Chapter 21: Changes

"Is everything okay, Volteer?" Flare asked her mate.

The Electric Guardian nodded, "Yes, I'm just thinking about what to say to everyone."

The two dragons were going to the usual morning meeting with the other Guardians. It was the day after Flare told Volteer that she was carrying his hatchlings, and the Guardian intended to break the news to the others.

Flare nuzzled Volteer lovingly as they walked, "Everything will work out."

Volteer smiled and returned the gesture, "I know."

The two dragons arrived at the Guardians' chamber, the door opening as they approached. Terrador, Ignitus, and Incendia were waiting around the Pool of Visions. Cyril had yet to arrive.

"Volteer, Flare, how are you two this morning?" Incendia greeted the two dragons.

"Fine, thank you," Volteer and Flare replied in unison, the door closing behind them.

"We are only waiting on Cyril," Terrador said, "Odd though, he usually is here before you are."

Not long after, the door opened once again, this time the Ice Guardian walked in.

"Good morning, everyone," Cyril said, walking to his usual place around the Pool of Visions.

"Good morning," the others said.

Ignitus spoke, "As usual, does anyone have anything they need to say?"

Terrador shook his head when nothing came to his mind.

Flare glanced at her mate, knowing that he was going to speak.

"I do have something to say," Volteer said.

"Yes?" Ignitus asked, wanting his fellow Guardian to continue.

"I want to make slight changes to my training sessions with my students."

Ignitus raised a brow, "I suppose that's fine. What brought this up?"

Volteer smiled, pressing his cheek against his mate's, who smiled at the contact.

"Flare is pregnant."

Ignitus and Terrador wore looks of surprise, while Incendia held a smile. Cyril already knew about the news and held his usual posture, but smiled nonetheless.

"Congratulations," Incendia said, "It was only a matter of time."

Volteer nodded, "I wish to spend more time training with Volt, Cynder, and Spyro. This way, once the eggs hatch I can spend as much time with them as I can."

Ignitus turned to Terrador and Cyril, who both nodded. The Fire Guardian then looked at his mate, who gave him a smile.

Ignitus looked at Volteer, "What do you have in mind?"

"I want to try a new training session with Volt, to see how it works. It will be longer and more difficult, but I know he will manage."

Terrador nodded, "I approve."

Ignitus smiled, "It will be a good change for him." The fire dragon looked at Cyril, who was about to speak, "Yes, Cyril?"

"I also have something to say," Cyril said, "Aurora is pregnant as well."

This surprised the three dragons.

"She is?" Incendia asked, earning a nod from the Ice Guardian. She looked at Flare and asked, "How far along are you?"

"Only a few weeks. I'm not quite showing yet," Flare noted, unconsciously rubbing her belly.

Incendia looked at Cyril, "And how far along is Aurora?"

"Just over two months," he answered.

Terrador spoke, "I assume that you want to change your training sessions, like Volteer?"

Cyril shook his head, "As of now, I am confident in Glacia's abilities. I do want to have longer sessions, but it is not as big of a deal as Volteer's. He has three students after all."

Ignitus chuckled, "Remember when we made that restriction for the students about hatchlings?"

He earned nods from the others.

Terrador chucked as well, "The irony of it." He looked at the future fathers, "Is that the only news you have?"

Cyril spoke, "Aurora is going to be moving into the temple in a few weeks, she has commitments as a healer."

"Of course," Ignitus said with a smile, "She is always welcome."

"I assume this concludes this meeting," Terrador said, earning nods from the five other dragons. Terrador got up from his sitting position, "In that case, I am going to spend time with Emera." He made his way to the door, "I'll be back in a few hours."

"We will see you later," Volteer said to his green colleague.

The door opened, but Terrador stopped to look back at Volteer and Cyril, giving them a smile. The Earth Guardian then left the room, the door closing behind him.

Cyril looked over to Volteer, "I'm going to be training with Glacia on the roof later today, so the training room is yours."

"Thank you," Volteer replied.

Cyril followed Terrador's example and left the room, leaving the two couples in the chamber.

"Incendia," Flare said, getting the mentioned dragoness' attention.

"Yes, Flare?"

"Since I'm going to be having hatchlings, it will slow down my training with Spyro. I was wondering, will you be willing to help me train him?"

Incendia smiled, "Of course I will. I will be more than happy to help."

"Also, my mother and father will be visiting Warfang in about a week. I don't know how long they will be staying. While I'm with them, could you train Spyro on those days?"

Incendia smiled, "Of course I will." The fire dragoness looked at Volteer, "I just hope Volteer knows how he's going to explain the little ones."

Volteer grew nervous at the thought, but relaxed when Flare nuzzled him.

Ignitus looked at Volteer with a smile, "Everything will work out. Even if the eggs hatch before Volt is ready to be a Guardian, you can still teach him and be a father."

Volteer smiled returning his mate's nuzzle, "Those were concerns I initially had, but they are put at ease." He pulled from the nuzzle, "Now if you will excuse me, I have to test out a new session with Volt."

"So, Cynder is in the city with her parents?" asked Volt.

Spyro and the apprentices were sitting in the dining hall, having finished their breakfast. They were now enjoying conversations with one another.

"Yeah," Spyro answered, "they're having breakfast."

Glacia raised a brow, "Why didn't you go with them?"

Spyro shrugged, "I thought that she should enjoy more time with her family."

"That's nice of you Spyro," she replied, "but I'm sure that her parents wouldn't mind. According to Cynder, they have taken a liking to you."

"Lucky," Blaze said, "you don't have to worry about her dad glaring at you."

Glacia rolled her eyes, "Are you still sour about that? He said he only did it to make sure that you were the one for me."

Blaze only grumbled inaudible words.

Terrain spoke up, "Well, it sounds like they see you as a part of the family."

Spyro smiled, but said nothing.

The dining hall door opened, and the five dragons turned to see who it was. Volteer made his way to the group of dragons.

When the Electric Guardian was at the table he spoke, "Good morning, everyone."

"Good morning, Volteer," the five dragons replied in unison.

Volteer looked at his apprentice, "Volt, are you ready for a little change in your training."

"A change?" Volt asked.

The Guardian nodded, "I will explain everything in the training room."

"Okay," the younger electric dragon replied. He glanced at his friends, "See you all later."

The other four dragons said their good-byes, as the two electric dragons left the room.

The teacher and student walked through the temple in relative silence. It wasn't long until they entered the training room. The two electric dragons walked onto the ring and faced each other.

It was Volteer that spoke first, "I assume you want to know why I have decided to change up your training."

He earned a nod from his apprentice.

"Am I doing something wrong?" Volt asked nervously.

Volteer chucked, "Of course not."

Volt tilted his head slightly, waiting for the Guardian to explain.

Volteer took a deep breath and said, "Flare is pregnant."

Volt's eyes widened slightly, "Really? That's great!"

The Guardian smiled at the younger dragon's enthusiasm, "Yes, it is wonderful. However, I have duties as a Guardian to uphold, and I don't want that to interfere with my time with my children." Volt gave a nod, letting Volteer continue, "So, I want to increase the amount of time we train, and increase the difficulty. You are progressing very well, but I doubt that you will be ready for Guardianship by the time the eggs hatch. This is only to help me balance my time between being a Guardian and a father." He glanced at his apprentice, "Do you understand?"

The Electric Apprentice smiled, "Yes, I'm sure I can handle the new training!"

Volteer smiled back, "I'm glad you are enthusiastic about this." Volteer's smile turned into a smirk, "Because by the end of this training session, you will be singing a different tune."

Volt gulped.

"So," Blaze started, "When do you all start training today?"

"I start in the afternoon," Terrain said.

"Same here," Glacia replied.

Spyro got up from his stop at the table, "I start training soon, so I should start heading to the roof."

Spyro walked to the door, causing it to open.

"See you later, Spyro," Glacia called to him.

Spyro smiled back at the group, walking out of the room with the door closing behind him.

After a small walk, Spyro opened the door, leading to the roof.

The sun was high in the sky, but still rising, indicating that it was mid-morning.

The purple dragon made his way to the edge of the roof, looking over the city, wondering how Cynder and her parents were doing. Spyro brought up a paw, touching his necklace as thoughts of the black dragoness entered his mind.

After a few minutes of solitary, the door opened. Spyro turned around to see Flare and Incendia making their way to him.

"Good morning Spyro," Flare greeted.

Spyro walked away from his spot to meet the two fire dragonesses, "Good morning, Flare." His attention was on the older dragoness, "Good morning, Incendia. What are you doing here?"

"Good morning, Spyro. Flare is going to explain."

The purple dragon turned to Flare, who nodded.

"There is something that I need to let you know. I am pregnant."

Spyro's eyes widened, "Really?"

He earned a nod from the future mother.

"You and Volteer are going to have a family? That's wonderful!"

Flare smiled, "Yes, it is. However, as you can imagine, I will have to shift my responsibilities to the hatchlings." She glanced at Incendia, "Incendia has agreed to help me with your training."

Spyro nodded, glad to hear that Incendia would be joining them.

"Also, my mother and father will be visiting Warfang in about a week. So, while I am with them, Incendia will train with you."

Spyro nodded again, "Alright, but what about after your eggs hatch?"

Flare smiled, "I will still be able to train you, and if I am unable to, Incendia will."

"Do you happen to know what Volteer has planned with my training?"

Flare shrugged, "Not entirely, but we both decided to increase the amount of time we train you. This will hopefully allow us more time with our children."

"I understand," Spyro said with a smile, "I'm happy for the both of you."

Flare returned the smile, "Thank you, Spyro. Now, how about we do some aerial, fire techniques?"

The purple dragon smiled, ready to begin.

"This has been a nice morning," Shadow stated, earning nods and smiles from his mate and daughter.

The shadow dragon family had finished breakfast, and had explored more of the city. Now, they were enjoying a walk through the park.

"Yes it was," Umbra said, looking to at Cynder, "and next time, Spyro should join us."

Shadow nodded in agreement.

Umbra asked, "I wonder why he didn't want to come."

"He has training this morning," Cynder replied, "but I also think that he wanted me to spend time with you both."

"Such a generous dragon. You know how to pick them, dear."

Cynder looked away, heat rising to her face.

Shadow chuckled, "No need to embarrass her hun." He looked at his daughter, "Don't you have to train today?"

"Yes," Cynder replied, "we should be going."

The three black dragons flapped their wings and flew towards the temple. After several minutes of flying the temple came into view, with bursts of flames coming from the top of the temple.

"I think that's Spyro," Cynder stated.

"It might be best to not disturb his training," Shadow replied.

Cynder and Umbra nodded in agreement, landing in front of the main entrance.

The dragon's legs were wobbling, as if they were about to give out. He panted, sweat prevalent on his face and neck.

"Very good, Volt," the Electric Guardian applauded, looking at his apprentice. "That will conclude this session."

When the words left Volteer's mouth, Volt collapsed. All of his muscles were crying in pain from constant use.

"Is this going to be every session?" Volt asked, trying to catch his breath.

Volteer smiled, "What happened to that enthusiasm earlier?"

Volt sighed, "I'm singing a different tune."

Volteer chuckled, "Well, this is actually what I would consider one of the more difficult lessons. Unfortunately for you, there much less easy sessions."

Volt groan slightly, standing back up, "I'm not sure if I will last."

"You will," Volteer encouraged, "give it several days. You are a capable dragon, Volt. I would not have chosen you as my apprentice if you weren't."

The younger electric dragon looked at the Guardian with a smile, "Thank you, that means a lot."

Volteer beckoned Volt to follow him to one of the storage cabinets, pulling a small green gem.

"Use this to regain some energy, however, I want you to not use any gems unless it is from me."

Volt smashed the gem, the pieces flying into his body, making him feel much better.

"Don't I already do that?"

Volteer nodded, "Yes, but the worst thing you can do is rely on gems. You won't always have them."

"I understand."

"Sometimes I will not always give you a gem. This is so that your body won't necessarily need gems to heal, or regain strength."

"Of course."

Volteer smiled, "Good, you are free to go."

Volt nodded and made his way to the door, his legs still a little stiff. As he approached the door, it opened, and in the hall were Cynder, Umbra, and Shadow.

"Hey Volt," Cynder greeted, "are you done training?"

"Yeah," Volt said with a nod, continuing down the corridor, small limps in his walk.

He must have had a rough training session, Cynder thought to herself.

The family walked into the room, the door closing behind them.

"Hello, all of you," Volteer greeted.

"Hello, Volteer," Cynder greeted back, "what's wrong with Volt?"

Volteer smiled, "He just went through a change in training; one longer and more difficult than others. Which, actually, relates to you."

Cynder raised a brow, "How?"

"I wish to change some aspects of your training." The Electric Guardian paused before continuing, "Flare and I are going to have a family."

All three shadow dragons held looks of surprise, with some joy.

It was Umbra that spoke, "The fire dragoness you're always with?"

Volteer smiled, "Yes, she is pregnant."

"Congratulations," Shadow said.

"That's fantastic!" Cynder said with joy for the Guardian. "So, you want to change the training to free your time with Flare and your hatchlings?"

"Yes," Volteer answered, "I am going to be training with Volt much more, and also extend most of the sessions you and Spyro have with me."

Cynder nodded, giving the Guardian her full attention.

Volteer looked at Shadow and Umbra, "I also have a request for the both of you."

Both parents gave confused looks, "Yes?"

"Would you like to train Cynder in the shadow element?"

The family exchanged looks, and Cynder asked, "Really?"

The Guardian smiled, "I figure that your mother and father, both shadow dragons, can easily teach you things that I will struggle with. I will still teach you your fear, wind, and poison elements, but shadow, I believe, should be taught by your parents."

Shadow and Umbra exchanged happy looks, then looked at their daughter.

Umbra spoke, "We will be happy too, if Cynder is fine with it."

Cynder replied with happiness, "Yes, I would love that."

"Very good," Volteer replied, "Are you ready for some training?"

"Yes," the black dragoness replied.

The electric dragon looked at the other two shadow dragons, "You may stay if you want."

"Thank you," Umbra answered, "We would love to."

Shadow nodded in agreement.

The bright sun fell over the horizon. Its red and orange glow indicating the late evening.

News of Flare and Aurora's pregnancies spread through the temple and the residents were nothing short of delightful. All were excited to know that there would be not only new residents at the temple, but new life in general.

Spyro and Cynder sat on the roof of the temple, looking over the city and the setting sun.

"Hopefully I won't be too sore tomorrow," Spyro stated, stretching out his wings slightly and rolling his shoulders.

Cynder smiled, "I can only imagine. You had two longer training sessions today." She referred to Volteer's new training and Flare and Incendia's training.

"Well, you'll be training with your parents soon," Spyro pointed out. "That must be exciting for you."

"It is," the black dragoness replied, "the last time I trained with them was…" her sentence trailed off.

Spyro finished for her, "before they disappeared."

Cynder nodded, remembering the heartache of losing her family. "Part of me still has trouble believing that I have them again."

The purple dragon gave her a gentle kiss on her cheek for comfort. "Well believe it. They are here to stay, and I don't think they will be leaving any time soon."

Cynder gave her purple dragon a thankful smile. Her smile soon dropped, as thoughts ran through her mind.

Spyro took notice, "What is it?" he asked, some concern in his voice.

Cynder shook her head, "Nothing Spyro." She leaned her head on his shoulder, "I'm just thinking is all."

Spyro leaned his own head on hers, looking at the peaceful city below.

Cynder's mind was clouded with thoughts. She shifted her emerald eyes to the purple dragon, who didn't seem to notice. Oh, Spyro. You're always looking after me and doing everything in your power to make me happy. I love you so much, it hurts. I just don't know how to tell you about them. I'm afraid how you will react.

"Spyro?" she asked, doing everything she can to keep her voice calm.

"Yes, Cynder?" he replied, gazing at her with his amethyst eyes.

"Promise me that you will always be with me. No matter what."

Spyro pulled away from Cynder slightly to look into her eyes. He could see concern within her emerald orbs, however, he also saw anxiety and fear. He could only ponder why.

Rather than replying with words, the purple dragon leaned in and pressed his lips against hers. Cynder didn't expect the sudden gesture, but welcome it nonetheless and returned the kiss.

After a moment they pulled apart to look into each other's eyes, the sun nearly set in the background.

Finally, Spyro answered, "I promise Cyn, I will always be with you. I love you."

Cynder smiled, nuzzling her cheek against his, "I love you too, Spy."

The purple dragon used his paws and wings to pull the two dragons closer together in an embrace. Neither dragon was quite ready for bed, they enjoyed to warmth of their lover as the night began to flourish.