The White Dragon Chronicles

by Blackshadow999

An ancient legend that fell into oblivion comes to the light once more. The dragon realm has had a fragile peace for two years after the fall of Malefor. Then A human, Saber mysteriously appears in the dragon realm. When things of history thought lost begin to be seen once more; fear grips many, none can choose how events will turn out in the end.

26. Meeting the 'Elder'

A/n

Here is the next chapter, again the story in general overall has not change, but details have, so enjoy the story!

Chapter 26: Meeting the 'Elder'

-Neutral pov-

It is said that some meetings are fated to happen whether the participants knew it or not, and it is normally later that those that meet realized the significance. In this tale thus far, the meeting of Saber and Spyro can be seen that way by some and events that came afterward would agree. However, after Saber escaped from the ape camp/city a meeting of fate occurred that was not foreseen. And this encounter would change the course of Saber's life in ways he would never have predicted. Or perhaps, instead of meeting the encounter should be called a sort of reunion of a kind.

-Saber's pov-

I was trekking along in step with the dragon and the two dragonesses and as we kept going along in relative silence and it's very awkward. I noticed as we went along that all my traveling companions would steal looks at me as we walked. Fredrick kept giving me dirty glances that were obviously saying Fredrick still didn't trust me or really think much of me yet. Hope that doesn't last for too long a time, Fredrick seems to be a good dragon at heart by what I've seen thus far.

Tarra, the black dragoness was keeping a minimum set distance from me. I don't know if it was me personally, but I very much doubt that it is. I'd gotten the impression that Tarra had experienced trauma of some kind in the past and, due to the said experience she took great lengths not to get close to others almost reflexively. There were signs that her body language was saying loud and clear so, the way she reacts was probably a kind of coping mechanism of sorts. That has me feel even more pity for the poor dragoness, now that I had seen and understood the likely reasons why she had reacted as she had in our previous encounter.

Then there was Lara the purple dragoness, the quote unquote leader of the bunch. I found my eyes kept going back and settling on her out of all my new and unexpected traveling companions. It WASN'T in a dirty or sexual way, I've just met her for freaking sakes! I don't know what it is about her, but I can't seem to keep my attention off her for very long! There was something about her that nagged at me… Like I should know something, yet I haven't the faintest clue why.

Lara herself had an incredible figure, I can't deny that! The way her hips swayed ever so slightly as she walked, the hypnotic wave of her tail… what am I THINKING?! This has never happened before with a girl and for it to be a female of a different species no less! Relatively speaking, the only reason I was able to keep focused at all, was my logical part of my mind kept giving me swift kicks to my rear metaphorically speaking on a frequent basis. Due to those kicks my self-control and mental discipline reassert themselves, I was able to focus on the matter at hand.

To say that I was beginning to get edgy as the silence continued is putting it mildly. I'm not one who tends to like silence as it gives time for my mind to wander into places I really don't like to go to! That is how I got to know about some of the dark ideas that Shae has that I don't like, it's the reason I don't listen to him anymore. Then there are places in my mind that are better left as they are and not touched and I'll leave it at that. Anyway, enough about this subject back to the current matter.

I decided to 'break the ice' and try to start a conversation and was about to do just that when my luck thought it would be a great time to have a laugh by making me trip over a rock that I had somehow missed. Isn't my luck a stinker? *High toned maniacal giggling!* Well, with gravity being the way it is and it does appear to be the same in the dragon realm as it is on earth. It has a universal methodical application that affect every single thing. So, I did an amazing pratfall forward and face-planted into the ground and buried my face a small margin. I couldn't help, but confirm that it would seem that my luck is back to normal criminal self. That meaning, I was once again the lone target of my bad luck once more! Oh well, at least it is fairly predictable, one of the few saving graces of it. I pulled up my head and lifted my face that was now dirt encrusted from the fall and following face plant.

I looked up to see the three dragons were now looking at me with differing expressions. Lara looked worried, at least I hop-I mean, think that was what her face was saying. Tarra looked surprised at what had happened to me. Fredrick just did a 'draconic eye roll' and I have to say, I was finding that the draconic equivalent of an eye roll was getting to be very funny, at least to me.

-Lara's pov-

As we were going along, I noted that Saber was looking between us though his gaze was sticking on me longer than the others. Normally, I dislike males staring at me for most see me as a prize or an object and I hate that. My mother had gone through the same she told me before meeting my father who had been different. And yet, the staring Saber was doing did not feel like those I have received from other males before. Such had not happened for so long now other than Fredrick and he did not have an interest in me any more than I did in him as a mate.

Granted, my situation with others is not entirely my fault, but I have helped it along to what it is now. Being born a purple dragoness was something I had to live with, and it has been hard to be so different than all around you. It used to be easier to handle, but that had been back before Azreyel and Koren had disappeared. They had been my friends and they had also been unique with them having white scales. Yet, ever since they vanished my life became much harder and more seemed to go wrong than right. Then mom had gone looking for dad when I was younger, and she never came back. Umbra and Tetras who had been like an aunt and uncle to me had been around for a few more years before they went looking for my mom. There has not been any word about them since and that was years ago that they set out. So, I have been looking after myself for some time now and while I do not mind that, it gets lonely quickly.

That is before one takes into account the responsibility I have placed on my shoulders as a purple dragoness, to defeat the Dark Master Malefor. It was what I had been training for, dedicating most time to, mastering the elements to beat Malefor. The years of doing that have made having and making friends more difficult for me. Tarra was one of the few I had and she had been through things that none should have to experience. If not for her and the promise I made to Azreyel and Koren, I might not have been trying so hard to the goal. The Dark Master had not been seen for years, he could have given up for all we know. The explorations that I did with others were one of the few activities I enjoyed for it broke the routine of life.

A crash snapped me out of my thoughts and I instantly looked over in Tarra's direction as she was accident prone. But when I saw that Tarra was fine, so I glanced around to see what had made the noise. My gaze fell on Saber who had looked to hit the ground and his face had been buried a bit. I blinked a bit as seeing this for I expect things like this to happen to Tarra on occasion. Saber pulled his face up and shook his head which got the dirt that came up with to go away. He then looked at Tarra, Fredrick and me who are all staring at him. I was a tad worried about him, I mean he had just crashed into the ground and that was unlikely good. "Um, are you okay Saber," I asked.

Saber focused on me and smiled back, "Oh yes, I am fine," he said waving a paw… or at least what he had where a paw would be. "This is kind of normal for me as it happens, so I am used to it."

This kind of event is normal for him?! How do such things become normal… true I have asked the same thing of Tarra and she had not given me an answer other than she did not know. "N-normal," asked Tarra.

The way Tarra asked that sounded like she was interested, but then there is none that is as accident prone as her, or at least she nor I have met any that were. Saber gained a bit of a confused expression, "Yeah, things like that happen to me because of my bad luck, it was incredibly inconvenient timing, in my opinion, I assure you," he remarked.

That may be a different description of the idea, but that certainly sounds like what Tarra has happened to her, a series of unfortunate events. In fact, Fredrick and I looked at each other first, then shifted to looking at Tarra who was gazing at the ground. Saber became even more confused, "Um, am I missing something here? If so please tell me," he said.

Tarra spoke up but, she mumbled whatever it was she had said so quietly that none of us could hear her. I would not doubt that she had said something about how accidents happen to her often enough. It is usually not her fault, the events just happen, "I am sorry could you repeat that, please? I did not catch what you said," Saber said.

-Saber's pov-

I had just asked Tarra what she had mumbled as I hadn't heard her even with my good hearing. Tarra didn't look at me as she answered, "I um, s-said that things l-like that happen t-to me a lot of t-the time. O-others keep their d-distance from m-me because of t-that."

Hold it, did that mean that Tarra has the same kind of luck as me!? I never ever thought there would be anyone, let alone that I would meet an individual that would have luck anywhere near as bad as my own! It was an interesting feeling I had to admit, yet I couldn't help but feel even sorrier for Tarra for I knew just how horrible some luck like ours could be. Still, it would probably be better if we get off this subject and go with a different subject as the current one is dull and dreary.

"Soooo," I began, "out of curiosity and as well as something else to talk about, how old are the three of you? I would be nineteen myself."

Lara glanced at me and for some unexplained reason, my heart skipped a beat along with the unidentifiable feeling I'm getting with Lara. It was this action that seemed to click in my logical side of my mind that explained some of what was going on. It certainly earned me a hard kick that nearly had me grabbing my butt from someone actually kicking me. It got my full attention effectively of course and right quick! The emotion I was feeling other than the one I couldn't place was infatuation. In other words, for some reason attracted to her, which didn't make sense! I'm human, she's a dragoness, there were inter-species dilemmas that came into question in this and in ways that I can't even begin to address logically and shouldn't be done anyway!

Sure, if you want to get down to the basics, I'm a male and she's a female, so granted, that fact plays its part as I'm firmly straight. But since we're not of the same species, the odds of success of cross-fertilization, the results probably wouldn't work I would think. So, back to the cause of the dilemma, why am I feeling attracted to Lara and an extreme attraction to her at that?! And then there is something about her I can't place for the life of me! I'm getting a baaaad feeling about this… yet, Lara didn't give me a reason to be worried much. This is probably just my carnal mind is messing with me, isn't it?! I shook my head to clear it and get back on topic as Lara answered my posed questions, "I am eighteen almost nineteen."

Oh, that's a plus, she's close to if not the same age as myself. I'll be nineteen... or at least I would be nineteen in a couple of months before I came to the dragon realm. And since then I haven't really kept track of time as closely as I usually did, yet I'm either close or already nineteen. Also, I haven't a real clue if the dragon realm even has the same length of time in a year as earth does, "I… I just t-turned… eighteen" stuttered Tarra.

Looking over to Tarra in mild surprised, since I hadn't expected her to answer me next or really at all. In fact, I'd expected only Lara to answer me out of the three as she was the most amiable towards me. Maybe there was a chance for me to get Tarra to open up to me and for us to become friends. Who knows what the future holds? For myself, I can't begin to guess and I would think she really could use friends for company and support. I say that as I have experience of the lack of such and it isn't nice. This for if anything else, to help her overcome her coping mechanisms that had been developed from her trauma, whatever it had been. I gave her a gentle smile hoping that would help her be less nervous around me.

I then, hear a grunt and turned to Fredrick to hear what he was going to say, "It is not like you need to know," he snapped.

Well, I was coming to expect that attitude from Fredrick now. He had made it perfectly clear that until further notice from him, we wouldn't be getting along on friendly terms, period, no arguments, and no compromising for me. Oh, we were going to get along well… not really though! "Fredrick is sixteen," remarked Lara.

So, Fredrick is younger than the rest, yet he acts or at least tries to act like an adult which says some rather interesting facets. My eyes went back to Fredrick who wasn't too happy at the moment of being circumvented, "Lara what are you doing? He does not need to know, so do not tell him," said Fredrick.

"I-I do not think he m-means anything bad… by… it" muttered Tarra.

I was glad for the umpteen times that I have an amazingly keen hearing for Tarra's sake, among everyone else's. She had at least looked at me and that was progress on becoming friendlier with one another. I still was surprised as it was the first time I had seen her eyes closer than five feet, they really were like sapphires and they were beautiful. Her natural voice, on the other hand, was on its own rather quiet though it was pretty too. Still, I think that when she is nervous, which was often if not most of the time I have been around her, she talks quieter and kind of mumbles. Lara moved over to her and seemed to be comforting her as I smiled back at her before I spoke to her, "Thank you, Tarra, it is nice of you to notice that I am not inherently evil. As for you Fredrick, you should stop being so outright paranoid," I returned kindly.

The three dragons looked at me with confusion and oh boy, they were giving me the 'explanation look' that the others give me sometimes. I guess now that I think about it, I did just use terms that dragons may haven't heard and so might not understand. I will never know how dragons get along the way they do without inference as a part of their language, I couldn't do so! But, I should help them as I do Spyro and the others, then the same response should do well. "What I mean by 'inherently evil' is a label or description that is put to one who naturally wishes to do things that are evil," I answered.

I took a deep breath before I continued, "Or in other terms, the said person will go out of their way to do things which is wrong, normally with the intent to do terrible activities for the sake of making problems for others for their pleasure and enjoyment. It is in the nature of those which are rightly labeled inherently evil to do that. I am not one that is correctly labeled inherently evil nor would I ever be." I then moved on to the other part they unlikely understood, "Then, 'outright paranoid' would mean that you are suspicious of everyone that you do not know well if at all. Actually, your actions remind me of an acquaintance of mine, yet back to the topic. The point is that I am not inherently evil or someone that you should be paranoid of," I explained.

-Lara's pov-

I glanced over at Saber at his question about age for a moment, curious as to why he would ask such a thing. I mean, he had said that he was nineteen, which would put him close to my own age, "I am eighteen almost nineteen," I answered.

"I… I just t-turned… eighteen," stuttered Tarra a moment later.

It was nice that she kept trying to be around others, especially with what she had gone through when she was younger. The apes had done horrible things to her, it is harder to see now, but the absence of her horns and tail blade are things she cannot hide. Tarra had to have been panicking when she first saw Saber with how much he resembled apes overall. Then the sound of Fredrick grunting drew my attention, "It is not like you need to know," he snapped.

Why must Fredrick be so difficult at times, he does this off and on, so I decided to help him out and answer the question for him, "Fredrick is sixteen," I remarked.

Fredrick glared at me, to which I gave a small smile silently saying, 'what are you having a problem with'. He simply hissed, "Lara what are you doing? He does not need to know, so do not tell him," said Fredrick.

I would have given a reply, but Tarra spoke up first, "I-I do not think he m-means anything bad… by… it" muttered Tarra.

When we stared at Tarra, she looked away and tried to make herself smaller and more unnoticeable, it is what she does. I went over to where Tarra was walking and stretched my right wing over her and gently squeezed. She was my friend and I do not like it when she is uncomfortable, so I was trying to help. Saber smiled at Tarra, "Thank you, Tarra, it is nice of you to notice that I am not inherently evil. As for you Fredrick, you should stop being so outright paranoid," he said.

I know that I wasn't the only one that was looking at Saber with a confused look at what he had said. What he had told Tarra overall was fine, but what 'in-hair-ent-lea evil' and 'outright pair-ra-noid' mean, I have not the faintest clue. I had never heard the terms he used, and they were odd to me, and I was about to ask, but Saber started talking again. "What I mean by 'inherently evil' is a label or description that is put to one who naturally wishes to do things that are evil." He paused then continued, "Or in other terms, the said person will go out of their way to do things which is wrong, normally with the intent to do terrible activities for the sake of making problems for others for their pleasure and enjoyment. It is in the nature of those which are rightly labeled inherently evil to do that. I am not one that is correctly labeled inherently evil nor would I ever be."

How could he know what confused and then explain what terms had confused us without being having anything said from any of us? I would have asked that very question, but Saber kept going, "Then, 'outright paranoid' would mean that you are suspicious of everyone that you do not know well if at all. Actually, your actions remind me of an acquaintance of mine, yet back to the topic. The point is that I am not inherently evil or someone that you should be paranoid of," he explained.

Again, how did he do this? Few if any can answer a question that they are not asked, it was like he was reading our thoughts, but that was not possible. We had all come to a halt on the journey back to Carona and we were staring at Saber, "How did you do that," I asked.

Saber looked over at me questioningly, "To what are you referring," he inquired.

I would not let that slide, "You spoke in odd terms and then you without any of us asking or telling you which words confused us, told us what they mean," I returned.

Saber's expression shifted to comprehension, "Oh, the odd terms, right. Well, it is how a great deal of the human language works. It is a language that relies on inference, both metaphoric and literal meanings," Saber iterated.

He kept going in his 'explanation', but I was getting lost the more he talked, for it was very different. "That means that the language itself relies on an understanding of the said inference or meaning." What he is saying is making no more sense than what he said before it was getting harder to even follow him. "As to how I knew which terms you needed an explanation on, the dragons I have met and befriended give me a look when I say words or phrases they don't understand. That look, I have come to call the 'explanation look' tells me that there is a need to explain what I have said. As for the terms, I knew there would be a need to explain, it tends to be easy once I take a second to think about what I said."

That was supposed to be an understandable explanation? Saber must not do this kind of thing often for he is not very good at making things easier to understand. "Um, what does 'met-a-for-ic' mean," I questioned as I had never heard of the word before.

The word met-a-for-ic sounded strange and even from the context of the word did not help give a hint as to what the word meant. "Oh well, it is a figure of speech in which a word or phrase that would ordinarily mean one thing in the literal sense but use the said phrase to mean or imply some other idea. In simple terms, it is a phrase that is used not by a literal meaning, but to imply a different one, thus making an implicit comparison," he remarked simply.

That is not that helpful at saying what the word means though I get the general idea of what he is saying, it still is confusing. Then he had implied that he had met other dragons, but since he had been to Warfang, that is a given. "You k-k-know other d-dragons," asked Tarra with her usual stuttering.

Tarra and I had been working on her stutter, but it had been hard going for a while, she just does it without being able to herself. With what the apes had done to her, she had started talking like she does to cope. Others had teased her though I had stopped them from doing so for all that long, it had been long enough for Tarra not to be able to do well around most especially those she does not know.

Saber turned to Tarra and smiled, "Yes indeed, they have really shown me you cannot tell who someone really is until you spend time around them more constantly. They are some of the first good friends I have had in a while because we have spent a great deal of time together and have gone through some really interesting times too. Ah the memories good times, good times," he replied to Tarra.

That implies a lot of things about Saber, many of them unsaid and sadder if anything. For him to have a hard time making and having friends was kind of odd in a way, for he does not come off like that. And there was something about Saber that was somehow unique to me and I could not say why. Yes, his scent was different and actually pleasant and sweet, it was unusual, for no other had registered like this to me. It made me more curious about Saber and the urge to find out more was very hard to resist. A harrumph from Fredrick returned me to the present since the gestures and actions that he was making were directed at Saber.

-Saber's pov-

An hour later when I noticed the signs that the trees may be thinning, my mood began rising upward with hope. Yet at the point, we came out from under the roof of trees, and I wanted to jump with joy though I held myself in check. I finally am out of that forest even if I still was tempted to hold a 'Fahrenheit 451' BBQ, still, I was stopping that urge from coming out. So, Smokey is safe in the trees, for now, that doesn't mean that it has been called off. I can always come back and have a roaring and merry bonfire roasting later, so watch out Smokey HA HA HA HA!

The four of us came to the top of a hill and I got one heck of a view of our destination which I had little information about. Below the hill on which we stood was a city that was bigger than Warfang, at least from the wall closest to me to the other side of the city that I could barely see says so. And beyond the city, I could see the blue of a large body of water likely an ocean were I to guess. However, I could be wrong as Warfang has height, where this place doesn't as much, but that was something that I could contemplate later. I was away from the apes and that was a high point that I won't deny!

The whole city that I was seeing was surrounded by a heavy wall very likely for defense and keeping out 'trouble makers'. There were three gateways into and out of the city and were the only ways in without going over and under the wall. If we were facing the 'front gate' and it faced east, then the other two gates that lead into this city were on the north and south sides. There was a great deal of the housing structures as far as I could tell throughout the city though no central area where the housing was concentrated. There were main streets that went from the gates to the center of the city with smaller streets going off of the main streets to the buildings were.

One of the other differences from Warfang was that there was a kind of canal system within the city that got water throughout the inside of the city itself. There were waterways that ran adjacent to the city wall that connected to the rest of the channel system and was fed from the outside I assumed. The smaller channels that went off the waterways and they went through the city, next to the roads and behind houses. All the structures were made of durable stone, and the was masonry well made from what I could see.

This was fascinating to observe this city was built as far as I could tell for surviving a siege for a long period of time. The designed layout of the city and the waterways proved this fact as any from the outside would have difficulty getting in. In the center of this city was a large building that looked sort of like the dragon temple back at Warfang. Overall I had to admit, I was impressed at this place as it wasn't what you would expect from the Dragon Realm. I mean I had gaped at the view of Warfang, yet I was stunned at the planning that had to have gone into this city for it appeared that more thought went into is than did Warfang.

I shook my head to get it out of the revelry of the city design and followed my companions down a path that went down the hill to the city. As we approached the gate, I looked up at it like I had at Warfang's gates and was amazed at the sheer size. Once again, I am reminded about the size difference between humans and dragons, they are bigger than us humans, I grant you that, it is just the scale is astounding! So, knowing that the scale of size difference was plain to see and very understandable, nevertheless no less awesome to behold. The city was much the same with the size as I looked around while we traveled through the city. Our group made their way to the center of the city to the temple-like structure.

We entered the temple and as we went deeper inside, I caught glimpses of rooms that looked rather similar to the one I saw at the temple at Warfang. We came into a large room, which looked like a room I had once seen in the temple at Warfang. The room, at least the one at Warfang, had been called the room of reflection and was below the council chamber. It had the same large basin as this room did, what did Spyro call it? The vision pool, I think?

I just stood by the door looking around taking in the room as Lara continued forward to the old dragon that was in the center of the room looking into the 'vision pool'. This dragon was old, I could tell with one look at him and when I say old, I mean far older than the Guardians. I estimate that the older Guardians like Terrador would be akin to late fifties early sixties range of age.

I may not know the average life span of dragon kind, but I'm sure enough to say that it is more than human beings. I mean I thought the guardians were old, to begin with, but this dragon could easily outstrip them in the age department if his appearance is anything to go by. The way he stood, implied that his posture had been better some time ago but had deteriorated with age. That was most likely due to his muscles have weakened over time and age so it would be harder to bare his weight as easily as he once could have.

His scales were a dull blue, they at one time could have been brighter, maybe a light blue yet I couldn't be sure in his case. His underbelly and wing membranes were an off white and like his scales seemed to have dulled with the passage of time and wear from whatever he had done in his life. I have observed that male adult dragons had a 'goatee' of sorts, yet this old dragon's 'goatee' was different from him, his was longer. It actually reminded me of a beard more than a goatee for it was white and not the dull blue as his scales were. Master Kai has a beard too and perhaps that was why I compare the goatee the dragon had as it brought images of my master's beard to mind.

His eyes were close to hazel, the dragon also had what appeared to be a pair of half-moon glasses perched on his snout. He had scars in several places on his body, marks that said he had lived an active life and one that most likely had fighting in it. His tail blade looked like a two-pronged blade made of crystal, but had quite a few chips in both blades, only further implying the idea that this dragon had fought many times. By the color of his scales, I would guess he was an ice dragon, but that is just a guess.

"Arkanis we have returned," announced Lara.

The dragon turned slowly to Lara and smiled, "Ah, you have indeed young Lara. Tell me, how did your explorations progress with this outing," he asked.

This Arkanis's voice was a baritone, gave me a similar feeling as Master Kai's voice does. It was soft but not quite in the fact it would have been hard to hear, kind of like what you would expect from a kind and gentle grandfather's voice if I ever had one. "Well enough, but we found an odd creature on our way back, we thought it would be best to bring it-I mean him, to you and see what you think," Lara answered glancing toward me.

Lara looking to me got Arkanis's gaze to shift to me and he studied me even if he was squinting slightly as he peered through his glasses, assumedly due to poor eyesight. We, humans, start losing our eyesight when we get older, I don't know if dragons have the same shortcoming with old age naturally. If this dragon was anything to go by, it is possible and likely that eyesight fades with age. I didn't know what to expect with this dragon, still, I see that his face implied that he was curious more than anything else. "I assume you are referring to your interesting companion by the door," Arkanis inquired.

Lara nodded at the question which I took to be my cue to introduce myself, so I took a few steps forward and bowed. I may be the only human in the dragon realm, but it would be most prudent if I make the best impression possible. Manners, no matter where you are, still are important! Master Kai had always told me that and I agreed with him, "Hello, it is nice to meet you. My name is Saber, Saber Boolock and I am what is called a human sir," I greeted.

Arkanis's brows rose slightly before he chuckled quietly, "Are you indeed? You have very good manners for one of your age," commented Arkanis.

"Master, be serious," bellowed Fredrick.

I glanced back at Fredrick, then back to Arkanis who had gained a look of bemusement, "Oh, why would you think that I am not being serious," he asked.

"He says he is a" Fredrick began, though he couldn't come up with the word human when talking about me.

"Human," I supplied that to Fredrick flatly. If he was going to call me something, it might as well by the correct term even if it wouldn't help me.

"Yes, a hue-man, but there is no such creature," finish Fredrick.

And Fredrick says that with me not more than ten feet from him, do I really come off like that? Do I really look like someone that would lie so easily? However, Arkanis rose a notch in my estimation with his reaction! Arkanis smiled as if he was talking to a child that was giving an incorrect answer. He, in the position of a teacher, was calmly helping the child understand the error and see the correct answer. "Hmm, just because you have not heard about a creature does not mean that it does not exist young Fredrick. As it happens, I have heard of the creatures that call themselves humans long ago. Nevertheless, Saber here is the first one I have seen myself," he replied which gave me a small bit of comfort.

After a moment though the implications of what Arkanis had said sunk in and I was shocked by them! He was the first dragon who had even heard of humans even if he had never seen one! That meant it was likely that humans had been to the Dragon Realm before at some point or that dragons had gone to the human world and returned. As amazing as this realization was to me, there were more pressing matters to worry about at this time. I needed to get back to Warfang as soon as possible, preferably before the army of apes got there! Yet, if it was just me against the ape army that I had seen… I'm not stupid. Were I to against numbers like that, my actions would be like a drop of water in a freaking hundred-gallon barrel! Let's say things wouldn't end pretty and leave it at that!

I really don't think I have a prayer of winning or even lasting long enough to make enough of a difference. Still, here and now there was an opportunity presented with me being in this place. If all the dragons here were to come and help, then the army of the apes would be much harder pressed to assault Warfang and be successful. Convincing them would be by no means easy, but nothing of value ever is! I snapped out of my thoughts at hearing Fredrick speaking, "He looks more like an ape," said Fredrick.

I felt the familiar surge of anger at being called an ape. I wasn't about to let that go without saying anything in response, "Oh for the love of," I growled. I didn't even realize when I switch from speaking English, which dragons seem to understand, to speaking in Japanese. "How many freaking times, do I have to say that I am not an ape?! Even comparing me to those dense and stupid primates is an insult I have a hard time taking. Then with recent events, I have to suffer through a hell that those very stupid primates put me through. It is just… aggravating!"

My breathing was hard from venting my anger, I hadn't vented like this for a least a year and it felt good to do so! I then took a deep breath and calm myself down as I kept telling myself it wasn't worth blowing up about at the moment any more than I already had. The chance to get payback on those apes will come, I must have patience if I'm to have my vengeance on them! As the saying goes, 'good things come to he who waits'.

I regained my composure before looking back at the dragons that I had for in my moment of anger forgotten were in the room with me. The said dragons were looking at me with confusion and with a look that I could only guess was them wondering. At what… well, I don't know, it was difficult to exactly read their expressions, but I wasn't seeing very good implications. Such reactions didn't make any sense to me, so I took a second to mentally rewind and replay the last few minutes back in my mind trying to figure out why they would have such looks. Yes, I could understand surprise looks at getting mad and ranting, but the confusion is one I don't get.

Although, as I replayed the scene back in my mind I realized that I had switched from speaking English to spouting Japanese. I had forgotten of the… 'glitch' for a lack of better terms that I developed due to an incident that a friend of mine and I got into and… actually, that is a story for a different time. By the look of it, the dragons didn't understand the Japanese language, good to know and keep in mind for future reference. I bowed in apology to the dragons and spoke to them in English this time, "I am sorry you saw that. I have good control over my emotions, yet I do have times that I lose my control and… well, as you just saw, I vent the said emotion heavily."

-Lara's pov-

Saber had just snapped words that I had never heard before, it sounded like he had been speaking a different language. Thus far, Arkanis had not said much other than he had heard of humans and that such did exist. Fredrick had argued but Arkanis had been calm and had been the teacher he always was. Yet, after Fredrick had compared Saber to apes, Saber had seemed to lose his temper a margin and that is when he started saying gibberish. I would have asked, but Tarra beat me to it, "W-what were you s-saying, I did n-not understand w-what you were s-saying at all?"

Saber shrugged, "Well that is not very surprising really, I was speaking in a different language," he replied.

He says that as if knowing and being able to speak an entirely different language is nothing out of the ordinary. The more I learn about Saber, the more mystified I become about him and yet, I still just want to know more. I cocked my head to the side slightly, "Different language, how do you know a completely different language," I inquired.

Saber gained a sheepish expression, "Well, I kind of picked it up from an individual I know and spent time around," he replied.

Okay, so this 'individual' is likely another species that Saber knows wherever he is from then. But why is it, that I am feeling irritated that Saber is putting things in what seems a vague and unidentifiable way? He and I do not know each other well, yet I am getting irritated that he appears to either avoid answer questions he is asked or gives an answer most do not understand. "Oh," I posed, "then what is your friend?"

Saber's expression for a brief moment morphed into a mix of surprise and confusion before it settled on a thoughtful look. He did not speak for half a minute, then, "Um well," Saber began, "said individual is human just like me, he is just born somewhere else than I," Saber seemed to hesitate, "was."

Why was there hesitation at the end as he had been I believe referring to the place he had been born? That did not make sense, where one comes from should be fine, none should be judged by it. And it did not seem like Saber was hiding anything, but it still felt like something was being left out, why I cannot say. "So then, humans speak different languages with each other," I questioned.

"Well yes, depending on where they are born," Saber confirmed. "The major areas of the world have different languages that the people there speak natively."

I would have kept asking more but Arkanis came in at that point, "As interesting as it would be to know more of how the human realm works, there are more important things to talk about I would think. If you do not mind Saber, I would like to hear about your journey that has at this time brought you here to us," he stated.

Saber blinked, "Oh okay, that should not be a problem though I recommend that you make yourselves comfortable, my story is not short," Saber returned.

Saber began his story and quite quickly I was left to just sit, listen and wonder what had taken Saber through the journey he had been on and why. He had gone through so much and yet come out of the events all right when I would think many would not. I mean, but what I was hearing, there were some that appeared to only make Saber's life harder, these 'Guardians' he speaks of being some. By what Saber said, they did not trust him even when Saber had given no reason for them to distrust him. Then this Terrador had gotten close to killing Saber for having a difference of opinion. Really, the only race from the Dragon Realm that had not tried to do him harm was the moles.

The apes had done the worst to Saber overall, which I would kind of expect, but not to the extent that Saber was telling. They had made multiple attempts to hurt and even kill Saber both while he was with a group and when he was alone. His stay in the ape's city that was apparently hidden in the mountains to the west of Carona had been horrible. Saber was kept alive but was regularly beaten to varying degrees before he escaped.

It was close to nightfall by the time that Saber finished summarizing his journey and I could not help but be amazed. The things that Saber had talked about were what one expects to hear from stories, not real life. And I was not the only one that did not know what to say about Saber's tale, Tarra and Fredrick were in the same position. Fredrick was looking at Saber with a little respect which was a nice change as Fredrick has a good heart even if it does not always show. Tarra was gazing at Saber with awe at the things he had told us, and I could understand. Arkanis was nodding at the story and seemed to be thinking, "That is an amazing tale, you certainly have had a rough journey to be sure," he said.

Saber nodded in agreement to Arkanis and I was of the same mind, then Fredrick spoke up at that point, "I am sorry about what I said before. I admit a story like that is very unlikely to be a lie with the details you gave. You have done things that prove that you are not dangerous to those here."

I smiled as Fredrick can be stubborn, but he tries to learn from mistakes he makes and this was an example. Saber's response was to blink and have an expression of surprise, "It is okay Fredrick, we all can misjudge others. In fact, it happens quite often as I have seen," he remarked.

My mind went back to a particular point or rather character Saber mentioned several times in his tale, that being Spyro the purple dragon. The others were still talking while I thought about this Spyro for if what Saber said was true, then much of my world will come crashing down. Saber mentioned that Spyro had told him that he had defeated Malefor the Dark Master. Should that be the case, then all my preparation and training would be for nothing and that thought was very unpleasant to me.

The years of training and work had been hard, it had been all for achieving a goal that I had always been told was my responsibility. I had given up lots of things for that work that I could have had and experienced because I was expected to. "You have to defeat the Dark Master," and "as a purple dragoness, only you can save us," had been what others have told me over and over. I lost count of how many times those and other lines similar had been said to me to get me to train and prepare while others my age played and did not worry. It was what was said to me when I wanted to stop and say that I could not do what everyone said that I was the one that would defeat the Dark Master. But if this Spyro had gone and already defeated Malefor, then what was all I went through for?!

I kept brooding upon this, it just would not leave me alone as I tried to dismiss the thoughts. There came the point that I just began striding over to Saber to demand the truth from him. Saber watched me come up to him and he was looking straight back at me, "The look on your face, says you want to ask something, so go ahead and ask it," Saber said.

"You said your friend Spyro is a purple dragon, right," I posed.

"Uh yeah so, is there a problem that my friend Spyro is a purple dragon or is it something else," Saber replied.

"And what you claim he said he did, is it true," I challenged.

Saber kept staring at me, "Well, as far as I know, it is, Spyro is not one to lie by what I have seen, he is horrible at the idea really," he returned.

I glared at him before I looked down and started scratching the floor with a paw in frustration as the truth had just been confirmed to me. All my hard work for years had been for nothing and wasted and that infuriated me to comprehend that. Did I hate this Spyro? It was not that I really hated him, it felt more like he tripped me while in a race that I had been preparing for. "It must be nice for him," I muttered.

"What must be nice for my friend Spyro," Saber questioned.

I was bitter and I admit that to myself, but I do not want to admit it out loud, "He has done such amazing things," I said but did not add 'which I was supposed to do and had been readying myself for'. "He saved the world," I continued though the bitterness was starting to enter my voice, "he is perfect."

I was sulking and I know it, yet I couldn't help it as my thoughts swirled around my head. There was disappointment rising in me but also fury and sorrow at being denied the opportunity that I had prepared for. And yet, Sabers reaction was to put one of his paws over his mouth and he looked to be trying not to laugh. I am hoping that is not the case for that would be very mean of him and I want to believe he is better than that. "Lara come on, you are being kind of rude," Fredrick commented.

Rude?! Fredrick has seen some of the preparations I have been making and to be told that someone else has already done the job, so I am not being rude! Arkanis seemed to be studying Saber as he was doing what he was, "I would assume you have something to say young Saber, please tell us," Arkanis suggested.

My gaze flicked over to Saber who removed his paws from his mouth and he immediately started laughing and I do not like being laughed at. I scowled at him as he continued to laugh, but after a few minutes, he stopped, "I am sorry about laughing like that, but it is just funny that you Lara think Spyro is perfect. I just could not help myself at the thought," Saber said.

I had to try hard not to show my fangs at Saber for that comment and I held in the growl as well. "W-what do y-you mean," asked Tarra.

"Spyro will be the first to tell you that he is far from perfect," Saber replied. "In fact, I believe, if I recall correctly, Spyro says that he is just a normal dragon just like any other." Saber shrugged, "Admittedly, he is a tad naïve on many subjects of life, but that is part of his charm. Still, he is a very nice and decent dragon."

I had enough of this, I could find… other things to do with my time. After all, by what has been said, I have all the time in the Realm to choose what to do since Malefor has been beaten already. Still, I glared one more time at Saber before I huffed and left the room deciding to go off and think about things.

-Saber's pov-

I finished my tale at the point when I was on the hill taking in my view of this city. Fredrick looked at me with a little respect at my story. Tarra just looked at me in awe at the things I had told them. Lara was also amazed at my adventures with my friends. Arkanis was nodding at the story, and seemed to be thinking, "That is an amazing tale, you have had a rough journey to be sure," the older dragon remarked.

I nodded in agreement for I at times had a hard time believing what I had gone through and survived. Fredrick spoke up at that point, "I am sorry about what I said before. I admit a story like that is very unlikely to be a lie with the details you gave. You have done things that prove that you are not dangerous to those here."

I blinked as I took in what Fredrick had just said as I hadn't expected an apology, being called a liar, yes, but an apology! It was nice of him to do so, no denying that, maybe he isn't such a stubborn dragon as I first thought, "It is okay Fredrick, we all can misjudge others. In fact, it happens quite often as I have seen," I returned.

"How d-did you do all of t-that," Tarra asked still sounding like she was in awe of me.

"Oh well," I started, "my training in martial arts has helped me a great deal in surviving here. I also have studied swordsmanship which is another plus for me." I paused wondering how to explain my luck, "The other thing is I am so used to my bad luck and have I have learned how to survive and avoid the minor problems that it brings."

I suddenly noticed that Lara was closing the distance between her and me, and once she had, she looked at me right in the eyes. Her expression was different from before it was serious and I can't for the life of me say why. Now, I would under other circumstances have been over the moon about this and over it in less than ten seconds flat about this action! Why I feel this way, I don't know at all! However, moving on, the way she was looking at me, it was much too serious in my opinion for this to be friendly. "The look on your face, says you want to ask something, so go ahead and ask it," I stated.

If she wants to know something then she should just ask, "You said your friend Spyro is a purple dragon, right," she posed.

I had no idea where this line of questioning is going though I'm very curious what it is she wants to know. Why would she be interested in Spyro, what does he have that I don't? Did… I really just ask how the closest one to a best friend is better than me in the matters of a male for a female to be interested in! And besides the fact, Spyro is spoken for and Cynder ain't going to let him go and she had proven that she would fight for him with Ember! Not that I blame her for holding on to the dragon, he is quite the nice guy even I have to admit that. So, what is her angle, "Uh yeah so, is there a problem that my friend Spyro is a purple dragon or is it something else," I answered.

"And what you claim he said he did, is it true," she said in almost a challenging tone.

I couldn't stop staring at her for that for this was questioning me if I lied and I hadn't, "As far as I know it is, Spyro is not one to lie by what I have seen, he is horrible at the idea really," I replied.

Lara just kept staring at me which shifted slightly into being a glare and it was starting to make me a tad nervous. Still, have no idea why she is being like this, Lara then looked away and started to scratch the floor with one of her paws. Okay, I'm totally lost here "Must be nice for him," she muttered bitterly.

I stared at Lara with slight shock, was she… jealous of Spyro?! I didn't see that coming, but why would she be jealous? I know I have trouble understanding the female gender and everything, due to me being a guy and my knowledge I had of the female gender or rather the lack thereof. Still, I don't see any reason for Lara being jealous. If anything, it should be the other way around and Spyro being jealous of her as she isn't being worshiped and have great things expected of her… Well, not as big at least. This is all just so confusing, dang it but I might as well ask what her issue is, "What must be nice for my friend Spyro," I inquired.

"He has done such amazing things," Lara said, "he saved the world, he is perfect. "

She thinks Spyro is perfect?! She couldn't be more wrong and Spyro will openly admit he isn't perfect… and really no one is. The feeling of uncontrollable amusement spread over my body starting to shake a bit, trying not to laugh at what Lara had said. I know I shouldn't laugh at her as she was being completely serious, but with what she said, I was having a hard time keeping the laughter down. Her view of Spyro and the truth of what Spyro was really like were vastly different! Granted, her view was biased due to the information she has, is just from me and not Spyro himself, but still, this reaction was comical. I clamped my hands over my mouth to further prevent the laughter from escaping me. While I was having my inner dilemma, Fredrick looked at Lara and spoke, "Lara come on, you are being kind of rude," he said.

Arkanis was watching me as I was struggling not to laugh with what I assumed curiosity, "I would assume you have something to say young Saber, please tell us," he suggested.

Well, he did ask so, I might as well deliver in the only way I can, that is to deliver the full package and nothing less and that comes in only two sizes, those being huge and OH MY GOODNESS GRACIOUS! I released my hands from my mouth and the laughter that I had held back immediately burst out of me. I managed to stop myself from dropping to the floor to roll around as I laughed, but I was still laughing loudly. Lara gave me a really dirty look as I was laughing. It took me a few minutes to calm down from my laughing fit. After I had calmed down enough to speak, I was able to tell them my reasons why I was laughing, "I am sorry about laughing like that, but it is just funny that you, Lara think Spyro is perfect. I just could not help myself at the thought," I remarked.

"W-what do y-you mean," asked Tarra.

"Spyro will be the first to tell you that he is far from perfect. In fact, I believe, if I recall correctly, Spyro says that he is just a normal dragon just like any other," I iterated. "Admittedly, he is a tad naïve on many subjects of life, but that is part of his charm. Still, he is a very nice and decent dragon."

Lara continued to glare angrily at me for a few more minutes and then she huffed at my reply. After doing so she turned on the spot and then left the room while I just stared at the door that she had exited through in slight confusion. I swear, no matter how hard or how many time I try to understand girls, I just can't! "Was it something I said," I asked.

Arkanis frowned slightly at my question before giving me a reply, "Please do not think ill of Lara young human. She has much to think about and assess for until today, we all believed the war with Malefor was still going on. The legend of the purple dragon bringing balance to the realm is still told here as much as I would assume it is or was elsewhere. Young Lara believed as she was a purple dragon that the legend spoke of her and many believed that as well. There has only been one purple dragon at a time in the history that is known until this generation. Then, it would be her duty to face Malefor and defeat him, so she has been training and preparing for that and much of the time of preparation, she has been alone, unfortunately. Then to suddenly be told, not only is there another purple dragon making two in this generation in total, which is unheard of. Add to that astonishing fact that the said purple dragon has already done the duty that Lara thought to be her own to bear. It is little wonder that she is confused and lost for many ideas and fact she thought she knew have been proven wrong."

The feeling of guilt washed over me after hearing Arkanis's reply. Lara had been preparing her whole life to do a task with everything she has, then to be told by someone, 'the job you have been preparing for is already been done, sorry'. That just had to hurt in ways that you couldn't see and while I couldn't understand that fully, but I could to an extent. Years ago, I had been practicing and preparing myself for what I had thought would be my first kendo tournament. I had spent months practicing as hard as I could even get extra time to train in where I could to be able to win the tournament. Yet when the day came, and I had arrived at the tournament I had been told that someone else had already been chosen to participate in it weeks ago and no one had bothered to say anything. I still remember the feelings of pain and disappointment that had swelled up in me when I had heard that.

I made the decision that I had to find Lara and apologize for what I had said, even if it didn't change the facts. I owe her that much, "I need to go, I will find the two of you later," I stated before charging after Lara.

I sprinted through the halls and corridors of the temple to get outside to the city, looking around hoping that Lara hadn't gotten all that far. Sadly, I couldn't find her meaning she was already in 'hiding'. To that, I say all that meant was I would begin to search for her! As I don't know Lara very well yet, I decided it would be better to be methodical about this as it would give me the best chance of success. I would search the city by grids that would be divided up by using the water canals as boundaries. That seemed the most efficient and effective to do this for the search. Lara may be good at hiding, I wouldn't know if she is or not, that's not the point of argument. The major point in this is she had never gone against one as good at tracking as I am! No one has ever been able to escape me yet and I don't intend for anyone to start now! It would ruin my reputation and I will have none of that! LET THE HUNT FOR THE PURPLE DRAGONESS BEGIN!

I took only two breaks during my search for Lara, those breaks being for meals, lunch, and dinner nothing else. They had been short ones so that I had the most amount of uninterrupted time searching and Lara had as little time to move to a place I have already searched. She might not move, but I couldn't discount the possibility she could. This search for the dragoness had proven at least two things to me, first is that this city is freaking huge, more than Warfang. And second, Lara is very good at not being found as I assume she doesn't want to be. Those facts didn't deter me, if anything, then it revved me up all the more! I love a challenge and Lara was providing me one, the tougher the task the more I am determined to succeed.

The sun had set and the moon was rising, when I had finally found her, she had been on the outer west side of the city on a roof of a house that faced outwards from the center. Of course, she had been one of the last places I had gone looking, she's smart and I'll concede that fact. It isn't a bad fact for a girl to be smart though, in my view, it has its attraction um-I mean, Lara being smart is a nice quality that she has. Yes, that's what I meant to say the whole time! The dragoness was lying on her back gazing up at the sky, but it's clear that she's thinking rather than stargazing.

I scrambled up from the ground level at the corner of the building to get to the roof and though I dislike climbing, I was going to do it with the work I put forth for this. My breathing became labored from all the work of finding the dragoness I'd done today along with the accent to the roof. But when I popped my head over the peak of the roof while Lara turned her head slightly, I felt the beginnings of satisfaction! After seeing me she stared in shock at seeing me now clutching onto the peak of the roof with my arms increased that feeling. "You know," I said huffing and puffing, "you are quite hard to find when you run off, I will give you that." I was forced to breathe in an out for a moment to catch my breath a bit, "Still, I found you!"

AH HA, VICTORY IS MINE! I found her and by the expression on her face, she hadn't expected anyone to find her, least of all me! Lara just continued to stare at me incredulously for a full minute before coming out of her trance, "How did you find me?! No one has been able to do that, even Tarra and Fredrick never have found me! And they have tried," she returned to me

Oh ho, so this isn't just a normal victory, it's an amazing victory! Anyways, I took the time to catch my breath before giving a weak smile. Oh if only she knew the lengths to which I would go when I am given the right motivation! The years it took for me to somewhat knowingly, but mostly unintentionally developed my drive! "I would suspect that I am more stubborn than anyone you have ever met. Not one to give up on anything that I start. So, feel free to run as much as you want. Am more than willing and I would even dare you to try. I will still find you in the end, I guarantee it," I replied.

"I have half a mind of testing that claim." Remarked Lara.

I smirked at the thought, 'oh please, go right ahead Lara', but being a gentleman that I am, I'll be nice and give her a handicap. She won't and can't hide from me even with one, but it's the thought that counts right? "Be my guest, I will even give you a head start since you are a girl and as a gentleman, I will give you the option if you want. I have always loved a good challenge, so bring it on," I challenged.

-Lara's pov-

I had been feeling miserable before and who would not in my position? I have been training for the day I would defeat Malefor and suddenly some strange being that you bring home comes and says the job has already been done. Why not just swipe me in the jaw and scratch deep while telling me that all my training and preparation had been for nothing. My life as it was leading up to is over, so what do I do now? I kept thinking, when I heard a scraping from below, raising my head to see what is making the sounds even if it was probably nothing. Yet, when I looked to see the cause of the sound, I was incredulous, for it was the human Saber climbing to the roof. "You know," he said huffing and puffing, "you are quite hard to find when you run off, I will give you that." He paused for a moment as he was breathing hard, "Still, I found you!"

I could only stare at him incredulously for a couple more seconds for he should not be here, how did he find me? No one has found me before, so how did he of all individuals do so? "How did you find me?! No one has been able to do that, even Tarra and Fredrick never have found me, and they have tried," I demanded.

He gave a weak smile still breathing hard, and that for some reason both annoyed me and yet gave me a somewhat warm feeling in my heart. "I am stubborn as can be and I am not one to give up on anything that I start. So, feel free to run as much as you want, I will still find you in the end, I guarantee that" was his reply.

He is underestimating me if he thinks he can catch me so easily, and if needed I will make him eat those words. "I have half a mind of testing that claim," I challenged.

Saber snorted to my reply, "Be my guest, I will even give you a head start since you are a girl if you want. I have always loved a good challenge, so bring it on," he returned.

I considered for a moment, would it be worth the time and effort I would need to put in to have fun with this human? No, I doubt it, I am too tired anyways for this day had been one of the worst ones I have had in a while. I sighed at that and laughed hollowly, "Yeah, no thanks. You probably would chase me no matter how far I would go as you were able to find me once already, it is clear you will not leave me alone," I snapped. I sighed irritably, "I was so stupid to think you were any different than any other stupid male! You are just as inconsiderate, as annoying and selfish." Then I glared at Saber, "So, what do you want then? Are you here to destroy something more? Make me feel more miserable than I already am? Laugh more at my expense? Too bad for you, I have nothing else for you to take away to make me feel worse than I already do!"

Saber frowned and sighed at my reply to him, which suggested to me that he was not going to leave me be, why will he not leave me alone? I was already mad at him as he was the one who had told me about this Spyro. I was getting really depressed just thinking about it all like the things I thought I knew were shattered. What more could he want to say?! Saber speaking drew my attention, "Okay look," Saber began, "my intention of telling you about Spyro was not to bring you down in any way and I am sorry if that is what I did. I understand you are not happy with what I have told you, so I do not blame you for lashing out at me even if it was uncalled for," he said. "However, I cannot say being compared to the guys you have met feels anything but insulting to me with your descriptions."

Does he really think that is what is irritating and depressing me? That is not my issue, it is someone else went and did the task I was preparing for, that I promised friends I would succeed at. If the ancestors ever let me see Koren or Azreyel again, then I cannot face them now that I had not done what I promised them I would. Saber kept going, "Spyro is my friend, and I like to talk about the good features and qualities that my friends have, it is just the way I am. Frankly, I wish I had some of the same qualities myself, it is one of the things that draw me to those I make friends with, the good qualities they have."

I snorted at his comment for what kind of lame excuse is that? It reminds me of Arkanis when he gives those lines of wisdom that he does, "It is your fault you are a selfish dumb male! And you sound like Arkanis when he teaches lessons, always look for the good and everything. It all sounds nice when you say it, but when you get into a situation that you try and do that, there is just," I paused. Should I be honest with him? Well, what harm would it do if I am, a sigh escaped me before I continued, "What good is there for me now that I find out I am not the purple dragon of legend. That has been my life and now I have nothing."

I lay my head back and was going to go back to my sulking when I heard Saber jump. I thought he had finally taken the hint to leave me alone but hearing commotion next to me I turned to look at what was going on. And I found Saber had not left but had slid down to be next to me, what was he trying to do? He took a deep breath and looked up at the sky, "Well you are alive now are you not," Saber posed.

What is he getting at, "Yeah, so what difference does that make," I replied.

Saber snickered a little at my reply, so I shoved him softly with my forepaws to get him to stop laughing for I do not like being teased. "You think that you have things bad Lara, try for a moment standing in my shoes, which mean try seeing what things are like from my position."

He paused for a moment then continued, "You are in a place that you know little to nothing about. The creatures here are ones you hear about in stories but do not exist in the place you call home. You find that you can do things that you were not able to do before and you have no idea how or why that is. Top that off with getting injured and maimed along the way by creatures that back home cannot talk and are not something you worry about. Lastly, you go through being held prisoner by apes and wonder if you will ever see the light of day again," Saber glanced at me, "need I go on," he asked.

Wow, he does have it pretty bad, maybe I have been a little hard on him. I mean he was just the one telling the story, not the one who did it. With that being the case, I should do right in this and apologize. "Well, after hearing that it is hard to say my life is bad," I commented.

Then Saber said something I did not expect, "When the going gets tough, do not stop. You should not be so quick to give up and give in Lara," he said.

That one line snapped me to attention for the last time I had heard it had been the last time I had seen Azreyel. He used to say stuff like that as had Koren to keep my spirit up, so to hear that kind of idea again took me by surprise. I could only stare at Saber, "Why did you," I started but stopped. It had to be an odd happenstance, he could not be the same, he is completely different from Azreyel. Plus, if he was, he would have recognized me, so I guess this is my heart and mind playing a joke on me. I shook my head, "I am sorry for being how I have around you," I apologized.

Saber shrugged, "It is okay, but let me tell you something. You may not believe me, but if I told Spyro about the life you have, he would be jealous of you," Saber said.

I looked at him, my eye ridges raising as what he said sounded outrageous, "Oh really, I have a hard time seeing that, why would he be jealous," I questioned.

"He never asked to be 'the purple dragon of legend'," Saber started, "I imagine any more than you did. I mean, who would want to be famous for something like that and have the huge burden of such expectations set on themselves?"

I gawked a bit, how could he know I never wanted the burden, I have not told any other than a select few and he is not one of them. Saber continued, "Spyro never wanted the job either by what he said himself. Heck, he was raised believing he was a dragonfly, however, but he had the courage to do what needs to be done." Saber threw up his paws, "He actually hates crowds, to be honest, Spyro does not like the fame he gets because of him fighting his hardest. In fact, if you promise to keep this to yourself, I can tell you what he dreams to do now." I was curious as to what Saber would say, as he was friends with Spyro. What could the dream of the dragon who saved the realm be? I nodded my assent, so he kept going, "Spyro really just wants to have a family."

That is it?! That is all that the purple dragon who defeated Malefor wants! I stare in disbelief, "That is it?"

Saber nodded at me and I could not figure out how that worked. For some dragon so great to want something so simple, it just seems so odd. "That is what he wants, simple yet that is his dream. And that sly dog is already working on that said dream rather nicely with a certain dragoness, I will leave nameless for the time being," Saber returned with an odd tone.

Huh? What does 'sligh dog' mean, what is a 'dog'? "Um 'sly dog'," I asked.

"Oh um, a sly dog is a term of slang that is used for someone who is… 'doing very well' at things that are of an 'intimate nature' with another of the opposite gender normally," Saber said.

I process what Saber said and I understood what he meant, the feeling of my face heating up in a blush. Saber cleared his throat to regain my attention, "Anyway, back to the subject, you are still alive and so still have opportunities."

What would he know about my life? "Like what," I posed.

He shrugged his shoulders, "I have no idea, that is for you to find out. That is one of the big questions of life, what do I do now? Only to whom it concerns can answer that question, no one else."

I looked at him curiously as he was very different from any male I had ever met. Most would just see me like some piece of meat, but Saber did not seem to see me like that. I felt my heart flutter at this thought, could I be developing feelings for this Human? Well, there is something I cannot quite place that is alluring about him and what is the harm?

"What," asked Saber.

"You are different than anyone else that I have ever met, you see things so differently. How do you do it," I inquired.

Saber seemed to consider the question, "Well, as long as I can remember, life or rather my luck has thrown its worse at me and I have learned how to take it and keep going. My teacher gave me a piece of advice when I was young that has stuck with me throughout my life. That is 'no matter what comes, keep moving forward'. That one piece of advice has gotten me through the many problems I have had to face, and I can assure you that problem number is not small at all," Saber said.

I smiled back at him as my heart beat faster and I had to admit he was not bad on the eyes. Yes, he is not a dragon, but variety is not a bad thing at all, "That is good advice to have in mind," I replied. I paused for a moment and thought about whether I should go farther. Well, why not? "Thanks for cheering me up, it is really sweet. You are not only the first male who has tracked me down but one who has tried to cheer me up without another reason for doing so."

Saber seemed to be having some kind of internal conflict and I found his reactions very amusing. He is very cute while doing so too, "It is no problem, you are nice and deserve to be treated as such, and it is only natural to want to cheer you up, ha ha ha," Saber was saying.

I began to inch closer to Saber, it was clear that I was definitely attracted to him and it felt completely right. I know I had been starting to go into heat though I was not in full heat yet still, I was drawn to this human. It felt somehow natural in a way so I will go with this. After a few more seconds my maw had contact with his and it was wonderful bliss to me. I had finally, at long last found a male that I liked and was not disgusted by, I had found a male that could be my mate!

-Saber's pov-

Lara appeared to be contemplating my challenge, but then sighed at that and laughed hollowly, "Yeah, no thanks, you probably would chase me no matter how far I would go as you were able to find me once already, it is clear you will not leave me alone," she said to me. I didn't get the chance to answer for my defense for the dragoness let out a frustrated sigh, "I was so stupid to think you were any different than any other stupid male! You are just as inconsiderate, as annoying and selfish," she growled at me.

Ouch! Lara after growling that line out turned to face me directly and the expression on her face was not nice at all! She was mad, "So, what do you want then? Are you here to destroy something more? Make me feel more miserable than I already am? Laugh more at my expense? Too bad for you, I have nothing else for you to take away to make me feel worse than I already do," she shot at me.

A frown formed on my face at her reply, her lashing tirade had hurt, it had cut me real deep! First, to be told Lara thought I was like other guys were normally something I would have had no problem with. Yet, the way she had put it, sounded like she hadn't met a good or gentleman like guys thus far, which is very sad for her. That means I'm being compared to pimps, scumbags, and idiots… great, that's just horribly insulting! Then she figuratively slaps me hard by asking what more I could take from her that I hadn't done already. To top this off, it had been me that had made her feel down in the dumps. I had already guessed she would be kind of mad at me as I was the one who had told her about Spyro, but I didn't think it was going to be like this!

She's really depressed right now and so, I'm forced into the role of doing damage control. It does come up from time to time, but this was worse than what I normally deal with. It's plain to see a lot of damage control is in store that would be done by me. The phrase, 'attacking the messenger' comes to mind though I would prefer 'hate the message and not the messenger'. No such luck with me, "Okay look, my intention of telling you about Spyro was not to bring you down in any way and I am sorry if that is what I did. I understand you are not happy with what I have told you, so I do not blame you for lashing out at me even if it was uncalled for," I stated.

Being compared to others is something I tend to ignore as it is an idea that is sent my way far more often than not. But for some reason, Lara doing the idea got to me, "However, I cannot say being compared to the guys you have met feels anything but insulting to me with your descriptions." I paused and considered how to say what needed to be said, "Spyro is my friend, and I like to talk about the good features and qualities that my friends have, it is just the way I am. Frankly, I wish I had some of the same qualities myself, it is one of the things that draw me to those I make friends with, the good qualities they have."

She snorted at my comment, "It is your fault you are a selfish dumb male! And all your talk sounds like, is Arkanis when he teaches lessons, always look for the good in a situation and everything. It all sounds nice when you say it, but when you get into a situation that you try and do that, there is just," she trailed off.

I doubt any guy in their right mind wants to hear a girl call them dumb… and did she imply I'm self-absorbed?! I'm no exception in not liking being called things as she has said to me, I'm not self-absorbed! I've gone to great lengths to separate myself from the douchebag category with Uncle Douchebag as prime motivation! Although I like the sound of her saying I sound like Arkanis, it feels more like a high compliment for that is like saying I'm like Master Kai and THAT'S an amazing compliment to me!

She had paused and sighed before continuing, " What good is there for me now that I find out I am not the purple dragon of legend. That has been my life and now I have nothing," Lara uttered.

Can this dragoness be any glummer? And what was that about a promise? You know, this would be easier if I were closer to her plus, my legs and arms will start to fall asleep if I stay where I am much longer. I hopped over the peak in the roof and slid down to end up lying next to Lara. She glanced over at me with surprise now that I was next to her within her reach. I took a deep breath and looked up at the sky that now was painted by a sea of stars. A pep talk would be a wise thing to try, so here goes, " Well you are alive now are you not," I asked.

"Yeah, so what difference does that make," Lara replied bitterly.

I snickered a little at her response, she shoved me softly with her forepaws to get me to stop laughing. She seems to have forgotten the things that have occurred to me since I got to the Dragon Realm! It has been a flat-out miracle that I'm alive right now with the attempts on my life and the other crap I take. " You think that you have things bad Lara, try for a moment standing in my shoes, which mean try seeing what things are like from my position," I began.

I was organizing my thoughts on how to make a meaningful summary of what I've been dealing with. "You are in a place that you know little to nothing about. The creatures here are ones you hear about in stories but do not exist in the place you call home. You find that you can do things that you were not able to do before and you have no idea how or why that is. Top that off with getting injured and maimed along the way by creatures that back home cannot talk and are not something you worry about. Lastly, you go through being held prisoner by apes and wonder if you will ever see the light of day again," my gaze locked onto Lara's eyes, "need I go on," I posed.

Lara gained an expression of pity, "Well, after hearing that it is hard to say my life is bad," she replied.

I was going to leave the pep talk off there, when my mouth started moving on its own and spouting things that I wasn't telling it to, "When the going gets tough, do not stop. You should not be so quick to give up and give in Lara," I heard myself saying. I have no idea where that last line came from, but it does sound good and is something I tell myself often enough, so I'll let it go as it is. I agree with the implications of the line, I just didn't mean to say something like that… strange it just comes out without me thinking.

Lara was staring at me in surprise. Why I haven't a clue, "Why did you," she began asking, but then stopped, shook her head after a moment and continued, "I am sorry for being how I have around you," returned Lara.

"It is okay but let me tell you something. You may not believe me, but if I told Spyro about the life you have, he would be jealous of you," I mentioned.

Lara looked at me, her eye ridges raised, " Oh really, I have a hard time seeing that, why would he be jealous," she questioned.

"He never asked to be 'the purple dragon of legend'," I started, as Spyro had said that to me several times, "I imagine any more than you did. I mean, who would want to be famous for something like that and have the huge burden of such expectations set on themselves?"

Honestly, fame is way too overrated than most people think, and it is usually people that have any experience with either side of fame. Spyro gets the popular kind of fame, which comes worship and the like, whereas I get the unpopular kind that is associated with infamy. I kept going, "Spyro never wanted the job either by what he said himself. Heck, he was raised believing he was a dragonfly, however, but he had the courage to do what needs to be done."

That Spyro had thought himself a dragonfly made a little sense at first, but not much after thinking about it. For Spyro, it should have been obvious that he was different after one glance at a reflective surface. I simply threw up my hands, "He actually hates crowds, to be honest, Spyro does not like the fame he gets because of him fighting his hardest. In fact, if you promise to keep this to yourself, I can tell you what he dreams to do now." Lara nodded slowly to me, "Spyro really just wants to have a family."

Lara stares in disbelief, "That is it," she breathed

I nodded at her, knowing that simple yet fulfilling was Spyro in a nutshell for you. I can completely respect my friend for his dream alone, and that's before you take into account his humility which is huge! "That is what he wants, simple yet that is his dream. And that sly dog is already working on that said dream rather nicely with a certain dragoness, I will leave nameless for the time being," I said.

"Um 'sly dog'," Lara asked.

"Oh um, a sly dog is a term of slang that is used for someone who is… 'doing very well' at things that are of an 'intimate nature' with another of the opposite gender normally," I said trying not to say what I was meaning blunter than I already had.

I saw a faint blush come to her cheeks, so she apparently understood the meaning of what I had said. This subject isn't my forte, but I tried my best. Anyways. I cleared my throat before I continued, " Anyway, back to the subject, you are still alive and so still have opportunities," I told Lara.

"Like what?" she questioned me.

I shrugged my shoulders in response, "I have no idea, that is for you to find out. That is one of the big questions of life, what do I do now? Only to whom it concerns can answer that question, no one else," I stated.

Lara looked at me curiously and I didn't know what to make of her expression, "What," I posed.

"You are different than anyone else that I have ever met, you see things so differently. How do you do it," she answered.

Okay, could this be a step up in standing maybe for me with Lara? Still back to her question for it is a complex one and I'll answer that the best I can, "Well, as long as I can remember, life or rather my luck has thrown its worse at me and I have learned how to take it and keep going. My teacher gave me a piece of advice when I was young that has stuck with me throughout my life. That is 'no matter what comes, keep moving forward'. That one piece of advice has gotten me through the many problems I have had to face, and I can assure you that problem number is not small at all," I said.

Lara smiled back at me, and once more my heart skipped a beat in response which doesn't happen often. Also, I was starting to have trouble thinking straight and these two signs were confusing me. What is going on here?! "That is good advice to have in mind," she replied. Why am I feeling like I should smack myself across the face for being an idiot right now? Other than having difficulty thinking straight, I've done nothing that can be considered so stupid. Lara paused for a moment and seemed to think about something, "Thanks for cheering me up, it is really sweet. You are not only the first male who has tracked me down but one who has tried to cheer me up without another reason for doing so," she remarked.

That took me by surprise, I mean, I know I'm for some reason attracted to Lara. However, by what she said there had been multiple male dragons making attempts to catch her attention. That brought a wave of burning anger to well up in me and it took me a moment to figure out what was happening. I was jealous, yet I shouldn't be and that just irked me more. How can I be jealous of other dragons having an interest in Lara, because that doesn't make sense at all! I shouldn't be feeling emotions like this at all about information of this kind! I don't have that kind of relationship with Lara, we met this morning for freaking sakes!

Although, I'm not saying it wouldn't be nice to have that kind of idea with her… No no no no, I shouldn't be thinking that! if I think of a simple subject that can't get me into trouble, I should be fine. A color, there's no way color can make me have strange thoughts, so then let's see, a good color… the color purple is really nice. It gets noticed and it happens to be the color of her scales… Crap, subject change!

You know, now that I consider it, maybe if it was just her and me then… Wrong direct for the subject change! Hold on, it is just Lara and me, so I guess it's… HOLY MOTHER OF… WHAT AM I THINKING?! I, the long ago was unable to think clearly, let alone straight any more. I banged the back of my head against the roof under me firmly to get those kinds of thoughts out of my mind by force. The sharp pain of the bang had helped clear my mind slightly before I spoke to Lara again, "It is no problem, you are nice and deserve to be treated as such, and it is only natural to want to cheer you up, ha ha ha."

Lara smiled, turned to me so that she was on her side now, then she started to slowly move closer to me. This is starting to get me REAL nervous about what was going to happen with her getting closer to me! The feel of the atmosphere around us was getting really mellow almost… romantic! My mind was screaming to move away and get space between Lara and myself immediately! But as I tried, my gaze fell onto her azure eyes I just froze where I was unable to break away from the stare. Lara just kept getting closer and closer and as she did I saw her close her eyes. …Is she about to do what I think she is?! NO NO NO NO I CAN'T DO THAT! SHE IS A DRAGONESS AND…

The thought melted and vanished entirely, all that remained was the feel of indescribable softness being pressed against my lips. I literally thought my heart had stopped as if I were dead! My eyes were wide, and both my pupils were the size of the head of a pen with shock as I stared dumbly at Lara's action. The feeling of Lara's lip or whatever dragons have pressed against mine was somehow liberating, Lara… was… KISSING ME!

It was like my mind had been whipped clean and become blissfully blank when she pressed her lips against mine. It was a wonderful feeling, there were no worries plaguing my mind, no thoughts saying how wrong things are, just wonderful, blissful emptiness. Then the soft feel to her lips was unlike anything I have ever experienced. I never thought a girl's lips would feel like this, certainly not a female of another species! I have never experienced this feeling and I wish I had deep down. I didn't know how long it had been before she pulled back with a quiet pop of our lips disconnecting. It was then I felt my heart start pumping again, going miles a minute, "Good night, hope to see you in the morning," Lara said to me.

I vaguely heard Lara giggle as she glided down from the roof while I just laid there frozen in a state of shock at what had just happened. I had absolutely no idea what kind of face I had at the current moment as I was still as good as brain dead. It took me a good ten minutes before I came out of my stupor. When my logical mind firmly asserted itself and began to take charge, I began to understand what had just taken place. It was then I felt and knew what kind of face I had, and I literally smack myself across the face with my right hand. I was slacked jawed, eyes wide much like a… love… struck… IDIOT! I am such a stupid idiot! What is wrong with me?!

For the first time, there was a girl… well, dragoness as is the case, but still she is a female who had shown an interested in me and what do I do? I pull the stupidest world class idiot look ever and it is to my shame! What is it about Lara that robs me of my ability to think straight at all?! I will need to take care of her! My ability to think straight even under the most stressful situations has been one of the biggest reasons I am still alive right now! My 'stay' with the apes was the proof of the concept to an absolute! That was the worst situation I have been in so far, being a 'prisoner of war' in a fashion. Yet I didn't fold under the stress and pressure I was under back at that time!

I really have no idea how to take this development and this is just the beginning of this situation. I can't see how this could get worse for me. I suddenly felt a shudder run through my whole body. I just realized how this could be worse! This thought came in the form of what crap I would be forced to take should IC ever, EVER, found out about this! He must never ever learn of this, I will never hear the end of it if he does! The others I doubt will give me much trouble about this. Actually, I have the feeling that they would most likely be congratulating me, at least I hope that was all I would have to go through.

This is just too much to worry about this late at night so I will think about it in the morning. Right now, I needed to find Tarra or Fredrick and ask them where I will be sleeping tonight. YES, for the first time in… however long I was with the apes, I get to not sleep on the ground, thank goodness! It didn't have to look for long before I found Fredrick and Tarra, or rather they found me to be more precise. "Saber where have you been? We have been looking for you a good portion of the day," greeted Fredrick.

Tarra was nodding, "You went l-looking for Lara, d-did you find h-her," she added.

I smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of my neck. What do I tell them of what transpired between Lara and me, should I tell them anything? Well, I think I know which answer I will go with, "Well, sorry about leaving you both to go looking and all, but I felt really bad about what I said. So I finally found her and apologized to her, that is all," I replied, as that's my story and I am sticking to it!

Nothing else happened between Lara and me! Some may say something else may or may not have happened during the time Lara and I were together! I say 'DON'T YOU BELIEVE IT!' It's an insinuation that no one can prove! If anyone says otherwise, then I deny all responsibility, involvement and any other way someone can think of to tie me to such rumors or accusations. It's crap and nothing else and I'll state that under an oath for the record!

"You f-found her," Tarra questioned.

Apparently, Tarra is surprised I found Lara and you know, I think Lara said something about me being the first to track her down or something like that. I nodded in response, "Okay then, well we were looking for you since you ran off before you were told where you will be staying," said Fredrick.

I let out a sigh of relief that they didn't ask further at what had happened, "Thanks Fredrick, I am tired and could really use some sleep, so lead the way."

Fredrick nodded and the three of us started off. As we got to the east side of the city Fredrick spoke up again.

"By the way, Arkanis has asked us to tell you that he would like you to come by tomorrow morning."

Tarra nodded in confirmation of what Fredrick had said, "Um sure, I could do that. I have no problem with that," I replied.

We by that time had reached the house that I assumed I would be staying in and so, I bowed to Fredrick and Tarra before entering the house. The house was the size of an apartment… well, dragon size of that idea which was huge to a human. I went over to the bed and flopped onto it and sighed as I was tired from all the events of the day. Still, I had made good progress in making things better. Last night I had been in a dark cell with apes all around me, now I was in a house in a bed away from apes and with dragons. I still had the goal to get back to Warfang, so I still had steps to take to get to those results. Yet progress is still progress and for me, I will take what I can get and I shortly dropped off to sleep after such thoughts.

The next morning, I opened my eyes to the rays of sunlight that filtered through the window in the house that had been provided for me. Were I to say I was grateful, that would be a massive understatement for there as a vast difference from what I had been experiencing recently! I was able to see the sunlight where I had been unable to in the cell I was in with the apes. My back was less sore now that I had slept in a bed and it felt wonderful. Finally, my life is starting to look up for once, and it is about dang time in my opinion!

Before exiting my bed, I took a second to recall the dream I had last night as I'd had one. I remember that Koren had been in them, but I couldn't recall much else, yet I felt that there was something important from the dream but I couldn't recall it. Oh well, if it is important, then I will remember it later. I jumped out of bed to stand on my feet and put my hands together in quiet prayer.

"God," I began, "thank you for this wonderful sight to wake up to, you are doing much better at our bargain. Keep this up and I might start believing again, so a little suggestion for you, DON'T BE STUPID AND BLOW IT FOR THE SAKE OF ENTERTAINMENT," I snarled.

I took a deep breath and exhaled before I stretched and then grabbed my new sword and slipped it into the loop of cloth on the back of my makeshift belt. I exited out the door and took in the new day that came with wonderful freedoms. It was still quiet as I took in my surroundings though it was still early for most as it was around an hour after dawn. As for me, it is a little later than I tend to start my day but that means I just got to sleep in a little and I wouldn't say no to that. So with the freedom to choose how my day goes again, I intend to enjoy it to the fullest thank you very much. And honestly, I haven't felt this good in a long while, so did a couple laps around the city for a good warm up and planned to move on from there. I started off at a jog to the outer city wall and began to jog around the city to begin my morning routine.

My brisk jog that was more of a slow run around the city took me about half an hour. I made three laps in total, and I estimated the whole warm up to be twelve kilometers in total distance, so around four kilometers for each lap with a kilometer for each side of the city. Oh, how good it felt to be able to be up and move and not be locked in a dank dark cell! I ended my warm up at the temple, as it had the most open space to work with.

It was odd, but I felt boundless energy coursing through me and I have no idea where the energy came from, yet I don't care at the moment. I felt like I could do anything, and even though I couldn't explain it, I'm not going to complain about it. I began to go through my normal morning routine however, I was doing the movements at least double the speed I would normally, if not three times. The more I saw of this change, the more humorous it became, I mean, the real difference was I felt beyond great today. Nonetheless, I see no reason to question the unforeseen change or let such good fortune go to waste!

I was feeling pumped more than I have ever before, I know there had to have been a change to me for this to be happening. Yet right now, I want to see just how far this new well of strength and energy would go. I kept going hard, but I wasn't getting tired at all and my mood kept climbing higher and higher. I swear, just give me time and a mountain and I would demolish it into pebbles and rubble and barely break a sweat if that! I was smiling in satisfaction at the work I was doing and the strides I was making, "Would you look at me, I am setting records," I mused.

I spent the next hour finishing up my morning routine and was very satisfied with how it had gone. I was smiling genuinely for the first time in a long while, since at least Hyrule. I was enjoying the freedom I had gained back after escaping the apes, and I would trudge through hell multiple times before I let them take it from me again! After finishing, I headed towards the temple and along the way I felt someone watching me. I stopped and looked around to find the watcher happened to be Lara, who I hadn't seen her since our… meeting last night. I didn't know how to react to her at this time, but I started with a greeting, "Morning Lara."

"Good morning, you are up rather early," she replied.

Well, that greeting was fairly normal, maybe I have nothing to worry about with Lara. It may be rare, but even I can make mistakes in reading others and it seems that's the case with Lara. I guess my paranoia is getting overworked lately and with what I've been dealing with, that is easily possible. I took a deep breath and smiled back, "Actually this is kind of late for me for I tend to start early. It is kind of a habit I have gotten throughout the years," I remarked.

Lara then walked past me, but I noticed that her tail brushed my lower back lightly as she passed. There came an odd shiver from that contact of Lara's tail and I didn't much like the shiver, but I can't identify why. I felt my left eye twitch, which usually happens when I'm seriously irritated, or when girls act really weird around me. I think the term an older student used was 'coming on' for the idea and it had taken a year for me to figure out what that had meant. I can tell you I didn't ignore this twitch after I learned what the girls were doing and implying!

When I glanced to Lara as she kept going, I saw that she was swaying her hips in such a fashion that held my attention. I couldn't stop myself from staring at her and I know I shouldn't be, okay I was more gawking at her but I couldn't help it. Before she entered the temple she glanced back with a… seductive smile! She is… flirting with me? No, that can't be right and I don't want to have to deal with that type of crap again! Not after I finally got girls at the dojo to leave me alone and that had taken lots of effort! I smacked my face with my own hand hard to get my brain back on task. I'm not going to kid myself for there was indeed no question about it, Lara a dragoness for whatever reason was flirting with me, a human male. That also kind of explained the reason why I was having such trouble around her somewhat at least that was how I was understanding it. This is probably due to both our pheromones and hormones reacting yet, that itself doesn't make sense as we are members of different species.

I had heard a little about dragonesses from Ruben a couple of times while I had been on the later part of my recovery of going through the window in the council chamber. Ruben at the time had been telling some young teenage dragons about their female counterparts, or at least he had been trying. The thing was the teens weren't listening to him while he was telling them about the information on dragonesses by what I'd seen. He had been telling them about how dragonesses use their scent that most likely laced with pheromones to get the attention of the male they're interested in. So then, if dragonesses have pheromones that work as they do for human women, then they tend to affect us males in different ways. One such way would be not being able to think straight, which I had exhibited already. Plus, there were likely to be more symptoms to come, but the point is pretty much the same.

Ruben had continued by going into when the dragoness has the attention of the male of interest they… I believe Ruben said, have the male notice their figure and form. I would guess that means showing themselves off to entice the male further or hook them in a fashion. Again none of those Ruben had been telling these things to and so will be likely taken hook line and sinker without even knowing it. If what Ruben says is true, then I will seriously need to watch myself from now on, or Lara will have me twisted around her… paw I suppose since she has no fingers. I sighed in sad acceptance of the fact, this dragoness will be the mental death of me if I'm not careful.

After my realization, I entered the temple after a little time had gone by and I had collected my thoughts. I kind of wanted to avoid Lara for the present with how she was acting, I feel it would be safer for me. I headed to the reflection chamber and when I had entered I saw that Arkanis seemed not to have moved from his position by the vision pool. I cleared my throat to announce my presence in the room, to which Arkanis glanced up to see me and smiled, "Ah I see you have come as I asked, very good," he said. "I hope your accommodations are to your liking?"

I nodded and smiled back since compared to my recent living conditions, I had moved up to being in a five-star hotel. "Well, compared to the ones I had up till recently, it is amazing, thanks," I replied. "So, why is it you wanted to see me, I assume you have a reason?"

Arkanis nodded in reply before motioning me to come closer, which I did, "Indeed I do, first would you answer a question that likely seems a bit strange, still you may refuse to answer if you wish." I nodded and waited for Arkanis to ask the question for it isn't like I haven't been asked strange questions. The guardians had asked some doozies that I hadn't been all that inclined to answer for a variety of reasons. But Arkanis was giving me an option to refuse to answer if I didn't want to give him one, "Tell me, have you had dreams that are out of place as of late," he posed. "Or rather, I think they could be called visions more than dreams as they would feel more real than dreams."

My thought process came to a halt and I just stared at Arkanis instantly taking firm hold of the reins of my emotions. How could he have known that I had been having visions?! And those said visions had been getting worse lately. There had been one last night and it had followed the lines of the non-nice ones.

I'd found myself in a place I didn't recognize, yet the scenery didn't help as there wasn't really anything sharp or known shapes. There were the shapes of trees but no detail that there would be normally, just colors. Most of the colors were off either darker or lighter shades or were color schemes they weren't supposed to be. The ground was much the same along the sky, none of this made sense at all. But there was an overall feeling of ominous foreboding that hung over this place, wherever it was and I didn't like it at all!

Just as I took in my surroundings, I felt that I wasn't alone and the company I had was not the nice kind in any way! When my sight came to land on the other here with me, I found myself staring at the freak of nature once again. However, this time it had the form of the more humanistic figure rather than a dragon as it had before but this presence was the exact same. I backed away from the dark creature while it started forward towards me. "You believed that you could escape us White One? You may have got away twice before, you will not escape," it had screeched at me.

The voice was like metal scraping against metal, it hurt my ears just hearing it! I continued to back up but there was a flash and I fell. In the attempt to get up, I found that I couldn't and glancing down at myself, I found that I had become a white dragon again as I had in third vision. My gaze shifted back up to where the creature who was still approaching me, "Your death has come at last White One, you will trouble us no more," it said.

I snapped back to the present and felt myself shaking a bit at the memory of what I had seen, it had freaked me out. Having only told Spyro and Seth about the weird dreams I have sometimes and no one else, I didn't know what to make of them. Arkanis smiled gently at me, "I can see by your expression that you have," he said.

My gaze met Arkanis and I held it there, "How do you know that? I have not told anyone here about such things," I quietly demanded, trying to calm myself down.

Arkanis seemed to take a moment to think about his answer, "There is certain energy or aura about you that is rare. It is much like my own and it is that which tells me you can see visions," he answered.

I just stood there staring at Arkanis for that was certainly not the answer I had thought I would be given. My issue with these circumstances, I've never been fond of anyone knowing things I don't tell them! You can attribute it to my paranoia, being secretive or even me being a control freak because I don't like giving all the facts about myself. I would say that I don't see any reason why someone should need to know everything about me. If that's wrong, then you can take that opinion and cram it up you're a**-I mean rear and sue me! I DARE YOU!

"There is much more to you than your appearance suggests. We are alike in that," remarked Arkanis.

Oh really?! I seriously doubt we're alike in as many ways as he may think we are! A frown formed on my face, "Oh, how would that be," I asked.

Arkanis smile fell and a look of sadness replaced it, "Though with the news you brought says Malefor is gone, there will be those of us who will always remember him, just not for what he was like during the war."

After hearing that my mind began to wander in the search for a logical explanation to what Arkanis could have meant by what he had said. Then it clicked in my mind, Spyro when he had told me his story had mentioned that while he was in the ruins of Warfang he had seen murals that depicted history about Malefor. It was now becoming clear, yet I doubted that any of the dragons here even had a clue who Arkanis really was. My mouth fell open and I stared dumbfounded at Arkanis, "You were one of the ancient dragons who trained Malefor before his rampage," I stated.

Arkanis sighed in sorrow and nodded, "The last ancient dragon who trained Malefor, you are correct," he returned.

I didn't know what to say now knowing this information as it changed my opinion about Arkanis. For a teacher or master to have to not just witness their student they'd trained for years go bad but also have to stop them, I would imagine that is a painful thing a teacher can experience. But in Malefor's case, it was much worse, you have to take into account the destruction he had brought down. His teachers probably blame themselves for much of it, "I," I began but paused, "I am sorry for bringing it up."

Arkanis shook his head, "It is alright, in fact, you are the first to even guess I am one of those ancient dragons," the ancient dragon replied.

"My friend Spyro told me about a mural he saw in the ruins under Warfang," I replied.

"Ah, so the ancient training grounds still exist," said Arkanis. He seemed to shake himself out of his sadness and smiled again, "Well, that was all I wanted to ask, for now, it was to confirm my suspicions of the coming darkness. You are free to go if you have anything else you wish to ask me?"

I wondered why he had asked his first question, "Why ask if I have been seeing visions and what does that have to do with 'coming darkness'," I questioned.

Arkanis paused for a moment, "I have felt strange darkness approaching… one I have felt once which was before the start of the war with Malefor. Visions came before the darkness arrived and so it seems they are now as well."

That's not comforting and it was giving me a feeling of a serious worry though I couldn't explain the reason why. This darkness Arkanis mentioned bothered me in a way I couldn't place and it irked me. It felt much like the times I faced that freak of nature which there were three times now including last night's vision. And yet, I can't say what it is about it all that's setting off alarms in my brain but there are definitely alarms and they weren't allowing me to ignore them. It was like something was telling me that this information is important and is to be remembered. "Is there any other question you wish to ask Saber," Arkanis asked, snapping my attention back.

I took a moment to consider if there was anything else, and I was about to say no, but then the way Lara had acted this morning came to mind. Perhaps Arkanis could shed some light on that and help me understand and hopefully prove my hunch wrong. "Well, now that you ask I do have one other thing I wish to ask about," I replied. Arkanis gave me his full attention, so I continued, "You see, this morning I ran into Lara and she," I paused for a moment thinking on how to describe what she had been doing, "was acting differently than yesterday."

I went into a bit of detail of what she had done and as I did, Arkanis's expression changed into a knowing smile at my description. "Ah yes, it would be that time for her now would it not," he remarked.

Arkanis says 'that time', for some reason that doesn't comfort me at all, it more just confirmed my suspicions of impending problems coming my way. My thought is that Lara is 'in heat' and if that is so and she is trying to tell me she wants to get busy, then I could be in trouble. I'm still hoping and praying that I'm wrong in my assumption, but it's sounding like I'm not. "Um, you care to enlighten me as to what you are talking about please," I posed.

"I do not know how such ideas work for humans," Arkanis started, "but for dragons and females specifically have times during the year that they have increased cycles of fertility. During those time dragonesses have a tendency to wish to be with a particular male that they have an interest in."

So, I'm not blind in what I was seeing with Lara… fiddlesticks, I was really hoped I was! The realization that my life is about to become an extremely more stressful and a living hell in ways I DON'T want to know or have happened is sinking in. God, even you wouldn't stoop that low… now would you? Come on, even I don't deserve 'that' type of torture. Or is this your doing Satan?! Honestly, I don't care which of you is at this, just… please don't do it! I forced my face to be expressionless, "When you say increased cycles of fertility, you would not happen to mean that Lara is in heat or something, would you?"

Arkanis thought for a moment, "That is a more blunt way of putting it I suppose, but yes, that would mean the same thing I would say."

Damn it, that means Lara is after me to MATE with me and I don't want to do anything like that, CRAAAP! I know my life really can suck on occasion, but come on, it shouldn't be that bad yet! Nonetheless, I'm curious why Lara would go for me I mean, wouldn't she go for other dragons instead of a human like me? My human card should be helping to save me trouble, not make it a horrible experience! "Um, I may be wrong in this and please feel free to correct me if I am, but I am not a dragon if you have not noticed by now. So, why would Lara go for me as a potential mate and not one of the same species, meaning a non-dragon?"

Once again Arkanis took a moment before he replied, "Well, Lara always has had different taste than other dragonesses, now that I think about it."

Oh lucky lucky me, I get the one dragoness that has no quarrel when it comes to the question of species in the selection of a mate. Why, oh why does something like this happen to me of all people, WHY ME DAMN IT?!

A/n

And that's where chapter 25 will leave off, hope you're liking the rewrite please some of you take the time to write reviews, thank you for reading this.