FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter 24

Night was coming and they still weren't out of the snowy terrain, in fact as the sun began disappearing behind the horizon the weather seemed to start behaving like a student after the professor leaves a class during an exam.

It became an uncontrollable chaos, a very mean one at that. Temperature dropped considerably that even the dragons that have natural resistance to cold started to shiver, even Iris wasn't indifferent to the temperature, twitches running across her body in unsteady beats.

Not only it was becoming dark, but the constantly falling snow from the sky made the perspective everyone was used to a true misery. The snowflakes empowered by the strong wind smashed against the group like fierce waves against cliffs. Despite the fact that their tempo was relatively steady and without breaks besides the one after the battle.

Everyone kept their head low, avoiding conversation they marched forward. Dragons using their wings as cover to the best of their abilities.

"You know friends that I'm not the one for complaining" Danox mumbled through squinted eyes cheek of his tilted to the side head nearly completely white "But this mood of nature is beyond my control, it is a unrelenting foe that is displaying its superiority over us. I strongly dislike feeling defenseless" his usual toned, deep voice adopted different highs, almost to the point of roaring

The wind howled back at the dragon. It was stronger.

"I would advise to seek shelter" another blare, not even trying to hide the irritation behind it. The owner of the roar clearly angered "And quickly"

"I would advise against it" Iris shouted over the wind, pressing her head to the cover of her feathery membrane "To see dirt squirming under the pressure of clean snow as it wants to scrub away the disease is pleasure to my eyes"

Black eyes narrowed themselves on the dragoness, usually when looking at her and thinking of slapping you always had the kinky ones in mind. Right now however he was slowly getting furious, it doesn't happen often, yet sometimes even he has his moments of weakness.

This one was such moment, could end good in the end though still. The thoughts about slapping the girl where on his mind still, this time however he would aim at her head and if by chance he would tear it off her neck he would grin after getting the opportunity to bury it under all this snow.

"You are a joy little pet" he hissed at Iris, the voice coming out of his mouth in the tone of a rumbling volcano "Right now though I have difficulties admiring your charm, I propose that you take my feelings under consideration when you open your mouth next time"

"Guys!" Spyro roared through the howling wind, pressing his paws firmly against the ground as he hunkered down behind his wing and shot a commanding glare at the two dragons behind him "No distractions! Focus on finding a place where we can hide from this blizzard!"

"I can't see anything" Flare whimpered, next to him walked a bent cheetah as if he would be carrying an invisible stick for support

Despite the posture, Hunter's moves were swift and confident, that of an experienced traveler who knew how to make the best out of the most dire of situations. Spending most of his time in the wilderness made him a friend of Nature, a listener to Nature and no matter the Mistress moods, he knew how to work around them to not be a burden and yet remain an asset.

Hunter held on to his clothes as if dear life depended on it, flicking a strand of the hood ever so gently to gaze at the surroundings. Sharp, blue eyes gathering as much information as possible, ascending to the natural sensitivity of his feline ears.

The light Flare was providing not only added comfort, but improved his perception of reading directions.

"You sure you don't need more light?" Flare inquired "I can add more power"

"It won't be necessary my friend!" Hunter shouted over the wind, keeping his nose aimed at the snow as he talked, doing his best to avoid the fierce assault of nature from invading his airways "We stick to the original plan! Keep sending the flares! Attention in a foreign land is dangerous, it is essential that we minimize this risk as best as we can, there might be predators stalking us that are more adapted to this environment than we are. Caution is advised"

Flare nodded, his agreement always came easily and without a sign of protest, all this time he felt as if he would be a listener of another adventure story that Volteer read him. The only difference was that he didn't only read about it, but actually participated in a journey, a live action storytelling so to speak.

While he was glad and overjoyed to have his friends as the famous party of adventurers, he couldn't really get excited about the adventure itself. When you read all that stuff the heroes go through, struggling through bushes and deserts, it doesn't seem that bad, after all it only takes a small portion of the quest, the rest is plot and friends.

Reality was different however.

Here there was no magical lever, no special switch that would make you skip all this trek and world traversing. No, you had to bare through this mundane journey second by second, with no fast forward or any other mean for a shortcut.

It was hard work.

The travel really killed the excitement, as much fun as it was to observe the world, after some time the joy is losing its passion. Especially when you have to physically force yourself through another batch of twigs, another lump of bushes, or like here, through deep snow and blizzard.

In stories such encounters would be skipped, only stating that the heroes defeated the struggle of travel.

Without mentioning what that struggle actually is.

As he lifted his burning wing that served as a shield from the vicious element of Nature to allow his mouth some open space he immediately realized what books meant by struggle.

The blizzard was merciless, it seemed to act like a sentient creature in fact for all he could say. When he was hidden behind his wing the snowflakes seemed to splatter all across its surface, with no clear target or aim. But the moment he stuck his nose out all the snowy projectiles were directed instantly at his nose as if the wind itself had some weird sensor detecting vulnerabilities.

He closed his eyes when wave after wave of snowy lashes crashed against his snout, splattering white, puffy paint across his red scales. He opened his mouth, immediately feeling snowflakes hitting his tongue, a fiery ball was sent along the ground, bouncing and illuminating the area around it.

The flash was a brief one, the flame not able to cope with the amount of snow.

Still the blazing projectile managed to do what it was meant to do, illuminating the area in the distance after a small explosion. Flare never got the chance to admire the show, snow filled his maw momentarily making him choke on the snowflakes. He put the blazing shield back in place as he coughed roughly, clearing his throat after the invasion.

Hunter clenched his teeth strongly, muffling the guilty hiss that came out of his mouth. He knew that they were working as a team, the awareness of everyone going through their own struggle was quite strong in his mind. Teamwork also required willingness to help your friend when in need, basically it all came down to working together and sometimes you just had to give more of yourself, adding more weight to your own burden to help someone else.

He understood that.

Yet that didn't change the fact that he felt guilty and ashamed for seeing and knowing that a majestic creature like a dragon has to sacrifice his own well being to assist him. Being the source for pain in this world was already tragic for him, as a scout he causes strife in the midst of Nature no matter how hard he tries not to.

Being the source for hurt towards dragons felt like a blow to the face from a golem.

In moments like those he always started to think that the fascination he developed for drakekin became an obsession at some point, people in his home village believed it to be true almost from week one, he took that for a delusion, always.

Right now though he had a feeling that people might have been actually right.

Even if this realization might be true, does it really change anything? They are in the midst of an unknown territory, this night at least there is nothing wrong with a little obsession. This weird care sharpened his senses and empowered his determination and when working in a group the sensitivity for your companions ache is important.

When something works there is no point in changing it.

With that thought in mind he scanned the revealed ground, experience dictating his evaluation process of the surroundings. Bright, focused eyes momentarily catching a tiny change in the snowy ground.

Indentation.

Barely visible and soon to be covered by snow, not noticeable for an inexperienced eye.

It was a footstep.

Whether it was an animal or an sentient creature he was unable to tell, neither he could judge the size of the print. There was no other choice now, but to rely on luck alone now. They either wander around blindly for a lot longer or they take the chance and follow the prints, hoping that the creature that left then doesn't tolerate this blizzard as well and sought shelter.

Hopefully it will a docile creature.

"Over there!" Hunter blared out over the wind, trembling arm pointing to the west "Tracks! Maybe we'll find a cave nearby!"

He pressed onwards, treading through the snow as if it was water, he could barely feel his feet due to the cold. Blood got warm from all this exertion, yet that didn't change the fact that frostbite also worked on his body, the blizzard dropped the temperature considerably, the cold snow that was here before was practically completely covered now by a new layer, a freezing layer.

Every time his foot dropped on the ground and passed through the puff he felt as if he would press his sole against the back of a hedgehog.

They continued for what seemed like an eternity, at some point, with great pain in his heart he gestured for Flare to light up the area once more, afraid that he will lose the sense of direction. When the area was illuminated by the blast his heart skipped a beat.

Hand shot up automatically, signaling for the group to stop.

Something moved at the edge of his vision.

"Again" he ordered, ignoring the fact that the blizzard lashed against his furry face, his blue eyes glowing sharply through the blackness of the night

Flare complied, as a prisoner he is familiar with the signs of tension an could catch the notes of danger without issue. Hunter's voice was filled with anxiety that he felt at the beginning before battle.

His body impulsively began pulsing with brighter flames.

The ball was sent forward again, once more exploding with a flash of light.

In the fading blast Hunter spotted the relaxing twitching of a naked bush branch.

It was a bush.

He waved for the group to follow him, gesticulating with his hand slowly, he spent too much time in the wilderness to let his guard down just because he was wrong. Wildlife knows all sorts of distractions after all, from changing colors to playing dead, there might be creatures out there clever enough to use the environment as a decoy.

He led the group in the direction of the bush, Flora meant a change in scenery, meant hope, there have to be some conditions met for flowers to grow, empty, barren land doesn't serve this role correctly.

They walked cautiously, his armed with a fingerless glove hand remained in the air despite the assault of Nature, unendingly waving slowly, signaling prudence. The other was in his coat pocket, clenching and unclenching in steady beats, keeping the fingers warm.

He didn't like to be on the end of the food chain, being the one that is hunted, yet this discomfort was nothing compared to the wonderful feeling of stalking. It was probably his feline nature speaking for the most part here, his experience as a scout maybe had something to say, but it was just a drop in the sea of excitement.

Stalking was the best part of his job.

He felt drunk whenever it happened, pleasantly drunk, able to keep his balance, but push away all that useless sound, leaving only the things his mind desired. Mind that worked so fiercely that his ears twitched, catching every rustle and sound in the distance. Time always seemed to slow down as if his soul would jump out of his flesh, making a swift run around its host, touching the world in one of the most indescribable ways possible.

Weather, pain, nothing existed but the addicting thrill of the hunt, even the heart slowed down. A healer would probably scratch his head in confusion if he had the chance to examine him now, wondering how he can function when his organ betrays the signs of being at a death's bed.

"Again" he panted, letting out a prolonged breath as if he would pull out after a session of intense love making

Flare released another ball of flame.

The bright flash illuminated the terrain, revealing some bumps in the snow and a hill. The bumps looked like covered in snow bushes, in the hill however Hunter managed to spot an opening.

A cave.

A bolt of relief shot through his joints, yet he didn't falter to the feeling, remaining true to the thrill boiling his blood.

"Cave!" not everyone could hold back his excitement, Flare was one such example, momentarily dashing forward like someone who escapes from the rain under the closest roof

"Not so fast!" the waving arm darted forward, trying to catch the burning tail, yet it was too quick

Hunter held his breath, the hand that was warming itself in his pocket retreated swiftly from its heaven, grasping the handle of the dagger strapped to his belt. Muscles flexed, ready to work.

The light wafting off the dragon illuminated the area in a bigger radius.

He sensed that it was the time to fight, he simply felt it in every inch of his body.

"Why?" Flare stopped, cocking his head innocently, the snow splattering against his uncovered head

Nothing happened.

The things that looked like bushes were really bushes, the ground that looked like snow was really snow. Everything was normal.

Everything was normal.

"Are you losing your touch my furry friend?" Danox inquired, hint of amusement ringing in the voice

Sharp ears twitched in what seemed to be annoyance.

"I would like to believe that I don't"

The smile on the male black snout morphed into a smirk.

"Very good"

Cynder cocked her eyebrow. What that supposed to mean?

"I don't smell anything because of this damn snow" Spyro forced a sneeze, white puff shot from his nostrils

"Can we go now?" Flare whimpered, trashing his body around like a wet dog, even if his body was burning the blizzard still managed to cling to it, making him fling tears of snow everywhere

He would say that they should retreat, in every other circumstances that is, even if this moment didn't follow the typical cliché scenario of an ambush it still didn't feel right. Unfortunately they didn't have much of a choice in this matter, looking for another hiding spot can take a long time and while the blizzard was only a discomfort in the beginning, at least for the dragons, with enough time it will turn to a great weakening force.

Weakness is a death sentence in unfamiliar land.

Every hunter knew that. This was one of the first lessons he learned.

He was afraid that he wasn't the only one.

"Yes" Hunter confirmed with regret in his voice, the handle of the dagger pulsating with the warmth of the hand that was holding it "Slowly. Like me"

They crept towards the cave, Flare poorly mimicking the cheetah's moves. Hunter didn't mind, for him it was important that the group remained cautious and aware, if there is something out there, and every part of his being said there is, even if evidence pointed otherwise, he was sure it located them by now.

They reached the foot of the cave without issues, a rather remarkable in size, dark opening stretched before them like a jagged mouth of a huge beast. Flare stood on the front, closest to the entrance, his natural light not able to illuminate the whole silhouette of the entrance.

Every eye was drawn to the massive cave, relief and sense of triumph silencing every other sense. He was no different, natural reaction of a sentient being took over before he knew it, usually it was nothing wrong.

This time however was different.

This time it was a mistake.

A weird, squeaky, barking sound filled the air and before he could react he noticed one of the white bumps previously considered as snow covered bushes swiftly dashing towards Flare. He noticed a glimmer od sharp teeth glistening under the moonlight, teeth that clamped over the left, hind, red leg and tugged at it fiercely.

A hollow thud echoed into the sky as Flare dropped onto the snow with a startled yelp. The creature retreated as quickly as it approached after the bite.

In a moment's notice another ball approached the dragon, this one actually stretching vertically up and revealing its form to the group. The creature stood on two legs, it was the size of a mole, had a long similar in form to draconic snout with many, big sharp teeth filling the maw. Yellow eyes glistened in the dark.

It was entirely covered in white, thick fur, perfectly matching the snow in color. An ideal camouflage.

Its forelegs were much longer than the hind ones, massive hands with enormous claws hung in front of the beast's body. From the build of the hand and the way the creature moved through the snow Hunter could guess that it is capable of walking on two or four legs.

The creature slashed with its massive claws, creating deep cuts on the red back before dashing back into the darkness, with a backward flip dropping on all fours.

Skittish creatures.

Rather weak physically from the looks of it, yet impossibly dexterous, clearly preferring to torment their prey by swift hit and run tactics than fighting eye to eye.

Creatures like that fight only under one circumstance.

When they are confident they have an advantage.

Judging from the barking, the beasts had a number advantage, also they were clearly unhindered by the blizzard, thriving in it in fact.

The cave is real, but it was nothing more than bait, without turning around Hunter knew that the creatures cut off their escape.

"Ambush!" Spyro roared at the top of his lungs, one obvious word and yet so powerful, shaking everyone that needed shaking off the shock

The creatures attacked everyone in the same way, expect Danox. All of the younger dragons were pulled down by their legs, pain exploding in their paws. Hunter was attacked too, yet his feline instinct was already buzzing with energy and kicked in in the right moment, triggering the one trait his kind is famous for.

Speed.

The conditions were harsh, yet as a scout he knew how to work with the environment, he already was in a middle of a spin, snow slowing him down, but it was then when one of the creatures lashed at his leg, kicking off the snow and freeing his constricted movements.

He felt the teeth scratching the material on his right boot, leaving a burning, hollow cut on the leg. The dagger was already in the air as he turned, it went down the moment the beast clamped its teeth, stabbing it directly in the back of the neck.

It squealed and whimpered, before jumping back into the darkness.

Danox was attacked by many members of the pack, creatures clever enough to know that they will be unable to drop a dragon of such size. Using the blizzard as cover the creatures leapt at the drake from every possible direction, biting and clawing at every possible leg.

Some in the meantime scaled the tail, thrusting their claws deeply as they swiftly scaled the black back, reaching the rump before jumping down.

Danox just stood there, letting out a tremendous roar that everyone could swear was ringing with excitement.

The black dragon bent on his legs, making a swift spin, his massive head diving down along one of his flank. For his size he was improbably fast, trail of darkness painting the air behind his twisting body, just like the creatures, he made nothing of the blizzard.

The creatures weren't expecting that.

One wasn't fast enough, the turning head of the dragon reached towards the rump from which one of the beasts leapt off. Deadly teeth clenched sharply around its small body, with one bite nearly severing it in half.

Blood erupted everywhere, the barking silenced by the deafening crush of bones, body of the beast hanging limply from Danox' mouth, front and back side dragged by its own force of gravity, flopping down like a nearly sliced in half bread.

Danox chomped again and the body of the furry creature was severed in half, both sides of its body falling down on both ends of the dragon's mouth, blood painting a trail in the air and naked spine glistening under the moon.

Spyro heard another one of the creatures heading his way, knowing what happened to Flare he instinctively pushed himself up, using his wing as shield. It deflected the blow of the incoming creature with ease. He proceeded into a counter attack immediately, rising on two legs and slashing with his claws

Yet the moment he turned to face his enemy, the blizzard struck him right in the eyes, turning the strike that was meant to wound his opponent into a blind, sluggish swing, cutting nothing but empty air.

Barking grew louder, set of teeth clamped over his second foreleg and pulled fiercely, shoving him onto his flank. Another of the creatures took advantage of the opportunity and cut his exposed underbelly.

The girls had their own share of problems, the enemy sent a coordinated attack and knew how to take advantage of the weather conditions.

While on the ground Cynder's natural dexterity kicked in and before the second creature got the opportunity to slice her back she opened up her wings, while swiftly jumping up, making a blind thrust with the blades on the thumps in the direction from which the sound grew louder.

She saw the ball of fur rising on two legs, the strike stopping its advance, yet in this time the weather kicked in, the wind suddenly gaining in strength. She wasn't expecting such a strong gust, it hit her right in the opened wings, membranes absorbing the blow.

It lifted her off her paws slightly, pushing her body forward, towards the standing creature who already made a swipe with its long claws. They hit their mark, scratching the left side of her snout from top to bottom, right across the eye, if her orbs wouldn't be located in the natural indentations of the skull she would lose one of them already.

Shower of blood splattered on the snow, the creature disappeared from her sight before the first drop hit the earth.

Learning from the chaos and making a swift scan of the area Iris took notice of her companion's mistakes and immediately tried her own way of defense. Remaining on the ground she awaited for the attacking creature to rise on two legs before she made an awkward leap forward, grabbing onto the furry legs and pulling back.

The beast let out a surprised, squeaky bark when its flying down hands were suddenly thrown back up and its furry spine hit the snowy earth.

Iris didn't waste time, bouncing up on her belly, thrusting her claws into the flesh of the legs to keep the creature in place. The furry thing reacted exactly like a four legged canine would if it would lose the balance and comfort of its four legs.

The creature started thrashing wildly, its squealing barking nearly deafening. Iris learned the hard way that the beast's feet were also embroidered with long, sharp claws. Her grip, no matter how deep perhaps kept the creature in place, but not its claws, they scratched her shoulders fervently, the two forelegs wanted to join the party but she covered her head under her wing and all the claws could do was too slice at her feathers.

The creatures didn't have the strength to pierce dragon scale to the flesh, let alone the membrane, their tactic was to tire and bleed out their prey to death. It still hurt though and she had enough of getting beaten around,

She jerked her body further up, sinking her powerful teeth into the weakest, smallest tendon in the leg near the ankle, severing the nervous connection in a single bite. With the gushing blood into her mouth the leg was silenced, the beast howled in agony.

Taking advantage of the bolt of pain shooting through it, she made another leap, splitting apart the barricade of the sharp claws with the weight of her leaping body and propping the snout up with a blow from her wings.

She reached the throat in a second, tearing it apart even swifter, blood matted the fur as well as her mouth. The creature in its final, dying spasm sank the tips of its claws at both sides of her neck, going limp hands making last scratches along the whole width of the blue neck.

More barking could be heard, the creatures swarmed them in masses.

Flare focused, he didn't even hiss when the pain hit his body, barely feeling it, he felt something however, he didn't know what it was but he could feel swear that there was some worm inside his guts, cutting him from the inside, waving the blade maniacally as if would be chopping meat.

It stung, he didn't have a better way of describing this feeling, all he knew that the sharp touches tormented the left side of his snout, sides of the neck, underbelly and one of his hind paws

It was his friends pain, he felt his friends pain.

This was not what he was willing to let continue for long.

He remained on the ground, growling he pressed his limbs and wings together, he had a beast of his own and it was a far more deadly predator than the ones that attacked them. His whole body began glowing with huge intense light like a pot heated over its comfort temperature.

There was a small, thudding explosion, a cone of flame shot into the air, illuminating the area, revealing an uncountable horde of monsters all around them. Another ring shot from his body soon after, the shockwave was sent flying along the ground, blazing heat melting the snow.

The creatures that were close to the group had no chance to avoid the fiery shockwave, their thick, fluffy furs igniting in an instant, the creatures thrashing around and squealing in agony as they burned to a crisp.

The other ones however had no trouble leaping over the shockwave, with barking battle cries swarming the small team.

Flare jumped on all fours, eyes burning wildly, his entire body letting out a blinding, hot light, claws red and covered in flames.

Six of the creatures attacked him, all at once, turning his back to the blizzard he faced one of the beasts. It jumped straight at him, its long forelegs extended in his direction, ready to slice, he made nothing of it, momentarily slashing back at the enemy.

Claws met, there was no cling however, his empowered by blazing heat claws sliced right through the hands of the creature, turning them to dry twigs in a second, igniting the creature's body and severing the limbs.

The momentum threw the beast right at his claws, his blow managing to catch the critter's head, killing it on the spot as the claws seared right through the brain.

A slap echoed from his chest as the dead, cauterized lump of flesh smacked against his body, without life before it could realize it.

In the meantime the rest of the creatures carried on with their hit and run tactic, Flare managed to deflect with his wings at least two swings, but the rest found their mark, slicing his body without giving him the opportunity to fight back. Blizzard doing a perfect job of slowing and blinding him.

The snow monsters unending attacks didn't allow to channel any sort of elemental power, body constantly thrown into defense with each strike.

The creatures attacked Hunter from all sides, he didn't try to fight back, knowing well that he isn't a dragon who can withstand many blows. In the contrary to the rest of the team, he didn't heal and was easy to kill if he won't be careful enough.

He didn't allow himself to be turned into prey however, working with nature and natural feral instinct of a cheetah perhaps didn't make him equal with the enemy in their environment, but it made him at least a clever, competitive match.

His eyes spotted one of the monsters leaping his way, taking advantage of his natural agility he threw himself right in the direction of the creature. While it jumped he dropped into a slide, snow not carrying him far, but the dodge forcing him to find himself under the creature's belly.

He didn't forget to stab it in the process, the pain shooting through its body made its back legs twitch, the prolonged claws ran over his shoulders, deep enough to draw lines of blood, but not too deep to cause any serious injury.

The barking hacked slightly when the flying creature collided with one of its companions, the chaos slowing the rest of the beasts for a little while.

Taking advantage of the opening, more beasts threw themselves at him, he once more repeated his tactic of counter attack, using the jumping enemy as additional cover. The next opponent didn't leap high enough however, there was no room to move under it.

He unstrapped his cloak, it was momentarily swiped by the wind, giving It more strength than it was capable of ever creating by a jerk of arm. It hit the approaching clawed forelegs, pushing the furry arms away, making the owner lose its balance in the air.

The creature fell directly at him, its weight toppling him to the ground, the small critter started to thrash wildly, its snout trying to bite his nose off. One spiked fang tore flesh from his cheek. He managed to prop the maw with a punch, immediately he thrust his dagger into the exposed chin.

The creature whined loudly, trying to break itself free, using this opportunity Hunter moved his other hand, pushing his second dagger right through the creature's temple. The body on top of him went limp, dead weight pressing against him, making him fall deeper into the thick snow on the ground.

Confused barking filled the air as his enemy lost him from its sight. The creatures jumped and slashed at the empty ground around their dead companion, he was curled under the bleeding carcass, waiting for the right moment to make a break for it before they manage to find him and tear him apart.

Even if he killed one of their numbers and clearly demonstrated that he won't be an easy target the creatures didn't slow down, swarming him in way more numbers than towards his companions. It made him realize just how much he missed the taste of blood, battle and struggle, future was so empty and so easy and soooooo damn boring.

There's no life without pain.

And these creatures knew how to satisfy this craving and make it all worthwhile.

The creatures no longer tried to dominate him by scaling his body, learning quickly that it was more than they could handle. They focused on lashing out at his paws only, cleverly trying to reach the tendons to make him fall.

They still however didn't know that when it came to him, the weather was not a hindrance. The creatures attacked from the direction of the wind while he focused on chasing away the beasts that tried to attack from the other sides.

He killed none and for every group he stopped three more attacked, the ones working with nature becoming more bold with each strike.

The ground around him was soaked with his blood.

Something he was waiting for.

He dived for another bite yet instead of trying to catch one of the attacking monsters he scooped a pile of the bloodied snow inside his mouth. The warmth of his maw momentarily melting it, leaving nothing but the salivated remnants of his own blood on the tongue.

A spark of magical energy ran through him, the creatures becoming more cocky in their attacks, slashing and slashing against his legs.

He spat the gathered in his mouth blob back on to the pile of blood under his belly. The bulge of saliva leaving his mouth was colored in deep green.

It splattered against the red snow, the blood on top of it immediately began to boil, slowly at first and then faster and faster, bubbles bursting one after the other as if something took a dive in all that blood and now was resurfacing.

Delicate, greenish vapor pushed out from the pool after each burst.

The creatures attacked more fiercely after seeing that their prey didn't do much to defend itself, for hungry, feral beasts this was a sign that their prey was getting weaker.

And then Danox stomped with his paw, wet sound filled the air as the blood splattered against his leg.

The boiling blood burped, releasing in the air a cloud of green poison, it momentarily spread into a wide ring, embracing the black dragon and pushing beyond his frame. Just enough to reach the horde of cocky monsters that attacked him.

One whiff was enough.

Without a sound, without a spasm, the creatures that inhaled the vapor dropped dead like flies, bloodshot, bulging eyes protruding from their eyeballs.

Cynder shook off the blood that so annoyingly kept getting in her eye. The creatures were relentless and so damn quick, not giving her the opportunity to channel her breath magic. She pushed forward unrelentingly, head down she charged towards the creature in front of her, meeting its advance.

Tail kept swinging blindly, with some luck the blade on it will keep some of the monsters away. She pointed her wings forward, brandishing the blades, creating front oriented horns she was lacking on her head.

This move exposed her flanks, the beasts took advantage of it by attacking her unprotected body, she had no other choice but to grit her teeth and press onwards. The only thing she could trigger right now was her Scorpion Strike power, yet she decided against it. She would dispose of the nearby attackers, true, but there were just too many of these creatures, repelling their attacks indefinitely would quickly tire her out and deplete her magical potential.

Dangerous.

Some pain was worth it, the creatures didn't have the strength to pierce her scales truly, they had to rely on constant, steady strikes to cause harm to dragon scale.

They had the numbers perhaps and the speed, but they lacked any sense of respect, not realizing that she was quicker than them. Due to that speed and overall pride of her enemies her blades managed to find a mark, spikes running deeply into one of the furry bodies with a wet sound.

Blood splattered on her head, the creature was dying, but it still had strength to bat at her wings with its claws. She jerked her wings further forward, groaning through the physical exertion and pain burning from her sides. She leapt, withdrawing her wings back to protect her wounded sides, the pierced body of the creature dropped on the snow.

She landed on top of it, pushing through its weak blockade of long hands and tearing its throat out with one, powerful bite. Blood soaked her chin, crashing against the back of her throat as it erupted from the ruined throat.

She coughed it out, sinking the claws into the fluffy body and making a roll, burying her form under the snow. This gave her enough of a break to use her Shadow element and sink into the ground.

She reappeared soon after, under one of the confused beasts, making sure not to jump into the air and expose herself to the mercy of the blizzard. She lifted the body up, slicing at its back as she bumped the creature into the sky, her empowered by darkness claws cut through the flesh as if it was cheese.

Cynder bit into one of the flopping, now numb back leg, making a swift spin and hurling the limp body at the nearby group of enemies, releasing it before she faced the blizzard.

She covered herself from the element by using her wing, momentarily turning away from the invading snow, this moment giving her enough time to set her Siren Scream loos.

The magical strike sending a wave of these creatures running away in panic. The barking, squealing noise that exploded moments later reminded her of one, sad thing.

There was too many of them.

Her painted with darkness claws made the rules of this fight a little bit more fair.

The creatures didn't seem disheartened after losing one of its own, in fact when they saw Iris on the ground they became far more vigorous. They jumped at her all at once, attacking from every side, quickly and swiftly, without giving her the chance to react after this recent struggle.

Her wings blocked her head, this was all that she could do, everything else received a cut, starting from the soles of her hind legs to her neck, blood filled the lacerations, flowing like water in a lazy stream.

Iris roared, the spike on her tail tip began cracking with elemental energy, the cold light emanating from the tip nearly blinding. Moments later there was an explosion, a small shockwave shot from the tip as if a ruby attached to a magical rod would let out a ring of power.

The icy mist didn't go far, it was just a small blast, like kicking dust in the air.

The effects however of it were far more intimidating. The creatures were unmoved by the blast, nothing seemed to happen to them as they continued their attacks unhindered. It was the blizzard that got affected, more precisely the snowflakes. They hit the nearly translucent mist one by one, not passing through, but gluing themselves to it like flies to a spider-web.

They momentarily got solidified into crystals.

Iris' wings kept moving, trying to deflect as many of the attacks as possible, as she bled and got cut freezing mist started to flow from underneath her paws, claws turning to solid ice, front ones deeply burrowed into the body below her, which too began to solidify into a block of ice.

Iris let out another roar.

The freezing mist that was flowing from underneath her legs enveloped her, making her whole frame burn with a blue flame. The wall of snowflakes and the body below her exploded, the aura around her sucking the shards and sending them flying in every direction.

Choking, barking sounds echoed from the darkness, wet gurgles and hollow thuds filling the air.

She got up and with a wild roar charged right into the group of monsters using the blizzard as cover. The aura around her becoming weaker, she was saving her energy and silencing her power, not before piercing some more of the fluffy creatures however.

The only thing that remained were her frozen claws, tail tip and the trail of ice that kept wafting from them. With this advantage on her side she threw herself into the whirl of battle.

Spyro deflected a strike, his other paw reaching another one of the creatures. In the meantime he got attacked from behind, sharp claws and teeth biting and cutting his legs and back.

He didn't scream or yell however, the pulses of pain quenched by the powerful surge of music squeezing his brain. Je immediately recognized each and every note, it were so clear that he couldn't believe that he never sung them before.

Fire and Ice.

The energy was buzzing in the air.

He fed on it, filling himself to the brim, magic pulsating in his veins, threatening to tear his body apart. The desire to comply to the pressure was unstoppable.

He lowered his head, Comet Dashing into the nearby horde of enemies, burning and piercing through rows of the beasts, getting right inside of the middle of the furry mass. A suicide in any other circumstance, yet the magic coursing through his body promised that there is nothing to be afraid of.

His claws were burning.

When the dash ended, his burning natural blades touched the ground firmly, reaching a point of such heat that he had to jerk his head away.

The burning energy that gathered around him did something it never done before, instead of fading, it got sucked into his body, squeezing towards the heating claws.

And then he made a stomp.

A ring of fire was set loose, torching everything in its way, it didn't go far, yet it was enough to annihilate every creature that was too close to his body.

Before he knew it, his tail tip began to glow with freezing energy, instead of being charged with its typical power of being a freezing bat, the tail weaved a mist around the tip, it froze the snowflakes.

Spyro made a swift spin, painting the trail of ice around himself, snowflake after snowflake got stuck to the barrier, quickly turning to ice and creating a freezing barricade around him.

He made another spin in the blockade, his glowing tip cutting right through the middle of the recently created barricade, this time using his usual Ice Tail strike, the power of ice shattering the barricade, the wave that was sent flying from his tail hurled the broken shards in every direction, turning them into small spikes.

The creatures fell around him with gurgling noises of death. His turned into ice claws clicked anxiously.

The barking continued with the same intensity.

No matter how many of the beasts they killed, there was still more of them in the darkness, they have no chance of repelling them when they are separated like that, they will eventually tire themselves out, due to magic and wounds.

They need to change their tactic.

He finally had enough space to make a difference and get his team together.

Time slowed, he dashed towards Cynder first, dragging her near Hunter. In this slowed universe her physical body was still in the same spot, yet he felt her weight moving as if he would be dragging her very soul.

Flare was next.

The same thing he did with Iris, in the meantime cutting the throat of every creature that was amassing near Hunter. He left Danox alone, too big to be moved, the black dragon had to fend for himself, their goal was to make it easy for him.

"Tail to tail!" Spyro roared, his rump facing Cynder's, putting himself as the one who faces the blizzard

Flare, Hunter and Iris looked around, disoriented.

"Stand your ground!" he barked out again

Cynder had no troubles regaining her bearings, taking advantage of the confusion among the enemy ranks she once more let out her Siren Scream.

The fierce shriek woke everyone up, even if they weren't in the way of the magical waves, the proximity to the origin spot made their hearts stop for a second. All turned to Cynder, they had to take a glance of her, had to know that it was her for one hundred percent and not some horror all of them started to imagine.

Hunter turned in the same direction as Spyro, allowing himself to be struck by the blizzard, he nocked an arrow.

"Bless my arrows my queen" he aimed

A tail tapped his back, a bolt of chill ran across his bones, making him shiver.

The tip of the arrow turned to ice. It was set loose, the increased weight allowing it to fly in relative, predictable path.

It found its mark in the darkness.

The other three dragons using the open space they had opened up their mouths and breathed streams of powerful magic at their foes.

The fun is coming to an end.

Such a pity.

With a sigh Danox strode towards the group, dark tendrils began wrapping his body like arms of a faithful lover. Slithering all around his body, faster and faster with each passing second.

"You might want to avoid looking my way friends" he cooed with a smile

Magical energy was blazing in the air, red, blue, violet, green, stream after stream of magical energy was being sent towards the invaders. In the distance exploded Cynder's phantasm orbs, throwing the beasts around. Beasts that began squealing and whimpering all of a sudden, attacking and then bouncing away as if they would hit an invisible wall.

Spyro had no idea what it was that was making them act this way, but he felt that it was the time to put an end to this abuse and put a wedge into the creatures appetite.

He jumped into the air, rising above the group, held in place not by wings, but magic, Fire magic to be precise. For a moment his blood turned to fire, eyes in the color of purple adopted a reddish hue, white of the eyes began burning.

There was a moment of utter silence as if he would become the void sucking everything inside.

After another second a deafening, deep roar rumbled from his throat, his whole body hacked and the gathered up energy was set loose in the shape of a Fire Fury.

A wall of fire stretched out from him, due to the attitude he gained it avoided touching his companions. The wall kept on sliding in all directions, small meteors kept crashing onto the earth in front of it.

Panicked barking filled the air.

He dropped heavily to the ground.

"To the cave!" he ordered, with only one entry they will have an easier chance to defend their position from the horde

His commanding gaze crossed over his teammates, making sure they react appropriately. Maybe they did, maybe they didn't, he didn't know since all that heroic confidence faded away, giving itself to utter dread when among the group he spotted Cynder.

Not his Cynder.

But the adult corrupted form of her, standing tall and proud, grinning at him, in her murderous eyes there was nothing of the joyful, sweet Cynder he knew. Only Corruption.

And this time he knew, he knew that it wasn't going away. This is what is meant to happen and everything else is just a fantasy, a sweet dream of a fool that doesn't want to accept the truth.

We are one.

We are one.

We are one.

He heard Creep's unnatural voice laughing in the distance.

Cynder noticed her mate's frightened stare, instinct driving her eyes in the same direction. She could feel her heart breaking apart, cracks filled with stabbing sense of dread.

Spyro was looking at her, there was no love in his eyes, no care but disappointment and disgust. He gave up on her, finally deciding that it was not worth it, finally showing her the truth. She is a murder with dark secrets, there is no possibility to trust someone like her, no sense, darkness walks side by side with her.

There was no point in fooling anyone, she got what was coming to her, you cannot escape your true self and Spyro had enough of her double faced nature, had enough of her evil. He gave her a chance and she chose darkness.

We are one isn't that right?

Why aren't they moving? The fucking purple bug is first to bark orders, but last to do anything. Worms like that always use others to do their dirty work, use others to satisfy their needy greed for amusement. Purple is purple, friend is just a game you believe in too much.

They will all burn.

Friends like that are worth nothing. They are not friends, they are worms eating your brain.

I will help.

I will burn them all.

Flare spun around, fiercely, ready to rectify everything, worms ate him for long enough. It was his time to burn.

There was no one here however.

The twinkling flames inside his eyes were extinguished as if a bucket of water would splash against them.

His friends were gone.

He was alone again.

No.

He never stopped being alone.

They never been his friends, nobody likes a psychotic, stinky beast. Creatures like him are tolerated as long as they are useful, nobody cares about anything else.

It was never about people not wanting to befriend him.

It was always about him, he never gave them a reason to like him, he's a monster and monsters always stay alone.

There was no hope for anything else.

No chance.

No choice.

But lonely death in the company of his own fading breath.

Iris growled in anger.

Why aren't these fools moving? Does she always have to do everything by herself? Being surrounded by idiots all her life, this whole joke of a mission had a tolerable start, but seeing as everyone's giving a rat's ass about survival and sense it looks like everything is going the same way.

To shit.

She was ready to send some satisfying slaps, yet her paw never rose from the ground when among the group she saw her mother glaring at her. Her feathers flopped down immediately like ears of a begging hound. She towered over her by standing on her two adult hind paws, making sure she gets the message.

Mother was disappointed in her.

Was disgusted by her.

Was regretting giving her life.

She failed her mother, to the point she stepped down from her heavenly throne to point it out to her personally. All this lessons, all this teaching for nothing, she didn't meet the expectations, she didn't keep the promises.

She was a disaster.

Mother was here to tell her that, show her how she tore the love for her out of her heart. Clenched in fist blue paw pressed against the blue scales on the chest. The body cracked without an issue, paw pushing inside and blood pouring out in huge streams.

It was all her fault.

Mother's glare made it clear that there was no room next to her for someone like her, murderers and traitors aren't a part of this family.

Hunter's ears perked up in surprise, none of his friends were moving, in fact they acted as if running and finding cover was no longer crucial. Like nothing is worth a little struggle, not even dearest life.

All eyes were drawn to Danox. They were filled with so much fear and pain that he felt his heart crack. He followed their gazes, his blue eyes landed on the big, black dragon, tendrils of black magic were slithering all across his body like worms set on devouring their companions abdomens.

Danox had his eyes closed, mouth stretched into a dreamy smile of an addict relaxing after indulging once more into his narcotic.

He had no idea what the dragon was doing, but the magic he is using affects his team and judging from the soft whines coming from his friends it meant that it was nothing to be trifled with.

"Danox!" Hunter roared at the dragon

The black drake balked as if a lightning bolt would struck him, eyes opened, gleaming with intense white light, shade of purple pulsed at the edges. In that purple hid all the emotions, deep emotions of almost majestic dread.

The black dragon blinked, tendrils disappearing and eyes once more adopting the dark shade of obsidian.

"Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness"

All of the dragons gasped audibly as if they got the chance to inhale air after a long dive, paws clenching racing hearts that threatened to burst from the ribcages.

The dread running through them nothing more than a memory.

"To the cave! Now!" Hunter ordered, shaking his teammates back into action, blue eyes scanning the black drake intently

Danox noticed the glance, shrugging innocently.

"I warned"

They darted towards the cave, the creatures surrounding them didn't move, shook by whatever experience they went through, unable to decide if it is really safe to continue the attack.

Not all of them however were so hesitant, those that stood on their way, there was a couple of them, decided to attack them nevertheless.

"I'll take the one on the left!" Flare dashed in that direction immediately, charging at the attacking him creature

He wasn't worried about his heart as much as he was worried about his head, the Beast was pushed back two times already. It will have to be fed soon, it will ask for a meal during this night, this time he was sure it won't satisfy itself with a bird. It tasted the worm near Coriza's house, it fed it for a while, he has to find a similar meal or it will make a buffet out of his friends.

Not his friends. Anything, but not his friends.

The white creature slashed at him, cutting his snout, he ignored it entirely, leaping straight at it and pinning it to the ground. The thrashing big claws on its all fours legs causing more damage to his body than it was worth.

He lowered his temperature, saving the snow and allowing the darkness of the night to cover him.

He kissed the creature in the shade of the night, the beast not knowing what affection is didn't like his move, its fangs slipping into the soft surface of his lips, making them bleed profusely.

He breathed a stream of fire inside the creature's throat, it exploded inside, turning to cinders the tongue and vocal cords. So many times he said that fire can do so much other things than just burn stuff. It perfectly mends broken equipment as it mends wounds, ideal for all sort of torture.

He had much time to practice the details.

The yellow eyes of the creature shot wide open, the clench on his mouth intensified, just as did the kicking of the clawed legs that left bloody mark after bloody mark on his flesh. It only got worse when he trusted his heated claws on his right foreleg into the beasts side.

Another tongue was sent, blazing hit cutting through flesh and severing the bone it targeted.

The spinal cord.

The creature went numb momentarily, its mouth automatically prying open, parts of red, draconic lips remained glued to the fangs. Nothing came out from its throat but muffled gurgles. Tears started rolling from the creature's eyes.

Flare lifted himself up, leaning his wounded mouth over the creature, bleeding and scrubbing away the shreds of his mouth into the creature's gaping maw. This will have to sustain it for some time.

"Flare!" Spyro yelled in worry "Everything's fine?"

"Yes!" he shouted back, hectically burying the paralyzed creature under the snow, leaving only its head in the air and leaving a small twinkle of flame near it to keep the snow away.

He dashed towards the cave, his friends were already guarding the entrance, Cynder gasped at the sight of him.

"What the hell happened back there?!" she couldn't believe her own eyes, Flare looked like as if he would make a trip across a pen with Death Hound puppies

"Nothing" he avoided her gaze, looking inside the dark cave "I've made a mistake"

"Mistake?"

"I'm fine Cynder" he comforted his friend, running a claw against his bloodied lip "It won't happen again"

He swung his tongue over his mouth, tasting the combined blood of his flesh and the creature's, eyes sparkled at the taste of the latter.

"Not this night at least" he grumbled, eyes burning like matches