Chapter Text
Spyro manages to stay awake much longer than Cynder had, though his responses are slow and his overall demeanor is groggy. Caroline only asks him a few basic questions, how he feels, any excruciating pain or numbness, before Striker returns with the broth.
Cynder stays huddled at his side as he eats, head resting on her forepaws. It's a weight off her chest, Spyro finally waking up, and she attempts to wrestle down the rest of her worry about his recovery. It doesn't really suit her, she thinks, all this fretting. Even sneaking out of the temple in the dead of night, back when she was smaller, knowing that Spyro hadn't recovered his powers and that Malefor's forces were still out there… She'd still had full confidence that he could take care of himself. So why is this so… nauseating?
Shaking her head, Cynder tries to bully her thoughts into something more productive, but they all flutter away when the movement draws Spyro's attention, and he turns his drowsy smile towards her.
"...Hi."
She snorts.
"Hey, Spyro. How are you feeling?"
"Uh…," he considers the question, and Cynder can feel the end of his tail tapping hers as the tip flicks back and forth. "...Stiff, mostly. My head's all… Foggy. There's big chunks missing from that last fight. (Did he throw us through THREE different walls…!?) But uh, heh, we're still here, so I guess we must have done okay."
"Couldn't have done it without you," she says, bumping shoulders with him and choking on a laugh at a sudden thought. "Man am I glad Sparx stayed behind, though. I don't think I could handle being an invalid and his sass at the same time. Just throw me back in that volcano, please."
Spyro snorts into his paws, trying not to laugh- each tremor is followed by a soft, "owowow," and more snickering. Only a few seconds later, his expression turns to quiet horror.
"Sparx," he whispers, "We're a mess, if he had come up there with us…"
"But he didn't," Cynder cuts him off. "He didn't, he's safe underground with the Guardians and the rest of Warfang, remember? Sparx is fine."
"Who's Sparx?" asks Caroline, walking over, and both of them jump. Cynder hadn't even noticed her leave, she'd been so preoccupied. Spyro's looking at the healer like he's only just seeing her for the first time.
"Oh, uh, sorry," he stammers, pressing closer to Cynder. "Sparx is my brother. We traveled together, but he stayed behind at Warfang to help with the evacuation. There's, uh. C-caverns under the city, but only we knew the way, so…"
"How wonderful!" Caroline smiles in obvious delight, laying down nearby and curling her tail over her feet. "I didn't realize you had a brother. Is Sparx also purple?"
"N-no, he's yellow-"
"A yellow-bellied bigmouth."
"Cynder!"
Spyro turns to frown at her, though he knows he can't exactly deny Sparx's often cowardly nature, and Cynder laughs.
"Okay, okay, a dependable bigmouth, at least," she concedes, and Spyro's smile returns. "Don't tell him I said this, but he's actually pretty sharp. Sparx comes through when it really counts. ...But seriously, don't let him find out I said it. I've got a reputation to uphold."
Spyro rolls his eyes while Caroline laughs.
"Sounds like quite the character," she says, and Spyro gives her an odd look.
"Uh, I hope this isn't rude or anything, but… Who are you, exactly?"
"Who am I…?" She repeats, looking mystified. A moment later, she ducks her head under her paws and groans. "Oh, not again! I'm not a dragon, I'm a brainless pile of fluff… I'm so sorry, my manners are usually much better than this, I promise. My name is Caroline, I'm the healer in charge of watching over you two." She clambers back to her feet, tail flicking out behind her.
"Where you are now is a place called Cliff Town, and you'll learn more about what that means when D- I mean, Commander Titan debriefs you two. Tomorrow, probably, or the day after. He's a firm believer in not letting injury hold up information, but he also doesn't like to repeat himself." Bright blue eyes roll towards the ceiling, and Caroline's curly mane shivers all the way down her back as she shakes her head. Cynder lets out an 'ahhh,' of understanding and Spyro gives her a look, then nods. She can tell he's doing his best to communicate with her through facial expression alone, but he's never been very good at being subtle and Cynder doesn't want to draw attention to it in front of anyone else.
They lapse into a comfortable quiet, broken by Caroline's humming as she puts the room back in order. It's a pleasant sound, and while Spyro watches the crimson hen intently, it's Striker who draws Cynder's eye. The black-striped dragon is nodding off at the sound, wings nearly on the floor, and she wonders how long he was in here, doing little more that waiting for Spyro to wake up. The little pang of sympathy she feels is so unexpected, she almost doesn't realize what it is. Poor guy must be so bored…
Caroline's nearly finished tidying up, even finding a moment to dab her bruised nose with something from a small bottle, when Ulric finally returns. He only sticks his head in, horns tangled in the cloth draped across the doorway.
"Commander Titan," he drawls, and there's a funny, wry little smirk on his face, "has granted our young heroes one more day to rest, provided my Most Honorable Healer little sister raises no major objections, and comes immediately to the council room to make a report."
She nods like it's about what she expected, sighing a little as she stoppers the bottle and places it back on a shelf, then shoots a weak smile towards Spyro and Cynder.
"I think that you two are well enough to handle being on your own for a while, and I dare say you might like a bit of privacy to talk…" she says with sympathy, padding over to give Striker a nudge before Ulric could spot him dozing. "Cynder, you can head back to your alcove if you'd prefer- No? Heehee, I didn't think so."
Cynder had shaken her head vehemently no.
"I trust you'll keep an eye on our purple friend here. Just holler if you need anything, there's always someone in the big hall and they'll hear you."
Striker sits up straighter at that, head angled to the side and a hopeful smile curling on his muzzle.
"Ah, so that means…?"
"Go on, Striker, you're off the hook. How do you boys say it, dismissed…?"
He doesn't answer, slinking out the door at 'go,' and Ulric makes a fond if disgruntled noise as he passes. He ducks out entirely to make space for Caroline, grinning over her head as she pauses in the opening.
"See you later, sootball. Feel better. You too, purp."
"I shouldn't be gone too long, so you two just take it easy, okay?"
Caroline gives them a quick look over, hovering anxiously in the doorway for another moment before, finally, turning and leaving the room.
For the first time since she's woken up in this place, Cynder is alone with a dragon who isn't a stranger.