FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter 11

They walked along the road that lead out of the village, their pace was slow but filled with the sound of happy chatter, every now and then they stopped for a quick break, after all there is no rush, it's not like the city is going to vanish. They continued down the road until they've noticed a base of a mountain coming into view, the sun illuminated its jagged structure with a bright light.

Near the base just at the brink of the road many trees were growing on a greenish ground, they stood next to each other forming a quite dense twiggy barrier. However the sight won't drive away a traveler who knows what he is looking for, Meadow took the lead and made his way towards the thick obstacle with the two dragons closely following him, the cheetah pushed away the more annoying twigs from his way while he ventured forward.

After a while they were reminded that the thick some might say impassable barrier of tress is just an illusion for all those clueless travelers. Soon they emerged right into a quite empty piece of greenish ground with trees standing at both sides leaving only the middle for a comfortable walk, just like it was some sort of a path.

Road or not the empty space was quite big allowing even a fully grown adult dragon to pass through freely without worrying about the many thick branches scratching his scales. They made their way down the greenish piece of land until there was nothing left in front of them besides the base of the mountain with many different sized stones protruding from it and even more smaller rocks laying on the ground near the base.

The small group made its way alongside the mountain until they reached a wall from which two almost triangular stones protruded leaving a quite big jagged space between them. For an inexperienced and lucky traveler this would just be a common wall with nothing interesting on it, it was quite the contrary for the three of them. Meadow slid his paw across the wall's surface for a couple of seconds before he pressed his paw against the wall, muttered something in a strange language under his breath that were most likely some magical incantations before he took a couple of steps backwards.

Firstly nothing happened but after a while a rumbling sound could be heard accompanied by a noise that sounded like stone grinding on stone, while the wall began to shake slightly. Moments later a shape in a form of the nose emerged from the rocky wall, soon after eyes showed themselves, mouth and two horns. Out of the wall emerged quite a big rocky dragon snout which stared at them with its empty eyes.

They stood near the entrance to The Forbidden Tunnel, both dragons remembered when they saw this scene for the first time, just like now they arrived here from the cheetah village but back then the rocky snout startled both young dragons before trigging Spyro's curiosity. It was then when they found out about the Tunnel's purpose, it served as an escape passage from Warfang if things would go poorly for the city during a siege. However the entrance to it was located not far from the familiar cheetah village, one could notice the smoke coming out from one of the chimneys if the dragon snout wouldn't focus all the attention.

The relation between Cheetahs and Dragons wasn't really very good that's why the Tunnel's entrance was created near the village closest to Warfang so when things would go drastic for the cheetahs they could evacuate their people to the Dragon City, hence the huge salon in the village, the survivors had to be accommodated somewhere before the evacuation. This whole thing strengthened the bond between the two races. To avoid abusing of the Tunnel only a chosen few could open it. Meadow, Prawlus and a single Chief from every other cheetah tribe could open it, as for the Dragons only the Guardians had the power to command the door. It was done on purpose, to save all the innocent people at least one of the leaders from both races had to live so he could open the doors, preventing both species from becoming leaderless, a key to survive during a war.

Meadow placed his paw on the rocky snout's nose, he closed his eyes and lowered his head before chanting another magical incantation. Moments later the snout's eyes flared up with a red light, Meadow took a couple of steps backwards as another rumbling sound could be heard. The snout began opening its maw, it looked like it was pulling in the stone itself, soon the wall was gone together with the snout revealing the entrance to the Tunnel.

The moment they've entered everything went dark instantly as the stone wall formed itself behind them. The darkness didn't last for long since moments later a torch hanging on the wall just next to the entrance ignited itself, soon another one on the opposite side did the same thing, and that was only the beginning. Soon another torch lit itself just next to the previous one, another followed soon after, then another and another, it didn't take long before all the torches on the wall were burning, they formed some kind of a circle surrounding the whole interior. Just after every torch was lit on the wall a couple of columns which were facing each other showed themselves in front of them, and just like the wall they had a torch on them that began igniting itself until the light from the flames illuminated the path in front of them and revealed a stone wall on the far end of the Tunnel.

They were standing on a quite wide marble bridge that span over a huge chasm with a familiar stone wall on the other end of the bridge. How deep the chasm was nobody knows and honestly no one ever cared to find out, but judging from the complete darkness below it was quite a fall. The Tunnel is pretty vast and empty, only distant walls surrounded the bridge with torches and some barely noticeable carvings depicting what looked like dragons. The bridge they were standing on was pretty clean with only some pairs of columns standing on the opposite sides of it. The bridge was obviously created by the Moles, since only they are capable of doing something that requires a good technical mind. Moles weren't working alone, this place was also created using magic, the rocky snout's proved that, together with the marble bridge which ran over the chasm with no visible support preventing it from falling down, it seemed like the bridge levitated in the air with magic holding it in place. The self igniting torches also served as a good example, it was hard to decide what contributed more to the Tunnel's construction.

The group didn't really care about such things since they began moving forward the moment the light illuminated the path ahead of them. Shallow breaths and the clicking of claws on the marble floor were the only sound which could be heard in the Tunnel.

Meadow chuckled " Whenever I use this tunnel I always recall how difficult it was for me to convince Prawlus to teach me the magical incantation. He always turned me away until one day I fell on my knees in the centre of the village begging him to teach me his little secret and I did it in front of the whole village. He had no other choice, with all the eyes focused on him he finally whispered the words. I'll never forget the look on his face"

" I bet he really was a thorn in your side after that" Cynder added

The cheetah chuckled once again " You can't even imagine. You want to be a leader? I'll make you one. He said. You may say many bad things about him but he keeps his word. Every night I've spent on improving my skills with a spear. The lessons were so intense that sometimes I've felt asleep leaning against my weapon and every time I did that he woke me up using a bucket of cold water_. A leader never surrenders he is the first on the battlefield and the last one to leave it_. Prawlus always repeated this words whenever my senses returned to me"

Spyro sighed sadly just like he remembered not a very pleasant memory " It really reminds me of my training session with Ignitus, I couldn't rest either"

Meadow nodded " It was difficult but it paid off in the end. Every time a new day dawned I tried to convince myself that it won't be so bad, every single time I was wrong. A leader never rests, he is always available for his people. He greeted me with those words the moment the first sun rays reached the ground. Every single day I've been walking around the village with Prawlus asking the people if they need anything. I had to take down a child's toy from a huge tree, some other time I had to clean every single house on my path and let's just say that they were far from clean. Of course that's not everything but I don't want to bore you with the details"

" How long has he been torturing you?" Cynder's voice reached him.

The cheetah shrugged with a smile on his face " After some time I've stopped counting but it has been some very long months" the cheetah chuckled " It would be even longer if not for a friend of mine who had a gift of persuasion. Dale was his name, took him a while but eventually he convinced Prawlus that a leader must have also the ability to help his people in more ways that just simple fighting . He was an alchemist you see and he taught me some of it, but I don't have a knack for it so one day I've been brewing a potion that I thought was a healing potion but it turned out to be nothing more than some volatile and extremely flammable substance. I've been doing the experiments in Prawlus' house so you can guess his reaction when he saw his burnt down home"

Cynder smirked " Serves him right"

Meadow smiled cagily " He would disagree with you" he coughed " After that accident my training sessions were over since I was more trouble than it was worth. As for Dale... well he got kicked out from the village so he could experiment away from civilization I wonder how is he doing" Suddenly Meadow stopped in his tracks " Wait a minute, did you meet him by any chance?"

Both dragons shook their heads " Sorry but we didn't meet anyone named Dale" Spyro said

"Are you sure?"

"Yep"

" He lives in a cave near The Fortune, he usually walks around wearing a green coat. I haven't seen him for a while and I'm wondering if he still lives in that cave". Both dragons looked at each other with shock filled eyes, it didn't escape Meadow's notice as he furrowed a brow when he saw their reaction " You look troubled, what's the matter?"

Cynder scratched the back of her head " Ummmm there might be a problem with the living part"

" You want to say that he left that cave?"

She shook her head " No, no, he's still there... sort of"

Meadow's eyes narrowed " Cynder what do you mean by that?"

She looked him directly into the eyes " I killed him"

"YOU WHAT?!" the cheetah exclaimed, the sound of his voice echoed throughout the tunnel

" Meadow he attacked us!" Spyro exclaimed " He wanted to kill me, it was self defense"

" The Dale I knew wouldn't hurt a fly! Alchemy was his only obsession" he clenched his fists in anger

Spyro lowered his head " I'm sorry Meadow so very sorry but he gave us no choice, I wish there was another way, I really do" his voice was filled with genuine sadness

The cheetah watched the dragon and Meadow could tell that he was feeling regret. Impulsively he unclenched his fists, his anger was beginning to fade just by staring at him only to be replaced by sincere compassion " I know Spyro I'm sure you did everything you could" he uttered before throwing Cynder a quick glance

She narrowed her eyes " You won't get any apology from me, he tried to hurt Spyro so I killed him and I would do it again without hesitation"

" Cynder" Spyro hissed

Meadow waved his hand in a comforting manner " It's okay, I respect honesty and as a warrior I understand your motives, after all it's our sacred duty to protect our friends and loved ones" He sighed " To tell you the truth Dale has been acting really weird, I visited him some weeks ago just to see him talking to himself before he noticed me."

Spyro nodded sadly " Yeah... he was already like that when we met him. Any idea why he acted like this?"

" Years of solitude had to take their toll eventually, not to mention magic"

Spyro jerked back in surprise "Magic? What has magic to do with anything?

Meadow scratched his chin " Magic is as dangerous as it is beautiful, if you are unprepared you can't cope with its power. We cheetahs aren't born with your elemental energy so we are unprepared to withstand the energy the magic unleashes whenever you cast any spell. Hermits aren't born crazy, they are just the fruit of the magic's side effects."

" You want to say that everyone who has magic powers becomes crazy in the end?"

The cheetah shook his head " Not necessarily. I've met many hermits and every one of them showed different symptoms like dementia, exhaustion, insomnia..."

Spyro frowned " Hallucinations?"

" Among other things" Meadow narrowed his eyes " Spyro is everything alright? You look troubled"

" I'm fine, it's just that...I mean..." he sighed " No it's not alright. Lately I've been seeing things that couldn't be there, they felt so real but they turned out to be hallucinations. I'm not the only one who experienced this, Cynder has the same problem"

Meadow remained silent for a moment while scratching his chin thoughtfully " I'm no expert but I wouldn't worry about that"

" Not to worry?" Cynder blurt out incredulously " We are going crazy and you say it's ok?"

" You are not going crazy don't worry" he gave the dragons a reassuring smile "As I said you have elemental energy running in your veins meaning that you have a natural resistance to the magic's destructive influence. However I think that it doesn't protect you fully, Spyro I don't know what you did to save our world but I suspect that it had to be some powerful display of magical power and the moment it was unleashed you were caught in its radius. I believe that this power broke your resistance causing you this minor inconvenience, you just need some rest."

Cynder remained unconvinced " You think that a simple rest will solve our problems?"

" You wouldn't believe what tricks a tired mind can play on you, give it some time to adjust and I'm sure everything will return to normal."

Cynder shrugged after a brief pause" Maybe your right"

Meadow smiled and renewed his walk" There is nothing to worry about" he said confidently

Both dragons followed him, as they walked the Tunnel was filled with laughs and the sound of happy conversations. They've kept joking and talking until they reached the stone wall on the other end of the marble bridge. Just like previously Meadow placed a paw on the wall and began chanting the same magical words and just like previously the stone wall disappeared, this time however the sound of a fully awakened city reached them.

Warfang also known as the Dragon City is a city that had been built by the Moles in honor of their friendship with the dragons, before Malefor, Dragons were quite revered. The first thing that catches the visitor's eyes are the many landmarks including many dragon statues and an extremely powerful cannon in the shape of a dragon head on Warfang's front wall. Despite its name there are not many dragons living here, the city is mostly populated by the Moles.

Warfang is a three leveled city, the levels are connected by many stairs that run through different alleyways. The Dragon City is constructed purely from brownstone, the buildings are huge so they can house even the largest of dragons. Tall and sturdy watchtowers with a circular dome dotted the city. Some of them stand between many different buildings while the others are a part of the wall. The watchtower's top is quite wide allowing a dragon of considerable size to fit so he or she can hurl fireballs at incoming enemies from above. If there is no drake around he or she can be easily replaced by moles with different war machines in their hands.

The north end of the city is protected by a natural tall mountainside while the other parts are surrounded by extremely thick brownstone wall, it would have to take some very well placed catapult shots to breach through its layers. Since dragons don't need doors to leave the city, the Moles constructed only a single gate at the front wall. Just like the city the gate was created using thick layers of stone with a dragon head with its mouth widely opened shaped in the middle. Instead of teeth the head had three pairs of rims inside its mouth, just at the edges of the gate were three long iron bolts held in the rims of their own. During a siege the bolts are pulled inside the rims in the dragon's head mouth, the moment they are locked in place its maw closes trapping the bolts and reinforcing the gate at the same time, a battering ram would need some additional time to break it down.

In front of the gate was a marble circle created with patches of green grass on its edges, inside the ring on the stone a pair of draconic wings was shaped so the visitors could be reminded where they arrived. Through the whole city in specially created cavities ran streams of crystal clear water from the fountains that were located throughout the city. It didn't only please the eye but also allowed the patches of green ground, flowers and trees thrive in the usually crowded and stony city.

The lowest level of Warfang consisted of a single marketplace to which almost every possible stairs led. The marketplace was located between the gate and the Forbidden Tunnel so the trading caravans can reach it quickly when they pass through the front gate and if during a siege arrive in Warfang by the secret passage so the supplies could be distributed quickly throughout the city. There wouldn't be much use for a marketplace if not for the many workshops constructed here which supply it with their wares. Most of the houses were located on this level with some guard posts every now and then to ensure safety.

By crossing the marble paths and climbing some stairs the traveler arrived on Warfang's second level. Just like on the first one there were plenty houses here with guard posts placed all around this floor. This level held a bit more important buildings for the inhabitants than simple workshops. One could discern a hospital with an empty bed and a red potion next to it shaped just above the hospital's entrance so the people won't take it for something else.

In the centre of the level was a fountain resembling a coiled form of a dragon with water flowing down from its opened mouth. The water fell into a cavity surrounded by marble floor and flowed in every direction through many other smaller canals . On the right side of the fountain a road lead to the already mentioned hospital surrounded by many common buildings with one more larger and wider than all the others which seemed to be connected with the hospital, some dragon statues stood on the path to the hospital. On the north end stairs to the last level could be seen, while to the left stood another important building for the residents.

It was a huge temple with two extremely big towers on the opposite sides of the building. A red triangular roof covered the entire temple with a large white statue standing in the center just right between the two towers which resembled an adult dragon standing on his hind legs with his wings opened and balls of flame formed from his moved to the side opened front paws. A very clean marble path lead to the temple which was surrounded by fresh green grass with many trees rooted into the ground which granted a shadow over any traveler or pilgrim walking down the marble floor. For the more devoted people living here this temple was even more important than the buildings located on the last level.

The first thing that caught the eye of everyone who arrived on the third level of the Dragon City was an extremely wide, tall basically huge building, both ends of the building started to create some sort of an arch. The entire structure was dotted with many windows which only meant that there are rooms to house guests located inside the structure and judging from the balconies they had quite a good look at the city. This building was a City Hall where the Guardians held meetings and solved Warfang's daily problems. The right arch of the City Hall was connected with the larger building near the hospital. The other end wasn't connected with anything , it ended just mere inches from an another building. The other building was nothing more that the main Guard post or barracks as it was called by some people. Whatever its name is the building is a place of meeting for the guards and their captains on duty and a resting place for those who have a break. It also contained some cells for the more troublesome inhabitants. Warfang is truly a magnificent creation, with its thick walls, houses, fountains and green patches of land it invited people to live in it.

However this is how the city looked like in the past, now it's devastated. The tall watchtowers collapsed blocking off entire stairs and alleyways with rubble filling the streets. Roofs and walls of the many houses had big holes in them, some had slight cracks while the other homes were completely razed to the ground. The wall surrounding the city was slightly damaged in some places while almost completely destroyed in others, however no sign of a breach could be seen. The gate took a solid beating, even if it was pure stone the gate was almost tore off from its holding place. In some places there were holes in the ground surrounded by some tall poles to prevent anyone from falling down while repairs are being done. Even the buildings on the upper levels weren't left undamaged.

Spyro and Cynder's first visit to Warfang was far from pleasant, the moment they arrived from the Forbidden Tunnel they found the city under attack. Massive forces of The Dark Army laid siege on Warfang, breaking the walls and knocking at the front gate with their battering rams and trolls. It was a very bloody siege, the enemy unable to break through the wall used ladders and siege towers to gain control of the ramparts, the allied Realm forces held tightly even if they were under fire from the enemy catapults and flying creatures. After some time the allied forces managed to push the Dark Army from Warfang's wall making the enemy to fall back much to their surprise.

As it turned out it was only a slight pause to catch a breath since a Golem emerged from behind the enemy ranks. It was a giant lava monster that headed straight at Warfang's wall, just when it was about to reach it the creature burrowed underground just to emerge right in the city tearing down a wall as it did so. The breach allowed the Dark Army to pass through while the Golem itself rained havoc by hitting every possible building inside the city and killing swiftly every defender that came to close.

The battle was fierce, with the allied forces occupied with holding out the Dark Army from advancing farther into the city it was up to the dragons to stop the Golem. The drakes attacked the monster with all their strength but it still managed to try to end Spyro's and Cynder's life, it was then when the Guardians defended both young dragons from the Golem but were soon defeated. However

Ignitus showed Spyro and Cynder a small bump on the Golem's head by breathing fire on it, indicating that the main dark crystal that controls the monster is hidden underneath. Spyro and Cynder tore the bump off and destroyed the crystal inside. With the dark crystal destroyed, the Golem died and hit the ground, blocking the breach in the wall as a result.

With the Golem and their war machines destroyed the Dark Army retreated, leaving Warfang to its fate. The siege, constant bombarding, the Golem not to mention the earth splitting apart left the Dragon City in ruins. But the Realm forces didn't worry about that, the walls can be reinforced, the buildings rebuilt but the lives that would be lost if they had failed couldn't be given back.

As the group emerged from the Tunnel's entrance which was covered by the same two stones first thing that caught their attention was how this part of the city was left defenseless, no wonder since the siege was over and The Dark Master defeated. Another thing was the sound of constant shouting, talking, rumbling of stones and some strange sounds the odd machines which were created by the Moles made as they helped carry some bigger boulders to places where even a dragon could have difficulties reach. No one was paying them any mind as every soul that walked down the pretty destroyed streets was entirely focused on repairing the damage. A cheetah pushing a cart with debris could be seen there, a mole operating one of the cranes here, some other cheetahs and moles walking on the many scaffoldings accompanied by the ringing sound of a hammer hitting a stone wall. A dragon with a pole strapped to his back with two big buckets hanging from both sides of his body that were filled with rocks walked slowly through the streets. Now they know why Meadow ordered the cheetah warriors from his village to remain in Warfang, the city is being rebuilt and the moles and dragons need all the help they can get.

As they walked down one of the streets they reached a structure formed like an archway, a mole was walking carrying some stones towards them constantly looking around for any sign of debris. The clicking sound of claws gained his attention as he turned his head to see who is the creator of that noise. The moment the mole set his eyes upon the group he froze and dropped all the stones on the ground which created a rumbling sound the moment they hit the floor. He rubbed the goggles which he wore on his long nose just like he tried to make sure he isn't seeing things.

Spyro smiled and prepared to greet the mole but the moment he opened his mouth the little rodent made a quick turn and ran deeper into the city screaming "HE'S BACK!, HE'S BACK!"

Cynder smiled sarcastically " I guess they are happy to see you Meadow"

The cheetah chuckled " That would be something" he coughed " Anyway I won't hold you any longer, I have some business to attend to. See you and good luck" with that he exchanged meaningful smiles with Cynder and slightly bowed his head in a goodbye manner before making his way towards one of the other streets.

Both dragons continued onwards passing under the archway, surprisingly everything went silent, no footsteps could be heard, no hammers hitting the stony walls, no shouts, even the strange machines the moles were using stopped moving, it looked like the whole city froze in place. The young dragons continued their slow walk, after a while some quiet noise caught their attention it was some distance away so it was hard to say what caused it. They made only a few steps before the sound became louder, both dragons stopped and listened intently, the noise was getting louder and louder with each passing second. Cynder made a few steps backwards and observed Spyro with a smile on her snout as he tried to figure out what was causing this noise.

" What is this?" Spyro asked thoughtfully " If I had to guess I would say it sounds like-" a single mole popping from behind a building cut him off, soon after another group of moles showed themselves followed by some cheetahs and dragons, all of them headed directly at him " Oh no" Spyro muttered with a glimmer of fear in his voice.

This was no small group, second after second more people popped from behind the building, Spyro's eyes went wide when the sound of many footsteps intensified just to reveal a quite big mob behind it which was headed straight at him. The first ones who got to Spyro began surrounding him instantly, asking questions, congratulating, thanking and many other things which he couldn't really hear since the cheerful noise was almost deafening.

"Listen guys there is no reason to be happy-" he didn't finish since a mole grabbed his head, Spyro gasped when the rodent pulled him, making him slide on the stone floor sending tiny sparks in the air as his claws scratched the ground below him. The mole didn't care about such things since the moment Spyro's head was close enough he hugged him tightly almost choking the young dragon. Someone patted his head, someone delicately punched him in the side in a friendly manner, he couldn't tell who it was since he was still being held by the mole.

"It's good to see you too" Spyro mumbled with a muffled voice while he patted the mole's back. The rodent feeling his touch released the grip and looked directly into the dragon's amethyst eyes. Spyro smiled kindly when he looked at the mole, the rodent stared at him for a while and shook his slightly before dragging the dragon for another hug. Spyro's eyes almost popped out from their sockets when the mole squeezed him.

The mob was getting bigger and bigger, everyone wanted to get as close as possible to Spyro just to be able to touch him. "Guys-" he couldn't finish a sentence since he was pulled from every possible direction. Mole, feline and draconic faces were flashing before his eyes as he was almost spinning around thanks to the many paws reaching for him. Some more clever dragons descended from the sky and landed near him, replacing the more unfortunate souls who were pushed away by the gust of wind their wings created.

Cynder stood a few steps away from the mob, she observed the scene in complete silence and with a broad smile on her snout. Even if she wanted to she could do nothing to stop them, they were lost in happiness. She really liked to see Spyro in such uncomfortable moments for him, of course if she isn't the one who caused this uneasiness in the first place. Cynder really liked this innocence of his, even despite all the things they've been through he still couldn't muster enough confidence to say 'no'.

She observed the scene for a while now, the mob was jumping all around Spyro and the sight of his terrified snout staring at her made her giggle. Moments later the crowd began to move dragging him with them, Spyro had to realize what is happening since she could hear him calling her name. A slight opening formed itself, a purple snout emerged from it soon after. Cynder kept smiling and just waved him off when she saw Spyro staring at her. He was calling her name as the crowd dragged him, he continued doing so until the mob disappeared around the corner.

Cynder stood in the same place and her smile was fading the longer she stared at the empty street ahead. There was no one here to greet her, no one to thank or congratulate her, she was completely alone. Not that it surprised her, she was a murderer for them after all. Cynder is a black dragoness, one of a kind really, there is no other dragon with the same scales color in the Realms. She was born the same year Spyro was, in fact her egg was in the same Dragon Temple Spyro's egg was. Unfortunately she wasn't as lucky as he was, Ignitus only managed to save a single egg, all the others were destroyed expect for hers. Malefor needed a dragon to free his essence from his prison in Convexity and it happened to be her. The Ape King Gaul stole Cynder's egg just to ensure she was born under the Dark Master's influence, she was corrupted by his dark powers the moment she hatched, and that corruption transformed her into a monstrous horrific adult dragon brainwashed to do Malefor's bidding.

That transformation led to many deaths, she became the general of Malefor's army, Cynder led the Apes in the war against the Dragon race and the Guardians, it goes without saying that it was a very successful campaign. She became a killer for the cheetahs, a destroyer for the moles and a traitor for the dragons, she slaughtered everything that stood on her way, even those who didn't still couldn't hide from her shadow. Cynder was concerned only about her Master's return, every other life was worthless. The memories sadden her and fill her with a such strong guilt that if not for a single purple dragon she would probably be crazy by now.

Cynder blinked and shook her head as a loud sound reached her accompanied by many startled screams, soon after shouts of anger and confusion could be heard. However that was unimportant since moments later a purple shape emerged from behind a building which was getting closer towards her.

" Cynder!" Spyro shouted "Now's our chance let's get the hell out of here" he stopped in front of her panting slightly

She giggled " How did you manage to get here? From the looks of it they weren't really keen to release you"

" Sparx helped me, you have no idea how difficult it is to breath, they are just so happy that I can't even concentrate on one thing since soon after someone else squeezes me"

Cynder stared at him with a cheerful smile, her eyes traveled across his purple snout until she noticed some damp spots on his cheeks " Some even more than happy"

Spyro noticed her nodding towards his snout, he impulsively touched his cheek and blushed momentarily " No..that's...that's" he stammered while he kept rubbing his scales.

Cynder giggled " So tell me, where you want to run?"

" As far as possi-"

"There you are!" an excited shout cut Spyro off making him wince, he turned around just to see a cheetah grabbing his horn, the feline tugged the dragon behind him.

Cynder just shrugged when he threw her a quick resigned glance with a corner of his eye, that is the price a hero has to pay, whether he likes it or not.

Just as he was about to reach a quite big crowd ahead a glowing shape flew just above him " Sparx!" Spyro shouted irritated " You said you got it covered!"

The dragonfly hovered in the air as he turned to look down to see his brother being surrounded by the crowd " I can't believe you still fall for that." Sparx shook his head " I've done my best, seriously but they drive a hard bargain" he waved a little red apple that he held in his hand

"You sold me for an apple?!"

Sparx shrugged " Dude I'm hungry what else could I do? Besides you worry too much bro, it's not so bad, believe me I've been through this"

Spyro managed to slip away from the many paws for a while " Maybe for you it isn't but all this is really bad for me!"

" Chill, it's going to be fun" the crowd trapped the purple dragon below him " Roly there is quite a live one" a mole jumped towards Spyro wrapping his paws around his neck and dragging him on the ground " Have fun bro" with that Sparx flew away.

Cynder observed the crowd ahead but what really caught her attention was a glowing yellow shape heading her way, and only one guy she knew emitted such light. Sparx is a dragonfly who is a sidekick and a brother to Spyro it doesn't matter that they are from different species. Sparx lived in the Swamp with his parents Flash and Nina and a purple dragon who the family adopted when they found his egg and raised him as one of their own.

Even if they are not from the same blood they are like siblings sharing the same day they were born. Sparx and Spyro stick together from the very beginning, even the passing years didn't change that they both still remained inseparable. Sparx accompanied Spyro from the moment he left his home, the adventures they've been through intensified the bond between them. There was only one thing that they really disagreed upon and it was her. The moment Cynder was freed from Malefor's control Spyro always tried to help her any way he could while Sparx showed his distrust towards her and always repeated that she is still evil. That really caused some bad blood between the dragoness and the dragonfly.

Sparx looked down at her " And who do we have here? Isn't this the cause of my nightmares?"

Cynder kept staring at the crowd in complete silence

" Just when I thought the day can't get any better you show up and ruin everything" She was still standing in the same position

Sparx furrowed a brow " I've even lost my appetite" he threw the apple into one of the pile of debris before moving to hover just at her side " But when you are liked it can happen right?"

Cynder remained focused on the crowd

He cocked his head slightly in confusion before coughing " And who I am talking to? You have no idea about this, you have to play for the good team to understand"

She was still motionless

The silence irritated Sparx, he touched her side to gain her attention " Hello? Are you there?" he flew along her body just to stop inches above her head before patting it "Are you deaf or what?" when there was still no reaction he made his way towards her snout to hover just in front of her eyes and started to flail his hands just like a lunatic "Hello?!"

Cynder reared her head back and widened her eyes " You?!" she exclaimed with a faked surprise " What are you doing here? I hadn't seen you coming" she smirked

Sparx frowned and folded his arms around his chest " Very funny smartass"

"Honest, I really didn't see you coming, I thought it was a wind or something"

The dragonfly snorted and started flying around her head " You stare at that crowd and they even don't see you, after all this time you show up and they ignore you" he shivered " That's gotta sting"

Cynder threw her head to a side and closed her eyes just like any offended lady would do " Pffff" she snorted " I'm way too important for someone like them, they are not worth my precious time" she looked at the dragonfly with one of her eyes while a corner of her mouth twitched into a smile

" Ha! You wish!" Sparx exclaimed wryly " I tell you something sister, people here appreciate only the good stuff"

Cynder's eyes shot wide open as she looked at the dragonfly " What did you call me? A sister?" she curled her nose " Ewww that's disgusting"

Sparx cleared his throat nervously "Sister?!" he snorted " I've said trickster, boy you sure are deaf" he delicately punched her forehead with his finger several times

She focused her emerald eyes on him, her pupils moved to the sides of her orbs so they could form a good image " Now I'm going to have nightmares"

The dragonfly quickly flew away, she smiled kindly when she saw him doing so. Sparx waved his hand dismissively " If you don't believe me fine, I don't care anyway" with that he started to fly towards the crowd " I'm going to find some better company, besides I can't let Spyro steal all the attention. People!" Sparx exclaimed loudly " Your hero is coming!"

Cynder watched the glowing shape getting smaller and as she did so a kind sincere smiled formed itself on her snout " You're welcome" she whispered

Sparx always hid behind a mask, he always uses his sarcasm and wit to hide his true feelings, this time was no different and Cynder knew that, after all she exactly know what wit and sarcasm is. Over time the bad blood between them faded since Sparx learned to trust her when she and Spyro were tethered together during their journey. However that didn't stop them from throwing sarcastic remarks at each other, sometimes even snide ones. After some more time the relationship between Sparx and Cynder became far more friendly and the moment before the final battle proved that. The dragonfly had Cynder promise him to take care of Spyro when Sparx couldn't accompany the two dragons to the Burned Lands to face Malefor. Cynder knew that Sparx cared only about his foster brother's safety and this little talk they had was a thank you, dipped in the typical witty and sarcastic tone of course but she understood it without problems.

Cynder winced when something hit her head and broke her train of thought. She opened her eyes just to notice a little rock with its side covered in fresh crimson blood rolling on the ground. Cynder touched her head and lowered her paw just to see blood on it, she impulsively looked up. Her eyes widened as she noticed a big slab of stone heading her way that would turn her into a pulp if she would stand here. With her survival instinct kicking in Cynder quickly jumped forward and landed on her belly, the moment her magenta scales touched the floor, the slab hit the ground behind her with a loud rumbling noise. The impact broke the stone into many smaller pieces and created quite a thick dust hanging in the air. Cynder coughed several times and pulled herself up to look at the debris with shock filled eyes and a ringing sound in her head.

"Is everyone alright down there?" a low male shout came from above

Soon after a dragon descended from the sky and landed near the cracked slab of stone. He was fairly in his adulthood. The dragon has a powerfully built body, well formed muscles were protected by thick malachite scales which turned into a pewter color on his underbelly, chest and on both sides of his tail, his membranes were of the same color. Bladelike bony plates sprout from his chin, bony plates but without any blades covered the back of his head. A single horn is projecting above his nose. On either side of his tail are sharp, bladelike extensions. A pair of grey eyes scanned the surroundings.

" A warning would be welcome!" Cynder exclaimed angrily

The dragon looked at her with innocent eyes " I did yell WATCH OUT"

She narrowed her eyes " Strange, I didn't hear anything"

" I'm not surprised, it's hard to concentrate with all this noise down here "

Cynder observed the dragon, she couldn't shake off the feeling that he isn't entirely honest, however he had a point, it is really loud here thanks to the nearby crowd. She decided to not dwell on it any longer " Be more careful next time, you might actually kill someone one day"

She noticed the dragon smirking for a brief moment, but the smile disappeared as quickly as it appeared " I would never hurt anyone" he replied firmly

" Did we got her?" an excited male shout came from above. Moments later a group of dragons landed close to the debris. There were three of them, all males. One was a fire dragon about Cynder's age or one or two years older, the next two were earth dragons slightly older than the malachite drake. The group looked around grinning and clearly excited, just as their eyes found Cynder their expressions turned to that of disappointment.

The malachite dragon gave them a scornful look " Luckily nobody is hurt" with that he turned around to look at Cynder with eyes filled with guilt " You have to forgive them, they are quite clumsy but they have good intentions. My apologies" as he lowered his head Cynder noticed as he threw her a quick glance and smiled wryly under his nose for a brief moment.

Cynder narrowed her pupils as her eyes traveled from dragon to dragon until they stopped on the malachite one " Wouldn't hurt anyone you say" she hissed threateningly as she had seen through his deception

He raised his head grinning menacingly " With some exceptions of course"

" If you have a problem with me say it straight to my face instead of playing dirty. Cowards" Cynder growled

The three other dragons snarled " You should be the last one who speaks of honest fights Ligtbane!" one of the earth drakes exclaimed

She bent on her paws " Then maybe you should teach me some manners" her tail began to move slowly back and forth

The malachite dragon adopted a defensive stance " Tempting" he growled

"Cynder!" a scared familiar male shout came from behind her which she ignored, she was entirely focused on the group of dragons ahead. "Cynder are you ok?" Spyro yelled with a terrified voice

Seeing that the purple dragon is getting close the group of drakes relaxed "What happened here!?" Spyro exclaimed while looking at the debris with wide eyes.

The malachite dragon looked at him with guilty expression " It was an accident, thanks the Ancestors nobody was badly hurt" he threw Cynder a challenging look "Isn't that right?"

She growled quietly with her yes intently focused on him "Yeah...yeah it was just an accident"

The other three dragons stared at her for a while just to look at Spyro moments later "Capro" one of the earth dragons said "We should get back to work"

"Your right" Capro nodded " We apologize for any trouble" with that the group took to the sky. When he was in the air Capro threw Cynder one last malicious glance

Spyro sighed in relief " When I heard that noise I thought..." he shivered "Good thing that everything ended well"

Cynder kept staring at the departing group of dragons " Yeah...very good" she muttered

Spyro looked at her with concerned eyes " Cynder are you alright? How are you feeling?" he asked with a soft tone

Her heart jumped when she heard the only voice that cared about her. She blinked and forgot about that whole bad situation in an instant " I'm fine now" Cynder smiled lovingly and began to turn around "You left the party already? That's not-"

Spyro gasped the moment she looked at him "You are hurt!" he exclaimed with fear in his voice

Cynder forgot about that blood on her paw but his startled shout made it all come back to her. Her head began to sting a clear sign that she is wounded. Cynder also started to feel as a streak of blood was running down her forehead " That's just a scratch, nothing to worry about " she closed one of her eyes as blood started to flow down her eyelid

"We have to find a healer!"

" Spyro relax, th-" she gasped when he wrapped his tail around one of her forelegs and tugged her "Spyro listen!" Cynder exclaimed to get his attention but with no luck " Spyro I'm fine!" he didn't budge " Ok you win, I'll go, just release me!" he kept pulling her behind him making Cynder jump on her three free paws "Spyro!"

As they reached the crowd every single person was stepping out of their way, all of them however stared at the purple dragon and the screaming black dragoness behind him with wide eyes. Only a glowing shape emerged from the mob and headed towards the young drakes.

" Bro I'm proud of you!" Sparx exclaimed happily " You finally decided to get rid of this burden" he clapped his hands and cleared his throat "The Big Guys want to see you"

"Later" Spyro replied firmly

They left the crowd behind them and made their way up some stairs, eventually they arrived on the second level. Cynder stopped protesting after a while, it had no sense, he wasn't listening from the beginning so there was no chance he would now. With a sigh she jumped behind him in complete silence, after 'walking' past by many shocked residents of this city, their destination came into view, it was a building with an empty bed and a red potion next to it shaped right above its entrance.