Startouched Mage

Chapter 4

The duo rode their mounts through the forest, Callum struggling more than Rayla for many reasons, almost falling off several times before managing to stay upright and catching up to Rayla. Seeing her sullen expression, he tries to get her to open up. "So... yesterday must have been pretty hard for you."
"Not really."

Callum is silent for a moment before continuing. "You know, back home- back in Katolis, I mean- with my family, we'd have this thing called Big Feelings Time. You'd ask yourself if you have any Big Feelings, and then you say them out loud, and the other person says they hear your feelings and it makes you feel good."
Rayla shakes her head. "Humans are so weird."

She whips the reins to urge her mount forward ahead of Callum. Callum is tempted to do the same, but doubts it would go well for him due to his track record, so he simply pats the creature's side and does his best to shoot it a meaningful look. It shoots one back with a small chittering sound and gently takes him back up next to Rayla. 'I'm getting pretty good at this for my first time.' After that quick self affirmation he turns his attention back to Rayla.

"I'm just saying, you've been going through a lot. It would be reasonable if you had some-"
She urges her mount further again. "Leave me alone!"
"Big big feelings!"
Rayla stops her mount. "If you don't drop this right now, I'm gonna give you some big feelings upside your horns." She gets her mount moving once more, and Callum follows behind silently, taking the threat with a grain of salt, but still taking it.

They ride in silence for some time before they hear a sudden fluttering and their mounts become anxious, Callum's nearly bucking him off. Rayla is more composed, as usual. "Someone coming." She dismounts and readies her blades. Callum follows suit, getting on the ground and preparing to draw a rune.

There's silence for a moment before Callum hears Zym whimper and hide under the mounts and he looks up to see a winged elf dove down from the tree line and land before them. "Greetings travelers. My name is Naimi-Selari-Nykantia. But they call me Nyx."

Rayla slowly approaches the new elf, tone suspicious. "Hi, Nyx. My name is Rayla. They call me Rayla. And I'm not in the mood. So you fly away now, or I'm gonna use these blades to make me feel better."
"Ah yes, you're the banished Moonshadow elf."

Callum is as confused as Rayla by the fact she knows that. "What? What are you talking about?"
Nyx uses her finger to move the blade away from her face. "I am an emissary of the dragon queen. She received your message and has sent me to help you." She turns to Callum. "And YOU must be The Great One." She bows. "It is an honor to serve." Callum doesn't really respond, merely shooting Rayla a smug grin at the title.

Zym comes out from under the mount, getting Nyx's attention. "And there he is, that dragon of the hour. And with his mothers eyes. I've been given permission from the dragon queen to take him straight home." She tries to approach only for Rayla's sword to get in the way.
"I don't think so." She picks Zym up and places him on her feline mount. "We're doing just fine on our own."

Nyx doesn't let up. "I can get the baby dragon home fast. And that's what matters most." She makes another attempt, only to have another sword, this one much, much closer to one of her mismatched eyes. "We're not letting you take Zym."

Nyx jumps back with her hands raised. "Ok, ok. How about this? I can give everyone a ride."
Rayla scoffs, sheathing her swords. "Not interested."
"Ok, then how are you planning to cross the Midnight Desert?"

Callum watches their back and forth for a while as Twinkle peeks out from behind Callum's pointy ear. There was just something about the way Nyx held herself, the looks on her face, her insistence on making sure Zym is with her under any circumstances. It reminded him too much of Claudia.