Ch. 34 The Return to Normalish

'I could get use to this.' Ellis thought with a small smile as he found himself once again cocooned between the two very warm, and apparently very cuddly, forms of Spyra and Cynder as they still slumbered. 'Guess they are trying to make up for the lost time at Frostflow.' True to her words, Crystal never let them sleep in the same room as him and every time they tried she would show up. It was almost like she had a nose for those kind of things.

"Mmmmmm...Ellis..." Spyra said sleepily as she tried to cuddle closer than what she was currently though with her bulk it was extremely difficult. Cynder on the other hand was slimmer and as a result was able to press herself into him comfortably without so much as a sound.

"...My Ellis..." Cynder murmured quietly as her tongue snaked out a bit and licked his cheek; the barbs on the end slightly tickling as he gave a quiet chuckle. Sometimes he wondered if they were ever really asleep when they did half the things they usually do when they were sleeping but this was one of those times that he didn't really care.

The wind and snow battered the window as Ellis tore his gaze away from the ever-inching-closer muzzle of Cynder and glanced at the angry storm raging outside his window. Though the middle of winter had passed while he was at Frostflow it seemed as the old man winter had more issues this year than previous; the harsh storm outside meant very low temperatures and while dragons had natural insulation from their naturally hot blood and warm inner fire, Ellis had nothing but skin and whatever blanket he had on his mattress-pillow. Usually he would huddled up in 3 blankets or so trying to get as much heat as possible to remain with him.

This time though he had two dragonesses next to him, the fire from their bodies kept the cold at bay while their tails and legs made sure his legs were safe and secure under their own; as if they sensed the change in atmosphere and adjusted accordingly. Their wings provided the rest of the needed protection on his chest and arms as they kept him warm and safe in their grasp.

'Why did I fight against this if this is what I will wake up to every day?' Ellis thought as he shifted a little bit to get more warmth from his companions. 'Maybe Dad was right...maybe I did overthink this.' Was Ellis's final thought before he slipped back into the warm embrace of his friends-turned-mates.

-Scene break-

"Ah, Young Ellis; it is heartening to see you return!" Volteer said as he peered over his newly acquired books from Frostflow. "I trust your trip was enlightening, informative, educational and wonderous all the same." he finished with a smile as Ellis chuckled at his words.

"It was that and then some actually." Ellis replied as he sat down and Volteer closed his book with interest.

"Oh? Did you finally complete what you set out to do?"

"Well..." Ellis started before telling him about his time in Frostflow. He kept most of the uninteresting parts out but Volteer couldn't help but laugh at the number of autographs Ellis had to sign and even a few scales from the sound of it. "I guess you could say yes but it feels like a whole lot of nothing."

"Oh no no no, it was anything but my young friend; you got to meet and greet some fans, see your grandparents, get some fighting experience, learn new techniques and..." he gave Ellis a knowing eye. "Finally given in and gotten a mate or two I daresay." he finished cheekily as Ellis blushed a bit and turned away. "You also came out with a very important lesson."

"And that is?"

"It is simply impossible to delay the inevitable. Instead of looking for ways to avoid that danger, why not face it head on?" Volteer said as Ellis blinked before looking down. "Now now young one; no need to look glum, wouldn't you agree that things have worked out for the better?"

"Yea...I guess they did." Ellis replied as he couldn't help but remember the feeling of warmth he got from waking up with those two curled around him. Even though they were scaly and possessed very sharp claws and horns, they were surprisingly comfy and very cuddly.

Though Spyra threatened to cauterize a certain part of his body if he ever said that anywhere outside their room.

"Precisely my point young one. No matter how bad it might have seemed, the trade-off was more than worth it right?" Volteer said as Ellis gave a slight nod. "Then everything is as it should be; now what say we go grab some lunch and you can tell me of your wondrous, extravagant, exciting journey of love and discovery!" Volteer finished excitedly as Ellis gave a sigh before following the eager dragon into the hallway.

Maybe he should've just left the new books in his study.

-Scene Change-

"Oh come on! We've only had three days since we came back to be with him and you make him attend classes?" Spyra asked exasperated as Cyril rolled his eyes. "Is the entire world conspiring against us?"

"His education is more important than fantasy right now, he missed quite a few important lessons and needs to be brought back up to speed or else he will suffer in his later years; you three have your entire lives ahead of you and plenty of time to take things slow." Cyril replied evenly as Spyra calmed down slightly.

"It's just...we wanted to spend as much as we could with him...we still do and...well...he's still human and..." Spyra attempted to explain but Cyril silence her with a raised claw.

"I understand your worry young one and I will admit that the thought had crossed my mind more times than I wish to admit. He is still human, despite his other half and whereas dragons could live for many centuries if they wish, humans live only 70 or 80 years at the most." Cyril explained as Spyra looked worried. "But his studies are crucial for his development as a dragon in the future."

"At this point we don't care about him being a dragon or human..." Spyra whispered as Cyril cocked his head.

"Oh?"

"We...when we were in that crystal, it was like an eternal sleep but we still dreamed about our lives...and Ellis was in them all. We heard him but couldn't see him and we weren't sure what form he chose in the end." Spyra explained lowly. "It got to the point that neither of us cared whether he was human or dragon from then on...we just wanted him."

"You both were unsure of the other however." Cyril surmised as Spyra inclined her head.

"We knew that eventually it would come down to one of us claiming him and at the time we did our best to ignore that and focus on stopping Malefor but we always knew that one of us might be left out one day." Spyra finished somberly.

"And your actions before certainly proved that." Cyril pointed out as Spyra had the decency to look away.

"It's not something we planned for...we knew that we would fight for him one day and knew it wouldn't be settled easily, or maybe not with one of us still alive." Spyra said as she shivered when she felt Cyril's hard glare on the back of her neck. She could just imagine his ice cold, heart-piercing glare drilling into her and the matching frown on his face at her words.

"That has to be...the stupidest thing I've ever heard in all my years and I have heard quite a bit of idiotic comments from students during my life." Cyril said harshly as Spyra visibly flinched. "As difficult and challenging these fights are, no one dies regardless of what is said and you surely do not fight to the death for the right to mate with a particular dragon!"

"What else-"

"Absolutely stupid! What belief made you even assume that it would even be considered ok?!"

"What else could we have done?!" Spyra shouted as Cyril didn't change his posture. "What else could it have been?! We are young dragons going through our first cycle and we both wanted one mate! What else could we think of to do besides fight?"

"You have teachers for a reason young one. We hold knowledge about anything a dragon would ever encounter including this particular topic." Cyril said as he calmed down slightly. "You and Cynder were not the only two dragonesses to go after the same dragon; did you know Volteer had a few females targeting him in his younger years?"

"Volteer?!" Spyra asked/shouted in shocked. "Are we talking about the same Volteer who annoys every dragon he meets with his constant talking?!"

"The very same dragon; though he was less of a nuisance back then as opposed to now. There was a time when Volteer was quite a heart-breaker even when he still had his verbal tick and rather long monologues." Cyril explained as Spyra continued to start in shock. "Perhaps you should ask him about it sometime."

"Ask me what?" Volteer said excitedly as he stood in the doorway with a grin on his face as Cyril facepalmed at his choice of words.

-With Cynder-

"Shouldn't we ask Spyra if she wants to come?" Ellis asked as Cynder shook her head as she looked at Ellis.

"No, we've decided that we both would get some alone time with you and...maybe make things official between the three of us..." Cynder said shyly as Ellis tilted his head. "Well...we never actually had an important part of the mating culture."

"The fight wasn't enough?!" Ellis asked in confusion and dread.

"It was...but we want things to be right." Cynder said as her dark scales turned a dark red. "And that means...you flying with us...in a mating flight."

"At the same time?!" Ellis exclaimed as Cynder actually giggled at his outburst.

"No, mating flights are supposed to be private affairs between the two dragons. Think of it like an intricate dance of love between the two only in the air and not on the ground." Cynder explained as Ellis tilted his head. "You'll see...meet me at the Elder's Ledge tomorrow at midnight, ok?" she finished as Ellis still looked unsure. "Just trust me, everything will be fine; you will enjoy it I promise." she added as Ellis closed his eyes and sighed.

"Alright...I'll be there." Her smile made his stomach do flips and his heart to beat faster.

And I will seal it there. I want to let Cynder and Spyra each have their own chapters dedicated to their own flights and the aftermath so those will be the next chapters, so be prepared for fluffy goodness then we will get to main attraction.

I know this is a bit...ok maybe a while...ok a long time late but you all know how it goes. Work during the day then working at night on a couple service calls makes for a big pay check but no free time. Hence why we didn't see a chapter of Boundaries last year. I started it but we have new management and our state is to the point that the Corporation that controls us is making us our own Region. So our workload is getting tripled the last few months and it's overwhelming at times.

Still you all want entertainment and not rants so I will end it here, don't forget to look at the poll on my profile and vote if you like A New Destiny.