Chapter 2: Old Scars
"Spyro! Heads up!" Twisting his head towards the shout, Spyro just barely had enough time to register the small, wooden sphere flying towards his head. With a practiced ease, Spyro rotated his body to face the incoming projectile, raising himself up to balance on his hind legs for the briefest of moments. Stretching out a purple foreleg towards the ball, Spyro snapped his talons shut, the claws easily digging into the soft wood. Dropping back down on his remaining three legs, Spyro unfurled his vibrant yellow wings, his eyes locking onto his target, a gray stone hoop protruding from the far wall of the chamber, the center hole only a shade larger than the sphere he now grasped in his paw. Now all he had to do was make it there in one piece.
With a mighty push, Spyro propelled himself into the air, even as the stone floor that he had been standing on moments before exploded upwards in a cloud of dust and grit. A faint hum was the only warning Spyro had before he was targeted a second time, the smell of burnt ozone filling his nostrils as the lighting bolt arced overhead. Directing his attention briefly from his flight path, Spyro returned fire, the barrage of poorly aimed fireballs that sent Electra scrambling for cover. Out of corner of his eye, Spyro noticed Gaia lining up a shot of her own, a fist sized chunk of rock laying innocently on the ground before her. But even as she prepared to send the rock pelting towards Spyro's skull, a white blur swooped in from above, slamming into the leaf green dragoness' side with an audible crash. The two dragons tumbled away, a flurry of claws and tail swipes as they each tried to gain the upper hand.
Breathing a sigh of relief, Spyro gave one last push, the hoop hanging right in front of him. Tightening his grip on the ball, Spyro drew closer to the circular wall of the training hall, his wing tip just brushing against the stone. High above, the meticulously constructed dome formed the roof, with only a moderately sized skylight letting in some of the late autumn sunlight. Or it would be, if it hadn't been for the shadow that swept in the way, causing the training room to dim noticeably. By the time Spyro had registered the change in lighting, it was already too late. The shadow dove, effortlessly slicing through the air as it bore down towards the purple dragon below. At the very last moment, the shadow's magenta wings flared open, slowing it just enough to prevent any serious injury to the intended target. That didn't mean it wouldn't hurt though.
Spyro lurched downwards, his wings securely pinned in place by his assailant as the two of them plummeted towards the ground. The last thought Spyro had before they hit was to draw his tongue back into the recesses of his mouth, least he inadvertently slice it in half with his own teeth. They hit the ground hard, all of the air leaving Spyro's lungs in a single pained gasp, his chest and chin aching from the impact. The wooden sphere flew from his claws, a set of new gouges adorning its surface as it rolled away from the two dragons back towards the center of the arena.
To Spyro's mild surprise, the other dragon didn't give pursuit, instead choosing to employ her full body weight to keep him pinned to the ground. As Spyro desperately tried to regain his breath and overcome the disorientation of his sudden descent, the dragoness on top of him leaned down, her chest pressing against his back as she moved her head down besides his. "Well, Mr. Savior of the World, better luck next time. That is, if I ever decide to let you up again." Cynder said, allowing herself a satisfied smirk as she gazed down at the captive dragon.
Straining his neck around to lock eyes with the black scaled dragoness, Spyro managed to return the grin. "Well, as lovely as that sounds, we've still got a match to win." Spyro concentrated, feeling the stone beneath his paws as he marshaled his power reserves. With a sudden jolt, the two intertwined dragons went airborne, a solid stone pillar rising from the ground where they had been moments before.
Meanwhile, the wooden ball had rolled to a halt, temporarily forgotten as the teams engaged in numerous smaller struggles across the arena. That is, until it was nearly stepped on by a navy blue ice dragon backpedaling away from a crackling wall of electricity. Connan did a quick double take, looking from the ball at his feet to where Spyro was still wrestling to free himself from Cynder. After a quick check to make sure Electra was still on the defensive, Connan scooped the ball up with one paw, muttering under his breath as he did so. "Just give it to Spyro, he said. Spyro's the most versatile one on our team, he said. Well Zero, looks like you forgot about the fact that Spyro would much rather play with his girlfriend."
Noticing the lack of ice projectiles heading her way, Electra tentatively lowered her defensive shield, her bright yellow eyes fixating on the orb Connan was clutching close to his chest. The ice dragon wasn't looking at her, instead focused on where Cynder and Spyro were still fighting beneath one of the scoring hoops. Deciding to take advantage of the dragon's lapse in concentration, Electra charged up another lighting bolt, the energy pulsing through her body and sparking into existence off her midnight black scales. Unleashing the bolt with pinpoint accuracy, Electra started forward, anticipating what was about to happen next.
Connan let out an indignant yelp, waving his now scorched paw in the air as the sphere rolled away from him, followed a moment later by the slender electric dragoness. Gingerly setting his paw back down on the ground, Connan readied himself to chase after the orb, mentally berating himself for letting Electra get a cheap shot on him like that. She may have a head start toward regaining the orb, but Connan wasn't worried. Although neither of them were the fastest dragon in the class, it was nothing that a well placed ice patch couldn't tip in his favor.
With a dull rumble, the arena floor gave an almost imperceptible shudder as an earthen barrier sprang up in front of Connan, the ice dragon skidding to an unexpected halt. Knowing that pursuing the orb would be a grave mistake on his part, Connan slowly turned back around, allowing a disarming grin to show as he faced the dragon responsible. Gaia stood a short ways away, her legs widened out into a combat stance as she watched the ice dragon warily, waiting for him to make the first move. The white dragon she had been fighting earlier was no where to be found, although Connan couldn't help but noticing several new cuts appearing on Gaia's otherwise unmarred scales.
Making a show of readying himself for the oncoming fight, Connan called out the waiting dragoness. "Alright Gaia, I see where this is going. And since we're dating and all, I'll do you a favor and not utterly humiliate you. And I won't gloat at all when you ultimately surrender when faced with my superior skill. And I may end up giving you a share of my dessert tonight to make up for what's about to happen to you."
Gaia blinked, surprise flashing across her face as she relaxed her stance and stood up a little straighter. "You...you would give up some of your precious food for me Connan? Aw, that's so sweet of you." The earth dragoness cooed, giving Connan an affectionate smile.
"And no amount of begging will... Wait, what?" Connan stopped, cutting off his show of false bravado as he cocked his head in confusion. "Gaia, you're way more important than food, I mean, all you really have to do is ask-"
A small, three inch diameter stone pillar erupted from the ground and socked Connan in the stomach, cutting him off mid sentence. Gaia shook her head as the ice dragon doubled over in pain, a half smile still on her face as she watched him regain his breath. "Yes, that was sweet, but you really should remember to keep your guard up Connan. This is almost too easy." And with that, Gaia charged forward, rapidly closed the distance between the two, lowering her short but thick horns down for a savage headbutt.
Managing to recover in the nick of time, Connan opened his mouth, letting loose a breath of chilling mist. The mist drifted down to the floor, collecting into large ice patches before him. Rolling out of the way, Connan watched as Gaia slipped and fell, her momentum carrying her past as the blue dragon watched on. "Forget it, I take it back." Connan panted as Gaia cautiously regained her footing. "Food doesn't sucker punch me when I'm not paying attention."
Even as a fresh swarm of icicles and rocks flew across the training hall, Electra honed in on the wayward, nearly forgotten orb. In hindsight, maybe she shouldn't have blasted the sphere with quite that much energy, but at least everyone else was occupied sparing with the enemy team. Her claws scraping against the stone floor, Electra pounced, bearing down on the wooden ball as it slowly rolled to a halt before her. But even as Electra approached the ball, it gave an unexpected burst of speed, narrowly evading the dragoness' talons and resuming its journey across the training room floor.
Undeterred, Electra leaped forward again. Sure, she had never really prided herself on her physical capacity, but she should be able to outrun a measly little ball. But just like last time, the ball gave a little jump as she was about to grab it, swerving off to right and out of her immediate field of vision. Even as Electra skidded to a stop and reoriented herself to continue the pursuit, the sphere gently rolled to a halt at a pair of stark white feet.
With a practiced calm, Zero carefully picked up the sphere, holding it aloft in one of his forepaws as he stared at Electra with his usual stoic expression. Noticing Zero for the first time, Electra hesitated, warily watching the dragon before her. Zero made no effort to flee or attack, instead choosing to simply cock an eyebrow at the electric dragoness. "Well? Are you going to try and take it back from me? Or are you just going to resort to electricity again?"
So that's what he was getting at. Typical Zero, always looking for ways to improve her hunting techniques. Still, since she had kept her distance from everybody else from the start of the match, maybe it was time to switch things up a little bit. Closing the distance between them with just a few steps, Electra lashed out with a single forepaw, aimed solely at knocking the orb from Zero's grasp. The white dragon drew back, effortlessly dodging the feeble blow. Well, it wouldn't be much of a challenge with Zero just standing still, would it?
Electra pushed forward, making each succeeding swipe even quicker in an effort to catch Zero off guard. But it was all to no avail, as Zero maintained the same distance the whole time, backing up just enough to stay out of her reach. Even when Electra finally made contact, drawing blood via a shallow cut on Zero's shoulder, the white dragon gave no indication of pain or discomfort. Growing frustrated, Electra leaped forward, claws and teeth ready to bring Zero down to the ground once and for all. But Zero was already in motion, his light gray wings spread wide in attempt to steady himself as he sidestepped Electra's tackle. For one brief instant, a smile flickered across Zero's face. She really was trying her best at least. But it would take a lot more than that to knock the sphere from his grasp.
Electra still had a few tricks left at her disposal. Even as her leap carried her past Zero, her tail lashed out, the zig-zag blade connecting with a solid thunk. The fighting in the room ground to a halt as all the dragons simultaneously remembered the primary objective of this training session, their eyes all following the ball as it flew in a high arc above the center of the training hall.
"I got it! I got it!" Connan shouted, racing towards where the sphere was going to land, a single paw outstretched and ready for the catch.
"In your dreams." Gaia taunted, roughly hip checking Connan out of the way. "It's as good as mine."
Across the room, Spyro and Cynder were both airborne, nothing more than a pair of purple and black streaks speeding towards the sphere. They were neck and neck, each vying for first place. If Cynder could just get there first, it would be a straight shot to her goal ring, while Spyro would have to perform a costly U-turn to make it back across the room. But with the power of wind waiting to give her that last boost, the sphere was as good as hers.
"Coming through!" Caught off guard, Cynder just barley had time to register the crimson blur barreling towards her and Spyro. Tilting her body, Cynder angled away, narrowly avoiding a midair collision with the red interloper. His path unobstructed, the fire dragon snatched the sphere from the air, letting out a triumphant shout as he swooped over the dragons below.
"Yeah! Go Pyrus! Score one for the team!" Connan called out from below, giving a cheery wave to Pyrus as the others watched on. Continuing on unassailed, Pyrus shifted his body weight, curving around into a graceful U-turn. But as soon as his wing dipped below the figurative horizon, Pyrus wobbled, suddenly looking a lot more unsure of himself. Behind him, Pyrus' tail kicked back and forth in an effort to compensate, but the much shorter and bladeless tip just didn't have the weight that Pyrus was accustomed to. Unable to stabilize himself, Pyrus flipped over and plummeted towards the ground. With a loud bang, Pyrus' head slammed into the ground, sending up a cloud of dust as the fire dragon bounced and tumbled to a stop, the sphere still pressed tightly against his gold chest scales.
Groaning, Pyrus slowly sat up, rubbing his now aching head gingerly as his vision faded in and out of focus. Taking deep breaths to steady himself and trying not to think about his rapidly developing headache, Pyrus looked up to see a purple paw extended down towards him. Waving Spyro off, Pyrus gave himself a light shake to snap his vision back into focus to reveal a close circle of six young dragons, an Earth Guardian and a firefly all clustered around him. "What, I take one little fall and everyone has to rush over to see if I'm alright?" Pyrus scoffed.
"Well, considering that you're suppose to be relaxing over there on the bleachers with Terrador as opposed to trying to fly, yeah, we're all a little concerned." Gaia stated, watching Pyrus carefully for any signs of serious injury.
Shaking his head, Pyrus doubled over, coughing out several clots of dust that he had lodged in his lungs during his rough landing. Still coughing, Pyrus beckoned to Connan, the blue dragon looking mildly surprised at the invitation. Bending low, Connan crept forward toward Pyrus, tilting his head in curiosity. "What is it buddy? You need help getting back to the stands?"
With a devilish grin, Pyrus thrust the wooden ball forward into Connan's startled grasp. Pushing himself backwards, Pyrus uttered one word. "Run."
"Oh come on, that's not-" Whatever else Connan had to say was drowned out by the thunder crack of Electra's lightning bolt as the girls leaped back into action, taking the boys by surprise. Within a matter of seconds, the sphere was already bouncing away with Spyro and Gaia in hot pursuit as the match resumed as before, leaving only Pyrus, Terrador and Sparx in their wake.
Turning his attention away from his other students, Terrador glared down at the rebellious fire dragon. "First of all, are you alright Pyrus? Are your injuries flaring up again?"
Pyrus nodded, dragging himself back to his feet. "Yeah, I'm fine Master Terrador. I hit my head, not my chest or tail." As he spoke, Pyrus ran a paw down his front, where a sizable white scar cut across the center of his chest. A memento of the near fatal wound Pyrus had received in exchange for putting a halt to the ape warlord Drakken's plans. Since the dagger that had inflicted the wound had been made of malatrite, it wouldn't heal through the usual means of red gems, and Pyrus had nearly bled out as a result. Only through a constant appliance of a flower known as Dragon's Tear, which only grew from the buried remains of other dragons, had the wound begun to heal, although Pyrus was told he would always carry the scar. Luckily, the whole supply of malatrite was now buried under a literal mountain of rubble, unusable to anyone that meant the dragons harm.
Terrador only sighed and gestured back towards the bleachers on the other side of the room. "Still, there's absolutely no reason to tempt fate. You should know better than to try and join in until Volteer gives the all clear. Maybe I should revoke your request to sit in while the others train."
"It's been what, a whole month already?" Pyrus scowled up at the Earth Guardian. "Look at Spyro! He's nearly died too and he's already been back in training for the past two weeks. I can take it, you know I can."
"Pyrus..." Terrador's eyes bored into Pyrus, his voice taking on an authoritative edge. Realizing that this was not a fight that he could win, Pyrus lowered his gaze, silently forfeiting the argument. Terrador turned, slowly making his way back along the outer wall towards the wooden stands, leaving Pyrus and Sparx to meekly follow behind in his wake.
With a distinctive hum, Sparx darted down so that he was hovering before Pyrus, folding his arms across his diminutive chest as he cleared his throat. "You know, maybe if you didn't bug the Guardians every ten minutes, they might actually let you back in." Pyrus narrowed his eyes at the dragonfly, pausing only long enough to exhale a small puff of black smoke that completely enveloped Sparx. Coughing and retching, Sparx flitted out of the smoke cloud, shooting a reproachful glance back over his shoulder at the red dragon. "Gee, try to give a guy a little advice, and that's what I get for it? Kids these day just have no respect..."
But Pyrus could care less about what Sparx thought about him. Still fuming, Pyrus flopped back down on the bleachers, staring back out into the arena with unfocused eyes. He lay there, watching his friends run back and forth, either struggling to subdue one another or in close pursuit of the elusive orb. Despite the competitive atmosphere, they were having fun, often trading snippets of conversations in between blows. He knew they were all concerned for him, and almost unanimously agreed with the Guardians in respect to his "relaxation", but it still didn't alleviate the isolation he felt from them. If only it could go back to the way it was before.
Lifting his head up and craning his neck around, Pyrus gazed back at his tail, the appendage still swaddled in layers of white bandages. Although it was the chest wound that nearly killed him, it was the tail that was the source of all his problems. The entire back half of it, including his once signature trident tail blade, were gone. Buried somewhere deep inside the Mountain of Malefor. On the surface, it seemed a relatively minor issue, one that only deprived Pyrus of a way to stab opponents in combat. That is, if a dragon's tail wasn't so critical to balancing out the rest of the body. It had taken Pyrus a few days to remaster walking with the new weight distribution, but flying was another matter all together.
After one particularly ill advised experiment involving one of the Dragon Temple's many towers, Pyrus had discovered that he could still somewhat control himself in the air. In other words, he could still slow a descent by enough so that his worst injuries would only be bumps and scrapes upon landing. But remaining steady enough to hover, let alone gain altitude was a struggle that left Pyrus all but grounded. And of course, there was practically no way he could perform any of the flips, rolls and spins that he had spent so many hours perfecting. Without being able to do any of the more complex maneuvers, Pyrus was having a hard time justifying spending the effort to master the basic moves he was reduced to.
A great cheer went up as Zero made a desperate interception and managed to work his way back across the training hall and finally made a goal. Sitting up, Pyrus forced a smile on his face as Connan paraded around in a victory lap, holding the scratched and worn ball aloft for all to see. On his right, Pyrus saw Terrador look up briefly from a set of scrolls to give an approving nod to the young dragons before returning to his work. As the dragons reset for another round, Pyrus spared a glance over towards the Earth Guardian. Usually, which ever Guardian volunteered to supervise training paid attention to them the whole time, often chiming in with tips or suggestions for bettering their abilities. But ever since they got back from lunch, Terrador had been engrossed in the reports handed to him by one of the city guards. If Pyrus still hadn't been sore over his exclusion from training, he might of inquired further. But he was unlikely to get very far in any case, he wasn't really considered one of the Guardian's confidants. It was probably boring anyways.
Much later, and after everyone else had been thoroughly covered in numerous small injuries, Terrador finally closed down the day's training. Final score: Girls 4, Boys 5. After receiving their fair share of red and green restorative gems, the dragons headed out into the temple, the white marble corridors clicking against their claws as they headed towards the dining hall. Pyrus trailed behind the others, smiling and nodding along as they relived the highlights from that afternoon's session. Spyro and Cynder lead the group, both of them constantly turning their heads back to join in the conversation, although this sometimes lead to difficulties considering how close to each other they were walking. Close behind were Electra and Zero, neither dragon contributing much apart from a correction of any details the others missed. Just ahead of Pyrus were Gaia and Connan, and while they were the most talkative, they also seemed to be in the middle of a heated argument. Something about Connan promising Gaia his dessert if Pyrus was reading into it correctly. And of course, Spyro's brother Sparx still hung over the group, the dragonfly poking fun at everybody and trading jabs with Connan.
It wasn't exactly a stretch to see why Pyrus had felt more and more out of the loop lately. Of course the others still made every effort to hang out with him, especially considering that his injuries were effectively trapping him at the temple, but that wasn't it. Spyro and Cynder together made one of the best matched couples, or worst if you asked some of the more bitter dragonesses down in the city. Although still somewhat shy with showing their affections, everyone could plainly see the love that they held for one another. Gaia and Connan had been dating the past few weeks as well, although you would be hard pressed to see much difference from the friendship that they had beforehand apart from a preference to spend more evenings in privacy. And Electra and Zero had even managed to form a sturdy friendship, and it wasn't uncommon for both of them to leave the city for extended periods of time on days off or in the twilight hours. Seeing Spyro and Cynder so close to each other, enjoying their mutual company, it always caused Pyrus to draw the same conclusion. It wasn't that he regretted what he had had to sacrifice to stop Drakken, it was just that he wished there had been another way.
Of course, Pyrus wasn't jealous in the slightest at seeing all the couples, not at all. He was happy for them, and it wasn't threatening to split the group of friends up anytime soon. As a matter of fact, Pyrus had no reason at all to feel jealous, as he just so happened to have a girlfriend of his own. Or at least, he had thought he did.
Crystal Develia, both one of the most beautiful and one of the most infuriating dragonesses Pyrus had ever had the privilege of encountering. Having met repeatedly by unfortunate circumstance again and again, Pyrus had finally managed to make an impression on her, culminating in him managing to save her life during an ape assault on the temple. A week later, during the gala held at the temple to commemorate the final end to hostilities, they had met up again and for once actually had an enjoyable night together. And that was the last Pyrus had seen of her. Not a single message, visit, or other indication that she remembered he even existed. Just perfect.
Turning right along the corridor, Pyrus gazed outside the rows of tall windows and out across the city. From their perch on a floating island torn from the center of Warfang, the dragon temple was one of the most dominating features of the landscape, and an excellent vantage point over the whole city. Crystal was down there, somewhere, although Pyrus had already tried and failed to make contact himself. Normally, it would have been an extraordinarily simple matter for Pyrus to leap from one of the windows and dive down to Crystal's house, but again, he was grounded. But that hadn't stopped him once the Guardians had finally granted him leave to head down to the city to see if he could find Crystal himself. There were elevators to and from the temple that he still could use, but it meant navigating the city by foot, something that Pyrus was unaccustomed too. After a lot of asking for directions and getting lost, Pyrus had finally managed to find the neighborhood that he knew Crystal's house to reside in. After all that effort, and he had to eventually conceited defeat to a ten-foot gate that separated Crystal's neighborhood from the "commoners." Not that Pyrus had much of a plan for finding a way to sneak past Crystal's parents anyways. That wasn't an encounter he was looking forward to in the least.
"Hey Pyrus, that was some impressive flying back there." Blinking in surprise, Pyrus switched his attention away from the window, noticing for the first time that Gaia and Connan had slowed down to join up with him, each taking up positions on either side of him. The other four had continued on without them, hunger driving them onwards toward where diner awaited.
Realizing that Gaia was still waiting for his response, Pyrus flashed a half smile. "Not really, considering that I wasn't able to do a simple U-turn without plowing face first into the ground."
Connan snickered. "Yeah, that was pretty funny." On his left, Pyrus caught Gaia shooting Connan a pointed look, causing the ice dragon to quickly backtrack. "Er, what I meant to say was that considering your injuries, that was still pretty amazing. It's good to see you back in the air buddy."
"Yeah, cheer up would you." Gaia cut in, lightly punching Pyrus on the shoulder. "Terrador may have been mad at you for jumping in like that, but I think it was a good thing. It showed everybody how far you have come along the road to recovery, and how unfair it is the Guardians keep sending you to the sidelines." Gaia paused, an idea popping into her head. "As a matter a fact, we'll go and talk to them tomorrow. Probably won't get you back into training, but I might talk them down to let you get some flying practice. How's that sound?"
Pyrus sucked in a deep breath, his nostrils flaring wide as he suppressed the fresh wave of envy that welled up inside of him. Forcing himself to smile yet again, Pyrus gave a curt nod to the earth dragoness. "That sounds great Gaia. Even if it's just flying, I would love to be doing something other than lounging around watching you guys tear at each other."
"There's the Pyrus I know." Connan declared, draping a foreleg around Pyrus dramatically. "We'll have you back up in tip-top shape before you know it."
"Ah, young dragons, hold a moment." As Connan released his hold on Pyrus, the dragons turned around to see an adult electric dragon hurrying towards them, his rich yellow scales coated in an almost imperceptible layer of dust. Volteer slowed to a stop before them, his eyes quickly taking in the identity of the dragon's before him. "Oh, Pyrus, how fortunate. Are you experiencing any pain, discomfort, nausea, dizziness, headaches, indigestion-"
"Nothing more than the usual aches." Pyrus cut the Electric Guardian off before he could list off all seventy or so symptoms Volteer always inquired about when ever Pyrus checked in. Although the Guardian meant well, his rapid fire speech and excessive vocabulary could be exhausting to sit through, especially when Pyrus already knew the answer to the question. Although, maybe Pyrus had been a bit too brief. "Well there is a slight headache, but it's not related to my injuries, I guarantee it. I should be fine without any medication tonight."
"Good, good." Volteer nodded energetically. "That is stupendous news Pyrus, you are making a remarkable resurgence after being brought to the brink of oblivion. Now, have either of you three seen Terrador? He was the one supervising the training today. Or, was it yesterday?" Volteer trailed off, looking suddenly contemplative as he pondered the day's date.
"He was at training with us." Gaia frowned, trying to recount the past ten minutes in her mind's eye. "But he left before we did. And he didn't take the door that leads directly back to Guardian's quarters."
"Oh how inopportune, unbecoming and lamentable. In that case I am most certainly late, and this was so crucial that all of us were there. I thought those feckless reports said half past six, not six on the dot. You three run along to dinner now, I must be off." Volteer called over his shoulder, hurrying down the corridor and vanishing around the corner with a flick of his tail, leaving the three young dragons standing in the otherwise empty corridor.
"Ok, have fun." Connan called after the Electric Guardian, his words echoing down the temple halls.
Gaia scratched her chin, obviously just as perplexed as Pyrus over Volteer's rapid appearance and departure. "What do you guys think that was about?"
"Well, let's stop wondering and find out." Gaia and Connan turned, both of them staring at Pyrus with an incredulous expression. Pyrus shrugged in response. "I don't know about you guys, but I need something to brighten up this day. And besides, it was more of a suggestion to go to dinner rather than an order."
Connan hesitated, weighing his curiosity against his appetite. After a sidelong glance at Gaia, he sighed and nodded. "Sure, why not? But mark my words, if this turns out to be some boring old diplomatic meeting, I am leaving both of you behind, there's no way I'm missing the roast pig they're serving tonight."
Less than a minute later, the trio of dragons were pushing there way outside into the courtyard. Enclosed by two stories of temple on three sides and a sturdy marble wall on the forth, the courtyard had always served as the main entrance to the temple. Each of the four corners were decorated with a freshly transplanted maple tree, while thin blades of grass vainly tried to take hold in the central yard, all in a vain attempt to disguise the destruction that had torn through here on two separate occasions. The first being a mercifully bloodless explosion of convexity, the second soaking the soil with pools of blood. Pyrus shivered as a cool wind gusted through the courtyard, the sun having already dipped down below the roof of the enclosing temple. Winter was coming, and according to all indications, it was going to be a cold one.
The courtyard was by no means empty, as several adult dragon stood near the gate in the far wall. Not wanting to be in the way, but still curious as to what was going on, Pyrus quietly shuffled over to sit at the base of one of the maple trees, where he was joined by Gaia and Connan. Having successfully situated themselves out of the way of the proceedings, the young dragons quickly focused on what was going on. Standing with their backs to them were all three Guardians, Volteer having apparently managed to make it just in time. Just inside the gate were two Warfang dragon guards, each decked out in the gleaming gold armor of the city. The guards were in the middle of speaking with the Guardians, obviously conveying some information of great importance. While Pyrus was curious as to what was being said, he was not about to risk earning the Guardian's wrath.
There was a light tap on Pyrus' shoulder, startling him out of his revelry. It was Connan, silently pointed across the courtyard to another maple tree. There, sitting patiently under the tree's wide branches was Zero, the white dragon watching the proceedings with an intense stare. Upon noticing Connan's enthusiastic waving, Zero stood, striding across the courtyard to join them under their tree. As Zero sat back down a few feet away from the group, Pyrus dragged his gaze from the Guardians long enough to watch Zero out of the corner of his eyes. "Hey, what are you doing here anyways? Shouldn't you be at dinner with the others?"
Zero shrugged. "Cyril came to the dining hall looking for Volteer. I was curious." Pyrus grunted and switched his attention back to the group of dragons before them. While Zero was more likely to express something resembling emotion these days, all too often he reverted to his usual ways of giving only the barest minimum to get the job done.
"Shhh, something's happening." Gaia announced, waving a paw in Pyrus and Zero's general direction. Sure enough, the adults seemed to be wrapping up their meeting, with Terrador making a show of emphasizing his final few points with a raised fist. The Warfang guards bowed their head and turned to leave, the sound of their clinking armor carrying across the still courtyard. But as they left, Pyrus realized that there had been a sixth member to the meeting. It was a young dragon, previously obscured by the Warfang guards and bundled in an oversized blanket that obscured most of their form. With the guards gone, the Guardian's themselves relaxed, Volteer gently bending down to say something to the bundled figure. A meek nod was the only answer that Volteer received, but it was all that he apparently needed, as he patted the young dragon on the back a few times before turning and making his way back towards the temple, the blanket and the other Guardians close behind.
Standing up suddenly, Gaia left the shade of the maple tree, making a beeline right for the cloaked figure. "Hey! How are you-" Noticing her, Terrador held up a paw and gave a stern shake of the head. "...doing." Gaia finished, coming to a halt as the rest of her words died in her throat. The bundled dragon didn't turn to acknowledge her, instead doggedly following Volteer onward into the temple, a dark scaled tail dragging in the grass behind them.
The door snapped closed behind the mystery dragon as Pyrus, Connan and Zero joined Gaia while Terrador and Cyril looked on. Finding her voice, Gaia looked back up to the Guardians. "Who...who was that?"
Cyril sighed loudly, shaking his head wearily. "A young wind dragoness by the name of Vera. She will be staying with us for the foreseeable future. The poor dear just lost her entire family. She'd be dead if a patrol of cheetahs hadn't found her and brought her to the city. Terrible business, just terrible."
"Oh." Gaia's shoulders visibly drooped as she stared at the door Vera had gone through. "I'm so sorry, I... I had no idea."
"It's alright." Terrador said, smiling down at the earth dragoness. "I'm sure you'll meet her soon enough. Just do us a favor and wait until she's ready to come out on her own." Gaia nodded obediently, still fixated on the closed temple door.
"Hold on a minute." Connan cleared his throat, pointing to the two Guardians. "Justlost her family? I thought the war was all over, as in it was suppose to be calm and peaceful. What gives?"
Terrador's eyes met Cyril's for a split second, giving just a slight hesitation before answering. "It's grublins, I'm afraid." Cyril stated, calmly replying to Connan's inquiry. "It appears that there's at least one band in the south that hasn't been rooted up yet. But don't worry, we've already made preparations to send a Warfang battalion to put them down."
"Well if they need any help," Gaia turned back to the Guardian's, eyes suddenly ablaze with fury. "I'd be for than happy to tear a few grublin throats out."
Terrador let out a short, humorless laugh. "I'll be sure to keep that in mind. Now, run along to dinner, and be sure to welcome Vera when she feels up to joining us. I expect to see you all again bright and early tomorrow morning." Giving one last nod to the young dragons, Terrador and Cyril turned and headed back into the temple, the door slamming shut behind them.
"That's just so tragic to lose your family now of all times. Come on you guys, nothing more to see out here." Gaia rustled her wings and started the slow trudge back to the door closest to the dinning hall, Connan jogging over to comfort her.
Pyrus was about to follow when Zero spoke up. "You noticed it too." Perplexed, Pyrus turned to face Zero, the white dragon's piercing blue eyes staring at him unflinchingly.
Pyrus nodded, biting the inside of his cheek apprehensively. "Yeah, they hesitated before telling us about the grublins. There's something they left out, isn't there?" Zero nodded glumly, stroking his chin with a one forepaw. Pyrus snorted, his talons involuntarily digging into the loose soil beneath him. "What's the matter, huh? Don't they trust us?"
"Trust likely has nothing to with it. Think." Zero interjected, placing his paw back down on the ground. "We both know how dramatic it is to lose a family like that. It's not the Guardian's story to tell, it's Vera's. I personally would take great offense to one of you going down to the city to talk about my past."
Pyrus rubbed his snout, squeezing his eyes shut as he considered Zero's words. "You're right, I guess I'm just a bit wound up today." Before Pyrus' injuries, he and Zero had held a long standing rivalry. It seemed that they were evenly matched in every single sparing match, and Zero's lack of forthcoming about his past or motivations had been a sure way to earn Pyrus' mistrust. Although Pyrus was prepared to trust Zero now, it was clear that they would never be the best of friends. And that was perfectly fine by Pyrus.
"There is another possibility." Zero began, choosing his words carefully. If there was one thing Zero could do better than anyone else, it was dissecting a situation to find the most logical course of action. "I don't know about you, but I have my doubts that a band of grublins large enough to overwhelm an entire family of dragons and yet leave a child completely unharmed. Assuming that such a force has been smart enough to avoid contact completely from Malefor's downfall to now, which I heavily doubt."
"Meaning?" Pyrus tapped his claws impatiently, waiting for Zero to hurry up and get to the point.
"Meaning that this was not the work of grublins." Zero finished. "and if that's the case, I suspect it will only be a matter of time before we're all involved as well."
Pyrus' brow furrowed as he considered Zero's words. "So you're saying this is like another rouge ape army? And if so, then why wouldn't the Guardian's tell us?"
"Perhaps they merely wish to give us a few more worry free days before we head out to fight and kill yet again." Zero mused. "Or maybe they simply wished to avoid discussing such plans in your presence, since you will not be able to accompany us."
Pyrus scowled. "You know, right up until that last comment, I was glad that you were taking the time to explain this to the cripple."
Another breeze whispered through the courtyard, exasperating the chilly silence that settled over the two dragons. After a moment, Zero inclined his head towards Pyrus. "I apologize, it was not my intent to offend you. And you should not refer to yourself as such, I am sure you are just as competent on the ground as always."
"Are you two still out here?" The door to the courtyard creaked open, and Connan's annoyed head popped out to stare reproachfully at the dragons. "Get a move on, the food's getting cold."
"We certainly won't want that, now would we?" Zero muttered as he turned towards the door. Pyrus said nothing, taking the opportunity to gaze up the wide open sky. Among the clouds streaks with splashes of orange and yellow from the steadily sinking sun, a small formation of birds glided overhead. A black V pointing due south as they migrated away for the winter. Pyrus watched them until they slid from sight behind the temple wall. Turning away, Pyrus walked back into the temple.
