Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"...so lay me dooooown,

let the only sound, 

be the overflooooowwwww..." 

A dull smattering of applause poppled throughout the tavern crowd as Rayla and Astrid finished their performance with a synchronized flourish and bow. Chest heaving with exertion, Rayla watched out of the corner of her eye as Suroh passed from patron to patron, hat in hand, only to be rebuffed at more than every other turn. Her heart sank; frustrated, she ran both her hands through her hair as she descended off the stage with her duet partner. 

"Not a good haul, then?" Astrid asked their friend, who sighed. 

"About as much as we usually get," he said, trying for an optimistic smile. Rayla rolled her eyes.

"Which is another way of saying 'no'," she deadpanned. She pinched the bridge of her nose. "This was a waste of time. It always is." 

"I wouldn't go that far," said Suroh as the three of them dug into his hat and divided up their meager earnings. "It may not be much, but at least it's something, right?" 

Rayla sighed as she pocketed her coins. "I guess. But Suroh, I can't keep singing and dancing in taverns for loose change." 

Astrid opened the tavern door and held it open for Rayla and Suroh as she adjusted her guitar strap. "I don't see why not. You love it. And you're good at it. Just because you're not making heaps of money off it—" 

"I don't have time for hobbies, Astrid," Rayla snapped. "I've got a half-broken house, I'm knee-high in debt to a greedy human pig, and I've got three mouths to feed!"

Astrid and Suroh exchanged glances. "How are the ankle-biters?" Astrid asked. "They've adjusted well to the move, I hope?"

"...They're alright," Rayla said. "Tough little bairns. They've never been around so many humans before, though. Or, well, any. They keep staring at the human children and scaring them off." 

Suroh shrugged. "Elk Cove has enough elven children for them to befriend. They'll be fine."

"Hm." Rayla didn't bother with a response. He had a point, after all. On the other hand, she didn't want her children to gain reputations as human-haters. Especially not when they lived in one of the only elf-human settlements in all of Xadia.

They moved to Elk Cove a little more than a month ago. The move itself was a long time coming. Rayla missed the Silvergrove and her family dearly, of course. But years of simultaneous pity and condescension from her community for the 'crime' of having her marriage fall apart took its toll. As if she wanted to marry Leto in the first place. Truth be told, a week after the triplets were born, she was nothing but relieved when she woke up one morning and her fiancé was nowhere to be found. He wasn't fit to be a father or husband. She and her sons' lives would be a thousand times better without him in it. 

She hadn't expected nearly everyone in the Silvergrove to turn their backs on her and her entire family. Ethari's smithy business took a nosedive; Runaan and her parents were entrusted with less missions. Rayla herself could barely find work doing odd jobs for elves who looked at her less as a fellow elf and more like she was a charity project. And her boys. She had done her best to shield them from it, but even her boys suffered by way of being bullied by the other Moonshadow children for not having a dad. 

Rayla could only put up with such mistreatment for so long. A part of her was ashamed for enduring it as long as she had. 

Not to say life in the beach village of Elk Cove was proving to be much better so far. In some ways it was a definite improvement. No one looked at her and her children like they were shitstains on their shoes (none of the elves did at least. Most of the humans didn't either). But in other ways life was much harder. She was a new face in the village, so not a lot of elves and humans trusted her with jobs yet. She had to pay a babysitter to look after the boys while she searched for work, which took precious coins away from necessities such as food and supplies to fix up the house, not to mention paying off her debt to Alodia.

She'd find a way to make it work. She had to. 

Waving farewell to Astrid and Suroh, Rayla yawned as she approached her house. It wasn't anything to brag about, with its shoddy construction and the hole in the roof, but it was hers. 

The door opened. Pairs of feet thundered against the ground. "Mum!"

"Boys!" Rayla stumbled back as six arms struggled to wrap themselves around her waist all at once. "What are you still doing up?"

"We were waiting up for you," said the triplet on her right—Eltanin, her mind registered. The triplet on her left (Rastaban) nodded eagerly while the one in the middle, Thuban, stared up at her with solemn, inquisitive eyes. "How did your show go?" 

Smiling weakly, Rayla ran her hand through Eltanin's hair. "It went fine, moonberry." 

Rastaban jumped up and down in place, beaming. "Did you get a—a standing rotation, Mum?" 

"It's ovation," Thuban said in a quiet voice. He rubbed at his eyes and yawned. "I bet she did. Mum's the best singer in the world." 

"I'm not that good, I'm afraid," Rayla said. She was all of a sudden too aware of the coins in her pocket. "Where's the babysitter?" 

A frazzled-looking human bolted out of the house. "I'm here! I'm right here, Miss Rayla! I'm so sorry, I swear I tried to get them to go to sleep but they insisted on waiting up for you, and every time I got one into bed the other two would sneak out, and when I got them back into bed the third one would get up again and—" 

"It's alright, Wilma," Rayla shook her head. "My boys can be a handful when they set their mind to something." She shot her sons an exasperated look. Eltanin rubbed the back of his neck, Rastaban grinned, and Thuban looked away. "Let me sort you out so you can go home." 

With a heavy heart, she fished out all the coins from her performance and handed them over to Wilma, who thanked her with a relieved smile before heading out. Sighing, Rayla motioned for the boys to follow her inside the house and began preparing them to go to sleep.

"Hey, Mum?" Eltanin asked some time later as she was tucking them into bed. She smoothed over the wrinkles in his blanket with a slight hum.

"Yes, love?" She asked absentmindedly.

"You know how our birthday is coming up?" 

"We're turning seven!" Rastaban added from his corner of the room.

Rayla smiled. "Yes, I know," she said. "That's a big one, isn't it?" 

Eltanin nodded. "Yes, it is! And I know you usually get us each a present, but we talked about it, and this year we decided we want one big present we can all share." 

She cocked her head. "Oh, really? What's that, then?" 

Eltanin, Rastaban, and Thuban all looked at each other before turning to their mother with varying levels of nerves and hope.

In unison, they said, "We want a dad."

She choked on thin air. "You want a what?" She asked, hoping she misheard them.

The brothers shared another look. "We want...a dad?" Eltanin repeated weakly, and no, she hadn't misheard them. Damn it. 

"Loves..." She bit her lip. "We've talked about this. Your father left when you were wee bairns. I don't know where he is." 

Eltanin scowled. "We're not talking about him, Mum."

"Yeah, we know he's a bampot," Rastaban said, pouting angrily.

"Grandpa Runaan says he's an ass," Thuban added.

"We want a new dad," Eltanin said. "Someone nice who won't leave." His brothers nodded in agreement. 

"Boys..." Rayla sighed. "It's not that simple." 

"Why not?" Rastaban whined. "All the other kids have dads!" 

"Yeah, how hard can it be to get our own?" Eltanin asked.

She pinched the bridge of her nose. "I promise you guys it would be extremely hard."

"But Mum..."  Thuban said softly.

"I don't want to talk about this anymore," Rayla said sharply, then immediately regretted it upon seeing her sons' stricken expressions. She sighed. "Moonberries...I'm sorry. I know how much it must hurt, not having a father—" 

"You've got three dads." Rastaban sulked.  

Rayla ignored that. "—But I don't have time to find you guys a new dad, alright? I've got my hands full as it is with the four of us. Another person would only complicate things."

Eltanin scrunched his eyebrows. "What does complicate mean?" 

"It means you'll just have to make do with your old mum for awhile." Rayla leaned over and pressed a gentle kiss to his forehead. She got up and did the same for her other sons then walked over to their bedroom door. She smiled warmly at the three of them. "I'll see you in the morning, okay? Love you." 

"...Love you, Mum." The boys mumbled back. 

Rayla's smile grew bittersweet at their lackluster response, and with a final goodnight, she left them to sleep in peace. 

Chapter Text

There were times Rayla selfishly wished her parents could have moved to Elk Cove with her. Mornings were one of them. Back in the Silvergrove, breakfast had been a fast-paced affair, with her and her parents working in tandem to get food on the table and the little ones out of bed. Together, all five of them had proved to be an efficient team. 

On her own? Well…

“I don’t wanna get up!” Rastaban wailed. He clung to his bedpost with surprising tenacity as Rayla grabbed him by the legs and pulled.

“Rastaban, come on!” She grunted. “Breakfast is getting cold!”

“No! No no no!” 

“Muu-uuum,” Thuban tugged on the hem of her shirt, distressed. “Eli won’t let me in the bathroom.”

Applying more strength to her efforts, Rayla kept her gaze focused on Rastaban and shouted “Eltanin, let your brother use the bog!”

“‘M not finished!” Eltanin cried out, voice muffled through the closed bathroom door.

“What are you even doing in there? You’ve been ages!”

“I’m taking a bath!”

“What?” Rayla dropped Rastaban’s legs and hurried to the bathroom. “Open the door, Eltanin!” 

“But I’m in the tub!” 

“Now!”

Jiggling the doorknob in a vain effort to get in, Rayla almost lost her balance when the door swung open to reveal her son wrapped in a towel, sporting wet hair and a grumpy face.

Rayla rushed in to turn off the tub, shuddering as her bare feet traipsed against the damp floor. 

“I wasn’t done—” Eltanin started to protest but then quelled under his mother’s glare. She grabbed his hand and led him back to his and his brothers’ room, where Rastaban and Thuban watched, wide eyed, as she placed their brother firmly on his bed.

“How many times do I have to tell you not to use the bathtub by yourself?” She struggled to keep her composure. “You’re just a kid.”

Eltanin sulked. “I’m almost seven.”

“Almost seven is still six,” she said sharply. “And six—not to mention seven—is too young to be in the tub without an adult. Now dry yourself up and get dressed. You too,” she said to Rastaban and Thuban with a stern expression. “If you're not downstairs in five minutes, I’m eating all the mushcup.”

All three of them made identical expressions of distaste.

Ten minutes later the four of them were at the kitchen table, begrudgingly eating their breakfast, when there was a loud thud. The boys ceased their chatter, shared startled glances, then turned towards their mother in unison. 

Eyes narrowed, Rayla picked up a kitchen knife. Slipping into a crouch, she neared the source of the noise, ready for whoever had dared to break into her home—

—only to be met by a sheepish Suroh. “Hey, Rayla.” he gave her a casual two-finger salute as he closed the front door.

Rayla relaxed, then scowled and thumped her friend on the head. 

“Ow!” He whined. “What was that for?!” 

“For scaring me—my boys,” Rayla corrected herself. “You can’t just break into someone’s house, Suroh! Especially not my house.” 

“I wasn’t scared, Mum!” Rastaban yelled from the kitchen. “I’m brave like you!”

“So am I, Mum!” 

“Me too! I’m the bravest.”

“No, I am!”

“I’m the bravest!”

“See, they’re fine,” Suroh said with a carefree grin while the boys squabbled. 

Rayla sighed. Pinched the bridge of her nose. “What are you even doing here? We’re not meant to meet up ‘til later at the tavern.”

“Forget the tavern. I got a new job lined up for us,” he said proudly. “This huge boat docked at the pier last night. They need a crew to do some repairs—” 

Rayla turned around. “Pass.”

“Rayla." Suroh trailed after her into the kitchen. Plucking a bowl of mushcup out of Eltanin’s hands, he took a bite, then made a face. “Ugh, this is terrible.” 

“Shut up, it is not.” 

“Yes, it is.” Rastaban said. His brothers bobbed their heads in agreement. 

“Well, it’s a Mum Special, so you better get used to it,” Rayla said, and they groaned.

Suroh wiped his mouth, eyed the mushcup, then shrugged before taking another bite. “Seriously, Rayla,” he mumbled. “This boat job. You haven’t even heard what the payout is.”

Rayla yanked Eltanin’s breakfast out of Suroh's hands and handed it back to her son. “I don’t need to.”

“Come on, what’s so bad about a boat?”

“Mum’s afraid of water,” Thuban said absently as he played with his food.

Suroh blinked, then grinned. “What?”

“I am not afraid of water.” Rayla said. “Thuban’s confused.”

Thuban frowned. “No, I’m not. Gran and Grandpa Lain said you used to cry at bathtime.”

Suroh burst into laughter.

Rayla flushed. “Okay, time for you to go,” she said loudly. She put her hands on his shoulders and directed him towards the front door.

“Hey, come on—” Suroh protested.

“—I’ll see you later at the tavern—”

“The job pays thirty gold coins. Each.”

That made Rayla pause. Letting go of her friend, she raised a singular eyebrow at him. 

“Go on,” she said.

That was how, after finding a babysitter for the kids, Rayla found herself trudging behind Suroh and Astrid as they made their way through the crowded pier. The breeze smelled of fish and sea; various ships bobbed atop the waves. They taunted her with their unsteady movement.

Astrid looked back and frowned. “Are you alright, Rayla?” 

“I’m fine,” she said curtly. She tightened her grip on their shared bag of tools.

“You sure?” Suroh turned around so that he walked backwards. “You look like you’re going to throw up.”

Astrid reached out and spun Suroh back around. “Leave her alone, Suroh.” 

“Well, she does.” 

“Shut up,” Rayla snapped. “Just tell us about the clients.”

“What’s there to tell? They’re a bunch of humans who are stuck here until their ship is fixed.” 

“You sound bitter,” Astrid said, surprised.

Suroh shrugged, the corner of his mouth curled downwards. “Let’s just say I didn’t get the impression they liked elves very much.” 

“Why’d you insist we take this job, then?” Rayla asked.

“Thirty. Gold. Coins. Each.” Suroh stressed each word, and, well, she couldn’t argue with him there. “I’ll do just about anything for that kind of money.”

“That’s certainly a relief to hear.” A new voice rang in the air.

Atop a large ship labeled Towards the Light across the hull stood a middle-aged man who stared down at them with an authoritative glare. He had severe grey eyes, wrinkled pale skin, and light brown hair speckled white. Adorned in your standard sailor’s outfit (albeit with a fancy leather coat) he didn’t look nearly as intimidating as he seemed to think he did.

“Hello, sir,” Suroh greeted in a cordial, yet stiff tone. “Nice to see you again. These are the elves I told you about—”

“Yes, yes, nice to meet you,” said the man with a dismissive wave of his hand. “Go on, then, get to it. There’s work to be done.”

He walked off without another word. 

The three elves looked at each other, bewildered by his behavior. Astrid cleared her throat. 

“Um, sir,” she said carefully as she and Suroh hurried after the human Rayla had tentatively dubbed Captain Ass. Rayla hesitated before she took a deep breath and charged across the ramp connecting the dock to the boat. As she fought off the sudden onset of anxiety and treaded carefully across the deck, Astrid continued to speak. “It would help if we knew what exactly you needed us to do.” 

Captain Ass didn’t break his stride. “I assumed Surah would have told you. I informed him of our situation.” 

“It’s Suroh, sir,” the Skywing Elf said. “And you said you wanted repairs done, but you never said what specifically you needed—”

“Dad!”

A human woman burst out of the captain’s cabin, quickly followed by a young man whose arms were laden with various pieces of paper and bulky books. 

“Claudia, wait up!” The man cried out, then yelped as he almost tripped over his own two feet. 

“Dad!” The woman—Claudia, apparently—hollered towards Captain Ass. Her green eyes vibrated with excitement. “You’re not gonna believe this. Callum and I were going through one of the maps and—”

“Claudia,” Captain Ass cut her off sharply. “Not right now. As you can see, we’ve got—guests.” He gestured towards Rayla, Suroh, and Astrid.

“Wha—oh,” Claudia blinked, apparently oblivious to their presence until her father pointed them out to her. A split second passed before she beamed and waved at them. “Ahoy there! Who might you be, mateys?” She winked at them. 

Captain Ass sighed. “I’ve hired them to fix the masts and rudder. You’re to allow them to complete their work unimpeded, is that understood?”

Claudia gave him a thumbs up. “You got it, Dad. We’ll talk later. Come on, Callum.”

“Yeah, sure, totally. Let me just—” 

Without warning, the man named Callum fell down onto his back with a shout. The paper and books he’d been holding scattered all around him, with some landing right on his chest and stomach.

“Callum!” Claudia rushed towards her friend. “Are you okay?”

“I’m—I’m fine,” Callum sputtered. 

“Here, lemme—”

As Claudia helped him up, and the two began to collect the items spilled on the floor, Rayla took in the man’s appearance. He was around Rayla’s age, with messy dark brown hair and hooded green eyes that seemed to sparkle in the sun. Like Captain Ass, he wore sailor garbs, but he pulled it off way better, at least in Rayla’s opinion. There was also an earnest air about him that Captain Ass definitely lacked. 

She blinked, taken out of her observations when she felt something nudge her toes. She looked down to see a scroll had rolled over right to her feet. 

She picked it up. “Hey.” She called out towards the two humans, each of them now carrying an equal share of paper and books. “You dropped this.” 

She held up the scroll and waited for either of them to come and get it.

The two of them exchanged glances before Callum shrugged. Approaching Rayla, he reached out for the scroll, took it gingerly from her grasp, and tucked it into his breast pocket. 

“Thanks.” He shot her a grateful smile.

For some reason, Rayla found herself smiling back. Just a little.

“No problem,” she said.