After getting herself checked out at the infirmary and healed with a somewhat hefty portion of red gems, Cynder made her way over to where Derilan was being held. She dreaded having to tell him that his father was now dead. The thought weighed down on her and she was terrified at how Derilan would react, especially considering he had pleaded for Hunter to come with him, but Hunter refused.

Cynder eventually arrived at the room; its door was closed. She moved forward and knocked on the door, her heart waiting as she awaited the response. "Come in," Derilan called from inside.

When Cynder walked in, she saw him lying on a bed, with his left leg suspended in the air, wrapped in a cast, and bandages covering parts of his body, primarily over his right leg. He smiled upon seeing her and was about to cheerfully greet her until he saw her frown and sad demeanour. Derilan's smile fell, and fear filled his eyes. "What… what's wrong?" he murmured.

The dragoness sighed, not knowing how to tell Derilan, but deciding to just proceed and say it outright. "Um… Hunter… he was killed," she replied.

Silence.

It felt long, even though it was barely a couple seconds.

"What?" Derilan whimpered, his voice broken and shaking wildly.

"I'm sorry," Cynder breathed, shaking her head.

Derilan couldn't form words. He laid there stammering and breathing heavily as he raised his claws to his head. A distressed cry tore from his mouth as the tears began to flow. Hearing him cry twisted Cynder's heart in agony. She almost wanted to cry as well, but she'd cried out all her tears the moment Hunter had passed away.

The poor cheetah only let out one scream, but seeing him choke and fight for breath as he sobbed, head in his paws, was heartbreaking. Cynder sighed, making a move to walk towards him. He seemed to hear her move, and he exploded.

"How could you let him die?!" Derilan cried.

"I… I didn't," Cynder murmured.

"Yes you did! You wouldn't let him come with me to the infirmary! He would've still been alive had he come here with me!"

"Derilan, listen to me! I had no say in whether he stayed or not; it was Hunter's choice! He chose to stay back, and honestly he helped us win the battle!"

"Win?! He died!"

"I know, but please listen to me! He did more than any of us ever had. I have never drawn that big of a wound on Spyro as Hunter did. He used his sword to leave a massive, deep cut all the way down the front of Spyro's chest and that helped us to damage Spyro even more; eventually they retreated. He also went to grab Muras and I red gems so we could continue fighting when we were down. Derilan, your father died a hero."

"Then why couldn't I have been there with him in his final moments? Why couldn't I have been there to help?"

"Derilan you wouldn't have been able to do anything and you damn well know that; you have two broken legs and you were bleeding very badly. You would not have been able to protect Hunter, let alone yourself. You would've been killed for a fact. And… I know Hunter didn't want that to happen. He'd lost enough; he wouldn't have wanted to lose you too."

"How do you know that?" Derilan questioned.

"Because I lost my own son!" Cynder replied, firmer and snappier than she intended.

Derilan recoiled. "You… you had a son?" he murmured.

"Yeah. His name was Forzen. Spyro took him. He was only two weeks old."

"I heard you two used to be together; was… was Spyro the father?"

"Yes."

Derilan just blinked, sitting there in silence as he watched Cynder try to control her emotions, before he lowered his head. "I'm… I'm sorry," he murmured.

"It's okay. I'm the one who should be sorry," the dragoness replied, turning her head and sniffling. "I got over this. I promised myself I wouldn't get myself caught up on this. But I guess I… Never mind…"

"It's alright, Cynder. I'm sorry for bringing up painful memories."

"No, don't be," Cynder said. "I mentioned my son, it was only natural that you inquired about it. I just… I wish he could've gone with you because going up against Spyro essentially set his demise in stone. Spyro's strong; there was no way that he would survive. I mean I've almost been killed by him, and I'm multiple times his size and strength. At the same time, he saved us and helped us actually cause some decent damage to Spyro. He was also relatively still able to fight, and he was able to think for himself."

"I know." Derilan said, nodding and wiping away tears. "I know."

"He died to protect you."

"Family and village first; that's been his mindset for the past eight years. I'm still mad, but… I don't blame him. I'm sorry for yelling."

"It's alright. It's grief. I know what it's like."

Derilan nodded. He wiped his eyes. Cynder watched him mourn, and her heart ached for him. She felt so hopeless.

It didn't take long for Cynder to realise that Kassaan was also someone who needed to know. Ancestors, how would she react? They were mates, lovers. The heartbreak would be so much worse for her than it would be for Derilan. She remembered how it had been when she lost Spyro: crippling, debilitating, almost like a knife through the heart that kept on stabbing her. She wouldn't wish that on Kassaan; she wouldn't wish that on anyone.

"What's wrong?" Derilan asked, noticing Cynder's distress.

"Your mother…" she murmured.

She didn't need to say anything more. Derilan instantly got the message, his face falling as Cynder muttered those two words. "I… I don't know how she'll take it," the cheetah replied, sniffling a little. "I want to be the one to tell her, when I get out of here. I think she'll need someone close to her to tell her. Someone who's family. She's lost enough as is, and I'm the only family she has left. All her friends were killed with the rest of the village, and she knows no one here."

"I understand. And I agree. She'll need you there for the news."

Cynder and Derilan stood in silence for a little while longer, staring at each other awkwardly. "We'll need to sort out a funeral too," Cynder piped up.

"It can't be just any normal funeral," Derilan explained.

"How come?"

"In our culture, when an important, heroic figure passes, usually a chief, we give them a special funeral: a hero's funeral, a funeral of star and smoke," Derilan explained. "It's been passed down among every generation, and has been with us since the dawn of the feline race. It's altered slightly depending on the subspecies, whether it be cheetahs or panthers or leopards, et cetera, but it's essentially the same.

"It… It doesn't involve a burial. We believe that when a corpse is buried, the spirit becomes one with the earth until the body dissolves, and only after the flesh has broken down and nothing but bones are left, does the spirit have the freedom to leave and join the spirits.

"So, this hero's funeral allows us to send the spirit to the land of the spirits quicker, by burning the body in our own special way, and as I mentioned earlier, it's only reserved for heroic or important, high-ranked figures. I believe my father fits in both categories; he was the chief of the town, and he died a hero, fighting for what was right, and for his friends, and his family. That's what matters."

Cynder took in all the information and nodded. "If that's what your culture believes, then I say let's do it. To honour Hunter, and to send him off to the spirits," she replied. "Is there a specific place the funeral is normally done?"

"Away from civilisation, normally a few hundred metres into the forest."

Cynder nodded again. "We'll do that. When you've recovered enough to at least stand with crutches, we'll hold the funeral."

Adrano stood firm and bright in the sky, Zella absent. The white moonlight was strong, filling the world below with a soft, calming, welcoming atmosphere. The forest was beautiful—very green and alive, and a soft haze streamed throughout it, catching the moonlight and sending white rays filtering down through the treetops.

Derilan hopped along on crutches beside Cynder, and on her other side was Kassaan's caretaker. Kassaan sat on her back, the terrain in the forest being unfit for her wheelchair.

In front of them walked two cheetahs that carried Hunter's corpse on a stretcher. He was dressed in nothing but a black loincloth, and black fabric was also wrapped around his head. His paws were tied together, sitting on top of his chest. Behind Hunter and the cheetahs carrying him were three burly panthers that carried a stash of wooden logs, as well as a petite lioness who held a flaming torch. A she-cheetah was also alongside the group, carrying a pawful of bows, with a quiver slung around her shoulder containing a matching number of arrows to bows inside.

Right at the back of the group, behind Cynder, walked Muras. He wanted to honour the fallen cheetah as well, even though he barely knew him. He was the only other one aside from Cynder who saw Hunter's death, and he didn't feel right not being at the funeral. It took a bit of persuasion to allow Muras to come, as many still didn't trust him, but he was eventually allowed to come, mainly only because he saw Hunter die as well, and after hearing Muras say he wanted to pay his respects.

Cynder had also respected Derilan's requests to keep the funeral small. Usually this type of funeral was performed by those close to Hunter, but since that only made three of them, two of which were family and one who was disabled, they had to resort to others who knew the ritual and who would respect it. Both Muras and Cynder had promised to be quiet and not interrupt, knowing that this was a feline culture and was special to them.

Once they got to a clear spot in the forest that everyone seemed happy with, everyone stopped. Cynder lowered herself to the ground as Kassaan's caretaker helped her down from the dragoness' back. The pantheress led Kassaan to a small spot in the corner where Kassaan could sit, the she-cheetah's legs dragging along the ground as the caretaker pulled her. Faint tear streaks still stained her muzzle. Kassaan had taken the news of Hunter's death better than Derilan had thought, but it had shaken her tremendously. As she sat down, she grabbed out her notebook and pen and began to scrawl on the page.

Cynder turned to watch the other felines as they all got to work building the altar. They placed the logs down in a careful formation, tying them together with rope. About twenty minutes later the altar was finished, and so they set Hunter down on top of it. Cynder gulped. She was not ready to watch her friend burn away. It was like a sense of finality to all this. She could already feel the tears threatening to come.

Cynder cursed herself the moment she felt her eyes well up, blinking madly to try and get rid of them. I already mourned. I mourned the moment Hunter died. I remember howling earlier today until I ran out of breath. I can't let myself shed anymore tears, Cynder thought. I need to stay strong. For Derilan, for Kassaan. They need me.

There was the sound of ripping parchment as Kassaan ripped the page she was writing in out of her book. She wrote something else on the next page, before tapping her caretaker on the shoulder and showing her the book. The caretaker nodded, before taking the page that Kassaan had torn out of her book. The pantheress moved towards the altar, stopping beside Hunter and carefully slipping the page underneath his paws and against his bare chest, before stepping back and wiping a tear from her eye.

Once everyone had stepped away from the altar, Derilan hopped forward, slowly lowering himself down to the ground and spat in the dirt. Carefully, holding his crutch in his armpit, he reached forward and mixed the spit into the dirt to create mud. With mud covering his fingers, he painted it in two long stripes across his forehead, before dipping them in the mud again and drawing two long lines down his nose. He struggled to his full height, before taking a deep breath as he stared at his father lying on the altar.

"I call upon the ancient spirits of the feline race to watch upon this funeral," he said. "We hereby give you, in return, Chief Hunter Rustor of the cheetah town. He has been an amazing person, filled with love and kindness towards everyone around him. He was strong, battling his own depression and coming out of it. He was a great friend, helping and caring for others in need."

Derilan turned to give Cynder a brief look after saying this. Her heart skipped a beat, and she nodded hesitantly. The cheetah then turned back to Hunter and continued talking.

"He was a father and a loving mate, with a family who loves him back. He is worthy in our eyes to be sent to you in this sacred ritual and funeral, and we hope and believe that he is worthy in your eyes, too. He sacrificed himself to save his friends and family, and even the world. He died a hero. Others may not have seen Hunter as a hero, but he's the greatest hero I have ever known. He was there for me when I laughed, he was there for me when I cried, and most importantly, he was willing to help, no matter the cost. I look up to him, and I wish to be like him someday.

"So please, take the spirit of Chief Hunter, and allow him to rest in peace and harmony with you. We wish for everlasting prowling and kindness in the spirit realm. We wish that he would find comfort in the forever loving paws of the spirits, and that he would be able to find his friends and family once again. Hastûllen," Derilan finished with a sniffle, before he turned to the she-cheetah holding the archery equipment and nodded.

She then handed out one bow and one arrow to each of the feline members of the gathering, including Kassaan. The lioness then walked around and lit each of the arrows in a soft, calming flame, saving her own til last.

Each of the felines, forms silhouetted by the bright orange flames on the arrowheads, aimed and drew back, before releasing. The flaming arrows landed at the base of the altar, before the wood caught fire and began to burn. The flames licked up the altar, before Hunter's fur began to catch fire, and soon, the chief's entire body was enveloped in the large flames.

"Hastûllen," each of the felines repeated in their own time.

Feeling the odd compulsion to say the foreign word, Cynder did so. It felt awkward on her tongue and she didn't know what it meant, but she felt it was important to the ritual and believed it would honour Hunter in saying it. "Hastûllen," she muttered, before she also heard Muras whisper it beside her.

She and Muras locked eyes, and she was shocked to see her own grief mirrored in Muras' wet eyes. He just sighed, trying to hold it together.

A bright yellow light filled the air, bringing the dragons' attention back to the altar. The yellow light shone immensely through the vibrant orange flames that licked around Hunter's body, almost seeming to overpower them. Soon, a soft yellow mist filled the air, swirling up into the sky and floating into the stars, before disappearing. As if in response, the flames began to die out, and Cynder noticed that the body was gone. All that was left were charred ropes and fabric, as well as the ashes of Kassaan's note.

The tears began to prick Cynder's eyes. Hunter was gone, his spirit now with his ancestors. He was free, and forever in peace. The sobs slowly began to make their way free, taking the form of small hitches in her breath. A small whimper came from her throat and she realised she was breaking and she couldn't stop it. Hunter was her childhood friend, and her hero, in ways that both matched and rivalled what Derilan had said earlier. And now he was gone.

Cynder was surprised to feel two paws on either side of her. One was Muras, looking at her with nothing but concern. The other paw was lower down on her body, and was smaller, furrier. Cynder looked down to see Kassaan's caretaker looking up at her, tears in her eyes also. On the rock beside the caretaker sat Kassaan, also looking at Cynder with concern.

"He'll be fine now," the pantheress assured Cynder. "He's safe and at peace. It's alright."

"I know. I know," Cynder murmured, nodding and sniffling as she tried to control her sobs. When she calmed herself down, a question formed in her mind. She looked back down at Kassaan's caretaker and asked, "What does 'hastûllen' mean, by the way?"

"It's a farewell in the ancient feline tongue. It doesn't have an exact translation, but it's something along the lines of 'until we meet again', specifically referring to the afterlife."

Cynder didn't know how to respond. She just stared at the pantheress, trying to keep everything together as she slowly succumbed to her sobs once more. She tried to repeat the foreign word, but found she couldn't from crying too hard. The dragoness repeated it inside her head, over and over, before looking up to the sky where the yellow mist that had been Hunter's spirit had disappeared.

The sound of more sobbing reached Cynder's ears, and she looked around through her tears to see both Kassaan and Derilan also crying. It almost made Cynder want to cry harder.

After the crying from Hunter's loved ones began to die out, a soft melody began to touch the air. It was Derilan, humming a low and beautiful melody, that at the same time also had such a strong sense of mourning and sorrow to it. The voices of all the other felines began to join in after a few bars. It was without words, just a melody.

Cynder was unfamiliar with it, but it seemed to her like it was another sort of tradition, like it was a song that was hummed after each funeral. A mourning song. It was sad but oddly comforting, and Cynder felt her crying come to a complete stop the moment every feline lifted their voices. She just stood there in silence, listening in awe.

A soft breeze began to blow through the forest, sending a chill through Cynder's spine. Seeking warmth, she leaned into Muras, his paw still on her shoulder. Muras sighed, wrapping a wing around her in a comforting embrace. Cynder and Muras did not look at each other once. They just sat there, taking in the song, as Cynder took slow, calming breaths that wobbled slightly as she recovered from her crying.

A few minutes passed, and the felines' song was finished, sending the group into silence as everyone whispered their prayers to the spirits. A few minutes after that began, the felines began to stand, signifying the end of the ritual. Without a word, they all began to make their way back to Warfang, a sense of peace in their hearts knowing that Hunter was safe now.

I'm sorry I never got to say 'I love you' again. It was a big habit of mine back in the town; whenever I woke up next to you, I would say it, and whenever we went back to sleep for the night, I would say it. Whenever you returned from a hunt, I would say it. Whenever you returned from a long journey, I would say it. I said it all the time.

Then I lost my voice, and I couldn't say it. I tried to say it in my head, but it didn't feel right with you not being there. When you did visit, I said it in my head, but it still didn't feel right. It felt… empty. It didn't even feel right when I wrote it on paper. I know it meant the world to you when I did; It meant the world to me too, but to me, it still wasn't enough. I wanted to say it over and over again, to let you know that I really loved you. I wanted you to hear it. Hearing it always felt more genuine to me.

But I love you. I still do. You will never not be the love of my life, even in death. You've been an amazing mate, the man of my dreams. I couldn't have wished for anyone other than you. You were a great father, too. I know Derilan can agree with me there. It was hard at times, especially during your depression, but you were strong, and pulled through.

I also wish we got around to having another child; I remember you saying you wanted a girl, even before we got Derilan. I wish I could have given you a daughter, but it turned out that a son was just as perfect. Derilan is a great kid. I'm glad he's ours, and I'm glad we were there to share the start of his life with him.

I can only thank you for being as caring as you are. You did a great thing for Cynder. I don't know her that well, but from what you told me, she was a strong, brilliant young dragoness, and seeing her in person, I can agree with you on that. You were so kind, helping her through her self-doubt, and you were there for her.

I think now that perhaps Cynder was that daughter you wanted all along. In the short time you spent with her, you tried to be like a father to her, and although she may never see that intention, I'm glad that you still tried anyway, and were a good friend to her. I'm glad that you saw past her bloody actions of the past, and saw the dragoness that she really was.

And that's what I admire about you. You look at a person on the inside, rather than on the outside. You don't let what they've done define them in your eyes, and that's how I treated you during your depression. I know who you really are, and I knew that that wasn't you, and I wasn't going to let your actions in your depressed state define who you are.

I just thank you for sharing this life with me, and although I'm sad that it's come to an end so quickly and so harshly, I can only hope that you're watching down on us with a smile on your face, ready to see the future of our son. You're more than a hero in my eyes.

Hastûllen, my love.

Kassaan

Back with another chapter! It's great to finally get this one out lol. Every chapter is one chapter closer to the end and we're getting close to it; so excited to get this fic finished and onto Book 2 hahaha

...

Derick Lindsey: Glad to see another review from you, and glad to hear you're better from the bronchitis too. And yeah, bit of a rough chapter lol; both Rubblerust and Hunter were killed haha. And regarding Spyro's next dragon, it'll be a nasty one XD Not confirming what its element is, but it's nasty.

Dragon of Mystery: I had a feeling someone would react that way to Hunter's death lol. I think it was a nice conclusion to Hunter's character arc though, with him finally pulling himself out of his depression and fighting back against Spyro, not out of anger and revenge but to protect his son and friends, and now finally being able to have peace after such a rough time after the siege on the cheetah village.

And yes, very satisfying to see Spyro finally get a decent wound lol; Hunter definitely went out with a bang XD

...

And with that, I head out again lol. No idea when the next chapter is going to be, especially with uni starting in three weeks, but hopefully it isn't going to be too far away. See you all later!