Hi, here we have a new chapter, a bit longer than the usual. I was tempted to split it in two but it didn't feel quite right. As always i hope you enjoy this one and let me know if you have any suggestions, advices or simply if you're liking the journey so far.
-Azotac
-Some days later-
The sun was shining bright that morning in Warfang. A gentle breeze was coursing trough the city's streets and alleys, easing a bit the already hot sun rays. Cynder was laying under the shade of a tree, in one of the great gardens of the city, her gaze fixed on the purple dragon few meters away from her.
Spyro was exercising his walk on a softer terrain to help his balance, as his physician suggested him. Actually the sand would have been even better, but flying to the coast was impossible for him now.
Despite this, with a bit of help of his returning earth power he managed to soften a portion of the ground in the corner of the garden, permitting him to exercise.
He did fell a few times, but he always managed to get up alone, without the help of Cynder.
Spyro was happy to feel his strengths gradually returning. He wanted also desperately go back to fly, but even if his wing was almost healed, it was still too weak to support the flight.
This fact bothered Spyro a lot, but he also knew that straining it too early would only extend his recovery time. He just had to wait some more days.
After a good half an hour of walking back and forth in the garden he pushed himself to where Cynder was resting.
He sat at her right covering her with his left wing. She raised her head, nuzzling his neck. Spyro emitted a low, pleased growl.
"It's good to see you recovering, Spyro. You're really making great progresses." She cooed.
"Well, your presence here is a cause of my good recovering. "He answered softly.
"Since when did you become so sweet?"She asked flatly.
"Being almost dead teaches you to appreciate more what you have in life. Most importantly the ones you love."
"And since when did you become so wise?" She said mockingly.
"Another perk of being almost sent to the Ancestors, I think."He answered chuckling.
They smiled fondly at each other, losing themselves in each other eyes, before posing gently their foreheads together.
Few moments later Cynder pulled away, gazing at the horizon. Spyro watched her quizzically. Something was on her mind.
"There's something that bothers you?"He asked.
"I was just thinking about what happened after, well, you recomposed the planet. I can't still figure out how we managed to escape the planet core."She sighed.
"Well, we didn't escape actually."He stated.
"What?"
"When I begun to pull back the world, I pictured in my mind us together in Avalar. I managed to put you safely in a nice clearing near the forest, but I was too exhausted to join you, so I ended up were you found me, I guess."He stated.
"Oh Spyro…"She nuzzled his cheek.
A sudden loud shout, broke their intimacy:"There they are!".
They saw a group of moles and dragons speeding trough the gallery that connected the main street to the garden.
The two young dragons managed to stand up rather quickly, before being surrounded by about thirty excited citizens all shouting different things.
"By the Spirits! He's really purple!"
"I thought he was taller, honestly."
"Why is she here?"
"Can I have a paw-print, Mister Spyro?"
"Ancestors, she's really terrifying."
"Look at those scars!"
Spyro was actually panicked, they were completely surrounded and he couldn't escape.
But in a fraction of a second, with a swift movement Cynder covered him with her wing and then all went black.
He experienced one of the weirdest sensation of his life: a grasping cold was spreading trough him, being only mitigated by the warm feeling of Cynder's wing around his back. He felt like he was just drifting into the void.
Then, it all ended before he could notice it, as they found themselves in front of the infirmary building.
"What, what did just happen?"Asked Spyro, clearly confused.
"We made a quick trip in the shadows, those people were beginning to hurt my nerves."She stated almost snarling.
"I didn't know you could do that"
"There are a lot of things you don't know about me, purple boy".She said winking at him.
Spyro flushed red under his scales, thinking about what she could possibly mean with those words.
"Now let's go inside before they come back."She said pushing the door open.
Without another word they slipped inside the infirmary.
Auros was sit over a cushion near his bed, gazing the urban landscape outside the windows.
It was something that never got him tired. He could watch for hours that beautiful scenery. It was almost comparable to the one he saw in the wilderness during his life. A tinge of sorrow etched on his face as he sighed.
His thoughts were interrupted by the doctor calling for him.
"Come here young one, we need to do the therapy."The mole stated.
"Do I really need to do it? I'm feeling much better now."He answered a bit frightened.
"I have to admit, you are the first dragon I heard that has this kind of problem with red gems."Said the doctor, holding some crimson crystals in his hands.
"But if you want to get better sooner you need to use them. Even if they cause you pain."He continued.
Finally the white dragon nodded, bracing mentally for the suffering.
The mole slowly pushed the crystals near his scales, as they begun to flash red, a surge of pain rushed through the young dragon: he could feel every remaining injury closing , but the sensation was all but pleasing. It was like all the arrows he got in the back were being slowly pulled out one by one and as a sword was slowly cutting along the gashes on his hide.
Luckily the agony endured only few seconds, and when the gems dissipated completely, Auros let out a low growl, releasing all the tension.
"There you go, young one. Now all your injuries are sealed, but unfortunately the scars will probably remain for a while. You should try to walk a bit, you need to do some more rehabilitation for those hind legs. Maybe you could ask Spyro to join him." Stated the doctor.
The white dragon groaned.
"Thank you, I'll ask him."He said limping away towards the door, but before he could open it, someone entered in the room.
Auros yelped for the surprise, as he recoiled back. His legs hurting briefly for the sudden strain.
He gazed at the figure that was standing in front of the door: a large earth dragon.
"Ahh, you should be the young dragon that arrived few days ago. Auros is the name right?".Terrador asked gently.
"Yes, sir, but can I ask who are you?"Asked the white dragon a bit confused.
"Oh yes, sorry young one. My name is Terrador, I'm the Earth Guardian of the dragon realms."He pronounced solemnly. At those words a surge of shame coursed trough the young dragon, as he didn't recognise the famous Earth Guardian. He instantly bowed his head.
"I'm sorry, Master Terrador I didn't recognise you."He spoke weakly.
"Relax young dragon, I'm here to check how you are doing and also to ask you what are you going to do here in Warfang. Do you have any relatives here, or someone close to you?"Questioned gently the earth dragon.
"I've no relatives left, sir. The only ones I know are Master Spyro and Miss Cynder, which I met few days ago…"He paused.
"And for what I'm going to do here, my idea was to come here to help in some way. Maybe to become a guard or something."
"I think you are a bit too young to become a soldier, but if you wish you could come to the Temple and train there, with Spyro and Cynder. It's always a pleasure to have other young dragons around, especially during this unstable period."Said the Guardian smiling.
Auros was astonished from the offer. He had the possibility to train with the Guardians and with the two heroes of the realms. Excitement rose in his chest, as he stumbled to maintain his composure.
"It would be the greatest honour, Master Terrador."He finally said bowing his head.
"Excellent. Now if your medic will concede, I'd like to accompany you to the temple to show your accommodation."Terrador glanced the mole, which promptly nodded smiling. Terrador turned to exit the room while Auros thanked the doctor.
"Don't forget to come back in few days for a check-up!"Shouted the mole from the door.
"I won't!"Answered Auros.
They both walked along the corridor leading to the main entrance.
"I was hoping to find Spyro and Cynder here, but I was informed they were outside. We should fetch them so we can go together." Said Terrador, but as soon they arrived in the main hall, they found them chatting with Aramis.
"Ah Master Terrador, I was coming to inform you of their arrival, but it seems that you beat me on the time."Said the grey dragoness.
"Indeed this is a lucky casualty, I just said to young Auros that we needed to find them before going to the temple."Said the Earth Guardian smiling.
"We're going back to the temple?But wasn't it destroyed?"Asked quizzically Spyro.
"I think Terrador refers to the Warfang's one."Stated Cynder flatly.
"Oh…"Said Spyro a bit ashamed.
"Right guess, Cynder. We Guardians thought that a fair accommodation would be the minimum to offer you in sign of gratitude."Stated the earth dragon.
"But it wasn't neces…"Spyro was interrupted by Cynder whipping her tail-blade on his rear.
"We gladly accept it, Terrador."Replied Cynder.
"Perfect, now let's head to the Temple, the other guardians are waiting."Said Terrador, heading to the exit. They all saluted Aramis, which also told Spyro to do a check-up in few days, before closing the door.
Their passing trough the city went almost unnoticed fortunately. Some moles stopped by to thank the two young dragons, but Terrador quickly shooed them away.
After a good twenty minutes of slow walking, to accommodate Spyro's and Auros's rhythm, they arrived at the gate of the Warfang Temple.
A sense of familiarity flowed trough the purple dragon, as he watched the great building towering up in the sky. He could recognise the architecture from the original temple: three great arches stood tall over them and over a staircase which ended in a great circular wooden door, guarded by two armoured soldiers. The stairway, as well as the whole structure fitted perfectly the city, with its clear marbles adorned with golden and azure details. Along the stairs there where three sets of golden dragon statues, facing inward, adding glory to the huge structure.
Spyro could only stare in awe at the great building.
"Spyro, are you with us?"Asked Cynder, poking his shoulder.
"Yes, yes. It's just…wow."Said the purple dragon.
They silently walked the steps through the archway, the guards bowing at their arrival, before opening the great door.
As soon as they entered, Spyro's maw dropped.
The interior of the building was more lustrous and elegant than the original temple.
A wide hallway led to the main chamber, illuminated by the daylight filtering trough the great windows over the ceiling, casting bright columns of light that filled the room in a solemn way.
The walls, as well as the floor where of a clear white marble, that reflected the brightness coming from above. The ceiling of the corridor was sustained by several round arches, similar to the ones outside.
Over the walls there were banners of the four different elements hanged on golden supports.
Spyro could hear some familiar voices coming form the end of the corridor.
"I say we should lead them to their original dwellings Cyril. There are families which flee many years ago in this group. Spirits know how many daunting, dreadful, terrorising perils have they faced." Stated Volteer quite worried.
"I know, I know. But you must consider there are also refugees which didn't belong to this city, we must also to arrange them, and we need to account the resources to sustain all this new arrivals. It's not as easy as you say."Contested Cyril.
While the two Guardians kept discussing, the small group arrived in the main hall. Terrador clearing his throat loudly to gain their attention.
"Oh Terrador you came back."Said Cyril.
"And I see you brought with you our young heroes, that's amazing!" Added Volteer.
"Who's the third one, Terrador?" Asked the Ice Guardian leaning his head towards Auros.
"He's Auros, the young dragon that arrived few days ago, you surely remember about that."Said Terrador.
"Of course I do, and it's good to see you recovering so quickly. I've been told you weren't in good shape when you arrived, not bad as Spyro, though."He added smiling at the purple dragon.
"By the way, my name is Cyril, I'm the Guardian of Ice and this old blabbering dragon next to me is Volteer the Electricity Guardian."Concluded Cyril.
Auros bowed his head. "It's an hour to meet you, sir."He stated.
"Seeing their recovery, I decided to bring them here to assign them an accommodation, and to show them a bit of the city."Interrupted Terrador.
"C'mon young ones, let's go."Called the Earth Guardian.
The three young dragons bowed their heads to the two guardians, then followed Terrador trough a large round door near them.
They crossed a long corridor, before taking some stairs that brought them to the upper floors.
Another wide walkway was before them, with a dozens of wooden doors embedded in the walls.
Terrador paused near the second one on the right.
"Here's yours Auros, I hope you will like it." Said the Earth Guardian opening the door.
"I'm sure I will. Thank you for your hospitality."Said Auros entering the room.
"Spyro, Cynder. For your quarters we need to go upstairs."Added Terrador.
"Auros, you want to catch up later?"Asked Spyro before leaving.
"Sure, how about at sundown?" Answered Auros.
"Perfect" Said Spyro leaving.
The young white dragon entered his new dwelling and he pleasantly noticed that it was actually quite large for a single dragon: a medium sized bed was on the left with some cushions disposed over it. On the right there were an empty wooden bookshelf and a small desk. The room ended in a big balcony that faced westward. The whole place wasn't much decorated like the rest of the building, but he didn't care. To him it was actually too much, considering he was being hosted by the Guardians. Auros didn't waste time and dropped himself over the bed and begun to rest.
The trio arrived at the upper floor, which was clearly more luxurious and adorned than the first one. In addition, there were just two doors in the smaller hallway: one in front of another.
Terrador stopped in front of them.
"Here there are your quarters young ones. We arranged them to give you as much space as you need and to make sure that nobody disturbs you during your permanence."Stated Terrador smiling.
"You mean that we have one entire floor just for the two of us?"Asked confused Spyro.
"As I said before, we think that a fair accommodation and a bit of privacy were the minimum that the city should offer to two heroes like you."Said the Earth Guardian while opening one door.
"This one is yours, Spyro".
Spyro and Cynder peeked inside and their jaws fell on the floor.
The room was large at least three times the one in the infirmary, with a great window that brought to a wide balcony. On the right there was a large bed, filled with cushions of all sorts. It looked comfy just by the aspect. Laid near the wall there were some wooden chests, containing things like additional pillows and blankets, clearly for the winter. There were also some bookshelves with a couple of tomes organised over them and a modest stone desk just aside, illuminated by the light of the window. Spyro instantly liked the idea of reading, bathing in the sunlight.
Terrador led them to the next smaller room which contained a big marble bathtub and a large mirror, both put under another wide window which filled with brightness the entire place.
Spyro was so amazed that he almost lost the details of the decorations: the windows as well as the balcony were adorned with purple curtains latched on the side. The walls were embellished with lots of paintings and depictions of nature, animals and dragons.
The Earth guardian led them finally to the wide balcony, which extended by the full length of the room. A gentle breeze coursed though Spyro's scales, sending a light shiver down his spine, as he watched the priceless sight. He could see almost the whole western Warfang from it.
Terrador, watching their expressions, questioned:"Is this of your liking young ones?"
"It's just amazing, thank you Terrador. Are you sure it isn't too much? I mean…"Spyro was stopped by the Earth Guardian:"You don't need to thank us, you deserved it. But I have to ask you a favour before I leave."He paused. Spyro and Cynder watched each other before the Earth guardian continued:"Tomorrow should arrive the first convoy of dragons that evacuated during the conflict, and we Guardians would like to have you two with us for greeting the newcomers."He concluded."Do you think you can manage to join us?"
The two young dragons nodded at each other.
"It would be a pleasure for us" Said Spyro smiling.
"Good, I knew I could count on you. The group should arrive by early morning, we will meet on the western wall by that time. Until then, have a good rest young dragons. You earned it."Said Terrador, leaving for the door.
As soon as the door closed, the two young dragons flew themselves over Spyro's bed, resting one near each other.
The purple dragon woke up a couple of hours later. He gazed to the window and noticed that it was late afternoon, so there was still time before sundown.
He stirred tiredly before getting up from the bed, putting attention in not waking up the black dragoness that was resting near him.
He stopped a moment to admire her. To Spyro, she seemed so delicate and defenceless when sleeping, even if her razor sharp tail blade and talons told another story.
Her slender form was gently posed over the coloured cushions, her flank raising slowly and evenly.
Spyro lost himself in gazing her and listening her breathing, admiring her obsidian scales reflecting the sunlight filtering through the windows. It reminded him that he actually didn't a proper check-up of himself for a long time now.
He directed to the other room, placing himself in front of the mirror. A frown etched over his face.
His whole body still showed the marks of his last battle: some scars where still visible after all the red gems he absorbed. His scales had lost all the brightness and tone that once where so rich and lustrous as they were still encrusted of dirt and dried blood. A sense of discomfort rose in his chest. He was still a phantom of the war that he ended barely three weeks before.
He slowly walked to the bathtub, watching it quizzically for few moments. He noticed a small golden tap embedded in the marble, near it there was an opening in the wall, just at the height of the bathtub. Spyro used the small staircase to enter the tub. He tried to rotate the tap, but it was unmovable.
"How in the name of the Ancestors does this thing work?" He thought to himself.
He spent five good minutes fumbling with the tap, when finally he pulled it and a cold stream of water came flowing trough the opening and into the tub.
Spyro yelped at the chilling sensation. He instantly cursed himself, hoping that he hadn't awaken Cynder, then he tried to rotate the tap to the right and the water became instantly warmer.
He spent the next couple of minutes letting the water flow over his scales to wash away all the dirt. He then sat, closing his eyes and leaning the back to the wall, his muscles gradually relaxing as the warm water filled the tub.
The sound of clicking talons on the marble didn't reach his hears as it was subdued by the water sound.
"What are you doing Spyro?"Cynder asked.
Spyro jolted up from his relaxed form, his eyes wide and his scales reddened by the embarrassment.
"I…I was… a bit dirty so I thought…I could take…a bath?"He muttered uncontrollably.
A smirk etched on Cynder face as she nonchalantly jumped in the bathtub, sending splashes of water all over the place.
Spyro yelped as he found the black dragoness in front of him, her scales glistening by the droplets of water.
He could feel the blood pumping trough his facial scales, as he was flushing red.
She edged closer to him beginning to nuzzle his cheek, he remained still as a statue.
"C'mon Spyro, you need to relax. Just loosen up those muscles."She said, her muzzle still on his cheek. He exhaled heavily, trying to drop all the tension, then he unfurled his left wing around Cynder to bring her closer.
Their chest were now one against each other, Spyro licked her neck gently, moving upward to her cheek, then pulled away; his eyes fixed on hers. He could see all kind of emotions reflected in those emerald gems. Finally Cynder pushed Spyro near the edge of the tub, then she posed her head over his shoulder, as he began to gently caress her neck.
Countless thoughts were rushing in Spyro's head, only subdued by the calming sound of the flowing water.
After an hour or so Spyro and Cynder decided to leave the warm embrace of the filled bathtub and get themselves dried up before meeting Auros for the evening.
There were all sorts of towels and cloths to use to dry up, a luxury that they both never experienced during their relatively short lives. Spyro most of all didn't really know how to use them, he just sat and put one over his shoulders and head like a blanket. This scene caused a loud burst of laughs from Cynder, replied by a deadly glare from the purple dragon.
As soon they got ready they directed towards the door, finding Auros waiting outside in the corridor.
"Good evening, how are you?"He asked.
"Quite relaxed I should say. That bed was incredibly soft. We fell asleep almost instantly."Spyro answered yawning.
"Anyway, where do you want to go this evening, have you got some ideas, Auros?"Asked Cynder expectantly.
"Well, while we were coming here this morning, I spotted what seemed to be a nice food stall just few minutes away from the temple. I thought we could grab something to eat there, then go for a little walk around the city, if our legs permit it." He said glancing towards Spyro.
"I'm sure we will be fine, as long as we don't walk too fast." Said the purple dragon smiling.
"If it's all settled we should go then, I'm actually starving."Said Cynder, pushing Auros towards the stairs.
As the white dragon said, the food stall was only few minutes away from the temple, settled in a little square with a dragon fountain in the middle.
The stall was relatively small, with few wooden tables disposed in the nearing for accommodate the costumers. To Spyro it seemed like a miracle that there were already commercial activities so shortly after the end of the conflict.
They arrived at the counter where a mole was fumbling with some gems and a quill. Then as soon he noticed them, he almost fell out form the stool where he was sitting.
"By the Gods! The Saviour is in my humble stall! What can I do for help you and your friends, Master Spyro?"Asked the mole with shimmering eyes.
Spyro was a little taken aback by the mole behaviour. He was definitely not used to be treated like some kind of hero.
"We would like to heave something to eat, if it is possible…"Said Spyro hesitantly.
"Of course it's possible Master Spyro. Please have a seat I'll come back in few minutes with the best meat you'll ever tasted, tonight offers the house."Said the mole excitedly, running behind in the kitchen.
"Well, I didn't expect such a reaction."Said Spyro, sitting on his haunches near one wooden table disposed outside the stall. Cynder sat in front of him, while Auros beside him.
"I think that everybody feels rightly in debt with you two for the whole, you know, world saving matter. You should begin to get used to this kind of treatment. Both of you actually."Said the white dragon chuckling.
"I'd really like to be treated like a normal dragon for once in my life."Muttered Spyro.
"Well, I think we should enjoy while it last, don't you, Spyro?"Told Cynder, nudging the purple dragon.
"Yea, you're right."
"I wonder about how many dragons will arrive tomorrow, Terrador said it was a small group, but he didn't specify the number."Questioned the purple dragon.
"Let's make a bet! I say they're at least fifty"Proposed Cynder.
"Nah, for me, they're at best thirty-five."Asserted Auros.
"Do I really need to participate? What do I get if I win?" Asked Spyro, hesitant.
""Oh c'mon Spyro where is you sense of fun? I'd say, whoever wins the bet, gets a full dinner offered by the other two here at this stall." Teased Cynder.
"With which money do you intend to pay, we don't have any."Snorted Spyro.
"We'll figure that out later."Answered flatly the black dragoness.
The purple dragon sighed."Fine, I'm in. I'd say they're at least forty."
"Good, it's a bet then."Concluded Cynder.
They spent few other minutes chatting, before the mole returned with three medium platters filled with steaming meat.
"Here we have our house speciality: grilled deer with aromatics herbs. A true joy for the palate."Said the little mammal, posing the platter in front of the dragons.
Cynder's mouth was watering just by the smell. The three young dragons ate with voracity the meat and in matter of few minutes their plates were crystal clear.
"By the Ancestors, that meat was truly the best I've ever tasted."Said Auros leaning over the table.
"Definitely the best, my compliments to whoever did this masterpiece."Said Spyro to the mole.
"Mine too."Added Cynder.
"I'm honoured by your compliments, I'll sure to bring them to our chef."Stated the mole, bowing his head.
"One last thing, what's your name?"Asked the purple dragon.
"It's Ernie, Master Spyro" Said the mole.
"Good to know, your place here is truly amazing. Thank you for hosting us, Ernie".Said Spyro while standing up on his paws.
"It has been the greatest honour in my life."Said the mole, bowing again.
The trio left the stall walking along the main road that brought to the Temple.
The sun had already left the place to the moons, which were shedding their beautiful pale light all across the silent city. The feeble, distant firelight of the rampart torches could be seen even from their position, while also some houses along the streets were dimly lit for the night.
During their walk along the main road, the young dragons passed in the nearing of one of the damaged structures, which was being rebuilt. They noticed that even at that late hour, there were some moles working and accounting for the materials, all of them enlightened by a familiar golden glow.
"Sparx!"Called Spyro.
"Spyro! How do you feel lil' bro?"Asked the dragonfly.
"Better, but not quite in full strength."
"I see you brought also the Deadly Mistress…"Said Sparx flatly.
"If you want I can show you how deadly I can be."Said Cynder almost snarling.
"Geez, Cynder I was joking. Anyway who's whitey there?"Asked the dragonfly, pointing his finger to Auros.
"He's Auros, a new friend of ours."Answered Spyro smiling.
"Auros, this is Sparx my brother."
The white dragon bowed his head."Nice to meet you,Sparx."
"Spyro, I think we should go, we need to get up early tomorrow morning."Said Cynder, nuzzling his cheek.
"Yea, you're right. See you soon Sparx."
"That's sure, we need to discuss some things."
"What kind of things?" Asked Spyro quizzically.
"Oh you'll see. Now off you go. We still have some work to do here."Said Sparx.
"You're the only one who's doing nothing, dragonfly."A mole shouted from behind.
The trio left the place giggling, directing back towards the temple and leaving behind the argue between Sparx and the mole worker.
Spyro and Cynder saluted Auros for the night before reaching their floor. When they arrived in front of the doors, Spyro spoke:"It was a pleasing evening after all, it was a long time since I felt so…Calm."
"Me too, it feels kinda strange. Maybe I just need only some more time to adjust to this new life."
"Well now we have all time that we want."Said the purple dragon, nuzzling her neck.
She liked his cheek, before pulling away."Goodnight Spyro."She said brushing her flank over his.
"Goodnight Cynder."He answered, watching her disappear in her room.
He sat still for few more moments, staring blankly at her door, when all of a sudden he dropped on the floor, like a dead body.
He woke up an indefinite time later, strangely tired. He gazed around himself trying to recall what happened, but his mind was completely blank.
"What in the name of the Ancestors happened?"He asked himself.
He managed to stand up and enter his room, before dropping his body on the bed.
"Maybe I was just very tired…"
Lastly he gazed to the windows, noticing that the moons were still up in the sky. Maybe he could still get some rest. And without further hesitation he drifted into sleep.