A/N: It is likely better for you to read Damaged Wings- The Story of Coal before this one

The sun was shining the day Ferla died. Fennec seemed to be the only one who remembered that. Sure, he mainly remembered how dark it had been that night. How dragons had spent hours screaming and screaming, from fighting, from dying, from wounds inside and out. He remembered the cry his father, Drought, had let out in grief that night, late and alone, when he thought no one would see. He remembered Cobra being dragged out of the Headquarters, screaming and clawing at anyone who came close enough to her. He remembered sitting quietly in a cold corner with Prickle, both of them in shock.

He remembered every detail about the night his mother died, and yet, if you were to ever ask Fennec about the day Ferla died, the first thing he'd say was that the sun was shining.

Ferla had loved the sun, always had. The morning of her last day alive she had taken Fennec out to the oasis to let him splash around in the water. Two armed guards had come with them, and Outclaws had eyed them warily the whole time, but Fennec didn't take much notice of that. He rarely got time alone with his mother, so he was more focused on drinking up every bit of her he could get, as most young dragonets did.

"I'm gonna be the BIGGEST, STRONGEST DRAGON EVER!" Fennec cried, kicking at the sand with an innocent dragonet glee. "And all the other gang dragons will bow down and no one will ever fight us again!" Ferla smiled at him, but the grin didn't quite reach her eyes.

"Fennec," She said gently, her voice calm as the light breeze. "Come here for a moment." Fennec clawed a line in the sand and trudged over, looking up at his mother with wide eyes as she laid her talons on his shoulders. "You do not want to be the biggest strongest dragon in a gang, sweetie." He tilted his head, confused.

"Why not?" He asked.

"Because other dragons look for the strongest one first. You'll stick out, and you'll get hurt. It is good to be strong, and it's even better to be smart, but you should never stick out. You need to blend in, so that no one will suspect you. That will keep you safe in a way that being the biggest and strongest can't. Do you understand, sweet?" Fennec nodded slowly.

"So I gotta be the strongest and the smartest, but it's gotta be a SECRET."

"Exactly." She smiled, less forced this time, and Fennec couldn't help but admire her. Ferla was beautiful, and the sunlight only made her scales glow like gold. "Do you know why I brought you here today?"

"No." He shook his head wildly.

"Well, it's because there's going to be a new dragonet in the family soon, which means that you won't be the youngest anymore."

"I know."

"I know you do, but I want you to understand that just because there's another dragonet, it doesn't mean I'll love you any less. It just means that you'll have a new younger brother to play with and-" Fennec made a face.

"You had to give this talk to Prickle, didn't you?" He questioned. It had Prickle written all over it, really. His older brother had always been self centered. He would be the one to need a whole talk explaining that yes, he'd still be important with or without siblings. Ferla smirked.

"You don't need a talk about this, do you?"

"Nope." Ferla shook her head.

"I always knew you were a bit brighter than Prickle." Her eyes widened. "Oh, don't tell him or your father I said that." Fennec laughed and agreed not to. 

The rest of the time at the oasis had gone fuzzy in Fennec's mind over the years, but he remembered that bit clearly. The way the sunlight had wrapped around his mother. The insistence that he should be strong, but keep out of the way. "Be in the middle," she told him. "It's the very best place to be. Not too low that they think you'll slip up or get suspicious, but not too high that they'll notice or get jealous. It is best to be invisible in a gang, sweet, but not stupid. Be strong. Be as strong as you like and possibly can. Just don't let them know it."

He didn't cry that night, when Ferla's body was found. He didn't resent his new brother for her death like Drought and Prickle did immediately. How could he? Coal hadn't even been hatched yet when his mother was killed. How could he possibly be held responsible? Fennec blamed the assassin from the Claw; the dirty dragon who had snuck in and murdered the best member of their family. 

But even long after her death, Fennec still took his mother's words to heart.

Be strong. Be smart. Be invisible.

Don't let them know how strong you are until it is too late for them to run.