The Prophecy of Five

I: 15 :I

Rayla

Rayla was so confused. On the one hand, Callum had kissed her and she was quite possibly the happiest elf in all of Xadia. But on the other hand, she knew he couldn't stay. Even if she was wrong, and the prophecy wasn't referring to him, Ezran still need his brother to help him run things back in Katolis. Rayla had thought about going back with him and living in the castle with her friends, but she knew she had a job to do in Xadia. And even if they did end the war, humans and elves still wouldn't trust each other. The fighting would stop, but the hate wouldn't. She sat with Callum, staring into the fire while petting Zym. She could feel Callum rubbing his hand up and down her back, trying to comfort her.

"Well, even if I do have to leave, I'm coming right back for you." Callum said, "You're my best friend. I would do anything to-"

He was cut off by the sound of snapping twigs and rustling bushes. Rayla stood up and drew her swords, unsure of what was about to come into the clearing. A bright light emerged from the forest, accompanied by a rather tired looking sunfire elf.

Oh. It's just Kalli.

Rayla sheathed her blades and sat back down next to Callum. Kalli sat down across from them and started to hand out the berries and nuts she had gathered.

"Here. This is all I could find. I don't recognize a lot of the food out here so I wasn't sure what was safe and what wasn't."

"Thanks." Rayla said, handing some of the food to Callum.

Kalli sounded exhausted. Like she had been running around the whole time she was out. She went to lay down on her sleeping bag, Zym following close behind. Those two really seemed to like each other. Kalli kind of reminded Rayla of Ezran. They were both genuinely kind people, they cared about everyone, and they hated violence. Maybe she reminded the little dragon of Ez too. Rayla smiled and went back to eating, getting closer to Callum as she did.

"So," Callum said in between handfuls of berries, "wheres Max? Didn't you guys head out together?"

Kalli sat up, suddenly a full alert. She looked around like she expected the human soldier to suddenly appear out of thin air.

"He's... he's not here?" she asked.

Rayla shook her head. "Why?"

"He was hunting a deer and ran off to get it. He told me to head back to camp and that he'd be along shortly. Oh no."

Kalli had gotten up and was pacing back and forth. Saying how she never should have let him go off by himself, how they were supposed to stay together out there. 

"Hey, hey. It's okay. I'll go look for him." Rayla said. "You stay here and rest up. I know these woods pretty well. I'll be back with him before you know it."

She stood up and kissed Callum on the cheek, flustering him. Before Kalli could refuse, Rayla climbed into the nearest tree and headed off in the direction the sunfire elf had come from. She was no expert tracker, but humans tend to leave pretty obvious trails wherever they go. She learned that from her time wit Callum and Ezran. She ran through the towering trees until she came to a patch of burned grass, like a small fire or something was started and then quickly extinguished. There were two sets of footprints, one was pretty lightly set while the other was much easier to see.

Well, he was wearing armor, so he probably went this way.

Rayla followed the heavy set of prints, weaving in and out of the trees like she had been taught all of her life. The cool night air, the smell of the trees, the rush of the wind, it all felt so right. So... natural. It reminded her of her old life with Runaan and the other Moonshadow elves. It was a nice life, but she preferred this one. Meeting Callum had made all of her struggles worth it, even if he has almost died twice. While her mind wandered, thinking of her goofy prince love, she began hearing and smelling weird things. It smelled like smoke, and there was a clanging of metal somewhere in the distance. Following her instincts, she quickly traversed the trees and eventually arrived at the source of the smell.