Hey! I'm back again after disappearing for ages. I hope you show some understanding, as I was gone for personal reasons. However this fanfic will still keep going strong. Also, disclaimer! I forgot to add it, but let's keep it traditional. OCs belong to little ol' me, Spyro belongs to Activision and LoS to Sierra. With that said, enjoy a smaller chapter than the last one.
The egg was cracking, constantly tilting back and forth, as if it were possessed by a ghost.
He grasped it in his paws to halt its movement, it pulsed against the surface of the paws that constricted it. Whatever was inside was acting like a bomb ready to go off.
The cracking and snapping sounds were driving him crazy. The urge to bring his clenched fist down and smash the damn thing to smithereens had him on the edge.
A chunk of the shell protecting the desperate organism inside fell off, nothing came out of the small opening.
The repulsive scene brought him nausea, he averted his gaze from the pitiful egg.
Another chunk was torn off and met the ground with an echoing thud. Still, no attempts of escape were made by the dragon inside.
It had given up, life slowly fading away.
His gaze was averted from the horror that he imagined dwelled inside.
The rest of the scenery wasn't pretty anyway, but it was far better than feeling the waves upon waves of guilt that plagued him, every time he set eyes on the egg.
A volcano spewing ash, smoke, and jets of lava was definitely the star of the show. It looked ready to go off any second. The land surrounding it was in no better shape, stripped of any signs of life, a desolate wasteland dominated by ungodly abominations he hadn't ever seen or heard of before.
Thunder struck the surface of this realm, adding to the chaotic scene, the top of the volcano was surrounded by black puffy clouds.
And yet it all felt so serene.
If only those damn sounds the egg made stopped, it just kept pounding at his eardrums.
The pieces fell apart, it was time for the big reveal, even though whatever was inside kept shrinking itself to smaller and smaller sizes, a futile attempt to avoid contact with the outside.
Heartbeat, faint as a chime from afar, replaced the cracking. The being halted its violent fit and surrendered to the broken needs of this world.
"He deserves to see his beginning, before it all ends."
Mercury got to his knees and hunched over the remnants of the egg to get a clear view of the shrouded by darkness creature.
Time skidded to a halt.
He already felt the taste of vomit on his tongue.
What had made its home inside the egg inarguably resembled the form of a hatchling dragon, but it was far from being called a healthy one.
Instead of the usual reptile with wings, his gaze fell upon a scaleless fleshy figure, veins were scattered all over its abdomen, some sight to stomach. Its little paws were tightly pressed to its body, giving it a fetal appearance. The entirety of the little dragon was burned to a crimson crisp, its tail curving upwards and unmoving. At least that explained the ending of its struggle.
His hand mechanically moved on its own to touch the helpless sorry hatchling, his stomach was burdened by a tight knot. In all honesty, he had no idea, why he felt compelled to help the already long gone dragon.
A bright purple flash nulled his senses and he put a stop to his advance, soon after a strange force pulled him back, he didn't object and let himself go.
And he wasn't one to surrender to anyone's whims.
His eyes snapped open and met the once again unscathed purple shell, deciding not to ignore his unrelenting malaise and dropped on all fours to empty his stomach contents.
All of this in the presence of a truly distressed Ira, who simply struggled to find the words to describe the unnatural phenomenon her young eyes had just witnessed
"A-are you o-o-okay?" It was a simple question with an obvious answer to it.
"Hell fucking no." He put a snarl on his face and shifted his angered glare between her and the two innocently standing eggs.
His breathing was heavy and his arms tottered lightly. All he could do was raise his snout to look past the trees and towards the familiar scenery. The same volcano from his recent hallucination was strikingly similar to this one in shape. The biggest difference was the lack of lava or any other sign that it was active. In fact, a larger part of the base was covered by green patches of forest.
His eyes widened at the sight and he wondered what kind of fucked up vision that was. His worries immediately shifted to the purple egg and he grasped it in his paws, looking for evidence of imminent hatching, a crack, a shake from the inside, anything would it.
Nope, still as a tree stump.
Ira watched his frantic movements, stuck in her shocked state of mind, she raised a claw and opened her mouth wide to say something.
A foreclaw shot to the air that prevented her from uttering a word and she snapped her maw shut. Mercury's voice was gruff and raspy, but forever authoritative "No, shut up! I'm not in a chatty mood now. If you want to be useful, keep your distance from me, until I command you to come back."
That was the wrong choice of words and the result was evident in Ira's hurt facial expression. Throughout their two day journey, since they had met she had learned to appreciate Mercury's calm and collected nature. His skills had turned him into an admiration model for her young inexperienced self, while at the same time he made sure show her a few of his tricks in exchange for her genuine interest.
Sometimes she got carried away by her own childish behavior and he found it hard to understand this attitude. She couldn't recall any time he'd respond to her over-enthusiasm over petty and small stuff.
Yep, he's just shy.
That's what she assumed to quickly disregard the disappointment she felt at her newly acquired friend's disinterest in her antics. In reality, all Mercury cared about was her safety and survival, nothing more, nothing less.
This time it was different though, he showed signs resentment towards her, the way he snapped at her for the first time lead her to the conclusion that she pushed him too far. She figured herself to be the cause of his misery and assumed he'd be better off without her.
Was she becoming a liability?
A normal child wouldn't be bothered by such worries, but she was no normal dragoness raised in a normal society. This was the first time someone showed a speck of attention to her and she clung on to them, instead of repaying the generosity.
Over the course of two days, she would constantly breathe down on the fox's neck, pestering him with minor things and she didn't even once stop to consider her wrongdoing.
"I-i'm s-sorry…"
That was it for Mercury, he hated when his soldiers asked for forgiveness and he didn't think of Ira any differently. "You're sorry? You forced yourself on my back and now you thought of asking for redemption. If you hadn't been a little pain in the ass and waited patiently in the cave, I wouldn't have to lug you across the entire jungle and now the swampland!"
He said it and he'd be damned if it he didn't feel satisfied. Ira took the burst to heart though, her fears finally confirmed.
She was a burden, a worthless sack of scales taking advantage of people. He really would be better off without her puny worthlessness.
So with so much a small sob, she darted of past the trees and ran far away with no particular target in mind. All she wanted was to escape the guilt, she felt for failing another person she cared about. She didn't want to get Mercury killed like her mum and dad.
Of course, Mercury didn't go after her, she strays too far away, before returning to her protector. He knew his words had cut right through her innocence but shrugged his aggressive attitude as necessary. As much as he tried, he couldn't stand her bickering forever and his episode a few moments ago had left him mentally weakened.
Solitude was what he had missed the most and finally, he found it. Now all he had to do was scout the area ahead and wind off. Then he'd get back to dealing with the child, he was harsh, but not cruel. Abandoning her would be a big jerk move on his behalf.
On top of all that he had to put some effort into elaborating on his vision's meaning. It wasn't his first time seeing such things. He didn't remember inhaling any sort of hallucinogenic agents before his mind wandered off into another plane.
It was the egg for sure.
Everything from the beginning was linked to this egg.
He remembered touching it like so many times before and then the horrid scene was triggered.
At first, he was peculiar, now he feared of what would come out of it.
The volcano and the surrounding lands also played their part in his own plane of oblivion. Maybe he was seeing into the future now.
Nah, too far-fetched
And then it was the voice, it sounded deep and ancient. He couldn't pinpoint any known to him an individual who had ever cited those words.
After pondering for a while. his eye aimed at the inactive volcano in the distance, he realized he also had a job to finish.
He turned on the map and studied the environment, which had significantly changed. They were in the heart of these uncharted lands at this point. The thick jungle was starting to shift towards a swamp with dark muddy waters and huge mushrooms covering its surface.
The severe change in the scenery wasn't welcome though. The air humidity was still very high and everything felt and looked damp and slimy. If he hadn't already trekked through some of the most depressive hope-sucking battlefields this world had ever seen, this place would have surely done the job of eating away at his sanity.
He was unsure of what to do once he reached the volcano, but he supposed a meetup would be issued there. Patience would be the key
Second thoughts about leaving Ira on her own besieged his conscience, she would definitely get lost if he didn't get back to her. His temper had cooled off, luckily he hadn't burst in an all-out fury. Dealing with all kinds of shit that were thrown his way had provided him with the perk of mental immunity, at some degree.
With a sigh he decided peaceful moments were a rarity for him anyway. He savored his last seconds of lonesome respite, before setting off after her tracks. Showing her that he felt repentance by going after her was his last wish, but her well-being was more of a bigger priority.
Eggs secured against his back, he hastily walked off towards the direction she took. He could already identify the pawprints in the mud. His keen eyes picked up the trail and it wasn't long, before he was on a steady course to his companion. He also found out that by having her in close proximity for such an extensive time-period, picking up her scent wasn't an issue.
Half an hour later the worry started getting to him. The kid was undoubtedly a fast runner, but what bothered him was the change of pattern in the pawprints, it was messier and more random, indicating she was panicked. A few broken twigs and stomped mushrooms stood along the way.
That meant only one thing and he hated to admit to it being true.
He only had to go a little further for his fears to be brought to life.
A couple more sets of prints appeared in the mud, the footsteps were deep and belonged to military boots.
He broke out into a full sprint to cover as much distance as possible and hoped he hadn't been too late.
That was why he stayed away from any sort of emotional attachments, he made the mistake of succumbing to one and it got him right here.
With another poor soul hanging, between the land of the living and the dead, all because of him.
He paused upon hearing a commotion up ahead, his trained ears could make out Ira's meek whimpering, among gruff male voices with malicious intent. She had only managed to run so far away, before running into serious trouble. Despite the dire situation, relief washed over him caused by the sound of her cries.
It meant that she was still alive and kicking. He intended to keep her that way, after all, he couldn't break his promise.
The only thing keeping him from bursting out of his leafy cover were the multiple voices he identified on the other side. He knew they were many, but not how many, so he couldn't risk going into full view and put both his life and Ira's on the line.
A plan was needed and he had to make it snappy, the element of surprise was his sole ally.
As well as the treetops, once again.
Even now that he could carry the eggs on his back, he opted for leaving them away from potential crossfire. Straining his muscles, he practically scaled the tree in vertical leaps and elegantly turned himself into a small target perched on a branch and covered by the shadowy blanket of vegetation.
Now he had a full view at the scene, it made his blood boil, but he didn't have time to be angry, all he could do was quickly scan the area.
A squad of six cheetahs, clad in light ballistic armor on top of normal clothing was grouping on Ira, who was scared and trying not to break out in tears. These cheetahs were part of the rebellion, which had turned into an unjustifiable slaughter over the years, Peshavar was evidence of the hate the cheetahs presented to anyone not belonging to their primitive tribal organization.
Especially dragons. Mercury didn't know the full story, but he guessed this feud went a long way back in time. Maybe not even these undisciplined savages knew why they hated dragons and outsiders so badly. They were simply part of the flock.
Ira was innocent though, despite being a dragon, she knew nothing and was responsible about nothing, yet she still took the burden of the world's uncaring cruelty.
"Well, well, aren't you a little lost? How you reached this far into our territory is a mystery. How about a little questioning?" The cheetah that was towering over the frightened child spoke in a devilish matter.
"Nah, just shoot her and be done with it, safer that way." This one inquired and cocked his assault rifle at Ira so as to volunteer for the dirty job.
"And miss my opportunity to skewer a dragon alive, you daft pal? Get this on camera for the internet, we're sending a message today."
Ira was petrified, but wouldn't cry this time. She knew these were the same people that took her mother away, she was sure of it and she hated them. Her gnarly expression only made the rebels laugh at her poor attempt at intimidation.
The murderous cheetah dropped his gun and approach the dragoness with his claws extended.
"Come on you pussies! You don't need a gun to go up against a baby, right?"
The other one had his hands on a smartphone he had forcefully "borrowed" from some unlucky civilian. He was actually capturing the vile act on video.
The other cheetah lunged at Ira, so as to grab her by the throat. Instead, he felt pointy teeth sinking at his arm. He howled in pain and tried to shake off the dragoness that was hanging from his bleeding arm.
"Argh! Cunt bit me! Get this thing off me." He ordered and didn't attempt to mask his panic, as he writhed around with Ira not letting go.
Another cheetah discarded his gun and rushed to his overconfident comrade's aid. He grabbed the child by the waist and jerked her violently. He managed to pry her off, without her ever relaxing her stiff grip. This resulted in the teeth ripping through the flesh, as she was pulled back, she also left a few claw marks as an extra bonus.
She felt pride and accomplishment at the damage she had caused. This was the first time she had tasted someone's blood and she thought about vomiting it. Her tasting buds were negatively affected by the iron hue and it made her spit and cough, but she felt right in some way. This was her way of avenging mother and she hoped that she would be seeing this from the Ancestor's place. Her immediate response to being thrown to the ground was an expression dad frequently used when he was extremely agitated and felt his family was being threatened.
"Fuck off, shitstain." It was all she managed to come up with in her short moment of courage, before being hit in the snout with a rifle stock. She fell to the mud and fear settled in her again. She no longer cared about showing off to mother and just shielded her face with two paws.
The bitten cheetah was clenching his arm and screamed at her in fury "You bitch! You fucked up my arm! Turn the motherfucking camera off, you dick!" The guy with the smartphone was capturing his comrade's embarrassing endeavor for the whole unit to see.
"You don't pick a fight with this cheetah, you little shit!" And with that, he delivered a furious kick towards her belly and then pounded her into the mud with his boot. His breathing was frantic, eyes filled with crazed bloodlust. The companion that had helped him stared in fear and backed off a little.
The two remaining cheetahs that hadn't taken part in the action were slyly smiling at the mad ones attempts at regaining his dignity. Suddenly one of them announced uninterested. "I'll go take a piss, hit me up if you start screaming like a bitch again."
He moved behind the vegetation and set his gun down. The screaming and hitting echoed through the swamp. It actually now crossed his mind that this was the most action this place had seen in all their time patrolling this sector. It was ironic that despite their hate for dragons, their most valuable asset was surprisingly, a dragon, but he didn't like to question their leader's politics or said dragon's authority. He knew his place in this war and didn't dare go against orders.
The wind's rustle and a branch snapping above him captured his attention. He raised his head and found absolutely nothing but thick foliage, that limited his line of site. He simply shrugged it off and finished his business.
"Phew, that's a relief."
The lone cheetah lowered his stance to pull up his pants, unbeknownst to him a figure loomed above. The shadow of another person forming on the ground entered his vision.
He let go of his clothing and raised his head again quickly, what he saw made him gasp and he moved towards his gun but tripped and fell.
Being caught with your pants down never took a more literal meaning.
His fall was cut short by a set of rubber paws tightly wrapping around his throat, he was now being suspended a few meters above ground.
He met face to face with his assailant. The fox was hanging upside down and gripping at the branch with crossed legs. Even in that awkward position, he could make out his distinct characteristics and it scared him in all honesty, especially his missing iris and the large scar. He wasn't sure whether he was just a freak of nature or a demon of the forest.
He remembered the rumors, the same ones he dismissed as baloney. They didn't seem so unlikely now.
What was a fox doing in the middle of the jungle anyway? Or a hatchling dragon?
That didn't matter for him though, what mattered was the fact that he was completely at this guys mercy and all the worse, he wasn't wearing anything to cover his bottom half or his shame.
"Are there any other squads around these parts?" His whisper was ominous, he didn't give a damn about him, cutting straight to the point.
"We're in charge of this sector, but don't expect to take down the rest of my team on your own." He tried to sound confident but was too busy getting choked by those paws. He didn't really have that much faith in the group of retards that made up his squad, the very least he could do though was discourage the fucker.
"Leave the worrying part to me." And with that he completely cut off his air supply, rendering him unconscious and let go of his grip, the body fell in the mud and dirty water.
Another scream from Ira.
His heart jumped to his throat, though he kept his cool and sped up his thinking on how to deal with the five remaining rebels.
They had their attention focused on Ira and only two had actually held on to their firearms.
He had the high ground.
And he also had the OA semi-auto, a knife and a forty-round rifle bearing the Takov Manufacturing mark, the latest version of their Predator assault rifle, lighter and more resilient than older models. He had acquired this one from the fallen rebel. Where did they get the funds for such weaponry?
He thought about testing his marksmanship skills on the remaining five, it wasn't a safe option though. One of them was holding Ira right in front of his chest, so that his friend could land clear punches on her abdomen. One wrong jerk by him could spell a tragic end for the poor child.
Still, it would be a huge same for that full clip to go to waste.
"W-why do you hate dragons so much?" She was cracking up and bleeding.
The cheetah gave her a cold glare "Oh sweetheart, you haven't even seen the worst of our hate yet."
He opted to put his injured arm out of commission and get revenge on her with his good one. This time though instead of preparing for another strike, he pulled out his knife.
"I think dragons across the world will get the memo, that we're coming for them. Let's start by taking away the "rulers of the sky" title. Wings are so out of fashion this year."
The cheetah capturing the torture scene was ecstatic at the sight and itched to see the really bloody part.
Ira struggled and wished she had never bailed on her new protector.
"Mercury! HELP ME!"
Clank
Splash
The noise of a metallic object hitting a tree bark and then smaller objects splashing in the swamp waters stood out in the natural environment. It sounded in the opposite way from where their comrade had disappeared to relieve himself.
All the rebels turned towards the source of the sound and scanned the vegetation for anything suspicious.
"What is he still doing out there? Piss doesn't take forever."
"That's not the deal, he went the other way" He pointed behind them to show the direction their disappeared comrade had taken.
"Really? Well, somebody checks it out, it wasn't an animal for sure."
"I got this." One of the armed cheetahs volunteered and headed towards the bushes. The other one had his gun raised in the same direction. The rest didn't seem too fazed by the event to consider picking up their weapons.
The rebel crouched and dipped his paw in the water. He pulled out a large bullet clip.
"Alright! Who doesn't take care of their shit? We don't just throw full mags around guys."
The others seemed confused by the statement, confusion quickly shifted to shock, as a knife flew past them and got embedded on the investigating cheetah's shoulder. He dropped his gun and clutched it, as he let out a yelp. Everyone turned their looks expecting another attack from behind.
Not from the trees though.
Mercury descended from above right behind the rebel holding Ira, he had decided to get her out of harm's way first. He struck him on the nape of the neck to disable him swiftly. Ira was dropped on the spot and scrammed off. Nobody bothered with her at this point.
He used the body to boost his jump and landed on top of the armed cheetah. He really didn't expect a second attack from above and raised his gun in relative panic. Mercury wrapped his legs around his head and stopped the gun barrel with a paw. This prompted the scared cheetah to start shooting full auto. The other two ducked to avoid the random spray. The expert fox could practically sense his heartbeat going wild and kept his own cool.
He pulled and directed his weight down, dragging the spray n' pray shooter along, as his back touched the solid ground he rolled backward and in a split-second decision, he sent a kick towards the one with the knife. His flexibility allowed him to score a clear hit in the snout and the overconfident rebel's eyes watered.
He took the opportunity to lunge at the next cheetah, who had already picked up his gun, most of his rounds though were shot to the mud, due to Mercury already having a grip at his arm. Mercury used his other paw to headlock him and lower his snout, placing it in a perfect position for a powerful knee strike to his mug. The stunned rebel was instantly placed in a chokehold and Mercury used him as a shield to prepare for his second attack.
This first wave of coordinated, albeit completely improvised hits only took six seconds to be achieved. They didn't know what hit them.
Two were out cold, one was captured, another one was recovering from stun and the last one had just pulled a knife from his shoulder.
The armed cheetah directed his gun at Mercury but hesitated to fire at the sight of his comrade being held, hostage. Mercury pulled out his own piece and directed it at the rebel who thought about picking up his rifle.
The deadlock lasted for two seconds before Mercury broke the tie. With the same hand he held the pistol he grabbed his meat shield's knife and aimed a throw at the rebel retrieving his gun. The knife made a squishing sound as it slashed through the cloth and made a gash on his thigh. He felt his weight heaving on him and toppled over.
His plan worked like a charm and he proceeded to knock out his hostage, with the butt of his pistol. He then pushed the body towards the scared shitless adversary. He still couldn't get a shot at Mercury and his rapid breathing and injury didn't help whatsoever.
Before the body came in contact with the shooter, Mercury used the small window to boost himself in the air once again. This time though he kicked the unlucky cheetah on the jaw as he made a graceful backflip and landed perfectly. The two rebels were momentarily pressed against each other. before they fell to each side. Mercury had acknowledged long before that the last cheetah was still awake, yet he couldn't bother to worry much.
"FREEZE!"
His final enemy had managed to prop himself up and was crazily eyeing him, with a shaky grip on his unused yet rifle. He was smirking, thinking he had finally gotten the drop on the experienced fox, his confidence returned to his swollen brain.
Mercury raised his paws in the air and slowly turned around seemingly unmoved by the order.
His good amethyst eye glinted.
"Safety's on, rookie."
It was common knowledge that any new guns should be tested or at least examined before heading out in the field. Mercury's trained eye had looked into every detail before he leaped from that tree twenty seconds ago.
He focused his trained aim at the cheetah "You need two clicks to fire, I need one and my finger's itchy today. You'll be dead, as soon as your thumb twitches."
Cold sweat dripped from his forehead and he shuddered. His vision swept over the bodies of his comrades, then back to the cause of this mess. Unfortunately for him, even taking his eyes off the fox for one moment proved a grave mistake, he was already charging him and he had given him the necessary window to finish him off.
And here he thought his species were fast, this guy was taking it on another level.
Mercury pushed the rifle sideways and twisted his bitten arm, while simultaneously tripping his slashed leg. This move caused him, of course, double the pain and his eyes almost popped off their sockets. Still gripping his arm, Mercury grabbed him by the chest and sent him flying on his back.
The fight hadn't left the desperate rebel yet, as he took his knife and slashed at the air hoping to cut his legs. Instead, his not-for-long good arm was trapped in the iron grip. Mercury knowing every weak spot, different species possessed, depending on where he struck, a person could be rendered unconscious or screaming in pain.
He decided to go for the latter.
He twisted the joint at the elbow and a sick cracking sound, accompanied by an agonizing scream assured him that this one would stay awake for as long as he wanted.
"Hey, boss. Would you please be so kind as to update the rest of us on your status?" Sigint's half annoyed, half worried voice sounded over the radio.
"Pardon me, I was busy with hostiles. Threat's been taken care of now."
"Good to hear that, interrogate him, so we can keep tabs on the rebels."
"I know you want to stick your paws into every military company operating on the front, but I'm more worried about why on earth these fellas patrolled so close to the designated objective area."
The cheetah could only hear one end of the conversation, he thought he'd make life easier for himself by answering Mercury's question "We patrol here, because we own these lands, after taking over what is rightfully ours. Turn back, before my brothers skin you alive, you Warfang cocksucker!"
"Claiming ownership of a wild uninhabited swamp, what do they gain from it?" Sigint was trying to connect the dots.
"I thought you only went after populated settlements and sought dragon genocide, what's in it for you this deep in the wilderness?"
"If I spill it out she'll k-GAHHH!" Mercury had gone into twisting his hurt leg.
"If you don't tell me though you'll also be in a world of suffering."
Through sharp rapid breaths, he managed to form a sentence "We keep the location… clear of intruders… for the dragon inside the volcano."
"Huh?" Mercury was taken aback by the weird statement.
"Make that a double huh." Sigint was just as confused.
"Yeah, I'm actually surprised we guard the bitch too." The rebel made clear his despise for dragons at every possible chance.
"I thought you held a grudge against dragons."
"Our glorious leader ordered us to make an exception and in return, she provided our forces with her own services. I still don't trust her though."
"Mercury, the coordinates point you towards the volcano. Does this mean?"
"She's either our client or this could be a trap."
"Only one way to find out."
"I'd strongly suggest you keep the civilian out of this."
Oh shit! I almost forgot.
He handled his interrogation target, his gaze swept over the bodies one last time, the lack of shifting or a change in breathing assured him that they were all down.
Wasting no more time he scurried off towards the direction of a shivering dragoness. In order to avoid any further lethal confrontation, Ira had taken shelter on top of a branch not far from its trees roots. She had her paws tightly pressed against hardwood, clinging to it for dear life. Her shaken mind hadn't comprehended that the danger had passed.
When she took notice of someone approaching she pressed her head on the rugged surface, claws scraping the wood in agonizing anxiety.
She let a high-pitched yelp, as Mercury tapped his paw against the tree bark, making a blank noise to signal his presence.
"It's over, you can come down now."
Her eyes widened at the familiar voice echoing in her head, she wasn't expecting the fox to make it out alive. He snout slowly emerged from, as she looked for her protector.
She found him and anxiety immediately escaped her, every part of her body hurt, but that wouldn't stop her from flashing him a warm smile.
Mercury returned the expression, now that she was no longer afraid, she actually looked like a sloth lazily napping on the branch.
"I'll catch you if you jump."
There was no doubt about it, he would catch her for sure. Still, she was afraid of plummeting to the ground, she had no experience in flying yet. But her mind pushed her mentally to take a leap, she wanted to test Mercury's trustworthiness just for the sake of getting closer to him.
After a few preparations and assurances, she was on her way down and landing safely in his arms.
"Ooww!" Despite Mercury catching her, her injuries made the abrupt grip on her a painful experience.
Mercury winced too at seeing the girls bruises and marks, as well as the suffering expression on her face. "Let's take care of that."
He immediately set her down and started applying the disinfectant and cleaning the wound, with a spare new cloth.
"You're not mad…"
"Of course not, I was the one who snapped in the first place."
"Well, I am a little annoying sometimes."
"That's no excuse for me disregarding my duties. This won't happen again though."
"Okay, I believe you. But I still think it's my fault, I thought I had lost you just like mum and dad."
Mercury was surprised to see Ira holding him in the same regard as her parents.
"It's not, don't poison yourself with guilt from such a young age. Let's make a truce and call it a day, alright?"
"You got it. I'm so lucky to have you, Mercury, you're not like the other soldiers. Dad would have loved to hang out with you."
She couldn't contain her excitement and gave him a lick on the cheek. He was mildly annoyed at that "What did I tell you about tongue baths!"
"Aaaaand you're back to being grumpy again."
He sighed at her youthful energy and nudged her "Let's get the eggs, then we haul ass before they wake up. If you stay quiet and don't draw attention to ourselves I'll tell you a story later, about one of my travels."
Ira's eyes lit up at the prospect of hearing about an adventure, while on her own adventure. Listening to stories from her dad was one of her favorite past times, even if she didn't understand much of it. Mum would always insist to read her a fairy tale from a book, but dad had decided to test his own storytelling skills on his half-asleep daughter.
"Yay! Let's go get by bros… or sisters… or a bit of both."
The sudden change of subject and the mention of siblings puzzled Mercury "You talking about the eggs?"
She nodded several times "Well yes, I thought that I could be their big sister when they hatch so that they have someone older to take care of them."
"Hm, we'll sort that out." He didn't want to burst her bubble that one of the eggs would leave them soon.
A loud roar from the sky interrupted their steady pace. Mercury searched for the sources and was left with a hanging jaw, upon spotting a giant black shape performing a loop de loop. The creature disappeared in the swamp fog and reappeared a few seconds later descending.
He had a nagging feeling his client was aware of his arrival and this was the welcoming committee.
"Ira hold on the red egg and hide, don't emerge until I reach out to you."
His good eye was staring at her pleadingly, she got the seriousness of the situation.
"I don't want to get separated from you again." She whined softly.
"Neither do I, but it's for your safety. Remember, I gave a promise."
She didn't press the matter any further, their bond had been tested and she realized it was strong enough.
"Keep the egg safe."
She vanished into the forest again, though he knew she was watching from afar.
Moments later a new dragon arrived at the scene.
The daylight shined on black polished scales, the slender physique with well-toned muscles and curves spoke volumes of perfection, clearly revealing the dragon to be a "she". Her unearthly beauty came in size as well, she towered over Mercury and possibly any other dragon he had ever seen. Her lengthy body despite being so slim and well-kept adorned many battle scars that were years old. Yet that didn't take away from her stunning, albeit mystical appearance. It did showcase though that she was a formidable warrior, each scar carrying a story of might and struggle dating years back, maybe before he was even born. Her wings were also enormous in span, he got a chance to briefly admire them at the peak of their glory, during flight. The wings along with her underbelly were magenta colored.
Her head was decorated with six sharp ivory horns that and her snout was pointy and elongated just like the rest of her magnificent body. The right mix between sharp edges and divine curves gave her the air of a femme fatale that even Mercury, who had seen his fair share of ladies, had a hard time resisting. Her claws were silver and deadly, they were in ideal condition, suggesting she had stayed away from any sort of fighting for some time. Her eyes stood out in the total blackness of her facial area, being a shimmering emerald color. One look from her would be enough to have any male at her feet, begging for the slightest hint of attention. Her cheeks were tattooed identically. Despite being a dragoness in what would be classified as a "hostile area" she was completely naked, no equipment present on her, except two silver bracelets, a silver choker and another bracelet on her tail, these looked more like jewelry. Her only other natural weapon besides her claws was her razor-sharp tailblade, that resembled a ritual dagger.
Hot damn
The intimidating dragoness graciously stepped towards the mesmerized fox, she had that certain allure on every step, she took her time surely, but she made it clear she was focused on him…
Or more likely the object he held.
He didn't recoil or even step back as her head came to hang directly above him. She craned her neck and inched her snout closer until they were on the same eye level.
The first words she spoke sent him the willies and he felt the knot in his throat "Are you truly a legendary mercenary or just another glorified delivery boy for me to dispose of?"
How she still managed to maintain her allure and authoritative aura after insulting him was beyond him.
He just noticed the slight wrinkles that tainted her pretty face, marks of aging and surrendering to time's unrelenting passing.
Just then he remembered his purpose there and decided to correct his unprofessional behavior "Who I am doesn't concern you, my service does though."
She seemed amused at his strict business oriented introduction.
"Doesn't concern me? Darling, I chose you among countless soldiers of fortune, who roam this continent, or any other one at that. I know exactly who you are." She seemed to have a knack for toying with others.
"Can we cut to the chase now?" He wouldn't budge or ask any questions that could get him or Ira in trouble for the time being.
"Where's the spice in life, when all you do is business. Something tells me you're not in this just for riches, right."
It was true, he wanted to know more, the last few days were a mess of unanswered questions in his head.
Fuck me, I'll probably regret this.
"Say that I accept another contract from you, is there anything more to this?"
Her expression darkened "Careful what you bargain for, you may not like what comes next."
"I'll do your dirty work, I accept all kinds of payment."
"Your talking about information."
"Exactly."
She scratched the dirt in slow rhythmic motion. "I should just get my package and put you down."
She circled him.
He didn't flinch at the threatening voice, he was prepared for what's coming.
"But you're no simple deliverer, a pawn. You want a part in this, a frail creature like you needs certain qualities to participate in this game as a player."
"I can take it."
"There'll be no turning back."
"It's already too late for me to turn back from this life."
She paused a little, weighing her next sentence.
"You wouldn't have made it this far, if it was just greed guiding your actions, you are capable of expressing care for someone else."
"..."
"Follow me, if you wish to collect your reward, or we can just be done with this right here."
She made a sharp turn, her tailblade missing his snout barely. Then as she raised a paw to take the first step she shot a look at the bodies of the fallen rebels, they were sleeping ignorant to the larger scheme playing out in front of them.
"They saw your face?"
He nodded in agreement.
"I'll take this one for you as a welcoming sign."
She slid her tailblade across each soldiers throat, the slick move left a trail of blood behind, as she mercilessly took out the poor bastards. Not even the unlucky cheetah with no pants escaped her spree.
"The swamp will take care of their remains. Next time do it yourself." She couldn't care less about them, secrecy was far more important.
Mercury's spirit was screaming in agony against this, he knew this would be a turning point in his career, but he also knew the world was changing.
"You already know my name. What about you?" This was the first time he actually addressed her on his own accord.
She kept her characteristic tone, even when announcing her name. "Call me Cynder."
Didn't see that one coming, did ya? Or did you see it? I mean this is a Spyro fic, so you should've been expecting this stuff. Anyways feel free to correct me on any serious mistakes (bear with my english) and please no flame, or I'll set spyro on your tail. Talk about some real flaming. Feel free to contact me (PM) with any questions regarding the story setting.
Peace!