Callum awoke with a sense of bittersweet resolve.

How many days did he have left with everyone? In his heart, he told himself that planning to go away, to buy everyone time, was the right thing to do. He'd learn so much more to be able to help them. He'd have the best teacher who ever lived. It would hurt to say goodbye, but it wasn't really one. It was just an "until next time."

Suddenly, the morning routine wasn't so routine. He noticed everything. Soren checked over his armor and sword as he made jokes, easygoing grins clashing with the discipline his actions proved. Ezran almost always had Bait or Zym at his side within minutes of waking, but he took moments of solitude to reflect, pensiveness when he thought no one was looking at odds with his youth. Rayla often checked their perimeter, ever on guard, but that had changed.

She used the light of dawn to examine three coins in her palms.

How dare he hurt her, seeing her like that? How could he know what it felt like to wake up with someone missing and add himself to her list? How could he not throw himself at her feet and beg for forgiveness for a crime he must commit, hoping someday they'd all understand?

He did not change his mind.

Callum gingerly sat down beside her, pretending he didn't see how moist her eyes were. Rayla didn't turn her head, but she sniffed. "I'm fine."

He put an arm around her, not looking at her or the coins, but at the sunrise. Even this close, he tried to give her a little privacy. "I know." She wasn't fine, but he'd learned to not push. None of them were fine, but all they could do was keep going forward, hoping to wake up better someday.

The silence between them wasn't like when she came back. He was still a little ashamed at how cold he'd been, but he'd truthfully been at a loss of how to react. Now, it wasn't exactly a good silence, but there was understanding.

They both knew the heaviness of grief.

Rayla's was tinted gold with a ray of hope.

"There has to be a way," said Callum, savoring how natural it felt to have his arm around her again. "We'll find it."

Rayla surprised him by leaning against his shoulder, actually giving into his presence. His words. "I'm scared of what it is," she admitted. "If it's something horrible, if it's dark magic…" she trailed off, voice heavy.

They had avoided talking about the coins for this reason. Rayla had already resigned herself to not knowing how to free them, of the cost being too high. Callum looked at their faces and a sense of determination gripped him. Magic can do anything.

"Let's not give up before we even know what we have to do. Viren did this. It's humanly possible to undo it."

"Callum…" he expected Rayla to protest, to tell him to not do it. "Thank you. For considering it. I've been thinking it might have to do with his staff. I- I don't know. It's undoing something horrible. Shouldn't an act of good be, I don't know, something possible without darkness?" She lovingly tucked the coins away in her pocket, patting it to feel them inside, safe. "But I've never heard of primal magic being able to do anything like that."

Shouldn't an act of good be possible without darkness? Callum could have cried contemplating that. "It seems there's a lot of human history where acts of good were tainted by darkness. They then became nothing good at all. They were always in darkness."

"I know."

Callum sighed, taking his turn to lean his head on Rayla. He paused. "Ow."

"The horns, yeah?" She was trying to stifle her laughter but Callum joined in and amplified it, the two forgoing the rest of their conversation, losing themselves in the mirth of a moment.

Maybe Callum had a way to free the elves from the coins.

He had someone he could ask.

Really, he should just try to wait for nightfall until he was asleep, but Callum wanted to talk to Aaravos right then and there.

"Hey, um. I'm gonna like, meditate for a bit. You know, make some faces while sitting on an uncomfortable rock in silence." He pointed with both hands to a rock nearby. "I might… learn something."

Rayla raised her eyebrows. "You think this weird connection to the land you're getting visions from is gonna help? Honestly, I've been kind of worried about you."

"Well, even if it doesn't, I can clear my head. I'll try to remember anything that I've read that might help us."

Rayla shook her head with a smile. "Thanks, Callum. Let me know if you accidentally ever read a countercurse for this weird spell before."

"I will!"

Callum left to go and sit away from the rest of the group as they got their breakfast. He sighed, settling down on the surface of a rock, trying to emulate how he imagined wise and serene people looked. He closed his eyes, already feeling a bit stupid for even trying this.

Aaravos.

He focused on Aaravos, their dreams together, everything he knew of the elf. He wasn't sure if this mental connection could be pulled on from his end, but he tried. Aaravos. He scrunched his face up, focusing on the touch he'd laid on Aaravos's shoulder, their shared memories, his handwriting, his presence, all of it. Nothing yet. Aaravos. Was he pleading, begging, praying? Help me. I need you.

His request seemed to almost make something click into place within his mind, like he'd said a correct incantation.

Colors swam before his eyes until they settled into hazy, mostly pastel shades of blue and white. He felt lightheaded… literally. Callum looked down and blanched, able to see through his now transparent limbs. Okay. He was okay. He was just some kind of projection then.

Callum was standing, or floating to be precise, somewhere he'd never been. He had a decent guess judging by the architecture and the palette of colors before him about where he was, though. It was elegant and almost like what the Silvergrove looked like, but it wasn't quite that.

The biggest clue was Aaravos standing before him.

Aaravos was in front of a mirror- not the one that shattered, but a mirror fixed over a washbasin. Callum opened his mouth to try and make his presence known, but he froze as he observed Aaravos begin some kind of… ritual? A bowl sat on the counter in front of him with an avocado, a spoon of honey, and yogurt. What a weird place to have breakfast. However, Aaravos didn't eat it. Curious, he watched Aaravos spoon out the avocado flesh into the bowl and add in the honey and yogurt, mashing and stirring it with a spoon. Then, Aaravos took the mixture and dipped his fingers in it.

Hm.

If he wasn't going to eat it, Callum assumed it must be magic. He became more convinced when His next move bewildered Callum. Aaravos took the green avocado goo and started coating his face with it. Leaning close to the mirror, Aaravos ensured that his face was evenly painted with the pastel green goo. Callum waited for an incantation or sigils or something, but apparently that came later. Transfixed, he watched Aaravos take out a small vial of glimmering dark blue liquid.

Aaravos, Callum realized suddenly, wasn't wearing shoes, and this became relevant once he sat down, propped his foot up on his seat, shook the small vial, and unscrewed it to reveal that the lid was attached to a brush.

Oooooooh.

Even Callum knew what nail polish was.

"Um," he began. "Hi."

Aaravos looked up, nail polish brush poised over his foot. He blinked. "Yes?" He spoke as he always did, like he wasn't covered in green stuff on his face and caught about to paint his toenails.

"So, I had a question." Callum was trying to ignore all of the avocado and was failing miserably. He had many questions.

"I'm astounded that you've managed to get yourself here at all. I made our connection strong, but even so. Well done." Aaravos waved the loaded nail polish brush. "Your form breaking up, so if you needed something, make it quick."

Callum hesitated. "Uh… it seems like a bad time."

"I am a captive audience."

"It's complicated."

"You seem worried over our connection. That desperation got you here."

"It's about magic, but it isn't time sensitive," Callum admitted. The rush to run to Aaravos to ask him about the coins seemed impulsive, now that he thought about it. Also… he couldn't take it anymore. "You know what? I'm gonna be stuck on this all day. What's the avocado spell?"

"Spell?"

"Yeah, that ritual I saw. Sorry for just standing there, but I wanted to know."

Aaravos stared. Avocado-ly.

"Callum. Do you not know what skincare is?"

The vision fizzled out before he could reply and Callum was back on his rock, legs stiff and mind whirling. He was indeed making a weird face, and Rayla's nearby laughter confirmed that it was a sight to behold.

Well.

He'd do most anything for that laugh.

Their journey brought them close enough to smell the sea breeze from the Sea of Castout, and he could almost feel the clock ticking.

-BREAK-

For the first time in his dreams, Callum felt a little bashful. The classroom in a tower in Elarion was now so familiar that he barely took it in, directing all of his attention to Aaravos.

"Sorry about, uh. Barging in on you this morning."

Now that he was paying attention, Aaravos's skin was nice. He guessed. Callum would never have known the secret was avocado and not Star-touch magic.

Aaravos shrugged, an amused smile on his lips. "I'll remember avocado spell for awhile."

"How did I do that, anyway? You mentioned a connection between us?"

"Yes." Aaravos walked towards him, laying a hand on the top of Callum's head. "When I initially controlled you through the mirror, I forged a bond between us, pooling in energy with every interaction we have. It's now grown strong enough that you can have some limited access to myself. Don't worry, this isn't dark magic. Just star magic."

"Even then… you knew you were going to talk to me again." Callum's mind raced. "All this time, you could've taken control of me."

"But I didn't." Aaravos's touch turned to a fond hair ruffle. "By making our connection so strong, I allowed you to be able to contact me. In case you needed help. I'm glad to know you were able to do so even without instruction."

Aaravos could've just been biding his time, but Callum didn't think so. However… "If I could see you, then-"

"I haven't been spying on you. Frankly, I don't need to."

That's right. Inevitable.

Callum thought back to his friends, his family, the coins reflected Rayla's stricken expression. "I do need your help. We have a problem."

He explained about the coins as best as he could, how the elves were trapped inside with what he assumed was dark magic. Callum felt helpless as he laid out their plight, Aaravos's expression only mildly curious. "…so we need to free them, but I have no idea how."

Aaravos pondered, still unreadable to Callum. "One of them was a member of the group which assaulted your castle, right?"

Aaraos had struck the only sensitive nerve in the entire situation. It was too huge to be avoided, Callum supposed.

"Yes." Callum averted his eyes, remembering the last time he and Rayla had spoken about Runaan. He'd been furious with her over her concern for him, lashing out near the shores of the Moon Nexus. "He killed my father. I know it was him."

"And yet, you wish to free him?"

Calum hesitated.

"This isn't about me."

"It is."

"Yes- no, it's complicated." Callum rubbed his face with his hands, groaning as he messed up his hair. It was remarkable how tired he felt in these dreams. "He carried out a job he had to do, just like Rayla had set out to do. He didn't know King Harrow as a person, a father, a friend. He just had a target. It isn't that I'm not angry with him, or that I think I could forgive him, but at least it wasn't… personal. He didn't take the time to know us like Rayla did. He doesn't have her heart. It's hard, but I think if we can get through to the rest of the Moonshadow Elves and show them how wrong they were, we'll be closer to healing things for humans and Rayla."

"This is about your fondness for her above all, isn't it?"

Callum sighed. Yeah, Aaravos must have been a teenager, or whatever the Star-touch equivalent was, at some point in his life. "Fine. I'm sure you remember your early centuries, being a young 200 year old or whatever and caring about someone."

"Yes, the wild days of lovesick youth."

There was a wistfulness underneath there Callum didn't know how to approach, so he didn't.

"Of course I'd do it for her. That's over half of her family, trapped forever in some kind of magical agony. If our roles were reversed… if Zym could free my father from a prison despite what King Harrow did, would he? I don't know. If he would, it would be because he cares for Ezran. Because he wants to heal. So… I'm trying too."

Aaravos angled his head, a soft look on his face, still contemplative. "You are a remarkable boy. Such forgiveness must be painful, yet you try so hard to fight against nature."

Ezran was a better person than Callum. He'd be able to forgive while acknowledging his pain, reaching out with an unarmored hand. Callum knew this, frowning as he found himself unable to forgive as much as he just wanted Rayla to be happy. "Maybe it's because I'm selfish. I'm doing it for Rayla. Someone better than me would do it for forgiveness. Is that what you wanted, to know why?"

"It does help knowing why my apprentice would like to set his father's killer on the loose, yes."

"Is it possible?" Callum unconsciously leaned forward, awaiting the answer.

Aaravos folded his hands. "There are a few options, and you won't like any of them."

"I need to know."

"You could do it using Viren's staff." Aaravos nodded to Callum, gracious. " My staff, rather. An object I know you don't have with you."

"...and the other options?"

Aaravos shrugged. "Dark magic. If you tried, it could corrupt you terribly. Your temperament is meant for primal magic, and I doubt you could stomach it."

Callum's heart fell. Whatever sacrifices needed to be made to undo powerful enchantments, he was sure it was worse than a caterpillar. He might not even survive it. "These aren't options at all for me."

What would he do for Rayla? Would he sacrifice his well being for, as Aaravos drove home, his father's killer? Would he?

Aaravos stepped close, tone soft.

"Or I could do it."

Callum's eyes shot up to Aaravos. "What?"

"I could do it. You would suffer no corruption at all. I might have some sympathy in my heart for eternally imprisoned elves. Of course, there is a problem with this…" he gestured to Callum's body. "I'd have to do it through you, and it's quite obvious when I do magic through a vessel."

"Possessing me."

"Hm.. not quite." Aaravos conjured an apparition which made Callum flinch back. A pale, lavender projection of Viren stood before him, silver staff in his hands. Aaravos moved as if to cast primal magic, and the Viren moved with him, raising the staff. "When our wills are one, it is not control as much as it is guidance. "

Callum remembered how possession felt, how even his mannerisms had become Aaravos's rather than his own. Aaravos drew a sigil and the spirit of Viren spun the staff, casting a fireball off to the side of the room. Callum recognized the combat movements and body language as Viren's, but the magic flowed through Aaravos and the staff. The apparition vanished, but Callum's misgivings didn't.

"What you mean is you can free Rayla's family through me, and it isn't technically possession, but it sure looks like it."

"As I said, you wouldn't like any of them."

Callum moved to look out a window, hoping to find some solace in the sprawling scenery. The thought of letting Aaravos in, even if it was less than his prior experience, was so frightening that he was wondering how feasible it was to steal Viren's staff. Maybe Rayla and the others would buy that plan, now that he thought about it. Callum's new, fragile alliance with Aaravos didn't negate the gut feeling he had that the staff should be as far away from Viren and Claudia as possible.

Aaravos was having his own thoughts, and he voiced one. "We could try it here, you know. Get a feel for it. I won't hurt you."

What's funny was Callum had long since stopped being afraid of Aaravos. It wasn't the threat of physical harm to himself that made him so uneasy. "It's… the lack of control, not being myself. I don't know if I can handle that."

"If you fight me while we do this, you can break free. I won't stop you. I know it requires trust- trust I may not have earned."

Aaravos was so calm and understanding about it all, and the relaxation his words gave Calum was nerve wracking too. Could he be okay with this? It felt too easy, like he was slipping further down a path worn by Viren's footsteps. Viren, he imagined, had needed to be coerced and convinced, only turning to Aaravos when he was in a corner. Here Callum was, a week after speaking in private, ready to let Aaravos take some of his free will and play with it.

It felt like surrendering, and there hadn't even been a true fight.

"I see this too is against your nature," commented Aaravos, still so gentle that Callum was questioning his own misgivings by the moment. "The sky doesn't like to be told what to do, after all. It wants to just be."

For Rayla. For Rayla, he could try this shortcut. He didn't have to agree to anything else later.

He owed it to her to not leave her with no one.

"Okay. Let's get this over with."

They stood a few feet apart in the center of the classroom, Callum's heart racing. Aaravos took a deep breath, exhaling slowly. "Relax." Callum inhaled slowly, sighing out a long breath. Sky all around, he reminded himself. His mind cleared and his posture relaxed, almost like he was meditating while standing.

He noticed their breathing was in sync. Huh.

"Let's try a dance you don't know," suggested Aaravos. "It'll be like casting unfamiliar magic with me."

Callum unthinkingly took a step forward. He froze, staring at Aaravos. "Uh. That wasn't me."

"I know. I'm guiding, not forcing. Let it happen."

Give in.

Callum took another step and so did Aaravos, and then they took another to the side, and then their movements seemed to flow together in a way that reminded Callum of Rayla teaching him how to get into the Silvergrove with her. Instead of having to focus on learning the steps and motions, he was able to dance without having to think or fuss. The joy of the motions themselves took over and he caught himself smiling, following along because he wanted to. The dance was circular, each of them always directly across from each other as they spun, skipped, and made motions with their arms that reminded Callum of flying.

Like flying, it was a small dose of euphoria to dance with the intent to, and yet his steps landed perfectly without true effort.

It was pleasant. Playful. Callum danced well, though his limbs were still a bit gangly and some steps were awkward, in his control but being led along with Aaravos's influence.

They shifted to more of a ballroom style dance, Callum following Aaravos's lead, hands clasped together as their wills really were one. Callum held Aaravos's gaze, feeling as though he was crossing some threshold, as though he'd truly departed from his previous life by flexing himself this far over into something different.

Yet all he did was for his other life. To keep Ezran safe. To give Rayla back her family, so she could have her old, full life and hopefully someday understand what he'd done and why.

Aaravos finished their dance by holding Callum out, letting him do a spin, and then bringing him back in, embracing him. It wasn't romantic, but it was something else equally, powerfully intimate. The steady, warm hand on his back would not let him fall. Callum felt safe. His initial fear of the proximity of their spirits together was gone. He rested his head on Aaravos's shoulder, breathing hard.

It was almost like having a parental figure again.

That was dangerous, he knew it was so dangerously close to losing himself in wishes rather than reality, but it was what he needed. Who he needed. Their debates and back and forthing could be put on hold just for this, having a moment only they could have. He closed his eyes, hanging onto peace while it lasted.

"When we're as close as we can get… let's set them free."

Aaravos kept his arm around Callum, the protective embrace savored.

"I shall grant your wish when you call on me."