I've never actually played any of the Spyro games past Enter the Dragonfly, but I've always shipped Spyro and Cynder from seeing artwork, game clips, etc. Especially in the first game, even as a child I found Spyro's character to seem rather lonely. Asides from Sparx who didn't talk at that point, it wasn't until Year of the Dragon that Spyro got extremely active support characters. I always felt like he must be rather lonely, and that's why I love to ship his cute, purple butt with Cynder - a personality feisty enough to deal with him!

The Spyro I portray here is a little more like the arrogant, sarcastic brat from the initial three PS1 games. Please enjoy and leave your thoughts!

Story Artwork by IcelectricSpyro, at DeviantART! Check my profile for the art page!

Characters belong to Universal and Activision

In the bathing rays of the sun, a dragoness as black as the night sky made her way across a field of vibrant green grass. Swaying in a slow dance, the grass licked at her legs, as if grasping for her attention. But this dragon's attention was elsewhere - her emerald eyes pierced through brush and behind stones, into the canopies and shadows of trees, searching for something.

Well, rather someone.

"Spyro?" Cynder called aloud, daintily making her way past a moss-encased dragon statue.

He had just been there - standing at the far edge of the clearing, looking at her with those 'come hither' eyes. Or maybe they were his 'I've got some recent accomplishment I want to brag to you about' eyes. She couldn't tell. One thing was for certain though - she was going to find that purple lizard if it was the last thing she did. Today was about relaxing for the both of them, and to hell if they weren't going to do it together.

"Spyro!" She called again, this time with projection. She came to a halt at the exact spot he had been standing, wings slightly flared in anticipation.

"...I know you're up to something," she said. "You don't get that stupid grin on your face for no good reason."

There was no response. She looked around, ears pricked and working double time, but there was nothing but the sound of the wind blowing down into the valley.

"Alright, if you're not going to come out, I'm leaving." She pronounced promptly, turning around. "I know how much you love to play hard to geEEET!"

Just then, a purple and gold blur tackled the black dragon to the ground. Heart having leapt into her throat, Cynder let out an expectant sigh. She now felt over a hundred pounds standing on her chest, and with a skeptical scowl already on her face, she opened her eyes. Staring down at her, looking gorgeous with the bright sun behind his horns was Spyro. Golden wings outstretched, tail slowly swaying back and forth, the young male dragon chortled in having successfully captured his prey. Prey that, for once, wasn't innocent sheep.

"Hey there Cynder." He said slyly.

"I was mistaken," Cynder said with utter deadpan. "That was your, 'getting ready to pounce' look, earlier."

Spyro grinned even broader, and Cynder couldn't help but crack a small smile too. What could she say - she had a weakness for purple eyes. Especially his.

"You know me better than me..." Spyro said, letting go of her legs and letting himself drop onto her torso, maintaining eye contact the entire time.

"Oof! You know...you should count yourself lucky." She said, adopting an evil sneer.

"Oh yeah?" Spyro said, feigning innocence and letting his front claws lay lazily just under Cynder's chin.

"No one but you could get away with the antics you do, when it comes to me." She explained. "If you weren't so adorable, I'd have singed your hide and turned you into a nice decorative statue for the temple gardens, by now."

Spyro's head flopped to one side of Cynder's chest, and he stuck out his tongue. "Something tells me the Elders wouldn't approve of that course of action very much. Besides, who's going to put you in a good mood if I'm not around to stoke your fire?"

Cynder's tail slithered along the grass in Spyro's blind-spot, like a snake waiting for the right moment to strike.

"Oh, you stoke the fire alright." She said. "Sometimes a little more than I think you're prepared to deal with."

Before the purple dragon could reply, Cynder's silver-tipped tail wrapped itself around his back leg, and tugged hard. Eyes wide in surprise, Spyro lost his balance and began to slide off his perch on Cynder's chest - and that brief moment was all she needed to turn his own weight against him.

In a flash, Spyro was pushed off and thrown onto his back with a softened thud against the grass. A second later, the black dragoness he had just been pinning now stood over him, a vengeful aura about her. Her shadow loomed over his upper body and face, blocking the sun from his eyes, but also making her dangerous smile all the clearer to see.

"Now you've gone and done it." She said matter-of-factly. "This morning I thought, 'it'll be a nice, quiet day off today. We'll lay in the grass together, catch up, I'll let him cuddle with me, if he's lucky, and things will be great'."

Spyro lay there sheepishly, front legs curled like a cat laying on its back, waiting in rabid anticipation. Soon enough Cynder's gaze returned to lock into his, and the most terrifying smile Spyro had ever witnessed came across her face.

"...But now I'm feeling a little playful too."

Spyro wasn't waiting around to find out what the sinister dragoness had in mind. In one swift movement he dashed out from under her, scrambling to get to his feet, but it was for naught - Cynder was too quick. Within a few seconds, the black dragon tackled him like a lunging tiger, rolling in the grass with him for two rotations and then coming to a firm stop. This time, he was firmly pinned. This time, he was rightfully screwed.

"Now then..." Cynder continued, as if nothing had happened. Mimicking Spyro, she let herself drop onto his chest, back claws digging into the ground to either side of him. Effectively, all he could move well was his head, wings and tail.

"If I recall, you're pretty ticklish." Cynder said, flexing her claws.

Spyro's insides were on fire.

"T-Ticklish?" He parroted. "You must be thinking of Flame, Cynder - Ember tickles him all the time..."

Cynder wasn't listening. Eyes lost in a trance of enjoying the moment, she dragged one claw along his golden underbelly, sending rigid waves of sensation through the poor young dragon's entire body. Spyro's back feet twitched, and he let out a rather loud, high-pitched yelp.

"Oh yes. This has promise to it." Cynder chuckled. This time, three claws. She slid from his underbelly down his left side, and his midsection did a jerk in the opposite direction. Back up his stomach, now down the right side, and he jerked in the opposite direction. Futile, but adorable to watch nonetheless.

"Spyro, I never knew you were so good at hip thrusts~" Cynder teased.

"Ahaha! C-Cmon, Cynder, now you're ju-just being cruel!" Spyro retorted.

"Don't forget, you're in my clutches of your own accord, hero-boy." Cynder chuckled. "You pounced first, so don't come to me with that wounded deer act - I think you're getting just what you deserve."

Spyro's wings, as well as his clawed toes flexed and laxed over and over again, as his body attempted to contort away from Cynder's skimming claws. But for all his involuntary convulsions, the young purple dragon wasn't really trying to get away, and it was obvious.

"Ahaha!-w-whoa, name-calling now?" Spyro said between breaths, one eye shut and one peering up at his gracious captor. "Y-aaha!-you're vicious today, e-even for you!"

"Keep that wit up. I can sit here all day dragon-boy, I'm enjoying this as much as you clearly are." Cynder stated with a knowing smile.

Cynder's lengthy tail slithered up from the grass, and with the sharp tip, she began to caress and drag along the the dragon's lower belly, and then down to his clawed feet. She was invested now. Oh, yes. She was going to get as much mileage out of this as possible.

"OOHH god no! AHH! Qu-it it! C'm-on Cynder!" Spyro pleaded, small tears now claiming the corners of his eyes.

"What's that?" Cynder absently asked, looking upwards. "I could have sworn I heard something."

Both of Cynder's front claws began to rake down Spyro's sides, and the purple dragon lost whatever composure he had left. With tears in his eyes and making short gasps of breath between laughs, his body began to fight back harder. The contortions turned into half-rolls and attempts to wiggle out of Cynder's grasp. But the dragoness kept a firm hold.

"Oh! Spyro, I didn't see you there!" Cynder mocked. "You look like you're having a good time."

"C-Cynder! S-top! Aahahaha! I-I give! I-c-can't take it! Ahahahaaa!"

"Hmmm, that's too bad. Well, seeing as I am a merciful dragon, I suppose I could help you out." She said with a smirk. "But...what's in it for me?"

"A-anything you w-a-ant!" Spyro chocked out, wings in a perpetual half-fold.

"Anything? That's a tough one. But...how about...you quit any future shenanigans you may have planned, for the rest of this weekend, go and grab us something to eat, and then we can enjoy this nice weather together."

"Sureaaaha! S-Sounds g-great!" Spyro agreed, having reached his limit.

After a few additional seconds of enjoying having him at her mercy, Cynder's claws and serrated tail ceased their attack, and withdrew from the purple dragon's soft underside. All at once Spyro's flailing came to an abrupt halt, and he lay there against the grass, panting and attempting to recover from the onslaught.

Meanwhile, Cynder casually stood to her feet and stretched her limbs out, looking as calm and collected as ever. She sat and folded her wings, watching as Spyro slowly got to his feet and let out a loud exhale. He was completely worn out, but his face told Cynder everything she needed to know. He hadn't expected any part of that, and he had a blast with it.

"Well, I gotta admit...never been put into submission like that, before." Spyro chuckled. "Usually it's by getting hit with a club a few dozen times, or by Ignitus and his training methods. You're so devious."

Cynder had since walked over to a un-flattened section of fresh grass in the brunt of the sun and laid down in it.

"You're a pain in the butt to hold on to once I really get into it though, so I won't make a habit of it, that's for sure." Cynder mused. "Unless maybe I get Flame or Ember to help me pin you down next time."

Spyro jogged over to her, staking out his spot in the warm, sunlit grass next to her.

"Did you still want something to eat, or?..." He began.

"Nah, maybe later." She replied, stretching out in the grass and taking a deep breath in, then out. "I was mostly just taking rainchecks for favors as I thought of them."

The warm summer air had begun to cool down, as the heat of mid-day turned into early evening. A content smile crossed the black dragon's face, as she truly began to relax. Spyro slumped to the grass as well, digging his sharp claws into the cusioned ground. For a long moment the two remained silent, taking in thier beautiful surroundings, feeling the wind against their scales.

"But you know," Cynder began, voice mellow. "I could really use something warm to lay against, right about now."

She locked eyes with Spyro, a 'remember, you owe me now' look on her face. The male dragon rolled his eyes.

"Well, it just so happens I could go for a nap right about now - couldn't imagine why." He said, words dripping with sarcasm, but his tone as equally soft as Cynder's. "So I think I can manage that."

Re-positioning himself, Spyro laid down on his side, his muscles losing all tenseness and his eyelids becoming heavy. Cynder gripped the ground with one back claw, and pushed herself upwards, until her back rested against a warm underbelly. A strong, golden wing lowered itself over the two of them like a blanket, and without a sound, Cynder's tail found its way to Spyro's, and the two intertwined in the grass.

"...We should do this more often." Cynder said quietly.

"Torturing me into submission?" Spyro jabbed.

"No, you bonehead, this." Cynder retorted, resting her head against the grass beneath Spyro's chin, and observing the vast mountain-scape in the distance.

"I was never really good at standing still and watching the scenery," Spyro admitted, wrapping his front claws around Cynder's chest and watching the trees sway gently along with the blades of grass. "...but whatever it is, if it's with you, I'm happy."

FIN