Cynder had woken up already, albeit late in the morning, and enough of her strength had returned that she had gotten out of bed. No one knew she was awake yet, so she figured she would explore the lodge. As she walked past the one room with an unlocked door, she had figured that it was Spyro's room. When she entered, a familiar smell filled her snout. It was a heavy, musky odor, which seemed to put her in a daze. This was definitely Spyro's room. She figured he must have already set out into the rest of the lodge, so she resolved to find him and find out what had happened.

As she walked down one of the many vast hallways of the lodge, she heard familiar voices. Cyril, Volteer, Terrador, Hunter, and Sparx were meeting in the same room they met in yesterday. She pressed up against the door of the room, curious as to what they might be saying.

"…still have no idea where Spyro is, do we?" she heard Cyril say.

"No, I'm afraid not. The Moles have set out sentries, but we don't expect them to find anything." Terrador said.

"My people have been searching as well, and they know that he's certainly not in Warfang." Hunter said. "And we don't know which direction he flew in, so he could be anywhere."

"Well, he was quite tired when he ran out." Cyril said. "He couldn't have gone too far."

Cynder's eyes filled up with tears once more. Spyro had gone missing? Not only had he ran away from her, but he had ran away from everyone else? There had to be something very wrong with him. She tried to stop from sobbing, but the fact that her one love was missing and could not be found was too much to hold back. She heard the room fall silent as they could hear her crying. One of them opened the door to reveal the crying Cynder to the rest of them.

"Cynder! You're awake!" Hunter exclaimed.

"Er…I take it you heard what we were saying, no?" Cyril asked. She nodded, still sobbing.

"There, there, Cynder." Volteer attempted to comfort the sobbing dragoness, laying a forepaw on her back. "We miss Spyro too, and we're doing everything in our power to find him."

"I think I should go find him myself." Hunter said. "The Moles are getting nowhere fast, and the other Avalarians aren't doing much better." The crying dragoness wiped away a tear, and said,

"No, Hunter. I'll go look for him. After all, it's my fault he left…I think."

"Well, technically, yes, it was…" Cyril muttered, before he was silenced by Terrador.

"No, Cynder. You're in no condition to be flying." he said. He was right; though she could walk fine, her wings were still slightly weary.

"Fine." Cynder sighed. "I'll leave tomorrow."

"And I'm coming with her." Sparx said. Curious faces turned to him. "What, a guy can't team up with an evil she-dragon to go find his buddy?"

"Fine, Sparx, you can go with Cynder, if she permits it." Terrador said.

"Alright, Sparx." Cynder sighed. "So long as you keep your little mouth shut, you can come with me."

High in the sky above the dense forests, Spyro estimated he was he was already halfway to his destination. He was diving between the thick, white clouds, enjoying the feeling of the air beneath his wings. He dipped down low in the sky, his tail tip nearly brushing the tops of trees. He could feel the heat of the sun warming his back scales. He closed his eyes, soaking in the heat.

When he opened his eyes, however, there was no forest below him. He looked back to see that the trees had abruptly ended. The ground below him looked like cooled lava, a rippled, grey surface. He knew where he was now. This was where the Ring of Fire burned only days before. This was where Ignitus had given his life for Spyro and Cynder. He could see that the path of rock went all the way to the top of the jagged remains of Mount Malefor.

During his final battle with Malefor, Spyro had been told things by the Dark Master that confused him. Malefor had said that there were other purple dragons before himself, and that they had all brought about the destruction of their world and the birth of another. But, the Guardians had told him, shortly before he left, that the purple dragon's fate was to rid the world of evil and die in the process. Neither himself nor Malefor had fulfilled either of those prophecies. Evidently, both of these prophecies were false. But what did this mean for Spyro? Did he have some other fate, one greater than he could imagine? Or was there simply no destiny at all? Spyro was deep in thought as he followed the barren path of stone to his destination.

"Hunter!" Chief Prowlus exclaimed, bursting into room where the Guardians, Sparx, Cynder, and Hunter were. "We found dragon tracks in the forest, only a few miles west of here."

"Where do they lead to?" Hunter asked.

"Nowhere. They led a few feet from where they started, down to Crystal Creek, and they stopped right there." Prowlus explained.

"Hmm. He must have flown off." Hunter said. "Tomorrow, I want you to take Sparx and Cynder to where you found the prints. Cynder, Sparx, that's where you'll start."

Cynder felt nervous. She had only made it through places like Malefor's Lair because Spyro was with her. Without him, she would have a difficult time in the forest. She hated to admit it, but she had a fear of being alone. While Sparx would be there, he certainly wouldn't be much help, or much of a companion.

What if, when she found him, he just ran off again? Or what if she didn't find him? What if he was hurt, or worse? What if she got hurt out there? She was worried, for her own wellbeing and for Spyro's. She hoped that the journey would turn out well, but she couldn't shake the feeling that something would go wrong.

I have achieved my benchmark of 100+ reads per day! That might not seem like a lot to some of you, but to a first-time writer, it's pretty good! As of right now, I'd say the story is about halfway done, but expect me to cook up some twists that will change the plot.

Thanks!

--L/M