Ch. 2

Purple scales blurred past small groups of dragons as Spyro sped toward the Guardians quarters. His mind was reeling with possibilities. There could be dread wings, again, or apes, again, or panthers… again.

All the different possibilities scared him. He thought that maybe he would be done. Then again, it might just be a coincidence. It might be… sick teachers… or… or…

There was nothing that made sense.

He slowed down as he neared their quarters. Their mailbox had a blue flag that indicated if they were there.

And it was down.

"Ugh, not now…" groaned Spyro. He trotted away panting from his sprint earlier. He was now heading toward the atrium where all the council meetings take place. They had to be there.

Galiffrey's deep green eyes blazed at Kahn's usually kind blue eyes. Galif let out a snarl and spun towards Kahn, whipping his tail blade at his face. Kahn saw this coming and jumped to avoid it. He came down and spat a small ball of fire towards Galif. Galiffrey dodged but was rammed in the side by Kahn. The wind was knocked out of him but he still had enough breath to roll to the side when Kahn tried to pin him. He got up and disappeared. Kahn looked around frantically to no avail. Before he could turn he was tackled and pinned by the now visible Galiffrey.

"I win." Spat Galiffrey.

"No you didn't! You cheat!" Kahn whined.

"No, I took advantage of my… surroundings."

Kahn huffed and rolled out from under Galiffrey.

"I'm not going to play unless you play fair."

"Fine, miss prissy."

Kahn gave him a dirty look and turned away. They both started to head down a street when a strange purple thing shot right into them, knocking all three onto the ground.

They all groaned and got up slowly.

"Who do you think you are?" said Galiffrey angrily.

"I'm so sorry! I'm-"

"Yeah, I know you're that Spyro kid."

"I really didn't mean to hit you, I'm in a hurry, and I've got to go." And with that, Spyro left.

"What's with the stupid face bro?" asked Galiffrey.

"That was Spyro…"

"Oh grow up. You can't act like that if you never try to meet someone like him."

Kahn looked down and pouted, following Galiffrey away from the scene. They kept walking in silence all the way to the dorms.

Takson sat down on his bed. His grey eyes looked intently at a scrap of paper before him. He read it over again and sighed, rolling on his side and looking dreamily off in the distance.

After about ten minutes of sitting, he got up and walked over to a desk and dipped his claw in a small bowl of dark ink. He sat up and began writing on a new piece of paper.

Dear Crystal,

I received your letter. It is so good to talk to you. I miss you so much. I wish there was a way we could see each other. Whenever I get the chance, ill see if I can come out there. Make sure to tell me when you'll be coming home.

He lifted his claw and scanned over what he had written, and then continued.

I love you to. Don't ever forget that.

Yours truly,

Tak.

Tak got up and went to the door with the letter in his mouth. He went down to the lobby and found the slot for mail and slipped it in.

He sighed dreamily and head back upstairs. When he got to his room he lay down and closed his eyes, drifting off to another world.

Spyro slowed as he approached the atrium. Two guards wearing heavy armor were standing beside the large double doors that made the main entrance. He started to approach the guards when he heard a loud crash from a street not too far away.

Both guards looked towards the sound but only one went to check it out. Spyro looked off concernedly but decided to ignore it, instead turning toward the remaining guard. His face was stern and he didn't look excited to see him.

Spyro cleared his throat nervously. "Um… I need to speak with the guardians. Please."

The guard looked at him and chuckled. "I'm not allowed to let anyone in during council meetings."

Spyro pretended to look shocked. "I need to see them! It involves things not even you can know!"

"Nope."

Spyro puffed his chest and looked up at the guard. "Do you know who I am? I need to get in!"

"Sorry pal. Not this time."

Spyro snorted, small ice crystals forming from his breath. He steadily turned and walked to the side, sitting down on a bench facing the guard. "Then I'll wait."

And he did.

Kahn shut his door and looked at his neatly cleaned room. He felt a little guilty letting Fraust clean his room so often but she insisted.

He walked over to the balcony, the one that every dorm had. He looked out at the bright orange and pink sunset. It reminded him of when he and Fraust had sat there on that very balcony. That night was the night of their first kiss. He never thought he would ever be brave enough to kiss someone, ever.

Now though, he was having a hard time with a different kind of confidence. Was he confident enough to talk to someone new? Were Galif and all the others right? No matter how hard, he couldn't talk to Spyro or any one of his friends. He couldn't even apologize for hitting him in the street.

He was slow and immature. He would never be capable of making friends with anyone other than the ones he has.

Worthless,

Pitiful,

Dim-witted,

The list goes on, and on, and on. Maybe they're right. All I ever do is shy away. I can't even man up when it comes to Fraust.

A sharp pain reminded him he was clutching his arm with his talons. There was a pang of guilt as he saw the drops of his own blood fall to the granite floor of the balcony. Its red color didn't change even after thinning on the white surface. It stayed that way until it seemed to become clearer as his tears joined the drops of blood. He got up and walked to his bed, disregarding the paw like mark of blood he left with every step of his right paw. He lay down and closed his eyes, letting streams of tears spill rapidly onto his bed matt.

Galiffrey jumped up quickly with a grin, not phased by the morning sun. He is the dragon with a plan.

First, he would get ready and head to the dining hall. Then, he would gather Jade, Kahn, Fraust, and Tak, bringing them to the courtyard where they met on special occasions. After that, he would tell them his plan; to set off that afternoon into the forest after Salefin and his goons.

His grin widened into a smile as he thought of his plan over again. The excitement, adventure, all a dragon could dream of…

He looked down with his eyes set in a vengeful look. …and a chance to fix the mess I helped create.

He looked determined now, striding toward the dining hall. His scales glistened in the orange morning sun, showing off his brilliant, electrically charged blue scales. His bright yellow chest and belly complimented it nicely to. In this lighting, his green eyes seemed lighter and kinder, but nothing could deter his determined look. For once though, the other dragons walking by looked at him with respect. But he wasn't even paying attention.

"Where's Kahn?" Jade asked curiously.

"I'm not sure. He might have gotten there early, or he went with Galiffrey." replied the smaller peach dragon.

"Of course, Galiffrey, I should have guessed he would take him again. Does he even understand that you and Kahn have a routine? There's no respect with him!" Jade through her wings out in exaggeration.

Fraust smirked and turned away. She didn't mind sharing him with Galiffrey. They have been friends since she could remember. She didn't want to mess that up.

They both looked up and saw the dining hall in the distance. It was at its peak luster for all the small dragons running toward it. They knew it meant food, and they were hungry. Put two and two together and you get the point.

Then they saw Galiffrey, and Tak, and… and…

"Where's Kahn, Galif?"

"I don't know, you tell me, miss love-struck-damsel-in-distress-who-needs-time-to-be-alone-with-kahn-before-I-die." Galiffrey said sarcastically. "Oh, and when you find him, you guys need to meet me at our courtyard. We have to talk."

"Alright, alright, I will, let me go check his dorm mister dragon-with-a-plan." Fraust teased.

"Hurry up, wouldn't want to keep you apart any longer." Galiffrey said with a smirk. He turned and returned to the patient, straight-faced Tak.

Fraust turned to Jade and they both headed towards the dorms.

Spyro opened his eyes slowly, still adjusting to the light of the morning sun. He blinked twice before he realized where he was. He stood in shock, noticing a paper on the ground in front of him. He read it with his eyes squinted, groaned, and headed in the direction of the Guardians quarters… again.

If only I had been more persistent, he thought. Then I wouldn't be on this goose chase in the first place.

It was then when he noticed a rather harsh bump on his head that knocked him down.

It was the same black and blue dragon from the day before. He looked at him like a hatchling would look at a Guardian. His eyes were wide and his jaw hung ever so slightly ajar.

"It appears we are starting to make friends. After all, we can't seem to stop running into each other." Spyro said, trying not to sound too rattled by the incident.

"Um… heh, yeah… you're Spyro, r-right?" The younger black dragon was clearly nervous. Spyro was nervous himself so instead of agreeing, he tried to lighten the mood.

"Of course! And what might your name be?"

"K-Kahn."

"Cool! You don't happen to be ice or earth by any chance, do you?"

"No, I'm actually fire. Common mistake."

In the course of trying to figure out the dragon, Spyro forgot to think of what to say. Instead he decided to ask about his arm. It had three deep looking stabs that looked like claw marks. It looked recent.

"What's that?"

"Hm?"

"On your arm" Spyro was getting more and more intrigued.

"Oh, it's just a, um, I t-tripped."

"Oh. Strange-, I mean, that's too bad. You ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Well, I have to get to the Guardians' quarters. Until next time, watch where you're going."

With a smirk and a nod, Spyro left swiftly. He clearly was busy.

Starting to make friends? Really? And I talked to him!

Kahn walked away from the scene grinning ear to ear. Soon after, though, he saw Fraust and Jade walking towards him.

"Hey guys!"

"Kahn! Where were you?"

"Looking for you, I was heading towards the dining hall."

"Well Galif wants to talk to us at our courtyard, so let's eat and head over there."

"Alright."

The three turned and started heading toward the dining hall.

Galiffrey stood in the courtyard pacing back and forth, waiting for someone to arrive. Someone else, that is, Tak was already there, waiting alongside him.

No sooner had Galiffrey began to really get anxious, Jade arrived, followed closely by Kahn and Fraust. They sat next to Tak, not talking.

"Alright, this is a code yellow meeting, meaning listening only. What I am about to ask you to do is dangerous, and you will get hurt. You don't have to go."

Galiffrey cleared his throat and began. He told them all about the talk with Salefin, the preparations currently being made, and, of course, his plan. He talked about the adventure and excitement, the glory of the tasks completion, the ability to really show them their talent. He included everything but the real dangers. He, nor anyone there, knew how untrained and unprepared they really were.

And the end of his rather lengthy speech, Fraust lifted a wing to speak.

"Go ahead," Galiffrey nodded in response.

"Well, when would we leave? What if people start to worry?"

"No one will, Fraust, because no one was worried about Spyro and his gang. And, to answer your other question," he paused for suspense, "we'll leave now. This is the same courtyard Spyro and his gang left from because it is so close to the wall."

The group seemed a little uneasy still, so he tried a new method. "I'm not saying you have to, but the more of us there are, the better chance we have."

Kahn looked around momentarily, then lifted his wing saying; "I'm going. Count me in."

"Me to," piped in Jade.

Fraust looked worried, still, but reluctantly nodded and stepped closer to Kahn. Tak, however, still looked rather stern. He looked at everyone through squinted eyes, than grinned.

"I'm in."

"Alright, guys, I brought some spirit gems for us but we will need to find some of our own if we are out past a week, or if we get attacked. Otherwise, let's go," announced Galiffrey.

They all ducked their heads in unison, than one by one, they took of flying, leaving room for the other person to start climbing higher and higher into the sky. The five young dragons were silhouettes against the early morning sky.

Not a single dragon knew they had even left, but every single dragon will know soon.