Disclaimer: I do not own The Dragon Prince or any of its original characters, nor do I make any profit off of my writing.
Callum could proudly say he'd become the best of friends with Rayla since the day when he found her crying. It was a turning point in their relationship, where she opened up far more than typical and found himself returning the gesture in kind. It was weird, having friends. He couldn't really say he was all too familiar with the feeling if he was being honest.
The only other people in his life he could consider himself 'friends' with were Soren and Claudia and even then, it wasn't a friendship he felt the need to work on. The two siblings were always just kind of there. With their fathers working together so closely it was just a given that he would know them well.
But even then they couldn't hold a candle to how well he knew Rayla, which was weird considering she still wouldn't show him her face. He figured he knew the reason but he didn't want to push her to do something she wasn't comfortable with.
He'd been more than a little embarrassed when he looked back over his drawings of his friend a month after meeting her and noticed a certain.. oddity among the images.
He always, always drew here with four fingers. He never even realized it when he was doing it, but the proof was right there in front of him. Now, he obviously doubted it at first. He couldn't exactly trust that he hadn't just been going crazy whenever he drew those because obviously, something wasn't completely right in his head if he managed to miss that crucial detail for so long. The next time he saw her he checked, sure enough, four fingers. It was clear as day, she didn't even try to hide it.
How had he not noticed?
Was he blind?
He seriously wondered if he should ask Harrow to let him see a doctor and possibly get glasses.
What's even stranger was that he found he didn't mind at all. He'd always been told such horrible things about elves. They're an evil, cruel people. They drink blood. They kill without thought. Those were the sorts of things taught to him as fact.
But Rayla was just.. Rayla.
So what if she was an elf? She'd been none of those things the entire time he'd known her. Well, okay, she did put a sword to his throat when they first met, but she'd also helped train him with sword fighting since then, enough that he could almost, almost not look like a fool when he sparred Soren.
She wasn't any of the things he was told she would be and he couldn't help but wonder if anything he'd been taught had ever been true.
The whole situation became rather obvious when he realized just how often Rayla would ask him his opinions on elves or certain parts of her village's culture. It didn't dawn on him until after he finally put two and two together then he had a far greater bias on one over the other.
Rayla was always quieter on those days. The ones where she'd ask about elves and he'd tell her what he was taught as if it were true. Even now, when he'd made sure to question what he was taught and listen to her own opinions on the matter even more closely, he feared that she was still too scared to expose herself.
It was okay, he'd wait until he had proved he was going to be accepting of her. He knew why she was so scared, everybody in her life had turned their back on her accept her parents in all but blood. She didn't want him to do the same. He wouldn't, but she had her doubts.
To make matters worse even her name was elven.
Quite literally, just about everything he thought about when he first met her could be explained by one fact. Rayla was an elf. Awesome accent? Elf. Cool armor? Elf. Mysterious nature? Hiding the fact that she was an elf. Her fear of water? He was still working on that one.
That had been a rather surprising.. err.. surprise around a month ago. They'd been going on a walk through the woods surrounding the capital city, a pastime they'd found themselves doing more and more often when they stumbled upon a pond. Callum, the bumbling idiot he was, decided to grab her by the wrist and drag her along behind him. She voiced her reservations, rather loudly if he remembered right, but he just smiled back at her and she went quiet. Thinking back on it.. that was kind of weird. Why did she just go along after that if she hated water so much?
He had absolutely no idea.
In the end, it didn't matter. Callum ultimately thought it would be funny to give her a playful nudge as they walked beside the water. He had claimed the position further from the edge on their walk, thinking he was being kind. Rayla did always have a greater love of nature than he did (another thing that was incredibly obvious now that he knew her to be an elf). She hid her fear well as they continued on and he didn't notice the way her hands shook or her legs were just that much less steady.
Everything he knew about her proved her to be a fierce and capable warrior, could he really be blamed for thinking a slight nudge would send her toppling over?
He certainly didn't think so.
Rayla.. Rayla disagreed.
On the bright side, he got a lot of cardio in that day! Soren would be proud.
If nothing came of Rayla's brief journey amongst the fish, Callum could at least rule the Tidebound elves out of his list of potential guesses. He didn't have much information on any of the six races of elves, but he was making do. He would narrow his guess down soon enough.
First were the Sunfire elves. From his research, he'd learned they were typically dark-skinned elves with large heat resistances. Not much else was known about their people's culture besides the fact that they were the ones who typically manned the borders at the breach. Under normal circumstances, he wouldn't have considered them a contender for Rayla's people except for two reasons.
The first was their supposedly militaristic way of life. It seemed fitting for a group that would have exiled her for her parent's slight, but he couldn't say for sure. The second (and far more importantly) was the one time he'd seen her smile. Now, don't get him wrong it could be possible, but it just seemed highly unlikely that anybody could have a smile that bright without using magic. Thus, Sunfire stays.
Ultimately, that meant Startouch elves stays as well. While other stars weren't as bright as the sun and didn't quite match her smile to the same degree, they were still beautiful, which he felt was close enough.
Of course, he had already ruled out Tidebound, which left Skywing, Earthblood, and Moonshadow elves.
And, well, he had absolutely no idea how to narrow it down from there.
The Skywings were most likely to go be tossed out first. At least, that's what he thought when he first researched them.
Rayla didn't have wings, it seemed pretty open and closed.
And then he learned that not all Skywing elves have wings either so.. not helpful.
Basically, he narrowed it down to five of the original six options. If this were a test, he could rest easy knowing he could guess with 20% accuracy.
His money was on Startouch. Ezran's was on Moonshadow. Bait was on Tidebound (apparently) but Callum was fairly certain he just wanted a water friend which Rayla was vehemently not.
That was another recent development. He can't say he meant for the two to meet, he didn't think Rayla would have been comfortable with that. Apparently, he hadn't been sneaky enough (even with Rayla's lessons) and his younger brother eventually picked up on his habits and followed him out of the keep.
Luckily, Rayla seemed completely okay with it and actually liked Ezran quite a lot! Unluckily, Ezran had picked up on her oddities far sooner than Callum did. ("I think Rayla is an elf!" "You mean you just realized?")
It's not something he's proud of.
…
"No, no, Callum, I– " Rayla shook her head fervently as she took a half step back nervously. "I can't do tha' it's too much."
It'd be a lie if he were to say he wasn't a little disappointed, but he could understand why she would be so hesitant. It wasn't like what he'd asked was something light. There would be a huge risk if they had actually gone through with his idea and snuck her into the city.
Which is exactly why he made a second plan.
As Ezran was kind enough to teach him, the best way to get what you want is to start high and aim low.
Callum let out a dramatic sigh as he feigned dismay before perking up unnaturally quick for Rayla's taste and closing the gap between them with stars in his eyes. "Well, if we can't do tha' and I can't show you my home, then I guess I'll just have to see yours!"
She made a face at his rather poor interpretation of her accent, clearly not finding it nearly as good as he did. He'd practiced it, thank you very much. "Do I sound tha' bad when I pretend to be human?"
He blinked.
That felt like a trap.
In lieu of a response, he just grabbed her hand and began dragging her away to the spot he had in mind. Her protests were ignored in favor of blinding pulling her from their little clearing. He had absolutely no idea where he was going but he just needed to wait until she gave up on arguing and relented.
All part of the plan.
"Callum, why do you care so much?"
He gave her a weird look, as if it wasn't obvious why he could possibly care that his best friend had been sleeping in the forest for months now while he lived in a plush bedroom in the most guarded building in Katolis.
He'd ignored the guilt that had settled in his stomach for too long and he wouldn't allow her to feign comfort any longer.
He kept on pulling her deeper into the woods.
"Callum."
They rounded a bend.
"Oy!"
He pulled her up a hill.
"Why are you doin' this? Things're good! I'm fine!"
He stopped as they came across a river, he honestly had no clue existed before turning around and walking in the opposite direction. No reason to risk her fighting her any more than she already was.
They kept walking and walking and walking and going absolutely nowhere. That was fine. She'd crack soon. He just knew it.
It wasn't until he found a particularly harrowing rock scramble that Rayla would have no trouble ascending (and he most certainly would) that she broke.
"You're going the wrong way!"
He paid the advice no mind.
"There are three-hundred and sixty other directions for me to take from here, you'll have to be more specific."
She groaned.
Victory!
It certainly didn't feel like a victory when they arrived at her campsite. Not in the slightest.
".. Rayla.. "
She shook her head while looking away. "I don't wan' your pity. I am fine as I am."
He looked around wordlessly, taking in the small alcove in the cliff face that she called 'home.' He could see the bed of leaves she called a mattress, the rock she called a pillow. It was only the spring now and rainfall wasn't uncommon in the slightest, in fact, it was even worse with Katolis being surrounded by waterways.
She slept through that with barely any cover?
He couldn't say he'd ever heard of any cave systems near the castle, but there had to at least be something.
".. it's noh' as bad as it looks."
He gave her a dubious look.
They stayed silent for a moment longer, this time far more uncomfortable than their usual. He just had too many questions. Did she not get cold? Uncomfortable? Hungry? Did she just not care or was she that worried about what he'd think that she suffered through it all?
Was she really sticking around in a place like this just to be around him?
He didn't know and he knew Rayla well enough to know she wouldn't want to talk about it.
So, instead of asking any of those questions and getting the answers he already knew but didn't want to accept. He chose to turn and smile at her and pretend everything was okay just like she had been.
It wasn't.
Not in the slightest.
He was already working on plans for how to make her living more comfortably, but those would have to remain secret for now. She probably wouldn't be too welcoming of him trying anything of the sort.
If all else failed, he could send her away to the Banther Lodge. It would hurt – even, just thinking about it now, it hurt far more than he thought it would – but her safety came first.
He put on a smile that was obviously forced as he nudged her with his shoulder playfully. She eyed him warily beneath her hood and watched as he went and sat down on a boulder, pulling out his sketchbook and falling back on familiar habits in hope of dispelling the tension in the air. It didn't work, but she appreciated the effort.
She took a seat behind him and watched over his shoulder as she sketched an unfamiliar face.
A female face.
Her heart sunk just a little bit in her chest as she chanced a look up at his face. He was worrying his lip, thinking about things much more than he usually did when he drew. He usually looked more at peace when he got to work in his sketchbook. Who was this girl? Why was he thinking so much?
She didn't want to think about the possibilities, but it wasn't like she hadn't heard how he spoke about that 'Claudia' girl. He liked her. She could tell.
Rayla could confidently say she did not. She simply could not trust a dark mage, what that girl did was cruel, corrupt, and foul. She didn't like how Callum spoke about her, almost reverently. The only solace she could take in it was that she knew he despised dark magic just as much as she.
It twists things into something they're not, something they should never be. Imitations of what nature intended, that's all they would ever be.
Blood magic.
It sickened her. Yet, it reminded her briefly of her original mission because it was how the King of Katolis had slain Avizandum, the dragon king.
Callum didn't know the truth. She didn't have the heart to tell him.
His pencil slid away from the mystery girl and tapped mindlessly on the corner of the page. The picture seemed smaller than usual, only taking up the top left corner of the sheet rather than its entirety. He'd seen the pictures of his mother, or who she suspected the woman to be, and they were always clearer than this one.
There was a certain feeling of uncertainty to the picture, one that had her thinking that maybe it wasn't Claudia. She'd prefer to keep thinking that way, the face he drew was undeniably pretty even if it felt like it was missing something.
The pencil tapped on the page a few more times before he started another drawing in the top right. Another headshot, but a different girl this time.
Rayla raised an eyebrow but didn't comment, if he wanted to draw other girls that were fine. It's fine.
She rested her chin on his shoulder and kept watching.
It was better to remind him that she was still there, she just didn't want him to think she disappeared in the shadows like she sometimes would when she was upset. No other reason.
It had nothing to do with the girls on the page.
It had nothing to do with how the second girl was even prettier than the first.
"Do you think there will ever be peace?"
Rayla jolted, an action she was sure Runaan would have scolded her for had he seen it. She was an assassin, she wasn't supposed to be jumpy.
The question took her by surprise regardless, where was the coming from?
She didn't lay her head back down on his shoulder, instead, leaning forward and peering around to see the side of his face. She made sure her face kept to the shadows even if it was tempting to show it and hope he'd draw her face instead of these girls.
"Peace?"
Callum nodded as his pencil drew lazy circles of what was probably going to become an even prettier girl. "Peace." He confirmed. "Between humans. Elves. Dragons. Will this war end?"
She hummed and lowered her head once again, letting out a sigh as her chut butted against his shoulder once again. She glanced over to his face and then shut her eyes. Was that something she believed could happen? Her people were harsh but not unlike the humans who could be equally so. At no point did she ever believe the elves to be bad, she loved being an elf, and she thought no better of the humans even after being banished.
She still didn't trust them just as they didn't trust her.
Well, she trusted one.
Was that enough?
She thought for a moment and yes, it was. For her, at least. She trusted Callum as much as she trusted anybody else.
Would it be enough for anybody else?
She didn't know.
It very well could be, maybe there really was nothing special about her and Callum in particular. It was entirely possible that another human could see her and see her as nothing more than the young girl she was.
Callum didn't note her silence as he continued drawing, allowing her to stay amongst her own thoughts until she was ready. It wasn't much longer until she nodded into his shoulder, her chin bunching up the fabric of his coat as she did. A soft, 'I do' escaping her lips even as her hood resolutely stayed atop her hood.
He kept drawing. She wasn't ready yet.
He went home that day earlier than usual, his mind stuck somewhere else. Rayla watched him leave with a worried expression, wondering if she'd screwed things up like she always seemed to do.
…
Callum knocked on the grand door to the throne room and peaked his head inside, two heads filling in the gap just below him as Ezran and Bait followed suit. Their father was standing to one side of the war table that had been dragged toward the center of the room. Four of his closest advisors, including Lord Viren, doing much the same.
A poor depiction of the capital city of Katolis was erected in the center, the fields of green that surrounded the river kingdom being the only thing separating each plateau.
King Harrow turned as soon as the door opened, his demeanor immediately shifting from that of the King to that of their father.
"Boys!" He smiled as they proceeded further into the room. "You're going on a trip! To the Banther Lodge!"
Callum blinked in confusion. Did something happen? "But.. it's the spring. Tat's the winter lodge."
King Harrow, ever the wise man, dutifully noted his step-son's concerns, nodding sagely. "Eh. Winter is coming.. eventually."
Ezran, naturally, took up the silence that followed to express the most pressing concerns about this development. What they would do for fun. Callum found himself nodding along in his head, he did bring up some good points. What would they do in a place where everything you're supposed to do requires snow and ice?
"Look, this is something I need you to do– "
" –but, dad!"
" –it's decided. You'll leave before sundown, so go get packed up."
Callum watched as Harrow returned to his advisor's side before taking their dismissal in stride and retreating from the room. Yet, even as he reassured his younger brother that nothing was wrong and everything was going to be alright, he couldn't help but worry himself.
Just what had happened to spook the King enough to send them away and on such short notice?
He didn't know, but as his eyes subconsciously peered out toward the sprawling forests, he can't help but worry for his friend. Something was coming and he didn't think any of them were prepared for it. They were being kept in the dark, he just wanted to know if it was intentional or if their dad didn't know anything either.
…
Rayla was running, harder and faster than she'd ever run before, yet she still urged her body to increase the pace still.
She wasn't going to be there soon enough.
How she could have ever forgotten something like this would happen, she'd never know. Perhaps she'd just been so caught up in being happy with Callum that it slipped her mind, perhaps she just didn't want to acknowledge the truth.
She's come to Katolis with a purpose, after all, she wanted to be the one who took revenge for Avizandum and the unborn prince.
She wasn't the only one.
She ran faster still; her boots slamming into the muddy earth from the previous night as she tried to force the image of the young city guard out of her mind.
She had no time to think about what that may mean, about who may be here. She couldn't allow herself to falter.
She knew who it was going to be, she knew it in her heart of hearts, but like she had ignored the looming threat, she'd ignore that too.
Rayla owed nothing to her people. She owed nothing to anyone except her fathers and.. and Callum. That is why she's running because she just doesn't know if he's a target or not and at the end of the day it didn't matter. Harrow would be targeted, that she knew. Ezran would be targeted, and that was unforgivable. She refused to stoop to the level of those who killed the Dragon Prince, and she refused to believe the kind man Callum describes to be able of killing the prince. Not when he had children of his own.
The two just simply weren't rectifiable.
She'd heard enough from Callum's stories to let her know that Harrow was, above all else, a good man. She didn't know if it was right to assassinate him in retaliation for Avizandum's death, but that didn't matter.
Assassins don't decide between right and wrong; they decide between life and death.
Nobody was dying tonight, that was her decision.
Faster.
She picked up the pace as she neared the cliffside of the plateau behind the castle, leaping over the scar the river below carved away over the centuries. She grabbed her swords as she flipped through the air, ignoring the way the wing stung at her skin as she fell further and further. The dual blades shot out and realigned themselves into the shape of a scythe.
There was a harsh screeching sound that send shivers down her spine as the elf caught herself on the rocky face. She grunted as the rest of her body got with the program and slammed against the wall, but she didn't let the pain stop her as she ascended.
Faster.
She didn't know where her father was right now. She didn't know who he brought or where they planned to strike. She needed to go now and go fast, find Callum, find Ezran, find Harrow, find any of them and just make this madness stop.
Six, she reminded herself, it was almost always six. It was an auspicious number for the elves, the same number of primal sources that existed in the world. If Runaan was leading the mission as she expected then he would take five companions and stick to tradition.
Tears of frustration beaded in her eyes as she climbed higher and higher, her scythes now colliding with bricks instead of the rough cliff walls. She should have been better, this was exactly why her village abandoned her back then because they knew she'd fail just as her parents did.
She could have done so much to prevent this if she hadn't just been lolly-gagging about in the woods with Callum.
Rayla fell into a roll as she climbed through the shattered window. The blood on the glass was overlooked.
So were the bodies that lined the hallway. They were unimportant, they couldn't be helped any longer.
She took off in a sprint, ducking around corners as she tried to recall all of the pictures of the castle she'd seen in Callum's journal. The irony of the situation wasn't lost on her, using the same drawings she wanted to use to kill to save.
People change.
There was a sound of metal on metal in the corridor up ahead and she ran harder.
Her blade collided with her father's with an impressive sound, she grunted under the pressure and used his momentary to push him back. Briefly, she took stock of the room around her, six Moonshadow elves stood amongst the few remaining guards, only serving to confirm her suspicions. The kingdom was unprepared for an attack, they likely knew something was amiss but had no idea what.
More importantly, Callum and Ezran were safe.
Her thoughts went back to the guard lying buried beneath the mud with a slit through and what could have happened had she been with them and been too weak to take a life, again. She shook her head, now was not the time for 'what ifs,' now was the time for action.
"R- Rayla?"
"That's enough, Runaan."
She could feel King Harrow's eyes on her, the confusion held behind them, not like she could fault him for that. It wasn't every day an elf blocks an attack from your would-be assassin and leaves her back exposed to you and your blade.
At her tone, her father's bewildered expression hardened as he straightened his back, finally taking into account their current circumstance and her position. Blocking him from killing the King.
"Why are you here."
Ah. Gone was her father, the assassin had taken his place. She should have expected as much. The words he spoke were no less a question than a demand, an order for her to explain herself.
"I cannot allow ye' to kill him."
The crown guards took the momentary pause in fighting to retreat a few steps and close in around the King, taking special precaution as they moved around her.
Her father's eyes were hard as he sized her up, taking her in as the enemy she appeared as rather than the daughter he once knew. "And why would that be?"
She didn't hesitate. "Because I care for his son and I fear I won't be very good at consolin' him should Harrow fall." Probably not the best reason she could go for at this moment in time but it's what her mouth decided to say so she'd have to roll with it. Luckily, her rather blunt statement had the effect of confusing just about every other person in the room as they tried to wrap their brains around that statement.
Runann blinked. "I– what?"
She pressed on, not giving the man a moment to think, as she ignored the thundering of her heart in her chest and through her ears. "Avizandum fell to Harrow in retribution for the loss of Queen Sarai. Who of ours will fall when you slay Harrow? When will it end, Runaan?"
She glanced around again, taking note of the various faces she recognized from her village.
Ram. Skor. Callisto. Andromeda. Merida.
Not as strong of a team as it would have been having she been there instead of Merida, but they were all still very talented, practiced assassins.
Runaan actually laughed at her statement, feeling all too comfortable with his current position in the room to let out the mirthless guffaw. "What would you have us do, Little Sword? Let their transgression go unanswered?"
Her eyes flicked over her shoulder to where Harrow was watching her every move, feeling all too exposed with the hood she abandoned over the cliffside when it weighed her down.
"Harrow's son asked me yesterday if I believe humans and elves can have peace." She paused as her eyes flicked back and forth between the faces of her former companions, gauging their reactions. "I said yes. He and I are proof enough of that."
Skor snorted derisively and made to speak but was cut off as Runaan took a step forward.
"You wish us to forgive them of murder because you fell for a boy? They killed our king! They killed his unborn son! They– "
Rayla matched his advance. "They,"she began, "should answer for their crimes, but this cycle will never end until one of us puts a stop to it!"
Their swords met with a mighty clash as the room devolved into chaos once again, each of the remaining guards taking up a battle with their own assailant. Harrow himself was weaving in and out between them, trying and failing to land hits on the all-too-nimble elves.
They were fighting a losing battle, merely biding their time until the inevitable happened. The elves were strengthened by the moon and the humans had no such advantage; none save for the dark mage chanting in a corner of the room. She couldn't even tell who he was aiming for in-between clashes of her swords with Runaan's, but from the magic he used she guessed it mattered little to him.
Just as his hands clenched harshly around whatever Xadian creature he held within and his eyes alit with vile power, a smaller figure slammed into his waist, sending them both crashing into the floor and dispelling whatever incantation Viren had begun. All too quickly, a sword was held at the old lord's throat, the few skills he picked up from Rayla finally being used.
It must have been an odd sight, a battle waged in the halls of Katolis's capitol.
Moonshadow assassins sent with the purpose of the deaths of King Harrow and Prince Ezran, held off by the surprise appearance of one of their own.
And the son and brother of those assassins' targets, baring a sword toward the neck of the mage intending to wipe them out.
Harrow was the first to find his voice, Rayla too stunned to even dream of a coherent sentence. This wasn't how she wanted this to happen, this wasn't how she wanted him to see her.
"C- Callum? What are you– "
The younger boy paid his father no mind as he glared down at the mage, his boot pressing harshly into the man's chest. "Viren lied. The Dragon Prince was not slain." He didn't chance a glance away from the lord, he never once allowed his gaze to wander or his attention to break. He had his father and the elves' attention, that was all he could ask for. "The egg is safe, protected. We lost our queen; you lost your king. Isn't that enough? The Dragon Prince lives on, can this not all be moved past?"
His father made to speak but Runaan was far quicker to the draw this time. "How can we trust you? How do we know this is not a ploy to catch us unawares?"
Rayla knew it was a valid concern, that didn't mean she couldn't take a little bit of pleasure in the hope in her father's voice.
"I will bring it here as soon as Viren is bound in chains and separated from his source of magic."
That didn't sit too well with the crown guard, putting them in a far weaker position, to begin with, but Callum never once faltered. "You are fighting a losing battle and I'd prefer to not lose our King tonight. This is the only way."
Harrow stared at his son for a few moments before relenting. His sword never left his hand, remaining bared toward the closest elf, but he nodded to Runaan in a show of grace before motioning one of his guards to chain up the silent mage. "Chain him up, do not let him speak." He fought like hell as he was unceremoniously slammed onto his stomach by the guard, but the knee pressing into his back and the newly capable prince didn't give him any room to maneuver.
The elves watched on silently as Callum darted out of the room, a tense silence filling the void where the sounds of swords clashing once filled. Rayla didn't move from her position between Runaan and Harrow, only taking her eyes off the elf to check the door and await Callum's return. If she were being honest, she wished it was anybody else. She wanted him as far from all of this as possible, but she couldn't change things now.
A minute later, the first step toward peace between the elves of Xadia and the realms of man was made by a young prince.
"It's beautiful."
Rayla couldn't help but agree, the sparkling blue egg was a sight to behold. The air around it seemed to thrum with power, the same feeling of regality and electricity following it like it once had his father.
The sound of a sword moving drew everyone's attention, each person immediately tensing before the sight of King Harrow sheathing his blade met their eyes. Rayla took a step backward to guard him at the moment that followed, not willing to risk Callum's father in case the elves decided to kill him and take the egg.
He let a sigh even as he smiled shakily toward the elves.
"Shall we talk?"
The guards he lost could be mourned later, he knew there would be outrage by the families for making a deal with their killers. It would look as if he was willing to do anything to protect his own life, caring naught for others, but he'd have to make do. In the interest of protecting thousands more in another bloody, century war, he would be the bad guy.
He just hoped Ezran would be free of the scrutiny when he rose to power, he'd be the one to deliver them to peace in the end.
Runaan was the first to sheath his bow-blade, his eyes never once leaving the egg.