Okay, this wound up a little longer than I expected, so I had to break it up into two chapters.
"Phew, finally!"
Spyro stepped back from the sink where he'd finished rinsing off the washcloth and examined the kitchen's restored cleanliness. Man, this mess took way too long to fix up, even after the brief extra help! Ah well, surely Nestor would consider this cleanup punishment enough!
A satisfied groan and the sound of joints popping turned his attention to Devlin, who moaned in similar relief before donning a satisfied smile. "Well now, that should be everything! I daresay that we might have gotten a bit overzealous in our attempts to impress but live and learn as they say!"
"Bzzt, b-b-bzzt, bzz-bzz-bzzt. Bzz-b-bzzt. (Next time we have guests, let's stick to something smaller. Way smaller.)"
No argument from Spyro there. The purple dragon assumed a sheepish grin at Devlin. "Sorry our welcome present-slash-lesson didn't go so well."
The baker waved a dismissive hand. "Oh think nothing of it, my boy! Learning always entails stumbling blocks," he thought back to the exploded cake and murmured, "some a tad larger than others. Regardless, you'd best be heading to Oswin for your next lesson!"
Spyro and Sparx shared an excited grin. Unlike the other Artisans, Oswin knew how to make lessons fun, even the ones that should send you asleep. No one understood how he pulled it off, but he pulled it off.
"And before I forget," Devlin ducked out of the kitchen and returned with a small recipe book, "could you return this to Oswin for me? I'd do it myself, but Alvar is struggling over a meat-filled dish he and I are collaborating on for tonight's party and that man simply cannot stand to wait."
Spyro gathered the book into his mouth and garbled a 'see ya' before departing, Sparx close behind. As the pair neared the exit back to Artisans, however, the dragonfly adopted a pensive frown. The drake noticed and muffled out 'something on your mind, buddy?'
"Bzz-bzz-b-b-bzz bzzt? (You think Nico's okay?)" When his question earned a confused brow, the golden insect waved his front forelegs in a thoughtful motion. "Bz-b-b-b-b-b-bzz-b-b-bzz-bzzt. (He looked kind of bummed when he left with Nestor.)"
Oh boy, here we go. Spyro paused to sit back on his haunches and drop the book into his hands. "Yeah, but that's not our fault. No offense to him, but I think that guy has got a complex when it comes to helping."
Fair enough. The dragonfly lost count of all the arguments Spyro got into with their guest, the dragonfly doing his best to mediate before Nestor and Devlin would intervene. At the same time, there never passed a moment where the chubby Ecologist hadn't radiated sincerity despite his pushiness.
Apparently that memory did not go unshared for Spyro's face fell a second later. "OK, maybe saying yes wouldn't have hurt, but you know how I am! There's always something I gotta prove to everybody: to Nestor, to the other Artisans, and now to this guy! I didn't want him thinking I'm some helpless baby."
Sparx's face softened in sympathy. He could attest to the purple dragon's struggles to make something of himself, let alone the multiple times he'd butt heads with the other Artisans in turn. Still, sometimes he wished his friend would stop believing everyone expected the world from him.
"Bzzt, b-b-bzzt b-b-bzzt. (I doubt he thinks that of you.)"
Spyro's face bunched at this viable point. Nico seemed more like the type who simply couldn't help to help. Man that sounded confusing. If they could only befriend him in a better context, they could get off on the right foot.
Maybe the answer was just that simple? A determined smile and tail-wag came to Spyro at this epiphany. Yeah, he could do simple! He whipped around to face Sparx. "Hey, what do ya say after Oswin's lesson, we head off and see if we can't hang out with him for real? You know, minus the chores?"
With a happy buzz, Sparx bobbed up and down to show his approval. A talk with someone closer in age could be what their guest needed to enjoy himself! This was the last lesson for today anyway, and Sparx doubted the older Artisans would be opposed.
Then he noticed his friend's smirk.
"Besides, it's about time we got a new pranking partner. We'll show the big guy how ta raise some mischief, and we'll get him loosening up in no time!"
Oh dear. Nestor and the others would not approve of that idea. In fact, it might result in a heavier than usual grounding for them both and land Nico in trouble. Alas, before Sparx could voice this exact concern, Spyro stuffed the book back into his mouth and continued on his merry way, leaving his pal little choice but to follow.
Oh the dragonfly could already foresee tonight turning into chaos.
XXX
Nestor would prefer chaos over this.
'This' being Nevin's effusive exposition over every painting in his gallery down to the last stroke. Did spectators need to know the angles at which you painted the mountains? Perhaps if they aspired to be artists themselves, although Delbin begged to differ judging by his bored yawn. An utter marvel none of them hadn't nodded off yet.
Delbin sent an apologetic smile to Nico only to frown at the younger dragon's downcast face, eyes glazed over in deep thought. Nestor noticed as well and opened his mouth to ask what was wrong when Nico faced him at startling speed and asked in a low enough voice so Nevin wouldn't overhear, "Would it be alright if we visited that other dragon after this, sir?"
Nestor blinked at the question and shared a glance with Delbin. They didn't need Carmen's investigative skills to know who Nico meant. The Artisan leader spared their guide a sorry-but-not-really face. "Nevin, could you give us a moment? Something just came up."
Nevin furrowed his brows in light chagrin but dismissed his audience with a resigned flap of his hand. Nestor returned his attention to Nico and guided the boy to the other end of the gallery for privacy alongside Delbin.
"You wish to see Lindar next? Are you certain that would fare well?"
"Y-Yeah! And would it be alright if I...saw him alone too?" When that request took the two adults aback, Nico hunched his shoulders and hastened to explain his reasoning. "It's just...he's Ecologist and Artisan," he gestured to himself, "I'm Ecologist and Artisan. Is there anyone else here like him?"
Delbin twiddled his thumbs. "No, just him. It might be a nice thing to do for him, but...he might not be all open to that idea."
"He made sure I got those cookies, didn't he?" Nico countered, "I doubt he'd do that if he hated me."
"Of course he doesn't hate you," his uncle assured in a surprised tone, "Lindy's just a complicated guy is all."
"Well, if I spent some time with him—"
"Nicolas," Nestor interceded in full sternness. He could already see through the boy's intentions. "You have a kind heart, but Lindar needs to handle his feelings by himself. Besides, the mere fact you share like heritage is no guarantee the two of you will get along." Let alone with such a diametric difference in personalities between them. The green dragon softened his face at the boy's sad frown and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Sometimes the best way to help someone is to give them time and space."
Nico turned his gaze downward again and wrung his hands, trying hard to bite down the anxiety caused by these all too familiar words. While he saw their point, could he leave Mr. Lindar alone with such tumultuous feelings that only sprang up because of his presence here? Didn't that equate to some level of responsibility on the boy's part? But Nico knew better than to question his elders; despite his discomfort, he managed a weak smile and 'yes sir' that he could tell neither adult bought.
To his fortune, Nestor and Delbin instead opted to ease him back into the tour. For his part, Nico tried his best to focus on the present. Though guilt still ate at him, his mind managed to cope thanks to one piece of advice the older Ecologists never failed to remind him: there's always a way so long as one can think.
He just needed time.
On the bright side, the art tour ended short thanks to Delbin's sarcastic commentary escalating into a heated debate over 'proper' painting techniques, much to Nico's amusement and Nestor's lack thereof. In the end, the carpenter had to drag a smug Delbin out the castle's front entrance by the arm as Nico walked beside them, Nevin's grumbles fading into the background as the trio reached the exit.
"C'mon, Nessie," Delbin chortled, "I livened things up; Nev's just too proud to admit it!"
Not wrong per say, but somebody had to play mediator here. "That being said, one silver lining to your antics is that we have ample time for a few more stops. There's still daylight left, so that should leave enough time for a roundabout at Sunny Flight and—"
Just then, Delbin gently pried his arm free. "I can take him." At Nestor's inquisitive stare, he shrugged. "Really, it's no big deal. I've got nothing planned anyway, and it'd mean more family bonding. Besides, you'll have your hands open for...other stuff." He winked to accentuate his point.
Catching on, Nestor rolled his shoulders with an eased smile. "In that case, I'll leave things to you." He addressed Nico next. "We'll meet again at the entrance to Town Square at sundown. There's one more treat we have in store for you."
Really? Nico cocked his head in curiosity as the Artisan leader bade them goodbye and departed. A meaty hand on his back jolted him out of his thoughts.
"C'mon, kiddo. Sunlight doesn't last forever!"
"R-Right!"
Along the way, however, Nico grew suspicious once he recognized the direction his uncle chose. He chose to stay silent on this observation for despite the short time they've known each other he'd come to trust his uncle. Still, something about the man's contemplative face left him pondering about their real destination.
The answer came once they touched down before a sizable cottage on the higher grounds of Stone Hill, where the sounds of multiple ticking clouds emanated.
Wait, ticking clocks? Nico's face contorted in disbelief while his heart boomed.
"I know Nestor will come down on me for doing this behind his back," Delbin spoke in some regret as he faced his nephew, "but I think you and Lindar deserve a chance to be friends." Nestor's warning sprang to mind, and the painter hurried to amend his statement. "N-Not that it's guaranteed of course. I'm just saying it'd be a wasted opportunity not to try, and I doubt Lindar will swallow his pride in time before you hafta leave."
No point in taking any chances after all. Delbin rubbed his nape in worry regardless. "I just hope he doesn't take me being here the wrong way either. He and I have some...history." Before Nico could ask for clarification, the older dragon knocked on the door.
A few thuds and grumbles echoed before a groggy 'coming' wafted out and the door opened to reveal a slightly frazzled Lindar, hair sticking out more so than usual and eyelids drooping. Once his brain registered guests on his doorstep, his eyes widened, and he shut the door in their faces posthaste. A couple seconds later, he returned with his mane back to code and trademark smirk in place.
"So, what brings you to my humble abode?"
"Me, sir."
Only then did Lindar get a good look at the person next to Delbin. While the smirk remained, his eyes flashed with something akin to a certain phrase Sofia would have scolded Nico for using.
The younger dragon cleared his throat and smiled to break the ice. "It's a pleasure to officially meet you, Mr. Lindar. My name is"—his smile fell for a second—"Oh right you probably already know it. I'm here to...uh..." Then it fell again because, on second thought, 'get to know you better' sounded weird although he couldn't bring himself to lie either. It only now occurred to Nico how little he'd planned ahead for this reencounter.
A blonde eyebrow arched in agreement. "Meet me? Congrats then, kid, we've officially met. Now if you'll excuse me."
The moment the blue reptile moved to close the door, Delbin jammed his foot between it and the jamb. "Hey not so fast there, Lindy! Your clocks count as machines, don't they? Shouldn't the kid get a chance to see your magic at work?"
Lindar tossed the larger reptile an annoyed glare. "You're not gonna let this go 'til I say yes, aren't you?" Delbin's smirk said everything. Lindar sighed in defeat before pulling the door back to grant entrance. "Fine. Just keep your mitts out of the backroom, alright? Some projects in there've been giving me a headache and I don't need anyone messing with 'em."
Nico, who'd been admiring the plethora of clocks adorning the interior, spoke up. "I could assist you if you'd like." When Lindar and even Delbin gave questioning stares, he clasped his hands together. "I've dealt with lots of machines growing up, even simple ones. I'm no expert but an extra pair of hands might help."
Red alerts burst the moment Delbin caught the calculating look on Lindar's face, least of all when the clockmaker cast a far too pleasant smile. "Oh, so you think just because my clocks don't look as complex as the stuff your clan whips up on a daily basis means this'll all be a cake walk for ya."
Crud. Nico gulped at the sardonic tone. I just crossed a line, didn't I?
Having similar thoughts, Delbin stepped forward. "Hey now, I'm sure he didn't mean—"
Lindar raised a hand without a single glance the painter's way, cutting him off. "Alright then, genius. Prove it."
Nico blinked. Did he hear him right?
"Come with me to the backroom and see if you can't fix one of my projects."
Blink, blink. "But didn't you just say—"
"Changed my mind. Now come on."
As Lindar pivoted on his heels and strolled for the backroom. Nico tossed a baffled face to Delbin, who shrugged in equal confusion. Once they followed him inside, the horologist picked up a well-sized clock from the back shelf and set it on the central table.
Upon closer inspection, the clock resembled a grey-stoned castle encrusted with green and white jewels, white 'snow' that topped the spires. The face resting in the middle consisted of gold encircled by numbers one through twelve painted dark emerald, the black minute and hour hands posed like a fancy moustache. In the late afternoon light streaming through the window, the clock's décor gleamed an opalescent mix that caught Nico's voice in his throat.
His widened brown eyes reflected the shine well. "It's...beautiful."
Lindar's blank expectant slate broke into something akin to surprise at the soft-spoken words. Based on what he'd heard from the female Artisans (specifically Carmen), he'd expected a kiss-up yet at the kid's genuine awe he swore some of the frosty wariness started to thaw. Stupid heart.
Some reverence still in his eyes, Nico neared the clock. "What's wrong with it?"
Snapping out of his stupor, Lindar slapped on a nonchalant frown. "This." To demonstrate, the blue dragon adjusted the hands until they both hit twelve and on cue a plastic spring-green robin popped out on a tiny plank from the small top door and tweeted.
If a dying mouse's squeak could pass for a tweet that is.
While Nico mulled over this issue, Lindar produced his toolbox and handed the boy a screwdriver. Accepting the tool, Nico unscrewed the front open and scanned the interior with a critical eye. A minute later he turned to the blue dragon. "Would it be alright if you showed me which parts do what, sir? I don't want to break anything."
For a hot second, Lindar appeared ready to shoot a sarcastic quip, only to think better and roll his eyes instead. "Make room."
From there, the two males examined the clock from top to base, Lindar explaining the function of each piece while Nico offered tips based off past experiences. This left Delbin feeling like an academic third wheel due to the technical terms flying around. Thrice he attempted a glimpse over the others' shoulders, hoping his taller height would prove useful, only to avoid flaring wings whenever Nico got excited.
Maybe I should leave these two—
"Uncle Delbin, we did it!"
The muscled artist jumped at the abrupt cheeriness. "Really?"
To his surprise, his nephew started pulling him by the hand so the older dragon could get a closer look (finally), and without prompt gently fingered the minute and hour hands until they both hit twelve again. This time when the robin burst out, it released a tinny chirp complemented by music box chimes.
"Huh," Delbin murmured in light awe, "would ya look at that."
Lindar huffed, hands on his belt and half-smirk undeniable. "I'll admit, kid, you didn't do half bad. Course," the clockmaker bragged as he put a hand to his puffed-out chest, "that's only natural thanks to my brilliant teaching."
Despite the show of bravado, Nico smiled up at the clockmaker. "It's true. This wouldn't have been doable if I'd been going in blind. Thank you."
When the boy went so far as to bow his head, that damn thawing feeling crept up again. Lindar swore he'd end up a puddle by the end of today. Maintaining a humorless façade, he put a finger on the kid's forehead to tilt his head back up.
"No bowing. I ain't your king." A thoughtful look briefly broke his stoicism. "Well, unless it's backgammon." He noticed Nico's unease and sighed. "Listen, I'm sorry for acting distant earlier. It's not that I have a complicated relationship with you or the Ecologists. I have a complicated relationship from being associated with you guys."
Oh. That figured.
"You're half-Ecologist and half-Artisan," Nico murmured. The just like me went unspoken, but the way the boy so knowingly did not escape Lindar's notice. "Did people make fun of you for it?" The younger dragon flinched once he realized how personal that question sounded. "S-Sorry! I didn't mean to hit that close to home! I was only—"
"You sure apologize a lot, don't ya?" Lindar snorted at the kid's resultant blush. "Yeah. It made me a pretty frequent target." His eyes briefly cut to Delbin, who paled and shrunk under his gaze. "Even more than the lack of horns did."
Nico debated whether to look surprised but decided against it to avoid looking ingenuine. "I don't have any horns either. T-The other Ecologists never teased me for it, but I do get a lot of looks from outsiders. They never say anything, not to my face anyway, but..."
"But you can hear them behind your back."
A long stare of understanding passed between them until Lindar caught sight of Delbin, who averted eye contact in response. The blue horologist adopted a concerned tone, making the painter start in surprise when he spoke. "Hey Del? I think the kid's in good hands here; how about you—"
BOOM!
All three dragons jumped at not only the unexpected noise but the intense tremors that accompanied it, causing several clocks to rattle in place although none fell off much to Lindar's relief. When a second round of explosions echoed outside, the horologist sped to the front door, Delbin and Nico right on his heels.
Only to receive the shock of his life the moment he opened the door, eyes going wide.
"WHAT THE F—"
XXX
"—UDGE IS GOING ON IN HERE?!"
Spyro had faced all sorts of crazy sights throughout his (so far) short life: body-slamming dogs, evil cat warlocks, Gnorc witch doctors, hostile tiki carvings, rock bomb-tossing mummies, pigs with rocket backpacks – and that's just off the top of his head. Amazing how worldly a few adventures can make you.
No wonder a paint-splattered library under assault from a flying book didn't faze him for long – both dragon and dragonfly ducked under an explosive torrent that left the shelf and books behind a sickly-sweet pink – although a flying rainbow-barfing book was certainly more...colorful. PFFFT.
"SPYRO! THIS WAY!"
Oh right, bad time for puns. Spyro and Sparx raced over to Oswin who'd taken shelter on one of the library's lower levels and ducked beside him. The turbaned dragon blasted a few capture spells in retaliation between attacks even though his opponent proved too agile.
"Oswin!" Spyro paused at the multitude of colors coating most of the older dragon's body like he'd lost a battle against Gildas, Delbin, and Nevin's paint supplies. The small drake and Sparx reared their heads back with taken back expressions. "Uh...?"
"The feeling – GAH – is mutual, believe me! I just got back from – OH MY – home after doing a thorough test on the fake one for any hexes or curses. I couldn't find any, so I thought perhaps his thievery served as a distraction for something he left behind here!"
Spyro pulled a face. "That is weirdly specific."
"And would require an unprecedented level of cunning," Oswin continued without catching onto the youth's suspension of disbelief, "something that hadn't occurred to me until I noticed something odd on the book I put back in!"
Dawning dread dropped like lead into Spyro and Sparx's stomachs as they alternated stares between Oswin, their assailant, and the noticeable gap in a nearby shelf they only noticed now. "Lemme guess," Spyro droned with the same enthusiasm reserved for his yearly flu shots from Beast Makers as he peeked his head over the edge, "it went splatter-happy the moment you touched it."
Oswin's head popped right next to them. "Precisely! I tried un-enchanting the blasted thing only for it to shrug off my counter charms like nothing! I could at least capture it long enough to take a closer look if only it would only stop moving, never mind regurgitating every hue imaginable at me."
Stop eh? A bold smirk formed on Spyro's snout. "We just gotta distract it? No sweat!"
Sparx had a strong hunch that he hoped for his wings' sake would be wrong. "BBBBB-B-Bzzt b-b-bzzt?" (Aaaaand how are we going to do that?)
Instead of an answer, Spyro launched himself towards the offending literature amidst Oswin's pleas to be careful. "Hey, paperback! Why don't ya try a moving target?"
As planned, the book ceased its assault and turned his way. It angled itself as though in curiosity before flopping up and down in place with something akin to a happy chirp. This behavior confused Spyro until a viscous stream of pink rocketed his way, forcing him to bob and weave. Good thing his opponent had less than stellar aim.
"Ha, is that the best you've got?!"
Sparx, realizing this plan could work with minimal damage, got in on the action by fluttering right above the book to disorient its focus further. Before long, Oswin managed to weave a capture spell net not only strong enough to contain the book, sending it plummeting to the floor helpless, but small enough to keep its trap shut as well.
A smugly grinning Spyro trotted up to their defeated enemy. "Too easy!"
Though relieved, Oswin scratched the side of his head in confusion. "This doesn't make sense. I put both books through a cursory check for tampering before I left with the fake one. I didn't detect a thing."
Huh, weird, Spyro mused as he pursed his lips. "Maybe it was just hidden too well?"
Although that begged the question of how a simple thief could pull such a stunt off.
"Maybe...or maybe...," a dawning look of horrified realization took over Oswin, "the thief wasn't alone like we thought..."
Spyro snorted at the suggestion. "C'mon, there's no way! It's not like there was anybody else here besides you and the others. I mean except..." the line of thought caused his grin to drop. "Whoa...whoa, whoa, whoa!" He started to shake his head in denial. "You don't seriously think that—"
"Of course not!" Oswin retorted, only for his face to contort in worry. "I hope not. All the same, we'd do well to—"
"Bzz-bzzt...? (Uh, guys...?)"
Spyro looked to the apprehensive Sparx who pointed a foreleg, and then to the shuddering, spluttering book rising from the ground along with its prison, the streams of light around them converging into something big. Gulp-sized big.
"Oh. Oh crud."
Before their eyes, the light took shape, a guttural growl emanating from within. The three backed up as the spectacle increased in size.
"Spyro, Sparx," Oswin plainly stated, "run."
The purple dragon shook his head and dropped in a charge-ready stance. "Come on, Oz, I'm sure we can take—HEY!"
Oswin tore out of the library entrance screaming like a madman with a struggling Spyro under one arm and Sparx flitting after them in similar panic. "Take cover!" he screamed.
Darius, who'd been searching one of the outside shelves for a drama, watched in surprise as the trio shot past him. Hmph, what could have gotten into them? Right then, he noticed an iridescent glow fall over him and turned just in time to receive a blast of regurgitated rainbow straight in the face.
Meanwhile, the retreating dragons and dragonfly managed to reach Dark Hollows' exit and burst out into the hub world. Oswin hit the skies flying, thankful their pursuer was too big to have followed them. Or so he hoped anyway.
"OK, what now?" Spyro called over the rushing wind.
"First we need to notify Nestor of the situation! He's sure to come up with a plan once he—"
A warning buzz from Sparx barely met Oswin and Spyro's ears before something rocketed past them, the resultant sight so startling that Oswin almost dropped Spyro. He managed to tighten his grip on the smaller drake just in time to see the rainbow serpent sailing out further ahead.
Oh blasted! Oswin cursed in his head. Of course, its body consists of light! Only the book would need to squeeze through! Worse still, upon noticing the direction the beast was headed, shock dragged his stomach even further down.
"Oz?" Spyro asked as he tried to peek around the other Artisan to see where their pursuer went. "What's wrong?"
A nervous giggle met his question. "Ah nothing, Spyro. Just that everyone in Stone Hill's day is about take a turn."
XXX
A turn indeed.
Imagine Lindar's sheer shock after opening his door to not yet another mishap via Spyro as expected but instead a massive neon serpentine dragon gazing blazing-white eyes down upon the land as it barfed sickly cute all over the place, dragons and sheep alike dodging the paint-storm like mad with varying levels of success!
Yeah. Quite a sight, never mind how its glowing body shimmered and crackled, kind of like...fireworks?
Something about that last detail bothered Nico, who narrowed his eyes in suspicion at the marauding creature. "Um, Mr. Lindar?" he squeaked from behind the blue dragon, "Is that supposed to be another surprise for me?"
Lindar could only shake his head, dumbstruck. "If it is, then I've got some words for whoever thought that eyesore up."
As if it heard him, the beast just so happened to turn their way and notice them. Oh boy.
Eyes wide, the clockmaker gulped and shut the door without question. Delbin pulled him and Nico away right before the rainbow beam annihilated the door a second later and left half the room coated in cyan and purple, clocks included. Before a gaping Lindar could lament the cosmetic damage, everyone ducked against the wall and out of the front windows' view once they noticed the serpent not only right outside but bending down to peer inside.
For a few tense moments, they held their breath...until the beast huffed in satisfaction and left at last.
Too, too close. The group let off a collective sigh of relief.
"OK," Lindar voiced in eerie clam as he clapped his hands together, "for real: what the hell is happening?!"
"Maybe some sort of attack!" Delbin blurted out. His tone and face changed at Lindar and Nico's skeptical faces, and he returned a nervous chuckle. "Albeit a very creative one?"
Another boom echoed in the distance alongside the resultant cries for help, everything in the house rattling only a little this time yet leaving the group no less on edge.
"W-What now?" Nico asked tremulously, "We should do something to help, right?!"
"Kid, I would love nothing more than to help everybody out there," Lindar answered, "but gallivanting outside won't do any good with that thing taking pot shots at us."
Plus, no telling where everyone else could be in all this craziness. If they were smart, either they were taking shelter where that living lightshow couldn't see them, or they booked it to the exit. Either way, someone had to stay behind to ensure the others still here were safe, especially the baby dragons.
Lindar pointed an index finger at the back of his home and shop. "You two take the back door. You can use the tunnels to sneak out to Artisans and get backup."
"What about you?" Nico asked with a worried frown.
Lindar shook his head. "If we're gonna take it down our best bet's in teamwork and strategy," he peeked out the window for a second, "and maybe a rain shower. I'll stay behind to make sure everyone else is OK. Once you guys return to Artisans, find Nestor."
Nico opened his mouth to propose an alternative, only for Delbin to stop him with a hand on the shoulder. At his relative's firm yet gentle expression, the younger dragon acquiesced with a resigned sigh and 'yes sir'.
After Lindar wished them luck, uncle and nephew left the house and navigated to one of the tunnels, taking cover behind anything in reach whenever the serpent even came close to looking their way. In a few minutes, they reached their destination at last, breathing out in relief once they noticed the beast never followed them. So good, so far.
Delbin straightened up with an optimistic grin. "Huh, that was easy. C'mon, kiddo, let's get out there and find some—"
Before he could take a step forward, Oswin came bursting out the sky and slammed clean into the larger dragon, sending them both clean off their feet! Without skipping a beat, Oswin picked himself up straight after, panic written all over his face.
"HELP! HELP IS HERE EVERY—!"
Nico's hand clamped the librarian's mouth shut, accompanied by a hasty shush before the boy moved to help his uncle back up. Both he and Delbin noticed Spyro touch down a moment later, followed by Sparx and (thank Mother Serpent) Nestor.
"Well like you said," Nico meekly chuckled as he gestured a hand to the new arrivals, "easy."
Nestor stepped forward while his eyes traced the two red dragons for injuries. "Is everyone alright?"
"If by 'alright' you mean still in our respective palettes," Delbin held back commenting on Oswin's color-splatted appearance, "then yeah. Spyro, please tell me you had a hand in this." At least in that case, the painter could wrap his head around the madness at hand.
The small drake shot his elder an unamused half-lidded glare. Another explosion echoed from far off before he could retort.
Knowing they had little time for arguments, Nestor stepped in. "We ran into Darius and the others from Dark Hollow on the way here and the worst they've are a few bruises. We need to figure out how to stop this thing before it starts causing serious damage." He turned to Oswin. "You said the book the thief from earlier tried to steal was hexed, correct?"
"That's right! I managed to cast Scan on the book and its enchantments between the moment it started moving and its barrage on me. My Scan is limited due to my magical level, but from what I could discern, this is the work of multiple spells at once under the influence of a strong amplification charm, hence why this thing's been so erratic and hard to wrangle!"
Nico cocked his head. "And those spells are..."
"Animation like I mentioned, a binding hex because otherwise the third would have slipped off but last and more importantly a heart-peering spell!"
Delbin's brow furrowed. "Heart-peering?"
"It's a little complicated but in short it's an incantation to make your darkest feelings and insecurities manifest." Oswin took a moment to register his own words. "Don't think the irony's lost on me. Anyway, it only triggers if someone with personal secrets gets close enough, and ceases once those secrets are revealed."
Spyro reared back on his haunches to throw a foreclaw up. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! You mean if whoever set it off fesses up to something embarrassing, it'll stop, right?"
When Oswin nodded back, Sparx pulled a bewildered face. "Bzzt, bzz-bzzt b-b-b-bzz-bzz-bzzt. (Huh, weird way to stop an enemy.)"
Spyro had to agree, but hey if it works, it works. He just then noticed the uncomfortable looks on Delbin, Nestor, and especially Nico's faces. Then he remembered his revelation with Oswin back in the library and the expression spread to him. Looks like Nico and even Delbin caught on, too...or at least to an extent.
Regardless, Spyro refused to let the drop in mood get to him. He stood up tall on all fours, face resolute. "OK, so Nicks here set off the goofiest-looking trap this side of the Realms. Big deal. All we gotta do is trap it like we'd trap you" – he gestured to Nico – "get ya to spill yer heart a little and problem solved!"
Hearing this helped Nico shake off his discomfort in favor of something akin to hope. "Y-Yeah, yeah! Exactly!"
"So...how would we trap you?"
A heck of a question, that one. Nico rubbed his nape. "I guess...putting one of the Ecologists in danger would work." Except the others were all the way back home and the only other one who could qualify was elsewhere. That method sucked anyway. "Or hearing someone in need. I always did find resisting the urge to help hard."
Don't we know? Spyro quipped to himself.
Nestor crossed his arms. "And since this creature's abilities center around bombarding everyone and everything with color..." The Artisan leader trailed off with purpose as he, Spyro, Sparx, and Nico all shifted their attention to Delbin, who realized his unwanted role as indicated by his bemoan and droop.
"Fine. I'll be the bait. So I guess all we gotta do now is hunt down our target and—"
WHOOSH!
There it was. Air rushed over them as the serpent shot by overhead, making ground towards the Artisans hub world fast.
Delbin squinted, swearing he wasn't seeing right. "Wait, is it going back already?"
"B-B-B-B-Bzzt b-b-bzz-bzz-bzz-bzzt? (And is it just me or it did look upset?)"
Various nods met Sparx's baffling observation after Spyro translated.
"Nestor!" a familiar accented voice called from above. Eleanor and Gavin touched down behind the group, having noticed the gathering mid-flight. While their color damage didn't compare to Oswin's, a few splotches dotted the orange dragon's clothing and the barista's apron and hair.
Their leader regarded them with a tentative frown. "Are you two alright?"
Gavin waved away his leader's concern. "We're fine. Ellie and I were just closing up shop when that thing showed up out of nowhere and started beaning everyone with paint bombs! Half of Stone Hill's an abstract painting by now! Lucky for us Lindar showed up and distracted it! We managed to get to Stone Hill Castle when we noticed Amanda near one of the doorways helping Argus herd the little ones inside."
"One of the bombs nearly hit her – don't worry she's fine," Eleanor hastily added at Nestor's alarmed expression, only to blush, "but my temper may have gotten the best of me because I...might have flown up to its face and told it off."
Spyro couldn't help but snort, not out of derision but rather a sense of awe. He was seeing the jeweler in a whole new light. "For real?"
"Definite real and you want to know the oddest thing? When I told it to stop and leave us all alone, it actually listened and flew away!"
A cringe shot through Nico, unnoticed by Eleanor and Gavin but not the others. Yep, definitely me.
Nestor noticed and lowered his voice into a softer tone to match his expression. "If you don't want to do this, we still have time to revise."
For a moment, Nico almost brought himself to say yes. After all this effort to prove himself to the others, what if revealing his insecurities—no, no he couldn't afford to think that way. He had to see this through! Intentional or not, this beast came about through his actions. He shook his head and presented a (he hoped) resolute face to Nestor. "No, you heard Mr. Oswin. If this is the only way, I'll play my part."
No matter how unpleasant doing so would be.
Seeing the boy's resolve, Nestor nodded before waving his group to step on the exit pad. "Then we don't have much time. Eleanor, Gavin, go help Lindar round up whoever's left and get them to the castle in case that creature comes back. The rest of you, it's time to put our plan into action – and I know exactly who can assist us in setting it up."
For reference pictures of my OCs:
Artisans - ~professorrat/submissions/1927291/artisan-residents-ocs
Peace Keepers - ~professorrat/submissions/1927292/peace-keeper-residents-ocs
Magic Crafters - ~professorrat/submissions/1927294/magic-crafter-residents-ocs
Beast Makers - ~professorrat/submissions/1927295/beast-maker-residents-ocs
Dream Weavers - ~professorrat/submissions/1927289/dream-weaver-residents-ocs
Ecologists - ~professorrat/submissions/1944688/ecologist-residents-ocs