Candice stomped through the snow. Her mind was filled with hate and rage. She had been mad at Tremor before but this last incident was the final straw. As she kicked at the snow her mind began to wander. Why was she so mad at Tremor? She had never been this furious with him before, so why now? Why this much? Had he really done something so horrible to deserve her verbal wrath?
"What an asshole!" She hissed and fired a spike into a wall. Her tail lashed at the air madly. "He tried to help and nearly got me killed in the process." She repeated her earlier argument. Her talons dug into the hard ground beneath the ice. "He never thinks things through! He just sees what he wants and goes straight for it without any regard for anything else!"
Her thoughts were interrupted by a eerie howl. The dragoness lifted her head and sniffed the air. The particles of ice floating in the air vibrated against the wind. The enemy was close.
"Perfect." She thought to herself. "I need to get rid of this stress anyways." Suddenly there was a loud crash and a tower of ice burst up from the middle of the fortress. The ice shattered and a large fur-covered monster burst from the frosty cloud. The mutant wolf landed before the ice dragoness and roared. The dragoness bared her teeth and spread her wings, ready to fight.
"Did you hear that?" Sparx held a palm to his ear to listen.
"It sounded big." Flame growled and curled his lip slightly.
"Do you think Spyro and the others are all right?" Ember asked worriedly.
"I hope so." Stella muttered. "This place gives me the chills. And not for the obvious reasons."
"I hope Candice and Tremor are going to be okay." Ember muttered.
"Me too." Stella nodded, the heated argument still fresh in her mind. "I know Candice didn't mean what she said."
"But even still." Flame looked back at the golden dragoness. "She did cross the line with Tremor."
"I won't disagree." Stella shook her head. "But I can't help but wonder what's been going on with her lately. She's been acting strangely around Tremor."
"Now that you mention it." Ember tilted her head to recall the past several weeks. "She has been a bit more tense around him."
"Like how?" Flame raised a brow. Sparx floated over to rest on his shoulder and listen in.
"You haven't noticed the way she's always at his side or staring at him when we eat our meals?" Stella peered at the fire guardian skeptically. "Ever since returned from the eastern dragon city she always sits next to him."
"And they actually hang around each other." Ember nodded. "They never did that before."
"Maybe it's because Candice is trying to help fill in for Gaia." Flame suggested. "Tremor and Gaia were always beside each other no matter what."
"True." Stella nodded. "But with Candice, she's more tense. Not as carefree as Gaia was. Maybe she's trying to be nice but is being burdened by herself."
"What do you mean?" Flame cocked his head curiously.
"She means that she's trying to be nice and help him out, but she's in conflict with herself over the whole matter." Ember explained.
"Conflict?"
Ember shook her head and sighed. "If I didn't love you so much...She's used to not being on good terms with Tremor, but now that they seem to be, she's confused. She doesn't know if it feels right or not."
"How could it not be right? The only alternative is to continually argue every time you see the other dragon anywhere near you."
"But that's all she knows with Tremor. She's not used to being nice to him or vice versa."
"I believe she's developing feelings for him." Sparx smirked. "Why else would she get so mad at him for trying to help her. Sure it may not have been in the best way, but he was willing to save her life when it was in danger." The dragons remained silent as they stared at one another.
"You...don't think that's really the case do you?" Ember asked.
"Why not?" Sparx insisted. "Spyro and CYnder were mortal enemies at one point. Why not the pebble-brain and the ice princess?"
"He has a point." Flame nodded and looked at Ember with an adoring expression. "Miracles do happen." The dragoness blushed and shied away slightly.
"Oh, Flame. Not in front of Stella." She giggled.
"Yeah hot shot." Sparx nodded. "We have to find Spyro and the others first."
"Then I suggest that we head towards that noise." Flame thrust his head forward.
"What? Why?" Sparx gulped suddenly very alert.
"Because if there's wolves around, then there's bound to be a dragon or two close by."
"Oh. Right." Sparx grumbled. "You know, I think you've been hanging around Spyro too long. You're starting to think like he does."
Tremor trudged through the snow. His temper still lingered, clouding his mind and making him oblivious to anything around him.
He sighed heavily and watched his breath hang in the cold air for a moment. Seeing himself breathing made him think of Candice, how she snorted ice when she was upset or irritated by something. He wanted to smile at the thought but his temper held him back. He wanted so desperately to call her something; something hurtful, do something that would put her in her place for good.
Tremor growled and shook those thoughts out of his head. It was not like him to think that way. Not even about someone he was mad at. He flopped down in the snow and let the chill cool him off.
"Stupid." He whispered to himself. "That's all I am to anyone."
"Don't say that." Tremor's body began to glow with a yellow green aura. The energy drifted away from his body and settled on top of the snow in front of him. "I never thought you were stupid." Gaia shook her head.
"I know sis." Tremor sighed again. "But Candice does."
"You have to admit you don't always think before you do things."
"Sometimes there's no time though." Tremor lifted his head in protest. "Hell! I took a bolt of lightning that would have killed her, head on!" He pointed to the burn on his chest. "I didn't hear her complain when I didn't think that through. I just did it!"
"I know." Gaia nodded and a smile spread across her cheeks as she gazed lovingly at her brother. "You've really changed over the past couple months. I think it's for the better. You've kept your promise to me by being less of a pain to Candice."
"I wouldn't say less of a pain." Tremor rolled his eyes. "She's still a know-it-all-kiss-ass. I just try to be a pain less often."
Gaia giggled. "Okay, that's true. But I don't want you to give up on her yet. I know you like her and..."
"Whoa whoa whoa!" Tremor held up a paw. "I do not like Candy. At least not like that."
Gaia's tail twitched slightly and she raised a brow at her twin. "Tremor, who are you kidding? There's no way you could possibly fool me on this. I know you too well."
Tremor felt his body temperature rise again. "I don't know what you're talking about sis."
"Oh really?" Gaia narrowed her eyes at him. "Ever since you two spent the night on the cliffs where our little secret spot was, you've been developing feelings for her. They were slight at first but you can't honestly deny that you're not fond of her in the least bit."
Tremor curled his lips wanting to protest. If he was ever wrong with someone, it was his sister if not Candice. The earth dragon let out an exasperated sigh. "Damn it!" He cursed and slammed a paw into the ground, causing the snow to fall from the branches of the trees nearby. "I can't hide anything from you two."
Gaia smiled warmly. "I just know you Tremor. But you really should tell her how you feel."
"About what?" Tremor sank back down into the snow to pout.
"About how you truly feel about her. Not just what you portray on the surface. But what you feel in your heart." Tremor's eyes drifted from his sister's form to the snow beneath her feet. It was then he noticed that the snow under her had melted away, revealing the ground where fresh grass and flowers were beginning to sprout up.
Tremor sighed again sadly. His sister really was a miracle of life. He closed his eyes and let a few tears slide down his cheeks before disappearing into the snow. Gaia noticed and cocked her head at him sadly. She knew he still carried the pain around every day with him. "I miss you sis." Tremor sniffled as he looked up at her with wet eyes.
"I know." Gaia smiled. A tear formed in her eye and fell to the ground. She moved close to her brother and kissed him on the nose. Tremor felt a tingle run through his body. "You'd better get going." She whispered. "You may want to tell her before it's too late."
Tremor felt a knot well up in his chest. He nodded and wiped his face. "I will. I love you Gaia."
"I love you too Tremor." The dragoness replied softly. Her voice floated in the air as she faded from Tremor's sight. The cloud of yellow-green energy was absorbed back into Tremor's body. He felt a new power swell up within him and he breathed deep. He felt like he could do anything, including take on Malefor. He looked at the patch of fresh grass. A small tree had sprouted where Gaia's tear had fallen. Tremor smiled and kissed its tender leaves. He plucked a small bouquet of the flowers and formed a band around the cluster with some tightly packed stone. He used his claws to etch something into the band before taking one last deep breath. Tremor gently picked up the flowers in his mouth before running off to find Candice.