The next week was uneventful. Jennifer noticed a message on the online boards from one of the Kain fans. It was fairly vague; Elizavere's Doom wanted to find the real doll maker. Jennifer fired off a private message to the sender asking if any cute vampires had shown up on the doorstep. A few more cryptic messages confirmed Kain's location.
"I suppose I should've given him my business card," Jennifer mused as she sent off the information. "At least he's doing well."
Raziel was glad that Kain had decided to leave on his own. Raziel did forgive Kain for using him, but it was still hard to forget all the torment. Having the old vampire living here would not have been a comfortable situation.
Raziel picked up the Blood Omen 2 box. He still didn't know very much of the story; he never got around to asking about it. Raziel turned on the PS2; the game was still in the machine.
He watched the intro movie, this time he was prepared for the shock. Raziel thought back to the time when it would've felt unnatural to think of the Reaver as anything other than an imposing magic sword. It did disturb him to see the Reaver fall into the hands of the enemy.
Raziel quickly worked through the training mission. "I know all about blood drinking and vampiric weaknesses," he sneered.
Jennifer walked up behind Raziel, "Are you sure that game isn't too violent for you?" she asked.
Raziel turned to Jennifer and said haughtily, "I had been living as a vampire for a millennia. I doubt that there is anything here that I haven't done myself countless times." He accidentally pushed forward on the stick; the miniature version of Kain immediately ran off the edge of a dock and writhed in agony as he dissolved.
Raziel's eyes widened in surprise, then he grinned maliciously. He waited for the screen to reload, and then purposefully made Kain run off the edge of the dock again. "It does feel odd to be the one controlling Kain," Raziel said. He made Kain run off the dock a couple more times.
Jennifer shook her head sadly. She wasn't sure what to make of Raziel's actions. He could've been enjoying the suffering that he was inflicting on the little avatar, or he could be lost in a memory. Jennifer just couldn't decide sometimes.
Raziel saved his game and shut off the machine. He stood up and stretched. Jennifer squealed as Raziel brought his hands up to his head. "What?" Raziel asked in confusion.
"It's going to come off in your hands," Jennifer giggled nervously.
Raziel ignored Jennifer's sudden squeamishness and cracked his neck sharply.
Jennifer shuddered as she turned away from Raziel. She dug into her shopping bags and pulled out the pale blue material.
"How long will it take?" Raziel asked, admiring the cloth.
"It's hard to say, really," Jennifer said, shaking it out. "I take pride in my work."
Jennifer laid the cloth on the dining room table and arranged the pattern pieces she had drawn. It took her a few hours to get everything cut out. Raziel glanced at her work occasionally. He was interested in the process, but it was also a bit boring.
"Maybe I should just make a bunch of these and sell them to the rabid Janos fans," Jennifer muttered as she dragged out her sewing machine.
"Are you having second thoughts about this?" Raziel asked pointedly.
"I am constantly thinking about it," Jennifer said, "I don't want to face the possibility of having to destroy him if things don't work out."
Raziel cocked his head to the side, "Did you think of that when you summoned me?"
Jennifer stopped; she stared at the pieces of fabric in her hands. "No. At the time, I was only curious if I could actually do it. I..." she swallowed, sorrow causing her words to become choked. "I'm sorry."
"Would you have destroyed me?" Raziel asked. His tone was level, completely without emotion.
Jennifer looked straight into Raziel's eyes. "No. At least..." she drew a shuddering breath, she blinked and forced herself to meet Raziel's gaze once more. "If you had become a danger to others, then I would have."
"And what if you merely tire of my presence?" Raziel asked snidely.
Jennifer sighed, this again. "I don't think that will happen." She felt small pinpricks of tears forming in her eyes. "I don't want you to leave me, but I won't stop you either."
Raziel stared at Jennifer for a long moment. "I have no intention of leaving. Forgive me, I still suspect betrayal at every turn."
Jennifer shrugged nonchalantly. "It's understandable." She yelped as she impaled her finger on a pin. "Perhaps you should hear what Janos has to say about being used by the Hylden." She said, indicating the game that Raziel had abandoned earlier that day.
"Is there something I should know?" Raziel asked.
Jennifer thought for a moment, then admitted, "I don't think there's anything special. It's just that his passion makes my skin crawl." She reflected for another moment. "I guess I'm just a bit biased. I want to leave the final decision to you." Jennifer bent back to her task of pinning fabric.
It took several days for Jennifer to sew together the doll that was to become Janos Audron. It was finally beginning to look like him. The doll was smaller than Raziel's plush form, and it was closer to realistic proportions. Jennifer sewed his pants and robe separately, but she kept them simple without the gold embroidery.
She had a bit of trouble with Janos' wings. Jennifer first tried a set of chibi wings; the interfacing she used was stiff. After scrutinizing the result, Jennifer yanked them off with a dull snap. Raziel gasped at her in horror. "He's not alive yet," Jennifer muttered as she reached for more black fabric to begin again.
Raziel decided that he didn't want to watch anymore. Jennifer bent to her work with a cold detachment. He decided to play Kain's game some more. He had gotten to the Eternal Prison level already. He could see why Jennifer had called Kain a bloodthirsty maniac. The lore system encouraged the player to gorge Kain on blood, even when he was at full health. Raziel would not approved of the behavior from his own fledglings.
Raziel was trying to kill Magnus on the first encounter. He spent fifteen minutes trying to beat down the deranged creature before he tossed down the controller in frustration. Jennifer came into the room and triumphantly set the completed Janos doll on top of the PS2.
"Are you ready to begin?" Raziel asked, examining the doll.
"Not yet," Jennifer answered. "The doll is finished, but it needs to sit around for a couple days. Are you having trouble?"
"You play this level," Raziel said in frustration.
Jennifer shrugged as she picked up the controller and ran confidently through the level. She occasionally yelled at the screen. "Come on, run away, dammit." She mashed the buttons a bit. "When I say dodge, you dodge!"
Raziel stared at Jennifer and her outbursts. "You weren't that way when you were playing me, were you?"
Jennifer paused the game for a moment and wriggled her fingers. "I'd make fun of the soldiers occasionally, but that's it, honest."
Jennifer finished the level and handed the controller back to Raziel, "There's no more crazy unkillable vampires running around."
Raziel managed to finish the game that night. "Why didn't you tell me that Janos got thrown into the demon dimension?" he asked as he watched the credits.
"I didn't think of it," she admitted. "I was trying to figure out if there was any other moment I would've taken him from. That particular one was furthest from my mind."
"How convenient," Raziel snorted.
Jennifer was silent for a long and painful moment. "I do not withhold information to deceive you. I only fail to tell you things when I think it would cause you unnecessary pain."
"Do not trouble yourself," Raziel spat.
Jennifer silently stood and walked into the bedroom. She would not speak to him again that night.
Raziel silently wondered why he did not truly trust his newest benefactor. He already knew the answer. He had long ago lost his ability to trust anybody. Raziel did not like this line of thinking, but there was no other course to take. Was Jennifer as naïve as she claimed to be? Raziel spent the night thinking, occasionally staring at the form of Janos before him. He finally decided that there was nothing he could do, really. Raziel liked Jennifer, and he would only have to risk trusting her.
A/N I realise this chapter was a bit slow, but it's a bridge. I do accept negative reviews as well as the positive ones. If you see a problem with the way this story is unfolding, please tell me.