Are dragons completely carnivorous? If so, what sorts of things do they eat? Things to think about in this chapter!
"You know..." Spyro began with a heavy exhale, as the evening winds rushed against his face. "I'm not completely sure I can ever forgive you for that one."
Following a few feet behind him like a shadow was a young black dragon, who looked as if she was about to bust a gut in laughter. Every time her purple flight mate glanced back to give her an unamused expression, the female dragon would completely lose it all over again.
"Y-You should have seen your face!" She managed to get out, wiping the wetness from her eyes.
"I'll be as old as the Elders by the time he forgets about that one." Spyro mused with deadpan. "Thanks for that, Cynder."
"Aww, I love you too, Spyro." Cynder said in a playful, mocking tone.
Spyro glanced back at the black dragoness once more. She hadn't stopped smiling since they left, and now she was laughing to the point of tears for the first time.
The very first night they had returned, she had sought to curl up next to him to sleep, and if someone had told Spyro that Cynder would ever assault him with tickling at any point prior to Malefor's defeat, the purple dragon would have laughed in their face.
There was no denying it, Spyro thought to himself. She was changing, right in front of him. Slowly opening up, slowly expressing more and more emotion. She was more playful, less cynical, more talkative. She was beginning to accept the idea that her entire life was ahead of her, accepting the fact that she had overcome all the forces that wished her to do evil.
For the first time, her entire life was her own. At this thought Spyro couldn't help but wear a sentimental smile.
"Hey! Spyro!" Came Cynder's voice, piercing through his thoughts like a jagged spike.
"W-what? Oh, sorry, Cynder!" The male dragon said with a chuckle. "Guess I'm just spacing out a bit."
"Well, don't," the black dragon said flatly. "We can't both be basket cases - who's going to watch where we're going?"
"An excellent point." Spyro said with a more genuine laugh this time.
"Hey, by the way, do you mind if we find something to eat before we head back to the temple?" Cynder asked suddenly. "I'm absolutely starving."
Spyro blinked. He hadn't even thought about food all day. True, his stomach had grumbled softly once or twice within the past couple hours, but he had been far too preoccupied with more important things - like comforting female dragons, talking to dragon elders and fleeing from Sparx upon his secret getting out.
"You know, that's a good idea." Spyro agreed, his purple eyes now starting to scan the far-away ground below. "We should eat now while there's still some light. I don't want to try looking for food when it's already too dark to see."
"What do you recommend?" The dragoness asked.
"There's a river not far from the temple." The purple dragon remembered. "Why don't we go fishing together?"
"Oh, Spyro." Cynder said quietly. "You know, that would have probably sounded a whole lot cuter and endearing, if I actually knew how to fish."
"Wait, you've never fished before?" Spyro asked, taken aback. "What have you been eating up till now?"
"Dunno. Thinking long-term, probably the souls of dragons and other innocent creatures." Cynder said with deadpan. "As for short-term, I survived on berries and things I found in the woods after you brought me back from Convexity, and after I ran away. Then we got locked in crystal for a few years, and I haven't eaten a whole lot since."
Spyro was floored.
"Berries?" He repeated in disbelief. "And, what do you mean you haven't eaten since? Cynder, we've been back for a few days already, not to mention how long it was since we came out of that crystal. You need to eat something. You should have said something before now - I thought you were just grabbing things late at night."
"Yeah, those berries weren't very good." The black dragon said with distaste, utterly swerving around the massive scolding she was getting.
"Come on, I'm teaching you how to fish." Spyro said with finality.
"You're the expert." Cynder submitted. "Lead the way."
The two continued on in silence, making their way back to the quiet serenity of the stone Dragon Temple. From there, Spyro made a turn, and the two headed east towards the winding river that bordered the Dragon Temple's lands. Once the mighty river was in full view, Spyro signaled to drop down in altitude considerably, until the two of them soared down the river, just over the tree line.
"We're looking for a dip in the river - sorta like a mini waterfall where the fish can be more easily seen." The male dragon explained.
"So I see." Cynder replied.
"There!" Spyro called, finding a noticeable dip that spanned the entire width of the river. "Here, follow me."
Taking a mid-air swerve, the purple dragon flew downwards, but, to Cynder's surprise, not to the river's edge. Instead, the male dragon descended until the tip of his claws were just above the rushing water. He then peered around through the crystal clear stream, as if looking for something.
"...What are you doing?" Cynder inquired, still hovering several feet above his head.
"I'm looking for a sturdy place to stand." He explained. "Best way to catch fish is to get right into the river, and nab them from a solid standing ground. Which is basically any rock, or group of rocks that isn't slippery with moss. If you slip, you don't just end up hurting yourself, you scare away any nearby fish. It's important to find a good spot, then stand still until you're ready to strike."
Cynder looked genuinely impressed. She watched Spyro poke his front claw into different areas of the river to touch certain rocks, hovering around like a bumblebee prodding at different areas of the same flower. Finally, he touched down gently into a spot just a few feet downstream from the dip, and looked up at her expectantly.
"Come on, you're doing this too." Spyro reminded her, snapping her out of her trance.
"Yes, sir." The dragoness replied with a hint of sarcasm, hovering downwards. She began to look through the water, looking for smooth rocks with no signs of moss.
"...Alright, I think I have it." She said, slowly lowering her claws into the water.
"Great job," Spyro praised. "Now let's see if we can't catch some-"
There was a gasp and a sudden splash, and Spyro instinctively drew out his wing as a shield from the assaulting spray of water. When he took another look, the black and red female was standing up from the riverbed, shaking herself off.
"Not a word." She said coolly, as she took off into the air again.
"I'm being a good boy, thank you very much." Spyro pronounced with a chuckle.
For a good few minutes, Cynder learned as she went, testing rocks and stances until she finally found a spot that worked. From there, the two dragons carefully observed their own reflections in the water, watching and patiently waiting for a late dinner to arrive. It didn't take long for Spyro to begin snagging fish with his claws one after the other, to which he carefully placed on an outstretched wing for temporary storage.
Then, there was another sudden splash, and Spyro's free wing twitched instinctively. But this time it was not a fault of slippery rocks.
"Ha!" Cynder let out with pride. She turned around in the water, and held up her tail. On the end was a fish, speared through by her razor-sharp, spear-like appendage. Spyro's eyes were wide, and he simply stared in awe as the sleek dragoness whisked the fish off her tail with a whiplash, and rested it on an outstretched wing of her own.
"...My emotions are very confused right now." Spyro said softly, to which Cynder immediately began to laugh.
"Can't decide whether to ogle in fascination or be terrified?" She surmised, smirking devilishly while cleaning the tip of her tail off in the sparkling water.
"Something like that." He said, a slight blush coming to his cheeks.
"Alright, we've got six now. Most of them yours, but I gotta admit I'm feeling pretty good for my first time fishing." Cynder said with a clear sense of accomplishment.
"Yeah, you did really well for your first time." Spyro agreed, trotting out of the stream and being careful to not spill the fish. Cynder soon followed suit, and the two dragons combined their spoils in a pile on the riverbank. After looking over them to double check their physical health, Spyro sat back on his haunches.
"Since I, uh, didn't really think to bring a pail or anything from the temple, I'll just roast them here for us, and we can head back after we eat." Spyro said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.
To his surprise, Cynder, for once, didn't reply with a sarcastic jab. The black dragon had gingerly laid herself on the grass, patiently waiting for dinner to be finished.
"You know, this is kinda fun." Cynder reflected, looking around at the forest surrounding them, the sun now red and setting into the horizon in the distance.
"Really?" Spyro asked, grabbing fish one by one and placing them on a flat rock on the riverbank, before consuming them in a bright, heated flame.
"Really. Just...being out here and learning things, just doing things with you, just us. It's great." The black dragon explained, laying back and gazing at the darkening sky.
Within a few short moments, Spyro placed the pile of now fully-cooked fish down on the grass, and split the number evenly between them.
"You know...I'm really glad to hear you say that, because I totally agree." The purple dragon said, locking eyes with her. "I'd be happy to teach you everything I know - after that, we can learn things together, if you'd like."
"Yeah, I'd like that." Cynder said quietly. "For now though, let's eat and head back. It's going to start getting colder now, and I have an eggplant-colored bed calling my name."