Alright, as promised, end-of-weekend update. Bit shorter this time, but hey, I can't make 10,000 word chapters all the time! X)
Chapter 3:
The sun had hardly poked over the eastern horizon when Sparx thought he felt something nudge him on his side. Sluggishly he waved a tiny hand and grumbled something inaudible before turning his head away, a loud snore emanating from his open mouth.
"Sparx," came a sudden, grumpy voice.
Dismissing the voice as the remnants of a dream, Sparx didn't stir, but then the voice came again, more forcibly.
"Sparx, wake up!"
"Gah!" Sparx exclaimed, jolting upright, his wide eyes darting this way and that in a panic. "Whawhohuhwassitwhat's going on?"
"Sparx," came the voice again from very nearby, and Sparx turned his head to look over his shoulder. He gave a startled cry when he found himself eye to eye with Hunter, who wore a deeply begrudging expression.
"Hunter!" he gasped, floating into the air from his position on the cheetah's shoulder, where he had spent the night. "You scared me, man! What's the big idea?"
Hunter gave a tired groan and raised himself to a seated position on his cot, rubbing his eyes with the back of one paw.
"Your snoring was beginning to become unbearable," he grumbled, and Sparx couldn't help but smirk in amusement at the feline's sour mood. Clearly, despite his usually calm and collected demeanour, the cheetah was not a morning person.
"Sorry," the dragonfly said sheepishly. "Didn't even realize I snored. Spyro's never complained about it."
"Then the young dragon must be a very sound sleeper, because you could wake half my village with the sound you were making."
"Ouch. And what's got your tail all in a bunch this morning?"
Hunter opened one eye and fixed the golden dragonfly with a glare, and suddenly feeling anxious under his hard gaze Sparx turned his head away and instead pretended to examine the room he found himself in. It wasn't much: four walls made of heavy stone and a floor and ceiling of long wooden planks, with nothing but a cot against one wall under the small open window and a low table sitting adjacent to it. Hunter's traveling cloak and belt were draped over the foot of the cot, while his bow and quiver of arrows were set against the wall leaning against the table. The guardians had provided Hunter with the room to use as temporary quarters for the duration of his stay in the city, and most of the other members of his tribe that had followed Prowlus to the city were likewise bunked in similar rooms of the same building, which seemed to serve as overflow housing for moles or any other visiting creature, with the exception of dragons of course, who had their own more dragon-sized rooms elsewhere in the city. Sparx had been spending the night here with the cheetah for the past few nights after growing too lonely in the room that had been provided near the temple for him and Spyro.
"You're right," Hunter grunted at length. "Forgive me. I just haven't been sleeping well these past few nights."
Sparx was just about to make an indignant comment, asking if that was a crack about his snoring, but Hunter preempted him with an explanation.
"It's all the patrols, I think. It troubles me that they have been turning up nothing."
Sparx frowned, feeling a familiar pang of loneliness and worry rising within his gut. He looked away.
"I guess it's still too soon," he muttered.
"Perhaps," Hunter nodded. "After all, it took three years to locate Spyro last time. But that was during the chaos of war, and with only me searching. I suppose I had been hoping it would be different this time."
Sparx nodded absently, deep in thought. It had been over a week since the last time he had seen his brother, and he was really starting to worry. It was almost torture, not knowing where Spyro was and whether or not he was alright. Much to his own surprise, there were times that he even wondered if Cynder was unharmed. Where could those two be, now, he wondered? A part of him was curious if this was how the guardians had felt when the three of them had disappeared three years before.
"But we mustn't give up so quickly," Hunter declared suddenly, rising to his feet as he stretched out his arms and back. "With the danger passed it should only be a matter of time. After all, if anyone is capable of looking after himself, it's Spyro."
Sparx nodded silently, wanting desperately to believe his feline friend but finding that somewhere inside himself he still held doubts. Trying to chase the troubling thoughts away, Sparx floated over to the small square window and poked his head outside, surveying the city in the early morning light. Already he could see many moles in the streets, meandering slowly and lazily amongst the buildings, clearly not in a rush to be anywhere just yet. It was how things had been after the celebrations had ended, a few days before. Nobody seemed to want to do anything other than enjoy their newfound peace. The city had come to a complete standstill, but nobody seemed to care. Not yet, at least.
"I think I'll head over to the great hall," Hunter said from behind Sparx, and the dragonfly turned around to see that the cheetah had already donned his belt and cloak, though he left his bow and quiver where they lay. "You're welcome to join me if you would like."
Sparx paused indecisively for only a moment before shrugging and nodding.
"Alright. It's not like I have anything else to be doing."
"Indeed," Hunter said, nodding his agreement, then chuckled. "Things certainly have quieted down a lot. I hardly know what to do with myself anymore."
"Ah, don't worry so much about it," Sparx said, waving a hand dismissively. "I never know what to do with myself."
Hunter laughed. "It shows."
"You bet it does," Sparx said proudly. "So, are we going? I don't know about you but I'm starved!"
He could hear the cheetah chuckling quietly to himself as he hovered through the door Hunter held open for him. Then, with his usual soundless steps, Hunter followed him down the narrow hallways. Soon Sparx had passed down the stairs and through the arched main doorway of the building.
"Oh, yeah," he groaned contentedly as he took a long stretch, feeling the rays of the early morning sun warming his body. After the heavy rain they had experienced only a few days ago the sunshine felt truly invigorating. "Now this I can get used to. No psycho dragons chasing me around, no nasty grublins, no crazy apes or bat-thingys. It's heaven!"
"You aren't going to miss the excitement?" Hunter smirked.
"A-nooo," Sparx shook his head firmly. "Buddy, some guys are made for excitement. Spyro seems to be made for excitement, as much as I try to talk him out of it. But not yours truly, okay?"
"I'll take your word for it."
"You do that."
With nothing more said between them, the unusual pair made their way casually through the winding cobblestone streets of the enormous city, headed for Warfang's highest level which housed the temple, the expansive central courtyards and gardens, and of course the great hall. Because of its size, Warfang had many kitchens and dining halls spread out amongst its many levels and sections, but the great hall got its name because it was by far the largest and most used. Sparx had been absolutely dumbstruck the first time he had been inside it. The enormous space had been packed to capacity with thousands of moles along with many cheetahs and dragons, engaging in a magnificent feast in celebration of theirs and Spyro's victory. Thankfully, when Sparx and Hunter arrived that morning, the place was significantly less busy.
Sparx spent a short moment to admire the expansive hall, for even after seeing it many times over the past few days he was still awed by the scale of it. Growing up in the swamp, the largest room he had ever been inside was the dragonfly village's gathering hall, which was little more than a hollowed-out mushroom cap in a large tree, easily big enough to fit all the members of the village but still small by any other standard. But the great hall could have contained the entire village with space to spare. Several long tables were set in rows along the length of the hall, broken only at the hall's centre to allow easier access for the many mole servers who scurried quickly about delivering meals or fetching used dishes. Along either side of each table were alternating sections of either benches or large cushions, with sections of varying size arrayed all about the hall to allow dragons and other creatures to sit in groups with their own kind or mingle amongst each other. However now there were only a few patrons within the hall, mostly of the mole variety with the only exception being the three enormous dragons huddled together at the head of the hall.
"It appears the guardians have beaten us here," Hunter commented.
"As always," Sparx added. "Seriously, do those guys ever sleep?"
Hunter merely shrugged, and the two of them advanced down the centre of the hall toward the dragons, Hunter occasionally having to dodge around a mole server heading the other way between tables. Whenever he was inside the hall, Sparx was glad that he could fly. It made navigating in congested areas such as this so much easier!
"Ah, Hunter!" Cyril called when he noticed the pair approaching. "And young Sparx too, I see."
"A little early for you both to be up, isn't it?" Terrador asked them, turning slightly to look at the two newcomers over his shoulder. "Even for you, Hunter."
"Oh, you know," Sparx said lazily. "Stuff to do, places to be..."
"Indeed," Hunter said with an amused twinkle in his eye. He then looked back over at the guardians again, noting their bright expressions despite the early hour. "And you all seem to be in a good mood this morning."
"Indeed we are!" Volteer piped up cheerfully. "We were just in the process of discussing an entirely unexpected but delightfully heartening development!"
"I'm guessing that means good news?" Sparx said slowly.
"What's happened?" Hunter asked quickly.
"We have received news of a highly encouraging nature," Terrador responded.
Sparx perked up immediately, and beside him he noticed that Hunter also leaned forward expectantly.
"The scouts?" he guessed. "Have they found something?"
Terrador hesitated for just a split second before nodding. "Yes..."
Sparx's entire face lit up with anticipation, and he was just about to let out a joyful exclamation when Terrador quickly held up a large paw, silencing him.
"...and no," he added apologetically, knowing instinctively what Sparx had been thinking. "They have found something, but not to do with Spyro."
"Oh," Sparx said in a hollow tone of voice, his arms and antennae drooping with severe disappointment.
"I'm sorry Sparx," Terrador said gently. "We're trying to find your brother."
"The searches that Prowlus organized haven't found anything either?" Hunter asked.
The guardians shook their heads. Sparx had been surprised when Chief Prowlus had offered to send some of his cheetah warriors out to assist in the searches for Spyro and Cynder, since up to that point he had displayed nothing but animosity toward the two young dragons. However, much like Hunter's own searches around the volcano and those of the dragons that the guardians had sent out from the city, they had turned up nothing yet.
"Then what'd the good news?" Hunter asked a moment later, puzzled.
"Well, as you both have no doubt noticed during these past few days in the city, there are worryingly few dragons living within our city now."
To reinforce his point he gestured with an open paw at the rest of the hall, where besides the guardians the only form of creature present was moles.
"The war has had a heavy toll on our kind, especially here in our largest city," the large earth dragon continued with a sigh. "I don't mean to belittle the efforts and sacrifices of our allies, but it has always been clear that we dragons were the Dark Master's primary target, and as such have bore the brunt of the losses in this war."
"And this is good news?" Sparx asked, beginning to feel depressed by the guardian's hard words.
"We're getting to that," Terrador told him firmly.
"Until recently, we believed that we here in the city were all that remained of our race," Cyril spoke up, taking over for the earth dragon. "After all, Malefor had been focusing the bulk of his attacks here against Warfang for quite some time and all dragons were called upon to muster here in the defence of our last stronghold." His expression suddenly took on a more bitter look. "However, it appears as though not all our brethren heeded the call."
Hunter's eyes widened slightly with surprise. "Really? I find that hard to believe."
"Indeed, I dismissed the claim as utterly ridiculous at first," Cyril huffed frostily. "But as it turns out, there are those among our kind who are somewhat lacking in their sense of duty."
"Now, now, Cyril," Terrador said evenly. "There's no need to be so harsh."
"I beg to differ," the ice dragon snorted. "It is a shameful mark against the honour of our kind!"
"But surely you cannot blame them for placing priority on the defence of their own homes," Volteer protested. "They had a responsibility to protect and defend their own just as we here did."
"Whoa, whoa, hold up!" Sparx cut in forcibly when the rapid conversation became too much for him to follow. His head was almost spinning with questions. "Can someone please tell me what I'm missing here? What are we talking about?"
"There are still dragons outside of Warfang," Hunter replied simply.
"What?" Sparx exclaimed, his eyes bugging out in disbelief. "Really?"
"Indeed," Cyril grunted, still wearing a deeply begrudging expression.
"Our last wave of scouts has been able to re-establish contact with three dragon settlements," Terrador announced, his tone of voice much more cheerful than that of the ice guardian. "And according to their reports, they have escaped the war in surprisingly sound condition."
"So, what, there are more dragon cities out there?" Sparx said, somewhat sceptically. "And why haven't we heard about this before?"
"Because until recently they had secluded themselves entirely from the outside world. According to the scouts, two of these villages have been constructed underground, apparently starting out as refugee shelters and growing from there. The third is a moderately-sized city on the surface and lies tucked away in an isolated corner between the swamp and the sea, far to the east from here, and it is extremely difficult to reach by land. Apparently it simply wasn't worth the effort of conquering, at least while Warfang still stood."
"Oh, well, isn't that nice," Sparx grunted. "And where were they while we were fighting off Malefor's entire army down here?"
"My sentiments exactly," Cyril nodded.
Terrador gave a large sigh. "I do not think we can blame them for wanting to preserve the security of their homes. These cities went unnoticed by Malefor for many years, surviving by secrecy and seclusion alone. They most likely felt that if they revealed themselves to assist us in a battle we had little hope of winning they would be dooming their homes and families to the same fate."
"Unforgivable, I say," Cyril said testily. "A dragon has his honour to consider. We do not simply hide from danger. Not when the future of our race and our world is at stake."
"Sure, but aren't you at least glad that there are more dragons still alive?" Sparx asked in confusion. "I mean, yeah, it would've been really nice to have their help every once in a while, but we're still alive and obviously so are they."
"I couldn't agree more," Volteer nodded brightly. "Whether or not their participation and assistance in those final battles would have made any perceivable difference is no longer of any relevance or importance. This is nothing short of an amazing, miraculous discovery!"
"Yes, yes, Volteer, we're all thrilled," Cyril sighed, rolling his eyes. "And I admit, while I think their sense of honour needs some adjustment, things seem to have turned out for the better."
"So what happens from here?" Hunter asked.
"For the time being we'll continue reopening lines of communication between our four cities, as well as continue searching for other hidden settlements," Terrador replied. "While eventually we hope to be able to bring many of these dragons back here to Warfang, with things still so uncertain out in the world it would be unwise to rush into any hasty courses of action. We need to be absolutely certain all danger has passed before letting our guard down."
"So, basically, nothing," Sparx offered.
Terrador gave a half-smile. "I suppose it can be put that way."
"Okay then," Sparx said, clapping his hands together. "Glad to know we've got a direction. Now, if you'll excuse me, I think my direction is that way." He jerked a thumb over at a large doorway at the back of the hall, thought which a steady stream of mole servers passed in and out. "Hopefully, somewhere in that kitchen is a breakfast with my name on it. Nice talking to ya."
With that, he turned sharply in the air and zipped off for the kitchen, leaving the three guardians and Hunter looking after him shaking their heads in amusement.
"I don't know about the rest of you," Cyril commented, "but I sincerely hope Spyro returns soon, if only to be there to offer some restraint on behalf of that little dragonfly."
"Indeed," Terrador nodded. "Otherwise our newfound peace may be short lived."
*.*.*
The sound of paws thudding against the hard stone roadway was all that could be heard echoing between the low heavy walls of the underground city, pounding out a fast and unsteady rhythm as a young male dragon dashed around sharp corners and down dim alleyways at almost breakneck speeds. To anyone else that might have been in the area the dragon would have appeared to be nothing more than a pale blur as he ran frantically along.
Come on, the dragon thought in growing desperation, glancing this way and that as he ran, his eyes taking in every recess and nook amongst the walls. There has to be a place to hide somewhere around here!
A shadow suddenly appeared around a corner ahead, and the young dragon suppressed a cry of surprise and instead darted blindly around a corner on his right, but almost immediately he slid to a startled halt.
He had run into a dead end. Nothing but smooth stone walls surrounded him on the sides and in front of him. What was worse, the alleyway was too narrow to spread his wings and take off. He was trapped!
He whirled around to face the opening of the alley when he heard soft footsteps approaching from the street, drawing slowly nearer with each passing second. The dragon realized then that he had no chance of escaping the alley without being seen. With nowhere left to go, he backed up until he was pressed hard against the back corner of the alley, trying to get as far into the shadows as possible and silently cursing his far too visible white scales. He cringed as the shadow reappeared just beyond the entrance of the alley, the approaching figure almost at the corner.
In a final act of desperation, the young dragon closed his eyes and focused with all his might, but at that exact same moment he heard a triumphant cry from ahead of him.
"Aha!" came the cry. "I gotcha no—"
The white dragon opened his eyes slowly when the speaker cut themselves short. There, standing in the alley's only exit and blocking the opening, was a young earth dragon. He was slightly larger than the white dragon, with scales of a deep earthy green and a dark brown chest and wings. His forest-green eyes were staring hard and suspiciously into the alley, a mildly puzzled look on his expression.
"Flash?" the earth dragon said hesitantly, taking a slow step forward into the alley.
The pale white dragon, Flash, held his breath nervously and forced himself to remain perfectly still, trying to maintain his hard focus so that his power didn't waver. The earth dragon was staring straight at him, but it seemed as if he was unable to see the smaller dragon in the alley, and as long as Flash had anything to say about it things were going to stay that way. However, to his dismay, the other dragon began stalking slowly forward, his eyes searching the narrow alley intently.
"I know you went down here," the dragon declared firmly. "So you might as well give up and stop hiding."
Still Flash didn't make a sound, his body absolutely still. But he was beginning to realize with a dismayed feeling that it was pointless; the earth dragon wasn't going to leave. He was now halfway down the alley, his gaze locked on the back corner in the sheer walls. He finally stopped just a couple of feet away from the other dragon, who he still seemed unable to see, even though his eyes passed regularly right over the spot where Flash stood. Then Flash noticed the earth dragon frown slightly, and he clenched his forepaws slowly against the ground, a look of deep concentration on his face. Flash felt a sinking sensation in his gut, realizing what the earth dragon was doing. A moment later a small grin formed on the dragon's muzzle, and his gaze locked firmly on the place where Flash stood.
"Knew it," he declared triumphantly. "Got you."
"Hey!" Flash exclaimed indignantly, finally releasing his power. The earth dragon's grin grew wider as the air in front of him seemed to shimmer, then like a ghost materializing out of nothing the younger dragon's creamy-white body gradually became visible once more. "That's cheating, Clay!"
"You're calling me a cheater?" the earth dragon laughed. "You used your power first!"
Flash had no answer to this, and in the end he had to settle for a dark frown that only served to amuse the larger dragon further.
"Claymore!" came a sudden call from outside the alley, and both young dragons looked toward the source just as a dark blue ice dragon of their age appeared around the corner. He was a friend of Claymore's named Kryos. "You got him?"
"Got him," Claymore nodded with his ever-present grin.
"About time!" another voice called out just as a bright red fire dragoness named Raenna appeared behind the ice dragon, followed closely by a slightly younger earth dragoness. "I was getting exhausted!"
"Gotta hand it to you, Flashy," Kryos snickered. "You sure know how to run."
"And cheat, of course," the earth dragoness, whose name was Gemma, giggled.
Flash scowled at the others. "It's such a stupid rule," he said defensively. "I don't get why we can't use our powers."
"Easy for you to say," Kryos snorted. "Not all of us can make ourselves invisible whenever we want." He gestured with his wing at himself and the Raenna. "And our powers don't do us any good at all."
"Okay, okay," Claymore chuckled, spreading his wings out to catch everyone's attention. "Doesn't matter anyway. The round's over."
"So what now?" the Raenna asked. "Is Flash it?"
"We're going again?" Kryos said incredulously. "We've been playing this game for hours!"
"Well what else are we going to do?" the Gemma retorted. "The adults are all still busy at that stupid 'village summons' thing. And they said not to go anywhere until they're done."
"Oh, fine," the ice dragon grumbled. "I can't believe they won't let us outside, though. I mean, one outsider shows up and all of a sudden they seal us all inside?"
The word outsider seemed to have an immediate effect on the other dragons. They all exchanged uneasy glances, a tense silence falling over them. It was no secret that, for the dragons of the village, outsiders were viewed warily to say the least ever since they had been forced underground years ago to escape the war.
"Let's just not talk about it," Raenna said finally, shifting her forepaws uncomfortably. "So are we doing another round?"
"Flash?" Claymore said, turning toward the white dragon.
Flash heaved a sigh and looked away, conflicted. He knew, just as the others did, that until the village's elders said otherwise there was nothing else they could do, but he had been growing tired of the game for some time now, and the prospect of being the first seeker in this round didn't appeal to him in the slightest.
"I don't think so," he said at length.
"What?" Gemma exclaimed. "Oh, come on. Why not?"
"Because I'm getting sick of this game," Flash shot back. "I mean, it's just the same thing over and over again. It's boring."
"You sure it's not just because you're mad about not being able to use powers?" Kryos teased.
"A bit," Flash replied, scowling at the smug blue dragon.
"Come on, don't be a sore sport," Raenna groaned. "You won this round, so why make a big deal out of this?"
"Because I think it's a stupid rule! What's the point of having powers if we never use them?"
"What do you think we do during training?" Kryos snorted.
"That's only once a week."
"At least they let us train at all after you almost brought the whole place down two weeks ago."
"What?" Flash said, jerking up in surprise.
"You know what," Gemma smirked. "Almost taking out that support column with your light beam."
"That was an accident," Flash said defensively.
"And you wonder why they don't let us train more often," Kryos said, just barely loud enough for Flash to hear. The white dragon's scowl deepened.
"So are we playing again or not?" Raenna cut in, sounding exasperated.
"No!" Flash snapped.
"Typical," Kryos grunted, rolling his eyes and shaking his head. He turned his gaze on Raenna and Gemma. "Come on, let's go find something else to do. See you, Claymore."
The earth dragon said nothing, merely lifted a wing in farewell as his friends disappeared around the corner of the alley. For just a moment Flash felt a pang of guilt when he saw the other dragon's expression, but he still felt too bitter toward the other young dragons for it to last.
"So what are we going to do now?" he spoke up a moment later.
Claymore gave a small shrug. "Whatever, I guess. We might as well head back to the village centre. Maybe the adults are almost done."
Flash gave a nod of agreement before following the other dragon out of the alley. While Claymore's three friends had turned right at the road, Claymore and Flash instead turned left, heading deeper into the village. For some time they walked in silence, the streets appearing strangely deserted around them. Then, finally, a couple of minutes later Claymore spoke up in a tired tone of voice.
"Why do you always do that?" he said.
"Do what?" Flash asked him, glancing up at him with his brow arched in confusion.
"You know what," Claymore sighed. "Get so defensive."
The scowl returned momentarily to Flash's expression.
"Why do you even have to ask?" he grumbled. "You see the way they talk to me."
"No, actually, I don't," Claymore retorted, though his tone was still patient. "I mean, sure, they tease you, but it's not just you. That's just the way they are. Come on, you've seen the jokes they've pulled on me before."
"That's different," Flash protested. "That's all just for fun. But it's not the same with me. They treat me like I'm..." he trailed off, drawing to a slow halt in the street, causing the larger earth dragon to look back at him with a puzzled expression. "...different."
He looked down at himself when he said the word, feeling slightly bitter but unable to feel angry about it. After all, it was true.
He had only truly begun to notice it a few years ago, the way that dragons seemed to look at him differently than all the others. Within the village it was mostly earth dragons that lived there, with a few fire and ice dragons and very few electricity dragons. But within the dominant palette of greens and browns his creamy-white scales stood out glaringly against all else. Add to that his chest scales and wings, which would shift colours depending on the current lighting, and he looked even stranger compared to the rest. They weren't overly bright, but the way they would shift almost spontaneously from shades of dull red to deep blues and pale greens often made him feel like some kind of oddity, sometimes even a freak.
Claymore let out a low sigh when he noticed the younger dragon's expression and turned around to face him.
"Listen, Flash, I get it," he said gently. "I know it's not easy, being the only one around here with light for an element. But that's no reason to let people get to you the way you do. That just makes them think you're abrasive and stubborn, which I know you're not."
Flash was surprised by the sudden tenderness in the other dragon's voice, but then he let out a sigh and looked away, all his anger and bitterness vanishing.
"Yeah, I know," he said. "I just don't see why you always make me come along when your friends want to hang out with you, that's all. I feel like it'd be easier if I could just be left alone."
"Oh, come on, you don't think I'm going to let my baby brother mope around on his own all day, do you?" Claymore laughed.
Flash looked up and immediately frowned indignantly. "I'm not a baby!"
But his retort only caused the earth dragon to laugh again. "You'll always be the baby of this family, Flash ol' buddy."
"Oh yeah?" Flash demanded challengingly. "I'll show you!"
Claymore's eyes widened when Flash suddenly disappeared from sight ahead of him. The sound of the younger dragon's paws smacking against the stone roadway was the only warning he got before Flash tackled him in the side, knocking him over.
"Aha!" Flash exclaimed triumphantly, grinning broadly as he allowed the light around his body to resume its natural path, thereby making himself visible again. "Gotcha!"
"I don't think so!" Claymore laughed, and Flash let out a cry of surprise as his older brother suddenly wrapped one foreleg around his neck in a headlock and pulled him down onto the ground.
"Ow!" Flash exclaimed, struggling with all his strength but laughing the whole time. "Claymore, no fair! You're bigger!"
"You got that right, little brother!" the earth dragon declared proudly. "And you better not forget it!"
The two young dragons both laughed as they wrestled in the middle of the roadway, Flash fighting as hard as he possibly could to get an upper hand on his stronger brother but soon realizing the futility of it; his brother had him thoroughly pinned under his weight in only a few moments, and once an earth dragon got settled in position there was nothing that could move him.
"Ow, ow, okay, you win," Flash gasped as Claymore stood over him, pinning one foreleg behind his back while pushing the side of his head into the dirt. "I give up! Let me go, Clay."
"Oh, alright," Claymore relented with an exaggerated sigh. "I suppose if I have to..."
He pulled his paws away and Flash scrambled to his feet, brushing dirt off his chest and face. He frowned when he noticed just how much his white scales showed the dirt while it was hardly noticeable on his brother's far more natural colouring.
"You're such a jerk brother," Flash grumbled, though he was still grinning.
"You know it," Claymore replied evenly. Then he motioned with his head toward the centre of the village. "Come on, we're almost there. If we're lucky, maybe the elders are ready to let us outside again."
"I doubt it," Flash grunted, but nonetheless he followed right behind his brother as Claymore set off down the streets once more.
It wasn't too much longer before they started to notice signs of life around them. Once or twice they crossed paths with a dragon wandering the streets, apparently having become bored of the village gathering in the central courtyard and leaving on their own. However, as the two young dragons approached the centre of the village things changed drastically. Once the central courtyard came into view, the largest open space in the underground city, they found that it was packed absolutely to capacity with adult dragons. Their attention was all fixed on a raised stone pedestal that served as a platform for the village elders whenever they had an announcement to make to the village. However, it seemed now as if what had started as an announcement had turned into a full-on debate.
"I still say we can't trust them!" a loud voice called out from somewhere out of sight farther into the courtyard. "We have absolutely no proof that we can believe what they're telling us!"
"But what reason would a dragon have for lying about this?" another voice answered, female this time. "I'm no more eager than anyone to abandon the safety of this city, but there's no reason we can't send out messengers or something to test these claims."
"And what happens when they get out there and find a war still raging at full strength?" another doubtful voice retorted.
"Why would a messenger from Warfang come here to tell us there was no war any more if there still was?" the same female voice said challengingly.
"Warfang?" Flash muttered in surprise, turning to look up at his brother. It was the first time he had heard the great dragon city's name mentioned in a long time. Claymore merely shrugged.
"Now everyone, please, settle," a loud and commanding voice rang out suddenly, and when he craned his neck up Flash could see that it had come from the pedestal at the head of the courtyard, upon which a large earth dragon was standing: the village's chief elder. "Now, as of this moment the elders and I are of the opinion that there is no need for hasty reactions to this news. Until proof can be established that the war is indeed over we shall remain here, safe and hidden."
A general murmur of agreement rose from the crowd of dragons, and Flash could see many of them exchanging glances and approving nods.
No surprise, he snorted inwardly. The dragons of the village had never been of a risk-taking type. After years of hiding from the war, it was obvious that they would rather remain sequestered underground than explore the greater outside world.
"And what about the purple dragon?" a voice called out suddenly.
All suddenly went silent within the courtyard, and Flash had likewise gone still. His eyes had widened considerably with surprise, and when he looked up at Claymore he could see that his brother's reaction was similar. Noticing his younger brother looking at him, Claymore turned to meet his gaze.
"A purple dragon?" Flash repeated, his voice nothing more than a shocked whisper. "Like the prophecy?"
"I don't know," Claymore replied, shaking his head helplessly.
"Those claims are unsubstantiated," the elder dragon declared a moment later.
That was obviously not the answer the gathered dragons had been expecting, because as soon as the words were past the elder's jaws the courtyard erupted with loud murmuring. It took several tries to get them calmed down enough so that the elder could speak again.
"Please, quiet!" he called forcibly. "Settle!"
"How do you know it's not true?" a dragon in the crowd called out challengingly.
"We don't," the elder responded evenly. "But there is nothing to support the claim."
"But the messenger from Warfang said that a purple dragon arrived at the city almost two weeks ago! He said he defeated the Dark Master!"
"And if that is indeed the case, then it is wonderful news," the elder said. "However, unless this purple dragon decides to show himself here in our village in the foreseeable future, we elders do not feel there is any reason to believe these claims."
More murmuring, but nowhere near as loud as before.
"And how do we know it's even still safe here?" another voice called out. "What about the earthquake?"
All the dragons in the courtyard waited expectantly, and in the pause Flash thought back to just over a week before, when the entire cavern had been rocked by the largest earthquake anyone could remember. At the time he had been certain that the entire cavern was going to come down on top of the village, but only a short while after it started the shaking and lurching had passed, leaving everything undisturbed. However, the event had served to seriously reinforce doubts about the safety of the world around them.
"It has been determined that the cavern is indeed sound," the elder replied in a calm tone. "There is no danger of a collapse, and no foreseeable threat of another such event."
"You're certain?"
The large earth dragon nodded. "We are safe for the time being. Now, unless there are any more questions, I think that we can call this gathering to a close."
He waited for a moment for anyone to speak up, but when no one did the elder gave a sharp nod and turned to descend from the pedestal. Gradually the crowd began to disperse, and Claymore and Flash quickly moved off the road so that they wouldn't be caught up in the flow of large bodies.
"What do you think it all means?" Flash asked his brother in a low tone. "A messenger from Warfang? A purple dragon?"
Once more, Claymore only offered a shrug. "I have no idea, Flash."
He paused for a long moment, glancing toward the southern edge of the village, where in the distance he could just make out the glow of the midday sun streaming through one of the few exits from the cavern in which their village was sheltered, and as he followed his brother's gaze Flash was gripped by a strange curiosity, wondering if it was true and the world outside had indeed changed, the war finally over.
"I have no idea."