By the Stars (Runaan x Ethari Oneshots)

Untitled part

  Just as Ethari scoffed in mock surprise, Rayla came bounding out of the stables. "Guess what!" She exclaimed. "Melgeth's pups will be born any day now!" Her dads' too, were excited, for they were also fond of the moonstrider. 

  Rayla had blindfolded Runaan to make sure he didn't know where they were going, but he had a suspicion that they were going to the forests where they always went on his birthday. It took the three elves about thirty minutes to get to the middle of the adoraburr grove, where Rayla uncovered Runaan's blindfold. "You can look now! Are you surprised?" The older elf smiled, "I am, thank you, small shadow."

  It was such a beautiful place; the sunlight which filtered in through the overgrown roots and branches was incredibly bright at the time of day, and the chirping of the adoraburrs sounded strangely relaxing. The countless memories that had been made in the meadow had all been good, no matter how far-fetched that sounded. 

After a couple minutes of making grass angels, the small elfling propped up her head. "Do you have the picnic basket?" She asked Ethari, who held up a woven basket in his right hand. "Right here!" Was his reply.

 They stayed at the grove for hours, and hours, merely relaxing and telling stories or poems. Unlike human cultures who mainly retold fables about wars, kings, and the seasons, the elves of Silvergrove wrote mostly about love and the illusions of life. It may seem like a dark subject, but Ethari always made them sound beautifully real and adventurous. 

  Rayla proudly recited a song made for the Moon Seers on a high rock, and before long, it was dark. 

 Runaan had fallen asleep on Ethari's chest, who was lying against a tall tree. It lifted up to the sky, as if his very existence ordered the light to shine on his papery leaves. "Ru," Ethari whispered quietly, ever so lightly shaking the slumbering assassin. Runaan awoke, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Almost immediately, he noticed something was wrong.

 Rayla was missing.

He ran to the spot where he had seen her last, but only finding adoraburrs. But in the corner of his eye, he saw a glimpse of Rayla's horns. In a swift movement, he picked her up. She was sleeping, clutching three of the loveable, stackable creatures. 

 "We should go back home," He said quietly, making sure not to wake up the elf on his shoulder. Ethari nodded, and the three Moonshadows silently left the grove.

   When they put Rayla to bed, the night shone with so many stars, it could've lit up the entire Silvergrove. 

 Runaan had taken out a bottle of moonberry moscato, which he and Ethari always brought out on his birthday. 

 As they finished their drinks, Ethari began to sub-consciously tap the table with his fingers; it turning out to be a rhythm Runaan knew very well. "That's the song they played during our first dance." He said softly, remembering every moment of that day as if it were yesterday.

  Ethari chuckled, "You were so uptight at first, I thought you didn't like me. But when the dance ended, you came up to me, saying, 'I love you'. That was one of the most amazing days of my life, and still is to this day."

  Runaan stood up abruptly and held out his hand. "Dance with me again?" He asked. Ethari took it, smiling, "Of course." Then the two of them danced like there was no tomorrow, weaving around each other like twisting willows. Their graceful movements flowed together like a calm river, limbs in constant motion to paint a picture no one could ever fully describe. They were the swirling mist after the rain, twirling, reaching, curling. 

 When they ended the dance, Runaan said, "I love you, Ethari, more than is comprehensible. I feel incomplete without you by my side. You taught me how to live, and how to love with trust. You healed me, and helped me rise. Even in my darkest days, you led me to the light. It made me find out who I really am. My cold heart melted in the presence of your glowing inferno, and I would die a thousand times for you without hesitance." 

 Both of them now had tears in their eyes. Ethari caressed Runaan's cheek, smiling so bright, that the very sun envied him. "I love you too, Runaan. So very, very much." Then he kissed him tenderly, and the two enjoyed the moment for a long while. 

 It was only broken when the craftsman realised he was leaving something behind. "

 Oh! I nearly forgot. I made this for your birthday." He said. From the chair next to him, he held up a polished wood box. His husband gingerly took it, as if it were made of pure glass. When he opened it, a small replica of his heartbloom laid neatly in the box. However, this model behaved like an actual flower. The petals would move if jostled, and were quite delicate. 

 "This is beautiful," Runaan breathed. "How long have you been crafting this?"

 Ethari shrugged his shoulders mysteriously. "I'd been planning this since I made your actual heartbloom, but started crafting it a little while ag--" He was cut off by another of Runaan's sweet kisses, which he gladly melted into. They were truly happy, and nothing would change that.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Runaan had been freed from the wretched coin prison, but it came with a price. He was trapped in a deep sleep. His soul was like a frantic bird in a cage, struggling to be free, but his body betrayed him. 

 It was almost Runaan's birthday, but it was estimated he wouldn't be awake to celebrate it. For the time, he was staying at the Storm Spire's healing ward. 

 Ethari often visited, and since it was his husband's birthday, he was staying for a while. 

 This time, he brought a silver dragon; its flaming ruby eyes aglow. 

  He sat on his knees by Runaan's sleeping figure. So still. So gaunt. So pale.

  "Runaan," He said, tears racing down his cheeks. These were tears of agony, and pain. Not of happiness. Not this time. "It's your birthday. The adoraburr grove is chirping. The trees are dancing in the wind. Everything's ready. Come back.

 Please, come back home."