- Callum, why would ever have scales in the sky?
- Uh, I don't know. To measure things? Or maybe to make fair decisions?
Rayla considered turning her head again, as she looked at the chart, trying to match the squiggly lines to the stars above her head. But she's been staring at it too long to know that the human constellations made absolutely no sense. Now, granted there were animals, some hideously distorted ones, but also boats, clocks, or furnaces.
There was even a triangle. A triangle. Just three stars, with absolutely no creativity behind it whatsoever.
And then there were typically human things: a woman in chains, warriors with spears, arrows, shields and crowns... actually two of them, one for each hemisphere, as if they didn't have enough wars on earth, and they needed to assert their dominance over the sky as well.
This night, she put out the fire early, just because she was eager for Callum to show her the names of the constellations, and it turned out to be a repeat of what she already knew about most of the humans she has met. Though she was surprised to see that some of the constellations do coincide. The Snake, a vast, long string of stars, stretching from north to south, was also named as such by humans, except they put the head in its tail. Their Little Banther was a Caribou, a Salamander was turned into a Swan... And, as she looked and looked over the map Callum gave her, there was just one thing nagging Rayla the whole time.
- Callum, where are the bleeding dragons?!
- Dragons? Where?
At the same time, Zim and Ez woke up, alerted by Rayla's voice, frantically looking around.
- No, Ez, it's nothing, we were just stargazing. - Callum responded - I mean, I was stargazing, and Rayla decided to stargaze as well, so I guess now we are stargazing. Both, on each own, I mean. - he quickly corrected himself.
When his brother and the dragon prince went back to sleep, he lay on the ground again, ready to continue explaining Rayla their stars.
- Well, there is a dragon there... - Callum pointed to the sky, whispering - Can you see it? He's got a tail here, and the two wings there...
- THAT's a dragon? - she chuckled - That weeny lizard? Looks like that big momma banther is gonna eat him.
- Actually, that is a story behind it, since it was attacking her cub and... - Callum responded nonchalantly, realising a bit too late how he sounded. - Oh, sorry.
- Alright, let me show you ours...
Rayla moved next to him, and just like he before, she begun pointing to the stars.
- First of all, we've got four dragons, four! One for each side of the sky, north, south, west and east. And they are huge!
She moved her arm from left to right, almost as if she was waving at someone far away, tracing the vast shapes of each of the creatures.
- But why are they so big? Where's the place for other-
- Because they are protecting them, dummy. - she chuckled - Under each wing you've got smaller ones, like Fox or The Wolves... and there, in the south, is a Phoenix, and in between these two dragons - she pointed to the group of the stars scattered in a long line - You've got geese flying south, and dragons make way for them.
- Why are they called that?
As if on command, a single stray shooting star flew right across the very constellation her hand was pointing to, disappearing as quickly as she came to life.
- See? Another one flew by. And the four dragons, they have a place to visit, their sacred mountain, and it's right...
- ...here!
Callum raised his hand to the small, cross-shaped group of stars exactly between the four draconic constellations, just when Rayla did so as well. Their fingers touched, and at the same time, the two turned their heads. For a brief moment, they looked in each other's eyes, watching the faint reflection of the starry sky mingling with an otherworldly gleam neither of them has noticed before. Though, then again, their faces have never been so close before that they could see it...
And when she understood their sudden closeness, Rayla broke the intimate connection, laying her arm down and scooting a few inches or so when she realised her legs was touching Callem's as well.
- So, uh, yeah, that's, that's about it for the constellations. - she spoke, hoping to sound natural, and keeping her head straight. - Any questions?
- What's this one called? - Callum pointed to the five stars underneath one of the dragon's bellies. - It looks like a deer... With a head here, and legs there...
- Uh, that's... That's Chair.
- Chair?
- Chair.
- Not a "Throne"?
- Nope, just "Chair".
They both lay in silence for a while before they both begun laughing. Once again, they turned to their sides to meet each other's radiant faces. And with that image on their mind, they went to sleep, and this time, neither of them minded when their hands touched.