FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter 13

"Finally!" Sparx exclaimed arching his body back, taking a deep breath of fresh air

"We are alone bro" he pointed at his purple brother walking next to him across the streets of Warfang

"Alone!"

"Yes Sparx, I know" Spyro sighed "I hear you, just like I heard you the last hundred times you shouted this word straight in my snout"

"I have to repeat myself bro!" he grabbed a single gold horn, shaking and twirling his body around as if he wanted to tear it out from the draconic head

"You don't get it! You don't understand the awesomeness of this situation!" he pushed back, darting next to his brother's cheek, wrapping his hand around the purple shoulder as much as the length of his left arm allowed to

"Just listen dude" he said dreamily, closing his eyes "Just listen"

He listened, realizing that he isn't following Sparx' nudges entirely out of pure pleasure like he used to. Once his brother's excitement was intoxicating, more than once he felt like he got stoned on it, nothing besides that mattered. It was just wild fun, triggered even by the stupidest of things.

Now...

Well now he was older, youthful energy shackled, every notion, instinctively playful, with reserve. This impassable distance that he, or his age and experience created made him understand his brother less and less.

Sparx didn't change, he was still the same crazy dragonfly like he always was. He didn't have to struggle, remember how it was to be innocent and young.

He really wanted to keep up, but he no longer could tail the scent of bygone times for long. More than once he would already give up and accept what was lost. He would do that if not for Sparx, he loved his brother too much to simply ignore him.

So he kept on playing along to the best of his ability, even if interest and excitement were gone and unlikely to be found again.

Years back he would hear the things Sparx hears, right now however, with a rather strong grip on reality, he could only hear the mundane sounds of a bustling city.

"I don't hear anything special" Spyro replied, a note of depression rang somewhere deep, deep in his voice

"Exactly man, exactly" Sparx whispered, slurring as if he would be drunk "Silence"

Purple eyes shifted, catching the glowing silhouette of the dragonfly in their sight, eyeing him with the scrutiny a healer gives his patient in a mental hospital.

"You need to elaborate on that" Spyro replied, confused

"Oh boy" the dragonfly shook his head, dashing in front of his brother, fluttering wings and gusts of wind pushing him back

He spread his arms wide.

"What is missing dude? Look around if you have to"

"I don't know what to look for"

"Really?" Sparx folded his arms on his disgruntledly puffed out chest "The moment she showed up in our lives you've been running around after her and doing every trick she wished like a loyal puppy. She trained you so well and now you want to tell me you don't know what I'm talking about?"

"She? Are you talking about Cynder?"

"I'm talking about chicks in general man! Coalscale is only an example. Isn't it better when we finally get a break from the constant squeaking chatter? You must feel . , I tell you, that chicky whining does something with the brain. Without them around I feel like I'm forgetting what anger is"

"Don't get me wrong Sparx, but how can you say such things when for the last couple of days you were with Coriza all the time? If she's making you mad then why you didn't leave?"

"Nobody is making me mad dude. I stayed because I had a job to do. I still have"

Spyro impulsively winced, thoughts traveling around places they should never go to. Bouncing off wildly from walls like prisoners being tossed around after grabbing a high voltage, electric fence.

"I'm not sure I want to know what kind of job you have in mind"

Sparx snorted.

"Look who's talking. You better look at yourself man"

Purple eyes widened in surprise.

"Myself? Why? You knew where I stood all the time, I never hid anything from you"

"You didn't have to, whatever little spark of masculinity you had was snuffed out without you even noticing"

Spyro stopped, deep frown adorning his features.

"Is this conversation leading somewhere, or are we going to chaff?

Sparx pointed a finger at his brother.

"See?" he shook the natural pointer as if that would make it so much more meaningful "This is what I'm talking about, she turned you into a boring lizard! You sound like our dad"

"I've grown up Sparx, it's a difference"

"Come up with whatever excuse you want bro" the dragonfly commented with a shrug "The truth is that you got whipped and you don't even realize it"

Spyro rolled his eyes.

"Fine, I'm whipped. I don't mind though, I like spending time with Cynder"

"Hey man, we all got our own perversions, I don't blame ya for it"

Purple brow raised up in reaction to that statement.

"You lost me there, if you're okay with it then for what all this talk is for?"

Sparx sighed, puffing out a mist of breath so big that it resembled steam from an overheating pot.

"Listen bro, you're young, if you will be my age-"

"We were born the same day!"

Yellow finger tapped against the golden temple.

"Mentally dude, dragonflies are like...I don't know...aliens to most folks. Our brains grow and work as fast as our wings. Wrinkling for thousands of years overgrown lizards like you wouldn't understand"

Spyro rolled his eyes.

Small finger tapped against the purple nose.

"This is why my overweight brother I see stuff that you don't. For example I know that some things can mess with the head, especially not so full like yours. You aren't aware of some really simple stuff, like girl-guy mumbo jumbo"

"And since when you are the expert?"

"You were born today or what?" Sparx spread his arms proudly "I'm an expert on everything dude. This is why..." he pointed at his brother's forehead, twirling his finger around as if he would be drilling a hole in it from a distance "...I understand all that annoying crap that is now going on inside you're not so big skull"

"You're so stiff lately because of Grasseye, you're not even realizing it, but you again and again show off to her, showing just how a great catch you are. I get that, that is how chicks work, it's like a natural order of things"

"That's not true!" Spyro protested vigorously "I never proved myself to Cynder. In fact she was the one that kept running after me" his chest puffed out proudly and a slight grin of his scratched male ego surfaced onto his lips

Sparx narrowed his eyes, gaze shooting invisible lasers of straightforward jeer.

"To let a gal who is crazy about you suffer ignorance for so long must really be something to be proud of. Gratz man"

Clap.

That would be the sound of Spyro's ego if it would emit a noise when it dropped down from its pedestal of supposed dominance. The words struck every sensitive fiber in his body like needles touch nerves during acupuncture.

The grin disappeared from his mouth, lips shrunk to thin lines that seemed to curl inwards, as if trying to suck out everything from inside the body.

The blow was a powerful one, it hit him directly in the heart, ripping it out from its ribcage and making a hole in his back. A gap through which sorrow and guilt made their way through, frolicking like a pair of lovers when swimming on a boat under a love bridge.

"Hey man"

Spyro rose his depressed snout.

"You're not going to die on me are you? You are pale like Iris' ass"

"You're right" the drake mumbled, he sounded as if he would be drawing his last breath "I caused Cynder so much pain that maybe now I impulsively want to make up for it"

Sparx rolled his eyes, letting out an annoyed, deep sigh.

"Here goes the martyr whine again" he flew forward, putting a hand on the purple shoulder "You want to protect everyone, this is you dude, my every bug loving brother. Without Cyn around you finally got the chance to catch a break"

"Cynder never forced me to do anything"

"Yeah right, never" Sparx snorted, darting in front of the amethyst eyes "Chicks always force you to do stuff, it's like they have some psychic powers that most of them aren't even aware of. If you hooked up with a broad that is aware of that, then..." he whistled lengthily "...boy you're screwed. You'll be her favorite toy"

He clapped his hands.

"Chick powers dude, they're real. Just think, didn't you consider every word and basically played nicely whenever you saw her tail waggling nearby?"

Spyro scratched the back of his head.

"I don't know, I think I always behaved the same"

"Ha!" Sparx blurt out, spit shot from his mouth as he nearly choked on his own fake laugh "You wish dude, if we wouldn't be brothers and I would have Flare's brain I would believe you"

He spread his arms in a popular unspoken signal of coming to a true and undeniable conclusion.

"Broads man" he pushed his arms back, pointing at the ground with a single finger "Here dude, on this ground everything changes however. Here, as guys, we stand in defiance of tyranny"

He started to raise up in the air, lively pointing at the ground, finger bouncing like a working jackhammer.

"Here we have a chance to tell them that they may take our dignity, that they may take our honor, that they may take our lives" moving hand clenched into a shaking, confident fist "But they'll never take our freedom!" he roared as loudly as his little lungs allowed him to

People that were walking close to them stopped in their tracks, curious, irritated, scolding and offended gazes focused on them. Some at the sight of the one and only purple scales turned their heads away out of intimidated respect. Some frowned angrily, blaming the popular dragonfly for being a bad influence on their icon.

Eyes were betraying many more other things, like attention for noises that most people can't hear.

"People are staring at us Sparx" Spyro mumbled, keeping his head locked in the direction of his brother, his constantly shifting pupils were the only moving parts of his entire body

"As they should" the dragonfly replied, descending down "Speeches like that rally armies"

"Everyone is looking at us like we're crazy"

Sparx shrugged uncaringly.

"Leaders bro, they always get a weird reputation. Doesn't matter, it's what we bravehearts do"

Spyro cocked his head.

"Huh?"

The dragonfly waved his hand dismissively.

"Never mind. Boy, I really miss the times when you didn't complain about my every word"

"You would also start complaining when the words you heard got you always in trouble"

"Always? Now you're exaggerating man, besides I had good intentions"

Spyro narrowed his eyes.

"And a good laugh"

"Ha!" Sparx clapped his hands, spreading his arms wide later on "You know me dude, I'm a happy guy"

"You're a sadist in disguise"

"Be it as it may, you turned out ok. You made some really stupid choices no matter how hard I tried to teach you to do the opposite. Company that I mentioned and currently isn't around proves my point"

"Is this about Cynder again?" Spyro rolled his eyes, a tired sigh escaping his mouth "When you will finally stop hating her?"

Sparx snapped his fingers.

"I'm talking about chicks in general man, weren't you listening?" he waved his hand dismissively "Forget it. Wanna hear my advice?"

Purple shoulders shrugged.

"It's not like I have a choice"

Sparx grinned, patting the purple cheek.

"Good bro, you managed to learn something after all"

Spyro looked at his brother, giving him a look of a trapped deer that accepted its fate and cares about nothing anymore.

"Just get on with it"

"You should consider changing teams"

The purple drake frowned, mind unable to wrap itself around the sudden and seemingly nonsensical sentence completely.

"Wha-" he uttered, yet then a spark of insight caused his brain to overload like an exposed electronic device put under the rain

He jerked his head back fiercely, eyeing his brother with a wide, full of disbelief stare.

"Don't tell me you're talking about the thing I'm just thinking about"

Sparx gave his brother a knowing stare, dissolving every doubt.

"You're insane!" Spyro blurt out

"Take it easy bro, I know it sounds like a little revolution"

He rubbed his purple eyes, hoping that he imagined things.

"By the Ancestors, you're not joking"

Sparx pressed his forefingers to his temples.

"Just think for a while and look what's happening. All chicks you met are crazy, the next one more than the last one"

"Are we really going to discuss this?"

Hands that were aimed at a yellow head now pointed at the purple drake.

"This is exactly the problem. You are exactly where they want you to be, that's how they work, they wrap you around their claws and make you do things. Or don't do things, depends what's better. Now, if you were with a guy-"

Spyro shook his head.

"Sparx stop"

"...If you were with a guy" the dragonfly continued, taking the protest for an annoying gust of wind straight into the face "nothing like that happens. That's freedom dude"

"I like girls Sparx"

"It's not about what you like, but what would make my life easier! Dudes aren't that sensitive, I wouldn't have to see how you do something very stupid, making things worse than they already are"

"Wait a moment" Spyro pointed at his brother "This is not about me is it? This is another one of your twisted ways of hiding your true intentions. Can you for once speak clearly and tell me what's going on?"

Sparx rolled his eyes.

"Not this again. You just proved my point, again. You need to start thinking for yourself man, it will make everyone's life easier, especially mine" he pressed his hand to his heart "Trust me bro, I know what I'm doing"

"Fine, let's say I believe that you have no hidden intent, your proposition is still absurd"

Yellow hand tapped at the heart.

"Trust me bro, when did I ever disappoint you?"

Spyro chuckled.

"Is that a rhetorical question?"

"Ok fine, let it be your way and let's say I made some mistakes raising you. You were a difficult idiot to put some sense into and my first to clear things up"

"Thanks, I always need that final brotherly support"

Sparx mimicked a talking mouth with his hand.

"Blah, blah, blah. Sarcasm doesn't suit you bro and you only confirm my theory. AGAIN. We really need to find you some guy"

"Sparx just drop it. I'm really not interested. This is very stupid"

"You need to open that heart of yours" the dragonfly patted the scaled, golden chest "Everyone says it's popular so it has to have a room for one more"

"Everyone I ever needed is already there. If my heart is special it's because of the people that I let inside"

"By the smelly Ancestors bones!" Sparx pushed back, shouting triumphantly "That was so GAY!" he clapped his hands "Dude, you're perfect! All we need is to find you a match"

"Actually Cynder says that I can be quite romantic to set things straight"

"Of course she says stuff like that, she's a chick, duh. In their world no is a yes, I hate you is I love you and romantic is gay. Those are facts man, nature's laws, you just need to accept it. By the way" Sparx dashed closer, covering his mouth behind an opened palm "Don't use words like straight" he whispered "You're just going to embarrass yourself"

"You know what?" irritated amethysts eyes narrowed themselves on the glowing shape "I begin to understand why people find you annoying"

Sparx shrugged.

"I'm a honest guy, it's not my problem if they can't deal with the truth"

"Yeah..." Spyro smacked his lips "Somehow I don't think that's the problem"

"Whatever" the dragonfly darted into the air, putting his hand on his chin thoughtfully as he carefully observed his purple scaled brother below

"I feel like I don't want to know what you're thinking about"

"Your weight issues might be a problem, yet there has to be someone out there who likes a little puffy edge here and there. You'll make a nice girl in your new relationship"

"What? Why a girl? Why can't I be a guy in this imagined and very twisted scenario of yours?"

"Don't make me laugh bro, if this is going to work we need to set realistic goals in front of us"

Spyro stomped his paw.

"That's not fair! I saved the world and I'm a purple dragon, I'm like a born leader"

Sparx folded his arms arrogantly.

"Look at that. All that boasting. Shame on you, keep it up and you'll be forever alone"

"It was your idea about setting realistic goals. I want to be the guy"

"I must say you change your mind really quickly. First you said that you aren't gay and now you're trying to convince me you have the guts to be a male. What a sudden twist, a trait of a true gal I must say"

Spyro snorted indignantly.

"Shut up"

"Relax man" Sparx empowered his words with the typical and popular gesture of a sharply dropping hand "I've got this covered"

The purple drake shook his head in disbelief.

"Why did I even let myself be dragged in this stupid conversation?"

"You will start singing differently when we find you a cool guy to hang out with. Trust me bro, I know what I'm doing"

"I'm very impressed by your ability of lying directly in my snout"

Sparx gasped, hand clenching on his chest as if it tried to grab the heart hiding underneath.

"Now you're hurting me bro, I always did everything to make you look good and always supported you as my brother"

Spyro snickered, it was a fake and full of mockery explosion of joy.

"Yeah, if I wouldn't heal I would carry the scars showing just how true your last words were"

"Ok smartass" the dragonfly folded his arms on his chest, puffing out his muscles arrogantly, leaning forward, looking at the purple drake below like a giant towering over a village of people that looked like strange, running ants.

"Name one such moment. Now, without thinking"

Spyro tapped his claws against the stones roads of Warfang were made of.

"Let's see..."

*

"...what do we got here?" Sparx whistled, pushing away a single, wet branch out of his way

Behind many fallen, broken, damp trees he spotted a spiraling slightly down hole in a small hill. Water and mud was dripping from the earthy walls of the cave, mucky ground filled most likely the whole length of the cave. Branches upon branches, leaved and barren protruded from the structure of the cave, growing from the sideway, looking like wet sand walls. Roots upon roots filled the small distance of the cave he could see.

The smell wafting from the inside was rather unpleasant, a combination of dust, rotten meat and wet fur of a dog. He however was not bothered by such details, for someone who was born and raised in the Swamps bad smells didn't exist.

"Sparx let's go back" a young, high, whiny and nervous voice sounded from behind "Mom and Dad will kill us if we are going to be late for dinner again"

"Dude, calm your tail down" Sparx scolded his purple brother with a stern look "Do you always have to be such a spoilsport?"

Spyro looked away.

"I don't want them to be mad"

The small dragonfly rolled his eyes.

"Just get over here man, we make this quick I promise. You will still have time to be a good son and lick the floors clean"

"I never did something like that"

Sparx sighed tiredly, waving for his brother to approach him.

"Stop talking and move your fat butt over here"

Reluctantly Spyro did as he was told.

A grin appeared on Sparx' face, he vigorously pushed more branches away to make more room for his big brother.

"Check this out!"

The young purple drake pushed through the muddy and wet obstacles the trees created, their damp and dirty touch didn't bother him, he was a Swamper too after all.

Amethyst eyes widened a little when they looked inside the dark opening in the hill.

"Is this a cave?"

"No dude, it's a portal to another time, first of many. Years later we're going to be traveling through them to jump in time"

Purple head turned to the side sharply, eyes of the same color, wide to begin with, looked like they were about to shoot out of their orbits.

"Really?"

Sparx jerked a small twig from the branch he was holding and slapped his brother across the head.

"Hey!" Spyro exclaimed as he jerked his head back

"No, not really you moron. How could you believe in this? Portals to other worlds? Are you crazy? Maybe you're going to tell me you're a dragon now, huh?"

"Then why did you mention it?"

"To test you. Congratulations, you're as daft as ever"

Spyro slapped the twig out from his brother's hand.

"Jerk"

"Chill crybaby, do you know what this find means?"

"I don't know and I don't care, it's just a hole in the ground"

Sparx grinned arrogantly, smacking his hands together, clearing the muck that got stuck to his flesh.

"And here you're wrong my overgrown slug. A cave is not a simple hole in the ground"

"Yeah? And how exactly can you know this? As far as I know it's the first cave you see. You're making this stuff up, like always"

"I know what I'm talking about, me and the guys hanged around caves like this like forever"

"Oh yeah?" Spyro puffed out his lips indignantly "Then how come you never took me with you?"

"Because dude, you're a rat"

"No I'm not!"

"No?" Sparx folded his arms on his chest, taking a quick breath as if he would be reaching down the well of thoughts "Remind me then who was the one that told our parents about our little expedition to that popular adults only play two weeks ago?"

"It's not my fault!" Spyro protested "They somehow read through me, I don't know how!"

"You started using quotes from that play you moron when you waggled that tongue of yours! That one time you couldn't keep your mouth shut!"

"How could I have known they knew the play?!"

"POPULAR MAN!" Sparx exclaimed, throwing his arms in the air "it's almost like you would set a building on fire and ran with a torch around it for everyone to see and then say you don't know what happened"

"In my defense I tried to lie my way out of it"

"Replying '_For sure not from some popular adults play'" _the dragonfly pitifully mimicked his brother's squeaky voice "when they ask you where did you learn to talk like that is not a line of defense!"

"I was doing my best!"

The dragonfly burst out in a mocking laughter.

"Best!"

Spyro snorted, frowning angrily.

"Your best cost me three weeks of being locked in the same four walls with you!" he pointed an accusing finger at his purple sibling

"Fine!" Spyro growled, throwing his paw in the air, smearing muck on the nearby trees "If you're going to be such a jerk then check out that stupid cave on your own. I'm going home"

Without further words he began retreating the same way they came here.

"Suit yourself! I for sure will find some treasure there and perhaps even an animal, they aren't many living here in the swamps" Sparx tapped a finger at his chin "This cave looks like it had been dug out" he mused out loudly, pupils shifting to the corner of his eyeballs, looking in the direction of the moving purple tail

Spyro balked, curiosity burning his cheeks.

"Animal?"

A grin spread his yellow lips, a wicked smile he quickly dispersed with a cough in the hand.

"For sure something has to live in there. I've seen enough caves already to tell that this one isn't created by natural means"

Sparx gasped when suddenly a strong gust of wind blew him slightly backwards, he shook his head, noticing his brother's body near him, head disappeared behind the brown veil of branches. Tail was wagging frantically, the pawprints left in the muck were deep, as if he would put all of his strength to get in the position he was currently in.

"It would be SOOOO awesome if an animal lived there!" the excitement in Spyro's voice was intensified by the longer swings of his tail, Sparx had to push back away as to not get him by it

Purple head popped back, eyes wide and glowing with feverish interest. Damp dirt covered the purple snout.

"Animals are so rare Sparx! Our teachers always repeat that Swamps aren't a very nice place to live in with the fumes and all that. If we found a cave where an animal makes its temporary home...so cool!" he whined

"Stop squeaking man or you're gonna piss yourself"

"If we find an animal there..." Spyro shook his head in total disbelief and hope "Do you know what that means?"

"Yeah" Sparx smiled cruelly "We're going to have more fur to decorate our house. I always wanted a fluffy bed"

The young drake jerked his head back.

"What? No! This would be a perfect chance to learn more about the wild life! All our knowledge comes from books, we would have a shot at checking if what they write about is true or not! Maybe, maybe even learn new stuff!"

"Yeah" the dragonfly huffed indifferently "this is why I drag my butt away from home. To learn" he rolled his eyes and lifted the branches to get a better peek at the cave

With a swish of leaves and crack of branches Spyro's head popped out, burning, amethyst eyes staring at the darkness of the cave.

"What do you think could live in there?"

Sparx grunted, offended.

"You assume I don't know? And you have the nerve to call me a jerk?"

"You know?" Spyro gasped "How?"

The dragonfly poked his forehead.

"I have a brain and I know how to use it"

"Stop fooling around and tell me!" the purple drake demanded, squeaking like a child begging their parents to buy him candy

"A rabbit" the dragonfly said confidently

"Rabbit?" one of the purple brows raised in response to this statement "Rabbit....rabbit...rabbit..." Spyro mumbled s his head turned to the side, forehead wrinkled by a thoughtful frown

"Isn't that the creature with long ears and round tail?"

"You tell me, I'll judge if you have what it takes to accompany me in this grand adventure"

Amethyst eyes focused on the dark cave, shinning with an intelligence Sparx sometimes noticed and always believed that it resembles the burning wisdom of a renowned general and mentor.

The dragonfly also looked at the cave, he didn't like the look of those smart eyes, he felt immensely small in their company. He was also afraid of them, they always made his brother, with who he stuck together from day one, look like a stranger to him. Not because those eyes changed him, they did of course, but not to the level he would no longer recognize him. He looked like a stranger because whenever he saw those eyes he felt that he won't be able to keep up with them.

"I'm no expert" Spyro continued "We didn't have enough lessons about nature for me to tell exactly how a rabbit hole looks like, but I don't think this is it. It's just a cave I think" he concluded sadly

"And what makes you think that?" he pulled his brother's teeth

"I remember the professor showing us a sketch of a rabbit, it seemed small" he nodded at the hole in the hill "This cave is far larger than a rabbit, it's nearly my size"

Sparx made a dirty, leafy ball and threw it at his brother, it smacked into his flank.

"Hey!" Spyro exclaimed, jumping back "What was that for?"

"For talking crap man, I've told you I'm the judge here"

"What did I say wrong?"

"You base your information on a scribble drawn by a guy whose hands are now only bones, a guy who has difficulties straightening his fingers?"

"Don't say things like that!" Spyro whined, almost as if he was about to cry "This is a very, very bad thing to say about someone! Our parents always taught us to show respect to our elders! You will be old one day too you know!"

Sparx sighed, shaking his head, the light he was emanating dimmed visibly, without its fierce shimmer he lost the aura of arrogance that usually surrounded him.

"All I'm saying is that you shouldn't put all trust into pictures dude. People are all about making things simpler, of course the rabbit looked small on the sketch. A professor wouldn't waste time drawing on the whole page to keep the sizes real, he's not a painter, he only wanted to grab the silhouette"

Spyro frowned thoughtfully, he always listened on every lesson and he never heard the professor saying that things he showed them were shrunk in scale, pictures being far more smaller than the real specimen they were based on. Then again, people have their pride, like children don't want to admit to doing something wrong, or failing when they attempted to do something beyond their skills. Perhaps the same thing applies to adults, they also didn't want to accept their limitations.

The drake scratched the back of his head.

"I don't know, maybe you're right"

"Of course I'm right" Sparx' yellowish glow returned to its intense shine "How about we stop wasting time and check out where this beauty leads?"

Amethyst eyes looked towards the cave, the darkness pulsing from within sucked out all the lively interest and curiosity.

"I'm not sure about this Sparx, it's pretty dark in there. Wouldn't it be better if we wait for the rabbit to return?"

"Great idea man. Not only we need to hurry because of our folks, but we will wait and waste time to wait for a hole digging creature that, for all we know, could dig out another one somewhere else"

"Good point"

"Come on!" the dragonfly pushed forward, slapping branches out of his way

He hovered right above the entrance to the black cave that from above looked like a twisted mouth of some ugly monster.

"You see anything?"

"Does total blackness counts?"

Spyro stretched his paw forward, feeling the darkness, as if he expected it would shake his paw soon.

"I have a bad feeling about this"

Sparx groaned, rolling his eyes.

"You're whining again. Surprise, surprise

"No, I'm not, it's just that..." his voice trailed off, extended paw swung slowly from side to side as if he wanted to make ripples across the black veil of the cave, just like it would be an ocean that surrenders under touch

"...this darkness. I suddenly don't like it"

"Please bro, don't tell me you're scared of the dark"

Spyro withdrew his paw sharply as if it would be electrocuted.

"Pfft! I-I'm too old to be afraid of the dark"

Sparx clapped his hands.

"Nice! Keep that attitude, because I'm slightly scared myself. With you around there is nothing to be afraid about. Get in there man, you go first"

"Why me? You're the one that glows"

"I feel safer behind you. You're the one that isn't afraid of that darkness"

Spyro concentrated on the blackness of the cave. A cold finger of dread trailed his spine"

"I lied" the drake admitted bluntly

"Oh no, no, no" Sparx shook his forefinger "Too little, too late"

"But-"

"No buts bro!" the dragonfly chimed in "The more we argue the higher chances are that the rabbit will leave or we're gonna spook it" he quickly clapped several times "Chop, chop, let's roll!"

Spyro gulped, no matter how stupid the situation he found himself was, he always motivated his actions with honor, this is what his parents taught him. Even now, wherein the conflict was all about some stupid cave, honor didn't allow him to back down.

He was tricked, defeated and failures demand more honor bound moves than any other situation.

"Maybe let's go together?" Spyro pleaded, the nearly emotionless tone of his voice showed just how much he believed in success

Sparx snorted in contempt.

"I would like to, but I can't. Who knows what a rabbit can do? It could eat me!"

"Rabbits don't eat meat"

"You're suddenly an expert on rabbits now? I don't care what the books say, who knows how it will react when we frighten it. I'm way too much of a tasty treat, you're ugly and fat, you don't have to worry if your face won't scare it off, you have so much fat that it won't be able to bite through all of it"

Spyro didn't hear his brother, he didn't have to since he already knew where this was going. He completely preoccupied himself with staring into the pitch, black darkness of the cave. One claw poked at a stretched shadowy tentacle on the mucky ground, the farthest stretch the darkness managed to accomplish.

_ Claw poked at the stretched shadow again and again as if expecting that it would wake it up soon._

"Hey dude!" Sparx slammed his hands together "You're sleeping over there or what?"

Spyro blinked, delicately shaking his head, concentration returned to the matter at paw.

"I don't think this is a rabbit hole"

"What?" the dragonfly blurt out "Didn't we got through this already? This is a rabbit hole, trust me"

Spyro looked away, with determination raising up, losing suddenly all the interest in the cave.

"I want to go-"

"LOOK!" Sparx shouted, sharply pointing a finger at the black cave, the glow he emanated burst with fresh, bright sparks

Spyro gasped, heart skipped a beat before it started racing like crazy. The gasp lifted him in the air where he made a turn, landing soon after on stiff legs.

"What?!" he panted, wild eyes aimed at the opening

"I've seen it!"

"Seen what?!"

"The damn rabbit moron! I've seen its big ears!"

"Really?!"

"Yeah!" Sparx shot forward "Quickly before it runs away!"

_ _

With pure excitement clouding his senses the young drake forgot about everything, what only mattered was to catch up his brother and then maybe find the animal.

"Into the hole!"

Spyro sped up at the sound of his brother's shout, he really had to gain some real speed since he was catching up with his glowing brother pretty quick. After several fast strides of paws he got so close to Sparx that he could touch him if he wanted to.

Then something unexpected happened.

Even before he could register what was truly going on he not only caught up with Sparx, but also shot in front of him. Which was impossible if they would keep their speed at nearly similar level, his brother simply stopped.

Amethyst eyes widened, in fact they nearly shot out from their orbits when the brain realized that the gaping, black hole of the cave grew immediately huge, ready to swallow him. Spyro dug his claws into the earth with a terrified scream, the ground however was too wet and sludgy to even acknowledge the definition of slowing down.

With another wavering scream the young drake lost his footing when the ground suddenly sloped downwards. He shot forward like a poorly notched arrow, colliding and snapping every possible, dirty branch on the way.

Whatever stinging pain that occurred after the many collisions faded away quickly when only after some seconds he hit the ground. There was no loud thud, only an audible snap, surprised bones were dealing with the rather soft smack, due to shock they didn't have the tie to focus on the painful itching of the scales attached to them.

Only after a couple of rolls, interrupted screams and spitting, when something sticky got inside the purple mouth, Spyro realized that the stuff he is rolling in is mud. The cave was filled with mud.

Just as soon as this enlightenment struck the mind, his body struck a wall. Due to amount of mud he accumulated on his whole body, the impact with the rough surface of the cave wasn't so painful, at least not as painful as the humiliation he felt when he got stuck to the wall upside down with his rump practically hanging directly above his head and mud dripping from it right on his head like feces after a solid, spicy lunch.

The feeling of embarrassment was empowered by the muddy sight of his brother up ahead, hovering at the entrance to the cave, only some meters ahead. Sparx was laughing hysterically, he could see every tiniest detail.

Exactly as he planned.

*

"I remember that!" Sparx burst out laughing "To think that you were just a thought from slipping away from my trap"

"I'm glad you enjoyed yourself" Spyro said bitterly "I should also mention the part when we got back to the city, the kids gave me hell, but I skip that part"

"Oh come one man!" the dragonfly wrapped the golden horn in a one arm hug "You were a bad dragonfly to begin with, after that you advanced to crappy"

Spyro ducked, slipping away from the bro hug.

"You were a cruel brother"

"Cruel?" Sparx exclaimed, placing a shocked hand on his chest "Me? I did all of that for you"

The drake chuckled.

"Taking advantage of my naivety really helped me. Thank you" h continued on, shaking his head

"What?" Sparx shot in front of his brother's snout, spreading his arms wide, backing down with each step his brother made forward

"You think my therapy was pointless?"

"Therapy isn't the word I would use to describe all the nasty things you manipulated me into doing"

"Hey, hey, hey! Slow down there mister!" Sparx folded his arms indignantly on his chest "After that little bath you were never afraid of the dark anymore"

"Oh yeah" Spyro's expression twitched into a fake form of joy "I completely forgot about that! It's very useful!" the fake smile disappeared, turning into a thin line, sending scolding signals just like the recently narrowed eyes

"You don't have to waste candles anymore. That was the first step on the hero path. It's all about protecting right? You saved candles from burning out pointlessly, you can face every shadow now without the help of light!"

Spyro chuckled.

"Remind me to thank you for that one day"

Sparx huffed.

"Say what you will bro, but mark my words. There will be a day you're going to be grateful for my help"