"I would offer you something to eat," she said, then trailed off, a slight reddening appearing on her cheeks.

Raziel ignored her comment and instead asked her if she was feeling better, as he believed it was supposedly the polite thing to do. 

"Yes, yes fine thank you," she replied. "It was only a scratch anyway....nothing a bit of rest won't cure."

He nodded amicably.

"I'm curious," she said, spitting some meat over the fire, "why are you blue?"

If it had not been such a strange question, Raziel might have been annoyed, but instead he laughed, although not scornfully and shrugged his bony shoulders. "I do not know myself."

"Oh, right," she replied unperplexed. "Must be hard......being different."

"You can't stay in one place for long, that is true," he replied. It had been some time since he had been given the chance to actually sit down, rest, and talk to someone who was not either trying to kill or manipulate him, and was finding conversation a little hard. "But until quite recently I had no reason to linger around this polluted cesspit that is Nos....." he paused, realising that Triane was looking at him quite strangely. Then he remembered. He was in the past now, things were not bleak and corrupted yet, and saying that they were, must sound quite strange.

"I don't quite follow you," she said, looking at him from across the fire, the soft amber glow bathing her delicate features in its gentle radiance, picking out highlights of gold in her long dark hair and leaving a warm pink tint on her cheeks. "Nosgoth is quite beautiful."

Raziel sighed, running his claws tiredly through his hair. Maybe it was time he told the truth.

"Believe it or not, in the future Nosgoth is not the same place you see now, in fact it is quite different indeed."

"But..." Triane questioned, "how would you know?"

"I know because I have spent all the time, since I was thrown into the infernal Abyss and resurrected in this ghastly form, time streaming through different eras of Nosgoth's history to try and destroy the one who did this to me." 

He looked pathetically down at his claws, a look of self righteous loathing consuming him. "So far all I seem to have achieved through my adversity is a quite discernable dislike for anything which involves moving around large cubes of rock. Then on top of that I seem to be being used by so many different people that I am utterly disillusioned as to whom my true allies really are. Personally I do not believe I have any! One minute they say one thing, the next minute they're after my blood...well metaphorically speaking anyway, seeing as I have about as much as a stone."

Triane could not help but smile as she retrieved her food from over the fire and started eating it thoughtfully.

"Rather indignant aren't you?"

"Wouldn't you be if you'd been through what I have?" he asked angrily.

"I'm sorry," she apologised, noting the tone of his voice. "Your story is quite a strange one. I did not know that such time streaming devices existed. Who is it that you are searching for anyway, and what did you do to deserve such a terrible fate?"

"It's a long story and one I do not wish to go into."

"But you've already told me this much," she pointed out to him matter of factly. "Might as well finish the story."

"I am not relating my life history simply for your soul enjoyment," Raziel simpered back haughtily. 

"Why? What are you scared of telling me?"

Raziel narrowed his flaring white eyes and turned away, not liking the way in which this human appeared to be delving into his own past so much. Why did she want to know anyway, it surely could not be because she was interested in him? There had to be another reason. Perhaps he had been right all along and she was leading him into a trap, yet as he was about to tell her as much a strange feeling came over him that made him stop.

"I...I really don't mean to be rude." Triane said when all she received was silence. "I don't get much of a chance to talk to anyone myself either, and I was just wondering about you. I like listening. If you don't want to tell me you don't have to. But really all I want to do is help."

"Why?" Raziel uttered. "Why help me of all damned creatures!"

Triane scuffled the ground slightly with her foot. "Coz I imagine you were human once......weren't you?"

There was a brief silence again, this time somewhat awkwardly until Raziel inclined his head and nodded. "Once. I have been many things, but yes I was human once."

"Then I have a duty to help you! You see Raziel, I come from a remote little village, as I told you, beyond the Great Boarder. I was brought up to be what we call in our lands to be 'a helper'. When we come of age we set off on our 'life task' which involves us helping as many people that we find and make their lives better in some way. It is our vocation. Then when we have completed our allotted number of tasks we may return to our homes and become tutors ourselves, helping other young persons to live according to our customs."

"Then how come I have never heard or seen your people before?" Raziel questioned, quite interested by all Triane had to say.

She shrugged however, suddenly finding a great interest in what she was eating, her eyes averted from his steady gaze. 

"I don't know. Maybe all the times you've visited are ones in which we do not exist anymore."

There was this possibility but Raziel doubted it. When he had been Kain's second and ruled over an entire province of Nosgoth he had never once come across any 'helpers', and he had ruled for a good many decades.

"Your cause sounds a very admirable one."

"It is," she sighed, "but people sometimes do not want you to help them."

"Was that aimed at me?"

Triane smiled as she saw him raise a claw and gesture to himself in a semi questioning, semi joking manner.

"Could be," she replied.

"Well if that is how it is going to be, you can start helping me by stop asking me all your annoying questions."

"That's not quite how it works.."

"I tried," Raziel sighed and stretched his body out lazily, which made a quite nerve wrenching clicking sound. On seeing Triane's grimace, he apologised, but still went on to crick his neck and shoulders back in that most annoying fashion. 

"I'm going to sleep now," she told him, a disgusted look still on her face. 

"I have no need for sleep, I will tend the fire for you."

"Thanks," she said and pulled out her bed roll. Luckily it was a clear, warm night and Triane was happy just to sleep under the stars rather than trying to set up a dog tent as she normally did. Besides, the fire was throwing off a good lot of heat and as long as she didn't roll into it, she would find this set up to be more than to her liking. Raziel watched as she lay down a thick green blanket and small feather stuffed pillow which she plumped and arranged before she lay down herself. She pulled the rest of the blanket over herself and closed her eyes, feeling safer than she usually did when she camped out like this.

"G'night Raziel."

"Triane."

"I warn you I'm an early riser so hope you're ready to go straight away at dawn."

"Of that, I can assure you there will be no problem" he said and lent back against the tree behind him, letting all the things which had been troubling in his mind run free while he watched the fire's flickering flames rise up and crackle into the night. In a way he was glad he had finally got someone to share his problems with but he did not exactly wish to tell this human everything about himself as he did not quite trust her yet, and why should he, no one else had ever been true to him, even his master Kain. Kain, Raziel thought with spite, then remembering the final moments he had spent with him as he pulled the maddened Reaver from his body, and what he said too, caused Raziel to wonder what Kain's agenda for him truly was.

"Who knows," he finally uttered to the dark night, watching as Triane softly slept, her chest rising and falling softly as she breathed. "No one ever tells me anything."
 

"Hay you, wake up!"

"I wasn't alseep."

"Yeah, yeah, you don't fool me."

Triane gave Raziel a nudge with her foot and placed her hands firmly on her hips. 

"Come on, look the sun's already up!"

Indeed, the blazing red orb had almost fully risen and the dark blue shades of night were already passing away to shades of orange and crimson. The land glistened and shone, the pleasant rippling sound of the nearby river adding to the rural feel of the place as high above a few birds reeled and soared high above in the cloudless sky.

"No...no please don't do that again.....errrgh....that's so disgusting."

Triane wandered off as she let Raziel stretch himself, although she never got far enough to escape the sound of his cracking bones and raised her eyes up to the sky in despair. 

"You seem a lot better today."

"Oh well, what did I tell you?" she answered as he caught back up with her. "Rest is good for healing all sorts of injuries."

"Yes, but considering you were finding it hard to walk only yesterday......"

"Quick healer," she smiled quickly. "Always have been."

Raziel assumed a very sceptical look but said nothing further on the matter, knowing he would be met with a wall of false answers anyway.

"How far is it to this settlement then," he asked, changing the subject.

"Not that far, we should reach Outtencroft by sundown, then the city of Grichdenstein by noon the day after if we make good progress and start early again. Don't mind walking do you?"

"Not especially," Raziel replied, "I've done quite a lot of it in fact."

"Yes I can see. Think you've overdone your exercise a little though," she joked poking him in a friendly manner, indicating his rather.......slender...waistline, which did not impress Raziel in the slightest.

"If I'm going to be insulted all the way I think I might as well make my own way from now on," he snapped, batting her hand away from him, his voice dark and bitter.

"Hay I was only joking you know," she replied, a little put out, rubbing her hand. 

"Jokes are meant to be funny. That was not."

"Gee, sorry. Obviously woke up on the wrong side of the tree this morning."

"I WASN'T ASLEEP!"

Raziel clenched his claws into a fist and assumed a very moody disposition, walking along in silence, debating strongly whether he should just turn round and go the other way, but so far he had seen this as being the only path towards any settlements. Besides, the last thing he really wanted to do was go get lost in a wilderness he know nothing about. At least if he could make his way somehow to his clan territory he might have some idea of where he was going.

"Are you going to kill me now?" 

Raziel looked across at Triane and gave an exasperated sigh, "No. For one it is hardly worth my effort, although I do see the benefits of getting a little peace around here."

Triane nodded, "I was only teasing you, you know."

"Yes well," he replied dourly. "Not many people go around 'teasing me', so I don't find it at all humourous. In fact most people who annoy me normally end up with a slightly shorter life expectancy than they first imagined."

The light from the morning sun glistened for a moment on his sharp claws and for a brief second Raziel was sure he saw Triane gulp. However, her expression soon changed to one of thoughtfulness and Raziel once again knew it would be only a matter of time before she blurted out with another question.

And indeed, he was right.

"How come you have claws if you said you were human? I was just thinking and it didn't make sense."

"After I was human, I was turned into a vampire and then after eons of burning agony, this."

"Oh." 

Surprised at her answer, Raziel turned again to her and asked, "So is that all? All you wanted to know this time?"

She nodded, "Uhuh."

"Oh."

This was very unlike her. He had been bracing himself for an onslaught of questions and for a moment was disappointed that they never came, although he had no idea why.
 

Some time later, after a good days walking, the pair arrived at the outskirts of Outtencroft, a very pretty little village whose main occupation seemed to be farming, for in the fields were many different crops as well as animals. Raziel was loth to get too close to this human settlement by daylight, for they had arrived ahead of Triane's calculations and it was only late afternoon, the sun still blazing away in the sky. The strange thing was, when he asked her if she was going in, Triane seemed to hesitate and mumble something about maybe for an hour or so, and that she certainly wouldn't be staying as she liked to sleep outside more than lodging at an inn.

"Strange human," was all he said as he watched her leave towards the village. He was sure he could find something to occupy himself with for an hour or so until sundown, and he could hardly blame Triane for being slow, they were making amazingly good progress, so maybe choosing to stick with her as a travelling companion was not such a bad idea after all. The noise of a dog barking made him turn around from where he had been standing and watch as it continued to do so, until its owner came over and hushed it, his gestures indicating an apology to Triane who had been walking past.

"I hope she'll be okay," he murmured, watching until she was out of sight. "Not that I care or anything," he added quickly to himself, "after all, if anything should happen to her I'd be lost and it would take me twice as long to get back."

With that, he wandered off into the heavy undergrowth to sit and think a while about his predicament, although he found it rather annoying that his mind did not seem as focussed as normal which was quite strange and very unlike him. For a moment he had the ridiculous thought that he may of caught something, but seeing that he had been killed twice he doubted even if it were possible he could have a cold, it would do anything. That was at least one good thing about being dead, he thought, you didn't have to worry about that particular concern any more, although it had seemed that while he was living, he did have a lot less problems. Most people were left pretty much alone once they had died, but oh no, not him. This irked Raziel somewhat, along with the fact that he had killed himself and that somehow he was supposed to die again and become the Soul Reaver's unquenchable spirit, but that, along with coins landing on their sides and hoards of vampire hunters, well that just hurt his mind. You see, Time wasn't the only thing that abjured a paradox, Raziel damn well hated them too!
 

Emails welcome at double_helix23