Oh hello there. I'm back once again, and so are you. For anyone who cared, the exams went fairly well, so…*confetti* yeah. Hope you enjoy this chapter.

"I could've done a lot worse," Spyro muttered to himself, reassuringly. He was sitting by himself on his favorite thinking rock, looking at the blue sky. It was one of the only things he said, as he otherwise sat in silence.

He was wondering to himself what he exactly was doing. If this meeting would lead to something more, or if it would just be nothing more than a friendly walk, forgotten to the both of them after a few days. He was also wondering if he was going to go through with it. He knew he couldn't just abandon her after telling them to meet, but at the same time…he was scared. Scared that he was about to lose his best friend. He didn't care about how this walk was going to end, only as long as no matter what, she would still be his friend. So he could still be close to her.

Other thoughts started to arise, and he was further questioning his decision to meet with Stealth elf. Does he actually like Stealth elf, or is this whole thing something he's doing, because everyone else tells him that this is what he should do. He knew he wouldn't normally do something as brazen as this(at least not when it comes to feelings. Every other situation is free game) if there wasn't something going on with him, compelling him to do it. He just wasn't sure. And that was the worst part of all.

Luckily he would very soon find himself interrupted when a familiar voice called out to him.

"Sooo…what are you thinking about?"

Spyro managed for once not to fall on the ground, though it required a lot of hectic movements. When he finally settled down he let out a short sigh of relief, before noticing Stealth elf, who was sitting with legs crossed on another rock next to his, staring at him. He quickly remembered she had asked him a question.

"Oh just, heroic stuff you know. Like being caught in a crossroad, not knowing what to do. But deciding to sacrifice oneself for the greater good." Spyro explained, imitating what he perceived as someone sounding noble, with dramatic gestures thrown in there just in case.

"Wow…would that include by any chance?" Stealth elf asked, with a sarcastic tone, that was very baldy hidden.

"Well, I wouldn't want to brack but, I'm a deeply conflicted person."

"I'm sure you are."

"Trust me, you have no idea what conflicts hunt my very soul." Spyro dramatically exclaimed, sliding down the back of the rock, with an edgy expression on his face.

"Sorry for not recognizing the look of a true martyr." Stealth elf answered back, just as dramatic as him, and with no attempts at hiding her obvious sarcasm. She then sat up from the rock and walked over to Spyro.

"So, was there something about a walk?" She curiously asked him.

Spyro's face lit up, as he recollected the reason he was seven here.

"Oh yeah, the walk." He got up from the ground, facing Stealth elf.

"I didn't…really plan anything."

"Then why even meet?" Stealth elf jokingly asked, but there was a suggestion of uncertainty in her voice.

Spyro looked around nervously, trying to find the best words to express his conflict. Without actually saying what's going on, naturally.

"I thought we could…I could…figure things out." The last words sounded meek and fragile, a far cry from what usually spills from Spyro's confidence-filled mouth. Stealth elf in turn looked at him, as if trying to figure out something, that she still didn't know needed to be figured out

"Okay. Let's go." She finally said, and with no pause or hesitation, she turned around and started walking. Spyro was stuck for a moment, before running towards her, and walking by her side.

They then went out on a walk around the academy. It wasn't a long walk, but by no definition was it short either. They just walked and talked. Talked about things they already had said before, but now in a new light. Spyro's worried fell off his shoulders like molten jelly, and even Stealth elf seemed more relaxed than usual. As their walk neared towards its end, they were headed towards their house and the sun was slowly setting. They had reached a point where silence was more than enough for the both of them. As they walked in silence, Spyro started thinking about all the things he had expected to happen and came to the realization, that none of them had happened. There was no big reveal, twist, or revelation. Not much had actually happened. Yet he wasn't disappointed. He knew that he was doing what he wanted to do. He just still didn't know what relationship that fell into. He had hoped this walk would be the final clue, that would reveal his true feelings for her. But though he was closer than before, he still wasn't nearly close enough. He needed more time.

"Well, seems our time is up!" Stealth proclaimed as they reached their front door. Spyro had been completely lost in his thoughts.

"Oh…that felt quick."

"I agree with you there." She said, letting out a short, but nervous laugh.

"So, did you figure things out?" She asked, with a certain bluntness that caught Spyro off guard. He still wasn't quite sure what Stealth elf associated with that line.

He nervously rubbed the back of his neck, while answering.

"I'm not really sure. I don't think I did. After all-" He interrupted himself with a dry chuckle.

"It was just a walk, right?"

Stealth elf made a weak smile, and Spyro could swear he saw a hint of disappointment on her face, but he didn't know if that was just what he wanted to see.

"Yeah. Just a walk."

She opened the door and stood in the door frame.

"Hope to see you tomorrow."

Spyro looked at her confused.

"We live in the same house. We literally meet each other every morning."

"Oh." Stealth elf then teleported away, leaving Spyro at the door alone.

"I'm glad to see that you both are up and awake." Master Eon commented, as Stealth elf and Spyro stood in front of him, both very tired and about to fall asleep. They had been called in the middle of the night and asked to be as quiet as possible. To say that they were surprised to see each other sneaking over to the academy in the middle of the night, would be an understatement. But soon they had reached the main building and met with Eon.

"*Yawn* Sure, sure…I'm bright as the morning moon." Spyro sluggishly muttered.

"I'm pretty sure *yawn* that the moon doesn't come up in the morning." Stealth elf corrected, with a little more coherence.

"Really? I forgot all about that. Heh." Spyro replied, his sleep deprivation clearly not being kind to him.

Eon looked at Spyro with worry but decided that it would just be best to continue.

"I have called you two here today-I mean night-because I have a secret mission, for the both of you."

"A…Secret mission?" Spyro asked, with the two words 'secret' and 'mission' together apparently awaking an unknown energy source inside him.

"So, are we infiltrating an enemy stronghold, stealing forbidden intel, or better yet, are we going to use disguises?!" Spyro asked, his mind running wild with theories and ideas that would turn out to be a lot more interesting than their actual mission.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you Spyro but…no."

Spyro was very much disappointed.

"I need you two to go into the Falling forest. Deeper than you ever have been before. There I need you to find a magical artifact. A magic book, belonging a mage long ago."

"Wait, if you just need us to get the book, then why did you wake us in the middle of the night?" Stealth elf asked, hoping very much that there was a chance that she could go back to bed.

"Because first, the parts of the forest you're going to go through are overrun with trolls. So I need the stealthiest members of the team. You Stealth elf, because you're a ninja. And you Spyro, because you have an uncanny ability to disappear whenever you need to attend class."

Spyro realized something for a moment.

"Wait…is this punishment for all the times I skipped class?"

"Of course not! It just happens to be an ironic twist of fate that I praised myself for a few hours for coming up with."

Stealth elf and Spyro looked at Master Eon, both very much not convinced. Eon in response coughed awkwardly and decided to ignore their judging stares.

"And for the second reason, because I couldn't have the rest of the team know where you were going. This is a very important mission, and I can't have anyone know the purpose of your assignment."

"Well, that makes somewhat sense." Stealth elf sorrowfully commented, realizing that she wouldn't get back to bed anytime soon.

"That doesn't sound too bad. Just a quick visit to the Falling forest, and then we'll be back by morning." Spyro said, supportingly clapping her on the shoulder.

"Oh, that won't happen."

Both of them froze and looked fearfully up at Eon.

"Your mission will take you-take four and two thirds and together with-a week."

Their jaws dropped practically to the ground, and what was before fear, was now terror. Spyro realized the repercussions of them being together alone for a week and thought that was a little more time than he wanted to figure things out. His terror seemed to be about as equal as Stealth elf's, and he didn't know if that was a good sign or a bad one.

"Yes, tomorrow I will announce to the others that I gave you two vacations and that you will return next week. Everything is already planned, so you can't back out."

"Wait! Don't we have a say in this?!" Stealth elf desperately asked.

"Unfortunately no…see you next week!"

And with a hearty smile, Eon yawned and stretched, and walked over to the exit. Before exiting, he looked back confused on the two Skyaldners, who had frozen in place.

"What are you waiting for? I would advise you two to get going before you fall asleep again."

With that he closed the doors, leaving the two of them alone in the dark building. They looked at each other, both uncertain about what they were going to do now. Spyro was the one to finally break the silence.

"...I guess our walk is going to get a bit longer."

Ahhh, don't you love plot conveniences? I sure do. I'm sorry for the chapters being short, but for the first two, I had a pretty good idea of how they were gonna go. Now…not so much. I'm just trying to figure out something to write as we go along. Still, I hoped you enjoyed this chapter and will be back for the next one. Goodbye!