FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter 13

"Sparx! Slow down!" Spyro yelled from behind, maneuvering together with Cynder around the massive population of Warfang who carried on with their daily lives.

Evening was slowly creeping its way over the sky, streetlamps were steadily filled with light, illuminating the all too colorful pallet of inhabitants that made Warfang their home. From coats, to fur, to eventually end on scale, all of this gave a special charm to the city and never allowed it to lose the brightness even when the sun was retreating to rest off the ordeal of its daily task.

Among all that board of colors, three in particular broke the pattern, slaloming around people, from the sky they would like three flies, black, purple and yellow bouncing off the walls in search of an exist from the maze people.

Particularly the yellow, glowing fly was the most impatient.

"Sparx!" Spyro yelled again after his brother

"Dude!" Sparx whined in annoyance, rising above the moving crowd and watching his partnering duo catching up to him "You guys scrap huge golems into toothpicks and kick butts of dragons three times your size, but you can't keep up with a dragonfly like me?"

"It's way harder to move around when you're big"

"Fat, you mean" he shrugged "Still you're doing better than Cyn" he nodded towards the dragoness behind him "She has a harder time squeezing through"

People generally avoided bothering her when Spyro was around, most of the population hated her, the rest mistrusted her, the scraps that didn't belong to any of these groups, that showed genuine respect were so scarce that there was no reason bothering with mentioning them in this equation.

Still as she chased her friends she heard enough grumbles to be able to translate some and put them together into comprehensible sentences.

In other words taunts, people hardly talked about her in a different way.

It was doubtful that people knew for certain that Spyro and her are mates, among the population was enough people however with enough instinct and common sense to at least develop some kind of suspicion.

That's why besides the popular slut and tramp, people developed another insults that enriched their vocabulary.

Fornicatress.

Spyro's personal crotchguard.

Black hole.

Passion fruit's dip.

This hate had many layers, it was not only direct hostility towards her caused by her actions, it played an important role, yes, but wounds heal over time, even the most deepest ones. There was no healing here, mostly because of her, she was putting more and more salt into the cuts, just because she was happy.

And because there is truth to every rumor and people simply felt that she wrapped herself around Spyro, stealing their hero for herself. There was jealously behind this hate, she didn't feel it before, but now, when she was mutually in love, it burned like hot coal.

People were angry because she occupies their hero's attention, people were angry because they were afraid that Spyro will forget about them, that her corruptive influence is clouding his judgment.

She didn't blame them.

If there would be anyone willing to listen, she would tell them that she is also afraid of her own influence on Spyro. She would tell them that she loves his heart, just like they do, that she would never allow it to change, that she constantly warns Spyro about protecting it. She would tell them all those things, if they only would listen.

They gave rat's ass about her worries.

People held themselves back from displaying full hostility, deciding to punish her in the most subtle of ways, it was too frequent to be called a bad accident. Striking her openly would mean angering Spyro, people respected him too much to attack him, they were however aware that every influence has a line, they were aware that if she would call for Spyro's help in every situation things would spin out of control for everyone.

That and people knew she wasn't the type to beg for help.

Hence the accidents.

Spyro had an effortless run, he avoided most people, others simply moved out of his way. In her case things looked differently, there was always some group, an old lady, or family that blocked her way, pretending not to see her, making her slow down and forcing her way around the obstacle, usually squeezing through even more thicker crowd.

It's common in such places to brush shoulders with people, in her case there was no brushing, but shoving, people collided with her on purpose, striking her with their elbows. Some were even as audacious as to pull at her tail or purposely trip her.

This wasn't everything, bad unlucky circumstances also showed that not only people were against her, but also material things. Wherever she went, there was at least one thing that suddenly broke, fell from a cart or a basket and magically found its way right where she was about to go. Many of the smaller things that weren't big enough to block her way, wondrously always found their way to land and crush her paw toes. Forcing her to hiss and jump back every single time.

In moments like those she believed that Warfang enacted even the law against her. The air space was reserved for the City Guard and construction workers, it was forbidden to traverse the city by the sky, with the exception of leaving it.

Warfang in all its forms wanted to remind her that she isn't welcome here, provoke her to attack it, trying to make her snap, anything to give the city an excuse for retaliation.

She didn't allow herself to falter.

"Cynder?" Spyro shouted, she could sense in every fiber of her being the shivers that ran through the crowd, people momentarily began moving out of her way "Do you need any help?"

Spyro wasn't stupid, he knew what was going on, people were also aware of his intelligence, this is why as they stepped out of her way they didn't hold back from aiming challenging glares at her, warning her that if she tries anything funny, she will regret it.

She was way past the moment of not having the strength to withstand their stares, she repaid them in the same way, making sure everyone understands that she is no longer their practice dummy.

"No" she swooshed through the crowd with ease, repaying everyone with a cocky glance "Everything's fine" she caught up with her friends in no time, smiling at them and kicking one of her back legs in the air, forcing a little shake "Leg cramp"

"I would like to say where exactly that cramp was, but we don't have time for this" Sparx waved at them, making a wide, inviting arch with his arm as he turned around "Move snails"

"Easy for you to say" Cynder jumped in the dragonfly's wake "You are breaking the law all the time while we must play the good guys"

"I'm perfect, you're not, deal with it. No whining, more paw moving. Chop! Chop!"

"Why the sudden rush?" Spyro yelped, trying his best to keep up with his brother

"It's almost evening dude and we barely seen it happening, healthy lifestyle man, get that blood pumping and move"

"He's worried about Coriza" Cynder noted, there was no hint of malignant intent in her voice

"Watch it Cyn" he spun around, continuing to fly backwards, folding his arms, adopting a stern posture as he gazed at the black dragoness "One scream and tomorrow we find your head on a pike near the gate"

"Hey!" she whined "It was not a tease, it's actually very sweet. You would be much more nicer if you would just let your feelings speak through you and stop with this macho act finally"

"I'm not acting"

"Just leave it Cynder" Spyro grinned, he couldn't help himself, he allowed his mouth to stretch into a cocky, triumphant smirk off a brother "If we want to know what Sparx thinks we ask Coriza"

"Bro" he hissed, pointing at his purple brother, waving his finger threateningly up and down "You're stepping on thin ice here"

The grin only grew wider.

"Not as thin as your masculinity"

Sparx bit his lip, scrubbing the teeth along the mouth.

Spyro cocked his head innocently.

"Nothing to say?" he moved forward, nodding with his head and taking the lead "Come on, I'll ask Coriza to let you speak, that leash is going to choke you"

He continued onwards, triumphant grin on the snout, it felt nice to tease Sparx once in a while. He wanted to let him know that he also can throw a punch, to make sure he remembers it he swayed his tail and hips, putting both into a taunting dance. Making a turn into a less populated alley.

"Sometimes I regret I didn't choke him in his sleep when I had the chance" Sparx grumbled, following his brother

"You're both stupid" Cynder shook her head, walking in both brothers wake "Is it really so hard to admit between brothers that they love each other? Is there a point to all this teasing?"

"Cynder, one question" he lowered himself to the girl's level "Did you spend most of your life with someone?"

She bit her lip.

"Not really"

"Do you plan on spending most of your life with my brother?"

"I...I hope so"

He gently patted her cheek.

"Ask me this question again when you get there"

She frowned.

"What has that to do with anything? This is not how love looks like"

Sparx laughed, continuing on with a shrug.

"Give it time Cyn, give it time. Before you know it, you'll stop kissing each morning and start bumping paws as good pals"

Cynder giggled.

"You know what Sparx? When you're not irritating and an ass, you're kinda adorable, I think I would give you a buss in the cheek if you were close"

"Whoa!" he exclaimed, shooting up and raising his hands up in defense as he looked down at the smiling black dragoness "I'm being nice here and you're threatening me?!"

She laughed, not holding back, loving the feeling of a honest laugh.

Sparx faked a gasp, slamming both hands onto his mouth as he widened his eyes.

"Sadistic laughter" he mumbled in shock, pointing an accusing finger at the girl below "You are the famous kissy monster! You vile, vile creature! Stay away from me!"

She kept on laughing, eyes gleaming with joy as she pranced in the direction of the dragonfly, tossed about like a ship on the ocean. With spectacular smile stretching her lips, Cynder stopped under the hovering in the air dragonfly, tilting her head up she lowered herself on her haunches, rounding and flexing her butt before bouncing up, single paw extended up.

"Come here, you!"

"She's attacking!" Sparx wailed, dodging the paw that tried to grab him

Another wave of laughter burst from her throat, she jumped again, reaching for the dragonfly.

He dodged again.

"Help!"

Another jump, another laugh, another dash.

"She's using Snuggle magic!"

Cynder was almost hysterical by this point, laughing all the way as she bounced and bounced after the dragonfly, missing her grab every single time.

"Help!" Sparx purposely modulated his voice to sound more squeaky, a perfect bait to drag another pulse of laughter from below

She was loosing her strength, the constant laughter stealing all breath from her lungs, jumps becoming lower and lower with time.

He however remained closed to the paw, sliding down together with it, dodging it on fair terms.

"She wants to hug me to death!"

"I can't..." Cynder dropped hardly on the ground, panting and laughing alternately "...I can't..." she whizzed, winded with laughter "...any more"

People walked past them, besides throwing spiteful glances at the dragoness, generally ignoring them, mostly thanks to Spyro who like the people around observed the duo playing, he however had a genuine, warm smile on his lips.

He knew that Sparx' and Cynder's relationship evolved over time, while the sarcastic, teasing part remained, its essence changed drastically. Before it was cold mistrust and malice, now it was fun and a style of showing care.

Seeing it live was a far more richer experience than only knowing it, seeing his brother play and bond with Cynder, his mate warmed his heart. Besides happiness he felt extreme relief, if your partner wouldn't be accepted by your closest family it would mean choosing between the two, eventually making someone to end up with a broken heart.

He avoided this fate, luckily enough Sparx sees Cynder for who she truly is, this alone adds to the relief and spares him the horror of wondering if he made the right choice.

There was also guilt in this mixture, Sparx doesn't know that his relationship with Cynder reaches further than mutual romantic feelings, seeing them like this stung his heart, despite everything Sparx was always honest, in his own way naturally, it made him painfully wonder if things wouldn't change if he told him the truth.

He suspected that everything would be the same, deep down he sensed that Sparx knows that they are mates, or if not, then he at least accepted a long time ago that they will become mates eventually, he has a talent for perceiving things after all.

As evidence that could support his suspicions would serve the moment when he kissed Cynder in front of his brother, as a result revealing their relationship. Sparx wasn't surprised in the slightest.

Nevertheless he was afraid, the fear might be irrational, but it was there and he didn't want to ruin anything. Seeing the two most important souls in his life having such a good time wasn't worth the risk of shattering, or even denting.

Later, when the right time comes.

Sparx will understand.

He was risking a teasing revenge, but for the good of everyone he will suffer through it if it comes to that.

Sparx grinned, watching the heaving with laughter dragoness, it reminded him of a laughter if another draconic girl, one that he owes much and haven't seen for a long time. Her laughter was pleasant to the ear in the same way.

He tenderly patted Cynder's head before moving to his brother, squeezing his shoulder as he moved past him.

"Take care of her bro" he said, continuing on his way

Spyro's tail stood up automatically, head bobbing a zealous nod, body and soul reacting automatically as if the spoken words were an order.

Cynder managed to calm herself enough to met his gaze, she smiled brilliantly at him.

He could feel his heart puffing out muscles. It was clear that it won't accept doubt.

"I will"

*

They reached the temple, entered it in fact and no matter what they thought about the head priest and where he leads this faith, all of them had to admit that the temple was magical during evening hours. The temple was never known for good lightning, always maintaining the respectful gloomy aura, candles, braziers and the opening in the ceiling effectively fulfilling that role during the day.

During night however the column of light was no longer present, the stained glass above however was far from being dark, just as the rest of them all around the temple. Whoever designed this building knew what he was doing, perfectly organizing and planning the spray of light. The candles, together with the braziers were placed in such a way that they emitted light in the proper angle to be reflected from the statues, columns or even the floor and reach every single stained glass.

Only during the night hours one could notice that the temple wasn't made from one, lit material, in places there was a socket so polished that it resembled a mirror, something that was impossible to notice during the day. Those nearly transparent stones served as a conduit for the light, absorbing it and sending it further, until eventually they reached the colorful glasses.

Which were made of similar material without the reflective part. The stained glasses glowed, filling the temple with a palette of wonderful colors, dim, but spectacular nevertheless, it really gave of a sense that something divine is embracing this house of faith.

The only thing that remained truly dark were the famous words that met everyone who entered. They didn't have any doubts that it was a deliberate action, the priests wanted to make sure that the Taint remains as dark as possible to give the proper reflection of its real values.

There was absolutely no place for something like that in a temple surrounded by divine presence, in the evening even physical for most.

There were plenty people here, surprisingly when they noticed Cynder accompanying them they didn't show the hostility that was seen outside. At least most of them, they didn't have feline hearing, but they were around enough angry whispers to tell the tone of them.

"This is so cool"

Spyro mumbled, following the colorful trails of light, hypnotized by their presence

"It's so wonderful" Cynder agreed with the same amount of awe, with great pain fighting off the urge to hold tail with Spyro

From all the romantic places she imagined that could be a found in the world, she didn't expect to find the most valuable of them all in the place where they offered her to throw her life away.

"Yeah, yeah, remember where we are" Sparx cautiously looked around the temple "And remember that the old mole told you not to come back here"

"I agree" Spyro nodded "I don't want to meet that guy, let's find Coriza and get out of here"

"Maybe Brill is not here" Cynder whispered hopefully

"I wouldn't count on it" both brothers said in unison

A cold shiver ran through her body, she didn't like the old mole, she was scared of the amount of respect he holds and the powerful sway he has over the people. She had enough dealings with power to know that abundance of it is never good.

It was crazy how a place as beautiful as this temple can be so dangerous.

They moved around, splitting in every direction, during the evening caretakers seemed more active than usual, normally there was one or two present, now there was at least a dozen. At first glance at least.

Despite his instinctive caution when it came to danger, something he honed very well after such a reach experience of fighting against nearly impossible odds, curiosity still managed to grab a hold of his heart.

This place was mesmerizing, he wasn't surprised that people felt divine presence here, if he was a bit more sensitive to the matters of faith, he most likely would also be influenced by this place. He however was immune to its effect, single glance was enough to remind himself of that, where once his statue stood with the engraving on its pedestal, there was nothing now, besides an empty plate.

If this place would be sacred and divine, it would never allow the words he carved on the statue, dictated by nothing else than his heart, be erased just like that. What is more holy out there than love? A true, genuine, and selfless feeling for another, no matter who that other is?

He would ask this questions if there was anyone willing to listen, most of the people here however seemed to be lost in prayer. Shambling about with their heads low, kneeling and constantly whispering, the sounds were so quiet and soft that even when standing next to them it was impossible to make out words.

He shouldn't be thinking this, but it was kinda creepy. He could understand devotion, but when faith overwhelms common sense, depriving you of rational thinking and basically changing the way you act, it simply can't be healthy.

This is why he couldn't shake off the feeling that something was wrong with many of these people, even the caretakers seemed of, majority of them at least.

Or this might simply be his prejudice against this whole thing, Brill after all wasn't his most favorite people in the Realms.

"is Coriza in the temple?" Spyro balked, hearing his brother's whisper, in nearly perfectly silent place his muffled voice was like an explosion

The feline caretaker Sparx was bothering pretended not to hear him.

"I'm talking to you" the dragonfly followed the cheetah

"I don't know who that is" the priest finally stated

"A dragon girl, blue scales, white hair, uptight, deep voice, pretty gold eyes?"

"I don't know sir" the cheetah voice was as quick and shy as his step of pushing away from the dragonfly

"What do you mean you don't know?!" the whisper was gone, Sparx voice instinctively grew louder due irritation

If the whisper was an explosion, this tone was a hurricane. It stirred the temple, people momentarily became anxious, nervous and offended.

"Please keep your voice down!" another caretaker, a mole girl admonished the dragonfly, pressing a finger to her lips "This is a sacred place!"

Judging from the fierceness of the aura Sparx was letting out, he was far from keeping his voice down, when both Spyro and Cynder expected Sparx to explode any second now, the color of his aura dimmed suddenly.

He nodded his head meekly, voicing a soft apology.

The cheetah priest was obviously relieved to get away from the dragonfly, it looked like he was scared, afraid of a tiny dragonfly.

Somehow they didn't find that amusing.

Both dragons dropped their search, instinctively feeling that it will lead nowhere.

"Sparx?" Spyro called out softly

"I'm not giving up" he snarled "I don't want to make a mess here, Coriza likes this place"

Cynder smiled warmly, something about Sparx showing true concern when he taught everyone his annoying behavior was really touching her soul. He too carried Spyro's spark of Good, it was a brotherly virtue and it was just as alluring.

"Something's ain't right here tho"

"This place is creeping me out truth be told" Spyro swallowed, keeping his head straight to maintain the pretense of indifference, yet his eyes made a cautious round around the eyeballs "I don't know how anyone can work here"

"It wasn't always so weird" the dragonfly warily scanned the temple, he hated clean places where he couldn't spot any clues "Coriza really liked being here during the evening, she never skipped it. I hope Flare didn't screw up"

The purple brother cocked his head.

"What Flare has to do with anything?"

"When we left, I've told Flare to keep an eye on Coriza, last time she talked with that stinky mole, she was a wreck"

"That's very noble Sparx" Cynder noted comfortingly

He sighed deeply.

"Turns out that is also very stupid. Don't know why I did that. Coriza isn't a complicated girl, her daily routine consists of temple and home, she hardly ever detours, when she does, it doesn't take her long to come back to the known path. A very simple life, who's better when it comes to simplicity than Flare? His brain is like a rock, sense would have to come back with a huge ass hammer to break through that wall. Wanted to use that crazy obsession of his with befriending everyone and running around them to keep Coriza from doing anything stupid. Good to see it worked out"

"Should we check out her home?" black tail made an impatient swing, Sparx wasn't the only one who liked the cleric

"Not yet, there is still one place we have to check out" he raised up his hand with a thumb extended upwards. The hand was making small, vertical pushes, to make sure both dragons understand him he threw his head inconspicuously back

Pointing at the staircase leading to the upper levels of the temple.

"You won't find Coriza here"

All three balked with gasps of surprise, Sparx momentarily dashed forward, finding protection in between his brother's horns as he spun around and looked up.

Brill was descending the staircase.

"How the hell did he hear me from up there? He's like a thousand years old!" nervous muscles clenching the horns tighter "We barely raised our voices!"

"Ancestors are always watching" tick after tick of the cane, Brill made his way to the bottom of the staircase

"Where is Coriza?" Spyro demanded, whenever he saw Brill, he always seemed to get out of character and be unable to control his temper, even if he shouldn't be doing that, the mole held a very important and respect worthy stature in the city

He couldn't help himself however.

Deep down he knew why, it was the deeply rooted fear that shaped his behavior whenever he dealt with the mole. He absolutely hated mind control, of any sorts, gentle manipulation, idolization, or more direct like Corruption. Depriving someone of his will was a crime, meeting Cynder taught him all about it, for him faith, especially blind following of its doctrines and people representing it, was just as bad as Corruption, it just worked in more subtle ways.

In more accepted ways.

You're not serving evil, but religion after all.

Who cares if it means killing or brainwashing people, just as long as you follow some words repeated by people in their own words over generations and you listen to charismatic people that tell you that you should do so, everything is in the right order.

"You didn't heed my lesson boy, you are more and more brash every time we meet" despite the seriousness of these words, Brill cane calmly thudded down each beaten step "Such tone is unacceptable, not in this house, one that I asked you to not return to and yet here you are, bringing back Darkness with you. After ignoring my request, how you still have the courage to make demands?"

He didn't falter, confidently following the mole with his gaze, perhaps to some degree the old priest was right, he really didn't pay any mind to the request. However there was a part of his personality that was used to ignoring boundaries, recklessness, it takes deep breaths especially when worry grabs his heart.

"Proper behavior doesn't matter to me when I worry about my friends"

Brill stopped in front of the group, giving the purple dragon a respectful bow.

"A heart of a hero, it is to be valued, without it we wouldn't be here. Because of it, your trespassing will be tolerated, but if you won't be careful young dragon, the Taint that is in you will consume you. Do not let it talk, it is easy to get accustomed to its trivial resolutions. Respect the Good that you are a symbol of, even in the smallest steps as proper attitude. We aren't enemies Spyro"

"Neither I'm yours Sparx" the mole offered the dragonfly a courteous bow "And neither I'm yours Cynder" the priest skipped bending his head time, aiming his kind eyes at the black dragoness "I pray that you keep it that way"

"If you're our buddy then I guess you won't have any problems with telling us where Coriza is" Sparx folded his arms, acting confident, but the heart racing in his heart was really making it difficult to keep the mask on

Very rarely he had such problems.

It was all because of this damn mole, he scared the life out of him.

"I've sent the young cleric home" the Seeker responded without a second of hesitation "The priestess worked so hard, proving herself to the Ancestors after I barred her entrance to the quarters that she could barely stand. While servitude and humbleness is greatly valued by the Ancestors, they hate to see their flock hurt, especially the embodiment of their Grace. When you see her, remember to thank her, she cleaned this ground with her own paws, alone"

The three friends exchanged dumbfounded glances, they were used to facing difficulties, what they weren't prepared for was for things to go smoothly in the one place where they expected trouble.

"Taint surrounds you and its spreading its influence. Always watching, always plotting, unfortunately even to this house" the mole tapped his cane, the unexpected thud drew the attention of all three friends

"I will cleanse it, Ancestors won't allow it to spread to this halls and their flock. Announce those words"

The cane jumped up, tip thrusting towards Cynder, she jerked her head back with a squeak.

"Shadow, your reach will be cut off. Don't allow the spark of Light in you to fade, I won't be able to protect you any longer after that. Maintain the spark and I as long as I live will keep you from being snuffed out, it is becoming difficult, the Ancestors are becoming worried, restless, do not provoke them"

"Pssst" Sparx gulped "I think he's losing it" he mumbled to his brother "Time to evacuate, we got what we came here for"

"Spyro"

The purple drake tensed when the mole called out his name. He could see the same glimmer of insanity as he saw at their first meeting eye to eye.

"Be the lighthouse for the people, see the pattern. Darkness always surrounds the pure of heart, you have Cynder, and my cleric, who's soul is being touched by corruption already, has the burning spawn of Lightbane shadowing her. Wherever you go boy, the Taint follows. I will fight it as the Ancestor's Chosen, but I'm just a frail, old mole, in you lies the hope of stopping it if I fail. Do not succumb, save my cleric"

Spyro gulped, withstanding the mole's gaze was becoming difficult by the second, it was the flame of insanity he saw in those almost milky eyes that were so unnerving.

"I won't hurt Cynder or any other people you see as evil"

Brill's hand shot forward, for someone so old, his moves were remarkably swift as well as was his grip. Withered claws clenched around the purple leg, sending stings through the flesh.

"I'm not speaking about people. I speak about the Taint. You barged into this holy house, advanced against my wish and made demands. I obliged, now it's your turn boy to fulfill my demand. Do everything you can to stop the Darkness, you are not allowed to let it consume the world. Is that clear?"

Cynder flicked her tail and licked her lips, she's didn't want to deal with this mole any longer. She was in a position where she could do something and most probably screw everything up or just wait and hope that Spyro just gets rid of the delusional rodent. She hated the feeling of defenseless.

"I won't hurt my friends" Spyro replied

The clench became stronger, so tight that his scales started to turn blue, demanding blood.

"This is not what I'm asking. You will defeat evil when it shows its true face, is that clear?"

The purple drake wiggled, testing the firm grip, it was really hard. He didn't allow panic to speak up, knowing that it would be dangerous to do so.

"We see evil differently"

"Is that clear?" Brill repeated, his eyes seemed to burn with that intensity of insanity he recognized such a long time ago

"Just tell him what he wants to hear bro" Sparx whispered, making circles around his brother to create a false sense of nervousness and chaos for the mole

It didn't seem to work, the priest didn't even seem to notice him, all he managed to achieved was impaling himself on his own trap. He didn't even realize when he started to sweat.

Spyro growled, there was annoyance there, it played a big part in this, but mostly it was his body venting out its ache through his mouth.

"Yes, I will stop evil"

The grip relaxed immediately, leg no longer under the pressure of a vice sighed in relief sending a colony of ants down the squeezed leg.

"You swore under the sacred gaze of the Ancestors. They will be the judges of your honesty" Brill pointed his cane towards the exit door, his whole body swaying, he was once more just a frail, ill old creature "Leave this place, do not damn it further, Taint spread its vile touch here for long enough already"

"Come" Cynder urged her friends, spinning around immediately, nudging Spyro with her tail and Sparx with a soft cough

Perhaps it wasn't the best ideas to turn your back to your enemy, no matter how the conversation went, but neither of the three cared about proper strategy now, all of them wanted to be as far away from this place and the Seeker as possible.

High speed in pursuing that goal was greatly valued.

*

They didn't spend much time commenting the earlier situation, they rushed towards Coriza's house, following Sparx who perfectly knew the route. They didn't talk about the meeting with Brill not because of lack of time, not wasting it was important, yes, but mostly they didn't talk about Brill because they simply felt there was nothing to talk about.

All of them knew the mole, all had a reason to distrust him, all didn't believe him. All considered his lost in his own paranoid delusion.

They were in peace with the Seeker, it was a frail truce, but it still was some sort of agreement. Delving into it would only make things worse, they all felt that it was better to leave things as they are and focus on what's important.

That was Coriza, besides Sparx they didn't have much contact with the priestess, that didn't change however the fact that Spyro and Cynder didn't think about anything else, but assisting the dragonfly and the cleric in any way possible. Coriza had a certain magnetism to her that was hard to ignore.

It radiated from Sparx, pulling them behind him.

They didn't fight it.

Sparx momentarily started to slam his fist against the door, casting away the fact that Coriza is the type that goes to bed early. He will apologize to her later.

"Who's there?"

He flinched as if an invisible hand would slap him across the face. The voice that came behind the door was male, it was familiar.

It was Flare.

He didn't like the fact that he was inside with Coriza there, he didn't like that at all. Still he bottled up the anger, there was still something far more precious to be done, personal objections can wait.

"Open the damn door!" he demanded, slamming his fist against the frame and tugging at the handle Impatiently

"Sparx?!" a squeaky surprise, typical squeaky surprise of happiness, no sign of worry

It didn't make him feel better.

It was Flare after all.

The lock clicked, the door creaked open.

"Spa-"

"Angel eyes?!" he dashed past the flaming dragon, barging into the room with a fierce glow surrounding his body

"Sparx?" a patter of paws momentarily raised inside the house, following the surprised blurt of a rich, feminine voice

"Where are you?"

"Com-Ouch!" a hollow thud echoed inside the building, breaking the pattering of paws with a rumble

Coriza appeared in the main hall, smiling through the painful wince, bouncing on three legs, kicking the left back one in the air.

"Drawer?" Sparx pulsed brighter, he gently flew towards the priestess, warm smile heating his natural glow

"Drawer" they hugged, Sparx grabbing onto her snout while she placed a single claw at the back of the yellow head

"I've told you to hack that damn thing to pieces"

She giggled.

Flare observed the whole scene with tense muscles, heart aching with loss, feeling that his friend was stolen. He clenched his teeth so fiercely that sparks began wafting from his sealed mouth as his teeth grinded against each other.

The small flickers of flame heating the atmosphere so much more quicker.

"Hi Flare"

He yipped softly, eyes shooting wide, head immediately turned to face the door. He recognized that voice without problems.

"Cynder!" he exclaimed joyfully, body bursting with fresh, bright flames

Both young dragons at the doorstep gasped, more in awe than worry, already familiar with the rule of the flames. They are not hot if Flare doesn't want to make them hot.

They could already imagine people screaming in terror if they would see this, such explosion would torch the house with ease.

Flare lunged at the black dragoness in this moment of confusion.

"Ugh!" Cynder grunted, with difficulty managing to steady her teetering legs after Flare threw his weight at her, forcing a hug

Luckily she welcomed him into her embrace, avoiding as a result a spoil of several nasty bruises.

"You're back!" another explosion of flames, Flare's tail was making such wide, wild swings that his whole body swayed from side to side

She melted into the hug with a chuckle, she missed his relaxing warmth and youthful cheer. Surprisingly even more so now when she had a mate, it might be stupid since Flare was a normal boy, but his energy, his blunt emotions, all of this woke maternity instincts in her.

It made her happy and sad at the same time, she wished to have a few more years under her waist momentarily, just enough to prepare her body for pregnancy.

She felt as if she was starting to cry, she had to do something about it.

"I wouldn't be here if not for Spyro"

Flare broke the hug, directing his attention at the one who was mentioned, this time there was no doubt, no hesitation. It was a genuinely, friendly look.

"Thanks for watching out for Cynder, I was wrong about you, you protect friends"

"Umm..." Spyro scratched his head, praise was never his comfort zone "Thanks, I-Woah!" his mutter was abruptly ended by the red drake throwing himself at him, pulling him into a short, brotherly hug

Flare patted his back so strongly that he had to squeeze his lips really hard to not spit on him.

Cynder giggled at the sight.

"Oh my" Coriza stammered, stopping in the doorstep of her house, eyeing the rest of the visitors with a nervous smile "I wasn't expecting so many visitors, or any for that matter. There were never more than two people in this humble abode, I don't know how to behave"

"You start from inviting people in Cor" Sparx noted with amusement

"Of course!" the cleric yelped, jumping back and bowing respectfully "Please, commmmmm-" the paws on which she was lowering herself lost their footing, sliding away in every direction. She dropped down, knees thudding against the floor before she bounced back up, wincing in pain "Come inside" she hissed, pretending as nothing happened

"Are you alright doll?"

"I'm fine, just my nature reminds me of its presence. Nothing to be alarmed about"

Cynder entered first, stopping in front of the blue dragoness.

"Hi Coriza" she said sweetly, remaining still

The priestess opened her eyes, tilting her head up she noticed that the black paws didn't move away, but stood idly in front of her. Neck conquered another centimeters in attitude, eyes finally traveled across the brilliant smile on the Black snout until eventually landing on the kind, green eyes.

When that happened Cynder made her move, pulling the polite priestess into a friendly, full of comfort and longing hug.

Coriza gasped, gold eyes sparkling in shock, paws numbly hanging at the sides of her body.

"I'm not familiar with this type of reception"

"I'm happy to see you" Cynder decided to leave explanations outside, giving in to the speech of her heart completely

Coriza swallowed, slowly rising her paws to gently place them on the black back.

It was a nice feeling.

"The feeling is mutual"

The black dragoness pushed back, thanking the cleric with a pretty smile before entering the house. Flare entered second, after spending so much time together there was no need for a hug, both exchanged polite smiles. Spyro was the last one to enter, his mouth was also stretched in a display of genuine happiness.

"Hi"

Coriza looked shyly to the side, noting the way she received all of her former guests, it was not the typical way of greeting, especially not for her. Sparx was the only one she was truly comfortable around, hugging him was a natural thing. Only him.

Or so she thought.

Recent events proved the case to be entirely different, she felt comfortable in Flare's paws, in Cynder's too, those were the dragons she didn't know too well and yet there was something about them that felt just right, she had no other way of explaining it.

Spyro was the only one who was yet beyond this strange equation.

She really wanted to change that for some reason.

Attention returned to her last guest, priestly, inviting, toothless smile she was known of indwelled on her lips.

"This meeting set some specific tradition, can I be so bold as to ask you to help me maintain it and allow me to embrace you?"

Sparx rolled his eyes with a chuckle, it was so nice to know that the stick he joked about so much was still there.

Spyro chuckled.

"Well, I can't decline such a formal invitation" he approached the cleric, opening up his chest to welcome her, the young priestess fell into his friendly embrace

"You don't have to ask next time"

Coriza smiled, uneven teeth pushing through the well trained defense of her lips. Embracing Spyro felt wonderful, every doubt and fear evaporated suddenly, making her feel like in the first day at the temple, one of the happiest days of her life and all that was needed to remind her of that was to feel a single beat of Spyro's heart.

She was glad she decided to add him to the equation.

"I'll remember that" she replied, pushing away slowly, very slowly, stalling, waiting for another beat.

Thump.

She had to cover her mouth, she feared that her teeth due to the immense joy she felt would scrape the skin off her lips.

Spyro gave her mane a tender scratch before pulling back and closing the door.

The house became dark and gloomy, something they didn't notice before, Flare's was the only source of light.

Coriza gasped, darkness hiding her blush of shame.

"I apologize! With Flare here I didn't light up any lamps, Flare provided all the light I needed. One moment please, I haven't cleaned this house, I didn't expect visitors it's a mess. I'm very sorry for this just... just stay here until I light some lamps. Please?"

"It's not a problem" Spyro comforted the nervous cleric

She started to push forward, moving slowly and carefully, oblivious to his words it seemed.

"Once more I apologize, your visit came as a surprise to me. Forgive the chaos, I'll clean the floors and put everything where it belongs"

"Just for the record guys" Sparx said with a chuckle "Coriza's house is practically sterile, she cleans it daily. For some reason though, it's always dirty for her whenever someone visits. She'll see it when she gets out of her little trance, don't bother explaining, it won't work"

"Please remain where you are" Coriza left the main hall, keeping a careful step and trying to the best of her ability pierce through the shade of her home "Furniture have a tendency to sprout legs in this house, I'm familiar with the layout and still-Aaahh!"

A tumble, a thud, a scratch of wooden legs and chaotic click of claws.

The group of dragons jumped up, every one of them ready to assist the cleric. They were stopped by Sparx appearing in front of them, glowing hand raised in a popular gesture of stop. He strained his neck, frowning in concentration.

"Cor?"

"...and I still lose my way" the priestess hissed, the careful patter of her paw returned, as if this delay was nothing out of the ordinary

Sparx smiled, shaking his head.

"She's like a blind mole driving a mining cart, bumping into everything but in the end reaching the destination"

"I don't get it" Flare scratched his burning mane in confusion

Both Spyro and Cynder chuckled.

"Dude, you don't drive a mining cart, it runs on a single track automatically, always moving from point A to point B"

"Yeah, and?"

Sparx sighed, rubbing his forehead, who would have thought that naivety and cluelessness will ever get tiring. He must be getting old.

"You have to be blind to steer it, what's the point of touching anything if it gets where it needs to go?"

"Alright cool, but what has some stupid cart in common with Coriza?"

"She's the blind mole in this example"

"She's not a mole!" Flare stomped his paw, flames shot from underneath his leg "She's a pretty dragon!"

"Kill me now, please" Sparx whined, pleadingly raising his hands to the ceiling, after a while his arms slumped down in defeat, tired sigh leaving his mouth

"It was a metaphor"

Flare snorted.

"It's a stupid metaphor"

"Okay" Sparx clapped his hands "Wanna hear a good one?" he dashed towards the burning "You. Are. A. Moron" he poked the red nose in between each word

Flare jerked his head back, shaking the annoying finger away.

"Hey!"

Flare didn't protest for long since unexpectedly the whole house exploded with light, every lamp lightening in the same time. This surprised caused every dragon to look around the interior on surprise.

"Wow!" Spyro exclaimed, never before he saw lightning in a house working like this "How did you do that?"

"It's thanks to the generosity of the moles!" Coriza's voice came from somewhere deeper in the house "They were so kind and connected every lamp to a switch! I don't know how it works, the switch makes all the lamps light up in the same time! It greatly lowers the chance of me breaking my bones in my own home!"

Cynder giggled.

"Would you like some tea? I'm afraid this is all I can offer, I'm not fond of any other beverage and have guests so rarely that I don't stockpile other drinks!"

"Tea is perfect!" Cynder announced happily

"Wonderful!" even from here it was quite easy to catch the note of relief in the cleric's voice "Please! Do come in!"

Sparx was right, Coriza seemed to have forgotten about the worries revolving around dirt and chaos, and as they noted, it was for good reason. The house was pristine, everything was neatly cleaned and every of a household that could make a mess was on the right place. Even the famous furniture was where it should be, perfectly completing the image of a tidy and well taken cared of house.

They entered the kitchen, where a round table was in the middle, for all the talk of not expecting guests and having a very small number of them, this table was ready to welcome anyone who found their way to the kitchen.

Coriza was on the end of the kitchen, raised in both hind legs, she prepared the tea, pouring the liquid into cups, only one was far more smaller than the rest. doda

"Sit please!" she pleaded

In between the sounds of her guest taking places she finished pouring the tea, placing the pitcher on the tray she dropped down, grabbing it into her mouth. As many things in this house, the tray was also an invention that made the life of a quadrupled creature easier. The tray was perfectly balanced, maintaining the same weight and stability no matter how many cups were on it. It even had a rubbery handle on each side, a perfect addition that allowed it to be held by teeth alone without too much stress.

The cleric placed the tray on the table, not even the tiniest clatter was heard on the journey from the counter to the table.

"What the hell happened?!" Sparx suddenly blurt out, making everyone gasp

Due to the lack of light in this place he didn't notice it, but Coriza had three visible scratches on her snout. He immediately dashed towards the startled cleric, gently trailing the wounds with his fingers.

"Claw marks" he felt the blood in his veins boil, soul cursing him for his naivety and stupidity, most of all he felt hatred, the powerful dagger of betrayal thrusting deep into his heart

"What did you do?!" he yelled at Flare

The fire dragon's aura dimmed visibly, he was so surprised by the yell that he nearly toppled on his back. It was not the blame that hurt him so much, but the accusation that he would hurt his friend.

What was most terrifying was the absence of any doubt in Sparx' voice.

"I-I-I-I-I-It w-w-w-w-wasn't-t-t-t-t m-m-m-m-m-me"

"Sparx!" Cynder admonished the dragonfly

"Calm down" Spyro assisted

"Flare is innocent" Coriza explained

"No he's not!" all the anger that boiled in him didn't travel to the hand on the scaly snout, hand that was tenderly massaging the slashes up and down

The other hand however wasn't spared the fury, momentarily raising and pointing a finger full of accusation at the fire dragon.

"I've told you to watch over her!"

"I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-" Flare was attacked by a fierce hiccup, that prevented him from completing his stammer, never before he had something like this happen to him

"Shhh" Cynder comforted her scared friend, comfortingly massaging his arm

"Sparx, that's enough" Spyro ordered sternly, he understood his brother's anger, but the fury he radiates at Flare is like a torture for the dragon and there was no way his heart could accept something like that

"Flare always behaved according to his nature and promise he gave. The wounds are my fault and my fault alone, I've asked Flare to give me some space when we got to the temple. I didn't want to make things worse by allowing people to see us together, visitors to the temple are very sensitive"

Coriza touched her snout, intertwining her claws with Sparx' fingers.

"The sensitivity I've spoken about earned me this scratches"

"Brill did this to you?" Spyro asked the difficult question, the first clatter of cups that echoed through the room was enough to prove the weight

"No, some confused, elder lady attacked me. It is nothing, even my weak system can heal it up in time" Coriza smiled her toothless smile "It is surprising even to myself, but there are wounds in this world that I can survive"

"I think you owe someone an apology Sparx" Cynder hinted, comforting her friend still, his aura visibly became brighter

The dragonfly sighed, he didn't want to apologize to anyone, his outburst was perfectly normal, it was Flare for Ancestor's sake. He however crumbled under the combined glances of all his friends, he hated swallowing his pride.

"Listen dude, I shouldn't have yelled at you, you did good"

"I hope so" Flare said painfully "I've made mistakes, but I've tried really hard! I swear. I didn't attack that stinky mole that talked with Coriza after all this. I didn't scare off the worms just like you told me! I really wanted to, but I didn't! I don't like that mole, he smells like me!"

"You don't smell like Brill Flare" Cynder cleared the situation

"Brill nagged you again?" Sparx asked, pity and sadness in his voice

"The Seeker did approach me, yes" Coriza took a sip, her paw trembled slightly

"And?"

"He barred me entrance to the upper levels of the temple until I'm ready to accept the Grace and declared me a victim of corruption"

"He's insane" Spyro grumbled, paw clenching into a fist impulsively, no matter where he looks Brill's sick influence seems to spread everywhere "I hope you don't believe him, he's got his perspective all mixed up"

"I'm with Spyro on this one" Cynder nodded confidently "If you're corrupted than the whole world is already filled with evil mascots of doom. You are one of the most noblest of souls I ever met and I have a keen eye when it comes to spotting good people. I never had problems seeing you"

"Do you believe him doll?" Sparx asked hopefully, his mouth voiced a question that was completely different with what his heart tried to say

One of the masks.

Coriza had no problem with reading in between the lines.

"I've cried out my sorrows in the temple. Flare is wonderful, but his aura doesn't illuminate enough space to allow comfortable walking, the lights weren't lit on purpose. The gloomy atmosphere you've encountered really well depicts my mood. I'm depressed and badly wounded, but there's that part of me, even this moment, that just didn't allow me to breakdown. In all honesty I don't know what to think anymore, I know you, I see good people, I don't understand why the Divine don't see the same thing, gods should see their vessels, why they speak such words through the Seeker I don't know. I'm just a dragon, maybe the Ancestors see much more than I do, I...just want to feel good again, relaxed, don't think about any of these, not now"

She looked around the table, into every pair of concerned, colorful eyes.

"Especially not now"

The table felt silent, in contemplation seeping tea.

The serenity was broken by an unexpected knock at the window in the kitchen.

Every head lifted itself.

A falcon was knocking at the window, it had a small string wrapped around its neck, a small vellum dangled in front of its chest.

"A bird?" Coriza asked surprised

"Terrador's message" Spyro got up, momentarily making his way to the window

"It found us here" Cynder mumbled impressed "Hunter trained those beasts well"

Spyro returned to the table, reading the message in silence.

"What does it say?" Sparx inquired "Come on bro, don't leave us hanging here"

"The recruitment starts from Iris and I must be the one who does the talking, alone"

"Iris?" Flare blurt out, body bursting excited flames

Coriza winced at the sight,.

"Terrador really takes this matter of leadership seriously" Cynder noted

The purple drake took a nervous sip.

"Yeah"

"I apologize for the interruption, but if it's no secret could you explain what all of this means?" Coriza smiled apologetically "I'm afraid you lost me, I fail to understand any of this"

"Me too!" despite his lack of understanding Flare was greatly cheerful about the fact "Tell us about Iris!"

"It's no secret. I know how to travel between the worlds"

"Oh!" the cleric gasped

"We entered Flare's homeland, it was very ugly there, a very scary world where we met a creature that resembled our Destroyer and got betrayed by Diazen, a purple dragon, one of the many that live there"

"You met Diazen?" nothing remained of Flare's joy, his body barely burning

"You know him Flare?" Spyro cocked his head

"He's a liar! He's the one who pretended to be my friend, taught me stuff and then betrayed me! He played with me like some kind of puppet! He's the one that made me stink!" flickers of furious flames started to burn inside the yellow eyes, devouring the black slits

"This explains why you're no fan of purple dragons" Sparx noted

"You were Diazen's Source?" Cynder asked, her voice wavering with awe

Flare shook his head fiercely, his burning mane spitting tongues of flames.

"I don't know what that is. He done to me and made me do all sorts of things, everyday I fought to survive. He punished me when I misbehaved. He is bad, very bad"

All three friends who ventured into the other world exchanged knowing glances, they didn't have much information about the rules of that place, but they were intelligent enough to draw some sorts of conclusion based on what they saw. The way every purple dragon there had an escort, the way Cynder was forced to act, Diazen's words, all of this created the image of a Source.

A molested, tormented prisoner.

A toy.

Flare was undoubtedly Diazen's Source.

With that fact in mind and knowing Flare's explosive nature, they decide to not push further. Traumatic experiences are hard to manage and judging from the sparks burning in Flare's eyes, he was already past the boundary of control.

Questions had to wait, there were so many to be asked.

"Forget it, what matters is that we kicked his butt when he tricked us, we might not see him ever again" Spyro announced, supported by the nods of his friends, they agreed with his decision to cut this conversation short with a nice touch

Flare's head perked up, burning body calming down, eyes returning to normal.

"Really?"

"Yeah, we taught him a lesson, if he pulled through, he'll think twice before crossing us again"

"Good" Flare nodded, the voice that came out of his mouth was different, so much similar to the one that rumbles within his throat whenever he loses control

It was a harsh voice, a merciless voice, a murderous voice.

No sparks burned in the yellow eyes this time.

Volteer's voice echoed inside the room.

A monster.

"You face so much danger" Coriza spoke in sincere awe "You always prevail, the things you had to see, the bad ones and the beautiful ones. I envy you, if we put out the danger of this equation, such adventures must be fascinating" she touched her mouth, sad claw poking at the disfiguration hidden behind her lips "A dragon like me can only dream about mysteries of the world"

All three boys lowered their heads, unable to find any words that would help the cleric somehow, all were familiar with her condition and were perfectly aware that her depressing words were accurate. There was nothing they could do to help, they knew that and they were sad because of it.

Cynder however intensely looked at the saddened dragoness, claws tapping against the floor. Heart aching, she hated to see a dragoness that welcomed her with so much understanding and care, hurt. Besides the sorrow however there was also determination in those taps, personal motivation to achieve dreams, a second wind that pushes to the goal.

Redemption.

It wasn't much, but it was a start, she could do a good deed, wanting nothing in return. She knew she could do that, she knew that today is the day she starts her quest.

She knew that because she was a girl.

A girl that liked what Coriza liked.

"I have an idea" Cynder announced, mouth automatically stretching into a smile, a proud, victorious smile "I know what's going to cheer you up"

Everyone looked at the black dragoness hopefully.

"What do you say that we pull out an all nighter and do our claws? In the meantime I tell you all about the new world and..." her gaze traveled over Spyro, she licked her lips before returning back to the cleric "...and something else"

"That's a great idea!" Flare burst out in joy, the question wasn't directed at him and yet he was the one to announce to the relations whole room the value of the proposition, emphasizing it by the bright flames cracking from his body

"Coriza loves doing all that strange stuff!"

Flare's enthusiasm was addicting, everyone laughed.

Coriza smiled prettily, her gold eyes gleaming with gratitude.

"I would love that"

"Great!" Sparx clapped his hands, of all the people in the world there were only two he trusted the most and was comfortable with leaving Coriza with

Cynder belonged to that group.

"You do that, we three will go and gather up the team"

"Three?" Spyro mumbled

"Flare, wanna go on adventure with all your friends?"

"Hell yeah!" the fiery drake bounced up excitedly

This was the second and the last time the cups clattered this night.

Sparx turned to his brother with a smirk.

"Three"

Both girls giggled.

"I was supposed to do it alone" Spyro explained

"Oh, you will do all the talking, alright. We're just be there for the kicks, who knows, maybe I'll learn some new insults"

Sparx dashed towards his brother, rubbing a fist in between his horns.

"It's going to be fun bro"

Spyro swallowed, there are many things one can say when dealing with Iris.

Fun wasn't one of them.