Rayne and Jarrah's journey was shockingly smooth for the next few days after the fire incident. Their bickering was much more limited than it was before, their small talk lasting a little longer, and their comfortability increasing enough to help the other with hunting for food or fixing a comfortable place for the other person after the sun went down. They weren't sure when the switch happened, but Rayne wondered if their last few talks at the lodge and after were good flags of truce for the rest of their journey. Either way, she found it much more bearable to be around him.

He even woke up early enough one morning to watch the water nymphs dance their way across the springs of flowers with her, enjoying the way they left footprints of dew on the soft petals in their wake. One of them curiously looked up at Rayne, who motioned for Jarrah to be quiet after he went to ask why she was awake, and with a jolt, she realized how human they looked, despite their tiny form. This nymph had a glaze of beautiful, dark olive skin and hair cropped short to accentuate her youthful features. Her round eyes that glowed a cyan blue, her plump, child-like cheeks, and her frosted lips that tilted into a tiny smile.

Rayne, in awe and absolutely delighted to make contact with the little creature, cupped her hands together and watched as the nymph hopped lightly onto her hands, leaving her friends momentarily. The nymph tilted her head curiously, her hand reaching out towards Rayne's face hesitantly.

"Oh," Rayne murmured, drawing her closer until she was almost cross-eyed trying to stare down at the four inch being. The nymph's hand brushed Rayne's nose as she leaned forward to press the lightest kiss against the tip.

Rayne's little heart exploded with affection and she offered her the kindest smile, completely enraptured. She never had much experience with other creatures aside from the wolves. Jarrah was her first contact with the Fae that she remembered, and she never paid attention to the forest floor before to catch any of the dancing nymphs. Usually, they all stayed to their own kind, so it would make sense if there weren't any nymphs near Moonshine at all. So, to be so close to one now, it was . . . magnificent.

When Rayne glanced up towards Jarrah, she caught his curious gaze, and smiled brightly when she noticed the bombarding of nymphs on his chest and playing with his hair. Jarrah smiled back at her in amusement, ignoring the three water nymphs leaning snuggly against his chest as they stared up at him with fluttering eyelashes and sugary grins.

The smile he gave Rayne made her chest ache without reason. It was casual and pulled his perfect lips up easily, like smiling was as easy as breathing for him, despite not doing it often. His teeth gleamed as white as the snowflake nymph's skin, who was busy braiding a single, small chunk of his silky hair. Something about seeing him so relaxed and in his element made him look entirely too gorgeous for his own good. Especially when his eyes sparkled to match the glitter of his smile.

Realizing they were staring at each other for a moment too long, they both looked away simultaneously. The corner of Rayne's lip fell between her teeth and she turned her attention back to the nymph who still stood in her cradled hands. The nymph had noticed the exchange and smiled at Rayne knowingly, which both confused and terrified her at the same time. She moved her lips rapidly, speaking in a language only the other water nymphs could hear as they all turned to look at her curiously with their long, blue-tipped ears twitching. Reluctantly, they climb off of Jarrah's body and the sweet nymph gave one more pat to Rayne thumb before following suit. Not long after, they disappeared to finish dancing their way into the dawn.

The serene scene of enjoying nature was enough to relax Rayne enough to bask in the warmth of such a treat.

"I can see why you wake up early every morning," Jarrah said, interrupting the brief minute of silence between them. She glanced up at him and watched as he pinched his long braid between two of his fingers. "They're fascinating to watch."

"They are," Rayne agreed. She could watch the nymphs dance every morning until the end of time, and she'd never get bored. "They never noticed me so closely before, though."

"Hmm. We're a day and a half away from Daphne's Garden, so maybe they're more comfortable around people like us here."

Daphne's Garden was a safe haven for nymphs all around. Though Rayne had never been there herself, she heard stories about the tree's eager protection to guard all nymphs from those who seek to harm them. The nymphs were her children, so Jarrah's idea made sense. They might even catch more glimpses of nymphs the closer they get, and a part of Rayne was excited to see it.

"Come on," Jarrah murmured, pushing himself up from the ground. "We should get going."

"Don't remind me," she grimaced, but wiggled herself to her feet anyway. She didn't know how she could get through another day full of boredom, but she knew that she had to. They didn't really have much of a choice.

"Hey Jarrah?" Rayne asked after an hour of trudging along their trail in silence. She was bored out of her mind and was dying to know her partner in crime a little bit more than she did under the surface level, and seeing as how he never talked about himself willingly, she supposed asking questions would be okay.

Jarrah, who had been facing forward the entire time, glanced down at her out the side of his eye. "Yes?"

She pursed her lips. "Why don't you ever talk about your fiance? Or your family? I feel like you know about my family dynamic, but I hardly know anything about yours."

His jaw tightened, though he didn't seem to be angry. Just tense. "Why would you want to know about that?"

Shrugging her shoulders, she simply said, "We got nothing else to do. We'll probably never see each other again after this so just humor me."

Jarrah sighed, grumbling out a grumpy, "Fine."

Trying to mask her excitement, she did her best to appear as causal as she could when she went for the first prospect of her curiosity. "So, how long have you been king?"

He moved his shoulders back. "Five years. I moved into my parents' position after they stepped down when I was eighteen."

"You were ruling at eighteen? By yourself?"

"I was trained for the position all my life," he replied, amused with a shrug. "I was more than ready at eighteen."

Interesting.

"So, why did you descide to marry so late? Don't royals get married when they move into the position?" she questioned. Something tugged painfully strange at her lower stomach, but she brushed it off. There was no reason for feeling whatever that feeling was. They didn't know each other, they were two different species, and they hardly cared for each other, despite their switch in comfortability. There should be no pain.

Jarrah glanced away from her curious eyes and released a soft breath. "I put it off for as long as my position would let me, which was five years, unfortunately. So, my parents had me propose to someone I grew up with. Someone who I knew wanted to marry me to make the decision less . . . taxing, I suppose."

"That's not a bad idea," Rayne admitted, trying to figure out how to stay positive with news like that. It was fucking awful, but she didn't want to tell him that so openly. "Though I am sorry you're forced into something like that, especially in that kind of arrangement. We get to choose our mates, so I can't imagine being forced to marry someone in a timeframe."

"Wolves weren't given natural mates from the moon?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

She snorted. "You read too many books. Our goddess didn't want to take our choices away from us, so she gave us the gift to choose."

"Hmm."

"Not as savage-like as you thought?" she teased, enjoying the clouds that left his expression to make room for his smile.

"Ask me that when I get over the chains of iron," he said dryly, shuddering for emphasis. "Never had that happen to me before and let me tell you, it was not pleasant."

"You should try silver bullets." She mock shuddered.

Jarrah looked down at her for that one, his eyebrows high on his forehead now. "You've been shot with silver bullets?"

"Unfortunately. I told Ronan—uh, my best friend from before—that I wanted to fight through the pain for training a few times. The most I could fight through was three since I have alpha blood, but Ronan could barely get through one." She couldn't hold back her boasting at that fact.

"Wow," he said, impressed. Then something else crossed his mind and he pursed his lips, his gaze calculating. "Ronan's that boy who was at the house, right?"

"The dumb one? Yeah, that was him."

The dumb one she couldn't help loving anyway.

"Is he who you're choosing as your mate?" he asked, almost hesitantly. Unsure if he was crossing a boundary.

Rayne almost choked on her spit at the thought. Her eyes rounded, much to her surprise, and she quickly shook her head. Ronan and her were both just really good friends. They loved each other, but he was more like another brother to her than a mate. Her parents asked about them once, but after seeing their interaction, their dreams for a beta-alpha love quickly dissipated. Strong pups wasn't worth the mental throw up that frothed at Rayne's lips at the thought of marrying him.

"I'd rather die," Rayne finally admitted.

Jarrah's surprised laugh heated her with warmth, and he shook his head lightly. "You'd rather die than marry your best friend?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying, marriage boy. Convenience doesn't mean happiness, and I guarantee you, those sort of marriages make you miserable." Then she stopped, her eyes widening. "Not that there's anything wrong with marrying your best friend! I'm sure you'll be very happy! I mean, people do it all the time and they're the happiest little bastards. It's just Ronan and I would literally kill each other and he's the biggest as-"

His grin widened impossibly so and another laugh pushed it's way through his charming lips. Rayne shared the laugh with him that time, giggling at both her obnoxious rambling and the thought of marying her fool of a best friend. She loved Ronan, but she already knew they would run each other over with wheelchairs if given the chance to grow old together in the same house. The thought alone made her shudder.

"But on a serious note," she said, smiling after they had both calmed down. "I'm sure you'll have a wonderful marriage. Much healthier than the one I'd have with Ronan, that's for sure."

"Maybe," he chuckled. "We haven't spent too much time together once we got older."

"That's your cue to do it, then. Take her out on a date once tʋnʋp is over and it'll be the best decision you ever made."

Strange. Something about that puzzled him. "A date?" he asked, his eyebrows pushed together.

"Yes, don't you people have them? You can make her a meal or take her out around your kingdom for a stroll, I don't know. Something you could do to get to know her again." The thought of Jarrah taking someone else on a date almost made her sick with nerves, but she shook the feeling away. "Maybe you can take her out dancing!"

"Hmm," he murmured, considering her idea. "I don't think I'd be very good at this 'date' thing, but I'll try it."

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll be great," she reassured him, awkwardly patting his arm because her brain just loved to embaress her. "She'll love it. All women do."

Jarrah looked down at her strangely with his lips still pursed in calculation. Rayne didn't know what that look meant, but she ignored whatever it was and continued to move forward alongside him. There was no point in hoping for something different for herself, and she knew he and his fiance deserved a long, happy life together.

The same species with the same life. As it was meant to be.

♡ tʋnʋp - war (ta-nap)