FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter 19

They spent the last minutes of what all of them probably call free morning time eating at the table of the Mess Hall. Talking about trivial stuff, but mostly remaining in silence, knowing that there will be plenty time for conversation in the future.

"Sparx" Spyro licked his lips as he emptied his plate "You said that there was something more to Brill earlier"

"This is it right?" the dragonfly asked with fake excitement "End of chit-chat? We're back to the fun business?"

"Just who is this Brill guy?" Flare asked, his interest perked by the familiar name

"You'll learn everything when Sparx starts talking" Spyro urged his brother with a nod of his head

"You wanted to tell us about everything earlier!"

"That was before, the day hasn't really kicked off yet, it could have been a complete downhill slide from the beginning. Now..." he spread his arms open, making a slight spin "we're here. In a place where we, with poor effect, fill our stomachs, laugh, talk and see Iris getting owned"

"Owned?" the fire drake blurt out with a fierce confusion "Owned how?"

Sparx ignored the question.

"Since you want to know so-

"She is no one's property!" Flare snapped ferociously, weak flames of fury flashed from his burning body

All three other companions jerked their heads back with shocked squints of their eyes.

The fire drake started to pant, his fiery body pulsed with brighter and dimmer light simultaneously. His yellow eyes shifted from one dumbfounded face to the other with each labored breath he took. Strangely he didn't feel stupid about his outburst, or about the fact that six colorful eyes were staring at him.

He felt tired and sick.

Those ugly mushrooms might have something to do with it, most likely they intensified the discomfort like tenfold, although they weren't definitely the main reason behind it.

He was like a dog who desperately NEEDED to bark but lost his voice.

Only when the silence stretched to really palpable limit his eyes widened in sudden embarrassment. The unpleasant enlightenment made him to avert his eyes.

Sparx looked at the two dragons, their eyes shifted at him impulsively. He raised his yellow finger to the side of his head and started to make small circles with it while whistling silently.

"S-s-s-sor-r-r-ry" Flare stammered, the light he naturally emanates returned to its normal intensity, if not a little darker

"Flare, are you feeling ok?" Cynder asked warmly

"N- n-n-o"

"Who the hell keeps poisonous mushrooms in her own kitchen and dares to shove them inside your customer throats!" she slammed her paw into the table "I'm going to file a complaint about that cook to the Guardians!"

If you want us to eat your thighs the next day by all means do it" Sparx commented wryly

She narrowed her eyes on him challengingly.

"You think I won't do it?"

"No, no, no, you can do everything. Go for it even, I'm sure the morale would shoot high up sky when people would get your tail for dinner"

"You know the worst part?" Spyro swallowed with abhorrence "I imagined it. That cook held two dragons like chickens for slaughter! Cynder you don't want to mess with someone like this. You're good as you are now"

"How many times did you have to taste her?" Flare asked suspiciously, his fiery light pulsed with brighter glow once more, as if under the influence of the second wind. The same couldn't be said about his clouded eyes however

The fire dragon's stupid, literal question caught Spyro of guard, his amethyst eyes widened, beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. In panic his desperate orbs found Cynder, seeking forgiveness or an impulse to protect their secret. A secret who he just revealed by his stupidity.

Her gaze didn't share his worry. It seemed not to understand his.

Exactly!

That's just Flare, he'll believe everything. He just needs to be convincing.

"I don't know how she tastes!" Spyro blurt out with a nervous cackle "It's not like I kissed Cynder, or licked or anything" he laughed almost maniacally "You think we're a couple?"

Cynder choked on her own saliva.

The sound made his eyes dart between red and black scales in a hectic manner.

"Because we aren't!" he shouted, making Flare jerk his head back in both fear and surprise.

"We aren't a couple!" he laughed, sweating profusely "How you even think about it?!"

Sparx covered his face in his hand.

"That's my brother" he sighed defeated

"Spyro-"

"Cynder tell him!" the purple dragon cried out like a desperate prisoner with the blade of a sword at his neck as he gazed in his partner's direction

All of this, this stupid situation and his devastated cry caught her completely by surprise. Spyro is a terrible liar, he complicates for himself even the simplest situation. How this particular one turned out was a big shock to her.

"I never-"

"Of course you would never look at me!" Spyro exclaimed fervently "I'm a purple dragon!"

Flare shook his head "Ok, I don't understand what are you shouting about" his voice carrying the same usual sharpness

Whatever other scream boiled within Spyro's throat died down suddenly as if someone would turn off the air in his lungs.

"You don't?" he asked, or more likely rasped. His voice being terribly rough, as if forming words for the very first. His shocked, hopeful amethyst eyes were locked on Cynder

"Are you even still talking to me?"

The purple drake laughed nervously "Of course! Who else I would be talking to?!"

Flare cocked his head, he didn't know if Spyro is joking or...doing some other purple stuff. One thing he learned during his life is that to never try understanding purple dragon's way of thinking. It's just too complicated for his head.

"I had to miss your answer. How many times you had to treat Cynder's wounds again?"

Spyro's mouth clamped shut, he eyed the fire drake, overwhelmed by bewilderment.

"Can you repeat that?"

"I asked how many times you had to taste Cynder. You know, lick her wounds. I did that to myself like thousands of times and every time was slightly different than the other"

"Oh" Spyro mumbled, the cogs in his head began to grind against each other as they tried to return to their normal working pace

He averted his gaze thoughtfully "Oh" the gears with a shrilling grind pushed through the clinch he forced them into

"Ooooohhhh" he huffed in embarrassing realization, the cogs kicked into their normal tempo with a rumbling thud

"That's..." Spyro scratched the back of his head with a bashful, weak smile "...that's a lot easier question to answer"

Sparx looked at the window with an approving nod "Not so bad bro, there's still daylight outside"

"It didn't happen often" Spyro continued "Cynder isn't the type who asks for help, she's independent and likes doing things her way" he threw a craving glance at her "One day maybe she'll see that sometimes a different tongue is far more better"

Cynder shook her head endearingly, she wasn't certain if the play of words was intentional yet her lips still moved, it wasn't difficult to read the silent word they were forming.

Pig.

"You should-" Flare rasped and then suddenly started coughing roughly

The atmosphere of awkwardness and bashful joy hightailed away.

The dragoness pushed herself on her legs sharply "Flare?"

"I'm fine" he blurt out between another cough

"Is that blood?" Sparx pointed at the red dragon's lower lip

"No" Flare wiped his mouth fiercely "S-sometimes my saliva turns red like m-my body. It's normal"

Spyro winced, perhaps he isn't on the best of terms with Flare, but seeing him so sick was rather painful. Not to mention that he obviously lied, despite how convincing he tried to sound.

"This is crazy!" Cynder snarled furiously "I'm going to have a word with that cat!"

"No" Flare blurt out, grabbing her leg before she moved

She looked at his red paw, the grip was strong, but she was surprised by the sensation going underneath. Her leg was being heated in weak annoyed pulses. As if held with the strength of someone going through rehabilitation as he again learned to walk.

"It's normal" he repeated almost pleadingly "It's normal" his claws unclenched themselves from around her leg and limply returned to the floor

"You can barely sit!"

"Continue Sparx" the red dragon smiled weakly

"Flare!"

"Continue..." he mumbled with a barely audible whisper "...I'm fine"

The dragonfly looked up at the two other dragons, seeking any kind of advice on how to proceed, but they were just as confused and defenseless as he was. He sighed, this only meant one thing, maybe sharing with him the story about Brill and other temple lunatics will take the dragon's mind off...whatever is happening with him right now. Maybe it will be for the better.

He sincerely doubted it.

"We have some really crazy people here who worship overgrown lizards, that is you, dragons, as gods"

Flare's eyes widened curiously, colors slightly returned to his burning body.

"Really? Why?"

Sparx pointed his finger at the drake "Good question" he gestured at the three drakes at the table "Just look at you, who in normal mind would worship something like you? Grab a lizard from the jungle, stick some leafs to its back and watch it through magnifying glass. BAM! You have a dragon"

He cleared his throat, adopting a proud pose "Now, a dragonfly like myself would be a completely different story"

Cynder snickered "Yeah, worshipping bug like lanterns would be so much better"

The dragonfly shook his finger admonishingly "That's blasphemy"

"In your world maybe"

Flare groaned in annoyance "I don't get it. Do they worship us finally or not?"

"They do" Spyro confirmed

Sparx sighed "This seriousness is going to kill me one day" he blinked and focused his gaze on the red drake "They do man, especially the guys who built this place. Those little dudes we call moles are really into all this dragon worship stuff. It was them who built all those statues around the city"

"Why do they worship us?"

The dragonfly shrugged "I'm not a history professor, you would have better chances on getting a proper answer from some bookworms like Volteer or healthy fanatics like Hunter. I would go for the latter, at least he won't sizzle your brain with funny sounding words. I tell you guys, that cat seems to know more about dragons than dragons themselves. All I know is that it had something to do with friendship and respect, at least that's before Malefor showed up"

"Wow" Flare huffed in sincere awe "I've never been respected before"

Cynder looked at the fire drake sadly.

"With things going as they are now you didn't lose much. Lucky bastard" Sparx threw his fist behind his shoulder, thumb pointing at the window "All those chatty lunatics gather in that big ass temple over there"

Every draconic eye present at the table shifted towards the window.

"Sermons and other creepy religious stuff is happening there, pretty harmless really. People shout and that's it, nobody is going to do anything anyway, well, at least not them"

Spyro frowned "What do you mean by that?"

Sparx moved closer towards the three dragons "The real CRAZY stuff is happening behind the curtains" he looked around, checking if nobody is listening to their conversation

Flare craned his neck forward, practically bumping Cynder's head out of the way. She looked at him with amusement, noticing the overwhelming glimmer of curiosity in his eyes.

"I don't have any details, all I know is that there's a group, hard to tell how large, that regularly meets in one of the farther chambers of the temple on the upper floor. Nobody knows how many people flow through that room, those that managed to be seen and talked to were acting very weird. Mumbling all the time about darkness, corruption and all other creepy, dark stuff. Besides that nothing more is known, after those few encounters everything that is happening in there was shrouded in mystery and access to that specific part of the temple was forbidden. I tell you guys, that zombie mole created a cult or something"

"If I may" Cynder raised her claw in the air, signaling that she is going to speak, all eyes turned to her "Before we all become paranoid I only want to ask one question" she narrowed her eyes on the dragonfly "How do you know any of this?"

"In the beginning there was that guy on the main floor, a green dragon, big, muscular, like somebody would sculpt him. You know, a true draconic beast" he nodded at the purple dragon "Not like my girly looking brother over there"

"Thanks Sparx" Spyro commented sarcastically "You always knew how to pump my self-esteem"

The dragonfly bowed "You're very welcome dude" he smiled approvingly "Just look at you, you really grew to be something. A third sex I might say, something between a guy and a chick. You're surely one of a kind"

"Stop" Cynder interjected, throwing her paw in the air "You'll continue your brofight later" She scratched her choker "Tell us more about that green dragon"

Sparx shrugged "I don't know much, he acted like Brill's recruiter or zealous follower. He convinced people to go see the zombie mole, telling them that it would change their lives forever or something like that. One day he just disappeared, either stopped being the mole's errand boy or simply believed that his work is done"

"Capro" Cynder muttered under her breath "What the hell are you up to?"

"This is awesome!" Flare blurt out excitedly, his fiery tail wagging from side to side, the light he emanated regaining its sharp colors

The distraction was working it seemed.

"We're like the dangerous ponies! You Sparx are our information broker, giving us details on our next important mission. A quest!"

Spyro observed the fire drake with a dumbfounded wince.

"We are dangerous...what?"

"Don't ask bro" the dragonfly pointed at Flare "And you dude, leave those books alone" he poked his forehead "They're messing with your already messed up head"

"That's not true!" the fiery drake protested, stomping his paw on the ground as an offended child

"Flare had a point there however" Spyro looked at his brother suspiciously "How come you know so much about what is happening in the temple?"

Sparx threw his arms to the side, in a sign of surprised confusion.

"What's the big deal? I see stuff and a big dragon like that guy is hard to miss"

"Ok I get that, what really bugs me is that you know what is going inside that temple"

"Dude? Hello? That place has windows"

"Yes it has, that would explain the presence of the of that dragon, but not what he was doing, or what exactly he said"

Sparx folded his arms with a frown "Who told you that it was exactly what he said? I'm telling a story here, every storyteller has the right to color things here and there"

Spyro nodded "Fair enough"

"What are you even trying to do here bro?"

"Nothing, I'm just asking. Curiosity you know, it gets the better of me. One last question if you don't mind?"

The dragonfly rolled his eyes "Sure, whatever"

"I'm really curious about the upper floor of the temple. As you know there are no windows there and only caretakers and priests have access..."

Sparx gulped, keeping his stoic, confident posture, yet at the same time inconspicuously scratching his arms in a nervous manner.

"...so it's very interesting for me to see you know so much about that place. I understand the artistic creativity to make the story more exciting by adding some imagined details here and there, but to imagine the whole floor? It would be stupid to bother us with this stuff if all you said would be just your imagination, after all it was you who brought this to our attention"

"So...here's my question" he narrowed his intelligent, amethyst eyes on his glowing brother "What are you hiding?"

Sparx cackled "What?"

"You heard me"

"Seems like you hit your head against the bedframe too many times last night"

He grabbed the cup of water and dipped his mouth into it, tilting it so high that it practically hid his face.

Spyro exchanged a brief, cagey glance with Cynder.

"Answer me Sparx"

The dragonfly placed the cup back on the table with a tired sigh "There's nothing to tell. I hear people talk and that's it"

Spyro shook his head fiercely "I don't believe you, you've been acting strange from the very morning, disappeared somewhere for the whole day, plus the smell of clay" his draconic eyes started to shimmer with brotherly worry "Are you in trouble Sparx?"

The dragonfly jerked his head back "What? No"

"Someone threatened you in any way?"

"No!"

"Then what is it?!" the purple drake blurt out impatiently

"What's going on?" Flare asked alarmed "Who would want to threat Sparx? You're a purple dragon and he's your brother. Nobody would dare"

Spyro looked at the ground, with the corners of his eyes spotting Cynder's black paws "It's a little more complicated than that"

The fire drake blinked, Cynder furrowed her brows curiously as she spotted the visible shift of fiery colors crossing the surface of his fiery wings. Flare seemed to shake on his paws, if ever so lightly.

"You're not as powerful in this time as the stories say and someone is targeting you?"

She cocked her head, was that...

...hope she heard in his voice?

"Whoa" Spyro exclaimed, throwing his head back up and shaking his paw in protest "You make it sound like there is a bounty on my head"

Cynder licked her lips, she was certain that she saw Flare's eyes glimmering with murderous anticipation. Not to mention that he was now visibly shivering, as if the temperature in the Mess Hall dropped to that of Dante's Freezer.

Except that it didn't.

Both changes within him filled her with dread.

"No, I'm not the target" the purple drake explained

"Oh" Flare mumbled, rubbing his forehead with a wince as if he was having a very strong migraine "But if you aren't the target then why would anyone want to threaten Sparx?"

Spyro looked up at Cynder, his eyes glowing with affection.

"To get to someone I really care about"

She smiled, yet her eyes remained locked at the fire drake.

"Wow" Flare huffed in awe, delicately cringing from pain "People would really do that?"

"I don't know, but it's better to be prepared for every option. Lately I see conspiracy everywhere, I'm sure you heard, whole family died in an explosion. They say it was an accident but I have my doubts"

Sparx dashed to his brother's side "Ease on the conspiracy theories or you'll get Crouton started on his ponies stories" he whispered in fear

Flare started to cough, which surprised Sparx, lately the drake didn't waste any opportunity to paint the world with scenes of his imagination and now he remained silent.

There was something really wrong with him.

"Flare are you sure everything is ok?" Cynder asked kindly "Maybe you want to see Amela?"

He smiled, instead of relaxing her the sight made a cold shiver crawl across her spine. She instantly thought of a mortally sick person, offering his last smile on his deathbed.

Gullibly telling that everything will be all right.

"I'm f-f-f-fine"

She didn't believe the word he said. Mostly because he started stuttering for no apparent reason, a fact that he himself seemed to ignore.

Flare swallowed "W-w-wha-a-at d-d-do you k-k-k-know a-about t-t-the e-e-e-explo-o-o-sion?"

Spyro looked at the two other companions at the table, he didn't found any help, they were just as confused as he was and had nothing to offer but a shrug.

"Well...I wouldn't be surprised if that would be deliberate action that was made to look like an accident. Nothing stirs people more than death in a place they believe to be safe, tragedy like this sows doubt and suspicion, especially now"

"W-w-w-why n-n-n-now?

The purple drake scratched his head as he looked at Cynder "Ummm...how to say this..."

"Because of me" she announced straightforwardly

Flare cocked his head as his eyes shifted towards her.

"I've done some horrible things you see, many people that live in Warfang remember what I did, many hold it against me. Those grudges and wounds will take years to heal, if it's even possible that is. Until then I'm nothing more than a traitor and a flaw on the almost godlike image of a dragon to most of them. A taint"

"Of course nobody mentions that Cynder isn't responsible for any of this" Spyro added quickly

She began making small circles with her claw on the plate below.

"Who is right or not isn't currently important. Most people blame me and with good reason, if Flare is to understand our problems he needs to know how the situation looks like. People hate me"

Flare looked the dragoness over, seeing her sad like this hurt.

"I don't understand how people can hate you. You're so nice, that's not fair"

"See?!" Spyro blurt out excitedly "I'm not the only one who thinks that this isn't right!"

Cynder smiled reassuringly "It's very sweet of you two but what you think is irrelevant. People hate me, let's focus on that since that's the main problem. This hate spins all the crap that is happening around in this city"

She straightened up with a tired sigh "When the portals showed up in our world you Flare and Iris weren't the only ones who appeared in Warfang. One of those magical a-holes spat out a mole that was a symbol and an idol for many. Of course luck wanted him to be one of my former victims. After all nobody wants things to be easy once in a while"

She started nibbling the edge of the table "That mole's name is Brill, the main architect and constructor of Warfang, now the zealous believer of the old ways. He lived in a time where our race was revered, survived that difficult period during which the faith in dragons wavered, until he met me, or my claws to be precise, which torn him to pieces"

"Now he's back, probably from a time where I already made quite an impact on the world, which brings us to another important topic. Corruption"

Cynder looked up at Flare and smiled "Should I repeat anything or are you with me?"

He didn't answer, didn't have to really, she saw his eyes drilling into her, interested in what she has to say beyond any healthy measure.

It was awkwardly disconcerting.

She returned to nibbling the table, not because she had a tick she couldn't control, she just wanted to avert her gaze and occupy her eyes with something.

Everything would do the trick, she would do anything just to not look into his eyes.

His eyes were burning bright, they seemed weak but healthy. It was normal as he said and yet she couldn't shake off the feeling that they were sick and he knew that.

He is sick and he knows that.

And still this is normal.

What a unnerving thought.

"I don't understand truly what it is myself so I explain it from the people's perspective. Corruption is me. It goes by many names in fact, if you met Brill, or one of his followers, you would hear them mentioning evil, darkness, taint, flaw and the like. Brill is not only a constructor but also a priest, he treated dragons as gods, still does I believe, so when I showed up with my black scales and murderous intent it wasn't hard for a priest to connect me with darkness, see me as flaw on his perfect image"

"He was crazy to begin with, pushing the whole worshipping thing a little too far for my taste, but it's not my place to try to understand religious fanatics. This is why he is so dangerous, he has the skills to turn people to his side, that's why everything bad happening in Warfang will be blamed on me first, anything to find an excuse for his actions"

She nodded at the dragonfly "Now with Sparx bringing us the news about Brill acting even crazier than usual the situation is even more dire. If the rumors about a cult are true, then we have to be double careful. I still don't believe that Brill has it in him to kill his own people, no matter how blinded he is, but that doesn't mean that there aren't people in his fold that wouldn't do it. Boven and the explosion are perfect arguments to stir the pot of aggression"

Spyro nodded fervently "This is why we need to keep our eyes open, whoever set that house on fire is still out there, we need to prevent more innocent lives from being lost" he smiled meaningfully "So what do you think Flare? You still-" his mouth dried completely as he looked at the fire drake

"Flare...?"

The dragon's yellow eyes were aimed directly at him, blood was slowly flowing from the corners of his eyeballs like bloody tears. The black slits usually in the form of thin lines were pulsing, filling his eyes with fiery light as if fire itself would be knocking on the door of his eyes but just couldn't shove them open.

"Come after me if you dare" Flare rasped, his voice pulsing as his eyes, filled with tone of his normal speech and an otherworldly tune, like that in Munitions Forge

"Flare?" Cynder asked quietly, extending her paw

She hissed painfully the moment she touched his scales and jerked her paw away. Her leg was touched by heat, so unexpectedly, like a bite from an usually docile dog.

"Brillll!" Flare howled as he spun towards her "Responsible for everything!" a ring of heat wafted from his body, making the three of them to cover their faces

People in the Mess Hall stopped in their tracks and turned their attention at the table where the unusually loud commotion stirred.

The smell of burning wood filled the nostrils of every member at the table.

"Flare!" the three of them exclaimed at the same time

The fire drake cringed with a groan "You...will...burn...WORM!" he roared, his voice, strangely deep and intimidating rumbled in the Mess Hall, his fiery body burst with intense flames.

And then suddenly, the roar turned into a fierce cough where instead of saliva blood shot from his mouth.

He retched soon after and spewed a ball of thick, red, dark blood that landed directly on the table, exploding in streams of red tongues in accordance with the people shocked gasps, parts of those tongues splattered both on Spyro and Sparx.

The intense light he emanated died down completely, a veil of nauseating dizziness clouded his vision as his paws gave up underneath him the moment he lost consciousness. As he went down his numb head hit the edge of the burnt table which cut his scales as it shattered under the weight of the draconic snout.

A moment of breathtaking silence befallen on the Mess Hall when the fire drake hit the floor with a loud, intimidating thud.

"Flare!" Cynder squealed horrified as she dashed next to the fire dragon's side "We need to take him to the hospital!" she began to slide her paws across his whole body chaotically, looking for a proper grip to lift him

"Guys! Help me!" she exclaimed, raising her fierce gaze at the two brothers

The two young foster siblings didn't seem to hear her, their blood covered faces were completely lackluster, their eyes staring ahead, into inchoate distance.

"Guys!"

They both blinked, their heads moved slowly to the side until their eyes met.

Sparx pointed a wavering finger at his face "Bro...you have bl-" he gagged abruptly, swiftly diving towards his brother's mug of water and plunging his head inside, tightly holding onto the sides of the cup and started to throw up vehemently

"Stop being such crybabies!" Cynder shouted with irritation "It's not like you see blood for the first time!"

His retching brother and shouting partner tore him from the shock "No..." Spyro turned to face her, touching his snout "...but that's the first time someone puked blood on me"

"Get over here!" she growled

He shook his head and swiftly dashed to Cynder's side.

"Get down, I'll push him onto your back"

Spyro did as he was told, sliding close to Flare's unconscious body, propping him up with the yanks of his head so he could get underneath him. With Cynder's assistance the uncomfortable job of lifting someone for any quadruped creature wasn't that difficult. Momentarily the red dragon was on his back, his head hanging from his right purple shoulder, paws dangling from his flanks. From a distance the fire drake looked like an overgrown, draconic turtle, preparing to swim.

"Let's hurry" Cynder urged her friend as she spun towards the door, she made a step before her eyes located five people standing ahead, staring at them.

She impulsively stopped, for a moment ignoring the fact that Spyro passed her. She began to look around, her green eyes spotting more and more people, all looking in their direction, practically standing in one line. None of them carrying any sign that they were on the move, with the intention to help.

Every single person present was observing them, like statues. It infuriated her greatly.

"Enjoying the show?!" Cynder snarled as her furious eyes swoop from person to person

People started throwing surprised glances among themselves.

"Are you so badly brainwashed that you forgot what empathy means?!"

Her words started to stir the inhabitants, the wrong way of course.

"Cynder" Spyro hissed her name through clenched teeth

"You have the guts to call me evil?!" she growled as she spun around, her usually loving emerald eyes spitting out flames of fury "While you stand and watch when someone clearly needs help?!"

"We don't care about you, or your monsters!" someone shouted from the crowd

It was enough to raise a small thunder within the Mess Hall, people started yelling, mostly at her but there were also voices of reason among them. She didn't care what any of them had to say.

"Cynder, let's go" Spyro pleaded

She scanned the shouting people with narrowed eyes, green tongues of poison wafting from her nose and tail swinging high from side to side like a snake ready to attack.

"Who is the flaw on this society?!"

If someone would just enter the building they would say that a riot has just begun.

"All right sis" Sparx rasped, clearing his throat as he flew closer to her, delicately pushing her head towards his brother "Time to bail"

"Whore!"

Cynder snarled, her whole body tensed at the sound of the shout.

"No, no, no, ignore" Sparx muttered, putting more strength into his push when he felt pressure from her side "Spyro is right over there, you like Spyro don't you?"

She started walking towards her purple friend, yet her eyes shifted from side to side of her eyeballs murderously.

The screaming only intensified.

Sparx winced and smacked her rump "Pick up the pace"

The unexpected slap made here jump forward a little.

He raised his gaze at his brother, nodding at the big exit door "Outside bro"

Spyro followed his advice without protest, he would propose it himself, making their way through the building right now wasn't the best of ideas. He pushed the door open carefully with his horns, shook his body to rearrange Flare on his back, freeing his wings in the process and walked outside.

The breeze coursing through the city was so pleasant, indescribable, almost making him faint. It felt so damn good to be out of that room.

The door slammed shut behind him, turning the screaming inside into nothing but a delicate rumble.

"I'll fly to the hospital" he announced, spreading his wings "It'll be faster. Catch me there" and with that he took to the air

"Okay Cyn, we're out, take a deep-"

She roared wrathfully, throwing a fierce punch at one of the nearby walls, but instead of hitting it her paw dived into a shadow hole of her impulsive creation. Panting, she stared at her leg, halfway sucked by the dark hole, surprisingly so damn alluring.

"Fuck" she grunted

"What's gotten into you?" Sparx asked calmly

"What's gotten into ME?!" she snapped with a mocking laugh "That damn cat poisoned Flare!"

"We don't know that"

"Like hell we don't!" she snarled, furiously pulling her leg out of the hole, trails of dark energy followed her claws

Her eyes impulsively landed on her filled with dark energy claws. The solution for every problem was right over here, it served her well all those years. Everything was so easy back then.

...what?

She clenched her paw with a wince, the energy puffed away, revealing her silvery claws once more.

Sparx folded his arms "Lately even the stupidest thing seems to anger you"

"What thing you call stupid?" Cynder snarled aggravatingly "You call stupid the poisoning of my friend? For all we know you caught the same thing, you have his damn blood on your face!"

The dragonflies confident expression wavered, the reminder that there is blood on his face and the thought that it might be poisonous made him gag. Yet he remained in place, even if every atom of his body wanted to run away.

"You...you're overreacting"

She snorted, her intelligent yet angry eyes didn't miss the change on his face.

"Yeah, I can see that"

"If those mushrooms would be so dangerous Ice Queen wouldn't walk out of the building just like that"

"How do you know how far she managed to go? For all we know she might be drowning in a pool of her own blood in one of the side alleys as we speak"

Sparx threw his arms forward, palms up "Okay stop, we need to remember about who we are talking here. I've seen you observing Flare, you saw the same things I did I'm sure. He's weird, behaved even crazier during our whole time at the table, I don't really have to mention the last part do I?"

Cynder rolled her eyes indignantly "He's different, so what?"

He narrowed his eyes on her "Even you don't believe this. You know just as I do that there is something very wrong with this guy. He has a split personality or something"

She looked to the side "Whatever his problem might be is beside the point" she said without conviction

"What if it's the WHOLE point?"

"Stop right there" she blurt out in irritation "Let's wait for some information from the hospital first before we jump to any conclusions"

Sparx threw his arms up with a relieved sigh "Finally you're starting to make some sense!"

She rubbed her forehead "How solid are the news about Brill? Speak freely, I don't care how you found about that"

"One hundred percent legit"

"That's what I feared" she looked at him kindly "Be careful Sparx"

"Awww" he smirked "Are you worried about me?"

She looked at her claws with a frown "Just watch your back"

"I'm safe, remember that you are the one he's crazy about. Between the two of us you will be the first with a knife in the back"

"I'm not worried about Brill"

He furrowed his brows in surprise "No? Then who? I thought zombie is the first one on your list of enemies. Of course the list only grew bigger thanks to our recent episode"

"I'm not worried about Brill because as insane as he is, he is a priest, he knows what remorse means"

Her eyes shifted from her claws to the wall which earlier was occupied by her shadowy void.

"I'm more afraid of those who don't"