Darkness Falls Part 3

Part 3: "The Frightful Folks"

[POV Spyro]

Cynder.......she's so beautiful. Certain thoughts started to run through my mind. I quickly pushed them away, and refocused on school. I made the stupid mistake of getting a seat in class less than 3 rows away from Ember, and got pounded afterwards. Ow.

At lunch, Blaze further distanced me from Ember, verbally this time.

"Can I...."

"Try it, and you'll be on my lunch tray instead."

"Nevermind."

I looked over. Cynder slung her lunch pail over her neck, and started to walk away, considering eating lunch by herself. I decided to talk to her. I walked up to the black dragoness, also slinging my lunch around my neck.

"Hey, Cynder. Whatcha doin?"

"Oh, hi. I'm going to go eat my lunch."

"The lunchroom tables are the other direction."

"Um.....Well, I like to eat by myself. Gives me time to think about my day."

"Actually, I was thinking that maybe, we could eat together."

"Hmm. You know, I think you're the first one in this school that actually cared enough to ask. Sure."

She laid up against the stone walls, smiled, and put down her lunch pail, pulling out a sandwich. I sat down next to her, and took a chicken wing out of it.

"So, what are your parents like?", Cynder asked.

"Well.....My mom's nice. I...don't think I actually have a father. Yeah, my mom's pretty sweet. Kinda overprotective, though. What about you?"

"Ugh. Don't get me started. My dad's a little rough around the edges. Let's just say he runs a tight ship."

"Oh. Gotta deal with the frightful folk, huh? That's unfortunate. I feel sorry for you."

"Don't. I'm used to it. It helps me keep a clear mind and a strong body. What you see here is a good amount of muscle. At least, that's what my dad seems to think."

Really? Hmm. Cynder let me lightly squeeze one of her forelegs. It felt a little soft, but rugged. It was warm, and gave me a comforting feeling to hold it. She let a slight giggle escape her lips. I blushed. She was strong. That was a good thought. That she could probably handle herself in a fight. But, how smart was she?

Cynder decided to compare my forepaw to hers. She checked it for a second, then retorted,

"Anyone ever told you to try a salad?"

"Um.....oh, boy. Not you, too."

"Yep. I could almost swear that your legs are just pillars of fat wrapped in scales."

So, she was definitely clever and witty. I could already see that she was truly a sight to behold. Her slender, muscular shape probably got plenty of attention. Part of me starting wondering if she already had a boyfriend.

"Ugh. Try telling that to my mom. She'll probably find some excuse to at least pack some carrots in my lunch."

"Hahaha! You're funny. Who would have thought? A guy who's funny and cute.", Cynder joked.

I blushed madly. She thought I was...cute? I couldn't help but make a cute face. Cynder shot me a adoring look. My face turned even more red. I was wondered if I was going to look like Flame before the blushing stopped. She teasingly brushed her tail along the underside of my chin. I cringed in embarassment. Even more so when the tail then slapped me across the face.

"Spyro, you're so gullible."

"Eh-heh. Sorry. Am I still cute?"

Cynder rolled her eyes, and we went back to eating. Her smile seemed to compliment her emerald eyes. I don't think my face completely returned to it's purple color. After I finished, I simply basked in the presence of her beauty. The bluish markings on her shoulders, under her eyes and on her forehead made her even more adorable.

"Cynder, why did you try to leave the lunchroom, really?"

"What do you mean? I like the solitude.", she replied, breaking eye contact.

"Nice try. If I learned one thing from mom, it's when someone is lying."

"Promise not to tell?"

"I promise."

"The other people here scare me a bit. They keep on making stupid remarks, shooting looks at me, so on and so forth. I guess I try to escape the school, or at least find a quiet place, to clear my head, not overreact. I know, I probably sound like an idiot."

"No. You know, not everyone here is like that.", I quietly said, inching closer to her.

Now, Cynder's cheeks started to turn red.

"If you want, I could be with you. You know, ward off the strange people who won't leave you alone."

"I'd like that."

I probably shouldn't have, but I gave her a quick peck on the cheek. She blushed even redder. Realizing my mistake, I backed off. After another embarassing minute, I helped her up onto her feet, and we continued back to the lunchroom. Of course, we got there just in time for the bell to ring for the next class. Element Control.

The teacher was a huge red dragon. He stood in a pleased poise, pleased to see all the new students, I guess. His horns were almost completely straight.

"Welcome, children. Welcome to Element Control. One thing to remember to is that every single dragon knows an element. And there is not a single one that is, "Lame" or "Pathetic". All elements can be lethal if not used properly. But that will be for another time. The first thing we will do, is find out which element you have within you. Can I have a volunteer?"

I eagerly raised a paw, and stepped into the center of the classroom. A straw dummy appeared. It was a strange, two-legged creature with fur and a sword of some sort.

"Excellent. A purple dragon. What is your name, young one?"

"Spyro. I hope I don't screw it up."

"Don't worry. It's perfectly understandable if you fail. Even I didn't get it right the first time. As for technique, do exactly as I say."

I turned to face the dummy.

"Dig your claws into the ground...."

I stuck my paws into the ground.

"Take a deep breath....."

I inhaled slowly, hoping this would work.

"And push outwards!"

I created a jerking sensation in my innards. I felt something come up. For a minute, I thought it was my lunch. Suddenly, a fireball spewed out of my mouth, and lit the dummy on fire. Before i could come away, however, I felt other things come out. An ice bomb spewed out, freezing the dummy. An electric stream of energy followed that, wrapped up with an earth missile, to rip the dummy to pieces.

How did I do that? Most adults only knew 1 element, and it took years to be able to use it. First go, I had already used 4 different elements, and considerably well. I backed up in fear.

"What the.........Hmph. Heh. Hahahahahahahahahahahaha!"

"What? Did I do something wrong? Oh, man!"

"No, no, no. I've never seen something so amazing, before. It's funny, actually. Who's next?"

The rest of the students went up. Most of them couldn't hit the dummy, but could spit out an element about a few inches. Blaze had Fire, Ember had Earth, and most of the students knew Wind or Ice.

Cynder was special. She knew Shadow and Wind. 2 Elements. Not as good as me, but still very good! Flying lessons was a bit annoying. The teacher had to ie me to him to keep me from falling behind. Maybe I do need to have a salad. Sparx finished first, of course. It was only because he was so small.

After school, I looked around for Cynder. She took a hidden route home. I started to quietly follow after her. Sparx tried to get in the way.

"Hey! Spyro, what are you doing? Mom'll tan you if you're late getting home."

"I'm going to see what Cynder's dad is like."

"Dude, I wouldn't if I were you. She freakin creeps me out. All that, "tough chick" stuff, isolating herself. Not to mention she knows Shadow. Nobody who has the Shadow element ever turned out well."

"Oh, really? How do you know?"

"I heard some things."

"Yeah, right. C'mon."

Me and Sparx followed the black dragoness carefully, moving from cover to cover. She carefully looked over a few times, but didn't see us. Eventually, she stepped into a stone building. After a minute, I peeked through the open window. A black dragon with some strangly-colored belly scales was talking to Cynder. It must have been her father.

"So, Cyn, how was school?"

"Eh. Okay. Of course, most of the students shot me looks, called names, etc."

"See? I told you, people look down on black dragons. Maybe I can convince the teachers to let me tutor you."

"Well, actually, there was one guy......"

"Uh oh."

"It's not what you think. It was some guy called Spyro. He was like the only one who actually cared enough to talk to me like I wasn't some strange, alien creature. We had lunch together. He's really funny and kinda cute."

"Ugh. I've told you, to not associate yourself with the people in those schools."

"Why? He treated me like a good friend. Why shouldn't I?"

"Because, your emotions will get in the way of your resiliance training, that's why. I only want to make sure that you're safe."

"I am. I can handle myself. You just need to stop worrying."

After a minute, I walked back home. She was right. The man was a bit tight on how to live life. Maybe I should keep an eye out for people like him....and my other eye out for Cynder.