FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter 8

Mora picked at her claws the whole way to the library, the building wasn't far, some steps down the nearby staircase, two corners and they are there. She felt extremely uncomfortable around the satin blue dragoness, she didn't know exactly why, either it was because of the freezing aura surrounding the girl or simply because of the fact that she felt the dragonesses cold gaze piercing her back every now and then. It those moments the female mole knew that her life clings to the whim of the dragoness, if she only wanted to she would exhaust her spark without blinking.

Luckily for her Iris didn't seem to care about her presence. Or perhaps didn't acknowledge it at all.

Unpredictability, it's thrilling in books, makes you tense and anxious for the next page. However when it comes to people, unpredictability is the only trait Mora wasn't very fond of. Nervousness in life is unwelcome, especially in these troubling times. Living on edge all the time is exhausting.

And the dragoness was definitely unpredictable.

"I don't want to hear again that you are causing trouble. Do you understand?" the harsh voice of the draconic guard echoed in the air as he directed his snout at the female drake the moment the door of the library greeted them

Iris aimed her diamond piercing gaze at the dragon, his threats, him in general meant nothing to her. She cut him dead long ago, she wouldn't even notice his presence if she wouldn't feel his stinking breath on her.

The guard growled "I warn you princess, if you insist on staying a troublemaker, our conversation will look much different in the future"

"A dog that barks doesn't bite"

The dragon poked the female's chest angrily with his claw.

"Who are you calling a dog?"

Iris traced the paw with disgust in her eyes, luckily for the imbecile he didn't touch the medallion with his rotting claw.

"I don't remember ordering you to shake hands"

With another growl the dragon clenched his shaking paw, only the brink of his patience and the honor of duty were holding him back from throwing himself at the dragoness.

"Please" the squeaky pleading voice of Mora cut through the vibrating air of hate and aggression like nails on a chalkboard "There's no need for violence, let's do what we came here to do and part ways peacefully"

The male drake threw a sidelong glance at the mole, her begging eyes reminded him why he enlisted for the city guard in the first place.

"Down boy"

The drake winced, the bitch was infuriating with those mocking comments of hers, yet no matter how hard his blood boiled he dropped his paw on the ground.

"Good dog"

The mole quickly opened the door, they creaked with a somewhat pleasant, rumbling grind of metallic frame. She stepped away from the entrance.

Mora cleared her throat bashfully.

"As I said, there is already a nice boy working inside, he knows what to do, he'll fill you in"

The guard nodded towards the door "Get inside, destroy something and you'll regret it"

"You better get back, I've heard your masters whistling"

The dragon ignored her.

Iris swaggered forward with her head held up high, like she would be entering a palace rather than a book filled library. The smell of vellum invaded her nostrils the moment she crossed the doorstep.

She looked around the room without interest.

"You can go back to your kennel now"

The door slammed themselves shut behind her, the gust of wind they created swung her tail fiercely to one side. They closed them swiftly, like bars of a cage after a rabid animal entered its cage, with the sole intention of trapping it inside, with all the poison emanating from it included.

She remained oblivious to the fact, the cold tone of her voice was just as natural as sun on the sky to her.

Iris looked around the room, it seemed like a tornado just passed through it recently. Some windows were cracked, others definitely shattered at some point, shards of glass were still glistening on the carpet even if the windows in the frames were brand new. Makes sense, after all nothing is more dangerous to books than wild gusts of wind.

From the looks of it however nothing could possibly worsen the state of this particular volumes.

The tomes were scattered everywhere, some bookshelves were completely toppled over, whatever books they were holding most likely were ruined by now, if not all of them, then surely the bigger part. The books here were old, the smell told her that.

Whatever tornado passed through here it had to be a fiery one, some of the book-cases had scorch marks on them. Black dots dotted some of them, like a lit match would bounce off of them, others were in a worse state. Black dashes ran along their wooden surfaces, like somebody would play decorator with a burning brush.

Whatever was hurled across this room was definitely on fire.

Nothing remained of the older books except some torn covers and yellowish, cracked pages. The newer tomes were the only thing that survived, at least from the bookshelves. The room was also filled with desks, those were filled with empty white pages, quills and other opened different volumes. The library was also a study it seems, whoever was working on translating or perhaps transcribing the texts surely couldn't find a better time for it. Whatever remained on the ground floor so to speak was mostly untouched by the destruction that wrecked the library.

Pure luck.

She doesn't care about many things regarding this city and its people, but she can appreciate architectural and décor craft whenever she sees one. This library was a state of art in its own special way.

The painted bookshelves, the beautiful carpets, curtains and walls, all of them in many different shades of red and black. Pretty paintings on the walls with gold, thick frames and red canvases with meticulously smudges depicting horses, vases and the like on them. So much passion and work was put into those images that it seemed like the pictures wanted to climb out of the paintings.

This place had no torches on the walls, which was good, its walls were fitted with round braziers in the shape of a gold bird's talons, delicately lit magical fire was burning inside. She would switch those special, small lanterns the humans have in their buildings, yet a quick scan of the ceiling showed it was empty, seems like people here don't use chandeliers or have no knowledge of such means of lighting the room like humans do.

A pity, but nevertheless it was still lovely.

Minus the mess of course.

Yet the longer she observed the interior the more she became certain that the lanterns she thought about would ruin the atmosphere of this place. The delicate magical fires, together with the reddish décor created that beautiful, reddish gloom which was dispersed by the many candles sitting on the desks, like tiny lighthouses on a dark sea.

That was before.

Now the lights were out, especially the candle flames, the braziers still held some flames, more brighter than she imagined. There is no sense for artistry in this particular moment after all. The main source of light wasn't coming from the golden talons however. The combination of yellow and red illuminated the room and strangely it wasn't a constant source of light, it was moving, running across the room, behind the bookshelves just to disappear somewhere farther where her eyes couldn't reach.

It appeared seconds later, it was hectic, disappearing and arising like the light from a dying candle's flame. She remembered that fiery light from somewhere, couldn't really place where she saw it. It was familiar though, she was certain however that she seen it quite recently, when-

"SHIIIIIIIT!

The whiny, terrified male scream interrupted her train of thought.

The rumbling sound of a bookshelf crashing on the ground seconds later even more so. Some books rolled into her line of sight.

"GODDAMIT!"

A burst of fiery light and tiny flames flickered ahead after the angry roar, just like somebody would add wood to the still ember spitting furnace. One of the books caught on fire.

"Crap!" a shocked yelp echoed throughout the room and soon after a reddish tail with a burning tip on its end wrapped itself around the burning book and pushed it away from her sight.

"Oh" Iris muttered, remembering now from where she remembers that light...and that fiery tail

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no" Flare mumbled under his breath with his eyes closed as he kept stomping the book, killing the flames that wanted to ruin it "You need to keep calm, you need to keep calm, and everything will be alright, everything...will...be...alright"

He opened his eyes, the book underneath his paw was saved. Flare jerked his head back with wide eyes and victorious grin plastered on his face.

"See?!" he blurt out to himself triumphantly and picked the book from the ground "it's okay" he pressed the book practically to his nose examining it from up close from top to bottom "Everything will be alright, as long as you-"

He pushed the book down from his sight, something bluish was standing ahead.

"AAAAH!' Flare screamed startled and jumped back, flames burst from his body, his extended paw was still clenched but it wasn't holding a book any longer.

Only ash.

"F-f-f-from wh-h-ere-d-d-did-yo-u-u come f-f-f-from?!" he stammered hectically

Iris turned her head towards the drake and opened fully her squinted eyes, the heat that wafted from the drake was unbearable, it was impossible to look at him. Impulsively she ran her paw along her right cheek, it was surprisingly warm, yet no scales melted away.

She's an ice dragoness, cold is her domain and it was defeated, her natural aura cringed underneath that wave of heat.

So much power.

She ran her paw along her cheek a couple more times as if making sure she isn't dreaming.

When was the last time she felt warmth?

"Hey!" Flare blurt out, the wavering tone of his voice was gone "I recognize you! You're that yelling girl from the city hall! The one with her head up her ass!"

Iris frowned.

The fire dragon's eyes widened in sudden realization.

"No, no! What I mean is-" his voice trailed off, he began to sniff at the air like a werewolf catching the scent of blood of its prey

Something was burning.

His experienced nose immediately located the source of the smell, one of the curtains was burning behind him.

"Shit!" he yelled and instantly jumped towards it with both of his forelegs extended

Instead of catching the material in his paws as they clenched, his claws sliced through the thin curtain like a katana slicing a thread. In his shock and excitement he forgot just how sharp his claws are and accidently tore through the material.

The unfortunate outcome however instead of putting some sense in his head only made him more nervous and panicked.

Flare started to swing his paws at the curtain in quick succession, like a cat clawing at the window when wanting to get inside the house. Strands of the burning material were flying everywhere as the dragon turned the incarnated curtain into threads. He kept on slicing until he couldn't reach any farther, only a tiny portion of the material was beyond his reach, luckily it burn out on its own causing no more harm.

At least that's what he thought.

Some of the fiery strands landed on the carpet, the edges of the reddish material ignited, flames began to dance at the borders.

With a whiny yelp Flare jumped towards the fire and started stomping the flames in panic. His moves were so uncoordinated that instead of quenching the flames he ended up spitting more of the sparks everywhere..

He began to stretch to his limits, placing his paws in every possible direction just to reach the awakening flames. During this unfair struggle he adopted poses nobody believed a dragon is capable of reaching. From the side it looked like he wanted to tie himself into a knot, he acted like the carpet was a huge white mat, while the flames were round colorful circles

Twister in all its glory.

One of those stretches made him turn in the direction where Iris stood, Flare didn't see her, all he cared about was the growing flame. He jumped towards it aggressively and pushed his leg down angrily, yet this time he wasn't met solely by the numb thud of the reddish carpet reacting to his blow, but also by the characteristic slap of scales.

He jerked his head back slightly and raised his leg, below it, instead of carpet there were also three white toes with three sharp claws protruding from them. Both the claws and toes were a part of a light blue soft paw, which didn't even bother to react to the flame that recently burned in front of it.

It made him furious, the feeling was empowered by the fact that the paw was blue, meaning that it had all the power to quench flames only if it wanted to.

"Why the hell are you standing like this?!" Flare snapped as he threw his head up

Iris narrowed her eyes coldly at him.

"You might want to try that again"

The drake growled "You're an ice dragoness! Do something!"

"No"

The sound of wood snapping cut through the air.

"What?! Why?!"

"I don't have to explain myself to you trash"

Trash?

Ash!

The bitch will be ash!

The temperature in the room rose significantly.

"Get lost!" Flare blurt out with wavering voice, his eyes nervously scanned the ground for more flames

Freezing trail of ice wafted from her nose. Nobody is going to boss her around

"Don't you dare giving me orders"

"Get lost!" he yelled, his voice suddenly became hoarse with oddly mixed callousness and agitation, like the sound of rattling gears against each other, stuck but still persistent on continuing their work

The dragon started to jump around the place, killing every flame on which he got his paws on. He looked like an overgrown bee jumping from flower to flower.

Iris opened her mouth but her bark was silenced by a droplet of something moist dripping from her nose. She rubbed her snout and then her forehead.

Sweat.

"GET LOST!" Flare roared, the sound of his voice was almost otherworldly

She wanted to hold her ground, that insolent fucker believes that he can do whatever he wants. He couldn't be more wrong, time to show the idiot who is the alpha dragon in this room.

Iris raised her paw with the sole intention to place it in front of her and make her advance. However just when her claws were about to touch the carpet they stopped in the air, dangling above the material like spikes of a trap went wrong.

A thought crossed her mind, a trait she hated but undoubtedly inherited from her mother, telling her that she is pushing too hard. A thought telling her that this isn't the situation to protect pride and respect, it's the time to swallow them and make room for opportunity.

She hated when it happened.

There is so much power drifting in the air right now, the magical energy sent shivers across her whole body despite the heat. In that flash she realized that there is so much to gain if she plays this right, if she gives the dragon some room.

She despised the idea of backing down, but if she wants to turn this situation in her favor she has to do it.

It isn't that bad however, if you have power you better learn against who it might be used as to not waste it in case your way will be blocked.

Flare exhaled a breath of relief when he no longer couldn't smell the girl's scent. His blood was still boiling, the taste of sulfur lingered in his mouth and every burning part of his body lashed at his scales. Despite all those things, with remains of his concentration he focused on his work.

The flames are the most important right now, nothing else matters. He kept on killing flame after flame, but this time he did everything correctly, when he stomped he ended fire completely. It was working, with every new flame extinguished he felt more calmer. He felt like his true self once more, the aggression was gone, replaced by...

...regret.

Flare turned around after he dealt with the last flame on the nearby bookshelf. Sadly his apologetic gaze met only books in its sight, the dragoness was nowhere to be seen. He wanted to be alone after...after that night, but now when she was here, all has changed.

She WAS here.

He once more started to feel that hollow void inside. Loneliness. Suddenly he missed the dragoness, missed her presence here and especially missed the sensation of companionship.

And for the love of everything that's holy he desperately needed that right now.

But she wasn't here any longer, he offended her and scared her off with that hostility and temperament of his. If he could turn back time he would tell her that this wasn't him, he would beg her to stay if it would come to that.

It's too late now.

NO!

If there was something he learnt during his imprisonment it was acrimony. The urge to fight for something despite the circumstances.

With fast beating heart he made his way through the wooden labyrinth of bookshelves, turning his head in every direction. She had to be here somewhere, he didn't hear the door opening, or perhaps he was too angry to hear anything.

That thought forced him to work even faster, his eyes went into every nook and cranny, in many of those a dragon wouldn't fit. He didn't care. When he finished with the middle of the room he started to search the corners. It was then when he craned his neck through one of the bookshelf he spotted her.

She was sitting in a corner, where the light of the braziers barely scratched surface of the shadows. An opened book was sprawled in front of her paws, she was busy reading it, occasionally flipping the pages with a delicate motion of her claw.

Flare cleared his throat "Listen...ummm" he shuffled his paw along the carpet timidly "I didn't want to...yell at you. I just...Sorry"

Iris casually flipped another page.

Flare rubbed his paw nervously.

The noise of another page turning was almost deafening to him.

"Wh...why are you here?"

Silence.

The dragon's head dropped down, her attitude poked his conscience with sharp daggers. He turned around with depressed grimace on his snout.

Another page turned, the sound it made was in perfect accordance with the muffled tune of a red draconic paw stepping on a carpet.

"They put me here against my will"

Flare froze, there was something alluring about her voice, how she accented each word, or perhaps her accent had nothing to do with this charming spell. The sole fact that she decided to talk might be just as enthralling.

"Why?"

"Because they are ignorant fools that humor me. They don't know however that I get impatient very quickly"

"Oh...ok" he muttered, pretending that he understood what she is talking about. While in truth he had absolutely no idea what she meant by that

Iris eyed the drake with hidden interest.

"If you're hold up here then I guess that your fuse went off rather quickly, huh Dynamite?"

Flare blinked cluelessly.

Her emotionless eyes seemed to drill through him.

"For all those burning parts you're not very bright"

He averted his gaze, her piercing diamond eyes forced a blush onto his cheeks.

"I-I don't g-get it. I h-have pr-r-roblems-s-s-"

"I can see that"

Her bluntness made him blush even fiercer.

Iris rolled her eyes in disgust. How she hated the role she put herself into.

"Don't explode on me Dynamite"

Explode.

All the shyness and innocent nervousness was gone in second, flush vanished from his cheeks. Flare's eyes glowed with alertness and that suspicion of a runaway criminal.

She knew that look, secrets, Ignus' eyes sometimes sparkled in the same manner. In this dragon's case it was kinda exciting to see that fire in his odd eyes, same thing couldn't be said about uncle. Whenever she saw that glimmer it made her suspicious, she had a strange feeling that she is a toy of that cunning son of a bitch.

But then mother would never ask him to watch over her if blood meant nothing to him.

Mother.

Her paw unconsciously moved towards the amulet on her neck while her eyes drifted somewhere far away.

"I'll never do it again"

Iris' paw dropped down, she raised her head, blurry eyes aimed at the one responsible for this sound. Whatever it was.

"What?" she slurred

"No more explosions"

Focus slowly returned to her diamond orbs, understanding was still somewhat lost on the lane of memory.

"What are you talking about?"

Flare's head jerked back in pleasant surprise and hope. He might get away from this in one piece.

"I don't know. What are YOU talking about?"

His question woken her up completely, irritation, she hated whenever someone answered question with a question, treating her like a halfwit

"Are you mimicking me?" she hissed

Flare shrugged.

"Maybe you're mimicking me?"

"I'm not mimicking you"

"I'm not mimicking you too"

Iris snarled "Stop it"

"You stop it"

A puff of ice wafted from her nose "Shut up right now"

"You shut up"

She pouted her lips "How old are you again?"

"How old ARE you?"

"You're so stupid"

"You're stupid"

Iris slammed the book shut, the thud of the cover echoed in the room like small thunder.

"Hey!" Flare blurt out fearfully and bounced off the ground like a startled cat "Careful! I've been asked to take care of those!"

The dragoness forcefully poked the cover of the tome with her claw. Flare whined at the sound.

"Then stop acting like a moron!"

How she hated her role.

Hated,

hated,

hated.

"Alright! S-sorry!" he cringed like a chastened dog

She eyed him sternly for a moment, showing exactly who is in charge here and withdrew her claw.

The dragon sprang forward snatching the book like it was his baby and cradled it to his chest.

He rubbed the thick black cover fondly, it was leathery to the touch with palpable engraved letters. He looked at the book, it's cover was beautifully painted. In the background a village was burning, the sun on the fiery sky was being shrouded by thick, impenetrable darkness. In the foreground was the image of a feminine black snout of an adult dragoness. Her emerald eyes sparkled with charming, murderous intent, she was grinning, blood was trickling down from the corners of her mouth, perfectly visible on the surface of her magnificently sharp, white smile.

"Terror of the skies" was written at the top of the cover in shadowy letters.

"What is it about?" Flare asked, turning the book around in sincere awe

Iris shrugged "Read it"

"I-I can't read"

She furrowed her brows "They asked an illiterate dumbass to take care of a library?"

Flare shook his head "I don't know who they asked, I volunteered"

She stared at him for few short moments, hoping that he is again trying some childish games with her, but no, he was serious. By the gods, He. Was. Serious.

I HATE MY ROLE!

HATE!

HATE!

He looked around the room with a stupid smile on his snout.

"I'm not doing a very good job as you see"

Flare turned towards her, smiling like an innocent and shy child, even his eyes, normally shrunk to slits, seemed to grow to the size of round orbs of a pleading cat.

Iris rubbed her chest, something scratched annoyingly at her scales from the inside.

His smile vanished slowly, seeing that she is not reacting to his joke.

"Do you even smile?"

She froze, the paw that that was caressing her chest dropped down swiftly, her diamond eyes shone with callous coldness.

"No"

"Oh...ummm" the drake mumbled in bewilderment, his eyes dropped on the book in his paw by impulse.

"Are you here to help me?"

"No"

"No? Then why did they put you in here?"

Iris wiggled her shoulders, adopting a straight pose of authority.

"I'm here to check on your progress"

Flare's mouth grinned in delight.

"They sent you to check on me? Did you bring some snacks or something to drink? I'm kinda thirsty"

Iris' satin blue scales adopted a reddish hue, if somebody would see her now they could easily take her for a fire dragoness.

"I'M NO SERVANT!" she roared ireful, tendrils of frost encased the carpet underneath her paws

"Whoa!" the dragon threw his head back, even from here he felt the stinging cold from her freezing breath

"I never said such a thing!"

She narrowed her eyes on him like a drill commander on his recruits.

"What do you need to do here?"

Confusion painted the drake's snout as he looked around the mess of a library.

"Something about taking care of the most important things, like sorting books by titles, putting up the bookshelves, that sort of thing" he swallowed "I think"

"How are you planning to sort the books by titles if you can't read?"

"I can read!" Flare protested "A...little. Look" he moved the book he was holding in front of his nose and focused on the title. His mouth began to move, uttering some incomprehensible sounds like a muffled prayer.

"T...T...T...T! It starts with 'T'!"

Iris couldn't believe her own eyes.

"There are many books that start with 'T'"

Flare scratched his head nervously "I don't recognize the second one. I have problems with little letters"

"Small"

"What?"

"You have problems with small letters"

Flare nodded in understanding as to not make a fool of himself, yet in truth he had no idea what she meant by that.

"Yeah, those too"

Iris shook her head in disbelief "Moron" she mumbled under her breath

She sighed, already regretting the question lingering on her tongue.

"How were you sorting these books if you can't recognize small letters?"

He chuckled nervously. "By color"

Her feathery wings slumped down in defeat "Someone kill me"

"They asked me to do important stuff first. Some books have to be more valuable than the others" he blurt out hectically after noticing her expression "You tell me which of them are important and I put them...somewhere. I'll figure it out"

Not waiting for her response he raised the black book he was holding in front of him.

"How about this one? Is it important?"

Iris examined the cover, she hated surprises, there was enough of them in her life already. Better to be prepared for everything if the original plan fails or somebody decides to interrupt it. No one is going to surprise her ever again.

No black.

She raised her eyes at one of the bookshelves, focusing her gaze on one particular tome with a golden 'S_'_ engraved on its cover.

And no purple.

"Vital" she replied pensively

*

Terrador sipped the water from his mug that was practically the size of a pitcher with a silent, thoughtful slurp.

"This are dire news indeed"

The two young dragons who were relating their discoveries in Boven nodded grimly. Hunter who was leaning against a column in the back turned a dagger in his hand while quietly whistling a tune from his childhood to occupy his sensitive ears somehow.

"There's no time to waste then" Cyril chimed in, silencing the sound of his claw tapping in irritation on the wooden table "We need the War Dragons back and we need them fast"

"It's a delicate matter, you can't make it happen with a snap of the fingers. We're talking about living people here, not toy soldiers"

"Oh but they are toys, we're their leaders, they have to follow us. We have all that is needed to focus their mind on the fight , if we play our cards right"

The Ice Guardian aimed his eyes at his old friend meaningfully. Terrador met his gaze, but not before throwing the two young dragons an apologetic brief glance.

"Hey, fill us in" Spyro interjected "How are you going to convince people to fight an invisible enemy so soon after Malefor?"

Cyril presented them a very forced smile, it was radiating with falseness that it was almost blinding.

"Leave that to us young dragon, you have enough to worry about as it is"

"Sadly I must announce that there is a long road ahead for you, for all of us in fact, until we will see the end of it and can finally say that our troubles are over" the Earth Guardian commented "That is why you need to begin preparations as soon as possible" the drake's voice vibrated with an odd tune of almost fatherly worry

Spyro nodded, this was to be expected. It was tiring and somewhat depressing to hear this, but people need help, someone has to stand up to the danger and Fate, for better or worse, chose him to be the Realm's beacon of hope and prosperity.

"I understand"

Cyril turned his attention to the entrance on the far side of the room "It seems like we're going to have to dust off the old training grounds"

Terrador took another sip, trying to keep as solid as possible his typical demeanor of living rock, but the purple dragon noticed the drake's paw shaking slightly. The delicate cracks on the greenish scales, the unfortunate sign of old age were practically invisible, now however they were very noticeable, almost constantly growing. As if the dragon would be crumbling in front of him like some sort of a statue.

What was causing this Spyro could only guess, either leadership was taking a toll on him, especially in this times where you have to make decisions that not always agree with your conscience, uneasily lies the head that wears a crown after all. Or perhaps his fighter's spirit couldn't accept that his warriors days are expiring, that has to be a blow for every fighter when you are being benched not by sustained injuries but age.

Struggling with age is always a losing battle, yet some still fight, scream that they are more powerful than time itself.

Only later they find out that this is only a sound of madness.

"Luckily for you Spyro our training days are over," Terrador continued, his usually strong baritone voice sounded like the groaning of an old man who is getting up from bed and his every bone creaks agonizingly

"we may carry the powers of single elemental dragons, but I'm afraid that we no longer possess the energy to teach someone so young and bright as you. It would be strenuous for all of us, you need progress, we cannot slow you down"

"Come on Terrador, you guys aren't that old" Spyro comforted the two dragons

Cyril shrugged "I keep telling him that but he doesn't listen, happens when you become senile" the dragon straightened up proudly "I could teach you many things but unfortunately my time is limited, yours too for that matter. That is why there is no room for patience and long lessons, we need temperament to replace wisdom. We need fresh blood"

Cynder cleared her throat "I don't want to sound arrogant or anything, this is your city and you can do what you want with it, but and I hate to say it, currently there is no Warfanger skilled enough and in good age who can teach Spyro anything useful"

The Ice Guardian's eyes glimmered with an odd dictatorial determination "Exactly. This is our city and we can do whatever we want with it" he seemed to address his words to no one in particular and everyone at the same time. Like he wanted the city itself hear him with its stony ears

He blinked, his blue eyes lowered themselves at the black dragoness, scrutinizing her with combination of cold hate and, what Cyril would never admit, respect.

"A very accurate observation young Cynder"

She felt the pressure of his gaze on her, whether he did it intentional or not, he managed to rekindle the guilt in her.

Who would ever believe that her corrupted reign would have so far-reaching consequences.

"Yeah..." she muttered and licked her lips "...I should have known, I made sure that everyone noteworthy was slaughtered after all"

Spyro impulsively ran his tail across her left hind leg affectionately, rubbing her scales gently, offering his friend as much silent comfort as he could manage. He smiled caringly when he noticed her green eye turning towards him.

She returned a smile of her own. Grateful but sad at the same time.

Cyril deliberately remained oblivious to the two dragons fondness.

"This difficult times brought as nothing but death and troubles. I agree, there is no Warfanger that isn't a Guardian from who you could learn a thing a two. However where we lack mentors we possess unchecked potential"

Both dragons eyed the Guardian with confused interest.

"Spyro, you are a purple dragon, the capability of your power knows no bounds if believe the stories. Our race needs an icon to which they can aspire to. They need an idol"

The young dragon impulsively backed away, his eyes grew wider with each step he made, just like would be staring in the face of the most terrifying monster.

"This is a bad idea"

"Our kind needs a strong, brilliant leader"

A leader? Me? After I murdered my own people?

He ran his tongue across the back side of his teeth, he could swear that he feels remnants of the dark energy still lingering in between them, stuck like chunks of undigested meat.

A dragon leader doesn't have draconic blood of his soldiers on his claws. Blood that he himself spilled.

Spyro shook his head fiercely "I don't want to be anyone's leader"

Cyril narrowed his eyes on the dragon, annoyed "This is not a matter of discussion or listeners' choice. You are a purple dragon, the..." he swallowed with a growl "...best of us. Raise to your role and show the world what means to be a true dragon!"

"No!" the young dragon blurt out with fierce determination "I can't be a leader! Do you understand? I CAN'T!"

A puff of ice wafted from the Guardian's nostrils "Why? Out of fear for responsibility? It's time to grow up!"

Enough.

Everyone paints him as some kind of pure godlike figure, returning unscathed from every fight. He's the purple dragon, the color of your scales makes who you are after all! You're purple, so you are good, loving, caring, friendly and all that other bullshit, a true hero of light. While in truth you are nothing else than an overgrown baby in a cradle of thousand arms of people for who you will always be cute and innocent.

Pfff!

"Who's a good dragon? Who's a good dragon? You are! Yes, you are! You're a good dragon! You're a good dragon!"

The imagined sound of many voices baby talking him made his stomach turn with a bile of disgust thrashing inside.

Nothing is your fault! Absolutely nothing! Every choice that you make and has some serious consequences is the fault of someone else! You're pure, you couldn't do such things intentionally!

The trail of corpses you leave in your wake?

Self-defense.

The Convexity breath similar to the portal Malefor used to enter the world?

Power of the creature of light to smite evil.

Portals hiding deadly creatures appearing around the world after you used every shred of your power to mend the world?

A trap set by an evil mastermind.

Emotional attachment to the girl who did Malefor's bidding?

Under the influence of a charming spell.

Possessed by Malefor's evil and the power of the Lunar Alignment without the strength to free yourself if not for Cynder?

She has some evil plan prepared for you.

Facing Malefor and then saving the world with only her by your side, because you don't have the power to pull it off yourself?

Not true, she was only there to see her Master's defeat so she could take his place.

Blind fools.

What would you say if you knew that your precious purple dragon turned dark and slaughtered every fighter stupid enough to stand against him?

What would you say then?

Would you also put blame on someone else?

Let's find out.

Spyro snarled, staring at his claws that were slightly impaled in the floor, he exhaled deeply, a puff of white smoke wafted from his nose, like from the nose of an angry bull.

"It has nothing to do with responsibility" he growled quietly and raked his claws across the ground. He threw his head up, his eyes were burning with determination "I can't be their leader because-"

Hunter started coughing fiercely from behind him as if he was choking.

The dragon's eyes shot wide open, every part of his muscles tensed at the sound, the cough sent a shrill bolt across his skull, as if a rooster would cry out while sitting right next to his head.

Don't betray yourself, the effect of such reckless action might be completely different than the one you wanted to achieve.

He swallowed "Because..." he continued bashfully "...I feel like I'm not ready yet. I can't control the portals, I can't protect my people and fight so many unknown enemies. I can't lead them if I'm not strong enough to save their lives"

That was part truth and part lie, especially the last sentence. He might not be strong enough to fight against such numerous and powerful foes, yet arrogantly as it may sound, he wield power potent enough to save lives. It was enough for The Dark Master, it would be enough for Boven.

If people would only let him.

A thought crossed his mind telling him that he is a terrible liar, someone constantly reminded him of that and she was always right. His eyes ruled by unconscious panic sought the one who could render his excuse dimmable with a single word.

Wave of unimaginable relief and tender sadness washed over him when he met Cynder's emerald gaze. There was no impatience, no hint that he will be called a liar, his natural defensive reaction was wrong. Her eyes were shimmering with something else entirely. Understanding, pity, worry and strong expressive concern.

"This is why we need potential, only then you will benefit from your lessons in the short time we have at our disposal" Terrador concluded

Spyro sighed, there was no turning back from this, he can make the best out of it at least

"Alright, where can we find this potential?"

"We accepted it in our midst already"

Both young dragons quirked their brows.

"Flare" Cyril added

The young drakes jerked their heads in surprise.

"Flare?" Spyro muttered in disbelief

"This won't work" Cynder warned

"We're...not in the best of terms. Purple dragons like me imprisoned him, he's mistrustful towards me" the purple drake looked to the side "Putting it mildly"

Cyril rolled his eyes "Yes, we all heard the story about cruel purple dragons, that doesn't mean it's real"

"Why would he lie?" the dragoness blurt out accusingly, everyone deserves the benefit of the doubt, no matter how strange they are and what is their past. It was unfair to jump to conclusions, a thing she harshly learnt on her own scales. One scapegoat is enough.

The ice dragon definitely noticed her tone and wasn't pleased by it in the slightest. A cold, wrathful shimmer crossed his bluish eyes.

"Even if he's telling the truth it doesn't change anything. He's the last and most likely only hope of advancing Spyro in the range of fire element. The two of us agreed that there is something peculiar about Flare, it's like his own element consumed him and made manifestation beyond the boundaries of his draconic essence. Volteer however still believes that this is a matter of heritage. Wherever the truth may be one thing is certain, that's raw power right there, most likely escalating beyond the common understanding of the fire element. Imagine how strong you would become if you could inherit at least a portion of that energy. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about, you've been with him in Munitions Forge, you must have seen what he is capable of"

The two young friends looked at each other, it was obvious that they thought about the same thing. Flare's eyes, his literally burning eyes and his voice, low, distant and ominous.

"Help me?" the dragon snorted in disgust "Who do you think I am to believe in such lies?" tiny red flames wafted through his nostrils "You don't know what that word means, you are a purple dragon, a deceiver, a worthless bug who's dependable on others. A weak incapable of progress lizard"

"I c-c-c-can't r-r-really e-e-e-explain t-this. S-s-s-sometimes d-d-during a f-f-fight I g-g-g-get e-excited a-a-and l-lose c-c-c-control"

Somehow they didn't think about the display of potential of Flare's fire energy during the fight with the bugs. It was impressive, yet It felt oddly unimportant.

"He's powerful, yes" Cynder commented as the silent understanding with her friend came to a conclusion and she turned towards the Guardians "but also wild and uncontrollable, pitting him against Spyro is a bad idea"

Cyril snorted irritated, why people are blind to the obvious he had no idea "Of course he's uncontrollable. He's a fire dragon! They are known from their fiery temperament"

"It's not that, he-"

"Unfortunately I must agree with Cyril" Terrador added sadly, he seemed to age quicker in the past few minutes than in twenty years "This is vital in our current situation and cannot be overlooked" he smiled, it was a pitiful display of assurance "besides nobody here is talking about pitting someone against each other, we're talking about training sessions here, non-violent training sessions during which Spyro can learn something from Flare while our fiery friend can learn something from Spyro. You know how it is to feel the fiery boil in your blood Spyro, you can use that to teach Flare to control his own temperament. Allow Ignitus' lessons to pay off"

"Of course this is not your priority" the Ice Guardian chimed in with his typical, cold manner "You can't waste time on babysitting. If he's a quick learner by all means teach him, but remember that he is nothing more than a tool. Use him to achieve your goal as quickly as possible, everything else is obsolete"

Spyro looked at the Guardian, clearly disgusted by the suggestion "I'm not going to treat people like fruits from which I can suck out all the juice and throw them away when I'm done"

Cyril sighed "Altruism makes me want to throw up. It's place is in religion not on the battlefield" he narrowed his gaze on the purple dragon "Understand one thing Spyro, the prophecy said that you will become the leader of dragonkind, bring peace and all that nonsense. Sweet, but unfortunately life isn't that simple"

"A leader cares for his people true, but also remembers that duty comes first. You are the arm and they are your sword, tools and pawns in the grand scheme. You must learn that if you want to be successful on the battlefield. Tools, nothing else. You can't be bothered by altruistic thoughts, you can't keep your best fighter in the back row because he has two kids to feed, or your best archer because he has to take care of his ill mother. They are soldiers, they know what they signed up for, you must know that too. Death is a common occurrence on the battlefield, like getting stung by bees while taking care of their hives. Job hazard, nothing else"

An awkward silence befallen on the room.

"We knew each other for a long time Cyril" Terrador eventually broke the deadlock "but the coldness of your heart sometimes surprises even me"

The Ice Guardian smiled "Am I wrong?" he said amused "You were a warrior Terrador, you know how battlefield is like"

"True, but I would never compare death to a bee sting"

Cyril waved his paw dismissively, not dropping his smile even for a second "Phonetics" he aimed his gaze on the two young drakes again and once more adopted his typical cold demeanor

"Now with that thing out of the way let's move on. Besides fire we have another element we can take advantage of at our disposal"

Cynder's mouth went agape, she knew where this is going "You can't be serious"

The Ice Guardian grinned "Iris"

"She attacked our own people! Attacked Amela, attacked Hunter! She should be rotting in jail, or preferably on the tree she was found on. Not walk around the city like she owns it!"

"She doesn't make a good first impression, true, but we have means of controlling her"

"If you mean a poker and a leash I'm all game"

"Her uncle"

"Uncle?" both young dragons blurt out surprised

Cyril nodded "He's conversing with Volteer as we speak. Or rather Volteer is talking while he listens. I already feel sorry for the guy"

"She has family?" Cynder continued in her surprised tone "I could swear that she ate all of them by now. If it was possible our princess would grow a second head out of her ass so she could admire herself fully"

Spyro winced "Mental image, mental image"

Cyril smiled seeing the dragonesses bitterness. Highborn are rarely understood.

"What she has to offer anyway?" the black dragoness continued annoyed "She is nowhere as special as Flare, without the wings she would be a normal ice dragoness"

"Her uncle told us a bit about her. He assured us of her unique potential"

"Ohhh her own blood praised her" she uttered with toxic, sarcastic awe "That changes everything! Next time she comes we have to make sure to bow or we're gonna offend the O-Mighty One" she snorted, fighting off the urge to spit on the ground

"Whatever you might think about Iris doesn't change the fact that she beat our expectations"

"Do you have any proof to support that, or is it just pride speaking through you?"

The smile that Cyril carried for the past few minutes vanished completely, replaced by sheer, cold wrath.

"Watch your tongue"

Cynder shrugged innocently "What? I want to make sure that we considered every angle here before we elevate her to the position of a goddess on the sole fact that someone desperately wants to create an illusion of all the powerful ice dragon"

Cyril stomped his paw fiercely, the ceiling above seemed to rattle in agony in accordance with the floor. He understood the allusion all too perfectly.

Spyro jumped towards his friend, spread his wings and gently started to push her towards the door. She seemed to obey but not acknowledge his presence.

"Alright Cynder, calm down and let's grab something to eat. What do you think?" he pretended to keep the manner of friendliness despite the atmosphere in the room

"Remember your place!" The ice dragon roared

"Cyril!" Terrador admonished his friend

"And what place is that?!" she blurt out bitterly and pushed fiercely through Spyro's wings like they were nothing more than a curtain "Trash?! Enemy?! Pawn?! What?! Do you think I don't see how people look at me? Do you think I don't see how you look at me? Behind that shell you are just like the rest of them, thinking that when I would be finally dangling from a tree all your troubles would be over. Guess what! They wouldn't!"

"Enough!"

"Who do you think you are to speak like that little girl?!" Cyril snapped back, ignorant to the attempts of the Earth Guardian to calm the situation down

Spyro looked at Hunter pleadingly, the cheetah understood the signal and helped Spyro to drag the yelling black dragoness away. Gently.

"Please Cynder, let's get out of here" the dragon muttered pleadingly

She pushed once more through the barrier her friends created.

"I'm the one who slaughtered all of you like cattle because you were too WEAK TO KILL ME! Nothing would have happened if you just tore my head off in the right moment. But no! You weaklings let yourself be captured and killed like sheep!"

Cyril advanced forward, the air suddenly became really cold "Watch who you're calling weak!"

Terrador blocked his path "Cyril that's ENOUGH!"

Both Spyro and Hunter once more began dragging Cynder out of the confrontation.

"This mess?! Whose fault is it truly?! Mine or yours?! You had a simple task of breaking my spine in half and you FAILED! Now you're just as weak, unable to face your failure! Don't you think I don't see the stones in people hands?! The daggers shining under the moonlight?! Bring it on if it makes you feel better! I'm not going anywhere, I'll wait till you become bold enough to finally slice my throat! Maybe then there will hope for you to survive this thing!"

"I'll grant you your wish right here and now!"

Hunter opened the door, both yelling dragons were oblivious to the fact.

Light started shinning on her head.

"You're too weak! You hear me?! You're too WEAK to make things right!"

The door slammed shut.

The engravings on the door that appeared in front of her nose made Cynder's aggressive energy fade away. She began panting heavily.

They let her go, not knowing how to proceed from here.

"Thanks Hunter for the help" Spyro muttered while eyeing Cynder's heaving body and glassy eyes

The cheetah bowed "My pleasure" he started to descend the stairs "I'll better leave you two alone, I still need to get back in there so I'm going to grab Amela just in case"

The purple dragon smiled weakly at the joke.

"With you two focusing on training I am to become the Guardians eyes in the field. Take care" he waved and went his own way

"Thanks again for the help" Spyro waved at the cheetah and dropped his paw soon after at the ground, eyeing his friend with worried eyes

"Cynder how are you-"

He never got the chance to finish what he was saying since suddenly she threw herself at him like a cobra attacking its prey and pressed him to the door with a hollow thud. Hugging him tightly, squeezing the air out of his lungs.

"I promise" she mumbled with a wavering voice, he felt a tear splashing on his back

He began caressing her scales fondly "Promise?" he muttered tentatively

"I promise not to go anywhere"

"We are here!" a male shout came from ahead of them

Spyro threw a brief glance in that direction before looking at his friend again "Promise me you won't go anywhere"

He planted a soft kiss on her forehead, the words meant a world to him.

She slipped her paw behind his back and wiped her snout before pulling back and offering his friend a smile through watery eyes.

"Does that mean you still like me?"

He smiled back "I never stopped"

The smile on her snout broadened, seconds later she pressed her head to his chest.

"I don't know what I would do without you"

Spyro grinned mischievously "Probably ruin the one place where we can still find beds to sleep on"

She punched his chest, making him gasp in surprise and pushed away from the hug. Ancestors she needed humor right now.

The dragon chuckled "Seriously though, that tongue of yours is really poisonous"

"Duh" she stuck her tongue out and pointed at it with her claw "Reill deill" she hid it back inside her mouth and shrugged "Poison baby" she grinned

Spyro smiled "I hope I'll never be the one on the receiving end of it"

"Hey!" Cynder blurt out with fake offence and directed her claw at her mouth "This thing can spread other things than just poison"

"Yeah? Like what?"

She looked at him saucily "You'll know if I ever decide to use it on you"

His heart jumped to his throat, he could drown in those eyes.

Cynder giggled and looked around the bluish sky "So, fearless leader, what can your pawn do for you?"

Spyro shoved her playfully "Don't call me that"

She straightened up, like an obedient soldier "Yes sir!"

He shook his head "Stop it"

"Already done sir!"

"I mean it"

"Yes sir!"

"I'm leaving" he jumped from the staircase

"Where are you going sir?" she ran after him

"Leave me alone!" he started to sprint, chuckling occasionally

"Pawn awaits her orders sir!" she chased after him

"I'm not listening!" he took to the air

She laughed and followed him, pestering him playfully.

Spyro laughed as they both soared through the sky, playing this stupid game. His eyes dropped down seconds later and the smile from his snout vanished. The people below were like tiny dots, he impulsively extended his paw. The optical illusion made his leg extremely large, capable of grabbing the dots in his claws and move them like...like...

Pawns.

On the huge chessboard that was the world.