A/N: YES! I return! So, if you don't follow me on Tumblr I kinda explained the situation but basically I'm busy with school and as of now, have essays under way! So yeah, 'twas kinda rough. And this oneshot kinda felt meh to me, but I wanted to write it because I wanted to base something off of the recent season and the aftermath! Because y'all, RAYLLUM IS CANON NOW. How often can you say that about a show?

Also, before you get into it, we recently passed the anniversary for MBTMS! March 1st is apparently when I posted it, and to be honest, I'm glad I did. Remember, you guys are the reason this is still happening. Thank you so much for you everlasting patience and for putting up with barely decent oneshots (like this one right here) because I understand they're not all winners, nor all that worth the wait. But I just love your reviews, both on A03 and FFN. You guys are the reason why I do what I do. I love writing. And y'all remind me of why that is... thanks a ton.

Now enjoy!

Chapter Summary: The Dragon Queen was saved, Zym is safe, and peace between the Humans and Elves is finally under negotiation! And after the dust settled Rayla returns home. Discovering her banishment was lifted, she takes Callum back with her to meet Ethari, face-to-face... for real this time.

Word Count: 2,680

Meeting The Parents (Technically)

"Ya ready?"

Rayla's voice startled Callum from his sketchbook, nearly causing him to fall off the Shadowpaw. She had reached out and grabbed his shoulder, stabilizing him as he situated himself. He met her eyes with a thankful stare as she sheepishly shrugged. "Sorry, I kinda scared ya huh?"

He laughed, "Something like that, yeah." He closed his book with his pencil inside and smiled at her. "And, to answer your question, I'm not sure."

She furrowed a brow. "Why not?"

He shrugged. "I dunno, last time it felt different. There was a lot of stress, and no one could even see me! Now it's…"

"Better," Rayla grabbed his hand, interlocking their fingers as she held them up, "It's better because they can see ya now." Her smile easily reflected into his, leaving the two the grin like a bunch of children.

Callum's eyes lit up as he noticed the familiar landmark. "Oh, we're here!" he pointed at the flat lands.

Rayla turned her body around and chuckled. "Wow, your memory serves as a nice navigator." She brought their ride to a stop before they hopped off. "I lived here my whole life and didn't start memorizing my way back until I was nine!"

Callum chuckled as he walked alongside Rayla. "Yeah, well, my parents did always say it was something special. Claudia actually suspected I had some magical abilities or something because of how descriptive my memory can be." A frown fell on his face as the thought of his friend flashed through his mind.

Claudia left.

She was missing now.

He shouldn't look back on memories like that—

"Hey," a sudden hand on his shoulder brought him out of his trance. He glanced up and smiled at Rayla's violet eyes. "It's okay to think about her. To… talk about it ya know?" She smiled at him, a look that practically told him she understood. She knew it wasn't exactly something they could gloss over.

"I know." He nodded. "But, that's not important right now." He plucked Rayla's hand off his shoulder, slowly dragging his fingers through hers as he parted ways from her. He assumed the stance, beginning the ritual to enter the village. He smiled at her, waiting for her to join in.

"Right," she agreed.

::::

When Callum first heard of Moonshadow Elves, he conjured up a demonic elf with scary horns and dangerous blades covered in blood. He imagined intimidating creatures with violent and fierce gestures of practical everyday movements. He imagined monsters, to simply put it. But he never imagined the very first Moonshadow elf he'd ever see, was the prettiest person he would ever encounter. And never would he imagine that said person would become his girlfriend. Needless to say his image of Moonshadow Elves changed like clockwork. So Callum would have never imagined that the very first time he'd ever see a village of Moonshadow Elves (the first time didn't exactly count since they had no faces), he would be met with a round of cheering and roaring applause.

But lo and behold, that was what exactly he and Rayla met upon entering after their ritual.

And it wasn't any mere illusion.

He had never seen such a literal display of the term "open arms" until today. People welcomed them with smiles and occasional embraces of greatly wide open arms. Even Callum received some thankful hugs of his own, along with some hearty handshakes of approval. It was very real. Just like the bashful smile on Rayla's face with each and every Elf that passed her way. They were making her know that her banishment was null and void. They were reinstilling her faith in their village. They were affirming that she was, in fact, a hero. And she deserved it. Callum had no doubt about that either.

"Th-Thank ya, thank ya so much," she smiled as she shook the last set of hands before reaching the stairs. She turned around and met Callum's eyes with a shy look. "W-Wow, I never thought—"

"Get used to it Ray," Callum grinned as he approached her, taking her hand. "Because you're a hero. And, you deserve this."

She mirrored his smile. "So do ya," she tightened her grip on his hand, intertwining their fingers as she nodded her head upward. "Now c'mon. Let's go see Ethari." The eagerness in her tone slightly eased Callum's nerves as she led him up the steps. The last time they walked up these steps, he recalled feeling anxious and worried, wondering about the possibilities of Rayla's curse being removed, stressing about the likely scenario of him not even liking Callum at all. And now? He felt the same amount of worry and anxiety as before. The only change was that his focus was strictly on him now. Could he really meet the expectations of this amazing engineer? Someone Rayla had praised to be the village's greatest craftself? The odds felt nowhere near Callum's favour.

Before he could even allow the regrets and doubts to change his mind, he and Rayla found themselves at the foot of Ethari's workshop, right before the door. He expected Rayla to push open the doors like last time, but instead, she excitedly brought out her index finger and pushed a small button on the frame of the door. After a moment, a rhythmic chime echoed from what sounded like the interior of the building, keying to a tune of that a nice jingle. Callum's eyes lit up in wonder, and judging by his girlfriend's reaction, she had been waiting for his reaction to that.

"Coming!" Ethari's voice shouted from within.

The human mage couldn't help but ask, "Okay, what was that?" He gestured cluelessly toward the door, obviously unsure of what and where that came from.

Rayla grinned. "It's called a doorbell. Ethari came up with this design a while ago for our village, and then went onto to spread his design to the rest of the kingdoms. It's a lil' jingle that plays whenever someone pushes the button so it lets residents know there's someone at their door. They're still being produced so some houses have them in the main settlements of Xadia, but our village is the only one that has a doorbell in every household," she proudly informed him.

"Wow… that's amazing…" Callum said in awe. "Think we can steal that idea? I'd love to see the Katolis gates play a tune every time we had a visitor."

Rayla chuckled. "Ya'd have to ask Ethari, his invention afterall."

The doors swung open and right before them stood the craftself himself. He had a wide smile on his lips as a teasing look fell upon him. He crossed his arms at Rayla as he leaned up against the doorframe. "I'm afraid Rayla gives me far too much credit Prince Callum, it was just my prototype I made—the actual idea came from my workshop group as a whole."

"Which he leads," Rayla not-so-quietly whispered behind her hand.

Callum chuckled as Ethari rolled his eyes. He watched the two drop their hands and stare at each other with happy faces. The next second, they lunged at each other with open arms, wrapping them around in a tight embrace. He watched as the two elves swelled up in their moment, soaking in every breath. Tears practically fell from Ethari's eyes like waterfalls. He quietly uttered, "Ya're home…" he sniffed away a tear and pulled away from Rayla, still holding onto her shoulders. "I'm… I'm so glad ya came back. I'm… sorry—"

"It's fine," Rayla quickly dismissed, shaking her head. "It's fine."

"Rayla, I—"

"Ethari," she reached up and held his shoulders, smiling at him with that warming smile that made Callum giddy, "We're good. We're fine."

He laughed, as if in amazement, as he nodded at her. "Yeah ya are. Ya're beyond fine. Ya did it. Ya saved the Queen. The Prince. All of Xadia and the human kingdoms!"

Rayla chuckled as she nodded her head over something Callum, shooting him a knowing look as she said, "Well, I had some help…"

Ethari's eyes lit up as he rushed over to Callum, who had stuck out his hand expecting a firm shake, but instead met him with a thankful embrace. He tightened his hold as he whispered to the boy, "Thank ya for bringing her back safe and sound. For watchin' over her."

Callum awkwardly laughed, slowly bringing his arms up to return the hug, patting the elf's back with hesitance. "Hah, well, um don't give me all the credit. Trust me, she probably could've done it on her own if I wasn't such an important piece to the whole plan." His eyes shot wide as he backed away from the craftself. "N-Not that I think I'm like, a big shot or anything. I'm not! R-Really! I meant that I was needed for the plan, her plan, R-Rayla's plan! She could've done it without—"

"Callum," Ethari chuckled. He placed a firm hand on his shoulder and smirked. "It's fine. I get what ya're trying to say. But that needn't matter. Because I'm thankful that ya were there for her. Especially when I…"

Wasn't.

Both Callum and Rayla knew what was hanging on the edge of his lips. It was unspoken but the air hung just enough silence for them to grasp at what he was going to say. It was no secret that the guilt must have been eating at him ever since the Queen sent out messengers to all the villages about the two of them did. They had heard the rumours spewing all over Xaida, the Step-Prince of Kaolis and daughter of the Moonshadow Dragon Guard, returned the Dragon Prince to the Dragon Queen. Hearing such news brought a pleasant rise to the Moonshadow Village, and Rayla was immediately asked to return—bringing Callum as well of course.

Throughout all of that time however, Ethari has been waiting. Most likely rattled with guilt for how he acted when he first saw Rayla, for doing the spell. He had helped them of course, and arguably without his help they would've never been to the Dragon Queen's nest in time. But he must've been so ashamed of himself the entire time. And then to learn they succeeded? Callum didn't even want to think about the amount of guilt the elder elf had right now. From what he had heard from Rayla, Ethari was the missing mother figure in her life after her parents disappeared. Both Runaan and Ethari seemed to fill that void for her. And the Step Prince was willing to bet that connection went both ways.

He felt like he betrayed her trust, their bond.

Callum reached for Ethari's hand and softly pulled it off his shoulder. "You were," he replied clasping the four fingered hand with both of his own, sandwiching it with a soft embrace. "I don't just mean because of the rides you gave us—which by the way, we lost one, sorry—but I mean…" Callum dug into his pocket, pulling out the thread that once held the moon opal pendant Ethari gifted to Rayla. The symbol of Ethari's faith in Runaan, in Rayla. "We… she did carry you with us. And you did give us strength. You helped us solve a really big mystery."

As confusion struck Ethari's face as he held the thread with a firm grasp, Callum smiled knowingly at Rayla. "You wanna tell him?"

She happily nodded. "Ethari… my parents…" his brows shot up at the sudden mention, "they're innocent. Callum used Historia viventem and found out what happened that day. They didn't abandon the egg. They defended it…" her proud smile slightly fell as she looked downcast. "Till their last breath. They managed to convince the dark mage to spare the egg instead of destroyin' it. Viren did somethin' to them, that's why their bodies were never found."

Ethari's eyes shot wide open as he stared at Rayla. "They… they're innocent?" He looked to Callum, who confidently nodded. "I… I can't believe it…" he held his head in his hands, falling to his knees as he chuckled. "That… that does sound like your parents. I never pegged them to be cowards." He laughed as he looked up at Rayla, smiling at her proudly. "Children reflect the best parts of their parents. Ya have your father's drive, and your mother's wit. Ya don't get that from just anywhere."

"But I also have your heart," Rayla quipped, "I am who I am today because of your guidance too." She held out her hand to Ethari, helping him up to his feet as she smirked. "I'm not an assassin. Ya're right. It's not somethin' I'm capable of." She looked back at Callum before continuing. "And I'm fine with that. I'm a Dragonguard. Like my parents."

The elder elf stared at the young girl before him with a look of wonder. There seemed to be a mixture of emotions from what Callum gathered, but what the one jarring out at them was obvious. It was the same smile he'd seen on his mother's face each time he showed her a new drawing. It was pride. Ethari released what sounded like a pained laugh, riddled with hurt but also love. He smiled down at the thread, shaking his head as he sighed. "Runaan, he'd… he'd be proud," Ethari spoke with a sad smile, assuring her as he placed his hand on her shoulder.

"I hope so…" Rayla sniffed, holding back her tears, "I do have his stubbornness after all…"

The two laughed as they shared one more hug, embracing each other as they revelled in the news they just shared. They were fine. Things were fine. Ethari's eyes opened as he looked to Callum, smiling at him. Thank ya, he mouthed. Callum simply shrugged, causing Ethari to roll his eyes. "Get in here ya fool," he demanded, reaching out and pulling the young mage into their heartfelt hug. He held the boy with a firm passion, and Callum's mind—for the briefest of moments—felt something familiar.

A warmth that had once comforted him through the rough nights.

A soft touch that once grounded his anxieties in reality.

A sense of family, of security.

It reminded him of his mom's hugs.

Tears swelled up in Callum's eyes as he returned the hug with a fierce conviction of passion. "Thank you…" He sniffed. "For trusting me with her," he whispered. He wasn't sure how those words slipped out, or where they came from. But Callum felt like they needed to be said.

After what felt like an hour's worth of warmth, the three pulled away. This time Callum and Rayla were noticeably holding hands smiling at each other. Ethari obviously noticed the gesture and smirked. "So… ya casted a Moon spell?" he cheekily inquired. A faint blush rose in Callum's cheeks as Rayla nodded for him and began to praise his abilities as the first ever Human Mage. He laughed. "Please, tell me all about your journey," he politely suggested, stepping aside to let the two in. "I'd love to know more about Rayla's boyfriend's achievements!"

"Ethari!" Rayla hissed as she hastily shoved said boyfriend inside.

"Relax, I'll be sure to trade childhood photos in return!" he replied, smug as he watched Rayla's face redden. "Would ya like to see the first time Rayla held a knife?"

"Would I!" Callum gasped in wonder.

"That's it, I'm making ya drink Moonberry juice." Rayla sneered as she led him toward the kitchen.

Ethari laughed as he watched the two tease each other back and forth whilst going further into his workshop. He stopped and stared down at the thread in his hand, gently thumbing the texture of the rope as he looked away from inside his house and down at the fountain. "We'll save ya a glass, my love." He brightly smiled as he turned back and shut the door behind them. Later that day, Ethari claimed to finally have a son.

A/N: Yeah, it wasn't exactly much but I also wanted to write Ethari for the first official time. You'll notice too I changed the name in the college AU to Ethari instead of Tim. Originally I didn't want to give Ethari an non-canon name until his actual name was confirmed, but I went with Tim because we knew he was a Tinker so I thought Tim the Tinker would be funny (yes I did laugh at it).

Moving on from that, I would also like to recommend following me on Tumblr for more updates! I am unsure of when the next one will drop, as this whole COVID19 situation has me working online courses now and so the academic switch might be jarring? Especially for ASL. Y'all, how am I gonna learn sign language over online? Rambling aside, I also strive to be very engaged with followers! Please, if you have an idea or something shoot me an ask on my blog and I'll respond ASAP! Don't worry , I do have a plethora of ideas in the works and in reserves. Some of which are actually from you guys! So fret not, I'm not running on empty.

But also, I am aware that College AU is the most popular AU in MBTMS and I do understand that, and apologize for how lengthy those ones can be in updates. They take the most outta me sometimes but are also the most fun to write, so win-win. Mainly though, I wanted to highlight that I will be trying other AU ideas (and any suggested by you guys of course) so things will get broader. MBTMS is my testing ground for AUS, because quite frankly, I don't write AUs at all so this me getting my feet wet. And I don't swim.

Essay done. Thank you all for your patience. Love ya tons.

Review Responses:

SassySapphire: I have and I LOVED it! I'll quickly surmise here: Soren best boi, Rayllum is awkwardly pure and wholesome, action was awesome, Janaya yus, Aaravos still sounding sultry sexy (Ethari too), Queen Aanya was major clutch and great, and though it was rushed-to be expected in a 9 episode only season series-I loved how the story flowed for what it could manage. Also, yeah abandoning homework is a goddamn mood at this point. I should be working on essays, but no! SHIPS COME FIRST.

Prophet21: Wholesome is the word I believe Rayllum embodies... it's too pure...

Ocaj: Glad you're loving them! Also glad to have you along for the ride! And yup, more AU branches coming soon!

Kelakai: Thanks for the luck! I did swell on them last sem. Also thanks for the love!

Winter-Buzz: It really is. They really are.

Bionic Slime: YESS. A fellow binger. I am flattered whenever someone says they binge through my fics, thanks so much! And yes, I'll definitely do more Future Family AUs! That one and the Childhood ones are my favourites, mainly because I love writing children! And yeah, College AU is slow pacing but this recent one was a good insight as to why. They're in love with their friendship too, and really, that's all they care about in the end.

Guest (who I am hoping is the same person): Love your reviews and yup, Childhood friends AU is precious indeed. Also, Sarai and Harrow will always, in any iteration of AUs, be shipping Rayllum.

dinochickrox: Glad to have you along for the ride as well! Hopefully I'll manage to keep ya too! Thanks for the review!

The Moon Phoenix: Happy to hear that you love them! But, as I've stated before, I'm hesitant to separate the AUs as a whole because they're not exactly a fluid story... more episodic, and also the entirety of MBTMS is multiple AUs. I'd like to keep them all together. Sorry if it means they get cluttered, but I do try to label chapter titles in the legend so they're easier to sort out!

behnbailey: Yeah, I'm Canadian. You can probably tell my some of my spelling (colour, not colour, lol). And to me 25 degrees is a bit hot. Though to be fair I do live in Toronto so I guess in some places that's just mildly warm...

Atomberry: I am so happy to hear you say that because honestly I felt very proud of that dinner! I mainly just picked up from own experiences. I'm in a big family, and my siblings bring guests over sometimes so guest dinner conversations were something I wanted to try writing. Thanks for you kind words!

Thanks again guys, really. Also... one more... thanks :)

Until next time,

- Bleh