Chapter Text
They were flying for a while now. The twilight hour filled the sky with shades of pink and orange as the blue began to disappear. A few days ago queen Zubeia had received a message with the whereabouts of Ibis' family. It was hard to find them since Ibis weren’t so talkative about his personal life and the fact that skywing elves usually never stayed in one permanent place made the task even more difficult, but Pyrrah was kind enough to look around and find them. Zym of course wanted to help, but the queen explicitly forbade him to leave her side.
He didn’t have many close people. A friend and a boyfriend. Apparently Ibis’ life was more complicated than they thought.
The message of Ibis’ passing has already been passed to them and now queen Zubeia herself, along with the dragon prince, the king of Katolis, his high mage, his crownguard and the last dragon guard, are on their way to give their condolences and share their respect with his family.
There was a slight shift in the air and after a moment it became harsher. The wind swirled in a flurry around them while the land beneath them became closer. They were here.
As they descended from the sky, they were able to make out two slender figures from above, waiting and watching them as they stood side by side.
One of the figures was relatively tall. His broad shoulders were covered with beautiful sky runes. It took Callum a moment to really discern the curves of the runes until he realised they were traditional runes that had more to do with culture rather than magic. His hair was tied in a messy ponytail with two strands of hair grazing his dark blue cheeks and his eyes were dark as the night skies.
The other figure looked short next to him even though they were just a little less than the average height. Their skin had a turquoise tint, their hair was short with a more brownish colour to it and their eyes were a mix of yellow and red, almost like the colour of the rising sun. They were wearing much less formal clothes compared to the elf standing next to them.
Queen Zubeia landed with much delicate grace close to where the two were standing and lowered her head for the party to dismount. After everyone took their place on the green grass beneath them, Zubeia stood tall and bowed her head while her small party followed suit. After a moment She stood tall again as she spoke.
“Ria and Neko of the skywing elves, it is good to finally meet you. I am awfully sorry for your loss. Ibis was such an important member in The Storm Spire. I hope you know that you are always welcome there.”
“We appreciate it, your majesty.” the shorter one spoke. “I’m afraid I have nothing to offer you in return, my queen.”
“There is no need for that. Ibis was my most trusted friend and you were his. I assure you there is no problem with that.
“Thank you, my queen.'' The elf lowered his head to look at the party in front of him. “And whom do I have the pleasure of meeting with?”
“Those are my trusted allies, they fought beside Ibis in the Battle of the Storm Spire. King Ezran of Katolis, High Mage Callum, Crownguard Soren and my Last Dragon Guard, Rayla of the Silvergrove.”
The elf opened their mouth to speak, but a growl interrupted before they could.
The queen snickered. “And of course Council member Bait and the young warrior Stella.” The little cuddle-monkey chirped happily from Rayla's shoulder.
“Nice to meet you.” the elf said with a soft smile. “I’m Ria and this is Neko. Not too long ago we were close with Ibis, until he decided to leave in order to stand by the queen’s side.”
The Neko guy only tittered bitterly and Ria sent him a sharp glance. He didn’t speak once since they came. He just stood there with a frown on his face and crossed arms. He seemed like a friendly guy, Callum thought.
After a second too long of a very judgmental look from Ria, Neko rolled his eyes as he finally spoke. “What?! What do you want me to say? That I’m happy to see her? Yes, your majesty, thank you for coming!” He looked at her with anger and sorrow in his eyes. “Thank you for taking Ibis under your wing for over two years and brainwashing him so he would sacrifice his life for… for what? A staff? Yeah, I’m elated!”
“I am truly sorry for-” The queen started.
“Yeah, I’m not dealing with this.” The elf shook his head with his eyes closed. “I’m going.” He said as he walked away from the party.
“Neko!” Ria called out for him, but didn’t stop him. “I’m sorry about him. He is still upset about Ibis passing.”
“That is totally understandable.” King Ezran spoke.
“Ibis always felt a deep connection to the sky arcanum. He loved us but he always felt stuck, like something was missing. He wanted to make use of his talent and he felt like protecting the royal family was the right thing to do. Neko didn't take it well.”
“I see.” The queen spoke.
“He’ll come back, right now he needs space. In the meantime, I’ll set up a campfire.”
“Here, I’ll help.” Soren stepped forward to help Ria collect the firewood around them.
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Rayla sat on one of the boulders that stood near the clearing away from the others. Her head rested on her knee as she thought to herself while she stared at the darkening sky. It’s been almost an hour since they set up camp and she still couldn’t get Ria’s words out of her head. Ibis left his family for over two years. He left on the behalf of a much more important path. She left too, but unlike him she gained nothing. She didn’t get to protect anyone, she didn’t help or counsel or anything. She just wasted her time and hurt people on the way. What was she even thinking? Did she really think she was smart enough to find Viren? She should have helped where she was able to, like Ibis did. She should have been on Ezran and Callum’s side. How could she be so stupid?
Ria said that Ibis felt stuck. Is that what her parents felt like? When she was young and she didn’t know any better she used to think that they left because she wasn’t enough for them. But now she knows better. They felt like there was a stronger outside force that pulled them to be who they were. Their calling was to protect and they couldn’t ignore it. They loved her, but love can’t stop anyone from following their calling. It shouldn’t. Everyone should write their own story. But it still hurt when they left. She understands her parents, and Ibis and Neko and yet she can’t stop but blame herself for what she did. How she left.
And this place was sending chills down her spine. It was strangely familiar and not in a good way. She feels like she had been here before, but she just couldn't put her finger on when.
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“And then! Ha ha ha! And then he jumped down and landed right in the middle of a fart flower field!” Ria said between stifled giggles.
Everyone laughed too, especially Soren who was laughing so hard his belly hurt and tears began to form in his eyes.
The fire was nice and warm, its crackling sounds were comfortable and welcoming.
“Well that stinks!” Soren blurted as he triggered another round of giggles. “Oh boi! That was SO funny!” Soren said after regaining his composure and whipping a tear from his eye.
“Yeah well, he learned his lesson. Always check your surroundings before trying to perform a very difficult wing spell.”
That did not apply to Callum. He remembered the first time he tried to perform the wing spell. Rayla found him moments after just to tease him. He was embarrassed at first, but a second later all the embarrassment was replaced with contentment and happiness. And worry.
The second time he tried the spell was definitely not in the most optimal surrounding. Watching her falling over the edge was the scariest moment in his life. Or at least he thought it was until he almost lost her in the Moon Nexus. And then again after he watched her under those rocks in Umber Tor. She always risked her life for others. Two years ago he found that admirable and brave, now it was just messed up. He will have to talk with her about that. But she came back to him, that was the most important thing. She didn’t go after Viren alone after all.
Where was she anyway? She excused herself after they finished setting up camp, saying that she’s going to get some fresh air and hasn’t returned. She surely hasn’t gone too far.
Callum looked around for her, hoping to find her nearby. And there she was, to his right, far but not too far, sitting on a rock as she looked out at the night sky. Even from her back she was beautiful, the moonlight making her look ethereal. But the way she hunched her back told him that something was wrong.
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The air was getting cold. She would have walked back to camp to retrieve her cloak, but she still wasn't ready to come back to the others. She could take the cold for a little longer.
“Hey.” a soft voice came from behind her. She knew this voice all too well. “Ria is telling stories from the time Ibis travelled with them. I thought you might want to join.”
“I’m okay here.” She said, trying to hide the shake from her voice and only partially succeeding.
“Okay.”
There was silence around them. Rayla could still feel his presence behind her. She elected not to comment on it, hoping he will eventually leave her alone with her thoughts.
After a few more seconds, Callum broke the silence. “What are you thinking about?”
She should have known better. Callum was never one to leave when someone was distressed. Especially when it was her. He always knew somehow when she was upset.
Not getting an answer from her, he continued to speak. “The last two years, we… me and Ezran I mean, we were in constant touch with The Storm Spire. We would even go there every once in a while. Ezran was always on edge on the way. He was always so excited to see Zym.” Callum smiled to himself. “Ibis usually showed me new sky runes and spells. It was one of the fewest times I felt like I wasn’t annoying someone by talking about magic. Eventually we would go back to the castle. I always had a small hope I would find you on the way.”
Rayla took a shaky breath. Why was he saying all this right now?
“I’m sorry I lashed out at you when you came back, when you didn’t remember his name. I was mad about that, but I was more mad that you weren’t there to remember. But it was wrong and I’m sorry.”
She finally turned around to look at him. Her eyebrows were scrunched together and her eyes were filled with unshed tears. The moment she saw him she realised it was a mistake, because his face turned soft and he wasn’t supposed to be soft with her now. She closed her eyes, briefly shook her head, and turned to look at the sky again as she spoke quietly. “That’s okay. You don’t need to be sorry.”
“But I do. Rayla, I-”
“No! Callum.” She yelled. “Really, why would you be sorry? You're not the one who left! You're not the one who lied! I am! And you know what? Maybe Neko was right. Maybe Ibis’ leaving was the wrong choice. He left his family and look where he is now.”
“Ibis contributed so much to the peace between Xadia and the human kingdoms.”
“Yeah, he did. And what did I do? Nothing. I just walked around, looking for empty clues that meant nothing. Other than messing things up I gained nothing. Maybe if I was more aware of my stupidity-”
“Hey! Don’t talk like that about yourself!” He was starting to be angry at her. He should be.
“But I am, aren’t I?!” She was standing up now, facing him. “I thought I was able to find Viren when I didn’t even have a lead! I hurt you, I hurt Ezran and for what?” She couldn’t hold her tears any longer. “Ibis will always be remembered as a trusted and respectful ally. If I died, I would have been remembered by nothing but the child who left to chase ghosts!”
“Stop it! You gotta stop! Are you even listening to yourself?! You are the last dragon guard! You saved the dragon prince’s life and you are on a mission to prevent the worst evil in the world from being released. Yes, you made a mistake, but you're making up on it now. You came back. And you are not stupid for wanting to protect others!”
“I don’t know Callum…” She looked around, this place was still giving her the chills. She didn’t just make one mistake. She made so many others during her time away.
“Well I know. Rayla, you can’t just keep beating yourself up on your past mistakes. You are so much more than them. I wish you could see it the way I do.”
“How could you be so okay with that?”
“I’m not. You leaving was one of the worst experiences in my life. But I can’t hold a grudge against you forever. I understand why you did it. And I understand why Ibis did it. I don’t like it, but sometimes we have to make difficult choices in our lives.”
“I’m sorry, Callum.” She whispered as she held her head down.
“You already said that.” He took a step forward and held her hand, encouraging her to look at him. “Your leaving is in the past now. What matters is now. You are here now. And we are going to fix things together.”
“Together.” The word triggered a small smile from her. She missed this. She missed them. And while they are not quite the same “Them” anymore, they were together, and that’s what matters most.
He smiled at her too as they waited a few seconds for their spirits to subside.
“Now…” Callum spoke again. “Care to join the group and hear embarrassing stories about Ibis?”
She smiled. “Yeah, let’s go.”