Chapter 2:

Her willpower lasted far shorter than she would've liked. Under both Bait and Zym's inquisitive gazes, Rayla had succumbed in an embarrassing amount of time to browse through more of Callum's sketchbook.

"I hear one little yap from either of ya', an' I'll be throwing you into tha stream. Especially you, Bait! And I'll stuff you right inna that blasted bag!" Rayla whirled on Zym, who was still wagging her stumpy tail. He recognized the notion of her expression though and quickly ducked down into the rocks within the cave. Bait looked unimpressed, but before she could glare at the glow toad any further, she realized that she had Callum's sketchbook clutched to her chest.

"This doesn't prove anything!" Rayla cursed, before slumping down next to Callum, who was sleeping fast, thankfully.

Yet, Rayla couldn't help but ease the book open to the first few stark pages. There were drawings that were…. Quite bad. Rayla couldn't help but laugh, as she traced some of the drawings which Callum had to have drawn when he was just a boy. There was drawings of a man, with braided hair, horses, knights, castles…. Rayla felt like she was stepping into Callum's mind, and she couldn't help but wonder at the innocence and peaceful air of it all.

Then she turned a page. Up until that point, the drawings had mostly been cheerful in nature, in vivid scenes that were ever increasing in complexity and skill. But then… there was a page, with only one drawing on it. It was hastily done, with rippled water damaged marks in the parchment. The drawing was of a beautiful woman, with a gentle smile, wearing the very best armor of Katolis's warriors.

This had to be Callum's mother.

Her breathing shallowed as she ran her hand over the delicate parchment with a touch as light as a feather. It was… beautiful- she was beautiful. From Callum's previous drawings, this one was immaculate, with perfect shading and smooth lines. Rayla felt her heart drop at the implication… of course, Callum wouldn't draw his mother anything less than perfection.

"Oh, Callum…" Rayla paused, reaching for his sleeping form. Her hand hovered over his shoulder, his face slumped towards her in peaceful slumber. Without thinking, she ran her hand over his ear, brushing away strands of his soft brown hair from his face. She knew what it was like to lose a parent… or both parents. She hadn't been a good friend; here was a good, inquisitive boy, and an even more innocent kid brother, and she had uprooted their lives beyond any repair. Even if they got Zym to the Dragon Queen, could she ever look at Erzan eye to eye again, knowing that she was a cause of his father's death?

It didn't matter what she had or hadn't done. Elves killed the King, and humans killed the King of the Dragons. But…

Callum was here, fighting to break the wheel, the cycle of conflict. He was a human who looked at magic with wonder and awe, instead of seeing a conduit for power. At the moon Nexus, Lujanne had told her of Callum's wonder at seeing the still, reflecting waters, perfectly mirroring the full moon in the sky.

The thought sent warm fuzzy sensations rippling down her spine, and she couldn't stop the urge to flip through Callum's sketchbook, her fingers twitching as she breezed over the pages. Finally, she flipped to a recent page, having passed by the smooth drawing of the sky primal stone, and found herself planted on the page.

In on, she was rolling her eyes, with only her head drawn. Rayla's breathing slowed as she traced the intricate lines that ran down her horns in the drawing. There were the other drawings too, that she had briefly glanced at earlier. He had only seen the barest of glances before slamming the book shut… but now…

The only thing she could think of was an unbidden thought: 'Did Callum really see her like this?' The way he drew her, with a similar style to his… mother… did Callum like her? The thought almost made her scream in frustration, since just a page before these amazing drawings, were loving drawings of Claudia, basking on a balcony full of moonlight. The image almost made her snarl. Claudia had toyed with Callum's emotions, no matter how deeply she actually cared for him. Rayla remembered the crushed look on his face after they had left the Moon Nexus, having proven Soren and Claudia's true motives. She had been truthful when she had told Callum that she wished she had been wrong. Even if that meant that Callum would spend his time with Claudia.

Because, as she looked back to him, she knew that she liked him. There was a horrible bundle of nerves at her core that whispered to her about Callum's feelings, and her own sense of weakness when it came to Callum. But he couldn't feel the same. Even as she stared at his sketches, she forced herself to stop stroking his forehead. She had never been so afraid to do or say anything in her life. But now, even speaking the words to Callum while he slept seemed so far out of reach. Anything she did would be futile, since she had someone made two amazing, wonderful friends, despite the happenstance of their meetings. Anything beyond that was wishful thinking.

Suddenly, Callum muttered in his fevered sleep, in the beginning stages of what was likely a nightmare. The sight galvanized her into action, and she got up to dampen a washcloth of his forehead. She strode towards the inside of the cave with a purpose, looking over to Bait he looked far too at ease for his own good.

That's when she heard him gasping for air.

"Callum?" Rayla dropped the fresh cloth to the rocky ground and rushed over to him, fear lancing through her heart. Callum was gasping for air, clawing around him as if he was… drowning.

"Callum!" Rayla slid to his side, shaking his shoulders, "Callum! You've got to wake up! You've got to stay with me!" To her horror, tears cascaded down her cheeks. She wrested him upright, and flung her arms around him, trying to jostle him from his slumber.

"Oh Callum, please, come back! It doesn't matter what you did before!" Rayla grew desperate, feeling shame wash over her for even thinking about judging Callum for using dark magic. He had saved her… "I just want you to be ok again…"

Whatever he thought of her, Rayla knew for certain that they were friends. And she would fight for that.

"I can't lose you like this." Rayla said softly, drawing back her face to look at Callum's face, "You mean too much to me! Callum… I…" Seeing him struggle and writhe in pain drove her to protect him at all costs.

"I…" She hesitantly reached towards his face, steeling herself for speaking the words that she had so much internal struggle to say aloud.

Callum's eyes shot open, and he gulped in a big breath of air.

"AHH! Oh! You're… awake now." Rayla reflexively smiled, trying to blink away the tears that had pooled in her eyes. "And…. If that a twinkle in your eyes?" Rayla tried to shrug off the intense look that Callum was giving her… "Oh… no, never mind, it's just a crustie…"