Author's Note: Alright... time for a bit of seriousness now. Raziel's POV, somewhat, is always rather fun to write from... granted if I can get into the whole gothic mood. Thank you, EVERYONE, for reviewing! I've made a few adjustments to chapters since someone said that there were a few choice phrases that detracted from the story. but since you only pointed out the phrases, I wasn't sure how to change them except make them a bit lighter and...weirder. At any rate!

Ansem: *Slaps her* Just be quiet and let them read!
Gah! Thanks, for reminding me, ANSEM! Hee...

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Raziel watched in shadows as the girl stole away from the path, leaving him to his toils. He was no longer exhausted by his cross-dimension journey, and felt a burning desire to explore this strange new world. The girl's warnings did not phase him - he had developed a strengthened pride in his abilities to look after himself.

Certainly, he could not die. But in a world like this, would there by any safe places to return to should he lose his spectral strength?

The thought made him stop and rethink his eagerness to explore.

It makes no difference. I'll just have to be wary.

In the dying moon's light, Raziel pressed on down the path toward the sound of running water. Here, the dam had cut off the water's path. Some of the onslaught poured over the edges of the strange concrete. The footing was stone and above, the stars shone weakly in the thin light that escaped over the mountains. The air smelled fresh and clean; it buzzed with the sensation of warm, fresh souls that flittered about here and there before finding their way to the Spectral Realm.

He breathed deeply, stepping toward a cliff ledge. The water appeared to his sharp vision to be no more than 2 feet deep in most parts. But here, at the ledge, was an area for swimming. So the town youth had a swimming hole, did it?

There were no humans here. He moved on, finding cut paths leading further downstream. His cloven feet stirred bits of glass, making sharp contrasting bell-like sounds as he scuffed them down the stone pathway. On either side of him, as stone gave way to earth, bushes rose above on either side of his head.

He became vaguely aware of a tightness in his chest. He paused, resting his hand over his chest curiously. Then he realized what it was that caused the sensation and he closed his eyes tightly. The Reaver was alive and well, worming its way inside of him. But it was drowsy. Being so far from the heart of its home, it felt no inclination to exert its will.

Good.

But it would still need to feed. As would Raziel, else they would both perish.

He continued down the path, and after a moment immediately emerged at the edge of a dull village. Before him, a dirt road sloped down to his left toward a sprawling flat-land, littered with tall lights that emitted glowing energy that made him wonder at the mechanism of such a miracle. If they were fire, then how did one manage to light each one of them? Beyond that, a line of buildings, with sloping roofs and dull glass windows, held sleeping occupants. Sounds, unlike anything he'd heard, came to his hearing over the now almost completely silent sound of the river.

Curiousity pulled him to see where these buildings would lead. But his fear and his uncertainty kept him back within the safety of the green.

Alright, he thought peacably as he turned about and made his way back to the hiding place. Until that child Amanda returns, I'll remain here.

* * * * *

In due time, Amanda found what she needed. It would have to do... and it would take time. She didn't go home to sleep, but instead spent the entire remainder of the night in her room, searching through every book and reference until she discovered an ancient Egyptian method of restoring physical form. What was even better, it would tie into his natural ability of absorbing souls.

She found out what Raziel was, and why he looked so familiar. Not entirely helpless in terms of wraiths, she read up about his gifts. Usually half-dead monstrosities usually needed some sort of spiritual substance to keep them living.

"Basically... the more souls he absorbs, the better he looks," she murmured, bookmarking the page as she shut the book. She turned the alarm on her clock off and pulled herself into bed, closing her eyes.

Now it would be a simple task of collecting the proper ingredients and practicing the appropriate words. And convincing her mother to let her stay home from school so she would get enough sleep in order to perform the task.

* * * * *

It was dull. Infuriatingly boring waiting for the time when the girl would return. But as the sun sunk again he gazed, hidden in the trees with stupefied boredom, she came.

She moved through the trees, wearing a jacket and carrying a single book and a leather pouch of things. He was used to seeing such objects, as they were commonplace among the archons of his brotherhood of vampires. Yet to see them on such a uniquely clad girl made him stare and ponder the true origin of her strangeness.

"I've got something. It isn't clothes. But it's a start," she explained, setting her objects aside. She opened the book in front of her, sitting with her legs splayed out on either side of her, knees bent.

Raziel folded his arms over his chest. "I hope you can conjure me a soul, witch."

"I could. Or you could just wait two more seconds and be patient," Amanda responded sharply. She immediately winced, turning her face away. "Sorry... I just... I get defensive. People are always bitchy with me..."

"It is partially my own fault... I don't mean to be unkind. You're going out of your way to help me. I'm sure it isn't easy for you."

"It's no big deal... here." She turned pages in her book, smiling as she straightened slightly, fishing about in her pouches. She cleared a space free of leaves on the ground and drew her symbols. Raziel sat up slightly, leaning close and watching in fascination. As a vampire, magic hardly interested him for matters drew him often to the managing of his lands.

She spoke. The tongue was old, unfamiliar yet strangely comforting to Raziel's ears. When she finished, a soul suddenly came shrieking from the shadows, confused and bewildered. Raziel turned away, immediately pulling his cowl from his face. Without hesitation the soul came, drawn into him, vanishing with a last bitter cry.

She shivered slightly. The feeling, the sound of it alone, made her cringe away in spite of herself. She wasn't practiced in magic... in fact, this was her first time ever summoning anything. The soul was her second successful 'summons', but strangely enough she wasn't surprised. Why could she do these things, when all her life she had tried?

Raziel watched her, his eyes glowing with renewed strength. She swallowed, covering her mouth to keep herself from giggling in an aloof, defensive manner.

"So... what is your solution for me... 'fitting in'?"

Amanda swallowed heavily, tucking what short strands of frosted hair remained of the hack job a friend of hers had performed behind her ears. "Well... I've got a transformation here. It can enable you to restore your body to its full, happy, healthy state it had before you got the crap kicked out of you - literally - but the thing is you can only heal your body to that way as you eat more souls--" Amanda cocked her head to one side, meeting the curiously shocked gaze Raziel was giving her. "--What?"

He motioned to her spellbook carefully with one claw as he spoke, softly, "You... can do this?" Disbelief and skepticism colored the whirling vortexes of his eyes. He chuckled.

"I don't know. But it's better than sitting around your rear end all day, doing nothing, right?"

"That's not what I... Listen. Just... do what you can. I assure you, it probably won't work," he replied softly, looking up toward the sky, reaching to adjust the cowl again.

Amanda smiled, tentatively - for this was new to her - reaching out. She patted his arm and then bent to her magical workings. "Not with that kind of cheeriness, Raziel... just trust me..."

"I do." Raziel did a slight double-take. Do I trust her? Yes. She agreed to her word. And the soul... she brought me here. Undoubtedly she must hold some sort of extreme power. Not nearly as much as Moebius's.

"Alright, then! Let's get started!" Amanda breathed, scraping out a new circle and beginning to murmur and chant in the delightful Egyptian tongue, the language that Raziel sensed warmth and strangeness and a comfort that was unlike anything the vampire had felt before.

Then the pain came.

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A/N: So... bad? Good? PLEASE let me know if it has improved... I'm DYING, here!!