(Rayla is struggling to push down some strange sensation. It feels like giant moon moths in her stomach every time she's near Callum. She doesn't know why. But she also has this strange desire to be next to him, despite the feeling. Then, out of the blue, he uses dark magic. What could have been if he had woken up just a moment later? Angst and fluff. Mainly angst. Word count: 1,254)
Rayla stood her ground. She would not leave this dragon. Not if it cost her her life. "Try to to kill her, Soren. She can lead us to Callum and Ezran," advised Claudia. Rayla still didn't leave. She stood there, motionless. She hoped maybe this could all end as soon as they brought Zym back. Her ears perked up as a twig snapped nearby. Somebody rummaged through a bag in the trees. Finally, a voice she knew all to well spoke. "She doesn't have to." Callum? "I'm right here."
Claudia turned. "Callum!" She looked him over. In one hand, he held Claudia’s spell book. And in the other, the severed tail of a soulfang serpent. "What are you doing?" Rayla hoped his answer wasn't what she thought it could be. You're better than this. "Your kind of magic," he responded, chrushing the strange tail. Rayla scowled at him. Idiot.
"Dnibnu, leets gnirehtils."
Rayla watched in horror as a green flame sprouted from his hand. He had done it. Callum, the goofy, innocent human, had done dark magic. Her hope had been dwindling since her parents ran away, but this was a new low. The chains slithered away and off the dragon in the form of snakes. Rayla gasped as the snakes scared away the human guards, giving her a clearing to go and catch the now falling prince.
Rayla caught him by his arm. Pulling him up off the ground, she felt a small wave of sympathy. And those damn moths again! Now's not the time for that! She nearly dragged him away. She didn't care what was happening to those humans back there. Saving Callum was the priority. Hearing a squeal, she finally turned around. There, stood Ezran, cowering from the sheer size of the magical winged creature in front of him. The dragon growled as it looked him over. Then, seeing Zym, it backed away. Big mistake.
Claudia quickly stood before Ez. "The little dragon's coming with me," she said menacingly. "Leets gnirehtils..." "Claudia!" She turned around. Soren lay, bruised and broken. "Help... me..." Claudia seemed to focus on Ezran for only a second longer. Soon, she broke. "Soren!" Ezran read this as his chance to escape. Catching up to Rayla and Callum, he helped Rayla get Callum up and they sped off. As fast as they could with their injured companion, that is.
"We're so close! We could be in Xadia in... just a few hours!" Ezran tried to stop her, but Callum mumbled, "Mm, yes. You're right! We must move... onward." He fell down after just barely finishing his sentence. Rayla caught him, seemingly worried for a moment. "I'm okay," he assured. "I just need to rest my eyes while we walk." Rayla groaned. Humans.
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Callum rested his head on the bag that once held Zym's egg. Rayla struggled to hide concern. "I'm so uncomfortable..." Callum mumbled. "Uncomfortable with your choice to use dark magic, perhaps?" "Rayla!" Ezran snapped. She shrugged. Ezran repositioned Callum's head. "Is that any better?" Callum stirred again, thrashing his head from side to side. "So uncomfortable..."
Callum moved again. "I'm so uncomfortable!"
His own voice rang in his head. He squirmed around. This bed of keys was not an ideal resting place. He grabbed a handful of the keys. They were light as air. He watched as they floated off his hand and back to the pile. He slid down off the sharp keys. He noticed a man of similar size to him standing a few feet away. A red glow caught his eye. He pulled the rune cube out of the pile of keys. Everything seemed normal. 'Which rune glows red?' he thought. He turned it to see that the Sky rune had been replaced with the symbol on Claudia’s spell book. Dark magic. Anguish bubbled inside him. "Nooo!" He chucked it across the room. The other man caught it in one swift movement. Callum stood. "Who- who are you?"
"Who are you?" Callum mumbled repeatedly. "He's delirious," commented Rayla. "It's getting worse," Ezran sighed, ignoring her arrogant comments.
Rocks tumbled down from the mountainside. Rayla advised Ezran to stay there and readied her blades. "Who's there? Show yourself, or I'll greet you with my pointy friends!" A strange, but familiar man slid down. "You," Rayla growled. The man looked around. Seeing Ezran, standing weak and scared, he lowered his weapon. "I don't want to fight," he assured. "My name is Corvus. Your aunt, Amaya, sent me." Rayla let him pass, but didn't lower her blades. She sized him up as he passed. He flinched in fear. I could get used to that.
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Callum seemed to thrash about in his dreams. He panted slightly, then, his breathing was cut short. Rayla's eyes widened. "Callum. Are you okay? Callum!"
Callum floated through the endless abyss. The cold sea around him stung his cheeks and reminded him of his friend. His best friend. If this was the end, he may never see her again. What about Zym? His regrets for not telling her about... something troubled him. She doesn't know. 'I'll die, and she won't know how I feel. That's cool. Not. I didn't even have last words. Maybe a grunt as I threw the primal stone. Not even a, "Tell Ez I love him." Great. This is how I go out. I wonder if she's watching over me. I'm coming, Mom.'
Rayla vigorously shook Callum by his shoulders. "Callum! Wake up! It doesn't matter what you did before. I just want you to be okay again... Callum!"
He closed his eyes, falling deeper into the black abyss. 'I'm coming,' he thought. "Breathe." 'What?' "Breathe. Callum, you need to breathe!" 'Mom?' "You just need to breathe, sweetie." Callum finally got a grasp on what was going on. "But I feel so overwhelmed with everything. I have so many thoughts, things racing through my head." Sarai stroked his back. "Sometimes, you just have to focus on the present. Take a deep breath, and just be." Callum breathed deeply. He smiled as his mother. "Sometimes things can get so complicated that our brains can't quite sort them out alone. But when you slow down, and let yourself breathe, your spirit and your body can catch up with your mind, and help out!"
"I just have to... breathe?" Callum asked hopefully. He tried it. In... and out... it helped. "To know something truly and deeply, you must know it with your head, hand, and heart. Mind, body, and spirit," Sarai explained. She pulled Callum in for a hug. "I love you with all of myself. And I always will." Callum smiled. He wanted to say, "I love you too." But no words left his mouth. For some strange reason, a single tear flowed down his cheek.
Rayla shook him by his shoulders. "Callum! Wake up! I can't lose you like this. You mean... too much to me! Callum, I- I... I love you."
Callum heard faint calls. Somebody was calling him. A strange, foreign voice. He could tell they weren't human. Light began to seep into his line of sight. Is that... What did she say?! His eyes shot open. He simply had no words. Rayla was a deep scarlet. He stammered slightly. "I- uh- What- What'd you say?"
Rayla didn't respond. Callum didn't even know if he'd heard her right.
"I- I-" Rayla couldn't speak. Callum wasn't sure if he was dreaming. He knew one thing for sure. If he was, he never wanted to wake up.
