#white hair callum I need you to be real

[bird-freakk]

I saw someone (wish I remembered who) once mention how it would be neat if in addition to a white hair streak, Callum would have some white feathers and all I can say to that is YES PLEASE!

This was originally just a sketch I made for Snake Boi Callum week but I suck at getting things done so this just ended up in my WIP folder for a while but with S7 so close (4 DAYS!!!!😭) I wanted to go back and finish it before S7 completely destroys this headcanon lol.

[sorinethemastermind]

Snake Boi Callum Week 3.0 | Prompt: Corrupted / Monster

 The cuffs were cold around Callum’s wrists, chaffing at his skin. This room was far too familiar. The sensation of being trapped, of being helpless, even more so.

 “Do you hate me?”

 Callum turned to Claudia beside him. Her hair was almost fully white now, cut short and ragged, as though it had been done with a knife. It fell into her face as she hung her head, eyes trained on the ground before them. He could see the raw, red skin around her wrists where the cuffs had rubbed. She had been here far longer than he had.

 “I have every right to.” Callum snapped, but his voice lacked any real venom. Even if she deserved it after everything she���d done, it was difficult to when she was in this state.

 “You’re right.” she whispered, and as hard as Callum tried to be angry, he couldn’t help but feel sorry for her too. Wouldn’t he have done the same for Harrow? For Ezran? For Rayla?

 “Just… try and make up for it.” he said after a moment. “Don’t let him use you again.”

 Claudia laughed bitterly. “He’s Aaravos. He’ll do whatever he wants with us.”

 “We can’t give up. For our fami-”

 “My family is dead, Callum.”

 Claudia’s voice was hollow, her eyes still downcast. Callum broke off midsentence. It… it wasn’t supposed to end this way, he thought. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go. This wasn’t the plan. And then, selfishly; I just hope Ez and Rayla are okay. I hope they got away. I hope they’re far from here and he can never find them.

 But even as his thoughts turned towards despair, his resolve hardened. 

 “Then we have to make sure he can never hurt anyone like that again.” he told Claudia, and her gaze flicked up to him for a moment. A spark of anger in her eyes that he remembered. Before he’d thought her a monster for it. But now he could see it for what it really was. This is how we win, Callum realized.

 “Do you know the spell your father used to trap people inside a coin?”

 “Callum, that’s dark even for dark magic.” 

 “So you know it then.”

 “Of course I know it. I’ve been a mage longer than you.”

 “Then show me.”

 “I… even if I wanted to, I can’t.” she said. “It needs the staff. My father’s staff.”

 “You mean your staff.” Callum corrected. Her shoulders tensed for a moment, but then she nodded. 

 “Yes.”

 “Then we get it.”

 “Callum-”

 “He needs us to finish the spell, right? Otherwise he wouldn’t have bothered keeping us around. And more than that, he needs you. So?”

 A slow smile spread across Claudia’s face. The chains on her wrists clanked as she brought one finger up to her face, tapping her nose a few times before pointing it at him. It was such a familiar gesture that it hurt. But Callum smiled in return. This is how we win, he thought again.

 So when Aaravos came for them, all sweet words and flattery even now, and brought them up the long, winding staircase that led to the ruins of the Moon Nexus, they didn’t fight or struggle; they walked before him with heads held high despite the chains around their wrists and ankles.

 The plan was simple. Stumble, squish, clink-clank. And then the finisher, Callum thought. The snatch and flash.

 At first, it went off without a hitch. Claudia pretended to stumble, and when Callum steadied her, he passed the snake’s rattle and coin into her hand. It hadn’t been easy to stretch across the room and knock over her satchel, and thankfully Aaravos hadn’t noticed the mess he’d made getting it out of it’s pouch with his foot. Something about being an immortal titan from the stars was making him underestimate them. That was a mistake Callum didn’t expect him to make twice. But he didn’t need him to.

 The next stage of the plan began when Aaravos brought out the staff. He held it out to Claudia, of course. His favorite. She hesitated just enough to make it look convincing before she took it. And they began the spell. Callum watched carefully for the right moment, eyes roving slowly over the scene so as not to arouse suspicion. And that was when he saw her. 

 At first his heart leapt with the knowledge that she was safe, but the feeling just as soon twisted into fear. He watched, frozen in horror, as Rayla began to creep towards Aaravos, reaching back for her blades. No, he realized, horror growing. Blade. She’s only using one hand, she's injured. 

 Rayla at her best, with all of them beside her, had been knocked aside like no more than a pest. At half strength Callum knew that all she could hope to do was wound Aaravos, and she would most likely die in the process. She’s Rayla. Callum thought. She knows all of this already. But she’ll still try.

 The thought was too much for him to bear. He glanced to Claudia beside him and saw the same recognition in her eyes. It would only be a moment before Aaravos spotted her too.

 He looked back to Rayla in time to see her give him a grim smile. Not this time, Callum thought, willing her to hear him. Not ever again.

 And then he changed the plan.

 “Throw it to me!” he shouted to Claudia, even as he lunged at Aaravos. Claudia, to her credit, adjusted quickly. The snake’s rattle was in his hand before he even made contact with the elf; knocking them back to the ground. 

 “𝔐𝔥𝔢𝔱 𝔡𝔫𝔦𝔟 𝔩𝔢𝔢𝔱𝔰 𝔤𝔫𝔦𝔯𝔢𝔥𝔱𝔦𝔩𝔰!” the green venom dripped between his fingers as he crushed the rattle, the chains around his wrist and ankles transforming into a pair of silver scaled serpents. Callum struggled to keep Aaravos’ arms pinned to his sides. The elf growled, thrashing about in Callum’s grip as the snakes twined around the both of them, further entangling them. 

And then Rayla was there, eyes wide with panic as she tried to rip him free of the serpent’s grasp even as they transformed back into steel. 

 “Callum! Callum, you idiot!” her voice broke. “You promised."

 Before he could even try to find the words to explain, Claudia was there, standing over the three of them with the staff clutched uncertainly in her hands.

 “Do it.” he said, giving her a nod. Aaravos’ form began to morph beneath his touch, his titan form trying to burst out of the chains. The metal creaked and strained. It wouldn’t last much longer.

 “But-” Claudia still hesitated, eyes drifting over where the chains had bound the two of them together.

 He could have argued, or he could have pleaded, or he could have tried to explain that it was alright; that it was always going to end this way. That it was worth it. But he didn’t have time for any of that, so instead he looked up at her, and he explained it in the best way he knew how.

 “However dangerous, however vile.”

 Claudia’s eyes widened. The last time she’d spoken those words to him it had ended very differently. Usually he would have mocked them, thought them part of an ideology doomed for destruction. And, well, maybe they were. But he had been following that same ideology all along, hadn’t he? Just with a different mantra.

What was a monster, anyway, but someone who loved too much? Too strongly? Too viciously; clinging to something they could never have, refusing to let go.

 “Callum.” Rayla’s voice was a plea, but the chain links were stretching and snapping, and all he had time to do was push her away so that she wouldn’t go down with them too. 

 Because Claudia was already chanting, her knuckles white where she clutched the staff. The repetition of the spell climbed, and with it, it’s power. Even as the last of the venom dripped off his hands and Callum began to feel the darkness creeping in at the corners of his mind, it was ripped away; funneled up and into the vortex of swirling colors that was forming above them.

 Aaravos pulled one hand free and began shaping a rune in the air, but Callum lunged for it, pinning it back down. The half finished spell hovered in the air for a moment before it fizzled out, sucked into the draining spell along with the rest of them.

 He could hear yelling, but the roar of the steadily growing vortex swallowed any words and the blur of colors spinning around them obscured his vision. And then there were no colors, and no sound, and… nothing.

 A coin fell to the ground, heavier than it should have been, a face on each side. Rayla dropped to the ground beside it, tears falling freely down her face. She picked it up, closing her eyes at the sight of him like that.

 “How could you?” she sobbed.

 Claudia let the staff clatter to the ground. “He did what was necessary. For you. For his family.”

 “Well I don’t want it.” Rayla choked out, forcing herself to stare at the face in the coin.

But some gifts can't be taken back, no matter how much you want them to be.

[ranticore]

Chapter 2 - To Be Human

for tdov i'll post my most trans coded character, more trans than any of the others tbh. obviously it's ishmael

---

Forward by the author | Chapter 1

In a bright white room with a single large round window, a young Ishmael sits on a bed. The edge of a rock ridge curves across the view beyond the window. Ishmael looks out through the window at the sheer sides, one hand pressed to the glass so that the light diffuses red through his skin. He is twelve years old and wears a shapeless blue and green garment that does not fit him, pinching tight around his neck but loose across his shoulders. A sipho nymph flies past the window and he turns to follow it.

Voice of Maris: What was that? Did you see it?

Ishmael: Not really. Too fast.

Maris: That was one of those – what are the zoologists calling them again? It’s a different name every time I hear it.

Ishmael: Exosiphonid.

Maris: I think they’re scary. Like giant dragonflies.

Ishmael: Did Surwan see it?

Maris: Who’s Surwan?

Ishmael: This girl in the biology class. She wanted to see an exosiphonid.

Maris: I didn’t know you were in the biology class. Was it good?

Throughout the video, Ishmael does not make eye contact with Maris or the recording device. He appears to hide behind a curtain of hair and hunch in on himself while he is not looking out through the window.

Ishmael: Dan said I could join next semester. I was waiting outside.

Maris: And eavesdropping?

Maris: I think it’s admirable to want to learn. What do you want to learn about? Is there anything that interests you? I’m no biologist, really.

Ishmael: Surwan likes the flying ones, like siphos. Callum wants to learn about leviathans.

Maris: That sounds exciting. Would you like to learn about leviathans too?

Ishmael: Lee doesn’t think they’re real. He said the betas wouldn’t get made if there were monsters in the water.

Maris: I don’t think Lee is a trustworthy source on that, if you want my opinion. Would you like to find out the truth? Imagine if you were the first to see a leviathan, they might name it after you.

——

The video transcribed above is a very typical example of Maris’s early sessions with Ishmael. He appears to resist all of her attempts to get him to submit an original thought, and repeatedly refers to the Human children instead, those who are undergoing a structured education about the zoology of Siren.

Maris’s notes echo my own understanding – that Ishmael struggled to articulate anything beyond a constant wish to be included with the other children, to the point of eavesdropping on classes he was not allowed to attend.

His passing curiosity about the wildlife around the settlement served only as a means to connect with the other children. And he was repeatedly shunned for these attempts, as Callum’s diary later noted. Those children whose likes and ambitions he carefully memorised did not think of him the way he thought of them. In fact, as far as I can tell, they did not think of him at all, because he was not a peer in any real sense.

This video also acknowledges the existence of the beta generation of Sirenians, who largely resembled modern phocids, though smaller and with shorter tails. It is important to state that although modern phocids descend from this beta generation, they do not descend from Ishmael. In fact, nobody descends from Ishmael, despite legends and myths to the contrary. This was stated explicitly several times by both Ishmael as an adult and Dan Loris, but made clear to Ishmael by Maris during these sessions.

“The other children are learning about how to make babies,” Ishmael announced at a session one day. “Dan wouldn’t let me stay. He never lets me stay.”

“You don’t need to know any of that,” Maris said. “You’re different to the other kids, remember? You don’t have a body that makes babies. Honestly, that’s a pretty sweet deal if you ask me. Can we swap?”

Her attempts at reassuring him seemed to fall on deaf ears, because reminders of his differences were often poorly received by Ishmael, or ignored. He paused to think about what she said, wondering how she could envy him when all he wanted in the world was to be like her.

“How do I get one?” he asked.

“A baby?”

“A body that makes them. I asked Dan and he said the betas can do it.”

“Well, yes,” Maris said, now wondering exactly how much it was appropriate to delve into he topic. “You don’t want to be like a beta, though, do you?”

Ishmael visibly shuddered. “No! But I want to be like Callum, can Dan do that? I’m getting better at being upright, so maybe if I practice more I can change.”

Thwarting Ishmael’s one desire was the absolute fact that his genetics were set in stone, and he could not be retroactively made fully Human. These sessions reveal a seam of anxiety, too, over the beta generation. At the time there were twenty of them, living in a separate location where they had access to a test pool.

Repeatedly, during the sessions with Maris, Ishmael brings them up as a potential bad ending for him, the inverse of his great desire to become like the other Humans. Those beta phocids were less Humanoid than Ishmael himself was. He believed that by mimicking the Human children he could become more similar to them, but the opposite could also be true, and the wrong actions might cause him to degenerate into a beta phocid.

Unfortunately for him, his efforts at being ‘upright’ did not result in any permanent bipedalism. When he was fourteen, his unpredictable growth had shifted his proportions away from the more Humanlike ratio he’d been born with. He was finding it more difficult to stand up straight, instead adopting a hunched and arched posture which still left him standing taller than the children of his age whose attention he coveted. The onset of puberty and these shifts in his body were tortuous, and it was a time that lasted until his mid-thirties when he finally reached his adult size and proportions.

But there was an improvement noted by both Dan Loris and Maris – despite repeatedly displaying signs of distress and depression in his sessions with her, he was no longer wordlessly violent, and did not give himself to his rages anymore.

Maris had provided him with the one thing he needed at the time – a safe person to talk to, someone who asked him how he was feeling without taking it as some scientific data point. She reported it all to Dan Loris, of course, but did not tell Ishmael that. He believed that she was his only safe harbour in the entire world.

Maris, in her own notes, says pretty much the same. And she was fond of him, too, revealing a genuine affection towards him alongside a deep abiding worry that she was not doing enough to ease his distress, and that she could have done more. She admits that she was not a trained psychologist, just someone in the settlement who had spare time and some textbooks. Her actual job was as a water quality specialist and she was acutely conscious that she had not the qualifications nor educational background necessary to help Ishmael properly. The settlement had a number of psychologists but they were not associated with the lab and did not volunteer their time.

To pre-empt the same problems with tantrums arising in the beta phocids, Maris was also supposed to spend some time with them, too. But she discovered that, with the exception of one, they were actually rather well-adjusted compared to Ishmael, likely as a result of their group all living together and being able to form a small close-knit community. Ishmael was deprived of this.

And, most importantly, the beta phocids could see themselves reflected in their community and use their bonds as a lens to make sense of themselves. Ishmael lacked this factor, and had no reflections or counterparts that he could use to understand himself. He was isolated by being unique, and by his inability to see the phocids as anything other than strange creatures he was embarrassed to somewhat resemble.

But it’s also patently clear that Maris, and Dan Loris and the other Precursors Ishmael was in contact with didn’t do much to raise Ishmael’s opinion of the beta phocids, as evidenced by the transcript above. Perhaps if they’d thought to assuage his fears by treating the beta phocids as people worthy of dignity and understanding, he might not have feared becoming like them.

The beta phocids, for their part, were born in a similar manner to Ishmael – the same deep dream, the same delayed birth, though their bodies were ten years old by the time they emerged from their dream and took their first breaths. Ishmael had been subject to numerous digestive trials measuring the suitability of his body for life on Siren. It was found that he was somewhat lacking in the production of a digestive chemical called an enzyme which would have allowed him to better deal with the high concentrations of silica present in Siren organisms.

He could eat and digest local plants and animals, but sometimes showed signs of digestive upset. Taking this information, Dan Loris was able to tweak his beta phocids before they were born, cloning and increasing the number of cells in their bodies which could produce the appropriate enzyme. He also took samples of Ishmael’s gut microbiome, which had taken years to properly develop, and implanted those samples within the digestive tracts of the beta phocids.

They were born as a group, though not all at once, allowing for correct monitoring of the newborns during the most tenuous periods. One suffered from the most common cause of death due to delayed birth; they simply never woke up, having rejected the dream at some point over the past several years. They were removed from the amniotic chamber where they passed on, a ten year stillbirth. We might remember the legacy of ‘Ishmael’, our Ishmael who was first born on Siren, but I feel it is only right to remember ‘Charity’, the first Sirenian to die here. They were given then to the assistants of Dan Loris who performed a post mortem examination.

The others suffered no more from the effects of delayed birth than Ishmael himself did. Although their bodies were more divergent from Precursor Humans than Ishmael’s was, at the time of his birth, and the discrepancies between their dream selves and their true selves must have been more jarring, this was offset somewhat by the communal nature of their upbringing. As soon as one was deemed fully awake, aware, and of sufficient health, they were placed in the boarding chamber with the other phocids and an assigned nursery worker. The birthing process took the better part of a year, so that the last born of the delayed-birth phocids was one year ‘younger’ than the rest, despite all technically being the same age.

Cherta, who gave their name to the wandering moon, was the fifth born beta phocid. There is very little to distinguish Cherta from the rest of the group, at this early stage, but I have on file their original description - “‘Cherta’, named for a sponsor of the project who donated three million nua*. Unisex ‘phocid’ of the Beta generation. Born age 10 years and 5 months, in [Year 3]. Melanistic colouring was chosen as protection against solar radiation, but it is expressed in heterogenous patches with a strong dorsal stripe. Length 5’1 nose to tailtip at time of birth and weight 54kg. Unusually violent birth, needed sedation.” In fact, Cherta assaulted Dan Loris’s assistants as they were born, reacting to the event as though it were an invasion of the bedroom of their dream. It was by all accounts an auspicious start compared to the others, and perhaps an indication that Cherta’s experience with the deep dream was not standard.

Cherta had fallen victim to another rare phenomenon of the incubator, referred to by Dan Loris as ‘dream rot’. This occurrence is a result of differences in the receiving brain, rather than the dream machine itself. The brain begins to understand, in some form, that what it is witnessing is not reality, and the structure of the dream begins to unravel.

At the time of Cherta’s delayed birth, the dream had been in the early stages of this process. If allowed to continue for too long, permanent damage to the psyche’s ability to judge reality is the result. Cherta would be haunted by this for the remainder of their life, but it was not severe enough to significantly alter their treatment compared to the other beta phocids.

The violence of their birth began to circulate in anecdotal form, eventually reaching the ears of Ishmael. He was curious – in fact, it was the first time he showed open curiosity about anything other than the opinion of a Human child. He asked Maris if she was going to speak to Cherta too, and she told him that she had spoken to all of the beta phocids, and had given Cherta in particular some extra guidance.

He did not take it well. The realisation that Maris’s time was not solely devoted to his needs was a source of distress, and likely another painful forced grouping with the phocids he feared. He would not participate in Maris’s sessions as he had before, and appeared afterwards to despise Cherta in a way that seemed quite targeted and personal.

Maris was forced to lie – she told Ishmael that she also spoke to the Human children, thus drawing him back under the umbrella of Humankind. In the following sessions, Ishmael revealed that he had greater knowledge of the beta phocids—and Cherta in particular—than anyone had previously guessed.

“Why do they look like that?” Ishmael asked. “They don’t stand up. They’re like animals.”

“They’re adapted to move in the water, like you,” Maris said. Her voice sounded nervous. “This means they had to have short arms and long, streamlined bodies. Like an otter. They’re very graceful in the water.” She had begun to introduce a less dismissive attitude towards the phocids, even praising them at times. Ishmael would tense every time she did.

“I don’t swim,” Ishmael said.

“Well, you’re not here to swim,” Maris said. “You have other things to teach us, so Dan didn’t wanna risk you in the pool.”

Ishmael was quiet for a long time. He rarely changed his facial expression, to the point that Maris often noted that she wondered if he heard her at all, or if his facial muscles had not developed properly.

“I saw Cherta playing with the floating ball at the bottom of the pool. In the water.” Ishmael sounded somewhat disdainful. “Like a child.”

“You’re all the same age,” Maris reminded him. “And I think you’re a child too. What’s wrong with having fun in the pool? Are you jealous?” She was fascinated by Ishmael’s sudden willingness to offer his opinion, particularly as discussion of the Human children never provoked this in him.

But Ishmael didn’t answer that one. At that point, he did not want to admit to any jealousy, and likely did not consciously recognise the feeling as such. Instead, he felt annoyance - he had to spend time in the lab doing work with Dan Loris, providing test feedback, having his organs scanned, letting himself be pawed all over by technicians who did not particularly care for him, only for what data he could provide. He did not endear himself to them, his quiet and obtuse personality proving difficult to grow fond of. But he still knew that it was work, he was producing data, and the phocids were just playing around in a pool all day, as far as he could tell. He was filled with righteous indignation at their laziness, at how easy their lives were, and wished that they knew what it was like to be him, so that they might stop looking so happy any time he peered in through the test pool windows.

I have recovered video footage of this behaviour, too. At odd hours of the day, with no real schedule, Ishmael would approach those windows. They were set in the side of the corridor outside the lab, affording an underwater view to onlookers. Access to the aboveground phocid enclosure was limited, so Ishmael only had the windows. He would walk there—painstakingly upright, though often with a hand on the wall to help support what was increasingly a difficult posture—and then sit on his tail and watch. The beta phocids spent most of their time in the water, as one might imagine. Ishmael would later learn that their lives were not as blissfully relaxing as he first thought, but it is true that they spent a lot of time playing in the pool, as teenagers will do. And he would watch them, until he heard an approaching Human, and quickly retreat.

The windows did not allow the phocids to look out. Cherta was unaware that they were the target of Ishmael’s most intense scrutiny. Despite a somewhat disturbing, moth-eaten childhood dream, Cherta was, on the surface, as lively as the rest of the phocids. They weren’t exactly easygoing, though, preferring to impress upon the others the importance of following rules, and of doing things the right way.

What Ishmael did not realise was that the phocids, as they swam together, built jigsaws and played card games underwater, were providing data too. They showed Dan Loris how their body plan could deal with the aquatic environment as easily as a Human could walk around on land. And so, when Ishmael and the phocids were fifteen, Dan Loris began to build his gamma generation of genetically engineered Humans, those who would be born on Siren without the use of a deep dream, and who could be introduced to the world outside.

Long days and nights spent in the lab occupied almost all of Dan Loris’s time, and his child Callum had nowhere to go after his classes but the lab itself. And with Ishmael and Callum once again forced into close proximity to one another, Ishmael would soon learn one of the most valuable lessons of his childhood.

*’nua’ is a form of currency

[evecallum]

Trailer rambles/thoughts

I’ve always been obsessed with how Claudia says “However dangerous, however vile” because unlike Viren (who says it like he has a teleprompter in front of him because hes lost all concept of whats morally acceptable) her voice is just dripping with venom. When she says vile she fully acknowledges the weight of it (also her VA is just that good).

Evil Callum arc/Possessed Callum arc insert that dril tweet cause I’m never gonna shut up about this

Also hilarious that Callum does 3 magic spells and just looks like absolute hot garbage like gray veins and eyebags and white hair were talking everything, they really won’t let him kill even once without consequence 🙄

Callum waxing on about how they need to be courageous to do whats right “However dangerous/vile” is such a great parallel with Viren’s speeches in the first 3 seasons to Amaya and his army. We’re in real time watching Callum lose sight of whats right/wrong for a “brighter future”

Soo curious to know who Callum is talking to, could be Claudia, could be Aaravos could even be Rayla or maybe even his dark magic self/himself (I kind of have a headcanon that Callum has read journals Viren kept over the years and picked up on dark magic rhetoric)

Going back to Claudia its insane just how deep she is in this like girl what is the endgoal here, resurrecting spirits and burning people to death with her fire armor/breath is wild I’m almost wondering if shes not being redeemed (but theres been so much setup soooo)

Theres no way Lujanne lives through this season

Rayla vs Soren letsssss goooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!

Soren tenderly touching the throne (do you think he thinks back on how things used to be? After all Claudia herself said Katolis is her home and she seemed close with King Atticus. Must be nuts to look at the throne and see all thats been lost

Callum vs Claudia insert dril tweet I’ve wanted this for years!! Let’s gooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!

Also the fire arrows/bombs with giant Aaravos has to be a fakeout. Bet those don’t do anything to him, hes dramatic so maybe its just genuinely obnoxious to him

No new Amaya or Janai footage which is…….👀

Unpopular opinion I will be genuinely annoyed if Callum leaves to go with Rayla to the Silvergrove. He is the High Mage of Katolis and Ezrans brother, he should not be leaving rn unless its for directly fighting Aaravos but we’ll see

[raayllum]

PAWN-OF-AARAVOS DARK-MAGIC-SCARRED CALLUM WITH LITERAL BLOOD ON HIS HANDS IN THE TRAILER

HOW DOES THAT VINDICATION FEEL?

I love that Claudia gets the white hair and he gets the facial scarring, just like you speculated about! They’re two sides of the same coin!

Also ICARUS CALLUM? HE FLIES TOO HIGH AND HIS WINGS FALL APART? THEY’RE JUST GIVING US EVERYTHING

Listen we Knew ever since he got that cube he'd be a pawn and worried about it (+ increased Claudia and Viren parallels to boot), the blood on his hands even in a dream was a lovely wish come true already, and white streak Callum will always be famous but I gotta say I am loving the corrupted face variant, showing the initial inklings of corruption

I already talked about it in my trailer breakdown post and it's like that singular screencap is Crazy, it's Nuts like the implications no matter which way you play it? Because it's clearly a nightmare or scary vision sequence and like

If it's Rayla's nightmare (the way Runaan is), that means she knows what he did on Finnegrin's boat and that she's scared of what Callum's becoming—Rayla, who's had more faith than arguably anyone that Callum is special ("No, Callum's different!") and amazing with or without his magic ("Humans could take their fates and change them" / "He's noble, and true") and so confident that his destiny was a book he could write himself she refused to even consider the possibility of her needing to be his (and the world's) safety net, because Callum has regularly done the impossible. If her confidence in him is shaken, his must be abysmal

However, if it's Callum's nightmare or vision or whatever (and that's what I'm leaning towards) it does show a shift of sorts. I'm gonna copy and paste what I've said earlier about it and then go into more detail if well, there's detail to go into:

We know from 6x01 details that he has a nightmare regarding Aaravos, and we also know from people at cons that this screencap was not there. Looking at the scene itself, the deep purple lighting highlights that it’s not quite 'real’, nor is it necessarily possible due to the background being Finnegrin’s office on the Sea Legs, where Callum last did dark magic. I could very easily see this being a dream where Callum is having horrifying visions of himself outside his body, and this is one. I do find it interesting that, rather than black dark magic slug goop like I first thought on his hand, it’s actually blood on his hand, and the changes this indicates of Callum’s psyche / fears. Normally when Callum breaks things (primal stone, moon opal necklace, the green slug) it’s with his other hand, for starters. But more importantly, I think it’s interesting that this nightmare isn’t Just about being flat out possessed, but of being more of a dark mage: the eyes, the corruption, the blood, etc. and how that may lead to Aaravos’ will being further enforced over him. It speaks to a recognition of his own agency as well as growing fears of being not just controlled, but corrupted along the way.

One of Callum's greatest assets has always been his self awareness. He's intelligent, attentive, growing in confidence in his own capabilities for more than just magic. This is one of his biggest differences from both Viren and Claudia. However, this awareness of what he could do—what Aaravos could get him to do, possession or otherwise—may make him more stressed, worried, fearful, and paranoid.

Additionally acknowledged is that like in S4 and even in 6x01 Callum seemed mostly concerned with being possessed, as stated. Obviously S4 still had indications it was going to grow into More than just "what if my agency is stripped away" to "what if my agency is stripped away (and it's 'my' fault / because of my previous choices)" from Callum himself ("What if I'm on a path of darkness" is no longer a flimsily founded worry) and even from other characters like Soren ("I know you love magic, Callum, but I hope you're careful, 'cause it can change people").

Which makes sense! Possession is a loss of agency and that's accordingly terrifying, esp to a character like Callum who is the thematic embodiment of Freedom in the series and who cares about agency and being able to Do things 110%. Just having your agency stripped away from you wholesale, though, doesn't give much of a character arc — even if Callum only makes decisions out of paranoia next season > love, he's still making decisions — so like... He can and should be worried about his choices and what they may lead to, honestly. Not only is there set up, it's a much more standard TDP storyline (when is anyone ever let off the hook?) and it's more interesting. Callum is also very good at keeping his fears logically grounded (i.e. not worrying about Viren after 3x09, but stressed about not being a mage in s2) so that's another point in the "yeah this is Setup" column alongside 5x08 and... all of s4 and s5 honestly. So this screencap is very exciting cause it seems Callum is having increased fear and self awareness about his previous dark magic use and the possibility of using it or doing something else he considers awful in the future and I can't wait!

Icarus chose to fly too close to the sun after all

[the-sky-the-stars-the-sea]

Day Six/Last Day of the Ultimate Dragon Prince Rewatch! 🙌🙌

AHHHHHHHHHHHH I CAN’T BELIEVE IT’S THE LAST ONE

I’M SO NOT READY FOR TOMORROWWWW

OK OK *Rayla about to swing off the ambler voice* HERE WE GO

Hoooooli cannoli what a strong opening for the season

Gotta say the first time I watched this season when I saw that Aaravos was the one crying I was like “YEAHHHHH” and after a few minutes felt bad…now that this is a rewatch and I know why he’s crying I’m like…yeah, so valid man. Also good job showing me this strong and emotionally distant character just crumble

TERRY AND VIREN HUG TERRY AND VIREN HUG TERRY SPINS VIREN AROUND 🥹

Claudia’s screams…😭😭😭😭😭😭 for real though her voice actress needs all the awards for those few minutes….😭😭😭😭😭😭

LORD BREADSANDWICH 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Season six is Sorvus season! Episode 2 >>> I was literally screaming at some of their moments. Gah I ship them so hard now.

“Are you looking for mercy?” “No.” “Good. You don’t deserve any.” GOES SO HARD

I’ll say it again: Terry is the greenest of green flags. Also when Terry comes back, Claudia has been relying on the staff (dark magic) as her crutch, but then Terry comes back and makes her a plant leg, and she throws down the staff (at least temporarily) to choose him. I think the symbolism speaks for itself

Claudia…you’re so close to figuring out yourself. But I understand why you still are looking up to your dad and wanting him to choose right from wrong for you.

“The human mage. Played right into my hands.” That was said about Callum…but then Viren is the one who wakes up with a start, screaming that never again…man so many Viren/Callum parallels…

Kosmo becomes Time Blind and the first thing he does is tell his sister how her star shines brightest in the sky…🥹 and she says her star was always there, others just didn’t see it…and her voice actress (trans) confirmed that Astrid is trans, and her hair is the shade of pink and white in the trans flag 🥹

Callum and Rayla paralleled Harrow and Sarai when tasked to slay a beast to save a people…but Callum and Rayla’s story goes differently because Rayla listens to her heart and finds another way to pierce the heart

It’s fascinating how they redefine the morality of lying in this season. Because past seasons have taught us that the truth and transparency is important. But this season says: “Are you giving them clarity, purpose? Or are you giving them the burden?” And shows us two examples of characters holding back the truth, one of those times came from rewinding time. But this season also says truth isn’t the most important thing: trust is.

It’s always been her <3

I noticed that Arc 1 and Arc 2 had the same Rayllum Arc- season 1 and 4, not emotionally close; 2 and 5, more trust and lots of love but not quite defined, season 3 and 6, romantic love. Of course it’s not 1:1 the same dynamic because in arc 2 they have a ✨history✨, but you know

LET! JANAI! AND! AMAYA! MARRY! IN! PEACE!

Was nOT EXPECTING VIREN WITH FULL BEARD AND MUSTACHE, but also AHHHHHHH HOW DARE YOU MAKE ME THINK HE ACTUALLY USED SOREN’S HEART. WHAT DO YOU MEAN VIREN’S LAST ACT WAS DARK MAGIC AFTER HE SWORE IT OFF. WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE’S ACTUALLY DEAD FOR GOOD THIS TIME.

Leolaaaa 😭😭😭😭😭😭

Seeing Aaravos with the human girl…he was gentle once. He was caring once. But they did a number on him.

Man…Rayla saying goodbye to her parents because she can’t bring one back without the other and if she brings them both then she and Ethari still lose someone they love…what a scene 😭😭😭

Claudia’s repeating all her dad taught her. And it’s just…she’s not doing any of this off of what she thinks. It’s what she thinks her dad believes…

Terry’s tears when Claudia agrees to help Aaravos…😢

Claudia and Callum casting the same spell at the same time…two mages, both have dabbled in dark magic, both doing a spell out of love, and yet the contrast is still so stark

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

OK OK MORE THOUGHTS AND FINE TUNING LATER, SEASON SEVEN HAS DROPPEDDDDD

[bisexualenbyblueberry]

Rewatching two s5 episodes and I have some THOUGHTS

The little smile Terry does after Claudia kisses his cheek fjsdkfjdlskfjdls add him to the list of disaster bisexuals

I am shamelessly skipping all of Viren's dream sequences EXCEPT that one time baby Soren screeched at his ugly face that was therapy

When Corvus says 'Queen Amaya... you have been betrayed' Gren looks like he's gonna cry and it's so him

Staying on the topic of Gren, when Callum says 'is it good news or bad news' it would've costed you nothing to answer that Gren this boy already has anxiety

Kazi will forever be a favourite of mine despite the fact that their name is only ever stated once in the show

Gren's little stumble with Callum's staff is perfect you can officially add him to the list

I may be a tiny bit evil for admitting this but when I saw Claudia with her hair fully white in the trailer I was sort of hoping it was real, she's a cool villain

Everyone needs to learn sign in this show Gren and Kazi can't be there all the time

Karim yelling at god is so funny for no reason

I love how s h o c k e d Kazi looks when Rayla is yelling at Janai and how Callum feels the need to apologize for his mean elf girl

There's probably some hidden meaning behind Claudia calling Terry Terr-bear when she used to call Soren Sor-bear but I can't write a whole essay type post about it without stubling over my words and implying incest

I'm done with this for now but I'm going to do more

[aevyk-ing]

Thoughts on Mystery of Aaravos part 1 Episodes 1-3

Wasn’t going to do this until my review but I have too many thoughts. 

- So Viren has been dead for two years? I’m starting thinking Aaravos has some kind of clairvoyance power because he knew he was going to need Claudia.

- Speaking of her, I love the half black/half white hair, but the roots are bothering me. That means her hair will be black again?

- Callum’s new outfit is nice. Not a fan of the hair, though. 

- I’m sorry, but Ezran looks weird. He has grown too much and still sounds the same. Also, I don’t get why his crown is silver. 

- Callum’s voice sounds so deep now.

- Not Soren giving me even more Steve/Lancelot vibes. It’s the hair. I think only Corvus has gotten better. 

- I was spoiled that Rayla left and, surprisingly, I don’t mind. By now. I hope there’s a good explanation.

- Sorry, but Janai should already know Amaya would react like that to any kind of surprise. She’s a warrior and her first instict is to attack. 

- Okay, but leaving in someone’s birthday is just mean. She better have a good explanation.

- Huh, Claudia made a good use of her time. Terry seems like a good match for her. Just stop making characters with glasses take them off and be able to see with no problem. 

- Love some good PTSD. Viren has gotten more interesting.

- “Kids, if you don’t like your vegetables, just throw them out the window.” 

- I would have preferred something like Zym having to clean his room. 

- And he should be talking by now.

- Oohh, so the book is some sort of real-time translator. Hope the ink would fade though. Imagine finding that tome and discovering all the pages have been used.

- Rayla seems too calm about what happened. 

- Also, I don’t like that monkey-thing. It’s creepy.

- Zubeia is huge... and likes jelly. They’re lucky she’s such a collected dragon. 

- “A dragon button.” Claudia, you smart cookie. Yes, you deserve that necklace.

- I don’t know what I was expecting... but it wasn’t her becoming half a snake. Maybe half a dragon and fly away? 

- “Okay, who did this?” Ezran could have delivered the same speech without the incident. 

- It’s nice to have it play at the same time as Ibis and Claudia fight. But having Ezran just popping in the cave was weird. 

- That song is pretty. The music has been quite good overall.

- Things are getting dark again...

- BTW, I would have made Rayla’s first appearance that one, not in Callum’s tower. Just imagine the different reactions of the two brothers. 

[policemanofprincesspark]

https://www.tumblr.com/policemanofprincesspark/767538882763014144/most-30-white-year-old-men-age-like-louis-lol?source=share idk what Callum does because all I know about him is that he´s Dua Lipa´s bf (real one or for PR, I can´t decide) but other men are actors and they are literally paid to stay fit/go to gym and look good otherwise they won´t get their roles. Plus they spend hours having their makeup done when acting, they have a team of people to take care of their skincare routine and hair. Ofc, also Louis has his stylist and groomer (who also does his skincare when on tour imo) but I don´t think it´s the same importance as for actors. Just see how muscular H got just because he was supposed to have a big role in MCU movie (writting this in past tense because so far he was on screen for like one minute, said one sentence and who knows if that wasn´t the only contribution in the MCU movie ever lmao), like how suddenly he worked out like crazy while on tour just because he was supposed to play in the superhero movie. So I wouldn´t compare Louis to actors. If you want to compare him with someone with similar age, compare him with musicians like Matty Healy or even Justin Bieber. Oh and when comparing Louis to his sisters, please mind that your younth isn´t the same in your 30´s as in your 20´s. I am literally Louis´ age, I don´t smoke or drink alcohol but it´s a different fight and I look bloaten or have bags under my eyes every morning no matter of my skincare routine or healthy habits. Not saying I don´t want Louis to take more care of himself, stop smoking and drinking but for me he looks his age and to be fair, so many men look much older than they actually are - I went to see new Gladiator on Sunday and got suprised Paul Mescal is only 28 years old because I thought he must be at least 35.

You guys are ridiculous. We don't even need to compare to celebrities! Just walk outside! Talk to people! Everybody knows most people in their early 30s do not have gray hair and an abundance of saggy, loose skin, unless you live in a poor area where everyone is a methhead. Louis looks way too much older than he is, and it's okay to admit it.

[refleter]

cawyer :3

who would be the one to randomly adopt a puppy without consultation: my heart tells me callum. maybe it's just because he's yours and well, we all remember that once … or maybe it's because sawyer's a lil yapper and wouldn't be doing anything without letting him know about it first. she's sick.

who would force the other to take aesthetic pictures of them: and if i say callum? he's a sexy hunk … he needs to show that off on instagram! bet every non - selfie and non - lunch pic on his page is by her and she'll let you know in the comments whenever he forgets to credit (sinful)

who would do stuff they think is stupid just to make the other one happy: i mean, isn't that a summary of both their personalities? buuut … i think callum takes the cake on this one. he's just such a lil sweetie - pie … see: line dancing date thread that i swear i'll reply to one day!!

who picks out the horror movies to watch just so the other will cling to them: oh, sawyer! she loves a good scare and she loooves watching other people get scared. she's a little sadistic that way, me thinks. but she also wants a cuddle so it's less evil and more cutesy. allegedly.

who is constantly studying and who is constantly trying to distract them: ah, well, you see … someone was doing an internship while the other was being a hot, hot vet … which means 100% of the time callum was interrupting her study sessions and throwing her flash cards up in the air. men. she's easily distracted, though …

who initiates the facetime calls whenever they’re separated: sawyer loves a good ft. she's a bit addicted to her phone, as we all are, but she's a real lover girl, too! a couple hours apart and she needs to update him on the latest (mostly nothing at all, probably just shit - talking sienna, if we're being real) … that, and he's nice to look at, idk.

who is more likely to storm out after a fight: they're both soooo … special :) but sawyer's probably the more dramatic of the two. like, she's just a girl? a girl that would slam the door and then come back two seconds later with 'and another thing…'

and who is more likely to cry when they do: um, sawyer's an angry crier, i fear.

who stays up way too late binge-watching their favorite shows: in my canon, both of them. because in my mind's eye, they spent 85% of their time in boston binge - watching some dumb shit like real housewives while stuffing their faces in ice cream (and each other). that's how you get in a girl's pants, idk.

who bites the other’s ear when they’re feeling frisky: callum, because he's a whore and a slut. but worst of all, a man.

who sprays the other with water when they’re washing the car: mm, sawyer. because she's silly :) and also because she's probably never washed her car even once herself. callum would be like you'll save sooo much money and she'd be like wet t-shirt competition <3

who has more fun decorating the house during holidays: well, sawyer's parents died around christmas, so … now, i'm not saying she hates christmas because she loves it!!! but he'd have to coax it out of her with some cocoa and maybe the grinch. something tells me callum's the type to go all in, especially now when he's getting some white christmases.

who is more likely to give the silent treatment when they’re mad: callum, and i'll tell you why … when has sawyer been quiet even once in her life? never. so, basically, by default. not that i think he'd be able to ignore her for long. she's unignoreable <3

at the other who plays with the others’ hair more: they both have such nice curly hair :( but … i think … maybe … sawyer wins this one. only because i can't imagine her not having her fingers run through his hair. it's just something she does! when they're talking, when they're hanging out on the couch, before they're going to bed, when they're not doing anything at all … it's pretty?

who is more likely to climb all over the other one when they’re bored: she may be tall, but she's also little, and sawyer would like to climb that man like a tree.

who tries to kiss the other as often as they can: lover boy callum, actually. he feels like a good morning, goodbye, goodnight, and everything in between kisser. gotta punctuate our sentences somehow.

who pouts when the other one tells them to shut the fuck up: like that'd happen. but probably sawyer, our main yapper.

who initiates the sex and who walks away when the other is riled up: if callum left sawyer high and dry when she's in heat? she'd throw something at him. so for that reason… what i just said.

who always forgets the umbrella and who holds it when they actually have one: sawyer as the forgetter, callum as the umbrella holder. there's a deeper meaning here somewhere …

who demands showering first in the mornings who sneaks into the shower with the other one in the mornings: callum probably has an intricate hair care routine and he needs the time and space to do it every morning, okay. and sawyer likes to help out, so.

who prefers riding the roller coasters and who prefers playing the games: callum for the rollercoasters and sawyer the sore loser, the horrible winner for the games. they enjoy both, though. crazy kids! he better let her win, btw. or at least get her a giant teddy bear or something.

who will text the other one thirty times in a row until they respond: callum is a grown man and sawyer is a twenty-six year old teenage girl, so.

who always forgets to charge their phone overnight: sawyer ):

who comes up behind the other and slide their hands into their back pockets: both :) they have great asses what can i say … sawyer's more likely to do it in public, though. and callum reserves such nasties for the privacy of whoever's home.

who tries to get hugs from the other as often as they can: sawyer. as shown in our current thread, lol.

who is louder and who constantly has the tell the other to be quiet: ……… bffr. you know, i know. we all know!

[mathmusic8]

The Dragon Prince

Thoughts #5 (spoilers)

You go, Soren!! Say no to things you're uncomfortable with!

Ezran's “WHAAAAAAT—" when he found about Callum and Rayla was top notch XD

Every time Rayla mentions her parents “running away”, I can't help but wonder what the real story is. After all, it's not like she ran away.

Soren hAS FACIAL HAIR WHAT

Ahhh, here's the problem with dating someone in your party on an adventure quest—any argument you have automatically becomes a lover's quarrel and it's kinda sad and painful to watch

Aha, called it with Rayla's parents!

I swear, if they're trapped in Viren's other gold coins, I'm gonna rampage

Soren's speech tho 😭❤️

Are they gonna go get Solus Prime or whatever that big old dragon's name is? Or just other dragons?

Ah, other dragons

I really hope there's gonna be a way to break the spell on those 10k people

Claaaauuuudiaaaaa noooooooo don't dooooo thaaaat ☹️

Y'all, dragon fire's not gonna work. Like, at all. That was the whole point of—sigh. It's okay, Soren, I still love you, even if you missed mentioning that part

WOOO THE ROCK-YOUR-SOCKS-OFF-QUEEN-KID SAVES THE DAY!!

oh my GOSH the BAKER'S there WITH HIS ROLLING PIN XD XD XD

THEY TOOK THAT SYMBOL VIREN GAVE THEM AS A MARK OF SHAME AND MADE IT INTO THEIR FLAG YESSSSSSS

Faaaaaaamily draaamaaaaaaa

OPE FAMILY DRAMA'S OVER DAAAAAAAANG SOREN :O

....aaaaand of course it's not that simple. Why would it be

and of COURSE he survives the fall. Sorta.

Hmmm, I wonder if Claudia's white streaks come from a specific spell or just huge expenditures of Dark magic

Also just yikes on the creepy bug pal cocooning itself. Nasty thing getting bigger? Just gonna get nastier.

So I'm in love with this series. Mostly. There are a few aspects I'm withholding judgement on until the end, including Callum and Rayla's relationship. I'm going to wait to see how it plays out before I decide if I like them better as a couple or as good friends/found-family-siblings. Also, just to be clear, I love and support LGBTQ+ people, but not the lifestyle.

And I'm really curious to see how Claudia turns out. Her arc is a tricky one—they've done well so far to keep us caring about her even though she's descending a dark path (and has been for a while). Every time she says something about "doing what needs to be done" I cringe and wonder what she and/or Viren was doing when she heard that for the first time. She says it a lot in moments with questionable moral things happening, so whatever it was seems like a pivotal moment in her life.

I hope she turns herself back around because of course I do—I love seeing people break free of abusive/dark cycles, and she's got this inherent kindness that I love, and that kind of story would be awesome and inspiring. But I'm also an author, and I see sooooo much good villain potential in Claudia.

The writers can take either approach and do it well, or either approach and do it poorly. So I'm withholding my final opinion about her arc until it's finished.

[perringwrites]

Finally got around to writing one of these on time! This is a prompt from @flashfictionfridayofficial​​. Thank you so much for hosting this!

Trigger warning for body horror.

This is part of the Happy Endings canon, at least according to my outline. This would be late into the middle of the book. It would take me a long time to actually get to this scene, but it fit the theme, so here it is!

In this post, Callum finds a monster. Word count: 870.

[#FFF153 Welcome to Hell]

Callum

My arm aches, a pain that I understand to be that of burning wood. The thought of it appears in my mind as if it had always been there, a thought that only needed to be accessed to be known, like how knowledge appears in dreams. It sears where my skin, the bark, touches the air, and seethes as if it does not want to be attached to me. I clamp my other hand on the bark, as if daring it to go on. We’re stuck together now, I say. You made this choice. We live with it. 

I feel the ground beneath my knees, small pebbles with sharp, jagged edges lodged between the divots of my bones, fabric stopping them from pulling blood. My forehead hits the ground next, no fabric there, and it occurs to me that I might be bleeding from that. I hold the aching hand in the other, and watch the world upside-down.

The best way to deal with pain is to distract yourself. The pebbles were doing a fine job on their own. But I stared at the world around me, and all the pain felt nothing more than a dull throb.

Everything was an ashen, pale white. It was not the white of the snow I would see outside my window. Snow was bright. This white seemed to come from a lack. As if there used to be color and someone pulled it away, as if there was nothing left. This was a world that was bled dry.

The air itself felt like it was lacking something, too. I could smell it, the air. It smelled thinner, colder. I wondered if it would kill me if I stayed too long. I supposed I just had to find out.

I will myself upright, lifting with a palm against more of those pebbles. The trees themselves look ashen, like a paler version of birch. When I run a finger against the wood I expect ash to come off, but it doesn’t.

I look around myself, knowing that I am nowhere hidden. In a place that is ashen white, I am a bright speck of red.

“Well, aren’t you lost.”

The shadow peeks from behind one of the trees, just a few rows from where I stood. I wonder how, without color or features, it manages to be seen between the trees. Then I realize, there are no shadows around. Not from me, nor the trees.

Just this one shadow, making conversation.

“I’m not lost. I wanted to be here.”

The shadow cocks its head to one side, and steps away from behind the tree. It seemed to actually be curious.

“Did you make a deal with a witch?” it said.

I make a fist with my wooden arm, and release the grip. “I am a witch,” I say.

The shadow makes a surprised face. It does not have eyes, and its mouth is empty, but the eyebrows do the trick. It seemed to have grown fingers now, too.

“Fascinating.” It takes a step forward. “The other one, is it your friend?” “What other one,” I say, before I can think about it.

The shadow considers for a moment, looking up at the sky. “Like this,” it said. Its face remained hollow, but it grew hair. The lightest of shades, almost as if it was white. Felix.

I gasp, feel the air scrape against my lungs. How did he get here? Did he convince the witches too, somehow? Would he actually be stupid enough to follow me? Where was he? Was he safe?

The shadow makes a small noise. The noise is no more than a small “Hm,” as if it was thinking, delighted, to itself. But the voice, the voice is not its own.

“Oh, it is a friend, it is.” Gone was the whispery, hollow voice, the one that was carried by the wind. This one was a real voice. It had grown a throat, a pair of lungs, and it was speaking as me.

“Where is he?” I asked.

“Where is he?” it replied, in perfect mimicry. “I suppose you wouldn’t be be talking to me more? I wanted to know how you spoke more. The words you use, the tone of your voice.”

“Where is he?” I lunge forward, crunching the pebbles under my feet. The bushes around us shake, dropping pale leaves onto the pale ground. The shadow simply steps to its side, and it is nowhere, and it is behind me. “I don’t quite like your tone. You’re very angry.”

It had grown everything it needed to grow now. Its face, its clothes. Down to the bloody palm, the wooden hand. “I suppose I’ll go look at your friend now. I bet you he doesn’t know about us.”

It smiles, and it disappears in a flash. But I know its ways, and it will be easy to find. The bright red spot of my hair, disappearing between the trees.

I brush off the dust and the pebbles, and follow the monster of myself to find Felix.

[sorinethemastermind]

Family

In which Corvus realizes that he's a part of Soren's family. #Sorvus

 They didn’t talk much on the walk back. What was there to say? Aaravos was out, and they all had to assume that it had been Claudia who had freed him. Who else could have cast the spell? Not Viren after-

 Corvus tried to keep pace with Soren, but the other man seemed to be processing his grief by walking as swiftly as possible. But exercise couldn’t fix everything. He could hear him muttering something under his breath, his breathing focused. 

 “In through your nose, out through your mouth.”

 Corvus doubted Soren knew he could hear him, so didn’t mention it. Sometimes space was the best thing you could give someone. 

 It wasn’t fair. None of this was. Soren had already blamed himself for what happened in Katolis enough, and now knowing that the real pearl had been there all along? It had crushed him. He hadn’t said anything, but Corvus had seen it in his eyes. And Claudia… 

 Soren didn’t talk about his sister much, if ever. But Corvus remembered the two of them from when they’d first met. They had been inseparable. Sometimes Corvus forgot that his and Soren’s first real interaction had taken place after he hit him in the head with a rock. What a way to meet the man he loved.

 Lost in thought, he nearly walked straight into Soren, who had frozen on the path ahead of him. Coming to an abrupt halt, Corvus stepped up beside his partner, following his gaze. He let out a sigh of relief. Callum and Rayla were back. They would know what to do. And, by the looks of it, they had brought help.

 The elf standing beside them had deep blue markings similar to Rayla’s and the same, faintly curved horns twisting back from his head. His long, white hair was held back from his face in a loosely braided tail. 

 Corvus placed a hand on Soren’s shoulder, turning to reassure him, only to find the other man’s expression not at all relieved. He looked, and felt, tense.

 “Is there something wrong?”

 “It’s complicated.” Soren said with a heavy breath. Then he blinked, turning back to Corvus. “But I guess that’s the sort of thing we talk about now, isn’t it?”

 “Yes, I guess it would be.” Corvus replied, feeling a smile cross his face despite the circumstances. 

 “Do you want to talk about-” he began, but Soren was already barrelling into an explanation.

 “So that elf guy was one of the assassins - oh yeah, from back when Harrow uhm, you know - anyway, he was the one who did it and afterwards I was gonna kill him - cause bad assassin dude, obviously - but then Cla- my sister said that would be a waste so Viren locked him in the dungeon and I sort of assumed he was dead? But I guess he’s not. Oh, and also he’s Rayla’s Dad. One of them, anyway. So she wanted to bring him back from the dead? Except he wasn’t dead. But that was a while ago so I sort of thought she’d given up but apparently not and this time it worked! Yay! But also not yay because the last time I saw him I tried to kill him and also he tried to kill me and he did kill King Harrow and yeah.” Soren took a deep breath. “Tell me if I did that wrong.”

 Corvus stared at him, still processing everything he had just said. Soren blew a strand of hair out of his face. 

 “You deserve a break.” Corvus said finally. It was all he could think to say. Katolis, his father, his sister, and now this? Soren deserved a proper night’s rest without worrying about the end of the world. He needed one. Even though they’d managed to rest a bit earlier, Corvus could still see the bags under his eyes and the slightly slumped way he was holding himself.

 “How about this. I’ll go and talk to Rayla and Callum, tell them about the pearl-”

 “No.” Soren said it quickly, shaking his head. “She’s my sister. I need to be the one to tell them.”

 “Soren, she’s not your responsibility.”

 “Yes. She is. Corvus…” Soren wouldn't meet his eyes, his gaze instead drifting to his shoes. “I’m not going to give up on her. I can’t.”

 “Of course not.” Corvus placed both his hands on Soren’s shoulders, turning him to face him. “But you can’t do anything right now. You’re exhausted and the others need to know about Aaravos.”

 “You can tell the-”

 “No.” Now it was Corvus’ turn to shake his head. “We’re going to do this together. I just got you back. I’m not letting you go again.”

 They both stared at each other for a moment. Corvus hadn’t meant to say that last bit out loud. “What I meant was-”

 Soren leaned forward and kissed him quickly. It was all they had time for right now. 

 “I know what you meant. Me too.” he said after he’d pulled away, eyes sparkling.

 Corvus felt his face grow warm and hoped Soren couldn’t tell.

 “Well.” he said briskly. “If we’re going to do this, we’re not going to be able to do it alone. Those people over there.” he pointed towards where he could now see Ezran standing with Rayla and Callum, the two brothers embracing fiercely. “They’re your family. They’ll want to help you.” 

 “I don’t want to drag them into this.” Soren said with downturned eyes.

 “You won’t be. They’ll want to help if you just tell them what’s happened. That's what families do.”

 Soren seemed doubtful. Corvus knew that family was a loaded subject for him. It probably always would be. But he also knew that Soren had one of the strongest families he’d ever seen. 

 “Trust me.” 

 “I do.” Soren said. And that would have to be enough for now. 

 He squared his shoulders, turning to walk into the camp, and Corvus followed him. He saw Soren’s fingers twitch towards his empty scabbard as the other elf turned and looked at them. He was standing apart from the others, hanging to the edge of the camp. And now Corvus knew why. He’d thought that the past was just that, the past. But now he saw just how many old wounds were sitting just below the surface, waiting to be reopened.

 “Soren!” Rayla called, spotting them. “You’re okay!” she stopped, seeing the look on his face. “Soren?”

 Everyone turned to look at them then, and Corvus could see the lines of worry on Callum’s face, the tightness in his shoulders, the way that his hand still rested on Ezran’s shoulder The way that the king leaned gently against his brother’s side, as though the contact would help to alleviate some of the burden he carried. The nervous glances Rayla shot in Callum’s direction, as though to make sure he was still there. That he was okay.

 “We need to talk.” Soren said, voice low and quiet. “Someplace private.”

 “Soren, what happened?” Callum asked, grip tightening on his brother’s shoulder.

 “He’s out.” 

 The words were inconspicuous to anyone passing by. Trivial, even. But to them it was world shattering. 

 “How!?” Callum exclaimed, earning worried glances from a few passing civilians. He lowered his voice. “We had the pearl with us the whole time. We took it somewhere safe.”

 “We shouldn't be talking out in the open.” Ezran said, stepping out of his brother’s protective grip. “We don’t want to cause a panic.” And so that was how they found themselves, all five of them, crammed into Soren’s small tent on the outskirts of the encampment. Callum was sitting beside his brother, Rayla leaning her head against his other shoulder. They had left the other elvish man - Runaan, Rayla had called him - outside. Rayla had asked him to keep watch so that they weren’t disturbed, but they all knew that wasn’t why. He’d seemed to understand.

 As the hushed murmurs of explanation began, Corvus stepped back himself, ready to leave them to their discussion. He was a part of the council, sure. But this was far more private than that. A council within a council. Or, as Soren called them, the Dragang. They were more than just a governing body. They were a family, just like he’d said. 

 So he tried to step away, happy to leave them to it and not wanting to insert himself where he didn’t belong. But Soren’s hand closed around his wrist, pulling him back. 

 “I’d like you to stay, maybe. If you don’t mind.” he said, voice quieter even than the whispered discussion around them. 

 Corvus paused, glanced around at the group of them. There were no looks pointed in his direction to tell him that he was out of place. So he sat back down, clasping both his hands around Soren’s. 

 “Okay. I’ll stay.”

[numptypylon]

Epilogue

I added a short epilogue to Reunion and Intersection today, but I also wrote a much longer one, full of fluffy comfort, to get through the angst-writing in the first two chapters. It’s unedited, unfinished and ridiculously self-indulgent, and I don’t think it really goes with the story, so I elected to not post it, but I’m attaching it here, under the cut, for those interested. Keep in mind it’s a reject for a reason though; this is what my writing looks like in the explorative phase where I’m looking for the point, and in this case I didn’t really find it XD

~2K under the readmore

Callum got there early. A lot of people eyed him warily, but a letter from Queen Janai was a good smoother-of-grumpy-elf-tempers.

No-one had seen Rayla, so… she was probably not here yet.

He went to the inn, bought a large room, lit a roaring fire in there, activating the Sunfire rock he used to keep warm at night under the covers of the bed, and calling for the tub to be filled. It had the usual Skywing heating arrangement, only needing a good Fulminis to heat the water.

He resisted flying out to find her. He risked missing her again, and her leaving town before he got back.

It was about… hitting the point of intersection.

So, he waited at the city gates. He didn’t have to wait nearly as long as he expected, considering the distance she would have had to traverse. Maybe she had recovered and had travelled faster than he thought.

It was definitely her though. A small, lone figure on the mountainside.

He intended to wait for her until she got to him, but then she stopped to lean against a tree and he realized that she had not recovered and was up there sick in the snow… and that resolve evaporated like it had never been.

Like he would ever let her struggle alone a moment longer than she needed to.

 **

 It was a measure of her exhaustion that she didn’t notice him until he was basically right in front of her, and even then, her reaction was so much slower than usual.

It still… it was hard to believe it was real. For her too, surely more so.

He numbly pulled his scarf off, packing it around her neck and head. He grazed her cheek and felt it and she felt it and… she felt it, because the tears that had built up in her eyes spilled over at his touch, slipping down her dirty and flushed cheeks.

She looked ready to drop, and felt it too, when he put his arms around her and her disbelief gave way to relief. Whatever ridiculous level of stubbornness had kept her upright for the last day and night of walking through snow and up mountains when she should have been in bed… fell away and she slumped almost completely in his arms.

She sobbed hoarsely for a bit, and he let her.

And she let him, when his hand cupped the back of her head and her hair tickled his fingers and it hit him too that… it was really real, she was here.

They needed to… get to the inn though, so he pulled away and wiped his face. They could… and probably would… have a longer cry and a longer hug later. But she was sick and cold and there was a roaring fire and a filled bathtub two minutes of flight away.

“Let’s go,” he said. “I knew you were coming this way and that you were sick. And I booked a room for��� you.” For them both, he hoped, but-

“What?” she blubbered. “But… aren’t… aren’t you mad?”

“I mean, of course I am, but… that’s not really… that can wait.”

“I’m…” she laughed weakly, more tears spilling over. “I’m so happy to see you and there’s… so many things I would like to say and… and I’m such a mess right now and so tired and I’m just… I’m so tired I cried earlier just because a stupid pine branch hit me in the face and knocked me off my sled and it continued down the mountain without me and I’d have to walk instead and-“

“Hey, hey!” He stroked down her flushed, wet cheeks, along fresh scratches where presumably that branch had hit her. Sledding, huh… she always was extremely resourceful and oh so daring. And that explained how she got here so fast. “Rayla, it’s okay. You can rest first. I’ll take care of things… of you. For as long as you want me to, but… definitely for the next few days.”

“How c-can you… are you… here-”

He leant his head against her forehead, relishing in the feeling of contact, even if her skin was clammy and too-hot. “That’s… complicated,” he said. “And also simple. You called me here. I came.”

“Manis. Pluma. Volantis.”

 **

 She staggered, when they set down, steadying herself on his shoulder, and Callum was glad he had elected to land in front of the inn instead of at the city gates.

She definitely wasn’t well yet, her breath rasping in her throat, her forehead beading with sweat, cheeks and ears flushed. The fever had maybe broken, but it hadn’t quite left. And she was exhausted, trembling with the effort of staying upright, her eyes dull and glassy.

People were staring, when they went inside, but the innkeeper came over and recommended the soup of the day, and their house-made herbal tea blend with Sky Yak milk, and assured them it would be brought to their room shortly, with a look of very obvious sympathy at Rayla.

And then the door shut behind them.

“I owe-” she started, but he cut her right off.

“No. You’re owed,” he said tightly.

“Owed what?” She sounded… nervous.

“Soup. Hot tea. A warm bed and a fire someone else made. General fussing. Love. Forgiveness. Kindness. A damn break, for once.”

“L-love?”

“Yeah, love.”

Her clumsy fingers fumbled at the clasps of her armor. They were still ice cold when he touched them, the skin red and no-doubt sore.

But she for once didn’t resist any help he gave, sinking gratefully into the tub he had prepared. A warm bath was possibly not great for her fever, but… it was pros and cons and he needed to warm up her hands and feet.

She was barely conscious when he helped her back out of the tub, so he just put her down on a towel on the bed, drying her hair as best he could. He at least managed to get her awake to pull off her own wet underwear and pull his clean night shirt over her head.

 **

 “Callum?” she asked, because… she wanted things, and she could have them. “Stay with me? Please.”

He pressed against her back, warm and real.

His hands engulfed hers, big and soft and familiar.

Full of real little details that her brain hadn’t accurately recreated.

The callus at the side of his right index finger, from his charcoal pencil. The scar from a clumsy sparring accident at the second knuckle.

His voice when he said her name and when he told her it was okay.

His kinda… snuffling non-snoring sleep-sound.

And new things, that she hadn’t known to add.

His arms, still skinny, but stronger than they had been.

His too-long hair flopping over his ears.

And things she had yet to find out.

 **

 “Morning-“ she muttered, as she woke, feeling warm. And her throat felt a lot better, too and most of that sticky, gross fever feeling was gone, although there was still some sluggish daze, everything just a bit vaguer and floatier than it should have been.

“Afternoon,” Callum corrected lightly, but there was something not so light underneath. “You slept for… 14 hours. I bet you’re hungry.”

“I bet… you were worried.” That was a long time to worry and not wake her to assuage it but just sit in it, watching her sleep.

She reached out to stroke his furrowed brow. Her hands were bandaged though, so she couldn’t touch him properly. She didn’t remember, but did recall something about Callum saying he had called a doctor, and then she must have conked out pretty hard and slept through it.

She clenched and released her hands experimentally. Seemed alright except for being stiff and sore?

“What’s wrong with me?” she asked, staring down at the thick bandages.

“Except for the illness that nearly killed you because you’re such a massive dummy? Lots of things.” He took her hands, starting to unwind the bandages. “For your hands, hopefully only frostnip. I’m supposed to check that, when you woke, take you back to the doctor if there’s signs of deeper frostbite.”

There was some thick ointment, probably the reason for the bandages. Her hands looked reddened, the fingers a bit swollen, but… not so bad. Nothing was white or black or blistered, so really, nothing to worry about, where frostbite was concerned.

Callum wasn’t satisfied with a visual inspection though, cupping her hands in his, methodically checking she could feel all her fingers and make a full fist.

“I think it’s okay,” he said, breathing out, relieved. He did tend to catastrophize- “No… no risk of amputation this time-” His fingers slid across her left wrist, the faint whitened scars from where the binding had dug into her skin and where the sunforge blade had burnt her.

“It’s definitely okay,” she said. “Barely hurts.” She cupped his face, feeling his skin just fine against her fingertips. “It’s not like back then, okay?”

“How do you feel today?”

“Better. Way better. I’m ready to go, if-”

“What?!” He stared at her in disbelief. “Absolutely not. You didn’t hear what the doctor said. But I did, she got here while you were sleeping. And absolutely not.”

“What-“ Was it not just a regular bug?

He breathed, slowly and deliberately. “You’re okay, it’s a regular winter infection going around. But you did a number on your own immune system with the hypothermia and mountain climbing and… she said you were undernourished, dehydrated, stressed and critically exhausted. And that you would do well to take a week or more to fully recover, during which you should eat and rest plenty, stay warm and keep stress down. Does that sound like your regular travel, to you?”

Well… not so much.

“So, I’ll ask again, how do you feel today?”

“Tired,” she sighed. “My hands are stiff and achy. My throat hurts. My legs are wobbly. My head feels full of snot.” She smiled, despite all that. “My heart is happy to see you. It’s okay if you’re- I know… that it’s complicated.”

“It is. We have… some things to talk about. Promise you won’t leave until we do?”

“I promise.”

“Okay. Then, I think we should put the complicated things away for a few days. Until you’re better and it doesn’t hurt your throat to talk. Because… we have a lot of talking to do.”

“You don’t… need to stay. For those few days. If it’s hurting you to-”

He sighed heavily. “It does.” Yeah, he couldn’t say that it didn’t. Being around her with so much… unresolved. She didn’t want that for him. She didn’t… want to have those long and hard conversations right now either, when she was still tired and fevered and liable to burst into tears at the slightest provocation. “But it would hurt me more to leave. Didn’t it hurt you? To leave?”

“Yeah.” So, so much.

He reached out to pack his scarf around her throat more closely, the soft, warm knit a soothing feeling against the raw ache.

“Lie down, okay? Be sick? I’ll read you a story. It has murder and dismemberment in it, I asked the innkeeper specifically.”

[minimitchell]

callumhighwayweek day 2 - “I can’t think straight around you.” (ao3 link)

.

“I should go. Whit will be wondering where I am.”

Ben doubts it. Whitney was surrounded by Chantelle and Lola on either side, doing their umpteenth shot for the night at the bar the last time he’d seen her, right before he followed her fiancé through the heavy, wooden doors of the pub.

The Vic is packed tonight. The party they had going on for whatever reason and the regular Friday evening punters mixing together to fill the place up to the brim and no one even noticed Callum leaning down to whisper the words car lot into Ben’s ear on his way to the gents. He doubts anyone even noticed both of them are missing.

He’d sworn to himself he wouldn’t do this anymore; wouldn’t come running whenever Callum asked, or begged, him to. But it’s almost like he’s powerless when it comes to this, to him. Callum only has to look at him to get him to follow; to meet him somewhere secluded in the dark of the night; to accept the invitation to have him in his bed whenever Whitney is out or away.

He didn’t plan for it to happen again after that first time in the park and it’s obvious Callum hadn’t either. But there was this confrontation between them before the second time, a snide remark from Ben that snowballed into a full-blown argument, and before he could even get his wits about him they were tearing at each other’s clothes, pressing biting kisses onto the other’s lips. The third time started with a text from Callum saying they needed to talk and ended with Ben on his knees in the Arches.

He stopped counting after that.

Ben would love to pretend this is just about his purely selfish want for sex, a quick and easy way to get an orgasm, but it hasn’t been about that for a while now; maybe it never was. There’s nothing easy about this or about the ever-growing want to march into that building in a couple of weeks and beg Callum not to get married.

Ben Mitchell doesn’t get attached anymore and he certainly doesn’t catch feelings - only it seems he does for Callum Highway of all people.

So they meet up. They kiss, they have sex and Ben pretends he doesn’t leave a piece of his already battered heart with Callum every time he leaves him afterwards.

“‘Course. Don’t want her to think you’re playing away.”

He can barely keep the venom out of his voice; the jealousy bleeding into their conversations more and more the longer this affair between them continues. Callum might not want to label this as one, might not want to think too much about what they’re doing at all, but it’s exactly what’s been happening.

They’re sneaking around behind Whitney’s back and Callum might want to refuse to believe it, but he is actively cheating when he fucks into Ben on the couch at the car lot after basically eye fucking him across the pub the entire night at the Vic beforehand.

“Ben, come on.”

Ben masks his eye roll by looking down at the buttons of his shirt he’s still doing up again, fumbling with the little, white buttons and smoothing the fabric down when he’s done. He’s becoming more and more transparent the more they do this, have this kind of conversation with each other, he knows he is but he just can’t help it. He can’t keep pretending this is enough for him.

Callum is standing a feet away from the couch, stepping back into his jeans and flattening his hair back down so it doesn’t look like Ben ran his fingers through it while they were having sex with each other - even though that’s exactly what happened.

Looking at Callum now, Ben knows he’s easily the worst mistake he’s made since coming back to Walford; the one thing he never planned for. Not trying to help Callum find his way to himself, or kissing him that first time, he couldn’t regret that even if he tried. But letting himself go back time and time again; letting Callum touch and kiss and feel him ways he hasn’t let another man do in so long; letting himself fall for him in the process of all this.

“It’s alright. Don’t matter, does it.”

He isn’t really sure whether he’s talking about his own feelings or about Callum going back to Whitney when they both know this will happen again anyway, but it does make Callum pause in front of him, looking up to search Ben’s face for something he doesn’t really know. Ben doesn’t meet his eyes; his shoeless feet prove to be more interesting right now.

Callum takes a step forward, feet aligning with Ben’s on the ground. He’s wearing his black sneakers again already, ready to walk out the door and back to his fiancée, leaving Ben behind in the cold; nothing more than the outsider looking in.

The thought alone makes something in his stomach squeeze and turn.

“I know this is… complicated. And I do love her...”

Callum’s voice sounds strained, pained even, so Ben holds back the snort threatening to come out of his mouth, refraining from pointing out that Callum can’t love her that much if he keeps going back to Ben, keeps telling him he misses him the second they’re back in each other’s arms. If he really loved her as much as he likes to claim in front of Ben, he wouldn’t feel the need to keep texting him in the middle of the night.

He’s getting married to a woman while Ben keeps doing everything to get him to somehow choose him - complicated doesn’t even begin to cover it.

“But with you- it’s like I can’t think straight around you.”

Callum crouches down so he’s on Ben’s eye level, one of his hands darting out to run over Ben’s thigh in front of him. His eyes are bright and sincere, expression so completely open and honest, and this is why he keeps going back. This is the Callum he can’t seem to walk away from.

Because there’s so much potential between them. Ben is sure they could be so good together if given a real chance. They feel like two puzzle pieces to him sometimes, only making sense when put together to create an entire picture.

The knowledge that they’ll never get there is sobering. And too much to think about right now.

“Unfortunate turn of-”

“Ben.”

They huff out a quiet laugh together, heads falling forward before their eyes meet again with quiet smiles. Callum's thumb on his thigh moves back and forth, caressing the skin underneath in soothing motions. His other hand comes up to Ben’s cheek, taking it safely into the palm of his hand, and it takes every ounce of willpower for Ben not to lean into the touch.

“Just- when I’m with you, it’s like my head ain’t even working anymore. Like it doesn’t know what’s good for me. Nothing makes sense until you’re there with me. I can’t make sense of any of this.”

Ben knows that trying to convince Callum that the solution to how he feels is being true to himself and admitting he’s gay is for nought. They had this conversation, sometimes even an argument about it, a million times before and the outcome always remains the same - with Callum storming off insisting he loves Whitney and Ben getting drunk alone in the Albert, rejecting every guy that comes up to him because they aren’t the one he really wants.

It’s hopeless. And the endless cycle of it does neither of them any good.

“It’s okay. You’re gonna figure it out.”

It’s the closest thing he can say to what he wants, that doesn’t make Callum walk away in a huff. But the more he says it, the less he truly believes in it. He’s resigned; almost emotionless when he says it. Because there’s only so many reassuring words he can say when the results just don’t match.

Because while Callum does come back to him again and again to kiss the truth onto his skin, he still goes back to her every time afterwards to plan a wedding that keeps creeping closer and closer.

They are something with an expiration date, a limited lifespan.

And when the time, the ending, finally comes, Callum will be blissful and happily married and Ben will be left with a heart that’s been broken one too many times to ever be complete again.

“Please don’t be mad at me.”

Ben doesn’t think he could be even if he tried. He’s in way too deep for that.

No matter how disappointed or hurt he is by this push and pull they have going on, he knows Callum isn’t doing any of this intentionally. He knows, from deep personal experience, that his head is in a right state at the moment and he doesn’t want to add to the storm that’s already raging inside of Callum. He wants to make it better for him. If only Callum would let him.

“I’m not. Promise.”

They keep looking at each other for a long moment; no further words shared between them. Ben keeps fiddling with the hem of Callum’s shirt, running his finger along the stitching on the inside. It doesn’t take long for their eyes to drop down to each other’s mouths and when they do, the space between them becomes charged again; heat rising inside their bodies.

Callum leans forward at the same time Ben leans back and so they fall back onto the couch together, Ben pulling Callum back on top of him with hands fisted in his shirt. Their mouths meet again, tongues sliding together and hands back to wandering over each other’s bodies.

There are kisses being pressed along his jaw and down his neck and Ben can’t help but let out a low moan in response to it, his hands coming back around to mess with the buttons on Callum’s checkered shirt again.

He’s about to slip the top button free when there’s a sharp ping coming from Callum’s jacket on the floor beside them, ripping through the tension between them. It’s like a bucket of ice cold water is being dumped on them; the sharp burst of the bubble they keep creating around them.

Because Ben already knows who it is that’s texting Callum right now and it serves as another stark reminder that he’s just the other man; the bit on the side.

Callum leans away from him to unearth his phone from the floor and Ben can immediately tell by the way his face changes that there’s no round two for them right now. Instead, Callum shuffles off of him, pocketing his phone again so he doesn’t have to look Ben in the eye. It’s probably easier for him that way, Ben reckons. He can’t relate.

“It’s Whit.”

He doesn’t elaborate any further. Ben is grateful for that; he doesn’t want to hear it anyway.

“Yeah.”

He watches him while Callum shrugs his jacket back on and runs his hands over his clothes to make himself look presentable again; combing through his hair and straightening his shirt.

When he’s done he turns back to Ben, taking one, two steps to him and leans down to press a soft kiss to his cheek as a goodbye. They never say ‘bye’ or ‘see you later’; still stuck somewhere between insisting to themselves this won’t happen again and knowing they will go back to longing for each other by tomorrow.

Ben knows the moment Callum’s lips leave his cheek, leaving behind nothing but the ghost of his touch, that it’ll always be like this for as long as this thing between them continues.

Callum will text again. And Ben knows he’ll come running each and every time.

No matter how much it hurts him.

[raayllum]

book two: sky rayllum quotes

Chapter One: A Few More Days

Page 1: ‘Callum hurried over to the long wooden table nestled in the clearing. He took a seat and looked around the caldera for Rayla. It still felt strange to be friends with a Moonshadow elf, especially an assassin sent to kill his little brother. But he and Ezran— the two princes of Katolis— were still alive and Rayla was now one of the best friends Callum had ever had. He didn’t see her, though. Maybe she was sleeping in for once.’

Page 5: ‘“Hey, everybody!” Rayla called out, jumping down from a hilltop and waving both hands. 

Rayla! Callum stood up, desperate to move on from the whole grub situation.’

Page 8: ‘“A few more days, Rayla — that’s all we’re asking,” Callum pleaded. “I wrote a letter to my stepfather to catch him up on everything. I think there’s a real chance that he’ll send us help if he can. We should hang out for that.”

“A letter to your stepfather? The... king?” Rayla asked.

“Yes. That’s what I said,” Callum replied. He noticed Rayla’s face turn even paler than usual. She could clearly use some rest too.’

Chapter 3: A Secret and a Spark

Page 26: ‘That evening, Callum returned to the courtyard near camp. After all the time he’d spent with Lujanne, he was thrilled to see Rayla, Ezran, and Zym. But it turned out Rayla was on her way out.

“Hey—where are you going?” Callum called as she sprinted through the courtyard.

“I need to patrol for dark forces,” Rayla called back.

Callum stared after her. He wished she didn’t have to keep risking her life for them like this.’

Pg 30: ‘Out in the forest, Rayla was on high alert with her blades out. “Oh, can’t we stay a bit longer so I can learn some magic tricks?” she muttered, doing her best impression of Callum [...] She joked, but Rayla’s conscience was heavy. Callum words from breakfast this morning were ringing in her ears: I wrote a letter to my stepfather to catch him up on everything.

Callum had given Rayla yet another perfect opportunity to tell the truth: the king was dead, killed by the other Moonshadow assassins. She’d probably had half a dozen opportunities to come clean in the last day. What was stopping her? She was supposed to be Callum and Ezran’s friend.

Rayla shook her head again, this time trying to erase the guilty thoughts from her mind. Right now, her job was to be the protector. She had to focus.’

Chapter 4: Old Friends and New Enemies

Page 40: ‘“We found you!” Claudia said. She ran over to embrace Callum.

“Hey, Callum, your friends tried to kill me,” Rayla said.

Callum sidestepped Claudia’s embrace and looked at her for an explanation.

“She kidnapped you! We were just trying to help,” Claudia said.

[...] “Just let me explain,” Callum said. He avoided eye contact with Rayla. It was clear she was furious. Her arms were crossed and her lips pressed together so tightly they were white.’

Page 42: ‘He was all jittery though, like he always was when Claudia was around. It was a sort of pleasant uneasiness that he hadn’t felt at all in the past week [...]

“Your hair’s a little messy,” Claudia teased, interrupting Callum’s train of thought. She licked two fingers and tucked a stray wisp behind his ear. “There you go,” she said.

Callum’s brain froze, and his face got hot. What was it he’d wanted to tell Claudia? He hoped Rayla hadn’t witnessed Claudia stroking his head. He glanced over his shoulder.

Rayla was staring at him. Well, glaring was more like it.’

Pg 50: “So,” Claudia began, “now that we know you’re not kidnapped, you guys should come back home. With the dragon egg, of course.” She batted her eyes at Callum.

Of course Claudia has an agenda. There was no way the princes would fall for this. Rayla caught Callum and Ezran looking for this. 

Pg 52: “Rayla’s right. We can’t go home yet. This mission is too important,” Callum said. Rayla was relieved. Callum hadn’t completely lost his head over this Claudia person.’

Pg 53-54:  ‘Callum was sick of hearing bad things about his friends, but he tried to understand where Rayla was coming from. [...] “All right, you’re probably right not to like her. But remember, until today, she thought you were trying to hurt me and Ezran.”‘ 

Pg 55: ‘“So are you two... Did I interrupt something? Between you and... your elf?” Claudia asked, lifting her eyebrows slightly.

“What, me and Rayla? Nooo!” Callum said nervously. He didn’t want Claudia to think there was anything romantic between him and Rayla. “I don’t think of her that way. I think of her more as... an assassin. An assassin friend,” Callum said. It would be horrible if Claudia got the wrong idea.’ 

Chapter 8: Weep-Ridden

Page 71: ‘The half-moon shimmered above the Moon Nexus, but Callum no longer saw the beauty in it. His head was down as he walked back towards the huts, his shoulders shaking with silent sobs at the news of his stepfather’s death. And there, standing in front of his dorm, was the last person he wanted to see. Rayla. That liar.

“Callum?” she said. “I’m so glad you’re here. I need to tell you something,” she began.

Callum held up his hand to stop her. “I know. I know what happened. He’s gone. Claudia told me.”

“Oh no,” Rayla said.

Callum turned around and started to pace. Rayla was following him silently, and Callum was glad he didn’t have to look at her. He didn’t know if he could be nice to her right now.

“Callum, I’m sorry,” Rayla called out. “I tried to tell you the king was dead.”

The king. Callum scoffed. Rayla didn’t know anything. “My stepdad!” Callum yelled. “He was more than just the king to me.”

“Your stepdad. I know,” Rayla said. “I really tried, but I could never find the right way. And whenever I tried, I messed it up, and the next time was harder, until...”

“Rayla, just stop. I can’t talk about this right now,” Callum said. She sounded sorry, but he didn’t really care.’

Page 73: ‘“I told Callum about the king. It was super emotional.”

“You told him?” Soren couldn’t believe it. “Well, did it work? Is he going to come back with us?”

“I think he might. He’s really mad that Rayla didn’t tell him. I don’t think he trusts her anymore.”

“Um, well, good work,” Soren said. 

Chapter 9: King Harrow’s Letter

Page 80: ‘It’s not Rayla’s fault, he reflected. I have to find her and tell her I understand. 

Callum wandered over to the outdoor area near the Moon Temple, where Rayla was sitting alone at a table, her head resting on her folded arms. It looked like she might have spent the night there.

Callum wasn’t angry anymore. He stood by Rayla awkwardly for a moment, then sat down and touched her elbow. She looked up at him. 

[...] “He’s really gone.” Callum’s insides churned. He couldn’t hold back the tears any longer. Rayla grabbed him and pulled him into a tight hug. He relaxed into her embrace, thinking about how hard yesterday must have been for her.’

Chapter 10: The Mage in the Mirror

Page 87: ‘“Or... it’s a trap,” Rayla said, looking Callum in the eye. “I know you trust them,” she said to Callum. “But if we let them come with us, by the time we know the truth, it’ll be too late.”

Ezran froze. It seemed like Callum and Rayla were having a secret conversation even though he was in the room. “Why wouldn’t we trust Claudia and Soren?” he asked.

“Do you understand? We’ll lose everything,” Rayla said to Callum.

“So what are supposed to do? How can we figure out if it’s help or a trap?” Callum asked.

“I do have an idea,” Rayla said. “Will you follow my lead?” [...] But Callum and Rayla weren’t paying attention.

“I’ll follow your lead,” Callum said to Rayla. Ezran wasn’t sure what was going on, but he decided that if Callum was following Rayla’s lead, he would follow Callum’s.’

Chapter 12: The Trick

Page 102: ‘Rayla punched Callum lightly on the arm. Her white hair was whipping around wildly in the wind. “We got ‘em! I was right,” she said.

“Yeah. You were right,” Callum repeated. But he wasn’t smiling. In fact, the way Callum was staring out at the sky made Ezran think his big brother might cry.

“I’m sorry. I wish I wasn’t right,” Rayla said. She put one hand on Callum’s shoulder.

“Thanks for saying that, Rayla,” Callum said.’

Chapter 13: Crashing and Learning

Page 110: ‘Ezran felt bad for Rayla and her fear of water, but he knew she could face the fear again. He was about to encourage her to cross the bay when Callum jumped in.

“You know what?” Callum said. “We’ll just walk around it somehow. With our legs.”

Ezran couldn’t believe what he was hearing. But thankfully, Rayla shook her head no.

“That’s sweet, Callum,” she said. “But walking around is going to take too long.”’

Chapter 14: The Ruthless

Page 112: ‘“Right. Specifically, a captain who doesn’t hate elves,” Callum said, looking right at Rayla.

“That won’t be a problem — I can disguise myself as a human again,” Rayla said. She clapped her hands together and grinned.

“Yes, that worked out incredibly well last time you tried it,” Callum said. “Remember when you tried to ‘borrow’ a Sunforge blade and your disguise literally burned up?”’

Page 114: ‘“But that’s part of what makes him uniquely qualified.”

“You’re being awfully cryptic,” Rayla said. “Mysterious Callum is my least favourite kind of Callum.”

“Well, the mystery is almost over,” Callum said.’

Page 115: ‘Even in the most outlandish yarns Runaan had spun, she’d never heard of a captain who wore patches over both eyes. Rayla caught Callum looking at her, trying to stifle his laughter. Rayla stared at Callum in disbelief. [...] If Callum wanted to be Mysterious Callum, she was going to be Befuddled Rayla.’

Page 116: ‘Rayla exchanged a look with Callum. He shrugged. Maybe Captain Villads was their best option because he was their only option.’

Chapter 15: Change of Plans

Page 130: ‘“Uh-oh, I know that face. It’s the dumb idea face,” Rayla said.

“Rayla,” Ezran said. It seemed like these two were always bickering. “Let’s just have everyone go down and dry off.”

Callum half smiled.’

Chapter 16: Into the Storm

Page 141: ‘Callum looked down at Zym. Rayla had been right, of course. She was going to rub it in his face for sure. And he deserved it. [...] Callum didn’t answer. He heard Rayla whispering. It was hard to make out exactly what she was saying to Ezran, but the words stupid and idiot were unmistakable.’

Page 142: ‘“I’m really, really sorry,” Callum said. “I feel stupid. You were right.” He looked Rayla directly in the eye.

“Callum...” she said. She reached her hand out and placed it on his shoulder.

“I could have gotten Zym killed. I put us both in danger. And worst of all, when we were right there, in the centre of the storm? I wanted to understand magic so badly I almost risked my own life. But in the end, I didn’t have the guts...”

“Good,” Rayla said. “That’s good.” She hugged Callum hard.

Callum gulped. Rayla’s thin, strong arms wrapped around him meant everything. He smiled and hugged her back.’

Chapter 22: Last Words

Page 197: ‘After the initial feeling of hopelessness that the journey had taken him far from the Banther Lodge, Callum realized his stepdad was writing to him about the rune cube Rayla had rescued. He’d always known that cube was important. Maybe now Rayla would start listening to him... and maybe now he could find out how he could use the mysterious cube.’

Chapter 23: Facing the Threat

Page 200: ‘“Would be nice to see me beautiful wife, Ruth. Sure has been a long time since I laid eyes on her.”

Callum and Rayla exchanged a look.

“He means metaphorically!” Berto squawked.’

Page 201: ‘Captain Villads sucked in some sea air and then exhaled directly into Callum’s face. 

Callum scrunched up his nose in disgust. “Ugh, why do people always feel the need to blow on me when they’re marking a point?”

“Oh, don’t take everything so personally,” Rayla said. “Come on, we’ve got to find a place to stay before it gets dark out.”

“Lead the way,” Callum said.

“I think there might be caves up in those mountains behind you,” Rayla said.

“This way?” Callum asked. He pointed over his right shoulder.

“No, that way,” Rayla said.

As Callum turned to look, Rayla blew on the left side of his face.’

Page 204: ‘“It’ll be safe and easy, even for you, magic or not magic. It would be tricky for a human to find, but luckily you’ve got a smart, capable elf to lead the way.”

Callum felt reassured but glum at the same time. “You are smart and capable. I just don’t want to be useless,” he said.

Rayla stood up. Callum sensed she was frustrated with him. “Stop doing that human thing where you worry about things that are all in your head,” she said. “Come get some rest.”

“You’re right,” he sighed. “Let’s go back to sleep.”’

Chapter 24: Crashing Dragon

Page 214: ‘“Wait up, Ez!” Callum yelled. “You can’t just take off without us!”

Ezran turned. His brother was out of breath from trying to keep up with him. Rayla was right behind him.’

Chapter 25: Going Home In Pieces

Page 220-221 ‘“It’s where I’m meant to be.” She stared into the distance.

Callum was suddenly struck by an intense wave of gratitude. He’d never met anyone as brave as Rayla. How did he get so lucky as to be her friend?

“I’m going back down there,” Rayla said. “If I don’t come back, you and Ezran can get Zym to Xadia. I believe in you.”

Callum blushed. No one had ever said those words to him before, or at least not that he remembered.

“Thanks, Ray—”

But by the time Callum looked up, Rayla was gone.

Chapter 26: Your Kind of Magic

Page 226: ‘Callum was sketching intensely outside the mountain cave. He was drawing a picture of Rayla—a powerful, heroic figure. He still couldn’t believe she had left. His palms were sweating and his chest felt tight. What if she didn’t come back? Could he and Ezran and Bait really manage to get Zym to Xadia?

[...] “Maybe there is something I can do,” Callum said. “Ezran, you stay here. Protect Bait and Zym. Don’t worry. I’ll be back soon—with Rayla.”’

Page 227-228: ‘Could he really bring himself to go through with his plan? What if he didn’t succeed? What if he compromised his beliefs and it all ended up being for nothing? 

[...] But her blade bounced off with a clang, sparks flying. She reeled back and tried again. Nothing happened. She was in trouble. Callum inched toward Claudia’s horse.

Rayla was breathing hard, and Callum could tell she was exhausted. Her eyes darted around looking for an escape.

“Oh no.” Callum gulped when he saw Claudia approaching Rayla and the dragon.

“I’m not backing down,” Rayla shouted.

Chapter 27: Dark Consequences

Page 236-237: ‘She was so mad at this stupid idiot for using dark magic [...] “Well, that’s his own fault for messing with dark magic,” she said. But a pang of guilt struck Rayla as soon as she uttered the words. She was worried about the stupid idiot.

[...] But as he tried to raise a finger and urge everyone onward, Callum tripped and fell in the mud. Rayla pulled him up.

“I’m okay,” Callum said, brushing Rayla off.’

Conclusion:

There’s not too many other Rayllum quotes - or at least no big ones - except for the fact that Callum basically overheard Rayla’s entire ‘almost confession’ and did not clue into her feelings. Bless this oblivious boy. We love him.