Spyro looked out at the field watching Flame and Ember, his friends, playing. “Alright,” Spyro said with a breath, “This won’t be so bad, it’ll be nice to hang out with them again.”
As he walked toward them he thought about the last time he saw them. It had been a few days before he was taken. Flame had challenged him to a race which he naturally won, Ember was still acting weird and clingy like she always did around him. It had been nice at the time, but it all seemed so silly now.
The two young dragons noticed Spyro’s approach and ran to meet him. “Spyro!” Flame said loudly. “You’re here,”he said, looking Spyro over. “We haven’t seen you since you know…”
“Since you were kidnapped!” Ember exclaimed, causing Spyro to flinch.
“Ember…” Flame said annoyed,
“What?” Ember responded confused, “It’s true, that’s what the elders said.”
Spyro looked his friends over, they clearly didn’t know the full story. “What exactly were you told about my ‘kidnapping’?” he asked, trying to hide his discomfort.
“Just that you were grabbed by some weird dogs in the woods,” Flame said casually, “that the elders found you, and that cheetah you hang out with and chased the bad guys off.”
“Yeah, that’s what happened,” Spyro said quietly, putting his paw to the back of his head.
“So why haven’t you been around since you got back?” Ember asked. She stepped into Spyro’s personal space with her usual flirty behavior. In the past this would have been annoying, but to Spyro now, it was quite uncomfortable.
Spyro backed away carefully. “I’ve just been busy….” he said nervously, his heartrate rising.
“Yeah,” Flame said. “you spend all your time around the elders and that cheetah, why?”
Spyro took a deep breath and spoke, scrounging up whatever bluster he could. “Oh you know,” he said slyly. “They think because I got kidnapped they need to keep an eye on me.” He held his breath.
Flame and Ember looked at each other and shrugged. “Yeah that makes sense,” Flame said. He looked back at Spyro. “At least you’re here now.”
Spyro exhaled, why is it so hard to be confident around them? It usually comes so easily.
There was a shift in light as the clouds covering the sun drifted away and suddenly Flame and Ember were staring at Spyro in shock. Spyro looked at them confused until he realized they were looking at his chest. No, not the scar. He quickly twisted his body, covering up his chest, his breathing getting heavy.
Ember was the first to speak. “What caused that?” she said, curiously extending her paw towards Spyro. “Not even the elders have something that bad.”
Spyro shirked away. “It’s nothing,” he said “it’s just a little scratch.” He knew full well they would never buy that.
“That’s no scratch,” Flame said, getting closer, trying to get a better look at Spyro’s chest. “Did you get that from your kidnapping?”
“What did they do to you, Spyro?” Ember asked with concern.
“I…” Spyro said hesitantly. “I really don’t want to talk about it.” This was not going at all like he planned.
“Does it hurt? Flame asked, finally having stopped trying to get a better look at the scar, much to Spyro’s relief.
“No,” Spyro said abruptly. “No it doesn’t hurt.”
“That’s good,” Flame said. “Do you want to race? I bet I can beat you this time,” he said playfully.
Spyro nearly fell over from the whiplash of the conversation. “Race?“he asked, almost unsure he heard Flame right.
“Yeah, race,” Flame said again.“Do you not want to?” he asked, confused.
Spyro looked back toward the castle. “I should really get going,” he said quietly.
“But you just got here,” Ember said with a whiny tone. "Can't you play with us for a little while?”
Spyro looked at his two friends, he really wanted to stay, but it felt like he didn’t belong in their world anymore. They're so innocent and I’m…not. “Sorry guys,” he said sadly, “I’ll see you later,” he turned and walked toward the castle.
As Spyro entered the courtyard there was a voice from behind. “Hey,” the voice said. It was Hunter, Spyro turned to look at him.
“I’m guessing it didn’t go well?” Hunter asked, kneeling down next to Spyro, a sympathetic look in his eyes.
Spyro sighed and put his head down, “they...don't know me anymore,” he said sadly. “The look on their faces when they saw the scar…it was like they didn’t recognize me.”
Hunter put his hand on Spyro’s back and pulled the dragon close. “They’re just confused,” he said matter-of-factly. “They could never understand what happened in that place, what we had to endure.”
“I just…I just wanted to be a normal kid again, if only for a little while,” Spyro said through tears. “That, for just a few hours I could forget about the quarry, the nightmares, all of it.”
“Hey,” Hunter said seriously, looking Spyro in the eye. “You are a normal kid, you’ve just got some extra baggage to deal with.” He hugged Spyro tight, “you’re still that cocky little guy who doesn’t take guff from nobody and I love that about you.”
“But what if I can’t ever, you know….be like them again?” Spyro asked desperately. “Carefree and innocent?.”
“Unfortunately, that may not be possible,” Hunter quietly, “but just because you don’t understand them anymore doesn’t mean you need to give up your childhood.”
“So what do I do now? Spyro asked.
“You just keep being you,” Hunter said smiling. “The rest will work itself out, finally releasing Spyro from the embrace.
Spyro laughed. “That’s kind of sappy you know?,” he said with a grin.
“It is,” Hunter said smiling, “but it’s also true”. He stood up, “feel better?”
“A little,” Spyro said, rolling his eyes. The two walked off toward the castle.
