A/N: Here it is! I finally uploaded the rewrite for Falling Stars! If some of you remember, I took down the original due to feeling as if the original's writing wasn't quite satisfying enough, and I think that I'm happier with this version instead. I'll continue to get down the next few chapters of this then I'll get back as soon as possible to writing the next chapter for Artificial.

Anyway...here's a warning for alcohol for people who feel uncomfortable with it.

"Well, I'll be going now," said the deep red SkyWing. She looked down lovingly at her son with a gentle smile. "Don't worry, dear. I'll be back soon."

One hour.

Four days.

Seven weeks.

To Falcon, time only passed and passed without regard for the dragons trapped within its cycle. Knowing that it was just going to go on and on and on without telling when it will eventually stop…

It was maddening.

Where is she? Robin's crying again. Three moons, he tripped. Hey, little guy—OW!

Robin just bit her. Throbbing pain seared in her bitten talon as she held it, hissing. "Okay, that's it," she muttered, looking down at the tiny dragonet. Robin stared back up at her with wide, unblinking emerald eyes that were wet with tears.

Falcon picked up the small dark red dragonet, glaring back at his eyes. She ignored the shivers that his dark green gaze gave her and then she looked away from him, going to carry him up to the room that she had to empty out just to use as his room.

His eyes are weird.

SkyWings weren't supposed to have green eyes. No, they were supposed to have eyes that were yellow, amber, copper, or orange. They certainly shouldn't have green eyes. But Robin did, and there was just something in those eyes of his that she couldn't shake off.

Never mind, Falcon thought to herself. It really shouldn't matter anyway, right? Eyes were just eyes.

But still…

Three hours.

Six days.

Nine weeks.

Finch and Zephyr still hadn't returned, and at this point Robin was crying for his parents. He didn't care about where they were or what they were doing. He just wanted them back with him.

Falcon tried the best that she could to calm him down, but all of her efforts ended in failure. She didn't know what to do. She didn't have the motherly instinct that Finch had. In fact, she didn't have anything that Finch had.

She wasn't as smart as Finch, and she certainly didn't have the same kind of kindness and honesty that her sister possessed. She was nothing like her sister. And great goose feces, did she hate herself for it.

Falcon wished that her sister was here with her. She wished that her sister never left. She wished that Finch was still here and that they were joking again and that they were smiling and laughing and doing everything that they used to do when they were younger.

This was so frustrating. She hated everything about this. If her sister never left, then she wouldn't be here dealing with all of this right now.

She felt a sharp, burning pain in her chest. Her heart felt as if it was going to burst out of her chest at any moment. Her eyes felt moist. Everything that she just felt was painful and they hurt so much.

She wasn't going to get rid of these feelings anytime soon, was she?

Five hours.

Eight days.

Two months.

Two months since Finch and Zephyr's disappearance. Two months since Falcon's problems had started. Robin needs this. Now he wants that. Alright, alright, I'm getting there, just wait.

Not that Robin was a problem, of course. Falcon couldn't bring herself to hate the small dragonet. She didn't try to, either. She knew that it wasn't his fault that his parents were gone. It wasn't his fault and it was never going to be.

Instead, Falcon found something else to do instead of blame such a tiny dragon for her problems. Nowadays, Falcon would drown away all of her sorrows with a swig of alcohol.

She didn't really mean to get that into it at first. She only meant to take a simple sip and then just forget about ever drinking it. And obviously, that didn't happen. Now it was just so difficult for her to be able to quit.

As she continued on with her daily business, thoughts came to her, ranging from Maybe I should've pushed harder to find out what she was doing to Where are they? Are they going to come back soon?

Then she closed her eyes and remembered what Finch said to her about what she and her husband were doing.

"Why?" Falcon had asked. "I mean, I'm flattered you would trust me with your dragonet, but where are you and Zephyr going?"

"You don't need to know," Finch responded impatiently. "Zephyr and I are just going to go somewhere for a time. I promise that we won't take long. We'll be back by morning," she promised.

Falcon narrowed her eyes at her. She knew that Finch was one of the most trustworthy dragons she's ever known, but she also knew that her sister also probably wouldn't be back by morning like she said she was. She understood it would all depend on what happened to her and Zephyr during their little trip.

In fact, she was almost sure that her sister had to do something for Queen Nimbus. Finch had a close position to the SkyWing queen and ever since landing a place at the palace, Falcon saw her less and less. Whenever she would write a letter to her asking her if she could come visit, Finch would respond by sending a letter that said that the queen's plans didn't allow her to do that.

Which was why she probably should try to keep asking her questions. But then again, she thought irritably, she isn't known for giving in easily. And that was true. Finch really didn't surrender so easily, not even to her older sister.

Two years.

At this point, Falcon no longer saw why she needed to keep track of every single detail of why she needed to keep the time. Finch and Zephyr were already as late enough as they were and if they came back now, then Falcon certainly had a few words to say to them.

So much for coming back by morning, Falcon would think to herself. It felt as if a bitter taste on her tongue was left every time she had to talk about Finch.

And of course, this happened often considering the fact that Robin was curious about his parents and their fates. Falcon felt bad for not being able to provide him many answers about what happened to his parents and never being quite in the right mood whenever he asked about what they were like.

She knew that he was only wondering about Zephyr and Finch and she only wished that she would be able to tell him more about them without trying to get the conversation over with as fast as possible. But since that wish didn't seem to be coming true anytime soon, she decided that she'll distract him by spending time with him.

Falcon quickly learned that he loved to listen to and read stories about heroes and the magnificent deeds that they had done. He seemed especially interested in the characters with their gaudy, billowing capes. In Falcon's opinion, the capes were stupid. They were unnecessary and she was pretty sure that a dragon without a cape was a more graceful one.

But she couldn't bring herself to tell that to Robin to his face. He seemed to get so excited at the idea of wearing capes and she was almost certain that they became some kind of heroic symbol to him.

So Falcon let him keep his love for capes. She knew that he might need something to love and to give him hope anyway, considering the fact that he didn't have many friends. Even after two years, he was rather...awkward. She remembered once when she encouraged him to go interact with a group of nearby dragonets and it didn't end up well.

From what she's seen, Robin doesn't really seem to pick up on social cues, figurative language, or sarcasm all that well.

And she certainly can't quite forget the time that Robin called her old and kind of unattractive right to her face. His honesty coUld be quite...off-putting.

But every time that she sees his enthusiasm whenever he reads his favorite scroll about his favorite superhero, she couldn't help but smile at him.

She knew he was destined to do something great one day.