Exotic Fruit
Travel took the entire day. Although the dragons had tried to swim the whole way, they all ended up needing some help, in the end; the first of which being Stella. She made it a good four hours before she tired and Keltili offered to carry her.
At first, Stella had been perplexed on how she would go about doing so, but when the mother dolphin swam up from underneath her, she was lifted onto Keltili's back and supported from sliding off with Keltili's dorsal fin. There Stella didn't have to do any work at all and was carried swiftly through the water with ease. When Dawn saw her, she thought it looked like fun and asked politely to try it. A random pod member happily obliged.
The next to become fatigued were Fuchsia and Shade. Fuchsia started to slow her pace and pant. Shade slowed as well, but he otherwise showed no visible signs of wearing out. When dolphins offered to help them, Fuchsia graciously accepted. Shade however refused and stubbornly tried to keep swimming. The dolphin who'd asked to help him happened to be Lunari.
"Don't touch me, I don't need help," Shade grumbled.
"Stop sounding like an old grumpy elder and just humor her, Shade. It's ok," Fuchsia giggled.
Shade wanted to protest, but when he looked to Fuchsia's smiling face he gave in.
"Fine," he mumbled.
"Yay!" Lunari exclaimed, then proceeded to push Shade ahead of her. She wasn't as big as her parents so couldn't actually carry him, but her muscular body built for swimming could propel him with little effort.
Fuchsia had to stifle another giggle because it was rather amusing to watch. Shade's face appeared as if he were fighting to keep a neutral expression while feeling both surprise and irritation. He wondered to himself why he'd ever decided to come on this journey and vowed to learn to fly as soon as possible.
Spyro and Cinder lasted almost the whole day, with Spyro tiring a few hours before sunset and Cinder about an hour after him. Throughout the day, Spyro had alternated swimming and flying to get more flight practice in. Once his wings got used to it, it would definitely be the ideal way to travel distances.
When it became noticeable that he could no longer do either, he was offered help. He was a bit stubborn with receiving assistance as well but accepted it from Gilltis when he insisted. Cinder tried his hardest to make it the whole way, but his legs eventually started giving out and he began to sink.
"Admirable effort my friend! You are truly an athlete among land-dwellers! Please allow me to assist you the rest of the way!" Dertan commended him, then without waiting for a reply, he swam under Cinder and lifted him upon his back.
Cinder hadn't realized just how large the male dolphin was until then, but he himself didn't quite measure up to his mass, so Dertan was capable of carrying him like the others. Shade was the only one to not truly be carried.
As the sun disappeared halfway below the horizon, the entourage came within sight of land. When they neared it and the ocean started losing its depths, the group stopped.
"I am afraid this is where we must now part ways, friends," Dertain stated.
"Thank you for all your help," Spyro replied.
"Yes, and we look forward to seeing you again soon!" Fuchsia added.
"Do take care of yourselves!" Kaltili called to them as the dolphin pod began turning around and swimming away.
"Thank you!" Stella replied. She'd really gotten to like Keltili especially, as she reminded her of her own mother.
Everyone else said their various goodbyes to the dolphins, then turned to swim the little stretch left to the shore of a beach. It was curved and formed a huge crescent-shaped cove. A few scattered boulder-sized crystals grew right out of the ground and reminded Spyro of the ones from Crystal Islands in the Forgotten Worlds. Past the beach, there was a dense jungle, and beyond that lush green mountains loomed. Once the dragons could walk upon the beach's sands, they turned to watch the last specs of the dolphin pod vanishing in the distance.
"What nice aquatic mammals," Dawn stated, breaking the silence.
"Yes, they were. I hope we do meet them again," Spyro responded.
"Well, since it's so late now and we've been swimming all day, I think we should rest for the night," Fuchsia suggested.
Just then, Cinder's stomach growled loud enough for everyone to hear. He made a sheepish expression when they all looked at him.
"First, we should find some food, or Cinder will keep us up all night," Spyro said, laughing. He seemed to be over the events of that morning.
Everyone else except Shade laughed as well.
"Alright. I think I still have enough energy to forage," said Fuchsia.
"As do I!" Dawn piped in, sounding more excited that she should be.
Both of them wandered away, heading down the coastline. Shade didn't say anything and followed after them.
"I'll go too," Stella said, glancing awkwardly from Spyro to Cinder, and back. She was hoping they were no longer fighting and that they'd be friends again.
Spyro started to follow her, but then sat down when he noticed her shake her head slightly. Then she hurried after the others and left him and Cinder by themselves. Several silent minutes past as they sat watched the sun setting, and then Cinder spoke.
"So, are you still mad at me?"
Spyro turned his head to him.
"No. And I'm sorry I yelled. I got carried away trying to protect Stella since I thought you were picking on her," he replied.
"Oh good! It was going to be soooo boring without you to talk to!" Cinder responded happily. He suddenly seemed to regain some energy and stood up with enthusiasm.
Spyro laughed.
"You really must like her," Cinder continued.
"Well, yeah. I..."
"You don't have to explain it again, I know. I'm sorry I laughed when I flung the fish at you two. And you know I didn't mean it, right? Well, not the fish flinging part anyway."
Spyro nodded and chuckled.
"Yeah, I do now. I'm sorry I accused you of doing it on purpose. And I don't blame you for laughing. It was kind of funny."
"Right!?" Cinder exclaimed with widened eyes. "Can you imagine if it had been Shade?"
"I'm pretty sure he would have killed you," Spyro laughed again.
"Oh, he's not so tough. Now that I know what to expect from him, I bet I could take him," Cinder boasted, proudly puffing out his chest.
He reminded Spyro of all the adult Peace Keepers he knew. They were all big and strong. Cinder probably wasn't that far off from being full grown.
"Well, hopefully, you won't need to. Shade is very strange, but he has been helping us. I'd rather keep him as an ally than an enemy. So, don't go picking fights. And definitely don't play jokes on him," Spyro warned.
"I won't, don't worry. I have been doing what you asked; controlling my 'sense of humor' as you put it."
"Good, thank you. I don't mind if you joke around sometimes. Just be careful who you prank, and what you do to them," Spyro suggested, smiling. He liked jokes too, but there was a time and place for them and Cinder seemed to not always be able to discern that.
"Ok, I will," Cinder replied, returning a smile. "I'm glad you're not really a stick in the mud."
"Hey!" Spyro scoffed.
They both narrowed their eyes at each other, then started laughing. About that moment, the others returned. They had found some sort of spiky pink and green fruit and brought several with them.
"Well, it's not much, but these look good," Fuchsia said as she set hers down in front of them. She had a bundle of three, dangling from long thin string-like vines. "It's the best we could find in a hurry since none of us have the energy to hunt."
Shade sort of half-snorted when she said that. He carried a large bundle of around six hanging fruits and set them down with Fuchsia's.
"Alright, well most of us lack the energy. I didn't want anyone venturing into the forest tonight," she added, flashing Shade a small smirk.
"Thesh shud ve gret!" Dawn happily mumbled, not bothering to set her four fruits down first.
Stella held her two in silence. She figured she'd just keep them for herself and Spyro. Though he must have wanted more because he snatched up a couple from the pile with a front paw.
"Should we make a fire and roast them?" he asked, mainly to Fuchsia.
"We could. I think they are ok as is though. At least, they smell safe anyway," she replied.
Cinder gathered up some nearby driftwood, then returned and started to build a fire anyway. Spyro and Stella sat down near it with their food, right next to each other of course. Dawn took the fruits she still carried and sat across the growing fire from them. When Cinder was satisfied with the size of the flames, he grasped a claw-full of vines and dragged them over to hold above them for several minutes before taking up a place near Dawn.
There were then three fruits left, and Fuchsia and Shade stared at them a moment before looking at each other.
"You take the third one, I'll just have one," Fuchsia suggested.
"No, you can have it," Shade responded in his usual neutral tone.
"But, you..." She stopped herself when she noticed Shade's very faint insisting expression. "Why don't we share it?" she finished.
Shade's eyes darted away from her. He felt like he wanted to say something else, maybe to argue, but he couldn't decide. To Fuchsia, he looked hesitant and nervous. She smiled and cut one of the fruits in half with a talon. In die-cut view, it was shaped like a star.
"Here," she said, offering him a half.
He took it a bit reluctantly and she just smiled at him. The tiniest of tiny smiles teased at the corner of his muzzle as well. Quickly he placed the half in his mouth to carry it and dragged his other to a spot away from the others and outside the firelight, where he sat to eat. Fuchsia copied him and chose to sit next to him, which somewhat surprised him.
Inside, the fruit was white with neon green stripes and little black seeds. The outside was bland and crunchy, while the inside was sweet-tart and juicy. Overall, they were very good. When Fuchsia had finished hers, she lay down like a cat and stared out at the ocean. The sun was only a faint sliver on the horizon and would soon be gone. Content, she sighed. Shade remained sitting after eating his fruit but looked out to sea with her. A few moments past before Fuchsia broke the silence.
"So, why are you always so quiet and broody?" she asked.
Shade was stunned. He hadn't expected her to start asking about him so soon. Part of him hoped she would have forgotten.
"Come on, you agreed to open up," Fuchsia coaxed, turning her head to look at him.
He really didn't want to look her in the eye and tried to remain focused on the setting sun, but the feel of her gaze on him caused his eyes to dart her direction. Oh, that face! Why couldn't he resist that face?
"I... uh, it's a long story," he answered.
"Do tell."
"Right now?" Shade asked with a slight whine in his voice.
Fuchsia had never heard him sound like that before. Maybe she shouldn't try to make him talk about himself. But she really wanted to know; to understand what made him tick.
"Please?" was all she said, though she couldn't help it and stared at him pleadingly.
As he stared at her, she could see pain in his eyes. At the same time though, he looked as if he needed to tell someone.
"It's ok. You don't have to tell me. I'd like to know, but if you really don't..."
"I'm an orphan," he stated, cutting her off.
Fuchsia watched him with a concerned expression.
"My parents, when they were alive, weren't the greatest. Nothing I ever did was good enough for them... I wasn't good enough for them. So, I ran away. Then I later found out they were killed in a lightning storm," Shade explained, now staring at his feet.
"Shade, I'm so sorry," Fuchsia said. She had sat back up. Both her shoulders and head drooped.
"Don't be. I feel nothing for them. I didn't need them, and I don't need pity," Shade almost snapped. His tail tip twitched slightly.
A moment of silence passed and then Fuchsia got to her feet. Good, she heard what she wanted and now she'll go and leave me alone, Shade thought to himself. But that is not what she did. Instead, she stepped over to him and time seemed to stop. Without even pausing, she leaned towards him, arched her neck over his shoulder, and wrapped a wing around him in a hug.
He was so shocked he couldn't move or breathe for that matter. She just held him like that for what seemed like an eternity. Eventually, he felt himself blink and thought he might be breathing again.
"You're not alone anymore," he heard her whisper. Then she pulled away from him.
As she did, he felt oddly as if part of himself got ripped away with her. He found himself wishing she'd embrace him again.
"Thanks," he muttered almost inaudibly, looking at her face again.
"You're welcome," Fuchsia said, smiling at him again. This time her sunny yellow eyes held a strange sparkle to them.
Shade thought they looked stunning. Suddenly, Fuchsia looked away from him and blushed.
"Well, I think that's enough delving into your secrets for one night," she said nervously. She hadn't expected Shade to be capable of looking at her so intensely. Sure, intense was his thing, but that was, wow!
Worried she might have just unintentionally insulted him, she looked back at him. He now appeared to be a bit confused and sad. Shoot. She needed to just tell him how she felt. She sort of had the night before, but not directly enough. And he was obviously not used to understanding feelings and subtle hints. Swallowing hard, she mentally prepared herself.
"Shade? What do you think,,, I mean, do you, er... Would you want..." she attempted horribly.
He furrowed his eye ridges, looking even more confused.
"Do you remember when I said I think you're mysterious and fascinating? Well, what I meant to say was... I also, um... I also really like you, and if you're ok with it, I'd like to date you. That is if you want to," she shut her eyes, not sure what the result of her confession would be.
"Oh..."
Her heart instantly dropped to her belly. He didn't want to, she knew it.
"...Uh, sure," Shade finished.
As quickly as it had dropped, her heart soared into the clouds.
"Really!?" she asked with excitement. "You don't hate me for making you open up? I don't annoy you?"
"No," he replied, almost uttering a chuckle.
"Oh good, I'm glad!"
Shade wanted to tell her he felt the exact opposite of her fears, but he wasn't ready for words yet. He was actually just glad she'd explained her thoughts of him. It made him happy to hear. It was strange, but he no longer thought it was so weird to feel these emotions, and despite his expectations, they weren't unpleasant at all.
"Well, we probably better call it a night. I'll just, uh, sleep over here, ok?" Fuchsia stated, walking a couple feet from him and curling up on the ground.
Shade just nodded and lay down where he sat. He sort of wanted to lay closer to her but was also afraid to scare her off or something. Here was close enough.
Over by the fire, the others were oblivious to what was taking place so close by. They all reminisced about the recent battle with Gnasty Gnorc and discussed their plans for the next day. Time passed and the fire started dying down. Eventually, the last glowing ember vanished in a puff of smoke.
"Look!" Stella suddenly gasped, pointing past the beach to the nearby tree line.
The sand they lie upon was white as bone, not abnormal as many beaches had white sand. Several of the trees that made up the forest, however, were very odd. While there was still sunlight, and even when they still had some fire left, the trees had appeared mostly normal, though their bark was on the pale side like that of an aspen. Now that their only sources of light were the stars and the two moons, they could all see just how abnormal the trees were. They had started glowing in a low blue-green color, creating an additional light source all themselves.
"What pretty trees..." Dawn said in awe.
"Neat!" Spyro and Cinder said together.
"I wonder what makes them do that?" Stella thought out loud.
"I don't know. Some sort of magic, probably. I'm glad it's not very bright though. It would make it hard to sleep," Spyro responded.
Once they got over the initial surprise at the bioluminescent plants, they continued their conversation.
"The dolphins suggested we keep heading east, so that's what we'll do. We'll have to stick together. I doubt there will be a road that takes us straight through the forest," stated Spyro.
"Yeah. Hey, maybe we can all practice flying in there!" Cinder suggested.
"That's not a bad idea. Though the trees might cause problems," Spyro responded.
Cinder looked rather disappointed.
"Well, maybe we can try flying from branch to branch or something. We'll have to see what the forest is like in the morning,"
Cinder was immediately happy again. He hoped that since Spyro had finally learned how to fly, he could offer some advice.
"Speaking of which, it's getting late. We should get some rest. Shade and Fuchsia are one step ahead of us," Spyro pointed out after noticing the two sleeping forms a ways away from them.
Fuchsia had seemed to take an interest in Shade lately. He wondered about it, then pushed it from his mind.
"Good night everyone," he said, pulling Stella nearer to him with a wing.
She happily shifted closer and quickly fell asleep with a contented sigh. Resting his head on her back, Spyro felt his eyelids getting heavy. He could just make out the shapes of Cinder and Dawn curling into balls where they had been sitting when he lost consciousness.
The next day...
The morning sun had just risen above the horizon, shining its bright rays across the beach and warming the world from the chill of the night when a scream woke the dragons. Cinder bolted to his feet in a panic.
"We're under attack!" he yelled. "Hide!" Then he found the nearest boulder and dove behind it, covering his head with his wings.
Stella's head shot up and she looked towards the sound of the scream. It came from Fuchsia, though instead of being where she remembered her last being, the Artisan was somehow floating? She wasn't flapping her wings, so it definitely wasn't flying. She was in the air, however, drifting along toward the jungle like a balloon and slowly gaining altitude.
"How did I get up here?! Help!" she yelled.
At the sound of her cries, Shade was instantly on his feet and running towards her. He ran as fast as his legs could carry him, but he didn't seem to be catching up. Then he started to notice everything around him seemed to be, bigger. Halting for a second, he glanced around in surprise. He had shrunk! His size was now about that of a newly hatched dragon, though he hadn't lost his age. Not sure how this had happened or what to do about it, he returned to running after Fuchsia.
"Hey!" he yelled, hoping to get the others'attentions, and he nearly tripped over his own feet in reaction to his voice. It came out high-pitched and somewhat squeaky sounding, like he'd inhaled helium.
"Spyro! Save Fuchsia!" Stella shouted, getting to her feet. She figured he had the best chance of helping her since he could fly now.
As she stood up she felt very strange, like she didn't have full control of her own limbs. Looking down at her feet, she gasped. She was much larger than she should be and she seemed to be radiating a bright glowing aura. On top of that, Spyro was staring up at her with a more affectionate than normal expression plastered on his face. Nothing else about him was out of the ordinary, but the look he was giving her made her blush and feel much too warm.
"Ribbit! {Mornings greetings, fair maiden! The sun cannot compare to your brilliant radiance!}" he said to her.
Stella was very confused. Why did he sound like a frog?
"Please, go rescue Fuchsia before she floats away!" she urgently asked him again.
"Rrribbit! {As you wish, resplendent one!}" He again sounded like a frog, but at least he could still fly. Taking off into the air, he headed to fetch the lofty silver dragon.
Snapping out of her morning meditation, Dawn opened one eye to see what all the commotion was about. The scene before her almost made her laugh out loud. Fuchsia had luckily landed in a tree at the edge of the rainforest and was no longer drifting away. A poor, tiny Shade was attempting to climb up to rescue her.
Neat! There are little crystals hanging from that tree, Dawn thought to herself. Scanning the rest of the tree line, she spotted several more like it. They were different than the glowing ones from the night. These had dark brown bark and long draping turquoise-colored vine branches. Aside from the crystals, the trees resembled Weeping Willows. Their baubles seemed to grow naturally from the vines.
Motion caught Dawn's eye and she returned her attention to her friends. Spyro flew up to Fuchsia, got her untangled from the branches that held her, and then pushed her towards the ground. When Shade could reach her, he grabbed onto her tail. Spyro then let go, thinking the Artisan was safe. As soon as he did, however, she began floating upward again and pulled Shade with her. Then a very big Stella came stomping up to them. She had grown to the size of an adult and was now even bigger than Cinder. Her age remained the same though, which made her look quite odd; not to mention the fact that she glowed.
Speaking of Cinder, where was he? Dawn looked around in search of him. Her eyes landed on a red spotted tail sticking out from behind a large crystalline rock. Curious, she stood up and walked over to it.
"Are you attempting to become a rock, Cinder?" she asked.
"Ah! Don't hurt me!" he replied in fright of her.
Dawn tilted her head and raised an eye ridge. He looked kind of cute when he was scared. Nah, he was just kind of cute in general.
"You haven't done anything to earn the event of my hurting you, silly," she told him.
"Oh, good, I think," he replied, sounding rather puzzled.
She couldn't imagine why. She'd been perfectly clear.
"You are truly a silly individual," she said, then looked back to see how the others were doing.
Stella had grabbed ahold of Fuchsia's ankle and was proceeding to tie a rope around it. Where had she gotten a rope from? Dawn pondered about it a few moments. Meh, who cares, she then thought with a shrug. When Stella was sure her friend was secure, she let go and held onto the other end of the rope. Fuchsia remained stationary, restrained by the tether.
"Good, it's worki...oof!" Fuchsia exclaimed as she suddenly plummeted to the ground, landing right on top of the shrunken Shade. "Oh, sorry Shade! Are you alright?!"
"I'm ok," Shade muttered in a funny voice, squeezing out from under her.
Spyro instantly started laughing, sort of. The only noises that came out of him sounded like a bunch of croaking. Shade glared at him, though he was much less intimidating at his current stature. Spyro's attention then turned back to Stella's direction. He abruptly stopped laughing and gazed at her in adoration.
"Ribbit rib rbrt, {Such a sad expression has no right to sit upon a beautiful face such as yours, my love}" he said.
Everyone looked at him with confusion. They apparently couldn't understand his frog-speak. His thoughts, however, were broadcasting freely so that Dawn would have to actually put up her own mental wall if she didn't want to hear them. That was a new experience for her. For now, it didn't bother her though.
"Ok, everyone! Gather around, we need to figure this out!" Fuchsia ordered.
Looking back to Cinder, Dawn found him huddled behind her and shaking.
"Is she mad at me? Don't let her yell at me," he begged.
Dawn blinked a few times, then smiled. Awww, now he was super cute!
"Come, silly one, she's not mad," Dawn reassured him. Then she spun around behind him and tried to shove him in the direction of the others.
Slowly, Cinder accepted her coaxing and walked over on his own, though he stayed close enough to touch her. When they arrived just outside the tree line with the others, Fuchsia tried to stand up from her fallen position. She did not succeed very well. It was as if she weighed ten times more than she looked. Giving up, she remained laying down.
"So, first off I owe you all an apology. I believe the cause of our current predicament is the fruit we ate last night," she stated.
"Really?" Stella asked.
"Yes. I should have been more cautious before allowing us to consume unknown produce."
"Rib rib ribbit rib {I suffer no ailment other than that of a stolen heart, taken by the elegance of my lovely mistress}," Spyro piped up, grabbing Stella's paw in his own and kissing it.
Stella still didn't seem to understand him but burned brightly at his gesture. She tried to pull her paw back and pay attention to Fuchsia, but Spyro made it difficult for her. He then stared deeply into her eyes and said,
"Ribbit ribbit rib croak. {Your eyes are the rarest of sparkling emeralds set into a perfectly luminous soul. I desire for us to be wed at once so I might claim you as my own and no other shall be granted your favor}."
Internally Dawn was dying. If only the others could hear that! It was a bit of a struggle, but she managed to keep a calm exterior. The only hint of her thoughts was a huge grin on her face.
"Um, ok..." Fuchsia continued, eyeing Spyro skeptically. "So, Spyro has turned into some sort of obsessed weirdo with a frog voice, Stella is adult-sized and glows, Shade has shrunk, Cinder is now a scaredy-cat, and I seem to have weight issues. To be honest, I have no idea how to fix this," she said, staring wide-eyed ahead of her. She had intentionally not pointed out Shade's voice.
"We're doomed!" Cinder yelled, hiding his head under his wings again.
"Wait, Dawn, are you having any issues?" Fuchsia asked, turning to her.
"Am I? I feel the same as the day I was hatched," Dawn replied, looking herself over.
"Interesting. You don't appear to be affected. Perhaps Dream Weavers are imm... Ah, not again!" Fuchsia cut off as she started rising into the air. She tried to keep herself from doing so by digging into the ground with her talons, but to no avail. The sand was not firm enough to grasp. She stopped rising when she got to the end of the rope, which Stella had tied to her own wrist just in case.
"What do we do, Fuchsia? We aren't stuck like this forever, are we?" Stella asked nervously. Her eyes darted back and forth between the Artisan and Spyro.
Spyro still held her paw and was proceeding to kiss up the length of her foreleg. He couldn't make it very far due to their size differences and stopped to gaze at her face once more.
"Rib, croooak rib? {What is your answer, beloved? Will you be mine and mine alone forever?}" he asked expectantly.
Stella somehow blushed even brighter, but her face remained perplexed.
"I'm s-sorry, Spyro. I don't understand what you're saying," she responded in a shaky voice.
And she would probably faint if she could, Dawn thought with a grin. She rather liked all the strange yet fun things that were happening to her friends and felt a tad jealous she didn't have some sort of silly power too.
"Um, well there's a chance it might just wear off. Or we may have to find an antidote, which could take forever. Uhh, I-I'm not sure..." Fuchsia trailed off, sounding on the verge of panic. She was currently floating upside down and looked extremely funny.
"Fuchsia, you have wings, have you not?" Dawn asked in a suggestive way.
Fuchsia glanced at her and her expression became a bit brighter.
"Right," she said, then began flapping her wings awkwardly in an attempt to orient herself. It worked, and once righted she could flap normally. "This isn't so bad. Thank you for the suggestion, Dawn."
Dawn just smiled at her.
"Alright, let's just proceed with the plan and explore the jungle. Hopefully, these effects will wear off in a couple hours. If they don't, then we'll worry about an antidote or something. Everyone ok with that?" Fuchsia asked.
Shade, Stella, and Dawn nodded their heads. Cinder peeked out from under his wing with a look of horror.
"T-the jungle? There are dangers in the jungle. What if we die!?"
"Ribbit rib! {I shall boldly face any threat to protect and earn the favor of my beloved!}," Spyro boasted, puffing out his chest. He had finally released Stella's leg.
"You'll be fine, Cinder. We'll all stick close together, alright?" Fuchsia told him. Then she looked to each of them in turn. "Stella, you lead and pull me. Cinder, you follow her, and Spyro and Dawn make sure he keeps up. Shade, um, it might be best if I carried you. And if I have another heavy spell, Stella can carry both of us."
Shade did not appear very amused at the thought of being carried. He made no comment, however, and just gave an irritated sigh. Stella huddled in as small of a ball as she could.
"I-I don't want to lead. I won't know where to go," she whined.
"None of us actually know where to go Stella. I assigned you first because you're really the only one strong enough to carry me and Shade if I turn heavy again."
"B-but.."
"Croooak ribbit! {Fear not, my treasure! I will forge ahead and face the dangers that dare threaten you!}," Spyro exclaimed, leaping in front of her and landing in a stance that said 'I can take on anything'.
Everyone watched him in surprised silence a moment.
"Uh, ok. I guess Spyro can lead and then you can follow him, Stella. Shade and I will be floating above you, hopefully, and then Cinder will come next. Dawn, please make sure Cinder stays with the group," Fuchsia requested.
Dawn nodded. With a suitable marching order assigned, Stella picked up Shade and handed him to Fuchsia, then the group of ailing dragons finally headed into the forest with Dawn bringing up the rear.
Author Notes:
Fun fact, I got inspiration for the effects of the strange fruit from a show that came out during my writing hiatus, and which I fell in love with, called My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. If you have seen it, I bet you can guess what episode inspired it. The appearance of the fruit is supposed to be a crazy mix of a dragon fruit, starfruit, and passion fruit, but with magic properties of course. Hope you enjoy its effects. It was fun thinking of them.
Also, I recently added a cover image to my fic. Unfortunately, the size is small but it shows what each of the dragons looks like if you like visuals. I commissioned it from Eternity9 on DeviantArt. I'll try to figure out how to add a link to the original work soon.