Sorry everyone, but with my Aunt's passing, a bee infestation, and not one, but two trips to the hospital...its been some time since I posted.

My aunt is family, and life comes first, so I have no reason to give you an excuse for the first two weeks of my tardiness, cause none is warranted.

As for the rest...

I had a small swarm of bees that decided to take refuge from the NJ rains by hiding in my basement...six feet from where I sit. I still look over there every few minutes, making sure they are all gone. I hate Bees

Ever been hit by a car? I did, in the hospital parking lot of all places. Now, I did not get hurt, cause the asshole backed into me at about 5 mph, but since I had just left the place with a sprained ankle, I didn't have a chance to move. And right back to the ER I went.

The bees are dead now, so that problem is solved. I have my foot up and my elbow on ice. And with Puff the magic dragon beside me, I feel no pain. So time to write, and write I did. Big chapter, so have fun.


Chapter 12 Blind Pity

He had dreamed of this moment a hundred times, standing before the great hero of Avalar, hoping only to get an audience with the purple dragon. And as he stood beside Spyro, Scorch remained in awe, barely able to speak, or breath.

"I cannot believe I'm talking to Spyro himself...You are my biggest fan!" he had said when he finally got his mouth to work. The youngster then turned a brighter shade of red with embarrassment and quickly corrected himself.

"I mean, I am your biggest fan!"

Scorch extends a shaky paw, waiting for the great hero to take it and embrace him as a friend...like everyone else he greets. However, as Spyro kept both of his forepaws on the ground, then showed an indifferent glare, the young dragon found his dream quickly turned to a nightmare.

Then he spoke.

"I am not a fan of yours, young dragon."

Spyro then turned around and walked from the room.

This moment now repeats over and over in Scorch's mind, as he lays quietly on his pile of tear soaked cushions, listening to the purple dragon continuing to converse with Tempest and Jacob in the other room.

He has experienced many emotions in his short life; fear, joy, pain, comfort, love and hate. But never has he felt so hollow.

I'm such an idiot...

The young dragon looks up at the heavens, hoping his mother and father are not watching.

I don't why I did that to her...

Scorch recalls the day his so called friend, Jasper, had dared him to insult Cynder in public, and the laughter that came from everyone around. Laughter that seemed to hurt the black dragoness more than what he said.

I know what happened wasn't her fault...

The strongest memories of his mother talk to him, and how she was one of the few who knew what Cynder did to defend Warfang.

Those words now repeat in his mind

She helped save the world

The youngster looks towards the door that vibrates again with the roar of more laughter. Laughter that makes him cry now.

"I just wish I could take it back..."

Scorch lowers his head hearing the sounds of shuffling in the room next to his, and then silence. He knows the three dragons have left, as Jacob was concerned with their lateness already.

The little red whelp buries his face into his cushions so his anger cannot be heard.

"...BUT HOW CAN I DO THAT NOW!?"

"By saying your sorry."

The reddish orange dragon pops his head up off his tear soaked pillow and stares into the purple eyes of his hero. With a complete inability to walk, Scorch stumbles with his nervousness several times before standing in front of the Hero of Avalar.

"I'm sorry...I swear it Spyro, I am so very sorry..."

The purple dragon bops Scorch directly on the muzzle, stopping the Fire dragon cold.

"Not me, Dopus! You need to apologize to Cynder."

The wingless whelpling rubs his nose of the tingling sting his hero just gave him, but quickly a smile fills his face.

"Can I? Will she let me!?"

Spyro grins inside, seeing the joy that apologizing would bring to this youngster, however, he does not show it. Wanting to prove he is angry, the stoic purple and gold dragon just scowls at the tiny whelp.

"Are you gonna hurt her again?"

Even Spyro cannot keep his feelings in check, as Scorch's entire frame drops with depression. And more so as the young whelpling answers his hero with a quivering bottom lip.

"No sir. I promise... I will never disrespect Cynder like that again." He looks down at the ground, unable to raise his head as he feels the hollowest feeling he ever has ever felt.

"My mother would be so disappointed at what I did..."

The tears begin pouring from Scorch's eyes, steaming with white smoke when they hit the cool floor, as the boy's elemental powers are out of control.

"...I'm so sorry."

"Easy young one...I believe you, and I think you should get this pain off your chest. " Spyro holds out a paw. "So, lets go see her now."

Shockingly, Scorch backs away, annoying Spyro immensely. The young dragon notices this quickly, as his blind friend has taught him how to see the world around him better than most.

"I can't leave Ember...I mean, the hatchling,alone!" he replies with concern, before Spyro can feel any real hated, and the purple dragon turns to see the tiny red whelp sprawled out on the top of her pile of cushions, snoring away.

"Blazer would kill me if I left her alone, while he is sleeping." Scorch grins while watching his little red friend flick her rear paw a few times, totally relaxed and dreaming of the new day.

"And I wouldn't feel right either."

Spyro finally lets out a smile, bringing the youngster before him to life, seeing the happy hero that everyone else gets to see. His demeanor quickly changes and his tail begins to wag slowly back and forth.

"What if we brought her with us?"

The question stops Scorch's joy cold and his eyes express fear, but not for himself.

"Then Blazer would kill you."

The purple dragon can see a seriousness in the young whelp's face, and though the nearly colossal sized Fire Master would not kill the Hero of Avalar, he knows for sure the old dragon, who has run Warfang's orphanage for the last hundred years, would be irate if someone took one of his children from his care without a word.

"Okay, so we can't take her..." he returns with a bit of a grin, especially as he looks around the large room and notices the quiet peacefulness of this place. The tired purple dragon, having slept on the floor at the foot of Cynder's bed, gets the best idea he's had in a while.

"...but that don't mean I can't stay here and watch her."

With his strongest ability, Spyro holds time, takes the boy's paw, and leaps from the window. The purple dragon then brings Scorch on the fastest ride through Warfang he has ever had.

Unable to follow the speed in which he is moving, the young fire breathing whelp is scared stiff, seeing the world move by faster than his brain can process the images. He suddenly finds himself standing in the infirmary, before a bandaged black dragoness.

Alone.

Only the fading breeze Spyro left behind, as he departed the room at full speed, returning to the orphanage before he is missed, is felt by a now terrified red whelp.

That is until Cynder opens her eyes.

They show surprise at first, seeing the young dragon that embarrassed her last week, but then they focus sharply on Scorch, burning a hole into the Fire dragon's soul.

She takes a hard breath, showing how disgusted she is for being woken by someone she did not want to see.

"Why are you here?"

The wingless drake feels so helpless and quickly looks for a place to hide, but finds he has no where to go but out the third floor window. So the youngster does what his mother, and now Blazer and Jacob, have taught him to do.

He turns to the scarlet red chested dragoness and faces his fear.

"I'm sorry I called you that terrible name." he says somberly, and before Cynder can speak, Scorch continues with an apology that rips her heart out.

"I truly am so very, very sorry, Mrs. Cynder... It was stupid and insensitive and hurtful and I felt so bad after I did it." his lower lip begins quivering like it did early, as he begged her husband, and his already blood shot eyes well up with more tears. "...I hope you accept it because I cannot live with the horrible way I feel."

He gazes up to the heavens only to turn away.

"I can't even look up at my mom anymore, cause I know she is angry with what I did."

"Why did you do it then?"

Cynder's voice is soft and calm, drawing the young whelping's attention up from the ground. He can see her concern and her genuine wanting to hear his reason.

Scorch can only lower his head again, as he knows there is no good answer for what he did. But not wanting to insult Cynder by remaining silent, the young dragon once again steps up and gives his best response for why he insulted her in public.

"Because I have very few friends." Again the observant whelpling can see a reaction in his favor, but this time he does not allow it to influence the moment, and Scorch makes an argument against his own statement.

"But now that I've had time to think about it... who wants friends like that."

Cynder is immediately impressed with the youngster, who tries desperately to keep his emotions in check, and failing with every word.

"I did something stupid that hurt you, just so I could get a laugh..." again he looks down as the moment beats him, but with the spirit of his mom whispering in his ear, the boy rises again.

"...and there is no reason at all for doing that."

Cynder smiles, relaxing the boy for a moment, seeing his real answer is getting the reaction he truly wants. However, he continues his apology, as he is not satisfied with that answer

"I'm not like that," tears begin pouring from his face, as his mother's words haunt him.

"I am a good dragon!" he cries, unable to control his emotions.

Cynder quickly scoops the shaking child in her paws, hugging him tightly to her chest, hoping to settle him down.

"Easy, Sweetie... Easy... I believe you." she whispers, holding him up before her now tear-filled eyes.

"I know you are a good dragon."

Scorch tries to lighten up on the water works, hearing Cynder's words, and stares at the black dragoness with his quivering lip. He wipes his tears away, only to have them replaced within a second.

"You're just saying that so I'll stop crying."

Cynder cannot help but chuckle at his comment and quickly she replaces the boy to her chest, wrapping her scarlet red wings around him.

"You are a clever little dragon too, just like Jacob has told me on several occasions."

Scorch smiles wide inside the red glow of Cynder's wings, which reminds him of a hug from his red winged mother. He holds the black dragoness tighter, thinking of his mom, as well as the other guardian in his life now. The one who appears to have helped this difficult moment go smoother.

"Jacob said I was smart?"

Cynder just gives a simple "Uh huh" and Scorch hugs her tighter, imagining his friend within his grasp. He soaks in the love and care he can feel from Cynder, while thinking of Jacob, then finally gives a little laugh himself.

"But... He's such a bad judge of character."

Cynder gives an ever harder chuckle than she gave before just as one of the medical staff enters the large room, she opens her wing to show off the youngster, shocking the cheetah nurse who never saw him enter.

"What is he doing in here?" the nurse asks with an attitude and Scorch tenses up.

Cynder quickly closes her wing, protecting the small red whelpling in her clutches.

"My husband sent me a care package, Rose." she replies with a smile, stroking her paw down the youngster's back, settling him faster then her words.

The nurse pads over to the window, opening the curtains to reveal the bright morning sunshine.

"I thought a care package was supposed to bring care to the recipient, Cynder...not vice versa." Rose returns with a grin, watching as the black dragoness in her care continues stroking a paw, she cannot see, down the hidden red whelpling's back.

Cynder simply smiles at the orange haired cat, then shakes her head softly.

"No, Rose..." she says matter of factually, feeling nothing but the comfort of Scorch's embrace. "...this is exactly the kind of care I needed."


Just hearing the words from Spyro's mouth left Jacob feeling a bit odd. He knows he saw the sun rising over the buildings across the street, so he must be awake. But hearing the purple dragon speak of a truce between Tempest and Cynder, the blind drake can't shake the feeling that he is dreaming.

This cannot be real. he thinks to himself, conspicuously sliding his tail around to his left front paw, then poking it with a talon.

Quickly realizing he is awake, a very satisfying grin fills the blue Ice dragon's muzzle.

It is real, but I still don't believe this.

The thought of the Wind dragoness, that hunted Cynder everyday, forcing the pair to forage in the early morning hours, now being friends with the former Terror of the Sky was impossible to imagine. However, with Spyro talking about her heroics the day before, and hearing a completely different sounding Wind dragoness, as Tempest once crossed their paths while they were foraging for truffles, Jacob understands this is not the same dragon.

"Cynder asked if I could help you this week, Jacob..." she says with the softest of tones, nothing like the screaming hatred he cannot forget from only a month earlier. Then he can hear the real difference in Tempest, as true concern and fear taints her next words "...but I will understand if you say no."

The Wind dragon recalls the moment she made a handicapped dragon flee with pure panic, forcing him to take to the sky blind as she attacked Cynder in the Forbidden Forest. But mostly, she saw anger in his opaque eyes, knowing he had to leave his best friend behind.

He could hear the fight that ensued, as well as the pain-filled cry Cydner released when Tempest struck her across the face, and knew there was nothing he could do to help. Those eyes suddenly reappear and Tempest lowers her head. She can see him pause to think of any reason to dismiss her, without saying the truth.

You're a bitch, go to hell!

The teenager, however, does not give this simple answer. Instead, he shows why he is friends with the most hated dragon since Malefor.

"I cannot say that I approve of what I am hearing." he retorts calmly, turning to Spyro and looking at the stoic dragon with his sightless eyes. "But I would never second guess what you say, my friend."

Jacob then turns to Tempest, using his eyes the only way he can, showing his emotions with a cold gaze.

"So, I would like to hear the whole story of what happened, yesterday, from you, Ma'am."

The blue dragon, knowing exactly where he is in the room he lives, swipes his tail behind him. He hooks a black and white satchel, which he always takes with him to forage, on its tip. Jacob then twirls his tail back to the front of his body, looping a canvas strap around his neck, allowing it to hang freely.

"We will have plenty of time to talk while we work."

Tempest smiles, but unable to feel her movement, the blind dragon does not see.

"Just so you know, Jake, Ms. Tempest is smiling at you." Scorch remarks with a shaky voice as he stands beside his hero, telling Jacob how the Wind dragoness is reacting.

He then clears his throat dramatically, bringing the blue dragon's attention back to a moment with his little friend, reminding him of a promise he made.

One the teenager knows is not going to go well.

"Yeah. Uhh, Spyro, I almost forgot..." Jacob points his paw toward the excited little whelp that has been standing next to the purple dragon since he arrived, hoping to just say hello to the great Hero of Avalar. "...this is my young friend..."

"Scorch."

Spyro says the boy's name, almost making him faint, but this puts a look of concern on Jacob's face. He knows Spyro knows this little dragon, and even without touching him, he can feel the purple dragon scowl.

However, still being as star struck as he is, the youngster forgets what he did to the hero's wife.

"I cannot believe I'm talking to Spyro himself...You are my biggest fan!"

Jacob could feel a smile cross his face for only a second, and then he too felt a dagger in his chest, hearing his little friend's dream crushed as Spyro replied indifferently.

He felt even more helpless as the purple dragon walked from the room, knowing he had to leave too.

"I'll talk to Spyro, Bud..." he says, gesturing Tempest to the door the great hero walked out of, but keeping his useful eyes on Scorch, showing him the kind of compassion he only got from his mother. "...but you better do some serious soul searching if you want him to believe you."

Hearing his brother from another mother sniffle, Jacob stops his retreat to the door. He pads back to the wingless dragon, scooping him up in his arms.

"You are a good dragon. I know that...and so do you." he says affectionately, making Scorch weep, knowing the disappointment Jacob had then and now.

"If you show Spyro the real Scorch, he will know too."

The young whelp nods his head up and down against Jacob's chest, and the blue dragon just smothers him tighter.

"I love you little guy..." Jacob pecks him on the top of the head, then looks towards the red hatchling sitting on her pillows, staring at them both. "...and you too, Ember."

Scorch chuckles inside the strong grasp of his Icy friend.

"Don't let Blazer hear you. He will not be happy that you named her."

Jacob stands up on his hind legs, then holds the small wingless dragon out over his head.

"What!?"

The sudden sound of joy he hears is enough to dismiss the tears that continue splashing his toes as they hit the floor, and with another quick kiss to his forehead, Jacob drops his wingless friend.

A squeal of terror comes from the boy just before he hits the big pile of pillows the Ice dragon tossed him on, then laughter. Laughter that puts the visions of happiness in a blind dragon's eyes.

"See you later, Bro!" Scorch yelps just as the big door to his room closes, and quickly the blue dragon's eyes are on Spyro.

"You didn't have to rip his heart out, Dude... He's only six!"

Spyro can hear the cold tone in Jacob's voice, but does not reply in anger, as even he felt bad at how he reacted.

"I guess I was a bit hard on him, but I don't want him to forget..."

"Forget!? That!?" the blue dragon cuts in, stepping nose to nose with the slightly larger Spyro.

"How in the hell is he ever gonna forget that?"

Jacob sarcastically chortles, then looks in Tempest's direction, rolling his eyes dramatically.

"He thinks a six year old will forget his hero called him a piece of shit."

Tempest is shocked at how blunt Jacob has become, speaking the truth how he sees it when not in Scorch's presence.

"I mean yeah, calling Cynder the Terror of the Sky is not cool..." he continues saying to the wind dragoness beside him, but then he looks at Spyro with the same cynical stare he showed Tempest. "...but at least he didn't give her a black eye."

Tempest shows embarrassment, then taps Jacob with her tail to show her displeasure. It startles him more than she expected, as of course he never saw it coming, but more so as he reacts with pure rage.

"What the hell did you do that for?" he barks angrily, rubbing his flank where she struck him, then cooling it with a breath from his mouth before getting angrier.

"I didn't touch you! So don't touch me!"

"Really?" she says with surprise, knowing how she uses her tail to convey her point, a lot.

"I only tapped you, cause I was annoyed with what you said. Besides..."

Tempest, suddenly lunges sideways, bumping her entire body into the blue teen, shifting him hard to his left. She wraps her tail around his other side, keeping him from falling over.

"I am a very physical dragon." she remarks softly in his ear, securing him tightly as she felt Jacob's legs give out with the sudden strong jolt.

"But I would never hurt you."

Jacob does not get angry this time, feeling the ease in which this large thin dragoness is holding him steady, and understanding the point she is trying to make.

"So you feel pity for me then... Cause I'm blind."

Tempest shifts her weight again and moves her tail out of the way, shoving the blue dragon to the ground.

"Hell No!" she grunts adamantly, then helps him back to his feet. "I will smack you silly if you deserve it, and I won't care if you don't see it coming."

Jacob eyes fill with a great deal of disbelief. He then shows that stunned look to his friend, who also has a surprised expression.

"Wow, Spyro, you called it right..." the blue dragon grins as his eyes return to Tempest. "...she's not just a big bully. She's an asshole."

Tempest and Spyro both do a double take, never expecting to hear what was said. Then they both quickly stare at each other, one with anger and the other with fear. (I'll let you guess who has which expression)

However, before Tempest can blow her top on the guilty looking hero, Jacob reaches out and takes the blue dragoness' paw from the ground. He gently kisses it first, throwing her off of the maneuver he is going to make.

The blind dragon grasps the stone bracelet on her wrist and unsuspectingly pulls Tempest off balance. He curls her right paw around to her flank and shoves the Wind dragoness into the wall, leaning all of his weight against her.

"I have no use for bullies." Jacob grunts with a grimace of effort on his face, digging his talons deeper into the stone floor to gain leverage against the larger and stronger dragoness. He leans in very slowly, halting every single attempt Tempest makes to break the technically sound hold he has on her, and softly whispers into her ear.

"But without assholes, we would all be full of shit."

Jacob pauses, staring blankly at the Wind dragoness, waiting for any response. He can feel her heart skip a beat, unsure how to react to this comment, so he slings another.

"And I am not full of shit, so that makes me an asshole too."

Tempest, finding herself completely helpless to break free from this youngster's solid grasp, but more helpless to keep from smiling, simply relaxes and gives in to the sensation. And this time, with a firm grasp of the thin dragoness, Jacob can feel her smile.

"I just hope that you're my kind of asshole." he continues softly, pecking the blue dragoness on the cheek before releasing her unharmed. Jacob then turns to Spyro, who has a confused look on his face. And even though he cannot see it, the blind dragon knows his friend's silence has meaning, and answers his question.

"A clean one, Spyro. A clean one."

The purple dragon takes a second, as does Tempest, then both laugh as they put the joke together.

"You're pretty quick with that wit of yours..." the Wind dragon compliments, as Cynder warned her of Jacob's sense of humor in the infirmary. However, her voice becomes condescending and her demeanor, very annoyed as she finishes her thought. "...I cannot wait to spend an entire day with you."

Jacob smiles wider, hearing a kindred spirit, and suddenly looks forward to his day picking mushrooms. And with this fear out of the way his mind switches gears, focusing on the only other problem he has with this most beautiful day.

"So, Spyro..." he says with authority, keeping control of the conversation, but this time for a reason he knows to be very important. "...are you gonna leave that pour whelpling crying in there like that all day? I mean...it was really sweet how you tore a six-year-old's heart out."

The purple dragon is again caught off guard and his eyes show anger, as Jacob puts all the guilt on him. Tempest can see Spyro is about to burst, but he holds himself, and this gets Jacob going again.

"See, Tempest...even the great Spyro is full of shit sometimes." He turns his opaque eyes back to the Wind dragoness, then raises the brow over his left eye. "He will not be an asshole to me, and it is quite annoying at times to watch him hold it in like that."

Spyro grins, hearing the sarcastic tone in Jacob's voice, but understands what he means. He knows he has never poked fun at the blind dragon who works with his bride, even when he deserves it.

"You are just like Cynder..." Jacob continues to the blue dragoness "...except you have much, much more anger inside."

"Wait! Me!? You think I'm the angry one!?" Tempest lashes out, wondering how on Avalar this observant dragon could dare call her the angrier dragoness. However, before she puts her paw further in her mouth, Tempest realizes how she just made his point by yelling at him.

His grin widens as Tempest holds herself.

She now truly believes the black dragoness, like Jacob, was never the Terror of the Sky, only the body in which Malefor's evil could be unleashed. And knowing the spirit Cynder really has, and the care and compassion she shows to everyone, the blue dragoness concedes the point.

This sudden reaction brings joy to Jacob heart, seeing Tempest has had a real epiphany.

"I will try to be nicer."

Her voice is calm, and Jacob takes his cue to anger her again.

"I doubt it, but lets go with that idea."

Tempest swings her tail around to clock the wise ass dragon, like any other who would deserve it.

Jacob can feel the wind of her appendage coming and moves at the last second, and Tempest holds her tail just before making impact. It annoys him greatly, thinking another will not take action against a defenseless blind dragon, until Tempest blasts the side of his jaw with her paw.

"OWW." he snaps his head back to stare her down.

"You really hit me!? HARD!"

"I wasn't gonna hit you hard, until I saw you move." Tempest leans in towards the blind dragon, startling him as she gets close without making a sound. "I know how defenseless you're pretending to be, so I will hit you harder if you try me again."

Jacob's smile returns, as Tempest is one of the few who can see how observant this blind dragon really is.

"That's if you can lay a paw on me again, Ma'am."

Without looking (obviously), Jacob raises his paw to Tempest's cheek, patting it softly as if he could see exactly where it was. He then turns to purple dragon, knowing exactly where he is in the room.

"We gotta get going, Spyro, or Samuel won't pay the maximums. So, go do what you gotta do and talk to Scorch. I'll swing by the infirmary later to say hi and give Cynder her share."

Spyro gives the blind dragon a look and Jacob just smiles.

"I can tell you're staring at me like I have three heads, Spyro, but I mean it. Cynder deserves her share."

"That's not what I was referring to..."

Jacob understands the purple dragon was talking about Scorch, and he cuts him off again.

"He made a mistake, Dude, and you crucifying him for it."

Spyro becomes slightly annoyed as he cannot get in a word.

"You're gonna stop talking at me like that, Jacob." Spyro returns, and the blind dragon steps up, into the purple dragon's face, staring at him with his dead opaque-colored eyes.

"Or else what? Are you gonna hit me?"

Spyro contemplates trowing a soft punch, but the hero would never be able to forgive himself for striking a blind dragon, even if he deserved it. So, Tempest takes her cue and cracks the blue dragon across the back of his head with her paw.

"Stop egging him on."

Jacob snickers, as Cynder would have done the same thing by now, but then his normal wise-ass' expression becomes very serious as he returns his attention towards the great hero.

"He's a good dragon, Spyro..." the blind drake glances at the door to his sleeping chamber, hearing the sobbing child that lays beyond it. "...and he don't deserve to have his hero spit on him like that for one stupid moment."

"I know, Jake." Spyro replies matter of factually, then he starts walking towards the other room. He stops a few steps before the large wooden door, and looks back at the pair by the sun filled window.

"I'm want him to feel bad about what he did, and I think giving him the cold shoulder for a little while will make him understand."

Tempest just stares at the purple dragon for a second, then shakes her head.

"Yeah, good call, Spyro... cause, that tactic worked great for me."

Jacob laughs at her sarcastic reply, but Tempest shows how serious she is with a powerful stare that she is forced to stop as a tear forms in each eye.

"Maybe if you talked to me, without making me feel guilty, like Onyx did, I would have listened sooner."

She walks over to the purple dragon, pained by the sound of the youngster in the other room, who now pouts like she did for years. Tempest puts a strong paw on Spyro's shoulder, turning him back to the door of the sleeping chamber.

"Don't make another enemy for Cynder to fear while she walks down the street..." Tempest practically shoves Spyro towards the door. "...So fix this now, before it gets out of control."

The purple hero stumbles forward with the Wind dragoness' push, but he stops his momentum a few feet before entering Scorch's room. Spyro then looks back at Tempest, a bit of anger in his eyes,

"You know I am the Hero of Avalar, and I took on an army of creatures much larger than you. So you're gonna stop pushing me." his voice is ridiculously sarcastic, and Tempest grins seeing that anger he has is towards himself.

"It's amazing you survived." she remarks with the same sarcastic tone, and Jacob quickly finishes her thought with a reason why.

"Cynder did most of the work."

Spyro rolls his eyes as both laugh, but he also knows she was the real reason they were able to succeed, and soon he too begins to chuckle.

"Well now, shall we depart, My Dear." Jacob gestures his paw towards the window and spreads his wings.

"Wait... Are you following me?" She asks with wonderment. "Because, I don't know where I am going."

"Neither do I..." he replies, then looks out the window. "...cause, I can't see anything."

Tempest rolls her eyes, and Spyro laughs along with Jacob.

"You will either get used to his sarcasm...or you will kill him." The purple dragon says with laughter in his words, then leaves the room.

Jacob stares at the Wind dragoness with a stupid smile on his face, knowing how awkward she feels, having never guided a blind dragon. But he quickly eases her mind by taking the blue dragoness' paw in his own.

"You just have to head towards Twilight Falls, and I will direct you as we go."

The two dragons take flight out the window, right around the time Spyro makes his ten second journey across town with Scorch in tow, leaving the little red hatchling alone. And of course, hearing no sound in her room, the tiny red dragon opens her eyes.

Panic quickly takes her, as neither the dragon that looks like her, nor the angry blue one that stings her with his cold breath can be seen.

She runs from her pile of cushions, leaping full speed onto Scorch's sleeping area, making sure he is not hiding under them. And when she notices the empty room, that is when the tears begin to fall.

However, before she can howl with fear, waking the large keeper of the orphanage, Spyro returns to her room.

Panic ensues, as Spyro sees her cushions are empty, and quickly the purple dragon lights all four torches in the room with a huge plume of fire.

"Summer!" he cries out, frantically looking around as the room fills with the dancing light of this spray of fire

Her soft giggle brings the purple dragon around one eighty, to find the small red dragoness dancing on the pile of cushion where Scorch was laying. Her tiny wings opened wide, flapping uselessly with excitement, trying to catch the largest display of fire she's ever seen.

"There you are!" he says with excitement, knowing he will not be killed by Blazer, who he can hear snoring loudly in the next room. Spyro carries her back across the room to her cushions, placing her down atop the pile, then finds a nice place to lay himself down.

"Do you mind if I sleep here with you, Sweetie..." he asks, and the red hatchling quickly gets back to her feet, and jumps on Spyro's muzzle. Her wings open wide and she squeals with joy, hoping to get more fire from the big purple dragon.

Even thought he is tired from not getting sleep the night before, Spyro decides to play, hoping to tire her out. He pops out several small fireballs, that dance on the ground before her. And Ember, with her eyes glowing yellow and red, leaps from the purple dragon's nose, pouncing on the small fires before they can go out.

Several more fireballs are snorted from Spyro's nostril, and again the little red hatchling is fast to douse them with her paws.

She gives a little squeal as Spyro fades out, but quickly he awakens to give another volley.

Ember once again tackles the flaming tops, biting several, and pawing the rest. But as before, when she finishes, the purple dragon is not ready to give her more.

Another squeal does not wake Spyro, so she runs and leaps on his face again.

"Oh come on, Summer...you gotta be getting tired by now."

"She will do this all day Spyro," Blazer's voice wakes the purple dragon, and it also takes the red hatchling from his face. She runs full speed at the massive drake, leaping at the precise moment for his paw to catch her and take her all the way up to his face.

The six month old dragoness makes her now death defying leap, as she is twenty feet off the ground, but still fearlessly jumps from Blazer's paw to his giant muzzle.

A gentle kiss is placed on the big dragon's nose, so he snorts a small ring of fire, which she flails at.

Blazer's attention then returns to Spyro, even with the tiny dragon blocking his view.

"And I believe Scorch, much to my dismay, has started calling her Ember. Not Summer."

The large protector of children then looks around the room, noticing one of his sons is missing.

"Where is he anyway? And why is he not watching her?"

Spyro, seeing anger fill Blazer's face quickly takes the blame.

"I took him to the infirmary."

"WHY!?" the big dragon barks, taking Ember from his nose and placing her on his shoulder, before staring down at the purple hero.

"What did you do to him, Spyro!?"

"I didn't do anything!" he replies with fear, not wanting to annoy the very large dragon who could hurt him badly.

"I just wanted him to apologize to Cynder, for what he did last week."

Blazer's eyes do not change, as anger remains his main focus.

"What did Scorch do to Cynder?"

Spyro pauses for a second, realizing he is no longer in danger, however, he does feel bad as he pushes Scorch under the bus.

"He called her a bad name."

Again Blazer's anger finds the purple dragon as his focus.

"What name, Spyro?"

Helpless to stop himself, the purple dragon answers.

"HE DID WHAT?!" the large red and black dragon grunts, after hearing just 'the Terror' spoken from Spyro's mouth.

"It's a good thing he is in the infirmary, so I don't have to bring him there after I break his ass."

Spyro smiles, knowing the large dragon has never laid a paw on his kids, though he sure talks a good game. However, he also knows the guardian dragon would appreciate what he witnessed, and the purple hero informs Blazer of why he took Scorch to the infirmary this early in the morning.

"He felt terrible about what he did, Blazer, and I didn't even have to say a thing to make him feel that way." Spyro pats the Fire drake on the upper forearm, or as high as he can reach, showing his approval in Blazer's parental skills.

"And that is because you have kept the boy's paws firmly on the ground in this difficult time."

Blazer looks out the window on a waking Warfang, watching as a dozen dragons fly by, heading for their jobs in the new city.

"It's funny you say it like that, Spyro. You'd never believe how hard it has been to keep a wingless dragon grounded."

His voice is depressed, as he has seen his favorite orphan take a turn for the worse, ever since there was a huge influx of new faces. Everyone in the old Warfang understood why Scorch was flightless, so no one ever pointed, or stared. But that changed when more than a thousand new dragons arrived.

"Some of the kids Terrador brought back from Titan's Hollow are completely shameless, Spyro, and I would love to have just one minute with them in the arena." The large dragon looks down at Scorch's pile of cushion and becomes even more annoyed upon seeing several items that may be stolen, unhidden from the pillows Ember moved around while searching for him.

"He is a good dragon, and they are turning him to shit."

The colossus pauses to clear his throat, as his emotions begin taking control, seeing a ring he knows was taken from the market last week. He looks down at Spyro, showing how upset he truly is with a small tear that falls from his face.

"He is losing himself, and I hope you and Cynder will help me right him, before..."

Blazer quickly hushes himself, forcing Spyro to make him finish his thought.

"Before what?"

Blazer looks at the small red hatchling, clinging to his shoulder, knowing how hard it will be to keep up with her in the next few months.

"I am a hundred and fourteen years old, Spyro. And as much as the heart and the soul wants to, my body will not allow me to do this much longer."

He smiles at the young girl, who can tell he is not happy, so she climbs up to his face. Ember digs her tiny claws into the old dragon's scales, tickling him as she make a long journey up to the red dragon's black nose.

With a squeal and a flapping of her wings, the phoney smile he has is replaced with true joy.

"I love what I do here, but I just can't be the guardian they need anymore."

Spyro, even as tired as he is, puts two and two together real fast, and with a bit of surprise in his voice.

"Wait a minute. Are you asking me to adopt, cause..."

"No!"

The purple dragon is slightly annoyed that he was shut down so fast, wondering why the guardian of the orphanage would quickly dismiss him as a father. He knows he is young, barely seventeen, but Spyro also knows he has also seen more hard times than most.

And all he did was save the world while doing it.

"Really!" The great Hero of Avalar grunts with an attitude, crossing his arms before the large dragon. "I think I would be a good father."

Blazer rolls his eyes, then returns them to the tiny red hatchling, who remains mesmerized by him.

"I have no doubt, Cynder will give you a child of your own..." he grumbles with a smug grin, then removes Ember from his nose, handing her to Spyro.

"And you will never find the same amount of time for the rest."

The purple dragon doesn't quite understand, and Blazer can see this, so he continues.

"I had a child of my own once," The large dragon pauses again, wiping a persistent tear from his face, remembering the eyes of a little dragoness that always had him mesmerized. "but she died during a freak earthquake almost eighty years ago."

Blazer looks down at Spyro and smiles, watching the novice father hold the little whelpling with such fear, like he did when he first held his daughter.

"Since that day, I've have raised more than hundred whelplings to become the dragons they are today, and still, I cannot remove the pain I feel, cause none them were my Sienna."

Blazer looks up at a single picture hanging in the dragon-room, as the only reminder of his child watches over his whelpling children now.

"You would never look at that girl the same if you had a daughter of your own, Spyro...no matter how hard you try."

Spyro hugs the little whelpling in his arms, hoping for any relief of the depression this large dragon has filled his heart with.

"So what can I do? If you don't want me to adopt anyone."

Blazer smiles, seeing Spyro cradle the young girl like a pro now. Taking the love she is offering as his own.

"I want you to help my replacement with some of his tasks, cause he will need all the help he can get, when he turns fifteen, next month, and I tell him."

Spyro can see Blazer's eyes leave him and focus on the sleeping area to his left, putting a wide smile on his face as well. He also turns to the large pile of cushions, a certain blind dragon has upon nearly his entire life.

"Absolutely...I think Jacob would make a great father." the purple dragon remarks, cradling the young red hatchling in his arms softly, making her fall asleep while in his safe grasp.

"So too will you, young dragon..."

The large guardian of the children, watching with pure delight as the small restless fire dragon sleeps quietly in Spyro's arm, finally relaxes within. Blazer, feeling his years more and more everyday, gives a little prayer for himself...as well as Spyro.

"and I hope it will be some day soon."


Not much conflict, I know, but then again, I am still building the characters. However, the next few chapters will bring some heat. (and will be posted sooner than a month.) A big thank you to those that are still following, and I hope I have not lost your interest.