Legend of Spyro - Four Pillars of Aether

by Blazcowitz43

A New Beginning Re-imagined. Twelve years after the Temple raid, the four survivors of that dreadful night live a happy carefree existence. They are Spyro, Cynder, Flame and Ember; the four who lived. Spyro is a rare purple dragon who has been taught his whole life that great things await him, but can he unlock the secrets of Aether and defeat Malefor, the first purple dragon?

10. Chapter 9: Hide and Seek and Hermits

Chapter 9: Hide and Seek and Hermits

"The Valley of Avalar has a long and storied history. Tales of adventure, magic and wonder. But there are some stories yet to be told. And some that wish to remain hidden from the world."

A few hours later, the Valley was drenched in warm sunlight as the four young dragons and Hunter stood outside the village by the edge of the pier on the river. The mood at present was much lighter than it had been before, Spyro and Flame were both standing on their hind legs and wrestling each other while Ember was giggling playfully as she pounced and swiped at the butterflies swirling around her. Cynder stood peering over the edge of the riverbank, watching the waters as they flowed past speedily, relishing in the cool air that rose from them. Around the camp and valley there was a showcase of activity as the Cheetah's went about their daily tasks; inside the camp could be heard the heavy clanging of a blacksmith's hammer as black smoke bellowed from his hut. A small party of four Cheetah's with axes in hand walked out of the village towards the forests behind to collect lumber. Just across the river were a pair of Cheetah warriors using the wide space of the valley to spar with each other, dueling with wooden staffs rather than swords as a nearby group of cubs cheered them on enthusiastically. Within view of the village could be seen several other Cheetah's practicing archery on circular targets they had erected out in the open or fathers and sons walking up river with fishing lines and nets in hand. There was never a way to be bored in Avalar, whether one sought leisure or toil, there was always something to do.

A few hours later, the Valley was drenched in warm sunlight as the four young dragons and Hunter stood outside the village by the edge of the pier on the river. The mood at present was much lighter than it had been before, Spyro and Flame were both standing on their hind legs and wrestling each other while Ember was giggling playfully as she pounced and swiped at the butterflies swirling around her. Cynder stood peering over the edge of the riverbank, watching the waters as they flowed past speedily, relishing in the cool air that rose from them. Around the camp and valley there was a showcase of activity as the Cheetah's went about their daily tasks; inside the camp could be heard the heavy clanging of a blacksmith's hammer as black smoke bellowed from his hut. A small party of four Cheetah's with axes in hand walked out of the village towards the forests behind to collect lumber. Just across the river were a pair of Cheetah warriors using the wide space of the valley to spar with each other, dueling with wooden staffs rather than swords as a nearby group of cubs cheered them on enthusiastically. Within view of the village could be seen several other Cheetah's practicing archery on circular targets they had erected out in the open or fathers and sons walking up river with fishing lines and nets in hand. There was never a way to be bored in Avalar, whether one sought leisure or toil, there was always something to do.

Walking out alone from the gates of the village was another Cheetah, tapping a tall wooden staff on the ground with his left hand as he strolled towards the pier with a woven basket in the other. His orange fur and tiger like stripes were similar to those of Prowlus, but his amethyst eyes were far less scornful. His green tunic and brown leather vest were simple and in-ornate, lacking any kind of jewellery or outward excess that many of the other Cheetah's wore. He wore a pair of green braces on his forearms like those worn by the other villagers, but his were worn only for tradition's sake as they had never seen use in mortal combat. The Cheetah, Meadow, was the Chief physician and Herbalist of the Prowlus tribe. As had been said earlier that morning, he was against violence and unlike his brethren did not partake in any kind of combat training, as was generally expected of all the members of the tribe. Instead he devoted his energies to better improving his craft in healing the sick and the injured. His expertise had saved many lives in the last war, but he had endured a great deal of vitriol from those Cheetah's who did not agree with his pacifism, believing it was cowardly and fundamentally contrary to who they were as a culture and species. Such sentiments had gradually faded, if only because of his skill as a Herbalist. The four young dragons liked him well and he in turn shared Hunter's faith in the dragon race and that the purple dragon spoken of in the prophecy was indeed Spyro and not Malefor.

As Spyro wrestled with Flame, he saw Meadow over the red dragon's shoulder and saw him begin to chuckle lightly as he approached the group. Ember paused in her playful leaping to greet him as Cynder looked up from the river and wandered over to them. Spyro's mind was still focused on besting his friend as they heaved each other back and forth until he finally forced Flame onto the ground and pinned him down. Just then a shout from the watchtower caused himself and all other eyes to stare up at the sky towards the unmistakable shape of a dragon flying in from the direction Spyro and his friends had flown in with Ignitus last night. Hunter uncrossed his arms as he took a step over to his left as he eyed the dragon as it banked to the right and began a deadline towards the village. As Spyro stepped off of Flame, he gradually recognized the bright orange wings and dark green scales of the hapless courier that he had coerced into giving a free ride to Hunter two nights ago.

"Finbarr!" he said brightly, "I should have guessed they'd send him here."

"You going to pay him this time?" Flame asked humorously as rolled off his back and onto his feet.

"I said I would, didn't I?" he replied, tugging at the leather purse slung around his neck as Hunter and Meadow stepped up beside him.

"Assuming you haven't frightened the poor dragon, Spyro," Meadow grinned as Hunter chuckled. They watched the young courier making his decent towards them. Spyro looked over his shoulder as he heard steps and voices behind him and saw Meadow walking with Cynder and Ember over towards them. Their soon to be caretaker nodded warmly to the purple dragon as he set his basket down and clenched both hands around his staff. Spyro nodded back to him before he looked back towards the approaching courier, not being able to help but grin as he saw Finbarr's eyes bulge as he sighted the purple dragon, fearful that he had done something yet again to earn his wrath. He lurched back as if caught by ropes as his wings fanned out to slow his trajectory. His eyes remained as large as the twin moons as he skidded along the grass and stumbled to a halt a short distance from where the group was standing. Spyro beamed to him as Finbarr frightfully tried to keep his composure as his eyes remained fixed on the purple dragon.

"M-Master Spyro!" he stammered, "I-I didn't know you would be here…"

"Please," Spyro said kindly as he waved his paw dismissively at him, "You don't have to be scared of me."

"Scared? No, no, not at all, sir! Scared? Why should I be scared? I …" he chattered as if submerged in icy water. Spyro sighed with frustration as Cynder wandered up close by him. The black dragoness leaned across to him as she kept staring at the fearful courier as he babbled away.

"I think you broke his mind," she whispered half seriously, Spyro summoning a nervous grin at the fear she may be right. Hunter walked forwards as Finbarr kept his eyes on Spyro and his mouth kept flapping like a wind-up toy.

"…It's a great honour! Yes, of course it is! Why not?! It was a pleasure to provide a free service to your friend, sir, and I'll be glad to do so again…"

"Finbarr!" Spyro snapped, the dark green dragon jumped as he froze mid-sentence, mouth hanging open like a fish. By then, Hunter had stepped up beside the courier dragon and curiously observed his now catatonic state. He held his left hand in front of his eyes and snapped his fingers twice, the poor dragon's eyes boggling in his head as he returned to the world.

"Ah! Hunter!" Finbarr exclaimed, "You requested a courier, sir?" he asked brightly, apparently forgetting the immediate threat he had perceived in the purple dragon.

"Yes," Hunter replied casually, "But before we go, my friend has something he wants to give to you."

"Friend? Ah!" Finbarr cried as he remembered Spyro and saw him strolling towards him with what he must have imagined was a deceptively friendly face. The young dragon had an amused expression but with the slightest hint of annoyance as he looked up at the courier, who continued to regard him with obvious fright. Hunter put his hands on his hips as he stood looking between the two dragons. Spyro began earnestly,

"I'm sorry about the other day. I was just teasing and didn't mean to upset you. It was wrong that you weren't paid, so I want you to have this," he said as he grasped the bag around his neck and snapped off the strings, holding it out in his left paw towards him. Hunter knelled down and picked up the bag, holding it out in front of Finbarr's bewildered eyes.

"That's for the cost of Hunter's trip two nights ago," Spyro added, "And the rest you can keep for yourself." Hunter then pulled the mouth of the bag open with his thumbs and held the contents for Finbarr to see, pouring the coins into the palm of his hand. Finbarr's eyes bulged even more as they darted back in disbelief between the pile of gold and Spyro.

"Why, sir, that is most generous of you!" he exclaimed, his mouth broadening to an excited smile, "But I surely can't accept this, sir. For you are, after all…"

"Spyro," the purple dragon said curtly, "Just that and nothing else. I'm no more important than you. If anything, I'd say you are more important than me; you have people like Hunter who depend on you every day. You provide a service that helps others. That's something I'd be proud of."

Spyro wondered if anyone had ever complimented the courier dragon like had just had, but he guessed that they had not judging by Finbarr's burning red cheeks that caused him to squirm where he stood.

"Do you really think so?" Finbarr asked in a thrilled voice.

"Indeed he does," Hunter added as he slipped the coins back into the bag, "Now if you don't mind, I'd please like us to be on our way," he said with mild impatience.

"Of course, sir! Climb aboard!" Finbarr answered readily, taking a step forward to bring the saddle on his back up next to the Cheetah. Hunter slipped the bag of gold into one of the side pockets of the saddle as he took a hold and pulled himself onto Finbarr's back. Spyro stepped nearer until he was standing below the green and orange dragon's chin, looking up to him.

"And please tell your employer I'm sorry," he said apologetically.

"No need to apologize sir… I mean, Spyro," Finbarr replied bashfully, "Why when I told him, he was tickled pink! He said that now he can tell everyone that the purple dragon favors his service! He thinks business will explode!"

Spyro's face dulled irritably as Finbarr's brightened, Hunter giving the courier a firm double tap on his shoulder to let him know he was ready to go. Finbarr stiffened his stance and began to turn to the right, his passenger waving to the assembled group as the dragon turned about.

"I'll see you tonight, my friends. Behave yourselves for Meadow!"

"Of course, we will!" Flame called back stoutly.

"Not like how you behave for me!" Hunter replied, smiling roguishly, "Because Meadow will tell the truth about you!" As the last word left his mouth, there was a shared chuckle amongst the young dragons, except for Spyro as Finbarr made a short run and spread his wings as he leapt into the air, Hunter holding the saddle with both hands as they climbed up sharply and headed for the sky. Spyro continued watching Hunter depart in silence, Meadow strolling over to the left of him, tilting his head to him and his pensive look.

"Why so glum, young dragon?" he asked cheerfully, "Is my company really that unbearable?" Spyro continued watching Hunter and Finbarr disappearing into the distance as he lightly shook his head,

"Sometimes it seems like I don't even own my own name," he replied dimly. The others stepped up beside him, Cynder first followed by Flame and Ember lining up beside each other. Their bright smiles rubbed off on him as he resignedly shrugged his shoulders,

"Well, what can I do about it?"

"You could write a letter of protest!" suggested Ember sprightly.

"You could just ask them not to use your name," said Flame mildly.

"Or you could trademark it," suggested Cynder cunningly, "Make them pay you a profit for every time they use it. Maybe you could make your own merchandise."

"I did say I didn't want to flaunt who I am, but I like you're thinking," Spyro admitted humorously. Meadow gave a short laugh as he stepped around in front of the group, who in turn all turned their eyes on him.

"Well, let's not wait around. Let's be going, shall we?"

The four survivors nodded silently to him as their caretaker took the lead, the group beginning their trek from the village and out into the wilderness of Avalar. They followed along the river, down from the village with the dense forests flanking their left side. Further away from the village the air was thick with butterflies and bees buzzing between the wild flowers that decorated the lush greenery of the valley. The trees were far back from the edge of the river, giving plenty of space to the party of five that made its way downriver. Meadow occasionally paused at certain plants and flowers to either smell them or see if they may be of use to him while the four dragons were in a world of their own. They playfully leapt and glided from one side of the river to the other, the air so sweet and thick it could nearly be bitten off and chewed like a loaf of fresh bread. Spyro drew in a lungful of the sweet air as he banked sharply back across the right side of the river, circling around a cluster of trees on one of the small islands that the river flowed around. He looked over his shoulder to see Cynder following closely behind, grinning gayly as she mirrored his flight pattern. He swung back around the tree, seeing Flame and Ember flying side by side down the river, skimming their claws along the water, the fire dragon taking a sudden swipe and splashing water against her, an indignant,

"Hey!" followed suit as Meadow continued strolling along the river, watching them enviously.

"If only I had wings!" he called as Spyro and Cynder flew over his head, humming contently to himself as the youngsters busied themselves with play while he continued his foraging for herbs.

This frolicking continued unabated as they wandered further and further towards the southern end of the valley, soon well out of sight of any of the other villagers. Ahead and to the right of the group was the cascading waterfall they had passed by during the night, flowing down into the Avalar river as it swept throughout the land. The mountain peaks seemed to sparkle as the sun reigned over the land, birds chirping and singing. The odd cluster of red and green spirit gems scattered around the valley glistened like lamps as the sun shine through them. It was beyond idyllic, the beauty of Avalar was far in excess of the mushroom forest the grew around the dragon temple. Though it was beautiful in its own right, it was also home to a number of less than friendly creatures such as the large Bulb spiders and bothersome Frogweeds. Though not especially dangerous, they were still something Spyro and his friends had to be wary of whenever they ventured outside the temple's grounds. The Cheetah's were the dominant species of the valley, the remaining inhabitants being harmless creatures like deer and rabbits. The worse harm that could be expected in Avalar was a bee sting.

"Ouch!" cried Flame as he made a hasty landing on the grass in the middle of the valley, Meadow leaping across the river to him as the others all landed around him. Flame held up his left foreleg delicately as the others quickly gathered around him.

"What's the matter?" asked Spyro hurriedly as Meadow knelt down in front of the red fire dragon.

"A bee stung me!" he whimpered, holding his foreleg up closer to reveal a swelling lump on his wrist. Cynder raised her eyebrows sardonically, less than impressed at the fuss he was making. Ember's face was distraught yet morbidly curious as she leaned into the get a closer look at the lump.

"Gosh, that looks painful," she said unhelpfully. Spyro glared at her spitefully, though he shared Cynder's unspoken sentiments about the mildness of Flame's injury, he was nonetheless endlessly compassionate to any of his friends whenever they were hurt, slightly or not. Meadow put down his basket and took Flame's wrist carefully in his hand, examining it closely, playing into the fuss he was making.

"Oh, dear. I'm afraid this is very, very bad," he said gravely, giving a quick wink to Spyro.

"Bad? How bad?" Flame demanded frightfully. Spyro's face twisted as he tried to hide a smirk, which everyone saw except for the fearful fire dragon who looked pleadingly on at Meadow.

"A sting like this," Meadow acted expertly, "Comes only from the Leper Bee. We call it that because once its stings a part of the body, it begins to break down. I'm afraid that the only way to save your life is for us to amputate the limb…"

"AMPUTATE?!" Flame squealed, "NO!" he cried as he snatched his leg away from Meadow, barging past him in a breakneck gallop towards a nearby cluster of red spirit gems, which contained magical healing properties.

"Flame, wait!" Spyro called after him, the purple dragon and co running after their friend as he flung himself towards the red cluster, hugging his fore and hind legs around the gems like a monkey clinging to a branch.

"This'll fix me! They can fix anything, right? Oh, please don't take my leg!" he wailed hysterically.

"Calm down!" Spyro said calmly as he caught up with him, "Meadow was just teasing! It's just an ordinary bee sting!"

"Yeah, you can quit the theatrics!" Cynder remarked dryly.

"You'll be okay, Flamey, Meadow's here," Ember said warmly as she rushed up to his side, placing a reassuring paw on his right shoulder, her aqua eyes bulging with sympathy.

"Flamey?" Spyro, Cynder and even Meadow repeated in bewilderment. Their reaction went unnoticed by the pair as they stared at each other, almost as if lost in each other's eyes.

"Wow, you are so pretty," Flame said deliriously. Spyro and Cynder's jaws dropped like anchors into the sea as Meadow stepped between them and knelt down behind Flame. The Cheetah's hand touching his back snapped the red dragon out of whatever trance he was in, shaking off Ember's paw and hastily blurting out,

"Your necklace, I mean! Your necklace is really pretty!"

"Oh, right," Ember laughed meekly, "Of course it is!" she said, lightly tapping her claws on her necklace. Meadow's face was remorseful as he gently pried Flame away from the red gem cluster.

"I'm sorry, Flameaus. If I'd known you'd react that way I'd have not been such a fool to play along. Here, let me see that lump…"

"It okay, Meadow," Flame said with acute cheerfulness, holding up his stung limb, "It doesn't hurt anymore! Must be from the gems," he smiled brightly and trotted around the Cheetah, "Come on, lets go!"

Meadow's eyebrows rose curiously as the red dragon strutted on by Spyro and Cynder in a spontaneous happy-go-lucky manner before he took of into the air, Ember shrugging her shoulders and taking off after him. Spyro and Cynder turned to follow but stayed grounded as their shared curiosity weighed them down. Meadow pushed himself up with his staff and wandered over to them.

"Is your friend alright?" he asked seriously. The purple dragon and black dragoness looked up at him and gave the same clueless look.

"I'd have thought he'd at least complain about how mean it was for us to trick him like that," Cynder remarked queerly. Spyro nodded silently, watching as Ember flew to catch up to Flame who started to playfully zigzag ahead of her. A thought came to mind, something that had passed through his brain the day before when he had watched the way he acted when Ember had been close to his face when tying the bag of gold around his neck. He cocked his head to the right thoughtfully, his left eyebrow rising as he voiced the thought,

"Do you think Flame maybe… likes Ember?" he asked with almost disbelief.

"Likes her? What do you mean?" asked Cynder as she turned her head to him.

"You know…. He likes her, like has a crush on her?"

"Ha!" the black dragoness laughed, "No, I think he's just being his usual awkward self," she answered, pausing for a moment as her expression seemed to harden, "Besides, Ember has only got eyes for you, Spyro."

"What?!" he exclaimed.

"Come on, Spyro, don't pretend you've never noticed how much she fawns over you," Cynder declared mirthlessly. The purple dragon's eyes widened as the terrifying thought sank into his mind. He stood pondering it, his face contorting as the mere notion nearly made him retch, his tongue lurching out of his mouth.

"Well, its not like you are already spoken for or anything," Cynder added lowly, her expression dulling.

"Huh?" asked Spyro, her tone puzzling him.

"Lets get going then!" she cried readily, yet exasperatedly as she opened her wings and pounced into the air after the others, leaving Spyro feeling yet more confused as Meadow stood silently beside him. The young dragon turned around and looked up into the Herbalist's eyes,

"Am I missing something?" he asked earnestly. Meadow only chuckled lightly as he readjusted his grip on his basket and staff.

"Perhaps you'll understand when you get a little older", he replied knowingly.

The glorious morning eventually crossed into the afternoon, the four dragons and their Cheetah caretaker having ventured far down river as it swerved to the left of the waterfall and continued flowing into a single stream to the south eastern corners of the valley. The river split the valley almost perfectly in half down the middle, Meadow strolling along and collecting herbs and mushrooms at a relaxed pace as the four dragons continued frolicking on both sides of the river. They were well and truly alone now, far out of sight of the village. The trees began to creep nearer and nearer the river the further down they went, the denser foliage providing relieving shade from the midday sun. The singing of the birds and the buzzing of insects followed them almost constantly like a band playing over their shoulders, sometimes getting far ahead of Meadow, though a cautionary shout of

"Don't get too far ahead!" from him would bring them back. Spyro and his friends displayed an endurance that would put even the mightiest Earth dragons to shame. They flapped their wings like hummingbirds as they swooped over and through the trees, barrel rolling and playing 'Chase the tail', a game where they would fly in a circle in pursuit of each other, trying to snatch hold of the tail of whoever was in front of them. It was for them another form of playfighting, a means to practice skills that they would one day hone and perhaps use on the battlefield. It was based off a defensive strategy that the Dragons and even the Ape Dreadwing riders had adopted; a group flying a tight loop after each other, providing mutual protection should an enemy attempt to attack a member of the circle. To be effective the tactic usually needed at least a group of three to be involved, but Ignitus had recounted to them many times before how he and Pyra practiced the technique extensively as a pair and had used it to devastating effect during the night of the raid on the temple.

Ahead of them was where the river eventually gained another source, another waterfall that poured down a cliff face further down to the left out of sight while the stream continued on before it curved to the right and funneled down a narrow gorge that split the surrounding plateaus like a crack in a vase. The speed of the river was daunting, hence why the Cheetah's had collapsed a log across the front of the gorge and tied and weighted a net to it so that anyone caught in the torrent would not be washed away down the gorge to the valleys beyond. Such had once been the misfortune of one of the Cheetah cubs and it had taken several stressful hours to find them when they had been carried away by the torrent, the cub not drowning only by sheer miracle. Still a way down from the out of sight waterfall, Meadow placed his basket down beside the river before he sat down and reached for something inside.

He drew a bundle of white string from the basket, a silver hook dangling from one end of it. The Cheetah Herbalist took hold of his staff and laid it over his crossed legs, tying the bundle of string around the head of his staff, wrapping it around several times over to shorten the length of the line with its hook dangling from the end. He reached once more into the basket where a small cloth pouch, similar to what Spyro had given to Finbarr, was sitting and stirring as something moved around inside. He lifted out the pouch and pulled it open, revealing a cluster of squirming worms he had collected around the village earlier that morning. He picked up one of the squirming worms and hooked it on the end of the line. With a relaxed yet regretful sigh at the creature's ultimate fate, Meadow shuffled closer to the edge of the river and suspended his makeshift fishing rod over it, the hook and its bait dipping into the water and being dragged by the current.

It was some time before eventually his actions were seen observed by the four looping dragons and they broke out of the circle and began to glide down towards the Cheetah, landing one by one in a straight line on the grass to his left, first Spyro and then Flame, Cynder and Ember, the order in which they had been chasing each other. The four of them were breathing heavily, their exhaustion finally catching up with them as Meadow turned his head to them, gently dipping his fishing line and beckoning to a pile of headless silver fish placed beside the basket.

"I thought perhaps you would like fish for lunch, my friends," he explained smiling.

"Oh, wow! That's be great!" nodded Flame excitedly, panting as his eyes bulged hungrily.

"Thanks a lot! We really appreciate that, Meadow," Spyro said gratefully, breathing deeply as Cynder and Ember both nodded in agreement. The four young dragons first quenched their first from the river before they each plucked a fish from the pile Meadow had accumulated before settling down on the grass with the fresh catch between their front paws. Meadow kept his line dangling in the river until eventually it attracted another fish, this time for himself. Even as he tucked into his meal, Spyro watched Meadow curiously as he swiftly lifted his fish from the hook and placed it on the ground gently as it kept flapping and gasping for air. Meadow drew a knife from his sheath and quickly cut the head from the fish, just as he had done for the others, ensuring its life was ended quickly and without suffering whereas most would simply leave the fish to stop breathing on their own.

Meadow may have been a pacifist, but he was still a carnivore and was prepared to hunt for food, though it was not something that he liked to do often. He did, like all the other members of the tribe, take turns to be part of the hunting parties that went out in search of game. He did not enjoy it as a sport like most of his fellow Cheetah's did and Hunter had told them that more than once Meadow had refused to eat the meat from an animal if he believed its demise had not been as humane as it could have been.

"Hunter told me you've been training hard for the trials at the end of the month," Meadow announced a short while after they had settled down to eat.

"That's right," Ember replied spritely, "Hunter was helping to train us."

"And did you do well?" he asked.

"Always," Cynder answered curtly, "There is no better team than us."

"But isn't the trial an individual affair?" asked Meadow pointedly.

"It is," Cynder admitted, "But most dragons train for it in groups like we do. I say we are better than all the rest."

"That's a big claim," Spyro remarked cautiously.

"You don't think its true?" Meadow asked him curiously.

"That's not what I'm saying, I'm just saying we'd better live up to it when the time comes if we want to say we are the best."

"Why wouldn't we?" asked Flame earnestly, "With you on our side we could never lose!"

Spyro chuckled grimly, "A chair needs four solid legs or it won't stand," he replied warily, "We've all got to make sure we can take the weight."

"As long as we all do better than that brat, Glacious, I'm happy," Cynder remarked icily, "She's lucky we're too young for the sparring tournament, yet."

"Is that one of your rivals?" asked Meadow with light humour, wiping his mouth on his hand.

"Someone I don't care to be around," Cynder replied temperately, "She looks down on me for being a Wind dragon," she said before she sank her fangs back into her fish.

"Why is that?"

"Sadly, she's not the only one," Spyro explained dismally, "There are some like her who get all pompous about their elements. They don't consider Wind to be a 'worthy' element."

Meadow shook his head shamefully, "Really, I believed that dragons were better than that," he remarked tersely.

"We're not all like that," pointed out Ember, "But it doesn't help that there isn't a Wind Guardian."

"Yeah, why is that?" asked Flame through a full mouth.

"Because there are only around a hundred or so Wind dragons in all of the realms," Cynder replied harshly, "And barely a dozen of them are around my age, so they don't think it's worth the time and salary to have a Guardian for so few students," she said disgustedly, her gorging of her fish becoming increasingly violent as she took her anger our on it. Spyro bit his lip as he looked around at his companions, realising they all had the same expression as himself.

"Seems terribly unfair," Meadow shrugged, "Do the Guardians agree with this?"

Spyro answered, "Ignitus says that they have tried to get the council to change it, but he tells us that the Guardians don't have the authority they used to. Its up to the council if they want there to be a fifth Guardian, but they keep saying no."

"Bureaucrats!" Cynder snarled coldly. After that, the mood for talking quickly evaporated as Spyro and the others went about finishing their meals. Meadow's expression suggested that he regretted striking up the conversation, or at least its chosen topic. The purple dragon turned his eyes to the black dragoness now and again, noticing that he never once saw her eyes look up from her meal even as she began to strip it down to the bones, as if to pretend that she was all alone. He wondered what he could do to make her feel better, but put the thought out of his mind, simply hoping her mood would cool before the end of lunch.

When that came, Meadow stood up and stretched his arms out and yawned heartily, sighing contently as he strolled to the river to wash off his hands. Spyro and the others cleaned themselves as well as the Cheetah slowly walked back and untied the string and hook from his staff.

"So, where are we going next?" asked Spyro eagerly as the other followed behind him.

"Well," Meadow said quaintly, "I think I've collected all that I need, but I'm in no hurry to go back to the village," he smiled as he walked towards a lone tree standing out from the edge of the forest. He sat down under the tree and leaned back against it, putting his staff and basket off to the side. Spyro lifted his eyebrow in confusion.

"It's a nice day for a nap, I think," he concluded, settling back against the tree and dipping his head.

"You're taking a nap?" asked Cynder in surprise.

"A short one," yawned Meadow, "Feel free to amuse yourselves, but don't go too far. Wake me up in an hour's time and then we'll go home."

"Sure thing," nodded Flame, Ember simply shrugging her shoulders indifferently to Meadow's choice of task.

"Okay," Spyro agreed readily, "I'm sure we can do that."

"Kill an hour?" pondered Cynder,

"How hard can that be?"

Half an hour later…

Meadow continued to slumber peacefully beneath the tree of his choosing when suddenly from the treeline back from the river came Cynder, Flame and Ember, flying out hurriedly from the forest, each splitting into different directions from each other. Noticeably absent from the group was Spyro, who did not follow them out. Inside the dense forest from which the three had come, Spyro was to be found hunched down in front of a large tree with his wings arched forward to cover his face. Among the sound of the wind rustling the bushes and trees was his own voice, counting up from zero to ten.

"…Eight…Nine…Ten!" he announced, lifting his head from the veil of his wings as they folded back over, "Here I come!" he shouted as he spun around towards the river where he knew his friends had fled to.

With a confident smirk, he took off trotting out from the forest until he stood in the open, the waterfall behind the trees off to his left roaring away as he narrowed his eyes and scanned the surroundings. He looked across the river, running his eyes meticulously across the trees on the other side and the rocky cliffs behind them. He gazed up and down the stream as it flowed on by, its movement seeming to inspire him as he opened his wings and took off in flight, keeping just level with the treetops as he followed the river like a road further down the valley. He glanced to the left as he passed the waterfall, watching its run off joining with the rest of the stream as it flowed down towards the gorge.

The four survivors and their games of Hide and Seek were as wide ranging as perhaps Avalar itself, for this round the four of them had agreed that the waterfall would be the 'home base' and that if they became found, the game would turn into a game of tag and whomever was fleeing the seeker had to reach the waterfall without being tagged in order to be 'safe'. With half an hour before they were due to wake up Meadow, it was decided for extra challenge the seeker had only five minutes to find them all and if they failed, they would lose the game, even if they found all but one of them. It was all or nothing. Additionally, if a hider caught the seeker off guard and tagged them, the seeker would become 'caught' and the hider responsible would become the new seeker and search out the others. But if they were the last of the hiders, they would then win the game for catching the seeker.

But to challenger the hiders, the rules were that they could not hide inside the forest and could not go beyond where Meadow was sleeping in search of a hiding spot. Pressed for time, Spyro anxiously scanned side to side as he continued following the river as it swung to the right and straightened out with the gorge ahead between the plateaus. Although relatively confined, it was still a wide area to search and every moment counted. As he approached the gorge, Spyro dived down to the left-hand side of the river and hit the ground running, crouching low as he scurried and searched behind the rocks and pounced on any thick bushes that he saw to no avail. He eyed the thick log collapsed over the river with its safety net, about to glide across the water when a light splash made him freeze. He looked back towards the log, the place where the sound had come. It sounded like a rock falling into the water behind it and considered that it may have just been that. Then again, it may not have been.

Sure at least a minute had passed, Spyro pounced onto the log, clinging to it with his claws as he crawled over it and peered over the side. He saw the river rushing under the log and the menacing rocks jutting out down the watery trench. He flopped himself on his stomach, leaning over as much as he dared as he listened carefully, seeing his shadow over the frothing water. He peered closer, noticing a separate wake coming from under the log like it was passing over a rock or branch, but noticed it seemed sway like whatever the water was passing over was moving. With a cunning smirk, he risked falling in as he pulled himself over and looked upside down beneath the log.

"Got you, Flame!" he laughed as he swept his paw out and slapped the tip of the fire dragon's tail as it glided in the water like a boat's rudder.

"Ah, smoke and fire!" Flame cursed as he lay on his back in the water with his front claws clutching into the log, his head which was concealed by the thick edge of the net almost submerged but his tail had flowed freely with the current and given him away.

"Back to the waterfall!" Spyro chuckled as he quickly crawled backwards and took off from the log, leaving Flame to clamber out awkwardly on his way to the home base.

With two minutes surely gone, Spyro hastily jumped from the log to the other side of the river and prowled for the two remaining hiders.

"Gotta' find Cynder, gotta' find Ember. Gotta' find Ember, gotta' find Cynder," he muttered over and over as he hunched down, traversing the grass like a cat stalking a bird. Swinging his head left and right, he rustled every bush he passed by and peered up every tree that he walked under. He eyed the shadows for movement, twitching every time he heard a bird chirp or squirrel squeak. He saw the waterfall back over the other side, Flame still not having arrived as he hurriedly peeked over and around the boulders strewn about the grass. He passed a green spirit gem, his stern expression reflecting back at him as he moved further on until the waterfall was out of sight. The ground nearer the cliffside began to steepen as the chattering of squirrels caught his ear again as he looked up and saw a trio of them hanging on the branches to the left of a great tree. He was about to put it out of his mind, but then he noticed that they all were looking anxiously towards the centre of the tree where an oval shaped hollow resided. He paused midstep, watching the critters as they chattered in a way that told him they were in fear. Eyeing the hollow, he stalked towards it, shaking with excitement as a devious grin expanded across the purple dragon's face. Half his body length from the tree, he pounced up and grabbed the sides of the hollow, jamming his head in as his horns barely squeezed through. A scream greeted his devilish look. Spyro laughed as Ember frightfully bounced back inside the tree, the seeker tapping the top of her horn with his paw as he wedged it through the tight gap.

"Tag!" he cried victoriously, Ember's face twisting to one of vexation as she crossed her forelegs moodily.

"No fair! How did you know?" she demanded.

"A little help from our furry friends," he chuckled as he nodded his head up towards the trio of squirrels, "I don't they like you squatting in their home," he said while pulling himself in more as he looked at Ember smugly. The pink dragoness eyed him wearily.

"You know, if you're going to hide somewhere, it should be somewhere that's got an escape route," he advised boastfully, "Because here you're penned in and you've got nowhere to go if someone catches you. Lucky I'm not an Ape or Deathhound, right?"

"Right," Ember said impatiently.

"And lucky for you," said another voice, sharply. Spyro gasped as his pupils shrank alarmingly, for at that moment he felt a hard slap against his left back leg followed by crushing laughter. He yanked his head back from the hollow and looked back in time to see Cynder cackling away, his heart freezing as he realized the turn of events.

"Seek and you shall find!" the black dragoness proclaimed as he yelped as his claws slipped and he fell over on his back beneath the hollow.

"What?" he exclaimed as he craned his neck to her, "I was supposed to find you!"

Ember pulled herself up in the tree and laughed as she saw his dejected state, "You know the rules, Spyro. You got caught off guard!" she said as Cynder took flight towards the waterfall, still laughing triumphantly.

The purple dragon rolled back to his feet, scowling as he watched her go as Ember hopped down from the tree behind him. She continued giggling shrilly as he blew a puff of flustered smoke from his nostrils. With a defeated sigh, he opened his wings and made to follow as Ember cancelled her giggling and flew after him. He watched Cynder swoop left around the trees that hid the waterfall as he and Ember tailed her. He banked around and flew straight as the waterfall came in sight, still trying to understand how she had got the drop on him. He saw Flame on the grass to the left of the falls, apparently daydreaming as he stood with his back to them looking at the rockface. Cynder landed just behind him, Spyro and Ember landing together in front of the black dragoness.

"Where were you hiding?" asked Spyro crossly as Cynder continued to beam.

"Above you," she replied simply.

"Above me?"

"Yes, I figured you'd be too busy scouring the ground to notice if I was flying right above you."

"What? It can't have been that simple!" he protested, his cheeks turning red with embarrassment. Ember held her mouth closed and snickered to his left. Ignoring her, Spyro continued to interrogate Cynder, her eyes glimmering with some other form of vengeful pride. He tilted his head curiously as he pondered his observation.

"What are you really playing at?" he asked suspiciously. Cynder's eyed rolled up as her cheeks bulged as they blushed,

"Well, you said we were even on the ship, right?" she confessed smugly, "Well, now I'm one up one you."

Spyro's jaw hung open in humorous surprise, "You really sore about that?"

"I like to think I'm helping to keep you on your toes," Cynder smiled, "But then I'll take bragging rights wherever I can get them, too."

"Just to be one up on the purple dragon?" asked Ember somewhat disapprovingly.

"Wind dragons have to aim high to impress," the black dragoness replied with hubris.

"Very funny," Spyro replied sarcastically, "So we ready to for the next round? Cool," he said without waiting for anyone else's answer. He strolled past she who was to be the next seeker towards Flame, who was seemingly tuned out of their conversation as he was now moving along the rock wall behind the waterfall, barely able to squeeze past the curtain of water as he curiously sniffed the moss-covered walls.

"Hey, Flame!" Spyro called, "You ready to play again? Cynder found me so that means she's the seeker now," he explained, since the red dragon having been found first was originally going to be the next seeker. But Flame didn't respond and continued to run his long nose along the bottom of the rockwall, pausing roughly in the centre of it as Spyro and the others moved towards him.

"Flame? What's the matter?" he called out as he walked to the edge of the waterfall, the roar of the water drowning all other sound as he observed the red dragon reach out with his paw and touch the sticky green wall. His eyes bulged as Flame's paw seemed to pass through the rockface.

"Hey guys! Look at this!" the young fire dragon yelled excitedly, "There's a hole here!"

"A what?" called Ember from behind Cynder as the two of them followed Spyro as they squeezed between the rock wall and the plummeting stream. Flame lowered himself flat as he swiped his paw through the opening he had discovered, tilting his head as he sniffed the air.

"Yeah, that's where it coming from," he nodded conclusively as he suddenly began crawling through the hole.

"Flame, wait! What are you doing?" Spyro called as he reached to try and grab him but the red dragon shuffled through the hole and out of sight. Spyro hurriedly crouched down to look through the opening, but already could not see his friend, though he caught glimpse of a faint light source somewhere ahead.

"Flame? Where are you?" cried Ember as she shoved past Cynder and nearly barged Spyro out of the way to try and see through.

"I'm ok! There's a cave in here!" they barely heard him call back, the waterfall nearly drowning out his voice.

"A cave?" asked Cynder loudly, "No one ever mentioned that!"

Spyro then lay down flat like he had seen Flame do and crawled under the low opening, twisting his head to make room for his horns. His belly scrapped on the coarse rock floor, pulling himself through until he was inside the cave, at once his nose sensed a horrid, rotting smell. The interior was dark but not impossible to see through as he dragged himself back to his feet and looked around. Flame was just a few feet ahead of him, sniffing something on the ground as Spyro observed his surroundings. The ceiling of the cave was quite tall, the light he had seen came from a cluster of glowing mushrooms growing from the left side of the cave a short distance ahead. It provided enough light to make the interior discernible.

Taking a step forward, his feet crunched on something, looking down he saw the bare, rotting bones of a fish not unlike what he had just eaten. He knelt down and saw several more fish carcasses around him as Cynder and Ember crawled through behind him. Ember at once voiced her disgust at the smell.

"Yuck! This place reeks!"

"I knew I could smell something," replied Flame brightly as he turned around to them, "I thought I could smell fish."

"What a snout you have when you think their food to find!" she sneered; her face twisted in disgust.

"Funny how we've never noticed it before," Spyro frowned thoughtfully as he stepped over the bones and peered around the inside of the cave and toward the tunnel that continued on around to the right.

"Maybe this explains it," Cynder announced as she examined the area around the opening. Turning back to her, the others noticed the circular rock off to the right side of the hole. It was not a natural shape, the wheel like appearance and obvious indentations and scuffs showed that it had been deliberately shaped in this way by hand tools. She stood up and placed her paws on the rock, grunting as she tried to move it. Without asking, Spyro strode over and gripped the rock in his paws, gritting his teeth as he pulled and she pushed. Flame and Ember watched curiously as their combined effort finally shifted the wheel, the purple dragon quickly stepping back as the rock began to roll toward him and rumbled over the hole they had crawled through. In spite of the added darkness, both dragons crouched down and saw how completely it sealed the passage so that anyone on the outside would dismiss the opening as being caved in.

"That's no accident…" Spyro observed suspiciously.

"Uh, Spyro? How are we going to get out?" asked Flame nervously.

"Easy," replied Cynder, standing up again as she grabbed the rock as before. Spyro did the same and with some more effort, the rolled the heavy stone back to where it had originally been.

"I might have missed that, Cynder. You've got sharp eyes," Spyro complimented as he caught his breath.

"I have my moments," she said proudly, even though out of breath.

"Okay, that's great," interrupted Ember, "But what's the deal with all this?"

Spyro dropped down to all fours after he caught his breath, though he hated inhaling the stench of dead fish.

"These fish aren't that old. Whoever was here has been here probably sometime today," he affirmed, walking a few steps past Flame and Ember as he looked towards the tunnel curiously.

"And that rock door tells us that they don't want anyone to notice them," Cynder added as she stood in behind him.

"But who?" asked Ember, "One of the Cheetahs?"

"And why'd they leave it open then?" queried Flame.

"I don't think we would've found this place without your sense of smell, buddy. Who could've guessed that?" answered Spyro pointedly, "But if we're going to find out, we need to see where this thing goes."

"Wait, you mean… go through there?" asked Flame frightfully as he nodded towards the tunnel.

"That's right," Spyro said plainly as he started walking onwards towards the bend in the cave tunnel.

"Hang on! Shouldn't we go tell Meadow about what we found first?" Ember said worriedly as she watched him venture ahead.

"Probably," shrugged Cynder as she moved to follow him, "Come on! Aren't you curious?" she challenged teasingly as she gave the pink dragoness a wry look and smile. Ember scowled at her as she then huffily stepped forward to head into the tunnel while Flame remained standing frozen with fear.

"Wait, guys! Ember!" he pleaded, "Don't go! We don't know what's in this cave!"

"No, we don't," she agreed, "But that didn't stop you crawling through first, did it?" she asked evidently. Flame paused for a moment as the fact that he had dawned on him. His eyes widened at the thought of how easily he had done so too. He had done so very carelessly… or bravely?

"Uh, yeah, but…"

"Come on," he told him curtly, taking off in a jog to catch up with the others. Flame clamped his eyes closed and rocked his head sideways.

"Me and my big snout… wait up!"

Stepping lightly but cautiously, Spyro's eyes were constantly shifting as he and the others navigated the tunnel, unsure of where it would lead them. They passed more of the glowing mushrooms, acting as improvised torches for them as the tunnel seemed to flow in a continuous 'S' pattern, snaking each way unevenly as they walked on. In not too long the drone of the waterfall that had followed them in had faded and an eerie silence settled on the cave, the only sound being that of the dragon's claws tapping on the rock floor and the ominous, ambient him inside the caves. The going was not all smooth; the four dragons found themselves stepping and climbing over rocks that had collapsed from the ceiling, always making sure to stay close as a group. The tunnel began to elevate, slowly steepening the longer they went on. Round to the left, the tunnel leveled off as it Spyro beheld the entrance to a cavern. The cave widened as the four dragons entered into the large cavern, the ceiling as tall or taller than the waterfall they had left behind with finger like stone spires pointing down at them. Along with the glowing mushrooms were clusters of wild spirit gems growing from the ground, walls, and ceiling of the cavern, casting shades of green and red light over the interior.

Walking among them, the four dragons passed the numerous rocks and debris scattered about the ground, a formation of w which formed something of a pedestal like mound in the rough centre of the cavern. Unlike the improvised door they had discovered, this appeared to have formed naturally. Spyro hopped onto one of the smaller boulders before he scampered onto the top of the 'pedestal', while his friends remained standing on the ground. Ahead he saw another tunnel leading out of the cavern, a curtain of darkness beyond it. He balanced on his hind legs, his front legs tucked into his chest as he turned his body to the left, right, then down to all fours as he looked behind. Turning back, he tilted his head curiously as he heard a faint, course rumble somewhere ahead.

"Hello?" he called, his voice echoing several times over as it travelled down both ends of the cavern. There was a quick huff to his left as Cynder hopped up beside him on the boulder.

"That's great. Now whatever monsters there might be know exactly where to find us," she remarked sardonically.

"Monsters?!" exclaimed Flame in alarm.

"Don't worry, I'm sure there are no monsters in here," Spyro said reassuringly,

"Well… pretty sure."

"I feel so much safer," said Ember bitingly.

"Come on, I think I can hear water up ahead," Spyro proclaimed as he jumped down from the boulder, followed Cynder and Ember and Flame quickly rushed up behind them, staring anxiously at the opening of the next tunnel. The heavy blackness remained steadfast as they approached, their being no glowing mushrooms of crystals to alleviate the darkness. Though he never said so, the darkness began to unsettle Spyro's mind, concerned those monsters he was 'pretty sure' were not there, might be. A sound behind him made him gasp alongside his friends as Spyro's head snapped behind, a rustle among the debris made his heart jump.

"What was that?" Flame asked nervously, stepping over into the middle of the group. Another rustle shook their hearts, their eyes settling on a trickle of dirt as one of the spires cracked and crumbled onto the floor, the sound filling the cavern. Spyro breathed a sigh of relief at the innocent explanation.

"Come on, let's not let our minds play tricks on us. Let's go," he said readily, looking ahead and stepping into the unknown of the next tunnel.

Though the others followed, they each at least once looked behind them as they left the cavern, just to be safe. They heard more crumbling behind them as the cavern grew distant, but now thought nothing of it.

As the sound of their footsteps grew fainter, the source of the rustling in the cave slowly emerged from behind a boulder the darkest corner of the cavern. The crumbling of the ceiling had by sheer luck concealed its presence after it had accidentally kicked some nearby stones as it crouched behind the boulder. The figure rose and placed its white furred hands over top of the rock, the shadows hiding all else but its silhouette as the hooded figure eyed the passage taken by the four dragons. It leaned forward, revealing the muzzle of a Cheetah, but one not familiar to the four who lived, but whom had knowledge of them. Crouching low, the unknown Cheetah moved silently across the rocky floor, hands out by its side as it stealthily entered the tunnel to follow them.

Though their eyes adjusted, the darkness made Spyro and his friends step more cautiously, the purple dragon fanning his wings out to the side to feel the edges of the tunnel as they wandered on. As they moved on, he heard the roar of water growing louder as a faint shimmer of light cast against the left side of the tunnel far ahead.

"There, we're almost out," he proclaimed cheerfully.

"Thank the ancestors!" exclaimed Flame with relief. The group moved towards the light, the tunnel slightly turning to the right as they approached the curve, the sound of a flowing river channeling down to them. Peeking around, they saw an almost blinding light staring back at them as the tunnel straightened out another fifty feet or so before finally ending. The ground became noticeably sandy as Spyro squinted to see ahead as the light returned to his eyes. Blinking, he saw something just outside the mouth of the tunnel, sticking out from the ground like a post with something glowing atop of it.

"What's that?" Cynder asked as the object became discernible to them. Walking four abreast, the young dragons stepped into the reaching sunlight as the neared the exit to the cave. The mystery object looked to be a staff planted in the ground, the top of which sat a glowing, blue crystal ball between the fork like shape of its head. Spyro eyed the staff with concern as they cautiously approached. Behind the staff was a glistening river rushing by unhindered, beyond it was a towering white rockwall that stretched as far as they could yet see. The four survivors finally stepped out from the cave, the purple dragon stopping just short of the staff, his main point of concern. Though out of the cave, they remained shaded under a massive overhanging rock formation that seemed to stretch left and right as far as they could see. A cursory glance revealed they were at the bottom of a large canyon, the parallel rockwalls rising as tall as he dragon temple with both sides of the river flanked by a wide strip of sand running alongside. The sun glistened off the water like a silver plate and the air was cool. Were it not for the signs of a unknown stranger nearby, Spyro and his friends might have gladly claimed this spot as their secret hideaway.

The others kept a few steps back from the purple dragon as he looked down at the sand the staff was planted in, noticing the distinct footprints imbedded in the moist ground around it. The four toes and feline shaped paw made it obvious what kind of creature had left them; a Cheetah. But the peculiar staff was one he did not recognize from any in the village. Carefully, he leaned forward and sniffed it, his left paw rising tepidly, tempted to touch it.

"Spyro, don't!" Cynder cried sharply as she stepped forward, stopping him in his tracks as he hastily withdrew his paw, "It could be dangerous," she said uneasily.

Her forward movement seemed to inspire the others as Flame and Ember both stepped up alongside him, eyeing the glistening ball anxiously.

"It could belong to a sorcerer or something," warned Ember, "It might have some kind of magical ward around it."

"But why would they leave it here, then?" asked Flame, gazing around the canyon apprehensively, "We really shouldn't be here."

"I'm not sure," Spyro confessed frankly, "But it definitely belongs to a Cheetah, that I know. But I get the feeling that its not anyone that we know."

Suddenly from behind, "Oh, but everyone knows who you are, don't they?" asked a new, rasping voice.

Gasping, Spyro spun around and immediately took a fighting stance as he and his friends turned to the source of the raspy voice. They all shared a collective stare of stupor as they beheld the form of a Cheetah who had alarmingly appeared behind them without notice. The blueish grey fur and dark green tunic was familiar in itself but not the individual to whom they belonged. The yellow eyes stared at them with a hunger like zeal and the cackling voice was enough to put ice in their veins.

"Who are you?" Spyro demanded, gritting his teeth menacingly. Whatever he imagined it might achieve, the response was not what he anticipated. The Cheetah clapped his paw over his stomach as he broke into an ear searing episode of mad, cackling laughter, even as his rasping voice choked and coughed with seeming indifference to the threat Spyro knew he posed to the Cheetah. Indeed, what the four of them together posed to the menacing feline.

"Spyro…" began Cynder nervously, suddenly losing her words as the four of them edged closer to each other. Spyro impulsively took a leap forward, fanning his wings out protectively in front of his companions as the Cheetah laughed even more coarsely. Behind his brave face, Spyro felt very, very alone all of sudden and feared he had just put his friends in very, very real danger.

"I'm warning you! Don't come any closer!" Spyro warned with a heavy scowl. The mystery Cheetah continued his nauseating laughter until his choking voice could not force it any longer, the four dragons grimacing in disgust at the phlegm and saliva that he spat in their direction. The Cheetah bent over with his paws on his knees as he struggled to catch his breath, his demeanour suddenly becoming less threatening and more pitiful. Spyro maintained his readiness nonetheless, his eyes bouncing like a fly all over the stranger for any hint of a weapon or aggressive act. To Spyro's right, Cynder stepped out slightly from behind, her eyes narrowing as she contemplated their apparent stalker.

"What are you doing here?" she asked boldly, surprising her compatriots. The Cheetah lifted his head sharply and glared at her,

"I could ask you the same thing," he sneered, breathing in deeply as he straightened his back.

"Look, we're not looking for any trouble," chipped in Flame, finding a morsel of courage from behind Spyro.

"Oh, no one ever is…" remarked the stranger with mild delirium as he lifted his head and looked overtop and beyond them. Spyro looked behind and saw he was staring at the peculiar staff planted in the sand. Looking forward, he saw the Cheetah tilt his eyes down to him.

"I'll be taking what's mine, if you'll move out of the way," he said impatiently.

"How do we know it's yours?" asked Ember curtly.

"Not too bright, either," the stranger said as if speaking to someone they couldn't see, a thought which further gave them cause for alarm. Without heed for them or the danger they posed to him, the Cheetah broke into a stride towards the staff.

"Hey! Don't …" Spyro began, but a harsh shove from the Cheetah's paw knocked him aside and nearly on top of Cynder as he pushed his way through them, Flame and Ember splitting apart as he barged between them.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?" Ember snapped vehemently as the stranger paid no heed to her as he pulled the staff out of the sand, staring intently into the glowing crystal ball as he lightly rubbed a speck of dust from it with his thumb. Flustered, confused and even embarrassed at how easily he had lost his footing, Spyro sprung to his feet as he stormed towards the Cheetah, anger simmering in every scale of his face as he eyed the back of the stranger.

"What was that for?" he snarled, "Don't you realize what I could have done to you?"

"Or what I might still do to you?" added Cynder menacingly as she strode up beside him, Flame and Ember lining up beside her. The Cheetah let out another raspy chuckle, his paws gripping around the staff as his head turned leisurely to the left, letting one gold eye regard them snidely.

"What you might have done to me, dragon whelps?" he asked scornfully, turning his body to face them, holding the staff diagonally across his chest. Spyro glared defiantly at him, his stance firm and his claws digging into the sand, but as before the Cheetah was wholly unmoved by the attempts by him or his friends to appear threatening, becoming cynically amused it appeared instead.

"What might you have done if I had been an Ape or a wild beast? What might have happened if I had attacked you while you were all oblivious to my presence, staring at my staff like a bird staring gormlessly at its own reflection in a mirror?" he rasped coldly, jabbing his finger at them as the four dragons felt a glaring shame come over them like a rush of hot steam.

Spyro indeed felt his heart pause as the questions burned into his mind like those he had asked himself whenever he tried to spur himself on while training, always narrowing down to the sober thought of,

'What if you make a mistake in the real world?'

"Who are you anyway? Creep!" Cynder lashed out, her impassioned voice gratefully distracting the purple dragon away from the guilt he was feeling.

"Yeah!" Flame concurred, albeit tepidly. The Cheetah rolled his eyes as he waved his hand dismissively,

"I've gone by many names. The one that seems to stay with me as long as I care to remember is The Hermit," he replied disdainfully.

"How fitting," Cynder replied harshly as Spyro suddenly nudged her to discourage her being too antagonistic as he eyed 'The Hermit' suspiciously.

"Hermit? So you're not from the village, then?" he asked.

"Not that it's any of your business, but no, not for a long time," the Hermit retorted sorely, turning away to his left and beginning to walk down the canyon, leaving the group standing befuddled. They all looked between each other as the stranger seemingly made his exit, and wondering if they should press him further. Spyro swiftly answered for them,

"Hey! Wait a minute!" he called as he took off after the Hermit, his companions pausing confusedly for a moment before deciding to follow. The Hermit did not turn his head though he heard the call, strolling leisurely down the shore as the river flowed down beside him. The purple dragon ran to the left side of the Cheetah, trying to catch his eye as the Hermit looked stiffly ahead. Scowling, Spyro decided to figuratively prod the stranger, finding his hostility oddly interesting and deducing that the Cheetah held a vainly high opinion of himself.

"You know, you didn't actually ask why we were here," he pointed out smugly to the Hermit.

"That's because I don't care," was the sharp retort, his eyes staying rigidly straight forward.

"Not even how we found you? What if we weren't just four dragon whelps?" Spyro asked scornfully, "What if we were Apes, or your old friends from the village?"

The Hermit halted and spun to him, stamping the bottom of the staff crossly into the sand.

"Are you really that in need of validation? Does the so called legendary purple dragon need the gratitude of everyone he meets?" he snapped mockingly.

Cynder, Flame and Ember took the chance to back up their friend as the pair stared each other down. Flame, unusually, spoke out first,

"If you're so smart, why'd you leave those fishbones laying around? I found them with my nose," he boasted, touching the side of his muzzle with his paw.

"And why'd you leave your cave open for us, huh?" asked Ember snootily, "Anyone could have climbed through instead of us!"

"Yeah, real smooth for someone who wants to stay hidden," Cynder finished boastfully. The Hermit growled at them as their arguments seeped into his skin, his proud façade being cast off with the wind as he avoided their gaze.

"So I took some fish from the river, so what? The water here is lifeless and I was hungry. One cannot live on air alone," the Hermit said dismissively. Hiding his satisfaction at the Hermit's embarrassment, Spyro addressed the Hermit diplomatically, trying to be more amicable in spite of the Cheetah's untoward unfriendliness,

"Look, it was curiosity more than anything that led us here. We didn't actually come here to get on your nerves. I mean, how could we?" he asked with an apologetic smile, "We didn't know you were here."

"Did your doting Guardians give you full marks for diplomacy too?" the Cheetah sneered repulsively, "Spare me your hollow attempts to befriend me."

The smile quickly turned to anger as Spyro pressed his teeth hard against themselves, the feelings of fear and anxiousness towards the Hermit boiling down to offense and contempt.

"How dare you insult them! You should be grateful I'm even trying. You came at me, first. You should be trying to make amends with me!" he cried indignantly.

"I learned a long time ago that it was pointless to try and please anyone," the Hermit replied with a crooked smile as he turned and started to walk on.

"What's your problem, creep?" Cynder called after him, her emerald eyes glowing with wrath,

"Don't walk away like a coward!"

"Cynder…." Spyro said warningly, he and the others all shocked at the brashness of her choice of words.

The Hermit stopped dead in his tracks, evidently in as much surprise as them, but with added anger. His head snaked around first before he turned his body slowly, furiously, to face them, his face darkened by a frightening scowl. Though Cynder showed no signs of fear, Spyro edged over closer to her, anxious about what the Hermit might do.

"Coward?" he repeated vehemently, his golden eyes glaring like daggers towards the black dragoness. He started marching back toward her, Flame and Ember looked at each nervously as they watched Spyro, wondering how he and the Hermit would react.

The Hermit stomped his way over to them, slamming his right knee down onto the sand as he knelt down in front of Cynder, ignoring Spyro watching him cautiously to her right. With his left arm across his knee, he held the staff up in his right hand as he gazed sourly into the black dragoness's face.

"You call me a coward, you spoiled upstart? You think you know what fear is? You think you know what it is to see the darkness of the world?" he hissed, pointing up at his eyes, "My eyes have seen horrors you could never imagine, not in your worst nightmares! You have been cuddled and cradled your whole life, never having to face danger or adversity!"

"Leave her alone!" Spyro snapped.

"And you?" the Hermit said as he locked his eyes on him, "You are the purple dragon of legend? The future saviour of the world? Ha!" he laughed again in his sickly, raspy voice, "If so, we may as well line up for Gaul's executioners now and save him the trouble!"

"Shut up!" growled Ember, "You don't know anything about Spyro or any of us! He's braver than other dragon in the world!"

"Oh?" chuckled the Hermit as he rose to his feet, "Did your Guardians tell you that, as well? What bravery has your 'hero' shown you? What courage have any of you shown? When have you ever done battle with the Apes? Even the lowliest of their number would slaughter you like lambs."

"We're not lambs!" protested Flame crossly, "You're not being very nice!"

"I have heard the stories about Malefor," the Hermit continued harshly, "About how powerful he was at a young age, how he even matched the Guardians of his time with his powers. Do you even hold a candle to them, oh great hero? Are you any better than them or any of your classmates?"

"That's enough!" Cynder barked, her voice noticeable brittle, "You have no right to talk to us like that! For all we know you are nothing but a common criminal! What have you done that is so great and deserving of respect?"

"I survived," the Hermit replied darkly, "Survived when others have not and recognized truths others refuse to acknowledge. Its why I've been called… shall we say, unsociable?"

"Well, I'm not surprised," Spyro replied dryly, "If I were Chief Prowlus, I'd kick you out of the tribe too!"

"Oh, if only you had such power, great hero," the Hermit chuckled mirthlessly, "You could at least say you had accomplished something, then."

"What is your problem with me?" Spyro asked sternly, masking his hurt, "You act like I'm your enemy. I've tried to be reasonable, but you just throw back insults at me and my friends!"

"Because I can tell just by looking at you that you stroll about so sure and so confident of yourselves and your abilities and yet have never been asked to prove yourselves," the Hermit answered coldly, "And yet doesn't everyone else believe the same? Don't they kiss the ground you walk on, purple dragon? Don't they slap your name on every trinket they can sell and boast of every time they were in your presence?"

Spyro felt his heart plummet like it was beneath an avalanche of rocks, so strong did the words of the vile Hermit strike at home. For a moment he was unable to retort, earning a devious smile from the Cheetah.

"I don't care what you think!" Spyro replied hotly, "None of us do! We're going to go back to the village and tell the other Cheetah's we found you. We'll tell them where you are and they'll tell us who you really are!"

The Hermit laughed shortly, "I won't be here. If they really care to find me, they'd better be ready to search every crevice and valley in Avalar. I know this wilderness better than any of them."

"Come on, Spyro," Cynder said as she stepped up and glared at the Cheetah, "Let's not waste any more breath on him."

"Yeah, he's putting me in the mood for a hot roast," Flame added curtly, puffing a cloud of smoke from his nostrils.

"Or maybe a nice freezing cold bath to awaken his senses," sneered Ember as a white cloud of freezing air exhaled from her mouth.

"Its not worth it," Spyro said snidely as he and Cynder turned to them, putting his back to the Hermit, "Lets get out of here."

Flame and Ember eyed the stranger contemptuously as they too turned around and began walking back down the sand with Spyro and Cynder following them, none of them looking back to the Hermit as he stood where they had left him. His insufferable laugh began following them as he choked and coughed with self-proclaimed victory as the four dragons marched away stiffly.

"You'd better hope this peace lasts another twelves years!" the Hermit cackled insidiously, "Or you're going to have a lot of disappointed fans when you can't be the hero they think you are…"

Spyro breathed in sharply as he felt his blood boiling, barely resisting the urge to talk back or turn his head back to the Hermit. He wanted to scream, feeling tempted to hurl himself into river and scream into the water like he had in the fountain in Warfang. While he had thought he might need to deal with the vitriol of Glacious, he did not expect to get the same from a complete stranger, much less in Avalar, a place that he had nothing but fondness for. Dragon city could have its fair share of unfriendly characters, but aside from Prowless Avalar had been nothing but a source of peace and enjoyment. Now he had the face and rasping voice of the unfriendly Hermit stuck in his mind, spoiling whatever good thoughts he had about the place. His eyes shifted to Ember as she looked back at him.

"You okay, Spyro?" she asked worriedly.

"Fine. Lets just get back to Meadow, he's probably looking for us," he replied shortly.

"With how he was sleeping? No chance. It'd take an earthquake to wake him up," Cynder added dryly.

"Man, what a creep! And what an attitude!" Flame remarked crossly.

Spyro said nothing as the group wandered back down the sand to the cave they had exited out of earlier. His expression was stern as he walked at the back of the group, the voice of the Hermit still grating in his ears and his mind. As they walked back through the winding tunnel, his companions made more remarks about the unfriendly Cheetah and bounced ideas back and forth about who he once was and what he may have done to be expelled from the tribe. Anytime he was asked for his thoughts, the purple dragon simply replied with a dull, "I don't know," before going back to his thoughts. He tried to discount the opinions of the seemingly insane feline as not worth contemplating, but in some dark corner of his mind, much like the dark corners of the cavern they now walked back through, they did reflect some cynical, self-flagellating sense that he'd felt the last few days. The vile insults directed at him by Glacious were not to be unexpected, but for the same to come from a complete stranger was new to him. This fact seemed to confirm what the Hermit had said and indeed what he had thought himself; he had the gratitude and praise of most of those he came across and had done nothing to be worthy of it. But although he had complained about it, Spyro did not wish instead to be the subject of insults and mockery as an alternative.

'I just want to be treated normally,' he thought gloomily.

The sound of the waterfall soon returned as they neared the hidden entrance, Flame glancing down at the fishbones left on the floor that he ultimately revealed it to them.

"What do you think the Guardians and the Cheetahs will say when we tell them what we found? Or how I sniffed it out?" he asked with a proud grin.

"That you think too much about food all the time, probably," Ember chuckled lightly. The fire dragon gave her a sly smirk as he ducked down and began crawling back through the small gap in the rocks. Spyro still looked head on like he was daydreaming as Ember crawled out after Flame, Cynder turning her head and raising a curious eyebrow to him.

"Spyro?" she asked frankly, "That choking lunatic didn't get to you, did he?"

"Never mind him, lets just get out of this place," he answered coarsely before he strode past her and dropped to his belly, beginning to crawl out through the hole as the spray of the waterfall irritated his eyes. He followed Ember's tail as she leaned close against the rockwall as the water poured down into the river. Spyro walked forward a few more steps before he looked over bis shoulder and saw Cynder crawling out as well, the glance she gave him told him that she was not satisfied by his answer. Sighing at the realization that he would have to resolve it later, he jumped out from the side of the waterfall to where Flame and Ember were standing, the three of them then waiting for Cynder to join them. Presently, the black dragoness leapt out onto the grass nearby them, shaking off the watery particles she had collected on her wings.

"Well, I guess we should go tell Meadow," Spyro announced promptly as he quickly trotted off down the riverbank, his companions caught a little off guard by his swiftness, but began following along none the less. The four young dragons trotted quickly beside the river as they approached where it split off to the left and right, following it around to the right into the open grass near where they would find Meadow.

"Meadow? Hey, Meadow!" they called together as the group began to round the trees that obscured the view of the waterfall from the other side, entering back into the valley proper. Spyro's eyes looked ahead and locked on the crown of the large tree they had left the herbalist napping beneath, scanning down its length as they approached, expecting to see the Cheetah still sleeping contently, estimating they had been gone about half an hour, the time Meadow had asked to be awoken. When his eyes reached the base of the tree, Meadow was not there.

"Meadow?" he called out, though not in alarm. There was no response as Spyro and the others glanced around for any sign of the herbalist as they neared the base of the tree. Looking up and down the river from where they stood yielded no sight of him, thinking perhaps that he had ventured into the forest to search for more herbs.

"I don't see him," observed Cynder plainly as the group began searching around the large tree, all calling out Meadow's name to no answer as Flame wandered around the other side of the tree, sniffing the air.

"I hope he didn't wander off and get lost trying to find us," added Ember as she glanced at her surroundings. Spyro looked towards the forest, frowning as he considered if they should venture into them in hopes of finding their caretaker or simply wait for his return. He stood looking into the trees, noticing a cluster of blue wildflowers just inside the treeline that he had seen Meadow collecting earlier that day. They were too obvious to miss if he had indeed gone into the forest to forage. Spyro's scowl became worrisome as the most convenient and innocent explanation suddenly didn't seem most likely.

"Guys!" called Flame in a voice that made him gasp, "Come here, quick!"

Swiftly, the three dragons looked towards the red dragon and ran over to him where he stood, looking down at something in a cluster of tall grass on the other side of the tree. Spyro, Cynder and Ember rushed up to him, peering down as he was at something partly concealed in the grass.

"What is it, Flame?" Spyro asked hurriedly as he shuffled up next to him, looking down into the grass. As the others joined them, the purple dragon eyed the tattered remains of Meadow's basket, seemingly crushed as if it had been trampled by a large set of feet.

"It's Meadow's basket," answered Flame tensely as the group looked at the remains. The herbs and flowers it had contained were scattered and flattened among the grass, which itself and the soil were torn up as if raked by claws. Spyro's eyes widened as he began to examine the immediate surroundings, noticing matching tears in the soil around them.

"Look at these," he said markedly, nodding towards the disturbed earth, "They're all around here."

Looking around the grass surrounding them, the four dragons began to fan out and investigate the immediate area. Leading from the tree towards where the basket had been, there were several tracks ripped into the ground like something had clambered across the ground with great speed and violence. But the scars in the ground became more numerous around near the basket, like claws slashing across the ground at something. Spyro quickly noticed that the gouges in the dirt were shaped like a triple clawed hand, with the inner most gouges being longer and bigger than the two smaller claw marks beside it. It was obvious first and foremost that they were not the marks left by a dragon or a cheetah.

"What happened here?" asked Ember anxiously, "Do you think Meadow is okay?"

"I don't know," Spyro replied apprehensively, "Just keep looking."

He looked back over his shoulder towards the tattered remains of the basket, the horrifying thought that their caretaker may be in a not too dissimilar state darkened his heart with fear.

"Over here!" called Cynder as she stood over something about fifty feet or so to the left of the basket. Spyro quickly rushed over with Flame and Ember, seeing more slashes across the ground and in the grass, indicating more evidence of trouble. The reflective glare in his eyes didn't slow down Spyro's recognition of the object; it was Meadow's dagger, the one he had used to cut up the fish they had eaten earlier. The grass beneath it and the edge of the blade was darkened by a smear of dark purple, almost black, blood. Spyro eyed the blade grimly as he reached with his right paw carefully towards it, gripping the hilt and lifting it up closer. He exchanged a bleak glance with Cynder as he held up the blade.

"That's not Meadow's blood," observed Flame diligently, "Cheetah's blood is red, isn't it?"

"That's right," confirmed Ember with mild hope in her voice.

"He must have used this to defend himself," declared Spyro softly as he twisted his paw sideways as he examined the weapon closely.

"From what?" Cynder asked. Spyro didn't answer as his eyes ran along the length of the blade. Towards the tip of the blade the bloodstain thickened, peering closer he saw a thin strip of leather like membrane dangling from the edge of the knife. His eyes widened as he recognized the membrane as being like that of a dragon, but not quite so.

"I thought he didn't believe in violence," Flame remarked curiously.

"How much would you believe that if a Dreadwing was bearing down on you?" replied Cynder critically, having surmised Spyro's conclusions with her own observations . Ember's eyes shrank as the word reached her ears.

"A Dreadwing?" she gasped frightfully. Spyro nodded seriously as he gripped the hilt of the blade more tightly.

"They must have come here, caught him while he was napping. He tried to run, but they chased him. He grabbed the knife to defend himself, slashed its wing…. now he's gone," said the purple dragon dismally.

"But why would they come here?" quired Cynder, "The Apes haven't attacked us for twelve years."

"I guess that changed today," remarked Spyro curtly, placing the blade back on the ground, "Come on, we've got to get back to the village and tell what happened!" he said hurriedly.

"But what if there's more of them?" demanded Flame uneasily, "There could be an army invading the valley!"

"Then we've got to get back and help," he answered frankly, taking the hilt of Meadow's knife back in his mouth, saying through his teeth, "Follow me!"

End of Chapter 9

(As a Christmas treat, I will be posting the next chapter today as well. The catch though is that in order to give myself time to catch up, the chapter after that will not be posted until February 18th. Hope you enjoy and Merry Christmas!)

Next Chapter: Missing Meadow