A/N: HEY! Thanks for being so patient with me everyone! Sorry for taking so long, I've been feeling a bit under the weather as of recent. I'm in a big family and someone has the flu, so it's spreading like wildfire and I'm an unfortunate collateral.

Anyways, this has no relation to the previous one-shot. Just a little idea that came to me, nothing special.

Chapter Summary: Rayla catches Callum by surprise and casually mentions investing some time in proper self-defence. More surprisingly, Callum offers the notion of mastering more Arcanums and asks for Rayla's input. Of course, he doesn't have the slightest clue as to what it took to master the first time... and how that affected Rayla.

Word Count: 3,221

Jokes for Another Time, Truth for Now

"What're you doin'?"

The sudden question startled Callum's focus, causing him to throw his sketchbook high into the air. Desperately, he clambered over the log he was sat at in attempt to retrieve the airborne artwork. However, he failed on ever possible level as he tripped over his foot, fell to the ground, and caught the book with the back of his head. He laid in the grass, face planted deeply in shame, as he listened to his Elven companion snicker at his shortcomings.

"Y'know," he spoke up, wincing as he pushed himself off the ground, "you could warn a guy." He glanced up from the ground and shot Rayla an annoyed look.

She simply placed her hands on her hips as she turned up a smug smile. "Aww, but then I wouldn't get to see that face of yours!" She laughed as Callum frowned further. "Besides, I wasn't that stealthy." She quirked up a brow as she added, "Maybe if you weren't so wrapped up in your art you'd hear me comin'!"

Callum rolled his eyes as he dusted himself off. "Rayla, I'm not sure if by Assassin standards that was considered noisy, but for an average guy like myself, I'd consider what you just did to be practically soundless." He shook his head as he picked up his book. He sat back down on the log and started to flip through the pages. "Seriously, you were like invisible!"

Rayla blankly stared at Callum for a few seconds. "Uhh, I can turn invisible…"

Callum glanced up from his book and frowned once again. "You know what I meant."

"I was in front of ya."

"Exactly, stealthy!" he mused, "Never saw you coming!"

Rayla rolled her eyes as she made her way over to the log. Rested beside Callum's spot, laid a small Storm Dragon, dazed in a slumber. She made sure to spare a few pets for the baby, taking solace in his pure purrs. As she stroked the dragon's head, she looked back at Callum. She noticed how easily he fell back into his sketching. A discomforting thought swarmed in, leaving her to hesitantly acknowledged Callum. "Y'know, that could've been dangerous."

"Relax, it's a sketchbook, the worst I could've gotten was a mild concussion," he jested.

Rayla frowned. "No, I meant me sneaking up on ya." When Callum looked up from his book and stared at her confusedly, she further explained, "If I was still out gettin' berries and it wasn't me who found you here… you… you could've been—"

"Whoa, whoa," Callum hastily interjected. "Rayla, relax, it's not like I was sleeping or anything! And besides," a proud smile found its way on his lips, "I'm a Sky Mage, I can defend myself!" He jerked his thumb to his chest as he puffed it out.

Rayla stared at him for a moment, allowing a small smile to escape as she watched. He wasn't wrong. But that didn't change how much she was worried about him. Or about how vulnerable he really was. "Aheh, right…" she nervously chuckled. "But…" she closed her eyes and sighed. "A wind and lightin' spell ain't gonna be enough… y'know?" When she perked open her eyes she found a woeful ridden face.

He looked discouraged.

Rayla mentally cursed herself for belittling Callum's skills. "I-I don't mean they're not useful!" she quickly amended. "It's just… ya still don't know a lot of Sky spells and there's a lot of dangerous wildlife around here too." She slightly shrugged. "I just don't want somethin' happenin' to ya because I wasn't there to—" she stopped herself. She could feel a heat rise in her cheeks and nerves chilling down her body. With widened eyes Rayla let out another shy, nervous laugh as she shook her hands. "I-I-I mean, if I wasn't… able to help ya… learn self-defence?" she finished, coming off more as if she was suggesting the idea rather than anything else.

Callum stared at her, confusion struck all over. "I… uh-huh…" he nodded. "I… I do…" He shook his head and sighed. "But, I've already told you how much of a flop I was at swordsmanship and anything else with weapons." He dropped his sketchbook in his lap as he palmed at his face.

"Heeey, c'mon, you said you learned the ol' sweep-the-leg thing I've been doin'!" she cheerfully addressed.

He responded with a small pout as he brought his hands down to his lap. "I said I tried that once, and failed miserably. Of course you know how to do it," he let out a soft sigh, "you're amazing at everything."

A chirp erupted from Zym, who appeared to be looking very interested in the two's conversation, whilst a sudden silence stirred between them. Zym's eyes had opened wide at Callum's words, as if he'd now developed an interest in the current topic. His mouth hung open with his tongue dropped out, hanging onto this excitement of possibilities. There was something there between them he was seeing.

Callum and Rayla merely sat stiff and still, red in the face. Callum awkwardly coughed, averting his eyes toward the ground, the surrounding trees, the sky—practically anything and everything that wasn't Rayla's eyes.

Rayla, on the other hand, couldn't help but stare at the boy before her. His genuineness threw her for a loop along with her heart, leaving her blush to settle within her cheeks for a long time. She smiled at his awkwardness. He meant it, and she knew he did. "Thanks…" she managed to say.

Callum's gaze had briefly found its way to hers, before launching back down to his book. "N-No problem… I-I mean it," he muttered as he opened up his book.

Rayla's smile grew. "I know." This feeling in her heart, this was all too familiar. This moment, maybe it was time? Maybe it was time for her to say something? Anything at this point. "Callum, we need—" she trailed off as she noticed his sketches. Or rather, the image he'd been staring at. It was the sketch she drew of the Six Primal Sources. But this time, each symbol had a small jot note beneath it, listing off strange traits. She noticed under Moon, he'd written, Illusions? Invisibility, sub category? And it was like that for the other Five.

"Rayla?"

She looked up at Callum. "Huh?"

"You were saying…"

"O-Oh!" She smirked, opened her mouth, then stopped. The curiosity had beaten her. "Whatcha writin'?"

Callum's brows raised. "Oh! You mean this?" he gestured to his book. "Oh… well, I was thinking… earlier… how it'd be cool if I tried to learn the other Arcanums," his voice fell into a shy whisper, as if he was embarrassed to mention it. Rayla couldn't find the words. Learn them? "Like well, I just thought, if I managed to learn the Sky Arcanum, then I could learn maybe the Moon's? Or anything else really…"

"Oh…"

"Yeah, thought it'd be handy and well, now that you brought up my combat skills, I guess it'd be useful!" Confidence perked up in him as did a smile. "Of course, I still have to go through the trouble of actually learning all the names of spells and their symbols, but I feel like being in touch with the Arcanum is a good start."

Rayla couldn't help but stare in wonder. Callum always seemed to have a passionate side he often hid. But, it was very obvious to Rayla that he wanted to express this side more often but was just never offered much of an opportunity to do so. She figured with the stories he told her about his forced training as a prince, he was often limited in what he was allowed to do. It was as if the slightest tease of curiosity would peak his genuineness, and then, reveal this even softer, more precious boy. She had no doubt in her mind that he would be a great Mage.

"Rayla?"

"Sorry, what?" she answered, slightly dazed.

"You were uh… kinda staring… for a long time," Callum pointed out, wearing a faint blush among his cheeks.

"Oh, er, my bad," Rayla replied. She laughed as she began to rub the back of her head. "Um, an-anyways! Ya need any help with the Moon Arcanum?"

Callum raised a brow. "Seriously? You'll try and help?"

"Hey, don't act so surprised!" Rayla feigned offence, pout her lip at the boy.

He laughed. "No, no, it's not that! It's just, last time, was more of a vague and flashy show than a demonstration…" he admitted, smirking her way.

She chuckled, shaking her head. "Fine, I'll give ya that," she acknowledged. "But I might as well an' try to help ya. In anyway I can at least."

Callum's smirk creased further upward. "Thanks, I appreciate it," he softly said.

His sudden drop in tone caused Rayla's face to faintly flush, but still managed to elate a large smile.

"But uh, it's the middle of the day, so…" he awkwardly laughed, nodding up to the sky. "I think it would kinda be hard to work with understanding the Moon more."

Rayla's face morphed into a small frown as she glanced up at the sun and squinted. "Aye, I suppose you're right 'bout that…" she admitted. "Well, what've you been doing so far?"

"I've thinking about what sort of powers and abilities stem from the Moon," Callum explained, pointing to the list of notes he had under the Moon, "And, it seems like from what I've seen, and heard from Lujanne, everything about the Moon is really just about the line between illusions and reality… and well, what really is real and what isn't. Like, trying to understand the relationship of what's really in front my eyes but also getting that what's not, isn't exactly fake…. Y'know?" he asked, cocking a look over to his companion.

Rayla blankly stared at him for a moment. "Uhh, no, not really," she admitted with a brief laugh.

"Ha, right." Callum sheepishly shrugged. "Sorry, guess it's kinda had to explain something that even I don't understand." He stared down at his book for another moment, then laughed. "Maybe I should use Dark Magic again." He let out a goofy snort then said, "I mean, being unconscious in exchange for the secret of Primal Magic seems like a good deal. Haha!"

A dead silence fell over Rayla as she stared at Callum with wide eyes. He was the only one laughing. He just, shook his head as he slapped his knee in pride. Almost acting as if what he said was "funny". But, the aching in Rayla's heart and the sweating in her clenched palms didn't tell her anything about what Callum said was funny. Flashes of a drained face, echoes of moaning and wailing began to run through her mind. She remembered holding a near lifeless, breathless boy in her arms. She remembered embracing her sickened friend, nearly shedding a stream tears at the sight. She remembered a moment she thought she'd never ever have to have again. It was an insane rush of emotions.

"You're insane," she thoughtlessly voiced out.

Callum's endless stream of laughter halted at her sudden edge. "Wh-What?"

"What?"

"Where did that come from?"

"Nothing! Nowhere!" Rayla hastily shouted. Callum eyed her suspiciously for a few seconds before she cracked. "Fine," she sighed. "I was just trying to say, that you shouldn't joke about something like that." She threw Callum a stern glare as she scrunched her face at him. "Nothing about that is funny."

Callum's eyes went wide as he threw up his arms innocently. "Whoa, I-I didn't mean anything serious by it! It-It was just a joke Rayla. I don't actually want to do Dark Magic. I was just trying to joke about how after all that I managed to learn the Sky Arcanum." He let out a strained laugh as he weakly added, "I mean, n-no harm done right?" He developed into a shrunken form as he shyly looked at her. "Right?"

Rayla stared at him, blankly, shocked to her core. "I…" She wanted to say he has no idea what happened. She wanted to tell shout how badly she was shaken up about it. She just wanted to look him in the eyes and say how close it all was. "R-Right…" she forced out, edging a small weak chuckle. "Of course," she softly added. Rayla immediately rose up from her seat, and jerked her thumb over her shoulder. "I'm-I'm gonna patrol one last time. Just to be safe." She took one step and was quickly stopped by Callum's hand.

He held tightly around her wrist. "Rayla," he said lowly, "Talk to me." His hand slowly maneuvered down to her hand and entrapped his fingers with hers. "Please," he quietly begged.

Rayla kept her body turned away as her head sunk down. She tried to find the words whilst she swallowed hard. "Callum…" she breathlessly whispered, "You… you almost died…"

In that moment, the atmosphere dropped to a chilling temperature. Any reaction Callum could've possibly had died in his throat as his eyes widened at the revelation. He felt Rayla's hand tightened around his. Almost as if admitting this would suddenly cause him to slip away. He could feel her shaking, and could see her face, despite how desperately she tried to hide her pain. She looked sad. Far sadder than he'd ever seen her before.

"Rayla… I…" he bit back on his words as he stared at her. He felt her shimmy her hand, and he immediately clenched on. He reached forward with his other hand and grabbed her other arm by the elbow. "Wait, wait, wait," he hastily said. Slowly turning her around, he raised a worried brow as he asked, "What happened?"

They were both standing now. Both staring into each other's eyes, just inches apart. Callum could see the fear in her eyes, whilst Rayla saw his worry. With one, simultaneous breath, the two soaked in the moment before sitting back down on the log.

"I… I still don't really know what saved ya," she admitted, shaking her head. "But… but I remember what was happening." Another sharp inhale. "Your eyes were dark, like, sickened. I-I never seen anythin' like it. It was like they were sealed shut! You just… you weren't openin' them," she airlessly said. "Then…" she closed her eyes. "You stopped breathin'."

Callum's eyes widened even more. Before he could even respond, Rayla continued.

"Ya were just gasping! Just, lying there clinging onto… I-I-I don't know what!" She threw her hands up in the air. "It-It was just, everything was so silent and all I could hear was you. Just… practically begging for air." Rayla's head sunk down in her hands. "I didn't know what to do. I… I just held ya because I was scared. I-I thought, if I let go for second, you'd…" She managed to glance up at his shocked face with tears brimming her eyes. "I dunno…" she shook her head once again as she added, "I just wanted to hold you…" Rayla closed her eyes once again and held them shut. She tried to fight back her tears, but could only feel them building up even more. They were practically beating away at her eyelids, begging to be released.

Suddenly, a warmth encased Rayla. She opened her eyes to find herself wrapped within Callum's arms. He had her head rested on his shoulders and let her arms slowly find their way around him. "It's okay," he whispered, "it's okay." He continued to repeat the words, he said them quietly and repeatedly until Rayla responded.

"No," she muttered, "it's not." He slightly pulled away from their hug to look Rayla in the eyes. "Callum… you… you were nearly—"

"But I'm not," he sternly interjected. His face was serious. With a tightened jaw and a hardened stare, he said, "I"m here now. An-And I'm fine!" His hand made its way up to her cheek and stroked off a tear. "See? I'm fine." His smile returned, and he gave Rayla an earnest look.

Rayla couldn't help but smile back at his genuinity. "I-I know…" she chuckled. "I know you're here. And I know you're fine now. But," she let out a sigh, "That doesn't change what happened. That doesn't change what I…" she could do this. She could say it. She had to say it. "Felt…"

"You mean… being scared?"

"No-I… Wait, yes, exactly!" Rayla agreed. "I was terrified Callum!"

He nodded. "I mean, I get it—"

"No!" she hastily interrupted. "Ya don't!" Her eyes were filled with fear. Fear of rejection. Fear of embarrassment. Fear of the truth. "I… what I felt… when I almost lost ya," her voice dropped to a hushed whisper, "I didn't wanna lose someone I cared about." Callum smiled at her earnestly. Just before he opened his mouth to respond, Rayla added, "Someone I care about a lot."

His brows raised high as his mouth morphed into a thin line. "Oh," he squeaked out, dropping his hands down to his lap.

"Yeah…"

"Oh… huh…"

"Yup…"

"I… I…"

"It's alright!" She assured, shaking her head, nearly startling Callum. "I just needed to get it off my chest." A nervous laugh erupted from her. "It's just been… on my mind… for awhile—well since it ever happened—but none of that is important." She raised up from the log and cleared her throat. "I… I think I should really scout ahead." Rayla vaguely gestured a finer over to the direction she had supposedly come from. "I'll be back in… probably a few minutes…" she gently supplied.

Callum stared at her as she walked, wordless for a few short seconds. Only managing out a brief, "Okay…"

He watched her pensive, reserved face shun itself away from him—the same face he'd drawn many times before. He watched her hands wrap around her arms in a shy embrace. He watched her walk in small, hesitant strides. A million thoughts were rushing through his mind, and the only word he could handle was "okay." Callum stared in silence as he tried to conjure up any semblance of a significant meaningful thought. The mention of his unconscious incident brought his mind back to his breathless atmosphere. The exact moment when he felt the same amount of emotions running around in his thoughts. He remembered the exact words that changed everything after he awoke. The words his mother had told him.

Callum took a deep breath and rose up to his feet. "I care about you too!" he shouted. Rayla stopped in her tracks and turned to stare at him with wide eyes. "A lot… as well…" he softly added, a blush crept up on his cheek as his gaze slowly drew downward.

Rayla flushed bright cheeks back at him and shyly smiled. Courage finally building within, Callum raised his head and met her eyes. The moment lasted for a barely a minute before anyone decided to move. They needed more time to think, that was obvious enough. But it was enough to know that there was still a moment between them where they understood each other. Standing still, silently staring at one another. Their mirrored shy smiles, their hesitant words, it was all they needed.

For now, anyways.

A/N: Sorry about that ending everyone. I know, it wasn't exactly ideal and kinda got thrown around a bit, but I was mainly trying to get to Rayla confessing to Callum her feelings. I'll probably make this a two-shot and continue this eventually, but not anytime so soon.

Oh yeah, so, I'm also participating in Rayllum Week. Between April 10 - April 17.

Day One: Fireflies

Day Two: Sunset/Sunrise

Day Three: Modern College AU

Day Four: Moonlight

Day Five: Illness

Day Six: Scarf

Day Seven: Dragon

Bonus: Confession

So yeah, I'm a bit excited and everything because I've never participated in a ship week before! So, I'll make sure to post a lil' one-shot everyday between April 10 to April 18 (oh yeah, I'ma try that bonus-have a feeling some of y'all would want me to). In the meantime, I might try to push out one more one-shot before then. But, I do have other projects in the works too. Quick self-promotion. I have a Miraculous Ladybug one-shot I just posted too! It's a Lukanette, so... sorry.

Anyways, with that being that, please, review and I hope you enjoyed!

Until next time,

Bleh