2:
Raistlin wasn't truly sleeping. He had awoken once she lifted her head from him, but feigned sleep without knowing his own motives. One of his eyes opened, just enough to get a look at her.
Cursing the Test that robbed him of normal eyesight, he watched her deteriorate; yet his glance gave him the information he wanted. She was very pretty. He'd go as far to say she was beautiful. Inside, he felt his mouth twisting into a cynical half-grin, careful not to give any outward signs of wakefulness. His mind was overrun with thoughts.
Raistlin still didn't understand this young woman. They were near the same age, and therefore he suspected that she would be enamored with his twin brother the way all the other girls he had ever met were. She wasn't as impressed by Caramon as a certain other girl was. A painful memory lanced through his mind, but he stifled it. Still, the strawberry-red curls bounced in his mind. Hatred burst through his veins as he remembered the girl who broke his heart. Raistlin banished her from his mind with an inward sneer.
Alira, the girl, intrigued him. He was annoyed with himself for finding her desirable, and yet he wanted to learn more of her. Curiosity, however, is not always a good thing.
He closed his eye, and opened it again, for a fresh view of her. It pained him, to watch her slowly melt away. His cursed eyesight forced him to watch everything around him age to death, and Alira's prolonged death marked her as having Elven blood. Raistlin stored this little bit of information in his mind, as with everything else.
Finally, he decided to get up.
Alira was startled when she heard Raistlin shuffling around in the leaves. He rose, the leaves and other matter from the forest ground simply falling away from his frail form. He looked much better, but she could tell he was still weary.
"Are you alright?" she asked, rising from her pack. She had been rooting through to see if she had brought any of her own tea. Alira didn't relish the idea of tasting Raistlin's concoction.
"As 'alright' as I'll ever be." Raistlin's voice was hoarse, and Alira frowned. She had never liked to see anything in pain, especially another human. She felt like reaching out for him, but she knew he would just pull away. She had been told that he hated to be touched. A wry smile touched her lips as she thought of what she had been told in preparation for dealing with the cynical mage, but she managed to wipe it off of her face before he noticed.
He moved quietly, walking to his horse to relieve it of its burdens. There was a certain delicacy, almost gentleness, to his actions that she was not prepared for. In all honestly, she had been frightened of him before she had met him.
The things she was told couldn't be true. Raistlin didn't seem as.evil.as she had thought he would be. He wasn't as arrogant, rude, conceited, or malicious as Par-Salian had warned. Raistlin didn't snap at her, he didn't hiss or threaten. True, he didn't talk much. His answers were short, and he didn't appear to like conversation.but even the nicest people had their moments of introversion.
Quickly, she berated herself for again allowing her thoughts to stray. She found a satchel of food at her horse's side, and began to prepare an evening meal for herself. Just because Raistlin didn't each much didn't mean she was going to starve herself. She was quiet, and efficient in her work, and soon she sat by a tree with a fire licking in front of her. The snapping and crackling of the fire was interesting, the way the flames undulated.seemed to almost dance. She ate thoughtfully, wondering about when they would arrive in Qualinesti. She was fairly certain that what little Elven blood she had was from Qualinesti. Raistlin, silent as usual, sat by her side, watching the flames, and occasionally glancing at her. Alira felt strangely vulnerable while he watched her eat.
She had banished all thoughts of attraction earlier, and refused to allow herself to imagine such a ridiculous connection between herself and someone she didn't know. Alira knew that she was being foolish, and decided firmly to guard herself against such odd thoughts. That prophesy.it was nothing. Nothing but something to make her Test more eerie than it already was.
"We were asleep for too long." Raistlin said randomly. Alira almost jumped when he spoke. She hadn't expected it.
"Yes. I doubt I'll be able to fall asleep at all tonight." Alira remarked as casually and coolly as she could. It was true, she felt extremely alert, and the sky was already fading into darkness. It wouldn't be long until the stars glittered in the sky, accompanied by the three moons.
The moons! Those gods and goddess of magic! The first, and largest, was silver Solinari, the god of "white" magic. The second, crimson Lunitari, the goddess of neutral magic, and Alira and Raistlin's own goddess. The third, tiny Nuitari, could only be seen by those who practice "dark" magic, and therefore was invisible to Alira's eyes. But she knew it existed, as all mages knew.
"Lunitari!" Raistlin said, and Alira could hear a strange familiarity in his voice.
"Yes, dear Lunitari." Alira felt she had to say something, and so she spoke flatly.
"I had a.mentor.once. He claimed to be Lunitari's drinking partner some nights. Even went so far as to call her 'dear Luni', and I remember berating him for speaking so familiarly of her," he reminisced. The crickets began to chirp, emphasizing the silence.
"What happened?" Alira felt compelled to ask.
"He reminded me of my own experience with the gods and goddess."
The way he spoke was casual, but there was something hiding behind the words that sparked Alira's own curiosity.
"Experience?" Alira questioned, ready to be snapped at.
"When I was much younger, and I was to take a simple little test to see if I had any magical ability, all three of them came to me. They asked me; in short, if I were serious about the commitment I would have to make to magic. Of course, I answered that I was. I passed the test. We had to write something on a piece of parchment and if we had the gift, it would burn itself into the parchment. My piece burned and shriveled up with a fire that my teacher claimed no one had ever seen before."
Alira said nothing. She knew what "simple test" he spoke of, having taken it herself. Raistlin didn't seem particularly interested in the fact that she hadn't spoken.
"How are you doing?" Alira asked suddenly, noticing that he hadn't even cleared his throat since his attack. He looked at her quizzically, his golden skin glittering, and his molten-gold eyes burning. The hourglass pupils grew smaller, then bigger.
"Why do you care?"
Raistlin's question was voiced with more of a curious tone than a rude one. Alira was startled when she heard the wording. At first, she thought he was being the cynical, selfish person he was supposed to be.but when she realized that he seemed actually startled by her concern, she was surprised.
"Should I not care?"
Alira felt like hitting herself. She hated it when she answered questions with questions, but at the same time she felt pleased that she was giving Raistlin a taste of his own medicine. It was a simple question, and he didn't have to be so.different.about it.
He was silent.
Alira felt a stab of regret. She actually wanted to converse with him, though it didn't surprise her. Alira was the kind of person who liked to talk, though she knew full well when to be silent. Or so she liked to think.
"I'm more curious as to why you seem to actually care." Raistlin whispered. He didn't look at her as he spoke.
"Maybe no one seems to care about you because you don't let them." Alira replied gently, suddenly falling back on her natural motherly instincts. He turned to look at her.
"In my experience, few people tried."
Now, he finally showed the poor qualities he was famous for. Finally, he spoke bitterly, with hatred and arrogance behind the words.
"How do you know? You could have pushed them away when they tried," she suggested.
"I pushed no one away."
He was defensive. Alira knew this for a sign that she was getting through to him.
"Yes you do. You push your brother away. He truly loves you, and if it weren't for the strength of his love, he would give up, too. Not everybody is willing to risk their neck for someone in order to gain approval, Raistlin Majere." Alira couldn't help but sound hard. She, however, didn't hear the steel beneath her words.
"Of course! My dear, dear brother." He snarled. Alira knew she made a mistake when she saw his reaction, and suddenly felt the fool for bringing his brother into the conversation.
"Raistlin, I was trying to say." she tried to explain herself.
"I know what you meant, and it wasn't you dragging Caramon in that is.upsetting.me." Raistlin coughed, and from his crimson red robes he drew a square of white cloth. Quietly, he coughed into it, then folded it nimbly with slender fingers and tucked it back inside.
"Maybe, if you give someone a chance, you could have a friend."
"Why would I want one." He retorted quickly.
"Why not? Would it hurt to maybe know one person you can trust?"
"How can you put your trust in someone?"
Alira sighed loudly, and looked up at the sky. It was blue-velvet, and speckled generously with glittering stars. The moons, in their various waxing and waning stages, shepherded the twinkling lights around them. She knew they wouldn't sleep for at least a few more hours, and so decided that she would try a little experiment. She rose from her position, leaving her cleaned plate on the ground with her utensils.
"I want to show you something." She said, motioning for him to rise and join her. Hesitantly, he complied.
"Stand in front of me, so that your back faces me. No, no, you are too far, get closer.yes. Now, you are going to count to three, and on 'three' you will tip yourself backward. Don't worry, I will catch you." Alira gave the simple instructions, not wanting to give away too much.
She waited as Raistlin oriented himself.
"One." his voice rang out, a bit too softly.
"Two."
"Three."
He slowly fell backwards, and at the last minute, threw his foot back to catch himself. Alira frowned. She understood what it meant, but she wasn't at all surprised. Nevertheless, she had caught him.or would have, had he trusted her enough to continue falling.
"What was the point?" he demanded of her.
"One minute, please. We are going to switch roles. I expect you to try and catch me." Alira decided to try it from another point of view. She positioned herself in front of him.
"One." she began counting firmly.
"Two."
"Three!"
Falling backwards was extremely unpleasant, especially in the night. Despite the flames from their fire, and the light of the stars and moons, it was still dark enough to be intimidating. She kept falling, and he caught her. She didn't try to break her fall, though it might have been a good idea. He was not ready for her unexpected weight to fall into his arms, and before she could leap back up, they both collapsed in a heap.
"Again.what was the point of that?" Raistlin said sourly, detangling himself while trying to hold his robes down. Apparently, he was one of the mages who chose not to wear much beneath his mage's robes.
"Did you see how I trusted you to catch me? And how you didn't trust me to catch you? I thought you would have caught on earlier." She said, not exactly appreciating his attitude. She was facing him now, and she watched as enlightenment crept onto his face. She could have sworn she saw the shadow of a smile crossing his eyes. But it could have been the flames.
Raistlin wasn't truly sleeping. He had awoken once she lifted her head from him, but feigned sleep without knowing his own motives. One of his eyes opened, just enough to get a look at her.
Cursing the Test that robbed him of normal eyesight, he watched her deteriorate; yet his glance gave him the information he wanted. She was very pretty. He'd go as far to say she was beautiful. Inside, he felt his mouth twisting into a cynical half-grin, careful not to give any outward signs of wakefulness. His mind was overrun with thoughts.
Raistlin still didn't understand this young woman. They were near the same age, and therefore he suspected that she would be enamored with his twin brother the way all the other girls he had ever met were. She wasn't as impressed by Caramon as a certain other girl was. A painful memory lanced through his mind, but he stifled it. Still, the strawberry-red curls bounced in his mind. Hatred burst through his veins as he remembered the girl who broke his heart. Raistlin banished her from his mind with an inward sneer.
Alira, the girl, intrigued him. He was annoyed with himself for finding her desirable, and yet he wanted to learn more of her. Curiosity, however, is not always a good thing.
He closed his eye, and opened it again, for a fresh view of her. It pained him, to watch her slowly melt away. His cursed eyesight forced him to watch everything around him age to death, and Alira's prolonged death marked her as having Elven blood. Raistlin stored this little bit of information in his mind, as with everything else.
Finally, he decided to get up.
Alira was startled when she heard Raistlin shuffling around in the leaves. He rose, the leaves and other matter from the forest ground simply falling away from his frail form. He looked much better, but she could tell he was still weary.
"Are you alright?" she asked, rising from her pack. She had been rooting through to see if she had brought any of her own tea. Alira didn't relish the idea of tasting Raistlin's concoction.
"As 'alright' as I'll ever be." Raistlin's voice was hoarse, and Alira frowned. She had never liked to see anything in pain, especially another human. She felt like reaching out for him, but she knew he would just pull away. She had been told that he hated to be touched. A wry smile touched her lips as she thought of what she had been told in preparation for dealing with the cynical mage, but she managed to wipe it off of her face before he noticed.
He moved quietly, walking to his horse to relieve it of its burdens. There was a certain delicacy, almost gentleness, to his actions that she was not prepared for. In all honestly, she had been frightened of him before she had met him.
The things she was told couldn't be true. Raistlin didn't seem as.evil.as she had thought he would be. He wasn't as arrogant, rude, conceited, or malicious as Par-Salian had warned. Raistlin didn't snap at her, he didn't hiss or threaten. True, he didn't talk much. His answers were short, and he didn't appear to like conversation.but even the nicest people had their moments of introversion.
Quickly, she berated herself for again allowing her thoughts to stray. She found a satchel of food at her horse's side, and began to prepare an evening meal for herself. Just because Raistlin didn't each much didn't mean she was going to starve herself. She was quiet, and efficient in her work, and soon she sat by a tree with a fire licking in front of her. The snapping and crackling of the fire was interesting, the way the flames undulated.seemed to almost dance. She ate thoughtfully, wondering about when they would arrive in Qualinesti. She was fairly certain that what little Elven blood she had was from Qualinesti. Raistlin, silent as usual, sat by her side, watching the flames, and occasionally glancing at her. Alira felt strangely vulnerable while he watched her eat.
She had banished all thoughts of attraction earlier, and refused to allow herself to imagine such a ridiculous connection between herself and someone she didn't know. Alira knew that she was being foolish, and decided firmly to guard herself against such odd thoughts. That prophesy.it was nothing. Nothing but something to make her Test more eerie than it already was.
"We were asleep for too long." Raistlin said randomly. Alira almost jumped when he spoke. She hadn't expected it.
"Yes. I doubt I'll be able to fall asleep at all tonight." Alira remarked as casually and coolly as she could. It was true, she felt extremely alert, and the sky was already fading into darkness. It wouldn't be long until the stars glittered in the sky, accompanied by the three moons.
The moons! Those gods and goddess of magic! The first, and largest, was silver Solinari, the god of "white" magic. The second, crimson Lunitari, the goddess of neutral magic, and Alira and Raistlin's own goddess. The third, tiny Nuitari, could only be seen by those who practice "dark" magic, and therefore was invisible to Alira's eyes. But she knew it existed, as all mages knew.
"Lunitari!" Raistlin said, and Alira could hear a strange familiarity in his voice.
"Yes, dear Lunitari." Alira felt she had to say something, and so she spoke flatly.
"I had a.mentor.once. He claimed to be Lunitari's drinking partner some nights. Even went so far as to call her 'dear Luni', and I remember berating him for speaking so familiarly of her," he reminisced. The crickets began to chirp, emphasizing the silence.
"What happened?" Alira felt compelled to ask.
"He reminded me of my own experience with the gods and goddess."
The way he spoke was casual, but there was something hiding behind the words that sparked Alira's own curiosity.
"Experience?" Alira questioned, ready to be snapped at.
"When I was much younger, and I was to take a simple little test to see if I had any magical ability, all three of them came to me. They asked me; in short, if I were serious about the commitment I would have to make to magic. Of course, I answered that I was. I passed the test. We had to write something on a piece of parchment and if we had the gift, it would burn itself into the parchment. My piece burned and shriveled up with a fire that my teacher claimed no one had ever seen before."
Alira said nothing. She knew what "simple test" he spoke of, having taken it herself. Raistlin didn't seem particularly interested in the fact that she hadn't spoken.
"How are you doing?" Alira asked suddenly, noticing that he hadn't even cleared his throat since his attack. He looked at her quizzically, his golden skin glittering, and his molten-gold eyes burning. The hourglass pupils grew smaller, then bigger.
"Why do you care?"
Raistlin's question was voiced with more of a curious tone than a rude one. Alira was startled when she heard the wording. At first, she thought he was being the cynical, selfish person he was supposed to be.but when she realized that he seemed actually startled by her concern, she was surprised.
"Should I not care?"
Alira felt like hitting herself. She hated it when she answered questions with questions, but at the same time she felt pleased that she was giving Raistlin a taste of his own medicine. It was a simple question, and he didn't have to be so.different.about it.
He was silent.
Alira felt a stab of regret. She actually wanted to converse with him, though it didn't surprise her. Alira was the kind of person who liked to talk, though she knew full well when to be silent. Or so she liked to think.
"I'm more curious as to why you seem to actually care." Raistlin whispered. He didn't look at her as he spoke.
"Maybe no one seems to care about you because you don't let them." Alira replied gently, suddenly falling back on her natural motherly instincts. He turned to look at her.
"In my experience, few people tried."
Now, he finally showed the poor qualities he was famous for. Finally, he spoke bitterly, with hatred and arrogance behind the words.
"How do you know? You could have pushed them away when they tried," she suggested.
"I pushed no one away."
He was defensive. Alira knew this for a sign that she was getting through to him.
"Yes you do. You push your brother away. He truly loves you, and if it weren't for the strength of his love, he would give up, too. Not everybody is willing to risk their neck for someone in order to gain approval, Raistlin Majere." Alira couldn't help but sound hard. She, however, didn't hear the steel beneath her words.
"Of course! My dear, dear brother." He snarled. Alira knew she made a mistake when she saw his reaction, and suddenly felt the fool for bringing his brother into the conversation.
"Raistlin, I was trying to say." she tried to explain herself.
"I know what you meant, and it wasn't you dragging Caramon in that is.upsetting.me." Raistlin coughed, and from his crimson red robes he drew a square of white cloth. Quietly, he coughed into it, then folded it nimbly with slender fingers and tucked it back inside.
"Maybe, if you give someone a chance, you could have a friend."
"Why would I want one." He retorted quickly.
"Why not? Would it hurt to maybe know one person you can trust?"
"How can you put your trust in someone?"
Alira sighed loudly, and looked up at the sky. It was blue-velvet, and speckled generously with glittering stars. The moons, in their various waxing and waning stages, shepherded the twinkling lights around them. She knew they wouldn't sleep for at least a few more hours, and so decided that she would try a little experiment. She rose from her position, leaving her cleaned plate on the ground with her utensils.
"I want to show you something." She said, motioning for him to rise and join her. Hesitantly, he complied.
"Stand in front of me, so that your back faces me. No, no, you are too far, get closer.yes. Now, you are going to count to three, and on 'three' you will tip yourself backward. Don't worry, I will catch you." Alira gave the simple instructions, not wanting to give away too much.
She waited as Raistlin oriented himself.
"One." his voice rang out, a bit too softly.
"Two."
"Three."
He slowly fell backwards, and at the last minute, threw his foot back to catch himself. Alira frowned. She understood what it meant, but she wasn't at all surprised. Nevertheless, she had caught him.or would have, had he trusted her enough to continue falling.
"What was the point?" he demanded of her.
"One minute, please. We are going to switch roles. I expect you to try and catch me." Alira decided to try it from another point of view. She positioned herself in front of him.
"One." she began counting firmly.
"Two."
"Three!"
Falling backwards was extremely unpleasant, especially in the night. Despite the flames from their fire, and the light of the stars and moons, it was still dark enough to be intimidating. She kept falling, and he caught her. She didn't try to break her fall, though it might have been a good idea. He was not ready for her unexpected weight to fall into his arms, and before she could leap back up, they both collapsed in a heap.
"Again.what was the point of that?" Raistlin said sourly, detangling himself while trying to hold his robes down. Apparently, he was one of the mages who chose not to wear much beneath his mage's robes.
"Did you see how I trusted you to catch me? And how you didn't trust me to catch you? I thought you would have caught on earlier." She said, not exactly appreciating his attitude. She was facing him now, and she watched as enlightenment crept onto his face. She could have sworn she saw the shadow of a smile crossing his eyes. But it could have been the flames.