Raziel sat tucked up in a shady alcove overlooking the courtyard. The body he was unfortunately beginning to think of as his own was still too weak to endure the damaging rays of the sun, even when they were the muted hues of evening, but it was still refreshing to be outside of the house--refreshing for a number of reasons that had little to do with the fresh, cool air or burning sunlight.

He had ventured out of his bed for the first time the day before at Janos' urging, though the ancient's pleas had motivated him more out of guilt than a willingness to obey since he hadn't the heart to disappoint Janos. Today, he had chosen to venture outside because of the intricate tensions he had begun to notice between his caretakers. Janos was generous to a fault and so very gentle, but Vorador was only begrudgingly kind and often downright adversarial, never wasting an opportunity to critique Raziel's slow recovery or question his motives. The vampire watched Raziel closely whenever he was in the room, suspicion and wariness pooling in his eyes when Janos moved too close to Raziel, as if Vorador expected Raziel to make a move against the ancient vampire. The idea was so bizarre that Raziel could barely wrap his mind around the concept. Even at full strength and with the purified soul Reaver at his side he had been unable to destroy Janos. How could he possibly harm him now when he was so weak?

He had certainly done nothing to ease Vorador's suspicions with his foolish attempt to reclaim the solace of the Reaver through artificial means, but he didn't think that Vorador had cared for him much even before that. He should have known better than to draw blood in a house he was sharing with other vampires; there was no way he could murder himself without drawing the attention of his housemates long before the act was complete. But Vorador's threat had done enough to delay Raziel's death wish regardless, even if it hadn't entirely destroyed it.

Shaking the thoughts away, Raziel leaned his head against the stone wall. A flock of dark birds raced across the ruddy sky, but Raziel didn't even shift his eyes to follow the progress of black wings, though something about their formation seemed oddly familiar. His back itched. His shoulder blades twitched with the irritation, but he refused to submit to the compulsion to scratch. He found it odd that he should have a phantom pain in a body that had never had such an appendage, especially since his wings had been ruined before he ever had the chance to use them properly.

A sour smirk twisted his lips when he considered the way he had thought of the injustice. His wings had been ruined. As if it had been an accident. As if Kain hadn't been willingly responsible for the damage. When had he stopped cursing Kain's name at every opportunity—especially when it involved his attempted execution? Though it was true that he had made his peace with Kain before he allowed the Soul Reaver to consume him, it had been a stilted sort of forgiveness, one that had been growing within him for quite some time, but that he had never been forced to put into practice. Forgiving someone in your dying breath was far different than living with them afterward. He honestly didn't know how to feel about Kain at this point, much less how to act around him.

But old habits died hard and his anger had not disappeared entirely, though it did feel as dull as the rest of his emotions—colorless and bland, bereft of the passion that would make it real. He went through the motions, but felt nothing more deeply than his thin, pale skin. He had lost the energy to care and he simply endured as if living was a kind of suffering in and of itself.

Tensing when he heard the soft crunch of gravel underfoot, Raziel frowned at the tall, winged form he saw approaching. He had said something unnecessarily rude to Vorador before escaping outside and he knew instinctively that the outburst had inspired Janos to follow him. Raziel was not in the mood for his pity, but he had no desire to hurt Janos either.

"Beautiful sunset, is it not?" Janos gestured to the brilliant rosy hues along the horizon as he came to a stop next to Raziel's alcove.

Forcing a small smile, Raziel nodded.

Tilting his head and regarding him pensively, Janos asked, "How are you feeling?"

Raziel restrained the sigh that threatened to slip out of his lips—but only barely. "I'm fine." Janos invariably seemed to connect his discontent with his health, as though he were still not recovered from his resurrection nearly two weeks afterward.

"You look pale." Janos frowned, lightly grasping Raziel's chin with a claw and gently turning his head back and forth for inspection.

A less artificial smile warmed Raziel's lips. "I have always been pale. Perhaps you expect otherwise because of the form in which I appeared to you before, but I assure you that this is my natural color."

"That is not what is concerning me," Janos said simply, and Raziel wondered if Janos was as oblivious to his true ailment as he seemed. The thought momentarily panicked him. "Have you fed today?"

Raziel looked away, glancing at the bare branches of the pear trees in the courtyard as they caught in a gust of wind. "I fed this morning." The claim was only true in the most literal sense. He had not taken enough blood to truly call it a feeding, but he was hoping that Janos would not press him on the topic.

"When do you think Kain will be back?" Raziel asked, surprising himself with the question. He told himself that he was only yearning for Kain's company because it would give him a target for his frustration who would deserve the abuse.

Janos seemed no less surprised by the topic, but he recovered quickly. "Perhaps tomorrow. I am honestly surprised that he has been gone so long. Vorador claims I have no need to worry, but surely someone with the ability to travel through time could do so in a timely manner."

The comment inspired a soft laugh that surprised Raziel even more than his unexpected question about Kain. Janos seemed to be pleased by the laugh though, which eased Raziel's mind since it gave Janos less reason to worry. "I don't think that Kain is as adept with Moebius' time traveling devices as he would lead others to believe. Far be it from him to admit to anything less than perfection, but I don't think he ever had any actual training in their use. I'd imagine he learned what he knows through trial and error." Was that fondness in his voice? Raziel shook his head in disgust.

"Then perhaps he will be another week," Janos said with a shrug.

"Or a month. Frankly, I wouldn't be surprised if he decided to find something better to do with his time now that he's fulfilled what he saw as his obligation to me."

Janos' eyes narrowed at the bitterness in Raziel's voice and he instantly regretted being so obvious.

"I did not mean to sound ungrateful," Raziel said thickly, unable to quite swallow the lie. "Only that Kain is the guardian of balance. He must have been motivated to free me from the Reaver by his chronic need to balance the scales--the same reason that he has run off across the world and eternity to make certain that his attempt at equilibrium has not thrown anything else out of balance. And if he finds that healing me has set things incontrovertibly out of order, he will not hesitate to put me back inside my chosen cage."

For a moment Raziel feared that he had allowed his hunger for that very eventuality to make itself known, but Janos fortunately was too focused on his comments about Kain to notice the wishful undercurrent to Raziel's words. "I will not allow that to happen," Janos said firmly. "But I think you are oversimplifying Kain's motives."

"While I hesitate to disagree with your wisdom, I know Kain too well to fall for any attempt he might make at compassion. Achieving balance at whatever cost has always been his ultimate goal, though he manages to do even that with only his own interests at heart."

Janos' frown deepened. "I understand your reluctance to have faith in him. He has mistreated you cruelly in the name of his cause, and even I have difficulty forgiving that transgression. But you did not see him after your sacrifice. He was fiercely determined to set things right just as you say, but as soon as his part in the process was complete and the Reaver left his care he became unapproachable and distant. I think that even Vorador was concerned about him. He only came out of it when we asked for his assistance in bringing you back."

Taking a deep breath, Raziel tried to fight the strange hope coiling insidiously inside of him; wanting to believe the best of Kain had always been his undoing. That failing was what had made Kain's betrayal so impossible to bear, and the reason he had continued to listen to him even when every other voice had cautioned him against taking Kain's counsel. "Am I supposed to be moved?" The words sounded childish, and strangely flat in the still air. "Kain would not have disturbed my slumber if you had not reminded him of his culpability in the matter."

Janos did not seem to have a response for that, but Raziel disliked the sorrow in his eyes, especially because he knew he had caused it.

"I am truly sorry for the way he has wounded you," Janos said finally, touching the crown of Raziel's head tenderly as if Raziel might break if he applied too much pressure.

Closing his eyes, Raziel swallowed the bitter half-emotions rising within him. "Please, don't apologize for him. He doesn't deserve it."

"Indeed."

They both started at the sound of Kain's voice, turning to find him standing casually at the center of the courtyard and regarding them with a vaguely amused expression. Janos pulled away from Raziel sheepishly, his manner suggestive of indecency as if he had been caught making a move on Kain's lover. The very thought was ridiculous for many reasons, but it pained Raziel on a level he hadn't known he could still feel. How many ages had it been since he had thought of himself in that context? He and Kain had certainly shared moments early in their personal history that might have defined them as such, but even then Raziel would have questioned whether or not love had anything to do with them.

"Is the world in suitable order?" Raziel asked drolly once he had shoved his troubling recollections aside.

"As much as can be hoped for," Kain answered, looking back and forth between them with a small smile playing over his lips. Crossing the courtyard with tediously slow steps, his eyes narrowed as he considered Raziel. "It seems that I was your last good meal, Raziel. Are you still obstinately refusing to take care of yourself?" A toothy smirk flashed across his face as he added, "Or has the rich taste of my blood ruined you on anything less?"

Raziel might have ignored the arrogant statement entirely if it weren't for the guilt-ridden expression on Janos' face as if Raziel's poor health were entirely his fault. "Quite the opposite, actually," Raziel said tartly. "Your blood rather turned my stomach and I haven't had much of an appetite since."

Laughing as if Raziel had made a good joke, Kain nodded. "Then perhaps you should have a taste of your blue nursemaid. I'm sure he would be more than willing to oblige. Maybe that would cheer both of you up."

Outraged, Raziel stood up and nearly flung himself at Kain before he gained control of his anger. "Is this lurid backtalk your petty attempt to make yourself feel better after walking in on our conversation?"

"Raziel," Janos said gently as if he were the one being unreasonable.

Turning away with another grin, Kain replied, "Ah, Raziel, you are so hopelessly transparent. Whatever you do, don't let me interrupt your sentimental moment."

"Sentimental?" Raziel cried, literally shaking with rage. He felt Janos place a hand lightly on his shoulder, but he was too focused on Kain's retreating back to react. "We were discussing your past transgressions, hardly a subject that inspires nostalgia."

Kain ignored him entirely as he slipped inside the house, and Raziel wondered why he had attempted to prolong the argument at all. Taking a deep breath, he frowned severely at the closed door, but relented when he heard a soft sound beside him. Looking up at his companion, Raziel was startled to find humor dancing in Janos' golden eyes and a talon half covering an amused smile.

Raising an eyebrow, Raziel tried to soften the bite of his ire as he asked carefully, "Have I said something comical?"

Shaking his head, Janos replied mildly, "I am merely relieved to see that you finally have some of your spark back. I have been trying for days to find some semblance of life in your eyes, but despite my attempts to draw you out of your shell, you have simply drifted through the house like an empty husk with all the aimless languor of a lost soul—one which you would have undoubtedly devoured in the not so distant past."

Raziel blinked at him in surprise before quickly looking away, knowing that he could say nothing to convince Janos of his verve for life if the vampire had already seen through his attempts to hide the lack.

Focusing on the doors Kain had disappeared through, Janos smiled. "I must admit that I am envious of how easily Kain fans the embers of your spirit back into a flame."

"Kain's ability to taunt me is hardly something worthy of aspiration," Raziel noted sourly. "If it has roused my spirit, it is only out of a thirst for retribution, and that is not a healthy foundation for living…though it has sustained me for a very long time."

"Is that all it is?" Janos inquired wistfully, touching a black claw to his lips. "I wonder."

Leery of the direction the conversation was headed, Raziel stated, "Speculate as much as you'd like. I'm going inside," and began heading for the door.

Kain found Vorador walking up the stairs from the basement avidly licking his claws clean of blood. The older vampire's habits had always struck Kain as rather grotesque. While he was no stranger to cruelty, Kain had never had much stomach for the needless torture Vorador seemed to thrive on; the indulgence not only wasted valuable blood, but also prolonged one's need.

"It's about damn time," Vorador said with a scowl when he noticed Kain. "I was about ready to tie your feckless offspring up and toss him into a dark corner of my dungeon."

A laugh found its way past Kain's lips. "Raziel tends to have that effect. I believe I've been tempted to do much the same on more than one occasion."

"Really?" Vorador's eyebrow rose as he asked coyly, "Are you sure you weren't more inclined to tie him down somewhere else?"

Taken aback by the suggestion, Kain momentarily lost his train of thought.

"So, what did you find?" Vorador continued before Kain could produce a response.

"Very little," he said absently, still distracted by Vorador's comment. "Everything seems to be in order."

Vorador scowled back at him as he led the way down the hall to the sitting room. "You took a whole week to sort out nothing?"

"I made a slight miscalculation on my return," Kain admitted with a sour smile. "I hadn't expected that my absence would be such an inconvenience."

"You wouldn't. You're always creating nuisances and leaving them behind for others to deal with."

Surprised by the depths of Vorador's dislike, Kain inquired, "Has Raziel truly been such a bother?"

Vorador's response died in his throat when the door opened to admit the subject of their conversation, looking slightly less piqued than he had outside, but still rather irritable. Frankly, Raziel's mood was not Kain's main concern; he was encouraged by Raziel's passionate reactions because they meant that Raziel was, at least, doing more than simply existing.

No, he was far more troubled by the pallor to Raziel's skin and the slim lines of his scrawny frame beneath his clothes. Raziel had never been as attentive of such mundane needs as his brothers had been, but pure vanity had always driven him to keep himself fed and healthy. Looking at him now brought back disturbing memories of the emaciated form he had inhabited after surviving the abyss, and Kain had no desire to remember that symbol of everything he had done wrong to his firstborn.

Kain wondered briefly if Raziel had heard his question, but the imperative gaze Raziel focused on Vorador led him to believe that Raziel had heard enough to know that Vorador was complaining about him. To Kain's surprise, Vorador's ferocious expression softened slightly in response, and he shifted his focus quickly to Janos who was walking through the door behind Raziel. Kain had a rather strong suspicion that the two had exchanged something in that gaze that he wasn't likely to hear spoken any time soon—at least not with Janos in the room.

"So, you went tramping off across the continuum and didn't even come back with so much as a souvenir?" Vorador said as if they had not taken the little detour in their conversation.

"Would you really want me to risk a paradox just to bring you a snack?"

"If it was a tasty one, yes."

"I already risked enough on my way back," Kain muttered, shaking his head. "I nearly had a direct encounter with my younger incarnation when I was passing through Nachtholm. Who knows what kind of havoc that would have wreaked with the timeline?"

Vorador shrugged. "That's the price you pay for deciding to live in a time period you have lived in before."

"I suppose it is," Kain agreed, raising an eyebrow when he noticed Raziel's oddly attentive expression. Raziel straightened his slumped shoulders slightly and lifted his chin in a posture of challenge when he saw Kain's eyes on him, but Kain felt himself quickly becoming mired in troublesome thoughts that were no doubt inspired by Vorador's earlier question.

"So, what kind of havoc is young Kain busy wreaking on the world?" Vorador asked after an awkward pause during which Kain and Raziel continued to glare at each other.

"The usual kind," Kain replied wearily. "Nothing new to report on that subject—or at least nothing I was able to sort out before I slipped away."

"Yes, you never were very creative about the sorts of trouble you used to make. Highly predictable, actually. I remember a time when you terrorized the entire western half of Nosgoth with that mind control spell of yours. I never could see an ultimate purpose to it all except that it seemed to amuse you to put those poor humans in compromising positions. That's not to mention your escapade with that pentalich of tarot artifact you were so fond of using on the unwary—five glorious ways to die."

Kain had stopped paying attention entirely as soon as Vorador shifted into flashback tone, his eyes still settled comfortably on Raziel with a relentless weight that he knew Raziel could feel. Shrugging his shoulder slightly in discomfort, Raziel glared back at him from beneath a black fringe of hair, a dangerous glint in his eyes. The danger hardly concerned Kain, though it did entice him, and he wandered over to the swords mounted on the wall by the fireplace with a hollow smile.

"What exactly are you planning to do with those, Kain?" Vorador's eyes narrowed when Kain plucked the swords from their mountings. "They're antiques, you know—weapons old enough to have been forged by the ancients."

Hefting one of the swords with an appreciation for the well-made steel, Kain tossed the other toward Raziel hilt first. Despite Raziel's feeble build, his reflexes were as quick as ever and he caught the sword with a fluid, whip quick motion that broadened the smile on Kain's lips. "Then they'll make perfect substitutes for the blade we both miss."

"What do you intend to do?" Janos asked, his features shadowed with concern as he stepped halfway between Kain and Raziel.

Shaking his head at Janos' overprotective streak, Kain snapped, "Nothing that won't do your sulking patient a world of good. I'd wager that a bit of exercise would help him relearn the value of keeping his body well fed."

Raziel rose from his perch on the arm of a plush leather chair, his stance as perfect as it had ever been. Murder burned in his eyes, and Kain decided that Janos was defending the wrong party entirely.

"Not in the house, for god's sake!" Vorador cried. "Using those swords is bad enough, but at least have the decency to impale each other out on the grass rather than on my carpet."

Bowing his head slightly at Vorador to calm the cranky old bastard, Kain led the way back to the courtyard, Raziel following on his heels and watching his every move as if he might make a surprise attack before they got there. Janos reluctantly let them both pass with a frown scoring his face, but he made no further objections; Kain had half expected the ancient to follow them outside, but it seemed that Janos was begrudgingly willing to trust him with his own fledgling—for the moment, at least.

The sun had slid beneath the horizon while they were inside and stars hung like jewels in the darkening velvet sky. With the coming night, Kain felt his strength increasing, and he spun about to face Raziel with an energetic flourish of his blade. Regarding the sword grimly, he said, "It's not the Reaver, but it will do."

Raziel flinched at the mention of his recent prison, gazing sidelong at the sword gripped in his own hand. "It's been a long time since I've held a sword—I've grown used to being on the other end of things, so to speak."

While Raziel was still lost in his reverie, Kain lunged toward him, rewarded with a quick reaction as Raziel deflected his attack and slid out of the way, using Kain's forward motion against him. Smirking, Kain turned just in time to counter an attack from Raziel, catching their swords together and twisting so that Raziel was unable to parry. The encounter became a struggle of endurance as they each fought to break their blade free from the tangle. Raziel managed the contest fairly well considering he was far weaker than he used to be, but his arms were quivering with the exertion before he threw his weight sharply to the side in a desperate maneuver that allowed him to break free and escape the swipe of Kain's sword.

Kain was pleased with how well Raziel had adjusted to his current condition, using the quickness of his light build as an advantage and guarding his weaknesses carefully. He had expected nothing less from his prized student, but he always left a little room for Raziel to disappoint him. Even so, in all the years he had known him, Raziel never had.

They danced across the courtyard in broad arcs of motion, giving and taking territory in bits and pieces, and Kain watched the rising fire in Raziel's eyes with satisfaction. Kain pushed him to his limits, forcing Raziel to make decisions between giving ground or losing a limb, and Raziel met him blow for blow, though his recovery time lengthened as the contest wore on. He eventually slid to a wavering stop against a column in the center of courtyard after a less than successful evasion that had painted his blood across the paving stones.

Panting for air, Raziel regarded Kain warily, knowing that Kain wasn't above taking advantage of the opening and hitting him while he was down. Kain could sense that Raziel was on the verge of collapsing, and that he probably wouldn't get up again if Kain knocked him down one more time. Pacing in a slow circle around his weary lieutenant, he admired the proud lift of Raziel's chin and the half-tensed posture that he maintained even in his exhaustion.

"First blood is mine," Kain noted. "Shall we call this match decided?"

Gathering enough breath for speech, Raziel snarled, "It's not finished yet."

"You intend to continue, then? There won't be any irresolvable paradox to intervene in our battle this time."

"I wasn't counting on one."

Pausing, Kain regarded Raziel more closely, wondering how much of his fatigued manner was an act. "I could keep going all night, if that's what you wish."

"Then, continue." The words came out in a shout as Raziel leaped at him and nearly sliced open his thigh before Kain could rush to avoid the blade.

"You're operating on your last reserves, Raziel," Kain cautioned, shifting his stance slightly to provide an obvious opening. "Sooner or later you will run out."

Recognition flickered through Raziel's eyes and Kain knew that he had noticed the opening. Kain waited in silent anticipation to see if Raziel would fall for the trap, meeting his weighing gaze with an arched brow. Raziel moved, his sword darting toward the weakness in Kain's defense, but he turned at the last possible moment, twisting his wrist and altering the angle a split second before Kain sprung the trap. Unable to shift directions quickly enough at such close quarters, Kain sucked in a breath as the tip of Raziel's blade traced a line of blood across his abdomen.

"Don't toy with me," Raziel hissed as he limped back a pace, still gulping down air in ragged gasps. "I learned that trick when I was an infant."

"Forgive the insult, Raziel, but I thought it would be in your best interest to end this quickly. If you keep stumbling around in utter exhaustion, you're liable to inadvertently skewer yourself on my blade."

"I don't need any favors from you." Raziel tossed sweat-dampened hair out of his face. "Perhaps you've forgotten, but I won our last contest."

"Raziel," Kain sighed disparagingly. "Surely even you can recognize that battle would have ended in a draw if not for an unexpected stroke of luck."

Raziel's eyes flashed fiercely "The luck was all to your advantage as I recall. I claimed my victory even as the Reaver was stealing my soul."

"Yes, it was very charming." Kain grinned, pressing his palm dramatically against the scar on his chest. "Your enthusiasm quite literally captured my heart, Raziel."

Eyes narrowing, Raziel said, "You are not allowed to make that joke ever again."

"It was inevitable, you know."

"That's why I'm forbidding you to repeat the error."

Kain shook his head with a chuckle, deciding their charade had gone on long enough. Raziel would keep fighting until he fell over unless Kain demonstratively took control. "Don't presume to give me orders until you have the victory in hand," Kain advised as he swung his blade toward Raziel in a powerful arc that he knew Raziel would easily avoid.

Carefully orchestrating each strike, he maneuvered Raziel back toward the uneven footing surrounding the columns, chasing him through one arch and another until he had Raziel cornered. Sensing the trap closing in on him, Raziel made one last, frantic play at freedom before Kain pinned him back against a column, their swords intertwined and Raziel's arm twisted uselessly halfway behind his back. Using his weight for leverage, Kain pressed Raziel against the marble and smiled.

"Vae victus," he murmured with his lips a breath away from Raziel's ear.

Raziel struggled for a moment with a soft growl of frustration, but he was simply too weak to win against Kain's brute strength. "Bastard," he said finally, the fight draining out of him as he slumped back against the column. "You were playing me from the beginning."

"What did you expect me to do? Cut you to ribbons simply because I can?"

Glaring up at him through eyes narrowed to slits, Raziel responded, "I expected a fair fight. How foolish of me to expect anything of the kind from you."

"A fair fight would have left you with your pretty face buried in the dirt the first time we crossed blades. Your body is weak, Raziel, and no amount of skill can make up for that entirely." Tugging the sword from Raziel's hand, Kain pulled away from him reluctantly. "You will never have a chance of besting me as long as you fail to take care of yourself."

Lips twisting sourly, Raziel concluded, "So, this was all about teaching me a lesson, then. A patronizing attempt to prove your point."

"Not an 'attempt,' Raziel. I believe my point's been made."

"I'm not impressed."

Kain shrugged. "Perhaps not, but I imagine you are rather famished after all of that exertion on an empty stomach."

Raising a hand with a baleful expression, Raziel said, "Please, don't offer me one of your veins again. I'll find my own food."

"I have no intention of making such an offer," Kain retorted with a grin. "You have to earn the opportunity for a second taste."

"Well, considering how little I cared for the first sample, I doubt the reward would be worth the effort."

Still limping, Raziel brushed past Kain on his way back to the house, clearly trying to walk normally though he was hurting. Kain shook his head as Raziel stumbled up the stairs and inside stubbornly refusing to give in to his exhaustion. Even at an age over a thousand, Raziel could still act like such a child at times.

Author's note: Janos is such a mom! It's ridiculous. But he's so freaking adorable that way. He can't help it that he's the nicest person in Nosgoth.

I had a lot of fun writing this chapter. I just love writing Kain and Raziel arguments, and I even got to work in a little fighting and some cheesy humor. All of my favorite things. See you next time!