Coal knew it would be coming. They were at war. He was young, healthy, and strong. They needed him. And yet, it still stung slightly when he received the official notice in the mail. He had been officially drafted for Queen Thorn's army. He was to report at the Stronghold for training in one week.
He felt sick.
Squelch had gotten one too, only his came sooner. Adobe had freaked when he told her. In the saddest way Adobe could react, anyway. She had threatened him quite colorfully if he should end up dying and leaving her alone with five young dragonets. Squelch wasn't too worried. Not like Coal was. But then again, Squelch didn't have a clue as to what war was like.
Coal wasn't sure what scared him more- the actual war, dragons he cared about dying, the fact that random dragons were trying to kill his children, or Firefly's reaction when he broke the news that he would be leaving to fight.
The last one sounded downright terrifying.
And yet, it had to be done.
Coal stepped inside and savored the moment before anyone noticed he was there. Firefly was bent over a pile of string and shells from the river, making necklaces for the stand she ran with Adobe. She hummed lightly, worry free. At the table, Dusk glanced over and frowned at Dawn's coloring.
"You know you're supposed to color inside the lines, right?" he questioned. Dawn shrugged, her feet swinging under the table.
"Auntie Air says I can color outside the lines if I call it as-track." she explained.
"You mean abstract."
"Yea, that."
"Do you even know what abstract means?"
"n- DADDY!" Dawn jumped up from the table, her coloring instantly forgotten. Firefly looked up and grinned as Coal bent down to pick up the excited hybrid. Dusk walked over much more calmly, seeing as he was older and much more dignified than Dawn would ever be.
Coal smiled. He loved the end of the day when he came home. Dawn would chatter about whatever adventure she'd had during the day or whatever story she had made up and Dusk would translate her fast words into something comprehensible. He'd usually talk about some new scroll Firefly had given him to read. And Firefly, of course, would be next to him and they'd talk. It was a carefree time, one that he didn't have to worry about anything in. It was perfect.
It wasn't until Dawn had been put to bed that he got a moment alone to tell Firefly. As much as he wanted to put it off longer, the sooner she knew, the better.
"I have to tell you something. It's something you're not going to like." he began. Firefly studied him for a moment.
"I'm listening." she insisted. Unbeknownst to them, Dawn was also listening in, although she was bound to not understand what they were saying. Oh well. She'd just have to ask Dusk later. Coal took a deep breath.
"I've been drafted. I just got the notice today. It says I have to report to training in a week."
"What?" Firefly asked in disbelief. Drafted? She knew she should've seen it coming, but still. What if something happened to him? And a week? Seven days to get everything in order, to say goodbye to your family and friends, maybe forever? Only seven freaking days?
Coal watched her, noting how her face switched from shock to despair to anger to sadness in an instant. Her eyes grew glassy as tears filled them.
"Hey," Coal insisted, sitting beside her. He clutched one of her talons in his own. Her black scales were cool to the touch. "It's gonna be alright." He attempted a smile. "Don't worry." She stared at him.
"What do we tell Dusk and Dawn?" she whispered. He paled slightly. He hadn't even thought abut that. Dusk and Dawn were little. They didn't know what it meant to be in a war- heck, they didn't even know one was beginning. Dusk might have a vague understanding, but Dawn would be clueless. She'd be crushed.
As their voices lowered, Dawn frowned and walked into Dusk's room, flopping down on his bed. Her brother sat at a desk, reading a scroll probably for the millionth time.
"Duskie?" she asked, using her baby name for him.
"Yes?"
"What's drafted mean?"
"Drafted?"
"Yea" He turned to look at her.
"Is this one of those times where you wake up thinking of a random word and then run in here to ask me what it means?"
"Nooooooo." Dawn replied unsurely.
"Okay." he said unconvincingly. "Well, usually drafted means that someone has been selected to be in an army, and they have to go. There's no choice." Dawn frowned.
"And what's an army?"
"It's a big group of dragons fro one tribe that goes around and fights bad guys." he explained. "Although not all of those dragons end up coming back."
"Where do they go?" Dusk sighed.
"They......" he failed to think of a lie she would believe, and besides, it would only lead to more questions. "They die, Dawn. Now why are you asking?"
Dawn went pale and her eyes widened. She looked scared and shaken.
"Because Daddy said he was drafted." she whispered.