FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter 6

The door opened and the cart-like stretcher began to roll through them, the sheet that covered it was slightly red from blood. The moment the wooden wheels bounced softly on the doorstep the stretcher revealed its handles and two feline hands gripping them. Clearly tired Amela emerged soon after.

The cheetah gently closed the door behind her to make as least sound as it was possible before she leaned on the handles with her hands crossed on her elbows and smiled gratefully at the two young dragons standing in the corridor.

" Thank you for sparing this old back"

" You're not THAT old Amela" Cynder comforted the healer

" My bones would disagree"

The dragoness giggled.

" What happened to her? Flare asked curiously " she was bleeding quite bad"

The cheetah straightened, there was an audible crack in her lower back, just above the tail, the cat immediately placed her hand on the sore spot and through a wincing expression laughed " See what I was talking about?" with a sigh she adopted an expression that befits an experienced healer " Internal bleeding is not a thing to be trifled with, even for dragons with their natural regeneration process it can be quite troublesome. Healing such as this takes time, no magic will change that, and our new girl didn't listen to my advice and ended up not only fainting from exhaustion but also opening the wound and losing more blood. You youngsters are so reckless"

" Don't get me wrong" Cynder stated " I'm sure you did everything you could but I'm surprised that you couldn't keep her in the room, you kicked out Cyril after all"

Amela smiled, a delicate shimmer of long gone pride flickered in her eyes " That's because Cyril was polite enough to not slam me against the wall"

The dragonesses eyes widened, the Ice Guardians reserve towards their new guest still fresh in her mind " She attacked you?"

" I wouldn't be so harsh, she just wanted me to be out of her way, and from what I gathered that was her polite way of asking"

Cynder scratched the floor nervously with her claw, she had enough of hearing that somebody dared to attack her friends, and she considered the old healer as her friend" If she wakes up I'm going to kill her"

Amela raised her hand with her palm opened " Now, now Sweetheart, you of all people should know not to jump to conclusions"

There was something in the cheetah's voice that shamed her, it was like the gentle yet at the same time scolding words of a...

...mother?

The dragoness averted her gaze without a word.

" We must understand her position. She woke up in an alien city and among strangers who found her as the only alive creature surrounded by bones and bodies. Either she is the actual killer and I've got lucky that my wrinkled head is still attached to my even more wrinkled neck or she is innocent and didn't want to take any chances"

" She gave her name right? She can't be that bad" Flare interjected

Amela smiled " People not always share their names to introduce themselves. Some use names to threat, some, like our new friend behind the door, use them to boast. She was rather angry when I told her I don't recognize her, she thought I was fooling her"

" Huh" The fiery dragon frowned, it made sense, however there was one more thing that was bugging him and it was still unresolved " She has an odd name. I-r-i-s"

Cynder grinned " Since when you're a name specialist?"

" Our friend here might be right" the female cheetah added " Iris is a peculiar name, not common for dragons in our parts. Her accent would confirm that, I've never heard anyone speaking something like that, it's like the mix of Common and Manwersmalls natural dialect. I'm guessing she's not from around here, but then again from where could she come from?"

" We have an answer for that" Cynder's words gotten Amela's attention " it's a secret but you should know. She's most likely from another time, lately portals began to opening all around the world which connect our world with what seems to be a past era and..."

The cheetah raised her hands defensively " Oh no, no, no, stop right there Sweetheart"

The dragonesses mouth shut tight.

" I'm too old for things like that. Time travel? You and Spyro are capable of doing wonders, so I won't be surprised if you managed to achieve that, but my only concern are my patients, whatever is happening out there in the Realms doesn't concern me. We all have our part to play, and my is strictly connected with medicine and I would prefer it to stay that way. I've had enough action for a lifetime"

The cheetah smiled " With that out of the way how about we go and look at those bones? Cyril will kill me if I won't give him answers" she began to push the stretcher down one of the hospital corridors " Maybe your young minds will make some more sense out of those bones than I did"

" Wait!" Cynder exclaimed " You're not going to close the door?"

" She won't run again, it would be irresponsible of her, especially in the light of the last failed attempt. Besides I doubt she will wake up, her tired body needs a good night's sleep, and even if she manages to wake up I have a bed in my office, I would hear her moving about. I learnt to recognize every sound that these walls echo"

" You sleep in your office?" the dragoness asked surprised

The cheetah smiled and shrugged " Why not? I have everything I need here and if there is someone seeking help I'm right next door"

" Everyone needs to take a break sometimes"

The feline's hands clenched more tighter on the handles of the stretcher " In my line of work breaks mean death, negligence has its price. I make sure that nobody is going to pay that price, not on my watch"

Cynder was taken aback by the determination and aggression in the cheetah's words " I'm sorry, I-"

" No Sweetheart, you have nothing to apologize for" Amela cut her off " I tend to get emotional when talking about death. I have seen so many people dying that I'm obsessed with saving lives, especially those of my patients. Each loss leaves a mark on me, but I suppose that's the curse of every healer. We all have our nightmares after all"

The cheetah's eyes widened with sudden enlightenment " Speaking of which" she turned her gaze on the black dragoness " How did you sleep?"

Cynder frowned, lost in confusion and thought " For the last weeks I've slept like a hatchling, after I took a nap with the aroma of the herb in the air I hadn't any weird dreams" her barely audible voice trailed off suddenly, an obvious sign that there was more to the story

Amela narrowed her eyes on the dragoness " But...?"

The young female took a nervous glance behind herself to check if Flare who was following them was listening to their conversation. He wasn't.

Cynder swallowed " But it all changed lately" she whispered " I've seen that dragon again not so long ago and I wasn't even sleeping. He was standing on the street, people were walking past by him just like he didn't exist, so either he bribed those people to ignore him or my mind plays tricks on me. I think that the herb's effect is starting to wear off and I just need to cope with the withdrawal process"

The feline firmly shook her head " The mix I gave you was only a simple relaxing formula, it was supposed to help putting your body and mind to rest for only one night, after the treatment the body should adapt itself to its natural cycle. Whatever is happening with you Cynder has nothing to do with the medicine, the herbs have no lingering side effects"

Colors faded from the dragonesses snout, even through her black scales she looked quite pale " I knew you would say that, yet I wanted to believe that I was right. Everyone has dreams" she tried to smile but her mouth only twitched into an incomprehensible grimace

Amela watched the young female with worry and kindness shimmering in her eyes, however something entirely else ignited that glimmer, it was the tiniest and quickest spark of incomprehensible triumph.

" You're starting to worry me Sweetheart, hallucinations are serious problem, you are a perfectly healthy young girl, such things should not have been happening. Whatever it is, I doubt it has anything to do with more mundane medical troubles. You need to talk to someone about this"

" I already am" Cynder looked at the cheetah pleadingly

The sight made the feline's heart hurt, she clearly understood the meaning behind that look " Of course you can count on me Sweetheart, I'm here for you, and I'm honored that you confide in me but I'm afraid that I will be only able to ease your suffering but not help you, it's beyond my expertise. I can see that whatever is happening to you terrifies you, Sweetheart you've been through many things, if there is something out there that can scare someone like you then it has to be dangerous. Fear is your natural defensive instinct, and judging from your expression I say that your defense is stretched to the limits. You need to tell someone else about this, Spyro would definitely help you"

The dragoness sighed, if things were different she might have considered the healer's advice, but not now.

" I appreciate that you don't give up but I stand by my decision from our last conversation"

" Sweetheart..."

" I can't drag Spyro into this!" Cynder let out a muffled shout, and the moment she realized that she looked behind her shoulder.

Flare raised his eyes curiously at them, he kept those black slits focused on both of them and remained staring at both females for a couple of seconds, wondering what might have caused the gentle outburst. After some more seconds of silent staring Flare shrugged and focused on something else entirely, thinking that he was just imagining things.

The moment her red friend lost interest Cynder once again turned towards Amela " Not now when everything is going crazy. You heard what people and the new, old, founder of Warfang were saying?"

The cheetah dropped her head, the silent, sad and slow blink of her eyes spoke volumes.

" Spyro just went to talk with that guy! That stubborn bastard is already doing everything in his power to protect me even if I told him not to do so! The idiot. Can you imagine what he would do if he found out about my mental problems? He would turn the world upside down and by doing so he would ruin himself, he is already swaying at the brink of people's patience as it is. I will never allow my friends come to harm because of me, whatever punishment the world has prepared I deserve it all, nobody else"

The feline raised her gaze on the dragoness, this time there was no spark behind her kindness and pity for the girl, as if her eyes no longer noticed the correct tinder.

" I... understand" she made a short pause gathering her thoughts " and you know what?" the cheetah's eyes flared up with the determination and will of the young " Let all of them eat their hearts out, you are a lovely pretty girl with a big heart who is willing to sacrifice her own happiness for the well-being of her friends. If people don't want to see that, ignore them, you don't have to prove anything when their blindness is the only thing that is holding them back from seeing the truth. Be proud of your attempts of redemption ,walk with your head raised high, when people will put skids under you show them how strong you are and press forward"

" Same thing goes for the thing that is haunting you, whether it is a manifestation of guilt or something entirely else- face it. It may be scary but you can't allow anything or anyone to dictate your life. Never again"

Cynder observed the cheetah with tears shimmering in her eyes, Amela's words were like the loudest motivating war cry. Oh how she needed someone from the outside to give her support, someone who lived through the hell she created and offered assistance. Hearing Amela speaking such inspiring words only intensified the feeling of robustness shaking her body. There was something in the old cheetah that made Cynder crave for the feline's acceptance, understanding and comfort. Whenever she was around the feline, the dragoness felt like a part of her long gone past just clicked in place, and until now she didn't realize how much she needed it.

The female dragon smiled widely, obviously relieved " It's nice to get some things off my chest"

Amela smiled " I will always be here for you, stop by whenever you want"

Cynder blinked, cleaning her eyes with last drops of tears " Thanks, it means a lot to me"

With a smile still adoring her face the cheetah nodded and continued their walk in silent contemplation.

" You don't talk much do you?" she asked with a joyful raised voice after a while

With a smile of her own Cynder looked behind her shoulder, it was just as she expected. Flare had his head raised high and was watching them curiously, unsure if the question hanging in the air was directed at him.

Amela stopped in her tracks and turned towards the fiery drake " Well?"

Flare balked with realization " Me? I talk when it is demanded of me, I'm trying not to forget myself anymore"

The cheetah furrowed her brows " Why? You don't have your own opinion?"

Cynder also watched her friend closely, he never acted like this before.

" Speaking when you are not asked is dangerous"

" Who told you that?" the cheetah asked surprised and angered to some degree at the unknown stranger who poisoned the dragon's head with such nonsense.

" Purple dragons"

Both females eyes widened, Cynder was shocked because she was taken aback by Flare's straightforwardness and Amela because of the obvious.

" Now you're making fun of me, we all know that in this world only one pu-: the cheetah's voice trailed off when she remembered Cynder's words. She turned toward the dragoness " Time travel?"

The female dragon nodded " Time travel"

The feline rubbed her forehead " Nevertheless you are entitled to your opinion, there is something called freedom of speech after all"

" Freedom of speech is hazardous, it leads only to chaos" Flare replied automatically, like some sort of a robot programmed with already prepared answers

" He was always like that?" Amela whispered

" Not lately" Cynder whispered back " he felt quite comfortable around us, well, most of the times. Now he seems different, something has changed"

The cheetah narrowed her gaze on the fiery dragon " Why do you think so?"

The dragon sighed sadly " Because every time I do something on my own I end up saying or doing one thing too much, and every time it ends with disaster. Once my rash thinking almost led me to my death, now I ended up being blamed for something I didn't do just because I was curious, not to mention that I'm now stuck in the middle of something I've never truly felt before and the most terrifying thing in my life, and there is no way reaching for the thing I want without facing the thing I'm afraid of" the drake shook his head in resignation " It's a mess, I rather do what people demand of me"

" You can't possibly be serious boy" the cheetah replied fiercely" You want to resign from your freedom of choice because not everything played out just like you wanted? You know who says things like that? Slaves"

Cynder winced after hearing the cheetah's words, Flare on the other hand wasn't saddened by them, in fact if somebody would notice the literal tiny flames flickering in his eyes for a second, they would say that he is quite angry.

" Actually" the dragoness muttered " from what we know Flare was a slave, most likely his whole life"

Amela threw the dragoness a horrified and filled with guilt and embarrassment look " By the Ancestors" she mumbled and rubbed her forehead "Subtlety is not on my side today" she turned towards the drake with pleading eyes " I hope you forgive me for my stupidity, I didn't mean to offend"

Flare shrugged " It's ok, you didn't know"

" However you must understand that you've been given a second chance. You were offered freedom, you are far away from your captors, you can do whatever you want, don't throw that away. Freedom of choice is not that simple, so what if things didn't go the way you preferred, this is today, you don't know what will happen tomorrow, maybe the thing that looks bad now may be the ground for something good in the future"

" You don't know what's going to happen, there is no plan, no hidden goal, you act in line with your personality, you live your life under your own rule. This is the magic of freedom. If the road you chose turned out to be too difficult or too disappointing, you can always stop and walk the other way. Remember that you always have a choice. Freedom is not simple, it's challenging and mostly bitter, but that's life, live with the consequences of your actions and perhaps in the end the flavor will turn sweet. Do you understand?"

Flare nodded slowly, he didn't know what taste or roads had to do with anything, but he got the point of the cheetah's monologue, at least he thought so.

Amela clapped her hands " Great!" she spread her arms to the sides " Now look around, is there anything you want to know? Anything"

The dragon raised his head " There is one thing" he nodded towards the strange thing that was used to carry the unconscious dragoness " What is that thing?"

The feline patted the wooden handle " This? This is a stretcher, it's used to transport the wounded, the big ones to be precise, like the dragons for example" she furrowed her brows " You didn't have stretchers in your..." she trailed of looking for an appropriate word

" Prison" the drake finished for her " No"

" Then how your healers were transporting the wounded?"

" We didn't have any healers"

Amela's eyes shot wide open " You didn't? Then, then how you treated your wounds?"

" I seared them"

" You did what?!" the cheetah exclaimed shocked " With what?" then in an instant realization struck her as she focused on the dragon's silhouette, he is a walking fire, he definitely had the means to burn his wounds.

She rubbed her forehead once more " Don't answer that" she swallowed, another questions was rumbling in her throat that she believed she had the answer for already, yet she wanted to make sure " What of people who don't wield flames like you do? What happened to them?"

" They died"

With a shake of her head the cheetah raised her eyes to the ceiling " Ancestors... why people do such things to each other?"

" The weak will perish, the strong will thrive, and by doing so they will empower us and win their freedom" Flare replied with another programed verse

Cynder cleared her throat " That was a rhetorical question, you..." she noticed the confused look in the dragon's eyes. She waved her paw dismissively " Forget it"

" You need to stop saying things like that!' the cheetah exclaimed " Whoever poisoned your mind with such thoughts is evil to the core, all life has to be cherished. You speak words that aren't your own, forget about your past, what happened in your time or whatever place you came from has no meaning here. Especially forget about your captors, they were all liars, they would do and say anything to achieve their goal, I lived through Malefor's and Shadow's era and I understand how corruptive evil can be"

" Our Cynder didn't have the privilege to defend herself, but you have. You don't have to listen to lies and ridiculous rules, just start from the beginning, don't allow the past to haunt you and you will be fine" she gave the dragoness a meaningful look " Both of you"

The cheetah's words reminded Flare of the promised clean sheet, and how good it felt to be free from all the shackles. He really wanted to feel like that again, but unfortunately it isn't that simple, even this time has similarities with his own, like the purple dragons or dragon for that matter or the trouble he gets into when he acts on his own.

But then again it may be just like the healer said, that's life, he couldn't really tell if that is actually true, he never experienced true freedom and never enjoyed the perks life has to offer after all. Whether it's true or only false hope he decided that it is worth the risk, maybe with a little restrain everything will be alright. After all Cynder went through the same thing, and she turned out fine, that is just another reason to try, he just can't disappoint his only friend.

Flare nodded " I'll try" he muttered

Amela smiled and began to push the stretcher again " That is everything I ask"

*

" Are you absolutely certain that you want to stay here?" Amela asked while holding a door open

Cynder nodded towards the freshly revealed room " Come on Flare, we could use your help"

The fiery dragon looked inside the room for a brief second and quickly averted his gaze with a glimmer of fear in his eyes which didn't escape the cheetah's notice.

" I'll wait here, I would only get in your way"

The dragoness opened her mouth to protest but was quickly cut off by the feline " As you wish, we won't be long" with that she patted the dragoness to gain her attention and threw her a meaningful look while nodding towards the opened door

With a surprised frown Cynder entered the room, the cheetah followed soon after and closed the door.

" He would come with us if we tried hard enough"

" I know, but by convincing him to come with us we would only put him to unnecessary harm"

The dragoness jerked her head back " How so?"

" Our friend is terrified of something and since he grew up in very rough conditions while seeing death and most likely many other things a child should never see, I'm guessing the bones are making him so reluctant to come with us"

" That would make sense, Flare is also completely afraid of worms, that fear makes him almost paranoid"

Amela nodded " This only confirms my suspicion, horrors of our childhood have an effect on our future life, especially when those fears aren't countered in our younger days. Flare was clearly abused and it's obvious that he didn't have anyone who helped him conquer those traumatic experiences, hence he developed untreated phobias which makes him unpredictable. You're the only one who can help him"

Cynder furrowed her brows " Me? Why?"

" I see how he looks at you, you're probably the only one who shown him some kind of trust and support after so many years. He just doesn't want to let you down, if not for you I'm quite certain that he would completely ignore my advice"

" You may be right, I think I'm the only one who he treats as a real friend"

" Precisely. Flare was abandoned his whole life, and now when he found someone he can trust he will do everything just not to lose you, which is why you need to be careful"

" Careful?"

Amela sighed sadly " Yes, careful. He is a broken little thing, vulnerable and desperate creatures like him when pushed against the wall will fight until they draw their last breath, and for better or worse you've become his wall now. Remember then, he might seem careless, clumsy or pitiful but in truth he is very dangerous, especially to those that wronged him in the past and threaten to take you away in his eyes"

" Spyro" Cynder muttered horrified

The cheetah nodded sullenly " Yes, Spyro reminds him of his captors, Flare hates him as much as he is terrified of him"

" But Flare said already that he doesn't hate him"

" Believe me, he does, he's trying to fight with his emotions because he knows it would hurt you but it doesn't mean that he can control himself forever. I don't know what the dragons wanted to achieve by torturing and testing him, but I suppose that whatever it was it can't be good, and since he was held captive by evil purple dragons I guess it was about power"

" What I'm trying to say is that there has to be a reason why he survived so long, and if Flare words had any truth to them then we can assume that his survival is strictly connected with eliminating the weaker prisoners"

The dragoness swallowed " Yes, he is a very capable fighter"

" I was afraid of that" Amela kneeled in front of the dragoness " Listen to me Sweetheart, if you can help him then by all means do it, but if you won't see any progress you need to give up on him. Phobias, and the abuse by his captors which as time flown by only added layer upon layer of hate on him mixed with the fire dragons natural recklessness and impulsiveness made Flare a ticking time bomb. I've seen the flicker in his eyes when I accidently mentioned slavery, there is so much pain and anger in that boy"

" Then what I'm supposed to do? Keep him away from Spyro?"

" How do you plan to do that when Spyro is focused on protecting you? This is the deadlock I'm afraid of, if you spend too much time with Spyro alone Flare will feel that your friend is stealing you from him, just like all the purple dragons stole everything he held dear in the past. If you will travel with Flare and Spyro for too long there might be a situation when too many words will be said and Flare will snap which will result in one or both of your friends getting hurt"

" I can't tell Spyro about this, if he finds out he will push Flare away, especially when he'll learn that he can be dangerous. He'll treat him as another danger, especially now when they are not on good terms " Cynder sighed " I hate having secrets from Spyro"

Amela put her hand on the dragonesses shoulder " For what it's worth Flare has a good heart, a deeply scarred one, but good nonetheless. Whatever hate is gnawing at him he is trying to hold it back I could see it in his eyes. That is why you can't plan your actions regarding him, do not manipulate him, act normally, do what you think is right and everything will be fine, you're friends after all. Flare is maimed and his wounds run very deep but he sees the difference between good and evil and that's the best thing one can hope for"

Cynder let out a tired sigh and rubbed her forehead " When life became so complicated?"

The cheetah smiled and raised on her legs " Wasn't it always? How about we complicate it a little more?" with a knowing smile she nodded towards the table with the bones on it

" Sure" the females began to make their way towards the table " I must say that I'm impressed, you deduced all those things just by looking at Flare"

Amela shrugged " What can I say? I sleep in my office"

The dragoness laughed.

The females approached a table covered in white sheet, above it a magically lit chandelier was hanging, which illuminated the room with an intense light. The room consisted also of many other different furniture but both females weren't much interested in that, the bones spread neatly on the sheet drawn their whole attention.

It was obvious that someone spent many hours trying to piece together the strange skeleton but was unable to, it was hard to tell what was the main reason behind this failure, there was plenty of room to make a mistake after all. First of all no one from the hospital, or anywhere else for that matter, seen such a skeleton before, also thanks to the scavengers who ruined the remaining bones it was difficult to say which small bone went where, not to mention that there were plenty of bones still lying at the edges of the table, probably remnants of some other skeletons or perhaps those were the pieces of the already partially assembled skeleton but nobody knew how to put the final pieces together.

One thing was certain however, whatever scavengers live in the jungle they know how to be thorough, the bones were mostly picked clean, the rest was taken care off by the healers preparing the bones for examination.

Amela leaned over the bones and began to examine the skeleton from top to bottom " I must say that my colleagues did a wonderful job with the remains, even despite the lack of knowledge of this specific creature's anatomy, everything seems to be in perfect order"

Cynder raised on her hind legs while placing her front paws on the table, the moment she got comfortable she absorbed every detail of the strange skeleton with wide eyes.

" Whoa" the dragoness muttered excitedly

The cheetah smiled proudly " Pretty impressive, is it not?"

" These bones look like they were stolen from some kind of exhibition"

The feline giggled " If it only was that easy. To be able to examine the skeleton these bones needed to be cleaned first, and trust me, it is a very tedious and stressful work, all the reason why my friends deserve thanks"

With a sigh Amela focused on the bones " What do you think?"

Cynder ran her eyes along the skeleton once more, in a very scrutinizing manner this time. Her gaze stopped on the skeleton's legs " It's definitely bipedal, the bones on its legs are rather thick so I'm guessing we are dealing with a male" the dragoness furrowed her brows as her sight went lower " It has strange paws"

" If those are paws in the first place" Amela interjected while pointing at the end of the mentioned paws " Whatever this things is it has no claws whatsoever, not here and not on its hands either. Which is strange since this specie is definitely a mammal judging from its teeth"

Amela pointed at the jaw and the mentioned brownish rows of teeth, many of them were missing. The cheetah especially focused on second teeth on both sides of the mouth " See this? Its teeth are more flatten and not so sharp but this are most certainly canines. Also seeing how deep these teeth are rooted I would say that this specie is a diphyodont"

" I don't understand"

" Like any other mammal this specimen develops two sets of teeth" the cheetah leaned closer towards the jaw and huffed thoughtfully " Many teeth are missing but judging from the size of the mouth I would say that sixteen can be found in the maxilla and also sixteen in the mandible which gives us a total of thirty-two teeth, which is quite an adequate number considering that most mammals are happy with between twenty to fifty teeth"

Cynder was still focused on the lower part of the skeletal body " What mammal doesn't have a tail?"

Amela pointed a claw at the dragoness " A very good question, which I asked myself. Look" she traced her finger along the skeleton's spine and stopped at the lower part of it where the tail was supposed to be " This specimen has a vestigial coccyx, it's like a remnant of a long lost tail"

" Our tail is responsible for keeping balance and mobility. And here, what is very interesting, the tailbone lost its primary function, now it only serves some secondary functions, such as being an attachment point for muscles most likely. It would explain why it hasn't degraded further"

Cynder shook her head " I don't understand any of this, just look at its head, that's not even a snout"

Amela smiled and patted the dragonesses head " A skull Sweetheart, we are investigating a possible crime, let's keep professional" the cheetah cackled in her first and leaned over the mentioned head

" If we didn't have the rest of the skeleton here I would say that this is a skull of a very deformed ape, but in the light of recent findings I can say that there is absolutely no possibility that an ape's skull could look like this"

" And you're right that this isn't a snout, I don't know what it is but most animal faces are more protruding and not flat like this. I wish I could say something more but I know as much as you do, whatever this thing is it has quite a big brain"

Amela straightened up and folded her arms " What do we know for certain?"

Cynder examined the skeleton once again while biting her lower lip " We have something like one hundred fifty bones here, many more were probably picked off by scavengers. I think that a fall from a great high is what killed this thing, if of course those cracks and indentations on the bones were caused by something else"

Amela nodded impressed " Excellent Sweetheart!"

The dragoness dropped on the ground and grinned at the cheetah " Years of experience in killing things has its perks"

An awkward silence has befallen on the room as both females were staring at each other, it was then when Cynder's grin vanished the moment she realized the weight of her words only empowered by her past, terribly evil actions.

The dragoness coughed and averted her gaze while scratching her choker nervously " That didn't come out right" she mumbled

The cheetah only smiled kindly seeing the dragoness reaction " Anybody told you how cute you look when you're abashed?"

Cynder's cheeks turned red when she looked at the feline with a corner of her eye and smiled bashfully.

" And how beautiful when you smile?"

The dragoness giggled nervously " Stop it Amela, you're embarrassing me"

" If I was like forty years younger and a man that would be my goal" the smile on the cheetah's face only grew wider when she heard another wavering giggle and saw the reddish hue adorning the dragonesses cheeks growing brighter.

" Is there a special dragon who you will enslave with that smile?"

" I hope so" Cynder muttered without thinking

" Will his scales and eyes be purple?"

Cynder's eyes shot wide open, she tried to say something but only ended with her mouth agape, she could feel her cheeks getting hotter and hotter every second. To hide her blush she swiftly spun around " Can we..." she cleared her throat "...can we get back to work?" she jumped on the table again and pretended to examine the skeleton

With a knowing smile Amela approached the table, the moment she stopped next to the dragoness and looked at her the cheetah noticed how Cynder avoided her gaze, yet every now and then the feline noticed her green eye taking glimpses of her. The sight amused the feline greatly.

" There is hardly more I can add" Amela said with the earlier professional tone " Not all of these indentations and cracks are caused by the fall, some look like they were crushed, something really heavy toppled on this creature, also all the dragons we found on the scene had their necks broken. So either our sleeping girl has a talent for growing mountains out of the ground or she has nothing to do with it"

" Th..." the dragoness swallowed " ...This whole thing can be a very bad accident?"

" if Iris wouldn't have a spear jutting out of her chest I might have believed that. I would rather say that whatever happened there was a very unfortunate coincidence"

Cynder dropped on the ground with a sigh " Great, more mysteries"

For a moment Amela thought about tormenting the dragoness a bit more but decided not to, there is time for jokes and there is time for peace, and since the moon was currently at its highest it was obvious that it is the hour for the latter.

" There is nothing more we can do here Sweetheart, hopefully Iris will have more answers"

With a silent nod of agreement the dragoness followed the cheetah out of the room. The moment she stepped over the doorstep her eyes went wide open.

" Flare?" Cynder blurt out surprised when she noticed the fiery dragon curled near the wall just next to the door

" Seems like somebody was tired" Amela commented while closing the door silently

The black dragoness approached her friend and shook him gently " Flare?" the dragon mumbled something incoherently and stirred. She shook him again " Flare?"

The fiery drake opened his sleepy eyes " Cynder?" he mumbled and yawned " You guys are done?"

" Why are you sleeping here?"

" Because I was tired"

" I mean why are you not sleeping in your room"

Flare looked at her surprised " My room?"

Cynder shook her head " Come on, get up, I'll show you"

The moment both young dragons looked at her Amela smiled " We all need some rest, it's been a long day. Goodnight youngsters"

" Goodnight" Cynder replied cheerfully and led the tired fiery dragon behind her

*

Amela was heading back the way she traveled with the two young dragons, her mind buzzing with the questions the examination of the bones aroused. Her excitement days are over but she wanted to know the answers just to satisfy her professional hunger.

As she passed through the door where they left the unconscious dragoness she stopped, driven by impulse she retraced her steps and reached for the knob, the door opened without any resistance.

The room was completely dark, if not for the moon's illumination reaching through the window on the wall Amela wouldn't find her way, even now when she spent most of her time in the hospital walls.

The cheetah smiled, so many years in this building, she should have find everything she needed even if blinded. It seems she must be getting senile.

The room was also silent, excluding the wavering breaths and moans of an invisible dragoness thrashing on the bed. Amela made her way towards the sound, gently putting her legs on the floor as to not wake up the dreaming dragoness. Thanks to the moon's light she noticed a chair near the bed with iris, she reached for it, pulled it delicately closer and rested her tired rump on it.

The cheetah listened to the sounds emitting from the dragoness, judging from her ragged breathing she wasn't having any pleasant dreams. After everything she's been through it wasn't such a big surprise. The wavering breaths and moans kept going unhindered that Amela began to feel sorry for the good girl.

The cheetah placed her paw on the dragonesses head and began to stroke it gently " I wonder if you're dreaming about those unknown creatures, and if you do then speak their name. You have nothing to be afraid of"

To the cheetah's surprise a rasping word came out from the dragonesses throat that she heard clearly but didn't understand.

" Mankind"