Sorcerer Stabber Orphen Fan Fiction ❯ Velvet Flames ❯ Fair Trade ( Chapter 7 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

:: Velvet Flames ::

Sorcerous Stabber Orphen

Disclaimer: I don't own Sorcerous Stabber Orphen or any of the characters mentioned.

Rating: PG

Pairings: Krylancelo(Orphen)+Azari, Hartia+Krylancelo, Childman+Azari/Azari+Childman, eventual Krylancelo/Majic

Warnings: AU, possible shounen ai, dark stuff

Changes: Orphen will, for the most part, be known as Krylancelo, at least for the first few chapters

Notes: Look! Rai-sama makes another appearance! XD He's actually fun to write about, and now I'm seriously contemplating writing a fic for him. If I must use one, I know exactly which pairing to use, too... *grin* Anyway, I'm not completely certain of the reason Rai covers his eye like that, so I had to make one up. So anyway, this chapter's just a filler, but it was fun to write about. I really should use Rai-sama more often; he's fun...

Should I bump the rating up? I'm not sure if this chapter calls for it or not. Some people might be disturbed, but I dunno. I'm not very good at judging ratings; I could write something really gory and call it PG just because I described blood so vividly. ^^;;;;

The chapter's kind of short; I apologize. I'll also be having to use text format until we can get Microsoft Word installed to our new computer (and Lord knows text bites monkeys), so sorry for any confusion the format may cause in comparison to previous chapters.

Re-Uploaded Notes: GRR! It's Rai-sama's RIGHT eye! I've been getting it wrong all this time! >_< Gomen nasai!! *runs off to fix Give a Reason as well*




"Ware wa hanatu, hikari no hakujin!"

The high-pitched cry caught his attention, though he knew it must have been on the other side of the school. Pulling out of his trance, the thirteen year-old student got to his feet with utter calm. Time to find out why the boy was intruding in his visions without even trying.

Rai made sure his hood was completely covering his head before walking outside. Few knew why he did this, but he felt he had good reason. He may have been strange, but he was still just as human as any of them. He didn't want to be subjected to THAT kind of pain.

Sure enough, in the training grounds on the other side of the tower, there was a little boy amidst the rubble. It hadn't been created by him but by students from Childman's class only hours before.

Majic looked frustrated as he raised his hands, eyebrows stitched in complete concentration. "Ware wa--"

"That doesn't sound like any spell I've ever heard," Rai interrupted. He spoke softly, but it was enough to jar the tense child. Two blue eyes swung to look at him in both fear and curiosity-- Or rather, one of them did. The other was covered with a white bandage, wrapped around his small head. Rai noted a blotch of fading yellowish-blue leaking from beneath the cover.

"Dare ga...?" the boy asked slowly, hands lowering to his sides. Since Rai's face from the bridge of his nose and up was hidden by the cloak it was hard to see the colour of his headband, thus making it difficult to place who he was. It was obvious Majic wasn't one of Childman's students. If he was, he would have recognized the boy who hid his face.

"Surely you haven't forgotten so soon?" he prodded gently.

Recognition lit the boy's face. "Rai-san!"

"Aa."

Majic quickly moved to bow in respect, startling the older youth. "Thank you," he said happily. When the teenager said nothing, he quickly added, "For writing that note for me." Pink spread across his round cheeks, making the mostly covered bruise more noticable.

Rai didn't answer, his gaze fixated on the boy's injured left eye. Slowly his hand drifted beneath his hood, fingers grazing across the spot beneath his right eyebrow. If only...

"Rai-san?" Majic asked with concern, tilting his head slightly as he watched the older boy's odd action.

"It's nothing," came the cool response. "But I must ask... What were you doing?"

The blonde child smiled hesitantly, as though he were unsure whether what he was about to say was good or not. "Practicing?"

Obviously. "But as I said once before, I've never seen a spell like that."

The child's reaction was odd but comprehendable. He started to bite his lower lip, small hands twisting the fabric of his cloak. Clearly he either wasn't allowed or was too frightened to admit where he had learnt it from. Rai already had an inkling on that one, however, so he decided to let it drop.

Uncomfortable silence settled in, unnerving Majic and quieting the clairvoyant student even more than usual. It was some time before the silence was broken.

"Rai-san, may I ask you something?"

"If I may ask something in return." Majic nodded, pleasing the older student. It was already looking out to be a fair trade.

"Why did you..." Majic hesitated then mimicked Rai's earlier action by touching the bandage over his left eye. "It was weird," he explained. At the other boy's silence he quickly tried to correct himself. "I mean... Not that YOU are strange, Rai-san, just... I was wondering--"

"It's fine," he intervened in his mild way. "I just had an accident myself once." At Majic's puzzled expression he smiled wryly, something Majic could definitely see even in the darkening outdoor surroundings. "I don't have a right eye anymore," he explained, pulling his hood back.

Majic flinched, expecting to see a gruesome scar, but to his surprise all he could see was soft forest-green hair covering the right side of a boyish face. Rai's visible eye was an even darker shade of green that grew black as it faded into the center of his pupils.

"Rai-san, why...?"

Rai smiled faintly. "My question first, Majic." It was only fair, after all. He had wanted to ask a single question. If he wanted a second, he would have to wait. "Were you doing anything else while you were practicing? Letting your mind wander, perhaps?"

Majic rocked back on his small heels, looking one way then the other, embarrassed for some reason. He finally just sighed and said, "Krylancelo-sama won't be back for three days."

That was true, and now Rai completely understood. There were two different levels to this, the first being that Majic was clearly becoming unhealthily attached to a boy that could barely tolerate his presence. Krylancelo had complained, on numerous occasions, that Flameheart's youngest student irritated him.

The second one was what Rai had suspected since the moment Majic had interrupted his meditation. The child had great potential to become a decent sorcerer, but he was refusing to practice the Tower of Fangs' magic, thus making him seem worthless. But when he tried this other strange method his power seemed to grow immensely excited, enough so that it broke Rai's concentration. This meant one of two things. Either Majic was harboring some frightening power or Rai had slacked when it came to building mental defenses during meditation, and he was assuming it was the latter.

Majic was tugging on his robes, trying to get his attention. Rai tucked away this new information for later pondering and looked down at the six year-old. "Yes?"

"May... May I see...?"

Rai's hand flitted up to the scar sealing his right eye socket shut. He fell silent for a few long moments before shaking his head. "No," he said softly. "And you cannot tell anyone of it, either. Few people know, and I prefer it to stay that way." Clearly disappointed, Majic nodded, and Rai's single eye hardened. "You're not ready to see yet, anyway. When you are ready, I will know, and if I feel you absolutely must have this strange desire of yours fulfilled, I will let you know."

Mature beyond his years described Rai well. Majic backed off, nodding in seeming understanding. He was still just a child, though... What did he know? Not enough, clearly.

"Go to bed," Rai said quietly, pulling his hood over his face once again. "Unless you want to be caught and get Krylancelo in trouble for practicing illicit spells."

Shocked, Majic nodded numbly before running for Flameheart's tower. It was a pity to use such methods on an innocent child, but it was only necessary. But now Rai was intrigued. Krylancelo was creating his own spells, which greatly explained his lack of power when it came to actual demonstrations. What was he planning to do with these spells and, more importantly, where had he learnt them?

Well. It was just something else to consider while he meditated tonight.