The sound of hooves echoing against stone was the only noise that broke the silence in the crisp autumn morning. The breath of the carriage horses came out in thick puffs of mist as they pulled carts throughout the streets. It was mid-October and the air was already frigid. People bundled up in layers of clothing as they led the stallions to the market to deliver supplies. Many businesses were still closed, the sun had only just started peaking over the horizon. Few folks were just standing around, most continued doing their jobs and making their way through town. For Jackson Overland that was a different story. The brunet stood alone, leaning against the cold brick wall of a building. He watched as the townsfolk hurriedly moved throughout the streets, occasionally rubbing his nose against the soft fabric of his sweater. He had run out of his house in such a fit of emotion that he had made no effort to grab his scarf and mittens, let alone his shoes.

He furrowed his brows subconsciously as he thought about this morning's past events. It wasn't unavoidable, it had to be done. His father had to go serve in the army for a while. The only reason he wasn't is because he was seventeen. Some boys in the town had lied about their age to get in, Jackson never understood why. With a sigh, he pried his back away from the wall and began walking home. If he couldn't stop his dad from leaving, then he should at least be there to say goodbye.

His bare feet caused him a slight twinge of discomfort against the cold ground as he paced along. He ignored it, too focused on his thoughts to care. He was scared his Dad wasn't going to come home. He knew that. He didn't want him to go because he didn't want to lose him. His grandmother had died when he was young, and he was devastated. He did not want to think about what would happen to him if his dad died. Nothing in his family would be the same. He knew that for sure. His mom would be heartbroken. She loved her husband so much, hell, she loved their family more than the world itself, to lose one of them would shatter the delicate balance of comfort and security they held when together.

Jackson took a deep breath and watched as a small cloud of fog escaped from his chapped lips. He found himself wrapping his arms around his torso to stay warm. He usually did not mind the cold. He supposed today was different, considering the circumstances. He just wanted to scream and cry and scream some more. His fingers snaked their way into his hair and he yanked on the chestnut locks, clenching his teeth in frustration.

He was home before he realized he had even left the town square and he was only in the house a few seconds before he had his arms thrown around his Father. Jackson may have been lanky, but Charles was still taller. His face buried into the coarse fabric of the man's jacket and a few chocked back sobs fled from his throat without any sign of hesitation. Jackson felt hands wrap around him in returned and the embrace tightened considerably. He inhaled deeply, an attempt to keep himself from breaking down into sobs. He needed to be strong now; if his father left then he would be the man of the house. He needed to be strong; at least for Emma, sweet little Emma. Jackson never understood how the other kids in town could be so nasty to their siblings. He played a small trick on Emma every once and a while, but never anything drastic enough to hurt the girl.

Fingers brushed through Jackson's hair, gently caressing his scalp in a soothing manner. He felt Charles press a chaste kiss to his forehead. The younger man buried his face into his father even more, squeezing his eyes shut tightly as a few small tears rolled down the skin of his face, red from the cold. The two men stood there for a moment, finding comfort in one another's embrace. It was broken when his father pulled back to rest his hands on Jackson's shoulders. Brown eyes met with another identical pair. A forced smile found its way to the elder's lips.

"You'll be fine Jack, I know you will. I'll be fine too, I'll come home." He spoke softly.

"Promise?"

"Yes. I promise. I will come home." He reassured, "You be good alright? Tell your sister that too, and don't be too hard on your Mum."

Jackson nodded and forced a smile that only lasted for a quick second. The worst part about the whole thing was that Charles had to leave so early in the morning. His mother and sister were still asleep, probably. He only got up at this hour because he really, really had to pee.

Now he was just devastated. He had always been closest with his father out of all the people in his family. He was at loss. His brown eyes down fell to the wooden floor of their home once again. He bit his lip as he felt tears brim the edge of his lower eyelids for a second time.

"I'll miss you Dad."

"I'll miss you too Lad."

It had been two months now since Charles had left. Jackson wasn't as lost as he thought he'd be. Sure, he was still scared for his father, but he had confidence in the man as well. He had a feeling somewhere that things would turn out alright(though the never ending dread still nipped at him). Until then he'd just have to find a way to distract himself; even if it meant doing weird things. His family owned five sheep, and Jackson had started to sit in the pasture with them on the few sunny days that graced their village. It wasn't that he needed to watch them, they couldn't jump the fence so it wasn't like they could escape. He just found a small bit of comfort when sitting with the hooved mammals. The sheep paid him no mind, a sad as that may sound. They just continued their trek through the pasture, nibbling on the hale bales Jackson had placed earlier that morning.

Jackson felt the weight of a hand on his shoulder and he turned away from the livestock. He smiled at the familiar face of his younger sister. "Hey Emma, something wrong?" he asked as he got to his feet. Emma was the only one in the household (seemingly) not affected by Charles leaving. Jackson assumed it was because she was too young to understand the severity of the situation.

She shook her head, "No, Henrik's at the house and he says he needs your help at the place he works all of the time."

"The Forge?" He asked, laughing a little. Henrik could handle himself at the Forge; he didn't need Jackson's help. Unless something caught fire…

"Yeah that!" She bounced happily, grabbing her brother's hand and pulling him toward their house. "Come on!"

Of course, just as Jackson had expected, everything Henrik had said to Emma was a lie. He really just wanted to hang out, and that was how the two young men ended up in the middle of the forest flicking pinecones at each other. It would always start by Jackson saying something offensive or stupid, Henrik would respond by throwing the nearest pinecone, and eventually it would turn into a full-fledged pinecone war. That is until someone took a hit to the eye.

"Oh my God," Jackson breathed between laughter, "I am so, so sorry!"

Now the two of them sat on the mossy forest floor, laughing hard enough to make themselves cry. Henrik was holding his hand over his injured eye, smiling despite the sting. Jackson moved the other man's hand away from his face and examined the olive green eye, oh thank God! No pinecone was actually in there, though it was really red and watery.

"I'm sorry." Jackson whispered with a smile and Henrik just smiled back.

"It's fine Jack, I'm not dead." The freckled brunet chuckled as well.

Jackson reached for the other male's hand, holding it within his own, he gave Henrik a quick kiss on the nose and wiped a few stray tears off freckled cheekbones.

"Sorry."

"Idiot."

What the hell is this. I have no idea. This is my third time writing this god damn thing and no matter what I do my writing still sucks. I have no idea where this is going. Someone shoot me.