Work Text:
A deep, long sigh escaped Callum’s lips as he waited. The tree leaves above him broke the light of the full moon descending down from above, scattering it in every direction and creating small shadows on the soft grass. The ever familiar scent of fresh tree bark and blooming plants had infused the air all around him. He got a new whiff of it every time a small gust of wind blew through the canopy, rustling the leaves, and causing the shadows to do a lovely, calming and rhythmic dance, adding to the relaxing aura of the forest.
Despite this, though, something still agitated the young prince. It sent slight waves of frustration through his system as he looked up at the half-blocked stars in the sky.
She should’ve been here by now.
Rayla had just recently come back from Xadia for the first time in several months. After the battle of the storm spire, the gang had spent some time together back at the castle before the young Moonshadow elf had unfortunately decided that she was better needed in her homeland, seeing her family, and helping everyone over there adjust to this new changing climate. Heck, she was even called on by the Dragon Queen herself for assistance and as a sort of ambassador. It was a decision that was made considering the fact that, at the time, she had been the elf who had very clearly spent the most time around humans. Though, looking at the world now, two years after this had all happened, several elves had most likely beaten her on that front, considering Rayla’s duties kept her busy for most of the day.
Those who didn’t share Rayla’s situation seemed to love to display their acceptance of these new times quite eagerly—with both the pentarchy and Xadia flooding with individuals from the other side, engaging in trade or visits of a more tourist-like nature. Some even liked it so much that they decided to move completely, getting jobs and becoming a full-time citizen of the place they once thought of as an enemy.
As if to emphasize his thoughts, at that very moment, a large shadow passed over him. Callum looked up with mild curiosity to see the distinct shape of a dragon gliding silently and peacefully by. Many details were hard to make out due to the time of the day and the ever-present backlight provided by the moon. And so the creature was reduced to a black silhouette as it became smaller and smaller, venturing towards the horizon.
The sight would’ve alarmed him two years ago, as it probably would have for any human. However, it had become a normality ever since the border went down. Given the speed at which they flew, it turned out that dragons were excellent for the growing trade. And so, several of the new trade routes that had been established recently also included air routes, and Callum just so happened to be standing directly underneath one of them.
It gave Callum a warm, excited feeling when he thought of everything they had accomplished over the relatively short amount of time. However, he still felt a slight hint of sadness when he thought about it all, considering Rayla was hardly ever with him to experience this new world together. It always put a small damper on the joy he felt. He was always brought back to the thought of how much nicer it would be with her next to him, smiling and laughing at his more dorky side as they walked down the street, looking at everything that had changed or was still changing.
Of course, they still wrote to each other, but receiving the occasional letter every now and then obviously wasn’t the same. Therefore, Callum was frequently left longing, wondering if she felt the same way while stuck in Xadia, preoccupied with her own tasks.
“Boo!”
“GAH-” The sudden voice sent him flailing, frantically shooting his arms around to catch his now imminent fall before landing hard on the grass below him. It wasn’t loud by any means; actually, it was barely any stronger than a whisper, but it had come out of absolutely nowhere.
Callum had just begun the process of getting his bearings and slowly lifting his head off the floor when he heard the all too familiar playful laughter of the Moonshadow elf in front of him.
Well, he heard her, but looking around, she wasn’t anywhere to be seen. That was, of course, until she slowly faded into view, the wavy green outline washing away as she was fully revealed, wearing a large cheeky smile.
Ah, of course, full moon.
“Sorry about that,” Rayla said as she walked over to lend a hand to Callum. Though, the continuous breakthrough of her sniggering indicated that the apology wasn’t exactly sincere.
Callum grunted in mock annoyance as he accepted the elf’s hand, the contact of her cool skin admittedly making him blush a little.
Oh crap.
Panicking, hoping she didn’t notice, he suddenly coughed and moved to change the subject as he got back on his feet, putting his annoyed face back on. “Where were you? You were supposed to be here 15 minutes ago.”
Rayla tilted her head, her smile growing wider. “Oh, so RRY Prince Charming, I was kind of busy… doing your job.”
“My job? ”
Wait, did she say “Prince Charming”?
“Yeah… you know… tucking the little guy in….”
Callum chuckled at that as he remembered, any sign of annoyance immediately releasing from his body. “Well, you can’t blame me for that. He did specifically request you after all.”
Rayla hummed as she went into mock thought, looking at the deep wilderness beyond. “Guess I’m that popular, huh?” She said, giving Callum a playful jab in his shoulder, sending him stumbling back before catching himself, preventing a repeat of what had just transpired a minute ago.
“Y-yeah..” Callum said, chortling, trying to hide the re-emerging flush in his cheeks.
His face then went serious for a moment, becoming much more pleading as he tilted his head towards the greenery below him. “I hope you know, though… he does really look up to you. It was hard for him those months you were away… he missed you… I missed you….” His expression fell further.
Rayla raised an eyebrow. “Was that your plan with bringing me out here? To drown me in responsibility and then make me feel bad? Wow… I feel so loved ,” Rayla had her trademark mischievous, dripping sarcasm, the type that only she could pull off.
Callum forgot how much he had missed that. “Speaking of which!” Callum said as excitement shot its way through his body once more. “I… did… have a plan in coming out here today… I was hoping… well… It’s a clear night tonight... and so… I guess I was hoping we could do a bit of stargazing? You know… like have a night together under the stars or something?... I don’t know…it sounded cool in my head.”
Rayla’s head-tilt returned as she smirked. “ Stargazing?”
Callum returned a hopeless smile, his hand nervously scratching his head as he waited there, something that Rayla honestly found quite adorable.
“Well, let’s see,” Rayla craned her neck upwards, looking with seemingly hard focus. Suddenly, her eyes widened with what seemed to be excitement. “Ooh, Ooh, I already found the first constellation!”
“Really?” Callum butted in, immediately starting the short run over to her to try and see for himself.
“Yup! It’s a very clear one too… looks kinda like a leaf.”
Both Callum’s arms immediately fell to the floor with his eyes narrowing, his expression taking on a very “not-impressed” look.
“Ooh, Ooh, and there’s another one.” Rayla pointed. “And another one, and another one, and another one… Wow, Callum, you're right. This is exhilarating.”
“Alright, Alright,” Said Callum, grabbing her hand and yanking it out of the way, causing the Moonshadow elf to fight back playfully, giggling, wrestling her appendage out of Callum’s grip and then grabbing Callum’s with her own.
Unfortunately, Rayla’s grip was far stronger, and Callum soon found himself completely unable to wiggle free. His hand lay stuck in that of his lover as he looked down on it and sighed with defeat before looking back at the ex-assassin to find that she was wearing an extremely snarky and victorious grin. “Well, young prince, it looks like the tables have turned, haven’t they.”
Wow, she was really enjoying this, huh?
Before Callum could respond, however, he felt a sudden jerk on the arm being held, pulling him in much closer, to the point where their foreheads were almost touching. Rayla wasted no time letting go of his wrist and wrapping him into a tight embrace, one which Callum eagerly returned.
They stood there for a while, gently swaying back and forth as if shifting with the soft gusts of wind around them, staring into each other’s eyes. When they were like this together, it was almost as if the rest of the world didn’t exist. Everything, everything around them, all of their troubles, all of their worries, and all of their thoughts instantly faded away into the black void, leaving nothing but him, and her. Nothing else mattered.
Callum wished he could spend forever like this.
However, he soon found Rayla looking over to the tree next to them, slowly following its trunk up to the leaves and canopy above, narrowing her eyes, deep in focus, as if she was trying to suck every last detail from the picture. She gasped in excitement, her face lighting up like the moon as she separated herself from her mage.
“This all does give me an idea, though.” She said eagerly, taking out her swords. They popped open with a definite click and a slight woosh as the blades were ejected from their handles and locked into place.
The scene caused Callum to freeze in shock like a block of ice. Stuttering, he slowly held out his hands in front of him. “Woah, Woah, Woah, how did all of that just give you the idea of maiming me?”
“Wot? ” Rayla looked genuinely flabbergasted before breaking into a teasing laugh. “Oh! No… dummy… ” Another click was heard as Rayla changed her swords into hooks, her smile becoming far more innocent. “I… just thought we’d get a better view up there….” She gestured to the raised branches before pressing one of the hooks into Callum’s hand.
“Uh… Rayla… you know I ca-” Before Callum could finish, however, Rayla had already become a blur. She zoomed up to the tree and disappeared into the canopy above with her usual grace and elegance, leaving Callum alone in the field with nothing but the nature around him to keep him company.
“Alright.” Callum sighed. “Here I go, I guess…” he slowly inched his way towards the plant in front of him, gripping the hook like it was something he had to hold on to for dear life. The oak towered higher and higher as he approached, the climb appearing more and more daunting every second. The branches continued to sway in the light breeze as if the tree itself was taunting him, challenging him to just try and climb it. Through the small gaps in the leaves above, he found Rayla staring down at him, grinning expectantly.
He took one last deep breath.
I mean, really, how hard can it be, right? He thought to himself. It’s just a… vertical climbing surface with no handholds or footholds…. Simple… easy… god, how does Ezran do this?
When he was ready, he surged forward with a running start, moving as fast as he possibly could. He yelled out a battle cry for good measure as he leaped off the ground with less than half the grace Rayla had and flew haphazardly through the air before swinging the hook into the tree bark so hard it sent shudders running down the nerves in his arm.
“You’re supposed to climb the tree, not murder it.” Rayla teased from above.
Callum could only take a moment to pout and grunt at her in frustration before the hook slipped and began running down the wood, carving down a path behind it. It caught the poor prince entirely off guard, causing him to yelp in surprise, wrapping his body around the handle as if it would save him from the soreness his rear end would most likely be feeling tomorrow.
Thankfully, however, he came to a sudden stop just before that as the tool managed to catch itself in something. “You know…this is all starting to feel vaguely familiar….”
“Hmm… so you really can’t climb trees, huh?.” Rayla said thoughtfully.
“Oh… well, y’know, it’s not exactly something we happen to do on a daily basis as princes….” Callum then managed to produce his own smirk. “I… honestly feel like you should know this about me by now.”
Rayla sighed in defeat. “Oh, alright, come on, let me help you.”
A few minutes passed of Rayla trying her best to help her fumbling prince slowly make his way up this accursed tree, climbing ahead while keeping one hand held onto that of Callum, guiding him along inch by inch.
Callum had to say, although he constantly felt like he was losing his hold every other second and was having a minor panic attack every time he slipped, feeling like he was going to crash for real before remembering that Rayla still had him, there was something about this that just felt… nice….It was hard to describe, but as Rayla softly and tenderly instructed him where to place his hands and feet, giving him the occasional tip and bit of advice, Callum felt like he wasn’t even really listening. He was, of course, but it almost felt like his mind was… floating to a degree, soaring somewhere else above the clouds. Rayla would occasionally look down at him to make sure he was ok, and he would smile up at her, causing a return of the gesture sent back his way before continuing their journey up.
Everything peaked when they finally reached their chosen branch and emerged from the blanket of leaves below, being hit with an open window to the night sky in all its glory.
“Wooaaaaah,” Callum was forced to gape in awe.
An endless sea of stars and constellations that spread far beyond the horizon completely lit up the darkness, gently twinkling one at a time as if to say hello. A whole line of dark, semi-transparent, otherworldly clouds, appearing to be birthed from the cosmos themselves stretched from one end of the sky to the other, emitting a variety of glows in different colors, a space storm that Callum could only dream of touching. The full moon itself appeared huge, its pale light causing the forest canopy to light up with almost a mystical-looking aura.
“Don’t stop just yet, young prince. You still gotta get on the branch.”
Callum suddenly realized he was still hanging on to the trunk, basically suspended a fair few meters off the ground. Embarrassed, he let Rayla help him make the final steps and finally sat down as the wooden appendage began to shift slightly under his weight.
He looked down uneasily.
“Uhhh… are you sure this is safe?”
“Hmmm… depends… how good are you at balancing?”
Callum looked at Rayla nervously, feeling the anxiety bubble up in his chest again.
“Oh, relax.” Rayla laughed. “I got ye…”
She extended her arm over Callum’s shoulders and pleasantly smiled as she pulled him close, initiating Callum to do the same until they were both sitting side by side, in each other’s arms, staring up into the endless universe.
They sat in silence like this for a couple of minutes before Callum began speaking. “So… uh… how are things in Xadia?”
Rayla shrugged. “Oh, you know… things…”
Ah… very descriptive “ Things?”
“It’s been quite busy for the most part, I guess… we’re all just trying to get accustomed to the new norm. It hasn’t been the easiest thing in the world but… eh… we’re making it work. The Silvergrove is allowing outsiders in for the first time in like… ever… which is exciting. Well, exciting for me, I guess. Some of the others aren’t exactly fond of it but eh….” Rayla held her hands up with her palms overturned as if to say, “What you gonna do.”
“Ah…” Callum then hesitated for a moment. He began to fidget, wringing one of his fists in the palm of his other hand uncomfortably while he stared down the long drop below.
Rayla noticed this sudden behavior change and perked up, looking over at her prince with concern written all over her face. “Hey…everything ok?”
Callum sighed and shut his eyes as he attempted to let the tension leave his body. “I just… I don’t know… uh… well…” He struggled to ask what he wanted for quite a while, as if genuinely worried about the answer he would receive before he finally seemed to find some resolve within him. “Anything new happen with Sol Regem? I mean, that letter scared us all pretty badly…and when I wrote to Zubeia about it, I got a response saying she’d ‘handle it,’ but then… I haven’t really heard anything since then.”
A few weeks ago there had been an incident at the border concerning Sol Regem and a couple of human travelers attempting to cross. From what Callum could understand, they had faced an onslaught of verbal harassment and even had a slew of threatening gestures made towards them, scaring the tourists off back into Katolis. This was all concerning enough on its own, but it’s what came after that really sent the kingdom into shock. Allegedly, as the group was leaving, Sol Regem muttered one last thing behind them. They didn’t hear the whole thing but it involved something with the words “...burn Katolis to the ground.”
Sol Regem had been a problem before. He wasn’t particularly the friendliest dragon Callum had met and had frequently displayed disapproval and agitation over the new budding peace. Nobody had really paid him any mind, however… that was until… this…
Rayla, however, snorted as she broke into soft laughter, leaving Callum to look up at her, his face riddled with confusion.
What is so funny about this?
Rayla recognized the body language her lover was sending and immediately decided to elaborate, all the while having the occasional chuckle break through and interrupt her speech despite her best efforts. “Well… consider the situation ‘handled’.”
Callum’s expression remained unchanged, so Rayla continued. “I don’t think you need to worry about anything that old fart says anymore because guess who’s been placed on house arrest?”
Finally, an amused smile began to crack on Callum’s face as the relief hit him like a title wave. “Wait… really?”
“Well… sorta… I mean, the way I understand it…
- Sol Regem is no longer allowed anywhere near the border, ever.
- He’s now basically been confined to a circle with a radius of… eh… about a kilometer, which he is not allowed to leave unless given express permission by Zubeia herself.
- He now must have no fewer than two dragons watching him at all times, ensuring he abides by the rules and doesn’t do anything suspicious.”
“Huh… I guess my letter really stirred some things then….” Callum said, looking back out into the sky.
Rayla smirked. “Oh, it did. I mean, really, what did you think he was going to be able to do? Just march on into Katolis?” They both giggled at that before Rayla spoke again as she calmed down. “Nah… In another universe, maybe, but… not this one…in fact, I actually did visit Sol Regem once because Zubeia had to go over and… ask him some questions.. . and honestly, he just looked so utterly defeated, as if he didn’t have an ounce of fight left in his body… to be honest I almost felt sorry for the guy.”
Callum raised an eyebrow.
“Almost. ” Rayla emphasized.
Callum hummed thoughtfully, but Rayla quickly saw that another question was beginning to take hold on his lips, a new pressing issue that seemed to be troubling him. “So… why didn’t Zubeia give me any sort of confirmation then that it was over?” He finally said, “I mean… we’ve been holding our breath for quite a while here….”
“Eh… well…” Rayla began to gaze at the twinkling stars above as she contemplated what she would say next. “I guess… the thing you have to understand is Zubeia has been quite busy since this whole peace thing started… just as we all have…She has so many things on her mind right now that I think she genuinely just… forgot to write you when she was done.”
Callum looked utterly baffled. “Forgot?”
“Well, I mean… I guess it makes more sense if you’ve seen her as I have… she’s exhausted for most of the day. I had a meeting with her sometime during the night. You know, going over the typical stuff like news… What’s been happening on both sides of the continent and all that, and let me tell you, I think if dragons could get those dark shadows under their eyes that we get when we’re tired, Zubiea’s would be like… black , you know? She wasn’t really replying to anything I was saying. She more or less just replied with the occasional ‘mmmhmm’ every now and then. Not that she wasn’t listening to me….” Rayla chuckled to herself. “I think she was just so utterly focused on keeping her eyes open that she couldn’t develop a proper response, like if her eyelids touched… even for a second… then she’d just like… fall over.”
An amused smile was taking shape on Callum’s face as he listened. “I guess dragons, like us mortals, need their beauty to sleep too, huh?”
“Yeah… although I think she’s getting better now that things are starting to settle down again… just know that… when you happen to have to write to her again in the future, she does read everything, even if she… forgets to write some things back. I can personally tell you, though, your letter made her pretty ticked off, at Sol Regem, of course, not you, which the general exhaustion probably wasn’t helping with I guess….”
They pondered for a moment before Rayla suddenly interjected the thoughts with her own questions. “Well then!” She suddenly yelled. The surprise caused Callum to flinch a little bit and grab the branch tighter than he probably has ever grabbed anything in his life, completely and utterly worried that he would fall backward and off the tree right then and there. “Enough about Xadia and me. What’s been going on with you and Katolis?”
“Oh, you know…” Callum tried to answer but suddenly found it very difficult to get the right words out. He finally understood and empathized with the situation he had put Rayla in just a couple of minutes earlier before embarrassingly mumbling out, “ Things…”
Before Rayla could say anything snarky in response, however, Callum immediately butted back in. “I mean, I handle most of the communications while Ezran focuses on ruling the kingdom. Like you, we’re all just trying to get comfortable with everything… We've been busy handling international trade and building new homes for new arrivals… Ezran’s also been busy providing relief packages to that town that Pyrrah burnt… they’re doing much better now, and they should be fully up and running soon, I hope…speaking of which…” Callum smiled eagerly. “Guess who’s been our most active helper on that front?”
Rayla’s eyes suddenly went wide. “No…”
Callum’s smile only grew. “Yup! Apparently, a few months after the border opened, Pyrrah returned to the town with the intent to assist with the relief efforts… she… apparently has a lot of guilt over what she did.”
Rayla’s finger curled up and met her lip as her eyes narrowed slightly, her expression slowly becoming increasingly perplexed as she appeared to drift off into thought. “Wouldn’t… that… cause problems, though? I can’t imagine people there being all too happy to see her again.”
“Oh yeah!” Callum instantly chimed in with total agreement. “She had initially arrived to… less than a warm welcome at first… but from what we understand, she had expected this, and so she decided to try her best to... earn the trust of the townspeople. She completely disappeared for a while, until one night, one of the kids in the town went missing, nobody knew where he was. The town guard searched all over for him until Pyrrah suddenly appeared. She not only turned up with the missing kid safely riding on her back but also the knocked out and… significantly worse for ware culprit in her claws who was then quickly arrested by authorities….”
Rayla’s face filled with astonishment. “Pyrrah stopped a kidnapping?’
“Yeah… after that, she was allowed to stay and provide her services to the townspeople… She’s been slowly building their trust ever since, acting not only as one of the prime members of the relief effort but also as a sort of… protector. I mean… the first time I visited and saw her patrolling on top of the walls, watching me like a hawk despite her knowing me… I have to admit it was chilling. I bet anybody who wants to mess with that town in the future will be in for one heck of a surprise.”
There was laughter from both of them as they thought about it. Soft at first but then slowly crescendoing, louder and louder, continuing even until after the thought was gone….It was almost like they couldn’t stop. They had started something already set in motion, and the only choice now was to go along with the flow. So they laughed… as one unit… together… until their lungs were fully drained, completely unable to produce any sort of sound anymore.
Then it was quiet. Callum and Rayla sat there for a while, saying nothing as they caught their breath, looking out into the distance, at each other, smiling warmly as their eyes made contact. Rayla wordlessly nudged Callum’s leg with her hand, a clear gesture which Callum had no choice but to accept, gladly taking her hand in his.
Suddenly, Rayla shot her other hand out into the night sky, a finger extended, eagerly pressing at something. “Look!”
It took a second for Callum to follow what she was seeing, but when he found it, he instantly knew why Rayla had been so excited. Among the many still stars in the sky, there was one that didn’t fit in with the rest, shooting silently through the night, casting a long blazing trail behind it as it flew almost directly over them in an arc before finally, peacefully flickering out and dissipating just above the horizon.
“You know this means you’re supposed to make a wish, right?” Callum said gently.
“Oh… trust me… I did,” Rayla responded quietly, clearly within her own world, her eyes still focused on the spot where the shooting star had gone out moments ago.
‘“So? What’d you wish for?”
Rayla suddenly snapped her head back, a wide grin on her face. “Nope! Not a chance, loud mage.”
Callum’s face was overrun with mock disappointment as he tried his best to emulate Ezran’s puppy dog eyes, the finished product only making Rayla laugh.
“Aw, c’mon! Pretty please?”
“Uh-uh… no way. I can offer you something else, though.”
Callum’s expression took on a form of playful curiosity. “Oh really? What?”
Suddenly, Rayla leaned in close, giving him a small peck on the lips, smiling softly.
“That.”
It was only a matter of seconds before they were both in each other’s arms again, their foreheads now touching as they looked at each other lovingly and they closed their eyes, going in again for another, much deeper kiss.
It didn’t matter how long they were away or how much they missed each other when separated. These small moments they would cherish for the rest of their lives made everything worth it. They’d always have each other, even when they were kilometers away… and that knowledge would eventually always overcome and conquer any sense of loneliness they felt while apart.
It always made it feel like… just for a brief moment… that everything was right with the world.