"...So here he comes, flying around the corner, and Skabb steps through the door across the hall from my cell. All we see is a train of scavengers with a giant tablecloth draped over them, running through the hall." Spyro sputtered with boisterous laughter. "The look on Skabb's face was priceless, even his birds were at a complete loss for words! They just turned right back around and pretended it never happened. And that's why Sparx stopped pulling pranks on the scavengers."

Around the circle from him, a red, green, and ice-blue dragon all had a hearty chuckle, the red particularly so and finding himself nearly on the floor beside himself. "Hot dang, your brother's a riot! He's got some spunk for a dragonfly."

"Heh, thanks Torin." Spyro nodded to him. "He's an odd one, but I wouldn't trade him for anything."

"He's a keeper, that's for sure!" piped up the bubbly, slightly shorter green dragon. "What do you think Cyndy?"

Leaned against the purple dragon in the dimly lit corner of the tavern, one would almost miss the black dragon had it not been for her bright green-blue eyes. With the lighting, her scales blended seamlessly with her surroundings, but she was ever present. "Ohhh...I'd say he grew on me, Fera. We came to a greater understanding once he realized the depth of pranks one can pull with certain elements. I think he's still a bit afraid of his own shadow, to be honest."

Fera snickered in response, "A lil back 'n forth between you two, eh? Sounds like fun to me!"

"I'm a little interested in a certain spicy pair." the tall and slender ice-blue dragon spoke next. "How about it? I heard things have been getting a little 'SpyCy' between you two. What's this about personal training sessions?"

While the purple and black dragon shared a minor blush, Torin stepped in with half laughter and half criticism, "Issandra you can't just ask people if they've been bangin'!" Blushes intensified.

"I wasn't referring to their night activities, I'll have you know!...Yet." Clearing her throat, she continued, "Anyways, have you made anything official yet? Any plans perhaps?"

With subsiding awkwardness, Spyro answered in earnest, "Not yet, we're taking it slow and easy for now. I mentioned possibly moving out to a more quiet part of Avalar if we decide to raise any younglings, but with that only a few minutes flight away, we may just stay in Warfang regardless." Gesturing a claw to Torin and Issandra, he returned, "What about you two?"

"Twenty eggs before the year is out!" Torin gleefully answered, promptly getting whacked on the back of his head.

The white-blue dragon corrected him but smiled, "Two!...And not just yet, I'd like to savor a few years first before I'm run myself ragged trying to keep up with the three of them."

"Three?" Fera noted.

"I'm almost certain Torin will be leading them as the head trouble-maker." Issandra clarified, getting chuckles all around. "A shame Vin is taken, I think you and he would make quite the cute couple."

Shrugging, the green dragon remarked, "He's more of a big brother to me."

"Ah, but what was that he called you that flustered you so? A 'short stack,' whatever that is?" Issandra commented, getting a snort from the red dragon.

Spyro took the brief pause as an opportunity to jump in, "Where is he, anyway? I was going to ask if he was available to pick back up on training tomorrow."

Fera quickly responded, "I saw him down by the crafts quarters watching one of the blacksmiths work. As focused as he looked, he might still be there."

Both the purple and black dragon stood up in succession, the former nodding, "Thanks Fera, I think we'll go see if we can catch him. It was good to see you guys!"

With that, each bade the other fare well as the group split up, Spyro and Cynder leaving the tavern in upper Warfang. Taking to the sky, the two dragons set a heading for the lower city, down to the East Gate where most inbound cargo came into the city. Near that gate resided the crafts quarters, keeping in close proximity to all the goods and supplies passing through.

In an open square of the crafts quarters, the two dragons landed. Around them in the hustle and bustle were mostly moles, but among them were a surprisingly modest number of dragons as well as a few llamas. Passing through, they crossed all manner of workshops, be it wood, stone, metal, gems, or cloth. There was even one which made cloth garments for dragonkind, though their creations were more of a decorative kind than anything standard since dragons naturally preserved their dignity. Not to mention there was only so much one could do when the being in question required full, absolute mobility and minimum weight or drag for aerial purposes.

It wasn't long before they found the blacksmith and black dragon in question. Sitting at the side of the workshop, Vin stared in awe and fascination at the work before him. Inside the open-walled shop, one green and one yellow dragon worked tirelessly with metal. He only barely managed to avert his eyes as he sensed Spyro and Cynder approaching behind, turning just enough to meet them.

"Hey Cynder, Spyro." the black dragon nodded.

"What's going on here? You seem quite intrigued by all this." Cynder asked, pointing out his interest.

"It's amazing...these two are using techniques my homeland has never even heard of, much less conceived!" Stopping before he got ahead of himself, he added before continuing, "Before I was a soldier, I was planning on becoming a blacksmith, you see. There's not many craftsdragons and almost no moles back home, so even the most basic of metalworkers could be of help." Returning his gaze to the work before them, he explained, "Rather than conventional tools, the earth dragon there uses his element to shape and compress the metal and remove impurities, but what's really interesting is the electric dragon's work. He dips the metal pieces into this liquid and passes electricity through it, and it somehow plates the piece with another type of metal. They claim it makes the metal resistant to corrosion, and if that's true, that could be a useful technique to remember to bring back home." Shifting back to them, he passed the question, "What of you two? Any off-duty hobbies or non-military jobs?"

Spyro and Cynder looked to each other as they both came up blank at first. After a moment, the purple dragon answered first, "I'm...not really sure to be honest. I think we both were expecting a more traditional dragon life ahead of us. I suppose being a hunter would always be a natural option."

"Likewise. I just don't see myself as much of a craftsdragon." Cynder responded in turn.

Spyro glanced to her, "Really? I was sure I could imagine you taking up Atlawan basket weaving."

The black dragoness snorted and bumped him with her hip. "It's just never been a consideration, really. There was never a time or opportunity."

Concurring with her, the purple said, "It's...all we've really known for awhile." Though there was a tinge of distress on the tip of his tongue, he then shook it off. "Plus with my duties as a purple dragon, and with her background experience, I guess there's just no escaping it any time soon."

Vin simply nodded his acknowledgement, "Once a warrior's blood burns, it's hard to put it out. Maybe someday." Glancing to their direction, he quietly added, "...I've heard Atlawan basket weaving is quite therapeutic."

Cynder's attention snapped and she suddenly whispered to Spyro, the purple dragon quickly speaking back up, "...Oh, right! Hey Vin, are you good for more training tomorrow?"

Nodding again, the black dragon answered, "Any time you're ready. We're not going to electrocute ourselves again are we?"

"...Probably not. No promises!" Spyro replied with a smug half-grin. "Cynder and I are going to head off somewhere and enjoy the rest of the day to ourselves, so I may not see you until tomorrow."

"Alright, fare well till then." Vin bade them before locking his attention back firmly to the work before him.

With eyes turned back to the sky, the purple and black pair took off once more, making for one of the hills towards the back behind the city. Finding a nice and shady spot well-covered by trees, the two dragons settled into the soft grass. From there they had quite the view, this vista providing them with the whole of the cityscape, the fields extending forth from Warfang, and a pleasant horizon to boot.

Once they found just the right spot and position, Cynder signaled her approval with an exhaling coo, Spyro reciprocating with his own rumble that grew deeper by the day. Lying snugly beside one another, their tails flicked teasingly to each in turn, heads turned and passing glances to one another as snickers and giggles escaped. Whatever little mind game they played that only they knew of, it brought them thorough contentment.

When the excitement came to a low point, Cynder took the opportunity to speak, "...So what do you think about what he said?"

"About what?"

"You know, if we had any other interests, be it in work or otherwise." she elaborated. "If I didn't recognize that he was being earnest, I would have thought that to be a pretty audacious question to ask."

Shaking his head, Spyro responded, "I think I get what he was doing, he was just saying we should have an outlet." Briefly passing a look to Cynder, he said, "We all know how restless we can be if we're constantly preparing for conflict. Now that the war is over and peace has settled in, there's only really a need for a standard town guard. And now that we have time, there's no use in spending it all waiting for the next fight or the next war. That gets a liiiittle stressful."

A small smile spread across Cynder's face, "I guess we could lighten up a bit. We're going to be rather boring parents as it is."

Spyro gave a light laugh, "Heh, yeah." Pausing in thought, a grin creaked across his face, "...So you Are going to be an Atlawan basket weaver! Those llamas wil-"

Cynder whacked him on the head with the flat of her tail, "...I'll be an Atlawan potter, I'll have you know." Jokes aside, the black dragoness continued, "Where are you thinking about living? I would have thought the swamp would have crossed your mind at some point."

"It has. I miss it often but I think I'll be wanted here too much to make it my home again, at least in the foreseeable future. Once Terrador finds a suitable fire guardian candidate and Cyril gets done doing...whatever he's doing with the city council, I get the feeling my purple dragon duties are going to expand. Warfang is fine for now though, and it's been exciting to live among other dragons."

"It may be a good idea for the children too." Cynder added. "If we need any help, we'll be as close as we can be, and I've heard there are some rather exceptional dragonesses who can help with raising kids."

"Well, I for one…" he said, rolling in her direction. Taking ahold of her, he hefted himself and rolled the other way, situating himself on his back with her laying on top of him. Cynder yelped playfully at the sudden move, cocking her head back and looking at him as they resettled. The purple dragon continued, "...think you'll be a great mother."

"I...don't know. I haven't ever had any experience with younglings...or at least, not pleasant experiences…" she shuddered as she brushed the thought aside, taking in a deep breath.

Spyro nudged her, "Ohhh, come now. I don't think my parents had experience with raising a kid one hundred times their size and a different species, and look how I turned out!"

The black dragoness snorted as she eyed down his grinning face, "Yeah, your scales are a mess of a morning and you walk through mud without a second thought. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were raised in a swamp."

"Ok ok, we'll make sure they preen their scales twice a day." he chuckled in response. "We'll be fine, Cyn. They'll be fine. And even better, we might just get to give them the more peaceful life that we didn't get to have. They won't have to grow up knowing of war."

"And that...will be the best part." Cynder concurred. "Maybe they'll get to live a normal, peaceful life." Happily she hummed as she looked forward, taking in the horizon before snuggling her head down and against Spyro's. "Just maybe...for once, everything will be ok."

A/N: Alright, we've got some socialization, some world-building, and some talk of good ol' domestic life. A few Random McDraggos showed up, though most likely they won't pop up again. Vin is largely the only recurring OC since I'll be having him as a sort of training partner for Spyro. I might have a couple more of these in me, but it's hard to say right now as I'm desperately trying to make significant progress in my own original works. I do have in mind what the next couple will be, which is a return to the training room with more experimentation and some more intimate moments with Cynder. In either case, not much else to say. Hope you enjoy it~