#messy hair runaan

[silkiecorn]

Messy hair Runaan is life!

[random-fandom-ramble]

Is Redfeather Etharis mother?

I just read the new short story about Rayla in Scumport, where we were introduced to this wonderful new MILF character, Redfeather:

Some things we learned about her:

She’s a moonshadow elf

She has matted messy hair

She has pale markings and likely has a darker complexion (“like shining leather”)

She was ghosted about 15+ years ago

She doesn’t regret the thing(s) she was ghosted for

Now 15+ years ago doesn’t place her at any important events that we know of yet. Rayla would’ve been 0-2 years old at the time, so it probably doesn’t connect to her. The whole ordeal with Sarai getting killed by Avizandum happened about 10-12 years prior, so it couldn’t be connected to that.

But you know who would’ve been in a very interesting age back then?

Ethari and Runaan

Ethari and Runaan were once referred to as “uncle-ish” age, which the show runners have clarified means somewhere between 30-35 years old. That means Ethari and Runaan would’ve been 15-20 years old at the time when Redfeather got ghosted by her village. And as we all know, 15-20 is the perfect age for fictional characters to get traumatized✨

One theory I had was that she was somehow involved with the assassins (target? Former assassin? Who knows) and that her crime, which somehow affected a younger Runaan, got her ghosted. But that is a theory for another time.

What caught my attention first was the specifics of her description.

Pale markings and “leather colored”(darker) skin

When it comes to the colors of markings, moonshadow elves tend to have very deep or even dark blue/purple markings. Ethari is the only moonshadow elf we’ve encountered till now who has significantly lighter, or paler, lavender colored markings amongst moonshadow elves.

This means that Redfeather having specifically PALE markings would be significant, if the paleness is referring to the color.

Another point is the eyes

While Redfeathers and Etharis face’s aren’t THAT similar, the eyes very much ARE

Look at that shape! Look at the lashes! Look at the curved lower lids! If this doesn’t mean anything, then this would be one heck of a coincidence for eyes to be drawn THAT similarly.

Another reason I like this theory isn’t just because of looks and appearances, but also because it could explain a bit about Etharis behavior regarding ghosting family members and strong feelings about abandonment.

See, when Rayla first comes back to the Silvergrove, one of the first things he says to is:

“They’re gone Rayla. He’s gone. Because you abandoned them.”

And later on, when he briefly lifted the ghosting spell to talk to Rayla, he says again:

“But I don’t understand, how could you abandon them like that?”

On a similar note, in the novel the bloodmoon huntress, when Runaan realizes that Kim’Dael is out there, there isn’t even a question about wether or not Ethari is coming along; he said right away “I’m coming with you”. He was NOT gonna stay- or be left behind. It’s like he has some very deep rooted issues surrounding abandonment, and being left behind. Maybe because his mother had to leave him when he was young? Or maybe pertaining to the crime she committed, where she left someone behind and surrendered them to their doom? Who knows…

And yet, for someone who has such strong feelings about someone being left behind, he was very quick to ghost Rayla. Yes he regrets it, and yes it was a decision made with feelings and grief and not his sound and sensible mind. But regardless of how much he regrets it now, he still ghosted her for “abandoning her team (and Runaan)”, and he seemed very sure of that choice at first.

If we looked at him as a regular person, a godfather who loved and cherished his goddaughter, and had raised her since the age of 8, this behavior doesn’t make any sense!

But if we look at him as someone who’s had to do it before, someone who had to learn long ago that family ties don’t excuse crimes, and that sometimes you need to cut out and ghost those closest to you - like say, your own mother-, well then it makes sense why he was able to do that to his goddaughter, even if he regretted it later…

——

And a final point close this whole theory off, though it is more of a meta textual point:

Ethari rarely gets talked about by the creators of the show. He was maybe mentioned here and there in the past, and on Twitter Aaron Ehazs promised that they hadn’t forgotten about Ruthari. So any mention of him that actually includes his name and something other than „he’s Runaans husband/Raylas substitute dad“ is pretty special and rare to find outside of the graphic novel Bloodmoon huntress . But in this new short story, he wasn’t just mentioned by name; he was specifically described along with his profession, his crafting.

And the first time that Ethari gets mentioned again outside of the bloodmoon huntress is when a new Moonshadow elf with eyes almost identical to his gets introduced.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

✨Thanks for reading!✨

Feel free to add your own thoughts to this theory in the comments or in reblogs!

@beautifulterriblequeen @sunstone-nerding @hoothalcyon @legend-of-the-fandoms @anybody-else-who-wants-to-join-the-fun

[zuppizup]

in character design to show when a character has an emotional change they have a physical change (and them looking the same shows how they’ve not progressed emotionally, like Claudia) E.G. haircut/outfit change, do you think that when Rayla fully overcomes her emotional arc she’ll change her facial markings?

As someone who’s given Rayla at least two traumatic haircuts, I love visual change as an emotional shift as trope, buuuuut I do think we’re unlikely to see much in the way of design change for Rayla between now and the end of the series. With only 18 episodes to go, I don’t think there would be time more than anything.

I think we’ll see Rayla certainly dealing with her issues with her parents leaving and how that affected her and her character arc, but there’s also Runaan and their relationship, his relationship with her and Callum and potentially/hopefully Rayllum, Runaan and Ezran requiring focus. Ethari is also going to come into play. Moon fam is messy and have a lot of things they need to work though.

During the world ending.

It’s… a lot. And while I think TDP does an amazing job of focusing on trauma and how it can affect people, I just don’t think there’s enough episodes to do deal with everything they’ve set up there. Not in a “resolved to the point where I’m a healed person and can move on” type thing. Not truthfully, at least.

Even with two seasons left, I actually think we’ll see the beginning of the rebuilding of some of those relationship and a general nudge to the fact they’re being repaired but I assume the actual grunt work of resolving decades long issues (in some cases) will take more than some Big Feelings Time and a hug.

And they could certainly show that process has begun via Rayla changing her markings but I don’t think there’s been enough time spent on showing that elves can and do change their markings, and why they might.

I think we might well get some character design changes but I’m more side eying Callum and his hair. So if he’s pushed into actually doing dark magic, potentially even to release Moon fam, I think something like that would be far more impactful.

What I think we might see is Rayla with different markings if we get a flashforward though. If we got something a few years down the line, Adult King Ezran, much bigger Zym, parental Rayllum with a kid or two and perhaps something along the lines of meshing their two cultures together via their chosen markings?

[ac0531]

Broken

Rating: Teen

So much had happened… and in such little time.

The first thing Rayla knew, they were on the boat, searching for answers.

Trying to find where Aaravos was, to stop Claudia from releasing him.

And now, she was tied up, held back, and struggling to break free. Figures loomed over her, all of them smiling, conversing with the other.

Pirates….

They’d been ambushed, right when they were so close. But Rayla didn’t see anyone else next to her, no one from her group tied up as well.

Did they escape?

Were they also captured?

The question swarmed Rayla’s mind, her head throbbing- but she remained composed.

As long as everyone else… as long as Callum was alright, then she could relax with that reassurance.

That was… until the sounds of heavy footsteps thudded across the deck.

“Bring him here.” A gruff voice boomed, and Rayla watched as the pirates backed off, turning their attention to a massive, cloaked pirate that towered over the others.

Most of his face was obscured, but Rayla could make our two eyes staring coldly at the others. He looked at Rayla for a moment, but turned his attention back to someone else that two pirates were dragging along the floor.

Rayla squinted her eyes, pushing through the heavy rain.

But that’s when she froze.

Her blood ran cold.

She recognized that messy brown hair… and blue tunic….

Callum….

No… no no no no.

Rayla felt tightness in her chest, a lump in her throat. She tried yelling, but couldn’t form any words- it was like something was constructing her, keeping her at bay.

The pirates threw Callum to the ground, his arms were tied behind his back. He looked up at the towering pirate, noticing the barnacles on his hands, his cloak still covering most of his body.

“You were carrying of value, weren’t you?” The barnacle pirate interrogated, kneeling down and looking at him, his hand balling into a fist. “What was it? What are you hiding from us?!”

Hiding?

Rayla didn’t understand. What did they want from them?

Was it Zym? Did they want to capture the dragon prince for profit?

They didn’t have any treasure.

Except…. Did they know about the coins Rayla had?

Were they after that?

So many thoughts and questions on why, but right now she couldn’t come up with an answers.

Her attention was still focused on Callum, her hands tying to break free from the ropes. She didn’t see her blades or Runaan’s bow, the pirates must have taken them- probably in the hopes of selling them for money.

She had nothing to cut out off, and Stella was nowhere in sight…

Nothing….

“Silent type aren’t you?” The pirate’s nodded his head to two others, and Rayla saw as they grabbed Callum by his arms and made him sit up. “Maybe this will make you talk.”

What happened next could only be described in a series or short events.

The pirate raised one of his barnacle covered fists back.

There was a sudden, loud *THUMP* as the fist made contact with Callum’s abdomen.

A cry of pain escaped Callum’s throat, his body tumbling to the ground.

Rayla was paralyzed, her eyes wide… filled with horror. She felt like her heart had stopped, and the world had slowed to a still.

Her breathing picked up, panic rising through her chest. Something had kicked in on her- all of her strength diverted to her arms.

She pulled as hard as she could, lurching forward and trying to escape.

The sickening laughters erupted from the crowd of pirates, all of them watching as Callum tried to breath in, wincing and on the verge of tears.

“CALLUM!!” Rayla finally found her words, her distressed voice filling the air. “LEAVE HIM ALONE! GET AWAY!”

But despite her frantic pleas, the one of the pirates merely kicked Callum in the side, sending him careening to the side, letting out another cry.

“Stop it!!!” Rayla cried, thrashing her body, trying to escape. “Callum!! CALLUM!”

But no one listened. The pirates continued laughing, watching as Callum writhed on the floor.

“Still being quiet are you?” Venom dripped from the barnacle pirate’s voice, his hand grabbing Callum and forcing him up. “I guess we are doing this the hard way.”

Another sickening crack echoed through the ship, a fist connecting with Callum’s face, sending him tumbling back onto the floor.

Rayla screamed in horror… but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t move.

All she could do was watch, watch the horrific sight unfold.

When Callum was picked back up again, Rayla noticed the scratch marks across his face, his right eye swollen, and blood was dripping from his mouth.

But all Rayla could do was shout and try to escape- and to no avail.

And at that moment, she felt like she had failed…

Failed at promising herself that she would keep him safe.

“Callum….” Rayla’s voice cracked, her head hanging low. She heard another hit, and her eyes shut tightly.

And all of sudden, she let her emotions run free, screaming into the air in anguish, her voice piercing the sky and the winds.

But still… no one listened.

Oneshot was inspired by this picture we got from the trailer

[beautifulterriblequeen]

"I'm sorry, Your Highness," Ethari told Runaan, "but it can't be done."

"You admit failure so easily?" the handsome prince questioned, his brilliant turquoise eyes keen in the workshop's warm air. "My father shall be disappointed."

Ethari scrubbed one hand through his messy white hair and offered a sheepish grin. "Surely your highness knows that to request a useless object is to give it one use."

Runaan paused and looked Ethari up and down. Leaning against the wall next to a rack of swords, he folded his arms and offered the blacksmith a frank appraisal. "Surprise me, then."

"What?"

"I request nothing. You decide what counts as useless. I'm curious."

Ethari blinked at the prince's intense stare. "You're...?"

"Curious." Runaan stepped forward until their eyes met at a much closer range. He studied Ethari's face for a long moment, and seemed pleased by what he saw there. "I shall inform the gates that you are to be admitted at any time, on my orders and to my quarters, with your offerings. I look forward to seeing your creativity."

Ethari's eyes widened slightly. Surely he was hearing things that the prince did not intend. "Of course, Your Highness. I shall endeavor not to disappoint you."

Runaan smiled and offered a gracious nod. "I should warn you, blacksmith, that I am notoriously hard to please. Do not be put off if your first attempt - your first dozen attempts - fall through. I hope you will be as persistent in the pursuit of this endeavor as I am."

"As- As Your Highness wills," Ethari replied, a little breathlessly. He watched the prince leave his workshop, until he was finally out of sight. His cheeks felt a little too warm from the forge's heat - just the forge, surely.

He crafted a clever, useless object and presented it to the prince, but the prince found a use for it and declared it null and void.

"Try again."

Ethari crafted another useless object.

"Try again."

Another, and another, a dozen and more.

The prince held each one in his hands, stared deeply into Ethari's eyes, and murmured softly, "Try again."

As the kingdom's most renowned blacksmith, you're used to crafting legendary weapons and armor. But then the king's mad lad of a son tasks you with the impossible: forging the world's most useless object.

[ask-runaan-anything]

What do you think of your little blade’s feelings for Prince Callum?

My little blade's what for who now?

Please tell me you jest.

[ask-ethari-anything]

Have you ever taken care of Runnan when he was vomiting? How does he act when he sick like that?

Runaan always appears very put together. It's a purposeful appearance. It's also a bit of an illusion in itself, for complicated reasons. He works very hard in ways most people never see, so that he can do his duty for Queen and Forest and so he can keep those he loves from harm. And that stress can build up and overfill his tolerances sometimes. Sometimes, things that might not usually cause him to get ill will knock him over like a feather. And sometimes, he'll get sick for no reason at all except that his body goes on strike.

And then the real angst begins.

One day, years ago now, I came upstairs after a day of soft, quiet work in my workshop - a rare treat - and found Runaan's tunic tossed carelessly on the floor in the hall.

Runaan never tosses his tunic carelessly, unless he's extremely focused on something *quick smirk* or not focused on anything at all. And since I hadn't been in the room, I knew it was most likely the latter. I scooped it up and hurried to find him.

He hadn't quite made it to the bed, and he was shuddering through a messy upchuck on his hands and knees as I came in. I draped his tunic over a chair and knelt beside him, tucking his side tails back into his braid so they wouldn't get messy. He'd hate to have sick in his hair, swinging so close to his nose and sticking to his cheeks. I ran the backs of my fingers along his temple and found him sweaty and feverish.

"I want to help," I offered. "Is it alright if I help you?"

He nodded through a shiver, poor love, and I swirled into motion around him, very gently. When Runaan's ill, he can't think much past how bad he feels, and he hates that part more than actually being ill. So I try to change one thing at a time for him, and I'll talk him through the changes, as well: pulling him out of the puddle of his own sick; putting his hair into a big messy bun so he doesn't feel so overheated; taking off his boots and vest so he's more comfortable; fetching water and moonberry juice and also a bowl in case he's not done yet; settling him against me right there on the floor so he can lean on me for support and just be a mess for a while.

He rested his cheek against my shoulder and panted for breath with his eyes shut, while I kept one hand on his waist and added just a bit of warm pressure. "There we go," I told him. "We can just rest here for a bit. Let me know if you need the bowl, it's right by your hand."

He nodded against my shoulder, and he tightened his fingers in the fabric of my shirt, clinging. And I sat with him, while he waited to throw up again. He felt terrible, but he was still my husband, warm and heavy and intense and perfect. I dropped a soft kiss against his horn a few times, when I got all overcome with feels.

He did need the bowl a few more times, and he felt worse after each time. I held him with a little more contact each time, so he'd know he could lean against me even more. After a few more hours of not being able to keep even moonberry juice down, he ended up slumped against me in a weak hug, his fingers barely curled into my shirt, while my arms circled around him entirely and held him longingly close. "It's alright, love, it'll pass. It always does. It's alright, just stay with me, right here."

He shook his head and whimpered softly. His hands went limp, and then he began sobbing into my scarf. "I can't, I can't..."

The feeling that rises in your heart when your beloved falls apart against you, love, is like no other in the world. And that's a mercy. It's part rage, part heroism, part despairing cry. But at its core, that feeling is love - the most radiant love I've ever known. Whether your lives are in jeopardy and you could lose each other forever, or if the one you love is merely worn past the point of reason and gripped by the fear that they might be torn from you and leave you alone and that's the last thing they would ever want - either way, there is only one thing you want in that moment.

To hold on tight.

Runaan felt so ill that he couldn't hold onto me at all. If I hadn't been there, he'd have been sprawled on the floor, utterly sick and helpless and miserable and alone. People have perished that way.

But I was there. I was there with him. So I held on tight enough for the both of us, while he sobbed into my scarf. It doesn't matter that I cried too. How could I not? My heart was suffering.

He quieted, and he even dozed for a little while, and I dared not move a muscle, lest I wake him from much needed sleep. Soon, he rolled his head against my cheek to let me know he was awake again. "There you are," I murmured. His fingers tugged against my shirt for a moment.

He'd calmed, and his body was ready to try a little moonberry juice. Once we knew he could keep it down, I got him a soothing cool bath with herbs and a couple of little enchantments, and then I settled him more comfortably on the bed with me and held him close again. I tended him gently all night and all the next day before he felt well again, and then he threw himself right back into his usual routine, because he must.

Runaan pushes himself very hard, and he accepts very little in the way of repayment. His energy coffers can run dry in unusual ways, and then it takes unusual solutions to refill them. An entire day - or two or three - of utter rest and relaxation will have him back on his feet, though. And it's about the only time he'll admit how much he needs my help.

Oh, not out loud. But the way he stares at me, pleadingly, and holds tight to me with those urgent fingers while I fuss about with his pillows or his moonberry juice or braiding his hair or simply touching him to reassure myself that he's still warm - I can hear him loud and clear. His Please, and his Thank You. But loudest of all is his I Love You Too.

In sickness and in health, Runaan will always have my promise to stay by his side.

[ladyandherbooks]

Ethari admiring Runaan when Runaan is distracted or occupied.

Ethari going to see him while he's training and just admiring him as he gracefully dodges out of another's reach or practices with his bow.

Ethari admiring Runaan as he gets out of bed in the morning, his hair loose and messy, half naked and still relaxed.

Ethari admiring Runaan as he teaches and guides Rayla, seeing how caring, patient and soft he is with their daughter.

Ethari admiring Runaan as their bathing together, how relaxed and vulnerable he allows himself to be and good his husband looks as he hops out of the bath to grab them towels.

[beautifulterriblequeen]

Runaan, the Dragonblade

I woke from a dream this morning where I figured out half of this and came up with the rest while I mulled it over, and now I have a new angsty headcanon: Runaan was raised by Avizandum and trained to fight by Skywings at the Storm Spire.

Runaan is a soft elf who's learned to adopt Hard Mode at a moment's notice. Avizandum is a rat bastard who truly thought of humans as lesser beings. Runaan's Hard Mode and his attitude that humans are liars, nothing in them worth sparing, etc etc, is all learned behavior. It makes sense that all his harsh attitudes are part of his assassin training, since Ethari and Lujanne don't share them. And we’ve seen how certain other old dragons feel about humans. Considering that Xadia once wanted to wipe them all out, and that the dragons live by far the longest, it seems to me that the source of prejudice against humans lies with the dragons and is taught to the elves over and over with each new generation.

Then there's that casual line in the Book One novelization where we learn that Xadia wouldn't necessarily choose to avenge Avizandum because he was a morally gray bastard, but it would absolutely cry for justice over Zym being killed. That scene is Rayla's, and all her assassin information comes from Runaan. Bitter about his upbringing at Avizandum's claws, maybe? I don't blame him.

If Avizandum really did raise Runaan and see to his training, then S1E1′s title “Echoes of Thunder” just keeps having more layers to it, doesn’t it? Gosh. Runaan is connected to so many parts of the plot, to so many characters, but behind him lies Thunder. Just like Aaravos lies behind Viren and his own web of connections.

I keep trying to puzzle out Runaan's scars, where and why he got them. This headcanon has yet another guess. See, Ethari is eager to use the Sun's Tears salve to keep Runaan healing quickly--he hates to see his husband hurt, of course he does, he loves him! So I don't think it's very likely that Runaan got those scars after he married Ethari. And then there's his bio clue about "learned to put his mission above all else". If you learn something, that's a lesson, and lessons usually are learned early, especially when assassin training begins before you can even walk.

So if his training supervisor was Avizandum, and Runaan wasn't hard enough during training... I can see it. Typical dragon behavior, a little smack of the tail. It wouldn’t do much damage to another dragon, not with their thick scaled hides. But used on elves who are short and tiny and delicate in comparison? Ouch. 

None of Runaan’s scars or even damage from his fight in Harrow’s chamber, none of it is on his back. Runaan never turns his back unless he’s spinning with his blades out. So whatever hit him, he was facing it directly. And if it was Avizandum’s judgment, then he stood there and saw it coming and took it like the stoic Moonshadow he is.

This poor angst-ridden elf, god.

I'm dancing around it here. But Avizandum losing control of Zym was a good thing, and Viren interrupting his hatching storm was beneficial for Zym and therefore all of Xadia - once the Dragaang got to hatch him, anyway. Because however much Avizandum cried at dying and being unable to reach Zym, whether from love or fear or loss of control, he would've raised him to be hard and trained him to be ruthless. Just like Runaan.

Zym was spared all that. But maybe Runaan wasn't. Maybe it's tradition for the Dragon Throne to raise and train each assassin leader, and that's where the blood promise thing comes in. A Moonshadow elf, separate from their people, surrounded by dragons and Skywings, needs to bond with someone. So they make the promise, swear their honor and loyalty in service to the one being who has seen to their education and whatever guidance and comforts they are given in life. And then they go home to the Silvergrove and bind others to the will of the Dragon King.

I had a really old headcanon once that Runaan was raised by Skywings, lol. This version is cooler though. It's just the way he fights. It's so aerial! And all the spinning! Everything about Skywings being strong and fast really just adds more strength to this headcanon. Rayla believes Runaan is the best assassin, and he's described as basically unstoppable. A Moonshadow who fights like a Skywing would have serious advantages over most other combatants. Maybe this will be one more connection between Runaan and Callum someday? How fun would that be? Runaan actually being able to train Callum in Skywing aerial techniques to some degree. Whether he would... ehh. I could see him silently adjusting Callum’s elbow or something and nodding for him to try again, though. Perhaps in a “but I doubt you’ll get it--oh huh, look at that” sort of way. Which would be awesome all around, tbh.

Unfortunately, if Runaan were trained by Skywings, he would have thought himself slow and sloppy during training. It probably influenced his constant training regimen in the Silvergrove. If he trained all the time, he'd at least get closer to Skywing standards. But maybe he still lives with a deep-seated sense of inadequacy for not being as swift and light on his feet as his trainers. And I can see Avizandum allowing that mentality, and even encouraging it, since it would urge a young Runaan to constantly push himself harder.

Now, let me headcanon about Rayla: if she were the child that Runaan chose to follow him as the assassin leader, there is no way in hell he'd let her go back to the Storm Spire for instruction at Avizandum’s claws. So maybe he told Lain and Tiadrin what happened to him, or maybe they already knew. Heck, maybe they were there with him, or maybe Lain was and that’s why he’s Runaan’s best friend. In any case, no one wanted to put Rayla through that, so they all managed a compromise. Lain and Tiadrin went in her place and served on the Dragonguard. And Runaan got to keep Rayla away from Avizandum.

He was so gentle with her when he raised her, it kills me. The irony that he was still training her to be an assassin despite his own history is very deep. But I don't think anyone knows how to get out of that one yet. Still, he raised her softly and with encouraging guidance, not with tail smacking. Somehow, that sense of "I'll never be good enough" did carry over, though... Rayla really is as perceptive as her mother sometimes. She picks up things Runaan never meant to teach her. Luckily that also includes kissing techniques.

Runaan helped Rayla avoid his harsh upbringing at the Storm Spire, but he raised her so softly that she got him captured. He keeps using those Skywing moves like mental chess to try to get around the dangers in his life and protect his friends and family, but the board is set against him. And I'm guessing the only way to win is not to play.

tl;dr: Runaan was raised by dragons and trained by Skywings and it shows, but he didn't want Rayla raised the same way because it was traumatic and scarring, so her parents went to the Storm Spire instead of her. And everything still fell apart because the system is broken.

Extra hc’s: 

Runaan got over his fear of heights and death at the same time because Avizandum made him jump off the Spire repeatedly, and he’d have to be chill and calm and accept his fate, and when he was at peace with it, then a Skywing would catch him.

Runaan gave Hendyr his cheek scars for catching him too early one time. Dude was trying to help, and Runaan was trying to be perfect, and it ended with shades of Amaya.

Rayla throwing herself off the pinnacle when she killed Viren was something she may have heard about before, and once again she’s copying Runaan.

There’s a Moonshadow room at the Spire because there’s always a Moonshadow there for training, and that’s where Lain and Tiadrin were living: in Runaan’s childhood room. They’ll know him so much better after having spent time there.

Runaan’s got chronic stress about messy windswept hair now, and that’s why Ethari does his hair for him every morning with those dexterous hands of his, to make sure Runaan feels calm and ordered and as far from the Storm Spire in his mind as possible.

[creampuffqueen]

Just Like This | Chapter One

Summary: Rayla and Callum have been best friends since elementary school. Now, years later, Rayla is discovering new feelings for her best friend. The only problem: she's about 99% sure he doesn't think of her in the same way. Not willing to risk their friendship, Rayla continues to hide her feelings for Callum. How long until the truth comes out?

a/n: Hey everyone! Here it is, the greatly anticipated Rayllum high school au! Please please please reblog this, because Tumblr won't show this post in the main tags due to an affiliate link! Anyway, I hope you all enjoy!

Word Count: 3372

Warnings: Language

Read on Ao3

~~~~

Sunday, September 30th, 2020

Katolis Supermarket, 5:31 PM

“Who wrote this list?” Rayla complained loudly, stalking behind Callum at the grocery store, shaking the piece of paper in his face. Her fellow sophomore was pushing a cart around, eternally focused on the task ahead.

“Well, Claudia suggested it, but everyone else added on,” Callum replied, not even looking at her. Stopping in the middle of the isle, he grabbed a 12-pack of soda and loaded it in the cart. “What’s next?”

Looking over the extensive list again, Rayla frowned. “Uh, it says… ‘those little animal cookie things with sprinkles, you know the ones’.”

Callum finally turned to look at her, a wide grin on his face as they both said “Soren,” in unison.

“Jinx,” Rayla giggled, “You owe me a soda.”

“Okay… just take one from the pack when we get home?”

Both teenagers continued through the store, Rayla getting bored of walking and hanging off the front of the cart, laughing as Callum made a big deal of struggling to push them around.

She supposed they should be hurrying. Evening was approaching quickly, and soon all their friends would be over at Callum’s place to study. Callum had dragged her off to the grocery store to get snacks for their cram session, considering she lived only a street over and had a car.

“We’re all going to be sick by the end of the night,” Rayla sighed, loading more snacks into the cart.

“Well, at least we’ll be awake,” Callum, ever cheerful, turned his head around to grin at her.

At his smile, Rayla felt her heart give a small wayward flutter, though she squished it down quickly. Tonight was important; she needed to pass this test to keep her grade up, and it wouldn’t help if she spent the entire night mulling over how cute her best friend’s smile looked.

“Yeah,” She chuckled, trying to pull herself back to the present. Keep it together, Rayla.

They got their unhealthy amount of junk food, collectively winced at the price, bought it anyway, and set about loading it in the backseat of Rayla’s car.

In no time at all Rayla was driving, Callum reclining in the passenger seat. With the radio cranked up, neither felt the need to talk, content to sit in the comfortable silence.

It was hard to believe that they’d been friends for eight years now. Rayla could still remember the first time they met like it was yesterday.

She was eight years old, in second grade, having just moved to a new school after her parents left on a military tour and she went to live with her uncles. Her first day of school had gone off without a hitch.

That is, until she met Callum at recess.

Content to play by herself, Rayla had been making use of the free time by pretending to build a fort under the slide. While pretending to hammer in nails, she noticed a small group of kids nearby. Two boys and a girl.

While she couldn’t make out all the words, the body language she saw was more than enough. The bigger boy, a head of blond hair, was pointing at the smaller, brown-haired boy, and laughing. The girl, black hair tied in two pigtail braids, was looking between them, unsure of what to do.

Curious eight-year-old Rayla snuck up, for she’d always been good at sneaking, and listened in on the conversation.

“Soren, shut up, he’s going to cry!” The girl said.

“Oh, so little Callum’s a crybaby now?” The boy, Soren, taunted.

“I’m not a crybaby, Soren!” The other boy shouted, though he couldn’t hide the sniffle at the end of his sentence.

“Oooh, Callum’s crying! Who’s gonna help him, his dad? Oh wait-”

Soren didn’t get to finish his sentence.

Well, she thought as she sat in the principal’s office twenty minutes later, Runaan will be happy to know that I’m learning something in my karate class.

All four kids were in the office, sitting in chairs in front of the desk. Callum and the other girl, Claudia, were both still sniffling from residual tears. Soren, fresh from the nurse’s office, was holding an ice pack over a rapidly blackening eye.

The door opened, and in came the principal, shaking her head with a sigh.

“You three again?”

“We didn’t do anything!” Soren shouted, voice whistling through the new gap in his teeth. Oh yeah, she’d knocked a tooth out as well. “She started it!”

“Well you were being really mean to that other kid!” Rayla protested. She and Soren glared at each other from their respective chairs, accusatory fingers pointed straight out.

“I wasn’t being mean, I was just joking!” Soren explained, “Callum’s my friend!”

“Well Soren, what you said was really mean-” Claudia interjected, but the boy, who Rayla had learned was her brother, interrupted.

“Callum, you know I was joking, right?”

“Well…” Soren’s face fell as Callum dropped his gaze to his lap. “It did kind of hurt my feelings, Soren…”

“Wait, you’re friends?” Rayla exclaimed, glancing curiously between both boys. “I thought he was bullying you! And my parents and uncles always said you have to stand up to bullies and-”

“I’m not a bully!” Soren shouted. Voices began to rise between them again, and the principal was forced to interject.

“All of you, quiet down. I’m going to talk with you each individually, and we’ll see what happens then. Callum, come with me. The rest of you: play nice.”

In the end, Rayla got suspended for two days for fighting, and Soren got one day for bullying. Despite the massive lecture Runaan and Ethari subjected her to, Rayla couldn’t help but feel like she’d done the right thing in the end.

When she returned to school, she was surprised to find Callum approach her at recess, a little paper bag clutched shyly in his hands.

“Sorry my friends and I got you in trouble,” He said, passing the bag to her. Opening it, Rayla’s face split into a huge grin at the sight of two tart-things waiting for her, filled with jelly.

“Soren’s usually pretty nice,” Callum continued, “But he doesn’t know when to stop talking. If you hadn’t stepped in, he would have said something mean without thinking, I’m sure. So you kind of helped both of us, in a way.”

“Oh. Well, you’re welcome, I guess. And thanks for the tarts.”

She was about to turn away and enjoy her spoils, but then Callum kept talking.

“Do you want to come play with us? Me and Claudia are pretending to do magic, and Soren’s a knight. You can do magic with us, if you want.”

Well, this game was certainly right up her alley. “I’ll play,” Rayla conceded, “But only if I get to be an elf.”

Callum grinned broadly, pointing to where the two siblings were playing. “Of course.”

~~~~

“The snacks are here!” Rayla called into the house, arms laden with shopping bags. Callum shut the door behind them, similarly burdened with the case of soda.

The pounding of feet sounded overhead, and several heads poked over the stairwell to glimpse the pair in the kitchen. “Finally!” Soren cheered, racing downstairs to try and rifle through the bags Rayla was carrying.

“Not yet, you lump,” Rayla scolded, pushing past the senior boy, “We’ve got to get upstairs at least.”

“Thanks for going to get snacks,” Claudia called, and her thanks was echoed by the other kids there. Callum and Rayla both shrugged, and made their way upstairs to the game room, where they’d all be studying.

Sitting on the various bean bag chairs and couches, the rest of the study group cheered when the food and drinks arrived. Andromeda, Callisto, Ram, Skor, and Marcos all leapt up to snatch the snacks they wanted. When everyone was sitting again, food in hand, Callum gave a dramatic clearing of his throat, turning all the heads in the room towards him.

“So, uh, thanks for coming over. Hopefully we can all actually get some studying done, since, you know, that’s what we’re here for.” He fixed a firm glance on the two couples in the room. “Ground rules: no making out in my house, don’t be super messy, and also please actually study. Soren, no idea what you’re doing here since you’ve already taken this history class, but okay.”

The older boy shrugged, taking a big gulp of his soda. “Moral support. A welcome distraction.”

Callum clapped his hands together once. “Okay then. I actually made a schedule for this, and if we follow it, we can cover all of the sections by… midnight, I think. 11 pm if we work really fast.”

“You made a schedule for studying?” Callisto asked in disbelief. Andromeda laughed, throwing an arm over her partner’s shoulder.

“Yes, I made a schedule for studying, I think it’s going to be very helpful!” Callum defended, crossing his arms over his chest. Even talking with the other two people, his green eyes somehow still managed to find Rayla’s.

She met his gaze, just for a second, heart pounding, before she looked away again. “Well, guys, if Callum wants to make a study schedule, good for him. Let’s just get started; I really need to pass this test.”

“Since when have you been worried about grades, Rayla?” Skor snorted, reclining in a beanbag chair, dumping spicy chips into his mouth.

“Since I’m in four extracurriculars and if I don’t pass, I don’t play.”

“Try-hard,” Soren coughed from his seat. Rayla just flashed him her middle finger, eliciting wild laughter from the rest of the room.

“Guys,” Callum whined, “I’m trying to be productive-”

“Okay, let’s start,” Claudia said, placing a gentle hand on Callum’s arm. It took everything Rayla had not to glare at the other girl, biting back the unwarranted flash of jealousy.

That’s all in the past. We figured it out.

Usually, she could forget just how close Callum was with Soren and Claudia. But then, something like this would happen, and she’d be reminded that before he met her, it was the siblings who were his best friends.

Having known them his whole life, it was no surprise that he’d developed a massive crush on Claudia in middle school. And he never shut up about it.

His confession at the end of seventh grade had very nearly torn their friend group to shreds. He wanted to ask her to the end of year dance, and when Claudia accepted he was ecstatic. Rayla had been happy for him, and just hoped that when they started dating, they wouldn’t be weird about it and make her and Soren uncomfortable.

But as it turned out, Claudia only thought of Callum as a friend. When she told him, Callum was crushed.

Rayla could still remember opening up her front door to see her best friend standing there, tears streaking down his face.

“Rayla, I just- I can’t believe how stupid I am-”

She pulled him into a fierce hug, and didn’t relinquish her grip on him until his mother came to pick him up. At school the next day, nobody could stop her wrath as she stalked up to Claudia and demanded answers.

“How could you?! You know how Callum feels about you, and you led him on anyway!” Rayla shouted.

“I didn’t want to hurt his feelings!” Claudia insisted, “And I do know how he feels and I didn’t want him to get the wrong idea-”

“No, I know what flirting looks like, and you led him on! He believed that you felt the same way!”

Claudia looked on the verge of tears, and some sick part of Rayla was glad for it. Let her feel bad for her actions, let her feel the same way Callum was feeling.

“Look, I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt anyone’s feelings. I just… I don’t see Callum in that way.”

“Then why’d you keep flirting with him?” Rayla’s voice was dangerously low. Their shouting match had attracted a small audience in the school cafeteria.

“I…” She was at a loss for words.

“You know what?” Rayla snapped, “Save it for someone who cares. Explain yourself to Callum, not me. It’s him who needs the apology.”

The next few weeks were tense. Hardly any of them spoke to each other. Even though Soren was in high school and had nothing to do with the drama, he still sided with his sister, like Rayla knew he would.

Things worked out. Slowly, but surely, they worked out. But not without a lot of tears from everyone involved, a lot of yelling, a lot of accusations. Things worked out.

But even after Claudia and Callum were on speaking terms again, he decided to ditch the dance. Rayla, who never was going in the first place, was more than happy to offer up her couch for a night of movie watching and junk food eating. And sure, Claudia’s Instagram photos were cute, but for Rayla, nothing could beat the fun she was having with her best friend, right here.

Rayla was pretty sure that was when she’d started to fall in love with him. Or, more accurately, when she realized that she already had fallen in love with him.

However, confessing your love to your best friend after a recent heartbreak seemed like a bad idea. So she kept it to herself.

Which, she supposed, was how she found herself here, three years later, still madly in love with her best friend who was none the wiser, getting jealous over a relationship she both knew was purely innocent and also she had no claim over anyway.

Cool, Rayla, very cool.

Shoving down her stupid feelings, Rayla listened as Callum went over his plan for the evening. Review through chapter 2, take a 15 minute break, review through chapter 4, continue pattern until they got through all the chapters they needed.

The plan was met with a loud groan of complaint from Soren’s end. “Callum, why are you even doing this? You literally have a photographic memory.”

“Well, you guys don’t, so really I’m helping all of you!”

“I mean…” Rayla snorted, “Soren does have a point. Why are you so worried about studying, Callum?”

The teenage boy scratched at his neck awkwardly. “Well, uh, it’s kind of embarrassing, but… I’ve only skimmed for answers this entire time. I need to actually read the passages to remember it.”

Rayla just rolled her eyes. “Callum. Everyone on earth just skims for answers. We know you’re all goody two-shoes, teacher’s pet, but chill. You’re going to be fine.”

“How are you so chill, Rayla?” Callum demanded, “Weren’t you just freaking out, like, two seconds ago? Hello, Miss I’m-in-every-sport-imaginable?”

“Changing the subject!” Rayla declared loudly, “Open up the textbook, Callum!”

~~~~

“Time check,” Ram moaned from where his face was pressed into one of the beanbag chairs, “How much longer?”

“We’re at-” Callum attempted to respond, but was cut off by a yawn.

“Chapter six?” Rayla asked, though she wasn’t too sure herself. All the words were beginning to jumble together on the pages. At some point her notecards had gotten mixed up, and random dates and events were scattered all over the room.

“No, the time,” Ram complained. The other boy sat up, brushing his shaggy white hair from his eyes. “What time is it? My curfew is 11:30.”

Callisto grabbed their phone and took a glance. “11:15.”

“Ok, let’s review,” Callum suggested. However, the entire room gave a loud groan of complaint.

“My brain is melting!” Soren cried, dramatically tossing his head into Marcos’s lap. His boyfriend rolled his eyes at his antics, though he threaded his fingers through the other boy’s blond hair.

“Soren, you don’t have to take this test tomorrow!” Claudia snapped, “Don’t start whining!” The girl looked almost ready to start pulling her hair out.

“Alright,” Andromeda sighed, “My mom’s calling; she’s probably here to pick me up. Thanks for this, Callum. If I find a quizlet I’ll send it in the groupchat, okay?”

“Yes!” Skor cheered, “Quizlet is my lifesaver!”

“Pass me some Doritos, Rayla,” Callum muttered in quiet defeat. Rayla hummed in agreement, grabbing the chip bag from the pile of snacks nearby. Her friend was so tired that he didn’t even complain when she took a couple for herself.

One by one, the room began to empty. Callisto’s dad came to pick them up, Ram agreed to drive Skor home, and Claudia, Soren, and Marcos piled into Soren’s little car to drive off into the night.

That just left Rayla. And Callum. Alone.

“Place is a mess,” Callum sighed, taking in all the damage. Although they’d started out pretty clean, as the night wore on everyone got lazier and started just piling the trash where they were sitting. Crumbs spilled over the carpet, and empty soda cans rolled about.

“Let me help clean,” Rayla offered, “I mean, some of the mess is mine.” She gestured to the notecards spilled everywhere. Her mind was a bit fuzzy from exhaustion, but she was pretty sure she and Soren had started throwing them at each other at one point.

“No, it’s fine-” Callum sputtered, but Rayla just rolled her eyes.

“Let me help. Then we can both go to bed and you won’t get in trouble for the mess.” She left no room for argument, and started gathering up all the garbage and stuffing it in the empty grocery bags.

They worked in companionable silence, just tidying up the room. Rayla knew his house well enough to know where everything went, and tossed out all the garbage and swept up the lingering crumbs. Soon enough, the room looked nearly spotless again.

“See, fast!” Rayla chuckled. She glanced at her phone. “Just in time, too. Runaan’s asking where I am.”

Callum surprised her with a sudden hug, catching her off guard for a moment before she returned it, trying to calm her fluttering heart.

It’s just a hug. Friends hug all the time, don’t get all excited.

“Thanks for coming,” Callum said, a tiny bit breathlessly, “I know you were worried about the test and I wanted to help, sorry it got kind of out of hand.”

“You… organized this all… for me?” Rayla hoped her face wasn’t as red as it felt.

“Well, yeah,” He laughed, “Even though you probably didn’t need it. You know all the material really well.”

“Only thanks to you, and you know that,” Giving him a friendly punch to the shoulder, Rayla couldn’t contain her grin. “I do feel better prepared, though. I’ll pass. If my brain doesn’t turn to mush first.”

“You’ll ace it,” Callum assured her, “I’m sure of it.”

His green eyes were so bright. And his smile so genuine. Rayla returned it, albeit with less enthusiasm. “Thanks.” Her voice sounded stupidly high-pitched, even to her.

He held her gaze for another long moment before glancing down, at the buzzing phone in her hand that she hadn’t even noticed, too caught up in staring. “You should go. Get some sleep for the test tomorrow, huh?”

“Yeah,” Rayla breathed, “You too. I’ll see in English tomorrow.”

It was an effort to leave the room. To walk down the stairs, quietly so she wouldn’t wake his parents, and out the front door. To open up her door and get in the car, turn the key in the ignition.

The entire street was silent. That’s how it always was, she supposed. The first to arrive and the last to leave. A glance up told her Callum was staring out his bedroom window at her, watching her leave.

With a heavy sigh, Rayla put the car in reverse. Pulled out of the driveway.

She wasn’t naive. Callum had always been big on physical contact, and it had never meant anything more than he cared. She wasn’t willing to put her heart on the line like that, not when she was sure he didn’t like her that way.

Rayla was a risk taker. Always had been. But this? To risk the relationship she already had with her best friend? That was one risk she would never be willing to take.

~~~~

a/n: Poor Rayla! I would like to apologize to everyone in advance; the pining is not going to get better for a LONG TIME

Tag List: (comment to be added or removed)

@hipster-rapunzel

[raayllum]

I saw an interesting post saying that Rayla is a Mary Sue. What are your thoughts about this?

i think, generally, “mary sue” is a term that’s hurled unfairly at any female character who is disliked, usually, for being seen as “weak” or alternatively “overpowered” in some way. now, some characters probably do fit the definition! like a stereotypical brown haired, clumsy shy but beautiful, bookish ya protagonist. there’s no real flaws and no real personality. in the realm of fanfiction, though, where self insert tends to get tacked on... there are way worse things than people - particularly young teens - being self indulgent and having fun with ocs, even if they’re a little overdramatic or unrealistic. 

but, according to wikipedia, a mary sue is “any fictional character who is so competent or perfect that this appears absurd, even in the context of the fictional setting.” 

one of the first things i loved about rayla was how messy of a character she is. extremely talented, yes, but consistently fumbling through everything other than flips, like choices and relationships. the very first thing we see her do, in her first scene, is fail by all accounts. she tracks down the solider the way she’s supposed to and... can’t kill him. and it’s what leads to her entire team dying, save runaan (even if she doesn’t know her father figure survived). it’s a pretty brutal consequence for an understandable “lapse” in judgment, not even getting into the ghosting. so rayla is definitely facing the repercussions of her actions on a narrative, character, and emotional level.

rayla is also incredibly talented at sword fighting and is one of the best fighters in the show. she’s resourceful and fast and has been training since she was very young (and for at least ten years of her life). she’s able to hold her own against runaan and soren, defeat corvus and a couple of other foes, but amaya and aaravos/viren incapacitate her easily. aaravos & viren are only caught off guard and like, stopped in 3x09 because they didn’t count on rayla’s immense sacrificial streak. 

i think this one of those cases of someone having an issue with something - a character - and wanting to use a short hand criticism that somewhat reflects what they may have an issue with (mary sues are often seen as boring, and while i certainly don’t think rayla is boring, if ppl don’t find her interesting, they don’t find her interesting, y’know?) but by using the short hand, invalidates any merit their argument could have.

because just with a very quick stack up, it’s quite clear that rayla is not a mary sue by any measure. not even close.

[zuppizup]

Work in Progress Wednesday - And They Were Zoom-mates

Callum had a pretty good idea where Rayla would end up, making his way to the tree house without a second thought. It was probably a good thing it was a school day because while he didn’t think Rayla would chase kids off, he was pretty sure her obvious bad mood would.

“Hey.”

She spoke before he even got onto the platform and confirmed she was there.

Not only did he know exactly where she was likely to go, she knew well he’d chase after her.

“Hey.” He responded, heaving himself onto the frankly terrifying structure and moving to sit by her.

She looked a sorry sight, pale and a little sickly, her hair ruffled and messy.

Another thing for Runaan to pass judgement on.

“How you doing?” He slumped down beside her.

Her big eyes were red and glassy, fixed on the horizon. “Fine.” She responded entirely unconvincingly.

Excerpt from an up-coming chapter of And They Were Zoom-mates…

[medu-nefer]

Whumptober 4: Caged

The Dragon Prince, Ethari-centered, Ruthari, gansters AU

(After a year of writer’s block, I finally managed to spew something out, and while it’s so not up to my old standards [please forgive the rusty English; also, it was about 2-3 AM], it’s gotta do for now. Perhaps I’ll rewrite it after the event is done and I have more time to write for all the prompts I have planned out and in the end been unable to get to.

Still, Ruthari content is Ruthari content, so here goes nothing.)

*~*~*

Ethari stared at the people filing into his workshop with an odd sense of detachment.

He had been working on a necklace for one of his clients, something worthy of a grand engagement, when the door burst open and six people came in. He could see two more through the windows but the pair remained outside.

The people inside were well-dressed in dark green, blue or purple suits – and carried knives and guns, quite openly. They scanned his workplace and made sure nobody else was there, and then one of them approached.

The sides and back of his head were shaven, leaving an artistically messy strip of pale blond hair at the top. His eyebrows were thick and dark, and his hazel eyes gave Ethari a quick once-over.

The young craftsman couldn’t help his gaze travelling to the two earrings adorning the man’s left ear before looking into his indifferent eyes.

‘Come on,’ the man murmured, gesturing with his head to the door. As he took a step back to make space for Ethari, his hand ventured towards one of his guns.

Ethari might have been bigger than any of the men – courtesy of indulging in blacksmithing every now and again – but he knew better than to argue. He stood up from his stool and walked to the door. The two people stationed there barely looked at him, focused instead on the street. Once outside, he paused and let the man lead the way. He noticed two of the people remained in his shop.

As they walked through the alleys, Ethari couldn’t help his growing agitation. He didn’t know where they were going or why. He didn’t know whether his skills were needed or if he was being taken for some other reason. He didn’t know if something had happened elsewhere in the city.

He noticed people staring at them from afar but once they walked closer, everyone got out of their path and averted their gazes. The Moonshadows may have been known to never cause unnecessary trouble but it wasn’t wise to get in their way without a good reason regardless.

After all, who in their right mind chose to have contacts with gangsters?

The corner of Ethari’s mouth wandered upwards at the thought and a small snort escaped him, earning him the attention of the woman and one of the men, but he just shook his head.

Finally, they arrived at the warehousing area and he was ushered into one of the buildings. Outside, it looked quite decrepit but on the inside the conditions were better than in most ordinary houses of Silvergrove.

One of Ethari’s eyebrows twitched when he noticed a lone desk and chair in the far corner, far enough away from a few massive tables in the centre of the room – and very far from the entrance.

The leader of the group approached him and gestured towards the desk. ‘Make yourself comfortable. It’ll take a while.’

Without any real choice, Ethari walked over and let himself inspect the furniture. The big tables were made crudely, without any finesse. After all, it was pretty clear they weren’t there for aesthetic purposes.

The desk was an entirely different story, though. There were ornate decorations etched into the wood – ebony, if Ethari wasn’t horribly mistaken. The chair was high-backed and upholstered, a single silken cushion placed on the seat. There were sheets of paper, pencils, pens and measuring tools placed neatly in one of the desk’s corners.

Ethari looked back to the four people watching him closely and sat down with a heavy sigh. He reached for the paper, immediately noticing its ridiculously high quality.

What should he do? Design some weapons, probably. He had never planned on taking his career in this direction but he would be lying through his teeth if he said he hadn’t made anything deadly.

He reached for the pencils and started sketching out an idea he had been entertaining for a while. It was of a knife that could be turned into a hook or have its blade retract altogether to conceal its purpose, depending on the gestures of its user.

For the first hour he ignored a bunch of people that came in or left the warehouse, and focused on his schematics. But eventually, his attention started straying from his task. He watched the woman from before, took in her blue suit, the braided hair with exquisite ornaments. He knew she noticed him looking but ignored him completely.

Growing more and more frustrated – the wave after wave of worry and trepidation making him increasingly more irritable – he decided to abandon his project and focus on something else. Something he had been putting off for too long.

He grabbed a new sheet and started sketching out two circular objects. Finally allowing himself to focus on the positives in his life, he remembered all the good things the last couple of years had brought him. He had never expected to find himself in that place but he was more than happy with how things had played out.

His lips pulled into a soft smile when he created something delicate and peaceful rather than lethal.

Suddenly, there was a presence at his side and he looked up to see one of the other men coming to a stop next to him. His suit was dark green with black elements. He had half of his hair braided at the side of his head, while the rest remained loose. He glanced at Ethari’s new project and smiled.

‘Can’t wait, eh?’ he asked in a thick accent.

Ethari gave him a little smile and shrugged. ‘You know how it is.’

The man nodded curtly. ‘Let me know if you need anything. We’ve run into some trouble with the Katolis’ scum so there’s some issues with the net but I can’t see why you shouldn’t make yourself at home here while we wait.’

‘Thank you, Skor. Unless you can tell me what’s going on, I’m good.’

Skor winced and looked away. Ethari knew what that meant. The information was there, he just wasn’t privy to it. Of course. He was kept in a confinement, with guards watching his every move. What else did he expect?

Suddenly, there was commotion at the entrance. Three Moonshadows entered, limping and swearing. The soles of their boots left bloody footprints on the polished floorboards.

‘What happened?!’ the leader of the group yelled, striding towards his wounded comrades.

‘What the fuck do you think happened, Callisto?’ one of them snarled. ‘Fucking Katolis’ scumbags set an ambush. That fucker Viren orchestrated it. Killed at least three of us. We should have killed him when we had the chance.’

Callisto took a step back when the man started coughing up blood, and got his people’s attention. ‘Ram, take care of them. Andromeda, you go up on the roof and prepare a lookout. We need to know if we’re approached and by whom. We might need to help some of ours get here. Skor, we haven’t heard from the Boss. Find him.’

As he spoke, a few more Moonshadows entered the warehouse and Ethari felt the walls coming down around him.

He really was locked in a wooden box, with more and more gangsters coming in and watching him, while out there, something horrible was happening. He was in a cage and couldn’t get out. He couldn’t—

Tunnel vision and laboured breathing. He had to grab the back of the chair he had been sitting on just moments ago lest he fell. When had he even gotten up? He was shaking and couldn’t focus on anything beside the overwhelming need to go out of there and do something, before it was too late.

But all of a sudden, the door burst open once more and a lone figure walked inside.

‘Boss, you’re fine,’ Callisto said, relief clear on his face.

The leader of the Moonshadows wore a three piece suit and an unbuttoned pea coat on top of it. They were all  in dark blue or green shades, matching each other perfectly. His hair was white, long and partially braided. His piercing turquoise eyes searched the inside of the warehouse and focused on Ethari.

The young craftsman barely registered what was happening before the gangster’s long legs carried him through the room and into Ethari’s personal space. He began to relax only when he felt hands on his cheeks and lips crashing with his own.

His hands latched onto the other man’s vest and pulled him closer, the excruciating weight of fear lifting off his shoulders.

‘Runaan,’ he murmured against his lips, earning himself a bone-crushing embrace.

‘I’m sorry for worrying you,’ Runaan whispered. ‘Viren was making a move against us and I needed to know you were safe.’

‘I was scared something happened to you.’

Runaan pressed their foreheads together hastily. ‘I promised you I’d be fine. Don’t worry.’

Ethari gave him a weak smile. ‘Somebody has to.’

Unwillingly, they let each other go but kept their hands intertwined when Runaan turned to his people and started giving orders. Within moments, they had their plan of action and most of the gangsters left to do their part to ensure Katolis wouldn’t be able to deal any more damage.

Runaan was making plans for the immediate future when he noticed Ethari’s designs on the desk. He reached for one of them and picked it up, a warm smile adorning his face.

‘Think you can make these before the wedding?’

Ethari tore his gaze away from Runaan’s beautiful face to the two wedding rings he had sketched out.

He felt a grin splitting his face as he pulled his fiancé into yet another kiss, knowing he’d steal plenty more later on, when all the Moonshadows were safe and accounted for, and the two retired for the night.

’Why don’t we see?’

[thenerdyalchemist]

Pirate au hair headcanons? 👀

- this is my Au I can do what I want THEY ARE BOTH PIRATES AND THEIR HAIR SO SO SO MESSY

- Runaan will straighten his up every once and a while when he has formal meeting but for the most part he just keeps it back and in a really messy bun. Ethari and Rayla will tag team braiding his hair together when that does happen

- Ethari always has his tied back in the bandana to hide his little horns. He also just does not care so it’s crazyyyy. He ties it back in a ponytail cause he wanted it to get longer like Runaans but man it gets in his face??? All the time??? One day he let little Rayla play with his hair and.. well it didn’t do well so he had an undercut for a short amount of time.

[lesbian-janai]

I want the other 2 runaan models

[ask-runaan-anything]

Hey, Runaan! Can Callum stay with us for sometime? Just till the new moon.

-Rayla

The longer I wait to answer this, Rayla, the less time I shall have to endure your windblown companion's presence... but if it pleases you, then... yes.

With one change: he can't stay on the new Moon itself. My hair is always so unmanageable without proper moonlight, and I cannot possibly let a human see it then. For uhhhh Xadian Security Reasons... yes.

You understand.