Cynder woke to the sun shining in her eyes. She grimaced at having to wake up before she was ready. She covered her head with her wing, shielding herself from most of the light. After trying for several minutes to fall back asleep, she gave up. The dragoness sighed and looked down at Spyro. She held the purple dragon close to her and seeing him still fast asleep made her smile. Seeing Spyro so calm always put her in a good mood.
Cynder bent down and licked the side of Spyro's head. The dragon's eyelids twitched at the sensation. A smirk slid across Cynder's lips and she let her tongue slide out and tap him on the cheek ever so slightly. Spyro moaned in his sleep but still didn't wake up. Cynder giggled to herself and the movement finally brought Spyro back.
"What's so funny?" He asked, his head rocking out of sleepiness.
"Nothing." Cynder stroked his crest. "Good morning Spyro."
"Good morning to you too bright eyes." He leaned back and rubbed his forehead under her chin. Cynder released him from her grasp and they rolled to their feet for a good stretch. As they were heading down to breakfast, they heard the sound of wings fluttering over their heads.
"Spyro! Cynder!" A cheerful voice called out.
Both dragons looked up to see two fire dragons come down to hover over them.
"Flame! Ember!" Spyro's heart leaped for joy. It had been over six months since he had last seen them. "When did you guys get here?"
"Just last night." Flame smiled as they landed next to them. "Just after you two had gone to bed from what we heard." Both Spyro and Cynder's cheeks flushed and they laughed nervously.
"How have you two been?" Ember asked, looking them both over.
"We've been great." Cynder rubbed her shoulder against Spyro's. "How was your trip?"
"Let's talk about it over breakfast." Flame jerked his head over his shoulder. "I'm starving for some good old home-style food."
Spyro laughed. "Sounds good."
"It shot right over your heads?" Cynder gasped in surprise as Ember went on telling the story of their close encounter with the meteorite.
"Yeah." The pink dragoness nodded. "It was pretty close. Landed in a mountain range, thankfully."
"Hey everybody!" All heads in the kitchen turned towards the noise. "Spyro! Buddy!"
"Sparx!" Spyro smiled as his brother flew over and hugged his muzzle. "How are you? How's Mom and Dad?"
"They're doing great!" Sparx smiled. "You'll never guess what happened to them though."
Spyro's smile vanished. "What? What's going on?" He asked skeptically.
Sparx looked around before coaxing the dragons to lean closer. "We have a new little brother!" He shouted excitedly.
"Wow! Really!" Spyro jumped to his feet, nearly knocking everyone's food over with his tail.
"That's great Sparx!" Cynder congratulated him. "When did this happen?"
"About a month ago." Sparx replied after a brief pause.
"It's too bad we missed it." Spyro shook his head in disappointment.
"Nah, buddy, you didn't miss anything." Sparx waved a hand. "You didn't want to see what was going on anyways. Besides, that's why I'm here?"
"What do you mean?" Spyro and Cynder raised their brows suspiciously.
"I needed a break from the little guy. I love him and all, but he's just so loud. I couldn't get any sleep." Sparx rubbed his head as if he were suffering from a headache.
Cynder chuckled. "A taste of your own medicine huh Sparx?"
Spyro laughed. "Yeah. Now we'll have two of him hanging around." The other dragons all laughed. Sparx leered at them all. Then a devilish grin formed on his mouth.
"You know, you're right. I could use a side-kick. I can teach him everything I know about dealing with you dragons on a daily basis." The laughter stopped as the dragons all looked at each other with wide eyes, very much aware of what they faced in the future. Seeing the reaction he was hoping for, Sparx found himself content. "I'm just kidding with you guys. Sort of."
The dragons all laughed nervously and turned back to their morning meals.
Several minutes passed with the dragons making side conversations with one another. Sparx helped himself to some of the food on Spyro's plate. He was busy stuffing his mouth when he noticed some movement on the floor behind him. He turned to see Cynder and Spyro twisting their tails together and the two dragons making side-glances at each other.
Sparx raised a brow and hovered closer to his brother.
"So uh, Spyro..." He whispered. Spyro turned his head slightly with his mouth full of food. "How are you and Cynder doing?"
Spyro swallowed and smiled. "We're doing great."
"I see." Sparx rubbed his chin curiously. "And are you two..."
"Are we what?" Spyro asked as he took another large mouthful.
"You know the bird and the bees... Doing horizontal boogie."
Spyro's eyes nearly popped out of his head and he spat his food across the table into Flame's face.
"Ew! Gross Spyro!" The guardian snapped in disgust. Ember and Cynder exchanged glances between the boys. "I'm going to move." Flame positioned himself on the other side of Ember, across from Cynder.
"I'm sorry!" Spyro glared at his brother. "Sparx!"
"Okay, okay!" He held his hands up in defense. "Maybe I shouldn't have asked you."
As Flame wiped his face Sparx hovered over towards Cynder.
"Hey, Cynder." Sparx grabbed her attention. "Would you say that you and Spyro are doing pretty well?"
"I've never been happier." Cynder smiled and took another chunk of meat off her platter.
"Yeah, that's great and all, but are you two really doing well together? Like are you guys mates yet?"
This time Cynder's eyes widened and she spewed her mouth's contents into Flame's face.
"Fore Pete's sake!" Flame snarled and dragged a paw across his face. "I can't take any more of this conversation, what ever it may be."
Cynder and Spyro exchanged an embarrassed look. Both dragons blushed and turned away from each other.
"Yeah, perhaps I should leave you kids alone." Sparx laughed and took off.
As Flame and Ember exited the dining hall they spotted the two earth guardian candidates heading towards them.
Tremor and Gaia were twins. Both were very enthusiastic young dragons when it came to their guardian training. Gaia was the quieter and more reserved of the two. She preferred to sit and let situations play out rather than jump into the middle of things like her impulsive brother.
The young earth dragons saw Flame and bowed politely. "Welcome back Flame." Tremor said with a smile. "You done with breakfast already?"
Flame snorted smoke from his nostrils. "I suggest you avoid Spyro and Cynder for a while. " He replied as Ember flicked the last remaining flecks of food from his face. "Otherwise, you'll end up with more breakfast than you want." The twins watched as the two fire breathers disappeared down the hall before turning back to the dining room.
"I'm almost afraid to ask." Gaia glanced at her brother.
Tremor just snickered to himself. "Me too."