A Dragon's Tale #Watty's2015

Revelations

I woke up the next morning with a deep, stabbing pain that was buried deep into my chest, heart and spine, like some had tried to carve me like a thanksgiving turkey. My eyes were stinging and the area underneath my pillow was wet from tears. I could hear a bit of quiet chatter and the faint sound of the TV out in the living room, so I guessed that the kids were already up. Adelind was awake to, her eyes were red from her crying and her muzzle had a distinct shine to it. She looked at me and then shoved her head under mine.

"I miss them", she whined, "I didn't sleep at all last night, that video played around and around in my head like a bad joke with a horrible punch line."

I hugged her as tightly as I could. She felt cold and I could feel her breathing very heavily.

"I hurt", she whimpered, 'I hurt so, so badly."

"I know", I answered, "I feel like someone stabbed me in the chest."

She sighed, "what are you thinking? Is it what Lung said about your Mom?"

I nodded, "I can't figure out why she went. If she knew she was pregnant she could have used it to stay off the battlefield. I got Vez out of missions until their kids were born, why didn't my Dad do the same?"

"I don't know", Adelind said, "I'm just wondering where he kidnapped my parents at...did he go to Tacoma?"

"I hope not", I answered, "if he did then everyone over at RDH knows where we live."

She sighed, "let's just get on with the day."

The two of us rolled out of bed and showered off. We dressed and then walked out into the living room where we found Ace and the others hovered over the Xbox and Call Of Duty Ghosts on the screen. Ace and Helix were fighting it out Maniac to Maniac and Ace had his sister on the ropes. From the looks of the four of them, they'd been awake a long time.

"How long have you kids been up?", I asked as Adelind and I walked over to them.

"All night", Dusk yawned from underneath a blanket, "none of us could stay asleep."

"So you came out here to play Xbox?", Adelind asked.

"What else could we do?', Dusk asked, "the nightmares won't stop."

"What nightmares?", Adelind asked sounding rather concerned.

"We all kept having nightmares about watching Nǎinai and Yéyé die", Ace said pausing the game, "and the idea that you and Dad could leave to hunt down that sick dragon Lung and....not come back isn't helping. So....we got up, managed to slip out of the room and we started playing, all it really did was make us more tired.

"Oh Ace", Adelind said lifting him off the couch and into her arms.

"Losing Nǎinai and Yéyé was bad enough", Ace said starting to cry, "I don't wanna lose you and Dad too."

Adelind hugged him tightly and rubbed his back as the rest of the kids came to me. I scooped them up with my wings and hugged them tightly.

"You guys aren't going to lose us", I said quietly, "I promise."

"Lung killed them", Helix cried, "that means he can kill you and Mom too."

I nuzzled my daughter's neck as she started balling.

"We won't let him kill us sweetie", I said, "I'll get him long before he gets me."

Helix, Ace and Dusk were all balling now. The only one who wasn't was Tyson. I guessed it was spending the bulk of his life surrounded by death that had hardened him against it. It really scared me that my 1 year old son had already lost so many loved ones and friends that he was at the point where it didn't phase him when it happened.