The apocalypse continues, my lovelies! Among other things, I have learned that I will be laid off within the next few days. I can't bring myself to be too upset about it, though. To tell the truth, my mental health issues have been significantly lessened since this whole thing started. It tells you something when a pandemic is less of a strain on your mind than your day job, huh?

Don't be too worried about me. I'm living with my parents and have built up a cushion over the past year, so I'll be fine. I'm more concerned about my coworkers, in all honesty. I hope everyone will be on their feet by the time everything opens up again and we can go back to work. If I decide to open up commissions, I'll be sure to make a post in the near future.

In the meantime, enjoy!

Rayla sat on a bench near the council building, two boxed moonberry surprises from the Eclipse Bakery next to her. She hoped Callum's meeting would be over soon. It was a warm day and moonberry surprises definitely lose some of their appeal after a certain amount of time in direct sunlight.

After her talk with Ethari, Rayla had been all too happy to take some time for herself, walking around town and stopping by the bakery as she let her nerves settle. Callum might be able to handle large amounts of emotional stuff, she thought. But I need a break!

Still, she was glad that the air was finally clear between her and her guardian. Though she hadn't wanted to admit it, or even think about it, there had been an ugly, bitter part of her that kept revisiting that moment in Ethari's workshop. She had tried pushing it aside, ignoring it in favor of the more positive emotions that came with her homecoming.

Now that it was truly gone in the aftermath of Ethari's apology, she realized just how painful it had been. For the first time since she returned to Silvergrove, she could truly breathe again.

Perhaps that was why, when a pair of older council elves shot her a not-at-all-subtle look of contempt as they passed, she responded with a bold scowl of her own. She felt her muscles tense as the duo changed course and approached her. She stood and bowed stiffly, showing the bare minimum of respect someone of their stature required. They barely inclined their heads in return.

"My, my," the older of the two commented. "It's strange to see a young assassin sunbathing instead of training." The gold, full-moon badge on her cloak marked her as a councilwoman of two full decades.

"Indeed," said her companion, whose bronze crescent badge marked them as a member of fewer than five years. "I would hope that fame and fortune would not be enough to turn one of our own soft."

"Not at all," Rayla replied smoothly. "As Captain of the Dragonguard, I have a very strict training regimen. This trip is the first vacation I've taken since my appointment, and it was approved by Queen Zubeia herself." She didn't bother to hide the pride in her voice as she mentioned the Dragon Queen.

Mention of Queen Zubeia did cause the two to falter for a moment, but the older elf recovered quickly. "Yes, your vacation…with that human."

"Prince Callum," Rayla said, putting emphasis on his name, "Is currently meeting with Chieftain Artemis concerning future peace talks."

"Such things could have been easily handled in a full council at the Storm Spire," the younger elf said dismissively. "There was no need to bring a human into Silvergrove." Their eyes flashed. "When we agreed to un-ghost you, it was not with the intention that our home would become a playground for outsiders."

"Easy, now," the older elf cut in, speaking over Rayla's outraged gasp. "Surely, you remember what it's like to be a child with your first crush. Bringing her friend once won't do any harm. I, for one, am willing to overlook it this time." She spoke with the air of a truly generous benefactor.

It took a concentrated effort on Rayla's behalf to not start grinding her teeth. "Callum is more than a crush," she said, keeping her voice even. "He is my best friend and partner, and you would be wise to speak respectfully of him."

At this, the older elf's expression did harden. She took a step closer to Rayla, staring down at her with icy blue eyes. "Dear, I hope you don't let your recent acts of heroism go to your head. The world may be getting bigger, and your deeds may be admirable, but never forget that you are, first and foremost, a Moonshadow elf of Silvergrove."

"Oh, really?" Rayla said, her voice dropping to a low, dangerous tone. "Then why were the Moonshadow elves of Silvergrove the first to turn their backs on me?"

While the two council members were struck dumb by her outburst, Rayla turned her attention toward the council building, from which Callum was just emerging. There was a rigidness to his posture, and he was taking several deep breaths.

Looks like things didn't go well. Rayla picked up the boxed moonberry surprises and brushed past the council members. "Hey, Callum," she said, forcing her voice to sound bright and casual. "It's a bit hot out. Want to eat these back at Ethari's?"

In a moment, Callum took in the tightness at the corners of Rayla's eyes and the outraged elves behind her. His recent disappointment was immediately pushed to the back of his mind. He glanced quickly at the two elves and gave her a questioning look. When Rayla responded with a minute head shake, he responded. "Yeah. Let's go."

The two were silent as they walked back home. Their pace was brisk, but not quick enough to look like they were running from something. They both let out sighs of relief as they approached Ethari's home.

Ethari was in the living room when the two came in. "Back so soon?" He removed his reading glasses, frowning when he saw the twin expressions of discontent on the kids' faces. "What happened?"

"I ran into some bigots in town," Rayla grumbled.

"So, that's what was up," Callum sighed. "Well, I ran into one in the council building."

Ethari stood up, waving them to the kitchen. "Why don't you tell me about it while I start some tea?"

After sitting down at the table, Callum turned to Rayla. "So, what happened with those cranky elves?"

Rayla sighed, leaning back in her chair so that the front two legs lifted off the ground. "They were going on about how I shouldn't forget my heritage as a Moonshadow elf just because I saved all of Xadia. That apparently includes not bringing a human into Silvergrove. Or being close to said human."

She opened the box that had her moonberry surprise. The frosting had started to melt somewhat. "They also implied that un-ghosting me might have been a mistake if I'm going to keep bringing humans here."

"Well, the good news is that they won't dare to ghost you again," Ethari said. "Despite their personal feelings, you are a national hero. It would look terrible for them to ghost you, especially for being close to an ambassador." He nodded at Callum. "And if they truly are that stupid, Silvergrove will have to find a new weapons master, because I'll simply leave."

Despite the lingering annoyance Rayla was feeling, she couldn't help but smile at her guardian's support. Their eyes met and echoes of their earlier talk passed between them in a wordless moment of understanding.

"Maybe we should just bring Ethari to the Spire next time you guys want to visit," Callum suggested. "Everyone's a lot friendlier there."

"I would love to see the Storm Spire!" Ethari placed a cup of tea in front of Callum, moving a bit slower than usual due to his dominant hand being injured. "Now, what happened during your meeting with Chieftain Artemis?"

Callum's expression soured as he thought back. "Well, it started off okay. She seemed open to meeting with other representatives."

"That's good," Rayla commented, keeping her voice encouraging as she waited for the bad part.

"But…The whole time I was talking to her, I could tell she didn't take me seriously." Callum paused to take a bite of moonberry surprise. This one had a simple lemon curd filling. "Like, you remember how Lujanne was when I was trying to get her to teach me moon magic? Going on about how I'm 'only human?' It was like that. She listened to me, but it was almost like she was listening to a kid who she was just…indulging, you know?"

He paused to take a sip of his tea. "At one point, she even asked me whether there would be any 'more experienced' ambassadors at the upcoming meetings. When I told her I'm technically the most experienced human when it comes to interactions with Xadia, she looked…vaguely amused, I guess."

"Ugh." Rayla grimaced as she clearly pictured Chieftain Artemis's condescending expression. She didn't know the village chieftain very well personally, but it was easy to believe her attitude after her talk with those other council elves. "This is why you're the ambassador, and I'm the guard captain. I would've walked out."

"I was also able to ask about maybe tapping into the Moon Arcanum." Callum's frown deepened. "She asked if the Sky Arcanum wasn't enough for me. I said that I wanted to see if it's possible for humans to learn about more than one form of Primal Magic at once, and she brushed it off, saying it's impossible. She said only the most ancient Startouch elves have ever done such a thing, so a short-lived human shouldn't waste their time on something that's out of their league."

He shook his head. "I don't get how she can say that so easily. I mean, wasn't it considered impossible for a human to learn Primal Magic? But here I am, living proof that it's something we can actually do. Why would humans still get written off after that?"

"For the same reason a hero would be given anything less than a hero's welcome when she returns home," Ethari said as he set a cup of tea in front of Rayla. "The world may be changing, but not everyone is ready to change with it. Nearly every elf and dragon in Xadia has lived their lives never seeing another human, but being told that humans are a certain way. It will take time for them to adjust."

"I know," Callum muttered. "But some of them are taking way longer than others. It's not that hard! I mean, I grew up on stories that Moonshadow elves drink blood, and I learned pretty quickly that that's not true!"

Ethari raised an eyebrow as he sat down with his own teacup. "That's actually something humans say about us?" He wasn't sure whether to feel offended or amused.

"I-I mean, they don't now!" Callum hurriedly said. "Or…I hope they aren't…"

He hadn't been back to Katolis since his and Rayla's initial departure into Xadia, now that he thought about it. What was the opinion of the average human back home when it came to elves? I should probably know that, since I'm an ambassador…

"It'll be a process," Ethari said again. "One that will continue as long as you and others keep working on people like Chieftain Artemis. Even if she doesn't take you seriously now, she still agreed to meeting with other leaders in the future. She'll be able to see for herself what you have to offer in the coming talks."

Callum managed a smile. "You're right. I guess I thought that ending the war and saving Zym would be the hardest part of this whole thing."

There was a pause as the three silently paid attention to their tea. Rayla quickly finished her moonberry surprise. Callum, who had eaten about half of his, pushed his box in front of her. She was quick to dig in.

"You know," Ethari mused. "I'm glad you two didn't get in any real trouble. The looks on your faces when you came in reminded me of that one time Rayla got in trouble for selling wild animals from her locker at school."

Rayla groaned while Callum let out a laugh. "Wait, really?"

"When she was about six, Rayla got the bright idea of making some extra coin by capturing wild animals and selling them to her classmates," Ethari explained, blatantly ignoring Rayla as she hit her head on the table with a resigned thud. "She would set out these boxes with pieces of buttered toast and wait for an animal to jump in."

"Jam…"

Both Callum and Ethari looked at Rayla, whose face was still on the table.

"I didn't catch anything with the buttered toast, so I switched to moonberry jam," she muttered.

"And did you catch anything with the jam?" Callum asked, his eyes twinkling.

"One squirrel."

"Which she kept in her locker," Ethari finished. "For a week. Feeding it toast."

"I actually did find a buyer; I'll have you know!" Rayla cut in.

"Yes, but the squirrel chewed through the box you gave him, and went running through the library!"

"Yeah, and I had to give the idiot his money back," Rayla sighed as she sat up again. "Honestly, if you can't hold onto a squirrel, don't buy one."

"If you got Ez as a business partner, you might be more successful if you try again," Callum pointed out.

Rayla giggled. "He'd be more likely to lecture me on why squirrels don't belong in lockers."

"Well, he can't complain about you feeding it toast, considering all the jelly tarts Bait eats," Callum laughed.

Ethari chuckled. "You were quite peeved when you had to let the squirrel go. At least the incident didn't coincide with your headbutting phase, or things could've gone south very quickly."

"Ethari, no!" "Her what?!"

Rayla's expression was one of absolute anguish while Callum looked like his birthday had come all over again.

"Oh, yes," Ethari said nonchalantly. "It's something all elves go through when they're little and their horns are hardening. They headbutt anything they can find, or anyone. Poor Runaan…" He shook his head, a fond smile on his face. "The amount of times your father and I had to yank you from the trunk of a tree…"

Rayla facepalmed as Callum's muffled snickers filled the kitchen. "Did you have to?" she muttered.

"Callum is an ambassador," Ethari said, his face the picture of innocence. "He should have a well-rounded understanding of elves if he's going to be in Xadia for the foreseeable future."

"Yeah, Rayla," Callum chirped. "This is all very relevant information!"

"Shut up and drink your tea," Rayla grumbled.

Callum snickered, reaching over to poke Rayla's face. "Hey. Hey. No pouting. Where's my smiley Rayla?"

Rayla scoffed, batting his hand away, but was unable to hide the smile that crept its way to her face.

Ethari watched the two with a quiet chuckle, getting up to take their empty cups. "If you'd rather stay inside today, I set aside some books for you on the end table. There are a few that delve into the history of some common moon spells, Callum."

"Ooh!" Callum perked up eagerly. "That sounds great!" He glanced at Rayla. "Unless you had somewhere you wanted to take me today."

"Well, I do," Rayla said, her cheeks flushing a bit. "But we have to go around midnight, so relaxing here would probably be a good idea."

"Midnight, huh?" Callum grinned. "And it's a full moon tonight! Does that mean awesome Moonshadow magic?"

"Sort of…" Rayla trailed off, glancing toward Ethari. While Callum's response was one of curiosity, her guardian had immediately straightened at the mention of midnight, glancing sharply in Rayla's direction.

"Say no more. I'll wait for the surprise!" Callum cheerfully walked into the living room.

Ethari quickly closed the distance between himself and Rayla. His eyes were glinting, his former shock melting into a gentle smile. "You're taking him to the Full Moon Clearing, aren't you?"

Rayla's blush deepened as she nodded. "Is that okay?"

Ethari drew Rayla close, kissing her forehead. "Of course. I was just a little startled to hear you mention…" He shook his head. "You really are growing up too fast for me."

"Oh, cut it out," Rayla murmured, leaning into Ethari's side. "You don't have to be so dramatic about it."

"Come back and talk to me about being dramatic in a few years, if you end up with a child of your own." Ethari drew back. "Just make sure you explain things to Callum before you go."

Rayla rolled her eyes. "Obviously."

When she went into the living room, Callum was already settling on the couch with one of Ethari's books. It was a thick one titled The Evolution of Illusion.

"That's about how spells were refined over the years," Rayla explained. "It's an old textbook of Runaan's."

"Neat!" Callum started at the beginning, his eyes already lighting up. He glanced up at Rayla. "You gonna read, or rest?"

"Rest, I think." Rayla walked toward the couch. "Would I distract you too much if I slept here?"

Callum scooted to the far side of the couch in answer. As Rayla started to put pillows on the other side, he timidly suggested: "You could use my lap as a pillow, if you want."

"Thanks, but I'd rather not get bonked in the face with that book," Rayla said with a smirk.

Callum pouted. "I wouldn't do that."

"It's a heavy book. It would end up on my face," Rayla said flatly as she curled up on her side of the couch.

The two spent the next hour or so in comfortable silence. They often had moments like this at the Storm Spire, when Rayla was done with a patrol and Callum was finished with his lessons. They would rest in the same area, not needing to fill the air with conversation. It was a familiar, relaxed atmosphere that erased any remaining tension from their earlier encounters that day. Rayla would wake from her doze and go to the kitchen. Callum would take a break and go downstairs to take a short bath. Ethari left a pot of tea on the stove and retired to his room. At one point, Callum took out his sketchbook and Rayla started writing something down on a spare bit of parchment.

Eventually, Callum's eyes got tired and he placed the book and his sketchbook to the side. Rayla had recently returned to lying on the couch and was staring sleepily at the wall.

"Mind if I join you?" Callum asked.

Wordlessly, Rayla scooted to the back of the couch and lifted the blanket. She let out a sigh as his warm back pressed against her front. She nuzzled his hair, which was still a little damp at the ends from his recent bath.

Callum yawned, melting effortlessly into his girlfriend's strong embrace. He loved how her thin, muscular arms felt as they wrapped snugly around his front, her hands resting over his as his arms curled in over his chest. Her legs wove through his and her lips pressed against the back of his neck.

Whenever they slept together, they would usually fall into one of two positions. The first was the one they were currently in, with Callum curled up and Rayla pressed protectively against his back. The second involved Rayla cuddling against Callum's front, pressing her cheek to his chest while he held her close, rubbing her shoulders and resting his chin between her horns.

It was hard to decide which position the two liked more. They both enjoyed being the one to hold and protect the other, but they also craved the comfort of being the sheltered one.

At that moment, it didn't matter too much, as they both felt perfectly safe in the warm, wood-walled room. The dimming light gently peeked in through the tinted curtains, and there was little noise besides the chirping of birds and the footsteps of Ethari as he emerged from his room to pick up a book.

"Remember," he said casually as he walked by. "You're still kids, so no funny business under my roof."

Both teens were wide awake immediately, Callum sitting up with an incoherent sputter while Rayla snapped angrily: "Ethari, seriously?!"

"Just saying," Ethari said as he picked up a book and walked back toward the hallway. "I was sixteen once, so I know-"

"For the love of Garlath, shut up!" Rayla groaned, covering her face with her hands.

"Sorry, sorry," Ethari said, totally unrepentant as he left the room.

Callum gaped at the hallway before turning to Rayla with a sheepish grin. "I mean, I'm pretty sure it's a dad's job to embarrass his kid at least five times a day, right?"

"I want to die," Rayla whined.

"Aw, come here," Callum murmured, pulling Rayla close so she could hide her blushing face in his chest. He kissed the top of her head as she snuggled against him.

Privately, he couldn't have been happier about Ethari's attitude. Even before their discussion in his shop, it had been clear that Rayla's guardian was determined to make Callum welcome and was truly glad that Rayla had found someone who genuinely loved her. And, despite Ethari's recent comment, he seemed to trust the two enough to leave them on the couch together without being in the room.

Rayla felt herself calm down as Callum held her, and even allowed herself a wry smile at Ethari's stupid sense of humor. If he had actually been worried about her and Callum engaging in "funny business," he would have been staring at them with hawk-eyes for the past hour, not resting in his room.

Callum's heartbeat was a familiar lullaby to Rayla's ears, and she felt her eyelids drooping as she listened to it. Her blush had died down, but she had no wish to move. "Can we stay like this?" she muttered groggily.

"Hey, I'm good either way." Callum shifted so that he was further from the edge of the couch and gently pulled Rayla with him as he lay back down. He draped his arm over her back, rubbing between her shoulder blades while propping the pillow under their heads up with his other arm.

Rayla sighed contentedly, gently gripping the front of Callum's vest. "Are you feeling any better?" she asked.

"Yeah," Callum murmured, letting his head sink into the pillow. "That meeting was frustrating, but I know I'm making progress." He kissed the top of her head. "You had a big day." Rayla had told him briefly about her talk with Ethari, but hadn't gone into detail, which didn't surprise Callum. Some Big Feelings were meant to be kept between two people.

"Mm hm." Rayla smiled as Callum continued to rub slow circles on her back. "It'll have a good end, though."

"Can you give me a hint at what you'll be showing me?" Callum whispered.

"You might tease me for being a hopeless romantic," Rayla replied.

Callum's cheeks flushed happily. Rayla was usually shy about grand, "lovey-dovey" gestures. The thought of her arranging something that might brand her as a romantic was an intriguing and exciting one. "You know I wouldn't tease you." He hugged her a little closer. "Can't wait to see what it is."

Rayla was nearly asleep by this point, so she didn't bother responding. She just let herself sink into the familiar warmth of Ethari's couch and her boyfriend's embrace.

Callum remained awake for a little while longer, his heart thumping as he tried to guess what Rayla was planning. Eventually, the soft sound of her breathing was enough to lull him into a pleasant doze. He was faintly aware of footsteps walking by, followed by the click of the nearby lamp being turned off.

So, there will be one more chapter of this fic, after all. I was going to have everything happen in this chapter, but it ended up being longer than I expected, so I decided to divide it up. Tune in next time to see what Rayla's surprise is, as well as Callum's newest sketch!

Keep smiling and finding reasons to move forward during this crazy time. Hopefully, I can help make you all happier, even a little bit, as I try to write more in the coming days.

Peace out!