Disclaimer: I don't own Legacy of Kain or any other identifiable pop culture references.

Review Responses:

Raven: Thanks for the praise.

VladimirsAngel: Nice to hear from you. Raziel with a head cold... Oh dear.

Lunatic Pandora: I knew I forgot to explain something. Kain was able to hurt Jennifer back when he was Elzavere's plushy. When she had to save him from a badly-sewn body, he became her creation and lost the ability to hurt her so easily.

phoenix: In the last chapter, I probably should have spent a sentence that clued in that they started talking about Raziel instead of Azrael. Jennifer may not have much of Raziel's smell on her, but Raziel smells a lot like her. There was going to be a discussion about marriage and children at the end of this chapter, but it just wasn't going right so I don't think I'm ever going to include it.

A/N

Because I've got a writer's block and I've found that a good way to deal with them is to simply leave them where they are and jump over them, I'm going to put a time gap in my story. It isn't very big, maybe a month at most, probably more like a week.

During that time, Janos, Raziel and Jennifer name the nest of kittens. Jennifer names a mean-tempered, completely black kitten "Demon." Raziel gives the name "Zeke" to the black-and-white kitten that Jennifer showed him earlier. Janos names the elegant gray tabby "Miasume," after someone special to him. Jennifer names their gray mother "Fluffy."

Another note is that I haven't mentioned Brightflame at all in this story. She's in the house, living comfortably. In fact, she regularly has conversations with everyone present. It's just that everything that involves her is rather boring within the context of the story, so you never see it.

Oh, by-the-way. At one point, Raziel had a chance to play some of the earliest video games available. I'm talking about Namco Museum or those self-contained game controllers, among antique video games that you find in good pizza places.

So now Jennifer and Raziel are driving to Jennifer's parents' house for the annual family reunion.

"Raziel, you don't need to study the map this time," Jennifer said.

"I remember last time we tried to drive somewhere," Raziel insisted. "You got lost."

"The day that I can't find my way home is the day that I don't return," Jennifer declared. "This highway will take us straight there."

As it turned out, there was a minor detour as Jennifer dealt with an unexpected restructuring in the interchange

"It's amazing how this whole area was nothing but wilderness when I moved away," Jennifer remarked. "And where did that building come from? That was not here when I was up for the funeral."

Raziel gazed out the window. "Things never changed this quickly in Nosgoth, at least not when I was looking."

"I imagine that things never changed this quickly for the previous generations," Jennifer said whistfully.

Raziel noticed the way Jennifer's breathing patterns changed. She held her body in a much tenser position. "What's wrong?" he questioned.

"I just hate this part," Jennifer said, readjusting her grip on the steering wheel. Suddenly, she relaxed again. "I wonder whose name that stoplight is a memorial to."

While they waited to turn left at the light, Raziel asked, "What do you mean?"

"It used to be that people had to just trust their luck in getting across this highway," Jennifer said. "Accidents were common. I actually knew some people that got seriously hurt."

It was a few more moments of country backroads until Jennifer pulled into a driveway. A short and balding old man came out of the house to greet them.

"Father, how wonderful it is to see you," Jennifer said extravagantly.

"Why are you being so nice?" Jennifer's father questioned.

Jennifer's tone dropped to derisive "I was hoping that the shock would give you a coronary."

"Patience, my dear," he grinned.

"Go to hell," Jennifer sneered.

"You first," he said.

"I will not be your emissary," Jennifer declared.

"So, where did you dig this guy up?" Jennifer's father questioned.

"You're crossing the line, dad," Jennifer said.

"What line?" He asked.

"The one I'm drawing in the sand," Jennifer shouted dramatically.

Raziel rubbed his temples. Watching these two argue was like a game of pong.

"His name is Raziel," Jennifer said.

"Pleased to meet you, Raziel," Jennifer's dad said, shaking his hand.

"Likewise," Raziel said, hesitating on what to call this man.

"Go ahead and call me Tom," he offered.

"I'm a bit confused," Raziel told Jennifer in a quiet moment afterwards.

"Oh, the bikering is a tradition left over from my wild days," Jennifer said in embarrassment. "He gave up on trying to get any respect, but he also couldn't stand back and watch me ruin my life. It's complicated."

Fortunately, Jennifer's relationship with her mother was a bit more like what he would've expected. They chatted about seemingly unimportant things.

After dinner, Raziel ended up talking over scotch with Jennifer's father in the back yard. Raziel did not sip at his drink. It was dark enough that he could easily spill some without Tom noticing.

The conversation became mainly one-sided as Jennifer's father ranted on about how the government was failing and that the republicans were taking over. Raziel found it to be slightly interesting; Kain had educated Raziel on how nobles managed the peasants in the past, but this was something different.

Raziel suddenly had the urge to back away slowly. He recognized Jennifer's influence in it, but he shrugged it off. He was wondering why she would do that when Tom knocked him in the side of the head.

Raziel's eyes flashed in anger at the staggering drunk.

"Pull your punches, Raziel," Jennifer warned as she came out from the bushes she had been listening from.

Raziel growled as he felt Jennifer's control twisting strongly into his limbs, ready to restrain him if needed. Still, she had given him license to retaliate.

Raziel kicked Tom's legs out from under him, knocking him to the ground. Raziel then wound the man's shirt around his fist and lifted Tom into the air. Jennifer's father was too drunk and surprised to put up any resistance; he spluttered incoherently.

Raziel sighed as he considered just how one-sided this situation was. Jennifer was watching him anxiously, making sure that Raziel didn't hurt her father. Raziel hoped that he had made his point as he released his hold. Raziel stalked away.

That night, Raziel sat on one of the couches while Jennifer settled into a comfortable sleeping position on the other.

"Your father is rather abrasive when he's drunk," Raziel said.

"You can say it, he's an asshole," Jennifer said good-naturedly.

"He's never hit you, has he?" Raziel asked in concern.

"He's knocked me over before, but he never actually hurt me," Jennifer said. "Dad just needs room to rant sometimes."

"He probably doesn't like me now," Raziel pointed out.

"Who knows, you might have impressed him," Jennifer said. "Though I had to listen to him gripe about how he's not entitled to an opinion." She caught Raziel's reaction to that and said, "Just let it go."

The next morning was the family picnic. Raziel found himself overwhelmed with Jennifer's kin. Though he was also disturbed to notice how most of the family was made up of old people. There were very few that were around Jennifer's age, and even fewer children. Still, he was too fascinated with speaking with the elders to think about it. Even though Raziel had quickly become the second-oldest creature in all of Nosgoth, he hadn't aged so he never actually felt old.

When it was time to go home, Jennifer crawled into the back of the van and changed out of her soaking wet outfit into her traveling clothes. "You missed the water-balloon catch," she remarked.

"I was busy," Raziel said mildly. He eyed the round purple mark where Jennifer had caught a speeding water balloon directly in the chest. "Besides, I don't see why having something launched at you with a giant slingshot is considered fun."

"Strange customs," Jennifer muttered as she started the van.

Raziel buckled his seatbelt and settled into a comfortable position. "Still, it was interesting."

Jennifer giggled at Raziel's tone. "I love my family, but only in small doses. Let's go home."