#albecale

But then you get other people's perspectives on him and they're all talking about how weird he is. The Chief Priest of the demonic god said he was similar to the White Star.

Raon spent so long having his pride as a dragon trampled on, that's why he doesn't want to shape shift in the first place, but I do think he would eventually want a more humanoid form later. That being said, not a human. Sure he knows not all humans are bad now, and he loves his human Cale, but he refuses to take the form of one, so he decides to copy Eruhaben and go the Elf route. But Raon doesn't have any significant connection to the Light Elves, the Dark Elves, on the other hand, Raon is very fond of. They're one of the first people to praise him for being a dragon, and of course Raon has a mild fondness for the "Cookie Prince".

Raon's Form is very obviously a Dark Elf child, beautiful dark skin, and black hair thats matches his black scales, cute pointed little ears- with the only "give away" being that Raon still has his glittering dark blue eyes, and slightly sharper than normal teeth. But, he also looks quite a bit like Cale, not like hes a one to one of when Cale was that age but just if he was a Dark Elf, no Raon used many aspects of many people as a template to create his new form, but Cale is the most obvious. When they stand next to eachother, Raon litterally looks like Cale's biological child.

So I was wondering, if TBOAH ever had a fandom or a large fan base, wouldn't Choi Han—being the protagonist of the book series—also be shipped with everyone around him? Og!ChoiCale may have been a popular ship because of the Enemies to Lovers trope, but don't you guys think Og!Choiberu would have been the most popular ship since they're both major characters in TBOAH? And considering the Prince x Knight dynamic, I can imagine their fans going crazy over them. But the thing is, it would have been a terribly tragic, devastating and beautifully toxic ship/romance knowing their character and because of the war.

I gen do not think Cale and Alberu would ever voluntarily hang out, because they're so similar and so busy.

So all of their encounters, likely always semi-public and official in some capacity, just end up romantic as they fall for each other through Cale's shenanigans and Alberu's (mis)fortune of being in the recieving end of it all.

And everyone is just.. there. Like with the scene in the Mercenary Records Room. Cale starts unbuttoning his shirt, totaly scandalous in that era of fashion, in front of the CROWN PRINCE, which is even more mind-boggling to everyone present.

And Eruhaben is there, wondering if Cale was ever taught human courtesy, Ron wondering if he should stop Cale first or kill Alberu for watching, Bud wondering if this guy is an alien and Glenn wanting to go home (he wasn't even there I think, but he'd feel it).

Cale doesn't care at all, closing his eyes and tipping his head back against the cool wall, sorting through the information in his head as Alberu is wondering why he even tries with this guy, rapidly switching from thoughts so unholy the Sun Goddess would curse him again to being so tired he wants to fall through the floor and fake his death to rest.

And that's just one instance.

At balls, for the very first dance, Alberu always takes the unwilling Commander tucked in the edges of the room, trying to avoid attention, only to accept the Crown Prince's hand with no hesitation once he's found, their secret smiles shidden behind elaborate steps and clever angles.

At quick, private meetings with their closes allies, they discuss plans and share brilliant strategies with sly smirks, matching in ways that only ones eerily similar could. They always nearly forget about the other leaders in the room, so caught up being 2 steps ahead, always, and yet somehow still beside each other.

When at war, the Crown Prince disguised as one of the dark elf warriors, quickly brushing his Commanders hair behind his ear, respectully backing off when he gets a flustered glare from the other with an easygoing giggle.

During outings with the red-head, and the family the Crown Prince is also part of now, where he actually takes part of the shenanigans that would give him many headaches later, predicting all of his Commander's messes and still letting them happen with a secret smile and an exasperated shake of the head.

And in each occasion, they get space, space for the secret glee and the scheming, the scammers smirks and devious plans. Never meant to be, but always so intimate, one has to look away.

Perhaps one day they'll get it together. But until then, everyone gives them these little moments. Knowing them and their... obliviousness, at least towards the feelings of others, it'll take a while.

("Thankfully, that means lots of blackmail." Rosalyn comments. Multiple people agree, while others, not so much.