Rayla stirred at the scent of their dinner, and her hungry stomach made itself evident, waking her the rest of the way. She realized she hadn't eaten in four days and was absolutely starving.

Upon opening her eyes she discovered that her head rested on Callum's shoulder still. It was a surprise, but a welcome one at that. She breathed in deep, and groaned at the ache in her side. She attempted to reach her good hand over to hold her side in an effort to soothe the ache, but was hindered as she noticed she was already holding something.

She smiled and squeezed Callum's hand, nudging him lightly with her elbow.

"Wake up, dummy. Food's here."

He moaned slightly as he roused. "Food can wait...you're really comfortable…"

Rayla chucked. "Well at least let go of my hand. I haven't eaten in days, and I'm not about to let my hot meal go cold."

"No, I need it. It's mine." He mumbled as he nuzzled closer to her, grabbing her hand with both of his now.

"Callum-" she was interrupted as he let out a loud, obviously fake, snore.

"Cal-" he did it again.

Rayla grumbled, but managed to wrestle her hand from his grip. He was decidedly unhappy about this. He proceeded to wrap his arms around her torso, mumbling, "fine, I'll just take the rest of you then." Miraculously, he managed to miss both of the tender areas of her left side with his embrace. Unfortunately, this did nothing to help her predicament.

"Clingy human," she sighed.

Rayla couldn't help but find this endearing, however. Even in his half awake state he never wanted to let her go. She smiled down at him and kissed the top of his head as it rested on her chest.

Meanwhile, Kairn silently watched the whole exchange. "You two are utterly adorable, do you realize?"

Rayla flushed upon realizing her audience, but the healer ignored her embarrassment.

"I would have woken you sooner, but you both just looked so cute! I couldn't bring myself to ruin the moment." She sighed, "sorry I keep walking in on you like this. I truly do have impeccable timing." Rayla let out a mildly uncomfortable chuckle at her dripping sarcasm.

"Mind if I take a look at your shoulder?" Kairn asked, and Rayla nodded hesitantly.

The Sunfire elf stepped to the side of the bed and leaned over to untie the knot in the sling over Rayla's right shoulder. "I'll do my best to not disturb your friend," she said with a smirk as she gently lifted his head to gain access to the injured arm. "I'm going to test your range of motion. It's going to be uncomfortable since your muscles had already began adjusting to their new position before realigning the joint. Let me know when it becomes unbearable."

Rayla hissed slightly as arm was brought almost perpendicular to her chest. Kairn stopped immediately. She then moved it outwards until she began feeling resistance. Humming in approval, she then bent it up towards Rayla's head, who hissed again. Nodding to herself, Kairn placed the arm back into the sling.

"My prior diagnosis still stands. You should have full range of motion once your ribs are finished heeling." She paused. "How are those feeling, by the way?"

"Still pretty sore. Hurts to take a deep breath or laugh."

"Hmm, yes. They're mending. It was a full break, was it not?"

"Yeah. Two broken clean through, and one cracked."

Kairn nodded again. "Drink this tea. It will help with the pain," she said as she poured it from an enchanted teapot into a small cup, handing it over once it was full.

Rayla recognized the sent, but couldn't quite place it. She took a small sip and almost spat it out, but managed to force it down.

"Blech, that tastes like wood!"

"Well, it is tea made from willow bark, so that would be an accurate assessment." The healer smirked. "Drink up, it'll help."

"You should wake that one soon, before his food gets cold." Kairn gestured to Callum as she strode out of the room, closing the door behind her.

Rayla took several more gulps of the tea until it was gone, shuddering at the bitter taste.

She began stroking the prince's hair in an effort to wake him again.

"Callum," her voice barely above a whisper. "It's time to wake up."

"Okay mom, give me a minute," he mumbled.

Did he just call her 'mom'? Her heart swelled. She reminded him of his mother, the one woman in his life he truly loved. From what Callum told her, his mother was an esteemed warrior, and had a furious heart for her family. She loved them with everything she had. Rayla was honored at the comparison, even though she knew she would never be truly worthy of it.

"Okay, my prince," Rayla sniffed. Tears welled up in her eyes as she kissed the boy's head. "I hope to make your mother proud. Wherever she is."

"What was that, Rayla?" Callum asked, sitting up. He looked at her with groggy eyes.

"Oh, uhh, nothing." Pausing to think, she decided that she was going to bring this up again with him, later. "I love you, Callum."

He drew a broad grin. "I love you too, Rayla."

His expression turned to uncertainty. "Is it okay if I kiss you?"

She gave him a mischievous smirk. "You better."

The broad grin returned for only a moment before his lips made contact with hers. The kiss held just as much passion and vigor as the first, only this one felt ever so slightly more practiced. It also had the benefit that Rayla's lips weren't so dry as previously. There was, however, a minute downfall.

Callum was the first to break contact. He brought his sleeve up to his mouth to wipe it off.

"Rayla, why do your lips taste like wood?"

"Oh, sorry. I should've told you. The tea that Kairn...?" Her pause asking if she had the name correct, to which Callum confirmed with a nod, "that Kairn brought me to help with the pain was made from willow bark, and, well, that's what it tastes like."

"Well, it looks like she brought us some moonberry juice. Maybe we could try that again after drinking it, eh?"

"For once in my life, I like the way you're thinkin', dummy."

Callum turned sheepish and Rayla wondered if her joke had been too much.

"Hey, what's wrong?" She asked with a small frown.

"Sorry for not asking the first time I kissed you."

She was taken aback for a moment. "What? No, you have nothing to apologize for. I was actually kind of happy you didn't ask and you just did it."

"So you're not opposed to surprise kisses?"

"I can't say they'll always be appreciated, but I'll let you know when they aren't. For the time bein' though, keep 'em comin'," she sniggered. "After we eat, of course. I'm starving."

The question tugged at her heart. Would Callum's mother have liked her? And what of his father, whom she was ordered to kill? Would they have been prejudiced against her because she was an elf, and attempted to force her and Callum apart? Or would they have accepted her for who she was, and taken her in like a daughter?

Her head swam with uncertainty. Of course Callum and Ezran liked her, but they hadn't had to endure the wrongs of her people, save for the death of their father, which she actively tried to prevent. They had forgiven her, but would someone older have done the same? Or would they have been blinded by the desire for revenge, to take back what was taken from them?

This was hardly what she should be thinking right now. She should be happy now that she was with Callum, and she was. But even then, it still didn't feel like enough. There was something missing, and Rayla couldn't place what it was.

"Rayla, are you okay?" He looked concerned, but it barely seemed to register to her.

"I'm fine." She gave him a weak, unconvincing smile, but he didn't press on.

Maybe she was just being selfish, and Callum really was more than enough. More than what she deserved.

Rayla took as deep a breath as she could, and let it out slowly. She was getting herself all worked up over nothing. Everything was fine. She had Callum now. That's all she needed. That's all she wanted.

"How are you holding up?" She asked, trying to distract herself from these intrusive thoughts. "Did you get enough rest?"

"Yeah, I got plenty," he said through a yawn.

"That wasn't very convincing." She smirked at him.

"Yeah, alright. I could do with some more. But so could you. You still have a lot of healing to do before we're ready to set off again."

Right. The mission. She couldn't believe she let herself forget about that. She had been so caught up in this utopia with Callum over the past few hours that she completely forgot about their reason for being here. It was to return Zym to his mother.

Speaking of the little bugger, he was mooching, as per usual. Sitting, watching her and Callum eat, lazily flipping his tail about, with his tongue hanging out of his mouth.

"Would ya look at that, Callum. If we could win over the humans and elves with Zym's adorableness, we'd be all set. Otherwise, he's completely useless."

"That's hardly an appropriate thing to say about The Dragon Prince," He sniggered. "But he's more useful than you think. He helped me find you, after all."

Rayla looked at Callum with a questioning gaze, but his attention was set on the princeling. She was surprised, to say the least. That's two times now that that little dragon had saved her, or part of her.

She had quite obviously underestimated him. Frowning slightly at herself, she tossed a piece of fruit, which the dragon caught mid-air. It was a miraculous catch, but his landing was less than graceful, causing both the human and the elf to laugh at his misfortune.

Rayla sighed deeply as she finished her meal. "That was the best food I've ever eaten."

"Kairn's stew is the best. I'm going to miss it."

"Are you going to miss her?" She smirked at him.

"Ehh, if she would stop walking in on us."

"That I can agree with," she chuckled.

Callum smiled and simply stared at her, and her heart fluttered. She could tell by the look in his eyes that she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. What had she done to deserve him? Someone so sweet, and kind. It seemed like every time she looked at him she found something new to fall in love with. She took one final sip of her moonberry juice, and he took the hint.

He leaned forward until his lips made contact with hers. He separated from her only to say, "that tastes better…" Rayla giggled as their lips met once more. Callum brought a hand up to trace the shape of her ear, and upon reaching it's tip he flicked it lightly, causing her to giggle again. His other hand made its way into her hair, his fingertips stroked her scalp. Rayla reached her good hand up to his cheek and began stroking his cheek with her thumb.

Callum's fingers found the base of her horn and she let out a soft moan. Startled, he separated from her again, giving her a concerned look. "I-is that okay? For me to touch your horns?"

"It's more than okay, dummy. Just be gentle with them," she affirmed him. "Now get back here, I'm not done kissin' you yet."

He obliged.

Zym seemed ecstatic with their display of affection, and yipped approvingly, to which they paid no attention to. They were enraptured with each other. Nothing else in the world mattered to them. They were finally together, and they wouldn't let anything part them again.

Callum and Rayla only pulled away from each other because they had run out of breath. They resolved to allow things such as that to separate them, the overwhelming necessity to live, if only so they could bask in each other's presence for that much longer.

"I'm tired, Callum," she yawned.

"Yeah, so am I," he said, mimicking her.

She leaned back onto the bed and rested her head on the pillow. Her eyes were already closed and she was half asleep before she realized something was missing.

"You gonna come here and snuggle with me, or are you gonna just sit there and watch me fall asleep?"

Callum weighed his options. "Both sound good, but snuggling is definitely better."

He laid down next to her and draped his arm across her stomach, just below her injured arm, his head resting on her shoulder. They were both asleep soon after.