F5. I know I'm supposed to send this to the story section, but it's really terrible having to download something to be able to read... So it's all written below. It gave me a lot of job to put the story in a good format here, so I hope it won't be hard to read it and you enjoy yourself doing so. And also, my english is a bit basic, so I'd like to apologize for that too.

---

It was during the night, in the end of the autumn and beginning of the winter that a certain mom struggled to give birth to her son. She did not consider herself very beautiful, even though she knew her body was curvy and many women envy it. Her name was Kilina and she was lying on her bed, completely naked, with her husband, Thanos, a black dragon with many horns in his head, wearing an old orange T shirt and jeans, by her side. He kept holding her right, light blue scaled hand strongly, whispering to her things like "You can do it!", in order to offer more motivation and strength since the birth started.

The bedroom was not big, and if it was not for the candle on the dresser holding a weak, dancing flame on its tip, it would be completely dark. The walls in the bedroom had some cracks here and there, and the bulb that was supposed to be working needed to be replaced. Even though their room was very simple, all the furniture looked almost brand-new, made of some kind of dark wood and completely clean of dust.

The cold wind outside, its direction easily noticed due to the many snow flakes it carried, made the windows shake every now and then, producing a moderately loud noise. Due to the snow storm, it was impossible to see outside.

Kilina groaned loudly, turning her yellow eyes to the side a bit and shutting them right away.

"I-I can't hold much... Longer...!

"Calm down, honey" Thanos replied "Everything will be just fine, you can do it. Just focus yourself."

"It's been 2 hours already! It hurts so much...!" She tore a small piece of the white sheet that was covering the bed with her free hand, in an attempt to handle the pain.

"I'm so sorry I didn't have enough money to pay a night in the hospital for you, honey."

"I-it's okay..."

And right after saying that, with a final struggle, both dragons, now officially parents, could hear the cry of a defenseless, small baby dragon.

"It's a boy! And he's so cute!" Said Thanos, so excited that he was almost shouting.

"I-is he?" Kilina was panting heavily, exhausted "Could you show him to me...?"

"Sure! Take a look at this small fella!" Thanos handed the baby to his wife, so happy that he couldn't stop smiling even for a second.

The blue dragoness took her son very carefully with her arms and he immediately stopped crying, starting to stare at her with his big, shiny and yellow eyes.

"Hey, how are you doing, son? Welcome to our world..." And she kissed him softly in his forehead.

"Sweetie, his scales have the same color as yours..." "Kilina said, staring now at her husband "And I didn't know baby dragons didn't have horns or wings either!"

"Well, they don't at first. But horns and wings grow so fast that few people know that. I actually read that in a book!" He letted out a calm and short sigh "This made me remember that we still don't have a name for him."

"Oh yeah! You're right... I completely forgot about it! What do you think about hum... John?"

"I don't think it suits him very much... What about Ardon?"

"Ardon? It sounds a bit weird..." She gazed outside, thinking about a name.

"Agreon? Trineon?" Ar-"

"Fall."

"What?"

"Fall! That's a good name!" Kilina was now focusing her eyes on her husband, while stroking the baby dragon's belly softly, using her palm.
"He was born during this season and it suits him very well!"

"It sounds good indeed, but I think that if we shift the second 'L' for an 'H', we'll get a better name, and with a better pronunciation as well. More suitable for a dragon, at least."

"You're right sweetie... I'm so glad everything went well!" She letted out a radiant smile to the baby, who seemed to smile back "And please, don't feel sorry that we couldn't afford an hospital, only rich people can nowadays..."

"I know... Sometimes I feel I need to work more..."

"More than you're working now? Are you nuts?! You're barely sleeping!"

"I know..." The black dragon scratched the back of his neck "But sti-"
His phrase was interrupted by the cry of the baby. Kilina gently cuddled him and said:
"You're hungry, aren't ya? Honey, did you warm the milk inside the baby bottle yet?"

"Shit! I forgot to do that! Wish I could spit fire like my grandma could... Gimme a sec and I'll be right back."

Thanos left the bedroom for a minute or two and brought not only the baby bottle full of milk, but a big candle in his other hand. He handed the baby bottle to his wife and put the big candle next to the other one on the dresser.

"Thank you, sweetie..."

The baby stopped crying immediately as he started to drink the warm milk, closing his eyes a bit and waving his tail every now and then, very happy and relaxed.

"Our son is so cute and fragile, isn't he?" Kilina gave a faint and exhaust smile as Thanos nodded, smiling back "I wonder how he'll look like when he grows up..."

"I'm damn sure he won't be more handsome or awesome than me." The black dragon gave a smirk.

Kilina giggled for a bit and hit him weakly in one of his arms, with a slap.

"Don't be silly!" She pulled him toward her body, stretched her neck and gave him a quick kiss in one of his scaly cheeks.

"I'm dead tired, sweetie..."

"I can imagine that, yeah!" Thanos replied, more serious than before "if you wish, I could give a hand with Fahl and... You know, sit him a bit.

"It's okay, hun. This moment is being so special and unique that I don't even want to sleep... I want to live every single moment of it."

"Same for me! By the way, which day is today?" Asked Thanos, getting a small piece of blank paper and a pen in the dresser.

"I'm not sure, I think it's october 20th."

"Then it's October 20th." Thanos replied while writing the date down "Your memory never fails! And god, I can't believe we're on year 10 already."

"Indeed, it's hard to believe the war ended 10 years ago... We were kids during that time!"

"I just wish we had been born before all these problems we had in our world... My grandparents and even my parents used to say everything was beautiful, most of people had money to buy more things... Cars worked... Food was decent... They're really lucky for having such a good and easy life. I work in a coal mine and can barely get food on table."

"Aw, don't say that, hun... At least we have each other and a cute son now! Everything will be fine in the future, we just need to believe in better days... Otherwise, who will give hope for the next generation to carry on living?"

Thanos letted out a sigh, looking down for a few seconds and then stared at his wife again.

"You're right, honey. As always." He gazed at his son, now asleep on her arms and then smiled "I think we should do the same thing as our little fella."

"Even though I said I didn't want to sleep, I got to agree... that would be a great idea! I'm dead tired..."


Time went by and both parents had several difficulties and challenges over the years, from bringing money enough to keep food on table to know when the little dragon was hungry or just sleepy. Fortunately, the hatchling learned to talk very soon and when he was about 3 he didn't face much trouble to communicate and express himself with his parents. He was now looking a lot like his father, with small, yet 4 full-grown ivory horns and a pair of black and red wings. His favorite toy was a small, old and red train that had a few ore wagons attached to it and a bell that created a happy melody every time it was rang. The child carried it everywhere he had to go: To his bed, to the kitchen and even to the supermarket when he had to go out with his family. In this same year, Thanos received a promotion and as a result, he could now pay all the bills without much struggle and bring a gift - usually flowers - for his wife or a toy for his kid every once in a while. It was impossible to deny, the whole family was happy. The only thing that bothered Kilina was that Fahl didn't have any friends yet - mostly because he had a lot of trouble to socialize with new people - and all the public schools weren't working since 5 or 10 years ago; Needless to say, they couldn't afford a private one, it was only for rich people.

During a certain day, while Thanos was out to work and Kilina was busy cooking some meat to have with bread for lunch, she felt a strange odor coming to her nostrils. It remembered something burning. A kind of cloth, maybe. Then she turned her head and noticed that a grey cloud of smoke was coming from the living room. She quickly ran to the source of the smoke, even though she thought that the funniest thing was that she could hear her son laughing like a crazy. She then saw his little brat standing very close to a one-feet tall flame that was consuming her carpet and screamed:

"Oh my god, Fahl! Stay far from there, fire is dangerous! You'll burn yourself!!"

The kid looked at her, with a big, radiant smile. And then he sneezed and a few flames came from his nostrils, now hitting the couch that was near
where he was standing.
Kilina quickly picked up her son and left him near the door that leaded to the street, then rushed to the kitchen, filled two glasses with water and ran even faster to the living room again, throwing the water at the fire, extinguishing it. She letted out a big sigh of relief and glanced at Fahl, staring at her still with a smile on his face, showing his pointy teeth.

"How did you do that, son?! It's dangerous, you could have burned yourself... My god... How did you learn to do that?"

"I don't know, but it was fun! I wanna sneeze again!"

"No, don't do that! It's... Hum... Nevermind, but you should know how to control your fire! That's so weird... Few dragons in our family can actually manipulate fire..."

"This means you use water, mom?"

"No... I don't have any special ability. And your dad neither! I knew you were special, son... I'm so worried about you now, but I'm also so proud! It's a very rare ability nowadays!"
She hugged her son tight and warmly, and the kid did the very same thing.

"Hey, lunch is almost ready, we'll need to wash hands soon, okay?"

"Aaawn, but It's so boring..."

"Yes, but you need to do it, son. It's important to keep you healthy! And strong, just like your favorite superhero... What was he called again?" She stroke his hair, that had a color that was a mix between dark blue and dark green. It was short and had a texture similar to a mane.

"You mean Superfur?"

"Yes, exactly! Well... Anyway, you can watch TV or keep playing with your stuff while food isn't ready. Just don't set anything on fire, okay?"

"Okay, mommy! I'll try!"

"That's my boy!"
While she was heading to the kitchen, she saw Fahl turning on the TV and starting to watch My Little Horse. She gave a timid smile and began to cook again.
When night came and Thanos arrived home, with his sturdy clothes, dirty from coal dust, Kilina told him what happened when he started his dinner.

"Fahl? Spitting fire? HAH! That's... Amazing!!" Only my mom could do that!"

"I knoooow, hun! I'm just glad he can do that, it'll make his life easier."

"I just hope he doesn't overuse this gift of his. It might bring him trouble and that wouldn't be good. Too bad I can't teach him anything because I ain't got this power."

"I think I know what you mean... But hey, I'm sure you'll be an awesome father! You already are, you're Fahl's hero!"

"I do what I can for him. He's surely our most precious treasure. By the way, what's he doin' now?"

"He's sleeping, hun. He got very tired today, we played a lot."

"Humph, weird, it's still 8 pm. He's always full of energy and all, I think what he did today is somewhat related to that."

"I doubt. I think he's okay." She gave a pervy smile "By the way, I still didn't shower today. Wanna do it now, with me?"

"Now, that would be great! To da shower!"



Exactly one year after this day, Fahl was told by his dad that he'd have a brother or a sister, because his mother was now pregnant.

"That's why mommy's tummy is growing a lot lately?"

"Yes, son, exactly. When this brother or sister of yours born, make sure to become a good older brother, okay?"

"But will he cry all the time?"

"Well... Sometimes, yeah. It's normal for the babies, it's the only way they have to communicate with us."

"Ah, this isn't good... But I'll give my best, 'pa."

"That's what I wanted to hear! Make sure to also help your mom when she needs you, ok? We're trying to find a way to send you to school, but it's more likely that you won't go to school this year."

"What a pitty..." Fahl started to stare at the the floor, feeling disappointed.

"Hey, we're doin' our best here." Thanos landed his hand on his son's shoulder, trying to cheer him up "But I think we can teach you how to read here at home! It ain't difficult, you'll see."

"Yay! Then I'll be able to read Superfur's comics!"

"All of them, son." Thanos replied with a calm smile.

"Then I promise I'll give my best as well, 'pa! I really, really promise!"

"Thanks son." Thanos hugged Fahl softly "I'm glad to hear that."

After this quick conversation, time flew as fast as a blink of an eye, and when the little dragon noticed, his brother, Salos, was already born, during a calm and sunny afternoon, with any to few clouds in the sky.

"He's so tiny!"

Kilina giggled, wrapping a blanket around the baby to keep him warm and cozy.
"Yes, he's very fragile, isn't he? You were as tiny as him! The only difference was that your scales were black, Salos's are dark blue. And you were bald at first. Your little brother has this few tufts of white hair coming out of his head."

"Your mom is right, Fahl. and because they're fragile, that's the reason they need care and love. To grow strong." Thanos replied, petting his older son's head.

"Oh, I see... But he's so tiny that it looks like he'll break even if I just look at him."

Salos moved his head to the side and started to stare at his brother, calmly and focused. Fahl wondered if the baby could actually understand all of them speaking, but... No, that would be impossible. Totally non-sense.

"He's so calm, hun. I think he won't be a trouble for us."

"Indeed." Thanos replied, now putting his hands into his pockets "Do you think he's hungry?"

"I doubt, he'd be crying like a crazy if he were. Like Fahl did years ago!"

"Hey!" Fahl replied.

The young dragon, who could be called now "older brother", approached his mother and was now starring directly at the baby, who was barely awake, fighting against the will to sleep.

"So... Salos... We'll play later, okay?"

And he quickly left the room. His parents looked at each other and soon figured out that he got bored of the baby and went to do something else. Watch TV, to be more precise, since now they could hear funny voices from cartoon characters saying something about a magic crystal and a 'paying a visit to the Magic Mountain'.

"Do you think they'll get along?" Thanos scratched the back of his neck and sat down near his wife, showing a bit of nervosism.

"I don't know, hun. Only time will tell. I think they'll, Fahl is very warm-hearted and helpful most of times. Let's just hope Salos will act in the same way."


And indeed, these two brothers got along each other very well. Fahl was now 10, and Salos, 5. Both of them usually played running across the house and were very noisy, thing that made their parents hit the ceiling sometimes, often saying "can't you guys just stop shouting?!" Or even "You guys need to learn how to play more quietly, we're trying to listen to the news here!!", but no matter how many times their parents said the very same things, after 5 or 10 minutes at most the house was full of laughters again. And as much as Thanos and Kilina hated to recognize, this made them quite happy.
In a certain day, during the dinner, Kilina cooked some potatoes and gave them to her children, along with a large chunk of meat and a small portion of rice.

Thanos glanced at Salos and reprimanded him.
"I really hope you're not planning to transform your fork into a catapult and hit Fahl's head with a potato like you did last time."

"Aww, how did you know?"

"It's written in your eyes!"

"But he lost the bet!"

Fahl looked at Salos, as if trying to keep his brother's mouth shut.

"What bet?" Kilina asked after swallowing the meat she was munching.

"We made a race to see who was faster in the backyard and he lost! And he said that if he lost, I could do that without you getting mad at me."
Fahl landed his right hand on his face, next to the horn that came from the top of his snout, in total disappointment. Then he started to giggle and the giggles soon became laughter.

"And you believed into that? Haha, I can't believe you did that!"

"Fahl, stop being mean to your brother!" Kilina hitted softly the top of Fahl head with a spoon.

"Ouch! But..."

"No 'buts'! You know he always believes in you!"
Fahl crossed his arms and pouted, closing his eyes for a small amount of time.

"Fine. I'm sorry." He glanced at his newer brother and noticed a nasty grin on his face. Of course he knew their mom would get mad at him. Salos wasn't stupid, in fact, he was very far from that.

The family finished the dinner after a few more minutes and everybody put their dishes in the dishwasher and went to the living room. Thanos turned on the TV with the remote controller while sitting on the sofa and selected the news channel. He complained shortly after that.

"It's already 9 pm! I can't believe Sunday is already gone...!"

"Ssshh! Hun, listen to what the reporter is saying!"

Salos could barely read the subtitles now but Fahl didn't have any difficulty to do that. 'Big Mutant horde heading to Denan city. Evacuation of the city is debated.' He didn't have much idea what this meant, but whatever it was, everything was happening in his city. He even saw the owner of a big bakery in the other side of the town being recorded for a few moments but didn't pay any attention to what he was saying.

"Brother, are you understanding what it's happening?" Salos whispered to Fahl as he approached him.

"I'm not sure, but it seems big. Something big and bad."

"Shit! 4 days?!" Thanos suddenly said, almost shouting. "This is heavy!"

"Hey, stop shouting, Thanos! You'll frighten the kids this way!"

Fahl looked at his brother's left hand before holding it and... He forgot what he was thinking after seeing the terrible white scars that it had. And the most terrible part was that they were made by him. He could remember everything so well that it looked like it has happened yesterday.
His memories came to his mind a bit blurry at first, but then everything stayed as clean as water. He was 7 and his brother was almost 3 years old. They went to the public park close to their house to make a picnic. It was summer and baking hot. The grass there was short and the greenest thing Fahl have ever seen. His family was sitting on a blanket under the cover of a tree, making some sandwiches with peanut butter and jelly, and Fahl was standing about 10 meters away, practicing how to use his fire. His mother ocasionally said to take care and not to set anything on fire, but he didn't care much. He knew what he was doing. Or at least so he thought.

After making a few fireballs with both his hands and shooting them away, seeing them vanish in the air a few meters ahead, he was already getting out of energy and also bored of them. He wanted to spend his remaining energy on something new, something big and unique. He made two fireballs that had the size of basketballs and lifted his arms, with a confident, almost arrogant, smile on his face. If everything went well, that would be the most awesome thing he'd ever done. He began to spin slowly, augmenting his speed gradually, until he was doing that as fast as he could, creating a curtain of fire around his head. Fahl shouted.

"Here it goes!"

As soon as he crouched, looking down, arms fully opened to the sides, a beautiful and big ring of fire was created, being expanded constant and rapidly to his surroundings. He lifted his head and was going to yell at her mom to see what he was doing, but as soon as he did that, everything he could see was Salos, standing dangerously close to the crescent ring of fire, maybe just 3 meters away. Salos, feeling all the heat, coming directly to him, covered his face automatically and the flames engulfed both his hands for a few seconds after disappearing. Fahl then shouted.

"SALOS, NOOOOO!! WHY DID YOU DO THAT?!" Then everything looked to move in slow motion. Fahl's mind was so confused and refused several times to accept what was happening. Then his brother began to cry loud, feeling anything but pain. Thanos soon came and looked at Salos's hands and said some bad word that Fahl didn't hear. He could barely hear anything now, his thoughts were much louder. His body seemed to weight a lot more and he kneeled, feeling terrible. What did he do? Why this happened? It wasn't fair... And even from that distance, he could see his brother's hands and they were badly burnt, some muscles were even exposed and most, maybe all his scales melted.

Fahl started to cry, feeling the crushing weight of regret rule over his body. There was nothing he could do, after all. His mom came to shout at him, but he didn't care. He knew it was his fault, it wasn't needed a person to say that. But a few years earlier his mom told him that his fire was a Gift, not a Curse. If it was a gift, why this terrible thing happened? It wasn't supposed to happen... He needed to prevent that from happening again, he'd never ever use fire again. He'd never ever use that gift of his, or better saying, curse again.



"Brother, you ok? You've been starring at me for a long time..."
Fahl came back to his senses and noticed he was in the living room again, fortunately. He didn't have to live those bad moments again.
"Oh, it's just... Let's do something else, watching the news is boring, isn't it?" He gave a gentle smile then showed the tip of his pointy tongue, closing one eye.


CHAPTER 1
END

Next chapter - http://www.furaffinity.net/view/13172596/