FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter 3

Sparx swiftly appeared onto the street through one of the hospital windows, the dragonfly hovered just in the middle of it. The commotion of a bursting city struck him immediately, even if the hospital behind him was devoid of any life, the same couldn't be said about Warfang overall. The dragonfly turned his head from side to side, people were walking everywhere, minding their own business.

Some cheetah and mole workers were slowly making their way through one of the side alleys tugging a cart behind them filled with heavy brown sacks, bound together by creamy-colored ropes. On the opposite side of the street people slowly gathered around a single hooded cheetah, cheering and clapping to his rich singing voice and musical notes coming from under his claws which caressed the strings on the feline's wooden lute.

It was like very side of the city lived with its own life, even the sky wasn't spared the cacophony of laughing, talking and shouting. The dragonflies eyes' went up at the sound of two carefree children playing and a mother scolding them for straying too far away from her care. Those three weren't the only dragons flying overhead, there were many more serpents cutting through the wind's current, sparing their paws the fate of trudging through crowded alleyways, a fate more mundane legs had to bare.

For once Sparx was grateful that all these people aren't paying him any attention, he could concentrate on his task more easily and his task was to find a dragon who has trouble keeping in check the fire in his eyes from betraying his emotions, literally. However the task proved more difficult than Sparx originally thought, something he believed would be a piece of a cake turned out to be something entirely different.

The dragonfly scanned the surrounding area and couldn't believe his own eyes, among the crowd of orange furs, brown coats and colorful scales there was no sign of a walking fire. Something conspicuous as a literally burning dragon should catch his sight immediately yet the drake somehow managed to blend into the crowd. As irritating as it was, it was actually good news, Sparx only wondered how long it will last.

The dragonfly spotted a mole running up a staircase two steps at a time, with nothing left to lose the dragonfly darted towards the rodent.

He approached the rushing inhabitant and stopped him in his tracks by placing a shoulder on mole's arm

" Hey!" the mole looked at the dragonfly slightly startled " Did you see a strange looking dragon somewhere around here?"

The rodent smirked " A strange looking dragon you say?" he replied with hissing sarcasm

Sparx rubbed his hands together " Right, you probably need more than that. Umm... his wings are burning?"

The mole nodded towards the stairs behind him " He was there somewhere"

The dragonfly patted the mole's shoulder " Thanks man" with that he made his way towards the stairs.

After some turns and peeking at even more alleyways Sparx finally found the dragon he was looking for. Flare was standing in front of a market stall with different sorts of pottery, especially a pyramid formed from the same colored and sized vases seemed to draw his attention. Judging from the distance, or more likely lack of any, between the vases and the dragon's nose Sparx was certain that the fiery dragon sees such pottery for the first time in his life. The merchant who set up this stall seemed to share the same powerful curiosity yet his was directed at the strange dragon evaluating his merchandise.

Locating Flare was an important task but not the most crucial one, Sparx careful not to betray his presence began to fly around the marketplace, circling around people or hiding behind many sorts of displayed merchandise, and he did all that in close proximity to the fire dragon.

The pottery merchant finally managing to shake off the confusion and most likely gnawing fear approached the dragon from behind the safety of his stall and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

" is...is there any way I can help you?"

When Flare's predatory eyes rested on him, the merchant had to wrap his claws on a nearby chair to prevent his legs from tripling over each other. In that moment he realized who is hunter and prey here. It goes without saying that he wasn't thrilled with the realization.

For a moment there the merchant thought that the dragon looked even more startled than him.

" Who? Me?" Flare blurt out surprised

" Do you see anyone else here?"

Flare looked around, there were plenty of people walking all around the place, is the mole blind? Or perhaps his sight is so poor that it only allows to see things that are just in front of his nose.

" Yes" he answered finally, deciding that it would be nice to remind the mole that they are not alone here.

The merchant frowned surprised, he wasn't certain if the strange dragons is serious or he is just making fun of him, yet he decided to remain silent. The customer is always right after all.

The mole presented a toothy grin, judging from the wrinkles at the corners of his mouth he based his whole mercantile charm on that smile.

" I've see you already found your objects of interest" he motioned at the pyramid with his open palm

Flare followed his directions " This? I don't even know what are these"

Dark clouds gathered above the merchant's head, stealing the specious smile from his snout " What do you mean that you don't know what are these? These are vases"

The fiery drake's eyes sparkled with curiosity " Vases? What do they do?"

The merchant stared at the drake completely dumbfounded, he just couldn't comprehend that the dragon is being serious. However a customer is always right, if to gain profit answers to stupid questions are required so be it.

" You use them to decorate your home, buy the big one and place it in a corner or take the smaller one and add some flowers. No matter what you choose the vase will be always a nice addition to your house"

Flare's eyes widened as he started at the suddenly magical vases " I wish I had a home" he muttered with a voice full of awe and longing.

The mole opened his mouth but no words came out, probably that was the first time when he didn't know what to say. Luckily, or not, the drake continued.

" What's home like?"

The merchant was surprised himself, but he actually no longer considered the drake's questions stupid. For the trader people were markets, and markets have the tendency to remain irrational longer than he can remain sane.

" Home is a corner in the world you can call your own"

Flare nodded thoughtfully " So... if, let's say, someone spends his whole life in a cell than that's his home?'

" Home doesn't necessarily mean a building with four walls and a roof above. Some people feel at home when they are around their friends and loved ones"

The red dragon winced " Friends..." for the first time in a very long time he felt at place when he met the three companions, especially the black dragoness roused such feelings in him. It almost felt like a very important part of everyone's existence has returned, it was acceptance.

" Some..." the merchant continued "... see home completely differently, for those people home is where their heart is"

Unconsciously Flare's eyes stopped on the vases, for him home sounded like an utopia, or perhaps something less profound, yet whatever that thing was it was still out of reach. His heart belongs to the dragoness he considers a friend, some people might find a friendly relationship as an exaggeration to the meaning of home, but for him it was exactly that, he didn't know anything else.

As Flare stared at the yellowish patterns embellishing the vases ahead he could see images forming inside them. His imagination constructed a house with two windows and a single door inside the yellowish art. The door to his home were slamming at their own frame, ravaged by a strong howling wind that threatened to tear them off from their hinges.

The scenery behind the two small windows was completely dark, but to the red dragon that was the most inviting color in the whole world. The door suddenly began to change their color, the brown wooden surface was slowly turning green in a chaotic manner, starting from the top, just like an invisible can of paint would snap open above them.

The green creaking door thrashed by the howling wind and the darkness inside the house would scare off every other person, but for him this was a perfect combination, what most people considered terrifying he found inviting. Feelings of peace and bewilderment washed over him when his imagination pushed towards the artificial structure and entered through the slamming door. When he crossed the invisible doorstep he instantly knew where he was, it was his corner of the world, it was home.

However his home was haunted the strangely cheerful black color was mixed with some other one, only for a second Flare didn't understand what it was. Suddenly the most horrible thing appeared, a purple, swirling, inconsistent draconic mass showed itself on the carpet covered staircase. As it began to climb step after step to reach a masked destination above, the surrounding darkness began to cling towards the shadowy shape and that was when his imagination was pulled through the slamming door towards the swirling mass just to stop at the bottom of the staircase.

He wanted to rush up the steps just to catch the darkness that the purple mass was stealing for itself, but his invisible paws just ran through it, as if it was nothing more than smoke. Then the steps in front of him began to crumble one by one, suckling the carpet down with them, into the pitch dark void below.

Flare realized that his home is just beyond that chasm, it is together with the mix of black and purple, those two shapes are one, inseparable. The chasm is nothing more than the distance he himself creates by backing down from the purple shadowy mass. If he wants to reach that imagined union he has to slowly build each sucked step of the staircase with his own paws.

It might seem difficult but to reconstruct the staircase is the simplest task, to get mixed with the purple and black mass is a completely different thing. After all it takes paws to build a house, but only hearts can build a home.

" Captivating aren't they?" the merchant's voice echoed without any hint of modesty

When one's sight is blinded by the image of glittering coins, difficulties occur while trying to perceive the obvious things, like the unmeasurable distance within the dragon's eyes for instance.

The trader trailed his claw along one of the vases without touching its surface " The patterns are designed by a very talented artist. As you can see we offer vases in many different colored patterns, no matter which one you pick I assure you that it will be a good addition to the decoration of your home"

" Home..." Flare mumbled and extended his claw towards the pyramid, still trapped inside his imagined prison

The mole backed away with a delicate grin tucked at the corner of his lips, quite certain that his charm, or lack of any, beguiled another poor soul. However when he observed the incoming silvery draconic claw it wasn't the smile that grew wider but his eyes, before the trader could react harm was already done, the red paw poked at one of the crucial vases.

" Don't touch the middle one!" the merchant exclaimed and sprung forward

Flare couldn't decide what woke him up, if it was the sound of the mole's shout, or the click his claw made when it touched the vase, or perhaps the pull to reality had nothing to do with sound but the amount of strength the mole used to clench his paw and yank it away.

Time seemed to slow down for Flare while he observed the panicking merchant and the pyramid of vases simultaneously. The top amphora was swaying back and forth, just like a dancer to an unheard music.

The mole jumped with his arms extended towards the ceramic ballerina as if desperately trying to become her partner for the upcoming dance. However the vase craved only for a solo performance, so when the mole flung his limbs to catch it within his exasperated embrace the vase slipped right through the opening his arms created.

Flare watched the flickering shape of the ceramic as it protruded from behind the mole's body as it slightly spun in the air, heading towards the only destination gravity made possible. The fiery dragon winced when the ceramic dancer ended her performance with a piercing sound as she landed on the stony stage. The sharp shards that were shot in every direction when the vase hit the ground were like flowers thrown by a real dancer to thank the crowd for staying with her till the end.

It's hard to find any emotions in non-sentient life forms but if that would change only for a brief second one could connect envy with two other vases that were drawn towards the stony ground, clearly wanting to follow the same path their predecessor took.

The merchant quickly spun around but was unable to utter a single word when the two other vases shattered on the ground. Almost weeping the trader kneeled and picked up one of the broken pieces, it was hard to discern to which vase it belonged to. However judging from the mole's shaking paw it was obvious that he didn't really care.

Flare still wincing put his numb paw on the ground while watching the kneeling mole's back. As he looked for the proper words he began to look around the stall, pieces of the three broken vases were everywhere, some even scattered on the path of the many passers-by. When the dragon met their gaze he was only greeted with scolding shakes of many heads.

Being intimidated by the sight Flare turned towards the merchant " I'm sorry" he apologized sincerely " I-"

" YOU..." the trader hissed while dropping the broken piece of the vase

The dragon took a cautious step back hearing the mole's scary tone.

" ...YOU..." the rodent clenched his fist and spun around sharply, wrath shimmering within his eyes

"...FREAK!" he yelled at the top of his lungs

" Oh, hell" Sparx muttered while hovering in the middle of the shocked and interested crowd. Is this the beginning of his worst fears?

Not if he can do something about it.

Sparx pushed through the crowd of people towards the scene of the accident.

" That was Sparx!"

The dragonfly stopped in his tracks hearing the loud whisper with his name ringing inside it.

" No way, he couldn't have done it" another audible whisper reached him

Sparx cocked his head, as strange as it was he decided to ignore it, he had a more important thing on his mind right now. With his purpose set, he once again began to push through the crowd.

" Excuse me!" a male shout echoed from somewhere

The dragonfly ignored it, whoever was calling wasn't directing his shout at him, because he had no reason to. Unhindered, the dragonfly continued his flight.

Sparx pressed through cheetah, dragon and mole, all of these people were walking like they weren't even trying to bother about him. He flew past by one passer-by, then a second one, then another and another, his push lasted until out of nowhere an earth dragon maybe only a year in his adulthood appeared before him, almost causing Sparx a heart attack.

" You're Sparx right?" the dragon asked excited, his voice sounded like one of the whispers the dragonfly heard earlier.

Sparx panting, with his hand pressed to his chest observed the dragon closely, he wondered just how many dragonflies are here in Warfang, because he only knew of himself. As much as he wanted to give some sarcastic and mocking answer he decided against it, he didn't want to waste any time. even despite the fact that he was slightly curious. It's not a common occurrence when somebody is looking for him after all.

Sparx frowned, still unable to get rid of his surprise.

" Yeah..."

The dragon's eyes widened, he craned his neck upwards to be able to look past the hovering dragonfly.

" It's him!" he shouted thrilled and waved his paw.

Sparx had no doubt that this is a signal for the owner of the second whisper.

" No way!" a higher male voice reached him from behind

The dragonfly for the sake of his curiosity turned around and spotted a young fire dragon, two or three years older than Cynder.

" It's him! " I'm telling you" the first drake shouted

Sparx' head turned towards the source of the sound

" I'll never thought I'll meet him!"

His head went the other way.

The earth dragon grinned " I've told you to listen to me!"

Before Sparx knew it, his head was already directed at the green drake.

" My dreams are coming true!"

Once more the dragonflies' head went the other way.

" This is-"

" Listen!" Sparx shouted agitated, stopping his head in the middle, he then threw brief glances at both dragons " I don't know what's going on here, but I don't have time for this" he prepared to fly past the earth dragon.

The dragon however blocked his path, making the dragonfly balk " Please, stay with us for only a moment"

" This is not my kind of thing, but ask around, I'm sure someone will be happy to hear that" once again he prepared to leave

" Could you at least sign this for me?" the younger dragon shouted pleadingly from behind

Sparx frowned and turned around " Do what?" his eyes widened when he spotted a somewhat crunched small painting with his image on it.

The red dragon lowered his head shyly " Other dragons always laugh that I never meet any famous or important people, that they aren't talking with me because I'm a bore" he raised his head, the dragon's eyes flickered with determination " I wonder what they will say when I'll get an autograph from a hero!"

" Hero?" Sparx muttered, not really believing himself that he questioning the dragon's words " I think you've got the wrong guy here, Spyro is the star here"

" Not true!" the earth dragon protested " If not for you people wouldn't even hear about Spyro, it was thanks to you that he left his home!"

" Really?" Sparx swallowed, the dragon is saying things that he only repeated for kicks, he couldn't believe that somebody thinks that the unfortunate chain of events from his childhood actually matters for someone.

" Of course, true heroes are hiding in the shadows, the little things are those that matter, without them we wouldn't be here now. You're the true hero and we are your fans"

The dragonflies' eyes widened, before him stood REAL fans, REAL, they aren't a figment of his imagination. They ARE REAL.

R-E-A-L.

So awesome.

The younger dragon extended his paw with the picture on it " So would you be so kind to sign this for me? Do you have the time?"

Sparx looked at the picture, in that moment he remembered what he was doing in the marketplace in the first place. He looked towards the ruined stall where a mole was waving his hands at a fiery dragon.

" Please?"

He turned towards the begging red dragon, looked him over and driven by impulse turned towards the stall again. Sparx in all his ingenious plan decided that the argument between the merchant and Flare can wait for a while. He is the hero after all, and heroes need to take care of their fans, at least that is how he always imagined it.

Grinning Sparx snatched the picture from the dragon's paw " No problem" he raised his other hand and realized that it is empty " I don't have any quill on me"

With a smile the young dragon swung his tail and presented a perfectly intact ink and quill wrapped inside it.

" Oh man" the dragonfly muttered admiringly " I'm gonna teach my bro to carry one of these" he then grabbed the protruding feather, dipped it in the ink, blew it and began to write with his tongue sticking out from his mouth.

_ For the best fan ever. Sparx_

" There" he stated proudly and returned the picture

The drake grabbed the picture eagerly " Thanks!"

" I'm so jealous right now" the other dragon said endearingly

Sparx rotated his wrist as if preparing it for another exhaustive work " Keep those pictures coming"

" I don't have any"

" You don't?"

" But you sure lived some heroic adventures! Could you tell me some? I always wanted to know what true heroes have to face before they reach their real villain"

Sparx threw another glance at the market stall where the merchant was still voicing his displeasure, loudly. For a moment he felt like he is wasting his already not sufficient time.

" I...I don't know..."

" it's a trade secret I get it, but at least could you tell us how you were drawn into this hero stuff in the first place? I know some people who are your fans but they are too shy to approach you, they would greatly appreciate to know the beginning of your story"

Those words were enough to convince Sparx, he just realized how stupid he is, over there, at the market stall a simple argument is happening and the reason behind it was clumsiness. His fears were just his imagination, nothing special will happen, Flare will only get his ego bruised and that's all, everything else he is capable of sorting by himself.

Here are people who look upon him as some kind of role model and expect him to act as one and he won't let them down. It's not like he has may fans but even such small numbers put some responsibility on him, he is the main actor here, the star and it's his duty to satisfy his fans. Besides they weren't children, of these dragons is currently in his adulthood, then it isn't some kind of prank. Obviously devotion doesn't care about age boundaries.

Sparx adopted a dramatic pose " it all started simple really, I was playing hide 'n' seek with my bro. Knowing that he isn't a very good friend with intellect I easily outmatched him by finding hiding places he never believed existed. Driven by my natural courage and confidence I retreated quite a distance away from our usual playground"

" It was then..." Sparx' tone of voice became mixed with a very poor illusion of maliciousness, he sounded just like a father in a tent, hidden from the rainy dark weather outside, who was telling his kid a ghost story while illuminating his face with a flashlight.

"...when suddenly a couple of Apes attacked me!" he exclaimed and the dragons jerked their heads away with a gasp. Sparx smirked " I have never seen such creatures before so I decided to study them for a while, to be able to see their weakness. To do that, I had to let myself get captured"

" While I kept observing them my brother suddenly showed up. I began to shout" Sparx placed his hands at the sides of his mouth " Bro run! They are bad news! Save yourself!" he threw quick glances at both dragons " And you know what he did?!"

Both drakes shook their heads in excitement.

" He started insulting them for ruining our game! He was so dumb back then that he couldn't even recognize a sword when he was looking at it! Seeing that he was an easy prey, a very annoying prey if I might add, the Apes attacked, but I was already prepared for that"

" You were?" the younger dragon blurt out shocked " How?!"

The dragonflies chest swelled with pride while he cleared his throat " I'm very observant, I can tell what people are thinking or if they are lying just by looking at them"

The green dragon began to cough suddenly "Really?"

Sparx nodded confidently, ignoring the dragon's sudden health problems " True story., I've had my cage already prepared for a quick escape, but I won't tell you how I did that" he winked " Trade secret you know?"

The dragonfly smiled seeing the drakes nod, he was right, mysteriousness intimidates people, sometimes he amazes himself with his cleverness.

" When the Apes were preparing to cut off the head of my brother I burst from my cage, grabbing one of the bars I threw myself at one of the Apes and knocked him out cold by striking his temple. I've exercised my whole life..." he flexed his muscles to get his point across "...that's why I'm in great shape"

The dragons sighed in awe.

" When I darted towards the other attackers they just didn't know what was happening to them! I was moving like lighting! I was swinging the bar and dropping the Apes like flies, one by one, there was a hundred of them if not more!" with each word Sparx circled in the air while waving his hands, as if he really would be fighting with hundred enemies

The more older dragon coughed again " Didn't you say a couple of Apes attacked you?"

" It turned out to be only a scout team! When I got into action they realized that I was more than a match for them, reinforcements came soon after! However I was unstoppable, that moment seemed to awaken my hidden potential. When I was finally done, I hovered in the air among hundred of unconscious enemies and one speechless brother"

He sighed and took a dramatic pause while adopting a true mentor's face.

" I realize now that heroes are born, they seem normal at first but when situation arises where everything seems lost, your heroic potential awakens. That's when you know that you are meant for something greater. It's fate"

Both dragons observed the dragonfly with fascination shimmering in their eyes.

" I hope I have something hidden potential too" the green dragon muttered hopefully " Maybe I'll be like you one day"

Sparx just shrugged nonchalantly.

" I can only imagine how your life looked later after you found about your potential. It had to be so exciting!" the fire dragon added impatiently

The dragonfly smiled proudly " It had its moments"

" Can you quickly tell us about one?"

Sparx waited for such question " I remember when..."

*

While Sparx was busy indulging both his sickeningly pushy fans Flare was in the middle of receiving his share of insults and threats which were occasionally mixed with the admonishing stares of the more meddlesome onlookers. He has never seen anyone in such a fury before, not even the purple dragons from his time were capable of such wrath when they had to deal with insubordination. In this particular moment everything that was needed to throw the merchant into the state of rabidity was to smash some stupid vases or whatever these fragile things are called.

There were times that besides guilt and shame Flare also felt fear for his life, the constant insults and sometimes shards that were flying his way, intentionally or not, threatened the remains of his confidence. He only stood there listening to this because he wanted to apologize for his mistake and believed that turning around and running away wouldn't make a good impression. He couldn't really say why he thought like that, yet there was something poking at the back of his head, telling him that the people in the city are looking at him differently now, as if giving him the benefit of the doubt.

It was that or perhaps hope that among the crowd there is a kind character who will step out and save him from the raging merchant. Yet he doubted that there was anyone brave enough to do that, he already has made a mess and the unexpected change in the inhabitants eyes proved that they are at the blink of their tolerance. He only wondered what he had to do to make people cross that final line of self-control, or maybe he doesn't have to do anything at all, something told him that if one of these people would start yelling lies everyone else would believe him or her.

Why does he even think about stuff like this in the first place when there is a merchant at the brink of tears in front of him? The same sensation like this one he felt when they were about to enter the bug filled mines of Munitions Forge. If Flare wouldn't be illiterate he would know what that feeling is, it was misgiving.

" Hey mister! Somebody died that you are making so much noise?"

Flare balked at the sound of the low male voice, he turned about and spotted a powerfully built malachite dragon, fairly in his adulthood. The perfectly shaped muscles however weren't as much as interesting for the fiery dragon as the bladelike bony plates adorning his snout, especially the horn projecting from the dragon's nose caught Flare's attention.

" Look at all this mess!" the merchant wept

Flare watched the dragon approaching the stall, when the drake's grey eyes focused on him, he impulsively retreated some steps backwards. There was something deceitful in those eyes, he spent his whole life around manipulators, he can recognize the warning signals.

If his past experience wasn't so traumatic he would never believe that the supposedly helpful dragon is up to no good. The malachite drake's snout resonated only kindness and pity.

" This mess is behind all those terrible insults you were yelling?" Capro muttered disgusted as he examined the scene of the accident.

" I'm ruined!" the trader threw his arms into the air " I knew that this freak was up to something the moment I saw him!" he wept again and covered his eyes " I'm ruined!"

" You are a respectable trader, this is definitely not the first accident that has befallen on you. Just look around, this place is crowded, there are many people that could accidently trip those vases over."

" You don't get it! this is my Dad's stall! I really wanted to be a trader like him and look what that freak did! I'm ruined!"

Capro growled " if you want people to respect you, you will stop throwing insults around"

The mole looked at the powerfully built dragon, the threating growl shut his weeping mouth effectively.

" See? That wasn't so hard. If you aspire to be a true merchant one day you must understand that being polite to potential customers is the key aspect here. Your stuff got broken, so what? Shit like this happens all the time, there is no reason to make fuss about it, do you really think that throwing insults all around you will help?"

" I don't need you to lecture me pal!" the trader gathered enough courage, or perhaps it was desperation, to make a stand " This was my dad's stuff, he'll kill me for breaking it!"

" What do you think will make him angry more, a slight material loss or the absence of potential customers? Your father is a merchant, he perfectly understands what is more important, he will most likely be frustrated about his broken goods of course, but the unhindered flow of customers would effectively satisfy that loss"

The trader scratched the back of his head " You may be right..."

" I'll give you an advice for the future, keep your more fragile goods at the back of your stall, by putting them in the front row you are like a beacon for all sorts of accidents. Keep the fragile goods safe and smile, that's the key to success, trust me"

The mole looked around the messy stall " What have I done?" he muttered horrified

" Nothing that can't be changed. Close the stall for a while, grab some of the less valuable goods and go into the crowd to make amends. Apologize for your outburst, offer gifts and promises of future special goods at lower prices. Before you'll know it, people will be waiting in lines to get their paws on your merchandise. You'll make your father proud."

" That's what I'm going to do!" the trader exclaimed and began to gather some of the less valuable goods. When he couldn't hold any more he turned towards the malachite dragon with gratefulness shimmering in his eyes

" Thank you!" with those words the mole disappeared into the crowd

Capro smiling like some sort of an altruistic benefactor turned towards the fiery dragon " I'm sorry that you had to bare through this, some people just don't know what gentility is"

Flare narrowed his eyes on the dragon, he wasn't fooled by the his supposed helpful heart " What do you want from me?" he asked icily

Capro jerked his head back in shock " What did I do to deserve such hostility?"

" Drop the act, I know your type"

" My type? And what type would that be?"

" Manipulating dickhead"

" Words hurt more than punches you know" the malachite dragon muttered painfully

Flare snorted, disgusted by the dragon's act " Just shut up and tell me what you want"

" Your fiery body really reflects your personality" Capro laughed, finally Flare could see the truth in his eyes, if eyes are really a window to one's soul he wished he would never have to see such a scarred soul again.

" What gave me away?"

" You tell people what they want to hear and there was that cocky and mocking glimmer in your eyes"

" A perceptive little fellow aren't you?" he asked amused " I shouldn't be surprised really, she wouldn't surround herself with complete idiots"

" What the hell do you want from me?"

" I've heard some very interesting things about you, people are talking you know, especially the ones who left the hospital recently had much to say"

Flare remained silent, there was no point in trying to demand answers from the dragon, he will say what he wants to hear the moment he satisfies his cocky ego.

" The machine is turning, a bit faster than I expected but I won't complain. And you my rude friend are the perfect oil"

Capro looked inside the fiery dragon's eyes, he could see the one question that bothered the drake forming in them. The malachite dragon smiled mischievously.

" I don't want anything from you"

" Give me some time to believe that"

The dragon narrowed his eyes on Flare " You are so much alike, the same arrogant tongue" his eyes flared with murderous intent " I don't like it very much"

" I care so much"

Flare could see something strange inside the malachite dragon's eyes, as if his sight would perceive something or someone different than him. However the moment the muscular dragon blinked it was gone.

" I don't want anything from you" Capro continued " Seriously, you are just my mean to an end"

" Yeah? And what end would that be?"

The malachite drake smirked " You'll see in due time. For now you just need to play your part"

Flare snorted " You're crazy If you think I'll do anything for you"

" Oh, you don't have to do anything, your mere presence is all I need. Every other piece on the chessboard will move on its own"

The fiery dragon didn't understand what the dragon meant by that, but he didn't want to betray his confusion.

Capro trapped one of the broken pieces of the vase between his claws on his front right paw. He then raised it and began to examine the shard by rotating it " People here have their hearts torn in half, they hold back because of that. Yet I know that a little nudge is everything they need"

With a smirk he turned towards the fiery dragon " This is where you step in, you are going to attack me"

" And here I thought I don't have to do anything" Flare smirked " Sorry, I'll pass"

" it's going to happen anyway, with or without you"

" And just how is that supposed to work?"

Capro smirked and approached the fiery drake, when he was close enough he raised his right paw and slashed his other leg using the broken piece of the vase he picked up earlier.

Flare observed the freshly made cut with wide eyes " What are you doing?!" he exclaimed shocked

The malachite dragon examined the cut on his leg, crimson blood was flowing down his paw " For such a small dragon you sure have some strength in you. Look how easily you pieced my scales"

" Are you crazy?! I didn't even touch you!"

With a grin the older dragon shrugged " So? Details are unimportant, people will still think it was your doing"

" What? Why? I've been here for a while and didn't attack anyone, not even the mole who insulted me. And now I would attack a random guy who supposedly helped me? It makes no sense! Who will believe you?"

The shard switched paws, there was another slash and then a hiss, a new cut appeared on Capro's right leg " Everyone, I just need to press the right button"

Flare watched the bleeding wounds with a wince of disbelief " Button? He muttered unconsciously

" Hate, look around, you can clearly see it in these people eyes. Hate is like a blindfold, when you can't channel it properly it makes you blind and confuse you, but if you are able to focus it, you will realize that hate doesn't shroud your sight, it just shows you patterns that you never thought existed, it shows you the way. Believe me I know"

With those words Capro made another cut, this time however on his chest.

The fire dragon impulsively closed his eyes when the sound of ripping scales reached him, he was used to seeing blood, but seeing someone deliberately maiming himself was something entirely different. This guy is nuts.

Flare's eyes slowly opened, yet his mouth was still curled in disgust " Will you stop doing that?"

Capro grinned " What? This?" another cut.

The young drake averted his gaze " Ok, I'm leaving. Have fun with cutting yourself"

However before Flare could turn the malachite dragon threw himself at him. The red dragon's legs were unable to lift such unexpected weight and gave up under the pressure. What the hell is wrong with this dragon.

" What are you doing?!" Flare was surprised to hear the malachite dragon shouting the sentence that already formed itself in his vocal cords.

Instead of yelling the same phrase the fiery dragon began to grunt and jerk just to free himself from the clutch " Get off me!"

" I won't let you!" Capro shouted pleadingly, the sincere callousness vanished completely

Flare noticed that the crowd of people stopped in its tracks just to observe the two dragons rolling on the floor. However he was too busy to pay those people much attention.

" Leave me alone!" the fiery drake grunted more agitated

" You can still be saved!"

The red dragon rolled on his back and managed to free both his front paws from the ground's clutches, he then pressed them to the malachite dragon's chest and began to push " Get..." he grunted " off!

" She is poison! Do not listen to Cynder!"

For a brief moment Flare stopped fighting. What does Cynder have to do with it? What game is this fat dragon playing? Whatever it was, he didn't like it. he renewed his attack " Let-"

He was cut off by a sudden painful scream, the malachite dragon rolled off of him suddenly. Flare without wasting any more time jumped on all fours, the marketplace seemed to die in that very moment. No sound could be heard except the agonizing groaning of the muscular dragon ahead of him.

" That's him!" someone from the crowd shouted " That's Cynder's murderous pet I've told you about!"

" I didn't do this!" Flare shouted back and raised one of his paws defensively " He did-" his voice trailed off when he noticed the familiar bloody shard between his claws. Fresh droplets of blood were dripping from it.

However that wasn't everything that was covered in the crimson liquid, there was also lots of blood on his raised leg. Flare's eyes impulsively ran down the crimson trail on his paw, when his eyes finally reached his chest, he gasped. His whole body was red and his natural reddish scales weren't the reason behind this, his chest just like his paw was covered in blood...that wasn't his.

" What the..." Flare mused.

In that moment in a flush of sudden comprehension he connected the dots. The dragon looked at the wounded malachite dragon who was still twitching in agony, yet that wasn't the only thing he saw there. He could swear that for a brief moment he spotted rows of sharp teeth forming a wicked grin.

When the muscular dragon groaned again and the smile disappeared Flare's eyes ran along his bloody leg once more just to stop on the grimy piece of the vase. He stared at it for a while, the ugly fascination doubled the importance and the size of the shard, blurring the image of everything else, people included.

PEOPLE.

That single word invited horror to run amok within his head. The shard became unimportant all of a sudden, it has fallen from its dais into the blurry oblivion, the surrounding crowd took its place.

Flare didn't even realize that his mouth was agape when he met the accusing, hateful and abhorrent eyes of the crowd. He was so taken aback by the sight that he didn't even feel when his claws parted and the shard slipped through the crack and fell down along his still raised leg.

When it clattered on the floor below while leaving a bloody spot under it Flare winced. The noise rumbled in his head, it sounded almost like somebody would fire a cannon in a closed empty room, with him inside.

" This is not how it looks like" Flare muttered and unconsciously dropped his already numb paw

*

"...and this is when-"

" ...Cynder's monster!"

Sparx instantly finished his boasting at the sound of the tremendously loud yell of many throats, it sounded almost like a simultaneous roar of a pack of feral beasts in the animal kingdom. However that was not the main thing that bothered him.

" I have to go" the dragonfly blurt out and darted towards the commotion, leaving his craving and definitely depressed fans behind

" Finally" both dragons let out breaths of relief

The older one rubbed his forehead " Capro surely took his time"

*

As Sparx pushed through the crowd it was impossible for him to make out any comprehensible sentences, let alone gather his thoughts, however he wasn't bothered by that, he didn't really care about the noise or his personal problems right now.

People didn't pay him any attention as he maneuvered between them, the feeling was mutual actually, he had a goal to achieve, even if it was consciously meeting face to face with his surprisingly worst nightmare. When finally Sparx managed to pull through the first row his eyes went wide open, on the ground was laying a wounded malachite dragon and just some meters away stood Flare, completely covered in blood.

" He is just a distraction!" someone from the crowd shouted

" Shadow is planning to destroy us!" another panicked voice echoed throughout the loud marketplace

" You don't understand!' Flare defended himself

" Murderer! Just like his Mistress!"

Sparx shook off the shock and darted towards the fiery drake while spinning around and extending his arms defensively " Now, now, let's not jump to conclusion! Be cool, I'm sure there is a reasonable explanation" he scratched the back of his head " I hope so" he muttered under his breath

" Sparx help me!" Flare pleaded

" He attacked that guy!" another panicked shout

" People remember!" the dragonfly shouted " Don't jump to conclusions! We are going to talk, sort this out and return to our homes before we know it. Simple right? So who is with me?"

" I didn't do it Sparx I swear!"

" Be silent, you're not helping" the dragonfly hissed through clenched teeth, not leaving the crowd from his sight even for a bit

" He is Cynder's pupil!

" He is unpredictable!"

" He is a cold blooded killer!"

Sparx extended his arms with his opened palms directed at the mob " Whatever you heard, I assure you that it's not as bad as it looks. He had a rough childhood, he is privileged to make some mistakes. We all make them and most of us grew up peacefully in our parents homes"

" Murderers don't deserve redemption!"

The dragonfly folded his arms irritated " What a shame to judge a life that you can't change"

" It was you who said that Cynder cannot be trusted no matter how good she seems now!"

The confidence vanished from Sparx' face momentarily " That was different" he muttered bashfully

" How was it different?!"

" Yeah Sparx, how was it different?" he heard his own voice admonishing him

" It..." the dragonfly stammered, looking for appropriate words but couldn't find any " I don't have to explain myself!" he blurt out tentatively and tucked Flare's horn " Come on Dude, we're leaving"

" Cynder has seduced you just like she did Spyro!"

That was the last shout Sparx heard before he disappeared behind a corner with Flare closely following him, or it was the last shout he wished to hear.

" I didn't do it, you believe me don't you?" Flare asked hopefully

" What I think doesn't matter Dude"

The fiery drake bit his lip, he wanted to keep asking about the dragonflies' state of mind but decided not to, he didn't want to be pushy, not in this current situation.

" Tell me where are we going at least" he changed the subject

" Somewhere where you can take a bath" the dragonfly replied emotionlessly

The commotion didn't die down after they've vanished, but for him it was just like the noise created by many buzzing flies, many disgusting buzzing flies.

He was filled with extreme revulsion when he realized that once he belonged to those flies, just like them he was blind, he didn't pay attention to the background, the only thing he saw was shit, and back then it was all he needed to see.

" What a shame..." Sparx muttered sadly