The overpowering stench of fish permeated the air in Izoold, accompanied by the loud of chatter of fishermen and merchants going about their business. Too small to be a port town, and yet too large to really be just a village, Izoold was known all over Sylvarant for the quality of seafood, but not much else.
It was also an important waypoint between Palmacosta and the desert continent, which brought in visitors where the nonexistent tourism industry failed.
Currently, however, it didn't seem like many passenger ships were running. Most seemed to be in the business of transporting goods to Palmacosta, and the locals appeared wary of the party, even when they noticed Colette's presence. Rai knew it was mostly his fault - he was the member who looked most obviously non-human, and the villagers were obviously not fond of half-elves. Unlike in Triet, he got the feeling that here, people were more suspicious and hateful than they were scared.
Rai gagged a little as they neared the docks. The fishy smell was making his gorge rise, and he wasn't sure whether he'd be able to handle a sea voyage. He'd never even been on a boat - what if he got seasick?
I always used to get seasick whenever I was on a boat, so you probably will, Akira informed him.
Just great.
They asked around the docks with little success, though some of the fishermen pointed out that a few of their friends who'd return soon might have room for a few extra passengers. Finally the group retreated to the local inn for the night, exhausted. There were only two rooms, one of which was occupied, and each room had only two beds - it was a tight squeeze. Raine and Colette shared a bed, Genis shared with Kratos, and that left Lloyd and Rai to bunk on the floor.
Genis was out like a light as soon as they got there, and Lloyd seemed equally tired. Even Colette, who Rai was pretty sure might not have the ability to sleep anymore, lay down immediately and closed her eyes. Rai, for his part, felt completely not tired. And he was pretty sure he'd never be able to sleep with this stench anyway. Finally, sick of the stuffy atmosphere of the inn, he stepped outside, breathing in the cool (though still smelly) night air.
He'd only taken a few steps before some smelly kid barreled into him from the side, almost knocking him over. He scowled and the kid bowed immediately. "I'm sorry, sir!"
Rai almost didn't notice it, but at that very moment there was another presence just behind him and he whirled around just in time to see another kid removing his wallet from Rai's back pocket with such a light touch that Rai hadn't even felt it.
Rai gave the children an icy glare as they turned to flee and arrested the one with his wallet on the spot with a quick gravity spell before striding swiftly up to him and snatching the wallet back. There was real fear in the child's eyes as he tried to move his feet from the ground and found them unresponsive.
"You shouldn't live like that," Rai told him pointedly.
"Wh-what are you?" the kid demanded sharply. "Y-you're a filthy half-elf!"
Rai knelt down and put his face close to the child's. "So what if I am?"
"Get away from me!" the boy screamed. His friend was long gone, having fled as soon as he'd gotten the chance. The kid reached out to push Rai away, but Rai dodged the clumsy attempt.
"Don't touch me with those grubby hands," he said in disgust. "And be glad I'm feeling in a charitable mood today, brat. Keep in mind that I could kill you with a thought. You probably shouldn't mess with people like me."
The gravity spell had worn off by now, and the child seemed to have noticed because he immediately darted away, though not before giving Rai a look full of fear and hate.
Rai sighed and continued on his way, feeling a bit weary now. Couldn't he just take a nighttime walk in peace?
Apparently not, because he'd only made it partway to the docks when a rowdy crowd of men who'd obviously had a bit to drink showed up. He attempted to pass them by politely, but then one of them noticed him and any hopes of that were dashed.
"Hey, look'oo we 'av-ere," the man slurred, staggering to a stop and roughly nudging one of his companions. "One o' them. What's 'e doin' in a place like this?"
The other squinted at him and seemed to come to some sort of realization. "You're right," he said, and this one seemed a bit less drunk and a bit more control of his words. Louder, he snapped at Rai. "What are you doing here, half-elf?"
Rai realized that the people of Izoold probably wouldn't be convinced if he claimed to be an elf instead. "Move along, gentlemen," he said pleasantly. "I mean you no harm."
"Heh, I'll believe that when I see it," another of them snorted, moving closer to Rai. Rai resisted the urge to take a step back and met his gaze squarely. "He's a real pretty boy, isn't he?"
Rai surprised himself with a sudden wish that Lloyd or Kratos were here. God, you can handle yourself, Rai. Stop being stupid, he told himself.
"You want to have some fun with us, pretty boy?" the man continued, grinning lazily and moving forward again, putting out a hand to touch Rai's face. This time Rai did step back, tensing and automatically getting into a battle stance. The men laughed as if a witty joke had been told. The circle was closing in around him, and Rai's eyes darted around the street. He thought quickly.
Gravity spells would be useless - casting one over such a wide area would hardly weigh them down for a second, and would take too much out of him for him to flee immediately after. Other than that, all he knew were spells to kill people...
He could kill these men easily, and looking at their ugly leers as they advanced towards him, he wanted to. But he probably shouldn't be suddenly committing murder in a random village. Izoold did have a police force, after all, even if it was small. And if enough people fenced him in, they could probably take him down, especially as he could hardly massacre the whole village to prevent them from arresting him.
One of the men took a swing at Rai and Rai dodged easily, thankful for his physical training sessions with Lloyd and Kratos. He could feel the weight of his sword at his side, but using that would also be deadly. The men would never come out of this alive. Could he kill all of them at once? There was a chance that one or more would escape, though, and then there would be witnesses. They'd never let him on a boat, then, that was for sure. Rai narrowed his eyes in frustration, dodging another lunge from the man and trying to ignore the jeers and rauceous laughs from the rest of the group. Why had he never learned to disarm without killing?
He might have been able to do it had it been only one man. But if he tried to engage them in a serious fight right now, like this, five on one, Rai knew he'd end up landing a killing blow on at least one.
Akira might be able to do it. But his past self appeared to be unresponsive right now, probably resting or thinking about something else. No - for now, Rai was on his own.
Just as he had resigned himself to just trying to kill them all as quickly as possible and hoping none escaped - he'd even mustered up the magic, letting it flow out of his core and into his fingers - another figure swept out of the shadows, expertly spearing one man in side of the neck with a hand and kicking another at the back of the head. Both went down, unconscious, and the other three gave yells of anger and rushed at the new figure. Rai took action, too, kneeing one of the men in the groin and hitting him on the head with the hilt of his sword when he went down, taking him out cold, and by the time he'd done that the mysterious cloaked figure had already taken out the last two men.
The figure turned towards him, face obscured both by the dark hood he was wearing and the darkness of the street. Rai walked a bit closer and inclined his head. "Thanks," he said. "You really helped me out there."
The mysterious person said nothing, but reached up and pushed the hood back, and Rai felt a thrill of shock. This was not a man, as he'd initially assumed. Instead, there was a female in front of him - an elf, he realized. Her face was exquisite, perfectly sculpted, her hair pale - though telling its precise shade was impossible in the low light - and, as he realized in the light of the moon, her eyes were a striking violet.
"You're - an elf," he said finally.
She inclined her head and made to walk away, but he reached out almost without realizing and caught her at the wrist, then let go when she flinched away, feeling sheepish. "Sorry. But - please, at least tell me your name. I'd like to repay the favor."
The elf finally spoke, her voice a rich lilt that gave Rai a tingling feeling down his spine. "I am Aalissi," she said, words accented. "And you needn't repay it."
"I want to," he insisted, feeling like it was imperative that she didn't walk away. "Please, at least stay and talk to me a for a while. I've never met an elf before. It - it's truly an honor, Aalissi."
She turned and seemed to really consider him, his violet eyes pensive, and he held her gaze calmly despite the way his heart was beating like a drum. "You are?" she said finally.
"My name is Rai," he responded carefully. He tried to say it closer to the way it was meant to be said in the elven tongue, but he wasn't sure he'd gotten it right.
"Rai," she repeated, and hearing his name in its lilting elven pronunciation, in her voice, did something to his insides. "Bearer of lightning." She sighed and dropped her gaze. "I can see you're not going to back down. Would you like to relocate to the docks? I feel we can speak better there."
"Of course," he said quickly. She started walking and he fell into step beside her.
When they reached the edge of the water, the elf walked down to the shimmering ocean and sat on the edge of one of the docks, letting her toes barely skim the water, and after a moment Rai followed, settling down next to her, though he couldn't dangle his legs down.
"You have a beautiful name," he told her, and she gave him an unreadable look. To his dismay, she seemed entirely unaffected by the compliment.
"Thank you, Rai." He felt his stomach flip-flop a little again at the way she accented his name. "May I ask why you were not fighting those men?"
He sighed. "I was afraid I'd kill them," he admitted. "Thought that wouldn't help my case any. The people of this village already hate me enough for being a half-elf without adding murder to the list."
"I see," she murmured, and looked away, over the water. "I'm sorry if I appear standoffish, Rai. The tainted are not usually welcome among elves. But as an outsider to my people, I have no right to judge you."
The 'tainted'…ah, the half-elf prejudice again. "I don't mind," he said quietly. "I'm used to it."
There was a pause, and then Rai said, "If I may ask, what brings you here? I hadn't thought there were many elves left in Sylvarant."
"I left my village," she admitted. "The location is secret. My next step is to find a vessel that might take me to Palmacosta."
"That actually happens to be the way I'm headed, too. Maybe we should find a ship together."
She hesitated, and Rai knew she was considering it. It couldn't be comfortable for a girl like her to travel alone, no matter how good a fighter she was.
"Is it just you?" she asked finally, and Rai realized what the problem was.
"No," he said quickly. "I'm traveling with a group. My brother and sister, and three other people besides."
"Are you all tainted - I apologize - half-elves?" she asked.
"No, only myself and my siblings. The other three are humans."
She nodded, violet gaze not giving anything away. "I see."
There was another pause, during which Rai looked at her unabashedly. She really was the most beautiful person he'd ever seen aside from his sister. He wasn't sure what to make of it.
Finally she turned and gave him an amused smile. "If you stare so much you'll wear a hole in my face, Rai."
He smirked at her. "You're pretty," he told her, hoping to startle a blush out of her, but she stayed perfectly composed.
"Those men seemed to find you quite pretty as well," she pointed out, and he started a little and then laughed.
"Low blow," he said lightly. "So are you really traveling alone, Aalissi?"
She nodded. "Yes. I've encountered my fair share of men and women like those. Many humans assume I am a half-elf; I'm told they can't tell the difference."
"That's right," he confirmed. "Humans can't sense mana signatures."
Her violet eyes showed wonder. "It's hard to imagine how that's even possible."
"I know what you mean," he agreed, leaning back slightly on his hands. "To me it's as natural as breathing."
They were relatively quiet for a while, listening to the quiet whisper of the wind and ocean and watching the moonlight turn the ocean crests silver and black. Despite the lack of conversation, it felt comfortable, sitting here like this with her, a reasonable person who didn't seem to care who he really was and what he was thinking. He glanced at her again sideways, noting the hair cascading down her back. It was silvery pink in the light of the moon, and there were several rings in her long ears, encrusted with elven runes. She didn't react to the scrutiny, except to eventually turn and meet his gaze, studying him just as he was studying her.
"You don't look part-human," she admitted after some time. "If it weren't for your mana signature, I'd think you were one of us."
"An elf, you mean," Rai said. "Yes. I have more elven blood than human, if that means anything."
She shut her eyes briefly. "Yes, I can tell," she said softly. "Your mana signature is like shadow and wind. Hardly any of it is tainted."
He was too impressed to comment on the continued implication that humans were somehow dirty. "You can tell that?"
Aalissi tilted her head ever so slightly. "Can't you? I can also feel your age, and the - " She stopped suddenly. Rai wondered what she had been about to say.
"How old am I, then?"
"Only just past a hundred and seventy-nine moons," she said, and smiled a little bit. "You're young."
He felt a bit ruffled at that, though it didn't show on his face. "You don't seem much older than me."
"You should know as well as I do that elves age differently than humans, Rai. But I'll satisfy your curiosity. I've just passed my two-hundred and sixteenth moon cycle."
Rai did some quick calculations in his head. "So you're eighteen years old, then," he realized. "Pretty young for an elf. Technically our age difference isn't much more than a blink of an eye..."
She inclined her head. "Yes. I forgot that you would be more comfortable counting in...years. I apologize for that."
"No problem." He paused, taking in her features all over again. She looked similar to him and yet different, the lines of her face finer, her lips fuller, her eyelashes longer.
A human woman could never compare.
No wonder so many half-elves existed.
She laughed a little bit. Her laugh sounded like bells. "I can tell you're not thinking anything truly indecent," she smiled, "or I would probably smack you, young or not."
"You can read my thoughts, too?" he asked casually, suddenly alert. The smile didn't fade from her face, but there was something calculating in her violet eyes.
"Oh, just a feeling," she said lightly. Rai eyed her suspiciously, but let it go.
"So what made you leave your village?" he asked. "Don't you have any family there?"
He knew as soon as he'd asked it that he really shouldn't have. Her eyes grew sad. "I'd rather not speak of it," she said softly. "Suffice it to say that the only person who could have kept me there is no longer of this world."
"I'm sorry," he said, to fill the silence. He got the feeling she knew he didn't really mean it - her eyes cut to him in a sort of unreadable way, but she said nothing.
"You know, I wouldn't normally just start talking to a stranger like this," he admitted after a few moments. "And I get the feeling it's not too usual for you, either."
"You're right," she acknowledged. "But it's understandable. You're young, and you're not used to seeing others like you. And I have been navigating alone amongst humans for too long. It's almost a relief to meet a fellow elf - or close to it."
He wished she'd stop calling him young, but bringing it up would sound petty and just make him seem even more childish, so he said nothing. She was giving him an amused look, though. Again he had the strong, odd feeling that she could read his mind.
"I should probably go," he said finally, starting to get to his feet. "Are you staying at the inn here?"
"Yes," she said, taking his offered hand and allowing him to pull her up.
"I'll walk back with you, then."
She inclined her head ever so slightly, and they walked back through the dirt roads of Izoold towards the town entrance, where the inn stood. Neither said another word, but Rai could feel that she was at ease, too, the swirl of her mana calm and relaxed.
...An elf. He'd met an elf.
Maybe this walk hadn't been so useless after all.
Last night when Lloyd had gone to bed, he hadn't seen Rai anywhere, but when he awoke to the calls of fish vendors outside and the exuberant cries of seagulls, the half-elf lay on the floor next to him. He probably hadn't gone to sleep this way, but he was now facing towards Lloyd, and the fingers of his outstretched arm nearly brushed Lloyd's shoulder.
The most astonishing thing, though, was that Rai appeared peaceful, and not only that, but Lloyd thought he might even have a slight smile on his face.
Could he finally be having a good dream instead of a nightmare? Lloyd wondered. Fascinated, he watched to see if the expression would go away (and tried, for several minutes, to decide whether he was imagining it), but it remained for quite some time, until finally Rai sighed slightly in his sleep and then stirred, seeming to wake up a bit. Then he yawned and stretched, arching his back like a cat before collapsing back onto the floor again with a wince and finally opening his green eyes. He blinked at Lloyd, who blinked back and only just then realized he'd been staring.
"Good morning," Rai murmured, yawning again. "Did you sleep well?"
"Yeah. It seems like you did, too, huh?"
Rai looked at him hazily. "I suppose so."
"You were smiling."
"Was I?" Rai shrugged and sat up slightly, then winced again and put one hand to his stomach. Lloyd followed his line of sight and realized that there was a fresh bruise on Rai's side, large and yellow and purple. He didn't know how he hadn't noticed it before. Anger bubbled up inside him, but it wasn't at the half-elf.
"Who did that to you?" he said tightly, not even bothering to conceal the anger in his voice. Rai eyed him warily.
"What makes you think someone did it?"
"You're not clumsy, there's no way you got a bruise like that on accident. Someone did that last night," Lloyd told him with certainty in his voice. "Who was it?"
Rai didn't say anything for a few moments. Then he sighed and glanced around the room. Nobody else appeared to be awake.
"I guess there's no harm in telling you," Rai said finally, but his green eyes were guarded. "Some men tried to...mess with me last night when I went out for a walk."
Lloyd knew that 'mess with' was probably a gross understatement. He could feel pure, unadulterated fury rising inside him. "I'll kill them."
"Calm down, Lloyd," Rai said wearily. "Nothing happened. I was holding back a bit because I didn't want to accidentally kill them and one got in a lucky hit, that's all."
"If I'd been there, I wouldn't have let them lay a single hand on you," Lloyd growled. Rai looked a little surprised.
"Yes, well, I'm sure you have the skill, Lloyd. But I'm starting to be glad you weren't there. I'm afraid you would have killed them all."
"Scum like that would probably have deserved it," Lloyd muttered, but the statement had taken the edge off his anger. He probably wouldn't really have killed the men, but he'd definitely have felt like it. He was getting sick and tired of people treating his friends like second-class citizens.
Rai was smirking now. "What?" Lloyd demanded, a bit defensively. He knew that look.
"That's adorable, Lloyd," the half-elf teased. "Trying to be my knight in shining armor. I'm impressed."
"Sh-shut up," Lloyd said, blushing even if he knew it was only a joke. "You know what I meant."
Rai's eyes were still amused, but there was a hint of seriousness in his voice, too. "I appreciate the sentiment, Lloyd, but you should probably get used to these things. You know half-elves like me aren't exactly popular."
"It's stupid, though," Lloyd insisted. "Anyway, any person who wants to be a jerk to you because of that will have to get through me first. And all the others."
The half-elf shrugged, though he didn't seem genuinely annoyed. "Fine, don't say I didn't warn you," he sighed. Then he yawned again, opening his jaws wide and narrowing his green eyes to slits.
"You're like a cat," Lloyd blurted before he could help himself. Rai threw him a look that was both startled and amused.
"Am I? I guess I need a tail and some cat ears," he purred. His voice held a hint of something Lloyd couldn't place and he blushed without quite knowing why.
"I was just saying."
"If I'm like a cat, Lloyd, then you're like a dog," Rai pointed out. "No wonder we never used to get along."
"I'm pretty sure that was your fault, though," Lloyd corrected him. "You still haven't told me why."
Rai got to his feet, not addressing this. "Anyway, we should probably go and start looking for a ship to Palmacosta again," he said, and just like that, the conversation was over.
When Raine finally awoke, silently and without motion as she always did, it was to low voices conversing. It took her a few moments to place them as Lloyd and Rai. It seemed like the two were getting along better now, which was a relief. Raine had gotten tired of trying to convince Rai to accept Lloyd back in the village, but the other boy had always been a bit of a sore spot for her brother. She'd never quite figured out why.
"Who did that to you?" Lloyd said suddenly, his voice suddenly tense, though he kept it quiet. Raine felt her ears perk up, too.
"What makes you think someone did it?" came Rai's diversion, his voice as neutral as ever. She felt like sighing aloud. Why was her brother so difficult?
Even when Lloyd insisted, she felt almost certain that Rai would refuse to tell. So she was shocked when, after a short pause, he said, "I guess there's no harm in telling you. Some men tried to mess with me last night when I went out for a walk."
Raine felt a protective fury rise inside her at the thought of what might have happened. Rai's cavalier tone didn't fool her one bit.
"I'll kill them," came Lloyd's low growl, and she couldn't help but agree with him.
As she listened to Rai's reply, she felt mixed feelings. Anger that men had attacked her brother, but relief that there were others here who would protect him, who would get angry on his behalf. She'd been afraid that Rai's tendency to drive people away from him would be effective within the party, but it seemed he'd formed his own bonds anyway. She tuned back into the conversation when there was a pause. Then Lloyd said suddenly, "You're like a cat."
Raine almost laughed, but managed to keep quiet at the last minute.
"Am I? I guess I need a tail and some cat ears," her brother teased. There was no mistaking the suggestive implication in his voice. She blinked in shock. If she hadn't been pretending to be asleep, she would have reached over and smacked him. Not for the first time, she was glad this was Lloyd he was talking to - innocent, well-meaning Lloyd. Any potential double entendre would be lost on him.
When Rai stood up, effectively ending the conversation, Raine swung her legs over the side of the bed and got up as well.
"Good morning, boys."
Rai looked at her as calmly as ever, but Lloyd started guiltily and threw Rai a sheepish glance. "Morning, Professor," he said.
"I'm going to wash up," Rai threw over his shoulder as he left the room.
The next few minutes were a flurry as the members of the party awoke and began to get ready to head out. The hope was that they'd be able to find a ship to set sail on, whether as passengers or otherwise. The inn's bathing facilities were limited, so it took some time for all of them to take their share. Raine didn't have the heart to deny them, since the last time they'd had a real bath had been Triet.
Finally, though, they exited, fully dressed and each with their packs on their backs. When they reached the lobby Rai was already there, sitting on a chair in the corner next to -
Raine's heart stopped for a brief moment.
An elf.
The young woman was beautiful, as elves always were, with pale pink hair and striking violet eyes. She was dressed in white, the top baring her navel and shoulders and her slender hips wrapped in a skirt-like cloth, though Raine suspected there were shorts underneath it. Strips of cloth wound over her legs and belly, twining down until they tied into the traditional sandals Raine had often seen elves wear in the village. At the hollow of her throat was an intricate dragon tatoo, and she wore a large fan at her back, but Raine wasn't naive enough to think these were only for decoration.
Slowly, she approached them. "Who's your acquaintance, Rai?" she asked cordially.
Rai glanced at the elf, who got to her feet and bowed politely, strands of her long pink hair falling slightly into her face. "I'm pleased to meet you. My name is Aalissi."
"Wow, she's even prettier than you, Rai," Genis giggled. Rai glared at him, but Aalissi smiled behind her hand. Rai shot her a look of mock betrayal.
"I see," Raine said. "Nice to meet you. I'm Raine, Rai's older sister."
An odd expression crossed the elf's face, but she inclined her head. "It's an honor."
Lloyd bounded forward and extended his hand. "I'm Lloyd. Nice to meet you!"
She took his hand hesitantly as if unsure what to do with it, watching as he shook it up and down enthusiastically. "It is nice to meet you as well...Lloyd."
"I'm Colette! I'm sure we'll be the best of friends!" chirped the Chosen. Aalissi smiled back at her, but there was something odd in her gaze as it flickered to the jewel at Colette's throat. She said nothing.
"Aalissi will be coming with us," Rai said, not making it a question. Raine gave him a stern look and even the elf glanced at him disapprovingly.
"I apologize," she said quickly, addressing Raine. "What your brother means is that I request passage with you just until Palmacosta, since ships are difficult to find." She nudged Rai in the shoulder.
He didn't look at any of them, but Aalissi nudged him again, more insistently this time, and Rai said finally, "What she said."
Raine stifled the urge to burst out laughing.
"Of course that's fine," she said, smiling warmly at Aalissi. She wasn't without her suspicions, of course, but there were five of them and only one of her. Raine would have to be on her guard in case Aalissi was after Colette, of course, but she also couldn't think of any reason for an elf to be after the Chosen.
And to be fair, Raine was probably a bit biased. She already had a feeling Aalissi might be a good influence on Rai, who seemed to have warmed up to her quickly. That in itself made her think the elf was likely to be trustworthy. Rai wasn't one to trust people easily. The girl's mana was clear and bright and her manners impeccable. And more than that, each member of the party was trained in physical combat, so the only worry would be to make sure Colette was never left alone with Aalissi while she was traveling with them.
Realistically, Raine was probably just overthinking it.
And when she saw the way Rai looked at the elf girl, with a mixture of awe and interest and forced indifference, Raine couldn't help but smile.
A/N: As always, thanks to those who reviewed!
JellybeanFox: Glad to see you enjoyed the development. And yes, this does mean Rai now knows he and Lloyd are not half-brothers after all; the implications remain to be seen...
Thoughts on the new character?