A/N Disclaimer: Again I do not own Raziel or Kain or anything from the Legacy of Kain games, nor do I own any popular culture references that I may make.
Kain and Raziel started to chat about the variations in their recent journeys. Kain told his part with confidence, an obvious mark of practice. Jennifer mused that the tales that the clans told of him had once been the tales that he told himself. Raziel's own narrative, however, was filled with hesitations. Jennifer could hear that it was from the torment of remembering.
"Did you manage to save Nosgoth?" Raziel asked Kain.
Kain's eyes clouded in concentration. "I do not know. The last thing I remember is standing in the citadel."
Raziel turned to Jennifer, "You seem to know all of the stories, what happened next?"
Jennifer sighed in sadness and defeat, "Nothing happened."
Both vampires sat stone still, their eyes glittering with dangerous intensity.
Jennifer shivered. She did not doubt that Kain could still hurt her, and Raziel probably would not stop him this time. "They have to write another one."
Kain leered at Jennifer, his fangs gleaming prominently in his mouth. He let out a chuckle.
Jennifer let herself relax slightly. She hoped that Kain's amusement wasn't at her impending death.
Raziel huffed and stalked into the kitchen for a cup of coffee. His legs jerked slightly as he walked; it revealed his turmoil.
"What were you about to do, Kain?" Jennifer asked softly. "You are going to save Nosgoth. What is your plan?"
Kain stared evenly at Jennifer, his catlike eyes shining. "I never reveal my plans to anyone who doesn't need to know them. Besides, it would ruin the surprise."
Jennifer knew that Kain was right. She had seen clues about what happened in Defiance. She had still been excited, but she wondered how much more she would've had if every major twist had been a complete surprise. "Excuse me for a moment please," Jennifer muttered.
"Are you okay, Raziel?" Jennifer asked as she walked into the kitchen.
Raziel was leaning with his back against the counter. He had a coffee mug gripped in both hands. His eyes were clenched in sorrow or pain. His skin flickered from blue to cream as if Raziel couldn't hold onto his form.
"Was it all for nothing?" Raziel whispered.
Jennifer said nothing. She couldn't bear to see Raziel suffer like this. She regretted that she took him out of the game.
Raziel took a gasping breath and set the coffee mug down on the counter. His expression was hard but unreadable. "I still think about it. All my suffering, the constant manipulations, I still don't know if it was worth the cost."
"If it makes you feel any better, remember that there is a horde of fans that will not stand for seeing your sacrifice wasted," Jennifer said as she reached into the cabinet by her feet and extracted a clear bottle. "But perhaps for tonight, it's best for you to forget."
"That can't be a healthy solution," Raziel said.
"No, but it will take the edge off," Jennifer said, examining the bottle's label.
Raziel sighed his weary surrender.
Jennifer grabbed three glasses from the cabinet and tromped back into the living room. "Tonight we all shall drink," she announced. Jennifer plonked the glasses down on the coffee table and poured the bottle into them.
"I don't see how you expect me to drink that," Kain sneered, "unless you're planning on drinking it first."
Jennifer stared at Kain in malicious glee. Kain's face registered his shock for only a moment, and then he transformed into a doll. He was barely identifiable. His body was flat and made of unflattering cotton, white on his chest and black for his pants. His tabard was held in place with a safety pin, and face was only drawn on with marker.
Kain snapped back to his fully evolved vampire form, his yellow eyes flashing in anger. "Do not do that to me again!" he roared. Kain was about to launch into a tirade against Jennifer, but Raziel restrained him.
"Sit down, Kain," Raziel commanded.
Kain pulled his fisted arm away from Raziel's grip and slowly sat down with a sneer.
"You know that you're not really a vampire anymore, so you don't have to worry about your weaknesses," Jennifer said. "Have a drink."
Kain sniffed quizzically at the glass. "What is it?" he asked.
"Irish vodka," Jennifer said grinning.
Kain tentatively dipped a claw into the clear liquid.
"Oh please, Kain. It won't hurt you," Raziel shouted in irritation. "I could throw you into a clothes washing machine without hurting you." Raziel continued, answering Kain's angry glare.
"I don't know about that, he is poorly constructed," Jennifer said, her grin turning sinister. "You might come apart at the seams."
Kain sneered in anger at the reminder of his true form. He downed the glass of vodka and then stared in revulsion at the drained container.
Raziel raised his own glass in salute and drank.
Most of the night passed in a blur. At one point, Raziel had reverted to his demon form without noticing. First he spilled a bit of vodka on his cowl as it blocked his face, then he dragged it out of the way and spilled the rest of his drink over the void of his neck.
Kain survived the night with most of his dignity intact. He did laugh at Raziel's jokes and drunken antics, but he slipped into unconsciousness before he did anything too demeaning.
Jennifer was dimly aware of Raziel berating the groggy Kain. She sighed as she deciphered Raziel's slurred complaints about his wings. At least Kain was too far gone to hear at this point.
"Raziel," Jennifer said harshly, "pick Kain up and put him in my bed. Don't argue with me, just do it."
Raziel hiccupped and slung Kain unceremoniously over his shoulder. He let Jennifer guide him into the bedroom. Raziel then dropped Kain on the bed and then fell over on top of him. Jennifer shoved the two unconscious vampires into a slightly more comfortable position.
"You're just going to leave them like that?" Jennifer muttered. She turned in confusion to Brightflame, who was lounged on top of the dresser. "Of course I am," Jennifer answered herself. The little dragon would recover. Jennifer hadn't expected it to happen so quickly. She turned out the light and wandered back into the living room to sleep on the couch.
Kain awoke to see Raziel's naked void of a face staring into his own. He grunted in surprise and pushed himself away.
"Don't yell," Raziel said. "Where's my tabard?" Raziel's claws found Kain's tabard, but Kain yanked it away with a low growl. Raziel settled for wrapping himself in a sheet.
Raziel stalked out into the living room. Jennifer was awake but nursing a hangover.
"Where is it?" Raziel muttered again.
"It fell off while you were putting Kain to bed," Jennifer drawled half-consciously. "I put it someplace safe."
Raziel sighed, groggily realizing that his cowl was only a concept, just like the rest of him. He flipped it out of thin air and draped it over his shoulders without removing the sheet. Raziel's thoughts swam; his mind was still cloaked in a light haze of inebriation. He was just coherent enough to remember that he should avoid his human form until the hangover cleared.
Kain wandered out into the living room and muttered, "By the hells, I had forgotten."
Raziel grinned inwardly. "Have a headache, Kain?" he asked loudly.
Kain bared his teeth at Raziel in warning; he disregarded it and continued to torment Kain.
Jennifer winced in sympathy. She saw that Raziel was goading Kain's hangover on purpose. The pair exchanged insults and irate gestures for several minutes. Finally, Jennifer couldn't watch any more. "That's enough," she yelled, flinching as the effort aggravated her own hangover. At least they stopped fighting.
Kain gently settled himself on the couch and addressed Jennifer. "I greatly appreciate your hospitality, but I believe I shall find other arrangements."
"I know of some people that would probably be happy to take you in," Jennifer said.
"Probably," Kain sneered. "Are you certain about anything, girl?"
"The name is Jennifer," she said icily. "Some of them have your symbol scribed into their skin."
"The audacity of some humans," Kain said, a mixture of annoyance and humor coloring his voice. "They should not dare to turn me away."
"Just be gentle with them," Jennifer muttered as she wandered over to her computer. "Why do these people insist on coming from weird imaginary places?" She printed off a set of maps. "I don't know if he's one of the tattooed ones, but he lives nearby. The other two seem like they would kill for the chance to have you living with them."
Kain smiled as he accepted the maps. "You have been most helpful."