Disclaimer: I don't own the characters nor the rights for the Legend of Spyro franchise or any other Spyro character except for Ivor and Ignitia (the latter is only mentioned in this fic, however).

Stormy scales


It was a wild and stormy night in the realm of Avalar.

It was a storm which was abundant of cyclones, rain showers that were proving to be heavier than the ear-drum-bursting thunderclaps and bright flashes of lightning that were so intense it put camera flashes to shame.

The rain shower was so bad that it was difficult not to worry that the world would be a bit flooded by the time everyone awoken to greet the new day.

It was one of the worlds worst storms to ever shake through Avalar.

One of the homes that stood strong against this furious force of nature was the little stone home that was perched just outside of the strong city of Warfang (the city walls protected the city and the inhabitants within). The house was the home belonging to the legendary hero, Spyro the purple dragon, his mate, Cynder the black dragoness, as well as their young son, Ivor.

Thunder and lightning exploded in a flashing streaking collision through the skies, bellowing with a powerfully smashing cymbal.

Inside the stone-made humble dwelling, nobody was comfortable.

Spyro and Cynder lay in their shared bed huddled together with a blanket lain on top of them, covering their folded wings and sheltering their bodies from the cold chill that blew in through the open window. They have a small shiver and they pressed their bodies even closer to one another to warm themselves using their own body heat.

The two adult dragons could do nothing for now but listen as rain hammered violently against the roof, battering and pelting the thatch violently and made the dragons almost fearful that the roof would give out under the water and collapse right above their heads. Each little droplet of rainwater created a "tap" sound and some droplets even somehow slipped in through the window and dampened the polished marble flooring.

Spyro and Cynder sent each other a single sideways glance of mild annoyance.

Of course, there was no chance of them sleeping through the night with such a cyclone blowing outside…

The darkness of the bedroom had made it so there was little to no seeing of anything in this blackness and there was very little light shining in through the thin fabric of the soft velvet curtains that were draped over the windows that sat by the bed and shaking and fluttering harshly through the howling winds that accompanied this storm.

Cynder sighed as she buried her head (although minding the tusk-like horns protruding from the top of her head along with the spines growing from the back of her head like a horses mane) into the crook of her lover's neck and rested her head comfortably there.

Try as she might, she couldn't close her eyes.

The air itself carried a slight dampness which just added to the constant chills blowing in through the window.

The atmosphere made the couple feel as though water was seeping through their scales.

Spyro couldn't help but feel an unpleasant tickling in his nostrils and he crossed his eyes, screwed up his face, and then he tossed his head aside and let loose a massive sneeze; his eyelids snapped shut, he lurched his head forwards in a bow, and both nostrils flared with discomfort as mucus and other nasal residue fired out is his nose and splattered on the wall beside the bed.

"K'choooooo!" He sneezed.

After that sneeze exploded from his nose, Spyro gave a shudder of his body and huddled his wings closer towards himself to keep warm. He felt like he was in the frozen isle known as Dante's freezer it was so cold in this room…and the ridiculous thing was that it wasn't even winter —it was the autumnal season!

Spyro sincerely hoped that this exposure to the cold rain wouldn't render Cynder and himself sick.

It was after this that the big purple drake noticed that the slender and sleek black dragoness he called his true love had cuddled up even closer to him, probably an attempt to keep even warmer, and started to nuzzle him with as much love as she could muster. Her eyes were soft and filled with compassion…however, the words she spoke were dripping with snarky sarcasm.

"Bless you, dear."

That was when a new sound entered.

Plip

Plip

Plip

Plip

The sound of rainwater plopping down from overhead started to make itself known to the heroic dragon couple.

It was a loud, dripping sound but the volume of that didn't even compare to the howling winds and the repetitive cacophonous rumbles of thunder promptly followed by the lashes of lightning.

Spyro couldn't help but start feeling a tad nostalgic about this kind of weather as he hadn't seen a storm this bad since a few nights before Ivor had hatched from his egg. He recalled how he awoke after having one of the many nightmares that he'd been plagued with for years, then he had slunk out of bed and then used his fire breath to keep the being residing within the egg —his unborn son— warm.

He couldn't help but feel a tad nostalgic…with a bit of fear and worry sneaking in alongside it when the state of the ceiling, more so with the raindrops dripping down from said ceiling, came to mind.

Not to mention, there was something…ominous about tonight.

"It's…a bit of a spooky night, isn't it?" Spyro's voice contained an undercurrent of unease.

Cynder gave a nod of agreement but seemed unfazed by her lover's tone of voice.

"Sure is. Maybe we should tell ghost stories to make it more interesting."

Spyro's face went flat and his voice deadpan at the dragonesse's perceived joke.

"…That's not very funny, Cyn."

"Who said I was joking?" The tiniest hint of a smirk twitched upon Cynder's muzzle.

Spyro decided to try his best to ignore the sinister glint shining in the love of his life's eyes and decided to refocus on a seriously impending disaster unfolding above them and the purple dragon glanced up at the ceiling worriedly, his brows only furrowing deeper when the odd yet constant droplet of water fell from the ceiling and landed on the edge of his snout. He wrinkled the bridge of his schnoz with a look of distaste plastering his expression in order to get the drop of moisture off and watched as it dribbled off the edge of his nostrils and landed on the mattress below.

"A-Anyway, I'm a lil' worried that our ceiling will come caving down above our heads if the rainwater doesn't stop overloading our roof." He said.

BOOOOOOM…keeeeeer-KRACK!

Lightning flashed, startling both Cynder and Spyro into jerking with a start.

Both of their eyes were wide open and full of surprise.

That was when it happened.

"M-MAMA!" A tiny shriek pierced the not-so-quiet silence between the two dragons. "PAPA!"

Both dragons recognised that tiny voice instantly.

Their hearts leapt from their chests and high into their throats, panic taking hold in a vice-like grip as they jumped apart and then charged through the house like a pair of raging bulls while they practically bounded and galloped through the downstairs area. It wasn't long before they made their way to the staircase via skidding and making a U-turn before they clambered as fast as their four legs could carry them while then they stormed up the stairs.

Cynder went up the stairs first with Spyro following closely behind.

Upon reaching the top of the stairs, the black dragoness and purple dragon duo both made a sharp left turn and hurried towards a specific room that was concealed behind a little wooden door (not for long!) and neither of them wasted any time when it came to bursting through the door and launching themselves into the room, practically blasting the door off of its hinges and letting it tumble to the floor.

The door almost exploded into splinters as Spyro's horns collided with the mahogny-made, rectangular piece of wood.

After the door fell to the floor, the couple beheld their son's room while they stood in the doorway, breathless and panting.

The floors were made of polished marble (much like the floors in Spyro and Cynder's room) while the walls were made from rocky bricks melded together with a concrete-like substance. The other items inside the room had consisted of a large nest made of twigs, a big pile of kindling nestled right in the middle of the room (it was meant to be a fire but clearly the flames had long-since been snuffed) and other necessities a little dragon may need. In the middle of the room was a rickety old wicker basket with a soft little cushioned area inside, this served as their son's bed and there was supposed to be a baby blue blanket covering the little one but it had been carelessly tossed aside —Ivor probably tossed it inadvertently when the lightning struck.

Both Spyro's and Cynder's eyes adjusted to the darkness quickly and they found that their one and only son, Ivor, was laying in his basket bed on the floor and was clearly scared.

Despite it being almost pitch black, Ivor's form was easily recognisable.

The young dragon whelp had yellow horns (that were still-developing so they were more like little nubs) protruding from his head along with a second pair of horn/nubs sticking out from either side of his face. He had a scythe-like tail-tip, like Cynder. His chest plate/underbelly and the leathery parts on his wings were a red/magenta colour/the same shade as Cynder's, while the frames of his wings were yellow, like Spyro. His muzzle was shovel-shaped, like Spyro, as was his facial shape and he even had Spyro's amethyst eyes.

The pure white scales were their son's most distinguishing feature —aside from the legendary Chronicler, Ivor was the only white dragon currently living.

Anyways, Ivor was clearly scared.

The poor whelp was quivering and shaking as he had curled up into a tight ball with his eyes screwed shut and whimpers slipping out from his tiny throat. Despite his eyelids being slammed shut, tears leaked through them and trailed non-stop down his cheeks as he huddled his tiny still-developing wings to his body as he curled into as tight a ball as his small body could manage while he lay in his basket —terrified beyond logical reason.

It was a distressing sight.

Cynder and Spyro's parental instincts went into overdrive as they simultaneously made a beeline to the basket containing Ivor and wasted no time in going about trying to solve the mystery as to what had caused their boy's fear-filled outburst.

"What's the matter son?" Spyro asked, his voice interlaced with panic but he tried to smooth any fear from his tone as to avoid scaring their young whelp further. "What happened?"

"Did the thunder and lightning scare you?" Cynder added, just as concerned for their son's wellbeing as Spyro was.

Ivor sniffed and sobbed as the tears kept on rolling down his cheeks and he tried to explain the reason for his outburst…however, due to how much he wept, his words were unintelligible and he couldn't really be understood by either of his parents. His cheeks and the tip of his nose would probably be bright red and tear-stained if he were human.

"I…w-wa' sleepin' a-a-and d-d-d-dreamin' about f-f-f-flyin' b-but then…snf, snf…" Ivor snuffled as he took a second to raise a tiny claw to wipe the dripping mucus that moistened his nostrils. "…then a b-b-b-big monster came and t-t-tried to hurt me! I-It was all sh-shadowy! A-And it had big an' g-glowy red eyes! It g-grabbed me from the air a-and it…and it…"

The little white dragon youngling couldn't finish and just burst into tears of hysterics once again.

"WAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!" He wailed as loud as his little lungs would allow. "I was s-s-s-so scared! I-It told me that I was b-bad and I w-was dangerous! A-And then I hard a c-crashing sound a-and I woke up!"

Cynder and Spyro both felt their hearts tremble at the sight of their one and only son being so sad and frightened after such a bad dream had clearly vexed him so and, in turn, the little white-scaled dragon whelp just kept crying as he soaked in the love and warmth like a sponge soaking in water.

"Awww, my sweet hatchling…" Cynder cooed as she licked Ivor's cheek lovingly, moping up the salty tears he had been shedding.

Ivor just sniffled, eyes still filled with glistening tears that cascaded down his cheeks like little waterfalls and he could do nothing more but inch himself closer to lap up more of his mother's affection.

Cynder just kept licking the side of her son's teary cheek, the taste of salt dripping on to her tongue as she kept trying to soothe her only son in order to soothe him; she made sure to mind the whelp's little facial horns as her tongue dragged up his cheek in a repetitive motion. It seemed to be working as Ivor's cries mellowed and dwindled into sobs and soft whimpers as he calmed down.

After a minute or two, the black dragoness stopped licking her son's face and stared at him.

It was downright heart-breaking to see her son so upset and scared when he should have been having sweet dreams.

Meanwhile, Ivor's eyes were really squinted as both upper and lower eyelids; the whites of his eyes were tinted a red/pink shade (the same shade as his only dragon friend, Ignitia, as a matter of fact) and it clearly stung to blink due to the huge tears he had cried mere minutes ago. His breaths were choppy and choked up as he clearly struggled to calm down from his fear-fuelled crying fit.

Cynder's eyes overflowed with pure motherly compassion.

Of course the dragoness, being raised in fear and being able to command it, being a Shadow dragon, knew full well that sometimes fear was a necessary part of life and some folk needed some help to face those fears when they transitioned from childhood to adulthood —Cynder knew a lot about fear…and being a mother helped her fund a way to help quell some forms of fear and she was certain she could help her baby deal with his fears appropriately.

She vowed to lunge at those fears and tackle them with everything she had!

"Take deep breaths my son, we won't let anyone harm one cute little scale on your head."

Ivor sobbed as he burrowed his snout into his mother's shoulder in a bid to seek her warmth and protection.

Cynder could feel her precious whelp trembling as he nuzzled his little tear-stained face into her side and she felt her heart threaten to shatter and smash; how could one so young feel such a large amount of fear and not make her heart ache in response…especially when her own instincts were crying, no, screaming out for her to somehow take those fears away and squash them to make sure they were to never more bring any more upset to her precious babe. She sympathised easily as she heard words of torment targeted towards her while she and her family had left their little humble home outside of the dragon city, meaning Ivor heard them too.

She could only imagine how such words could be warped and twisted in the mind of such a young and innocent dragon youngling and, not to mention, Ivor was a shadow dragon just like her and she feared that he, too, would be burdened by such harsh comments someday.

The Dark masters poisonous powers were already developing and instilling their influence within Ivor's little body so it was without much doubt that he would struggle —and not to mention his unique white colouring already made it so there were hushed words being directed towards him and other young dragons were already beginning to pick on him like birds pecking at a defenceless fellow chick.

It wasn't a nice reality to contemplate but it was still reality regardless.

There was no hiding from it.

Then an idea struck her.

Of course, she wasn't sure if it would work…but she had to try something.

Cynder gave her son's back one more comforting lick, making sure to mind his tiny developing wings as her tongue dragged along his back until she withdrew her tongue and it slid back into her maw where it belonged, before she decided to voice her idea.

"Hush now, little one. Mama's here. How would you like to hear a story?"

The dragoness with ebony scales could feel Spyro fix her with a wide-eyed gaze of stunned yet helpless surprise and confusion which kind of made her feel a tad on edge. The big and surprisingly slender purple dragon seemed perplexed as he apparently didn't understand what his dearly beloved mate was doing and what story she intended to tell him.

Cynder gave him a subtle nod and Spyro tilted his head at at her in return.

The dragoness exhaled through her nostrils as she let her own wings enfold and twitch against her back as she nestled herself comfortably on the floor with her whelp nuzzling her side comfortably. She wanted to drape one wing over Spyro and bring him closer but decided against it —especially considering that Spyro was giving her a sour and rather distasteful expression.

He seemed to know what story she wanted to share.

"E-Erm, Cyn?" Spyro spoke up with a look of uncertainty etched upon his face. "Ain't he still a little too young for this story?"

A smirk full of self-assured confidence spread across Cynder's maw.

"Don't be silly, Spyro, I'm sure mama's big boy can handle this."

The smirk on her muzzle didn't falter even in the slightest, even though it was abundantly clear that Spyro wasn't convinced or persuaded by her words of assurance.

The purple dragon clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth.

"Tsk….You sound waaaaaay too into all of this."

Cynder and Spyro were interrupted by yet another explosion of thunder as another strike of lightning flashed and the sudden eruption of sound made all three of them jerk and then startle from their respective spots on the polished marble flooring that they lay upon.

KRACK-THOOOOOOM!

The bright burst of light momentarily blinded all three drakes of purple, black and white scales.

"Y-Yipe!"

Spyro yelped as he bolted into an upright sitting position, his entire body erect and full of wide-eyed terror due to how the thunder and lightning took him by surprise. His tail took on a zig-zag shape and even his wings had extended themselves without command but, instead of being fully-extended as if signalling that he was ready to take flight, one wing was open wide while the other drooped and almost twisted into a strange position.

The tough purple dragon had an expression full of unease and disconcertion.

Cynder couldn't help but crane her neck in order to lower her long muzzle and hid it behind one of her claws in order to try and hide a giggle of amusement.

Of course it didn't work and Spyro just glared at her, unamused.

Cynder let out a fake cough to not only change the subject but to further hide her laughter at her husband's expense. She didn't mean to laugh but she couldn't help it, she hadn't expected the love of her life to cry out like a puppy

"Just go to bed, Spyro. I've got this."

Spyro picked himself up off the floor, getting to stand clumsily on all four claws, and didn't bother to conceal a massive and lengthy yawn.

"Aauuuuughghhh…" His yawn was extensive as he opened his mount wide, exposing his glinting sharp fangs in the candlelight that shone in the room, before snapping his maw shut and he suddenly took on a bedraggled expression. "If you're sure, Cyn. Just please don't be too long."

His eyelids sunk and almost completely caused his poor eyeballs to shut, his mouth had formed into a squiggled line on the ends and he stuck his neck out in front of him with his back and shoulders badly sunken and his shoulder blades bunched up together like a pair of hill-shaped lumps. Both of his large and bat-like wings hung down as they were spread and extended outstretched and then dragged along the floor as his feet clomped heavily through the house.

He didn't bother to stretch as he began to stumble in a pathetic attempt at walking, almost falling asleep on his four feet and he practically staggered out the bedroom and back down towards the couples bedroom downstairs whilst he almost tripped over his own four feet due to at least one of them threatening to buckle out from under him in the process.

He was both in a strop and fatigued.

Greatly fatigued.

Cynder shook her head as she and Ivor watched the adult male purple dragon leave the room.

Spyro might have been a goofball sometimes…but he was her goofball.

Now that that matter was taken care of, the dragoness refocused her attention on the little dragon laying comfortably beside her with eyes wide and full of innocent wonder as he stared up at his mother expectedly but with tiny tears gathering in the corners of his eyes. He was clearly eager to listen to the story that had been so built up for him to hear —if his dad had fretted that he was too young to hear then it must be good, right? But he still felt lingering fright after that nightmare earlier.

The dragoness started to speak, her voice a smooth caress.

"Okay. So, when your father and I were still young —quite a bit older than you are now, I used to be controlled by the Dark master."

Ivor cocked his head in confusion.

"You mean Malefor?"

Cynder nodded before she continued, her tone turning grim and solemn.

"Yes. I mean Malefor. It all started on the night papa and I were hatched from our respective eggs when the Guardians temple was attacked by a bunch of apes and, while your dad's egg was sent to safety and he was eventually raised by your Granny Nina and Papa Flash alongside your uncle Sparx, I was taken and raised by the apes and then twisted by his influence…"

Ivor just stared at his mother in stunned silence, his young mind trying to comprehend what he was being told.

The big slender dragoness steeled herself and kept going.

"I…I wasn't the same dragon I am now. I was big and fierce and monstrous, I didn't care for anyone but the Dar…" She froze for a sec and swiftly amended her words. "…Malefor and aiding in his escape from the Portal of convexity; I did some awful things and not only attacked the Guardians but drained them of their power. I also hurt innocent creatures and tormented them."

Cynder's voice thickened as the guilt almost became too much to bare, much to her son's concern, but she (quite literally) shook it off after giving a subtle shake of her own head to snap herself out of her stupor.

She resumed the story.

"But then, one day, after taking Ignitus captive to drain him of his magic, I fought your father."

Ivor's eyes widened in near disbelief as hearing that took his young breath away.

He hadn't expected to hear that he and his mother had fought!

Of course, Ivor had witnessed when his parents disagreed once or twice on the rare occasion and even had the odd spat but they never actually fought one another, let alone used their abilities to harm one another! The only time the whelp had ever seen them use their abilities against one another in the slightest was when they were giving the whelp a demonstration of how some of his mother's moves worked as they wanted him to visualise it before actually making an attempt at the real thing.

By this point, Cynder's voice turned from sullen and serious to purposefully intense as if to make the story sound more dramatic than it already was.

"The battle was fierce. My fearsome yet humongous form should've been no match for your father but he, in all his adorably pint-sized glory, managed to actually hold his own against me…until I knocked him back and wiped him out momentarily which gave me enough time to rip open the Portal of Convexity. While Ignitus explained some home truths to your father, I flew towards Malefor's prison and made the preparations to break him out of his prison…and came so dangerously close to succeeding."

Ivor could see the pain these memories had inflicted upon on his mother's face and he asked, his voice still so sweet and innocent as he lay a tiny claw on her cheek in a show of love and support.

Cynder could feel her heart swell to ten sizes bigger in her chest as she felt the love and warmth come from her very own son. She didn't know how she could be so lucky to have such a child like him, he was the sweetest of dragon younglings in the entire realm of Avalar and having this interaction, though difficult due to her having to tell the truth about all the bad stuff she had done in the past (albeit so a child his age could understand), made her determined to dispel any lingering fears he might have had after that nightmare that frightened him so before.

"Did ya feel like you were doing something bad, mama? Why couldn't you break free of his control?" Asked Ivor, gently.

Cynder sighed as she hung her head shamefully.

"…If only it were that easy, sweetie…"

"It…wasn't until a year later that Malefor finally busted out; that time it wasn't entirely a result of my actions as the Ape king, Gaul, the guy who took my egg to begin with, had taken me to the well of souls and used your fathers rage and fury to break him free from his prison on the Eternal night. Your dad…he got so angry and dark, especially fuelled by the eclipse of the two moons, that sparked enough power to enable Malefor his escape."

The dragoness then decided to resume, in spite of the pain that felt like a jab thrust through her heart.

She didn't want to go into detail about her lover's dark form, especially not without him there to give his consent on whether to share that little detail with their son. This was Spyro's portion of the tale to tell and his alone, what sort of partner would she be if she did something like that without his knowledge?

Not a good one, that's for sure!

Then she recalled that dreaded cave in at the Well of souls.

"…In the meantime, to stop your uncle Sparx, and me, and him from dying in the cave in of the Well of souls, he had us encased in crystal for a full year to save and protect us." Cynder sighed, ashamed. "We awoke three years later after some apes dug us out."

Cynder struggled to continue telling the story and each word felt more and more like a knife plunging further into her heart as the guilt she felt increased. She started to feel the shame she had initially felt committed those unpardonable acts resurface and fear built up within her while she began to fear her son's reaction —what would her own son think of her after this story is finished? Would he be angry at her? Afraid?

She wouldn't be able to cope if she had a scathingly cross argument with Ivor…!

The thought was unconscionable.

Thoooooooom….KRACK!

Cynder flinched violently.

She had forgotten about the thunder and lightening.

And so had Ivor, according to the squeak of surprise and fear he elicited as he huddled up to his mother for protection. He curled up into the tiniest and most compact ball he could as his tiny wings huddled close to his own body and he curled his own tail around him while he hid against his mother in a bid to be protected from the awful noise exploding around them on occasion.

Cynder waited for both herself to calm down and for Ivor to uncurl from his little ball to continue the story, this was the part she wanted her son's full focus on…but she could see that he was becoming sleepy as his eyelids began to droop over his large amethyst eyes and he was clearly trying to hold back a yawn.

The black dragoness almost found herself smiling at the sight as she found it was quite endearing.

It was almost sweet enough to cause her teeth to fall out.

"It was after we woke up that your father and I started to fall in love one another. The world had changed drastically from our time crystallised, I still don't even know how we survived being encased in crystal for three years…" Cynder mused for a second but then decided that it didn't really matter, not now. "…B-But anyway, we awoke and met Hunter. We headed to Warfang, met up with the Guardians, fought in the war against Malefor and his horrific army of Apes and shadow creatures and then we went to confront him."

The dragonesses' voice thickened at this part as she recalled losing someone very important.

She hung her head in remorse.

"We…We lost Ignitus…F-Flame's uncle and the great-uncle to your little friend, Ignitia…and one of the greatest of father figure's your father had ever known."

Ivor, in the meantime, was stunned as he found this all a bit much to process. He was trying to bare through the chaotically horrific thunderstorm raging outside and was now hearing about how his mother had, in fact, done terrible things in the past. He wasn't angry at her, though, as he now knew that his mother was simply being controlled and didn't have much of a say in the matter. From what he could understand, this Malefor was a big monster and he never wanted to have anything to do with him if he could help it!

Thankfully, he knew that would never happen as his parents had made this an impossibility years ago.

Malefor was gone now.

But he was more focused on the fact that the former fire dragon Guardian, Ignitus, had passed away during that war that Malefor created. He didn't know that! He knew that his friend had wanted to become the future Fire Guardian, much like her father, Flame, was doing currently, but he was almost unsure if he wanted her to be that now if it was so dangerous!

He didn't want his friend to get hurt!

In the midst of Ivor's young mind racing, Cynder shook off the thickness in her own voice and smoothed the regret and pain from it as she began to get to the ending. Her eyes hardened and she coiled her own large yet lithe and slender body tighter around her young whelp as if he would be in grave danger if she didn't do so right then and there.

"…Anyways, your father and I eventually ventured deep down into the worlds core, fought against Malefor and saved our planet from breaking apart as he was doing irreparable damage to the realm. It was difficult but we managed and, then, your father and I lived happily ever after and now we have our own life free of war and fighting and we couldn't be happier."

Cynder finally brought herself to lock eyes with her son, her gaze gentle but stern and serious at the same time.

"Do you know why I told you this story?"

Ivor shook his head in response and his mother's teal eyes softened.

"It's because I think you are now old enough to learn that while the world can be a big and beautiful place, there can also be great evils hiding in plain sight…but I don't want you to shy away from everything that's perceived as bad. What we need to do, at some point in our lives, is look our fear in the eye and then face it."

"Do you understand what I'm trying to say?"

Ivor was unsure but, nonetheless, nodded with a timid smile.

"….I think so, mama."

Cynder gingerly nudged her snout against Ivor's side and she could see that he was finding it harder and harder to stay awake as the seconds ticked by; he was struggling to stay awake, but as he felt his mother's warm voice and her body heat meld with his own, he knew that he couldn't keep it up much longer and his eyes began to lose the fight to stay open. A soothing calmness washed over him as he lovingly nuzzled his mother's side. The fear he had felt was so far away now and didn't even seem to matter anymore.

Ivor clung tight and fast to the last remnants of consciousness he had to ask a final injury.

"…When?"

Cynder blinked and decided to ask her sleepy son to clarify his question.

"When what, baby?"

Ivor, barely awake, obliged.

"When will I be ready to face my fears?"

Cynder couldn't hold back a small chuckle as she gazed down at her only son.

Of course, she didn't have a crystal ball so she couldn't see into the future and tell him when he would be able to conquer his fears…besides, she wanted to know the answer to that inquiry too. She couldn't allow herself to set a precedent that she could solve every single problem for him that life had to offer, no, Ivor had to see that sometimes he had to figure these things out himself.

"I can't answer that, my son. Only you know the answer to that."

"Oh…"

Cynder closed her eyes.

She knew that she really should get back to Spyro downstairs, especially since Ivor was about to drift off, but she couldn't bring herself to move from her chosen designated spot on the floor curled around the little white-as-chalk-scaled dragon whelp. Not only had she become comfortable but she couldn't help but find Ivor's slumbering form indisputably adorable, especially as he had snuggled right up against her even closer now.

Plus, it was still thundering outside so maybe Ivor could use a bit of extra security tonight.

She knew it was bad to have the boy sleep with either her or Spyro for a prolonged period of time as it could allow bad habits to fester but she figured that one night wouldn't hurt anyone.

"But I will be right there beside you when you are ready. I won't ever let you face your fears alone."

Ivor, too, finally surrendered and closed his eyes and started to breath deeply and heavily.

The mother and son pair let the soft darkness of slumber whisk them off into sleep, but not before they said one final thing to one another.

"I…I love you, Mama."

"And I love you, my sweet Ivor."

Unbeknownst to either Cynder or Ivor, Spyro had been sitting, watching and listening from outside the room the entire time with a gentle smile on his muzzle.

He was proud of how Cynder had tackled the tale, despite it probably being painful and difficult to have to re-tell it —especially in front of their son. But not only did she explain it as gingerly and as child-appropriate as she could but she also kept her emotions in check while she did it! She also taught their son an important lesson about fear and how to deal with it!

The pride Spyro felt was immeasurable.

He would have loved to kiss both his mate and son…but decided against it out of fear of awakening them both so, instead, he crept back into the room whilst making sure to keep his steps nice and light to avoid arousing the two dragons occupying the room from their slumber.

The purple dragon eventually and cautiously lay on the floor alongside Cynder and made it so Ivor was now nestled right in between them instead of simply curled up in the nook of his mother's neck —Spyro would have preferred to be in bed but, alas, he was a bit worried that if he tried to sleep in his and Cynder's shared bedroom then he would have wound up with the roof crushing him in the midst of his slumber, probably maiming or even killing him.

The grown up purple dragon gave a contented sigh as he started to let his own eyes drift shut as exhaustion took hold of his being in a vice-like grip.

Meanwhile, the whelp nestled inbetween Spyro and Cynder didn't move a muscle as he had his eyes closed too, his breathing soft and light and his face relaxed and content. The little dragon gave off every indication that he was fast asleep so it was a big shock when he muttered one last thing before finally and truly nodding off to sleep.

"….And…I Love you too, Papa…"

Spyro opened one eye in shock as he didn't know how his son knew of his presence but didn't really question it.

It was too late in the night to question such things anyway.

"Back at ya, little guy."

The legendary purple dragon smiled a smile as warm as a humble little fire burning away at some kindling in the midst of a blizzard, his heart swelling with love and adoration for his family. Then he turned his head to briefly rub his shovel-shaped snout against his now-sleeping son's cheek, minding his little cheek nubs, to briefly return the gesture of affection before he lay his chin down on the polished marble flooring and lay one wing against his wife's back to drape it across her form like a blanket.

Spyro sighed contentedly and he fell limp as sleep finally came.

….Then the distant sound of crashing coming from downstairs sounded aloud; it sounded like all that rainwater had finally made the roof/ceiling cave in and had come plummeting down in a loud and heavy collision. It appeared that his earlier prediction of the ceiling coming down was not entirely inaccurate after all.

Spyro didn't even open his eyes or flinch at the noise.

He couldn't even bring himself to care anymore.

"Meh. We'll fix it tomorrow."

Lightning struck a final time outside as thunder rumbled along after it but, unlike all those other times, it didn't cause any fear or jerking or jolting of any sort; instead the family of three slept right on through it as they snuggled up together and dreamt sweet dreams comfortably.


A/N: Hi, guys!

Heres a new fic in the "Scales" series and I meant to upload it for Halloween yesterday but I didn't complete it in time so here it is, a hint late. Cynder and Ivor have a bonding moment together as Cyn tells her story to her son after he experiences a nightmare…and Spyro and Cynder have a bit of bonding too, albeit more teasing than loving but still loving all the same.

I might have even slipped in a reference to one of my previous fics "Lightning strikes"… ;)

Anyways, I hope you have had a wonderful day/night.

You guys are awesome!

Happy Halloween, everyone!

-Chloemcg