FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter 53

Being pinned and surrounded by the enemy was hardly a good time where one could appreciate the surroundings, mind in such moments was simply too focused on more pressing matters than finding a moment to take in the scenery.

It was no different for all of them, having most of the soldiers of Skyward glaring down on them from the upper level, showing nothing but hostility was a rather strong focus point, an anchor that the most potent of magic could have troubles breaking apart.

Except that in their case there was a single variable that shook the foundations of normality.

Iris' mother drew the attention of every single member of their group.

They stopped questioning Iris' words about the perfection of her mother in an instant. They all gasped in awe when they laid their eyes on the leader of Skyward. Even Cynder did and what was stranger for her more was the fact that she wasn't even mad at Spyro for showing the same affection, realizing that she wouldn't be able to stop him even if she wanted to.

Athron's snout was a work of wonder, each line of bone, each piece of scale seemed to be placed in the correct spot and in the correct shape, like the features of a fervently carved out statue. While practically every living creature has some flaws, bigger or smaller that makes their faces look worse depending on the angle, Athron didn't have that issue, from every side her draconic face seemed to be remarkably precise and symmetrical.

A miraculous specimen of mother Nature that seemed to adopt every possible gene that would make one physically stunning, just by looking at her you could tell that her features were distinctive, without being exaggerated in any way, where every tiny detail of her snout could discerned, a walking, perfect mouse for any anatomy fanatic.

Athron's scales only added to her overall stunning attraction even more, scales were simply beautiful, in the color of a pristine ocean, they were so smooth and seemed to glisten faintly. Not even the tiniest of the typical cracks and bumps that separates each scale could be seen her features as soft as velvet even from distance, making her look like as if she would be wearing skin than actual draconic scales.

Even the armor she was wearing, glistening with blue and gold like an underwater crown seemed to be made just for her. While the typical battle armor, or any other protection is normally quite oversized and bulky, making the wearer more thicker than he actually is, Athron had no such discomfort.

The armor pressed against her body ideally, being an extension of it rather than a cover, as if her body would melded with the plates.

And by the Ancestors what a body that was.

Each curve was stunningly emphasized, following the rules of her face the rest of her physical features were too a sight to behold, beautifully formed to satisfy the craving of every lustful paw and hand in existence. Each part distinctive while not being overrated, offering the perfect softness and fullness to satisfy even the most demanding of cravings.

It seemed like only two physical traits were passed onto Iris, the heavenly shapes and the backwards titled horns, whatever could they see of Athron was single color, she had bo stripes that Iris did, lacking the one on her head, as well as the natural white shades surrounding the eyes.

In fact Athron had a pair of long, pointed ears stretching back from the sides of her snout, a characteristic that was totally dormant in Iris.

Same thing applied to the wings, Athron's were featherless, but that didn't come as a surprise, it was clear that the feathers were passed onto Iris by her father's genes.

If one would want to desperately find any flaws in Athron's physical shape then he would have to focus on the eyes, while also having those of Iris as a vivid comparison option. Her eyes were blue, while pretty in general, they lacked that striking, piercing shock that Iris possessed, a shock that would stop even the most rabid of beasts.

Those blue eyes didn't pierce your soul, the longer they looked at them the more they started to realize that they don't quite belong to that stunning face. While glistening with youthful energy there was something behind them, a tiny dip of cataract one might say where all the years and experiences where stored, troubles and worries of an old soul, soul that aged far quicker than the body did, becoming scornful and bitter.

For all the things that were young about Athron, her eyes did not belong in that group, those were the eyes of an old female who was tired of existence.

Those eyes were judging them now, weighting their worthiness and by the sheer abhorrence radiating from the blue orbs, it was clear that they didn't hold the group in high regard.

"Kill everything and bring me the purple one" Athron ordered coldly, if they could her eyes would stomp them into a pulp

Despite the clear command her soldiers hesitated, even the peacekeepers who were loyal to her exchanged scared and confused glances between each other and the guards as well.

Whether it was fear of dying after witnessing the brutal execution of their companion or something else they couldn't really tell.

What they knew for sure though was that Athron wasn't happy about it.

"Didn't I make myself clear enough?" her voice cracked with the sound of breaking ice

"Sister! Sister!" Ignus sprinted in front of the group, almost falling into the hole the group was in as he stopped in front of his sibling

"You can't blame them for having doubts, killing them is not the solution here"

"They demolished my city" Athron snarled directly at her brother's nose

The group below suspected that she will use the death of the soldier as an argument to fuel her motivations further. They were quite surprised when no such thing happened.

"Precisely and if you try slaughtering them now it will only bring more death to our ranks, not to mention the rest of the city. People want answers and they won't like being locked out from them. They have breached the gates Athron"

"I will need a leash for you Ignus, your mingling with the vermin begins to corrupt you more and more. I find it very annoying"

"Just look at them, please" Ignus pleaded, yet if his voice would have shape and enough bravery, it would roll its eyes

Clearly he too found some things annoying about his sister, the only difference being was that he wasn't really allowed to say them out loud.

"Stop begging, it's infuriating" Athron pushed her brother aside, despite her rather palpable indifference to the request, she seemed to still posses some semblance of sibling care that she actually did what was requested of her

Cynder, Sparx and Spyro remained where they were, meeting her eyes confidently, not allowing any emotion to break through, keeping it all professional. Cellsa visibly shrunk, desperately trying to disappear. Iris was the only one who met the eyes of the stunning dragoness with clear admiration, deep hope and affection radiating from her usually hate filled orbs.

The ice dragoness bit her lips hard, with great difficulty holding back the announcement of her return. She so desperately wanted her mother to recognize her.

And it seemed that Athron really did see something, her look this time lacked the initial, rather reckless response of an irritated teenager. She was gazing upon them with the sight of a leader, with insight much deeper than today and tomorrow.

It became quite clear that she didn't become a leader by accident, intelligent, cunning eyes were evaluating unknown to the group possibilities, they doubted that any of them had their well-being in mind in the end, yet it was quite the relief that they weren't dealing with a completely, bloodthirsty monster.

Especially considering the fact that they just killed one of theirs. That they still weren't fighting for their lives was either because Athron had the typical, almost soulless heart of an ice dragoness, or she was planning something far worse than vengeful slaughter.

Whatever the case may be, the lack of determination to take justice for the death of one of her soldiers wasn't a good sign.

"Where have you found all those freaks" Athron shook her head "Purple, black and a glowing fly, you three are going to repair what you broke and you will work until you drop dead or finish patching up my city, I don't care what comes first, you can work with the material you get or you'll become one, makes no difference to me"

The cunning eyes shifted at Cellsa who bent even lower in a futile attempt to dig herself under the ground.

"Warden's brat, you eventually found your way up here, I think I won a bet with a certain someone. Get up, you're coming with me"

Sparkles of electricity jumped between Cellsa's horns as her eyes widened in surprise and body stretched out curiously.

"You're not going to kill me?"

Tired, elderly looking blue eyes glared at the girl.

"I didn't say that, nor I remember giving you any right to waggle that tongue"

The electric dragoness whimpered, cowering once again in her pitiful cocoon of wings and tail.

Athron turned around towards her escort.

"Gut the feathered filth"

A commotion stirred among the dragons, while they were aware that it would be unwise and most likely greatly dangerous to go up against the strangers, due to their unknown power and their leader's demands, that didn't change the fact that they craved vengeance and blood and would most likely tear anyone apart just to satisfy their bloody sense of justice.

Iris' claws dug into the floor, it can't end like this, she won't allow it"

"I am you're da-

"Dangerous mistake that is my dear sister!" Ignus blurted out heavily, interrupting the shout coming from the ice dragoness below, once again jumping in front of his sibling

"I'm not interested Ignus" Athron growled quietly

"But this-"

She stabbed him with her claw to silence the incoming, annoying protest "Your perverse games and those of other royals are sickening. I only tolerate it because I have other pressing matters to attend to, the moment your deviance encroaches on my territory, this is the moment when I decapitate it"

She patted his cheek, Ignus frowned, with great effort allowing himself to be mocked so openly.

"You'll find a new toy my little brother, the playground behind these walls is massive. Now be a good sport and don't interrupt me further"

"She's not your standard wind dragon. This is a grave mistake" he spoke when Athron passed him by

"Stop Ignus. Enough of this games"

"This is not a wind dragon" Ignus spoke up again, his voice shaking a little, a part of him wanted to desperately keep the truth he was about to reveal hidden for some reason

Athron nodded at her soldiers, giving a clear signal that they may proceed with her orders.

"She's an ice dragoness!" the fire dragon roared, stopping the advance of the soldiers as well as his own sister

Athron turned around, even though her eyes shown nothing but doubt. Ignus knew that his time is limited so he turned towards the ice dragoness, giving her a nod.

Iris had no troubles understanding, ignoring completely what consequences this action might entail she breathed a stream of ice into the air.

Every member of the recently uncovered group heard the sound of dropping jaws coming from the soldiers as well as Athron herself.

Ignus smiled faintly, he always found some weird satisfaction whenever he managed to jab Athron by surprise.

"What. The. Fuck" the leader of Skyward intoned, her full of frozen fury eyes skimmed over her group of soldiers who immediately understood the silent assault, barking words assuring of their loyalty one by one

Every one of them assuring their leader that they had nothing to do with this.

"I allowed you to taste power" Athron's voice was beginning to rumble louder with each word "I allowed you freedom. I accepted you into my circle as my equals, whatever I gain you gain as well. You share the spoils of every triumph. I only asked for patience in return and this is how you repay me? Lying WITH FILTH?!" she roared at the top of her lungs, ice wafted from her eyes and nose, freezing in midair when the temperature of the breath got deadly cold in a span of few seconds

The temperature in the room dropped considerably, the dragons below shivered, feeling the touch of magical essence cascading across the scales.

It was no ordinary magic.

Athron was a well of energy, it became quickly clear that she hadn't rise so high just by looks alone, she had magical potential that would easily place her among the Ancestors.

There was no longer magic like that present in dragons of their time, while there were more talented welders than some others, neither could reach highs that could rival Spyro or Cynder.

Athron was a different case, in her time she was undoubtedly one that could be taken for a legendary dragon and if she ever managed to reach her potential, she was a force to be reckoned with.

They wouldn't be surprised if some didn't consider her an aspect of divinity.

The view that this world considered Athron with became unimportant, what mattered was that Ignus played a card that kept the leader of Skyward from pushing the kill order forward.

But the visible betrayal in those blue eyes made them fear that the command was not prevented, merely delayed. There was clear pain radiating from them, reaching perhaps even personal levels, the pain of the revelation was so strong that they feared that Athron no longer will use her soldiers to commit the deed, instead she will take matters into her own claws.

And the moment she jumped down to the surprise of everyone present only confirmed their suspicions.

"Athron!" Ignus yelled in protest

"Who sired you abomination?" the armored dragoness ignored the plea, towering against the feathered filth who kept looking at her with those, huge white eyes as if she was some pup

It only made her more furious.

"You have two seconds to answer before I'll make you eat your own scales"

The increasing vibrations of magical energy in the air showed clearly that this was no joke.

"Don't just stand there Iris!" Spyro roared, bending on his paws

Clicking of armor and vicious snarls followed soon after when the soldiers readied themselves for a fight.

Despite the thick, aggressive atmosphere Cynder's tail flicked involuntary, sensing a faint ripple in the energy. One of Athron's paws instinctively rose up, scratching against the armor near her neck as if some impossible to reach itch would be there.

A tick.

Her own choker knew a thing or two about that.

Iris had no intentions to move though, assaulted by the shouts of her mother she merely dropped on her butt, lowering her head and the wings that flopped down as if the membranes were sliced. She immediately began plucking at the feathers.

The crack in the magic that was just a ripple a moment ago morphed into a pit, most of the essence dispersed, leaving only a prominent trail around the armored dragoness. It was due to that freezing concentration of magic they noticed the leader of Skyward gasping faintly, a wavering, cloud of chilly fog pushing out from her mouth as if she would exhale a piece of her own soul.

Athron's eyes jumped up, skimming across the group of dragons, reaching even that of her soldiers and brother, the claws that so eagerly satisfied the craving of the habit dropped flatly back on the ground.

"Take that monster to the castle Ignus" she turned around unexpectedly, with a single flap of wings leaping back onto the top floor

The noise of her armored paws gracefully clanking against the floor made every eye widen in surprise at the unexpected shift of mood.

Neither questioned it however, it was difficult to say if it was planned or not, just a moment ago Athron was ready to tear Iris to shreds and now she was just leaving her alone. It looked like she did it all on purpose, but in all honesty nobody could be certain, the Queen for sure knew how to stay professional even if there was something eating her from the inside.

"Provide escort for my brother" she gazed at a small regiment, combination of guards and her own peacekeepers, a mixture that wasn't keen on working together, yet neither also dared to protest loudly

Ignus started to massage the back of his neck at the sound of that.

He did not notice the flash of blue eyes glimmering with wicked joy at the sight of that.

"The rest of you knows what to do!" Athron blared out commandingly, striding forwards confidently "Warden's brat! With us! And you better keep up!"

Without second thoughts Cellsa scrambled from her hiding spot and immediately dashed after the stunning dragoness, spitting sparks and flashes of electricity that only added more force to her already prominent haste.

The rest of the group was left down below, confused, everyone was startled by the turn of events except for Iris, the one who was in the biggest of troubles turned her head towards the trio.

For the first time her piercing stare did not seek Spyro, landing on Cynder of all dragons instead.

The black dragoness shivered involuntary, she had the attention of those eyes before, when the owner went for her blood, yet this time it was vastly different. Never before she could feel that look touching her very soul, a grateful touch she could barely remember feeling, but something told her that it was how a bond between family looks like.

"You were right. She knows who I am" Iris mumbled quietly, her accented voice lacking the usual hateful rasp, being seductively melodic and smooth

And Cynder couldn't believe herself but she smiled at the sound of it, simply knowing that she did good.

And she was genuinely happy for Iris.

The end of the world surely must be coming.

*

"It's pointless!" Sparx groaned as he dropped another like of the bloody petals on the scooped pile "If we don't fix that thing we'll be here forever" he looked up, his body pulsing faintly in depression, more red leaves kept falling down like tears

"Don't you have anything we can use to shuffle this mess properly at least?" he directed his whine at the cordon of soldiers surrounding them

"We're going to use your corpse if you don't shut up" one of the guards commented his complaints with a wicked snarl

"Just be quiet Sparx" Cynder scolded her friend, dragging a pile of petals behind her that her tail embraced

"Quiet? Quiet?!" the dragonfly shoved a chaotically scooped tuft into the pile

Pile that kept rising and splattering with each new petal falling from the sky.

"We're going to work ourselves to death here! You must see that this is pointless!"

"Let's just wait Sparx, maybe they'll really bring the material they promised" with tired sigh Spyro added more petals to the already quite big hill of red "There has to be some plan here, if Athron wanted us dead she wouldn't go through all this trouble, she put a lot of guards to keep eyes on us, too many I think to just watch us die"

"Besides time works in our favor too, I already feel my power returning. We still posses the element of surprise, they don't know what we can do so we can bail at any time" Cynder added her insight, scooping more red, weird leaves

"Until they decide to choke you with those draining chains" Sparx complained again

"Then we would be too tired to do anything. Just look at them Sparx" Spyro threw an inconspicuous look at the surrounding them dragons, just to clarify his suspicions "They don't know what to do, they keep observing us, but are too afraid to approach or act, some of it must be our influence besides that of Athron's, we're exotic and if the rest of the city works in the same conspiring way as Ignus' friends do, than nobody can afford to just kill us, we're too valuable of an asset"

The dragonfly's gaze ran over the crowd of dragons, a single glance was enough to tell that Spyro was right, these guys are as clueless about it all as they are. This might sound strange, but they are safe, surrounded by hostile dragons, trapped in a city that would gladly crush them if it had any sentience, toys of a leader who can end their lives on a whim.

Yeah, they were safe alright.

"Their looks still give me the creeps, I just feel them probing me all the time" Sparx shivered

"No worries, you'll get used to it. It doesn't take long for your mind to keep seeing eyes in the darkness when you're trying to sleep, always thinking that someone is there watching from the shadows. After that" Cynder waved her paw dismissively "It's easy, you might even make up some friends"

"I'm all for some quips, but it's hardly the time Cyn for your dry jokes"

"Oh, but I'm not kidding"

"It isn't that bad" Spyro spread his wings, shuffling them across the ground to scoop as much petals as he could to form another pile "They are not provoking or beating us, they are taking it quite lightly considering that we're responsible for...well you know"

"So here they are"

The three of them balked at the sound of the voice, so elegant and calm, with only a feint tone of excitement vibrating in between, it was a voice of a professional scientist, they almost got fooled by it, yet their recent adventure in the deepest, dark dungeons of Skyward made them rather sensitive to this particular tone.

Bones approached their working area, dragging a cart behind himself with the straps running all around his sinuous body, making him look like an overgrown chrysalis ready to evolve into its next life stage.

He was wearing his glasses again and moving with rather charming tempo, while before each part of his body acted as if it wanted to go its own direction, this time his seemingly spineless figure worked in almost perfect harmony.

He was as dignified as any wonky scientist could be.

"Not this guy again" Sparx mumbled in defeat

And judging how the guards made space for him to pass through, it was clear that he didn't find his way here by accident. The soldiers, just like them had disgruntled expressions on their snouts, all of them were familiar with the dragon's true apparition it seems and despite the fact that they were in war, they weren't quite fond of someone who so easily breaks the rules separating sentient creatures from monsters.

"The fabled specimens! True incarnations of ru} mors!" Bones pushed forward excitedly, the wheels of the cart bounced on the uneven ground, rattling rhythmically as if singing a cheery song to support the humor of the driver

Bones began freeing himself from the straps, he did it just in time when another sound was raised nearby. Many clicks of claws and taps of legs rumbled across the walls of Skyward.

He was being followed by some other souls, there was plenty of them, but what was more surprising was the fact that the dragons that appeared before them were not highborn, they were the normal dragons from the lower levels, Squeakers like the royals tended to call them.

They poured into the area, much to the dissatisfaction of the soldiers nearby who didn't seem quite fond of their new visitors. At least it became quite clear why Athron designated so many numbers, both here on the ground and above, to watch over them.

They were not here for them.

"Yes dear citizens of Skyward, your eyes didn't fool you, your Queen managed to proclaim the legendary specimens into her throve!" Bones announced, climbing onto the wagon as the murmuring crowd gathered

"No tricks, no paint, all real and here to serve! Somewhat volatile perhaps, but what weapon of mass destruction isn't these days" the dragon laughed, his way of speaking was far different than the one they got used to

They quickly realized that this was another charade, this time though the masks the ones playing it wore were invisible.

This whole city is built on crumbling lies.

And right now they were merely puppets in this masquerade.

The nearby guards snatched the cart dragging it closer towards the trio.

"Material. Get to work" one of the soldiers grumbled

They weren't professional builders, in fact their creative skills were very limited when it came to all sorts of construction, the only thing they could imagine how to put together was wood and bricks, yet even those would give them troubles when it would come to it.

The thing inside the cart was like no other material they had ever seen, perhaps it was in its raw state, perhaps it need some stimuli to react properly, they had no idea, what they knew for sure was that they had serious holes in their knowledge regarding technical aspects of creation, which was quite a shame since they were surrounded by moles who understood construction like no one else.

The other thing they knew was that their imaginations seemed to work in unison, that thing in the cart really looked like sinew to all of them and suddenly Athron's threats about them becoming the material no longer seemed like ordinary flex.

Spyro was the first one who gathered up enough courage to actually sink his claws into the stuff. Despite the comparison he wasn't repulsed by the feeling, it felt like dipping your paws into a swamp, not the most pleasurable feelings in the world but since he grew up in a place where swamp was abundant this was like daily chore to him.

Cynder followed him, yet in her case she couldn't silence the feeling of being disgusted.

"Ugh" she hissed when she began scooping the gluey stuff

"It's not that bad, just imagine you would be dipping your paws into a swamp" Spyro cheered her up

"How thinking about putting my paws into a thick mud that feels like someone's puke will make it feel better?"

"Umm...."

"See what you did there Cyn?" Sparx picked up a pile of the weird material, not even flinching "You ruined the poor dude's childhood"

She winced, realizing how dumb she is.

"Shit. I'm sorry. I didn't mean it"

"What are they saying? Are they speaking in our language?" questions were shouted from the mob, the gathered dragons too were too far to pick up their muffled conversation, yet the sole curiosity made them all feel vastly exposed

They all got to work immediately, lifting themselves up in the air to patch up the odd ceiling.

"Minor words of encouragement we all would understand, praising the Queen is a duty we all willingly and gladly abide to. Important, but not as curious any longer. Behold the sight in its place!" Bones announced with a deep voice of a talented orator, he himself leaned in closer, readjusting the glasses

The creepy dragon was on the ground, yet even up here they could feel his intrusive gaze poking each of their limbs.

"Observe the muscles, how each limb works, see the strengths, bask in the light, notice the scales reflecting the light, or sucking it in. So perfect, so harmonious, just like world itself would wanted to project its will on our reality isn't it not?"

Noise stirred after the encouraging speech, it became so loud that they could no longer make our Bones colorful words. It didn't make things better for them though, they could feel more and more eyes directing their attention at them and while they were somewhat used to be the center of attention, it was the first time that they felt like they are being viewed as cattle instead of true, sentient creatures.

Their paws started to shake, even Sparx was suffering from the abundance of unwanted attention, all of them sensing that each of their moves was closely watched.

They all worked very slow on the ceiling, mostly due to inexperience, yet all of them delayed their task as long as they could since nobody wanted to dive down for another refill of the swampy material.

With a deep sigh Spyro split from the group, regretting it, but knowing that as a supposed leader he was the one who should try to show bravery. Don't show fear and doubt in front of your companions, that was one of Terrador's lessons.

So he followed the etched in his soul advice and dived down, his eyes widened in barely contained fear when he looked at the sea of colorful eyes down below, every single orb watching him this time, he could sense those eyes on his wings, touching his body and reaching under the scales.

From distance, while intimidating, these eyes looked like small dots, like floating dragonflies, yet as he got closer those eyes started to morph into fangs and he couldn't help but to think that he is headed right into a maw of some huge monster.

He wasn't that afraid of death, but being buried or eaten alive changed that perspective greatly.

He hit the ground distance away from the mob, landing so heavily pulses of pain zapped the bones in his legs, he bent a little, but the pressure that made him flail was not mainly coming from the ache, yet the heavy stares weighing him down.

They were an exhibition.

It was never about the ceiling, having it fixed was merely a bonus that will boost morale since they will be the ones doing the dirty work for someone else. Having all these people here was a precisely thought up Athron's plan, they were a part of a propaganda that most likely is here to cement her authority, if Bone's praising was any indication.

And she knew they were in no position to protest.

And having a dragon you heard stories about working for your mistress is the most prominent way of cementing dominance.

Did all of them believed this propaganda?

He swallowed, noticing the identical heads of the sisters among the crowd, staring at him intently.

He didn't know that, but he was certain that there were those that weren't interested in it.

"We have our eyes on you"

Spyro nearly had a heart attack when one of the guards standing near the cart whispered ominously, lips moving so faintly that you would have to really concentrate to see him speak.

Despite his worries his sight was drawn to the sea of eyes, each and every one of them gazing his way, each wanting to rip a piece for safe keeping.

Bones wiggled anxiously, his tongue flapping like that of a hungry snake.

The sisters craving their vendetta.

Seemingly everyone under the rule of the same leader, yet all playing their own, individual role.

Among them surely were others who had their own plans. He feared that "we" applies to a very broad range of souls.

And Athron was aware of the infection spreading through her ranks.

Suddenly Spyro had a feeling that this exhibition part was only a side story. They are not here to serve as a symbolic praise of Athron's leadership.

No.

They were here for something else.

The hunger of ambition flashing in the eyes of Bones and many others was a sign of that.

They were here as bait.