An Archive of Our Own, a project of the
Organization for Transformative Works
Résumé /Summary :
🇨🇵
Namaari est policière de Kumandra, et marche dans les pas de sa mère. En effet, malgré son jeune âge elle est déjà gradée. Lieutenante estimée et respectée elle est connue pour avoir un sens aigue de son travail, strict et exigeante tout comme pour être un bourreau de travail et impitoyable avec le crime, elle est là pour protéger les citoyens en faisant régner l'ordre.
Cependant une séduisante, mystérieuse et insolente jeune femme l'entraine sur une enquête sombre de vols, de drogues et de corruptions, et il s'avère qu'elle n'est autre que la fille du chef du terrible gang Druun : Chef Benja... qui est venue poursuivre son travail de son défunt père. Mais peut-être que le rapport d'enquête qui a propulsé sa mère au sommet de la hiérarchie policière et a être l'une des personnes les plus influentes du conseil de ce qui reste de Kumandra ne dit pas toute la vérité.
____
🇬🇧
Namaari is a policewoman from Kumandra, and follows in her mother's footsteps. Indeed, despite her young age she is already graded. Esteemed and respected lieutenant, she is known to have an acute sense of her work, strict and demanding and to be to be a workaholic and ruthless with crime, she's there to protect the citizens by keeping order.
However, an attractive, mysterious and insolent young woman leads her on a dark investigation of drugs , thefts and corruptions, and it turns out that she is none other than the daughter of the leader of the terrible Druun gang: Chief Benja. who came to continue her work from her late father. But perhaps the investigative report that propelled her mother to the top of the police hierarchy and one of the most influential people on the council of what remains of Kumandra isn't telling the whole truth.
Headcanon suggested by a lovely anon, which spawned into a fic. Read on Ao3 or under the cut.
Words of affirmation
Receiving compliments or words of encouragement are not uncommon for Namaari. She has gone through life aiming to be the best at everything she does – the best leader, the best warrior, the best Princess – and along with her success come compliments on her fighting techniques, her decision-making skills, and even her ability to look formidable in her formal attire.
As royalty, people lavish her with praises when they see an opportunity to get into her good graces, despite the obvious lack of sincerity behind their words, and it tires her to deal with fawning citizens. She loves her people, but she’d rather they’d love her back truly; false words mean nothing.
Chief Virana does not give out compliments easily, and is often faster to critique than to encourage. Namaari pretends her mother’s approval is nothing more than something important to receive from her Chief, but in reality, she craves hearing soft words such as ‘well done, Morning Mist’, whenever she is lucky enough to have them bestowed upon her.
As she grows up, she decides that sweet words are nice to have, but ultimately unnecessary – nothing more than a nod of acknowledgement is needed, before one can place it aside and move on to more important things. And then Raya comes back into her life.
Raya, who can flirt endlessly with elaborate innuendos until Namaari rolls her eyes at her ridiculousness. Raya, who is quite happy to press herself closer than absolutely necessary in their sparring sessions, just to set out some unspoken physical challenge.
And yet, when it comes to providing a genuine compliment, Raya practically freezes.
‘I like…like your hair,’ she mumbles one day to Namaari, glancing off to the side in order to avoid making eye contact. Her cheeks are flushed bright red, even though earlier in the day she had made a lewd comment about a sword which didn’t even have her blinking.
For some reason, Raya’s lack of suaveness when it comes to providing true compliments delights Namaari, and she hoards each instance close to her heart, happy in the knowledge that every word spoken was genuine in its meaning.
In return, she starts to gift Raya with compliments of her own.
For Raya is not used to receiving compliments, at least not in a long time. Her Ba used to provide encouragement and compliments often, but that was many years ago, and now he hesitates to put them into words sometimes, unsure of how this new dynamic works when he’s looking at a grown-up daughter rather than a small child.
Namaari has no difficulty in sharing them though.
‘You look very beautiful today,’ she tells Raya softly one evening, when they are having dinner. Raya stammers out some incomprehensible response, and spends the rest of the meal staring down at her bowl, occasionally darting her eyes over to Namaari.
‘I love that hairstyle on you,’ Namaari says to her a few days later, watching as Raya braids her hair back with expert precision.
‘Umm…thanks?’ Raya squeaks.
‘Your techniques were excellent today,’ Namaari informs her after a sparring session. This time, Raya just nods, and clears her throat before trying to awkwardly change the subject. Namaari can still see the smile on her lips though.
Eventually, Raya becomes better at both giving and receiving words of affirmation. Namaari learns how true compliments can be more meaningful than expected.
It isn’t the most important aspect of their relationship, but they like to encourage each other all the same.
Acts of service
Raya sees how much of a burden Namaari perpetually takes onto her shoulders, in her duties for Fang. She is so focused on helping her people rebuild and expand, or going away on diplomatic missions to help form better relations with the other lands, that she forgets to take a moment to breath sometimes.
Raya wants to take some of her stress away, by helping her carry out some of her duties or at least be involved in organizing certain aspects of the expansion projects, but she discovers quickly that Namaari is somewhat of a perfectionist. It is almost more stressful for her to find herself out of the loop or uninformed about decisions, than it would be to allow her undertake the duties in the first place, and so Raya finds it more helpful to just back off from the work unless asked to provide support.
It’s also a way for Namaari to feel as if she is atoning for her past actions. Raya wishes she wouldn’t feel the need to do so, but it is something they’ve argued about before, and they always end up stuck in a perpetual loop.
One of the ways Raya can help however, is with her cooking.
Namaari is an awful cook (something Raya unfortunately discovers herself with one ill-fated meal), but she is fascinated by watching Raya conjure something up in the kitchen.
Gone are the days of living off jackfruit jerky; with so many fresh and interesting ingredients at her disposal, and with the occasional reminders from Ba when she is unsure about something, Raya makes a whole array of different foods over the months.
It’s one of the best ways of getting Namaari to relax, Raya finds. Every mealtime when Raya is behind the pot, Namaari will abandon whatever work she is doing, and will sit and watch Raya finish making the dishes. They’ll always eat it together, and for a short while, Raya can feel the stress lift free from Namaari as she laughs over Raya’s words and enjoys good food.
Gifts
The first gift Namaari ever gave Raya has almost become a symbol for their entire complicated history. It represents new friendship, betrayal, and after so many years…forgiveness and a fresh start.
Namaari gives it back to her not long after the return of Kumandra, before she can second-guess herself.
‘It was a gift,’ she says, half-expecting it to be thrown back in her face. But Raya runs her finger gently over the surface of the dragon pendant, and then sends her a small smile. The next day, Namaari sees it hanging around her neck once more.
Once they start dating properly, Namaari can’t get it out of her mind how much the gift seemed to mean to Raya, both times.
‘She still doesn’t have that many personal belongings,’ Namaari informs Sisu, as an explanation as to why she was forcing the dragon to accompany her around endless market stalls in Talon, looking for the perfect gift for Raya. ‘I figure it’s because she was on the move so much in life, she couldn’t carry a lot.’
Sisu makes an ‘mmm’ sound, clearly not buying her reasoning completely, but allows the topic to drop when she’s distracted by shiny objects at the next stall.
Namaari finds a small knife that can be strapped to a wrist and slipped up the sleeve. She knows how much Raya prefers to be carrying at least one weapon with her at all times, and this would be perfect for diplomatic meetings – subtle, and easy to hide. And indeed, Raya wears it continuously after receiving it as a gift.
On another visit to another market, this time in Spine, Namaari spies a comb with a beautifully carved handle.
‘For your hair,’ she says in an attempt to be casual, thrusting it awkwardly in Raya’s direction that evening. Raya loves it, and it is indeed used every night before bed to comb out her braids.
Every time Namaari has to travel on diplomatic missions, she now ensures that she brings back something small for Raya.
‘I love the gifts,’ Raya tells her one day. ‘But I love even more how it shows you’re thinking of me when you’re away.’
One evening, as they are getting ready for bed, a small golden ring drops out of Namaari’s pocket by mistake.
‘Is…is that my old hair band?’ Raya asks, peering over the side of the bed as Namaari scoops it up in a hurry. ‘I thought I’d lost that years ago.’
‘I found it,’ Namaari says defensively, clutching it tight in her fist. ‘I guess…I never asked you if you wanted it back?’
Raya shakes her head with a smile, but the following evening, she steps up behind Namaari, sliding her hand into her pocket. Namaari watches as she pulls out the hair band and threads it onto a small gold chain.
From then on, they both wear a gift from the other around their necks.
Physical touch
Sometimes, everything can become overwhelming, the past traumas so great that it seems suffocating. And in that darkness, sometimes the gentle touch of another is the only thing keeping the world grounded.
Raya goes six long years without receiving a hug. At the time, she doesn’t see it as a big deal – she’s grown up fast, and learnt that the world isn’t the welcoming place her father once hoped it could be. Even moreso, her Ba was the last one to hug her, and she doesn’t mind keeping it that way.
Now though, she finds comfort in the small touches. It’s in the featherlight way Namaari’s nose brushes against her neck as they curl up together in bed, waiting for the morning sun to rise. It’s in the gentle trail of Namaari’s fingers across her back, as they stand talking to others, and Namaari absentmindedly reaches out for her. It’s in the soft kiss against her temple, when Namaari has to go back to work after lunch.
Occasionally, she will need to be encompassed by that comfort, and in this moment, she will go and find Namaari, stepping closer until her forehead rests on her shoulder. No matter what she was previously doing, Namaari will pause everything, wrapping her arms tightly around Raya, and they stand there until Raya can feel as if she can breathe again.
Namaari has a habit of falling too far into her own mind sometimes. She is an outwardly composed and pragmatic individual, but internally, all sorts of doubts and guilt still plague her, and there are days where she can’t shake off the feeling that she isn’t doing enough in her life to atone for her past, or that she is a fraud who has no right in stepping up and trying to lead her people when her previous actions cost them so much.
It’s difficult for her to ask for help in these moments. Raya learns instead to notice the signs of a bad day, or whenever Namaari gets trapped into a downwards spiral, and she will take Namaari by the hands and sit them somewhere quiet.
There they can actually talk, and sometimes Namaari feels comfortable enough to share her fears. But the most important thing, Raya finds, is to slide an arm around her shoulders, pulling her in tight and peppering her cheek and bare shoulder with small kisses.
Raya refuses to let her go until she sees at least one small smile.
Quality time
In the early days of the relationship, there is still so much separation between the two of them. Raya is in Heart, helping her Ba welcome back everyone to their lands, fixing up the buildings, ensuring the harvest gets started…There are so many jobs to do, and Raya knows Namaari is undergoing the same issues back in Fang, coupled with an expansion of their kingdom.
On top of all of this, there are endless council meetings and diplomatic missions, so if it isn’t Namaari being busy with politics, it is Raya, much to her annoyance.
Whenever they do get to spend time together, they ensure no minute is wasted. They have meals together, and spar together, and find all sorts of random ways to entertain themselves. Namaari loves to go out in the evenings and watch the night sky, attempting to teach the constellations to Raya; but Raya decides that these constellations are ridiculous, and so they create their own. Raya meanwhile loves to go for hikes in the woods, dragging Namaari along to discover new plants and wildlife, and occasionally climbing the trees.
They both love to sit in bed next to each other, quietly reading their books, or discussing their day. Sometimes, Raya will lie sideways on the bed, her stomach across Namaari’s legs and her arms hanging over the edge, so she can carve pieces of wood into intricate shapes, with Namaari reads out loud for the both of them.
Even after several years, and living together permanently, Raya finds herself reflecting on the fact that she never gets bored as long as she’s with Namaari.
They are currently lying in a field somewhere in the depths of Heart land, enjoying the sun shining onto their faces and the grass tickling their skin. She lazily wiggles her hand until it makes contact with Namaari.
‘Dep la?’ Raya whispers, and Namaari grunts in response. ‘You don’t get bored with me, right?’
Namaari merely shuffles closer without even opening an eye, resting her cheek against Raya’s shoulder.
‘Don’t be stupid,’ she mumbles, and she’s curled up so close that Raya can feel the vibrations of her voice on her skin.
‘Didn’t think so,’ Raya says in satisfaction. They continue to enjoy the peace.
RAYAARI BIG BANG INTEREST CHECK NOW OPEN - CLOSES APRIL 30TH 🐉💙
What's drippin', dep la? Welcome to the 2021 Rayaari Big Bang! This fandom event is intended to facilitate collaboration between authors and visual artists through contributing a collective body of longfic and full color illustrations about our two favorite dragon nerds. All pieces will revolve around the Raya/Namaari pairing from Raya and the Last Dragon.
What is a big bang?
Per Fanlore:
A Big Bang (or “Bang” for short) is a specific type of challenge usually involving long fics and accompanying artwork. This type of challenge is a reprise of the old zine tradition of collaboration between artists and writers for internet fandoms.
Most Big Bangs have a similar format: Writers sign up to take part in the challenge and begin writing stories. When the early drafts of the stories are available, each one is assigned one or more artists, or artists might claim stories from posted summaries. Artists create fanart to go along with the story.
Minimum expectations for this bang will be a 10k+ standalone new work for writers and 1-2 full color illustrations from artists.
Participants will also have the opportunity to serve as beta readers (all finalized fics must be beta read) and/or pinch-hitters, which are individuals who step in to fulfill a written or artistic prompt if another participant must drop out. This big bang event will cap at AO3's Mature rating, with no explicit violent/sexual or dead dove content allowed in associated works.
We are also looking for mods to help run the Discord and social media (Twitter/Tumblr/Carrd/Graphics)!
Tentative schedule subject to adjustment:
Mid May: Sign-ups & Discord open
Early June: Prompt submissions and pairing begin
Late June: Author & artist pairings are finalized; work begins
July-Sep: Progress check-ins
October: Contributions are beta-read and finalized
Early November: Posting begins
Take the first step! 🐉💧
Submit Interest Check Here
— Mod Annika (@skyguyandsnips), Mod Aly (@thedragonnerd), Mod Sai (@rayaarism)
“Class dismissed!” Mr. Hai announced to the class. “And remember homework is always…mandatory…” He said with a head shake after half of his class was already out the door.
He arched his eyebrows when he noticed a student he urgently needed to speak to.
“Raya! A moment please?” Raya turned around, startled but not surprised. She was usually the one to stay behind after class to speak with the teachers.
“What’s up?” She came by his desk.
“Well, uh…I’m not going to sugar coat it. I’m concerned.” Wouldn’t be the first time she heard that. And not just from Mr. Hai. “You have been scoring increasingly low on your past three tests. Finals are coming up in the spring, and I’m worried that you won’t be able to preform at your highest level of capability. Are we on the same page?” He folded his hands together.
Raya smiled and nodded. “Yep. Understood. I’ll do better, I guess. See ya tomorrow teach,” She made a quick move for the door.
“Wait um, I wasn’t quite finished with you yet.” He chuckled., raising a hand. “I know you’re a good kid Raya. I’ve known you forever. Is there something going on at home that’s messing with your academic focus?” she pursed her lips as her eyes darted around the room, looking for an answer.
Of course, there was stuff going on at home. Her dad traveled every other day for business, so she makes bad grades in hopes of finally getting his attention. Getting him to stick around a little bit longer.
“Nope.” She responded simply.
“Okay well, I need you to get your grades up, Ms. Heart. Finals aren’t easy. And its your senior year. Make the most of it while you still have time, okay?” He offered her soft eyes and a warm smile.
“Got it. Bye.” She turned to leave.
“Uh- Mr. Hai? I might be able to help her out.” A raspy voice chirped from the back of the room. A student hadn’t lef,t and heard their whole conversation about how Raya was basically a dummy. Great.
“Sisu? I'm listening.” He leaned forward on his desk and motioned a hand for Raya to come back over to hear this.
“Um, I go to a tutor once a week after school. She’s pretty cool. Maybe I could hook Raya up with her?” She suggested. Mr. Hai’s eyes lit up. Raya’s rolled back into her head for the 6th time that day.
She didn’t know Sisu super well, but she has the highest grade in the class. Maybe that’s thanks to this mystery tutor.
“Perfect!” He clapped. “Raya, you and Sisu trade info so you guys can make this tutor session happen.” He pointed to both of them.
“I don’t think this’ll help with anything…” Raya mumbled.
“Don’t worry. Namaari’s super chill. She won’t criticize you for little mistake like most tutors. We have our sessions every Wednesday at the coffee shop down the street, but you can have mine this week.” She offered.
“That sounds lovely, doesn’t it Raya?” Mr. Hai spun his chair to face his other student. She Let out a big huff, which caused a few strands of her hair to blow up into the air. She turned for the door again to leave.
“Talk to me after school about it.” She directed her gaze to Sisu, who nodded back at her.
~*~
Wednesday came quick. Raya cracked her knuckled anxiously as she walked down the street with Sisu to the coffee shop, hearing her babble on and on about the tutor, and math, equations, bleh. Raya was in a different world. She kind of always was.
“She says that she’s already in so let’s go.” Sisu opened the door for her friend- if she even counted as one. Raya walked in, the bitter smell of coffee running through her nose.
She searched around for some middle-aged lady with teacher glasses.
“Where is she?” Raya’s eyes continued to float over the young people in the coffee shop, not seeing any that could qualify as a tutor. At least the type she was envisioning.
“You’re looking right at her.” Her eyes followed Sisu’s pointing finger to a young woman- very young. And she was gorgeous. Stunning, Raya’s list could go on to describe this girl. She had a fine ear cuff that hung long, down to her shoulder. A sharp jawline that was complimented with a crimson smirk as she looked at her phone and chewed on a pencil.
This might be a problem for Raya.
“No,” She uttered. Sisu looked over at her. “There’s no way she’s my tutor.” Raya stuttered with a swallow.
“Why what’s wrong do you know her?”
“No it’s just that she’s like- hot. Like for real…” She shuddered on the word hot. Sisu’s eyebrows rose in amusement.
“Oh. Well I guess she is really pretty. Never thought of her that way.” Sisu shrugged as they both looked her way.
“H-how old is she?” Raya pointed, not able to take her eyes off of the tutor.
“19.” A year older than them. Huh. This has to be a sigh, Raya thought. “Why do you ask?” Raya didn’t respond immediately.
“Yeah whatever…” She trailed off, mesmerized by the girls contagious and beautiful laugh. Sisu’s smirk intensified.
“Alright, lets get over there. We’re 4 minutes late.” Sisu ushered Raya to the table. Raya came to a halting stop.
“Uh- no I can’t go over there. Do you have any other tutors?” Raya whispered.
“What?! No I don’t have any- why are we whispering? And why can’t you go over there?”
“Because you didn’t tell me that’s she’s hot and she is, and I get nervous around hot people! I can’t sit through a whole thirty minutes with her!”
“I didn’t know it was my job to tell you the attractive level of my tutor but- you’re going over there whether you like it or not because I already paid her.” Sisu shoved her.
Before Raya could rebel, she was there. Face to face with the coffee shop beauty.
“Um…Hi. Do you work here or…?” Raya quirked her eyebrows before realizing that her hoodie was the same color as the coffee shop’s colors.
“Uh…I…uh….um….” She stammered, to distracted by the girls pretty eyes and attractive voice. She has to be the perfect human being, Raya thought.
“Nope. She’s the girl I mentioned to you about tutoring. Just for today and maybe a few others if she likes this session.” Sisu swung an arm around Raya. Namaari nodded in remembrance.
“Oh right. What’s your name?” Raya couldn’t answer. She probably blew a fuse. Sisu rolled her eyes.
“Her name is Raya. She’s kinda always this quiet so don’t take it personally.” Sisu patted Raya on the shoulders one more time before heading to leave. Raya begged Sisu to stay there with her in her mind.
The two girls were then in silence for a bit, Namaari examining Raya with curiosity, and Raya trying hard not to let her eyes stick on Namaari’s bare and muscled arms.
“You know you can sit down,” Namaari chuckled, pointing her pencil at the chair across from her. Raya snapped out of it before pulling the chair from under the table and plopping down.
“Right uh- sorry i-im just a little off today is all.” She laughed nervously.
“Oh. Everything okay?”
“Yeah yeah yeah yeah,” Raya shrugged off, avoiding eye contact at all cost.
“Awesome. Okay so, did you bring books with you? Stuff that we can work on?”
“Yeah they’re in here,” Raya leaned under the table and dug through her bag for her English and math journal, and a bit of homework. She dropped them onto the table, shaking Namaari’s coffee cup slightly.
“Alrighty. Let’s get to work then.” Dammit why’d she have to say it like that in that tone, Raya thought.
~*~
About 5 minutes have passed. A long 5 minutes.
“Raya? Hello are you with me here?” Namaari waved a hand in front of Raya’s dazing eyes.
“Wha- y-yes I want it be with you-“Raya winced at the words that came out of her mouth. “I-mean yeah I’m focused. Just daydreaming.”
“Oh yeah? About what?” Namaari teased. She was messing with her. And it was working.
“Not much…” She uttered, cracking her knuckles again.
“Well I hope it was about fractions and decimals. What I’ve been talking about for the past few minutes.” Namaari chuckled.
“look I’m sorry for wasting your time if I am I just- don’t really get any of this.” Raya sighed and slumped in her chair.
“Well, that’s what I’m here for. To help you get it. Just tell me what your most confused about.” Namaari was at full attention. Sisu was right about her being so nonpatronizing.
“I dunno like, this whole section converting decimals to fractions to percent’s and stuff,” Raya pointed to the section in her journal. Namaari chuckled again.
“This is actually on adding fractions. The section we’re on is up here.” Namaari grabbed. Raya’s. Hand. And moved it to the actual section she was referring to. Raya’s heart skipped a beat as she pursed her lips to conceal a fangirl squeal that was daring to escape her lips.
Namaari noticed the tint of blush on her cheeks and kept her hand on hers a little longer.
“Everything okay, Raya?” Namaari let her name roll off her tongue like a sweet song.
“Yeah-yeah I um uh I’m good just a little hot in here uh- you can remove your hand now,” Raya said in a strained voice.
“Right. My bad.” Namaari said with a smirk. “So, let’s work on these decimals and fractions. What don’t you understand about them?”
Raya took a moment to steady her breathing again. “I really don’t get them at all. My math teacher Mrs. Hu doesn’t explain them very well.”
“Ah, that’s gotta be the worst. I hate impatient teachers. Don’t worry, by the time we’re done you’ll have a firm understanding of this topic.” Namaari scooted her chair closer to Raya’s, so close that their arms were touching on the table.
“G-great,” Raya uttered.
“Let’s work on problems 1-14 first. We’ll walk through the first 3 together,” Raya nodded in agreement, mind lingering on the word together. Spirits, Raya was helpless.
~*~
It had taken about 20 minutes, but Raya had eventually worked through 9 problems on her own, not including the first 3 Namaari assisted her on. She understood the topic much better now, so much to the point where it was actually kinda fun.
“So if you move the decimal twice this way, what would its fraction be?” Namaari drew on scrap paper.
“Uhh…would it be…” Raya worked out the problem on a sticky note. “Would it be C?”
“Correct! You’re on fire!” Namaari High-fived her. “I’m serious though. Your actually good at this. I’m surprised you even need a tutor.”
“Yeah…” Raya’s mind went somewhere else again.
“Unless maybe you don’t…try? In class?” Namaari suggested, hoping Raya wouldn’t take offense.
“I don’t. I really don’t try. Even though I understand a lot of the material.” Raya shrugged. “Don’t get me wrong- This math topic we’re working on, I just don’t get. But I understand literally everything else.”
“So…what’s up?”
“I kinda do it for attention. From my dad. He’s always traveling so I kinda hoped that me getting bad grades would make him wanna stick around. Make him worried and stuff you know?” Raya looked down and picked at her fingernails. Namaari sighed.
“I couldn’t understand more.” She started. “I used to do the same stuff. My mother owns her own business, so she’s like, always busy. And I just wanted more mother daughter time with her, but she was always busy. It was always work before me. Which is why I started doing things to get her attention. Like, smoke in the house, get a tattoo, get double piercings.” She showed off each rebellious symbol to Raya. “But she either didn’t care or didn’t notice. That’s when I realized that no matter how much or how little I did, I wasn’t her number one priority. So, I had to stop making her mine.” She shrugged. Raya sat back and took all of that in.
“Wow. You really are a tutor, huh?” They both chuckled.
“My point is,” She brought her hand to Raya’s again. “Don’t let your dad ruin your future when he may not even be in it. Considering he works so much.” Raya found it hard to tune into the advice when her heartbeat was all she could hear. Hands…warm, she thought.
“yeah yeah your so right,” Raya nodded, staring deeply into Namaari’s chocolate eyes. “Wait can you show me your tattoo?”
“Well I would but I would have to take my shirt off.” She smiled at her as she saw a deeper tint of red flash onto Raya’s face.
Raya almost slapped herself for considering asking her to show the tattoo anyways. “Right yeah of course.” She cleared her throat. “Let’s knockout this last question.” She gripped onto her pencil, still feeling Namaari’s eyes burn into the side of her skull.
~*~
After finishing the first 14 question and then doing 5 more, their session was a little past over.
‘Oh! Its 6:35. I need to head out. Sisu’s my ride home. But thank you so much for this session and your words of wisdom.” Raya chuckled before standing up and gathering her things.
“Of course.” Namaari responded, her mood a little down. Was it because Raya was leaving? Maybe. She had never felt that way about someone before she didn’t think. Sad because they were leaving.
She did know that she had to say something before she left. “Hey wait um-“
“Yes?” Raya answered hopefully.
“Look, it’s clear to me that from your unsubtle blushing, you find me…interesting. And I hope its not unclear that I find you interesting to. So…” Namaari was nervous. Never had she ever been. “What I’m saying is…. would you like to have another tutoring session with me?” Raya smirked.
“if this is your way of asking me on a date then yes.”
“Well,” Namaari stood up, Raya’s previous confidence sinking from Namaari’s dominant aura as she towered over her. “It is my way of asking you on a date, and I’m glad you except.” She smiled genuinely at her before brushing some hair out of her face. “You did amazing today, by the way,” Raya almost squealed for the fifth time that night.
“well uh, I had a really good girlf- I mean tutor.” She laughed uncomfortably at her second slip up of words.
“You’re very teachable so- oh my gosh..” Namaari chuckled and rubbed her eyes. Raya cocked an eyebrow at her before turning around to follow her gaze. Sisu was at the window of the coffee shop. Filming Everything. And laughing. Giving them thumbs up.
“Im gonna kill her.” Raya rubbed the bridge of her nose.
“Don’t do that. Without her, we wouldn’t have met.” Namaari grinned again.
“So you’re the cheesy flirtatious type, huh?”
“Hey, its all I know how to do so,” They both laughed. “So does this mean I’m getting your number or…?”
“Yeah.” She responded without hesitation.
~*~
Raya slinked into Sisu’s car and shut the door behind her, slumping in her seat before letting out a huge sigh. She should be glaring at Sisu right now for ruining her and Namaari’s little moment, but her lovey-dovey feelings got the best of her.
“ooooh, someone had a good date? I mean study session?” Sisu nudged her.
“Oh yeah,” Raya touched the cheek that Namaari kissed before the went their separate ways, the red kiss mark imprinted on her cinnamon skin.
“Well, I’m glad you guys worked out. Hopefully this means your grades will get better?” Sisu started her car.
“I think so,” She started. “Math is definitely my new favorite subject.”
Hey everyone! So this is a Raya and the Last Dragon fic co-written with my amazing friend @hazellevesque4life! Go check out their blog it’s awesome! It will also be available on their AO3 which I will link right here https://archiveofourown.org/works/30246006/chapters/74537121#workskin
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the
Organization for Transformative Works
don’t forget to leave plenty of kudos! We’ll try to update as often as possible! Now without further ado, let’s begin.
Chapters written by me, @amaru2020 will be marked like this 🟣
Chapters written by @hazellevesque4life will be marked like this 🔴
Summary: Raya and Namaari have to go on a road trip across kumandra to cure sisu's siblings of a curse
Cursed love
Chapter 1 🔴
“Namaari, I’ve been looking for you,” Virana called.
Namaari turned to face her mom, startled.
“Hi, Mom. I was just looking for Raya,” Namaari said.
Virana sighed. “You can find her later. First, walk with me.”
Namaari began to protest. She had to apologize to Raya for accidentally triggering an apocalypse.
But Virana stopped her before she could say anything. “I’m not saying you can’t talk to her, but this is more pressing.” She began walking.
She slipped her hand in her pocket and squeezed Raya’s golden hairband. It would be weird if she didn’t give it to Raya now. It might seem like she was trying to keep it. But her mom had just been turned to stone. And it would be horrible of her to not be there. Namaari released the hairband from her grasp. Namaari walked at the same pace as her mother.
“What did you need to talk about?” she asked.
“We need to head back to Fang.”
“What? We just got here. And Fang was destroyed by the Druun. Heart is the only place that has enough resources. We can’t go back yet.” Namaari hoped her mother didn’t think she was getting too riled up over this. But she still had things she needed to do here. Things she needed to tell Raya.
“That’s exactly why need to go back. Who do you think everyone is going to blame once the dust settles? We need to get ahead of the fray so that we aren’t reliant on Heart. We don’t know when they’ll turn on us. We need to rebuild so that we are strong when that happens.”
“But, shouldn’t we at least stay for a little while,” Namaari retorted, suddenly feeling anger swell up.
“We have to leave. To protect our people.”
And that was it. Her mother was the chief, and so her word was final.
Or it would’ve been. If Namaari hadn’t seen how the other had looked at her when the Druun cleared. After years of resentment, distrust, malice between everyone, there had finally been trust sent her way by people not from Fang. The last time she had seen that was when she was a child—again with Raya.
And even that hadn’t lasted long. Because of Fang’s need to protect themselves before anything. She wasn’t doing that again.
“No, Mom. We don’t have to leave. If you want to leave, I can’t stop you. But I’m staying here, trying to mend the bridges you burned.”
Virana looked at Namaari, contemplating. “Okay,” she said finally. “I trust you. But I’m not staying. If the other nations turn on us, I’m not having our people be helpless.”
Her mother was many things, but stupid was not one of them. If there was a way for her to make sure that Fang was self-sustaining while also keeping their relationship with the other nations, she would take it. None of them wanted conflict.
That calmed Namaari’s anger a little, but it didn’t completely soothe it. Her mother still expected conflict. She watched, wordlessly, as her mother turned and walked away.
Whatever. She couldn’t dwell on this. This was just more of a reason to go talk to Raya. Now if only she knew how to find Raya. Heart was weird, not like Fang at all. With its spiraling cityscape. Fang was contained on a much smaller piece of land, but Heart didn’t have that restriction. The buildings here were so much harder to navigate. Where would Raya be?
She thought back to the last time she was here. There was a huge central area, she recalled. Maybe Raya would be there, helping the people who had just arrived. Trying to use her foggy memories of the last time she was here, Namaari walked through the streets of Heart.
Finally, after too many confusing turns, Namaari found herself in front of the familiar hall where she and Raya had first bonded. The sounds of chatter echoes through the walls. So Namaari was right.
Taking a deep breath, she shoved the door open revealing people sprawled all over. And just like last time, it was people of all nations. This time, though, she noticed that more people were talking amongst people who weren’t from the same nation as they were. Namaari forced herself to stop thinking of that and to look for Raya.
She scanned the room, looking for Raya’s obnoxiously large hat. Her eye caught immediately: Raya, talking to her Ba.
Namaari stared at her, unsure of how she should talk to her when, mortifyingly, Raya looked up from her Ba. Their eyes met. Shit. Namaari lifted her hand in a small wave, trying to play it off as an accident.
Raya’s expression changed to —ugh— amusement. She motioned for Namaari to come over.
Mentally berating herself, Namaari walked towards Raya. She got a couple of curious glances from the other people of Fang.
“Hi, Raya,” Namaari said when she reached her.
“Hey! Are you okay? You were sort of staring at me from the doorway?” Raya was still looking down at her Ba, as she finished replacing the old bandages on his thigh with new ones where the crossbow bolt had hit him so many years ago. Namaari immediately felt a pang of guilt.
Oh, so she had noticed. “Yes. I’m fine.” Namaari refused to try to meet Raya’s eyes. “I, uh . . .” She what? Wanted to say she was sorry for telling Raya that Sisu’s almost-death had been her fault? Wanted to give back the golden hairband that she had kept like a creep? The words dissolved at her tongue. She and Raya hadn’t talked much since the Druun had been defeated. “Wanted to ask if you knew where Sisu was,” she lied.
“Oh,” Raya looked up. “I haven’t seen her all day actually. I’d check the clearing where her siblings were turned to stone the first time.”
Namaari wanted to shrink down. “I- I don’t know where that is.”
Surprisingly, Raya’s Ba spoke. “You should go with her.”
“But Ba, your leg-” Raya protested.
“Will be fine. It’s important to treat the other nations with respect.”
“. . . Okay,” Raya said, but the concern didn’t leave her face.
They walked together in complete silence. Namaari tried to keep track of the turns that they made so that she didn’t have to be led around like a child again, but Heart was too expansive that it was useless. She’d have to ask for a map or something.
Namaari was knocked out of her thoughts by Sisu’s voice.
“—Raya! I’m so glad you’re here, I was looking for you.” Panic laced Sisu’s voice.
Namaari sent Raya a concerned look. Raya glanced back at her. They spoke at the same time.”
“Sisu? What’s wrong?
“Are you okay?”
Sisu let out a strangled noise. “There’s something wrong with the other dragons!”
Chapter 2 🟣
Sisu gripped her tail with both paws as she began to pace, muttering things under her breath. “ “First Amba, then Pranee, now Jagan and Pengu…”
“The dragons? What do you mean there’s something wrong?” Raya said, finally finding her voice.
Sisu stopped to sit on her haunches. “I was hoping you could tell me! One minute they’re
normal, the next it’s like they didn’t even recognize their own sister!” She buried her head in her paws.
Raya and Namaari shared a worried look. Raya had never seen Sisu this distraught, which was cause for some concern. Raya felt Namaari give her a soft nudge before taking a couple of steps back. Raya raised an eyebrow over her shoulder in question, the only response she got was a gesture and look that could only be interpreted as ‘Not my place.’
Raya let out a small breath before cautiously beginning to approach the dragon. She tried to emulate the calm she had seen her Ba use many times in the past.
“Sisu... it’s ok, why don’t you just calm down and-“
Sisu’s head snapped up. “I’m calm, okay! It’s only my siblings turning into feral monsters, no big deal!”
Before she knew what was happening, Sisu had Raya dangling upside down from her leg, mere inches away from her furry snout. The whole situation gave Raya an intense feeling of déjà vu.
“I mean sure I did almost get attacked by my big brother today, but fine, let’s try it your way and stay, “calm.”” She used her free paw to make air quotes over the last word.
Raya only rolled her eyes. “Hey, at least I got you to speak in complete sentences.”
“That’s not the point!” Sisu said as she gave Raya a firm shake. Raya smirked and held up her hands in mock surrender. “Alright, but you need to still explain what’s going on. Can you do that?”
Sisu nodded.
“Good. Now put me down?” Raya asked as the blood had already rushed to her head.
“Right, Sorry.” Sisu said, chuckling sheepishly. She placed Raya gently on the ground, a nice change of pace from being dropped face first in her opinion.
Sisu frowned and picked up her tail and began to fiddle with it. Raya gave her an encouraging nod and touched the side of her neck, reminding the dragon she was there. This seemed to do the trick as Sisu finally began to open up.
“It all started with Amba, she’s usually so sweet and bubbly, she started to change. we thought it was just her having a hard time adjusting to being back after so long, and the stress of watching over Tail, but then when she attacked Jagan the other day, we knew it wasn’t that simple. then it slowly started happening to the others...” she trailed off, sounding remorseful.
Raya’s heart had dropped down to her stomach by the time Sisu finished her story. She had never heard of anything like this happening before. And for it to happen so soon after the Drunn wasn’t ideal. Raya rubbed her hand up and down were it was placed on Sisu’s neck at an attempt to comfort her.
“Don’t worry, Sisu. We’ll just let my Ba know what’s happening and I’m sure he’ll-”
“No!” Sisu yelped snapping out of her revere. She brought her head down so she could look directly into Raya’s eyes.
“No Ba! No people! No one can know about this!” “I know how tempting it is but we just can’t.” Sisu’s violet eyes bore into her own. Raya frowned. She wasn’t about to keep something this serious from her Ba. Especially not after all the time they had been apart. She tried to not let her annoyance seep through into her voice “Sisu, there’s no way we’re keeping this a secret. People, my Ba included, need to know what’s happening. They can help.”
Sisus' face turned indignant. “Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t think you would want a repeat of the past six hundred years?”
Now it was Raya’s turn to look indignant. “How can you possibly compare the two when you don’t even know what’s going on?”
“You’re right, we don’t know what’s going on! Which is why we can’t say anything about it. Fear of the unknown is even worse than fear of the known!” Sisu said as she tugged at her mane.
“Sisu, I’m not keeping this from everyone, we’ve-!”
“Raya, doesn’t Heart have an archive or something
that might be able to help?” Namaari, who hadn’t said anything since they had arrived, interrupted..
Raya startled, nearly forgetting the other girl was there. She turned to face her.
“Well, yes but nobody is allowed inside. Sacred texts and all that.” Raya said.
“Except for the princess of Kumandra and her dragon and people friend?” Sisu asked, sounding more than a little hopeful. Raya shook her head. “Only the chief and the archivists are permitted to go inside. And besides, if I’m not allowed in, I doubt they’d let you two in. More so Namaari, no offense.”
Namaari gave a small shrug. “That’s fair.”
“Besides if we get caught, let’s just say I would probably never see either of you again.” Raya said.
“Then we won’t get caught.” Namaari nodded to Sisu. “And she’ll make sure of it.” Raya could practically see the gears turning in her head. They shared a look of understanding before looking back to the dragon, who was now looking a bit wary. And rightfully so.
“What? Why...are you two looking at me like that?”
for the love of god i cant find it anywhere, but theres a raya/namaari fic on AO3 where namaari needs to relieve some stress and tops raya and tells her to shut the fuck up and it may be in russian or spanish... but most likely not
(the whole fic namaari is just very grrr and raya helps to calm her down)
I'm not sure if I've read this one, I'm afraid.
Throw caution to the wind by uselesscreature has a moment similar to the one you're describing?
There is also the "precious bdsm princesses Doing Things" by Anya_Sfinks series, which is in Russian. I haven't read them, but could potentially be what you are looking for?
If not, maybe one of the followers on here could help?
