Okay everyone, just to clarify, Cynder does have her eggs. When I said "Drop these off at the house" that was Cynder's mate. Sorry about that. She keeps the eggs in her pouch. (remember Dragon Tales? :D) Anyways, if you don't know what "pouch" means, then I'll explain. A dragon's pouch is essentially a little pocket in the underbelly. I thought that they could use it like pockets. Both male and females have them, but females' pouches are larger, because the evolutionary use is to carry eggs when the mother needs to move like Cynder is doing.
Out in a forest on a cool Spring night, some bushes rustled, but not in the breeze. Suddenly, a white head popped out of them, and looked around. "Hey Spyro, I found a clearing. We can set up camp here," she said. "Good work Selene," replied a voice from far away. The head retracted back into the bushes, and moments later, two dragons walked out from them, one purple, one white. The white one created a small fire pit while the purple one raised earth platforms, and fashioned them into a makeshift shelter. In a few minutes, they had a comfortable fire, and makeshift beds. After they ate, they retired to their beds.
"Goodnight Spyro," said Selene. "Goodnight Selene," replied Spyro.
The purple dragon opened his eyes, but found that nothing was really visible, but things were definitely suggested. 'Oh one of these dreams again, how nice,' he thought. The dragon felt himself on auto pilot in the dream. He was playing, laughing, cuddling with, and nuzzling with the suggestion of a lover. Spyro always enjoyed these dreams, and longed for them to come back when he woke up, and this one was no different.
The purple dragon opened his eyes. It was very early in the morning, and he still had a few hours to sleep. By now, the fire had died down a little, and was just a few flames here and there, but still provided ample warmth.
"Spyrohh...," whispered Selene from her bed as she rolled over. The purple dragon was taken off guard by this, and turned to face the white dragoness, who had rolled to face the opposite direction.
'Is she dreaming about me' he thought. The purple dragon blushed a little bit, and found himself slipping into the fantastical state of a freshly woken mind with input, but soon stopped himself. 'Probably just dreaming about the day,' he thought. The dragon sniffed the air. There was an abnormal smell on the wind, almost akin to salt, but he was honestly too tired to care. It wasn't long before he fell back asleep. This time however, his dreams weren't nearly as pleasant.
The purple dragon was vividly standing in the middle of a burning city that resembled Warfang, and people were running all around in panic either trying to save a loved one from the wreckage, or weeping over their deceased. Suddenly there was an explosion and some screams coming from behind, and Spyro turned around. He saw a building literally blast apart, but there, floating in its wake was… a doll? 'What the?' thought the purple dragon. Suddenly, the doll turned around to face him, and that's when Spyro truly started to feel fear. He saw flames in its little marble eyes, and swore that he saw its mouth seam curl into a hideous smile. It floated over to him on a spectral power. The dragon just stood in shock, terrified, and then noticed something far more foul about the entity. It was the Cynder doll back at Selene's mansion. The doll floated in front of him, the place where he scratched it shining outward as if there was an otherworldly light inside of the doll. It then slowly opened its little mouth, ripping strings inside its head, but leaving a few in its front that resembled teeth that were connected to the top and the bottom of its mouth. It spoke to him.
"Boaxal jet, zo ridd wirr plovoir." The voice was quite unpleasant. It sounded like one person that the purple dragon had met, but he couldn't discern who. The demon stared at him for a minute, and when it didn't get a response, the sky turned red as blood, then to pure black, and fire surrounded everywhere but where Spyro and the doll were together in a circle. It started to charge up a purple attack in its little maw that had become the size of a teenage dragon, and then fired the ball at Spyro. The ball exploded into a brilliant light that engulfed the purple dragon, completely disintegrating him, and leaving nothing in its wake.
Spyro sat bolt upright. It was morning now, and even with the heat from the fire, the purple dragon could not stop shivering. The dream seemed so real, so vivid. Just then, the white dragoness next to him started stirring.
"Mmm uhh ah, ah! Spyro!" she yelped as she turned to face him. Spyro stared at her a little funny. She had turned away from him, but as she did, he noticed a little shade of pink on her face. Spyro gained a curious expression on his face.
"Um Selene? Are you okay?" he asked over to her. "Um yes, everything's p-perfectly fine," she said, shifting to avoid his gaze. He decided to get an answer.
"Why do you keep turning away from me?" he asked as he tried to look her in the face, only to have her turn away again.
"I'll be right back," she said hurriedly as she very quickly and rapidly stood up, and hobbled, three legs on the ground, one over her mouth into the bushes.
Spyro just sat, partially amused at her predicament. He then heard the beating of wings, and looked up. Selene had flown into the sky, and was moving in odd jerky patterns. Spyro opened his eyes wide. 'Oh ancestors! She's having a seizure!' he thought. Unfortunately, there wasn't much he could do about it. If he went into the sky, he risked injuring her, but if he did nothing, then she would be even more severely injured, so he just watched in horror. Selene eventually went into a nosedive. Spyro got under her, put out his arms, and braced himself for the impact. The white dragoness managed to land right on target, and thankfully, without being scratched. Spyro just stared at her wide eyed. Selene just laid in his arms for a while with her eyes closed, and then looked up back at him sheepishly.
"Sorry you had to see that," she said.
The purple dragon stared at her, still in shock. "Are you alright?" he asked after a great deal of thought on what to say.
Selene sighed. "I guess since we're companions you should know. I have seizures sometimes right after waking up," she said shamefully. "Usually I can feel them coming on."
Spyro then looked even more shocked. "How have you been living alone for all these years then?" he asked.
She smiled a bit up to him. "My dolls keep me company. They protect me when I have these seizures. The seizures are really quite rare now though. That was actually an unusual experience," she said.
"Umm, Selene?" Spyro asked, noticing that she was clinging to him.
She looked up back at him, and after a few seconds, she acknowledged her position. Selene quickly leapt off of Spyro, a little embarrassed. "So, any interesting dreams?" she asked, quickly wanting to change the subject.
Spyro took a breath in remembrance. "Quite the eventful one," he said. "You have any?" he asked.
Selene turned pink in the face. "Yeah…," she said while looking up to the sky. "It looks like… it's going… to rain," she said after a few seconds.
"you're right," replied Spyro.
"We need to get going or else we'll be caught in a downpour," answered Selene as she turned to face him, and then started walking west again. Spyro came into step next to her, and they briskly made their way towards their unknown destination.
Spyro and Selene had been walking for most of the day, stopping to catch something to eat, and then continuing for a few more miles before the downpour started, but eventually the rain came down, and the two dragons needed shelter. They found it in a high rock cleft on a foothill that overlooked the forest, and had a view for miles. Selene and Spyro rested in the cave, and when the rain stopped, a brilliant and inspiring sunset took its place.
Selene lifted her head from where she was stifling her boredom by arranging stones in the cave in specific patterns when she noticed Spyro sitting at the mouth of the cave staring into the misty sunset. Quietly, the white dragoness got up, and walked over to sit next to him and gaze out at the fantastic view. Selene wondered what Spyro was seeing out there; whether it was something that she would be able to see too after a period of time. They sat for a while, and then it dawned on her what Spyro must have been thinking about. She turned to face him. "You miss her, don't you?" she asked quietly.
Spyro turned to face her. "Yeah...," he said in a voice taken aback. Both dragons then turned back to the sunset. After a few seconds, Spyro spoke. "I can't remember how many times it was like this. At the end of the day, Cynder and I would watch the sunset together," he then lowered his head a little. "Right as it disappeared, we would share a kiss, and a nuzzle, then head off to our sleeping quarters," he said.
Selene stared at him with a look of sympathy, but unbeknownst to the purple dragon, flurries of thoughts were swimming around in her head. 'Come on! This is the perfect opportunity! Wait, what if he doesn't feel the same way? This isn't about that though. It's about comforting a friend in a time of need. Do I look hot? Oh come Selene, you aren't even worth looking at. Oh If only. I'd give anything just to… Stay on topic! But, but, but…' The white dragoness then decided to do what she does best under extreme pressure. Selene fainted.
Spyro looked over at the unconscious dragoness on the floor and just stared in awe, but admittedly somewhat in amusement, at his traveling companion. She had gone from a sympathetic look to one of ponderance, started blushing, and then fainted.
'I wonder what caused that to happen,' Spyro thought to himself. "Ah well, better get her to a bed." Carefully, he picked her up, and with three legs, hobbled over to section of a cave that served as a bed where he placed her down. 'She's quite warm,' he thought to himself. Spyro remembered that in some creatures, being warm meant that you were ill, but dragons had evolved a highly efficient immune system over the years, and rarely ever fell ill. Still though, she was warmer than most would be right now, and Spyro couldn't imagine why. A few seconds later, Selene opened her eyes.
"D-did I faint again?" she asked timidly.
Spyro slowly nodded his head.
"Damn," whispered Selene almost playfully.
"Why did you faint?" he asked, trying to hide his amusement. She lowered her head a little.
"I don't… know," she said, as if considering her next word.
Spyro stared at her sideways. Obviously, Selene had many quirks, but in a way, they all added to her charm. "Oh right! There's something I wanted to ask you," said Spyro, remembering his question.
"What is it?" asked Selene in a soft voice.
Spyro slowly approached her. "Well, we've been traveling together a long time, and we're good friends, so I just want to know something."
"What might that be?" asked Selene, who felt her heartbeat speed up a little bit.
"I want to know your story," he said. "Where do you come from? What's your past?" questioned Spyro. Selene sat up, a bit disappointed, but at the same time relieved. "I really don't remember much. The most my memory dates back to is the mansion. I don't recall having parents, and the farthest back I can remember, I was twelve years old. Back then, I found that I wasn't able to even leave the mansion," she said.
Spyro was intrigued now, and sat down to hear her story.
"Whenever I would walk through the front door, I found myself walking right back inside. This continued for about three years, when one day, I opened the door, and saw outside for the first time. Immediately when I smelled the air for the first time, I felt a weird feeling down below."
She pointed to her abdomen.
"I couldn't tell what was wrong with me. I started fantasizing about sensations in my mouth that I had never experienced before. I really didn't know what to do. Nothing inside the house could cure me, and I was feeling sicker by the minute. I eventually decided to leave the house and see if anything outside could cure me. I wandered through the woods for a while, not thinking to touch the plants that grew there, when I spotted a large wall. I walked around it for a while, and eventually came to a gate with a strange creature that I later learned was called a mole halted me. He asked me who I was, and what my business was. I said that I had some kind of weird problem where I felt a feeling similar to suction in my abdomen, and I felt a large production of liquid in my mouth. He asked me if I was "expecting," said Selene, rolling her eyes.
"I didn't even know what that meant at the time, but anyway, I told him that, and he asked me where I was from. I said that I've just lived in a mansion not far from the area for my whole life, and had never seen the town. He then asked me if I had eaten anything in the past few hours. I asked what 'eat' meant, and that did it. He told me to come with him, and then led me to a market place, where he bought me something weird. It was reddish and kind of stringy, but when I saw it, some instinct took over, and I grabbed it, and then shoveled it into my mouth. I had never felt as amazing as I did when I put that object into my mouth. It caused an explosion of a new sense that I had never felt before, and I finished the whole thing in less than ten seconds. I enjoyed it so much that I begged the mole for more, and he sighed, and then bought me a second piece. This time however, I felt satisfied, and thanked the mole, but he didn't let me go. He asked if I had a job in town, and then explained the system of trade and commerce to me, as well as the importance of food. I said that I didn't have a job, but needed food, so the mole brought me to a place that I'll never forget, the daycare," said Selene, who looked taken aback.
Spyro braced himself for a happy and possibly funny tale.
"As soon as I set foot in that place, I simply fell in love with it. The other girls who worked there were very nice, but the best part was the children. Oh, those hatchlings were the most adorable things I ever saw," she said while squeezing her paws near her face with her eyes shut.
"Anyway, the mole had a word with the main owner of the daycare, and I was given a test day to work there. If they thought I was good with children, then I would have the job. Well, I went through the test day working the best I could. The kids all loved me, and called me 'mama Selene.' I thought it was cute, and that's really how I got my name. I was hired, and for three years, I worked there. Life was fun, I was well paid, and I loved my job, but alas, all good things must eventually come to an end, and the daycare was closed due to lack of funds. I was devastated."
"Yes I was now jobless, but also, I wouldn't be able to see all of the children anymore. I returned to my mansion, and decided that I had to find a new job, but never wanted to forget the children, so I started making dolls out of a special fabric called korin that feels like scales in the image of each of the children."
"That explains how your doll making hobby came to be," said Spyro. Selene nodded her head.
"Anyways, I wanted to keep track of significant people that I'd met, so I made dolls of the other employees of the daycare. Well, guess who showed up at my door the next morning?"
"Who?" asked Spyro.
"Cirrus, one of my co-workers from the daycare. She told me to come quick, and I followed her into the city where a small crowd had gathered. A little one, previously from the daycare, had managed to get herself stuck in a tree, and was too scared to get down. If one of us went up for her, she risked falling because the tree had a barrier of leaves, so no one could fly up to save her. I just stood there, watching, when she shifted position, and the branch she was on snapped. It was as if the world all around me had slowed down. I felt the strangest feeling come over me, and then, on instinct, I channeled a strange energy from within me that I didn't know I had, and a beam of blue light came from me, engulfing the little one as she fell, and she stopped her free-fall in midair. I then brought her down gently in the blue light. Afterwards, everyone just stared at me. The color of my scales had always been an anomaly to everyone else, but now there were even more mysteries surrounding me, and a big green elder dragon stepped out of the group."
"Terrador," said Spyro in realization. Selene nodded her head.
"Yup. Anyways, he asked me if he could speak with me in private. I was terrified that I had committed some kind of crime that I didn't understand, but instead we had a pretty interesting chat. He asked me what my element was because he had never seen anything like it."
Spyro found this odd. Terrador himself knew the true extent of Malefor's power, and if he could master any element, why hadn't he used this one? Spyro's thoughts were interrupted by Selene.
"He asked me to demonstrate my element to him, and I guessed that he meant for me to do what I did back there to save the hatchling in the tree, so I concentrated, and felt for the energy that I had recently used. When I found it, I concentrated, and was able to bring it out again, and form a beam of blue energy, but this time, I decided to experiment. I mentally focused on it, and where I wanted it to go, and managed to loop it around, and control it like a long chain. Terrador was quite fascinated at my abilities, and the fact that when I used my elemental power, I didn't open my mouth, which is what most dragons do when using a 'breath' attack. He then asked me if I had the time to come to the conservatory where he and the other guardians resided on certain days of the week, and demonstrate my element more. I told him that I technically had a lot of free time, but I needed to find a job, or I would starve. Terrador then gained a sympathetic look, and told me that if I would come to the conservatory on weekdays for three hours a day, he would send me sixty gems for each session. I t definitely paid more than my previous job, but admittedly wasn't as rewarding. However, I did discover some pretty cool things about my element." She then turned to Spyro. "Remember the blue room?"
Spyro's eyes widened a little in remembrance. "You mean you can generate that pretty much anywhere?" he asked.
Selene blushed a little, and looked down awkwardly. "Yes actually," she said, a little bit embarrassed as she did. She then looked over at the mouth of the cave. "It's only about six right now. I bet that we could make a good distance before the sun completely goes down ."
Spyro turned to face the cave mouth. "I'll bet that you're right," he replied. Selene stood up.
"Well then, let's go," she said. Together, she and Spyro walked out of the cave in the direction of the sunset. Eventually, they came into a small forest. By now though, the sun had gone down, leaving the sunless light of dusk. However, unlike previous ones, this forest shined with magic.
Spyro looked around. "Gee. It's really beautiful in here," he said as he gazed in awe at the luminous trees.
Selene on the other hand immediately felt a familiarity in the place that she couldn't quite describe. It was almost like she was here before, but not quite the same.
Just then, something dawned on Spyro. "Hey Selene. Didn't you say that your memory only goes back to when you were twelve?" he asked.
Selene broke out of her first thought, but then thought on what Spyro said. 'Wait a minute. If my memory goes back to when I was twelve, then…' "Spyro!" she called. The purple dragon looked a bit hurt.
"Oh, sorry, I didn't mean any harm. It's just… this place, I feel like I know it from somewhere," she said.
Spyro looked at her, this time with an expression of thought. "That could be possibl-"
"Spyro, look out!" yelled Selene. She put a paw out, and barely stopped Spyro from falling into a small spring.
"Thanks," said Spyro after he caught his breath.
Selene just stared at the pool. "Woah, check it out…," she whispered. Spyro stared at the pool. There was definitely something abnormal about it, almost celestial. The purple dragon saw movement out of the corner of his eye, and turned to see Selene walking towards the pool, almost in a trance. Lightly, she touched the pool with her claw tip. Spyro watched in amazement as the water where she touched began to shine a bright orange, which spread through the water until the entire pool was a radiant orange color. He turned to Selene, who was also staring wide eyed at the water.
"How did you do that?" he asked.
"I… I don't know," she said, still staring at the pond. At once, Spyro was filled with a strange emotion that he couldn't quite describe. It was like peaceful happiness, but mixed with a melancholy sadness to create an indescribable feeling.
Selene was also feeling the same thing, but unlike Spyro, she had felt this before. It was exactly how she felt when taking care of the hatchlings, that motherly love for young, but the emotion wasn't tied down with something physical like children, so it floated mysteriously in the dragons' minds, trying to find a place to settle, but failed.
Spyro felt the feeling eventually fade into the background of his awareness, but it was still there nonetheless. Just then, a strange noise seemed to emanate from all around them. It sounded like whispers, but not malicious whispers. They were the kind of whispers similar to when friends shared a funny secret, or when one whispered a surprise.
"Do you hear that?" asked Selene. Spyro slowly nodded his head. After a moment, the light faded back into the silence of the forest, and the sensation was gone.
"What was that?" Selene asked quietly as the last bit of color faded from the pool.
"I… don't know," replied Spyro. Just then, they looked up to the sky. Strangely, there wasn't any less light now than there was earlier.
"That's odd, it should be dark by now," said Selene.
"We probably just spent less time here than we thought, but we're wasting time. We need to get moving," replied Spyro.
Selene nodded her head. They passed through the clearing towards what had now become instinctively west. After the forest, they came upon a beautiful valley that was bathed in the dusk with blue, but was quite small. Wordlessly, they passed through it, and approached the opposite mountain. Selene noticed that the sky was getting brighter as they progressed. As soon as they reached the top of the hill, Spyro stopped Selene cold.
"Look!" he said as he pointed. Selene gasped at the sight. There, in the middle of the brilliant sunset was a shining city that seemed to be absolutely made of pure gold. All around the city was water, as far as the eye could see, putting the city on a peninsula. Both Spyro and Selene knew it. This was the end of their long and arduous journey.
As usual, review and share your thoughts if you want to, I love hearing them! :)
This is my favorite chapter in the whole story by the way I consider the word choice to be exactly what I was going after.
Okay, I did it. Wondering about the sunset? They are technically going west, and since the sun sets in the west, and this was the first time that they actually traveled at sunset (I wonder why this time and not the others.) The song for this chapter (after a lot of deciding) is Helicopter by Oh Land. It's one of those mystical songs that really captures one's imagination.
