Spyro walked toward the edge of the Artisan Home World, heart pounding in his chest. “I can do this, I can do this,” he said under his breath.
“Hey Spyro!” a voice spoke up, it was Hunter approaching from behind, still wearing that ridiculous coat.
Spyro turned to him. “hey,” he said casually. “What’s up?”
Hunter gave him a smile, “I finished with my archery for the day and wondered if you wanted to hang out,” he said panting. It was clear the coat was making him hot. “I can watch you practice your glide.”
Spyro took a deep breath, as if saying it was just as scary as doing it. “Actually,” Spyro said, “I’m going to Avalar, gonna try to talk to Elora, see if we’re still friends after….you know.” He tapped his chest scales with his claw, tracing the scar.
“Oh!” Hunter said with surprise. “Do you think you’re ready to see her again?” he asked carefully.
Spyro gave him a shrug. “No clue,” he said with a smile, “but I have to try, I have to prove to her and myself that I’m not broken.”
“Alright,” Hunter said with a nod. “It’ll be nice to see her and Avalar again,” he adjusted the strap on his quiver.
Spyro looked up at him, tilting his head to the side. “I’m gonna go by myself, if I can’t take a walk through the forest alone, then what kind of dragon am I?” he said somewhat snarky, giving Hunter a light fist bump with his paw in the leg.
“Alone?!” Hunter said with concern, “Spyro, that's not a good idea.” His voice started getting agitated. “The last time you went through that forest…”
Spyro raised his voice “I know what happened last time Hunter!” he said, almost shaking. Hunter’s eyes widened at Spyro’s sudden outburst. “You don’t think I’m scared of going back there!?” He lowered his head, “I’ve been dreading this all morning, but I need to do this for myself.”
Hunter stared at Spyro for a second, unsure what to say before speaking, “I think it would be better for you if I came along,” he said insistently, “there could still be slavers out there and you might not be able to handle seeing the place where you…”
Spyro had had enough, he flared his wings and took a more aggressive stance, “the slavers are gone Hunter!” he practically shouted, “and as for not being able to handle it…that’s why I’m going, I need to know I’m still me and not just some scared hatchling who can’t even visit his friends.”
“Spyro…” Hunter said, losing some of the edge in his voice.
“No! Spyro said loudly, shocking Hunter into taking a step back
The dragon spoke again, this time calmer, “I've been working for over a month to feel like me again,” he looked toward the path into the forest, “I’m not there yet, but this is important to me, so please, back off.”
Hunter took a couple steps forward, “Spyro, I can’t let you go, not alone” he said with authority. “It’s too dangerous, I won’t let anything happen to you again.” He folded his arms, like he expected Spyro to fall in line.
Spyro stared at Hunter, stunned by the declaration. “What are you doing Hunter?” Spyro said with exasperation.
“All I’m trying to do is keep you safe,” Hunter said, almost pleading.
“No, you’re not,” Spyro said bluntly, “you're just smothering me with your worry.” He pointed a claw at Hunter’s coat, “you wear those weird, hot clothes now, you won’t come to the meetings with Lateef anymore and when you’re not with me you spend all your time at the archery range until your pads bleed, what’s going on with you?”
Hunter stuttered in response “S..Spyro I…”
Spyro interrupted, “It’s like…like” he struggled to find the words, “it’s like you don’t want to get better, like you’d rather stay trapped in that quarry.” It hurt to tell his friend this, but he knew Hunter needed to hear it.
He turned around and looked back, “I’ll see you later Hunter,” he said flatly and walked toward the forest, leaving the cheetah in stunned silence.
---
Hunter walked with purpose across the castle grounds, I can’t believe he’d allow this. Is he out of his mind?, he thought. He spotted Nestor ahead, talking to another dragon, “Nestor, we need to talk, now,” he growled, his tail lashing behind him.
Nestor eyed the angry cheetah with concern in his eyes, he waved off the other dragon and turned to face Hunter. “Is something wrong Hunter?,” he asked.
“Why would you let Spyro go to Avalar alone!?” Hunter practically yelled, drawing looks from other dragons in the courtyard.
“I didn’t let Spyro do anything,” Nestor said confused. “If he wants to travel to Avalar that’s his business,” he crossed his arms and gave a Hunter serious look, “We don’t coddle our young Hunter, a dragon Spyro’s age is old enough to make his own decisions.”
Hunter looked at Nestor as if the words were foreign to him, he took a breath and then spoke “but after what happened…you can’t just let him run off like that,” he said, desperation in his voice. “What if the slavers come back?” he said with urgency.
“I’ve had Peacekeepers keeping an eye on the desert border,” Nestor said confidently, “there has been no sign of them since we destroyed the quarry, those woods are perfectly safe.”
Hunter put his hand to his head, not good enough he thought and spoke again. “But are they safe for his mind?” he asked, practically pleading. “He’s not ready to face those woods yet, it might set him back,” he was getting tired of arguing with the stubborn dragon. He was strongly considering going back to the woods and dragging Spyro out of there himself, he’d gladly take the burns. .
Nestor gave Hunter a look of skepticism before speaking. “He’s been talking to Lateef regularly and I’m told he’s doing well, if anything he’s recovering faster than I thought he would.” He brought himself down to the cheetah’s level, “if he thinks he’s ready to face those woods, then I trust that he knows what he's doing, all the elder dragons do.”
Hunter crossed his arms, and lowered his head, unable to think of a counter. He looked at Nestor. “You really trust him that much huh?” he said, his voice softer.
“Spyro has proven time and again he’s earned it,” Nestor said with pride, “I’m not gonna let one tragedy break my faith in him and nor should you.”
“I just don’t want to let anything like that happen again,” Hunter said sadly, “after all we endured, I can’t let it.
“That’s an important thing to remember Hunter,” Nestor said with a smile.
Hunter looked at him confused. What do you mean?” he said
Nestor spoke “all we endured,” he repeated the phrase, “Spyro didn’t suffer alone in there, you were right alongside him.” He stood tall now. “So why are you ignoring your own pain?”
“Because my pain is nothing compared to his,” Hunter said without hesitation, tears in his eyes. “He burned his neck night after night for me, nearly killed himself for me, I’d gladly do it all over again to keep him safe.”
“Little one,” Nestor said affectionately, “your pain matters just as much as his and by ignoring it you’re not only setting your own recovery back. You're setting his back too.”
Hunter sniffled, “what do you mean?” he said confused, I’m hurting Spyro?
Nestor smiled, “Whether you’ve realized it or not, that place you endured made you brothers, I’ve never seen a bond like it,” he said kindly. “And in many ways,” he continued, “Spyro’s pain is your pain, after all, you kept each other alive.”
Hunter could only stand there and consider it all but one thought kept returning, I’m hurting Spyro.
“So I’m asking, ” Nestor said with compassion. “Work through your own pain the same way you’ve been helping Spyro work through his, he's been trying to help you, but you need to put the effort in too.” He gave Hunter a final nod and walked away
---.
The path through the forest stretched before Spyro, the dragon was breathing heavily, he looked back toward home, then forward again. Here we go, he stepped forward, putting one paw in front of the other.
It was a quick ten minute walk through the forest to the Avalar portal, but to Spyro it felt like it stretched on forever. I could be there in a couple minutes if I ran, he thought, but he pushed the idea out of his head. If I’m ever going to be me again, I need to confront the place where it happened.
As he made his way through the forest, he started remembering the last fleeting minutes of freedom before the net was dropped on him and his whole world changed. The memory of the joy he felt running through the forest that day was now tainted, ruined forever.
The spot of the ambush was getting closer and closer, Spyro’s heart raced. His eyes began wandering to the trees, expecting to see the yellow eyes of hyena slavers perched above.
He forced his eyes back down and kept them looking straight ahead, he could now see the clearing through the bushes.
Spyro’s fear was now at its peak, he stopped at the edge of the clearing, his legs refusing to go any further. Come on, he closed his eyes and listened to the sounds of the forest, the birds, the wind through the trees. It was so peaceful, yet so terrifying at the same time, finally his breathing slowed to something manageable and he opened his eyes and stepped into the clearing.
At first, it all seemed normal, but it didn’t take long for Spyro to notice the signs of that day. There was a blackened patch of grass on the ground where he’d burned away the net, and he spotted scratch marks on the trees where the hyenas had climbed in preparation for the ambush.
He could feel the roughness of the ground under his paws, torn up by hyena and dragon claws. The smell of the morning was around him, yet in his mind the scent of burning net threatened to overwhelm him.
Soon Spyro’s breathing increased again, he closed his eyes. He could hear the slaver’s laugh, smell the musk of the hyenas, even feel their sharp claws on his scales as they held him down and forced the collar on him.
His eyes shot open and both his forepaws grabbed at his neck, nearly causing him to lose his balance. He searched for a collar that wasn’t there, grasping at the fresh scales that had replaced the burnt black ones, none of which were left now.
Spyro lowered a paw back to the ground to steady himself and slowly looked around again. He worked to slow his breathing, there’s nothing here, he thought just the remains of a battle long over. He got up, and left the clearing, making his way toward the Avalar portal.
The rest of the journey to the portal went by quickly, while there were no more panic attacks, Spyro couldn’t help but keep a careful eye on his surroundings though. He approached the portal and took one last look at the woods, I’m still me.
