Callum x Rayla-Darkness

Unexpected Guests

Callum and Yalaxy were preparing their things for the meeting. They had arrived yesterday at 11 at night. The meeting was set to begin in an hour. Callum could only focus on what it would be like to see Rayla again. How much had she changed since she left. He found out from Yalaxy that she was assigned to guard Lujanne who was sent here by the moonshadow elves. Lujanne had been appointed an elder 2 years ago. She was still in charge of the moon nexus though.  Ellis visited her often and kept the old mage company. It was a relief that he wouldn't be running the possibility of discussing policy with Rayla. It's not that he didn't want to talk to her, it's just that economics make for a very awkward first conversation in 4 years. He hoped to get the chance to talk to her. Yalaxy seemed to know what was on Callum's mind. "Hey man, if she is still staying away from you, then that means she's probably still looking for Viren. Maybe she agreed to go because she thought she would see you again," Yalaxy said as he tried to reassure the only other ghoul in existence. "Here, make sure to eat this before we go. We don't want an incident," Yalaxy said as he handed Callum a bag of flesh. Yalaxy had made sure to discretely pack food for the two of them. "I got to go check on something. I'll see you at the meeting," Yalaxy told Callum as he left the room with his papers. 

Yalaxy was actually going to talk to Rayla. He had his own motives for looking for Viren. "All in good time," Yalaxy told himself. He had made Callum a ghoul because he needed someone with magical knowledge to help him. Callum may have put learning magic on the backburner but he had been learning it himself in his down time. Yalaxy wanted to know the specifics of why Rayla decided to show up here if her mission was to search for Viren. there was no clear motive besides the one the Yalaxy stated to Callum. He decided that that was unlikely given that she would have paid a visit to one of them by now if her intention was to see Callum again. He walked down the hall. He didn't know these halls, but his sense of smell helped him to navigate. He knew where he would find them. Rayla's scent was still strong in the room where Callum had been when Yalaxy saw him for the second time. He knew which of the numerous smells was hers. He followed it to another room a few halls down. He expected to find her guarding Lujanne's room, but that task was assigned to the guards of Lux Aurea. He found a smaller and more modest guest room. He walked up to it and knocked on the door. When it opened, Rayla stood there. She wore a look of disappointment on her face like she had hoped it was someone else.

"Who are you and what do you want?" she asked. She was every bit as straightforward as Callum had described her. 

Yalaxy responded, "I am Yalaxy and I am the Katolis archivist assistant. It is a pleasure to meet you Lady Rayla." He was aware of the title Callum had given her. He wanted to be as formal as possible. It would make getting information a lot easier.

Rayla grimaced. "Don't call me that," she said, the pain evident in her voice. He smiled internally. Formalities were gone now. On to stage 2.

"Well then, why are you here?" Yalaxy asked. The usual façade of cheerfulness was gone. The question stunned her.

"Wh-what are you talking about?" Rayla asked. 

"There are no shortage of people who would have been happy to be guards at this meeting. It would have been easy to not come here if you didn't want to. Which means you are here for a reason. However, Callum has informed me of the mission you've taken upon yourself which should be keeping you occupied at the moment. This leaves two possibilities, either you found Viren and killed him, or you are here to see a certain someone," Yalaxy said. Rayla couldn't believe what she was hearing. This unassuming person was trying to figure out why she was here when it was none of his business. Also why was he bringing up Callum? 

"Why would someone like you want to know about this?" she seethed. Yalaxy's face shifted into a concerned look.

"I was just wondering if you intention was to speak with Callum. He was really hurt when you left. He needed someone to vent to and he spent most of his time in the library. That's how we became friends. As a good friend, I make it a point to do the things that they should do and don't want to do. We both know he would never have the courage to walk up and talk to you. I do have a question for you thought. Did you find Viren?" Yalaxy asked.