Cynder knocked twice on the door, before lowering her paw, waiting for an answer. It had been a couple of days since she last saw Apata, which had been the day after they were caught in the Ghoul Realm. She wanted to check on her comrade to see how she was doing, hoping that there had been some sort of recovery.

Only silence greeted her. She stood around for a few long moments before knocking on the door again, calling Apata's name. There was still no response. She knocked again, the force getting stronger and stronger until she was practically punching the door. Cynder was just about getting ready to break the door down before she heard Apata shout from inside.

"Go away!"

The dark purple dragoness stopped, lowering her paw sadly, but she didn't move. Barely a couple seconds passed before Apata shouted again. "I know you're still there!" she yelled. "I said 'go away', damn it!"

"I'm just here to check up on you and see how you're doing," Cynder explained as calmly as she could.

"I'm perfectly fine," Apata spat.

"I doubt that."

There was a frustrated growl from behind the door, before it opened partially to reveal Apata, who sported bloodshot, half-glazed over eyes which both had heavy bags under them, a slight bruise on her left cheek, and a faded, thin cut on her shoulder.

"I am fine, now get the hell out," the earth dragoness insisted.

Apata appeared ready to slam the door in Cynder's face, but considering the door was now open, Cynder took her chance. She rushed forward, shoving her way past Apata and barging through the door. She was greeted by a string of curses from Apata, but she honestly couldn't care as she took immediate note of her surroundings.

The living room was covered in spell tags that Apata had made. They were stuck everywhere: on the walls, on the furniture, on the ceiling…

Cynder was immediately concerned.

"Apata… what the hell…?" Cynder stuttered, unable to voice a proper question as she continued to process what she was seeing.

"Get out, Cynder. Please," Apata murmured, suddenly sounding so much more broken.

The dark purple dragoness noticed this and turned to Apata, noticing that she was starting to tear up. The earth dragoness choked and turned her head away, gritting her teeth. A soft whimper escaped her throat.

"Apata. What's wrong?" Cynder asked. "You can tell me what's…"

"YOU KNOW WHAT'S WRONG!" Apata screamed, thrusting her face into Cynder's. The earth dragoness hesitated, her face falling as she realised she'd just screamed at Cynder, before another whimper left her throat and she slumped to the ground.

Cynder's heart sank. She sat down next to Apata, unsure whether or not to wrap a wing around her. She didn't know if the earth dragoness would welcome the physical touch, so she just sat there.

Apata's breath was heavy, forced and rhythmic, her chest heaving, her eyes staring at her paws. Her eyes were bright red as tears swelled up inside them.

"You're scared of the Ghoul Realm, aren't you?" Cynder murmured. It was more of a statement than a question.

A nod was the only reply. After a minute, Apata opened her mouth to try and speak, but nothing but a small croak came out. She closed her mouth again, a painful, conflicted expression on her face. She sniffled, shaking her head.

"I…" Apata started, her voice hoarse and wobbly. "I keep having nightmares about it… I know it's not the Ghoul Realm really. It just… doesn't feel as real. But every night I have nightmares about the raid, when… Dad betrayed us. Ever since I saw him again, I've been trapped in my past. I'm scared. I'm scared of… that place. I'm scared of this war. I'm scared of everything."

"And you think covering your house in spell tags will help you?" Cynder questioned, averting her gaze to the walls covered in spell tags, before returning it to Apata.

"Yes… I know it sounds stupid, but… I just wanted to stay safe. I want to escape from my past; I want to escape from the hold the Ghoul Realm has over me. Even with all these spell tags, I don't feel protected. I am still plagued with nightmares. I am assaulted by my thoughts. And I know Spyro is still out there. No one is safe. I just… I don't know what to do… I'm so scared."

"I know. I know," Cynder whispered as Apata began to break down. "I'm scared too."

"R-r-r-really?"

"Yes, really. I don't show it, but… I'm terrified. I'm scared for me, I'm scared for you, I'm scared for my friends, I'm scared for the city. I'm scared of Spyro, I'm scared of the Ghoul Realm, I'm scared of losing more people. And that includes you. I don't want to lose you, physically or mentally. Please don't shut yourself away. Come talk to me if you're having problems. I want to help as much as I can. You're not just a coworker, you're a friend. I know I seem harsh but these times call for that. Training needs to be tough or people will die in a real battle. I want to keep as many people alive as I can."

Apata just murmured in acknowledgement, before hugging Cynder. The dark purple dragoness was caught off guard, but she returned it. "I'm sorry for worrying you, Cynder," Apata apologised.

"Don't be. You're fine for the most part, that's what matters. Just… let some people in, okay? It's not good to leave this type of stuff inside. It needs to come out. I know that from experience," Cynder replied. "I used to be plagued by nightmares of my past too; I still do, although it's nowhere near as bad as it used to be. I used to keep it all in and it really hurt me in the long run. Please don't do what I did."

"I… I'll try…" Apata murmured. "If… If I need to talk, I'll come and find you if I can, okay?"

"Yes, definitely do that. I'll be more than happy to talk."

"Thanks, Cynder. And… sorry for all this."

"Don't be."

Cynder and Apata parted from their embrace, and Cynder stood. "Alright, are you gonna be okay?" she questioned.

"Yes, I think I'm going to be fine," Apata replied.

"Alright, well I might go now. I would like to check back on Hunter; I haven't seen him in a bit."

"I'll see you later then, Cynder. And… depending on how I'm going, you'll see me back at the barracks soon."

"Are you sure? I mean… you sure you'll be able to handle it?"

"I just need to try and get out of my head a bit. It's got nothing to do with Spyro, shadowclaws and venomfangs, rather the Ghoul Realm and my dad's betrayal… I honestly think I'll be fine with them. Honestly it'd also be good to let out some anger and emotion on some shadowclaw and venomfang dummies."

"Alright, I'll trust you on that. Just make sure that if you're feeling mentally unstable, you tap out. Hesitation is dangerous and I will not let you in the ring if I see you're too doubting or hesitating."

"I understand. I think I'll be fine though."

"If you say so," Cynder replied. "Anyway, I'm off now. Gotta go check on Hunter."

"Hopefully it goes well; in the meantime I might try and meditate a bit, see if that works, and then go grab some food."

"Thanks. Good luck with that, and I'll see you later."

With that, Cynder left Apata's house, her heart already aching. It was a short conversation but already Apata had expressed so much pain to Cynder, a lot of which Cynder could relate to, both now in relation to the fears of the Ghoul Realm for example, as well as in the past when referring to getting stuck inside the head and having constant nightmares about past events.

It was all so real to Cynder.

A few minutes later, she arrived at the small house where Hunter and Derilan were currently staying, courtesy of her and Logron. When she got there, the faint sound of yelling registered in her ears. She was immediately worried.

The front door was already unlocked, so she invited herself in, making her way towards Hunter and Derilan's bedroom where the yelling was coming from. As she peered in, she saw Hunter sitting on his bed, sulking, while Derilan stood in front of him, yelling. "You can't just attack people, Father! You know that!" he shouted. "You beat in a poor pantheress' face, just because she asked if you were okay!"

"It's not my fault I'm jumpy, okay?!" Hunter retorted.

"That was not 'jumpy'! Jumpy is one swing! ONE! You jumped, turned to the pantheress and tackled her to the ground! You broke her nose!"

"What the hell is going on?!" Cynder exclaimed, making her presence known as she entered the room. "What happened?!"

"Not now, Cynder!" Derilan scowled, not even bothering to make eye contact with her, before he continued lecturing his father. "What you did was an attack, Father! What reason do you possibly have for that?!"

"Like I said, I am jumpy!" Hunter screamed, standing up from his bed quicker than a flash. "On top of that, I struggle to control my anger, you know that!"

"No I don't! What anger?!" Derilan snapped. "You never used to be like this! You were kind and gentle and loving! WHAT CHANGED?!"

"EVERYTHING!" Hunter roared, grabbing Derilan by the shoulders and shaking him violently. "Spyro happened, and NOTHING has been the same! I lost my friends, my village, my family, and I broke all the vows I made! Everything changed within a couple of minutes! Now you tell me that you wouldn't change after what happened!"

"I did change! I became more wary; I became more attentive; I became more terrified. I live in fear! On top of that, I'm now having to 'father' you! My own father!"

"Both of you, calm down NOW!" Cynder bellowed, raising her strong voice over both cheetahs. "Screaming in each other's faces will do absolutely nothing to solve the problem! Now, tell me what happened, without yelling."

"Well we were out for a walk, and on the way back, a pantheress passed us and obviously noticed how upset Father seemed, so she asked if he was okay. He jumped, and then full-on attacked her; he broke her nose and literally had her in a chokehold; I had to fight him to save her," Derilan explained, his voice wobbling as he tried to keep his tone down; it slowly rose as he kept talking, however. "And of course Father has the audacity to call it being 'jumpy' and struggling to 'control his anger'!"

"Derilan, I honestly doubt it was just struggling with anger," Cynder explained calmly.

"That's what he said it was, damn it! What else would it be?!" Derilan shouted.

"Hunter, did you feel threatened at all when you were caught off guard?" Cynder questioned.

"Yes," he replied.

"Do you often feel threatened?"

"Yes."

"And… I'm guessing this started after the village was destroyed?"

"Yes."

"Then there's your answer, Derilan," Cynder explained, turning to the orange cheetah. "He's scared. He constantly feels threatened, like someone will jump out at him and harm him. Even if they're good people. And I understand; Spyro was a good person. But now look at him. He betrayed Hunter; he betrayed all of us. And now after the attack, he's changed, living in a constant fear and a constant aggression. Anger and aggression can come out of that fear sometimes.

"So yes, he was angry, but he felt in danger and his first impulse was to act upon it. And that was to attack his 'attacker'."

"But she was just asking…" Derilan started.

"She scared me, Derilan," Hunter growled. "She caught me off guard."

"Still doesn't excuse the fact that you beat her up!"

"I'm sorry, okay?!" Hunter snapped with a snarl. "I am trying to control myself! I am trying not to be so angry and on edge!"

An uncomfortable silence filled the room. Hunter's snarl faded, a forlorn frown taking its place. He shook his head and sat back down on his bed. "I don't feel like myself anymore…" Hunter croaked. "I just… I'm tired of being so scared, so angry. I'm tired of having nightmares every night. I hate it, so much. Everything has gone wrong and I just don't know what to do anymore."

The cheetah choked, lowering his head into his paws. A couple of seconds later, a sob escaped his throat, and his claws clenched, digging into his head and drawing blood. Derilan rushed forward to grab Hunter's paws, but Hunter lashed out with his feet and scrambled to the other edge of his bed. Blood dripped down his face and onto the bedsheets. It got worse as he started to drag his claws down his face.

"Father, stop. Stop, please," Derilan murmured.

Hunter didn't acknowledge his son's plea.

With a sigh, Cynder quickly lashed out, using all her force to fight against Hunter and pry his claws out of his face. He hissed at her, eyes bloodshot and lip trembling.

"Hunter, you need to calm down," Cynder said firmly.

The yellow cheetah didn't say anything; he only continued to hiss and huff as he stared angrily at Cynder. He kicked out at her, trying to scratch her arms with the claws on his feet.

Cynder was quickly aware of Derilan beginning to cry beside her as a small, stifled sob broke from his throat. She turned to look at him; his paw was raised to his mouth and curled into a ball, and his eyes were red with tears.

"I hate seeing him like this… I hate it," Derilan murmured, his voice wobbling. "He's either super aggressive or super depressive. He either yells at or attacks people, or he attacks himself. A couple days ago he full on cut himself with his sword."

Cynder's heart sank. She turned back to Hunter, whose angry hissing had now turned into crying, and ended up taking a quick glance at his wrists. Thick, ugly scars decorated them. There were some smaller, thinner cuts along his forearms, likely made by his claws or some sort of dagger.

"Yesterday, I had to fight him over my weapons," Derilan continued. "I hid his, but he went straight for mine. I then hid mine and later on he went for a mad search for them, and ended up finding them. I… I can't keep doing this. I can't get rid of the weapons either; we do need them should we need to use them, but… they're also a threat. I don't know what to do."

"I can take him in if you want," Cynder offered. "Just for a couple of days, to see if he gets any better. I don't own any weapons, so he should hopefully be fine. Plus, I think you need some time to look after yourself; you seem wrecked."

"Are… are you sure, Cynder?" Derilan asked, to which Cynder nodded. "Thank you. Thank you, so much!"

The dragoness nodded again, before she turned back to Hunter. "Are you okay? You're not going to hurt yourself if I let go?" she questioned.

Hunter only sniffled, before he slowly shook his head. "I won't," he squeaked.

Slowly, Cynder let go of Hunter's paws, and he just lay there, staring forward. He lowered his blood-stained paws to his sides, before looking down sadly. "I'm sorry," he murmured.

Derilan didn't respond. Cynder just sighed. "Thank you for apologising. I know it can be hard, but just try and control yourself okay?" she murmured.

"I will. I do."

"Good. Anyway, I might take you out of your son's paws for now; let's go home," Cynder said.

"Oh… o-o-okay."

Slowly, Hunter stood, wiping his bloodstained claws on his tunic, before walking towards the door. Cynder turned and followed. "Stay safe, Derilan. Rest well," she murmured as they left.

"I'll try. Thanks, Cynder," Derilan replied.

"I'll bring him back in a couple of days; feel free to visit any time."

With that, Cynder left the room, shutting the door behind her, before she led Hunter to her house. It didn't take long before she realised Hunter was lagging quite a fair way behind her, and she was walking much slower than usual to compensate for the large size difference and her larger step distance.

Hunter was hobbling slightly, stepping irregularly. She had a feeling he was lightheaded due to the amount of blood that caked his face. He really had dug in far.

Cynder sighed sadly, picking him up by the scruff gently in her jaws, before placing him on her back. "Rest up, Hunter; we'll clean you up when we get there," she said.

Hunter didn't reply; he lowered his stomach to Cynder's back and gripped tightly to her scales, the world spinning around him.

It didn't take long before they arrived at Cynder's house. She quickly made her way up to the bathroom and got to work with cleaning his face. The blood had dried and crusted over the wounds, which she managed to rub off and clean, but the wounds were still very raw, and getting a closer look at them, they were pretty deep. Hunter winced every time she put water on them and began to rub them clean.

Afterwards, Cynder dried the wounds as best as she could and grabbed some bandages, wrapping them around the top of Hunter's head and underneath his chin, keeping the bandages against the wounds running from his temples to his cheeks. Then, she showed Hunter around, and set up a makeshift bed in the corner of her room. Hunter wanted to sleep on his own, but Cynder didn't want to take any chances. She wanted him in sight as much as she could. Hunter was fragile and she didn't want him doing anything bad.

The cheetah decided he wanted to sleep not soon after they set up his bed; he was tired and still upset from earlier, and just wanted to sleep it off as best as he could. So, Cynder sat in the room reading while Hunter tried to fall asleep, and she stayed there until she was sure that Hunter was properly asleep.

She then went and wrote a quick note for Hunter, saying that she was going to get lunch before checking in at the barracks for a bit, just in case he wondered where she was. Of course, she added right at the end, in all capital letters, 'BE SAFE'. She then placed the note beside the slumbering cheetah, before she left to do what she said she would.

The day went by smoothly; she got her lunch and ate it quickly, and training went without any major problems. Each soldier was improving against the shadowclaws and venomfangs, and there were less and less interventions that Cynder had to do. Sure, they still struggled here and there, but against such formidable opponents, she expected a bit of struggle. Even she struggled sometimes.

After work, Cynder went back home, to be greeted with Hunter sitting on her couch, reading one of her books. "It's been ages since I read anything," Hunter explained to her. "I, unfortunately, don't have the responsibilities I once had, and now I'm overflowing with spare time. Not that I think it's a good thing of course. But I needed something to do, and something else to put my mind on. You got some good books too; they're very different in style to the cheetah literature. Plus, this one's a good story."

Cynder looked at the cover. It was Forgotten Violet, a book she enjoyed a lot and had re-read multiple times.

The dark purple dragoness then suggested they go out for dinner to get some good food and just spend time in each other's company. They didn't talk much. There wasn't much to talk about. They talked about Forgotten Violet briefly on the walk there, but afterwards the conversation died out.

They didn't need to talk much. Being in each other's company was all that mattered really. It was good to be with a friend. An old friend of course, considering they hadn't seen each other in a couple years short of a decade, but a friend nonetheless.

Plus, there was no point talking about the serious, depressing matters regarding the world's current situation. It would just make them both upset. Especially Hunter.

Once they ate, they made their way back to Cynder's house. They both spend the next few hours of the night reading their separate books, before they went to bed. It was a relaxing evening, and it was a nice change in pace from the events of that morning.

I'm back with another chapter! This was finished last month but I decided to wait until now to post coz I knew uni would be absolutely insane this month (which it is). I'm getting through it though, so that's a positive at least. I've also been doing a heap of drawing as well, as I mentioned in last chapter's A/N.

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Dragon of Mystery: Thanks I feel somewhat flattered that I'm still writing dark disturbing chapters pahahaha /j (in all seriousness tho I need to try and keep room for the climax of the story lol XDDD). And yes that language is ancient draconic; it's basically gibberish words I made up that I've started to different words; I would use the draconic translator that already exists online but 1: I'm too lazy to go back and change it all for each chapter, 2: It's only as of recently I actually made each gibberish word mean something; in earlier chapters before the rewrite (26 and before I believe) the words were literally just gibberish... thanks 2017-me lol. Depending on how I feel later I might think up something for the literal-gibberish sections and then redo everything with the draconic translator so people can actually see what is being said... that might be helpful now that I think about it.

As for Flaris and co., we'll see lol; we're still in the early phase for the assassins lol XD

And you're welcome; I hope you're doing better now man, as with your family. Also I wanna say thanks for the continued support; you still review on every chapter and most of my frequent reviewers have suddenly disappeared (I mean with a story like this I can kinda understand why, unless they're just busy or got bored or something), so it's still good to have someone still reading and interacting with the story. Have a great day dude.

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Welp, hope you enjoyed this chapter! Dunno how long until the next one but I'm getting a start on Chapter 43 now! Cya then! Bye!