This commission was drawn by LampP0st! They posted it along with some other artwork here. I have had this and another Crimson piece for... quite a while but I really had trouble applying myself to write for either one of them >.> but I finally found the motivation for this one, and on a suitable day to do so considering we meet his dad in this one! Hopefully it's a cute little tale~

[quote]"Dad!"

Calling him [i]dad[/i] had been instant, despite years of "you're a soldier, you address us by rank, not by family relationship" that his parents had tried to drill into his head, and he could see General Gust's expression shift as he battled that training himself, but his heart felt light enough to flutter up out of his chest when his snout settled on [i]joy.[/i] It only lifted him higher to hear him call back, "son!" whirling around and lifting his wings as Crimson bounded down the palace corridor.

Crimson very nearly leapt into his huge wings, rumbling happily even before his father draped them around him, ducking his head beneath for a brief shared nuzzle. "You got home quickly! We only sent the discharges out a day or two ago. How was the flight in?"

He butted his head against dad's shoulder, but let go of his hug to give him room to turn around and finish unlocking the door to his apartments. "It was easy! Light winds, blue sky, perfect for flying. Was tired of the outpost anyway," he said--or he was mostly tired of it, anyway. He couldn't exactly invite Koi to the Sky Palace, which meant--for now--he couldn't see his new friend for a little while.

Gust got the door open and walked through, propping it with his tail to let Crimson slither through behind him; he bounded past him into the comfortable, spacious chambers that befitted someone ranked so high. How good it felt to be back here at last, where he'd grown up, rather than some cramped training barracks or rough outpost cavern! All the familiar furniture, decorations, even the scent of the breeze drifting in through one set of windows and out the other... He stopped by the table and took a deep breath just to soak it all in again.

"Good," rumbled his father, letting the door shut, and crossing the room to pull a couple scrolls from the pouch around his neck and set them beneath a paperweight to deal with later. "It's good to have you home. The army was never the right place for you."

His parents had both said this a lot, but usually in far more disapproving tones; this time he sounded relieved, and it gave Crimson the courage to say, "I didn't like it either. It was hard to even think about hurting other dragons! At least scouting could feel more like hide-and-seek than something dangerous, but still."

"Scouting [i]is[/i] danger--" Crimson could [i]see[/i] the moment he stopped riling himself up for another lesson; his wings settled back down, and he flicked his tail, smiling. "You don't need to hear about that anymore."

Crimson thought he knew the answer to his question from his father's attitude before he even asked, but he couldn't stop himself from doing so: there had been too many disapproving reviews of his performance, and too many lectures about how he needed to shape up to reach the position he'd been bred for, and [i]must[/i] be capable of, so he could follow in his parents' wingbeats. "And... you're not disappointed? That I'm not going to be a general like you and mom?"

Gust sighed. "The war was a hard time, and there was... a lot of attrition, that we had to be ready for, even at the highest ranks of the army. The breeding program had assigned your mother and me to make a dragonet who could grow to be a capable and effective general, so we were under a lot of pressure to make you into what the tribe needed from you for the war effort. Even though we could see it didn't suit you, we were expected to ensure you were trained and prepared for the army. Now, we have a lot of responsibilities, and we have a certain dedication to seeing those responsibilities through--that's what makes a good general," he said, then once caught himself about to lecture and chuckled ruefully. "Neither of us wanted to fail at anything the tribe needed from us, thus it could be frustrating for you to insist on being [i]you,[/i] rather than who we were told to make you. The officials from the breeding program also giving us negative feedback added some additional frustration, which--I'm sorry if that made us seem disappointed in you."

Crimson tilted his head, and his father went on.

"I just want to see you succeed, and whatever it is you do. When we were at war, there was only one thing you could be--a soldier--and sometimes it was difficult to see you struggle to try to be something that doesn't suit you. Now that the war is over, you're free to do whatever you want, and I'm happy! I'm happy you survived, I'm happy you don't have to be in the army anymore, I'm happy to see you find what you really want to do for our tribe and excel at it. And I'm sure your mother feels the same way."

He bounded into his chest again. "Awww, dad!" He nuzzled the bigger dragon's neck, purring happily when Gust hugged his wings around him again. He'd always wanted to believe his parents loved him and just had to toughen him up--to hear dad say it felt so much better! And dad seemed happier to have gotten it out, too.

"I'd wanted to tell you that for a while. But when you were a soldier... well, it wouldn't be what was expected of us, and it would have been poor motivation for you--"

He butted his head against him again. "Dad, I get it," he said, and giggled.

Gust chuckled, and started rumbling again. "I'm glad you're home. Once your mother's finished her meeting with the Queen--"

He perked up. "Did you two get my letters? About the academy?"

"Yes, we did. Both of us put in a good word for you about how you'd be a good fit--" he must have seen Crimson's hopeful look, for he skipped right to the end. "She said no."

Crimson pouted, his wings drooping. As soon as he'd heard about Jade Mountain Academy he'd thought it would be so much fun--meeting lots of dragons from other tribes, learning, making friends, getting immersed in all the culture and music of their homes--"didn't you tell Queen Ruby I'd be perfect for it?"

"We did, and she agreed that it would suit you very well. She also said that's why you're not going."

"What? But--"

"Son, you can learn about history or science or anything else here. What the academy is really about is how to get along with other tribes, which is something you already know perfectly well how to do considering you managed to make friends with a SeaWing hardly the moment after the war ended."

Crimson blinked. "You [i]know[/i] about that? How--"

He chuckled and bumped his snout against the top of his head. "You've never been very secretive. Or stealthy. Either Major Gale saw you, or one of the other soldiers told her, and sent a note to me alongside one of her official reports. That's just the point: you already know how to be friendly with our former enemies. But there are lots of dragonets in the tribe who [i]don't.[/i] Either they fought against them, or lived in settlements that suffered attacks, and grew up hating or fearing the other tribes, and [i]those[/i] are the dragonets who need to go, so they can learn not to see them as enemies."

He huffed. That all made sense, but he still really wanted to attend! "Wouldn't it help them to have someone like me with them who could show them how? None of the dragonets of destiny are SkyWings, what if they are too afraid or angry to try and don't have another SkyWing there to take the leap? If I went along to lead by example..."

Gust tilted his head. "Do you know, the Queen said something very similar? The SkyWings [i]do[/i] need that from you, and I'd certainly much rather send you than that deserter's dragonet, Flame--that dragon doesn't need school, he needs therapy. I think the Queen just doesn't want to deal with him." He sighed, then focused again. "But the Queen said she didn't mean that about the dragonets going to the academy--she said it about the rest of the tribe, here in the Sky Kingdom. Everything she said she wanted those dragonets to learn at the academy? There's a lot of adults who need to learn that, too, and you're almost an adult now. You were happy even under the weight of the war, you were peaceful, and gentle, and friendly, and a lot of us weren't. So the Queen wants you to stay here, and the Queen wants you to be you, so the rest of us can learn from your example."

He looked up at his father, his eyes wide. Not only was the Queen so aware of him and his attitude--they wanted the rest of the tribe to learn from him? To even [i]be[/i] like him? "I--"

Gust laughed when he saw his expression. "Don't worry, I don't think you need to worry about trying to make us all just like you. But peace needs peaceful adults, so we need you around to help us learn to relax a little. So just be yourself! Be friendly with everyone, play and sing, and help your tribe in a way that suits you."

"You're [i]asking[/i] me to make music?" He giggled. "You must remember last time..."

"Yes, yes," he nipped Crimson's ear. "Well, there are unlikely to be any war councils going on this time. Besides, you'll need to practice if you want to try out for the orchestra, or the opera, or..."

His eyes brightened. "Are those coming back? Really?"

"There was already an impromptu performance right after the Queen announced the peace! I'm amazed you didn't hear about it."

Crimson sat up and breathed in, humming to get a sense of his voice and the tones of the room. "You asked for it, dad!" he said, grinning and flicking out his tongue, before launching right into the latest song he'd been working on.

"A tall SandWing smiled and said
It's just a matter of time..."[/quote]