Spyro frowned in confusion "Go where?"

She looked at the fire" Deeper into the woods, it was difficult to resist it's luring call but I've managed to do it"

" I don't understand, what was calling you? "

" I don't know maybe the forest" she frowned " or it might have been my imagination since later I didn't hear anything, only the darkness that covered it looked scary"

Spyro watched her with increasing puzzlement " Since when you are afraid of the dark?"

Cynder started to scratch the ground with more speed " There was something else there that terrified me"

He raised his head a little " What was it?"

"It was.. it looked like.... " she shook her head " I don't know what it was"

" Think"

Her claws stopped moving as she threw him an annoyed look " I don't know" she pronounced each word slowly

Spyro cocked his head " You tried to run away from it, you must have..."

" I don't know!" she yelled and hit the ground angrily. He reared his head back at the noise. Cynder sighted " Let's change the subject"

Spyro watched her with a baffled expression, he opened his mouth to ask her more questions about this situation but he couldn't say anything. They laid there in awkward silence for a while, he thought that she will change her mind but she never did.

" What did you try to tell me back there on the slope?" Spyro asked tired of this silence

" Good choice" Cynder muttered

"What now?" he was used to her sarcastic tone but this time it annoyed him

"Oh no nothing, I'm just happy that you picked an interesting topic for a conversation" she smiled wryly

Her expression only made him angry " Ok Cynder I didn't want to say anything but you have been acting really weird lately, way before this whole forest thing"

She frowned " Guess why"

" I have no idea"

" Of course you don't!" she shouted indignantly

"Then why don't you tell me!" he shouted back

"You should have figured it out by now you clueless bastard! It's important and you don't even know what I'm talking about! You...you..you..." she snorted and turned around, her back facing him

"Hel..."

"Stop!" she exclaimed "I'm tired and I want some sleep, leave me alone" she shifted looking for a good position to rest and when she found it Spyro heard an audible "Ass"

He watched her with wide eyes, her reaction took him by surprise. She told him it was important and when he wanted to know what it was it only made her angry. Spyro had no idea why it infuriated her so much. First she acts as if it can't wait and now when a right moment to talk about it came she turns around offended. Females huh? With nothing left to do he rested his head on the floor and closed his eyes.