Spyro: BAW Chapter 11

Chapter 11: Suspicion

Zach raised his head to look at the dragon temple floating of in the distance.  It had taken him all day half walking half flying through forests and over mountains to get here.  The sun created a glare off the polished rock, reflecting back into Zach's face and making the temple seem as if it were made out of polished marble.  Zach squinted his eyes to get a better look at what direction he should be going before walking in that general direction.  He let out a heavy sigh as he spread his wings out behind him, not for flight, but more to stretch them out.  His had recovered enough to make a few short flights, but even those lefts him drained and out of breath.  It was probably for the better though, he shouldn't be pushing himself while his chest healed completely.  He would need to be able to fly the short distance to the temple anyway.
But even with the short bursts of flying, the trip back had still been extremely difficult.  It was astonishing that he had made it this far in such a short period of time.  It seemed like it had taken all day for them to fly to Warfang, yet he had made it back in what seemed to be a fraction of that time.  Although, just because he had made it to the temple sooner, didn't mean that his journey had been any easier.  After he had woken up in the forest, drenched in sweat, it took him almost an hour to stumble out of the forest.  Even then he found himself miles from the mountains as well as the city and that added to the miles of plains he would have to cover on the other side of the mountains had meant a long and difficult walk.  Thankfully, the small amount of sleep he got when he was unconscious had healed his wings enough so he could make very short flights.  These were mainly used to get over otherwise unpassable terrain like gorges and small cliffs.  But the short flights seemed to add up over time as strength returned to his wings and he was able to make longer flights.  It all ended up with him reaching what he was calling the silver river valley a few hours before sundown.  The rest of those hours left him trudging though underbrush and jungle again, much like his first journey to the temple, and here he though that he was never going to have to make a trip like that again.
Hr had caught sight of the temple a few minutes ago, but Zach wasn't sure what his step should be. He didn't want to just arrive like he had last time, it might cause more harm than good, but he couldn't just sit out and wait for someone to come by either.  He needed some way to get their attention, and he really couldn't think of a good way to do it.  So for now, he simply continued on his way closer to the temple, hopefully he could come up with something to do before he actually got there.
Why was he doing this anyway?  All because some of vision he had?  Or was it only some deranged dream brought about by exhaustion?  Either way, he was already here, so he might as well ask for help anyway.   There was something about that dream though, something made it seem all to real, and actually, meeting Ignitus might answer some of his questions, some of his most important ones.  But that was only if everything worked out in his favor, and that wasn't very likely.
Zach let out another heavy sigh as he trudged through the forest.  He was a dragon walking through some strange forest towards a floating temple to ask help from a dragon that didn't really trust him based on some dream he had…  this world was messed up.

Spyro woke up in a different place yet again.  The pale brown walls created a warm atmosphere around him as light filtered through a window in near horizontal beams, casting long shadows across the opposite wall.  Spyro stretched out on his bed and rolled onto his back, he wasn't used to waking up in familiar places… how ironic was that…  and actually waking up somewhere he remembered was a feeling he had long forgotten.  He finally felt well rested but he had no idea how long he had been asleep.
Spyro looked to the shadows cast on the wall.  The long shadows cast on the wall meant the sun was very low in the sky, close to sunset.  He must have been asleep for hours.
Spyro rolled back onto his stomach and stood up, stretching out his back and wings as he did so.  There was no way he would be getting any more sleep soon, so it wouldn't hurt for him to take a walk around the temple.  Maybe he could find Cynder or one of the guardians to talk to for a while… well maybe he could find Cynder.
Spyro left his room, heading towards Cynder's room.  Hopefully she was awake by now.  As he walked through the halls, Spyro noticed how much smaller everything seemed to him, it had been three years since he had last spent time here where he wasn't in a rush to do something.  Places that he used to be able to squeeze into now could only fit his tail, and doorways he once ran through he now had to pull in his wings for to keep them from scraping against the wall.  Everything seemed so foreign to him, everything that he had once looked at as commonplace now seemed different, awkward.  He wondered if anything he ever did would seem normal.
As he strolled through the temple, Spyro found himself wandering into the central chamber, where Volteer and Terador were talking.  As he entered the room, both elder dragons stopped their conversation and acknowledged him, though it took Volteer a but longer to do so.
"Good evening Spyro, are you well rested?"
"Yes, thank you Terador."  Spyro nodded in his general direction
"What brings you out and about?"  Volteer asked from the other side of the room
"I'm just out stretching my legs, I can only be stuck in that room for so long you know."  Well it was the half-truth.
"Ah, well carry on then."  Volteer motioned with one of his talons and Spyro continued down a different hallway towards Cynder's room.  As he left Volteer and Terador shared a quick sideways glance at Spyro before resuming their conversation.
Spyro waited until he was out of sight from the guardians before quickening his pace towards Cynder's room.  There were a few things he needed to talk to her about.
Spyro quickly covered the remaining distance to Cynder's room, thankful that neither of the guardians had decided to follow him.  Stopping outside her door, Spyro felt the same anxiety of the night before rise up as he stared at her door.  The same thoughts kept racing through his head.  Would she even want to talk to him?  Sure they had shared some friendly words last night, but now that everything had time to settle in, would Cynder ever forgive him for what he had done.  And even if she had, he was constantly putting her in danger.  Everyone seemed to know that the best way to get to him was to go after someone close to him, and that person always seemed to be Cynder.  What gave him the right to put her in danger, just for his own need for companionship?
But there were other thoughts as well, thoughts that Spyro clung to with every hope that they just might be true.  Thoughts that, if he were right, would make all the difference.  What if Cynder really did like him?  And not just like him, what if she…
Spyro felt his heart flutter as he let his mind relish in the possibilities.  Even if there was only a tiny speck of hope, he would hold onto it.  But that is why her was here, he needed to sort things out, and the only way he could do that was by talking to Cynder.
Spyro paced nervously outside Cynder's room, his talons making sharp clacking sounds as they scraped against the stone floor beneath him.  This wasn't just a stop by Cynder's room to say hello, if he actually went through with it, he would have to tell her…
A shiver ran up his spine as Spyro contemplated exactly what he would tell her.  The thoughts racing through his mind just wouldn't seem to form any actual ideas, instead they crashed against each other, leaving him dazed and confused.  Spyro shook his head to try and focus his thoughts as he built up the courage to knock on the doorframe.
Spyro lifted one of his shaky hands to rake it across the frame, quietly at first, but ending loud enough that she should be able to hear him.  Spyro sat down on his haunches waiting patiently for a reply, but he could hear no sound or movement from inside the room.  One minute passed then two as Spyro sat outside her door waiting for some kind of an answer.  Maybe she didn't want to talk to him.  He could barely stand himself at the moment, so why would Cynder want anything to do with him.
Spyro knocked on the door again, this time more forcefully, and waited for a reply.  But yet another minute passed and he was left siting outside alone.  Spyro let his head droop as all the possibilities ran through his head.  Yet his heart held on to the last hope he still had.  She was probably still asleep in her room; after all he had only woken up minutes ago.
"Cynder, if you're awake, I'm coming in…" Spyro spoke softly through the curtain before standing back and parting it with one of his wings.  Not hearing a rebuke for opening the door, Spyro stuck his head in only to see that Cynder was not in her room at all.
Spyro became panicked as he looked around the room to find no sign of Cynder, but as his initial panic subsided, his rational mind began to take over again.  She had simply woken up earlier than he had and was probably walking around the temple somewhere as well.  Spyro scolded himself for jumping to such irrational conclusions and almost laughed at his situation.  He had just spent minutes as a nervous wreck waiting outside a room with no one inside it to hear him.
Spyro finally did chuckle to himself.  He still needed more rest, a lot more rest.  He could feel the fatigue working its way back into his body, and the absurd ideas he was getting troubled him. If he didn't use his head, he was bound to do something really stupid.
Before he left, Spyro looked around the interior of Cynder's room.  Each of the shelves lining the room had books and scrolls stacked neatly inside them.  Not a book seemed out of place.  Each item in the room seemed to have its proper place, even her bed was organized in a certain fashion.  Spyro looked around in silent wonder, his room wasn't even close to this tidy.  It was a wonder that he hadn't noticed this about her room before, but he hadn't really spent any time in here before.
Spyro strolled over to one of the shelves filled with books.  He was amazed at the sheer number of books on the shelves.  Cynder had managed to obtain quite a collection in the short amount of time she had spent at the temple.  What all did she read in all the time she was here?  Spyro ran his finger down the spines of different books and scrolls reading what titles he could.  Most seemed to be about history, different study materials, books dedicated to different techniques, and other odds and ends.  But as Spyro looked down the rows of books, they changed from information and study books, to adventure stories and romance.  Spyro became uneasy and glanced over his shoulder.  He probably shouldn't be looking around in Cynder's room without her permission, but his curiosity perked when he saw a book different than the rest at the end of the shelf.  Walking over, Spyro pulled the book off the shelf and examined the cover.  It had no title or markings on the cover, it was simply a plain leather bound book.
Curious, Spyro opened the cover of the book, starting to read the first page.  Spyro noted there was a date at the top of the page and the pages were covered with hand written scrawl.  As he read the first few words, Spyro began to realize that it wasn't a normal book or scroll that he held in his hands, but it was a journal, and seeing that he was in Cynder's room, that meant that it was Cynder's journal.
Spyro quickly closed the book before slamming it back into its original position on the shelf, glancing over his shoulder as he did so.  Relieved to see that no one had seen what he had been doing, Spyro quickly moved out of the room, pushing the curtain closed as he left.
His heart beating quickly in his chest, Spyro shook his head.  He was pretty sure what he did classified itself as something really stupid.  Sure he hadn't actually read anything, but if Cynder found out, which she probably would, things would not end well for him.  Spyro took in a deep breath to calm himself, it shouldn't be that big of a deal, right?
Spyro steadied himself and walked off down the hallway, he still wanted to find Cynder.  She had to be somewhere in the temple.  Walking back through the temple, Spyro passed by Volteer and Terador again as he passed though the central chamber.  Once again they stopped their conversation to watch him as he passed through, although this time they didn't say anything to him.  Spyro brushed off their stares and walked back towards his own room, they seemed intent on something and he really didn't want to know what they were talking about.
Walking back the same way he came in earlier, Spyro ended up back in front of his own room.  Checking back inside to make sure Cynder hadn't snuck in while he was away, he noticed how cluttered his room was compared to hers, books lay scattered around the floor along with papers, bedding and other odds and ends.  But in all the clutter, Spyro didn't see any trace of Cynder.
"Ugh... where is she?"  Spyro turned and headed back towards the central chamber yet again, having to pass through it to get to almost every part of the temple.  As he stepped into the chamber for the third time, Volteer and Terador stopped their conversation to stare at him; this time worried looks on their faces.
"Spyro are you ok?  You seem to be restless."  Terador shifted his position so he was facing Spyro.
"I'm fine Terador."  Spyro stopped himself in the center of the room to address the guardians.
"Well is there anything we can help you with?"  Volteer was addressing Spyro though he was facing the opposite direction, obviously distracted by something.
"Actually…" Spyro was a little hesitant to actually tell them what he was doing.  "Do you know where Cynder is?"
Terador and Volteer turned to each other, a smirk on both of their faces.  "I believe that she went out to the balcony not that long ago, but why do you ask Spyro?"
"I just wanted to talk with her…" Spyro let his voice trail off as he started to walk out towards the balcony.
"Alright then…" Terador watched Spyro walk out of the room, snickering once he was out of earshot before turning back to his conversation with Volteer.
Spyro walked quickly down the hallway, anxious to see Cynder again.  However, something stopped him before he went around the corner.  Treading carefully, Spyro stuck his head around the corner to see Cynder siting at the edge of the platform.  She had her tail wrapped around her and was looking off into the distance towards the setting sun.
Spyro padded up quietly to sit beside Cynder, siting in the cool evening air with her.  Her attention seemed to be riveted on something off in the distance, she didn't notice him until he began to talk.
"What are you looking at?"  The conversation felt forced to Spyro, usually he felt no trouble in talking to Cynder, but now it felt awkward to him.
Cynder seemed startled by his voice as she turned to focus on him, "Oh Spyro, I didn't see you.  What are you doing out here?"
"Same thing you are I suppose, I just wanted to get out."  Spyro gave Cynder a smug look, "besides I asked you something first."
Cynder giggled slightly, which caused Spyro to look at her in surprise.  "Nothing in particular, I figured I would wait out here and watch the sun set.  It something I haven't seen in quite a while."
"Really?  Do you mind if I join you then?"
Cynder looked down at how close Spyro was sitting to her.  "Sure, but it looks to me like you already have.  Besides, you don't need to ask permission."  Cynder looked out of the corner of her eye.  He was acting strangely, even for him.
"Right…" Spyro looked out into the distance much like Cynder had been earlier, letting out a jet or stem through his nostrils.  "It feels good to finally have some time to rest… and to not be running around the country for some reason or another."
"Yeah, it felt good to wake up in a familiar place for once,"
Spyro smiled at having Cynder share the feeling.  "Speaking of sleep, I looked for you around the temple, I didn't think you would be up and around yet."
"I can only sleep for so long Spyro."
"Well after what you did, I wouldn't have surprised if you still were."  Spyro turned and smiled slyly at Cynder.
"Well after what you pulled I'm surprised you're even moving."  Cynder turned angrily and poked him in the chest with one or her talons.  "If you ever do anything that stupid again…"
Spyro put his hand on top of Cynder's, slowly pushing it down off his chest.  "I'm sorry Cynder, I didn't mean it like that."
"Yeah, well…" Cynder turned herself away from Spyro, pulling her hand out of his grip.  "Just don't ever pull something like that again."
"Cynder…" Spyro reached up and placed one of his hands one Cynder's shoulders, but she quickly shrugged it off.  "Cynder please…"
"Spyro, I don't think you realize it, but just because you're not saving the world, doesn't mean you aren't important to people.  You're still very important to people."  Cynder kept her back turned to Spyro, hopefully to disguise the cracking in her voice.
"Cynder, I never meant to…"
"Then maybe you should think before you act next time."  Cynder's sharp retort cut Spyro off.
"Cynder…" Spyro reached over with one of his wings and drew Cynder around so she faced him, though she averted her eyes from his own,  "You know as well as I do that I never wanted to hurt you or anyone else.  I can't change what happened, but I can keep it from happening again."  Spyro moved his head so Cynder was forced to look him in the eyes.  "Please… please, forgive me?"
Cynder looked at Spyro for a long minute, indecision in her expression.  "Well…  I suppose."  A slight smile formed on Cynder's face as he moved her head closer and bumped against Spyro's nose with her own.
Spyro's eyes widened and he was force to turn away from her to hide the blood rushing to his face, bringing a slight giggle from Cynder.  After Spyro had calmed himself down, he turned back around to see Cynder staring at him.  "What?"
Cynder only shook her head.  "You're funny Spyro."
"What, why?"  Spyro watched as Cynder shook her head and turned to look out over the valley again.
"Don't worry about it Spyro…" Cynder trailed off as Spyro came up and sat beside her, both looking off into the distance in silence.  Spyro longed for something to say to her, but he couldn't think of anything to say.
As the silence between the two drew out, Spyro shifted uncomfortably, only to feel his tail spade slide across Cynder's.  Spyro froze as he felt a shiver run up his spine, forcing himself to remain perfectly still.  He glanced over at Cynder to see if she had noticed, but she was still looking off in the distance.
Spyro slowly lifted his tail off of Cynder's, cringing at every sound as the hard plates slid against each other.  Spyro set his tail directly behind him, glancing over at Cynder again as he did so.  She was still looking off into the distance, but Spyro noticed there was something strange about her eyes.
Spyro tore his gaze away and looked off towards the sunset with Cynder, it had been too long since he had some time alone with her, and for some reason, this seemed like the way to spend it with her.  Spyro glanced behind him at his tail, it was still siting close to Cynder's, making him slightly uncomfortable.  His head was still bussing from the first time their tails had brushed together, he couldn't quite place what he was feeling.  Spyro shivered as another chill ran down his spine.
"Cold Spyro?"  Cynder had turned to Spyro, a playful look in her eyes.
"N… n… no, I'm fine Cynder" as much as he tired, Spyro couldn't keep himself from stuttering, why was he acting like such an idiot?
Cynder smiled to herself as she caught the slight rise in Spyro's voice.  "Sure you aren't Spyro…" Cynder scooted herself towards Spyro taking up half the space between them.  "But I am..." Cynder only received a blank stare from Spyro.  "Come on I don't bite…   much."  Cynder curled back her lips to show her gleaming white fangs.
Spyro pulled his head back and raised an eyebrow towards Cynder, "umm… ok…" Spyro slowly moved over and placed himself next to Cynder, but left a little space between them, still a little unsure of her intentions.
As soon as Spyro had settled down beside her, Cynder moved herself up against him, pushing her head up underneath his wing and setting it on his shoulder while brushing up against him with the rest of her body.  Spyro was taken aback by Cynder's sudden movements and sat motionless as she rubbed her head against his shoulder.  His wing was still held back behind Cynder from where she had wormed her underneath it and he otherwise tried to keep himself perfectly still.  He could hear his pulse pounding in his ears, and his feet became slick against the stone underneath him.  The closest thing he could relate what he was feeling would be excitement or fear, but it wasn't either of those.
Spyro froze again as Cynder shifted her shoulders and moved her head closer to his.  He could feel the warmth of her body radiate through his scales as they sat there together.  But even with all of the awkwardness generated by the sudden contact, Spyro couldn't help but feel at peace.  There was nowhere else he would rather be than next to Cynder.  As Spyro became more comfortable with Cynder against him, he slowly let his wing drape over her, getting a contented murmur from Cynder.
"I see you two are up and active again."
Cynder quickly remover herself from under Spyro's wing and moved a few feet away from him at the same time that Spyro pulled his wing back against him and looked in the opposite direction of Cynder before turning around to face whoever had come up behind them.
"Er…  Terador…  um…"
"The sunset is beautiful, isn't it."  Terador looked Spyro in the eyes, mischief in his expression.
"Yes it is Terador, but that cant be the only thing that brought you out here."  Cynder came into the conversation, hopping to steer the conversation in a different direction.
"Actually I was looking for you two."  Terador shifted his gaze over to Cynder, who looked away.  "Neither of you were in your rooms, so I was looking around the temple to find where you had went.  You weren't planing on going anywhere now were you?"
"No Terador, we were just getting some fresh air.  Its kind of stuffy in the temple."  Spyro walked over and sat next to Cynder again, both of them facing Terador.
"Ah, I see.  Well don't stay out here too long, I don't want either of you getting too cold."  Terador gave them both a toothy grin before turning and walking back into the temple.
Spyro watched silently as he left, something about Terador's words made him wonder how long he had been behind them before he had said anything.
Cynder let out a heavy sigh before turning and waking back to the edge of the platform, once again looking off towards the slowly setting sun.  Spyro hung back a moment, looking at Cynder silhouetted against the orange tinted sun behind her.  He black scales contrasted perfectly against the color of the sun, while her partially splayed wings took on an orange hue.  Spyro couldn't think of anything else but the dragoness before him.
After snapping himself out of his trance, Spyro walked up to Cynder and sat down beside her.  She was still looking off into the distance, much like she had been earlier, though something about her had changed.  "Lost in thought?"
"Hmm?"  Cynder looked back towards Spyro.
Spyro gave a slight chuckle before repeating himself.  "I asked what you were thinking about."
"Oh it's nothing…" Cynder turned her head away from Spyro as he thought he saw a tear in her eye.
"I don't think its nothing Cynder.  Do you want to talk about it?"  Spyro reached out and gently turned Cynder towards him with one of his wings.
Spyro could see a tear tracing its way down one of her cheeks, but she quickly wiped it away.  "Hmm…  I guess I'm that easy to read huh."
"I've spent too much time with you to not know when something is bothering you," Spyro nudged Cynder with his shoulder, causing her to sway and laugh slightly, "so do you want to talk about it?"
"No… not right now, maybe some other time."  Her smile faded as the solemn tone returned to her voice. Spyro couldn't help but share her pain, he had a good idea of what she was thinking about, but he couldn't think of anything to say.  It bothered him, though, that she didn't want to share her problems with him.  He understood that some things were private, but she hardly kept anything from him.  "Just remember Cynder, I'm always here if you need someone to talk to."
Cynder could only stare back Spyro as the words swam around in her head, it was only a few days ago that she had said the same words to him.
Cynder slowly reached over and set her head on Spyro's shoulder, only to feel his wing wrap around her again.  Smiling inwardly, Cynder relished in the feeling, but there was one thing holding her back, what if he was only comforting her as a friend?  Sure she would be grateful even then, but she wanted it to be more than that.
Cynder ignored her doubts to relax in the moment at hand, letting her gaze drift off towards the distant setting sun, now starting to drop below the horizon.  As she stared, something caught her eye.  Thinking it was a spot from the sun, she blinked a few times trying to clear it from her vision, but after she focused again, the speck off in the distance was still there, and it was moving.
"Spyro, do you see that?  Over there in the distance?"  Cynder pointed with one of her talons, worry in her voice.
Spyro looked down her arm to see a smaller dragon flying circles in the air, not to far from the temple.  "You don't think that is…"
"…Zach?  I wouldn't doubt it.  What do you think he's doing?"  Cynder looked of towards the dragon again.  "It looks like he's waiting for something."
"Yeah one of us…" pulling his wing back from around Cynder, Spyro tuned back towards the temple and called out for Terador, after a few moments, the earth dragon reappeared out on the platform.
"What is it Spyro."  Terador looked down at the two dragons before him.
"Out there, flying circles in the distance, he has been doing it ever since we saw him.  We can't quite tell who it is, but we both think it might be Zach."
"Ah I see…" Terador looked off in the direction that Spyro was pointing and quickly found what they were talking about.  "And he's been flying circles since you fist saw him?"
"Yes, it's like he's waiting for something."
"Hmm… well I guess I should go see what he wants then.  You two stay here."  Terador spread his wings to take off, but Spyro stopped him.
"Terador, what if he's waiting to go after someone again?"
"Relax Spyro, I understand your apprehension about Zach, but I do not think we have anything to fear from him at the moment."  Terador looked off towards the other dragon again,  "besides, we don't even know if that is Zach for sure."
"It still doesn't feel right."  Spyro shook his head.
"Don't worry about it, besides, I always have you two if I need you right?"
"Right" Spyro and Cynder replied in unison, though Spyro was less enthusiastic
Terador nodded and finally took off from the temple, heading straight for the dragon in the distance, leaving Spyro and Cynder to watch with anticipation as to what might happen.

Zach's wings burned from the constant exertion he was forcing them through.  Fire ran across his chest though the scar that had not completely healed over yet.  This was a stupid idea, he could barely see the temple from where he was flying in circles so it was doubtful that they could see him.  All this flying was doing was tiring him out.
Zach completed his circle in the air once more, pumping his wings to bring him higher again.  He should probably give up while he had enough energy to keep himself awake.  There was no sense in him coming so far so fast if he was only going to sleep just outside the temple.
Well, there was no guarantee that he would be sleeping in the temple at all.  They would most likely still have their suspicions about him and why he left, so who knows whether they would accept him or send him away, and that was only if they saw him.
Zach glanced back towards the temple, expecting not to see anything, but to his surprise, one of the guardians seemed to be heading towards him.  Realizing that he had been seen and his goal was accomplished, Zach's wings began to feel heavy and beat with a slower rhythm.  Zach forced himself into a hover, facing the approaching dragon, hopefully signaling his acknowledgement before letting his wings fall and slowly gliding down to the ground below.
Zach tripped and stumbled as he touched down, a combination of his weariness and lack of experience, but kept himself from falling.  Zach walked over to the shade of a nearby tree and lay down, his wings burning from their overexertion.
It didn't take long before a large shadow ran across the clearing.  Zach looked up through the tress to see Terador hovering just above the clearing.  Terador pumped his wings a few times, slowly dropping himself down to the ground, ending up facing away from Zach.
"Terador!"  Zach raised one of his wings so Terador would notice, but immediately regretted it as his muscles felt the strain.  Thankfully, Terador noticed and walked over towards Zach, stopping a few feet away.
"Zach, we had our suspicions that it might be you out here."  Terador looked warily around the clearing.  "You are alone aren't you?"
Zach cast a wary look at Terador, "to my knowledge I am."
"Well I guess I will have to take you word on that for now."  Terador careful set himself down in the grass of the clearing, staring at Zach.  "So Zach, you seem to want something, otherwise you would not have run away and come back, so why don't you start with why you ran out on us again, and we can go from there."
"I just didn't want to cause any more trouble, but it turns out that I can't really seem to get out of your way."  Zach almost laughed.
"You're not making any sense Zach.  It sounded like you were ready to leave this behind you.  What made you come back?"
"Not what, who."  Zach glanced back into the forest before looking up at the temple.  "I'm here to ask for Spyro's help."
"Then why didn't you just ask for his help, why did you leave?"
"Because I didn't know he could help me, it was only after I left that I talked to Ignitus and he…."
"Wait…" Terador looked closely at Zach, his body unnaturally still as his mouth formed the words.  "Did you just say Ignitus?  Zach, he's dead.  He died weeks ago to save Spyro and Cynder.  I don't know who you talked to, but it wasn't Ignitus."
Zach lowered his head; he hadn't known that.  "Well, I didn't actually see him…" Zach raised his hand and scratched the back of his head in anxiety, "it was more of a dream…" Zach looked up at Terador again to see him scrutinizing him.  "Never mind, it was probably just some fluke, I don't know why I even bothered coming."  Zach stood up and started walking away from Terador, there was no reason for him to be here anymore, he could see talking to Terador wasn't going to get him anywhere.
"Zach wait."  Zach stopped walking and turned back to face Terador.  "Where did you see him."
"I told you it was a dream…  I think…" Zach turned and walked back towards the forest.  "It doesn't mater anyway, it was just a dream."
Terador launched himself from where he was siting and flew in front of Zach, stopping him in his tracks.  "Zach, dreams often mean more than you would think.  I want you to tell me where you saw him… in your dream."
"Ehh… it was a library of some kind… but it was strange, Ignitus wasn't read, he was gray."
Terador sat down on his haunches, "I don't believe it, what you just described, it would mean…" Terador trailed off, his jaw going slack before a slight smile appeared on his face.  "Ignitus, old friend, I couldn't think of anyone better."
"What, so I'm not going insane?"
"Don't worry about it Zach."  Terador settled down in front of Zach again.  "Now what did he ask you to do?  Why are you here?"
"I'm actually here for Spyro, apparently he is one of the one of the only people who can get to Ignitus, and he wants some kind of face to face meeting with me…" Zach looked at Terador to see if he still believed him, he seemed unscathed.  "But he didn't say why, we couldn't talk for very long."
Terador remained silent for a long moment, simply looking at Zach out of the corner of his eye.  Zach was beginning to get worried and was twitching with anticipation by the time Terador spoke up again.  "You are just about as strange as Spyro… but for some reason I am inclined to believe you."
A small grin broke thought Zach's worried expression, he may not have accomplished much, but at least it was a step in the right direction.  That and he wasn't completely insane.
"However, just because I believe you, doesn't mean that Spyro will believe you, and it doesn't mean we will be able to help you right away."
"That's not a big problem.  I'm not in any rush, I really don't have anywhere to go."
Terador sat back on  his haunches, covering Zach with one of his wings. "Then you must stay with us, I think some of the others might want to keep an eye on you till then, and you do have some other things to explain."
Zach hadn't meant to impose himself, but then again, he really didn't have anywhere to go.  Staying at the temple might give him some sense of safety to sleep at night.  "I understand.  And thank you for the offer, I know your kind of taking a risk."
"There is one thing though, you cannot mention any of this to Spyro or Cynder.  They took Ignitus' death hard, and I don't want them jumping at a chance to see him in their worn out state.  Its not that I want to keep this from them, but I don't want to take any chances."
"I understand, but you know Spyro might not be too happy to have me around without knowing why I'm there."  Zach drew circles in the ground at his feet with one of his talons.
Terador nodded, "yes I know, you should probably follow me back to the temple now tether than later, you showing up by yourself will cause trouble.  I can explain it to him the best I can.  Are you ready to go?"
Zach slowly stretched out his wings, feeling his muscles cry out at the exertion.  He wouldn't be flying for quite a while after this.  Terador nodded to him again before launching himself off the ground and flying circles in the air.  Zach quickly followed, though it felt like his wings could fall off at any minute.  Slowly, Terador banked around towards the temple and led Zach to the next step of his journey.

Spyro became restless as Zach and Terador approached the balcony.  He didn't understand Zach at all.  First he helps them, then he tries to kill them, then saves their lives, then runs away, and then comes back. He was nervous of what Zach's next actions could be.
"Relax Spyro, if Terador trusts him enough to bring him back to the temple then I'm sure you can trust him not to try anything."
"Its not that I think he's going to try anything, but just the events surrounding him, I just don't know if I can trust what he says or not."
"Well how about we find out what they he wants first, it cant be that bad."
I don't know Cynder, what else would make him come back to the temple after leaving?"
"Here they come, let's find out."
Zach and Terador landed on the platform, Terador placing himself in front of Zach as a reassuring measure.  Cynder walked over to greet them.  "Hey Zach, glad to see you're ok."
Zach kept his head tilted towards the ground to avoid eye contact.  "Hey Cynder, Spyro…"
"You mind telling me why you're here Zach?"  Spyro was careful to disguise his voice, but Zach knew there would be hostility between the two.
Zach looked up at Terador who shook his head.  "I can't say, not yet."
"And why is that?"  Spyro's harsh retort startled the other dragons on the platform.
"Hey talk to him," Zach pointed a finger at Terador, "he's the one that doesn't want me telling you."
"Terador?"  Spyro looked up at him with his head tilted to the side; he usually didn't keep things from him.
"Relax Spyro, it is not a dire need so it can wait for you two to recover.  I will tell you what he is here for when I am satisfied that you are both well enough to be out again."
Spyro nodded his head but was far from satisfied.  He couldn't help but wonder what they were not telling him.  If Terador wouldn't tell him because he was worried he would jump after it, that meant it held some importance for him as well.  But what could Zach want that he wanted to be a part of?  Right now he didn't want to be near Zach; he hadn't exactly gained any trust yet.
"Well I must go and talk to Volteer, if all goes well, Zach will be staying here at the temple for a while until we can reach a decision."
Spyro's claws ground into the stone beneath him at the prospect of having to be around Zach for too long.  But then again, it might provide some answers for some of the more difficult questions he had.
The three dragons watched as Terador walked into the temple, leaving them alone on the platform.  As soon as he was gone Cynder reached over and smacked Zach in the back of his head.
"Hey, what was that for."
"For being such an idiot!  Didn't you learn anything from running around the countryside?"
Zach looked to Spyro for some kind of help, but he only stood there laughing.  "Umm… maybe?"
"What did you think was going to happen when you ran off?"  Cynder got right up in Zach's face, her wings flaring out behind her.
"I just didn't want to cause any more trouble…"
"Yeah well you can see how well that worked."  Cynder reached over and smacked Zach again, this time harder, causing Spyro to tumble into another fit of laughter.  Unfortunately for him, this caught Cynder's attention.  "And you…" Cynder walked over to look Spyro in the eyes.  "Don't think you're getting off easy, you're responsible for this too."  Cynder reached around with her tail and whipped it across Spyro's nose.
"Ow" Spyro reached up and rubbed his nose while Zach tried to stifle his laughter.
"I swear between you two idiots, its amazing we're all still alive."
"Now Cynder don't you think you're exaggerating just a little bit?"  Zach moved over alongside Spyro and Cynder.
"No, I don't.  Look at yourself Zach," Cynder pointed to the scar running across Zach's chest.  "I don't think that it's just a small scratch.  And look at Spyro, his wings aren't even close to healed yet."
Zach and Spyro both shrank back, realizing how serious she was.  "Hey Cynder, relax…" Zach was trying to calm her down, but it was doing quite the opposite.
"I'll relax when I'm sure you two idiots won't do anything else ridiculously stupid.  Now come on, the guardians are probably waiting for us." With that, Cynder huffed off into the temple, leaving Zach and Spyro alone on the platform, both in a bit of a stupor.
"Somebody is in the doghouse now."  Zach was the first to talk, chuckling a little bit as he walked after Cynder.
"Hey!  What do you mean by that?"  Spyro moved after Zach, quickly catching up to him before they were in the temple.
"Don't worry Spyro, I'm sure she still loves you."  Zach kept walking only to leave Spyro stunned and stammering behind him.
"I…  I… what do you mean?"
"Oh come on Spyro, really?  You know exactly what I mean."  Zach beckoned Spyro to continue walking with him.  "Now get a hold of yourself before we get there, you're stammering like an idiot."
"Hey!"  Spyro quickly caught back up to Zach.
"Well you are."  Zach said this in a matter of fact tone as they enter the central chamber where Terador, Volteer and Cynder were waiting for them.  Terador and Volteer seemed caught up in their own conversation, most likely about what to do with Zach.  Cynder stood close to Terador, looking at Zach and Spyro with only a hint of the frustration she had shown earlier.  Spyro cleared his throat and caught the attention of everyone in the room.
The guardians looked first to Spyro, then Zach before addressing them.  "Well Zach, you always seem to be able to surprise us, and you always seem to have some kind of trouble following you around.  You have left us with an interesting dilemma.  You see, you have come to us seeking aid, which is our duty to give, however, the nature of you request is… odd… to say the least, and your actions in the past have given us reason to doubt your intentions."  Spyro, Cynder, and Zach all shifted uncomfortably as the last few days replayed in their minds.  "So in light of your current situation, and due to some circumstances surrounding your request, we have decided that it would be best if you spent some time at the temple while we carefully consider complying with your request."
Zach simply nodded, "I understand and appreciate your help."  The conversation left a strange taste in his mouth, it seemed too… diplomatic.  He could, however, see the logic behind their decisions.  He probably wouldn't have trusted himself that much if he were in their position.  At least he was getting somewhere.
"Good.  Unfortunately we cannot do anything else for you at the moment because we must wait for Cyril to come back to reach a decision.  Until then, you will stay in or around the temple.  Seeing as it is getting late again, we will show you to a room.  You can rest there until morning, now follow me."
Terador walked down one of the hallways towards Spyro's room, quickly followed by Zach.  Cynder followed slowly behind them and Spyro quickly caught up to her.
"That was fast.  What were they talking about before we showed up, could you catch what Zach's request was?"  Spyro was still tormented about not knowing why Zach had showed up again.
"No, as soon as I walked in, they started being incredibly vague.  Whatever he wants, they don't want us to know about it."  Cynder was just as curious as Spyro as to why Zach had run away and then suddenly shown up again, but she was less paranoid as to his intentions.
"That just makes me more uneasy."  Spyro shook his head as he walked down the hallway.
"why do you distrust him so much?"
"Spyro relax.  I know you have reasons to not trust Zach, but you have just as many reasons to trust him.  He may not be the first person you would pick to be staying at the temple, but he's definitely not the worst person.  Give him a second chance Spyro, I'm sure you won't regret it."  Cynder was beginning to become frustrated with Spyro's constant suspicion.  It had saved their lives on countless occasions, but she didn't think that Zach was a threat.
"Fine, but if anything happens…" Spyro stared hard back at Cynder.
"I know, I know, you told us so."  Cynder rolled her eyes as she continued down the hall, approaching Zach and Terador who had stopped outside one of the rooms.  "Besides, I'm sure you and I could take Zach easy if he were to try anything."
"Ah Spyro, Cynder, would you mind making Zach comfortable, I need to go take care of something quickly."  Without waiting for a response, Terador left them and walked away, leaving the three younger dragons to themselves.
Zach was the first one to speak up again.  "Before this gets out of hand, I just want to say that I want to tell you why I'm here, but I can't.  I understand why the guardians don't want me to tell you, and it makes sense, but they're just looking out for you two.  Don't worry about it though, I can wait.  And as soon as I can tell you what's going on, the sooner you can decide, and the sooner I can get out of your way."
"Wait you said the sooner we could decide.  What does you being here have to do with us?"
"Well actually just you Spyro, and I can't tell you, not yet anyway.  I want to but…" Zach stopped as Terador cam around the corner, cutting their conversation short.
"Hmm.  What are you still doing out here, come on now."  Terador walked into the room closely followed by the younger dragons.  "Its not much, but it should be adequate, I'm not sure what your used to at home but, this should be fairly close."
Zach winced at the mention of home, yet no one else seemed to notice.  Terador went rambling on about different things in the room that Zach could care less about.  It had a bed, and that was all that that he really cared about right now.  Zach glanced over at Spyro and Cynder who seemed just as uninterested in Terador talking as he was.  Both of them gave a slight nod of acknowledgement when he made eye contact.
"I think that covers everything… is there anything else that I can get for you?"
"Actually, do you have anything I could eat, I haven't eaten in days."
The other dragons all shot Zach strange looks, what kind of a person doesn't eat for days?
"Yes, sure, Volteer brought in a catch earlier today.  It was for Spyro and Cynder when they woke up, but I'm sure there's enough for all of you.  Unfortunately we haven't had time to prepare any of it."
"Yeah speaking of food, I'm hungry."  Cynder perked up from the other side of the room and Spyro was quick to follow suit.
"Alright, wait here and I'll be back soon."  Terador left the room and came back less than a minute later carrying a large dead deer in his mouth, dropping it on the floor as he came in, then leaving the room.  Spyro and Cynder immediately went after the carcass, taking off large chunks to eat.  Zach, however, held himself back, a look of disgust on his face.  Spyro and Cynder took a few more mouthfuls of meat before noticing that Zach wasn't eating.
"Hey, I thought you said you were hungry."  Spyro looked up from where he was eating and stared at Zach.
"I am… its just…" Zach's voice faded away to almost a whisper, "I can't eat raw meat…"
Spyro gave Zach a surprised look before calming his expression.  "Oh, I'm sorry, we usually do something to cook the meat, but we were kind of hungry.  Here…" Spyro released a wave of fire over the carcass of the deer, searing off most of the skin and instantly cooking, if not burning, the meat.  Spyro ended the stream in a fit of coughing, getting a concerned look from Cynder.  "I'm ok, just a little tired."
"Thanks Spyro."  Zach reached over and tore off a chunk of meat with his mouth, bringing it back to his own corner to eat.  He couldn't help but feel feral in how he was eating, just ripping the meat and skin off bone, but the rest of his body didn't care, it had been quite some time since he had been able to find and stomach food.
When they were finished, Terador came back and took the remains of the deer out of the room, forcing Zach to avert his eyes from fear of losing his meal.  Hopefully he could get used to eating like this or he didn't have to eat often, otherwise he might not be able to stomach his food.
Spyro and Cynder remained in his room after Terador had left both lying on their stomachs in a contented manor.
"Spyro, you left some of you food on your face."  Cynder reached over giggling and licked off a piece of meat that was hanging off Spyro's maw.
Spyro blushed before reaching back licked the side of her face as well, causing her to laugh slightly.
"Ok, if you two love birds are going to make out, please go in the other room."  Zach spoke up for the other side of the room, shielding his eyes with one of his wings.  
"We were not…" Spyro stopped mid sentence, looking at Cynder out of the corner of his eyes who had turned away from him.
"Sure you weren't, but if your going to do something, do it somewhere else, like your own rooms."  Zach comment brought a burst of laughter from Cynder while Spyro's own face turned red.
"Hey…  I…" Spyro stammered trying to come up with the words to defend himself.
"What are you two still doing in here?"  Terador walked back in the room staring at Spyro and Cynder.  
"You should be in your own rooms getting sleep.  And you should get some sleep as well Zach, your testing will start early tomorrow morning."  Terador looked at Zach with a slight grin on his face while Spyro and Cynder chuckled to each other.
"Testing?  What testing?"  Zach was confused by the sudden change of his plans, and was a little scared by the fact that Spyro and Cynder where chuckling.
"I want to see what you are capable of Zach, we have not seen anything like some of the powers you have exhibited and we would like to learn more.  Besides if we do eventually agree to what you have proposed, we need to know what kind of self-preservation skills you posses.  Malefore may be gone from this world, but there are still some evils out in the world you need to be able to defend yourself from, you of all people should know that."
"Yeah a little too well."  Zach's teeth ground together as the memories flooded into his mind.
"Good, we'll start bright and early then, I will have someone come and get you when we are ready."  With that, Terador left the room, quickly followed by both Spyro and Cynder.
"Good luck with that Zach…" Spyro called as he left the room.  He had been through the guardians training once, and he didn't ever want to go through it again.  It might be fun watching what Zach was capable of.