A?N: Alright, so a few of the folks I talk to on tumblr might know that I lowkey ship Ravan with an OC of mine and, well, long story short, tagathaofwoodsbeyond requested a drabble from this prompt list. I was gonna keep it to myself, but I ended up being a lil too proud of it not to post so here, have a no context OC/Canon drabble that nobody one person asked for.

"GET BACK HERE!" Ravan yelled across the rushing water.

"Uh…no. Sorry." Replied the cloaked figure on the opposite riverbank.

"ADELAIDE! YOU GIVE ME THAT BOOK BACK RIGHT NOW!"

Adelaide guiltily drummed her fingers on the cover of Hidden Tombs of the Endless Woods as she watched Ravan angrily pace the shore. She'd pilfered it from his private library a few minutes prior in what was meant to be a covert operation—it's not like she'd wanted to resort to stealing from him (well, maybe she had a little), but she couldn't have found such a book at the Maidenvale public library. Ravan was the only Never she knew who had a personal collection of forbidden tomes—the only Never she knew at all, in fact—and he wasn't about to loan her anything after she'd made a hobby out of playing the hapless maiden who always "accidentally" foiled his plans.

Certainly not after he'd found out she'd been doing it on purpose the whole time, which made him even angrier.

And definitely not after she'd tripped the alarm spell at his lair and had nearly blasted a hole through him in surprise when he burst in to investigate.

It was a good thing she'd been able to freeze the evening fog into a bridge over the river and thaw it before Ravan caught her, because after that he might've set her on fire right then and there.

"Are you deaf? Do you know how much that thing is worth?! Return it now and maybe I'll spare your pathetic life, milkmaid!" He roared.

"Look," Adelaide sighed. "Listen pal, I know the whole breaking and entering thing was…startling for you. But I'm gonna return this when I'm done with it, so no harm no foul, right?" Adelaide smiled apologetically (and perhaps a bit smugly) at the fuming warlock. "Besides," she said, glancing at the swollen river, "it's not like you're gonna catch up to me at this point."

"YOU WANNA BET?!" Ravan shouted indignantly as he ripped off his vest and threw it to the ground.

Adelaide froze. "What are you doing?"

Ravan advanced toward the river, hastily tying his long hair in a knot as he waded into the frigid water.

"Hey hey hey hey, don't—don't do that!" Adelaide warned.

Ravan ignored her as he started to swim across, fighting the current as he went.

"Seriously? The water—it-it's cold and it's too…it's fast!" Adelaide sputtered as he steadily made his way to shore.

Ravan was about to reply, eyes ablaze with triumph…when a rush of water caught him off guard and swept him under the surface.

"Oh, Jiminy Christmas…" Adelaide groaned, dropping the book and shedding her cloak as she dove into the river.

For a few horrible moments, she couldn't see him, and her heart pounded as she imagined Ravan washing up dead on a beach somewhere, swept away by the current and drowned—then she spotted him, unconscious and adrift near the bottom of the river. Adelaide dove down after him and dragged him back to the surface, awkwardly hauling him to shore and setting him down on the riverbank.

"Hey pal, are you alright?" The warlock didn't respond. "Hey," Adelaide said a bit more urgently as she shook his shoulder. "C'mon Ravan, work with me here," she fretted, dipping her head down to his chest and listening for his breath.

"Oh geez," Adelaide whispered. If I have to give him mouth to mouth, he's gonna be so pissed—

As if sensing her thoughts, Ravan hacked up water and took a few gasping breaths.

"Whadappened?" He panted.

Adelaide exhaled with relief. "You almost drowned, you jerk," she sighed as she checked him over for injuries.

"How…how'd you…?" Ravan trailed off, still winded.

"If you've already drowned once, then you're immune after that. Just like chicken pox," Adelaide muttered to herself.

"Wha wazzat?"

"Nothin'," Adelaide grunted as she helped him sit up, pulling her discarded cloak around his shivering body. "You know, you really should be more careful," she teased, grinning at him. "All that for some dumb old book?"

Ravan shoved her away. "Do you think this is a game?" He hissed.

Adelaide recoiled in surprise. "What do you—"

"Is this fun for you? Stealing my things? Ruining my plans?" Ravan snarled, "Do you think that just because we've gotten along once or twice, that means I'll forget you taking every goddamn opportunity to humiliate me that you possibly can?"

Adelaide's face grew hot. "I don't—"

"Have you ever stopped to consider what would happen if the other Nevers caught wind of the fact that I keep getting beaten, over and over, by some ordinary milkmaid? Do you ever think they might start saying I'm too weak to be a proper villain anymore, o-or hey, maybe that I'm doing it on purpose?Because I've gone soft?!" he ranted.

"H-hey, come on now—"

"Do you know what villains do to Good-sympathizers? To Nevers they think might be soft on Evers?" Ravan continued. "I'd tell you to ask the former king of the Murmuring Mountains, but he's been tragically missing for the past seven years," he growled. Adelaide clutched the stolen book tighter, staring wide-eyed at him. "So tell me Adelaide, knowing all that, let me ask you again: is my life a fucking game to you?"

This time Adelaide fell silent, not meeting his eyes.

"Here," Adelaide shoved the book onto his lap. "Take it back. You're not a game to me," she mumbled.

Ravan blinked. "What?"

"You're not a game to me," she repeated. "Take it. I'll find it somewhere else." Adelaide swallowed thickly and turned to stare at the river. "I'm sorry."

Ravan sat silently on the riverbank, still wrapped in Adelaide's cloak. He contemplated the returned book, occasionally glancing between it and the sullen would-be thief next to him.

All that for some dumb old book indeed.

After listening to the water for a spell, he sighed and offered the book to Adelaide.

"Fine. You can borrow it," Ravan huffed.

She stared in disbelief, slowly reaching towards it.

"But!" Ravan said, yanking it back. "You have to tell me what you're doing with it."

Adelaide opened her mouth to speak, but Ravan cut her off before she could. "And I'll be going with you, to make sure you don't do anything that will ruin my reputation." He held the book out, awaiting a response. "Well?"

The corner of Adelaide's mouth quirked up in a smile, and her hand brushed against Ravan's as she took the book from him. "Deal."