Disclaimer: Hey I won the lottery and bought Raistlin from Weis! (Ha, like she would ever sell...)
Chapter Two
~I am a Rock, I am an Island~
Saoirse observed the boys approach, noticing out of the corner of her eye that the boy named Caramon was already slugging his way back out to the fun in the middle of the lake. 'Raist,' trudged slowly towards the base of her hiding place, shoulders slumped, seeming, to all outward appearances, as a young boy attempting to imitate the lazily superior attitude of a typical teenager – unfocused and apathetic. However, Saoirse could see that his eyes, though turned inward, quite ruined this effect that he may or may not have been attempting to achieve. For they were bright and inquisitive, piercingly cold in their icy blueness. A sharp contrast to the warm blue of his brother's irises. (In truth, they were much the same color, but it was the personality behind the eyes which made them so distinctive.)
Saoirse found herself intrigued by this boy, who seemed so older than his years and spoke as authoritatively as any adult. She was suddenly struck by the impulse to confront the boy, talk with him. Maybe, since the other guys shunned him so, he would not find the company of a girl as distasteful?
Saoirse shrugged her little shoulders in response to this mental consideration. Well, she might try it, in a bit. Once he got over here, and was settled. After all, what did she possible have to lose?
Within the minute, Raist had reached the base of the tree, and was carefully arranging himself between the broad roots, leaning semi-comfortably against the trunk. Saoirse peered down at him between the leaves, but wasn't able, at this angle, to see much more than the top of his head.
The boy did not speak, did not fidget, but merely pressed the fingertips of his two hands together in his lap and observed the boys at play in the lake. Occasionally, his head would tilt to the sound of a bird's call, or he would break from his observations (honestly, the way he looked at the other children – it was like they were some sort of experiment) to watch the bees flitting from flower to flower, gathering pollen. It was a lazy day, and only the screams of the nearby children tarnished the tranquility.
Saoirse let herself sink into a bit of a stupor, enjoying the warm breeze, and the shade of the leafy treetop above her. She rested backwards, trying to lie back without disturbing the person beneath her. A branch poked her side uncomfortably, and, in a fit of exasperation and impatience, she forgot her attempts at secrecy and snapped it off at the end.
And, of course, 'Raist,' who had been listening intently to the sounds around him intently, always wary for stray mischief-makers bent on making his life as hellish as possible, snapped his head around so fast that Saoirse feared it would keep swinging until the whole thing detached from his body.
Saoirse froze, inwardly cursing her thoughtlessness, and found herself caught in that icy glare.
"Are you spying on me?" the boy spat angrily, lifting himself half off the ground and glaring at her accusingly.
Saoirse felt herself bristle in indignation. Spying? On him? The arrogance! Well, she had been watching him…but he had been watching the boys just as intently – where did he get off judging her?
"No," she huffed, giving up her sanctuary and jumping to the ground in a single, fluid bound. "I was watching them play…" She gestured over to the lake.
Raist, who had gotten to his feet by this time and nervously shifted backwards as the girl impulsively, and unexpectedly, jumped from the tree, continued to eye her in suspicion, but now smirked at her mockingly. "Oh? I suppose you had nothing better to do, then watch boys all day?"
Saoirse reddened. He made a good point, there were other things she could have been doing…but again, who was he to tell her what she should be doing during her leisure time? And, furthermore…
"You were watching them too," she pointed out defensively. "I mean, they won't let me play, and…well, I guess you just don't want to play…so why not?"
Raist scowled at her reply, unable to deny the fact that he had accused the girl of idleness when he was doing the exact same thing.
"My brother wanted me to come," he said through gritted teeth, "but I take no pleasure from such childish pastimes…"
Saoirse rolled her eyes before she could stop herself. Childish pastimes? Really? How old are you?
Fortunately, however, she did not say this aloud. Raist's sharp eyes had noticed the eye roll, and the resultant scowl did not leave her feeling too optimistically about the future of this conversation.
Deciding a change in topic was in order, she thrust out a small hand, marked with shallow scratches from bark and branches. "My names Saoirse….what's yours?"
(Better to pretend she didn't already know his name – after all, she had already been accused of spying, and she didn't want the boy any more suspicious than he already was.)
Raist eyed her hand distastefully, and ignored it. Mentally, he tasted the girl's name on his tongue - Sear-sha. It sounded foreign, although the girl's appearance - dark reddish brown hair and murky green eyes - was not unusual for Solace. "My name hardly concerns you," he retorted loftily, giving the matter no more thought. The girl's background hardly concerned him. Meanwhile, he found it refreshing to be in such a position of superiority over someone else besides Caramon.
Saoirse felt the urge to roll her eyes again, but resisted the impulse, knowing that it would be ill-received. She was trying to turn the conversation onto more positive ground, after all.
"Well, yeah, I guess, but since I've given you my name…it's only polite right?" she wheedled.
Raistlin narrowed his eyes irritably at the girl. Saoirse. She was starting to become more irritating than he was willing to endure. "I did not ask you for your name, you volunteered the information."
Saoirse was becoming equally frustrated by the boy's antics. Why was he so conceited? What a contrast to his brother!
"Look, it's just a name, dammit." (Raistlin's eyes widened a fraction of a millimeter at the unexpected curse from a girl's mouth.) "Do you think I'm some sort of wizard and I'll use it against you?" A new thought struck her. "You're not…you're not a criminal are you?"
Saoirse was fairly sure he wasn't – sure the boy was arrogant as hell, but he didn't seem like the criminal type. It was more to scare him into revealing the coveted information than as any real accusation.
Raistlin was smart enough to see through the ruse – Saoirse wasn't the best actor, and while she might be able to fool the odd person here and there, she had no hopes of tricking him. However, even knowing this, he felt that it was most prudent at this point to just tell her, and get her to leave him alone.
What did it matter anyway, really? It's not like she would remember it, or even talk to him ever again. (Thank the moons…)
He realized he hadn't yet responded. Saoirse continued to wait for his reply, growing more uncertain every second by his prolonged silence. Raistlin resisted the smirk that threatened to twitch onto his face – how refreshing it was for others to be in discomfort!
"Of course I'm not a criminal," he snapped, breaking the awkward silence (well, awkward for her!). "Don't be ridiculous."
Saoirse quickly recovered from her uneasiness. "Then why won't you teelll me?" she fairly sang, a mischievous half grin forming on her face.
Raistlin glared at her, trying to stifle her giddiness, but failing. Saoirse couldn't help but feel that she might be winning this battle – and this entire endeavor had proven to be far more entertaining than she had hoped.
"If I tell you, will you promise to leave me alone?" Raistlin asked, glaring still harder, irritated that he had failed to dampen her bright spirits.
Saoirse's smile finally faltered at that, looking rather disappointed. She hesitated…then nodded in agreement, slowly. After all, he had not specified the amount of time for which she had to leave him alone. She would keep her word…but she found that she rather enjoyed talking with this one. As annoyingly pompous as he could be, it was better than not talking to anyone at all, and besides, he was clearly very smart.
Raistlin's features smoothed over slightly. He believed her – her slight hesitation, combined with the fact that she was a girl, led him to believe that Saoirse would keep her word. He did not press for a more material pledge – if it had been one of the boys, he would have, but he did not feel the need in this case.
"Very well, then. My name is Raistlin," then, deciding to throw her a bone, he continued with his last name, "Raistlin Majere."
Saoirse bowed sarcastically before she dashed off, drawing her right foot behind the left in a mock curtsey. "Thank you ever so much, Majere."
Raistlin sneered ever so slightly, watching the girl as she ran off. The expression should have been alien on one so young…but on Raistlin's face, it seemed natural. Yet, as he was left alone again under the tree, he found that his scorn was tinged ever so faintly with…disappointment.
This, of course, was promptly and irritably dismissed.
