A/N: I'm getting better and being more productive with writing and updating more frequently. So here's the next chapter. And the one after this is already done actually. I just need to send it to my beta after a look-over.

"Along with his or her element, a dragon's ability of flight is one of the blessed gifts from the Ancestors; to lose the sacred gift would be as damning as being punished for heresy in Empyrea—or perhaps being a prisoner of those Lemurians. But it is certainly the greatest loss of spirit for those who were unfortunate."

—Syrantis of Empyrea

Chapter 9: Winterspell

Bright sunlight beamed through his window, the curtain's umbrageous area didn't help cover the rays themselves. The red dragon opened his eyes slowly, moaning. The morning had never been his thing. He noticed his lamplight was still lit and the large scrolls besides it were still open. He felt exhausted. He spent all night working with Sarin on the schematics, although she had retired earlier than him. He had stayed behind in the library for at least an hour more to work more. The last thing he could recall was hastily dumping those scrolls on his desk and passing out as soon as he had hit the bed,

He rubbed his eyes and yawned before looking around. His eyes felt heavy and he was barely putting in enough energy to force them open. He yawned once more, his mind's processing speed still slow as the evident confusion for the lack of sleep threatened to take its firm grasp if he stayed awake any longer. "Alright... How 'bout a few more minutes... Yeah. That sounds–" Fynir hit the bed before even finishing his sentence, already asleep once more.

From the red dragon's window, a white dragon who had been just about to knock simply laughed and decided to leave his friend alone for now. He ceased all movement with his wings and he suddenly dropped right to the ground, landing on a large pile of white, unblemished snow. As a result, puffs of snow flew from the impact zone.

Each little piece drifting slowly to the ground. Glint felt the coldness of the snow and slightly shivered as he got up. "Wow the white-cold-water is here..." He hesitated for a moment, "I don't think it's called that though."

Glint looked down at his paws he lifted one of them and saw the print his paw left on the snow. His head suddenly started bouncing ideas, the white dragon frowned as he picked up the snow. Its coldness was certainly unnerving. He began to mold it into a ball and once finished he smiled before looking around to see if anyone was nearby. He spotted a yellow dragoness staring off at the sky. She seemed mesmerized by the beauty of winter. The dragon was glad she seemed better than before. Autumn had ended unfortunately, but that didn't make Glint stop when he took aim and threw the snowball towards Aurea.

The dragoness yelped as she felt a very cold object hit her back. She turned her head to see a white dragon desperately trying to camouflage with the snow to avoid being caught. The dragoness frowned for a moment before letting a small giggle escape her. She walked up to Glint who was almost, almost… completely covered with snow and poked him on the shoulder. He felt a small zap as electricity ran its quick course through his body. The white dragon sheepishly smiled as he shook off the snow. "Glint. How come I'm not surprised you're playing with snow?" Aurea said, a small smirk was all she gave him as she looked down at the light dragon.

"Eh. I don't know. Because I'm me?" He said with a shrug, "and was the zap necessary?" The dragon simply straightened himself out displacing any remaining snow that was on him.

Her smirk grew slightly larger, "You threw a snowball at me. My completely unfair method of retaliation was a small dose of electricity."

"That stung... You know..." He paused for a moment, realizing something. "So it's called 'snow' then? Not... white-cold-water or white glob, or 'stuff that melts when you touch it?'" He asked.

The dragoness raised an eye while a full smile broke out from her. She laughed. No, not a giggle or a snicker. A laugh. Something that was rare to hear from her. Her breaths manifested itself in the cold day. "White-cold-water? Glint. That's just... That's just an odd name for snow! You don't know what it was called? You have to be joking..."

The only response she got from him was his shrinking as he just nodded. Glint noted she was more outgoing around him. More extroversive. She seemed like an almost completely different person than the Aurea he knew. Heck, he figured she'd warm up to him sooner or later. "Um. Yeah... I didn't know what it was called alright?"

Aurea herself noted her own behavior. She was actually being...herself? Before all of that? She didn't mind it, as she had figured that Glint wouldn't mind. At least she hoped. The dragoness was more comfortable communicating with him now. She felt it was time to be more open. "Anyways, what are you even doing here, Glint?"

"I'm just... hanging about. I suppose. I'm not even sure what I'm going to do today. With all this snow..."

"Then... would you consider–I know this is sudden–showing me where you lived before?" The dragoness realized how hastily she had asked him and shyly looked away for a moment. Glint closed his eyes for a moment, considering her request.

"I don't see why not. You're welcome to see my... home," was his reply.

Aurea felt relieved he didn't have a problem with it. "Okay... When do we go?"

"Now if you'd like?"

"Sure..."

Lykos stood on the snow. His eyes focused on the city wall ahead of him. The wolf had chosen to rest outside the city, in the woods. He wasn't very fond of all the noise in the city. Unlike his home… which was peaceful and quiet, Warfang was an interesting and diverse mix of a city nonetheless. There were moles, dragons and cheetahs. His eye soon caught two figures leaving the city, dragons. 'The figures seemed to be walking towards the woods, close to where Lykos found himself. He wondered if it was the Z'kil, one of his friends, or just a pair of general passerbys.

The wolf took in one deep breath, absorbing all the cold the air had around him and releasing it moments later. "Not quite like home. But close enough. I wonder how Auberon is doing? Must be different for him being the temporary alpha of my hunting pack..." Lykos was too lost in his thoughts to even notice the two dragons he noticed earlier coming close to his general vicinity. Once he heard their voices he realized how close they were and looked to see Glint and Aurea walking together. Glint waved at Lykos as he noticed the wolf.

Lykos simply nodded in response and craned his neck to the side before titling it slightly, indicated an unspoken question. Glint responded by pointing towards the woods and made a quick gesture, indicating he was going somewhere in there. The wolf nodded once more before waving goodbye. The white dragon in the same manner.

Aurea had been watching Glint communicate with Lykos with gestures and motions, which seemed pretty rudimentary if you'd ask her. "Was that him?" She asked as they entered the woods. Trees soon became the common sight and its abundance was surprising, considering how not too long ago this place had been simply barren. Someone who had a green paw was doing a lot of planting.

"Lykos? Yeah, it was." And silence was the only thing that carried on from there. It wasn't long before the two caught sight of the cave.

"This was your home?" Aurea said with slight awe as they approached the large cave. It looked relatively untouched by the war, surprisingly. Some sort of magic at play maybe?

Glint nodded. "Yeah," the dragon let out a long sigh and continued down into the dark entrance. "Home sweet home," he said as he used his element to light up the area. Aurea timidly tried to take one step in and found herself hitting an invisible barrier. The dragoness gently touched it, it felt smooth and for a second, it seemed harmless... Until she felt a burning sensation, causing her to hastily remove her paw. Glint noticed her reaction and tried to touch the barrier himself. But to no avail. "What happened? Is there some sort of...barrier on the entrance?"

"I don't know. It burnt my paw when I touched it. Can I not go in?"

"Not necessarily." Another voice rang out as a dragoness materialized in front of her causing Aurea to yelp in surprise. After a few seconds of surprise, Aurea noticed her transparency and tried to touch the dragoness in front of her. Aurea backed away slowly and cautiously, unsure about this new guest. "You're... You're not real, are you?" That was the only thing she managed to say, as her heart was pounding furiously and her mind finding itself dulled as she tried to comprehend the apparition in front of her. Her more instinctual side told her it definitely a real ghost, while her rational side told her it was a horrible hallucination caused by some sort of terrible hallucinogen or insanity.

"Oh no. I'm just a hallucination conjured from your brain! And in about twenty seconds I'll disappear and you'll be classified as a complete loony!" The white dragoness laughed as she said this. Aurea, in that moment, realized that this dragoness was a ghost.

"Mom..." Came Glint's voice, which was more of a groan, causing the transparent dragoness to turn her head.

"Alright dear. I'll stop..." Her expressed changed into one of brief disappointment before she smirked at him. "For now." She turned to face Aurea with big grin on her features, "Hello Aurea. I'm sorry I scared you."

"It's... alright. Are you... Glint's mother?"

"Why yes... yes I am. Is it not that obvious?" Illumielle replied with a smile. Aurea had no response to that and simply had her gaze to the ground, unsure of what to say. "Oh, before I forget..." The dragoness turned around and simply touched the exact area where the barrier was and soon enough, bright flickering simply started to appear from it. The dragoness then turned around and said, "Give me your paw." Aurea reluctantly extended her paw, she felt almost uneasy. But it was Glint's presence and his mother's kind aura simply gave her the confidence. Illumielle grasped Aurea's paw and causing a mark to suddenly spawn on her forehead, it glowed brightly before gently fading into nothing.

The mark was still evidently there, as the white outlines could still be seen. "What did you do exactly?"

"I gave you permission to enter the cave. That's all." And with that the dragoness faded and disappeared. Aurea stared at the spot where Illumielle just was. She looked at Glint who smiled at her.

"Come on!" He said with a laugh before running deeper into the cave. Aurea slowly followed behind and stopped right when she merely meters inside to look around. The cave gave off an odd and disgusting smell, almost like... feces? The dragoness couldn't tell, but she definitely felt like gagging.

"Glint, what is that smell?" She asked, trying not to breathe through her nose.

"Oh! That! I suspected something like that would happen! Just give me a moment!" Replied Glint, as he rushed off deeper into the cave. Aurea simply waited and she started to breathe through her mouth, as the smell was sickening. She tried to ignore the smell by looking around, focusing on the scenery of the 'house'. The dragoness noticed the bookcases around the area, and a pile of trimmed leaves whose structure and position in the room suggested that Glint actually slept on it. She began noting all the books in his library as she read titles. Her eyes pausing at every few titles or so, and with each pause, the dragoness felt more and more ecstatic, many of these books are ones that hadn't been seen for ages! She made a quick note to ask Glint if he didn't mind that she'd bring these back to the Temple Library.

As she continued to examine his home, the white dragon suddenly appeared from around the corner. "Ah, now that's fixed..."

The dragoness had noticed the disgusting smell had dissipated. "Um, Glint. What was the cause of that smell?"

"Wildlife loves to live in the cave when I'm not around. That smell is the result of long, almost unsupervised vacations." And as if on cue, the dragon lifted his tail to reveal Vipek. "Vipek, or Psamathe, has been the only one supervising the cave when I'm not around. And there's only so much a snake can do." Aurea watched the snake hiss at her before slithering away as if it didn't exactly felt she was welcome. Glint let out small but almost restrained laugh. "Don't worry, he does that when someone unfamiliar comes in here." He soon noticed how the dragoness wasn't speaking much, he sighed, and walked closer to her. "Something wrong?"

"No... Actually... Glint, I was... wondering if I could... perhaps..." The dragoness stopped there, unable to finish due the fact she wasn't sure it was even appropriate for her to ask. The white dragon simply stared at her, his eyes were speaking for him, egging her to continue. And in those eyes, she could see herself, her own mirror image. She took a deep breath, it was getting harder for her to even talk to Glint at some points. "I was wondering if could take some of your books back to the library sometime later..." The dragoness realized how rushed that came out and simply looked down, not wanting to see his expression.

She then felt his paw lift her head, "I don't really see why not..." He said softly, "but why do you want to do that? Just curious." Aurea gently pushed aside his paw as she noticed it was still touching her chin, it made her feel slightly embarrassed but she looked at him as she answered.

"I hope you realize some of the books here are... rare. Exquisite and once thought to be lost since only a handful of copies were made."

"Well, that makes perfect sense..." A brief moment of silence passed. "Let me show you some more things. You haven't seen my home completely." He started to run off, but he was stopped as Aurea held his tail with her paw.

"One moment Glint... About this mark... Is it permanent?" She asked, still gripping his tail firmly.

"Uh... I don't know actually. I'd have to ask my mom." He shrugged whilst the dragoness sighed mentally. She knew she'd be examined by Volteer if this stayed. And his examinations while simple in practice, are quite meticulous. She let go of his tail and let him continue. Although, this time, he did not run. But instead, walked.

They soon entered the central area of the cave. The walls expanded and became less claustrophobic. More bookcases surrounded the area with even more books on or inside each one. And in the center was a fountain of sorts. Glint walked up to the fountain and touched the water with a claw. He let it idly move back and forth for a moment. "So. Here's the fountain and more bookcases! Yay." He said with a chuckle as he bent his claw before shooting it out of the fountain water and making droplets land on both dragons. Aurea merely shook her head at his little antic and waited for him to proceed. Which he did.

"Hmm..." The dragon started looking around, tapping his chin with a claw. "Well. That's it." He ended with a shrug. "It's not terribly exciting, I know. But hey, it's my childhood here!" The white dragon extended his wings to empathize his point and looked at the dragoness with a grin.

Aurea bowed her head slightly, "Thank you for showing me your home Glint... I appreciate it, um, very much."

"You're welcome... I love this place. It's great."

"You lived here..." She muttered to herself. Glint apparently didn't notice her saying that as he stared out at the entrance and exit.

"I think it's best if we leave now," was all he said. Aurea just nodded and they both prepared to leave.

"I'm actually worried about her," a black scaled dragoness said to the purple one walking beside her.

"She's not in trouble is she?" The purple one asked, turning his head slightly.

"No, not that type of trouble Spyro..." Cynder said casting him a look that caused him to rack his brain. Which it did, promptly.

"Alright, so what if she does get... upset, if Glint doesn't know what she's talking about?"

"Upset is one way to put it," Cynder muttered. The two stopped at the fountain at the front of the library. "Well, I guess that means I have to play my card in calming her then."

"And if she doesn't?"

"Simple. Glint gets a nice message and after that, he'll be one hundred percent good in my books. Up until he mucks something up that is..."

Spyro smiled, "since when did you get so protective?"

Cynder instantly glared at him, making the purple dragon gulp in fear for a moment. "What is protective of making sure your friend's pain won't suffer more than it needs to be?" The dragoness stared down into the fountain at her slightly warped reflection, "I have you Spyro. But who does she have?" She said softly.

"There is Volteer, right?" He answered quickly.

She shook her head. "No, no, no, no, Spyro... Someone who is not family please."

"Okay Cyn, there is no one then."

"Exactly. I am looking out for Aurea as a friend Spyro."

"Well, you two are like sisters now. But... Isn't it best not to meddle in one's love life?"

"It's not meddling. It's called steering in the right direction Spyro."

"Uh huh, the two are basically the same though Cynder."

"Shush you. Aurea is our topic of discussion today, not what I am doing."

"Correction," Spyro said, raising a claw. "Aurea and Glint."

"Yes, that." Cynder nodded, "so who knows Glint best so far?"

"Fynir? Right? I haven't seen him at all today. Odd, he's normally up doing some crazy note scribbling at some place."

"Okay, good, so let's find Fynir then." There was a loud rumbling that emanated from someone next to her, who simply grinned sheepishly. "After we get some food." Cynder added, looking at Spyro impatiently. The two quickly made their way into the dining commons and seated on of the empty tables. Waving one of the moles over, they made their orders and continued their conversation as they waited for their meal to be prepared.

"Alright, so have we seen Fynir at all today?" Cynder asked.

Spyro shook his head. "No, I'm afraid not..."

"Talkin' about me now huh?" A voice called out from nearby, both dragons turned their heads to catch sight of a red dragon walking in. An inquisitive expression on his face along with an air of... achievement. But he also looked tired as heck.

"We were wondering where you were." Cynder said as the dragon walked over and stood next to them.

"And?" Fynir replied, almost groggily.

"We have questions," Spyro started, before hesitating. His eyes darted over to Cynder and back to Fynir. "It's about Glint."

The red dragon seemed puzzled, "Glint?" He said, looking at the two quizzically, "what about him?" He began to wonder what they were up to. Something mischievous? No, it is not like the two, Spyro might revenge for that one prank though… Family? Nope, unlikely. What is it? He thought.

Cynder took over. "You would consider yourself his best friend right?"

"Yeah... So?"

"So let's just say if Glint happened to be too dense about something and hurt someone's feelings about something–" The black dragoness was cut off by a smug looking Fynir as he spoke.

"Wait. This is about Aurea and Glint isn't it? I never thought the two of you would play matchmakers." He said with a laugh.

"Not exactly," Cynder replied flatly. "We're not trying to get them together, but it's pretty obvious Aurea likes him. Like-like. I'm just concerned for her, she's not exactly what you'd call stable. Emotionally."

Puzzled once more, the dragon said, "What's wrong with Aurea?"

"It's not something for me to talk about. But just know she can snap under the right circumstances, and she has before... It's not something you want to be caught in." Cynder gazed deep into his eyes. "What is going to happen within the next days?"

"It's winter, and there seems to be a lot of weird stuff going on with hearts and... Oh." Fynir said, realizing what she was talking about. "The Amourian Festival."

"Yes. That." Cynder said, "You're familiar with it?"

"Very." Fynir replied, before grinning, "believe it or not. But I was very popular back where I was from. All of the dragonesses simply swooned over me." He chuckled as both dragons looked at him incredulously before his expression turned serious. "Actually, the dragonesses fawned over someone else." The dragon sighed, "Anyways... What do I have to do with this entire situation?"

"If Aurea starts to send Glint any messages. Help him understand it." Cynder answered. "That's all I ask so far."

"Alright, simple. Sure, I'll do it."

"Thanks Fynir." Cynder said with a smile and Spyro nodded to show his thanks.

"You're welcome. Anyways, I have to go do things. I'll see you all again later." He said already making his way out. Spyro and Cynder watched as he left, they then noticed their food coming out. And thus, the two prepared for their meal.

Fynir closed the door behind and opened the blinds that prevented the sunlight from reaching his room. He let out a deep breath as the sunlight suddenly pierced the darkness in his room, and got into a more relaxed stance. He then walked over to his desk and cleared the mess of papers there. He pulled out a small notebook in particular, before flipping through the pages revealed series of sketches of various wings from dragons, birds, amongst other flight-capable creatures. Most of them had little notes scribbled over them. Fynir stopped flipping near the end of the notebook and stopped a page where, in large thick letters was written, 'FINAL DESIGN (Needs editing from Sarin).'

And what was below that was a sketch of a wing membrane, an artificial wing membrane, a membrane for replacing his very own destroyed membrane from all those years ago. The dragon looked at his wing, or really just the limb itself. Barren. He recalled the particular quote from the Scholar of Empyrea, claiming that the capability of flight that dragons held were one of the blessed gifts of the Ancestors, and to lose it, was the greatest loss of spirit. The scholar is right, the dragon hated being grounded, while those who could fly were free as the wind. Yes, it made him envious, who wouldn't be if they were grounded like he was?

The dragon grasped the notebook tightly and exited his room, intent on taking the plans to Sarin. She could definitely help him. He made his way down from the temple and into the streets of Warfang, weaving through the extensive crowds towards Sarin's place. Upon reaching there, he entered the building and saw the earth dragoness examining a craft meticulously, she wrote down notes neatly and then set them on the table.

She faced Fynir, "Look, it is Mr. Ambitious!" The dragoness said, feigning awe. "So… what are you doing here?" She then said after a moment.

"Take a look for yourself," the dragon replied, handing the notebook to her.

She flipped through the pages quickly, and commented, "Wow, you're such an artist Fynir," she said teasingly before stopping near the back. She narrowed her eyes as she scanned the page with Fynir's design. "You know what? You make this entire project plausible. Okay, so we're going to need hardy, tough materials, light enough to even allow the notion of flight. Also, it needs to be resistant enough to the elements, heat, so it doesn't melt, ice… well, no matter how hard you try it is impossible to not get anything frozen. Electricity, you don't want any conduits that just makes shocks more painful…"

Fynir had listened attentively, he nodded as she finished, but asked, "And do you know any such materials?"

"Maybe. I don't have one at the top of my mind, but…" She said frowning, before walking over to a bookshelf. She pulled a couple of dusty tomes and blew on them, making the dust fly away. "I haven't had to look at this since I was an apprentice." She looked at him before grinning and tossing him book, "since you're here, help with this."

The red dragon caught the book clumsily, almost dropping it, he looked at the dragoness. "I guess might as well, eh? I have nothing better to do… yet."

"Just get to work you flight-impaired lizard," she commanded.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah… No need to rub it in." The dragon grumbled, which the dragoness ignored.

Glint wandered through the library, browsing the sharply organized books on the shelves. It wasn't really wasn't as productive as to what Aurea was doing: reading. What she was reading was something he didn't know, honestly. The dragon stopped browsing and went towards the dragoness. He was surprised he and Aurea hadn't run into Spyro or Cynder yet. Odd. "What are you reading?" Glint asked curiously.

"Oh, a book about the 'Draconic Age' as it is known." She said from behind her book, eyes still glued as they quickly went from line to line.

"'Draconic Age'"? The dragon mused, "Isn't that also around the same time period with the catastrophic event with Antaria? And one of the few rare times where our race wasn't feuding with each other constantly?"

Aurea put down her book, keeping a claw to bookmark her page, she looked surprised and yet impressed at the same time. "You actually remembered that? I thought you zoned out during that section."

Glint beamed, he liked impressing her, honestly. "Believe me, whatever you teach, I find interesting."

"R-really?" She started nervously, "but don't put it that way… I bet there'll be something boring for you along the road of education."

"Your modesty is right, I think. There's gotta be something out there… but then again, with you Aurea, it won't be as boring!" The white dragon said in thought.

"All right, stop with the sly flatteries Glint, as much as I like it… I'm afraid you'll end up embarrassing me."

"Sorry, I'll stop. But they are not sly, for the record." He said apologetically, bowing his head a little low.

Aurea smiled, ignoring his little protest-like remark. "Thanks." There was a small moment of silence between the two before Glint spoke again.

"So I saw some odd things today," he started hesitantly. Internally, he was whacking his brain, trying to remember the exact details.

Aurea looked at him curiously, wondering what he was talking about. "Like what?"

"What is with the hearts and all these decorated lovey like stuff going on right now? Am I missing something?" Glint said while scratching his head.

The dragoness started to worry now, she didn't want to ask so early, not now. She was going to have to answer but how would she hide her feelings? Maybe… did Glint know anything about courting, love, being in love? If he didn't then she wouldn't have to worry at all, until the curious dragon poses more questions again. She gulped and answered weakly. "Oh, that… That is just dragons setting up for the Amourian Festival—"

"A-mour-ian." Glint interrupted, repeating the word slowly, almost like a hatchling. The dragoness couldn't help but smile. "Amour-ian." He said again, "Amourian…" again. He looked at the dragoness, who was waiting patiently. "Sorry." Glint apologized before motioning her to continue.

"Continuing from where I left off: the festival is meant for um, courtship and love. The objective during the time period is to find your… significant other…" Aurea was starting to get uncomfortable again. Why did he have to ask? Why?

"Significant other? What? What is courtship? And do you mean love as in family love? If so, it doesn't make sense." Glint rattled off quickly, completely lost and muddled. I am so glad he is naïve. Aurea thought a little guiltily.

"Um…" the dragoness started before she heard the door open. Her saving grace! Yes! "Excuse me, I have to attend to the visitor." Aurea said, relieved, she didn't show Glint that however. She left the dragon in a hurry and went down the spiral stairwell. Glint looked at her book and realized she didn't leave a permanent bookmark since her claw wasn't standing in. Luckily for Aurea, Glint saw a small gap on the closed book where her claw as previously and slipped a piece of paper in before smiling to himself. She'll appreciate that. He thought. I wonder what made her so nervous though?

Aurea was surprised to see Cynder standing at the doorway all by herself. She smiled as she saw Aurea and walked over to her. "Hey Aurea. How are you?"

"Good…" The yellow dragoness replied uneasily, something about Cynder really made her want to shoo Glint away, which Cynder seemed to notice.

"Something wrong?" She asked, looking at her intensely.

Aurea stammered, "N-no. Not at all. Um… give me a moment will you?"

Cynder nodded but watched her suspiciously as she went up the stairs. "Something is not right," she concluded under her breath.

Aurea gently raced up the stairs towards Glint. "Glint?" She called as the white dragon quickly crushed a bright light under his paws, another one of his little idle antics. He faced her and smiled innocently. "Yes?"

"I'm afraid you're going to have to leave. Besides it's getting late."

"Don't you have to go too?" Glint asked.

"No… I'm… staying to tidy some things up." She replied.

"Want me to help, I got time. What about the visitor?"

"No thanks, I have this under control, and the visitor was taken care of. It is fine Glint." She assured him. "Just go. Please. For me?" The dragoness couldn't believe she was forced to play the 'for me' card. Hopefully though, it'll work.

"Well…" Glint started, hesitating, "If you say so…" He was about to go down the stairs until Aurea said.

"Why don't you go out the window? It'll be faster!" She suggested innocently as possible.

Glint shrugged and turned around, opening the window nearby before making a leap. The dragoness heard his wings flap a moment later. She sighed in relief. Now. Back to Cynder.

She met the former Terror of the Skies downstairs, who seemed to be waiting patiently enough. "So Cyn, what did you want?" Aurea asked as casually as she possibly could.

"I want to talk." Cynder smiled.

"About?"

The black dragoness assumed a more laid back stance as she took a breath. Aurea wondered if she knew, if she did then… Cynder would help. Right? At least she hoped so. "So… the deaf rabbit has been seeing something extraordinary lately. It was a carrot. The very same one he saw grow, and grow, and grow. Lump. Big. Fresh. Delicious. So what will the rabbit do naturally? He'll try to get the carrot and eat it of course. But for some odd reason, he's paralyzed. Unable to move, why? It was one unmistakable feeling the poor rabbit felt. Fear. He felt fear, because predators surely could get him easily and his greatest asset was disabled. Hearing. The world is not kind, you already know. So… what did the rabbit do? Nothing. Paralyzed with fear, unable to muster his courage, he stood there… Then suddenly… He saw blackness, a great nothing if you will. Why? Did the rabbit lose his eyesight now? And so suddenly? No… The rabbit couldn't feel anything, all there was is blackness as he could see. Finally the rabbit came to a conclusion surely he must be dead. A predator came and got him and one big gulp apparently. The rabbit died because he couldn't muster the courage to go and pick up the carrot, and carry it home safely to eat. All because of fear Aurea. Fear… it can be overpowered by the strongest of courage even if it starts out small." She paused for a moment. "And if a dragoness, the dragoness that I am talking to right now, was paralyzed with fear, her courage unable to summoned to ask someone an important thing. She would be stuck forever in that phase up until someone came a nudged her courage until it actually managed to rise up and kick the fear right out of her body. Just so she can have a chance. A chance for love."

Aurea's eyes widened, "Cynder… You knew? How? When?" She felt anxious as she saw Cynder smirk.

"Sorry for the little story. But you're really easy to read when someone knows you almost completely inside and out. Besides, it's not the first time I thought you were attracted to someone."

"Not Belingar. I got over him… I swear." The yellow dragoness said, squirming a bit, her voice dropping into a low, embarrassed tone.

"Yeah. Him." Cynder said distastefully, narrowing her eyes for moment. "Good thing I didn't help you summon the courage last time. He and you never really 'clicked' all that well in my opinion. Besides, he also has someone else already last time I saw him." She went silent for a moment once more. "Your mother would definitely approve of Glint, assuming she is like how you told me."

"Cynder… you… know me too well." She said, a little defeated.

The black dragoness grinned. "You're like a sister to me Aurea. You and I, we connect really well… surprisingly."

"So. What do I tell him?"

"Well, Spyro surprisingly remembered hearing me back during when he was fixing the world. So, do the same. Just say it like your heart does."

"Gee Cynder, that is really helpful." Aurea said with a slight groan, frowning.

"Have a little faith in yourself little rabbit. Love. Don't you want that?"

"I-I… Yes. But what if he…"

"Stop! Don't even go there Aurea. I'll make sure he doesn't."

Aurea looked at her, worried. "How?"

Cynder simply smiled, "You'll see. I suggest you go to bed. Got to look good for the special someone right?"

"Whatever you do… please don't hurt Glint. Please." Aurea implored softly.

"You worry too much. He won't be hurt. Physically." Cynder said before opening the door and heading out. Leaving Aurea quickly running many scenarios over her head just based on what Cynder said not a moment ago. She really feared what the dragoness was going to do tomorrow. Or at least she hoped tomorrow. The former Terror of the Skies wouldn't barge into Glint's room and do whatever she planned to do right now would she? The dragoness tried to relax, she took a deep breath as she headed out the door as well. The moon was in full view and shined pleasantly, seamlessly. The night was peaceful, no one was in sight and all there was to be heard was crickets, and the sound of running water from the fountain. Aurea trusted Cynder with her life… so how couldn't she trust her now. There was really no valid reason.

Right?

A/N: It was quite fun to write the later interactions with Aurea and Glint in this chapter, as I'm sure you know why.

Next Chapter: Probably early-ish Feburary or if my beta manages to somehow work very fast... This month.

Much thanks to my beta reader. Unit Omicron, for fixing up my mistakes and making the chapter better as a result!