Greetings readers! Thanks to recently happening upon the Spyro Reignited trilogy, and my heart filling with joy from the fantastic remaster of one of my first ever video games, (Ripto's Rage) I couldn't resist writing about our favorite purple dragon, especially after discovering the amazing overhaul of the lovely and energetic Elora assisting him throughout. Per my usual mindset, it was only a matter of time until shipping curiosities set sail, resulting in all of the fun stuff below.
Enjoy!
Artisan Realm, Dragon Kingdom
Seated on a spread of verdant grasses, dotted with richly colored wildflowers across a number of low hillocks, a young adult dragon of a distinct royal purple shade gazed calmly at an ornately decorated stone arch in front him, actively energized and maintaining a free passage to another distant magical realm. With eager eyes beneath golden horns and a ridge of stiff blonde bristles adorning his neck, leading back to a pointed purple tail weaving left and right in contemplation, the male reptile passively reread the plated name 'AVALAR' floating in front of a large crystal firmly seated onto the keystone.
Somewhere beyond this... I'll find you.
Glancing to his left, seeing the healthy sparkle of a large flaxen dragonfly bobbing in the open air near his head, Spyro eyed his childhood companion Sparx, wings whirring with unending motion and energy.
"I know its probably just a daydream buddy... But when something stays in your head, sometimes you just have to seek it out."
His broad eyebrow quirked from the resultant incredulous expression on his six-legged cohort, and Spyro found himself unable to resist a smile as Sparx crossed his little front arms.
"I know we're different. But that's hardly a reason to never find out. Right?"
Listening to the distinct buzz of communication as Sparx zoomed left and right, Spyro's snout parted in a chuckle, resigning to a hum as his sight returned to the enticing gentle colors of the midday sky shown through the portal.
Right. And pal, when someone stays in your head, after a while... It just makes sense to see them again.
Rising onto all fours, stretching his legs and claws outward, his toes curled, grasping and releasing clumps of grass-rooted dirt.
"Alright. I'm going through."
Padding forward, grinning as Sparx weaved in and around his horns, Spyro took in a careful breath through his nostrils, his fiery heart beating beneath his scales.
"If there's any trouble here, come find me in Avalar, okay?"
Unfurling his wings, a little broader than they used to be, he sprung aloft and leapt into the portal, phasing through with a ripple of sensory immersion. Finding himself floating through a dreamlike cloud layer, fully extending his wingspan and keeping them stretched taught with muscle, he soared forward through the sky realm with increasing speed, listening to the whistle of airflow from his momentum.
Then again... If I wander into trouble out here... Nah, I'm sure I'll manage without him. Now that these darn wings of mine have been getting stronger, I can just fly away from any problems like he does... And then roast them from afar with my flames.
Focusing on the rapidly approaching end of the blurred funnel of color and light, his feet spread outward, bracing for an upcoming landing.
As far as I've heard... Nothing too exciting has happened in Avalar since my last visit... However many moons ago... So let's see what's going on this time!
*WHOOSH*
Squinting from bright light, and then met with a warm breeze and the sweet odors of grass, oak leaves and fresh spring water, his eyes peeked open, and he lifted one wing, braking his glide through the air into a gentle turn and flouncing onto his feet in a succinct landing. Retracting his wings to his sides and looking left and right in an orbit of observation, Spyro found himself alongside the footings of a retaining wall, a good distance from the portal behind and surrounded by the welcoming glow of a sun-bathed meadow.
Huh. Almost thought I'd wind up in the Tundra again... Keep forgetting that they built a dedicated gate to our realm here.
Head lowering, sniffing the earthy scents of plant life just beneath his chin, his attention alighted upon the grand white-bleached face of the world's long-vacant castle, guarded by a glinting pond beyond several tall mounds of saturated earth, water gushing out of channels beneath their stone-topped crowns.
Oh yeah. That way!
Sauntering forward in a steady gait, bordering the damp bank of the adjacent stream and nearing the portal to Idol Springs, his head lowered into a horn-forward charge, sending a gathering of bulgy-bodied toads hopping aside in a scurry of avoidance. Grunting in a single leap across the meandering flow of water and landing on the opposite bank, flinging grass stalks and fallen leaves into the air behind, he passed in and out of shadows of the castle's pointed spires, alighting upon the rounded stone dock of the pond. Glancing across the leaf-strewn waters to the distant portal of Colossus Valley, splashes and breeze-blown mist then drew him aside to the endless cascade of fresh water spilling from the castle wall itself.
Hmm... Maybe the other way?
Hopping aside and vaulting back over the mouth of the stream with ease, he resumed running in the opposite direction across the meadow. Approaching and blasting through the brass-plated frame of the entry, immediately met with the open interior of a domed garden atrium, new stonework of a reconstructed arch bridge gleamed with recently chiseled blocks held up by the swirled arms of leafless and petrified trees.
Oh. Cool!
Electing to detour off of the span entirely, freely diving down toward the lush vegetation below, he thrust his wings outward and swooped up, flapping several times to maintain aerial momentum as he circled around beneath the shadow of the viaduct, flying in and out of the misty shafts of sunlight.
...You'll never again be a bridge too far, gone!
Banking upward in a decelerating helix, he navigated to the opposite end of the bridge, plopping upon the opposite landing of the atrium and maintaining forward motion on foot, driven onward by curiosity. Popping out through the carved entrance, spotting a cluster of lazily grazing sheep gathered in the open field just beyond, he irresistibly charged towards the fluffy and flighty animals, toothily grinning amid his laboring breath as one spotted his increasingly quickening approach. Seeing several heads rise, floppy ears perking, the sheep scattered in a bouncing departure of remarkable velocity, and Spyro's feet locked into a braking slide, tearing through tufts of grass as he slid to a halt. Whirling left and right, seeing the targeted prey now hiding and looking at him from afar, Spyro then slumped down onto his rear, blowing a small jet of flame aside behind his fang.
"Forgot how quick you guys are around here."
Brow furrowing and tail flicking, he looked aside to the babble of unseen water weaving among the mystical greenery, and with a standing stretch of his rear legs, he meandered over to the time-worn bank of the brook. Peering into the water, seeing his own reflection beneath the coursing ripples, he then noticed the presence of several crimson flowers beside his foot, sprouting from the clay bank and reaching for the moving glints of the sun.
You could be anywhere... I don't even remember how many different worlds there are around here... Twenty? Thirty?
Sighing and reaching up to his shoulder, scratching an itch on his scales with his pointed claws, he then noticed a distinct pocket of shifting colors above a low stone wall. With a lean aside, the presence of another world portal was revealed, inset into the castle wall a short distance away.
Oh, that's... Glimmer. That place with the mouse miners and loads of gems... Heh, that's where I arrived here the first time. Not by choice, but...
Backpedaling from the brook, he turned and accelerated into a run towards the overgrown stonework.
...Every adventure starts somewhere!
Launching across the water in a great upward leap, clearing the edge of the platform, he slowed to a trot toward the gleaming gateway.
Yeah. We'll start here, and ask somebody. I'm sure the gem cutters might know where she could b-
Thought interrupted as a bright blast of light grew across the churning colors ahead, his clawed toes spread out and the pads of his paws slid along the smooth stone in yet another abrupt halt. Then, much to his surprise, the bipedal profile of a creature phased through the portal, and his wide purple eyes discovered the emergence of auburn hair, fur, and the broad-legged stature of a faun. Waiting in silence as the leaf-dressed figure turned after a passive swipe of fingers across her shoulder, she suddenly noticed his seated and wordless presence, and Spyro very much recognized the startled teal-green eyes meeting his.
Remaining still, aside from the descent of the faun's forearm to her side, only to perch onto her hip, a curious exchange of slight head tilts ensued, finally resulting in a bloom of smiles as memory and imagery confirmed the identities of the young creatures facing each other.
"Elora?"
"Spyro?"
Grinning from the unmistakable chime of her calm and confident voice speaking his name, his chin rose eagerly.
"That's me."
Eying the male dragon in a forward lean of curiosity, pleasantly and thoroughly surprised by his unannounced arrival, her head tilted further in inspection of her reptilian comrade, increasingly smiling from the taller and more muscular profile of his legs and neck, and the bashful flits of his big irides up and down.
"Been a little while since you've come around to Avalar."
"It has been, yeah."
Observing her attentively as she stepped closer to his shoulder, ripples of the summer breeze coursed along her fur as she moved alongside his flank, gingerly stepping over his tail and appearing on his opposite side with graceful motions. Kneeling down beside him into a seat on the worn stone, hooved legs folding near to his left paw, his vision was drawn to Elora's lighter colored complexion, mouths parted and remaining so as she reached up and touched his curved horn, fingertips innocently exploring its circular ridges.
"I'm, um, I am real."
A mirthy hint of teeth appeared beneath her button nose.
"Am I?"
Blinking, suddenly concerned by her teasing ambiguity, his nose turned and bumped into her forearm, and with several ticklish inhales, his snout drifted aside in confirmation.
"You smell real." And smell... Great. Not tasty great, just... Nice, great. Yeah. That.
"Well that's a relief."
Remaining patiently still as her fingers lifted away from the base of his horn, only for her palm and thumb to nudge into the curvature of his cheek, he stared at the fascination in her eyes. Realizing his firmly set attention, her fingers then sank away, and she turned with mild embarrassment.
"Sorry... You're just a little different."
"I am?"
"You are."
"Is that bad?"
"Oh no, not at all."
Irides cautiously meeting again as her hands came together on her lap, her chest expanded in an intake of the realm's sweet comforting air.
"Sooo, how are things? Erm, well, how are you, first?"
Arching back from his disjointed query, with tufts of brunette hair tumbling into new gatherings from her stretching, Elora looked on to the web of leaves obscuring a swath of the afternoon sky.
"Everything is quite alright around our realm, and I'm well. At least, as well as I can be."
"That's good. Anybody new needing their butt kicked?"
"Not that I know of."
"Darn."
Distracted briefly by the shine of the portal's floating golden letters, only to be immediately drawn back to Elora's bright eyes and coy smile which seemed to broaden every time he noticed it, Spyro turned bodily toward her with a push of his arms.
"How are the dragons?"
"Oh, they're all fine, and keeping busy. No Gnorcs or sorcerers or any other jerks to bug us... The elders have been a little more cautious after recent events."
"I can imagine. Your family seems to get picked on a bunch."
"Ah, well, you know us dragons... We lay around and hoard shiny things, and think we're the best creatures ever... And anybody that bothers us gets barbecued. Not everybody likes that."
Eying him pointedly, visibly amused, Elora prodded his scaled shoulder with her index finger.
"Some dragons go out and save the day more than once... Mister hero."
Twisting his head in a bashful shrug, her finger lifted free, and his eyes followed the delicacy of her digits as they rose up and drug back through bushy locks, nudging against her large ear and brushing across it with a momentary flattening.
I am a hero, and I... Don't know what to say back because shheee...
Peeping back at his rear from what he realized was his wiggling tail, he forced the balancing appendage forward and stepped on it, in an attempt to cease its excited flicks.
"Hey, why don't we go for a walk around the castle grounds? I don't know how long you've been sitting here."
"Oh, sure! I just hopped up here right when you arrived. Was about to go to Glimmer myself, but..."
"I just came from there after talking to the locals around the caves."
"I was about to do the same."
"Yeah?"
Rising along the undulations of her leaf-garmented abdomen as she stood to her feet, Spyro released his still-twitching appendage.
"Yup! But its all good now." ...Because I found who I was looking for.
Stepping aside to the edge of the platform and gingerly lowering herself to the earth beneath, Elora grasped her leaf-cuffed forearm as her purple-scaled friend padded over and bounded down into the shaded grass beside her.
You are bigger, Spyro. You used to be shorter than my tail, and now...
"What brought you to Glimmer today?"
"Trading. The gem cutters specialize in creating Avalar's currency, so they trade harvested gems for tools and goods from the other worlds."
"Oh. Is that what you've been up to?"
Trudging forth through thick grass and wild flowers, she eyed the dragon from his continued inquiry.
"Sort of. I've done this for a while now, actually."
"Oh, cool."
"Ever since we finished rebuilding everything Ripto messed up, Avalar's worlds are all back to their usual doings."
"So... You wander around between them and... Carry stuff to trade?"
"Yes, and no. I'm mostly a messenger, and sometimes broker transactions. Don't really carry much of anything besides a satchel now and then."
"No gems?"
"That's on Moneybags."
"Oh, gotcha."
"You're not the only one hoarding treasure around here."
Snout wrinkling from her playfully protruding tongue, Spyro grunted.
"I still have all those gems, and the talismans."
"I'd hope so. Those talismans are all important gifts from everyone in Avalar. Tokens of appreciation for your efforts."
"I know. I'm glad I could fit everything into that book."
Fingers intersecting, lazily meandering along the curving wall encircling the meadow, Elora repeatedly glanced at the amber-trimmed dragon that nearly reached her shoulder in standing height.
"You know, I had just received that guidebook when you first arrived. Hadn't put a single word or artifact into it yet."
Stepping onto and over a low flat rock, Spyro eyed the biped female with a rising brow.
"You handed it over, just like that."
Seeing her fluffy tail vanish in a turn, with her arms coming together behind her back, she looked to him with soft-eyed esteem.
"And you filled its pages much quicker than I could have... All while saving our worlds."
"I, well, you asked me to, and I couldn't really say no at that point."
"Something tells me you were ready for adventure anyway."
Shoulders perking in a shrug of admittance, Spyro nodded.
"Your job sounds like an ongoing adventure."
"It is. I've gone near and far on these hooves."
Pausing her walking and lifting her leg, balancing on the other, she waited as Spyro's head twisted nearly upside down in inspection of her fur-crowned split toe.
No claws... "Hmm."
"No matter where I go, I like being here in the home worlds the most. Don't usually see too many passerby, and its always so peaceful around the castles. I'd rather be here than Fracture Hills."
"Isn't that where you grew up?"
"It is. But its just nicer here. No earthshapers, or lava... Or bagpipes."
Sharing quiet laughter from the mutual sentiment, Spyro secretly studied the reddish-brown shades of her fur, much different from the darker colors of the horned fauns met in the aforementioned world.
Maybe she likes being away from there... Because she's different. Not that being different is a problem.
Nearing the soft curves of her shoulder, leading him to her pale chin just visible past the broad velvet folds of her ear, a bloom of internal heat seemed to arise within his gullet.
If she's different, and she likes being that way... Then I'm definitely okay with it.
Head turning further as she twisted in inspection of their immediate surroundings, and then seeing her irides teeming with mischief, his footfall halted, one paw still held in the air as she sank into a crouch.
"Spyro!"
"Wha-OOF!"
Suddenly becoming the recipient of her fleecy body in its entirety as she sprang towards him, both creatures flopped down onto the grass from the collision, and her arms grappled his sides, squeezing his chest as best as she could manage amid a tickle of laughter. Looking left and right at the tendon and broad leather-like flesh of his now-flat wings beneath her armpits, Elora shoved herself upright, still seated on the bumpy ridge of his back.
You're here, and you're just sooo... "Your wings."
"Ahm, my, what about them?"
"They're bigger."
"Yeah, they, um, should keep getting bigger over time."
Simpering from his breathy and goofy remark, she settled onto her knees, allowing him to twist and stretch, pushing his forward legs upright.
"I thought they would shrink."
"Really?"
"No, dork."
Grunting, unable to resist amusement from the years-prior term, he craned his head around, managing to look almost directly at her perch on his back.
"Growth is slow in dragon years... Cause we live pretty long... Wings are part of that."
"So they'll be huge one day?"
"As huge as I need them to be."
"Mm. That'll be something to see."
Standing free from the plum-colored reptile and electing to skip forward several bounds across water and soil, she restrained a squeal of surprise with a peek back, finding Spyro had already accelerated into a chasing sprint. Horns tucked forward in a powerful leap over the brook, he easily matched her pace, seeing the blur of her athletic chestnut legs just beside himself as they ran together, swiftly approaching the castle proper.
"What about you?!"
"What about me?"
Slowing their pace in tandem, with Elora revolving and walking backward directly in front of him, a hint of her tongue sat cheekily between her teeth.
"Do you feel like you've changed at all?"
"What, since we last met?"
"Yeah."
Rising eyes lifting her chin in visible contemplation, she then swept aside in a whirl, passing through the shadowed entrance of the monolithic structure.
"You tell me, Spyro."
Following her voice through, nearing the end of the atrium's viaduct within, the purple reptile then stopped, noticing she was no longer walking beside him. Head spinning back, seeing the teal-eyed faun reach out and brace herself against the entrance in a lean, silhouetted against the bloom of sunlight beyond, he observed the sight with captive admiration.
"Well... To be honest... You're exactly like I remember."
"Is that a bad thing?"
Large eyebrows perking, he shook his head quickly.
"N-Not at all, no."
Pushing upright and padding closer to the dragon, hooves clicking on the segmented stones, her hand reached aside in passing, swiping his stiff ridge of bristles lining the top of his head.
"Good. 'Cause I'll always be me, like it or not."
Lazily giving chase with a smile, Spyro ambled up beside her, progressing over the gentle rise of the span.
"Hey, I'm cool with that. You be you, and I'll be me."
Peeping past her shoulder at the winged reptile, listening to the faint croaking of toads below, her throat buzzed in a happy hum.
Goof.
Reentering the afternoon glow several paces later, met with the shimmering expanse of the castle pond rippling from the cascades of several waterfalls, both creatures stopped to admire the sparkling sights.
"Ever dive into there from up high?"
"Yes."
Head tilting, imagining the sight of a soaked and swimming Elora, he peeked up to her, realizing her attention was still elsewhere.
"Was it fun?"
"A bit exciting, yes. I like to try and touch the rocks on the bottom whenever I swim."
Resuming a walk through the flowered grasses, Spyro kept inspecting the slender ridge of her mammalian nose, her locks of hair swaying and touching it with every turn.
Guess you can't do the water breathing thing... "How do you get up there to the fountains?"
"I climb them."
"Oh. Hasn't anyone thought of building a ladder, or stairs?"
Tingling from the resultant laugh hidden behind her fingers, his brow furrowed.
"What?"
"Its just funny... That you're suggesting that."
"Yeah? Why?"
"You're the only one here with wings!"
"Yes, still, even one of those whirlwinds for everyone else... Eh, never mind."
"You can fly around up there if you need to, Spyro. I won't mind."
"Nah. No need."
"Why not?"
His tail spun in several circular flicks back and forth.
"Because you're right here."
"And because I can't fly, right?"
"Yes. No!"
Flitting up and down from the mirth readily spreading her lips, and the perk of her eyebrow, he looked away with a clamped jaw, a puff of poorly hidden embarrassment leaving his nostrils.
"I'll just waddle with you down here. Its cool."
"Are there stairs in your dragon world?"
"Yup. Many of the elders are lazy about flying if they don't have to... So there's paths, and steps."
"I see."
Touching her folded finger to her chin, brimming with curiosity, she unfurled her arm in a point toward the center of his brow.
"...You should bring me there someday, and show me."
Promptly halting on the expanse of sun-soaked green, Spyro eyed the faun as she turned away.
"Show you our stairs?"
"And anything else. They won't mind a cute little faun girl visiting their world with you, will they?"
Jaw parting, big eyes darting around with both uncertainty and consideration, his heartbeat quickened from the prospect, and her irresistible glancing back across her shoulder.
"I'm sure if you hang with me and Sparx... It should be alright."
Hands clasping together behind her back, her stubby tail swayed left and right above her rump.
"I'd like that."
"Me too. Uhm, that is..."
Nearly stumbling over an unseen rock, Spyro bounded forward to catch up again.
"...Let me talk to our elders first. Okay?"
"Mkay."
"I know you won't cause trouble, so I just have to convince them of that."
"You know I won't?"
"I'm, well, are you a troublemaker?"
"Totally. Huge amounts of chaos. Every day."
Firmly eying her restrained grin with incredulity, Spyro rolled his eyes as more of her marvelous laughter was freed from her bosom.
"I'm afraid I don't believe you, Elora."
"Well... I don't cause problems... But everybody needs a little bit of mischief."
"I hear that."
"Especially someone with flame breath and snark."
"Who, me?"
Reaching aside and swiping the smooth space between his nostrils with her index finger, she then turned their heading towards a large tree tucked into a wall-lined glen.
"Yes you... Can you climb a tree?"
"I can."
"Hope so!"
Hustling forward in a long-legged stride and scrambling up the rough surfaces of the trunk, grasping hold of a large lower branch, her hooves dug into the wood to gain purchase, and with several feminine grunts of agility, she seemed to vanish into the leafy foliage above, leaving Spyro looking on from beneath.
"Let's see it!"
Rising to the challenge, he sprung upward from his rear legs, and with several distinct slaps of paws, his claws dug into the bark and grain, pulling himself upward in vertical navigation. Weaving among numerous thick branches, and then placing his rear feet onto one, he hoisted himself higher with several pulls of his toned forelimbs. Glimpsing the pale white of her fingers and frontal fur peeking around the narrowing trunk amid his ascent, Spyro seated his rear onto one of the branches, not particularly bothered to test its integrity. Coiling his tail around the length of weathered wood, paws perched on the narrow seat, he leaned left and right as she playfully eyed him from both sides of the trunk.
"Told you."
"You did. Guess those claws help a bunch."
"Hey, you don't have any, and you got up here way quicker than me."
"Not my first tree climb."
"Clearly."
Looking down to the grass below, a migration of several aqua-blue butterflies flitted silently through the shadow of the tree below.
I wonder what Sparx is up to right now...
Jerking back from the dull scrapes of dragging branches and leaves, Spyro then found Elora perched much closer, head resting on her folded arms with visible enamorment.
"Hey."
"Hi."
Lashes batting and brows rising and lowering in a silent exchange, she shoved herself upward, and with a delicate series of crouched steps across the gaps, tiptoed onto the base of his branch. Keeping hold of other limbs just above, with her hooves balanced in line in front of him, Spyro's front legs retreated closer to his chest, attempting to grant her more room, only for his tail and claws to tighten even more around the wobbly limb as she continued inching closer.
"Eeeelora, um, should probably be..."
"...Careful?"
Brow blasting upward as she released her hold of the upper branches, seating her rear onto the mottled wood at the same time, the corner of her mouth split into a smirk from the dragon's priceless expression as their limb sagged a little lower from their combined weight.
"Yes."
"Afraid of falling?"
"Not quite, just..."
Speech cut off as she drew closer with a pull forward, suddenly enveloping his neck with her arms in an embrace, her legs crossed beneath, and separate sighs seeped from their insides. Remaining rigidly still, taking in the silky caress of her short fur tucked against his hide, Spyro's snout then turned into the crook of her neck, and her ear settled to rest on top of his head in response.
"You're warm."
Eyes drifting shut from her whisper, his insides tingled from her physical proximity.
"You're soft."
*CRACK*
Eyes flying open from the distinct sound of fracturing wood, realizing they were sinking, Elora attempted to backpedal, only for her motions to accelerate the failure of the branch. With a fruitless grasp toward the leafy limbs above, a cacophony of snapping twigs accompanied matching yelps as both creatures freely fell with the severed segment, tumbling down through several clusters of leaves and being dumped in a bodily tangle onto the ground below. A mildly dazed Spyro lifted his head seconds later, observing the scattering of loose leaves floating down around them, with several landing on him and Elora, the latter having since sat upright as well. Inspecting several small twigs caught in her brunette hair, and then discerning his vulnerable posture, laying back within her arms and legs, Spyro blew a held breath free from his jaw.
"That was a little freaky."
Plucking a bent leaf that had settled onto his horn, Elora cast it aside into the returning breeze.
"You just kept holding onto it."
"Wasn't like I could do much else!"
"You could jump, or fly, or something!"
Crossing his front legs, Spyro closed his eyes.
"If I was a little more prepared, I would have flown."
"But you weren't."
"Somebody was hugging me."
"Mm. Oops."
Looking down at her forearm resting on his golden-yellow chest plating, with her middle finger lazily dragging along his course hide in a tiny motion, he then wriggled free of her arms and legs, flopping into a roll onto the grass beside. Orienting upright, his tail coiled into a circle as he sat beside her, tempted to assist her removal of the tree's debris from her fur.
"You know what, Spyro, you keep talking about flying."
"Yeah? Having strong enough wings to do it without magic is a big deal."
Flicking a stick away with her middle digit, the auburn female curled her fingers around her idle arm.
"Then why don't you show me?"
"Right now?"
"Yes!"
Immediately smirking, back arching and tail straightening, he darted past her and launched from the earth with a great shove, taking advantage of the wind winding through. Wings thrusting open, flapping with power and confidence, he rose higher into the open air with each flap. Banking along the perimeter wall and curving over the lowest fountain, he drug his paw through the shallow water in passing, aligning toward the seated chestnut faun in an airborne return. Swirling in several circles over her, his shadow shooting past with each revolution, his clawed toes wiggled in a wave, and his prideful heart beat from her enchanting gaze, tracking his flight with doe-eyed wonder.
"See?!"
"I do!"
Soaring lower over the field, weaving among the waterfall fountains with a grin, he zeroed in on Elora once more, only to find that she was on her feet and beginning into a run as he neared. Gliding as straight and stable as he could manage, buffeted by the breeze, he turned towards the leafy waters of the lake, zooming past her as she halted on the abandoned stone dock.
"Watch this!"
Turning straight up, and then rolling over upside down at an apex of altitude, his wingspan and legs folded tight against his body, and he dove straight down into the water with a great splash into the clear depths of the lake.
Arms crossing, peeking over the eroded coping of the stonework and glimpsing a blur of purple and gold beneath the surface, Elora awaited his return as the splotch of color seemed to follow something unseen. Then, with a quick gain of detail and clarity, she took a single step back as Spyro's horns and nose burst through the surface, arms and claws clutching the stones of the dock. Hoisting himself out of the water, she then noticed the wriggling fish captive in his mouth, and a breathy laugh of surprise shook her chest.
"Oh gosh."
Dropping the catch onto the dock, stepping on its flat tail as it helplessly flopped, the plum-colored and dripping creature beamed.
"Lunch!"
Arms rising and hands nudging together as his cheeks puffed up, she gaped with captivation as a precisely channeled jet of flame erupted from his mouth, obscuring the ichthyoid with the potent flash and crackle of its fiery end. Allowing wisps of smoke to clear, he hooked the now-still meal with his claw and rolled it over, blasting its other side with a second ejection of flame from his throat.
He is a dragon, after all...
Turning toward the island portal to Colossus, she sank down onto her rear, dipping her hooved feet into the water and cupping an apple in her grasp, found beneath the earlier tree.
...And I'll be fine with this.
Sinking her teeth into the flesh of the fruit, tongue gathering the dribbles of juice on her lips, her chewing slowed as the sounds of forceful consumption turned her ear. Then, with the jovial padding of clawed toes coming near, her feet swayed in the water as Spyro appeared beside her, licking his chops.
"Feel better?"
"Lots. Fish are great after a little searing."
Sitting and following her lazy gaze toward the arched structure, lifting his paw and swiping the side of his snout with a lick, he then remained silent, idly watching the wind-blown wanderings of waterlogged leaves on the surface. Then, distracted as her submerged hoof drifted near, her arm snaked beneath his relaxed wing, and Spyro crookedly smiled as she pulled him closer. Tucking together with combined leans, turning his head to keep his horn from striking her, his cheek squished into her fuzzy shoulder, and with an upward peek, she looked on, still chomping on the apple in her grasp.
Boy you're... Sure after hugs and stuff. Have you missed me that much? I know I've been gone for a while, but...
Eyes closing with a sizzle of shame, a hot exhale filtered from his nose.
...You haven't stopped touching me. I mean, I don't mind... I'm just... You're just... Being really friendly. Extra friendly. You've always been friendly, but now I feel like you're thinking I'm going to disappear forever again, and...
His brow furrowed, remembering the unending series of fruitless, frustrating chases in his sleep.
Maybe I have been gone a while. I'm sorry. You've always asked for me to come back again, and I've just been doing dragon things, and... Now we're here in your world, and everything's alright. Isn't it? Am I alright? Those darn dreams were far from alright, but they've brought me here. They kept you far away in my mind, but now we're right next to each other in real life, and...
Eyelids slowly opening, keeping her face just out of sight, he peeked instead to the bends in her sturdy legs, parted by tufts of off-white fur draped between her thighs.
...This little adventure, is making me feel real funny. We're walking, talking, and... Stuff is happening.
Daring himself to open his eyes more, his chin slid up over the gentle curvature of her shoulder, and as was fully expected, gleaming teal rings filled his vision, tightening with discreetly noticed dilation above her rosy chewing cheekbones.
Stuff IS happening. Fine. You know what... Fine! You're pretty. Really pretty. I can say that, and its allowed because its true. You're chowing down on that apple and you're so dang soft, and that color in your eyes... And that poofy little tail I keep wanting to smack...
Blinking in a helpless fervor from the meltdown in his mind, Spyro swallowed as her eyebrow perked with curiosity.
...I've never seen anyone wear leaves like that. There's even leaves on your wrists. What happens when you swim? Do they help you float? Do they just fall apart? What's even under them? You're hiding everything except for how much you want to hold onto me. I'm sure you've never been able to be close to a dragon before you met me. Close enough that you can touch them... Well... I guess I've never been this close to a faun either. There aren't any back home. Just dragons... No pretty fauns. No wonder this feels like its such an odd thing. I don't think our kind mingles too often... If ever.
Head slowly rolling into a tilt, jaw shifting aside beneath his nose, his left eye closed as he buried his cheek further into her fur.
What was that thing Hunter said a while back? Opposites... Attract? He was talking about rabbit girl... Bianca... They're all shacked up and happy. Anywhere else, a big cat would probably eat a rabbit, not date them.
His right eye perked open from the next thought.
Nope. Even if you weren't taller than me... I would never. You're too, um, pretty... To even think about chewing on. Speaking of chewing... She's really been working on that apple.
Taking one more nibble from the desiccated flesh of the fruit, Elora inspected it with a turn of her fingers, and with a happy hum, she offered it to a visibly interested Spyro.
"There's not much, but..."
"I'll take it."
Eyes widening as his mouth pried open, revealing a full compliment of pointed teeth and incisors, the plum dragon gently accepted the core from her fingers, crunching and swallowing it whole within seconds.
"Seeds and all, huh?"
"Apple stems are kind of like sweet bark."
Hand lowering to rest on her lap, Elora tilted in a reaffirmation of her half-embrace.
"Sweet... Tree bark?"
"Uh huh. Have it either dry and crunchy, or softened up with water."
"Sounds... Interesting."
"I'll have you try it sometime."
"When you escort me to the dragon world...?"
Drawn right back to the alluring chime of her query, Spyro tingled, the golden tip of his tail slapping his leg.
"Yes." I'll show you our stairs, and you can snack on tree bark... And I'll just have to look at how pretty you are the whole time.
Standing together before the glowing circumference of a home-world portal platform, with a flat red crystal embedded into the center of a square pattern on its face, Spyro swung aside to Elora, her hoof hesitantly pawing at the grass.
"Ready?"
Seeing her lips purse beneath her cheekbone, a double nod tossed her bangs, and with a forward lean, seeing her peek at him and then away, Spyro discreetly grunted from the shy behavior.
"Uh, something up?"
"Noo."
Squinting as her attention seemed to avoid nearing him, he sat with an obvious firm planting of his rear.
"You sure?"
"Yes."
"A moment ago you said you wanted to go to the plains."
"I do."
"Then what's all this?"
"All of what?"
"The way you're acting, right now."
"How am I acting?"
A heated huff of breath blasted from his nostrils.
"You haven't stopped looking at me since we met, and now all of sudden you're just..."
Truncating the remainder of his speech as she suddenly eyed him straight on, a firm stare was attempted, only for the expression to melt away, realizing the wistful emotion in her gaze.
"How do you feel about it?"
"About what?"
Her face lowered from his seemingly oblivious response, eyelids nearly shutting as she looked to his clawed feet, with one digit tapping into the dirt.
"...I'm just glad you're here again, Spyro."
Struck by her near whisper, he exhaled from her alternate conclusion after several evasive responses.
"Hey, I'm happy to be here... And I'm really glad to see you."
Cautiously inching closer to her legs with reserved footfall, he looked straight up along her frontal profile. Recapturing her teal irides, he then stood still with unwavering passivity.
"I mean it... Elora."
Seeing what was now his favorite smile finally bloom onto her features, he was unable to resist a charmed grin to match.
Maybe I just need to say her... Name?
Met with the velvet touch of her hands coming together on both of his cheekbones, sandwiching his reptilian face, he swallowed from the sizzle of embers shooting up his throat as her thumbs circled in a dual caress.
You say I'm warm? You're the one making me warm!
Seeing his broad eyebrows falter, lowering from the gentle drift of her white-tipped digits sliding down and curving beneath his jaw, she gently explored the underside of his snout with a series of retreating drags.
Spyro... Has anyone ever... Done this? You keep looking a little surprised. You probably don't have your face touched by anyone besides yourself.
Cupping the tip of his chin with a gentle squeeze of her palm, her knuckle grazed his exposed fang, and his brow perked ever-so-slightly, only to lower once more.
Even so, seeing you like this... You're adorable. Cute. Certainly handsome... There's a bunch of words I could say... But not all at once.
Lowering her hands from his snout, lips parting as he was drawn immediately to her fond gaze, she then grinned as his big purple eyes awaited her speech.
"Alright... I'm ready."
"For what?"
"To go to Autumn Plains."
"Oh, right."
Head twisting toward the gleam of the active portal, he then aligned back to her.
"Are you sure?"
A single sweet giggle danced from her throat.
"I'm sure, dork."
"Kay. I'll head through first, and make sure there's no baddies on the other side."
"So noble."
Turning and trotting, head bobbing side to side with humor, he pranced over and up onto the portal with a single leap, immediately beginning into a lateral spin. Hurrying closer as he began sinking into the patterned stone, heart beating with rapidity as he vanished in a dematerializing burst of sparkles, she waited impatiently as rays of light emerged from the portal once more, and the encircling band around it resumed its prior blue glow.
Don't you go too far without me...!
Bounding up onto the platform, the crimson crystal between her hooves promptly glowed with magical energy, and she held her breath, bathed by a swath of bright light.
Autumn Plains, Avalar
Peering uphill, discerning the palette of fall colors painted across the land's undulations, with two great trees freeing individual leaves from each passing swirl of wind, Elora's nose rose skyward.
Almost evening...
Sweeping across the scattered pillow-like clouds, aglow with rich hues of the sun nearing the distant peaks of the realm's grand castle, a sigh of returning wonder left her lungs, carried away into the sky.
...In my favorite place.
Managing steady steps forward up the long slope of faintly yellowing grasses, slowing to observe the effortless twirl of a golden-brown leaf passing within arm's reach, she continued forth. Spotting the seated profile of a twin-horned dragon, framed neatly beside the thick trunk and beneath the twisting branches of the nearer tree, her walking pace quickened a little more. Dry and freshly fallen leaves crunched beneath her hooves as the silhouetted creature gained color and detail, and as it became more and more purple, her heart lifted higher and higher, eagerness pushing her into a loping stride.
You're just picture per- "Huh?!"
Seeing the winged reptile dart aside from his seat, edging along the pool to the right, a glimpse of his distinctly playful smirk was revealed amid his galloping. Attempting an abrupt acceleration to match, only for her leg to shoot back beneath herself, sliding on the carpet of leaves and nearly losing balance downhill, Elora's arms shot out and absorbed an expected fall, only to immediately shove herself back upward with a grunt. Stomping forward in a dogged fervor, a trail of mangled leaves were flung aloft behind her hooves as she regained traction and gave chase to her laughing reptilian friend.
"I'm going to get you!"
Pursuing Spyro's bounding gait at full speed, he reversed course in a tight loop and weaved between both of the trees lining the opposite side of the pool, horns pointing into a broad curve to the right. Jumping across the corners of the open water in quick succession and finally blasting past the arched portal to Skelos Badlands in a short-cutting path, Elora closed in on his broad arc in a tighter curve, rapidly eliminating the remainder of distance. Cheekily grinning as the distinct yellow point of his tail trailed behind, she managed a strong leap forward, grabbing his flopping appendage with both hands in midair. Immediately ceasing the chase as her body slammed onto the grassy earth beneath, yanking Spyro down onto his belly from the sudden slackening, both of them slid into a wind-gathered pile of fallen leaves, with Spyro quite literally buried partway under the cast-off foliage.
Sucking in the autumnal air with heaves of respiration, Elora remained prone, keeping hold of the now-still tail. Inspecting the hard point facing her, and then flitting up to the shuffle of movement beneath the leaf pile, Spyro's head burst up from underneath it, and after a periscope-like orbit, he looked directly back at the female culprit beaming with leaf-strewn mirth.
"Thought so."
"Got you."
Releasing his tail with a laugh of delight from his comically furrowed brow, she pushed herself upward from the gentle slope with a groaning stretch of her back, and Spyro emerged from the pile of leaves, eying her with interest.
You are fast on those hooves... She must make great times on the speedways.
Padding closer and deftly flapping his wings, clearing an oval of grass free of the natural debris with artificial gusts, both of them observed the careless return of several leaves from the errant breeze.
"Try as you might."
"Can't fight nature, I know."
Perking with interest from his resigned mutter, Elora rose onto all fours, ambling closer. Becoming certain that he wouldn't flee again as he looked directly at her approaching shuffle and simply sat, she promptly scooped him into an embrace, head bouncing lightly against his horn, and hands coming together on the ridge of his back as she nuzzled his neck, constricting around his scales with a squeeze.
Spyro...
Throats buzzing with mirth, little hints of traded laughter bottled in their throats, she inhaled the peculiar scent of his hide with several pulls, nose wrinkling with curiosity.
...I don't know what exactly it is you smell like, but I like it.
Bumping against him as her lips parted into a cheeky grin unbeknownst to him, her knees shifted forward around his forelegs. Then, with a swift clamping of his limbs between her strong legs, both of them slowly teetered over in a loss of balance together, bodily flopping onto their sides in the grass with matching grunts.
Peeking open, now with her arm captive beneath his weight, Elora rolled flat onto her back. Bursting into a giggle as Spyro lazily peeped at her from above, he inspected her disheveled dress and hair with one eye closed as she lackadaisically tugged her limb.
"Would you like that back?"
"If you don't mind."
Nudging himself up with his elbow, freeing her rapidly-retracting arm, he then stretched both of his forelegs out in front of himself, only to slump back down into the bed of grass.
"That was fun."
"You pulled my tail."
"I had to catch you somehow."
Lifting the appendage in question into view, wagging it back and forth teasingly, her eyebrow perked from the display and his resultant smile beneath it.
"Aren't dragons the ones that should be chasing prey?"
"I do... I have been."
Playfully trapping his paw beneath her quick-moving hand, her thumb curled carefully around the nearest claw.
"Does that make you my prey?"
Eyes widening in response, he glanced down to the feminine fur on his foot.
"I mean... You were pretty determined."
Allowing his spoken words to linger among the patter and gentle scrapes of wandering leaves, her fingertips reached further and stroked the bumps of his knuckles.
Still am. "Spyro."
"Uh huh?"
"Why did you visit Avalar anyway? Ahm, not that I mind, that you did, and are..."
Seeing her bashfully look away to the castle, with beams of the swiftly fading sunlight reaching out beyond its tiled roof, Spyro noticed the visible growth of a shadow rising along the stone wall bordering the field.
"I wanted to."
Eyes meeting, with messy brunette locks sweeping in a toss as she rolled over, her pointed expression sharpened, expecting a more detailed answer.
"...Also, I haven't seen you in a while."
"Its been many moons. At least a year."
"I know."
Distant memories and shared moments drifted across imaginations, and Spyro's nostrils flared with a firm draft of exhalation.
"To be honest... I've dreamed about you a little bit, lately." A lot, actually.
Blinking with genuine surprise, she adjusted her prone posture, legs crossing in the air behind her tail.
"You have?" About me...?
Twisting into a roll onto his back and looking up at the darkening sky, the young male wistfully gazed into the universe above and beyond.
"I kept seeing you in different places from far away. Way out of reach. I'd follow you anywhere, in any world, but I could never get close enough to talk, or even say hello. I'm not sure you knew if I was trying to reach you, or maybe you couldn't see or hear me."
Drinking in his ongoing contemplation, listening to the inflection of every word as his paws reached outward into the air, Elora lay still.
"Its like the dreamworld was implying the actual distance... Between here and home."
Lowering her head onto her closer hand, she tingled from his emotional revelation, centered directly on her.
"Sounds like a pretty accurate portrayal."
"That. It just didn't sit right, being stuck in an endless chase... And it bothered me a lot, seeing it more than once. So I wanted to come find you for real. Figure it would maybe provide closure for the dreams."
Closure... "So you came all the way to Avalar, to find the girl in your dreams?"
"I did, and I did, and..."
Mouth clamping shut from her tender question, a pyroclastic blast of warmth surged up his throat and spilled into his cheekbones, and wisps of steam left Spyro's nostrils. Slapping his paws onto his nose to vainly hide the vapor, his eyes slammed shut after a glimpse of her open mouth and batting lashes.
...And you, meanwhile! You are totally blushing!
Tail strutting left and right eagerly, Elora crawled forward, delicately winding around his outstretched arm and flat wing. Passing over his large eyebrows and nearing the amber bristles lining his head, her nose squished into his brow, nuzzling him with nudges along his hide. Then, dragging further over him, her chin sank to rest between his horns, flattening the ridge of hair.
"Spyro." You cutie.
Feeling his legs lower from his nose, with one grazing her thigh in its descent, she peeked upside down at her posture, and with a distinct, precise shuffle, straddled his chest with her chestnut legs. Sinking comfortably lower, batting his segmented plating with her fluffy tail and pressing her forehead into his, their huge eyes took in the other's extreme proximity.
"Y-Yes?"
Watching the dilation of her teal irides, now the brightest part of her face with the sun's absence, his heart beat with rapidity beneath her amorous intent.
"I'm the one that's... Well... I like you. A bunch. Since you showed up a while back and helped us rescue Avalar... And the times you've visited after..."
Swallowing, cheeks curling with a goofy smile, he managed to pry the front of his mouth open.
"E-Elora."
Answering him with a sweet hum, his legs pushed forward beneath her bosom, touching her knees and carefully forming his paws and claws around them.
"I know I'm not a faun, or anything like it... And I walk on four legs..."
Tracing her fingertips along the edge of his chin, drifting along the muscle of his throat, she turned in the slightest of tilts from his segmented statement.
"I'm not a dragon... And who even cares about what we are and how many legs we walk on... Right?"
"Yeah. You're right. You're up on two and, um... Something about it... You're pretty. And different. Differently pretty."
Lips parting again, this time broadcasting a bloom of elation, her breath puffed against his nose.
"And you're a handsome, purple, quadruped, fire breathing dork."
Yes. I am. I guess. Quadru-whatever you said...
"To be honest, Spyro... For a long time, I wasn't ever really sure how you felt about me."
Trying valiantly to swallow the volcanic fire in his throat, he grunted.
"I could kind of tell how you felt about me, back whenever."
Brow peaking, a squeal of amusement stayed put inside her neck.
Kind of...?! "So, knowing that... You came back to visit."
"You told me to!"
"But you wanted to, right?"
Staring at her, cheeks practically glowing, he carefully nodded, remembering the presence of his horns very near to her lovely face.
"I'm here with you now, aren't I?"
"Yes."
"That should say a lot about how I feel."
"Okay, adventure seeker, of all your friends here in Avalar to see, you OOF!"
Channeling the fire in his gullet into the strength in his legs, Spyro managed to grasp her body and heave her sideways, flopping aside onto the dark leafy grass and pouncing onto her. Seating himself onto her waist, head suspended over her bosom with her body half turned, her legs folded together, and he eyed her with newfound and fiery intent.
"I, found you."
Gazing at the handsome and heavy dragon on top of her haunches, her cheekbones darkened from the vulnerability, and his longer lizard tail coiling around her shorter tuft, intimately intertwining.
"So now that you found me, what will you do?"
"That depends... Are you busy?"
"Are you?"
Blinking from her playful toss-back of his question, he turned his nose left and right.
"Not at all."
"I'm not busy either."
"Then why don't weee, adventure together... For a while."
Capturing the tip of her lower lip between her teeth, with her coy smile lifting the corners of her lips, she beamed with increasing mirth from the infinite possibilities.
"Now?"
"Um, its almost, actually, it is nightfall, but... I'm game."
"Mm, how about tomorrow... Been a long day."
"Oh, right." She's been traveling, and stuff.
Looking up and down along the length of her figure beneath as her arms and legs unfurled into a stretch, a breath filled her leafy chest, only to puff out and tickle her into a marvelous little laugh.
"Sleepy?"
"Getting there."
Glancing left and right at the sweeping darkness, tempered only by the glow of light from the arched portals positioned around the eminences, Spyro was then met by the blowing of an ever-present and unseen breeze.
"Where do you rest?"
"Anywhere. Right here works."
"In the leaves?"
Reaching up and grasping both of his shoulders, she brimmed with desire.
"Can you can handle it?"
"I can handle it." And you.
Crawling aside, tails unraveling, he sank down prone, curling up and nesting beside her with a series of movements to flatten the grass. Then, shortly after his cessation of movement, Elora turned to her side, progressively molding her feminine geography against him in an elimination of remaining distance. Snuggling close to his unending warmth, her hand rose, floating between his horns, and then sinking to his head. Running her fingers in among the yellow crest on his neck, fingertips drifting along the patterns of his scales in a series of gentle petting strokes, she neared his ear.
"What's the softest part of a dragon?"
"Its a secret."
She hummed with mirth from his responding whisper.
"No its not."
"Oh yeah?"
Smiling and reaching around beneath his wings, her palm patted the edge of his chest plating.
"Its the big caring heart in here."
Head turning, burying his head spikes into the earth, Spyro began to roll back over, granting Elora a pause to create distance in response. Adjusting his positioning after a heavy roll onto his other side, he watched her with fond eyes, legs invitingly kept open. Immediately heeding his offer, the young faun nestled closer to the gentle beast once more, a sigh departing her lungs as his muscular limb draped across her side, and his head tucked into her hair.
"Can you guess the softest part of my kind?"
Bashfully looking her fuzzy curves over, Spyro managed a shrug.
"Uhm, wouldn't that be all of you? Besides your hooves, you... You're pretty soft overall."
"Mmm, maybe."
Head lifting and turning, she pushed her lips into the end of his snout, causing him to look up in mild recoil from the surprise. Seemingly expecting such a motion, she tucked lower with a turn and kissed his lower lip as well, listening to the draft of exhalation above. Backing away, cheeks fully darkened amid the faint glow of nearby light, she began pressing more kisses around the sides and top of his snout, working her way up to his forehead, where her mouth then halted, planted up between his closed eyes.
Ah, hah, I get it... She's talking... About her lips.
Lifting aside, and descending back into the grass, her head nestled comfortably beneath his chin, and her broad ear listened to the throb of his strong heartbeat, eyes closing in a snuggle, together.
Maybe this is why... You've dreamed about me, Spyro. You've gone to so many places, and helped so many creatures... But there's more to treasure in our worlds than just gems and orbs, and I think that heart of yours is starting to realize this... Oh, and its really sweet that you went to the trouble to come visit again. I wasn't expecting it in the slightest after that trip to Glimmer... But all the same...
A gentle murmur issued from her nose, remembering the first time he tumbled through the professor's portal, looking up to her with eager eyes.
I'm sure you know by now... You're more precious to me than anything I could ever wish for. Dork.
