FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter 7

The wind whizzed in the City Hall as one of the small shutters next to the main door flung open and a yellowish glowing dragonfly flew through it.

Sparx stretched with a yawn the moment the shutter closed itself and once more he was embraced by the warm air " What a day" he mumbled tiredly

The dragonfly rubbed one of his sleepy eyes as he looked around the room " Need to blow off some steam before bed" he scanned his surroundings longingly " And where is my bro when you need him?"

He slowly made his way towards the staircase leading to the guests quarters when with a corner of his eye he caught the glimpse of an unnatural reddish glow coming from one of the side entrances. The dragonfly stopped and observed the corridor, the grin on his face grew in accordance with the intensity of the light, he didn't have to hear the clicks of the claws to realize who is making his way towards him.

Sparx rubbed his hands mischievously and cackled menacingly " This day is suddenly getting better and better"

The dragonfly dropped his wicked smile and spread his arms in a sign of a long awaiting greeting " Yo guys!" he exclaimed at the sight of two young dragons entering the room and darted towards them " Missed me?"

Cynder's eyes widened and her smile grew in a display of faked happiness " Sparx!" she shouted " We were just talking about you! I was just telling Flare how you remind me of all that unimportant stuff we usually forget "

The fiery dragon furrowed his brows " Wha-"

Sparx folded his arms and narrowed his eyes, accepting the challenge " You did something on your own already or are you still waiting for my bro to take pity on you?"

" At least someone acknowledges my existence"

" Yeah, you have a talent on being on everyone's lips, especially when people try to insult each other"

" Hey!" Flare blurt out displeased " What are you two doing?!"

The dragonfly looked at him with a dumbfounded expression " What?"

" We are just saying hello" Cynder added

The red dragon just stared at them blankly.

" So..." Sparx broke the awkward silence after a while "...you two are going to get some shut-eye?"

" Yeah" the dragoness narrowed her gaze on him suspiciously " Why?"

Sparx looked almost genuinely hurt " What's with the look? I'm just curious" he looked at the fiery drake " So Dude, you know where you're going to be sleeping?"

" Cynder is going to show me"

Sparx rubbed his chin thoughtfully " You don't say?" he mumbled and darted towards the dragonesses snout and smirked " Do you even know which room he got?"

Two feminine green pupils focused on him " I'm guessing that you do"

" I know lots of things"

The dragoness burst out in a bogus laugh.

Sparx frowned annoyed " What a fake laugh"

" It's real" she corrected him without any hint of cheerfulness in her voice " That's my most cynical laugh ever"

" Laugh all you want but" he gently patted the dragonesses cheek " I definitely know your secret"

She had to admit that she was slightly taken aback by his words, especially after the talk with Amela earlier. However she has to play stupid to not give him the satisfaction.

" Yeah? And what secret would that be?"

Sparx looked at her defiantly " I'm not spilling it out, I'm not going to lose my leverage that easy"

She made a threating step forward, which made the dragonfly retreat slightly " I wouldn't try to manipulate me if I were you. The chances where your wings are being shoved down your throat increase greatly that way"

With a gulp Sparx swiftly darted into the air just to be out of her reach, in situation like these he remembered why he was afraid and didn't trust her back in the days. He knew that after everything she's been through mentioning manipulation and submission angered her but he never saw her so literally murderous, he touched a nerve there, that was extremely exposed for the past few hours it seems. He should have figured it out after that scene at the marketplace.

" You look stupid when you try to act tough"

She smirked " But it is you who cling to the ceiling. How that makes you look like?"

" Are you two finally done saying hello?" Flare interjected, irritated by this whole situation, he didn't understand this game of theirs and just wanted it to be over finally

Both the dragoness and the dragonfly looked at each other, in that brief moment when their eyes met they both realized that they went too far, yet no one of them wanted to admit it, however both of them wanted it to stop.

" Yes" they said simultaneously, the harmony in their response surprised not only Flare but them also

" So..." Flare said " ...where is that room or whatever?"

The sound of the drake's voice pulled Sparx back to reality " Follow me"

The fiery dragon looked at the only present female as if looking for her permission but she only shrugged.

The dragonfly rolled his eyes " Come on dude, put that lazy tail of yours to action and move. She's not going anywhere, you'll see her soon."

Flare blushed and looked surreptitiously at the dragoness.

Cynder smirked at seeing his reaction, that prankster which is part of her ominous charm couldn't pass such an opportunity for an innocent taunt " Maybe he feels something for me"

" I-I-I-" the dragon stammered and quickly averted his gaze without elaborating further. The blush on his snout only intensified

Sparx grabbed the fiery dragon's horn and began to drag him behind him " Pity is not a feeling"

The smile on the feminine draconic snout only grew bigger, how she needed a moment for simple snide remarks, even if she was on the receiving end of it.

" If you're going to take Flare to his room I'm guessing you have the keys"

The dragonfly spun around and spread his arms wide open " Hello? I've been waiting for you here all the time, Terry saw me and showed me the keys"

The dragoness cackled mockingly " You seriously think that somebody will believe that Terrador would expect you to do something?"

" Believe what you want, I know the way, you don't. I win"

Flare looked from one of his companions to the other, not understanding any of this. In fact he no longer tried to make any sense out of this situation, he was tired and just wanted some sleep.

The red dragon yawned impatiently " Can we get to that room finally?" he clicked his tongue several times

Suddenly the main door opened with an audible shrill whizz, the strong wind still being the main actor on the streets of Warfang. Yet the young purple dragon who just crossed the doorstep didn't seem to be bothered by it in the slightest, judging from hiss exasperated sigh and the way he leaned against the door with his eyes closed the moment they shut themselves he looked like there was nothing in the whole world that would bother him, besides the obvious turmoil going on inside his head right now, that is.

Sparx spread his arms towards the recently arrived purple dragon " Look who's here" he muttered relieved and seconds later turned towards the black female " You can go now, have one of your moments while we will run away so we won't throw up" he yanked the red dragon's horn again

Flare's eyes jumped between Cynder and the purple dragon, his pupils were moving so fast from one draconic figure to the other as if one of his eyes wanted to observe the first dragon and the other one, the second. Torn between mistrust and protectiveness he let himself be guided by the dragonfly towards the unknown room.

Cynder wished a good night for his friend as her gaze accompanied him until he finally disappeared from her sight. Only then she turned towards her other friend and approached him with a wide happy smile.

" So, how it go?"

Spyro just threw her a quick tired glance before he closed his eyes again and sighed deeply.

" That good, huh?"

She shrugged, completely unmoved by his reaction " Didn't expect anything else. Did the little rodent tell you already when's my turn for the gallows?"

The purple drake's eyes opened sharply as he fixed her with a stern gaze " Don't say such things Cynder"

" What?" she nonchalantly examined her paw as she raised it near her nose " I have to know when to get my claws polished, I have to make a stunning effect for my last entry. You won't understand, it's a girl thing"

" Will you stop fooling around? It's serious"

" Oh come on, Brill is not the first lunatic who taunts me, he is just doing it more openly. He's nothing more than an attention seeker"

" You didn't hear how he talked about you!" Spyro blurt out, irritated by her deliberate contempt of the threat " He treats you like some kind of...stain, like garbage which wants to pollute his perfect image of a world, or dragons"

" Pffft" she snorted " I've been called worse"

" Brill is a blind zealot and a fanatic, who might even hurt you one day!"

" So he better get in line"

A growl of anger rumbled within Spyro's throat " You're impossible"

She smiled seductively " That's part of my charm"

He shook his head with a smile " Wish I could be so lighthearted"

" Hey, hey, remember that's my one and probably only good character trait, steal that away and only wickedness remains"

He shrugged " Doesn't bother me. I like your temper"

She snickered " Just because you don't know the full scale of it"

" I'm pretty sure I could handle you"

" I would destroy you" she pronounced each word with a very farfetched malicious tone

He narrowed his eyes on her with a friendly, challenging and at the same time teasing glimmer within his amethyst orbs " I want to see you try"

Cynder smirked, a spark of juvenile devilment could be seen in her eyes " Careful or I might grant you your wish"

Spyro straightened up with an arrogant grin " I can't wait"

The dragoness wiggled her shoulders in a playful anticipation " You're asking for it"

The dragon bent on his paws adopting a defensive posture, his tail was swinging from left to right in a frisky manner " Bring it on"

With a giggle Cynder dragged a shadow below herself, just to shoot at a moment's notice from a freshly created black mass just behind her friend. Spyro reflexes kicked in, he jumped away quickly but Cynder still managed to smack his rump with the flat end of her tail tip.

The strike made Spyro quiver but not because it was painful but because he was unprepared for the feeling of cold silver on his scales.

Cynder swiftly spun around to face her friend, with her legs bent and tail swinging happily she offered him a proud grin " Too fast for you?"

He chuckled with a shake of his head before focusing on the dragoness " I bet my horn that you won't be so lucky next time"

Once again her body was being embraced by shadow " Challenge accepted" and with that she vanished

He doubted that she would fall for this provocation if they would be fighting seriously, they know each other so well that they are fully aware of what each of them is capable of. Yet she attacked, either to test his quick thinking or because she was curious to find out what he has prepared for her.

In any other situation Spyro would be unable to ready his elemental energy to fully repel her attack, but the time he had was enough to protect himself from her so called charge.

Cynder popped from the ground in front of him, wanting to punch him in the shoulder. The mere seconds he had were enough for the purple drake to channel his Electricity element and create a weak electric shield around his body.

The moment Cynder punched him she was instantly zapped by the pulses embracing his purple scales. The dragoness emitted a cheerful yelp when her foreleg got electrocuted.

Giggling she began to jump around on three legs while twirling her shocked paw in the air " Dear Ancestors, is it wrong that I love the feeling of electric pulses running through my body?"

Spyro observed his hopping friend closely " You like to get zapped?" he asked amused

" Kinky I know, but we all have our perversions. You're words, not mine" she dropped her paw on the ground " Enough games, time to show you who's boss"

The male dragon flexed his muscles as he lowered on his paws and began to stretch, slowly adopting the pose of a seasoned runner.

" It's my turn now" he muttered and darted towards her using his Comet Dash ability.

Cynder observed the glowing pair of horns closely, judging from the position of his head, speed and the now fading sparks of flame she knew what he tried to do.

Spyro's horns slipped under her chest as he forcefully skidded to a stop. He began to raise his head with the intention to hurl her over behind himself, comparing his male muscles and her frail feminine body he would be able to do just that, if not for the two black paws wrapping themselves around his horns.

Cynder yelped joyfully as he bounced her like some sort of a black ball as he pushed his head further below her while tilting it forcefully backwards. If not for the grip around his horns that quenched the force of the first impact she was quite sure that she would be rolling on the ground by now.

The moment she began to lose balance and her grip Cynder pushed forward, placing her paws on his back just to start running down his spine seconds later. She couldn't stop laughing as she traversed through the unstable scaly territory.

With every step she took Cynder felt as Spyro's paws were bending just to straight up soon after. He was like a purple surprised grunting spring, a spring that had its patience.

The moment she was about to reach his rump Spyro yanked his body sharply upwards just to sway to the side soon after. Cynder let out another giggle as she was forced to jump on the ground, the landing wasn't perfect, she had to struggle for a while to recover her balance but failed to do so since momentarily Spyro's tail ran along the ground and kicked her paws in the air making her topple on the floor.

She brandished her teeth in a vengeful, yet playful snarl as she pulled her nose from the floor " You're not going to beat me twice in a row"

Spyro was surprised with how fast she pulled herself up, and even more shocked when she tackled him without any warning. He wrapped his paws around her, not knowing what she tried to accomplish with such a move, he was undoubtedly stronger than her. They wrestled as they rolled on the ground, he felt that she was fighting valiantly, but no matter what she did he was still getting the upper paw.

It wasn't long before she landed on her back with his paws on her shoulders pressing her to the ground. He threw her a triumphant grin " Guess who's on top"

Cynder didn't respond, he was so overtaken by joy after his victory that he failed to notice how her cheeks are puffed up. When he put two and two together it was already too late, and the wink she gave him only confirmed this.

Cynder released all her accumulated Wind energy, the gust of wind that wafted from her mouth blew the triumphant and completely unaware Spyro off her. Not high and not far but it was enough, she was on all fours even before he hit the ground, the moment his back collided with the floor Cynder was already near him. She patted his belly with her tail, the gentle smack made him gasp and cringe in a natural defensive posture, as if his body prepared itself to withstand horrible amounts of pain.

Cynder began to prance around in a circle while humming a cheerful tone, giving her friend the time to recover from her ambush. When he finally pulled himself up she turned towards him with a broad grin.

She cleared her throat and adopted an elegant posture " Cynder- two, Spyro- one" she announced with the most manly voice she could muster while trailing the forms of the two mentioned digits with her claw

She began to dance again while observing her friend, his eyes were never leaving her " Wanna make it even or you had enough?" she started headbanging delicately to her own whistled music

Spyro wanted to make the score even, but he just couldn't stop watching her, the melodic whistling, the dance, the smile, all those things put together made the perfect image of his joyous friend. It wasn't often when he saw her so happy, in fact he couldn't remember when was the last time she let herself be lost in mirth. She was simply overjoyed, even with everything that's been happening she hadn't lost her spirit, and that happiness was contagious, just by staring at her he felt like all the troubles from today faded away. If he could he would stare at her for all eternity but then again her glee would end and he just didn't want it to be gone, he wanted to keep her happy, just for a little longer.

With that thought in mind he channeled his Ice element, and moments later took advantage of his Polar Bomb ability. He directed the freezing spray just below Cynder's dancing paws, turning the floor under her into solid ice.

With a gasp she impulsively jumped but it wasn't enough to avoid the projectile, the icy square the attack created was way too big to avoid with a simple jump. The moment her legs landed on the slippery surface Cynder felt as her legs were sliding away in every possible direction. She tried to pull them together again, but they kept sliding away, farther and farther. It was then when she wanted to leave the icy surface but only managed to quickly swing her paws back and forth, as if she was running in place before she finally collapsed on the pleasant chilly surface.

It was then when Spyro approached her to the accompaniment of her merry laughing. He slid around her on the ice like a professional before swatting her rump gently with his tail.

" Two-two" he announced joyfully as he craned his neck towards her during another circle around his struggling friend

Giggling uncontrollably Cynder tried to pull herself up again but the attempt proved to be as successful as her fight for balance. The contact with the icy floor triggered another laugh from her throat.

Spyro kept smiling as he listened to her laughing, it was such a beautiful sound that he just wanted it to continue, or better, to start it all over again.

His neck once again found itself above her head " Three- two" he whispered

Barely able to contain her laugh Cynder tried to get up again after this announcement, but just as before she ended miserably. Yet she wasn't angry about it, in fact she was very happy with the outcome, if another portion of feminine laughter was any clue.

" Four"

His voice was like the perfect nudge to try again, which resulted in another defeat, and another dose of laughter.

" Five"

After another collapse her joyful outburst reached the point of hysterical, she was laughing so hard that she had troubles catching breath.

" Six"

Cynder no longer had the strength to pull up, her body was using all of its energy to support the glee that quivered her body. With nothing else to do she began to crawl slowly on the ice, without even stopping laughing, even for a bit.

Spyro furrowed his brows " And where do you think you're going?" he stopped right behind her

" AAAHHHH!" she yelped happily and yanked her body to the left when his paw touched her waistline on the right side " Yo...you're...pa...paws!" she pronounced in between laughs

Spyro's smile only grew wider " What about them?" he touched her waist on the other side this time

" AAAHH!" she yelped once more and shook her body to the opposite side in the resound of another fresh dose of laughter leaving her throat " The...they...a...are...cold!"

He raised his right paw innocently in the air, faking a surprise " This paw?" he touched her right flank again, but this time slightly above the waist

" YYYYEEESSS!" she let out a wavering overjoyed yelp and continued her pitiful attempt to crawl away

" Or this?" his paw returned to the other flank of her body

" YYYEESSS!" her yelp sounded like she was crying, yet the constant laughing proved that it wasn't because of sadness

This time he couldn't help himself but to start to laugh with her " What about this?" another touch

She no longer had the air to pronounce any more words, her hysterical laugh only intensified with every new touch. Even Spyro was lost in the merry outburst, he kept laughing together with her as he kept poking his friend, he even moved a bit forward and trapped her body in between his legs so he could touch her even faster. His laugher was not as heartily as hers but he was still having fun.

S-S-S-STOP!: Cynder stammered loudly in between laughs after another poke " STOP IT! STOP IT!" she managed to exclaim

Still laughing Spyro stopped his paw in midair.

" I GIVE UP! I GIVE UP!"

He placed his risen paw on the icy floor and kept laughing together with his friend as he stared at the back of her head. Cynder laughed and laughed with her nose touching the ground, only after a while when she finally managed to calm her mirth she rolled onto her back.

Only then she began to giggle and finally opened her eyes to look at him " You got me" she said happily

" Looks like it" Spyro replied, still smiling

With another giggle she wiped a tear running down her cheek " If you didn't stop I swear I would choke"

He chuckled " Yeah"

She aimed her gaze on him " Got something planned for your beaten opponent?" she smiled at him

Spyro however could barely hear what she said, the sound of his pounding heart blocked mostly every other noise " Thinking" he found himself whispering " Maybe you've got some ideas"

She opened her mouth but no words came out, there was some strange unexplained force in his eyes that sucked all her confidence. Cynder shifted on the ground wanting to get away from it but just couldn't move, or perhaps she didn't want to.

Her eyes returned on him, as she watched his amethyst pupils she gave him the most loving and as Amela said enslaving smile of her entire life. She was unaware of that since as she stared at his purple orbs she began to hear a strangely addicting thudding sound coming from above her.

Suddenly the floor below her wasn't so cold anymore, she even felt as the temperature of her entire body started to raise significantly, and kept going up and up, if it won't stop raising the ice under her back will definitely melt.

Cynder felt the temperature on her snout, she could feel it heating her black cheeks, she felt the blush on her draconic maw. She didn't care. She only wanted to reach that thudding sound, with her sight locked on his eyes she began to extend her foreleg, slowly, but steadily.

With every inch her raising paw made the temperature of her body rose together with it. The paw kept going up and up, just mere seconds and it will reach its goal, the temperature was so high by that time that she felt her blood boiling.

And then she found the source.

Cynder let out a muffled gasp when her paw touched the golden scales of the muscular dragon above her. She swallowed as she trailed her paw across his underbelly in search of the origin of the source.

And there it was.

Another shy and blissful gasp escaped her throat as she felt her paw bouncing slightly in accordance with the addicting thuds. Cynder was unaware that her smile returned to the previous enslaving form, as if deep down even her mind knew that it was the right thing to do.

She was completely lost in the thudding sounds of his heart. As she began to trail small circles on that spot the pounding only intensified. It was so strong that she felt the heart stretching his scales like some sort formidable gum and touching her paw.

She could feel the heart's entire form on her paw as if it wanted to be caught and gods of this and any other era know that she wanted to catch it. Unconsciously Cynder began to clench and unclench her paw, trying to grab the organ and drag it towards her. She craved for the warmth and security it provided, she wanted to feel it beating against her chest and to never let it go.

The world around ceased to exist for him, whatever was out there was unimportant compared to her, she was all that mattered, everything else was shrouded in darkness. Spyro felt her paw on his chest, every gentle rub she performed was like some sort of a wordless magical incantation.

The delicate caress was full of intoxicating magical fascination and passion that his heart just couldn't resist. With every pound of his most important organ Spyro felt as his stomach began to curl, as if she was enthralling the most vital parts of his body, while pushing away the insignificant ones.

His heart currently was being charmed by the wordless spell, her paw carving invisible runes on his scales, preparing a wall for his heart to break so she could steal it for herself. And he even for a moment didn't think about protesting, whatever scolding voices that were screaming at the back of his head couldn't break through the silent enchantment, not that he cared about that now. In that never-ending moment Spyro knew that his heart belonged to her, and her alone.

While she deliberately or not worked on caging his heart, his eyes received their own share of magic. Spyro just kept looking at her smile, he felt like he was drowning in it, if there was an image that you won't forget for your whole life, he was certain that this was it.

He just couldn't get enough of her smiling snout, he saw her cut, bruised, tired, angry and any other grimace wasn't able to ruin her charm. This particular smile suited her perfectly, it was for dumb people like him who don't see the obvious, they need something literally right in front of their noses to appreciate it. In this moment Spyro was glad that he was an blind idiot, otherwise he would never have the chance to admire that pretty smile on an even more prettier snout.

By the Ancestors, she is so beautiful.

He thought that there is absolutely nothing that could add more charm to her grace, he quickly changed his mind the moment he looked in her eyes. If his heart had a voice, it would surely scream to be finally released so it could drown in that green ocean below.

His gaze was locked on those two pupils, the cheerful tears that cleaned her eyes gave her orbs a magnificent shine. Her pupils were like a pair of emeralds emitting the most beautiful and enthralling glow. Those crystals were just a part of even more beautiful gem, that gem's black glow outshined everything else, and deep down he wished, he yearned, that she shined for him.

Spyro felt a numbing squeeze in his head and every other muscle that was both pleasant and uncomfortable. His eyes traveled slowly across her whole snout, once more admiring her smile, her lips but eventually they found their way back to her eyes again. He saw and felt her gaze on him, those green eyes stared at him in the dark, stealing his freedom.

And he liked that.

Suddenly he felt as if some sort of an invisible paw grabbed the back of his neck and began to push him forwards, towards the black snout. His whole body tensed, it was a wonder that his head moved at all, yet his snout slowly made its way towards the sweet cage below, a cage he belonged to.

Cynder's eyes sparkled nervously when she felt her risen paw bending under the slowly approaching golden chest.

" What are you doing?" she muttered

" I don't know" he whispered

Whatever reasonable thoughts remained in her head dispersed the moment she felt his warm and wavering breath on her nose. Her brain was cut off from her, like the sound of someone speaking in a gale. Her eyes closed themselves, she let out a muffled gasp and her lips wavered when another warm breath caressed her snout.

Nothing made any sense.

They didn't care.

" LEAVE HER ALONE!"

The furious roar was like a thunder, both young dragons blinked, as they stared at each other like that they saw focus returning to their pupils, their minds woke up, the world around was once again the key element in their perception.

" LEAVE HER ALONE!"

Another familiar angered roar reached them. Their bodies were still frozen in place, their brains still didn't retake whole control. Yet their confused eyes were alive, they shifted towards the direction from which the roar came from, towards the stairs to the guest quarters.

Seconds later Flare jumped from the staircase and landed on the floor below with an audible thud. Seeing his fallen friend and the purple dragon standing over her made him angry and scared beyond words. His eyes flared up with murderous flames, literally, as he bent on his paws, preparing himself for a charge.

" GET OFF HER!" Flare roared again, he was at the brink of self-control

Spyro only let a shocked gasp, still not fully aware of the whole situation. Cynder however had awaken from her trance completely. Her eyes widened when everything came back to her, Amela's warning regarding Flare, his feelings towards her and his broken soul after his traumatic past.

In a moment she realized how he could perceive the position she and Spyro was in when he caught them. For Flare Spyro was just another vile, yet calm purple dragon, a vicious manipulating creature standing over her trapped body with his maw close to her throat, ready to pierce her soft magenta scales and bleed her out. It didn't matter that they were friends, not now.

" No, no, no, no, no!" Cynder yelled nervously as she chaotically slipped all of her paws below Spyro and forcefully shoved him off of her. In accordance to the sound of her friend landing on his butt she swiftly rolled over and jumped on all fours while rising her one foreleg to the air and urging the red dragon to calm down.

" This is not how it looks like" she pronounced each word slowly and calmly

Flare narrowed his eyes on the confused sitting purple dragon " I've told you he can't be trusted" he growled threateningly

" He is my friend Flare"

" A friend that attacked you!" he snapped, bending on his paws even more

" He didn't attack me!" Cynder protested " We were just fooling around"

" Oh, I'm sure that was just a game for him"

The dragoness bit her lip and cursed her poor choice of words. The moment for diplomacy was over, time to wake up her commanding and bitchy side.

" Look at me Flare" she demanded sternly

" He-"

" Now"

The dragon winced, there was something in her voice that just forced him to obey, because if he wouldn't he knew that it would end badly for him. She sounded like one of the generals he heard in his world, give her some more years and she will grow up to be a ferocious leader, she would have hundreds or more soldiers kneeling at her paws in fear of her, if she only wanted it to happen.

He was just like one of those imagined soldiers, who had no other choice but to obey her orders. The fiery drake turned his eyes on her.

" Look me over and tell me if you see any wounds"

Flare did as he was told, he tried very hard to spot even the tiniest scratch but failed to do so. She was completely healthy.

He shook his head.

" We weren't fighting, this was all just a stupid game"

" Dude! What the hell!?" Sparx appeared yelling from the staircase, completely furious " You almost trampled me!"

" I'm sorry" Flare whined " But when I heard Cynder screaming I thought she was in trouble..."

" I've told you she was laughing!" the dragonfly exclaimed angrily

" ...and...and then I saw him standing over her" the fiery dragon continued his explanation " Cynder had her eyes closed and-"

" It was just a gameeeee" Sparx whined

" ...B-b-but when I saw him leaning towards her very s-s-slowly I thought h-h-h-he is torturing her b-b-before he finally kills her"

" Damn Dude, If my bro wanted to kill-" then suddenly Sparx voice trailed off " Wait a moment" he darted towards the fiery drake and stopped just right next to his head before covering his mouth with his hand

" She was just lying there and Spyro was getting close to her, and when I say close I mean VERY close?" he whispered while eyeing the dumbfounded black dragoness

Cynder just stood in front of them cocking her head to the side. Whatever those two were whispering about is probably strictly connected with theirs _special_personalities.

Flare gulped " Yeah" he whispered back

The dragonfly sighed " And you stopped him?"

" Wouldn't you?"

Sparx morosely rubbed his forehead " Of course you did"

" I seriously thought he wants to hurt her"

" Dude when I told you to stay away and pay attention regarding those two I've meant it"

" But-"

The dragonfly angrily pointed at the staircase " Go to your room now! We have much to talk about young boy! And if you try to trample me again I swear I'm going to kick your ass!"

Flare looked at the dragonfly, completely taken aback by his outburst, then threw a quick glance at Cynder. With a sigh he dropped his head to the ground in embarrassment and scampered in the direction of the stairs, dragging his wings and tail behind him as a guilty hatchling.

Sparx observed the walking dragon in complete silence, only when he disappeared from his sight and was quite certain that he won't be eavesdropping he spun swiftly and pointed a scolding finger at the black dragoness " And you!" he exclaimed

Cynder jerked her head back at the sound of his sudden yell.

" Have you no shame?"

" What?" she blurt out shocked

" Doing stuff like that, it was obvious something like this would happen, all she needed was more courage and my brother more brain, is it really so hard? We would avoid cliché scenarios. Progress Dude, progress. Do you hear me people? Progress!"

" What the hell are you talking about?"

He waved his hand dismissively and turned around with a snort " No tact whatsoever" and with that he followed the red drake upstairs

" And they say I have issues"

With a shake of her head Cynder turned towards her purple friend, he was still sitting in the same spot still clearly bewildered. She approached him with an amused expression.

" What just happened?" Spyro mumbled

She shuffled her paw on the ground in faked shyness " I don't want to brag but it seems I have some social skills after all"

He frowned " Did you just kick me?"

" No...no, of course not" she muttered while scratching the back of her head, wanting to take advantage of his shock and avoid mentioning that it was Flare who caused her to react like that " I...just...gently pushed you away. You had to trip over my tail or something"

" Did Flare just wanted to attack me?" he threw another question the moment she stopped talking, as if he tried to make sense out of this situation using his still barely active synapses

" Not attack but rather he tried to...umm... open your eyes for reason"

" I don't understand how he could think that I was trying to kill you"

She cackled nervously " That's Flare, a mini Sparx, no explanation can be found here"

" How did he show up here so quickly?"

" The guests quarters aren't far"

Spyro's frown deepened " He wasn't looking for me"

" He said he heard screaming and wanted to check it out"

He looked at his friend " He came to defend you"

The dragoness shrugged, keeping her calm and not betraying a thing " We're friends, he was worried"

" But why so fiercely?"

Cynder bit her lip, if she spills the whole truth about Flare, if of course Amela's hypothesis is correct, Spyro and Flare will be at each other's throats sooner than later. She wanted to avoid any more bad blood between the two, but only now she realized that is not the only reason why she defends the fiery dragon.

Flare's situation so much reminds her of her own, both of them carry the burdens of horrible lives they had, and those burdens more or less dictates their lives. Spyro's voice was like the voice of the lynch mob back when Brill was giving his speech, blaming him for all the odd things he does not truly understanding why he acts the way he does. Such horrible experience leaves a mark, a pestering wounds that never heals, she knows that all too well.

Cynder realized that Flare was just like her, maybe his burden was lighter than hers, but it was still a burden that weighted on him. Yet he didn't stand against a crowd of people but her best friend, she understood perfectly that if she has a chance of convincing people about forgetting about her past and make them see that she has truly changed and is trying to make up for her crimes, she first needs to help Spyro trust Flare, because if she won't be able to convince her best friend then there is absolutely no chance she will convince all those people. Her redemption is harder to achieve than she thought, but if she will be able to cure Flare from his traumatic past she will know that her own redemption won't be beyond reach.

" What does he want-"

However she won't be able to do anything right now, it requires careful planning and time. The constant listening to Spyro's questions and answering them in her own specious way only threaten her to spill out the secret, and more importantly, her plan. To avoid such a scenario from happening she swiftly spun around and started to make her way towards the staircase, with intention to end this conversation once and for all.

" Come to bed"

"-with you?"

They've said almost simultaneously.

Momentarily Spyro's eyes shot wide open after hearing one sentence right after another. When he saw her stop he knew that she noticed the unintended meaning behind those words. Spyro's heart began to race when suddenly, for a brief moment, he started seeing flashes where she says yes and wondering how it would play out after that.

" What is wrong with me? That's my friend!" he could hear his own voice screaming inside his head

"BETRAYAL!"

He instantly felt guilty, he is stretching the thin layer of trust between two friends and he was scared that if he breaks it he won't be able to put it back together. Part of him wanted to pierce that layer and finally see what's behind it, but there was also that stronger part which didn't want to break it, or just didn't want to admit to the temptation. It was all a mess, but one thing was for certain- he cared for her much stronger than ever before.

" What if she turns around?!" another panicked shout run through his mind

Spyro felt blush invading his cheeks, if she turns and ask what is wrong with him, he knows he would spill everything out, she would force him to do so, she knows how to do it. And she will certainly turn around, she had to realize how silly the spoken words sounded together. She will turn around! In like two seconds! He's a goner!

Or maybe not?

To his surprise Cynder continued walking without a word. He felt like a great weight was lifted from his heart, maybe he simply overreacted, perhaps his male brain works in a different way than hers. And makes fuss about something that isn't really there.

Yes, it had to be it.

With a relieved sigh Spyro pulled himself up and followed his friend. If he had the possibility to somehow notice the fierce flush on her snout, he would know that in that particular moment their minds worked on the same page.

*

" Come on man, pick up the pace will ya?" Sparx urged the fiery drake as he kept flying all around him

" I feel like an idiot" Flare mumbled " It was stupid and embarrassing"

" Well...yeah"

The drake gave him a sad and beaten look.

" Oh come on Dude" the dragonfly put his hand below the dragon's jaw and pulled it higher " Chin up, it's not like this was your first time"

The fiery drake yanked his head away irritated " Yeah, thanks, you uplifted me now"

Sparx grinned and clapped his hands " Sarcasm! But man be careful, they say it's the winner's weapon and you...well you know yourself how victorious you were"

Flare snorted offended " I'm not talking to you"

He moved in front of the drake's eyes and spread his arms innocently " I'm just teasing you"

The dragon averted his gaze " No"

" Come on man" the dragonfly smirked smirked " I'll give you a worm for your thoughts"

Flare looked the dragonfly over angrily " A single babbling one is enough"

Sparx laughed " Ohohoho! You fought back!" the dragonfly fisted the drake's shoulder " Point for you" with that the dragonfly continued forward

The dragon with no other choice soon followed the dragonfly " Why you?"

" What?"

" Why did you insist on showing me my room?"

Sparx laughed arrogantly " Dude, my plans are beyond your tiny brain's comprehension, but you really have a talent for ruining things, I'm not in the mood to see it through. You just suck the joy out of everything"

" There!" the dragonfly exclaimed while pointing with his palms at the door " This is your room, me and my bro live just on the opposite side of the corridor, so if you want something don't come to us. But you can knock on the door on our right, whenever you want, our neighbor won't mind"

He grinned and with a clap of his hands spun around " Alright Dude have fun" Flare moved past him " They key is inside, you'll see it" as Sparx began to head towards his own room he heard the door opening behind him

" It was supposed to be such a nice day" he sighed sadly

" What is that?"

Sparx balked at the sound of Flare's question, a mischievous grin instantly found its way on his lips " Thank you"

With renewed energy the dragonfly stopped right above the dragon's head and looked inside the room " What's the problem?" he asked, barely able to hold back his excitement

Flare pointed his claw at a wooden, long thing with four legs and some sort of white sheets on top of it " That"

Sparx was so used to hearing the dragon's stupid questions that he didn't even flinch after this one " That's a bed"

" A bed?"

" You sleep on it man"

The red dragon snorted " Yeah right, you're trying to trick me again"

" I'm not, honest. Just hop on it and you'll see how comfortable it is. Way better than a cold floor"

Flare was reluctant about this whole thing, Sparx already got him in trouble more than once, what are the chances that he isn't fooling around now? Yet Flare couldn't deny the fact that this so called bed was intriguing, he just couldn't resist his curiosity. After all nothing will happen if he just touches the thing first right?

With an anxious gulp the dragon stopped in front of the bed and extended his paw towards its white sheets, expecting horrible things to happen when his paw will finally make contact with the material. His eyes widened and he let out a gasp when his paw wasn't hurt in any way, in fact it has never touched a more soft and delicate thing in its entire existence.

Sparx folded his arms " See? Told you it's legit"

Not able to hold his anxiousness any longer Flare jumped on the bed " Whoa" he blurt out amazed

The dragon began to walk across the whole bed, completely lost in the feeling of such a soft and delicate material under his legs. Not to mention that this thing was indeed comfortable, he could tell just by walking on it, also that round almost ball looking squishy thing on one of the bed's end was so cool!

" This is amazing!" Flare laughed cheerfully

" It only gets better when you jump on it long enough"

The dragon looked at him in excitement " Seriously?"

" Yeah" Sparx pressed his forefinger to his mouth " but shhhh" he whispered " Don't tell anybody, it's a secret"

With a broad smile Flare jumped on the bed, the material bent and sprung delicately, making his paws bounce slightly. He then leapt in the air again, the bed retaliated the same way. Another jump, same reaction, then another, and another, and another. Flare didn't even know when he began to laugh as loudly as his lungs let him while he kept bouncing on the bed up and down. He wasn't so happy in his entire life.

With a grin Sparx slipped through the doorstep and closed the door, muffling the cries of the overjoyed dragon before he pressed his head to the wooden obstacle and began to listen intently.

It took a while but eventually a loud crushing noise came from behind the door accompanied by a startled yelp when finally the wooden legs gave up under the bouncing dragon's weight.

Sparx pushed away from the door with a proud grin " If this isn't magic then I don't know what is"

*

Spyro made sure to keep his distance away from her but never to lose her tail from his sight, he just had to know she is close, he just had to know if she didn't run away anywhere.

She didn't.

Cynder was already waiting for him by the door to his room. When he rounded the corner Spyro found himself looking at her. His heart began to race when once again his frivolous imagination started sending him pictures of her lying on the soft bed, moaning and panting. Also...

He shook his head fiercely, discarding the inexplicable and horrendous thoughts.

Men are pigs.

It was a very nice thing to think about Cynder in general but whenever his senses returned to him he felt dirty and depraved. They are friends, a special bond connects them, you don't test its strength, you don't risk its destruction, this isn't right.

But then again, she didn't seem to protest when he was doing....what he was doing exactly? When their little game of strength was over, or more precisely, when he thought it was over, Cynder in truth Cynder prepared a surprise for him to get the score even when he is preoccupied with...something else.

Of course, this has to be it. What else could it be? It was a cunning trap, nothing else.

...then why he doesn't feel convinced?

This is wrong, all this turmoil in his head is just wrong, in fact why does he torments himself with such thoughts? They were playing, and that's it, he imagined the rest, he can right? It's not like he can block his imagination, it just happened, nothing can be done about it, his mind did a quick math, connected the spoken words and given looks and created meaningless flashes, things like that happen, it's simple like that.

Yeah, he just imagined this whole thing.

Phew! Spyro smiled under his nose, he didn't see the obvious explanation, it was just the heat of the moment, nothing else. He shook his head, looking for sensation where there isn't one, he is the only one capable of doing such things. With a confident stride he made his way towards his room.

Cynder was still there, her tail was swaying slightly, her back still facing him. So what? let her stay there, they will some words and he will enter his room, what's the big fuss about? Her form grew in his eyes as he approached her, Spyro felt his blood pulsing in his veins, the corridor instantly got hotter.

They don't have to talk, everything that had to be said was said down below, what else is there to add? Yeah, he will wish her only a good night and then disappear within his room. It'll be polite and not overdone. Simple and clean.

She was just mere meters ahead of him, he could smell her delicate feminine scent. Spyro swallowed, a couple of times actually, the gulp that formed in his throat just didn't want to move.

They don't have to talk at all, what's the point? They are friends, they know each other very well, they care about each other, there is no reason in wishing goodnight to one another. After so much time together they understand each other without words. Yeah, he will slip into his room in complete silence...and preferably unnoticed.

He was right behind her, he could feel the warmth emanating from her body. The door to his room were just to his right, so close and yet so far and all because of her damn pretty tail sliding across the floor like a charged electric eel. He needs to be fast, a quick jump, press of a the handle, a delicate push, return and a leap into the room, Five steps to haven.

Spyro's eyes trailed her sliding tail constantly, the optimism slowly leaving his head. What if the tail suddenly makes a fast sweep and he will accidently step on it? She will turn around! And she will have him! She'll catch him red-pawed, she'll keep asking and asking, and there's no way he'll talk his way out of it.

Spyro sighed realizing that he can't stay here and has to finally do something, she'll feel him standing behind her otherwise. He examined the floor and the door again, this job requires speed and dexterity and as a warrior he has both these skills, all it takes is just to lean swiftly, push the door open and jump inside, as if this building was about to explode and his room is the only bunker prepared to withstand the blast. That's the plan.

Spyro reached for the handle, then his eyes caught an unpredicted movement, the black tail left the ground, now it was in the air, swinging in a wide arc. His blood froze, she is turning around!

It's funny how plans work out.

In a moment she'll look at him and when she does he's a goner. Five more seconds and he's hers.

I can't breathe, I can't breathe.

Great, now you're choking you moron.

Cynder turned to face him and offered him a kind smile " Spyro don't sneak up on me like that"

He stared at her in complete silence, second after second passed and with each one he saw her smile fading and her eyebrows raising to form a curious expression. His throat was sore, but he had to say something, this moment is taking like forever and it gets only more awkward by the second.

Ok, here goes.

He opened his mouth but the only sound that came out was a rough grunt, his vocal cords were so tightly squeezed that they were unable to form any words, he sounded more like a retarded grublin than an actual dragon.

She jerked her head back at hearing his grunt, for a while she stared at him in complete disbelief just to let out an amused snort soon after " Wh-what?"

Spyro hastily cleared his throat " Thank you" he rasped and coughed a little more to get his vocal cords working " Thank you for sorting my head back there, I keep thinking about this whole mess with Brill and the Veils and I feel like it's making me like two hundred years older. Add something else to the pile of problems and I swear I'm going to dig a grave and jump into it" he smiled

He noticed that she averted her gaze for a moment, she was still smiling however, but it was no longer a cheerful smile like moments ago. Her lips wavered just like she struggled to keep grinning, as if her smile just wanted to be gone already but she ordered it to stay.

" You're welcome" Cynder muttered, her colors seemed to fade, she looked like something just drained the life out of her

Spyro noticed that, worry overcame his soul, he just couldn't bare the sight and has to cheer her up somehow. Did she take that joke about digging up a grave seriously?

" I was kidding about that grave thing"

" I know it's just..." her voice trailed off, she raised her gaze to meet his and with a smile walked towards him.

Her snout was just in front of him.

He held his breath.

His heart stopped.

Cynder craned her neck forward and planted a soft kiss on his cheek before withdrawing her head " Goodnight" she said with a loving smile and disappeared within her own room.

Spyro just stood in the corridor with his mouth opened, moments later there was a hollow thud when his heart began to work again while also waking up all of his other senses. Momentarily tremendous heat enveloped his body, he began to sweat, his legs buckled and he had to press his body to the door to avoid falling down.

The temperature reached his head, almost boiling his brain, the world swirled around as the sensation of grogginess overpowered him. Slowly he raised his numb paw in this swirling world and touched his moist cheek. Her kiss was like a brand, it was hot to the touch, yet he couldn't push his paw away, his claws began to slide across the burning moist spot, he could feel every curve of her beautiful lips.

Once again his imagination let itself loose and wondered how it would feel like if he would press his lips to hers. What if...

" No" Spyro slurred with a shake off his head and pressed the handle on the door. They swung open and he was thrown through the doorstep, he wavered on his legs like a drunk but eventually managed to recover his balance and closed the door.

He then lurched to the middle of the room and pressed his forehead to the wall that separated his room from Cynder's while dropping his eyes to the ground and panting heavily. He couldn't get her out of his head, his heart was torn in half, the bold part was in constant battle with the cautious side, screams of joy intertwined with the screams of guilt. He clenched his paw on his chest where his heart pounded like it was mad, the thuds were so strong that he could feel his bones rattling, this battle hurt.

Yet Spyro's eyes landed on the glassy door leading to the balcony from which a simple jump is all that's required to reach the next room. He was afraid but at the same time longed to see her again, they parted ways minutes ago and he already missed her. The space separating the two balconies was like the fragile barrier of trust and friendship, only a single jump is required to break the ties that bind, and find out if the risk is worth the gain.

Only a single jump.

*

It was late in the night, the moon was high in the air illuminating Warfang with its brilliant light, silence embraced the city in a protective cocoon as it slept. Nothing moved on the streets of the Dragon City, everything and everyone were wrapped in their own cocoons.

Except for the four purple paws which just passed through the glassy door like it never was there in the first place and entered the dark room. The white moon hanged on the other side of the city, which resulted in complete absence of any kind of light in the interior. However the purple paws walked through the room unhindered, as if the darkness didn't bother them and obscured their owner's vision at all.

In fact the blackness seemed to ripple just like a dark ocean, as if something was meddling with the water. The shadows bent and stretched, just like the non-existing ocean, and the meddlesome being who rippled its structure had four purple paws and was heading towards the obscured bed and the figure sleeping on it.

The purple dragon stopped near the bed and closely observed the coiling and uncoiling form of a black dragoness. His tattered green wings were folded on his back. The two brown eyes scanned the female without any sign of emotion and life in them.

" So sleep sugar" sounded a hollow low voice with a poor hint of slow melody in it

" Let your dreams flood in Like waves of sweet fire you're safe within Sleep sweetie Let your floods come rushing in And carry you over to a new morning"

The dragon touched her moving chest, and instantly jerked his paw away when a white light illuminated her head and shoulders and stung his paw, a delicate layer of shadow dispersed with the dying light

" Lots of work await us" the drake hissed impatiently