Chapter 4
The vanguards had flown throughout the night and following day to make sure that they left their pursuers far behind. Leon had suggested changing their course slightly to throw off the battalion that was hunting them. He and Athena didn't talk to one another and Cynder was worried that their relationship was going to fail, but Spyro reassured her by stating "All couples will fight, it's only natural…They'll make up, you'll see."
Leon had led them along the edge of a cliff that over looked a river, frozen by the weather that had finally dropped to the usual winter temperature. As night began to fall once again, the vanguards finally had a stroke of luck, when Zephyr spotted a small cave to protect them from the cold. After quickly finding some wood they had made a small fire in time for nightfall. "Oh man." Flare said as his stomach growled, "I'm so hungry."
"Don't talk about it." Charlotte said, "It only makes it worse."
Flare nodded before looking over at his mate, who still lay unconscious on the cave floor, "Hey, Zephyr?" Flare began.
"Hmm?" Zephyr looked at him from beside Twitch.
"Why hasn't Crystal woken up yet?"
"She's been through a lot of stress…She'll wake up when she's ready."
Flare nodded before lying next to the ice dragoness. Spyro stood to his feet, "I'll take the first watch."
"No man I got this." Sparx said.
"With all do respect," Leon began, "I think we need someone with a little more…body mass to take that job."
"I'll do it." Twitch said.
"No, you need your rest." Leon said, "You dragons have been doing the traveling all day…I'll-"
"I'll go." Athena abruptly cut Leon off. She then quickly headed towards the mouth of the cave before anyone could object.
"Man…she is pissed at you." Twitch stated.
"She has every right to be." Leon said, "God, I am such an ass."
"At least you have the gall to admit it." Flare said before coughing again.
"Hey, maybe you should rest up." Charlotte said, "The more sleep you get the quicker you'll get rid of that cold."
"Yeah…okay." Flare said before laying his head in his paws.
"And as for you," Charlotte said, turning to Leon, "you made a mistake."
"Just like I did with Sierra." Leon said, sadly.
"No, not like with Sierra." Charlotte stated.
"Because this time…you have a chance to apologize." Cynder said.
Leon sighed deeply and pinched the bridge of his nose, "You're right…I know what I have to do." Leon stated, standing to his feet.
"Good, now go get her." Cynder said.
"Right…thanks."
"I only want to see you happy."
"Yeah…happy…" Leon repeated the word in his head, "get some sleep, you look tired."
"Yeah…okay." Cynder said before laying her head in her paws. Spyro draped his wing over her and then looked at Leon.
"Good luck." He said.
"Hopefully, I won't need it." Leon said before heading toward the mouth of the cave.
"You think he'll do alright, Spyro?" Twitch asked.
"Well, of all the things he's good at..." Spyro began, "I think relationships is one of his weaknesses…but he has heart, so I think he'll do okay."
As Leon walked outside, he immediately put his hood up to protect him from the cold. He saw Athena sitting in the snow and staring over the cliff at the frozen river. It wasn't until Leon had moved closer that he heard her voice, singing a song that seemed to mesmerize the human.
Athena was interrupted by a cold winter wind that swept across the forest edge and ripped through her coat of fur like a knife, causing her to shiver. Leon wasn't doing any better, his spine sent jolts through his body in an attempt to raise his body temperature. Leon ignored it and pushed forward. When he was close enough, he dared to speak, "You sing beautifully." Athena jumped slightly and turned around. When she saw it was only Leon, she gave him an icy glare before turning back to the river. "The silent treatment, eh?" Leon stated as he moved closer, "I can't say this is the first time I've had to deal with it…but I also can't say it's the first time I deserved it." He took a seat behind her and wrapped his arms around the cheetah. Athena didn't argue, but she still refused to talk. "We're close now…to the beginning." Athena raised her brow, but didn't speak, "I know you don't understand what I'm talking about…but know this…I can't make it through on my own…I need you." Leon then thought of something else. He reached back into his satchel and pulled out a few of the crystalline berries. He dropped them next to her, and Athena them a questioning look, her eyes jumped when they began emitting a melody. "It would've been really easy to say that it was Sin who made me say what I said…but I'm ashamed to say that it wasn't…so I'll say this instead." Leon breathed in the cold air before he began to sing;
Looking back at me I see that I never really got it right.
I never stopped to think of you.
I'm always wrapped up in things I cannot win.
You are the antidote that gets me by.
Something strong, like a drug that gets me high.
What I really meant to say
Is I'm sorry for the way
I am.
I never meant to be so cold.
Never meant to be so cold.
What I really meant to say
Is I'm sorry for the way
I am.
I never meant to be so cold.
Never meant to be so…
Cold to you and I'm sorry about all the lies.
Maybe in a different light,
You could see me stand on my own again.
'Cause now I can see,
You were the antidote that got me by.
Something strong, like a drug that got me high.
What I really meant to say
Is I'm sorry for the way
I am.
I never meant to be so cold.
Never meant to be so cold.
What I really meant to say
Is I'm sorry for the way
I am.
I never meant to be so cold.
Never meant to be so cold.
I never meant to be…
So cold.
I never really
Wanted you to see
The screwed up side of me that I keep
Locked inside of me so deep.
It always seems to get to me.
I never really
Wanted you to go
So many things you should have known.
I guess for me there's just no hope.
I never meant to be so cold.
What I really meant to say
Is I'm sorry for the way
I am.
I never meant to be so cold.
Never meant to be so cold.
What I really meant to say
Is I'm sorry for the way
I am.
I never meant to be so cold.
Never meant to be so cold.
The notes faded into an uncomfortable silence as the two of them stared over the cliff. The faint moonlight shined down onto the calm meadow below. For a while neither of them talked, until Athena spoke, "I know you didn't mean what you said…but it still hurts."
"I know…I'm so sorry." Leon said, "I never thought I would be stupid enough to say such a thing."
Athena paused for a moment, "Before I had met you…there were plenty of cheetahs who had offered to be my mate…do you know why I'm not with them?"
"I do not." Leon stated.
"It was because none of them understood my pain…for a long time, no one did…and then there was you." Athena paused again, "We had a connection that no one else could offer…and then it came to this."
Leon rested his head on her shoulder, "I know I don't deserve your forgiveness…or love...but know that even if you won't talk to me…or even look at me…I will still protect you…I will always protect you."
Athena didn't talk for a long moment, until, "Don't be an idiot…of course I forgive you…but don't think I'll forget about this."
"I understand."
"And when we get back to Warfang…well…you might want to ask some of male cheetahs what it's like to mate with a spiteful female."
Leon was somewhat afraid to ask, "How bad is it?"
"You wont be walking right for about a week."
"I see…hell hath no fury like a woman scorned."
"Damn right." Athena gave a giggle, it was subtle, but it was enough to let Leon know that things were all right between them.
"You can go inside if you'd like…I'll take over." Leon said.
"No, I'm not tired, you go ahead."
"And what if I'm not tired either?" Leon asked, raising his head up from her shoulder.
"Then I suppose we could just stay up and let the other's get their rest."
"That sounds good to me." Leon stated.
"Hey, Leon…" Athena began.
"I love you, too." Leon stated, knowing what the cheetah was about to say.
Spyro found himself in the Chronicler's library, but he immediately noticed that something was amiss. The room was fading and out along with the Chronicler himself, "Ignitus…what's going on?" Spyro asked.
"Something's been blocking me from reaching you." Ignitus said. "Spyro, there isn't much time…I have seen the future and…" Ignitus began cutting in and out, "forces…capture…summon…master…found…trapped…crystal…betrays..."
"Ignitus!" Spyro yelled as the Chronicler and the library disappeared.
"Ignitus!" Spyro awoke with a start and woke Cynder and the rest of the slumbering vanguards in the process.
"Spyro…what's wrong?" Cynder asked, worriedly.
"I…I'm not sure." Spyro repeated what words he had heard from Ignitus in his head, but he couldn't make any sense of them. A soft groan broke his concentration and the vanguards looked over to see Crystal slowly wake from her unconscious state.
"Hey guys." She said, groggily.
"Oh, thank the ancestors." Flare breathed a sigh of relief.
"What did I miss?"
"Nothing much…we just got thrown off track a little bit." Flare said, nuzzling her.
"What time is it?"
Spyro looked outside where the bright sun reflected off of the snow, "Early…come on, lets go check on Leon and Athena."
"Right." The vanguards said in unison. The dragons rose to their feet and stretched themselves out before heading toward the mouth of the cave. Flare slowed down for Crystal, who was a little unsteady on her feet. When they had finally gotten outside, they spotted Leon staring at the sunset with his arms wrapped around Athena. The two of them had not moved all night, but, while the pain of their cramping joints was great, the pleasure of sharing in each other's warmth was even greater.
"I guess they made up." Spyro said to Cynder.
"I knew they would." Cynder stated as the dragons approached the human and cheetah.
"You guys alright?" Spyro asked when they were closer.
Leon and Athena looked over their shoulders at the approaching dragons. Both of their eyes were severely bloodshot. "Hey guys." Athena said.
"You should have woken us up if you were tired." Charlotte said.
"You guys carry us around all day, the least we could do is let you get some shut-eye." Leon stated "We might be able to catch a few winks while we're in the air anyway." It was then that he noticed Crystal, "Ah good, you're awake…are you feeling well?"
"I'm fine, thanks." Crystal stated.
"We'd better get moving then." Spyro stated.
"Yeah, the sooner the better." Leon said, he made a move to get up, but found that he couldn't.
"Ouch!" Athena yelped.
"Uh oh." Leon said.
"Oh, you have got to be kidding me." Athena said.
"What's wrong?" Flare asked.
"Well…I guess that the water particles that had gathered on our bodies overnight have solidified creating a bridge between her fur and my armor." Leon stated.
"…what the hell did you just say?" Sparx asked.
"Sorry…I get…politically correct when I'm tired."
"I'm guessing the dumbed-down version is…we're frozen together." Athena said.
"That would be correct."
The dragons laughed at their situation. "Okay…so how are we going to do this?" Athena asked.
"Fast and hard." Leon stated.
"Great…but we have to get unstuck first."
Leon chuckled slightly, "Just hold on."
"Okay." Athena braced herself.
"1...2...3!" Leon jerked backwards taking some of Athena's fur with him. Athena let out a short shrill scream as she felt her hair violently being ripped from the roots. The two of them stood up and Leon began picking the pieces of frozen fur off of his body. Athena rubbed a small patch of fur on her arm that was bleeding and almost bald.
"You're going to pay for that one too," Athena stated.
Leon grabbed her arm, and planted a kiss on the wound, "Better?"
"Hmm…I suppose." Athena stated, "I guess it's my turn now." Athena then began gently kissing the scratches she had put on his face, before planting a long kiss on his lips.
"It's nice to see that you two have made up." Cynder said.
"He's not off the hook yet…but we'll deal with that later." Athena stated, evilly.
"Alright, lets get going." Spyro said, "Which way Leon?"
Leon pointed towards the east, "That way…we'll hit plenty of potential campsites along the way."
"Great." Spyro said. The vanguards took off once again and headed for the distant mountains. Leon looked over at Athena and found that she was already fast asleep. He smiled before closing his eyes and letting the peace of slumber take him as well.