Hi, dragonlets! No time for witty banter today, guys! We've got fauns to save! So let's get this show on the road!
You found a disclaimer!
Spyro the Dragon, both the game and all related characters (c) Insomniac. They own the Spyro that's in this story, so nyeh.
Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage / Gateway to Glimmer, as well as all related characters (c) blah-blah, same copyright.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE: Bagpipes
Night had fallen on the Fracture Hills by the time Spyro arrived. For a place supposedly ruled by earthshapers, the breezy hills were surprisingly quiet. Even the locals didn't seem bothered, as Spyro found a young faun-girl that was the spitting image of a black-furred Elora twirling a yo-yo, casually standing around near a strangely-intricate statue of a satyr with a bagpipe.
The faun waved when Spyro landed. "Oh, hey, dragon. You must be the big-shot from the Dragon Realms that my sister and the Professor dragged in." She smirked, giving him a casual lookover. "Huh. You're kind of cuter than I thought you'd be - 'specially for a quadraped."
"Thanks..." Spyro winced, eager to change THAT subject as soon as possible. "Uhm...are you guys under attack or anything? In trouble? Need rescuing? See a redhead faun running around anywhere?"
"Yes, not really, no, and yes," the faun tsked casually. "Yeah, the earthshapers showed up and they're not big on bagpipes, so they caged up all our boys 'n rocked up the temple. It happens, someone'll take care of it eventually." (Spyro gave an annoyed snort; he assumed she was referring to him.)
"Anyway, my brainiac sister's around here somewhere, doing something stupid," the faun continued. (At that moment, Spyro put together a few pieces and realized he was speaking to Elora's older sister, Lila.) "If you run around for a bit, you might find her. Provided the earthshapers haven't dug her up yet."
Spyro rushed off to do his hero-duty, but was quickly stopped by the faun yet again. "Hey, if you can find a way into the temple, let me know - I'd be glad ta give you the grand tour," she winked.
"Yeah, I'll...definitely let you know."
oo00oo00oo
Spyro was quick to deduce why only the boys of Fracture Hills were kidnapped by the earthshapers. (First off, the girls didn't seem interested in doing much more than playing with their yoyos, frequently complaining that doing anything else would be too bothersome or could potentially ruin their hooves.) The satyrs were a band of accomplished bagpipe players, and their catchy jingle was more than just a fun dance tune. As their playing circled through the Hills, Spyro watched as the earthshapers below cringed and moaned, bashing their hammers at the soundwaves.
He also watched as the music reached the stone fortress surrounding the temple crumbled away, piece by piece. Bagpipe music that can smash through stone? Only in Avalar.
However, that didn't help the Artisan clear the area any easier. He still had no way of taking out the earthshapers, resorting to shoving them into their own lava pools to deal with the unstoppable creatures. Which proved to be trouble when the dragon found himself backed into a corner, up against a team of earthshapers and nowhere to push them.
Spyro kept rolling and dodging from the hefty hammer blows the best he could (still trying to revigorate his tail, which was recently squashed by a mistimed charge into the earthshaper's range), mind racing to find an escape. But charges didn't do it, and neither did a flame. He couldn't run forever, he'd need a way to knock these things down!
Thunk! The earthshaper suddenly toppled backwards, stunned and unbalanced by the arrow now stuck between its eyes. After a few dazed moments, the beast began to squirm, wriggling like a flipped turtle to regain his footing.
There, Spyro saw his opportunity. Suddenly able to gain a height advantage, the dragon jumped up onto the clunky beast's stomach, then jumped again. He rolled into a front-flip midair, smashing his horns straight down into the rocky beast. With gravity supplying the extra oomph to his attack, the earthshaper crumbled under the mighty strike.
Spyro shook his head (he was still new to the art of headbashing), then got a closer look at the arrow that aided his comeback. It was sharp and well-made, a craftsmanship one rarely saw in the Dragon Realms.
He went to pick up the leftover weapon, but ended up ducking as another rushed between his horns, striking an earthshaper that was about to charge. Seeing another window, Spyro rushed over and repeated the finishing blow. "Seriously, where do these arrows keep coming from?"
Thunk! Spyro winced at the loud crash of another earthshaper nearby being felled, likely by another well-aimed arrow. "How about we smash some earthshapers now and you ask questions later?"
oo00oo00oo
Within minutes, Spyro and Hunter had cleared out the earthshapers, giving the duo a moment to catch their breath and allowing the cheetah to reclaim his arrows. "Funny, you'd think those earthshapers would be tougher than they look," he laughed.
"Hunter, that was AWESOME!" Spyro congratulated. "Man, why didn't you mention you had bow skills like that?"
Surprised, Hunter looked back at his old rival. "Really? You're impressed?"
The dragon gave a scoff. "More than impressed, I owe ya one. I couldn't have taken out those earthshapers by myself."
The cheetah gave a cocky shrug. "Eh, you know - all part of the hero thing."
Spyro gave a laugh, laying down as his tail flicked about, the flattened muscle working itself out. "Y'know, I can't believe I'm the one to say it, but...we make a pretty good team."
Hunter couldn't help but smile. "You know what? Yeah, we do." With his arrows collected, he took a seat on the stone ledge next to his rival. "Maybe you're not so bad after all, Spyro."
"Since you learned my name, I take it you're not mad anymore?"
"I...guess not?"
"Good, one less problem I have to deal with before I get out of here." Offering the only peace sign he knew, Spyro sat up slightly and gave Hunter a salute. "Friends?"
Hunter returned the gesture. "Yeah, why not? 'Til I have to kick your tail on the Metro Speedway, anyway."
"Oh, is THAT the way it's gonna be?"
"Hey, look, you got lucky in Summer Forest! Next time, the racing crown's all mine!"
Spyro went to continue the argument, but both of them paused and looked up when the sound of angry earthshapers rattled the area.
"...Y'know, maybe we should go deal with them and talk racing later."
"That...sounds like a plan."
oo00oo00oo
With the help of Hunter and the satyrs, Spyro cleared the earthshapers out of Fracture Hills, freeing the boys to play their bagpipes and the girls to...continue twirling their yo-yos and pretend nothing was wrong. (Spyro was starting to understand why Elora had moved to the Summer Forest after his night in the Hills.)
They finally found Elora by the temples, but rather than return to Magma Cone, the newly-formed trio decided to spend the rest of their night in the Hills, watching the pigs get up and dance to the enchanted bagpipes and enjoying a few hours of peace. They had earned two talismans (both presents from the fauns, thanking Spyro for all of his work in preparing the party in Magma Cone and restoring music to the Fracture Hills) and several orbs over the day; everyone agreed that they deserved a break.
"I'm glad to see you two aren't at each other's throats anymore," Elora smiled, noting the sudden kinship between dragon and cheetah.
"I'm just glad to see that you're alright," Spyro returned. "You had me worried when the Magma fauns said that you were running around with these earthshapers around. Don't do anything else like that, okay?"
The faun curled up, resting her arms on her knees and hiding her face to disguise the blush on her cheeks. "Alright, I'll try not to. But I don't think it's fair that you get to run into dangerous things all the time, and I get busted for doing it once."
"To be fair, Elora, you yell at me for doing dumb stuff all the time," Hunter argued.
"If I don't do it, who else will?" Spyro couldn't help but snicker as the cheetah was lost for a witty comeback, as usual.
As the dragon shut his eyes to stretch his back, Hunter made a few pointing gestures between him, Elora, and the bagpipe players. After a few points, Elora figured out his charade and shook her head with a snappy 'no'. Hunter threw up his hands in an exasperated 'oh, come on!', exaggerating his gestures to re-emphasize his point. Elora slashed a hand in Hunter's direction, urging him to stop and be quiet.
...And nervously moved that hand behind her head when Spyro looked up in confusion. With all eyes on her, Hunter gave her an encouraging look and gesture that went unseen by the dragon in question.
Elora gave a nervous sigh. "Spyro, would you...uh...like to...y'know..."
With the bagpipes so close, the blank was easy to fill. "Dance?" The dragon shook his head. "Nah, I'm not much of a-"
Spyro jumped as he felt a dragonfly tug on his horns, forcing him onto his feet. "Oh, don't be a jerk!" Sparx buzzed, loud enough to hurt his dragon's ears without being heard. "Go dance with the girl!"
If there's one weakness of the dragons, it's their inability to argue with their dragonflies. So Spyro was forced to swallow his pride and give Elora a polite nod, offering his horns to help her to her feet. "On second thought, sure, let's go."
It was a disaster of comedic proportions for anyone watching. Ignoring the logistics of a biped dancing with a quadraped, Elora proved to be surprisingly-clumsy on her hooves, and the quick-footed Spyro suffered from a crippling lack of rhythm. The two looked ridiculous, but could laugh it all away, enjoying the night regardless. (Spyro even spent a few songs on his hind legs, nearly reaching Elora's height and doing his best to twirl her around the glade.)
Sparx took a seat on Hunter's head as the two sat back and watched the show. "Young love at its finest," the cheetah laughed, having gone through more than enough girls (one of which being Elora, though he wasn't planning on telling Spyro that) to recognize the signs of a blossoming relationship.
Sparx gave a chuckle of his own. "Yeah. If only Spyro's skull wasn't so thick, maybe he could get his head around the idea of girls."
Aw, young love. XD Another two talismans down! Where will our mighty dragon's adventures take us next? Find out next time on Legacy! Thanks for reading, guys! Hope you enjoyed! :)
§ Tucker's Mayflower, signing off! §