It was another bland, depressing day for Hunter as he stumbled along the streets of Warfang on his morning walk. He got out of the house early to spend time alone, outside, to think about things and to calm his mind down from each night that was riddled with nightmares that got progressively more and more frequent. It was Cynder's idea, and was a good suggestion—not only for him, but for Cynder too. It was good to have the early hours of the morning to herself and not have to deal with the cheetah.

Like every other morning, Hunter walked along slowly, arms behind his back, head low and eyes staring at his feet. He was always at least thankful that in the morning there were very little people out, so he didn't have to deal with anyone. Those he did walk past did greet him, but he never responded.

Unfortunately, it seemed everyone wanted to get to the markets a bit earlier, and so the streets soon became rather full, which was unusual for this time of the morning. Hunter suddenly felt very claustrophobic and the uncomfortable crampedness of the crowd did nothing but make him angry. He tried to control it as best as he could, especially as it was such a stupid thing to get angry over.

All he wanted was a nice peaceful walk, though.

On the bright side however, it was nowhere as busy as it was in the middle of the day most of the time. However, it was still busy enough to upset Hunter. The markets were filling up as stalls started opening for their early shifts, and merchants started to call out to passersby to get them to buy something, as merchants usually did.

Some shouted that swords were on sale, some shouted that a book's price had gone down, others shouted that particular pieces of furniture was free. One even shouted to Hunter specifically about a new robe. Hunter just turned and cursed at the leopard, sick of all the people bugging him to buy something, before stomping off again. The leopard shouted in rage, calling him rude.

With a huff, Hunter turned and stormed back to the leopard, anger glistening in his eyes. "Listen to me, I am not in the greatest of moods right now so don't talk to me," Hunter growled.

"I was just doing what a merchant is supposed to do: get people's attention so they come to the stall!" the leopard scoffed. "Have you not been to a market? Everyone does it! You're the one at fault for yelling and cussing at me over nothing. You don't have to be so rude!"

"Shut up."

"Hey, I'm just stating the facts, you little cub!"

"Maarbyll, you might want to shut your muzzle," a panther in the stall beside the leopard's one called.

"I think it's more important that this guy learns some manners; I did nothing and he just blew up at me!" Maarbyll, the leopard, snapped back.

The panther opened his mouth to snap back at Maarbyll, but Hunter beat him to it. "I do not need to learn manners from anyone! You're not my parent!" he huffed.

"I know that; maybe you need better parents if you still need to be taught how not to be rude!"

Hunter retaliated violently, swinging his fist at Maarbyll and flogging him in the nose. Maarbyll fell to the ground with a heavy thud, clutching his nose as blood streamed from it. The leopard wiped his muzzle, smearing blood all over his yellow fur. Unsheathing his claws, Maarbyll stood, leaping up over the stall counter and kicking Hunter in the face.

Hunter staggered backwards but quickly recovered, before he sent his foe stumbling back down to the ground again, this time with a quick swipe at the eyes with his claws. Hunter's claws only just grazed the skin around Maarbyll's eyes, but it was still enough to draw blood.

With a nasty snarl, Hunter leapt at the downed leopard, but Maarbyll was quick to scramble out of the way, and Hunter landed face-first in the cobblestone ground of the street markets. He picked himself up off the ground, a tooth dislodged and bleeding, before he rolled out of the way as Maarbyll stood and ran towards him, prepared to send a kick his way.

Quickly lunging at Maarbyll's outstretched leg, Hunter buried his teeth into the leopard's left ankle. Maarbyll yowled with pain, shaking his leg savagely, before he bent down and raked his claws up the left side of Hunter's muzzle. The cheetah let go with a growl, leaving his dislodged tooth behind, causing blood to continue streaming from Maarbyll's leg.

Blood now filled Hunter's mouth, and he spat at the ground, his saliva now red with blood. He bared his fangs in a snarl, revealing wet, red fangs. Maarbyll visibly flinched at the sight of the bloody saliva pooling around Hunter's bottom lip.

The deranged cheetah lunged at Maarbyll, claws aimed at the leopard's throat, but Maarbyll was quick to counteract as he sidestepped, causing Hunter's claws to catch air. Hunter growled in frustration, whirling around to snarl at his opponent, eyes filled with bloodlust. He spat blood to the side, before he lunged once more at Maarbyll, who had trapped himself against the post of a large dragon-sized stall, and Hunter sank his teeth into Maarbyll's throat and his claws into the leopard's chest.

Maarbyll cried out in pain, feeling his own warm blood spill down his fur. He struggled, trying to push Hunter off him, but Hunter's grip was firm, and Maarbyll began to choke under the force Hunter had on his throat.

Bringing his leg up, Maarbyll reached down and yanked Hunter's dislodged fang out of his leg. He gripped the tooth like a knife and stabbed Hunter in the back of the neck with his own tooth. With a horrid yowl, Hunter let go of his victim, blood dripping from his mouth and onto Maarbyll.

Quickly, two panthers ran up from behind each of the brawlers, grabbing them by the shoulders and pulling back in an attempt to stop the fight. "You fight like a kitten!" Maarbyll scowled.

Hunter swore at him again, before spitting blood at Maarbyll. Hunter fought in the firm grip of the panther holding him as he was pulled further away from his opponent, but Maarbyll didn't budge, chuckling and insulting Hunter as he was dragged away.

Hunter growled out another curse, but the panther decided enough was enough and reached forward, slashing his claws across Hunter's chest and hissing threateningly. Hunter swore a third time, before shaking himself out of the panther's grip. The panther crouched in a fight stance, but Hunter made no move of attack, so loosened his stance.

The bloodied cheetah scoffed. Before he could turn and walk off, he heard Cynder's voice from the distance. "Hunter! What is this?!"

He rolled his eyes, turning to look at the dark purple dragoness rushing towards him. He quickly realised that Derilan was with her, staring at him with disbelief. Derilan stepped forward, looking between Hunter and Maarbyll; both of the felines were bloodied and battered, but Maarbyll looked very close to passing out; the leopard could barely stand even with aid.

"Father, did you do this?" Derilan breathed.

Hunter took a deep breath, but didn't answer. Derilan just blinked, before his jaw tightened and his fists clenched firmly. "Spirits damn it, Father! Did you do this?!" Derilan exploded. "Did you start this damn fight?!"

"What does it matter?" Hunter scoffed with a shrug.

"What does it matter?!" Derilan repeated as he shook with rage and shock. "It one hundred percent matters! You can't just attack random people on the streets because they look at you weird or say a comment you don't like! You can't!"

"Why should I care?"

With a roar, Derilan lashed out and walloped Hunter across the face, knocking the orange cheetah to the ground with a splat. "You need to keep your anger under control because spirits damn it you're gonna get yourself in big trouble and you're gonna hurt people!" Derilan shouted.

"Says the one who just punched me to the ground," Hunter growled.

"I feel like I need to knock some sense into you! You can't just run around and beat up random people because you're angry! It's not okay; you're outright assaulting people! What happened… What happened to the Hunter I know and love? What happened to my father? Because you are not him. You're some crazed lunatic who beats people up and has no common sense in knowing that you can't just attack people!"

"Derilan's right, Hunter," Cynder murmured. "I know you're upset, very upset, and I understand why and I heavily relate to you. I had everything taken from me as well. But that doesn't mean you can beat people up."

Hunter didn't reply. He crossed his arms and huffed. Cynder sighed sadly, and Derilan clenched his paws into a fist. Hunter rolled his eyes.

Cynder reached forward and tapped Hunter on the back. "Come on, you're coming back home with us. Clean yourself up," she said, and Hunter begrudgingly stood up. Before they left, Cynder turned to Maarbyll. "You should go to the infirmary, especially with that bite wound on your neck."

"Yeah… probably," the leopard groaned, before the two panthers helped him to his feet, leading him off towards the infirmary.

The way back to Cynder's house was silent and uncomfortable. Hunter looked at his feet the entire time, not wanting to make eye contact with everyone, and he could still feel the weight of Derilan staring at him with both contempt and concern. It was a weird combination of emotions but that was what Hunter figured it was.

Every now and then a few drops of blood fell from his mouth onto the ground, leaving a trail of blood behind them as they walked. Finally fed up with the plip plop of the blood hitting the ground, Hunter wiped his arm across his mouth to try and get rid of the blood, only to be greeted by pain as he applied pressure on his mouth. He forgot he had a dislodged tooth.

Hunter didn't have to be asked to get in the shower when they arrived at Cynder's house. He immediately walked upstairs and into the shower. He stripped himself, not even wincing at the blood staining his clothes, before turning the shower on and stepping into the water. It was a pain to get the blood out of his fur, and he stood there scrubbing violently for a good few minutes.

The blood coming from his mouth wasn't stopping however, and so he quickly got out of the shower, leaving it on, to look in the mirror. He opened his mouth and pulled at his lips to have a look at his dislodged tooth. It was pretty badly dislodged and very crooked; it was much worse than he thought it was.

With a shrug, he walked back into the shower, before grabbing his tooth and pulling it out. He grunted in pain, but for the most part it began to fade as the tooth was no longer irritating the gum around it. He opened his mouth and put it under the shower head, letting his mouth fill with water, before he lowered his head and spat the water at the ground. Red, blood stained water splattered everywhere, before falling down the drain.

He did this again, before he stepped out of the shower again, ripping some fabric from his clothes that was free of blood. He got back into the shower, wetting the strip of cloth before putting it in his mouth and biting down on it, letting it sit firmly against the raw gum.

After waiting a few minutes and holding the fabric against his gum, the bleeding stopped. He got out of the shower, put on some new clothes, and threw away his torn bloodstained ones. When he walked out into the lounge room, he saw Cynder and Derilan talking; he caught the very end of their conversation.

"I just… I don't know what to do with him. I love him; he's my father. I just worry for him. I'm scared for him. I don't feel—" Derilan murmured, before he became aware of Hunter's presence.

Hunter sighed. "I'm sorry you feel that way…" he replied sadly, with a slightly passive aggressive tone too.

The cheetah sat down on a couch opposite them, and they all just stared at each other. The silence was deafening and the tension between them was uncomfortable. Cynder was trying to keep herself composed but she was clearly the most uncomfortable, and Derilan looked at Hunter with both contempt and concern. Hunter stared blankly between the both of them.

After about a minute of silence, Derilan finally spoke up. "Look, Father… I'm worried for you," he murmured. "I don't know what to do with you. You're… not the same person I used to know. I'm scared of what you'll do next. I don't know whether you're going to end up beating up someone else in the streets, or even kill them. I don't know whether you're going to harm or kill yourself. I'm scared, knowing how volatile you are. Even just thinking about it sets off anxiety inside me.

"I want to help. I really do. I want to see you get better, but I don't know what to do. I feel powerless. All I can do is be angry at you, hit you, distance myself, and then be afraid of you. And recently I've felt afraid a lot. The current situation of our world doesn't help matters any more."

Hunter didn't expect his heart to lurch the moment he saw the first tear drop from Derilan's eye. Spirits, I really have grown hard, he thought. The thought made his heart lurch once more.

"I just want to see my father again," Derilan croaked, trying to hold back tears. "The real you, not… this."

Hunter didn't know what to say. He opened his mouth to respond, but closed it once he realised he had nothing to say. What could he say that he already hadn't? He'd lost everything; they all knew that. Hunter had said this many times.

He just sat and watched as Derilan wiped his eyes, trying to hold his tears in. Cynder reached over and placed a large paw over the cheetah's back. Derilan stifled a chuckle, reaching behind him and lifting Cynder's paw off him. "I'm fine, Cynder, really," Derilan said.

Their attention was diverted to a knocking at Cynder's front door. A surprised expression clouded her face, before she stood and opened the door. She was greeted by two feline women: one was a pantheress, who was pushing along a wheelchair that held a she-cheetah inside it. No words needed to be said as Hunter gasped, standing up in place.

Cynder turned to look at Hunter, who was immediately tearing up, clutching his fists together against his chest. Derilan also looked shocked, although his reaction wasn't as great as Hunter's.

"Kassaan?" Hunter whimpered. "Is that you?"

Kassaan nodded with a small smile, and Cynder stepped aside to let the pantheress push Kassaan into the house. She stopped in front of Hunter, who dropped down to his knees, looking directly into his mate's eyes. He choked on his tears, not knowing what to say.

His heart sank as he heard her rasping breath, but it was clear she wasn't bothered too much by it currently as her smile remained unwavering. She looked down, opening a notebook that was sitting on her lap and grabbing a graphite pencil, writing down inside the notebook. Hunter followed her gaze, surprised that her arms and paws could move perfectly again, and that she could remember how to write. Kassaan finished writing and lifted her notebook, turning it around so Hunter could see. The writing was quite scribbly; obviously she still wasn't as coordinated as she once had been, but her upper body was improving quite quickly.

Hello, my love.

"Oh Kassaan… I miss you," he whispered.

Kassaan sighed, before she looked back down at her notebook, skipping a line and beginning a new sentence.

But I'm right here. Why the present tense?

Hunter didn't answer. He couldn't. He averted his eyes, his body heaving as he choked on his tears to control his sobs. There was the sound of graphite on parchment, drawing Hunter's eyes from his paws to the notebook.

Hunter. Tell me what's wrong. I'm worried about you.

The cheetah sighed. He bit his lip, trying to figure out how to articulate his thoughts to her. After a while, he spoke.

"I don't know. I feel lost; I feel unloved; I feel like… like no one cares for me," he murmured, his voice breaking under his tears. "I feel nothing but anger and sadness, and I don't know what to do. Cynder's been a great help to me, and I want to believe everything that she says, I really do. But after everything that's happened… I feel like I can't, with her bringing back Malefor… Muras… whatever his name is. I also beat up someone today… So yeah, I'm having a pretty terrible time right now."

Hunter was crying now, finally grasping the severity of his own emotions, of his own actions of attacking Maarbyll. He wiped his eyes, looking over at Kassaan. Her expression was unreadable. It almost seemed like she was scared of Hunter, yet concern filled her gaze as well.

Hunter continued to babble on, "I'm sorry, Kassaan. I really am. I couldn't save Rasha. And Mumblon. And Meadow. And the entire cheetah village. I couldn't save you; I feel like I've lost you after your coma, after… all this. I don't know what to do anymore; I just don't!"

The distraught cheetah broke down fully, burying his face in his paws and weeping heavily. Cynder could feel him shaking as she stroked his back soothingly, but she didn't speak during the whole ordeal. This was between him and Kassaan. She had no part in saying anything.

The upset cheetah looked up at the sound of graphite on parchment once more, and he realised with shock how much Kassaan was writing. After a while, she turned the notebook towards him.

Hunter, don't feel bad. Sure, you've done some bad things recently, but it's nothing compared to your friend. She's been good to you. Trust in her, believe in her. Be there for her like she's been there for you. That's what a true friend is.

And just know that I'm not gone yet. I'm still here. While my voice and my legs aren't here, my spirit is, and I will continue to fight with all that I have—though it may not seem like much—until my dying breath. I know our son is as well.

And I want you to fight as well. Fight for what you love. Don't be sitting around feeling sorry for yourself. Believe in yourself, your family, your friends.

I love you, Hunter. I really do. I hope you still feel the same way.

"I do," Hunter sobbed. "I do… I will try to see past the physical disabilities and see who you used to be—who you still are—on the inside. Nothing's changed except the external, and I will do my best to see that. I love you, Kassaan. With all my heart."

Kassaan sniffled, raising a paw to wipe her eyes. Hunter reached forward, holding her cheek in his paw, and they stared each other in the eyes for the first time in several weeks. They were both broken, physically for Kassaan and mentally for Hunter, but it was clear they still loved each other.

With a quivering breath, Hunter reached forward and wrapped Kassaan in a firm hug. It wasn't long before the sound of sobbing filled the room as Hunter cried into his mate's shoulder, murmuring apologies under his breath. A few tears spilled from Kassaan's eyes too. Hunter pulled away, before he moved forward again and kissed her. She kissed him back, a small, content exhale escaping from her nose.

The she-cheetah then saw Derilan standing off to the side behind Hunter, and she reached out to him, beckoning him to come closer. Nervously he stepped forward, standing beside his father right in front of Kassaan. Derilan bent down and hugged her. "I missed you, Mum…" he croaked. "It's good to see you again."

As Derilan stood and stepped back, Kassaan quickly returned to the notepad, scribbling down more words on the parchment.

It's good to see you both again. Ever since I woke up I've awaited the day I was deemed healthy enough to see my family. Recovering from a coma is rough.

And you know me; I'm always happy to help out. I know I don't have the abilities I once had, but if I can be of any help to my family.

"But… Kassaan, you're the one with disabilities; it should be us helping you out," Hunter said.

Hunter, all three of us are broken in some way, shape or form. I can see it in Derilan and I can see it in you. And we're a family; we look out for each other, even when times are hard. Things haven't gone our way, but we need to stay strong and be there for each other.

"Yeah… yeah I understand," Hunter murmured. "Thank you Kassaan."

The moment Hunter responded, Kassaan was already writing more, and she wrote a lot, once again. They sat in silence as she wrote, waiting patiently to see what she was going to say. Once she was finished, she held it up, much higher than normal to grab the attention of the large dragoness that remained at the back of the group.

She blinked with surprise, noticing that Kassaan's gaze had suddenly locked with hers, almost beckoning her to come over. Cynder stepped forward, looking down over the cheetahs and reading the words on the notebook, which had been spread over two pages.

I want to thank you as well, Cynder, for looking after my boys. I understand it's been very hard, especially with Hunter, but I appreciate the effort you've gone to, and I'm sure Hunter does too, even if he won't admit it.

I know you didn't spend too much time with Hunter all those years ago but as far as I know you left a very positive, lasting impression on him. The kids in the village would always ask their chief to tell them the epic story of Hunter and his two dragon friends, and while Spyro was the main hero of that story, he always spoke highest of you.

Your story, of working to become your own person, leaving your horrible past behind you, and going through the trials with your head held high and heart holding onto a future worth living for, spoke to Hunter, and in extension, to a whole lot of kids who kept asking to hear of Cynder.

Things haven't gone your way either, but you keep going, pushing forward and staying strong, and even taking the time to look after someone like Hunter, as well as your other friends which I know are no doubt struggling.

I know your whole life has been hard, and I pray that after all this, you finally get a well deserved break from all these trials. I don't know you well, but I've heard a lot about you, and I feel close to you despite this being our first time meeting.

Cynder struggled to keep her composure while reading. The tears she could hold back, but she couldn't hide the sniffling, the rapid blinking to dry her eyes, the quivering of her breath as she choked on her emotions. She had no idea what to say apart from a small 'thank you', before she stepped back.

With that, Kassaan closed her notebook, having said everything she wanted to say, before she turned to the pantheress standing beside her and nodded, signifying she was ready to leave. The pantheress thanked them, before she turned and wheeled Kassaan out of the house, closing the door behind them.

Cynder and the two cheetahs stared at the closed door with shock, in complete silence. Derilan slowly moved towards Hunter, before wrapping him in a firm father-son hug. Neither of them cried, but they both wanted to.

However, a new round of sobbing began as Cynder finally broke, completely not expecting the emotional hammer that came with everything Kassaan had to say about her. She sat, pawing frantically at her eyes to stop the tears. She calmed down surprisingly quickly, and felt a wave of embarrassment wash over her as she noticed the two cheetahs staring at her with sad expressions.

Hunter wriggled out of Derilan's embrace, before standing and stepping towards Cynder.

"Everything she said was right, you know?" he said softly. "I told stories of you all the time. I mean, yes, you and Spyro both, but I talked about you more. I praised you more. Your story was… so inspiring to me. I guess I needed to be reminded of how much it meant to me because right now, I need that message. I needed to be reminded of how you got out of your dark places, fought through it all and held onto a good future. I never thought I'd have to be the one to do it now but I do.

"I hate feeling the way I do. Towards myself, towards others, towards… anything. Would… would you be able to help me out? To get past that?"

"I'll see what I can do," Cynder replied with a nod. "I'm by no means a professional, but I can try and help with what I did."

"Thank you. And thank you for looking out for me recently. Giving me your home, taking in the rest of my family, just… being there. I've been an absolute piece of crap to you but you still… you still loved me and accepted me."

"Hunter. You accepted and loved me. You were there for me when I was still self-conscious of my past and loathing everything about myself. It's the least I can do to return the favour. That's what friends do."

The cheetah nodded, before gesturing with his paw for Cynder to lower her head. When she did, he hugged her snout. She leaned into the embrace, closing her eyes and letting another tear free.

Hunter quickly stepped back, before he turned and made his way upstairs. "I think I'm going to go sleep. I'm tired, in pain, and I… I just want to process what just happened," he said.

"You going to be okay?" Cynder questioned.

"I think so. Thank you. See you later."

With that, Hunter disappeared upstairs. Cynder turned to Derilan, who just nodded, before turning and walking out of the door too, leaving the dragoness alone.

She thought through Kassaan's words to her again, focusing on one phrase in particular that she said.

'Head held high and heart holding onto a future worth living for'... I suppose that's true. That's what I aim to get us closer towards every day. A future where there's no fear, no death, no pain, she thought. I really hope we can get there. Of course, however, it means that Spyro must die first, before we can make any start in getting there.

He will die. I'm sure of it.

Was hoping to get this out much sooner but I had to spend a couple days in hospital due to myocarditis (inflammation in the heart) caused by the second Pfizer shot, so that was fun (I'm recovering though, so that's good). Other than that, I'm back with another chapter, and I hope you guys enjoy it!

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Dragon of Mystery: Yeah last chapter was a rough one lol; I think it carried home the dire vibe I wanted to convey though, which I'm glad about lol. And I'm glad to hear the new perspective worked too; I liked it too but I wasn't sure how others were going to respond to it, so I'm glad to hear you liked it.

Also Cynder x Apata? Interesting lol XDDD Not saying anymore on that shipping topic lol

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Thanks all for reading, and hope to see you with the next one soon!