Rebirth Chapter 8

Chapter 8

The dark purple dragoness awoke the following morning, to the peaceful, quiet sound of birdsong in the distance, emanating through her open window. The sound, carried by a cool, early morning breeze was an ironically peaceful and tranquil beginning, to what for Cynder, and more importantly one of her best friends, would become a day from hell. As Cynder slowly awoke, to find she had (for once) slept alone in her own bed, her mind slowly began to fill her in on the details and events that had occurred the evening before. Raiko not coming back. The sight of his injuries worsening. The thought of Twilight melting in heartbreak when she would have to tell her the news. All the thoughts hovered around her mind, and slowly slotted themselves into place, bringing Cynder slowly back into her dreadful reality. Once her mind had briefed her on the events of the night before, and what she would have to do today, Cynder let out a long, deep sigh and began to stretch herself out.
After a couple of minutes of waking her limbs by stretching them out, she slowly trotted over to her window to reflect on how she was going to break the news to her friend. The sky was awash with a mixture of burnt oranges and deep reds. The fiery colours danced around the morning sky in sheer and utter beauty however, it was common knowledge to know what the red sky meant. "Red sky at night, Dragon's delight. Red sky in the morning, Dragon's warning." A red sky in the early hours, despite its beauty, meant that there was a storm coming.

As Cynder stared into the early morning sunrise, admiring the sheer natural beauty of the oranges, reds and blues dancing around each other across the sky, her thoughts began to converge on only one subject. How upset Twilight would be when she broke the news to her. After several minutes of staring at the early morning sky, and allowing her thoughts to wander freely around her worries, she let out a long, deep sigh and said
"What am I going to do with you Twilight?" At that moment, she was surprised to hear a somewhat unwelcome knock on her front door. She feared it would be Twilight hoping for good news. A massive boulder in her chest weighed her down as Cynder slowly trundled down stairs to confirm her worries. She stopped at her door, bracing herself for the next few minutes. "Here we go." She muttered to herself. She reached forward, pressing the brass latch down, turning the handle and pulling the thick, heavy door backward into her home. She was however pleasantly surprised when she saw who her visitor actually was. To her delight, the dragon that stood before her was the one she wanted to see more than anyone else in the world; her beloved mate and lover, Spyro. Upon seeing her purple knight standing before her, she threw herself forward embracing him in a tight hug. Spyro put his paw around her, returning the embrace slightly. He was quite surprised at Cynder's sudden gesture considering they had only been apart for a day. The passion, desperation and tightness of her as she held him close to her worried him.
"Hey. Glad to see you too. Is there something wrong Cynder?" He said gently.
"Oh Spyro. What am I going to do? I failed. She was relying on me and I failed her." She sobbed into him.
"It's okay Cynder. Let's go inside and talk about it." He said. He was quite surprised at just how much he was needed all of a sudden, but he didn't care because one of his duties as her mate was to be there for her whenever she needed him. No matter what. Cynder finally pulled away from him, tears in her eyes and nodded quickly. She turned and led her partner inside and into her living area.

"How will I break it to her?" Cynder said, collapsing on top of a large beanbag cushion she had in her living area. "What will I say to her when she arrives? The poor thing is in love with that stupid Black Dragon. How can I break it to her that I failed in bringing him back to her?" She asked her mate who was looking at her with infinite sympathy, and trying to prepare some words of wisdom to say to her. He closed the gap between them, and sat down beside her.
"Listen Cynder, Whatever happens today, you mustn't blame yourself. Twilight brought you into this, and you did exactly what he promised her. You didn't fail at all." Spyro said softly and slowly, formulating his words carefully. "All you can do is be there for her when you tell her. Be her friend, and be the person to heal her for change." Spyro finished, rubbing his paw on Cynder's ribs and comforting her by keeping his tone soft and low, and lowering his head, keeping their bodies close and giving Cynder the security of knowing he was there for her.
"Well that's the thing isn't it? I have you to turn to. Just about everyone has at least someone to turn to in times of need, and someone to love. But, Twilight doesn't. She's always the one helping other people, and hardly anyone ever thinks of her as a result. She is too nice for her own good. More than that though, she is shy, and I know this might be her only chance to be with someone, because she won't ask anyone out herself. Twilight needs someone in her life. She spends so much time helping other people; no one ever stops to help her." Cynder replied, sitting up on her beanbag. "I just feel so sorry for her." She finished.
"I feel sorry for her as well Cynder, but there is nothing either of us can do. You did everything he possibly could, there's no scenario or anything anyone could have done anything differently, for this not to be the outcome. This could have only happened, and there's nothing anyone could have done. If anyone is to blame for this, it's Raiko and not Twilight, and certainly not you. Don't blame yourself, and tell her not to blame herself either. There's nothing you could have done." Spyro said, comforting his mate. Spyro of course, was unaware of Raiko's reasons to leave and his history, and Spyro was fighting a surge of hatred burning inside of him for the black Dragon.
"I know Spyro. Deep down I know that. I'm just so worried. I've never seen Twilight like this. She's usually so happy and never seems to need help herself. She so kind and I don't want to be the one to ruin that. I'm so scared of how upset she will be." Cynder replied shakily.
"Just try and think of some kind words to say beforehand. You can do it, you always do." He replied.
"I hope so. When do you think her…" Before Cynder could finish her sentence, the pair once again heard those familiar, unwelcome, loud knocks from the entrance to Cynder's home. The two dragons froze for a second and looked at each other, both knowing who the visitor was. "That will be her then. I think it's best if you disappear upstairs for a minute. I think it's best if I'm alone with her." Cynder whispered. Spyro nodded, knowing that not only would both the girls prefer it if he wasn't listening, but also that the last thing Twilight would need was to see Spyro, thus reminding her that Cynder had someone and she didn't.
"See you in a little while. Come and get me when you're done." He whispered before tiptoeing back down Cynder's hallway, and upstairs to hide in her bedroom.

Cynder stopped at the front door to take a deep breath in, preparing herself for the difficult task that lay ahead in the next few minutes. She reluctantly opened the door to greet her visitor and invite her inside.
"Hia Twilight." Cynder greeted her guest, already having an undertone of sympathy.
"Hi Cynder." Twilight said slowly and sadly. Her voice sounded like she had the weight of the world on her wings. Cynder also noticed she barely even looked at her. Twilight only looked at her for a second when she had first opened the door before her eyes diverted to the side and down in sadness.
"I think you had better come inside." Cynder said sympathetically. Her visitor nodded quickly but still did not make eye contact. Cynder led her guest to her living area and prepared herself to break the news to her. Twilight, unlike last time, did not sit down. "It's obvious why you're here sweetie. You want to know…" Cynder was cut off before she could finish.
"It's okay Cynder. I already know." Twilight replied heavily.
"Okay… How do you already know?" Cynder asked perplexed and quite surprised. Not only by the fact she already knew, but the fact that she was managing to hold herself together quite well.
"I saw you come back last night. I couldn't sleep and I was by my window. I saw you return, and Raiko wasn't with you." Twilight said flatly. "I…" She hesitated. "I just wanted to know if you actually found him or not." She said softly. Cynder let out a long heavy sigh.
"I'm afraid so Twilight. I found him, but I couldn't convince him to come with me. I tried Twilight I really did. I'm so…" Again she was cut off.
"Don't even try to finish that sentence Cynder. Its fine it really is. You tried your best, that's all I can ask from you. It really isn't your fault." The pain in Twilight's voice was really beginning to show now. Cynder took a step forward, and placed a paw on her friends shoulder. Twilight finally looked up at her friend and smiled softly. "What… What did he say?" She asked.
"He asked me how I can live with myself knowing about my past with Spyro. I tried to explain that a relationship is about being there the person you love. He wasn't listening to me at all. He thinks he is evil, and that you deserve better." Cynder explained slowly. She was about to close the gap between them and give her friend a sympathetic hug, when she noticed how much Twilight's expression had changed. Her once heavy expression, her face flooded with sorrow, now showed signs of annoyance and pure held back anger. "Twilight, are you okay?" Cynder asked concerned and slightly scared by her friend's unusual expression.
"Cynder, where did you see him?" She asked, her voice sounding strangely strong and determined.
"Mmmm, about 40 miles east into the forest. He wasn't far from Misty Waters." Cynder answered, still a little perplexed at her friend sudden change in emotion.
"Where?" Her friend replied.
"Misty Waters. You know, the little clearing near the east side of the forest. You must have heard of it. The elders are always talking about stories of spirits being seen there and stuff. Not to mention the amount of storms that seem to always be breaking out there. Some people call it a Lightning Lake." Cynder explained. Upon hearing this, Twilight looked up at her friend and nodded briefly, as if to say she had just made a decision she had been pondering for some time.
"Okay Cynder. Thanks a lot." She said, and with that, headed directly and swiftly to the front door. Cynder however, was still incredibly confused as to what had just happened.
"Wait Twilight, where are you going?" She yelled from her corridor at Twilight who was already outside.
"To knock some sense into a stupidly stubborn Dragon!" She yelled in response before spreading her wings out and launching quickly and violently into the air with incredible velocity. Cynder watched her friend fly away, obviously heading east. Cynder could only think of the way Twilight had just launched from the ground. She had never seen anyone take off so quickly and with so much energy. Cynder also had something niggling at the back of her mind which didn't really make sense. She couldn't work out whether or not it was just her eyes, or whether she had really seen it. It was when Twilight had looked at her after she had explained roughly where Raiko last was. Cynder's eyes had picked up a tiny flicker of white light that danced across her forehead marking. She thought about how Spyro glowed with a white light when he had released his fury energy to repair the Earth all those years ago.

Fuelled by a sense of determination and power she had not felt before triggered by desperation to be with the one she loved, a blue dragoness scoured the skies over the thick canopy below her in search of her beloved. Her finely tuned aerial instincts boosted by years of training and experience accurately estimated the distance she had travelled and where she needed to go. 35 miles away from her home, the determined dragoness suddenly allowed gravity to take over, and began diving at high-speed like a missile down to the canopy. She uncurled her wings a few meters above the treetops, allowing herself to swoop down into the thick maze of vegetation with impressive control. Upon seeing a small gap between the trees, she glided quickly down to the forest floor, skillfully avoiding the sharp branches and thorns that seemed almost designed to rip anything that attempted to fly down to shreds. The vicious branches would have caught out a less skilled flyer, but not Twilight, and certainly not now when she was fuelled with such determination. Her feet touched down onto the forest floor almost completely silently with all the skill of a hunter. Still breathing heavily from her high-speed aerial antics, Twilight took a second to examine her surroundings. She looked around the dark forest engulfing her, scanning everything from the dark ditches in the ground where foxes made their dens, to the dark, echoey, evil canopy above her that seemed to be alive in itself. There was only one question on her mind. "Where are you Raiko?"