White Dragon Stories

Smiles and tears

Once a year Hakuryuu and his family had a picnic. Hakuryuu loved it because it was one of the rare moments when his whole family was together – his father, his brothers, sister and mother. Also the place where the picnic was held was great. Since the small forest with the beautiful lack, which they used for their picnic, was relatively far away – relatively because for Hakuryuu it was indeed a really long way, while it wasn't for his relatives – they didn't went there too often. This was probably due to the fact that he couldn't make as large steps as the rest of his family and that he had less stamina then them. Maybe it also was because he always was so excited that every passing second until they would reach the lack felt like an eternity.

When it was time for the picnic Hakuryuu got out of bed earlier than usual, because he wanted to help his mother with packing. This also included the food and since he was there he made sure that there was enough of his favorite dishes, especially his favorite sweets. Hakuei helped as well. Gyokuen, on the other hand, would be faster and happier, if her children weren't helping. She constantly had to check what her kids had put into the picnic basket and had to remove everything unnecessary, while packing all the things needed. It was the same every year. And as every year she managed the packing without much trouble – Hakuryuu and Hakuei were slowing her down, but they weren't a big problem. To a certain extent it was cute how they run around putting sweets into the basket, while removing all those things they disliked. In the end Gyokuen often let some of her children's sweets in the basket – it was nice to see how happy they were when they saw that some of their things were still inside.
Hakuyuu and Hakuren had been the same, when they were still small. Now they laughed about their younger siblings and their behavior. But only until Gyokuen started telling stories about Hakuyuu's and Hakuren's childhood. Hakuyuu was the type that silently endured this "torture" with a forced smile, however Hakuren always tried to stop his mother from speaking further. He failed every time, which made it even funnier for the rest of the family. One's family could be one's worst enemy! Sometimes Hakuren tried to distract his mother from talking about his childhood by asking about her and their father's past. How they had met or fallen in love. Although Gyokuen also answered very detailed, she never forgot to get back to her second son's past.
Meanwhile Hakutoku was silent for most of the time, but enjoyed watching his family interacting. He wanted to interact more with them as well, sadly he had nothing to talk about besides politics. He often interacted with Hakuyuu and Hakuren because of political issues, on the other hand, he barely had any interaction with Hakuei and Hakuryuu. Those two were still too young for the political world in which their father and older brothers lived. Hakutoku felt bad about it and although this family trip was the perfect opportunity to get to know his youngest children better and interact with them, he did not. Somehow he was unsure how to approach Hakuryuu. He knew that his youngest son was very sensitive and easily started crying and he knew that he himself could be very intimidating. Things had been easier with Hakuyuu and Hakuren – even with Hakuei. Like Hakuren she was brave and sought challenges. Talking and interacting with the oh so stern and scary emperor was nothing for those two. When Hakutoku compared his children like that he also thought about how amusing the thought that Hakuyuu might be as sensitive and whiny as Hakuryuu was. The only difference between them would probably be that Hakuyuu was able to hide his tears and his fear, while Hakuryuu openly showed them. Or Hakuyuu was not like Hakuryuu. Or they had other things in common. Who knew? Hakutoku could not look inside his children's heads, therefore he didn't know what they felt or thought as long as they did not voice it out loud.
Unlike his wife he also didn't know how to react when his son tried to show him something. Most of the time those things were totally ordinary, so what did his son expected of him? And how should Hakutoku react when Hakuryuu read his first words? Everyone could read at that age or learned how to read. It was nothing special, so why should he act as of it was something big? But for whatever reason this was expected of him. And maybe his lack of reaction was the reason why Hakuryuu kept his distance to his father as if they were strangers. Sad, very sad!