Chapter 1: A family in its start

Three months later…

In the kingdom of night, Arctic watches everything around him as he goes hunting for his family's meal, flying a bit farther than usual over the forest. Spotting Vigilance's palace over the horizon, he sights.

He run away from his kingdom, from his old life for the nightwing that hold his heart. In the moment, he only saw the hope of having a better life, of being happy. But now, all seems to fall back to the situation he was before.

Of course, it is still better than in his kingdom where his duties would crush him, where each dragons would watch over to see if he has any weakness, and his mother Diamond was the worst.

He never knew if it was because she is the queen or if she is the same without the crown on her head, but the cold and distant expression, the way she talk to him. Never once she showed him anything other than high expectations and though words.

But now that he sees how queen Vigilance watches over them, talk them as a way of politely giving them orders, slowly but surely gaining control over their lives. She keeps him and his family safe, gives them enough found to live comfortably.

However, it is not very hidden how she view them as assets, how she expects them to have an animus that will serve the kingdom and obey her. He don't know when her patience will run out and she will pull the hidden strings around them, but it is better to be prepared. He should do something about it, he should…

Spotting a group of elks from below the mass of leaves, Arctic instinctively flies toward them before unleashing his frostbreath at the right time, trapping all of them partially in ice. Then he slows down enough to land on the trees, before jumping and gliding to the ground.

Having enough of a meal for the family, the icewing grabs the corpses and returns to his home.

Upon arriving, he spots his two children, Darkstalker and Whiteout playing over the garden. Arctic frown slightly, just thinking about his son's name makes him remember the old argument with his wife, how she didn't even let him say the name he had for his child.

The father puts down the elks' corpse and Foeslayer immediately retrieves them. The two dragonets watches what will become their next meal with appetite. But when Arctic focuses on his son, Darkstalker looks away.

A little worried by that gesture his son always do, he takes the time to try to speak to him as a father would.

- "You can look at me you know, I'm still your father and I still have love for you."

His son refuses to turn his head, only frowning at his words before replying.

- "You only bring bad things to mother, and I never liked you even once."

Trying to keep his calm, Arctic replies with a softer tone.

- "Don't say that my son, you could hurt your father."

- "And what if I want to? You never had anything for me that was good!"

Arctic's heart is pierced by those words. Quickly he answers with broken pride to hide his true feelings like he used to in the ice kingdom.

- "Watch what you say, your mother is tiring enough for me, I don't need you to be like her."

As he finishes his words, Whiteout takes a step back and looks away. Seeing that, Darkstalker replies with anger to him like he is the worst version of himself he saw in his visions.

- "You ruin everything! You say you love sister and mother but you always make them suffer!"

In his fury, the dragonet tells words he shouldn't and doesn't understand.

"I hope you die for the good of everyone!"

Hearing that, he looks away from his son, giving up on him for the moment. Arctic then leaves him to go meet her wife. Foeslayer stares at him confused, seeing this, her husband tells her some words.

- "I'm just a bit tired by the words of your son."

- "He really is that annoying to you? Because it's not like dragonets are known to stick to who they love and nothing else."

- "He told me he wishes for my death."

- "And? I thought an icewing like you could endure such a harmless being."

- "That's not funny! What if he grows up still holding on that belief?"

- "Calm down, he's only three months old, what he said today isn't what he will think in the future."

- "I hope you're right, I really do. But please, try to defend me when he tells you how much he doesn't like me."

- "And you will calm your temper in return?"

- "I… Yes."

Finishing to prepare meal, Foeslayer calls out her two children to come. The two dragonets come to the table as fast as they can, Darkstalker being faster than her sister and far more pleased by the sight of her mother.

The nightwing dragoness put quite crudely an elk corpse on the table, not caring too much about the little mess it creates as it still bleeds. She then cuts it in pieces with a humble knife and her strength, then split them between everyone according to their needs.

"Eat" She says, and her son is the first to take a bite while her daughter takes her time, cutting her chunk into regular smaller bits with utter focus. Arctic watches Whiteout with a small smile forming on his face, then looks at Darkstalker. The little dragonet really is trying his best to swallow a chunk of meat twice as big as his mouth.

Having pity for his son, the icewing gives an advice.

"You know, if a part is too big for you, you can cut it into smaller parts, be it with a knife, or your claws."

The dragonet stops his struggle and turns his head, he wants to protest but with his mouth full of meat, only noises come out of him. The father chuckles and soon so does his mother and sister.

- "May you accept to take my offering?" Says Whiteout to her brother while presenting her smallest bit of meat. Darkstalker stubbornly refuses for a moment before half chocking on the food and dropping it.

"Careful with pride, you may fall over you." Tells the black and white hybrid with a king look for him. Ashamed by his defeat, the dragonet takes his sister offer, which mark his father with a little mocking and triumphant expression he tries to be angry at.

After finishing his dish, Darkstalker goes to his chamber while Whiteout stays. Arctic watches over her daughter and finally decides to ask her about his son.

- "What do you think I could do that he would like Whiteout?"

- "Play with us, be here father. If you shows more of that side of you, I'm sure he will like you in the end."

- "Like I would have that much opportunities… Maybe you're right."

- "Really?"

The father nods, filling Whiteout's heart with a bit of hope and joy.

After finishing her meal, the dragonet walks toward her chamber where her brother is. Opening the door, she spots him in front of the desk, a bottle of ink near him and a feather in his claws that is relatively huge. Going to the bed, she looks curious.

- "What are you creating dear brother?"

- "Words, but I can't do them good. My talon keeps shaking."

Having enough, Darkstalker puts down the feather. His sister approaches him to look at the scroll before him. It is half-filled with ink stains and mockery of letters and words.

- "Not what you wanted, but there is something I like about it."

- "Really? What is that?"

- "I... don't know. Can you give me a feather so I can try?"

Darkstalker let some space for her sister to come at his side. Taking the feather, she tries to write a letter only for her claws to shift and fail to create it. Realizing she won't write a single thing anytime soon, she let her instinct speaks, drawing wider symbols and taking a turn when her paw is too stressed.

Her brother watches with curiosity the drawing unfolding on the scroll, it doesn't have any greater meaning, in fact it has none, but Darkstalker is captivated by her sister simply drawing on the paper.

After a moment, Whiteout put down the feather and stares at the scroll, rotating it many time in trying to see something.

- "Is it visions?"

Says the brother wondering if his sister has gotten anything from the moons. While she seems to have no special power, he can't shake off his doubt, she has always been odd but also beautiful and enchanting with her body and mind bursting with colours and feelings.

She is the only one to have a mind that vivid, like magic was at play and it called for him to come, to get closer and closer to his sister. What a pleasant thing to think about for the prideful little dragonet.

- "Brother? Do you hear my words? Are you lost in dreams?"

Darkstalker comes back to his senses to see Whiteout staring at him and having put her paw on his shoulder. Shocked, he still stays this close to her, having a kind smile, and answers to reassure her.

- "No, just thinking about you."

- "That much?"

Darkstalker leans his head until both dragonets' snout touch each other, both his unreal blue irises and silver pupils staring at her cyan and magenta eyes. The two sibling stays in this trance for a moment, trying to completely connect with one another, before breaking it, both feeling shy at what happened.

- "Do you still want to write?" Says Darkstalker, trying to change subject.

- "Yeah… I will try."

And so Whiteout starts to draw with the feather again, focusing solely on the scroll while his brother watches her from the bed he rest on...