Chapter 8

"Speech"

"Native Dragon Tongue"

Knowledge is power...what one does with it might change the Realms as we know them...

-Former Counselor Aigaion, War of the Ages.

Morning came quickly for the three dragons, Spyro being the first to awaken. His thoughts were taken immediately to a mass he felt against his stomach confusing him at first, but as his eyes opened he found Cynder nestled tightly to his chest, her body pressed there so close it made the black dragon able to hear the heart beat of Spyro. Immediately that heart rate rose and a bright shade of pink that even Spyro's purple scales couldn't cover up spread across his features as he noticed his head was resting on hers, in-between her horns. Spyro was about to move away but found he couldn't due to some of his paws being under Cynder's torso, which made Spyro blush even more at the predicament. 'Maybe if I move lightly...' Spyro thought to himself and began to move, only to find however that Cynder began shifting in her sleep, rolling some away from him before grabbing him and holding onto him tightly, causing Spyro to sputter a bit more and blush brighter. "Stay..." Cynder seemed to mumble in her sleep making Spyro pause and believe she was awake, but her grip loosened up a bit which disproved that theory. Though before Spyro could nudge Cynder awake, to his horror he saw Ravenwing stir a bit in his sleep, wincing in pain from his torn wing. His crimson eyes opened and instantly turned to Spyro, said purple dragon looked at Ravenwing in horror. The grey dragon snorted and chuckled to himself and shook his head as he slowly got to his paws.

"And you say you two aren't mates..." Ravenwing commented with a smile at the two which made Spyro grumble in between blushing at the grey dragon who smirked again and gave a light chuckle. Ravenwing then looked up to the sky and saw the post dawn light filling it with a sea of oranges, pinks, and reds. With a shake of his head he turned towards the direction they were heading and padded over to Spyro and Cynder, sitting down in front of them.

"She's not..." Spyro began as Ravenwing looked back to him to see he was still sputtering.

"And my scales are green..." Ravenwing said with a roll of his eyes. Spyro sighed and looked between him and Cynder.

"Ok fine..." Spyro said with a sigh. "I like her...but I don't know how to say it..." He continued, earning another glare from Ravenwing who at this point facepawed.

"You can't be serious." Ravenwing said with a flat tone. "She clearly likes you."

"Y-Y-you don't know that!" Spyro sputtered, ignoring Cynder squirming some in his grip as she began to wake up.

"She is sleeping on you for crying outlout!" Ravenwing replied with a firm expression pointing out the obvious.

"She was just cold!" Spyro replied with an completely red face. At this Cynder's eyes opened to see Spyro's deep blush and realized where she was, having forgotten that she was up against the purple dragon, but remembered last night was the best night she had in terms of sleeping. With a heavy blush she began to squirm some, though instantly regretted it as her squirming, caused Spyro's hind paw to brush against her rump with made her squeal some in surprise and jump back instinctively. The act caused Spyro to fall back on his side surprised and Ravenwing to barely contained a laugh as the two teenage dragons looked flustered towards each other. They were sputtering madly as they looked between each other somewhat.

"My point stands then." Ravenwing said with a wink between them as he looked to the horrizon. Standing up on his paws, Ravenwing began to walk on with Spyro and Cynder quickly catching up and being on either side of him, not to help him walk however but to avoid each other's gazes. This did not go unnoticed to the grey dragon in-between the two teenage dragons as his eyes darted back and forth between the two before his stomach growled in annoyance of not being fed for nearly two entire days. Hearing this though, Cynder was the first to perk up and look around the landscape frantically.

"You're hungry...I-I'll go get us all some food!" She exclaimed a bit to rushed for Spyro's and Ravenwing's liking and hurried into the air and rushed off into the distance, leaving the two males alone causing Spyro to sigh and look down. The grey dragon perked his ears up at Spyro and turned to face him, earning nothing but small huff of nervousness from Spyro.

"How do you do it?" Spyro asked while not looking at Ravenwing, to which Ravenwing blinked some in surprise.

"Huh?" He replied with a raised brow, causing Spyro to look up at Ravenwing.

"How can you be so...calm about what happened...?" Spyro asked. "Like...how can you be so casual about referring to Cynder and I as mates...it's supposed to be an...intimate thing." Spyro continued earning a snark of laughter from Ravenwing as he shook his head.

"Are you asking me dating advice?" Ravenwing asked with a small grin in-between chuckles. Spyro nodded some in a shy is manner and shuffled his paws nervously. "Well I mean it mostly comes with age...I assume you're what...15...16?"

"15" Spyro answered with a cocked brow. "But what does that have to do with how I feel?" Ravenwing sputtered a small bit and looked at Spyro with a groan. 'Don't tell me I have to give that talk...' Ravenwing thought to himself as he sighed.

"Um...practically everything..." Ravenwing replied with a small shake of his head. "I assume you know what puberty is...?"

"Is it like a disease?" Spyro asked causing Ravenwing to facepalm and shake his head groaning. He shook a balled up fist into the sky and mumbled a few cruses to who ever raised the purple dragon. Spyro seemed to look genuinely confused at the act but said nothing as Ravenwing sighed.

"No...well to some people I guess it is...but it's that transition when your body goes from being...a child and becomes and adult..." Ravenwing explained while trying not to go into to much detail. Spyro slowly nodded his head a bit and blinked, clearly not understanding the undertones, causing Ravenwing to groan and hit his head against the ground.

"You ok?" Spyro asked with a curious glare.

"Spyro, I love you, but why do you have to be this dense?" Ravenwing asked in annoyance causing Spyro to sputter some confused.

"N-n-now hold on I don't swing that way..." Spyro began before Ravenwing bonked him on the head with paw.

"It's a figure of speech." The grey dragon reiterated. "Anyways back on subject. Puberty is best explained as when young dragons strap on their man pants and want to take down the first female they see." Ravenwing explained causing Spyro's eyes to go wide as dinner plates, his blush was back as he looked at Ravenwing horrified. "The same can be said for girls but I'm not an expert on it nor do I intend to be one." Spyro shuttered a small bit.

"How does one get this feeling to stop?" Spyro all but begged causing Ravenwing to snort.

"You're asking me how to stop lust?" Ravenwing asked with a squinted glare at Spyro. Spyro gagged a small bit on the air under the intense glare and looked back pleadingly. "Hate to say it bud, but you're on your own with this one." Ravenwing turned to begin walking but was stopped when he felt Spyro cling to his leg in a pleading manner.

"Wait what!?" Spyro exclaimed as he looked at Ravenwing. "There has to be a way." A snort of amusement came from the grey dragon as he looked to his younger purple friend. Ravenwing was about to shake Spyro but a familiar scent in the air caused Ravenwing to grin madly.

"Well there is a way..." Ravenwing said trailing off which caused Spyro to beg again. "But it's not going to be easy."

"Please...what is it?" Spyro begged on.

"Well if you shut it I'll tell you." Ravenwing replied causing Spyro to firmly close his mouth. "Now tell me, when you see Cynder...what do you see?" Spyro was left speechless as he blinked some with a blush.

"W-w-why is it important...?" Spyro asked shyly as he looked away.

"Just answer the question." Ravenwing replied firmly, causing Spyro to flinch. The purple took a deep breath and nodded.

"W-well...I like how strong willed she is...her unwillingness to back down, she has just the prettiest eyes I've ever seen, she's my best friend, and I trust her with my life." Spyro said while blushing some. Shuffling a bit he continued, "She's always there when I needed her during the final days of the war, and I hope one day I can return the favor. I want to spend the rest of my life by her side no matter what happens..." Ravenwing smiled a bit and pat Spyro on the head with a free paw, causing Spyro to blink confused and let go of Ravenwing.

"Well then do me a favor." The grey dragon began. Spyro looked up at him. "Take a deep breath when you see her, count to three, and tell her what you said to me. From what I see, you're to pent up."

"Pent up?" Spyro asked.

"Like you are trying to contain things you can't control and understand what your body wants while no one gave any explanation to you on how it works." Ravenwing replied with a sigh. Shaking his head some, the grey dragon looked into Spyro's eyes a bit which made Spyro feel nervous, as if it was the skeptical gaze of Cyril himself staring upon him. "Take it from me ok? It's not the best idea to rush into anything." The grey dragon smiled at Spyro and continued forward, leaving Spyro a few paces behind to which he quickened his pace a bit to catch up. A few minutes later though Ravenwing paused as he turned to see a figure flying closer though was confused by spotting something in their clutches. Spyro turned to see what Ravenwing was looking at and shuttered some. He saw Cynder flying back with a very familiar looking cheetah in her grasp. Spyro perked up some happily at the sight as Cynder dropped the cheetah next to the group and landed.

"Sorry I didn't get food yet." Cynder said panting some. "But look who I found." She added while placing a paw over her chest from the stress of carrying a fully grown cheetah in her grasp. Spyro and Ravenwing turned to the new arrival curiously, that was before Spyro's expression turned to surprise and relief a small bit.

"Hunter, is that you?" Spyro asked with a small hopeful voice. The cheetah nodded a small bit.

"Wait...this is Hunter?" Ravenwing asked with a cocked brow, seeming to examine the cheetah. Said cheetah seemed a bit surprised by the bluntness in the voice.

"I am...and you are?" The now named Hunter asked.

"Ravenwing." The grey dragon replied curtly earning a small glare from Hunter before the cheetah nodded.

"So what are you doing out here?" Spyro asked with a cocked brow. A small smile formed on Hunter's lips as he began to recount.

"Well we you, Cynder, and Ignitus vanished a few weeks ago, the Guardians began to worry for your safety. So as more dragons made their way back to the city, seeking refuge they dispatched search parties to find you three." Hunter stated to Spyro and Cynder. Spyro looked down at the mention of his former teacher, to which Hunter sighed some, picking up on the act. Cynder put a paw on Spyro's shoulder in comfort. "I'm sorry..."

"Don't be Hunter, you had no idea..." Spyro replied looking back up with a saddened expression washing over his features. Hunter nodded some and continued.

"Most of the searches turned up nothing, but then again most of the world got reorganized due to what happened. Some of the dragon kingdoms found their castles and territories to close to each other and skirmishes broke free. Which slowed down the searches as those areas became far more treacherous to traverse." Hunter continued earning surprised looks from all three dragons. Hunter nodded a small bit and continued. "Most of the efforts had to go to defusing the situations with the other kingdoms, limiting the search numbers greatly. In fact, I had to borrow a raft from a village just to get here due to the changes of the Realms." Spyro and Cynder seemed to nod at the answer given while Ravenwing seemed to look all sorts of confused before shaking his head, hoping an explanation would come sooner rather than later. "But you three should be able to fly there no problem now." Hunter added, causing a wince to come from the trio, causing the male cheetah to cock his head in confusion.

"We would..." Spyro began before being cut off by Ravenwing.

"My wings got cut in a crash landing a while ago." Ravenwing stated showing the ripped membranes and wincing some, but noticing they were somewhat closer to being healed than before. Hunter seemed to nod and hummed to himself.

"Then we can take the raft back. I know a shortcut on the river anyways." Hunter stated earning a relieved nod from Spyro and Cynder. "Should only take us till the end of the day to make it back."

"Yeah that would be good. Lead the way Hunter." Cynder replied with a small hopeful smile across her features. Hunter nodded again and began to walk the way back to where Cynder had flown him from. Spyro and Cynder were hot on his tail, the experiences from the morning either forgotten or brushed aside as they walked side by side. Ravenwing took up the rear, being a bit slower due to aching muscles from the beating the rock serpent gave him. 'Well it can't be so bad right?' Ravenwing thought to himself as his mind drifted to what he'd do after letting Ignitus know Spyro was fine. 'Just get in, figure out how to talk to the old coot and leave...simple as that.'

After a few minutes of walking, the group reached a river bank where a small raft and oars along with it. It was shaped more like a small speedboat than the other flat raft the trio of dragons had spied the previous day before it was smashed to splinters by the stone serpent. Hunter gestured inside and Spyro and Cynder were the first ones to board the craft. Ravenwing slowly followed after the two smaller dragons, hearing the boards beneath him creak a small bit. "I guess the Wellerman skipped this one huh?" He thought out loud, causing everyone to look at him with an 'explain now' type of look. "Eh...just a song a friend of mine taught me." Ravenwing stated earning an even more confused stare from the trio. "oh c'mon you guys never heard of music before?" Ravenwing asked with a dejected look. Hunter pushed the raft off the bank and shook his head no while climbing inside. The act caused the three dragons to steady themselves a bit.

"Well yes we know what music is...but um...could you demonstrate for us?" Spyro asked a bit sheepishly, causing Ravenwing to look down some embarrassed. The grey dragon sighed some as a gentle breeze washed over the 4 in the boat.

"You don't have to though if you don't want to." Cynder added which caused Ravenwing to shake his head some and looked at the water.

"It's fine..." He said somewhat shyly from not wanting to do it, but internally groaning that one day he might do it. "Just this once ok...and you three better not tell a soul..." He said in a threatening manner, eyes squinted and teeth bared a small bit. Spyro and Cynder jumped in surprised a bit from the reaction as Hunter got into a defensive stance before they all nodded. Ravenwing dropped his glare and began to hum a small bit. He tapped his paw to the deck of the raft gently, making the sound of a beating drum. The trio perked up some as the grey dragon began to sing in a soft accented voice. "There once was a ship that put to sea, the name of the ship was the Billy o' Tea, the winds blew up, her bow dipped down, oh blow, my bully boys, blow..." The trio seemed to give the grey dragon confused stares at the meaning of the lyrics as he continued to sing, but were nodding along with it as Hunter gave the occasional row of the oar to keep the raft of track. "...Soon may the Wellerman come, To bring us sugar and tea and rum, One day when the tonguing is done, We take our leave and go..."

With growing confidence, the grey dragon continued the shanty, earning a small smile from the other occupants of the raft with Spyro seeming to try to join into the singing small bit, earning an eye-roll from Cynder due the purple dragon was off key from Ravenwing and he seemed to either not notice or care. The raft rocked back and forth with the currents of the river, the wood creaking and groaning some as the water crashed against the sides the curved bow and stern. Though while that seemed to be happening, the two male dragons continued their shanty, Spyro falling behind in the bridges and in-betweens but catching right back up on the chorus'. Ravenwing seemed to notice the purple dragon's attempt to join in and smiled a small bit, putting a paw on his back like a proud friend or relative would and guided the younger dragon into the ending of the song. Cynder though seemed to be infatuated by the story of the song as it told the tale of the whaling ship Billy O' Tea, and they crew's fight with a white whale. Cynder had never heard of such a creature and was poised to ask what one even is when the two dragons finished up. She giggled some at Spyro's attempt to copy the accent and found herself in a small trance-like state while looking at him. "...Will take our leave and goooooo..." The duo of shanty singing dragons finished, with Spyro finishing a solid half second behind Ravenwing due to his lack of lyrical knowledge of the shanty. Ravenwing chuckled a small bit and shook his head a bit as he put his paw back on the deck.

"What's a whale?" Cynder asked. Ravenwing cocked a brow and tried not to seemed to surprised.

"Um...big mamals swimming in the ocean, about 40-100 feet long depending on the occasion." Ravenwing replied. He emphasized his point by raising his forepaws up and extending them really wide. "They have fins and a blowhole to breathe air when they surface." He added. Cynder seemed to but a paw on her chin in thought somewhat.

"So these sailors were hunting these 'whales'?" Hunter asked, earning a nod of 'are you serious?' from Ravenwing.

"Well according to my history teacher...it was a practice that began in the 17-1800s..." Ravenwing began before stopping short a bit, causing everyone in the raft to stare at him. "A long time ago...they were used for their meat and parts of their bodies to sell...trinkets...and make devices work with a substance called oil..."

"What kind of devices?" Spyro asked. Ravenwing sighed a small bit and looked to the purple dragon.

"Well use their fins and skin to make clothing items, trinkets, and other small inconsequential things. Their meat was harvested for food, and the natural oil they made was used to grease things like pocket watches, clocks, doors, etc." Ravenwing explained. "Back then it was a huge trade."

"What's oil?" Cynder asked.

"Ummmm...well its a lubricant used to make things work smoothly together. Kind of like what you use to keep metal gears from grinding together and breaking apart over time." Ravenwing replied earning a small nod from Cynder who still clearly didn't understand the explanation. The grey dragon sighed and face-pawed a bit. "Ok so you know how if you let a metal hinge get rusty it starts squeaking really loud?" Everyone on the raft nodded at that. "Ok well if you put oil in that hinge, it basically makes it stop squeaking because it gives the metal a barrier between each piece to prevent the rubbing." The trio in the raft nodded in understanding.

"Oh ok." Spyro said with a small nod.

"It's a shame though..." Ravenwing said somewhat to himself.

"What is?" Hunter piped up, having heard it.

"That most whales are basically extinct as a result." Ravenwing replied which earned surprised looks from everyone else in the raft.

"Wait what?" They all said equally surprised. The grey dragon just nodded to confirm their suspicions which made them look at him even more taken aback.

"Yeah..." Ravenwing said trailing off. A sigh erupted from the grey dragon as he rubbed his head some. "So um...what's Warfang like?" Ravenwing asked, trying to change the subject. Hunter was quick to pick up on the tone of voice and replied.

"It's honestly a marvelous city. The moles really out did themselves with it when it was built. Supposedly it was built after a great war the dragons, moles, and cheetahs waged, the city was a thank you from the moles to the dragons as a result though the reason of the war or what happened to cause it's initial construction was lost to time. It got hit hard though during the war against the dark master and his forces though and has been under constant repair. " Hunter began, drawing a curious expression from Ravenwing. 'I wonder if it's the war Chyvo and the journal mentioned that caused it to be built...' The grey dragon mused silently as he listened to Hunter continue. "Dragons from all over the Realms have been coming to the city and honestly it seems some of the extra housing might not be enough if it keeps going the way it is. Though I must say...I've never seen a dragon like you before in all of my travels."

"Oh that's because he's a northern dragon." Cynder replied turning to Ravenwing who blinked and then nodded quickly. Hunter rubbed his chin a bit.

"You wouldn't happen to know anything about how the northern kingdoms are fairing would you?" Hunter asked, throwing Ravenwing for a complete loop.

"Northern kingdoms?" Spyro asked. Hunter nodded in reply.

"Well before the war broke out to the scale it did, there was requests for aid from Cyril's extended family, King Argonus. They said they needed support against the dark master's troops, but we couldn't spare any aid and never heard anything back." Hunter said as he turned to Ravenwing. The grey dragon seemed to look surprised at Hunter before replying.

"Uh..." He stammered some as his ears and frills raised up in surprise. "I haven't encountered any dragons outside of Spyro and Cynder...I mean...it's been a few years since..." Hunter raised a brow in confusion at the reply given a bit, but the grey dragon quickly threw up a pained expression to try hiding his stuttering a bit. The trick seemed to work as the younger dragons sighed some in knowing, remembering the 'backstory' Ravenwing gave them. Hunter seemed to pick up on it as well and didn't press the issue.

"That's a shame. I'll have to tell Cyril that when we get back." Hunter replied with a small sigh.

"How are the other Guardians doing?" Spyro asked with a somewhat worried tone. Hunter smiled a small bit.

"The are fine Spyro don't worry. They did what you all suggested and took everyone from Warfang into the tunnels to survive. Thankfully this mass of land stayed relatively the same though." Hunter replied. "They from what I hear are trying to reconstruct the Dragon Academy at the moment though so are very busy with it."

"Dragon Academy?" Ravenwing questioned.

"I agree with Ravenwing, why build one when most things are taught by the parents of the fledglings?" Cynder replied, to which Hunter could only shrug.

"I know not that answer, only that the Guardians seemed keen on doing it. I overheard from a project manager that it's to help guide young dragons to a non-destructive path so a war like with what we had with the dark master doesn't happen again." Hunter replied some speculatively. The raft rocked again as they continued talking. Spyro and Cynder seemed to nod while Ravenwing seemed to shake his head some at the thought. 'Seems to me they want to control what knowledge is given...' He mused to himself and sighed a bit, rubbing his eyes some to clean them. Ravenwing looked to the river ahead as it winded through the savanna like area for a while before Hunter used to oar to push on some rocks and turn the raft at an upcoming intersection to the right. With a sigh the grey dragon opened up the satchel again and took out the first of the books he chose and opened it up, beginning to read silently, though it didn't last to long.

"Could you read aloud again?" Spyro asked looking at Ravenwing and the book, Cynder seemed to have the same eager look to her face as well causing the grey dragon to sigh some in a tired fashion. Ravenwing nodded a bit with a small smile.

"Alright gather round children and I shall weave a tale of woe and fortune beyond your wildest dreams!" The grey dragon joked as he chuckled to himself, causing Spyro, Cynder, and Hunter who remained at the back of the raft to chuckle some as well while the grey dragon coughed some to clear his throat. "Gah...damn...never doing that accent again...Anyways." Ravenwing said as he flipped back to the beginning of where he was reading. "...Once the golems were vanquished and the Realms stabilized, the Moon Dragoness had a choice to make. She could either return her kin to her and leave the Realm kin to their devices, or leave them behind as equals of the Realm kin to continue the ecosystem of dragons. She decided to leave the Moon-kin with the Realm-kin, in hopes they could work together and bless the lands with their tendership and guidance..." The grey dragon paused a bit to lick his drying lips a little bit and flipped the page.

"What book is this Ravenwing?" Hunter asked with a raised brow.

"Oh um...it's called 'The Peace Accords Once Upheld.' It seems like an old history book from what I could tell from skimming it two nights ago." The grey dragon replied which caused Hunter to look thoughtful for a few minutes.

"Yeah there was this floating isle we went too with a secrete library full of this stuff." Spyro said as well. "Me and Cynder can't read it though..." This caused Hunter to look even more confused.

"I thought you could read just fine." Hunter replied to which Cynder shook her head.

"Not like that...it's written in some language called...'English'...?" Cynder replied with a weird look as the foreign word slipped off her tongue. "Only Ravenwing can read it for some reason."

"Hey just because I might know what it says doesn't mean anything..." Ravenwing retorted. He shook his head some and turned back to the book. "Soon the Kin formed a great Dragon Council to mediate the Realms as they were divided into sectors of control. The sky dragons and elements of wind would rule the high lands in the mountains together, the land bound and the elements of earth would rule the caves and canyons to the east, the lava born and elements of fire would rule the volcanos, the white wings and elements of ice took the frigid north where no thing dared to tread, and finally the storm chasers and the elements of lightning rode the storms and collected tales from all the adjacent kingdoms. This was how things were for millennia until new creatures began to appear in the realms. First came the moles from where the golems were slain, they practically worshiped the elemental kin as deities, next came the Cheetahs and Wolves, loyal to fault and would follow the lead of anyone they trusted as a leader, and finally came what became of the Apes,..." Everyone but Hunter cringed at the mention of their name. "They were like the moles to the Moon-Kin. Often treated as trusted companions as well as faithful guards. These three races changed the way the Realms worked, as they took a lot of load from the kin in maintaining the Realms. Kin began to reorganize the council to show new social structures and soon each of the Kin had their own Counselor to represent their interests..." Ravenwing continued, leaving everyone in the raft seeming wanting more while the grey dragon winced as he flexed his wing. Hunter noticed and remembered a chest near by and opened the lid. Spyro, Cynder, and Ravenwing turned to Hunter as he pulled out some red gems and passed them to Ravenwing who just stared at them confused. "Uhhh..."

"You use them to heal." Cynder began. "Just hold them over where your tears are and crush them." She said, which made the dragon look at her surprised. Upon finding she was dead serious, Ravenwing gave into Cynder's suggestion and did just that, and watched with alarm as the wound began to heal and new wing membranes began to grow back, though the process was a lot slower than Spyro and Cynder had expected it to take.

"Thanks." Ravenwing said turning to Hunter, to which the Cheetah nodded some. The grey dragon turned back to the book and began to read aloud again, carrying the four into a deep dive of history before everything they knew.

Chapter End

AN: Sorry about the long wait for this one. These summer months are gonna be hard for me to crank out a new chapter but I wanted to let everyone know I wasn't abandoning the story only a few weeks in. The chapters will probably start getting longer as a result though as I want to sink whatever time I can into the chapters to give you all a good read while also keeping the story flowing at a steady pace cause I'm starting to realize even these long ones are feeling a bit short to my taste. Anyways though, you readers have a good rest of your day and see you in the next chapter.