Broken Connection //Rayllum fanfic//

Chapter 6

(This was a really long chapter and I hope ya'll enjoy it! ALSO HAPPY BIRTHDAY RAYLA!! YOU ARE MY FAV CHARACTER EVER IN DA HISTORY OF TV XD.)

After an hour or so of walking, Callum and Rayla reached their destination. The forest has thickened into a jungle, and the canopy blocked out most of the sunlight. The foliage was getting thicker, and Rayla had to slice through the thick bushes multiple times. Callum looked around and shivered. It was strangely eerie in this part of the forest. There was no longer any cheerful sounds of birds. There were no crickets chirping. He sidled closer to Rayla, feeling extremely uncomfortable. "...I-is this place even safe?" He asked her softly. She shrugged. "I had to go through here with the other assassins, and I came out fine, right?" She grinned, but even he could tell she was uncomfortable. He continued to walk but Rayla put one hand in front of him. "Stop." She said quietly. "They could be anywhere for all we know. You need to stay quiet." Callum nodded slowly. Pip flapped his wings and watched the two with a somewhat curiosity. The strange bird seemed oddly interested in them both, and it was almost creepy. Rayla's ears pricked up. Callum smelt a strong plant smell drift over him, and it was almost disgusting. He drew back and Rayla shook her head. "I forgot to mention, the smell is pretty strong. Try not to smell it too much or it'll overwhelm you." She said. A small breeze pricked up, and the trees started blowing furiously. Callum held onto his scarf as it blew in the wind. Rayla seemed unaffected by the sudden change in the temperature. She drew her blades and walked toward the smell. Callum was torn between following her or staying back. He decided it was best not to be a complete coward and leave Rayla to do all the hard work. He came up beside her and readied himself for any spells needed. Rayla reached toward a long, thorny root. A loud screech sounded from Pip, and Rayla jumped back in shock. Pip swooped toward where Rayla's hand was, attacking and killing a small bug that had been awaiting Rayla's touch. With that, at least 20 more bugs emerged from the root. Callum instantly drew the Aspiro rune. "Aspiro!" He shouted. Nothing happened. Not even the shining rune appeared. "Wha-?" He said in confusion, and backed away in shock. Pip screeched again and attacked the bugs that went for him. Rayla drew out her blades and sliced the creatures open. Unnatural green ooze dripped out of them. Rain began to pelt down, and Callum stood, feeling helpless. He was still unable to use his spells, no matter how much he tried. Before he knew it, the battle was over. Rayla clasped the root in her hand. "Cmon, lets go!" She shouted to Callum over the rising wind. A crack of thunder sounded above them, and Pip flinched. Callum nodded and ran along side her, trying to keep up with her pace. She seemed determined and confident, whereas Callum felt extremely nervous and... and worried. His spell hadn't worked again... it was so strange, and weird. Why hadn't it worked? It had worked every other time. He tried to remember the last time he'd used his magic... it was before Rayla had her strange dream. He shook his head. It couldn't be a coincidence. Dreams were dreams... right?

//A Few Hours Later//

Rayla and Callum found a place to stay warm and dry for the night. It was a very small cave, but it would do. It seemed as if travellers went here all the time. There were engraved footprints in the stone, as if it was once mud. Rayla had seemed very uncomfortable with spending the night in here, but Callum had won the argument in the end because he had convinced her that he would be here with her, and also because according to her, she was 'too tried to argue.' They huddled together to stay warm, but the only thing irritating was Pip. He was watched them with a rather strange look on his face... Disapproval? Teasing? Callum couldn't tell. Either way, Rayla seemed extremely tempted to throw him off a cliff. They were having a stare-down, eyeing each other like prey. Callum nudged her gently. "Having a staring competition with a bird, huh? That's pretty low for you." He said teasingly. Rayla poked him, not taking her eyes off Pip. "Well, I could retaliate with the fact that you and Ezran talk to Bait more then ten times a day." Callum rolled his eyes. They watched the thunderstorm outside together for a while, talking quietly to each other. He opened his sketchbook and started drawing quietly. Eventually Rayla fell asleep beside him, her chest rising and falling peacefully. He petted Pip, who had settled beside him. "Hey buddy... why did you come back? You could have been free!" Pip let out a quiet chirp, and there was a look in his eyes that almost said that there was so much he wanted to say, but couldn't. "Goodnight then." He said. He looked over at Rayla again and hesitated, before carefully wrapping his scarf around her neck. He rested his head against hers and closed his eyes. Soren would be saved, and hopefully when he went back home, things would be okay again, and his magic would work. Everything would be fine. You wish... said a part of his brain. He shoved it away. It's going to be fine.