FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter 25

The cave wasn't the most ideal of places to hide from a particularly bad weather conditions, the cold reached inside without any troubles. It was all due to the fact that the cave itself wasn't big, its whole interior could be easily scanned right from the entrance. It was as simple as it would get, in the form of a mouse hole, the sunken figure of the cave gave a vibe of being a spider stuck in a round cup.

There was nothing here, only rocks and a simple shelf on the west wide of the cave, the farthest wall wasn't that far from the opening, maybe a length of an adult dragon's tail. Luckily, the cavity in the mountain was immensely high for a cave of such length, allowing a big dragon like Danox to walk freely.

The cave was like a hole of a recently extracted tooth in a giant's dentition.

While it didn't allow the ideal comfort and protection, it was still better than nothing, at least minimalized the angles from which they could be attacked, minimalized it to the perfect number of one in fact.

Dragons who rely on magic breaths of an area of effect reach couldn't wish for a better place to make their stand.

With fervent waving of his paw, Spyro invited his companions inside while he himself stood at the mouth of the entrance, looking at the ravaged by the blizzard darkness ahead. He could spot many glowing eyes among the shade of the night.

The squeaking barking echoed inside the cave with a doubled force, his head started to ring annoyingly, pulsing with a steady beat of pain. Tears started to form in his left eye.

Flare stopped next to him, the width of them two almost matching the width of the opening. The fire dragon provided the much needed light, the heat he was emanating serving as a perfect oven and a bogey for the creatures outside.

Creatures that didn't dare approaching them.

"Let's kill those things!" a furious roar rumbled from Iris' throat, claws on one of her legs sunk into the forehead "My head is going to explode from all this fucking yapping!"

"We might provoke these creatures if we harm them" Spyro noted

"I don't care! Just silence them already!"

"It's so dark in here" Cynder commented, painful wince wrinkling her snout, for all she knew she might get dizzy because of the headache

While she wasn't as hysterical as Iris, she also wanted those things to shut up.

"Let's switch boys" she stopped behind the flexed males in front of the entrance "We're going to scare them away with Danox, these are feral creatures, they must understand a display of strength. We won't kill them, no blood, no reason to risk changing that, easy

She patted both rumps.

"Make room, we need your fire back here boys"

"Okay" Spyro nodded "Be ready guys if something goes wrong" he exchanged with Flare a meaningful glance an both boys retreated with Cynder stepping in their place

"Bring your nose down here Danox" she made an inviting nod with her head, glowing, green eyes staring into the darkness, at least the scratch on her snout stopped blinding her

The black dragon complied without hesitation, his head leveling itself with her frame. Black eye observed her intently, an alluring smile stretching the handsome mouth.

"With pleasure" he exhaled deeply, his deep, dark voice soothing in this cold night

The warmth of his breath made her shiver.

"Your wish is my command" he purred like a feline

While his cocky and arrogant behavior was quite known to her and probably everyone around, she still felt herself squirming. He was intimidating, true, probably wooed more than one girl with that bad, mysterious smile and voice of his, it didn't have the same effect on her however.

She didn't feel intimidated, she felt badly uncomfortable, molested even, the hungry, invasive stare he was aiming at her was giving her the creeps.

From experience she knew that one Creep was already a pawful.

She didn't really know why it became an issue all of a sudden, Danox was always a dominant type, it didn't bother her before, but now, when he was so close, intimate even, poking her personal space, it was just impossible to ignore the shivers running through her.

She felt dirty.

And she had no idea why, not only that, but she also felt her essence stirring, Creep was cringing nervously, like a wounded doe tucking itself into the grass and observing the approaching paws of a pack of wolves.

She had many weird feelings regarding Danox, many of them impossible to explain and creepy like the dragon himself. Right now though, it was something entirely else, she felt as if she just crossed some invisible line that should never be crossed. Creep felt that too, she sensed him digging deeper and deeper into her magical energy.

Running away.

He acted as if he was running away, avoiding and seeking cover from the spotlight that is Danoz' eye. Creep behaved like a fugitive running away from the long arm of law.

She for instance felt like a dirty whore. Just as if she would raise her tail for another male while being with Spyro in a relationship, no random male however, but a male Spyro was very close with.

Like Ignitus.

She swallowed deeply, the gulp freezing cold, like she would just eat the whole blizzard wrecking havoc outside. What kind of a sick idea was this? Not only Ignitus' was Spyro's draconic father figure, but he was also dead, who in the right mind uses sex with a dead guy as a metaphor?

She shook her head, paw slapping against the wounded side of her snout, claws irritating the recently sealed cuts. She hissed, blood began dripping again, she opened up the wounds.

When her eyes opened fully from experiencing the sting of pain, the black eye of Danox was still looking at her, it was no longer empty however.

Her reflection was there again, standing, showing of its flank to her, tail was lifted. Two, big, red draconic legs dropped a little farther than her head,. Red neck curled down revealing Ignitus' head staring at her, not the reflection, but her. Eyes were burning with mocking hunger, tongue running over wet lips again and again.

Red rump appeared behind her reflection, its slit opened widely, unnaturally massive draconic dick stretched out from it. Too thick for her to fit.

The rump made a fierce thrust.

She looked away with a disgusted yelp, heart was throbbing inside her ribcage, burning with exertion like she would be running for far too long.

"Is something wrong my mistress?" Danox intoned meekly, his breathy, submissive tone would make any girl's heart stop

Thump, thump-Thump, thump-Thump, thump.

Blood soaked her eye, she closed it, the rapid, double beating of two hearts made her dizzy, deep down she could swear she heard Creep crying.

"What are you doing?" she gasped, wiping off the blood from her snout

Sharp, bloodied teeth appeared from the stretched into a smirk lips, giving Danox only that much more menacing look.

"For the time being nothing, but basking in your presence"

"Cynder?" Spyro inquired worriedly

When she looked back at the black eye there was nothing in it anymore, only indifferent blackness. The thumping of her heart slowed down, mind relaxing in relief, knowing that it was just imagination playing tricks on her. She remained disturbed and nervous however, Spyro's gentle rush didn't help her in feeling better.

"Siren those things with me" she intoned, voice wavering

"The blind man wished to show the way" he pushed his head back, black gaze turning at the barking creatures

Danox obeyed the command, for someone with a deep voice like him, the shriek that came out of his throat was high like that of a female. Cynder joined her companion, while the discomfort was still probing her, the overall feeling of abhorrence was gone, like it never happened.

But it did and she remembered it perfectly.

Danox didn't do anything special, yet she couldn't shake off the feeling that he teased her, toyed with her, after all the dragon is not really keen on sharing his thoughts and feelings. Whatever she might think about it, one thing was certain, while she focuses on the job she doesn't feel that, very familiar for some reason, vibe radiating from him.

Could it be that she just overreacted?

Her scream joined his, it was a terrible power, basically Fear in general wasn't her favorite, messing with people's heads, feral or not, was as dirty as a knee to the crotch in a honorable duel. Unfair.

Yet it felt good to release all that tension in one shriek, magical screaming is still screaming and she really had to vent up.

The creatures outside began to scatter, their fervent barking turning into shrilling whimpers, both black dragons weren't really bothered by it, their own high notes colliding with the others. The rest of the group however wasn't so lucky, the barking was already bad, but now when the shrieking turned into a constant, steady pace sounding like an alarm of sorts, it was unbearable.

Hunter pulled at his ears, dropping on his knees with a groan, the other two draconic boys slammed their paws against their earholes, smashing their upper bodies into the cold floor, grunting in pain.

Iris followed in their wake, her groans however were a serenade of curses, luckily deafened by the noise.

The magical breaths reached far, hitting even the ranks of the beasts in the back, feral minds are simple things, working in a specific manner, even more specific in weak creatures working in a pack like their current enemies.

It was always a matter of a bond and confidence, killing the members of the pack triggers bloodthirst in the rest. While they would probably survive the creature's massive attack thanks to their good defensive position, a bath in guts wasn't on top of anyone's list.

This is why striking confidence was the more preferable thing, it saved everyone's blood and avoided unnecessary death. Luckily also taught a lesson for the less intelligent species, no matter how the brain is developed, everyone understands fear.

The fluffy beasts did too.

The creatures ran away into the darkness, their whimpering becoming more quiet with each passing second, either their breaths hit the alpha of the pack or the creatures decided in general that an offensive move was not worth the risk.

Everyone behind the two black dragons gasped in relief, brains throbbing as they freed themselves from the pressure that was threatening to pop them like balloons.

"Fucking hell!" among the quieting ring Iris' furious whine could be heard

Hunter wiped his eyes with his cold sleeves, tears that rolled down his cheeks matted his fur, even if the noise stopped his sensitive ears still ached like someone would be driving a burning nail through his flesh.

He felt as if blood would be dripping from every possible hole in his body.

With his kind's natural hea3ring sensitivity, all this noise made him feel like a rodent trapped inside a bell that was struck over and over again.

He was shaking and it had nothing to do with the cold, it was just that an experience like this for someone like him bordered on the edge of traumatic. He was no stranger to pain, even horrendous one, his profession didn't know mercy and pity, you either survived or you didn't.

There were moments however that he sometimes wished for the latter to happen, the taste of his bitter tears only strengthened that idea. He never gave up though and it won't change today, he is weaker than his draconic companions, but that didn't make him privileged in any way.

He won't make himself look like a vulnerable burden.

He tried to ignore the pain to the best of his ability, he found out that it was rather impossible due to the stinging echo rumbling in his ears, sounding like an never ending, divine chorus. It made everything so distant, even Iris' curse that was a rather audible and blunt display of disappointment sounded like nothing else, but a cough.

His hearing wasn't in the best shape right now, but the same couldn't be said about his eyes and those saw that the creatures were gone, at least from the line of sight.

Cynder looked back at her friends in concern, their winced expressions weren't the most happiest of sights.

"Are you guys alright?"

"Will you two morons finally stop with this wailing?!" Iris blurted out in fury, not allowing the spoken sentence to properly resound in the air "My head is going to explode from this noise!"

She threw the almost convulsive dragoness an indifferent look, a look that morphed into evil satisfaction after seeing her in obvious pain.

She wasn't the type to be happy because of someone else's suffering, if it would be very serious or life threatening even Iris would get a scarce amount of sympathy, a teammate is a teammate after all. She might have tried to kill her, but truth be told she isn't the only one who wanted her dead, the blue dragoness was just honest about it.

Aggression aimed directly at her doesn't sink deeply enough to silence all chances for sympathy out entirely, there might not be an inch of trust between them, but they are still a team. If she wants this to work, she has to swallow her irritation towards the blue dragoness.

This didn't mean however she can't enjoy some little moments of seeing that damn pain in the ass in some discomfort. As long as Iris keeps hating her the most and avoid messing with her friends they will remain on the level of bitching chicks.

Neither cared going further than that.

"You know what else makes noise? YELLING!" Cynder shouted, the sound making Iris' feathers flutter in irritation, sharp teeth slipping past the blue lips in a display of pain

She cleared her throat, a scolding, calm glare aimed at the girl.

"So how about you shut up?"

White eyes glared back at her, murder burning inside them.

Cynder grinned at the sight.

"The creatures are gone I think" Hunter broke the awkward moment, his voice weak and seemingly full of sadness, so similar to the voice of a child that recently stopped crying

It drove her feminine instinct immediately, heart skipped a beat at the sight of the cheetah. He was standing on both legs, shaking and humping like an old man. His furry face was extremely young however, blue eyes big and moist with tears, glimmering lively, their shade nearly angelic under the fire that Flare created. Pointy ears flattened on the skull in display of sincere meekness.

He was adorable.

She only wished it would stay that way, but couldn't convince herself, knowing it was just a sweet delusion. The wrinkles on his nose betraying the pain he was experiencing.

Guilt stabbed her soul, she couldn't believe she was such an idiot, in her mission to tease Iris she forgot about the rest of her companions, especially Hunter who's hearing is far more sensitive than theirs. It must have been a horror to him, being locked in this cage of sorts with all this echo around and she did nothing else, but added more strain to the already horrendous pressure.

Tail and wings dropped down in shame, strain of blood once more getting into her eye. This time she did nothing with it, accepting the discomfort as her penance.

Danox straightened up with a smile, admiring his wounded body, wounds on which were already sealing with a tapestry of black closing the cuts.

"Nothing is so full of victory as patience" he recited

Spyro looked his team over, he was proud of them and pitied them all the same. They did survive another battle, a group of individuals yet again proved that their uniqueness is the true bond that connects them and not their personal relationships, which he sensed is a treacherous thing.

This is from where pity came from, they were all in pain and bleeding, deep down he knew that much of these wounds could be avoided, in this fight or the one before it, if only they knew how to work together and understood each other.

Individuality might be the force that pushes the wagon forward, far beyond its usual tempo, but the same individuality will never let it slow down which means that on the first sharp turn everything will collapse into chaos.

Problems for later, hopefully very, very late later.

For the time being they did a very good job and they deserve some rest.

"We're going to stay here for the night, speed our recovery"

"Really?" Flare cocked his head "Those things can get in while we sleep"

"One of us will be on watch, we're going to switch after some hours"

"What a waste of time" Iris snarled, running her paw against her neck, it was full of blood when she looked at it "Those things are gone, do what you came here for Goldie and let's get the fuck out of here. A leech like yourself isn't afraid of a little snow yes?"

"We took some hard beating there Iris" Spyro noted, looking down at his bleeding body "We're bleeding" he nodded in her direction "You're bleeding. We are in no shape to continue like this in an unknown land. Old posters don't have as many cuts as we do"

"You're a damn dragon Goldie" the blue dragoness growled "Don't tell me you're going to cry because of some lacerations"

"You're limping on your back leg Iris"

She frowned, gazing down her flank, her left, hind leg was hanging above the ground, bent in the knee, blood dripped from the white sole of her paw. Her throbbing mind silenced the nerves, but now when she gazed at the wound, pain reminded her of its presence.

She put the leg down firmly, blood pushed from underneath the paw like guts from a trampled bug. She hissed the pain away.

"It's nothing"

"Keep that leg up, don't sabotage your healing process"

White eyes sparkled with fury.

"I don't remember asking for your opinion"

Spyro sighed, rubbing his forehead, the headache was starting to pulse with a new force.

"And I don't remember volunteering to listen to your constant whining either" he rumbled under his breath

"What are you blabbering about?" she rose her sole from the ground, propping her wounded paw onto the claws

"I'm just saying that we should stay here" he cleared his throat "That blizzard outside slowed us down when we all healthy, can you imagine how hard it would be to go out there now? Especially with your limp?"

"I don't care what you think we should do you frightened pussy. I want to go"

"You're hurt Iris!" Flare squeaked "You're in pain! It hurts you here" he smacked the left side of his neck "And here!" right side this time "And here!" left shoulder "And here" right foreleg "And-"

"Be silent fool!" Iris roared at the fire drake, the perfect accuracy of knowing where exactly she is wounded didn't surprise her, it made her mad. Every slap a reminder to her nervous system, making the injuries burn with stronger flame

Flare hacked, startled by the shout, his whole body dimming in submission. His friend was in too much pain, he didn't want her to get hurt any more.

"Let's rest. Friends are hurt" he mumbled pleadingly, head dropped down in shame

"Let's vote if princess here wants to argue. We do what the majority says" Cynder proposed, Iris' constant protests about everything in all honesty were getting on her nerves

"Who wants to stay, arm up" she rose her foreleg, playing a very enjoyable scenario in her head about kicking Iris out into the blizzard and freezing the entrance after her, she could already imagine the blissful silence

Three paws and one furry hand rose in the air in total, Iris and Danox being the only ones who kept their paws on the ground.

She smiled, maybe dreams will come true after all.

"You lose" she glared triumphantly at the blue dragoness

"This is bullshit" Iris snarled "You are all idiots"

"Hey, you can always give us an example of being smart" Cynder nodded at the entrance to the cave, wind howled outside like a pack of hungry wolves "The way is clear, nobody is going to stop you"

Iris tail began to wag in irritation, tip drawing icy trails in the air. This bitch senses that she has her paws tied, there is absolutely no way she would allow this slut address her like that if circumstances weren't different.

Circumstances showed clearly that Goldie is attached to that black crap like fly to shit. Getting rid of her was out of the question, the stakes were too high.

Too high. After so many years there was a chance to turn this all around, if it works, Goldie, Tat and all these people will be history. And if she gets a chance to sent the second into the pages personally, they will become a very happy history.

If it doesn't work however...No.

Such an outcome is out of the question.

You little, lucky black shit.

Iris ignored the remark, letting her tail display her irritation.

Hunter sneezed loudly.

It was then when Spyro's eyes truly focused on the cheetah. Hunter had his arms wrapped around himself, hands fervently rubbing up and down his moist clothing, shoulders tightly pressed to the body as if they wanted to hug. He was shivering wildly.

The sight reminded him of the blizzard outside and just how much time they spent out there. This insight causing his body to remember the experience as well, he might be a dragon, but even his natural resistance takes a beating when it is under the assault of a specific element for a prolonged time.

Shivers of cold electrocuted his body, same thing obviously happened to Hunter, the cheetah however didn't possess such genetic defenses, making him shake as if he took a dip into a freezing lake.

"We need to warm this place up" Spyro breathed a stream of fire into the ceiling above, the stream spreading over the rocks above like wave of water crashing against the shore, flaring up the place for a brief moment.

The ceiling was high above, his splattering against it breath not doing much besides provoking their bodies into fit of shivers. Several fibers of warmth dropping back to the ground only allowing the group a small taste of relief.

Even Iris who is an ice dragoness couldn't resist the temptation, the embrace of warmth provoking her scales, making a bolt of shiver run across her spine.

"I need your help Flare. An ideas how to warm this place up?" Spyro asked, observing the ceiling above with a thoughtful frown

Even if shivering he could clearly see confusion in Flare's eyes.

"Warm this cave? Why?"

"We all are shaking, we need heat to warm ourselves"

"No, no" red head went into a shaking motion "I know it's cold, but why we must warm the cave when we can warm ourselves?" he spread his wings, they exploded with brighter flames, momentarily gaining in size, "I can cover us all. In prison we had cold cells too, but we never thought about warming the building, we need heat and not the rocks"

He waved his enlarged wings, proving to anyone, himself included, that he has full control over his power. The aura around him grew comfortingly warmer.

Spyro's tail wagged happily, after so much troubles at the beginning it seems like they are going to get some well deserved comfort finally. The perspective of lying down in a warm spot made him feel sad about the unavoidable turns on the watch and as a leader of this group, it's on his head to take the first shift.

"This sounds good" purple head acknowledged the idea by making a confident nod

Flare's body flared up with excited light.

"We're going to like real, real friends, hugging and all that. My fire plus our body heat will warm us up real nice!"

"Body heat?" Iris hissed, a gulp running down her throat

"Yeah! You need to lie down close to me, there's a limit, I can't stretch my wings through the whole cave"

"You mean we're going to sleep on a warm floor like a comfy pillow?" Cynder grinned, bouncing up excitedly "Hell yeah, I'm in!"

The red drake clearly shared the enthusiasm, tail wagging fervently in joy. He kept shivering, yet it had nothing to do with cold, it was like his every limb got a mind of its own and wanted to sprint away in opposite directions.

The pressure of joy turning him a shaking stick of a lit dynamite ready to explode.

There was only one sentence rumbling inside Flare's head.

I helped my friends! They like me!

I helped my friends! They like me!

"I'm going to warm the floor! Give me a sec!" he darted towards the shelf, the small roof above them will make a perfect shield that will keep the heat in place

"Where the hell are you going!?"

Flare skidded to a stop at the sound of Iris' blare, bones screaming at him when they were forced to a brutal, unexpected halt just like someone would yank him back by the tail.

"You're going to bleed all over that place you dumb fuck! Nobody is going to swim in your guts! Clean yourself idiot!"

Cynder shook her head in pity in all honesty, she was always the temperamental one, sometimes unable to hold her tongue back. Yet in all those moments of impulse she never spoke with such foul language, or at least not for such a prolonged period of time.

Hearing this bad language used constantly, basically building sentences around it, put a weird, pressure of awkwardness generally on the atmosphere. It made you literally taste it, choking you, like smelling some rotting corpse and feeling your vomit bouncing off the walls of your throat.

"Can you speak without throwing insults and curses around?" she asked, unexplainable embarrassment toning her voice

White eyes glared back at her.

"Can you breathe without polluting the air?"

"Get some rest guys" Spyro cut in firmly, breaking the argument before it escalates beyond control "Try to clean your wounds and lie down. I'll take the first watch"

"Wake me up later friend" Hunter said, applying healing tincture with shivering hands to his wounds "I need to prepare arrows for our travel"

He nodded, with his team getting to work he returned to the entrance, after feeling the warm embrace of Flare's fire on his scales the cold lashing from the world outside stung like tips of sharp daggers.

Danox observed the young dragon on his way to the post he was currently occupying, wide smile never leaving his lips. Only growing in fact when they exchanged glances.

"Truth becomes lost in the turmoil of arguments"

"Don't know what you want to say by that, but you can always do something to help if your companions are fighting" he dropped down on his purple rump next to the black dragon, eyes gazing out into the night

"Just saying" he sighed longingly

"You should not call in a cat to settle the argument of two birds"

"You're not that bad"

Danox rose up from his haunches, making a little circle in the spot before lying down next to Spyro like a cat after preparing its bed. Pose allowing him to be snout to snout with his purple leader.

Spyro shifted his muscles, the shiver that shot across his body stronger than all the rest, heart stopping even, just like in that wonderful night when he explored Cynder's body for the very first time in his life.

"A dangerous opinion to wield Sire" the breathy, deep voice of the dragon was like a moan of a lover, forcing the rest of the body to listen than just the ears

"You are known for your bravery, a spectacular feat I must admit. You have always trampled your own path, did you ever wondered though if it's the right shortcut? After all, the world walks its own road, there aren't many that follow you"

Spyro stared into the darkness, the howling wind spitting snowflakes at his nose every now and then. Here he was again, in an unknown land full of enemies with his friends and now even a mate behind him, risking their lives for him once more. Throughout the years he learned to accept this fact as a draconic life, did he ever doubted his decisions?

Of course.

Did he regretted them?

He might say that he did sometimes, deep down however he knew that it was not the case.

Truth is that even after so many years he had no idea if he was doing the right thing. Cynder, Malefor the world, he saved all in one way or the other, the death count however that he amassed however on the way to those goals was unaccountable.

Could there be any other way to do it?

He didn't know.

Would following the path of the majority of the world be a good thing?

He didn't know.

His knowledge about all of this was as black and mysterious as the night outside.

"I think you are better suited to answer this question" Spyro replied "You know the future me, am I in any way similar to him? In the familiarity or difference lies the answer I think"

He could feel Danox' eyes examining him intently, unable to hold back his impulse he glanced towards the drake, expecting to see the full of himself stare the black dragon is known for.

It was hard to read intentions from the black eyes, usually it's the smile that helps to pinpoint the emotion. This time there was no smile and yet he managed to catch a glimpse of sincere interest in the obsidian orbs. He couldn't tell what it was, but it actually made him feel that his black companion really cares, dropping the typical demeanor off treating everything like a joke.

"You are not the same"

Danox' spoken words made him balk, enlightenment striking him like a club of a barbarian.

Longing.

The feeling for which he couldn't find a name for earlier was called longing.

Something that was supposed to be a brief glance turned into a interested look, it was hard to get any emotions out of Danox. He expected the drake to slip one day, but he never expected that the emotions that will come out of him will be this...social.

That wasn't the only thing that caught his attention.

Purple eyes momentarily landed on the neck of the dragon, where claws were scratching the scales there in a fervent, thoughtful manner.

Cynder did exactly the same gesture.

"Were you wearing a choker?" Spyro nodded at the moving claws "Cynder does the same thing when she thinks, you black dragons have a thing for jewelry on the neck or something?"

Danox froze, a shade of white light flew across his black orbs as if a blizzard of its own would rise inside his eyes. He glared down at his paw just like it would be a sentient creature acting on its own and not listening to the orders of the brain. It stopped moving like the rest, his second paw slammed against it, shoving it down to the ground, pinning it fiercely.

Spyro heard the cracking sound of bones in the toes as they were squeezed by a painful pressure.

"An unfortunate habit, not as concerning as my revelation, yes?" the intoned words were almost blaming

He touched a nerve, it was clear as day, the swift change of topic all the evidence that was needed to tell that Danox doesn't want to expand on the topic.

For whatever reason.

"How big of a difference we are talking here? I can't see myself acting any different than I do now. What changed?" Spyro inquired, politely ignoring the fact that his own question was cast away

"You are more alive, more open minded, sharp and enticing" Danox licked his lips "Less...bitter"

"Is that good or bad?"

The sound of crushing bone intensified, a rock cracked under the pressure of combined paws, a sharp tip piercing the black scale, droplets of blood flowing from the cut.

"In the practice of tolerance, one's enemy is the best teacher"

"What does that mean?"

The brilliant smirk finally appeared again, a bolt of sudden aversion for the black dragon slapped Spyro across the snout.

"It means that you're interesting"

There was the Danox he got familiar with, arrogant and behaving like the all knowing god again, throwing sentences that are hard to understand without letting any reasonable explanation in. Toying, nearly with sadistic excitement of a child who lets out its frustration on a defenseless toy.

Being a direct recipient of such cockiness was very irritating.

Spyro crushed his lower lips under his teeth, rubbing his fangs back and forth along the soft surface, instinctively picking words that won't feed from the sudden frustration he felt.

"You know what Danox? You would make for a good friend if you spoke directly and not hid more than you actually let out. We're not mind readers, we don't know what goes in your head, you're the only one from the future. Toying with people like this might seem fun to you, but it gets really annoying for us, it all creates an aura of creepiness around you. I'm a big fan of ominous as you surely know, but there is a limit even I don't appreciate"

Silence has befallen between the two of them, a long moment of stillness during which both of them heard the echo of the spoken words resounding inside their heads.

Reminding himself of what he just said made Spyro's eyes go wider and wider with each passing second.

He tried to find out correct, mediatory words and all he did was to lecture the guy.

His father used the same tactic on him.

"You are right"

Danox' deep voice brought him back to his senses.

"I apologize, irritating you is not my intention, I just can't help it, it is beyond my control I'm afraid. I think that my life is to blame for this, father left me and my mother was killed when I was just a little boy, I had to grow very quickly, I think I've matured too fast. I was weak back then, all that seriousness and devotion slaughtered and raped the boy in me, it did allow me to grow powerful and intimidating in the end however. Now when I'm strong I try to make it up for lost childhood and unfortunately people are my toys now, it would be very inappropriate for a dragon of my age and posture to play with artificial dolls, yes?"

"I can accept that"

Danox jerked his head back, brow rising in surprise.

"Is that so?"

Spyro nodded.

"Yeah, what? Why the surprise?"

"You, the hero and legendary warrior of Good has nothing against the little old me to cause a delicate mischief?"

"My mate is a black dragoness, you have black scales as well, I got used to your kind being troublemakers. It's not in my right to change your nature, as long as you do it for fun, in respectable borders of course, and are not hurting people" purple shoulders shrugged "I don't mind. We all have our element we obey to greater and smaller degree, besides there's nothing wrong with giving the people a chance to grow a harder skin"

Predatory smirk stretched the black lips.

"When I hear you, I believe you. When I see what you do, I'm surprised"

He didn't know the dragon well, but he radiated a certain...vibe. Despite all of the mysteriousness and overall creepiness, being one on one with Danox made these feelings irrelevant in comparison to the unexpected comfort he felt around him as if he would be his lost friend.

Spyro rubbed his chest, the heart beating inside the ribcage increased its tempo, the warmth pulsing from it was very pleasant, same thing he experiences whenever Cynder smiles. He felt all of this because of the special tone of obvious awe that rang in the voice of his black companion.

He felt so proud of himself.

"I'll take that as a compliment" Spyro admitted with a shy smile

"As you should"

He gulped, heart skipping a beat.

"Go rest my Sire. I will remain here for now"

"I'm the leader Danox, it's my duty to take the first watch"

Danox chuckled.

"Duty, tact, honor, nothing more than words" silver claws drummed against the ground, puff of smokes shooting in the air after each tap "We are what we repeatedly do, therfore excellence is not an act but a habit"

The pearl white teeth gleamed at the purple drake.

"Get some rest while you still can, you will have the chance to fulfill your mission soon. I will need to depart soon"

Spyro frowned.

"What do you mean by soon?"

"Two, three hours"

"You can't be serious. You want to go out into this weather with those creatures outside? Maybe wait till morning at least, we will have easier chance to find each other"

"Unfortunately I cannot, my habits demand of me a certain...loyalty"

"This is a bad idea Danox, I don't know what you want to do, but it is very dangerous to go out into the darkness"

"Don't fret my friend" Danox smiled, giving the floor one final tap, black tendrils sprouted from underneath his claws, swiveling and bending towards the night outside as if pulled by it

The trails of darkness jerking like candle flames towards air in a tunnel.

"I am Darkness"

Spyro observed the show with almost hypnotic interest, whether Danox was cocky or not didn't matter right now. He knew how to make an impact, using the well known reputation of black color. No matter what he said, no matter how absurd it may sound, you were there in front of him, considering unconsciously if what he says is true nor not.

The most interesting part of this thinking was that you hardly reached a negative answer.

"Go to sleep Spyro. If I won't be here when you decide to leave just go. I will find you"

The purple dragon rose up, acknowledging the dragon's wishes with a rather sad nod, a deal was a deal however.

"I still think it's too risky, but I won't stop you. Try not making us look for you, okay?"

"Oh" Danox sighed emotionally "You care" he pretended to wipe a tear from his eye "I'm flattered"

"Yeah, yeah" Spyro smirked "Just wake me up when you decide to go"

The black dragon grinned, slamming his paw against his chest.

"I promise. You have the word of a black dragon"

Spyro returned to the rest of his companions with a rather pleased smile on his snout, whatever you might say about Danox, he had a specific charm, irresistible charm in fact, making you automatically feel nice like after a successful date.

He realized when he looked at the rest of his team that he will need that joy. Flare was there, in the middle between Hunter and Cynder. Lying on his belly and with chin resting on front paws he had his wings opened, enlarged by the magic of flame he created a burning umbrella above his two friends. Even if his eyes were closed the broad grin stretching his red lips betrayed all of his emotions.

One look at Cynder was enough to see that she was also in a blissful state.

Lying on her back, she's had her belly exposed to the flames, practically allowing herself to be melted under the flames. Judging by the dreamy grin she didn't seem to mind it.

Hunter, as usual, reserved far more tact to his behavior, dropping his wet cloak on the ground, allowing it to dry next to him. From the more squishy satchels he carried he created a pillow, lying on his back, with eyes locked in fascination at the burning curtain above he looked far more rested and relaxed than one can be after many hours of sleep.

Of course Iris was nowhere to be seen.

With a sigh he turned his sight into the one direction where he expected Iris to be, naturally, he wasn't wrong, the blue girl didn't move from her spot, ignoring the chance to bond and co-operate with the rest of her companions even in this brief moment of respite.

She took care of her bleeding wounds, now proudly busy with grooming her feathers.

Gentle shivers shook her body, as the only one from the group of young dragons remaining touched by the cold effects of the blizzard.

Cynder would tell him to leave her there, to rot in her own bile if she wants to, if she doesn't want to accept the generous offer that is equal in measure for everyone included, it's her loss. His mate's carefree pose a solid evidence for his suspicion.

It was a fair approach.

Yet he couldn't just leave her there without trying to change her mind. People might say that he tries to suck up to her, to satisfy his male ego by having a breathtaking girl by his side. Maybe they would be right.

At least to some degree.

The other half of this idea was born from his duty as a friend and leader, maybe it was trivial, maybe it was not, no matter how it looked he just couldn't leave his companion alone. At least not without trying to change her mind.

All this time he thought that Cynder was a problem when it came to social skills and forming relationships, the change she went through in those departments he considered as a milestone.

He could never imagine there would be anyone who can top her in that regard. Iris' lack of interest in any sort of bonding rose the bar into the stars however.

"You're coming Iris?" he asked, yet instead of getting a reaction from the blue dragoness, the rest of his team acted first

One of Flare's eyes snapped open, tail making a happy swing. Cynder inhaled deeply, the amount of air she let out threatened to extinguish Flare's wing.

Hunter was the only one who didn't obviously betray his emotions, yet Spyro managed to catch the black tip of his furry tail bouncing up slightly.

"Not this again" Cynder whimpered

"I'm not mingling with retards" Iris replied coldly, continuing working on her feathers, not bothering to offer Spyro even the briefest of glances

"Beggars can't be choosers"

Finally, he managed to get the piercing eyes to look at him, the freezing murder reeling in them however made him regret that momentarily.

He seriously preferred to look into Danox' empty stare than confront Iris.

"Spare me the rattling of your empty skull Goldie. I smell fools already, I don't have to hear them too"

The wind howled outside, snowflakes raided the cave, some attaching themselves to the blue scales, making the blue dragoness shiver.

Spyro shrugged, there was no way to convince her that they are equal here, she however was a clever girl despite everything. Also she made it clear that she wants something from him, a little bit of blackmailing is the only way to make her cooperate. The only way to make her work with them is to spin facts around in such a way that will make things look like it's all about her.

Calling to her emotional side had no sense, no matter how hard Iris protests though he had seen enough to believe that there is a chance to crack that shell of hers. There was simply no way she is such a good actor, she couldn't fake everything.

Bottom line, she is his teammate and there is no way he leaves her to herself if he can help it. People are people, he will help them, even indirectly, if he can.

Danox might believe that duty is only a word and maybe he is right, but there was no denying that the lessons he brought from home are more than that, they can be put as words naturally but it wouldn't give them their whole value.

These lessons, these words are morality, his golden heart is made of them. Out of respect for his parents, out of respect for Cynder and most importantly out of respect for himself, he couldn't just cast them away.

This was his duty as a sentient being.

"Fine then" he announced indifferently "Do what you want. We're avoiding the cold, we need to be recovered and rested and warmth provides it. We're leaving with first light, top shape is crucial, no one of us wants to be a burden. Good night Iris"

Cynder smiled at the sound of his clicking claws, making a roll she left a free spot between her and Flare. She grinned at her mate.

"I must be on the edge, the heat Flare is pulsing with makes me stretchy, I need room to sprawl"

Flare wasn't completely enthusiastic about Cynder leaving his side, making the light of his fire flicker, still, he wasn't mad, hearing her enjoy his treatment silenced his personal displeasure.

Spyro dropped down, resting on his belly, the moment his scales touched the heated earth he felt as if he accidently released an electric charge and zapped himself.

It was a wonderful feeling, he closed his eyes automatically, eyelids becoming heavy in a second.

Cynder slithered closer to her mate with a sweet smile, seeing nothing wrong with being close to her mate while in group. She avoided scale contact however, keeping the pretense that they are just very good friends, she had to satisfy herself with his warmth and scent.

It wasn't enough.

She flicked her tail towards him, with their buts near the wall and not enough space to move, it didn't look too conspicuous to have her tail on his rump. It fed the craving demanding the touch of his strong body at least a bit.

He glanced at her. Smiling cutely, eyes burning with affection.

She wanted to give his nose a lick so bad.

Spyro wrapped his tail gently around the black one, giving it a soft squeeze. She was so damn beautiful with those glowing green eyes of her, he would drown in them if there was only such a possibility. He-

The floor vibrated with strong clicks of claws.

His head immediately snapped back to its original position, eyes widening when he spotted silver claws attached to white toes right in front of his nose. He trailed the white paw and then the blue leg up towards the snout of the owner.

Iris was glaring down at him with disdain.

One claw perked up, Spyro winced when it pressed firmly against the scale on top of his nose. Blue snout leaned down, coming eye to eye with the purple orbs.

The cold aura radiating from the dragoness seemed to slip into every crack in his body.

"I don't like to be manipulated" she growled

She pushed her claw away swiftly, the claw leaving a shallow cut on the nose, droplets of blood splattered on the wall.

Spyro hissed delicately, annoying burn spreading from the wound.

Cynder's head snapped up momentarily, snarl wincing her snout, all muscles flexing immediately to leap at the dragoness.

The only thing holding her in place was Spyro's paw landing on top of hers.

Iris either didn't see, or arrogantly ignored her building outburst. She knew how to provoke, Iris was using her own weapon against her and if not for Spyro, she would see it going off.

"Move" she demanded, towering above Flare

Cynder leaned closer to her mate, eyeing Iris with a cold stare.

"If you want an accident to happen to Iris, just tell me. I'm a buddy with coincidences" she whispered menacingly

The fire drake stared at the Ice dragoness in confusion.

With a growl she slammed her paw in between Spyro and Flare, kicking the latter.

"I won't repeat myself"

"You can just ask, sheesh" Flare grumbled, slithering away

"Hey there princess" Cynder hissed, the title she used dripping wet with mocking venom "Why you stop shoving your fat ass where it doesn't belong and put it where it'll fit. Outside of this cave makes a perfect spot"

"I will cut out your tongue if you won't shut up whore" Iris snarled, lying on the ground, taking the typical relaxing pose like the rest of the dragons

The fucking disgrace she has to go through.

"Let's go to sleep guys!" Spyro shouted, pleadingly looking at his mate, he really didn't want more aggression after that fight earlier

Cynder snorted, her eyes never leaving the blue dragoness, with the eye of her imagination she saw herself cutting the slut to pieces.

It was a wonderful dream, one that will definitely help her fall asleep.

"She has so much space" Cynder grumbled "She could just lie down near Hunter, or even me, but no, she had to make a mess and stick her stupid mug right next to you, guess the queen finds it humiliating to sleep near someone like us and had to crawl next to a purple dragon to feel important. Bitch" black head dropped on the paws of the same color "You give her too much wiggle room Spyro, whatever your deal with her was I propose you cut it short. Nothing good will come out of it"

Spyro swallowed, closing his eyes, he understood Cynder's worry, but he wanted to try, Iris might be a lost cause, but he wouldn't be himself if he just gave up. He didn't do it before and there was no way he would do it now.

With this thought in mind he hoped that his brain will regenerate new ideas and pulses of determination to let him make through these difficulties.

*

Silence befallen on the group.

The howling wind outside was the only thing that echoed loudly in the cavern.

Not for Iris however.

She didn't close her eyes even for a second, for the first time in her life she was grateful that her hearing became sensitive for the noises in the dark. Years spent on running and hiding had its benefits after all.

Silence was too dangerous now, it had to be kept away, it could ruin everything.

What was to ruin though?

She didn't know, yet she couldn't stop thinking about bars, cells and cracks in them, luckily it didn't go further than that.

All thanks to her sensitive hearing.

And she had to admit all thanks to the disgust she felt for Tat, her soft whimpering while she was sleeping was irritating as Dynamite's stupidity, but it kept her awake.

Kept her in control.

Of what exactly?

Who cares.

She shifted on the ground, the warmth of the damn floor was so enticing, making her want to fall asleep, she couldn't force herself to do that though, in every part of her bone she felt that letting silence win would be a disaster.

Her feathers bristled when unexpectedly something scraped and jingled against the ground, noise muffled by her chest scales.

Her paw immediately shot there and when she felt something round and metallic in her grasp she nearly yelped in startled shock, first thoughts that crossed her mind were that of traps, finally, after so long the hunters got to her, she wasn't as smart as she thought she was.

Her instinct calmed itself automatically when no other noise followed, no cling of spikes, no spring of rope, nothing.

It wasn't a trap.

At least not the typical one.

Her shaking paw squeezed and patted the object.

It was the medallion mother gave her. The chain on it was melting, something she never allowed to happen before.

Before however she never forgot about it, now she could barely recall its features.

She jerked it towards her eyes, pressing the chin against her chest, she started to mend the chain automatically, not because she wanted to, but because she wanted to make sure how exactly it looks like, she couldn't remember it's features.

It was an old, tarnished thing.

A heavy thing, a very, very heavy thing that began weighting her head down, she had to fight against the chain on her neck to keep her snout aloft. The strain causing an irritating stretch in her muscles.

Paw shot automatically towards the neck, before claws could reach the chain and ease the burden however, they first grazed against the back of her head. Her paw stopped there, feeling the scales, something was there, something round, something had grown there.

She squeezed and poked the protrusion, sliding her paw back and forth, to her slender, normal neck, to the top of her head, passing a small rise on the way to her forehead. Slender, normal forehead like the neck.

It was a lump.

There was a lump there.

How?

"Cease of any control" the lump gurgled with Puss' voice

She let out a muffled squeal, paw automatically shooting back towards the lump, a gasp escaping her throat when a burning sting shot from her paw.

The lump bit her.

"If you spend your time hoping someone will suffer the consequences for what they did to your heart, then you're allowing them to hurt you a second time in your mind!"

Amela's small head roared deafeningly, blood of her bitten paw splattering against her palm.

The chain on the back of her neck grew suddenly, becoming like a thick branch of an ancient tree.

It was too heavy.

It slammed her head against the ground.

The chain began to move, sliding from left to right, sewing itself into bone.

She screamed in agony.

*

Iris gasped, jerking herself back into consciousness. Fervent eyes looking around in panic.

Cave.

Danox.

Blizzard.

Fire.

Warmth.

Her companions.

Where is she?

The lump!

Blue paw shot up, hitting the back of her head with an audible smack, the slap making Flare next to her snore audibly, his paw kicking her flank gently.

There was nothing there.

She moved her paw around, looking for the cannibalistic head, no matter how hard she tried though, she couldn't feel anything besides her soft, even scales. Her moves were so hectic that she accidently scratched herself.

The pain was nothing in comparison to the realization that all of that was just a fucking dream.

She dozed off.

Sleep cough up with her after all.

Fucking Silence.

The paw moved back to the floor in irritation, instead of a hollow thud however resounding after the impact there was a soft cling.

Flare clicked his tongue, letting out another snore.

There was something on the ground below her chest, she grabbed a hold of it, metallic object, round one. With wrath pulsing in her veins she jerked her leg fiercely, leg slammed into a body next to her.

Purple body.

The strike didn't wake Spyro up, merely made him shift, his flank pressing against her leg.

In her paw she held a medallion, she needed a second to recall precisely what it was and how it got here.

That part of the dream was actually real.

Yet it didn't bother her.

The chain melted, yes, the medallion fell, yes, she forgot about mending it, yes, she forgot about the memento in general, yes. It was not important right now, not as important as the background behind the valuable circle.

The background was made of purple scales, her furious gaze softened, observing the body with fascination as if she was a collector of art and the body ahead was the most wonderful of paintings.

For the first time since she got the gift she thought about not wearing it again, for the first time a thought crossed her mind, telling her that she doesn't need it any longer.

Everything she needs, everything she desires, everything depends on those purple scales.

Her legend depends on it.

Spyro is the chance to start her story.

Anew.

Start her new beginning.

Thank the gods that he is a male, she has all the necessary tools to sway him to his side, he wouldn't be the first she made to break his oath and bond. Not the first that believed he is faithful to his mate.

Males, especially the strong ones, are all the same, their ego not letting them to behave as sentient creatures, always showing off, females as their trophies, the more beautiful the better.

And she is the greatest prize of all.

Cynder let out a muffled cry in her sleep, her whine a disastrous, unconscious sign of regret. She knew, as a female she sensed her thoughts, as a female she realized that she is out of her league.

She didn't give a fuck about that black whore.

Flare let out a pitiful whimper as well, sleep throwing him on his flank, facing her, somehow the magical wings remained where they were.

He too had an instinct, it was keeping his goals in place, no matter what, his dedication to keep his friends warm as he promised pulsed strong.

Weaklings like him can only rely on instinct.

This sixth sense of sorts allowed him to see what she was up to, that was the tactic of every pitiful male. It was failing and his heart was letting him know that fact and as every meager boy like him, he could only cry.

This is the fate of every beta male, they have to beg for scraps of attention, serving as the last resort, a desperation board. There weren't many females who lowered themselves to such level, not when they had any dignity that is. Females seek comfort and power, weaklings don't provide that.

Of course to every rule there were exceptions. For instance there are females out there who grew up around comfort and power, had it from the very start and either didn't want to lose it, or got sick of it.

She was such exception.

Too bad that the treacherous, sweet fool was on the losing side of things, he couldn't provide what she sought.

Poor, poor soul. Unable to climb from the bottom that is his existence.

She quietly wiggled her way towards Flare, his mouth letting out deep snores, from the sound she could guess that even an explosion would have troubles waking him up. She craned her neck towards his snout, her lips stopping just inches from his own, their breaths mingling with each other.

She gently pushed a little farther, the tip of her nose grazing against his red one, she rubbed his nose against his, bestowing him with a delicate, angelic touch of affection.

His snoring hacked, tongue clicking and mouth turning into a blissful smile.

This is your consolation prize.

My life.

My traitor.

My love.

My pain.

My weakness.

She pushed back, her flank absorbing Spyro's warmth.

Flare whined through his sleep, smile turned into gaping snoring once more.

You can only cry you sad fool.

She crawled sideways hugging Spyro with the side of his body, even if he was sleeping, she could already sense the excited tingles rippling his flesh.

His body excited to see her already.

She looked up at the cave entrance, she had a feeling that she is being watched.

It was difficult to pierce the darkness of the cave, but she could clearly see a big, draconic form at the entrance just like when she opened up her eyes. The shade of the silhouette clearly pointing that the Danox' snout was aimed towards the world outside.

He seemed to be fulfilling his duty loyally.

The darkness however seemed to be thicker than usual, she could barely make out his figure, the only visible thing that resembled any body part that could be identified without troubles was the snout. The long nose of a dragon was a characteristic element.

Still no matter how hard she tried she couldn't see his eyes, the fucking coal orbs of his were as dark as the night. Luckily in the identification process helped her the snow that glued itself to the black nose, clearly emphasizing the lips.

He wasn't looking her way.

He didn't see anything, or he just simply didn't care.

She couldn't lower her gaze however, the feeling of being observed was eating away at her scales, something just didn't feel right. Her sensitive sense of hearing was reached a level of tuning in the night that even the cheetahs could be envy of, this wasn't something she was proud of, being chased like a rabbit, crawling into every hole so people won't literally get the chance to cap her ass made her really oversensitive.

She could catch even the noise of a shitting mouse.

Yet she couldn't hear even the tiniest thing coming from that guy by the entrance.

She narrowed her eyes, instead of dispersing, the darkness seemed to grow even more thicker. That damn snout, the longer she stared at it, the more doubt filled her mind, she couldn't decide if that is really Shitscale's mug, or just a fucking shadow.

She craned her neck a little bit more forward, trying to pierce through the dark fog. It was so thick that it seemed like there would be another body in the way.

Two white dots appeared from the darkness, flashing briefly.

Eyes.

She threw her head back, startled, heart speeding up its pace.

They vanished as soon as they appeared.

Again stillness.

Danox is the only awake dragon, it had to be his eyes, but then again, his snout was still by the entrance, still in the same position, looking outside. He didn't move, it is physically impossible to look behind like that without shifting your entire body, that, or he didn't have bones in the neck.

It had to be something else than eyes.

Or he wasn't alone here and that silhouette by the exit is really a shadow.

In this moment the shadow moved and it was quite clear that it wasn't just a reflection, but actual body, she caught the sound of scraping scale against rock. Danox shifted his position, he was really there, in the flesh.

He wasn't looking her way.

It couldn't have been his eyes, or eyes in general.

Then why the hell the feeling of being observed didn't go away?

She snorted quietly.

Fuck it.

She didn't care if it is her imagination or not, if that guy really is watching her then so be it, he isn't the first to do so. After so many years of whoring around, shame didn't really exist for her anymore.

If you want to watch then watch you pervert, this will be as far as you go anyway.

She pressed her body harder against Spyro's, stroking her scales passionately against his. She kicked her rump to the side, her round, feminine curves grazing against his rump. Tail made a swing, squeezing through the space between the knee and waist.

The tremors shook Spyro awake, he clicked his tongue, lazily opening his eyes, world presenting itself in blur.

"W-W-what?" he mumbled, mouth stretching into a yawn

The purple leg gave away, blue tail slipped inside, wrapping itself around it, yanking to make it stretch along the ground, upper tail scales grazing against the loin.

She pressed her head against his neck, tilting it down, nuzzling the boy next to her passionately.

Spyro snapped out of the sleep veil as if he would bash through the door of his consciousness. Eyes shooting wide open, mouth that was opened for the yawn remained agape, frozen. The tail caressing his loin sent a chill down his spine, so strong that it paralyzed him.

A female was hugging him, the softness of the scales making it clear. It was that softness also that told him that it wasn't his mate who asked for affection.

Heart stopped beating, all of the heat pushed towards his snout, not making him blush, but practically turning his scales into the color of a fire dragon.

"I-I-Iris?" he stammered, lips shivering as if he was about to cry

"Shhhhhhh" she whispered sensually, her accented voice making her sound like a purring cat

Her nuzzling snout changed position, wet lips pressed against the stiff, purple neck scales, her breath bouncing off them in heated waves.

She stroked her entire body against him, the tail that squeezed his hind leg jerked forward, reaching towards the groin.

Spyro jolted, becoming stiff as a log, feeling cold and warm alternately.

"I-Iris?!" he mumbled in panic

"Be silent" she purred, teeth nipping at his scales, holding them in their grip by a strand

He jerked himself away from her, this was so damn wrong on so damn many levels that he couldn't control his instinctive reaction. He barely moved and there was already pressure on his other flank, it made him freeze on the spot.

Paws.

His head snapped to the side, spotting his mate in relaxed sleeping position on her side, all four paws outstretched in his direction.

Cynder snorted through her sleep, pushing her paws forward.

He wiggled away quickly, wasn't fast enough though, the toes on her four legs curled, making her claws scrape against his body.

He shut his eyes and started praying, if she wakes up now and sees what's happening...it will be a disaster, the girls will kill each other.

Cynder clicked her tongue several times, paws becoming numb, she rubbed her chin into the warm ground as if it would be a pillow.

Deep, sleepy breath left her mouth.

Blue tail tugged at his leg, his flank hitting the soft and impossibly alluring body of the blue girl next to him.

He felt like a criminal.

"Leave me alone Iris" he begged "I have a mate"

Iris snatched his forepaw, pinning it against her chest.

"Are you sure?" she guided the purple paw along the white scales, up towards the neck "She is inferior to me, like every other"

He shivered all the way, the feeling of her body was as sweet as a taste of the most delicious of cakes, yet there was that drilling at the back of his head, that itching, sense of repulsion. He knew that only the surface is wonderful, if he bites into the cake he won't find any sugar or candies, no, he will find a carcass eaten by worms and he will feast on it.

He curled his claws on her neck, forcing a halt. His head was empty, heart frightened. He just wanted to stop, unable to decide if he wants to slit her throat or strangle her into erotic submission.

He felt so dirty, so wrong to even have this thoughts, this doubts. Cynder was just sleeping right next to him.

Joints in his foreleg started to burn with numbing pain of being exposed to an unnatural position for so long.

"I don't want to touch you" he protested, the determination in the voice as hectic as his thoughts

She forced his paw down despite the claws on her scales, Spyro didn't react in time, soft sounds of cracking filled the air, droplets of hot blood poured onto his leg. He wasn't expecting her move, before he realized what happened and relaxed his toes there were already cuts on Iris' neck

She didn't seem to notice.

Guiding his paw to her heart, it pounded with a steady rhythm, in contrary to his own that seemed to stop entirely, just to start racing fervently a moment after.

Her nose once more located his neck, lips just inches from them, her breath chilling his bones.

"Then why you are still here?" she stuck her tongue out, wet tip making teasing, heart stopping licks

Literally tasting him.

He winced, sure that his neck was rotting.

"I'm doing it for you" he hissed, tilting his head away from the passionate, blue lips

Her tail tugged at his hind leg again, jerking his rump closer towards her. Iris raised her gaze, looking straight into the panicked, purple eyes.

Spyro gasped faintly, the plea burning in them squeezed his heart, for a second he couldn't recognize who was looking at him, the gaze so much different than he got used to. It was like looking down a dark prison cell that finally got its shed of light.

The prisoner behind the bars a tormented, innocent girl begging to be released.

If not for the body in front of his eyes, he would never believe that it was Iris in front of him, such tarnished, pure soul didn't belong to a creature so brutal.

"Promise" she begged, tail relaxing its grip

He was mesmerized by those eyes, not even feeling that he was no longer trapped.

The tail made a thrust, squeezing in between his loin and hind paw, rubbing over the sensitive slit of his genital area.

He stiffened with a wince.

"Make me yours" she whimpered cravingly, tail stroking his slit, head thrusting forward and lips pressing against his own, bestowing them with needy kisses

He was paralyzed by shock, eyes, the caress, the kisses, passion, the need, the body. Iris knew how to play the biology game, forcing every moral aspect down into oblivion. He wasn't responding to the stimulation, neither lips nor the limbs, he was like a statue, unable to comprehend what is happening.

Was she raping him again?

The question didn't stir him in the slightest.

Her kisses, her strokes, the rubbing of her perfectly shaped body eventually stole a weak, pleasurable moan from him.

This was what stirred him into action as if a hammer would smack against the back of his head. Echo filled his skull.

Cynder

Cynder

Cynder

No

No

No

Two words rang, filling his earholes, in between he could feel his heart cracking.

Dark Spyro's laugher boomed from the bleeding slits.

"Not like this" he growled, fiercely jerking his foreleg from her grasp, a bone snapped somewhere in his shoulder

He pushed her away from his mouth, the hind paw that was freed and unmoving earlier kicked strongly, shoving the invading, blue tail out of his groin area.

"Help me" she whimpered, nuzzling him desperately, thrusting her nose under his chin and propping his head up, caressing him until their cheeks grazed against each other

Despite the weirdness and overall shock of this situation, the plea coming from her mouth was as honest as one could be. He had practice on evil girls, Cynder behaved in the same way, honesty when paired with ominous was like night with sun appearing unexpectedly next to the moon.

Impossible to miss.

This sincerity ran a dagger through his heart. He couldn't just ignore it, all those previous signs she gave him, they couldn't be compared to this, the request was so strong that his helping heart just couldn't walk past it indifferently.

If not for this awkwardness everything would be alright, still, Iris just might not now any other way, who knows what she's been through. All he could say for certain was that she didn't have an easy life, no one becomes so bitter out of their own free will.

That uncertainty combined with his natural instinct to help deafened the aggression in him, while it kept the guard up, he didn't want to treat her as an invader, even if she crossed any reasonable boundaries by now.

Hopefully it was just a mistake since she doesn't know any other way.

Seeing however how easily she shifts personalities, he doubted it will be the case.

Both of his forelegs landed on her shoulder, using the blue body as leverage, he pushed her away once more, this time however didn't simply shove her away. One of his legs remained in place, squeezing the shoulder comfortingly.

He looked into her full of pain eyes.

With soul behind her eyes she was simply a walking goddess of heavenly heritage.

He felt as if he was losing his breath, eyes burned just like they wanted to melt away.

"I will help you Iris. You are my companion and we had a deal. Just don't push me away, please. Making love is not the answer here"

She shifted her weight, to his relief her tail moved away from the molesting position, the purple paw on her shoulder serving as a latching point for her turn. She faced him now, lower body almost in a straight line, upper, especially the chest line still against his scales, front paws right below his extended one.

His heart raced so fast that he could barely breath and whenever Iris moved the speed increased even further, he had absolutely no idea what to expect.

The purity and innocent shone in her piercing eyes, as beautiful as they were, he doubted he could withstand their look for long.

"I read about you" she whispered, extending her paw towards his snout

He recoiled gently from the touch.

Claws on white toes curled, the extended leg grasping the forearm of his stretched out paw, she massaged it, observing the ripples running across his purple scales.

"I dreamed about you" her whispering was like a soft song of a siren

He swallowed, the bulge of saliva that ran down his throat was so huge that he thought he'll choke.

Iris was so unbelievably cute.

He couldn't believe that a girl like her can get even more beautiful.

For the first time in his life he wished that Sparx was right when it came to his crazy ideas, he really wanted to be into boys right now. The burning ribcage however had different opinion on the matter and it was quite clear it won't change it any time soon.

Diamond eyes jumped up once more, striking him with their intensity, he felt his brain rattling in the skull, as if the rising eyes would send an invisible kick into his chin.

"I prayed to you" her paw made a tender slide along his extended forepaw, climbing up the shoulder until it eventually reached his cheek

He shivered at her touch, her whispering was full of pain of someone who lost all hope and all that remained was to put your faded strength into the divine. Many religious people do that, he never expected Iris to be one of them, the girl looking at him right now had nothing to do with the invading one from just a moment ago. She was looking at him as if he would be her childhood idol, toe on the paw was rubbing his cheek, there was affection in it, yet it had nothing to do with sexual urges.

She was touching him as if testing if he was really here, gaze full of worship.

It made him uncomfortable nevertheless.

He reached for her leg.

"Iris" he sighed pleadingly, gently pulling her paw away

"Lord of the sun, queen of the moon, I hail to you seeking your boon" Iris chanted, the reverent look and voice making him freeze

"Open the sky, ravage the earth, give birth to the scale that stirs the gale" her other fore reached out, grasping the purple leg that was holding her earlier extended leg

Her move made him swallow so hard that he felt as if he ate his own heart, she grasped his leg as if it would be the last thing in the entire world that can keep her alive. Despite everything, his eyes sought refugee in her paw on his cheek, the burden of her devoted, suffering eyes was too much to bare.

"Purple Savior, Purple Master, Hope Forecaster" she intoned the prayer in whispers, tenderly putting pressure on his cheek, begging without words for him to look at her

"Seek me out, hear my plea, for I am in need of thee" the melodic, pleading prayer was too strong for him to ignore, he gazed into the diamond orbs, the look of the girl in front of him was as enticing as the first glance of a newly born baby

"Purple Savior, Purple Master, weave my life away from disaster" Iris leaned forward, pressing her forehead against his

He was mesmerized by this whole moment, despite everything he experienced with Iris so far during this night, in this particular moment he didn't want to pull away. It might seem weird for someone who would look at them now, but for him it was so much more than romantic approach.

It had nothing to do with sexuality or lust Iris is known for. This was a prayer, a real, honest chant from the bottom of the heart, he knew it, he could feel it.

The prayer was about him.

So much hope, so much life was put into it, the final ace in the sleeve.

It was like one of those childhood chants you learn when you are young, you repeat them sometimes just for the laugh, or because you were taught to pay respect in such a way by your parents. Never giving it much credit. Only when you grow up, you realize that this is more than just a prayer, sometimes it becomes your last hope, sometimes the gods you pray to your only listeners.

The prayer your only strength.

He didn't have the heart to ruin a child's dream, he didn't have the heart to steal Iris' strength.

"Lord of the sun, queen of the moon, I hail to you seeking your boon" she ended the plea with an out of breath whisper

Silence befallen on the cave. Their labored breaths the only quiet echo, cold and warm air intertwining like a pair of snakes.

His heart started beating with a confident pace. He didn't need motivation to carry on with his task, after so many years of having lives depending on his actions there wasn't much that could fuel his determination even more. Iris also belonged to that example, there was however something else about her.

When it came to people, young or old of the Realms, they all had one thing in common. They all learned about the Prophecy and knew what to expect of a purple dragon, from the very start they knew he was their hope for a better future, by being successful in his missions he made that hope true. As long as he lived people had hope, always.

He was never in a situation where he was considered a fake though, sometimes he was the victim of bias but it was always the wounds speaking, the truth about the prophecy was always there. When it came to Iris though, he was something entirely else, a fairytale at the start, a joke later on and finally a truth on whose shoulder lie the opportunity to size chance.

Never before he faced someone who in her brutality after losing probably just about anything started hating people, never before he was the one that someone behaving typically evil changed her act because of him.

Never before he was worshipped, literally, honestly, not out of gratefulness.

Never before he was someone's beacon to appreciate the world.

For all the brutality, for all the hate, Iris turned out to be a frail, dependable girl. Feeding the anger of the pain she feels.

Everyone gets eventually sick of a meal he eats over and over again.

He was her salvation.

Perhaps all of this was just an act, perhaps this was just another one of her personalities, it might all be a lie, but that didn't change the fact that it touched his heart. This girl here prayed to the purple dragons, after so many years her prayers were heard.

He just couldn't walk away, his heart would never let him.

"I will help you Iris" he pushed away from her, gently placing her paws on the ground, it was his time to confidently look into her eyes

"We will finish here, help me complete this mission, help us get back home and I promise to assist you. If I can, I will weave your life away from disaster, we are really the good guys, I swear. We take care of our own"

"Okay" she whispered, he couldn't tell if she believed him or not, she looked extremely sick for some reason, she looked as if she was about to collapse soon

Not even once he saw her smile.

She was like a sentient dynamite afraid to make that final push into explosion.

"Get some rest Iris, we will see each other in the morning"

"Okay" same automatic, golem like response, sounding like a dying breath of an old woman

He no longer was sure if he liked her acceptance.

She rested her head on her paws, closing her eyes lazily, she froze in that position.

He observed her, head empty, unable to wrap his mind around what just happened.

Did she already fell asleep?

"Iris?" he whispered shyly, claw tenderly poking her paw

No reaction.

His heart skipped a beat, fear gripping his senses, her automatic, weak voice echoing In his head, the comparison to a dying breath burning out images of her rotting corpse in his mind.

For some reason he thought that he killed her, she died of broken heart. He rejected her advances and the mesmerizing chant was her way to say goodbye.

He was sure of it.

He murdered her.

He grasped her foreleg, ready to shake her.

It was then when her chest made a shallow breath.

His eyes widened, he craned his neck forward, his snout inches from her head.

Iris made a slow breath.

He slammed his paw against his mouth, exhaling in relief, heart waking up, returning to its natural pacing.

Holy fuck, this was enough excitement for one night. He wiggled back to his resting position, hearing Cynder whimpering in the meantime through her sleep.

Cynder that he loved.

He reached out with his neck towards her extended forelegs, with a feathery touch he rubbed his nose against her toes.

They curled in happiness.

He smiled, planting a soft lick across her claw before withdrawing back, dropping his head onto his paws with a deep sigh.

What just happened?

He winced, shaking his head with a soft growl. It was better not to think about it, he needs to recover, who knows what awaits them in the morning. He might need his strength.

Most likely not only for his enemies but friends alike.