The Aftermath TLOS (Book 1)

Chapter Seven

Roaring Spyro stomped around, smiling while the kids squeal and giggle as he chased them around. Cynder sighed

"He's going to be a good dad" Jake remarked, chuckling as his kids tackle Spyro to the ground

"It's not him I'm worried about, it's me"

"What about you?" He asked

"Well, when I was corrupted, I did things that I regret more than anything. I did horrible things, things that would scare you, it scared Spyro. I wanted to hurt him, I wanted to hurt Spyro and I can't get over that!" Cynder answered

"I know you have some bad memories, but I also know you can get over them" Jake replied

"It's not just that. Spyro is a natural, you should have seen him cheer up the kids before the siege of Warfang. He made a group of war-torn children laugh and play for a few hours. I have no idea how to raise children, I feel like I'm going to mess up or do something wrong. I was raised by a maniac who corrupted me into another body as soon as I had learned to speak, Spyro was raised by two caring dragonflies, and he had a brother."

"It's different with your own kids. Before Mary had hers, she was a killing machine for the Triad army. That how we met, my platoon was under attack by a cursed army, and she flew in using her fire and wind powers to throw a fire tornado at the army, obliterating it. When she got pregnant, she turned from a battle hungry killer to a calm, patient, mother. Don't let your past experiences take over." Jake looked back to her "Also, when you lay your own eggs, your instincts will tell you how to act, and by the time they hatch, you know what to do. This only works for the first 6 months, then they get rowdy and you have to figure things out for yourself"

"I'll need to talk to Michael about how he raises his kids." Cynder replied

"That's probably a better idea. I only have the experience from my pregnant mate and children. while Michael has been alive long enough to experience thousands. You will, no doubt, be different from Mary." He answered

Spyro looked over at Cynder, and smiled, all three kids hanging from him as he dragged them around the room giggling.

"I'm also worried about this war" she sighed "Another war"

"I would focus on something else, if I were you, like maybe your ceremony?" He asked, raising his eyebrows "You are engaged, right"

"Yes" she answered

"Then I'll bet you'll want to start planning it. When I was talking to Flame, I heard that they did theirs in less than three days. I'll bet they were stressed about it the whole time. We did ours slowly, over 6 days." He told Cynder

"We want ours to be simple, a few friends, whatever family we can find, some music and decorations, and Michael officiating it." Cynder replied "We already have all we need, but we just want to relax for a while before making it official."

"My brother did that too, but then he and his mate suddenly wanted to make it official. Then they had to wait painfully long so they could have the ceremony they wanted. Make sure to pay attention to what you and Spyro are feeling." Jake responded

"Rawrr" Spyro yelled, the children squealing

"The more I think about it, the more I can't wait" Cynder sighed

"I know how you feel"

The two dragons watch as Spyro slumped onto the couch, Exhausted. The kids ran back to their dad.

"Can we play outside" Storm asked, her grey wings flapping excitedly.

"Sure, just don't leave the square!" he yelled back at them as they left