Chapter 4: Doubt of being a father.

A/N: Hey everyone. It's been awhile huh. Sorry for the delay and the waiting, I know you've all been waiting and waiting, but it's finally here for you. Please enjoy.

Namigi had been awake for a while now, just resting next to Cynder who was sound asleep and to his surprise, she was quietly purring as she slept at Namigi's side. As he laid there next to his mate, Namigi thought about the life he had ahead of him. He now had a family, but could he call it a family? As much as he wanted to call it that Namigi felt that he didn't belong, after all he wasn't there for Marcus and Emma for most of their lives. He wondered if he even deserved to be called their dad at all.

And as soon as that thought left his head, a sudden hit to the back of his head caught him off guard and face first into the ground below. "I never ever want you to think another thought like that again Namigi!" Cynder said full of anger.

Namigi raised his head and looked at Cynder, she was not at all happy with Namigi. "I'm sorry Cynder, but I do not feel right about it all. I mean, I wasn't even there for their hatching, nor was I there when you laid the eggs." Namigi said.

Cynder only growled in anger at Namigi then but soon she just decided to take a different approach, after all Namigi wasn't that scared considering the mood he was in. catching Namigi off guard, Cynder pounced on him and held him on his back as he landed on the ground. "I don't care that you weren't there. Neither do they, you may think that it's the worst thing you ever did: not being there for us from the start, but the fact is you helped me bare you two loving, kind and smart hatchlings and although they don't know that much about their Daddy, they still and will always love you." Cynder said before planting a kiss on Namigi's snout.

Namigi smiled a little bit after hearing Cynder's kind words, but there was still doubt in his mind, that Cynder could easily tell, even without reading his thoughts. "You still have doubts about it don't you Namigi?" Cynder asked.

Namigi only nodded once and had a tear in his eye. "I know I shouldn't think this way Cynder, but you know what I'm like." Namigi said in a dead, emotionless tone.

Cynder then had an idea she was sure that would work. "Well…since you won't listen to a word I say on the subject, why not ask them yourself?" Cynder asked.

Namigi's eyes quickly focused on Cynder. "But I thought you wanted me to yourself for a week? If I go right now you'll be all depressed and lonely." Namigi said.

Cynder hit Namigi's head again but this time a little harder. "You're depressing enough already stupid! Go ask them and then come back here right away after they've convinced you." Cynder ordered as she got off Namigi.

Namigi slowly got up and stretched till his bones all popped back. "But.." Namigi stopped mid sentence as he took one look at Cynder and saw her shadow ability emanate from her like a dark misty aura and her eyes were focused directly on Namigi.

"I would go right now if I were you Namigi. Otherwise…I'll have to drag you there unconscious." Cynder said in a dark, dead tone that sent chills down Namigi's spine.

Namigi swallowed his pride and in a flash of black flames he disappeared from the cave in a second.

Cynder shook her head in disbelief and made her way to the bed and curled up on it, tucking her head under her wing. "Idiot." Cynder said lightly to herself before closing her eyes slowly and dozed off to sleep.

Off in Warfang:

Marcus and Emma sat in Cyril's room as he explained to the two hatchlings that being a noble isn't about power. "As you two may know by now, being a noble isn't about having power. It's about being a role model to the citizens of Avalar. Marcus do you know how a Nobel is a expected to be a role model?" Cyril asked.

Marcus nodded. "A noble is meant to be a role model by obeying and up holding the law. As well as always being polite and courteous to others no matter how you feel at the time." Marcus said.

Cyril smiled. "Close. A noble is also expected to behave in a proper and well balanced manner both in public and private." Cyril explained further.

"This is sooooo boring. Why did Cyril have to choose this subject today? I wish he just decided to allow me and Marcus to have another day off." Emma thought to herself.

"Emma is something wrong?" Cyril asked, causing Emma to jump a little.

"N…No no. Nothing is wrong I was only thinking to myself for a moment there." Emma said quickly a little nervous.

Cyril began to think the kids were actually getting bored. He didn't blame them really, after all he knew he did ramble on a lot on this subject. "Well I think that's enough for today. I suppose you can both take a break for now." Cyril said.

Emma smiled and ran off out of the room fast. "Wow…never seen Emma run like that before." Marcus said quietly.

"Hmm…what was that Marcus?" Cyril asked since he didn't hear Marcus properly.

"Nothing sir. Um…do you mind telling me something?" Marcus asked.

Cyril looked at Marcus wondering what it could be. "Marcus I'm your teacher. You're free to ask whatever you want, just remember though there is only so much I can teach you." Cyril said.

"I know, but do you think you could tell me about the marks the adult dragons sometimes bare on their bodies?" Marcus asked.

"Hmm? Why do you what to know about that?" Cyril asked.

Marcus tried to think quickly as to how to answer Cyril's question. "Well I've noticed that some adult dragons have strange markings on their bodies. But the markings they have are different to others marks in both shape and place. I've also noticed that Mother has one on her neck. And so does Aunty Ember and Uncle Flame. But theirs are completely different then Mother's." Marcus explained thinking that would answer Cyril's question.

Cyril was smiling. "Marcus…how long have we known each other for?" Cyril asked.

"Um…since I hatched and was able to speak sir. Why?" Marcus asked.

"That's right…and you must also know by now I can tell when you're lying." Cyril said causing Marcus to look down embarrassed. "So what's the real reason you want to know?" Cyril asked.

Marcus took a slow and deep breath in and out before he looked up at Cyril again. "How is it that the marks appear on a dragon? And why is it that some are faded on a few dragons that have been walking around?" Marcus said this time.

"Well Marcus. The markings you're referring to are known as bonding marks. They appear on two dragons. Lets use your uncle and aunty as an example. You said you noticed they had the same mark on them right? The reason being is that the mark symbolises the bond that they share." Cyril explained.

Marcus tilted his head a little. "Bond? What kind of Bond?" Marcus asked.

Cyril smiled. "The bond that you're not yet ready to know about." Cyril said.

"Oh come on sir." Marcus said as Cyril laughed.

"I'm sorry Marcus, but it isn't my place to tell you about that sort of thing. You're neither yet ready nor old enough to know about that yet. Have patience." Cyril said calmly.

Marcus frowned. "And who's place would it be to tell me?" Marcus asked.

"Well your mother of course." Cyril said and did his best not to say Namigi.

"And someone else." Marcus said.

Cyril looked curious. "And who might that be?" Cyril asked.

"Come on sir. Like you said, we've known each other for awhile now. I know when you're hiding additional information. So how long have you known?" Marcus asked.

Cyril could tell what Marcus was referring to. "I have no idea what you're talking about." Cyril said. Marcus gazed at Cyril suspiciously.

Meanwhile:

Emma had ran out of Cyril's room and down the corridor as fast as she could on her small hatchling legs and into the courtyard. "And where are you going in such a hurry?" A voice said from behind Emma.

Emma spun around in a hurry to see a door was open a little bit from where the voice appeared. "Who's there?" Emma asked as she slowly approached the door.

"Well…you'll just have to come in to find out Emma." The voice said nicely. "Just don't yell when you see me please." The voice continued.

Emma slowly walked into the room and the door closed behind her lightly. She looked behind her and smiled as soon as she realized. "Daddy." Emma said quietly as she looked up at her father Namigi.

"Hey Emma. Now why were you running through the corridor like that?" Namigi asked as he walked past Emma and laid down on a few pillows that were on the floor.

"Because Cyril gave Marcus and I a break from class. I decided to run as fast as I could to get away. He was being so boring today." Emma said.

"Yeah well he can ramble a lot. He did that a lot when he taught me." Namigi said calmly.

"Huh? Cyril used to teach you as well Daddy?" Emma asked.

"There she goes again…calling me her daddy in the space of a few minutes." Namigi thought. "Emma…there's actually something I wanted to ask you and Marcus…do you think you can go get him for me and come back? And please make sure you aren't followed." Namigi said.

Emma titled her head a little but then smiled and nodded. "Sure thing Daddy. I'll be right back." Emma said as she turned and ran out the room as fast as she could.

Namigi rested his head on the ground and sighed. "I wonder what they'll say." Namigi said.

Emma ran back through the corridor as fast as possible and bursted through Cyril's door to find Marcus and Cyril looking at her. "Emma what's the problem?" Cyril asked wondering what could be her reason for bursting into his room.

"EMMA! HAT'S NO WAY TO ENTER A ROOM YOU DUMMY!" Marcus yelled as he walked over to her to hit her head, but before he could Emma grabbed onto his tail and dragged him out of the classroom as fast as she could. "Ow ow ow!" Marcus yelled in pain as he felt Emma drag him by his tail.

Cyril laughed a little as the door shut. "Those children." Cyril said while he continued to laugh.

"Emma…it really hurts…please stop it, you're gonna pull my tail off!" Marcus yelled as he was dragged down the hall by his sister.

"SHHHH!" Emma said as she let go of Marcus's tail.

Marcus quickly got up and rubbed his tail trying to make it better, not caring about the tears he had in his eyes. "Sis…hat was mean!." Marcus said in a sobbing tone. "W…Wait…were you going?" Marcus asked in curiosity as Emma slowly walked towards a room before looking around to see if they were followed and opened the door enough for them to squeeze through and motioned for her brother to go first.

Marcus followed and entered the room first before Emma walked in and then closed the door behind her. "Ah…So you did bring him without anyone following you two. Thank you Emma." Namigi said calmly.

Marcus was shocked to see his father calmly laying on a few pillows with two pillows in front of him for his young children to rest on. Marcus knew his father wanted them to sit, so without hesitation Marcus took the black pillow and watched as his sister sat of the dark pink one. "Um…s…so why did you come here?" Marcus asked.

Namigi looked at Marcus first then back at Emma. "Just as I thought…He didn't say it." Namigi thought to himself. Namigi cleared his throat before speaking, deciding to choose his words carefully, after all his children were only young hatchlings. But yet he still knew they were also nobles, how would he explain to them both, that he has concerns about what they thought of him.

Emma seemed to have caught on to how her father felt when Marcus didn't say the word 'Dad'. Namigi didn't know it, but she was excellent at reading the slightest facial expression and instantly knew why the person felt that why. "Daddy…if you have something you would like to ask us, you can ask. You're our daddy after all." Emma explained calmly, surprising Marcus.

"What the…this is not like Emma. She always bragged about the fact if she ever met Dad she would love him and ask him a billion questions about him. But she never said it when anyone but me was around, she held onto that hope that he was alive and it pulled through…so why act so calmly about it…unless…" Marcus turned to his father and as if the words had a mind of it's own and without even thinking about what he was about to say, he asked the question, he wanted the answer to all his life. "Why didn't you come back? You survived didn't you? So…so why didn't you come back?" Marcus asked. And right away Namigi could see it, he saw how sad he was, how sad his son was.

"I…I…"

"Just stop!" Marcus yelled. Tears…the tears he had held back all his life, never shedding a single one throughout his life, filled his eyes, till eventually the began to fall towards the ground. "You could have come back…you had to. Not for Emma…not for myself…not for Warfang. You had to come back for her…for Mom…but you never did. Night after Night she suffered…crying at the very mention of your name, or even the description of how you looked. Then after a year…the day of your 'death' you come back and act like noting ever happened. Thinking everything would wash away the minute Mom laid her eyes on you." Marcus said full of sadness, and to Namigi, he could hear clearly, the anger inside of his son.

Emma was horrified, she had never seen her younger brother cry before. Normally it was her that cried, but it was the other way around this time. "B…Brother, please s…stop it." Emma pleaded, trying desperately not to shed a single tear.

Before Marcus opened his mouth however. Namigi placed a talon to Marcus's maw. "Marcus…there isn't a word I can say that'll convince you, but…I'll say it anyway. I know you and Emma have suffered not having me around. But more so…I know Cynder has more than anyone. I could have come back…I know that. But if I did…Imagine how she would feel seeing me in pain everyday…the worry she'd feel seeing me in a state where I could die at any time. That pain would have been a hundred times worse than what she had felt this year. You have no idea Marcus, how I felt knowing that Cynder was hurting, and what made it worse, was the fact that every night and day, I could hear her cries." Namigi said causing Emma's and Marcus's eyes to widen in shock. "You're too young to understand this, and I possibly shouldn't be telling you two this at your age, but I see no other option. When two dragons, a Male and a Female who have deep, caring and loving feelings for one another, get together and mate, it is a promise to the other that you'll never leave them romantically…or even mentally." Namigi said.

"M…Mentally?" Emma asked.

"Yes. You see, the marking I have here on my neck is exactly the same as your mother's. Meaning we both made that promise to each other. These marks that bond two dragons together are as what the description suggests: they're called 'Bonding Marks'. They allow us to let other dragons know we are no longer available and that we are joined together for life. Now for the mentally, you see the connection between the two dragons that bare the same mark can mentally communicate with each other, and also allow each other to hear the other's thoughts. But we can also block that connection by sealing off our minds, this is what I did so your mother couldn't know I'm alive and spend her days searching for me. But…it didn't stop me from knowing how she felt. I could still hear her cries, the pain that I caused her, hurt me more. So…I swore that when I got better and back to full health, I would make it up to you three, but I swore I'd make it up to Cynder a lot more…sorry." Namigi said.

Marcus sighed lightly and wiped his tears from his eyes with his tail. "Okay then…but you have to make a promise to me." Marcus said.

Namigi looked at Marcus a little funny. "Let me guess…you want me to swear I'll never hurt Cynder again correct?" Namigi asked his son. Marcus nodded. "Okay then, but I wouldn't have regardless of this promise." Namigi said.

"We'll see. So what was the question you wanted to ask?" Marcus asked.

Namigi lowered his head. "Um…Well…do I have the right to even be called Dad by you two?" Namigi asked. As soon as he asked and looked at his kids, he saw they both had a fiery dark aura around them.

"If we heard you correctly…you just asked us if you had the right to even be called 'Dad' by us right?" Emma said in a dark aggressive tone.

Marcus was no different, he had the exact same tone. "You are our Dad…whether we like or not is irrelevant. You make Mom happy…got that…Dad?" Marcus said as he stared at his father.

Namigi blinked twice as he looked at his kids. "O-oh…I was wrong…b…both have her aggression." Namigi thought to himself. "Y…Yeah…I got it." Namigi said.

"Good…now…get out of here and go back to Mom…before we both drag you to her Dad." They both said at the same time in unison. Namigi nodded before dark flames quickly engulfed him and disappeared in a flash with out a trace of Namigi.

"I cannot believe Dad asked us such a stupid question." Emma said without looking at Marcus.

"I know…he just made me angry…I think I'll take it out on Uncle Flame." Marcus said as he slowly walked out of the room.

Meanwhile back at the cave:

Cynder laid in the cave minding her own business and looked out the cave entrance just watching the scenery. "I wonder how their little discussion went?" Cynder spoke out loud. Suddenly black flames bursted out of thin air in the cave. "A right on time. So how was it? Satisfied with their answer?" Cynder asked as a smirk crossed her maw.

Namigi slowly appeared as the flames died down and to Cynder his expression was priceless. "They…are…exactly…like you…when you're mad." Namigi said as he looked at Cynder.

Cynder smirked more at her mate. "Not really…if they were, we wouldn't be having this discussion…you'd still be there right now if they were exactly like me when I'm mad." Cynder teased.

"O…Okay…I'm gonna rest over by this rock now." Namigi said as he laid in a dark corner of the cave next to a rock and covered his head with his wings.

Cynder laughed a little. "The great Namigi…scared of two hatchlings…I find that funny don't you? You big baby." Cynder teased further still looking at the scenery.

Namigi didn't speak a word for a few minutes. "Note to self…Never piss them off." Namigi said quietly.

"What was that?" Cynder asked.

"N…Nothing." Namigi quickly replied.

A/N: …Sorry Namigi…you've got a miniaturized pair of aggression bombs for kids…good luck with that bro.