May the Stars Align -- Viravos & Rayllum

chapter 3

Rayla and Callum stalked up the Cursed Caldera in silence. Large monsters surrounded them, but they knew to ignore them. After all, it was all illusion. Just like their relationship had been. At least that is how Callum felt. They had a relationship based on trust and love, like any other relationship. Except they didn't. Rayla didn't trust him, so she left him. Rayla, under the pretense of being a protective partner, was just controlling and manipulative and cruel. Callum wasn't allowed to make his own decisions, after all, the final arbiter of his safety was some Moonshadow elf who quite literally ransacked his life. These caustic and vitriolic thoughts were what plagued Callum's mind and they only multiplied over the two years she was gone. Nevertheless, he remained quiet. He remained objective. Rayla was strong and agile. Her archery was incredibly accurate. She was a valuable asset to the team. That was all she was. Just another part of their arsenal. 

Rayla, however, was distraught. She didn't deserve Callum. She left him in the name of protecting him and worst of all, she didn't accomplish anything. Now, Callum was cold and hurtful and that was exactly what she deserved. At least that is how Rayla felt. All she could bring herself to do was stay silent, accompany him, and be a valuable asset to the team. After all, that was all she was. Just another part of their arsenal. 

Callum grew weary over the duration of their trek, so he pulled Rayla by the shoulder. "Let's stop here and rest." 

"Yes, o' course," Rayla mumbled. They sat by a tree. A large 10 ton spider seemed to climb down from above them. It grew closer and closer and all Callum did was stare it down. 

"Hey there," he said with a giggle. 

Rayla was caught off guard. You see, she had her hopes up, silly Rayla. Hopes aren't meant to be ignited, elevated, or maintained. That's how you get disappointed. She thought Callum was addressing her. She thought he may have forgiven him, that the faults of the past melted into the swirling night sky, that no matter what, Callum would take pleasure in flirting and indulging in her smiles. Her soft blush. 

No. It was a spider. She whipped her head around to see Callum staring straight upward at the nose of a 10 ton spider. She screamed. 

That was when the unexpected had occurred. Callum laughed. 

"Rayla, it's an illusion!" he said with one of his patented blinding Callum smiles, leaping forward to touch her hands. 

"O-oh," Rayla blushed. And for a minute, it felt like the faults of the past did in fact melt into the swirling night sky. That no matter what, Callum would take pleasure in flirting and indulging in her smiles. Her soft blush. But no. It would all fade away within moments. The cold, chill fell over Callums face. He cleared his throat and moved away, turning to look forward. He swiftly flicked his arm above his head, cutting through the spider, reducing it to nothingness, like it truly was. Nothing. 

They sat in silence, once again. They continued to sit until Callum got up and wordlessly beckoned to Rayla that it had been an appropriate amount of time. That they should continue on their journey. And so they did. 

Meanwhile, Terry, Viren, and Claudia were in a setting not so dissimilar to where they had been a couple days prior. They sat in a boat of Terry's fashioning and sailed towards Katolis. "Towards Katolis" meaning, just keep going west until you leave Xadia. Which meant a lot of sailing. This time, the immobile body, lying on the wooden boards of the boat, was not Viren, but Claudia, her hair almost fully a snow white. Terry sat beside her, lightly propping up her torso on his lap. He brushed his fingers down her hair. 

"I know how much Claudia hates having tangles in her hair. I'm going to braid it for her," Terry muttered solemnly. Viren looked at him softly. 

"P-please...please let me help,"  Viren spoke quietly. Terry silently nodded. They spent the afternoon combing through her hair and when it was sufficiently straight, Viren began to plait it while Terry gathered flowers to decorate her hair.  

Aaravos watched silently as this unfolded in front of him. He couldn't help but wonder what the appeal was. Why someone would do something like....care for someone else. Go as far as build them a boat. Braid their hair. Pepper them with flowers...and love. 

The stench had gotten unbearable, so he ended up cleaning up and disposing of his child's body. He could never get the deep red stain out of his floors. No matter what, his room was forever red. The remains of his baby. The glow of the fire. 

Viren fiddled with a small pink flower that rested on Claudia's ear. From in between the petals, a small green caterpillar crawled out. For a moment, Viren's heart was caught in his throat. He couldn't breathe. He cupped the caterpillar in his hand, tempted to bring the small bug to rest on his own ear. That is when he regained his senses. This was not Aaravos. He left Aaravos when we walked away from the beach, away from the water, away from the blood. This? This was just a caterpillar. Viren put the caterpillar down on the wooden floors of the boat. There. Go.

Aaravos watched, noticing, reading every emotion that passed through Viren's face. There was that feeling again. Oh god, what was it? Hope? Love? Pain? Or was it all three at the same time? Oh bother. Star-touch elves are touched by the stars. Balls of flame and gas spinning and growing in the vast expanse of the universe. Star-touch elves are omnipresent and all powerful. They didn't waste their time on this. On flowers. On caterpillars. On him. And, there Aaravos shifted his vantage point once again. From a ship passing through the night to a King approaching in the day. 

Ezran and Soren arrived at the Dragon Queen's lair relatively quickly. This, however, was not helpful in the slightest, as Zubeia was nowhere to be found. Panic settled in Ezran's chest. 

"Soren, what do we do," he said in a cold, solemn tone. Zym lightly groaned from beside him, worried for his mother. 

Soren, a rather comical sight in comparison as he held Bait in his arms while sporting three baby glow toads upon his head, returned the solemn sentiment. "I don't know, Ezran."

"What happened to Queen Zubeia? Where could she have gone?" 

"Well, uh, she was hurt the last time we saw her?" 

"Hmm, maybe she left to get some help? To cure her injury." 

"So, uh, do we just...wait for her, here?" 

"I'm not sure...I think we should wait here for the time being and if she doesn't return..within a reasonable time, maybe a fortnight, we should hide the ball ourselves and go look for her." 

"Hide the ball ourselves?" 

"I'm sure Callum could erase our memories." 

"True.." 

"So for now we just..." 

"Sit." 

"Yep. We sit." 

And so they sat. And they sat.