FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

May be short; I'm shortening the chapters so I can get these done.

If you're under 18, out. Now. Go.

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CHAPTER 18

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Spyro returned hours later looking very pissed off, the guardians following him with much the same expressions. Their moods brightened a bit when they saw that Cynder had prepared a rather large meal for everyone.

"What's...all this about?" Spyro asked, coming up to Cynder as she fed the kids.

"Kinda figured you guys wouldn't be in the best of moods when you got back, so I made you a dinner. Go ahead, eat up, I've already eaten." She smiled at Flash. "C'mon baby, there you go! Yay, isn't that yummy?" Flash smiled. "Aw he's so cute when he does that!"

"Where are Solar and Flare?"

"'Family cuddle time', as Flare calls it; they're in the tunnels."

"Anya's with them?" Ignitus asked, getting a nod from the black dragoness.

The meal was rather quiet; Cynder guessed they were considering what to do with these newcomers. Obviously they weren't being allowed into the temple... as night rolled around Cynder's curiosity got the better of her as she climbed into bed with her purple mate.

"Spyro, where are they?"

"Where are who?"

"The dragons."

Spyro snorted. "Who knows, shivering in the cold for all I know."

"That's not very nice..."

"Ignitus said that if they didn't want to be in the Temple where you are, they could sleep outside. Obviously they're still clutching their pride."

"Oh..."

"They have no respect," he went on angrily. "We defeated Malefor together, but they think you were only in on it to get some of his power to bring him back later on."

"How can Caligin come back then? If they hate me, they're gonna tear him apart..."

"No one outside of us knows his real name, Caligin. So long as he goes by that he'll be fine."

"Did you speak to the Chronicler?"

"No, I couldn't find a crystal..."

Cynder cuddled next to him. "It'll be fine, Spyro...but what were you so upset about earlier?"

"Something Ignitus said..." Spyro sighed and suddenly hugged her, feeling lonely. Cynder wrapped her wings around him and nuzzled her face into his shoulder the way she knew he liked.

"I know something that may cheer you up a bit," she whispered. Without waiting for a response she scooted down along the bed to find, much to her surprise and delight, that his dragonhood was already out of his sheath, albeit flaccid. Spyro twitched when he felt her tongue slowly run along his length.

"Cynder?"

"Shhh...just relax Spyro." He couldn't help it; her tone of voice made him instantly relax. Cynder grinned as she felt his member slowly begin to harden against her tongue, and she pulled back and began to knead it gently between her paws. Spyro was too worn out to object so he just let her have her way, though it did feel really good as she massaged his cock. Cynder was getting really aroused as she tended to her mate, but to her delight Spyro's member finally erected and she promptly took his length into her mouth and began suckling on him, very slowly pulling off while her tongue danced around his erection.

"Ooohhh..." Spyro moaned, suddenly feeling very aroused, bucking his hips as he felt his dragonhood seem to heat up and grow a bit bigger. Cynder grinned and murred when she felt his stiff phallus grow a bit more in her mouth as she slowly drew his length back in, savoring his taste. She grinned naughtily as Spyro lost control and grabbed her head, lightly thrusting into her mouth while moaning loudly. She braced her paws against his thighs to steady him and began quickly bobbing her head along his length, playing with his member by flicking her tongue all around it until finally Spyro thrust as far into her mouth as he could, his hips jerking slightly and low whimpering moans of pleasure escaping his mouth as he ejaculated. Cynder murred and drank everything he gave her, slowly pulling off him and licking his dragonhood clean. Spyro's arms fell off her and he rested against the bed, still panting.

"That was good," she whispered. Spyro forced himself up and nodded, his nose catching a very familiar scent.

"Get up here," Spyro laughed as Cynder licked his cum from her lips. Getting his hint she turned herself around and watched with a giddy grin as he eyed her soft folds begging for attention.

"Oh yeah," she moaned softly as she watched him nuzzle her pussy, spreading her netherlips around his nose as he took in her delicious scent. Spyro slowly licked her repeatedly, making her shiver as pleasure rippled through her. He shot her a rather lustful glance and then slowly eased his tongue into her, savoring her sweet juices as she moaned cutely and wrapped her tail around his foreleg. He grinned as she twitched and begged for more as he lapped at her love-nub, flicking his tongue over it rapidly. Cynder grabbed his head with a loud moan, pressing her hips forward and burying Spyro's muzzle against her wet treasure. Spyro laughed and slowly eased his tongue into her velvet tunnel again, murring to her and suckling on her lips while his tongue danced inside her. Cynder whimpered and gasped, feeling herself heat up as she drew slowly closer to her climax. "Ooooooaaaahhhh..." she moaned, feeling her insides tense up in anticipation. He felt her nearing her peak and redoubled his efforts, savoring her juices as they started flowing more easily. Feeling naughty he gave her a slight current of electricity. Cynder immediately screamed "OH SPYROOOO!!!!" and whimpered loudly in bliss as she flew over the edge, her vagina contracting almost violently. Spyro pressed his mouth against her lips and continued pleasuring her folds with his tongue as her sweet fluids shot into his mouth. Wave after wave of pleasure flowed over her, leaving her panting on the bed in a heavenly afterglow. Spyro gently cleaned her off, running his tongue a few times over her vagina affectionately before carefully picking her up and putting her on his chest as he lay on his back. Cynder murred happily and cuddled against him, closing her eyes and enjoying his affection as he hugged her and kissed her softly on the cheek. After a while of him softly petting her she sat up a bit and ran her claws along the lines of his chest scales. "Spyro..."

"Hmm?"

"Do you...Solar says I won't be in heat until ten months after I gave birth; do you...do you wanna keep increasing our family? Or wait a bit?"

He ran his paw along her cheek and she leaned into his caress. "You really liked being pregnant didn't you?"

She nodded with a slight blush. "I don't like the sickness and immobility, but...it's just such an awesome concept, carrying new life like that...and the kids are just so damn cute! I guess I just like knowing that I'm carrying and protecting life..."

He smiled and bent up to kiss her again, holding her paws in his. "It's up to you, Cynder; whatever your choice is about it, I'll do it."

"But do you want a big family?"

"Do you?"

"Yeah..." She giggled. "As big as I can create."

Spyro laughed and hugged her. "Well, in that case, looks like I'm gonna have to keep you nice and full when you're in heat."

"Mmmm...I like the sound of that," she said seductively, tenting her wings over him and licking his nose with a grin. "I know that would keep you happy."

"Whaddaya mean?"

"Oh come on, you know you like mating!"

He laughed again. "Okay fine, yes I do." He returned the nose-lick. "It's time I get to spend with just you, and make you happy."

She grinned. "But what about yourself? You're not thinking about yourself again."

He sighed. "It feels good, honestly...it's very relieving after all the stresses I have to deal with."

She pecked him on the mouth. "That's better. In that case we'll...just have to do it more often then, if we get the time."

"I'd like that."

She grinned and nuzzled his neck. "That's what I thought." She felt his sheath start to bulge under her, eliciting a sly giggle. "You're getting randy again, I can tell."

"You're too much for a guy to handle," he joked.

"Well then...why not put it in me like you do in my sleep?"

He grinned and pulled the covers over them, then let his dragonhood out of its sheath. Cynder giggled as its hardening made it tickle her crotch. She lifted herself up a bit so Spyro could see what he was doing, and grinned as she watched him thrust a few times, seeking her sweet spot. After a few more tries he landed her and moaned softly as she slowly lay back down on him, his member sliding deep inside her delightful warm tightness. He wrapped his legs around her and she did likewise as they fell into a deep, passionate kiss, grateful that the kids were fast asleep.

In the tunnels, Solar returned from his patrol to find Flare on her back, staring at the cave ceiling. She yawned and murred as he nuzzled her chest. "Tired?" he asked.

"Nah...just thinking back. Something seems wrong with Spyro..."

Solar sighed and lay down by her. "Something's got him depressed, but he won't tell me what it is. Ignitus has been anxious too...something's not right." Flare giggled and hugged him as he crawled on top of her. "Have fun with Anya today?"

"Yeah...she's really sweet but she's still upset, poor little thing..."

Solar ran his paw along her cheek. "What were you thinking about earlier?"

Flare grinned at him with a naughty gleam in her eye, and lowered her voice to a sexy whisper. "Ooooh, nothing much, just our...special times together..."

Solar grinned and pecked her on the nose. "You wanna do it here?"

She nodded, running her paws along his shoulders enticingly. "I'm kinda hungry," she said hintingly. His grin went a bit wider and they fell into a passionate kiss, Solar's silver dragonhood quickly emerging from his sheath and pressing its way between their bellies. Flare pushed him off eagerly and he turned around, looking back to see her eyeing his erection. She giggled and rubbed his hips as he nuzzled her vagina, listening to him moan softly as she reached out with her tongue and licked his member then slowly drew it into her mouth. They hadn't made love since that special night back in the swamp, so every small touch sent wild thrills of pleasure shooting through them. Flare murred and suckled eagerly on him as he slowly pressed his maleness into her mouth, encouraging Solar to start lapping at her slit. The two of them toyed with each other, Flare flicking her tongue over his member and Solar pressing his tongue between her desire-swollen lips and inhaling her intoxicating scent before they started really going at each other. Solar pushed his long tongue into Flare's pussy and started caressing her soft walls as she bobbed her head along his length. He played with her clit with his lower teeth, making her squeal. Flare's lust spurred her and she suckled more eagerly on his stiff dragonhood, her vigor making him moan loudly into her vagina as his climax crept up.

"Oooh Flare I'm..."

"Gimme it all!" she demanded hungrily, and with an excited smile she then proceeded to take his entire length into her mouth, feeling the head of his member slide into her throat as her mouth pressed against his sheath. She sucked on him rythmically and felt him tense up swiftly with a low roar, murring happily as she felt wave after wave of his delicious cum spurt almost violently from his dragonhood into her throat, some of it backing up to her mouth because she couldn't swallow it all fast enough. She grinned, savoring the taste of his meat and its juices and listening to him moaning with every long blast of semen. Solar was seeing spots as she continued to suck on him, prolonging his orgasm and emptying him of every last drop of seed he could muster for her. Recovering rather quickly he swiftly returned to servicing her, making her squeal around his member as his tongue writhed in her velvet passage, sending shocks of ecstasy through her until with a shuddering moan she finally came. Solar grinned and brought his lips to her vagina, lapping up her juices as they flowed from her while she lay on the ground panting. He lay down by her and waited for her to recover, softly cleaning her tailbase with his tongue. Flare eventually forced herself up, licking her lips as she eyed his length still protruding from his sheath.

"Can't get enough, huh?" he laughed, his cock twitching as Flare lapped at it again.

"You taste so good, Solar," she whispered with a smile, and took his whole length in her mouth again to gently suck on it. Solar tickled her pussy with his tongue until she finally pulled herself away from his dragonhood and turned around to drape herself over him. He rolled over under her and hugged her tight as she bent her head down for a kiss.

"So, how was the snack tonight?" he asked teasingly.

"Oh shut up, you know already," she said with a laugh. "Solar, it may come as a surprise, but I think I'm coming into heat again..."

He shook his head. "That's hormonal flux, Flare. Almost 90% of dragonesses feel it after their first birth. You most likely won't come into heat again until the kids are about 10 months old. Dragonesses tend to have about 3-5 cycles a year until they give birth, birth delays the next cycle to about 10 months."

"Awww..."

Solar's eyes widened and he laughed. "Don't tell me you want more!"

She giggled. "Yes I do, actually...they're so cute! I know they're a handful as they are but...they're just so cute..."

He ran his paw softly along her cheek, and she leaned into his caressing gesture with closed eyes and a soft smile. "Wanting to show up your parents, are you?"

"Nah...I can't really describe it but...I just really like the idea of a big family. Probably because I was an only child."

"Well, let's see what life plans for us in the coming months. We still need to relocate the kids to a safer area."

"Are the mountains really that much safer than the temple, Solar? If we're out there, we're alone, and won't have anyone to help us if shit happens."

"I know, but if we're here and the Shadow strikes hard, we're all grouped together and he can more easily harm us." He sighed, hit with indecision. "I don't know now...there's really no good option it seems."

"Let's just stay here until we're more certain. I kinda like it here, it's nice having others to talk to."

They lay there quietly in their waning afterglow, just enjoying each other until eventually Flare fell asleep with a content grin on top of him.

The next morning Solar and Flare came into the dojo rather early to find Spyro and Cynder strapping their children to Cynder's old carrying-armor. "What's this all about?" Flare asked.

"We're going to see my old family," Spyro replied, tickling Kira as he made sure she was secure. "They woke up early this morning so we decided to take them on a little trip now before others arrive."

"And our kids too?"

"Yeah, Ignitus is playing with them in our room," Cynder said with a laugh. Flare giggled and Solar rolled his eyes with a humorous grin. "We shouldn't be gone too long, back by tonight at the latest if his mom doesn't insist on us staying the night." With a little more preparation they were off. Spyro chuckled as the kids blinked in the wind over their mom's back. "What's so funny?" she asked.

"Might wanna fly a bit slower, the air's a bit cold for their eyes."

"Awww, poor little things." She slowed down a bit. "Do you remember where they are, Spyro?"

"Not really but they usually don't stay away from home for very long." They flew in Silence, Spyro watching the kids as they intently watched the world pass by. They arrived at the cave and Cynder took to following Spyro as he browsed the area. A pinkish glow caught his eye and he headed right for it, slowing down and landing. "Mom?" Cynder landed ahead of him a bit awkwardly as a gust of wind blew her off-balance. The dragonfly whipped around as Cynder alighted and yelped before taking off; it most certainly wasn't Spyro's "mother" Nina.

"Who was that?" Cynder asked, a bit surprised at the reaction.

"Aw come on!" came a voice nearby, and Cynder ducked as a golden glow shot by them.

"Sparx?!"

"No time guys, later!" he called back. "Angie!"

Cynder and Spyro looked at each other oddly. "Angie?"

"Who knows...C'mon, if Sparx is here, mom and dad aren't too far off. Uuuuhhhh...rock there, twin bushes there...this way." Cynder followed him again, hooking her tail up over her back to soothe Flash as he started whining.

"Awaba..." Aleron mumbled, getting a giggle from Cynder at how cute he sounded. "Wawaba ba..."

"He sounds so cyuuute!!" Cynder squealed quietly, getting Spyro to laugh.

"We're almost there, they should be somewhere nearby."

"Spyro?" asked a voice nearby. Through the bushes came Nina, Sparx's mom and Spyro's adopted mother. She gased when she saw him, and flew up and hugged his neck. "Oh it's been so long! Sparx has done nothing but muse about you and Cynder!"

Spyro laughed and lightly nuzzled her. "I'll bet; he's still not keen on me and Cynder being together."

Nina flew back a bit and looked him up and down. "My how you've grown; I can't imagine how big you'll be as a dragon."

"We're only half the height of the guardians," Cynder said with a slight giggle.

"Hi Cynder!" Nina flew around Spyro and stopped with a slow gasp when she saw... "Oh Spyro, why didn't you tell us?"

"We meant to but stuff kept happening, this is the first chance we've had to really get away," he explained as he and Cynder watched her examine the kids, who were eyeing Nina very intently.

"Oh they're so cute...they look so much like you," she whispered with a grin. "Hiiiii..." she cooed, getting smiles from the kids.

"That's Flash and Kira," Cynder said, pointing with her tail, "and the little multicolor Spyro copy is Aleron."

"He looks exactly like Spyro did when he was a baby," Nina mused, flitting back and forth and watching the little ones follow her. "They're so adorable!" She hugged Cynder's neck happily. "I'm so happy for you two!"

Cynder grinned and licked Spyro on the cheek. "It's been rough but we finally did it...we finally started our own family."

"Must be a bit odd to have dragons for grandchildren," Spyro said with a smirk.

"Your father's the one to say that to, he's been after Sparx for the past month about finding a girl and settling down but that dragonfly...he doesn't listen. You're father's been worried about you lately though. Come on, he'll be excited about this!" They followed her quickly through the swamp to a tiny hidden grove amid rocks, fallen trees and mushrooms. A blue glow quickly came closer and the dragonfly stopped and stared at what he saw.

"Spyro?!"

"Hi dad," Spyro said with a huge grin. "Long time no see!"

"Too busy saving the world and kicking evil to come see your old family?"

"Yeah, sorry about that...it's been hectic." Spyro looked over his shoulder as Cynder came up by him. "Where are the kids?" he asked, seeing Cynder had sloughed off the carrying-armor.

"Nina's watching them."

Spyro looked back at his dad. "Dad, you weren't here last time we were; this is my mate, Cynder."

"Ah yes, your mother told me about your visit a few years ago." He paused. "Wait...did you say kids?"

Cynder giggled and nodded. "He sure did. Your purple 'son' here is now a father too." She leaned against Spyro. "The best one ever."

"One of them is named after you," Spyro said to his shocked dragonfly-father. "Come on, you should see them." Cynder led them over to where Nina was flitting between the kids, getting them to giggle. Aleron laughed as Spyro tickled him.

"What're their names?"

"This one is Aleron, the blue one is Kira, and the orange one is your namesake, Flash," Cynder explained as she held Kira. "Hey baby...awwww, are you hungry?"

While Spyro went and got them berries for lunch, Cynder talked with the dragonflies about their various episodes at the temple and why they hadn't been able to visit until now. By the time the purple dragon came back with a rather large load of berries, holding them in a mushroom cap on his back between his wingarms, Cynder was explaining the deal with Malefor and Craga.

"I've seen that statue thousands of times, but never thought it was that important," Flash mused. "But are you sure he's good now?"

Cynder sighed and rubbed Kira's belly as the little ice dragonling lay on her back, smiling sweetly at her night-scaled mother. "It's hard, but I think he is. He's like a worse version of me. I was basically his puppet, held under his control through magic and evil power, and Spyro broke the strings and freed me. It was hard for me to adjust, because up until three years ago, my whole life had been one of violence and darkness." She looked over at Spyro and smiled happily, watching him crush the berries carefully. "Had it not been for Spyro's care and concern...I don't wanna think where I'd be without him. Probably dead from suicide attempts or something..."

"But what about Malefor?"

"Malefor, like me, was a puppet. However, his darkness and slavery were far, far worse than mine. I was forced to be evil, but Malefor did it out of grief and anger...he almost willingly fell to darkness. Almost. Our newest enemy, the Shadow that Alex and Christina and countless others are fighting, slipped into Malefor's mind through the cracks in his will caused by his emotions after Craga's coma, and from there quickly corrupted his thoughts and desires until Malefor was driven by evil intentions...and from there, everyone knows the history. He made an army of apes, taught them to harness Dragon Gems..." She rubbed her forehead. "Now his strings have been broken, again thanks to Spyro's concern, and he's recovering rather well now that Craga's alive, but...I hope he doesn't regress or snap or something. I just sent everyone into hiding and invaded territories all over, but he did so much more...he has no idea how he can atone for all that."

"I don't think he can," Nina sighed. "At least, not without a lot of strife."

"All gifts come with a price..." Flash said, shaking his head. "Even the bad gifts."

"Where's Sparx, by the way?" Cynder asked, looking around.

"I've been kicking him outta here," Flash said with a laugh. "He needs to be on his own and find a girl, but he won't do it."

"Cynder accidentally scared off someone when we got here," Spyro said as he brought the berries over. "Someone named Angie. Sparx was apparently chasing her or something, I dunno what." Flash and Nina looked at each other in surprise.

"Angie?"

"You mean Angelina?"

"I remember that name from somewhere," Spyro said.

"You and Sparx used to play with Angie years ago," Nina remarked. "She's been away for an awfully long time."

"You say Sparx was going after her?"

"Yeah."

A gold blur flew into the small grove. "Geez, the one time I find someone, Cynder ruins it." Sparx looked up and saw everyone staring at him, especially Cynder. "What're you doing here? Planning to ruin my life some more?"

"That was rude, Sparx," Flash said sharply.

"Hey, I finally did what you told me to and she comes in and scares everyone off!" Sparx was really upset, something Spyro had never seen before. "First she tries to kill us, then she tries to kill us again-"

"Sparx," Spyro growled, drawing the dragonfly's attention. "We've gone over this countless times, those were when she wasn't herself. We just got here for a visit and the first thing you do is start ranting about Cynder? Again?"

"Well hi," Sparx grunted, then flew off again. Cynder sighed and facepawed.

"Geez...doesn't anyone get it?" she asked.

The day wound down and eventually found Cynder curled up around her children in a protective circle with her wing over them while Spyro and his parents chatted. Sparx was still off moping, but they didn't really notice. Finally Spyro came back and lay down opposite Cynder, putting his wing over hers over the kids, lifting her wing up a bit to see them all sound asleep. He chuckled and kissed her softly on the mouth, getting a slight grin as she dozed. "I love you so much..." he whispered, rubbing his nose against hers affectionately. Behind some leaves where his glow couldn't be seen, Sparx was watching them and muttering to himself. He yelped as someone came up behind him and playfully grabbed at his tail.

"Gah! Don't...Angie?"

"Hi Sparx," she whispered. "Are...are those dragons still here?"

"Yeah, it's just Spyro and Cynder."

"Spyro?" She flew over the leaves so she could see. "I haven't seen him in forever! How is he?"

"You heard of Cynder?"

"Vaguely...isn't she evil?"

"See for yourself, that's her right there with my brother."

"I can't really see- oh! You can't see her well at night..." She gazed at them, a small smile creeping over her face. "They look really happy together."

"They've been happy together..." Sparx said hintingly. Angie's eyes widened.

"They have kids?!"

"Yep."

She flew up to him. "Sparx...is something wrong?"

He shrugged. "My brother falls in love and has kids with the one who tried to kill us mainly, though I guess she's good now..."

"You're jealous of your brother aren't you?"

Instead of retorting he just shrugged again. "Maybe...I just feel really alone lately, the way you described your loneliness a few days ago."

"Well, as far as I know...I'm here to stay. I really missed you, Sparx."

He gave a small smile and took her hand. "I missed you too..."

The next morning Cynder woke up early to find the kids cuddled under Spyro's wing, their chins on his foreleg as he lay on his side. She couldn't resist laughing to herself at how cute it looked, but they couldn't stay for long...something was coming and she felt they needed to be at the temple as soon as possible. She kissed Spyro softly, then shook him when he didn't respond.

"Nnn...Cynder?"

"Shh," she said, glancing at the kids. Spyro looked down at them and smiled. "They like their daddy."

He looked back up at Cynder and she murred as he kissed her. "Cute just like their mother."

She smiled and pressed her forehead against his, both of them closing their eyes and enjoying each other's presence. Unseen by them, they were being watched.

"I'm glad he found someone," Flash whispered. "For the longest time I was afraid there wouldn't be anyone for him."

Nina smiled. "Cynder's a sweet girl...I'm happy she found Spyro, I don't know if anyone else would be so forgiving of her past and so caring for her despite all she's done."

Angelina flew up to them, looking a bit confused. "Hi, have either of you seen Sparx?"

Flash and Nina sideglanced quickly at each other. "No, he's probably still asleep."

In the clearing, Cynder was feeding the twins and Spyro was playing tail-chase with Aleron, Cynder laughing as she watched. "He really likes your tail," she said as Aleron crawled quickly, his large eyes locked on the fin on Spyro's tail.

"He's getting stronger, lookit him go!" Spyro held his tail still, and Aleron tackled it with a triumphant giggle. He burst out laughing as his daddy spun around and tickled him.

"MORNING!!!!"

"YAAAH WHAT THE HELL?!?!"

Cynder and Spyro looked up sharply. "Was that..."

Spyro laughed. "I think Angelina just morning-bombed Sparx off his bed."

Cynder snorted humorously. "Think she's the one for him?"

Spyro shrugged, smiling as Aleron batted at his tail again. "Knowing Sparx, it might take any girl he meets a while to adapt to him. Angelina's been gone for years so she's got a lot of catching up to do with him and his attitudes."

Spyro's parents flew in as Spyro helped strap the little ones to the carrying armor. "You leaving?" Nina asked.

"Yeah," Spyro sighed. "Sorry...we wanted to stay longer but something doesn't feel right, we need to get back to the temple."

"Stop by whenever you can."

After a rather drawn-out goodbye they finally were off back to the temple. Along the way Spyro felt someone nearby and kept looking around. "Something wrong?" Cynder asked as he hovered and looked around.

"Someone's nearby but I can't see anyone...let's get some cover, c'mon." He flew down and she followed him into the mushroom forest below. Spyro yelped in surprise as he came in for a landing and almost hit a large orange dragon sitting on the path.

"Whoa!" he shouted, quickly jumping aside. Cynder landed not too far away but hid herself behind a mushroom. Spyro got up and eyed the dragon...he was much like Ignitus, but his horns curled like Terrador's and he was a bit thinner than the old fire guardian. The dragon stared at Spyro. "The purple dragon..."

"I'm Spyro, and who are you?" Spyro asked cautiously.

"Aryp; I'm here to find a way to the temple for the children."

"Children?" Cynder asked, not showing herself.

"Who's there?"

Spyro hesitated. "It's okay," he said, intentionally not calling her name. "Aryp, this is my mate and children."

"You have a family already?" he asked, but did a double-take as Cynder timidly came out from behind the mushroom. "You..."

Spyro placed himself between them. "Whatever you're thinking, don't. Yes, this is Cynder, but no longer the Dark Master's puppet."

Aryp glared at them. "You let the Dark Serpent live? Your mind has corroded...Spyro."

Spyro snorted and turned to Cynder. "C'mon, let's go. We don't need this."

"Will anyone ever understand?" she asked sadly before jumping up and taking flight rather quickly, Spyro following her.

"The temple's not too far from here," he called back. "But if you think Cynder's still evil, you might as well turn around." They flew back to the temple and Cynder sighed sadly as she alighted, letting Spyro unlatch the kids and pull the armor off of her. "Hey..." he whispered, sitting down in front of her and running his paw along her cheek. "No matter what others say, you're still you...you're still my black night."

"Everything all right?" Ignitus asked as he walked out onto the balcony.

"We ran across another dragon, he's looking for the temple to escort more kids."

"Then why didn't you..." He stopped as he saw Cynder's depression. "Ah. I'll go get them then." He spread his wings and took off after Spyro pointed out the direction they'd come from. Cynder and Spyro led their kids up the walkway to the dojo, finding Solar and Flare watching as Anya played with Aurora and Colnasis. Inigena was asleep by her mom's side, nestled on Flare's curled tail.

"How'd it go?" Solar asked as they walked in.

"Fairly well, they were happy for us and very excited...Sparx is looking for a girl, if that can be imagined..." Solar and Cynder both laughed to themselves. He turned to Cynder. "Just stay here with the kids, okay? You'll be safe here."

"Something happen?" Flare asked, worried.

Cynder sighed. "We found another dragon, trying to find the temple so he can lead more children here...but it's obvious that I'm still not popular even with all the stuff I've done..."

"That reminds me," Solar said, "Spyro, Kane wants you to meet him at Tall Plains about Cynder's safety."

Spyro looked confused. "That's weird...should I go now?"

"Probably. I'll help look after them."

Spyro looked at Cynder and she smiled sadly at him. "Go. I'll be fine here...I hope..."

He nuzzled her softly. "It'll work out. Don't let the kids see you so upset." With that he took off. Cynder sighed, then smiled and rubbed Kira's belly as the little ice dragonling rolled onto her back. Aleron crawled over and batted at Kira, and the two grappled each other in a playfight.

"Is this normal?" she asked Solar.

"Yeah."

Anya limped up to Cynder and nuzzled her leg. "Is mommy here yet?"

Cynder picked her up and hugged her, trying not to cry. "Not yet, babe, not yet..."