The Scavenger’s Sister

Up in the trees, the triplet agents of House Eternal—Striker, Riker, and Hiker—watched in stunned silence as the rogue scientist vanished into the forest. Below, the scene was eerily quiet, save for the faint crackling of dying embers from Raziel's earlier flames.

Striker gripped the branch beside him, his mechanical arm whirring softly. "This... this wasn't in the plan," he muttered, eyes wide with disbelief. "We're supposed to capture a rogue scientist, not witness something like that."

Riker, crouched beside him, shook his head, his gaze fixed on Raziel's regenerating body. "No way. She's supposed to be dead. House Infinite declared her gone years ago."

Hiker, perched above them both, had his focus on Raziel and Leon. His voice was quiet, contemplative. "That wasn't just power. That was something else... something dangerous. She doesn't even have a core, and yet—"

He trailed off, unable to fully process what they had just witnessed. Raziel, stripped of her core, had somehow regenerated. The flames, the power—it was beyond anything they had been trained to handle.

Striker's expression hardened. "House Eternal will be expecting us back with the scientist, but... after what we've seen..." His voice faltered, his usual confidence shaken.

Riker, always quick to anger, clenched his fists. "Screw the House. They lied to us. They said she was dead! And if they lied about her, what else have they been hiding?"

Hiker, ever the thoughtful one, nodded slowly. "We've been following their orders for years, but look at what we've just seen. She's beyond anything we've dealt with. And the House—both Houses—are only going to use her. If they get their hands on her..."

Striker's jaw tightened. He'd been loyal to House Eternal for as long as he could remember, but seeing Raziel's raw power—seeing what she could do, even without a core—had changed something in him. "If we bring her to House Eternal, they'll strip her down and use her like a tool," he muttered. "But if we stay with her, we can survive."

Riker, ever the opportunist, raised an eyebrow. "Survive? Hell, we could thrive. If we side with her... we're not bound to House Eternal anymore. She could be our way out."

Hiker glanced at his brothers. "You're suggesting we defect? From House Eternal? Do you know what they'll do to us if we're caught?"

Striker's gaze shifted back to Raziel. "We don't have a choice. She's the real power here. She's not like anyone else we've faced. House Eternal would use her, but if we make her our leader... we might stand a chance."

Riker's grin widened. "Defecting to her... yeah. I like the sound of that. She's scary as hell, but I'd rather be on her side than against her."

Hiker sighed, but there was a hint of agreement in his expression. "It's a risk. A big one. But it might be our only shot at getting out of the House's grasp."

Striker nodded, his mind made up. "We approach her. But we do it carefully. If we're going to make her our leader, we need to make sure she understands we're not a threat. We'll serve her, not House Eternal."

The three brothers exchanged a glance, their silent agreement sealed. Their loyalty to House Eternal was gone, replaced by a new resolve to align themselves with the power they had just witnessed.

As the echoes of the rogue scientist's escape faded into the forest, Leon finally let out a long, shaky breath. He glanced over at Raziel, still catching her breath, her skin smoldering as the last of her Brimstone flames simmered down. She looked tired, more worn than he had ever seen her, and yet, the flames that had licked at her body moments ago were now regenerating her wounds—painfully slow, but visible.

Leon, still trying to wrap his head around everything that just happened, glanced at Raziel as they trudged through the forest. "You're not exactly easy to figure out, you know that?"

Raziel's flames flickered, a sign of her frustration bubbling beneath the surface. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Leon sighed, scratching the back of his neck. "You keep acting like you've got everything under control, but I'm starting to think you're more lost than I am."

Raziel stopped in her tracks, turning to face him, her eyes narrowing. "I've survived this long, haven't I?"

"Barely," Leon shot back, but his tone wasn't mocking. It was softer, almost resigned. "Look, I get it. You're powerful, but you're also reckless. And sooner or later, that's gonna catch up to you. Maybe it already has."

For a moment, Raziel didn't say anything. She looked away, her expression unreadable. When she spoke again, her voice was quieter. "You don't know what it's like, scavenger. Living with this... this power. It's not just fire. It's something else. It's something I can't control, no matter how hard I try."

Leon studied her, his earlier frustration fading into something else—something closer to understanding. "So, what are you saying? You're afraid?"

Raziel's eyes flared for a second, but the heat quickly faded. She clenched her fists at her sides, her mechanical parts gleaming in the low light. "Fear doesn't matter. I just... I don't want to lose myself. Again."

Leon nodded slowly, taking in her words. "Then stop trying to handle it alone."

Raziel's gaze flicked to him, her brow furrowing in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"I mean," Leon continued, "you don't have to go through this by yourself. Maybe you think you do, but you don't. Not anymore." He paused, rubbing his temples. "Look, I didn't ask to be dragged into your mess, but here I am. And for some reason, I keep sticking around. So maybe—just maybe—you could stop acting like I'm the enemy."

Raziel opened her mouth to argue, but the words caught in her throat. For the first time, she didn't know how to respond. Instead of firing back, she just looked at him, really looked at him.

Leon's deadpan expression softened slightly, and he shrugged. "I'm just saying... You don't have to burn the world down to prove a point."

As the sun dipped lower behind the trees, casting long shadows across the forest floor, Leon and Raziel finally stumbled upon a small clearing. The tension of the day still lingered in the air, but the need to rest was undeniable.

"Let's stop here," Leon said, dropping his pack with a relieved sigh. "We need to set up camp before it gets too dark."

Raziel looked around, frowning. "We're just... stopping? Out in the open?"

Leon shrugged, already gathering wood for a fire. "Unless you know of a hidden fortress nearby, this is as good as it gets."

Raziel's eyes flickered with a faint glow of her frustration, but she didn't argue. Instead, she muttered something under her breath and helped him clear a small space for the fire.

Leon glanced at her as he worked, his voice casual. "You ever done this before? Camping, I mean."

Raziel huffed, sitting cross-legged nearby, her mechanical fingers absently tracing the scars on her arm. "I was a priestess, not a survivalist."

Leon snorted softly, lighting the fire with practiced ease. "Well, consider this your crash course."

As the flames flickered to life, the warmth slowly spread through the clearing, casting long shadows around them. Raziel stared into the fire, her mind drifting, the tension in her shoulders slowly easing. It wasn't until Leon tossed a small, metal kettle onto the fire that she broke the silence.

"So, what's your deal?" Raziel asked, her voice cutting through the quiet. "You're a scavenger, but you don't act like most I've met."

Leon shrugged, sitting down across from her. "I don't know if that's a compliment or not."

Raziel gave him a sidelong glance. "Depends. Most scavengers would've left me behind ages ago."

Leon stirred the contents of the kettle, not meeting her eyes. "I'm not most scavengers."

There was a pause as Raziel processed his response. She didn't quite know how to react—why he stuck around baffled her. "Why haven't you?"

Leon finally looked up, his expression unreadable in the flickering firelight. "I don't know. Maybe I'm just a glutton for punishment."

Raziel smirked, but it didn't reach her eyes. She pulled her knees up to her chest, staring at the flames. "Seems like a pretty bad habit to have."

Leon's gaze softened, watching her closely. "Maybe. But someone's gotta keep you from burning yourself alive."

There it was again—his strange insistence on looking out for her, even when she gave him every reason not to. Raziel didn't know what to make of it, but for now, she wasn't going to push him away. Not completely.

The fire crackled between them, the warmth settling in, and for the first time in what felt like forever, Raziel allowed herself to relax, just a little.

Raziel watched him from across the fire, arms wrapped around her knees. She didn't know why she was still here. Why she hadn't stormed off after everything. It wasn't like her to stay with people—especially not people who pushed her buttons the way Leon did.

But here she was.

"You keep saying that," Raziel muttered, her gaze fixed on the flames. "About keeping me from burning myself alive. What's your deal?"

Leon didn't respond immediately, his eyes focused on the fire as if it held the answer to something he wasn't ready to say. Raziel frowned, not used to silence from him. "Well?"

Leon shrugged, but it lacked his usual casualness. "Maybe I just know what it's like. Being reckless. Not caring if you make it out the other side."

Raziel's eyes narrowed. "I don't need saving."

"I never said you did." Leon's tone was more serious now, the banter falling away. "But people like us? We don't always get that choice. Sometimes..."

He trailed off, his expression tightening as if remembering something he'd long tried to forget. He stirred the kettle again, more forcefully this time. "Sometimes you just end up alone, whether you want to be or not."

Raziel felt a flicker of something—recognition, maybe. She knew that feeling all too well. But she wasn't about to say that. Instead, she narrowed her eyes at him, trying to figure him out. "And what about you? You got left behind or something?"

Leon stiffened, but didn't look at her. The firelight flickered, casting shadows across his face. "I don't leave people behind," he said quietly, the words carrying a weight that surprised even him.

Raziel leaned back slightly, blinking. There it was—that hint of something deeper. Something that made him different from every other scavenger she'd met. "You keep saying that. But why?"

Leon hesitated, his gaze drifting back to the fire. For a moment, it seemed like he might actually answer, but then he shook his head and sighed. "Doesn't matter."

Raziel huffed, a hint of her usual defiance returning. "Of course it matters. You're risking your neck for me, and I don't even know why."

Leon finally met her gaze, his eyes guarded but not cold. "Because I don't want to make the same mistakes again."

Raziel frowned, taken aback by the vulnerability in his voice. She wasn't used to people being real with her. Not like this. "What happened?"

Leon's expression darkened, his eyes dropping back to the flames. "A story for another time, maybe."

Raziel scowled but didn't push further. She wasn't good with this kind of thing—feelings, emotions. But something told her that there was a lot more to Leon than he let on. And, as much as she hated to admit it, she was curious.

The quiet of the camp was suddenly broken by the loud growl of Raziel's stomach, loud enough to make her wince. She immediately shot a glance at Leon, who hadn't missed the sound.

A slow grin spread across his face. "Well, at least now we know your power isn't endless," Leon teased, leaning back with a smug expression. "Even priestesses have to eat."

Raziel shot him a withering look, her cheeks reddening slightly despite her best efforts to look unaffected. "Just find something edible, scavenger," she muttered, her voice laced with annoyance. "I'm not in the mood."

Leon chuckled as he rummaged through his pack. "You're in luck. I've got some rations," he said, pulling out a small bag. "It's not much, but it beats starving."

Raziel frowned as she glanced at the dried meat and bread he handed her. "What is this?" she asked, holding it up like it offended her.

"Food," Leon replied, rolling his eyes. "You know, the stuff that keeps you from dying?"

She raised an eyebrow, clearly unimpressed. "I've seen better meals in garbage heaps."

"Well, this isn't some fancy House meal, princess. It's all you're getting, so unless you wanna starve, eat up."

Raziel huffed, tearing a small piece off and begrudgingly biting into it. "You'd think a scavenger like you could find something better than this."

Leon snorted. "You're welcome. But don't worry, once we get to a safer spot, we'll gather real food. Maybe even get you some proper clothes."

Raziel, still chewing, paused mid-bite. "Clothes? Again with the clothes?" She rolled her eyes. "You're obsessed."

"Obsessed with not having you run around in rags," Leon shot back, smirking. "I thought you'd be all for it after your glorious entrance back at the ruins."

Raziel waved him off, swallowing her bite. "Fine. But if you make me dress like some stiff, I'm burning it."

Leon laughed, shaking his head. "We'll see. For now, just try not to burn this camp down while we get through the night."

Raziel gave him a deadpan stare, but she didn't argue. Instead, she focused on the food, the firelight reflecting in her mismatched eyes.

As the fire crackled, filling the silence between them, Leon leaned back against a nearby log, his eyes scanning the sky for any signs of weather changes. The quiet of the forest was unnerving after the chaos of the day, but for now, it was a welcomed reprieve.

"So, what's the plan now?" Raziel asked, breaking the silence. She tossed the last bit of her ration into her mouth and dusted off her hands. "We can't keep running forever."

Leon glanced at her, thoughtful. "Yeah, well, I'm still figuring that out," he said, his tone a bit evasive.

Raziel raised an eyebrow. "That's comforting," she muttered sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "You have any actual ideas, or are we just gonna wander until we drop?"

Leon sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Look, we've got options. We could keep heading south. There's a free settlement down that way. They don't ask too many questions, and we could resupply."

Raziel leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees. "And what's to stop those Eternal agents from tracking us there? You think they're just gonna give up?"

"No," Leon admitted, his jaw tightening. "They won't give up. Not after what happened."

Raziel frowned. "Then what? We can't outrun them forever, and you're not exactly overflowing with firepower to take them on."

Leon's eyes flickered to the side, and he let out a small, dry laugh. "You've got firepower for both of us, don't you think?"

Raziel's expression darkened, and she clenched her fists. "I don't control it. It just… happens." Her voice softened slightly, and there was a flicker of something vulnerable in her eyes—something Leon hadn't seen before.

Leon leaned forward, more serious now. "You're gonna have to learn. If we're going to survive, you need to figure out how to control those flames."

Raziel crossed her arms defensively, her voice hardening again. "And who's gonna teach me? You?"

Leon raised his hands in surrender. "Hey, I'm not saying I know how to work with fire magic or whatever you've got going on. But I know survival. I know how to keep us both alive long enough for you to figure it out."

Raziel scoffed, leaning back again, but the tension in her body didn't ease. "Yeah, great plan. Just hope I don't kill us both before then."

Leon smirked. "Now you're getting it."

Raziel narrowed her eyes at him but didn't argue. She stared into the fire for a moment before speaking again, her voice quieter this time. "What's south, anyway? That settlement—what's it like?"

Leon paused, considering how much to tell her. "It's... rough," he admitted. "No real order, just a bunch of people looking to survive. But it's far enough off the radar that the Houses don't bother with it. We'll be safer there than out here in the open."

Raziel frowned. "So, another bunch of scavengers and mercenaries. Great. Sounds like a dream come true."

Leon chuckled. "Not exactly a five-star vacation, no. But we'll blend in, at least for a while. Gives us time to figure out our next move."

Raziel sighed, staring into the fire. "Fine. But I'm not sticking around there longer than we need to. I've got... other things to take care of."

Leon raised an eyebrow, curious. "Like what?"

Raziel hesitated, her expression guarded. "Like getting back at the people who did this to me," she said, her voice low and cold.

Leon didn't push further, but he filed that bit of information away. Revenge, huh? He knew that feeling all too well.

"Well, one step at a time," Leon said after a pause. "First, we survive the next few days. Then, we can worry about your vengeance tour."

Raziel shot him a sharp look but didn't argue. Instead, she lay back on the ground, staring up at the sky through the canopy of trees.

"You always this annoying?" she muttered.

Leon grinned, settling back down. "Only to people I like."

Raziel narrowed her eyes at Leon, but her voice dripped with sarcasm. "Oh, lucky me. I'm absolutely blessed to have a scavenger like you irritating me every step of the way."

She exaggerated a sigh, rolling her eyes dramatically before turning her back to him, facing the fire. "Seriously, what did I do in a past life to deserve this?"

Leon chuckled, shaking his head. "Oh, I don't know, maybe you burned down a city or two with those flames of yours."

Raziel shot a glare over her shoulder but didn't respond. There was a flicker of something behind her irritation—something that wasn't entirely annoyance. Maybe even a slight smile she tried to hide.

She quickly turned back to face the fire, muttering under her breath. "Lucky me," she repeated, though this time the edge in her voice had softened.

Leon caught the subtle shift, but he decided to let it go, keeping his focus on the crackling fire. He knew better than to push too hard. Raziel wasn't the type to admit things outright, and that tiny glimpse of warmth was enough for now.