Heart of Fang 《Rayaari》

New Beginnings

Namaari

After we managed to banish the Druun from Kumandra for good, Raya and I started spending a lot more time together. We're closer now than we ever were before, especially after I apologized for betraying her.

Flashback

"Raya, can I talk to you in private?" I asked her during the celebration of the reunification of Kumandra. "Sure," she replied. We went to the altar where the Dragon Gem had once been and sat down near the center. "I wanted to say that I'm sorry. I was only following my mother's orders when I betrayed you. I never wanted to cause so much pain and suffering, and I certainly didn't want to betray you," I told her. "I forgive you. I won't pretend to understand how that feels, having to do something like that. What matters to me is that you did what was right in the end, and you fixed your mistake," she said, smiling kindly at me. "Thank you. That means a lot to me. Can we try being friends again?" I asked her. "Sure," she replied simply, and we returned to the celebration.

In the two months since then, we've sent each other letters most days, and we usually visit each other at least once a week, time permitting. I enjoyed being Raya's friend again, and it really put into perspective how much I was missing by betraying her. I often wonder how things would have been different if I hadn't tried to steal the Dragon Gem six years ago. Then again, if it hadn't been for that, Kumandra would have likely never been reunified, I never would have met Sisu, and the Druun would still be a threat. Despite my role in saving the world from the Druun, most people still saw me as a traitor, and I understood why they felt that way about me. I had caused their return in the first place, a fact that a lot of people knew. I'd grown used to people thinking of me as a traitor, though, so I wasn't too bothered by it. As I made my way to Heart to visit Raya, I thought about everything we had been through together. I was honestly surprised that she trusted me to put the Dragon Gem back together to drive out the Druun for good. I had stabbed her in the back, but she trusted me of all people with the greatest responsibility of all, to save humanity. My Serlot, Bhanu, had been one of my only friends in the six years since I betrayed Raya, and she was a great companion.

When I arrived in Heart, I scanned the area, finding Raya with her father and Sisu, having a lively conversation about something. I made my way over to them, with Bhanu following me the entire way. "Hey Namaari! It's nice to see ya again!" Sisu said, and both Raya and her father turned around. "Dep la! I wasn't expecting you!" Raya exclaimed happily, giving me a hug. "I wanted to surprise you, dep la. Sorry I've been so busy lately. Being a princess is harder than I thought," I said. "I know. It's a lot of responsibility to have, that's for sure. But I'm glad you were able to find some time to come and visit," she replied with a kind smile. 

Raya

I was pleasantly surprised by Namaari's visit, since I had been looking forward to seeing her again. Even though we just saw each other a week ago, I always looked forward to her visits. When she asked to talk to Ba alone, I was a little suspicious, given her history, but I knew that she was different than she used to be. I smiled and waved at them as they left, then turned to Sisu, who was smirking at me. "So, when are you gonna tell her?" She asked me. "I don't know what you mean," I said casually. "Oh, come on, Ry. You're not the best at hiding your feelings. I know how you feel about Namaari," she said, raising her eyebrows. "No, you don't," I said defiantly, and she arched her right eyebrow. "Okay, fine. I sort of have a thing for Namaari, but I don't want to risk our friendship because of it," I said. "Have you ever noticed how Namaari acts around you?" Sisu asked, and I thought about it for a few minutes. "She has been a bit quieter than normal lately, and we've had more awkward silences in our conversations. Do you think she has a thing for me?" I asked. "Bingo! That's exactly what I was thinking!" She replied. "So you want me to tell her how I feel about her?" I said. "Sure, but that doesn't mean that you have to if you don't feel up to it," she said with a warm smile. "Thanks for the talk. Could you keep it between us?" I asked her. "Of course! Your secret is safe with me," she said brightly.

After dinner, Namaari and I decided to lay down and watch the clouds for a bit. "This is nice, just relaxing and doing nothing. I've needed something like this for a bit," she said. "Same here, dep la. I'm happy that we're doing this together," I replied, and she turned onto her side to look at me, propping her head up with her hand. "You look pretty good from this angle, dep la. I don't think I've mentioned it before, but I like your sword. It's very unique," Namaari said kind of awkwardly. "Thank you," I replied just as awkwardly. We simply lay there in silence for a few minutes, during which I found myself drawn to her full lips. We both heard a bush rustling nearby, so we went to investigate it. After searching for a bit, we found Sisu, who had disguised herself as a human to eavesdrop without being detected. "Hey, guys... surprise," she said with a guilty look. "Why were you eavesdropping on us?" I asked her. "I was just curious to see how things were going with you guys," she replied innocently, and I knew right away why she was actually eavesdropping: to see if either of us told the other about our feelings. Namaari suggested going to the altar again, and I readily agreed with her. We went back to the altar and continued watching the clouds above our heads. "I feel like there's something you want to tell me. You don't have to tell me if you don't want, I'll understand either way," she said. "Thank you. I don't feel up to it at the moment," I replied with a smile. She took my hand in hers, and I felt a strange warmth come from her hand. I almost pulled my hand out of her grip, but I was able to resist the impulse. "That was weird," Namaari said, looking at our intertwined hands. "What?" I asked her curiously. "When I touched your hand, I felt a weird sort of warmth from it," she said, and my eyes widened. "I felt that too. I wonder what it means," I said.

----

Meanwhile, outside of Kumandra, something dark was coming. Something more sinister than the Druun, and the dragons were starting to feel it. The first dragons to feel it were Sisu's siblings, Pengu, Jagan, Pranee, and Amba, who exchanged looks before heading to Heart to inform Sisu. In the morning, she noticed their arrival and went over to join them. "Hey guys. What brings you here?" She asked. "Something dark is coming. We don't know what it is yet, but it's more sinister than the Druun were. That's all we know. If you could let Chief Benja and Raya know, that would be helpful," Pengu said with a grim expression. "Yeah, I'll tell them to keep an eye out for anything unusual," Sisu said with a nod, leaving to find Benja and Raya to tell them about what her brother had told her.

Raya

The next morning at breakfast, Ba, Namaari, and I were discussing relations with the other tribes that make up Kumandra when Sisu entered the room, a nervous look on her face. "Sisu, what's wrong?" Ba asked before I got a chance. "My siblings just told me that there's something dark coming that's more sinister than the Druun were. That's all they know right now, but they wanted me to tell you to keep an eye out for anything unusual for a bit," Sisu said, and I exchanged a quick look with Namaari about what we had just heard. Whatever was coming, one thing that we could all agree on was that we needed to prepare as best we could for what was coming.

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Enjoy! Until next time!