Hunter's ear twitched. He heard something. Something familiar, but he hadn't heard it in a little while. Whatever it was, he couldn't place his finger on it. It was a sort of pounding. Only it was much louder than one person or animal. Maybe Bentley was back? No. Too loud, even for his enormous feet. His ear twitched again, and he sat up and moved his head in the direction of the sound, carefully, as if making the slightest noise would seal his fate. Ember gave him a blank stare. She now seemed to be the last thing on his mind. He stood up and walked slowly to the cave entrance. It was if there were invisible strings on him like those of a puppet. Now, lifelessly, he stared blankly outside. Ember made not a noise, for she feared the consequences. Hunter began to ponder deeply. What is that noise? He asked himself. I know this! It's like forgetting your own name! I've definitely heard this before. Suddenly it hit him. The pattern of soldiers' footsteps, marching. They weren't just after Ember; they were after him as well. Running away was a serious offense. Even if it was to go after someone, it had to be authorized first. The only way he'd be able to get out of this one without problem would be if he had brought Ember back with him before they had found where they were. There were always stories of valiant heroes who went out of their way and disobeyed orders to save the day. But there weren't any stores of those who didn't succeed their plans. Hunter gulped. Well, up until now there weren't.
"Is… everything okay?" Ember asked just below a whisper. Hunter turned to her. The soon to be dead dragon. He's had to calm some civilians before when there was a blackout due to a counterattack, but never to someone who's probably going to be executed on the spot. Despite the fact that she got on his nerves, he really didn't know how to break it to her.
"Umm… Well…" He began. The footsteps were at least a minute away. He'd have to tell her. "N-no. You're going to have to- err… You're…" he let out a sigh. This was the hardest part of being part of the army; the harm done to people in order to save others. The thing he wanted the most was for her to be put under arrest and for her to be one more person to be mentioned in the history books. But still, he couldn't just stand by while another life is taken. He got up and picked up his new pointed stick from against the wall and sat back down. For a few seconds, he was silent. Ember seemed greatly puzzled, and then she heard it as well. The marching of footsteps, only it was far closer. She couldn't believe she missed the sound over the crackle of the flames. One soldier stood in the entrance of the cave. He held his sword out to them and pointed it, giving them a chance to surrender. Hunter sighed and handed his weapon over. Ember just stood there, frozen with fear.
"I'd expect more of you, Hunter. You would've been a great warrior one day." The soldier said. Ember got up and slowly walked over to meet her fate. But suddenly, an idea came to her mind. It wasn't really the typical plan one would have, but it would work all the same. As fast as she could, she charged right into the soldier's stomach, taking his breath away for a few seconds.
"RUN!" Ember screamed, running out of the cave and down the gentle slope. Several alarmed soldiers took out their swords, which were tucked in between their arm and side. Hunter, being the kind of person who thought on his feet, ran as fast as he could. The partly thawed ice made it very hard to run, even with their claws that easily gripped to the ground. Hunter looked over his shoulders to see the troops after them, but a quite far away. He let out a smile. If there was one thing he was better at than all of them, it was running. He soon caught up and passed Ember, who was beginning to slow down due to exhaustion. Hunter felt a bit of generosity and stopped in front of her. He made a motion for her to jump atop his back, and she did. It didn't slow him down much; being crouched down actually made him run a bit faster. After a few short minutes, he slowed down into a steady walk. There was no way they could be running that fast carrying all their weapons and shields. Hunter decided to take a break. He set Ember down and sat on a nearby rock. With a puzzled expression, she asked him. "Why?"
"Same reason you did it for me." Hunter said as he caught his breath. "Truce?" Ember smiled.
"Truce." She reached out and shook his hand. Ember smiled. Wannabe warrior or not, he's an okay person. She thought.
"Whaddya say we get down this mountain?" Hunter asked.
"Of course." She said with a smile. On the inside, she felt betrayal. Spyro promised he'd come save her. Even if Hunter is now removing the burden off Spyro's shoulders, a promise is a promise. The duo turned to the now visible mountain path, which had a layer of slush and ice on it. As they continued down and the sun began to set, Ember worried if she'd ever be able to trust Spyro on something as important as her life again.