The Cursed Caldera was the last place Callum expected to find comfort in, but it had been a long day. Not just for him, but for everyone.

Ezran and Ellis had fallen asleep a few moments after they entered the cave behind the tree, where the Miracle Healer had found them.

Only that there was no Miracle Healer after all. The healer was actually an illusionist, a moon mage. Although she hadn't been able to help them heal the egg, Callum managed to start a storm with the primal stone, and the egg hatched.

And there he was: the Dragon Prince.

Similarly to the two kids, the newborn dragon had closed his eyes. He was laying on Ava's fur, curled up in her legs. Callum smiled, seeing as he was comfortable, and he couldn't help but remember the warmth of his bed back at the castle.

Even Bait was in deep sleep. The only other person awake besides Callum, was Rayla.

She was looking down at her hand, now free of the binding. It was unbelievable how someone who had come into the world just a few minutes ago had been able to simply bite it off.

It wasn't like Rayla hadn't tried falling asleep. There was a lot on her mind, and her thoughts didn't let her drift away.

"How's your hand?"

This was why Callum approached her.

The elf looked up at him, giving him a slight smile. "Better."

"That's good," Callum said, sitting next to her.

There was a brief moment of silence between them. What was there to be said, really? They had lived more than any average person would throughout their entire lifespan, in just a night.

"It's nice to see him finally relax," Rayla said with a smile, her gaze pinned on Ezran. "He's been through so much… I mean, we kinda all have, but he's only..."

"Ten." Callum finished her sentence. "He's only ten."

"Wow." Rayla shook her head in disbelief. "I had seen worse when I was ten, but that's just normal if you live in Xadia."

Callum shifted in his seat. "It must be hard..."

"Of course it's hard!" Rayla agreed. "Xadia isn't purely made out of magic and mystical creatures. You need to be able to survive to see all those. Sometimes even finding food is challenging."

"Believe it or not, life in the castle isn't easy either."

Rayla raised an eyebrow. "Don't you wake up to breakfast in bed or something? How is it hard?"

"Well… I'm a prince. And not just any prince, I'm the older prince and the step-prince. Everyone expects me to act maturely and be this tough warrior, and maybe even inherit the throne one day, and I spend more time drawing than studying or training, now the primal stone is gone..." Callum sighed. "I can't do anything right, and feel like I don't fit in."

"But you are good at something," Rayla said. "Your drawings are good."

Callum's eyes glimmered for a split second. "You really think so? You… You're not just saying that to make me feel better?"

"No, of course not!" Rayla said. "It's not easy for me to say things like that. I feel alone most of the time too. It's not like anyone back home liked me."

Callum didn't really know why he did it, but he hesitantly placed his hand on top of hers. "I like you."

"You…"

It took a moment, but Callum jumped as he realised he had put his hand on Rayla's bruised one. "Dear Xadia, I didn't hurt you, did I?" he pulled away.

Rayla chuckled, shaking her head. "I was going to ask whether you are just saying that."

Callum groaned. "You ruined my inspiring speech."

"I thought we said no more speeches!" Rayla laughed and elbowed him.

"Guys?"

There was a third voice, and Callum and Rayla turned towards its source. They were both relieved to see it was just Ezran.

"Yeah, Ez?" Callum said.

"You're too loud," the young prince mumbled and hugged Bait tighter, closing his eyes again.

Callum and Rayla smiled, making sure to lower the sound of their voices.

"Maybe we should go to bed too," Callum suggested.

"Bed?" Rayla tilted her head. "More like cave-ground-thing."

Callum rolled his eyes, trying to make himself comfortable against the rocky wall. "Cave-ground-thing it is then."

"Goodnight, jerkface dancer," Rayla whispered next to his ear, making Callum freeze.

"Hey, only Ez calls me that!" he complained, but deep inside, he knew he needed a heartfelt moment.

"If we're gonna be friends, you're going to have to deal with it." Rayla sticked her tongue out at him, and turned to her side to sleep.

Friends.

Callum liked the sound of that.

I wrote this back in October, but FFN did not have a category for The Dragon Prince yet. (I literally wrote it a few days after the series' release!) Then I just kinda forgot I hadn't posted it here and... Well, I didn't.

Until nowww!

I hope you enjoyed this little thing I wrote, exploring Callum and Rayla's friendship!