Spyro exits through the portal.
It's been a few weeks, possibly a month even, since he has been to Avalar. He thought it would be good to visit them now considering they are done repairing everything. He stretches his legs out. The dragon looks around the area. Their eyebrow goes up. That's odd, Elora and Hunter don't seem to be anywhere in Glimmer. They suppose they were somewhere else. He shrugs, he'll be able to find them in another place. He runs across the grass.
Around him, he sees tons of other people from other worlds in this one. Apparently, while he was gone, others started coming to other worlds for one reason or another. Whether it used to be common or not is unclear. Either way, it's a nice change of pace. Sparx buzzes to get their attention. Spyro looks ahead of him like Sparx wanted. He comes to a halt when they see the Professor in front of them. His sunglasses nearly fly off of his face.
"Oh, hello Spyro!" He greets him. "I didn't expect you to come back so soon!"
"I wanted to see how Avalar was coming along!" Spyro answers. "Say, where's Hunter, and Elora? I haven't seen them yet."
The Professor adjusts his glasses. "I suppose they're still sleeping. It's not noon yet, so I wouldn't worry too much. If you wish to find them, though, they're in Autumn Plains. There you should be able to find a cabin."
Spyro nods and so does Sparx. "Got it!"
He starts running through Glimmer. They find a portal leading to Summer Forest. They go through it. On the other side, he keeps running like there isn't a tomorrow. He dodges right and left around the people. Anything that can't be avoided by going around, he jumps over. Most people he runs by try to stay out of his way. Despite that there's no point where he slows down for anyone nor anything. They jump into another portal that leads into Autumn Plains. Just like before, he keeps going.
Below his feet, leaves break and some pieces stick to his soles. Spyro and Sparx leave a disappearing trail of footprints and magic dust respectively. He runs into the woods nearby. He wonders how he has never noticed this before on their previous visit, considering it's near the world's palace. With no sense of direction to their destination, they go left and right trying to find the cabin the Professor previously mentioned. It's hard to find something if there weren't any clues nor directions given. Now that they think about it, it might have been better if he went to the top of the palace then glided down to where it is.
Then again, he might not be able to see where it is even from up there. Just looking up from where they are, the sun can't be seen where it currently lies at. Before hitting up against the wooden walls, Spyro manages to stop themself from running into it. He walks around the cabin, trying to find the door inside. After looking at two sides, he finds it. He goes to open it, but he is interrupted from Sparx's buzz. They look at him pointing at one of the two windows. Spyro looks through the glass. Elora seems to be asleep still with her back facing towards him. From what he can see, there's another person in there but he's unable to tell who it is where they're at.
They go over to the door. He grabs the door handle. Sparx buzzes, catching Spyro's attention yet again. He turns to him.
"Do we have to wake her now?" Sparx signs.
They nod. "We could let her and Hunter sleep all day instead and not see them until tomorrow." Spyro whispers.
Sparx rolls his eyes. He flicks his tiny hand, as if to say 'okay go ahead and do it'. The dragon opens the door slowly at first to see if it made any sounds. After a second, only getting a tiny squeak which doesn't seem to be too loud to them, he opens it a little faster. Once he opens it completely, he's met with a dagger inches from his face. They jump backwards as a result. His wings spread out.
After a second, he looks at the possessor. Elora holds the dagger like she's about to attack. Her shoulders relax, same with her face. It becomes a face of shock.
"Spyro, I'm so sorry for that!" Her stance becomes more relaxed. "What are you doing here?"
"I was checking up on you and Hunter, and the Professor said you two would be here." He explains.
Elora sighs and groans at the same time. "Of course he would do that." She says quietly, presumably to herself.
She lays the dagger down onto the end table. He looks at the bed that Elora got up from. Hunter is asleep on it, having his hands all over. They inch closer to the cheetah. He then turns to Elora.
"I didn't know you and Hunter sleep in the same bed." They raise their eyebrow.
Elora shrugs. "Sometimes we do. Usually he sleeps in the other room, but he couldn't sleep too well last night so I let him sleep next to me."
Spyro looks over to his left. They see a door at the other side of the room, which is a darker color than the front door. He walks over to it. He goes to put their hand on it.
"Don't."
Immediately he freezes. As quiet as those words are, they hit him hard and heavy. Shivers crawl down his spine and through his bones. Her tone was enough for him to start second guessing their decisions. They turn to her. She walks closer to him.
"I'm sorry, but that room is off limits aside from me, Hunter, and the Professor." She pushes some of her messy hair back. "It's… a long story and I don't wish to get into it."
They slowly nod in understanding. As much as he wants to ask, he lays it off for now. Maybe he'll ask about it at a later time when she feels ready to talk about it, if at all. Then again, though, she should be the one to tell them whenever instead of asking. For all he knew it might be something personal, so he doesn't wish to pry on that.
Hunter springs upwards, causing Spyro to look in his direction. Elora turns around to see him awake as well. She smiles at him while he stretches.
"Oh, good morning, Hunter!" She warmly tells him.
"Good morning!" Hunter yawns out. He finally notices Spyro there. "We usually don't sleep together, like I- I mean-"
"She already explained it to me."
"Oh."
He clears his throat as he gets out of bed. His face is a clear, bright shade of red. Elora only chuckles seeing his face.
"What, do you want us to sleep together more often?" Elora playfully teases.
"No I'm good! I'll, uhh, just go get us breakfast now."
Hunter immediately runs out the door. Spyro smirks while Elora laughs.
"It's always fun seeing him become so flustered like that, and we've been living together for almost a decade by now." She snorts.
"I didn't even know cheetahs can get that red!" Spyro replies.
She turns around, this time with her arms behind her back. "I want to apologize for not welcoming you back earlier today, Spyro."
"It's no problem," they shrug it off, "you didn't know I was coming back. Speaking of, I saw everyone out of their worlds and into others."
"Oh yeah, ever since you came along, everyone has been everywhere. I haven't seen them doing that in years!"
"What caused them to stop?" They question as he tilts his head.
She only shrugs as she looks away. "I don't know, it felt so sudden when they did." She rubs her arm. "Oh, if you want you can join us for breakfast! Well, it would almost be lunchtime for you I'm guessing, but regardless you can join."
Spyro looks at Sparx. "How does that sound buddy?"
Sparx positively buzzes, giving them an affirmative answer. The dragon looks back at Elora, who smiles at the two.
"How about you help Hunter get the food? I'm sure he needs help getting them." She requests. "I need to get ready for the day anyways."
Spyro nods as they leave the cabin. As Spyro runs out, Sparx closes the door behind him before he joins them. The dragon doesn't need to run too far before finding Hunter, who's up in a tree trying to get fruit. He snickers seeing one of the native animals on his head. Hunter looks down at him and throws an apple at them. They move their head, dodging it while on the other hand it hits Sparx, knocking the air out of him. It causes Spyro to crack up. Sparx buzzes in annoyance.
They look at Sparx, who had a few spots of blue turning back to yellow on his body. Sparx angrily glares at him.
"Are you okay, Sparx?" Spyro asks, trying not to laugh more.
Sparx shakes his head before going off on them, which causes Spyro to laugh harder. Hunter grabs more fruit then jumps down in front of Spyro. He takes the apple he threw from Sparx, who crosses his arms once he takes it.
"Sorry about that, Sparx," Hunter looks at Spyro. "I take it Elora sent you out here?"
"Yeah actually. When did she get a dagger? She didn't have that with her the last time I was here." Their eyebrow goes up.
Hunter scratches his neck. "Oh that. She got that five years ago, when she turned eleven I think."
He starts walking ahead and Spyro catches up, walking next to him.
"She got that to protect herself when I'm not around to have her back." He explains. "She never had to use it against anyone, thankfully, but she insists on keeping it around. Knowing it's close by helps her sleep at night."
The ends of Spyro's mouth slides down. "I think I can understand that."
Hunter puts a basket down and climbs up another tree. A bird flies onto his head, making him wave his arm as he groans. He starts picking more apples.
"Let me guess, she pulled that out on you when you were coming in?"
"Right up in my face." He answers.
"Figured." Hunter drops a few down to Spyro, who catches them with the basket. "Elora became a pretty light sleeper over the years. She even pulls that out on me and the Professor sometimes."
"Did she ever get one of you?"
He brings his right arm up, showing a scar on his forearm. It wasn't a deep cut, but seeing it makes Spyro hiss like if he's the one who has the scar. It's not a fresh one, either, as it seems to be a year or two old with how faded it is.
"It didn't hurt too bad, but she got me by accident." He throws another apple down. "Man, she wouldn't stop apologizing for a week! She even wrapped my whole forearm too!"
They laugh a little. "She did that?"
"Well, I was her only friend." Hunter says. "Even if it doesn't seem like it, she does care a lot."
"Her only friend?"
"Yeah, the other fauns aren't fond of her, that I'll say." He throws the last one down.
Spyro catches it. "How are they not fond of her? She's a pretty cool person!"
"You and me both, Spyro." He jumps down. "It's too bad they don't see that. I guess some people will be jerks no matter what."
He doesn't get why and he wants to ask, but leaves it be. The dragon gives him the basket. Hunter takes it out from his hand. They start going to other worlds for other fruits. Ever since Autumn Plains, they have been quiet. With other world fruits, either Hunter climbs up and throws the fruit down to Spyro or Spyro charges at the trees for the fruit to fall while Hunter catches them. The process repeats until they get everything that's needed.
Once they get back, Hunter gets all of the meals ready and prepared for themselves with the fruits they gathered. Spyro lays a picnic blanket down onto the grass next to a tree. He doesn't think it's the nicest looking they're able to do, but they did it. When Hunter gets back, he puts the food onto the blanket. He turns around to get Elora, but to his surprise she's already walking right over. Unlike when Spyro first saw her earlier that day, her hair is neater and has been brushed over. Her leaf wristbands cover her wrists like they usually do, clearly adjusted to be that way.
"I was about to get you." Hunter says.
"You didn't have to, I was coming here anyways." She smiles at him before walking past Hunter.
They all sit down and start eating. They laugh from jokes they tell each other, mainly from Spyro telling stories from their home world. The food slowly becomes less and less as the three talk. Hunter nearly chokes on his food laughing, but luckily Elora and Spyro are there to help him with that. It feels like little time passes with them enjoying themselves for the most part.
Out of nowhere, they all hear a scream. Elora's and Hunter's ears perk up from the sound. She's the first one to get up as she runs towards the sound. Hunter, Spyro, and Sparx follow her to whoever screamed. When they get there, they see Elora get down onto her knees. She grabs a hold of a faun's hand, who grabs onto her in return. She tries to lift her up, slipping closer to the edge every few seconds. Elora manages to hold her ground, though, as she brings the faun up. Hunter runs over to her and helps her. Spyro almost does the same. Before they could, however, Hunter and Elora pull the girl up where she's no longer hanging on by the edge. Everyone around them cheers for the fact that she's okay and how they were here in time to save her.
The girl hugs Elora firmly nearly ready to break into tears. Elora freezes momentarily before putting her arms around her. She pats her back, letting her know she's alright now.
"Thank you so, so much Elora!" Krista cries out. "I owe you my gratitude!"
Elora pulls away. "Hey, I'm just glad I was able to save you."
"Why, won't you look at that, it seems the little freak is useful for something after all!"
Elora, Hunter, and Spyro all look in the direction the voice came from. Elora's ears droop down after she sees that it's Spinner who said that. Lila and Sheila stand by her sides. Spyro gazes over to Elora, who seems unsure of how to react yet looks agitated at the same time. They don't know why one of the fauns just called his friend a freak, which is untrue, but they're not about to let her insult Elora like that. He looks back at Spinner as he opens his mouth.
Before he's able to speak, Krista gets way ahead of him.
"Don't you start on your bullshit now." Krista stands up. "She just saved my life and you're repaying her by starting up your unreasonable insults now? No, I'm not letting this slide anymore!"
The Fractured Hills fauns become taken aback from her sudden attitude. Spinner is the one who's shocked the most with her eyes bigger than the others. Krista stomps over to Spinner, getting close to her face.
"Just because she doesn't have any horns like us, just because she has a webbed neck unlike us, and just because she's a little shorter than us doesn't mean she's living like how we are!" She argues. "All she's ever done to us was be kind even when you were a jerk, I'm the only one to return that kindness with what I genuinely can. I only tolerated your behavior towards her because you were my friend!"
She crosses her arm and turns her back against her, walking a few steps ahead of her. She turns back to the three.
"And even after the incident, you guys still treat her like a pile of shit, and for what? Until you guys change your behavior towards her, I'm not speaking to any of you."
Krista walks over to Elora. The red faun's face turns pink, and her lips slightly quiver, presumably from Krista's words for her.
"Elora, I just want to apologize for never standing up for you during all of those years, especially when you needed someone there the most." She gives her a quick hug. "I'll be here for you from now on, just let me know."
Krista then gives the other fauns the 'do anything to her and you're dead' look before walking away. Elora gets up, hanging her head as she swallows. Spyro goes to lay their hand onto her shoulder, but she just runs the other way. He opens his mouth to call for her, but nothing comes out of it now matter how hard he tries. He looks at the fauns. Their face scrunches up into a nasty look, possibly the nastiest one he's given to a person yet. The girls hold onto each other once they notice how he's looking at them.
The look he gives them is only a warning. A flame fumes in his body, but they don't let it out, keeping it for when they truly ask for it. Hunter, on the other hand, seems ready to go at the blue women, growling at them and everything. Spyro turns around, but he's stopped midway from Hunter's hand going into their shoulder. They look up at the cheetah for an answer to their unspoken question.
"Don't," he speaks, "I'll go after her. She's a lot more open to me than she is to you."
Unfortunately, they know there's a lot of truth in that statement, as much as he hates to admit that. He stays put, looking back to the fauns who are slowly backing away. He can see the fear in their eyes, knowing that they have heavily messed up big time. They know that the fauns are afraid of what the two could do, but he doesn't do a thing. As horrible as they were to Elora, they're innocent from the point where they didn't do massive damage. Besides, Krista already took care of them for him.
If they were to do more, though, then he's not afraid of taking care of them himself.
Hunter runs off after Elora, leaving them behind for the moment. The fauns then run off, presumably back to their own home world. They decide to go after Hunter, albeit keeping their distance in case Elora sees him and runs off again.
They just wanna make sure that she's okay.