With enduring patience, Spyro waited in the empty training hall. Had he not been expecting company, he would have already begun toying with a few waves of training dummies, but in this case he deemed it best to conserve his energy. Finally the silence broke as one of the two guardians he expected had arrived.
"Good morning, Cyril." Spyro greeted the approaching ice guardian.
"And a fair morning to you, young Spyro." he returned with a most dignified air.
Noting the lack of the other guardian expected, Spyro asked, "Where's Volteer?"
"Ah, our comrade found himself unable to come at this time." Continuing under his breath, Cyril added, "Praise the ancestors."
"I suppose the council is holding him up again?"
Nodding, the guardian answered, "Mmm, indeed. I'm afraid you'll likely be on your own today, feel free to spend it how you wish. It seems as if the council is abuzz these days, issuing one decree after another. I've hardly felt so optimistic about our race's return to glory, but even I must say they are moving things along rather hastily, recklessly even." Shaking his head, he then remarked, "Still. Industrious hands must not be wasted while the council is of one accord. Ancestors know that the moment they find one tiny thing to squabble over, there won't be an inch of progress for weeks to come. Paved roads stretching across the realms, trade agreements thrown about without abandon, rapid expansion and resettlement of land once taken by Malefor's forces, it's only a matter of time before someone upsets an age-old agreement or settles on land claimed by another faction. However, those bridges will be crossed once we arrive and, frankly, once they're built. Given our current speed, that will be soon both figuratively and literally." A thought occurred to Cyril and finally he digressed from politics, "By the way, have you met Terrador's latest candidate?"
Spyro shook his head, "I've only heard he's been looking at someone, but I haven't heard the details. Who is it?"
"A young chap from the war, one of Ignitus's own lieutenants. The boy's just about as...about as old as we were…" Cyril began to slow down as he reminisced of somber memories. "There are the usual formalities to undergo and training for the position, but I believe that he will grow to be just the right successor for our dearly beloved Ignitus." Catching himself before he continued further, the ice guardian ended, "I'm afraid I've tarried long enough, however. Spend your day wisely, young purple dragon."
"Farewell then, Cyril." Spyro bade him as he returned from whence he came.
Internally, the purple dragon welled up with glee at the sudden free time, knowing that today was also a free day for Cynder. Although despite that, he already had gotten into the mind for training at the time. Fortunately for him, he already had a few plans for tying the two together. A short time and a run down the hall and back later, Spyro re-entered the training room with the black dragoness in tow.
"Alright Spyro, what are you up to now?" Cynder asked with a smirk, knowing he had some specific plan. "Forget how to fight, or are you just looking for an excuse to get me into the shadows with you?"
"Do I need an excuse for that?" he playfully responded.
Walking past him, she swept her wing against his side and said coyly, "No, but it makes it more entertaining for me." After letting out a quick giggle, she then spoke more serious, "But really though, what's up?"
"I'm…" Spyro drew out his first words, "...going to help you...breath fire."
Both of Cynder's eyebrows raised, "...Oh." At first she wasn't quite sure how to react, but simply went along with it, "I...guess we can give it a try. I'm still a bit skeptical, but I suppose it wouldn't hurt anything."
With a satisfied grin, he began to go over the characteristics and nature of fire, what to compare it to, and anything else he could think of. "Even though it was a different form of you, your body may remember the feeling of having fire once within it to breathe."
"But...how will I know what that feels like?" Cynder said, putting emphasis on the 'I' to differentiate. "Just because my body will, it doesn't mean I myself will know it."
"Well...then I'll just show you." the purple dragon simply said.
"And...how do you propose you do that?"
Reflexively he grinned and spoke, "Like so." Visage returning more serious, he began to step towards her.
Curiously, Cynder narrowed her eyes as she watched him, but then they slowly widened as he continued approaching, right up to her. Slowly he pressed his chest firmly against hers, their noses barely a hair apart. She continued to watch him as he kept his own eyes closed with focus, concentrating on the energy within him. Steadily, warmth began to grow in his chest and bloomed into a burning sensation, but not one of pain or even discomfort. Through their intimate contact, she felt this through him, the burning pressure that his body contained within his chest, the sweltering air pouring through his nostrils as he breathed. Each one of those breaths she felt upon her scales, and there she knew what it was she was supposed to feel. Her eyes fluttered as his warm breaths and the pressing of their chests together began to overtake her.
"Take this feeling, let it enter into you...feel its warmth inside you. Feel i-...Cynder?" Spyro cut himself off as he sensed something, opening his eyes to check on her. What first entered his sight however was a wildly blushing black dragoness with ever widening eyes. Only when he thought about the situation and what he said did he double-back on his words, "Uh...not in that way."
"W-well I think I've got a pretty good idea what that warmth feels like now." she stuttered. As he pulled back, the embarrassment began to transfer to him, at which point she quietly commented, biting her lip, "...You should try being that forward more often."
A smile cracked his face, "I'll keep that in mind." Putting their silliness and awkward flirting aside, the purple dragon continued in his instruction.
"Passion...love and hate. Wrath...indignation and destruction. Urgency...in dire straights and backed to a corner. By tempestuous emotions such as these, fire stirs, but more is needed to fully call it. It is quick to scorn, quick to rage, an element that is angry...frustrated even. Ignitus once told me that fire is destructive because that is the only reason it is ever called...and in that, it enrages and becomes even moreso. It doesn't require you to know that, but it does require respect, respect that what is done cannot be easily undone and that use of fire must be with a careful and wise mind."
Cynder focused, stance wide and wings flared, tail arced as the natural sway gradually came to a halt with her concentration. Rage is easy to call, everyone knows rage. Get mad at something, huff and puff until your blood boils, there you go. Mixing that with proper focus and other such controlled thoughts was the hard part. Focus itself is her specialty, utilizing the shadows is one of the most focus intensive feats known among the elements. Even her shadow flame leans more towards focus, but it also seems to be of a different nature, if similar still. Flame born of shadows tends to be born of a cold mind. Focused, merciless, constricting. It was little surprise to either of them when the first time she opened her mouth, the embers of shadow flame seeped from the corners of her jaw. Closing her mouth back shut, she shook her head knowingly that it wasn't the right element she called. Indeed, to bear true fire wasn't going to be accomplished easily, but she had the experience and stubbornness to do it.
On the third day of trying, it had become a pride thing. "Well, it was just a thought, we don't really have to keep going if it doesn't seem like it's working." Spyro had brushed it off.
"NO. I'M DOING THIS IF I HAVE TO TURN INTO A BALL OF HATE-INCARNATE." So much for her focus. It wasn't entirely gone however, as she stared wide-eyed at the door ahead. Spyro half worried that if she focused any harder, she'd invent a new form of fire manipulation and burn it down with her eyesight.
At about that time, Vin walked in through the door, then promptly turned around and walked right back out. He didn't know what rustled her scales and he wasn't about to find out.
There was little progress that day.
On the fourth day, after she had figuratively cooled off, Cynder still held the burning embers of that hot frustration. Deep breaths she took in, nostrils flaring as she stood stock still. Sweltering air roiled within her lungs and threatened to scorch her nose as it left and why did it have to be SO HOT IN THERE-oh.
That was when she realized the burning in her chest had become more than emotions and dangerously high blood pressure. The air directly from her nostrils billowed before her eyes from the waves of heat. It wasn't quite ready to heed her call, not yet however. Recalling what Spyro told her, she searched for those things that fire responded to. She had showed her want, but it demanded a need, a sense of urgency, before it would submit. Backed to a wall...a time when I… Images flashed through her mind of the time leading to her corruption. Like a spark igniting dry tinder, the flame within came alive.
Now was the time to focus, and so with the same control she exerted over her other elements, she drew it up through her body and ready to project it forward. A tinge of excitement zipped through her, the freedom and unbound feeling of being on the cusp of proving she had even more abilities than thought before, that her limits had yet to be reached. In that moment, the aspect of wind joined her as she opened her maw, and a tongue of fire unravelled and spread forth. Though the flames were thin, that single burst of fire expanded rapidly, filling nearly the entire quarter of the room before her.
Sweet release. She had finally shown that she still had it in her, despite her initial disbelief.
"YYYYYES!" Spyro jumped into the air. "That's my Cynder!" As he strode to her side, he continued his praises. "That was incredible, it was as if you combined your wind breath and made a huge fire! I mean it wasn't quite as dense as fire breath normally is, but-" he shut his mouth as he suddenly felt her press a claw to his lips.
She stared at him, completely devoid of any shown emotion, his line of thought shut down as he waited for whatever came next. For a few seconds, there was nothing...just silence. He glanced down at her claw, then back up to her eyes. Not angry, nor excited, nor anything really. Then with one breath, she pursed her lips and lightly blew, a warm, steamy breath rolling across the top of his muzzle. Her eyes eased up as she blinked, a simple smile crossing her face. Lightly she patted him on the cheek with her tail tip as she turned towards the door, "Thank you for believing in me."
A/N: Yeah I kinda let this go for a bit. Had it half wrote, then got back to my main project, now I'm kinda back on this for writing just for the fun of it while I once again procrastinate on my original project (You can probably tell where I picked back up at). And because I thought I might as well finish the thoughts I had. There's still a couple more entries I plan to make to this, and I thought since I'm kinda in a spot where I don't want to write what I actually need to be writing, might as well burn through some energy and see where I get. Doesn't help I've also got another side project I decided to start on, probably shouldn't do that. In any case, this is just kinda back to the whole training thing, playing with some theoretical headcanons, Spyro being a dork, etc. Next time, I may do a small part training and attempt more comfy fluff, but we'll just have to see.