FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter 47

Sparx stretched out with a long yawn, turning around on the bed until he finally landed on his back, with his usually restless wings pressed against the mattress, it immediately triggered a spark of discomfort that forced his eyes to open.

Slowly though since the comfort he felt right now greatly overpowered the slice of bothersome stinging.

He had a whole bed to himself, not only that, but also the room itself was his own property, room big enough to fit two adult dragons, or three if the last one would be a little starved. He never had so much space just for himself, all he ever needed was a small patch of hay near the attic, sometimes even the spot between Spyro's horns did the trick.

And the irony was completed only by the fact that he achieved it all by being a prisoner.

What's better, he really enjoyed all those spoils, to the point that part of him felt that he really deserved it. Turns out that his sarcastic whining about wanting to be treated as a god or hero wasn't just a stupid joke. That little full of ego spark was there and now it had its time to shine.

Especially when he was the one speaking with a dragoness who had some manner of power in this city.

Not just a silly sidekick after all, huh world?

The wings as if hearing his internal monologue batted at the mattress roughly.

He immediately sprung into the air, the sting the wings built up could rival an electric shock. The thoughts in his head got quickly readjusted to the correct level, ideas about being god and crucial to the events of the world were thrown to the side.

"Remember your place!" he smacked his head, in between the hollow rattles of his skull he could swear that he heard Marble's sweet giggling

She was getting to him even now.

A little bit longer in this place and he'll really start to believe that she has ears and eyes in every wall in this damn place. They need to move, all this comfort will only make them reckless, lower their defenses and this is the last thing they want to do.

Better get the guys ready or they'll also sink into this pit of self-indulgence.

He dashed at the door, instinctively aiming at the top side of it, he will get out there and shake them all awake. If Marble wants to watch then let her watch them at their best, to prevent the dragoness from sniffing any unwanted opportunity.

His thoughts once again were interrupted, this time by a loud rumble.

He smashed into the door, the frame not budging at all, something that couldn't be said about the bones in his face, they seemed to skittle away in every direction.

As he cursed the universe for its cruelty while massaging his hurt face he remembered that this place was not dragonfly friendly and that he had to block the door from closing after Cynder opened them so he wouldn't get stuck in this room for the rest of his life.

Stupid.

Get your bearings together or Skyward will eat you for dinner.

He flew into the corridor, with the intention to repay the favor and get Cynder out first, the sooner she sees her the better.

And then suddenly he stopped, remembering that there was one girl they haven't seen since the party. He turned around, his thoughts once more speeding across the memory lane, Ignus put Cellsa in one of the rooms somewhere around here. She was close, or at least that's what he thought, the silence was pretty misleading, especially if it came to that crazy chick.

He scratched his chest, feeling that damn sting again that couldn't be helped after growing around Spyro. The feeling of worry for strangers, if he wouldn't be alone he would most likely ignore it, they didn't owe anything to the girl, it was even more justified after they dragged them into the chase for her drugs.

Still, that conscience was making a lot of hard to ignore noise in this forsaken solitude.

He sighed, his glowing aura fading into a weak pulse.

Dammit.

Sparx flew along the corridor, in the opposite direction of Cynder's room, feeling every door on the way, not really knowing what to expect, it's not like he would open any of them even if he wanted to, feeling her through the material was even more futile.

And then as if the universe wanted to play a trick on his cynicism one of the door creaked under his touch, being already opened. He slipped inside, already knowing that he was in the correct place.

And he was right.

Cellsa was on the bed, lying on her back with the head hanging along the bed, eyes shut tightly with the claws dug deep into the sheets that it was already torn in many places.

She seemed to be sleeping, quite heavily, she looked as if she was in total peace, the faint, short breathing really cemented that impression further. Idea of leaving her alone to rest crossed his mind and he almost prepared to turn around but the unexpected cling stopped him in his tracks.

One of the paws that held to the bed opened, numbly dropping a satchel that exploded with the noise of many clicking flasks, one tauntingly rolling right under him, dripping a single drop of a pitch dark liquid.

He gulped, eyes traveling up to the paw that froze in midair, with toes twisted so unnaturally that one might think that each of them was broken. Enlightenment came sooner than eyes manage to blink.

The black ichor almost hissed at him from the floor.

She overdosed.

He wasn't sure if that's even possible, dragons don't get sick and can stuff their guts even with rocks if they wanted to, but then again he never met a drake who ate, drunk or whatever, any unnecessary substance that did not fill the required standards of nutrition.

Cellsa was the first dragon he met that seemed to be addicted to some weird crap.

He pushed the thoughts aside, dashing to the dragoness, giving her tender slaps against the cheeks.

"Hey there, crazy lady, time to wake up" he patted her cheeks a little higher, despite the shallow breathing Cellsa did not seem to acknowledge his presence at all

"Hey, hey, hey, Skyward to crazy lady" he added more strength to the claps but that only made her head bounce from one hand to the other as if it was a hollow ball

The feeling creeped him out, he let go off of her head, wiggling his fingers nervously before pressing them against the shut eyelids, prying them open.

"Cellsa, get-aah!" he yelped when a pair of bloodshot, almost demonic eyes looked at him from underneath the natural curtains of every face. He pulled back immediately, rendering the idea of forcing her eyes open as a terrible one.

He jerked her head together with him accidently when he pushed back, the pull parted her lips slightly wider. Her mouth was black inside, at first he thought it was her rolled tongue turned dark from all of this liquid, but when he noticed it being completely still while dripping the same line of black ichor as one of the flasks he quickly realized that there was something stuck in her mouth.

He dashed forward again, the thick substance already painted an ugly line down her face, it's hue was so strong that it practically painted her scales black, just like Spyro's evil alter ego does with his brother's purple ones.

With disgusted wince he reached into the mouth, with a grunt plucking the mushed thing stuck in her mouth and throwing it away in a shower of spit and black tears.

It smelled horribly and felt even worse to the touch.

It didn't feel like no berry or nut he ever touched.

He needs help.

"Guys!" Sparx shouted, his voice a mixture of horror and frustration as he stared at the extended hand where two fingers were covered in black goo

"Guys!" he dashed into the corridor, eyes still fixated on the fingers, expecting them to fall off soon

The corridor was empty.

"GUYS!" he blared at the top of his lungs

A door down the hall snapped open quickly, Cynder jumped out a moment later, body bent and muscles flexed in a battle stance, keen eyes scanning the surroundings, spotting no one but hard breathing Sparx farther up.

"What's going on?" she asked cautiously, keeping her mind sharp for any unexpected danger

With a disgusted wince Sparx pointed the two black fingers towards the room he just left.

"It's Cellsa! She's completely phased out! I can't wake her up, it doesn't look good!"

Another door opened at the beginning of the corridor.

"What's happening?" Spyro popped out alarmed, glancing down the hall

Both Sparx and Cynder looked his way, the happy weight of the green eyes, eyes that were glad to see him after this short break hit him with such a heavy guilt hammer that he almost fainted under their gaze.

The weak, trembling legs only supported by the frame of the doorstep he was leaning against.

"Bro! Come on! Cellsa might need your healing touch!"

Cynder dashed towards his glowing brother immediately, his worried shout sprang his heart into action, heart that immediately silenced the guilt and pushed the sense of purpose on the pedestal. He followed them quickly, before though he cast a glance into the room.

Iris was still in bed, looking at him with an impossible to read expression.

He shook his head, hoping she will understand the signal that this has to end.

Whether she did or not was hard to say, two things he knew for sure though was that Iris wasn't keen on listening to him just now, and that she couldn't care less about Cellsa's well-being.

He ran after the group.

"What is this damn ruckus?" Ignus grumbled not so long after, climbing the staircase into the corridor, being too late for Spyro to hear him, but still early enough to spot a purple tail disappearing in the room of the Warden's child

Naturally, it was too quiet, if not for this special circumstances he would gut the stupid girl together with Bones.

With an irritated growl he marched down the hall, his steps heavy and full of purpose, unshakeable in their goal and ready to trample anything that gets in his way.

Steps that went into a sudden halt when he passed over a certain opened door. He backed up, gazing down inside the room.

His pulse jumped a notch when he spotted Iris lying in the purple dragon's bed, their eyes met, despite going clearly against his orders Iris laid calm and satisfied, holding the weight of his glare. The only thing that moved was the tip of her tail, bouncing up and down like the irritated tail of some of the canines.

His blood began to boil, he was furious, in a span of few seconds he wanted to burn this whole place to the ground, bit before all that though, he would drag her out by those feathery wings and showing her place, where and to whom she belonged.

Iris yawned, there was some unimaginable mocking assault in that typical, uninteresting reaction that immediately made him feel pitiful.

She was expecting it.

The realization of fulfilling her assumptions shook his senses back on track, for some reason he didn't want to do that, he felt it in his guts. He snorted loudly, a thing he needed as a last resort to clear his head.

You had a job to do Ignus.

He pushed forward without a word, crossing the remaining length of the hall, shaking his head violently almost the entire way. Enough of this fucking, crazy distractions already!

"Cellsa!" a chaotic ruckus rumbled from within the room the moment he approached it

"What's with all this noise?" he stormed inside with a furious growl, the flaming tip at the end of his tail pulsing fiercely like a strained heart

"It's Cellsa dude, she's done something crazy to herself and now she's stiff as a log!" Sparx explained, making circles around the dragon's head

He couldn't care less.

"Move" he commanded, once more going against his wishes as the two young dragons moved to the side to give him some room

He glared at the numb body, already knowing what was going on even before he spotted the black trail stretching out from the girl's parted mouth.

He snarled angrily.

"That's something is getting herself so high on the damn drugs that she passed out"

"Passed out?" Spyro asked relieved

"Yes. Sadly we dragons don't get sick as you surely realize, it is nearly impossible I believe to force your organs to shut down completely by injecting some crap in your system. If you cross a line then this is what happens" he nodded at the girl "Brain cuts you out completely, a failsafe mechanism of sorts"

"So her life isn't in danger?"

A mischievous glint flashed in the dragon's red eyes.

"Not from the drugs at least" he looked around the room briefly, until locating a small vase in the corner "Bring it here" he grumbled, approaching Cellsa himself

Two toes pushed her nostrils to a close while he leaned over her, spreading her mouth wider.

"What are you doing?" Cynder winced, asking the question that Spyro wanted to ask as well after he put the vase close to the bed

"Addicts don't care about pity or worry, they are cowards, only a very limited number of them wants to die, majority would turn the world upside down in the face of their end. Fools only understand direct approach"

Ignus began breathing a small trail of fire straight into the girl's throat.

"Crap" Sparx winced, quivering, hands scratching every part of his body "It must feel great choking on fire"

Spyro and Cynder looked at each other, unable to decide if they should intervene or not.

The decision was made for them though quicker than they suspect. In a span of few seconds Cellsa's eyes sprung wide open, a terrified grumble escaping her throat before she thrashed wildly, bouncing up in the air with vigor that was hardly to be expected from someone who was unconscious just a few moments ago.

The wild jump pushed Ignus back.

"The fuck you're doing?!" the dragoness exploded in panic, coughing roughly, spitting out flames and black bile, her eyes were glistening with tears "Are you trying to kill me?!"

"Lean over the vase" Ignus snarled, obviously uninterested in her protests

They had to admit that for someone who couldn't function just a couple seconds ago Cellsa was extremely lively, normal even, only time will tell if this is her natural resistance or the consequence of the initial shock.

"For what?"

"Now"

"I won't-" her protest ended with a yelp when Ignus snapped forward with a vicious snarl, snatching the girl by her hair and forcefully dragging her along the bed until she stood at the edge, with her head aimed at the vase

"Throw up" he commanded sternly

"What?"

"Don't waste my time and start to throw up"

"Why?" Cellsa cried out, thrashing around, but the grip on her hair was too strong for her drugged body to overcome

"Now" another threatening growl rumbled from the red throat, muscles pulsed from underneath the flexed foreleg that kept the girl holding by the hair, the grip was so intense that they believed one strong tug would be enough to rip Cellsa's head right off her neck

"I'm fine you dick! I don't need to th- her protest turned into a wicked gag when Ignus threw a fierce punch right into her underbelly

The girl's frame bent under the blow, back arching like that of a startled, feral cat preparing for battle. She dropped flat on the bed and immediately started to throw up, flow of disgusting, stinky black ichor shot from her mouth, followed by trails of still indigested flames. The rough, hoarse sounds the girl was making reminded them of someone who was about to spit his organs out.

Her whole body was hacking wildly as if her spine wanted to burst through the back.

Ignus averted his gaze, his snout contracted by a disgusted wince.

Cellsa's ugly sounds morphed their tone when she emptied her stomach, the disturbed cackling mixing with the sounds of coughing and crying.

"It's over" her voice lost all its strength from earlier, becoming extremely weak and whispery, heavy breaths of relief shook her entire frame

The red dragon merely shook his head without a word, it was a sign for everyone present that he didn't share her optimism in this matter.

And then as if Fate itself wanted to confirm his suspicions Cellsa hacked again and another torrent of abhorrent bile burst from her mouth with such intensity that it was quite surprising that her teeth were still in the same place.

Cynder kept swallowing quickly, feeling her own stomach rumbling in the face of this unfortunate experience.

The second flow was a much shorter one, ending with Cellsa's prolonged cry and a completely numb drop against the bed's frame, the ring of her chin smacking against it nearly shattered the windows in the room.

It made everyone wince except Ignus who looked at the sprawled girl with utmost contempt.

"Pathetic" he let go off the hair with a grumble, dragging plenty of colorful strands with him "You are a disgrace to your family, to Skyward and our race as a whole, even wind dragons wouldn't look at you"

"You don't belong here thrash, I doubt there is a place in this world that would welcome such a nuisance. I should have let Bones take care of you, nobody has the patience to tolerate your pitiful existence"

He dragged the stinky vase under her hanging nose, sinking a nostril into the opening.

Cellsa reacted instantly, retching and immediately pushing away from the object, using limited strength to do so.

"Clean it and change the sheets, you have twenty minutes, if after this time there still will be something inside I'll make you eat it" Ignus stormed out the room "Come downstairs after you're done. We must move soon"

And with those words their host disappeared, leaving the group alone with their poor companion.

Sparx rubbed his shoulders uneasily, trying to silence the sudden chill quaking his body. If he would ever want to look for any evidence that would justify Marble's claims about being an opportunity, he doubted he would find a better one after this, excluding that little prospect of Ignus putting his claws against their throats.

"What's gotten into him? He acted like his tail was on fire, more than usual I mean"

"Ugh" Cellsa collapsed against the bed's frame again, chin making another loud, knocking sound "My head..." paw rose weakly to massage the aching forehead, it was shaking so fervently that it almost looked like it was a foreleg of a dummy, strings of which are barely held by the one commanding them.

"You have a death wish Cellsa or something?" Cynder looked at the wreck of the dragoness, she had her own share of strenuous experiences where all she wanted was a pillow under her head, yet even during the wars she never pushed herself into such a state that she could be easily confused with a living corpse

She didn't even know a thing like that was possible, and yet Cellsa here looked as if her regeneration process would be silenced.

"All work and no play makes for another dull day" the rather joyful motivation was supported by a fierce, painful groan "Fuck!" she whimpered, scratching at her temples chaotically as if trying to make a hole there through which her brain could leak out "My head is going to explode! Why did you let him wake me up?!"

"Sorry. We have this bad habit of helping folks when they seem to be killing themselves in front of us" Cynder shrugged "Quite a mood killer that thing, just warn us next time before ingesting the whole worth of a medical cabinet so we won't make them same mistake twice"

"I wasn't killing myself smart-ass!"

"Drooling black ichor with mouth full of dark berries while being unresponsive with glaring eyes can be quite misleading you know"

"I was BORED!" Cellsa blared out in pained frustration, the roar quickly turning into moaning when another torrent of powerful pain caused a tremor in her nerves "You had fun and I was locked here, what was I supposed to do than go to the happy place to have some fun myself?"

Spyro winced.

"It wasn't fun, we are prisoners Cellsa"

"Boo-fucking-hoo. Better than having your brain stampeded by packs of Moonborn!" the bitter response was followed by a soft sob "You should have left me alone, I would wake up on my own and everything would be dandy!"

"We'll remember this the next time you swallow a whole bag of unknown drugs"

"What do you mean whole?!" Cellsa lifted herself up on the bed with surprising elegance that nobody would expect from a hangover corpse

Her eyes located the satchel immediately, as if it would be calling to her.

"I see flasks! There has to be something inside! Check!"

"It's empty" Sparx noted

"Check! Check! Check! Check!" Cellsa began to repeat the same word with quickening intervals, announcing each by a slam of her paws against the bed frame

"Fine!" the dragonfly groaned, covering his earholes and dashing towards the satchel, reaching inside and scooping everything out, throwing the empty material right into her chanting snout

"Empty! Gone! Nothing!"

Green paws groped the bag from every direction, reaching even inside to make sure that there was nothing hidden there. Colors faded from Cellsa's snout.

"Empty" she announced in horror

"Yes empty, like your ribcage will be if you won't do what Ignus told you!" Sparx hissed, annoyed

He never liked dealing with drunk people and the chick right now behaved like an entire mob of them. There was seriously nothing more pointless than trying to reach her in this state.

"Sparx right Cellsa, you should probably start cleaning"

"I cannnnnnnnnn't!" she whined loudly, the cry was so shrill that she could challenge a whole crowd of crying babies all by herself "I don't have my treats and my head hurts!"

Spyro looked over his companions, fierce frowns were visible on both of their faces, warning him that he should not dare to offer assistance. In Cynder's eyes he could spot the rekindled grudge when he assisted Iris with the drawer and Sparx was acting like the big brother again who was trying to show him the correct way.

Between those looks he remembered Terrador's words saying that he was not here to make friends, that his companions need to learn the ropes of discipline. And as harsh as it might be, as much as he didn't like it, he won't find a better subject than Cellsa to train on.

"Make haste Cellsa, we will be downstairs and I would advise against making Ignus more angry, it was a rough meeting so he might be a little on edge. Good luck" and with those words Spyro turned around, making both Cynder and Sparx exchange surprised glances between each other

"Don't leave me with all this vomit! It's disgusting!" the dragoness didn't cease her cries

But all she got in return was Sparx' mocking wave.

"I must say that was rather unexpected" Cynder tottered up to Spyro, her paws kicking up in a slight dancing manner "Are you becoming a badass? You pinned her quite roughly there" she nudged him with her shoulder playfully

Her behavior stole a chuckle out of him almost instantly, due to being connected as they were he realized swiftly that Cynder wasn't here to start up a pointless small talk, she had a purpose in this and her silly jokes were a part of that plan.

A plan that tried to keep his thoughts away from the decision he made, she knew just well that even if justified, turning your back on someone like that wasn't really his style.

Ancestors, he loves her so much.

"Hey, I can pin anyone when I want to"

"Just don't overdo it" she winked at him "I really like your sensitive, girly soul"

"I see that you also like to make me feel like a true male" he smiled at her

She giggled, giving him another poke.

"You can always show me just how good at pinning you are when we will be alone" she leaned in conspicuously closer, her scales almost brushing against his, yet the small detail that created this gap between them had a round shape and a metallic feeling, with the origin point being at their forelegs.

It was her ominous jewelry making its presence known.

Spyro felt his blood heating.

"I have all the bracelets already" she cooed and jumped in front of him, flashing the mentioned bracelets, stretching out the forelegs until one of them landed on the neck and tugged at the choker there.

Her erotic purr mixed with that mild, full of sensual energy show forced such a gulp down his throat that he almost dropped dead after having difficulties with swallowing it. He wasn't sure if she was toying with him or if the proposition was serious, whatever it was he couldn't deny the fact that it was working. His mind was immediately filled with scenes of Cynder in many different positions having her paws chained, with ropes running around the bracelets, one tight leash around the choker, either making another round across her mouth to gag her or applying more pressure on her neck.

In every of these situations she was dizzied with submissive, erotic plea that was commanded by a purple paw holding the ropes.

His paw.

Without realizing it a tip of his tongue rolled from the corner of his mouth, glistening with increased flow of saliva.

"Where is Iris?"

Spyro's eyes widened in terror, Sparx' question silencing the sweet thoughts about Cynder with the speed of a beating eyelash Realism drowning him as the surroundings took on shape, walls and doors manifested, the hall before filled with tied and begging with anticipation Cynder became devoid of such direct, erotic images.

The only thing that stood out were the opened door at the end of the hall, door that Cynder just reached.

She turned to gaze into the room and he already felt a horrific shout building up in his throat that would shatter this whole building to pieces. He couldn't explain why, he didn't do anything terribly bad, one might even say that he acted respectfully to honor his mate and assist a companion in need

Yet he could not help but feel guilty.

And then suddenly Cynder turned her attention forward, completely ignoring the room.

He couldn't believe it, his paws carried him forward quickly, eyes gripping the first opportunity to throw a glance inside his room.

Empty.

Iris was not here.

She left as he asked her to.

She didn't have to do that and even though this city seemed to have a comforting effect on her there was still that cold, indigenous look in her eyes that protested against any kind of orders. And yet Iris fulfilled his request.

Of course in her case it might be just another attempt to woo him, but after their last time together he really doubted it. Iris was changing, he didn't know if it is possible to heal all of her scars, especially those inflicted on the mind, but he couldn't deny the fact that she was finally considering someone's else's opinion.

Even if it was only him who had this benefit, it was still worth noting, after all everything is better than complete zero.

The guilt faded away somewhat and he instantly felt lighter, maybe by allowing her to spend the night in his room wasn't that bad in the end.

"She must be downstairs with Ignus" Spyro commented and the relief vibrating in his voice nearly made him faint from all of the excess air he exhaled

And she was.

Ignus was making rounds back and forth across the room, his head always looking towards the windows while Iris sat indifferently near the wall in the middle of the room. If they weren't family the group would easily confuse them for a bonded couple who just went through an argument.

"Athron is sniffing for you, as expected the news of your disappearance from the dungeons weren't a secret for long" he stopped at one of the windows, gently looking past the curtain "I see her lackeys, they'll come here soon"

He pried the curtain a little further up.

"Not to mention the guards, they are on edge, something must be happening in the Upper City. A storm is brewing and something tells me that it was your appearance that causes it"

The group looked at each other, the commotion was exactly the thing the siblings wanted to achieve by bringing them through the main gate, which despite what Ignus might believe might work in their favor in the end.

"Some of your friends told on us?" Sparx asked, hiding behind his brother's horns just in case, his light was almost always a giveaway when it came to secrets

"Not yet"

"Not yet?" the group spoke up in surprised unison, only Iris remained stoic about it all, one could even notice her shaking her head slightly if enough attention would be given

"What?" Ignus snorted, looking at the group mockingly "You think conspirators work based on trust? No. This functions solely on greed, this charade we went through was nothing more than a window to buy us more time. They will come for you, we must get you to my sister before that happens, we don't want to deal with them among the enemies we already have"

"What role you play in this game of greed then? What you get from helping us?" Cynder pried

The red dragon turned towards the window again.

"That's none of your business"

"You might be leading us straight into your sister's claws, a sister that seemingly wants us dead"

Ignus shrugged.

"Go then, leave, I guarantee that you won't go far, without me neither of you would even reach the Upper City. Marble had eyes on you from the start and I assure you she is not the only one that did. Athron's agents are also watching. If I wouldn't come for you, the two dragons that went after you wouldn't be the only ones you would have to deal with"

"I still don't see how that will change anything for us. You're a conspirer, if your sister had any suspicions about you, you will only confirm them by bringing us to her. Smells like we are a bargaining chip for your safety"

"Oh, but you are a bargaining chip, have no doubts about that" Ignus looked at the group again, his eyes stern and filled with some not seen before disgust "But not for my safety. Athron won't kill me even if I confess my every sin, she can't afford to lose me just yet. Besides if I wanted you dead, would I really go through all this trouble? All I had to do was to let you rot with Bones and that freak would do everything for me. It's too late for worry girl"

Spyro frowned uneasily, this sudden tension, it was so thick that you could cut it with a knife. He wasn't entirely sure what might be behind it, but that feeling of anxiety wasn't completely alien to him. Before he realized it his eyes were drawn to the blue dragoness sitting all by herself in this very room.

Like a queen overseeing the squabbling of peasants.

He realized just by looking at her why this tension was so familiar, she was the one responsible for it. Iris was making him uncomfortable and they hardly knew each other, yet she still managed to project her past and history onto him in more ways than blatant clinging.

He could only imagine how strong effect she would have on her uncle, a dragon she knew most her life.

Maybe they could use this effect to determine if Cynder's valid worries had any justification to them.

"What do you think about it Iris?"

He turned to the girl, meeting her eyes and, he wasn't sure, a very slightly cocked head in visible interest. Her gaze was cold as always, but there was some strange praise in them, like that of a murderer looking down upon a body to find it flailing, the victim still alive after the beating he just applied.

In the back of his head he heard the cling of a falling knife slicing through the air, cutting the thick atmosphere swiftly like it would be made out of butter.

With the corner of his eyes he noticed Ignus' mouth parting with a silent gasp, his flaming pupils, arrogant and prideful just a moment ago, burst with a speck of dread as if there were a fire slapped by a mattress.

His friends went silent as well, but in their case the shock was caused by surprise only, they knew each other long enough to know that this question didn't come out of nowhere, but were still bewildered by the ingenuity of it.

Iris was totally silent for a moment, she looked as if she was preparing vent whatever was sitting on her gut right into Spyro's snout, but then the head, which moved with the energy of a statue scanned the room and the heads there.

Each and every one of them was looking her way.

Her mostly bleak scales, her cold, yet lifeless eyes, her demeanor in general, all of it took a turn into the light. The attention she just received touched her dormant, royal ego of an ice dragoness. Iris grew in their eyes, her figure gaining on colors, the feathers, while groomed and neat were mostly leaning down.

Until now.

They flushed, thickening in front of everyone's eyes as her wings opened instinctively to display her prominent weapon of intimidating charm in all of its glory. The feathers towered over her, forming a beautiful, heavenly crown that emphasized the perfection of her figure, making her look like an otherworldly aspect of divine grace. This unexpected attention, worthy of a royal, made her look several years younger.

Despite what most ice dragons claim, holding onto history than anything else, Iris had clearly royal blood running in her veins and right now that very bloodline was filling her being with more power than any elemental energy could.

The sight of it made Sparx shiver for some reason, a freezing finger of worry poking his spine. A rather obvious, yet strangely dreadful thought occurred to him all of a sudden.

You don't need magic to have power.

Ignus stared at her with such awe as if admiring a work of art, believing that she just stepped out from a painting.

Feeling her uncle's stare on her, Iris turned her attention towards him, she always had a piercing look, but this time it was even more intense than usual. Ignus cringed in visible discomfort as if the glare would wrench his soul into a pulp. They might not be related per se in this timeline, but the heart twisting gaze Iris was giving him was making sure that the dragon relives the memories that aren't his.

"Uncle won't betray us" she passed her judgment and even though Iris dismissed Cynder's claims Ignus didn't look any calmer after hearing them

Blue head cocked to the side, it was such a gentle move that many would consider it affectionate.

"He still cares. He will bring us to mother, he cannot afford to lose us, we're too valuable"

"Dooooone!" a cheerful cry came from upstairs "I fini-Aaaah!" a loud tumble came from upstairs, seconds later Cellsa kept rolling down the staircase, the rough bouncing catching everyone's attention aside from Iris

"Most of us are" the blue dragoness snarled, nose wrinkling in irritation

Cellsa dropped flat on her back with a hard clap, with a groan she slapped both her paws against her mouth, chest hacking wildly.

"If you throw up I'll shove it all back down your throat!" Ignus roared at the struggling girl

Whether she believed his threat or if she simply didn't want to drown in her own vomit remained a mystery for everyone, Cellsa included. Eventually the sharp breathing ceased its torment and the girl's paws dropped to the sides with a gasp of loud relief.

"Are you alright Cellsa?" Spyro quickly approached the dragoness, looking her over cautiously

"Who put those stairs here?!" she blurted out, with a flash of electricity sparkling up between her horns she thrust her paws forward, grabbing Spyro by the nose and pulling him closer "Did you forget that I have a headache?!"

Green paws returned to clutching the scaly forehead of the same color.

"Do you know of anything that can kill this fucking pain?" she whimpered pitifully

"Beheading" Iris snapped

Spyro breathed a stream of ice on his paw before pressing it against the girl's head, aiming a scolding shake of his own head at Iris.

Cellsa's eyes widened, she immediately grabbed the purple foreleg to make sure that it stays where it was.

"That helps a little. Keep doing that"

"We have no time for this nonsense!" Ignus stomped his paw "You are what matters to me, I do not care about the warden's brat at all. You either keep up thrash or I'm feeding you to the guards, we can always use the distraction" his eyes flared up with intense flames "This is a warning to you all, you asked me to take her with us so she's your responsibility, if you won't make the addict keep pace I'm going to gut her myself and it would be in your best interest not to intervene if you want to leave this city alive"

Iris glared at the lying dragoness, her eyes filled with murder, it was clear that if it would be up to her Cellsa would be dead already.

"She can do it" Spyro assured the group, looking Cellsa's right in the eyes, he didn't know if they owed anything to her, after all she tricked them before leading them to Skyward, not to mention that it was Orbis who did all the thinking.

Still leaving someone to sort out their own mistakes and abandoning them to tragic fate were two different things entirely. It didn't feel right, but most importantly it would feel like betrayal, Cellsa was part of their group, if only temporary, and if he was to become a leader one day his companions need to understand that we don't leave anyone alone.

Not if they can still be helped.

"She can do it" he repeated softly, his gaze becoming more intense "Right?"

Cellsa looked straight into his glowing purple eyes, her paws numbly releasing the clench over his foreleg. There was some sort of a pull coming from those eyes, it was so strong that she simply couldn't turn her gaze away, not that she even wanted to.

Such pure eyes.

So full of...peace.

A wonderful wave of comfort washed over her, followed by a strange, long forgotten feeling of determination that she haven't felt since her childhood when she sneaked away to see her brother, the only creature who showed her any kind of love in that family. A determination that kept her assuring him that she will come back every night.

She faintly remembered the patch of garden where they met, a spot before Skyward decided to lock itself from the sun completely, but she never forgot the smell of flowers that marked their scent.

And as she looked into those purple eyes she couldn't help but wonder at the sight, she could swear that she saw flowery petals sprouting from the corners of his brilliant pupils.

She was a child again and just like that child she didn't want to let go.

"I can do it" she confirmed, her voice melodic and casual, free of any restrains of pain and irritation

Ignus rolled his eyes.

"Whatever. Grab that tunic before we leave, we might need it" he turned to the windows again, looking into the streets filled with mysterious, threatening figures that swam around the city, casting ominous shadows like packs of bloodthirsty sharks

"We might fight. I just hope that the show you put up in my house wasn't merely a reckless bravado"

The silhouettes moved in unison, separately from each other, yet always nearby and covering each other. Skyward and this world always taught one how to survive, you can't rely on luck and good intentions if you strive for the top.

He looked down on his paws, through toes of which he could spot the swirling strands of Fate he so tightly clenched.

"Control is what keeps you alive"