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“Ok, so what does this one mean?”
Rayla yawned, sitting up and glancing at the book Callum held out to her.
“Hmm, it means...” She gazed into the honey coloured sky, thinking.
Callum was sitting with his back against the rough rock of the Spire, a spell book of Ibis' on his lap. It was written in Elven, which Rayla had been helping him with.
She was lying with her legs sprawled across his, dozing contentedly in the evening sun.
“It’s hard to explain.” She leaned back on one arm, thinking. “It’s... it’s a way of speaking that doesn’t really exist in the Common Tongue. It means you would do something every day if something were to happen. It’s the conditional every day tense.”
Callum furrowed his brow. “What do you mean?”
She sighed, trying to explain. “So, the spell you did so we could breathe up here-”
“Ventus Spiralis?” Callum interjected.
“Yeah, so the rune implies a conditional every day usage. You only have to cast it once and it works all the time, if you are somewhere with thin air. Unlike, your little wind breath spell that only works as long as you have air in your lungs.” She smirked at him.
“Hey, you weren’t so dismissive of Aspiro when it saved you from those leeches.” He batted her legs playfully.
She grinned, rolling her eyes as she leaned back to lay on the ground once again, arms crossed behind her head.
Callum watched her fondly for a few seconds. This had become a ritual of sorts. Her resting after a day’s training while he continued to study. Their current spot on the Spire had become their favourite. It afforded them a majestic view of the sky while still somewhat sheltered from the strong breezes that could howl across the Storm Spire.
It also had the added benefit of being relatively private.
Rayla would always touch him in some way while they relaxed. Hold his hand or lean against shoulder, though this particular set up was his favourite. He rested one hand on her calf as he looked back at the book, frowning. “I still don’t know what you mean though.”
Rayla sighed, thinking. “So, say if you wanted to explain that you are generally hungry in the morning. In High Elven, there’s a tense that exists that is the conditional everyday form. Rather than say “Every morning when I wake up, I tend to be hungry” you’d say, “Every morning I do be hungry”.”
Callum laughed. “Every morning I do be hungry?!”
She playfully smacked his leg. “Are you mocking my culture?”
“Well, it’s not exactly the whole ‘sophisticated elves' stuff we hear about in Katolis.”
“Well, it sounds better in High Elven!” She sat back up, poking him in the ribs. “It doesn’t translate well.”
“Do you speak High Elven?” He grabbed her finger, squeezing it affectionately.
She shrugged, squeezing back. “Na, not really. I read better than I speak. I wasn’t really into school. Ethari used to threaten to tie me to the chair if I didn’t finish my homework.”
Callum grinned at her affectionately. “I would have loved to have seen Little Rayla go to school.”
She tried unsuccessfully to hide her grin.
He slipped his hands around her waist, dropping his book. “I bet you drove your teachers crazy.”
She laughed, not denying the accusation. “And I bet you were a little teacher’s pet who read all his books before term even started.”
“Maybe.” Callum chuckled heartily, leaning forward to kiss her quickly before turning back to the book. “So, this rune is a conditional every day rune then? That means this spell is a spell to heat the air once it goes below a certain temperature?” He looked at her expectantly.
Rayla gaped at him exasperated.
“What?” He glanced up from his book.
“Eugh, nothing.” She lay back on the floor.
“Aw, I see.” He lay the book down, leaning over her.
“What?” She sulked.
“Bored?” He tickled her sides. “I thought you’d be impressed I’m embracing elf stuff."
She snorted, sitting up as she grabbed his hands. “Elf stuff?”
Callum nodded solemnly. “I believe that’s the technical term.” He slipped one hand around her waist, holding his other before them. He took a deep breath and paused, then drew a shimmering rune.
“Calida Aura”.
Rayla looked around expectantly. “Nothing happened?”
“Well, it’s a conditional spell.” He kissed her cheek. “Once the sun goes down and the temperature drops it’ll kick in.”
“Eugh, you’re so annoying. Is there any of this- “she gestured to the book, “you can’t do?”
“Are you kidding? You’re the youngest Dragon Guard ever. And Ibis told me you’re some super prodigy Moonshadow elf, which you neglected to mention.”
Rayla threw her head back and laughed, blushing pink. “So, you’ve got the book smarts and I’ve can do the physical stuff... between us, we manage to make one relatively normal person.”
Callum kissed her, pushing her hair back from her face. “Hey, with our combined skills, our kids would be pretty awesome.”
Silence drew out between them for a few seconds while his words hung in the air.
“Eh… I mean…” Callum flushed beetroot, lost for words.
Rayla struggled to suppress a grin, looking at him teasingly. “Yeeeeees…?”
“I just, eh… you know, em… so I dunno… maybe someday… but like… waaaay in the future…”
“…Yes?”
“I mean, I’m not saying any time soon... because that would be crazy! But, but, you know, just... em, maybe... if everything worked out, em...”
Rayla broke into peals of laughter. “Callum, shut up!”
He hid his face in his hands, blushing furiously. “I’m sorry.”
She giggled uncontrollably, hugging him close. “You are such a dork.”
He risked a glance at her. “But a lovable dork, right?” He grinned lopsidedly.
She rolled her eyes. “You have your moments.”
He tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “I love you, Rayla.”
“I love you too, dummy.” She leaned forward and kissed him.
“Even after all that?” He winked, still pink cheeked.
She rested her forehead against his. “Even after that.”