FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter 5

He opened his eyes, the red light from the flames illuminating the cave, from what he could see it was still dark and raining outside. On the opposite side of the fire a black dragoness was sleeping peacefully, her chest moving up and down in a slowly rhythmic pace as she breathed. Spyro twitched to find a better spot for his head to rest, sighted and closed his eyes again. The cracking sound of the burning wood pounded at his head, he heard every single noise the fire created as it consumed the many twigs and branches.

Spyro threw it an annoying look, a single thought crossed his mind about extinguishing it in revenge. It was gone just as fast as it came, he wasn't alone here, his companion wouldn't probably like that besides he needed the warmth anyway. He rolled over on his right side so that his back faced the campfire, a clear signal that he won't listen to its yattering ,in fact he didn't want anything to do with it anymore. Spyro exhaled the air and closed his eyes.

In the corner a single drop fell from the ceiling and hit the ground, he winced, such a tiny thing created a noise so loud that pierced and rang in his skull for a moment. After a while another one fell down creating the same effect, moments later another one hit the ground, then another and another. Spyro grumbled irritated and rolled over on his back, with his snout facing the ceiling he turned away from both parties which offended him greatly. Spyro sighted and closed his eyes.

The wind seemed to intensify, with a strong gust it entered the cave, the noise it created bounced from wall to wall which ended when it ran through his head with a shrill sound. Spyro opened one of his eyes in disbelief "This can't be happening" he thought to himself. Another gust rushed through the cave, he gritted his teeth when it reached him, nevertheless he was convincing himself that this was the last time it happened. When another one got him Spyro snorted and rolled over on his belly.

" It's just like I'm trying to sleep in a jungle" he muttered annoyed

He stood up, took a few steps and laid down again with his eyes fixed on the exit from the cave. Spyro gave up he couldn't sleep, it was odd since he was exhausted ,even the floor below him felt uncomfortable like it had many jutting rocks that plucked at his belly. He leaned, twitched, shifted but nothing helped no matter how hard he tried he couldn't find a space without something bothering him. Sighing in defeat he watched the world outside as the many raindrops fell down from the sky covering it in a wet blanket.

" Mom told us to stay inside" a young purple drake said staring at the window and wagging his tail anxiously

" Yeah I know but nobody's home and this is our best shot" replied a young dragonfly that hovered next to him

" She will get mad when she finds out"

"That's why we won't get caught"

" Parents always told us to never go outside when it's raining"

The little dragonfly placed his hands on the glass " Can't you see it?, It wants us outside" he said with an enchanted tone and sighed before turning his head to look at the dragon "We will never have another chance like that, we have to take it"

The drake lowered his head "I... I don't know" he replied unconvincingly

The dragonfly frowned " What do you mean I don't know?!"

" We promised mom that we won't cause any trouble"

" Who said anything about causing trouble?" Sparx asked surprised

"But..."

"There is no buts about it! " the dragonfly interrupted him and positioned himself in front of him placing his hands on the both sides of his snout and raised his head so he could look him straight in the eyes. " Bro, you trust me?"

Spyro nodded "Yes"

" Was I ever wrong?"

Spyro averted his gaze thinking "Well..."

The moment they lost eye contact the dragonfly yanked the dragon's head forcing Spyro to look at him again, when their eyes met he gave him a meaningful look

Spyro shook his head confidently "No"

" Did I always showed you the good stuff?"

_ He nodded again "Yes"_

" Did ya like it?"

He nodded once more "Yes"

Sparx clapped his hands "See? There's nothing to worry about" He grabbed Spyro's horn and started dragging him towards the window "I'll show ya something" Just when the dragon's nose touched the window the dragonfly opened his palm with his fingers pointing at the glass 'What do you see?"

With no other choice Spyro stared through the window looking for anything strange. After a moment of thinking he said tentatively with his voice muffled by the glass "Rain?"

"And what does the rain do?" Sparx asked unhesitatingly

"Ummm... makes things wet?"

The dragonfly sighted" That too" and with a shake of his head clearly excited he started to fly all around Spyro " What is more important my not very bright brother is that the rain makes the air cleaner and gives you more energy!"

"I don't think it does that"

" It does! Just think if we would go outside even for a while we could be faster and stronger, and you would be able to catch up with me finally"

Spyro frowned "Hey! I'm not slow and I'm getting better!"

Sparx hovered in front of him " Bro, I hate to say it but you are fat and you will never reach my perfect shape without the rain"

The dragon snorted " I'm not fat!" he gave Sparx an angry look "And how do you know that? Just like me you've never been outside"

Sparx grinned " I was"

Spyro jerked in surprise " Really?"

The dragonfly looked around checking if nobody is listening before moving a bit closer "You know Flare? he whispered

The drake shook his head

" Ok that's not important, the thing is that this guy can't keep his mouth shut, he always boasts about how good is he, that there is nobody who can beat him and stuff like that. Pissing me and some other guys off in the process. One day it starts to rain just like now and I sit in my room staring at the window bored like hell and what do I see? Flare! He's outside flying low making rounds around some trees and I think what the hell, right? Since we are not supposed to go outside in such weather. My brilliant mind told me that this whole thing smells fishy so I decided to find out what it was."

"Why you didn't tell me anything?!" Spyro exclaimed irritated and excited at the same time

Sparx raised his hands up " Don't blame me! I wanted to tell you but I couldn't" he lowered his hands " Like always when something interesting happens you have to make a mess. I was about to call you but then I saw you cleaning up something from the floor. You probably broke something again with this two things on your head since Mom was picking up some shattered glass while Dad was lecturing you."

"It was then?!" Spyro shouted and shook his head "Damn I screwed up big time".

_ Sparx nodded "Knowing I won't be able to get you I decided to act on my own and you created a perfect opportunity for me to slip away unnoticed. Thanks for that by the way, you are useful sometimes" he patted his head "Anyway I've waited for Flare by the trees but he never stopped and I could barely see him, he was so fast! With no other choice I started to chase him, firstly, and I hate to admit it, I couldn't catch him but then with every new round I inhaled the air deeply, it felt so fresh! With every breath I felt stronger and faster it was then when I realized that rain was behind his form!. Now no common dragonfly like..." he looked the dragon over". well.... you"_

_ Spyro snorted_

Ignoring his reaction he continued" Would be able to do what I did. Thanks to the rain and my natural talent of course I eventually caught up with him. He only confirmed my suspicions and when threatened that I will reveal his little secret he told me a couple of things about how he managed to stay outside and now when I think of it that was the last time I saw him, guess he was to afraid to show his face ever again. Serves him right, the cheater!"

He turned Spyro's head towards the window and wrapped his arm around one of his horns and said with clearly touched voice " Isn't it beautiful?". Sparx hovered in front of Spyro "This is also our great opportunity to get better, we gonna test it before telling other guys about it, this will make things more interesting" he rubbed his hands

Spyro watched the world outside anxiously, being torn apart by his curiosity and cautiousness " I'm not sure if we should do that"

Sparx grabbed his head again " We are dragonflies right?"

Spyro nodded

"And what dragonflies from this family do?"

They stared at each other for a while before simultaneously and happily exclaiming " They stick together!"

Sparx clapped his hands" You with me bro?"

" Yeah!" he exclaimed fully convinced

"Then let's roll!" the dragonfly started to fly away

Spyro took a few steps after Sparx but then he turned his head to look at the window for the last time as he realized something was amiss "But what if Mom comes back earlier? And what will we do about the fumes?"

" Don't worry dude I've got this covered" without even looking at him he scuttled into the kitchen

_ Moments later he returned carrying a large cup with him "Don't worry about Mom I've already questioned her discreetly, she will be at a friend's house and you know how she likes to talk. I even convinced her that we will take care of ourselves so she doesn't need to hurry" he gave him the cup" Bottoms up!"_

Spyro took the cup and peeked into it to check what it contained. There was a dark orange liquid swirling inside, he sniffed the contents and reared his head back when an unpleasant smell invaded his nostrils " What is this?"

Sparx hovered next to him " This is a special brew that will protect you from the fumes. Flare told me about it when I squeezed him"

" And where is yours?"

" I've drank mine already. Stop whining and drink it" he urged him with a motion of his hands.

Spyro reluctantly rose the cup and poured a portion of the liquid inside his mouth. He swallowed it down, just when it passed his throat Spyro twisted his snout in abhorrence "Ugh, it's disgusting"

" Of course it is, have you ever heard about a medicine that tastes good?" Spyro shook his head "Exactly! Stop whining and finish the drink"

He looked at the medicine and took a deep breath. He wanted to get this over with so instead of taking small sips he poured the remaining liquid into his mouth before swallowing it all down. Just when he felt the taste he grunted with his tongue lolling out.

Sparx clapped his hands "Great! Rainy here we come!" he dashed towards the exit doors.

Shaking off the bad taste clearly excited Spyro ran right after the dragonfly, he really wanted to know if everything that Sparx said was true. The moment the door swung open the dragonfly with a scream of joy dashed forward into the yard, Spyro however stopped right at the doorstep the raindrops falling down just right in front of his nose. He inhaled deeply as to check if the brew is working, it looked like it was since he couldn't smell anything terrible. Spyro craned his neck forward and when the first drop landed on his head he winced as if in pain and hid below the roof of the house again.

_ It wasn't long before curiosity got the better of him, he craned his neck again but this time when a raindrop hit his head he didn't budge. Drop after drop splattered on his head, the feeling it created was greatly refreshing. It was his first time in the rain despite his parent's warnings to stay inside when the weather gets worse. He took a bite of the forbidden fruit, he was taking his time savoring it . Spyro didn't understand why they didn't allow them to go outside, the rain wasn't bad,in fact it was pleasant and so addictively invigorating._

_ He awakened from his trance when something hit his cheek " Dude move it's not going to eat you!" a familiar voice shouted at him_

Spyro touched his cheek and looked at his paw, it was covered in mud "Hey! Cut it out!" he exclaimed " I don't know why Mom told us stay inside, I don't smell anything and the rain feels great" he raised his head looking at the sky in awe and started wiping off the muck from his cheek.

"Yeah whatever" Sparx murmured under his breath and started forming another ball of dirt, when he finished it he threw it at the dragon " Spyro check it out!" after a brief pause he shouted excited

Spyro lowered his head instantly to see what his brother meant by this. The moment he did that a mucky ball hit him directly in the snout ,the dirt covering it almost completely. When that happened he heard only a hysterical laughter.

He wiped the mud from his snout and looked around the house before giving his brother an annoyed look " Sparx stop it! Your making a mess!"

"Yeah? And what are you going to do about it?" he threw another ball at him

This time however Spyro was expecting that he will do it again, so when he saw the ball closing in he ducked dodging it as a result "I'll think of something" he replied threateningly and dashed after the dragonfly

Seeing this Sparx turned around and without wasting any more time he started to fly away as fast possible to escape from his pursuer. Spyro was focused only on catching him that he didn't really mind that the ground was muddy and it was difficult to run. Every time he placed his paws on the ground he made a splashing sound sending the water in every direction that made his paws and belly wet instantly allowing the mud to stick to them easily. It was easier for Sparx he was using his wings so he didn't need to worry about such things.

He was chasing him for a while but he didn't even felt tired, not even a bit. It looked like Sparx was right, the rain really gave more strength, he overcame every obstacle with ease. The dragonfly did everything he could to make this worse for him by picking a route where there were plenty of things that served for barriers. Rocks that he had to jump over, trees that he had to avoid, and the mucky ground that felt like it was pulling him down as he did everything he could to continue his chase without much delay.

It seemed like the second part Sparx told him about the rain was true also, he felt like he was gaining speed, running faster and faster with every second. Spyro was right he was clearly gaining on him, he saw as the little silhouette was getting closer. Sparx had to notice it since he started to circle around some branch that was big enough making it impossible to jump over it. Spyro stood on the opposite side, when he started circling the branch to the left Sparx moved to the right and the other way around when Spyro changed the direction.

" How is it possible that you're not tired yet?" Sparx asked while staring at him, watching for his slightest move while he was slowly flying around the branch panting heavily

" You were right the rain works after all" he smirked without losing eye contact with his brother

" Dude you took it way too seriously" the dragonfly shook his head " Not everything I said wa..." before he could finish something hit his head, he looked up just to see some mud heading straight at him.

Sparx dodged it just in time but he lost sight of his brother. That was the moment Spyro was waiting for, while he was focused on something else he didn't waste any time and started running around the branch as fast as possible trying to get as close as he could. The whole situation startled Sparx, and seeing his brother closing in his first thought was to start circling the branch again but then he realized that he won't make it, with no other choice he turned around and renewed his escape.

Spyro knew why he stopped, he wanted to catch some breath since he was becoming more tired with each passing second, it looked like the rain didn't give him enough energy or he wasted it on chasing Flare, either way he didn't care. He was really close and it might be the first time he actually manage to catch him, the idea only made him push harder. With each passing second he was running faster and faster, his paws felt like they were created for such rough terrain, they haven't displayed even the slightest symptoms of weariness. He won't get away, not this time.

Spyro was focused solely on the dragonfly ahead, he won't waste such an opportunity. He was gaining on him, Spyro was so close that, if he wasn't used to it, the yellow glow Sparx emanated would burn his eyes. The dragonfly had to feel his breath on his back since he turned his head to look behind him. Seeing this Spyro grinned mischievously giving him a clear signal that he won't slip away this time. He was close enough, it was now or never, Spyro readied himself to make a jump but it was then when Sparx made a sharp turn. It surprised him but he followed in his wake, what he saw later surprised him even more. Instead of a little dragonfly there was a pair of trees in front of him one closer than the other.

His eyes went wide, he never expected it but it was too late to stop now. He was running too fast so everything he could do was to lean his body a little to avoid colliding with it headlong. Spyro yanked his body to the right, unfortunately he hit the tree with his wing but at least he managed to avoid colliding with it. His joy didn't last long another one was in his path, he yanked his body to the left side but even this time his wing hit the tree. The impact and the sudden maneuvers made him lose his balance, Spyro would regain his stability if not for the small stones in front of him.

He tripped over them and fell into a mucky puddle, the dirt sticking to him as pins stick to a magnet. Spyro tried to wipe it off but every attempt only made it worse, his head hit the ground first, making his purple snout disappear below the mud. Spyro slowly stood up and just when he tried to find his eyes and reveal them from this sticky curtain he heard a loud derisive laughter coming from a glowing shape hovering nearby .

" Bro I must tell you that you really know how to make my day better" Sparx said between gasps

" Shut up" Spyro replied as he spit out some dirt from his mouth

He placed his hands on his belly "Ow, my stomach" catching some breath the dragonfly started flying around the young dragon " Have you ever heard of a mud bath before? People say it makes you look better but now I think they lied. You were always ugly but now.... whoa" He moved closer to his head " Seriously dude, if somebody asks we don't know each other, I have a reputation to take care of you know" he retreated and burst out laughing again.

" I've almost had you and you know that. You've tricked me " Spyro shot him an annoyed look

Sparx caught his breath again and pointed his finger at him " Hey, you started it, remember?"

" I did that only to distract you, it was easy to avoid"

" Yeah, I wanted to repay you with the same thing but I improved it a little" he touched his temple with a finger " There's a brain there ,you will have one too one day...probably" he grinned

"You cheated, you knew I had no chance to avoid these trees!" Spyro exclaimed

Sparx watched him for a while then sighted and shrugged " Ok maybe I cheated, so what? Nobody said It was a fair run in the first place"

" I'll tell you what, it's payback time" Spyro murmured under his breath and frowned " Sparx look at this, it seems like Flare hid something here, It's some sort of a message!" he exclaimed excited while he looked at the puddle

The dragonfly jerked in surprise " What? It's impossible" he flew closer, curiosity getting ahead of him

Seeing this Spyro smiled mischievously, this was the perfect moment to strike. With a fast move of his paw he splashed some water towards him, the dragonfly yelped in surprise. His tail followed soon after, with a fast spin he threw some mud at him, this time however he didn't manage to dodge it, not all of it at least. Sparx wavered when a bit of mud hit him, this was the moment Spyro used to his advantage. Not wasting any time he jumped with his paws extended trying to grab him. Sparx tried to slip away but Spyro was faster this time, he caught the dragonfly and fell with him in the shallow and mucky puddle.

" Where's that brain of yours now?" Spyro asked mockingly

Sparx screamed and fought valiantly splashing the water everywhere trying desperately to break free from his grip. He received the same treat as Spyro, he was getting covered in the damp and sticky mud in seconds and that was everything the dragon wanted. Spyro was splashing some water on him followed by some little dirt later, the dragonfly shook as fast as he could trying to avoid everything that was heading his way, this struggle was accompanied by his loud yelling. Over time he was moving slower and slower until he finally stopped completely covered in mud.

" Ha! Who's the winner now?" Spyro asked triumphantly watching him closely while he laid there pinned under his paw. To his surprise however he didn't respond, he laid there with closed eyes completely still. Spyro's eyes went wider and wider as he slowly began to realize that he was larger than him and might have actually hurt him.

_ He raised his paw releasing the dragonfly" Sparx!,Sparx!" Spyro shouted his name several times and nipped him delicately with his claw to wake him up. "Oh no, what have I done? Sparx wake up please!" he yelled at the top of his lungs with fear in his voice and lowered his head_

"It's still there" Sparx whispered

Spyro raised him head instantly to look at him and just when he did that he felt Sparx's hand smearing his mouth with some mud as he quickly took to the air.

"You thought you can beat me that easily?!" the dragonfly exclaimed irritated "Take that!, and that!, and that!" Sparx repeated the same phrase a couple more times as he threw some balls of dirt at him one after the other.

Spyro got hit by some when he was startled by this situation but after regaining his composure he started to cover his snout and body behind his wings when the balls were closing in, and just when they collided with his membranes he moved his wings away and threw some balls at the dragonfly.

The mucky projectiles were flying between two brothers in quick succession as they waged this little war of theirs. Between the occasional shouts a laugh could be heard every now and then as a sign they both enjoyed this little game, sometimes it was even accompanied by a scream of joy when one of them got hit in a uncovered part of the body. Sometimes they stood in place and exchanged their mucky balls, another times they startled circling each other as fast as they could throwing every bit of muck they could get their hands and paws on. Occasionally they moved directly at each other splashing the water and sending the mud flying in every direction without caring for their own protection. One of those runs ended with them tackling each other, even if Sparx was without much chance in such a battle he still did it. They were smearing the mud all over their faces when they were close enough. They would be playing for quite some time if they didn't hear a familiar female voice yelling angrily" WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!" the sound of it made them both wince and freeze with their paw and hand on each other faces.

Spyro spit the mud out of his mouth " Didn't you tell me that you convinced Mom to stay at her friend's house longer then she planned?" he asked with a wavering voice

Sparx scratched his head" Ya see... how to tell you this umm... I might have vamped up this whole thing a little" and then they both swallowed hard when they saw the familiar dragonfly getting closer.

_ _

Spyro chuckled when he remembered this particular memory and especially his foster brother's words. " A LITTLE" he said, it was a huge overstatement since later he found out that he made up this whole thing. It all started with a clever dragonfly named Flare who irritated Sparx greatly by beating him constantly, the same dragonfly who he caught training outside, the same dragonfly who revealed the true secret behind his form. It isn't hard to imagine Spyro's surprise when Sparx admitted that there was no special power behind Flare's shape since a dragonfly with such a name didn't live in their village or any other for that matter, in fact he didn't exist at all.

Later Sparx revealed the truth behind the little conversation with their Mother in which he convinced her that they will behave. Spyro knew he likes to talk so he believed him straight away there was no reason for him to lie about it. He was baffled when he heard that the discreet questioning really was a discreet stalking, Sparx was following her all the time while she was in the house waiting when the exit doors finally shut behind her. Bottom line he didn't exchange with her even a single word.

Then came the rain, it was supposed to give new strength, firstly it felt like it was true but then he realized that it only left such an impression on him because he truly believed it. It was his first time outside in a rainy day, everything was new and felt so real that it didn't take long to convince him completely. Truthfully it wasn't helping at all, in the Swamps it only caused harm. Later that day he understood why their parents forbid them to go outside while he laid in the bed with a terrible fever with all his energy drained away. The rain caused the whole mucky terrain and the plants to release fumes that were almost odor- free, Spyro knew they were there but he imagined them to be something terrible that will make his nose curl in disgust, and just when he couldn't smell anything like that he thought that he was protected against them. Basically it isn't dangerous to be outside when it's raining but they were both still pretty young and their organisms weren't fully adapted yet to absorb those slightly poisonous fumes.

The "special brew" as Sparx called it instead of helping him resist the toxic fumes made things only worse. No wonder since it was no medicine, it turned out to be some still juice, even Sparx himself couldn't remember what rotten fruits he used to make it. Normally a single cup isn't harmful but back then the "medicine" combined with the fumes that led to a fever weakened him and made room for the not very fresh juice to work its magic. Not only he was ill beyond imagination but also he threw up everything he ate or drank, even sometimes smell made him retch. The only thing he could do was to hang his head from the edge of the bed just above a bowl. Surprisingly Sparx didn't share his fate, he only suffered a fever and when they recovered he always boasted about how resistant he is. Spyro envied him back that he never put two and two together and realized that Sparx never drank the juice in the first place.

How their Mother yelled at them, no wonder since they both ignored her warnings and came back so dirty that they would cover the whole house in mud if they could just run freely. To make things worse the ball that Spyro dodged hit and shattered a vase that their Mom really liked. After they washed themselves they received a harsh lecture about their behavior and later both of them fell ill and landed in beds. Some days have passed but eventually they recovered fully, they were ready to play again thinking that this sickness was punishment enough. Their joy vanished immediately when they found out that they were grounded for two weeks.

Spyro smiled and shook his head, how time flies, it had been years but it felt like it happened just yesterday. A soft whimper broke his concentration he turned his head to look at the source of it. It looked like Cynder was dreaming since he saw her paw twitching slightly. They seem to have more in common then he thought, just when he was remembering some pleasant memories she seemed to do the same even if it was unintentionally. Moments later she whimpered again this time Spyro stood up and got closer to her.

He stopped near Cynder and craned his neck forward to get a good look at her. She's laid on her left side with her back turned towards him. The end of her tail was bouncing and sliding across the floor slightly, her hind paws twitching as if she tried to run away from something. She whimpered again, the sound made Spyro to look at her snout, Cynder's eyelids were fluttering rapidly processing every image her mind created very quickly. Spyro was wrong, they had their differences ,she was dreaming but by the look of it that was not a jolly dream.

She whimpered one more time and muttered something incoherently. Seeing her like this only made anxiety growing inside him, they've been through a lot, and after all this time Spyro set up one goal for himself that he will achieve no matter what. Supporting her in every situation was his biggest concern, even in situations as trivial as this, her well-being was the most important thing for him.

Her tail bounced from the ground and she whimpered again. Impulsively and with utmost care Spyro extended his paw towards her. Cynder was trembling as if she was against a wall with nowhere to run and was begging for help. He was moving his paw slower and slower the closer it got to her body, Spyro wanted to comfort her as delicately as he could without waking her. It was just a dream after all.

He touched her wing and the moment he ran his paw across it she moaned. Spyro withdrew his paw instantly, he bit his lip with his paw hanging in mid-air as he watched her rolling over on her other side. He froze terrified that he did something wrong and woke her up, Spyro thought that she wouldn't like to be interrupted, she deserved some rest after all. To his great relief nothing like that happened, the moment she turned Cynder sighted and clicked her tongue before returning to her peaceful slumber.

He couldn't help himself and smiled happily when he watched her sleeping calmly. Spyro extended his paw again and touched her. He tenderly ran it up and down her foreleg and across her wing and shoulder to end on her cheek. Spyro repeated the same motion over and over again, every now and then he could hear her purring softly and shaking slightly below his touch. He stared only at her snout, his eyes enthralled by that black muzzle like it was charmed, trapping his sight in a delightful prison from which it never wanted to escape.

Even if it was unlikely that the bad dreams would return Spyro kept caressing her. He wanted to show her that he is always by her side, that he will always help her, that he will always protect her, that he likes her company even if they sometimes argue. As he watched her Spyro started to get warmer, his heartbeat increasing every second until it reached such a pace that he could hear it beating in his chest. He even started to sweat and with it came the awkward sensation in his belly it felt like something was swirling in there. Only she triggered such unfamiliar emotions in him whenever he kept thinking about her. Spyro never felt like this before, he wanted to be near her, never to abandon her, spend every second of his life in her company. He liked her, no, it was something else, something he has never experienced before, a feeling that was alien to him. Whatever it was he was sure of one thing though, he was sure that he didn't want this moment to end he could stare at her for all eternity if he could.

He couldn't, Spyro twitched when he felt a tingle crossing his body, he raised his paw and looked at it he saw as his scales were shaking slightly and his paw becoming slowly numb. The unfamiliar feeling vanished, his heart returned to its normal pace as he focused on the new unexpected yet familiar sensation. It was weak but whatever it was it gave clear signals that it can be found, not in this cave, somewhere else, quite a distance away. Firstly he tried to ignore it but it was so unnerving that he couldn't concentrate on anything else. Spyro considered waking her up but then he thought better of it, she finally has the much needed rest, a moment for recovery after everything she's been through. Besides this cave was in a middle of nowhere, hidden behind a thick forest and between two high slopes ,it was clearly abandoned for who knows how long. It was unlikely that something will stumble upon it, it looked quite safe.

Spyro made up his mind, he looked at her for the last time as to ensure her that he will be back before turning around and making his way towards the exit. The moment he stepped out of the cave he looked around and focused trying to locate the source of this uneasy feeling. It didn't take him long to set his sight upon the woods, it was coming from there, he wasn't imagining things after all. This feeling was stronger than the previous one and more importantly it wasn't fading away. Something was there and this time it almost looked like it was calling him.

Spyro stopped at the edge of the forest, the feeling intensified slightly with each step he took, he was heading in the right direction there was no doubt about that. Spyro concentrated, the tingle that ran through his body was still pretty faint meaning that whatever was there it was undoubtedly deeper , somewhere inside this thick dark forest. A thought crossed his mind that maybe Cynder wasn't seeing things after all? But then again he didn't see anything chasing her, it reminded him of the situation at the slope, he felt something there but she didn't. Maybe it has something to do with the whole world saving? He used tremendous power back there and they both were in its radius so maybe these were simply some side effects that were different for each of them?.

With this thought in his mind he ventured into the forest. Even if he considered that this was the most possible explanation he still moved cautiously, carefully maneuvering around the many trees and bushes. The only noise he heard was created by the wind howling through the trees and his survival instincts told him to avoid making any other sound. It was unlikely that someone or something was here, better safe than sorry they say, if there was something actually here it was better to leave it oblivious to his presence.

Spyro kept going and going moving away from the cave with each step he took. It was a good thing, whatever he felt it was far away from their safe heaven, there was a little chance that someone will locate it with this forest in the way. The feeling was getting stronger but he couldn't see anything, Spyro moved a couple of steps and stopped. His body was almost shaking , it was close, really close. Spyro narrowed his pupils and tried to pierce the darkness but with no luck, there is something here definitely but he couldn't see it.

He took a step, stopped and looked around before taking another step. Spyro repeated the same move again and again carefully searching for the source of this feeling. He kept doing the same thing until he heard a noise behind him that pierced through the sound created by the howling wind just like a noise of a falling chain when it hits the ground piercing through the sound of an air roaring in a windy corridor. Spyro spun around quickly at the unexpected sound to see some tall and thick bushes, their green twigs rustling against each other like something was stuck between them or trying to get past them.

Spyro low on his paws took slowly some steps backwards with his eyes focused intently on the source of this new sound. He retreated until he reached a hunk of a tree, the darkness that surrounded it covering him entirely, only a very skilled hunter would notice a pair of purple eyes glistening from the shadows. He hunkered down and waited for his opponent to show himself. Slowing his heartbeat and breath Spyro observed the rustling bushes ahead, he was ready to pounce at anything that would come rushing through them. Nothing did for the moment, the green twigs were still swishing against each other, his gut told him there was something there. Maybe the bushes were thicker than he firstly thought.

Another moment has passed and still nothing appeared. Spyro stared at the bushes all the time not losing sight of them even for a second. Whatever was there it has to come out soon enough, he was taught to try to remain calm in every stressful situation, and this is what he will do. He will wait for his enemy to show up, not letting his emotions to get the upper hand, patience is the key. Spyro waited and waited but nothing new happened, nevertheless he didn't budge, the bushes have to end eventually and whatever was on the opposite side had know it, the rustle confirmed it. Sighing quietly Spyro focused even harder, it can't be long now.

The whish was getting on his nerves, he kept staring at those annoying bushes for who knows how long and he was getting more agitated with each passing second. After a while Spyro realized what is happening, whoever is on the other side is taunting him, wanting him to reveal his position and lose the element of surprise. How he could not see this? It's so obvious! A clever trick but he won't fall for it, he won't allow to be provoked. Spyro shifted from paw to paw and smiled slyly, he had read his enemy intentions. It was his turn now, with renewed determination he awaited for his opponent's next move.

Surprisingly nothing new happened, his enemy didn't make any move and that wouldn't bother him if not for this noise. The constant rustle was infuriating! If only it could stop tormenting him for only a second! But it didn't, it began ringing in his head, laughing at him, laughing at his cowardice. Spyro shook his head trying to ignore it but he couldn't, the sound was teasing him and after a while he had enough.

" Have it your way then" Spyro growled and popped out from his hiding place, but he didn't stop to wait for his enemy to attack him. Instead he ran as quickly as he could and jumped into the bushes with his claws at the ready.