An adult Dragon stood high on the cliff face of the Peace Keepers, the surprise magic attack was the first time that they had ever been defeated but to make it worse their rescuer was both a young Dragon and a Sheep! He was a valiant fighter at least while his Ewe had some surprisingly good moves of her own, the only issue is the nature of their relationship...as well as how public they was with it. Even now he could see the pair of them walking along to clear out yet another world, laughing, teasing, it was like watching a newlywed couple more than the heros of the world. Shaking his head as he turned to go sort things of his own.
“Did you see the look on Magnus’s face when he found us having a picnic on that hill?” Spyro began nearly laughing from the memory.
“I can not believe you invited him to join us, never thought a Dragon could even turn that color!” Marble retorted before cracking up herself.
“So, what kind of world have we got this time? The inside of a volcano?” Marble continued amusingly.
“Pfft, thankfully we are not that crazy. This is another island world, like Sunny Flight from Artisans.” He explained.
“That sounds nice, what is the no doubt genius name of this one?” She said mockingly.
“...Night Flight.” Spyro said before the pair could only take one knowing look at each before breaking down again.
Finally they made it to the entrance portal of the world. Marble being the ever free spirit that she is went first, giving Spyro a silly ‘Hands off’ look as she went through the portal causing him to roll his eyes. You slap a sheep’s ass one time and suddenly all of the Artisans get ideas. Correct ideas but still.
Marble stepped out onto the crisp grass of this new world, taking a deep refreshing sigh as finally there was at least one world in the Peace Keepers realm that was not either frozen or on fire. Spyro came a moment later, giving her an amused look when he found her rolling about on the grass but before he could decide to join her he had to scout for dangers. However he was interrupted by his wooly companging.
“Oh what are those big towers in the distance?” She asked, full of wonders as normal.
“They are lighthouses of course, i should have guessed you have never seen one.” Spyro said, not wanting to hurt her feelings.
“What do they do?” She replied
“Oh it is simple, they store fire magic inside them, giving off light as a side effect that is where the name comes from.” He explained.
“Ooo~ Sounds pretty but all i can see are unlit ones?” It was true, all the beacons was now unlit, the work of Gnorcs most likely but he could still sense the magic inside. They must have just been turned off for some reason. Telling her to stay there for a moment he flew off to scout out the area. She did not mind, the sky in this world was nothing short of beautiful as she lay down to relax for a bit.
Spyro expected at least the same forces as last time, planes, trains, maybe boats or other technological weapons but no, there was nothing. No guard towers, no Gnorcs of any kind. Taking another loop around the island before diving quickly underwater just in case but still he found nothing. There was clearly traces of Gnocs, the lighthouses was unlit, the anti-magic arches built but apparently they found no reason to stay here. Sighing in relief this was a great opportunity to have some fun with Marble with no danger to either of them for once, he did need a break from all the fighting lately.
Returning to Marble to find her watching the stars on her back he informed her that there was no dangers here, with a nod he picked her up to head to the main island. She chose to explore as he went out to get rid of the arches or maybe the chests too if he was quick. These islands was quite old, cold too as they had a thin layer of snow but nothing come paired to Ice Cavern. She walked gently through the snow, the giant crystals that littered this world was like those in Sunny Flight she found. Giant, glowing and magical. This was a nice break for her too, all the late nights and hard work to secure the worlds was very demanding while Spyro was a whole different kind of tiring. The cool air whistled gently past her while small moonglows danced from crystal to crystal in the night, she took a deep breath, filling new life into her as she continued her walk across these ancient isles. Stopping for a moment to look as Spyro flew quickly overhead, giving her a wave as he went. A smile given in reply.
She had never really thought what it would be like to fly before but after being with Spyro that had changed. Having to ride on his back as he glided from place to place was nothing short of thrilling, the freedom, the wind whistling past, it was just amazing to her. She could only imagine what it would be like to be able to fly on her own, she would do it all the time! Never even landing. She suddenly got an idea.
Spyro was circling along the cliffs of the island, with all the arches and what was hopefully all the chests sorted out he only had a few things to do. Wanting to check on Marble so she does not feel left out he found her waving to him, a clear look that she wanted him for something. Landing with a puff of wind that make her wool shake, just to make a grand entrance, he waited to see what she wanted.
“Ah spyro, can you do me a favor?” She began,
“Sure thing, what do you want?” Now curious of her plans.
“I want to ride you!” The happy look on her face mixed with the nature of her words almost made him trip over himself but she quickly continued just as he was starting to blush himself.
“I love watching you fly around the islands but i can never follow you so...would you mind if i tag along a bit?” He sighed a breath of relief about her innocent nature, he gave her a nod.
“Ah, of course. You hardly slow me down and with no enemies there is no danger at all.”
He crouched down low to help her get on. The feeling of his warm but rough scales on her rear and belly felt kind of nice, Spyro himself feeling every shudder of her but not wanting to fly aroused shook his head. Taking off quickly, causing her to give a thrilled bleat.
He gently glided for a moment as to not shake her around too much, feeling her gripping him quite tightly. It took a moment to work her eyes to open. She found herself in a sea of stars, the strong beats of wings to her side providing a sense of safety as she leaned back to take it all in. Then she made the mistake of looking down. Flinging herself forward to grab him again as to feel grounded again. She did not have a fear of heights but at the same time had no experience being in the sky, Spyro picked up on her discomfort as he started to fly down a bit lower to the water.
When she looked again this time she felt better. Lower down was far less scary while having plenty to see, her cute smile returning as they flew past a collection of giant crystals glowing brightly in the night. He took a dive to pick up speed as he turned to head to one of the nearby lighthouses. Spiraling around it for a moment he gave a puff of fire causing it to ignite spectacularly, a fierce warm light crushing the darkness in all directions that felt Marble seeing spots.
Laughing and cheering as they went Spyro flew from one light house to the next, each one exploding into light like that of fireworks. All fear of the sky gone as he flipped, dived or spun along the clouds, falling playfully into the water only to burst back out refreshed. Hearing a yawn Spyro went to land, not wanting to risk her slipping off but happy that he managed to have a such a good time with her.
Landing to find Marble a bit unsteady he gave her a hand all the while a small smile formed over the fact this was now the second time he had made her legs wobble even if it was for different reasons. Shaking the dirty thoughts out of his mind he led her to a nice little cliffside spot, a bit of fire breath to clear the snow and to ignite a fire was all that was needed to make it more cozy. As he got the chest out to see what kind of supplies he has for supper Marble lay down near the fire, still giggling every so often to the amusement of it all. Soft eyes watching her strong dragon dig through a near bottomless chest just to make some food for the two of them, no doubt he would be tired after a entire day of flying but he never let it show. A brave face with strong hands, a warm smile with dirty eyes, he was a Dragon of many pieces and Marble just loved working out which piece was which.
Materials in hand he turned to start working. Metal poles and plates to form a frame that allowed him to hang a pot over the fire, use a frying pan or more as good as any kitchen but far more portable. Marble watched with enthusiasm as he would take a bit of this, cut it up, sprinkle a dash of something else, blues, browns, reds all mixed together and boiled to form one of many dishes, all tasty and nutritious. Making note to one day ask him how to cook or at least the basics she was content to just watching him for now, seeing what he did commonly, the amounts of things, how they blended or mixed. It was like magic, to take the raw elements of the world with nothing but knowledge and skill to form it into something complicated, something grand.
Next he picked up something wrapped in paper but then seemed to correct himself mentally, Marble was curious.
“What's that?” She said before he put it back.
“Meat, beef to be exact.” He said, holding the package to her but not unwrapping it.
“Can i try some?”
“...You want to try meat? You know it comes from an animal right?” He questioned, somewhat intrigued on if sheep can even eat meat at all.
“As long as it is not Gnorc or Sheep i do not see why not. You clearly like it and it IS edible.” She replied back, a look of determination.
“Up to you, gonna have to cook it for a while however. I doubt you have the teeth for it.” He said with a shrug before pointing to his own razor sharp fangs.
Unwrapping it she did not think it looked that bad, red and smooth with only a bit of blood at all, even then she could imagine it was red water if she was squeamish about any of this. What really sent a shiver down wooly form was when he placed it on a plate, extended a single claw to cut it easily into smaller cubes. To know those same claws had been on her or even worse inside her could only freak her out a bit. Not wanting to think about how he could so much as wave his hand in her general direction and slaughter her she instead watched as he added the meat to the pot. Starting off red but slowly turning a rich brown.
“So...what worlds have we got to look forward to after this one? I bet some worlds i could not even imagine!” She said, taking her eyes off the food to instead gaze over to a far more tasty bit of flesh.
“Dream Weavers has some strange worlds considering they are all floating in the sky with giant castles but i think Beast Makers have to be the oddest. I mean, the Dragon’s over there are obsessed with being lazy and indulgent but the world they made is a giant swamp, trees bigger than towers!” He started, occasionally stirring the stew.
“Where do i began, i have only heard of these places from the adults since...you know but the stories i have heard. Misty Bog is a little collection of island and bridges connecting what seems to be an endless ocean of sludge, Terrace Village on the other hand is all mud huts but each one has luxury and rare things, from the finest food to giant hot bathes filled with exotic salts or perfumes.” He continued, waving the spoon around as he did.
“Finally there is Tree Tops, apparently in one corner of the swamp they made trees grow giant, like big enough for a dozen Dragons to build houses inside! But do you know what they use to get around the tops of this place? Charge Ramps! It’s nuts…” He finished with another stir, a bit of fire breath to heat things up quicker.
“Charge Ramps?” She asked, full of wonder and amazement as her mind strained to even imagine these places.
“Ah ye...In some worlds the Dragons use magic powered Charge Ramps, they are just slopes but if you run down them the magic causes you to massively increase speed allowing you to jump entire chasms.” He spoke casually, explaining it like you would grass but to her it was amazing, her eyes lit up as she just had to try one of those.
Spyro took a spoonful of the stew, giving a blow before trying a bit. Finding it acceptable he took another spoon, this one with a nice bit of meat, to see how Marble would like it.
“Open wide, this might be too tough for you but try your best.” He said amusingly, she rolled her eyes but opened to try this out. The gravy was rich, earthy as spices mixed well but there was something else. As if learning to eat again she chewed as hard as she could, meat was strong in both texture and taste. Something new that she had never knew could exist in food but whatever it was it mixed with the gravy perfectly as she worked to get through it, teeth be damned this was far too tasty to pass up.
Seeing her approve he poured two bowls out before handing one to her, making sure to blow on it first as the lack of hands meant she had to get real personal to be able to eat. Spyro himself was thankful that she liked meat as going vegetarian for the past week was far from fun. Not much was said as they relaxed, enjoying each other’s company, the stars shining brightly like gems overhead as the sound of the waves gave a lovely ambiance. Moonglows flit and dance through the grass as the gentle glow of the crystal combined with the intense light of the lighthouses to illuminate the islands in gold and azure. Spyro himself being a colorful splash of purple and gold, a royal and exotic combination that not even the other Dragons matched. She found herself staring for a moment, eyes meeting his before they looked away again.
Putting the bowl aside she came up close to him, resting her head on the side of his chest as his shoulder was out of reach to her short stature. The question simple, did he want her before bed? The answer even more so, not tonight. Both of them was all but exhausted from the thrills but also recharged without the worry of battles, to get a nice night’s sleep would be a perfect end as she climbed on his back for one final flight.
Not wanting to make the mistake of sleeping in a world that is forever stuck in night time they headed to Peace Keepers. Marble falling asleep on the way. Spyro arrived to find it early night time, a good guess at least for his Dragon timekeeping senses at least as he moved to head to the camping spot that they had set up some nights ago. Putting her down onto the straw bed, a hand gently tracing the curve of her head as now at least he could stare all he wanted to. Yawning he curled up next to her, being her warmth as he wrapped his arms around that soft lovely fluff.
Giving her a single kiss on the side of her head as he held her a little tighter before allowing himself to fall into sleep. The pair blissfully unaware of the eyes that had been watching them from a very safe distance the past few nights.
