The next day Ethari made a proper enchantment to heal Rayla's hands. They spent most of the day catching up on everything that had happened. When the later afternoon came, Ethari asked Rayla if she would like to invite Callum, Harrow, and Ezran over for dinner. After all, Ethari himself would like to get to know the people that helped reunite him with his daughter.

Rayla agreed, and texted Callum about it.

Rayla: Hey, would you be willing to come over for dinner? Ethari wants to get to know you guys. Do you think Mr. H can make it?

Callum: Not sure if Dad can come. I'll ask him, but I know, Ez and I will be there.What time?

Rayla: 7:30, not sharp.Just sometime around there.

Callum: Am or Pm?

Rayla: :(

Callum: It's not like formal or anything right?

. . .

Rayla: Don't think it matters. Wear comfortable clothes. It's nothing fancy, just dinner with Ethari and me. Nothing too special.

Callum turned around to look at Ezran. They were in Callum's car in the parking lot of the grocery store. "Ezran, are you up for for dinner at Rayla's with Mr. Ethari?"

"Sure! Can we bring Zym and Bait? They get grumpy when I leave them at home for too long, especially Bait." Ezran nodded eagerly.

Callum: Can Bait and Zym come?

Rayla: Why not?

~*~

7:00 pm came and the three of them readied. Harrow was available so they took his car. They arrived and Rayla and Ethari were finishing dinner randomly throwing flour at each other for the fun of it.

When they finished, Everyone sat at the table eating dinner talking about occupations and stuff like that.

In the middle of dinner, Ethari asked, "Rayla, how did you meet Callum? You told me many things about him and his family, but you never told me how it all started."

Rayla smiled wider than normal, as she thought back to it. It felt like an eternity ago. "Well, we met on my first day of school, a day after I arrived in Katolis. I was runnin' late and he was leavin' Mr. Harrow's office. We bumped into each other in front of the office. Mr. Harrow had him show me around the school." She giggled to herself remembering how it had happened.

Callum chuckled raising his eyebrows.

Rayla turned to face him, "What?" She smiled playfully nudging him in the elbow.

"Nothing. It's just, technically you bumped intome. It wasn't a mutual decision." Callum joked laughing back at the memory.

Rayla's cheeks turned pink. She leaned her shoulder over to her left into his shoulder, "Like I decided to bump into you. It's not nothing, when you say it." She teased.

Ethari chuckled, "Hmm. Ezran, how did you meet your animal companions?"

Ezran beamed at the question, "Bait was dad's buddy, until he handed him down to me. I found Zym on a school field trip, and I convinced Dad and Callum to let me keep him."

"And that's when the limit started. Your 'puppy eyes' don't work anymore." Callum added as Rayla sneaked a piece of Callum's food. He turned to look at her and she looked away innocently.

Ethari described, "Did you know that Zym is a storm dragon? One of the most powerful of dragons. He's rare you know. A baby storm dragon is only hatched every 700 years. "

Ezran's eyes widened in amazement. "Wow!!!"

Callum retaliated with Rayla and stole a piece of her food. Then he asked curiously slightly laughing at his "food thievery". "Mr. Ethari, how long have you and Rayla known each other?"

"As long as I've known Runaan. Runaan and I met when she was born. After that I was treated as a part of the family." Ethari informed happily. He looked at Harrow then to Rayla, "Your children seem quite close with Rayla." He then turned his gaze to Callum. "Rayla, was quite shy when she was young. She never even had a crush. A part of that was because of Runaan, and the inconveniences of the inhabitants of Silvergrove. But she also just wasn't very outgoing. She much preferred to explore outside Silvergrove on her own."

Rayla began to pick at her food. She never was crazy about talking about herself, "Yeah, I wasn't what you would call a 'social butterfly'."

Ethari still went on, "She would come with bundles of adoraburrs stuck to her back to hide them from Runaan. They were her only friends. I'm happy to see she's come out of her shell, and come to be quite close with Callum and Ezran."

"Quite." Harrow added as both he and Ethari looked at Rayla and Callum who started picking from each other's plates and quietly giggling. "They've been like two peas in a pod, since they met."

Both Rayla and Callum fell silent after hearing that.

Rayla's cheeks turned a bright red, "We're not that close. We're.. Best friends." She said then mouthed to Ethari, Not close like That.

Callum turned to look at Harrow mentally asking him what he was implying.

Harrow wasn't at all phased, he just smiled proudly.

Ethari egged it on, "Callum, you seem quite fond of Rayla..."

Rayla immediately interrupted, "Oh! Would you look at the time? It's gettin' late. We should probably start cleanin' up." She picked her plate up from the table.

"But you haven't finished your food."

"I'm good."

Ethari didn't fully worry. He could catch on to what she was covering for, and she had been picking off of Callum's plate. She could probably manage through the night without anymore food. "Very well, then, Callum, Ezran, Harrow, would you mind collecting the dishes? Rayla and I will wash them." He stood and pushed the chair back into place.

The three nodded and began collecting the plates and cups. Rayla knew what was coming. Ethari was curious and he would surely speak to her about it.

As they gathered the dishes, Callum directed his attention to Harrow, "What wasthat?" His face a crimson.

Harrow answered still unphased by his blushing state. "You and Rayla, are close. I simply implied that. Is that so terrible?"

"That wasn't'implied' that was egged on... exaggerated."

"You are fond of her, are you not? What part of that did I 'exaggerated'? You two are much closer than friends are, contrary to what you seem to try to convince everyone. Callum, I was married once, remember? I know what love looks like. You are in love with her. I can see it all in the way you act around her and look at her. And contrary to your belief, She is in love with you." Harrow disagreed, then paused before placing some of the plates on the countertop beside the sink.

"I wish." Callum commented under his breath.

Rayla stopped for a moment to tell them, "You can stay in the livin' room, while you wait for us to finish." She informed them tilting her head towards the living room.

The three walked into the living room and sat on the couch resuming their conversation.

Callum couldn't help, but wonder, "Dad, before you and Mom got together... or whatever.. Did you ever wonder that she didn't feel the same? That she didn't love you, the way you loved her?"

Harrow slightly smiled and shook his head, "I once worried, believing she was 'too good for me' . She was many things I wasn't. But I admired that about her... I admired a lot about her. I often wondered, why me? Why would she choose me of all the men in her wake? And believe me she was quite popular. But what could I possibly offer her that she would want me, above all the rest?"

It felt like this was being repeated, except the fact that Harrow actually had the courage to find out. Callum didn't. How was Callum to find out how Rayla felt about him, when it seemed so clear she didn't see him that way? "H- how did you find out mom loved you?" He let the question slip through his lips. He had to know.

"I made a jump. I took a step. I made a move. You'll never know how she really feels if you don't ask her." Harrow explained simply.

"What- what kind of move did you make?"

"Callum, it doesn't make much of a difference what kind.Imustered up all the courage I could and told her how I felt. It was the best choice I ever made. I got you as a bonus as well. You never know what could come out of taking that first step if you never take it." Harrow gently eludicated. Surely, he was bound to have this conversation with Callum at some point.

"But what if it's a bad idea? What if I'm right and she doesn't love me the way you think she does? What if I destroy our whole friendship or push her away, because I told her?" Callum rambled his insecure possibilities.

"What if your ears fall off? What if you lose your hair?"

"What?!"

"Callum, your life cannot dwell on 'what ifs'. Much could happen as a what if, but that doesn't mean you prepare for it. If you do not take that step, you can miss out on a beautiful future." Harrow told him truthfully. Callum signed. Harrow was right, even if it didn't feel like it.

Meanwhile, Ethari and Rayla discussed similar matters as they washed the dishes.

"Ethari, I already had told you. We're Best Friends, nothin' more, nothin' less. What else did you want to pry out of him?" Rayla asked.

Ethari shook his head, "There was no pryin' anythin' out of him. He's an open book. What exactly am I pryin' out of him?" He said the smile not fading.

Rayla exhaled deeply. She loved Ethari and couldn't be happier to have him here. She should've known he'd figure this out soon. "I don't know, if you'd finished your sentence, yes, he would agree. He knows it would sound wrong to disagree with that. We're friends, of course there's goin' to be a fondness between is. But that's not what you were implyin', was it?"

Ethari's smirk grew, "Possibly. I see the way you look at him and vise versa. I'm not blind you know."

Rayla scoffed shyly, pausing and looking in the sink as if searching for something. "How do I look at him?"

He turned to face her, "With adoration, with love. You're in love with him."

Rayla didn't meet his eyes, she looked at the ceiling. He was always excellent at reading people, "Fine, I admit it. I'd do anythin' for him. I do love him. He's wonderful. He's honest and compassionate and generous and selfless and just... Perfectly imperfect. He strives to be the best for his family. He doesn't realize how incredible he is, already. He's a great big brother to Ezran. He's modest and humble and,..." She paused dreamily sighing before continuing, "...incredibly handsome. I've never known anyone like him. He's extraordinary." She rested her weight through her arms that were placed on the counter with a dreamy glint in her eyes.

She began daydreaming about his beautiful smile, his captivating green eyes, his comforting touch, and irresistible scent. She imagined feeling Callum's lips on hers. She loved the feeling of it. She wished she could feel it, again.

Ethari broke her out of her thoughts and daydreams by tapping her shoulder. "He sounds lovely."

"He is. He's beyond lovely," But as if on cue, her happiness began to fade, "He thinks so highly of me... but he doesn't feel the same. He doesn't love me... So I decided to crush those thoughts and make him happy. We'll be friends for life, no matter what." She reassured herself and hopefully Ethari, too.

Some crushed thoughts, Ethari thought to himself. " Rayla, have you talked to him about this? "

"Sort of... but, Ethari, I know he doesn't." She was certainly stubborn. Ethari could see that she was wrong, but she needed to see it herself to believe it. Callum loved her more than she would know. She seemed so sure, and sounded so hurt voicing it. He hated seeing her like this.

They resumed in silence, and eventually finished. They conversed a little more with the others before Harrow, Callum, and Ezran started readying to leave, Rayla taking her mind off of the conversation between her and Ethari, and onto Callum, Harrow, and Ezran as they discussed multiple subjects.

Callum and Ezran were near and in the car waiting in Harrow to finish talking with Ethari.

"So how long do you think Mr. H is goin' to make you wait?" Rayla asked looking at the conversing two.

Callum shrugged, "It's hard to tell. You think, we could get away with leaving him here?" He slightly joked.

"I wouldn't test that theory." Rayla giggled and Callum's attention reverted to Rayla as a smitten grin formed across his lips.

Ezran shouted as he held Bait out the window. "Dad, Bait's getting grumpier. We need to get home, sometime this Millennium." He always had the perfect excuse. Finally, Harrow stopped talking and they headed home.

~*~

The next week passed and Ethari was officially settled in and into a normalcy.

Rayla woke early, showered, and went for her daily run in a red, sports tank top and light green, rayon yoga short nearly reaching the mid thigh. She put in her earbuds, played some music. and left on her run while waiting for Ethari to wake.

She ran an entire 3 miles, before stopping for a break. She took out her earbuds, and walked to catch her breath.

Just then, a young man approached her, briefly and subtly checking her out. Rayla happened to notice him and she stopped in her tracks, picking up on his staring her up and down. She spoke up pulling him from whatever thoughts he was lost in. "Uh.. Hello, Sir, Can I help you with somethin'?" She asked plainly.

"Oh! Yes, actually. Hello, I was hoping to bump into you." The man replied excitedly.

Rayla held her hand out to shake his looking at him through suspicious, narrowed eyes , "I guess, your wish came true?" He wasn't a generally bad guy from what she could perceive. He was nice looking. He had bright, blue-green eyes, lightly tanned skin similar to an Italian's, thick, curly black hair, and he was tall. He trumped must height a little over five inches.

While he carried no comparison to Callum, he was kinda cute. Callum was hot, hands down.

The man took her extended hand and kissed it. She lightly blushed. That was a tradition she'd never heard of and it felt uncomfortable when he did it. He spoke in a deep, voice, which didn't do a thing for Rayla. Deep voices, to her at least, weren't all that attractive. "My name is Dante Pavone. You're very beautiful. Surely, you have a lovely name as well."

"Rayla. My name is Rayla. Thanks." She'd been told similar complements so this almost felt like any ordinary ask.

Dante raised his eyebrows, "Germanic for 'wise, strong counselor' It's a very exotic name. Do you have an exotic last name to go with your first?" He requested smoothly.

"Exotic? It really isn't all that, but Dempsey. Rayla Dempsey." She stated only slightly complemented. It did, however, cause her to wonder if Callum thought her name was exotic.

"Irish for 'Descendant of the proud one' Hmm, exquisite."

Now his charms were just that. "I suppose so. I guess you know a lot of different languages. But you didn't answer my question. Is there anythin' I can help you with? Surely you didn't hope on that shootin' star just to tell me my name is nice."

"I saw you move in a couple months ago, and I see when you go for a run in the morning. I've been hoping to meet you in person. Fate turned her hand it seems." Dante said in a friendly, but slightly flirtatious tone.

"You've been watchin' me?" Rayla instantly took a step back feeling uncomfortable about that.

"No, not at all like that. I go for runs around the same time so I normally see you. I live across the street from your house."

"Oh." She still felt a little uneasy, but it was slowly fading.

"It's a pleasure finally meeting you." He grinned wide.

"Rayla slightly shrugged, she'd never seen him, but she almost always had something occupying her mind that kept her from really studying the neighborhood. "Um.. Likewise." She retracted her hand from his grip.

"You don't seem to get those kinds of complements, often. It seemed to take you by surprise." Dante furrowed his eyebrows.

She'd been called a lot of names. Nowadays, names were just another description. But "beautiful" wasn't a word she'd hear often. She'd hear cute, or sweetheart, or even less imaginative, cutie. Names in which made her want to sock someone. But very rarely was she called beautiful.

Come to think of it, the only person who called her beautiful was Callum. It always rendered her speechless to hear from him. "Well, no, but to be fair, no one just walks up to every female to say they're beautiful." Rayla excused. Not much would differ her from any other woman. She wouldn't say she was prettier than anyone. In fact, most she would say were prettier than her.

Dante seemed to read her expression, "While that may be true, not every woman is as delightful as you. I would've assumed you got that everyday with as exquisite as you are."

Light pink covered her cheeks. He was smooth. Really smooth. Callum may not have been the most smooth, but it always felt more sincere and enamoring when he sometimes stammered. Stuttering wasn't a very enticing trait, but when Callum did, Rayla couldn't help, but giggle at it.

"Thanks..."

"Well, I was hoping you would like to go to dinner tomorrow night. I know a nice place. And I know you've probably been asked this before, but I was kinda hoping you make an exception." Dante offered kindly.

On a normal basis, Rayla would say she was busy, but Dante seemed... okay. She wouldn't mind getting to know him, at least. He seemed nice, really smooth, but nonetheless nice. She thought about saying no with her usual excuse, but she thought back to what Claudia had told her months ago. If Rayla wasn't going to make a move on Callum, she needed to, at least, move on. If Callum wasn't interested she shouldn't keep procrastinating this. She wasn't going to make another move, so she needed to move on.

This could be very well what she needed.

"I do have work tomorrow mornin', what time are you thinkin'? I get off of work at 5:00 pm." Rayla requested.

"What about 6:30 pm? I'm off tomorrow. That way you have time to do whatever you'd like, until the time comes." Dante suggested checking his watch then realizing the time. "Oh! Shoot!! I'm late for work. I gotta go. So tomorrow evening at 6:30 pm, and wear something dressy. I'll pick you up, it's a really fancy place." Dante sprinted off in the very direction he came.

Great, just what she needed, another reason to go shopping.

She jogged back home and found Callum's car in the driveway. He was already here. She walked inside, and went to the kitchen to go get a water. "Hey, Ethari! Hey, Callum!" She grabbed a water bottle from the fridge page and sat on the recliner in the living room nearly forgetting about the whole instance with Dante the moment she saw Ethari and Callum.

"Good mornin', Rayla." Ethari nodded.

"G' morning." Callum greeted. "Oh! Dad bought a new chess game. He says he looks forward to a rematch. You wanna come over after work and beat him again?"

Rayla wanted to, but that reminded her, she unfortunately couldn't. The dress wouldn't buy itself. "Callum, you know I would. But I have to go shoppin'. Hopefully Claudia and Nyx aren't too busy. I may have to give them a call."

"Sh- shopping? Oh! Um.. Okay."

Ethari watched their expressions as they discussed. This wasn't a normal occurrence.

"Maybeyoucould come with me." Rayla asked Callum.

"Uh. Yeah, sure. What are you shopping for?" Callum agreed wondering curiously.

"A dress. I actually have a date tomorrow night, and apparently it's formal." Rayla informed not sounding very excited for it, but willing.

"Wait! A- a- a date?! You have a date?!!"