FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter 18

Spyro let out a long yawn, a thin streak of saliva stretched between the parting sharp teeth.

"I'm wasted, I need a break" he mumbled, clicking his tongue when his mouth closed, the yawn seemed to steal all of his energy away, turning the slow walk into a shuffle of paws against a ground that is not meant for sliding

"I don't know Sparx, this night killed me, I feel like I would just end another fight with Malefor. If this is how a boss' life looks like, I'll pass. You can be the boss if you want. Actually, you know what? Just take the seat, I'm giving it to you, happy birthday"

"Keep it" Sparx waved dismissively "Besides that thing is for fatties like you, I don't have a big enough ass to sit on it"

"Where is your hunger for fame?" a purple brow raised in surprise "It's a freebie, the fame you wanted. Take it, it won't get any easier than that"

"No deal man, what do I get? A reputation that gets me famous in this world? Pffft" he snorted

"It doesn't get any better than that. Face it, you're a chicken"

"Hey!" he poked the purple cheek with his finger before raising in front of his brother's eyes, the finger remained extended, a challenging pointer "I'm not scared. I'm just saying that this is a small crumb for someone like me"

Spyro snorted mockingly.

"I wonder what is bigger than the boss of a whole world"

Sparx grinned, puffing his chest out proudly.

"Boss of ALL the worlds"

"Explain to me genius how on your planning on ruling a past world when it has to be destroyed for new one to be born? You can't rule the past dude, it's gone"

"Look at mister big time traveler here" Sparx pouted his lips, putting both hands on his abdomen indignantly "Have you found every portal already when I wasn't looking?"

"Well...no...but-"

"Then shut up" the dragonfly's arms flared open "Ruler of the worlds it is and that's final"

Spyro narrowed his eyes challengingly on his brother, putting up the expression of an experienced trader.

"This is a one time deal, I won't repeat it again"

His glowing brother shrugged indifferently.

"Fine"

"You have five seconds to change your mind" a flirty vowel got intertwined in the draconic accent

"Not happening"

"Four"

Sparx yawned.

"As a bonus I'll run around spreading the word and do every dirty task you think of"

Sparx snorted.

"I can make you do that without the boss mantle, besides I have better people for the job now"

"Thre-e" the confident countdown wavered a little.

His brother remained callous, he was far more concentrated on examining his fingers than listening to him.

Spyro gulped.

."Come on Sparx, last chance"

"Two, dude, two" two yellow fingers rose in the air

"T-two" red tongue ran over dry, purple lips

"Aaannnndddd?" Sparx put his opened palm to the side of his head, creating a fake ear

"Please Sparx!" instead of counting, Spyro decided on dropping all of the pretense and show his true intentions

Desperate plea.

He leapt towards the dragonfly, snatching his brother from the air and pinning him to the ground, holding him tightly in his warm paw. Sparx was too shocked to even gasp.

"Take it, I beg you!" the drake pleaded as he towered over the pinned dragonfly, snout contracted in desperation

"Dude!" Sparx yelped, shutting his eyes tightly he jerked his head from side to side, pitifully trying to avoid the splatters of drool shooting from the shouting snout leaning over him "Watch the spit!"

"P-p-please!" Spyro slurped loudly "Just this once, I never ask you for anything!"

"What got into you man? I thought you accepted your fate?"

"I've changed my mind, please Sparx! Just do it, I'll do anything!"

"Relax bro"

"I can't! I'm tired, guilty and dirty. I feel like everyone's fucking me, first Iris physically and then Danox mentally. I don't want to be fucked! I don't want this pressure! I don't know a thing about the guys we're going to be traveling with! I don't want this constant vigil. We got the world saved, we got the Dark Master, I deserve a break, not to go through all of this shit again! Fuck! Maybe even worse!"

The purple paw shook the small, glowing body in its grasp.

"Just take it away, please, for one week at least, that's all. Please"

Sparx' cheeks puffed out, the shaking, the up and down bouncing, made him feel like his insides jumped up and down his throat.

"Stop this shaking or I'm going to puke" he blurted out a warning, feeling the delicate whiff of vomit on his tongue

"Sorry" the shaking was over, he landed on the ground again, the purple paw however retained its grip over him

Sparx swallowed, the gulp as audible as a drop of water splattering on the floor in a silent room from a leaking pipe, he felt every bit of his insides rearranging themselves into their natural places.

"Look, dude, you got this. It's no different than when you got Cynder to tag along"

"It's completely different!" Spyro shouted, more spit landed on the yellow head

"Ugh!" his pinned brother grunted, wincing in disgust

"Sorry!" he wiped the saliva from his mouth, rubbing the mouth against his purple leg

."How it is different? Cynder was also an unknown" wincing, Sparx rubbed his moist face across the ground, making the best of his uncomfortable position

"No she wasn't, I trusted her, I knew she was good, I knew there was nothing to fear"

"Seriously dude?" blue eyes of his brother narrowed themselves on him in irritation "After all this time? You still find reasons to lie?"

"Lie?" purple head jerked back "I'm not lying!"

"The truth is, and you know it, that back then you knew squat about Cyn or her intentions. Let's make this thing clear once and for all, back then I was the living part of your numbed brain. I was saying all those things your peanut of a mind would say if you wouldn't block it"

"That's not true! In Cynder's case it was different, I felt she was good"

His brother threw him an irksome glare.

"You felt shit"

Spyro blinked in surprise.

Sparx rolled his eyes.

"Come on, don't give me this puppy look, you know damn well what I'm talking about. The moment you learned that you are a dragon you couldn't stay in place, it became even more worse when you started reading about Cynder. It was all cool and nice until you saw her, you had a weird crush on her from that day, it didn't help either that Cynder was the first dragoness you saw and as it turned out the only one you saw in that time like she would be the only chick in the universe. Of course the hero had to fall in love in her, there was no other way with no other girl on the horizon right?"

"I don't think I had a crush on evil Cynder, she was our enemy, you are making this up"

"Dude remember that we slept in the same place, I could hear your moans through your sleep"

Spyro blushed, fiercely, choking on his tongue as he nervously cleared his throat.

"Liar" he mumbled, despite the spoken word he couldn't maintain eye contact, feeling like a pervert

"Yeah, I see that" Sparx sighed "Anyway bro, my point stands. You fell in love with Cynder but were too stupid to see it and when you guys got chained together you were the happiest dragon alive. You're still surprised that you don't see anything familiar about that time and today?"

Sparx was right, he did love Cynder and this was undoubtedly changing his perspective.

This weren't good news at all.

A deep, sad sigh escaped his throat.

"You're right"

"Of course I'm right" he tapped the purple toe with his chin "You want to hear my advice?"

Amethyst eyes sparkled hopefully.

"Yeah"

"Fall in love with Iris or Danox, even both and you're good"

"Thanks" Spyro let out a melancholic grumble "I can always count on you"

Purple paw rose slowly, releasing the trapped dragonfly.

Sparx rolled his eyes, letting out a sharp whine, he didn't move from the ground.

"Boy, how much I like this abused child side of you" he grabbed onto the claws, pulling the paw down, making it stop in midair

He pulled himself up, climbing on top of the purple, draconic hand, resting both his forearms on the scales.

"Look bro, I get it, it sucks, you never asked for it, blah, blah, blah. You seem to forget though that not so long ago you calmed a whole crowd of people and now you go ballistic because of two, three guys? Come on, bro"

"That speech doesn't matter Sparx, people adore me, they would do everything, all I have to do is to say a word. They respect me, this respect makes all of this easy. Flare? Iris? Danox? They don't have the same approach, the first two don't give a crap about my reputation. Danox seems to toy with me. This is what scares me, the moment we leave this world they can stop listening to me, why should they? Who am I to them? You see what my problem is? Every single one of them is dangerous and I have no control over them"

Sparx drummed his fingers against the purple paw.

"Soooo, speaking to a mob is easy because no matter what they'll listen to you because they worship you, but it's completely different with our new guys. Basically you are scared that you're going to screw up"

Spyro looked around quickly, making sure that no one is listening before leaning in closer towards his brother.

"Yes, scared with a capital S" he whispered "Making people irritated and disappointed is nothing compared to this. If I screw up, you guys are going to pay the price, if I won't protect you the-"

"Slow down there mister!" A yellow finger shot forward, pressing against the tip of the purple nose

Spyro's eyes widened, pupils shifted to the inner edge of the eyeballs, focusing on the finger and creating an unhealthy squint.

"You're forgetting about two things here my men" the hand withdrew from the purple nose, extending a forefinger in the air "We don't need you protection, Cynder and me can take of ourselves. We've been in this together for how long already? We're still breathing and if Danox is to be believed" he snorted "I'll die a grandpa death" a middle finger joined the second one "Two. Let's exclude Flare, he's a walking glue, but Iris and Danox joined us for some reason, not out of the goodness of their hearts, they first need to have it and the first case for sure has some lacking areas in that department. You convinced those guys somehow, both Iris and Danox want something and you have it, they won't just double cross you, or at least they shouldn't"

"Exactly! Shouldn't! Danox is creepy, Iris is a psychopath and Flare..." Spyro shook his head sadly "I don't even know what to think of Flare"

"Maybe, but that doesn't change the first point. Look dude, Terrador asked you to do this for a reason, stop worrying for nothing, look at this from the bright side. There will be people with you that you can trust, friends that know how to defend themselves. If one of those three goes nuts so what? You're a purple dragon and have others out there backing you up. If they wanted to do something bad, they would have done it by now, they didn't, why? Because they're scared, what are the chances that they will decide to make a move when you are surrounded by friends? Near zero"

Sparx patted his brother paw comfortingly.

"Chin up bro and show them who's boss, you want all this molesting go to waste?"

Spyro laughed, this night won't be a night that he will remember fondly, but he was lucky that Sparx was in his life, he made things tolerable. He was scared and probably will be for a long time until he finally gets used to all of this, but thanks to his brother he didn't want to back away any longer, he hesitated about going forward, but he will trudge, there's no other way now, stopping is not an option.

Sparx was right again, he is a purple dragon, having a volatile group is nothing compared to the mending of a breaking world. To some degree every one of the newly recruited three had some insight into the events, knew of his capabilities from one source or the other.

Sparx opened his eyes, momentarily making him realize that he had an impact on the three of them. Flare and Danox were scared of him, Flare for obvious reasons, Danox quite the contrary, in both cases though a spark of intimidation was there. Iris on the other paw wasn't the typical Iris, it was cruel, but there was no hate in her.

He has influence on these people while doing absolutely nothing.

When the laugh ended, a grateful smile stretched the purple snout.

"Thanks Sparx, I feel a little better"

With one last pat on the paw the dragonfly rose into the air.

"No problem dude. Wanna more cheering up? Guess what, bosses also get rewards, they just tend to not see them. Lucky for you through I know someone who is great at reminding you of your value and why all of it is worth bleeding a little"

Spyro cocked his head in confusion.

"What are you talking about? I hope it isn't another one of your imaginary friends, I was beginning to like you"

Sparx laughed.

"No worries" he made a long, inviting swipe with his arm "Come on, I'll lead you to it" he sighed tiredly "Sometimes you need to show some initiative bro, I feel like it's my job only to pick up the most obvious gems, move that paw once in a while will you?"

As it turned out Sparx wasn't leading him through any surprising and unknown alleys, in fact he was using the paths that were familiar, very familiar in fact. Paths that they used not so long ago and now are backtracking.

"We are going back to Coriza's house" Spyro noted bluntly "I thought you were taking me to some magician or whatever"

The purple dragon couldn't see the enthusiastic grin spreading the yellow lips. Magician, he never called her like that but the word describes her perfectly, it's a nice word and if he knows her as well as he think he does, she will give it all the needed credit.

"We're stopping to check on the girls?" another surprised question when the two of them stopped in front of the familiar door

Sparx shook his head, not wanting to betray the smile on his face he kept his back facing his brother. One arm fell down his side, a single finger pointed at the handle.

"Trust me bro, I know what I'm doing. Just open the door"

With an annoyed sigh and roll of eyes he opened the door, expression softening momentarily when they were greeted by a cheerful, feminine, laughter coming from the inside. He didn't even realize that Sparx started glowing brighter the moment he heard the combined laugh of two feminine voices.

The dragonfly nodded, unconsciously patting himself on the back, his instinct triumphed again.

"We're home!" Sparx announced, empowering his shout by creating a corridor for the air by pressing hands close to his mouth

"They're back!" Cynder's voice echoed from inside the house, the wavering, excited tone of it could only be described as giddy

A small commotion stirred in the room ahead, after some thuds and bumps clear sound of thumping fervently paws against a carpet rose above everything else.

In a moment's notice Cynder's head appeared from behind the wall.

"Hi!" she squealed enthusiastically, a broad grin stretching her lips

Every now and then a part of the blade tip on her tail flickered in the frame, the tail had to make some really wide swings to make this effect happen.

Both boys smiled, the purple one more shyly than the other.

"Hi" they responded in unison

That was it, neither of them knew what to say, it seemed like all of them were waiting for something to happen, or for someone else to start the conversation, expecting maybe that it will be important to share some news about their recent mission.

Only Spyro seemed to be bothered by this lack of any action, becoming slightly overwhelmed by the sensation of cluelessness.

Neither Sparx or Cynder were troubled by this silence, they were waiting out of politeness only, their own personal plans already in motion.

Sparx was the only one confident enough to believe after seeing this overexcited version of Cynder that his instinct was still foolproof.

The black tail never stopped its wild swinging, it only got worse when the green eyes of the protruding head sparkled passionately like that of a child seeing the biggest stall of delicious candies.

"Wanna see something?"

They didn't really get the chance to answer since Cynder immediately took the first second of silence as a confirmation.

She jumped from behind her cover, revealing all of her body. She landed in the entrance with her flank facing them, immediately she began posing for them. Bending, straining, stretching and kicking her paws in all possible directions, pushing her body into a wild twist chaotic joy, unable to remain in one position for two seconds.

Every such unprofessional pose put extreme emphasis on the legs, paws mostly, if the obvious kicking and pointing weren't clear enough.

Sparx inconspicuously looked to the side, aiming his gaze at his brother. He had to press a fist to his mouth and pretend to cough to muffle the obvious chuckle of satisfaction.

The magician's main event was a success.

Spyro was stunned, with the way his mouth was hanging open together with frozen limbs as if they were legs of a statue he could make for a pretty good draconic birdhouse.

He was unaware of his awkward pose as well as his surroundings, he saw only his mate and it was her what he could only think about.

She had painted claws.

They were pink.

Not only the toe one on every paw, but also the small, back ones on her legs. This was the second time she sees her applying any sort of make-up and this is the second time when he is out of breath. He had no idea what is in that thing, but it makes his already attractive mate that much more appealing.

The first time it was her body in general, he could never imagine she had such curves and now it were her paws, the pink claws adding so much more attractive grace to her draconic feet and legs, so much more visible when she presented her soles or flexed her legs.

She was absolutely radiant.

Her unending posing didn't do anything to help in calming his racing heart, in fact it tore it apart, unable to decide between lustful passion and honest joy. Her constant switching between sexy poses with bent paws together with underlined feminine curves and playful wiggling only make the struggle so much more agonizing.

Sweetly agonizing.

"And? And?" Cynder laughed, never ending her prancing

It was that sound, that precious laugh that pushed lust into the background, not far, it was there, grazing the back of the main actor called joy, ready to appear whenever it will be called to the stage.

He couldn't wait for it to happen.

Right now however he managed to focus on what was truly important and that is happiness. Times where Cynder really is happy are rare, but it was thanks to that rarity he finally realized who was the magician and what his brother meant.

All this pain, all this stress, eventually it produces results, one of the most beautiful, priceless rewards.

Happiness.

The work they do, it makes people happy. The sight of it is as rare as truly joyful Cynder, but it was there. He had no doubt about it, somewhere out there people cheer for them and when they finally triumph, they give in to satisfaction, screaming the song of victory together with them.

Is there anything more valuable for him than knowledge that a whole nation is glad for his success?

Knowledge that somewhere out there is a prolonged life which gets to smile and laugh because he decided to push through the path of a hero?

Seeing it right here, right now, projecting from Cynder was an overwhelming feeling. For many perhaps it was This was all the reward he ever desired.

Purple eyes instinctively sought out the familiar blue ones, not surprised that they were waiting for them. A spark that only siblings can truly appreciate jumped between them, they were both grateful for it.

"You look awesome" Sparx noted honestly as he turned his smiling face at the giddy black dragoness

"Even now you have-Wait" Cynder froze in the middle of switching in between poses, her whole frame was bent forward, two paws on the opposite corners of her body were on the ground, two others were hanging above it

How she was maintaining balance was a mystery, yet she didn't even wiggle, it must be the shock that keeps her steady.

"What did you just say?"

"You look awesome with pink claws" the dragonfly repeated himself

Sparkling green eyes grew wide, adopting the size of small moons.

"You...you really mean it?" she asked, fear gripped her heart, she knew that Sparx liked her, their bond was a specific one, but it was based on mutual respect, always dipped in sarcasm and the remnants of past taunts, friendly by now, yet it was still a relationship where feelings where being left to speculation

That's why hearing him say something like that, with no twists and hidden meanings was something special. The sudden sensation of gratitude that gripped her heart was breathtaking she felt that invisible hand choking her heart, preventing it from beating, slowly making her dizzy.

It was a simple thing for many probably. But for her? It meant the world.

Sparx smiled, folding his arms on his chest, there were still moments when he managed to catch her unaware and surprise her. It was greatly satisfying to do so, teasing was fun, but seeing his sister genuinely dumbfounded and basically imploding with happiness was priceless.

Yeah, sometimes it is worth to be honest, masks don't open such possibilities, sometimes it is needed to tilt it a little.

"Yes Cyn, I do and if you're going to ask me another question like that I'm going to think that you not only used that paint on your claws, but took a one deep sniff of it to many. You're on a good way in having a very serious talk with Amela girl"

"You look wonderful Cynder" Spyro added his own comment

"You guys..." black lips trembled, an emotional squeak hissed from the mouth "You're so sweet"

"Maybe put all of your legs down now Cynder" the purple drake hinted with a note of loving amusement "It must be a real pain to hold your body like that, there's nothing more beautiful than you, relax please, we've see enough"

She gasped, dropping on all fours with a thud, bending on her legs like a lioness ready to attack.

"No you didn't!"

Both brothers jerked their heads back at the sound of the passionate roar, they exchanged confused glances.

"Okay" Sparx hissed with a wince "That paint sniffing thing was a joke, but I'm really starting to think that it really happened"

Cynder laughed.

"No you dork" with a giggle she rose her front paw, wiggling her toes, presenting the pink claws "You think this is cool? Then you didn't see something truly sexy! I'm still a rookie in all of this and I don't know what works best for me, but Coriza! She's a pro! We were going to do our claws only, but kinda got carried away and Coriza decided to become my training dummy and a live model in one, she..." she stopped there, shaking her head, green eyes sparkling with excitement

A broad grin stretched her lips.

"You'll see for yourself" the black head titled to the side, neck craning it behind the wall "Coriza! Coriza!"

A barely audible shuffle of paws echoed from somewhere deeper in the house.

"You called me?" the blue dragoness whispered, standing in the entrance of her bedroom Cynder had real troubles with hearing her, the boys for sure didn't

"Yeah" black head nodded invitingly "Come here, show the guys your skills"

"There's no need, I'm preparing a bath"

Green eyes widened in sincere fear.

"A bath? You're not going to wash yourself do you?"

Painted claws trailed the surface of an also cosmetic touched snout. If regret could be depicted as a physical entity, the movement of the claws would serve as a perfect example.

"That was my intention" the pain in the cleric's voice was practically palpable

"What? No!" the dragoness exclaimed in horror

Both brothers gasped at the sound of the unexpected yell, startled by it. The exclamation sounding similar to a scream when someone close to you is in trouble during battle or dangerous adventure.

"Cynder?" Spyro rumbled worriedly, instinctively closing the distance to his mate "Is everything okay?"

"Yes!" black paw rose sharply into the air, stopping his advance, she flashed the brothers a brief, forced smile "Just wait here for a while okay?" without any further explanation Cynder disappeared behind the wall

Purple eyes stared ahead in confusion, pupils shrunk and widened as if they would be adjusting themselves to darkness.

"You understand any of this?"

The hand of his brother landed on his shoulder.

"Traveling with you guys taught me one thing, sometimes it's just better not to think about it, very useful stuff, especially when dealing with chicks. Try it sometimes"

"Don't do this Coriza, please, you look adorable" Cynder begged her friend out of politeness hearing zone of the two brothers

"Spending time with you on this passion of mine was enjoyable Cynder, very I must add" the cleric looked herself over, eyes landing on the painted claws that were curled into the floor, trying to hide from her sight "However it is inappropriate for a cleric to parade with so many cosmetics"

"I've never heard about a rule that forbids someone from looking pretty"

"Such rules are not set in stone, true, but it is common decency. It is unacceptable for a servant to rival with the one the servant answers to"

Cynder cocked her head, her eyes gleaming warmly.

"I won't pretend and act like I understand your view on this, because I don't, I never dedicated my life to anything "she smiled weakly, reminding herself of the time when she couldn't even scratch herself without Malefor's orders "Not willingly at least" she snorted "I think that the Ancestors don't care how you look like, devotion is a thing, okay, but as basically gods, the good kind of gods, the Ancestors would want to see you happy"

Coriza smiled.

"You are correct, the Ancestors want to see their servants happy this is why I believe they turn a blind eye on my escapades here since I do it privately and only for myself"

"This goes against all the stuff that make-up is about! What's the point of turning yourself into a goddess when you don't want to show it to anyone?"

"This is personal pleasure Cynder, not a contest of popularity"

"I love you Coriza, but I don't believe you"

Eyebrows of the blue dragoness rose in surprise.

"I beg you pardon?"

Cynder rose her painted claws on her right leg, examining them from every direction.

"What's the point of makeup if you don't want to show it?" green eyes evaluated the petite dragoness, a dragoness that even she found alluring with the art she put on her snout "You might wear makeup because you like it, but you're still a girl and you want to feel attractive. No matter how hard you try to hide it, in every girl there's a bit of seductress inside, we just don't want to feel ugly"

Coriza reached up to her forehead, instinctively wanting to twirl her favorite lock of hair, when she ended up scratching her bare forehead, this was the moment she realized that her mane was no longer there for the time being.

It was Cynder's idea to do something with her hair, she never done anything with it previously and when she saw herself in the mirror, she had to admit that it looked pretty.

She looked pretty.

This was so delightfully wrong, what would people say? What would the Ancestors think? She would no longer be the humble priestess, she would be stealing the attention.

All those eyes.

Coriza shivered uncontrollably.

"I'm shy Cynder, I don't like to be in the center of attention. People would stare at me"

The black dragoness jogged softly towards her friend, giving her a friendly, comforting nose poke in the shoulder. Gold eyes looked at her and both young dragonesses exchanged kind smiles.

"There are only two boys out there"

"The number doesn't play a role"

"Sparx is there"

"Cynder, please" Coriza let out a bashful, amused whine, her head titled to the side and a blush crept upon her cheeks

The moment however she fluttered those prolonged eyelashes to shut her eyes Cynder's heart skipped a beat. She has never before seen such edgy, innocent beauty before, part of her wished in this moment to be gay.

"You can't make it go to waste" she uttered in awe, having a hard time swallowing the ball of saliva that just didn't want to find the way down her throat

"Don't make me beg Coriza"

"I don't know how to behave" the cleric admitted sadly

"Just show yourself, that's all you need to do. I'll cover you, you can hide behind me and than just step in the open. You're going to be fine, I promise. I guarantee you're going to make the boys choke on their tongues, it's a really nice feeling, and very funny at that"

The blue head made small shake.

"I don't want to play on their feelings"

"Oh, you sweet fool" Cynder nuzzled her friend "You already do, this time you're going just to be straightforward about it and smack them with it. It's called teasing"

"That doesn't seem fair"

"This is part of friendship, making little jokes and pokes is a ritual of sorts, it's entirely for good laugh, they won't hold it against you" Cynder straightened like she would be a soldier ready to salute, painted paw smacked against the chest, the hollow sound drawing the attention of the cleric

"Promise of a black dragon" she intoned royally, eyes aimed at a single point somewhere in the distance

She didn't remain like that for long, unable to hold back her mouth from smiling, she gave her friend a cheerful wink.

"Kinda sounds like a vow of an executioner promising that it won't hurt, but that's all I've got"

Coriza laughed, her uneven teeth breaking through the barricade of her lips, Cynder didn't even notice them.

The small smile turned into a broad grin, making her friend laugh was even better than the ecstasy she felt with Spyro on their first night together when they became mates.

"So? Are you going to do it? I have very limited charismatic options to choose from"

"You're impossible" Coriza nuzzled her friend gratefully "I'll do it" the agreement came as an unsure whisper

"You won't regret it!" Cynder bounced up excitedly "I don't have any cool skills as a black dragon, I greatly enjoyed everything you offered me so at least let me repay you. Teasing is the cool shade of darkness, it's the only thing I can offer that doesn't necessarily mean death and maiming, it still bases on hurting people though, but it's all in good health, I swear! Especially among friends, the boundaries there are a little more flexible"

"Just for the record" the cleric raised a painted claw in the air, giving her friend a lecturing, admonishing smile "I already gave my word, but you're going to have difficulties convincing me to do anything else when you argument your motivation with words like hurting"

Cynder shrugged with a giggle, prancing towards the not so long ago stage for her posing.

"Hey, that's what you get for hanging out with a black dragon" she waved her paw, tail and finished with a nod of the head, creating nagging pressure by body language alone "Now come on!"

Both brothers stirred, clearly hearing Cynder's excited shouting from behind the wall. Seconds later a familiar, grinning, black head emerged from behind the wall.

"Hi!" the head squeaked happily

"H-Hi" both brothers let out bewildered mumbles

Cynder giggled.

"I love it when you guys talk at the same time" the black head looked down the surface of the wall, made a small nod and disappeared. A second later Cynder jumped out from her cover, landing in the same spot she previously occupied.

A draconic figure skulked behind her, even if they didn't see much both brothers knew it was Coriza hiding behind Cynder. What they didn't understand however is why.

"Doll?" Sparx whispered warmly, raising instinctively to get a better look

"Hey!" the dragonfly froze, the sharp growl stopping him in his tracks, a pink claw was pointing in his direction and he felt he wouldn't be able to move even if he wanted to

The claw was like some sort of magical wand that put him into stasis.

"No peeking!" Cynder nodded towards Spyro "Get back down there"

"Sheesh!" Sparx threw his arms up "Alright! I'm going! I'm going!" he did as he said, making his way to his brother

"What's going on guys?" Spyro asked, deep frown contracting his features "Something happened?"

"Yeah, all the good stuff" Cynder looked behind her shoulder "You ready?"

"No and I'll never will" Coriza answered the whisper her head was hanging low, nose aiming at the ground and eyes were shut

"Let's do it" the cleric took a deep breath

She couldn't really tell what was holding her here, why her natural instinct of a coward didn't make her jump through the nearest window yet. There were many possibilities, many of them included loyalty to her friends, in fact however it might have been exactly what Cynder was talking about. A natural desire to feel attractive and the bold makeup she was wearing was the boost she needed.

Cynder messaged the thigh of her friend comfortingly with the side of her tail, giving the well developed muscle of the blue dragoness an encouraging, soft, clap.

Coriza made a long, sideway step, leaving the comforting cover of black scale and revealing herself fully. Nervous paw immediately began rubbing against the foreleg that remained on the ground. Lowered head titled even lower, closed eyelids pressed tighter against the scale around the eyeballs.

A glance at the dragoness was enough to make the boys speechless. Their eyes immediately caught the colored claws, painted in a deep combination of brown and red they emphasized Coriza's natural charm perfectly. Nature didn't bestow her with the most slender of figures, but it gave her body something that many other girls could be envy of.

She had beautiful, slender legs.

Their eyes were immediately drawn to the hind legs and paws, even if the paint was on claws only it did something to the legs in general that made them irresistible. No matter how polite one can be, as heterosexual males both Spyro and Sparx couldn't help themselves but admire the wonderful front legs and thighs with a bit of intensity than was socially acceptable.

With the paint on the on the claws they even found the fervent, nervous rubbing Coriza was making as extremely alluring. Innocence had a powerful seductive power as it turned out.

Not wanting to be invasive and to be called perverse pigs both brothers sought safety somewhere else, with great difficulty drawing their eyes from the dragonesses beautiful body they searched for tranquility somewhere else.

The head and snout however weren't the best of choices as it turned out.

Both Spyro and Sparx started to rub their chests, trying to ease the sharp pain they felt pulsing in their hearts.

In any other situation she would probably feel jealous, but it was Spyro who she was thinking about and she simply trusted him, knew his heart. This is why she went against the typical instinct of a female and smiled at the sight of her mate being smitten by Coriza's charm. Spyro was unable to lie and no matter how much they loved each other, he couldn't hide the obvious fascination for Coriza.

Boys will be boys after all.

As weird as it may sound, she was happy for it, happy that her friend gets to valued not only as a noble soul, but also as an attractive girl. And it was thanks to Spyro she knew that all of it was true, he couldn't lie after all.

Coriza's hair also didn't avoid the touch of enriching makeup. Her white, blue hair was pulled into braids, two small lines of hair were floating at both sides of her neck. A combination of white and blue strands hopping in the air, colored like a flowing water from a small waterfall.

It made Coriza look godly cute.

The effect of sweetness was amplified by the look of her snout, her cheeks were powdered delicately red, creating an adorable reflection of a blush. The loving carnation took on a little more wolfish touch when their eyes moved to the cleric's closed eyes which's eyeballs were shadowed by a tint delicate black.

By now their hearts were racing so fast that they hardly breathed normally.

It was then when Coriza opened her eyes.

This was the moment when their hearts stopped and the brothers choked on their tongues, unable to remain standing Spyro landed on his butt, smacking his rump into the floor. Sparx' glow died down nearly entirely, he flopped from the air, dancing like a floating leaf until finally resting on his brother's shoulder.

Coriza had enlarged eyelashes, they carried a strong, black tone which perfectly fitted with the way she had lined her eyes, filling them with a seductive, confident and sharp, dark hue. The darkness surrounding her eyes empowered the already natural beauty of her eyes, when the gold orbs looked at them, basically glowing like small suns in the background of the blackness of the eyes, both brothers believed that the cleric was possessed by a divine being.

Her eyes were heavenly. If Ancestors were a race capable of reproducing this is how their daughter would look like.

"W-Welcome back"

And the voice!

The deep, rich voice was like a hypnotic chant, already interesting before, now it was strengthened by the urge to grant it every bit of worship it deserves.

Spyro couldn't get his eyes off the wonderful, lined in black, gleaming gold orbs of the priestess, he wasn't familiar with the idea of makeup, there was hardly anyone wearing it. Cynder was the first one he got to admire, that moment already made him like makeup, but today he became a true, genuine fan of it.

The cosmetics Coriza used didn't make her a completely different girl, they merely emphasized things that were already there, giving them a breathtaking, seductive effect. Gold eyes or hairstyle for instance, they were like diamonds before, raw crystals, after makeup these diamonds got polished and became true, blinding gems.

He couldn't get enough of them. Sparx was in the same boat, his yellow glow shying away from the shine Coriza's look was emanating.

Cynder leaned in the direction of her friend, not leaving both boys from her amused focus.

"Told ya it'll work" she whispered "Cool feeling huh?"

Despite her common reserve when it comes to influencing other people, she had to nod. Maybe she wouldn't be able to keep this going forever, confusing and making people nervous was against her priestly principles and whether she is on duty or not, those principles apply to her daily life, it's her lifestyle.

But Cynder was right.

In the end she was female and being perceived as attractive and beautiful was a very confidence boosting sensation. So much more stronger for someone like her probably, someone who wears draconic scales, but is far different than the statues of her kind, showing strength and pride.

Being brittle and weak was her dominion.

It felt nice to be appreciated.

"Cor?" Sparx mumbled, rising slowly in the air, girls had to really focus to see him due to the absence of his natural glow

His blue eyes kept scanning the pretty figure ahead, head unable to comprehend that such beauty hid under the layer of such a clumsy, little girl.

"What... how... you look..."

"Fantastic" Spyro said, finishing his brother's incoherent muttering

"Yeah" he let out a deep sigh, arms flopping down, blue eyes shifting into a dreamy gaze of someone who just got to see his idol from up close

Coriza blushed, with difficulty maintaining the proper bow and eye contact of a polite host.

"T-Thank you"

"I did the hair! I helped in making Coriza awesome!" Cynder noted desperately, it was a perfect moment to mention that she has some normal, social skills instead of all those typical, raw ones of a dirty fighter

That and it was a good time to divert attention from her friend before it overwhelms her.

A hint that Coriza picked on with no difficulties.

"Naturally, without Cynder's assistance the effect would be miserable. She deserves the same amount of praise"

Sparx remained unresponsive to this idea, completely charmed by the holy figure with divine, glowing eyes before him.

"You are no less beautiful" Cynder yipped softly, surprised by the warm compliment and warm nose nuzzling her snout "Goddess of mine" she giggled, melting into the loving touch of her partner, repaying him with her own loving caress

"You don't have to compliment me Spyro" she gave the purple cheek a welcoming lick "I'm not angry or anything, it's Coriza after all, I let it slide. I know where your heart is, I don't mind if you find Coriza pretty"

He placed a soft kiss on the black nose before pulling his head back in surprise.

"Really?"

Cynder chuckled.

"Really you dork" a pink claw pressed itself against his chest, green eyes giving him a stern glare "Don't take it for granted though mister. Coriza deserved the appreciation, you're the most honest creature I know, she needed that certainty. BUT" the claw give him another poke, her snout leaning in closer "Today is the only exception, if I ever see you drooling over another girl I'm going to scratch your eyes out. Are we clear?"

Spyro made nothing of the threat, his attention switching between the pink claw stabbing his chest and the painted draconic feet below. Passionately trailing the form of her legs, from paw to belly, from up close she was so much more enticing.

"You're so sexy with pink claws" he purred lustfully

Black eyebrow rose in surprise to this statement.

"What?" she poked the chest two more times "Are you even listening to me?" she gently stabbed the chin, propping it up

"Hmmm?" Spyro purred, his eyes blurry with passion

"Hey" she scolded, knocking at his forehead "Get the blood flow to this head sir, we're guests, start behaving like one"

He came back to his senses with great regret, dispersing the lustful cloud with a fierce shake of the head. He coughed, scratching his neck fervently, putting up a pitiful act of ignorance, with difficulty shoving himself back into the role of modesty.

"Sorry"

"I completely forgot!" Coriza jumped back startled "You must be hungry" she slammed a paw against her forehead "I've lost track of time"

"It's okay Cor" Sparx grabbed her paw, wrapping his hands around a single toe he pulled the leg away from the forehead, with a smile giving it a comforting squeeze

"We're not hungry, right bro?"

"Yeah" Spyro nodded "Don't worry about it"

The priestess acknowledged the news with a warm smile.

"When do you plan to leave?"

"In the morning probably"

"Then you must rest!" the cleric spun around, claw once again searching for a strand of hair to twirl around, returning to scratching scale when there was none to be found

Her glowing eyes darted around the house, soul of a generous host immediately coming up with a plan.

"Spyro, Cynder, take my quarters, there's a big bed there, it's very comfortable"

"We can't sleep in your bedroom Coriza" Spyro noted politely, it seemed unfair to him to steal someone else's resting place

"I insist" shadowed, lined with darkness gold eyes looked at him pleadingly, in this moment he knew that he will do everything for them. There was indescribable charm in those eyes

"Please. This is my duty"

Cynder shook her head with a chuckle at seeing Spyro getting smitten again. He covered his eyes with her paw.

"Where are you going to sleep?"

"Don't worry, this house has a guest room with a typical bed. Not the same level of comfort, but I don't mind, I've slept in a bunk or on the ground in my first years of apprenticeship in the temple. Your well being is what matters to me the most" the pleading, divine eyes turned towards the dragonfly "I hope you aren't offended Sparx"

He snorted.

"I don't care about some bed" he approached the dragoness and started fondling one of her braids "I have everything I need right here" he waggled his brows at her

Coriza giggled, a single uneven fang pushed from underneath the usually sealed lips.

"I wish you a pleasant night, breakfast will be waiting for you when you get up. You will need your strength I believe" she offered her guests a deep, respectful bow "Rest well my friends"

"You too guys" Spyro returned the bow

Cynder waved her friends off with a smile on her snout.

"Are they really going to sleep together?" Spyro asked when they were left alone in the room

He received a punch in the shoulder.

"Hey!" he looked at his mate painfully "What was that for?"

"Don't stick your nose where it doesn't belong. It's their life"

"Sparx is my brother, I'm just curious how it works, they can't really..." he cringed awkwardly "...you know"

"Love is so much more than stupid sex. Coriza is a priestess, she made vows, bonding for her is different than for us, physical contact doesn't interest her that much"

He gulped nervously.

"That much?"

Cynder rolled her eyes.

"Do I really have to explain this? Coriza might be a priestess, but she's still a girl, a breathing creature like the rest of us" she narrowed her eyes on her partner "What, are you jealous or something?"

"What?" he jerked his head back "No! Why would I be?"

"I saw the way you were looking at her"

"You said yourself that this was a setup! And honestly, can you blame me? Have you seen her eyes?"

She waved her claw at him threateningly.

"I'm tolerant today, but remember that I'm your mate"

"No, no" he shook her head "I'm not talking about physical attraction, it was there, yes, but my heart belongs to you, no amount of outside beauty will change that"

"Okay, you dodged the axe. What's on your mind?"

"You know I like Coriza's eyes, you teased me about it, I thought it was only because I found them really pretty, but now I'm not so sure. It might be just the makeup, because I didn't see it before, but there is that, special, irresistible charm in them. I felt for a second that I would do everything for them, when Coriza looked at me I felt... different, precious, loved? Safe maybe? I don't know, it's hard to explain, there's something in her that I can't really put my claw on, have you seen it?"

"Not really, and honestly I think it's the hormones talking, nothing else"

He scratched his head fervently.

"Maybe"

She turned around, giving her partner a gentle slap in the butt with her tail tip.

"Come on poet, let's go to bed"

"I'm wondering" Spyro dashed after his mate "Aren't you curious?"

"About what?"

Maybe this wasn't the best idea to push this topic on the board, but he felt like he had no other choice, remaining silent about it and pretending nothing happened seemed disloyal to his partner.

"About my job. You're not curious how it went?"

"Did you recruit them all?"

"Yes"

"Then this is all I need to know"

He didn't expect that, his head cocked itself to the side automatically, so sharply in fact that he heard a snap in his neck.

"Really?"

Cynder stopped in front of the bedroom door, exhaling a deep breath.

"Look Spyro, I'm not stupid alright? I'm aware that it wasn't a smooth ride getting Danox and especially Iris on our side. I'm in a very good mood however and don't want to get pissed and ruin everything by listening to some grim tales" she glanced at him lovingly "I trust you okay? If there's anything, anything important to say then tell me, if you think you can handle it, fine, don't say a word and let's enjoy our company in these last hours of peace we have"

He loved her, as simple as that, he loved her and moments like these remind him just how much he respects her. If they weren't under a roof now he would start roaring for sure, announcing to the world how wonderful his mate I'd and how proud he is to be bonded with her.

Spyro's mouth stretched into a broad grin.

"You're awesome, you know that?"

She shrugged innocently, giving him a flirty wink.

"I have my moments"

She opened the door, eyes momentarily going wide.

"Holy fuck!" she squealed in delight

"What?" Spyro pushed forward, squeezing into the entrance, his eyes also going wide "Wow"

"Look at the size of this bed!" Cynder stormed forward, eyes running over the special water bed, it was big enough to fit two adult dragons

"King sized takes on a different meaning" she exhaled in awe, examining the bed intently

Without wasting time on pointless admiration she bent on her paws and bounced up, getting onto the bed.

The mattress sunk under her paws, readjusting itself to her weight.

"Oh. My. Sweet. Ancestors" she pronounced slowly, each time raising one of her paws, crunching the mattress, testing it under her claws like a cat tests a ball of wool "It's so squishy!"

Despite proper tact Cynder bounced up and dropped onto the bed, back first. When her body touched the surface the mattress sunk under her, making her feel like she would lie on a cloud.

"Oh!" she moaned, swiveling like a snake on the bed, rubbing her back scales onto the mattress

She rolled to the right.

"Ooooooohhhhhh!"

She rolled to the left.

"OOOOOOOOHHHHHHHH!"

She returned to her original position, splaying on the bed, head aimed at the ceiling with paws making swinging motions as if they were wings.

"That's it" she gasped in ecstasy, shutting her eyes in sweet bliss "I'm not getting up anymore, you can entomb me here"

Spyro chuckled, jumping into the bed, as a male things like furniture didn't interest him much, yet even his eyes widened when he felt the soft, squishy mattress readjusting itself to his weight. Impulsively he began walking in places, chuckling to himself as his paws pressed into the bed, sinking like into mud just to be pushed back seconds later like a body by water.

It was cool, he had to admit it. It was a very pleasurable feeling after all, very difficult to ignore.

"It's so comfyyyyyy" Cynder moaned, rolling onto her left flank, facing her partner, stretching out her paws, she gave her mate a dreamy smile, eyelids were too heavy to be lifted "I'm already falling asleep"

A male mind usually works only in one way when in bed with a beautiful girl, he forgot about the furniture, the bed and everything else for that matter. Eyes landed on his attractive mate, with great pleasure evaluating her slender figure, eyes especially drawn to the legs which with the pink paint on the claws looked far more fantastic and alluring.

He probably shouldn't be thinking of mating right now, not after today's night, but it was a small miracle to realize just how quickly a male's mind adapts to the situation when an opportunity to spend a wonderful night with a beautiful girl opens up before him.

Cynder didn't do anything to help him change his mind.

Every leg was stretched out in his direction, thick thighs, curved legs and soft soles of paws, everything that boiled his desire currently was just at paws reach.

He knew that she told him that nothing will come out of it, that it is inappropriate. He couldn't find the importance in that, not in this circumstances. He could only hope that he'll change her mind.

He lied down, also rolling on his side, being a little lower than her head line he swiveled forward, keeping all of his paws bent to avoid unnecessary contact. He stopped before invading onto her personal space, being directly on the level of her underbelly. He took a deep, quiet breath, in the meantime taking a whiff of his partner's sweet scent, which triggered his desire even harder since the claws still carried a faint trace of the paint's smell.

He licked his lips, as he examined her body he came to realization that this position allowed him the opportunity to feel plenty of her alluring figure. He won't reach the lips and neck from here without stretching, but he wasn't bothered by that now, what mattered to him currently was the fact that he had easy access to the alluring legs.

Unable to hold much longer, he extended his paw, gently putting it on top of the slender rump. He purred lustfully, tail making a restless bounce when the wonderful feeling of a female's soft scale caressed his palm, the sensation empowered by the feeling of every wonderful curve.

He slid his paw down, caressing the round thigh and making his way down towards the knee.

Cynder's eyes snapped open. She didn't look down, eyes freezing on some spot in the distance.

"Spyro? What are you doing?" a wavering whisper came from her mouth

"Nothing" he cooed, leaning his head closer and planting a loving kiss on the thigh while his paw went even lower down the length of the leg, eventually reaching the sweet, exposed sole of her draconic foot

After reaching that destination he rewarded himself by placing another kiss on the slender thigh.

She bit her lip, pleasurable tingles tickling her body.

"I've told you this is wrong"

"There's nothing wrong in doing nothing" another passionate rumble left his throat, kissing lips moved past the thigh, in this same moment his paw satisfied itself with the feeling of her hind paw and gently convinced the leg to bend, moving it closer to his snout

His lips momentarily jumped on top of the draconic foot, paw letting it go in the same time, the leg however remained there, as if glued to his lips.

Cynder jolted, a bolt of electricity shooting through her spine, making her wings flare open.

"We're guests" through the crushed lips under the fangs her voice came out as a whizzing squeal of a boiling kettle

Despite her protests, her body seemed to have a different opinion on the matter, given enough persuasion he might actually be successful in convincing her heart too.

His lips made their way through a single painted toe before landing on the soft surface of her hind paw, kissing onto the delicate scale on her sole. He kissed the foot from top to bottom, feeling it twitch under the tender touch of his lips. His free paw moved to the other leg, landing on the inside of the second thigh and giving it a passionate squeeze, the grip being very close to her loin.

Another bolt shot through her, her whole body jerked as if struck by a gust of cold, front legs stretched out farther, tail made a swing, wings fluttered and toes on her hind paws curled. The pink claws on the foot he was caressing with kisses gently stabbed his nose.

This whole reaction made his tail waggle in happiness, he let out a satisfied, warm purr into the gentle sole of the paw under his lips.

"We can't do this" Cynder moaned, her paws grabbing onto the gold horns. The attempt to push him away was devoid of any strength

"Do what?" he gave the foot a gentle lick, the pink claws intensified their passionate thrust slightly. He kissed his way up the leg, all this time his free paw caressed the lower hind paw

"We aren't doing anything" his lips jumped onto the second leg, when his mouth touched the sensitive thigh the leg that was now free of its sweet shackles kicked forward, hind paw pressing against his chest

His paw momentarily pushed back, landing on top of the draconic foot, caressing it as well as the whole length of the stretched out leg.

"W-We can't make a mess in this b-bed" Cynder's voice wavered, another soft tremble running through her body, this one however seemed to have a constant resonance, a constant pleasurable resonance, most of it originating from Spyro's strong chest, where her draconic foot was busy massaging the firm scale

Not to mention that Spyro increased the intensity with his caress and kisses.

"Nothing is not messy" he purred, trapping one of the painted toes in his mouth and giving it a tender suckle

It stirred a reaction immediately, the grip on his horns intensified, the paw that was stroking his chest thrust its pink claws into his body.

It made him groan.

"They will hear us" Cynder let out a begging whimper

Despite all of the opposition her mouth seemed to voice, she didn't do much to push away from him.

In fact she did nothing at all.

He was winning.

And he knew how he can cement this victory.

He kissed the foot all over its soft surface, when he reached the end he began to climb back up, using tongue and lips alternately. He ascended up the back leg, in the same time crawling up the bed slightly, one paw never ceasing caressing the hind leg pressing against his body, while the other began fondling her magenta underbelly.

She cringed with a blissful whine.

He thrust his head up, splitting the forelegs that held him by the horns. He immediately invaded one of the legs, kissing and licking its length, from elbow to palm.

The other leg touched his cheek, caressing it lovingly.

"Shit, Spyro" Cynder whined, letting out a squeak that carried the tone of praise and scold in one

He tilted his head, kissing the palm that was fondling his snout, gently sucking on the pink toes.

It made her curl all of her claws in bliss.

"We can't-"

She never got to finish her moan since momentarily he pushed up, sinking his lips into hers and bestowing his mate with a deep, passionate kiss.

She was unresponsive at first, but when her lips started to move shyly, slowly giving in to the temptation, he knew that he won. Whatever resistance she still has will be easy to overwhelm.

He pushed back from the kiss, smiling at his partner who still had her eyes closed and lips pouted in bliss.

"See? Nothing is happening"

She opened her eyes, her green orbs were being steadily clouded by lust.

"This isn't right" despite her words she leaned in for another kiss

He chuckled, before joining with her in the passionate struggle.

"We are breaking every rule of decency" she mumbled as she took a breath, her lips brushing against his with every spoken word

She attacked again, sucking him into another dance.

She was becoming more sexually active, the paw that was on his chest started to massage him more roughly, the front legs that were unresponsive for a while latched onto his shoulder and elbow, pulling him closer.

"This is so wrong" another breath, more words, another kiss

The paw that was on her belly moved to the nape of the black neck, holding her tight.

"We can't do this" she breathed again

Her other hind leg moved, her soft, tender sole pressed against his crotch.

Spyro's eyes widened with a choking gasp.

A powerful sting of pain shot across the whole length of his genital canal.

His regenerative powers usually deal with all kind of wounds when so much time passes, especially when these wounds aren't very serious. However, never before he had his private area molested, he believed that it would heal like any other part of his body, maybe it even did, but sadly in this case he had no way of checking it.

There was a part of him that believed that the surge of agony he just feels is a mental, traumatic trick of his mind and all he needs is to block out the bad memories.

It was hard to do, because he knew, without looking, that the draconic foot on his loin is no longer black and tender but white and oppressive.

Majority of his senses however told him that the pain was real and now when he is getting seriously aroused, his growing penis is tearing through every damn scab to be found inside.

This thought alone, the idea of bleeding again from that place, this intensified the pain tenfold.

Who could have known, under the right circumstances even a male can get lust shoved out of his head.

He pressed all of his paws against the front side of his partner's body and pushed, gently shoving her away while at the same time pushing back along the bed, enlarging the gap separating them.

"You're right" he whined, putting up a forced smile "We shouldn't do this"

Cynder froze, like literally, mouth opened, paws stretched out as if they were pressing against him still. Her eyes were the only responsive thing, wide and blinking wildly in shock.

"I'll grab something to drink, I need to cool off. Want anything? No? Okay" he rolled onto all fours, the ache that exploded in his crotch was very close in toppling him over

With last amounts of will he held back a painful groan and climbed out of the bed, landing on the ground, surprisingly this time he felt no surge of additional ache.

"Be right back" he stormed out of the room, as he closed the door he heard Cynder mumbling only one word

"What?"

The door clicked in place.

With the sound faded the pain.

He shoved his head in between his front legs, examining himself, there was no blood, nothing, there was absolutely nothing.

Together with the sexual pressure faded the ache.

And as it turned out it was nothing more than a mental scar.

"Fuck" he slammed his fist into the floor

This is how it will look like now? One bad experience which will crack over his consciousness like a whip, never letting him rest?

It wasn't as difficult when Ignitus died and his passing was far more traumatic than Iris' unsuccessful rape attempt.

More traumatic than Iris was also his killing spree in Boven.

More traumatic than Iris were all of the fights he had to go through during all of his adventuring time.

Then why on everything that's sacred it bothered him so much?

The answer was simple, all of the things that came before her arrived and went away, as painful and scary as they were, those things are gone now.

But Iris? The constant danger she is an embodiment of will loom over him as long as she will be there, influencing far more than him alone.

There are more members in their group like her. Bringing their own shadows.

Even if his companions can defend themselves it doesn't change the fact that he will be responsible for the pain if, when, any arrives. He will be in the center of all of it.

Pressure. It's all about pressure.

What do they say about pressure?

Oh yes, the essence of leadership.

When you start thinking of pressure, it's because you've started to think of failure.