Author's note: Hi everyone. My ame is Valiant, i like to read, to write and to draw. Lately i have been publishing an amazing story of Fan-fiction about Zootopia and the reception for it has bee outsdanding, I am still working on the new tales from Zootopia but, before dropping the next chapter, I thought about indulging myself in another exciting tale of a franchise that really grabbed my attention for the longest time. I am a die hard Spyro the dragon fan and i have high hopes that the franchise will keep heading onwards in the near future, i imagined a new saga for the purple dragon and his female companion and it felt too good to leave hidden in the recesses of my computer's memory, so, before we get started, i have just a few things to get out of the way:

1) This project will be posted in longer intervulses than my previous published story chapters. This story is all well and good for the time but it is still a prototype meant to be posted primarily as an experiment, Zootopia has had a little more time to grow and grab my focus and will remain my main focus on the writting front.

2) This tale encapsulates what happened after the last battle of the last game, if you haven't played or watched the legendary conclusion of Dawn of the dragon, be warned, there are major Spoilers for the plot ahead and you should really brush off on you Spyro lore before jumping in.

3) This story is a work of fan-fiction and it is merely for enjoyment and perspective, not monetary gain. It is, therefore, open for review and critique for all around. As stablished, i wish to give my writting skills as much ground work as possible.

4) If you have any ideas or sugestions about this or any other story, please, feel free to speak up.

5) It is very likely that this story will feature epic fighting scenes, drinking, and possible loving scenes. Reader discretion is advised.

So, without any more distractions, enjoy this first chapter:

Chapter I: After saving the world.

That was it. The end of their final adventure had come at last. Cynder's mind was free from the hold that the dark master had on her, Spyro had mustered enough power to unlock his true potential once more, the magic restraints keeping the two young dragons bonded together was destroyed and Malefor was gone for good, taken away from the physical world by the souls of the ancestral dragons, but it might have been too little too late, for his evil magic was still in full effect and it was about to split the world wide open. Spyro and Cynder landed over the dark crystal at the center of the chamber and felt that there was little choice to be made at that moment if not wait for the end:

- Spyro, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.

The dragoness said so as she looked to the young purple dragon with her eyes filled with regret and a voice brimming with sorrow, for all of the problems she had put him through and all of the grief she still brought within her heart. The good nature inside Spyro could not allow her to be sad, not even at that moment when all hope for them to escape seemed to be lost, he turned to her and spoke with a soft tone of voice:

- Don't be. It is over.

Cynder looked around and saw how the cracks on the walls were spreading, as the energy built up started to erupt, she spoke up:

- So… this is it.

The crystallin mass beneath them was emitting an insane amount of energy that could no longer be contained, the central chamber began to rumble increasingly more and the walls around the two begun to break apart. Spyro could not accept that, there was still so much to be done, so much to see, so much that was left undiscovered, unsaid, he wanted to do more, he felt the need to do more. That was when a familiar voice resonated inside of him. The voice from the wise guardian of fire still resounded inside his mind and he realized what needed to be done. Spyro looked within and reached a conclusion, he turned over to Cynder and said:

- I know what I have to do! Just get out of here Cynder.

The dragoness did not wish to leave her companion behind, knowing that he was set on doing something impulsive, she pleaded with him to reconsider:

- Spyro, no! You don't have to do anything! Let's just go!

- Go where, Cynder? The world is breaking apart! Soon, there will be nothing left.

The purple dragon bellowed to her, trying to make her see reason. He took a short breath before continuing:

- But I think I can stop it. I think I am meant to.

Cynder looked straight into Spyro's eyes, his mind was already made up and time was running out so there would be no sense in arguing with him any further, his heart was determined to perform one final selfless act if it meant saving the lives of everyone. Cynder gave a single step forward to get closer to him and said:

- Then, I'm with you.

Certain that this was the correct course of action, Spyro looked at Cynder for what he thought would be the last time, gathered the potent power that he had summoned previously, this time contained in a wider area around him, and released all of it in a last ditch effort to hold his world together. With such an immense level of energy surging through him it almost felt like Spyro had a small sun exploding from within his chest, the purple dragon spread his wings and witnessed as his life and all of his accomplishments flashed in front of his very eyes before letting all of his power out in a single burst. Certain that he would no longer be around to see the world but glad, confident that it would still be there after he was gone.

Cynder watched her best friend, the one creature in the entire world that trusted her without reservations, shine brighter than a star. She already knew that there was no reason to leave his side, there was no one else waiting for her anywhere. She recalled the long years she had spent under the control of Malefor and all of the atrocities she was forced to commit in his name, the young dark dragoness could have spent her entire life being feared as a servant of darkness, but she was saved, freed, all thanks to one meddling purple dragon that risked everything just to find some answers and stand by her until the very end, just to be her friend, that might have been the end of the line but she could not be more happy for having spent her last moments fighting alongside Spyro. She opened her mouth and spoke with a whisper the words that she wanted to say for so long but never had the true courage to say so:

- I love you.

With a deafening sound and a bright flash of white light Spyro's power engulfed the entirety of the chamber, Cynder felt as her mind completely let go of fear, her body didn't perceived any cold or heat merely a strange numbness that felt rather comfortable for her, she became lose and light as a feather, almost as if she was slowly turning to dust but she could feel no pain from it, the only thing she felt was relief. Cynder closed her eyes and welcomed what she believed would be the end, the fight was over and she could finally rest.

Cynder was convinced that the last effort performed by Spyro would be the last thing she ever witnessed in her life, but she was sorely mistaken. It felt like only a few seconds had passed before she opened her eyes and noticed that the oppressive light of the sun was shining right over her, she cursed the sun in silence for interrupting her sleep and pressed her eyes shut until it felt like her sight would be better accustomed with the light later. In that moment, when the sensation of warmth took a hold of her skin and the notion of light returned to her mind, she hastily opened her eyes and raised her entire body from the ground in a hurry to look around and try to identify her surroundings. She felt disoriented, she didn't know what was happening, she didn't know where she was, but, judging by the feeling of awareness placing a gradual hold over her body and the splitting headache she was experiencing, it all indicated that she was not dead yet.

Cynder moved her body around for a bit and she could feel her muscles tensing up for a moment as she made sure all of her senses were coming back to her, she gave her wings and her tail a nice stretch while certifying that every bit of her body was exactly where it needed to be, she felt very sore but despite that she was still able to move quite effectively. Upon making sure that she could still stand and walk on her own, Cynder gave a couple of steps ahead to try and see where she was, apparently she was in the middle of a dense patch of forest, the environment was serene and quite pleasant but she was not sure if she should feel relaxed just yet so she remained on guard while taking in a few more details about the place.

The dragoness gave a few steps upon the graveled, grassy and uneven ground until she stablished a comfortable range of movement for herself without deterring her own body as she moved about, she looked left and right and noticed that she was surrounded by moderately tall trees with clear colored, straight trunks and curvy branches that covered the area right above her with a wide spread of greenery, impeding the rays of the sun from shining too much over her. She squinted her eyes as she noticed that there were only a few spots where the leaves gave passage for the light to enter the forest grounds. After a few more steps, Cynder looked slightly to the left and noticed that she was very close to a clearing in the forest where the trees were far enough apart from one another and gave ample space to see the sky and the chance for her to fly and get a better scope of the terrain.

Cynder took that chance and, as if per pure instinct, flapped her wings with enough strength to take off from the ground with relative ease. After getting into a good enough height, she looked around whist hovering a few miles from the ground and noticed how truly beautiful her new surroundings actually were. The trees from the dense forest right beneath her were blocking the sight of a tall line of mountains far off east, green wavering hills from the south and what looked like a long stretch of a dirt road that disappeared over the horizon only a few miles west, by the north it appeared to be only more of the forest so she didn't gave too much thought for what might dwell in that direction.

While her wings were keeping her body steadily still in mid-air, Cynder felt a gentle gust of wind hit her, the wind felt nice over her scales and that warm sensation seemed to reinvigorate her, she closed her eyes and felt the rays of the sun and the gentle breeze instilling in the back of her mind the desire to remain exactly where she was for the remainder of the day. After the wind ceased for a time, Cynder came to the sudden conclusion that she was missing something vital at the time, or rather someone. Her wings stopped flapping for a few seconds as she spoke with a worried whisper:

- Spyro!

After taking note that her companion was, in fact, nowhere to be found, Cynder's body intuitively took notice that she had stopped flapping her wings during her moment of realization, she fell a few inches form her original altitude before her wings began moving on their own once more. The dragoness moved her head around in desperation as she continued flapping her wings with slower strokes but increased effort and searched for any sign of her friend while her mind struggled to recall what might have happened to him. Not wishing to remain still for long in one spot, Cynder picked a random direction and flew off with considerable speed making sure that her eyes would be wide open as they looked on the ground for any possible signs of where Spyro might have been.

A couple of minutes went by with her impromptu flight path until Cynder noticed how her body was behaving all of a sudden. The joints right below her wings started to hurt really bad and she felt short of breath, she did her best to keep with her current speed and trajectory but she felt fatigued quite fast, she tried keeping her body sharp but she was getting more tired by the second and steadily losing altitude, it was almost as if her body hadn't known rest, food or drink for weeks. Cynder knew that if she fell to the ground exhausted and disoriented she would be of no help in case Spyro was hurt, so she opted to reduce her speed and restrict herself into gliding for the time being.

Cynder's mind was fraught with worry, she recalled the image of her last moments with her friend as he courageously released all of his power in order to save the world, by the looks of things it appeared that the world was still in one piece but it also seemed like, after such a massive surge of power, there was nothing of the purple dragon left at all, but it couldn't be true, she refused to acknowledge it. Cynder thought to herself as her eyes continued to search around:

"I am still alive. Hurt and tired, but still alive! Which means he's got to be alive as well. He just got to be!"

Cynder kept repeating that to herself inside her mind. Until she was proven otherwise Spyro was alive and in need of help, she did not know where he might be so her only option was to keep searching until she could find a clue of his whereabouts. There was another clearing in the forest area right ahead, Cynder decided to take some time to land, rest her wings and recover her breath, her moment of respite was a short one though. Just as she was lowering her head and calmly making towards the inviting shade beneath a tree, there was a loud crashing noise coming from somewhere right behind her, deep within the forest, it was clearly not Spyro's natural instinct to make so much noise without reason, but Cynder still considered it a lead and rushed in the general direction of the sound.

While blazing a trail among the trees, Cynder restarted her search for anything that might be an indicator of where Spyro might be. Unfortunately, the truth of the fact is that she was becoming desperate, not being able to find anything, not even a trace or a clue, up until that point was giving her more of a reason to believe that there was no trace left of the purple dragon. Her body just kept moving forward on its own, even as her hope began to falter, she still felt the curious surge inside her chest that told her to keep moving. Soon enough, Cynder managed to find the origin of the noise she had heard previously, turns out a massive tree had tumbled down to the ground but there was something more to that, the way the tree had reached the ground seemed very unusual. After calming her breath which was rushed due to the sprint she had employed to reach that area, Cynder decided to inspect the tree much closer and find out what happened to it.

After short period of deliberation it was obvious that the tree did not fall down thanks to natural causes, the trunk was cracked clear in half while its roots were still planted firmly on the ground, something with a lot of weight had collided against that tree, or at the very least, a projectile with incredible resilience and momentum. Cynder followed the direction that the tree fell with her eyes and noticed that there was much more damage to be seen farther ahead, she walked deeper into the forest and noticed how the scenery around her was becoming more damaged as she took step after step. There were broken branches and signs that something incredibly powerful had taken that route, the ground was becoming increasingly uneven and a horrible discovery was waiting for her just ahead.

Placed at the end of the trail of destruction was a small crater made of shattered rocks, cracked logs, burnt leaves and dragged out dirt, the ground still showed signs of sizzling caused by whatever had caused such an impact, a meteor had crashed its way into the forest, but what called to Cynder's attention most of all was the sight and shape of the so called meteor. Laying on the very bottom of the crater was Spyro, his body resting damaged and inert inside the gigantic fissure that ruined the otherwise serene image of the forest. Cynder ran down into the crater as fast as she could, kicking up dirt and nearly tumbling down as she moved towards him, calling his name with extreme worry:

- SPYRO! SPYRO!

She got close to the body of the young dragon, laid on the ground over his right side and fitting almost perfectly into the frame left embedded in the earth by the impact, she loomed over him, not sure what to do next, such a trail of devastation left her certain that he had suffered severe damage upon his descent from… wherever they had come from, so much stuff didn't make sense to her. Last she recalled they were battling Malefor in the main chamber of his lair deep into the earth and now they were in a random forest in the middle of nowhere, there were so many questions left unanswered but she opted to not even worry about acquiring answers, for now she had to focus on helping Spyro.

Cynder leaned her head down and observed attentively in order to identify any signs of life, she got in closely and watched over him but her inpatient eyes were moving over him frantically and she could not even be sure if he was still breathing or not. Panting rapidly and wanting to make absolutely sure that there was still life in him, Cynder walked a few steps to the side and placed the side of her head close to his chest, hoping to hear his heart still willing to beat, she was very disconcerted and the only thing she could hear at the moment was the sound of her own heart. There was a moment of silence, Cynder calmed her mind down and dispersed any unpleasant and unhelpful thoughts from her mind, she closed her eyes and begged to her a sound coming from her friend:

- Please, please, please, please…

She kept repeating as such with a low volume to her voice until she abruptly heard the sound of a small bump, her head retreated in surprise but she rapidly placed herself close to him once more to make absolute sure that she had heard it right. Indeed, there was a pulse, there was a breath, he was still alive. She released sigh of relief and nearly wept with emotion, she was so happy to know that there was still some shred of will left inside Spyro to keep him from passing on even after their previous ordeal, but they were still not safe. They were still in the middle of unfamiliar territory and Spyro would need a place to recuperate.

Cynder passed her eyes over him and found out that, even if he was still alive he had definitely suffered some damage, Spyro's shoulders were scratched, many of his scales were scrapped to the sides revealing a few soft spots in his natural armor and the discoloration on some of them revealed that he had quite the number of bruises, but at least his wings seemed undamaged by the impact as did his head, chest and tail so she believed he might be able to recuperate. Cynder leaned her head down once more and scooped Spyro's body off the ground using her horns, she moved her shoulders and relied on her wings and tail for support until she managed to place him safely over her back and making sure that her scales wouldn't prick over his underbelly. Cynder proceeded to walk out of the crater and into the forest in search of a suitable place that would serve as a shelter.

Cynder walked a few miles into the forest, it was quite a difficult track to make since there was no road nearby that they could follow, the earth was muddy and uneven on quite a few places and the cargo she was carrying was somewhat hefty and taxing on her back:

"Shoot! He is heavier than he looks!"

Taken a few more steps into the forest, Cynder heard the dragon placed and coated over her back start to moan and mumble something that she couldn't make up the meaning of, she turned her head in his direction, being careful to not poke him with her horns, and called out to his name once more to verify if there would be an answer that time:

- Spyro?

The young dragon didn't answer for a while, he moaned some more and his head moved gently over Cynder's left shoulder as he slowly started to regain conscience, his breath was deeper and more focused than before, he was surely regaining his senses but he winced a little with pain after Cynder gave a small misstep to the side nearly tripping over a small pebble placed in their way. After seeing her friend struck with discomfort, the dragoness inhaled sharply through her teeth and spoke up:

- I'm sorry! Are you alright?

Spyro didn't open his eyes completely so his vision was still a bit blurry, but he recognized the voice that was calling out to him:

- C… Cynder? Is that you?

He asked, shortly after, the one carrying him, sniffled to hold back her emotions and answered without lurching over her words:

- Yes, Spyro. It's me. I'm here.

The young dragon squinted his eyes in an unsuccessful attempt to recognize his surroundings, not being able to locate the local they were in his memory and still getting his bearings over his own body, Spyro asked with a noticeable hint of enervation in his voice:

- Where… are we?

Cynder didn't want him to worry but she also felt like the best thing to do in that moment was to tell him the truth:

- We are in a forest… somewhere. I'm not sure where exactly, but at least we are safe for now and we are still alive.

Spyro released a deep sigh before formulating an answer to Cynder, this time he put a little more energy in his voice as he released a little huff that could've been perceived as a laugh, he was clearly happy to hear that they were both still alive. With a smile on his face that was left unseen by Cynder at the time as she focused on moving ahead, Spyro spoke up:

- Wow! I really thought we were done for that time. I can't believe we are still alive.

- Me either.

Cynder replied to him as she continued to move, she took the time to be a little more careful where she stepped as to not cause him any more unnecessary pain. After a few more seconds, she turned over to him once more to ask:

- How are you feeling, Spyro? Are you feeling any pain?

- Give me a second.

The dragon requested politely as he accessed the situation of his own battered and bruised body in order to determin the part of him that had received the most damage. Given a short couple of seconds he gave the first relevant piece of information about his condition:

- I'm… felling a little dizzy, but I think that will pass soon.

He awaited a little more as the sensation returned to the rest of his body, he moved his shoulders calmly and reached a new conclusion that he then proceeded to report:

- I… don't think I can move my right wing.

He tried moving a little more of his ow body without disturbing Cynder's own set of movements, the young dragon winced in pain once more after taking in the most significant piece of information into his mind. Spyro turned his mouth over to Cynder and spoke up:

- I… think I hurt my leg really bad.

Cynder halted her walk through the forest as she asked with concern:

- Which one?

Spyro didn't take too long to answer with certainty:

- Hind leg, right side. I feel a lot of pain when I try to move it.

Cynder's mind was now plagued with even more worry, she had no medical knowledge and she haven't seen any red crystals around that could provide her friend with a quick healing burst. Her only hope for the time was to find a secure spot where they could rest and she could regain a hold of her thoughts. Making a point to instill his mind away from the pain and from the situation they found themselves in, Cynder tried to throw away some pointless conversation to pass the time:

- So… do you see anywhere that we might use as a shelter?

Spyro released a sigh and let it show a little smile on his face before answering her with an obvious lighthearted tone to his voice:

- I'll… tell you when I find a five stars inn where we can rest.

Spyro released a short laugh that was interrupted by a new pin of pain that he could feel from his injured leg, Cynder moved her wings and extended them subtly to the sides to better support his body over hers. Continuing on the path ahead, the dragoness spotted a small downwards incline right in front of her, she was carful while placing her paws over the slope and slowly slid down while maintaining Spyro's body safely balanced over her shoulders:

- Hang on.

She said so after feeling that the descent might be bumpy for the two of them. After felling that Cynder had reached the end of the slope, Spyro turned his head over to speak to her once more:

- Hey, thanks for carrying me around like this. I'm not sure I could walk on my own. Sorry if I'm being such an inconvenience to you.

Cynder shook her head and thought that she really should have expected that sort of talk coming from Spyro, sometimes she would find hard to believe that the dragon had a single bad bone in his body at all. She gave him a gentle nudge by raising and then lowering her right shoulder for half a second and delivered a retort:

- You don't have to feel sorry for anything. I'm just really glad that you're alive. Besides, you just saved the whole world, this is the least I can do for you.

Spyro hastily corrected her by saying:

- We saved the world, Cynder. You were right there with me for the whole thing.

Cynder sounded off a little scoff and complemented that idea with a little snide remark:

- I didn't have much of a choice. We were both strapped together by a magical chain.

- It's much more than just the fighting. Thanks Cynder, for everything.

The dragoness felt a little bit embarrassed about a couple of things, she felt Spyro talking to her with such a softness to his voice and he was so close to her. Cynder began to pay less attention to the path she was walking on, she just wanted to be with him and hear more of his voice, Cynder turned her head to the side so she could talk to Spyro for a while longer, there was so many things that she wished to tell him at that moment in time and she could hardly wait to get them out I the open. She slowed her walk and called out to him with a very low volume to her voice:

- Spyro… I…

- Cynder! Stop!

The dragoness halted her walk abruptly after hearing that, Spyro's voice had escalated to a sudden warning and she became very worried for it, supporting both of their collective weights on her front paws as she positioned herself in a stance that was prepared for a fight or, possibly, a timely retreat. Cynder moved her eyes to both directions, waiting for something dangerous to head right for them and asked with a concerned whisper:

- What is it?! Did you hear something?!

Spyro adjusted his head over her shoulders and answered Cynder's inquiry with a very calm tone in stark difference to his previous order for her to stop moving:

- The ground around here is more gravely than the path we have been taking so far, there is not a lot of grass which means it was either trailed plenty of times or it has become more solid due to different rock formations. It could be the indication we are heading right for a cliff. However, seeing as if this region doesn't appear to have a geographical built for cliffs, this must mean we are standing on a path that may lead to a cave.

After getting to hear all of that information that appeared out of nowhere, Cynder asked:

- You have been paying attention on the kind of ground we've been walking on?

It didn't take too long before Spyro answered her:

- Yes. Terrador gave me a few geological tips. You can't control the powers of the earth itself without knowing a few things about soil.

Cynder adjusted his body over her shoulders once more before asking of him:

- Any ideas about where we should be heading then?

Spyro looked at the ground and moved his head around in order to better analyze the most fitting direction to follow. He raised his head for a bit and then moved his left paw to point at the direction:

- Head that way. The gravel seems to be less flaky and lose in that general direction.

Cynder applied to his request, turning herself on to a new direction starting to walk once more along the route he pointed out. After her paws gave a few steps, Cynder released a little sigh as she saw that there were still a few large specimens of plants blocking their path so Cynder had to improvise by moving the leaves and twigs out of the way with her claws. With her path seriously obstructed by all of that vegetation, she spoke up without taking her eyes away from the path:

- Are you sure this is the right way to go? The last thing I want is to come face to face with a cliff. I can still fly but I'm not sure I could carry you.

- Trust me. This will take us to a cavernous shelter. Either that or at the very least to a place with a very interesting rock formation.

- Spyro, I am not interested in a 'rock formation'. We need to find… shelter.

After pushing a huge leaf away from her line of sight, Cynder was able to bear sight to an immense cave placed by the side of a rocky mount, the enormous opening by the rock looked fairly inviting but also deep and dark, there were no signs of leftover food or tracks from other creatures and the low outcropping right by the entrance covered with a carpet of fallen leaves gave an indication that no creature had set foot inside that cave for a long time. With a cocky tone to his voice, Spyro said to her:

- Oh, ye of little faith. Do you believe in me now?

- I do. And, just in case you chose to keep using that tone with me, just remember, I can still drop you.

Spyro silenced himself, Cynder walked cautiously inside the cave and saw all of the leaves scattered about the floor. Figuring that could be an opportune moment to test a theory that she had, Cynder took a deep breath and concentrated in pushing the leaves away with a gust of wind, in only a few seconds a small cyclone projected itself right in front of her as a result of her expelling the air from her lungs. As it would seem, she still had a really good handle on her powers and could still utilize the element of wind contained inside her to dish out minor attacks, or at the very least something to make the environment they were now located cleaner than before.

Employing masterful control over the materialized twister, Cynder managed to gather all of the dried out leaves scattered across the floor and blow them out the entrance. After that small bit of cleaning up was finished, she worked in setting Spyro down on a corner, while being mindful of his hurt leg, she placed him with all the care she could on the floor near the left side wall of the cave. After doing that, she sat herself right next to him as she awaited the young dragon to settle himself into a comfortable position. Spyro still felt a sharp dose of pain coming from his hind leg, he took care to move his body only in the necessary amount to be positioned favorably with his head turned to the entrance and his hurt appendage turned up as he laid down.

After touching on the floor, Spyro noticed a few details about the rock formations inside the cave, much of it seemed to have been carved out by recurring water over the course of many decades since the ground felt somewhat smooth to the touch and a lot of the stalactite on the ceiling looked too small and not jagged enough which was a direct contradiction to the fact that that cave was close to ancient judging by its size and depth. There also appeared to be a few scribbles etched on the walls, but they were old and the carvings were almost invisible and incomprehensible.

As Spyro took the time to get situated, Cynder also took a mental note of the etchings on the wall and of the unnatural rock formations above her, it was evident that they were not the only ones that had the idea of using that cave as a shelter, moreover, it could be implied that someone might still be using the cave and there could be the risk of having to contend with an unknown number of adversaries that they were unprepared to face. Cynder decided to take the chance to scout ahead, the cave went a lot deeper than they thought at first sight and she wanted to make sure they were alone.

- Spyro, wait here for a second.

Cynder stepped outside in search of something that could be used as a torch to illuminate the cave's dark interior, after looking for a few second, she found a thick tree branch that was left on the ground. After cutting the branch in half using the bladed edge at the end of her tail so that the item would be easier to carry, Cynder took the repurposed object in her mouth and carried it back inside the cave, she left the branch close to Spyro and asked if he could spare some of his energy to light it up. After taking a deep breath, the purple dragon spewed a small blaze from his mouth and the improvised torch was lit-up with success. Spyro was very happy after being able to do that as he was reassured that he hadn't lost his powers, Cynder was very content with that fact as well.

Cynder picked the lit up wooden stick from the ground, but, before she could walk off into the dark depths of the cavern, Spyro warned her that the flame was not going to survive for long since there was no lasting fuel source to keep it burning for a considerable amount of time, the dragoness nodded her head as a sign that she understood his concerns promising shortly after that she would return in couple of minutes and instructing him to shout if he saw or heard anything suspicious as she was exploring. Cynder's claws clapped and scratched against the floor releasing an echoing sound with every step she took, the dragoness felt uneasy, stepping alone into the unknown, she kept her eyes directed ahead and one ear out for any signs of trouble coming from behind her.

Reaching the back of the cavern, the first thing that Cynder noticed is that the place ended in a massive wall, she directed the torch around and found a few interesting details about their new shelter. There was an old wooden table placed by the left wall, two of its legs were worn out and on the verge of breaking, there were two shelves dug out and carved by the right side wall, the tallest shelf was empty, placed by the lower shelf there were a couple of clay pots, the first one was a gourd with a curved frame turned to its side and it appeared to be empty but preserved in a good state that made it proper for use, the second pot placed by the shelf was a shallow one resembling a plate but it was cracked down the middle. Cynder also took note of a lump of melted wax by the corner that, most likely, used to be a candle at some point placed alongside a spot that, she deduced, was used as a bedding area, it all indicated that someone had lived there at some point, but the cave had been abandoned for many years.

- At least this thing might be useful.

Cynder said so as she hovered a few inches off the ground, reached for the lower shelf by the right side wall and grabbed the gourd she saw, the dragoness analyzed the object in her grasp by turning it around over her paws and using the dim light of the torch to see if there were any cracks on the ceramic frame, aside from some dust, the object looked fairly intact and ready for use. The pot also had a symbol inscribed on its side representing the fact that it was once used to store lamp oil. Cynder heard Spyro's voice coming from way behind her, the young dragon's voice was amplified by the walls of the cave, he knew that the sound of his voice would resonate and echo around so he didn't have to speak too loudly to be heard:

- Cynder. Have you found something?

The dragoness turned around and walked back to the entrance and to her friend still placed in the same position she had left him, she extinguished the torch's flame and placed the gourd near him as she answered his previous question:

- There is an old broken down table back there, we can dismantle it and use it a s fire wood. I also found this old ceramic pot that we could use to get water, aside from that nothing else. I think we are the first ones to enter this cave in a very long time.

Spyro let himself relax a little more but it was a little hard to let the accumulated tension in his chest melt away completely, there were still so many things he did not know about their current situation. He was very unsure about what happened to them and where they were, how were Sparx and the others, his mind was preoccupied with a million other things, but at least Spyro took some solace in knowing that Cynder was well and right by his side to help him. The dragon laid his head down on the ground, took a few long breaths and did his best to meditate and ease his worries, unfortunately, his hind leg was still hurting so it was a little challenging to do so. He did his best not to move from that position.

Just as Cynder had spoken from before, she went back inside the inmost part of the cave and retrieved the old wooden table that was left in there, she had little trouble turning the object to a small pile of shambles and then using more of Spyro's help to make a campfire out of it. The two dragons remained inside the cave through out the night, having the moon, the stars and the small fire right by the entrance to light the darkness, Cynder remained awake for as long as she could, guarding the entrance and remaining vigilant for any suspicious sounds. She placed herself sitting by the entrance of the cave and thoroughly moving her eyes around like a duty bound sentry ready to fire at any menacing element that might approach, after staying in that position for quite some time, Spyro called out to her and said:

- Cynder, aren't you tired? You should go to sleep.

The dragoness released a puff of air from her nostrils and answered to that:

- I don't need to sleep. We don't know where we are or if there are any hostile creatures around that could do us harm. I need to stay on watch.

Spyro called out to her again and launched an argument in an effort to convince her to get closer and go to sleep:

- You did so many things on your own today, you need rest. If you don't sleep, you may pass out from exhaustion.

The dragoness lowered her head and released a small sigh, admitting without the need for words how her friend was right, she walked closer with a set of small and methodical steps until she was positioned right alongside him. Cynder laid on the ground, placing her head right over her crossed paws for comfort, but she still refused to lower her guard for anything, Spyro, on the other hand, already had his eyes closed and was peacefully inhaling and exhaling some air as he was letting his mind drift away into sleep little by little. Before his mind shut down completely for the night, Spyro turned his head to the side and spoke up with a calm tone to his voice:

- Sleep well, Cynder.

Grateful for all of his concern and kindness, even being the one that needed more help amongst the two, Cynder thanked him before putting her head down on a comfortable spot for the night:

- Thanks, Spyro. Good night.

Cynder didn't go to sleep right away, she moved her eyes to the sides placing her mind with extra awareness for a little while to identify anything that could be classified as a threat, the only sound she could pick up was the wind brushing against the trees nearby, the only smell she could identify for sure was the faint smoke of the fire. She continued with her thorough vigil before realizing how tired she actually was as her body became accustomed with her position over the smooth rock and with the serene sensation her companion radiated due to his presence. Watching the purple dragon near her in such a peaceful way, exuding calmness and tenderness so near herself, caused Cynder to slowly wander into sleep as well. Even so, the dragoness was quite stubborn and refused to let her eyes close just yet.

Cynder scooched closer and placed one of her wings over the purple dragon being certain that she would be able to protect him against any risk like that, Spyro released a little incomprehensible mumble and she found that absolutely adorable. Assured that her friend was secured and at ease, Cynder lowered her head to the side, closed her eyes and slept with a new sense of serenity that could not be more welcome to her.

The night passed by quickly and the first rays of the morning sun shined over the two dragons but they didn't wake up until much later. Cynder was the first of them to wake up, she rose from the ground and shook her wings as a rite of preparation, she felt more rested but she was still writhing in anticipation. Her mind was laying down carefully planned diagrams to feel more prepared for whatever tasks she would have ahead of her on the following day. In summation, she wasn't completely rested up but she was definitely prepared and able to face the day. Cynder quietly paced back and forth inside the cave and started formulating a plan that would enable her to help Spyro until he was fully recuperated. The first order of business was to find food and water.

As soon the sun rose completely from behind the line of trees by the distant horizon, the dragoness got to work by doing everything she could in order to help her friend. Cynder took some time studying the sky and its variant wind currents along with the area on the ground surrounding the cavern until she found a nice spot to the left side of the main entrance that would serve as an ideal take off airstrip so she could get enough speed for a perfect flight. Before she could depart, however, she heard a voice calling out to her from nearby:

- Cynder? Where are you going?

The dragoness turned around to meet eyes with the young dragon, still laying on the ground and just then waking up from a very delectable slumber, she walked with slow steps until she was close enough to him, leaned her head down to talk to him in a more prominent and calmly manner and then spoke:

- I'm going to search for anything we can eat. I'm also taking the little pot I found inside the cave so I can use it to bring you some water.

Spyro was not too keen with the idea of getting separated from Cynder, they didn't know where in the world they were and it may be ill advised to go anywhere alone without the knowledge if there were hostile forces anywhere to be found or without any proper preparations for a combat encounter. He protested against her course of action but his mind was still getting in gear so he didn't sound too energetic with his words:

- Cynder, I don't think that is good idea. We shouldn't get separated. Besides, I'm not even hungry, you don't have to bother with that.

The dragoness was not content with those words, she knew what had to be done, so, she approached Spyro once more and spoke with reasoning in her speech:

- Spyro, we will both need supplies if we wish to survive. We may not know where we are but we will need to stay alive until we find a way to return to Warfang. You can't move on your own so I'm the one that will need to hunt and gather resources. It will be best if you stay to warn off any intruders that may come near the cave.

The dragon knew that his friend was in the right in that subject, she even gave him a logical task that would not be too difficult even with his impediment, he turned his head down and stayed quiet as he acknowledged that arguing with her would only delay and cause further inconvenience to her. He looked at her and spoke with noticeable concern:

- Just… stay safe out there.

Cynder called out to Spyro's attention and reassured him that she would be fine on her own. She lowered her head to get a little closer to him and spoke with certainty and assertion before leaving:

- I promise I will return just as soon as I find supplies for the two of us. You just stay here and don't make any effort to move. We still do not know how much you're hurt.

Spyro nodded in agreement and Cynder took that as her conceding to leave. The black scale dragoness took it to the skies in mere seconds, she crouched to the ground to get better impulse and momentum, raced for a few meter, then scurried away into the air blowing off a big cloud of dust with the strength of her wings. Spyro watched as she ascended into the sky with speed and efficiency, left feeling somewhat useless at that moment, not being able to move or fly the dragon chose to simply remain immobile and await patiently for her return turning his mind to imagining what it would be done once she came back.

Cynder flew with hastiness, riding the air currents in a rushed and sloppy manner at first, but, as soon as she found herself at a good enough distance from the ground and became better accustomed with the erratic breezes, she began to fly with elegance in a well stablished pattern gliding gracefully through the wind currents in search for anything that could be used to help her and Spyro survive in a long term stay. From so high above, the trees beneath her formed a well stablished cover and she thought how hard it was actually going to be to spot some creature that she could hunt for food with all the trees forming such a dense canopy. She looked around with great care to not miss a single detail that would lead her to an easy prey, in her worrisome mindset during the day before she neglected to notice how beautiful it all really was, she was much more receptive to all of the colors that were popping around her made even more fetching thanks to the morning sun.

"This place is so beautiful, I just hope I can do good enough to help Spyro."

Cynder thought so as the urgency of the matter in question started to sink in, she flapped her wings with great vigor as she flew ahead and darted through the sky in search of anything that could be useful. As the dragoness started to take notice of all the land she was exploring for the sake of her friend, Cynder did not even suspect there was also a curious pair of eyes watching her from the ground.