Round 2 Team 5

[Rayleigh]

Rayleigh's skin prickled beneath her companion's gaze, and she finally turned away from the flames to face him. His expression was difficult to read, lips drawn in a thin line, brow furrowed in thought. He did not react to her movement, and she realized that he gazed through her, not at her; his mind had wandered elsewhere as she was sharing.

"Sorry about that." The Silkworm's voice, heavy with embarrassment, brought Touma back to the present. Her petite frame shifted uncomfortably against the sharp bloodoak roots, casting long, eerie shadows up the earthen walls.

Running a hand through his unkempt chestnut hair, the man frowned. "What are you apologizing for?" Had he missed something?

“My rambling. I did not mean to bore you. There is just so much about my visions that I don’t understand, and you said you knew illusions, so I thought maybe you could help.”

“No, you did not bore me,” came his answer, almost too quickly. Shaking his head to provide further reassurance, he added, “I find the whole thing very fascinating.” Though perhaps she misconstrued his words, and found genuine concern where there was none, what he told her was not far from the truth. A great amount of knowledge had been provided by the girl who claimed to have none, and as a soft smile unfurled on the man’s lips, he once again found himself reflecting on the strange fortune that had found him.

The brunette, however, remained unconvinced. Doubt-shadowed eyes remained transfixed on his, and her words came soft and slow. “You’re sure? I don’t usually do this. Some of this stuff I haven’t told anyone yet.” Not Alyssa, not Tobias, not even Vincent. So why Touma? Why was it that she felt compelled to confide in him?

Every word that she said, every move that she made, exposed the young woman’s vulnerability. She spoke in hushed tones, voice carrying like the wind across forest’s dense foliage. In the flickering light, Touma watched her bite at her thumbnail, a sign that even a stranger could recognize as discomfort. Though his basic humanity left him with some genuine concern for her well-being, a deeper-rooted hunger for valuable knowledge left him pleased with the situation he found himself in.

The Serpent Tamer’s hand cut the thick fog as he reached for her, his palm pressed gently to her shoulder, his lips parted as he moved to impart warm words into her ear. If he wished to sink his fangs into the untested Alerian, and gain more leverage over her notorious friend, he would need to test her limits. Just how far could he push his small pawn?

Once again, the young woman reacted in a most unusual way. As the comforting gesture found her, her small body deflated beneath his hand, the response Touma had been hoping for. That moment of calm, however, lasted only for a heartbeat. All at once, Rayleigh felt an all too familiar pressure on her arms; a sharp, sustained squeeze that left her arms throbbing with pain almost immediately. It was not until she ventured a glance into her lap that she let forth a soft whimper. Silver cords had wrapped themselves about her arms, and with each frightened breath that she took, they tightened their hold on her.

Those cords. The flames. The magic that had suffocated her, and the demon she had set free. Te memories assaulted her, and she screwed her eyes closed, face contorted in pain. In the quiet of the forest, and in the depths of her mind, she swore she heard Darigaaz’s voice once more.

”Vengeance.”

In one swift, violent motion, she tore herself away from Touma’s grasp, and halted the illusion that his touch had brought. The memories, however, still burned white-hot in the back of her mind. Her small frame trembled once more, as she settled into a spot out of the man’s reach.