~Backstage~

Alex passed by down the hall and noticed that Zayril's door was ajar. Curious, he peeked in and saw that Zayril was laying his head on the desk, apparently asleep. This behavior was odd. Normally, he'd be up and about typing. Not sleeping. Zayril wasn't the type of guy to sleep. Something was up. Wanting to know what it was, Alex made his way down to the living room.

Alex: Hey guys! Is there something wrong with Zayril? *Nano, who was playing with the Xbox 360, paused the game*

Nano: Something's wrong with him?

Alex told the guys what he saw at Zayril's room.

Yxme: He's been like that the entire half of the day.

Maz: What? That's not like him.

Alec: Yeah...do you guys know what's wrong with him?

Shadow: I think I know what's wrong with him.

The 5 other: What?

Shadow: I think we should say the disclaimers first before I say it.

Shadow, Nano and Maz: Viperwatcher owns nothing except his characters.

Yxme and Alec: Other canon characters are owned by their respective companies.

Alex: And in his behalf: To people who don't like the story, just don't read it.

The 5 other: Spill.

Shadow: I think it's because of the fact that I called him "A sad depressed ball that has a happy mask on." And maybe also because the fact that the Dragon Forums are dead. He really wanted it to succeed.

The 5 other: Depressed ball? Happy mask?

Shadow: Yeah; bad analogy isn't it?

Alex: Analogy for what?

Shadow: His behavior. His broken. With no signs of repair and clear possible fixes.

Their conversation stopped when all off a sudden they heard a loud thump and a scream that came from upstairs.

Chapter 21

Armory

This kiss that I was now currently sharing with Kazren was actually my first kiss. I cannot believe that my first kiss came from an anthro dragon. But then again, who would expect me to become a dragon? Being my first kiss and all, it was actually quite nice. Kazren didn't push me hard nor forced his tongue on me like French kissing. He just kissed me in a tender, soothing manner.

Before I knew it, our lips had parted, leaving me blushing deep red and heart pounding in my chest. He stared at me deeply with those silver eyes and I could tell that he really did love me. I felt myself drown and forced myself to blink to come back to reality. He smiled as he noticed it.

"Maybe we should head back now Kath; you're getting sleepy." he suggested to me. I chuckled and replied.

"Okay." He stood up and held out his hand for me. I graciously took it and in a matter of moments, the two of us, holding hands, were flying back to Warfang. The date officially ended with my first kiss. Along with a relationship upgrade I never expected.

0 0 0 0 0

Landing at the flight of steps leading to the entrance of the Temple, we were surprised to find someone waiting for us there.

"HEY!" yelled Vera as she waved her hands in the air to get our attention. The two of us immediately broke our hold from each others hands as we got near her.

"What is it Vera?" asked Kazren, in his usual tone of voice.

"You guys are what it's about. If you took another hour longer to arrive here, we would have been sent out to go find you two!" scolded Vera.

"Sorry; I'm guessing we forgot about time." I replied to her nonchalantly. I caught a glimpse of Vera raising a brow but immediately lowered it as she turned to Kazren.

"Kazren, the Guardians told me to tell you to report to them as soon as you got back. Wanted to tell you something I guess." she replied. Kazren nodded.

"Will do; see you ladies later." he said and walked off.

"Bye Kazren!" I commented as he headed inside the Temple ahead of us.

And with that, I let out a yawn I seemed to have been stifling. Beside me, Vera's lips shifted into a smirk as she followed me inside the Temple. As soon as we were in, the silence got broken.

"So….what happened?" she asked, all giddy. I had to let out a chuckle before I answer her question.

"What do you think?" I counter asked. Her face grew curious but she urged me on.

"Come on tell me!" I sighed as I kept walking in a steady pace. I decided that it was best that news of us being together was kept under wraps for now.

"Well, we had a great time. Nice dinner; took me out to a nice spot. Great date overall." I summarized the date to her. Her eyes lit up and she seemed to have brightened up even more.

"That's so great Kath!" she exclaimed, beaming at me.

"I know." I replied tiredly as I opened the door to my room.

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow." said Vera and she pulled me in and gave me a friendly hug.

"Night!" she said to me.

I replied back. "Goodnight to you as well."

I stepped into our darkroom and walked towards the dresser. Pulling out some casual clothes, I put them on, in exchange for my current clothes. By then, the excitement, tiredness, sleepy-ness. Everything came crashing down on me, making me tired as heck. Before I knew it, my body swayed and crashed down my comfortable bed. In a matter of minutes, I found myself asleep, tired of the day's activities.

0 0 0 0 0

Day broke. The sun was slowly creeping up the hill, its warm ray of light racing down the forest and into the city, hitting the Temple dead on. Its bright sunshine yellow rays invaded our room and illuminated it, destroying the darkness. I felt my face burn a bit as the direct contact began heating it up. I shifted from my night's slumber but was inhibited, as my head came into contact with another mass; a body.

I slowly opened my eyes and found myself staring at a familiar pair of silver eyes.

Kazren.

"Good morning." he replied, his voice sounding husky. He leaned down on me and kissed me on the forehead. I felt my cheeks go red a bit from the contact but nevertheless, I enjoyed the feeling.

"Good morning to you too." I replied back at him. He smiled down at me and nuzzled me with his muzzle, making me feel his warmth seep over my skin. I let out a soft giggle as his muzzle tickled me a little.

"Want to eat some breakfast?" he asked me. I grinned at him.

"Only if you want to." I replied to him.

He smiled and uncoiled himself from me and together, we headed out, going to eat some breakfast to begin the day. I couldn't believe my scenario right now. Here I was, walking beside him, holding hands. That is BOOTLEG. I never imagined any relationship of mine would turn to consort level over one night. But I'm guessing I was proved wrong. Besides…somehow…this felt right for me. I enjoyed the contact of his hand on mine and I could feel he liked it as well. Too bad though. We weren't exactly legitimate yet. I wonder how my brother would react to me and Kazren being together.

Entering the Dining Hall, I casually break my hold of him and we grabbed our breakfasts together. I could see at one of the far corners of the room, someone waving at us. It was Vera. Making our way towards her, I could see that Zayril was eating along with her. He smiled at me as I sat in front of him, Vera to my left and Kazren at Zayril's right side.

"Good morning." greeted Vera to me as I began eating my toast.

"Good morning to you too." I replied to her.

"So Kazren…I heard that the Guardians talked to you last night. What was that all about?" Zayril asked curiously. Kazren took a sip of water before he answered the said question. It wasn't an answer most of us were expecting.

"It's about a new mission." he replied seriously.

At that point, all off our heads turned to him in sync, wanting to know more.

"A new mission?" asked Vera, shocked and excited both at the same time.

"Yup; and it's a special one." I cocked my head to the side.

"How is it special?" He laid down the spoon and fork from his paws and crossed it on his chest.

"It concerns Team A."

=FLASHBACK=

Time Frame: Chapter 15 Briefing

"The plan is simple. First, we have to locate Malefor, which isn't that much easy or hard. We have these two maps," he took out two respective scrolls. "It contains the location of one area that is likely to be where he is. There are two areas we have inferred. Meaning, we have two groups. The first group, which we'll contain, Spyro, Cynder, Flame and Ember, we'll head to this location." He handed the respective scroll to Spyro who took it. Then Volteer stepped forward and grabbed the other scroll from Cyril.

=END OF FLASHBACK=

Oh right…Team A…Spyro, Cynder, Flame and Ember. They haven't gotten back yet from the Forgotten Temple. And it's been over a day now.

=FLASHBACK=

Time Frame: Chapter 18 MD 101

"How did Spyro and the others go? Did their missions was a success?" asked Kazren. Volteer shook his head and sighed.

"No; and technically, we haven't heard from them yet. They should have been back by yesterday. The Forgotten Temple is nearer than the Mountain of Malefor." answered Volteer.

"Should we go look for them?" asked Vera. Volteer shook his head.

"No; we are giving them one more day before we release a search party." he answered.

"Oh…okay then." answered Zayril.

=END OF FLASHBACK=

"Team A. Spyro's team, right?" asked Zayril for clarification.

"Yup; it's been settled. The Guardians are sending us to look for them, starting at the Forgotten Temple." answered Kazren.

"Really?" asked Vera. Kazren nodded.

"And since we're not sure what we're up against, we're going in heavy." I raised an eyebrow.

"Heavy?" Zayril chuckled.

"It means armored up." said Zayril and Kazren both at the same time. They both looked at each and laughed together in sync.

"So when are we leaving?" asked Vera after the two boys had calmed down.

"Preferably after breakfast." answered Kazren. Zayril clapped his paws.

"Good then!" he exclaimed. "I finally get to experience what it's like to wear armor." he said happily.

"Well, dream come true then Z." said Vera, punching him playfully at the shoulder.

0 0 0 0 0

Moments later, I found myself standing in one of the rooms I never expected I'd find myself in. I was in the armory. There were different sorts of colored helmets, bracers and what I recognized were tail guards, adorned on the walls. There were also chest plates and leg guards that were piled neatly at the corner, their colors matching their armor counterpart. All were shining clearly, noticeably maintained even though not used often. Rust and oil were amidst the air, giving the room the signature armory smell. I grabbed one of the red helmets at the side and examined it. I could feel every distinct marking on it as I ran my paw all over it.

I wasn't alone at the armory; with me were Vera, Kazren and Zayril, who was out at the other shelves, trying on the other armors. Vera was examining a tail brace that was now on her tail in front of the mirror.

"Does this tail brace make me look fat?" she asked sheepishly. Kazren chuckled as he placed a bracer on his right hand.

"No, it doesn't." he answered back, smirking a bit. I shook my head as I placed the armor I was holding onto my head. It fit snugly and I walked over to the mirror to see what it looked like.

"Hmm…not bad; I'm going to take this one." I replied walking away from the mirror and was on the hunt for some bracers.

But before we could do so, all of us snapped our heads to the side as the sound of clunking metal echoed in the room. Coming out of the corner, was Zayril, in blue armor; armored with a pair of bracers and a tail guard. His helmet was tucked on his right arm.

"Guys! I just want to say something!" he exclaimed as he walked over to us.

"What?" asked all of us in sync; our attention pointed to him.

"I just want to say, this armor," he indicated the armor he was wearing. "It makes me feel so freaking cool! DANG!"

All of us burst out laughing from what he had said. In a few moments, he joined in as well. After managing to get over it, Vera was the first to speak.

"It kind of does." she complimented him.

"Why thank you." replied Zayril.

Afterwards, all of us returned to our hunt to find our desired armor.

ADVERTISEMENTS:

Please read Peace Time (M) and Girl Troubles (T) by Oxyphyr

Please read the The Dracovic War Trilogy (M) by Spyro's Bud.

Please read the Shadows of Avalar (M) by Nanoflame

These are nice stories. But be wary though, Peace Time contains mature adult themes that may not be suitable for very young readers.

Please take some time to R&R