A/N: This is... different. I wanted to take another crack at this type of writing so, bear with me. Day 8: Rain.

Summary: Sometimes rain isn't as fun as it's usually made out to be. Sometimes… it's just heavy.

Word Count: 2,007

Heavy Thoughts

It was raining hard. That was the most notable thing of the entire evening. During their walk, a sudden outburst from the clouds stirred above and started hailing down a wave of water. The sudden bombardment of rain forced the two to one conclusion: shelter. Immediately, they searched for any semblance of cover from skies and settled in a small cave nearby. That had been over an hour ago, and it was clear to them that there was no sign of the rain ever letting up.

The heavy pitter patter of the droplets was all that filled the air of silence aside from the freezing rain. Zym was just on the edge of the cave, still sheltered, but definitely eager to prance around in the rain. His tail wagged with motivation and his tongue hung with a lust. Rayla was sat up against the wall of the cave, both arms resting on her knees as she gazed out to the open clearing nearby. Zym could handle the rain, but it was a foolish idea to let him run about all by himself. And with how heavy the rain was, neither of them wanted to chance getting sick during this adventure.

Callum sought the opportunity to finish up on sketches—it was what he claimed at least. He was opposite of Rayla, cross legged and wearing a focused face as he dragged his pencil around. Rayla could tell from how his tongue stuck out he was shading, but also from his brief glances, he was actually sketching her. It was cute he tried to hide it though, so she didn't say anything.

Her gaze returned to the pouring rain beside her. It was raining heavily. The type of atmosphere and weather that was actually ideal for an assassin. Rayla's hand unconsciously found itself gripping onto one of her twin blades. It remained in its sheathed form, small and innocent. Rayla flicked her wrist and emotionlessly watched as the blade unfolded itself. The blade had seen a fair share of battles, but was far from worn out. But it was in desperate need of some buffing and sharpening. She chuckled to herself.

Runaan would scold her.

The sudden drop of her lips happened all too quickly. Her face frowned at the blade as her grip tightened. Her hand began to shake as the thoughts flooded her.

The blade is an Assassin's weapon.

Don't drop it.

Hold onto it like it's an extension of your body.

Her firm grip held on as she clenched her teeth.

Ha! Like a natural.

Nice grip. Good control.

Rayla's head fell as tears built up in her eyes. She held them back with conviction, steeling her nerves as she swallowed hard. Her hand couldn't stop shaking. She tried using her other hand to hold it firmly, but it only worsened. It was then she realized both of her hands were shaking, and she had dropped her sword.

Careful. This can take your life as easily as it can take others.

Never lose this.

This is one of your greatest tools.

Her eyes firmly shut as she began shaking her head. She didn't want to remember any of that. The streams had already begun, but there was no avoiding them. There was no avoiding the obvious. There was no avoiding memories.

The sudden contact on Rayla's shoulders startled her to a squeal. She looked to her left and found Callum sat beside her, wrapping his arms around her in a warm embrace.

You can't be caught off guard.

The words rang out deep in her mind but her focus still remained on the moment with Callum. He was pulling her close, offering himself to her, anything she needed. Wordlessly, she accepted and rested her head on his shoulder. A quiet knock erupted a chuckle from Callum. She must've hit him with her horn. She opened her mouth to apologize but was cut off by his movement, he was readjusting himself as he retracted his left arm but pulled her closer with his right. He slowly and patiently rubbed his hand against her right arm.

"It's okay," he whispered into her hair, "it's okay. I'm here."

She nodded, closing her eyes and letting out a deep breath. She found her calm and inhaled and exhaled a few more times, soaking in Callum's presence. She opened her eyes and started rubbing away her tears, but stopped once she saw Callum's handkerchief. She let out a quiet thanks as she accepted the fabric and started wiping away her tears.

"I'm… sorry," she replied as she handed it back. "That was… that was random…" she admitted, feeling a rising heat within her cheeks. With an awkward chuckle she shyly rubbed her damp cheeks. "I—"

"Ray," Callum softly spoke, "it's fine," he assured her. He encouragingly squeezed her arm and smiled as pecked her forehead. "You don't need to explain."

Rayla shook her head. "It's…" He deserved to know. Her gaze returned to the rain outside, and she noticed Zym was now giving her a sad stare. Even he could tell something was up with. Rayla's attention darted back to Callum's previous spot, where she noticed his sketchbook and belongings laid all by their lonesome. He definitely dropped everything the second he heard her crying. Yeah, he needed to know. "He loved the rain," she managed to say.

"Who?" came the confused response.

Rayla's gaze flew over to the plummeting droplets of water outside. She could easily see herself traversing through the onslaught of water, like second nature she knew her spots and how to disappear. "Runaan," she answered quietly, "he… he always liked the rain."

Callum seemed to pause to absorb the information, but then settled with a small laugh. "Lots of people do. It's pretty sometimes. Sometimes it's not too bad."

"Yeah… but he didn't like it for the same reasons most do," she explained. "He said sound is an Assassin's greatest weapon. The way we use it and adapt with it is what makes us formidable."

"Didn't work too well on me though. When we first met that is." He was trying for humour, and his forced chuckle was showing that. Rayla managed a half-smirk but didn't laugh. Callum seemed to drop his forced facade and cleared his throat. "Anyways… he sounds like a great mentor."

"He was," Rayla nodded. "Everythin' I ever knew… from him." She sighed. "Rain was the hardest environment for me to get used to."

"Because of your fear?"

"I have a fear of the ocean, not water," Rayla corrected. She rolled her eyes in annoyance. "It's not like a glass of water will get me shakin' in my boots. And the rain here isn't exactly terrifying."

Callum chuckled. "Sorry. My bad," he apologized.

Rayla shook her head. "It's fine." She took another breath. "He just… he always liked training in the rain. It's hard to move through, but with all that noise…"

"It's easier to do your job," Callum finished.

"Aye," Rayla nodded. "I often just slipped or got mud all over my blades. I'd drop 'em a lot because of that. He'd scold me." Her attention instinctively returned to her blade from before and caused her to retrieve the weapon with haste. Her firm grasp around it made her whole body on edge. "'Hold onto it like it's an extension of your body,' he'd say." Callum's other hand wrapped itself around hers, comfortingly massaging her knuckles. Her grip lessened, and her body felt more at ease. With an empty chuckle, she went on,"Gosh… ya know… the day this all went south for me… it was raining? Just before this all began…"

Callum remained silent, likely allowing her to air out all her feelings. "It just… it was perfect. Raining, and we had the advantage. Just… took one guard. Runaan was so confident I could do it too," she released a humourless laugh. "After all that training, it should've been easy. One takedown. One life." A deep sigh. "But none of that happened. Instead… this," she gestured, with her free hand, all around them, "happened."

Callum remembered her telling him about the guard she let live. He remembered the guilt that ate up inside of her when she recounted every detail. How much she regretted what that all unfolded. But, he also knew the relief she had. He knew that even with all those regrets, there was a part of Rayla that was glad that her blades weren't bloodied. He'd told her that time and time again. But this time, this was different. This was about something else.

"You don't know he's dead," he stated. When she said nothing, Callum continued, "He might've made his way back to Xadia sooner than us. He's not the one dragging around a useless human, so he's probably had better luck traversing through the lands." It was a weak defence, but he had to try.

"Yeah…" Rayla softly said, "but, he's also the type to put everythin' on the line. Him sending that message arrow that night, I just didn't… get the feeling that he…" She swallowed hard. "I don't like my instincts there."

Callym nodded as he rolled his tongue around in his cheek. "Yeah… I get it…" he let out a small chuckle. "I had the same feeling about my dad."

He could feel her freeze up at the sudden mention of him.

It was still a sore spot for her too, he supposed. "I mean… deep down I had my suspicions. But it… it was easier not to think about it, because… it made it feel less real." He shrugged. "Guess that's all mourning really is… just… trying not to think about it much at first." He pulled his scarf up to his mouth and inhaled the scent. Faintly, he remembered her. He quickly returned his hand to Rayla's and wrapped it around her clenched fist. "Eventually we can remember them without… feeling empty."

Rayla nodded. "Eventually," she repeated.

Callum smiled at her response and threw his attention over to the pouring rain outside. The faintest of smiles crossed his face as he thought about his step-father. "He liked the rain too," Callum added. "Gave him more of an excuse to keep me and Ez indoors. Closer to him and my mom." He smiled as he recalled all those rainy days back in Katolis. "But also just… liked looking at it too."

Ahh, see? It's not too bad.

The rain is actually quite peaceful.

Under all that noise there's something quiet, how do you think the calm comes after?

He laughed at that words that flew through his mind. "He just… always wanted to look at things optimistically. He always looked at the rain with a smile, he just always had something nice to say about it." A sniffle escaped him, it wasn't until then that Callum realized he was crying a bit. Rayla's embrace shifted from her being comforted to him being enwrapped in warmth. She was holding him closer now. "Like… under all that noise and wetness, there's actually something nice under there," his gaze flew down to Rayla. "I guess for your case, it's true."

Rayla's head turned up to him. "How so?"

"You guys seemed to enjoy running around in it," he pointed out. "I guess if there really was anything beautiful underneath, it'd be the Assassins running inside it."

Rayla managed to smile through her blush. "Cute," she commented as she lightly thumped his chest. "Here we are, crying our eyes out and ya still find a way to shoot a cheesy line."

Callum shrugged. "Sorry."

She shook her head. "Don't be… I'm… thanks," she whispered back.

"He sounds like a great guy."

"Thanks… so does your dad."

Her weapon fell to the ground as she intertwined her fingers with Callum's. A deep breath and the two managed to snuggle closer together. The echoing of the rain around them muted under their synchronized breathing. They closed their eyes and sighed together.

"I'm sorry…"

"Me too."

A/N: So... how was it? I tried to go for some angst I guess? I wanted to take a turn and see how well I could do. And well, I'm not sure how I did. Lemme know your thoughts. Hope you liked it though!

Tomorrow is illness. This one won't be as sad, so don't worry!

Until next time,

- Bleh