FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter 12

He needed a drink, opening up and dealing with that toxic aura of this ungrateful little shit he calls a niece left him always weakened. It was almost like being slowly devoured by poison, willingly swallowed from the well you knew was rotten.

The numbing filling of being completely wasted, severed from every important nerve was both annoying and welcoming.

Not giving a crap about absolutely everything was a nice change of pace, even if not tolerable in the long run for someone like him, someone who likes to have control. Letting the threads slip is one thing, allowing them to flutter on their own is another and he wasn't a big fan of the latter.

This is why people in all their majestic intelligence invented wine, the necessary, delicious kick in the ass that always throws him back on the right track. Finding the necessary motivation to grab the lines of Fate, like reins and stir that carriage wherever he wants.

Wine had also one magical and ironic trait, in bigger amounts it was poison itself. He adorned that quality, in fact this is what fueled his craving for this drink in the first place.

That fucking void sucking at his guts, only wine seemed to kill it, even if temporarily. He got used to it bugging him in the night or morning, yet he never declined wine's sweet help whenever a glass was at paw's reach. The void becomes insufferable only on specific occasions, during those moments he feels like he is breaking apart, in those situations there was no better binder, but wine.

Lots and lots of wine.

Not to mention the sharp, annoying headaches, like the one he was going through right now. Those could be battled either with time or his favorite medicine, it goes without saying which method he preferred.

Those headaches were not normal, they were extremely painful, sending pulses of agony throughout his whole body, threatening to rip apart his heart and soul. How strong he dreamed to be finally free from them is impossible to describe with mere words.

His head hurt more often than usually, it was all because of poor, poor Iris. Cleaning after her, mess after mess, where the next is more despicable than the last one, took a toll on him, sipping from his once high endurance. Looking at the girl now was both painful and disgusting, such a horrid beast she is.

Whenever headache struck he kept asking himself one question, over and over again.

What did you do?

Whenever he looked at Iris, his head was filled always with one, agonizing query.

Did that monster devoured my lovely niece already?

He always forced the desired answer on himself, yet he dreamed of the moment where such doubt would cease to exist.

Things would become so much simpler then.

Headaches would be gone also.

He groaned, sweeping the mug from the table and emptied the contents in a single swallow. It's not how you should drink wine, but with his brain cracking like rock under constant strikes of a pick, he couldn't care less about social standards.

"Another bottle sir?"

Ignus raised his gaze, spotting a young, smiling cheetah. The serving boy had a cloth flung across his left shoulder, hands modestly folded behind his back.

The fire drake chuckled bitterly.

"I would gladly accept your kind offer, but unfortunately I have nothing on me I could pay you with. One bottle I could probably pay off with my charisma, two however, without having long eyelashes to bat with, would be very much impossible"

The young cheetah stared at him, big, rather dorky eyes betraying his simplicity and barely ignited spark of wit. Even before the kid opened his mouth, it was clear for him that the feline understood only a small portion of his reply.

"Pay?" the gears in the boy's brain started to turn "According to the customs of Warfang, dragons aren't to be charged for drinks or food"

Ignus' tail perked up with interest.

"Is that so?"

The cheetah nodded eagerly.

"This is a common misunderstanding, especially for new arrivals to our fair city"

"Isn't it a bit unfair towards other races?"

The boy shrugged.

"I don't complain. After everything your kind did for this world it's only fair that dragons gain some neat bonuses. Besides, icons of the divine shouldn't be tolled with the burdens of the mundane, as the Seeker says"

There was no more point in digging into this topic further, false modesty and interest was already checked out from the list by his previous question. Now all that remained was to reap the fruits of the well-deserved respect that someone like him should always be surrounded by.

Ignus smiled politely.

"In that case I would like another bottle please"

"Coming right up!" the young boy replied with enthusiasm, sweeping the empty mug and bottle from the table

He straightened up with a content sigh, headache and the emptiness consuming him took a nap it seems, being reminded of his stature and being treated as such, has its own medical properties.

He looked around the establishment he found himself in, the interior was filled with familiar scents of cooked food and alcohol, only those that cared about such trivial things as the menu would notice that there is nothing familiar about the smells, they completely differed from the scents in his time.

What really made this place look like foreign land was the sound, or basically lack of any. This drinking house, inn, or a tavern, how people used to call such places in his time, was quiet. The place wasn't empty, far from it, it was nearly full and yet the sound of conversation never escalated beyond the distant noise of a hammer smashing a nail into a board.

Conversations here were toned down and polite, far more tolerable than the nearly brain squeezing commotion of a human tavern.

Besides that, everything was nearly the same. Same dim-lit interior, providing same shreds of privacy, same neatly arranged décor, with walls made of stone, combined with dark wood for better look. Same tables, same chairs, same paintings and all other sorts of miscellaneous decorating ornaments.

A trained, feminine eye, like the cold white one of his niece would recognize the subtle differences. He however did not, all was exactly the same way like in any other tavern, in whatever timeline.

He didn't care about crap like that.

Yet his warriors instinct had a knack for sensing suspicious and odd things, especially when it came to people. From what he could see, three people seemed out of place here.

Surprisingly the cheetah bartender belonged to the group of weirdos. The other two members were sitting at the table in the corner. Moles.

They looked like they were under the influence of some drugs, drunk, or otherwise unplugged from the natural neuron connections. They were swaying slightly, their eyes fixed on a single point somewhere in the distance.

The bartender managed to spring up from his trance whenever he was approached by a patron or whoever else. He was definitely not drunk, after every interruption he functioned normally. Signs of his peculiar decadence were still there, but they were nothing more now than just simple distraction whenever the brain wants to think about too many things at the same time.

He would blame it on his imagination, scold his instinct, he would do that, if not for the pair of moles in the corner. If his eyes could pierce the faint darkness he had a crazy feeling that he would spot mounds of earth stuck to their dirty coats. He would notice white, milky eyes and smell the stench of decay.

To him, the moles seemed like corpses that crawled out of their graves.

Thud!

Ignus blinked, jerking his head back, red eyes landed on a new brown bottle of wine that just landed on his table. A quieter thud followed soon after when a mug joined the bottle.

There was a pop and the cork was removed. He instinctively took a deep whiff, nostrils were instantly invaded with the sweet scent of wine.

Undead, instincts and suspicions mattered no longer.

Ignus smiled kindly.

"Thank you"

The cheetah boy bowed politely and carried on with his duties.

He gave the inn another look over before filling his mug again. He was the only dragon here as far as he could tell. This was good, it showed that the dragons of this time have enough pride and self-respect to not throw themselves at the prospect of free meal like a pack of hungry hyenas.

This were very good news.

He poured himself a mug full of wine.

It was again time to sweeten the pain.

*

To think that he would ever want to get back to that black freak was preposterous and yet there it was, he wanted to leave this mess behind and carry on with his task, duty always took all of his concentration, put shackles on the mind, didn't allow it to wander off.

He would have already been there if not for the detour. Sweet, sweet detour that alleviated the pain.

It didn't however lifted the burden of cleaning the wound on his good name.

On his way back with the intention to locate Volteer he delicately growled under his breath. The time was approaching for more groveling, pleading, scolding, preventing and repairing. How he despised this, to be reduced to something like this, unthinkable.

If everything went as it supposed to go he would never have to intervene, but it can't be that simple of course. Now he has to set things right, torment and ruin the dreams of a poor, young fool.

She never learns.

Aside from its benefits her thickheadness has also one huge disadvantage, it makes his work so much more unbearable. Something that should go smooth and according to his presumptions becomes a complete chaos. Things like this happened more than once already, more than once he wanted to throw all of this to shit and let things develop on their own.

So much trouble. Always so much trouble.

Luckily Iris landed in some manner of correction ground. If the legends are true, there was no reason to suspect otherwise, Iris will have a hard time forcing her charming personality onto the purple dragon. It would be good if Spyro pummeled some sense into her, literally. It would be better if all of them did, preferably at the same time, after all, her relationship with other members of that little group is far from friendly.

He shook his head so fiercely that the corners of his eyes left nearly transparent red smudges as they moved from side to side.

No need to call back pain again. Let it dwell in the sweet, numbing oblivion.

Being intoxicated has its perks, one of them was the instinctive pathfinding of a cat. Accurately finding the right way to the destination, but not exactly aware how.

And so he found his way to the City Hall's library where the sophisticated and heavy scent of vellum filled the entire interior. One whiff was enough to sober him up a little, due to being reminded of his social status than actual respect for knowledge.

Where there were books, there was royalty.

He walked around the carpeted floor, sinking his claws sensually into the soft strands as if they were petals of a patch of flowers.

This was his domain, this is what he fights for.

Prestige.

He sighed longingly, wondering when was the last time he felt a carpet below his paws.

The thoughts were discarded the moment he heard the noise of chatter coming from up ahead. Maneuvering through the bookcases, the occasional wooden column or whatever other piece of decoration, he finally found his way to some glass door.

They were opened.

The sound of chatter intensified, obviously coming from the inside, shadows slid across wall and floor. Both made of marble instead of wood.

"Amela will kill me if she finds out" he heard a feminine voice as he got closer

"In the scale of issued authoritatively stations I retain the position of a Guardian" the other voice, explained, voice undoubtedly belonging to no one else but Volteer

"Your unrestraint from the occurrence of hazard or portentous chance and grievance is assured"

The female chuckled bitterly.

"Not much will your protection help me when the word spreads out that I treated the fire boy in secret. One day I might accidentally mix my medicine"

Several quick claps were heard.

"There" the female stated proudly "As good as new" ruffle of material "I know that that the boy would freak out the hospital, he returns there as often as a bee to a batch of flowers, but these were some serious wounds. Next time I'm calling in the cavalry"

"I am most deeply beholden of the received magnanimity. Thank you for your abetment"

Sounds of footsteps echoed all around the place.

"The sedative will wear off in about twenty minutes. You better have a water tank around here somewhere, just in case that after everything he still decides to make a steak out of you"

"Your matter that impinges my welfare is appreciated"

Shadows moved and disappeared from his sight, the sound of footsteps drew closer.

He instinctively jumped back, away from the door, dropping the expression of an overcurious eavesdropper, putting up the mask of an oblivious passerby who didn't care about anything, but the goal in his mind.

His eyes widened the moment Volteer and an old cheetah appeared in the doorstep. He gasped faintly, as if he never expected them to show up there.

"Ignus!" Volteer exclaimed happily shocked

He and his companion were genuinely surprised however.

Ignus smiled friendly.

"Volteer" he bowed respectfully "Miss" he repeated the gesture

The feline waved her hand dismissively, there was barely any fur left on it. It was mostly withered skin and bones.

"I'm too old for pleasantries. I'm going back, I prefer to keep the few years of life I have left"

Both dragons watched the cheetah hobble away in respectful silence.

"I hope I didn't interrupt anything" the red drake stated apologetically the moment he turned his attention at the Guardian

"Absolutely not!" Volteer moved out of the way, pointing at the opened door with his paw "I eminently regard, beyond standards of exemplification or judgment, every retinue"

With a grateful smile he stepped into the room, taking a good look around for merely polite reasons. His eyes scanned the room, it was surrounded with shelves filled with all different kinds of flasks and bottles. They were bursting with all sort of stuff, like pieces of some rocks, fluids, even body parts from some bugs.

There were also some smaller cabinets all around the place, full with probably every combination of tools. Hammers, chisels, some smaller varieties of a pickaxe and many, many more he didn't know a name for or simply didn't care. Among them he also spotted some measurement tools, his eyes didn't even bother to focus on them for more than three seconds.

Shelves were mounted near the ceiling, thick books occupied them, nearly reverently placed one against the other. To pick one of them an adult dragon would have to raise on his hind legs and bow his head to avoid thrusting his horns through the ceiling.

It looked like you had to humble yourself before the books, as if they were some godlike creation, pouting their thick covers, presenting themselves to anyone who have the courage to look up.

He spotted an uninteresting desk, piles of papers were stocked on it. At the front was placed a row of quills and inks, their feathery tops at the ready like greatswords of preparing to charge warriors.

There was also a some kind of workstation in the corner, the most dirtiest of all the furniture and décor. Chipped pieces of some kind of crystals, bits of scales and other whatnot littered that particular corner. It looked like work started here one day and never ended.

The room was nicely lit, braziers were surrounded by some glass, or focusing crystals, he wasn't sure. All he knew that it made the fire envelop larger distances and focus it if necessary to make the light even more potent. The workstation he noticed earlier was lit in such a way, as well as was the thing that interested him the most.

There was a bed at the far end of the room, judging from the syringes and other less pleasant medical stuff lying around, the bed only rarely served for resting purposes. His red eyes remained on that particular spot for a longer while.

All because the fire dragon that he was looking for was currently lying in that very bed. Sleeping on his right side, front paws dangling from the edge. He was tucked halfway under brown sheets.

Ignus began nodding approvingly.

"Very impressive place. Workshop of a true inventor"

Volteer beamed with happiness.

"Thank you, however designating me for such an exceeding bourgeois degree standing in society is gratuitous. I am not the one who cogitates about unaccustomed processes. Systematic recognition of the physical or corporeal world yield through ascertainment and experimentation is my avocation pursued for titillation and relaxation"

Ignus' eyes remained stuck on the boy.

"Hobby that escalates beyond the typical hammer and nail I see"

The thrilled expression on the Guardian's snout dimmed considerably. He looked at the sprawled body of the young dragon and his eyes covered a veil of heartbreaking sadness. Eyes of someone who watches the wagging tail and apologetic eyes of his loved dog as it is put down to its final rest.

Silence was never something that bothered the fire dragon, but here, in this room and in this company it was as uneasy as the rumbling of war drums.

He looked behind his shoulder, the snout he noticed there was all too familiar. It was the expression of someone who went against his own moral code for the first time, of someone who looks at his shaking paws, watching in horror the blood dripping from them after his first kill.

He felt sympathy for the Guardian, he was all too familiar with the feeling, yet at the same time he was relieved to see it. At least now he was no longer alone.

"Sometimes we need to do the things we don't like. I understand that"

Volteer nodded and approached his workstation, all the time having his eyes locked on the young boy. Even if his body gestures agreed with the spoken words, it was obvious that the soul didn't.

He reached for the neatly folded pile of tissues, removing from them a shard of a gem that at first glance looked like a typical ruby. Only when he rose it close to the bright light Ignus noticed faint red and yellow sparkles shimmering across its surface.

Volteer held the small gem in two claws, twirling it around as he examined it, with the look of someone digging through chest of mementos of dead loved one.

"A travail to attain knowledge incremented from application of the mind to the procuration of knowledge can be upheld as warranted in many ways"

Ignus rubbed his forehead, it was hard to tell if it was the wine or the burden of carrying too many things on his shoulders that made Volteer's quick speech irritating. Focusing on yet another thing and that was understanding the Guardian was just another trouble. He had full of them as it is.

"Is seeking information so important that it justifies ripping part of a crystal from a boy's body?" he asked harshly

Volteer visibly cringed under the accusing tone, a strong shiver ran through his whole body, as if the voice that startled him wouldn't be coming from the red dragon's mouth, but his own soul.

"I looked forth to with desire and not exceeding the circumscription prescribed by dialectics confidence to attaining by inquest an efficacious remedial treatment. Alas my diligent and aligned in systematic codification inquiry into the motif in order to emend theories led me in an antithetical direction I presume"

His right, red brow raised up in reaction to that long statement, suddenly curious.

"In an opposite direction than a cure? Is the gem poisonous?"

The amber dragon turned back to his workstation, placing the gem on a special device. The contraption looked like a single half of the most typical scales. It's sunken, brownish dish looked like it would be perfect for an egg to be placed on it. From the bottom side, directly from the middle, ran a small vertical tube connected to a flat plate that served as a foundation. From the main tube protruded in all directions many more. They rose above the dish, curling and intertwining like metallic spider legs. They were grasping a magnifying glass, holding it above the sunken piece, the glass was centered directly at the dish.

"In a manner of enunciating, yes" Volteer replied, eyes never leaving the crystal "This glass of ornate quality and of an egregious degree of brilliance affords means of ingress. This access can transmute the world as we know it. We also must reckon with the privation arising from the circumstances of this case, the onus it places on the carrier cannot be refrained from noticing"

Ignus tapped his claws against the floor, brows furrowed in deep thought.

"So if this gem is a key of sorts...you want to say that with its help it is possible to pass through the portals again?"

The amber dragon moved to the other side of his workstation, nodding at the mechanical spider. Ignus followed his directions and looked through the magnifying glass at the crystal.

"The gem's endowment in leeway beyond its enclosure is only evanescent, its magic retrogrades gradually already"

"Burden, carrier, key" the red drake mused loudly, only after a while he pulled back from the strange contraption, blinking several times to get his old eyes used to normal scope of sight again

"They are the keys am I right? The dragons with the gems are our means to get back to our own time? How does this explain those golems attacking that village then? Is the portal different on the other side?"

Despite the rather grim memory of his deed that he committed to gain this information Volteer smiled. Questions always made him smile.

"They are, yet I have a dogma that they are the only ones able to engage in the execution that one with mental faculties wholly active wills. They can wend through the gateway marking an entrance or exit from one venue to another, the potency of the cut and furbished inestimable piece of rock quarried and worked into a unequivocal size and lineation is unable to protract the safety of those around"

"If that is the case then how come I arrived here with Iris? According to your theory I would be disintegrated most likely"

"Like most neoteric arrivals to our time you were remodeled as a victim of a Veil jelling without transition from the anterior form in the place of your extant position in your timeline. You should solicit for information about the truancy of a gem in your chest"

Ignus' paw immediately landed on his chest, eyes and thoughtfully frowned forehead followed soon after.

"I am affected by dysphoria, because lamentably I didn't come upon by peradventure for the answer to this demurral yet"

"So basically, all sorts of freaks can come here, but we can't retaliate because there is only a couple of dragons here that can do something about that. And here I thought age would make me useless"

"Paradigmatic dragons like ourselves don't have enough aptness to be a compelling force, a habitual time wielder however-"

"Spyro" Ignus chimed in

Volteer smiled with a nod.

"I allot myself to an opinion about this gem, without having proportionate plain data to succor it fully" he pointed with his opened paw at the crystal he recently extracted "This is a singular kind of Spirit Gem, its rarefying magic establishes the infallibility about the argument telling us that it has a undistorted linkage with the life force of its host. A taking in by molecular act is credible"

"This is hardly an option" Ignus nodded at the darkening gem "The magic is dying, without the dragons with the crystals following our purple dragon there is no chance of influencing the portals. The magic is temporary, Spyro would need the gem dragons as his own, personal snacks, which won't last forever since I believe stealing their life force would eventually kill them"

The amber drake nodded once more.

"This is why we need to harness the art of propagating a desired effect through the use of incantation or multitudinous other techniques that guarantee superintendence of supernatural agencies or the forces of nature and make it a perdurable enrichment. Powers of the purple dragons are illimitable, they would do the rest"

"It sounds good and everything, but how do you plan to do that?"

Volteer looked down at the ground in shame.

"We came into possession of sundry devices from our enemies" he muttered quietly

"Ah, I see" his red eyes landed on the now stirring body of the fire drake "A little devilry is needed to do some good. Shoving tubes to suck out that magic is like forcing yourself into the personal life of somebody else. I doubt that there are many who would willingly allow someone to play with their lives"

The silence that has befallen on the room again proved that the Guardian had the same concerns.

"V-V-Volteer?" a weak, stammering voice echoed in the room, in this silence rumbling with the strength of a thunder

The Guardian jumped back, unusually shocked by the voice. He quickly dashed towards his workstation, tail slamming into the furniture. He hectically covered the crystal, unable to bare its blaming stare and the accusing, non-existent tone as it recalled his crime.

"I am here" the Guardian said, words flew out from his mouth with such a speed that only those that paid attention could understand them

Regaining his consciousness Flare was unable to do that.

"V-Volteer?"

He began rolling around, yet instead in the safe direction that the mind always directs the body of even the heaviest of sleepers, he jerked his body towards the edge.

"Slow down there!" Ignus exclaimed, leaping forward, propping the dropping body on the side of his head where once he had a proud horn

With a soft chuckle he strained his neck, putting back the nearly dead weight back onto the sheets.

"Not much of a bed sleeper are we? I know that feeling, had a long period without a pillow under my head as well. Waking up tends to get a little confusing after such long breaks"

"What happened?" Flare mumbled "I-I don't remember much, it never happened to me before"

Ignus looked at the Guardian, who seemed to be swallowing one bulge of saliva right after the other, his throat simply didn't want to stop moving. It was like he shoved all the words that wanted to jump out back down from where they came.

With a frown he approached the Guardian.

"Go Volteer, get some air, I'll talk with the kid and calm him down. You look like you are about to have a heart attack"

The Guardian nodded with visible relief, he pointed at his throat, then on his mouth, after that he pressed his claws together, mimicking a slowly talking mouth. Finally he wiped his forehead as if it would be sweating profusely.

He smiled, he didn't understand much of what was going on, however the signal was quite clear. Ignus nodded towards the exit.

"Volteer?" Flare asked worried, sitting up on the bed, his front paws were shaking violently "Where are you going?"

The Guardian looked behind his shoulder, covering his mouth.

"He can't...speak right now" the fire drake muttered uncertainly, looking at the amber dragon for confirmation

Another quick nod approved of his intuitional guess.

"He doesn't want you to see him like this. He'll be right back"

Volteer waved at Flare.

"I'm sorry!" the fire drake exclaimed

Purple eyes observed him worriedly for a moment, then the head turned around and Volteer left the workshop.

Flare's chin smacked into his chest, a depressed sigh left his mouth.

Ignus looked towards the exit, taking a deep whiff, observing the dancing shadows. He snarled.

"Volteer really cares about you" he said kindly "Some fathers never give this much attention to their own children as Volteer gives you"

Flare looked up, his reptilian eyes widened just like they would take into notice for the very first time the dragon standing in front of them.

"It's you!" he blurt out "Iris' uncle!"

He squinted his eyes, for a moment a deep, furious snarl wrinkled his snout, but then, just as quick, his wrinkles softened down. He ran his paw across his snout.

"I see my reputation precedes me, still I would really appreciate if you directed your next shouts of shock in a different direction. I'm not a big fan of someone else's spit getting inside my mouth"

"What does that have to do with me?"

He narrowed his eyes on the dragon, irritated at first, he didn't like to be toyed with, especially by someone who not so long ago popped out from under his mother's tail. His irritation eased down slightly when it was obvious that there was no wicked, arrogant intent behind the words.

Fuck.

"It's worse than I thought" he mumbled

"Huh?" Flare cocked his head

"Did Iris speak of me?"

It took the fire drake a while to adjust his thinking to the sudden change of topic.

"No, not really"

Ignus sighed sadly.

"Figures. That girl forgot how to appreciate good things that still happen or are a part of her life. She no longer recognizes them"

"You don't have to worry, I think she didn't forget completely, sometimes she played with her feathers in that cute way, I think she sometimes remembers the good stuff"

Ignus' head snapped up sharply, the sharp gust of wind the move created threw Flare's head back.

"What did you just say?"

"Umm...that you don't have to worry, she-"

"Just how much time you spend with my niece?" the fire dragon asked harshly, the burning tip of his tail smacked into the floor, sending sparks in every direction like the burning fuse of an dynamite

Flare scratched the back of his head.

"I don't know"

Ignus growled.

"What do you mean you don't know?"

"I didn't count, I don't know just how much time I've spent with Iris"

"Not literally you mo-" he snapped his mouth shut, silencing the shout within, he started to rub his forehead

The headache returned.

Gods how he needed to have a drink right now.

"In the last three days" he said calmly, still rubbing his forehead "did you visit Iris in the last three days?"

"Yeah"

"The first, second or the third?"

"Everyday"

Ignus winced, he felt like something just exploded inside his skull, part of his brain just collapsed like a cave that just tasted the force of an exploding crate of dynamite.

"Why?" he rasped

"Why everyone keeps asking me that?" Flare shrugged nonchalantly "I like her"

"Why? Didn't she try to hurt you?"

"She hurt me, more than once"

It was like talking with a golem created with minimal intelligence, it didn't elaborate if you didn't ask it precise questions, it always made him furious. Morons always made him furious. The kid on the bed was exactly the same, he was really glad that he drank so much wine, otherwise who knows what could happen if his temper wouldn't be numbed.

"Then how come you still like her?"

The young drake shrugged once again.

"I have a high tolerance for pain. There is nothing Iris can do or say to me that I didn't already experience" he chuckled suddenly, licking his lips as his mouth stretched into a dreamy smile just as if he would recall a pleasant memory "Swallowing vomit directly from her mouth was new to me however"

"I forbid you to see my niece again" Ignus said bluntly, the inside of his head humming with the sound of a breaking neck

The fire dragon's burning parts, all the time dim and nearly extinguished flared up suddenly like a burning fireplace treated with a gust of wind. The temperature in the room rose significantly. It returned to more tolerable levels when the fiery parts of the drake's body calmed down as quick as they sparked up.

They didn't however return to their normal, dim illumination again.

"What?!" Flare blurt out "You can't do that!"

He flexed his muscles, giving the young drake a fierce stare, slightly surprised that the kid had the audacity to bestow him with the same manner of look.

"I'm her uncle, the only family member she has left close enough to her father that can take his duties. I can forbid you to see her and I will"

"If you would really act like a good dad you would never forbid me from seeing her!"

Ruby eyes narrowed themselves on the young drake, a roar rumbled deep within the red, old throat.

"Watch your tongue boy, pay attention to the way you address your elders"

"I know I can pull her out from her cage! She is trapped in her own prison, I've seen it! She can break free! I'm helping her!"

"You are not helping her"

Flare pushed himself up, stomping his paw on the soft bed.

"I am! I know that!"

"You are not helping her"

"Yes I am! I've seen it!"

"You are NOT helping her!" Ignus roared, smashing his paw on the bed

Flare yelped as he jumped into the air, landing on bent paws, ready to fight.

Ignus however had no intention to fight, he panted, staring at his clenched into a fist paw.

"You've seen nothing" he said, calmly, taking a deep breath "You took something that no longer exists for a hopeful sign, like the twitch of a leg of long dead fly on a spider web. The pictures you've seen, they are merely images of a wishful mind, the girl you saw is lost"

"But-"

"Listen to me right now boy" red paw jerked into the air, interrupting the young drake "When the land is barren even the ugliest of thorns can be considered beautiful, Iris is exactly like that thorn. You take something for what it isn't, you wake up memories that must stay buried. It might look pretty, but it isn't you who has to see the pain you cause her after each of your visits. Just recently when she battered you she landed in a cell and it was me who had to scrape her brain from the bars after she tried to smash her head in"

"What?" Flare uttered devastated, completely thrown off balance by the dragon's depressing tone, weak legs that woke up due to anger lost all their strength and bent under his weight. He dropped onto the sheets with a muffled thud and creak of wood

"W-W-Why she w-w-w-would do t-that?"

"It doesn't matter what she wants, Iris no longer knows that. What is important is her condition, she is confused and sick, very sick. Iris was very fragile, unprepared for the burden that fell on her shoulders, the weight crushed her, she survived, but the girl that crawled out from the rubble was different, her mind was broken"

Flare noticed that the dragon wiped a tear out of the corner of his wrinkled, left eye.

"Concentrate if you don't believe, during your visits, there had to be at least one moment when Iris acted strangely"

Images filled his head instantly, Iris' blood covered snout with red saliva dripping from her mouth appeared in front of his eyes, diamond gaze usually piercing and focused, distant and gloomy. His claw trailed the surface of his lower lip impulsively, remembering the taste of her soft and rough, blood sweetened lips caressing it.

"You don't have to say anything, I can read everything from your expression"

"I thought I was doing a good thing"

Ignus offered the young drake a weak, comforting smile.

"I don't blame you for trying, Iris is a beautiful girl, you aren't the first boy who tried to get her attention and you won't be the last. I know it may look cruel, but it is better for everyone, Iris included, if she is left with her hate. She no longer understands anything besides that, triggering broken memories and emotions makes her unpredictable and then she becomes danger not only to herself but everyone else. I didn't have to get her out of trouble as many times in the years we traveled together than I had to do in the past few weeks"

"So what? We just leave her to her fate? That's not what friends do!"

"Friends offer support and the only way you can support Iris is by trusting her uncle. I'm family, I know what is best for her"

Flare looked at the dragon suspiciously.

"I'm not sure about that, you were pretty rude"

"You weren't the calmest sort either when I mentioned my restriction regarding meetings with my niece"

The young fire drake looked to the side.

Ignus patted the young paw, letting it rest on the warm scales.

"We all fight for Iris' attention, this is her unfortunate influence"

He clenched the paw beggingly, feeling the muscles tense under his grip.

"You didn't listen to my order, I hope then that you will listen to my plea" he looked straight into the odd eyes, feeling the discomfort pulsing from them "I beg you to leave Iris alone, I will take care of her"

Just like he felt the pulses of blood in the main artery in the paw.

"I'll take care of everything"