Chapter 9: A Day at the Arena
"I hope Cynder's doing alright."
Flame waved a paw, "Don't worry, this is Cynder we're talking about. Besides, this match should go smoothly for her."
"If you say so," Spyro said. Truth to be told, Spyro knew that he should not have to worry. However, he could not help but feel a little nervous for the black dragoness.
Flame was showing Spyro around the arena, while Ember and Gale made sure everything was set for Cynder and her match. The pair of dragons would meet up with the dragonesses to watch Cynder's match.
After spending time exploring the arena, Flame decided to show Spyro the more interesting part. He was now leading Spyro to the special viewing area; where sponsors, celebrities, and other Fighter's League members would watch the match. Something Spyro was not looking forward to.
"Maybe we could watch it from somewhere else?" Spyro suggested, "I think I saw a few free seats-"
"Nice try," the red dragon replied, "but Cynder's matches are almost always sold out. So, you are stuck with me, Ember, and Gale. And a few others in the VIP viewing area." Flame took note of the purple dragon's weary look, "Hey, not everyone is bad. I know of a few dragons that I get along with, I'm sure that they'll like you."
"Not sure if I would rather take my chances with the common fan in the stands."
Flame rolled his eyes, "Funny."
The pair walked up to a door, with a large fear dragon in front of it. His deep red eyes piercing the approaching pair.
When Flame and Spyro stood in front of him, he asked, "Names?" his voice deep and Spyro sore is had an echo.
"Flame; Ember's fiancé, and I'm sure you know Spyro; Cynder's future mate."
Spyro gave a nervous smile, slightly intimidated by the fear dragon before him.
The dragon looked between the two, then nodded and opened the door, revealing several other dragons, including the sounds of conversations and music.
Flame nodded to the dragon and Spyro let out a 'thank you' as the pair walked inside.
It was a large room, a bar in the corner and a few tables filled with food and other beverages. Many of the dragons were socializing and laughing. They wore very expensive jewelry, showing off their wealth.
Flame and Spyro earned a few glances, and some stopped to look at the dragon that was Cynder's mate-to-be. The purple dragon now wanted to disappear.
"Come on," Flame said, gesturing Spyro to follow.
However, a muscular ice dragon stood between the two. He was the same height as Spyro, only he had a more defined build. His icy blue eyes burned into Spyro's. "So, you are the purple dragon everyone is talking about. Frankly, I'm not impressed."
Spyro's eyes briefly drifted to Flame, who was giving gestures that Spyro could not, for the life of him, decipher. Spyro spoke back, "Sorry if I am not up to your standards."
The purple dragon tried to walk around the ice dragon, only to be blocked by the dragon again.
"More like Cynder's standards," he spat back, "She is one of the most talented and famous dragonesses in the League. She deserves better than some nobody."
You are right on both of those statements, Spyro thought to himself. He then mentally sighed, I'm either the horrid, purple dragon who will eventually lose his mind and destroy the realms, or I am someone with nothing to his name.
The dragon added, "It makes me question her sanity."
The last comment irked Spyro, so much so that he had to hold back his instinct to give a threatening growl. Instead, he spoke, "Who Cynder does and does not think deserves her is ultimately up to her. If she wants to end our engagement, I will not stop her." Spyro stepped closer, his eyes drilling into the blue dragon's, "Cynder is more than capable of making her own decisions. You can talk bad to me all you want; I'm used to it, and I can take it. But, leave Cynder out of it."
Spyro walked around the dragon, giving one last glare as he passed by him. Spyro did not see the look of both anger and shock on the dragon's face. Other dragons, who saw the exchange, starred at the purple dragon as he walked to his companion.
Suddenly, the rush Spyro felt subsided, and he was aware of his surroundings. Others were looking at him, which made him self-conscience again. He put his head down and hurried to Flame, who had a look of surprise and some amusement.
"Nice talk there, buddy."
"I don't know where that came from," Spyro said honestly.
Flame shrugged, moving the pair away from the onlooking crowd, "Hey, you stood up for Cynder; and yourself."
"I hope I didn't make things worse."
"What? With Cyrus?" Flame asked, who earned a curious look from Spyro. Flame elaborated, "Cyrus is a Minor League dragon. A few sponsors are looking to get behind him; his ticket into the Fighter's League."
"Great," Spyro murmured, "First Ember hates me, now a League dragon."
Flame shook his head, "Ember doesn't hate you." Spyro gave a look, clearly asking Flame to prove it, "She is just very careful on who she trusts. Give her time and she will."
That will be when she and Cynder realize that having me around is more trouble than it's worth.
"He does have a point," a feminine voice called to the pair of dragons. The dragoness had a slender build with red scales, a darker red than Flame's. Her chest, underbelly, and wings were a bronze color, and her two smooth horns were a more rusty color. Her green eyes were soft and friendly. "Don't let Cyrus get to you, he likes to stir the pot."
"Hey Vulca," Flame greeted with a smile, turning to Spyro, "Spyro, this is Vulca, currently 3rd place in the Dragoness Fighter's League standings."
Spyro looked to the dragoness, impressed, "Wow, that's impressive."
"Thank you," she replied, "but I intent to try and beat Cynder if possible."
Spyro scratched his neck nervously, "I want to say good luck, but I have a bit of a bias."
Vulca looked from Spyro to Flame, "And what are you doing with this lover-boy?"
Spyro raised a brow, "Lover-boy?" he asked, turning to Flame.
Flame looked away, "It's a long story," he said, trying to dodge the question.
"We've got time," Vulca replied, peeking Spyro's curiosity. Vulca turned to Spyro, "He hit on me when we first met." The purple dragon's brow was raised again. "He was a bit of a charmer."
Flame shrugged, trying to play it confident, but he was fighting a blush, "I was single and I saw a beautiful dragoness. Can you blame a dragon for taking a shot?"
Vulca giggled, "Like I said, charmer, with confidence. But I like my dragons a little on the shy side." She turned back to Spyro, who made his own conclusion on what she was implying.
"I'm, uh, kind of spoken for," he replied.
Vulca stopped, realizing what Spyro thought she meant, and laughed, "Oh, no. I'm spoken for too. Besides, you and Cynder look good together."
Spyro was taken back, "What makes you say that?"
"Inside League is my sponsor so I got to see your interview. In fact…"
Vulca dug into her satchel and pulled out a magazine. Spyro looked over the cover; big letters on the top read: 'Inside League', then the subtitle read: 'A Look into Shatterpoint's Golden Couple!' Spyro's cheeks turned red when he saw the cover image of him and Cynder kissing. The image was not colored, but the image was quite detailed.
Vulca continued, "I am promoting the next issue of 'Inside League'. This is the copy as of this morning, the official copy will be ready tonight and will be available tomorrow.
Spyro blinked, "Wow. Inside League's team works fast."
Vulca smiled, "They have to, but this is the biggest story in a long time, so there is a rush to get this out." She offered the copy to the purple dragon, "It's not done yet, but feel free to take a look."
Spyro was surprised, "Oh, thank you."
The first page was an index of where different stories and interviews were. Some of the other stories sounded interesting, but he found the interview he and Cynder did and turned to that page. On the left page was an uncolored image of Cynder; standing proud with a familiar, confident smile. Spyro admired that whoever drew it got Cynder's personality right. There were a few lines of writing with facts about the black dragoness.
On the right page was an image of Spyro. Much like Cynder's, it was left uncolored. Spyro noted that the magazine he was holding had little to no color. The image had him standing, his body relaxed and with a soft smile. And, like Cynder's, there were lines of facts about him. Spyro honestly like the depiction of himself, but he was curious if Cynder would agree.
The next few pages were the transcript of the interview.
"As I said," Vulca said, "You two looked great together."
"Thanks for the complement," Spyro replied, passing the magazine back to Vulca.
"Cyrus is not wrong, you two are the talk of the city. Though, quite a few people still don't like you."
"Oh," was all that Spyro was able to let out, his eyes drifting away.
Vulca could see that the dragon that was at the interview the previous day, was the same dragon she was talking to, minus that confidence he showed. She was used to two-faced individuals doing interviews; where they were one way in front of a crowd, and the opposite in private or in small gatherings.
She gave the purple dragon a soft smile, "But don't worry, it is for the obvious reason. You know; being engaged the Cynder," she encouraged, "However, you have a small following. A few that I heard from have taking a liking to you."
Spyro's eyes met hers again, "What? Really?"
Vulca nodded, "Dual element dragons and those who have dual element dragon family and friends are taking a liking to you."
Spyro's face lit up slightly, "I didn't realize that people liked that sort of stuff."
The fire dragoness shrugged, "It's common for dragons to teach dual element dragons, but it's rare for a dragon who, specifically, teaches and understands them, having gone through the trouble themselves."
Flame nudged the purple dragon, "Told you so. You can relate to them," he said, repeating his words from the previous day, to Spyro.
There was commotion from the entrance to the room, everyone was gathering around a group of shadow dragons. Each dragon stood in pride, as everyone applauded their presence.
"Oh, good," Flame said, sarcasm in his voice, "It's team Midnight."
The purple dragon raised a brow, "Who?"
Flame elaborated, "They are sponsored by Midnight Industries. The owner is a shadow dragon and only sponsors shadow dragons. As much as I don't like them, they are all talented Fighters. In fact," Flame pointed to a black dragon, whose chest, underbelly, wing membranes were dark grey. The dragon had four perfectly smooth black horns adorned on his head, and piercing blue eyes. "That is Shade, currently the number one ranked dragon in the Dragon Fighter's League, and Champion of the League last year."
"Impressive," Spyro said, honest about his comment.
Flame shrugged, "Maybe, but he declined moving to the Dragon Realms Fighter's League, the league above the Fighter's League."
"Why is that?"
"Rumor is; he is waiting for Cynder to become that Champion of the Dragoness League, Flame explained. "The owner of Midnight Industries has been trying to have Cynder on his team for a while, but you could say that Ember got to her first. It would be great publicity and marketing if you were the sponsor of two champions in the Dragon Realms Fighter's League from the same season."
"But Cynder isn't a pure shadow dragon," Spyro muttered, loud enough to be heard by the two dragons.
It was Vulca who replied, "She is talented and popular, I think they will let it slide."
The sound of a gong was heard from outside, and everyone was making their way to their seats outside of the room.
Flame said, "Sounds like the match is getting ready to start. We better find Ember and Gale."
Spyro nodded and turned to Vulca, "It was nice meeting you, Vulca."
The fire dragoness smiled, "You as well. It was nice to meet Cynder's future mate."
In name only, Spyro thought bitterly, but shook it from his thoughts as he and Flame walked off to take their seats.
"I told you there were some good dragons to talk to," Flame said.
The purple dragon nodded, smiling back, "Yeah, she was nice." There was a pause before Spyro smirked, "So 'lover-boy' huh?"
Flame groaned, "Look, I was single and exploring my options. Besides, my charms won me the perfect dragoness."
When Ember and Gale came into view, Spyro said, "I have a feeling she would say something a little different."
The two dragons got situated with the two dragonesses. Spyro sat between Gale and Flame, while Ember sat next to the fire dragon. There were cheers in the crowd, everyone eager to watch the match. Spyro was taken aback of the size of the arena; it must have been at least twice the size of the temple's.
A voice boomed around the arena, "Welcome all, to another Fighter's League match."
It took Spyro some time to find the source, a large fear dragon in another viewing box.
"Today's match will now begin. First, introducing; Rena!"
Walking out of one of the archways was a yellow and white electric dragoness, lighting sparks surrounding her body. When she was near the middle, the sparks discharged, creating a booming sound.
"Next, introducing; Cynder!"
Wind ripped through the opposing archway, and a black figure flew out, following the wind tunnel to the middle of the arena. When the figure reached the end, the tunnel was dispersed and Cynder stood proud, facing her opponent.
Gale smiled, leaning toward Spyro, "A lot of dragons like to show off before the match."
Spyro nodded, focusing on Cynder. Near the edges of the arena, where the stands began, were several different dragons who stood as officials for the match.
The fear dragon spoke again, "Dragonesses ready?"
Rena took a wide stance, while Cynder opted for her more familiar offensive stance.
"Begin!" the dragon bellowed, followed by a ring of the gong and the roar of the crowd.
Cynder made the first move, approaching the electric dragoness who was prepared to be on the defensive. Cynder tried to start by overpowering her opponent, but the other dragoness was able to dodge or deflect her attacks. Rena tried to shoot a discharge of electricity from her maw, but Cynder disappeared in a fog of shadow. When she materialized, Cynder return to her physical tactics.
As the fight went on, Spyro noted that Cynder favored to be on the offensive, similar to their spar in Warfang. It was clearly working, as she was the dominate one in the arena. However, Rena's speed gradually increased, the purple dragon could see the sparks around her body, indicating one thing he was familiar with.
Rena was now on the offensive, pushing Cynder back as she took advantage of her speed. Cynder tried to back away, to use her wind to try and even the field, but the electric dragoness was not about to let her.
"I hate it when electric dragons to that," Flame commented to Ember, his eyes barely keeping up with the electric dragoness, "They can get so fast that they are a blur."
Gale heard the fire dragon and nodded to herself. She glanced at Spyro to add a comment of her own, but stopped when she saw him. His attention was solely on the match. His eyes and head moving swiftly. However, the purple dragon seemed to have no issues following Rena's movements. The wind dragoness blinked, but decided to focus on the match.
While Spyro was stiff, nervous for Cynder, he was relaxed with regards to following Rena's movements. Volteer was the one who taught him how to increase his speed using the powers of electricity. His eyes continued to track to electric dragoness with relative ease. His form relaxed when Cynder was at the advantage, then stiffened with she was not.
Eventually, Cynder was able to use her wind and fear to trip up her opponent and capitalized. Cynder was relentless, not allowing Rena any time to either retaliate or build up her electricity to get away. Soon enough, Cynder overpowered the electric dragoness, and Rena was left with no choice but to concede to the black dragoness.
"And the winner is Cynder!"
The crowd bust into cheers and roars for both dragonesses, but it was clear who they favored.
Cynder offered a paw to Rena, who graciously accepted with a small smile.
Spyro let out a sigh of relief, she had won and was one step closer to becoming the Dragoness Fighter's League Champion.
"Nerve-racking?" Gale asked.
"What?" Spyro slightly jumped, "No, I mean, a little. I'm just… happy for Cynder."
Gale nodded, "She will have a short, post-match interview with some of the papers and magazines. We will be meeting her there."
"Okay," Spyro replied, "Lead the way."
Soon enough, the purple dragon had gotten lost. Spyro was walking down the halls of the arena with Ember, Flame, and Gale, and had looked elsewhere for a moment. When he looked back, they were gone. He wished he paid more attention, now he was forced to aimlessly walk the corridors in hopes of finding them.
He wasn't sure where he was, the halls were empty. This made part of him believe he wasn't supposed to be here.
After a few turns, he groaned to himself, "This is hopeless," he whispered.
"Hey!"
Spyro froze, his body stiff and his heart pounding. He looked behind him and saw a fear dragon, the same one the stood outside of the 'VIP' viewing box.
"Sorry," Spyro started but was interrupted.
"What are you doing back here?" the dragon interrogated, "This area is for press and League members only."
"I'm sorry," Spyro said, noticing that the dragon was easily a head taller than him, "I was hoping to meet Cynder after her match, but I got lost."
The fear dragon peered down at Spyro, who looked away, self-consciously.
The larger dragon's eyes softened slightly, "I can't remember the last time someone didn't talk back at me when I caught them." Spyro looked back up at the dragon, a brow raised. The dragon elaborated, "They would tell me who they are and how important they are."
"It's fine, you're just doing your job."
The fear dragon looked up, "Down that hall and go left, first door on the right is where the press goes. You want to go right, and the second door on the left. You should be able to meet your fiancée there."
Spyro smiled, "Great! Thank you very much. I really appreciate your help." The purple dragon began to turn away, but paused, "I don't think I ever got your name."
The dragon was surprised, rarely anyone cared to ask, "Jeer."
"Thank you for the help, Jeer," Spyro thanked, walking down the hall, making a right as he was told.
He stood in front of the second door and slowly opened it, silently praying that he heard right. When the door was halfway opened, he peered inside. Cynder was talking to, what he assumed was, a crowd. His vision of the crowd was blocked by curtains, it looked like the black dragoness was on a raised stage, but he wasn't sure.
He then hears someone clear their throat, making Spyro peer around the door. There stood Gale, Flame, and an irritated Ember.
"Where did you run off to?" Ember's voice demanded in a whisper.
Spyro swiftly moved around the door and silently closed it. "I got lost, so I had to get directions."
Ember rolled her eyes, muttering, "Unbelievable."
Spyro's brows dipped down slightly, his patience with the pink dragoness running ever so thin.
Before he could speak his mind, he heard Cynder say, "I'm afraid that will have to do for now. If you have any requests for any additional interviews; Please contact either my assistant or sponsor. Thank you."
There was a quick round of applause as the dragoness turned away from members of the press.
The black dragoness walked from the stage, immediately finding the purple dragon that had been missing. She signed in relief, descending down the few steps to meet the group.
She gave the dragon a hug, surprising him briefly, "Where were you?" She asked, pulling from the embrace, "I got worried when they showed up without you."
"Just got a bit lost, but I found my way," he replied, with a smile. "You were great out there."
Cynder smiled back, "Three more matches," her smiled faltered at the next thought, "But I have to win them all."
Spyro gently nudged her, "Hey, you'll be fine. I'll be there for you."
"Promise?" she asked, getting lost in his gentle, purple eyes.
The male nodded, "Promise."
Flame interrupted the pair with a forced cough.
Spyro and Cynder jumped, forgetting the rest of the group. "Sorry," the purple dragon said, slightly embarrassed.
Cynder asked, Spyro, "So how was your tour of the arena?"
"Fine, people still don't like me too much, but that is par for the course at this point. But we did meet up with someone named Vulca, and we had a good talk."
"About?" Cynder asked.
"Nothing!" Flame suddenly said.
Ember looked to her future mate, a brow raised, "Nothing?"
Flame looked to his dragoness, stumbling, "Well, we just talked about… stuff, nothing big. But," he gulped when Ember narrowed her blue eyes. He looked to Spyro for help, "Jump in… anytime, Spyro."
Ember raised a brow again, not taking her gaze off the red dragon.
"Oh no," Spyro said, a small smile, "I'm enjoying this far too much."
Gale and Cynder had smirks on their faces, both in agreement.
As the group left the room, making their way out of the arena, Spyro looked over the group. Flame had managed to change the topic, and the dragons were having a good time, including Spyro in their conversations. A feeling of warmth filled his chest, of the group of four, three were total strangers, and they got along with him. Well, in Ember's case, tolerated. However, he hoped that Flame was right, and that things would improve with time.