A/N: Day 9: Illness! Nothing clever, just enjoy!

Chapter Summary: No matter what, Rayla will always hate riding boats. And so would her stomach. Nothing could change that for her. But, thankfully, no matter what, Callum's always willing to cheer her up whenever possible.

Word Count: 2,048

Seasick

Callum was no stranger to sickness. Whether it be the common cold or a sudden fever, he and Ezran had dealt with their fair share of sicknesses over the years. The only thing that would set them apart from most folk, is the fact that they had nurses to take care of them. The mere second one of them caught something, there'd be a nurse right away—medicine prepped and a hot meal on the go. Callum learned a lot from them. He learned the importance of keeping your body healthy and clean, whilst also avoiding things that could obviously harm it. And so for the better part of three years, Callum had avoided feeling ill in any way.

He had taken that time to watch over Ezran more extensively. Things like making sure he was eating—which later on became an issue of too much over too little—and staying hygienic. He always made sure he did his scheduled baths and ate healthily as possible. For the most part, he did good. But there were of course scenarios his young brother would catch a cold, and Callum tasked himself with the mission of learning how to cure it. Everything he'd seen from the nurses taught him all he needed to know. But that didn't mean he knew everything.

For example, Callum had no idea how to help with seasickness.

"Hey, Rayla?" Callum called out. He glanced over at the Elf and seethed at the sight of her bent over on the railing of the ship. "H-How… how you doing?" he lamely asked.

Rayla turned her face away from the swaying waves crashing against their boat and managed a very, very weak smile at Callum. "I'm… I'm fine…" she groaned, gesturing a thumbs up. She must've noticed Callum's obvious discomfort and worry, and tried to force a stronger smile. "S-See? I—" a wave disgust filled the girl's face as she forced her mouth shut and puffed her cheeks. She turned back toward the ocean and proceeded to release the loudest gag Callum had heard in his entire life.

That wasn't leaving his mind anytime soon.

He winced as he listened to her repeatedly air out her lungs, practically forcing this morning's moonberry juice into the vast waters. That was the third time she vomited. Also the third time Zym tried to cover his ears. It was not a pleasant ride for anyone aboard. Speaking of, Callum's worry was temporarily distracted by the sudden contact on his shoulders. He turned around in a startle and released a small squeal, much to the amusement of the Elf before him.

"Whoa, relax lad," the sailor calmly advised, "No harm here," he chuckled.

Callum stepped back as he pulled his hood over his head even more. Clearing his throat, he responded, "Oi, it's aight laddie." He visibly cringed at his "accent" as he smiled at the Ocean Elf.

The sailor rubbed the back of his head as he said, "I just uh, came to warn ya 'bout your friend over there."

"Warn?" Callum echoed.

"Aye," the Ocean Elf nodded. "The other passengers can't stomach the sigh of her… well lack of, stomach." He erupted a boisterous laugh. When he noticed the boy's unamused face, he awkwardly coughed. "A-Anyways, uh, I've just been getting complaints…" his face fell into a nervous smile as he glanced over to the other passengers scattered around the deck.

Callum awkwardly laughed as he met the unsightly stares of the other elves. "Sorry," he apologized. "She just… gets motion sick," he informed the sailor.

The Ocean Elf nodded. "It happens, don't ya worry about it," he assured. "But uh…" a gag echoed out from Rayla's direction causing the two to frown at each other. "Can ya—"

"I'll see what I can do, don'tcha worry 'bout it mate," Callum replied as he waved the elf off. "I'll be right on it!" he shouted as he walked over to Rayla.

Zym was nuzzled up against Rayla's shin, attempting to catch some sleep. Rayla was rested over the railing, both arms overboard with her head hanging with them. Hesitantly, Callum placed his hand on her back, patting it in a slow, awkward manner. "Heeey," he softly greeted, "how are you doing?"

Rayla glanced over at him with a dead frown.

Then immediately returned to barfing out another ounce of what Callum recognized as a maroon coloured liquid. "Guess moonberry juice and ocean don't mix well, eh?"

Another stare.

Another gag.

Callum seethed as he stepped closer to Rayla. "H-Hey, c'mon you…" he stopped himself. "You'll be alright. Just… deep breaths, right? Deep breaths!" he repeated as he motioned his hands up and down. "In and out," he said whilst inhaling and exhaling.

Rayla nodded at him attempting to take as many deep breaths as she could.

"Pace yourself Ray," he advised. He noticed a spot of puke dripping down her chin and opted to use his handkerchief to wipe it off. As he stroked her face with the cloth, he turned her head to face his eyes directly. "Keep breathing. In and out. Five seconds each."

Rayla nodded once more.

She smelled terrible. But Callum was willing to let the slide the moment he saw he smile slowly forming. Her eyes were shuttered and her face was deep in concentration. Her breathing was more controlled now, and her presence felt more relaxed. He could feel her easing her cheek into his hands. He allowed her, and watched as she took his hands and held them on her face. She opened her eyes and managed a small smile at him.

"Can… can ya just stay close?" she gently asked. "I… I feel a lot better with ya here."

He nodded. "Sure. Anything you need," he insisted.

"Distract me," she begged. "Anythin' to take my mind off all…" she paused, holding in a deep breath. "This," she finished.

"Sure, sure," Callum agreed. He quickly tucked away his handkerchief and held Rayla's face. He honestly had no idea if this was what she meant by staying close, but she seemed to like it before so it was safer staying this way. He held her cheeks with soft embrace and thought about her request. A distraction. "Umm… when it gets dark out, you wanna go stargazing again?" he offered. "You can point out all the other fake constellations you guys have."

Rayla scoffed. "Like yours are any better."

Callum smirked as he maintained his gaze on her eyes. "You guys just wanted an excuse to plaster Draconic words into the sky."

"Ya guys have a crude drawing of a man with a bow," she shot back. "Zym could draw better than that."

At the mention of his name, the young dragon perked both his ears and head on alert, looking up at the two in curiosity. "Careful," Callum advised, "wouldn't want to draw too much attention to the little guy here." Zym rested his chin back into the depths of his arms. "We're lucky no one seems to mind him much. Or realize who he is."

Rayla explained, "It's because he's a Storm Dragon. His kind is so rare, that most people might see him at first glance and think he's an Ocean Dragon or somethin'." She shrugged as she looked down at Zym. "Plus, no one's crazy enough to think two kids are just suddenly carrying around the dragon prince out of—" a gag escaped her out of nowhere.

Callum lifted her head and sheepishly smiled. "Try not to look down. It… doesn't help," he warned. "But uh, that's cool… what you said about Zym," he added with a small shrug, "Good to know our cover won't exactly be blown anytime soon."

"Please." She scoffed. "If anyone's gonna blow our cover it's ya."

Callum's brows furrowed. "Me? How?"

"With that terrible accent ya've got going on it's amazing any of the crew think ya're an Elf!" She laughed, shaking her head. "Like jeez, is that what I sound like to ya?"

Callum frowned at her. He had been trying his best. With the cloak Rayla had donned the time she tried to impersonate a human, it was his turn to give it a go. They needed to cross the lake in order to get the town. It had been a close call getting to the docks on time, but Callum had essentially held onto Rayla for doing all the talking. That hope died the second they set out from shore, as she merely collapsed against the railing. Since then, the other passengers had distanced themselves from the two and kept disgusted stares, clearing put off by her sickness.

He had been the reliant one on interactions since then. And judging by Rayla's snark, he clearly didn't do as well as he hoped. It was more so he was doing as bad as he suspected.

"At least I'm not going around saying 'Howdy humans! Human fellas,'" he mocked in a country accent.

Rayla rolled her eyes. "Please, my disguise was perfect."

"You caused a mob to form in town and literally forced us to run for the hills."

A soft thump was directed at Callum's chest whilst a venomless scowl flew to his face. "Hey, that wasn't on my disguise. I was preoccupied with another mission, remember?" She crossed her arms. "I haven't had anyone catch onto me yet. But ya however," she pointed up at his hood, "your lack of horns might do ya in."

Callum smacked her finger. "And pointing at it will really help," he hissed. "Besides, I already have the perfect disguise!" he confidently claimed. When he was met with a blank stare he sighed. "C'mon, I'm wearing a hood, got no horns? And a weird accent? Obvious elves will assume I have some estranged and tragic backstory about my horns and my past, and no one's willing to hound me for details because they fear they'll only bring back the trauma I've tried so hard to suppress," he dramatically finished.

Rayla stared at him with an amused face. She was desperately trying to fight back a smile, Callum could tell, but it was in vain. She opted for a quiet chuckle as she shook her head. "Ya're ridiculous sometimes."

"True," Callum agreed. "But at least it makes you smile," he proudly declared.

Rayla chuckled. "I'm sick, I'm practically one minute away from vomiting tomorrow's lunch. Anythin' ya say can make me laugh."

He still smiled, no point in hiding how proud he was of himself and of her. She really was trying to stay focused on their conversation and it showed. He managed to keep her mind distracted and calm, and the best way that worked was just by them being them. As always, they could easily lose themselves within each other's words, within their presence. They just had that effect on each other. He couldn't help but smile at that.

With a bold confidence brewing inside, Callum leaned close and quickly kissed Rayla's lips. Her face dissolved into shock as she asked, "Why would ya do that to yourself?"

Callum maintained his smile. "Because…" he shrugged. "You deserve it."

A blush grew on her cheeks, definitely unrelated form her sickness as she formed an apologetic smile. "My breath stinks though."

Callum nodded as the scent suddenly overwhelmed his body. He leaned over the railing and started to take his turn with upchucking the sunberry bread he had this morning. The taste still lingered on his lips and regret built within the pits of his stomach, alongside his rising disgust. It might've been a smarter idea to go for the cheek, but he was too lost in the moment. He felt Rayla's hand comfortingly sort itself on his back, patting it softly. But the motions suddenly stopped as a firm grasp replaced them. Retching ringed out from Callum's left and as he glanced over, he was met with Rayla's face. It looked as if the two both had failed their attempts at comforting each other.

"Dammit," the familiar sailor's voice returned. "I asked ya to take care of her, not join her! Ya lot are going below deck, ya're disgusting to look at!" he shouted as he stomped near.

Callum couldn't care. It was worth it.

A/N: Again, got nothing else to add. Sorry it was so late, just got held up is all. Also sorry if this wasn't as good as the rest. Remember, 31 days, no guarantee they'll all be outta the park.

Review responses:

Griff-FanFic1933: Healthy angst, I like it! I'll be sure to try more of that in the future! Glad you loved it!

Guest: Hmm, I'll try to emulate that struggle more. I thought I did good with Rayla's subtly, but then again I guess I was going more for just them being emotionally unstable. In my mind they are kids, so it made sense that little things really do get them sometimes. Thanks for the advice though, I'll keep it in mind!

Tomorrow's Scarf! That's all i got.

Until next time,

- Bleh