It was another sunny day, made all the more lovely as Spyro scampered out across the sand.
The dragon really was making strides; scales no longer dull, and he wasn't as thin or stricken looking. The substitute meals the professor had provided had tentatively given way to nibbling on actual food. He wasn't fully there yet, but he was definitely doing leaps and bounds better in that aspect.
He still had a shadow in his gaze; like he was trapped behind foggy glass. But he was brighter, more cheerful.
He was taken to playing with Hunter - chase, and pounce, and other predatory hunting type games. Spyro even playfully nipped at his tail at one point.
Sparx seemed pleased.
And with Elora? They talked. Either walking along the beach, or sitting in the sand, they talked about all sorts of things; magic, species, Avalar's history. He occasionally opened up about himself as well, like his home worlds.
(And Elora got the sense that, well - not that he felt like he didn't belong, but that he was out of place somehow. He had skills in all the clans of dragons, but he didn't have one he particularly felt elated in. He was an Artisan dragon, sure, but he stayed more for Delbin and Ignitus, and the others who were in the Artisan world. He was most comfortable there out of all the dragon lands.
But he didn't call himself or his trade as an Artisan. He admitted he had always been a mischief-maker, before. A traveller. A trickster, at times.
. . .and she wasn't surprised by this, honestly, because as Spyro healed his real personality had begun to shine through.
And he'd also pushed her into an incoming wave when they were all playing on the shore. She splashed him back.)
"Well, it's hard to tell," he paused to roll over onto his back and stretch like a cat. He yawned and she saw all his sharp teeth catch the sunlight, "but there are some attributes to the differing clans. Beastmakers are typically big and round, like, like a Boulder or a frog."
"I'd imagine, if they live in a swamp and wrangle beasts all day," Elora agreed, gnawing on a nail. "But what about Artisans?"
"Hmm?" The hum was paired with some sort of questioning purr-chirp sound. "Well, it's not as physical, it's more. . .magical I guess. Our aura. Oh! Our eyes. The other clans say it's something about our eyes."
Elora stared into the dragon's indigo eyes for a moment; like always, they were entrancing, like beautiful pools of color. She had suspected it was because of her awe of dragons, but it made sense I could be a particular quality of his clan.
He rolled over, one wing stretching out and sand rolling off of it. "What about you?"
She paused her nail-nipping, mouth partially open. "Huh?"
"Fauns; what are you guys like?" He tilted his head.
Elora tapped her chin. "Hmm, well, we have two minor worlds, Fractured Hills and Magma Cone. Most female fauns are found in the Fractured Hills; we're usually more autumn colored than males, while they're more gray tones. Saytrs also live in the Hills. Their species goes way back with ours; they're a cousin species I think? Anyways, they're usually gray as well and gifted in music, while fauns are usually more inclined with dance."
Spyro propped himself up a bit, excited. "So you can dance?"
Elora snorted. "Oh gosh no. I'm a scholar at heart; but there's always an outlier, yeah?"
Spyro furrowed his brow, thinking of Ignitus who was built like a PeaceMaker. "Yeah. . .I think you're right."
She looked up and closed her eyes, enjoying the sun's warmth. "I mean, it makes life more varied, doesn't it? Things growing in a garden."
Spyro smiles, looks around the beach. "Or like shells washed up on a shore."
She smiled at him. "Exactly."
"Nonono - Hunter, hand me that wrench!"
"The bronze or the taupe one?"
"Why is there a - oh never mind, the bronze one."
Some clanks as the screw was wrenched. The gems lining the portal glowed deep in their centers, though their edges remained dark.
The Professor stepped back, wiping his brow and smiling with satisfaction. Hunter's tail curled happily.
"Well, Hunter my boy, we're another step closer."
Hunter's eyes shone. "Another step closer to getting Spyro home."